dragon pen

The Zhang family is a famous family, and the house left by their ancestors is astonishingly large. When mentioning the Zhang family in the south of the Yangtze River, people's first impression is to widen their eyes and say "heh", then give a thumbs up and say: Rich!Elegant!

This is thanks to the fact that the Zhang family has never abandoned their beliefs in the past hundred years. Unlike other families that possessed the Dream Artifact, they gradually declined with the passage of time, and it is not even known when they completely disappeared.The Zhang family has always been active in the forefront of the profession of "Dream Painter". Although the Zhang family has never produced such a master of painting living dragons since the ancestor Zhang Sengyou, but with the help of the "pointing dragon" There are countless outstanding "dream painters" in the past dynasties.Not to mention the miraculous fetishes they created, just the mountains, rivers, waters, and all living things and creatures painted by that ordinary brush have spirituality. No matter how many dynasties they have gone through, the paintings of the Zhang family are all owned by the royal family. A fixed share of collectibles.

For example, the current head of the family advocates Huaishan. When he was young, he was famous for his "Sunset Picture of Fengqi Wutong Trees". It is said that the phoenix in that picture disappeared from the painting at the beginning of the day and turned into a small moving ink dot on the top of the mountain. It can be said that it is a living treasure in the world, wearing colorful clouds and returning to the branches of the phoenix tree.A high-ranking official in the capital was willing to sell a big house just to get this painting, but the collector who was lucky enough to get this painting was not tempted at all.

There are many legendary stories.

It wasn't until Zhang Ziyao's generation came out that he had no talent or interest in painting.

"Hey, how can I be considered a weirdo? It's wrong not to like painting."

With his hands folded in his sleeves, the young man lowered his head and drooped his shoulders with a low-key appearance. He passed the nine-turn corridor, several small courtyards, and passed a magnificent study room, pretending not to hear his brothers discussing painting skills inside. By the way, they boasted to each other that they would have great success in the future, and they just kept their eyes on their noses and their noses and walked with their heads buried in their heads. When they were far away and could not hear the noisy noise of those people, Zhang Ziyao slowed down his pace.

At this time, he stepped into a small and clean courtyard that was completely different from other luxurious courtyards of the Zhang Family Mansion. In the center of the small courtyard, there was a pool of lotus that had just bloomed and was bustling. The wooden bridge, at the end of the wooden bridge is the center of the lotus pond, and there is an exquisite log cabin on the water.

Probably because he was about to reach his destination, the tense face of the young man relaxed a little, and there was a rare smile on his usually slack face.

Zhang Ziyao's pace became a little easier, and he stepped on the delicate wooden bridge, despite the sound of "creaking" from the bridge under his feet, when he came to the wooden house, from the window of the wooden house, the bird just now The paper crane flew out and landed on the tip of the boy's nose.The smile on the young man's face became clearer, and he stretched out his fingertips to tap lightly, and the thousand paper cranes disappeared into the air in a wisp of light ink, at this moment a woman's voice came from the room: "Zi Yao, You came?"

"mother."

In response, he opened the door and entered the house.It was the midsummer of July and August, but the brazier was burning in the house, and what came out was a strong smell of traditional Chinese medicine.However, the young man seemed to be accustomed to this, his eyes turned around in the room, and finally stopped on the bed in the room.Sitting on the bed was a young woman in her 30s. Her delicate eyebrows resembled the young man standing by the bed at this time. Compared with the natural indifference of the young man, the eyebrows and eyes were much gentler. It's just that his face was pale and bloodless, and his sickness could not be concealed, as if he had been ill for a long time, and it meant that he was dying.

Even the smile seems to be forced to hang up.

Zhang Ziyao saw it, he was stunned, but he didn't expose it, he just lifted the hem of his robe and sat down beside the bed, just smiled and said, "My son came to see you."

"Did you make grandpa angry again today?" There was not much complaint in the woman's words.

The young man responded, and looked at some people who were not convinced and said: "Isn't this something that can't be helped? He brought me a 'point dragon brush' again, and used Zhang Ziyi's crooked-faced rabbit drawn seven or eight years ago to embarrass me, isn't it? Can you eat two mouthfuls of grass? As for seven or eight years of talking about it..."

The woman coughed a few times, and Zhang Ziyao quickly stretched out his hand to help her up a little bit, and listened patiently while giving her comfort——

"Grandpa is anxious for your own good. You are the eldest son of the family. How can you not inherit the saying of "Dianlong Pen"? Cough...your father passed away early, and everything in the family is handed over to your second uncle. Now My body is getting worse day by day, if your grandpa is not still here, your second uncle..." The woman said here, with a trace of sadness in her eyes, and sighed, "No wonder grandpa mentioned this matter today, Don't be surprised, I heard that the Zhao family who owned the 'unextinguishable lamp' sent a message to your grandfather. There was a big disturbance in the north, and it was about to be overwhelmed. Please ask your grandfather to help..."

"What? What is the old man doing all the time? Just the way to the north can break his bones..." Zhang Ziyao blinked and seemed quite surprised, "Why didn't I hear the news?"

"Grandpa is not worried about you, so you dare not speak up. After he left, I don't know when he will come back. Now you are not interested in the succession of 'Dream Painter'. It is more and more a manifestation of talent..."

"Mother, I know what you're worried about," Zhang Ziyao held his mother's hand, "I've told my grandfather that I don't follow the practice of being a legitimate son and not a legitimate son, and I will take the 'Dianlong Pen' to anyone who wants it." , as long as those people don't come to disturb our mother and son's steady life, let them do the rest."

"..."

Seeing that the persuasion was fruitless, and she had understood her son's temperament for many years, the woman stopped talking, and simply skipped the topic and dragged Zhang Ziyao to say some other light-hearted, homely things, and there was laughter in the small wooden house It continued until the sun went down and the girl who brought dinner every day came in with a food basket, and the mother and son realized that it was getting late.He hurriedly sent his son to the main hall to have dinner with the big family, and the latter reluctantly stood up from the bed, and walked away step by step.

After Zhang Ziyao walked away, the small wooden house in the middle of the lake became quiet again.

It's just that a woman's low cough sounded from time to time, and among them, there seemed to be a few slight sighs...

Three days later.

Zhang Huaishan's preparation to leave for the north was finally put on the agenda.

Zhang Ziyao sat at the dinner table and watched coldly his brothers Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zixiao, who competed in acting skills. One was jealous, the other had tears in his eyes as if he was worried. Grandpa, what are we going to do when you leave, his second uncle Zhang Jiao was at the side to promise, Daddy, you can rest assured to go to the north, this family has a son, I promise you will be better than now when you come back!

Zhang Huaishan: "I don't worry about family matters that much, but after I leave, there are still some other things at home that I can't worry about. Your sister-in-law's health is getting worse day by day. You should take care of her when I'm gone. Ganoderma lucidum is expensive, but it cannot be saved, as for the 'Dianlong brush'..."

Zhang Jiao: "Zi Yi and Zi Xiao have also grown up, and their painting skills have improved over the years. A kingfisher that Tian Zi Xiao painted a few days ago came to life. Heh, those brilliant feathers really look like the phoenix bird you painted back then. From the scroll Flying across the lake, I thought it was a real kingfisher and ordered some water!"

Zhang Huaishan: "As for the 'Dianlong Brush', it's better to let Ziyao inherit it earlier."

Zhang Jiao: "..."

From the corner of his eyes, Zhang Ziyao saw that the expressions of the two cousins ​​around him changed instantly. He felt a slight headache. He put down his chopsticks and raised his head: "Huh? I don't want it."

Zhang Huaishan: "Zhang Ziyao, you don't want anything, are you itchy?"

Zhang Ziyao curled his lips and had no choice but to lower his head and continue eating without saying a word. Then the atmosphere at the dinner table became a little weird. Although Zhang Jiao was still smiling and clapping his chest to ensure that everything in the house must be taken care of properly, his two sons had already "clicked" The issue of the ownership of "Dragon Pen" completely lost interest in continuing to sing. The two quieted down and sat beside Zhang Ziyao with a gloomy face. They rarely moved their chopsticks and seemed to lack appetite.Zhang Ziyao had a good meal with chopsticks and chopsticks. He didn't forget to greet the two brothers: "Hurry up, how can you grow taller if you don't eat? Is it too hot and you have a bad appetite?"

When Zhang Huaishan and Zhang Jiao were talking, Zhang Zixiao gave Zhang Ziyao a hard look, gritted his teeth, and said, "You'll be a good boy if you get a bargain!"

Zhang Ziyao felt bored, so he touched the tip of his nose resentfully, and simply gave up talking.

The night before, just after dinner, the people dispersed in twos and threes, each thinking about going back to the room to digest and digest. Unexpectedly, when the door opened, the Zhang family received an urgent letter from the north, which seemed to urge Zhang Huaishan to go on the road earlier. .As a result, in the dead of night, the neighbors turned off the lights and went to sleep, but the Zhang family became lively. The servants hurriedly tidied up all night, arranging the carriage bedding for the old man, and counting the things he needed to bring on the road.

The young masters were uniformly called to the Zhang Family Ancestral Hall to give lectures. Facing the "Dianlong Brush", one of the artifacts enshrined above the spiritual tablets of the ancestors and ancestors, the three young masters of the Zhang family willingly or unwillingly They all promised to never give up the job of "Dream Painter" for life, to remember the family precepts, to study hard, to be worthy of the ancestors, and to carry forward the Zhang family and create greater glories.

After walking out of the ancestral hall, it was already daylight. Zhang Huaishan took Zhang Ziyao to the carriage parked in front of the house. He seemed hesitant to speak along the way. Looking back, he saw a little eunuch with his head bowed and his sleeves folded behind his ass. His eldest son and grandson, his temperless and unambitious appearance made him swallow the words that came to his mouth, until he got into the carriage, sat in the carriage, endured and endured, and finally couldn't help throwing the He opened the curtain, wanting to call Zhang Ziyao back for a few words, who might have gone far away.

Unexpectedly, when the curtain was lifted, that guy was still standing under the carriage stupidly, and seemed to be startled by Zhang Huaishan's sudden action, and he was looking at him inexplicably.

"Zi Yao."

"Ah."

"The situation in the north is really tight. Otherwise, the descendant of the Unextinguishable Lantern would not have taken pride in asking the old man to go out to fight. Grandpa has gone, and he doesn't know when he will be back, or even if he can come back..."

"You're still at the door of the house," Zhang Ziyao narrowed his eyes slightly, loosened his sleeves, and let them hang down on both sides of his body. He raised his head and swept away his usual loose appearance that couldn't be bothered about anything, and said seriously "Don't say such unlucky things. When you are old, you should pay attention to superstition. Aunt Wang next door has learned to dance the big god. There are a lot of things at home. The second uncle can't afford it alone. I'm still waiting for you to come back to host The big picture..."

"I'm old."

"Until the sun sets."

"What are you talking about, you can't listen to me obediently once!"

"..."

Zhang Ziyao was taken aback when he heard the words, and looked at the old man in the carriage looking down at him for a moment, and saw that those shrewd and capable eyes that could burst into flames at any time in his memory were actually a little tired and cloudy under the rising sun.After a long time, as if finally giving up resistance, the young man let out a long sigh, "Understood, I will watch over this family and my younger brothers. With me here, I will definitely not let this family get into trouble, so you can rest assured."

When Zhang Ziyao said this, he paused for a while, and then continued slowly: "Go early and return early."

Zhang Huaishan raised his hand, and the boy standing under the carriage habitually thought that he was about to be beaten again, subconsciously narrowed his eyes slightly and shrunk his neck but did not avoid it.For a long time, he only felt the old man's hand gently land on the top of his head, as if all words were turned into silence, he just patted on his head lightly, sighed, the car curtain fell, and the sound of horse's hooves, and the sound of the horse's hooves came to him. Near and far, until you can't hear it.

At this time the sun rose.

Seeing the carriage drifting away, almost disappearing from sight, the Zhang family and servants who came to see him off dispersed in twos and threes, only the young man in a plain white robe stood alone outside the gate of the Zhang family, looking at the carriage in the distance He seemed to be in a trance in the direction of his departure, but as for why he was in a trance, no one knew what was going on in his mind.