(19)
Rain was still dripping under the high eaves, but the rain had stopped. All kinds of traders and people opened their doors and walked onto the street. Two brown horses shuttled between them. The vendors on the road passing by would stop from time to time, pause for a moment, and then set off on the road again with their whips.
On the horse were a man and a woman. The man only carried a long sword with an exquisite scabbard and a copper bell on his waist. He had nothing else and was dressed lightly. The other woman behind her looked much more beautiful. When she was driving her horse, she was always paying attention to the water splashing under the horse, as if she was afraid that her clothes would be stained.
"Old man, have you seen a woman wearing a yellow and green gauze dress? There may be a tall figure wearing a bamboo hat next to her..." The man on horseback approached a man on the roadside. The merchant came forward and said so.
"Yes! Yes! Those two people can tell at a glance that they are outsiders! They want to leave the city even when they see the red sky, aren't they asking for trouble!" The old man stroked his curled white beard and pointed to the west of the city. Said: "The people you are talking about went to the west area of the city early in the morning. I reminded them a few times, but they turned a deaf ear to my words. I am really angry!"
Another guest immediately became angry when he saw the old man talking. He raised his delicate voice and hurriedly comforted him: "Uncle, don't get so angry!"
"Little girl, you are really looking down on me! Old man, I get up earlier than the rooster crows every day and practice Qigong early in the morning. Now it is not necessarily difficult to kill a 'big insect'!" the old man said half-jokingly. replied.
After hearing this, the man on the horse raised his hands and bowed in thanks. The woman beside him followed the same example, but his movements were unfamiliar and tight, making him look slightly funny. The two men on horseback looked at each other and smiled, then waved their whips again and hurried on. After a while, the two of them came to a stone archway. There was a plaque on it with the words "Xihua Gate" written on it. The two of them looked towards the far side of the door and saw a completely different scene from the one on the other side.
As the two people and the "Xihua Gate" gradually moved away, the stone bricks on the ground gradually disappeared and were replaced by ordinary sand and gravel; the towering green tiles and flying rafts on both sides were all replaced by hay thatched roofs; graceful The luxurious young lady and his wife were like a bubble, washed away by the heavy rain just now, leaving only the creatures with dull eyes, shrugged shoulders and lowered eyebrows, and hunched bodies walking on the road, which we can call "human beings".
"Mr. Bai, this..." Zhao Xiaomei, who was riding on the horse, said in disbelief: "How come we are separated by a door, as if we are in another world!"
Bai Feng looked at the dilapidated and desolate scenery on both sides, and then compared it with the scenery of his life in the past few days. He couldn't help gritting his teeth. He seemed to have imagined how the officials here squeezed the poor people. It was just that the situation was special now, so he suppressed his anger and replied: "Don't worry about this for now, we'd better hurry up and catch up with Yan'er and the others as soon as possible!" After saying that, Bai Feng whipped the horse hard and hit it on the horse's butt, trying to speed up the pace. Unexpectedly, the sand and gravel on the ground were eroded by heavy rain and became slippery and difficult to walk on. No matter how much he urged the horse to speed up, it would never be faster than half a minute. Thinking of Murong Yan's situation, Bai Feng, who had always been cold and stern, couldn't help but become more agitated and almost wanted to curse.
Seeing that he was so angry, Zhao Xiaomei advised from the side: "Mr. Bai, don't force yourself..."
"Why do you keep following me!" Bai Feng's words were full of resentment and disdain, "A young lady like Miss Zhao should stay in the boudoir!"
"Who cares about following you?" The little girl behind her said with a shameful face and angrily: "If it weren't for my brother, he said, 'A person like Mr. Bai who usually doesn't show his emotions and anger, and doesn't show his face, when he meets When someone really involves you, you will behave abnormally. 'That's why you let me watch you to prevent you from making mistakes!"
"Haha..." Bai Feng said with a sneer: "Then Brother Zhao... why doesn't he come with me?" Bai Feng apologized and drove his horse to slow down next to the little sister.
"How do I know!" The little girl said, half ashamed and half angry: "How dare you lose your temper with me! I am not like Sister Murong, who will 'forgive' you casually, hum!" As soon as he finished speaking, the little girl The younger sister whipped her whip and held her crotch, shouting "drive, drive", and the horse accelerated forward. The sewage on the road splashed her pantyhose, but it didn't attract her attention at all. Bai Feng felt helpless, so she galloped on her horse and followed closely behind.
After a while, the two of them walked out of the west city gate, leaving behind the depressing atmosphere in Jiangzhou's outer city and breathing in the fresh air of the countryside after the rain. On the branches that had been beaten bare by the raindrops, there were birds preening each other's hair; the low shrubs by the roadside were lucky enough to "escape", with a little rain hanging down on the tips of their leaves; they were usually dusted by the wind The covered rocks were piled up haphazardly, and after being washed away by the rain, their natural and clear wrinkles were revealed.
It's a pity that these two people really have no time to appreciate this beautiful scenery, so they can only serve as "foils" to rush through it, adding a touch of humanistic flavor to this painting that has a lot of ink and landscape meaning. After a while, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in front. Zhao Xiaomei, who was walking in front, felt something strange and wanted to take a closer look. However, after catching a glimpse of the figure carrying a weapon, she stood still on horseback.
"Miss Zhao, why don't you leave? Why don't you forgive me?" Bai Feng rode forward and said.
"Mr. Bai, look..." The little girl pointed forward with trembling hands, her big eyes widening cutely, as if she could see everything reflected in those clear brown eyes. Bai Feng followed her line of sight and looked there. I saw an eight-foot-long man with a majestic posture walking slowly, and in front of him was a petite figure wearing a bamboo hat and yellow-green clothes.
"Why, are they going back?" Bai Feng dismounted doubtfully, stroking the hilt of the "Longming" sword with his right hand, and walked towards the pair of figures. The younger sister whispered "Be careful", and Bai Feng nodded in response and continued walking forward.
The mark left by stepping on the mud underfoot became farther and farther. The little girl who was still on the horse was worried about what kind of killing moves the weird swordsman would use. Her big eyes were slightly closed, and she didn't dare to look forward. . Suddenly, she saw the yellow-green figure running quickly towards Bai Feng, and even the bamboo hat on his head flew away a few steps from where he came.
"Brother Feng!" Murong Yan fell into Bai Feng's arms. The young man didn't say a word, he just looked at the bamboo hat swordsman in the distance, put the bamboo hat that had just fallen to the ground, and calmly put it back on his head. A faint smile could be seen on his sad face.
Murong Yan wiped away her tears of joy and said again: "Brother Feng, go and persuade Wen Tao quickly and don't let him go back to Fu's house! I'm begging you, Yan'er!"
"Him?" Bai Feng was puzzled. He saw the calm smile under the bamboo hat again, then nodded slightly and walked over. At this time, the little sister also ran from the horse to Murong Yan's side, cheek to cheek with her, exchanging care and concern eagerly.
Bai Feng's right hand still didn't leave the hilt of the sword, but Fu Wentao didn't seem to be afraid of him at all. He just stood there tall and straight, waiting for Bai Feng to walk over.
"Master Fu, you..." When Bai Feng said this, Fu Wentao put his hand on his shoulder, and the right to speak was also taken away.
"Bai Feng, Mr. Bai. Please take good care of Miss!" Fu Wentao said, and then smiled slightly: "The showdown between you and me is not over yet. Let's decide the winner next time we meet!" After that, Fu Wentao bowed his hands, half-nodding his head, looking at the young man in front of him with burning eyes.
"Uh..." Bai Feng bowed in return and said, "I understand..." After that, Fu Wentao took advantage of Murong Yan not paying attention and walked away to the west.
