Qingfeng Xu Xu

When the three of them arrived at the room, Butler Wu happened to bring a midnight snack. After setting up the room, he said a few polite words and left. Xu Mulin ate indifferently, but Xu Qingjiu was a little impatient. He looked at Xu Mulin and then at Li Jichu, thinking about whether to continue the previous topic, and then heard Li Jichu speak first:"When my mother gave birth to me, I was awakened by a fright when I was young, so it took me many years of recuperation before I could have Ji Hua again. The age difference between our two brothers is quite a bit, perhaps because of this. Although our relationship is also close, it’s just not like ordinary brothers. We talk about everything. But over the years, I can still guess some of what he is thinking."

"When I was twelve years old, my father took me to the cave we went to today and explained and taught me the swordsmanship. When I mastered it thoroughly, my father started to demonstrate it to me on the cliff outside, and then performed another movement. Correct me with one movement. It took me nearly three months to memorize the diagrams in the cave, and it took me nearly half a year to practice and master every movement and technique. However, my father was not in any hurry from beginning to end and always patiently guided me."Li Jichu said, seeming to recall something, and smiled awkwardly,"Sorry, I'm going too far. Ji Hua was different. When he was seven years old, his father took him to a cave. It only took him two days to start practicing. In less than a month, Ji Hua had completely mastered it and could even discuss with his father which places might have fun. I have never experienced any changes to make it easier to perform without affecting its elegance and dexterity. I just feel that my father finally has a successor who can inherit the swordsmanship, inherit Guxia Village, and carry everything forward, and that person can never be me. This was what I thought in the first few years, but I didn’t feel jealous of Ji Hua. However, I still felt unwilling to give in, so I continued to practice. But after two years of practice, I couldn’t be as diligent as Ji Hua. After practicing for half a year, I gradually came to believe that talent is something that ordinary people can hardly reach the same level no matter how hard they work. My father may also have noticed that I was harsh on myself, and he often gave me personal examples and gave me guidance. At that time, I felt that my father was just pity for my poor health."Speaking of this, Li Jichu smiled and shook his head, probably laughing at his previous immature thoughts.

"Mr. Li treats you very well."

Xu Mulin seemed to be drinking tea seriously, secretly looking at Xu Qingjiu's expression, and seeing that there was nothing unusual about Xu Qingjiu, he did not speak.

"Yes, he is an excellent father, but I am not a good son."Li Jichu took a sip of tea and said,"I noticed this a long time ago. I wonder if he had noticed my inner resentment before and was disappointed in me."

"It doesn't matter what it was like in the past. Brother Jichu is doing well now and can do better in the future. That's fine. My master once told me that people’s eyes are in the front, just to look forward. Our life is always in the future. When we open our eyes every day, we live for the present and the future, not for the past."Xu Qingjiu looked at Li Jichu and said seriously

"Qingjiu said yes."Li Jichu looked at Xu Qingjiu and smiled. After finishing speaking, he continued his previous statement,"Ten years ago, my father gave me guidance in the courtyard. My mother said that she wanted to go up the mountain to the temple to petition. My father felt that Jihua was bored all day long. When he was practicing swordsmanship at home, he asked his mother to take Jihua with him....As expected, things are unpredictable. My father had just finished teaching me a movement and then demonstrated it to me personally. Before he finished the demonstration, the sword in my father's hand suddenly broke. My father suddenly felt uneasy and said that he was going up the mountain to find my mother and her husband. Jihua, I wasn’t worried, so I went with him....Halfway up the mountain, my father and I saw from a distance the disciples in the village who were escorting my mother and Ji Hua up the mountain. They were covered in blood and seriously injured and lying on the roadside. The carriage my mother was riding in was missing. Later, my father and I finally found my mother and Jihua in the forest by following the chaotic ruts. However, before we could step forward to rescue my mother and Jihua from the gangsters who besieged them, my mother fell to the ground seriously injured. In front of Jihua, a sword pierced his heart. The sword that pierced his mother was right in front of Jihua. If his father hadn't reacted quickly, Jihua would have died on the spot. My mother was hit with several swords, and the sword wound on her chest was extremely serious, so my father killed all those people without leaving a trace. Before I could say a word to my mother, my mother died in my father's arms. My father held my mother, whose body was getting colder, and I carried the injured Jihua on my back and returned to Guxiazhuang."

"The doctor helped Ji Hua treat his wounds. Fortunately, the injuries were not critical, and he just needed more time to heal. However, since coming back that day, Jihua remained silent every time the wound was treated, even though he was sweating profusely in pain. At that time, he was not yet ten years old. Later, Jihua just lay on the bed, motionless and not saying a word. Later, the injury was still not fully healed. When her mother was going to the funeral, she dragged the sick body like that, looking as if she would collapse at any time. I went to my mother's funeral hall without saying a word. Ignoring my father's and my dissuasion, I insisted on sending my mother to the funeral. My father couldn't resist, so he didn't insist anymore. Jihua was standing next to me, making no sound, tears all over her face, flowing down to her chin and turning into water....After his mother was buried, Jihua remained the same as before, saying nothing and just locking himself in the room."

"His father scolded him and said that his mother would be disappointed when she saw him in his current state. I called the doctor, who said that he had been too stimulated and mentally exhausted and had to recover slowly. At that time, my father was also immersed in the pain of losing his mother, and when he saw Jihua like that...His father pulled Jihua from the room to the yard, threw the sword in front of him, and forced him to pick up the sword, not wanting his mother to see him like this in the sky. Jihua reached out to take the sword in his father's hand, but before he could touch it, he knelt on the ground and vomited, vomiting blood, which shocked his father. Later, Ji Hua told me that when he saw the sword, he saw the blood flowing from his mother's heart, and he saw his mother's blood on his hands. I told my father this. His father blamed Jihua for being too weak, but later he did not continue to force Jihua. He only hoped that time would pass slowly and Jihua would cheer up. However, less than half a year later, Jihua found some medical books from nowhere and spent the whole day I stayed in the room all day and never mentioned sword practice. From that time on, whenever my father and Jihua met, they would have endless arguments. I could only try to persuade him from both sides, but it had no effect. I really don't want Jihua to pick up the sword that he doesn't want to pick up again for whatever reason, because I know that my father has high expectations for Jihua to inherit Guxiazhuang. Jihua read the medical book without raising his head and told me with tears in his eyes that if he had practiced medicine instead of swordsmanship, maybe he could have saved his mother that day. When I told my father what Jihua said, my father just sighed and walked away in silence. I looked at my father’s back and thought about what Jihua said. For the first time, I began to feel guilty. If I were a healthy person, As a person, Jihua probably doesn't have to bear all his father's expectations alone, and his father won't be so helpless. Later, Jihua often ran away and spent less and less time with my father and me. He occasionally came back a few times and started quarreling again when we met. Later, he almost never came back."

"For your father, maybe day after day, he began to blame himself for not protecting your mother and Jihua. And for Jihua, is it actually the case?"Xu Qingjiu lowered his head and murmured

"The father blamed himself not just for not protecting them. Later, my father told me that he recognized some of the gangsters as escapees from a group of bandits that he helped the people deal with in a passing village many years ago when he and his mother were walking around the world."

Hearing this, Xu Qingjiu felt that these past events were too hidden,"So, the person who killed your mother back then actually came for revenge, and your father also felt guilty for this? To your mother, and to Jihua?"

"Yes, my father felt guilty. Therefore, he no longer insisted on persuading Jihua to pick up the sword again and take up the responsibility of Guxia Village again." Li Jichu said, with an expression full of pain,"It's just that my father's guilt is probably more than that"

"How to say?"Xu Mulin asked

"I just remembered a lot of things recently. The incident my father mentioned was something my mother told Jihua and me many years ago, but it was different from what my father said. Those few people did not escape on their own back then. It was my father who saw that they had not committed any serious crimes and had the intention to change, so he spared their lives in the hope that they would change their ways and become good in the future. When I think of this incident the most, I suddenly feel that my father may have realized that Jihua may have known something before those people killed his mother, so my father may have been worried that Jihua has been resenting him all these years."

Exploring the past is like reopening a healed scar, and all the pain has to be experienced again. But there are also many people who live in the past all year round and experience the same pain every day. Li Jichu is the former, and Li Haoyuan is the latter. The three of them were silent for a while. Xu Qingjiu felt that if it was really what Li Jichu said, everything would be too heavy. Xu Qingjiu wanted a different truth,"Did Brother Jichu have Tingji before?" What did Hua talk about?"

"No."Li Jichu shook his head,"When my mother talked about this matter with me and Jihua, she originally just wanted to warn us that 'many people make mistakes sometimes, and many people sometimes have no choice, or You are forced to choose to take some paths that you shouldn't take, so you shouldn't think too evil of people, and you should give such people a chance to choose to be good. 'I remember that I asked my mother back then, if these people were given a chance and they became more evil people, wouldn't it mean that more innocent people would be harmed?"Speaking of this, Li Jichu seemed to have remembered something, and smiled and continued:"My mother didn't answer me at that time, but Jihua gave me the answer. He told me, 'Many people who have been trapped in the darkness for a long time may be many. Years are still waiting for someone to bring a beam of light. If such a day comes, then those people can become another beam of light in the darkness, bringing people in the darkness to another place. Even if that choice is still evil, it is certainly not the case for everyone. As long as one person makes the right choice, it is worth it. 'So, when I first thought about my father's worries, I felt that even if Jihua really knew that the people who killed his mother were the people his father deliberately let go, Jihua would not blame his father. However, in the past two years, Jihua has almost never come back, and until now, there is no news, so I am also a little worried. Jihua may not only believe that I have something to do with his father's death, but perhaps it is also because of his mother's death that year. He blamed his father for his death and believed that his mother's death was indirectly caused by his father."

Xu Qingjiu looked at Li Jichu and sighed, adding more tea to Xu Mulin and Li Jichu,"Brother Jichu feels that if Jihua is just suspicious of you, then he should have come back to question you long ago, instead of like now, Still not showing up? Li

Jichu raised his head and drank the tea in one gulp, and said,"Yes, if you are disappointed in your father, you will be disappointed in me again." Originally, I wanted to give him some time to figure this out, so after I sent someone out to look for him for a while, I did hesitate to continue looking for him, but fortunately, this thought only passed by for a moment. From today on, my father Judging from what happened in front of the mourning hall, regardless of whether Jihua really had those suspicions and resentments, I had to ensure that he was safe. Therefore, this time I ask for your help to find Ji Hua. If he still doesn’t want to come back after finding him, don’t force it. If you can persuade him to come back to Tianzong with you to stay for a while, that would be good too."

"Then we'll set off tomorrow"

"Senior brother..."Xu Qingjiu looked at Xu Mulin and said hesitantly

"I received news two days ago that someone had seen Jihua in Zizhou. I asked them to continue searching there. If they can find it, I won’t bother you anymore. Besides, Mulin, your injury will still be injured. I need to recuperate again, but I got wet again today. Let’s wait until the injury gets better. Don’t rush to hit the road. I heard Lu Xianyun say that sutures were done at that time. If there are no problems in a few days, I will ask him to come over and remove the sutures for you."

"Senior brother?"Xu Qingjiu looked at Xu Mulin, hoping to get Xu Mulin's consent.

"OK, listen to you."Xu Mulin looked at Xu Qingjiu and replied, then turned to Li Jichu and said:"As long as you haven't heard the other party say it himself, you don't have to think so much. Li

Jichu looked at Xu Qingjiu and then at Xu Mulin,"Is Mulin trying to comfort me?""

"Of course, senior brother has always been such a considerate person."Xu Qingjiu replied quickly.

Xu Mulin lowered his head and drank tea without speaking.

"Mulin, there is no tea in your cup. Come, I'll add it to you."After the contact, Li Jichu also discovered Xu Mulin's serious character and couldn't help but tease him. After Xu Mulin continued to put the cups on the table expressionlessly, Li Jichu added more tea to Xu Mulin and Xu Qingjiu, and then He also filled up his cup and said,"Mu Lin is still injured. Today I will drink tea instead of wine. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mulin and Qingjiu for their kindness."

"Brother Ji Chu was polite."Xu Qingjiu raised his glass.

Xu Mulin on the side had just been teased, and now he made up for it:"Why is it that I can't drink because I'm injured? You didn't bring any wine today. You were stingy, but you took advantage of me. Making an excuse, brother Jichu?"

Li Jichu heard that Xu Mulin was repaying him for teasing him just now, and just as he was about to retort, he heard Xu Qingjiu beside him say:"Senior brother, you are injured and you can't drink."When Li Jichu heard this, he lowered his head and smiled, wondering what else he needed to say. But before he could feel proud, he heard Xu Qingjiu say again,"But brother Jichu and I can indeed drink. From this point of view, Jichu Brother Chu is indeed stingy. Li

Jichu, who had not had time to be proud, was speechless. Seeing Xu Mulin on the side who was also holding back laughter, Li Jichu had no choice but to surrender and said:"Okay, okay, I'll ask someone to get it.""

As soon as Li Jichu finished speaking, he was about to get up and ask someone to get a drink when he heard a voice coming from the door,"You haven't had a drink since you were scared. Now you are trying to save face and don't even want your life?"

Before, he waved his hand to surrender, but now Li Jichu wanted to escape through the window, but Xu and Xu were still here. In the end, Li Jichu didn't do anything more embarrassing. He sighed deeply and stepped forward to open the door.

It was just right. Lu Xianyun, who was easily dismissed by Li Jichu, was standing in front of the door again. Li Jichu felt annoyed: He forgot that he knew that Mulin and the others were settled here, and he had just told Old Wu that if he asked me where I had been, he would say he didn't know. , now I guess this person is just in the study and bedroom. I didn’t see him before he came directly towards me.

"Didn’t I just say that it’s not raining at this time of year? I wanted to give you an acupuncture to relieve the cold in your body, but when I went to get an acupuncture, you disappeared again. Go out and take a look. Is there any doctor who chases patients like this all day long?"Lu Xianyun said angrily.

Before Li Jichu could speak, Lu Xianyun kept talking to himself. Lu Xianyun would find other reasons to continue endlessly. Li Jichu planned to remain silent..

On the other hand, Xu Qingjiu stood up quickly and went to Li Jichu's side to help smooth things over,"We don't really want to drink. Senior brother and I are just joking with brother Jichu. Brother Jichu was talking to us just now. I'm sorry for delaying your treatment for brother Jichu. After saying that, he looked at Li Jichu and said,"In this way, senior brother and I have been harassing brother Jichu in the village for a few days. If there is any news later, we will communicate with him.""

"Okay, it's getting late today, so you guys should go to bed early and I'll leave first."