Ninety thousand miles of wind

Chapter 29 [Umbrella Repair] Jiang Chun Enters the Old Year

Jiang Chun enters the old year

一

The Ye family can be called a Zanying family.

When the family was at its most prosperous in the previous dynasty, there were three brothers from the Ye family who became Jinshi together.Although this grand scene was not as good as it was later, it was still the number one scholarly family in the whole state.The old man of the Ye family was selected as a first-class Jinshi at the age of 21, and he spent his whole life in the Imperial Academy. After retiring and returning to his hometown, he tried his best to supervise his children.Until now, Ye Xiu still remembered the main room smelling of sandalwood, and the three-inch ruler in the old man's hand.Every time I think about it, I secretly thank myself that I am smart enough to not be broken.

If he had stayed at home, Ye Xiu would probably have embarked on an official career like his brothers.But he just became obsessed with martial arts and got out of hand.After clearing out the family's martial arts foundation, he ran away from home with three months' worth of money, and went to other sects to be an external disciple—without a recommendation, most of them would not be able to enter the inner sect.

So he met Su Muqiu under Jiangbei Sharpshooter.

Su Muqiu is not tall, thin and small, with a dark complexion, and there is an elf in his gaze.He came from the south, he spoke with an unspeakable softness, and he was very powerful with one hand, and he could knock down a strong man who was a head taller than him in ten rounds; among the foreign disciples, the only one who could Ye Xiu was the one who played against him.

Later, the teaching master went to them and said that next month there will be a martial arts competition in the sect, and if they pass, they can be promoted to the inner sect, and told them to prepare well.Ye Xiu was a little excited, Su Muqiu had nothing to worry about, but he was more serious during practice.

Unexpectedly, both of them lost the election in the end-the only one selected was the son of a wealthy local family.Some people who love to fight against injustices secretly told them that the wealthy family gave Jiangbei Shenqiang two letters of silver.

That night, the two of them were lying in the small room assigned to the outer disciples, and everyone knew that the other was not asleep.When the third watch was over, Su Muqiu suddenly turned over and faced him, his eyes sparkling: "I heard that in Cangzhou, there is a madman who claims to be a fighter, and he is very powerful with a spear. Do you want to go?"

Ye Xiu lowered his voice and asked, "What about your sister?"

"Let's go together." Su Muqiu's eyes were extremely determined.

Ye Xiu didn't say anything, he reached out and shook Su Muqiu's hand, and the matter was settled.

two

In the end, Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu didn't figure out what the origin of this person was.They found a drunk old man in a restaurant in Cangzhou, and before he could say a few words, he was extorted for a meal.Su Muqiu still respected the old and loved the young, and paid the money one by one. The old man looked them back and forth drunkenly, and asked, "You two are not bad. What are you doing here?"

Su Muqiu replied: "I heard that your spear skills are superb. We are here to learn from a teacher."

Zhan Fa sneered, without nodding his head, he just said, "If you want to come, follow along."

So they followed suit.As soon as Zhanfa entered a small courtyard at the foot of the city, the old man opened the door and pointed them to an empty room, then he swayed to sleep, and after a while he snored so loudly that the whole courtyard could hear it.Ye Xiu supported Su Mucheng on his back, and glanced at Su Muqiu: "What should I do?"

"It's good to save the hotel room money, stay here, stay here, stay here."

Su Muqiu is very shrewd.

So the three of them lived in Zhan Fa's house.Although the old man didn't chase people away, he didn't say a single word to his request to accept disciples.The two of them were helpless, so they simply practiced boxing in the courtyard of the Zhanfajiachang. The old man sat on the side, and fell asleep with his head tilted after they finished a set of boxing.

Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu groaned inwardly, but they lost all their entanglements, so they had no choice but to stay at someone's house while going out to sell their performances.Usually, Ye Xiu will come up to play with the flower gun first, and then Su Muqiu will come to show off his arrow skills-this is a trick he has learned since elementary school: first shoot the fruit on the top of the pillar, then Ye Xiu throws it out for him to shoot, and finally plays with a hanging arrow. Let Ye Xiu put the fruit on his head.Ye Xiu wasn't afraid at all, he knew that Su Muqiu's arrow was very steady.And this move is also flattering, every day they can collect hundreds of copper coins.

On the third day, a few big men with unkind faces suddenly appeared in the audience.The two of them saw it, and they acted more cautiously for fear of causing trouble; the others didn't make any noise, and watched until the end, but when Su Muqiu was about to shoot the fruit on Ye Xiu's head, they clamored loudly, saying that it was counted. What kind of moves, no one knows how to shoot with eyes open, it’s not enough to show that you can do it in Cangzhou; if you dare to shoot with your eyes covered, our brothers will be convinced today, if not——

As soon as Su Muqiu showed a half smile, he saw Ye Xiu take a step forward: "You guys can talk, and shoot with your eyes covered."

Su Muqiu grabbed Ye Xiu, "You don't want to die?"

Ye Xiu said, "I still don't believe in your arrow? Come."

Su Muqiu looked at him for a moment, and finally nodded heavily.

The last arrow hit the fruit as usual.

A few big men walked away with their faces in a pot, Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu gathered up a circle of money in the paddock, and went back without saying a word.The last two entered the courtyard gate, Su Muqiu grabbed Ye Xiu by the collar and was about to get angry when the old man who had been hunched over in his tattered cotton coat suddenly took out a spear from the pile of firewood in the courtyard and stabbed it on the ground.

"You two boys are optimistic."

Warfare only said one sentence, then wielded the spear, and performed one move after another. During the dance, various light and shadow lines appeared on the tip of the spear, some with sparks, or raw ice flowers, which was really dazzling.Ye Su and the two were so engrossed that they didn't want to let go of even a single detail—they had never seen or imagined that such martial arts still existed in the world.

In the end, Zhanfa slightly closed his momentum, fell back to the original place, and said:

"The so-called method of warfare is to move forward bravely. Accumulate moves to drive chasers. The more accumulated, the more powerful it becomes. Those who are taboo are indecisive, indecisive, forward-thinking, and chasing Qin Muchu... Therefore, my so-called 'tactics' are not fearless ones." Can't pass it on. You two, it's fine."

If it was later, Ye Xiu, who had been in the arena for many years, might not be so excited by these words.But at that time, he and Su Muqiu were still young after all, they didn't know where a spear could go, but people couldn't go, didn't know how much youthful spirit the entanglement in the rivers and lakes could wear away, and didn't know how hard the world is. Birth, old age, sickness and death, love and parting, resentment and hatred, meeting and not getting what you want.

They were only photographed by that moment of glory, and they stretched out their hands without hesitation or flinching.

Later, when Ye Xiu thought about that day, he might have laughed at himself a little bit, but he never regretted it.

three

Later Ye Xiu always said that Su Muqiu was his brother.

This is not true.They have never been sworn brothers, and there is no brotherhood between the two of them-the two of them have never performed the ceremony of apprenticeship with Zhanfa. The old man just let them go and go to the restaurant every day except for occasionally instructing them on a trick or two. Gotta come back drunk.When Su Mucheng was older, Su Muqiu and Ye Xiu went out again.Together, they were trained by famous swordsmen in the Northland, worked as miscellaneous under the Baibuchuanyang sect, rescued injured assassins and gained a set of Ninja skills, and met a master of ghost swords to exchange cups and get drunk.I don't blame them for being half-hearted about the tactics of warfare, they just said "know yourself and the enemy and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles", so let the two martial idiots learn it with a hammer and a stick.So whether it was spear, sword, boxing or stick, they were all mixed together by Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu. Usually, they practiced with a spear and a stick, and swords and swords flew together.

One day they undid their moves as usual, and lay panting in the middle of the yard. Su Muqiu played with the wooden sword they had used for martial arts, and suddenly said: "I want to make such a weapon, which can be used as a sword, a spear, a stick, Make a gun, make a shield... It changes smoothly, and with this style of play, maybe you can go to the rivers and lakes for a while."

Ye Xiu couldn't think of anything, and said with a smile, "How can there be a weapon that can transform?"

"You think the old man's spear can shoot chasers, what kind of ordinary weapon is it?" Su Muqiu muttered, turned around and saw Zhanfa standing quietly beside him, almost jumped up in fright.

The old man was not upset, but his eyes were a little dazed: "That's right. This battle spear, when forging this spear, added the muscles and bones of different beasts to the black iron, so that it can pile up Chasers during continuous strikes..."

Ye Xiu sat up suddenly: "An alien beast?"

"...Naturally, you have never seen it. As early as in ancient times, the strange beasts had been expelled from China and returned to the outside world. Only those who practiced Taoism could see them."

Su Muqiu also sat up, staring at Zhanfa in surprise: "Are you a cultivator?"

Zhan Fa looked at the two of them for a while, and said: "——The weapon you mentioned, if you want to make it, you have to go to Kunlun Mountain. The real craftsmen are all Kunlun disciples."

"How to get to Kunlun?" Su Muqiu asked with all his energy.

"Kunlun is above the sea of ​​clouds, how do you get there?" Su Muqiu stepped forward and pulled his sleeves: "Since you came from the sea of ​​clouds, you naturally know where is up and down."

"I am an abandoned disciple of Kunlun, how can I get back to the nine heavens again..." The old man shook his white-bearded head, "If you are sincere, I have some methods here. As for the materials—" He pointed at the handle in the courtyard Wututu Spear, "When you can fix it, it will be yours."

Before Ye Xiu could react, Su Muqiu had already replied, "Okay!"

Zhan Fa casually took out a small thin notebook from his pocket and threw it to him, then staggered into the room drunk again.After a while, as usual, they heard a few out-of-the-ordinary lyrics coming from the room, half of them were in their mouths, and they couldn't even make out what was being sung.

"Grandpa started singing again." Su Mucheng, who had been sitting by the side, turned her hair in her hands and said in a low voice, "He sings whenever he's upset."

Ye Xiu asked, "How do you know?"

"One time when you weren't around, Grandpa drank alone in the yard, and started crying while drinking, and still sang that song." Su Mucheng sighed, "Maybe the person who sang that song to him, You must have passed away like your parents..."

Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu were both stunned.The old man in the side room was still hoarse, and finally got cursed by the neighbor before he stopped.

Su Muqiu finally shook his head and raised the notebook in his hand: "I'm going to study this." Seeing what Ye Xiu was going to say, he smiled, "I didn't know you were the most impatient about this? Just help me take care of Xiaocheng." .”

In the autumn of that year, Su Muqiu studied back and forth for three months, and finally forged seven days without sleep, and insisted on reforging the spear of the method of warfare. After tempering for three times, it turned into a kind of black silver, and there was a ray of sharp light on the blade while dancing.Zhan Fa saw that the two men had brought out their spears for him to see, but there was no sadness or joy on their faces, and they only asked, "What name are you going to call this spear?"

"Que Xie." Su Muqiu answered simply.

"Que Xie..." The old man held the spear in both hands, danced it around a bit, and handed it to Ye Xiu, "—a good name. Quemo has lived up to the name."

After finishing speaking, the old man waved the torn sleeves of his cotton robe and entered the room with his hands behind his back.The next morning, if someone went to the room to be empty, only a tin pot and two wine glasses were left on the table.

In the winter of that year, the ground veins were in chaos, miasma overflowed, and strange beasts were seen in the mountains, forests and waters.

It is the beginning of chaos in the world.

four

Later, when Ye Xiu thought about the years when the world was in turmoil, he always felt like a wild dream: the mountains and forests that were usually accessible without hindrance suddenly had more beasts that could breathe poisonous fire, and the big birds that flew over might be able to eat human flesh. The red-eyed monkey can stir up an alley and fight everywhere with swords and soldiers.The officers and soldiers tried to conscript them, but the number of troops involved was too great. In the end, they had to post bonus notices all over the streets, calling for those capable martial arts people to go to the mountains to arrest them.

Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu, these two poor and unprofessional fellows, gained fame at that time.Most alien beasts are invulnerable to swords and guns, but most of them will be lost when they encounter evil.Su Muqiu figured out that it was probably due to the evil material, so he followed the method of refining the weapon in the book, and set up a powerful crossbow to swallow the sun, and worked with Ye Xiu to kill all directions.All of a sudden, when people mentioned strange beasts, they would always mention the names of One Autumn Leaf and the Divine Spear.

Only Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu knew that they were just walking on the thin ice in circles on the abyss.

Even if they had weapons, not all the strange beasts could be dealt with by the two of them.One day they lost their way in the mountains and accidentally strayed into the lair of strange beasts, and they escaped only after risking half their lives.Su Muqiu was picked up by the beast's paw, and when he finally came out, his eyes were almost gone.Ye Xiu couldn't care less about being afraid, so he carried him on his back and ran all the way. He was so busy that he couldn't stop talking, "Think about Xiaocheng, think about Xiaocheng—"

There was frost everywhere in the forest, and they wore so many clothes that Ye Xiu couldn't feel the body behind him still had a trace of heat.After he found a safe cave with great difficulty, his hands were shaking badly when he put Su Muqiu down, for fear that he would have lost his life in this run.

But fortunately, Su Muqiu still kept his eyes open, and when he saw him, he half smiled and said, "You actually cried."

Ye Xiu didn't notice at all.He didn't even reach out to wipe it, he helped Su Muqiu up: "Hold your breath and concentrate, I'll clear your true energy."

Anyway, in the end they supported each other and went back.Holding a lantern, Su Mucheng stood in the alley and waited for them all night, her little face was flushed from the cold, and Su Muqiu gave her a hard training.

That night Ye Xiu told Su Muqiu that this is not acceptable.

Su Muqiu only said, what else?

But in less than half a month, a man named Tao Xuan came to visit and invited the two of them to his villa as guests.

Ye Xiu asked, "How can you trust us?"

Tao Xuan said: "I am also a martial arts practitioner, so I naturally know the heart of a martial artist. What's more, the people are in dire straits right now. Although the two of you are very skilled, after all, you are fighting alone. Even if you get some bonuses, it is just a petty profit. Although my villa Not well-known, at least there are [-] soldiers from the family, and together they can keep one side safe, but isn’t it a bit stronger?”

Su Muqiu cleared his throat and said: "Ordinary soldiers, I'm afraid they will suffer a lot from the strange beasts."

"I have money to buy armor and weapons, and I have money to invite excellent martial arts instructors... I will not let them die." Tao Xuan said, his eyes lingering on Su Muqiu's still sickly face, "What's more, I And I don’t want to see two young heroes just die in vain.”

At this time, Su Mucheng came running over with a cup of tea, just in time to cover up that moment of unpleasant silence.Tao Xuan only waited for Su Mucheng to leave before he said, "Su Daxia, you don't think about yourself, you also have to think about Lingmei."

Ye Xiu didn't wait for Su Muqiu to speak, and jumped ahead: "Then it's settled. We'd like to go to Excellent Era."

After Tao Xuan left, Su Muqiu frowned: "You promised too quickly. What if this person regrets it later?"

"At least he has the integrity of a martial artist, so he won't be fooled in this kind of place." Ye Xiu said, hesitating for a moment and then said, "—like what happened that night, I don't want to encounter it again. "

Su Muqiu put his hand on Ye Xiu's shoulder, as if he wanted to say something, but finally sighed, patted it and put it down.

五

In fact, at the beginning of Excellent Era Villa, Tao Xuan was extremely trustworthy.He has been established in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, he can enjoy both black and white, and his experience in big scenes is far better than Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu.When the other sects were still ignorant, he had already established a connection with the government, and without a few coins, he used the slogan "Prepare the militia" and moved a batch of equipment from the armory; In addition, Tao Xuan recruited a group of masters, and Wu Xuefeng, a qigong master known as Qi Chongyunshui, was also among them.Once there are many people, even the conquest of alien beasts becomes formal and easy; in less than a few months, the counties in Hangzhou have largely settled down, and as long as people travel carefully, they will not be suddenly attacked by alien beasts.

As a result, the large and small industrial and commercial shop guilds in the prefectural city gathered together, beat gongs and drums on Labatou, and sent a plaque of "Protecting the Environment and Safeguarding the People" to Excellent Era.This matter is extremely out of bounds in the past, but now, everything seems to be allowed for a while, and there is no problem.

Tao Xuan was naturally happy that Excellent Era Villa had won such a good reputation, so he invited many celebrities to the manor for the Laba Banquet, and arranged them to serve porridge in various places in the city.At the banquet, first-class craftsmen from Lou Wai Lou were invited, and the top singer from the Hangzhou Song Contest was added to the fun. Everyone in the village received bonus gifts, and even Su Mucheng cut a new shirt, which was rewarded by Tao. Xuan led him to sit on the chair.

Ye Xiu didn't go.

That banquet always reminded him of the family reunion years when he was a child, one by one the juniors first went to the cold ancestral hall to kowtow to the ancestral tablet, and then sat together for a few seats.Ye Xiu never liked these things, but he didn't expect to turn around and see this again here.

So Ye Xiu sat on the roof alone in a daze.On a winter night, a crescent moon eyebrow sticks to the dark blue sky. It is light and thin, as if it will fall off when you reach out and wipe it.He felt a little hungry, and was really impatient to go to the kitchen. While hesitating, a tempting aroma came over him.

"I knew you were here."

The familiar voice made him look down.It wasn't that Su Muqiu was standing at the gate of the courtyard with a food box in one hand and a wine jug in the other, raising his eyebrows at him playfully.

"Why did you come out?" Ye Xiu asked, somewhat inconceivable, "Master Tao must be upset."

"He is leading Xiaocheng around to present treasures, so don't worry about him." Su Muqiu lightly jumped up and spread the things around him, "Today's food and drink are good, I just grabbed a little bit - sorry for you It's no luck."

Ye Xiu didn't hold back either, and started to eat with chopsticks.Su Muqiu watched him eat, and laughed at him for ruining the scholarly family's face.Ye Xiu said that you were taken by Tao Xuan, and you started putting on a show.

Su Muqiu sneered a few times, put his hands behind his head and fell on the tile roof, the sky was full of stars and silver dust falling on the corners of his eyes and brows, and the melodious singing along with the torches in the adjacent courtyard and the front hall made Ye Xiu feel inexplicably tight.

"I told Tao Xuan about the Thousand Chance Umbrella today."

Su Muqiu said suddenly.

Ye Xiu knew that Su Muqiu was talking about the transforming weapon that he could never forget.Although he was running around these days, as long as he had free time, Su Muqiu would write and draw under the lamp.So he put down his chopsticks and asked, "Is there any progress?"

"Recently, I cleaned up a few strange beasts, and made good black iron from the village, and I've made a shelf." Su Muqiu said, "It's just the next step, but it's a lot of trouble."

"But the materials are expensive? So what does Tao Xuan say?"

"Western Silkworm Silk, Yingzhou Blood Shadow Tang Saber, Northland White Wolf Hair, South China Sea Amber Crystal, Bodhidharma Crossing River Reed, Kunlun Mountain Peak Snow Lotus Root..." Su Muqiu counted down the same number, seeing Ye Xiu's speechless expression, "Ha, Tao Xuan has indeed seen the world, so he is more stable than you after hearing this."

"Is he willing to help you find it?"

"Master Tao said that when the villa was first established, there was no such human and financial resources. After a few years, we may try it." Su Muqiu said, there was still great hope in his words.

However, Ye Xiu felt that this promise was extremely insincere. He only thought that this was his friend's long-cherished wish, so he pressed his opinion and said nothing.At night, the cold air pierced his bones, he tightened his clothes, and when he heard the change of the silk and bamboo tune in the front hall, he was vaguely familiar with it.

Su Muqiu next to him also gave an exclamation, and said, "It's the song that the old man always sings."

"you sure?"

"--listen."

So they all fell silent.In the cold night with the waning moon and stars, the line of singing seemed to be interrupted in the silence, but it paused and turned again, and after it was suppressed, it became three-point thick and seven-point pale. Ye Xiu could distinguish the libretto. Tour" section.

"Probably this one?" Su Muqiu turned over and began to pour the wine by himself.

Ye Xiu really can't remember what Zhan Fa once sang: "Or."

"...The old man is quite upbeat. - Would you like some?" Su Muqiu said, handing over the wine glass, "Just take my farewell."

Ye Xiu took the cup in his hand and asked, "Are you leaving?"

"I heard that there is a Kunlun alchemist in Jingzhou. I want to find out. I can always come back before the year." Su Muqiu took a sip of his wine and said, "By the way, bring something new for Xiaocheng." At this moment The libretto was just reaching the line "I live in the south of the Yangtze River", Su Muqiu burst out laughing: "I really don't know who wants the singer to sing this, it's really hard for her."

"Perhaps Tao Xuan invited those literati, so he also wanted to pretend to be elegant." Ye Xiu shook his head, "He is just trying to save face."

"You're just blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Su Muqiu saw through it at a glance, and stabbed Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu licked his lips and poured down the wine in the glass in one gulp, only feeling a hot lump rolling down his throat and down his stomach.

"I can not drink."

As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes felt dazzled and his ears felt hot, and the sky was covered with stars and moons for a moment. He vaguely saw Su Muqiu's funny expression, so he fell down on the roof with a thud.

六

When Ye Xiu got up the next day, Su Muqiu had already left. Before he left, he specially asked Su Mucheng to keep an eye on Ye Xiu and let him practice drinking, saying that Ye Xiu, you can hide from Laba but not thirty. Tao Xuan has to pull you to the table no matter what, how about pouring just one cup?

Ye Xiu didn't care too much, he thought he could just pull your back when he thought of it.

It's just that on the 28th and 29th, Su Muqiu, who said he returned years ago, still didn't come back.In the last Thirty Manor's banquet, only Ye Xiu hugged Su Mucheng, who was wearing a new tufted red padded jacket, to attend.Tao Xuan had just toasted a round of wine, but Ye Xiu bit the bullet and took it, but ended up getting drunk and sleeping through the whole New Year's Eve.

This is not a good sign.

The news came from the third day of junior high school.It was a particularly warm day, and the wind felt a little moist and warm.He took Su Mucheng to the temple fair by the river, and when he came back, he found Tao Xuan was waiting for them at the door with a serious expression on his face.

But when Su Muqiu was rushing back, he encountered a storm in the middle of the river, and everyone in the boat was dragged into the rapids, and no one survived.

Ye Xiu blinked, but before he could react, he heard Su Mucheng cry.He leaned down and hugged her tightly, and slowly understood with a choked sob.

That person just, can't come back.

Later, Jiashi Villa also became a wealthy family who received the ten imperial gold medals.

Later, when people talked about Excellent Era, they always talked about the fighting god One Autumn Leaf and Que Xie in his hands, the sharpshooter Mu Yuchengfeng and the powerful crossbow swallowing the sun, but they couldn't remember that there was a sharpshooter Su Muqiu.

Later, Ye Xiu learned to drink more or less.

Later, he left Excellent Era, left Que Xie behind, and said goodbye to Su Mucheng. He only carried a bare iron umbrella that didn't even have an umbrella on his back as a treasure. It's impossible to collect a complete list of rare and rare treasures.

Later, he talked about his former friends with others, and said: I have a friend who is very good at martial arts, and then he died.

It’s just that when he traveled around the rivers and lakes with the Thousand Chance Umbrella, when he was first asked about his name, he thought about it, and only remembered a few jokes with Su Muqiu a long time ago.

——Using an umbrella on a sunny day is not afraid of being laughed at?

——Then I will take a name and call it "Jun Moxiao".Tell them plainly, Hugh must laugh.

So he put his umbrella on his shoulder, and with his copper pipe in his mouth, he said to Tian Qiyue and Zhongmian:

"I have no family and no sect, I am a loose person, call me 'Jun Mo Xiao'."

[end]