Xunyang City, there is a remote street far away from the downtown area, called the old cicada street, as the name suggests, most of the people who live here are old people, the old cicadas in the cold autumn, and they are always singing, nothing more.

In Qingteng Lane, Old Cicada Street, the white-haired old man and the white-eyed Wei Chi Hyun walked together. Walking to a courtyard, the old man stopped, raised his hand and signaled Yu Chi Hyun to go to the wine shop at the entrance of the alley in front of him to wait, and then the old man turned to face the courtyard and looked carefully.

The yard is very empty, there are not many weeds, and it doesn't look like no one is taking care of it. There was an old man in the courtyard who moved a deck chair to lazily bask in the sun in the yard, and the old man put his hands on his sleeves and held a small wine gourd in his belly, which was very pleasant.

Outside the courtyard, the old man looked at the old man basking in the sun in the courtyard through the staggered fence, and after a long time, he folded his hands in front of him and bowed slowly.

"Sir once asked me not to ask about the three northwestern states, and also promised to make the three northwestern states an iron plate, and the northern and southern spears could not pierce it, and now it seems that Sir has never broken his promise."

The old man in the courtyard glanced at the people outside the courtyard, lying on the chair and had no intention of moving, after a few breaths, the old man said slowly: "You're welcome, just take what you need." ”

"It's good that you haven't interfered in the affairs of the Northwest all these years, and now if you want to infiltrate again, I won't interfere too much. After all, the current Gu Qianqiu is just an old drunkard who can only drink. ”

The old man outside the hospital straightened up and said, "Mr. said he laughed." ”

"Jokes?"

The old man who claimed to be Gu Qianqiu lifted his sleeves and sneered: "Joke, you will come to me Gu Qianqiu so soon?" Your Dark Pavilion is very capable, and you can find my traces in Xunyang in this muddy water with just a few words I let out. If I give you some clues, won't Yu Chi-hyun not have to go, but come to knock on my courtyard door? “

The old man outside the door smiled but did not speak, and Gu Qianqiu reciprocated with the same smile. Across a fence wall, two old men stood one and the other lay down, like two old foxes who had become spirits.

After a long time, Gu Qianqiu restrained his smile, feeling the warm sunshine sprinkled on his body, he slowly patted the back of his hand with one hand, and said slowly: "Now Qi Yang is very powerful." Jiang Li and Ji Yueman, one dark and one bright, one outside and one inside, almost cast Qiyang into an iron bucket, coupled with the old and immortal 'Four Hall Pillars', the seven families that originally had the opportunity to empty the entire Sikong royal family now seem to have become the object of cannibalization. ”

Outside the courtyard, the old man said: "Even if it is an iron bucket, there are almost independent Northwest Three Prefectures and the Xiju Plateau inside the iron bucket, and there are enemies everywhere outside the iron bucket, plus the seven major families who have always been restless. Qi Yang's situation is not as worry-free as Mr. said. ”

Gu Qianqiu smiled but said nothing.

The old man continued: "Twenty years ago, I accepted my husband's proposal and chose to let go of the world for twenty years. I didn't move the three states in the northwest, and I also let them survive, in the south, the soldiers and horses never crossed the Yishui line, and in the north, only the two lines of defense in Liaozhou and Qunzhou were strengthened. Now that twenty years have passed, the world is still in turmoil, so this agreement with Mr. has come to an end. ”

Gu Qianqiu said: "What, do you think that with Jiang Li, Ji Yueman and others, you can manipulate the whole world?" Or do you think that you can do whatever you want in Zhongzhou with just 30 years of national strength? Or have you seen that kid and thought he could fulfill your ambitions, so you want to snatch him from me as the cornerstone of your dominance? ”

"Sir, we'll see. What is the future of this world, who said it well, I used to take my husband's advice, but what I can see is still the treacherous waves of this world. Now I want to take a different path, a path that I once abandoned. But the gentleman is right about one thing, I must take that child away, no matter what means are used. ”

After the old man finished speaking, he took three steps back, then turned to leave.

Behind him, Gu Qianqiu looked at his distant back and laughed silently, "What a pride, Sikong." For people like you, ambition will never go away. One day the fire in your heart is extinguished, and that is when you fall. ”

Gu Qianqiu silently got up from the recliner, uncovered the wine gourd in his hand and took a sip of wine, then pushed open the door.

There is not much furniture in the house, and it is very empty, which can almost be described as a house with four walls. There was a large table in the center of the room, and a young man named Sikong Yulong was sitting upright.

The old man, whose real name was Gu Qianqiu, walked from the door to the large table, on which was a short sword.

Gu Qianqiu picked up the short sword and looked at it, and said, "Tell me how you got this sword." ”

Sikong Yulong told Ziliang Dao's sights and hearings one by one.

The old man said with interest: "Do you know the origin of this sword?" ”

Sikong Yulong shook his head.

"What about the identity of the stall owner?"

Sikong Yulong continued to shake his head.

"I don't know."

Gu Qianqiu sat down on the chair opposite Sikong Yulong, threw the short sword on the table in front of him, and said, "Do you want to know who the person I saw outside just now is?" ”

Sikong Yulong said lazily: "I'm not interested." ”

Gu Qianqiu glanced at Sikong Yulong and continued, "Then what if this person is related to your life experience?" Or may I put it another way, and part of the answer to your mother's death lies in this man? ”

Sikong Yulong's eyes were suddenly sharp, and one hand buckled on the hilt of the Shenxia Sword like lightning.

The young man stared at the old man, and a cyan lotus flower slowly bloomed from the sword grid.

A sword turns to Qinglian.

The old man slowly stretched out a finger and said with a smile: "Lei Chisheng Lotus, the progress is not small, do you want to try it?" If you can make a cut in my finger, old man, I'll tell you all about your mother. Didn't you always want to go to the imperial capital of Chang'an? No problem, as long as your kid is capable enough, I won't stop you in the future. ”

Sikong Yulong looked at the smiling old man, took a deep breath after a moment, and slowly let go of the hand holding the hilt of the sword.

"It's useless."

The old man gave a short and concise evaluation. Putting the short sword on the table into his sleeve, the old man immediately said: "Sometimes, it is good for young people to be able to endure, but the master still has to give you a word of advice. You Lao Tzu was so dashing when he was young, and then he had to endure it, and he painted a prison on the border of the north for 20 years, and now it seems that what is the use? My Gu Qianqiu's disciple, what basket can't be poked? Where in the world can you go? Chang'an is only, the center of the world, one day, you will definitely walk on that high platform. ”

"I'll keep this short sword first, it's not something you have a chance to use right now. Last time I sent you a message, the 'Dragon King' of the Northern Desert, how did you think about it? Bring him to me, and I will give you a chance to stir up the world. The three northwestern states are not going to be peaceful, and this is a good opportunity for you. I heard that you promised Lu Weixian that kid to enter the Qilin Tower, huh? ”

After getting Sikong Yulong's accurate answer, Gu Qianqiu nodded, "Lu Wei's congenital nature is acceptable, and it is worth befriending, although it seems that he is a little unprofessional, but if something happens in the future, he will stand up first, maybe it will be this child." If you want to build momentum in Xunyang, of course I don't object, but the two chess scriptures are not a trivial matter, and there is no bargain for a 30-year-old 'burning snow' in Liaobei. ”

Sikong Yulong nodded expressionlessly, but in fact, the corners of his eyes were already trembling. The famous wine in northern Liaobei 'burns snow', the wine is cold and strong, the price is all over the sky, there is no market, this old man is still going to be thirty years old. After turning over Lu Weixian's genealogy in his heart, Sikong Yulong saw that the master had already stood up and unveiled the table.

The top layer of the table resembles a wooden cover, with a layer underneath. Unveiled, Rao has seen it many times, and it is still a vast scene that surprises Sikong Yulong.

The whole table is a chessboard, with chess pieces scattered all over the place, 31 vertical and horizontal, ancient and modern.

This chess set was placed in front of Sikong Yulong when he was six years old, and he has not dropped or changed a single chess piece over the years. In the face of such a chess game, just by looking at it, it seems that he will be led into a bottomless abyss. Whether it is the nineteen chess that is prevalent today, or the more cumbersome and treacherous twenty-one chess that prevailed earlier, it is completely inadequate in front of this game of chess. In the vertical and horizontal thirty-one art, whether it is the chess shape, external potential, or layout, and fighting, they have all reached an unbelievable point. This is not something that can be inferred by common sense, and its operation even contains the mysteries of all things in the world.

The old man pointed to the center of the chessboard and said slowly: "The past is more than a thousand years, from the perspective of the Daque Dynasty to the present, unless it faces the danger of sinking mountains and rivers, no matter how reckless a country is, it will not be able to swallow this piece of Zhongzhou in one gulp." The world only knows that in the lion and wolf battle forty years ago, the 300,000 troops of Qiyang did not defeat the Xiqi, and the 110,000 troops did not take the capital, but I don't know how many forces attacked and harassed inside and outside Qiyang, forcing Qiyang to give up the dark offensive and defensive battle of the Xiqi Emperor's capital. No one wants to see a Qiyang with great martial arts after the annexation of the Western Qi Dynasty, just like no country dares to look directly at the Dapeng Dynasty that had Wen Li Bai and Wu Yang Xiao at the same time six hundred years ago. As long as Qi Yang is given ten years to consume the national strength of the West Qi and the family power of the seven surnamed princes, Qi Yang will really start the Northern Expedition to the South, and then it may be another scene of mountains and rivers sinking, and Qi Yang will have a chance to stand out and return to the Mandate of Heaven. ”

Gu Qianqiu said that he was rising, uncovered the wine gourd and took a sip of wine, and slowly moved his fingers to the side of the chessboard, "The north and the south are both an inch of mountains and rivers and an inch of blood. The mountains and rivers in the south are thousands of miles of trees and seas, and there are groups of spirits. The Chang'an fire one hundred and forty years ago not only created a hard-headed Xiqi and the Southern Dynasty that was trampled by horses' hooves in just 30 years, but also a large number of people fled into this intricate southern wilderness, where bed crossbows and mountain crossbows have been erected for a hundred years on the mountain walls. Compared with Xiqi here, there is just one less Li Yuanhao and one Kou Qinan, but there are three more points of killing and three points of treachery. ”

Finger moved to the other side, "There is no need to say more about the north, the northern people are ranked first in the world in cavalry warfare, foot combat, and charging formation, and you should have a deep understanding." The arming of the northern line alone has exhausted the efforts of Qiyang's previous strategists, not to mention advancing to the north, and it is very difficult to get out of the 100,000-mile wind and sand. And in terms of the emperors of the world alone, the one in the north ranks second on the martial arts list, which can be called an iron-blooded sentence and unparalleled in the world. ”

……

A chess game that encompasses the whole world, with the fingers of the old man, the wind surges.

After a while, the old man who had already put down the wine gourd closed his eyes and whispered: "The hegemony of the dynasty is over, but it's a pity that my old man only seeks a living, not a national chaos, what does it have to do with me?" ”

"Go, the information of the 'Dragon King' has been delivered to your residence, go back and take a good look at your opponent. The Su family kid is about to return to Xunyang, he has gained a lot this time, but his combat power has declined, which is not a good thing for this trip to Xiangyang, you have to grasp it yourself. The Lotus Pagoda rang the bell a few days ago, did you hear any clues? Take the time to check it out, your friend is back, but maybe it's another trip soon. It's not easy to be a hero, and it's even more so for heroes, Su Tiantian's obsession, Lu Weixian's arrogance, your father Sikongyue's twenty years of painting the ground as a prison, the wrist of the city lord Su Mantang's hidden needle, the three-hundred-year changes in Qiyang, the thousand-year-old prosperity of Zhongzhou, Sikong Yulong, you can see these, but can you afford it? ”

……

After a long time, when he walked out of the fence yard, Sikong Yulong suddenly felt lost, as if his mind had traveled far away for a long time, his face had not changed, but his heart was old, like a stubborn stone about to crack.

Walking to the mouth of the alley, Sikong Yulong suddenly glanced back in a ghostly manner. This alley, this old house, and the wine shop filled with the strong aroma of wine, how many years has this picture been there?

The old man who will always wait for him in this old house, this name that will never appear in the official history.

He said that there are ten things in the world, God knows one point, the earth knows one point, and the other eight points are rotten in his stomach.

He said that he was halfway through the world.

He has a loud and sloppy tone. He was an old drunkard with an apprentice who didn't make it out. He has been immersed in a game of chess for 14 years, but he has not lost a single piece for 14 years.

Qingteng Lane, Old Cicada Street, Xunyang City.

His name is Gu Qianqiu.