The night was deep, pitch black, the scenery was not visible, and the cold wind of the wax moon was mixed with snowflakes. In the territory of Chu State, in an unknown small mountain village, every household in the village is a stone house. In the dead of night, it is peaceful and quiet, as if isolated from the darkness and cold of the outside world.

At this moment, there is still a house with candles lit, and a middle-aged couple is talking about something.

I only heard the voice of a middle-aged man: "Child, I have already decided, you don't have to persuade this matter." I, Cheng Jiahai, have been a blacksmith all my life, and I have no prospects, but I hope that Hao'er will not stay in this stone village for the rest of his life like me in the future!"

"But doesn't Hao'er often find Lao Zhao Tou to learn literature and martial arts, I think this is very good, can you bear to let him run to Qingzhou City alone and no one will take care of him?" As soon as the words fell, the woman's voice sounded, with a slight cry in her resentful tone.

"This is different, you are a woman..."Afraid of waking up the child next door, the middle-aged man scolded in a low voice, but he couldn't bear to scold halfway through the sentence. But he still insisted, quite seriously, "Hao'er is going to grow up after all, I don't want him to get any fame, I just hope that he can get out of here and not have to be trapped in this mountain like us in the future." ”

Inside, the woman wanted to say something, but she opened her mouth and never objected.

This middle-aged Chinese character is a blacksmith, who has been striking iron all his life, has a superb craft, and is quite famous in ten miles and eight villages. The family life is not very rich, but there is no need to worry about food and clothing. Because of his boldness, he was respected by the villagers, but his lifelong wish was to send his children out of the mountains to see the scenery outside, which fulfilled his dream when he was young.

The Hao'er in the mouth of the couple is Cheng Hao, at the moment he is lying on the bed and pretending to be asleep, and he also heard the words of his parents. Growing up listening to Old Man Zhao's stories, he has long been full of yearning for the outside world. When my father made his decision, I couldn't help but be excited.

Cheng Hao is 12 years old this year, smart and studious since he was a child, quite thoughtful, and very pleasing to the people in the village. Unlike other children, when other children ran to play, he always pestered Old Man Zhao to learn to write and read.

Speaking of this old man Zhao, this person is a little peculiar, he is not from Shicun, he was already half a hundred years old when he first saw him, but he moved to such a small mountain village alone, with no children or wife around him. I've lived here for more than 10 years, and it's clear that I'm planning to settle here.

Of course, it's not surprising that just a stranger suddenly moved to Ishimura. But the problem is that when he came to Ishimura, he looked like he was close to his sixtieth birthday, and now more than ten years have passed, and his appearance has not changed at all.

And not only that, just a few years ago, once the villagers hunted wild boars that went down the mountain to destroy the village's house, and accidentally provoked a herd of wild boars! Seeing that the villagers were about to suffer, they saw that the old man Zhao alone beat a group of wild boars to death with his fists, not only saved the villagers, but also those wild boars that shuttled extremely flexibly between the mountains did not even run away from a single piglet. Who would have imagined that this is something that an old man who is nearly 100 years old can do?

But Old Man Zhao has always emphasized that he used to be a scholar. Fortunately, the villagers were simple, and no one pressed him to ask anything. Of course, it is more likely that it is because of the awe of this mysterious old man that the villagers of this remote mountain village do not dare to investigate too much.

However, this old man Zhao does have a belly of knowledge, and most of the names of the younger generations in the village are taken by him, and sometimes he will teach the children to read and learn words, which makes the villagers respect this old man Zhao even more.

Every New Year's holiday, there are always villagers who visit his home. It's usual, and everyone doesn't forget to come to see him often, wanting to learn some skills from him, but no matter how soft and hard the villagers are, Old Man Zhao refuses to teach him at all.

But there is one person who is an exception, and that is Cheng Hao. Although Cheng Hao always pestered him to learn and read, Old Man Zhao seemed to prefer to teach him martial arts, according to him, Cheng Hao's roots are good and worth polishing. Although he was not interested in martial arts, in order to please Old Man Zhao and let him give him a little more knowledge, Cheng Hao could only choose to compromise.

It's just that every time Old Man Zhao teaches him martial arts, Cheng Hao is just perfunctory, and the effect of strengthening his body is there, but his martial arts have not improved at all. Old man Zhao can't do anything about him, and he doesn't care about him, and he doesn't fall behind what he should teach.

Speaking of Cheng Hao, he is studious and extremely smart, and he has an inexplicable fondness for books. After a few years, I have learned a lot. In the village, everyone praises him, and his father sees it in his eyes, and he is naturally happy to see his son Jackie Chan. Only then did he plan to send him to the county academy to study after the New Year, even if he was a talent in the future, it would be much better than settling iron in this small mountain village for the rest of his life!

His mother cared for him even more, and he lived in the love of his parents from childhood to adulthood. He knew that his parents had high expectations of him, and that other children his age were already working in the fields, but he could study at home.

Today, my father and mother are discussing this matter, and it takes nearly three days to go to the county seat, and it takes six or seven days to go back and forth. If Cheng Hao goes to study, he will definitely not be able to return home several times a year, and his mother is naturally reluctant to let the child leave home so early. Thinking that the child has always stayed by his side, learned some crafts, and had no worries about food and clothing in the future, he was satisfied. I can't resist the child's father, and it's also a good thing to let the child go to school, and finally the two reached a consensus.

This matter was settled, and his father hurriedly asked someone to write a letter to his cousin, who opened a medical clinic in Qingzhou City, that is, Cheng Hao's cousin. Let Cheng Hao have a place to stay over there.

Although the matter has been settled, Cheng Hao's heart is full of yearning and eagerness for this, but to go to the county seat to study, you must wait for the academy to open in March next year, and now it is only the first time to arrive in Layue, and you have to wait for three or four months!

Early in the morning, Cheng Hao took the book and read it aloud carefully. In a few moments, my mother cooked the meal

"Alright, the meal is ready, let's come and eat quickly. It's cold for a while. ”

My father sat in the yard, holding a cigarette pouch in his hand, took the last deep breath, put it on the ground and tapped it lightly. He got up and tightened his cotton coat, turned around and walked into the house

"It's coming, it's coming!"

Father and son sat down next to each other's tables. After a while, my father coughed lightly and said, "Hao'er, after the New Year, your mother and I are going to send you to the county town to study, you have to be careful." It's up to you whether you have a future or not in the future, but don't be like your father and me, stay in this small mountain village for the rest of your life, alas!"

"Alright, alright! If you want me to say, our Hao'er will definitely be able to make a difference. ”

As she spoke, the mother put the food on the table and beckoned the father and son to eat.

Cheng Hao sighed, and said a few perfunctory words, when his parents discussed this matter a few days ago, he had actually heard it. It was false to say that he was unhappy, and now his parents told him in person, he just wanted to share this matter with Grandpa Zhao as soon as possible. A few bites of rice were picked up. His mother looked at him lovingly and put a few pieces of meat into his bowl......

"Dad, mother, I'm done. Yesterday, Grandpa Zhao said that he would teach me student calligraphy today, and said that he would give me two books, so I had to go there earlier. ”

After saying that, Fei also slipped out.

"This bear child is always frizzy in his work," the mother scolded.

"Okay, don't worry about it, it's a good thing that children like to read! Yesterday, the second dog and his father caught a roe deer while hunting, and I will buy it later, and slaughter it to make up for the child. Tomorrow, ask Hao'er to bring some to Old Man Zhao, the old man has no children under his knees, and he is like a grandson to our Hao'er, and it is good for Hao'er to accompany him more, and he can learn more knowledge...."

Trotting all the way, Cheng Hao arrived at the old man's house in the east of the village. The door of Old Man Zhao's house was open. Cheng Hao looked inside, and when he saw that there was no one at home, he shouted: "Is Grandpa Zhao at home? Grandpa Zhao... Are you at home?" Cheng Hao shouted a few times, but still no one answered.

"Grandpa Zhao is good at writing and painting in his life, but he only likes sword dancing, he is not in the guest hall at the moment, he must be practicing in the backyard in the morning. ”

Thinking of this, Cheng Hao walked to the backyard with a bitter face. , he is the last willing to dance with a sword. Some distance away, but I heard the sound of a sword roaring in the distance. When he came to the backyard, Cheng Hao didn't speak again after standing still. At this moment, Grandpa Zhao was the most taboo to be disturbed by others, so he watched silently.

Don't look at the age of this old man Zhao, this set of swordsmanship is as elegant as flowing water. Such a chic swordsmanship, in the hands of this nearly 100-year-old man, is even more dusty. Even Cheng Hao, a person who doesn't like to practice martial arts, couldn't help but want to cry out when he saw it.

At this time, just as he was indulging in it, suddenly the ground trembled violently, and a three-foot Qingfeng was silently nailed into the ground, and the rocky ground under his feet cracked like a spider's web, which showed how powerful the blow was just now.

Cheng Hao looked up at Old Man Zhao suddenly, just now, he was stunned for a moment. This sword pierced into the ground in front of him without a sound, if it weren't for the fact that Old Man Zhao didn't have the slightest murderous intent. Maybe he didn't even have time to react, and he was already pierced through his chest and died! The cold sweat had already wet his entire back at some point.

But the moment he raised his head to meet Old Man Zhao's eyes... What kind of look was that? cold-blooded, ruthless? No! And it was a sense of indifference to life like a mustard! At that moment, he felt as if he were the prey of a bird of prey. At this moment, he was completely shocked, and even his spirit collapsed at this moment. This Grandpa Zhao, who usually looks like an old pedant, still has such a terrifying side!