See Jiangshan

At the end of the first round of the preliminary competition, the rankings will be released at the Hall of Diligent Learning and outside the library at the same time.The list is made of vermilion jacquard satin silk with white jade scroll, on which the name is inscribed in thick ink, hung on a ten-foot-high wooden frame, and bears the official seal of Nanyuan, which looks grand and festive.There were crowds of people under the list, and the students squinted their eyes against the sunlight, looking for names they were familiar with, some were happy and some were sighing.

The promoted team breathed a sigh of relief, but they were notified to go to the draw again before they had rested for two days, and the second round of the preliminary round will start tomorrow.

This time, there is no need to listen to the court's admonishment rules, and each team will send one person to the deacon's hall.Cheng Qianren went as a representative of the 70nd team, but he was not able to get his turn in the sequential draw, and the No.[-] [-]th team was drawn to them.

The other party was dressed as a scholar, with a frowning face: "It's bad luck, I forgot to burn incense for the saint when I went out."

The people next to him had nothing to say except sympathy: "This team has Nanshan top in Wen and Xu Ran in Wu, it's hard to win."

While drawing lots, everyone exchanged news and discussed a lot.Probably because Cheng Qianren seemed too unkind, no one talked to him.

"Our team narrowly won the last round of martial arts tests, and the two brothers are still recuperating in the hospital. How do we fight now?"

"Who knows what's going on this year. Between the first and second rounds of the preliminaries last year, there was a ten-day break!"

The deacon who registered the result of the lottery had a headache from the quarrel and said helplessly: "Don't complain, we don't want to do this either. A letter from Beilan yesterday said that their preliminary competition has ended and they will leave for Nanyuan today. The deacon reported it to the vice president overnight Chang... we are hosts, we can't let people wait for us when they arrive, can we?"

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.A senior senior brother stood up and said a few words in a personable manner: "It should be so, of course we will put the customer first and be considerate in reception."

The students who competed for the first time didn't know why, so they left after complaining.

As soon as these brothers went out, they immediately scolded Bei Lan for being insidious.

"I wrote early last year, saying that the rematch was delayed for some reason, and we were asked to start later. As a result, we had just arrived in the imperial capital for two days, and the bench hadn't warmed up yet, and the rematch began. The seniors who participated in the literary test were not satisfied, and two of them were stretchered Take it out of the examination room!"

"This year, they said they would arrive early again? The people of Huangdu are really arrogant and unreasonable."

Gambling was banned in Nanyuan College, but during the period of the fight between the two colleges, the gambling game was repeatedly banned. The timid one quietly avoided the inspection team, and boldly opened the market outside the college.Team [-] had extremely high scores in the first round of the preliminary round, and many people stared at them.

Cheng Qianren had just come out of the deacon's hall, and the result of the lottery had already been quietly spread throughout the game.Known as 'good fortune, sure victory'.

It was too lively outside, and the four of them hid quietly in Lin Duzhi's consulting room.

Gu Er: "A classmate gave me a secret contract and asked me if I want to bet."

Cheng Qianren: "No gambling."

Xu Ran was still thinking about the 30 taels that were confiscated: "Well, if the duck in its beak flies away, I'd rather never see a duck."

"If you don't gamble, you don't gamble. I thought of another way to make money last night."

Lin Duzhi hesitated: "Will that connection of yours cause trouble?"

Gu Xuejiang laughed loudly: "Anyway, I can't avoid my troubles, so don't let everyone have a hard time!"

Xu Ran: "I can't understand a single word of what you are talking about."

Cheng Qianren didn't understand either.But he felt that Gu Er had a sense of propriety, and he couldn't make a big mess, so he let him go.

Half a month later, he regretted it.

Alas, shit is measured.

***

The day Beilan's team entered the city was a drizzly rainy day.

At three o'clock in the five o'clock, the morning bell rang in the government office of the prefectural government, and the guards on duty went out on patrol. An order was sent from each city to beat the drums, and the twelve city gates opened at the same time.When the flow of people gradually increased, the breakfast stalls and carts beside the road were cleared up, and the state officials arranged for the people to welcome the road in an orderly manner.

In the next one and a half months, Nanyang City will welcome double the number of tourists and business travelers, as well as countless seniors of sects and aristocratic families.After years of evolution, the fight between the two courts is no longer just a contest between the North and the South.People want to see which genius is more worthy of the name, and which younger generation is more outstanding.

For this annual civil and military event across the continent, the college, the state capital, and the military headquarters have worked together to arrange the city defenses in the open and check the formations in the dark. The manpower and material resources consumed are incalculable.

The convoy will enter the city from the North Gate, and take the widest Luanshu Avenue on the central axis.Guards holding halberds stood on both sides of the avenue, followed by crowds of onlookers, carrying flower baskets and colored silk, brightly dressed, smiling, and applauded warmly and neatly during the rehearsal.

The bleak and cold rain, the hot long street.

The taverns and tea houses with a wide view on both sides are full of seats, and the prices are soaring, and the private rooms by the windows are booked in advance by the powerful.

Cheng Qianren and his friends did not book a restaurant. Fortunately, his family lived in the [-]th Street of Liuyan Road, which is a desolate old alley. The only advantage is that it is close to the college.The convoy always has to be admitted to the hospital. They stand on the roof and can always see a corner.

Xu Ran waited impatiently, squatting on the ridge of the roof, refurbishing the textbooks she bought.Cheng Qianren stood still holding the sword, playing the sword in the sea of ​​consciousness.The two of them separated the drizzle with the body shield of true energy, and from a distance it seemed to be surrounded by a layer of hazy smoke.

Gu Xuejiang held an umbrella for him and Lin Duzhi, with purple bamboo bones lining her pale fingertips.The sky-blue bottom is sprinkled with gold and the surface of the peach blossom umbrella is painted by himself.

Near noon, warm applause and cheers suddenly erupted in the distance, with the sound of gongs and drums.Xu Ran closed the storybook and stood up abruptly: "It's coming."

Cheng Qianren opened his eyes.Gu Xuejiang said: "The first half of the walk was slow, it's still early."

Sure enough, it was still early, and after waiting for another half an hour, the convoy drove through Luanshu Street, turned into Yushu Street leading to the college, and appeared in their sight.

Flower petal colored silks are flying all over the sky, and the horse with the blood of alien beasts is extremely tall, clearing the way first, and the riders are majestic with golden armor and red capes.After that, the cars and horses were mighty, the canopy was like clouds, and the crowds chased the convoys, and there was no end in sight.Amid the loud music, the whole street seemed to be shaking.

Xu Ran suddenly asked in surprise: "What is that?"

Cheng Qianren looked in the direction of her finger, and saw six snow-white horses driving side by side, a huge carriage painted with gold and painted phoenixes was slowly approaching, and countless silver bells rang crisply in the wind.The car body was shrouded in the faint golden light of the formation, not even a drop of rain.

Lin Duzhi: "Have the nobles who live in Jian'an Building arrived?"

Gu Xuejiang frowned slightly: "Golden phoenix chariot, white cloud horse, this ostentation is more restrictive. Unless there is a royal family in the chariot." The heavenly prayer system is not strict, and several major sects are considered outside the law.But today, the battle of martial arts between the two courts opens, and the southern military department is responsible for maintaining order, so who dares to openly overstep the rules.

Xu Ran sighed: "It turns out that this is the Baiyun horse. It is said that it has the blood of the strange beast Bai Ze. It is so beautiful."

If it were in the past, Cheng Qianren must have forgotten it after seeing it, and didn't care much.But now he pays more attention to the imperial capital subconsciously, perhaps because Zhuliu is there.Thinking of Gu Er once saying that the crown prince has not been established, the East Palace has no owner, and the royal family is busy with party disputes, I can't help but guess who will come to Nanyang and what they want to do.

It was not until the cavalry guard of honor, the playing band, the chariots of the nobles, and the carriage of the Beilan deacon entered the gate of Nanyuan one after another, that the second half of the team slowly turned around.

Some people raised their whips on white horses, looked straight ahead, with a dignified and proud posture; some people sat in a carriage, raised the curtains and waved to the crowd, looking gentle and polite.

These are all participating students, young and handsome, with a good demeanor.Everywhere they went, the cheers grew louder.When the folk customs open, I don't know how many handkerchiefs and autumn leaves fell on the rainy ground.

Gu Xuejiang explained: "Most of the horseback riding students are from Daqiulin, which is equivalent to our Qingshan Academy, and come to participate in the martial arts test. Most of the students sitting in the carriage are Shiquge students, which is equivalent to the backyard of Nanshan."

The excitement belongs to others, they stand on the roof, there is only a curtain of autumn rain between the sky and the earth.

Cheng Qianren suddenly asked, "What's in the third-to-last row on the far right?"

Xu Ran looked intently and said in surprise, "Their husband don't care?"

Among the various horses, there was a donkey.

The little donkey ticked, and a young boy in civilian clothes was riding upside down on the donkey's back, staggering, with a piece of grass in his mouth, as if he was walking on a country road, not in Nanyang City, which was attracting everyone's attention.

Gu Xuejiang: "That's Yuan Shangqiu, Yuan lunatic. Young geniuses always have some privileges, and there's no need for Beilan to make him suffer because of such trivial matters."

"Yuan Shangqiu, the fourth level of concentration, the weapon is the Qingyu sword, the battle of fame is the first time I fought against Fu Keji, and it was later called the 'Night Battle Huaijin Lake'." When Xu Ranwen was in the wild, he often urged Gu Er to tell stories, and he had already recited them by heart. , and took out a palm-sized booklet from his arms: "Wait for me to see...why didn't you write that he still has a donkey?"

Cheng Qianren rubbed his eyebrows, quite speechless.

This is the way Gu Er said, "Everyone should not have a hard time" to get money.This booklet introduces Beilan's style and outstanding students. The content is bold, the words are sharp, there are no esoteric terms of practice, and the portraits of the characters in the pictures are lifelike.Nanyuan students bought it to see how to learn, and ordinary people bought it to see gossip.

After tea and dinner, everyone will have a book, sit in a teahouse or under the shade of a tree, and comment with relish, as if everyone can point out the country and talk about the heroes of the world.So it is very popular, and the supply exceeds the demand.

Gu Er used to set up a stall to sell calligraphy and painting, and was acquainted with the boss who sold pens and inks in the West Market. He entrusted the boss to print and sell them.

After the second round of the preliminary round, Cheng Qianren became obsessed with sword practice, knowing that it was already too late.

"It's enough to write some romantic affairs, and you even write their nicknames?" People won't fight for you?

Gu Xuejiang smiled and said: "Bai Meiren, Qiu Craftsmanship, Fu Jianchi, Yuan Madman... I didn't take these, everyone in the imperial capital knows, I let them become famous in Nanyang, why not?"

Looking at the slow-moving donkey at this moment, Gu Er suddenly realized: "It was my negligence, I will make up for it in the next book."

Cheng Qianren: "Is there another one?"

"Less work, quick money, I'll write three books, and we'll buy a house next month!"

Lin Duzhi saw that although Gu Xuejiang was in good spirits, her face was slightly pale, probably because she was not tolerant of cold rain.He took the umbrella with one hand, and held his pulse door with the other to send his true energy, so as not to catch the cold air from entering his body.

He casually asked, "I've only heard of 'a sage riding a green ox', but what about riding a donkey?"

Gu Xuejiang chanted: "'There are dust and wine marks on the clothes, and you can travel far away without losing your soul. Is this body a poet? Xiao Yu rode a donkey into the sword gate.' Yuan Shangqiu likes these two poems the most. Nanyang How can there be no donkey when there is rain and there is a sword at the waist?"

Although Lin Duzhi didn't know much about swordsmanship, he had a high level of cultivation and keen perception. He laughed when he heard this: "He doesn't look like a poet."

Gu Xuejiang: "That's right, his younger brother Yuan Xiasuo is more similar. Most likely he is sitting in the black carriage next to him, and perhaps their mutual friend, Qiu Bei, is also in the carriage."

Xu Ran searched for a long time according to the brochure, and found that there was one person missing from the team: "Did Fu Keji not come?"

Gu Er is full-time today to answer questions and answer questions: "It's normal if you don't come. Fu Keji is a disciple of Jiange. He went out to the world to practice and study in the imperial capital. With his arrogance, he may not be willing to fight on behalf of Beilan." He thought for a while: "Even if Come on, he doesn’t like this kind of ostentation either. Either practice sword in the outskirts and wait for the crowd to disperse after dusk before entering the city, or already in the city.”

The three watched the convoy and chatted, Cheng Qianren remained silent, noticing that the young man on the donkey's back was leaning back, and seemed to laugh a few times.Suddenly there was a slight movement in his heart, only a moment ago, the man turned his head to look at them, opened his mouth to spit out weeds, and licked his canine teeth.

His jaw was thin, and the tails of his eyes were long and drooping. For some reason, his handsome face exuded a shocking unruly evil nature.

That gaze seemed to pass through heavy rain, and fell straight on him!

The lingering drizzle of early autumn turned cold to the marrow.

Lin Duzhi also noticed something, and exchanged a glance with Cheng Qianren.

Cheng Qianren: "Can he hear us?"

Xu Ran waved his hand: "Impossible, at this distance, he is not in the Hinayana realm."

The author has something to say:

PS: The poems in this article are from Lu You. This has nothing to do with the connotation of the original poem. "The sage riding a green ox" comes from Lao Tzu riding a bull through Hangu Pass. Of course, there is no Lao Tzu in this world, but there are saints. I wrote nonsense when I thought of it...