The Dao dies but I live on, the spiritual energy dries up but I remain evergreen

Even though they were just passers-by and hadn't seen each other for a long time, they still had a lot to talk about. After the leader of the escort team noticed the swordsman, he invited the swordsman to come over for dinner that night.

Beside the campfire, the swordsman looked emotional. He glanced around and found that many people had aged a lot compared to ten years ago, and the escort team had also received a lot of newcomers.

The escort leader was the young man who followed at the end of the team ten years ago. He has grown more mature and is now middle-aged, with a beard covering his once handsome face.

He talked about the past with the white-robed swordsman he met by chance on the roadside. The master who used to lead the team was seriously injured during a escort mission and eventually died. He took up the banner and shouldered the heavy responsibility, only then did he realize how difficult escorting was.

He had to coordinate the expenses of pacifying people, spending money, food and clothing, and every trip was exhausting both physically and mentally.

So, he also picked up the bad habits of the old team leader. After each escort mission, he liked to drink. He had to get drunk until he was completely drunk.

He also became an alcoholic.

He sighed repeatedly, what a pity that he needed to stay sober while escorting the convoy, otherwise he would have liked to get drunk with this mysterious swordsman, whom he had only met once and had a drink with the old master, instead of just having a small drink.

The swordsman smiled heartily, raised his wine gourd, and wished him a smooth journey. It was a rare occasion to meet someone who loved wine, so he was very proud and told the other person about his experience of drinking for a long time.

He said he invented several ways of drinking, and he demonstrated as he spoke. First, he took the bowl and chopsticks, poured wine in the bowl, let the chopsticks pass through the wine, then placed them in salt, dipped a little salt on them, and dissolved the salt in the wine, and drank the wine in one gulp. In one word... happy.

The leader of the escorts took note of it carefully and felt a little itchy, wanting to get back to the county town as soon as possible so that he could drink and have fun.

The swordsman taught the leader a new move without reservation, as if he was willing to give his all.

First take out a chili pepper, preferably one from the southwest, as the peppers there are spicy enough and have a special spicy aroma. Put the chili pepper in the wine bowl and squeeze it with chopsticks. Li Changxiao earnestly instructed that the pepper must be stirred to extract the juice and the pepper seeds inside must be crushed as much as possible to let the spiciness inside bloom as much as possible.

When you smell the fragrance of chili peppers, don't rush. First pour in a fingernail-deep layer of aged vinegar and stir it with chopsticks. Finally, pour in the wine, stirring quickly as you pour.

The leader of the escorts drooled as he heard the swordsman drink it all in one gulp and then shouted "very happy". He then said that the spicy taste of the chili pepper can better disperse the smell of the alcohol. The alcohol will rush straight to the head and make the whole body feel comfortable. Drinking like this in winter will drive away the coldness in just two sips. It just so happens that winter is almost here, so you can try it when you have time.

The escort was surprised by the swordsman's drinking method and was eager to try.

A night of conversation.

The next day.

Early in the morning.

The two groups came to a fork in the road.

The day of separation came again. The leader of the escort agency waved to the swordsman and said something that seemed familiar. He smiled and said to the swordsman that if there was a chance in the future, he should go to the nearby county to find him and he would treat Li Changxiao to a drink.

The swordsman smiled, waved goodbye, and continued north on his donkey.

......

Life is a series of countless encounters and separations.

Left the escort team.

Another month passed.

It was the time when autumn turned into winter. Suffering from a lack of money, the swordsman had no choice but to work for several days in a small town. The jobs he did were all odd jobs, and he was not worth much money for a day's work. The manager who was in charge of the money was extremely mean, and withheld the workers' money for various reasons. However, evil will always be punished by evil. One day, the manager was walking at night and was beaten up by a gangster who came from nowhere. He had to lie in bed for several days. Only after a new manager was appointed, the withheld wages were paid in full.

After working for about a week, Li Changxiao weighed the silver in his hand. Although the money was not much, it was enough for him to live a carefree life for a while. So he went to the manager to resign from his job. The manager looked regretful, but did not stop him. Before leaving, he gave him some lucky money.

After exchanging the grain and wine, Li Changxiao rode the donkey again and left the small town. The big donkey became more and more calm, and a look of old age gradually appeared in its eyes. The lifespan of ordinary livestock is short, and the lifespan of an ordinary donkey is about twenty years old. But "Mei Jiao Niang" is not an ordinary donkey. It is naturally intelligent and smarter than ordinary people.

Sadly, there are gains but also losses. From the moment he saw "Beautiful Lady", Li Changxiao knew that it was born with intelligence but a short lifespan. If he left it unattended, it would die at the age of ten.

No one knew at that time that the swordsman had good intentions. He saw that the stable was too low, the donkey's life span was too short and it was already half over, and the donkey was too intelligent and understood joy, sorrow and resentment, so he bought it, took it to see the outside world, and taught it a few skills of prolonging life and nourishing energy. The reason why the donkey was able to play freely in the Beiyuan River was because of this skill.

With the swordsman's occasional use of spiritual energy to warm him up, he has managed to survive until now, but he has already entered old age.

on the road.

When passing through a narrow area between two mountains.

Suddenly, a man rushed out from the side in panic. He looked around with a terrified look on his face and saw a swordsman riding a donkey. His eyes lit up and he ran over quickly, "Knight, Knight, please stay!"

He said in horror.

Li Changxiao asked Laolu to stop and looked at the man, a meaningful look flashed through his mind.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Knight, you must help me!" The man cried and explained the whole story. It turned out that he was passing by this place with his family, but was kidnapped by a group of martial artists and taken to another place. He escaped by chance and ran all the way until he met the swordsman in white.

"Oh?" the swordsman asked, "Is there such a wicked thing? Take me with you, I will definitely be able to save your family."

"No, no, no." The man shook his head repeatedly. "Those evildoers have been doing evil here for many years. You are definitely no match for them alone. I beg you to take me to a nearby town. I will sell everything I have, even pawn my house, and risk my life to save my poor wife and children."

The man spoke with tears in his eyes.

"Why bother with so much trouble? Just take me with you. I have my own way." The swordsman said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the man hesitated again, but finally decided to lead the way. After walking for about an hour, they gradually arrived at a place with overgrown grass and few people.

On the way, the swordsman smiled and said, "That evil bandit is hiding very secretly."

"If I had enough money and gave it all to those evil bandits so that they could live a life of plenty, would they still commit crimes and attack passers-by?"

The man said, "You are wrong, hero. There is one kind of evil bandit who is indeed forced by money and worldly desires, but there is another kind who is born to be extremely evil."

The swordsman added: "But I didn't see any so-called extreme evil, I only saw a few...poor creatures."

"Hmm...?" The man wanted to say something else, but he felt a chill flash by.

He touched his neck.

Not a drop of blood was left because the blood had been frozen and solidified.

The Qingping sword, which had been washed with the ice crystal marrow of the ten great divine essences, had just swept across his neck cleanly and neatly.

The man could see clearly now that beneath the drunkenness was a cold murderous intent. He tried to use his magic, but as his vitality was drained away, he gradually became powerless and fell down.

"Come out." The swordsman said calmly, "Poor creatures."