Twenty-three years of Weisheng, Mobei.

Denglai is located in the territory of Linguo, west of the barren, east of the oasis, every six months there is a strong wind and sand, the wind roars everywhere, people and animals die. A post station is entrenched on the edge of an oasis, fluttering like a candle flame.

In the yellow sand wind, that little bit of pitiful light is extremely precious.

It was getting late and the wind was getting stronger.

After feeding the horses, the shopkeeper wrapped his veil and quickly hid in the station.

He slumped his back to the counter, and subconsciously glanced at the man in the inky blue cloak. He looked very mysterious, revealing only half of his face, and had been sitting here for two hours. In addition to him, there was also a young man in a black robe who didn't know where he came from, and the two were drinking alone with their backs to each other at a table. The shopkeeper threw down the rag in his hand, took out a mutton fat lamp from the cabinet behind him, and lit the wooden table in the center of the two mysterious men, barely illuminating their surroundings.

"Two, it's windy outside, it's better to stay here for a night, and it's not too late to leave tomorrow." The shopkeeper said to them with a smile on his face across the table.

The cloaked man looked back at the young man in the black robe, nodded to the shopkeeper, and said, "That's what you mean, you should be busy." ”

The shopkeeper had always been very curious about this man's face, so he looked carefully, but the cloak and hat were tightly covered and he did not see clearly. A cough broke the silence, startling him and hurried back to the counter.

The yellowish light reflected on half of the cloaked man's face, like a ghost.

It was dark, and the post station seemed to have fallen into the abyss, if it weren't for this lamp, I am afraid it would have been hidden in the desert.

The cloaked man's figure swayed, as if to make a move. The shopkeeper glanced at another man, who seemed to be in a state of flux, and never said a word. He always felt that these two people were unknown and not easy to mess with, so he quickly packed up his things and went to the second floor to hide. Suddenly, there was a dead silence all around. The cloaked man lifted the mutton oil lamp, walked over to the boy, and sat down slowly in front of him. The boy only raised his eyes to look at the lamp, and lowered his eyes, as if he was looking at the ground, but not like, he didn't know what he was thinking.

He put down his cloak and hat, and finally revealed his whole face, with a delicate and elegant temperament, like a scholar from the south, but the scholar was not as compelling as him.

"Who are you waiting for?" He asked politely.

The young man looked up slightly, and after a while, he said coldly: "I didn't wait for anyone, but I couldn't hurry because the wind and sand were getting tighter." ”

"If you don't wait for someone, then you will be bothered for a while, I don't know if it's okay?"

The boy did not refuse, but he did not agree. He was casual, took off his cloak and threw it aside, took off the wine jug from his waist, poured two glasses, and said to the young man: "I am clumsy, I don't know if Your Excellency is from Zhao Guo?" The boy did not answer, and there was already a little more subtle vigilance in his eyes. He didn't care about the young man's cold attitude, he took out a folding fan from his sleeve and fanned the wind leisurely, "Zhao Guo is a treasure land of feng shui, and there are many generals, but it's a pity that they are all people who died young. Today, there are very few who can be remembered by the world, and even fewer who can be praised by the world when they are mentioned. ”

"I only care about small things, and I don't know about national affairs." The teenager was a little impatient.

"I know one below, have you heard of Zhao Guoxuan's family? Xuan Yuansheng, the head of the Xuan family, is the commander of a country, commanding thousands of armies and horses, and he was in the limelight for a while, unmatched! However, later, the Xuan family was beheaded by the whole family because of the frame, but ...... But a boy survived, and seven years have passed, and if he had lived to this day, he would be the same age as your Excellency. ”

The young man's dark brown eyes shook suddenly, but except for those eyes, his entire face did not change color, and he was still calm, "Xuan Yuansheng lied about the military situation, causing heavy losses to the army, this was decided seven years ago, why do you think ...... Is the Xuan family framed? ”

With a 'snap', the folding fan was put away, and he asked the young man expectantly, "What do you think?" ”

"Who the hell are you, looking for me...... What purpose? The boy's eyes suddenly became vigilant.

He smiled heartily: "It's just a Jianghu person." ”

"Jianghu people? How can the people of the rivers and lakes still wear such valuable things? The young man pointed to the jade spike that was faintly peeking out of the man's sleeve and said, "I see that you are not only not from the rivers and lakes, but also an unusual character." ”

He clapped his hands and praised: "Your Excellency, then guess the origin of the next." ”

The young man's vigilance has not disappeared, but he has roughly grasped the background and intention of the person in front of him, and he has a grasp in his heart, so he said to him: "The jade spike in your sleeve should be from the palace, and this alone is enough to prove that you have an extremely close relationship with the royal family, and it is naturally not accidental that you and I met here today and said these words." Thinking about it, it should be related to Rong Guoquan's minister Murphy. ”

The smile on his face became thicker and thicker, but it was like a mask on his face, "It seems that I didn't find the wrong person here, so there is a good deal here, I wonder if Your Excellency is interested?" ”

The lights were dark and the night was silent, and he drank wine with him repeatedly, during which he didn't say much, but he was like an old acquaintance.

The next morning, when the guests went downstairs, the two men were nowhere to be seen, along with the shopkeeper of the inn.

In the twenty-fifth year of Weisheng, on April 15, Kuaifeng Town, which had been raining for three days, did not have the slightest coolness, and even the water in the river was hot after the rain.

In the 'Hongju' tavern, Su Yan brought a bowl of freshly boiled medicinal soup, sat on a stool and carefully studied the man sleeping on the bed.

He has a handsome appearance, sharp edges and corners like a knife, thin lips and a high nose, and sword eyebrows...... The stars are not visible for the time being, but they should have a pair of good eyes.

She stared at his nose for a long time, and the heat and heat made her face flushed, like the sunset in the sky.

was in a daze, the man suddenly said in a dream, which scared her into a tremble, and most of the medicinal soup in her hand was spilled, so hot that she called her father and scolded her mother.

"It's like I've never seen a man!" The middle-aged man who had been leaning on the wooden door for a long time with a dog's tail sneered, then stood on tiptoe to look at the man, shook his head and sighed, "My good Ah Yan, this person is probably hopeless, you better throw him out earlier, and I will waste my energy to find a feng shui treasure to bury him." After that, he also moved over the stool and sat on it, shaking his legs, "Why don't you let me search his body, maybe I can get some treasures, most of the people who come from the north are here to do business, and we can also repair the tavern!" ”

As soon as the words fell, the door plaque behind him suddenly slammed down. He closed his eyes helplessly and said, "I am so poor that I can't afford to buy a new plaque!" Good apprentice, you are going to smash the pot and sell iron for my teacher to support your benefactor! You have to think about it, Kuaifeng Town is not big, if people know that my Su Ming is so poor, why don't they all come to sprinkle salt on the wounds, I wish my tavern was closed! ”

Kuaifeng Town, a small town three hundred miles south of the capital of the Chu State, has a small population, but it has also relied on the rich medicinal materials in the mountains to feed several generations. Hongju is one of the few taverns in the town, there are only two people in total, the shopkeeper Su Ming and a sprinkler Su Yan, a man and a woman, a master and an apprentice, have been guarding this place for several years, although the business has not been good, but they can also make a living. This time, in order to find a way to make money, Su Ming sent his apprentices to the back mountain to collect medicine and make medicinal wine, but he didn't want to bring back a big living person, a hero who accidentally passed by and saved the girl who fell off the cliff!

Su Ming snorted and said angrily: "I knew that I wouldn't send you to the back mountain, but I didn't pick up the medicine, but I brought back a half-dead one, it's really unlucky!" ”

Su Yan hurriedly took out the Absolute Spirit Grass from the medicine basket and threw it to him, and said like a dog, "Master, use it to offset this man's food and lodging expenses." ”

Su Ming pouted, and said extremely unhappily: "What are you a bad and good person, eat you and live yours, in the end, it's not that you are thankless, what's the matter, you still want to make a promise?" ”

Su Yan rolled his eyes: "If you want to make a promise, then you have to go first, you are the teacher, how dare you be disrespectful!" ”

"The stinky girl who spews feces in her mouth, picks up a few waste people every year and comes back, you are famous in the town, and I have to thank you for your incidental grace as a teacher! You just wait for your reputation to be ruined, be an old girl! Su Ming held his mouth, shook the Absolute Spirit Grass in his hand, and walked away.

After sending the master away, Su Yan was thinking about cleaning the room, and he couldn't just let the guests settle like this. Coincidentally, the man lying down actually opened his eyes and was looking at her in a daze, and it took him a long time to fully wake up.

The man stared at the slight bulge on Su Yan's chest, a little surprised, the person in front of him was dressed in a man's clothes, but it was a daughter, and such a strange dress was really the first time I had seen it. He continued to observe his surroundings, and found himself in a utility room full of haystacks and firewood, lying on a wooden plank, facing the empty yard. It was bright outside, and it seemed that he had only slept for half an hour.

The man looked at it for a long time before asking, "Who are you?" How could I be here? ”

"You don't remember? You've been dragged back by me for so long! Su Yan said anxiously.

The man shook his head. He wanted to get up, his arm ached, and when he looked down, he realized that his arms were covered in linen, and a strange smell was coming from it. His brow furrowed suddenly, and he asked, "What did you paint on me?" ”

"Don't you think it smells weird? This is my unique secret recipe, this morning I went to Nanwu Valley to collect medicine, just into the valley to get two flavors, there are medicinal roots and grass aconite, it is also a coincidence, just for you to use. ”

The man looked at the medicine bowl in her hand and asked, "What is this?" ”

Su Yan was depressed, this person was really asking endlessly! Brought the bowl to him and let him smell it: "The medicine is a little bitter, I wanted to add some candied fruit to you, but later found that I didn't have the spare money to buy it, so I had to take the sour plum to save the emergency, who would have thought that the medicinal soup would make the sour plum more sour, you drink it alive, at least take care of your injury." She glanced at his wrapped arms, and a sense of guilt rose in her heart, "If you hadn't saved me, your hands wouldn't have broken... Eh, do you remember that moment? ”

The man shook his head.

Su Yan suddenly became interested, put down the medicine bowl, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Then you have to say three days and three nights!" I think at that time, I went into the mountains to collect medicine, tried my best to climb the cliff, just picked the rare spirit grass in the world, my feet were loose, and I almost fell to pieces, but fortunately you caught me. You broke your hand because of this, but I picked up a life, how did you forget? If you say this, you will be the big hero of our Kuaifeng Town! ”

The man was not interested in this at all, but said indifferently: "Heroes are just the false names pursued by those laymen, and it is just a coincidence that I saved you." ”

Su Yan was stunned. This person's appearance is quite delicate, I thought that his personality should be as gentle and elegant as those scholars in Jiangnan, but I didn't expect to talk like a gun and a stick, like ice cubes in an ice cellar! Suddenly I lost interest in continuing to talk to him. Pick up the medicine bowl again and fulfill the obligations of a benefactor, "Take the medicine, sleep, and when Ming'er is in better spirits, I will arrange a guest room for you." ”

The man forced half of his body to drink the medicine, but found that such a posture was really painful, and he had no choice but to fall back asleep. Su Yan couldn't, so he had to help him up, drag his back with one hand, and feed most of the bowl spoonful by spoonful.

Before leaving, Su Yan still couldn't help but ask his name. The man seemed to hesitate, but he still told her: "In Xia Zuoqing, passing through here, I was going to go to Rongguo Kyoto in a hurry." ”

"Kyoto? Do you live in Ruoshui? Su Yan slapped his thigh excitedly, turned back again, and Fang Cai's unpleasantness was swept away, "I'm familiar with it, Master was a bodyguard before he opened the tavern, and he often went to Ruoshui, but unfortunately I only went once... Eh, your name is also quite strange, Zuo Qing? Then do you still have a brother named Youqing? ”

“……”

At night, Su Yan walked through the patio, went around the backyard, picked a melon from the flower shed, washed it, and ate it. As usual for many nights, she washed up and closed the door, lit a stick of incense, and fell asleep, but this night was a little different, and the boy with ice cubes in the still lit room seemed to have disrupted her life.