Shili Lotus Pond, which is the name of a lake near the northeast of Guangling City, is famous for the lotus flowers that fill the river pond in summer.

There are several villages and towns in the whole lotus pond, and the most famous one was Sujia Town, which is a village and town next to the lotus pond, the population of the residents in the village and town is about 100 households, and the total population is only five or six hundred people, which seems to be nothing strange at first glance, but this Sujia Town, even in Guangling, is also famous, because there used to be a huge rich family here.

Once a wealthy man in the silk and cloth weaving industry in Guangling, he was called the Su family who could buy half of Guangling City!

Although the Su family is rich, they never oppress the tenants, but they are kind and charitable, and enjoy high prestige in various nearby villages, but five years ago, the Su family suddenly withered, the head of the Su family, Su Xing, was framed and died in prison, and his wife Tang died of depression.

To this day, the people of the town are still sighing about this incident and secretly hurting themselves.

The once magnificent mansion of the Su family has long since turned into a ruin, full of fresh grass and lush greenery, if there is anything left, I am afraid that there is only the half-broken wall that connects the door of the Su family in the past, and the pair of stone lions covered with moss.

Whenever they saw the depraved picture, the people living in the town secretly sighed and wept, they couldn't bear to look at the desolate site of the Su family's mansion, and every time they passed by, they hurriedly walked by with their heads down.

But today, an old man in the town stopped and took a look, because this old man found that in front of the half-broken wall of the old site of Su Wan's mansion, there were four strangers standing. In particular, one of the sons, who was dressed as the son of a rich family, gently stroked the stone lion on the right side with his right hand, and sometimes let out a sigh.

There is no doubt that this is Xie An and his party.

"My lord, is this it?" Gou Gong asked in a low voice.

"Hmm......" Xie An nodded in response, ignoring the dirt on the stone lion, stretched out his hand to stroke the stone lion's head, and looked at the narrow space behind the stone lion that seemed to be able to shelter from the wind and rain.

Six years ago, on that snowy evening, he had curled up behind this stone lion. secretly scolded his own experience, secretly scolded him, why did he suddenly come to this strange era.

The cold wind and famine are coming, and Xie An still can't forget the scene of that year......

The woman who is as gentle as water, the beautiful woman who has the temperament of the sister next door. Holding the floral paper umbrella in his hand, he blocked the biting ice and snow falling from the sky, and the little white lotus-like hand reached out in front of him......

In front of her eyes, it was her sincere and gentle smile.

[No, sleeping here in such thin clothes will catch a cold......]

said. The gentle woman pulled him up, ignoring the dirt on his hands.

At that time, the white little hand was soft and soft, and Xie An still remembers it vividly.

"Ahem, Childe......" beside him. Gou Gong's slightly embarrassed cough was heard.

Xie An suddenly woke up when he heard the sound, and he realized that he had quietly raised his right hand and stretched it out into the air. As if trying to grab as much as possible, even though there is nothing in the air.

"Whew......" let out a long breath. Xie An took the handkerchief handed by Gou Gong and wiped the dirt on his hands.

Perhaps seeing the depressed mood of his own adults, Xu Jie pretended to be angry in order to break the heavy atmosphere, "Those damn guys, they didn't even let go of the mansion, and burned this to the ground with a fire......

"Hehe," Xie An smiled bitterly when he heard this, shook his head and muttered, "No, I set the fire......"

"Huh?" Xu Jie looked at Xie An in amazement.

Xie An didn't explain much, just turned his head to look at the ruins of the Su family's mansion......

"Have you thought about it?"

One night four years ago, Xie An also stood here, holding a torch, and asked the eldest lady of the Su family, Su Wan, who was behind him with tears on her face.

The painful look in her eyes made him feel as uncomfortable as a pinprick in his heart.

"If this fire goes down, there will be no way out for Miss, this Guangling, there is no place for Miss to stay......"

Probably noticing the hesitation and struggle in Su Wan's eyes, Xie An repeated again.

After half a cup of tea, Su Wan gritted her silver teeth, and a hint of determination flashed in her eyes.

"Xiao An, burn! ――At the moment, I am the only one left in the Su family, even if I keep this empty house, it is useless, it is better to just break my thoughts...... It is unfilial piety to burn down the ancestral house of the Su family, but if you can't avenge my Su family, it is a great unfilial piety! -- I have made up my mind, I want to go to Jijing and avenge my grievances in the Great Prison Temple! ”

"......" glanced deeply at this Su Wan, Xie An lit the firewood that had been prepared for a long time, and silently looked at the Su family's ancestral house that was on fire a moment later.

Looking back at Su Wan, the eldest lady of the Su family, who usually smiled gently, cried bitterly, tears couldn't stop sliding down her cheeks, and Xie An was very worried.

I don't know how long it took, Su Wan took a deep breath, raised her sleeve to wipe away her tears, looked at Xie An with a forced smile, and whispered in a tone that was still a little stalky, "Don't pass here, Xiao An." ”

As she spoke, she struggled to lift the bags with her seemingly weak arms, stumbling and staggering forward, but after taking a few steps, she almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, Xie An had already seen that something was wrong and stepped forward to help her in time.

"You...... What do you do......"

Looking at Su Wan, who was bowing her head in front of her, Xie An shrugged her shoulders and said with a smile, "I think the eldest lady still has something to say to me......

"I ...... I've just said goodbye to you......"

"Well, yes, and then?"

Su Wan raised her head and looked at Xie An, opened her mouth wordlessly, and said in an inaudible voice after half a sound, "I...... I am no longer the eldest lady of the Su family, and I can no longer afford to pay the money for hiring you......"

"That's not it!" Little fingers plucked out his ears, and Xie An said slowly.

Su Wan was shocked, and after a long silence, she cried a little and said, "Help me." Xiao Ann ......"

"Of course!" Xie An smiled when he heard this, gently helped the woman in front of him up, and comforted him in an almost oath-like tone, "Don't worry, I will definitely bring you to Jijing!" ”

"Xiao An......" Su Wan subconsciously raised her head and looked at Xie An in disbelief.

Probably seeing the guilt in Su Wan's eyes, Xie An smiled and said with a bit of ridicule, "I can't even carry such a thing." What else can you do? Let's go! Isn't the eldest lady going to Jijing? -- The eldest lady has never been far away, and the little one is really afraid that you will be deceived by gangsters on the road, tsk, that's not good! ”

It seemed that from Xie An's words of concern, there was a bit of flirtation, and Su Wanqiao's face couldn't help but blush slightly. Biting his lip, he whispered, "This time, I don't know how many days it will take, I have no ...... worthless"

"Then you owe it, and when you owe a certain amount, you can repay it yourself. The little one has been coveting the beauty of the eldest lady! - Hey, it seems like it's a bit of a danger to take advantage of people! Xie An said in a somewhat mocking tone.

"......" Su Wanqiao's face flushed slightly, and she looked at the domestic servant in front of her in surprise, who was one year younger than her.

"If you don't speak, you just promise?"

"I didn't ...... I didn't agree,......" Su Wan waved her hand in a little panic.

"Well, that's a pity." I don't know if I saw Su Wan's thoughts, Xie An picked her up with his left hand and said with a smile, "But." Even if you don't agree, I will escort you to Jijing. If you don't have money, you're not afraid, if you have a bite to eat, you'll never be hungry......"

"Xiao An......" Su Wan looked at Xie An with emotion.

She silently watched him carry his bags, and then stretched out his hand to her, she hesitated, held the hand that was not warm but made her feel warm, and then took a deep look at the ancestral house of the Su family that was on fire, and the two resolutely braved the cold wind and embarked on the road to Jijing.

"By the way, Miss, is Fang Cai very moved?"

"Hmmm......"

"Aren't you going to think about it?"

"Consider what?"

"Something very important, like a personal promise, a personal promise, a personal promise, or something...... I don't force it! ”

“……”

……

……

"A few ......"

A call interrupted Xie An's smiling memories, and Xie An turned his head to see an old man looking at the four of them with vigilant eyes.

Smiling slightly, Xie An arched his hand and said, "I don't know what happened to the old man?" ”

The old man looked at Xie An in surprise, and he was puzzled to find that there seemed to be a deep sadness buried in the other party's eyes.

"I'm afraid this son is a foreigner, right? I don't know what it is important to come to this town? ”

As soon as the old man's voice fell, Xie An walked out of behind him, it was Xiao Li, I saw him glaring at the old man, and said fiercely, "Old man, you are too careful, right?" - My son-in-law ......"

However, before Xiao Li's words could be finished, he was interrupted by Xie An raising his hand.

"Don't be rude," Xie An frowned and glared at Xiao Li, then smiled and said to the old man, "Rough people don't understand the world, the old man should not be like him...... The younger generation has the surname of the eldest grandson, a single name and a martial character, dare to ask the name of the old man? ”

Seeing that Xie An spoke softly and with a righteous gaze, and did not look like a villain, the old man was also relieved, waved his hand and said, "I can't afford to be honest, my old and lowly surname is Yu ......."

"It turned out to be Mr. Yu!" Xie An arched his hand when he heard this, and the etiquette was thorough, which made the old man feel good in his heart, after all, in his opinion, the other party's dress is amazing, and he may not be a rich son anywhere, and a big man of this status can be so thoughtful about the etiquette, which really surprised the old man surnamed Yu.

"Could it be that the eldest grandson has an old relationship with the Su family here?" The old man finally asked the doubts in his heart, after all, Xie An and his party had been standing here for half an hour.

"Ah, let's not!" Xie An smiled and nodded.

"Oh," the old man suddenly realized, nodded and sighed, "The Su family is all good people, but it's a pity that good people don't live long...... The husband and wife died unjustly, and the whereabouts of the eldest lady in the house are unknown, huh? Speaking of this, the old man glanced at Xie An suspiciously, and said in wonder, "The old man looks at the eldest grandson with a very kind face......

"Hehehe!" Xie An couldn't help laughing, in fact, he had long recognized this old man as the old man who set up a tea stall in the village and town, but he didn't contact it at that time, after all, Xie An didn't have time to go to the tea stall to eat tea at that time.

"Is the old man's tea stall still there?"

"Huh?" The old man was even more surprised when he heard this, looked Xie An up and down a few times, and then frowned and said, "I never thought that the son would know about the cheap business of the old man...... Forgive the old man for being clumsy. I really can't remember when I saw Childe......"

In fact, this old man Yu has not seen Xie An before, the problem is that Xie An has changed too much when he went to Jijing, whether it is appearance, bearing, or dress, he is no longer comparable to a family member of the Su family in Guangling back then.

Seeing that the old man couldn't guess, Xie An didn't say anything, but just took Gou Gong and the others to the old man's tea stall, after all, it was almost noon, and Xie An and the others also felt a little hungry.

may have a good impression of Xie An. The old man personally took them to the tea cup opened by his own house, and asked his son to entertain him warmly, after all, from Xie An's deliberate words, he knew that the well-dressed son in front of him was very likely to be a young man who had gone out of this town to make a living. In other words, it can be regarded as a neighbor.

Although it is a tea stall, it also sells wine and food, of course, compared to the restaurant in Jijing, the food here is ordinary and not high-grade, but Xie An feels an inexplicable warmth and peace.

Not much. Just as Xie An and the others were eating, a young scholar suddenly walked in the distance, wearing an indigo Confucian shirt.

The scholar glanced at the full tea stall and sighed regretfully. Suddenly, he walked towards Xie An's table, arched his hand and said to Xie An, "This son, can you allow you to fight the table below?" ”

Xie An didn't care when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw Gou Gong raise his hand. Pointing to the tables next to him, he said lightly, "I'll wait for a group of four people, three or two people at the adjacent table, you might as well go over there!" ”

The scholar was not angry when he heard this, he glanced at the people at the next table, and then his face showed a little embarrassment.

Xie An turned his head and looked at it a few times, and suddenly realized in his heart, it must be that this scholar didn't want to share a table with those people, after all, this is a tea stall in the countryside, and most of the guests are nearby people, watching them barefoot and shirtless, picking their toes with their hands from time to time during the meal, even Xie An felt that his appetite was greatly reduced.

"Convenient with others, convenient with yourself!" Smiling and speaking, Xie An motioned for Xu Jie and Xiao Li to sit on a bench and give up a seat for the scholar.

"Childe......" Gou Gong frowned and glanced at Xie An, his eyes seemed to contain some deep meaning.

I didn't know how to see Gou Gong's displeasure from time to time, and the scholar said with a smile, "I am under the ink words, the ink of the Mo family, and the words of the words, which disturbed the four of them, and my heart is very uneasy...... Buddy! As he spoke, he called the man at the tea stall, asked for a few pots of wine and five wine glasses, and then poured the wine himself, as if he planned to toast Xie An and the others to express his gratitude.

"Do it first for respect!" The hanging cup gestured to Xie An and the four of them, and the scholar drank it all very happily.

To be honest, Xie Anlai didn't care about the money for those glasses of wine, but seeing that the other party was so enthusiastic, it was not easy to refuse, and he was about to raise a glass, but he saw Gou Gong stretch out his hand and block him.

"......" Xie An looked at Gou Gong suspiciously.

I saw Gou Gong pick up the wine cup in front of Xie An, place it in front of the scholar named Mo Yan, and said coldly, "You might as well drink this cup yourself!" ”

Xie An naturally didn't think that Gou Gong would be idle and have nothing to do, and when he saw him so dignified, his heart chuckled.

Who is Gou Gong, who is a connoisseur who uses poison, could it be that the other party poisoned the wine?

But this wine was obviously served by Old Man Yu's son, and the other party had already drunk a glass first, it didn't look like it was poisoned, how could it ......

Thinking of this, Xie An turned his head to look at Xiao Li and Xu Jie, but saw that the two of them were also looking at Gou Gong with a puzzled expression.

"Drink, why don't you drink?" Looking directly at the scholar Mo Yan, Gou Gong said coldly.

A hint of discoloration flashed in the scholar's eyes, and he said with a smile, "This is the wine that respects this son, how can you drink it yourself?" ”

"Really?!" Gou Gong sneered, grabbed the scholar's right hand with his right hand and flipped it over, looked at the little white powder on his thumb and said with a sneer, "Smear poisonous powder on your thumb and smear the inner wall of the wine glass while pouring wine, I used these tricks ten years ago...... Such a crude trick dares to fiddle in front of me, and I don't know whether I am alive or dead! ”

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Li and Xu Jie also noticed that something was wrong, Xiao Li immediately stretched out his left hand and grabbed the scholar's clothes, but saw that the scholar leaned back and overturned the table with one foot, and at the same time, his right hand broke free from Gou Gong's shackles and grabbed the cloth bags belonging to Xie An and others on the table, but he didn't want to, Gou Gong had already sensed his intentions, and his left hand slapped the table, and even held them down with the wrapped cloth bag, at the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of their adult Xie An seemed to turn backwards, stretched out his right hand, and hurriedly held Xie An's back, This kind of dexterous technique is worthy of being one of the four big leaders of Dongling.

"Snort......" The cloth bag pulled by the unbearable scholar Mo Yan and Gou Gong made a painful tearing sound, and then, the entire cloth bag was torn in half, and a large number of silver tickets were spilled.

A hint of surprise flashed in the scholar's eyes, and he grabbed four or five of them, but suddenly caught a glimpse of a dagger flying from the side, reaching his throat.

So fast!

Scholar Mo Yan secretly screamed in his heart, and the whole person turned back, and was about to flee, but he saw Xiao Li and Xu Jie accompanying him, and the two daggers in his hands were pointing at his head.

Damn, aren't these two ordinary assassins?!

The first time they fought, Mo Yan chuckled in his heart, he thought that the other party was just an ordinary assassin, but he never imagined that those three people were not ordinary assassins, with one enemy and two enemies, he was in danger, you know, the other party is still a person.

Thinking of this, he didn't dare to fight anymore, sold a flaw, and ran away.

"Chase!" Gou Gong let out a loud shout, then turned to look at Xie An, and was relieved to see that his adult was safe and sound.

"Childe?" Gou Gong called softly.

"Huh?" Xie An didn't seem to have recovered from Fang Cai's accident, and looked stupidly at Xiao Li and Xu Jie, who were chasing the scholar away, and asked in amazement, "I'll wait for Fang Cai...... Robbed? ”

"Uh, this...... Childe, rest assured, the little one and the others will definitely be able to capture the thief! Gou Gong smiled wryly, in fact, he also underestimated the other party, and said that he knew this was the case, and he should have taken action as soon as possible.

"Forget it, let's call Xiao Li and Xu Jie back, the other party's martial arts are not low, and they can't be caught easily, so let's spend money to buy a lesson at that time......" Speaking of this, Xie An shook his head with a smile.

What is this called?

Seeing that the scholar was in trouble, he thought that his identity was exposed, and the Taiping Army sent someone to assassinate him, but he didn't expect that the guy was staring at the money in his cloth bag.

Sure enough, wealth is not exposed, and revealing whiteness is bound to make people with hearts worry.