"This guest stayed at my hotel and left early this morning."
"Then did he say where he was going?"
"I don't know about that. But it snowed last night, and the roads are covered with snow and driving is slow. If you go out of town now, hurry up and maybe you can meet them."
"Thank you."
Zhuo Fanlin looked at the person in front of him: "Isn't it true yet? Why are you here?"
The man smiled and said: "I waited for the other prophecies to come true before I went there, but I didn't dare to do this one. As a mortal, I have limited legs and care about my life, so I had no choice but to come ahead of time."
Zhuo Fanlin didn't say much and said straightforwardly: "Okay, tell me how much it will cost."
"I was talking about a hundred taels of silver at the beginning."
Zhuo Fanlin frowned and was not angry. He recalled that this was indeed what he said at the time. He thought it was a joke, but he didn't expect it to be so much: "It's a bit expensive. I don't have that much money now."
"A hundred taels of silver to exchange the lives of a villager shouldn't be too expensive, right?"
Zhuo Fanlin thought for a moment, frowned, and took out a jade ring from his right thumb: "Forget it, your knife is easy to use. Is it enough?"
The knife owner took the ring handed from Zhuo Fanlin, looked at the light, and said with a smile: "That's enough. You're happy, so I'll give you another gift."
Zhuo Fanlin looked at the departing figure of the person who borrowed the knife with a serious look on his face, and muttered something like, "The world is out of balance, there is no order..." but he couldn't hear it clearly.
Zhuo Fanlin took out the chalcedony, thought for a moment and decided to put it back in his arms: "Troubled times? With his support in Kang State, how can there be chaos in this world?"
Xie Wule clasped his fists and saluted under a big tree: "I, Xie Wule, heard that Mr. Deng is good at fisting and palm, so I came here to ask for advice."
Deng Guangyao glanced sideways at Xie Wule, and the carving knife in his hand was still carving on the wooden section: "Young hero, you must have mistaken the person. My surname is indeed Deng, but I don't know any martial arts, let alone the fist and palm skills you mentioned. Just a carpenter."
"Mr. Deng, there is no need to hide it. A few days ago, I had a boxing match with Brother Huang Huangzhong. I was lucky enough to win. We had a great time exchanging experiences with him. He mentioned Mr. Deng to me and said that you are a great master. My boxing skills are far less than 70% of yours, so if I want to be better, I will come and visit you."
Putting down the carving knife in his hand, Mu Duan put it in his arms, turned around and looked up at Xie Wule again, with a hint of disbelief in his tone: "You said you defeated Huang Huangzhong?"
Xie Wule was neither humble nor arrogant: "Yes."
Deng Guangyao sighed and stood up and walked towards the house: "Come with me." Xie Wule reached out and touched the split sycamore tree beside him, sighing in his heart.
Pushing open the door, several wooden sculptures rolled down to Xie Wule's feet. When he looked up, he saw that the room was also full of wooden sculptures, and it was difficult to find a place to rest. The strange thing is that these wood carvings are only half carved, and they all look like they are carved from the same thing.
Deng Guangyao picked up the wood carving outside the door and sighed again: "You have also seen that I have been practicing boxing for three years and forgetting boxing for three days. I have been neglecting my kung fu for many years. Now I am just an ordinary person. The young hero has defeated Huang Huangzhong, and I am more... It’s impossible to give any guidance.”
Xie Wule also picked up a semi-finished product, and it was not difficult to see that the carving was of a woman. Although it was unfinished, her features were expressive and full of flavor. If it were carved, it would definitely be of the highest quality.
Although there is talk of striving for perfection, there are enough to fill a room, and all of them are impeccable. Xie Wule really can't figure it out: "Why does Mr. Deng carve so many identical ones?"
Deng Guangyao took out the piece of wood in his arms and resolutely looked at it like the one in the room. He stared at it for a long time and shook his head: "You can go. I have nothing to say to you if I stay here."
Xie Wule returned the semi-finished product in his hand to Deng Guangyao and saluted again: "Excuse me."
Deng Xianyao returned to the big tree where he was sitting before, looked at the semi-finished product in his hand, and sighed again: "It still feels different." He put it at his feet and picked up a new piece of wood.
Twenty years ago, Deng Guangyao was an upright young man. He was young, energetic and aggressive. Countless people were defeated by his fist skills. He was handsome in appearance and he was considered by everyone to be a genius. Huang Huangzhong was also one of his men who was defeated, but the two had similar interests and became good friends.
The two traveled together, looking for martial arts masters from all walks of life to compete with each other, and for a time they became famous in the world.
Until the two of them met a woman under the big banyan tree. The woman was as bright as the new moon, like pear blossoms with snow, and her face was as beautiful as otherworldly, but her blood was slightly pale.
Deng Guangyao fell in love at first sight and met the woman under this big tree every day. At that time, the sycamore tree was still full of branches and leaves, and the two chatted and became more and more affectionate.
Suddenly one day, Deng Guangyao came back and found that the huge sycamore tree had been struck by a thunderstorm last night, and the tree split into two halves. After all, the woman never came here again. Deng Guangyao didn't want to believe that the meeting yesterday would be the last time. He didn't believe that the woman would leave without saying goodbye and wait under the tree. Friends tried to persuade her to no avail, and he waited for twenty years.
In twenty years, the woman never appeared once. Deng Guangyao became ill with longing for her and suffered many physical illnesses.
Deng Guangyao was carving carefully under the tree. An ethereal figure appeared on the sycamore tree and bowed deeply in the direction where Xie Wule was leaving, looking at Deng Guangyao under the tree with tenderness.
That night, Deng Guangyao's dream about the beauty was no longer as blurry as before. The woman's red lips whispered: "Wait for me for a few more days."
The sycamore trees are sprouting, spring is in full bloom, and the ice and snow are gradually melting.
In front of the dilapidated thatched house, a little girl jumped up and down and suddenly saw a person lying in the snow. This was the first time she saw other people since the family left. He stumbled over in panic and saw a young man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes. The mink velvet coat on his body was already wet with snow.
The little girl shook his body: "I don't know how long he has been lying here and whether he can wake up."
The man suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, covering his heart and breathing heavily. An extremely majestic Qi shot up into the sky from his body, and the next moment an even more majestic and thick Qi poured into his body from the sky.
"Who are you? Why did you fall asleep here?" The little girl was startled by the man suddenly sitting up, her voice was trembling.
The man came back to his senses, turned to look at the little girl, reached out and touched her head, and said with a smile: "Little fox, you're still here!"
The little girl hurriedly backed away and looked at the man with her big eyes in horror: "What are you talking about? Where is the fox? Why didn't I see it?"
The man ignored the little girl, took out a book from his chest and threw it away: "Dogs don't even read it."
The tone sounded familiar to the little girl, and she looked at the book that had been thrown aside. The body of the book had been pierced by a sharp weapon, and "Liang Yi Sword Technique" was written in four extremely elegant characters. The little girl jumped up: "Yes. You, nuisance! I don’t know who goes to the mountains to study every day without even looking at the dog." A look of contempt flashed in his eyes.
"But why do you think you smell so good now? I like it so much."
The little girl ran over and hugged the man. She buried her head in his arms and took a few deep breaths with an expression of enjoyment.
"Hahahaha." The man stood up and stroked the little girl's head, laughing loudly: "How are you, little fox, am I handsome now, old man? When I take a bath, we will go find my good disciple."
The man picked up the little girl and walked up the mountain. The little girl snuggled in his arms for a moment, her cheeks turned rosy, and she started beating her randomly: "If you want to take a bath, you can take a bath by yourself. I won't take a bath with you."
In the palace, another man suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes brightened, and he couldn't figure it out after thinking about it: "Xiao Zizai?!"
Jincheng seems to have arrived in Chiyang County. Xie Wule looked at the wide streets in the city, and the pedestrians who came and went were all beautiful and contented. A scene of abundance.
Mo Ren vendors were hawking on the street, but no one looked at them strangely. Although there were Mo Ren in other places, there were always people around who were surprised, repelled or looked down upon.
Obviously, the residents of Jincheng have become accustomed to it. There are even Mo people who have settled here, and there are also Mo people who have married Kang people and have many wives and concubines. Their children occasionally have eyes like Kang people, and other characteristics are like the Mo people.
Xie Wule was shocked by both the wealth of the residents and the tolerance of the people here.
That afternoon, Xie Wule casually walked into an inn. There were many customers in the inn and there were no empty tables. He ordered a few kilograms of beef and sat at a table with two people.
"Have you heard that Lao Wang's precious daughter is missing?"
"Ah? When did it happen? Why didn't I know?"
"We haven't seen her for several days. At first, Lao Wang thought she was having fun and forgot about the time. As a result, she didn't come home for two days, and she fainted in a hurry."
"Have you reported it to the government? You don't have to worry about a good girl who didn't come back all night. Lao Wang is very worried."
"You don't have to tell me, of course I reported it. I reported it at that time but no one was found!"
"If I say this, I have to blame Lao Wang himself."
"I also think that his daughter is usually very quiet and well-behaved. Does she seem like someone who loses track of time when going out to play?"
"Hey, it's really a pity. I have to talk to Lao Wang later."
Xie Wule was eating on the side. He didn't mean to eavesdrop. He was just too close to the two men and heard everything.
"Woo, woo, woo."
Just when Xie Wule was about to finish eating and leave quickly, and no longer listen to other people's conversations, he heard this strange sound, looked along the sound, and saw a little beggar coming next to him.
The beggar looked four or five years old and had only one leg. He could not speak and could only whine. He was holding a walking stick in one hand and a broken bowl in the other. In this early spring, I was only wearing a tattered short coat, and my lips were black with cold.
Xie Wule looked pitiful and gave him a tael of silver. The two people at his table also donated generously.
"Hey, this kid is so pitiful."
"Yes, I feel really sad when I see it. Have you noticed that there have been a lot of beggars since then, and most of them are disabled children."
"It's true what you said. The last time there were so many beggars was when I was a child."
This city gave Xie Wule a very complicated impression. Say it is good, but some people are missing and children are beggars; say it is bad, but it is tolerant and the residents are very kind.
After a hurried meal, Xie Wule walked out of the city gate and continued on the road while holding the white horse. He still didn't like this city very much. He had a feeling that the beauty on the outside was ruined inside. At the same time, he felt an inexplicable conflict when looking at the Moren man and the Kangren woman. I know that I am treated equally, but maybe my thinking is too backward and I cannot fully accept it.
Xie Wule spent most of the time on the road, and Chiyang County made him feel a little uncomfortable. After leaving Jincheng, Xie Wule visited several other cities.
Maybe it's Xie Wule's illusion, maybe it's because Qingzhou is a vaster area and he hasn't seen it yet. The ratio of Mo people in various cities in Chiyang County is almost ridiculously high.
Some of it is Xie Wule's hearsay, and some of it is personal experience. He found that it would be convenient if you were a silent person. No identity card is required to enter and leave the city. You can ride horses in the city. Buying a mansion is cheaper than for Kang people. There are subsidies for doing business.
I can often see a silent man having sex with several Kang women on the street, with no courtesy at all. When the Mo people conflict with the Kang people, the Kang people tend to be dealt with more harshly.
At the same time, in several cities that Xie Wule visited, although each town was very wealthy, there were several disabled children begging for food, and all the ladies were missing.
These contrasts and violations made it difficult for Xie Wule to accept. I think I am backward in thinking and too sensitive. I tell myself in my heart that we are a big country, a hospitable country, and a land of etiquette. We should treat guests from afar as we should!
