took the ferryman's boat and came to Junshan Island, which was far away from Yueyang Tower.

Xu Buling got off the boat and looked at the big square behind the ferry, feeling a little disappointed.

Before the Cao family of Junshan Island did not raise the clan to retire, their status and reputation in the rivers and lakes were very large, and when they were the strongest in history, the seventy-two peaks and seventy-two heroes supported half of the rivers and lakes with the strength of one family, and they were the objects of the various vassal states.

As the troubled times subsided, large and small countries gradually encroached and annexed, and the strength of the imperial power inevitably suppressed the aristocratic class led by the Jianghu forces and gate valves, and the families that could influence the trend of the world disappeared directly.

Even so, in the Central Plains, where the practice of martial arts prevails, the Cao family on Junshan Island and other Jianghu forces still have unparalleled dominance, and the laws and regulations of the imperial court are sometimes not as effective as a sentence from the Jianghu bosses, for example, for example, the imperial court does not let people sell illicit salt around Dongting Lake, and the traders who take risks will not take care of it at all, and the Cao family does not allow the sale of illicit salt, and no boat dares to transport smuggled salt in Dongting Lake for 800 miles, this is the rule of the rivers and lakes.

However, in fact, the Cao family will not cut off the wealth of the Jianghu people at all, and will even shelter them.

It is precisely because of this that Zhu Lu Cao and other Jianghu families were also served in a pot during the Iron Eagle Deer Hunt.

Today's Junshan Island, there is no such scene of swordsmen all over the ground in the book, the sword pavilion at the entrance of the square has been changed into a local specialty shop, and the houses for the people of the rivers and lakes to settle down and live have also become a bazaar, the only building that still retains the grandeur of the heyday of the Cao family may only be a dragon wall at the end of the square; The left and right sides are ten zhang long, three zhang six high, and at a glance in the rain curtain, it is like a dragon entrenched in the eight hundred miles of the cave, and it is about to rise by the wind.

It's a pity that this dragon wall, which symbolizes the hidden dragon in the abyss, is also hung with fishing nets at this time.

Xu Buling walked on the wide road outside the square with an oil-paper umbrella, and he could still vaguely see the traces of swords accumulated on the ground for hundreds of years, but only Lifu who pushed a cart in the rain and the shopkeeper who stood at the door and watched the weather with a sad face were left on the side of the road.

Ning Yuhe held a white oil-paper umbrella, walked beside Xu Buling, and sighed faintly:

"When I fled to Chudi, it was still very lively, no force was allowed on the island, and the gangs in the market and the forces in the rivers and lakes were all talking about things here. The stage in the middle was originally a martial arts competition platform, a martial arts conference every year, the young heroes of Chudi, what they dream of is to fight on it, Qingxu Zhenren, Chen Daozi, Situ Yueyan, etc., have all shown their faces on it before...... The hundred-foot cliff of the Lu family in the East China Sea, the ghost gate pass of Fenglingdu, and the sword gate of the Zhu family are all similar places, but it's a pity that they are all gone now......"

Ning Yuhe was born in a family of rivers and lakes, and grew up in the rivers and lakes, and has a deep affection for the rivers and lakes, and those young Jianghu guests are still looking for this indescribable taste of the rivers and lakes.

Just like Zhu Manzhi hiding under Xu Buling's umbrella, he sighed rather disappointed at this time:

"Last time I came over, I specially followed what the storyteller said, and stored the sword in the Jiejian Pavilion, but it turned out that it was full of crabs and dry goods, and I wondered how crabs hit people, and it didn't ...... with crab tongs."

The nightingale, who was walking next to her, was slightly puzzled: "You can't see such a big signboard outside?" ”

"Just a joke......"

Xu Buling shook his head and smiled, stopped the gag Xiao Manzhi, and looked at the seventy-two peaks of Jun Mountain in front of him:

"Alright, let's get to work, split up, and turn around on the boat at night."

Zhu Manzhi has been a fast catcher, catching thieves every day, and he is still good at finding people than Xu Buling, so he and the nightingale immediately entered the bazaar with four royal guests, and inquired about the news from door to door.

Junshan Island is very large, and it is definitely not easy to find a master of the rivers and lakes who has come and gone without a trace with just a few people asking around, Xu Buling's method should be more direct, and he and Ning Yuhe went directly to the ancestral house of the Cao family located in the depths of Junshan Island.

In the early morning rain, Xu Buling and Ning Yu walked side by side, seeing that Xu Buling was about to go directly to ask the Cao family, Ning Yuhe walked in front of him and gently dissuaded:

"Ling'er, the Cao family has already sealed the sword and retired from the rivers and lakes, and no longer asks about the affairs of the rivers and lakes, so it's not good to come to the door rashly."

Ning Yuhe came to inquire last time, and he didn't go to Cao's house to visit, not because he didn't expect it, but because it was inappropriate.

Quitting the rivers and lakes is not just as simple as a sentence, it is easy to stop fighting and killing, but it is difficult to cut off the inextricable ties with various forces.

is like officialdom, a court official who returns to his hometown and no longer handles official business is not considered to leave the officialdom. As long as the influence is still there, and the protégés and colleagues are still in the officialdom, as long as he can still speak, he will not be considered to have withdrawn from the court, in fact, no one can quit at all.

The same is true for quitting the rivers and lakes, the higher you go, the more difficult it is to get out, as long as you still have influence in the rivers and lakes, someone listens to what you say, and someone gives him face, then he is a person from the rivers and lakes, not to mention sealing the sword, and cutting off your hands can't change this fact.

This is why there are very few people in the rivers and lakes who can turn back, and all those who quit are incognito and retreat to the mountains and forests.

The Cao family withdrew from the rivers and lakes, retreated very purely, closed the door and closed the sword to cut off all contacts on the rivers and lakes, and if someone listened to what they said, they would not speak, pay taxes on time and find the government if they had something to do, and even the way to support their families was changed to farming and selling crabs.

Ning Yuhe's master and apprentice are from the rivers and lakes, and even if they come to visit even if they just ask for news, it is also a matter of the rivers and lakes, and Ning Yuhe obviously doesn't want to embarrass the Cao family.

Xu Buling understood what Ning Yuhe meant, he had been in the underworld for a day, and he would be an underworld for the rest of his life. He chuckled at this, shook his head, and said:

"I'm not from the rivers and lakes, the dignified prince of Su Wang, go to the people's homes to investigate the field, see how this year's harvest is, and comfort the villagers and elders, is there a problem?"

"Uh......"

Ning Yu paused, thinking carefully: "There is still such a statement? You are the son of King Su, and you ran to the territory of the King of Chu to comfort the villagers and elders, it seems that you have crossed the line......"

Xu Buling shook his head: "The rules of the rivers and lakes are different from those of the imperial court, King Su and King Chu are all kings, the biggest one in the world is today, we are all courtiers, as long as it is within the territory of Dayue, I will come to see the justification, find the evidence that the King of Chu robbed the people's daughters, and I can also write an excerpt of the King of Chu, and the Yushitai will also impeach the King of Chu......"

Ning Yuhe was a little inexplicable: "The king of Chu is a prince, and it is a matter of robbing the people's daughters?" ”

Xu Buling shrugged his shoulders: "Even if it is really poked out, and the matter is not small, King Su really wants to sue the official to accuse the king of Chu of robbing the people's daughters, and the saint really has to be punished heavily, otherwise it will be difficult to block the mouths of the people." Of course, this kind of thing cannot happen in the peaceful world, and it is even more impossible in the troubled times. ”

Ning Yuhe thought for a moment, thought about it slightly, and raised his eyes to look at Xu Buling:

"If you really find evidence that the King of Chu robbed the people's daughter, you don't care?"

It's a simple and almost joking question, but the meaning is profound.

Xu Buling was silent, walked on the stone path in the rain, thought for a long time, and then said softly:

"If I were a chivalrous man, I would definitely get justice for that girl, even if the opponent was invincible...... As the prince of King Su, for the sake of the overall situation, you can't offend the King of Chu because of such a trivial matter......"

Ning Yuhe walked under Xu Buling's umbrella, raised his eyes and looked seriously at the side face that had always been very serious:

"Which one will Ling'er choose?"

Xu Buling finally had modern memories, and thought carefully for a long time with an oil-paper umbrella before he said softly:

"Do what you can."

This sentence may have a sense of justice and is morally impeccable, but as Lao Xiao said:

This is chivalry, not king.

As the prince of a powerful vassal king, this choice is worthy of conscience, but it is not in line with his identity.

However, Ning Yuhe grew up in the rivers and lakes, and he has been chivalrous since he was a child, so there is obviously a little more smile and appreciation in his eyes......

————

I'm so sorry......