The night sky in Chang'an is full of stars.
At the foot of Qianniu Mountain, the owner of the thatched cottage, the extremely old man, was standing beside him, looking up at the vast and deep starry sky.
In the thatched house, in the dim light of the candle, a young man in black was clearing away the dishes. On the other side, a middle-aged scholar was reading in the dim light. It was obvious that the three of them had just had their meal.
After an unknown amount of time, the old man slowly lowered his head. He stretched out a hand and started calculating, silently muttering -
"God's soldiers descended from heaven, today is the day, and the secrets of heaven are revealed, and ghosts and gods are also frightened; the misfortunes of Yin and Yang will cause endless disasters, evil will be born, ghosts will avoid gods..."
After saying that, the old man raised his head again and stared at the sky attentively.
What is the old man waiting for? It seems that what he is waiting for is very important to him. Although he knows everything about astronomy and geography, God's will... is ultimately unpredictable!
Wait, a hundred years have passed, and you still can’t stand this one night? Haha, why have I become so impatient? The old man shook his head and couldn't help but laugh at himself.
Suddenly, the sky became slightly brighter, and a bright light flashed across from north to south, like a sharp blade splitting the sky.
Naturally, this bright light could not escape his eyes. At this moment, all his attention was focused on that fleeting flash. His hands quickly counted again, and at the same time he muttered silently -
"Nine stars rise together, their method is very mysterious, mountains and rivers come and go, males and females are different from each other; the sun and moon fall, disasters occur, and the time is right, it is the heart of heaven..."
In just a short moment, the bright light disappeared, and the sky returned to its former calm.
"Nine stars...mutual differences...disasters...Heavenly Heart..."
The old man murmured to himself that he wanted to pry out something from it, but no matter what, he could never see through the mystery.
After a brief thought, the old man turned back to the house and said to the middle-aged scholar: "I... want to go south."
The boy stopped what he was doing and stared blankly at the white-haired old man. The middle-aged scholar also put down the book in his hand and looked at the old man in confusion.
Just five words, as if there is some magic.
"Teacher is going south? Don't you want to meet the new junior brother?" the middle-aged scholar asked in confusion.
"It doesn't matter, we will see you sooner or later."
Hearing the words "little junior brother", the old man suddenly laughed - this smile was kind and kind, and this smile showed his age.
"Then don't worry, I will host this cold exam."
Although his tone seemed extremely casual, the old man savored the words 'little junior brother' again. After a moment of silence, he looked to the west silently as if he had made a decision.
The middle-aged scholar didn't pay attention to the teacher's change. He picked up the book in his hand again and read it intently. The young man in black also lowered his head and continued to do the work in his hands, meticulously.
…
…
Yingping gently opened the door and found Ye Changshan sitting on the edge of the bed. Yingping came over gently and sat next to him, and said cautiously: "Changshan, I have something to discuss with you..."
"Um?"
Yingping took a deep breath, as if expressing his love to his beloved little girl, and said——
"My foster father will take us away in a few days. What are you going to do next? Should you stay in this village or..."
This question confused Ye Changshan - yes, what should we do next? His parents were no longer here, so how could he survive alone in this village? He really hadn't thought about this issue.
Seeing Ye Changshan's confused look, Yingping suggested at the right time: "How about this, you... follow us to Chang'an?"
"Chang'an?"
Hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar place name, Ye Changshan felt strange. The ancient and majestic capital of Chang'an is like a legendary place name. People in the village who have been to the imperial capital can probably count them all on one finger. What can they do if they go there by themselves? Thinking of this, Ye Changshan looked at Yingping in confusion.
Seeing Ye Changshan's expression, Yingping quickly planned: "Chang'an is a very prosperous place. As long as you have the ability, you can definitely survive there! Don't panic! I have already told my adoptive father to send you off first. Go to the best private school in Chang'an and gain fame later. Hey, after I study from a humble family, I will definitely lead you to a prosperous career!"
"Han... Hanmen?"
"Yes! The Han family! Oh, I forgot to tell you that I have been recruited by the Han family!" Yingping said with a serious face.
"..."
"..."
"Pfft——"
After a while, Ye Changshan suddenly laughed. This was the first time he laughed in these days. Although his eyes were full of amusement and disbelief, he smiled after all.
Seeing that his brother finally smiled, Yingping felt relieved. But he immediately felt the ridicule in Ye Changshan's smile, and immediately explained -
"Really! I'm not lying to you! And...and..." Yingping lowered his tone a little, and then whispered in Ye Changshan's ear: "I heard from my adoptive father that my biological father is still alive, and... The background is not small, it was because he was worried about my comfort that he asked the sect master to accept me as his disciple..."
Seeing Yingping's mysterious look, Ye Changshan's smile gradually faded. The poor family is famous all over the world, so he naturally knows it. He has also heard how high the threshold for a poor family is. If, as Yingping said, it was his biological father who brought him into a poor family, then he really has a great background. Reminiscent of those masters of cultivation from the past few days, it seems that Yingping really has some background... Sigh! I have nothing to worry about in this village anymore. If I continue to stay, I will just grow up eating the food of hundreds of families and then become a hunter when I grow up. Besides, I have no nostalgia for this small village. Even if I stay, I will be looked down upon. After all, he carries the bad name of 'Lone Star' and has killed his parents. Is there any need for him to stay? Not only that, the experiences of the past few days have caused earth-shaking changes in his world view - the ruthless male and female swordsmen, the unfathomable young master in Tsing Yi, the well-connected Yi Hongyan, and Yingping who claims that he has an extraordinary life experience... The world is so big and there are so many strong people in the world. Now that we have nothing to worry about, why not go out and see the world? If Yingping can really enter the humble family, he can really get a close look at the most powerful person in the world.
Thinking of this, Ye Changshan no longer hesitated and said: "Okay, I'll go!"
Yingping was so happy that he even forgot to brag. He hugged Ye Changshan and said happily: "Good brothers! Let's go together in this life!"
...
The next morning, Ye Changshan got up early. After tidying up the house, he simply packed his bags. I only picked up some personal clothes in my luggage, and the "Thousand Character Classic" was also lying quietly inside.
Afterwards, Ye Changshan walked out of the house and locked the door.
Ye Changshan wanted to leave here without looking back, but after a few steps, he still couldn't hold back and looked back at the small house where he had lived for twelve years - he would never see the smoke coming out of the chimney again. , I can no longer hear my parents’ laughter coming from the house, and I don’t know when I will come back here next time.
A long sigh cut off the worries in my heart.
Ye Changshan left the house and walked towards his parents' graves. This trip is to Chang'an, and the return date is unknown. Naturally, I have to say goodbye to my parents.
Walking dozens of feet away from the grave, Ye Changshan found a figure standing there. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Yingping was standing there, and some fruits and food had already been placed in front of his parents' grave.
Ye Changshan was a little surprised, but he was more moved by this situation, because he knew that Yingping regarded him as a brother after all.
Seeing Ye Changshan's arrival, Yingping didn't say anything, just looked at Ye Changshan quietly. Ye Changshan walked to the grave, took out two small jars from his arms, grabbed a handful of soil from his parents' graves, and placed them in the two jars.
"Father, mother! My son is going to Chang'an now, so you two don't have to worry too much."
After saying that, Ye Changshan kowtowed three times.
Yingping followed Ye Changshan and knelt down, saying: "Father, mother! You two elders, please feel free to hand over the Changshan to me! I will never treat him badly!"
After saying that, Yingping also kowtowed three times.
After hearing Yingping's confident promise, Ye Changshan burst into laughter. He turned around and looked at Yingping quietly, and then the two looked at each other and smiled.
Finally, the two brothers stood up together and strode towards Chang'an.
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Daliang, the capital of Wei State.
Daliang was the largest city in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the largest city in the Central Plains. Many wealthy businessmen in the Central Plains like to move to Daliang. In Daliang during the day, there are crowds of people and vehicles flowing continuously; in Daliang at night, there is feasting, singing and dancing. All the prosperity in the world can be seen in Daliang City.
But in such a city with endless prosperity, there is a sparsely populated place in its northwest corner. The world-famous thatched cottage is located here.
From the outside, the thatched cottage looks a bit inconspicuous. But when you enter, you will feel a sense of spring no matter what time - in the courtyard, in the hall, and even inside and outside all the houses, all kinds of flowers and plants are blooming in every corner of the thatched cottage. There are a large number of flowers and plants in the thatched cottage, and there are all kinds of varieties. Among them are some northern flowers that are difficult to grow in the Central Plains. They are blooming like spring in this thatched cottage.
The master of the thatched cottage is still among the flowers and grass. The difference from last time was that this time he was playing with the flowers and plants intently. I saw the hall master first digging out all the soil from a pot of bougainvillea, and then carrying the soil from another pot into this pot with both hands. The whole process did not dislike the dirt of the soil at all. . Finally, after replacing the bougainvillea with soil and returning it to its place, I just wiped my hands on the cloth a few times, then took the pruning shears and cut off the withered branches and leaves of the bougainvillea one by one. The movements were very cautious, for fear of damaging the intact flowers and leaves. Finally, he took a basin of water and gently sprinkled the water on the surface of the petals and leaves.
The hall master was so immersed in the flowers and plants that he forgot that a man and a woman were kneeling behind him.
A closer look revealed that these two men were the swordsmen of the Wei State who slashed Ye Changshan's parents. At this time, they were holding their breath and kneeling respectfully on the ground, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing the elder's interest.
After finishing decorating the flowers and plants in the hall, the hall master finally remembered that there was someone kneeling behind him. He said without looking back: "Tell me -"
Lao Shisan quickly apologized and said: "Disciple is incompetent! Master, please forgive me!"
The hall master paused for a moment, then continued playing with the flowers and plants, and said, "What's wrong?"
Old Thirteen kowtowed: "Sir, he... took action!"
After hearing the word 'sir', the hall master finally turned his attention away from the flowers and plants. His expression became a little solemn, and then he nodded slightly. Finally, he raised his hand and waved, saying: "Go down."
"yes!"
The injuries on Old Thirteen and Junior Sister seemed to have not yet healed, so they supported each other and retreated.
After the two disciples left the hall, the elder seemed to have lost his interest in enjoying flowers and grass. He threw the tools aside, then lay down on a recliner not far away, and rubbed his forehead with dusty hands, unable to get up for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, a sigh came from his mouth. There was a hint of regret and a hint of happiness in this sigh.
"Tch! Whoever likes to take action will take action! I can't control the old flower farmer!"
After a while of "giving up on himself", the hall master simply stopped thinking about that annoying intrigue. He picked up the pruning shears again and returned to the flowers around him.
…
…
Wei Palace, inside the Imperial Study Room.
The kid in python robe was still sitting on the dragon chair reading a book. Beside him, the powerful female prime minister in Wei Dynasty and the powerful one in the Central Plains was sitting on a small table next to her, looking at the book.
Suddenly, a female officer trotted all the way to the door of the study. After entering the room, she walked quietly and carefully to the female Prime Minister, bowed her body respectfully, and handed the small note in her hand to the female Prime Minister.
The female prime minister took the note and glanced at it lightly, then she frowned slightly and said, "Who went this time?"
The female officer didn't dare to hide anything and said, "It's the old man who went there."
The female phase was slightly startled, and then her expression instantly turned cold. She sneered and said to herself: "This old flower farmer! Don't think that you don't know the truth about what he has in mind!"
The female officer continued to ask: "Prime Minister, how should we deal with this matter?"
The female prime minister snorted coldly, crumpled the note in her hand, and said, "Sir, you have already intervened, how else can we deal with it? Let the Wang brothers and sisters have the headache themselves!"
After that, the female prime minister threw the note aside and ignored it, but continued to immerse herself in the pile of memorials.
