It is a mountain road to the south, although it is not too high or even curved, but it is not easy and effortless, and the road is not short or long, and the road is especially tiring. Li Brown first bought a pair of typhoid medicine in Jinan City, handed it to the innkeeper to fry, and paid it together with the room money. There was nothing to say for a night, and the next day, Li Brown put his mourning clothes inside, and went out of the city with his burden to take the road to Culai Mountain.

This Culai Mountain is the sister mountain of Mount Tai in Dongyue, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant in spring, the swallow swallow warbler is warbler, the scenery is beautiful and does not reduce Mount Tai. Along the way, I felt comfortable, although there was a loss of filial piety, I couldn't be entertained by the beautiful scenery, and gradually opened my mind.

I didn't know that the sun was twilight, and I had already traveled to Culai Mountain, and more than seventy or eighty families under the mountain had raised their own cooking smoke. Li Brown opened a family and asked Mr. Culai. The family said: "Go up the mountain, the mountain road is five or six miles, turn left at the fork, and you can see the stone steps after going up three or four miles." If you climb to the end, you will see Mr. Shi's dojo. ”

Li Brown thanked this person, and went up the mountain for five or six miles, and saw a cliff in the middle, divided into two mountain roads on the left and right. Li Brown stepped on the mountain road on the left, and really saw the layers of stones piled up under his feet. At first, when I didn't see these many bluestone steps, I didn't feel tired, but when I saw these layers of stone steps, I felt physically and mentally exhausted. From the perspective of manpower, this effort took a lot of effort, and I unconsciously brought myself into it, and the more I didn't want to move.

After walking for another half an hour, I finally saw the lantern in the open space on the top of the mountain. The lantern is written with the word "stone", and where the lights are bright, a sandalwood plaque is inlaid with gold and the five big characters of "Shanzuo Kendo Hall" are particularly conspicuous. Li Brown let out a long sigh of relief, climbed the last few steps, and arrived at the door.

Two men with the sword gate blocked Li Brown's way. Li Brown said his intention and handed over the cuttlefish jade pendant given by Cui Lu to the doorman. A doorman came in with a token to report, and Li Brown was waiting here. Surrounded by high walls of blue bricks, the curved jungle is deep. It's a very quiet place.

Li Brown thought to himself, a small place turned out to be one of the three branches of Shandong Kendo, and it really couldn't be underestimated. The so-called "the mountain is not high, there are immortals and spirits", this Culai Mountain has this kendo hall, and it is more and more like the spirit of the earth. Before the doorman came out, Li Brown thought of the word "Daoguan" again, which is usually written as "Taoism", could it be that the swordsmen of the rivers and lakes have other arguments?

Thinking of this, the doorman took the cuttlefish jade pendant back, handed it to Li Brown, and said, "Master is invited, Mr. Li is here." Li Brown made a gesture and followed the doorman to the lobby, but when he saw that the candles were bright, there was a long-haired man in his fifties sitting in the hall, dressed in a gray robe, with a smiling face, and there were many disciples with swords standing on both sides. Seeing Li Brown entering, the man asked, "Are you Li Brown recommended by my apprentice Cui Lu?"

Li Brown said: It turns out that this person is Cui Lu's master, and he must be Master Shi Jie, who is known as Mr. Lailai. Then he took a deep look and said: "Xiaosheng Li Brown, I have seen Mr. Shi." ”

Shi Jie smiled: "Be polite and polite. How has my apprentice been lately?"

Li Brown said: "Lord Cui is entangled in official business, but he is very busy. ”

When Shi Jie heard this, he frowned and fell silent. Li Brown felt in a trance that he knew what Cui Lu was investigating, and his expression was quite unpleasant.

Shi Jie said: "Hey, I have a lot of ability, so I won't listen to the old man." My apprentice has always been stubborn, but this is very much like me, haha!" he said as he stroked his beard and smiled.

There was a relaxed look in the hall, all looking at the newcomer in front of them.

Shi Jie said: "You just stay first, and I will examine you tomorrow morning, it is a matter of whether you can enter the gym to practice, so you can prepare." ”

Li Brown thanked him, nodded goodbye to everyone, and immediately a sixteen or seventeen-year-old apprentice led him out of the lobby to the guest room at the back. Entering the guest room, the apprentice put a candle in his hand and said to Li Brown: "I'm Zhang Xiaoxi, you can just call me Xiaoxi." I've only been in this hall for a few years, so you have a good rest tonight, and we'll be brothers tomorrow. As he spoke, he smiled at Li Brown, revealing a pair of front teeth with a large gap.

Li Brown felt that this person was docile and easy to speak, so he smiled and said, "I hope that the little senior brother will take care of him more in the future!"

Xiao Xi smiled: "Senior brother, don't worry, I am familiar with the front and back of the mountain here." You can just follow me in the future, and I can also help you point out the cultivation problems. As he spoke, he raised his right eyebrow at Li Brown, and a flick of his tongue also hit loudly.

Li Brown sent him out of the room with a smile, and then lay on the bed and began to reminisce about the day. It's not very far from home, but going south to practice swords here is something I never planned.

As the saying goes: Plans can't keep up with big changes, and it's really just a few days of life that has come to this situation. I can't help but sigh secretly, the Han people said, why not make a high decision, first ask for Lujin, this day I feel more and more joyful and desolate.

The daytime travel was very urgent, and the typhoid fever had not been cured, so he fell asleep that night and did not say anything all night. When I woke up on the second day, I saw that the sun had risen at the window, and the sun was beginning to spread gently. Xiaoxi brought him everything such as washing and food, and after Li Brown hurriedly cleaned up, he followed Xiaoxi to yesterday's lobby.

I didn't see it very clearly last night, and it turned out that there was a plaque hanging outside the hall, called "Yanwutang". Entering the door, there were still many onlookers on the left and right, and after a closer look, I found that there was a female disciple inside, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with a slashed face, eyes like apricots, and a faint black mole on the right corner of the mouth. The girl also saw him, smiled at him, and then hid in the crowd.

Li Brown stood under the hall and watched out, but saw Shi Jie walking down from the hall, patted him on the shoulder and said: "Today's assessment, if you pass this assessment, you can cultivate here, if you can't pass, our small place will not delay your future, and immediately offer ten taels of silver, and find another job." ”

Li Brown nodded slightly, and smiled in agreement with Shi Jie.

Shi Jie smiled, clapped his hands three times, and immediately someone from the door carried out two wooden shelves. When you look closely, one shelf is filled with empty porcelain bowls, and the other is full of candles.

Shi Jiedao: "There are only two tests in this introductory assessment, and these two tests can prove whether you have the potential to practice. On the second attempt, place an empty bowl on your arms with your hands flat and palms down, and then fill it with water. In this test, it is your concentration and physical strength that is examined, but where you practice, your physical strength is the foundation, and if you don't have good concentration, it means that you don't have a good heart. If you can't calm down and sink down, you won't be able to cultivate the second section of the qin, not to mention the rest of the upper section. ”

Li Brown asked, "What about the first try?"