Sword of Coming

After all, dying generously is a last resort. No regrets does not mean that you have no regrets. And living well, even if it is not so comfortable, is always the simplest wish of the world.

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "We don't know many simple truths, and it is difficult for us to empathize with other people's sufferings. But isn't this our luck?"

No matter how good a person is, he cannot truly empathize with the heart-wrenching suffering of others.

Back then in Rouge County, Caiyi Country, why was the little girl who was protected by Zhao Shu, a young man holding a hatchet, only willing to believe in Chen Ping'an? Because children are often more sincere, more sensitive to suffering and more difficult to resist, that The little girl nicknamed Luan Luan felt the same joys and sorrows in Chen Pingan, who was in a much closer situation. It was not because in the eyes of the child at that time, Chen Pingan was definitely better than the girl next to her who was also a good person.

At this moment, Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye looked at each other.

Chen Ping'an finally looked calm and said: "But where do these blessings come from? Shouldn't we know and cherish them? When no one wants to delve into this matter, when disaster strikes, don't God won't listen to you if you complain and cry for grievances, right? That's why there is a Bodhisattva sitting upside down on that altar, right? However, I still think that scholars should take some responsibility at this juncture and read more than ordinary people. With more books, fame, honor, and greater blessings than ordinary people, you should shoulder more burdens."

Chen Pingan put his hands gently on the handle of the chair.

When everyone's sitting posture is not straight, they can't find comfort, the joints are loose, and the chairs are shaking, then the world will not be peaceful. That's why Confucianism pays attention to academic studies and self-cultivation. It is necessary to sit upright and be cautious.

After seeing Shujian Lake, I was so disappointed.

But when Chen Pingan left Shujian Lake, walked more roads, and thought about more things, he was no longer so disappointed.

After a short two-day rest, they left the Xianjia Inn and headed to the southernmost territory of the Mei Glaze Kingdom.

On the way south, Chen Ping'an met a down-and-out scholar whose conversation and dress showed his good family background.

At that time, the scholar from the Meigla Kingdom was disillusioned with his official career and had no shortage of money, so he hired chariot and horse servants to accompany him on his journey through dangerous mountains and rivers. As a result, one of them became interested in making money and teamed up with the other two to seek wealth and murder. He almost pushed the scholar who liked to recite poetry noisily off the cliff path. If a kind-hearted porter hadn't stopped him desperately, the scholar would have disappeared before Chen Pingan could take action, and the family might not even be able to find his body afterwards.

After Chen Ping'an stopped him, he asked the scholar how to deal with the carriage and horse servants. The scholar was also a strange person. Not only did he give them the salary they deserved, and let them take the money and leave, he also said that he had remembered their household registration, and he would only need it in the future. If you dare to do evil again, if you let him know about it, you will have to settle the old and new accounts together. It will be a capital crime of losing your head. The scholar left only the porter.

Then he had to go with Chen Pingan, change the route, and go south together.

The scholar fell in love with Ma Duyi at first sight.

Chen Pingan was not blind, even Zeng Ye could see it.

Moreover, the scholar's show of kindness was a little too lame. He deliberately talked to Chen Ping'an and commented on current affairs when he had nothing to say. Otherwise, he just recited poems and composed poems in front of the extraordinary landscapes, expressing his regrets.

Ma Duyi was very annoyed. For the first time, she wanted to ask Mr. Chen to put away the fox-skin paper talisman and put it in his sleeve, so that he could be out of sight and out of sight, and out of hearing and out of mind.

If it weren't for the fact that the scholar was so polite and didn't have the nerve to introduce himself and show off his family background, Ma Duyi would have cursed and asked the scholar to stop complaining as soon as possible.

The scholar is obviously a descendant of the Mei Glacier family. Otherwise, the pride revealed in his words is not that he won the top prize in high school at a young age, but that after three years of training in the Hanlin Academy and the Hubu Yamen in the capital, he was sent to another place to serve as an official. Various measures to combat officialdom abuses within a county.

I really want to be a good official and gain the reputation of a great master in the sky.

It's a pity that after leaving office, let alone being an umbrella for the people, he only got a bad reputation. The subordinates of the county government secretly scolded him for being pedantic, not knowing how to get some benefits for the government, and just looking for trouble for them. The local gentry also scolded him. He was not familiar with common affairs, and the people also scolded him, scolding him for seeking fame and reputation, wasting money and wasting people.

One day when he was talking about his sadness and drank too much, the scholar's eyes filled with tears and he no longer bothered to pretend to be a literary figure with Ma Duyi.

Chen Ping'an didn't say much.

I only talked about my rough views on honest officials and good officials, and roughly talked about the benefits of the former and the difficulties of the latter.

After hearing this, the scholar was very drunk and angry. He said that it was already unacceptable to be a harmonious person in the officialdom. If he still wanted to be a scholar, what kind of official would he be? A real scholar should rely on his true talents. Practical learning, step by step to get to the center, and then cleanse the turbid energy, this can be regarded as self-cultivation and governing the country, otherwise, just stop being an official, I am sorry for the sages and principles in the book.

Chen Pingan smiled and said it made sense.

Not a word of advice.

It wasn't that Chen Pingan felt that the truth didn't make sense, or that the scholar's ideas were too childish and naive.

It's the troublesome thing for such scholars.

Chen Pingan has seen it with his own eyes.

Wu Yuan, who holds the title of a disciple of the Imperial Master, encountered obstacles at every turn after serving as county magistrate in Longquan for the first time. As for those with big surnames, aren't they afraid of Cui Chang?

But it was the soft nails with pleasant looks that were secretly buried inside and outside the government office, which made Wu Yuan very anxious and frustrated in his official career. In the end, he had to "move out" of the town to make room for his legitimate sons named Yuan and Cao. As Longquan was promoted from county to county County, of course Wu Yuan was promoted from county magistrate to county governor, but Chen Ping'an dared to assert that Wu Yuan's impression in Dali Court had fallen to the bottom. With a background and a backer, it was not difficult to go smoothly for a while, but It is destined that life will not be smooth sailing, and it will be difficult, whether it is rich people or children of powerful people, they will feel miserable and suffer.

In fact, at that time, Wu Yuan did say a heartfelt words to a certain kid from a wealthy family in the capital, and made it clear to the civil secretary that he wanted everyone to write a plaque for the Wenwu Temple, or to help the family to break the deadlock in Longquan. Difference and love, not only between friends, but also within the family, will be used up, so don't use them indiscriminately.

If today's Chen Ping'an hears about this and these words, he might want to sit down with Wu Yuan and have a good drink. This sentence alone is enough for a pot of good wine.

In the blessed land of Lotus Roots, Chen Ping'an has seen many officials and eunuchs from generation to generation. When they became officials in local places, they thought they could do it. However, in fact, many people went from glory to gloom to complete silence. During this period, they also took shortcuts that broke the rules. , after a temporary gain, local officials also pinched their noses and admitted their losses, but they often rebounded silently. They became more and more hostile to those officials' children from the capital, and became more sophisticated and insidious, teasing and teasing them like fools.

Therefore, Chen Ping'an is now wary of Su Gaoshan, who has turned from a mud-legged man into a general in the army, but he will not underestimate Cao Ping, who has a noble surname and is uniquely endowed in the early stages of officialdom.

Ma Duyi was so angry that he couldn't bear it for a long time. When he couldn't bear it anymore, he wanted to speak, but Chen Pingan shook his head to signal not to speak.

Chen Pingan can actually understand the scholar's plight.

It was exactly the same as his own situation in Shujian Lake.

Does he want to seek the skin of a tiger and become an ally with Liu Zhimao, who is a life-or-death enemy and who is supposed to fight to the death? Let’s make rules for Shujian Lake together? If you don’t do it, you will naturally save worry and effort. If you do it, if nothing else, you will feel unhappy in your heart. Sometimes, in the dead of night, you have to ask yourself whether your conscience is lacking, and whether one day you will finally be with Gu. Just like Can, he made one wrong step and never looked back. Unknowingly, he became the kind of person he liked most back then.

Chen Pingan respects the scholar's choice.

Maybe if you don't serve as an official anymore, you have both the talent of the top scholar and a family background. You have devoted yourself to studying for decades and have a country full of students. Isn't it a better way to break the situation?

Too.

That wonderful possibility lies in front of the scholar's path.

Chen Ping'an couldn't bear to say one more thing, scholar, you are wrong. You should be a scholar with a guilty conscience for the sake of the welfare of the people of this time and place. There is one more good official in the temple, but the country has lost one real person. gentlemen? Chen Pingan dare not make any hasty conclusions about the trade-offs, gains and losses.

These twists and turns are all what Chen Ping'an saw and thought about from the book and the outside.

There were many words that I once only knew were good principles, but I didn’t know what the goodness was. Mr. Qi’s, A Liang’s, Old Man Yao’s, on bamboo slips, all kinds of people, the words of truth they left to this world , it becomes clearer and clearer, as if the beginning and end of the thread have been picked up by future generations, pure and clear, really clear.

When there are gatherings, there are separations.

Even if the scholar likes Ma Duyi no more, even if he no longer cares about Ma Duyi's indifference and alienation, he still has to return to the capital and enjoy the mountains and rivers. After all, this is not the true occupation of a scholar.

When parting, he told him about his family background, because in the future, if Mr. Chen came to him for a drink or asked for directions, he would have to have an address.

It turns out that the scholar is the direct grandson of Mei Glaze, the minister of the Ministry of Industry.

When we meet, we drink together, and when we are separated, we might as well make a date again. This is probably a good world.

Zeng Ye actually still didn't quite understand why Mr. Chen was willing to spend time with such a sour scholar, and accompanied the scholar on a journey of more than a hundred miles of wrongly visited landscapes.

Even if the scholar is the direct grandson of a minister, so what? Zeng Ye doesn't think Mr. Chen needs to deliberately make friends with such human beings.

Not worth it.

Not to mention Mr. Chen, he was Zeng Ye, a wild cultivator in Shanze who had not yet reached the fifth level of the middle school. It had nothing to do with whether he was a mountain monk or not. It had nothing to do with whether he was a monk on the mountain or not. It was because Zeng Ye met the same people and the same thing, and he was exhausted. After saving people and drinking wine, they dispersed.

But when he thought that it was Mr. Chen, Zeng Ye felt relieved. Didn't Ma Duyi say Mr. Chen to his face that he was unhappy? Zeng Ye actually felt the same way, but he was slightly different from Ma Duyi. Zeng Ye thought that Mr. Chen like this was quite good. Yes, maybe in the future, when I have Mr. Chen's current cultivation level and state of mind, I will be able to talk more with that scholar again?

Zeng Ye's heart of cultivating the Taoism, from the beginning, he must cling to Mr. Chen's sleeves to survive, has changed to wanting to live a more enjoyable life even if he leaves Mr. Chen in the future, and Mao Yuedao and even... All the senior wild cultivators in Shujian Lake must live a different life.

For example, should we be more patient with the ordinary masters at the foot of the mountain?

Zeng Ye must not have thought clearly enough now, but he finally started to think about it.

The tall young man probably doesn't know that the young man from Mud Bottle Alley back then walked the same way and became the accountant he is today.

After separating from the scholar, Sanqi came to a city named Jingzhou in the southernmost part of the Mei Glaze Kingdom. The largest official there was not the prefect, but the owner of the Water Transport Chief Officer's Office. The Chief Officer was second only to the Water Transport Officer. Chen Ping'an, one of the governor's senior officials, stayed for ten years. He found that the place was full of spiritual energy, far better than other local towns, and was conducive to Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye's practice, so he chose a large inn near the water for them to stay. He practiced with peace of mind, and wandered around the city. During this period, he heard a lot of things. The commander-in-chief had an only son, who was mediocre in academics, had no hope of taking the imperial examination, and had no intention of pursuing an official career. He lingered in brothels all year round, and was notorious, but he never bullied men. The domineering girl only has one quirk. She likes to let her servants capture large numbers of cats, dogs, foxes, and the like, break their legs, hold them backwards, and watch their larvae for fun.

As a result, a horrifying statement soon spread in the General Military Officer's Office. The only son of the Chief Military Officer had his hands and feet cut off, and ended up like the cats, dogs and foxes that suffered in his hands. His mouth was stuffed with cotton cloth, and he was thrown into the hospital. On the bed, the young man who had been consumed by wine and sex was obviously seriously injured, but he was not dead. The commander-in-chief was furious. After confirming that it was a demon, he spent a lot of money to invite two immortal masters from the Immortal Cave to come down the mountain to succumb to the demon. Of course, he also wanted to use immortal magic to cure his disabled son.

At that time, Chen Ping'an happened to be walking along the Cao Canal and saw with his own eyes a group of mountain immortals entering the city on an immortal boat.

The leader standing at the bow of the boat was actually a Dragon Gate monk.

For a vassal like the Mei Glaze Kingdom, it was a big deal to hire someone from the Longmen realm. It seemed that the general's residence was indeed extremely wealthy.

In addition to facilitating Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi's practice, there was actually a more hidden reason for choosing to stay in Jingzhou.

According to the records of the Xianjia Di newspaper of the inn by the Chunhua River, the woman in green and the boy in white who appeared out of nowhere once intercepted the Zhu Ying dynasty's man who was known as "one kick in the Yuan Dynasty" above the Jingzhou boundary. Apart from this encounter, there were three more "stop-and-go" fights before and after Jingzhou. In the end, the sword cultivator was killed at the border between the Mei Glaze Kingdom and the Zhu Ying Dynasty.

Chen Pingan guessed that Cui Dongshan and Miss Ruan Xiu were "fishing" and lured one or two Nascent Soul sword cultivators to leave the mountain and lose the protection of the landscape formation. Then they rushed to the territory of Mei Glaze Country regardless of the situation and rescued the Daoist Daoist. The golden elixir sword cultivator who is expected to be a valuable weapon of the country.

Otherwise, with Cui Dongshan's Nascent Soul cultivation and magic weapon, there would be no need for trouble to deal with a Golden Core Sword Cultivator.

It is very likely that the military strategist Ruan Qiong or the Mo family Xu Ruo are hiding near the border of Meigla Kingdom. Even if both of them are present, Chen Pingan will not be surprised.

The genealogical master who is worthy of being a monk in the Dragon Gate Realm gathered with another group of less powerful colleagues and cured the powerful disciple. However, he will be slightly lame when walking in the future. He is destined to be unable to lift heavy objects. The immortal masters on both sides , using the secret treasure of the Immortal Family and a spiritual creature respectively, following the clues, they found the monster that dared to attack the Commander-in-Chief of the Army that night. In a bloody battle in the city, the group of immortal masters were more aggressive than the other, and the monster had always been just Take detours to avoid dangers.

In fact, being able to torture the commander-in-chief's only son in such a human way, sneak in quietly, and leave quietly means that it is easy to kill that young man, but for some reason, the monster did not kill people, but only hurt people.

In the night, Chen Ping'an kept watching from the top of the city and stood aside.

If the monster hadn't been stupid and deliberately or unintentionally chosen a route that was not conducive to escape, there would have been heavy casualties in Jingzhou City tonight. It's not that the demon subduing and catching monsters was wrong, but the Immortal Genealogy Master's repeated attacks were really careless. as a result of.

In the end, the monster escaped from the city.

The immortal masters flew over the city like butterflies, leaving behind those water transportation officers and soldiers who could only wave flags and shouts, and continued to chase out of the city. The officers and soldiers in the city must have broken their heads and thought that the two groups of immortal masters went out to pursue the city with a fierce momentum, but in fact they stopped very quickly. After getting down, even though there was no trace of the monster, the spiritual weapons were still deliberately coming out one after another, and they continued to smash into an open space, which was extremely gorgeous.

At the same time, the old immortal master of the Dragon Gate Realm who had not tried his best from the beginning to the end changed his direction when he left the city and quietly left the demon-catching army.

Chen Pingan jumped down from the top of the city and followed him from a distance.

In the mountains more than twenty miles away from Jingzhou City, Chen Ping'an stood on the branch of a big tree and watched the old monk fight with each other before successfully binding the demon with a silver-white magical rope. Stopped the fox that showed its true form.

The old monk succeeded, and used the demon-binding rope to drag the bloody snow-white fox straight to Chen Pingan, and asked with a smile: "What, do you want a share of the pie?"

Chen Ping'an fell to the ground and said with a smile: "The old immortal master has done a good job. Disciple, go back to the General Military Officer's Office and say something about the big demon that is untamable. Anyway, everyone in the city has seen your move. With all your heart, Try your best to dazzle. I think that the feudal official has trouble sleeping and eating, and he has to hand over a large amount of fairy money. I beg the old immortal master to catch the monster to the end. Here, the old immortal master secretly captured the monster. When the time comes, Just find a fox spirit monster that has just transformed into a human form and hand it over to the general officer's office, everyone will be happy."

The old monk stroked his beard and smiled, "You young man has good eyesight. Among my dull disciples, there are a few idiots who are not enlightened. You just took a few glances to know the joints. "

Chen Ping'an joked: "Isn't the old immortal master planning to kill people and silence them?"

The old monk laughed loudly, "I'm not that crazy wild cultivator. For the sake of money, I don't have to admit my father, mother, master and disciple. Let me tell you, you make a price. If the price is fair, it will be a well-deserved accident for you." Wealth, a horse will not grow fat without night grass."

Chen Ping'an asked: "I wonder what the old immortal master would do with this thing after he captured it?"

The old monk raised the rope that tied the monster in his hand, and the monster wailed, "After all, it is a monster that has worked hard to reach the sea-viewing realm. After taking it back to the mountain gate, I trained it to get rid of its aggressiveness and cultivated it as a mountain protector. I am not boasting. This is also one of its great blessings.”

Chen Ping'an nodded and said with a smile: "It may be true or false, so let's ignore it. However, I still advise the old immortal master to think carefully and not to catch me with that demon-binding rope."

The old monk's eyes were dark and unclear, "You, a young man, really don't know what is good and what is good. You judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. Are you really not afraid that good things will turn into disasters?"

Chen Pingan put his hands on his sleeves and suppressed his smile, "You actually have to be grateful to this monster, otherwise you had committed too many crimes in the city before, and now you would be half dead."

The old monk in the Longmen Realm seemed to have heard a big joke and laughed loudly. The leaves shook and fell rustlingly.

Chen Ping'an sighed, "It's a good idea to make money, and what you get is the ill-gotten gains of water transport officials. I think it's good. But in order to make money, not only the lives of the people, but now I have to join forces with others and wait for them to hear about it." When the news comes, catching monsters and killing people, eradicating the roots, is not very good."

The old monk looked at the young man who at first glance looked like a sick man.

The more I looked at it, the more something was wrong.

He became even more fearful.

Once a cultivator really makes a grudge, it will easily end with the death of one party, or it will end up being a tangled grudge that lasts for hundreds of years.

Chen Pingan said: "How about I pay for it with you?"

The old monk hesitated.

Chen Pingan threw out a jade token.

Qingxia Island's first-class offering.

The old monk didn't dare to reach out and catch it. The secret skills of monks are so strange that no one dares to take them lightly.

Chen Ping'an did not return the jade token early, and let it hover in the air. The old monk in the Longmen Realm looked at it carefully, and then threw out a Grain Rain Coin, "Now our Qingxia Island is a little chaotic, the momentum is not as good as before, and you are a Mei Glaze Elementary School’s famous genealogy master, otherwise you would be dead right now, and this magic weapon, the demon-binding rope, will also be in my bag. After taking the money, just calm down, otherwise you will be with me for the rest of your life. Disciples, let’s hide on the top of the mountain and practice Taoism with peace of mind.”

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Of course, the price of a Grain Rain coin is definitely not fair, but the price is fair. Is it worthy of this jade token? Right, old immortal master?"

Chen Pingan raised the sword gourd in one shot.

Two flying swords flew out and disappeared in a flash.

The old monk's eyelids were trembling. He waved his sleeve and pushed the jade token back to the young "Sword Immortal" wearing a blue cotton coat. Then he accepted the Grain Rain Coin, slapped his head, and said with a smile: "No. We don’t know each other, but if you are trustworthy, fellow Taoist, you can come to our Longpan Mountain as a guest in the future.”

Chen Ping'an put away the jade token and took back the sword gourd on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month. He smiled and said: "Old immortal master is so good at doing business, I don't dare to come and give money to him."

The old monk laughed heartily, flicked the demon-binding rope, and the snow-white fox fell to the ground. He put away the magic weapon and said a few tougher words, "As long as Qingxia Island can still stand firm in Shujian Lake, little one Xiaolong Panshan only gives money, but doesn't dare to accept gifts. It's too hot to handle. If Qingxia Island disappears one day, I hope we don't meet again, otherwise it will hurt our feelings."

The old monk was also unambiguous. After finishing his words, he left as soon as he said it.

Chen Pingan climbed up the branch, and after a moment, he landed on the ground, and he was really gone.

The snow-white fox curled up on the ground, while healing its wounds, stared at the young monk with wide eyes.

Is he really a swordsman?

After she came down from the mountain, she didn't dare to show off in the city. She didn't see many monks on the mountain, so this was the first time she saw a sword cultivator in her life.

Chen Pingan waved his hand, "Let's go, don't show weakness to the enemy. I know that although you can't fight with others, you can walk without any hindrance. Remember not to appear in Jingzhou territory again in the near future."

She blinked.

Chen Ping'an joked: "Why, blame me for delaying your good fortune in Longpan Mountain?"

She said in a clear voice: "Longpan Mountain has a very scary evil python, which is a real mountain protector and worshiper. It likes to swallow monsters, so the old bad guy just lied to you. You must be careful in the future. "

Chen Pingan nodded, indicating that he would pay attention, and then did not move forward, but squatted down on the spot, "Are you curious why I am a wild cultivator from Shujian Lake, and why should I save you?"

She quickly shut her mouth and didn't say a word.

Chen Pingan smiled and threw a small porcelain bottle, rolled it down in front of the snow-white fox, and said: "If you are worried, you can keep it for now."

She finally couldn't help but said, "What do you want, young master?"

Chen Pingan smiled and said: "Then let me ask you, in order not to hurt innocent people, you were almost caught in the city. What are you planning?"

She smiled and narrowed her eyes, acting like a raccoon fox, but also like a human woman, so it was very fun. She said in a coquettish voice: "Master, are we of the same mind?"

But she quickly made a grimace and looked a little apologetic.

I always feel that I feel sorry for this benefactor by saying this.

Because these guys who are lucky enough to be born as human beings, in their curse words, there is a saying that they are worse than animals.

Chen Ping'an waved his hand noncommittally, "Let's go, let's go, people's hearts are full of ghosts, and it's very scary. Don't play in the world just because of your cultivation. You have already won the battle with heaven and earth once, and that's why you have the cultivation you have today." Because, you must cherish it more. But when you fight with others, who are the opponents of those Shanze Yexiu and Genealogy Master? Let's go. Even if you can't help but come to the human world again and wander around the market, you must be careful. Be careful. Also, don’t think that you will meet people like me every time in the future. How do you know whether a good person today will become a bad person in the future? "

She gently raised a paw, "covered her mouth" and said with a smile: "How can someone who can say that become a bad person? I don't believe it."

Chen Ping'an squatted there with his hands in his sleeves and said with a smile: "If you don't believe it, don't believe it, it's up to you, but I can remind you that the old bad guy from Longpanshan might regret it and kill him after meeting the other immortal masters. , I’ll catch you and serve you as lunch for that evil python.”

The snow-white fox hesitated for a moment, quickly put away the porcelain vase, and swooped out. After running only ten steps away, it turned its head, stood on its two feet, and bowed goodbye like the other people.

The young man kept squatting there, but he didn't forget to wave to her.

After the little guy left, Chen Pingan stood up and walked slowly towards Jingzhou City, treating it as a night tour in the mountains and forests.

When he thought about losing another Grain Rain coin, Chen Ping'an sighed and said that he could not be so wasteful next time.

It's just that the accountant probably forgot that he seemed to have reminded himself this way after giving away a small summer coin at the dog meat shop.

Chen Ping'an completely forgot about this incident. While walking, he looked up and saw the bright moon in the sky, which made him forget about the world.