There is a Micang Mountain in the west of Shuzhou City, the mountain is not more than a hundred zhang high, there is no majestic momentum, and the Qingcheng Mountain that towers into the clouds in the north is compared, it is more small.

But it's June, and the morning mist covers the hill like a delicate white veil, adding to the sense of dust.

The top of Mt. Yonekura seems to have been sharpened horizontally, and the top of the mountain is a flat black stone. There is a dilapidated small Taoist temple on the flat top, facing the side of the mountain road in front of the view, and there is a vigorous old pine that has been split by thunder, but is still rooted in the stone crevices and grows fiercely.

At this moment, under the pine, there was a young Taoist priest, holding a cyan long sword in his hand, and the sword walked like a swimming dragon.

This young Taoist priest was about eighteen or nineteen years old, his body was slightly wide and white, his eyebrows were clear, his face was handsome, and the long sword in his hand was fluttering, and his expression was serious and solemn.

The green sword is three feet long, and the sword light is clear and cold, like frost. Look at the sword move again, the sword is weird, it seems to be slow, but it is actually fast, sometimes like thunder and lightning, sometimes like a breeze. The connection between the sword moves is a bit stiff, as if a lot of swordsmanship is put together, and the dance is very strange.

And on the threshold of the entrance of the Taoist temple, there is an old Taoist with a white beard and hair and a shabby Taoist robe sitting cross-legged, and nine times out of ten he is the Taoist leader of this small Taoist temple. It's just that he is carrying a clear yellow wine gourd in his left hand, but his right hand is picking at the toes that came out of the shabby straw sandals, and he is looking at the young Taoist priest practicing swords with a comfortable face.

After a set of swordsmanship, the young Taoist's eyes flashed, and the sword stabbed at a square bluestone under Cangsong, and the tip of the sword touched the bluestone, but it did not make a sound.

He put away the long sword, squatted down and stared at the bluestone carefully, looked at it for a long time before getting up, scratched his head and said to the old man who was sitting on the threshold with some distress: "Master, is it wrong for you to teach, I have been practicing this for twelve years, why still haven't I reached the third-grade realm of the sword qi cracking stone you said?" How can you let me walk the rivers and lakes in the future, and run away without seeing anyone, how faceless it should be. ”

The old Taoist picked up the gourd and raised his head and drank the last sip of wine, shook it, and after making sure that there was not a drop left, he got up and looked at the young Taoist priest and pouted: "Xu Mingyuan, as a teacher, I have long said that you have no talent for sword practice, and you yourself have to pester me to teach you, why, now you blame me in turn?" ”

The young Taoist priest named Xu Mingyuan rolled his eyes, and he had already changed into a smiling face, revealing two shallow dimples, put the long sword in his hand into the sheath, looked at the old Taoist with a shy face and said with a smile: "How can it, if you want to say that Master, your old man is wise and martial, wise and brave, or you can teach me a few more powerful hands, I can't beat others when I go out in the future, and I won't lose your face." ”

Lao Dao squinted his eyes, nodded very usefully, and said: "The first half of the truth sounds okay, but the second half of the sentence doesn't make sense, I have some face to lose to you, I can't beat others, it's not that you're useless." By the way, if you go to Chongzhou Academy today, I and Old Man Zeng have agreed that you will study with his stupid disciples for two months, and you won't know what to test when you get the exam. ”

Xu Mingyuan said with a bitter face: "Master, you won't be serious, although I have read a lot of books, I really don't understand scientific research." I still think about practicing swords for another two years, and then go down the mountain to explore the rivers and lakes. ”

"If you can get Xie Yuan in the autumn two months, those outsiders and wealthy businessmen will definitely take a sum of money to make friends with you, and the amount will definitely not be less." Lao Dao looked at Xu Mingyuan with a smile and said.

"Really?" Hearing the money, Xu Mingyuan's eyes lit up suddenly, but he still asked suspiciously: "Why did someone send money from Zhongxiyuan, and they are not stupid and have nowhere to spend money." ”

"Zhongxi Yuan Ke is the leader of the scholars in Shuzhou City, and when the time comes, if you can pass the exam in Chang'an, you can be a good official. Those people are very fine, and spending some silver now is a charcoal in the snow, which is more useful than the icing on the cake when you return to your hometown in the future. Lao Dao explained.

Xu Mingyuan nodded as if he didn't understand, thought about it, and said again: "Chongzhou Academy is the largest academy in Shuzhou City, and it is also ranked first in Jiannan Road, although you and Zeng Fuzi still have a friendship with a few pots of wine, it is impossible to let me enter the academy without charging half a little silver, there are not a few grains of rice in the rice jar in our house." ”

Hearing this, Lao Dao reached into his arms and groped for a while, and took out a jade plate the size of a baby's fist from his arms and threw it to Xu Mingyuan.

Xu Mingyuan took the jade plate and asked with some confusion: "Master, what is this?" It must have something to do with my background, did you put it on me when you picked me up? The round jade brand in the hand is flawless, the hand is warm, and the two sides are engraved with the pattern of double dragons spitting pearls, and a cloud character is engraved in the middle, which is simple and elegant.

"Don't think about it, I forgot which time I was deceived when I was traveling, didn't you say there was no rice, this should be able to be exchanged for a few baked cakes." Qing Xuan waved his hand.

"Master, you still have such a good thing hidden, but it's too tyrannical to exchange this for baked cakes, do you have any other things, take another one, maybe it will cost you money to enter the academy." At a glance, this jade card knew that it was not ordinary, Xu Mingyuan casually put away the jade card, and looked at Lao Dao with bright eyes.

Lao Dao looked at Xu Mingyuan with some hatred and said: "When you are young, you talk about money all day long, you kid is in the eyes of money."

Although the old man Zeng is pedantic, this point is more obvious than yours, master, I deliberately lost a few games of chess to him, and then gave him a pot of Jiannan Spring Burn, he still has to beg me to send his apprentice to his broken academy.

By the way, the wine is gone, when you come back, give me a pot of Jiannan spring roast, remember to bring half a roast chicken, to Chengnan Wang Ji's house, last time the one was too fat and too greasy, you have to pick. As he spoke, he threw the wine jug in his hand to Xu Mingyuan.

"You just eat, of course you don't care about the money, and every time you rub someone's great-master's wine, where have you invited someone to drink. Zeng Fuzi's chess skills are far better than yours, which time is not that you are red-necked and shouting regret chess. Xu Mingyuan rolled his eyes and pouted.

"Okay, you kid still dare to laugh at Master." Lao Dao's face turned red, and he took off the broken shoes on his feet and put them in his hands, which was about to hit him.

Xu Mingyuan smiled and threw the long sword in his hand towards his master, turned around and ran, running down the mountain road next to the old pine. As he ran, he said, "If you go to the academy, you won't have time to help people write family letters, and you won't have any alcohol to drink during this time." ”

"This kid." Lao Dao smiled helplessly, put on his shoes, and walked towards the main hall with his long sword. After crossing the threshold, he glanced back at the bluestone under the half-burnt old pine, shook his head and said softly: "This kid thinks that Sanpin is a cabbage in the rivers and lakes. ”

Xu Mingyuan has lived in this Taoist temple for eighteen years, and that old Taoist is his master Qingxuan, according to the master, he picked it up from the riverside. It's just that over the years, he has been asking the master which river he picked up, and the master actually said that he had forgotten, so that Xu Mingyuan's thoughts about his identity were about to be blown away.

Over the years, his master has to take him down the mountain every year to travel, in fact, he is pretending to be a ghost all the way to eat and drink, and the rest of the time is to meditate and stargaze in that Taoist temple, and let him read books by himself on weekdays, and only guide him when he rises.

Almost all the money deceived from the mountain bought books for him, so although every time he entered those high-walled compounds and came out, he could hold a lot of treasures, but in the end, he returned to the mountain after a few months of travel, and the rest was basically a donkey cart of books, so the life of the two was still poor.

Xu Mingyuan hung the still delicate wine gourd on his waist, swept along the stone path towards the bottom of the mountain, three or five steps in one step, and took the second step with a light tap on his toes.

It has been like this all these years, so Xu Mingyuan doesn't feel sad about this day, his face is indifferent, but his mouth is open and closed, if someone hears the words in his mouth, he has to laugh out loud.

"The dead old man, he knows that he hides in the mountains to sleep, and obviously as long as he goes to Shuzhou City and opens his mouth, he can deceive those landlords and wealthy businessmen who send money by themselves, and he doesn't say that rabbits don't eat the grass by the nest. If he really doesn't have anything to eat, the rabbit will even eat the mud, and it doesn't matter if he is the grass next to the nest. ”

"Fortunately, I am such a smart apprentice on the stall, setting up a stall to help others read and write letters, and I am still hungry. Now I'm going to take the scientific exam, and I've heard that if I have to be the first to take the exam, those rich businessmen will give some rewards, otherwise I won't do such a boring thing. ”

"Let's go to Chongzhou Academy, Master Zeng is still good to speak, but Zeng Qingyi's little girl is troublesome, so she has to spend some brains and saliva to make up some interesting stories about the rivers and lakes for her, and if she is not satisfied, she will be beaten again."

"Of course it's not that I'm afraid of her, the gentleman doesn't do anything. But that little goblin doesn't know where to learn the swordsmanship, and last time he used a thin bamboo branch to smoke me badly, and if she had a chance, she had to cheat her master's name out before she could find some countermeasures. ”

"I heard that there are many children of rich families in Chongzhou Academy, and since they are going to enter the academy for two months, they have to think carefully about how to get some silver. Otherwise, if I really want to drink the northwest wind for two months, I don't care, but this stomach is estimated to be rebellious. Master said that the more money a person has, the easier it is to deceive, and this is a rare truth. ”

Xu Mingyuan went down Micang Mountain all the way, and then walked briskly in the direction of Shuzhou City along the post road that just passed under the mountain. It's the beginning of June, but fortunately, it's still early, and the sun has just climbed out of the top of Qingcheng Mountain in the distance, and I don't feel how hot it is.

There were not many pedestrians on the post road except for the caravan that got up early and hurried, Xu Mingyuan trotted all the way, but it was different from ordinary people's running, his steps were light, step by step, step by step, as if he was going down the steps. This is the light skill that he realized by himself by going up and down the stone steps of Micang Mountain every day over the years, and he took the unbearable name of "going down the mountain", which was praised by his master once, saying that it was really excellent to use it to go down the mountain.

It didn't take long for Shuzhou City to arrive. The huge bluestone city wall is more than two zhang high, and the entire Shuzhou city is tightly encircled, just like a cyan giant beast.

Shuzhou City has always been an important town in Shu, but in recent years, Dawan has not started a war with several countries around it, especially after Nanzhao became a minister and sued for peace with the Western Regions, Shuzhou City also has less military spirit. However, from the two columns of soldiers standing with knives at the gate of the city, as well as the spears that were faintly visible above the city tower, it can also be seen that Shuzhou City is still not to be underestimated.

Xu Mingyuan walked across the stone bridge over the moat with a familiar way, said hello to those sword-wielding soldiers, and entered the city. There are more than 10,000 households in Shuzhou City, although it cannot be compared with a million-dollar city like Chang'an, it can also be called a small city.

Entering the city, Xu Mingyuan smiled all the way and greeted the people he met, whether it was the peddlers and pawns, or those scholars and literati, as if everyone knew him.

"Aunt Zhang, go to the temple so early, the Bodhisattva must remember your goodness, and you will have a big fat son next year. Alas, Aunt Zhang, don't pinch my face, there's nowhere to make up for it. ”

"Hey, Uncle Li, come out of Widow Liu's house so early, if your aunt knows about it......"

"Hehe, Uncle Li, who is with whom, invite me to breakfast together, that's fine, but what about this lunch......"

"Haha, Uncle Li is really bold, I didn't see anything when I went out today, and when I saw my aunt, I must praise our uncle for his loyalty."

……

After living in the mountains all these years, their master and apprentice did not survive by meditation, and after half a year of wandering, he had to go down the mountain to cheat and eat and drink, and when he was full, he had to bring a little back to the mountain for his master.

At first glance, it sounds quite fair, but at Xu Mingyuan's age, although he has a good skin, he doesn't have the appearance of his master's slightly repaired fairy wind bones, and he has to not hurt the heavens and reason, and the two of them have to be full, which has made him suffer a lot over the years.

Cheating on eating and drinking is a technical job, relying on a sweet mouth over the years, Xu Mingyuan has been favored by the entire Shuzhou City, not only to feed himself, but also to feed the master by the way. The people of Shuzhou are simple and simple, and they are willing to give this little Taoist priest a bite to eat, and those uncles and aunts who have watched him grow up since he was a child treat him as their own children.

Xu Mingyuan cheated on breakfast, threw away the four Tongbao in his hand and walked out of the bun shop on the side of the road, and walked towards the south of the city, where Chongzhou Academy was in the south of the city. And in the bun shop, a middle-aged man dressed in his forties with a big belly looked at Xu Mingyuan's back with a smile, but he didn't have any resentment, more like a child looking at himself naughty.

"Alas, this world is really sad, I hope those sons and brothers who are full of poetry and books will not become fine, then it will not be very beautiful." Xu Mingyuan stood at the door of Chongzhou Academy, staring as if he was looking at a treasure trove.