The year 3750 of the Guangming calendar

In a remote town in Zhengguo in the Bright Continent, an old man in a long shirt with a gray beard and a ruddy face had just come out of an inn and nodded and came out of the reward, and turned around and entered a tavern.

When the bartender saw the old man coming in, he greeted him with a smile: "Brother Zhao, you are here again, what are you going to talk about today?"

"Hey, you're really welcome, I called me an old man a few times ago, but this time I'm going to be an old brother?"

"Look at your red face and healthy body, it's no problem to marry a sister-in-law in two rooms, how can you be old!"

The old man patted the bartender on the shoulder and smiled: "Yes, there is consciousness, the little brother is an understanding person, and when I make enough money, I will invite you to a big meal." ”

The bartender was flattered, waved his hand and said: "No, no, you don't need to invite me to dinner, to tell you the truth, I do chores in this tavern, although the income is meager, but there is wine and meat for a meal, and I will eat what the boss eats." ”

"Ouch, it's so generous, that brother and I are poor, and I have nothing to entertain my brother. The old man pretended to be helpless and walked inside, then turned back and said, "But I can tell you two paragraphs for my brother alone." ”

The bartender hurriedly took two steps forward and leaned over: "Brother, if you really have the heart to invite me, in fact, you don't have to be so troublesome, just lend me the book "Bright Strange Things" in your hand for two days." The bartender squinted and pointed to the notebook in the old man's hand, smiling.

Hearing the bartender's calculations, the old man's eyes widened: "Think beautifully! This is the guy who eats with my brother, and I must not borrow it from the outside." ”

The bartender stretched out a finger and smiled: "One day, just one day." ”

"Not for half a day!"

The old man sternly refused, and then strode towards the tavern, where many people greeted him, and the boss also walked over, and led the old man to a long table against the wall with a smile.

The boss was also an old man, but he was red-faced and big-eared, and he looked much younger than the old man, and he led the old man to the table, and the boss did not leave immediately.

"Brother Zhao, I don't know what interesting story I'm going to talk about today?"

"Yes, yes, what story are you going to tell today, I haven't heard enough of the cicada Duxin that I talked about last time. Some customers next to him have begun to shout, this is not the first time the old man has come to this tavern, every time he comes, he can attract a lot of customers to the tavern, and he can also get a lot of reward.

Seeing such an atmosphere, the old man was also a lot of joy in his heart, storytellers belong to the lowly business in this world, and they are often looked down upon, and the only comfort is that they can get the applause and attention of the audience, and in the end, they can get two small dollars. The old man could have raised cattle and sheep to make a living like the people in the village, but the old man was so bored with a group of animals all day long.

"Haha! Thank you for your faces, listen to me here, and today I will tell you a piece of the secret of our Zheng Kingdom's palace. ”

The old man coughed twice, cleared his throat, and unfolded the book in his hand on the table.

"Everyone knows that among the five countries in our Bright Continent, our Zheng State is the weakest country, why? In addition to the fact that our country has a small territory and is not as rich in resources as other countries, the most important thing is that there is no strong army, and there is no big force to rely on, and our monarch is already old, and there is still no successor to the throne. ”

"Isn't there still the two major forces of Tang Jiabao and the Lihuo Sect in our Zheng Kingdom?

The old man shook his head when he heard the question.

"That's right, Tang Jiabao and the Lihuo faction are the two biggest forces in our Zheng State today, but looking at the entire Bright Continent, it can only be regarded as the bottom, although the Lihuo Sect is a soul cultivation sect, but their town faction code has long been incomplete, and the head of the sect is only in the smart period; 。 ”

"Zhao Guo's forcible occupation of my Zheng State's land is really hateful! Could it be that our Zheng State can only be slaughtered by others? If I am a teenager younger, I will definitely learn the art of alchemy and join the army to defend my Dazheng territory!" Someone shouted indignantly.

"Well said, but when the decline is not long, I believe that our Zheng Kingdom will always prosper and become strong one day, but let's talk about these empty words now, let's get down to business, and then talk about the secrets of our palace. The old man saw that he was a little far away, and quickly brought the topic back on track.

"Just said that the monarch is old but has no successor, in fact, this is also the monarch's most anxious thing, and just seven years ago, the situation finally had a hint of change, one of the monarch's concubines was pregnant, the monarch learned of the great joy, all his thoughts were spent on this concubine, just one night in October when the pregnancy was about to give birth, the palace was brightly lit, and the monarch invited the great minister Chengjun, ready to test the prince's bones, who knew that in the end the princess gave birth to half a piece of blue jade. ”

"Blue jade, old man, you can't say that it's a blue jade that is a specialty of Biyunhai, how can you give birth to a child and give birth to jade? ”

The old man slapped Xingmu heavily and said loudly: "Who is! This is a real thing, because there is such a thing, the monarch specially ordered to conceal the truth, this has become a secret, and the matter of the amnesty of the monarch's concubine seven years ago, haven't you all heard about it?"

"The monarch's concubine is happy, and all of us here know that there were notices posted back then, but we don't know whether the final birth was a man or a woman or a piece of jade, and you said that the monarch ordered to conceal the truth, so how do you know?"

Hearing the other party's inquiry, the old man showed an unfathomable expression on his face: "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed, believe it or not, it's up to you." ”

Although the secret of the old man Zhao today made everyone question, but in the end, everyone also understood that listening to people talk about the book is to have fun, and the reward that should be given will still be given, and every time you finish speaking, you can get a reward of ten copper beads from the boss, although it is not much, it is also a lot of income all year round, and it is still a lot stronger than ordinary people.

The copper beads were swept in his hand, and two were pinched out and held in the other hand, and the rest were thrown into his waist pocket, and the old man Zhao walked to the meatloaf stall on the street with a satisfied face, two silver beads and five beef patties, the old man Zhao was the old customer of the meatloaf stall, one was eaten on the road, and the rest was left to his grandson.

The old man had no children under his knees, only one grandson to accompany him, and he did not want his grandson to grow up to do those hard jobs like other children in the village, so he got many classics and taught his grandson to read and write. I also spent half of my life savings to buy a book of alchemy, hoping that one day my grandson can learn something and make a tolerance. At such an age, he still came out to tell people stories, in addition to being good, on the one hand, he also wanted to save two dollars for his grandson, which he could use in the future.

The sunset is about to pass, giving the entire Qingyu Mountain a touch of gold, and the Fengnian Village on the mountainside is vast and lonely.

In a dilapidated courtyard piled with firewood, a fair-skinned, fair-faced young man was boxing bare-chested, only to see the young man punch and kick for a while, and then lift a rectangular stone, erect it on two wooden stakes, and then stretch out his arms, take the stone up, and then start the mazah on the spot.

The stone looked like it weighed fifty or sixty pounds, but it lay firmly across the two delicate arms, and it was obviously not the first time that the young man had done this, the two arms trembled slightly, and sweat was also exuding from his forehead, but the young man still looked resolute and did not show the slightest relaxation.

"Ahh ”

Hearing the sound coming from the gate, the young man called Ah Yun calmly put down the stone, slowly exhaled from the mouth with red faces on both sides, and ran to the door briskly to meet the grandfather who had just returned.

The boy's surname is Zhao Mingyun, he is just ten years old this year, and he is the only teenager in this mountain village who can alchemy, not only has greater strength than his peers, but also under the teaching of his grandfather, Zhao Yun can read and write at a very young age, has read a lot of books, and can also be called a civil and military all-rounder.

Seeing that his grandfather was holding a paper bag with oil in his hand, Zhao Yun quickly took it, took out a cake from it, wiped the sweat on his forehead, and devoured it.

Seeing Zhao Yun's appearance, grandpa showed a relieved smile on his face, "Don't be in a hurry to eat slowly, grandpa will pour you a bowl of water." ”

Zhao Yun hurriedly swallowed the cake in his mouth and persuaded: "Grandpa, you must be tired after walking such a long mountain road, don't be busy anymore, I'll just come by myself." ”

Old man Zhao touched Zhao Yun's head with a smile and said, "Grandpa just makes a living with a mouth, what's so tired? Besides, grandpa is not old, and some people still call me brother today." As he spoke, he made a gesture as he learned Zhao Yun's boxing.

"By the way, how was your practice today?

Zhao Yun took a bite of the meatloaf and replied with a whining: "My grandson has been able to hold up seventy catties of stones, and the method of resting has also improved. ”

"Very good, practice hard, you can get a good job in the future, and grandpa will be relieved." ”

"Grandpa, I want to be a general in the future, a general like General Tie, commanding thousands of troops and horses to fight on the battlefield, what a heroic spirit that is!" Zhao Yun danced excitedly.

"General, if you have ambition, then let's be a general with 10,000 enemies." Seeing his grandson's ambition, Old Man Zhao couldn't help but encourage.

Old man Zhao never thought that in the early years, he went to the City of Bliss and found a book of exercises and cheats, which he used for his grandson's body refining, so that his grandson could have a decent errand in the future, and would not be cold, hungry, or bullied. But he is not surprised that Sun Tzu has this ambition, General Tie is General Zheng Guoda, who is admired by tens of thousands of people, but that was in the past, and now it is only passed on to storytellers like him, there are many stories in "Bright Strange Stories", but Sun Tzu only likes to listen to stories about this Iron General, but how can it be so easy to be a general.

The candle flame flickered, illuminating the simple hut, Zhao Yun probed the water in the basin, it was moderately warm, this was the footwashing water that had just been boiled for his grandfather.

"Grandpa, the water temperature is just right, I'll help you take off your shoes. ”

"No need, just grandpa will come by himself. Just halfway through speaking, Zhao Yun had already taken off his shoes quickly.

After standing for a day today, Old Man Zhao was already tired, and as soon as his feet were put into the water, he felt a warm feeling of comfort, from the soles of his feet to his whole body.

Looking at the grandson who was seriously helping him rub his feet, the old man Zhao felt a pang of heat in his heart, but it was a pity that his grandson had no parents since he was a child, and he was already old, so he couldn't give his grandson a good living condition, but fortunately, this child was smart and capable, whether it was reading or practicing, he could concentrate on it, although he might not be able to make more money in the future, but he should be no problem to get a good job and live a worry-free life.

"Grandpa, tell me what story you told them today. Zhao Yun's question pulled the old man out of his contemplation.

"Haha, okay, grandpa will tell you, it was seven years ago, when you were more than two years old, a secret incident that happened in the palace... ”

"Grandpa, there's something I want to ask you. Zhao Yun suddenly interrupted.

"Oh, what do you want to ask?"

"Why did I lose my parents when I was a child, who were they, why didn't they stay with us, you never told me that, why is that?"

Hearing the question, the old man was silent for a long time, then stretched out his hand and touched Zhao Yun's head and said: "I don't want to make you sad if I don't tell you, since you want to know, then grandpa will tell you that your parents braved the heavy snow to hunt in the mountains in order to let you eat better, but accidentally fell off the cliff. ”

After the old man Zhao finished speaking, he sighed sadly, while Zhao Yun stared at the candle on the table in a daze, without saying a word, thinking in his heart, if it was so simple, why didn't he tell him earlier.