Chapter 1 [Secrets]
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, in a small county in a corner of the southern country, there was a prestigious old street in the west of the city, famous for its antiques and ancient books...
After the summer solstice, the temperature suddenly rises. This is the time for people to fall asleep.
The shops on both sides of the street are deserted, and most of the real customers come after dinner.
Occasionally, pedestrians pass by with a bitter look on their faces. They use their hands, books, or umbrellas to block the scorching sun above their heads. Almost no one wants to do business, but there are exceptions.
An open-air stall, under a sunshade cloth that is about six meters long, is full of various ancient books, some of which are even incomplete and look very old.
Behind the stall is a reclining chair. A fat man in his forties wearing sunglasses and a white vest is leaning on it as if he is taking a nap. Next to it is an old floor-standing fan that occasionally makes a buzzing sound. I didn't care if there were any customers at the stall, and I probably didn't expect anyone to come to the door during this hottest time.
Coincidentally, a young man passed by and stopped, squatted down, and started browsing at the stall.
The boy looked to be sixteen or seventeen years old at most, with a fair complexion. He looked thinner, with a short haircut, and a somewhat delicate face and facial features, but overall he looked a little weaker.
He didn't seem to be afraid of the scorching sun, and patiently read through the books at the bookshelf with interest. He was especially interested in weird health and martial arts secrets, like the usual kind of obsessed with martial arts and immortals. That kind of person.
"How are you going to sell this book, boss?" The young man seemed to have made up his mind and picked up a book with yellowed pages and a handwritten secret book that looked good. The three words "Xiaoyao Jue" were written in Song font on the cover page.
After asking for a few times, the middle-aged man who looked like he was taking a nap took off his glasses, revealing a pair of squinting eyes. After looking at Ge Xian for a few times, he said casually: "One hundred yuan!"
"What, this crappy book is so expensive?" Ge Xian couldn't help but pouted and complained.
"A broken book, you say this is a broken book? Do you know that this is a manuscript inherited from the reign of Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, but it is very valuable. Others offered me 10,000 yuan and I didn't sell it. If I buy it back, it can be used as a family heirloom in the future." The man fooled. Looking at Ge Xian, he showed an evil face.
Ge Xian lowered his head, as if he had been "persuaded". The man suddenly felt proud, thinking to himself, a little kid like you still wants to bargain with me, there is no way.
However, he soon discovered something was strange.
Ge Xian raised his head again, turned the cover over, pointed at the three words, showed a sly smile, and asked: "Are you sure it is really a manuscript from the reign of Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty?"
"That... of course, it's true!" The man said with some guilt. He picked up his tea cup and took a sip of tea. He felt that there seemed to be something unusual about the young man in front of him.
Sure enough, Ge Xian continued: "What font are these three characters in?"
"It's Song font..." the man said cautiously, feeling that something seemed wrong, but the font could not be changed, and the evidence was in his hands at this time.
Ge Xian's face suddenly changed and he said loudly: "Song style characters began in the Southern Song Dynasty and officially appeared after the Ming Dynasty. They were mostly used for printing text. Even according to folklore, it was created by Qin Hui, the traitorous official of the Southern Song Dynasty. What do you think of this handwriting? The manuscript is an authentic work from the reign of Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Isn’t it self-contradictory and self-deception?”
The stern reprimand made the man's expression suddenly change. He never expected that such a seemingly ordinary young man could actually have a pair of discerning eyes. He has been "cheating" for many years and is good at forging ancient books. Almost no one could tell the clues from the fonts. Unexpectedly, today his shoes got wet and his disguise was exposed by a young man.
Although the business in the old street was light at this time and there were almost no people around, once this incident broke out, his stall would not be able to open. Although there are nine out of ten scammers on the old street, if someone exposes you, you won’t have the shame to hang around here.
"Young man has a sharp eye, please tell me inside." Seeing this, the man simply called Ge Xian into an inconspicuous shop behind the stall.
Ge Xian hesitated for a moment, then looked at the manuscript in his hand, feeling quite reluctant to part with it. He gritted his teeth and followed the instructions.
After the shop behind the stall opened, there was an unexpected chill inside. Could it be because of the air conditioner?
After entering, Ge Xian found that there was no trace of the air conditioner, and he could not feel the cold air that felt like the air conditioner. However, there was just a hint of coolness coming from the surroundings, which made him stop sweating all of a sudden.
"Sit down." At this time, the bookstall owner came over with a pot of tea, placed a white porcelain cup in front of him, and poured a cup of tea.
I saw that the tea was not hot, but also released a hint of coolness. In addition, it also had a particularly refreshing taste.
"What kind of scented tea is this?" Ge Xian couldn't help but ask, but didn't drink it.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man shook his head and smiled, poured himself a cup, and then drank it on his own initiative, saying: "This is medicinal tea, which can also be called scented tea. It is mainly ice grass, with mint and licorice added. It has a miraculous effect on relieving heat, and you will not feel the intrusion of heat within twelve hours after drinking it.”
"It's so magical. Duobao and Laoji are not as powerful as you." Ge Xian still didn't dare to drink it. He usually likes to read books and gained some experience from this. The most important one is not to trust others easily. After all, This world is like a river and lake, and people's hearts are sinister.
The middle-aged man felt helpless. This was the first time he met such a cautious little guy, but after thinking about it, he realized that this was the right thing to do, otherwise he wouldn't be able to catch his eye.
So he made some insinuations, and although Ge Xian tried hard to hide himself, he still leaked some personal information.
Ge Xian, seventeen years old this year, is a sophomore in the local Dongcheng Middle School. He likes to read ancient books, and he can read all kinds of books. He is somewhat knowledgeable but not refined, and he is miscellaneous but not pure. He especially likes ancient books on health and Taoism.
"Uncle, this secret book..." Ge Xian raised the "Xiaoyao Jue" in his hand and couldn't help but ask.
The middle-aged man looked at it and laughed and said: "Xiao Ge, you said you chose something bad, but why did you choose this book? Although it is not a valuable thing, it also depends on fate. You may not It’s too suitable, so you should choose another one. Uncle can make the decision and give you a half discount, as long as it’s not too excessive, how about it?”
"No, uncle, thank you for your kindness, but I just want this book." Unexpectedly, Ge Xian was very stubborn and refused to give up this book.
The middle-aged man looked stern at this time and said with some seriousness: "Xiao Ge, I have also learned some people-observation skills. Judging from your appearance, you have been weak since you were a child. I'm afraid you had a serious illness in elementary school. , I am usually humble and polite. If it is an article or a storybook, my uncle will let you go. But this cultivation guide is not suitable for your physique. If you practice it rashly, I am afraid it will do no harm to your body. , Uncle, this is for your own good, you should give up this book."
"I...I..." Ge Xian lowered his head in grievance, but then raised his head again and stared at the man with narrowed eyes in front of him. At this moment, this man gave him an unfathomable feeling, like an expert from outside the world. Generally speaking, is he really not a liar?
Unfortunately, he also knew that he was indeed physically weak. Ever since he had a serious illness when he was young, his physical condition had never improved. He often took time off from physical education classes and had difficulty concentrating on his studies. As a result, his grades were not good or bad, and he became mediocre. .
However, he still refused to give up, so he began to have some whimsical ideas, trying to find a way to save himself from ancient books on health preservation and exercises, a way to improve his physical condition, but this idea was so slim and useless. A fool talks about his dreams.
"Uncle will teach you one or two health-preserving tips. If you practice more diligently in the future, plus exercise the day after tomorrow, and keep up with nutrition, your body will improve to a certain extent. As for this cultivation secret book, although it was created by me, it is not about cultivation skills. The Dharma is not a lie. It is not suitable for most people to practice. Even for those who are suitable, it is difficult to persevere. It is difficult to understand the Qi sense alone..." The middle-aged man took the Xiaoyao Jue from Ge Xian's hand. , while persuading earnestly.
Unexpectedly, Ge Xian held back his tears and said unwillingly: "Shit, I obviously looked at it for a while and practiced a little bit, and then I felt a silvery needle-like gas around me. Isn't it just what is said in the book? It's like needles and rain, silver and translucent, it feels like skin, and it's like running water..."
"What!" The middle-aged man who was about to take back his hand suddenly froze as if he was struck by lightning. He grabbed Ge Xian's wrist and looked very embarrassed.
Ge Xian immediately started to struggle, but at this moment, the middle-aged man held his palm like an iron hoop, unable to escape at all.
"You...you really sensed the silver needle gas?" the middle-aged man asked, trembling.
Ge Xian endured the pain and nodded. Only then did the middle-aged man notice his gaffe and quickly let go. Seeing a red mark on Ge Xian's wrist, he immediately felt sorry.
But what shocked Ge Xian was what happened behind him. The man stretched out two fingers and touched his red wrist. Suddenly Ge Xian felt an invisible force that was much more abundant than the silver needle gas he had sensed before. The Qi poured into his wrist, then traveled around the red mark, and then flowed back along the other person's finger. When he looked at the red mark, it had disappeared.
"Uncle, what are you..." Ge Xian moved his wrist in surprise and found that it no longer hurt at all. It was like a miracle doctor.
However, the middle-aged man didn't care at all about the exposed hand. Instead, he kept asking and repeatedly discussing Ge Xian's feelings after reading a book and practicing for a while, and finally confirmed that it was correct. For a moment, Ge Xian felt that he even had tears in his eyes. impulse.
"Xiao Ge, I will sell this book to you. Although I am not short of money, my ancestors have rules and cannot give it away for free. You can just give it any price." The middle-aged man said kindly.
Ge Xian hesitated for a while, then he took out a ten-dollar bill hidden under his body that was already wet with sweat, and said sheepishly: "Uncle, this is the breakfast fee I saved. If it's more, I'll give it to you." Can’t take it out.”
"Okay, ten yuan is ten yuan!" The middle-aged man accepted it immediately, then took out a pen from the side, wrote a few words on the last page of the secret book, and then handed it to him.
After Ge Xian left, the man came to the back of the shop, opened a curtain, knelt down in front of a painting of an immortal old man, and said with tears streaming down his face: "Master, fortunately you have lived up to your command, disciple. Tang Ende finally found the successor of my Xiaoyao Sect."
The next day, Tang Ende quit his shop and stalls and mysteriously disappeared from the ancient street. No one knows where he went.
