Liyang, I don't know when it was built. However, the worldly prosperity it has is intertwined with the imprint left by time in this big city, making people forget the heritage of this city, and the world is peaceful and prosperous like a dream.

The bustling crowd, the noisy vendors, the flags waving in the wind outside the store, the mules and horses, the river is endless.

These countless people of all kinds walked in every street of Liyang, their footsteps either calm or hurried. Some people talk loudly, and some people whisper in a low voice. Three in groups, five in a group. Shoulder to shoulder,

Red men and green women, drunk and dreaming of death. In the glitz, you can see all the ways in the world.

Some of them are high-spirited, the horses are red, and they see all the flowers in one day, some are ordinary and indisputable, and the tranquil places are leisurely, and some are described as decadent and frustrated, maybe it is which showman who has landed, sighing that the times are not good, maybe it is which gentle township, fireworks and willow lanes, merry and drunk, once waking up from a dream, the red face is gone, the soul is not kept, and the soul is lost.

This Liyang is a microcosm of the world, where people are different every day, but they deduce the same emotions that people experience: birth, old age, sickness and death, love and hatred.

Perhaps, the only thing that has remained unchanged through the vicissitudes of life is the tall shops in Liyang City, and the poignant beauty of the wild flowers in the mottled places above the city walls......

Buy a drunk in life, and be willing to sell red dust sorrows!

In the corner of the southwest of Liyang City, there is a big locust tree. The tree was more than ten feet high, almost as tall as the city wall. to cover this side of the open space with a lot of shade.

So someone set up a few benches here, put a few small tables, and pushed a wheelbarrow to sell some tofu flowers for people to taste.

Thanks to the blessing of this big locust tree, it saves the old money for building a pergola.

If you are a regular customer who always eats tofu flowers here, you may still vaguely remember that in the past, there should have been two families selling tofu flowers here, one on the left side of the big locust tree and one on the right side of the big locust tree.

It's just that it's been too long, it seems to be nearly ten years, but the family on the left is a cute little girl, not only clever and cute, but the tofu flowers sold are much better than the tofu flowers sold by the middle-aged man on the right. Therefore, this little girl's business is naturally much better than that of the middle-aged man on the right.

However, for some reason, I vaguely remember that one day ago, this little girl never came here to sell tofu flowers again, and until now, there is only one stall selling tofu flowers left here. The little girl seemed to have not been seen again for seven or eight years.

At first, some diners took a few glances here in three days, not for anything else, just to see if this clever little girl had come out of the stall, and when they saw that this place was empty, they would rather raise their feet and leave, rather than go to the tofu flower stall on the right to eat a bite.

If nothing else, this little girl's tofu flower is indeed famous for its deliciousness in Liyang, so that these diners are very stubborn and waiting, and they are unwilling to settle.

But after a long time, this little girl has never appeared again, some of these diners gave up insistence, and simply went to the middle-aged man on the right to eat a bowl of tofu flowers, although it is not as sweet and delicious as the little girl, but it is always better than nothing, but it is just a bowl of tofu flowers, why be so persistent?

However, there are still some old customers, but they still insist on waiting for the little girl to set up a stall here again, even a bowl of tofu flowers, and they will not settle.

People are always like this, always stubbornly insisting on something, maybe this thing is not great, not hot-blooded, just ordinary like eating a bowl of tofu flowers. However, persistence is only persistence, and it has nothing to do with persistence itself, not anything small or big.

It's just that all the persistence is no match for the wear and tear of the years, and the years will strangle all the sharpness and stubbornness, leaving the world with only gradual change and slow forgetting.

Nearly ten years later, both old and new diners seem to have forgotten that there was once another little girl who set up a stall here to sell tofu flowers. The middle-aged man didn't know when he took the place that originally belonged to the little girl's stall, and now, his stall is much bigger than it was at the beginning.

Everyone in Liyang City no longer remembers that there is such a little girl who used to set up a stall here every day at sunrise and sunset, and no longer remember that her smile was as sweet and cool as the tofu flowers she sold.

Today, under this big locust tree, there is still this middle-aged stall owner, and behind him is his table and chairs in the shade of the shade. It's just that the streets are bustling and busy, but his business is not very good, there are a few diners sitting here, and some are just sitting here to rest, and they have no intention of buying a bowl of tofu to taste.

Even this middle-aged stall owner was a little listless, leaning in front of the wheelbarrow and drowsy.

"Uncle...... Do you still have tofu flowers?"

When the middle-aged stall owner was napping, he saw a young man in black walking in the bustling crowd, walked to his tofu flower stall, and asked with a smile.

The middle-aged stall owner rubbed his eyes, and then he saw clearly that the man standing in front of him was a young man in black, about eight feet tall, but he looked a little thin, his appearance was quite delicate, and he was carrying a long package behind his back, which seemed to be a sword.

This may be a ranger who walks the rivers and lakes. The middle-aged stall owner thought so.

Seeing him like this, the black-clothed young man smiled faintly again, and said kindly: "It's disturbing the uncle's dream, it's just that I love this one, and I am afraid that it is only here in Liyang City......"

The middle-aged stall owner hurriedly stood up, hugged his fist at the black-clothed young man and said: "Where did the little brother say that since ancient times, how could there be a businessman who was unhappy because he was disturbed by the guests............?" It was too depressed, so I dozed off...... Little brother is strange. ”

The black-clothed young man hurriedly waved his hand, and the middle-aged stall owner saw that it was easy to come to this diner, and he was much more enthusiastic and courteous, and asked with a smile on his face: "Little brother, is the tofu flower sweet or salty?"

The young man in black said, "Sweet is the best!"

The middle-aged stall owner hurriedly responded, as if he wanted to take advantage of the easy to come to the guests and sell a few more bowls of this tofu flower, so he was casual on the surface, but in fact he said intentionally: "Little brother walks the rivers and lakes, I'm afraid one bowl of tofu is not enough, it's better to have two bowls." ”

The young man in black had already walked towards the table and chair under the shade of the tree, and when he heard him say this, he didn't look back, only waved his hand and said, "One bowl is enough!"

The middle-aged stall owner seemed a little unhappy when he saw that he hadn't sold an extra bowl, and secretly pouted, but it was better to have business than no business, so he still filled a full bowl.

He thought that the young man in black was already sitting on a certain bench, waiting for the tofu flowers to be served. But when he turned around, he saw the young man in black standing between the tables and stools, looking at the tables and stools under the shade of the trees on the left with a confused gaze, as if he was looking for and thinking about something.

The middle-aged stall owner was stunned at first, and he was also curious in his heart, he didn't sit on so many empty benches, and he was stupid for what he was doing.

So, he took the bowl of tofu and walked to the young man in black, and said with a smile: "Little brother, why are you standing here, there is an empty table and stool next to it, you can sit down and eat casually......"

As he spoke, he pulled the table and stool next to him for the black-clothed young man, and put the bowl of tofu in his hand on the nearest table.

The black-clothed young man didn't seem to hear it, and still looked at the rows of tables and stools under the shade of the trees on the left, and he didn't mean to sit down.

Seeing this, the middle-aged stall owner shook his head helplessly, turned around and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, the young man in black seemed to wake up suddenly, and turned his head to him and asked, "Let me ask you, the shade of the tree on the left is also your stall?"

Unconsciously, the young man in black no longer had the title of Uncle Fang Cai in his words.

The middle-aged stall owner is just a peddler, but he can't hear the change in tone, and still smiles: "Yes, that is also my place, and the benches, tables and chairs there are ...... I have set up."

The black-clothed young man was already smiling at him faintly, and his voice was not high: "I'll go and sit in the shade of the tree on the left......" Immediately, he picked up the bowl of tofu flowers and walked towards the shade of the tree on the left.

The middle-aged stall owner nodded hurriedly, and smiled casually, but in his heart, he felt that these two times, the smile of the young man in black was not the same as the smile he had before he came out of this stall, and it seemed that something was missing?

He didn't know what was missing in the smile of the young man in black, if it was less, it was still so clear, but he also felt that there seemed to be less softness and more indifference in this clarity.

People who walk the rivers and lakes are a little weird. The same is true of the boy in general.

The middle-aged stall owner judged this based on his decades of experience in setting up stalls.

A bowl of tofu was quickly eaten by the black-clothed young man, who seemed to squint his eyes and savor it for a while, before he stood up and turned to walk towards the middle-aged stall owner.

The middle-aged stall owner saw that he had finished eating, so he smiled and said, "Little brother, what do you think of the taste of this tofu flower?"

The black-clothed young man smiled: "Cool and sweet, very good!"

After that, he didn't raise his head, turned around and walked towards Liyang Street.

When the middle-aged stall owner saw that he was leaving, he hurriedly raised his voice and said, "Little brother, haven't paid yet?"

The young man in black still didn't look back and said, "I've given it, and it's ...... on the table."

The middle-aged stall owner looked back at the table where the black-clothed young man had sitting, but he couldn't help but be stunned.

There was indeed money on that table, but it was a splendor of gold.

The middle-aged stall owner was stunned for a long time, then he came back to his senses, hurriedly walked over, picked up the ingot of gold, and said loudly to the distant figure: "Little brother, you give too much, this bowl of tofu flower is not worthy of ......"

The black-clothed young man still didn't look back, and his voice was ethereal, with some vicissitudes of life: "If I give it to you, I deserve it." I don't have this ingot of gold for you, just to buy a bowl of old ......"

Without waiting for the middle-aged stall owner to speak, the voice of the young man in black came again: "If you think you can't afford this ingot, just do something for me...... Remove all the tables and chairs on your left, they don't belong to you......"

The middle-aged stall owner was stunned for a moment, looking a little thoughtful.

In the end, the middle-aged stall owner shook his head stupidly, but he really didn't understand what he meant, but he still felt that he couldn't go, and said to the black-clothed figure: "Little brother, I will come back in the future......

The figure walked farther and farther, but the voice seemed to be in the ear, and it was heard clearly: "Only this time, I will never come here again in the future! The dead are gone after all, and no matter how you look for it, you can't find the original appearance...... The vicissitudes in the voice are like a face.

The middle-aged stall owner laughed when he heard this: "Little brother I'm afraid I don't know, I am the only one who sells tofu flowers in Liyang City, if you are in Liyang City for a day, you can only come to me if you want to eat tofu flowers, little brother is a foreigner!"

The figure of the black-clothed young man had already disappeared into the crowd, and the middle-aged stall owner looked at it and saw him vaguely.

The black clothes fluttered, indifferent and silent.

However, although his figure is far away, his voice is still very clear: "Although I don't live in Liyang City, it is not far away, I am from Fengling Village......

The middle-aged stall owner laughed and muttered: "Hehe...... It's not far off, indeed...... People of Fengling Village ......"

"What...... People from Fengling Village?" said this, and his voice trembled. The middle-aged stall owner's face turned pale, and his eyes seemed to widen in disbelief, as if he had been greatly frightened.

His heart has been beating non-stop, he is this old man from Liyang, he has long known that Fengling Village was eight years ago, somehow, everyone in the village died in a catastrophe, not a single person lived, according to those who went to the scene, all of them died miserably, even now, there is also desolate and dilapidated, and the grass is decaying. It seems that the faint sound of crying can be heard every night.

It is rumored that this cry is mostly the desolate weeping of those who do not want to die.

Fengling Village has become a mass grave eight years ago!

And he knew in his heart that eight years ago, next to his stall, the smart little girl who also sold tofu flowers was a person from Fengling Village, whose name seemed to be Xiaoru, and after that disaster, there was no more news.

The middle-aged stall owner suddenly remembered what the black-clothed young man had just said: If you think you can't afford this ingot, just do something for me...... Remove all the tables and chairs on your left, which are not yours......

He suddenly felt boundless fear and fear, and the hairs on his body exploded.

The place to my left that he said didn't belong to me was not the place where the little girl from Fengling Village set up her stall eight years ago......

He said he was from Fengling Village?

The middle-aged stall owner gasped and wanted to take another look at the young man in black, but no matter how he looked in the bustling crowd, the young man in black seemed to have evaporated, and he could no longer find the slightest trace.

Cold sweat was like rain, and the middle-aged stall owner was secretly frightened, could it be that I bumped into a ghost in the middle of the day......

He made up his mind that tomorrow, no, in the afternoon, he would remove all the tables and chairs on the left, and hoped that the young man in black would never appear in front of him again......

Later, the middle-aged stall owner really removed all the tables and stools that occupied the place on the left, and invited a few monks to do Dharma here for three days, and then he felt a little at ease.

This kind of thing, after all, is the last major event in his life, but he is an ordinary person from Liyang, and after a long time, his original mind has faded, but he no longer dares to occupy the shade on the left from beginning to end.

Lin Yizhi didn't expect that his behavior would have such an impact on the middle-aged stall owner.

Lin Yizhi wandered in Liyang City for three days, and saw every corner of Liyang City, whether it was Tingshuixuan, the largest restaurant in Liyang City, or the lively and prosperous market in Liyang, he went to see it, and saw two hand ornaments in the market, one was a string of hand beads, bright pink, round and jade. The other is a light blue hairpin, the texture is elegant and simple, although it is not a precious material, and it is much cheaper than the hand beads, but Lin Yizhi still bought it.

Xiyue girl likes pink the most, the last time she came to Liyang with her to buy incense carvings, she clamored to come to the market to see, and in the end she didn't make it, she bought this pink hand bead and gave it to her, she will be very happy.

As for the light blue hairpin, Duanmu should like it.

Lin Yizhi thought about it, and carefully wrapped the hairpin and put it in a close place.

I suddenly remembered that rainy night, the pale blue figure in the heavy rain, gestured with him.

She pointed to her own heart, and then to his......

It seems to be not long ago, but Lin Yizhi feels that it seems that a long time has passed......

In addition to the above places, he even made a special trip to the most prosperous place in Liyang City-Jinghong Courtyard.

Since three years ago, after the sudden disappearance of Qin Xiang, the head brand of Jinghong Academy, the business of Jinghong Courtyard has plummeted, and the door has been cold.

In the past three years, the old bustard of the Jinghong Academy has spent a lot of effort and finally trained a top brand called the maid. The business of this Jinghong Courtyard has become better again, and this year is even more profitable.

Since ancient times, don't say anything about the water nature of the wind and dust women, which of those prodigal sons is not Chao Qin Muchu, and he is used to being unkind.

Lin Yizhi counted this time, it was the second time he came to this fireworks willow lane, but everyone came here to have fun, but Lin Yizhi was special.

He only listened to the piano in the room of the card maid for one night, and he did not move, and after thinking about it for a night, he put down a piece of gold, turned and left......

In addition to doing these things, Lin Yizhi will hold a few jars of aged daughter red in front of Tingshuixuan's waterfront window every night, get drunk, and then swaying out of Tingshuixuan, sitting on the side of the Lishui Bridge above the water through the city, the breeze blows, and his mouth is full of nonsense: "It's better to forget to leave...... Nalan came to drink......"

It wasn't until the red lights in Liyang City were tall and the lights of thousands of homes were lit that he returned to Tingshuixuan's own residence in a leisurely manner.

After three days, many people in Liyang City knew that there was such a drunk in black on the bank of the Lishui River and at the bridgehead of Lishui.

............

Lin Yizhi has been staying in Liyang for four days.

On this day, he got up near noon, and after washing, he went out of his residence, turned left and right in the courtyard of Tingshuixuan, and came to the restaurant on the street of Tingshuixuan.

I found a place to sit by the window, this position is excellent, the breeze is slow, the water is leisurely, and the view is in full view.

Lin Yizhi ordered a few dishes at random, and then ordered Tingshuixuan's signature braised She Fish.

After a while, these dishes were served steamingly.

As soon as Lin Yizhi wanted to move the chopsticks, he suddenly heard a sound on the floor downstairs, and it seemed that someone was going to come up, but after just two rings, it stopped ringing. Listening to the noise downstairs, it seems that the person who went upstairs seems to have been stopped by the shopkeeper.

Suddenly, I heard the downstairs speak: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable...... Poor Dao is a guest when he comes, Xiao Er, why do you stop me like this?"

The little second voice was annoyed: "You are a deceitful old man, every time you finish eating, you will use the divination to settle the account, if the hexagram is on time, it would be fine, but there is no one who makes you accurate...... Why do you want to cheat and eat and drink today?"

The voice that seemed to be an old Taoist sounded again: "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, when did my Nangong Yijin deceive you?"

Lin Yizhi smiled when he heard this, stood up and walked to the floor to look down.

I saw an old Taoist priest wearing a yellow gossip robe and holding a rag in his left hand took out a gold ingot from his arms and shook it towards the shopkeeper and said, "How to ...... What I have is money!"

Lin Yizhi was amused, and said secretly, Nangong Yijin, you old liar, the road is narrow, let me bump into you today, and see how you slip under my nose again!