The elementary school apprentice was stunned for a moment, and there seemed to be no such voice among the people he knew. He peeked out through the crack in the door and saw a middle-aged man with a dark complexion, wearing a jade ring of black jade around his waist. The apprentice hurriedly opened the door and said in a stacked voice: "Morning guest, but you want to beat the furniture?" ”

The middle-aged man looked at him, stuffed two silver quills, and asked in a not very pure Ryukyuan dialect, "What about your boss?" ”

The apprentice had never been rewarded so badly, and his eyes narrowed into a slit with a smile: "Maybe still asleep." Wait a minute, I'll call! ”

The guest smiled and waved his hand: "Go ahead, don't worry." ”

The apprentice trotted all the way to the backyard, saw that the door was closed, took his steps, knocked lightly on the door, and said, "Master...... Master...... Master! After shouting, his voice unconsciously brightened a little.

"What's the matter?" It was the slow and soft voice of the teacher.

"There's a distinguished guest here who wants to see the boss."

"What are you doing?"

"I ...... Didn't dare to ask. ”

"What's the costume?"

"Hmm...... Dressed quite loosely, not like the locals. ”

Shi Niang's voice stopped for a moment before she said, "Tell him that the boss is not there." I went out last night. ”

"This ......" the junior apprentice looked embarrassed, he received such a heavy thank you gift but messed up the matter, he secretly couldn't help but complain a little about the teacher, but he didn't dare to talk back, so he had to turn around, rub his head down and rub forward step by step, thinking about how to explain to the guest. As soon as he took a few steps, the voice of the master in the house sounded again: "Let the guests rest in the carpentry room, and then invite the master." ”

"Hey!" The apprentice responded quickly, and the smile immediately returned to his face. Picking up the keys thrown out of the house, he laughed as he walked. I don't understand why I don't invite you to the front hall to watch the tea break. But you want to let it go to the master's carpentry room? Maybe you want to let the guests see the master's craftsmanship first? Don't think about it. Who can guess the changeable nature of the teacher.

Li Xiangtian looked east and west with the kettle, and a bird fell on the shed page, and he stared at it for a long time. If you don't pay attention, the water will come out of the soil and wet your shoes. Startled, he put the pot down, raised his leg and looked, and saw that there was no one on the left and right. I couldn't help but sigh.

"Master, there is a guest here......" The junior apprentice looked at the master's back in surprise.

Li Xiangtian stayed there, his face flushed slightly: "It's so early, who is it?" ”

"A distinguished guest from out of town."

"Oh." Li Xiangtian quickly returned to normal, he turned around and brushed his sleeves, "Let's go." ”

The junior apprentice led all the way to the front yard, and Li Xiangtian was just about to step into the main hall, when the apprentice said softly: "The master instructs, please wait in the carpentry room." ”

Li Xiangtian was stunned for a moment, and secretly said in his heart, Pei Yao, you are confused. but there was no trace on the face. Instructed the apprentice to stand down and walked outside the carpentry room by himself.

Since that day, he received Deng Zhengqing's funding. He broke up with Huang Zhengrong when he went ashore, went to Fuzhou to inquire about Li Sizhu's news, and learned that Li Sizhu went to Nanjing with Shen Youdan, and he wanted to go to Nanjing to find her, but this time the difficulties and dangers he experienced to find her made him feel palpitations, and he was worried about the safety of Pei Yao at home, so he simply found Pei Yao and took her overseas. When he first arrived in the Ryukyus, Li Xiangtian used the identity of a carpenter from Taizhou, Zhejiang. In fact, before escaping with Pei Yao, he spent more than half a year making careful arrangements. The original owner of the house was an old woman who had been widowed for many years and had a strange temperament, who had never interacted with her neighbors, and was so sick at that time that she promised Li Xiangtian to handle her posthumous affairs as a distant nephew, Li Xiangtian did not spend much money to buy the house, and then asked someone to secretly replace a death row prisoner from Taizhou Mansion in Zhejiang Province from the execution ground, and raised this person on an island, no one knows. After five months, after Li Xiangtian could not even distinguish the flaws in the dialect of Taizhou Prefecture, Zhejiang, he killed the man and sent 300 taels of gold to the family of the death row prisoner according to his prior promise...... After completing these two things, Li Xiangtian, who entered Shouli City, became a carpenter who came from Taizhou Mansion in Zhejiang Province to send off his cousin, so the layout of this carpentry room was also based on the customs of Taizhou Mansion in Zhejiang.

The wooden wall opposite the entrance is carved with a picture of the sunset over the mountains and rivers, and the walls on both sides are embedded with six-foot-thick wooden boards, which are carved into wooden pillars with carved and painted birds. At first glance, it seems that people are trapped in a heavy corridor, and if you go further, you can see the sunset over the long river. There are many planing saws neatly placed on the wooden wall, and there are also some white embryonic household goods. On the bench was a wooden plank for a wooden screen, and the lines of the ink fountain were intricately drawn, and the undrawn corner reflected the back of the guest—he was sanding the corners with a long planer, and the sawdust was rubbed into pieces under the blade.

Li Xiangtian stood by the door and didn't move, looking at him coldly.

When the corners were smoothed, the guest put down the planer and said, "A sharpened blade." Turning his head to see Li Xiangtian, his smile immediately overflowed, and he strode forward to hold the carpenter's hands: "Xiangtian, I haven't seen you for a long time, are you okay?" ”

Li Xiangtian looked at him coldly, and finally couldn't help laughing: "Lao Ke, you are not a scheming person, don't learn from others to play those miscellaneous tricks and make people laugh in vain." ”

Lao Ke still smiled, and didn't care: "Yes, yes." Playing tricks in front of your ghost military master, Lao Ke won't be able to see it for another ten years of cultivation. ”

Li Xiangtian held one of his hands: "Sit in the front hall." ”

"Seeing that the New Year is approaching, we haven't seen each other for many years, so we must accept this meaning." Lao Ke took out a bag of gold from his sleeve and put it on the table and pushed it over.

Li Xiangtian glanced at it and didn't move: "It seems that the brothers are doing well after entering the water." ”

Lao Kequan smiled with his hands: "It's okay." After all, we have been sailors, and it is the same when we go to sea. ”

Li Xiangtian's eyes were lazy, and the corners of his mouth raised: "Lao Ke, you haven't changed at all, you're still the same." ”

Lao Ke nodded with a smile and took a sip of tea: "Recently, Japan has been fighting too hard, although the Russian old Maozi helped the Japanese officers and troops to win, to put it bluntly, it was actually a tragic victory, but in this way, the soldiers of Western countries and the cadres and armies have come, and this day is getting worse and worse." ”

"What's the plan?"

"Let's take it one step at a time." Lao Ke frowned and looked at the house, many places were cracked, and the tea was also made of ordinary flower tea. Li Xiangtian is still wearing the same old robe last night. A once brave and fearless young general of the Celestial Army. I went down a lot of edges and corners in the grinding of the years. Li Xiangtian had no other preferences back then. I love to taste old ancient tea, wear new robes, and have a deep and dusty heart. It's not forced by livelihood, and it will never be so unsophisticated. Lao Ke's eyes were a little astringent: "To God...... It's not as good as it used to be. ”

"Oh?" Li Xiangtian raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Brother and sister...... Okay? ”

"Okay."

"Here...... Are you used to living there? ”

"People who are wandering all over the world are very content to have a home."

"I look so bitter! In such a situation, how can you hold your head up in front of people? Xiangtian, it's too bitter. ”

Li Xiangtian smiled and didn't answer.

"Come back with the brethren." Lao Ke said sincerely: "King Zhong was unfortunately killed back then, and we people are used to a comfortable life. And he went into the water. You didn't want to come back at the time, and we all understood. As soon as that incident came out, I took the brothers to Tianjing, but unfortunately you have already left, and you chased all the way to the sea, after all, it was a step too late. If you meet again today, you can't miss it again. The position of the leader has always been reserved for you. Come back! Seeing that Li Xiangtian bowed his head and was silent, Lao Ke drank the tea in the cup, "This burden is ...... Shen! So many brothers have their lives on the horizon. I don't know when, I can't pick it up...... They have been brothers for more than ten years. To the sky, pull everyone along. ”

Lao Ke was moved by his true feelings, and it was impossible for Li Xiangtian not to be moved. His black pupils rippled with the waves of the past. After a while, Li Xiangtian pushed Jin Zi back in front of Lao Ke: "Big brother, when I escaped from Tianjing, I wanted to come to you, but that would hurt everyone...... After all, he left. I know that you have come to my rescue. But I also want you to know that from the day I left Tianjing, I was determined to forget everything in the past. ”

"Can you forget?"

"If you forget it, you can't forget it...... You have to forget about it, too. ”

"Xiang Tian......" has said everything that should be said, Lao Ke was originally reluctant to speak, and he has done his best to be able to say this.

Li Xiangtian blinked, took a deep breath, and changed his smile: "Lao Ke, I want to thank you, whether it is Tianjing's rescue that risked his life, or this chance meeting, thank you for still treating me as a brother." However, last night Pei Yao told me that she had my child. ”

Like a knife that has cut off the feelings involved, Lao Ke has nothing to say. He insisted on keeping the gold and walked out the door.

Ten steps away, Lao Ke walked very hard, and Li Xiangtian was not easy. When he arrived at the door, Lao Ke finally turned around. He lifted his black face, wrinkled by the sea breeze, took off the hat on his head, and said in a low voice, "Take care! "The pomegranate water was not evenly dyed, revealing a few strands of gray hair.

Li Xiangtian looked at his old friend, remembered those years of life and death, stretched out his hand to hold him, and asked, "This time I came to observe the ceremony...... What does it do? ”

A layer of surprise appeared on Lao Ke's face: "Come and do something big." ”

"Oh." The light in Li Xiangtian's eyes flashed a few times, and finally dimmed, "Be careful." With that, he bowed his head.

I don't know how long later, a soft voice floated from behind me: "Lao Ke is gone." ”

Li Xiangtian hurriedly turned around and hugged Fu Peiyao: "You are pregnant with a child, you should rest more...... I didn't tell me earlier that it was so cold yesterday that the streets were still full of chaos. ”

Fu Peiyao turned her head and looked at him with a smile, like looking at a child who didn't grow up, and saw that Li Xiangtian's eyes were a little dodgy. After seeing enough, she asked, "Rejected him?" ”

Li Xiangtian nodded.

"It was a long conversation."

"Old friends meet and catch up."

"Let's go back." Fu Peiyao turned around and walked back with Li Xiangtian's support. A lock of hair drooped down, and she raised her hand to pull it up, and gently closed her eyes.

Depression is much like mold and is more likely to grow when there is no sunlight. The older a person gets, the more they lose their resistance. Lao Ke remembered that in the past, when he fought against the cadres under King Zhong, Li Xiangtian, who fought side by side with him, was a different person, and no amount of difficulty could make him succumb. Once, the two of them took a hundred recruits, only a dozen foreign guns, dozens of bows, and encountered the Mongolian iron cavalry of the monk and demon king with a thousand iron horses. The recruits, who had never had contact with the Mongolian cavalry, were so frightened that their legs and stomachs turned at that time, but Li Xiangtian insisted on bringing everyone out. But now, the life and death of the brothers are no match for a woman. Probably from the time King Zhong left Suzhou. He no longer wants to be brothers. It's just a group of old people who don't listen to orders and act as bandits without permission. Lao Ke himself knows. The future of their group of pirates is much more dangerous than the conversation suggests. In fact, several groups of foreign ships have been cruising the sea recently, looking for their traces. With Li Xiangtian's intelligence and understanding of Lao Ke, he wouldn't be unmoved, but he was still unmoved. I can only pick up this burden by myself, and I can only pray to the sea goddess Mazu Niangniang. May this trip go well, and then they may be able to turn the tide of danger...... However, most things in the world do not go as expected.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard where they had settled, Lao Ke felt an uneasy aura. Zhang Wanjun stood under the tree, his lips pursed into purple, and Yang Shengjie beside him showed a frightened expression. With the sound of grinding knives, Hong Qiye crossed the water, and was sharpening his long knife unhurriedly on the cyan whetstone.

"Let's talk." Lao Ke straightened his waist.

The charcoal fire in the house was very strong, and the heavy warmth was uncomfortable, and Yang Shengjie spoke hard. There was a little gasp: "Brother Yu Yangshui...... I went alone. ”

"Going alone? Where did it go? Lao Ke frowned.

"Changle Gang."

Old Kehodi stood up, and he looked around at the people. Sighing lightly, he paced: "Why don't you stop him?" ”

"I, I can't stop it." Yang Shengjie rubbed his hands nervously, sweating profusely in his palms.

Lao Ke turned his eyes to look at Hong Qiye: "What about you?" ”

The tall, thin pirate was still wiping the scabbard with a cloth, his head lowered at the sound, and his movements were a little sluggish. Among their gang, since the time of the Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Qiye has served as a scout, and when it comes to the ceremony, the mission of secret investigation still falls on him. In the territory infested by the cadres, he should be extra careful to hide his tracks, he is also a human being, and he will be tired, so it is easy to sleep, and he should not bear the fault of this failure to investigate. So Lao Ke's words were actually asking Zhang Wanjun.

"I'm out too." Zhang Wanjun said coldly.

"Where did you go again?" At this point, no matter how kind Lao Ke is, he can't hold back the fire.

"I followed you and went to Li Xiangtian's house."

"You're following me?" Lao Ke was a little surprised and a little angry, "Why are you following me?" Don't you care about the safety of these people? ”

"You're our head." Zhang Wanjun raised his neck and looked at him, his expression was still faint, "You can't have an accident." ”

Lao Ke heard the hidden meaning in the words, he didn't expect that the brothers who used to fight side by side and were like brothers and sisters now have their own thoughts. Li Xiangtian is no longer part of their gang, after they rescued and heard that Li Xiangtian and the others had successfully escaped, Zhang Wanjun had suspicions - not only the Mongolian iron cavalry, but also the most elite guards of the loyal king, could not intercept the two people, and he always felt that there was something else hidden in it. And King Zhong's extraordinary love and pity for Fu Peiyao, the little sister of the female champion Fu Shanxiang, is it enough as a reason to "open the net"?

Lao Ke wanted to defend Li Xiangtian, but he couldn't speak. He only instinctively believed Li Xiangtian, but this was too pale as a reason to convince others.

After walking around the room twice, Lao Ke came to the cabinet and took out the bamboo tube that had been sealed when he was leaving. The paper scroll is spread out on the desk, and a detailed diagram of the courtyard structure is drawn. Lao Ke took the candlestick, lit the candlestick, took out some yellow grass clippings that looked like tobacco leaves from his arms and roasted them on the lamp plate.

"The leader of the Changle gang is a mysterious person, and they are not having a good time these days. However, I heard that ten years ago, he bought an item from a man who had also guarded Tianjing and brought it all the way here. This thing may be related to the treasure left by King Chung back then, and we are here to seize what originally belonged to us. ”

"King Zhong has been gone for so many years, and I heard that he has too much gold wrapped around his body, but Ma is too tired to run, so he asked the dry demon to be caught and beheaded." Zhang Wanjun sneered, "Tianjing City is broken, countless treasures are secretly occupied by Zeng Jiu's butcher, and there is no way to even go to the Dog Imperial Court, where is there anything left for us to find?" ”

"You know a limited amount of what happened back then, Wan Jun." Lao Ke shook his head, "King Zhong's vision is lofty, and he has already left a back hand long before he goes to Tianjing, in case he will make a comeback. Thinking of the past, Lao Ke sighed, "It's just that now things are wrong, and now the business is getting more and more difficult to do, I just want to find one or two treasures left by King Zhong, so that the brothers can have a good place for the rest of their lives, as for the great cause of King Zhong......" He looked at everyone, but still didn't say any more.

Hearing Lao Ke say this, Hong Qiye finally put down his knife and leaned in front of the paper scroll, his nose with a keen sense of smell like a hunting dog smelled something.

"...... this?" Yang Shengjie's eyes widened.

"It's the floor plan of the location of the Changle Gang's helm." Lao Ke said, "The Changle Gang was established by the remnants of the Silk Son, and originally gave us the name of the Kingdom of Heaven, but since it was broken up in Shandong, it broke off its relationship with the Kingdom of Heaven, and many of them fled to Nanyang and built a lot of gangs, and the Changle Gang is the larger one in it, but the helm is somehow located in Ryukyu." ”

Hearing Lao Ke's words, Zhang Wanjun's expression rarely became solemn.

Lao Ke stretched out his long and powerful fingers and pointed at the drawing, "There are many of them, and there are many good hands, we can't fight hard, we can only outwit, as long as we find that thing, we don't have to do this knife to lick blood in the rest of our lives, and we may die in the belly of the fish at any time." (To be continued......)

PS: In the past, adults asked about the results, and Xiao Ming always said that the overall score was first. Later, the parents came to the school to ask about the results of a single subject, only to know that he had taken the make-up examination again. He added up the two scores together to become the first overall score. Parents are worried, supervise and study every day, and Xiao Ming complains: Adults are so strange, they have to know the truth, and now they make the family discordant, and outsiders look down on them. Grandpa was shocked when he heard this, hugged him and comforted him: Child, you are the material of the future leader of the country, don't worry about them.

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