Xu Ke was on duty in Tsing Yi Wei for three days in a row, but he had nothing to do......

Sun Xun didn't arrange subordinates for him, nor did he assign him errands, and he didn't know what the idea was in the heads of these thousand households, so Xu Ke simply didn't think about it.

In the entire Bei'an Ping Division, except for Sun Qianhu, he belongs to Xu Baihu's official rank is the largest, after all, he is the chief Baihu, and he has the sword given by the emperor, so this group of subordinates, when they see Xu Ke on weekdays, they all nod their heads and waists, and they are busy respectfully flattering, but no one dares to take the initiative to approach and talk to him. Everyone is afraid that if they are not careful, they will be like the fate of Zhang Qian, Li Wan, Kong Xiaobing and Yang Ai, who were so weak that Xu Ke's legs were weak and his hands were shaking, and he was drowning in. Xu Ke stayed in his office all day long, reading, posting, drinking tea, and writing poems...... In the past three days, I have lived a leisurely and comfortable life.

In the early morning of the fourth day, when Xu Kefu arrived at Tsing Yiwei, he received a warrant from the governor Shen Huan, ordering him to leave immediately, rush to Yangzhou Mansion in Jiangbei Province, and go to the Jiangnan and Jiangbei provinces to raise money and food for disaster relief.

Xu Ke didn't dare to slack off, so he hurriedly took the warrant to Shangma Camp and personally picked out a yellow horse, and set off after preparing some things needed on the road. When his subordinates Ding Chunqiu and the leaders heard that the chief officer was going to be ordered to go south, they all wanted to accompany them all the way, but they were all politely rejected by Xu Ke one by one......

Xu Ke returned home to bid farewell to Hu and Shu, and Hu Yiyi ordered Shu to go with him. After going out and only passing two intersections, the scholar suddenly slapped his forehead, shouted "oops", and insisted that he would have a disaster in the next ten days, and he must hide to "avoid the disaster......

Xu Ke shook his head, and had to walk slowly by himself. He suddenly remembered that he didn't know how many days he would be able to return, so he should go and see Murong Yan, so he turned his horse's head and rode straight to the gate of Tianbao Pavilion.

After the porter reported, he led him into the front hall, and it was Murong Ming, the young pavilion master of Tianbao Pavilion, who came to meet him.

Xu Ke repeatedly thanked the Murong family for their generous donation of silver, but the young pavilion master only replied lightly, only saying that their Tianbao Pavilion was "the branch should be the ear......

Xu Ke asked about the old pavilion master, and Murong Miao said that his father had gone to Jizhou Mansion a few days ago because of something. The young master of Murong didn't wait for Xu Ke to ask, so he talked about his third sister Murong Yan, saying that she was "slightly ill" and had gone to the south with his second brother to seek a famous doctor for treatment......

Xu Ke wanted to ask about Murong Yan's condition in detail, but Murong Yan just said that she "has been weak since she was a child, and now she occasionally suffers from cold illness, and with his second brother to take care of her, she will be fine." In front of the eldest young master of the Murong family, even if he Xu Ke wanted to charge his "uncle" once, people might not be willing to admit it, so it was inconvenient for Xu Ke to ask more, so he had to ask Murong Ji by the way......

When he said Murong Ji, the eldest young master's expression seemed to move slightly, but it was fleeting, and if he wasn't particularly careful, ordinary people wouldn't be able to see it at all. Murong Meng just replied indifferently, the fourth brother is still recuperating in the pavilion, and he is worried about Brother Xu......

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Xu Ke saw that although Murong Miao's words were gentle and elegant, he seemed to have nothing to say to himself, so he had no choice but to get up and say goodbye......

Murong Meng insisted on sending Xu Ke to the gate, and along the way, he praised Xu Ke for being the son of heaven, promoted six levels in a row, became a hundred households in Tsing Yi, and received the royal gift of Kunwu......

Seeing Xu Ke walk outside the gatehouse, ride on his tall horse, and have already gone away, I don't know why, on Murong Ming's face, the previous gentle and humble look has disappeared, but instead of it, his eyes are narrowed, his brows are frowned, and his face is full of Ling Han's fierce look......

......

Xu Ke went to the Wei Palace, and Ma Huacheng, the head of the palace, told him that the King of Wei had left two days ago, and he was accompanied by Xue Tao, the general of the Right Yu Lin Wei. Ma Huacheng asked Xu Ke to just go south, and there were many guards of honor on the Qin mission, and they could meet on the road......

In this way, Xu Ke carried a sword on his back and rode a horse, and he went all the way south after leaving the Mingde Gate of Chang'an City......

December 29, 70th year of Da Qiankang Yuan, unitary time, Huaiyang Road, Xuchang Mansion.

Xu Ke rode a fast horse for four days in a row, but Ma Huacheng said that the Qincha honor guard has never been met. Xu Ke was in a hurry, so he couldn't help but hurry up and march at the same time, and on this day, he had arrived at the boundary of Xuchang Mansion on Huaiyang Road......

Xuchang Mansion is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and it has always been a battleground for soldiers. There are thousands of acres of fertile land, anointed with thousands of acres, originally a rich and prosperous place, but now it is a scene of depression and dilapidation in the event of a sudden natural disaster......

Xu Ke traveled all the way, only to see that within ten miles, there was no rooster crowing, between a hundred zhang, there was no cooking smoke, in the middle of the Qianmo, the acres of fields were all dry and cracked, the original vast thousands of miles of fertile fields, at this time there were dry fields everywhere, between the criss-crossing cracks, there were some dry grasses growing sparsely...... When the north wind blows, the vast withered grass trembles with the wind, as if crying out loudly to this merciless God, and as if you are bowing your head and praying to the gods who are high up, but whether you pray or cry, it is useless......

The sky is above, the gods are free, the living beings are bitter and happy, and mortals live and die, who cares?

Xu Ke was in a hurry all the way, although he had arrived in Zhoukou Town in Shenshi before, but when he saw that the sky was still bright, he did not stay in the hotel. Now he spurred his horse to his own strength, and before he knew it, he had entered a barren mountain range, and there was no one around him......

The hour was already in time, the sky was dark, Xu Ke looked around, trying to find a place to stay, but after looking for a long time, not to mention lodging, he didn't even find a person who asked for directions......

The mountain road was rugged, and the horse couldn't hurry in the dark, so Xu Ke had to get off the horse, hold the reins, and move slowly all the way.

It was already the beginning of the year, and with a faint little afterglow of the night, Xu Ke finally saw a hill in the distance, and there was a village courtyard in the north of the hill.

Xu Ke, who was no longer able to think about it, only stayed in the mountains for a night, couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw it, so he urged his feet and walked towards the courtyard......

After walking for two moments, Xu Ke finally walked to the front of the Zhuangzi, only to see that the wall was high, surrounded by tall walls, and in the dark night, this huge manor, like a fierce beast, was quietly crawling there......

Xu Ke walked to the gate of the south wall, knocked on the knocker, and a thin, white-haired old man about sixty years old came out. Xu Ke drove for more than two hours, and finally saw the living man at this time, an old man who looked kind, and couldn't help but feel joy in his heart, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute and said:

"Old man, because there is an urgent matter in the next place, I missed the accommodation, I don't know if it is convenient to spend a night in Guizhuang?"

The old man looked at Xu Ke, but said: "Cough! Don't hide this son, it's unfortunate that Zhuang Zhuang is doing a white thing today, and there are many inconveniences in the village, so please go to another place to stay......"

The old man said that he wanted to close the door and go back, where is this Xu Ke willing to follow? He said in his heart that there is no village in front of this place and no store in the back, where do you let me go to find a place to stay? He hurriedly rushed forward to stop the old man, and said with a smile:

"Old man, those who are away from home, I hope it will be convenient! I will only bother for one night, and I will leave tomorrow morning. As for this white matter, your village is so big, you can only ask for a place to sleep. If there is any disturbance, this thin silver is a little thoughtful...... and then he took out a piece of broken silver from his bag......

"Okay! The prince will definitely stay in the village, and the old man will depend on you, but please take back this money......" The old man saw that Xu Ke insisted on staying inside, so he had to reluctantly agree. He pushed Xu Ke's silver back, and led Xu Ke into Zhuangzi with one person and one horse.

The old man closed the gate, put the horses in the front yard, and took Xu Ke all the way inside. Xu Ke took advantage of the dim light to see that the village was overlapped, full of large and small, scattered houses. Although this Zhuangzi does not have the magnificent momentum of Tianbao Pavilion, it is also a mansion that covers a wide area.

This huge manor, I don't know how many rooms there are, and I don't know how many families live there, but at this time it is quietly silent......

The white-haired old man led Xu Ke all the way through the corridor, the courtyard, and the aisle, and led him to a side room inside. The old man specially instructed Xu Ke not to walk around because of the funeral at home, and to have his own small servant to deliver food for a while......

After the old man finished his instructions, he closed the door and left. Xu Ke looked at the room and was very surprised, he saw that there was only a low couch in the corner of the room, and there was nothing else, not even a table and chairs. "Where is there such a house?" Xu Ke only felt that the layout of this side room was unreasonable, and it was more suitable to say that it was not so much a guest room as a prison cell......

At this time, I suddenly heard a "branch", the door opened, and a young man who looked like a small man walked in, with a plate of food and a bowl of clear soup in his hand, and left on the ground. Xu Ke caught up, took the young man's hand, and asked him where he was, not wanting the young man to point to his mouth, "Ahhhhh Xu Ke had no choice but to let go and let him go......

Although Xu Ke felt that this place was strange in his heart, after more than three months of training, he was quite conceited of "being an artist and bold". He said in his heart that there was a funeral going on here, and now it was the middle of the night, and the Zhuangzi was so big, so it was naturally quiet inside. As for the furnishings in this side room, maybe people just have an urgent need, and it is unknown if they have moved all these tables and chairs......

At this time, Xu Ke heard that the belly was already like thunder and drums, and there was a saying that "people are iron, rice is steel, and if you don't eat a meal, you will be hungry!" After eating, Xu Ke touched his stomach and burped, only to feel that when he was out of the house, when he was hungry and thirsty, a few pieces of green vegetables and a bowl of clear soup were better than jade liquid delicacies.

After Xu Ke was full, a wave of sleepiness hit him in vain, and he immediately collapsed on the low couch and his clothes......

I don't know how much time I slept, Xu Ke tossed and turned on the couch, he couldn't sleep peacefully, but he couldn't wake up immediately, this kind of half-dreaming and half-awake, as if he was asleep, the taste of not sleeping really made him uncomfortable. In his dreams, he only heard the moaning sounds of "...... and ...... "hey", which kept drilling into his mind, and he didn't listen to it, but he couldn't, only to feel that those moaning sounds, one after another, like silk, faintly floated in, making him toss and turn sideways, and it was very uncomfortable......

The sound, the slightest moan, rang and stopped for a while, constantly echoing in Xu Ke's ears, like an abandoned lonely soul, sobbing in the wilderness, more like a homeless wild ghost, mourning and crying in the mountains......

Xu Kening held his mind, struggled hard, and finally woke up. He sat up and finally got out of this nightmare, at this time, Xu Ke touched his forehead, only to feel that there were fine beads of sweat on his forehead......

At this time, it is the middle of the night, and it is also the time when the yin energy in the heaven and earth is the strongest, and the yuan yang is the weakest. Xu Ke's room was dark, and the few "angry wind" lamps that were originally lit outside the window had been blown out by someone at some point, and the entire manor had fallen into darkness, without a trace of light or sound. Xu Ke only felt that even the sound of his own breathing could be heard clearly......

Suddenly, "Hey...... A shrill and trembling moan came from ...... corner......