In the village, there was no inn, let alone a restaurant. Yun Zhong went to several places in succession and asked at least six or seven villagers, but to no avail. It was a time of dilemma. A farmer carrying a hoe stepped forward and pointed the way to the young man. He said that there were not many pedestrians coming to the village. How could anyone be willing to do a thankless task and waste money in building an inn? But there is a family where an old man lives alone. If there are any visitors who like him, he can have a spare room. Maybe he can supplement the food and drinks. You might as well go and try your luck.
Yun Zhong cupped his fists and thanked him, but he always felt that the face of this farmer was quite similar to that of the old woodcutter from Nangong Mountain. He carefully looked at the iron hoe on the shoulder of the farmer, and it turned out that he really looked like a man with a dark face. It was completely black, and it must have been used for many years before leading the horse away.
The old man at the north entrance of the village has a temperament just like what the farmer said. He is weird and solitary. When someone knocks on the door, he doesn't answer. After opening the courtyard door, he looks up and down at the young man's dress without concealing it. He curls his lips and says that he is another ignorant person. The Jianghu people were about to close the door and leave, but they accidentally saw the civet cat in the young man's front. His expression moved slightly, and he was quite reluctant to move away. He said that he could only stay for two days at most, and he would need more food and drinks. I went to the village to buy more and didn't care at all.
Most likely, this lonely old man never thought that there would be such idle people traveling with cats. Although he found it difficult to drive them away, he still had no good expression. When the young man had settled the horses, he went up again. When I was saying thank you, the old man was sitting firmly in the courtyard, using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of steamed fish, and he didn't forget to pour two sips of wine into his throat. Seeing the young man coming forward, the old man squinted at the sword at the young man's waist, his eyebrows crooked, as if he was quite bored. The steamed fish tasted very fresh, and Yun Zhong was still able to control it well. However, the civet cat in his arms could no longer suppress his greed. He jumped from the boy's chest and stared closely at the plate of steamed fish on the stone table in front of the old man. I am very hungry in my belly.
The old man didn't hide his secrets. He raised his hand and picked up a chopstick of well-organized fish meat. Just as he was about to throw it to the ground, he felt something was wrong. Then he stood up and took two lotus leaves from the house. He spread the fish meat tremblingly on the ground, and then carefully placed the fish meat among the lotus leaves. A rare smile appeared on the old man's face, "Wait a minute, the old man's family has only four walls, but fortunately there is a small tributary adjacent to the entrance of the village. The fish There is always no shortage of the most humble things, but today we have enough."
But when the old man raised his eyes to look at the young man, he frowned a little and said teasingly, "I know how to fight, kill, ride horses and carry swords all day long, but why can't I even raise a tailed civet cat? Save me some useless thoughts, so that I can live well in my lifetime." It’s much better to find a job than to think about being a chivalrous person all day long. You young people, I have been living in the village for more than 40 years and have seen countless people. You can’t even support a civet cat, let alone your parents and your own mother-in-law. .”
Yun Zhong smiled bitterly, and was about to explain the whole matter, but found that the old man was missing two fingers on his left hand. He was stunned for a moment, and actually forgot to look away. The old man saw everything, shook his head repeatedly, and then pinched his fingers. Take a few chopsticks to steam the fish, place it on the dried lotus leaves, make an invitation to the table, and invite the young man to drink.
The old man said to himself that back then he was a young man who thought about traveling around the world and becoming a hero. There happened to be a master of guns and sticks in his hometown. Seeing that the young man was quite talented and had a strong body, he passed it on to him. It is reasonable for the Twelve-way Gunman to settle down and make a name for himself in the world. After five years in the world, he has actually earned some false fame. But false fame can never be exchanged for a good meal. After a whole year, he has only made a name for himself in his arms. With dozens of copper coins, even a bowl of wine is considered a quite extravagant expense. My parents were so angry that they spread the news that they were suffering from a serious illness. They might drive away from Hexi within a few months and take them home by force. They would use coercion and inducement to find someone from the same household. Within a few days, they would After the marriage was over, he hoped that this matter could tie the young man's footsteps, at least he would have a family, and it would probably make the young man calm down.
The old man laughed at himself, saying that he had never cared about others before. He always felt that people in the world were well-spoken and talented. How could he stay at home and be manipulated by others? Six or seven days after the wedding, it was... He went out with a gun, but he didn't want to offend too many people. Someone came to his door and took the life of the woman he just married. When the young man returned home in a hurry, even though he worked hard for almost a day, the gun in his hand went through no less than three times. Fifty people's throats were cut, but two fingers were still removed, and the lungs were damaged. Even if he wanted to enter the world again, he might not be able to advance, so he had to stay at home, take care of his parents, and then go on his own. I found a village like this to live in and stayed there for forty years.
After pushing the cup and changing the cup, Yun Zhong asked the old man whether he was still practicing with guns. The old man was full of disdain. He pointed to the eaves and said that it was not a good weapon. After so many years of wind and frost, the sword would probably be long gone. The rust has penetrated the gun tip, and it has turned into a long fire stick, which can no longer be used.
"The old man doesn't dare to look, or he doesn't want to look." After three or two glasses of wine, the young man raised his eyes, quite drunk.
"Why don't you want to see it? Even a good-looking woman in her youth may not be as secure as holding this gun in her arms. The master spent his own money to forge it. The black green is shining, and the tip of the gun is It's so long and narrow, it looks like a willow leaf, and you can't get enough of it." The old man had a very good capacity for drinking. He drank three to five glasses of wine in a row, and his face didn't even turn red. He shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that since then, After the incident, every time I watch the gun, I can always think of the girl with only the couple's name. She was considered a lady among the people from all over the country, and her appearance was quite good. Everyone said that she had a prosperous husband, and she would definitely be rich in the future. But it happened that I caused too much trouble and ended up dead for no reason."
"Back then, I borrowed a good horse from my friend. I heard that it was taken from an evil merchant. My friend killed the merchant in the dark and took away the serious horse. It had no hair on its body and was as red as coal. , with only a wisp of white between his foreheads, it can really be said that he was chasing the wind and lightning. He rushed home within a day, but he still couldn't catch up, only a handful of blood that had not dried up," the old man sighed. , there was no trace of sadness on his face, only a slight sense of sadness, "It was then that I realized that no matter how fast the horse was, it would be too late to regret it, no matter how fierce the spear was, it could only kill people, and many things had passed. It’s just the past, and if you want to pick it up again, it’s just regret.”
Yun Zhong was silent for a while. What the old man said sounded calm and calm, but if it fell on his mind, it would be like seeing rocks in a still pond, and the waves would be unstoppable.
"So since then, the old man has had some thoughts of converting to Buddhism. He worships Buddha, burns incense and reads scriptures all day long. However, he still looks down on his fellow villagers. He feels that these people have never seen the heaven and earth, never seen their own hearts, and live quite miserable lives. Transparent." Soon the old man relaxed his face and smiled happily, then raised his chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish. Seeing the strange look in the young man's eyes, he guessed what Yun Zhong was thinking at this moment and said hurriedly, "I But I haven't escaped into Buddhism. I actually have no taboos about eating fish and meat. After all, meditating on meditation and enlightenment, burning incense and worshiping Buddha are just thoughts for me to achieve peace of mind. All other sins are for one person to bear. "If there is any merit in Buddhism, I would like to give it all to that innocent girl who suffered. At least Buddhism talks about the afterlife, and people like me will never encounter people like me who suffer innocently."
"Think on the bright side. With your reputation in your hometown, you are a good match. Since that girl is willing to marry, I think she also likes you. Otherwise, how could you be willing to marry such an unreliable person from the world?"
The old man was stunned, his face trembled slightly, he smiled silently, pointed to the eaves, and looked up at the young man, "Thank you for saying this, I want to take a look at that gun again today, but it's a pity that I am old and weak. Since I can’t climb the roof, I would like to ask the young man to do it for me, so I can pay for the drinks.”
Yun Zhong smiled with relief, and actually stood up, trying hard to stabilize his body. He always felt that the drink today was obviously very soft in the mouth, but it was quite high. However, he still walked slowly under the eaves, not with his hands, but with his legs. Slowly climb the ladder, your steps shake the heaven and earth, your body shakes and your soul becomes clear.
The young man knew that what the old man wanted to see was not the gun, but the girl from back then.
There was actually a long spear lying quietly on the eaves, but there was no trace of rust on it. The dark green light greeted the moon. He looked like he wanted to look good. The young man burped, held the spear with one hand, and then returned. Between the tables, he inserted it into the soil of the courtyard and said with a slight smile, "This old man's gun is indeed a fine weapon. It will not break down for decades. It is really not easy."
The old man held the gun barrel with one hand, stood up slowly, and passed on all he had learned. Although he was not as powerful and quick as he was when he was young, he could still vaguely see how powerful he was when he was young.
Yun Zhong looked at the old man dancing with the gun, his eyes were blurry with drunkenness. The civet cat was also full of food and drink. He raised his head and looked at the old man who was as sick as a tiger. For some reason, he suddenly stood up, holding the gun like a bow and handing it over like a loose ball. He thought it looked strange. He simply put his paws on his head, looked lazily at the energetic old man under the moonlight, and fired out twelve spear moves, raining pear blossoms.
He was clearly out of breath, but his eyebrows were gentle.
The moonlight shines into the old courtyard and shines on the blade of the spear in the old man's hand. I don't know when a farmer with a hoe stood outside the courtyard. He looked at the young civet cat and the old man in the courtyard with interest and muttered a few words. , the iron hoe on the shoulder was hung on the shoulder again.
What the farmer was talking about was, how come everyone in the world has the same moral character, being rougher than anyone else when they are rough, and softer than anyone else when they are soft-hearted, they are really weird.
