Sword of Coming

The current situation of the town is like a sand table built by General Da Li. The war has come to an end and he decided to abandon it, so he casually covered it with black cloth.

Chen Ping'an lit an oil lamp in his house and began to inventory his belongings. There were three bags of gold and copper coins, one bag each for support money, spring greeting money, and victory money. One bag was given by the prince of the Sui Dynasty as a thank you. He bumped into the golden carp, and the two bags left by Gu Can were used as money to buy the loach.

As for the two bags of money that Chen Dui originally thanked him for, Chen Pingan asked Chen Dui to give them to Liu Xianyang on his way out of the mountain. Although Chen Dui was confused, he did not refuse. Maybe he was surprised by the choice of the boy in the back alley, or maybe he succeeded in worshiping his ancestors. Afterwards, she was in a good mood. Chen smiled at Po Tianhuang and said some heartfelt words in a soft voice, so that Chen Pingan could rest assured and admitted that the promise of her, a direct descendant of the Yingyin Chen family, was definitely more valuable than two bags of gold and copper coins. In fact, Chen Pingan was doubtful about this and did not dare to believe it completely. However, after Ning Yao heard that "the direct descendant of the Chen family in Yingyin", he privately asked Chen Pingan to relax.

Mr. Qi has presented seals twice, totaling four times. The first two seals, "Jing Xin De Yi" and "Chen Shi Yi", were snake gallstones that Mr. Qi kept privately. The later two seals were carved according to the shapes of the snake gallstones presented by Mr. Qi from Chen Ping'an. Official script, coincidentally, the two seals can be combined to form a picture of green mountains and green waters, one thick and the other delicate. Mr. Qi carved the words "mountain" and "water" respectively. According to Ning Yao, it can probably be called a picture. To "Landscape Mark".

Chen Pingan put two prescriptions and three pieces of paper from Director Lu on the table.

Ning Yao once disliked Taoist Master Lu's dull and boring words, his popularity, talent, fireworks, fairy-like and Buddha-like air, and nothing else. He was like a scholar in a secular dynasty, who catered to the imperial government system for the sake of imperial examination fame, behaved and behaved in a submissive manner.

Naturally, Chen Ping'an couldn't see the depth of charm and attainments in the young Taoist master's handwriting, nor would he despise these three pieces of paper just because Ning Yao's evaluation was not high. Furthermore, Director Lu personally said before leaving that it is not easy to buy books to read in small towns. If Chen Pingan wants to learn to read, he can start by learning from his prescription.

At this time, Chen Ping'an carefully picked up the last piece of paper. He had seen the four words "Lu Chen's Order" written in vermilion at the end before, but he didn't think about it deeply. But now that he had as many as four seals, he felt that those few small words were particularly special. Cute and approachable. Chen Pingan thought that in the future, when he had spare money in his pocket, he would buy a book one day and put it into a private collection at home. Then he would lightly seal the title page or last page with "Chen Shiyi" in red characters. When Chen Pingan thought of this , I couldn’t help but grin with joy.

But soon Chen Pingan was in a dilemma. With a seal, he needed ink pad. Next door to the New Year's Eve shop in Qilong Lane, which specializes in selling cakes, is a shop that sells all kinds of miscellaneous goods. It has a signboard with the word "Cao Tou". Song Jixin and his maid Zhigui often visited this shop. The so-called The four treasures of the study and the clear books and desks were all bought there.

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, thinking that he would buy a box of ink pads when he becomes literate in the future and one day encounters a book he falls in love with at first sight.

In addition, there is a sack of carefully selected snake gallstones, seven or eight in different colors, but even if they have been out of the water for so long, the color still does not fade. The mouth of the sack on the table is open, revealing various stones as big as a young palm, as small as a child's fist, and as small as a pigeon's egg.

Chen Ping'an originally wanted to give it to Liu Xianyang. Although Song Jixin was a harsh-spoken scholar, there was a saying that made sense. It probably meant that the same small thing, placed in the hands of a vendor outside Mud Bottle Lane, sold for a few dollars. It takes a lot of effort to get money, but if you put it in the cabinet of a grass-roots shop, it will start with three or four taels of silver. If the customer wants to buy it or not, he will leave if he has no money.

The speaker has no intention of listening, but Chen Pingan feels that Song Jixin's words are quite reasonable, so he keeps the snake gallstone with him and keeps it in the town. It is estimated that it will not be sold at a high price even if it dies. But if it is given to Liu Xianyang, If you go to that big place where the Yingyin Chen family is located, even if you are deceived and bargained for, you will definitely get more money than Chen Ping'an.

As for whether it is better or worse to hold a thatched hut in hand or to let a friend win a mountain of gold and silver, Chen Pingan does not need to consider it at all.

Otherwise, why would you want to be friends with Liu Xianyang?

So even if Chen Pingan thinks that Liu Baqiao from Fengleiyuan is not a bad person, no matter how much Liu Baqiao claims to be his brother, Chen Pingan will never take it seriously from beginning to end, and will never agree with him.

Chen Pingan finally picked up the jade hairpin. Mr. Qi said that it was a gift from his husband in the early years. It was an ordinary thing and not a rare treasure.

There are eight small characters engraved on the jade hairpin.

Ning Yao once explained the saying, "A gentleman's words and thoughts are as warm as jade."

Gentleman.

Although Chen Pingan has never read a book, he still feels that this word must be a very important title.

Ning Yao's voice came from the door, "Why don't you put this hairpin on? Since I am willing to give it to you, I naturally hope you will make the best use of it."

Chen Pingan, who was in a daze, looked up and asked with a smile: "Why are you here?"

Ning Yao sat across from Chen Pingan's table and glanced at the hairpin in Chen Pingan's hand. "I checked it carefully. It is indeed an ordinary hairpin. There is no hidden mystery. At first, I thought it was a small cave."

Chen Ping'an was confused, "What?"

Ning Yao looked at Chen Ping'an's "Family Heirlooms Under the Box" on the table and explained: "There is a cave in the world, have you heard of this saying? Ordinary people only think of it as a rhetorical statement made by scholars and don't take it seriously. In fact, it is very particular. There are two kinds of caves in the world. One is the Lizhu cave we are in. It is one of the ten major caves and the thirty-six small caves. It is the cave of the 'Dongtian Blessed Land'. Some of the territories are vast and there are tens of thousands of people. Here, it is said that Taozu owned a lotus cave. Although it is one of the thirty-six small caves, the surface of one lotus leaf is larger than the capital of your Great Li Dynasty."

Chen Ping'an was startled and doubted: "Isn't it possible?"

Ning Yao smiled and stretched out his thumb, tilted it towards himself, and said confidently: "I don't believe it either, so I will come back and tell you the truth after I see it with my own eyes in the future!"

Chen Pingan said softly: "Not everyone can enter such a weird place, right?"

Ning Yao laughed and said, "Who do you think I am?"

Chen Pingan quickly changed the subject, "Miss Ning, please continue talking about Dongtian."

Ning Yao casually picked up a small and exquisite snake gallstone, peach blossom color, held it in the palm of his hand and rubbed it, and said: "Any large cave that can penetrate the heaven and the earth and is full of spiritual energy is a veritable mansion of the Immortal Family. Qi practitioners can practice in it." , get twice the result with half the effort, the master of the cave cannot be occupied except by those with great luck. It has long been divided up by the best of the three religions and hundreds of families, and no one else is allowed to get involved. The thirty-six small caves are a bit like a hidden secret. , like a woman half-hiding her face while holding a pipa. Among them, the Taoyuan Cave is the most beautiful, the Gangfeng Cave is the most mysterious and dangerous, and the Lizhu Cave is the most beautiful..."

Chen Pingan asked curiously: "What's going on here?"

Ning Yao raised the corner of his mouth, stretched out two fingers, gently twisted it, and said: "The smallest one is only so small. It's a small place, and it's not worth mentioning."

Chen Pingan simply sat cross-legged, lying lazily on the table, then raised a fist, raised his fingers one by one, and smiled softly: "But here I met Mr. Qi, Old Man Yang, Liu Xianyang, Gu Can, and of course you, Miss Ning."

Ning Yao also smiled, "There is also a kind of small cave heaven, which is a place for storing items. Buddhism has a theory of Xumi Mustard Seed, while Taoism has a theory of having a universe in its sleeves. The other hundreds of schools also have their own explanations, and their purpose is ' In short, a small amount of space can accommodate a lot of things, but compared to the real cave heaven and earth, this kind of treasure with the title of "cave heaven" cannot accommodate living things. I One of my mother’s most valuable dowries was a jade bracelet.” The size of the cave inside is almost as big as this house. "

The straw-shoe boy, who didn't know the sky was high outside, was a little disappointed, "It's so small. Look at the lotus leaf of Taozu, it's as big as a city."

Ning Yao became angry with embarrassment. He leaned forward and reached out to slap Chen Pingan on the head. Chen Pingan quickly leaned back and dodged left and right.

Ning Yao tried several times but failed. With a sudden movement, the hand holding the peach-colored snake gallstone made a gesture to throw the stone.

Chen Pingan hurriedly said in a panic: "Don't throw it away, don't throw it away. If the corners are broken, you will definitely make a lot less copper coins!"

Ning Yao curled his lips and put down the snake gallstone, but suddenly raised his hand quickly.

Chen Ping'an was so frightened that he quickly closed his eyes and couldn't bear to look.

With a snap, he slapped the stone heavily on the table, making Ning Yao laugh.

After Chen Pingan opened his eyes, he said helplessly: "Miss Ning, can you stop being so childish."

Ning Yao raised his long and narrow eyebrows, swept his elbow, and the stone was swept off the table.

Chen Pingan scratched his head with both hands and grimaced.

It doesn't make sense to reason with Miss Ning.

Ning Yao laughed playfully and stretched out her other hand from under the table. The stone that should have fallen to the ground was lying in her white palm.

Chen Pingan still held his head in his hands, looking pitiful.

Ning Yao stopped teasing Chen Ping'an and asked seriously: "What will you do in the future?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a while and replied honestly: "After helping Master Ruan do all the hard work, I want to go into the mountains to burn charcoal by myself in the future, and I can also collect herbs and sell them to Yang's shop."

Ning Yao hesitated for a moment and asked: "In addition to the mountain-moving ape at Zhengyang Mountain, there are also the women of the Xu family in Qingfeng City, True Lord Jiejiang Liu Zhimao, as well as Yunxia Mountain and Old Dragon City behind Cai Jinjian and Fu Nanhua. What should you do? If someone wants to cause trouble for you, where will you run?"

Ning Yao didn't wait for Chen Pingan to speak, and said in a deep voice: "That's why Director Lu asked you to stay in the blacksmith shop shamelessly no matter what. This is the right path."

Chen Pingan said worriedly: "Then what if it causes a lot of trouble for Master Ruan?"

Ning Yao sneered and said: "A saint who presides over the movement of the small cave sky, will he still be afraid of these troubles?"

Chen Pingan nodded, "Then I will ask Master Ruan later and tell him all the truth first to see if he is still willing to accept me as a long-term apprentice."

Ning Yao supported his cheek with one hand, rummaged through the snake gallstones with the other, and said: "In this small town, there is nothing that a bag of gold and copper coins cannot solve. If there is, then two bags."

Chen Pingan said with a sad face: "I feel bad."

Ning Yao squinted and said, "Why don't you feel bad when you plan to give everything to Liu Xianyang?"

Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "The two things cannot be compared."

Ning Yao rolled his eyes and said, "Which woman will unfortunately become your wife in the future, I guess she will be eager to slap you to death every day."

Chen Pingan said seriously: "If I really have a wife, it's one thing. I'm not stupid, I will let my wife be wronged."

Ning Yao looked unbelieving and full of sarcasm.

The charcoal-like young man folded his hands on his chest and sat cross-legged with a rare arrogant look on his face. He hummed, "If my wife is wronged, let alone the old ape of Zhengyang Mountain, I will do it too." Hack him to death, we don’t have to say whether he will die or not, anyway, we will kill him first!”

Ning Yao was very surprised and dumbfounded.

She has always felt that Chen Pingan is not a hard-tempered person, except of course for killing Cai Jinjian and fighting the mountain ape. In normal interactions, Chen Pingan never seems to be angry, his temperament is not paranoid, and he has a good temper.

If such words were spoken by such proud men as Fu Nanhua and Song Jixin, Ning Yao would take it for granted and not be surprised. But when it came from Chen Ping'an's mouth, Ning Yao couldn't believe it, so she couldn't bear it. He asked: "Why?"

Chen Ping'an grinned and said: "My father has only fought once in his life, and it was for my mother. Because someone scolded my mother in Qilong Lane, my father couldn't get angry, so he went to fight hard. When he came back , my mother complained to me for a long time, but my father told me privately, it’s one thing to be beaten or not, and it’s another thing to be beaten or not. If a man doesn’t protect his wife, what’s the point of marrying him?!”

Ning Yao was a little strange, "Huh?"

Chen Pingan scratched his head and said with a shy look, "My father is a good porcelain maker and a bad fighter. When he came home, his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he was beaten badly."

Ning Yao put his hand on his forehead and didn't want to speak.

She was silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's go back to the shop."

Chen Pingan asked: "Should I take you to the entrance of Mubo Alley?"

Ning Yao said angrily: "No need."

Chen Ping'an didn't force it, he just sent Ning Yao to the gate of the hospital.

Ning Yao didn't turn around and knew that the young man had been standing at the door.

Good people who are not pedantic will have their hearts as warm and bright as flowers and trees in the sun.

This in itself is a beautiful thing.

The helpless boy in Mud Ping Alley was bitten by those outsiders with mud legs, and was eaten by ants digging in the dirt in the dirty alleys of the market.

But after all, the young man has his own life to live, and he also wants to live well. He is not just greedy for enjoyment. In fact, the young man has been a child who can endure hardships since he was a child. He just simply thought that if his parents knew something underground, they would definitely You can rest assured that although Chen Ping'an is the only one in the Chen family, one person can still live a good life, which means that the family passed down from his parents is not bad, even if there is only one person left in the family.

Even if he had money to buy Spring Festival couplets, the boy would have to put them up by himself, and no one would tell Chen Ping'an whether they were crooked or straight. The word "福" affixed to the door would require him to set up a ladder and no one would help him.

A person lives his whole life and is self-sufficient in life and death, and does not want to ask God for anything.

So this kind of person seems to have a good temper, but in fact his bones are extremely hard. Life will also be particularly hard.

The girl who walked out of Mud Bottle Alley suddenly felt a little lost and a little guilty.

Leaving without saying goodbye for your own sake.

After Chen Pingan returned to the house, he stared at the oil lamp in a daze.

Drowsily, Chen Pingan seemed to be sleeping but not sleeping, and seemed to be dreaming but not dreaming.

He seemed to have walked to the south end of the covered bridge out of nowhere. He only vaguely remembered that it was dark along the way and even he couldn't see the scene a few feet away.

But when he stepped onto the steps, the space between heaven and earth suddenly shone brightly.

Chen Pingan was walking in the corridor of the corridor in a daze. Suddenly, an extremely dazzling snow-white light bloomed in the center of the corridor. It seemed to be more dazzling than the previous light of heaven and earth, and the meaning contained in it was more noble. Chen Pingan clearly stung his eyes and shed tears, but he didn't know Why, on the contrary, I can see the strange scenery there more clearly.

There was a tall man with a vague face standing in the middle of the covered bridge.

Somewhat similar to Chen Ping'an's first meeting with Mr. Qi in an alley. His big sleeves were swaying and he was dressed in snow-white, like a god or a fairy.

But in the chaotic subconscious like a wild horse, Chen Ping'an was extremely sure that the person in front of him was more illusory than Mr. Qi, as if he or she was further away from the world.

Chen Pingan walked forward slowly, as if there was a charming fox whispering in his ears, tempting people's hearts, "Kneel down, and you will be blessed with good luck."

Later, someone shouted majestically and shocked people: "Ordinary people, why don't you kneel down quickly!"

Another Zhongzheng and peaceful voice said calmly: "Just like ordinary people, they need to kneel before the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and there is no harm in kneeling down once, in exchange for a way to reach the top."

There is also a hoarse voice that has gone through vicissitudes of life, "Kneeling down is equivalent to walking across the Changsheng Bridge, climbing the Qingyun Ladder, and crossing the chasm between heaven and earth. Don't hesitate, kneel down quickly. If God does not take it, you will receive it." blame!"

A familiar voice sounded with all its strength, "Chen Ping'an, stop quickly! Don't move forward, turn around, and don't kneel down. Just stick to the place where you stick a stick of incense. How much weight can you carry with your mortal body?" What kind of wishes do you have? Don’t act against nature..."

It's a bit like Old Man Yang's reprimands and admonitions.

It's just that the old man's voice got lower and lower as it went on.

At the same time, someone else smiled warmly and said, "Chen Ping'an, why don't you stand up straight and try taking a few steps forward?"

This looks like Mr. Qi.

Chen Pingan straightened his back by instinct, stopped, and looked around blankly.

He only knew that he had many questions and wanted to ask Mr. Qi.

Many noisy voices came and went, "This is Ma Kuxuan's deserved opportunity! Get out of here, you kid!"

"Even if Ma Kuxuan can't get it, it should fall into the hands of the immortal Ning Yao. Who do you think you are!"

"You, the Chen family, are like a puddle of mud that cannot be helped. You should have been cut off from the world a long time ago, but you still dare to covet a sacred object. You are a shameless little bastard!"

"Chen Pingan, don't you care about Ning Yao and Liu Xianyang very much? Wouldn't it be better to turn around and return to the town and leave the opportunity to your friends? Qi Jingchun has already used his death to exchange for the stability of you mortals. From now on, he can be a peaceful person Wouldn’t it be nice for a rich man to marry a wife, have children, and have an afterlife?”

"If you dare to take another step forward, I will crush you to ashes!"

Chen Pingan took one step forward.

The covered bridge shook violently.

The world is silent, and the noise suddenly disappears.

There are sighs, fears, panic, awe, sighs, and a complete mess.

After Chen Pingan took one step forward, he naturally took the second step forward. Only then did he realize that Mr. Qi and he were walking side by side.

The entire covered bridge and outside the covered bridge suddenly became invisible again.

When the young man stopped before, he had no longer been stung by the light and shed tears. Now he suddenly choked up for no reason, and asked with a sudden thought: "Mr. Qi, are you leaving?"

"Well, I have to go. There are too many people outside who want me to die, but they don't let me make my own choice."

"Mr. Qi, who are we going to see?"

"It's not 'us', it's you. What you want to see is an... old man?"

There was a loud bang.

Mr. Qi seemed to be knocked away by a blow, but Mr. Qi laughed heartily instead, and finally said in a deep voice: "Chen Pingan, the road is at your feet, let's go!"

Chen Pingan took a deep breath and raised his feet to take the third step.

There was a voice that sounded from a very far and high place, instantly penetrating through the layers of heaven and earth, and said with a smile: "Things can only be done after three points."

Someone in the middle of the covered bridge then snorted coldly.

Chen Pingan woke up suddenly and found himself lying on the table, the oil lamp still burning. The young man subconsciously turned his head and looked out the window.

Its daybreak.