Since I named the sword Yicai Sword that day, Hu Xiaoer rarely took the initiative to talk to me. It's not so much that he rarely speaks, but rather that he starts to be in a daze, or frowns and ponders along the way, and I can't see what he's thinking.

When he wasn't talking to me, my head wasn't idle.

I thought back to everything I had been through with him and came to a conclusion.

Hu Xiaoer hides many secrets. Although he laughed and showed off as a scoundrel, loved to gag with me, and often behaved very timidly, his wisdom and speech and demeanor unconsciously showed me that he was by no means an ordinary runner.

At least that day, when I was taming my sword in the cave of Qingquan Mountain, I really felt a powerful internal force rushing into my body. Hu Xiaoer, he knows martial arts.

I always tried to catch him and ask him a good question, but each time he managed to run away from the past or tactfully avoid the topic. Look, that alone makes me even more suspicious of him.

Speaking of which, I have a lost memory.

Since the day the sword was born, when the boulder broke, there was a bang, but a blue shadow flashed in front of my eyes vaguely.

And one more sentence -

What a streamer......

The vague blue shadow slashed stones with a sword, and his bearing was awe-inspiring, unlike any swordsman I had seen before. Just wearing the same blue clothes, I thought, could he be Hu Xiaoer?

Was the person who saved me in the cave that day Hu Xiaoer?

If it was him, why didn't he admit it?

These questions are also a headache in the most energetic daytime, but what makes me even more headache is that Hu Xiaoer and I will be in Shangdu a few days later.

Regarding Shangdu, only four words are written on the "General Guide to Customs".

I frowned, pulled my hair, and flipped through the book back and forth, but I didn't see any words from the other introducers. Those thin pages were turned over by me, Hu Xiaoer poked his head over, and asked curiously: "Woman, why did this book provoke you?"

I glanced at him, handed the book over, and said, "Read for yourself." ”

Hu Xiaoer flipped through the book, his hand fell to one of the pages, pointed to the words in it, and read softly: "The City of Greed." ”

I said to him rather dissatisfied: "This writer is too lazy! What are the customs and customs in the commercial capital, why are you greedy, why don't you make it clear?"

Poof—

Hu Xiaoer laughed out loud when he heard this, and he said to me happily: "Don't blame the author, he is a literati, maybe he has never been to Shangdu, so naturally he doesn't know the situation there." If you want to know what business is, let me tell you. ”

"You know?"

Hu Xiaoer closed the book and nodded, and said to me carefully.

"Shangdu is the largest gambling city in the four continents, and legend has it that there are seventy-two gambling houses, all of which are born of greed. In Shangdu, anything can happen. Some people can become rich overnight, while others can become destitute in an instant. The world is bustling for profit, and this is the favorite place for businessmen to go. Because businessmen always want to exchange the least amount of money for the greatest profit. ”

"Is that your mysterious proprietor included?" I asked him quickly.

Hu Xiaoer froze and laughed, looking very puzzled.

"Didn't you say you were going to Shangdu to deliver a letter to your host?" I raised my eyebrows, "Then it seems that your boss may also be hanging out in a gambling house, and he can't think of it?"

"Then I don't know. Hu Xiaoer was a little confused, "The owner will be in Shangdu at this time of year." But I know he's very measured, and he never trades at a loss. ”

He grinned, "The things about Shangdu just now were also told to me by my host. He's in a good mood every time he wins, and maybe he can take us to play two. ”

Seeing him rubbing his hands eagerly, I felt a very strange feeling in my heart.

I asked him again, "Hu Xiaoer, when you send a play letter to your host, your task will be completed." Have you ever wondered where to go after that?"

Just this sentence made Hu Xiaoer's two eyebrows droop suddenly, and he raised his face and thought seriously for a long time, "I really haven't thought about this, or go back ten miles through the alley——"

He looked at me with a long voice in a playful manner, and when he saw that I was still silent, he suddenly changed his tone and said resolutely: "That's impossible." ”

Listening to him say this, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief in my heart.

Hu Xiaoer unfolded a big smile, and said with great ambition: "I want to come out, even if I fail to break into some fame, I have to look at the great rivers and mountains of the four continents, otherwise how can I be a man who stands up to the sky!"

Although there was a lot of amusement in his vow, I heard it and swept away the previous boredom, and my mood was very good.

"Hu Xiaoer, then do you want to go to Chang'an with me?"

"Go to Chang'an with you?" he touched his chin and narrowed his eyes, and said seriously, "I still have to ask my boss about this." ”

"What if he doesn't agree?"

"He doesn't agree?" I saw him, my eyes lit up inch by inch, "then—let's elope." ”

I was shocked, and this sentence echoed in my ears for a long time—

Elope...... To Chang'an?

Elopement......

Huh!

Is that how the word elopement is used?

After this incident, I had a lot of baggage in my heart, and it seemed that I didn't have so much rejection of the greedy city merchants. Along the way, I continued to talk and laugh with Hu Xiaoer, and I didn't think he was much different from before.

It's business as usual.

Soon, a few days later, on the golden plaque, the word "Shangdu" hung high above the heads of Hu Xiaoer and me.

Those two words are written domineeringly, and a plaque is so big that it seems to be going to pocket the world's money.

Hu Xiaoer pointed to the plaque and said: "Woman, after passing this gate, it is the boundary of Shangdu, you have to be prepared." ”

I touched the colorful sword in my hand, "What do you need to prepare?

"Is it Shangdu who eats people?" he smiled mysteriously.

Shangdu is a big city.

Walking through the stone gate, I saw that there were people coming and going, and the legendary seventy-two gambling houses were arranged in a staggered and orderly manner. At first glance, it is not much different from Jinling City.

But—

If you look at the crowd on the street, you can see the difference.

Most of the people who come and go on this street are dressed in brocade clothes, wearing high hats, and the accessories around their waists are not ordinary, and they all look rich or expensive. The expressions on the faces of the men and women were of two kinds, one was grinning and groping, touching the bulging purse at the waist, and the other was gloomy, and the lips were pursed, as if they were calculating something.

But these people are by no means all in the business capital.

If you look a little further into the corner, you can see the unkempt, ragged, and mutilated beggars. The dark place where those people gathered formed an extremely dazzling contrast with the hustle and bustle of the crowd on the other side, as if one was a hell on earth and the other was a pure land of bliss.

Hu Xiaoer said to me as he walked, "Have you seen those people?"

I bowed my head, and there was sympathy in my eyes.

"Those people weren't beggars at all. He said, "Do you know that they may be rich, or they may rely on their own money, but they can't resist the temptation and come to the merchants to gamble." But he didn't want to not only lose all his worth, but also not be able to keep his body and dignity in the end, let alone return to his homeland. ”

Hu Xiaoer's eyes were gloomy, and his face became more and more solemn, "In Shangdu, there are such people every day, if you want to have pity, you can't have pity." Therefore, it is not those gambling houses that eat people, it has always been the greed in people's hearts. ”

Seeing that he was so jealous and hateful, I touched my chin and inhaled like him, "Then if you say so, isn't your owner ...... too?"

"Eh, eh," Hu Xiaoer quickly interrupted me and said, "My boss is different! I believe in him, he is absolutely different from those people, he never does ......"

"Losing money!" I continued, and my ears were calloused.

Hu Xiaoer smiled "hehe", slowly slowed down, pointed to the gambling house in front of him and said, "Woman, have you seen that gambling house?"

"See, isn't it Zhouji Gambling House?"

He nodded and took out the object in his arms, "My owner has been friends with the dealer of the Zhou Ji Gambling House for many years, and he has always been there. I'll go in and take a look, why don't you just stop here and wait for me?"

I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Hu Xiaoer touched his head a little embarrassedly, "That's the case, I think about it, my owner has never shown his true face, if you rashly take you to see him." I'm afraid he'll be angry. If he was angry, he might not agree......"

He didn't squeak and stared at me very embarrassed.

"Okay. I waved my hand generously, "Then you go first, I'll wait for you here." ”

Hu Xiaoer immediately breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. He nodded desperately at me and said yes and strode forward.

"Hu Xiaoer. I stopped him suddenly.

He turned his head and looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Don't forget what you just said. If your host doesn't agree, then we'll elope to Chang'an. ”

When I had finished speaking to him with great composure, I saw him waiting in the crowd, his eyes softening, and the two pear vortices peeking softly from the corners of his mouth.

He was saying "yes" to me.

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