Sword of Coming

Chen Ping'an and the others were still forcibly detained by the county governor for three days.

After this turmoil, Liu Gaohua seemed to have changed. He no longer had the same decadent attitude as when they first met. He often went to his father for advice, including moral articles and economic affairs. He asked whatever came to mind, but Liu Gaohua still didn't want to see him. This son, Liu Gaohua, would feel guilty and back down if his father showed impatience for the first time. Anyway, he had annoyed Taishou Liu very much in the past two days.

Most of the time, Liu Gaohua still sticks to the bearded man and Taoist priest Zhang Shanfeng, and then he keeps an eye on the poor scholar Liu Chicheng as if guarding against thieves. He doesn't mind that the poor scholar from Baishui country marries his eldest sister, but he is treating his sister Before marrying into the family in a sedan chair, Liu Gaohua wanted to take advantage of her, but Liu Gaohua would not agree to it.

Since they were friends sharing weal and woe, Liu Gaohua, a son of an official, no longer had so much restraint, and regarded some of the temple affairs and official affairs of Caiyi Kingdom as side dishes, and told Chen Ping'an and the others in private.

This disaster in Rouge County has affected thousands of households. Although the big monsters have disappeared one after another, either suppressed and killed, or escaping and lurking far away, the impact on the people of Rouge County is far-reaching and long-lasting, and people are panicked. Many wealthy and powerful families also began to secretly prepare to move out of the county and go to the prefectural city or even the capital city of Caiyi Kingdom. Even if they did not move their whole families, these wealthy and powerful families thought that they would never leave their eggs in the city. In a basket, this is the common sense of the world.

It is said that after the Caiyi Kingdom's court heard the news, some people from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War, who were not big officials, slowly left the capital's yamen and went south to Rouge County, saying they were investigating the case and appeasing people's hearts. However, Liu Taishou, who has been in the officialdom for half his life, knows that this is just an act by His Majesty the Emperor. The Ministry of Household silver allocated for disaster relief is not even a tael of silver. Rouge County is a mess, and the official residence The money saved is not enough, and he is not the kind of unscrupulous official who extorts excessive taxes, so he has to rely on his beard as the county governor and his old face to ask for help. How can he rely on his reputation to be recorded in the local county annals and write articles? Erect monuments for future generations to admire, and rely on these to ask for money from the county magistrates and gentry in the city. Moreover, the matter of money must be finalized before the imperial envoys from the two yamen in the capital enter the county. Never give it to the emperor. His Majesty's heart is troubled, not to mention causing trouble to the Hubu Yamen, which is already having a hard time, so that he can keep his official title as a prefect.

Life has ups and downs. In officialdom, shopping malls, and on the path of spiritual practice, the ups and downs of someone's life may be the ups and downs of someone else's life.

For example, this time Chen Ping'an and the other three took action, whether it was out of indignation or compassion, it was probably because a good man was rewarded. The bearded swordsman and the Taoist Zhang Shanfeng finally combined and each gained a lot.

Xu Yuanxia got a new magical weapon, a short sword left behind by Mi Laomo's disciple. The original owner was a genuine member of the devil's path. She never thought that after the short sword was taken out of its sheath, it would also be sharp and brilliant, without any traces of it. Evil breath. Then there is General Ma's deputy general, the armored warrior. After two battles, they hit it off and "reported the loss" of a top-notch powerful bow in the army. They secretly presented it to Xu Yuanxia along with five special Mohist arrows stored in the official residence.

Xu Yuanxia was unwilling to accept it at first. The words "military law is like a mountain" are difficult to say elsewhere in Caiyi Country. Judging from General Ma's leadership of the army, it was probably unambiguous. After the deputy general knew his concerns, he laughed and talked with the general. The bearded hero was really compatible with his temperament, so he simply revealed the secret, saying that it was General Ma who had agreed to this. At first, he only dared to ask for an arrow, but it was General Ma who first communicated with Liu Taishou and said hello. With a wave of his hand, the official document submitted to the Ministry of War to report the battle damage changed from sixteen to twenty-one arrows.

Zhang Shanfeng collected two spiritual weapons that were not in good condition. One was badly damaged and was a white jade wine cup as thin as a porcelain piece. It could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own, and eventually condense it into a grain of spiritual energy every half a decade. When Zhang Shanfeng put the dewdrops in his pocket, there was a gap in the wine glass, which must have affected the speed of Qi condensation to a certain extent.

There is also a pair of legendary Qingshenshan bamboo chopsticks, because one chopstick is engraved with "Qingshenshan" and the other is engraved with "Shenxiao Bamboo". At least at first glance, it looks like an old item, but as for Whether it is really taken from Qingshen Mountain, I don’t know whether it is true or not, but bamboo chopsticks do contain abundant spiritual energy.

No matter what, they are the spiritual weapons that all Qi practitioners in the lower five realms dream of.

Chen Ping'an did not take out the cyan wooden box and the gold and silver body fragments. The stakes are very important and good and bad are interdependent. These things are not what caught the mountain turtle or caught the snake eagle in his hometown town. Have fun with friends like Liu Xianyang. Chen Pingan just took out the piece of charred ebony and the white bowl with the true shape of the five mountains.

Xu Yuanxia didn't see the doorway to Baiwan, but she marveled at the heavy piece of wood, saying that it was lightning-strike wood. It was not formed by ordinary lightning striking trees. It must be one of the special five thunders that contains the power of heaven. , and the trees struck by lightning must survive and cannot be dead wood, because dead wood cannot retain the mysterious and mysterious power of thunder. Xu Yuanxia weighed the charcoal-looking ebony in her hand and said with a smile: "Chen Ping An, do you believe it or not, as long as you give it to a farmer’s Qi practitioner, they will help you turn into a vibrant sapling?”

Chen Pingan understood immediately.

It’s a valuable item!

The county governor's office also symbolically presented five hundred taels of silver to these "heroes and righteous men" as a reward for their merits.

The bearded man didn't want to accept it, and neither did the Taoist priest Zhang Shanfeng. Only Chen Pingan accepted it. For this reason, Zhang Shanfeng teased Chen Pingan for being a money-crazy, but Chen Pingan smiled and didn't care.

The boy in the Zhao Mansion was named Zhao Shuxia, and the girl was named Luan Luan. Now, as a blessing in disguise, they both left their lowly status and followed the old man nicknamed "Mr. Fisherman". The girl Luan Luan became the old man's close disciple.

Chen Pingan practiced pile walking in the courtyard of his residence every morning. The boy squatted at the door of the courtyard, holding his chin and watching carefully.

Chen Ping'an also turned a blind eye. This was something in the Shanshan Boxing Manual. He didn't regard the boxing manual as his own, let alone teach other people's boxing techniques casually.

But the boy Zhao Shuxia was determined to "steal his skills from his master", and Chen Pingan actually thought it was not a bad thing.

This kid has a good heart.

So Chen Pingan deliberately slowed down the six-step walk, over and over again.

On the last day, the sun was shining brightly. The beginning of summer has arrived, and all things are growing.

In the dusk, Chen Ping'an said to the boy: "Zhao Shuxia, can you practice that walking stance seriously for a hundred times..."

Chen Ping'an quickly changed his words, "Practice a hundred thousand times?"

The boy nodded vigorously.

Chen Pingan warned: "You can't be fast, you can only be steady, and you can't make mistakes every time, and then add one more time at a time. Within three to five years, practice 100,000 punches. Six steps will only count as one punch." . Remember, if you feel that you have gone astray at any step, you have to do it all over again without any ambiguity."

Chen Ping'an either doesn't speak or acts like a mother-in-law. This should be familiar to the little boy in green and the girl in pink skirt who are now in Luo Luo Mountain.

Chen Pingan thought about it carefully and continued: "Practicing boxing is... a very stupid thing. Zhao Shuxia, you can be smart. Of course you are indeed very smart and much better than me, but the more stupid you become when you practice boxing. The better. You know?”

The boy's eyes were determined, and he clenched his fists and said, "I know! Only by enduring hardship can you become a master!"

This talented, hard-working kid really knows.

Chen Ping'an was amused and asked: "What do you want to do when you become a master?"

The boy blurted out without thinking: "Buy Luanluan a lot of good clothes that will keep you warm in winter!"

Chen Pingan asked again: "What about yourself?"

The boy wiped his mouth and said longingly: "Have a full meal every time!"

Chen Pingan stopped his smile and frowned slightly, "That's it?"

The boy came from a poor background and was very good at observing people's emotions. He felt a little embarrassed at the moment, fearing that this great benefactor would think he was worthless, but he really didn't have any distracting thoughts. The boy never wanted to deceive Chen Pingan, so he lowered his head and said guiltily: " It’s really gone.”

"How can I have enough food?"

Chen Ping'an's deliberately stern face suddenly softened a lot. He rubbed the child's head and joked: "You have to have meat with every meal!"

The boy immediately grinned with joy.

Taoist priests Zhang Shanfeng, Liu Gaohua, and Liu Chicheng were squatting side by side on the gallery chairs.

Luan Luan was held in the arms of sister Liu Gaohua, a little far away from the three elders.

After seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help laughing.

This chance encounter, although there were twists and turns, was not easy as it was easy to get together and easy to break up.

At noon that day, the scholar Liu Chicheng left the county town with Chen Ping'an and the others. Liu Gaohua, his eldest sister, Zhao Shuxia and Luan Luan, as well as the fisherman who was a Confucian scholar, all came to see him off and sent them outside the city. There is a pavilion on the roadside five miles away, with willow trees lingering near the pavilion.

Liu Chicheng and Miss Liu said goodbye under the shade of a tree. They didn't know what words of love they said. Although the woman was sad, she was also smiling, and her eyes clearly showed a lot of thoughts and expectations.

Chen Ping'an found Mr. Fisherman alone and handed him five hundred taels of silver notes and a golden talisman. He said that these were the apprenticeship ceremony for Zhao Shuxia and Luan Luan, and he begged him to accept them. The old man also had an open-minded temperament and accepted it without hesitation. He smiled and said to reassure Chen Ping'an that he would definitely treat Shuxia and Luanluan's children as his own and would never wrong them. Chen Ping'an finally cupped his fists and said: "Sir's style is as high as the mountains and as long as the rivers."

This is what Chen Pingan said from the bottom of his heart.

So for the first time, Chen Pingan spoke in a literate manner, but without any embarrassment.

The old gentleman held a child in one hand and watched the four of them walk away. He chuckled and said, "You are a true warrior with both immortality and chivalry."

Liu Gaohua gently pushed the eldest sister's arm with his elbow and asked with a smile: "Sister, what kind of ecstasy soup did Liu Chicheng pour into you, so that you can hold back your tears?"

The woman smiled and said: "Liu Lang said that when he becomes famous, he will definitely come back to marry me. When the time comes, he must be in love with his father-in-law and let us have a good son-in-law at the wine table."

Liu Gaohua grinned, "Do you really believe the nonsense of scholars?"

The woman held her hands on her heart, looked at the back of the scholar with the wicker wreath on his head, and murmured: "That's what the books say."

Liu Gaohua said helplessly: "A great man, no matter how old he is, is not ashamed to wear a wicker wreath. What future can such a poor man have?"

The woman stepped on her brother's instep and said angrily: "Don't talk about your brother-in-law like that."

Liu Gaohua was so painful that he quickly retracted his feet, stood further away, and held the back of his head with both hands, feeling relaxed.

As a result, he was slapped hard on the head.

Liu Gaohua turned around and was about to curse, but it turned out that his whole body seemed to be pulled by his neck and he couldn't open his mouth. He blushed and held it in for a long time, and shouted angrily: "Dad."

The woman was even more nervous.

Liu Taishou, who had taken off his official uniform and put on a scholar's green shirt, stood between his two sons and daughters, "Are you friends with Chen Pingan?"

Liu Gaohua was not sure about his father's celebrity temperament and the meaning of his words for a while, so he said cautiously: "Really?"

Liu Taishou glanced at his son, smiled, and without saying another word, turned and walked towards Mr. Fisherman, chatting with the old man about moral articles.

The woman secretly patted her heart, relieved.

Liu Gaohua asked softly: "Sister, did I say something wrong again?"

She gloated: "The debts are too heavy to bear, that's it. What are you afraid of?"

Liu Gaohua wailed.

The two siblings did not dare to get close to their father for fear of being looked down upon, and even more afraid of falling into a trap, so they followed him not far or close behind.

The boy Zhao Shuxia suddenly slowed down quietly, came to Liu Gaohua, and whispered: "Brother Liu, my husband praised you, saying that you have a filial heart and a good nature. What did your father say? You can barely do it to disgrace the family." It’s just the wind.”

As a result, Liu Gaohua was a big man. He had just said behind his back that Liu Chicheng had no future, but now he ran quickly to the river and said he needed to wash his face.

The group of people took a rare break and walked slowly back to Rouge County along the official road, passing by a handsome young man one after another.

The young man was holding a large handful of wicker sticks in his hand, and there was a maroon mark between his eyebrows.

She looks really beautiful.

Three days later at night, Chen Ping'an and four others were on a secluded mountain road to Shushui Country and stopped in a dilapidated ancient temple. Liu Taishou said something before. I heard that there is a strange "ferry" in Dilong Mountain in Shushui Kingdom that is not found in official records. It is most likely the place Chen Ping'an is looking for. It is where the gods on the mountain take boats. The starting point for a long journey in the sea of ​​clouds.

Xu Yuanxia will bid farewell to the two of them there and go to Qingluan Kingdom in the southeast of Aquarius Continent alone to send her friend's ashes back to her hometown.

Xu Yuanxia likes to travel around mountains and rivers on foot, and also likes to write landscape travel notes to record the dangerous and majestic scenery and landforms, so she has never been willing to take the Xianjia Ferry. Liu Chicheng was going to the southwest area of ​​Aquarius Continent, a place name that no one had heard of, not even the well-informed Xu Yuanxia.

At night, there were some people infiltrating this long-abandoned ancient temple. The four Buddhist statues of heavenly kings had all fallen to the ground. Moreover, the temple occupied a large area and was empty. There was a gloomy wind, and the breeze passed through the corridors, plus the mountains and forests. Occasionally, a night owl suddenly sounded, which scared Liu Chicheng to the point where his mouth trembled. Even though he lit a bonfire, he still tried his best to get closer to the bearded man. He always felt that this guy was the most fierce-looking and would definitely be able to suppress the ghosts. Yin objects, such as Chen Ping'an and Zhang Shanfeng, are probably unreliable.

As for the "fat and pink old ghost" who temporarily resided in his body, Liu Chicheng never thought that he was very powerful. He was not even a golden elixir-level god. Do you still need him, Liu Chicheng, to save him? So how strong can it be? Besides, who among the real immortals is not an immortal? Who the hell puts on a pink Taoist robe and swaggers through the market? Anyway, Liu Chicheng was so embarrassed.

What Liu Chicheng saw and heard was clearly understood by the guy whom he nicknamed the "Old Ghost".

But after the old ghost put on the pink Taoist robe and appeared for a long time, Liu Chicheng completely lost his memory several times until the old ghost was willing to return his body.

This made Liu Chicheng’s teeth itch with hatred. In the future, he would marry a beautiful wife, have a house full of beautiful concubines, and add many plump and thin maidservants. What if he had just fallen in love? The bed, I'm still touching my little hand, my eyes go dark, I don't know anything anymore, and when I open my eyes, I got dressed and got out of bed in broad daylight, what kind of nonsense is that? The key is that he, Liu Chicheng, has no use complaining to anyone about this unique loss in the world.

Liu Chicheng squatted with his butt raised and stretched out his hands to warm himself by the fire. His face was filled with sadness. He was really worried.

The ancient temple was shrouded in darkness. Liu Chicheng raised his head and looked left and right, which became more and more terrifying. Fortunately, Xu Yuanxia was drinking, and Taoist Zhang Zhang was drawing his peach wood sword over there and practicing swordsmanship, which made Liu Chicheng feel a little more at ease. Chen Pingan went to the distance to find firewood and dead branches for cooking. Liu Chicheng really admired this young man named Chen. He was not afraid of anything, and he was very single-minded. He practiced the two boxing frames every day, going back and forth. , Immovable, Liu Chicheng felt that if he could study half as hard as Chen Ping'an practiced boxing, he would have been studying at Guanhu Academy long ago.

Liu Chicheng soon saw Chen Pingan trotting back. In addition to a large handful of dead branches, he also brought back an ancient object four or five feet high, and asked what it was and whether it was worth anything. Liu Chicheng rolled his eyes and said angrily: "It's just a long pole to hold the oil lamp. Poor families only have short poles, but they are not so particular. According to some official and unofficial records, a long time ago, the Buddhist jungle temple used to be Many of the richest people in the Aquarius Dynasty are richer than the emperor. This is not contrary to the heavens, so they have destroyed the Buddha several times. If the long thorn in your hand was brand new, it would be okay, but now it is broken Copper and rotten iron are not worth a few pennies."

Chen Ping'an felt a little regretful. After putting down the dead branches, Peipianpidian took the long stick back to its original place and put it there again.

Liu Chicheng touched his forehead, feeling that it was quite embarrassing for him to walk around with such a country bumpkin.

After the food was cooked, Liu Chicheng picked out his dinner and began to pack the bedding and prepare for his spring and autumn dreams.

The bearded man drank enough wine, fell back, and began to fall asleep, snoring like thunder.

Today Taoist Zhang Shanfeng is responsible for guarding the first half of the night, and Chen Ping'an is responsible for the second half of the night.

Chen Pingan first helped collect the dilapidated statues of Bodhisattvas and Heavenly Kings and pile them up in corners that could protect them from wind and rain. After doing this, start practicing pile walking on the uneven open space.

Now, according to Liu Chicheng, Chen Ping'an's punches are so slow that he can get a full night's sleep.

During the late stage of Chen Pingan's boxing practice tonight, he suddenly started to speed up. Eventually, he was as fast as thunder, and the wind roared around his body. After a while, Chen Pingan began to slow down again.

Zhang Shanfeng walked over and looked at it for a while, then asked with a smile: "Why, are you a little upset?"

Chen Ping'an stood still and put away his boxing frame, and said helplessly: "I touched a certain threshold, but I just can't cross it. I can't get up or down, so I feel a little uncomfortable."

Zhang Shanfeng smiled and said: "You kid, you are trying to break through the realm. Young masters of the fourth level of martial arts under the age of twenty are very powerful even in the arena of Luzhou in our Beiju."

Chen Ping'an sighed, "Before I went out, someone told me that before arriving at Old Dragon City, it is best to be able to reach the realm of pure martial arts."

suddenly.

The Tingyao bell that Zhang Shanfeng placed on top of his luggage in the distance began to vibrate violently, and the bell rang loudly.

Zhang Shanfeng's heart tightened, "There is a demon approaching the temple!"

Chen Pingan nodded, "Put away the demon bell first, so as not to alert the enemy."

The bearded man quickly sat up and laughed, "Business is really booming for the three of us. We can't stop the fortune when it comes!"

After laughing, Xu Yuanxia put on her beard, held the handles of the long and short knives at her waist with both hands, and said in a deep voice: "But remember, saving lives comes first when killing demons."

Chen Ping'an and Zhang Shanfeng looked at each other and smiled, and the young Taoist priest said hey, "I also have a magic talisman."

Chen Pingan held it in for a while and said in a depressed tone: "I can run fast!"