On the third day of the lunar month, heavy snowfall.

The ancient capital of Luoyang, in this vast snowfall, is even more vicissitudes and magnificent.

For many people, this symbolizes a good harvest and joy. But how many people can notice that in the happy and peaceful corners, there are always people who are hungry and hungry. The snow brought them not joy, but cold and hunger.

Shangguan Jingnan slowly walked out of his warm and comfortable room, the fire in the room had not yet burned out, the bed of golden silk nanmu was still messy, and the girl next to the pillow had just gotten up, rubbing her wistful and charming eyes. Under the dim candlelight, her reddened cheeks looked even more shy and lovely.

Shangguan Jingnan strolled through his huge courtyard, breathing in the fresh, dry and cold air, and he was satisfied with everything. Although he is close to middle age, he is still full of charm, and he is undoubtedly a very successful person, since he debuted in the rivers and lakes at the age of 20, he has not tasted a defeat in 83 battles. With a nine-ring sword, he has accumulated endless fame and wealth in the martial arts.

Naturally, he is also a person who knows how to enjoy life, and now he is waiting for a hearty breakfast as usual. It was all as peaceful as usual, as if nothing different.

The housekeeper didn't know when he had arrived at Shangguan Jingnan's side, bowed slightly, and waited for Shangguan Jingnan's instructions.

"Today is the third day of the lunar month, and the New Year's goods should be prepared. ”

"Yes"

"A month ago, a batch of goods were shipped from Yang Wuye in Bianjing, and now it should be almost there, you pick a few brothers with good skills to pick it up, don't go on a business trip. ”

"Yes"

"The plum blossoms in the back garden are blooming, and don't forget to take care of them. ”

............

After Shangguan Jingnan finished the entrustment, the housekeeper did not leave as usual.

Shangguan Jingnan frowned and said, "Is there something wrong?"

"It should ...... Nothing. The butler paused and continued, "I just received a very strange letter. ”

"Oh?"

The butler slowly took out a yellowed piece of paper from his cuff and continued, "This was found from the main entrance this morning. The housekeeper bowed down and handed the letter to Shangguan Jingnan.

"On the twenty-seventh day of the lunar month, the lanterns are still the same, prepare the cheats of your mansion, wash your head, and you will come to visit now"

nameless

Shangguan Jingnan not only smiled lightly, in fact, there have been many martial arts masters who have challenged Jingnan Mansion in recent years, because they need to prove themselves to the people in the rivers and lakes, they are eager to become famous, and Shangguan Jingnan is undoubtedly a very good target. However, the previous challengers all followed the rules of the rivers and lakes, made a war letter, invited respected people to testify, set a time, and fought until the end.

However, it is still very rare to write a war book like this, maybe this is not a war book at all, but a notice, a death notice......

Shangguan Jingnan muttered, "This is somewhat interesting. ”

The butler smiled bitterly, "Who would have the audacity to make a joke?"

Shangguan Jingnan said leisurely: "Don't care, everything is still the same." ”

However, Shangguan Jingnan couldn't help but ask himself in his heart: "What is the secret book in the letter, why don't I even know it?"

On the seventh day of the lunar month, early morning, Luoyang White Horse Temple.

Legend has it that in the eighth year of Yongle in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Ming Dynasty dreamed that a golden man rose to the sky in the palace at night, and then flew westward. Emperor Ming immediately sent 18 people, including Zhonglang General Qin Jing and Dr. Wang Zun, to the Western Regions to learn scriptures and visit Buddhism. Three years later, Qin Jing and others met the two monks of Shamen Jiaye Morteng and Zhu Falan in the country of Dayue, carried Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues with white horse camels, and returned to Luoyang in the tenth year of Yongping. And build a temple to preserve the classics, in order to commemorate the white horse negative scripture to lose the image of the merit, so it is named the White Horse Temple.

History has been precipitated with the rings of time, and the White Horse Temple has also become magnificent due to the baptism of time. Even the pine forest outside the temple has lost its green color of early spring due to the cold season.

The bare branches and snow-capped earth add a bit of gloom and desolation.

At this time, there was a young man standing outside the door, his delicate and fair face was full of sorrow, and an unsheathed broken sword hanging from his waist added a bit of peculiarity to this person.

After a few crisp knocks on the door, the door opened, and a little monk walked out of it, and Mu Ne said, "Who is the donor looking for?"

The young man spoke, "Is Master Wunian here?"

The little monk said: "The abbot is chanting and preaching Zen in the temple, may I ask the donor's surname, what do you do?"

The young man said: "Liu Qing, the willow of the willow tree, the green of the evergreen." ”

The little monk's eyes widened in surprise, and he blurted out: "You are Liu Qing, the Liu Qing who visited Wudang?" After observing the broken sword next to the young man's waist, the little monk's voice became even more nervous and surprised.

Liu Qing said indifferently: "It's right in the next place." ”

The little monk didn't even forget to cover the door, so he immediately turned around and went back to report.

Liu Qing didn't seem surprised.

In the past six months, the word Liu Qing has been well known by more and more people in the rivers and lakes, and his development in the rivers and lakes can almost be called a miracle.

Five months ago, he went to Cangshan in Yunnan alone, challenging Yu Qingfeng, the head of the Diancang faction, although the Diancang faction is one of the nine major sects, but because of its remote location, the rules are strict, and the disciples of the sect rarely go to and from the middle of the road, but as we all know, the Diancang swordsmanship is not only famous all over the world, but the authentic is famous for its weirdness, its changes are so many, the tricks are ruthless, unimaginable. Yu Qingfeng, the head of the family, is a first-class master of swords in the rivers and lakes, and has obtained the true inheritance of the swordsmanship of this school, and his swordsmanship has the reputation of "flowing water". Unexpectedly, he lost to Liu Qing within ten moves, and he was convinced of the loss, which immediately caused an uproar in the rivers and lakes.

Three months ago, Liu Qing defeated the long-established wandering swordsman Xie Wuchang, who is said to have single-handedly stabbed 47 murderous and fearsome Jiangyang thieves when he was in Lingnan. The precision and strength of its knife technique are pure and steel, and few people can match it among the experts who make knives. But Liu Qing only used one trick "Returning to the Wind and Dancing Willows", overcoming rigidity with softness, and then knocked Xie Wuchang's knife away, which was terrifying.

What's even more unbelievable is that not long ago, Liu Qing went straight to Wudang Mountain, the holy land of martial arts, and defeated Zhong Zheng, the eldest disciple of Wudang, and the name Liu Qing has been famous all over the world since then.

What is surprising is not only Liu Qing's swordsmanship, but also his "sword" and "light skill", a broken sword, it only took six months to pass from Dali to Wudang and arrive in Luoyang.

Liu Qing waited outside the door for a while, and then saw the little monk running in a hurry, and said in a very respectful tone: "The abbot has invited the donor to take a seat in the main hall." ”

Liu Qing accompanied by the little monk, stepped into this ancient and solemn Yu Temple, the sound of striking the bell and chanting in the distance, for a long time, the two came to a largest, occupy the north and face south in front of the living room.

The little monk said: "The abbot is waiting for the donor inside. After saying that, the little monk left.

After a long time, Liu Qing slowly pushed open the hall door, and as soon as he entered the hall door, he saw an old man with a kind face and a long white beard sitting in the center of the hall. The early morning sun shines on the old man's face, and the wrinkles look more obvious.

"The master is thoughtless?"

"Poor monks are. ”

"The donor is Liu Qing?"

"Yes"

"The willow of the willow, the evergreen of the green?"

"Yes"

Master Wu Nian smiled, "Can the willow tree really be evergreen?"

Liu Qing said bluntly: "Can the master really be thoughtless?"

Master Wunian's eyes suddenly revealed a trace of sadness, but he immediately regained his bright look.

Master Wunian diverted the topic and said, "The donor is here, I don't know why?"

Liu Qing said: "Just to get the mind-free and worry-free method." ”

After a long time, Master Wunian said: "You must know that in this world, there is no such mental method. ”

In that case, I hope to find a way to exculpate. ”

There was silence again......

Master Wunian said slowly: "The method of liberation depends on the situation, which varies from matter to case and from person to person. ”

I don't know how long it took for Liu Qing to say, "I don't know...... I wonder if the younger generation can escape into the empty door to relieve their troubles?"

Master Wunian was surprised for a moment, and said: "The Buddha has a fate, but the donor has no fate with the Buddha, and besides, it ......."

"And what?"

"Besides, the donor is too angry. ”

"Angry?"

"Yes, the donor is just like the "unsheathed sword" next to your waist" Master Wunian continued: "Does the donor know why the sword should be accompanied by the scabbard?"

Liu Qing was silent.

Master Wu Nian smiled and said, "Isn't the donor thinking, isn't the scabbard just for the convenience of the user to carry the sword, protect the sword body, and at the same time avoid accidentally injuring himself?"

Liu Qing didn't answer, but said: "If the sword is hidden in the sheath, it will add a process of drawing the sword when you shoot, and besides, it will affect the speed of the shot. ”

"Could it be that the donor's sword is meant to kill?"

"Not really. ”

After hearing Liu Qing's answer, Wu Nian showed a more peaceful smile and said, "In fact, the sword is in the sheath, which has more profound meaning, concealing its anger and hiding its edge. Throughout the ages, the masters of the sword in the martial arts have cultivated to each higher level, and their understanding of the sword has also deepened. Whenever a disciple who specializes in kendo comes out of the school, the master will specially give him a sword with a sheath, which is intended to tell him that he must restrain the publicity he has just achieved a little, and there are people outside the world, and there is a sky outside the sky, and he must learn to be humble. At the same time, don't forget that the sword is a sharp weapon, which will bring harm to people, so don't shoot easily, compete with others for a while, and don't draw the sword until it is absolutely necessary. I don't know the deep meaning of this sword and scabbard, does the donor already understand it?"

Liu Qing was silent.

After a cup of tea, Liu Qingcai said: "Thank you master for your teaching, as for the method of liberation, the younger generation will find it by themselves." ”

After finishing speaking, Liu Qing was about to leave, and when he turned around, he found that the little monk just now had pushed the door in at some point, and there was already a turquoise stone plate in his hand, and in a delicate cup on the plate, there was still some warm, exuding a little fragrant Xinyang Maojian tea.

I don't know what kind of contemplation Liu Qing fell into just now, but he didn't notice any of this.

The abbot of Wunian smiled and said, "Does the donor take a break, wait for someone to re-cook a cup of tea, and then leave?"

Liu Qing said: "Thank you Abbot for your kindness, no need." With that, he left.

"Really a strange person. The little monk said to his abbot, "Is that right?"

Master Wunian laughed and couldn't help but think in his heart: "What is it that makes this young man so sad and confused, and longs for liberation?"