Tianshui Lane in the west of the city is adjacent to the waterway that surrounds Suzhou. The sound of water is gurgling, and most of the shops wash their hands in this river.
More than a hundred steps into Tianshui Lane, there is a well, from which the sweet water for drinking and cooking is obtained.
There is a dedicated person in charge of the well, and the well-keeper with an official salary and silver salary has been a respected old man from all the lanes in the west of the city. He is kind and impartial, and everyone is convinced by it.
The well is opened every morning and locked at dusk. During the rest of the time, the old man guarding the well will note down how much water each family draws every day in the pavilion next to the well, so that he can collect water money at the end of the month.
Zheng Yidao walked into the alley against the scorching sun, raised his head and moved towards the end of the alley. With a fierce sound, the others also retreated.
Someone was fetching water, and the old man guarding the well made a note and waved to him to turn the windlass on his own. The old man put down his pen, poked half of his head out from under the pavilion, and called out to Zheng Yidao: "Yidao, did you go to make money yesterday? Why did you come back at this hour?"
If anyone else asked, Zheng Yidao would dismiss it with a cold look. Facing the old man guarding the well, the cold-faced and boring Zheng Yidao showed half a smile, "Uncle, you looked at me when I was naked. Over the years, although I have earned money by killing pigs, I only have the courage to spend some money to show off my wealth, so I can only use it when killing pigs. How dare I go out and play around with money? Yesterday, a friend came over and insisted on dragging him out for a few drinks. It was really hard to refuse the invitation. I had a few more glasses of wine and got so drunk that I forgot where my home was, so I just found a wall to sleep in for the night."
The people in the west of the city are pure and kind-hearted. After hearing this, the old man guarding the well whispered: "It's okay to drink wine, but you must also inform your wife that she is looking for you at the alley early this morning. At your age, you are not young." During the kiss, you were free and unrestrained. Now you are also the head of the family, and your family is waiting for you to come home."
Zheng Yidao grinned, "What I taught you is not to go out to drink with others in the future."
At the end of the alley, a plump woman walked out of her courtyard, wearing coarse linen clothes and half a silk scarf wrapped in a bun. Seeing Zheng Yidao, his eyes lit up and he smiled. He walked a few steps and walked in front of him. He saw his embarrassment at a glance and helped him out, saying: "Uncle, please don't lecture him in the street. He can save some face, and I will go back and close the door later to give him a lesson to relieve his anger."
The old man guarding the well retreated back to the pavilion, and the couple groaned together. He couldn't explain it with his toothless mouth, and complained: "Aren't I venting your anger for you?"
The woman chuckled, clapped her chest and said boldly: "Uncle, even though I am a woman, my family is from a blacksmith background. I have been blacksmithing with my parents in the workshop since I was a child, and I have gained strength. I can still take care of this man." Liveable."
The woman put her hands behind her back and stretched out her hand to twist Zheng Yidao where the old man could not see. Zheng Yidao understood and said three "yes" words in succession.
Another person came to fetch water. The old man didn't want to gossip, so he waved his hand and took a note of the name of the house where the water was fetched.
The woman drove her husband home, making no sound all the way.
The two walked back to their small courtyard, closed the courtyard door, and each breathed a long sigh of relief. They were feeling light and comfortable in their own courtyard.
"Have you eaten yet?"
The woman walked briskly, turning into a shadow, bypassing several pots of flowers and plants in the courtyard, and walked to the loess-built stove on the east side of the courtyard wall. The stove had just turned off the heat, and a pot of spices was boiling in the water.
The fireworks in the courtyard washed away the dust of the world. Zheng Yidao stood on the spot, hesitated for a moment, clenched his fists and said: "Don't clean up. I have to go out in a while, and it may take a few days to get back."
The woman didn't ask him where he was going. He had his own reasons for going. Lifting the lid of the pot soaked in soup, a smell of meat comes out. Use the bamboo chopsticks used to pick out meat to pick out a piece of dark red fat intestine, chop it on the cutting board, pick up a few pieces of liver and lungs and cut them into slices, pour a spoonful of hot soup on it, and bring it to Zheng Yidao, "Eat until you are full. You don’t have to worry about this house, I will take care of it for you.”
Zheng Yidao took the bowl and squatted on the courtyard wall to slurp soup and eat meat.
The woman was not idle either. She went back to the house to pack a few changes of clothes for him, and stuffed some freshly baked biscuits into her baggage.
"Don't go out these days. There are tigers in the city. When the waiter gets off school, take a leave of absence from your husband and stay in your courtyard until I come back." Zheng Yidao finished his bowl of soup and thought. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he was stopped by a look from the woman. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and drank half a ladle of well water from the water tank in the courtyard to wash away the oil on his mouth.
The woman always believed the husband's words, carried the baggage on her back for him, and nodded in response.
The couple stayed in the courtyard for a while, then Zheng Yidao went out and walked away.
The woman did not go out to say goodbye, but collected the dishes and chopsticks by herself. In the past, when he went out, she would wait quietly at home. This time, she would wait for him to come back as usual.
Zheng Yidao went out and bumped into the old man guarding the well again. Someone happened to be fetching water. Zheng Yidao ran away against the wall. A pigeon landed at the entrance of the alley and whispered to him.
Zheng Yidao's expression suddenly changed, and he was full of murderous intent. He closed his lips and whistled, and the pigeon flew into his arms. Watching the flying pigeon carefully in a deserted place, Zheng Yidao unpacked his baggage and changed into dark clothes.
My wife never asked him where he was going, but every time she packed her bags, she would prepare a juggler's outfit for him.
After changing his clothes and covering his face, Zheng Yidao climbed up the wall. In this attire, no one in the west of the city could recognize his identity. There was no need to cover up anymore and he hurried on, disturbing a few pecking sparrows.
At three o'clock in the morning, the shops were deserted, and the clerks from various shops were taking a break in the shade. After soaking in the bluestone for a long time, the caravan was not in a hurry to leave the city. They found a wide shade of trees, drank tea and exchanged greetings, and waited for the weather to cool down slightly before setting off on their way.
Jun Bubai walked through the north of the city dressed in white, and his wild sword intention caused a gust of warm wind to shake the hanging bell under the eaves.
The ringtones were a mess, painting a few strokes of sadness on Jun Bubai's eyebrows. He was not at Tianxia Tower, he did not go to Wanchun Tower, and he did not show up at the old house in the north of the city. Where did Lou Wanchun go?
"Lost." On the eaves, Zheng Yidao, dressed in black, came with a knife, pulled off his turban, and shouted to Jun Bubai.
Zheng Yidao's attire was beyond Jun Bubai's expectation, so he immediately lowered his body and hung to the side, "But did you find someone else?"
Zheng Yidao pointed at the short mountain west of the city, "He showed up at the mountain temple and injured several Zhuangzi's secret sentries on the way up the mountain."
Jun Bubai frowned, drew his sword finger, and a sword river was reflected behind him. His sleeves were fluttering, and he chased towards the short mountain in the west of the city without looking back.
Zheng Yidao didn't have the ability to wield a sword like him, so he hurried on with Qinggong, stepping on the green tiles and treetops.
In an alley in the west of the city, there was a beggar running barefoot. He had just stepped across a shallow puddle when he was unexpectedly splashed with vegetable leaves by a woman who went out to take out sewage. The beggar cursed a few times and jumped up onto the courtyard wall. , took a deep breath and walked extremely fast.
They both rushed to the short mountain in the west of the city. The butcher Zheng Yidao and the beggar Hong Boding were together. The two were chasing each other, and they were evenly matched.
Seeing an acquaintance, Zheng Yidao opened up his chatter and said sarcastically: "We haven't seen each other for a while, why are you so embarrassed?"
Hong Buding shook off the dried vegetable roots and leaves on his body, with a bitter look on his face, "Forget it, I was born to be a beggar, how have I ever been clean like this?"
Hong Buding caught a glimpse of Zheng Yidao's clean black clothes from the corner of his eye, and smelled the scent of Hu cakes from the bulging baggage on his shoulders. He couldn't help but envy: "You, Old Zheng, are still living a comfortable life, and you have a wife at home." Wait, you have even put on clean clothes, and the few biscuits in your bag must have been prepared by my wife for fear that you would be hungry."
Zheng Yidao took out a piece of porcelain Hu cake from the package and threw it to Hong Buding, "When the world is at peace, you can find a decent job and find a wife to go home and live a good life."
Hong Buding gnawed the biscuits with one hand and sighed sadly. He once enjoyed the prosperous times, but once they were overthrown, they became a fleeting thing. Now that he has been wandering for many years, he no longer desires extravagant things. "My life is not as good as yours. In this life, Doomed to be alone.”
The two of them had excellent light skills and could travel twenty miles from the city in a matter of seconds.
The forest was lush and lush, blocking the skylight above their heads. The two of them passed through countless shrubs in the forest and surrounded the mountain temple.
Killing animals to make a living would be detrimental to the butcher's morality, so every year on March 3rd, on the birthday of the mountain god, Zheng Yidao would be forced by his wife to come to the temple to burn a stick of incense and donate a lot of money to accumulate some good fortune.
On March 3rd, there is a mountain temple gathering. It is rare for poor people to be generous for a few days. Hong Buping will also go to the mountain to beg for some food. He is not as stingy as the rich families in the south of the city. They just throw away the leftovers. They are all made by themselves. They treat everyone equally and are extremely clean.
The two of them ran out of the mountain forest. The wall of the mountain temple that had been destroyed by Jun Bubai yesterday had not yet been repaired. Another sword wind blew into the mountain forest, cutting off several green trees.
In the courtyard, the roar of tigers was deafening.
Hong Buding made noises in his ears, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and was shocked, "It really is a tiger."
Zheng Yidao tightened his grip on the butcher knife, sweating from his hands. This was the first time he saw a living person transforming into a tiger. He had only heard of strange and strange things in storytellers' books, and he felt a little scared.
There was another tiger roar, the two looked at each other and dispersed.
Zheng Yidao walked at the front door, looked up and saw a gap in the plaque on the door. He tapped his toes, hid the baggage on his back, turned over and landed on the eaves, and had a clear view of the courtyard.
The owner of the Tianxia Building, Jun Bubai, was dressed in white and stood guard in front of the statue of the mountain god. The ferocious and cannibalistic tiger twisted his body and stared at him, with faint traces of blood visible between his teeth and claws.
"Lou Wanchun!" Jun Bubai yelled angrily, and sprinkled his sword in the courtyard. Jianhe, who had no killing intention, was torn into pieces by the tiger.
The hatred in Lou Wanchun's heart corrodes his bones, but how much humanity is left in him.
Jianhe was torn into pieces, and Jun Bubai created a sword. As the owner of the Tianxia Tower, he could not let him kill innocent people indiscriminately, and he had to take him back to Mother Yang.
The tiger was enraged, roared in a deep voice, lowered his body half down, and pounced on Jun Bubai.
The knife was released, blowing the warm wind on his face. "Lou Wanchun!" Jun Bubai called again, trying to wake up Lou Wanchun, who was in a state of confusion.
The tiger has no understanding of human nature, and his fangs are gnawing at you in vain.
Jun Bubai refused to dodge or retreat. He was covered in swords and armor. He threw a green porcelain bottle filled with hemp powder into the sky and caught the tiger with his bare hands.
The tiger's sharp teeth and sharp claws tore Jun Bubai's white clothes to pieces. Jun Bubai sacrificed his life to restrain him. The sword and armor on his chest were kicked to pieces by the tiger, and he could not move his hands to catch the porcelain vase.
Zheng Yidao, who was standing quietly on the eaves, saw the clue. He sheathed the knife, took a breath of cool air, ran into the courtyard, and picked up the porcelain bottle with one foot just as it was about to hit the ground. The porcelain bottle fell on his feet and bounced into the air. Zheng Yidao stretched out his hand to grab it and shouted at the top of his voice: "Beggars, come and lend a hand. Steady the tiger's mouth and don't let him close it."
Zheng Yidao was present when the old doctor Sun Miaoshou administered the medicine, and he also knew the usefulness of this bottle of medicine.
Before he finished speaking, Hong Buding appeared in the courtyard. With a glance of understanding, he stretched out his hand to pry the tiger's upper and lower teeth.
