In the city adjacent to the border of Qiling, there are also a large number of Jianghu people who have gathered here for many years. Although they are not rich, they can gather together to keep warm, but they are like monkeys and sheep, resisting the cold wind. Three or five years ago, a master of swordsmanship who had been in the martial arts world for decades and had never encountered an opponent passed by here. He saw the Jianghu people around the border, their clothes were in tatters, busy making a living in the cold winter, and even the leather scabbards of the swords around their waists were worn away. He shook his head and sighed, saying that Jianghu might not be around for many years anymore. I'm afraid that in the future, the word "Jianghu" will have turned from reality into emptiness, and it will be hard to see him again.
Even so, the number of Jianghu people around the border has been increasing over the past few years. Although it is not necessarily possible to see the clues from the ragged clothes, and the swords on the waist are not even remotely powerful, but by crowding around to keep warm, the gathering is quite impressive. The majestic river flow has no valleys, and the river flow is not very fast, but no one dares to despise it.
Compared with the yellow dog that had just left home for two days on the street, compared with the thin and hungry wild dogs that were already accustomed to going out together to fight for food, the latter must have the most vicious bites, and they may not let go even if their heads are smashed.
What's more, like this, a desperate man who has given up his so-called reputation as a gangster, in addition to earning sixty-seven cents to survive, has to worry about murdering and carnivorous thieves outside the customs endangering his life. The young people in the world have lost all their youthful blood, but no one dares to test it, for fear of getting into trouble.
There is a stable in the city. It was originally just a place where wealthy families used to tie their horses to shelter from the rain. A few years ago, it was bought by several people from the world. A few wine flags were scrawled on it, and six or seven more were added. The benches and short tables, which were heavy and creaky, could barely be used as a wine stall. They only sold three bowls of water-mixed rice wine for one copper coin. Although it did not burn your throat, the wine was very strong and easy to pour when the wind blew.
But even if one copper coin can buy three bowls of it at a low price, for most people in the city, it is already a rare thing that they can only bite their teeth and stamp their feet to drink once during the holidays. There was once a man who was addicted to alcohol and had poor physical skills. During a fight in his early years, he had half of his fingers cut off. He also broke a leg due to his addiction to alcohol and had no money to treat the disease. He was limping all day long. He likes to drink the rice wine mixed with water from the wine stalls here. It was the New Year season, and I couldn't find any money in my body, so I pawned my teeth and pawned my strange old robe and exchanged it for five copper coins. I drank more than ten bowls at night and didn't let anyone see me until the next day. Died in a ruined temple on the roadside.
Until a year ago, the owner of the wine stall here changed for unknown reasons. All the original tattered belongings were moved elsewhere, and a new house was built. In the center were tables and chairs, high cabinets, wine altar screens, hanging lanterns, and a small Everything is available, although it is only three to five feet of land, all the internal organs are complete; charcoal is cooked in winter and ice is hung in summer, and seasonal side dishes are available in spring and autumn. Even the wine in it cannot taste that it has been mixed with water. It is becoming more mellow, but it is still the same as before. Change it, one penny can be exchanged for three bowls of drinks, no counter-offering, let alone price increase.
The shopkeeper is an old man over fifty years old. There is an old scar on his temple that extends to his chin. But no matter who looks at it, no one can guess what kind of injury it is. It doesn't look like a sword or a gun. That way. There are always some nefarious people who take advantage of the drinking time to ask the shopkeeper, but they always ask the latter to deal with it lightly, or say that it was injured by a wild wolf, or that it was caused by careless martial arts training in youth and falling off a cliff. There is no telling the truth.
For several days in a row, the border area was not very peaceful. After the man who had stocked hundreds of guns in his car tent drove out of the city, news came that this man had picked off six or seven thieves one after another. , but there are different opinions about what happened next. Some people said that this man was so strong in physical strength that he almost stirred up the whole border. There were not even ten thieves left. Some people sneered at this, saying that he was just a man. Even if a young man with acceptable marksmanship had gained merit before, he would definitely not have the means to do so. Most of the time, he would have asked a master among the thieves to set up an ambush and kill him, and he would not know whether he would live or die.
It was rare for the tavern to be lively. The winter snow was falling, and the people in the city had nothing to do. Even if they wanted to earn some more money to spend the winter, they had nowhere to go, so they had to sleep until noon, and spent two more copper coins. Sitting and drinking in the tavern, he boasted about his skills in those days, and received a few laughs and curses. With his thick skin to shield him from the outside, he kept on drinking.
Looking across the long street, no one can be called an enemy under the wind and snow, they are all in a miserable state.
A man carrying a bamboo hat stepped onto the long street today and walked slowly. In the eyes of others, he looked like he was tied with the wind and snow. It was quite rare. But now he didn't care to stop and went straight to the tavern. Go, when you push the door and raise the curtains, countless snowflakes and cold air are brought in. The two men lying on the side guarding the charcoal fire at the door muttered and cursed a few words, and then turned over and fell asleep again, without caring at all.
"Is there any soju in the tavern today? If there is still enough, I will buy all of it." The waiter moved the two or three drunkards standing next to the tall cabinets with difficulty, and walked up to the Jianghu man wearing a bamboo hat. When I heard that this person spoke in a gentle voice, like a ball falling on a plate, when he started talking, he was immediately stunned.
Having been in the tavern for a long time, the waiter has seen countless groups of people in the world. Among them are swordsmen who are escorts and escorts, and there are also people who are too embarrassed to sheath their swords. There are also many people who can't afford a copper coin to drink. , he was just a poor man who stepped into the tavern to enjoy the charcoal fire, but he had never seen a woman before. Not only was he able to deal with it easily at the moment, but he was still a little reluctant to even answer the question. At least he came up to the woman wearing a bamboo hat and hesitated. He said, "Sir, do you really want to buy soju, or do you want to find my shopkeeper? If it's the latter, I'm afraid you still have to wait for a cup of tea. The shopkeeper hasn't returned since he went out. Maybe there's not enough wine in the shop, so he went out to look for some wine." Old trees, filling the store with drinks.”
There were many men around who were drinking from bowls. When they heard the words of the man wearing a bamboo hat, they were inevitably a little surprised. They turned their heads to look, but they were blocked by the bamboo hat and gauze on the woman's head, and her face could not be seen clearly. , but just those words just now made many people in the world who had not seen a woman for a long time feel like they were scratching their heads.
Several young men coughed twice, sat upright, and drank the wine, adding a bit of heroism; the older ones did not change their behavior, but kept their eyes fixed. He went to the woman's chest and used the robe to cover her lower abdomen. Her smile also looked a lot evil. The man who had no money to drink and just wanted to get some warmth still lay next to the charcoal fire. He looked back sleepily and didn't want to pay attention to it at all. He turned over and fell asleep again.
The human world can be glimpsed in the tavern.
But the woman really wanted to have two bowls of roasted knives, two plates of side dishes, drink slowly, and wait for the shopkeeper to come.
The waiter walked quickly to the back of the tavern. There was another house here. It looked very simple. The thatch on it had been blown into pieces by the wind and snow, and it was sparse and dilapidated. Only the boundary of the house held down by a few bricks and tiles could still be considered. Can be protected from wind. There was an old man sitting in the room, leaning down to stir up the charcoal fire. Seeing that the waiter was here in a hurry, he raised his eyebrows and cursed, "I told you kid not to add water to the wine, but I couldn't bear to do that." To put some money into perspective, this tavern is a loss-making business, but the one that can really make a lot of money is another business, so why bother with those charlatans."
"You don't dare to add water to the wine. Last time, after a little trial, I taught those quacks who picked up the bowl to eat meat and put down the bowl to curse. Fortunately, I don't have the courage to use a sword or a sword. Otherwise, the villain I'm afraid I'm missing a few fingers at least, but today is different, a fortune is coming to my door."
The old man frowned and touched his chin, which had loose stubble. The only thick hair left on both sides of his forehead was trembling in the wind. It was two feet long. It looked like he had nothing to do with the so-called master. He immediately didn't care about teasing the charcoal fire. , he kicked the waiter, quite angrily, and started to curse, "When such a good thing happens, why do you tell me what to do? If this man can't wait, Be patient, throw away your hands and leave, isn't this business going to be impossible? If you are still acting stupid here, why don't you invite me over quickly, I am a vegetarian and meat-eater in my new year, and I still need to count on this man, so don't neglect me."
Only then did the waiter come to his senses. He ignored the marks on his lower back and ran into the tavern, inviting the woman into the backyard.
There was little wind in the courtyard, but there was not much snow. Just after the day, they had accumulated two or three stacks of boot soles. When the two sat across from each other, except for the flying snow in front of them, and the brazier was peeling off, they were speechless for a while.
"Let's get straight to the point. I've heard for a long time that the border area of Qiling does not belong to the earth building. Many of the news can't get around you, the tavern owner who seems unwilling to fight or rob. This is also a hearsay, but this time I really saw it. After a closer look, I realized that these secrets were not misinformed."
The woman put down her bamboo hat, and her appearance was really beautiful. She looked at the scars on the old man's temples, and her expression was very uneasy.
"If you have such a method to cut the path of cultivation, even if it is not on par with the four realms, it is probably not far away from the four realms. When the old man was young, he was probably a great person."
The old man had been using the iron hook to stir up the charcoal fire. After hearing this, his hand movements were slightly sluggish and he said coldly without raising his head, "If you are an ordinary girl in the world, I might be able to sell you two for a little price." Third news, there has been chaos at Qiling border recently, and people from foreign lands are probably here because of this, but since I am a cultivator, I don’t want to do this business, so I should leave as soon as possible.”
The waiter on the side was eager and was about to take two steps forward when he saw that the shopkeeper, who had always been lazy and quite kind-hearted, was now using the iron hook to stir up the charcoal fire, with dark anger surging in his eyes, and his eyes were about to burst.
