across the Quartet

Part [-] Trivia of ordinary people

"My lord, it's time to start."

The moon as bright as a silver basin is hanging in the middle of the sky.Zhang Liang stroked the mane of the green horse he raised at home, he refused to pedal for a long time.

The one-armed coachman shook his whip and urged: "Lord Shentu, is there anything you forgot?"

Zhang Liang shook his head. "No. It's just that when I think that Brother Wei is still in prison, but Zifang just left, I feel really ashamed."

"My lord, why do you say that? Your lord rushed to Sanghai at this time, didn't you make a plan before my master was imprisoned?"

"Although I knew that brother Wei had a far-reaching plan, after all..." The young man wrapped his slender body in a cloak, and looked towards the southwest of Xinzheng, towards the direction of Wangcheng.

He suddenly pulled out a dagger from his pocket, and cut off a strand of hair on the sideburns by his ears.

"The country is in danger, Zifang can't survive and perish with the country, and it's useless to be a minister. Now the head is replaced by the hair, and the head is cut to show the ambition-this city will be restored in the rest of my life."

In the deep palace, Honglian sat cross-legged on the futon, although her eyes were closed tightly, the eyeballs hidden under the thin eyelids trembled as if sensing something.

"Princess, your mood is disturbed."

"Master, I..."

"Fire charm is an illusion that deceives the heart. When deceiving others, there is also the danger of surrendering one's own heart. To break through the third level, the caster's state of mind must go through thousands of times. Grinding and hammering are calmer and colder than the deepest well water, and there must be no gaps for your enemies to sneak in."

"I understand, Master."

The woman in a scarlet shirt met her eyes.For several months, she has been dressed as a maid during the day, taking the place of Xiao He; at night, she has returned to her original appearance of being unusually coquettish, teaching with words and examples, and doing her best to impart the art of red lotus fire charm.

This mysterious woman, also known as "Huo Mei", was exactly the person Honglian met in Luming Pavilion half a year ago, holding the finger wrench presented by Wei Zhuang.

"I'm just worried... I don't understand why Wei Zhuang is in such a dangerous situation, and there is no movement in the quicksand? I know that there are many people with great powers among you, but none of you have thought about saving him? ?”

The woman in scarlet clothes shook her head. "Whether to save or not, it is my master's will. We only need to follow the instructions of the young master, and we can't act without authorization."

"However, you don't understand the darkness and horror of South Korea's national prison. Wei Zhuang has made many enemies in the court. What if they torture each other severely in prison, or kill people to silence them?!"

Huo Mei sighed lightly. "I'm worried about Princess Lao. I don't have to keep it a secret from His Majesty anymore. The guards guarding your lord's cell have long since been replaced by quicksand. Lord Wei Zhuang has ordered that if those torturers only hurt the flesh , don’t move their muscles, let them go; Your Excellency hopes that as long as this drags on, he can see the Third Prince Hengyang Jun in prison. However, if someone has sinister intentions and makes something that will cause disability or death When the punishment of death comes, my lord will send out a secret signal in time, ordering the jailer to kill them all. However, at that time, it will be difficult for my lord to stay in Xinzheng as a courtier of South Korea, nor can I win the trust of Lord Hengyang. If you can't persuade the princes of a country to help us, Liusha may have to leave the capital empty-handed."

"Just to see my third brother, why did you do it to such an extent? Wei Zhuang...no, what exactly is Quicksand asking for?"

"Master Wei Zhuang once said that the flames of war will burn this land to nothing. However, as long as there is a rain, the vegetation will grow again; because there are countless invisible seeds buried deep in the soil." Huo Mei Slowly said, "My lord did this to preserve Korea's 'seeds'."

Guren frowned thoughtfully.She thought to herself for a moment, and was about to close her eyes and continue to practice, when a voice suddenly came in from the window: "Speaking of which, why do you care so much about that ugly monster Wei Zhuang? Don't you—"

"It's you!" Honglian turned her head and glared at the speaker, "Damn brat, why did you sneak into the palace again?!"

An unusually handsome boy in white clothes poked half of his head out of the carved window pane, his glass-like pupils gleamed slyly. "You think I'm willing to come - only your lotus blooms the best in the whole city, and the fruits in the lotus pods are what the Phoenix likes to eat, so I'll pick some for it. By the way, you just took one bite at a time. A quicksand, is it possible that you also want to join the quicksand?"

"I—" Hong Lian was stunned for a moment, her heart fluttered, and she didn't know how to answer; but the boy in white couldn't wait to say: "I advise you not to, that fellow Wei Zhuang is very weird, if you fall into quicksand, He will definitely be forced to change your current name. With your appearance, it’s likely to be changed to Wuyan, Wuyan, or Wuyan or something..."

"Kill you!"

Hong Lian jumped up from the ground, the soft whip shook, the braid pierced through the window pane and pierced the boy's neck; His neck was strangled; he blocked it with his hand in time, the whip was wrapped around his wrist, and the other hand took the opportunity to shoot a feather through the pane-the two of them fought fiercely through the window, from time to time There were some vicious threats such as "Pull your bird feathers!" "Slap your seven inches!!"

Huo Mei wanted to stand up to stop her, but she was exhausted, so she finally continued to sit on the ground with a smile on her lips.

She stroked her chest, and said in a soft voice: "Lin'er... After Lin'er grows up, I have to ask you sisters to take care of her."

Gai Nie and Jing Ke buried Aji's bones outside the city of Handan, and then planned to go south to Chu State, but on the way they found out from a Mohist disciple that the Immortal Doctor and her disciples were both in Linzi, and they would go north to Yan in seven days. .The two had no choice but to turn the horse's head and set off to Qijing.

Qi State has not been war-torn for many years, and the green fields along the way are vast, mulberry and hemp are like the sea, and people who are undulating and plowing in the fields are often seen.Jing Ke brought a wine gourd with him, and when he was tired from the journey, he stopped, took a few sips with an expression of enjoyment, and then talked endlessly about what he had seen and heard in various places; He was painstaking not to indulge in grief, so he often said a few words in cooperation.It's a pity that these two people can't chat speculatively every time.

"Telling about Qi, the place is good, and the people are better; the East China Sea has the benefits of fish and salt, Langya produces good wine, Linzi produces cockfighting... and the beauties of Qi, tsk tsk, they are all like fairy mountains from overseas. It's as if it's floating, and it's not like a mortal—"

"Ah."

"...I said Anie, so why don't you ask, have I seen any beauties in Qi?"

"What kind of beauties did Jing Qing see in Qi?"

"Cough. I was in Ayi last year, and I visited the Magpie Tower, which has the best singing and dancing in the area; the number one beauty upstairs is also Li Jili, who is known as the number one beauty in the country of Qi. Her reputation in the country of Qi is even three years old. The children all know it. How many dignitaries spent a lot of money to enjoy her music and dance through the curtain; even so, the noble children who wanted to see her still lined up in a long line..."

"Well."

"...Don't you want to ask, what kind of friendship do I have with this Miss Li?!"

"I wonder what kind of friendship Jing Qing and Li Ji have?"

"Hehe, when I went, I happened to be in time for the moon appreciation banquet in the Magpie Tower; that day I drank a lot of Jimo old wine, and I danced with swords downstairs on a whim. Miss Li accidentally saw it from upstairs , and heard that I was a fellow from Weiguo, so they invited me in for a drink. Only now can I have the honor to see the beauty..."

"It turns out that Brother Jing is from Weiguo."

Jing Ke pulled his hair in frustration: "Anie, why are you so boring!! I have never seen anyone more boring than you in my life...I, Jing Ke, swear to God, if I can meet someone more boring than you in the future, I must...I must...be sworn brothers with him!"

"..."

"Hey, I'm going to lock you both in the same room, and compare which one of you can't help but talk to each other first—" Jing Ke grinned grimly because of the imaginary scene. "Then I opened a gamble at the door and became the banker myself..."

Gai Nie didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and really didn't know how to continue the conversation.Fortunately, Jing Ke was attracted by the figure on the side of the road again.

"Hey, what happened to that in front?"

An old man with gray beard and hair and ragged clothes was sitting on the side of the road, holding his thighs in both hands, and he couldn't stop crying.

"Old man, what's wrong with you?"

"Damn beast... I don't know what happened to the donkey I was riding today, but I whipped it twice indiscriminately, and it threw people off and ran away... Ouch..."

Jing Ke enthusiastically helped the old man onto the horse, and promised to take him to a crowded place to have a look at his legs.As a result, before he had gone far, he saw smoke and dust billowing in the small woods to the west, and a group of dozens of riders came rushing from the direction of Zhao Guo, and stopped in front of them in an instant.All the people on the horse wore long swords on their waists, and they were aggressive, surrounding three people and two horses.

"Damn old man, let's see how long you can run... Hurry back to Handan with us!"

"What's going on here?" Jing Ke scanned the group of people suspiciously. "Old man, are they here to arrest you?"

"You two, are you the old man's accomplice?! You actually have a sword on your body, you are indeed a robber..."

"It is said that you have found the wrong person—" The old man raised his hands in horror, "The little old man is just a fortune teller, when did he become a robber..."

"Wait, old man," Gai Nie said, pulling the horse's head closer and staring at the old man's face, "Have I seen you before? Didn't you meet people in the wine shop in Handan? You also said that I have The appearance of wealth and honor, but there is still blood in the wealth..."

"That's right, that's right, this little brother did not admit the wrong person." The old man was overjoyed, and grabbed Ge Nie's sleeve fiercely across a horse, "Hey, you look like you, you are very lucky and have many children and grandchildren." Fu Xiang, you must make the decision for me, the little old man—a few days ago, the little old man was invited by a high-ranking official in Handan to go to the house for divination. He saw that there was blackness between his eyebrows, and he was afraid of disaster I didn't expect someone to enter the mansion for an assassination on the same night, and the thieves really set a big fire...The manager of the mansion detained me, insisting that the little old man was also one of those strong people The accomplices of the guards will only hear about their plans in advance; the little old man was so frightened that he slipped out while the guards were not paying attention, planning to escape to the country of Qi for the time being..."

Gai Nie and Jing Ke looked at each other, then immediately turned their heads, one looked at the sky and the other looked at the ground; Jing Ke hummed a little song unnaturally.

"Everyone must be the man in the official's house who was robbed. This old man is indeed an effective fortune teller in Handan. It is not surprising that he has figured out what is destined. Please don't make things difficult Him." Ge Nie lowered his eyes and said with little confidence.

"Hmph, if you are accomplices, you can't believe anything you say." The immediate leader snorted coldly, "If you are honest and will be arrested, follow us back to Handan and ask the chief manager to understand, I may not be able to let you live -"

Gai Nie still lowered his head and said: "You go now, I may not let you die."

"Boy!!" The leader was so angry that his hair stood on end, "You don't want to die?! Do you know who my family is?"

While yelling and cursing, he unconsciously leaned back, and suddenly felt that something hard hit the back of his head.Turning around, it was Jing Ke who stood on his horse's buttocks at some point, holding a wine gourd in one hand, and grinning refreshedly.

"Is the adult in your family surnamed Guo?"

The leader was shocked, and he pulled the rein suddenly, and the white horse stood up and was about to overthrow Jing Ke. However, Jing Ke borrowed a little strength from the horse's back and jumped to the top of another knight's head in an instant. Hook, and swept that person down heavily.He himself flipped and jumped down from mid-air, and the others got off their horses and drew their swords one after another, stabbing wildly around him.Jing Ke handed the wine gourd to his left hand, and hastily supported the person in front of him. At the same time, his right foot just happened to step on his left foot, and his left foot stepped on his slightly bent right knee, and then his right foot hit his chest again—like climbing a ladder. Generally, he uses his opponent's body to shake off the combined attack of the double swords behind him; he treats those around him like climbing trees, stepping on stones, and kicking balls, playing like a monkey.

Seeing that they couldn't take advantage of Jing Ke, someone found a way to attack Gai Nie and the old man on horseback.Gai Nie's right arm didn't move, he threw out the long sword with his left hand and swung it around the old man, then he heard a few swishes, and cut off several buns in succession.Those people froze on the spot with their hair disheveled, and suddenly came to their senses, feeling cold and sweating all over their bodies—before they could run away with their necks covered, they were hit by inexplicable fists and kicks on the back, and they were knocked down one by one.

"I don't like killing." Gai Nie was still riding on the horse, and Nine Deaths returned to the scabbard with a "clang".Jing Ke raised his head and took another sip of wine, posing accordingly.

"You just go back to Zhao country and say that you have never seen us before."

After driving away this group of people, they walked one or two miles along the official road, and finally found a farmer who was willing to let them stay overnight before dusk.The three of them settled down in an adobe house, next door was a mill, and the stench of grinding animals wafted in the wind from time to time.On the contrary, this smell aroused the old man's sadness, and sadly recalled his lost old donkey, saying that they traveled through mountains and rivers alone and one donkey, and traveled around the world. Tears flowed; Jing Ke got a headache from his crying, jumped up and said that he was willing to go back to the woods where he first met before, hoping to find the lost donkey.He was so lucky that he jumped out of the half-closed chaimen and disappeared.

In the evening, Gai Nie gave dry food to the old man, but the old man said that his teeth were too loose to bite and he wanted porridge. Gai Nie borrowed a kitchen from the host, broke up the dry food, and cooked a bowl of gruel for him.The old man ate a few mouthfuls of porridge, but said he had no taste in his mouth, so Gai Nie had to ask the host for some pickles.After finally waiting for him to eat, Jing Ke still didn't come back. The old man said that he was frightened today, his back was sore, and he was lying on the muddy floor and couldn't sleep.Gai Nie beat him on his waist and legs; because there was no extra bedding, he could only spread some straw on the ground from the door of the farmer's house.

It was getting darker and darker.When the moonlight came in through the cracks in the wall, Jing Ke finally came back in a hurry. There was nothing behind him, but he was holding a large leaf in his hand, and it was fragrant and hot.

"Jing Qing, did you... boil the donkey?"

"This is roast chicken." Jing Ke scratched his head shyly. "I didn't find anything else in the woods, but there were a lot of pheasants..."

I always feel that this is your purpose - Gai Nie refrained from saying this, but saw the old man who was already lying on the ground drooling and stood up, and unceremoniously divided a chicken leg, as if he had completely forgotten what he had just said. Also said things like "loose teeth".

Ge Nie was almost amused by these two people.He pushed the other chicken leg to Jing Ke, fetched a basin of water himself, untied the bandage on his right arm, and wanted to wash it.

Looking at it under the moonlight, this is a rather fit and powerful arm, with slender bones and tight muscles, but unfortunately, those terrifying "vines" lines on the surface of the skin seem to grow more densely than the previous few days.

Ge Nie washed his arm and was about to wrap the white cloth again when he caught a glimpse of a chicken leg bone that was not very clean from the corner of his eye.

At some point, the old man leaned over to his right hand and looked at it carefully, his eyes sparkling.

"Little brother, how did you get your arm?"

"My brother was plotted against and got a poisonous needle in his arm. We went to Qi this time to find an expert who knows medical skills to detoxify." Jing Ke explained while chewing on a chicken frame.

The old man shook the chicken bone in his hand, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Interesting, interesting... It's really a great luck for you to meet me, little old man."

Jing Ke looked at Gai Nie in puzzlement; this old man not only summoned some inexplicable pursuers for them, but also likes to make things difficult for others, how dare he say that he was lucky to meet him?But he saw the old man dusting off his patched robe, and suddenly sat upright, his whole aura was different from before.

"Even if you find the medical immortals and holy doctors in this world, you will not be able to cure this poison. Because it is not poison at all, but a curse."

"curse?"

"This is the 'Seven Days Curse' of the Yin Yang family." The old man pinched Ge Nie's forearm and asked, "How many days have passed since you discovered the lines on your arm?"

Gai Nie said: "That night in Handan... well, it should be four days."

"Four days." The old man smiled cunningly, "From today, no more, no less, you only have three days left to live.

TBC