Ye Changshan followed Zhutao to the entrance of the thatched cottage and looked at the seemingly ordinary courtyard in front of him. If he hadn't told me, who would have thought that this was the famous thatched cottage in the Central Plains? He slowly closed his eyes and tried to calm his heart.
Zhutao felt the footsteps disappear behind her and turned back curiously, only to see Ye Changshan standing quietly on the spot, as if there were roots under his feet. Zhutao asked in confusion: "Mr. Ye, what's wrong?"
Ye Changshan slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, then said calmly: "Let's go!"
Zhutao no longer hesitated and led Ye Changshan into the thatched cottage.
After entering the thatched cottage, Ye Changshan looked around unconsciously. At this time, he was both looking forward to something and fearing something in his heart, because if the figures of the doggy man and woman who gave him countless nightmares appeared in front of him at this time, he would what to do?
A complex emotion spread in my heart, and the hostility hidden in my body seemed to smell something and was ready to move.
Seeing that Ye Changshan seemed to be searching for something, Zhutao smiled and said casually: "Master attaches great importance to this meeting, so he kicked out all the senior brothers and sisters a few days ago, leaving only senior brother and me. .”
all gone? Doesn't that mean that... I will definitely not be able to see those... those blood-related enemies?
Hearing what Zhutao said, Ye Changshan's mentality instantly calmed down, and a trace of regret emerged in his heart, but under this regret, there was also a sense of relief - at least he didn't have to make a choice now...
Ye Changshan withdrew his gaze. When he raised his head again, he found a burly figure appearing at the door of the hall. Through the introduction of the young girl just now, it was not difficult to guess that this person should be Jian Yeshi, the top disciple of the Thatched Cottage.
Sure enough, when she saw this burly man, Zhutao happily ran forward, took the man's arm with one hand, and said, "Brother! I brought Mr. Ye here. Look -"
Seeing the girl's lovable appearance, Jian Yeshi, who had never thought about smiling, actually showed a doting smile. He patted Zhutao's shoulder encouragingly, then looked at Ye Changshan and said coldly: "Mr. Ye, master is waiting inside, please—"
Ye Changshan didn't ask any further questions and followed Jian Yeshi's footsteps as he walked inside.
When Ye Changshan saw the 'person' lying on the bed in the room, he was shocked. The haggard, skinny 'monster' in front of him was the famous Zhehelan. ? In Ye Changshan's impression, Zhehelan should be an old man with white hair and a childish face and a strong spirit. However, the old man in front of him was so ugly that he had almost no hair on his body. This appearance was similar to that famous and chilling man from the Central Plains. A far cry from the 'brilliant' image of the First Swordsman.
Seeing Ye Changshan's arrival, Zhe Helan smiled, but this smile was a bit uglier than the ghost cry.
Sensing the shock in Ye Changshan's expression, Jian Yeshi said calmly: "Since the serious injury in the shabby room, Master's condition has deteriorated day by day. First, all his hair and eyebrows fell out, and later his teeth and nails were also lost. It fell off, and my brain has become confused in the past few years. Except for me, my junior sister, and my junior brother, Master knows no one... Every night in the past six years, I have gone to help him sleep with the mentality of saying goodbye..."
Seeing Zhehelan's inhuman appearance, Ye Changshan sighed in his heart, thinking that it was his luck or misfortune that Zhehelan managed to survive to this day.
"Ye Shi, hurry up and show Mr. Ye a seat..."
Zhehelan's voice was hoarse and harsh. Ye Changshan frowned unconsciously after hearing this, but Jian Yeshi took it for granted and invited Ye Changshan to the guest seat with a calm expression.
Seeing Ye Changshan sit down, Zhehelan spoke again and said: "Ye Shi, help the master over..."
Seeing his master struggling to get up, Jian Yeshi hurriedly ran forward to support Zhe Helan's shaky body.
"Master! Why don't you lie down? I think Mr. Ye will understand..."
"Lying on the bed is not the way to entertain guests. Besides, my teacher has suddenly felt somewhat refreshed recently..."
Feeling somewhat refreshed? Ye Changshan silently looked at each other with Jian Yeshi, and they both knew some things well.
With the support of Jianye Shi, the old flower farmer sat down with difficulty. Jianyeshi thoughtfully took a few pillows so that his master could lean on them more comfortably. After Zhehelan sat firmly, Jianyeshi silently stepped aside.
Zhe Helan's rapid breathing gradually calmed down. He calmed down his breathing and said, "Ye Shi, you go out first, and after I finish talking to Mr. Ye..."
"Master!"
"You go out, my teacher is very awake now..."
Jian Yeshi still wanted to argue, but when he saw Zhe Helan shaking his head without any doubt, he swallowed the words silently, and then retreated honestly.
After Jian Yeshi closed the door, Ye Changshan spoke first, saying: "You are already like this, don't you need your apprentice to stay?"
Zhe Helan suddenly leaned forward, a ray of light bloomed from her deep-set eyes, and said: "As I said just now, I am very awake now."
Ye Changshan was a little confused and asked bluntly: "I heard that your mind has become confused these years. How can I guarantee that what you said today will be true?"
"Confused? I just forgot all the things that I shouldn't remember. What I should remember... I haven't forgotten anything. As for what I said, as long as I am still alive, I will still say everything about Xicheng. Calculate."
Zhehelan's spirit has indeed recovered a lot. In the past, he would never have been able to say so much in one breath.
After confirming that Zhehelan was still awake at this time, Ye Changshan said: "Why did you invite me here this time?"
"I want to give you a gift..."
"present?"
"Yes... to be exact, it's a person!"
Ye Changshan was slightly startled. He had made thousands of guesses about this trip to Daliang, but no matter how many thoughts he had, he never imagined that the old flower farmer would say that he would give him a 'person'.
Seeing the puzzled look on Ye Changshan's face, the old flower farmer seemed a little proud. He said, "I have a disciple named Zhen. Now I want to give him to you and ask you to take him back to Chang'an..."
"Immortal? Give it to me? What do you want me to do?"
"It's up to you. You can keep him by your side for your mission, let him assassinate someone for you, or leave him to farm in the countryside. In short... it's up to you."
This...which song is this sung from? Call me all the way here and give me someone for no reason? Facing the old flower farmer's unreasonable request, Ye Changshan became even more confused, so much so that he was speechless for a while.
Zhe Helan seemed to have expected Ye Changshan's reaction, and he was not in a hurry. Like a patient Zen master, he guided step by step: "I have a question, Mr. Ye, can you answer me?"
Ye Changshan tilted his head and said, "Please tell me——"
"I would like to ask Mr. Ye, given the current strength of the Northern Wei and New Tang Dynasties, if the two countries go to war, how confident is the Tang Dynasty?"
Ye Changshan was stunned again. He looked at the old flower farmer in surprise, and then said slowly: "10%?"
Ye Changshan's voice was not loud, and it was obvious that he did not feel confident in speaking this answer out of his mouth. Zhe Helan is so shrewd. He naturally heard the lack of confidence in Ye Changshan's tone and said with a smile: "Yi Cheng? It seems that Mr. Ye is still very confident in Datang..."
Ye Changshan responded in silence.
"Okay, let's not dwell on this. Let's just assume that Xintang has a 10% chance of winning." Zhe Helan stopped worrying and continued: "Since Xintang has a 10% chance of winning, I have to prepare for it."
"What's the meaning?"
"Eggs...can't all be put in one basket. I know very well about the female prime minister. One day in the future, the Northern Wei Dynasty will go to war with the New Tang Dynasty. Once the war starts, the Caotang will eventually side with the Northern Wei Dynasty..."
"Then why do you still give poison to me?"
"Why? I just said it, because New Tang still has a 10% chance of winning. If this '10%' comes true, where will the Cottage go? I'm afraid it can't avoid being completely wiped out..."
Ye Changshan was still silent. Faced with Ye Changshan's silence, Zhe Helan sighed softly and said: "I, an old flower farmer, have managed to survive until now. There is only one thing I care about in my heart...that is the future of the thatched cottage. I I have no children in my life, the thatched cottage is the only thing I have left in the world, and the thatched cottage is my descendant. In the future, no matter whether the thatched cottage is prosperous or failed, there will always be people who will remember that there was a person like the old flower farmer because of the existence of the thatched cottage. If The thatched cottage is gone...I'm afraid the word 'thatched cottage' will no longer be seen in the history books..."
There was a hint of desolation and loneliness in Zhe Helan's words, and Ye Changshan gradually understood his thoughts.
"If...of course it's just if, if the New Tang Dynasty defeated the Northern Wei Dynasty, you may ask, wouldn't my disciples choose to escape Daliang and go to other places?" Zhe Helan shook his head and asked himself: "I can tell you that even so, I will not feel at ease under Jiuquan, because this is Daliang, and this is my home. If the thatched cottage leaves Daliang, it will no longer be the original thatched cottage. The thatched cottage is Daliang." The thatched cottage is the thatched cottage of the Northern Wei Dynasty..."
"So, you want to give me the disciple named Zhen?"
"Yes...if Zhen is with you, even if the New Tang Dynasty defeats the Northern Wei Dynasty, he can inherit my will and take over the thatched cottage again..."
Ye Changshan was completely silent. Zhe Helan's words made sense, making the originally absurd proposal gradually more reasonable——
Once the old flower farmer dies, Jian Yeshi, as the second-generation banner figure of the Cottage, will definitely take over the position of head of the Cottage. When the two countries go to war, the female prime minister will definitely ask the Cottage to do something for the Northern Wei Dynasty. In the end, if the New Tang Dynasty wins In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the sword leaf stone would definitely not end well. In this case, we can understand why Zhehelan chose a disciple to hide next to Ye Changshan.
Although Ye Changshan gradually agreed with Zhe Helan's statement, he still had some doubts and said, "Who is he? Why did you choose him?"
These words were like a needle, piercing Zhe Helan's heart slightly and tearing open a scar hidden deep in his heart.
"You may never be able to make up for some of the mistakes you have made, but you can do something, which can be regarded as a kind of self-salvation..."
