(5)
On the ninth day of the seventh month, there is a saying in the lunar calendar: if A does not open a warehouse, the wealth will be wasted; if Yin does not offer sacrifices, the gods and ghosts will not taste it - everything is not suitable, and there will be great misfortune in the southwest.
After watching the stars all night, Qin Tianjian reported: "The year is inauspicious, it is advisable to rest and recuperate, avoid killing, be at peace with destiny, and wait for the right time."
The emperor regarded this as nothing, insisting on opening the palace gates to welcome the people, and continued to hold imperial competitions. He specially set up an altar in the southwest of the palace to offer sacrifices, perform stall performances, and send off the plague god. He beat gongs and drums and shouted loudly.
Flags and flags are flying, forming a continuous wall.
Under constant calls, the first group of dueling warriors appeared on the stage one after another.
"Pretty Dancer" Mei Xinghe faced off against "Hun Horse Archer" Ling'er.
On the tower of Wengcheng, the old and gray-haired emperor sat here. Dozens of large flags were erected around the city wall, which were magnificent and blocked out the sun. The central defender general Bai Feng stood in the middle of the competition field and watched the flag-bearer's orders and said: " Before we begin, I must reiterate that the competition cannot be interrupted unless one of the parties loses the ability to resist or chooses to surrender. Of course, I will not stand by if anyone wants to take advantage of others' danger and kill them."
He took out the "life and death certificate", waited for the competitors to press their fingerprints, and then walked around the field with the certificate to show fairness.
The two corresponding recommenders were sitting in the tents on both sides of the competition platform, Mei Lin and Murong An, eunuchs and military generals.
Four rows of drummers stood on the walls surrounding the urn. Their movements were uniform and powerful. The sound of the drums gradually became denser and deeper, forcing those who heard it to speed up their pace.
When General Bai Feng heard the sound of drums, he walked straight to a big gong in the competition arena and beat it with all his strength. The drums then became rhythmic and awe-inspiring, and were accompanied by the drummer's war cry, "Hoha!" The echoes echoed in the air. The inside of Wengcheng was shaken like thunder.
"The contest begins!"
Mei Xinghe was dressed up to attend today. Her already fair face was painted into a powder-puffed look, which made her look even more stunning. Her fox-like eyes seemed to be able to intoxicate people without even getting close.
"Oh, why should I kill you? I hate killing the most in my life." She seemed to regard this place as a stage for courtesans, twirling and dancing freely, and suddenly fell down with her arms on her shoulders, throwing her hands at the villagers and officials in the audience. Go wink.
Regular patrons who often go to "Guanghan Pavilion" will be familiar with this. This is Mei Xinghe's best dance.
"A bunch of bad men."
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly grabbed her dress and spun around like crazy. The pattern on her dress was embroidered with silver. From a distance, it looked like a blooming silver flower. No one could see clearly what she had done. After a moment, she threw the beautiful skirt out. Under the skirt was a cold-faced girl with a completely different temperament from just now.
She wore black clothes, black boots, and black silk. She had a "braid dart" tied behind her braided hair, and she held a slender gold needle in each hand.
This wonderful dance, like a magic trick, successfully won everyone's applause.
Ling'er, the Hun horse archer, seemed a little overwhelmed by such a battle. She didn't know how to speak Chinese, so she shouted intermittently: "You...come here, I...are not afraid!"
Compared with Mei Xinghe, Ling'er's skin is rough, dark, and covered with freckles, but her facial features can be said to be small and cute. What doesn't match them are her very slender limbs and the very long hand in her hand. saber.
She was covered in gold jewelry, gold earrings, gold bracelets, and gold leg rings. She wore very tight breeches on her lower body, long and pointed boots, and a variegated Hufu on her upper body - which seemed to be made of various scrap fabrics. Pieced clothing.
All in all, she had an extremely childish face.
"I didn't expect that both parties in the first duel were women!"
"Then the Hun horse archer is still a child, right?"
"Xinghe, look at me one more time..."
Mei Xinghe smiled and sarcastically said to his opponent: "You admit defeat, Linger, I am different from you 'war slaves' who wield swords for survival."
"War...slave?" She understood the word, and then secretly blew her nose and replied: "We can't lose. If we lose...General An doesn't want me."
"Hey, I have taken in many girls like you in Guanghan Pavilion..." After Mei Xinghe said hello, he suddenly stood up from the ground, sent two flying needles in the air, and then approached him and stretched out from his body. Two long needles, stabbing continuously.
With her long limbs and ability to use the saber, the Huns kept a distance to test her. Even flying needles and daggers were nothing more than mosquitoes and ants in her eyes.
I saw her walking steadily, turning her back with one hand, facing the enemy from the side, and holding a saber in one hand to hold flowers beautifully, which made others marvel at her.
"Then let's do this." Mei Xinghe took out ten flying needles and threw them together. For a moment, it was like a rainstorm of pear blossoms. Ling'er was unable to parry. His feet, left shoulder, and right arm were all hit by needles, or suffered varying degrees of damage. There were a few bruises, but she could still maintain her posture, and this minor injury was nothing to be afraid of.
However, at the moment when the Huns were slightly slow in action, Mei Xinghe took out his double needles and stabbed the middle, where the sabers were concentrated for defense. Then he tilted his head and threw out the "braided dart", inflicting wounds on his head and body. suppress.
Just a moment later, I saw the dancer fly out with two thorns, turn her body away from the opponent, bend her legs and kick upwards, just like a crane pointing the way, the black boots touched the mechanism, and a white sharp blade popped out, which the Huns could not catch from the field of vision. The point pointed directly at her chin.
"Stop!" Bai Feng saw this and immediately shouted.
Ling'er dropped the knife and stood there stunned.
"Could it be?" Bai Feng quickly stepped forward to check the situation: "There is no blood on the boots, then..."
Ling'er knelt on the ground slumped and said to himself: "Lost."
Mei Xinghe had no murderous intention, so he stopped at the last point.
"As expected of Mr. Mei's confidant, he can kill people everywhere." Bai Feng admired him sincerely and wanted to declare the winner.
"Wait a minute!" Mei Xinghe invited the Huns over and said, "I lost this game, I admit defeat."
Ling'er was naturally puzzled and asked: "Why?"
"I just want to tell you, don't follow your 'General An' anymore. He and they are not good people." When talking about them, Mei Xinghe deliberately glanced at the tower. Sima Tu and the emperor They all sat at a high place and watched the competition.
Bai Feng asked: "Miss Mei really want to admit defeat?"
"Oh, don't you feel sorry for my little sister?" Mei Xinghe pretended to be in a daze and wanted to fall on Bai Feng, but Ling'er's reaction was positive and held Mei Xinghe steady first.
"Thank you..." Mei Xinghe did not refuse the kindness: "General Bai Feng, please announce the result as soon as possible, so that I can leave this hellish place."
Bai Fengquan took it as a favor and immediately announced that the winner was Ling'er, the Hun horse archer. As expected, everyone was talking about it.
"Why did Xinghe lose!"
"Do you have dog eyes? Miss Mei is better at fighting than dancing. She should win anyway!"
"Faint official! Faint official! Faint official!"
Murong An saw everyone scolding Bai Feng and stood there watching the joke.
"Ling'er is back."
"General Murong!"
He hugged her and comforted her like the biological father of the Huns. This scene made people think about what this man who had a close connection with Taiping Road was doing behind the scenes.
