Spring and Autumn King's Banner

At the west entrance of the town, between the sea of ​​clouds in the inn, the Tianzihao guest room on the third floor is also the only Tianzihao room in the entire inn. The other rooms are arranged from the Dizihao to the back.

In the middle of this room is a set of low-legged benches with carved dragon patterns and an Eight Immortals table. Near the back window is a row of sets of flower tables and chairs. Antique ornaments and seasonal melons are placed on the flower table. Everything is available. There is a row of bookshelves against the wall on the right hand side of the door. They are filled with ancient and rare books from the Classics and History. There is also a bookcase in front of the bookshelf. The four treasures of the study, paper, pens and pens are all available. On the contrary, On the left hand side of the door, against the wall, is a canopy bed with a simple and elegant shape. Judging from the shape, it must have come from some royal family.

In this inn's only guest room with the Tianzi name, all the furniture is made of precious Nanhai pear wood worth thousands of gold, and all other furnishings and furnishings are all treasures of famous artists with great origins, without exception. It is one of the royal tributes from the top empires in Jiuzhou. If it is placed outside, it is priceless and cannot be bought. It is worse than the set of Qingyun that Ke Yuzhi dropped in the Zhu family. Cup is even better.

Moreover, the entire Zhu family has been passing down from generation to generation for many years, and there is only one set of Qingyun Cups in total. But in this guest room between the sea of ​​clouds, there is not only one set of these. This shows how special this guest room is. The luxury and lavishness!Since Yunhaijian opened its doors in the town to welcome guests, this room has not accommodated more than one guest!
But in the past two days, the Tianzihao guest room in Yunhaijian has opened its doors, and the distinguished guest staying in it is a tall, thin old man with white hair, a wide robe and long sleeves. A man and a woman entered the inn with the old man. They were young men who were not very old, and they were arranged in guest rooms No. [-] and No. [-] respectively by the innkeeper Mr. Fan.

Today, this pair of young people are also in the Tianzihao guest room. The girl among them, who is jumping and jumping around, is taking a nap next to the large desk. She always carries the handle on her back. The Sui Changsword was placed beside the desk leg within arm's reach. The young man who appeared to be a little older was sitting on the chair by the window, holding the sword horizontally. On the legs of his legs together, his left hand was holding the scabbard, and his right hand held a red apple. However, he did not eat it. He just held it in his hand and dangled it casually. It seemed that he was not paying attention to the fruit. , just looking at the Eight Immortals table in the guest room with empty eyes, without saying a word, in a daze.

At this time, there was a chessboard placed on the Eight Immortals table that the young man was staring at, with nineteen lanes vertically and horizontally. The black and white chess pieces were placed in different positions at intervals, and the chessboard was dotted with thousands of twists and turns.

This chess game has been going on for many hours. The chess players are two old people of different ages. One of them is naturally the tenant of this room, that is, the tall and thin old man with silver hair, whose surname is Qin Ming. Gu Xi is the second head of the Mohist family, one of the most famous schools of thought, known as "non-Confucianism and Mohism." One of the first batch of people.

Sitting opposite him was the round-faced old shopkeeper with a rich figure in the sea of ​​clouds.

The two old men were playing chess in the middle of the game. The white-haired old man holding the black piece in his hand was twisting the chess piece before it fell. He suddenly took back his hand and looked up at the rich old shopkeeper opposite him intentionally or unintentionally. He said with a smile: "Mr. Fan, this time After the chess game has reached this point, it seems that everyone has the upper hand and no one wins or loses. I wonder, sir, where do you think the next move will be?"

The old shopkeeper who was being questioned also had a white chess piece in his hand. He had been rubbing it back and forth for a long time. He was waiting for his opponent's long test to end. Hearing this, he raised his head and looked at the white-haired old man opposite him, shaking his head with a smile. He said: "Mr. Qin's words are very high to me. This old man will only be able to make calculations in his life."

As he spoke, he glanced at the chess piece in his hand and smiled again: "Although the shape of this chess piece is somewhat similar to that of the bead, I still have to let the old man play with it on this small chessboard, so I can't help it. I can still handle it, but if the chessboard is enlarged and moved to a larger game, I will definitely not be able to figure it out clearly!"

The white-haired old man opposite listened to what the old shopkeeper said, and smiled helplessly and shook his head. Then he placed the black stone in his hand on the chessboard and took root. At the same time, he looked at the old shopkeeper and said, "Mr. Fan's words are probably too modest." There are many, and almost everyone above the fourth rank of the Jiuzhou Immortal Family knows that in the vigorous battle for the fate of the country in Shijizhou, although you, Mr. Fan, were not the real chess player, you must be the mastermind of this party. You must do your duty! But now that the gentleman says that he is not proficient in the game of chess, then I am afraid that there are not many people left in the world who dare to say that he is proficient! Besides, the gentleman is not just an abacus. If I remember correctly, this martial arts accomplice You still wear the title of priest on your head, right?"

The round-faced old shopkeeper just smiled when he heard this, neither admitting nor denying it. Following the white-haired old man's move, he also placed the white piece in his hand on the position he had already calculated. The old god was there, Not a word.

The old man surnamed Qin was not disappointed when he saw him like this. After pressing a chess piece again, he smiled and said: "Since Mr. Fan doesn't want to talk about the situation, how about we talk about the little guy from the Zhu family? In my opinion, if you dare to In a fit of enthusiasm, he rejected the young sect leader of Shuixiu Lake who was on the verge of rage in person. This little fat guy is not shy at all."

The old shopkeeper's hand that was about to place the chess piece paused slightly on the top of the chessboard, but failed to press the chess pieces smoothly. He first raised his eyes and glanced at the half-smiling expression on the face of the old guy opposite, then sat up straight and nodded. He smiled calmly and said: "I have been here for hundreds of years. I change my identity every few decades. This Yunhaijian also reopens again. I have watched the people of this town change for more than ten generations. Once again, that little fat guy is the only one who is as cool as his ancestors and is a good business prospect."

The white-haired old man opposite smiled secretly when he heard the words, and what he meant was true, but when he turned around and spoke, he said deliberately as if to undermine him: "But when I look at the little fat man's thoughts, he is not as straightforward as his smart-aleck father. Ah, aren't you afraid of being blinded?"

The old shopkeeper knew that he was doing it deliberately but did not expose it. Instead, he calmly explained: "Those of us businessmen who calculate money have never said that we can make a profit without losing money. If we spend our money and work hard, we can make money without losing money." , even if you can’t make real money, you can always gain experience and lessons, and it’s still a good deal after all.”

After saying that, he placed the white piece in his hand on the chessboard, turned his eyes and glanced at the two young people sitting in the other two places in the guest room, changed the topic and continued: "After six months, Years ago, I have been guessing who from the Mo family will come to Liangzhou? But I didn't expect that when I opened my eyes these days, it would be Mr. Qin who arrived in person. I wonder if you in the Mo family have any conclusions about the old man Chu at the east entrance of the town? "

The old shopkeeper turned the topic here in a few words, which made the white-haired old man somewhat unexpected. His originally smiling expression became serious. While observing the situation on the plate, he frowned and said in a deep voice: " One of the saints from the three sects and his family, a majestic Qi practitioner who asked about the ten realms, died due to an accident, which is really unbelievable!"

This is tantamount to a disguised admission that there is no conclusion.

Shopkeeper Fan understood what he said, but his expression at this time was not very good. He nodded after listening to Old Man Qin's words, and said slowly: "A few days ago, the Red Lotus Sacrifice Wine from Fengxue Tower came here After passing the yard, the old man also heard the news from the sloppy watchman afterwards, saying that the reason why old man Chu died was not because of Yanguan Town, but because of that child... If this statement is not false, If so, then the various opinions that various schools of thought have been making in the past may have been looking in the wrong direction from the beginning..."

The old man, who had half of his mind on the chessboard, was startled when he heard these words. He no longer thought about the direction of the chess game. After looking at the old shopkeeper for a while, he suddenly realized: "No wonder when I entered the town, I saw that young man was dressed like a chess player." The smell was mixed but I couldn't tell the origin. Later I deliberately talked to him, but found that he had no cultivation... No wonder, no wonder!"

The old man said "no wonder" twice in succession, but did not say anything further.

The old shopkeeper glanced at the old man's shocked expression, smiled and said: "As I said before, if this news is true, I'm afraid the situation in Yanguan Town under our feet will be even more complicated and difficult to solve. ”

"Yanguan Town has always been one of the places that everyone has been watching closely. Those who dare to so blatantly kill the guarding saint must not be a sect within the ninth rank. They don't have the guts!" Baifa! The old man looked solemn, and said with a solemn tone, half thinking: "But those who are not popular don't have this ability..."

Having said this, he looked up in surprise at the old shopkeeper opposite.

Shopkeeper Fan nodded, reached out and placed a chess piece on the last position on the chessboard, and said calmly: "There are two possibilities, one is the four princes' palaces, and the other is..."

The old shopkeeper did not finish his speech, but glanced at Old Qin opposite him halfway through his speech.

Both of them had dark clouds in their eyes.

——At the foot of Zhelongbei Mountain in the east of Zhendong, on the official road on the other side opposite the two tombs, the three masters and servants of Shuixiu Lake, who were preparing to leave here and return to Jinchaizhou, were standing and looking back.

This place was already outside the scope of that small town, and was no longer under the supervision of those saints, so in their eyes, Yanguan Town seemed a bit looming and could not be seen clearly.

The young sect leader Ke Yuzhi looked very unhappy and had a gloomy look on his face.

The graceful and elegant middle-aged beautiful woman Zheng Chunrou withdrew her gaze from the distant town. She glanced at her son beside her and said softly, "Don't be too angry. Although Zhu Zhen didn't enter the Xiu Lake." Things are a bit unexpected, but actually it’s not completely unfavorable to us.”

As she said that, she suddenly turned her head and glanced at the unknown old woman behind her, and chuckled: "What do you think, Grandma Xin?"

Ke Yuzhi glanced sideways at his mother, then looked at the old woman, waiting for her answer.

The old woman bowed in silence, hesitated for a moment, nodded and spoke slowly: "Sir, in fact, from the moment Zhu Jiantang chose to cooperate with our Shuixiu Lake more than ten years ago, the outcome of our victory has basically been It’s a foregone conclusion as of now, and it has nothing to do with whether they suddenly changed their minds today or not.”

Mrs. Zheng smiled and nodded, looking at Ke Yuzhi's still unclear expression, so she deliberately used the Xian family's method of transmitting messages into secrets, and explained in detail: "As one of the four surnames of Yanguan, the Zhu family is One of the pillars of this formation is one of the important reasons why the Zhu family has always been rich and prosperous. However, it is a pity that Zhu Jiantang violated the ancestral precepts and was not satisfied with his wealth but still wanted to climb into the clouds. Wouldn't he know that if they don't If we are willing to be content with the status quo and start to think about leaving this place, then the Yanguan Formation in front of us is destined to be unstable, and regardless of whether Zhu Zhen enters Shuixiu Lake or not, the situation of Zhu's departure is also doomed. Coupled with the pressure you put on them before leaving, it will also become one of the motivations for them to work harder to get out of trouble. The final result of all these factors is that the more they work for this, the formation will collapse. The sooner!"

At this moment, Ke Yuzhi, who had always thought he was smart in the city, suddenly felt blessed and understood many things. No wonder he had a grudge against the little fat man when he first arrived at Zhu's. His mother only frowned but did not stop him. No wonder he said he wanted to take the little fat man away. Liu Qingqiu's mother didn't object either.

Mrs. Zheng saw clearly what her son was thinking at a glance. She raised her hand and touched the top of Ke Yuzhi's head. She said with a gentle smile: "It doesn't matter the overall situation. My son can do whatever he wants. You are the meat that fell from your mother's body. And Is there any reason to stop you?"

After hearing this, Ke Yuzhi's originally extremely bad mood finally became clearer. After thinking about it, he regretfully said: "It's a pity that the mud-legged guy named Chu didn't die in my hands, otherwise this trip would really be a waste." It’s complete.”

Mrs. Zheng nodded, thought for a while and then said indifferently: "There is no need to force it. After your father negotiated the deal with them, they just mentioned in passing that we should take care of the young man. But it was not explicitly stated that his life must be taken, so whether it succeeds or not does not affect the overall situation."

Hearing this, Ke Yuzhi thought and nodded slowly, "Then forget it! Anyway, we have done everything we need to do during this trip to Yanguan Town, and then we will just wait for them to fulfill their promise!"

Mrs. Zheng smiled and nodded, "Well, in this way, as long as the other party does not break his promise, we, Shuixiuhu, can be sure that we will be promoted from the fifth level to the fourth level sect within ten years. By then, today What does this lost fortune count for?"

-

Under the big locust tree at the east entrance of the town, two poor men, one big and one small, squatted side by side under the big clock, each holding a blue porcelain bowl filled with a bowl of braised pork.

The sloppy man was still the same messy man who even dogs would envy when he ate. On the contrary, the young man beside him seemed to have no appetite. The chopsticks in his hand kept picking at the meat in the bowl, but he didn't eat much.

Hou Junchen took a few chopsticks of fat into his mouth and devoured it. His mouth was full of oil. He turned his head and saw the young man's movements. He puffed up his cheeks and rolled his eyes. While chewing the things in his mouth, he said vaguely: "Sad,... There is no use worrying! Whether you are fighting or using your brain, you have to eat before you are full? Could it be that if you starve yourself to death, your enemies will be buried with you?"

The young man squatting aside scratched the back of his head in distress when he heard this, then let out a long breath, turned his head and glanced at the man, and said with some sadness: "Old monkey, I am mainly sighing, there is also a third person between us. In four years, this is the first time I’ve seen a return meal!”

The man had already eaten a mouthful of braised pork, but he almost choked to death on these words!

He lowered his head and glanced at the rice bowl in his hand, then while protecting the edge of the porcelain bowl with his hand to prevent the meat from falling out, he raised his other hand, slapped the boy on the back of the head, and cursed: "You... You bitch, I see that you are in a bad mood, so I want to buy you a bowl of meat to satisfy your craving, but what else do you say? If you don’t want to eat, get out of here!"

The young man staggered after being slapped and was not angry. He looked sideways at the man and smiled, "Old monkey, you have been eating my food for three years in vain. Why can't you let me say a word? I used to think that you An old bachelor is just stingy, but if you talk like that today, I will start adding another one, thinking you are stingy!"

While the young man was talking, the man took two more bites of meat. After hearing this, he rolled his eyes, glanced at the young man sideways, and said with a half-smile, "Boy, you owe me ten meals now, but I don't owe you anything." ! You piece of shit has to pay me for holding this bowl of meat now. You are so damn weird here, or else I, a great martial arts master, can't help but punch you to death with my hand!"

The poor boy just smiled when he heard this and did not refute. He turned back and looked towards the east side of the town for a while, then took a deep breath and began to lower his head to compete with the braised pork in the bowl, while picking the meat into his mouth. While muttering vaguely: "The chef in the inn must cook it himself to make the meat delicious. If we cook it ourselves, the cooking quality will always be a little inferior."

The man seemed too lazy to pay attention to him and just kept his head down eating the meat.

Above the two of them was an old, rusty copper bell. While the two of them were bowing their heads, the breeze occasionally blew by, causing the bell to sway. There was no drumstick, but there was an echo.

……
-
PS: Love is always there in thousands of rivers and mountains, can you please collect it~