Qingfeng Xu Xu

By the next day, Xu Mulin had almost recovered from the cold. He woke up early and remembered that the food he bought for Xu Qingjiu last night had been almost wiped out by Xu Qingjiu. He thought that they might also be sold in the morning market. Simple I washed up and went out. Xu Qingjiu woke up and thought about checking if Xu Mulin was still feeling unwell. If he was feeling unwell, he would take a rest and see the doctor. As soon as he opened the door, there was no one on the bed, and the bed was cold. of. Xu Qingjiu was curious about where Xu Mulin was going early in the morning. When he turned around, he saw Xu Mulin carrying many large and small packages into the house.

"Qingjiu, you're up. It's just in time. Let's eat something and then we can set off."

"Senior brother, what are you doing?..."

"I saw that you liked eating these dried fruit pulps, so I bought some more for you to eat on the road."

"But did you buy too much? You still have what you bought last night."

"I saw that there were no more prosperous prefectures or counties like Jiangning Prefecture on the way, so I guessed that I would have to make do with some dry food on the way, so I bought more."

Xu Qingjiu looked at Xu Mulin and didn't say anything for a long time. Xu Mulin looked around and found nothing wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"It's okay. What would you like to eat for breakfast?"

"Is there anything Qingjiu wants to eat?"

"Listen to senior brother"

"I bought some pancakes and came back, thinking that I would eat some when you wake up and then go on the road. It’s still early now. When I just came back, the morning market was quite busy. Why don’t we pack up our things and find a place to eat? You can go directly, okay?"

"Okay, then I'll pack my things."

After packing up their things and settling the rent, the two of them led the horses to the lively morning market and ate hot wontons. After leaving the morning market, they happened to lead the horses for a snack. When they arrived at the city gate, the two of them got on their horses. , and was about to ride away, when he was suddenly stopped.

"Gentlemen, please wait."

Xu Qingjiu pulled the reins, looked back, and saw a woman walking quickly toward him holding an oil paper bag. At first, Xu Qingjiu didn't recognize who it was. When the woman took a few steps closer, Xu Qingjiu realized Then he remembered that the visitor was the proprietress of the stall where he and Xu Mulin were buying meat cakes on the street yesterday. However, Xu Qingjiu still wondered why the proprietress stopped him and Xu Mulin, but he still got off the horse and led the horse. go forward

"Sir, are you leaving?"The woman walked up to Xu Qingjiu and asked

"yes. Auntie, do you have anything to do with us?"

"It’s okay. You can take these meatloaf and eat them on the road. I also have these coins to return to you. I didn’t bring the coins that Master gave me yesterday. I didn’t expect to meet you today. These are the money from selling cakes this morning. We just left the stall not long ago, so...There isn’t much. Our home is far away. If the young master is not in a hurry, I will go back and get it and deliver it to the young master."

"What?"Xu Qingjiu was puzzled.

"Yesterday, my man offended the young master with his words, and the young master also gave us those coins. How could we be embarrassed to accept them? However, please forgive me, my husband, too....He has also suffered many sins and has always been resentful in his heart. I also ask the two young masters not to meet him in the same way."

"Yesterday, my aunt lost money because of us. The money should be regarded as our compensation to you. You don’t have to pay it back."

"Yes, Auntie, I'm really sorry. I was reckless yesterday. I think those people have been bullying the market for some time. Although I originally only wanted to help you, I still don't understand the reasons. If it was because of yesterday's incident, it would have harmed you. If my aunt can't continue to do business in the future, then I don't know how to repay it. I'll ask my aunt to accept the money."

The proprietress held the meat pie in one hand and some oil-stained copper plates in the other. She held both hands in the air for a long time. Xu Mulin and Xu Qingjiu also refused to pick them up, but he was a woman and it was not easy to be with two teenagers. I was rejected on the road and felt a little at a loss for a moment.

"Auntie, your meat pies are delicious, so we bought these."After saying that, Xu Qingjiu took the meat pie and pushed Xu Mulin with his elbow. Xu Mulin understood and took out his wallet to get the money.

"No, no," the landlady said. She took two steps back, stretched out her hand holding the money, looked down, took out a rag from her sleeve, poured the copper plates into the rag, wiped it, and spread it out. The hand continued:"Please accept the money, Master. The silver the Master gave yesterday was not only to repay the money I gave to those people, it was more than ten times more. Where can I collect more money from the Master?""

"Auntie, just keep the money. The extra money from yesterday will be used to buy today’s cakes. Your cakes are delicious. My junior brother and I like them very much."

"Yes, very delicious"

"Just a few cakes, how can they be worth so much money?"After saying that, the landlady looked at the two people in front of her, knowing that Xu Mulin and Xu Qingjiu would definitely not accept it, and it was hard to speak again.

"Auntie, did you come here specially to find us?"Xu Mulin was subconsciously vigilant.

"This morning, my husband saw two young men in the morning market. He said that the two young men were holding horses and carrying a lot of luggage. They might be leaving, so he asked me to catch up quickly and return yesterday's money to them. My man is an honest and honest man, but he has been feeling aggrieved for a long time and hates the world, but he has no choice."

"Uncle's legs?"

"It was the people who the young master saw doing it in front of my stall yesterday. They didn't do it once or twice like yesterday, so he and I were selling separately. If we saw it from a distance, we would quickly avoid it."

"Does aunt know which sect they are from?"

"Martial Arts?...I heard it’s called the Yuanyang Sect?"

"Yuanyang faction?"Xu Qingjiu was curious. He had never heard of this sect before. Then he thought about it,"What aunt wants to say is the Yuanyang sect, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's what it's called"

"If the disciples of the Yuanyang Sect are not in Luzhou, what are they doing in Jiangning Mansion?"

"How do we ordinary people know about these Jianghu sects? We heard from my nephew that there is a sect in Jiangning Mansion called...Luoshengtang, I heard that after the county government collects taxes from us people, Luoshengtang still has to go to the county to collect protection fees. About half a year ago, Luoshengtang suddenly disappeared overnight. This Yuanyang sect came later."

"Then the disciples of the Yuanyang Sect bullied the market like this as soon as they arrived?"

"Yes, they also asked merchants to collect protection fees, but only the ones the two young masters saw yesterday made more trouble."

"In addition to the Yuanyang sect, has your aunt seen anyone from other sects?"

"There is nothing else"

"Has the county government ever taken control of it?"

"It would be nice if the county government didn’t charge us more taxes, but who would care about this?"

"This Jiangning Mansion is really as high as the sky and the emperor is far away"

"Auntie, we still have things to do and we have to be on our way."

"Okay, okay, the two young masters have a good journey. They will come to Jiangning Mansion again in the future. If you don't mind, please come to my house to have some wine and light food."

"Okay, we will definitely come again. No need for wine, as long as we can eat auntie’s cakes"

"Auntie, take care, we two brothers and sisters will leave first."

"OK, come back if you like to eat, you are always welcome."

The two said goodbye to the landlady and continued on their way.

The road was no longer as fast as the first day. After an hour or two, they would stop to rest or slow down. Xu Mulin came down and led the horse away. Xu Qingjiu lay on the horse to relieve the pain from the bumps on his buttocks. Compared with the rush on the first day, today's journey was much shorter. It had been dark for a long time, and the two of them were still on the road. Earlier, when the sun had not set, the sky had turned dark. It was a bit gloomy. It was dark and there was no moonlight at all. They thought they were going to sleep in the wilderness, but they saw lights flickering in the distance, so they had to continue walking for a while, and finally arrived at the brightly lit inn. Also because they arrived late. There was only one room left.

Xu Mulin and Xu Qingjiu ate some hot soup and the last two meatloaf given by the landlady in the morning. After hastily washing up, the two of them huddled on the small bed to rest together.. As soon as he lay down, Xu Qingjiu felt that his whole body was sore. It was estimated that if he didn't stop, he would be knocked apart. Xu Qingjiu was lying on the bed unwilling to turn over and move, but he couldn't sleep either.

Xu Qingjiu stared at After looking at the roof for a long time, he remembered what he overheard in Yuehua Building yesterday, and what the landlady said to him and Xu Mulin at the city gate this morning. He felt that he had more doubts in his heart, and looked sideways at Xu Mulin. Although Xu Mulin had his eyes closed, he didn't look like he was asleep. Xu Qingjiu tried to call out softly.

"Senior brother?"

"Do you want to talk about Jiangning Mansion?"Xu Mulin opened his eyes, looked sideways at Xu Qingjiu and said.

Xu Qingjiu smiled and said:"Senior brother understands me best."

"It stands to reason that if something happens to Luoshengtang, then Jiangning Mansion should be controlled by the nearest sect. Here..."

"The closest to Shuzhou is Guxiazhuang"

"If it had been a few years ago, it would have been the Plum Blossom Villa in Jiangling Prefecture. Now that the Plum Blossom Villa is gone, it should not be the Yuanyang Sect far away in Luzhou."

"Senior brother is wondering, what is the connection between Yuanyang Sect and Jiangning County Government?"

"I don’t dare to judge this now, but the demise of Luoshengtang is either related to the Yuanyang Sect or the county government."

"Or maybe it’s related to both, and these two families just get what they need."

"That's right. In addition, I always feel that there may be a hidden reason behind the death of Master Li."

"Did Master say anything?"

"Master probably doesn’t know either. After all, he only learned about Master Li’s death through the sect."

"Also, if we knew something was fishy, ​​Master would definitely come in person. How could we let us know?...By the way, I also remembered something and felt a little strange. When we left after dinner at Yuehua Building yesterday, I overheard a few people talking about how Luoqiu Valley was burned down and no one in the valley was spared."

"Falling in the autumn valley, the autumn moon is white?"

"Yes, I heard the quasi-hall master say that this Qiugu master is also a very powerful person. Although he is only a practitioner of medicine, he is very proficient in internal and external injuries, especially internal injuries. I heard that he is also very good at medicine. He Not only can it prepare medicines that can cure diseases and save people, but it can also make medicines that can improve people's internal energy....Could the disaster in Luoqiu Valley be related to these?"

"Luoshengtang, Luoqiu Valley, Guxiazhuang...I wonder if the Yuanyang Sect will come to Master Li’s funeral day?"

"It's really hard to tell. Sometimes the murderer is so confident that he will probably come and witness it in person. But if this is the case, is this Yuanyang Sect too ostentatious, as if he is directly telling everyone that everything is related to him?"

"It's hard to say, unless..."

"Does the Yuanyang Sect want more, like the entire Jianghu? But I think the Yuanyang faction is not that capable"

"maybe. When you get to Guxiazhuang, be very careful."

"Is there anyone who cares about us since Qingtang?"

"...If Master hears what you said, he will definitely beat you. That's not the case, it's just that the water is too deep, so be careful not to get hurt by people in the dark."

"OK, I remember..."Xu Qingjiu yawned long while talking.

"Sleepy? Go to sleep, senior brother will be there for everything"

"Well, senior brother, let’s sleep too."As soon as Xu Qingjiu finished speaking, he fell into a deep sleep.

Xu Mulin turned his head and stared at the sleeping Xu Qingjiu for a while, then gently sat up, helped Xu Qingjiu cover him with the quilt, and then lay down gently. Next, he continued to look at Xu Qingjiu until his eyelids were so heavy that he could no longer keep them open, then he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The next day, Xu Mulin woke up early again, prepared breakfast and waited for Xu Qingjiu to get up. , checked the water and dry food on the road. After Xu Qingjiu woke up, he and Xu Mulin sat across from each other to have breakfast. Xu Qingjiu stared at Xu Mulin for a long time, and then asked with some embarrassment:"Brother, what happened to me last night?" Are you very restless when sleeping?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"There's none? You looked like you hadn't slept well, and you had black circles under your eyes."

Xu Mulin coughed,"People came one after another to check in last night, and it was a bit noisy, so I didn't sleep well.

Xu Qingjiu frowned and asked,"Didn't you say there is no room?""

"...Yes, so I’m in and out, I don’t know how to arrange it."

"So, senior brother, do you want to take a nap again?"

"No. I finished eating and went to pack my things. After saying that, Xu Mulin pretended to rummage through the things he had put away. When there was nothing left to rummage, he took the package and said he was going down to feed the overfed horses. The next two or three days were the same. We were on our way, but after we passed Jiangbei, the climate was very different from that of Meizhou. Both of them caught cold and got sick one after another, so they had to postpone it for two days. After recovering later, as the days were getting closer, the road slowly accelerated. However, when we finally arrived in Shuzhou, it still took two days longer than originally planned.