Chapter 1: Alone in the Smoke and Rain
The red horse galloped and gradually disappeared into the sky. The smile on Wendy's face faded, and he couldn't help but leave another tear.
"You taught me to forget you, you wish I could be as happy as I used to be, how can I do that? Dad said that after walking the south of the Yangtze River, he would spend more than a year on the Siqing Sea. Then I'll live with my dad for the rest of my life. The grievances and grievances on the rivers and lakes have nothing to do with me anymore, I just hope that I will never meet you again in the future. ”
A red horse, dressed in red, went south alone in the wind and rain. When we arrived at the junction of Yanbei and Xuhuai, a mound stood tall next to the road, and a big flag was inserted on it, and four big characters were written on it: "Death from the rebel". Wendi looked closely, and there were faint white bones exposed in the wild grass.
Wen Di heard Liu Hexin say that since ancient times, the army has a tradition of forming a high platform of captured corpses and soil to show off its strength. If the person killed is unjust, it is called "Jingguan", and if it is a prisoner of war or innocent civilian, it is called a "pit".
"It is said that his hometown was destroyed in one fell swoop, and the people from his hometown may be in this 'big pit'. I can't eradicate the Jingnan army with my own strength, so I have to pay my respects here and talk about my heart. Wendi muttered to himself as if he had a feeling.
Before Wen Di got off his horse and walked to the "big pit", he bowed three times to the big pit, and when he got up, he saw that the big flag was really a bit of an eyesore, so he picked up a stone from the ground and broke the flagpole.
"Who is so bold as to sympathize with the rebels? Sympathize with the rebels, and conspire against them, and see that I will not cut off your head today. "A group of soldiers hurried over when they saw the flag falling, intending to kill the man who had broken the flagpole.
"I did it, but it's a fool's dream that just a few of you want to take my head." Seeing a team of people rushing over, Wen Di did not have the slightest fear, turned around and said proudly.
"It turned out to be a little girl who didn't know the height of the sky. However, our Jingnan army will kill all the traitors, men, women, and children. But Master Jun is in a good mood today, if you want to beg me here, I can give you a chance to live. The lead officer gave Wen a first look, then said with a lewd smile.
"The Jing Nanjun will spare people's lives, but today I have seen something strange. But this girl is in a bad mood, even if you beg for mercy, I won't give you a chance to live. Wen Di raised his eyebrows and laughed at this.
"The little girl doesn't know what to do, and she dares to be so rude. Brothers, give it to me, whoever catches her first, and when I have fun, give her to whomever I have fun. With a wave of his hand, the officer asked the soldiers to arrest Wendy.
"If you don't have a clean mouth, today I will be the first to use your blood to pay tribute to the fathers and elders of the four counties of Yanbei." Wendi said as he unsheathed his sword and hurried forward towards the officer.
The officer didn't care, and he drew his saber to subdue Wendi. I saw a few flashes of light and shadow in front of him, and the officer's head flew out of his neck, and the thin smile on his face had not faded.
When the soldiers of this group saw that the officer was killed by this woman with lightning speed, the sound of laughter stopped abruptly, and the mood of eagerness to try suddenly became cold. Wen Di didn't give these soldiers a chance to be stunned, and after killing the officer, he quickly slashed at the surrounding soldiers one by one. The officer's head fell to the ground with a "bang", and the surrounding soldiers fell to the ground and died before they didn't even have time to hum. Wendi threw the officer's head onto the broken pole with a flick of his sword, then shook off the blood from the sword, mounted his horse and continued north.
After more than ten days, Wendi finally came to the border south of the Yangtze River. Looking at the stretching river, Wen Di remembered the sentence "Ask how much sorrow you can have, just like a river flowing eastward."
"I heard that this was written by an emperor, but it was too boring, I only knew that I was sad, no wonder I would lose all the country in the end. If I see the river, I want to have a good time with my dad. Of course, if he had been there, maybe there really wouldn't have been any pity. Wen Di saw Jiang Shui and muttered to himself, but he couldn't help but think of Wei Zeng, and said with chagrin in his heart: "Really, what do you want him to do." I'm just as happy as I can play alone. But for now, it's better to find a boat to cross the river. ”
Wendi remembers a town a short distance east along the river, where boats should be found crossing the river. After a short journey, he saw a group of men and horses also heading towards the town, dressed as bounty hunters who were hunting for thieves.
Knowing that bounty hunters are generally well-informed, Wendy wants to inquire about his father. When I got closer, I found that the leader of this team of bounty hunters was also an old acquaintance, Xu Diaoling, who had gone to Kansai to hunt down Liu Yi.
"Xu Diaoling turned out to be you, I haven't seen you all these years, you actually came to Jiangnan." Wendy stepped forward and said.
"It turned out to be Miss Wendi, and I didn't expect to see you in Jiangnan back then. Senior Liu can be around here, I will definitely prepare good wine and food today, thank you father and daughter. Xu Diaoling said.
"My dad came to Gangnam before me in January and wasn't with me. I also think that you are well-informed, and I want to ask you for some information. Wendy said.
"Okay, I'll send someone to inquire about the news about Senior Liu. Miss Wendi wants to cross the river. It just so happens that we are on the same road, so Miss Wendi might as well come with us. Xu Diaoling listened to this invitation.
"Alright, let's go together. But haven't you been around Anyun before? Are you bounty hunters making a big move again? Wendy asked.
"There's a big move there, it's just to make ends meet. Since the defeat in Kansai three years ago, several of the most prestigious seniors in the industry have lost their lives, and our bounty hunters have lost their strength and reputation. Kansai is now controlled by the Death Sect, we don't dare to go, and we don't have much business in Anyun, otherwise we wouldn't have risked coming to Jiangnan for those meager bounties. Xu Diaoling said.
From his words, it can be seen that the bounty hunter was defeated in Kansai, and now it can be said that it has plummeted. I think that the organization of bounty hunters back then was no one who dared to provoke the Zongheng Dynasty, and how many green forest hawkers and masters of the rivers and lakes were afraid of it like tigers. Although there are rules in the rivers and lakes, they all belong to the strong, although it is not naked bullying for the weak, but cold observation and ridicule are enough to make many people unable to bear the pressure of life.
Wen Di didn't say much when he heard this, and Wen Di had also heard of the warmth and coldness of the people on the rivers and lakes.
But Wen Di has always disagreed with this, because in her opinion, with excellent martial arts, she is enough to stand alone in the world, so why bother to look at the faces of others. Liu Hexin told her: Being a man should only be responsible for his own heart, and as for other external things, he should have the mentality of being indispensable. If you rejoice when you get something, and if you grieve when you lose something, then you can't have a moment of peace in your life. Because people are making choices all the time, if you choose this, you will lose that, and if you choose that, you will lose this. Now that it has been done, as long as the heart is at peace, there is nothing to complain about.
When the other bounty hunters heard that the girl in front of them was Miss Wendi, who had been praised by Xu Diaoling, they all came up to express their enthusiasm. In particular, some unmarried samurai were all very courteous in front of Wendi.
Wendi's mind was not on these people, she just wanted to meet Liu Hexin as soon as possible. Liu Hexin originally said that he would be able to come back soon after going to Jiangnan, but there has been no news until now. Wen Di didn't believe that anything would happen to Liu Hexin, but her father was the person she wanted to see in the world, and she now had a lot of things to confide in Liu Hexin.
When they came to the town, they saw a sailboat docked on the wharf, and they discussed crossing the river with the boatman.
"You are from the north, what are you going to do in Jiangnan?" The boatman, dressed in a brown shirt and barefoot, looked at the crowd and said.
"Just do your job and cross the river, why bother asking so much. Knowing too much is not a good thing for you either. A bounty hunter scolded a ferryman when he dared to question himself in this way.
"You are so rude, I just ask casually, if you don't tell it, you won't tell, why be so ruthless. I see that you people have fierce faces, and you are all armed and must be outlaws, and I will not set up this ship. The boatman said angrily.
"Don't be surprised, brother, my brother has been a little unhappy recently, please forgive me for the abrupt words. We are bounty hunters, and this time we went to Jiangnan to eliminate a bandit leader entrenched in the southeast. Xu Diaoling knows the benefits of being kind to others, and sees that this person is really tough, and he really doesn't look like an ordinary boatman. This is not allowed to be judged by walking in the rivers and lakes, in case one day you accidentally offend a person who should not be offended, I am afraid that I don't know how I died.
"The leader of the southeast bandits, but the Jiangnan water thief Lu Boding." The boatman asked.
"That's right, it's him, and Brother Tai knows his name." Xu Diaoling didn't expect the boatman to know that Lu Boding was a little surprised.
"That water thief Lu Bo is the one who is the victim, but it hurts us who are small businessmen. Many shipwrights were killed for not listening to the water thieves. Since you heroes are there to get rid of this thief, then I am here for you. I don't have to give money for this boat, just because I do my part to get rid of the water thieves. When the boatman heard Xu Diaoling's words, his attitude immediately changed, and he untied the rope and invited everyone to board the boat.
Seeing this, the bounty hunter did not suspect this, and crossed the river with the man. Unexpectedly, when the boat reached the middle of the river, the boatman actually stopped the sailboat.
"Why did Brother Tai stop, could it be that he changed his mind to take us over for free? It doesn't matter, Brother Tai is a small business, and we will definitely pay enough for the ship. Seeing this, Xu Diaoling was afraid that the boatman would take advantage of the sky-high price and said.
"Hahahaha, you landlubbers from the north, you don't even know that you're dying. I've heard a long time ago that a group of unknown warriors are actually plotting to murder Brother Lu, and I've been waiting here for a long time. Let you all die on the river today. As he spoke, the boatman picked up a fork beside him, poked a hole in the plank, and jumped into the river.