Mao Jingrun was woken up by the wind, more precisely, by the river breeze, and he was now lying in a flat boat, and the master was holding a long bamboo artemisia to push the boat forward.

The moonlight sprinkled on the river, although it was late at night, but the moon pass illuminated the river very clearly.

"Where is this?" Mao Jingrun stood up and took the bamboo artemisia from the master's hand.

"Awake? We're going to Ningzhou. The old blind man had no work to do, and sat down at the bow of the boat and drank.

Taking a sip of strong wine, it also reminded the old blind man, and asked with a smile: "How does it feel to drink for the first time?" ”

Mao Jingrun was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and the kung fu in his hands slowed down: "It's very spicy, but it's very enjoyable!" ”

"Come on, that's right!" The old blind man laughed, "Young and young are worried, and when you have worries in the future, it will be a taste to drink again!" ”

The two of them edged their edges and went with the wind.

——————————————————————

Ningzhou Jianshui Ancient City, this place is a border city, in the Xia Kingdom is the foundation of the southwest, in the Hua Kingdom, it is the place that can not be bypassed to open the door of the Xia Kingdom.

The important position of the ancient city of Jianshui led to the destruction of its three towers in the north, south and west in the war, and it was restored in the 81st year of the summer calendar, and then damaged again. Only the Chaoyang Tower at the East Gate, although it has experienced many wars and earthquakes, has been nearly 600 years and still stands majestically.

Many pedestrians in the city noticed this old and young stranger, and the young man was stared at by these people with some hair, and asked the old man next to him a little strangely: "Master, we didn't provoke anyone when we first came here, why are the big guys staring at us?" ”

The old man just shook his head silently: "I don't know, it's the first time I've come to Ningzhou." ”

The young man decided to find out the truth from the local population, came to a small vendor selling bamboo rice, and asked in authentic official dialect: "Auntie, how do you sell this bamboo rice?" ”

The aunt stopped whispering with the surrounding vendors, and looked at the surrounding vendors with some pride, as if to say that it was better to eat my bamboo tube, and the guests from other places took a fancy to it at a glance.

So the aunt enthusiastically introduced to the two guests: "My bamboo tube rice is five boards, which is made of bamboo and five-color rice grown by myself, which is the only food in Ningzhou, and you have never tasted this little brother in the Central Plains." ”

When the young man saw the aunt talking about what he wanted to know, he was very interested: "This aunt, come to two." But how do you know we're from here? ”

Seeing that the young man was doing his own business and didn't sell it, the aunt quickly took out two steaming bamboo tubes and handed them to the guests, while saying, "Be careful of scalding!" This little brother, I saw that you and this gentleman were originally from it, because there are many kinds of insects in our place, so we will wear local unique herb sacs in Ningzhou to repel insects and ward off evil spirits. ”

The old man who was listening quietly on the side seemed to be interested, and said with a smile: "Since we are here, we should follow the local customs." Boss, I don't know where this herb bag is sold? ”

"Herb sacs, you can find a pharmacy to sell them." The owner of the bamboo rice patiently explained.

After the young man paid the money, he gave a portion of the bamboo rice to the old man next to him, and left here under the gaze of the passers-by.

The young man and the old man were Mao Jingrun and Ouyang Zhen, who had just come to Ningzhou.

Mao Jingrun ate the bamboo rice in a sullen voice, and did not make a sound, but the silent old blind man on the side asked first: "Don't you wonder why I took you here at a distance?" ”

Mao Jingrun's mouth was stuffed with five-colored rice with the fragrance of bamboo, and he said inarticulately: "Master naturally has Master's reason for doing this, I just need to do it." ”

"You rely too much on outsiders, you have to be suspicious of things at all times, so that you can live well outside in the future." Although the old blind man put on a preachy tone, his smiling expression still betrayed himself very much.

"Master, I will pay more attention to it in the future. So why are we here? Aren't we going to Kinoshita Academy, which is in Kyoto? "Mao Jingrun is learning and using.

"Jixia Academy will hold the entrance examination on September 28, the birthday of the saint every year, and now we don't have time to take the ordinary examination regularly, but in a border place like Ningzhou, the news is not very popular, so many years ago, the sages and gentlemen of the academy discussed that the entrance examination in the border place could be postponed for three months, which is why I brought you here thousands of miles away." The old blind man answered the doubts in his disciple's heart.

Mao Jingrun actually wanted to ask the reason for this matter for a long time, but if the master didn't take the initiative to say it, he would never ask.

The two found a pharmacy and bought a hundred herb bags to wear, and prepared to find an inn close to the place where the entrance examination would begin the next day to rest, but they didn't expect the inn to be overcrowded, and the master and apprentice had no way, so they found an inn six or seven miles away from the place of the entrance examination to live.

At night, candles are lit in the room, and the dim candlelight brings a little light to the room.

By the time the master and apprentice settled down, it was already late at night, the guest room was very quiet, the old blind man was sleeping on the bed, and Mao Jingrun was lying on the ground on the bedding that he had asked the innkeeper for before, and he couldn't sleep.

I have seen a lot of things along the way, but tomorrow is the first important assessment in my life, and in the past, I only need to be a good disciple of Master.

Tomorrow, I will compete with the talents who gather in a continent, and even the geniuses in front of the teachers of the world's first academy, how can I stand out from this group of people if I am not good at expressing myself?

Maybe he was woken up by the sound of Mao Jingrun constantly turning over, or maybe the old blind man didn't fall asleep at all.

Mao Jingrun forced himself to squeeze his eyes, but the mellow voice of the old blind man came from his ears: "Run'er, can't you sleep?" ”

"Well, Master, I can't sleep, and I don't know what I'll take tomorrow?" Mao Jingrun is a little lacking in confidence, and his voice is also a weak mosquito.

"There's nothing to worry about, the content of the exam is different every year and in each place, no one will know, speaking of which, when my senior brother and I took the exam under the leadership of my master, I was also a little uncomfortable." The old blind man recalled the past and wanted to take this opportunity to alleviate the anxiety in his apprentice's heart.

Mao Jingrun was aroused by curiosity: "Master, have you also taken the entrance examination?" ”

"Yes, I was a teenager like you back then, and my master took me and my senior brother to take the entrance examination, but we took it in Yangzhou at the time."

"Master, do you still have a senior brother?" It was the first time Mao Jingrun had heard Master mention his senior brother today.

"Yes, I have a senior brother, my senior brother is a child of a wealthy family, he is free and easy to take the entrance examination, it doesn't matter if he takes the exam or not, but at that time, I had a deep hatred of blood in my heart, and I cherished every opportunity, so at that time I was almost the same as you are now, and I was very worried."

Mao Jingrun didn't interject when she heard this, and listened quietly to the master.

The old blind man paused, as if recalling the long past, "My senior brother is extremely dissolute, and he took me to the Qinglou to drink flower wine the night before the entrance examination, and he also got acquainted with a senior, who never thought that senior was actually the chief examiner of our examination. When he saw us the next day, he called us little friend, which made my cheeky brother a little embarrassed. ”

Mao Jingrun smiled and asked Master, "Master, when you went out so late, didn't your Master say anything?" ”

"My master? In the middle of the night, we simply drank together until dawn. "The old blind man mentioned this interesting past in front of his apprentices, but it was also a special taste.

No wonder the master's temperament is so free, it turns out that his master is such an uninhibited person, fortunately, the master met them, and in that dark day, there were a lot of joyful colors, right?

"Master, Master, where are the Master and Master Uncle now? Can I meet them? Mao Jingrun asked impatiently.

The old blind man held his hand and put his head on it, "Your master is in Jixia Academy now, and when you arrive at the academy, you will naturally have the opportunity to meet him." As for your ancestor, I went overseas to visit immortals more than ten years ago, and there is no news of him so far, but there will always be a chance to meet him. ”

"What is the master doing in Jixia Academy? Teach students classics or swordsmanship? ”

"No, he teaches the gentleman of the academy."

“。。。。。。” Well, this master is really tough, and he is also a person with a very high status, I don't know if he can accept himself.

"Don't worry, you can find him for anything when you get there, he is the most protective person in his life." The old blind man remembered that he had been contaminated with a lot of karma for revenge when he was young, and there were many things that his senior brother wiped his ass behind his back.

"Master, can you continue to tell me the story of your youth?"

"What's the matter? Still sound exciting? Okay, then I'll move on。。。。。。。 ”

End of chapter