Chapter 47 Walking Alone

Chen Pingan and Ning Yao parted ways at the Twelve-foot Archway Building. Chen Pingan went to Mubo Alley, knocked on the door and shouted: "Song Jixin, are you at home?"

In the kitchen The girl who picked up a ladle of water with a gourd ladle burped one after another. After drinking the water, she felt much refreshed. She put down the ladle, walked out of the kitchen, ran to open the courtyard door, and felt a little strange, but she was still serious. He replied: "My young master is not here. Chen Pingan, why did you knock on the door? Didn't you always stand in your yard and chat with us?"

Chen Pingan was separated by a courtyard door. Said: "Something happened."

After Zhigui opened the door, he joked: "It's a rare visitor."

She glanced at Chen Pingan's face and asked: "Look for my young master. What to do? If you are not in a hurry, I can send you a message later. If you are in a hurry, you may have to go to the Construction Supervision Office to find someone. You have seen with your own eyes before that my young master has a good relationship with the new construction supervisor, Mr. Song. "

She noticed that Chen Ping'an was motionless with his feet rooted to the ground. She rolled her eyes and said, "Come in, why are you standing there?! My house is a dragon's den, and I want to charge you for coming in to drink water. Two pieces of silver?"

At this point, the girl covered her mouth and smiled, "For you, the latter must be more terrifying."

Chen Pingan said. He twitched his lips, smiled forcefully, and said softly: "Actually, I'm here to find you. I shouted like that before because I was afraid that Song Jixin would misunderstand."

Zhigui smiled knowingly and asked: "Then tell me Well, what's the matter? It's a shame to say that neighbors are neighbors, and friendship is friendship. But after all, I am just a little maid who lives under someone else's roof in Mubo Alley. I can't carry anything with my shoulders, so I can't help you much if Chen Ping'an borrows money. If it’s a problem that can be solved with money, you’re lucky, I have a little trick.”

Chen Ping’an smiled bitterly: “It’s not really about money, I’ll just tell you. Come on, Liu Xianyang was seriously injured on the covered bridge. The old shopkeeper of Yang’s shop went to see him, but there was nothing he could do.”

Zhigui looked confused, “Why didn’t I hear about this? Son, who did Liu Xianyang mess with?"

Chen Pingan said helplessly: "It's a foreigner from a place called Zhengyang Mountain."

Zhigui asked tentatively: "Then you want to use your connections to find a feng shui treasure for Liu Xianyang to bury in the ground? This is not difficult. I can ask my young master to speak to the superintendent, and then let the concierge in charge of the government office come forward. Go to Taoye Lane and ask that old man Wei to find a place. As long as you don't want to occupy a hilltop in a place banned by the imperial court, it won't be difficult."

Chen Ping'an's already dark face became even darker.

Zhimo Zhigui also realized that she had gone astray. She bared her teeth habitually, showing her bright and straight teeth. She leaned against the Spring Festival couplets on the wall, tilted her head, smiled playfully, and asked: "Chen Ping An, do you want me to repay you for saving your life? But I am just a maid. The old shopkeeper of Yang’s shop can’t do anything about it, so what can I do?”

Chen Ping An’s battle between heaven and man?After that, he slowly said: "Wang Zhu, I know you are not an ordinary person. When I saw you in front of my house that snowy day, I knew you were different from us. Later, you were also the first person to see that snake gallstones were unusual. , Looking back now, the way you looked at us neighbors was essentially the same as the way foreigners look at us now."

The girl grinned, "In fact, there is."

I not only look down upon you ordinary people, but also look down upon those immortal monks.

It’s just that Zhigui didn’t say this.

There are some truths. On her side, it is a matter of course, but on others, it becomes arrogant and unruly.

Chen Pingan asked: "I am looking for you to ask you whether it is possible to rescue Liu Xianyang. I used a locust leaf and could only barely hold Liu Xianyang's last breath. Although it is not very useful, it is at least useful, so I would like to ask, do you have any locust leaves here, especially any extra locust leaves?”

The girl pointed to her nose and asked: "Are you asking my young master Song Jixin if he has locust leaves, or me, a little maid with no father and mother?"

Chen Pingan stared at the girl and said bluntly: "Song Jixin is fine. If you have it, he won’t give it to me. I’m asking you, Wang Zhu, if you have it, are you willing to lend it to me? If not, do you know of other ways to save Liu Xianyang?”

The girl who was always called Wang Zhu rubbed her chin with one hand and patted her abdomen gently with the other. She shook her head and said: "No, no, no. I'm not going to lie to you. If you had come earlier, maybe there would be a few left." Zhang Huaiye. As for other methods, of course there is no way. I am not a god. How can I know how to bring people back to life and make flesh from bones, right? Chen Ping'an, you can't force others to do anything. Alas, I really misjudged you. I thought you were with me. They are all different. They are not the kind of people who want to repay favors."

Chen Ping'an still refused to give up, "Really? No matter if I can do it or not, you can tell me."

Zhigui shook his head and said resolutely: "I don't have it anyway!"

Chen Pingan smiled and said, "I know."

The young man turned around and left, emaciated. The figure quickly disappeared into Mud Bottle Alley.

The girl stood in the alley in front of her house, looking at the boy's retreating back. Her expression was complicated, with a hint of regret for her misfortune and anger at him, and she said angrily: "The locust leaves I finally got, Is it just squandered by you? Then you can die with Liu Xianyang. Anyway, if you are lucky, it will be better to continue to be a brother in trouble than those poor people who will not even have an afterlife."

She suddenly quickened her pace and rushed forward, stepping down hard. Then he slowly squatted down, stared at the khaki four-legged snake with horns on its head, and scolded: "It's not difficult to borrow something if you borrow it again, you five little beasts", if you dare to default on credit in the future, I will stew you in a pot! ”

The four-legged snake under the maid’s feet struggled hard and neighed slightly, seeming to be begging for mercy.

After Chen Pingan left the Mud Bottle Alley, he ran all the way When I arrived at the school, I was told by an old man who was responsible for cleaning the school that Mr. Qi had gone to the mountains outside the town with three foreign guests yesterday. They said they wanted to explore the mountains and explore the wonders. A round trip would take at least three days. Chen. Ping An was filled with disappointment and when he turned to leave, the old man holding the broom suddenly remembered something, called to the young man, and said: "By the way, Mr. Qi told me before he went that if anyone is looking for him in Mud Bottle Lane, he should tell that person Young man, he has already said it before. Whether he is in school today or not, it will not change the outcome. "

The young man seemed to have known such a result for a long time, and his eyes were dull.

The stagnant water was slightly rippled and lifeless.

But the young man still bent down. Expressing thanks, he said: "Thank you, old gentleman. "

The old man quickly moved a few steps away, stood aside, waved his hand and said with a smile: "I can't bear the word 'sir'. "

The old man saw the young man slowly leaving. After walking for a while, he seemed to raise his arm and wipe his eyes.

The old man shook his head slightly, remembering that he was also about the same age. Looking at the other two students of the same age, Song Jixin and Zhao Yao, their life experiences are very different.

Some people are prosperous and others are troubled.

Chen Pingan went to Clay Vase Lane, picked up the last bag of copper coins hidden in a clay pot, walked into Fulu Street with three bags of money, and found the Kiln Supervisory Office.

The concierge was a little confused after hearing the introduction. Song Jixin's neighbor in Mubo Lane wanted to find Song Jixin and the superintendent Song.

Chen Ping'an secretly handed him a coin that had been prepared for him. The young man handed over another gold coin without saying a word. The porter looked down, weighed it, and rubbed it with his fingers. He understood it but was not in a hurry to express his opinion. The young man quickly handed over another golden coin. The porter smiled but did not take it and said. : "Since you are a sensible person, I can rest assured to help you introduce him. Otherwise, I will really be taken advantage of because you lost this job. Keep this copper coin in your hand first. If the steward of the house agrees to let you enter the government office, give it to me before it is too late. If you don't agree, I will be helpless and just treat this copper coin as if it has nothing to do with me. What do you think? ”

Chen Pingan nodded vigorously.

Not long after, the old steward and the concierge arrived together. The concierge winked at the young man, hinting that he must not take out a knife at this time. Fortunately, the young man did not do anything stupid and just followed the steward to the back hall of the government office.

The concierge sighed, feeling a little strange. Why did the steward nod in agreement when he heard that it was the young man named Chen from Ni Ping Lane?

When did the threshold of the government office become so low?

The concierge felt guilty, but he had just met the steward, and his words were clear. Secretly, they all advised the stewards to do less and not let the young man enter.Yamen, but he didn't say it directly. I believe that the old steward must know it well because he has practiced profound Taoism in Gongmen for so many years.

The young concierge’s original plan was, of course, to get a copper coin for nothing without taking risks, and to get it with peace of mind.

Now he just hopes that the poor boy will not be a troublemaker.

In the main hall at the back of the government office, a tall man wearing a white robe was sitting at the main seat and drinking tea.

Song Jixin sat on the guest chair on the left, playing with a bamboo folding fan with one hand, opening and closing it continuously, and looked at the straw sandal boy who was brought in with a smile.

The black chair and the snow-white robe are a sharp contrast.

The steward retreated, and the man at the head table put down his tea cup and smiled at the young man: "Chen Ping'an, sit down wherever you like. We had actually met before in Mud Bottle Alley, but I didn't recognize him at the time. It's you, otherwise I should have said hello earlier."

Song Jixin found it a bit funny. Only he knew that this man was obviously a bit difficult to pronounce when calling himself "I".

The young man sat on the chair opposite Song Jixin.

The man asked straight to the point: "Chen Ping'an, are you here about Liu Xianyang's injury?"

The young man stood up and said: "I hope Lord Song can punish him severely. Yangshan's murderer, not just deporting him."

The man smiled, "Actually, this side of the town is a 'lawless place', which means that there are no dynastic laws here. Originally, the supervisory officials were rather embarrassed and had no right to interfere with local affairs. Moreover, here in the small town, the people have always followed the principle that officials should not be punished, whether it was a maidservant being beaten to death in a large household or a fight in a small household. It is not customary to come to this construction supervision office to beat drums and complain about grievances. Therefore, Chen Ping'an, you went to the wrong temple with the pig's head and worshiped the wrong Bodhisattva."

The man's words and deeds are pleasant. There is no hint of arrogance or arrogance on his body.

Chen Pingan took out three bags of copper coins and placed them on the high stool next to the chair. Then he said to the man with a calm expression: "Master Song, I know you are very powerful. I want to know if you can save him." I want Liu Xianyang, even if I can't save him, can you give him justice and prevent the murderer from killing people? As long as he leaves the town, everything will be fine."

The man laughed and said, "I'm very happy. Awesome? Did your girl in black tell you that? Well, it shows that she is very talented in martial arts, even better than your friend named Liu Xianyang. To tell you the truth, I only know how to kill people and save people. I'm really not good at it. Besides, why should I break the thousand-year-old rules here for a boy I only met once?"

When the man said this, he pointed at the three bags of copper coins. "Liu Xianyang's life is not worth so much money without the Baojia Jianjing. As for buying my favor, the money is far from enough. I, Dali, broke up with Zhengyang Mountain just for the sake of three A bag of money? Absolutely impossible. It will be a joke to the entire Dongbaopingzhou.. Chen Pingan, you may not understand these words for the time being, but if you have a chance and go out for a walk in the future, you will understand that this is the truth. "

Chen Pingan gritted his teeth and said: "Sir Song, can you tell me how to take action? Even if you think I can't do it even if I die, Master Song can talk about it. "

The man didn't feel that he had revealed any clues. The powerful vassal king showed a look of surprise in his eyes and smiled: "Chen Ping'an, I'm not looking down on you or deliberately making things difficult for you. On the contrary, I think you are an interesting person, so I am willing to spend time and calmly reason with you and do business with you. Do you understand? "

Chen Pingan nodded.

Song Jixin sat cross-legged on a chair and gently tapped his knees with a folding fan.

Watching the fire from the other side. , the matter is none of your business.

Song Changjing didn't care about Song Jixin's inconsistency. In the small town, the vassal king only lost to Qi Jingchun in terms of information. The words revealed the secret: "Chen Ping'an, you don't have to feel too guilty and mistakenly think that your friend died because of you, because Liu Xianyang has long been in a dead end. As long as this young man refuses to hand over the sword scripture, it can only be a dead end. , because Zhengyang Mountain will definitely kill him. No one can stop him, whether it's Qi Jingchun or Master Ruan. It's not that no one has beaten the old ape, but the price he needs to pay is too high, not cost-effective and not worth it. "

The man took a sip of tea and said leisurely: "Chen Ping'an, have you ever thought about why even you, who least deserves the blessing of ancestral blessing, have a locust leaf, but Liu Xianyang's talent The root bone is so good, but you didn’t get a locust leaf. Have you ever thought about this problem? ”

Chen Ping’an said, “I’m sorry to bother Mr. Song. ”

The straw-shoe boy put away three bags of copper coins, said goodbye to the supervisor in front of him, and left.

Although Song Changjing did not try to keep him, he actually got up to send them off in person. Song Jixin Just as he was about to stand up reluctantly, he saw the uncle shaking his head slightly and sitting back down, leaning comfortably on the back of the chair.

When he reached the threshold, Song Changjing was stunned. Without warning, he said: "There are two things that I can do but cannot do, so as long as you can do one of them, I can consider helping you teach that old ape a lesson. "

The young man quickly stopped and turned around, his face full of solemnity.

The man said calmly: "One thing is to find an opportunity to kidnap the little Zhengyang Mountain boy next to the old ape. The girl confused his will and forced Lao Yuan to stay in the small town. Another thing was to secretly cut down the old locust tree at night, and then pull out the iron chain that locked the well. You can do both, or just one. Once one thing is done, I will help you seriously injure the murderer. Once two things are done, I will kill the Zhengyang Mountain Old Ape for you. ”

Song Changjing smiled and promised: “Once you say something, you will never break it!” "

Then the powerful King of the Great Li clan said an inexplicable word, "Chen Ping'an, I believe you can feel the truth or falsehood of a sentence. ”

The young man left silently.

Didn’t see and hear the young man’s boastful words as he slapped his chest vigorously, Song Changjing felt that it was normal. He stood at the door with his back to Song Jixin in the room and asked: “You are familiar with him, do you think he will Not going to do it?" Song Jixin shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Under normal circumstances, it would be very difficult to ask him to do something against his will, but for Liu Xianyang, it would probably be a bit difficult. Hanging."

The man stood with his hands behind his hands, looked at the sky, and asked: "Suppose the young man really gives someone an unexpected surprise, I will take this opportunity to intervene, whether it is to make friends with Zhengyang Mountain. , or to form an alliance with Fengleiyuan, naturally we can only choose one or the other, and it is even inevitable to have a grudge with the other party. Compared with this king standing by and letting Da Li and these two forces never interact with each other, for As for me, Da Li, which result do you think is better?"

Song Jixin stood up, slapped the palm of his other hand with a folding fan, walked slowly, and after thinking about it, he said, "Taiping. Choose the latter in prosperous times, and choose the former in troubled times."

Then the young man smiled and said: "No matter whether the world outside the town is in prosperous times or troubled times, it seems that at least uncle, you have made your own choice. ."

Song Changjing sneered: "What do we, the warriors on the battlefield, do in the peaceful times? Do we want to be a peace dog that guards the homes of scholars?"

Song Changjing turned his head. Looking at the stiff-looking young man, "I have already seen that this boy is the real knot in your heart, and it will be difficult for you to untie it in a short time. Once you leave this knot and leave the town, it will be detrimental to The following practice. So you can see with your own eyes how a simple boy with a pure heart can become violent and vulgar. When the time comes, you will feel that it is very meaningless to be angry with such a person. "

Song Jixin opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't refute anything, and finally fell into deep thought.

The man walked back to the room, sat on the main seat, raised his head and drank the tea in the cup, "The most important thing is that I can only find some lame excuses for playing this boring little trick. In addition to fishing in troubled waters, I also want you to understand the truth that in the next step of your spiritual practice, anyone may be your enemy...for example, your uncle, I, Song Changjing."

Young man. Shocked.

Song Changjing sneered: "Because of the evil knot in my heart, if I don't pull it out with my own hands, there will be endless troubles, just like weeds in the wilderness, they grow again in the spring breeze."

Song Changjing said sarcastically: " Song Jixin, who is about to become His Royal Highness Prince Da Li, are you full of grief and anger, but what can you do now? So how do you think you are better than Chen Ping'an, who is being played with by applause? "

Song Jixin stared closely at this man with a calm face. The young man grabbed the five fingers of the folding fan, his muscles and bones exposed.

The man sat on the chair with deep eyes, looking out of the room, as if saying to himself: "The more people you see in the future, you will find an interesting thing. What are the differences between good and evil?" Retribution, happy grudges, common manAngry blood splatters three feet, such things as talented people and beautiful women, and lovers finally getting married are all imagined by trash to please people. So, your own fist must be strong, relying on me? By your biological parents? I advise you to give up on this idea as soon as possible, otherwise taking you out of the town is tantamount to taking your body to a mass grave. The home of the emperor is not conceited about life and death. ”

The young man was sweating profusely and sat slumped on the chair.

Although the young man hid his complacency deeply after learning his true identity, he kept his complacency when dealing with people in the government office. There was nothing strange about it, but in the eyes of feudal lord Song Changjing, it was as if he was holding a demon mirror and saw a spirit that had just transformed into a human form. Therefore, Song Changjing looked into the distance while talking and laughing. His sight seemed to reach the southernmost tip of East Aquarius Continent, to the distant old Dragon City.

For some reason, the vassal king remembered a sentence, "The human heart is like a mirror. The cleaner it is. The more spotless it is, the less it can withstand scrutiny and temptation. ”

Song Changjing felt that although the scholars in the temple talked about gods and ghosts, they sometimes said great truths that they, warriors with knives, would never be able to say in a thousand years. Impenetrable.

Song Changjing put away his thoughts and pointed towards the south, as if holding a spear and halberd, with his sharp edge, "Song Jixin, if you feel that what I said today is wrong, you can, but bear with me. When we arrive at Old Dragon City in the future, we will change seats and I will consider whether I want to listen attentively! "

Dali Prince Song Jixin has returned to normal and said with a smile: "We'll see. ”

At the door of the government office, the straw-shoe boy handed the second copper coin to the concierge as promised.

————

Chen Pingan saw the twelve-foot archway building The figure of the girl in black ran quickly.

Ning Yao stood under the plaque of "Angry Bullfighting" and asked: "How is it? "

Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "We have looked for three people, two of them met, Mr. Qi didn't see it, but I knew the answer from the beginning. "

A gentleman will not save you.

Mr. Qi has indeed said this before.

Ning Yao frowned and said nothing.

Chen Ping'an then told the girl to be careful and started to run away.

He first went to Yang's shop and bought a lot of medicine for treating bruises with a gold and copper coin from an old man who knew everything about it. Bottles, ointments and medicinal materials for internal injuries, how to use and suffer from these things, the young man is familiar with the world, and firing porcelain in Long Kiln is a job of relying on someone to make a living. There are often various accidents. Although Old Man Yao doesn't like it, he can only give it half a try. Chen Pingan is an apprentice, but I have to admit that this young man is nimble and careless, so Chen Pingan is left to do many errands and money-making tasks, such as buying medicine and decoction for the injured at the entrance of the kiln. .

Chen Pingan returned to his ancestral home in Niping Lane, closed the door, and began to boil the medicine. It was a prescription for treating internal injuries. While waiting for the heat, he washed a piece of medicine until it was white but still there.The old and clean clothes were spread out on the table and torn into strips. The straw-shoe boy, who was known for being stingy and stingy, didn't feel any distress at this time. Then he tied the clothes-pressing knife that Ning Yao lent him to his arm. , the young man also tied up layers of thin strips of cotton on his calves and wrists.

Chen Pingan took off the homemade wooden bow on the wall, hesitated for a moment, and gave up carrying it for the time being. Instead, he retrieved the slingshot and a bag of stones from the window sill.

The reason why you do something you know you can't do but still don't regret it even after hitting the wall three times in a row is the unique tenacity of a young man.

The young man will not be willing to give it a try, just like the young man at the blacksmith shop begging the old shopkeeper to try again for the last time. It is the same reason.

We first looked for Zhigui, who had an eccentric identity, in the hope of giving Liu Xianyang a chance to survive. I went to Mr. Qi again out of luck and hoped that he could uphold justice. Finally, I went to Mr. Song, the so-called martial arts master and superintendent of Ning Yao, because I had made it clear that I was going to lose all my money to make a deal.

The young man thought clearly from the beginning, so he was very disappointed at this time, but he didn't feel heartbroken.

In fact, the vassal king Song Changjing and his neighbor Song Jixin did not understand Chen Pingan at all.

Some things must be done even after death. But there are some things that even death cannot do.

The young man squatted in the corner, quietly waiting for the medicinal soup to come out. This jar of medicine was very strange. It had no other use than to relieve pain. Once there was a man at the entrance of the Long Kiln who suffered from a cold. I had a strange disease and stayed in bed for most of the day, not to mention half-dead. The key was that my whole face and limbs were twisted in pain. Later, Yang's shop gave such a prescription, and the man died soon after. However, it was not painful to walk. He even had the strength to sit up. After giving his last words, he took a last look at the kiln entrance with the help of old man Yao.

Chen Pingan felt that he should also need it.

The young man saw that there were some rags on the table, so he took off the worn-out straw sandals on his feet, took out a pair of brand-new shoes that he had always been reluctant to wear, brought the pottery pot, and took out the broken porcelain pieces. .

About half an hour later, the young man who had finished everything opened the door and quietly walked out of Mud Bottle Alley.

As dusk approaches, the sun is no longer dazzling, and there are layers of fiery clouds on the horizon, which are extremely gorgeous.

The straw-shoe boy walked towards Fulu Street.

On the bluestone street, there are no passers-by, and the young man walks alone.