Eighteen years ago, the winter solstice.

Whew~~

The cross wind swept through the endless snowfields outside Liangzhou Pass, and a round of crescent moon hung at the end of the sky, and the miserable white moonlight illuminated the endless land.

Between the wastelands, a bonfire is lit, and next to it is a makeshift triangular tent made of oilcloth, with two horses tied to a stake.

Two men in sheepskin coats sat on the floor around a campfire.

One person holds a wine bag in his hand, wears rabbit meat with a wooden stick, and roasts it on the fire.

The person opposite was holding a silver hairpin and rubbing it gently, with a black-sheathed old knife inserted by his side.

The man roasting rabbit meat, after picking up the wine bag and pouring a big sip, spit out white mist from his mouth and nose, and looked blankly at the northern snowfield:

"Yuanfeng, you've been looking for a month, what are you looking for, at least talk to me."

The man opposite, in his early thirties, is quite handsome, named Pei Yuanfeng, and is also called Zheng Feng on the rivers and lakes, but these have long been a thing of the past.

The current Pei Yuanfeng is just a prodigal son in a border city who is far away from the rivers and lakes and the world, and travels aimlessly.

Faced with the inquiry, Pei Yuanfeng put away the silver hairpin, took the wine bag and took a big sip:

"I'm looking for a herb, called Snow Lake Flower, which grows on the shore of Tianlang Lake and blooms in winter."

"You say that every time, my Yang Dynasty has been in the border pass for more than ten years, and I have never heard of such a thing outside the gate. Even if there is, I heard that there is a war on the north side of Tianlang Lake, and the soldiers are in chaos, just the two of us have three-legged cat martial arts, and we have to be pulled strong in the past......"

Yang Chao, who was in his early thirties, nagged alone for a while, and when he saw that Pei Yuanfeng didn't speak, he said curiously:

"Yuanfeng, I see that you have fine skin and tender meat, and you are also literate and can write couplets, like a rich man in the city, why can't you think about it, and come to this poor and remote land?"

"I am the second in the family, and I want to inherit the family business, but I don't give it to my father, and I am not convinced and quarrel. I wanted to get ahead and go back, but I mixed it up, so I didn't have the face to go back. ”

"There's no face to go back to. can't be famous, I know that I am two pounds, so I honestly hand it back to be the second uncle, help the eldest brother take care of the family business, and I am still the second-in-command in the family......"

Thundered......

As he was talking, there was a roar from the snowfield, and it was like a muffled thunder rolling from afar.

Yang Chao handed the roasted rabbit meat to Pei Yuanfeng, and then lay on the snow, his ears on the ground:

"It seems to be the Northern Liang Border Army...... I guess there will be another war, so let's go......"

Pei Yuanfeng pulled out the dragon ring head knife from his side, untied the reins and turned over to the horse, and glanced to the north:

"You enter the customs first, and I'll look for it."

"Then you have to be careful, don't collide with the Northern Liang soldiers...... Drive-"

Hoofs Hooves Hooves –

After Pei Yuanfeng saw Yang Chao go away, he rode his horse and continued to march towards the north, and after walking for less than half a mile, he saw a chaotic battlefield at the end of the snowfield, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.

Pei Yuanfeng sat on his horse with his knife and looked out, but did not get close, bypassed the area where the two armies were receiving the enemy, and continued to march towards Tianlang Lake.

But after walking a few miles, I heard a faint cry from the snowfield:

"Wow-"

Pei Yuanfeng hesitated for a moment, and drove his horse to a hill in the snow field after following the sound, but saw a lonely carriage moving slowly in the ice and snow.

There were more than a dozen arrows among the horses pulled, and the same was true on the carriages, in which a banner hung in front of the tattered carriage, on which faintly the ancient emblem of a tribe was faintly visible, and from which the cry came:

"Wow-"

Pei Yuanfeng walked quickly to the carriage, lifted the curtain to check, but saw a person dressed as a servant lying in the carriage, with an arrow on his back, leaning against the corner of the carriage and already out of breath.

And the servant was holding a swaddling baby in his arms, and inside was a little baby, howling and crying.

Pei Yuanfeng turned over and dismounted into the carriage and picked up the baby, but saw that there was a small package next to the servant, which contained a lot of jade medicine bottles.

Pei Yuanfeng carried the package with the baby in his arms and came to the snow hill to look, the desolate snow field was uninhabited, and only the distant war remained, gradually spreading here......

——

Soon after, Liangzhou Biansai, Honghe Town.

The old town was covered with heavy snow, and at night there was no sign of people, but a cry could be heard in a small dart board in the corner of the town.

"Wow-"

In the backyard wing of the dart game, the dim lights are on.

Yang Chao stood in front of the table with a bowl of hot goat's milk, and kept chanting:

"Little Ancestor, don't howl, come and drink milk......"

Pei Yuanfeng brought hot water, poured it into the basin, tested the temperature of the water with his hands, and then opened the jade medicine bottle and poured a few drops into it:

"This kid seems to have something wrong with his body, and he doesn't need to soak in this medicine, so he keeps crying; Let Lang Zhong in the town look at it, and he can't tell what kind of medicine this is, and he doesn't know how long he can live......"

Yang Chao held the milk bowl and fed it to the baby's mouth:

"I see that this baby is very strong, it is estimated that it is a medicine to nourish the body, and I don't cry when I soak it comfortably."

After Pei Yuanfeng finished feeding, he picked up the little doll and put it in warm water.

Yang Chao stood in front of him and looked at it, and saw that the little doll was not crying or making trouble, but also looked left and right, and said with a smile:

"This doll is smart when it looks at it, and the finch is also big, and it can't grow up. I haven't seen my father and mother come to look for it, I'm afraid I'll have to raise it in the future, do I have to give him a name?

"I have to take one, what's it called?"

"Hmm...... Why don't you be my Yang family in the future, and my surname is Yang, my name...... The past is over, and in the future, it will be called Yang again, and start again......"

"Wow-"

"Hey? Still not liked? So what do you want to call it...... Yang Big Bird? ”

"The crying is so loud that people who are noisy at night can't sleep, so let's call it shocked......"

Pei Yuanfeng turned his eyes to look at the far north, thought about it and then said:

"Night Terrors."

"Night Terror...... Nice......"

——

Four years later, the year was closed.

In the small dart game in Honghe Town, because of the addition of a smart and clever little doll, there was originally only a lifeless atmosphere, but it was much more active.

Raising a baby is a delicate job, and it also burns money, so Pei Yuanfeng, who used to be running around all the year round, settled down, put all his mind on the business of the dart board, and recruited seven or eight dart masters.

At the end of the year, more than ten people gathered in the dart bureau to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and the sister-in-law Lin next door, carrying the little sixth son who had just turned one year old, was cooking in the kitchen, while the four-year-old young owner was standing behind, holding a sugar gourd in his hand, teasing the fat boy on Sister-in-law Lin's back.

"Tang, there's a cannon fight outside, why don't you go out and have a look?"

"Only children fire firearms......"

"Hehe, such a big doll, she talks like a little adult......"

Compared with gradually embarking on a regular dart game, Pei Yuanfeng, who served as the big boss, gave up what he wanted because he focused all his energy on his adopted son, and he dispersed in one breath and became increasingly depressed.

Before the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner was over, Pei Yuanfeng returned to the backyard alone, sitting alone under the eaves, looking at the dragon ring lying on his knees in a daze; After only a moment of silence, drunkenness struck and he fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, when all the dart masters dispersed and the entire dart game was quiet, there was a soft sound of 'squirming', which suddenly woke up Pei Yuanfeng, who was drunk and dreaming of death.

When I opened my eyes and looked at it, the lantern under the eaves gave off a faint light.

A little doll full of aura, with a bench under his feet, holding a sheepskin jacket for going out, resting on him.

found that he woke up, and said in a milky voice:

"Go to bed, what if you get sick from the cold."

Pei Yuanfeng blinked, he had never felt 'father's kindness' before, but at this moment, he suddenly understood what 'Zixiao' was.

After a moment of silence, he grinned and raised his hand to rub the little doll's head:

"Shocking, do you want to be a master?"

"It's not good to fight and kill, the son of the family at the entrance of the town was stabbed to death because of a fight with someone......"

"Practicing martial arts is to protect the family and defend the country, not to fight and kill. It's better to have a knife in your hand than to be unable to keep your home when you can't do it, I'm from here, you must remember this. ”

"Oh......"

"Moreover, in these years, a man who is powerless is not an ordinary grievance. If you don't practice martial arts, you look so good-looking, and when you grow up in the future, you will be snatched away by the group of mountain kings and daughters outside the town, and those ones have arms thicker than your thighs......"

“……”

"Heh~ I still know that I dislike it, and I prefer beautiful girls? There are no beautiful girls in Honghe Town, the most beautiful girls in the world are all in the capital, they have no worries about food and clothing since they were children, they all look big and have big buttocks, and they have big breasts and enough milk......

"Where is the capital?"

"In the southeast, after crossing the Qingjiang River, you will arrive. What do you think? If you want to practice martial arts, I'll teach you sword techniques. ”

"Hmm...... Good. ”

"Humph! Practicing martial arts is not child's play, go to an hour to take a step! ”

"Huh?"

……

——

It's been another four years in the blink of an eye.

It was early summer, Honghe Town, located in the Great Gobi in the northwest, the earth was earthy yellow, and there were not many green trees or pedestrians to be seen.

On the banks of the small river outside the town, after being beaten three times a day for four years, he stood alone on the knee-deep rocky beach, smashed the rocks in the river with a sledgehammer, and then turned them over and picked up small finger-sized fish from under the stones.

On the rocky beach not far away, several women from the town were washing their clothes and chatting casually:

"Listen to my man, the current emperor is a woman, and she just took over the ...... a few days ago."

"Can a woman be an emperor?"

"Why can't a woman? Look at the oil mill, the mother-in-law is very fierce, she can't be scolded for half the street, the man is as thin as a chicken, isn't that a woman in charge......"

……

On the edge of the river, there is also a small bamboo basket, which is lit with hay, and an ugly bird covered with gray fluff is lazily lying in the bamboo basket, looking like a hemp ball from a distance, and is looking at the small fish strung with dogtail grass in the hands of the night terrors:

"Twitter ......"

"I know all day long, if you gain weight again, be careful that someone steals it for the New Year and stews it......"

"Goo......

"Hey?"

When the night terror found the little chick that was picked up, it even responded, and when he looked back, his eyes were full of surprise.

Before he could figure out why, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar:

Hoofs hooves dack......

Night Terror Hall looked up, but saw that at the end of the official road, there was a horse running from afar, heading north, the horse was very majestic and mighty, and it was very different from the ordinary horses of the dart board.

Honghe Town is located in a desolate place on the border, and there are very few outsiders on weekdays.

The figure that came at a gallop, looking like a long journey, but without the wind and dust, dressed in clean black and white clothes, with a hat on her head, looked like a well-born woman, and compared with the earthy yellow border town, it looked out of place.

The woman in white galloped and was about to pass by, when the horse stopped slowly, and the woman in white on the horse looked around, and then looked at him:

"Little doll, where is Tianlang Lake going? How far is it going? ”

The voice is very light and agile, with a sense of being out of the world.

After taking a look, Night Terror did not run down the dirt bag, but pointed into the distance:

"Go to the right of the fork in the first twenty miles, and go to the northeast when you get out of the customs, I don't know how far it is, I haven't been there. It's outside the gate, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter or leave, so what are you going to do there? ”

"It's pretty organized...... Go find an herb. Thank you. ”

The woman in white took out a piece of silver, threw it to the night terror hall on the dirt bag, and then continued to gallop into the distance.

Night Terror moved the bird that was unprepared to steal the small fish, looked at the back of the woman in white, a little puzzled, and before he could think twice, his leg was knocked off by the hilt of the knife.

"Shhhh

Pei Yuanfeng, who appeared behind him at some point, had a very ugly face and reprimanded him solemnly:

"This world is not peaceful, when you meet strangers of unknown origin, remember not to look at the contact at will, if you meet a ruthless person, you will die with a dart down."

"That's a woman......"

"A clean woman, walking alone at the border, can she have any real skills? On the rivers and lakes, this kind of person is far more terrifying than those bandits who are full of gangsters......"

Night Terror Hall felt that it made sense, and carefully wrote down these words, and asked again:

"Who is that woman?"

"It should be a person from Yuxu Mountain."

"Yuxu Mountain...... Is that a very powerful Taoist temple? ”

"I know a lot. How? Want to marry such a daughter-in-law? ”

"I'm curious to ask......"

"Knowing the son Mo Ruo's father, I still don't understand your thoughts? Such a woman doesn't have the skills of a grandmaster, and she has no chance to marry home, so don't think about it. When you grow up and become a grandmaster, they will already get married......"

"I've beaten all over Red River Town under the age of fifteen invincible opponents now, how can I be considered a grandmaster?"

"You're far behind. Martial arts masters are all fairy-like characters, you are down-to-earth and diligent in hard work, not good at ambition, it is estimated that you can step into the threshold of the grandmaster at the age of thirty; If you fish and walk birds all day long like now, you will wait to be robbed by the daughter of the mountain king outside the town to be the lady of the village......"

……

——

Ten years later, it's another year.

In the dart bureau of the border town, four large tables were set up, and more than ten dart masters sat in the banquet to drink and talk, and the person at the head was a tall young man, dressed in black, with an extremely handsome face.

The big fluffy white bird stood on a stool, staring at the wine and meat on the table.

Yang Chao, a white-haired dart master, sat beside him with a wine glass and whispered:

"After trading with Beiliang, this day is indeed a lot more comfortable, the business of the dart bureau has increased several times compared with previous years, and the female emperor still looks like she still has a few brushes. If there were no bandits like the Hongshan Gang and the Ma Gang, this day would be really comfortable......"

"Honghe Town is a small place after all, there is not even a county order around, the imperial court can't control it at all, and you have to run a hundred and ten miles to get the reward money with the head of the horse bandits. If you want to be stable, you have to go to the Central Plains. ”

"With the ability of the owner, you can mix up the name of the hall wherever you go, but in the past, the young owner was young, and it was too risky to give up the dart industry and take the young owner to go outside. Now that the owner is old, he has old injuries and drinks all day, so he probably can't run......"

"I'm eighteen years old, and my martial arts are better than my father's, enough to be in charge. I'll persuade later, but I can't do it, I'll go to the Central Plains first, and then I'll take my father over to enjoy the blessings......"

"The young owner wants to be a girl outside, right?"

"Alas......"

"The young owner is so handsome, they are all eighteen years old and still young, and they are about to cry the big girls and little daughters-in-law in the town, and they have to be afraid to let the birds sentry when they take a bath, and I can't live this day with me......"

After chatting for a long time, Night Terror Hall left the table first and came to the backyard.

The backyard, where only the two of them lived, was full of stone locks, wooden stakes and other practice weapons, and because of their hard work every day, they were not covered with snow.

There was a chair under the eaves of the old house, and Pei Yuanfeng, who had gray hair, was like fifteen years ago, with a long knife lying horizontally on his knees, leaning on the chair to sober up.

Unlike in the past, he looked a little sloppy, with a beard and a lot of wrinkles on his face.

Night Terror Hall sighed secretly, took a blanket from the house, and put it on Pei Yuanfeng's chest.

窸窸窣窣~

A slight sound came, Pei Yuanfeng opened his old yellow eyes drunk, looking at the little doll who no longer had to stand on the stool, and even needed to bend down to put clothes on him, and a touch flashed in his eyes as if he was in another world.

"Go into the house and sleep, be careful of catching a cold here."

"Accustomed to ......"

Pei Yuanfeng sat up a little straighter and motioned to the bench next to him:

"It's the New Year again, it's so fast...... In the blink of an eye, a lifetime is almost over. ”

"For the New Year, say something auspicious. I heard that the masters of the rivers and lakes can normally live to be more than 100 years old, and 50 years old is considered to be in the prime of life. ”

Night Terror sat down in front of him and looked at the moonlit and starry night sky:

"Now that I'm grown up, you don't have to worry about the dart game, why don't we go outside? You have worked hard for half your life, and it is time to enjoy Qingfu. ”

Pei Yuanfeng shook his head slowly, after all, he had already enjoyed Qingfu before he was twenty years old, and he was old enough to atone for his impulsive recklessness when he was young.

Looking at the night terror hall that had grown up, Pei Yuanfeng thought for a while and said:

"I'm too old to run, you must go out and break in, otherwise this life will be in vain. Where are you going to go in the future? Looking for a daughter-in-law in the capital? ”

Night Terror Hall shook his head: "People in the rivers and lakes, it's not boring to go to the feet of the Son of Heaven. I heard that there are a lot of swordsmen in Zezhou, and I have been practicing swordsmanship since I was a child, and I guess I can meet a lot of like-minded friends when I go there. ”

"Hehe......"

Pei Yuanfeng was not surprised by this, the young swordsman on the rivers and lakes, the first stop just out of the mountain, was usually Junshantai.

That is the starting point of the swordsman, and it is also the end of the life of all the swordsmen.

"Junshantai is not in a hurry, it's better to go outside to see the world first. By the way, don't run to Beiliang. ”

"Huh? Why? ”

"This is the rule of the rivers and lakes, the rivers and lakes of Dawei are their hometowns, and when they are cornered, they will go to Beiliang Jianghu to be a homeless prodigal son and find a way to start over. You still have a way to go, and now you have broken the way to retreat. ”

"Oh...... It's that I don't plan to go to Beiliang, but I still want to go to the Central Plains to see. ”

"When are you going to pass?"

"In the third year of junior high school, I have to send a dart to the sandbank, and I will come back in March, so let's talk about it then. You can go out for a walk, it's not interesting to stay here and drink all the time. ”

"Hehe......"

Pei Yuanfeng shook his head and smiled, didn't say much, just picked up the wine jug from the side of the chair and poured a bowl of wine for the Night Terror Hall:

"I don't know when you were born, you will be a year older in a year, after today, you will be eighteen, the road in the future, you have to go by yourself, don't embarrass me when you go out."

"That's nature."

Night Terror Hall held the wine bowl and touched Pei Yuanfeng:

"Do you have to say two auspicious words for the New Year?"

"Hmm...... All things welcome spring and send remnants, and the end of the year is tonight. In the new year, may you find a few beautiful daughters-in-law. ”

Night Terror's eyes were full of smiles, and after a little brewing, he held back a sentence:

"Happy New Year!"

Pei Yuanfeng sighed twice, picked up the wine bowl and drank it all, then leaned back on the chair, looked at the fireworks rising into the sky in the town, and looked at the night terror hall after a while, with deep reluctance in his eyes, but there was no regret.

After all, there are times when the rivers and lakes say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, although he has achieved nothing, but a Jianghu guest should walk, and on the day of his son's adulthood, it is completely finished, and the next road should be handed over to the newcomer, there is nothing to regret......

————

Happy New Year, Aguan greets everyone for the New Year, live everyone's experience of a year of good health and good luck or2!

(End of chapter)