Mountain House Autumn Leaves

There used to be a swordsman in the rivers and lakes. He is famous for two reasons. One is his superb swordsmanship, and the other is his disappearance when he came.

No one has seen him, no one knows who he is, everyone only knows that his name is Qiu Ye.

Qiu Ye said that he is a swordsman, and he will not care about anything in this life, except his three-foot long sword.

Based on this principle, Autumn Leaves came to Liancheng, an ancient city that has survived for thousands of years.Liancheng is beautiful, with mountains, water, and beautiful things and beautiful people.

But Qiuye couldn't see anything, and walked forward as usual.As in the past 30 years, wearing a bamboo hat, wearing a black robe, carrying a long sword, and walking forward without raising his head.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the sky was getting dark, and the night wind followed closely. When Qiu Ye wanted to drink some wine to warm her body, she realized that the wine in the pot had already run out.Looking around, I saw that there was only one simple stall on the side of the road, and there were no other shops.Only then did Qiu Ye realize that she had already left Liancheng.

Qiu Ye thinks that saying that this stall is simple is already giving too much face.Not to mention anything else, let’s just talk about the lantern outside the stall. Under the bright moonlight, if you don’t look carefully, you can hardly think that it is still on.Besides, the shed at this stall, Qiuye said bluntly, was so fragile that he didn't need to touch it, even his sword energy could easily break it apart.

However, if there is no injustice in the past, there will be no enmity in the near future, Qiu Ye does not intend to do this.Although the stall was too broken, he decided to pour a pot of wine in this barren mountain.

"Shopkeeper, just come to the pot bar."

Qiu Ye sat down in the shed and gave casual orders.He didn't intend to pour any good wine, firstly, he was not picky about anything except his sword, and secondly, he really couldn't hope for any good wine at this kind of stall. Asking for good wine from this kind of stall is simply bullying and embarrassing others.

Qiu Ye's bamboo hat was kept so low as before, so that others could not see his face clearly, and he could not see others clearly either.Of course, he doesn't want to see what happens to others, he only cares about his sword.

Therefore, when the innkeeper handed him his jug full of wine, he still didn't notice the innkeeper, and just drank the wine on his own.

This wine is really ordinary.Qiuye drank a pot of wine in one breath, and asked the shopkeeper to make another pot.But it was rejected by the shopkeeper: "Guest officer, there are no more."

Qiu Ye didn't see the store owner's expression, but felt that the store was really broken, why there was only one jug of wine.Although the result was not satisfactory, he couldn't make any more demands, he just asked, "How much is a jug of this wine?"

"Guest officer, you don't need money." The shopkeeper's reply surprised Qiu Ye for the first time. He has traveled all these years, and he has never seen a place where money is not required.

"People in the rivers and lakes say that one is the same, and there is nothing for nothing."

"If the guest officer wants to pay, it's not too late to come again next time."

"There won't be a next time, I will never repeat the same way. You can set a price, I can afford it." Qiu Ye thought, probably because he didn't dress well enough, making the store mistakenly think that he couldn't pay for the wine, Only let him pay next time.That said, the store owner is a nice guy.

Unexpectedly, the storekeeper smiled softly: "In that case, guest officer, let's make a bet."

"What are you gambling?"

"What is the most cherished thing, guest officer?"

"Of course it's my sword." Qiu Ye answered without hesitation.

"Then bet on that sword on your back. If you come back and still want to drink, just pay me that sword." The shopkeeper said in a leisurely manner, as if he had already made up his mind on everything.

Qiu Ye had no choice but to explain again: "I won't come back, and I won't give you the sword, you can make an offer now."

"No money now." The shopkeeper still gave the same answer.

So Qiu Ye turned around and left. He didn't want to take it for nothing, but he didn't want to waste his words.

For these years, he didn't care about anything, and he didn't think about anything, including how to settle down in this barren mountain and wild place, it wasn't a problem for him.He is not picky about anything, he just finds a tree to rest at will, and has nothing to think about.

But today, he thought about it.He thinks this store is sick.

Early the next morning, Qiu Ye set off on the road again.He continued to walk forward, without purpose, without direction, just walking as always.Until dusk, he remembered that the jug was empty, so he went to drink.

Only then did he realize that he had returned to the dilapidated stall he had seen last night.Qiu Ye couldn't help being a little surprised, he didn't know when he changed direction and walked back?

"Guest officer, are you back?" The shopkeeper smiled, "Another pot of wine?"

Qiu Ye nodded, untied the wine jug from her waist and handed it to the shopkeeper, still puzzled, why did she come back?Since when did you turn around and go back?

The shopkeeper handed the full jug to Akiba.

Qiu Ye drank the wine silently like yesterday, but it was much slower than yesterday.

After drinking the last drop of wine, Qiu Ye asked again: "Shopkeeper, how much are these two jugs of wine?"

The shopkeeper said: "I said yesterday that if the guest officer comes back, he will give me the sword on his back."

Qiu Ye blurted out the words of refusal: "I said, I will not give you the sword."

Hearing this, the storekeeper laughed softly: "Guest officer, you also said that you will not come back, but what about now? People in the world, they say what they say."

Qiu Ye was stunned, and the hand holding the sword trembled a little. Naturally, he didn't want to keep his sword, but for some reason, he didn't want to go against the shopkeeper's wish.

Qiu Ye raised his head, this was the first time he looked at other people squarely, and saw that the store owner was a beautiful man, who was looking at him intently at this moment, although he was smiling, but there was endless sadness in his eyes.

Even though the lights were so dim that it was practically useless, Qiu Ye could still see carefully, and the shopkeeper's eyes were definitely not smiling, but desolate.

Inexplicably, Qiuye felt distressed for a while.

Finally, the storekeeper stepped forward, held Qiuye's sword hilt in one hand, and asked with a smile, "How is it? Guest officer, can you give it to me?"

The shopkeeper was slightly lower than Qiuye, and Qiuye looked down slightly at the shopkeeper, seeing the smile on his lips and the disproportionate loneliness in his eyes, and finally let go of his hand.

The storekeeper took Qiuye's sword and laughed instantly, Qiuye could see clearly that the storekeeper's smile at this time was a genuine smile.

Akiba's heart suddenly moved.At this moment, Qiuye felt that to be able to get such a smile was to lose a sword, even if it was the only sword he cared about that had been with him for 20 years.

Maybe even Qiuye didn't notice it, but in this situation, his frosty face actually loosened a bit.

When Qiu Ye turned around and was about to leave the stall, he suddenly heard the shopkeeper behind him calling him: "Guest officer, please stay, guest officer has forgotten something."

When Qiu Ye didn't understand what else a penniless person like himself could leave behind, he saw the shopkeeper hand him the sword again.

Qiu Ye hurriedly said: "Since I promised to pay for the wine with this sword, I won't break my promise, the store just takes it."

Qiu Ye said it sincerely, but she didn't want to attract the shopkeeper's ridicule: "The guest officer thinks that you can pay off your debt with just a sword?" But the shopkeeper's gaffe was only for a moment, and he recovered soon. As before, still smiling, he held the sword in front of Qiu Ye: "The guest officer gave me the sword earlier to pay for the wine, and now I give it to the guest officer as a gift for the guest officer. There is no conflict between the two."

Qiu Ye had no choice but to take his sword, and when she carried it on her back, she realized that there was an extra delicate tassel inlaid with acacia seeds on the hilt.When Akiba was about to ask the shopkeeper why, the shopkeeper had already disappeared.The stall where a few lights were on just now is already pitch black, as if no one has ever been there.

Over the years, Qiuye never liked to think about anything.But today, he thought about it again, he felt that he would like to come to this store again.

As soon as it got dark on the third day, Qiu Ye returned to the stall at the foot of the mountain outside Liancheng again. This was the second time in his life that he took the same road, and it was the same road.

Today, without waiting for the shopkeeper to open his mouth, Qiu Ye ordered: "Shopkeeper, bring another pot of the same wine."

Just like the previous two days, the shopkeeper handed Qiu Ye a full jug of wine.

Qiu Ye took the jug, and this time, he drank more slowly, savoring it carefully one by one.

"My name is Qiuye." Qiuye talked about himself while drinking wine, probably Qiuye himself wondered, he was very different these two days, he seemed to be a different person, he said, "I am a swordsman, homeless Wander around."

"My name is Shanju." The shopkeeper responded with a smile as before, "I am a scholar who has lived in the mountains for a long time and sold wine for business."

Qiu Ye took off the bamboo hat and looked up at Shanju. It wasn't too late today. Only then did he realize that although Shanju brewed wine every day, he was still wearing long robes, which were pure white, spotless, and ethereal. .

Qiu Ye was stunned, took another sip of wine and said, "I walk like this every day, aimlessly. I seem to be looking for something, but I don't know what I'm looking for."

"I also make wine like this every day. What have I been waiting for?" Shanju continued, with a look of loneliness and silence in his eyes that did not match his handsome cheeks and slender body, "I have been waiting for this way for many, many years. gone."

Shanju sat down at the table, facing Qiuye: "Tell me your story."

"My surname is Feiqiu. I got the name Autumn Leaf because I was born in autumn when the dead leaves are falling. I have learned martial arts since I was a child. I don't want to be famous through the ages. After walking for 20 years, I found that I still don’t know what the end of the world is.” Qiu Ye looked at the wine in the jug, and behind the jug was the looming figure of Shanju: “What is the end of the world... Shanju, I seem to be drunk gone."

"It's not that you're drunk, it's that you don't know what you're looking for, and you're deceiving yourself and others with a 'end of the world'. In fact, your heart is confused and chaotic. Although you are skilled in martial arts, you are like a walking dead."

Shanju still speaks in such a soft voice, like rain moistening everything, so light that it cannot be heard.But it was like a fierce ax hitting Qiu Ye's heart.

It was the first time for Qiuye to be so surprised by one thing. He never thought that one day someone would say this about him, saying that his generation of sword masters is a walking corpse, and that he is deceiving himself and others by saying that he walks the world with his sword in a chic way.

"I," Qiu Ye smiled wryly, "I've never talked to a person like this. I haven't said that about myself, nor heard others say that about me."

Shanju was still kind: "Do you know why? Because, you drank my wine." Shanju pulled up the scattered hair, got up and went back to the house: "You will never be able to pay for the wine."

Seeing Shanju's figure disappear into the dim light, Akiba called him out of nowhere: "Shanju, I don't want to leave."

Shanju looked back, smiling hard: "Okay, then stay and make wine with me."

In the middle of the night, Shanju is still brewing wine in the forest, and Qiu Ye is still not picky about sleeping on the spot by the wine cellar.

The moonlight sprinkled in the forest, reflecting on the sharp-edged faces of autumn leaves.Shanju covered Qiuye with his robe, sat beside Qiuye and looked at his sleeping state, and said to himself, "Yezi, do you know the name of the wine I brew?"

After a long time, Shanju slowly raised the corners of his lips: "It's called 'Rebirth'."