Ninety thousand miles of wind

Jiangnan Jiangbei

一

——That day was actually close to the end of the year.

It has been snowing heavily since noon until now, and the surrounding area is white and gray. The huge snow flakes are like cutting goose feathers, and they are blown by the cold wind, and there is no one in sight.The post road leading to Fenglingdu was deserted, and only a horse was carrying a person walking along.Seeing that the sky was about to get dark, he tightened his hood and tried his best to push the horse forward, at least he reached the ferry before it was completely dark.

The ferry stopped naturally.The originally bustling ferry was empty at this time, with only a few empty sheds covered with snow, and the villagers who used to solicit business here had already gone home.The man on horseback looked left and right, and finally saw a wind lantern swinging not far away, which seemed to reflect the trick of a corner restaurant.He urged his horse to the door, shook the snow off his cloak, and pushed the door open.

It's a pity that the store is not big.The table has been moved to the side, and an ambiguous dim butter lamp is not bright enough to reflect a small stove in the middle, and there are people sitting on the benches all around - a man dressed as a Taoist priest is sitting on the table. Opposite the door, on the right hand side are two young swordsmen, and on the opposite side is a young scholar who has not yet reached the weak crown, who is flipping through the books in the bookcase, fearing that the wind and snow will get wet along the way.He went to the hood, and made a bow first: "Seniors, I'm sorry to bother you."

The Taoist frowned, and said, "Xueda, close the door carefully before speaking."

The young man naturally said yes, and closed the door tightly with his backhand before sitting on the last bench.At this time, the scholar put the last volume of the book back into the bookcase, looked at the young man's attire, and suddenly said "Huh", "Are you a disciple of Xingxin Villa?"

The young man obviously didn't expect to ask such a question, he looked himself up and down: "Why do you ask such a question, Mr. Xiao?"

"I guess." The young scholar said with a smile.

"Ah?" The young man stared at him dumbfounded, and the scholar waved his hand: "I am not talking nonsense when I say this. First of all, you must be a martial arts practitioner, as you can tell by the sword on your waist. Secondly, seeing It’s almost the end of the new year, but you are not dressed to go home, and you are obviously still on an errand. What is there to worry about in the Jianghu recently? I think about it, and it’s only about the Northwest Army.”

"Then why don't you guess that I'm from Tyranny Club or Blue Rain Pavilion?" The young man was puzzled.

"Of course it's because I already guessed it." The scholar pointed to the Taoist priest, "This is Mr. Ye Weiyang Ye, the deputy rudder master of the outer sect of Tyranny, and these two are Chun Yi, the outer sect of Lingnan Blue Rain Pavilion. Lao and Lanhe are two swordsmen. Of course, you may also be a disciple of Samsara City, but Samsara City is located in the northwest, so it is rare to come to the Central Plains, and it is even more rare to leave at this time of year, so I guess you are a disciple of Xingxin Villa, yes no?"

The young man showed a look of admiration, and was about to say something when he heard Ye Weiyang sneered: "If you guess like this, it's not difficult to guess."

The scholar was not annoyed, he just said: "If you don't tell the truth about everything, it will sound astonishing. Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the tricks are, I can't help but tell the truth. Of course, my little trick is not worth anything."

Elder Chun Yi smiled on the opposite side: "Ye Weiyang, there is no reason why you are so temperamental. You Tyranny has always been at odds with Xingxin, so naturally you don't like the disciples of Xingxin Villa. The trick of guessing people with Mr. Cha is easy and difficult. what relationship?"

After hearing the title of "Mr. Tea", the young man realized that this well-informed young scholar turned out to be a tea Xiaoxia who had recently gained fame in the Danqing Club on the rivers and lakes.

And Cha Xiaoxia just smiled, and said: "Mr. Dachun, I'm afraid this page is still the old calendar? Since the Northwest War started this time, all sects of the rivers and lakes have joined forces to help the Northwest military. Isn't Xingxin Villa and Tyranny the hatchback first?" Proposal? On the day when Ye Xiu entered Tyranny alone, he asked Tyranny's subordinate bodyguard bureau to make a trip to the emperor's bodyguard with a large amount of military pay, which was the introduction of this matter."

"Didn't you hear that Ye Xiu fought three times in a row, with one win, one draw and one loss, and in the end it was Zhang Xinjie, the strategist who gave in to save the face of his friendship for many years, so he accepted this trip?" Although Chun Yi said in the old man's mouth, his eyes rolled Looking at Ye Weiyang, he was obviously waiting for someone from Tyranny to correct him.

Sure enough, Ye Weiyang was stunned: "Xiu said it like my Tyranny can't tell the priority. How many eyes are staring at the northwest turmoil, how many forces are twisted together, if it weren't for you, Blue Rain Pavilion and the Royal Family If you don't know the connection that cannot be resolved, you will easily enter the water? Serving the country is one thing, but we have to know how much sincerity there is in this mission - this one falls on Ye Xiu: If he dares to come alone, if he can explain the whole thing clearly, then we Tyranny will be able to get into trouble."

At this time, Cha Xiaoxia also cupped her hands: "Tyranny understands the righteousness, and ensuring that there is no mistake in the Northwest Army's salary is to relieve the world's people from hanging upside down. Thank you, Cha."

Ye Weiyang blushed, and said: "Sir, you are too polite. This time, the Northwest Party is threatening, and it wants to drive straight in and occupy my rivers and mountains. This is the time for everyone to contribute. If there is any hesitation, it is just because I am afraid that I will not be able to distinguish clearly." The villains of the traitorous party, but instead use their blood to be used by others, so there is nowhere to cry."

Everyone nodded in agreement.And Cha Xiaoxia turned around and asked the young man: "Is this little brother from the Northwest Army?"

The young man smiled shyly: "Exactly."

"I heard that the Dang Ming army surrounded the isolated city of Samsara the day before yesterday, and Xingxin Villa joined forces with the people of Samsara to defend against the enemy. They stood there for seven days and seven nights, waiting for the army to come back to help. Is that so?"

The young man pondered for a while.He originally had a gentle face, and he was very respectful when he saw the people in the room, but when he mentioned the Northwest Army, he had a bit of awe-inspiring air out of thin air—as if the fight that day was still clanging beside him.He shook his head and said: "How could I get so much in the city that day. It's just that Samsara City is just above the pass. If we retreat, we will hand over a road to the enemy. How can we retreat? Mr. Cha said it would take seven days Seven nights—the last few days were fierce battles, we can't remember when and how long it was, we just remember to fight forward."

After everyone heard this, they fell silent for a while, the cold air was covered by the wind and snow, and it was really like fighting on the sidelines.The young man hurriedly said: "In the end, thanks to Pavilion Master Yu's staff, the Suzaku army arrived in time. If not, I'm afraid there will be no eggs after the nest is overturned."

After saying this, everyone turned to look at the two swordsmen in Blue Rain Pavilion.Chun Yi said: "If it wasn't for the defense of Samsara City, it wouldn't be so easy for us to counterattack. Fortunately, the situation has stabilized now, and Lan He and I have just returned from the Northwest Army for a year - Pavilion Master and the others cannot leave. , just told us to go back to reunite with the brothers in the pavilion on their behalf." Speaking of this, even Chun Yi couldn't help but sigh.

Lan He followed suit and said, "I only hope that the war will come to an end by the beginning of spring next year."

Cha Xiaoxia cleared her throat and asked: "Mr. Dachun, Brother Lanhe, forgive me, won't Pavilion Master Yu be an official in the court like Xiao Shiqin, the previous Head of Lei Ting? Apart from Pavilion Master Yu, And Sun Xiang, a top-notch general, also served in the army, and after I heard that Huang Shaotian in your cabinet is also a famous general, don't you want to follow this path and make a name for yourself?"

Elder Chun Yi and Lan He looked at each other, and said firmly: "No. I will be happy in Lingnan, and I will count it as a time to serve the country. When the crisis is over, everyone in Blue Rain Pavilion will naturally come back."

Ye Weiyang also said: "Naturally so. Even if we are doing business for the government right now, we are still the sons and daughters of the rivers and lakes. How can we be like those well-dressed people who are so busy doing things like dogs and dogs, and suffer from such idleness?"

After saying this, everyone in the room said hello, Mr. Chun Yi even said: "For your words, I will make a big statement."

Ye Weiyang just shook his head: "It's a pity that in this country shop, you can't even find a pot of dirty wine. It's really disappointing."

Cha Xiaoxia said: "But it may not be. This long night is lonely and boring. There is no place to sleep and no wine to cheer us up. How about we tell the story of the past and use it as a drink. It's also a distraction. I don't know. What do you guys think?"

"story?"

Cha Xiaoxia smiled slightly: "Cha joined the Danqing Club because he deeply admired the heroes of the Jianghu. Unfortunately, he was born a few years late, and he didn't see the scenery of the Huashan sword test. He can only see the stories of heroes in the past in the file. Often I feel regretful. Although I was trapped at the ferry due to the wind and snow today, I was able to meet you all. For Cha, if I don’t hear a few stories, I will never be reconciled.”

Old Chunyi laughed loudly, and said: "In that case, let someone tell a story first. —Of course, what I'm telling is not my own story."

"What story does the gentleman want to tell?"

"Of course it's the story of my pavilion master."

When Mr. Chunyi said this, he suddenly heard a sound from the roof.The young man got up and went out to check, and came back after a while, saying: "The branches beside the house were broken by the snow and fell down."

Everyone nodded and straightened up again, only listening to Mr. Chunyi telling the story.

two

"That was ten years ago." Chun Yi narrowed his eyes, as if recalling the past, "Old Ye, you, like me, came from that time, so naturally you know how powerful the strange beast was back then, now It’s incomparable. Now all year round, I’m afraid there’s only one in a hundred miles, but back then it was always coming in groups of all sizes.”

"—Is it so powerful?" Cha Xiaoxia said, "I hadn't started learning at that time, but I only heard about the power of strange beasts, and never saw it with my own eyes."

"It's so powerful. When they first came out, most of the strange beasts couldn't be cut through with knives or guns. One hundred people took care of a strange beast, and it wasn't always possible to take care of it. Fortunately, there were many monsters in the Blue Rain Pavilion back then. Strange people and strange people..." Speaking of these words, he seemed to think of someone, Chun Yi only held his forehead, and then said after a pause, "I just realized that weapons were cast from the limbs of strange beasts. Later, everyone finally moved forward and retreated , Knowing how to cooperate, every time a strange beast appears, how to warn and how to meet the enemy, it is often the pavilion master, deputy pavilion master and all the guests who take the lead."

"But I heard that Pavilion Master Yu is not good at martial arts." Cha Xiaoxia said.

"Indeed. My pavilion master followed the old pavilion master to practice the Mahamudra method. Although it can restrain the beasts and use it as a help, it can't really protect itself." Chun Yi said, "What I want to say is that it happened once ten years ago. The siren sounded in the pavilion that day. It turned out to be a huge strange beast running from the west. We don’t know the name of this strange beast now. It just spits out purple lightning, has six legs and three eyes, and a row of steel thorns on its back. Naturally , Pavilion Master Yu mobilized all the people to besiege, but found that it was surprisingly easy to fight—it was just because he looked big, but he was actually not capable.”

This time, Ye Weiyang also spoke: "Is it really so easy? This kind of strange beasts often have special abilities, didn't you all fall into a trap?"

Elder Chunyi sighed: "—that's it. At that time, seeing that strange beast was about to die, some of my old brothers said that this thing is big, but it's a good deal. It just so happened that the deputy cabinet master caught a chance , Bing Yu wiped the vitals of its neck with a sword, and the black blood dripped for a while."

The young man was also surprised, and said, "But it's poisonous?"

"At the beginning, everyone was afraid of this, so Xinglin disciples threw out those detoxification talisman papers," Mr. Chun Yi gestured, "Especially Young Master Huang, who stood in the wrong place, and was drenched all over his head. He probably couldn't even open his eyes. But just when everyone realized that the blood was not poisonous, all the steel thorns on the strange beast's body rose up, flying out like sharp arrows, and all of a sudden, the unsuspecting beast was thrown on the ground. Land—even a few were so badly injured that they couldn’t even wait for a first-aid prescription, so they left.”

All the people in the seat, except Cha Xiaoxia, have seen this kind of situation, and they can't say a word at this moment.Chun Yi paused for a moment, and said again: "At that time, I was about ten feet behind the Pavilion Master, and I saw a steel thorn flying towards the Pavilion Master, and I thought in my heart: It's over. I could do it, but it was too late anyway—but at that moment, I heard a "clang"—it turned out that Huang Shao came over and chopped the steel thorn to the ground with a sword. The most regrettable thing is, At that time, his face was still dazzled by blood, so he couldn't see clearly."

Cha Xiao Xia Chijie praised: "As expected of Huang Shaotian who is known as the 'Sword Master', he is really amazing."

"To be able to fight the enemy with such unity and one heart," Ye Weiyang said, "Sure enough, the tacit understanding is also similar to that of my master and military advisor."

Old Chun Yi chuckled, and said, "There is still a follow-up to this story. Unfortunately, I didn't see the second half of it with my own eyes——Lan He, tell me what happened in the city that day."

Lan He nodded, and continued Chun Yi's old story: "At that time, I followed Huang Shao and the pavilion master to the border. Although the pavilion master was appointed by the officials, he was still a man of the world after all. Those state officials As soon as Ya Jiang spoke, he looked down on the Pavilion Master. Huang Shao and I followed behind the Pavilion Master, feeling very dissatisfied in our hearts, but the Pavilion Master has always been calm and calm, and he didn't say anything about it, just acted as usual. "

The young man said again: "It seems that even in the Zhuque army, you have worked hard."

"We people from the rivers and lakes are in the army, how can we not work hard? But the war is the first thing, and we can't care about it." Lan He said again, "——then the two armies faced each other, and the enemy had a fierce general who injured our side in a row. Three generals. At this time, General Zhu was about to retreat and refuse to fight, but at this time, Huang Shao stood up from under the tent, walked three steps forward, and said: "Young Heaven, please fight."

Ye Weiyang was taken aback, and said: "Of course I know that Huang Shaotian's sword skills are unparalleled in the world, but after all, immediately stepping down is a double routine, can he really beat the opponent?"

"I thought the same way at the time, and I was so anxious to death." Lan He said, "The pavilion master was so determined, he just said 'be careful', and then said to General Zhu, 'Shaotian has been proficient in bowing horses with General Huang since he was a child. I haven't put down my kung fu for many years, maybe I can fight." General Zhu was naturally skeptical, but seeing that the pavilion master and Young Master Huang were very determined, he led the horse and asked him to have a try. Young Master Huang naturally didn't use a sword when he went into battle, he used weapons Picking a silver gun from the rack, he rode his horse forward. The enemy general said: "Who is coming?" Huang Shao said in his usual style, "Master, I am the sword master of the Central Plains, Ye Yusheng, and fight a hundred times." It’s two silver coins and I’m going to compete with you for free today. In fact, it’s because you make money and I lose money to see the gun——!”

It's hard for Lan He to imitate this series of words so vividly. Everyone laughed for a while, and even Lan He couldn't help laughing. He paused before continuing: "But the flower gun in Huang Shao's hand is really better than those of his. It's still dizzying, three rounds, and the enemy will be picked off the horse. Our side is beating a victory drum, and Huang Shao just hits the horse, and there is an archer on the opposite side, holding a heavy crossbow, mixed in the opposite side There was a sneak attack in the formation. At that time, few people noticed it, and they didn't shout until the arrow pierced through the air. At that time, I thought it was terrible. Suddenly, I saw a golden light flash, and a streak rose from around Huang Shao's body. The six-character mantra enchantment, when the arrow touches it, it falls down—naturally it was written by my pavilion master."

Lan He told this story very clearly, with several ups and downs, exciting. After waiting for him to finish speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Cha Xiaoxia said: "You are really brave."

"It's certainly dangerous if we think about it." Lan He shook his head, "But how does Pavilion Master Huang have a tacit understanding? They have known each other for a long time, and they can even entrust their lives."

Everyone sighed for a while, and Ye Weiyang finally said: "If so, I have a story to tell."