Chapter 1: Outside the city of Gusu
It was midsummer noon, the weather was boring, there was an herbal tea shop twenty or thirty miles outside Gusu City, usually only about five or six people came to patronize, but on this day there were twenty or thirty people gathered in the cool and resting, and the face of the shopkeeper was full of smiles. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info but this is bitter tea shop in the shop second-hand, the shop small second-hand busy to the guests tea, water, hands and feet a little slower, then the guests impatient shouted angrily, reprimanded its clumsiness. The shopkeeper of the herbal tea shop is a foreigner, seeing that the guests are irritable, he called Xiao Er to a corner, reprimanded him in a low voice, and said with a smile on his face to the guests inside: "Don't be impatient, the shop is really honored to be here today, but this little two is a new country boy, clumsy, always slow to do things, delay the guest officers to drink tea and rest, I hope to forgive me", after speaking, he kept urging Xiao Er to hurry up and serve tea.
A big man sitting in the herbal tea shop, wearing short sleeves, unbuttoned his clothes, revealing dark and strong muscles, the hot air made him sweat constantly, he wiped the sweat with his clothes, and shouted loudly: "Grandma's, procrastinating, can Lao Tzu still drink this tea, shopkeeper, hurry up and serve tea, no matter how slow, you have to demolish your tea shop." After speaking, he kept slamming the table with his hands, everyone turned around, and saw that his face was flushed, sweat poured out of his forehead, and soon the clothes on his body were soaked, accompanied by a heavy wheezing sound, but this look made everyone laugh, and the big man himself was also happy: "I don't know where the stupid boy is, the last tea is still harmful, wait for a long time, where did Xiaolinzi go, I haven't seen anyone for a month, did I go back to ask for a daughter-in-law." The Xiao Lin Zi in his mouth was originally the second child of this herbal tea shop, and since last month, he left a letter to the shopkeeper for some reason, saying that he had returned to his hometown to support his parents and left. It coincides with midsummer, and everyone in the city has the preference to get together to drink tea and chat at noon, and there are many people, and one of the shopkeepers is too busy, so he finds a seemingly honest little two Ah Fei on the street to deal with it as an errand for tea.
After the big man finished speaking, everyone echoed, and the shopkeeper hurriedly ran over to make amends, and said: "The guest officer is angry, this little two is new, not a local, I don't understand our rules, and it is indeed a little slower to do things, but people are still very diligent and honest, there are many people today, and the guest officer must not be surprised." After speaking, he walked quickly to Xiao Er's side and whispered: "Give the guest officer first, serve tea and wait." Although the shopkeeper has a lot of dissatisfaction and wants to vent it on Xiao Er, there are many guests today, and there is a way to make money with harmony, but there is no reprimand for him in the past.
Although there are more guests, but there is less chatter from the shopkeeper on the side, Xiao Er is also very quick to serve tea to the guests in the shop, at this time there is a hint of wind blowing, everyone is no longer bored and hot, and everyone is slowly chatting.
I only heard the big man say again: "I don't know when this ghostly hot weather will come to an end, and this day is really boring." It's really strange that Xiangfeiyuan has been doing a good business these days, and it is rare to have to hide those beautiful girls and not do things." As soon as the words fell, a man sitting next to the big man, about thirty years old, said in a low voice: "Don't you know, there has been a big incident in the city recently", he paused, took a sip of tea, and continued: "The daughter of the merchant in the city, the owner of the castle, found that she died tragically in the Xiangfei Garden a few days ago, oops, it's a pity." After speaking, he couldn't help shaking his head, I don't know if it was a pity that the merchant's daughter died, or because of the fact that the merchant's daughter would actually happen in Xiangfeiyuan. As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately turned sideways, and the big man said with doubts: "Ah Gui, don't talk nonsense, Shangbao is a family of rivers and lakes, and his martial arts are strong, he has always bullied others, how dare others provoke Shangbao."
"That's it, Ah Jin said yes, Ah Gui listened to other people's nonsense again."
"Ah, where did you hear it, it's true or fake, it's impossible, who has the courage to provoke the merchant fort."
"I think it's really hard to say, Shangbao has always been domineering and ruthless, although he is a person from the rivers and lakes, but we ordinary people have been bullied by him."
"Well, yes, it must be a hero who will do it for us....... However, although Shang Fort's work is not welcome, it is what Shang Qiu did, and it has nothing to do with his daughter."
The merchant fort is one of the largest households in Suzhou, and the merchant fort owner is not only entangled in the autumn, but also has a hand of "7749 style pear flower marksmanship" is to deter the rivers and lakes. Seven years ago, Shang Qiushi relied on this stunt to break through the rivers and lakes, and picked off the three hegemons in the south of the Yangtze River at that time, and his reputation spread far and wide.
"How can we ordinary people know about the grievances and grievances of the rivers and lakes, when the lord of Shangbao drove the three hegemons of Jiangnan to Mobei, and returned us to a Taiping Suzhou, but it also attracted the hatred of the descendants of the three hegemons in Jiangnan, and we are afraid that we don't know the rights and wrongs of the middle." Ah Gui told these things about the rivers and lakes, as if he had experienced these things himself.
At this time, the shopkeeper also came over: "I also heard about it, a few days ago, there were two customers in the store, a fat and a thin one, the thin man was extremely strange, with a sword on his body, obviously a person from the rivers and lakes, as soon as he came to the store, he shouted, and scolded Ah Fei" said and pointed to Xiao Er, who was making tea, and saw Xiao Er Ah Fei bowed his head and wandered, and the teacup was about to overflow, and he immediately drank: "Ah Fei, look at the tea, don't burn the guests" The guest waved his hand and signaled him not to disturb the shopkeeper's speech, and the shopkeeper continued: "As soon as these two people came in, they looked cautious and looked around, and there were few customers in the store at that time, and the fatter guest said: 'The head of the house ordered the two of us to come to Suzhou, and especially told us not to act recklessly, and to take into account the reputation of our free school before doing things, but also to take into account the righteousness of the rivers and lakes. I don't know these two people, but the Carefree faction is famous in the rivers and lakes, but everyone knows it. I only heard another thin man say: "What Senior Brother said is that when we came to Suzhou this time, the head of the family only told us to contact Lu Yunfeng Lu Daxia first, and all actions must follow Lu Daxia's instructions, but we have been in Suzhou for half a month, but we haven't even seen the shadow of Lu Daxia." The head has always told us that Lu Daxia will do what he says, this time he came to Suzhou, he will definitely come for the business fort, I don't think it maybe, the head of the house also looked down on Lu Yunfeng this time', the thin man finally said the word 'Lu Daxia', and deliberately elongated the tone" said that the shopkeeper pulled his hands apart and gestured for an elongated tone.
Everyone heard the shopkeeper talk about these rivers and lakes, painted their voices and colors, and slowly gathered around, Ah Jin Xiang Ah Fei said: "Xiao Er, use the best tea leaves in the store to make a few pots of tea, and then a few pots of the best wine in your store, and a few plates of brine peanuts, today I have a treat, we have to listen to the shopkeeper talk about these rivers and lakes, Ge Laozi, Lao Tzu has been bored for a long time, and I love to listen to these things." When everyone heard that Ah Jin was going to have a treat, they immediately boiled, and they gathered around one after another. Ah Gui clapped his hands and applauded: "I can't imagine that Ah Jin has been stingy for half his life, and today he finally opened his mind, everyone don't live up to Ah Jin's kindness, since there is wine, how can there be no good food?" After speaking, he didn't wait for Ah Gui to agree, so he said to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, ask Xiao Er to cook a few plates of good dishes, and we will drink happily today." The shopkeeper said: "It's a pity that Xiao Linzi is gone, otherwise Xiao Linzi's hand of 'Snow Red' can really satisfy your mouth addiction, Ah Fei just came, and I am afraid that the noisy dishes will disappoint everyone." Ah Gui laughed and said: "Tea, wine and food are secondary, and listening to the shopkeeper say that the affairs of the rivers and lakes are big and interesting." After saying that, everyone laughed again.
The shopkeeper waved his hand, signaled everyone to be quiet, and continued: "I just heard the fat brother say: 'Senior brother can't speculate on himself, Lu Yunfeng Lu Daxia is famous, this hero's name is given by people in the rivers and lakes, but it is not self-proclaimed, Lu Daxia must have something to delay on the road, you and I have been here for a few days, what's the harm in waiting for a few days', the thin brother said: 'Senior brother is everywhere to protect this outsider, no matter how high Lu Yunfeng's martial arts are, no matter how loud the chivalrous name is, how can it overshadow our free faction. 'The Xiaoyao faction is indeed a well-known sect in the rivers and lakes, but I heard the fat brother say: 'Senior brother can't say such righteous words, my Xiaoyao faction people, walking the rivers and lakes, chivalry first, intended to do something for the people, not for fame'." When the shopkeeper said these words of the fat brother, he gave a thumbs up again and again, and everyone was immersed in what the shopkeeper said, which also continued to attract admiration.
"The thin brother said: 'What the senior brother said is that this time this thief who flies on the grass is really daring, and he actually provoked the merchant fort and committed such a heinous crime, which is despised by the people of the rivers and lakes. Senior brother, if we find this prostitute first, we can't sit idly by, we have to wait until we see Lu Yunfeng as the head of the family said?" The thin brother said: "Hmph, this thief will only bully the weak in martial arts, and when he sees the strong in martial arts, he will not only run away'", the shopkeeper paused for a moment, drank saliva, and Ah Gui said suspiciously: "I don't know what kind of character this grass is flying, what light skills are very good, no one can match, the thin man opened his mouth and closed his mouth to scream as a thief, could it be that Shang Qiushi's daughter was given by this grass flying...... Killed". Ah Jin nodded: "As the shopkeeper said, this is really possible, if the grass is really strong in martial arts, looking for the bad luck of the merchant fort, even if you can't beat Shang Qiu, can't you use the light skills that no one in the rivers and lakes can match?"
Suddenly, I heard Ah Gui surprised: "Stupid boy, it's burning me", it turned out to be the shopkeeper Ah Fei heard it so much that he unconsciously poured out Ah Gui's teacup, and the tea brewed in boiling water just taken out of the stove burned Ah Gui's left hand, and it was instantly red and swollen. The shopkeeper glared at Ah Fei fiercely, and shouted: "The guests have been driven away by you, so hairy, don't stay aside", Ah Fei looked at Ah Gui, and wanted to apologize, but was pushed away by the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper said: "It's really ruining the mood", paused and continued: "The fat brother said again: 'That's not true, the martial arts of the merchant fort lord dominate the Jiangnan area, and the martial arts are only much higher than the grass flying, and when it comes to the gangs in the rivers and lakes, this grass is far less than flying, why did he provoke the merchant fort this time, I am afraid that there is another hidden meaning in this. The thin boy said, "No matter what he hides, as long as we encounter this thief, we have to remove this scourge for the rivers and lakes with our own hands."
"Although this thin brother has a rough temperament, he is jealous and hateful, and he is a good man."
"This grass flying light skill is so powerful, I'm afraid that the two of them may not be able to catch him."
"Light skills are really unparalleled in the world, I'm afraid that Lu Daxia is here, and I can't fly on the grass. ”
The shopkeeper said: "If Shang Qiushi's daughter is really the one who flies on the grass, I'm afraid that the grass has already arrived in our Suzhou City." When everyone heard this, they thought about their wives, children and daughters, and couldn't help but be secretly worried and afraid, hoping that the two knights of the Loose School and Lu Daxia could get rid of the grass and fly as soon as possible.
At this time, there was a sudden sound of horses' hooves outside the store, and two horses galloped over, raising a burst of dust, and after a while, they arrived outside the herbal tea shop, and only heard a voice saying: "Senior brother, I came here again today, let's take a break for a while, that Shang Qiu Shi didn't give us the face of the free faction, we went to visit several times, and we were all bombarded back, which was really annoying." "The one who came was fat and one thin, the fat man was of medium stature, his face was round, but he looked like a rich businessman, the thin man was tall and thin, his face was slightly gloomy, the two of them each held a sword, everyone looked at it, and they were stunned, it turned out that these two people were the fat brother and the thin brother in the shopkeeper's mouth, the two brothers came to Suzhou for more than half a month on the order of the head of the free faction, not only failed to see Lu Yunfeng, several times to visit the merchant fort, but also was prevaricated by the merchant fort people for various reasons, with the prestige of the dignified and free faction in the rivers and lakes, which sect saw not respectful, but this time it touched a nose of ash in a row, the junior brother Yu Renying was angry in his heart, if it were not for the senior brother Lian Shaoqun several times obstructed, Yu Renying will really leave Suzhou this time and return to the free faction to resume his life, and he will no longer care about this annoying matter.
Everyone in the store saw that the two people in the rivers and lakes in the shopkeeper's mouth suddenly appeared in front of them, they were all surprised, and they all stared intently at the two people who walked into the store, Yu Renying said angrily: "What to see, look at it again, you have to stab your eyes", it turns out that although this Yu Yuying is taller than ordinary people, his body is surprisingly thin, and some people in the rivers and lakes jokingly call him "thin monkey" , Yu Renying himself is difficult to accept this title, for fear that others will say it in person, extremely taboo, this time when I entered the store, I saw everyone looking at them in unison, and it was a little strange to see my own expression, but everyone would say something joking. In addition, the attitude of the merchant castle towards them in the past half month was lukewarm, and there was nowhere to vent in his heart, so he even loudly reprimanded these ordinary people. In fact, he knew that the ordinary people in these shops were afraid to avoid people in the rivers and lakes when they saw them, so how could they dare to come and abuse them.
Lian Shaoqun hurriedly said: "Senior brother, have you forgotten the teachings of the master?" When everyone heard that Yu Renying "has to stab you blindly", they were already frightened and at a loss, standing still and not daring to speak, for fear of angering Yu Renying and inviting murder.
After Lian Shaoqun and Yu Renying sat down, everyone walked away quietly, quite jealous of the two of them, and five or six of them continued to stay, thinking in their hearts: "We drink ours, it's a big deal if we don't speak, it can really blind our eyes." The shopkeeper walked up and said, "What do the two heroes want?" The shopkeeper said while wiping the table with a cloth, and the shopkeeper just told the conversation between Lian Shaoqun and Yu Renying a few days ago, and the tone of their speech was vivid, and now I really met the real person, but I was slightly embarrassed in my heart, and thought in my heart: "I don't know if they heard what they said just now, this thin man Yu Renying is very domineering, don't stab my eyes." ”
Lian Shaoqun said: "If you have a shopkeeper, please give us a pot of tea first, well, then a pot of wine, a plate of peanuts", he has always rarely drunk, although he does not object, but he always feels that drinking will hurt people's bodies, and it is not good for practicing martial arts, but these things that have been experienced in Shangbao in the past few days, no matter how good his cultivation is, it is inevitable that there will be some resentment in his heart, but it will not be like Yu Renying to show it, and today I saw that Yu Renying's temperament suddenly became hot today, for fear that he would be angry for a while, and really stabbed the eyes of these people, which is not easy to explain to the master.
Ah Fei first served a pot of tea, and then poured a full pot of wine, Lian Shaoqun saw that his expression was a little weird, he walked slowly, and his eyes were always looking at the ground, something was wrong, but he couldn't say what was wrong.
Lian Shaoqun said: "The head ordered us to come to Suzhou, one is to help the merchant fort, but the merchant fort does not appreciate it, we are not interesting, the other is that the head thinks that the grass has come to Suzhou, and the business fort must have something to do with the grass fly, the first thing is not that we don't do it, that is the merchant fort does not appreciate it, why should we be angry and hurt ourselves." Don't forget, the real purpose of our visit to Suzhou is to fly on the grass, not to be a merchant fort. ”。
Yu Renying was a little angry: "Senior brother is very right, let's go to Xiangfeiyuan now to take a look, maybe we can find something." ”。
Lian Shaoqun said: "Xiangfeiyuan is the place where Shangqiu's daughter came out, if he doesn't even let us enter the merchant fort, Xiangfei Yuan must be a place where the merchant fort is heavily guarded, if we really see the people in the merchant fort, we must act at the opportunity, so as not to disagree for a while, hurt the harmony of both sides, don't tell the people in the rivers and lakes that we are nosy." ”
Yu Renying said: "Okay, let's leave immediately."
Lian Shaoqun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Senior brother is always anxious, now it's sunny and white, it's bright and bright, we don't have the ability to come and go without a trace, I'm afraid it's not the best time to act, what do you say", after speaking, his left eye winked at Yu Renying, Yu Renying suddenly understood, and said: "It's still what Senior Brother said", the two have been brothers to each other in the Easy School for more than ten years, and they have already developed a tacit understanding in words and expressions.
Now that the next thing is clear, the two of them are not in a hurry at the moment, but can eat and drink quietly, thinking about these days, the two of them are thinking about the reason why the merchant fort is closed, and they are rejected, and they have their own anger in their hearts. In fact, although the two of them were ordered by the head of the free faction to help the merchant fort, but capturing the grass and flying was the ultimate goal of their trip, the two were preconceived, between the merchant fort and the grass flying, quite a bit of putting the cart before the horse, thinking of this, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.