"Now that I am the head of this secret family, why are you afraid of the big shopkeeper?" Heng Shuying said.
Xue Daoheng smiled and said nothing, just drank.
On the long street in the east of the city, fine snow falls, and the breath turns into frost.
The haze of war has enveloped the Great Wall. In the past, this was the most prosperous city on the border. Now, the long streets are deserted and there are few people. Most of the passers-by are cultivators.
When Bai Ze and Wu Shuang came to the tavern, they saw a high-hanging plaque with four Chinese characters: A secret fragrance fills the sleeves. There were a lot of drinkers in the tavern, and they were noisy, mostly discussing the situation on the Great Wall.
Bai Ze was wearing a big cloak, with a long sword hanging on his waist. He looked up at the plaque and felt that the four characters were powerful and powerful, and there was a profound Tao hidden in them.
"The writing of these words is not bad, but it's not quite meaningful. It's sharp enough but not restrained enough."
Bai Ze recalled Xie Xuan's evaluation of the plaque on this tavern. After revisiting his old place, he could now see some of the meaning that he had not noticed back then.
The young swordsman shook off the wind and snow and walked into the tavern with the beautiful girl beside him. The main hall still vaguely looks like it did back then, but after so many years, Bai Ze can't remember it clearly.
The waiter in the tavern was warming the wine at the counter when he saw the two of them opening the door and walking into the tavern. Even though the waiter had been with the second shopkeeper all year round, he could be considered to have a high level of vision. When he saw Wu Shuang, he was still stunned.
If the second shopkeeper of the house is already a model of mature woman, then the girl in goose-yellow clothes in front of her must be a budding spring bud.
The flowers that have already bloomed are certainly intoxicating, but the beauty of the blooming flowers is even more exciting.
The waiter was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly greeted the guests and said with a smile: "Two guests, is this your first time in the tavern? Do you want to try our signature drunk beauty?"
The two of them walked forward. Bai Ze saw that the boy was quite knowledgeable and took the initiative to recommend the tavern's sign. He glanced at Wu Shuang and asked her opinion.
"Okay." Wu Shuang agreed with a smile and asked the boy: "Do you have any signature dishes to go with the wine?"
"Yes." The boy quickly introduced, and Wu Shuang listened carefully.
Bai Ze looked at the carved wall behind the boy, which was covered with wooden plaques. Some were blank without words, while others had poems written on them.
Bai Ze looked at the piece with the latest writing, which read "When you are drunk, you don't know the sky is on the water, and the boat is full of clear dreams that overwhelm the stars." The signature is "Tan Yun Jian".
Next to the wooden sign, there is also "Drunkenly leaning on the wonderful high platform to rise to the moon, the jade flute blows through the cave and the dragon sleeps". Signed "Chen Shouren".
"If you are happy in life, you must have all the joy, and don't let the golden bottle stand empty against the moon." Signed "Xue Daoheng".
Bai Ze took a look and saw a few familiar names among them. "A glass of turbid wine can lead to a home thousands of miles away, but there is no way for Yan Ran to return home." The signature is "Lonely City".
"Peach plums and spring breeze, a glass of wine, and a rainy night in the rivers and lakes for ten years." Signed "Xue Xing".
Bai Ze was surprised. It's still conceivable that Chen Shouren came to this pub to drink. Unexpectedly, the cold and gloomy Xue Xing, the master of the Immortal Sword Hall, would also come to the tavern to drink?
This was really unexpected.
Wu Shuang and the waiter ordered two appetizers. The girl looked at Bai Ze intently, took a curious look, and asked, "What is this?"
The boy smiled and explained: "My second shopkeeper likes poetry. If a guest who comes to drink with Anxiang Yingxiu can write a poem that the second shopkeeper loves, he will not only be invited to taste wine in the inner courtyard of the tavern, but also come to the tavern to drink in the future. Collect pennies!”
When Wu Shuang heard this, his eyes lit up, "You two shopkeepers are so generous."
"You two guests can also give it a try." The waiter said, "Then the food and wine will be served, and I will ask the waiter to send the wooden sign over."
"Two guests, please come in!" The waiting waiter bent down slightly, smiled and extended his hand.
"May I ask if your boss is in the tavern?" Bai Ze suddenly asked.
The boy was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and looked left and right. The swordsman in front of him was too young, and he probably didn't know the big shopkeeper. But the people on the mountain have a magical power that can preserve their appearance. Could it be that this young swordsman is good at preserving his appearance, or that the immortal can rejuvenate his youth?
The boy thought carefully and replied: "Over the years, Shenlong has been the first shopkeeper. In total, I haven't seen the boss for three years. Now the business of the tavern is all under the hands of the second shopkeeper. Doesn't this guest recognize the boss? Shopkeeper?"
"Just a casual question, don't worry about it," Bai Ze said.
The two of them were about to follow the waiter inside when they heard someone shouting to them: "Senior sister, Taoist brother! Here, here!"
Bai Ze followed the voice and looked closely. The two people at the wine table by the window were all familiar faces. The handsome man waving to them was none other than Jiang Qingfeng! And next to him, the neat and elegant gentleman was not Chen Shouren, so who was he?
Bai Ze felt happy and walked straight over with Wu Shuang.
Jiang Qingfeng arranged the seats very attentively and asked the two of them to sit down.
"Tsk, sir, you finally care about your image today?" Bai Ze sat down and joked.
"Haha, before I go out in the morning, I calculated on my fingers. I have a beautiful woman by my side today. How dare I be rude?" Chen Shouren smiled and said to Bai Ze, "May I introduce you?"
Bai Ze said: "This is Wu Shuang, the sword cultivator of Vulcan Mountain. Sir, you should be impressed, right?"
Chen Shouren smiled slightly, looked at Wu Shuang and said, "Of course. On the Great Wall, I was really eye-opened by the two magical powers. It's no wonder that Confucianism can't develop in the North. The name of the Three Mountains was only heard in the past, but now it is I’ve seen it.”
Wu Shuang gave a rare shy smile and was very curious about the gentleman's identity.
"Haha, sir, what you said is not fair. The southern region is completely under the control of the Confucian sect." Bai Ze said, introducing to Wu Shuang: "This is Chen Shouren of Jixia Academy. He has been in the limelight in the past few years, and you are also I’ve heard of it.”
When Wu Shuang heard this, he chuckled and said, "I've heard about his reputation for a long time."
"You're welcome." Chen Shouren saw that Jiang Qingfeng had finished pouring the wine for the two of them, raised his glass and said with a smile, "We are destined to meet each other thousands of miles away, come and have a drink."
Everyone raised their glasses.
"How did Brother Jiang meet Mr. Jiang?" Bai Ze put down his wine glass and asked.
"This..." Jiang Qingfeng was speechless for a moment.
"My teacher has an old relationship with Uncle Jiang. This time when I went north, my teacher specifically told me to visit Qingfeng's house." Chen Shouren explained, "When I visited yesterday, I naturally got to know Qingfeng. Now I live in the Jiang family."
"That's it." Bai Ze understood.
After a while, the food and wine were served, and everyone was talking and changing glasses. Chen Shouren and Jiang Qingfeng were surprised by Wu Shuang's drinking capacity. They didn't expect that the young girl who looked so delicate and bright could drink as well as them.
"Senior sister is such a good drinker!" Jiang Qingfeng praised.
While Bai Ze was talking, he noticed that in the tavern, everyone's eyes were always looking here from time to time, feeling suspicious in his heart. Finally, someone couldn't hold it any longer, picked up a wine bowl, walked over to this side, and said, "It's polite for you to watch chess around Qingfeng Mountain!"
Seeing the middle-aged man coming to toast, Bai Ze immediately stood up, raised his glass and said, "Baize, from the Yunhai Immortal Sect, I have met Taoist brother."
Everyone raised their glasses.
"Haha, during the battle in the wasteland, the eldest son's sword was impressive!" Zhou Guanqi said with a smile, "The eldest son is new here, so I'm afraid you don't know that the wine on the border of the Great Wall needs to be drunk from a bowl to taste."
"Is there such a truth?" Bai Ze said with a smile: "Waiter, bring me the wine bowl!"
As soon as Zhou Guanqi started, everyone in the tavern burst into laughter and raised their glasses to toast.
"The Eldest Young Master's sword is indeed powerful! I don't know when the Tianyao Clan appeared. Now that the Eldest Young Master's formation kills the Holy Son, it also strengthens the morale of our Great Wall!"
"Fairy Wu Shuang's swordsmanship is also amazing! Her magical ability to change shape with a flying sword is not inferior to that of Master Xue back then!"
"Hahaha, I think Fairy Wu Shuang's swordsmanship is even stronger than Xue Daoheng's back then!"
Everyone was chatting and laughing, and with the war approaching, it was rare for them to feel comfortable.
Bai Ze and others changed the wine bowls, and everyone finished drinking. In the corner of the tavern, a young swordsman raised his wine glass and said, "Funiu Mountain Qi Xiaosha, I respect all fellow Taoists."
When Bai Ze heard the words "Funiu Mountain", he subconsciously looked over there and saw that the young swordsman had an ordinary face, with long hair hanging down his shoulders, and he seemed a bit free and easy.
Funiu Mountain in the eastern border of the Great Zhou Dynasty is where Bai Ze met Jian Xi and the old scholar. When he escaped from the time and space turbulence in the Kunlun Secret Realm, he rolled down into Funiu Mountain and was taken to Hengqu Town by the current. Jian Xi took him home to recuperate. Bai Ze stayed for a long time, but he didn't hear that there was any gate in Funiu Mountain. .
Bai Ze's mind moved and he asked: "Do you know, fellow Taoist, that there is a Hengqu Town in Funiu Mountain?"
"Oh?" Qi Xiaosa thought for a while after hearing this, and said: "I didn't expect the eldest son to know Funiu Mountain. However, the mountains are sparsely populated and there are only a few villages. If it is a small town, as far as I know, there is Zengtou City. It used to be the territory of the Zeng family. The Hengqu that the eldest son mentioned actually passes through Zengtou City."
Only then did Bai Ze remember that "Hengqu" was the new name given to the town by the old scholar. The town was indeed called Zengtou City before.
"It's true that I remembered it wrong." Bai Ze said with a smile, "Hengqu Town used to be called Zengtou City."
Hearing this, Qi Xiaosa suddenly stood up and asked, "Then why did you change your name?"
"It's a bookstore gentleman from a small town." Bai Ze replied.
"Mr. Shutang, do people in the town call him the old scholar?" Qi Xiaosha asked.
"Exactly." Bai Ze saw a strange look on his face and asked, "Do you know the old gentleman, fellow Taoist?"
"Hahaha, it's more than just acquaintance." Qi Xiaosha said, "When I reached a bottleneck in my practice, I traveled to the northern border and passed through Funiu Mountain. I listened to the old scholar giving lectures to his students. I found it very interesting, so I stayed in Zengtou City for some time. Day. Later, when the old scholar noticed that I was always lingering outside the school, he asked me why I came here."
After hearing this, everyone became curious.
"Fellow Taoist, what happened next?" Zhou Guanqi asked.
"Later, I told him about the confusion in my heart." Qi Xiaosa said, "Originally, I just told a stranger about my confusion without asking for answers. After all, I am a member of the Taoist sect, and the old scholar is a Confucian scholar. How could I Clear up the confusion?"
Bai Ze smiled slightly, that old scholar was no ordinary person. Qi Xiaosha said that at that time, he, like Bai Ze, underestimated the old gentleman at first.
…
