The den of thieves in Diancui Mountain was suppressed, and the bandits were either killed or imprisoned, and after the news came back, the entire Nanyang City was boiling.

After receiving the news of the fireworks, the officers and soldiers attacked the mountain from all sides, and after a day and a night, they finally completely destroyed the entire cottage.

However, these things have nothing to do with Xue Hongbi.

Although Li Mingke took people up the mountain has been blown up by the returning companions, firstly, Xue Hongbi's methods are hidden, and secondly, he is young, except for Li Mingke, who witnessed him doing it, no one else takes this half-grown teenager seriously, which allows him to continue to live in peace.

On the second day after returning to Nanyang City, Xue Hongbi did not go home first, but knocked on the courtyard door next door.

Li Mingke stood next to him, separated by three steps, and looked at it without saying a word, and hesitated and thought about it several times in his heart, but it turned into a look in his eyes.

Yesterday, Xue Hongbi was still respectful and polite to her, but today she treated her as air, and only changed her face when the courtyard door was opened, turning from expressionless to smiling like a flower, so that the woman who opened the door was happy at first sight.

"Auntie!" Xue Hongbi took out the plum vegetable baked cake specially bought on the road as if she was juggling, "Last time Sister Yan said she wanted to eat this, I brought it to her!" ”

"You child...... "the woman said angrily, "and she said, "What are you spending all this money for?" ”

Having said that, the sadness on her face also dissipated a little, and she took the oiled paper bag and beckoned the two of them to sit down.

The two neighbors, the courtyard of the house is similar in size, but there are more sundries piled up here, and vegetables and flowers are also planted in the yard, which looks more pyrotechnic, and Li Mingke noticed that these things are a little awkward, and many flowers and plants are withered, and it looks like they have been neglected for a while.

In addition, she also saw a white cloth hanging outside the door, indicating that there was a mourning in the family.

The woman was obviously very busy, and she was already familiar with Xue Hongbi, so she brought them two bowls of hot rice soup and hurried into the house, except for the two of them, there was only one girl in the courtyard who was munching on the baked cakes.

This girl is only four or five years old, some of her face is yellow and thin, she has not eaten anything good for a long time, and she devoured it, so that Li Mingke couldn't help but hand over the rice soup, for fear that she would choke.

After she finished eating, she raised her little face stained with sesame seeds, and said to Xue Hongbi in a glutinous voice: "Thank you, Brother Xue." ”

Xue Hongbi wiped her face with a handkerchief, looked back and saw that the woman was still busy in the house, reached out and touched it in her arms, took out a piece of jade pendant and handed it to her, and said, "Put it away." ”

Li Mingke was stunned for a moment, this jade pendant was searched from the corpse after Xue Hongbi killed the second master, originally she was still muttering, but now take a closer look, this jade pendant is not good at carving, it is better than the jade material, and it has been for some years.

The girl reached out and took the jade pendant, looked at it, and suddenly began to cry.

Before the woman heard the sound, Xue Hongbi had already pulled Li Mingke away quickly, and only the child's intermittent sobbing sound could be heard through the courtyard wall.

Li Mingke looked back with a somewhat complicated expression: "What is that?" ”

"I told you, there is a head catcher next door to my house, I call him Uncle Liu, the husband and wife are very good, the family is old and young, all rely on him to live, but when our mother and I first arrived in Nanyang City, he helped a lot, and he was a warm-hearted and righteous person." Xue Hongbi sighed, "Two months ago, the government was ineffective in suppressing bandits, he and another head catcher were arrested, and the second boss wrung off their hands, feet and necks, and then threw the corpses back to demonstrate...... The prefect is a greedy man who is afraid of death, and if he doesn't have two headhunters, he will lose two dogs, but his family is like a pillar without him, Uncle Liu's father is paralyzed, and his aunt supports the family alone, and Sister Yan is still ignorant. ”

His tone was a little light, but Li Mingke heard a handful of resentment and sadness from it, and his heart suddenly became uncomfortable.

"That jade pendant is the heirloom of the Liu family, Uncle Liu said when he was alive that he would give it to Sister Yan, but he couldn't find it on his corpse, so he thought it was taken by the bandits. If it weren't for this, the aunt of the Liu family would have taken the old and the young back to her parents' house, she stayed in Nanyang City just to see the fate of the gang of thieves, and now the lost property has been returned, and the murderer has been ambushed, and she can finally cry happily. These things were held back in Xue Hongbi's heart for too long, and after he finished saying it like pouring beans into a bamboo tube, he looked up at Li Mingke, raised his hand and bowed without saying a word, and saluted her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Li, but I took advantage of you this time." Xue Hongbi said sincerely, "I promised Sister Yan that I would find her father's jade pendant, and I also swore in front of Uncle Liu's grave to avenge him and repay his kindness, but I am weak alone, and I can't count on this incompetent prefect, if I don't meet you, I'm afraid I will miss the appointment...... Although there is a reason for the incident, I calculated your kindness and put you in danger, which can be regarded as revenge, and I will admit that you want to beat and punish you. ”

He lowered his head and admitted his mistake, Li Mingke lowered his eyes and looked at it for a long time, and suddenly asked, "Did you calculate your mother's incident?" ”

Xue Hongbi smiled bitterly: "I don't dare to have the calculation of fifty taels of silver, but if it weren't for that, I would have to find another way to talk to you last night." ”

"How old are you?"

Xue Hongbi didn't expect her to ask this question, and was stunned for a moment before saying, "Thirteen." ”

Even if he is thoughtful and ruthless, in the final analysis, he is still a big child, and he still has a sincere heart with clear grievances.

The doubts and mustards that had risen in Li Mingke's heart since last night finally disappeared at this moment.

"Then I forgive you." Li Mingke leaned down to eye contact him, "I forgive you for being calculating, and thank you for helping me slash my enemies." ”

Xue Hongbi's eyes widened slightly, and the girl's smile was reflected in her eyes, as if she had walked from the cold winter to the warm spring at this moment.

Li Mingke also took out a piece of jade pendant from his waist seal and handed it to him, saying: "I won't tell the third person about last night's incident, but my promise remains the same, you take it, if you ask me for help in the future, go to any place in the world to leave a letter at the helm of the Zhenyuan Dart Bureau, but if you ask for something, you will never shirk it." ”

After that, she rubbed Xue Hongbi's hair like touching a kitten, and turned away with a smile, leaving only the shadow of the black dress and the saber on his waist sinking under his eyes.

This is the first time Xue Hongbi has seen the shadow of a hero, not from the sword shadow of the heroes of the rivers and lakes, nor from the legends of the teahouse restaurant, just a girl with light eyebrows, a knife that is not invincible, and brought the four words "happiness and revenge" to his life for the first time.

Xue Hongbi raised his hand in the direction Li Mingke left, gave a fist salute, and said softly, "Take care." ”

The wind took away this blessing, and also blew away the dark clouds over Nanyang City, the morning sun has been revealed, and the sun is full of light.

Xue Hongbi's somewhat cold body gradually warmed up, he rubbed his face, and then pushed open the courtyard door of his house.

As soon as I entered, I saw that Du Sanniang, who was still drunk last night, had already woken up, sitting alone in the courtyard reading a yellowed book, and when I heard him push the door in, I didn't look up, and turned a page by myself.

As for the Yellow Book...... Xue Hongbi has a total of two bookcases in his house, the left side is neatly filled with his poems and scriptures, and the right side is stacked with Du Sanniang's Huantu scripts.

Seeing this, Xue Hongbi first turned around and went into the house to make a pot of tea, and then went to get a plate of sugar cakes that he was reluctant to eat, and then turned back to the courtyard, respectfully put the refreshments on the table, and said obediently: "Mother, eat tea." ”

Du Sanniang didn't look at him, but held a book in one hand, and a piece of dim sum in the other, and drank tea after eating, I don't know how interesting the book was, so that she didn't even blink her eyes, Xue Hongbi didn't urge, and stood obediently on the side as a wooden stake, as stable as Mount Tai on the surface, and up and down in her heart.

By the time Du Sanniang finished eating the snacks and drinking dry tea, the sun had already risen, Xue Hongbi stood in a cold sweat on the spot, and she didn't dare to move under her feet.

Du Sanniang finally looked up at him, the corners of her mouth suddenly pulled, and the copy of "Chu Waist Light" suddenly took off her hand and smashed her head. Xue Hongbi didn't have time to marvel at the talented and beautiful woman who caught a glimpse, and the book slapped him in the face like a slap, Rao was already prepared, and the whole person was also slammed, snorting and stuck in his throat, and his face hurt hotly.

Xue Hongbi saw Du Sanniang's expressionless face, and knew that she was really angry this time, so she knelt down without saying a word.

Du Sanniang said coldly: "Where did you go last night?" ”

Xue Hongbi didn't dare to deceive her, and said: "Shangdian Cuishan killed people and set fire, I killed two thieves with my own hands, one of which was the leader of the bandits." ”

With a "snap", Du Sanniang slapped him to the point that his head was slightly offset, and his eyes were full of anger: "How did I tell you about my life before?" ”

Xue Hongbi recited one by one: "Don't meddle in things, don't cause trouble, and never use martial arts unless you encounter a danger of life and death." ”

"And how did you do that?" Du Sanniang slapped him again, the original calm illusion was torn apart, and he was trembling with anger, "I taught you martial arts to protect yourself, I have only found a place to live after taking you away for so many years, I will let you leave those irrelevant people alone......"

"Uncle Liu is not an insignificant person." Xue Hongbi had two red slap prints on his head, his tone was not impulsive, but it was even more annoying than that, "When we first came to Nanyang City, we were penniless, he took us in, whether it was me studying or you doing business in the past five years, he has helped a lot, without asking for anything in return, and he is the closest person I have been to in the past thirteen years besides you." ”

"Then you don't want to die for him? You've forgotten what you really are, and you've forgotten what our mother and son are living! Du Sanniang slapped her palm on the table, shaking the dishes and slamming, "Xue Hongbi, are you used to living a peaceful life in the past five years, have you forgotten that five years ago we were hiding in Tibet like rats?" ”

Xue Hongbi's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her straight neck slowly softened.

Of course, he did not dare to forget.

Xue Hongbi is a little precocious, and his memory is earlier than that of ordinary children, since he was three years old, Du Sanniang has been taking him everywhere to wander, avoiding the crisis for unknown reasons, the most impressive time was when he was seven years old, Du Sanniang disappeared inexplicably for three days, and he didn't dare to go out to find it, relying on a little water and food to survive in the cramped wooden house where he temporarily sheltered until the fourth day, only to see the scarred Du Sanniang crawling back with a roll, and left without saying a word.

Before coming to Nanyang City, they had not lived a peaceful day, that life was unbearable, even if it was a nightmare, Xue Hongbi did not want to hide in an ambush on all sides.

"It took me eight years to travel half of the Dajing River to find such a place to stay, he died and died, you still have to avenge him and take yourself, why don't you want to think about the leakage of our whereabouts, everything will come to naught now!" Du Sanniang's eyes were bloodshot, "Xue Hongbi, you are a bastard, and now you dare to stand up for others before the milk smells dry, how much skill have you learned?" Have you ever thought that if you die on that mountain, I'm afraid I won't even be able to collect your body! ”

Xue Hongbi let her beat and scold, and waited until she took a breath before she said: "If I can't even repay this bit of revenge, I can't repay this kindness, no matter how much I learn, I will learn from a dog, and I will be a man in vain." ”

Du Sanniang's anger, which had not yet been suppressed, "rubbed" the ground and rose again.

However, this time she raised her slap high, but she couldn't take it anymore, she stared at Xue Hongbi's unrepentant face, the look in her eyes changed, she didn't know which string in her memory she touched, and slowly put down her hand.

"Yes, you are powerful, you know right and wrong, and you are many times better than my cold-blooded and selfish mother-in-law." Du Sanniang said indifferently, "What kind of bamboo shoots are out, like your chivalrous and short-lived father." ”

This sentence was like a wasp tail needle, piercing Xue Hongbi's heart fiercely.

Yes, Du Sanniang has raised him for thirteen years, and has served as the closest and most important role since his birth, but she is not his mother.

Xue Hongbi had only seen his biological parents in his infancy, and now he had long forgotten them, and he didn't even know their names, and Du Sanniang never wanted to say it, so he only got such a surname and a set of unknown external skills.

Those who chased and killed them seemed to be widely spread all over the world, Xue Hongbi couldn't remember how many overt and secret crises he had encountered since he was a child, and these were all related to his parents who died early, every time he stepped on the edge of the blade, Du Sanniang always dealt with the injury while scolding and scolding what he didn't understand, but he never left him behind.

Du Sanniang stabbed Xue Hongbi with this sentence, and also stabbed herself, there was still a fire in her stomach to be released, but now she couldn't vent it, she looked at Xue Hongbi fixedly for a long time, and suddenly asked: "How many people who have seen you use force are still alive?" ”

Xue Hongbi felt creepy at this sentence, and he suddenly looked up at Du Sanniang, only to see that his eyes were surging with murderous intent, like a poisonous snake about to burst out of the swamp.

“…… Nope. It took him a long time before he squeezed these two words out of his throat.

"You're lying." Du Sanniang stared at Xue Hongbi's curled little finger, "I think about it, those bandits are innocent, and there is no need to worry about being bumped into by you, only the eldest lady of the Zhenyuan Dart Bureau, she is young and still a good person, you can't go down ......"

"Mother!" Xue Hongbi interrupted, "She promised never to talk about this matter in front of a third person, and she has no grievances with us, please let her go!" ”

"You beg me?" Du Sanniang pulled the corners of her mouth sarcastically, "Since I was a child, you haven't even begged me for a piece of candy, and now you want to beg me for her?" ”

"Human life is not the same as sugar." Xue Hongbi's ten fingers tightened, "It doesn't matter if you eat less sugar or not, but if you die, you really have nothing." ”

What's more, Li Mingke is a kind-hearted person, there are not many people like her in the world, even if Xue Hongbi has only been with her for less than a day, I wish her a long life.

Xue Hongbi didn't say the last sentence, but Du Sanniang seemed to understand.

She looked at Xue Hongbi condescendingly for a long time, until his knees ached faintly, and then she sighed in frustration and turned back to the room.

In the next three days, Du Sanniang did not go out again, and neither did Xue Hongbi.

The mother and son live under the same roof, Du Sanniang reads her idle books in addition to eating, drinking and sleeping, and Xue Hongbi is also doing her own things next to her, which seems to be warm and affectionate, but in fact, there are no more than five words to communicate.

Du Sanniang knew that he was staring at herself, afraid that she would find an opportunity to kill Li Mingke.

However, what Xue Hongbi didn't know was that Du Sanniang was also staring at him, beware of him wanting to escape from the high sea and wide rivers and lakes that day he went.

Silly boy. She secretly said in her heart that only innocent and ignorant children will yearn for the rivers and lakes, and every time-tested Jianghu knows that the so-called rivers and lakes are a big quagmire, but if they are in it, no one is innocent and no one is at peace.

But there are so many fools who step into the rivers and lakes one after another, some give up halfway, and some do not regret it until they die.