In early spring, the weather is slightly cold, which is a good season for everything to sprout and the vegetation to be green and tender.
A clear stream flows out of the mountains and gradually merges into a river, passing through woods, fields, and towns, flowing eastward day and night. Both sides of the river bank are lined with willow trees that have just sprouted bright yellow shoots.
It is not yet the season for catkins to fly, and the weeping willows by the river are especially peaceful.
On the official road by the river bank, two horses came slowly. The passengers on the horses were all young men with outstanding talents. The older one was less than twenty years old, with a handsome manner and high spirits. The younger one was sixteen or seventeen years old, with good looks and good looks. She is so gorgeous that she can't even hide her bookish aura.
Although the two were riding horses, they did not let go of the gallop. Instead, they loosened the bridle and walked slowly along the river, just like traveling in the mountains and rivers.
"Ha-yawn" The young boy yawned long and hard on the horse.
The older boy tilted his head slightly and said disgustedly: "What's going on? I kept breathing so early in the morning. What did you do last night?"
"Last night... I stayed up late to study." Another boy covered his mouth and said perfunctorily.
The older boy shook his head repeatedly: "Tsk, tsk, today's young people are really bad. When I was your age, I would go to bed late and get up early, and stay up all night, which was fine. It's not like you did this in one night. You just went down the mountain. This way, the bumps on the road won't break your little body."
Another young man recalled for a moment and said, "When you were my age? Wasn't that four years ago? Four years ago you were pretending to be in front of people during the day and staying up late at night to practice. It was really hard to reverse day and night."
Stimulated by him, Jiang Shenyi said angrily: "Hey, is this your attitude when talking to senior brother? While there is no one around now, do you want me to teach you a lesson? What does senior brother mean?"
Tang Zhao said with a smile: "What? You have to teach your juniors a lesson before you can become a senior brother? Our sect has also changed the rules. Those with strong soldiers and horses are senior brothers? That's a good relationship. Let's go back to the villa and win the bird position. I will be the senior brother. You Just be my little senior brother, okay?"
Jiang Shenyi said: "What a fart! Why should you be the senior brother and I be the junior senior brother? I want to be the senior brother. Ah, brat, be honest with me. This is your first time going down the mountain to another place, right? I've been down there before. I have been through mountains many times and walked a long way, so I have rich experience. You must listen to me honestly, otherwise I will throw you away at the entrance of the downtown area and you will cry and you will not be able to find your home."
Tang Zhao smiled and said: "This is my first time going down the mountain, but I was at the foot of the mountain before I went up the mountain."
Jiang Shenyi said: "Haha, can that be the same? Did you know how to pretend to be a qualified famous disciple before you went up the mountain? Can you travel in the world? If I hadn't taught you how to travel in the world, I would have arrived in Jianzhou in three days with my Flying Wind and Thunder Wings Why do I need to go out a month in advance and hang out with you on a big animal?"
Tang Zhao said: "That's true. What do you want to teach me, senior brother?"
Jiang Shenyi turned his eyes and said: "I'll teach you - just follow me first!" Suddenly he whipped his whip and galloped on his horse, running far away in a flash.
"If you don't follow me, you won't have anything to eat!"
Tang Zhao hurriedly followed the horse, chasing after him, shouting: "Senior brother——"
Seeing that his speed was not as good as his own, Jiang Shenyi knew that his equestrian skills were average, so he said proudly: "What do you want me to do?"
"When will you pay me the money you owe me?"
"roll!"
The two of them chased each other on the road, both with the excitement of just coming down the mountain. Tang Zhao had a good relationship with everyone on the mountain, but when it came to friends he could play with, Jiang Shenyi was really the only one. Hua Xifu was his friend, but after all, they were in different circles and lived far away. Xue Yeyu is also close to him, but there is a big age gap and she is more like an older sister.
Jiang Shenyi is Tang Zhao's neighbor. He is four years older than him, but he went up to the mountain earlier. He spent almost all his teenage years on the isolated Jiugao Mountain. He has a proud and competitive temperament with simplicity, and is more childish than his peers. Tang Zhao After great events, he becomes more mature than ordinary children. The two of them are considered to be of the same age, even in the eyes of their master and sister, Tang Zhao is more stable than Jiang Shenyi.
The two grew up together for more than three years. They are considered classmates and have a close relationship. They are not as polite as other senior brothers. They often tease each other. They are a pair of bad friends. They have no scruples when they go down the mountain and do whatever they want.
After chasing for a while, suddenly, the two of them slowed down at the same time and reined in their horses slowly.
At the bend of the long river, under a big willow tree, stood a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man had a rough appearance, an unkempt beard, disheveled hair, half a square scarf draped around his neck and shoulders, and a blue scholar's shirt that had been washed white. He looked like a poor scholar.
A figure like this shouldn't attract anyone's attention, but the two of them saw the sword behind him at a glance.
Sword!
He is a swordsman!
The so-called sword master is a preliminary swordsman who has found a suitable sword but has not yet understood the heart of the sword. This kind of person is only one step away from being a swordsman. Although there are some people who cannot understand the sword's heart and become a swordsman, they are a minority. Except for some Tianhuang nobles who hold golden keys and have excellent family backgrounds, most swordsmen who get the opportunity to hold swords are all talented and resolute people. It is only a matter of time before they realize the heart of the sword.
The reason why I recognized him as a swordsman at a glance was that most of his swords were carried on his back and were always half unsheathed, making it easy to recognize him. It is said that when the sword is unsheathed on a certain day and the sword light blooms, it will be the swordsman's birthday.
Although you don't need to be extremely cautious when meeting a swordsman than when meeting a swordsman, you still need to be respectful. It was too rude to gallop by, so they both dismounted and led their horses past him. After all, Zhuoyu Villa is a famous family, Xue Xianyun is a famous teacher, and both of them are well-educated.
When passing behind the middle-aged man, both of them bowed slightly and did not disturb each other. The man seemed oblivious and touched the weeping willow with his fingers and murmured: "Yantai willow, Yantai willow..."
These two sentences are like a poem that Tang Zhao memorized. He continued almost silently: "The youth of the past are still there today..."
Although his voice was very soft and his lips only moved a few times, the middle-aged man didn't seem to notice it. Tang Zhao still realized that he was being abrupt, kept silent, bowed again, and led the horse away with Jiang Shenyi.
After walking a mile, the two of them mounted their horses, stopped galloping, and moved forward at a steady speed. After another two miles, Jiang Shen let out a breath and said, "This is also a jackpot. You can meet Jian Sheng on the roadside. How about sleeping in the middle of the night without a swordsman jumping out of the window?"
Tang Zhao hurriedly said: "Don't talk about this, I have a psychological shadow."
In fact, if we really talk about strength, both of them feel that regardless of whether they are swordsmen or just swordsmen, they may not be incapable of fighting. However, they are not out to cause trouble, so they can just maintain respect and be lenient.
Walk along the river without leaving the official road. The two of them bypassed Jichun City at noon. There was no big city within a hundred miles, and it was difficult to enter the city to rest. That night, the two of them rested at the inn next to the avenue.
The inn was originally an official inn. The main courtyard accommodated official families, and there were also side rooms rented out for people and businessmen to travel to and from. Tang Zhao now had the official status of Procuratorate. If he showed his identity, he could live in the main room of the post station. However, he felt that one more thing was better than one less thing, so he only paid for the side room and sold some pancakes to the postman. Eat stew.
Along the way, Jiang Shenyi couldn't help but show off the details of being cautious when going out. For example, you need to test for poison when eating, for example, you must not reveal your wealth, for example, you need to check whether there are holes in the room, especially in small places such as the window paper, and whether the tiles on the house are complete, which is quite clear. The only pity is that he forgot to bring the money, which was paid by Tang Zhao.
The two of them chatted after washing up at night, and inevitably they talked about the passing swordsman. Jiang Shenyi said: "According to your observation, what is his sword intention? What is the sword elephant?"
It is not polite to guess the swordsman's sword intention and sword image in person. It is just like spying on other people's martial arts. It will inevitably lead to hostility and even cause conflicts, but it doesn't matter if we chat in private behind closed doors. Who doesn't analyze intelligence or something?
Tang Zhao pondered for a while and said: "We are just guessing. Anyway, there are only a few clues. If I want to guess that the sword elephant can only be a willow tree."
Jiang Shenyi said: "I guess so. When a swordsman wants to learn the sword, he always has a hazy feeling and wants to go to the things that convey the sword's intention. He must have feelings for the willow tree. The sword is easy to guess, but the sword's intention is a bit more ethereal. , but it’s not impossible to guess. Willow, Tongliu. Folding willows has always been a way of saying goodbye. Is there a poem about it?”
Tang Zhao said: "There are many. In the past, I went there, and the willows clung to them. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling. Also, when the willow branches are broken and the flowers fly away, I would like to ask the passers-by whether they are returning? Oh, and there is that - whose jade The sound of the flute flying in the dark spreads into the spring breeze and fills Luo City. Hearing the broken willows in this nocturne, who can not forget the feeling of hometown."
Jiang Shenyi stopped him and said: "Okay, okay, I know you have ink in your belly, so that's what it means. Anyway, taking the willow means reluctance to let go. I see a look of nostalgia on his face, maybe thinking of his old friend .Probably a woman."
Tang Zhao said: "Woman? Is it really Zhang Tailiu? How did you tell?"
Jiang Shenyi said: "Of course I can see it. That feeling of deep nostalgia and inability to leave. It would be so disgusting to think of a man. It must be a woman."
Tang Zhao muttered: "Really or not?"
Senior brother, you have no experience at all, how can you be so sure?
Jiang Shenyi said confidently: "You heard me right. Enlightenment of swords often requires strong emotions or persistence, and it is not uncommon to use love as a guide to enlightenment. You may have often seen that their sword elephants are very gentle and affectionate. Beauty, such as wind, flowers, snow, moon, etc., can also be withered and ugly, which means losing the one you love or even giving birth to hatred out of love."
Tang Zhao felt that there was some truth and said: "Since he is nostalgic for a woman, could it be that the sword elephant is not a willow but a woman?"
Jiang Shenyi said: "Of course it's impossible. The first thing the sword elephant is afraid of is complexity, and the second thing is wisdom. Especially it can't be a human elephant, otherwise it will be difficult to come, let alone manifest. Even if you see a person when you feel the sword's intention, it will usually dissipate. , leaving only the images on her body, such as a pearl hairpin, a round fan and so on."
Tang Zhao nodded, feeling that he had been taught a lesson. In the past few years, he had devoted all his attention to talismans and martial arts. He studied hard day and night. His understanding of swordsman knowledge was not as good as that of Jiang Shenyi. He said: "I didn't expect that senior brother is well-informed..."
As he was talking, suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
It was already late at night. The post station was not an inn, but only a post station. It was impossible to serve late at night, and there were no acquaintances inside or outside. The two of them suddenly became alert, and at the same time they silently went to the ground and took out their weapons.
Tang Zhao raised his voice and said, "Who is it?"
Someone outside the door said: "It's me. Do you two little friends still remember our meeting under the willow tree by the river?"
