Looking for plums under the moon

As soon as Ling Guyue went out, she stood under the eaves, only to see that the rain outside the house had not stopped, and a gust of cold rain poured into the skirt of her clothes with the wind, she suddenly sobered up.

At this time, the night was thick, and there were many dark shadows, but nothing unusual was seen.Listen carefully, only the grass and trees rustle, how can there be crying?

Just as he was laughing at himself for being suspicious, and was about to go back to his room, he heard a few thin voices coming from the backyard of the post station.

"Hey..."

Ling Guyue got goosebumps all over her body, hugged the Liuguang sword tightly, stepped on the muddy loess, and walked towards the backyard.

The backyard was dark, and only the houses could be seen, like giant black beasts, dormant in this wind and rain forest, and they would wake up suddenly at some point, and use their huge mouths to swallow everyone.

While groping along the way, the crying sound was intermittent, but it was certain that it came from a certain house.

Ling Guyue raised her feet luckily and walked to the window of that room without disturbing the people inside.

"Cuixiu cries red and purple jade is missing, the rain hits the door and wall, tears hurt goodbye..."

There was no light in the house, and through the wooden lattice windows came the girl's singing, singing the old song "Selling Children's Resentment", the voice was thin, full of crying, and indescribably sad.

"I complained about my father and my mother's heart like iron, and from now on I will break up with righteousness and kindness. Ask the slaves where to go, willows in front of the door, flowers outside the garden, and the moon by the well..."

Ling Guyue stood under the window for a long while, listening to her sing a song and sobbing non-stop, and the crying became louder and louder without stopping.Just as he was about to close the window, he suddenly saw a ball of light appearing in front of him, hanging faintly, floating in mid-air and swaying, braving the rain and approaching Ling Guyue.

Ling Guyue's heart skipped a beat, the Liuguang Sword was about to be pulled out in his hand, but fortunately the sword was wrapped in a cloth and could not be unsheathed for a while, he barely suppressed the surprise in his heart, and prepared to wait and see what happened.

After the dim yellow ball of light gradually approached, it was discovered that the ball of light was originally a lantern, and there was a person behind it, who seemed to be the owner of the inn.

The store owner was also surprised when he saw a dark shadow standing under the window, so he hurriedly led the lantern to shine it.

Ling Guyue whispered: "It's me."

The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I fell asleep in the room, and heard a faint cry, so I came out to take a look. The guest officer also came because of the cry?"

Ling Guyue nodded and asked, "Who lives in this room?"

The shopkeeper asked suspiciously: "The person here is the person who is traveling with you, doesn't the guest officer know?"

The girl in the room seemed to have heard the movement outside, and the crying stopped suddenly, and the needle drop could be heard inside.

Ling Guyue said: "Could it be the girl in the sedan chair?"

The storekeeper nodded and looked into the window, but unfortunately there was no light inside, it was pitch black and nothing could be seen, "Could it be that the young master is with those people?"

Ling Guyue replied: "It's just a chance meeting in the middle of the road, and it's just walking together."

The shopkeeper cautiously glanced around and said, "Young Master, you have to be very careful, I don't think those people are good people."

"How do you say that?" Ling Guyue was puzzled.

"When you first came in in the afternoon, two people carried a sedan chair into the backyard, asked me for a room, and then brought in a girl with a hijab. I didn't see what the girl looked like , Even the food delivery was done by those two people themselves, and they locked the door with a lock afterwards... If you want me to say, these people are either green forest heroes or desperadoes. I don’t know which girl they kidnapped and fled here. "

Ling Guyue thought for a while, "They said that the person in the sedan chair is their young lady, maybe the big family pays attention to rules and doesn't want to let the young lady show up in public?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said: "Those people have a bandit spirit on them, so they can't be good people. Listen to my advice, young master, don't go with them, otherwise I'm afraid I'll burn myself!"

Ling Guyue nodded, said "Thank you for reminding me", seeing that there was no movement in the room, they turned around and went back to their rooms.

There were several big men lying in disorder in the Datong shop, all of them were snoring loudly, none of them was awake.

Ling Guyue retreated to a corner and lay down, but couldn't fall asleep. The sound of rain was heard next to her ears, and she couldn't help sighing when she touched the wet red shirt in front of her lapel.

"Guyue, Xiaoluo, you have been studying the sword scriptures for two years, have you gained anything?" Under the pear blossom tree, an ancient swordsman stood upright, and two seven or eight-year-old children stood in front of him, like a dumpling. His face was full of childishness, and he looked at him with big eyes.

The short boy with a cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye thought for a while, and replied in a childlike voice: "I understand that every move and style in swordsmanship has its origin, and the inheritance and transformation must follow the ancient rules, and you can't do whatever you want."

The ancient swordsman nodded, then turned to another boy, "Xiao Luo, what about you?"

The little boy shrank his neck, shook his head, his voice was as thin as a mosquito, "The contents of the Sword Sutra are too profound, and I haven't fully understood it yet..."

"Sophisticated? How can I understand? Brother, do you know which word? If you don't understand, you can ask brother!" The boy next to him patted him on the shoulder and said generously.

The ancient swordsman sighed and said, "You guys have to continue reading the sword scriptures, but from today onwards, Master will teach you how to practice swords."

The little boy with a red mole at the corner of his eye blushed happily, and said excitedly, "Finally, we can practice swords! Master, should we learn to carry through the underworld or cover the sun and destroy the moon?"

"These are legendary swordsmanship, and it takes decades of hard work to learn. You are still young, so you have to learn from the basics."

"Okay..." The little boy pouted his pink mouth and kicked a stone flying away unhappily.

"But today, the first lesson I want to teach you is not swordsmanship."

The two children looked up at him curiously.

The old swordsman looked towards the sky and said quietly: "You must remember that a swordsman must rely on human blood to forge the marrow of his sword, and he is destined to spend his whole life with killing in the rivers and lakes, so don't be afraid of killing. But between the two of you During this period, Master does not want to see blood and betrayal, so be jealous, avoid murder, and avoid conspiracy."

The two children nodded with a half understanding.

"Guyue, master asks you, if someone asked you to choose between me and your junior brother to kill, who would you choose to kill?"

After hearing this, the little boy immediately burst into tears, and shook his head again and again, "I don't want you to die..."

"Guyue, this is just a hypothesis, not real, you answer Master."

The little boy stopped crying, frowned, thought for a while, and then said: "I... don't know..."

The ancient swordsman went to ask another boy, "How about you, Luo'er?"

The little boy looked up at him, his timid eyes were a little firm, "I won't choose anyone...I will kill that person."

"If senior brother snatched your favorite thing, would you choose it the same way?"

"I don't have a favorite thing..."

"Who said that? You obviously like tea eggs the most..." The shorter boy looked at him, with teardrops still on his eyelashes.

"I don't like tea eggs..." the slightly taller one argued in a low voice.

The ancient swordsman coughed lightly, "No matter what it is, will your choice change?"

"No, I will never harm Master and Senior Brother..."

"Junior brother..." The little boy next to him was tearful, then hugged him, buried his head in his neck and rubbed it, and said coquettishly, "You are so kind."

He lowered his head as if shy, blushing.

"Very good, even if one day you have to resort to murder, don't kill your fellow disciples. Do you all remember the three taboos I just mentioned?"

The short boy shouted loudly: "Master, this disciple remembers!"

The other blushed, and nodded slightly.

Under the pear blossom tree, the westerly wind gradually picked up, blowing down the trees like snow, gradually covering the backs of the ancient swordsman and the two children.

Many years later, Ling Guyue lay in this Datong shop at the foot of Pingchuan Mountain, lamenting the passage of time.

The master has long since disappeared, Uncle Ge's life and death are unknown, and the well-behaved junior has also become the head of Pingchuan.Someone mutilated his classmates and blamed himself. Although he believed that Shen Luo would never harm him, but his words were terrifying, and his words were worth a lot of money. He didn't seem to want to listen to his own explanation.How much of the original promise can survive now?

Sit up in front of the window and count the sound of rain, drop by drop until dawn.

At Yin time, the sky turned white, and the rain stopped outside the door.Ling Guyue finished washing early, called the shopkeeper to bring a bowl of porridge and a plate of buns, and sat down in the hall to have breakfast.

"My lord, those uncles haven't woken up yet?" The shopkeeper stood aside and winked at Ling Guyue.

Ling Guyue nodded, took a bite of the steamed bun, and asked suspiciously: "Shopkeeper, what kind of stuffing is this steamed stuffed bun?"

"The stuffing of this bun is not simple," the shopkeeper pretended to be deep, "I used a catty of radish and half a catty of beef, plus fresh morning dew flowers, mushrooms, and seasonings, less oily and salty. Tixian... this skill is inherited from the ancestors, what do you think, young master?"

Ling Guyue nodded, "It's delicious, a bit like my steamed stuffed bun."

The store proudly said: "No one who has eaten my buns is boastful!" Then he whispered, "Young master, why don't you go before it's bright, and I'll tell them later that you have to go beforehand." Well, anyway, they are just passers-by who met by chance, so they probably won't ask too many questions."

Ling Guyue shook her head, thinking: I want them to lead the way to Jinling, how can I give up halfway?Besides, looking at the figures of those people, most of them are simple-minded and well-developed limbs, but their martial arts are mediocre.Don't say eight such people, even eighteen I might not pay attention to them... But in the end, it's the store's kindness, it's better to decline.So he said: "Thank you, I have my own plans."

Seeing that he didn't listen to the persuasion, the shopkeeper shook his head and walked away.

After a while, after Ling Guyue had finished her breakfast, everyone in the shop woke up and walked into the hall with sleepy eyes.

"Shopkeeper, do you have buns and side dishes?" The big man asked irritably with his rough voice still a little sleepy.

The shopkeeper smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, but the shop only has Yangchun noodles in the morning."

The big man curled his lips in disgust, "Then have some bowls of noodles, and cut up some of the beef from last night." Turning around, he saw Ling Guyue sitting in front of the window, and leaned closer to him and asked, "Young master Le Have you eaten?"

Ling Guyue nodded, and didn't want to expose the store, she just said: "I've eaten it, please take it easy."

The big man took out two chopsticks from the cage, pounded them on the table, yawned and said, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"It's okay."

"The bed boards in this small shop are too hard. My neck is still stiff when I wake up in the morning. I really want to go back soon..." the big man muttered.

Ling Guyue asked: "I wonder how many days it takes to travel from here to Jinling?"

"Hmm..." I don't know if he was very hungry. The big man put the chopsticks in his mouth and said, "It will take about five or six days, let's go south first, speed up the journey, and we can reach Junyang Wharf tomorrow night." , and then take a big boat, go down the river, pass Luling, and arrive at Jinling Ancient Ferry in three or four days."

Hearing that she was going to take a boat, Ling Guyue's face paled.When he was a child, he came to Pingchuan with his mother, and he also took a boat once, but the journey was far away, and his memory seemed to be bumpy in the wind and waves for ten and a half months. Jin, it is better to rest in the town at the foot of the mountain for more than half a month.

"Master Le, is your complexion wrong?" The big man took the Yangchun noodles and took a big mouthful.

"It's nothing... I don't know if the wind and waves on the river are big or not?"

"Usually it's calm, but it's hard to say that it's raining these few days." The big man glanced at Ling Guyue, "Don't worry, my lord, since you put your money here, my brother will naturally keep you safe!"

Ling Guyue smiled wryly and nodded.

After dinner, the two big men unknowingly carried the sedan chair to the door, urging: "Hurry up, the day of the master's confession is not far away!"

So everyone hurriedly packed up their things, paid the bill to the shopkeeper, and left the station.

Along the way, the big man babbled many stories to Ling Guyue Tiannanhaibei, Ling Guyue listened with relish, and echoed a few times from time to time, and the rush was not boring.

It's just that he didn't expect that Shen Luo would send someone to catch up soon, but after so long, there was no sign of Pingchuan's disciple. I'm afraid that person is still dealing with the aftermath of everyone, and he will have time to deal with this matter in the future.

In the evening, the big man randomly found an inn to settle down.

Because of the day's journey, Ling Guyue was not affected by the noise in the room, and she didn't know if there was a girl crying at night, and she fell asleep until the sun was high before waking up.

Finally, at dusk on the second day, everyone arrived at Junyang Wharf.

There are a bunch of people of various teachings and high-level classes crowded by the pier, the peasant woman is holding the baby and breastfeeding, the business travelers are waiting eagerly, and the scholar is holding a long scroll and never forgetting to study hard...

As the setting sun slanted to the west, with the sound of a horn, the last boat at the pier caught up, and the noisy crowd boarded the deck accompanied by fishing smoke.

When the ship was at the helm, the big man allocated rooms for several people, the girl in the sedan chair still had one room, and the rest of the people crowded into the bunks in the lower class cabin.

Ling Guyue said: "Thank you for your kindness, big brother. I suddenly feel unwell today. In order not to affect everyone, I'd better rent another room from the boatman."

The big man knew that he thought the condition of the bunk room was not good, but there was no obstacle to this kind of thing that he didn’t need to pay by himself, so he brought Ling Guyue to the boat boss, and negotiated the price for him, Ling Guyue finally lived in the single room .

Coincidentally, the girl in the sedan chair lived next door to him, and the door knocker was tightly fastened, still tightly locked with a copper lock.Listen carefully, there is no sound from inside.

The big man sent Ling Guyue to the door, and said with a smile: "Life on the boat is very inconvenient, and at night, there is no light at all. Mr. Le, go to bed early, and don't get up when you hear any movement at night. The situation on the river is unpredictable. If there is a storm, no one knows where it will take you. When you arrive at Jinling Ancient Ferry, if you have something to do, you can leave first. If there is nothing important, you might as well go with the brothers. I will be the host and treat you to a glass of wine , it’s like making more friends.”

Ling Guyue cupped her hands and said with a smile: "Definitely."

"By the way, remember to take good care of your belongings. There are many people on board, try not to talk to others. Many meddling only pick on soft persimmons. No one dares to mess with people like us. But don't rush if something happens. , if you don’t worry, come to me, brothers will definitely seek justice for you!" The big man patted his chest and ordered.

Ling Guyue nodded her thanks, waited for the big man to turn around and enter the cabin, then pushed the door open and entered.

It was night, the moon and stars were sparse, there was no wave on the river, and the boat was sailing smoothly.

Ling Guyue ate an unpalatable dinner, and stood on the deck for a while to digest.

Looking at the river from a distance, it is flat and wide, and the mountains on both sides of the bank are full of shadows.The moonlight melted, and silver light ripples flowed out, embellished with shimmering light, suspected to be a fairy road.The birds are tired, the pampas grass is deep, and the river is secluded.

When he turned around and returned to the cabin, he found a sneaky figure standing behind him.By the faint light on the ship's wall, he roughly saw that it was a thin young man in coarse clothes, judging by his stature, he could only reach his shoulder, and he kept wandering in front of his door.

"What's the matter?" Ling Guyue asked.

The boy was startled by him, his eyes dodged, and he didn't answer, he hurriedly lowered his head and left the lower cabin.

Ling Guyue looked at his back and thought: Could it be that he is a thief?He hurriedly poked around in his sleeve, but luckily, nothing was missing.

Back indoors, I lay down on the hard wooden bed, and looked back to see the candles on the table like beans, swaying with the swaying of the ship, dragging the shadow of the table for a long time.

Ling Guyue only felt that she was also shaking with the candlelight, and her eyes became more and more blurred.When I was drowsy, I suddenly heard crying coming through the wall from the next door. It was so sad, as if it was twisting people's hearts and kneading.

Ling Guyue sat up immediately, only to hear the voice sing with a sobbing tone: "Zigui does not say a word, thank you for the flowers, drunk embroidered mandarin ducks, teary eyes hurt you..."

Ling Guyue thought in her heart: It really is that woman again...

"Three grievances against the sky as cold as iron, rich families of gold and jade and cold families of snow. Ask slaves about their thoughts, a river flows, ten years of rain, a thousand grates of blood..."

Ling Guyue sighed, and groped around the wall for a while, but unfortunately she couldn't find a gap to see the next door.

Suddenly, the singing stopped abruptly, and turned into a mournful cry: "My lord..."

The hairs on Ling Guyue's body exploded, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

The author has something to say: catch bugs!