Outside the city of Anyang, it is even more barren than the southern capital. The lean young man, leading a dark horse, has been walking outside the city for a long time, but he has never entered Anyang City.

In the ruined temple outside the city, there are many beggars who live with the boy, and there are also swordsmen and warriors who are dressed more down-and-out than Zhang Xiao'an.

Tonight is already Chinese New Year's Eve, and the lord of the city came out to give alms, right at the gate of the broken temple. Zhang Xiaoan has money in his arms, and the money he has saved over the years is not much, but it is not much, and there are fifty Wen, which is enough to buy a hundred buns.

"Come on, come on, today Master Liu is merciful, put porridge for you poor flowers, so that you can have a full meal at the end of the year, take the steamed buns here, don't rush to eat when you turn around, wait until midnight of the New Year, firecrackers will be set off in the city, you eat this steamed bun, it is also the New Year!"

The housekeeper who put the rice waved his hand, and a whole cart of ten baskets of mixed noodles steamed buns was pushed to the gate of the temple in the heat. In the cold of winter, the beggars naturally had a hard time, and with such good things, they all surrounded them, regardless of the snot and muddy water on their hands, and reached out to grab them.

Zhang Xiao'an wore a white cloth belt tied to his chest and sat in the corner of the broken temple. Behind him is a dark horse that has not eaten since Zhang Xiaoan woke up. Now Anyang is in front of Zhang Xiaoan's eyes, one step away, Zhang Xiaoan does not dare to take a step.

The touch of the drop of blood in the corner of his eye, Ah Hong's muttering to the horse before he died, replayed it in his mind countless times. Every day when I close my eyes, I see the terrible death of the dart guys, and when I open my eyes, I can't stop the wolf howl and scream in my ears.

Zhang Xiaoan didn't dare to enter Anyang, afraid that he would really see Uncle Duan in Anyang, or rather, he was afraid of the sword immortal of Shushan, Duan Nantian.

"Who the hell is Uncle Duan, why did he become a sword immortal?"

All kinds of questions were frantically tormenting Zhang Xiaoan in his mind. But Zhang Xiaoan didn't dare to ask in person, because Zhang Xiaoan felt that he really couldn't tell Uncle Duan, I had a sword in my hand, but I was scared, scared.

I held a sword in my hand, and watched the guys of the dart game die in front of my eyes, and among them was a young girl, who smiled very beautifully, and finally took out the dagger with gold sore medicine and saved me, and called this black horse, and sent me to Anyang.

The beggars around have successively got enough steamed buns to eat, and there are not many steamed buns left in the car. The last old man who took the steamed bun slowly put the steamed bun into his arms, looked up at the smiling housekeeper who was dyed by the smell of the New Year, drowned several mouthfuls of spit, and then trembled, and smiled twice with a smile on his face:

"Hey, hey, hey, man, it's not. This lord, this person who comes to eat every year, isn't it Wantong Dart Bureau?" After the old man finished speaking, he looked at the door god couplet on the door of the broken temple.

When the housekeeper heard the old man call his man, his face turned pale, and it was not until he heard the word "master" that he smiled and glanced at the old man in front of him.

"Wantong Dart Bureau? Gone out of business! Those who did the dart bureau were all dead, and the darts were lost, and they didn't go out of business? Why, who else did you pick to give the steamed buns to eat?" The housekeeper's face was full of spirit, and he was also particular about putting food, not to mention that ordinary large families could not afford it, and they were often the first big households.

In previous years, Wantong Dart Bureau was the largest household, but this year, Wantong Dart Bureau can't even take care of their own food, so naturally they are from the Liu family.

"Don't pick or choose! Hey, hey. The old man laughed twice and walked towards the ruined temple. Zhang Xiao's security department listened to this conversation, and Ah Hong's words echoed in his ears.

"Impossible, the car is in the people, we are in the Wantong Dart Bureau, it is impossible to lose the dart!"

Wantong Dart Game!

The housekeeper looked at the rickety old man's eyes as if he had regret and sighed. After all, he is just a housekeeper, he gives everything that the government gives, and he has no spare power if the government does not give it.

The words are ugly, and the housekeeper also understands in his heart that under the end of the year, there is no shortage of food for every family, and beggars will naturally not starve to death. Besides, when people are old, they can read in their hearts, not necessarily a few steamed buns, but a few couplets on the head of the broken temple.

The year comes in winter for all, but not everyone seems to be celebrating.

muttering in his heart, behind the housekeeper, a slightly hoarse voice sounded: "Excuse me, what's wrong with the Wantong Dart Bureau?" Zhang Xiaoan covered his chest and asked in a low voice behind the housekeeper.

The housekeeper turned his head and looked at the little beggar in front of him, and said a little lazy: "At a young age, what are you asking about?"

Zhang Xiaoan looked at the steamed buns in the hands of the beggars, swallowed his saliva, hesitated a little but still resisted the desire to buy steamed buns, took out the money he had saved for a long time from his arms, and put it on the cart.

"Just tell me, Wantong Dart Bureau, what's wrong. ”

The butler listened to the sound of the money bag and looked at the pale young man in front of him. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but smile: "What do you want to know?"

"How is the Wantong Dart Bureau now?" Zhang Xiao thought for a moment and asked the first question tremblingly.

The housekeeper sorted out the language, and said with a half-point mockery: "It's closed, the heavy dart of the city lord of Anyang has lost the Wantong dart bureau." The business of the dart game is a loss of one and ten losses. ”

When Zhang Xiaoan heard this, his heart felt unbearable pain, and Ah Hong's clear eyes stabbed at him were repeated in front of him again, but it was a pity that he really lived in vain.

I have no money, I can't afford to pay heavy darts, and I can't save the Wantong dart game. Seeing that Zhang Xiaoan didn't speak, the housekeeper sighed to himself:

"Wantong Dart Bureau this time, made a natural fame in the world, gone, naturally gone, now unless the Wantong Dart Bureau can find the city lord's dart within three days, otherwise, I am afraid it will be difficult to escape the fate of bankruptcy. ”

The butler couldn't help but sigh a little as he spoke.

When Zhang Xiao'an heard the dart of retrieving the city lord, his eyes suddenly lit up.

If there is no accident, wouldn't the dart that didn't arrive be among the corpses all over the mountains?

"What kind of dart is Wantong's transport?" Zhang Xiaoan asked urgently.

The housekeeper frowned, looked at the money bag again, and then replied impatiently: "The city lord's warm sun jade, the spirit jade that can be very warm in winter, is said to be the dowry bought by the city lord's young lady, and it has spread throughout the city." What, you still want to get it back?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaoan picked up the money bag and looked at the cloudy sky outside the temple, with a relieved smile on the corner of his mouth.

The losing sword is fought, and the dead can't be resurrected, Uncle Duan has no swordsman apprentice, so he can only be regarded as a beggar. After thinking about it, the sentence that Uncle Duan had taught him suddenly came to mind.

There is no joy in life, and there is no pain in death.

"That's right, if I don't come back for three days, I will ask the housekeeper to help me post a small notice anywhere in the city, just say swordsman.. It is said that the beggar Zhang Xiao'an, who is difficult to resist the cold in winter, died of illness in the mountains, so that his uncle does not have to look for it. How?"

Zhang Xiaoan shook the money bag in his hand, looked at the housekeeper in front of him, and waited for the housekeeper to speak.

"It's a deal. The butler took the money bag and felt the weight of it, and a smile flowed from the corner of his mouth. "I can remind you that now the entire official road is ravaged by wolf demons, and no mortal dares to go to the southern capital from here. ”

Zhang Xiaoan's money bag was empty, and he inevitably felt some tragedy in his heart, and he didn't care about the housekeeper's words.

Walking back to the corner of the broken temple, looking at the dark horse waiting for death, the unwillingness in the young man's heart suddenly ignited.

If I can come back, I must tell the people of Wantong Dart Bureau that when I pay tribute to Ah Hong in the future, by the way, Zhang Xiao'an later became a swordsman.

Secretly making up his mind, Zhang Xiaoan looked at the hilt of the sword that he hadn't held for a long time, trembled for a long time, and then grabbed it.

"Wow!" the iron sword unsheathed, attracting the sideways glances of the beggars around him.

Zhang Xiaoan put the sword into the sheath, stared straight at the black horse in front of him, lay on his ear, and said hoarsely: "If you are really spiritual, go back with me, I want to make a good cemetery for Ah Hong." ”

"Hiss~" A tear condensed from the corner of the dark horse's eyes, and he hissed, and kept stepping in place, which was regarded as a response.

Zhang Xiaoan couldn't help but feel a little moist at the corners of his eyes. Gently untied the saddle rope to the doorpost, and climbed onto the horse's back with all his might. The boy didn't have a bright suit, and he only had this dark horse full of spirituality, but he hadn't eaten for a long time.

"Drive!" Zhang Xiaoan kicked the horse's belly with both feet, and as soon as the black horse stepped out of the temple gate, he stretched out his four hooves, and soon disappeared.

The beggars in the ruined temple only thought it was a small episode, and no one cared about the young man who passed out and woke up.

Only the old man who bandaged the boy at the beginning looked at the direction where the boy had gone. The old man vaguely remembered that every year in the Wantong Dart Bureau, there was always a lively girl who came to eat.

The girl's name seems to be Ah Hong, and every time Ah Hong comes, she not only brings steamed buns, but also often brings a few couplets and a few strings of firecrackers. With the preparation of the girl, the year in the broken temple is also quite New Year's every year.

The housekeeper who took Zhang Xiao'an's money bag, after Zhang Xiao'an left, was distracted for a while, and looked at the people here who seemed to have got the steamed buns, and also smiled, threw the money bag into his hands, and shouted loudly: "Go and buy a few good couplets for Lao Tzu, and buy some firecrackers and incense for the rest, remember, this money is not allowed to be greedy." ”

The boy had never ridden a horse, but the black horse was extremely humane, and without Zhang Xiao'an to grasp the reins, the black horse flew over a long distance. The winter wind blew the boy and squinted his eyes. Looking at the scenery that he had never seen before, his cheeks were red from the cold, but he didn't stop, and he almost buried his head between the neck of the black horse.

Zhang Xiaoan wanted to draw out the sword, wanted to draw the iron sword fluently, make a sword style, and beat off the wolf demon and the man in black according to the moves taught by Uncle Duan.

The faster the horse ran, Zhang Xiaoan naturally moved forward, braving the wind and snow that pierced his face, trying to feel the belief that he would win and be undefeated. Zhang Xiaoan remembered that Uncle Duan said that the sword intent to win is not only to win, but also to have the confidence of one's own swordsmanship, his unhesitation in righteousness, and his concern for the world.

In this way, it is an undefeated sword and a sword that must be won.

At the speed of the black horse, it was almost twice as fast as the convoy, but in half a day, one person and one horse had already arrived in the deserted mountains. It's only a few dozen miles away from the place where the wolves attacked.