Chapter 3: The Lost Scholar

"The autumn branches are old and the leaves are yellow, the chicks are hungry overnight, and it is difficult to go hand in hand day and night, and there is nowhere to stop the wandering. ”

Standing in front of a dilapidated barren mountain, Du Xiaosan was moved by the desolate scenery in front of him, and couldn't help but chant this little poem.

With a groan, he nodded in self-indulgence.

"Traveling thousands of miles, breaking thousands of books... That's true..."

"It's been more than two years since I left the master, and although I haven't traveled to that 10,000 miles, it's almost the same... But I don't know where the third senior brother is?"

Recalling that when he left his master, he was told that the third senior brother had traveled the world and had not been heard from since. Later, a letter returned, saying that he was in the area of Pingcheng in the south of the country... Exactly where it was not specified.

The master didn't have any other intentions, he just wanted Du Xiaosan to see if he could find this disciple who had been traveling for many years during the study tour.

Thinking of the master, Du Xiaosan couldn't help but sigh and envy. The master of his hometown is respected by the world as an outstanding teacher, who is good at the way of vertical and horizontal affairs, the policy of governing the country and the people, and also cultivating some side door hexagrams that deduce yin and yang, and the principle of self-cultivation and family life......

It's really knowledgeable and know-it-all.

When he was young, he traveled all over the southern border, in addition to traveling to famous mountains and rivers, he often met friends with literature, and used his own talents to fight with domestic scribes, but he did not meet opponents. And because of this, he became famous, and he was unparalleled for a while, and was even appreciated and looked at by the royal family of the southern country.

But later, for some reason, Du Xiaosan's master did not receive the attention of the high-level of the southern country. After a period of disappointment and coldness, he chose to retreat and live in seclusion in the mountains of his hometown.

Although the world has not given the proud master what he deserves, it does not mean that he will sink because of it, and therefore spend the rest of his life in mediocrity. There are countless disciples who have been indoctrinated by him, especially several of his personal disciples, who are all outstanding people who are famous all over the world.

Du Xiaosan was the latest to enter the master's door, and there were six senior brothers before him.

The eldest brother Li Ningyuan served as a clerk in the capital of Sichuan, and he was in a high position.

The second senior brother Zhang Hongli, who is the governor of Pingnan Prefecture, is respected by the world as the Pingnan Virtue Order, and is well-known in the cities and villages of various state capitals for his virtue and politics.

The fourth senior brother, Liu Feng, became a city official (diligent government official) in Wuyang City, and was regarded as a confidant by the Wuyang City Order (equivalent to the position of the city lord) for his good calculations and strategies.

The fifth senior brother, Lu Tong, is the lord of Zhoushan City, and the specific situation is unknown.

The sixth senior brother Wen Tao, who is the president of the academy (college dean) in Hedong City and the south of the school, is erudite and talented, and has countless apprentices.

In addition to these well-known disciples, there are also many people who have been taught, all over the country. In the country of Dinan, whether in the political circles or in various schools, many people have been profoundly influenced by it in terms of knowledge.

This is really full of peach and plum, and flowers are blooming one after another. The reputation of the master's teacher is also just right and well-deserved.

Among the six senior brothers, only the third senior brother Zhao Xianming has no reputation. Since he went out to study that year, there has been no news.

If it weren't for the letter two years ago, Du Xiaosan and even his master would have thought that Zhao Xianming was no longer alive.

Du Xiaosan hadn't read the content of the letter, and he didn't know what was written in it. But then he was hastily ended his study by the master with the words of traveling thousands of miles and breaking thousands of books, stepped out of the master's door, and began his career of studying.

Du Xiaosan was still late in entering the school, and he had been taught for less than a few years, not to mention his short knowledge, his literary talents, and his reasoning was unclear.

On the surface, he was asked to go on a study tour, but in fact it was not the case. Du Xiaoshan also knew this, and it was the master who asked him to find the third senior brother Zhao Xianming according to the location provided in Senior Brother Zhao's letter.

In the master's heart, the third senior brother Zhao Xianming is the most ideal disciple, compared to several other senior brothers, Zhao Xianming is no matter in knowledge, vertical and horizontal, hexagram... and so on, all of which are superior, which is also the place favored by the master.

There is also the fact that although these three senior brothers are very knowledgeable, to this day, they don't see them doing anything, and they seem to be depressed. This point is also similar to the master's experience, so the elderly master is even more concerned.

The trajectory of human existence is different, the circumstances suffered are also different, and the thoughts and thoughts are also completely different; the only relative is time, no matter how lazy and diligent, it is passing......

Thinking about this, Du Xiaosan only had hesitation left except for a wry smile. He doesn't know what he's going to be in the future, he doesn't know what he's going to become... What kind of achievements will there be...... Wait, the unpredictable future made him a little confused, and he didn't know how to walk the road ahead.

"Eh, boy... Please stop. ”

An abrupt shout, like a slap in the face, woke up Du Xiaosan who was in deep thought.

He looked up and saw several casually dressed and lean men slowly approaching him.

"Brothers, I still hope to bear it, I have been out of the door for a long time, and there is not much left on my body......" Maybe it was those men, dressed in shabby clothes, and very thin, Du Xiaosan looked at it and thought that he had met a man called Hanako who begged for food.

The person headed by the other party was a bald man, and when he heard it, he was immediately furious: "Hmph, don't play tricks with your master and me, don't entangle too much, Lao Tzu slaughtered you, naturally I know..."

"Big brother, this kid seems to be a beggar who treats his brother as a beggar to eat......" The little brother next to the bald head is also an afterthought, and he doesn't remind the eldest brother who is headed.

"Hmph... Barren mountains and mountains, will you come to ask for food? I see that you little rabbit cub is determined not to take the grandfather seriously. ”

A little brother behind the bald man did not finish speaking, and pounced on Du Xiaosan. Maybe he was in a hurry to show off his means in front of the boss, the monkey was a little anxious, but he didn't want to touch Du Xiaosan's clothes before he slipped under his feet and fell into the mud. If he couldn't do it, he instead attracted the companions behind him to laugh for a while.

"Useless things...... the bald man laughed and scolded, and the person had arrived in front of Du Xiaosan.

The weak Du Xiaosan had never seen this, he just wanted to turn around and run away, but he didn't want the collar to be tight, and the bald man grabbed the collar at the back of his neck.

"Little rabbit cub, when you see your grandfather coming, you still want to slip away...... bald head said, and hit Du Xiaosan with an old fist.

"Lang Lang Qiankun, you are so shameless...... Don't be afraid of ......" Du Xiaosan, who was blinded, was short of breath for a while, and he was speechless.

"What are you not afraid of? It's going to rain, people are going to eat, I think your little rabbit cub is a duck with a dead mouth and a hard mouth...... Come, brothers, take it for me. The bald man turned his face sideways, raised his foot and kicked Du Xiaosan to the ground, and then retreated to the side.

As the leader, he naturally will not surrender his identity and do those things that search his body and touch for money, at this moment, he is enjoying a long-lost pleasure - grabbing silver.

"I haven't opened meat for days, and I don't know if there is any money for wine and meat on this unfortunate child?" the bald man felt proud on the sidelines, completely ignoring the barbaric behavior of his men.

Under the combined service of fists and kicks, the dishonest Du Xiaosan finally became honest, and he fainted.

"What are these things, a few broken papyrus books, a few torn clothes, a few coppers, why don't you even have a little broken silver......

"Why is this kid fucking poorer than us?"

The younger brothers searched for a long time, but there was no silver, and they couldn't help but be very annoyed.

"What?" the bald man's angry eyebrows immediately rose again.

He took the scroll in his younger brother's hand, and saw that the paper was old, the handwriting was sloppy, and it was all a handwritten volume of poetry and words. But one of the books in particular is unusual, and the paper threads are even more beautiful and firm. Especially on the paper, the word 'royal road' written is the most majestic and vigorous, and it has a kind of artistic conception that captures people's hearts.

It's a pity that this bald man and others are all native people, and they don't know a single big character on weekdays. At this moment, after looking at it over and over for a long time, everyone didn't see any name.

But no matter which line of work you have done for a long time, you will have some tricks, in order not to lose face, the bald man hurriedly said: "These cursive books are not ordinary things, although we don't know them, it doesn't mean that they are useless, and we will take them to the city later, find someone who knows the goods to take a look, and maybe they can be exchanged for half a tael of silver......

With that, he waved his hand and left with his men.

After they left, almost an hour later, a group of people came from the ravine not far away.

The leader was an old man, dressed in tatters, with loose and gray hair on his head, tied with a dry straw rope, and he looked not young, about sixty years old.

"Village chief, do you see a person lying in front of you?" Behind the old man, a middle-aged woman in her forties found Du Xiaosan unconscious.

"Come over and take a look...... The old man hurriedly led five or six old people of the same age behind him and ran towards Du Xiaosan.

"Village chief, he's not dead yet, he probably passed out. ”

"I know, I'll take it back first......"

After the old man finished speaking, he beckoned the others to join him and lifted Du Xiaosan up.

A group of a few people, and then hurried. After walking for a while, after climbing over a few wild ravines, they entered a village.

The village is small, with cottages and huts, mostly dilapidated and dilapidated, like a wild mountain village that is almost deserted.

"Village Chief, are you back?"

As soon as they entered the village, all the villagers inside ran out. They were ragged and haggard, and everyone looked weak.

What is strange is that the village is almost full of old and weak women and children, and not even a young man can be seen.

"Well, it's back. The old man glanced at the people in the village, perfunctory.

"How is it today, how much money did you go to the city?"

The villagers, who didn't care much about the unconscious Du Xiaosan, didn't seem to care much, as if he didn't exist.

"It's bad luck today, I didn't ask for money, I didn't even have anything to eat, let's starve together tonight!" The middle-aged woman from before, unable to control the wind, answered them for the old man.

"Alas......" the old man sighed helplessly, not blaming her.

"How is this good? Today, the housekeeper in Old Man Liu's house came to urge again, saying that if we don't pay back the money and food, they will come to demolish our house......" In the crowd, an old woman of the same age as the old man looked a little sad.

When the old man heard this, his expression was not much better, and he said a little short of breath: "Demolition... Let them dismantle it, this Master Liu is too unsatisfactory!"

"Village chief! You can't say that, our house can't be demolished! It's not that you brought another beggar back, let's go to Master Liu according to the previous method!" At this time, a bald old man who was younger than the old man squeezed over.

The old man, who was the old village chief, listened to his words, his face changed, and he said, "This is no good!"

"What's wrong with this, didn't we do it before......" The bald old man listened, his face a little surprised.

"Know the roots, that's why it's easy to do things, this time it's different, others fainted and died on the side of the road, we don't know his details, we can't take advantage of people's danger!"

"I said the old village chief, you are really confused! What's the difference? Isn't it better to pass out and die, otherwise it will be even more difficult for us old bones to resist like those people before us......

"That is, there are many people who have been lost in vain these years, and who cares about a passerby......"

"Yes, we are still the same as before, in order to repay the rent owed to Master Liu......"

The villagers, expressing their opinions, were a little emotionally unstable, as if they were discussing something.

"This ......" The old village chief looked at the people in the village, the crowd was angry, and looked at Du Xiaosan, his face was embarrassed, and he was a little hesitant.

"I said, village chief, what are you hesitating about? Do you see that there are still young adults in our village? Do you want to see us go around asking for food without even a house?"

"Yes, my son was arrested by them and offset part of the rent for the village, I can't be for the village anymore, there is no house!"

"Yes, we can't live without a house......"

"I want to keep my house!"

The more the villagers talked, the more excited they became, and everyone began to tell that they could not live without a house, and they were trying their best to persuade the old man.

"Okay, just do what you ......did before," the old man finally relented and agreed to the villagers.

The bald old man, seeing that he agreed, smiled and said, "You must be very tired from going to the city to beg for the village today, and we will do the rest of the work, and you will rest in the village." ”

After he finished speaking, he asked people to find a broken car, and then, beckoning the rest of the village, everyone lifted Du Xiaosan onto the board car.

"Village chief, we're going to ......" The bald old man led a few people and pushed the cart out of the village.

"Alas... You shouldn't have met us!" the old man sighed as he saw that they were about to leave, and sent them to the entrance of the village before returning to his home.