Hidden Blade Chapter 28: The wind and snow are coming
The seventeenth year of the Thai Yuan, October.
It’s just the beginning of winter, and Qujing City on the border of Youzhou ushered in the first snow since the beginning of winter.
It was a big snow. Since Emperor Taiyuan took the throne, every winter has been the most difficult day for the people of Youzhou.
This year is no exception.
He Laosan looked at the heavy snow outside the house, feeling a little gloomy.
He is not young, he is in his early forties, and he has a son and two daughters under his knees. The whole family points to the small inn he opened to feed him.
It’s just that the year is not good, and the natural disasters are enough. Chen Guo, who had been good with Da Zhou for several years, has not been able to live in peace, and from time to time he has friction with Da Zhou’s defenders outside the Tianshan Pass.
However, there was the Prince Zhao, Chu and Zhao holding a hundred thousand eucalyptus guarding the Tianshan Pass. The people of Youzhou were not worried that one day they would be taken away by the Chen Guo gangsters. It's just that the friction between Chen Guo and Da Zhou is constant, and the number of walking merchants in the two kingdoms of Zhou and Chen is much less. Coupled with the heavy snow, the days of these people who rely on walking merchants for food are very sad.
Thinking of this, He Laosan looked towards the city gate again, but saw that snow was like goose feathers, not to mention the city gate, there were few pedestrians on the street.
"Hey, it looks like I can't wait today."
He Laosan sighed, finally retracted his gaze, and slowly closed the wooden door of the inn.
turned his head and walked to a wooden table in the door of the inn hall.
There was an old man sitting there, wearing a cyan gown with silver hair and white, but his complexion was extremely ruddy, his temperament was dusty, he was obviously a big family.
He is the only guest of He Laosan’s inn. He has lived here for a whole month, but he still has no intention of leaving.
He Laosan didn’t ask the old man’s purpose for coming here. After all, it’s good to have guests in this situation. He can manage other things, but vaguely knows from some conversations that this old man seems to be waiting here. .
"The guest official tea is cold, I'll warm it up for you." He Laosan walked to the old man and asked with a smile.
For the only customer, He Laosan still has to be considerate. This old man is also quite generous, and He Laosan is very content to meet such a customer in this difficult winter.
"No need." The old man shook his head and said with a smile.
The third son of He also nodded when he heard this. Although this old man seemed to be from an extraordinary background, he was extremely peaceful and unassuming. Regardless of the relationship between customers and vendors, He Laosan likes to interact with such people in his heart.
"I think you will be looking at the door every day at this hour for the past month, but what are you waiting for?" The old man took out an upside down teacup on the table, filled it with tea, and handed it to Elder He San approached, motioned him to sit down, and asked like this.
Maybe the old man’s tone was kind enough, or that the matter had been held in He Lao San’s heart for too long, and it was really depressing, He Lao San hesitated for a while, and then sat down beside the old man. .
Then he picked up the tea on the table and drank it, then said with a calm face.
"It's true that there is a little brother in my family. He has some abilities and is not as useless as me. In the early years, he served as a errand under Zhao Wang and became a centurion. It's just..." said At this point, He Laosan paused and looked around, seeming to be careful about something, but this Nuo Da inn only had him and the old man, and he didn't know why he was so nervous.
After confirming that there is no one around, He Lao San subconsciously lowered his voice and joined the old man’s ear and whispered: “It’s just that the Northwest Shepherd King rebelled a few years ago. The Mu’s army was purged by the court, and those who were involved in the Mu’s family were dismissed. But Jianlongguan was after all the gateway to the Great Xia Dynasty. For this reason, the court sent manpower from various places, and my little brother was there. When I was transferred to Jianlongguan, now that I have not seen it for seven years..."
Eight years have passed since the Northwest Jizhou Muwang Mansion was led by Zhuxian, the first leader of the Chang Yesi, to confuse the enemy in a rebellion.
But the Mu family is full of loyalty, which is quite popular among the people.
When the Mu's family was destroyed overnight, public grievances were boiling, and there were many people who used this as an excuse to gather people to make trouble. In order to prevent disasters, the court has already issued a ban. Anyone who reports the matter privately will receive a reward or two, while those who are reported will be distributed remotely, and severely cut on the spot. Under the heavy code, the matter of shepherding the king has long become a taboo in the hearts of the people. It is no wonder that He Laosan is so cautious when talking about this matter.
But the old man’s expression didn’t change at all when he heard this. He picked up the tea cup in front of him and put it to his lips, then nodded clearly, saying: "At the beginning of this summer , Da Xia Bian often commits crimes in my surrounding area, which is different from the small fights outside Tianshan Pass. It is indeed... worrying..."
"No! He used to send home letters every three months. This time I don’t know whether it was busy on official business or the road was blocked by heavy snow. It has been almost five months and I haven’t received a letter from him." He Laosan echoed the saying, perhaps because he was worried about his brother, his voice couldn't help but get a little higher.
The reasons he listed are naturally possible, but the book has not arrived for a long time, and the frontier fortress is extremely uneven. These things are linked together, what else is possible? He Laosan didn't think about it, nor dared to think about it.
The old man can naturally understand his mind, so it is not a bit broken.
"I thought about waiting for the weather to clear. If I still can’t receive the letter from my family, I will leave for Jizhou to find it. It’s just a long journey. It will take at least three or four months to keep the orphans and widows home. Don't worry about it." He Laosan seemed to have opened the chattering box, chattering all by himself. "Oh, this world is compelling... Old gentleman, you said it is true as the saying goes, is it the karma of the saint who killed the father and enthroned?"
The old man didn't take this, but he gave some comfort to He Laosan.
The two of talked like this for a long time, and the night was getting darker. He Laosan estimated that there would be no more guests coming today, so he wanted to get up and close.
But when he got up, there was a sound of footsteps outside the house.
The footsteps were heavy and messy, and it seemed that more than one person came.
Although in my heart I wonder why customers will come to this point, but it is a good thing after all, and He Laosan still has some expectations in my heart.
He thought about this, the door of the inn was pushed open from outside at that time, and the old man and the young man came into He Laosan's eyes along with the raging snow and wind outside the house.
That is a very strange combination.
One is an old man in his sixties, and the other is a young man in his twenty-eight years.
The old man looks sloppy, his hair is draped in disarray, and his linen clothes are stained with some unknowingly stains. It was in sharp contrast with the guest who had stayed here before.
And that young man, looks unsurprising, carrying a long sword on his back, and his black clothes are washed a little white, and the most heart-shaking thing is that the sleeves on his right arm are empty, obviously broken. Armed.
"Meow!"
He Laosan looked at the two people who came suddenly, but at this moment a cat cry with a little dissatisfaction suddenly sounded, He Laosan came back to his senses, and then he realized that A black cat is still squatting on the boy's shoulder, and his amber eyes are now widening, looking at him suspiciously.
He Laosan was a little numbed by the black cat, he hurried forward, trying to greet the two.
"How long have you been here?" But he just walked up to the two of them, and the old man who described the sloppy of the two suddenly asked aloud.
He Lao San was taken aback, but he still didn't understand the meaning of this sentence. The old man in green shirt who has lived here for a whole month lifted the teacup in his hand, smiled and said, "Soon, just a month."
"Hmm." The visitor nodded as a response, and then he passed He Lao San and walked straight to the old man in green shirt, sat down very rudely, and gave it to himself. I poured some tea and drank it on my back.
He Lao San was taken aback for a while before he came back to his senses. He realized that this seemingly extraordinary old gentleman seemed to know this sloppy old man who was described as sloppy and almost like a beggar.
And he looked at the young man who came here with the sloppy old man. The young man’s eyes were also moving back and forth on the two old men with great contrast, and his eyes were full of doubts, as if he hadn’t been before. I don't know that the two met before.
"Is this the kid you mentioned in the letter?" But the two old men didn't mean to confuse others at all~ IndoMTL.com~ I saw the old man in green shirt poured himself another cup of tea and looked up. After taking a look at the young man, he turned his head and asked.
"Yeah." The sloppy old man nodded in response.
Then he patted his stomach, and said in a somewhat unpleasant way: "I came from afar, and you plan to let the old man talk to you on an empty stomach?"
The old man in the blue shirt smiled, turned his head to look at the dazed Oldosan, and said in a gentle voice: "The shopkeeper has some food for my friend, oh, and that little brother. Um. , And the cat."
"Hey! Let's go now, a few people sit down." He Laosan is also a master of knowledge. Since these two visitors know this old man in green shirt, then he has nothing to worry about. Moreover, he observed that these people were acting weird, and they were probably not the same way as him. There is a saying that more is worse than less. Therefore, he simply took this way to leave, and he would have less trouble. Thinking about this, He Laosan nodded repeatedly, turned around and walked towards the inner kitchen.
Seeing Nahe Laosan walking into the kitchen, the old man in Qingshan turned his head again to look at the visitors on the opposite side, and said with some envy, "This kid is very nice."
"How can the person I fancy is wrong?" The sloppy old man grinned when he heard the words, and seemed to be very helpful to the old man in Qingshan.
"Let's talk about it, what do you want me to do?" The old man in the green shirt had some understanding of his nature. He gave the sloppy old man an angry look and asked.
"This kid is really good, but it's a pity that he broke his arm." The sloppy old man's voice suddenly became low, but his eyes were looking straight at the old man in green at that time.
"After all, I am half of my apprentice in the ocean."
"So, I want to ask you to help me for him..."
"Take an arm."