Jinling.
Late spring, light rain.
In the street market, the man announcing the good news was beating gongs and drums, braving the raindrops of cotton silk, and then squeezed through the crowds of people watching the excitement, and passed a crowd of eager scholars. The gongs in his hands shook the sky, and he rushed into a shop called " "Zhuangyuanlou" inn, shouting out names at the top of their lungs and asking for rewards.
"Ah ha, I won, I won, I am the second best, I am the second best!"
Everyone looked at the excitement, but saw an old man who was half a century old, after hearing that he was in high school, first took two steps forward among the crowd with blank eyes, then twitched the corner of his mouth, laughed foolishly, and then sat down on the ground and howled. Crying and going crazy.
Everyone was startled by this sudden scene. At this moment, they saw someone rushing out, rolling up their sleeves, and lifting up the old Confucian scholar with a few big ears.
The second-place finisher was so excited that stars appeared in his eyes and he complained again and again.
Some people were happy and some were sad. Walking two steps further, they saw someone on the bank of the Qinhuai River, shouting: "Hey, everyone, come and take a look. There is a student here who wants to jump into the river. It's new."
Suddenly there was a lot of excitement.
The river was rowing in misty rain, and the banks of the river were filled with red willows and pink flowers. In the solitary boat that was sailing with the waves, the oarsman who was punting the boat was curiously asking the people under the tent: "Young master is also here to take the exam. I wonder if he is in high school?"
"Haha," a chuckle sounded from under the awning, "his name has fallen from Sun Mountain."
The wind and rain drifted in, and suddenly I saw the big sleeves waving. I looked closely and saw that the person under the awning turned out to be a young man who looked like a man in his twenties. He was wearing a Confucian robe and a white shirt with long sleeves. He looked Wenwen, but his face was a little pale. He was thin and cold, with thin lips and narrow eyebrows, eyes like blades, and a chill in his bones.
The young man was sitting casually, holding a bottle of wine in his hand. He seemed to be taking a nap with his eyes closed, and he seemed to be listening to the tunes coming from the shore and the laughter of the girls from the gentle countryside.
"What a terrible murderous intention!" the young man murmured.
The oar worker was an old man who was over sixty years old. He was wearing a straw hat and a hat and wore a pair of bare feet. Hearing the murderous intent, he couldn't help but be startled. He looked around and saw the sound of gongs on the shore. The girls in the brothel and boat were even more excited. Again and again, and then asked inexplicably: "Master, why is there such a murderous intention in this great day?"
The young man raised his eyes, and the tails of his eyes were raised like fox eyes: "How many people have studied hard for ten years, just for this present moment. Although there is no blood, in terms of danger, they are not inferior to the swords and swords in the rivers and lakes."
The old man was still puzzled.
The young man brushed off the raindrops on his body and said with a smile: "The martial arts fighters seem to be fighting for martial arts secrets, money and beauty, but in the final analysis they are just fighting for fame and profit; and these scholars are similar. The winner will be named on the gold medal list. Guangzong Yaozu, the loser's name is like a bet, someone gambles all his life, gambles everything, and finally survives with a bright head and a bright face, and he will have a few more years of good life."
The old man was speechless for a moment, but he quickly laughed and said: "Young master, you are joking. No matter how hard this scholar is, it is better than fighting in the rivers and lakes, drawing swords and drawing blood at every turn."
The young man raised his eyebrows, took a sip of wine, glanced at the wind and rain outside, and just smiled lightly without responding.
The old man suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked next to the young man and saw a long gray cloth package placed there, which looked like a weapon. He immediately fell silent and said no more.
Let's say that the lone boat swung out with the waves and squeezed into a river bank full of boats with pavilions. The young man just got up, put down a few big coins, put the package under his arm, and hurriedly got into the rain. .
Red Mansion.
This is a name, just the name of a building, no different from the many places for men to spend time in Jinling City.
A red light is hung high at the corner of the building. Every night, they will leave the shore and pick up guests along the way. In addition to those promiscuous women who earn money by posing, they can also recite poems and write poems, talk about elegance, and they can also be dirty and vulgar, and engage in some shady business; the people who come and go include both high-ranking officials and high-ranking people, as well as people from the world. Heroes, white masters, evil heretics, green forest heroes, in short, if you have money, you can have everything.
Seeing the young man coming back in the rain, looking a little embarrassed, many of the girls who were lying on the railings looking forward to him suddenly looked disappointed.
In the eyes of these people, the young man looks very good, speaks well, and has a reputation for talent. He has written a few songs, and he often walks around and gets close to him. Most of them hope that one day they will win, and they may not be able to get out of this trap. Opportunity for Washi.
But now that their wish failed, they all decided to look forward to the other scholars who had not yet returned.
The young man didn't care and walked very quickly to a wing on the second floor.
It was dusk outside the window, and the mist and rain were hazy. Many colorful lanterns were lit one after another on both sides of the bank, and the color of the reflected river changed. Coupled with the faint sounds in the rain, and the music of some so-called masters and famous prostitutes, Suddenly, a vivid Qinhuai night scene was outlined.
The young man exhaled a long breath: "I failed the exam."
Who is the young man?
Who else could it be but Li Muchan?
He was not that surprised by this result. Even though he could easily become the top pick in high school with the help of the "Blue Dragon Club", Li Muchan did not do that.
To him, achieving the same thing, getting it personally, and giving it to others are completely different things.
In Li Muchan's view, the result is just a goal to strive for. What is truly valuable is the challenge brought by the result itself, and the sense of accomplishment, joy, and conquest that arises at the moment of achieving the result. the pleasure it brings.
Just like if a person wants to stand on a high place, he must first endure hardships and sweat. Although it is difficult and dangerous, when he stands on the top and overlooks the mountains, he will find that everything he has paid is worth it.
Now, more than three months have passed since the original gathering in Chang'an City.
Li Muchan did not dwell too much on the issue of failing the exam, but concentrated on unpacking the baggage he brought back.
Inside it turned out to be a painting.
There are mountains and water in the painting. The mountain is a steep mountain with thousands of cliffs, towering into the clouds. It looks like a unique divine front, which is fantastic, magnificent and majestic. The water is green water, surrounding the mountain, isolated from the world, and the depth is unknown.
Between the high mountains and green water, there is a low mountain, leaning against the cliff and facing the green water.
And on the low mountain, deep in the woods, there was a majestic mountain villa.
There is a line of words in the lower corner of the painting.
"On the ninth day of April... Under Cuiyun Peak, by the Green Water Lake, Xie Xiaofeng, the third young master of Shenjian Villa..." Just seeing these few words, Li Muchan's hand holding the painting tightened, and the last two words The word made his expression change even more, because it was, "Capture alive!"
Qinglonghui actually plans to take action against Shenjian Villa?
Li Muchan frowned. The reason for acting like this was not difficult to guess. It was simply that Da Longshou intended to use Xie Xiaofeng to contain or even control Shenjian Villa.
What's even more bizarre is that as the scroll is opened, within a dozen breaths, everything on the painting disappears and disappears, leaving only a blank scroll.
Li Muchan's eyes were filled with light. In the past three months, he had almost forgotten that he was the Seventh Dragon Head of the "Qinglong Society". In addition to studying, he practiced Kung Fu, and it seemed as if the Great Dragon Head had forgotten him. He didn't want to think about it. It was a move, but a surprising move, he actually came up with the idea of "Excalibur Villa".
He was not alarmed by this matter. Xie Xiaofeng had not yet matured, and no matter how powerful he could be, the real opponent in this battle should be the foundation accumulated by "Excalibur Villa".
And it is absolutely impossible to let him act as a dragon leader, there must be experts coming.
"That's interesting."
In the silent night, with more and more lights outside the window, two books were placed in front of Li Muchan at some point. The night wind blew in, and the two secret books trembled. The pages were turned, and the contents on them were revealed. The painted portraits are so vivid that they seem to jump out of the paper.
The light and rhyme of the handwriting flowed, and the portrait changed with the wind. In Li Muchan's dark eyes, all these gradually gathered into a few words.
"The Heavenly Buddha casts down the devil's palm!"
