A small courtyard in the west of the city. Li Minghui finished his day's work, ran home early, and put the things he had added in the house first. Then stay in the yard to cook.

There is a stove under a small shed in the courtyard wall, and firewood is piled up, so you don't have to worry about oil smoke if you don't occupy the space in the house. The meal was just ordinary rice and fried vegetables, and Ming'e took out two bowls of rice, and instead of bringing them to the small stone table in the corner of the courtyard that he and Aqing liked like usual, he pushed the door and went to the house.

In the room, a young man who had changed into clean clothes sat upright.

Li Minghui brought in the dishes, put chopsticks on the young man's bowl, and sat on his chair and waited. The young man on the other side of the table stared at the plate for a long time, but still picked up the chopsticks to pick up the rice, and Li Mingwei moved the chopsticks.

A young man and a teenager ate each other without saying a word.

There was silence in the room, save for the clattering of food and the crunch of chairs.

Until nearly half of the dishes on the plate were eaten, the young man took the lead in putting down the dishes and chopsticks and said, "I won't teach you." ”

Li Mingwei lowered his head, there was no trace of embarrassment on his face, and said, "That's how my cooking skills are." ”

The young man was stunned, "It's not that your food is unpalatable. Glancing down at the food, he decided not to say anything against his will, "Of course, it's not delicious, it has nothing to do with this." It's you and I who are different. ”

Li Mingwei stuffed his head and didn't answer.

Asking questions is heartfelt, but it doesn't mean that you can be faceless. It's like this at the level of self-cooking, it's the other party who is the one who is taken in under the fence, even if the other party sees that he has something to ask for, he won't be ashamed or even grovel to it in order to rush for it.

Saving people and seeking advice are two different things.

The young man suddenly played with his chopsticks, "Do you think that because I let me live and have been kind to me, I should teach you to practice?"

Li Mingwei glanced up at him, quickly finished the rice in the bowl, wiped his forehead, and muttered to the young man: "It's really different." "I didn't ask if I finished eating on the other side, and I started to clean up the table.

The young man smiled and pursed his lips as he put his chopsticks on the bowl and pushed them over.

The young man kicked the door with his feet with the dishes and chopsticks, the wooden door creaked open, and the setting sun broke in from outside the house and spread all over the ground.

The young man squinted and thought to himself how beautiful it was. Then the door was slammed shut again by the cautious boy on his tiptoes.

The young customers didn't actually go out of town that day.

The high-crowned old man who can be regarded as a "fellow" by young people breaks the forbidden flying "canopy" for young people with several punches, and uses his body to block the roller shutter person with higher combat power than himself to worship Zhang Liuer. If the young man had escaped at that time, he would have to continue to face the search and pursuit of dozens of beaded elbows, and the young man, who was already at the end of the crossbow, did not take this risk again. A flash of fire in the distant sky that evening was just an empty thousand mile talisman. As for how to leave wrong clues to mislead others after the talisman landed, there are other means.

The seriously injured customer hid his body and landed in the courtyard of the innkeeper who had contact with him at the Pearl Spring Inn.

A big gamble and a small bet, but also both confident.

The teenager took the unconscious customer into his small room and talked to no one about it. This is a young man on duty in the permanent inn, and if he finds an excuse that he is not on duty, he will try to go home and take care of it, in order to prevent the customer's body from being seen by the letter building in the city, he will not even let the customer out of the house.

Although the good-looking young man always complained about the unpalatable food, he did not eat a lot in the first few days. And looking at his fine skin and tender meat, maybe he will really be hungry if he is not at home.

The customer sees it, but doesn't plan to do anything about it.

I chose to live in the courtyard of the teenager because I could see something beyond the appearance. Doing nothing now is precisely because I can see something.

The days of recuperation always go by quickly. The customer has been living in the small courtyard for three or four days, and in the past few days, the shopkeeper of Fushui Lou Chu has taken people out of the city to inspect the first batch of "green money" brought by Mr. Sun of the Mo family. Fu Ruzong, who was behind the Fushui Building, received a message from the shopkeeper Chu on burning incense, and specially sent an outer door to worship the ordinary pilgrims hidden in the building, and after seeing the authenticity of the "green money". A total of five flying boats, all fully loaded, covered by formations, docked in the immortal crossing of the mountains east of the city. Fu Ruzong outside the door of the business is varied, the small half of the leg also straddles the antique shop, the person sent to worship has a special industry identity called "eye", often the realm is not high but the insight is accurate. After all, although the millions of coins in the ship are collectively referred to as the Bright Wrong Money, the types of Bright Wrong Money ornaments and inscriptions produced in different dynasties and different mines are very particular, and the reason why the green money is valuable is because the aura contained in it is relatively peaceful and clean, and it is more conducive to the absorption and refining of cultivators than other items, so with the circulation, any green money will inevitably gradually be lost, and the conversion of different losses of different currencies will become particularly complicated. This is still the result of the unification of writing, currency, boat and horse scheduling, and post communication regulations after the old Chang'an Dynasty once laid down the entire Guizhan Continent.

Everything in the world, no matter up or down the mountain, everything that involves money must be calculated, and there are many rules and restrictions.

The shopkeeper Chu was secretly signaled by the offering, and the loss of the aura of various currencies in the flying boat cabin was negligible, and the five thousand light was a full number, so he nodded in approval on the spot. So they went back to the city to have a banquet and talked very happily.

The sect also reported that on the side of the Mo family, there is indeed an elder surnamed Bai among the four surnames who is dying of life and has a tendency to return to old age, and his status among the Bai surnames is not low. It's just that whether or not to return to old age is a big deal for practitioners, and it needs to be agreed on slowly.

Chu shopkeeper, Xu Lao Sikui and Fu Ruzong Waimen Zhangyan worship Song Renzhen, the three of them from the hall secretly discussed, and finally settled down a lot of details of the charter, in the subsequent meeting Song worship to the other party after the identity of the identity, the three of them play each other's role, successively given and finally settled a mutually appropriate interest price. After the business is negotiated, when and how the green money will be deposited into the warehouse, and the amount and cycle of the other party's access and withdrawal will be agreed upon in the future. It also lists other ways to deal with changes, such as how the interest changes if the other party proposes to suspend the transaction or reduce the amount of money deposited and withdrawn in the subsequent batches of green money, and how to determine the liability in case of a discrepancy.

Of course, these private matters, even as the nominal big guy of the silver building, Aqing is still not qualified to participate in them.

As for why Mr. Sun intentionally or unintentionally revealed the meaning of praising Aqing in several meetings, such as "Young Lin Milk Tiger" and "Inner Show Talent", etc., the shopkeeper Chu and Xu Sikui discussed it, but they didn't figure out any results.

Ah Qing also thought about it in private, but he didn't dare to think about it.

The heat is getting heavier, the sky has no trace, and the Lulu bird has flown by.

Even if there is a mountain god hidden in his home, Li Minghui will still go to Chengdong Hanfu to learn boxing, and before he doesn't know if he can get through the mountain road, he has to walk step by step on the mountain road without stopping. I also met Pei Wenhu once on the way, since he was squeezed by Dong Luzhu with words last time, and ran back to Jingting with his head in the rain, he was always a little awkward when he met Li Minghui and a few people again, neither like the previous high-spirited, nor did he want to appear too imposing, so he became a kind of proud love to answer. In this regard, Dong Luzhu's explanation is that "Erha dog has bitten a hedgehog, and I remember that it hurts and says that I am not greedy." Li Mingwei thinks this is a good analogy.

The girl blinked her eyes, and her eyes were bright.

On this day, Li Minghui went home with the vegetables he bought, and as soon as he pushed the door into the courtyard, he saw a young man dressed in white and wearing a high crown, standing at the stone table in the courtyard, looking up at the sunset.

Li Mingwei was startled and quickly closed the courtyard door. Turning his head to look at several tall letter buildings in the distance, he was just about to drive the young man into the house, and he thought of something, looked at the customer, and asked, "Are you leaving?"

The young man was stunned, and immediately bent down and covered his chest with his hands in a cough, and said, "I can't walk yet, I'm still very weak." I can't cook. ”

Li Minghui asked, "Then you still come out?"

The customer slowly sat down on the stone bench and said, "I can't eat your meal for nothing." Even if I was too badly injured, it was easy to cover the sight of a few letter towers. I didn't do it before because I was lazy, but I'm in a good mood today, and Xinlou is nothing. Rest assured, no matter what you do in the yard now, they won't notice anything unusual. ”

With longing in his eyes, the boy stood and turned to cook.

The customer looked up at the glowing clouds on the horizon. The truth is that in the city a few days ago, in addition to Jing Anlang's whistle in the night sky, there were also shutter signals that mortals could not hear and outsiders could not understand.

Even so, he guessed correctly, most of the blindman's attention should have been shifted to the south. After that fire, Linzi City became the safest place.

The premise is that Yanshi Zhang Liu'er is no longer in the city.

It's not that the customer hasn't experienced life and death before, on the contrary, he has countless experiences in his own teacher's training process and the experience of the shutter deacon. But that afternoon, the sense of isolation and despair that one person in the rain could not believe in one city, thousands of people, the customer never wanted to feel it again.

Strength has never been fearful, and murder has been fearful since ancient times.

Just like the customer himself wants to make the picture into an allusion or a famous painting scene before killing someone, he will also patiently tell the deceased about the origin of this scene. Qu Gao will always be harmonious, the killer and the killed will complete the reproduction of the classics together, and they have the right to know. Killing without teaching is abuse, my customer is a Confucian protégé, and he never abuses people.

Then the customer began to miss the old man Baizhu, the old friend, best friend, rival, and confidant of his teacher. Adhere to the concept of attention, wait for the woman you like, give in to your best friend who appreciates, and know that you are invincible, and you will stand up for yourself to block one of the difficult ghosts on the mountain who is better at fighting. The customer can see the old man's hesitation, if it is just because he is the apprentice of the deceased, the old man may not take refuge, at most he will buy himself half a day to rest, and the affection will be exhausted.

The customer could think of the reason why Baizhu didn't make a move, and the old man could see that the path he was walking was similar to that of him and his master, but there were many subtle differences. And these subtle differences will lead to a lot of things going in very different directions in the future. Take this matter as an example, if the two are in different places, in good conscience, what the old man with a high crown can do, his customers can't do.

What made the old man change his last thoughts, it is unknown.

Just because of good thoughts? Not really.

The customer looked back at the young man who was busy at the stove, and the high-crowned old man looked at himself, and he looked at the young man who took him in at this time, and there were actually many similarities in his mentality. Many things, because of similar experiences, have some mentalities that cannot be hidden. On the contrary, because some of the mental veins are subtlely different, the direction may be very different, and the gift at this time may not necessarily be a disaster in the future. Time is long, and cultivators, it's best not to leave too much cause and effect lightly.

That's why customers dress in white, change into a tall and slender crown, and stand in the courtyard at sunset.

It can't be done, but it doesn't hinder respect for others.

It is not because of the grace of the old man who sacrificed his life to save himself, but because of the respect for the old man's willingness to protect the clean faith. If they are just rescued, the customer may go as usual and will not show any relatives at all. In the eyes of some people, this may be a bit cool, but in the eyes of customers, this is called a fall. There are always some people who can't compare with themselves and things that they can't do, because they can't do it, they will ridicule and trample on it, as if because they can't do it, those feats and good thoughts will become fake and high, and they should not appear in the air in this world. This is not right. Is it right that I should remember because I have been blessed and turn a blind eye to the feat of the old man to protect his faith?

You might as well make a glass of wine with the sunset at the same time on the day when the old man leaves.

After a while, Li Minghui wiped the sweat from his face and asked, "Why don't you eat from outside today?" the customer nodded. The young man was very happy to serve all the things, and the two of them ate around the stone table, and there were two teenagers in front of the stone table a long time ago.

The sunset is fading, the afterglow is sprinkled throughout the small courtyard, and the stone table pulls out a long shadow. The aroma of wine is overflowing.

After a while, the customer frowned and said, "I'll tell you what dishes to buy in the evening, and I'll cook tomorrow." ”

The boy said, "Okay." ”

------

Night.

Earlier, before the magic was universal, there was often nothing to do after dinner on this side of Xicheng. They are all poor and poor households, and they have to take advantage of the darkness to eat, unless they have to prepare the goods for the next day, and who is willing to light more lamps and boil oil? The summer night is steaming and it is difficult to sleep, and the small talk after the meal is done in the dark under the trees at the corner of the street. Now it's different, if you have a slightly thicker family, you will hang a Xihe stone in the yard, and when the night light shines on a large area, the stone is covered with a banana leaf and the light is pressed downward. Then the neighbors gathered, the men got together to play leaf cards, and those who won more money would take the initiative to leave a few pennies for the lord's family to share the profits, and the women would shake the fans and gossip.

Before there were Xi and Shi, moonlight and starlight were the public candles in Xicheng. That everyone is going to the bottom of the old ginkgo tree a few streets away, the moonlight is bright, it's okay, if there is only starlight or some cloudy days, there are many dirt roads in the west of the city, the rain is muddy and bumpy, and you have to be more careful when you walk at night, there is a saying called "black mud and white stone reflective water", which is the old saying that the poor people identify the road conditions at night without Xi and the stone.

The moon is fine tonight.

A few nights ago, Li Mingwei would take a fan by himself and sit in the dark in the courtyard for most of the night, biting mosquitoes. When the night is a little deeper, the neighbors have put the Xi and the stone sacs away, the crowd has dispersed, and the curfew drum has been beaten on the street, and then he returns to the house and spreads out his own floor, and practices the method of grasping and sleeping. Today is not the case, not long after Li Mingai sat down and shook the fan, the mosquitoes did not gather, and the young customers who had changed back into green shirts also pushed the door open and walked out of the house. Standing under the clothes pole in the yard, and then jumping up slightly, the whole person was lying on the thin bamboo pole, fluttering lightly and swaying.

Li Minghui opened his mouth a few times but still didn't speak, got up and walked to the door of the house, and squeaked and closed the door.

These mountain immortal masters are really elegant, and they really can't live. I don't know if you don't close the door, you'll get mosquitoes?

Outside a few courtyards, the shouts of playing leaf cards were noisy and loud from afar.

The customer lies on a clothes pole with wide sleeves hanging down. Li Minghui also lay flat on the stone table, leaning on the coolness of the stone to dissipate the heat for a while through the thin black clothes.

Moonlight is like water.

The customer looked at the sky and asked from afar, "Hey, what do you think is the difference between using and asking for help?"

The young man asked, "Will your immortal method make the neighbors hear?"

The customer said, "No." ”

The young man thought for a while, and finally gave a heartfelt answer: "I think it's whether there is gratitude afterwards." ”

There was a long silence.

The customer said, "I still won't teach you how to practice." ”

The young man's fan slowed down and said, "Hmm." ”

The young man added, "But I'll make it up to you in other ways." Other than that, while I can't take you on the path you think you are, I can try to tell you something that doesn't involve secrets. You can ask as much as you want, and I'll pick and answer. ”

The young man still didn't speak, and the young man with his arm on his pillow turned his head to look at the stone table, "You asked?"

Li Mingwei had already stood up, his eyes shining in the dark. "Can I get a closer look at the flying sword?"

The customer smiled knowingly, raised a hand, and a clear silver needle flew out of the cuff, grew larger little by little, rose into the air, flew around the yard, and finally hovered in front of the boy's eyes.

Silent.

Li Mingwei supported his body with his arms, his eyes were wide open, his nose was cold, his eyes never left the sword, and he asked, "Mr. Gu, why doesn't this flying sword shine at all?"

The customer raised his eyebrows, "What do you want to kill people with concealment and sharpness, hurt people silently, and shine?"

Li Mingwei leaned forward again, and continued to observe from a different angle, "Mr. Gu, why is there only one sword bar in your flying sword?

The customer's brows furrowed even more, "Jianghu Wufu's sword, because it needs to be skilled, so it has to be held by the handle, and the sword must be blocked." They are already cultivators on the mountain, and the flying sword is shuttling through the air, and if you fight with people, you can only intercept it by speed, and the sword hilt will only slow down the speed of the flying sword. I usually keep it in my own hole, and I don't need to hold it with my hands. How many years have you been here, what do you want these trivial things for?"

Li Ming-wai was speechless, "But ......"

The customer said: "The flying sword has a handle and a wedge, it must have been a thousand years ago when martial arts were popular." That will still be martial arts occupy the orthodoxy of the court, a little martial arts people can do it with qi to control the sword, the practitioner's sword is just a small way, even if it is a practitioner, but also to accompany the flying sword around the waist to show the chivalrous spirit, at that time to say to people 'I can refine the flying sword into the body' will only make people laugh and look down on it, so even the practitioner's flying sword shape still retains the appearance of the martial arts sword worn outside the body. ”

The customer's fingers shook slightly, and the flying sword circled around Li Minghui's stone table, "Today's craftsmen from all over the world will only rack their brains to figure out how to make the flying sword body cleaner, faster and more hidden. I'm just a layman, there is an ancient sword cultivation, which is to refine the flying sword, use the qi and blood in the body to refine the hardware dansha that is nourished and eaten, and finally practice it into a sword pill, and even the sword shape is gone. Cultivation is extremely difficult but also powerful, coming and going suddenly, and taking people's heads thousands of miles away, it is fascinating. ”

The customer raised his sleeve, the flying sword disappeared in an instant, and the young man's eyes always followed, reluctant to give up. The customer tilted his head slightly to look at the boy.

There is no suppression speed in the sword, and the boy should not be able to see it.

Even if he only said some innocuous allusions on the mountain, the young man turned to kneel on the stone table, as if asking the teacher. The boy went on to ask, "Do people have a soul after death?"

"Yes. But it's certainly different from the soul you understand. ”

"If a person is missing a few souls alone, can they be found one after another?"

"No, you can't. The soul and the spirit are two different things. The customer paused, "Now I'm talking to you about this, it's too deep." Change one. ”

"If the Five Elements are lacking, will you never be able to cultivate to a high place, better than those high-level spiritual roots of the great sects?"

"Linggen?" the customer suddenly looked strange, and asked the young man instead, "Do you think that we cultivators have to shout the name of the move before every move?"

Li Mingwei was dumbfounded.

"No wonder you ask about the separation of souls...... Li Minghui, did you hear this 'knowledge' from the storyteller in the teahouse?"

The boy had apparently realized something and touched his head.

"It's funny. Do you know where the stories of storytellers come from? Whether it is a fairy or a river and lake, there are some literati in the bookstore who specialize in writing them. In the past, when martial artists occupied orthodoxy, there were still some serious down-and-out knights or monks who knew some martial arts heels, and these people and the down-and-out literati who wrote stories were all at the bottom of this world and not purely at the bottom, and there was an intersection, so the stories written were quite reliable. ”

The customer laughed, "And the key is that at that time, the people who wrote books were willing to ask and study the scriptures, whether it was telling history or making up stories, at least some basic things would not be mistaken." It's just that now even if the people on the mountain come down, there is no separation between immortals, but it is a disadvantage, because the people who write the books don't think that those martial arts practices are worthy of awe, and some people sell stories and make a lot of money, so everyone thinks they can try, but they are unwilling to lower their heads to check their roots. There are a lot of people writing stories in the bookstore, and the storytellers who originally 'persuaded the good to comb their hearts' still don't tell the 'unreasonable', and the stories you children hear are even more and more out of shape, and over time, no one will wonder whether the flying sword should have a handle or not, and we will only listen to it as a joke. It doesn't matter if others listen to the story, if you still have the idea of embarking on the path of cultivation in the future, you have to think more about it than those storytellers. ”

Li Minghui crossed his legs and smiled.

The customer said: "It's not just storytelling, the current drama is not as good as before." "Looking up at the sky, looking at the moon that is not round, babbling in the old tune of Kunwu country," it seems to be clear when you see it up close, and you can see it from a distance. He is a guest in the palace at the age of the toad, not by the plum but by the willows......"

Li Minghui waited for the customer to finish singing a few sentences and asked, "When will Mr. Gu leave?"

"There's still something to do, at least not for the next few days. ”

Li Mingwei hung his legs down and leaned back on the table, "Then I'll ask later." Let me think about it. ”

There was a cricket chirping in the corner. Qu Qu, Qu Qu.

The customer said: "Li Minghui, let's all be honest?"

The young man said, "Mr. Gu, please speak." ”

The customer said, "You never mentioned why you were willing to take me in with a serious injury." I made it clear that I wasn't going to teach you how to practice, and you didn't ask why, because you did. ”

The boy on the stone table was silent.

The customer on the bamboo pole continued, "I don't know why you have this obsession and must practice. There are all kinds of big dreams or big hates, I don't want to hear it. I can only say that if the path is different, cause and effect should be left as little as possible. At your age, there are not many people whose temperament is so firmly formed, which is a good thing. But from the point of view of what you want to study, it's a bad thing, I don't have the patience of my master, and I don't have the patience to cultivate your mind little by little. ”

Li Minghui said: "Mr. Gu, if you are willing to help, you don't need to accept apprentices, you only need to break a layer of window paper, and I will walk by myself in the future." ”

The customer said, "Joke." Practicing martial arts without practicing morality, teaching skills without teaching the heart, it has been a taboo since the era of martial arts, let alone practice. After teaching you to practice, no matter what you do in the future, it will affect my merits and demerits, and your meals are not worth my use of these hidden dangers. What's more, do you think that cultivation is so easy? Just like you can hear the story of romance, you can soar to the sky if you pick up the treasures left by the immortals? From ancient times to the present, which family has written secret books does not have its own set of secret words, the so-called water, fire, lead and mercury, and the jade girl river car, which are fancy names so that outsiders can hear the mantra and not know what it is. Even if I teach you these things, the various bottlenecks and mood barriers that you will encounter at different stages in the future, how can you solve the Fu Gong Pill, and teach you to get started and leave it alone, will it be a blessing or a curse for you?"

The customer paused, "Actually, the above said that the problem is simple and simple, that is, I will take you as an apprentice, take you with me day and night, and teach each other." But the most important thing is that just from the state of mind, the wind and rain in the corner of the heart lake that I glimpsed from you are destined to be not a simple preaching and teaching. ”

The customer looked at the teenager, "You and I had similar experiences in the early years, but I know myself now, so you can't." ”

The young man on the stone table turned his head and smiled miserably, "Got it, Mr. Gu." ”

The customer asked, "You should have been outside their formation that night, and you could see it?"

The boy hesitated for a short time and nodded honestly, "Sometimes it's clear and sometimes it's blurry, you can see a little." Sometimes it's so clear that it's like I'm in it. ”

The young man was amazed: "It's amazing, better than me back then." He added, "Don't tell anyone about this in the future, even if someone has a kind face and a good heart, saying that they will take you as an apprentice and teach you something." This matter is also held in my heart first. Remember?"

The boy said, "Remember." ”

As the night deepens, the moon rises high into the sky and becomes brighter.

A short shadow was cast under the young man, and the stone table looked particularly white, and the young man's short-sleeved black clothes on the stone table looked particularly black.

The two began to gossip about each other.

Li Mingwei scratched his ankle, "Mr. Gu, will mosquitoes still bite you after practicing?"

The customer replied, "Bite too." It's just that we exhale less turbidity and don't attract mosquitoes much. ”

He asked again: "Mr. Gu, when they surrounded you, the Mr. Ziyu mentioned was your friend?"

"Kind of a good relationship. Not a friend. ”

"How lonely is it to have no friends?"

"Oh, and it's the same. ”

(7200 words.) It's been a long time since I've seen you, and I'll resume normal updates in the future. ）