Spring and Autumn King's Banner

The moon sets and the sun rises, one night passes, the sky is high and the air is crisp, and the spring breeze is approaching.

Early in the morning, it was just dawn.

One step further east from the east entrance of the town, at the end of the street at the entrance of the town, a girl in white with a red cloak was standing under the old locust tree with her back to the courtyard gate of the Chu family on the south side. She looked cold and naturally beautiful. .

The girl now had the sheathed sword she carried behind her back yesterday hanging on her waist.

Looking at it from a distance, the sheathed long sword was made with simple craftsmanship, the blade was slightly square, tasselless, and tough in shape. It was not the style that the little girl liked, but it could be regarded as the girl's sword.

At this time, the girl's attention was entirely focused on the large bronze bell hanging on the old locust tree. The bell shape is simple and the texture is mottled. Various bell patterns such as animal mask patterns, cloud patterns, dragon and phoenix patterns can be vaguely seen on the bell body. More than a dozen kinds, intertwined.

There was also an inscription engraved on the inner wall of the bronze bell. The girl squinted her eyes to identify it carefully, but she still couldn't see it clearly. It seemed that there was the word "Heaven's Punishment", but the rest was not clear.

Probably because she was too focused, the girl didn't seem to hear the sound of the backyard door opening behind her.

The climate in Xiliang is very cold, and the season for growth of all things comes relatively late. At this time, spring has just begun in Yanguan Town, and the greenery is still thin, making it look slightly desolate. A figure dressed in bright red looks particularly special in such a scene. It is eye-catching, like a green dragon opening its eyes, and like the first touch of life in the wilderness before spring.

Such a scene was the first thing the young man in the town saw when he opened the door.

Chu Yuanxiao was a little hesitant to speak, and felt that doing so would disturb the girl's serious viewing.

While she was hesitating, the girl probably noticed someone behind her. When she turned around and saw the young man's face, she was slightly startled, then a little enlightened, and said in the Hexi dialect that she was still not very proficient in: "You live in here?"

The boy nodded.

The girl also nodded, and then looked back at the old locust tree and the bronze bell. When she looked back, there was still a hint of seriousness hanging in the corner of her eyes. She took a careful look at the young man who had gone out and stood at the door. Then he said hesitantly: "You..."

The young man naturally saw the change in the expression of the girl opposite him, but for some reason he felt that this outsider did not look like a bad person. Then he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: No wonder the slovenly man in the thatched house opposite always likes to talk about how good-looking he is. People are born to be disliked...

He didn't think so before, but now looking at the girl in front of him, he felt that there was nothing wrong with this...

The girl didn't finish her words in the end. She simply said hello to the boy and then turned around and headed to the west side of the town.

The young man stood at the door and watched the girl slowly walk away. He shook his head inexplicably, then turned around and locked the courtyard door. He tightened his thin old clothes and picked up the pole leaning against the door to go out of the town and into the mountains.

There is no use talking about it. Living hand to mouth is the real livelihood. Yesterday, he had discussed with Shopkeeper Fan from Yunhaijian that he would send some game to the inn in exchange for money today.

Speaking of livelihood, in the past few years, the young man has traveled to almost all places within dozens of miles around Yanguan Town, including the dozens of semi-abandoned salt wells, and of course the surrounding mountains and rivers. .

Three miles further east along the official road from the east exit of the town, there is a tall and steep sword mountain called Zhelongbei blocking the end of the official road. Because the mountain is so tall that the official road cannot cross it, you can only go from the foot of the mountain. Go around to extend further east.

The two old men who raised the boy until he was ten years old are now buried at the foot of the mountain on Hidden Dragon's back, separated from the official road on the other side by a mountain.

The upper half of this mountain towers into the clouds and is hidden in misty clouds all year round. No one knows what is there, and no one dares to climb up.

There is a saying that has been passed down from generation to generation in Yanguan Town. You cannot climb the mountain with the word "dragon" in its name casually, otherwise you will offend the Dragon King and end up with a violent death!

A few years ago, there was a young man named Xu in the town who did not believe in this evil and insisted on going up the mountain despite the dissuasion of others. As a result, a large group of people stared at him as he entered the clouds halfway up the mountain, but never saw him come down again. In the years since, The mountains were still the same mountains, and the clouds were still the same clouds, but the stubborn guy named Xu never came back.

Not only that, but the entire family left behind by the missing young man named Xu became very sick and crazy, and no one was left alive!

At this point, the villagers believed more firmly that this must be the angry Dragon King sitting on the top of Hidden Dragon's Back Mountain who was punished!
Of course, no one dared to take a look inside the clouds anymore, and no one even had the courage to mention it!

The main street to the north of Wufang Pavilion in the town is at the beginning of the town. There is a large lake with no view of the other side called Xuannv Lake. It is said to be the place where Xuannv in the sky planted lotus in ancient times.

It is said that the water of Xuannv Lake flows from the mountains further north. After arriving at Xuannv Lake, it stops for a while and then flows southward through a small river named Pengying, passing through Yanguan Town, and then bypasses the town. The large red maple forest facing the South Street of the town then flows to a distant place further south.

When Chu Yuanxiao was a child, he would go to the Xuannv Lake or the Pengying River that flows out of the lake to catch fish and exchange them for money at the Yunhai Inn in Zhenxi. Although he went back and forth, he never got a few copper coins in total. , but it did allow him to develop good water skills.

However, the old drunkard and the old Liangtou had specifically told him in the past that the Pengying River was shallow and it didn't matter how he wanted to fish, but the Xuannv Lake was too deep and he could fish if he wanted to. You are not allowed to go more than nine feet offshore, not even once!

The young man is not a stubborn person, so he has always been obedient and obeyed. In fact, there are many fish in Xuannv Lake, and he does not need to go too far from the shore. But sometimes he will be curious about that when sitting on the shore of the lake. Is the rumor that Xuannv planted lotuses true?
Anyway, when the old drunkard was still alive, every time he heard others say this, he would always sneer and call it nonsense and nonsense!
The official road leads from the Yunhaijian gate at the west entrance of the town and then three miles to the west there is a solitary mountain cliff called Jinzhu Cliff. It is thousands of feet long, wide and high, but it is surrounded by cliffs, making it impossible for people to get up. It is like a roadblock.

The official road bypasses this cliff and becomes a flat road leading directly to Liangzhou. It is said that when you reach Liangzhou City and stand at the top of the city and look east, you can still see the Golden Pillar Cliff and the Hidden Dragon's Back of Sword Mountain farther away. From a distance, it looks like a ladder to the sky.

Although the boy used to go anywhere in the mountains and rivers, he never thought about it carefully. But since the young man who jumped on the wall of his house with a red oil-paper umbrella came last time, the boy began to pay attention to some things.

He had never read a book and did not understand the particularities of Feng Shui and Yili. However, he still had a clear mind. He recalled the sayings that had been circulating in the town for many years, as well as the family of the young man named Xu, including the family who brought him up. The two old men had given him certain instructions over and over again, as well as the Wufang Pavilion in the center of the town, which the storyteller said was illegal... He had a vague feeling, was it these? There should be some other explanation for the matter?
……

The girl with the sword who said goodbye gradually walked away. After walking a few dozen steps, she suddenly stopped. She slowly looked back at the back of the young man who had left the east side of the town.

If she guessed correctly, the foreign orphan she heard about in the Li family in the small town should be him. He was also said to be the destiny of the lonely star of the evil god, and it was best not to have too much contact with him.

The girl didn't believe this. She always felt that using nonsense like "this is what fate is" was the most useless way to fool people.

Instead of doing this, she would rather believe in the three-foot long sword in her hand and chop anyone who disobeys to death!So what, God?

She glanced at the young man whose back was almost invisible, then turned and left.

Yanguan Town is blessed with natural resources, and it is a matter of opinion whether it takes care of outsiders or not.

This includes those of them who have just arrived, as well as the poor young man who has been here for more than ten years but has had a bad life.

-

For the first time today, Mr. Cui, the teacher of the rural school in the small town, was not busy teaching classes to the students. This middle-aged Confucian scholar who was accustomed to carrying a folding fan took a rare step out of the street named "Peach and Plum" today. The direction of his steps should be towards the five-square pavilion in the center of the town.

In the school, an old gentleman with a hunched back and a cane was cursing in his mind while giving a lecture to the small town teenagers who were sitting upright in the school: "Therefore, if a gentleman has a great road, he must be loyal to get it..." "

The middle-aged Confucian scholar who walked out of Taoli Street was followed by a young man. He was dressed simply and had a calm face. He should be one of the students in the school.

The Confucian scholar walked to the extremely large intersection and glanced sideways at the storyteller in the northeast corner who always held a small purple clay pot and sold books.

The two scholars, one teaching and the other selling books, had not met each other very often, but today they looked at each other, nodded in greeting, and said nothing more.

Then, the middle-aged Confucian scholar continued to lead the students forward, and finally stopped in front of the five-square pavilion in the middle of the intersection.

Mr. Cui glanced at the couplet on the entrance of the pavilion, turned his head and asked the student named Han Yuanfu who came with him: "What do you think of this couplet?"

Han Yuanfu was a little nervous. He had never been out alone with his husband before. Most of the people who could follow him in and out were the legitimate son of the Chen family and the nerd named Chen Mingji.

During the years when he was studying in a rural school, he had always envied Chen Ji, but he never expected that one day he would go out with his husband and be asked such a question by his husband... because he was afraid that he would not be able to answer this question on his own. Not good, so the young man was a little hesitant and looked hesitant.Seeing this, the middle-aged Confucian scholar smiled gently and said, "It doesn't matter, just say whatever comes to mind. This question is not considered a test, so you don't have to worry about not answering well, and my husband won't be angry."

The young man breathed a sigh of relief, but he still carefully considered every word. After all, there were not many opportunities like this. From the bottom of his heart, he still secretly hoped to make the teacher's memory more profound. "Sir, the student feels that the meaning of this couplet is broad and the purpose is broad." Naturally, it is to create an atmosphere, but the horizontal and vertical lines... don't match well, and placing it in this small five-square pavilion... doesn't seem to match well either."

He tried his best to speak tactfully, so he seemed a little stuttered later on.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar slowly walked into the pavilion while listening to the young man's words. He sat on a round stone bench beside the stone table in the pavilion. He just smiled and did not comment on the young man's answer. After he finished speaking, he continued He changed the subject and asked, "Do you know why those foreigners came to Yanguan Town to recruit disciples?"

The young man was thoughtful and nodded slowly, "I have some guesses..."

"Tell me about it." The Confucian scholar smiled and nodded. He pointed to the opposite side of the stone table with the folding fan in his hand, indicating that the young man could sit down and answer, "It's still the old rule to say whatever comes to mind. You can also tell me your opinion on this matter. .”

The young man bowed respectfully to his husband, and then sat down quietly opposite him, with his butt slightly touching half of the stone bench. His posture was upright, and he answered seriously: "The layout of Yanguan Town is not like an arbitrary arrangement. It is more like it was arranged in advance. Although it is bounded by the original salt fields, it is still not reasonable. "

The Confucian scholar nodded slightly, but said nothing.

The young man glanced at his husband's expression and continued to consider his words: "The town is in a very right direction, with four objects such as Hidden Dragon's Back, Xuannv Lake, Jinzhu Cliff, and Red Maple Forest. Although the names are different, they coincide with the four objects. And this The five-square pavilion seems to be taken from the saying of "the five poles in the middle" of the Nine Palaces, and the Pengying River..."

The middle-aged Confucian scholar smiled and stopped him: "Well, that's enough. The reason cannot be fully explained. It's useless to say more. You can just state the conclusion."

As he spoke, the folding fan in his hand gently pushed a certain chess piece on the stone table to change its position.

Eight guns and five draws, the most conventional start.

There is a chessboard engraved on the top of the stone table in the Wufang Pavilion. A wooden chess set has been placed on the chessboard all year round for people resting in the pavilion to play games and pass the time. No one will charge money, and they only need to place it before leaving. Just return to the original position. The boundaries between Chu, River and Han are clearly defined.

The young man sitting opposite subconsciously stretched out his hand, moving eight to seven, but he did not forget what he was still saying: "The students guessed what kind of formation Yanguan Town should be, which is good for the townspeople of a certain age in the town, and it is about immortals." In terms of family practice, the main purpose of the Immortal Sect's recruitment of disciples may also be because of this."

The Confucian scholar did not speak, but continued to move the chess pieces faster with the folding fan in his hand.

The young man sitting opposite had no choice but to sort out his words and thoughts, while at the same time he had to concentrate on the chess game and keep up with the ever-increasing speed of the chess game played by his master.

With his mind divided and distracted, the young man soon began to sweat on his forehead, his breath was heavy, and he was in a state of embarrassment. However, he still gritted his teeth and persisted, trying not to lose in the chess game. The previous answer to the gentleman's question had already flowed down the river and said what he had said about the previous question. The impressions and guesses of several foreign immortal sects I have seen.

"...A group of immortals from a sect called Shuixiu Lake settled in the Zhu family's home in the south of the town. Zhu Zhen took leave yesterday and did not come to the hometown school. He must have been left by his father to welcome the distinguished guests of the immortal..."

"There also seems to be people from Zhennan's family like Zhao Jicheng. The students have speculated before that Zhao Jicheng's father may have entered the Immortal Sect after he left Liangzhou alone, but why did he come back lamely? And Zhao Jicheng Why his mother is a little... stupid, it should be related to that fairy gate, but it is still unclear whether the fairy families who came to his family yesterday came from the fairy gate that his father went to back then..."

When the young man said this, he finally couldn't hold on any longer. He paused slightly in the chess game, his face flushed, and his breath was not smooth.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar had no expression on his face. He just moved the folding fan in his hand slightly on the chessboard, firing six and drawing five, shooting after the fact, and will!

The young man's face looked a little ugly, his lips moved slightly, but he couldn't say anything.

……

At the same time, outside the entrance of Wufang Pavilion, there was a girl in a red cloak on the east street of the town slowly coming from the east side of the town to the west. When passing by the book stall of the storyteller surnamed Lu, she deliberately walked from On the south side of the main street, I walked to the bookstall on the north side and stopped.

The storyteller's face was covered with a book with the four-character cover "Tiangong Zhi Lu" to protect him from the sun, and he was lying on a swaying bamboo rocking chair in a state of trance.

When the girl arrived at the bookstall, the bookseller could probably feel someone patronizing his business in his sleep. He sat up from the rocking chair and quickly took off the books that were clasped on his face to protect him from the sun, and casually spread them on the desk in front of him. Sit upright, lean forward slightly and look at this beautiful foreign girl, smiling to win over the business: "Did this guest like any book? Don't think my business is not big, but I guarantee that everything will be done." The books are all officially engraved originals, the prices are fair, and they are fair and square!”

The girl smiled and said nothing. She glanced at the books stacked on the table one by one, and paused slightly on the "Tiangong System" spread out. When she opened the page, she was talking about: "Song Zi It is said that the mining of Shoushan started from the beginning of the emperor and has a long history..."

The girl's gaze did not linger too long, and then moved to the small purple clay pot placed by the storyteller on the table. This time she seemed to be interested and looked at it a few more times.

The storyteller has been in business for a long time, and he is naturally proficient in the ability to observe people's emotions. He knew that the girl was not interested in the books he carefully placed on the bookstall outside the bookstore, so he quickly got up, and invited the girl into the bookstore to take a look. Look.

The girl followed the storyteller's instructions and glanced at the open but empty bookstore. Then she smiled at him and shook her head. She had no intention of entering, but casually picked up the books stacked on the table in front of her. He took out a thin book from the book, paid for it, held it casually in his hand, and slowly turned around and left.

The storyteller probably finally made his first business in the past few days. He was a little happy, maybe a little bitter, and his face was a little weird. He put his hands in his hands and smiled and thanked the girl who had turned around, and asked her to read the book if she was satisfied with it. Come again.

The girl didn't look back, her right hand naturally held the scabbard of the sword hanging on the same side of her waist, her thumb lightly rested on the sword's bore, and her left hand held the book she bought at random, and walked slowly towards the middle of the intersection. Wandering in front of Wufang Pavilion.

In the pavilion, the middle-aged Confucian scholar glanced sideways at the dull students across the stone table, and rubbed his brows with a slight headache.

The girl walked to the pavilion and carefully read the couplets hanging on both sides of the pavilion door. Then she raised her head and carefully looked at the four words "Five Directions Revealing the Truth" hanging above the pavilion entrance. She flipped it with her left hand and saw the book. The book disappeared inexplicably, and the thumb of the right hand pressed against the blade of the sword slightly increased its strength. Before the long sword was unsheathed, wisps of sword energy slowly spread out from the slightly loose mouth of the scabbard.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar sitting at the stone table in the pavilion stood up slightly, took two steps sideways to block the stunned young man, and then raised his hands to the girl and gave a slight Confucian salute.

The girl frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment before letting go of her right hand, then clasped her hands into fists and returned the martial arts courtesy. This was regarded as a greeting between the two parties.

The Confucian scholar watched the girl turn around and slowly walk away. The young man's worried voice came from behind: "Sir?"

The middle-aged teacher turned around, looked at the students who had already stood up, and said with a smile: "Next time when I want to be beaten, it would be better to look at the girl's face."

The teenager didn't understand.

The private school teacher touched his nose and looked strange: "The rules of the world are to keep an eye on the weapons of the Xian family monks, especially the sword cultivators. I agree to ask about the sword."

The young man's expression was slightly unnatural when he heard this. Then he couldn't help but was curious and asked again: "Sir, which family does she belong to?"

The middle-aged private school teacher turned his head and took a deep look at this small town student who had always had a lively mind and excellent homework. Then he turned to face the door of the pavilion, looking across the long east street of the small town and looking at the straight building outside the town. Gujue Jianfeng, who was thrust into the sky, opened his mouth and softly spat out four words.

"Xihe Sword Sect."

……

In the south of the town, in Wuming Lane, in front of Beilinguan Gate.

The girl in red cloak who wandered from Wufang Pavilion slowly walked from east to west in front of the Taoist temple. In front of the stone tablet inscribed with "Tao follows nature", she met a luxuriously dressed man with a hunched back and low eyebrows behind him. The rich man who looked down at the old woman passed by, and the young man's lips moved slightly.

The girl stopped suddenly and turned around!
The right hand that was released at Wufang Pavilion directly grasped the hilt of the long sword hanging at the waist this time. He unsheathed the sword without hesitation. The hilt turned half a circle in his hand, while the cold sword body Draw a half full moon directly in front of the girl, and finally the tip of the sword is pointed directly at the handsome boy!

The old woman who had been following the rich young man grabbed the young man's shoulder before the girl drew her sword, and then suddenly exerted force on her feet. The old man and the young man rushed forward a few steps in an instant, and then turned around to look at the man who resolutely drew out his sword. The girl who wields the sword without hesitation.

The girl looked at the wealthy young man opposite who had a playful look on his face after turning the corner, with cold eyes: "Tell me, if I hack you to death here, would it be considered a violation of the saint's rules?"

In just a moment, sword energy overflowed in the nameless alley, like a dragon roaring!
……