Sword of Coming

There are always some people who fall in love with them at first sight, even if they don't make any sense.

After Chen Pingan saw the scholar, the heavy emotions he had accumulated after walking half of Fulu Street were swept away, and he quickly stepped forward with a clay pot in hand.

The young scholar smiled warmly and did not stand where he was. Instead, he walked towards Chen Pingan and said first: "You are Chen Pingan, right? My name is Li Xisheng, and I am Baoping's eldest brother. Baoping sent it at Cliff Academy. I have received the latest letter from home. As an elder brother, I really don’t know how to repay you. I heard that you have been studying, so you might as well come to my house more often in the future. I still have some books in my collection. Please help yourself."

Not only that, after the young man took the pottery pot from Chen Pingan, he bowed and said, "I have no choice but to say thank you for the kindness."

This made Chen Pingan a little at a loss, so he could only point to the clay pot and said with a cautious expression: "Mr. Li, there is a mountain crucian carp in the clay pot. I found it on the mountain on the way back and gave it to Baoping. .”

Li Xisheng lowered his head and glanced at the golden fish in the clay pot. It was still swimming comfortably in a small area. He raised his head, looked at Chen Pingan, and said with emotion: "I have seen the magic of mountain crucian carp in the writings of sages. As described, the golden crucian carp is one of a kind. I never thought I would have the opportunity to witness it with my own eyes in this life. Don’t worry, I will raise it carefully. She will be very happy when the treasure bottle comes home in the future.”

The sincerity and enthusiasm of Li Xisheng, a son of a high-ranking family, left Chen Ping'an completely at a loss as to how to respond. Although he dragged Cui Dongshan along with him at that time, he stared eagerly at the mighty group of passing crucian carp. In the end, he stared so hard that he finally caught him. Living here, no matter what is recorded in the book, no matter how mysterious Cui Dongshan says, to Chen Pingan, it is really not rare and valuable.

As long as it's someone Chen Ping'an considers close to him, he's willing to dig deep into his heart.

Chen Ping'an was really not good at chatting warmly, so he scratched his head, said goodbye, and turned around to leave.

Li Xisheng quickly called out to Chen Pingan, "Why don't you go sit at home for a while? I'll take you around today, and then I'll come and read by myself. I'll inform the concierge later."

Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "Next time."

Li Xisheng smiled helplessly: "Then let me put down the mountain carp and return the clay pot to you, right?"

This time Chen Pingan was not polite, nodded and said: "Then I'll wait here."

Li Xisheng smiled and said, "Wait a moment, I'll go and come back."

He turned around and trotted away holding the clay pot.

At this moment, the young man no longer looked like the sage master who talked about the truth in the book, but really looked like the elder brother of the little girl in the red cotton coat.

Not long after, Li Xisheng ran back holding a clay pot with several books under his arms. After Chen Pingan took the pot, he bent down and placed it on the ground, wiped his hands vigorously, and then took the books. He followed suit and put it under his arm, and finally picked up the pot in a funny manner and said, "I'll return the book after I've finished reading it."

Li Xisheng smiled like a spring breeze, waved his hand and said: "Don't be in a hurry to return the books, just read them slowly. They are much better behaved than the vases, and they won't run around on their own."

Li Xisheng put away his joking expression and said slowly: "Chen Ping'an, don't think that my invitation to you to come and read is just a courtesy. I really hope you come more often. Although Baoping is very smart, after all, he is still young and has a child's mind. It is really difficult to let her read quietly at home. So for so many years, it feels like I am the only one at home reading books. When I think about it carefully, it is actually quite boring."

Li Xisheng said a lot of things from his heart in one breath.

If someone from the Li family were present here, they would definitely think that the sun was coming out in the west.

Because this little-known eldest son of the Li family, under the background of his younger brother Li Baozhen, seems to be too old-fashioned and boring. Although he is kind to everyone, he rarely speaks and is dull and boring. He is not hiding in the study every day and studying knowledge. , even if you are walking alone in the mansion, you can see the sunrise and sunset, the wind, snow and the bright moon, you can see everything, who knows what you can see from this. Fortunately, Li Xisheng was the eldest grandson of the Li family, and he was quite popular. No one in the family would dislike the future head of the family who had an easy-going temperament. He was just less lovable than his younger brother Li Baozhen.

Chen Pingan nodded and said: "I will come."

Li Xisheng hummed and waved goodbye to the boy.

Looking at Chen Pingan's retreating figure, Li Xisheng murmured: "I see how charming Qingshan is."

He smiled knowingly, "Is this how Qingshan should be expected?"

Li Xisheng turned towards the door, crossed the threshold, and said to himself with a smile on his face: "It's another beautiful day."

But when Li Xisheng thought of the news from the capital, he sighed. There was nothing he could do. Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite. As he walked through the corridors and passed the buildings, the young man laughed to himself again, " Don’t delay the beauty of today.”

In the corridor, a young maid met him face to face. She slowed down her pace, turned sideways and gave him a blessing, and said softly: "Young Master."

Li Xisheng habitually slowed down, nodded with a smile, and just passed by without saying a word.

The pretty maid turned her head and looked around. She could not help but feel sorry for herself. She lamented in her heart that the eldest son was a nice person, but it was a pity that he didn't know how to be charming.

If it were the second young master, he would definitely stop and chat with himself, and even compliment him on the beautiful new headwear he bought.

Of course she doesn't know.

This eldest grandson of the Li family does not understand the customs here, but he is well versed in the customs elsewhere.

Like a sudden rain hitting the withered lotus, the spring breeze blowing the iron horse, the beauty looking into the bronze mirror, the general wearing a sword, and the heavy snow covering the green mountains.

They are all the beauty of the world in that person's eyes.

Li Xisheng returned to his yard, where there was a small pool made of pebbles of various colors.

Li Xisheng squatted next to the pool, looking down at the clear water. There was the golden crucian carp in it, shaking its head and tail, carefree and forgetful.

It’s hard to imagine that this decent pool is all the work of Li Baoping. Every time the little girl sneaks out, she usually goes to Longxu River to pick up stones. Over time, she adds a few stones to the lake. After the family moved, one day Li Baoping suddenly had a whim. Looking at the mountains of stones piled up in the corner, he wanted to build a pond for his eldest brother to raise fish and crabs. Li Xisheng was unable to stop this, so he had to help make suggestions, but from the beginning At the end of the day, Li Baoping did all the work alone. Li Xisheng, the eldest brother, wanted to help, but she was still unwilling to do so.

Li Xisheng saw a little guy poking his head under a bluestone slab and said with a smile: "You two, get along well and don't fight."

Li Xisheng stood up and went to the small study room where the plaque read "Jie Lu" was hung. He began to spread paper, grind it, and pick up his pen to draw.

It is a picture of green pines under snow with strong ancient meaning.

After putting down the brush, Li Xisheng shook his wrist and began to lower his head and look at the painting. The ink was still fresh and fragrant.

Finally he blew lightly towards the painting.

In the painting, the green pine trees rustle when encountering strong winds, and the snow on their branches instantly dissipates.

Ruan Xiu happily returned to the blacksmith shop, but did not find her father's blacksmith figure in the sword furnace. After searching again, she found that he was drinking on a bamboo chair under the eaves.

Ruan Xiu asked strangely: "Dad, don't you want to make iron?"

The middle-aged man shook his head.

Damn it, it's not a good time to make swords today. But if it were to beat Chen Ping'an, the man would definitely do it.

Ruan Xiu sat aside, "Dad, I forgot to bring you a bottle of wine today. When I go to town tomorrow, I will definitely buy you a bottle of wine."

Adding insult to injury.

Naturally, the girl didn't know that speaking these words would be like adding salt to her father's wounds.

Ruan Qiong sighed, took a big sip of wine, looked blankly at the Longxu River in the distance, and asked in a low voice: "Xiuxiu, do you like Chen Pingan?"

Ruan Xiu smiled and said, "I like it."

Ruan Qiong breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his daughter's answer so neatly. It seemed that there was still a chance to remedy the situation. The military sage asked, "Do you know why I didn't agree to accept Chen Ping'an as my disciple?"

Ruan Xiu was stunned and wondered: "Dad, haven't you said it before? You said that you have a good impression of Chen Ping'an, but it's a pity that you are not from the same path. You two are not suitable to be masters and disciples. I know this. . And Chen Pingan... is different, so dad is worried that I will attract the attention of many behind-the-scenes forces because I am too close to him, so you are actually not very happy to see that I am friends with Chen Pingan, I It’s understandable.”

Feeling that all the reasons had been explained to his daughter early, Ruan Qiong was speechless. He suppressed the words that came to his lips and took a big sip of wine.

The man drowned his sorrows with wine and became even more sorrowful. He thought that since he knew the truth, he would hang out with that guy Chen Pingan less in the future. Silly girl, you don’t lack for those bullshit opportunities. Besides, Chen Pingan has also lost his temptation now. You have the ability to "fly into a flame", not to mention you, my daughter, are the biggest opportunity! How is the result? As soon as I heard that someone had returned to his hometown, I ran all the way from Qilong Lane to the Stone Arch Bridge. Then I pretended to take a leisurely stroll and slowly walked to my shop. Who are you kidding?

Ruan Qiong put down the wine pot and said calmly: "As soon as Qi Jingchun left, it was the end. But now in Longquan County, although there is no big danger, Lizhu Cave Sky has such a big piece of fat falling from the sky, saying It's not too much to be surrounded by jackals. Many things are not as simple as you think. Dad still says the same thing, the trouble caused by Chen Ping'an himself is easy to solve, but it will be very difficult to solve once you get involved."

Ruan Xiu stretched out her legs, leaned back on the back of the bamboo chair, and said with lazy eyes: "I know. Anyway, I will practice hard. When the time comes, I will see who dares to be dishonest. I don't need your help, I will do it myself." It can be solved.”

Another big handful of salt fell on the man's wounds like snow.

Ruan Qiong almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

The military sage stood up angrily. As he passed behind his daughter, he dropped a chestnut and said, "Turn your elbows outward all day long!"

The girl turned her head, looked at her father's back, and raised the corners of her mouth.

There was neither blacksmithing nor taking care of the shop. The girl felt a little idle, so she gently shook her wrist.

The bracelet "came alive", and the little fire dragon that woke up from its nap began to slowly rotate around the girl's white arm.

Ruan Qiong walked towards a newly built sword furnace. In addition to a large number of young and strong laborers, he has accepted three new disciples this year. They are only registered disciples for the time being and are not counted as disciples. One of them is a long-browed young man who realized the meaning of the sword by the well. , suddenly opened his eyes, trotted to Ruan Qiong's side, and asked softly: "Master, do you want to make iron?"

Ruan Qiong shook his head and changed his mind. Instead of going to the sword furnace, he walked towards the Longxu River. He was going to personally weigh the weight of the gloomy river water. If it was enough, he could open the furnace and cast the sword as agreed.

The boy with extremely long eyebrows followed closely behind.

Although there was a succession of master and apprentice, they both walked together.

Chen Ping'an returned to the shop in Qilong Lane, handed the clay pot to the boy in Tsing Yi, and then handed the keys and books to the girl in pink skirt, and asked them to go back to their ancestral home in Mu Ping Lane.

He walked alone to the Yang's Medicine Shop. No matter the wind, rain or sun, year after year, the Spring Festival couplets hanging on both sides of the shop would be changed every year, but the content never changed. They were always "I hope that people in the world will be free from illness. I would rather put the medicine on the shelf and turn it into ashes."

Chen Pingan asked a new-faced young store clerk and learned that Old Yang was in the backyard. After walking through the side door, he saw the old man sitting on a small bench in the yard, bending over and crossing his legs, puffing away smoke. .

Chen Ping'an didn't speak, feeling a little uneasy.

Old Man Yang got straight to the point: "I want to ask about your parents? Is it possible that like Gu Can's father, his soul can still stay in the town after death?"

Chen Pingan's breathing became heavy instantly.

"No."

The old man blew out a big puff of smoke and gave the answer and reason straightforwardly: "Because it's not worth it."

The young man lowered his head and said nothing.

There was only a pair of badly worn straw sandals on the ground, so I couldn't see clearly.