The current situation of the town is like a sand table built by General Da Li. The war has come to an end and he decided to abandon it, so he casually covered it with black cloth.
Chen Pingan lit an oil lamp in his house and began to count his belongings. There were three bags of gold and copper coins, one bag each of support money, spring festival money, victory money, and one bag for the Sui prince. The gift was said to be a thank you for letting him meet the golden carp. The two bags left by Gu Can were regarded as money to buy the loach.
As for the two bags of money that Chen Dui originally thanked him for, Chen Pingan asked Chen Dui to give them to Liu Xianyang on his way out of the mountain. Although Chen Dui was confused, he did not refuse. Perhaps he was surprised by the choice of the boy in the back alley. , or maybe she was in a good mood after the successful ancestor worship, Chen smiled at Po Tianhuang, and said some heartfelt words in a soft voice, so that Chen Pingan could rest assured, frankly admitting that the promise of her, a direct descendant of the Yingyin Chen family, was definitely worth more than two bags of gold. Fine copper coins are more valuable. In fact, Chen Pingan was doubtful about this and did not dare to believe it completely. However, after Ning Yao heard that "the direct descendant of the Chen family in Yingyin", he privately asked Chen Pingan to relax.
Mr. Qi has presented seals twice, totaling four times. The earliest two seals, "Jingxin Deyi" and "Chen Shiyi", were snake gallstones that Mr. Qi had secretly collected himself. The later two seals were carved according to the shape of the snake gallstones presented by Mr. Qi from Chen Ping'an. Official script, coincidentally, the two seals can be put together to form a picture of green mountains and green waters, one thick and the other delicate. Mr. Qi carved the words "mountain" and "water" respectively. According to Ning Yao, it can probably be called a picture. To "Landscape Mark".
Chen Pingan placed two prescriptions and three pieces of paper from Director Lu on the table.
Ning Yao once disliked Lu Daochang's dull and tasteless writing. He was popular, talented, splendid, immortal, and Buddhist, and had nothing in common. He was like a scholar in a secular dynasty, catering to the imperial system for the sake of imperial examination fame. , well behaved and humble.
Chen Ping'an naturally couldn't see the depth of charm and attainments in the young Taoist master's handwriting, nor would he despise these three pieces of paper just because Ning Yao's evaluation was not high. Furthermore, Director Lu said before leaving that it was not easy to buy books to read in a small town. If Chen Pingan wanted to learn to read, he could start from his prescription.
At this time, Chen Pingan carefully picked up the last piece of paper. , I had seen the four words "Lu Chen's Edict" in the vermilion seal at the end before, and I didn't think about it deeply. But now that I have as many as four seals, I feel that those few small words are particularly cute and approachable. Chen Pingan thought that in the future, when he had spare money in his pocket, he would buy a book one day and put it into a private collection at home. Then he would lightly seal the title page or last page with "Chen Shiyi" in red characters. When Chen Pingan thought of this , I couldn’t help but grin with joy.
But Chen Ping'an soon became a little embarrassed. With a seal, he needed ink pad. Next door to the New Year's Eve shop in Qilong Lane, which specializes in selling cakes, is a shop that sells all kinds of miscellaneous goods. It has a signboard with the word "Cao Tou". Song Jixin and his maid Zhigui often visited this shop. The so-called The four treasures of the study and the clear books and desks were all bought there.
Chen Pingan hesitated for a moment, thinking that he would be literate in the future., one day I met a book I fell in love with at first sight, and then I went to buy a box of ink pads.
In addition, there are seven or eight carefully selected snake gallstones in the sack, with different colors, but even if they have been out of the water for so long, the color still does not fade. The mouth of the sack on the table was opened, revealing various stones as big as a young palm, as small as a child's fist, and as small as pigeon eggs, nestled together, looking delightful.
Chen Ping'an originally wanted to give it to Liu Xianyang. Although Song Jixin was a harsh-spoken scholar, there was a saying that made sense. It probably meant the same small thing, placed outside the Mud Bottle Alley. In the hands of street vendors, it takes a lot of effort to sell for a few pennies, but if it is placed in the cabinet of a grass-roots shop, it will cost three or four taels of silver to start with. If the customer wants to buy it or not, he will leave if he has no money.
The speaker has no intention but the listener has the intention. Chen Pingan feels that Song Jixin’s words are quite reasonable, so he keeps the snake gallstone with him and keeps it in the town. It is estimated that it will not be sold at a high price even if it dies. , but if it were given to Liu Xianyang, and he was going to that big place where the Yingyin Chen family was, even if he was deceived and the price was lowered, he would definitely get more money than Chen Ping'an.
As for whether it is better to hold a thatched hut or let a friend win a mountain of gold and silver, which one is better or worse, Chen Pingan does not need to consider it at all.
Otherwise, why would you want to be friends with Liu Xianyang?
So even if Chen Pingan thinks that Liu Baqiao from Fengleiyuan is not a bad person, no matter how much Liu Baqiao claims to be his brother, Chen Pingan will never take it seriously from beginning to end, and will never go along.
Chen Pingan finally picked up the jade hairpin. Mr. Qi said that it was a gift from his husband in the early years. It was an ordinary thing and not a rare treasure.
There are eight small characters engraved on the jasper hairpin.
Ning Yao once explained the saying "a gentleman who speaks to you is as gentle as jade".
A gentleman.
Although Chen Pingan has never read a book, he still feels that this word must be a very important title.
Ning Yao's voice came from the door, "Why don't you put this hairpin on? Since I am willing to give it to you, I naturally hope you will make the best use of it."
< p>The stunned Chen Pingan looked up and asked with a smile: "Why are you here?"Ning Yao sat across from Chen Pingan's table and glanced at the hairpin in Chen Pingan's hand, "I carefully After checking it, it was indeed an ordinary hairpin with no hidden secrets. At first I thought it was a small cave."
Chen Ping'an was confused, "What?"
Ning Yao looked at Chen Ping'an's "family heirlooms under the box" on the table, and explained: "There is a cave in the world, have you heard of this saying? Ordinary people only think of it as a rhetorical statement by scholars, but don't take it seriously. In fact, it is very particular. There are two kinds of caves in the world. One is the Lizhu cave we are in. It is one of the ten major caves and the thirty-six small caves. It is the cave of the 'Dongtian Blessed Land'. It has a vast territory, and there are thousands of them. Wanli, it is said that Taoist ancestors owned a lotus cave. Although it was one of the thirty-six small caves, one of the lotus leavesThe leaf surface is bigger than the capital of your Great Li Dynasty. "
Chen Ping'an was startled and doubted: "Isn't it possible? "
Ning Yao smiled and stretched out his thumb, tilted it towards himself, and said confidently: "I don't believe it either, so after I see it with my own eyes, I will come back and tell you the truth!" "
Chen Pingan said softly: "Not everyone can enter such a weird place, right? "
Ning Yao laughed and said: "Who do you think I am? "
Chen Pingan quickly changed the subject, "Miss Ning, please continue talking about Dongtian. "
Ning Yao casually picked up a small and exquisite snake gallstone, peach blossom color, held it in the palm of his hand and rubbed it, and said: "Any large cave that can penetrate the heaven and the earth and be full of spiritual energy will be a veritable fairy mansion. , Qi practitioners practice in it, and get twice the result with half the effort. Only those with great luck cannot occupy the Lord of the Cave. It has already been divided up by the best of the three religions and hundreds of families, and no one else is allowed to get involved. The thirty-six small caves are a bit like hidden secrets, like a woman half-hiding her face while holding a pipa. Among them, the Taoyuan Cave is the most beautiful, the Gangfeng Cave is the most mysterious and dangerous, and the Lizhu Cave..."
Chen Pingan asked curiously: "What's wrong with us here? "
Ning Yao raised the corners of his mouth, stretched out two fingers, gently twisted them, and said: "The smallest one is only so small, and it is not worth mentioning in such a small place. "
Chen Pingan simply sat cross-legged, lazily lying on the table, then raised a fist, raised his fingers one by one, and smiled softly: "But I am here, I met Mr. Qi, Old Man Yang, Liu Xianyang, Gu Can, and of course you, Miss Ning. "
Ning Yao also smiled, "There is also a small cave, which is a place for storing items. Buddhists have Xumi mustard seeds, while Taoists have a universe in their sleeves, and the other hundreds of schools also have their own The purpose of this statement is that "a small space can accommodate heaven and earth". In short, it means that a little big object can fit a lot of gadgets, but compared to the real paradise of cave heaven, this kind of "cave heaven" title Baby, no living things can be allowed. One of my mother’s most valuable dowries was a jade bracelet. “The size of the cave inside is almost as big as this house.”
I don’t know what’s going on outside. The straw-shoe boy who was so tall was a little disappointed, "It's so small. Look at the lotus leaf of Taozu, it's as big as a city."
Ning Yao became angry with shame, leaned forward, and stretched out his hand to think About to slap Chen Pingan on the head, Chen Pingan quickly leaned back and dodged left and right.
Ning Yao tried several times but failed. With a sudden movement, the hand holding the pink snake gallstone made a gesture to throw the stone.
Chen Pingan hurriedly said in a panic: "Don't throw it away, don't throw it away. If the corners are broken, you will definitely earn a lot less copper coins!"
Ning Yao curled his lips and put it down. Snake Gallstone just raised his hand suddenly and quickly.
Chen Ping'an was so frightened that he quickly closed his eyes and couldn't bear to look.
With a bang, he slapped the stone heavily on the table.Ning Yao laughed loudly.
After Chen Pingan opened his eyes, he said helplessly: "Miss Ning, can you stop being so naive?"
Ning Yao raised his long and narrow eyebrows, swept his elbow, and The stone was swept off the table.
Chen Pingan scratched his head with both hands and grimaced.
It doesn’t make sense to reason with Miss Ning.
Ning Yao laughed playfully and stretched out her other hand from under the table. The stone that should have fallen to the ground was lying in her white palm.
Chen Pingan still held his head in his hands, looking pitiful.
Ning Yao stopped teasing Chen Pingan and asked seriously: "What will you do in the future?"
Chen Pingan thought for a while and replied honestly: "Help Master Ruan finish those things." I want to work hard. I think I can go into the mountains to burn charcoal and collect herbs and sell them to the Yang family shop." Ning Yao hesitated and asked, "In addition to moving to the other side of Zhengyang Mountain. Shan Yuan, the women of the Xu family in Qingfeng City, Liu Zhimao, the True Lord of Jiejiang, and Yunxia Mountain and Old Dragon City behind Cai Jinjian and Fu Nanhua, what will you do? If someone wants to cause trouble for you, where will you escape? "< /p>
Ning Yao did not wait for Chen Pingan to speak, and said in a deep voice: "So when Director Lu asked you to stay in the blacksmith shop shamelessly no matter what, it was the right path."
Chen Pingan He said worriedly: "Then what if it causes a lot of trouble for Master Ruan?"
Ning Yao sneered and said: "A saint who presides over the movement of the small cave sky, will he still be afraid of these troubles?"
Ning Yao sneered: p>
Chen Pingan nodded, "Then I will ask Master Ruan later and tell him all the truth first to see if he is still willing to accept me as a long-term apprentice."
Ning Yao supported him with one hand. With his cheek, he rummaged through the snake gallstones and said: "In this small town, there is nothing that a bag of gold and copper coins cannot solve. If there is, then two bags."
Chen Pingan Ning Yao said with a sad face: "I feel bad."
Ning Yao squinted and said, "Why don't you feel bad when you plan to give it all to Liu Xianyang?"
Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "Three different things. No comparison."
Ning Yao rolled his eyes and said: "If any woman is unfortunate enough to be your wife in the future, I guess she would like to slap you to death every day."
Chen Ping'an is serious. Said: "If I really have a wife, it's one thing. I'm not stupid, I will let my wife suffer."
Ning Yao's face was full of disbelief and full of sarcasm.
The charcoal-like young man folded his hands on his chest and sat cross-legged, with a rare arrogant look on his face. He hummed, "If my wife is wronged, let alone the old ape from Zhengyang Mountain, it's you who said so." I’m going to chop him to death, Taoist ancestor. I won’t tell you whether he will be killed or not, but I’ll kill him first!”
Ning Yao was very surprised and dumbfounded.
She has always felt that Chen Pingan is not a hard-tempered person. Of course, except for killing Cai Jinjian and fighting the mountain ape, Chen Pingan never seems to be angry when getting along with him, his temperament is not paranoid, and he is neither tepid nor hot. temper.
If such words were spoken by such proud men as Fu Nanhua and Song Jixin, Ning Yao would take it for granted and not be surprised. But when it came from Chen Pingan's mouth, Ning Yao couldn't believe it, so She couldn't help but ask: "Why?"
Chen Ping'an grinned and said: "My father has only had one fight with someone in his life, and it was for my mother, because someone scolded my mother in Qilong Lane. , my father couldn't get angry, so he went to give her a hard fight. When she came back, my mother complained for a long time, but my father told me privately that it was one thing to fight or not to fight. It’s the same thing. Why would a man marry someone if he doesn’t protect his wife?”
Ning Yao was a little strange, “Huh?”
Chen Ping’an scratched his head and said: “ My father is a good porcelain maker and is very bad at fighting. When he came home, his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he was beaten badly."
Ning Yao put his hand on his forehead and didn't want to speak.
She was silent for a moment, then stood up and said: "Let's go back to the shop."
Chen Pingan asked: "Shall I take you to the entrance of Mubo Alley?"
Ning Yao said angrily: "No need."
Chen Ping'an didn't force him, he just sent Ning Yao to the gate of the hospital.
Ning Yao did not turn around and knew that the young man had been standing at the door.
Good people who are not pedantic, their hearts will be extra warm and bright, like sunny flowers and trees.
This is a beautiful thing in itself.
The helpless boy in Mud Ping Alley was killed by those outsiders who had mud legs and was eaten by ants digging in the dirt in the back alleys of the market.
But the young man has his own life to live after all, and he also wants to live well. He is not just greedy for enjoyment. In fact, the young man has been a very hard-working child since he was a child. He just thinks about his parents. If there is knowledge underground, they will definitely feel relieved. Although Chen Ping'an is the only one in the Chen family, one person can still live a good life, which means that the family passed down from his parents is not bad, even if this There is only one person left at home.
Even if you have money to buy Spring Festival couplets, the boy needs to post them by himself. No one will tell Chen Pingan whether they are crooked or straight. The word "福" posted on the door needs to be built by himself. , and there was no one to help.
People live their entire lives and are conceited about life and death, and do not want to ask God for anything.
So this kind of person seems to have a good temper, but in fact his bones are extremely hard. Life will also be particularly hard.
The girl who walked out of Mud Bottle Alley suddenly felt a little lost and a little guilty.
Leave without saying goodbye for your own sake.
After Chen Pingan returned to the house, he stared at the oil lamp in a daze.
Drowsily, Chen Pingan seemed to be asleep but not asleep, and seemed to be dreaming but not dreaming.
He seemed to have walked to the south end of the covered bridge inexplicably. He only vaguely remembered that it was dark along the way, and even he could not see the scene a few feet away.
But when he stepped onto the steps, the space between heaven and earth suddenly shone brightly.
Chen Pingan was walking in the corridor of the corridor in a daze, when suddenly in the middle of the corridor,The extremely dazzling snow-white light bloomed, which seemed to be more dazzling than the previous light of heaven and earth, and the Taoism contained in it was more noble. Chen Ping'an clearly stung his eyes and shed tears, but for some reason, he could see the strange scenery there more clearly.
There was a tall man with a vague face standing in the covered bridge.
Somewhat similar to Chen Ping’an when he first met Mr. Qi in an alley. His big sleeves were swaying and he was dressed in snow-white, like a god or a fairy.
But in the chaotic subconscious like a runaway wild horse, Chen Ping'an was extremely certain that the person in front of him was more illusory than Mr. Qi, as if he or she was further away from the world.
Chen Pingan walked forward slowly, as if a fox-enchanting woman was whispering in his ears, tempting people's hearts, "Kneel down, and you will be blessed with good luck."
After that, there was someone majestic. He shouted loudly and shocked people's hearts: "Ordinary people, why don't you kneel down quickly!"
Another Zhongzheng and peaceful voice said calmly: "For example, ordinary people need to kneel down to the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and to kneel down again and again!" Why not take a road to the top?"
There was also a hoarse voice from the vicissitudes of life, "This kneeling is equivalent to walking across the Changsheng Bridge, climbing the Qingyun Ladder, and crossing the chasm between heaven and earth. Don't hesitate, kneel down quickly, otherwise you will be blamed!"
A familiar voice said with all his strength, "Chen Ping'an, stop quickly! Don't move forward, and don't turn around!" , and don’t kneel down. Just stick to the stick of incense. How much energy and will can you carry in your mortal body? Don’t act against nature..."
It’s a bit like Old Man Yang. reprimands and admonitions.
It’s just that the old man’s voice got lower and lower.
At the same time, someone else smiled warmly and said: "Chen Ping'an, why don't you stand up straight and try taking a few steps forward?"
This looks like Mr. Qi.
Chen Pingan straightened his back by instinct, stopped, and looked around blankly.
He only knew that he had many questions and wanted to ask Mr. Qi.
Many noisy voices came and went, "This is Ma Kuxuan's deserved opportunity! Get out of here, you kid!"
"Even if Ma Kuxuan can't get it, he can't get it." You should have fallen into the hands of the immortal Ning Yao, who are you!"
"You, the Chen family, are like a puddle of mud that cannot be supported. You should have been cut off from the world long ago, but you still dare to do so! Shameless little bastard who covets divine objects!"
"Chen Ping'an, don't you care about Ning Yao and Liu Xianyang? Wouldn't it be better to turn around and return to the town, leaving the opportunity to your friends? Qi Jingchun has exchanged his death for the stability of you mortals. Wouldn't it be great to be a rich man, marry a wife and have children, and have an afterlife?"
"If you dare to take one more step forward, you will be able to live in peace. You smash your bones and scatter your ashes!"
Chen Pingan stepped forward.
The covered bridge shook violently.
The world is silent, and the noise suddenly disappears.
There are sighs, fears, panic, awe, sighs, and a complete mess.
Chen Ping'anAfter taking one step, he naturally took the second step forward. Only then did he realize that Mr. Qi and he were walking side by side.
The entire covered bridge and outside the covered bridge suddenly became invisible again.
When the young man stopped before, he was no longer stung by the light and shed tears. Now he suddenly choked up for no reason. With a sudden thought, he asked: "Mr. Qi, are you leaving?" "?"
"Well, I have to leave. There are too many people outside who want me to die, and I can't make my own choice."
"Mr. Qi, let's go get it." Who are you meeting?"
"It's not 'us', it's you. What you want to see is an... old man?"
There was a loud bang.
Mr. Qi seemed to have been knocked away by a blow, but instead he laughed heartily, and finally said in a deep voice: "Chen Pingan, the road is at your feet, let's go!"
Chen Pingan took a deep breath, raised his feet and prepared to take the third step.
There was a voice that sounded very far and very high, instantly penetrating through the layers of heaven and earth, and said with a smile: "It only takes three things, and it will stop at the click of a button."
Corridor Then someone in the middle of the bridge snorted coldly.
Chen Pingan suddenly woke up and found himself lying on the table, the oil lamp still burning. The young man subconsciously turned his head and looked out the window.
It’s dawn.