On the night of January 26, the 56th year of the new dynasty, the eyebrow moon hung high, and the cold air in the north showed no sign of abating, and the cold wind was raging, roaring in the northern Tang City. The streets of the Northern Tang City have been quiet for a long time, and it looks particularly gloomy and desolate. At the entrance of the thoroughfare stood a stubborn armor soldier, searching for the occasional passer-by.

Blue or white wind lamps are hung in every house, and the lights are dim, swaying under the eaves. There is a wind lantern every short distance at the head of the city, because the wandering army often rushes down the mountain along the Jinshui, the east city gate is particularly tight, the wind lantern on the city head is also relatively dense, there are many fires outside the city, and the sky is reflected in a purple. With a tight north wind, the light and shadow there shook strangely.

At the end of the year, the displaced people rebelled, and the army sent out by the city to suppress it lost thousands of soldiers and horses. Dispatched by Liu Gui, the potential city was finely made, and they set fire together, and Xicheng and Nanjie burned down several streets.

The outcasts retreated into the mountains along with Liu Gui's army, leaving only the ashes of the fire on the outskirts of the city, and the charred ruins were especially glaring in the crystalline snowfields.

Xun Da did not immediately send a large army to pursue and suppress the exile army, but only ordered the cities to strictly guard the city, so as not to let the thieves have a gap, and also notified the rich and wealthy gentry outside the city to avoid trouble, or fort according to the danger, and be on guard.

A drought made seven or eight out of ten households in Xinzhou and Xiangzhou become homeless, and the people had no surplus food, and the homeless army had to attack the fort of the world's hometown Hao if they wanted to obtain grain and grass.

The mountains and tombs of Xinzhou and Xiangzhou are gathered, and most of the township forts are built in places where the terrain is dangerous, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The warriors of the heroic tribes of the world are all the children of their clans, brave and fierce, hard-hearted and strong-willed, like a rock, which cannot be shaken, although the number is small, the combat power is extremely strong.

Every time Hulan invaded the south, he attacked the city and plundered the land, but rarely attacked these family forts.

A hundred years ago, the Hulan Iron Cavalry crossed the Yanmen Pass and invaded Fen County for two years, and there are still many township mansions standing on the land of Xinzhou and Xiangzhou, which shows its stubbornness.

The Xun family implemented the county policy in Fen County, and the biggest resistance they encountered was the township wealthy families from Xinzhou and Xiangzhou. Xiangfan will cause trouble in Xiangzhou and severely defeat the Xiangzhou family heroes, but the village heroes in Xinzhou continue to ignore the power and armament of the Xun family.

The exiled army plundered the village and seized the camp between the Northern Tang Dynasty and Lou Fu, but Xun Guo restrained tens of thousands of elite soldiers in the Northern Tang City.

There are armored soldiers and horses patrolling the city, and it is forbidden to walk at night, but in the courtyard of the deep house, there is still a life of flowers and wine, singing and dancing, silk, bamboo, red sandalwood, and the kaki gently tapping the board eyes, singing tactfully and lowly, sometimes the singing voice is as thin as green silk, and it is constantly curling, hovering on the finely carved roof beams.

Xu Ruyu leaned on the pink and white high wall, thinking about when the feast in the house would end, listening to the endless singing in the courtyard, his toes lightly touched the ground, and he couldn't help but stretch his hands and stretch his waist, and a person next to him pushed his armpit and said: "Today's song banquet, I chose the warm pavilion in the east garden, listening to the song of Hua Xiuyan, you can know her appearance, I think it is not weaker than Jiang Youli and Shui Ruying, I can take a peek, and I have the heart to die." ”

"Look at it, but you have the heart to die? If you want to die, you can rush to the front later, and grab me more delicious food. ”

The man turned around, his face was full of dirt, he couldn't see his face clearly, he was thin and weak, but his eyes were clear and bright, and he smiled: "You haven't seen a beauty, so naturally you don't know the taste of intoxication." I'm hungry now, if I can see Hua Xiuyan, I will forget about this hunger and cold, and I will unconsciously have the heart to die. ”

Xu Ruyu glanced at him, saw him pretending to be intoxicated, laughed, pulled the person on the right, and said, "Brother Feng, come here, the two of us fold up, send Qin Zhongshu up to see the flower Xiuyan, and we will eat his share after a while." ”

When Qin Zhongshu heard this, he became proud, pointed at Xu Ruyu and said, "It's still the third brother Li who knows my thoughts. Stretched out his hand and pulled the one who made Xu Ruyu called Feng Ge'er to his side, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Li San is weak, you are at the bottom." ”

Feng Ge'er looked reluctant and muttered, "You don't often boast that you are the young master in this Qin family's mansion, why don't you walk in openly and let us help you do this dirty thing of climbing the wall?" ”

Qin Zhongshu snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "How can it be a dirty thing to ride on the wall to appreciate beauty? You don't have much to say, and you will stand at the base of this wall. A group of men sitting against the wall laughed and said, "My stomach can't be filled, and I still think about it, I'm really crazy." ”

Qin Zhongshu ignored it, urging the two of them to stand on top of each other against the wall. Feng Ge'er squatted down at the foot of the wall, and waited for Xu Ruyu to stand on his shoulder before slowly standing up, Xu Ruyu reached out and grabbed the wall. Qin Zhongshu was quite agile, Fan passed Feng Ge'er's waist, stepped on his shoulder, and stepped on Xu Ruyu's shoulder, and just happened to poke his head through the high courtyard wall to see the situation in the courtyard.

Just seeing that he was so familiar, it could be seen that the three of them had cooperated so many times, and the other people under the wall burst into laughter, Qin Zhongshu hurriedly turned around to silence them, but the laughter became louder and louder, intent on ruining his business.

Xu Ruyu suffered a heart-piercing arrow from the back of the brown-clothed man and was severely injured, but Li Sixun was afraid that Wu Mengli would take advantage of the weakness and failed to hit the second palm, and finally escaped with a glimpse. Jumping along the icefall into the deep pool, relying on the last trace of Knowledge, he embedded himself in the stone crevice under the water of the source of the glacier, and did not flow downstream with the slow water under the glacier. After Li Sixun searched downstream, Xu Ruyu risked the continued expansion of his heart crack, forced a breath of Dan breath, and infiltrated the Northern Tang City.

The arrow of the brown-clothed man hit two points under the heart vein, and even the grandmaster had to immediately find the ground to heal his wounds, only the subtle breath of heaven and earth could protect the broken heart veins from dying. Li Sixun only thought that Xu Ruyu was hiding somewhere in the mountains and wilderness to heal his injuries, and he never expected that he would sneak back to the city first.

Xu Ruyu found an old house attic in the city that seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, found a bowl of clear water, put it on the roof beam of the attic, and sat on it himself, closed his five senses and six senses, and fell into a state of confusion.

The arrow of the brown-clothed man passed through the body close to the heart vein, but the sharp Dan force made Xu Ruyu's heart vein rupture many places, for others, he had already died for a long time, Xu Ruyu's meridians broke and then stood up, and the strength of the world was unmatched, and his twisting Dan breath was also used to tinkering work, when the iron edge arrow drilled into the body, although it could not be avoided, there was finally a congenital Dan breath in the heart to protect it, blocking most of the damage, Rao is so, Xu Ruyu couldn't suppress the injury, and then a few days, as if waking up from sleep, A ball of Dan breath at the aperture of heaven and earth is like a milky blue mist, spitting and expanding.

Xu Ruyu's heart was torn and could not heal, and the Dan breath at the aperture of heaven and earth could not be used in the veins of the hundred bones and turned into Dan power, and the situation was exactly the same as that when he was on the Youli Flower Boat. Xu Ruyu was not worried, if there was a danger, although forcibly lifting the Dan Breath would rupture the old wound again, it would also give him enough time to get out and save his life.

When the displaced people revolted, Liu Gui sent the fine work in the city to set fire everywhere, burning several streets and alleys in the west and south of the city. Xu Ru's old house was also among them, which woke up the fire and escaped with them, mingling with the displaced people.

The outcasts fled into the mountains with the Wanderers, and the Wanderers Army's efforts in the city were still set on fire at every opportunity. The east and north of the city and the inner city are inhabited by rich squires, while the west and south of the city are mostly poor dwellings, and most of them are old houses. There were already many victims and beggars in the city, but now there are many more displaced people who lost their homes and businesses in the fire, and there is nowhere to shelter them, and many of them sleep under the eaves on both sides of the street, huddled together to ward off the cold. They shivered in the bitter cold, groaned, wailed, and tore at people's hearts, but the soldiers patrolling the city passed by, and they suppressed their sorrows. Although several porridge factories were set up in the west of the city for relief, 300 frozen corpses were still carried out of the city every day.

The porridge factory only gives a spoonful of gruel that can be used every day, and it can't help, so it can only delay the remnants of life for a while. Gradually, some of the young and strong people among the homeless people gathered around the mansion to beg for food, but when they could not force it, when the soldiers of the city patrol passed by, they broke down the door and rushed into the mansion, robbed the things, and scattered in a hurry.

Every time Xu Ruyu finished drinking porridge from the porridge factory, he would mix in with the crowd and pick a big mansion and sit there to beg for food. As the months passed, this group of about forty or fifty people gradually became a group, and the territory was divided with other groups, and they only operated in this area.

The Qin family is a big family in the city, and there are two or three hundred people in the house. Xu Ruyu's group of homeless people did not go elsewhere, they bragged and farted next to the wall in the alley, and they were at peace with the Qin family, and sometimes they helped the Qin family drive away some troubles. When it rained and snowed, the Qin family also opened two rooms for them to squeeze in to avoid it. This good place was led by Qin Zhongshu, and everyone pushed Qin Zhongshu as the leader, Feng Ge'er was strong and had practiced martial arts, and when other people came to fight for territory, everyone pushed him out.

Xu Ruyu didn't go looking for Zhao Jingyun and others, sometimes looking at the towering city wall from afar, there were many good players hidden among the city patrol soldiers, obviously those were coming for themselves, and at this time, meeting with Zhao Jingyun and others would become the target of public criticism. Li Sixun didn't expect Xu Ruyu to sneak into the Tang City, Zhao Jingyun had the same mind as Xu Ruyu, and did not mobilize people to find him, but only set up a suspicious array outside the city to create an opportunity for Xu Ruyu to get out of trouble. Xu Ruyu said that he was mixed in with this group of people, unkempt, and even the people of Jiangning might not be able to recognize Xu Ruyu.

In the past few days, the Qin family invited the famous singer Hua Xiuyan from Xinzhou to come to the house to entertain the night banquet, and everyone listened to the silk bamboo sandalwood board and the singing voice across the high wall, and also enjoyed it very much. As soon as Qin Zhongshu passed the gate of the mansion, he saw that Hua Xiuyan's delicate face under his nose was revealed under the veil lifted by the breeze, and he lost his soul and never forgot it.

Qin Zhongshu looked inside the courtyard, his right foot couldn't stop stepping on it, and he hummed softly with the vast singing voice from the army. Xu Ru was as foolish as a crow, and said: "You can get through the hole at the root of the east wall, so you don't have to work so hard with Brother Feng." ”

Qin Zhongshu turned his head sideways to say something, and with an "ah" scream, he fell off Xu Ruyu's shoulder and lay on the granite ground in the alley. Brother Feng was startled, hurriedly asked what was the matter, put Xu Ruyu down, and squatted beside him.

Qin Zhongshu turned over and lay on the road, scolding: "The girl of Huaxiu Yan will play me with something." Covering his forehead, a trace of blood oozed out.

Xu Ruyu pinched a tree seed that fell on his shoulder, and was shocked in his heart, secretly thinking: This tree seed is soft and weak, but it can bounce Qin Zhongshu's forehead from afar, and the cultivation of Hua Xiuyan is really terrifying. Bounced off the tree seeds casually, and didn't speak, only said to Qin Zhongshu: "Looking at the beauty through the wall, breaking a little blood, it also seems that you are not afraid of difficulties." "I took a pinch of clean snow and wiped it on Qin Zhongshu's forehead, and the blood stopped after the cold was intense, and only one skin was broken, and it is estimated that the forehead was bounced painfully.

Qin Zhongshu got up from the ground and said, "I remember that Nizi, with a black face and a rough face, and a good figure. ”

Someone said, "What did she do, what did you see about the flowers?" ”

Qin Zhongshu licked his lower lip and said: "Straight mother, Hua Xiuyan's neck like spring onions, like a star of blood stained in the snow, I don't know how much water is there, when I open my lips and make a sound, the slightly floating tendons on the neck stalk are like floating jade carvings, moving and moving, it makes people's hearts itch, but there is nowhere to scratch it." ”

Everyone laughed and said, "You made Brother Feng and the three brothers Li work so hard, but you only saw other people's neck stalks, and they were so beautiful." ”

Although Qin Zhongshu looked like a scoundrel, his words were sometimes quite elegant, Xu Ruyu had no time to take care of himself, and he didn't want to probe the details of others, so he smiled and made fun of Qin Zhongshu with everyone.

The singing was intermittent, but the silk and bamboo were not broken, and after the third watch, the night banquet in Qin's house finally ended, and Qin Zhongshu pulled Xu Ruyu and Feng Ge'er to the main gate of the mansion.

Feng Ge'er shouted: "You are dizzy today, why are you pulling us to the main gate, isn't the Qin family's food sent out from the back door?" ”

Qin Zhongshu said: "I heard that Hua Xiuyan is going to leave the Northern Tang City every few days, if I can't see the whole picture, I will regret it for the rest of my life, you can help me." ”

Xu Ruyu said: "Hua Xiuyan is covered with a veil, could it be that you asked me to rush over and take off her veil?" ”

"You might as well think about it if you can rush to her."

Xu Ruyu looked at Qin Zhongshu with a wicked smile on his face, and hurriedly shook his head and said: "You don't want me to do this kind of thing, before I rush over, let the Qin family's escort catch me, I can't stand the beating, and I will confess you and Brother Feng in a while, if you let the Qin family be tied up, the plan to peep at the beauty will be so yellow, don't you want to blame me?" ”

"We followed the carriage, I don't believe that Hua Xiuyan arrived at the residence and could still wear the veil over her face."

Although Xu Ruyu had never met Hua Xiuyan, seeing that her girl's cultivation was so terrifying, she secretly thought that she would be able to recover in a few months, and she didn't want to do much, so as not to give birth to right and wrong. But he couldn't screw Qin Zhongshu's haunting surname, and Feng Ge'er was also helpless, hiding behind the stone beast in front of the Qin family's mansion with him.

Eight wind lanterns hang in front of the house, reflecting the inside and outside of the courtyard.

In the open space in front of the house, there is a double-wheeled carriage, and an old man in Tsing Yi holds the bridle, sits on the horse's head, and closes his eyes to recuperate.

Qin Zhongshu said: "This is Hua Xiuyan's carriage, it seems that it was not this person who drove the car a few days ago. ”

Although Xu Ruyu couldn't run Danxi, her eyesight was not weakened, and she secretly thought: Let a second-grade master drive a car for her, the origin of Hua Xiuyan is really exciting. Qin Zhongshu was about to get closer, Xu Ruyu grabbed him and said in a low voice: "The lights are hanging high here, and if you don't pay attention, the shadow will be reflected on the shadow wall." We will go to the road where she must pass, and we will be far away. ”

Qin Zhongshu was right to think about it, the three of them went around to a bush on the side of East Street and lay down, but after a long time, they didn't see Hua Xiuyan's carriage passing by, Qin Zhongshu complained: "Maybe Hua Xiuyan changed his way, it was all your idea, so we fell in vain tonight." ”

Xu Ruyu motioned for him to stop his voice and said, "Come here." ”

Qin Zhongshu was stunned, and after a while, the sound of hooves came, and two horses dragged the double-wheeled carriage slowly rolling over the long street made of hard earth, and the old man at the front of the carriage still looked drowsy.

The old man suddenly opened his eyes, and the two eyes shot like lightning on the grass where the three of them were hiding, reined in the bridles, and stopped the horse.

Qin Zhongshu pushed Xu Ruyu and said, "The three of us let the family find out." When Xian Zhenshan walked out, bowed to the carriage, and said loudly: "Boy Qin Zhongshu, I have admired Xiuyan girl for a long time, and I only want to see Xiuyan's side, and I have no regrets in death." ”

The curtain of the car was opened, and a girl came in, looked at Zhong Zhongshu, and said to the carriage: "It's the non-lazy man who peeps on the wall tonight." ”

The stars and moon were dim, and the girl had a glimpse of Qin Zhongshu's appearance at a glance, probably the girl who hit Qin Zhongshu with tree seeds, but her face was beautiful, but it was not as black and rough as he described, and there was a person in the carriage who breathed slightly, thinking that person was Hua Xiuyan, who had recently spread her fame all over Xinzhou. Xinzhou has never been a rich township, the mountains are poor and the land is poor, and it is by no means a good place for geisha to become famous.

Xu Ruyu reluctantly turned on his side and jumped out with Feng Ge'er.

Qin Zhongshu laughed and said: "The sages still have the daughter of the east wall, but the kid can't help listening to the fairy sound, and I hope that the Xiuyan girl will not blame." ”

A lazy and soft voice came from inside the car: "Yan Lao, palm up the lights." ”

The old man in the carriage lit a wind lamp, the dim halo shrouded the blue-gray carriage, the beautiful girl lifted the curtain, only to see a weak body hanging its head and moving outward, the clouds and temples tilted slightly, and the black water was piled up on the chest like a distant dream, making people breathless. The head of the mantis was slightly raised, like a dazzling flash, and the delicate and beautiful face smiled shallowly, and the clear eyes printed with water traces covered the halo of the wind lamp at once.

Qin Zhongshu stood there stunned, I don't know how many times it took, before he came back to his senses, his consciousness was stunned, and he bowed down again, and said, "The kid got what he wanted, and he said goodbye." Xu Ruyu and Brother Feng, who were still stunned, pushed and resolutely turned around and left.

"Please wait." Hua Xiuyan said.

Qin Zhongshu froze as if he was frozen, turned around stiffly, and asked, "What do you have to say about Miss Xiuyan?" ”

"The sages have the beauty of riding on the wall, do they also suffer from the food that comes?"

Qin Zhongshu only felt that his face was hot, and he didn't know how to speak.

Hua Xiuyan said: "I look at the three of them who are handsome, outstanding but not outstanding, is it possible that they are willing to sit under the wall of the house and beg for food?" I will go to Fan Yang and his party, the Cai family does not avoid the cold, the three of you are willing to go to Fan Yang with me to seek a career? ”

Qin Zhongshu said slowly: "Under the eyes of Hulan, can Cai Jiayan be safe for a long time?" When Hua Xiuyan heard this, her delicate body was slightly stunned, but she couldn't escape Xu Ruyu's sharp afterglow.

Hua Xiuyan said: "Hulan is strong, but there is the obstruction of Yanshan, even if there are millions of armor, it will not be able to invade the Cai family beyond the Yuguan natural danger." ”

Qin Zhongshu laughed and said, "If Hulan wants to invade Fanyang, there may not be only one way to Yuguan. What's more, the real natural danger is in the hearts of the people, and the danger of Yanshan is only for those who are powerful, and I can step on it with a slight body. Qin Zhongshu stood proudly, as if this was his true face at this time.

Xu Ruyu couldn't help but be moved when he heard it, and secretly praised in his heart, he really hid virtuous people in the world. I thought again: There was no ill feeling towards Hulan in his tone, I was afraid that it was in line with Hua Xiuyan's intentions. At this time, he had to keep his voice and wait to see Hua Xiuyan's reaction.

Hua Xiuyan said movingly: "After hearing Li Gongzi's words, I know that Li Gongzi is Zhenwei's husband, and whoever in the world can get Li Gongzi's help, the world can do it." ”

Qin Zhongshu said with a smile: "I don't dare to be this reputation. If the Xiuyan girl does not give up, I and the other three are willing to travel the world with the Xiuyan girl, increase their knowledge and knowledge, and wait until the world of peace, and then come out to play the crown before it is too late. ”

Feng Ge'er secretly pulled Xu Ruyu and asked in a low voice: "Qin boy, why can't I understand what I said today, the daughter of the east wall before, what kind of food did she eat, and now she says that Mao Ying is playing with a gun, and my head is dizzy." ”

Xu Ruyu saw Hua Xiuyan looking over with a smile, and secretly thought: It's time to go to Fanyang. coughed lightly and said: "Brother Feng, in the old dynasty, there was a beautiful man with a woman in his neighborhood, who often peeked at him on the wall. However, the person in Fuzhong is called Dengtuzi, and it is quite inappropriate for Qin Xiaozi to say this. The beautiful girl burst out laughing, Xu Ruyu owed to Hua Xiuyan, and said, "The people with lofty ideals don't drink the water of the stolen spring, and the incorruptible don't get the food that comes from it, and Li Sanyou has been taught." He also said to Feng Ge'er: "Mao Ying's impeachment of Kou refers to people going to be officials, and Qin Xiaozi is saying that he will wait until the world is too peaceful before becoming an official." ”

After listening to Xu Ruyu's words, Hua Xiuyan's eyes had a different color, and he changed his eyes with the old man who drove the car, and said softly: "Qin Gongzi, Li Gongzi, Feng Gongzi, the dust does not hide the beauty of jade, the three of them are full of poetry and books, and they have been through the world, and they are insightful, and there are many places where Xiuyan can be taught, Xiuyan can walk with the three, and the three lives are fortunate." ”

The beautiful girl said, "You can't look like this. Throwing out a bag of money, he said, "You are neatly dressed, and you will prepare a carriage, and you will come to Zuiyang Tower to find us tomorrow." ”

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