In the middle of the moon, a bright and clear one.

Qi Jingzhi sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, holding a bull-eared sharp knife horizontally between his eyebrows with both hands, and carefully examined it by the moonlight.

The knife was no more than a foot long, narrow and thin, and the head was even sharper, apparently carefully polished.

Sharp, snowy, with a palpitating cold light.

The hemp rope wrapped around the handle of the knife is an old thing, soaked in blood, showing an unsightly black-red color.

Qi Jingzhi slowly turned the blade of the knife, his eyes were focused, his expression was serious and calm, and there was no impetuousness that a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy often has.

His eyebrows and eyes are well-born, and his eyes are even more vibrant, even if he is wearing coarse linen clothes with rough stitches and serious wear, it is still difficult to hide his vigorous atmosphere.

Perhaps because he was often exposed to the wind and sun, the young man's skin was slightly rough and his complexion was a little dark, and at this moment, he was illuminated by the bright moonlight, revealing a little topaz-like warm luster.

After a while, Qi Jingzhi bent down and lowered his head, scooped some water from the bucket on the side, poured his backhand on the knife, and then pressed the blade on the whetstone between his feet.

Huo ...... Huo ......"

The sharpening sound began to sound regularly, short, dull, and repeatedly.

I don't know how long it took, Qi Jingzhi's forehead was already sweating, but his movements were always firm and powerful, with an indomitable determination to move forward.

"What do you do sharpening knives in the middle of the night?"

An old voice suddenly came from the hall behind the young man.

The door was then pushed open from the inside, and an old man walked out in a coat and stood still behind Qi Jingzhi.

The old man's sideburns were mostly white, but his body was burly, his back was straight, and he didn't show the slightest rickety and old age, but his face seemed to be sickly, and it was slightly dark.

When he saw the knife in the young man's hand, he couldn't help but show surprise on his face: "It's actually this?" Since you were a child, you have been a baby, carefully wrapped and sealed in a box, you like to talk to it when you have nothing to do, and you have to hold it in your arms when you sleep, even Grandpa I can't easily touch it, why are you willing to take it out and polish it today? ”

The young man's movements froze, and then he returned to normal, and said as if he didn't care: "Who let my father only leave such a thought?" Didn't he give me this knife for me to use? I remember Grandpa said that this knife is really bloody, and it is refreshing to peel the skin and tear off the heart, and it can ward off evil spirits? ”

Hearing this, Qi Laohan's expression became more and more complicated, and he said in a muffled voice: "Where is the evil? Which is the murderer? You are not very old, your temperament is not small, and your heart and eyes are even more like needles! Since ancient times, the people have not fought with officials, so no matter how sharp you sharpen this knife, what can you do? ”

"I can't sleep horizontally, so I want to find some work to do, and I don't have to think about it, this method was taught to me by my grandfather."

Qi Jingzhi still didn't look back, and said with a smile while sharpening his knife: "Grandpa, don't talk about me, haven't you been tossing and turning on the couch for most of the night?" If you sleep soundly, I will not sharpen my sword and quarrel with you. Today, Lang Zhong can say, the injury on your back is not healed, you need to rest and sleep more......"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Qi Laohan's cold snort: "It's just twenty spines, I haven't paid attention to your grandfather, I haven't taken it seriously, I've been recuperating at home for so many days, it's a long time ago." It's you...... I have thoughts in my heart that I shouldn't have, and if I really want to have a seizure, it's not just as simple as hurting my muscles and bones. ”

Qi Jingzhi smiled when he heard this, and did not answer Qi Laohan's words, but changed his words and said: "Grandpa, during the day, I went into the city to send game to the big families in the county, and I heard that the tigers in Nangang killed more than a dozen lives, and even the hunters sent by the county government to hunt tigers have died, and the business route to the south in the county is completely cut off this time." ”

When Qi Laohan heard this, his face showed a little anger, and his voice became louder: "I told the county a month ago that the tiger in Nangang can recognize the mechanism and avoid pits, I am afraid that it has become a fine, and it is definitely not something that a few hunters can provoke, so it is only right to go to the county town to ask for help." ”

"The county lord was about to nod, but the history of the county was a stunned young man who had just taken office, and he was bent on showing his means, saying that the old man was retreating from the battle and confusing the public with evil words...... Hey, it's just twenty spines, he is an official of the imperial court, and if he wants to fight, he will beat it, but he has only harmed so many lives in vain, what a sin! ”

It's not the first time Qi Jingzhi has heard Qi Laohan mention this, and while he is indignant, he is still a little incredulous: "Grandpa always says that the tiger is unusual, but if there are really demons and spirits in this world, I have followed you in the mountains for a few years, why have I never seen it?" ”

"How old are you, and how dare you say anything rampant? Grandpa, when I was fighting for my life on the battlefield, what evil things had I never seen? Jackals, tigers and leopards eat in the corpse heap with round bellies, and even their eyes are different from ordinary beasts. ”

Qi Laohan looked at his grandson who was eager to try, and said: "The tiger on Nangang is a ruthless stubble, regardless of whether it is a monster or a monster, our grandson just needs to stay away." ”

"Even if you can hide from the first year of junior high school, I'm afraid you can't hide from the fifteenth!"

Qi Jingzhi stopped sharpening the knife, looked back at Qi Laohan, and said seriously: "Grandpa has already hated the classics, and that guy doesn't look like a belly, although he avoided it by being seriously injured, but now the tiger is getting worse, our family is a hunter, and the errand of fighting the tiger will fall on the head sooner or later......"

When the young man said later, there was a little more coldness in his eyes and tone: "It is said that people do not hurt the tiger, and the tiger is harmful to people's hearts, if you don't make some preparations in advance, won't you let him take care of it and die in vain?" ”

The old Han people of Qi are old and sophisticated, and they are insightful in the world, so they naturally understand the meaning of their grandson's words.

He was silent for a moment and sighed: "No matter which tiger it is, it is not something that our grandchildren can afford to provoke." It's also my fault, I shouldn't have taught you to bow and fist, and raised your temperament to be so wild, I didn't know the sky was high and thick since I was a child. You are the only seedling of our family, and you must not do those negative and reckless deeds unless you have to! ”

After saying this, Qi Laohan didn't wait for his grandson to agree, turned around and entered the house angrily, slammed the door shut, and left a sentence at the end: "If you want to do it, your grandfather and I will come first!" ”

It didn't take long for the house to snore loudly.

Qi Jingzhi smiled knowingly, finally stopped sharpening his knife, sat up straight on the stone bench, and looked ahead silently.

The village where their grandfather and grandson live is called Shanqian Village, which is located on the periphery of Komatsu Mountain in the west of the county seat.

The courtyard is built on a nameless hill, occupying a flat land halfway up the sunny slope, with an extremely open view.

The young man's gaze crossed the fence wall and looked at the pine forest bathed in the bright moonlight, and the night wind whistled in his ears, the pine waves gusted, and the sound of wolves howling and apes was faintly mixed with the sound of wolves and apes.

He watched and listened like this, and most of the anger in his heart suddenly dissipated, and there was pride and pride in his heart.

The mountain people and hunters earn their lives by eating with bows and knives in their hands, and the tigers, leopards and jackals are just eating in their bellies and clothes, and they are by no means comparable to those who dig food in the soil outside and can run the monks who can't run the temple. I really want to turn my face, and after five steps of blood splashing, I drill into the vast mountains, not to mention the history of a county, what can I do when I am the lord of the country?

Qi Jing sat in the middle of the night, until the stars and moon gradually faded away, and a red sun jumped out of the eastern sky.

The crimson glow sprinkled on his face, and his eyes were full of brilliance.

The young man's ears moved, and after making sure that Grandpa was still asleep, he immediately stood up, placed the ox-eared knife upright on the stone bench, and bowed down to the fierce blade three times.

"The sages have a saying, worship the gods as if they were gods!"

His lips twitched, and he said softly: "The lives of my ancestors and grandchildren are entrusted to you today!" If you don't give up, you will be rewarded with blood and food! ”

After praying very solemnly, Qi Jingzhi lowered his head and rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the scabbard tied to the inside of his forearm.

He carefully shoved the ox-eared knife into its sheath, lowered his sleeve again, grabbed the hilt close to his wrist, and tried to swing his arm a few times.

Everything was ready to stop, and the young man turned around silently and strode towards the courtyard gate.