In the early spring when the belly of the fish is turning white, a branch of wild apricot blossoms slants out to block the road, turning into light pink and white smoke that fills the field of vision. The field of vision extends to the limit, and there is nothing in the silent space of thousands of shadows.
Jiang Wen sat under a tall oak tree, squinting his eyes and staring at the sharp blade in front of him, one hand concentrating on his strength, but his peripheral vision disappeared in the mist.
However, the haziness in front of my eyes did not prevent my ears from hearing clearly. The bells of the packhorses kept ringing, clearly indicating that the old horses, which could not rest due to their livelihood and were covered with morning dew, were crossing the vast mountains and forests before walking along the ancient road. Staggering towards the mountain village.
Jiang Wen stayed here, staring at Han Wang Qingdao in a daze for almost an hour. Luo Shuang'er listened to him chanting words such as "no clouds remain motionless", "clouds move like the wind", "when encountering wind and clouds, they turn into dragons", "you Don't come over here." I thought it was some profound and mysterious mantra.
However, once Luo Shuang'er asked him what he was doing, Jiang Wen would say that he had reached a critical moment in cultivating his three-point return vitality and planned to take this opportunity to make a breakthrough. They would not go anywhere else today.
Luo Shuang'er nodded as if she understood. Quan thought he agreed with Jiang Wen's explanation, and then followed Jiang Wen's instructions and walked into a house where he woke up early in the morning to prepare a vegetarian meal in the name of Xitan Temple. The last words of the small village disappeared again, and fell into silence again.
Fengwei Village is a typical village surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is located at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain in the middle finger of Jizu Mountain. There are lush vegetation on all four paths, and luxuriant hazelnuts and chestnuts. The gurgling water passes through the village in a streamline shape. Traditional houses with green tiles and white walls Built next to a stream, it seems that everything in the settlement is still sleeping peacefully and is about to wake up.
It's a pity that there are always bugs that disturb people's dreams in the morning sleep. At this time, they suddenly broke into the village. It was a dark-faced little monk who did not look like a Han man. He hurried past along the stone road carrying a paper bag.
He was focused on crossing the bright flowers and willows on both sides, almost missing his target. Fortunately, a team of pack horses on the stone bridge met him on the narrow road. When the young monk turned around and glanced, he met this majestic knight sitting alone. .
"Donor Jiang, I finally found you...Why are you hiding here?"
Jiang slowly turned his head when he heard the sound of favor, and found a kind-faced little monk walking towards him, carrying a bunch of large and small paper bags in his hands. There seemed to be a shallow bruise on his forehead for some reason, but Qing Qing The stubble is particularly obvious on the scalp.
"Little Master, I have no food or clothing in your Sittan Temple, so it makes sense to go to the foot of the mountain to find food, right? Looking at how out of breath you are, could it be that you have been looking around Jizu Mountain?"
Jiang Wen suddenly turned his head and waved his sleeves, and the long knife like frost and snow disappeared from the stone table. Then he slowly stood up and saluted the young monk. The magic-like performance made the young monk unable to recover for a long time.
"Hey, although I promised Abbot Hongbian to investigate the matter, there is no such thing as an exhaustive plan. Just stop talking and let me take a guess..."
Jiang Wen touched his chin and said thoughtfully.
"Did Abbot Hongbian order you to go down the mountain and find me quickly after buying all the medicinal materials? Did he ask me if I had any new clues? And the wound on your head, was it caused by the doctor in the village?"
Jiang Wen spoke as if he were a guest. Every time he said another word, the young monk's face became more surprised. After a few words, he almost looked down on Jiang Wen. He clasped his hands and almost knelt down with a plop.
"Donor, you, have you mastered his psychic powers? How do you know what the young monk is trying to say?"
The previous two incidents were quite close to Jiang's mind after hearing about them, and the incident of the doctor's beating was something he had expected.
Yesterday, Jiang Wen asked Abbot Hongbian to prepare amethyst, tortoise shell, antlers, angelica and other medicines to treat stubborn diseases in Luo Shuang'er's eight meridians. However, in addition to treating internal injuries caused by martial arts, this medicine is mainly used for women. The prescriptions for irregular menstruation and metrorrhagia were later included in the "Clinical Guide Medical Records·Postpartum Gate".
Let me ask him, as a young monk, how can he avoid being beaten if he goes to grab these medicines mysteriously early in the morning? The fact that he can still catch the medicine now is a sign of the benevolence of the doctor opposite.
Jiang Wen smiled mysteriously: "Little master, sit down and speak slowly. I know you are in a hurry, but don't be anxious yet. There are no magical powers in this world, so don't be blinded."
But when mentioning magical powers, the little monk in front of him was so flustered that he had no backbone, but he immediately clasped his hands with a determined expression and said, "Donor Jiang, don't lie to me. This young monk has seen with his own eyes that there are magical powers in the world. I became a monk just to learn the magical powers."
Jiang Wen glanced at the young monk in astonishment, confused by his determined attitude, but then he shook his head helplessly.
Seeing that the other person lowered his head and remained silent with a determined look on his face, obviously not intending to listen to what others were saying, Jiang Wen then asked, "What is the name of the little master yet?"
"My name is Aculin."
The young monk lowered his head and said naturally. He suddenly realized what he said as soon as he said it, "The name Master gave me is called Pinzhao."
"The monk's name is Pinzhao? Where does Meng He's lobby manager come from?"
Jiang Wen nodded silently and said, "I think, young master, you have a simple nature and a smart mind. It doesn't seem like it would be a good thing to escape into Buddhism early. Are you interested in learning some Taoist and Confucian kung fu from me?"
"I, I have never thought about this... Donor, you'd better follow me back to meet the abbot..."
The young monk Pinzhao could hardly keep up with Jiang Wen's thoughts. He was stunned for a moment and answered in Chinese with great difficulty. Then he was able to deal with the issue of magical powers and responsibilities without changing, "Donor, According to you, can people who study Taoism and Confucianism also cultivate and attain supernatural powers?"
"So what about supernatural powers? In the Buddhist scriptures, Venerable Maud Lian often uses his supernatural powers to save people, but in the end, he himself was beaten to death by outsiders with sticks. This shows that the magical powers are ultimately no match for Dingye."
Jiang Wen couldn't help but feel a little amused when he saw that the other party only recognized supernatural powers: "You are still young. You can have more contact and then decide how to go in the future. You should think about other things carefully before talking..."
The little monk listened in a daze, but Jiang heard that the horse was pulling the reins here and there, leaving the anxious little monk where he was.
The two of them were still chatting outside the door. As soon as Jiang heard the words, Luo Shuang'er came out of the farmhouse, holding a pot of fragrant fried bait cubes in his hand. He placed it on the surprisingly cramped stone table and walked out of the apricot tree. Break off two branches, remove the excess branches, and hold them in your hands.
In the slightly drunken spring breeze, these staple foods made of rice are steamed, pounded, and then sliced and stir-fried with ham, bacon, eggs, pickles and other ingredients. Compared with the local porridge noodles, they lack the warmth of the soup, but the texture is chewier, soft and glutinous with an indescribable smoothness.
Seeing that neither of them had any intention of eating, Luo Shuang'er looked at Jiang Wen and the two chatting with puzzled eyes, and quickly ate all the food in the basin. Then she wiped her mouth calmly and kept her posture. Breathtaking elegance, never said a word.
"Uh...Sister Shuang, are you really not going to save some for me?"
When Jiang Wen came back to his senses, he realized that there was only an empty plate in front of him. He had no choice but to smack his lips, realizing that his habit of being a teacher might need to be corrected.
Jiang Wen had been living with his three apprentices day and night for some time ago, and he was used to having people around him listening to his nagging and teachings. Now that they were suddenly separated, he had to admit that as a master, he might be the one who was least used to it. Subconsciously, I want to grab someone to chat with me.
The only thing in the world that cannot be changed is the impermanence of things. Others will eventually leave their traces, even if the stone in the river does not turn. But facing Luo Shuang'er, Jiang Wen found that the topic between the two of them was lackluster.
After a quick recollection, Jiang Wen and his three apprentices had a master-disciple father-son relationship. Yan Wing Chun and Yuan Ziyi were also senior comrades in martial arts. Naturally, they had many similar experiences. However, he lacked the experience of traveling in the world and had the same experience since childhood. Miss Luo, who was protected by her father, could never find a suitable topic to talk about.
Zhuangzi explained this problem thousands of years ago. In Zhuangzi's words, "Removing people nourishes the mind, thinking about others nourishes the mind." As people grow up, they will become less and less familiar with themselves, that is, they will become farther and farther away from the familiar self, until suddenly a familiar person or scene pulls you back to the past, making you try to recall the original self. Oneself, and the so-called dialogue is just talking to the original self.
To describe the current predicament in more concrete and simple language, Jiang Wen believes that it can be described in two words - "generation gap."
Jiang Wen didn't know whether the generation gap existed, but this sad and thick barrier was real. At least Jiang Wen knew that when he was in junior high school, there would never be a father who suddenly appeared to save the world and then kicked him. The bizarre experience of being kicked into the wilderness thousands of miles away to survive. The difference between the two of them at the same age is probably that of Lina Belle and Annabell - one can't smoke it no matter how hard it is, and the other can't throw it away no matter how hard it is. There is no comparison.
Jiang Wen's slightly awkward silence turned into a riddle in Luo Shuang'er's eyes. She only remembered that the other party pulled her around and ran around the mountains and fields, but did not explain anything.
What Pinzhao didn't know was that after the twists and turns last night, Jiang Wen and the two left Xitan Temple without sleeping almost all night. They first searched along Ma'anling and soon found a tower near Zunsheng Pagoda. The bones of the stupa were dug up at night, and the traces of the soil being turned over were clearly visible, but the contents of the tomb were missing.
Afterwards, Jiang and Luo walked down the hillside, passing through many large and small temples, hearing and witnessing the silent and quiet atmosphere inside, before finally stopping in the village at the foot of the mountain.
After walking in a hurry all night, she was naturally hungry. Jiang Wen frowned and remained silent all the way. This made Luo Shuang'er full of doubts and could not answer, and she continued to remain silent——
She could feel that Jiang Wen was looking for something that should have appeared but had yet to be seen. It was like waiting for a fallen leaf in the cold forest or half a lotus flower on a deep pond. Even though it was in vain at the moment, his posture Still very confident.
"Sister Shuang, don't underestimate this Fengwei Village. The things we are looking for here must be here."
Seeing that Luo Shuang'er was still suspicious, Jiang Wen decided to try to communicate again, so he extended his left hand to the Fengwei Village at the foot of his empty finger, "According to the divination before I went out, it is difficult to stay here, and the date of the plan is not clear yet, the official said. Things should be slowed down, and those who go will not come back. Rushing for success will be fruitless. The five elements of today's matters belong to water, and the direction is north. As long as we wait here, we will definitely achieve something."
This was not because Jiang Wen was talking nonsense, but because he knew that as long as he stayed in Fengwei Village, he would be able to find clues - this was determined by the topography and culture of Jizu Mountain.
In addition to the seemingly clean and peaceful atmosphere, there is also the fact that arable land is scarce in this mountainous area. The available arable land near Jizu Mountain is only a dozen acres of paddy fields and more than a hundred acres of dry land, which is completely insufficient to supply the entire area. The temple produces fertile farmland. The thousand-acre Xitan Temple was mostly allocated on paper by the Mu family.
Therefore, all the materials needed for this "Tiankai Buddha Land" rely on outside transportation, and then follow the only road directly up to Jizu Mountain winding up the mountain. If someone wants to leave, they must not escape from this only road connected to the outside world. .
Jiang Wen sat on the stone bench thoughtfully, not caring about the embarrassment of having no money in his waist. He asked the host for another plate of fried bait cubes. The farmer also hospitably brought a bowl of black children's tea. Luo Shuang'er After just one sip, he was dissuaded by the bitter and cold taste, leaving Jiang Wen to slowly taste the bowl of bitter tea.
"Sister Shuang, I dragged you around on the mountain yesterday because Xitan Temple is now in a fog, and I have to figure out the incomprehensible things first."
This behavior is commonly known as exploring the fog to open up the field of vision. Jiang Wen held out his fingers with a tea bowl and slowly calculated, "For example, how did the masked man come yesterday and how did he leave? In a place where we can't see, there is another person on Jizu Mountain. what happened……"
The young monk still didn't understand what the other party meant, so he said first: "Donor, when will the people we are looking for show up? What if they come out of the mountains in disguise?"
Jiang Wen smiled slightly: "I believe Abbot Hongbian's judgment is accurate. Besides, I also think that this night break into Fayun Pavilion was done by the men of Pingxi King Wu Sangui. As long as they are sure that this is what those martial arts masters did, then they will continue I can pretty much guess what he will do when he comes down."
Why did Jiang Wen think that the other party was a member of the martial arts world? Because only people in the martial arts world can do this kind of thing.
If the military leaders of Pingxi Palace were to do this, they would just have to fabricate a charge of aiding the enemy and collaborating with bandits for Xitan Temple, and then send troops to tie up all the bald men in the temple. It can be as overbearing and unreasonable as King Pingxi detaining Mu Yi, the chieftain of Lijiang. There is no need to conduct night exploration of Fayun Pavilion, and he has to be extremely arrogant and hurt people.
This time, the man in black is secretive in his work, obviously relying on his martial arts skills to be able to come and go freely. What a martial artist like this wants is a prominent reputation and a stable position at the top, and he will never want to be robbed from the deep mountains and old forests by roosters and dogs. Leave, spread and become a laughing stock.
Therefore, even if people in the martial arts world steal or rob, they have to be like Luo Yuantong, who specializes in robbing wealthy families. He robbed eight wealthy families in Jinling in one night without a fight, in order to make his family famous.
That’s why Jiang Wen likes to deal with people in the rivers and lakes the most. These defined rivers and lakes are almost a perfect replica of Song Xianggong’s Battle of Hongshui, but the effect is exactly the opposite. The reason why the rivers and lakes praise the master’s style is to protect those who are truly Elderly masters don't have to worry about sap, lime and gang fights coming from everywhere when they go out.
"The people we are waiting for will be here soon. Don't worry, you can just stay here and watch the show..."
As Jiang Wen spoke, he could clearly hear the sound of footsteps approaching from far away. It seemed that Fengwei Village had just woken up from a dream and finally took sleepy steps.
So Jiang Wen stood up and slapped the case. He performed Qinggong in his clothes and came to the stone path without a trace of fireworks. With a cold light flash in his left hand, King Han's green sword pointed at the two people galloping down the mountain in the distance. In this way, Ya'an blocked the way and said to the distance——
"Hand over the things and I will spare your lives."
The galloping horses stirred up flying dust, and two men in fine costumes appeared as expected, but they looked quite arrogant. Not only did they have no intention of stopping, they even added a whip to speed up again.
Jiang Wen stood still in the road, and the other party did not take this madman with a broken arm seriously. They all rode their horses towards him, stretched their arms on the horse, and at the same time pulled out the shining long sword from the sheath. .
It's not enough to describe the passing of the white horse. Jiang Wenxu's eyes were focused, and he held the sword in his left hand. He suddenly jumped sideways into the air, his toes touched the saddle of the galloping horse, and the blade of the sword reflected the rising sun in the sky, and he swung it out of thin air. An extremely dazzling sword light passed close to the vital points of the horses and knights, intersecting with the swords in a miraculous way, and disappeared in the cold air in an instant.
The two of them felt their eyes blurred and their bodies felt cold. After the flash of lightning, they quickly reined in their horses in panic. The two martial arts practitioners found a large gash in their clothes. The wound was not too deep, but they realized it at this time. The next string of blood beads, and the unbearable tingling feeling spread out. If the knife edge had been an inch deeper, I'm afraid they would have been disemboweled.
The two martial arts men looked at each other, jumped off their horses and spoke to Jiang Wen with alert expressions.
"This friend, we are working for Prince Pingxi's Palace."
There was no response to this.
In addition to the King of Han's green sword, Jiang Wen was also holding an ancient thread-bound book in his palm. He was looking at it slowly under the sunlight. However, the book had no cover on the outside and seemed to have been bound into a book casually. He never looked at the two people in front of him, and he spoke after a long time.
"Two friends, what is Pingxi Prince's Mansion? What you have in your hands is clearly from Xitan Temple."
As soon as these words came out, it was equivalent to announcing the name. It was self-evident that they were enemies and not friends. They even skipped the step of notifying the names. The two martial arts masters took advantage of the situation and opened their postures, one on the left and one on the right. Jiang Wen.
"Your Excellency is good at martial arts, but you only have one good arm. Today we two brothers and sisters are fighting against you. Do you have any complaints? As long as you hand over what you have in your hands, we can pretend that this never happened."
The tall and thin middle-aged master held the sword in his hand and said in a deep voice.
He stared closely at the short sword at Jiang Wen's waist, guessing that what the other party originally used must be a double sword technique.
Just now, he was unprepared and was let go by Jiang Wen. However, they were one against two, and facing the one-armed man, they were fighting with four hands against one fist. There was no way they would suffer in a fight, so he simply spoke out. .
But Jiang Wen smiled slightly and dismissed the rules advocated by the two.
"I am killing people with a long sword, but I am using a short sword to make mistakes. What do you know?"
Faced with such arrogant arrogance, the two of them were no longer polite. They slashed with their swords from left to right. Their moves were smooth and fierce, and they were not willing to expose even a single flaw. It was obvious that they had planned to strike steadily and overwhelmingly.
Faced with the threat of attack from two sides, Jiang Wen's response was extremely strange.
His sword skills are so skillful and delicate that even when wielded with one arm, he can still exert his full power. The two men were attacking with swordsmanship like water splashing. Jiang Wen could only hold up his sword to block it for a few times, but then he moved forward and used the unexpected sword-raising technique to threaten him.
"Junior brother, be careful. This person uses the sword as a pivot to move forward and chop with all his strength. He is clearly using a single sword to defeat a spear!"
The two martial arts masters exchanged words and exposed Jiang Wen's moves. Then they changed their positions and attacked again with swords.
At this time, the two gradually discovered that other people's swords were leaning against each other, but Jiang Wen's swordsmanship was full of unexpected changes. The starting hand was still straight, and the initial move became a wrap around the head and head, saying something in his mouth. After sweeping through thousands of troops, he took advantage of the situation and came to attack Mount Huashan. However, he still looked serious and never fell behind no matter how he responded.
The two martial arts masters exchanged glances and finally showed off their special skills. Their eyes changed in response, and they used sword moves that were like floating clouds. They gradually restrained Jiang Wen's fictitious sword skills. .
The swordsmanship of the two was uneven, and their body skills were mixed here and there. Their moves were sometimes as slow as floating clouds, and sometimes as fast as thunder. Their moves were firm and soft, and their progress was unpredictable. Jiang Wen, the one who dared to stop a frightened horse, The master seemed to be trapped by two drunkards who were running around, but for a while he was unable to solve the dilemma.
"The body is not drunk when you are drunk, and the heart is not drunk when you are drunk. It turns out that the two of you are good at the swordsmanship of the Eight Drunken Immortals..."
The King of Han's Green Sword in Jiang Wen's hand blocked left and right, relying on his exquisite steps to find flaws between the two people, constantly wandering around the field.
The two martial arts masters, who have a tacit understanding of each other, are as slow as the breeze but cannot see the sword. Amidst the changes, the sword light is not seen but the person is seen. When the sword is struck, the sword avoids the edge and hides the light, and the water gurgling. It takes the effort of a cup of tea. , the swordsmanship gradually increased in strength, the two swords clashed like silk threads, trying to suppress Jiang Wen's sword moves.
I don't know if it was an illusion, but the two martial arts masters noticed a breeze blowing on their cheeks. At this time, the sword shadow was approaching, and the sword attack was frustrated. However, Jiang Wen suddenly raised his head in the extremely deadlocked situation and looked at the two people who had a chance to win.
But Jiang Wen's seemingly unintentional look was more powerful than all the deliberate gazes they had ever seen. That seemingly unintentional, seemingly unintentional, momentary connection between stone and fire made them see from a glance. It's freezing cold!
There was no foreshadowing or advance in this move. It was as if it was just a forced strike after the power of the sword was exhausted, blocking all the enemy's escape routes. Because it was too simple and direct, the move was executed so fast that the two martial arts masters had no time at all. Prepare, take action and resist out of subconscious reaction, and finally face the unexpected result together——
Defeat!
"Your swordsmanship is good, but when you practice swordsmanship, you practice swordsmanship, and when you drink wine, you drink wine. You insist on hanging out together. It's a miracle that you can survive to this day..."
Jiang Wen slowly sheathed the knife, and the killing move finally missed the vital points of the two men. He held the reins of the two horses, held up the ancient thread-bound book in his hand, and walked swiftly between the two men who were vomiting blood after breaking their swords. The winner was already decided.
At this time, Pinzhao, who was under the oak tree, ran up to Jiang Wen in great excitement and said, "Donor Jiang, you really know magical powers!"
Jiang Wen looked at Pinzhao in astonishment. He didn't know how the other person's brain circuit was structured and why he couldn't talk about supernatural powers.
Jiang Wen had always wanted to trick Luo Shuang'er into joining the Wuyi sect for protection, but unfortunately relying on his own appearance was obviously ineffective, so he could only rely on some external help. The method he came up with after much thought was to inspire admiration and increase his favorability. For example, the ordinary sword skills were nothing more than chopping, chopping, slicing, and teasing, but when he did it, he chanted "worry before the world," wouldn't the pattern come up in an instant?
He had just finished showing off in front of Luo Shuang'er. He had finally managed to create a master-like demeanor. How could he break the atmosphere? Therefore, it was a bit timid to tell the young monk that he did not understand magical powers. At this moment, he had to say something that suited his status.
"Uh, little master, I know some magical powers, please keep it a secret..."
Jiang Wen lowered his voice and said after searching his intestines and stomach.
"We are destined to meet each other today. Today I will teach you some of the ways of a gentleman to test your understanding - Confucius said that a knowledgeable person will not be confused, a benevolent person will not worry, a brave person will not be afraid, a wise person will not be deaf..."
