Uncle Tie took the second child to a corner of the stable and saw several ponies raised in the stable. They were no more than three feet tall and were suitable for children to ride. Jiang Shuo asked curiously: "Are these underage ponies?"
Uncle Tie smiled and said, "These Guoxia horses are mature horses. They are a specialty of Sichuan. There are many fruit trees in Shu. This horse can walk under the low fruit trees, so it is called Guoxiama."
Jiang Shuo asked again: "Is this specially prepared for children to ride on?"
Uncle Tie said: "That's not true. There are many bamboo forests here. The bamboo forests are denser than ordinary forests. A tall horse cannot move well. It is better to dismount when walking in this bamboo forest. Although the horse is small, it is really not inferior to running. Ordinary horses.”
Xiang'er pulled Jiang Shuo and said, "Okay, don't ask questions here and there. If you continue asking questions, it will get dark." Yan Bi went to lead a fruit and dismounted, turned over and rode on it. Seeing her movements, To be proficient, I think it is no lie to say that I can ride a horse. Jiang Shuo saw that most of Guo's horses were geldings with impure coats, but Xiang'er was riding a pure white horse, presumably specially prepared for her. Jiang Shuo chose a yellow and white pony, but he couldn't ride it. Uncle Tie taught him how to pedal and use the reins to control the horse. Fortunately, the horse was short and not afraid of falling, and it was docile. Jiang Shuo barely learned it after riding on the flat ground for a few laps.
Xiang'er couldn't wait any longer and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to a fun place." A group of horses' heads waded across the stream, and Jiang Shuo had to follow him on horseback. The stream was very shallow, so even though Guo's horse was short, it wouldn't Wet shoes and socks. The two of them rode into the bamboo forest one after the other.
Xiang'er rode the horse very fast. The two horses were trained together. Jiang Shuo didn't know how to control the bridle, so the horse he was riding started running together with the horse in front. He hurriedly shouted: "Slow down, slow down." However, how could the horse understand? Since Jiang Shuo didn't control it, it started running on its own. Xiang'er rode in front of him very nimbly through the bamboo forest, causing the bamboo forest to tremble and tremble without touching the branches or leaves. Jiang Shuo was in trouble behind him. Although Guo Xiama would avoid the bamboo poles, he didn't care about Jiang Shuo being beaten by the bamboo branches above him. He was slapped several times on his arms, head and face, and there were a few red marks immediately on Jiang Shuo. He didn't dare to straighten up anymore, so he prostrated on the horse, buried his head in the horse's mane, let the bamboo branches beat on his body, and ran down with Xiang'er.
After the horse ran for a long time, Xiang'er reined in the horse's head, and Jiang Shuo's mount also stopped. When the horse was running, Jiang Shuo tried hard to hold the reins and swayed slightly to maintain his balance. At this moment, the horse suddenly stopped. , but he lost his balance, fell off his horse, and rolled on the ground covered in mud. Seeing his embarrassed look, Xiang'er laughed loudly, got off his horse and helped him up. Jiang Shuo brushed off the dust on his body and said, "Where are you? Why did you come out so far?"
Xiang'er said: "We have just walked two or three miles, and you are too weak."
Jiang Shuo retorted: "It's my first time riding a horse, so it's pretty good that I've traveled so far."
Xiang'er said: "Then why did you fall?"
In fact, she fell down after running a few steps for the first time on horseback, but she didn't say anything and just laughed at Jiang Shuo. Jiang Shuo rubbed his sore buttocks and said, "I fell because you pushed me so hard that I didn't even learn how to dismount."
Xiang'er didn't reply but just giggled. Jiang Shuo stopped paying attention to her. He turned around and saw that there was still a bamboo forest here, which looked the same. Then he asked: "Xian'er, what you see after running so far is still a bamboo forest?"
Xiang'er pointed to one of the shorter bamboos and said, "If you look closer, it's different."
Jiang Shuo looked carefully and found that these bamboos were not very tall, only two fingers thick, and the protrusions of the bamboo joints were very small. From a distance, the bamboos looked like thin, round and straight sticks. There were some light yellow spots on the emerald green bamboo poles. The spots on the bamboo were otherwise ordinary. He looked back at Xiang'er in confusion, and Xiang'er came closer and said, "This is Ke Tingzhu."
Jiang Shuo said: "Oh, so this is Ke Tingzhu."
Xiang'er said: "You know it again. How come you know everything?"
Jiang Shuo said: "Then tell me, you brought me here, and I will listen to you today."
Xiang'er said: "Is this Ke Ting... When Jing Ke assassinated the King of Qin, the pavilion where Prince Dan of Yan saw him off was called Ke Ting. When he thought about whether Jing Ke would die or not, Prince Dan shed tears like this. The spots on the bamboo mean the same thing as Xiang Fei's bamboo..." Before he could finish his words, Jiang Shuo hit him on the head with a blast. Xiang'er held his head and said angrily: "Why did you hit me?"
Jiang Shuo said: "Let you talk nonsense. Ke Tingzhu is talking about the Eastern Han Dynasty when Cai Yong took refuge in the south of the Yangtze River. He stayed in Keting in Kuaiji one night. Keting was built by locals who cut down bamboo. Cai Yong saw that the sixteenth bamboo in the rafter could be used. It was a flute, and it was made into a flute. As expected, the sound of the flute was extraordinary, and later generations called it the 'Keting Flute'. Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty's poem "Ode to the Flute" said, "There are strange bamboos in Keting, which are full of emotions and melodious." That’s the allusion.”
Xiang'er said: "Yes, yes, it's true. I was teasing you just now. I don't see if you know it or not." In fact, she had told her this allusion before, but she didn't remember it. She wanted to fool you. I don’t want to be discovered by Jiang Shuo again.
Jiang Shuo thought to himself: There was no Keting flute after Cai Yong, and the flute made with bamboo eaves is probably just a legend. How could it be made real?
Seeing that his interest was waning, Xiang'er said again: "I brought you here today, but I didn't bring you here to see these bamboos." Jiang Shuo asked curiously: "Are there nothing else besides bamboos here?" Xiang'er waved his hand and said: " Follow me." Leading the horse forward, Jiang Shuo followed her lead and followed her lead.
Not far away, Xiang'er stopped and said, "We're here." Jiang Shuo followed her words and saw a small piece of flat land in the bamboo forest ahead, on which a pavilion was built with bamboo. The Keting bamboo was slender, and the beams and columns were made of many It is made of bamboo poles tied together and covered with green cloth curtains. I don't know what is inside, but the pavilion is not big and the curtains allow ventilation in all directions. It should not be a house for people to live in. He then asked: "What is this? It doesn't look strange."
Before Xiang'er could answer, he heard someone shout: "Don't come near."
Before he finished speaking, he saw a figure floating from the bamboo forest. Jiang Shuo saw that this person was an old man with white beard and hair. He was very thin and wearing a green Gebu robe. He suddenly appeared, and his figure was like a ghost. He was deep in the bamboo forest. , in a daze, suddenly seeing this person flying towards him, he really didn't know if he was a human or a ghost. Jiang Shuo was startled and couldn't help but take two steps back and let go of the reins in his hands. The horse was pushed by him, frightened and ran towards the shack. The old man screamed, and he fell next to Xiang'er, but suddenly he ducked and stopped in front of the horse. He didn't know what to do. Somehow, he had restrained Xiang'er's horse with a wave of its head. He was afraid that Xiang'er's horse would be frightened and run away again, so he reached out and grabbed the reins in Xiang'er's hand.
Xiang'er said dissatisfiedly: "Grandpa, my riding skills are quite good, but you are too careful."
The old man said angrily: "Smelly Xiang'er, you dare to ride your horse to me!"
Xiang'er didn't panic, but joked with him: "Since it is Xiang'er, why does it stink? If it smells bad, how can it be called Xiang'er?"
The old man said: "Other fragrances are naturally fragrant, but the Xiang'er in front of me smells bad."
It seems that the two of them often make jokes and communicate very quickly.
Xiang'er said: "Grandpa, those things can't be broken if they are buried in the soil."
The old man said: "What do you know? The horse's hooves shake the ground, which will disturb the earth's energy, so it is not allowed."
Xiang'er said: "Grandpa, didn't you ask Xun Ni to bring me a message at three o'clock today? Why can't you tell for sure now? Could it be that you are deceiving me?"
Jiang Shuo was confused after hearing this and thought, so this old man is Xiang'er's grandfather? It seems that the two of them have made an agreement long ago, but Xiang'er didn't come here on a temporary basis. I wonder what they mean by being accurate?
The old man said: "Why is it inaccurate? It is of course accurate. It's just that if you mess with it, I'm afraid it will become inaccurate."
As he spoke, he opened Xiang'er's hand holding the reins, led the two horses to a tall bamboo forest in the distance and tied them carefully.
Xiang'er said: "Hey, grandpa, please don't make false accusations against Xiang'er."
The old man said: "If you don't come and cause trouble for me, how can I falsely accuse you for nothing?"
As he spoke, Jiang Shuo suddenly returned to the two of them. He knew that he was Xiang'er's grandfather, and the body technique he used was supposed to be "Threading Star Steps". He didn't expect that this "Threading Star Steps" skill could be practiced to such a level. , the old man acted like a ghost. Jiang Shuo secretly thought that he would be more diligent in learning this Kungfu from Xiang'er in the future, but he didn't know that this old man had worked hard on the "Star Step" for sixty years, and now he had reached the state of enlightenment. Don't say that he, Jiang Shuo, was Xiang'er is still far behind.
Xiang'er said: "Grandpa, the time is coming. Let's go in and take a look."
The old man glared at her and said, "No, you can't go in. You can only watch from outside through a curtain."
Xiang'er was still about to say more, but when she saw the old man shook his head resolutely, she had no choice but to give up and squatted beside the curtain of the pavilion with her mouth pouted. The old man stepped forward and pulled her back and said, "It's too close. Back off a little more.”
Xiang'er became even more depressed. He held his chin in his hands and said, "Ah, Grandpa, we are so far away and can't see clearly."
The grandfather and grandson were walking around, but Jiang Shuo couldn't get a word in. Seeing Xiang'er squatting there, he ran to squat next to her. He wanted to ask Xiang'er what was going on, but he just opened his mouth. Said: "Xiang'er..."
The old man squatted on the other side of Xiang'er and made a silence gesture with his index finger on his lips. He didn't dare to speak. He also followed Xiang'er's example and looked at the curtain, which was blown up by the wind from time to time. When some people came, they saw that it was still a flat land, but it had been carefully leveled. The ground was extremely flat and barren, and it looked like a small stable. They could vaguely see dozens of figures neatly painted on the ground like a chessboard. Small dots, just too far away to see clearly.
After looking at it for a while, my eyes were tired and I couldn't figure out the reason. He didn't dare to ask. After a while, he felt his feet were sore and numb. However, he saw Xiang'er sitting on the dirt beside him, so he sat down too. The two children made a noise with their flipping movements. , which attracted Grandpa Xiang’er’s dissatisfied glare. The two children couldn't care less, they looked at each other and stuck out their tongues.
