When Chu Yuanxiao went to the small town school, he felt inexplicably that this small town school with simple construction seemed to be the same as the five-square pavilion in the center of the town. It looked the same, but it seemed to be different. .
However, for today's teenagers, it no longer seems as difficult as before to cross the threshold that seemed a little high before.
On the day when the girl in red pushed him into the gate of the rural school, he formally paid homage to the teacher in a study room in this courtyard with three bows and nine kowtows, and brought out a thousand-character essay. From that day on, it seemed that some things had quietly become different.
Today is another day off for the country school. Many young people of school age in the town were taken away from the town three nights ago, so in the next two days, the number of students who came here to study was very small. too much.
Hou Junchen said that before leaving that night, Ya Sheng sent a little spiritual light between the eyebrows of ordinary people in the town. It had no other use. Without exception, it sealed their understanding of certain things. And memory, and this time the spell casting also included the four contemporary family heads with the four major surnames in the town who once knew many things.
Therefore, even though Chen Ji, the legitimate son of the Chen family next door to the rural school, and Liu Qingqiu, the eldest daughter of the Liu family on Qingshui Street, have left the town, the people in the town, including the heads of the Chen and Liu families, only remember that there were a group of The young man left this place to study in a foreign country, but no one remembers clearly where they actually went, but what is somewhat magical is that no one seems to be surprised by this.
Everyone in the world has their own life to live. Except for the parents whose children have been taken away, they will feel more worried about them. After ten days and a half, other people will be aware of these things. There are strange and strange things that are common...
All living beings in the world have always been forgetful.
But when it comes to this matter, I have to mention a few other related things.
Liu Qingqiu, the eldest daughter in white clothes with a simple personality, lived in the small town. Except for going out to study at the Taoli Street Township School, she basically stayed in the big house of the Liu family on Qingshui Street. She rarely goes out and rarely interacts with outsiders. Chu Yuanxiao heard Hou Junchen mention it once before, saying that the eldest daughter of the Liu family was extremely talented and ranked first among her peers in the town. If she didn't If something unexpected happens, she will definitely be taken back to Shijizhou by the Longquan Sword Sect standing behind the Liu family and become a direct disciple of the inner sect of the Sword Sect. Maybe when we meet again in the future, she will probably be the next Ye Yujian of the Xihe Sword Sect. Immortal, or an immortal figure like the Moon Shadow Sword Immortal of the Qinglian Sword Sect.
But after the battle on the Spring Equinox night, I heard from the caller that something happened to the "no accident" before. Liu Qingqiu, who was supposed to go to Longquan Sword Sect of Shijizhou, ended up following Feng, who was ranked fourth. The Quan Sect went to Longchizhou and became the second disciple of the Longquan Sword Sect. This seemed to be a precursor to the unexpected arrival of two more people from the Longquan Sword Sect.
Although Fengquan Sect is the second branch of Longquan Sword Sect and is also nominally under Longquan Sword Sect, there is one word missing in the name of the Immortal Family. In addition, the mountain gate is opened in Longchizhou, which is different from the main sect. Longquan is separated by a sea that spans more than 100,000 miles, so it is obvious that this arrangement is somewhat similar to the "leftward migration" in the imperial court official system.
Another thing is about Zhu Zhen, the legitimate son of another family with the surname Zhu.
Now it seems that Zhu Jiantang, the head of the Zhu family, made the choice to do the Shuixiu Lake incident. It can not but be said that it was a foresight to prepare for a rainy day. Some of the predictions of the head of the Zhu family during the battle on the night of the Spring Equinox. , which is basically equivalent to a conclusive verification. The Yanguan Formation is broken, the Jiazi Pact is over, and all the four major surnames in the town have lost the protection of the four major sword sects. So in the future, whether the four major surnames can still be the four major surnames, it is necessary It’s all up to you.
In addition, although the head of the Zhu family seemed to be unwise regarding the Shuixiu Lake matter, it was a blessing in disguise that he succeeded in the latter round. On the day when Su Sanzai went to reason with the Zhu family, that The little fat Zhu Zhen has already entered the shop of Shopkeeper Fan in Zhenxi Yunhaijian.
Logically speaking, although the old shopkeeper Fan is also a top-level being among all the schools of thought, he has opened a shop in the town for many years. In fact, he is not in the category that Yasheng said is not allowed to stay in the town. Among the people, but for some unknown reason, the founder of the merchant family also chose to leave with other outsiders that night, and of course he took Zhu's little fat man with him.
Before leaving, the round-faced and handsome old shopkeeper also asked the watchman to bring a message to Chu Yuanxiao, saying that half of the property of Hanji Restaurant in the center of the town has not yet been transferred to Yunhaijian's account, but Ya Sheng has been granted the title. After the townspeople each have their own memories, this debt may not be easy to collect. Let the young man figure out what to do. As for the debt of Shijizhou Yunlin Sect, Mr. Su does not need to come forward again. Shopkeeper Fan will be responsible for personally helping to collect it, and then record it to the account of a Yunhai branch in Shijizhou. The world of Yunhai is one family. If Chu Yuanxiao needs money in the future, he can go directly to the small town. It doesn't matter if you withdraw money from your account in the sea of clouds!
Hou Junchen also said that the reason why the old shopkeeper did this was clearly stated in his message. Even if it was to repay a favor for his new apprentice, it was another favor besides the debt collected by Su Sanzai. , which is roughly equivalent to adding the three words used to apologize.
In addition to the above-mentioned people, this remote town also had many familiar faces on this trip, including the storyteller Mr. Lu, the blacksmith Gan Quan, and others who had been in the small town for a long time. Most of the foreign monks who had settled in the town for a long time quietly left without saying hello to anyone, and naturally disappeared from the sight of the people in the town. Especially the storyteller Mr. Lu, who even gave young people Chu Yuanxiao and He didn't leave a chance to say thank you, and disappeared without a trace, without saying where he was going or leaving a single word.
As for the new faces who came after the town opened, such as the white-dressed girl Li Yuyao from the Xihe Sword Sect, the red-dressed girl Jiang Chenyu from the Nanxizhou Jiang Sect, and the tiger-like white paper from the Yuanjia Sword Sect. The young man with the folding fan had also left this place in advance, as if they had made an appointment, and each of them only left four words: Goodbye in the world.
Up to now, except for the four saints who have not left, it seems that the only immortal monk left in the town is Hou Junchen, a slovenly man. The young man walked all the way from the town entrance to the rural school. On the way, I suddenly felt that this small town in the northwest, which was surviving after the disaster, suddenly became empty and deserted overnight.
…
When the young man found Mr. Cui, the blue-shirted Confucian scholar seemed to have returned to the quiet and indifferent state he was accustomed to as a small-town private school teacher.
The young man knocked on the door of the study room in the backyard, and when he was allowed to enter the house, he saw his husband sitting behind the desk in the house, holding a book of Confucian sages in his hands, quietly expounding exegesis and annotating. Study quietly.
When the young man saw this, he turned around and closed the door gently. He bowed and saluted quietly but did not speak, so as not to disturb his husband's study.
The Confucian scholar in green shirt did not keep the young man waiting for a long time. He put down the book in his hand after only a moment, then raised his head and looked at this new student whom he had just met, and looked at it carefully. His expression was good or bad, a little relieved, but also a little worried.
The young man bent down deeper and said hello softly: "Hello, sir."
The middle-aged teacher smiled and nodded, raising his hand to motion for the young man to come over and sit on the futon opposite his desk, and then said: "How do you feel after you wake up? Mr. Hou must have told you something, right?" "
This was the first time in the young man's memory that he heard Mr. Cui refer to that sloppy man as "Shaofu". In the past, he seemed to have mostly called him Mr. Hou.
The so-called "Young Mansion" naturally refers to the identity of the Young Mansion Master of the Shenhou Mansion that I heard seems to have disappeared. This made the young man who heard this title feel a little sad, because after listening to the sloppy man's words, Finally, before leaving his yard and heading to the village school, the slovenly man who was still swaying on the bamboo chair lazily said goodbye to him behind him.
"Chu Yuanxiao, after this trip, my mission in this town has come to an end for the time being. It may be today or it may be in two days. I will also leave here to do some things outside. Maybe in the future I will come back, or maybe... I won't come back. I won't come to say hello to you before I leave. Even if the two of us say goodbye officially today, we will see each other again if we are destined to meet each other in the future. If not... we will just say goodbye. .”
The young man's hand that was about to open the door paused slightly when he heard this. He didn't dare to look back, he just waved his hand towards the man behind his back and went out without saying anything.
There were some farewells, and I didn’t know what to say, so I chose not to say anything and just leave it... for next time.
…
The Confucian scholar was not surprised when he saw that the young man was a little stunned and did not answer his immediate question. As a gentleman, he could probably guess what he was thinking. After a moment of silence, he slowly explained for the sloppy man, " There are some old things in Hou Shaofu that have been buried deep in his heart. He has been holding on to them for many years and has not been able to get rid of them. The battle between him and the Yunlin Sect leader Chiang Kai-shek a few days ago should have revealed some new old stories. So he needs to find someone to look through some old account books. You can't help with this matter yet. If there is a chance in the future, maybe you two can meet again. By then, some of your ideas may be useful. You can mention it.”
The young man nodded when he heard this. Hou Junchen didn't mention much about himself to him, so the young man didn't know much. And the gentleman was right, he really couldn't be of much help now...
Seeing that the young man's expression had calmed down a bit, the teacher moved his lips but hesitated and did not speak directly. It was not until the young man came back to his senses and looked at him that he apologized: "Although some words were chosen to be said at this moment, they may not be appropriate." Time, but it may not be delayed for too long..."
The tutor paused for a rare moment mid-sentence, because he had seen the completely lost expression on the face of the young man opposite.
However, now that what needs to be said has begun, I still have to continue, "Sir, you may have to leave in a few days. We guards are more or less responsible for the formation being broken this time. I guess those in China are responsible for it." Bian's accountability should already be on the way. After that, we will probably all be treated as criminals and serve in the border towns on the sea in Sifang, Jiuzhou. We may not have the opportunity to set foot on the land of Jiuzhou again for many years to come, so Sir, I want to say sorry to you. Although I accepted you as my disciple, I didn’t have many opportunities to teach you something. Now, between you and me, master and disciple, we may have to say goodbye."
Although Chu Yuanxiao had some vague expectations for this outcome, it was still difficult for him to accept it when he heard Mr. Cui say it so truly. Especially when it came to the "person who was punished for crime", he remembered that he had always Didn't Monkey say that the Confucian Yasheng personally came to the scene and personally allowed the Demon Lord Sword Spirit to leave?
The young man thought so, so he naturally asked.
The tutor smiled when he heard this and explained patiently: "After the Demon Lord Sword broke the formation, it was indeed our Yasheng who came to the scene personally to finish it off, but that was after the formation was broken, and it cannot cover up some of the problems before the formation was broken. , it is an undisputed fact that the formation was broken. No matter what the reason is, it cannot explain this fault, at least... it cannot be explained now, so Linyuan Academy said that we are all guilty, and it is not wrong. "
After that, the Confucian scholar saw that there was still a lot of dissatisfaction on the young man's face, and felt warm in his heart, but he still chuckled softly: "Sometimes, it is easy for many people to judge others, saying that others are not good, or even saying that others are wrong. In fact, it’s very simple and can be done easily with just one sentence or a pen. We don’t have the time or energy to wait patiently for your explanation. This is human nature and you have to understand.”
After that, he raised his head and looked around at the neatly arranged bookshelves and books in the room, and then looked at the young man and continued: "On the other hand, there are many things that we have no way to prove that we are definitely right, or It’s to prove that you are better than others. Maybe time will give you the answer to some things, but maybe you won’t be able to wait for the answer for the rest of your life, so you have to understand other people’s practices and decisions.”
He looked at the young man with a smile and asked, "Do you understand?"
The young man nodded hesitantly as he listened to the two contradictory statements made by his husband. Few people would reason with him like this before, so he never thought that something that was clearly on the surface could still happen. Such an opposite explanation.
The Confucian scholar saw the young man's hesitation in his eyes, and was not angry. He smiled gently and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand now. When you meet more people and encounter more things in the future, you will naturally understand it, and maybe you will still understand it." There will be some opinions that are different from yours, and that’s all good and good.”
The young man was silent for a long time, then stood up from the futon, bowed to Mr. Cui seriously and said, "Thank you, sir."
The teacher smiled and nodded, then waved his hand and said: "Actually, you don't have to be so polite. Although we scholars like to follow rules and reason, we don't have to be so polite in everything. If a master and disciple meet each other and say In both words, you have to bow and bow and thank me, that would be very unlike your own family."
The young man who was still bowing raised his head and glanced at his husband when he heard this, and suddenly grinned, "I understand, sir."
Seeing that the young man was doing good things, the teacher's smile also had a different meaning, so he smiled too, which was good.
Chu Yuanxiao then sat back on the futon. After looking at the study again, he asked with some hesitation on a whim: "Sir, if you really want to leave here and go to the border town, can I With you?"
He suddenly blinked as he said, "I haven't embarked on the path of spiritual practice yet, can I learn more from you?"
Listening to the young man's sudden change of tone, the teacher knew what he was thinking, but did not reveal it. He just smiled warmly and said: "It's okay to study with me, but actually it's not good for you. It is an unprecedented choice for you to want to practice with the Three Paths. What I can teach you is only one path of spiritual cultivation. The other two paths have to be met by another master on your own. If you follow me to the border town, you will be in trouble. It’s hard to find opportunities like this again, and it’s not a good thing in the long run and it’s not good for you.”
Chu Yuanxiao felt a little regretful, but did not refute. She knew in her heart that what her husband said was right and was for his own good. There was no reason not to appreciate it... However, if everyone left... he seemed... to be alone again...
Before the young man finished feeling sad, he heard the gentleman suddenly say with some solemnity: "Young Master Hou should have told you that the fist fight between you and Mo Qianqiu that night, although for you in the end, you temporarily sealed him in the five directions. Pavilion, and rescuing the people of the town at the cost of breaking the Yanguan Formation, these calculations all have practical significance, but this choice actually shattered your martial arts body, even if Ya Sheng later helped you repair your appearance. It’s an injury, but it’s still treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, so the first problem you have to solve next should be this matter.”
Chu Yuanxiao nodded, this matter is indeed a headache, because Shui Yun's case of Dao Dao's decapitation has not been resolved, and the physical injury has made it worse. According to the estimation of Hou Junchen, a tenth-level martial saint, if Da Dao's decapitation is still If he can be allowed to live to be thirty years old, then after this battle, his remaining life span will definitely not exceed ten years!
Although ten years sounds relatively long, the problem is that what he faces is not a problem. If he seeks a solution to the physical problem of martial arts within ten years, he will definitely not have the time and opportunity to do it. After crossing the threshold of thirty, death will still be inevitable!
Therefore, for today's thirteen-year-old boy, time is the most pressing thing...
"In addition..." The Confucian scholar in green shirt looked at the young man and reminded: "Those questions you asked the Ghost Marquis of Fengdu on the night of the Spring Equinox. Although you can't believe everything he said, you can't not believe it entirely. We are all now. Still haven't found the sight that is staring at you in the dark, where does it come from? So you must always pay attention to this issue when you go out in the future. The Yasheng sent a message from the Middle Earth before, and later gave you the jade tablet, Not only is it a Sumeru object, but it also has some functions that can conceal your identity, but you still have to be more cautious. It is best not to mention your real name in front of outsiders. It is best to use another pseudonym to show others. , you have to get used to being anonymous and keeping a low profile.”
The young man listened to his husband's instructions and nodded solemnly in agreement. After all, no one knew who the people who were staring at him were, what their purpose was, and what they could achieve. Would he be able to do it as soon as he left the town? Being discovered... This is all unknown, as if there is a sharp sword hanging above his head at all times. It is impossible to say when it will suddenly fall and skewer him into a bloody gourd!
He had vowed to ask certain questions to certain people. If he couldn't even save his own life now, then what's the point of making an oath? Talking nonsense about revenge again?
When the topic came to this point, the atmosphere between the master and the disciple was a little tense. The young man's throat was dry, so he coughed dryly and looked at his husband and said softly: "Sir, do you know who has a way to repair the body? The old monkey said that I need to do it as soon as possible, otherwise If we delay for too long, it will be too late for fellow practitioners from Sanjing."
The Confucian scholar in blue didn't hesitate when he heard the words. He nodded first, then shook his head, and said solemnly: "Young Master Hou is right, but like him, I do know that there is a person who may have a way. But this way is not available from us, you have to find someone else."
The young man is smart and can tell almost immediately, "Director Lu?"
Hearing this, the Confucian scholar smiled appreciatively, nodded and said with a smile: "Not long before you came here, Taoist Master Lu came over to briefly mention this matter to me. He is a Great Celestial Master from the Celestial Master's Mansion of the Dao Sect, and he is extremely skilled in the art of thunder. Back then, because of my housekeeping skills, I had some interactions with the person mentioned above. So if you want to ask for help from that person, it is best to go to Beiling Temple after leaving here and see what Director Lu has to say. Whatever you think of!"
"Besides, there is another task that we have to give you to complete before we leave here. These things will also be handed over to you by Director Lu. I won't say much here, sir..."
The Confucian scholar Cui Jue did not say clearly what the mission was, but simply mentioned it, and then changed the subject. He slowly handed over the book that the young man was holding in his hand when he entered the door, and the item that had been used as a The Confucian sect of the Yanguan Formation took up the paperweight as a keepsake and handed it to the young man, saying: "Maybe it won't be too long before we each leave this Yanguan town, so sir, I'm here in advance. Saying goodbye to you, I hope you will look and think more when you are out in the future, don't be reckless and impulsive, and also remember to study hard."
At this point, he suddenly smiled and said: "See you next time, sir, I want to test your academic performance. If you don't do well in your studies, don't blame your hand for hurting your hands with the ruler."
Seeing the smile on his face, the young man felt a little sad, but in the end he stood up slowly, bowed seriously and saluted his husband, and said softly: "Sir, farewell, sir."
…
