Qingmen pulled out his double knives, walked up to the old man with a fierce spirit, and said with a horizontal knife: "It must be your ghost!" Let's get out! Or I'll kill you!" ”

Ji Zheng slapped the chess case and scolded angrily: "Stand down!" Don't be rude! ”

Qingmen had no choice but to withdraw his double knives and retreat behind Ji Zheng.

The old man was neither angry nor afraid, always smiling.

Ji Zheng got up and saluted the old man deeply again, "Sir, if you summon me to play chess, it means that I still have a glimmer of life." In that case, please make it clear. ”

"The general is smart." The old man nodded, pointed to the chessboard that had been cleaned up, and said, "The general's vitality is between black and white. ”

"Between black and white?"

"In this game of chess, I watched the general's every move, and when I talked to the general just now, I understood the general's mind in a few words. Hehe, I am very satisfied with the general's performance, don't worry, you will be out of the valley early tomorrow morning. ”

After hearing this, Ji Zheng knew that this game of chess turned out to be a test of life and death, he had mixed feelings, and asked in a low voice: "Dare to ask Mr. Honorable Name." ”

"Hehe, reclusive people don't care about their names. But tell me first, who are you? ”

"Under Himemasa."

"I know your name, I'm asking for your identity?"

"Me? I am the general of the Yue Kingdom. ”

The old man shook his head, "I'm not asking about your identity, I'm asking about your original identity." ”

"What was the original identity?" Ji Zheng's heart trembled, and he said in a low voice: "In the next week." ”

"Haha!" The old man stroked his beard and laughed, "The general is really cautious, but I have known your uncle Ji Shang for decades, so I naturally know some things. ”

Hearing his uncle's name, Ji Zheng's hair stood up, countless pictures flashed in his mind, and he was silent for a long time, before Ji Zheng stabilized his emotions and asked, "What does Mr. know?" ”

The old man glanced at the saber on Ji Zheng's waist and asked, "Your sword, show it to me." ”

Ji Zheng took out the Chongli sword, crossed the sword body, and held it to the old man with both hands.

The old man first looked at it, and then looked at it again, and couldn't help but admire: "Good sword!" What a peerless sword! I can't imagine that the iron sword can have such craftsmanship! ”

"This sword is called the Chongli Sword."

"Well, it's not inferior to the Blazing Sword in any way!"

Ji Zheng was taken aback, "Mr. actually knows about the Flame Blazing Sword?!" ”

"Hehe, of course, that blazing sword was given to me by a friend, and it has followed me in battle for many years. When you were nine years old, I gave you the Blazing Sword through your uncle, what's the matter? Is it broken now? ”

"No, no, no, I exchanged the Flame Blazing Sword with a brother, and that brother created this Chongli Sword for me."

"Well, very good, the person who can create this Chongli Sword must also be worthy of the Flame Blazing Sword."

"That'...... Mr. That...... Know my background......"

The old man nodded and said meaningfully, "I've been paying attention to you, but I'm still shocked by your slaughter of seven thousand captives. Therefore, I have set up this game for you to come. If you lose all your mind, I will have to bear to bury you here. ”

Hearing this, Ji Zheng was shocked, he did not hesitate to slaughter seven thousand prisoners, in order to hide people's eyes, he didn't want this old man to be thousands of miles apart, but he was like watching the fire, he settled down and explained: "Seven thousand prisoners...... I don't have heartache, but for the sake of a bigger cause, I have to bury the truth and kill them. And this responsibility must also be borne by me. ”

"You've changed a lot."

Ji Zheng shook his head, "I haven't changed, I'm still the same me." It's just that I've experienced too much over the years, and although my heart is dead, my thoughts are still not ending. ”

The old man looked at Ji Zheng with kind eyes, as if he cared for his own child, and said slowly: "Hey, you have suffered all these years, although suffering can make people strong, but it can also destroy a person, fortunately, you are not destroyed." ”

"If suffering had destroyed me, I wouldn't have been so miserable."

"Hey...... The root of your suffering lies in the fact that you have chosen an extremely difficult path. ”

"Huh." Ji Zheng smiled bitterly, but there was a hint of relief in his expression, "The world is so big, there must always be someone to bear the pain, and there must be someone to choose this difficult road, not to mention my life experience." ”

"Okay...... the old man sighed, took out a scroll of bamboo slips from behind him and handed it to Ji Zheng, "I have written two volumes of military books in my life, and the one I wrote when I was young has long been famous all over the world; And this volume has just been written, and it has not yet come out, and it may not come out, so you can read it. ”

Ji Zheng took the military book, only to see the word "Quance" written on the cover of the volume.

"Remember, the avenue is simple, and the use of soldiers is just a 'complete' word."

"Sir, is it ...... Are you ......"

Before Ji Zheng finished speaking, he saw a thick smoke suddenly rise from the brazier on the side, he and Qingmen choked a few breaths, and the two suddenly felt that the world was spinning, and they fell asleep on the ground.

By the time the two of them came to their senses, the sun had already shone into the canyon, and the cave was already empty. The military book in Ji Zheng's hand reminded him that everything that happened last night was true.

The two left the cave and found the troops not long after. By this time, the three thousand soldiers were on the verge of collapse, and they could only quench their thirst by licking the dew from the branches and leaves, and although they were hungry, they did not dare to eat the last dry food.

The more the sun shines, the temperature in the canyon begins to rise, and Ji Zheng knows that if he doesn't leave the valley today, three thousand people will definitely die. Therefore, he ordered the troops to eat, everyone ate the dry rations, and then marched the whole army into the depths of the gorge.

The team walked for more than half an hour, and the road in the canyon seemed to be no different from before, just as winding, just as narrow and claustrophobic. Just when Ji Zheng was worried and began to question the old man, the canyon suddenly opened up, and as the field of vision gradually widened, they finally reached the end of the canyon.

A beautiful meadow is in front of you, and the meandering river flows through the flowers and plants, and the sound of the water is breathtaking. The soldiers cheered excitedly, not only because they had fled from death, but also because they had returned to their homeland.

Ji Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, and he ordered the troops to rest in place. The soldiers were ordered to run to the river in revelry, they were thirsty, and now they were in the middle of a long drought. Some of the soldiers held water in their hands to drink, some lay directly on the bank to drink, and some simply jumped into the river to frolic.

Ji Zheng sat on the grass resting, looking at these soldiers, the corners of his mouth showed a long-lost smile.

"General, drink some water." Aoto gave Ji Zheng a water bag.

Ji Zheng took a few sips and asked, "Qingmen, how is your injury?" ”

Aoto patted the wound, "Okay, it's okay!" ”

"Well, how far is it from Huiji City?"

"We can arrive in three days, but we have already returned to Yueguo, and there is no problem with supplies along the way, and the nearest village is only half an hour away from here."

"Okay, I guess everyone is hungry, let's get ready to go after a little rest."

"Whoa!"

Ji Zheng took out the book of war from his bag last night, he took it in his hand and looked at it for a long time, and slowly opened the book of war. There are only a few sentences in the open book, which has shocked Ji Zheng incomparably, this military book is full of words and hidden heavenly opportunities. Continue to read, it is even more sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and the thoughts are unfathomable, which makes Ji Zhengmao suddenly. The word "complete" sums up the essence of the art of war in the world.

When Ji Zheng hastily read to the end and opened the entire military book completely, a small piece of white silk suddenly appeared in the volume. Ji Zheng picked up the white silk and looked at it, and was immediately shocked, the words on the white silk were like a thunderbolt in the clear sky, and the world was torn apart in an instant - "The prince will be a soldier, and you can take his place." ”

Three days later, Ji Zheng led his army back to Huiji City.

King Yue was overjoyed and personally went out of the city to greet him, Ji Zheng hurriedly dismounted and saluted, but King Yue grabbed Ji Zheng's hand and said excitedly: "The general has returned triumphantly, and this battle has won a great victory!" Ha ha! ”

"I'm ashamed that Ben will not have achieved anything."

"Hey, how can the general say that. For our Yue country, this battle is a complete victory! Besides, Wu Guoren didn't know that it was with our 'assistance' that they returned home, haha! Ha ha! ”

"King, in fact, we still underestimate the strength of the Wu people. They fought very smoothly in the previous battles in Chai Wan, if it weren't for the next strategy to make them defeat Chai Wan, I am afraid that Wu would have defeated Qi State. ”

"Well, since the people of Wu are strong, then Fucha will definitely not give up, I believe that he will definitely regroup and try to go north again."

"The king is right."

At this time, Xiao Shi followed and saluted King Yue and Ji Zheng respectively, "Congratulations to the general on his triumphant return." ”

Ji Zheng replied: "General Xiao has returned from Yuenu Mountain, how about it, did you invite a master to go out of the mountain?" ”

Xiao Shi nodded, then introduced a person behind him and introduced him to Ji Zheng: "General, this is the master I invited - Chen Yin, General Chen." ”

Chen Yin saluted Ji Zheng and said, "I've seen the general." ”

Xiao Shi continued: "The king has appointed Brother Chen as the right general, and he is currently in charge of training shield armor soldiers and crossbow soldiers. Brother Chen really lived up to his reputation, and in just ten days, the recruits were quite effective. ”

Ji Zheng replied: "I hope General Chen will give me more advice!" ”

"General!" Chen Yin saluted deeply to Ji Zheng, "If you fight with Wu in the future, I hope that the general will use me!" I have a deep enmity with Wu Guo! ”

When King Yue heard this, he laughed and said, "Okay! What a day! With the joint efforts of our monarchs and ministers, we will definitely liquidate the hatred of the country and the family together! ”

"Whoa!" Ji Zheng, Xiao She, and Chen Yin said in unison.

At the dinner, King Yue was overjoyed, Chen Yin was drunk, Xiao Shi was drunk, and Ji Zheng was also a little fluttering.

Xiao Zhi held a glass of wine, staggered to Ji Zheng, and said with a smile: "Senior brother, come, senior brother toast you." ”

Ji Zheng nodded, didn't say anything, just raised his glass and took a sip.

"Senior brother, hehe, you...... You've got something on your mind! ”

"General Xiao is the most worried, and he said that I have something on my mind?"

"No, no, what you said is not right, the master has said that among our senior brothers, your heart is ...... Hey, hey, heaviest. ”

"Huh." Ji Zheng smiled contemptuously, "Okay, I'm the most worried." However, why did General Xiao pretend to be drunk? If you have anything to say, just say it. ”

Xiao Shi smiled, sat down beside Ji Zheng, poured a sip of wine, and said, "Sure enough, I can't hide it from the general." ”

"Say it."

"Okay, the dinner will be over in a moment, and the general will come with me. There are two people you should want to meet. ”

After the dinner, Ji Zheng followed Xiao Shi to a mansion. Xiao Shi knocked on the door outside the courtyard, and a male voice came from inside the courtyard, "It's coming, it's coming." ”

Although this voice was far away, it was very familiar, and Ji Zheng felt a warm current surging around him, and the pictures of the past appeared in front of him one by one.

As soon as the door opened a crack, Ji Zheng's eyes were already red, "Heyu ......"

He Yu was also stunned, he almost couldn't believe his eyes, but the tears flowing from the corners of his eyes reminded him that the person in front of him was his brother he hadn't seen for four years.

"Brother Ji Zheng......"

He Yu opened the courtyard door and threw himself at Ji Zheng, hugging Ji Zheng, tears like a flood that burst the embankment and drowned the smile on his face.

Ji Zheng raised his head, struggling to control his emotions, for fear that tears would slip from his eyes. It's been four years, and now seeing Heyu again, it's like seeing your life four years ago again, although Heyu is still that handsome young man, and he is as enthusiastic and straightforward as he was back then, but he can never go back to the past.

Xiao Shi left quietly, and He Yu took Ji Zheng into the courtyard, the layout of the courtyard was not much different from the house they lived in Gusu City at that time, except that there was one less peach tree in the courtyard.

He Yu knocked on Frost's door, and when Frost opened the door and saw Ji Zheng, his face was excited and happy.

"Frost ......" Ji Zheng also showed a smile on his face, four years ago, Frost was in the cardamom years, just Yu Tingting, and now she is a jade beauty, peerless beauty.

Frosty suddenly realized that the room was messy, and hurriedly put down the scroll in her hand, crouching down to clean up the scrolls that covered the floor. Ji Zheng also squatted down to help clean up, and then he took a look at the frosty room, the room was densely packed with bamboo slips, on the lacquer table, on the low cabinet, and even the floor was full of stacks, and there were pens and inks on several cases, and a roll of bamboo slips was not even dry.

Heyu pulled up the frost, "Sister, don't clean up, let's go to the hall to talk." ”

Shuang Di was reluctant, staring at the unfinished bamboo slips on several cases with wide eyes.

"Out of the way, just here." Ji Zheng casually found a place to sit down.

Frost returned to the case and continued to write.

Then the two chatted about the past, and Ji Zheng couldn't help but sigh. The past seems to be just yesterday, and those beautiful pictures seem to be vivid, but time flies, and things are wrong in the blink of an eye.

In a trance, Ji Zheng seemed to see Hana's beautiful face and heard her soft voice. But such beautiful things can only be illusions, and when Ji Zheng wakes up from his memories again, he sees Hana's lonely grave and the bleak wind.

Ji Zheng smiled bitterly, people can't always live in memory, although the memory is so beautiful, what can be lost can never be recovered, and what is lost can no longer be had.

People always have to look forward.