In the depths of the Arrow Furnace Valley, the noisy sound of striking iron in the front valley is almost none, but is muffled by the sound of flowing water from the mountain stream.

The sun is sunny, but the dense mountain forest is cloudy but not damp and cold, and it is full of vitality.

In front of a quiet courtyard in the forest, the door was half-hidden, and an old man in a green robe was slowly knocking.

The green-robed old man has a slightly convex forehead, goosebumps, deep-set eyes, deep furrows on his face, and an old dragon clock, but the hand that knocks on the door is still calm and powerful, giving people the feeling that this hand must hold great authority.

The sound of knocking broke the silence in the forest, and the old man lowered his arm, waited patiently for a long time, and with a squeak, the courtyard door finally opened.

A boy wearing a Taoist uniform, wearing a white bone hairpin, and a human skull hanging from his waist stood inside the door, his face was ruddy, his breathing was long, and a pair of big black eyes were very aura, but his expression was indifferent, without the innocence and childishness that a child should have.

When the green-robed old man saw the little medicine boy, his eyes couldn't help flashing with surprise, and he was about to speak, but found that the other party didn't pay attention to his meaning at all, but stared straight at his waist.

The green-robed old man looked down, he almost had nothing to lose, except for a black unsheathed iron sword tied around his waist. The iron sword is shorter than the ordinary sword, there is no edge, the sword body is dull and old, the original texture is worn out, except for a bit of vicissitudes of life, it is not very eye-catching, and even a little shabby.

"What's its name?" asked the little medicine boy.

The green-robed old man smiled kindly, but he didn't think it was at all, and replied slowly: "A thousand years ago, there was a divine sword that shocked Zhou Tian, and the name of the sword was a little strange. ”

These words are witty, but the old man said every word very seriously, as if the iron sword on his waist was really called such an inconspicuous name, and what made people laugh even more was that the little medicine boy also listened to every word very seriously, and did not seem to hear the ridicule in the old man's words.

After the old man finished speaking, the little medicine boy waited patiently for a few breaths, and when he saw that the other party was indeed gone, he let out an "oh", pressed his palm on the door, and prepared to close the door to thank the guests.

The green-robed old man was a little embarrassed when he saw this, and hurriedly coughed lightly, and said solemnly: "The old man is the edict of the Beiding Mansion, I don't know if Captain Liu is here?"

His words were not loud, but he didn't mean it to the little medicine boy, but he went straight to the hospital without attenuation.

After waiting for a while, there was no response in the courtyard, but the little medicine boy who was not good at talking let go of the palm that held the door panel: "You person, go in by yourself, don't disturb the peace of my second master." ”

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and left, leaving the edict of the prison who was feared by everyone except a few people in the boundary of Beiding Mansion outside the door.

The green-robed old man smiled dumbly, stepped into the door, and followed the little medicine boy towards the courtyard.

The courtyard is not deep, dotted with some green pines and cypresses, and a bay of stream water has been introduced from the mountain, which is also a little elegant, which is rare in a place like Baima Village.

The green-robed old man walked not far before he saw a bluestone horizontally crossed by the stream, and a black-clothed young man was sitting on the stone.

The bluestone is not flat, one is high and the other is low, the black-clothed young man is not sitting in a regular manner, but leaning in accordance with the shape of the bluestone, his left hand is on his head, his left leg is crossed and flat, his right leg is bent and upright, his right foot is on the shorter side of the bluestone, and there is a long knife with a sheath obliquely on his waist, which looks extremely lazy and leisurely.

There are many profligate hermits in Zhou Tian, and if the posture of the black-clothed young man is placed on those old-timers with fairy wind and bones, he can praise the mastery and informality, but if it is done by young people, it will inevitably be a little lazy and disgusting.

The green-robed old man frowned subconsciously at first, and then he was a little surprised, the black-clothed young man in front of him closed his eyes, and a red mark in the center of his eyebrows faintly flowed brightly.

This is strange, judging from the news from the north, this Liu Tugou is clearly a murderous and aggressive person, who suddenly ascended to a high position at a young age, established special honors, and enjoyed great fame.

If it weren't for this, even if this young man was valued by the marquis of the town prison, he would have a bright future in the future, and with the status and qualifications of the old man in the green robe in the edict, he would not have to come to the door in person, what he was afraid of was the young man's spirit, and if he caused trouble in Beiding Mansion, it would be difficult to explain to the king and the prince.

"I don't know what to call an adult?"

Liu Tugou opened his eyes, his eyes were as sharp as a steel knife, looking up and down, looking quite unscrupulous.

Seeing this, the green-robed old man put his mind at ease and said secretly: "This is the unruly demeanor of young people. ”

He smiled slightly and said: "The old man's surname is Zhou, whether he knows the rivers and lakes, the temples or not, they all call me Zhou Tieqi, but almost no one knows his real name." ”

"It turned out to be Lord Zhou, my lord came to the door today, I don't know what advice?"

Liu Tugou learned from the characters in Lao Bai's story, and asked in a crepe manner, but combined with his lazy posture that he still couldn't get up on the bluestone, it was a bit nondescript.

This kind of style is extremely rare in the second master, and even the little medicine boy looked at him a little strangely.

Speaking of the reason, that is, as soon as Liu Tugou saw the green robe on Zhou Tiechi's body, he couldn't help but remember the "bamboo leaf green" of Wei Da in Xi'an Mansion, which was slippery and dangerous.

The Beiding Mansion in front of him, who is rarely known even by his real name, although his temperament is very different from Wei Da, but his functions are the same, or even more important, and he is also an extremely dangerous and difficult character.

Liu Tugou has seen a lot of such people, and he is not happy to talk about it, and he always likes to play in a roundabout way, or coerce or lure or pretend to be emotional, so that people have to obey their fate, as if it is not enough to show their cleverness.

Zhou Tiechi saw Liu Tugou for the first time, but he didn't notice the dislike in his heart, there was still a gentle smile on his face, and he replied calmly: "The Black Crow Guard is resting here, once the prince has an order, he will enter the Zhongzhou Dragon Court in a few days, so that some things must be said in front, and some things must be done in front." ”

Liu Tugou's eyes were bright, and he listened to Zhou Tieqi continue without saying a word: "First, if you are imprisoned, you are the minions of the Son of Heaven's eagle dog. The marquis of the town prison is in charge of the edict of the Son of Heaven, and obeying the orders of the prince is to follow the decree of heaven. In the edict prison, this article is the most important duty, and there is no mistake or omission. ”

This week, Tie Qi spoke straightforwardly, and Liu Tugou nodded in surprise and said, "This is natural." ”

"Second, the monarch and the prince choose people to do things, it is not for me to put a beak, but this time I will abandon all the old people, purely new people, most of the black crows under your command are born in reckless and even bitter prison sentences, wild and untamable, once you enter Beijing, there will be trouble. There are two sentences that you must remember, the first sentence is that everything is to blame, and if you fail, you will die. The second sentence, although death does not fall into the prestige of the monarch. ”

Liu Tugou was slightly moved, and exclaimed: "Lao Zhou, you are obviously an old person, but you are so enthusiastic about me, a newcomer, it can be seen that you are a rare straightforward person, Liu Tugou and the three hundred black crows wrote it down." Tell me, how do you want me to repay it?"

"Hey, it's one thing to write it down, it's another thing to do it. As for repayment, these two sentences are nothing, all the 'green snakes', 'green dogs' and 'ochre eagles' in the edict prison know it, but they are selfish and distracting, and there are a few people who can do it, let alone do it willingly. ”

Hearing the title of "Old Zhou", Zhou Tieqi didn't care, and continued with a few words of emotion: "Third, the newly established army of the prince has about 3,000 people in one brigade and three guards, and the Black Crow Guard is only one of them. The prince said that they are all unified positions, and those who can live in them. ”

"I don't know if this piece of delicious fat meat, do you dare to fight for it?"

(Thanks to ~Slanted Wind~Daoyou for your tip!)