The clouds are misty, and the wind moves with the clouds. When the morning sun rises, it heralds the arrival of a new day.

Fenglin County is a small and remote county that belongs to Nanshan County, Chaoshan Prefecture, Great Chu. There are not many merchants here, and the people are self-sufficient.

There is a small courtyard at the east end of the county, in which a young man dressed in coarse cloth is sitting under an ancient tree, and there is an ancient well next to it. The boy was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a delicate appearance and a well-proportioned figure. At this time, he was facing the rising sun with his eyes slightly closed. If a practitioner passes by, he will know that the young man is meditating and gathering qi.

The plan of the year lies in the spring, and the plan of the day lies in the morning, and the purple qi of the morning sun is precious to cultivators.

"Brother Qingfeng, open the door quickly, Brother Qingfeng, open the door quickly!" An anxious knock broke the silence of the small courtyard. The young man sitting cross-legged couldn't help but open his eyes, and a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, although the neighbor's little Lizi often came to play, it was the first time so early.

When he opened the courtyard door, an eight or nine-year-old child appeared in front of him, it was Wang Li, the son of the neighbor Wang Blacksmith, the little guy was not big, but his body was not small, and he was about to catch up with him. opened his mouth and asked, "Xiao Lizi, what's wrong?"

"Brother Qingfeng, hurry! Come with me to save people!" As soon as he saw Xiao Qingfeng, Xiao Lizi didn't explain, and directly pulled him and prepared to run to his house.

"Hey, slow down, slow down. To save people, you have to get a medicine box first. Stopping Xiao Lizi, Xiao Qingfeng first went back to his room and took the usual medicine box, walked out quickly, and asked, "What's going on, you talk about it first." ”

"That's right. My mother saved a person by the river this morning, and now she hasn't woken up yet, and is lying in our house! My mother will call me to come and ask you to take a look!"

After a few words, they came to the king's blacksmith's yard. The small courtyard is not big, the typical north is facing south, the north is the main house, the east is the room of the small lizi, and the west is the stove room. There are also a lot of iron tools in the courtyard. Xiao Qingfeng was also not surprised to come over often, watching Xiao Lizi's room open, and walked into the room quickly.

The room was very simple, only a bed and some children's gadgets, not even a table. At this time, there were three people in the room, Wang Blacksmith and her wife Wang Li, and a little girl lying on the bed in Wang Li's clothes.

"Xiao Feng is here, come and see, what's wrong with this girl?" Wang Li saw that Xiao Qingfeng had arrived, and hurriedly stepped forward and said.

"Auntie, don't panic, wait for me to take a look first. ”

Sitting on the edge of the bed with the medicine box on his back, Xiao Qingfeng had the opportunity to look at the little girl on the bed carefully. The little girl looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, and should be about the same age as herself. Although he wore Wang Li's clothes, he could not hide his delicate face and his sickly pale and tired haggardness.

Stretched out his right hand to touch the little girl's pulse, a trace of doubt flashed in her eyes, and then her eyes narrowed slightly. Those who know him well know that this is a symbol of what he is thinking.

"Xiao Feng, how is this little girl?" Looking at Xiao Qingfeng's actions, Blacksmith Wang asked with concern. Located in the remote Fenglin County, the humanistic quality is still very simple, otherwise Wang Li would not have rescued this little girl.

Gently putting down the little girl's hand, Xiao Qingfeng exhaled: "It's not a big problem, it's just that my body is too weak and tired." I'll be fine with a few stitches, but I'm afraid I'll have to recuperate for a while when I wake up. ”

"It's okay, it's okay. Hearing that the little girl was fine, Wang Li smiled happily.

"Auntie, how did you meet her?" asked Xiao Qingfeng while taking out the silver needle from the medicine box.

"Well, I went to the river this morning to wash my clothes, and I saw her floating in the river. Fortunately, I went a little earlier today, otherwise such a beautiful little girl would have been unlucky. "Women are sentimental, and although Wang Li is an ordinary woman, she also has a bodhisattva heart.

"Auntie, boil some porridge for her, I'm afraid she hasn't eaten for a few days. While pricking the needle, Xiao Qingfeng commanded.

"Okay, okay! I'll go right away. Wang Li responded.

"Auntie, don't be busy yet, I haven't finished talking yet. Xiao Qingfeng stopped Wang Li, who was about to leave, "Your courtyard is too golden, not suitable for a little girl to recuperate, so let's put it in my courtyard." I have a quiet environment where I can recuperate. ”

Wang Li was slightly stunned, and then said: "It's okay, it's not far anyway, and it won't take much time for me to take care of it." ”

After some effort, Xiao Qingfeng carried the little girl to his yard. His yard was not much different from that of the king's blacksmith, and both had only two rooms, and he carried the little girl to the east room and put her on the bed.

Turning to Wang Li's family, he said, "Auntie, I'm going to Songbai Mountain to collect medicine today, and this little girl will bother you to take care of it." She's too weak to eat and drink too much, so just feed her some hot porridge. ”

"It's okay, it's okay, you can go with confidence, I'm sure I'll take good care of the little girl." Wang Li agreed, she actually always wanted a daughter, but her stomach didn't move after giving birth to Xiaolizi, so she let it go. saved such a beautiful little girl this time, and also brought out her thoughts about her daughter.

Carrying a bamboo basket, holding a medicine hoe, bringing ropes and dry food, and carrying a sword that must be carried when going out, Xiao Qingfeng went out.

"Xiao Feng, are you going to collect medicine again? Since your master and his old man died, our Fenglin County has relied on you. ”

As soon as I was discharged from the hospital, I walked on the county street, and I met a group of people dressed in silk clothes, and the person led by was Feng Yuan Feng in the county. Feng Zhutou received some favors from Master Xiao Qingfeng when he was young, so he has always regarded him as a nephew.

"Uncle Feng, saying that will torment me. Several doctors in the county are better than me, what am I doing? And I'm not a serious doctor. Xiao Qingfeng hurriedly waved his hand, looked at the clothes of their group, and said with a little surprise: "Uncle Feng, you are traveling with so many people, is there something wrong?"

The yamen has its own rules in the yamen, and there is no need to catch the head out of the horse for ordinary small things, but if the head catches the horse in person, it must be a major event that shakes the county. What's more, in a place like Fenglin County, where trivial matters can be talked about for several days, Feng Yuan's personal involvement is probably something to talk about in the county for at least a few months.

"Isn't there just something wrong? Before Feng Yuan could speak, a young catcher next to him quickly spoke: "Zhao Yuanwai's family in the county has been killed, and Zhao Yuanwai was killed in his room last night. That corpse is miserable!"

The one who spoke was Feng Yuan's son Feng Kun, now sixteen years old, who had followed Feng Yuan in the yamen since he was a child, and also got a position of catching fast last year. What's more, he grew up with Xiao Qingfeng since he was a child, and he has a good relationship.

"Ah, Brother Kun, are you talking about the Zhao family's Zhao Papi in the north of the city?" Listening to Feng Kun's words, Xiao Qingfeng's face was full of shock.

"Isn't that the Zhao family? Feng Kun pursed his lips and replied.

"Okay! Okay!" Without waiting for Xiao Qingfeng to ask again, Feng Yuan interjected: "We still have to go back to the Yamen to restore the life of the county commander, if you go to collect medicine, you had better pay attention to safety." ”

"Dad, don't worry, with Xiaofeng's ability, who in the county has the ability to bully him?" Feng Kun rolled his eyes at his Lao Tzu, expressing his disdain.

"What do you kid know, I'm afraid it's not from the county. Glaring at his son, Feng Yuan turned his head to Xiao Qingfeng and said: "The case of Zhao Yuanwai's family is a little strange, and I am afraid that the county will not live in peace, I am too busy with the case to take care of you, you pay attention to your own safety." ”

"Uncle Feng, don't worry, I understand. Xiao Qingfeng nodded and replied, since he was a child, he saw that Uncle Feng had taken care of himself.

"It's good to understand, let's go back to the county office. Nodding, Feng Yuan waved his hand at the people behind him, and walked towards the county government in the center of the county.

After watching Feng Yuan and them walk by, Xiao Qingfeng's flat brows immediately furrowed, and his eyes narrowed slightly. has lived in the county for more than ten years, and there is a master who knows everything, and his understanding of the various characters and forces in Fenglin County is no less than Feng Yuan.

Although Fenglin County is located in a remote area and has a small population, there are fights where there are people, which is an eternal truth. As far as Fenglin County is concerned, there are three major forces in the county as a whole, namely the foreign faction such as the county order and the master, the squire faction composed of large families in the county, and the official faction that has been officials in the yamen for generations.

The county commander and the master belong to the liuguan, and they don't really care about the county fight, as long as it doesn't affect his career, he won't care. And it's basically every three years, so in their eyes, stability is overwhelming.

Therefore, the main contradictions in the county are concentrated between the gentry faction and the official faction. Although they are all local forces, the county has only a little resources, and the struggle between them is already very serious. But no matter how much you fight, you won't resort to such extreme means.

"It really feels like a mountain rain is coming. Xiao Qing muttered in his mouth: "But what does this matter to me? ”

Zhao Yuanwai, nicknamed Zhao Papi, has a lot of power in Fenglin County, and the slaves in the family are not said to be thousands, hundreds, but it is still possible to pull out dozens of them. However, his character is not good, and he has done many evil things in the county that have lost his conscience. His death is like a great harm to the entire Fenglin County.

Shaking his head, he didn't think about it, and continued to walk towards Songbai Mountain with his bamboo basket on his back.

Songbai Mountain is located ten miles north of Fenglin County, which is not a big mountain, at least in the Great Chu Dynasty. But it is this little-known Songbai Mountain, together with the Songbai River that flows through the mountain, that feeds thousands of families in Fenglin County.

The geographical location of Fenglin County is not very good, and farming alone cannot support so many people in the county. The Songbai Mountain and the Songbai River perfectly solve this problem.

There are many wild beasts in the mountains, but there are very few large wild beasts, so hunting is very popular in Fenglin County, and ordinary hunters stay in the mountains for three or five days, and there is no danger in staying in the mountains and forests at night. In addition to the mountains, there are rivers. There are schools of fish and shrimp in the river, so there are many fishermen. In this case, there are naturally more people in Fenglin County who worship the mountain gods and river gods.

Regarding the matter of gods and ghosts, Xiao Qingfeng did not express his opinion. At least he wouldn't completely deny the ghosts and gods in this world, otherwise how could he be here?

Since he was a child, he has followed his master to practice qi and martial arts, Xiao Qingfeng's physical fitness is very good, he set off in the morning, and he has already returned with a full load in the afternoon. For September, which has already passed the Mid-Autumn Festival to welcome the Chongyang Festival, it is not cold, nor is it hot, such a season is Xiao Qingfeng's favorite season. There is no summer heat, no winter cold, and no spring busyness.

"Xiaofeng, you're back, the little girl has woken up. As soon as Xiao Qingfeng stepped into the small courtyard, Wang Li's voice came to his ears.

Looking at her as if she wanted to speak and stopped, Xiao Qingfeng asked, "Auntie, what's wrong, what's wrong?"

Wang Li glanced into the east room, pulled Xiao Qingfeng, who had just put down the bamboo basket, to the side, and said in a low voice: "This little girl is probably a mute, she has been awake for so long, she doesn't answer anything I ask her, she just shakes her head and nods." Hey, poor baby, I'll just say how such a pretty little girl could have suffered such a disaster. ”

"Okay, Auntie, I see. I'm tired of you taking care of her today, but now you can go and get busy, and I'll take care of her. Nodding, Xiao Qingfeng is also very familiar with this bodhisattva-hearted aunt, and knows that she has always been sentimental.

"Hey, okay! Today, your uncle Wang has come back from hunting a pheasant, and I have already stewed the soup, so I will bring it to you later." With that, Wang Li walked towards the gate of the courtyard.

"Auntie, no need. Looking at the back of Wang Li's departure, Xiao Qingfeng shouted loudly. Although Blacksmith Wang is a blacksmith, he often goes into the mountains to hunt, and his skills are not bad, and he has a harvest every time he goes back.

"You don't need anything, just wait with peace of mind. After Wang Li finished speaking, he hurriedly walked to his house.