Sword of Coming

After Chen Pingan returned to the yard, his eyelids kept twitching, with his left eye twitching for wealth and his right eye twitching for disaster.

So Chen Ping'an sat on the threshold and began to imagine that he was drawing blanks with his hands hanging in the air. Soon the boy in straw sandals entered a state of selflessness. Diligence as a young man is one thing, but it is also very important to be able to cope with hunger, so Chen Ping'an has developed the habit of pulling out blanks whenever he has something on his mind. When it comes to firing porcelain, God's will is the most important thing, because before the kiln is opened, no one knows whether the glaze color and shape of a piece of porcelain will ultimately suit their needs, so they can only leave it to God's fate. However, before firing the kiln, drawing is undoubtedly the top priority. However, Chen Pingan was considered by Old Man Yao to have poor qualifications and mostly did some physical work such as clay training. Chen Pingan could only watch carefully from the side and then practice by himself. Clay, pull out the blanks yourself, looking for the feel.

The sound of the wood door opening was heard in the yard next door. It turned out that Song Jixin was returning from the school with his maid Zhigui. The handsome young man sprinted and easily stepped onto the low wall. After squatting down, he released his palms and found that they were filled with pebbles the size of fingernails. , various colors, such as suet, green beans, white lotus root and so on. This kind of worthless stone, of various sizes, can be seen everywhere in the small town's creek beach. Among them, a bright red stone that looks like chicken blood is the most popular. Mr. Qi from the school carved one for his disciple Zhao Yao. Song Jixin thought he had a special affinity for the seal. He tried to exchange it with that guy several times, but he refused.

Song Jixin threw a stone, which was not very strong, and hit Chen Ping'an on the chest, but the latter remained indifferent.

Throw it again, this time it hits the straw-shoe boy's forehead, but Chen Ping'an still remains unmoved.

Song Jixin was not surprised by this. He threw seven or eight stones in a handful. Although Song Jixin intended to distract Chen Pingan from pain, he still did not hit Chen Pingan's arms or fingers directly. Because Song Jixin felt that this would be an unwinnable victory.

After Song Jixin threw the stones, he clapped his hands. Chen Pingan took a long breath, shook his wrist, ignored Song Jixin at all, thought for a while, lowered his head, and held the five fingers of his left hand like a knife.

The skill of jumping knife is not unique among the old potters in the town, but old Yao Tou's jumping knife technique will give a thumbs up to everyone who sees it.

Old Yaotou took in several apprentices, but he could never really satisfy the old man. Only when he came to Liu Xianyang did he think he had found someone who could inherit the mantle. When Liu Xianyang was practicing in the past, Chen Pingan would squat aside and stare hard as long as he had nothing to do.

Liu Xianyang had the best face, but he only knew that Chen Ping'an was tight-lipped, so he often used Lao Yao's secret formula to scare the latter, such as "If you want the knife to move steadily, your hand must not be rigidly steady. In the final analysis, it is Be calm."

But when Chen Ping'an asked what a stable heart meant, Liu Xianyang was confused.

Song Jixin watched it for a while and found it boring, so he jumped off the wall and entered the house.

The maid Zhigui stood by the wall. If she hadn't tiptoed, the upper half of her face would have been exposed. Even so, it was already vaguely obvious that the girl was a beauty.

She thought for a while, then stood on tiptoes, her eyes fell around the poor boy, and finally found two favorite stones on the ground. One was scarlet and clear, and the other was snow-white. Both of them were thrown away by her son-in-law. of.

She hesitated for a moment, lowered her voice, and said timidly: "Chen Pingan, can you help me pick up those two stones? I like it very much."

Chen Ping'an slowly raised his head, his hand movement did not stop, it was still very steady, and his eyes signaled her to wait a moment.

Zhigui smiled brightly, like the first green buds on the branches after spring, extremely beautiful.

But the young man had lowered his head and missed this moving scene.

The corners of her mouth were raised, and her eyes were sparkling, as if there were tiny living things swimming leisurely in them.

When Chen Ping'an stopped what he was doing and asked which two stones they were, the eyes of the maid Zhigui returned to normal, as before, as soft as spring mud after the rain.

Chen Pingan picked up the two stones in the direction her fingers pointed and walked to the wall. As soon as she raised her hand, the boy in straw sandals had already placed the stones on the wall.

She picked up two stones and held them tightly in her hands.

Anyone who is interested in searching for this thing deliberately is looking for a needle in a haystack, which is rare to find in ten years.

Even if you don't mean it, the destined person is like a piece of junk on the street. You can easily get it. It all depends on your mood.

Chen Pingan asked with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of slugs blocking your door and scolding you for a long time?"

She didn't admit that her young master stole other people's things, but she didn't seem to have the shame to deny the fact, so she just smiled and said nothing.

There lived a mother and son in Mu Ping Alley. Their fighting skills were unrivaled in the town, and only Song Jixin could compete with them. Among them, the child was particularly naughty, with two slugs hanging around all year round. He liked to fish in the creek and pick up stones. The fish he caught were kept in a large water tank, and the stones were piled next to the water tank. Song Jixin just liked to provoke this little thorn. Every now and then, he would go and steal a few pebbles. He couldn't see them for a day or two, but he couldn't stand it. Song Jixin often touched them away. Once the child confirmed that he was missing the treasure, he would His hair would explode, like a little wild cat whose tail was stepped on. He could scold him outside the courtyard for an hour, but his mother would never dissuade him. Instead, she would fan the flames and deliberately expose Song Jixin as the former supervisor. The matter of the official's illegitimate child made Song Jixin so angry several times that he almost went out to fight with the bench, but the maid Zhigui tried hard to dissuade him.

Suddenly, a sharp voice sounded, "Song Jixin, Song Jixin, come and catch the traitor. Your maid and Chen Ping'an are flirting with each other. It's obvious that they are hooking up! If you don't care about your maid, maybe tonight she will So he climbed over the wall and knocked on Chen Pingan's door! Get out quickly, tsk tsk, tsk tsk, Chen Pingan's hands even touched that little girl's face. Didn't you see that Chen Pingan laughed so disgustingly..."

Song Jixin didn't show up at all, and shouted directly in the room: "What's this? I saw Chen Pingan and your mother having a fight last night. After I caught him, Chen Pingan took his paws off your mother's collar." I pulled it out with all my strength. It's your mother's fault too. Her place is so spectacular and plump. Poor Chen Ping'an is so tired that he is sweating..."

Someone in the alley kicked the door of Song Jixin's courtyard fiercely and said angrily: "Song Jixin, come out and challenge me to a duel! If you lose, you give me Zhigui as a maid, and you will feed me, make a bed, and wash my feet every day!" If I lose, I will give Chen Ping'an to you as a handyman, what do you think? I'll ask you if you dare, anyway, whoever dares will be a coward!"

In the room, Song Jixin lazily said: "Go and cool down! Your father, I looked through the almanac. Today is not a good time to spank my son. Gu Can, you are lucky!"

The child outside the house banged on the door hard, "Zhigui, it's so frustrating for you to follow such a coward young master. You should just run away with Liu Xianyang. Anyway, that stupid guy looks at you as if he wants to eat you."

The maid Zhigui turned around and walked towards the house.

In the house, Song Jixin was carefully wiping an emerald green gourd. It was an old object of unknown age and one of the "family properties" left by Mr. Song. Song Jixin didn't pay attention to it at first, but later he accidentally discovered that every time there was a thunderstorm, There was a buzzing sound inside the gourd, but after Song Jixin took off the lid, no matter how much he shook it, nothing slipped out. He poured water and sand into it, but when he poured it out, it was still water and sand, not much at all. Nothing less. Song Jixin was really at his wits end, and he was upset when he was scolded by Gu Can's shrewish mother outside the house, who said that he had an illegitimate son who had a mother but no father. So Song Jixin took a knife to the gourd and beat him. The result of chopping made the young man stunned. The blade had been rolled over, but the gourd was still intact, leaving no trace.

A letter burned by Song Jixin in the early years wrote: "The gold, silver and copper coins that the government office moved to the small courtyard will ensure that you, master and servant, will have enough food and clothing. In your spare time, you can collect some antiques that you are pleased to see. Quan You should cultivate your temperament. Although the town is small, coarse food can nourish the stomach, books can nourish the spirit, scenery can nourish the eyes, and loneliness can nourish the heart. From today on, obey the fate of fate in everything you do, and hide the dragon in the abyss, and you will be blessed in the future."

Although Song Jixin resented that man, he didn't want to spend too much money. In a small town with simple folk customs, it was difficult to spend a lot of money. Over the years, Song Jixin really fell in love with the rag collecting business. A big red lacquer box was filled to the brim, filled with odd things like emerald green gourds. It's just that Song Jixin had a mysterious and mysterious intuition. There was a large box with more than thirty items in various categories. This gourd was the most valuable, and then there was a rusty purple gold bell. When it shook, he could clearly see the hanging weight hitting the inner wall. , it should have made a crisp sound, but it was silent, which made Song Jixin both horrified and surprised. Finally, there was a simple teapot signed "Mandrill". Song Jixin liked the rest of the items superficially and could not be called love at first sight.

A child named Gu Can stood outside the door, cursing and getting angry.

Not long after, the scolding stopped abruptly.

Then Chen Ping'an saw the guy suddenly push open the door to his courtyard, with a face full of panic. After bolting the door, he squatted beside the door and kept winking to himself, asking him to squat next to him.

Chen Ping'an didn't know what was going on, but he ran to the child's side, squatted down, and asked softly: "Gu Can, what are you doing? Did you make your mother angry again?"

The child sniffed hard and lowered his voice: "Chen Pingan, let me tell you, I just met a weirdo. The white bowl in his hand could keep pouring water. Look, it's only so big. Bowl, I saw him pouring water for an hour with my own eyes! When that guy passed by the entrance of our Mud Bottle Alley just now, he seemed to have stopped. Did he see me? It was so miserable..."

The child gestured with his hands about the size of the white bowl, then patted his chest and said with emotion: "Song Jixin's father was really scared to death."

Chen Pingan asked: "Are you talking about the storyteller under the locust tree?"

The child nodded vigorously, "No, the old man's hands don't have much strength, and even I can't lift it, but that broken bowl is really scary, very scary!"

The child suddenly grabbed Chen Pingan's arm, "Chen Pingan, I really didn't lie to you this time! I can swear that if I lie to you, Song Jixin will die badly!"

Chen Pingan raised a finger and made a silent gesture.

The child shut up immediately.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, gradually rising and falling.

One thing brings down another thing.

The child, who was originally fearless, sat down on the ground, reached out and wiped his face randomly, his face turned pale. It was obvious that this slug named Gu Can was really scared to death.

The child suddenly asked: "Chen Ping'an, that guy didn't go to my house, right? What should I do?"

Chen Ping'an said helplessly: "I'll go back to your house with you?"

The child was probably waiting for Chen Pingan's words. He stood up suddenly, sat down slumped, and said with a sad face: "Chen Pingan, my legs are so weak that I can't walk."

Chen Ping'an stood up, bent down and grabbed the child's back collar, carried the child with one hand, opened the door latch with the other, and walked out of the yard.

The child's home was not far from here, only about a hundred steps away. As expected, Gu Can saw the old man in his yard, and his mother even brought a stool for the old man.

At that moment, the child felt that the sky was falling, so he chose to hide behind Chen Pingan and let the taller one go up.

Chen Ping'an did not disappoint the child and protected him intentionally or unintentionally.

When the naughty boy Gu Can held Chen Ping'an's sleeve, he immediately became filled with pride for no reason.

The old man didn't care about this. He sat on the bench and thought about it for a while. The white bowl in his hand disappeared out of thin air.

Gu Can's legs immediately became weak again, and he hid behind Chen Ping'an, trembling.

The old man glanced at the country woman who looked surprisingly calm, then at the frowning straw-shoe boy, and finally said to the shrinking child: "Little kid, do you know what's in your water tank?"

The child shouted behind Chen Pingan: "What else is there? The fish, shrimps and crabs I caught from the stream, and the loaches and eels caught in the fields! If you like it, just take it away. You're welcome..."

The child's voice became lower and lower, obviously lacking confidence.

The woman smoothed her hair from her temples, looked at Chen Pingan, and said softly: "Peace."

Chen Pingan understood what she meant, rubbed Gu Can's head, then turned and left.

Deep in the woman's eyes, there was a hint of guilt hidden for this straw sandal boy.

She abandoned her distracting thoughts and turned to the old man and asked: "This immortal master who has come from afar, does he want to buy this opportunity, or grab it?"

The old man shook his head and smiled: "Buy? I can't afford it. Steal? I can't take it away either."

The woman also shook her head, "It was like this in the past, but it may not be the case in the future."

When the old man who was originally in a leisurely mood heard this, he suddenly waved his sleeves and his fingers moved like flying as if he had been struck by lightning.

The old man sighed and said: "Why is it like this!"

The woman looked cold and said with a smile: "How many good people do you think this town has?"

The old man stood up, took a deep look at the confused child, and seemed to have made a big decision. With a flick of his wrist, the white bowl reappeared.

The old man walked to the large water tank that was half a man tall and quickly scooped a bowl of water from the water tank.

Although the woman pretended to be calm, her palms were actually sweaty.

The old man sat back on the stool, waved to Gu Can and said, "Little kid, come here and take a look."

The child looked at his mother, and she nodded with encouraging eyes.

After the child came closer, the old man blew gently into the water in the bowl, causing ripples to appear.

The old man smiled and said, "Open your mouth."

At the same time, the old man took out a locust leaf from the child's body with a casual touch.

The two fingers are twisted in an imaginary way, but not actually grasped.

The child groaned subconsciously.

The old man flicked his finger, and the green locust leaf fell into the child's mouth.

The child was stunned on the spot, and then realized that there seemed to be nothing strange in his mouth.

The old man didn't give him a chance to ask, and pointed to the white bowl in his palm, "Look carefully to see what's there."

Gu Can widened his eyes and looked attentively. He first saw an extremely tiny black dot, then gradually turned into a slightly eye-catching black line, and finally slowly grew in size, as if it had turned into a small earth-yellow loach. The ripples on the water surface of the bowl roll with joy.

The child, whose brain was in a state of confusion, suddenly had an idea and exclaimed: "I remember it! I got it from Chen Pingan..."

The woman slapped her son on the face and said angrily: "Shut up!"

The old man was not surprised by this and said calmly: "We monks, in order to prove immortality, are treasonous. This little struggle is nothing. Don't be so nervous. It belongs to your son. He cannot escape. It should not belong to that young man. I can’t hold it back either.”

This child named Gu Can weighs less than 40 pounds.

But the weight of its "roots" is incredible.

So when this old bowl-holder with magical powers used an ancestral secret technique to touch and weigh his bones, he naturally couldn't lift Gu Can.

This is the prerequisite for him to accept disciples.

Otherwise, wouldn't a three-year-old kid who is holding gold through the market be looking for death?

The old man smiled casually, but his eyes were cold, and he said slowly: "Of course, even if it originally belonged to that young man, so what? Now that I am personally in charge, it is no longer his."

The child was silent and his teeth were chattering.

The woman was relieved.

The old man put on his kind and kind face again, "My child, this bowl contains the entire river water, and now it also has a little dragon. From now on, you are my direct disciple."

"I am a 'True Lord', and I am only half a step away from being the ancestor of the 'Kai Zong'. Although I am a lower sect... Anyway, in the future you will naturally understand the weight of the four words "True King" and "Kai Zong".

The old man laughed and said: "It will only be heavier than this bowl of river water."

The child suddenly cried, "This is wrong! It belongs to Chen Pingan!"

The woman was so angry that she raised her arms high and wanted to teach this stupid son who was deceived by lard.

The old man waved his hand, smiled, and wrote lightly: "Having such a heart is not all bad things."

The child lowered his head and wiped away tears and snot from his nose with the back of his hand.

The woman looked at the old man quietly.

The old man smiled knowingly and nodded.

People who share the same ideals, everything can be said without saying anything.

After the child raised his head, his mother and the master, who had fallen from the sky inexplicably, were smiling faintly.

The child turned his head. When Chen Pingan left, he did not forget to close the courtyard door.

The town is like a crop field, catching up with the big year and the harvest season.

However, some people are just barnyard grass among the rice. They are looked at once and never looked at again.

For example, the boy in straw sandals walking alone in Mud Bottle Alley.