After dinner, the shops on the street gradually lit up in Jinan Mansion, Ludong.

People come and go, and the streets here are bustling and noisy. The autumn days have been shortening, the post station of the fast horse shuttle, a postman stepped off the horse to get the letter, the horse's hooves clicked out of the post station again, turned a few main streets, only to see that there is a house door on the east side of the street, the gate plaque on the book "Chen Mansion", there is a couplet on both sides of the plaque, the upper couplet: the fourth generation of loyal martyrs to pass on the temple, the lower couplet: the three generations of grandmasters hidden rivers and lakes.

This is Chenjiabao, one of the prominent families of Jinan Prefecture. Chenjiabao is famous for its castle owner Chen Yiqun, the Chen family was originally a southern ethnic group, moved to Ludong from Chen Yiqun's great-grandfather, and his great-grandfather to his father, who were rare in the martial arts in the third generation; The reason for this is unknown.

Today's Chenjiabao, Chen Yiqun is also famous in the rivers and lakes and the imperial court with his outstanding civil and military double cultivation. There was a neighing of horses, and the gate was not opened. The postman dismounted and trotted all the way, and there was a side door next to the main entrance, and the postman knocked on the small door, and a small man opened the door to take the letter, and the postman left without mentioning it.

He said that the little guy got the letter and went straight to the hall, and when he saw that the hall was empty at the moment, he asked someone to spread the message to the back hall. Another boy ran to the pavilion in the backyard, and saw a man in brocade chatting with an old woman and a woman on the water pavilion. The little guy said: "To the master, the wife, the ancestor please be safe, there is a letter in the front yard." ”

The middle-aged man is Chen Yiqun, the old woman is his mother Zhang, and the woman is his wife Yang. Chen Yiqun said goodbye to the two female dependents, went to the main hall, opened the letter, and said to the little guy: "The back hall has passed on Renhai and Rensong to come——"

Chen Yiqun thought for a while, and then sent the little maid to invite his mother and wife to the main hall for discussion.

In the middle of the night, the two teenagers took a little girl to the main hall, the little girl was Chen Yiqun's concubine, but she was well-behaved and loved by the old lady, Chen Yiqun's main room was a good person, and she also loved this girl. Chen Yiqun picked up the little girl and said, "Ling'er, my father wants to discuss things with the two elder brothers, how about you go to the backyard to play first?"

The little girl, Chen Renling said: "No, I want to play with the two elder brothers, just now the eldest brother lost a chess game with me, and the eldest brother said that he wanted to buy me the sugar man next to the Thousand Buddha Temple——"

"Hahahaha, Ling'er is coming to her mother's side-" Mrs. Chen said, Yang hugged Chen Renling, put her on the chair next to her, and said: "Master, Ling'er still doesn't know anything, and she is also a family member, if there is something to say, it doesn't hurt for her to listen." ”

"Yes, Qun'er, why did the family do this...... old lady said.

"That's right, my father is estranged from me—" Chen Renling said.

"Hahahaha—or mine isn't, well, mother, madam, there is a letter from the court here today. Chen Yiqun said.

"Father, the Chen family has little to do with the imperial court, how can the imperial court send a letter to Chen Jiabao now?" Chen Renhai said.

"At the beginning of last year, the imperial court planned to rebuild the moon dragon, and wanted to invite famous families from the rivers and lakes to enter the palace to discuss matters with the people in the military room. Chen Yiqun said.

"This is a strange thing, the court's own business, how could it invite people from the rivers and lakes to come?, this letter only talks about this?" the old lady said.

"Mother, the letter also said that I was asked to send someone from the Chen family to participate in this matter, and the imperial court also wanted to canonize Renhai as the commander of the Great Inner Kan. Chen Yiqun said.

Therefore, the imperial court pointed out that Hai'er should go. Mrs. Chen said.

"This matter is very good-" Chen Rensong said, "The eldest brother won the Wenju the year before last, and he won the martial arts again last year, whether it is writing essays on the Tao or planning troops and performing martial arts, it is all convincing, and my Chen family ancestor has a precedent of being loyal to the imperial court, and the imperial court wants to restore the path of the Chen family to attack the official, which is also reasonable." ”

"That's right, big brother has to bring me good things when he goes to the capital—" Chen Renling echoed.

After a burst of laughter, Chen Renhai was also happy with his sister's innocence, and said, "Little sister's mouth—" After that, he pinched Chen Renling's face, "Are you still not satisfied with so many good things in Jinan Mansion?"

"They all say that the capital is good, I listened to what the uncle said that year. After the eldest brother went to the capital to fight the demons, he had to think about buying me something-" Chen Renling said with a grin.

"What demon?" Chen Renhai couldn't help but be a little puzzled by his sister's thoughts, and looked at Chen Renling's watery eyes with a smile.

"It is said that 'once there are demons in one generation, and eliminating demons is the work of Ouchi', and the eldest brother went to the capital to be the commander of Ouchi, isn't it just to eliminate demons?" Chen Renling said.

"Bah, girl, don't talk nonsense—" The old lady stopped, "how can there be any demons in the peaceful and prosperous world? Don't listen to the nonsense of those children, women and children on the street—come on, quickly take the young lady down-"

Chen Renling didn't dare to say any more, and was hugged to the backyard by a grandmother who walked into the hall and didn't mention it. "These people take Ling'er out on the streets all day long, and sooner or later they will be spoiled by those gangs of people in the market, and it is better to go out less in the future-" the old lady scolded.

"When the mother is angry, the child will do it. Renhai, the Holy One intends to canonize it, although it is not a holy decree, but this letter was sent by the King of Dingnan, who is the brother of the Holy Lord today, has the military power of the two southern provinces, and also has the masters of the rivers and lakes. Chen Yiqun said.

"Father, although it is a letter from the prince, if there is no emperor's will, I will put down the canonization first. It's just that the imperial court is rebuilding the moon dragon, why do you want to find my Chen family and ask for a child by name? My father also knows that the child is not good at civil engineering. Besides, this Moon Dragon Pavilion, the previous martial arts training ground built between the weapons, the Moon Dragon Pavilion once had the first holy weapon of martial arts, the Moon Dragon Ring, but when the emperor was alive, the Moon Dragon Pavilion was destroyed, and this matter was also mentioned on the rivers and lakes, and now it is said that the Moon Dragon Ring has long disappeared, if the Moon Dragon Pavilion has no holy weapon, even if it is rebuilt, what is the meaning?" Chen Renhai said.

"Then this has nothing to do with the eldest brother going to the capital to be the commander of the Great Interior-" Chen Rensong was confused and said, "Even if there is no holy weapon, the eldest brother can still be in charge of the Inner Party." ”

"Don't interrupt, Song'er, listen to your eldest brother. Mrs. Chen said.

"The imperial court is like this, there is no holy decree, and there is no specific time, I am afraid that it is to select a new person for the Ouchi, from the rivers and lakes and the original Ouchi together, as for why the matter of repairing the Moon Dragon Pavilion is mentioned again, I am afraid that the new Ouchi people and the military weapons are jointly responsible. Chen Renhai said.

"Renhae, as you said, there is nothing wrong with this. And this is what the prince invited, if I don't go to Chen Jiabao, I'm afraid it will be a loss. Mother, madam, these days, we have invited Chen Jiabao's disciples, relatives and friends to come, and we will choose a day for Renhai to travel in the near future, how about it?" Chen Yiqun said.

"This is to have, I Chen Jiabao has to be helped by the same people in the rivers and lakes, and there is peace in the harmony of all sects, and now there is joy in my own family, and it should be shared by relatives and friends. The old lady said.

"It's just - let them see the big brother's look, and also see the prosperity of my Chen Jiabao's talents-" Chen Rensong said excitedly.

Chen Renhai didn't speak, only patted Chen Rensong on the back, smiled and said goodbye to the elders and went to the backyard house.

"You should learn from your brother and be calm. Mrs. Chen said.

"Yes, Mother. Chen Rensong said.

After the discussion, Chen Yiqun accompanied Mrs. Lao and Mrs. Yang back to the backyard without mentioning it. Chen Rensong sent someone to the kitchen, cut two catties of cooked meat, beat half a catty of good wine, and asked the cook to fry two side dishes, mix a plate of cold dishes, and send them to Chen Renhai's courtyard.

Chen Renhai saw Chen Rensong coming, motioned for him to put his things on the stone table in the courtyard, Chen Renhai changed his clothes and went out to sit down, and poured wine and ate a glass without saying a word.

Seeing this, Chen Rensong immediately poured himself a glass, raised his glass and said, "Congratulations to big brother-"

"Brother, how can you be happy? Grandpa just got tired of being a official and returned to the rivers and lakes. Now I take care of the family's money and restaurant, you take care of the fields, and you can be accompanied by your sister, parents, and grandmother every day, so happy, why do you have to take care of the affairs of the court. Chen Renhai said. After that, he picked up the meat and put it in his mouth. He drank it with a sip of wine.

"Big brother, you have been asking about the affairs of the rivers and lakes for so long, you will help the neighborhood with anything, and you can be indignant if there is any injustice in the rivers and lakes. Some time ago, the corruption case of the Ministry of Rites was not thoroughly investigated, and you locked yourself in the room to write poems to vent your anger. This is not the same reason as Fan Xiwen's 'living in the temple is high and worrying about the people, and being far away from the rivers and lakes is worried about the king'. Chen Rensong said.

"'Worried about the people' can include 'worried about the king', and I would prefer to worry about the people. Chen Renhai said.

"The eldest brother's words are wrong, if you don't appreciate it, you can only worry, but you can't protect it. As long as the eldest brother goes to Ouchi to protect the rivers and mountains, the people will have no worries, and the eldest brother will have no worries. Chen Rensong said.

"This is the selection of people by the imperial court, and there are many masters in the government and the opposition, so I may not be able to take on this important task. If I can't return to my hometown, then the two of us brothers will have a good drink—" Chen Renhai drank another glass of wine.

"It is a blessing for my eldest brother to be able to serve in Da Nei, if I don't have this official position, it doesn't matter, no matter when, my brother must wait for my brother to come back at home and take care of his parents and grandmother. Chen Rensong said with a smile.

The two drank wine, accompanied by the night breeze, the wine was left, Chen Rensong said goodbye to Chen Renhai and returned to his room, Chen Renhai sent someone to clean up the wine table, and then went back to the room to rest.

About ten days later, after the Chen family held a feast for Chen Renhai, Chen Renhai bid farewell to the family elders the next day and took two guards on the road together.

The three horses traveled day and night, and arrived at the outer capital seven days later.

"Young master, in less than a hundred miles, you will be able to reach the capital—" said a guard.

"After entering the town, find an inn to rest first, and after seven days of traveling, you two are also tired. Chen Renhai said.

"Thank you, young master—"

This town is very peaceful, through this town, after passing through a city pass, you can get to the capital. The town is not as lively as Jinan Mansion, when the three horses enter the town, there is no one on the main street, and the sound of horses' hooves stepping on the floor tiles can be heard throughout the street.

There didn't seem to be an inn here, Chen Renhai looked left and right, and the two guards also looked around.

"Young master, this is just a people's market town, and it will take at least two hours to get to the next city pass, if you hurry up, you can get to the city pass before dawn. Chengguan is only less than thirty miles away from the capital, so it is better for me to wait for the horse to enter the pass. ”

"I can't wait, the horses are tired. If there is no inn to stop the horse, this horse will run and die on the road, won't it delay time even more?" Chen Renhai said.

As soon as Chen Renhai's words fell, a passer-by came with a burden. The three of them looked at this person, this person and the three of them passed by, Chen Renhai shouted to the passer-by, and said, "Dare to ask the little brother, but is it from this town?"

The passer-by was obviously frightened by the three men in front of him during the night, and said, "Hmm...... Be...... The villain lives on the street......"

"Then may I ask my little brother, is there any inn in this town where I can stay?" asked Chen Renhai.

The passer-by breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My second uncle's house has a horse shop, and it will be a hundred or ten feet along this main street——"

By the time the two guards were about to thank him, the passerby had already disappeared without a trace.

Chen Renhai smiled and drove forward.

There is indeed a horse shop not far away, and once this horse shop passes, you can leave the market town. Chen Renhai smiled again and shook his head at his impatience just now.

The horse entered the grass shed, the people entered the house, Chen Renhai made the bed, and just wanted to sleep, he heard a movement downstairs. The two attendants were already asleep on the kang, and Chen Renhai opened the side of the door and looked downstairs. I saw that the owner of the horse shop just now carried a woman with heavy makeup into the house.

Chen Renhai smiled again, it seems that this town also has its strange nights.

Suddenly, a woman screamed downstairs, Chen Renhai jumped downstairs and walked to the boss's room, the door was locked, Chen Renhai pierced the window paper, due to the bad angle, he could only see the shadow reflected by the lights on the wall. I saw that the woman was pressed on the bed by the boss, struggling desperately, and the boss seemed to want to do something obscene.

Chen Renhai immediately broke down the door and saw that the room was empty. There was a window on one side of the bed, which was still open. "I've been tricked-" Chen Renhai wanted to go out, only to see a few darts coming from outside the window, and Chen Renhai dodged a somersault to escape the darts.

Chen Renhai wanted to withdraw from the room, but saw more than a dozen men with knives standing at the door. "Want to go to the capital?" said one of the men.

"Who are you, why are you pretending to be a puzzle?" Chen Renhai said.

"Young Master Chen Jiabao, I've been waiting for a long time. The person walking in front of him was the owner of the shop, and the woman with heavy makeup was beside him.

The boss was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, with a butterfly-shaped dart in his hand, and said with a smile: "If you go to the capital, how can I become the commander of the Great Interior?"

"It seems that Your Excellency is really well-informed. I don't know if you can tell me which school is the master of which school. Chen Renhai said.

"Haha, Chen Gongzi, you are smart all your life to ask such a stupid question. The woman next to her chuckled

"Ludong Kingdee Village's unique Kingdee Dart, Your Excellency is not ......," Chen Renhai said.

"Hahaha...... It's good to know—" said the boss.

"Foxes just can't hide their tails. You are not from Kingdee Village at all, and the people in Kingdee Village don't know the art of shadow puppetry at all. Chen Renhai said. "The girl is the 'Shadow Demon' Yan Yu. I have heard of you using shadow puppetry to deceive the people and seduce martial arts heroes on the rivers and lakes, I don't know which hero you tricked into coming to me for trouble?"

"Hahahaha-" Yan Yu said with a smile, "Chen Gongzi has a good eye." It's me, but what can I do?" said that, the two guards upstairs were also escorted downstairs by several men with knives.

The candle flame in the lobby was dancing with residual light, and it was almost three watches, and the bangzi rang again, and a watchman came to the store with the bangzi. "There is another martial arts scum, 'broken intestines' Xun Lian. Just as you were on your way, I suspected that the man was not a hawker who had returned at night. The whole main street is so long, you can run without a trace in such an instant, how can you be such an ordinary person?"

"Hahahaha...... Today, Chen Gongzi is one against three, what are the odds of winning?" said the shopkeeper.

Before Chen Renhai could speak, Xun Lian said: "Chen Gongzi, if you fight with the three of me, your two guards will be the souls of the sword." The two guards couldn't speak, and they tried to say something to Chen Renhai with their mouths gagged in coarse cloth.

"Sure enough, it's the 'poison husband', how are you willing to let my two brothers go-" Chen Renhai said.

"Give up going to Beijing. The boss said.

The two guards struggled even more, "Chen Gongzi, you can't think about it too long-" With that, Yan Yu shot two flying needles and jumped over Chen Renhai's sides and tried to shoot at the two guards. Saying that it was too late, Chen Renhai crossed his hands and knocked back the two flying needles backhand, and before the three of them were aware of the flying needles, he jumped backwards and hit the man holding the guard with both palms, and several people were shocked open before they could make the knife, and fell on the long table in the lobby, smashing the table to pieces.

Chen Renhai grabbed the collars of the two guards, flew into the bedroom just now, escaped through the side window, and ran away in a burst.

Chen Renhai ran to the official road outside the market town, and the three of them led people to catch up from the inn. Chen Renhai saw that there were pursuers behind him, and led people to hide in the bushes next to the official road. The three of them rushed into the official road, and there was no direction for a while.

As soon as the three of them settled down, the two guards fell one after another, foaming at the mouth, their eyes sunken and lifeless. Chen Renhai suddenly felt bad, looked at his hands, and saw that the palms of his hands were blue, and he knew that he had fallen into the trap of those three people.

Chen Renhai supported his internal strength and slowly lowered the sound of his breathing, waiting for the pursuers to leave. The deepest night is almost over, the day is almost dawning, and it is even more difficult to escape the net laid by the enemy during the day. Torches were lit in the jungle, and Chen Renhai had been found by Xun Lian.

"Chen Gongzi, how is my poison. In another three hours, Shopkeeper Qiu, you will have another 10% chance of winning this great internal leader. Xun Lian said.

"Shopkeeper Qiu, you have to send me all the things I want—" Yan Yu said.

"Thank you two, I didn't expect to kill an opponent so easily-" After saying that, the shopkeeper Qiu picked up his knife and slashed at Chen Renhai. Unexpectedly, a hook flew and directly hooked away the knife of the shopkeeper Qiu. A person flew out of the night, hook to hook, the man threw a head at Chen Renhai, Chen Renhai grabbed his head, and a leap was pulled out by the man and surrounded by him, disappearing into the night.

The sky was cloudy, and before the night faded, Chen Renhai escaped the encirclement.

"Chase-" Xun Lian shouted.

"No need - the person who makes the double hook is not an idle person, there are people passing by on the official road as soon as the morning dawns, this is one of the important official roads into Beijing, if the news leaks, it is not worth the loss?" said the shopkeeper Qiu.

"Then be a robber, who sees ......," Yan Yu said with a smile.

"You woman, speak lightly—" Xun Lian said. "If there are still invited masters who also take this official road, we will also take this risk?

"What if the one who makes the double hook is a miracle doctor?"

"You ......."

"Okay......" said the shopkeeper Qiu. "Even if Chen Renhai's life should not be extinguished, he is poisoned, he still needs to be recuperated, and it is not so easy to recover. ”

"It's just that as far as I know, the letter from the imperial court this time didn't say when the Ouchi commander would be elected, I think the imperial court wanted to gather the 'guests' they invited. If Chen Renhai can go to the capital, the imperial court will probably give him time to recuperate, so it won't be difficult for the people of the Tai Hospital to completely cure Mr. Xun's poison, right?" Yan Yu put his elbow on Xun Lian's shoulder and smiled seductively.

"Go-" Xun Lian pushed Yan Yu away, "Shopkeeper Qiu, give me some people, I'll go to the jungle to find those two people." If I can take the heads of two, my reward will be doubled. ”

"Hahaha......" Yan Yu covered his mouth and smiled, "If you can catch those two, I will also give you ......"

Xun Lian didn't say anything, and seeing that Shopkeeper Qiu had acquiesced, he led a few people to the side of the jungle.

"You're really a disaster-" After saying that, Shopkeeper Qiu pulled Yan Yu into his arms, and rubbed Yan Yu's tempting parts with both hands, and the rest of his subordinates immediately avoided and didn't dare to look at it.

"Then Xun Lian will definitely fight hard with Chen Renhai, won't I save you money?" Yan Yu wrapped himself around the shopkeeper Qiu like a snake, and his lips blew on his ears.

Shopkeeper Qiu knew what he should do at this time, so he immediately picked up Yan Yu on the horse and rushed back to their horse shop last night. When he went back, he said to his subordinates: "Half of them stay here to answer Xun Lian, and half of them will go back with me." ”

The sound of horses' hooves was accompanied by the rough air of the shopkeeper Qiu, and it was really difficult for him to bear it.

In the house in the horse shop, there was a conversation between the two again, "If Xun Lian can't win, what should you do?"

"I can't win, I still have my way-"

What the two did after that is not mentioned.

In the horse shop at dusk, Shopkeeper Qiu was waiting at the account counter, waiting anxiously, and the time seemed to be too long. Yan Yu was playing with a strand of hair in his ear, and a man came back to report: "Mr. Xun......"

"What's wrong......

Two men carried his body back.

"How did he die?" said Shopkeeper Qiu in surprise.

"I don't know...... It's just that when I walked in Mr. Xun's footsteps, I saw Mr. Xun...... That's it......"

"Let's go down......," Mr. Qiu sighed.

The oil lamps were lit, and it was night again.

"So it looks like I'm going to have to arrest someone tomorrow. Yan Yu said.

"How are you going to catch it? How did you fight your wishful thinking today? Words are excited, let Xun Lian fight with those two people, and our people will reap the profits? At present, I don't know if it was Chen Renhai and the person who made the double hook, if someone else did it, it would be even worse-" The shopkeeper Qiu said.

"Don't worry, I'll go to Chengguan tomorrow and wait for that Chen Renhai to come, if I can't wait, then he will die." You know, the city pass is the only pass to the capital, and there is no mountain road to bypass. I'll know tomorrow when I go. Yan Yu said.

"What if you wait, how can you kill Chen Renhai alone?" shopkeeper Qiu sneered.

"Why do you have to do it myself?" Yan Yu twisted her waist to go upstairs.

Shopkeeper Qiu hugged Yan Yu from behind, "What are you doing-I'm going to prepare-"

"I'll get ready later—"