The fifteenth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty.

As the rebellion of the people in various places became more and more intense, the war finally broke out, the rivers and lakes were surging, and the Ming Dynasty finally ushered in a period of turmoil.

......

Longwei Dart Game is the most famous dart game in Taiyuan City, and it is also one of the three major dart games on the rivers and lakes. Although the rivers and lakes and the imperial court have always been unrelated, daring to name Longwei shows that this dart game is extraordinary.

At this moment, the hall of the dart game was full of people, but no one spoke, and the anger was a little depressed. These more than 30 people are the dart masters of the Longwei Dart Bureau, because there is something important, so all the people who did not dart were called.

There are three people sitting in the hall, and one person on the left is Lu Xun, the second master of the dart game, who is fifty-three years old this year, dressed as a scholar, holding a feather fan, and is very civil. The one on the right is Xie Feng, the big boss of the dart game, in his thirties, with a dignified face. And the mighty old man sitting in the middle is Xie Feng's father, Xie Zhenhai, the leading boss of the Longwei Dart Bureau.

Xie Zhenhai is sixty-two years old this year, with gray hair and thick and powerful hands, and he is a super-first-class master in the summit period. debuted at the age of seventeen, relying on the top-grade internal martial arts "Hao Ting Decision" and "Shenmen Fist" in the rivers and lakes. At the age of twenty-four, he founded Longwei Dart Bureau, and now he has been in the rivers and lakes for more than 40 years.

In the rivers and lakes, the realm of martial arts is divided into the qi induction period, the qi gathering period, the qi training period, the qi transformation period, the Zhoutian period, the gathering top period, and the congenital period. Each stage is divided into introductory, Hinayana and Mahayana. But it's not that the higher the realm, the more powerful the martial arts, it's just that the internal cultivation is deeper.

For example, if a person's martial arts realm has reached the peak of the Mahayana period, but he can only use low-grade martial arts moves, such a person can only be regarded as second-rate. If you meet a person who is in the Zhou Tian period and will be able to taste martial arts, you will only be beaten. Of course, sometimes the gap is too big, and no matter how powerful the moves are, they can't make up for the gap of low internal cultivation.

......

In the hall, Xie Zhenhai's loud voice said slowly: "Gathering all the brothers here today is an important matter to discuss with you. I'm sure you've heard that two days ago, our dart bureau received a deal and escorted a truckload of heavy goods to Beacon City. ”

The words fell, and everyone below whispered to discuss.

After a while, when everyone was quiet, Xie Zhenhai said: "Bet this dart, and you will pass through the Qilian Mountains in the north on the way." As we all know, bandits in this mountain range are rampant, and all of them are very powerful, and the caravans that come and go are basically sparing. ”

"Old man, why don't we go the other way. One of the dart masters suggested.

Xie Zhenhai shook his head and said, "We only have ten days, otherwise we will ......" Thinking of the warning of the man in black, he felt helpless for a while.

Another dart master stood up and said, "Don't worry, old man, we will deliver things even if we are broken." ”

"That's right, we'll definitely get it delivered. Everyone followed suit.

Xie Zhenhai sighed: "It has been almost forty years since the establishment of Longwei Dart Bureau. The reason why we are here today is because everyone works together. But this dart is too dangerous......"

"Dad, it's better to let the child personally escort this dart goods!" Xie Feng on the side interrupted.

"Nonsense!"

Xie Zhenhai shouted angrily, and the hall suddenly fell silent.

"As the head of the dart game, you are still in charge of the overall situation, how can you risk yourself. ”

Xie Feng said unconvinced: "Do you want me to be a shrinking turtle here?!"

"You...... Hey!"

Xie Zhenhai sighed, turned his head to Lu Xun, and said, "I don't know what the second brother thinks?"

Lu Xun shook his feather fan and said: "This matter is really difficult to handle, on the one hand, there is a threat from a huge force, on the other hand, there are unpredictable dangers, the most important thing is that we can't smash our own signboards, otherwise how to walk the rivers and lakes in the future." Only when our two old bones go out in person can we have any hope of success!"

"No!" Xie Feng hurriedly said: "How can you let my father and second uncle be in danger, let's go." ”

Lu Xun said: "Your father is right, you have to stay to preside over the dart game, and take care of your daughter-in-law and children, how can you leave." And with my and your father's martial arts, you can protect yourself even if you encounter any danger. You can rest assured, we have been wandering the rivers and lakes for decades, and we have not experienced any wind Lang, maybe those bandits will give me two faces and let us go directly. ”

"But ......"

Xie Feng was still about to speak, but was interrupted.

Xie Zhenhai cleared his throat and said loudly: "This dart will be escorted by me and the second master, you will inform you, all the family members among the brothers will stay, and the rest will gather outside tomorrow morning and set off." ”

"Yes!" ......

After everyone left, Xie Feng said, "Dad, what kind of dart are we betting on this time, do we have to take it?"

Xie Zhenhai said with a serious face: "The dart that walked this time is a weapon, the other party's power is very large, and we can't refuse, so we can't afford to miss it this time, otherwise we will be in trouble." If we really have any accidents, you must take good care of them. ”

Xie Feng's body shook and said, "Dad, you ......"

Xie Zhenhai looked kind and said with a smile: "Xiaofeng, I am very pleased to see you mature step by step over the years. But you are still a little short of walking the rivers and lakes, your heart is always too soft, how can you convince the public......

At this time, Xie Feng was like a child listening to teachings, humbly lowering his head.

......

Following.

Outside the Longwei dart game, Xie Zhenhai and others were ready to go.

Suddenly, Xie Zhenhai asked, "Why didn't Qing'er come over?" ”

Mrs. Xie said angrily: "This child is really, he can't see off his grandfather, and he doesn't know where Ye went?"

Xie Zhenhai said: "Forget it, forget it, the child is a little playful." ”

Seeing that her father-in-law was so maintained, Mrs. Xie didn't say anything, but sighed slightly.

On the side, Lu Xun said to Xie Feng: "Xiaofeng, don't worry, your father and I will definitely be fine." ”

......

"Let's go!"

After counting the number of people, Xie Zhenhai led a team of more than 1,000 people to the outside of Beicheng.

......

―――――――――――― Beacon City, located at the junction of the northern Tatars and the Jurchen tribes.

Due to the different beliefs of the two ethnic groups, there has always been a grudge, which has led to constant wars here, but compared to the war in the border wilderness, it is like a small fight between children.

Although the Beacon City is relatively barren, it is a north-south transportation artery, and the north-south traffic naturally forms a trading place. The north is rich in animal husbandry, and many common game skins, minerals and gems are really strange goods to the southerners, and the common things such as cloth, silk, clay pots and bowls in the south are also extremely precious in the eyes of the northerners. Therefore, caravans often braved the flames of war to transport these rare goods back, just to make a huge profit that the world was jealous of.

Because of this, there are countless robbers and bandits in the vicinity, all of whom want to sit back and enjoy their success and get a piece of the pie, among which the bandits in the Qilian Mountains are the most rampant.

The Qilian Mountains are the main trade route between the north and the south, so there are many caravans in the past, so that more and more bandits gather here, and it gradually becomes the climate. They made a living by robbing passing caravans, and many caravans chose to take a detour rather than spend more time and manpower, and had to seek refuge from the masters......

Qilian cottage is located in the depths of the Qilian Mountains, the terrain is dangerous, the population is large, there are two or three thousand people, the imperial court has sent troops to encircle and suppress many times, but nothing has been found......

At this time, in the cottage hall, the three owners of Qilian Village were sitting high, and on both sides were the leaders of the twelve mountains of the Qilian Mountains.

In the center, a bandit half-knelt on the ground and said humbly: "Tell the three village owners, according to the spy report, a team of darts will pass by here at noon tomorrow, and all the goods they ship are weapons......

"Wow!"

There was an uproar on all sides.

"What!?"

A village owner on the left side of the lobby exclaimed, "Is it really a weapon?"

This person is in his thirties, with a pockmarked face and extremely ugly, a shriveled body, and black hands, which is Xiao Ming, the "poisonous hand" of the second village owner of Qilian Cottage.

"Dick, don't make a fuss like a dirt bun. ”

It was Wu Zhong, the owner of Qilian Cottage, who made his debut at the age of 20 and traveled the rivers and lakes for more than 20 years.

Wu Zhong said: "Little third son, you continue." ”

Xiao Sanzi hurriedly said: "How dare the little one deceive the three village masters, it is indeed a weapon, but... Just ......"

Wu Zhong frowned and said, "Just what?"

"yes, what's it? You fucking say it quickly, don't give Lao Tzu a grind, make Lao Tzu unhappy, be careful that Lao Tzu slaps you to death. Xiao Ming, the owner of the second village, said in a hurry.

Hearing the words of the second village master, the little third son suddenly trembled with fright. Everyone knows that the owner of Erzhai has a great temper, and he wants to shoot people at every turn, he has a pair of poisonous palms, how can these little shrimps resist. So he immediately said: "The second village master is angry, and the little one is ...... This time the dart is the Longwei Dart Bureau in Taiyuan, with a total of more than 1,000 people and a huge team, and the person who escorted the dart is Xie Zhenhai, the old man of the Longwei Dart Bureau. ”

"Oh!" Wu Zhong frowned again, and said: "I have also heard of the Longwei Dart Bureau, it is one of the three major dart games in the rivers and lakes, and it has friendships with many Jianghu sects, and this Xie Zhenhai is also a number of super-first-class masters in the rivers and lakes, if he marries Liangzi, I am afraid that there will be trouble......"

"Big brother!" Xiao Ming interrupted Wu Zhong's words, "I'm afraid of a bird! We are robbers in the first place, and we don't rely on robbing his mother for food." It's hard to wait for such a piece of fat, how can you let it go, and the other party is transporting weapons, that's a good guy, with these things, our strength will go up a notch, and when the time comes, slaughtering those officers and soldiers is not like playing. ”

Wu Zhong waved his hand and said, "Second child, shut up first, what do you think of the third child?" said and turned his head to the other side.

Sitting on the left of Wu Zhong is Zhou Jin, the master of Sanzhai, in his thirties, but he is quite handsome, that is, he has a ruffian face, and his eyes still have a thief light from time to time, and the people in the rivers and lakes call him "traitorous fox". Because of his outstanding wisdom, he must listen to his opinions on important matters in the cottage.

Zhou Jin narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "Big brother, what the second brother said is right, we are thieves, what are we doing if we don't rely on robbery." ”

Seeing that Wu Zhong was stunned, Zhou Jin said again: "As the saying goes, people are floating in the rivers and lakes, how can there be anyone who is not stabbed, sometimes it is inevitable to offend a few people, as long as it is not something that cannot be provoked." Besides, if we besiege but not attack, and only let them hand over the goods, then there will be no deep hatred. If there are any big people in the future, it's a big deal that we can just accompany us. ”

Wu Zhong said: "What if they resist?"

Zhou Jin's face changed, and he said viciously: "When the time comes, if the soft ones don't work, we will come to the hard ones, trap them for three days and three nights, I want to see if they can really survive it." Of course, we need to be in a good sense of proportion, so that the time does not get out of control. Hey, hey!"

"Yes, the master of the village, let's do it......"

"yes......" everyone below shouted.

Wu Zhong pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped the table with a "pop!", got up and said, "Okay! Damn, we're done with this dart." When the thieves don't rely on robbery, can't they still grow vegetables, so many brothers still have to eat. Brothers, go down and get ready, and tomorrow we will set out together.

"Yes! ”

There was a glint of excitement in everyone's eyes.

......

―――――――――――― August weather, dry and hot.

On the official road of Qilian Mountain, a team of more than 1,000 people is moving forward mightily. The person in front holds the flag with both hands, and the word "Longwei" is embroidered on it.

Suddenly, Xie Zhenhai reined in his horse and shouted, "Everyone, pay attention, there are people behind." ”

"Whew!", "Whew!", "Whew!", ......

When everyone heard this, they immediately drew their weapons and waited for the battle.

"Grandpa, Grandpa......" As the sound of horses' hooves got closer and closer, Xie Zhenhai faintly heard a familiar voice. hurriedly shouted: "Everyone, stop, it's your own people who are here!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then put the knife down.

After a while, the back of the team was really dusty, and a man rode a horse and galloped towards this place.

"Ah, it's the eldest lady......" Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the visitor.

"What! It's Qing'er, why did she get here. Lu Xun was surprised.

Xie Zhenhai was also stunned, and immediately stepped forward.

......

"Grandpa, grandpa, Xiaoqing is here. ”

A crisp, childish voice on horseback shouted vigorously.

"Grandpa is really, how can he go so fast, I almost can't keep up. A little girl in a green dress jumped off her horse, pouting and complaining.

Xie Zhenhai jumped off the horse and said, "Qing'er, why are you here?"

The little girl wiped the sweat from her head and said with a bright face: "Of course I'm here to find grandpa." My mother said that I didn't even show up for my grandfather's dart, so I chased after him. "This little girl is Xie Feng's daughter Xie Xiaoqing, who is fifteen years old this year.

Xie Zhenhai said softly: "Then does your father and mother know?"

Xie Xiaoqing tilted his head and said, "Daddy, they didn't let me come out, I ran out quietly." ”

"Nonsense!" Xie Zhenhai scolded angrily: "How can you run so far by yourself from a little girl's family." ”

Xie Xiaoqing saw that her grandfather treated her like this, her heart was sour, and her face was full of grievances: "Grandpa, I'm sorry! I just wanted to send you, but you went too fast, I chased for three days to catch up with ......" Tears flowed out as he spoke.

At such a scene, a sense of guilt surged into Xie Zhenhai's heart, and he suddenly became at a loss, and hurriedly took Xie Xiaoqing into his arms and comforted: "Qing'er, don't cry, be good, don't cry, it's grandpa who is not ......."

Who knew that when he persuaded him like this, Xie Xiaoqing cried even louder, and everyone's hearts softened when they heard it.

Lu Xun also walked up and stroked Xie Xiaoqing's bangs, and said softly: "Qing'er, your grandfather cares about you, don't cry, is there something wrong?"

Hearing Lu Xun's persuasion, Xie Xiaoqing stopped crying, nodded and choked: "Xiaoqing has been chasing for three days, and his buttocks hurt so much, they are all swollen." ”

"Haha-"

Everyone laughed when they heard this, only Xie Zhenhai and Lu Xun couldn't cry or laugh.

Xie Xiaoqing saw everyone laughing, his face turned red, and he said angrily: "You are not allowed to laugh, no one is allowed to laugh!"

"Hehe!" Lu Xun smiled and said, "Qing'er won't laugh at you if you don't cry your nose." ”

With Xie Xiaoqing's farce, the atmosphere at the scene eased a lot, and everyone felt relaxed in their hearts.

After a while, Xie Zhenhai looked at the surrounding situation and said solemnly to Xie Xiaoqing: "Qing'er, it's not safe here, we can't stay for a long time, I'll send someone to send you home later, and I'll come back to see you after this dart is over." ”

Xie Xiaoqing lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry grandpa, it's me who has caused you trouble." ”

Xie Zhenhai touched her head and said with a smile: "It's not about Qing'er's business, this dart is very dangerous." ”

"All right, the brothers have worked hard, let's go to the open space in front of us and sit down and rest for a while. ”

"Yes!"

......

"Be careful! there's someone ahead!" suddenly shouted the dart master who was walking at the front.

The crowd immediately stopped and looked ahead nervously.

I saw that under the big tree in front, a man was sitting on a stone pier, leisurely enjoying the cold. There was also a black steed eating leafy grass next to it.

The man was dressed in white, with an indifferent expression, sharp eyes, and a long knife pinned to his waist. The strange thing is that he looks only in his twenties, but he has white hair tied up at his shoulders and falls down on both sides, and he can't tell whether he is flowing or lonely.

This person is Li Yuefan who left the border wilderness.

Yue Fan has been running for more than half a month, and since he has never been out of the house before, he doesn't know the trail back, so he can only follow the official road. Since the weather was very hot, I stopped to rest. Although he said that he was so strong that he did not need to rest, this horse must take a rest, otherwise he will have to walk on his feet when he is tired.

Seeing the visitor, Yue Fan didn't pay attention to it, but closed his eyes to recuperate.

Seeing this, Lu Xun whispered to Xie Zhenhai: "Big brother, this person is not an enemy. You see, he was dressed in white and wrinkled, his hair was a little disheveled, and his face was dusty, so he should be in a hurry. ”

Hearing Lu Xun say this, Xie Zhenhai also relieved himself, so he said to everyone: "Everyone will not leave their bodies to rest in place, the first team and the second team will take turns to perform their duties, and they will set off after half a moment." ”

......

"Big brother, drink some water!" Xie Xiaoqing held a bowl of water and brought it to Yue Fan.

The crisp voice sounded in Yue Fan's ears, and he couldn't help but open his eyes and look at the little girl in front of him.

Dressed in green clothes, well-behaved and smart, with a pair of big and shining eyes. Yue Fan could see one thing in her eyes, and that was purity.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Seeing Yue Fan's stunned expression, Xie Xiaoqing asked curiously.

Yue Fan came back to his senses and said, "It's nothing. His voice was low, and people knew that he had something on his mind when they heard it.

"I'm not thirsty, drink it yourself!" and then fell into deep memories......

At the beginning, Xie Zhenhai and the others saw Xie Xiaoqing walking over to greet strangers, and their hearts immediately became nervous. It's not clear whether the other party is friend or foe, in case something happens...... Xie Zhenhai didn't dare to think about it anymore, but when he was about to step forward, he didn't stop him. After hearing what the other party said, he found that there was no malice, and his heart was relieved.

Xie Xiaoqing said in his heart: "My mother told me that only old people have white hair, why is this big brother also white?" Thinking about it, he squatted aside and carefully observed Yue Fan.

......

"En!" Yue Fan opened his eyes violently and said secretly: "Why are there so many people, what do they want to do?" He was in a position just now, and found that there were many people surrounding the nearby mountains, but they were too far away, and he didn't know what they were going to do.

Xie Xiaoqing saw Yue Fan wake up suddenly, and said, "What's wrong?"

Yue Fan said casually: "There are many people nearby. ”

Talking unintentionally, listening intentionally. Although Xie Zhenhai was far away from Yue Fan, a master like him could naturally hear Yue Fan's words clearly. I was stunned in my heart, and immediately mobilized my spiritual sense to investigate. Sure enough, there were many people around here. Although his breath was weak, he still sensed it.

"Everyone, be careful, there are enemies approaching all around. Xie Zhenhai jumped up to the treetops and shouted.

The people of the Longwei Dart Bureau were obviously experienced, and there was no confusion at all, and after pulling out their weapons, they stood in their respective positions to guard the dart car.

After Xie Zhenhai fell, he said to Lu Xun: "It seems that we underestimated these bandits, but we didn't expect that they were not only numerous, but also very scheming, and surrounded us as soon as they entered the mountain. ”

Lu Xun's face was gloomy, and he said coldly: "Let's go, let's go out and negotiate, I hope they can sell us face, otherwise...... Hmph!"

Xie Zhenhai nodded, ordered a few people to protect Xie Xiaoqing, and then walked out of the team with Lu Xun.

......

On the official road of Qilian Mountain, a large group of people are surrounding more than 100 huge wooden boxes, vigilantly holding weapons on all sides, with an expression of facing a great enemy.

Then, two gray-robed old men slowly walked out of the group.

Xie Zhenhai looked around, and said loudly: "May I ask which heroic friend visited my Longwei Dart Bureau, why don't you come out to meet?"

"See-see-"

"See ......"

Xie Zhenhai's internal strength was so strong that his loud voice shook the mountains on both sides as if they were trembling.

"Hahaha-"

There was a burst of laughter from the mountain, and the voice was loud, obviously he was also a master of the house.

Xie Zhenhai turned his head to look when he heard the sound, and saw three people walking out of the mountainside behind him, and one of them flew and landed on the official road, they were the three owners of Qilian Village, Wu Zhong, Xiao Ming and Zhou Jin.

After a while, the bandits of Qilian Village surrounded this place.

Wu Zhong stepped forward and arched his hand: "This must be the famous old man Xie Zhenhai, one of the three major dart games in the rivers and lakes, the leader of the Longwei dart game, right?"

"It's the old man, Your Excellency is Wu Zhong, the 'fast knife hand' of the owner of Qilian Village, right?" Xie Zhenhai replied.

"That's right, I'm Wu Zhong. ”

Lu Xun also walked up and said with a smile: "Master Wu Village, I was disturbed a lot when I passed by your place, and I really didn't want to go, so I ordered someone to prepare a thin gift, and I hope that the owner of the village will take care of it...... Someone, bring the things over. ”

After saying that, the six big men moved three big mahogany boxes over. When I opened it, it was full of silk and satin, gold and silver jewelry, and jade and jade, such a valuable thing, where did it look like a thin gift that Lu Xun said.

Although the thieves have robbed a lot of property, but when they see so many treasures, they can't help but straighten their eyes and drool, and even the three village owners are also moved when they see such a heavy gift.

"Ahem!"

Zhou Jin, the master of the three villages, coughed dryly after coming back to his senses, Wu Zhong and the others immediately came to their senses, and their faces flushed when they remembered the scene just now.

Zhou Jin smiled dryly and said: "Old man Xie, you have also seen that our brothers in the cottage are four or five thousand, just this little thing, even if we are full, what can we do with the brothers." So you see, this... It's hard for me to do this. As he spoke, he touched his head and pretended to be very embarrassed.

In fact, there are only more than 2,000 people in Qilian Cottage, and Zhou Jin's exaggeration is naturally a bluff.

Xie Zhenhai's face turned cold, and he frowned: "Then what do you want?"

Zhou Jin said: "The brothers have been very poor recently, and they can't even afford to eat, so they finally waited for a piece of fat, how can they let it go easily?

Lu Xun said in a deep voice: "Lord Zhouzhai, this trip is very important, and I hope that the owner of the village and the brothers, for the sake of the two of us, we will have a heavy gift after I go back." ”

Zhou Jin smiled evilly: "It's not that I don't give face to the two old men, it's just that the brothers are still waiting to eat." You say, is it more important to save face or to eat?"

"Hmph!" Xie Zhenhai snorted coldly and said: "We have already given you enough face, I want to rob the dart, see if you have the ability!"

Wu Zhong was embarrassed: "We don't want to cause death, so we are kind to persuade you, you ......"

"Haha-"

Xie Zhenhai laughed and interrupted: "You want to be a robber, do you still want me to wait for the obedient delivery of things, the old man has been in the rivers and lakes for more than 40 years, and he has never seen any wind Lang, so he will fight." ”

――――――――――――