Many years later, in the face of Emperor Tianxing's desperate blow of exchanging his life for his life, Luo Chuan will remember the distant afternoon when he was blocked and robbed by a group of bandits.

At that time, he was only fifteen years old, holding the letter of recommendation in one hand and the marriage certificate in the other, driving an ox cart alone, carrying heavy luggage, all the way to Chaoyang City, the capital of Zhaoguo.

The Upper Realm, or the "Spiritual Realm" as it is known to the local population, is unpredictable and unpredictable.

Yesterday was still sunny and the sun was shining.

However, in the afternoon, thick clouds squeezed violently from nowhere, entrenched over Gyeonggi, and with a deafening command from Lei Gong, it turned into a waterfall and collapsed down, vowing to turn the world into a Zeguo.

Luo Chuan put on a hat and came to the side of the official road to take shelter from the rain. Although the bullock cart was propped up to keep out the rain shelter, the wind still swept over with impunity, carrying raindrops and smashing on the wooden boxes and sacks, making a crackling sound.

The newly made silk garment on his body was soaked by the rain and clinging to his body, making him feel a chill and sneeze several times in a row.

But he wasn't depressed.

In the Lingxiao realm, heavy rainstorms often symbolize the appearance of dragons, implying soaring yellow and soaring.

Now that Luo Chuan has left his hometown and gone to Chaoyang City, the capital of Zhaoguo, to seek a future alone, his eyes instantly became extraordinarily bright when he saw the rain.

However, just as he was immersed in his fantasy of a better life in the future, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly sounded, pulling him back from his thoughts to reality.

Luo Chuan followed the prestige, only to see a group of bandits appear on the road ahead like ghosts.

They were dressed in silver-white light armor, and their black cloaks fluttered in the wind, like underworld soldiers pouring out from the depths of the dark night, with an unstoppable arrogance.

The mounts of these bandits were tall and mighty, and their hooves tread on the muddy roads, but they did not splash a trace of sewage.

In the hazy rain curtain, they silently formed a circle around Luochuan.

It was as if an invisible umbrella was propped up above their heads, and when the rain poured down, it automatically diverted and slipped down to both sides, so that their bodies did not get a drop of water, and their clothes hunted with the wind.

"I opened this mountain, I planted this tree, if you want to live from now on, leave to buy road wealth!"

The bandit led by him waved his horsewhip, rode his horse forward a few steps, and came to the front of Luo Chuan.

This is a young man in his early twenties.

The face is like a crown of jade, and the eyes are like stars; Qiluo bead shoes, slow belt light fur.

The corners of his mouth are naturally upturned, and he has an uninhibited smile when he is not smiling.

But the most striking thing is not his handsome appearance, nor his luxurious robes.

It's his long hair that flutters in the wind and is scattered over his shoulders—

It is not the black of ordinary people, but the brilliant silver-white, dazzling like flowing stars in the gray rain and mist.

His princely and beautiful appearance formed a strong contrast with the extremely clichéd line of a thief in his mouth.

Luo Chuan's father died early, he grew up under the care of his mother since he was a child, and he never left his small mountain village, where have you ever seen such a posture?

He turned pale with fright, stiffened, and did not dare to move in the slightest.

Seeing this, the bandits swarmed up, rummaging through his luggage, trying to find a few valuable things from the large and small sacks and boxes.

However, for the next period of time, every time the bandit opened a piece of luggage, a disappointment would add to his face.

"Boss, he seems to be a poor bastard, and he is covered in a bunch of!"

"Hey, I thought I could make a windfall, but I didn't expect it to be such an unlucky person, it's really unlucky!"

“……”

Soon, the ox cart was filled with all sorts of things: rusty iron pots and basins, patched coarse cloth clothes, worn straw sandals, deflected pens, broken inkstones, and bamboo mats with dog-like edges......

The white-haired youth's gaze moved back and forth between Luo Chuan, who was dressed in splendid splendor, and the pile of garbage-like debris, and the corners of his mouth hooked into an elusive smile.

"Looking at your brand-new clothes, your white and clean looks, and this pile of luggage that almost crushes the ox cart, I thought you were a rich kid who was accidentally left alone.

"I didn't expect you to just show you for nothing."

Hearing his words, Luo Chuan immediately stammered and begged for mercy: "Dada...... My ......, my king, I...... I'm just a pauper from Fishtail Village, and I'm ...... I don't have a lot of money on me, this ...... This dress was borrowed by your mother, and you ...... Just leave me alone......"

As the saying goes, "children travel thousands of miles and mothers are worried".

When Luo Chuan set off, his mother stuffed almost all the pots and pans, bed sheets, spring and summer clothes into his luggage, for fear that he would starve and freeze when he went out.

Luo Chuan felt that if conditions permitted, his mother would probably be eager to pack her up and take her away, just to be able to boil water and cook for him every day in the capital and take care of his daily life.

In addition, his mother was afraid that he would be disregarded because of his shabby clothes and that he would be hindered from entering school, so she borrowed money from a neighbor and bought a fine silk cloth to make a beautiful new dress overnight.

The dress was brightly colored, smooth and delicate to the touch, and felt as if liquid was flowing on his fingertips, which was completely different from the coarse cloth shirt he had worn before.

When he first put on this new dress, Luo Chuan felt fresh, his whole person was refreshed, and his chin was raised a few points higher than usual.

The white-haired youth ignored Luo Chuan's pleas for mercy.

After a while, one of the bandits' subordinates took out two old envelopes from Luo Chuan's luggage and handed them to the white-haired young man.

Seeing the two envelopes, Luo Chuan's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he jumped up from the ground suddenly, stepped on the muddy ground, and rushed towards the white-haired youth.

He shouted as he ran, and his speech became fluent: "King, you can take whatever you want with other things, you can move them all, but don't take those two envelopes, that's my lifeblood, without them I'm finished......"

The white-haired young man narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Luo Chuan coldly.

Luo Chuan suddenly felt as if he was being tightly bound by an invisible rope, and he could no longer take a step forward.

At this moment, the white-haired young man stretched out his finger and took out a yellowed page from the first envelope.

His movements are elegantly and extravagant.

Like a young king, leaning over to pluck a dew-stained moon in the early morning garden.

While the white-haired young man slowly unfolded the paper and lowered his eyes to read carefully, Luo Chuan felt that the other party was not looking at the words on the paper, but examining his past.

The silence was short-lived.

But in Luo Chuan's perception, it seems that a long time has passed.

I don't know how long it took, but the white-haired young man finally spoke slowly: "I really didn't expect that you, a poor bastard from Yuwei Village, would have a friendship with Commander Xu of the Zhenbei Army. He is willing to write a letter of recommendation and recommend you to the three major academies in Chaoyang City! ”

"My father was a soldier in the Zhenbei Army during his lifetime," Luo Chuan honestly explained, "and he fought in the Battle of Qiyu Castle, and finally died of exhaustion, and died heroically to save his comrades.

"This recommendation can be regarded as Commander Xu's reward for my father's contributions."

The white-haired young man nodded, seemingly agreeing with Luo Chuan's statement.

Then, slowly, he opened another envelope and pulled out a large red piece of paper.

It is a very festive color, which is particularly prominent against the gray sky.

"Then explain again, why is Zhen Shaofu, the Hou of Guannei, willing to marry his daughter to a poor bastard like you?" After the white-haired young man read the contents of the paper several times, he looked at Luo Chuan with playful eyes again, and deliberately bit the three words "poor barehead" very hard.

"Zhen ...... Marquis Zhen was the comrade-in-arms of my father who saved his life back then," Luo Chuan replied, "In order to repay my father's kindness, he personally came to my house that year and made a marriage contract with my mother.

"Later, he made many military exploits, and his career climbed all the way, and soon he soared and was named a marquis by the imperial court."

"I see," the white-haired young man said, "So you went to Chaoyang City to enter the three major academies to practice, and by the way, you married your fiancée Zhen Huishu?" ”

"Exactly."

Hearing his fiancée's name, Luo Chuan lowered his head, revealing a hint of youthful shyness on his face.

He never met his fiancée.

But every time he sees the name "Zhen Huishu" in the marriage book, he always sketches in his mind the image of a woman with a good face and a demure temperament.

He had imagined her sitting in the small courtyard with fragrant herbs, gently stroking the harp, her slender white fingers beating nimbly on the seven strings, flowing a melodious and moving melody.

Suddenly, she raised her head and glanced at him from a distance, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, and her smile was kind, like the morning sun, bright but not dazzling.

He also imagined that she was wearing a goose-yellow dress, gently holding his arm, and strolling together in the sea of lights of the Lantern Festival.

The breath on the tip of her nose condensed into a white mist in the cold air. The colorful lanterns reflected in her eyes, like a vast and boundless sea of stars.

"Do you think you'll be able to do these two things successfully?" The white-haired young man asked again.

"I don't know," Luo Yang replied, looking a little unconfident, "maybe...... I guess it works! The Zhen family cares about reputation, and they shouldn't break the contract easily; Since Commander Xu is willing to write me a letter of recommendation, my bloodline talent should not be so bad that I can't pass the assessment......"

The white-haired young man looked at him, as if something had suddenly come to mind, and was silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh.

"Pack up your things and give them back to him!" The white-haired young man commanded the bandits.

"Boss, then we braved the rainstorm to go out this time, didn't we run for nothing and didn't catch anything?" The bandits seemed to be a little unhappy with his orders.

"Tiankui, Lu Cun, you have been on this mountain for a long time, do you really think that you are the kind of low-level bandits who are hungry for food?" The white-haired youth squinted at them.

His voice was not harsh.

But the thief who was called by name couldn't help but shudder and shook his head again and again.

Obviously, the white-haired young man has accumulated great power in the ranks of bandits, and no one dares to disobey him.

"You must remember that we have gone up to the mountains to do things that rob the rich and help the poor, and do the right thing for heaven," he was heard pause, and continued, "It is different from those who burn, kill, loot, and do all kinds of evil!" ”

When the thieves heard this, they nodded yes.

And after hearing these words, what Luo Chuan thought in his heart was: This group of bandits is actually nicknamed by the stars in the sky, but they are a little more cultured than ordinary bandits!

By this time, Luo Chuan had regained his mobility.

The white-haired young man turned over and dismounted, walked up to him, and handed him the marriage letter, the recommendation letter, and a cloth bag that had appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry, this time we did something wrong," the white-haired young man reined in his previous arrogance and said sincerely, "These few taels of silver should be regarded as an apology for you!" ”

"No, no! I can't take this! Luo Chuan was taken aback by his actions and retreated again and again, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

In this world, Luo Chuan has only heard of bandits robbing passers-by of money, and has never heard of bandits giving money to passers-by.

He clearly remembers that when he left the house, his mother whispered in his ear: "You can't take other people's money casually, you can't owe other people's favors casually, there is no benefit in the world for no reason, and everything owed must be repaid." ”

As if amused by Luo Chuan's frightened reaction, the corners of the white-haired young man's mouth were slightly hooked upward.

"The poor young master of Fishtail Village," he said in a slightly mocking tone, "do you really think that your trip to Chaoyang City will be as smooth sailing as you imagined?" In addition to your talent, haven't you thought that other factors may also hinder you from entering the academy and marrying a daughter-in-law? ”

"Other factors?" Luo Chuan was a little puzzled by this.

"For example, have you ever thought that in addition to the assessment, the academy in the capital will also set some other invisible thresholds for you?" The white-haired young man said, "For another example, have you ever thought about why Zhen Shaofu has been able to rise step by step and become a dignitary in Beijing over the years, but he has turned a blind eye to you, a poor quasi-son-in-law, and is not even willing to fund you?" ”

Luo Chuan frowned.

The words of the white-haired young man were too complicated for the fifteen-year-old. He was a little puzzled for a moment.

"You don't have to think about these words for the time being, when you experience more things, you will naturally understand," the white-haired young man said over and over again, while forcibly stuffing the cloth bag containing broken silver into Luo Chuan's hand, "You better keep this money first!"

"I bet that when you get to the capital, this money will definitely come in handy."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Then you can bring them back here and pay them to me."

"But my mother said I couldn't just take other people's things—"

"—I command you, take it!" The white-haired young man suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Otherwise, I will tear up your marriage letter and recommendation letter." ”

Luo Chuan shuddered, grabbed the cloth bag, and didn't dare to refuse again.

"That'...... Then thank you to the king," he stammered in a trembling voice, "dare to ask the king's name and where he lives...... So that I can come to you later to return the silver taels......"

"Our camp is on the Dragon's Back Mountain next to it," the white-haired young man smiled slightly, "as for the name...... The common name has been forgotten, you can call my Taoist name 'Ziwei'. ”

"Ziwei ......"

Luo Chuan silently muttered this word in his heart, only feeling that the white-haired young man in front of him was really arrogant and lawless.

Zi Weixing is the honor of the middle heaven and the leader of the stars, and is often regarded as a symbol of the emperor.

The white-haired young man takes "Ziwei" as his road name, is he the emperor who claims to be the emperor of the world?

However, the white-haired young man didn't care about what Luo Chuan was thinking.

Before Luo Chuan came back to his senses, the white-haired young man jumped on the horseback lightly, his long hair was like a flying silver lian, and then he gave an order and led the bandits to gallop away in the direction of returning to the camp.

As the sound of the horses' hooves faded away, Luo Chuan only had time to see their backs gradually disappearing into the depths of the rain curtain. The back became more and more blurred under the rain, and finally completely melted into the gray sky, and there was no trace of it again.

About a quarter of an hour later, the rain stopped.

The clouds dispersed in all directions, and the world gradually became more translucent, with thin clouds clinging to the frozen blue sky, and the green hillsides were stacked on top of each other, and the air was fresh and moist.

It seems that this rain, with the bandits, came and went with them.

came and went, and cleaned the world all over again.