Huishan City got its name because it is the place where three mountains converge.
At dawn, the Huishan City Gate slowly opened, and the traveling merchants and people who had been waiting outside the city for a long time swarmed toward the city gate. Either entering the city or leaving the city, it's a prosperous scene.
Among this bustling crowd, there was a young man in green clothes, wearing a bamboo hat, pushing through the crowded crowd with one hand, and walking out of Huishan City holding a short donkey with the other.
On the donkey sat a delicate woman. She was also wearing a bamboo hat, but along the lower edge of the bamboo hat, a layer of white gauze hung down, blocking her delicate face.
Looking at the outfits of these two people, they look like a newlywed couple. He must have just gotten married and left the city to go back to his parents' home.
After walking seven or eight miles outside the city, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The man quietly turned back and glanced at the pipeline behind him. When he saw that no one was following him, he turned to smile and said, "Sister Shan, we are finally out of the city. In the future, the sky will be high and the sea will be broad, let us fly freely."
The woman named Shan Mei blushed and said shyly: "Chen Lang, Shan'er didn't expect that you would really leave the Lingxiao Pavilion for me and not think about the matter of seeking immortality. In the future, you really don't think so. Will you regret it?"
Chen Lang smiled happily and said: "What silly things did Sister Shan say? Although Xunxian Wenwen is good, it is just a few more years of life than ordinary people. If you can't cultivate the realm of immortality, you still can't escape the fate of death. But in life, , there are more beautiful things to pursue. What’s more, if I, Chen An, can win sister Shan’s favor and marry me, this life will be enough, what else do I want!”
When Shanmei heard Chen Lang's affectionate confession, she couldn't help but feel a sweet feeling in her heart.
"It's just... what about Lingxiao Pavilion? It's also one of the nine sects of the righteous path. Will he let you leave the sect?"
It turns out that Chen An is a disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion. Ever since I met this fragile woman named Shan Mei, whose origin was unknown, I have been deeply attracted by her appearance. However, when you are in Lingxiao Pavilion, you must strictly abide by the rules of the pavilion. Without the consent of the master of Lingxiao Pavilion, the disciples cannot get married at will.
But Chen An is just an ordinary outer disciple in Lingxiao Pavilion. If he wants to wait until the pavilion master proposes marriage, he must become an inner disciple or achieve certain achievements.
If you marry someone without permission from the Pavilion Master, you will inevitably be punished by Lingxiao Pavilion according to the rules. Thinking of what would happen if Chen Lang left Lingxiao Pavilion without permission, Shanmei became worried again.
"Hey, Sister Shan, don't worry. I'm just a small outer disciple of Lingxiao Pavilion. How can I get into the eyes of the Pavilion Master? Besides, I have a very good relationship with the Altar Master who guards Huishan City. I have long been secretly given to him. He gave me some silver and asked him to quietly draw a name for me. From now on, I will no longer be from Lingxiao Pavilion."
Every Lingxiao Pavilion disciple, whether from the outer sect or the inner sect, has his name recorded in the book. It's just that the records for outer disciples are relatively simple. As long as the altar master or incense master they belong to agrees, they can tear off this page, which means they agree to leave Lingxiao Pavilion.
After hearing Chen An's explanation, Shanmei was relieved. Watching Chen An lead the donkey to lead the way, he is full of hope for the future life. A trace of guilt flashed in the corner of his eyes, and he opened his mouth several times to speak, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them again.
"Sister Shan, I know that you have had no father or mother since you were a child, and it is not easy for you to live alone until now. Fortunately, I have been able to do things smoothly in Lingxiao Pavilion over the years. Although my cultivation level is not high, I have saved a lot of money. Less. When we find a stable place, we will use the money to buy some farm animals and spend the rest of our lives well." The more Chen An said, the happier he became. He was chattering along the way, and his excitement was palpable.
After enduring it all the way, Shanmei finally couldn't hold it in anymore and said softly: "Mr. Chen, actually I...Actually I am not an orphan...I still have some relatives at home..."
Chen An didn't seem to realize the meaning of Shanmei's words. Instead of blaming her for deceiving him, Chen An said excitedly: "Really? It turns out that you have a family, Sister Shan! That's great. I wonder where you live?" Let’s rush over right away so we can reunite with them!”
Shanmei stuttered a few times: "They... they... forget it, I'll tell you later..."
Before Shanmei could finish her words, Chen An suddenly pointed to an inn with a Hakka flag next to the official road and said: "Sister Shan, you must be tired after walking for so long. Let's go to the inn in front first. Take a rest and drink some tea to warm yourself up. It won’t be too late to go join your relatives.”
Suddenly interrupted by Chen An, Shan Mei breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and said, "Shan'er will listen to Mr. Chen's arrangements."
When he got to the door of the inn, after Chen An tied up the donkey, he immediately stretched out his arm, held Shan Mei's beautiful hand with one hand, and blocked the front with the other hand, and warned: "Shan sister, slow down, your legs and feet are inconvenient, it is not easy to get down from the top. Be careful. If you get hurt somewhere, I will feel bad."
Shanmei's face turned red, and a sweet feeling filled her heart. After letting out a soft cry, he fell to the ground with Chen An's help.
This Shan girl was just like what Chen An said. She walked as if the wind was blowing in the willows, and her steps were extremely small. Moreover, every time she took a step, her pretty face couldn't help but tighten. It looked like his legs had some old injuries.
As soon as I walked in, the waiter ran over. He led the two of them to a seat by the window, smiled attentively, moved the chair, took off the white shoulder strap, wiped the chair surface, and invited them to sit down.
It was not yet noon, and there were not many merchants coming and going. Most of them were tired from walking here, so they ordered a pot of tea and a few plates of snacks, sat down and rested for a while, and then continued on their way. Therefore, there were not many people in the entire inn. Roughly speaking, there were only four or five tables of guests.
After greeting the two of them to sit down, the waiter smiled attentively and said: "Two guests, it seems that you are going home to visit the bride. I wonder if you want to eat something when you pass by this little shop?"
Shanmei's face turned red at what he said, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Mr. Chen, just watch and order something. Let's rest for a while and then set off quickly."
Perhaps seeing Shan Mei's shyness, Chen An nodded and said, "Brother from the shop, please bring me a pot of Cuiyue tea and two plates of your best snacks. My wife and I are tired from walking. I hope you can come up soon."
"Okay!" The waiter threw the white shawl over his shoulder and left quickly, shouting to the kitchen: "A pot of fine Cuiyue tea and two plates of specialty snacks~~~"
Seeing the waiter walking away, Shanmei said in a low voice: "Mr. Chen... you and I have not been married as husband and wife without the permission of our parents. Next time in front of outsiders, please don't call me Niangzi again." ”
Chen Anpei said with a smile: "Mei Shan taught me a lesson. However, we are outside the city and there are still a lot of bad guys. I say this because I don't want others to be suspicious."
Shanmei replied: "I know...it's just...it's just..."
"Chen An understands, Chen An'an understands." Chen An said softly: "Previously, I didn't know that you still had elders alive, so I didn't want to do the gift of three matchmakers and six betrothals. I just wanted to get out of Lingxiao Pavilion and marry me. You find a remote mountain village and live a life where men farm and women weave."
"However, since we know that there are elders in your family, this etiquette is indispensable. When we arrive at your home, I will have a grand party and marry you into my Chen family's door and become my Chen family. An’s wife.”
Speaking of future life, Chen An started talking again, constantly looking forward to a good life in the future. She didn't even notice that Shanmei's sadness just now resurfaced again.
After a while, the waiter brought tea and snacks. After Chen An thanked her, he thoughtfully took the teacup and poured a cup of tea for Shanmei.
"Sister Shan, please take a sip of hot tea to warm yourself up first." Then he handed over the bowls and chopsticks, pointed at the two plates of snacks and said, "And these two snacks are not inferior at all to Zhiweizhai in the city. , come and try it. I think back then, every time I went out of town to do errands, I would come here and ask for a pot of tea and two snacks."
After Shanmei took a sip of tea, she showed a contented smile. Then pick up a small piece of snack and put it into your mouth. It feels sweet and silky in the mouth, and it really has a bit more fragrance than ordinary snacks.
Looking at Shan Mei's expression, Chen An said as if he was taking credit: "Sister Shan, I didn't lie to you. If you think it tastes good, we can bring more to eat on the road when we leave later."
"Yeah." Shanmei nodded and couldn't help but pick up another piece of snack and put it into her mouth.
"Housekeeper! Cut up five kilograms of large pieces of beef for the gentlemen, and bring two jars of fine wine. We have been busy all night, and we need to have a good meal!"
I heard the door of the inn being pushed open from the outside, and four big men strode in from the outside after shouting at the top of their voices.
First, he looked around the store, and then walked to the largest table in the inn. He slapped the weapons in his hands onto the table and sat down in a circle.
The atmosphere in the inn, which had been quite quiet just now, immediately changed with the arrival of the four people. When the other guests at the other tables saw the arrival of the four people, they all lowered their voices and did not dare to take a breath.
There were two tables of guests. After hurriedly finishing the remaining drinks and snacks, they called the waiter to pay for the meal and hurried out. The remaining three tables of guests were also busy packing their bags, not even paying attention to the fact that there was still most of the food and wine on the table. They also wanted to check out and leave the inn quickly.
After Chen An cursed, Yan Mian whispered: "What a bad luck! How could we meet someone from Guiyuan Villa so early in the morning!"
From Chen An's tone, it is not difficult to tell the origins of these four people. They are the people of Guiyuan Villa who have always had old grievances with Lingxiao Pavilion.
Different from Lingxiao Pavilion's behavior, the disciples of Guiyuan Villa have always been domineering. Even as one of the nine righteous sects, they not only fail to protect the safety of the people. Instead, relying on his advanced cultivation, he has many disciples. He bullies good people everywhere and colludes with some local ruffians to frighten one party.
You can get a clue of this from the reactions of the guests at the other tables.
Shanmei said worriedly: "Mr. Chen, you must have some old grudges with them since you have been in the Lingxiao Pavilion for many years! What would happen if they discovered us?"
Chen An snorted coldly and said: "Don't be afraid, Sister Shan! After all, I am also at the peak level of concentration. I also recognize the four bastards from Guiyun Villa, most of them are at the later stage of concentration. Only the leader is the one , your cultivation level is about the same as mine. If there is really going to be a conflict, I will definitely protect you and leave."
Shanmei shook her head and said, "No! Mr. Chen, let's check out and leave immediately. Don't let them recognize you! I'm afraid... I'm afraid you'll get hurt..."
Shanmei's words made Chen An calm down immediately. He stretched out his hand to hold Shanmei's Rouyi and said: "Haha, don't worry, Shanmei. I know the seriousness of the matter. How can I be fighting and killing unless it is a last resort?" What about killing? If this makes you worry, that’s what really makes me uneasy."
"Besides, I have already left Lingxiao Pavilion. Even if they do recognize me, as long as I tell the truth, the four of them will not make it difficult for us."
"Well, I hope so." Shanmei nodded, and imitated the behavior of those guests. After eating a few snacks in a hurry, she urged Chen An to settle the bill quickly, so that the four people at Guiyun Villa could not wait. After noticing the two of them, they immediately left the inn.
The waiter must have known why the guests were leaving in a hurry. A waiter was assigned to greet the four of them, and another waiter quietly settled the accounts for them and then told them to leave quickly.
Chen An lowered his head and pressed the bamboo hat on his head. Then he supported Shan Mei with both hands, first helped her tidy up the white gauze on her face, then supported her and walked quickly towards the door.
Just four disciples from Guiyun Villa happened to be sitting at the entrance. When the two of them passed by, the leading man on the opposite side suddenly let out a light sigh, and a hint of a lewd smile emerged.
