Returning to the door of the inn, he knocked on the courtyard door. The waiter opened the door and said to the two of them: "The two young heroes went out in a hurry dressed like this. Is everything okay?" Li Haoyang smiled awkwardly and said, "No, it's okay!" After saying that, he quickly went upstairs.
Back in the house, the two of them placed the swords on the square table. Ling Yun was worried that he would be robbed again, so he hid the cloth bag under the pillow, sat on the edge of the bed and said to Li Haoyang: "Brother Yang, what you looked like just now is really quite... How did you achieve the heroic demeanor?"
Li Haoyang poured a glass of water and handed it to Ling Yun, poured another glass for himself, drank it in one gulp, and then sat on the edge of the bed side by side with Ling Yun, holding the edge of the bed with both hands, looking up at the beam, exhaled and said: "Me neither You know, when I saw that the guards had knives on their waists, I felt very nervous. If there was a conflict with them, we would be in trouble!"
After hearing this, Ling Yun almost spat out a mouthful of water. He coughed a few times and suppressed a smile and said: "Brother Yang, I had already thought about how to run away. From the way you looked, I thought you had defeated them. Here!" Li Haoyang said: "Hey, let's not talk about this, did you hear what they said just now? There is a tiger outside the city!"
Ling Yun said calmly: "Well, I heard it, what's the matter?" Li Haoyang said: "Our small mountain village has never seen any ferocious beasts on weekdays. This huge Jinling City is full of grain fields, how come there are Where are the tigers?" Ling Yun said disapprovingly: "Hey, never mind it, we're not leaving the city!" Li Haoyang thought to himself, it was right, so he said nothing more.
At this time, there were several knocks on the door. Li Haoyang stood up and opened the door. The waiter stood at the door with tea and snacks. When he saw Li Haoyang, he said: "Two guests, haven't you had midnight snack yet? This is a small shop. The tea and snacks prepared by you two will put your stomachs under pressure!"
Li Haoyang stepped aside and said, "Come in!" With that, the waiter entered the room. Li Haoyang picked up the sword from the table and hung it on the wall. The waiter placed the tea and snacks on the table, put away the teapot and water cups used on the table, and said, "You two young heroes, please use them slowly!" After saying that, he turned around and went out.
The waiter turned around and was about to close the door when Li Haoyang asked: "Wait a minute, little brother, have there been wild beasts outside this city in the past?" The waiter said: "There are grain fields and vegetable fields outside this city, and there is nowhere to hide. , but there are often wild boars and the like. If they are tigers and leopards, I have never heard of them. There are quite a few in the mountains and forests in the distance, so after the sun goes down, the city is closed. It’s forbidden to go out.”
After hearing this, Li Haoyang exclaimed, "Here you go, brother!" The waiter said, "It's okay!" After that, he closed the door and left.
Li Haoyang said to Ling Yun: "Ling Yun, are you hungry? Come and eat some snacks to fill your stomach!" Ling Yun turned over and sat up and said: "Brother Yang, what other snacks should I eat? Didn't I agree that we would go to Zuixian Tower tonight? Eat something good and get your money back. Let’s change our clothes and go!” Li Haoyang stuffed a piece of pastry into his mouth and said, “I’m a little tired today, let’s go tomorrow.”
Ling Yun himself was indeed a little tired. After hearing what Li Haoyang said, he fell straight back to sleep and closed his eyes. Seeing this, Li Haoyang said: "Hey, hey, don't lie down, get up, this snack is so delicious, come and try it!" Ling Yun stood up with his eyes closed, staggered to the table, and Li Haoyang stuffed it With a piece of pastry in his mouth, Ling Yun's eyes suddenly widened. Hey, it was really delicious.
The two of them sat around and ate all the three plates of snacks in a few seconds. This little snack was not enough for the two of them. Their stomachs were still growling with hunger, and they were hesitating whether to go out and buy some. , but heard a hawker downstairs selling white flour steamed buns, so he simply called up and ordered eight large white steamed buns. After a simple meal, he threw his head back and fell asleep.
The next day, it was already three o'clock in the morning, and Ling Yun was still sleeping soundly. Li Haoyang had eaten the breakfast tea brought by the waiter and was sitting at the table in a daze. Suddenly, there was a faint noise outside the house. Li Haoyang stood up and pulled away. Looking out the door, he was blocked by the house in the front row. He could not see the distance. He could only hear the noise of the crowd gathering in the direction of the city gate. Li Haoyang returned to the house, patted Ling Yun awake and said, "Ling Yun , get up quickly, something seems to be happening outside!"
Ling Yun sat up reluctantly, rubbed his eyes, and said: "Oh, Brother Yang, this Jinling City is so big, and there may be all kinds of things happening in the city every day, how can we have the energy to pay attention to so many things! "Li Haoyang said: "Okay, okay, no, get up quickly, the sun is shining on your butt, go wash your face and have some breakfast, we will go out for a walk later."
Ling Yun still stood up reluctantly and staggered to the hot water basin that had been prepared. The water was still a little warm, so I made do with a simple wash, sat at the table and ate breakfast.
Li Haoyang still couldn't help but be curious, so he came downstairs, called the waiter, and asked: "Brother, what happened outside?" The waiter said: "Hey, I also heard about it from the tofu vendor, and I don't know. Where did this old man come from? Last night, he was bitten to death by a wild beast in the woods outside the city. Half of his neck was missing. His head was hanging on his neck. This morning, he was seen by someone who went into the mountain to cut firewood. Seven The hands and feet were carried back and placed at the south gate for the people of Jinling City to claim, but no one has recognized it yet, how pitiful it is!"
Li Haoyang muttered: "I heard from the man in black last night that he encountered a tiger, and today someone was bitten to death by a wild beast. It seems that it is really unsafe outside Jinling City.
Thinking of this, Li Haoyang asked the waiter again: "Brother, there are wild beasts in the mountains and forests outside, why is no one in this city going to hunt them?"
The waiter said: "Why not? There are several hunters outside the city who hunt in the mountains and forests all year round, but they can't kill them all. There are some wild beasts in the mountains and fields, which is normal. Besides, the hunters only make a living by hunting. If you are just trying to make a living, you don’t have to take the risk, so avoid it if you can. People in this city all have their own livelihoods. On weekdays, few people go to the mountains and forests, and you don’t encounter any wild animals outside during the day. , so no one cares.”
After hearing this, Li Haoyang felt that it made sense. The old people in the town often said that this person relies on mountains to eat mountains and water to eat water. He must live in harmony with the wild beasts in the mountains and the fish and shrimps in the water. Even if he encounters fierce beasts, he will If you don't provoke him, it's better to stay away from him.
After bidding farewell to the waiter, Li Haoyang returned to the room. At this time, Ling Yun had also finished breakfast, put on the light blue long dress he bought yesterday, and was minding his own business admiring his outfit.
Seeing Li Haoyang come in, Ling Yun said to Li Haoyang excitedly: "Brother Yang, look, how does this long dress look like?" Li Haoyang pretended to be amazed and said: "Wow! Ling Yun, when you put on this long dress, you look like that person in the world. The chivalrous man looks like the son of a wealthy family!"
Ling Yun smiled happily and awkwardly, took out the black patterned long dress from the cloth bag, handed it to Li Haoyang and said, "Brother Yang, please put it on quickly and take a look."
Li Haoyang put on the long dress and walked out of the back room. Ling Yun exclaimed: "Wow! Brother Yang, this dress suits you so well. You look like a peerless master in this outfit!"
Li Haoyang was also very happy in his heart. He looked up and down and said to Ling Yun: "Ling Yun, since we were young, we never dared to think that one day we would be able to wear such good clothes. Now, it's like a dream." Same."
Ling Yun said: "Brother Yang, tell me, if we are dressed like this and we are walking around in this city again, who will laugh at us for looking like beggars!" Li Haoyang also smiled and said: "That's right, let's go there to get drunk at noon today. Immortal Tower, let the waiter in the shop take a look!" Just after he finished speaking, he paused and then continued: "However, Ling Yun, Brother Yang still said the same thing, we were all born into poor families, and now that we have received this windfall, we can't Forget about me, we can fool ourselves with this outfit for a while, but it won't last forever. If we want to gain a foothold in Jinling City in the future, we still have to learn a trade and find a job."
Ling Yun nodded and said: "Brother Yang, I understand. Let's play in this city for a few days first. Then we will go find Damiao and her grandpa to see if they can make recommendations to us." Li Haoyang said: "You are right. , Who cares, let’s play for a few days first!” Ling Yun said: “Let’s go and stroll outside!”
Ling Yun hid the silver note close to his body, took out the silver ingot from the bag, divided half of it and handed it to Li Haoyang.
The two of them hid the silver ingots in their arms, then each took their swords, put on their straw hats, walked out of the room one after another, locked the door, and went downstairs.
When the waiter saw the two of them, he didn't recognize them for a moment. Li Haoyang took off his straw hat and looked at him. The waiter exclaimed: "Brother, I read that right. The two guests are indeed extraordinary. Just you two." Dressed like this, even if the city lord comes, he will lose some momentum!" Li Haoyang ignored his flattery, briefly explained a few words, and took Ling Yun out of the inn.
The two of them left the inn and headed straight for the Zuixian Tower, thinking of booking some drinks and food before wandering around. Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the entrance of the Zuixian Tower, they bumped into the waiter who looked down on them the day before. .
The waiter didn't recognize them for a while. Seeing their appearance, his face seemed to be blooming, which made them feel sick.
They were about to enter when they heard someone crying at the city gate: "What a sin! How can I live like this? Second uncle, what kind of sin have you committed to end up like this!"
Hearing this sound, he cried heart-breakingly, heartbroken, and miserable. Gradually, some passers-by were attracted by the cry and surrounded him.
After hearing this, Li Haoyang couldn't help but feel pity in his heart. He said to Ling Yun: "Ling Yun, listen to this cry, that man is so pitiful. Let's go over and have a look!"
After hearing the sad cry, Ling Yun remembered his pitiful life experience when he was a child, and he couldn't help but feel compassion. He nodded and said, "Let's go and take a look."
The two came to the city gate. When the crying man saw someone approaching, he stopped crying slightly and raised his head to look over. Li Jiayuan and Ling Yun looked at the man intently, and at the same time stopped about a foot away from the man.
Seeing this man's face, Ling Yun's originally heavy mood turned into a little joy. He took two quick steps to the man and said, "Hey, isn't this the little thief who stole my money?"
It turned out that the man kneeling on the ground was the man in black who stole Ling Yun's silver last night. The man in black had also recognized the two people in front of him. His face twitched a few times, and then he burst into tears and said: "Live." No, God, you don’t have eyesight, so my two dogs have suffered this kind of misfortune!" After saying that, he started crying again.
Li Haoyang coughed twice, stepped forward and pulled Ling Yun back, and said softly: "Ling Yun, my father taught me since I was a child, don't laugh at other people's sufferings. You and I are both from poor families. I think he is pitiful. He cried so much." He is so sad, he must have encountered some difficulties, let’s ask him what happened first!”
After hearing Li Haoyang's words, Ling Yun put away the joking expression on his face and nodded.
Li Haoyang stepped forward and asked: "Little brother, you and I have no grudges at all. Just treat what happened yesterday as a misunderstanding. Today you cried so miserably again. You must have encountered some difficulty?"
The man in black pointed to the place covered by the white cloth in front of him and said: "Two heroes, the one covered by this white cloth is the villain's second uncle!" At this point, Li Haoyang and Ling Yun noticed that the man in black What is in front of people's eyes is actually a corpse.
They instinctively took a step back, and the man in black continued: "The villain is from the mountain village outside Nanmen. His surname is Wang, and his name is Ergou. A few days ago, my second uncle came to join my family from his hometown in the north. , who would have expected that when passing through that mountain forest last night, I encountered a tiger on the road, and its body was found in the mountain field. If it hadn't been met by the woodcutter, not even the bones would have been left. Now the body of my second uncle is here. , but I can't even come up with the money to buy a coffin." After saying that, the man started sobbing again.
Li Haoyang thought of the news he had learned from the waiter this morning. The deceased must be the same person. Looking at the face of the man in black, although he had some sinister features, he did not look like a treacherous and evil person. Now that he has suffered such a disaster, But he is also a pitiful person.
Li Haoyang pulled Ling Yun's sleeve and said softly: "Ling Yun, I think this man is really pitiful. How about we help him?" Ling Yun nodded and said: "Well, we picked up those silver coins anyway. , just give him a little and let him bury his second uncle."
Li Haoyang took a piece of silver from his arms, handed it to the man in black, and said, "Brother, take these five taels of silver and buy a coffin for your second uncle to bury him properly."
The man in black looked at the silver in his hand and was stunned for a moment. He quickly straightened up and took the silver with both hands. Then, he kowtowed three times to the two of them and said in a tearful voice: "You two young men." Ignoring the past grudges, you even gave me a small amount of silver to bury my second uncle. Such a great kindness is something I, Li Ergou, will never forget!"
When the people around them saw it, they all began to discuss it. Some people lamented the hardship of the man in black, and some praised Li Haoyang and Ling Yun for their kindness, but neither of them took it seriously.
Li Haoyang stretched out his hand to help the man in black up and said, "Brother, you don't have to be like this, get up quickly!" Ling Yun also said, "Yes, go and bury your second uncle quickly, it will stink soon!"
As soon as the words were spoken, Ling Yun immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing, and hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand. Li Haoyang looked at Ling Yun with helpless eyes, turned to the man in black and said: "Little brother, don't get me wrong, his I want your second uncle to be laid to rest as soon as possible!"
The man in black smiled awkwardly, and Li Haoyang said: "Okay, don't be stunned, go quickly!" The man in black nodded and bowed and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes!" while bending down to lift the stretcher on the ground. Dragging the dead body towards the outside of the city.
Li Haoyang watched him leave, turned around and said to Ling Yun: "Let's go." Ling Yun said: "Well, Brother Yang, let's go and see what weird stuff there is in Zuixian Tower."
After bidding farewell to the man in black, the two of them walked towards the Zuixian Tower, where the waiter was still waiting for them in front of the door.
It must have been that they had just had breakfast and it was rare for customers to come, so the waiter simply waited for them to come back. When he saw these two people coming straight to Zuixian Tower, he greeted them from a distance, nodded and bowed and said : "Two guests, the younger one has prepared refreshments for you in the upstairs lounge. Please come upstairs to taste them!"
Li Haoyang and Ling Yun ignored him and walked around him without stopping. The waiter trotted after him in a hurry.
The two of them entered the store directly. At this time, there were a few customers sitting sparsely in the store. Ling Yun and Li Haoyang followed the wooden stairs to the second floor, and under the guidance of the waiter, they arrived at the private dining room. Sure enough, various snacks, seasonal fruits and several special dishes were already placed on the table in Naya Room, with two bottles of wine in the middle.
Ling Yun sat down against the window, while Li Haoyang took a seat opposite Ling Yun. The two took off their straw hats and swords one by one, put them aside, raised their heads and smiled at the waiter. The waiter in the shop looked at the clean and delicate faces of the two people and didn't recognize them for a moment. Ling Yun asked: "What? It's only been a day and you don't recognize us anymore?"
Hearing Ling Yun's question, the waiter in the shop was a little confused. He looked at Ling Yun, then at Li Haoyang, then turned to look at the sword on the side. Suddenly his legs became weak, and he said tremblingly: "You two gentlemen, little one Dogs look down on people. Yesterday I offended you two masters by being blind. Please don’t blame me!"
After all, Li Haoyang and Ling Yun were both from poor backgrounds, but they had recently made a fortune. They knew that they were not superior to others, and they especially hated to see the poor being bullied. Thinking that the waiter had been busy in this luxurious restaurant all year round, and the people he came into contact with must be either rich or noble, if they could It would be nice to get something out of him.
So, Li Haoyang stood up and helped the waiter sit on the chair next to the table and said, "Brother, come on, sit down and talk!" Then he sat down again.
Li Haoyang looked at the bewildered waiter in front of him and asked: "May I ask what you call me?" The waiter replied: "Two guests, the villain's surname is Niu, and the humble name is Shigui. They are from Taoyuan Village in the east of the city. You two can just call me Shigui!"
After hearing this, Ling Yun muttered in a low voice: "Cow shit is expensive!" Then, with a "poof" sound, he almost laughed. Li Haoyang also suppressed his laughter, adjusted his appearance, and then said: "My brothers are fighting I came all the way from the west and know very little about the things in this city. Could you please tell us something?" Seeing that the two of them were so polite, the waiter said, "Sir, if you have anything you want to know, just ask. As long as you know something, you don’t dare to hide it at all!”
Li Haoyang asked: "My brothers are new here. If you want to get a foothold in this city, what should you do?" The waiter in the shop was a little surprised and said: "Looking at the clothes you two are wearing, I think they must be from famous families in the world. Since they are people in the world, Isn't it a simple matter to gain a foothold in this city?" Ling Yun said, "Brother, we just want to ask you what you can do in this city to earn more money."
