Sword of Coming

Approaching the town, the military monk from Zhenwu Mountain let go of Ma Kuxuan's shoulders. Ma Kuxuan was a little dizzy, shook his head and asked: "Do you know who has the problem? Could it be my father or uncle, the baby of the family? To attract the attention of outsiders, one is unwilling to give, and the other is asking for it by force, and the result is similar to Liu Xianyang, causing big trouble?"

The man carrying the sword walked forward quickly with Ma Kuxuan, shaking his head and saying: "The reason why the Zhengyang Mountain Moving Monkey took action so brazenly and did not hesitate to break the rules is partly because of the preciousness of the Sword Sutra itself, but the most important reason is still the Zhengyang Mountain Moving Monkey. Yangshan and Fengleiyuan have an old grudge. If Chen Songfeng from Fengleiyuan hadn't come to the town, the mountain-moving ape would never have committed a crime. So here in the town, even if the cultivators did not dare to take action, Too blatant, Mr. Qi who is sitting here will eventually..."

The man suddenly stopped talking and looked towards the far side of the street. On a roof, there was a wild cat squatting as black as ink. When it saw Ma Kuxuan, it screamed immediately. When Ma Kuxuan found it, the wild cat started to run away. Run, run towards Xinghua Lane.

Ma Kuxuan turned pale in an instant and ran like crazy with the wild cat on the roof.

The man figured out the connection, sighed, and followed the young man unhurriedly, never being distanced by Ma Kuxuan.

Ma Kuxuan ran all the way back to the familiar alley. When he saw the courtyard door open, the brave young man stopped outside the door and never dared to cross the threshold again.

The young man knew that the door to his courtyard was rarely open for such a long time throughout the year, because his grandma often said that Xinghua Lane was home to the most hopeless paupers, but people were poor and had short ambitions, and horses were thin and hairy, and our family was prone to letting people in. You are jealous, so you must remember to close the door tightly, otherwise you will be missed by thieves.

Ma Kuxuan walked into the yard with red eyes, and the door to the main room was not closed.

Ma Kuxuan saw a familiar thin figure falling to the ground.

The black cat squatted on the threshold and screamed in a frightening way.

"Don't go there!"

The man carrying the sword stretched out his hand to hold the young man's shoulder and warned: "This is the end of the matter. Stay calm!"

Ma Kuxuan held back his tears, took deep breaths, slowed down, and shouted softly: "Grandma?"

The military swordsman took the lead and rushed to the old woman's side. He put his fingers together and touched the tip of the old woman's nose. She found that she was no longer breathing.

The black cat was so frightened that it ran into the house and disappeared in a flash.

The man carrying the sword thought for a moment, raised his head and said in a deep voice to Ma Kuxuan, who was standing outside the door: "Stop! You are born with extremely strong yang energy. If you take another step closer, your grandma will be killed even if there is some soul left in the house. You were destroyed!"

The young man's dark face was wrinkled hard, and he actually suppressed himself from crying at all.

The man made up his mind, held the tiger charm around his waist, and said in a deep voice: "Mr. Qi, this matter cannot be underestimated. You have your rules, and I also have my own difficulties. I hope Mr. Qi will not interfere with this matter in the future. "

After saying this, the man's aura changed completely, his clothes were billowing, and his hair was swaying. After silently reciting a series of obscure formulas, he finally ended with five words: "Zhenwushan invites you!"

Ma Kuxuan turned his head and looked foolishly.

I saw a golden-armored god who was more than ten feet tall descending from the sky. He hit his chest with his fists and said with a sound like thunder: "Descendant of Zhenwu, what are your orders?"

"Spells are forbidden here, and I'm not good at trapping souls, so I ask you to help patrol around this house. If you find this old woman's wandering soul, collect it, and remember not to hurt her roots."

The golden-armored god was silent for a moment, but still nodded and said: "Yes!"

The golden light dissipated, and the general was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Songfeng, a descendant of the Chen family in Longwei County in the kiln supervision office, was immersed in reading files in a spacious room. There was a red lacquered wooden box at his feet, with most of the boxes of yellowed ancient books piled inside. The woman, Chen Dui, casually picked up the book from the wooden box, stood near the window not far away, and slowly flipped through the pages.

The old steward of the Yamen Office was sitting on a chair in the house drinking tea. Liu Baqiao, the sword master of Fengleiyuan, was sitting opposite and was politely greeting the old man. The energetic old steward smiled and said, "It's a coincidence that things happened. Over there at the Li family's house." Li Hong personally came to our government office and asked for the files on several Chen families in our town, and as long as the household registration files for the last three or four hundred years, the prince nodded and agreed, and I asked Li Hong to have someone take away the files on the box. Among the seventy or eighty books, the remaining books below are older, and they happen to be the old almanac that Mr. Chen wants. Having said that, if the government office had not requested that the books should be published once in summer and autumn every year, they would have been given to them long ago. The insects have eaten them all."

Opponent Chen who was standing at the window didn't even look up and asked calmly: "I heard that people named Chen in this town now work as slaves and maids for the ten clans with four surnames and ten clans in Taoye Lane, Fulu Street. Some of the Chen family members even You are the son of such a wealthy family and have been kowtowing and kneeling for generations. How can you still be so arrogant when you see ordinary people in a small town?"

The old steward was a little embarrassed. This woman kept saying that she was from "four surnames and ten clans" or a "high family", but she was actually the eldest grandson of the Chen family in Longwei County who had inherited the family for thousands of years, but she was just sitting there like a servant. , silently immersed herself in checking the files, and this woman with the same surname Chen was actually able to feel at ease, so her true identity was long and noble, and the old and mature steward knew it all with his knees.

Although the old steward did not keep any maidservants named Chen, he had always had good relations with those families who were the local gangsters in the town. He did not want to annoy everyone because of his improper response in this matter. The fierce dragon crossing the river.

So after carefully considering his words, the old man put down the ice-cracked water-moistened tea cup in his hand and said slowly: "Ms. Chen, there is nothing we can do about this. According to what an old senior in our government office said many years ago, this is This small town originally had two Chen families with different ancestors. One of them moved out of the town very early and has no direct descendants left in the town. I only vaguely heard about this Chen family and the one who moved out of the town. At that time, there were specially reserved tombkeepers. It was so long ago that the surname family responsible for sweeping the tombs of the Chen family and offering incense can no longer be verified. As for the other Chen family, it was also among the common surnames a long time ago. It's still very advanced, but it's a pity that things are fickle. After a few twists and turns, it gradually declined, especially in the past few hundred years. As you said, Miss Chen, one generation is indeed worse than the other. Now There are no Chen people who have established their own business anymore... No, I think about it. There is really only one single seedling left. He should be the only one of the Chen family's children in all the small towns today who is not attached to the four surnames and ten clans. That child is... Dad, his porcelain making skills are superb, and he was praised by the previous two inspectors, so I remember it clearly now, but he died early, and I don’t know how his children are doing now. But then again , I will just tell you what I have seen and heard. Generally speaking, the descendants of the Chen family are pretty good in this town, especially the two surnames of Song and Zhao. The chief stewards in the house are all surnamed Chen, and they are nominally masters and servants. , In fact, it’s almost like a family.”

After telling these old stories about old sesame seeds and rotten millet in one breath, the old steward turned around and picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.

Chen Dui smiled and nodded: "Manager Xue is a sensible person. No wonder the government office runs smoothly."

The old steward smiled brightly and said: "Miss Chen is ridiculous. People like us only know how little we have, so we can only do our best. We work hard and work hard."

Chen Dui laughed it off, shifted his gaze, looked at Chen Songfeng who was sitting upright, and said coldly: "If it doesn't work, I will turn the box upside down and look at the books at the bottom. Didn't you hear what Manager Xue just said? Small Town For thousands of years, the archives have only been related to one other branch of the Chen family. If I remember correctly, this Chen family in a small town has the same distant ancestor as your Chen family in Longwei County. Why, after flipping through it, I found a whole family tree from beginning to end. Tail, those names are either slaves or maids, is it fun?"

Chen Songfeng's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his lips were slightly white. He did not dare to refute a word. He quickly got up from the chair and bent down to dig through the box and move the books.

The old steward of the government office immediately straightened his back and showed no signs of taking a break from his busy schedule.

Liu Baqiao really couldn't stand it. Chen Songfeng had a soft temper, but he was the future head of the Chen family in Longwei County. No matter what his background was, whether he was from the same clan or not, he should at least be given the necessary respect, so Liu Ba Qiao said in a deep voice: "Yes, Chen, if I'm not blind, I can see that Chen Songfeng is helping you now. Even if you don't appreciate it, don't speak so harshly!"

Chen Songfeng quickly raised his head and winked at Liu Baqiao, who stared back with wide eyes, "Even the emperor has a few poor relatives. Why, someone is an exception?! Well, even if someone is an exception, can you look down on others?"

go straight.

This is the nature and heart of Liu Baqiao in Fengleiyuan.

Chen Songfeng's face was full of bitterness.

The old steward lowered his head to drink tea, turning a blind eye and listening but not hearing.

Chen Dui was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "That makes sense."

Now it was Liu Baqiao's turn to feel a little uncomfortable.

Chen Dui put the book in his hand on the table and planned to go out for some fresh air. Of course, Manager Xue wanted to fulfill his duties as a landlord, but was politely refused by the Chen woman.

Chen Dui walked out of the side hall of the government office and stood in the corridor looking into the distance.

There is a large square outside the lobby of the Yamen Office. There is an archway facing the gate, with a large ancient Chinese character written on it, "山月之月", "上山下黑". This is not uncommon. Every secular dynasty and state has decreed that five mountains within its jurisdiction are designated as the Five Sacred Mountains. The gates of the southeast, northwest, and middle mountains must have two characters personally inscribed by the founding emperor. The character "Yue" in the list is also It must be written in ancient style.

Later generations of literati, poets, monks and immortals have given thousands of explanations for this. As for the real reason, I am afraid it has long been lost in the dust of history.

Chen Dui saw the backs of two figures, one big and one small, sitting on the white stone steps of the archway, whispering.

She hesitated for a moment and walked slowly. In order to avoid being suspected of eavesdropping, Chen Dui deliberately coughed lightly when he walked up the steps behind the two of them. Unexpectedly, one of them was speaking enthusiastically, while the other was listening attentively, as if they were completely unaware of Chen Dui's appearance. . Chen Dui didn't care about this either. She sat generously at the farthest end of the steps. Although she was sitting casually, the charm that she emanated from her sitting posture still gave people a sense of uprightness.

One big and one small, they use the orthodox elegant Mandarin of Dongbaopingzhou. Chen Dui can understand it, otherwise she would not come to this town. It’s just that it’s a bit awkward to speak, so she and Chen Songfeng and Liu Baqiao all the way She was very taciturn by nature. Of course, the main reason why she didn't want to talk was because she felt that she couldn't talk to Chen Songfeng and Liu Baqiao, so she didn't want to speak.

Liu Baqiao is cynical on the surface, but deep down he is focused on kendo. He looks interesting but is actually boring. Chen Songfeng is dedicated to reviving his family tradition. He seems simple but is actually thoughtful. The two so-called top figures in Dongbaopingzhou are not in the same league as her. people. Different ways don't work together, that's it.

The young man glanced at the woman who was about ten years older than him, and his impression was really average.

Chen Dui sat there quietly, showing no sign of speaking.

However, when he had a sudden glance, he saw that the little girl was holding a shiny green gourd. Chen had such a sophisticated eye that he could tell at a glance that it was not a vulgar thing.

The richly dressed young man and the delicate little girl like a porcelain doll are none other than Song Jixin from Ni Ping Lane and Tao Zi from Zhengyang Mountain.

Before Song Jixin and Song Changjing went to Li's house to express condolences, he fell in love with the little girl as soon as he saw her, because he had liked exquisite and gorgeous things since he was a child, and rough and simple things were not in his eyes. Tao Zi also had a good eye for Song Jixin, and the two became good friends inexplicably. The key was that they were still able to chat together despite the age difference. Song Jixin didn't even feel that he was perfunctory, so that he finally asked his uncle to Song Changjing forced the Li family to let them go and took Tao Zi to play at the Supervisory Office. Song Jixin ignored the miserable appearance of the Li family as if they were mourning for an heir, and took the little girl's hand and left the gate of Li's house. At the same time, someone sent a message to Zhigui, the maid in the small house, asking her to find the green gourd in the box and give it to Tao Zi as a meeting gift.

The little girl was very close to Song Jixin and asked coquettishly: "Brother Banchai, you just mentioned the Xuegong Academy Square among the twelve kinds of archways. Before I came here, I heard my grandfather talking about it when chatting with others. The cliff academy in Dali is in a miserable state now. Do you know what is written on the memorial arch of their cliff academy?"

Because of the last two characters in Song Jixin's name, Tao Zi gave him the nickname "Brother Moving Firewood". Song Jixin didn't care about it. At this time, he no longer cared about the fate of the foreign woman. He lowered his head and smiled at the little girl. : "I don't know. I have never left a small town in my life, and I haven't read many books. After chatting with you for so long, my stomach is almost empty."

The little girl sighed, "I wonder how Grandpa Yuan is doing looking for people outside?"

Song Jixin smiled, lowered his head and patted the hem of his brocade robe. At that moment, his eyes were complicated.

In the distance, Chen Dui suddenly asked softly: "Little girl, will your gourd make a sound on its own at some point?"

The little girl turned her head, raised the gourd high with both hands, narrowed her eyes with a smile, and showed off: "Brother Banchai gave it to me."

The answer is not what was asked.

Chen Dui could only laugh it off.

Song Jixin said casually: "Every time there is a thunderstorm, there will be a buzzing sound."

Chen Dui nodded and said: "It is indeed a sword gourd."

Song Jixin was a little confused.

The little girl from Zhengyang Mountain rushed to say: "I know, I know. There are three sword gourds in our family. My grandfather has one. It is gray and ugly. The one of Grandpa Liu from Taibai Peak is the cutest. It's little It's about the size of a palm, and with a swish, dozens of small flying swords will fly out. Sister Su's one is neither big nor small, purple and gold in color. Unfortunately, Sister Su is usually reluctant to take it out. I begged many times before I touched it. , Sister Su hid it quickly."

Chen Dui explained: "Little girl, you can't blame your sister Su. The purple gold sword gourd is very rare among the sword gourds. It can be ranked among the top three. It is estimated that the entire East Aquarius Continent only belongs to her." That's one, and compared to other sword-raising gourds, the Purple Gold Gourd is excellent for raising swords, but its disadvantage is that it is too brittle and can be easily broken by sharp objects."

Tao Zi hugged the green gourd again, "What about mine?"

Chen Dui smiled and said, "It's very precious."

The little girl tugged at Song Jixin's sleeve and said timidly: "Brother Mochai, do you want to take it back?"

Song Jixin rubbed the little girl's head, with a doting look in his eyes, and laughed loudly: "Not to mention this little gourd, even if I still have it on hand, I am willing to give it to you."

Chen Dui remembered an interesting incident and said: "It is said that in history, Tiancai Dibao Tower once held an auction, and the final item was a sword-raising gourd vine that had never appeared before, with six small gourds on it. Fruit. It is said that the seedlings were planted by Taoist ancestors in our world before he became an immortal. I don’t know how many thousands of years it took before they produced that bunch of small gourds, of different sizes and colors, which is very magical."

Song Jixin said sincerely: "There are all kinds of wonders in the world."