At sunset on this day, in the twilight, Bai Yixue and Shen Lingshan came to Yufeng Town by the Jialing River, and the two found an inn in the town to stay. The inn was not big, with only a dozen rooms, but it was crowded into more than 20 people of all kinds of rivers and lakes, and when they heard their conversation, they were all invited by the Tang Sect Xianzong to go to Tangjiabao.

Seeing that the business was booming, the chubby shopkeeper actually sat on the ground and started the price, and the room rate was several times higher than usual. Bai Yixue saw Shen Ling's thin body, wrapped in thick clothes, and looked weak, at this time, his face was even more tired, he almost couldn't stand, and there were many people in the inn, so he didn't want to entangle with the shopkeeper too much, so he took out one or two lines of silver, saying that he wanted two first-class guest rooms.

At that time, one or two lines of silver could buy almost six stones of rice on the market, which was 700 catties. When the shopkeeper saw the silver tael, his already small eyes immediately narrowed into a slit with a smile, and while taking the silver tael and thanking him again and again, he scolded the shopkeeper to hurry up and prepare the guest room for the two distinguished guests.

After a while, the shopkeeper came sweating profusely, saying that the guest room had been cleaned and stopped, and he could enter the room to rest. When he arrived at the guest room, the other party only prepared one, Shen Lingshan couldn't help but be embarrassed, standing there, not leaving, not leaving.

Bai Yixue's face sank, and she called the shopkeeper and asked, "I asked you to prepare two rooms, why is there only one?"

The fat shopkeeper blinked his small eyes and said with a smile: "Ouch, two guest officers, you have also seen that the small shop is really not open tonight." I see that the two of you are staying together, and it is not a family sooner or later, it is better to ......", the implication is that Shen Ling shirt and Bai Yixue are regarded as a pair of children in the rivers and lakes who are reckless and heroic.

Shen Ling's shirt blushed and said softly, "You...... You talk nonsense again, be careful that I cut your tongue. ”

The fat shopkeeper stuck out his tongue and closed his mouth, but his eyes stared straight at Bai Yixue, waiting for him to show him. Bai Yixue scolded in her heart for being treacherous and unnegotiable, and said angrily: "My two lines of silver are enough to ask you for ten big houses." If you don't even have two rooms, we'll go elsewhere, and we're afraid we won't be able to spend the money?"

The fat shopkeeper was not in a hurry, and said with a leisurely smile: "Little official, it's not a small mouthy, you will search the whole town this time, and it will be difficult to find two guest rooms." ”

When Bai Yixue heard this, she knew that what he said was true, and said angrily: "Then we will travel all night, and we will not be angry with you here." ”

Where is the fat shopkeeper willing to leave the gold owner, Fang Cai panicked, and hurriedly smiled: "Little official, don't worry, don't worry, the small one will go and take a look, it's really not good, the small one will ask other guests to squeeze in, and also make room for you." After speaking, he hurried to the back hall and instructed the shopkeeper to quickly clean the two first-class guest rooms and ask the gold lord to stay.

At dinner, a shopkeeper came knocking on the door. Bai and Shen came to the front hall, and there were already many people in the rivers and lakes dining. These people are used to being rough and bold on weekdays, guessing the wine, and for a while the front hall was full of cups and plates, and it was noisy and noisy.

Bai Yixue frowned slightly, and was hesitating to herself, when she saw the fat shopkeeper running in in a hurry, leading the two of them to a table in the middle of the room to sit down, and the environment was relatively quiet. The fat shopkeeper sneered and said, "Little official, the villain has already prepared this table for you, are you satisfied?" A shopkeeper had already diligently served a hot meal to the two, and the effect of one or two lines of silver was very great, and the dishes were very rich and delicious.

In the dining room, I saw a figure flash at the door of the hall, and a slender man in his thirties strode in. The man had a sharp beak and monkey cheeks, six mansions were all shaved, and two black mustaches on his lips, which was very strange in his description, which immediately caused a commotion in the lobby, and all the diners stepped forward to salute and talk to him. The slender man flew with a moving expression, and returned the salute with fists.

Shen Ling's chopsticks just picked up a piece of bamboo shoot meat, and suddenly pursed his lips and smiled, the piece of bamboo shoot meat couldn't be pinched, and it fell into the bowl again. Bai Yixue looked puzzled and said with a smile: "Why is Miss Shen laughing?"

Shen Lingshan glanced at the slender man and said in a low voice: "The rooster and dog thief turned out to be so magnificent. ”

Bai Yixue couldn't help but glance at the man again and asked, "Oh, Miss Shen knows this person?"

Shen Lingshan chuckled, "Have you ever heard of the 'Divine Monkey Gate'?"

Bai Yixue smiled slightly and said, "I understand, this person is the famous 'Thousand-Handed Spirit Ape' Ling Zhaoxu on the rivers and lakes?"

Shen Ling smiled and nodded: "The sharp-beaked monkey cheeks, it's not him, who else can there be?"

It turned out that the slender man was the head of the Monkey Gate, the "Thousand-Handed Spirit Ape" Ling Zhaoxu, who was excellent at light work, especially good at flying eaves and walking walls, and exploring the skills of the bag. Over the years, he has traveled south and north, empty-handed, and has become very famous in the rivers and lakes.

Among these martial arts figures in the front hall, in fact, most of them are not familiar with him, but Ling Zhaoxu's whereabouts are vague and mysterious on weekdays, and he must have a plan to appear here. Everyone went to Tangjiabao this time, how could they come empty-handed, most of them carried a lot of gifts and ritual utensils with them, and no one wanted to be targeted by Ling Zhao, and the ivory burned himself, and suffered losses in vain. Therefore, everyone was afraid to avoid Ling Zhaoxu, but at this time, they stepped forward to say hello, which was regarded as a recognition of their faces, and they had the intention of asking his subordinates to show mercy, which was naturally indispensable.

In the midst of the noise, Ling Zhao chose a table in the middle and sat down with a big face. An old man in black at the same table smiled and said, "What kind of wind blew Master Ling here, and where has he made a fortune recently?" Ling Zhaoxu laughed, but he didn't answer, just raised the chopsticks and picked up the vegetables, chewed heavily, and his expression was meaningful. Another middle-aged beautiful woman smiled and said, "Master Ling, are the monkeys and grandchildren in the family okay?"

Ling Zhaoxu smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, it's good, it's good." As soon as he sat down, the diners at the next table came over to toast, and the lobby was lively and lively for a while.

When the wine was drunk, the old man in black picked up a peanut, put it in his mouth, chewed it soundly, and said: "Master Ling is a person who sees the head but not the tail of the dragon, and the scales and claws are occasionally exposed in the clouds. Master Ling also received an invitation from Xianzong this time, right?"

Ling Zhaoxu took a sip of wine and smiled, "Exactly." As he spoke, he took out a red invitation card from his bosom and put it on the wine table.

The old man in black respectfully picked up the invitation, opened it and looked at it carefully, and said with a smile: "Master Ling's appearance is extraordinary. As he spoke, he unfurled the invitation and said, "Everyone, please see, this invitation is the handwriting of Brother Tang Zhuo Zhuo of the Emperor Xianzong, and it is very different from the invitation we received." Brother Zhuo treats a big man like Ling Zhangmen differently and values him very much. For a while, everyone at the banquet echoed each other, and the sycophants were endless. Ling Zhaoxu had a smile on his face, his eyes slightly closed, and he looked very useful.

Bai Yixue and Shen Lingshan glanced at each other, and thought in their hearts: "It turns out that these people have all received invitations from the Tang Sect Xianzong, and the investment store is also in one place, so it should have been agreed in advance." ”

A middle-aged man in Tsing Yi asked, "I wonder what Master Ling thinks about this martial arts competition?"

Ling Zhaoxu groaned and did not answer. The old man in black interjected: "In recent years, the Tantric Sect of the Tang Sect has been extremely vigorous, what 'arrogant', what 'turbidity and purity', hehe, the name on the rivers and lakes is very loud. I heard that this time the martial arts competition, the sword pavilion Lu Gushan father and son also came to help, and the momentum was particularly strong, and the tantric martial arts conference was determined to win. The old man estimated that Brother Zhuo'er's life was not very easy. ”

The man in Tsing Yi rolled his eyes and said, "Old man Zhou, I'm surprised, why do you say such words that will increase the morale of others and destroy your own prestige?

The black-clothed old man surnamed Zhou said angrily: "Fart! Fart! When did I say that I wanted to join the Tantric Sect? The old man is not like some turtle grandsons, he only knows that the wind makes the rudder, but he is just some people who tend to follow the trend!" One laughed dryly and said, "Drink! Drink!"

Ling Zhaoxu stretched out his hand and slapped it heavily on the table, and said, "Old man Zhou, now that the world is declining, people's hearts are in danger, and it is no longer comparable to the past. Hehe, everyone has their own aspirations, and if someone wants to vote for tantra, they will not be able to come. The old man in black surnamed Zhou was still angry, his face was blue, he tilted his neck, and with a "grunt", he drank a large glass of wine into his stomach.

Ling Zhaoxu stroked the black mustache on his lips and said, "The Tang Sect and the Tantric Sect have been fighting for more than ten years, and the two sides are good at winning and losing each other. Let's think about it, in which round of the martial arts competition, isn't the victory or defeat between the first line? In addition, the situation on the field can be described as changing rapidly, and it is not only the skill that is considered, but also the courage, wisdom, and fighting spirit. ”

The big man in Tsing Yi said: "Exactly! If the strong man is in battle to underestimate the enemy, if he is not careful, it is normal for the horse to miss the front hoof, and there are countless precedents of losing the hand." It is not uncommon for the weak to be put to death and come back to life, fight bravely, and even turn defeat into victory. ”

Ling Zhaoxu nodded and said, "What Brother Zhang said is true. The two families of Xian and Mi are originally between the best, and it is difficult to predict who will lose and who will win. If you are sure that the Tantric Sect will win, and you will have to travel so far to come to the aid of the fist, why bother to come? I think these people might as well go to Tang Wee, hand over the prayer post, and vote for the matter. After a pause, he looked around in front of him and said: "When you see the wind, you turn the rudder, the taste of the grass on the wall is actually not pleasant, but I am afraid that there will be too many swings, and both sides will not be pleased, maybe one day a strong wind will blow you down from the wall, and become a weed that no one cares about and is trampled on." When everyone heard this, they all laughed.

Ling Zhaoxu looked at the big man in Tsing Yi and said, "Walking in the rivers and lakes, the most important thing is nothing more than the word 'righteousness'. Brother Zhuo'er is kind, affectionate and righteous, and takes good care of everyone on weekdays, so that everyone can live so freely. Brother Zhang, if I remember well, a few years ago, you accidentally offended the 'Northern Tibetan Sanying', and it was Brother Zhuo'er who personally came forward to settle it for you, right? I heard that Brother Zhuo'er also spent hundreds of taels of silver for this. ”

The man in Tsing Yi said loudly: "What Master Ling said is not bad at all. That year, the medicine boys under the 'Northern Tibetan Sanying' didn't greet anyone, so they came to my lion's roar to collect medicine. I didn't know who they were, so I robbed them of their medicinal herbs and injured several of them. As the saying goes, those who don't know are not guilty, but the 'Three Heroes of Northern Tibet' are vicious and cruel people, how can they be willing to give up? If it weren't for Brother Zhuo'er's high righteousness and Bo Yun, who would have helped him from it, and in the next door, dozens of people, old and young, I am afraid that he would have already become a ghost under the knife of 'Northern Tibetan Sanying'. Brother Zhuo'er's great kindness is unforgettable, Zhang Mou has a lifetime, but with Brother Zhuo'er's drive, there is no hesitation. ”

A middle-aged beautiful woman on the table said: "In the spring of this year, our husband and wife accidentally got into a lawsuit. ”

Ling Zhaoxu nodded and said, "Guan Gongguan Yunchang is deeply admired by Qunli and respected by the king. In the second year of Daguan, Guan Yunchang was named the "King of Wu'an", and in the fifth year of Xuanhe, the word "righteousness and bravery" was added. Guan Yun's long-lived tiger minister, brave and invincible, everyone knows it, the world calls it 'brave', but what is more respectable is that Liu Xuande has been fighting all his life, and there are many poor and sorrowful difficulties, Guan Yunchang follows him, and he always lives up to his heart and is loyal to death, and the world calls it 'righteousness'. ”

A slender man dressed as a scribe said: "Huizong enshrined Guan Yun as 'King of Righteousness and Bravery', and the word 'righteousness' is ranked before the word 'brave', which makes a lot of sense." ”

Ling Zhaoxu said: "Isn't it? The big husband exists in the world, and he should stand in the world with the word 'righteousness'." As the saying goes, 'not afraid of righteous death, not honored to live', today everyone gathered in Tangjiabao to participate in the conference, isn't it just to be grateful to Huaide, thinking about this love with Brother Zhuo? As a result, everyone bowed their heads at the banquet.

Bai Yixue heard clearly in the next seat, and thought: "This thousand-handed spirit ape is a man who knows righteousness and affection. Ling Zhao's sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, describing obscenity, he didn't like it very much, but at this time, he added a little respect in his heart, and then thought: "It seems that the large and small martial arts sects of Bashu, except for Emei, Qingcheng and other famous sects, most of them have already settled with the two sects of the Tang Sect in order to seek refuge, and the Tang Sect has a tendency to come from behind." ”

The big man in Tsing Yi stood up and said in a loud voice: "All the good friends here today, if anyone has two hearts and can't get along with Brother Zhuo, my surname is Zhang, and the first one will not agree." As he spoke, he raised his neck, "Gudu", "Gudu", drank a bowl of wine, threw the bowl on the ground, smashed it, and said, "In the future, if anyone disobeys his faith and goes to vote for Tantra, he will be like this!"

The rest of the people said with indignation: "We will never disobey our faith. They got up, raised their bowls, and drank the wine from the bowls. Bai Yixue also drank the bowl of wine in front of her, and said in her heart: "These people show their hearts, if they have no two hearts, whether they can all do what they say and keep their promises, but it is unknown." Everyone sat down again, and after some chat, the old man in black surnamed Zhou smiled and said: "According to the old man, this martial arts competition is actually not comparable." ”

The rest of the people were shocked. One person asked, "Brother Zhou, why did you say this?"

The old man in black smiled and said, "In the martial arts competition, what are the two families of Xianzong and Tantra going to win?"

The big man in Tsing Yi surnamed Zhang sneered and said, "Then who doesn't know? The martial arts tournament is also called the 'catching fish' conference, and what you have seized is the fish-like lock and key of the medicine crossbow room." ”

The key originated in the Zhou Dynasty, according to legend, when King Mu of Zhou made the key, he took the fish as a sample, and the fish did not blink his eyes in the water day and night, and there was the righteousness of vigil. Later, the manufacturing process of the lock key continued to develop, and in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Tang Ao mechanism was set up in the wooden lock, and the grooved lock of the Eastern Han Dynasty had a metal reed structure inside. The lock key has undergone rheological changes, the shape is varied, there are round locks, square locks, there are also character locks, animal locks, among which the fish shape is the like, imitating its primitive ancient appearance of the majority.

The old man in black smiled slightly and said, "Not bad." The two families, Xian and Mi, which one is the owner of the lock and key of the medicine crossbow room, and which one will take over the Tang Gate, yes or no?"

Everyone said: "Yes, so what?" The old man in black looked at Ling Zhaoxu with straight eyes, and said with a smile: "Master Ling picks the stars and the moon, and his magic hands are empty, which can be described as untraceable, and his skills are also amazing. According to the old man, it is better to ask the head of Ling to show his skills, and before the gods know it, he took the lock and key, and dedicated it to Brother Zhuo, which also saved him from a fight between the two sects of Xian and Tan. ”

Ling Zhaoxu laughed, the black mustache on his lips rose upward, and his face showed a triumphant face. Everyone knew that the old man in black was just a joke at the banquet, and they all laughed.

The speaker has no intention, the listener has a heart, Bai Yixue and Shen Lingshan heard the words of the old man in black, and they couldn't help but be moved.