He closed the door, and the room was dark, and by the slightest sound of his breath, he knew that his wife and daughter were asleep.

It's good not to be in the rivers and lakes.

I usually worry about this, worry about that, but when I really encounter a big event, I can sleep peacefully.

He smiled, but the corners of his mouth curled in the darkness looked like crying.

Take a few steps to get back to bed and forget all your worries. But he didn't move for a long time - his daughter kicked the quilt again, rested her white chubby calf outside, and chirped her little mouth, which was very cute.

He gently put her calf into the quilt and touched her little face—he loved touching his daughter's face as if he were touching happiness and hope.

These two things are what he desires the most but is out of reach.

He sighed inwardly, straightened up slowly, and before seeing what he could do, he leaped up like a ghost, took a long narrow wooden box from the beam of the room, and gently withdrew from the room, and closed the door.

About ten steps or so in the courtyard, he took a rag from the drying rod, walked to the water tank, scooped a spoonful of water, wetted it, wiped the dust off the wooden box by the moonlight, and then pushed the lid, the slide was upward, and the lid was slowly pushed open, and inside was a sword.

The scabbard is black and translucent, like wood and iron, extraordinary, it is said that a Taoist priest of the former Tang Dynasty brought back a piece of iron and wood from overseas, called Ebony, a generation of sword casting master Zhang Yajiu made it into a scabbard. What is the level of this Crow Jiu's sword-casting? There is a poem by Bai Juyi called "Crow Nine Swords" as evidence: "A thousand years after Ou Zhizi's death, the elves secretly taught Zhang Yajiu, and Crow Jiu cast a sword in Wu Mountain, and the gods borrowed merit from the sky and the sun. ”。

Ye Yunsheng pulled out his sword and let out a "wave" sound, like a small stone falling into the lake.

The sword emitted a faint cold light through the faint moonlight, perhaps because it was close, Ye Yunsheng only felt that it was more flawless and dazzling than the moonlight in the sky.

This sword is known to be a seven-star dragon abyss by looking at the shape, one side of the sword body is the Big Dipper, one side is a flying dragon in the sky, and the hilt is also made of ebony, smooth and translucent.

He looked at the sword, the originally calm heart lake was like a shower passing by, seven years passed, and the remembrance and melancholy in his eyes seemed silent and gentle. At that time, the youth was already buried in the rivers and lakes, and the rivers and lakes were like this sword that had been sealed for seven years...... He greeted him gently: "Old man, don't come unharmed!"

He made a sword trick with the scabbard in his left hand, held the sword in his right hand, stood on a useless sword pile, carried the bright light and guarded the gods, and walked to the sword body, the tip of the sword suddenly began to tremble, he practiced from the first style, and after ten moves, he awakened the feeling in the depths of the soul, the sword came out like the wind, looking for the trace that must exist in the underworld, cut into the seam, and was meticulous.

I remember that at that time, I asked Master Yu Wang Jian why he thought he was the best sword practitioner. The master said that - every time you hoe He's action is exactly the same, the angle of cutting is exactly the same every time, others may not seem to feel anything, but in my eyes, your "exactly the same" is even I, a person who has practiced swords for more than 30 years, can't do it, no matter who repeats an action, although it will look the same, but the subtleties always change, just like the twins under the world look similar and there are always differences, but you can do an action hundreds of times without the slightest difference! If you practice swords, you will be invincible in the world.

His sword momentum slowed.

"How did you do that?"

"I just wanted to save a little effort, adjust a little bit each time, and slowly felt that it was the most effort-saving way to do it, and it was always like this. ”

His sword momentum suddenly became urgent, as if there was an opponent in front of him who couldn't find a flaw.

This opponent, Ye Yunsheng, who should be invincible in the world, can't win.

Just because "he" never existed.

............

The streets of the eastern city of Chang'an City are still full of traffic, and Ye Yunsheng's noodle stall is still clear and cold, revealing an alienation from the entire eastern market.

After noon, his wife, dressed in a light green dress and carrying a basket, walked leisurely to the stall.

"When I went out, I baked two cakes, afraid that the officials would not have time to eat some and be hungry...... Are you going to Brother Fang's mansion now?"

"Don't bother, will he give me a cup of tea when I pass?"

Ye Yunsheng untied the cloth around his waist, added some firewood to the stove, and was about to leave, when he suddenly turned around and asked, "Where is Ah Yu?"

"The slave locked her in the house, and the cold was a little better yesterday, so it was better for her not to run around. ”

Ye Yunsheng only felt his anger rush to the Heavenly Spirit Gai all of a sudden, and then in his mind he was like dozens of bees flying wildly, buzzing and about to explode.

But he forcibly suppressed the angry scolding that had already squirted to the tip of his tongue, turned silent, and walked in the direction of home.

When he came out in the morning, there was no nail latch embedded in the door, and there was no copper flower lock, he reached out and pinched the flower lock, twisted it upward, the lock was already bent and slid out of the buckle, he pushed the door open, and saw Ah Yu squatting on the ground holding his head and crying quietly.

He was distressed and gloomy, and he squatted down, but he didn't know what to say.

"Daddy, don't dislike Ah Yu. ”

"No, Daddy likes Ah Yu the most. ”

He picked up his daughter, walked to the courtyard, took off the face towel that wiped Ah Yu's face, wiped the tears on her little face, wiped off her nose, smiled and said, "Ah Yu has a runny nose when she cries, and it's not beautiful at all." ”

"Ah Yu, Daddy will take you to Uncle Fang's house to eat delicious pastries. ”

"Okay, okay, eat the rice cake with a beautiful flower last time. ”

"That beautiful flower is called plum blossom. ”

He hugged his daughter, walked out of the alley, walked through the long street, walked to the city, and bought a red plum cut in the morning from the flower girl on the street of Tai'an for a penny, he gently tore off the fine pieces of the branch section, and gently inserted it in Ah Yu's hair. Then he whispered Zhang Wei's "Early Plum".

A tree of cold plum and white jade, near the village road by the river bridge.

I don't know that the splash came first, and it is suspected that it has not been sold through the winter snow.

Ah Yu listened carefully, and shouted for him to read it again.

Before I knew it, I came to Fangfu, which is also the place where the Lutheran League planted its flag.

There was a table of people who went in at the door, drinking tea and chatting, and when they saw him, one of them stood up and said hello, gestured inward, and said, "My brother is practicing martial arts." ”

It was inconvenient for him to hold his daughter, so he only nodded and walked inside. When he walked into the courtyard and couldn't see his figure, someone at the table asked curiously: "Which one is this, why did you come to Brother Fang with a girl?"

The person who greeted him first said helplessly: "Who else could it be, Ye Yunsheng!"

"Oh, I see. The speaker and the listener all showed a look of shame and embarrassment.

He looked down at his daughter, Ah Yu didn't have his superb internal skills, so he wouldn't hear the conversation behind, he said to himself softly in his heart: "People don't respect me, it's because I'm talentless." ”

Fang's martial arts training ground was a little bigger than his residence, and Fang Zimo was fighting a sword with a young man.

Zimo's name came out two years earlier than him, and when he was sixteen years old, he was already called Lingyun Sword Immortal by the people in the rivers and lakes, sixteen years old, it was really remarkable...... Now, after many years, his swordsmanship is even more ...... He is a family martial arts, "Flying Sword into the Green Clouds" is also a well-known swordsmanship in the martial arts, a total of seventy-two sword moves, thirty-six changes, sword steps in one, the qi veins are long, before the Jiuhua Mountain Dingfeng Bo Sword Meeting, they have to compete almost every day.

Ye Yunsheng looked at the sword light Huo Huo in the field on the side, like a dragon figure, calculating how many games he had lost in total, and after a while, he smiled self-deprecatingly - what is the point, before practicing useless swordsmanship, he can win every time, but after practicing useless swordsmanship, he has never won again.

"Yunsheng, come. Come into the house and drink tea. Fang Zimo handed the sword to the young man, took Ye Yunsheng's hand, walked quickly through a rock ravine, flowers and trees, and came to the east house, Fang Zimo hugged Ah Yu, called the old servant, served melon and fruit cakes, gave Ah Yu a small coffee table, and sat on the side to eat. He sat across the table with Ye Yunsheng, took the tea set on the table, and began to order tea.

The tea group is the fog hidden in the South Mountain, during the Tang Kaiyuan period, it was quite famous among the people in the rivers and lakes, I don't know when, and it was revived in the rivers and lakes, Fang Zimo loved this tea alone.

Ordering tea is very time-consuming and laborious, only the front preparation has to burn tea, broken tea, grinding tea, Luo tea, and put the box; he will take out the tea powder that has been prepared in the jade pot at the moment, put it into the cup respectively, pour it into the boiling water, hold the jade tea whisk to blow, the internal strength is subtle and precise, and the tea power can be diverged between rotations, and disperse with a fixed trajectory, seven times and rest, the tea surface has been hung with mountain shadow mist, and the color is gorgeous.

Fang Zimo was engrossed in ordering tea, the pupils on Fangzheng's face were locked, his sword eyebrows were lightly raised, and there was a smile on the corners of his broad lips, which was rigorous and enjoyable...... He has more than ten years of martial arts accumulated in the rivers and lakes, but he can still hide a trace of tranquility, and whoever sits opposite can feel the rare and valuable temperament of the people in the rivers and lakes.

On the other hand, Ye Yunsheng sat silently, his expression was lonely, his thick eyebrows drooped, and the corners of his mouth were pursed-the two of them were a little incompatible when they sat together--he felt incompatible, his aura was incompatible, and he was not suitable for tea in one place.

Fang Zimo didn't mind, put the tea cup into the tray, and pushed it in front of him. Ye Yunsheng smelled the fragrance of tea and got drunk, and couldn't help sighing: "I'm afraid that your skill of ordering tea can enter the top three tea ceremonies in the world." ”

Fang Zimo smiled complacently, didn't say a word, only took a shallow sip of tea, and the taste was deserved.

Both of them were quietly sipping tea, Ah Yu was sitting against the threshold, dipping the rice cake in his mouth, eating it with a chirp, looking very serious, but revealing the innocence that only children can do.

Ye Yunsheng put down the teacup, pondered for a while, lowered his head and was about to speak, when he heard Fang Zimo ask: "How are you doing lately?"

His gaze fell on the teacup, and the mountain shadow hung on the mouth of the cup.

"Good. Light. ”

"How is Little Lady Tan?"

"We've been together since we were kids, what else can we do?"

"Listen to what you say, and you will know that something is wrong. ”

Ye Yunsheng turned the teacup, his gaze still on it.

"She is obedient to me, but she is still not good to Ah Yu. ”

Fang Zimo said disappreciably: "How can a biological daughter be bad?"

Ye Yunsheng's gaze raised, but it fell back in an instant.

"It's because of her daughter, she should have been beaten and scolded by the adults in the family when she was a child, and there were four women in their family. I want to have another one with me all day. ”

"Then regenerate. Fang Zimo laughed.

Ye Yunsheng didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he nodded and said, "Yes." ”

The hot water continued, and the mountain shadow of the tea soup dissolved, becoming a cloud.

"Originally, I thought you would marry a woman on the rivers and lakes, but I remember that at that time, 'Yang Liu Qingqing' stuck with you all day long in Pingjiang Mansion. Whoever wants you to quit the rivers and lakes will quit the rivers and lakes, and if you say get married, you will get married. Fang Zimo's face showed regret and sadness, and he stopped talking and tasted tea.

"Qingqing...... Three years ago, she came to Chang'an and met her. Ye Yunsheng seemed to be talking to himself, "I didn't expect that since I quit the rivers and lakes and returned to my hometown, my father prepared family affairs for me, Ah Tan and I have been in the village since we were children, but we can say that we are childhood sweethearts, at that time, I felt that it was like this, it was okay, and I became a ...... in a daze."

He sighed, thinking about getting along all these years, and thinking of those times in the rivers and lakes, and said lightly: "If you quit, there will be no difference between victory and defeat, let go of obsession, you can breathe, and you can live......"

"But I'm ...... What we like is still the former Ye Yunsheng. That Ye Yunsheng who won't give up and has been defeated repeatedly!"

"Useless in the world?" His gaze was like a sword, from the bottom up, and finally raised it up, meeting Fang Zimo's gaze.

In an instant, he fell back to the table, and he didn't know who he was laughing at, "I'm afraid there is no one else except you." Haruko set off the cannon battle when I withdrew from the rivers and lakes......"

"You know it in your heart, so why do you say that? The old folks of the Lutheran League, they are all missing you. ”

"That's it...... I'm fine now...... Gains and losses follow fate, and there is no increase or decrease in the heart. ”

Fang Zimo put down the teacup and refilled the tea.

Ye Yunsheng turned his head and looked at Ah Yu blankly, seeing that the little guy's mouth was full and kept for a moment, he only felt love and sadness in his heart.

After drinking the third cup, Ye Yunsheng didn't know what to say, so he wanted to bring up the matter of borrowing money. Who knew that Fang Zimo asked again: "Are you still making noodles recently?"

He nodded yes.

"Zhao Yuanwai in the city, do you know?"

"That Zhao Yuanwai who said that he was related to the official family?"

"Yes, that's him. His son is seven years old and wants to find a gentleman, so he invited Chen Kuan and Chen to teach...... As for the sword teacher, he came to me. ”

"Strange, shouldn't it be to find Xie Ding, the sword king of Chang'an? Xie Ding is the number one official in Chang'an, and he has dealings with the prefect, the governor, and the official, how could he come to you?"

Fang Zimo faced Ye Yunsheng's doubts, and said lightly: "Because I have higher swordsmanship and stronger internal strength than Xie Ding, and besides, Zhao Yuanwai is not worried that inviting me to teach swordsmanship will make those people you just said unhappy and cause trouble." ”

Speaking of which, he came to his senses, he hadn't seen him for a long time, why didn't he even ask Zimo, how are you doing lately......

Probably Qingzi often said, said that Zimo had fought with many people in the rivers and lakes who hooked up with officials, and some of them even shared life and death, so firmly nailed to Chang'an City, no one could help - after all, the Xinyi League hindered the operation of the Transshipment Division, and also hindered the business of too many people. Of course, Zimo has also suffered countless troubles, large and small, but fortunately, the official characters are quite exquisite, and they did not cross the rivers and lakes and directly reached in to stir up peace.

He lowered his head and his eyes fell on the tips of his shoes, knowing that this excuse was too unreasonable and too despicable.

"It's not very good, you just go and teach that little boy outside Zhao Yuan, pull a little relationship, and find more backers for the Xinyi League. ”

Fang Zimo looked at him calmly, suddenly shook his head and said, "But I can't go." ”

"Why?" Ye Yunsheng asked in surprise.

"I have a very important thing to do. ”

"What is so important, why not take that kid and just do your business?"

"People in the rivers and lakes, maybe a few years of calm, but in an instant, the flames are raging, and the fierce water is monstrous, which is also what the rivers and lakes should have, and the destiny of heaven is difficult to violate. Fang Zimo said lightly, as if he was relieved, and like a kind of announcement. "It just so happens that you came to me, and here you are, please!"

Although Ye Yunsheng withdrew from the rivers and lakes and was willing to live a plain life, after all, he was a man in the rivers and lakes, and he was Fang Zimo's brother. Listening to his words, he felt that his blood was surging, and he was about to agree, but he suddenly remembered that seven years ago, the Dingfeng Bo Sword Club was finally pointed at the throat by the Iron Sword Scholar, and he was defeated, looking back and seeing the resentment and dissatisfaction of the people in the Xinyi League, seeing Zhang Qingzi's tearful face, and seeing the helplessness and regret hidden in his eyes by Fang Zimo, who had always trusted him, this blood instantly became cold and solidified.

He no longer wants to talk about borrowing money, no longer wants to be in front of Zimo, and no longer wants to say the word Jianghu. He felt extremely tired all over his body, and said softly, as if pleading, as if evading: "Zimo, I have already withdrawn from the rivers and lakes." ”

............

The sun on the streets of Chang'an was obscured by the clouds, it was getting dark, it was going to rain, and the hurried footsteps of the crowd formed a sharp contrast with him walking slowly with Ah Yu in his arms.

Ah Yu put his arms around his neck and fell asleep quietly, he hugged Ah Yu like a sleeping person.