There is a small courtyard in De'an Mansion that has been empty for many years, and it is said that it was bought by a wealthy merchant in the south, but it has never been inhabited.

A few months ago, a chubby woman moved in with two children and a few subordinates. It seems that the men of the family are still doing business in other places and do not live together.

The woman is very low-key and rarely goes out.

It was already a child, and Mu Zi appeared at the door of this house, her hands and body were covered with blood, and the half of her face without a mask was a little haggard.

Reaching out and knocking on the door, a crack opened in the door, and a man with a sleepy face appeared at the door, which should be the next person of the family.

"Girl, who are you looking for?" The subordinate was a little wary of the woman in red in front of him.

Mu Zi smiled: "I came from Jiujiang to see your master's mother." ”

The subordinate was even more alert: "See our mistress? Who are you? ”

"If it's inconvenient, I'm gone. This big brother, help me bring a message to your housewife. ”

"What?"

"Dongsha is dead, live in peace." After saying that, he placed a heavy cloth bag at the door.

In the cloth bag was the money she had saved up over the years, and it was useless to keep it, so she gave it to the poor woman in the house.

Watching the woman in red walk away, the subordinate picked up the cloth bag and closed the door with a mutter.

Walking on the empty street, Mu Zi felt unprecedentedly relaxed, as if life should be like this.

…

In the wee hours of the morning, a ship on the Han River was moving slowly.

There were few guests in the cabin, and a girl in white was lying on the side of the boat, with one hand supporting her head, and her eyes were blankly watching the flowing water. The ferry is just ahead, and the boat is slowly approaching.

The boatman struck the gong twice and shouted, "It's time to Xiangyang!" Ladies and gentlemen! Pack up and get off the boat! ”

The girl in white put her bag on her back and led the old horse to get off the boat with the flow of passengers.

Before dawn, the guests looked for inns and tea shops by the ferry. The girl in white was different from them, and she rode her horse in the direction of Xiangyang City.

During this time, she had a very fulfilling sense of loneliness. I've seen a lot of scenery, but there is no one around me to share it with.

The horse was already very old, and if she hadn't paid for it, the horse would have become a meal. The old horse was not physically strong, and he had to rest for a quarter of an hour after riding, not so much as a mount, but a companion she had found for herself.

Recently, the area around Xiangyang has not been peaceful, and I heard that a group of mountain bandits from the north have robbed a village and often harassed pedestrians passing by.

"Or," said the maiden to the old horse, "let's be a fool, for with my ingenuity it will not be a problem to become a feared female demon in two years." Let me tell you, that's what I did in Jiujiang some time ago, and if I wanted, I could have set up my own village. ”

The old horse was tired again, and the girl jumped off the horse and led it to find a piece of grass. After a night's boat, this beast has long been tossed by the wind and waves of the river.

The east is starting to turn white, and the sun is coming out. She was not in a hurry to walk, but simply let go of the reins, and let the old horse wander in the meadow, she found a big tree, sat down against the trunk, and rested her feet.

I was thinking about what famous places to visit around Xiangyang, when I suddenly heard noisy footsteps on the road behind me.

She looked for prestige, and saw seven or eight dirty men striding down the avenue, each with a large rough blade hanging from his waist, which was not a serious person at first glance.

The girl sighed, and said in her heart that she was this fate, and she would be in trouble wherever she went. She took out a silk scarf from her bosom to cover her face, hoping that the rammers didn't notice her.

But it didn't work out, and it was hard not to be noticed by a slender girl in white clothes sitting on the side of the road at this point in time.

The big men glanced at each other and gathered around with lewd smiles.

The big man led by him cleared his throat, spat out his phlegm, and asked with a smile: "Little lady, are you in a hurry?" ”

The girl clenched the dagger in her cuff and said without raising her head, "Why can't you get along with yourself?" Isn't it good to live well? What are you doing to provoke me? Do you know who your aunt is? ”

These words successfully amused several big men.

"Yo, it's brutal enough, I like it. Tell me, what's it called? ”

"My name is Li Fenglan."

Several people were stunned for a moment, and then began to laugh: "Are you Li Fenglan?" That guy picked up the treasure and just caught you. ”

Li Fenglan raised her head and smiled: "Don't say that my aunt didn't give you a chance." ”

Li Fenglan had already made up her mind that she would run by herself when they were ready to make a move, as for the old horse...... I'm sorry, I hope this group of gangsters won't put you in the pot.

"The little girl has a very hard mouth."

It seems that she can't be scared of this group of people, so let's slip away.

But before she could slip away, the sound of clothes flying suddenly sounded behind her, and a cyan figure blocked in front of those gangsters, and she couldn't help but draw her sword and stab. The man in Tsing Yi was very clever in swordsmanship, and seven or eight big men were caught off guard by him. When he saw that he was not defeated, he took the road and fled.

The man in Tsing Yi turned his back to Li Fenglan and collected his sword in a dashing manner.

Then he turned to look at Li Fenglan.

It turned out to be a woman, and she was very gentle-looking.

Li Fenglan stood up, clasped her fists and said, "Thank you sister for your help." ”

"Sister?" The man spoke, his tone a little disdainful, "Do I look like your sister?" ”

Li Fenglan was taken aback, because the man's voice was a man!

"Are you...... Male? ”

The man frowned, as if he was a little angry: "Isn't it like that? ”

"Like ...... Like ......"

At this time, Li Fenglan noticed that he was indeed a man. When he was fighting just now, he was a man, but as soon as he turned around, Li Fenglan saw him as a woman. Zhu Mingyu is just a boy and a girl, this person God made a mistake with his head and body, and they don't match. Coupled with his slender figure, he suddenly saw that he was really a woman.

He should not be very old, at most fifteen or sixteen, but he is very tall. The white face is beardless, the Adam's apple is not obvious, and it is still in the stage of voice change, and the voice is difficult to hear.

The man said, "Be careful, don't run around alone in the girl's family, how dangerous it is now." ”

After speaking, he turned around and left, leaving a sentence: "Sister, you can wait for more people on the official road to follow you." ”

Li Fenglan was stimulated by the word "eldest sister", but she had nothing to say, after all, people helped her.

Li Fenglan asked loudly: "Thank you Gongzi for your help, but who is Gongzi's surname?" The little girl will repay her later. ”

The young man stopped, turned around and replied, "My name is Chen Ziyang, and I am from Xiangyang. Also, eldest sister, don't call yourself a little girl when you're so old. ”

Li Fenglan held back her anger and said to herself silently: Hold back, people have helped us, so we can't be angry.

After Chen Ziyang finished speaking, he turned around and continued to hurry, his hands behind his back, and the long sword in his hand rotated at will...... This posture of turning the sword, Li Fenglan has seen it, and it is very familiar. Jade will have some subconscious small movements, such as intentionally or unintentionally holding the sword to play with the flower when rushing with the sword, this action was learned from Chen Tong. And the actions of the two of them are exactly the same as this young man.

Chen Tong is a native of Xiangyang, this kid's surname is Chen, is it possible......

Li Fenglan hurriedly rode on the old horse and caught up with Chen Ziyang.

Chen Ziyang glanced back when he heard the footsteps, frowned and asked, "Sister, why are you following me?" ”

Li Fenglan had a bright smile on her face: "Little brother, how old are you this year?" ”

The young man looked disgusted: "Fifteen, what's wrong?" ”

"You said you were from Xiangyang, and my sister asked you, is your swordsmanship a family heirloom?"

The young man was alert, stopped, pulled out his long sword, and pointed the tip of the sword directly at Li Fenglan: "Who are you?!" ”

Li Fenglan smiled slightly, supported the horse's back, and the whole person jumped up gently, put her toes on the saddle, and slowly squatted down: "Did you guess it?" ”

Chen Ziyang's eyes widened: "This light skill...... You are Emerald! ”

"Are you stupid? What color do you see I'm wearing? ”

Chen Ziyang's face was grim: "Don't follow me, I have nothing to do with you." ”

Saying that, he walked forward quickly, wanting to get rid of Li Fenglan. Li Fenglan jumped off the horse and came to Chen Ziyang in a flash: "Don't run, if you are a child of the Chen family, you still have to call me sister." ”

Chen Ziyang wondered: "Doesn't my aunt only have one daughter?" ”

"I'm a goddaughter."

"That's none of my business, my aunt...... Your mother has insulted the family, and she is no longer our Chen family, don't mess with relatives. ”

Saying that he was about to leave again, Li Fenglan stopped him again: "What is insulting to the family?" ”

Chen Ziyang sneered: "She didn't mention it to you? ”

Li Fenglan shook her head.

"You ask her to go yourself, I don't bother to tell you."

flashed past Li Fenglan again, the young man's footsteps were faster, and this time Li Fenglan didn't catch up.

She sighed and said to herself, "Yes...... I don't have anything to do with them anymore, so what's the use of caring about that? ”

After speaking, he turned his horse's head and walked in the direction of Xiangyang City.

The boy heard her words to himself, and stopped again.

"You say...... You have nothing to do with them? Do they mean Changfeng Tower? ”

Li Fenglan replied: "Yes." ”

"But I heard that Li Fenglan and his party are in Yangzhou, but I haven't heard that you came to Xiangyang alone."

"I'm not Li Fenglan, my name is Cinnabar."

"But I heard you just tell them that your name is Li Fenglan."

"I heard you ask!"

Li Fenglan rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know what has happened to your Chen family over the years, since you have stayed away from this dispute, don't get involved." You haven't seen me today, so forget all the things I just said. ”

"Hey!" Chen Ziyang shouted, "What are you doing in Xiangyang?" ”

"It's nothing, just passing by."

"You...... Can...... Come home with me? ”

Li Fenglan wondered: I didn't want to have anything to do with myself just now, why did I suddenly invite myself to his house again?

Seeing that Li Fenglan was puzzled, Chen Ziyang explained: "My father's name is Chen Tianhe, and he is Chen Wanru's younger brother. ”

"Chen Wanru? Who? ”

"It's Chen Tong, she changed her name herself to show her determination to sever ties with the Chen family."

"She used to ...... Is it called by that name? "Quite a gentle name.

"That's right. Sister, are you going to my house or not? ”

"Didn't you just want to get involved with me?"

"But you said you have nothing to do with Changfeng Tower...... You come with me to meet my father, although the people in the clan don't want to see Chen Wanru, but my father has missed her very much over the years. You can just come in quietly with me and tell my father about her over the years...... The old man's health has not been good in the past few years, and he is afraid that he will not be able to last for a few years. ”

Chen Ziyang's words were sincere, and Li Fenglan couldn't refuse, so she had to say, "Lead the way." ”

In fact, Chen Ziyang is a child who talks a lot, but he is a bit of a stinky fart unique to boys of this age.

"Eldest sister, let me tell you, you are also half of your own family, and it should be no problem to tell you this...... In fact, it was not as rumored that she avenged her father, so what. My grandfather was talking to someone and got hurt accidentally, and that's it. Our Chen family has never provoked right and wrong, and she poked out such a big basket by herself. Grandpa couldn't get angry, so he kicked her out of the house. In those years, she also provoked so many enemies, and many people came to the door over the years. Our family motto is...... Far away from you, and you will never be able to come and go. But I think it's too much, it's not like this, I think my grandfather is vindictive, they are all like this, my father, my grandfather, and her, I heard that the temper is more stubborn than the other. It's been so many years, as for it? You said yes, big sister. ”

Li Fenglan finally couldn't help it: "You call me Sister Lan can die?" One big sister, am I forty this year? ”

"No, I call my eldest sister when I'm under twenty, and I'm called aunt when I'm over twenty."

"Can you find a daughter-in-law like this?"

"My mother said that I was born good-looking, and there is no shortage of daughters-in-law."

"You have time to go to Zhongnan Mountain, find Qingfeng Temple, there is a Taoist priest named Zhan Tianhong in it, you go and chat with him."

"Why?"

“…… Nothing. ”