Go to the shop early.

The old man forgot to put down the chopsticks in his hand, and walked straight to the handsome girl holding a blue paper butterfly flower, he looked down and suddenly asked:

"What is this?"

Ah Qing was stunned for a moment, looked up at the old man in front of her who had spoken to her no more than three sentences, and said timidly: "Are you asking this?" ”

The old swordsmith stared at this special blue butterfly flower motionlessly, stretched out his hand to point at it, and asked repeatedly:

"What is this?"

Ah Qing whispered: "Butterfly flowers, paper folded." ”

"Of course the old man knows that it's a butterfly flower...... How did you come up with the idea of using the Pythagorean shape to make an arc like this? ”

Ah Qing shook his head: "It's not me who folded, it's a gift from the master, he said it's called iris folding." ”

"Is the iris folded......"

The old swordsmith muttered, suddenly raised his hand, and took out a handful of copper coins from his arms:

"Borrow the old man to see, give you money, how much do you want?"

Ah Qing immediately shook his head.

The old swordsmith frowned, and wanted to increase the price, but the beautiful girl directly handed him the blue butterfly flower origami: "Ah Qing doesn't need money, the old man takes it to see, just remember to return Ah Qing...... This is very important for people to send Ah Qing. ”

The old swordsmith took it without saying a word, and silently returned to his original seat.

The old man's rough and blackened withered hand held a clean blue butterfly flower origami, lowered his head and raised his eyebrows, stretched out a withered finger and slowly tipped along the arc of the butterfly petals, as if outlined, and his face sank into some kind of contemplation.

For this impolite quirky old man, Ah Qing shook his head with many female workers around him, Ah Qing seemed to be accustomed to his character, and there was no reproach on the look on his little face.

The delicate girl in the cloth skirt picked up the half-woven sword spike and bowed her head to busy.

As the sun rises in the morning, as it approaches Tatsusho, there are fewer diners in the open-air shops.

At the table in the corner, the eccentric old man was still obsessed with a childish origami that only children were interested in.

Ah Qing and her female companions packed their cloth bags and prepared to go to work in the workshop.

At this moment, a female spike worker with thin lips came late, and as soon as she came to the shop, she walked directly to Ah Qing and stretched out her hand:

"Where's the stuff?"

Ah Qing lowered her head and took out one of the two delicate sword spikes that she had knitted in the morning and handed it to her.

The thin-lipped female spike worker copied it with her hands, snatched all the two in Ah Qing's hand, and looked down, as if she wanted to pick a better one.

Ah Qing bowed his head and was silent.

The sword spike workshop works every day, and the female workers have to hand in a sword spike, and Ah Qing has to prepare two copies every day to prepare one for the thin-lipped female spike worker in front of her.

The thin-lipped female spike worker suddenly asked, "Where did you go yesterday afternoon?" Lazy and don't go to work? ”

Ah Qing waved his hand: "No...... No, I asked for leave from the workshop and spent my birthday at home yesterday......"

The thin-lipped female spike worker flipped her hands, put away all the two sword spikes, left without looking back, and coldly dropped her sentence:

"It's all mine. You didn't pay tribute yesterday, don't try to find an excuse to be lazy, a poor girl has a fart birthday. ”

Ah Qing stood still, at a loss.

The female companions of the spike workers next to them turned their eyes away, and they all pretended not to see it, packed up their things and left.

This thin-lipped female spike worker who collects protection money and bullies people has some background in the workshop, and it is not something that ordinary female spike workers who make a living can mess with, and they will be put in small shoes if they are nosy.

As for this companion named Ah Qing, he can only be said to be unlucky, he was looked down upon and bullied as soon as he came to work in the workshop...... Sometimes women from poor families are not very good-looking and are prone to same-sex jealousy, not to mention weak temperament.

The delicate girl's fingers were twisted together, and her little face looked anxiously, it was obvious that she couldn't hand in the sword spike this morning, and she should be punished by the workshop manager.

But no one helped her.

Ah Qing hurriedly grabbed the cloth bag on the ground, trotted away from the early shop, remembered something before leaving, and hurriedly glanced at the old man who was studying the blue butterfly flower origami not far away, her little face hesitated, shouted, the strange old man ignored it, she reluctantly told again, and left first.

The old swordsmith turned a deaf ear to all the movements outside, and was in the middle of the city, but he was out of the world.

When the female spike workers left, there were no guests coming again for a long time, and the shop was about to close early, and the old man was reluctant to take his eyes away.

When he came back to his senses, he looked up silently, he didn't see the figure of the beautiful girl, and he didn't care, the old man carried the wine jug in his hand, lightly held the origami, left the morning market, and returned to the sword furnace.

The old swordsmith was tired at the moment.

The footsteps on the mountain road are fast.

He seemed to be in a hurry to go back and jot down some fleeting thought.

Soon, the old man came to the Jiayi Sword Furnace halfway up the mountain.

"Old gentleman, how is the sword of the Jiasan Sword Furnace?"

In front of the thatched hut, a young man in brocade clothes with a sickly face seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and immediately stepped forward to say hello.

He looked at the strange combination of the old man carrying the wine jug and holding the paper flowers with curiosity.

The old swordsmith didn't look at him, he pushed the door straight in, and the figure disappeared into it, but before the door closed heavily, there was still an old man's hoarse voice coming out:

"That little thing in the Jiasan Sword Furnace is okay, it's a few days of retreat, don't bother the old man."

Liu Zi'an was stunned for a moment, Xuan Xi, and immediately responded: "Yes!" ”

However, the old man behind the door should have been unable to hear this reply.

Liu Zi'an didn't care about this, as if he had long been accustomed to the eccentric nature of the old swordsmith.

Recently, he often had a gloomy face, but he breathed a sigh of relief, and the young man in brocade clothes wandered back and forth in place twice, as if thinking about something, turned his head, and waved into the distance.

A steward in a green robe walked lightly to Liu Zi'an's side.

The latter muttered: "Didn't the old gentleman go to drink, why did you bring it...... A paper flower back? ”

The steward of Tsing Yi immediately told what he had seen and heard.

Not much.

"Okay, I know, it's hard work, go down."

Liu Zi'an waved his hand, and the steward of Tsing Yi stepped back respectfully.

"Blue butterfly paper flower...... Is this a memory that the old gentleman has been brought back to, or is it ...... What about swords......"

He stood there with a thoughtful expression.

After a moment, the young man in brocade shook his head, gave up his inquiry, and turned to leave.

But he didn't go down immediately.

Liu Zi'an turned a corner and walked up the mountain along a certain inaccessible mountain road.

The mountain where the Jiayi Sword Furnace is located is called Xiaogu Mountain, which is similar to the name of Dagu Mountain with Donglin Temple on the outskirts of the city, and is located on the west bank of the Butterfly Creek, opposite Peng Langdu on the opposite side.

The Liu family's mansion was also built on this mountain, but it was located on the belly of the mountain, near the foot of the mountain, and to the west.

The east side of Xiaogu Mountain is occupied by the sword furnaces of the Guyue Sword Shop.

Liu Zi'an walked along the path of the ridge, staring at the howling wind, all the way to the top of the mountain.

There is a lonely temple at the top of the mountain.

Look at the dilapidated plaque at the door, this is a dragon king temple.

However, it did not belong to any of the sacrificial gods officially included in the rituals of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In other words, it is an obscenity in the mouth of the government.

However, if there are old people who have lived in Longcheng County for a long time, they will definitely be able to tremble when they see it.

This dragon king temple was in Longcheng County, but everyone knew about it.

That was before Difuzi was demoted to the Longcheng County Order.

As we all know, the land of Wu Yue is still obscene, the disease is not cured, and he listens to witchcraft, and even worse, kills people and sacrifices ghosts.

Many towns and villages in remote prefectures and counties in Jiangnan Province have this kind of obscenity.

The same is true of Longcheng County, which used to be flooded, and even according to the records of Longcheng County, the name of Longcheng County is derived from this, and the people in the past believed that Longcheng was flooded every year, all of which were the anger of the Dragon King, and they needed to be sacrificed and worshiped regularly.

So in Longcheng County, the people believed in the Dragon King, and a group of priests took the Dragon King as the name to gain the trust of the people and established the Dragon King Temple.

And no matter how big or small things in the city, they need to give orders in the name of the dragon king from the mouth of the priest, even if the officials in the city take office, they have to condescend and bow down, first pay homage to the dragon king and the priests, and then they can take office and convince the people.

All this, until Di Fuzi took office as the county commander of Longcheng, and after a wonderful battle, he finally eradicated that group of demagogic priests, burned all the obscenities in Longcheng, and swept away the crooked customs.

And not many people remember the events of that year now.

Only the ruined temples in the territory remained.

However, for the superstition of the dragon king, there are still some remnants in the hearts of the people of Longcheng, and the young county commander asked the people about the destruction of the Di Gong Gate among the people, and he got such an explanation.

Even a young county magistrate fell into the water at Longshou Bridge just after taking office, and it was rumored that he had angered the Dragon King......

Liu Zi'an came to the lonely temple on the top of the mountain, looked up at the door plaque, stepped forward and knocked on the door, then retreated and waited in front of the door.

This Dragon King Temple is the most well-preserved one in Longcheng County.

If you talk about superstition, there is another group in Longcheng County, which is more superstitious than ordinary people who believe in ghosts and gods.

That's the craftsman.

At that time, Liu Ziwen and Liu Zi'an inherited the family business, in order to integrate many sword shop craftsmen on the west bank of Butterfly Creek.

So he re-established a dragon king temple and invited some priests who pretended to be gods...... This is also one of the sources of the nickname of the Dragon King Liu family, and the fear of the people of Longcheng County is not groundless.

And now, in the Guyue Sword Shop on the west bank of Butterfly Creek, the Liu family can firmly control this "independent kingdom" like a king, and its influence among craftsmen is greater than that of Longcheng County, which is due to the Longwang Temple on Xiaogu Mountain.

However, the current Liu family, whose wealth is the best in Dragon City, has found a towering tree to attach to outside, and there is no longer a need to use tricks such as bewitching craftsmen that cannot be put on the table.

This dragon king temple is no longer of much use.

However, the Liu family still retained a few idle positions in the temple to maintain the general operation, and occasionally on some important occasions, or when a famous sword was baked, the priest was asked to go down the mountain to preside over some simple ceremonies and make a show.

At least the craftsmen still believe in it.

It's just that it won't be as flamboyant as it was back then.

After all, Di Fuzi, who once cleared the obscene in Longcheng, is now the prime minister of the dynasty, although it is difficult for this kind of big man to look at this small county town in Jiangnan Province, but how can it be the local political achievements of the people back then, it is better to keep a low profile.

Liu Zi'an pondered.

The door of the Dragon King Temple was pushed open from the inside, and out came a priestess in a pitch-black robe.

The priestess was a little fat, about thirty or forty years old, her face was full of colorful paints, her complexion was quite gloomy, her hair was tied into dreadlocks with ribbons, she was dressed in cumbersome sacrificial clothes, she walked with a clanging sound, and with the mountain wind whistling around, she looked a little mysterious and bluffing.

When the two met, they first glanced at each other, turned around together, and went down the mountain with a tacit understanding, and on the way, Liu Zi'an was the first to speak:

"The sword of the Jiasan Sword Furnace is ready."

"Things are ready, and we can hold the ceremony." The priestess spoke, her voice a little cold.

"Do you want to inform my eldest brother in advance?"

"Don't do it too much." The fat priestess shook her head, "Didn't you say your eldest brother hates me?" ”

"Okay then." Liu Zi'an hesitated for a moment and nodded: "But you have to pick an inconspicuous sacrifice, the kind that is silent when you die." ”

"Yes, but young women, spiritually sufficient. Also, in addition to the offerings, you also have to pick out some tight-mouthed spectators, which is also part of the ceremony. ”

"No problem."

The two walked and talked on the mountain.

Liu Zi'an seemed to think of something, and asked quietly: "What if I fail again?" ”

The priestess frowned: "If you listen to me honestly, you will be able to succeed, this time you can cover up with the help of the famous sword, even if your brother finds out, you can also have an explanation, this kind of opportunity is not rare." Besides......"

After a pause, her face was a little irritated and said, "I'll repeat, last time at Longshou Bridge, I didn't fail!" You also saw that after the immortal ceremony, I was promoted to the eight-rank immortal warlock, can this still be fake!? ”

Liu Zi'an squinted: "But the county order surnamed Ouyang is still alive, and even brings a lot of trouble to our Liu family." ”

The priestess was silent for a long time.

"I'll prove it to you." She snorted.

"Whatever you want." Liu Zi'an frowned, and said with a straight face: "I don't care if you succeeded last time, now is the last time I believe in you, and this is also the last chance." ”

"Hmph."

The two of them were speechless for a while, their thoughts were different, and when they walked down the mountain, they passed through the street that was quite lively in the morning, and walked in the direction of the Jiasanjian furnace by the river.

The craftsmen and servants they met along the way, after seeing Liu Zi'an and the priestess, all respectfully gave way.

The passers-by looked a little frightened.

At this time, the two passed by a workshop, and the priestess Yu Guang, who was not in a good mood, saw a thin figure outside the door of the workshop not far away, which seemed to be a punishment stand, turned her head to take a closer look, and she raised her hand and pointed at random:

"That's it, look at the spirituality."

Liu Zi'an turned his head to look.

It was a very good-looking girl, standing dejectedly outside the door, like a female worker in the sword spike workshop in the back.

Those who will enter this kind of low-level workshop are all slaves and maids who are no different from goods in the Liu family, but those who are slightly more important will not be arranged to enter.

To the priestess's surprise, Liu Zi'an just glanced at it and said decisively:

"This won't work."

"Why?" The priestess thought for a moment and asked, "Isn't this an official slave who belongs to the sword shop?" ”

"It's a slave, and it hasn't been redeemed yet, and it's attached to the sword shop."

"Then what are you afraid of, no one will pay attention to one less of these lowly female workers."

Liu Zi'an looked at the familiar figure of the thin female spike worker, didn't raise her eyelids, and said softly:

"Let's change it, there are many female workers in the Sword Spike Workshop. This one is a bit peculiar, it can't be moved, and it's not easy to move. ”