The Beginning of Autumn is the time when the Yang Qi of heaven and earth is at its strongest and is about to decline.
This...is a suitable season for traveling.
At this time last year, two young heroes set off from Hangzhou and embarked on their journey in the world.
And this year, there is also a young hero who chooses this day to set off from Cangzhou and rush to Weihai.
This man was born with sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, and a white face and thin lips. He was truly handsome.
His slender but muscular figure also looked majestic while riding a horse, and the sword hanging on his waist declared his status as a swordsman.
He just rode his horse, walking alone on the road neither fast nor slow.
Pedestrians on the road, regardless of age or sex, couldn't help but look at him twice when they saw him passing by.
The men seemed to be looking at a dream of their own youth, while the women also envied or yearned for everything this boy had...
Who has never been young and brilliant, and wanted to travel to the end of the world with a sword.
But in the end, we finally accepted our own mediocrity, lived an ordinary life, occasionally lamented the fleeting youth, and regretted that we did not have the courage to take that step.
However, only a few people understand that small people also have their luck, and big heroes have their own price.
You envy them for having what you never had, but they envy you for having what they have long since lost.
Of course, Lin Yuancheng is not old enough to think about these things yet, and even if he is, he is not a person who will think about these things.
Because he is a "seeker of truth".
In his eyes, the sword is the best, if you catch it in the morning, you will die at night.
Some swordsmen believe that as long as they develop a set or a single move that is invincible in the world, they will be considered successful in the art of swordsmanship.
wrong.
How wrong.
Is "Tao" something that fluctuates with the upper limit of the world's masters in each era?
According to this logic, if there were no martial arts in the world, then would you be able to reach the limit of swordsmanship if you knew a third-rate swordsmanship?
In the final analysis... "defeating the opponent" is the simplest step; "being invincible" is a matter of course for those who pursue the ultimate sword, it is just a step they must go through in the process of seeking the Tao. It is a process, but it is far from the end... There are two steps behind it: "defeat yourself" and "defeat the sword."
However, most of the top masters in this world can only take the second step in their lifetime. There are too few people who can take the third step, or who know that there is a third step.
But Lin Yuancheng knew it—he knew it before he was twenty.
He also understood that the path he chose would be lonely, sad, and costly in the end...
Why are the legendary sword masters always unable to bear to strike when facing their old enemies, but yet they have no choice but to strike? Because they all understand that once the person in front of them dies, the step of "defeating the opponent" will be over, and from now on, there will be no one in the world who can understand them.
However, Lin Yuancheng has not reached this level yet, and he still has a long way to go; now is the time when he needs experience and an "opponent", and this trip to Weihai is a good opportunity.
Everyone knows the dangers of the Seven Heroes Association.
Shao Dejin, the sect leader of Xingyi Sect in Cangzhou, is not stupid. As the leader of the weaker sect among the seven sects, he must be more careful.
Therefore, before Shao Dejin set off on his own, he sent Lin Yuancheng to go ahead and go into battle lightly, to step in for the subsequent large forces. If something happened, Lin Yuancheng would be able to escape easily by himself.
In this way, Shaoxia Lin rode thousands of miles alone, starting from Cangzhou. After traveling for more than ten days, he arrived at the border of Shandong.
Shandong is the territory of the Cao Gang. Their foundation is here and their power network is spread out. The reason why this meeting of the Seven Heroes was held here is also because of the strong request of the Cao Gang leader Di Bujue. Its intention is self-evident - —If he, Di Bujue, fails to be chosen as the general leader this year, it may be difficult for the other gang members to leave Shandong.
Of course, Lin Yuancheng didn't care about this.
Whoever chooses the general sect leader is the same to Lin Yuancheng. Even if the Cangzhou Xingyi Sect is announced to be disbanded tomorrow, he will not say a word - he just needs to change the sect. If there is no suitable one, let him It’s not impossible to venture into the world alone.
In Lin Yuancheng's eyes, Jianghu is a place for "leveling up." Today, Shao Dejin asked him to be a scout to explore the road, so he would explore the road. If he changes to another sect tomorrow and is asked to grab territory, he can also grab it... Anyway, as long as he is in the world, he will always face danger, and there will always be times when he fights against others... No matter what the situation is, it can make him stronger now, so he just goes with the situation.
On this day, the sun was in the sky and the heat was steaming.
The flagstones on the road were hot from the sun, and the cicadas in the woods on the roadside were screaming endlessly.
Lin Yuancheng, whose whole body was soaked with sweat, wore a bamboo hat and rode on the road.
The horse didn't go very fast, because if it went any faster, it would probably fall down and foam at the ground. As for Lin Yuancheng, he could only endure it, because it was better to be exposed to the sun on horseback than to be exposed to the sun while walking on the road.
At this moment, Lin Shaoxia also felt a little regretful: when he came out of the last inn, it was still morning, and the temperature on the road was not so high... If he had known that the sun at noon today would be so poisonous, he should have rested for a few more hours, so that We can almost reach the next inn before evening.
Now under the scorching sun, horses can't move fast, and people are suffering... Isn't this unfortunate?
Just when Lin Yuancheng was thinking about whether he should find a shady place to hide on the roadside, suddenly, a branch appeared in his line of sight.
When the horse reached the fork in the road, Lin Yuancheng looked up again and saw a line of smoke rising from where the path extended. Judging from the direction of the smoke, it was only a stone's throw away from the main road.
This is called wanting to eat ice and hail. Where there is smoke, there must be people. It's not too much to ask for a bowl of water in the past, right?
Lin Yuancheng thought so, then turned the horse's head and turned along the fork in the road.
The horse passed through the forest, and not far away, there was the wine flag flying in front of them, and a decent wine shop was located there.
When Lin Yuancheng saw it, he immediately got off his horse, quickened his pace and led the horse to the door of the store. After tying the horse casually, he opened the door curtain and got under the cool eaves.
The space in the restaurant is not very big, but there are only five or six tables squeezed in. When Lin Yuancheng came in, the room was almost full; those in silk clothes, cloth clothes, short coats, shirtless, Those who carry baskets, those who carry burdens, those who carry baskets, those who carry bags... there are everyone there at a glance. It seems that there are quite a few pedestrians who choose to come here to escape the heat on this hot day.
"Hey, sir, here we come." As soon as the waiter in the store saw Lin Yuancheng entering the room, he stepped forward and greeted, "This store is small, do you think we can share a table with others?"
In those days, it was very common to share a table with others when going out. Lin Yuancheng didn't have that much airs, so he agreed without thinking.
After the waiter got his response, he led him to a square table where three people were already sitting.
The three of them didn't look like the same person. They were quite different in age and dress: one looked like a farmer, one looked like a businessman, and the third one looked like a member of the world.
When Lin Yuancheng sat down, he said "Excuse me" and nodded politely to the three people, who also nodded politely.
"Waiter, hurry up, give me a pot of water first, and then some refreshments." After Lin Yuancheng sat down, he quickly asked the waiter to load his things.
When seeing this, someone will definitely say: Huh? When these wealthy people from all walks of life sit down in wine shops, don’t they all start with good wine and beef? Why does this Young Master Lin eat so plainly?
Anyone who asks this question has obviously been fooled by movies and TV shows again...
Where are the people who drink half way through the journey in broad daylight? Not to mention drinking will delay things. Why don't you try riding a horse when you're drunk? Riding a horse while driving under the influence is more difficult than driving under the influence. If not, you might fall off the horse and fall over, causing you to die directly.
Yes, there are a few people in "Water Margin" who did similar things, but they were desperadoes. Would a normal person drink several kilograms of liquor and then break into a wildlife sanctuary to sleep in the middle of the night?
One more thing, don't forget the weather outside.
There is a saying that "the more wine you drink, the warmer you get, and the more you drink water, the colder you get." On this hot day, Lin Yuancheng's whole body was already soaked with sweat. If he didn't drink some water to replenish his body, why would he be sweating while drinking?
As for why he doesn't eat meat, it's very simple. Eating high-fat and high-calorie foods will not only raise the body temperature but also make people feel sleepy. At this time, some crude tea snacks ("sugar" was not so good at that time So the snacks in small shops are generally very coarse and not sweet, so there is no problem that blood sugar will rise very high after eating them.) Just put a cushion on it, and you can wait until you arrive at the inn at night if you want to eat or drink.
Within a moment, what Lin Yuancheng ordered came up.
He's not stupid either. When eating out, if you don't have the ability to distinguish poisons, you have to pay attention to "look, smell, and taste." When you taste, take a small bite first, and then rest for a while. , confirm that there is nothing wrong, and then eat the rest. In this way... even if the food is drugged, you will not be too deeply poisoned by just the first bite.
Although Lin Yuancheng was hot and thirsty at the moment, he still followed this principle and only nibbled on the edges of the snacks, drank a small sip of tea, and then endured and waited there.
"Ha... little brother, you are a big shot." Seeing his actions, the middle-aged man dressed as a gangster who sat at the same table with him smiled and said, "You are drinking a pot of water here, and you are so defensive. Na?"
There was a bit of sarcasm in his words, presumably he didn't know Lin Yuancheng.
However, Lin Yuancheng was still very calm and just replied calmly: "The world is dangerous, so be careful."
"Hahaha..." the middle-aged man laughed, "That's right... okay, you can bear with it, I am a little person can't bear it, and no one can do it to harm me." At this point, he raised his voice. , "Waiter, warm up two more pots of good wine for me!"
"Hey~ Come on~" The waiter over there responded immediately.
After a while, the wine was warmed up, and the waiter brought it over on a tray.
"Here are two pots of good wine~ I borrowed it..." The waiter skillfully moved left and right in the small space and approached the table where Lin Yuancheng and the others were sitting.
Just when he was walking not far behind Lin Yuancheng, suddenly! He took out a dagger from under the tray and stabbed Lin Yuancheng in the back of the heart.
Soon enough, Lin Yuancheng moved his upper body to one side on the stool, grabbed the waiter's dagger's wrist with his backhand, and said coldly: "No one has arrived yet." , your murderous intention has started, and you want to succeed in a sneak attack just like this?"
His criticism was that if a high-level assassin were to replace him today, he would at least be able to suppress his murderous intent to the moment before taking action; and a top assassin could even complete the assassination process without moving his murderous intent at all, and then escape unscathed. .
The waiter in front of me... is so unprofessional.
"Okay! What a Lin Yuancheng." The next second, the middle-aged man at the same table spoke again, "It is indeed a pity to give you a knife in the back. It is better to die by a thousand cuts." The leader of the Young Heroes Association!"
When he finished speaking, everyone in the restaurant, from the shopkeeper to the waiters, to those in silk clothes, cloth clothes, short coats, shirtless people, those carrying bags, those carrying burdens, those carrying baskets, and those carrying bags ... They all stood up and looked coldly in Lin Yuancheng's direction.
They also took out the weapons hidden under the counter and in the luggage slowly and held them in their hands.
Almost at the same time, Lin Yuancheng felt a little dizzy. Come to think of it... it was the small piece of snacks and a sip of tea he had just eaten that "took effect".
"Hmph..." Lin Yuancheng composed himself, snorted coldly, then waved his hand and threw the waiter out, kicked over the table in front of him, and drew his sword to sweep away.
Although this action allowed him to push back the few people closest to him and draw an open space with a radius of a sword's length around himself, the situation was still not optimistic - he was still surrounded by dozens of people holding weapons. The killers gathered around a room that was not spacious, and he had faintly heard some movement even on the roof...
"Don't you seem very scared?" Looking at Lin Yuancheng's stern expression, the middle-aged man couldn't help but ask again.
"Why are you afraid?" Lin Yuancheng asked.
"Aren't you afraid of death?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Death here means that I am nothing more than this." Lin Yuancheng said, "Instead of being afraid, it is better to say that I should be ashamed."
"Ha..." the middle-aged man sneered, "Are you looking down on us?"
"Then do you think highly of yourself?" Lin Yuancheng asked.
This question made the other party startled...
After a few seconds, the man replied: "Hmph... you are indeed a big shot. You are right. There are so many of us here to deal with just one of you, so we are not worthy of being looked down upon by you."
"It seems that you are also a sensible person." Lin Yuancheng said.
"It's a pity, in this world, sensible things cannot be eaten as food." The man said again.
"Then who gave you this meal?" Lin Yuancheng asked tentatively.
"Do you need to know?" the man asked.
"Of course." Lin Yuancheng replied, "If I die here in a while, then I will know who ordered you before I die, and I will be dead. If I don't die in a while, it means that you are already dead. In the future, I will go find the person behind the scenes who sent you to your death to settle the score, and I can be regarded as standing up for you."
What he said... there is some truth to it.
If the other party did this out of "loyalty", Lin Yuancheng's statement would not be true, but just now the other party had made it clear that it was for convenience... that is, using people's money to do things for others... there is no such thing as loyalty here. Problem.
"Okay, then I'll tell you..." The man thought for a moment and smiled, "It's the leader of the Cao Gang, Di, who wants to buy your life today!"
As soon as he said the word "fate", the killers in the room were ready to take action.
Who knows, at this critical moment...
"Damn it! I'm so hot!" A distinctive voice came from outside the door. The man opened the curtain and entered the room while shouting, "Waiter! Come quickly, two bottles of good wine, and then cut it." Kilograms of beef!”
