From the north to the South China Sea, it gets warmer and warmer along the way. After nearly a month's journey, Yi Dan and You Ming finally arrived at the flowery city of Guangzhou, which was the seat of the Lingnan Festival in the old Tang Dynasty. At this time, the Lingnan area was already the "big Han" established by Liu Yan. The capital is Guangzhou, and Guangzhou is changed to Panyu, known as the "Southern Han Dynasty" in history, and is one of the ten countries of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

As soon as you enter Panyu City, it is a thriving and lively scene, with flowers blooming everywhere and dazzling goods, which dazzles Yi Dan and the others.

"Senior sister, look at this Guangzhou City, it is so lively, I don't think it's worse than Yangzhou. Youming said happily.

"Yes, junior brother, you see, we were still in the frozen north not long ago, but I didn't expect to be in this warm South China Sea again, it's really wonderful to think about. Yi Dan said.

"Yes, this Lingnan is really another world, even if it is turned upside down in the Central Plains, it is still full of flowers. Youming said.

"That's right, let's go ahead and ask Nayongyizhuang how to go. Yi Dan said.

At this time, the sun caught up with the top of his head, and You Ming felt that the fur on his body was very unbearable: "Senior sister, it's so hot, we have to take off our heavy Hu clothes quickly, otherwise people will really treat us as monsters." ”

"Yes, I feel so hot too, let's change into thin clothes" With that, Yi Dan took off his coat and hat and put on thin clothes.

"Brother, you see, this prosperous and peaceful scene in the city of Guangzhou is really beautiful, if the world can be like this, it would be great. Yi Dan said.

"Yes, didn't my father say that this Guangzhou is the commercial capital of the South China Sea? You still have a lot of yellow-haired and blue-eyed merchants. I once heard my father say that when he was young, he had seen many yellow-haired and blue-eyed overseas envoys and businessmen in Chang'an City, and I didn't believe it at the time. I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes now, it's really an eye-opener," Youming said happily.

"Yes, it is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. But it would be nice if these people had been doing business as they are now. Some people have to think about it beyond their means. Yi Dan looked at a few yellow-haired and blue-eyed businessmen on the side of the road and said.

"Senior sister, what do you mean by that?" Youming asked.

"Did you know that the Knife Grinding Gang was originally in Youzhou. Do you know why you moved south to Guangzhou?" Yi Dan asked.

"I don't know, may I ask why?" asked Youming.

"Master once told me that the Knife Grinding Gang was originally a secret information investigation team personally formed by Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, called Tingfeng Tang. Later, the Tang Dynasty declined, and Tingfengtang gradually became a gang. In the sixth year of the Tang Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of overseas businessmen in Guangzhou took advantage of the weakness of the Central Plains and had no time to look south. Rebelled on a large scale, wanting to seal the territory in Lingnan and occupy the territory to establish a country. Later, the Knife Grinding Gang went south and assisted the Huang Chao Army to annihilate those rebellious merchants in one fell swoop. Since then, the foundation of the Knife Grinding Gang has remained in Lingnan. Yi Dan explained to his junior brother.

Youming's eyes widened and he said, "Ah? There is such a thing? Allowing them to come to business to make money, and communicate with each other, they have made enough money, and they have to look forward to Shu. Draw the attention of my Datang land, it's really a wolf's ambition. Bite the hand that feeds one. ”

"Yes, Datang was tolerant and open, allowing these businessmen to buy houses and land in Guangzhou and believe in religion freely. Unexpectedly, not only did they not know about Entu, but they started the spring and autumn dream of establishing a country on their own. Therefore, the people hope that the world must be unified, stable, and strong, otherwise it doesn't matter which cat or dog. can bully you at will. Yi Dan said.

You Ming asked puzzledly: "No, senior sister, I read the book that this Huang Chaojun is also a rebel. Didn't the Knife Grinding Gang listen to the wind hall of the imperial court in the first place, why did they help the Huang Chaojun again?"

Yi Dan said patiently: "I also asked Master this question at the beginning. He said that although the Huang Chaojun also rebelled, they were all Chinese people after all. And the merchants are in turmoil. It was the people of the Tang Dynasty who were slaughtered. Trying to occupy China's territory and establish itself as a country. Neither the Tang Dynasty nor the Huangchao Rebel Army would agree to them doing this. Therefore, Tingfengtang helped the Huangchao Army to quell the rebellion, fighting for the people of the world, not a choice between the government and the opposition. Later, the Huangchao army was destroyed, and the Tang Dynasty court was also sure of Tingfengtang's behavior in Guangzhou to assist Huangchao in quelling the rebellion. There was no more embarrassment for the Knife Grinding Gang, and most of the foundation of the Knife Grinding Gang has remained in Guangzhou since then, until now. ”

"Well, I see. Senior sister, you see that Guangzhou is now full of vitality. It seems that the Southern Han Dynasty, which has just been established, has also taken a lot of painstaking work. Youming said.

"Yes, I hope that this thriving Southern Han Dynasty is the hope of the unification of the world. Yi Dan sighed.

The two looked at the bustling and huge city of Guangzhou, and they didn't know where Yongyizhuang was. So Yi Dan grabbed a passer-by and asked, "Uncle, do you know where Yongyizhuang is?"

The passer-by said, "Girl, this Guangzhou city is so big, how can I know if you just talk about a Zhuangzi?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, thank you, uncle!" Yi Dan looked at the huge city helplessly, and his stomach growled. Suddenly, I saw a noodle shop in front of me. Yi Dan couldn't help but say, "Senior brother, I think it's better for us to eat something first and then go to that Yongyi Village, what do you think?"

"Well, when you say that, I feel a little hungry too. Youming said.

The two of them walked towards the alley in front of them. On the side of the road not far ahead, a thin old man with white hair put down his burden and sat on a small stool to sharpen his knife carefully.

"Senior sister, look, there are people from the Knife Sharpening Gang in front. Youming said.

"Well, I don't know if that old man is from the Knife Sharpener Gang, but we can go over and ask. Yi Dan said.

Little by little, the two of them walked towards the old man. I saw the old man bow his head and bend down, concentrating on sharpening a kitchen knife. There was a basket beside him, a wooden basin in front of him, half a basin of water, a few large and small whetstones and a few files beside him, and some unfinished kitchen knives and scissors and daggers. Not only that, but the old man had a fine whetstone at his waist, and there was a small hole in the stone, which was worn with a red rope and hung around his waist.

At this time, a man who looked to be in his thirties with a full face of flesh was carrying a large iron scissors that was more than four feet long. When he came to the old man's stall, he said rudely: "Old man, sharpen the scissors for me." ”

His old man was sharpening his knife with his head bowed, ignoring the man's brutal and rude request.

Yi Dan and the others stopped to take a closer look, only to see that the man was dressed in silk and satin, and wore a necklace around his neck with a string of gold beads the size of peanuts and rice grains. Fluffy hair. It is reflected in the face full of meat, and a long scar on the left side of the face. With his vulgar words and deeds, it can be described as vulgar.

Seeing that the old man ignored him, the man threw the four-foot-long iron scissors violently and threw them in front of the old man who sharpened the knife.

"Hey, dead old man, let you sharpen the scissors for Lao Tzu, you are deaf. Don't you hear?" the man scolded again.

At this time, the old man stopped the kitchen knife he was polishing, raised his head slightly, and said calmly to the arrogant man: "If you sharpen the knife and don't give money, I won't sharpen it for you." ”

The man yelled, "Hey, you dead old man, you're impatient, don't you? Do you know who Lao Tzu is? Let you give Lao Tzu a whetstone to look up to you. ”

The old man said quietly: "No matter who you are, I will give you labor." You pay me, it's right. You don't give money. I won't sharpen your scissors, it's only right. There is no one who is noble or inferior to the other. ”

The man listened to the old man's rebuttal, blew his beard angrily and glared, picked up the big scissors with both hands, opened the scissors, and said to the old man, "You dead old man." Believe it or not, I'll cut your head off with a pair of scissors?"

"Cut it, anyway, I'm tired of the old man, if you cut it for me, you won't have to prepare a coffin. The old man said calmly.

"I didn't expect you, a dead old man, to be afraid of death. Good. Then Lao Tzu will fulfill you. With that, the rude man raised his scissors and stabbed the old man in the neck.

At this time, Yi Dan on the side shouted loudly: "Stop"

The man stopped the scissors in his hand and turned his head to see Yi Dan, who was dressed in white and had fluttering eyebrows, standing in front of him. So he said with a smile: "Yo, where did the little beauty come from, she looks so beautiful, come and let me take a good look." ”

Youming said very angrily: "Mouth full of feces, nonsense. "After that, I want to draw my sword and face each other.

Yi Dan hurriedly blocked Youming, and then said to the vulgar man: "You are really strange, wearing silk and satin, and you still have such a thick gold chain around your neck, you are obviously rich, but you don't give this old man a little hard money, do you think you are very hateful?"

The man looked at Yi Dan with squinting eyes and said, "I just like a little beauty like you." Come. If you are with the master, the master will give you this gold chain. ”

When You Ming saw this man teasing his senior sister like this, he was so angry that he jumped like thunder: "Shut your crow's mouth, if you talk nonsense again, I will be unkind to you." ”

"Which little bastard are you? dare to disturb Lao Tzu's good deeds, see that I don't cut your neck today. The man said rudely with a large pair of scissors.

You Ming really couldn't stand the vulgar man in front of him teasing Yi Dan and provoking himself, he pulled out the sword in his hand and stabbed at him.

The man picked up the big scissors with both hands, only to hear the sound of clicking and clicking the ground, and a pair of scissors clamped Youming's sword. Youming tugged hard, pulled the sword out, looked at the blade, and was cut by his big scissors with an obvious scar.

Youming looked at the sword, rushed up again, and continued to fight with the man. He used the swordsmanship taught by his father, Lixian, and fought with the big scissors. But Yuan Youming's swordsmanship is shallow, where is the opponent of the vicious man in front of him? But his impulse to protect his senior sister made him still fight hard and resist stubbornly. And Yi Dan stood aside, secretly observing the reality of the vulgar man's martial arts.

The man's moves were fierce, and every move of the big scissors cut it might cost Youming's life. After more than a dozen rounds, Youming was defeated and retreated.

The man took advantage of the victory to pursue, pressing step by step, only to hear the click of the big scissors, and vowed to cut off Yuan Youming's head.

Youming retreated one after another, tripped over a stone on the ground, and was about to fall into the wooden basin of the old man who sharpened the knife.

"Senior brother, watch out for the back. Yi Dan shouted.

At this time, I saw that the old man who was sharpening the knife stretched out his palm and pushed back Youming, who was falling. You Ming got the true qi conveyed by the old man's palm, and suddenly launched a palm, and actually knocked the vulgar man two feet away.

Yi Dan saw all this in her eyes, and she knew that this old man must be a hidden master.

But Youming's martial arts are not good. Although with the help of the old man's palm just now, he temporarily blocked the vulgar man. But soon the man turned defeat into victory and continued to chase Youming.

Youming was no match for the crude man. It began to retreat again and again. The big scissors that the man clicked on clamped Youming's sword to the death, and Youming couldn't pull it out even if he tried hard.

Suddenly, the man twisted his hands and twisted Yuan Youming's sword out of his hand. Dragged it down and tossed it aside.

Continue to chase after Youming with big scissors. Youming is bare-handed, where is the opponent of the four- or five-foot scissors. Listening to a few clicks from the man, a strand of Youming's hair was cut off.

Yi Dan always stood aside and observed the man's reality and reality, and at this critical juncture, she used her strength to drive her qi and use her blade palm.

"Whoosh" only a few sounds are heard. The scissors in the man's hand were repeatedly slashed by Yi Dan's blade palm and fell to the ground.

The old man who sharpened the knife saw the process of Yi Dan's use of the blade palm clearly. But he was silent, and he knew what he knew.

At this time, the man's hand was numb by the force of Yi Dan's palm. He touched his numb hand and said, "So you are from the Knife Sharpening Gang?"

"You know you can't afford to mess with the Knife Sharpeners, so you deliberately found an old man to bully you, right? Yi Dan said.

"Hmph, I'm unlucky today, I can't afford to mess with it, goodbye. "Say it. The man picked up the scissors and turned to leave.

"You bully the soft and fear the hard. I'm going to give you a taste of being bullied today. With that, Yi Dan wanted to exert his palm power on the man again.

The man had just seen the power of the blade palm, so he begged for mercy and said: "The woman spares her life, I just teased the old man, and I didn't want to bully him, so please raise the noble hand of the woman." I'm going to get out, I'm going to get out. ”

"Wait," Yi Dan yelled.

"What's the matter, Woman?" the man asked.

"You have to apologize to this old man before you are allowed to leave. Yi Dan said.

The man turned his head to the old man and said perfunctorily: "Hey, I'm sorry old man, it's me who doesn't know Mount Tai with my eyes." Don't dare next time. ”

The old man sat upright and looked at the three of them. Didn't speak.

Yi Dan looked at the man and said, "Get out, don't let me see you again in the future." ”

The man in a hurry left with the big scissors in tow.

After seeing the man leave, Yi Dan turned around and said to the old man, "Uncle, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you, girl!" said the old man.

"May I ask you, uncle, who is that person, why is he so arrogant and domineering?" Yi Dan asked.

The old man said: "This person is called the West Sea Fisherman, his real name is Ruan Zhilong, and he was originally a disciple of the Jiaowu Hall in Annan. He often does a lot of evil in the sea around Annam and Yazhou. After being expelled by the people on the rivers and lakes of Annan, he came to Guangzhou to do evil. In recent years, they have been on the beach and forcibly collected protection fees from fishermen who go out to sea. It is said that if a fisherman would not pay him, he would dive into the water and cut the net with large scissors, leaving the fishermen with nothing. ”

"I didn't expect this person to be so hateful, I knew that I should have taught him a hard lesson just now. Uncle. How do you know so clearly?, could it be that you are also from the rivers and lakes?" Yi Dan asked.

The old man thought for a moment and said calmly: "The old man is just an ordinary knife sharpener. These things are all told by the people who have come to me to sharpen their knives. This man had also asked the old man to sharpen the scissors a few times before, but the old man didn't want to cause more trouble, so he sharpened him. Later, I thought about it, I sharpened the scissors for him, most of the time I did bad things, so I made excuses not to sharpen him. ”

"Uncle, you are so patient, and you can tolerate this kind of person. Yi Dan praised.

The old man pretended to be confused and said, "Ouch, I can't help it, just eat with a mouth." Don't dare to provoke these bandits and bullies. I'm clearly cowardly, where is patience. ”

Yi Dan knew in his heart that the old man was a hidden martial arts master, but he was deliberately pretending to be confused. However, she didn't debunk the old man, after all, people don't know their details, and they don't know whether they are friends or enemies, so they don't want to show their details rashly, which is also reasonable.

"Excuse me, uncle, do you know where Yongyizhuang is?" Yi Dan asked again.

The old man glanced at Yi Dan, thought for a while and said, "I don't know what you're talking about." ”

Yi Dan saw that the old man was still reluctant to tell his true identity, so he didn't ask any more questions, maybe people have their own unspeakable secrets.

"Oh it's okay, let's look for it ourselves, uncle, be careful yourself, let's take our leave"

After bidding farewell to the old man, the two continued on their way.

Yi Dan said as he walked: "Senior brother, the old man just now is obviously a martial arts master, but he hides it deeply, I don't know what his intentions are. ”

You Ming was reminded by Yi Dan like this, and suddenly remembered and said: "That's right, I also remembered, the palm he helped me just now was obviously full of internal strength." ”

"Well, since people don't want to tell their identities, let's not ask more. Yi Dan said.

At this time, the two came to the door of a hotel, Yi Dan looked up at the hotel, and said to Youming: "Senior brother, let's eat something first." After eating, let's go out again to find out if we can meet the disciples of the Knife Grinding Gang, and then ask where Yongyizhuang is. ”

"Okay, let's eat at this restaurant. Youming said. (To be continued.) )