Sword of Coming

Chen Ping'an was lying on the bed, that strange dream still lingering in his mind.

The last time, I was reading in a dream on the ferry on Osmanthus Island. I don’t know what the deeper meaning is this time, or maybe it’s just a dream and I’m suspicious?

Chen Pingan sat up. Since he couldn't sleep, he simply came to the table and started counting his belongings.

During the day, definite news came from Jiuniang. Tomorrow morning, the Yao family's team heading to Beijing will pass through Hu'er Town. At that time, the two parties will go together to Mirage City, and then part ways at a famous ferry outside the capital. Chen Pingan and his party Continuing to go north, they went into the mountain to visit the Immortal Peak. The old general Yao Zhen had already arranged two identities for them. The second half of the walk down the mountain would be smooth as well.

Chen Pingan lit the oil lamp, put the sword gourd on the table, and flew out the Flying Sword Fifteen. Chen Pingan took out the golden wine robe, feeling a little distressed. He felt sorry for the damage of this overseas immortal relic, and even more distressed for the repair of the golden wine. A copper coin. The Guyu money has been used up. It is not Xiaoshu money, let alone Xue money. It is one of the small bags of gold refined copper coins that Zheng Dafeng gave to Chen Pingan in return for his breakthrough in Laolong City. pellets.

Chen Pingan touched the neatly stacked robes and sighed.

No wonder it is said that spiritual practice is all about making money from mountains of gold and silver. No one should talk about having too much money to spend.

However, Chen Ping'an had no reason to think of Liu Youzhou, who lived in the Ape-tortured Mansion of Hanging Mountain. It was estimated that his father was the same age as the God of Wealth in Aaizhou, so he had the right to worry about having too much money.

Chen Pingan took out the bag of gold and copper coins, poured them gently on the table, and stacked them one by one to form a small building, less than a palm high. Chen Pingan smiled knowingly, but the building was a bit small and short. A little more, otherwise he would be happier.

These priceless gold and fine copper coins do not contain any support money or spring greeting money, but are all victory coins. The front and back sides are respectively engraved with the words "to eliminate disasters and eliminate evil" and "the world is peaceful". The words and Chen Ping'an were first used in Lizhu The winning money that Dongtian came into contact with was different. It seems that every year the coins were minted, there were changes.

Chen Ping'an learned a seemingly simple but actually extremely orthodox refining formula from the sword-wielding man at Daoxuan Mountain. The previous refining of the golden copper coin only took a cup of tea. The golden robe was damaged and torn in places, and the warp and weft threads came to life like willow branches sprouting. It was very miraculous.

Chen Pingan estimated that the robe would be restored to its original state within ten days at most. Another unexpected surprise was that Chen Pingan discovered something strange about the golden dragons on the robe. The largest dragon held the Li Pearl and two The golden light in the slightly smaller golden dragon's eyes is not obvious. After "eating" the gold essence and copper coins, it is like the finishing touch, especially the spiritual energy contained in the golden Li bead is as thick as water.

This discovery made Chen Ping'an, who had never been obsessed with worldly spiritual weapons and magic weapons, a little excited, because the quality of this golden robe was as good as the martial arts realm of Wei Xian, Zhu Lian and others. What is the most important thing to know? Immortal soldiers! The rich Fu family in Old Dragon City had accumulated thousands of years of experience, but they had never owned a single immortal weapon worthy of the name.

However, Chen Pingan does not expect Jinli to grow into a magic robe with the appearance of an immortal weapon. After all, God knows how many gold essence copper coins need to be supplemented, and now that Lizhu Cave Heaven no longer exists, the three types of gold essence copper coins are very likely to be discontinued. , will never appear again.

Even if he is lucky enough to build the Immortal Bridge, he still needs to refine the five magic weapons belonging to the Five Elements. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as difficult as ascending to the sky. However, for Chen Pingan, this is actually not bad, but it is just a matter of practicing it. Practice millions of punches after millions of punches. As long as you can clearly see the path under your feet and know where you should go next, don't think about how far or how difficult it is.

Chen Pingan continued to take out some long-collected items.

The golden gallbladder presented by Shen Wen, the City God, is the fragment of the golden body left behind in the human world after the death of the god.

Most of the pile of green bamboo slips that can be traced back to Qingshen Mountain have been engraved with poems and lines by Chen Pingan.

Shen Gaozong Huang Guanhe Xiaoliang returned the snake gallstone to him.

Chen Pingan finally took out the water-character seal carved by Mr. Qi himself and placed it gently in the center of the table. Chen Pingan lay on the table. As the saying goes, mountains and rivers do not separate families. The mountain-character seal has been destroyed in Jiaolonggou. The water-character seal has been destroyed in Jiaolonggou. Yin seemed a little lonely.

Chen Pingan was in a daze and came up with the idea that he would find an opportunity to buy a white jade hairpin while he was on the road. The material was of ordinary quality. After carving the eight characters, he could pin it in his bun. It was not to show off, it was purely I felt that the outfit I was wearing now, even if I didn’t wear the golden robe, was still a blue shirt with a hosta attached to it. I was not a scholar, so it was okay to pretend to be a scholar. So I returned to Baoping Continent and went to Sui Cliff Academy to find Li Baoping and the others. , finally no longer have to worry about causing them to be looked down upon by their classmates.

After reading so many books and seeing so many sages and teachings, Chen Pingan still likes those eight words the most.

The words that speak to a gentleman are as warm as jade.

Just thinking that there is an academy gentleman who works on the floor in the inn, Chen Pingan is a little curious about Dafu Academy. If it is not inappropriate to delay the trip in Tongyezhou, Chen Pingan really wants to visit the academy.

Same thing, Chen Ping'an put away everything and put it back among the square items.

In order to settle the old and new accounts, Zheng Dafeng had not only a bag of gold and copper coins, but also a legendary item that was close at hand, which was a jade tablet with no seal writing and was extremely simple and elegant.

It's just that Chen Pingan is used to dealing with Feijian Fifteen, and it goes smoothly, so he never touches the things close to him. The immortals of Nascent Soul may not be able to have a treasure, so they just hide it for Chen Pingan.

The Manna Armor "Xiyue" was temporarily handed over to Wei Xian, the narrow sword Zingxue was hung on Lu Baixiang's waist, and the Chixin Sword was carried on Sui's right side behind his back.

If the color of the golden demon-binding rope made by the old dragon's beard was not too eye-catching, it would not match Jin Li's usual snow-white color or the two cyan robes purchased from a market store. Otherwise, it could be used as a belt. .

After collecting a rich family fortune, Chen Ping'an was in a good mood. The only way to relieve his worries was money and wine.

He stood up, walked to the window and opened it, and suddenly found that Pei Qian next door had not moved at all. The walls of the inn were not well insulated, and the little girl would often snore slightly when sleeping. Chen Pingan thought that Pei Qian was like before, acting like a mouse at night, so he went to the first floor. He had eaten something secretly in the kitchen, but after waiting for about a stick of incense, he heard the sound of the inn door opening and closing. Chen Pingan flicked his fingers and extinguished the lights in an instant, and soon heard the sound of Pei Qian going upstairs.

When the door next door closed, Chen Pingan calmed down, lit the oil lamp again, took out three books, and flipped through them.

It can be regarded as the "Mountain Shaking Fist" borrowed from Gu Can, the "Authentic Alchemy Book" presented by Li Xisheng, and the "Swordsmanship Sermon" given by Zheng Dafeng.

Now I am familiar with the chapters in the book, but except for the sleeping pile "Qianqiu" of Shanshanquan that I have recently started to study, there is almost no progress in the two matters of talisman and swordsmanship compared to before I accidentally entered the blessed land of lotus root. It is really indistinguishable. In his heart, Chen Ping'an believed that some of the talismans in the "Authentic Book of Alchemy" were of slightly higher quality than the pagoda demon-suppressing talisman. Next, he could try writing and have a chance to complete it in one go.

Chen Pingan studied all night until dawn. Before dawn, he noticed a slight rustling sound coming from the next door. Not long after, there was a knock on the door. Chen Pingan put away the three books, got up and opened the door, only to see Pei Qian, who seemed to be ready to go, had already packed his cotton bag and held a hiking pole. He looked up with a bright smile and asked, "When are we leaving for Mirage City?"

Chen Pingan asked: "Didn't I tell you to stay at the inn?"

Pei Qian's smile did not change and he continued to act stupid, "Do you want me to ask the little cripple to get up and cook for us? We can only go on the road after eating. I heard that Hu'er Town is two to three thousand miles away from Daquan Capital, which is far away. "

Just as Chen Pingan was about to speak, a yawning scholar appeared at the top of the stairs and walked up to the two of them. Zhong Kui slapped Pei Qian on the back of the head. With sleepy eyes, he asked Chen Pingan: "What's going on with the Yao family?" Morning? Yao Zhen really wants to be the Minister of the Ministry of War."

Pei Qian, who was slapped for no reason, was furious. He picked up his hiking stick and was about to hit Zhong Kui in the middle. But after catching a glimpse of Chen Ping'an, he immediately stopped and complained in a low voice: "A gentleman talks but never moves. , the book says, you are such a scholar, you deserve to be looked down upon by Jiuniang. The little cripple is right, you poor scholars are the most disgusting in the world."

Zhong Kui ignored the little girl's nagging, slapped Pei Qian's head, and said with a smile: "Chen Ping'an, you'd better take her with you. I don't want to watch movies like this girl every day. It's too nerve-wracking. I guess Qingmeijiu She's almost drunk, and besides, things are not peaceful over there in Hu'er Town, so keeping her here goes against your original intention."

Pei Qian immediately stood up, straightened his chest, looked at his nose and heart, and tried his best to appear well-behaved and honest.

Chen Pingan did not give an answer immediately, "I'll think about it again."

Zhong Kui nodded and smiled: "You have to think about it carefully."

Chen Ping'an went downstairs to go for a walk. As soon as Zhong Kui opened the door of the inn, Jiuniang and three other people had already gotten up and started working on breakfast.

Four people, including Zhu Lian, opened the door to the second floor almost at the same time.

It suddenly became lively.

When Pei Qian and Zhong Kui went downstairs, she secretly tugged on Zhong Kui's sleeve. After he turned around, Pei Qian whispered: "I'll put in a good word for Jiuniang later."

Is this considered reciprocation?

Zhong Kui gave her a thumbs up, "Justice!"

Chen Ping'an went out for a stroll for several miles. He walked slowly on the official road with six steps walking back and forth, feeling refreshed.

I took a few more glances at the outline of Hu'er Town in the distance.

Chen Ping'an almost couldn't hold back. He wanted to take out the Yang Qi Lantern Talisman, which was the only gold-made Lantern Talisman, to see what kind of sacred thing was hidden in Hu'er Town. If it was really a profound demon, Ordinary lamp-raising talismans may not be able to show it. If the gentleman of Dafu Academy can stay here and guard it, he must not be some "Five Realm Great Demon" from Caiyi Kingdom.

However, this idea was forcibly extinguished by Chen Pingan. If he really sacrificed the golden lamp-burning talisman, once there was a giant demon lurking in Hu'er Town, the talisman would burn, which would be both a warning and a provocation. Chen Pingan would eat it. You will only cause trouble for yourself if you are full and hold on. Besides, a piece of rare golden talisman paper is missing every time you use it. It is not so wasteful.

After Chen Pingan returned to the inn, he sat on the threshold and felt a headache.

It turned out that Pei Qian and Zhong Kui were sitting at the same table. Zhong Kui had a little drink and was misleading people over there. Pei Qian listened attentively and looked enlightened.

Zhong Kui asked: "Do you know why it is said that a gentleman uses his words but not his hands?"

Pei Qian replied: "Scholars can't fight."

Zhong Kui lowered his voice and said mysteriously: "The real meaning of this sentence is that as long as a gentleman opens his mouth, the other party will be dead."

Pei Qian was confused, "If a gentleman quarrels so much, can he still curse someone to death?"

Zhong Kui stepped on the bench with one leg, his face was full of pride, and he raised his eyebrows, indicating to the little girl to pour him wine before telling the truth.

Pei Qian rolled his eyes, full of disgust, and looked sideways at Zhong Kui. Her dark little face clearly said "Who are you?"

Zhong Kui was not annoyed. He stretched out his finger and tapped the black coal-like little girl. He laughed and said, "You don't like to suffer."

Pei Qian got angry, stood up, bent down and slapped Zhong Kui's fingers off.

Zhong Kui moved his body and pointed at Pei Qian, who kept waving his palms.

Jiuniang looked at Zhong Kui from the counter in the distance, but she didn't think that the childlike innocence of a grown man was worthy of impressing a woman.

But since Zhong Kui can do this, he shouldn't be such a bad person.

Pei Qian had never met such a shameless scholar. She was so tired that she sat back down and said with a smile: "Since a gentleman is so powerful, why do you say you would rather offend a gentleman than a villain?!"

Zhong Kui smiled and said, "That's because you didn't meet me."

Pei Qian twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Just make this nonsense. Can you read more books than my father?"

Zhong Kui slapped himself in the face, speechless, more like facing the sages and sages on the altar without shame, "I lose."

Chen Ping'an walked to Jiuniang and took out the silver that she had prepared a long time ago. Jiuniang did not shirk this time. This small amount of silver, twenty or thirty taels, since the Yao family's benefactor in front of her was willing to give it, she had no choice but to accept it. She smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Chen, when you come to Beijing this time, I hope you can help me take care of Lingzhi a little bit. She has an arrogant temper and is really unpleasant. If the young master is too accommodating, it will be treated as if I am pushing my limits."

Chen Pingan nodded in agreement, then smiled and stretched out his hand.

Jiuniang was confused.

Chen Pingan smiled and said: "The reward for taking care of Miss Yao is only twenty or thirty taels of silver, which is unreasonable."

Jiuniang had not smiled so heartily for many years. She slapped the money heavily into Chen Pingan's palm. The woman was overjoyed, "Oh, I never thought that the young master is a shrewd businessman!"

Chen Pingan really put away his money and joked: "When you are away from home, you need to make money in a wise way."

Zhong Kui turned to look at Jiuniang and Chen Ping'an enjoying themselves, and shouted to the kitchen: "Breakfast will be served later, remember to give me a bowl of vinegar, a big one!"

After everyone had breakfast, the formation of horse hooves on the official road outside the inn became increasingly clear.

Parting is imminent.

Chen Ping'an suddenly remembered something and asked Zhong Kui tentatively: "Can you write a Spring Festival couplet for me?"

Chen Ping'an thought to himself that the scholar in green shirt in front of him was a gentleman of the academy. He must have excellent writing and ink, so he should give himself a good omen for the coming year.

Zhong Kui's eyes lit up, "Would you like to pay me?"

Jiuniang laughed angrily: "Are you obsessed with money?!"

Zhong Kui angrily ran to the counter, rubbed his hands and said: "Jiu Niang, I will serve you with pen and ink."

Jiuniang rolled her eyes and said, "You are a bookkeeper and you can't find it yourself?"

The inn has pen and ink and red paper cut into blank Spring Festival couplets, because in the past, the old hunchback would do it himself during the New Year, and he could write well. After all, he is the third brother of Yao Zhen. Although the Yao family is a powerful family in the border army, but The Yao family did not neglect poetry and articles, marching formations, and military strategies. If the Yao family's children were really vulgar warriors, they would not be able to do it.

Chen Pingan said there was no need to prepare pen and ink, he had it.

Before saying this, he had quietly turned his wrist and took out the small snow cone from the square object.

Pei Qian flatteredly took the pair of red paper Spring Festival couplets and spread them on a wine table.

She did not forget to tell Zhong Kui, who was standing in front of the table with his sleeves rolled up, "You should pay more attention and write better. You will hang it on my door wall in the future!"

Zhu Lian and the four others came over, curious about what this gentleman would write.

As for how Chen Pingan got the brush and why he could write without dipping it in ink, Jiuniang pretended not to see anything.

After Zhong Kui took the pen, his anger dropped from his Dantian, his expression was solemn, he gave a light drink, his pen moved quickly, and he wrote five words.

The words are very correct, but the character, character, charm and so on seem to be out of the question.

The content is "The pen falls in the storm".

Obviously, this is not the text that Spring Festival couplets should have. It seems that Zhong Kui finally caught an opportunity and vigorously shook off his status as a scholar.

Zhu Lian kept stooping and carefully studied the five words, smiling.

Sui Zuoyi has turned his head and looked towards the door of the inn. The Yao family will be arriving soon.

Jiuniang said expressionlessly: "Little cripple, go get a broom. Someone's skin is itchy."

Zhong Kui said with an innocent face: "Don't, I wrote it very carefully. If it doesn't work, I will write another one. The money from the two Spring Festival couplets on the table will be on my account."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "It's very good, just this one, just write five more words."

Jiuniang stared at Zhong Kui, who quickly pushed the little cripple who was gloating at his misfortune and said, "Go to your master's room and get a pair of foundations. Forget it, just two paintings. In case Jiuniang is not satisfied, I’ll change it again.”

Zhong Kui first wrote the first couplet behind it, and the poem became a poem that wept ghosts and gods.

Maybe he felt that his writing was "big". Zhong Kui laughed dryly and found a step for himself, "My hand is raw, I didn't write well, I didn't write well, I'm not half as good as usual."

The next two Spring Festival couplets were written by Zhong Kui in a formal and festive way. They were serious Spring Festival couplets, not the first such casual couplets.

"The New Year is full of joy, and the festival is called Changchun."

After writing the second one, Zhong Kui was extremely satisfied and said that the content of this spring couplet was the ancestor of all spring couplets in the world.

The third picture is the most satisfactory to Jiuniang, because it is very clever and suitable for the situation. It means that the country is prosperous, the family is prosperous, the country is prosperous, the old and young are safe, and the young and old are safe.

Even Pei Qian thought it was pretty good and finally gave Zhong Kui some good looks.

Chen Pingan carefully put away the three Spring Festival couplets and thanked Zhong Kui with fists in his hands.

Zhong Kui accepted it calmly.

Then the two looked at each other.

Chen Ping'an reminded helplessly: "Pen."

Zhong Kui asked: "I have given you three spring stickers with such beautiful meanings, why can't you give me a writing brush?"

Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "No."

Zhong Kui still wanted to bargain, but he found that Jiuniang's face was clouded. She probably had to sweep him out without the little cripple looking for a broom. He sighed and reluctantly handed the small snow cone back to Chen Ping'an. He murmured: "The lower strokes on the stick have the word "神", which is destined to me. What a perfect match. Chen Ping'an, you are beating a mandarin duck with a stick, which is very unpleasant to the scenery."

Chen Ping'an did not hide it deliberately. He put away the small snow cone given by Li Xisheng and said with a smile: "I really can't give it to you."

Seeing Zhong Kui's pitiful look, Jiuniang smiled and said: "The basic money for the Spring Festival couplets is free. Not only that, for the sake of three pairs of Spring Festival couplets, today you can get a jar of green plum wine that has been brewed for five years."

Zhong Kui immediately beamed.

The official road outside the inn was filled with dust.

Yao Lingzhi, a girl carrying a knife, and Yao Xianzhi, a young man, dismounted their horses and came to the inn gate to greet Chen Pingan and his party.

Jiuniang told Yao Lingzhi to be careful on the road and choked up.

The girl's eyes were also red, she lowered her head and turned around, no longer looking at her mother's sad face.

Yao Zhen, wearing casual clothes, stood next to a carriage. In addition to three deliberately empty carriages, the Yao family's team entering Beijing this time also prepared five tall horses specially for Chen Ping'an, all of whom were top brass in the Daquan border army. When it comes to war horses, even the top nobles in the capital might not be able to own one.

Yao Zhen did not expect that except for the skinny little girl and the stunning woman with a long sword on her back, the other four Chen Pingan chose to ride their war horses northward.

Yao Zhen had no objection to this. After greeting Chen Ping'an, the old general sat back in his carriage and prepared more than a dozen military books, all of which were handed down from the Yao family's ancestors. Each book had written about many of the Yao family's ancestors. Marginal notes and insights when flipping through the book can be found on almost every page.

Maybe this is the orderly inheritance of the high-ranking family and the long-lasting incense.

This time, Yao Zhen only brought three children of the Yao family. The three belonged to the same generation. Yao Jinzhi was riding alone in a carriage, and Yao Xianzhi and Yao Lingzhi were riding together at the back of the team.

Seven or eight monks accompanying the army were scattered among the ranks.

Yao Zhen and Chen Pingan said frankly that two of them were secret worshipers of the Daquan Dynasty. If he had not come to the capital with the order this time, even he, the highest-ranking border general in Daquan, would not have the authority to mobilize those two monks.

The remaining sixty or so cavalry were all veterans of the frontier army who were familiar with bowing and horsemanship. There were also a few family members of these veterans, most of whom were the Yao family's stewards, handymen and maids.

Chen Pingan was among the team, riding slowly.

Even though Zhu Lian was sitting on the horse, he still hunched over, bumping and swaying along with the horse's back. He seemed to be the most casual and amiable among Chen Pingan's four guards.

Lu Baixiang was resting his mind with his eyes closed.

Wei Xian is the most at home among the cavalry, naturally.

Over at the inn, Jiuniang refused to look away for a long time.

The old hunchback squatted at the door and smoked a dry cigarette. The curling smoke covered the wrinkled face of vicissitudes of life, like mountain fog filling the mountains and ravines.

The little cripple climbed to the roof and looked far away. He had just left and was already looking forward to the next reunion with the sword-bearing sister.

Zhong Kui came to the small tomb. The stone tombstone had fallen over. He even dug up the soil and took away the objects in the tomb.

It's a bit fun, kid.

Zhong Kui touched his head, turned to look at the mighty marching team, looked away, put his hands behind his back, staggered back to the inn, and said to himself: "The sun rises in the East China Sea, and thousands of miles are melted with gold. When the moon sets over the western mountains, ape chirps and rises in the night. It’s a pity that we didn’t fight, otherwise it would have been a sure-fire masterpiece.”

Zhong Kui thought for a while and hesitated whether to go to Hu'er Town.

The gentleman is a bit too timid. After all, he is the mountain master of Dafu Academy, and he was born in a certain saint's mansion in the Middle-earth Divine Continent.

That nine-tailed fox, although its name is at the front of the second page of the "True Name" written by Mr. Bai, but now that I know her true name, killing it is just a matter of one sentence. ?

Zhong Kui held the back of his head with both hands, feeling the breeze blowing on his face.

It seemed as if there were still gusts of autumn wind swirling in his raised sleeves.

The woman in the inn has never seen such Zhong Kui.