Early in the morning, Zhou Changsheng got up early and began to clean the courtyard. For a person who has already died once, a new day is so good. Smelling the fresh air unique to the morning, watching the newborn morning sun scatter golden light, pass through the treetops, turn into wisps of golden light, and fall straight to the ground, forming a little spot of light. The breeze blew, the branches swayed, and the spots of light were like a group of elves, jumping and frolicking happily. The birds had already gotten up, and flocks stood at the top of the house, in the eaves, in the treetops, chirping. Looking up, wisps of cooking smoke rose, and the aroma of food that I don't know who cooked, and the noisy clamor of the street market, all of which made Zhou Changsheng feel that today was different from the past, but he couldn't understand the difference. He even felt that sweeping the floor, which he hated the most, was actually a very pleasant thing, which made Zhou Changsheng a little overwhelmed, and even a little flustered in his heart, although he didn't know what this panic came from.

In the end, it was the young man's temperament, and after the big things passed, he forgot all about it in a snap of his fingers, leaving no worries, and then went to do other things happily.

When Shui Niang got up, through the window, she happened to see Changsheng cleaning the courtyard, her heart seemed to be hit by something, and the corners of her eyes were a little moist, she turned around and wiped her sleeves with her sleeves, and said secretly in her heart: "Our family has grown up!" Then she turned around and went to the kitchen, thinking to herself: "What delicious food to treat our little man, what about Xiao Changsheng?"

Zhou Changsheng cleaned the yard, and went to help wipe the tables, chairs and benches of the inn, which happened to let Zhou Youcai bump into him.

"Little rabbit, did you do something bad again? I haven't seen you so diligent, but now the sun is coming out of the west, this is not like our little immortal. "Zhou has a way of wealth.

Zhou Changsheng pursed his lips and said, "It's just that you are usually quite tired, so you did what you could, what's the fuss about." Take a closer look, am I your little immortal? After speaking, he seemed to remember something again, and flattered: "By the way, Dad, let's discuss something." As he spoke, he hurriedly approached and pinched his father's shoulder.

Zhou Youcai smiled and said, "You're showing the fox's tail so soon, hey, tap it, let's say, what kind of bad idea do you kid think again?"

Zhou Changsheng said seriously: "I want to learn boxing." ”

Zhou Youcai said with some emotion: "Learn boxing? I heard you right? When you were a child, you were weak, and your mother and I wanted you to learn boxing and practice martial arts to be strong and strong, so I sent you to the martial arts hall early." You went for a day, and when you came back, your whole body was swollen, and I accidentally touched it, and you grinned and said it didn't hurt. Your mother is so distressed that she doesn't dare to look at you squarely. The master also praised you and said, I have never seen such a hard-working child, but unfortunately you are born with a bad foundation, not suitable for learning boxing, if you have to learn, you will be a third-rate martial artist at most in the future. At night, when you fall asleep and talk in your dreams, you keep shouting that it hurts, and your mother is secretly wiping her tears next to you, and you shout all night, and your mother cries all night. The next day, you saw your mother's crying and swollen eyes, and you didn't go to learn boxing anymore, saying that you were afraid of pain. Holding the pillar and crying is called a miserable, your mother is distressed and you secretly wipe your tears, saying that you don't want to learn, we don't learn boxing anymore, and we won't learn it in the future. You haven't mentioned learning boxing since. Your mother doesn't know, but when your father knows, you say that you are afraid of pain, not because you are afraid of pain, but because you are afraid that your mother will be distressed. Every time you get out of school, you always like to take a long detour past the entrance of the martial arts hall, just to take a few more glances inside. There are knives, guns, and sticks hidden in the house, and I thought that I didn't even know about your father. Actually, Dad has been waiting for you to say this. ”

Zhou Youcai, a man in his forties, seemed to remember something again, turned his head away, and secretly wiped away the tears that were about to overflow from the corners of his eyes.

Zhou Changsheng's eyes were a little sour, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, my son will learn boxing and live up to his father's expectations." Then he got closer and muttered in Zhou Youcai's ear: "But this matter, is it troublesome for my father to be on my mother's side to help cover it up!"

Zhou Youcai gently slapped Changsheng, "You stinky boy!"

Zhou Changsheng went out of the house, and happened to meet Erniu, Li Shan, and Wen Xian, Zhou Changsheng didn't know how to explain yesterday's events, but the other three didn't know whether to mention yesterday's events. The four of them were speechless all the way, and when they were about to arrive at the academy, Er Niu couldn't help but ask first: "Changsheng, are you ...... today?" Are you alright?"

Zhou Changsheng thought about it, decided not to tell them the truth, and said with a smile: "What else can I do, you still hope that I have something!"

Zhang Wenxian continued: "Your silent appearance yesterday frightened us, I thought it was ......."

Zhou Changsheng hurriedly took over and said: "Why do you think of it, yesterday was the latest prank I thought of, how about it, I was scared! Hahahaha......" After saying that, he ran away.

When the three of them heard this, they shouted: "Changsheng, don't run, you dare to lie to us." So saying, he chased after him. After a while, the four of them were fighting again, and they were reconciled as before.

The love and hatred of teenagers are mostly like thunderstorms in summer, vigorous at the beginning, and the rain and weather are sunny after a meal. It is rarely like a scratched wound, leaving a scar, which grows on the body and lasts for a lifetime.

The school is located in a remote corner of the west of the city, consisting of four abandoned houses. One of the larger rooms served as a school, two smaller rooms housed the old master and the little master, and the last room was filled with miscellaneous items. Most of the people who study in the school are poor, because they can't afford to hire a tutor and can't afford to go to private school, so they have to pay for a gentleman to come back and find a place to use as a school, so that their children can also have a place to read and write.

The four of them arrived at the school, Zhou Changsheng saw that there were few students in the school, and after asking, he learned that the old master was delayed because of some things, and it may take some time to come back. However, except for a very small number of students who can insist on coming to the school every day to study, most of them have the right to take a vacation, and they have long taken the words of the old master as a deaf ear.

Wang Erniu and Li Shan saw that their master was not there, and told Changsheng that they had a lot of things at home to help them and went back first, while Wen Xian naturally chose to stay in the school hall to study. Zhou Changsheng stayed in the academy for a while, feeling really bored, he remembered that the Qinglong dagger was still missing a scabbard, and said to Wen Xian and got up and left the academy.

The person Zhou Changsheng was looking for was a strange old man named Gongsun Shanqing, who lived in a blacksmith shop in the northwest of the city. The old man once got drunk and said that he used to be a refiner, and Zhou Changsheng asked him what a refiner was? Later, he was never heard talking about the alchemist. Zhou Changsheng had never seen him build anything. But he was often seen sitting alone at the door of the shop, wearing a fur coat of unknown origin, next to the iron stove, either smoking or drinking. He has two apprentices, but he works hard, and most of the work in the store is done by apprentices. But there was a small suite in the old man's blacksmith's shop, which was full of ingenious things that the old man had made idle. There are a lot of things, and the greedy Zhou Changsheng drools, and the old man either offers a dead price and a dead price, or directly marks it as a non-sale. Every time he came here, Zhou Changsheng was angry and his teeth hurt, and he swore never to come again when he left, but he always ran over and shouted a few times after two days.

There is something to beg him for today, and he is naturally quick and sweet. When he arrived at the blacksmith shop, Zhou Changsheng just stepped forward, pinching his shoulders and beating his back, and tossed for a long time before he heard the old man say: "Okay, if you hammer my body bones again, you will be hammered apart!" ”

Zhou Changsheng hurriedly replied: "It's nothing, don't you usually look at your baby, and I'll let you take a look at my baby today." But let's go on, if you think my baby is as good as anything in your house, then you'll have to find me a piece of clothing. After saying that, he deliberately blinked his eyes.

When the old man Gongsun heard this, he came back to his senses, and thought, "What kind of trick is this stinky boy playing today, don't you lie to yourself by looking for some broken stones and rotten iron pieces from the garbage mountain as treasures, and I am really blind when I am an old man?" Take it out, don't hide it. ”

Zhou Changsheng took out the Qinglong dagger, which had been wrapped in layers of cloth from his arms, and handed it to the old man.

The old man didn't think so at first, but when the wrapped cloth was uncovered to reveal the green dragon dagger, the old man seemed to change in an instant, his eyes were sharp, and he stared at Zhou Changsheng tightly, as if he wanted to see something from his face, and then smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Is this fate?" After speaking, he pulled Zhou Changsheng into the blacksmith shop.

The old man stared at the dagger in a daze, and after a long moment he spoke, "Tell me, how did this dagger come about?" ”

Zhou Changsheng naturally didn't tell the truth, first talked about how he trekked through mountains and rivers, worked hard, forgot about death, and finally saw a pile of bones in a broken cave where birds don't, and this dagger was picked up next to the bones. Later, when I saw the disdain on the old man's face, I knew that I couldn't deceive, so I had to tell why he had a conflict with the little fat man surnamed Deng in the garbage mountain on the wharf, how the two sides fought, and how they escaped later, and finally when the little fat man and his party left, how he picked up the dagger next to the garbage mountain. It's just that he was stabbed with a dagger in the end, but he didn't say anything about it. It seems that there is a voice in my heart, which has been saying that this matter cannot be said, and it will be a catastrophe if it is said. Besides, if you die, you can be resurrected, and even if you tell it, how many people will believe it? What's more, you can't figure out whether what happened to you is true or false, and if you can't figure it out, it's just a dream of your own, and if you really say it, you can't let others laugh and lose their big teeth!

True and false, false and true. Even Zhou Changsheng himself felt that he was a genius, a genius of lying.

After hearing this, the old man pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Who knows about your dagger?"

Zhou Changsheng saw that the old man's face had changed, and hurriedly said, "Wang Erniu, Li Shan, Zhang Wenxian, the three of them." It's just that they just glanced at it, but didn't look closely. ”

The old man of Gongsun pondered for a moment and said to Zhou Changsheng, "If I guess correctly, that little fat man should be Deng Youqian, the only son of Deng Laiqian and Deng Laohu. I can't say if you're lucky or lucky, you ran into Deng Laohu's son and got into a fight, picked up a dagger, and now you are like no one. Say you are young and ignorant or young and frivolous? Ignorant people are fearless. ”

Zhou Changsheng was a little depressed, and thought, "It's okay, I was stabbed to death by that kid, and I used the Qinglong dagger in your hand, old man, but I came back to life inexplicably." It's true that the ignorant are fearless, and now they aren't afraid. Then he asked, "Who is Deng Laohu?"

The old man said helplessly: "It's really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, fortunately, our Cold Wind City is located in the Northern Wilderness, just a remote town, and the weather is bitterly cold, except for the merchants and the group of visitors who don't want to die, almost no one is willing to come here, this is your boy's luck." Tell me about our Cold Wind City, who is the most unprovoked?"

Zhou Changsheng said casually: "Of course it's our city lord." ”

The old man Gongsun smiled and said, "Wrong, very wrong. If you provoke the city lord, at least you will be punished with a few whips, or at worst, you will only be put in prison, and you will not endanger your family, or even lose your life. ”

Zhou Changsheng thought for a while and said, "Is it the blind man of Jade Owl Mountain?"

The old man Gongsun was a little surprised and said, "Your kid's brain is spinning very fast, right?" This person will encounter different things, meet different people, and take different paths when he lives. Why can't you mess with the blind man Chen? Because you provoked him, your family, friends, and you are no longer safe, and you were hacked that day. Because these people don't pay attention to the rules, the people who don't follow the rules are the most unprovoked. ”

The old man picked up the pipe, Zhou Changsheng hurriedly took the velvet and lit it, the old man took a puff of cigarette and said: "Jiangnan is a good place, it's warm, it's not like we freeze to death here." There is also a lot of land, a lot of people, a lot of mountains, and a lot of water. If there is more water, there will be more rivers, so the transportation is developed, and the trough gang has always been a large force in the south of the Yangtze River, and there are four of the most powerful trough gangs. There is such a proverb among the people in the south of the Yangtze River: 'The yellow belly holds the lamp, and the muddy water becomes clear.' That's what they're talking about. ”

Zhou Changsheng was a little puzzled: "The yellow-bellied palm lamp, the muddy water becomes clear, what does it mean?"

The old man of Gongsun smoked a cigarette and said: "Yellow belly palm lamp, yellow refers to Huang Yin's Renshe, belly refers to the dark water gate of Duquan Mountain, palm refers to Zhang Zixi's Yunhai faction, and the lamp refers to Deng Laiqian's money gang." Muddy water becomes clear means that there are these four places, don't think about fishing in troubled water, there is no fish when the water is clear. Among these four, Deng Laohu is notoriously unruly, and he will do everything for money. The little fat man who fought with you is Deng Laohu's only son, Deng Youqian, are you afraid now?"

Zhou Changsheng's face turned pale, and he was a little overwhelmed.

The old man looked at Zhou Changsheng and said, "It's right to know that you are afraid, I thought you were really not afraid of heaven and earth." Don't be so nervous, old man, I won't do anything like a relative who is painful and an enemy who is happy. As for why I have a grudge against Deng Laohu, I won't talk to you in detail. Now it seems like you'd better be glad those three of your friends didn't ramble, or you'd be in big trouble. ”

After Zhou Changsheng heard this, he was anxious to leave, and the old man said: "I can't hold it anymore, and you don't want this baby?" Young people don't be too anxious, they must learn to think first. If it had gotten out, would it have been useful for you now? Wouldn't it be better if it hadn't gotten out. I'll see how your baby goes. ”

The old man of Gongsun held the dagger, flicked his fingers, and the sound was crisp and pleasant, and the aftertaste was long. So he took the dagger in his hand and danced like a sword. I saw that the dagger seemed to come to life in the old man's hand, and he could only see a bright shadow flying up and down, or suddenly stabbing straight, or holding it upside down, and suddenly the dagger flew out, slashing in front of Zhou Changsheng's eyes, and directly submerged into the wall. So bluffed that Zhou Changsheng didn't dare to move, only to see a strand of broken hair falling from his eyes.

The old man straightened up panting, looked at Zhou Changsheng and said, "Well, the guts are okay, but I don't know how your kid's bones are." Alas, old man, I am really old, if I had just warmed up when I was young. Ahem......"

Zhou Changsheng suddenly thought of something, bowed his head, and shouted in his mouth: "Master, please accept the apprentice's worship." After saying that, bang, I don't know how many kowtows, until the old man shouted to stop.

The old man was very relieved and said, "How do you know that I have moved my mind to accept apprentices?"

Zhou Changsheng raised his head, completely ignoring the broken forehead and said: "Master, you have never shown in front of me that you know martial arts, today you made an exception, and you still said that I have good courage, but I don't know what the root bones are." If I don't understand what you mean, then I'm a big fool!"

Gongsun Shanqing stroked his beard and said, "It's quite clever, and this kung fu is very skillful in climbing along the pole." But I haven't agreed to accept you as an apprentice, there is a rule in our sect that before accepting apprentices, you must inspect for a period of time, as short as a few months, as long as more than ten years. Accepting apprentices not only depends on the courage, but also on the roots, understanding, fate, heart, and the most important thing is that during the inspection period, I will issue you different tasks, and they are all completed before they are passed, and I can officially accept you as an apprentice and take you back to the mountain gate. Finally, I would like to remind you that my mission is going to be deadly. ”

Zhou Changsheng said directly: "Master, I promise." ”

Gongsun Shanqing frowned and said, "I agreed so quickly, and I didn't think about it?" I can give you a day to let you think about it." ”

Zhou Changsheng said seriously: "People must know how to cherish blessings, I don't want to live a life of inaction." But I was thinking in my heart: "If Ming'er you always regret it, where can I go to reason, not to mention that you didn't say that you want to worship the master to accept the teacher's ceremony, that's a lot of silver." Master who picks it up for nothing, don't do it in vain!"