Galloping on a rainy night, the horse's hooves stepped on the muddy official road, the rain and cement splashed, and only by the thunder could you see the road ahead.

After Xu Buling left Chang'an, he turned back to Yufeng Mountain and arrived at the small market at the foot of the mountain, which was already very late.

In the middle of the night, the rain was pouring in, and the small market was like a dead town flooded by rain, with no lights, no fires, and no people.

Xu Buling took the hat and went straight through the town, hesitated at the fork in the stone street, and did not go up the mountain directly, but turned the horse's head and went to the summer resort near Yufeng Mountain.

Pedal Pedal –

The horse's hooves made a crisp sound on the stone road, and when he passed a small inn in the bazaar, thunder flashed in the sky, and out of the corner of Xu Buling's eyes, he suddenly saw a white-haired old woman standing under the eaves of the dilapidated inn.

The thunder flashed, and the surrounding area fell into polar night and dead silence, and there was nothing but the sound of rain.

"Phew—"

Xu Buling frowned, reined in his horse and stopped on the stone street, and turned his head to look in the direction where he had just glimpsed.

Thunderbolt –

Soon, another flash of thunder flashed, illuminating all the colors in the small bazaar.

Under the old eaves of the inn, there were empty wine jars, firewood and other things, and the white-haired old woman in a gray cloth skirt, hunched over her waist, her face covered with wrinkles, stood like a wooden man, her eyes narrowed into a slit, looking at the street in front of her.

The thunder was short-lived, and the surrounding area fell into the polar night again.

Xu Buling stopped in place, his ears moved slightly, and he felt carefully, but only the snort of the horses under his crotch came.

Whoa, whoa, whoa—

The torrential rain crackled on the tiles, stone bricks, and hats.

After a while, a hoarse voice sounded from under the eaves of the old inn next to it:

"The fierce son is back?"

The voice was weak and somewhat muffled.

Xu Buling frowned slightly, hesitated slightly, took an umbrella and flint candles from the side of the horse, turned over and dismounted, walked to the eaves of the old inn, inserted the candle in the gap of the firewood by feeling, stretched out the umbrella to cover the rainwater leaking from the eaves, and struck the flint.

Da-da-da-

It was dark and dark, and the sound of rain drowned out all the sound.

Xu Buling felt that the coat on his body was touched, and the sparks from the flint burst out brought out a faint light, and he could see an old face leaning forward a little, but he quickly retracted it, and the faint voice sounded again:

"It's not a fierce ......"

"Old woman, it's raining heavily, why don't you go into the house?"

The candles were lit, and the dim glow lit up in the rainy night, illuminating a few feet below the eaves.

The old woman's eyes are not good, but she still has a sense of light, she looks at the candle with a tilted head, her face is shriveled and wrinkled, her earthy yellow skin, her white hair is very clean, she is pinned with a wooden hairpin, and there is a smell of Chinese medicine on her body.

“…… The fierce man ran out again...... Wait for him to come back......"

Because of the loss of almost all his teeth, his speech is slurred.

"With such a heavy rain, if you go out to work, you won't be able to come back at night, so go into the house and wait."

"Panic...... Can't sleep......"

Xu Buling sighed softly, looked left and right, picked up two large jars from the side, turned them over and buckled them upside down on the ground, sat down on them with an umbrella, and chuckled:

"Sit and wait, the rain is so heavy, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back for a while."

"Oh...... Thank you......"

The old woman looked left and right, touched the jar with her dry fingers to determine the position, sat down tremblingly, and moved her eyes to the rain-soaked street.

The white-haired old woman sat by the candle, surrounded by a young man in a hat with a hat, sitting straight on her back, and the umbrella in her left hand stretched out to cover the top of the old woman's head, and the drops of raindrops slipped down the clothes and hats, merging into the rain curtain just a few miles away.

Da-da-da-

After a moment of silence, the old woman seemed to be a little demented and had no intention of speaking.

Xu Buling looked at the empty rain curtain in front of him and thought for a while: "The old woman is a foreigner? The accent doesn't sound like it's nearby, just came to Chang'an? ”

The old woman seemed to remember that there was someone beside her, moved slightly, faced the direction of the voice, and couldn't tell if she was smiling: "It's the first time to come...... I think I came here the other day......."

"What are you doing in Chang'an? Son takes the imperial examination? ”

"Huh...... Mengzi didn't study, and he went to the school in the village for a few days, but he was disobedient and was kicked out by his husband......"

The old woman's eyes were scattered and white, and the only place she could focus on was the little candle flame, and she said slowly: "...... A few years ago, I was sick, and the doctor in the village couldn't see it well, so Mengzi took me out to find a doctor...... I thought I was going to the county seat, but I walked for more than two years, and the wheat planted in the field was confiscated, so I was afraid that it would be abandoned......"

Xu Buling listened quietly and thought about it: "Ling Lang is filial. ”

"Alas~......"

The old woman shook her head and sighed lightly: "Not filial, disobedient since childhood, let him study when he was a child, and like the lord of the county, he grew up to be an official...... I gave two chickens to the gentleman in the village, but after two days in the school, I beat other people's children and beat him...... The gentleman said that he couldn't teach, so he went home and farmed......"

Xu Buling pondered for a moment and shook his head: "In this world, there are only a few people who can read, and even fewer can become talents by reading. ”

"yes~"

The old woman nodded and spoke very slowly: "Let the fierce son farm, he is not happy, saying that farming is not profitable, and the man's family has to do great things, so he ran to the county seat at the age of twelve or thirteen, mixed with those splashes, fought everywhere, and ran back with an injury several times...... Alas~ Many years ago, I took a daughter-in-law for Mengzi, a girl at the head of the village, a few days after marrying in, I thought there was no this or that in the house, so Mengzi got angry and beat his daughter-in-law, and then left, and the daughter-in-law also ran away......

…… I waited at the entrance of the village every day, and I didn't see Mengzi come back for a long time, and I thought he wouldn't come back. In the end, he came back, and his leg was lame, as if he was asking for food...... But I did earn a lot of money, bought a few acres of land, rebuilt the house, and took a beautiful girl, and ran to the village every day to show off ......"

Speaking of this, the old woman smiled, even if her face was too old to see her expression clearly, she could still see that she was very proud.

Xu Buling shook his head and chuckled: "It's good to have a chance." ”

The old woman was silent for a while, and then sighed: "But I'm useless as a mother, I have a serious illness, no matter how I treat it, I can't cure it, I spent all the money that Mengzi had saved, the house and land were sold, and the daughter-in-law said a few words, and I was also kicked out by Mengzi." I persuaded at the time, if it is not cured, it will not be cured, and the fierce son has to be stubborn, and ran out with me to find Lang Zhong everywhere......

…… I've been to the county seat before, thinking that it wasn't far away, but I couldn't finish this road...... The mountains, the water, they are all different, and there are ...... Well...... The big river, the big boat, the boat as high as the hill, the fierce man also took me to sit on it......

…… By the end of the day, I had forgotten what was like at home...... Once I met a forest full of flowers, so I asked the fierce son to bury me there, and the fierce son was not obedient, saying that people are good, how can I bury them. Alas~...... People don't die when they get old, and they hurt people......"

The voice was slurred, and he said several times that he forgot about the front and started from the beginning. E-Book Workshop

Xu Buling took a breath lightly, turned his eyes to look at the wind and rain in front of him, and was silent for a long time, but he didn't say anything.

Rustle Rustle –

Occasional flashes of thunder, and the whole world seemed to be lifeless, except for the endless rain in front of you.

Little by little, the candle shortened until it went out and was lit again.

“…… Just now the fierce man secretly ran out again, and it was like this before, he didn't listen to persuasion, and secretly ran out to fight......"

Xu Buling's gaze swept over the empty and uninhabited streets, listening to the words that could not be articulate, and he felt a stone pressed in his heart. Maybe the same is true of the old woman who is reminiscing about the past......

-------

Click-

I don't know how long it took, but there was a slight noise in the rain curtain.

Xu Buling's ears moved slightly, and he looked at the source of the sound.

I couldn't see anything in the rainstorm, but I could clearly hear the jagged breathing and the sound of clothes dragging in the rain.

Thunderbolt –

Thunder flashed again, illuminating the earth.

Xu Buling squinted slightly, and vaguely saw that at the end of the market street, there was a black shadow walking slowly with a wooden stick, limping, his left leg dragging on the ground and bending his waist, and a long shadow dragged out of the rain behind him.

Xu Buling has killed many people, even if he only sees a black shadow, he can recognize that it is blood.

“…… Is the fierce son back? ”

The old woman noticed that Xu Buling turned her head, came back to her senses slightly, and looked twice in the foggy rain curtain with her cloudy eyes.

Xu Buling smiled a little and stuck the umbrella on the firewood stack, blocking part of the view.

"Not yet, I'll go get some water to drink......"

"Oh...... It's too late, you should go back early, I don't have to accompany ......"

Xu Buling took a breath, turned around and walked into the rain curtain, and walked quickly through the street with his memory, and came to the black shadow of Fang Cai.

"Hoo-hoo-huh-"

The sound of heavy breathing continued, and the figure stopped in front of him, and a hoarse voice with blood foam sounded:

"Thanks, Hero......"

Xu Buling frowned, and with the sound feedback of the rain hitting, he determined the man's position, raised his hand and touched it, but his hands were full of warm bloodstains.

"Are you a fierce son?"

The black shadow in front of him gasped for breath with a wooden stick, and was silent for a while, before he remembered the chuckle mixed with blood foam:

"yes...... I took a job, and something went wrong...... Thanks to the hero for accompanying my mother, I just sneaked away, thinking she was asleep. ”

The thunder flashed, and the scenery in front of him fell into view - the black clothes were full of sword scars, and they were worn in several places, and the left leg was tied with a strip of cloth torn from the clothes to stop the bleeding, and the body was also wrapped with a piece of cloth.

Xu Buling raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, with some annoyance in his eyes: "There is a family and a room, what kind of rivers and lakes are you going to?" ”

The man's eyes focused on the little fire light blocked by the umbrella in the distance, breathed heavily, and sighed:

"I had to ...... It's clear that it can be cured soon, God doesn't have long eyes......"

“……”

Xu Buling was silent for a moment, took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, and stuffed the pill into the man's hand:

"It can stop the bleeding and hang your life, don't go to the rivers and lakes in the future, it's good to accompany your mother around."

The man pinched the medicine in his hand and bowed slightly: "Thank you, I have long since stopped breaking in...... Childe, can this medicine cure diseases? ”

Xu Buling sighed and looked at the candle flame in the distance: "It can't be cured, what kind of work are you taking?" Injured so badly, can there be pursuers? ”

Kou Meng pestled his eyebrows and shook his head: "I was tricked, I said that I beat a rich man on the mountain, but the guards were all powerful people, and I didn't even see anyone, but I almost lost my life...... There may be chasing soldiers behind, so let's go......"

“……？”

Xu Buling frowned, turned his head to look at the rain curtain, thought about it, and whistled.

"Whoa—"

The next moment, seven or eight figures appeared on the surrounding houses, all of which were palace guards.

Kou Meng's face changed, and he immediately held the eyebrow stick, cautiously looking at Xu Buling next to him, but after a while, he put it down again and sighed softly.

Lao Xiao walked out of the corner of the house with a cane, holding an umbrella in his hand, a little embarrassed:

"I wanted to let the tiger return to the mountain to see who was behind it, but I couldn't seem to ask...... When you meet the little prince, if the news leaks, you will inevitably be told that the little prince is not on the mountain tonight, and it is better to kill the mouth, you see, little prince? ”

Xu Buling took a breath, turned his head to look at the little light under the inn in the distance, and was slightly silent:

"Let's go. Left Beijing overnight, tight-lipped as a bottle. ”

Kou Meng hesitated, finally nodded, stuffed the pill into his mouth, walked slowly to the inn in the distance with his cane, took a few steps, and turned back and said:

"Childe is also a Jianghu person, I owe you two lives, and when my mother enters the ground, she will definitely come over to repay this love."

Xu Buling didn't speak, just raised his hand.

The two palace guards immediately hid in the rain curtain and stared at Kou Meng to avoid leaking out tonight's events.

Old Xiao turned around and left with a cane, thought about it, and turned back and said:

"This is the fucking rivers and lakes, how does the little prince feel?"

Xu Buling didn't speak, raised his hand and slowed down, the horse turned over, and galloped away lightly.

Lao Xiao shook his head, looked at Xu Buling's departing back, and sighed softly:

"Everything you do is worthy of your heart, the rivers and lakes and temples are still the market, and you don't treat everyone equally...... This is chivalry, not king......"