dragon pen

Zhang Huaishan had just left, and as soon as the lunch time passed, Zhang Ziyao sat alone in his small study for a while, holding in his hand the homework he needed for tomorrow's school, but no matter what, he couldn't read a single word... Suddenly remembering that tomorrow is the day when mother will use the new medicine, she simply throws away the textbooks and goes to the cashier to pay the money.

I didn't expect to kick the iron board there.The accountant who had been in the Zhang family for 20 years saw Zhang Ziyao and called him young master respectfully and with a smile. Before leaving, he gave Zhang Jiao the key to the counting room. From the moment he left, all the expenses of the Zhang family had to be counted by Zhang Jiao nodding his head.

When Zhang Ziyao heard this, he had a general idea in his heart. He had already guessed that some members of the family would be unable to sit still when Zhang Huaishan left, but he didn't expect the change to come so quickly.However, it was about his mother's life-threatening drug money, so even if he wanted to escape, he would not be sloppy. Before thinking about it, Zhang Ziyao bid farewell to the accountant, walked to the big study, and let Zhang Jiaoyang go to the tiger's mouth by himself.

He almost guessed what Zhang Jiao would say with his toes, but Zhang Ziyao didn't resist. He just lowered his head and pretended to be crazy, pretending that he didn't understand anything, and obediently opened the door of the big study room that he hadn't touched for a long time. the door.

Zhang Jiazhu's study room is very large, with good lighting. It is a good place for the Zhang family to practice painting skills on weekdays. Seven or eight bookshelves are filled with various ancient books about dream painters. For the most, the content of ancient books ranges from shallow to deep to the fragments collected by ancestors in the early years, which is enough for a Zhang family to stay in this study from toddlers to pick up brushes and learn to paint until the age of yellow hair, and learn new skills every day .

When Zhang Ziyao opened the door and came in, Zhang Jiao was sitting in Zhang Huaishan's favorite seat before, holding Zhang Huaishan's most frequently used pen in his hand.At this time, Zhang Huaishan had only been away from home for less than three hours, and it was too much to say that he was concerned, not to mention that Zhang Jiao seemed impatient to be replaced, and he didn't seem to be trying to hide it.Seeing his uncle's appearance, the young man frowned indistinctly, but he didn't expose it. He just bowed slightly and said politely, "Second Uncle, are you busy?"

Hearing Zhang Ziyao's voice, Zhang Jiao smiled happily, put down the pen in his hand that didn't belong to him, and waved at him: "Ziyao is here, come here, don't be busy, come and chat with your second uncle ...Oh, this old man is gone, and there are only a group of careless bastards left in the house, and there is no one who can calm down and listen to me!"

Zhang Ziyao smiled and sat down on the chair straight away without saying much. Before he could speak, he heard Zhang Jiao say, "A few days ago, your younger brother Zi Xiao's picture of a kingfisher playing in water was captured by the county. The officials and lords in the village begged for a lot of money, saying that it was a big official in the capital who was celebrating his birthday, and begged for a lottery."

Zhang Ziyao: "Oh, how much did you sell for?"

Zhang Jiao stretched out three fingers, and smiled so hard that he bared his teeth: "It's enough for your mother's medicine for three months."

It is really which pot is opened and which pot is lifted, and the talk goes straight to the point.Zhang Ziyao's heart was lit like an ever-burning lamp.

"Good thing," Zhang Ziyao seemed to be used to his second uncle's weird measurement unit of silver weight, and the smile on his face remained unchanged. Trouble."

"You can't say that. Although Ziyi and Zixiao have shown their ability as dream painters since they were young, which made the people in the collateral clan envious, but your performance when you were young is not inferior to your younger brothers," Zhang Jiao said. Said, "It's just that you didn't want to be a dream painter, and then you fell down. This is a side story, but you don't have to take it to heart. I have a different view from the old man, and I won't force you. After all, everyone has their own ambitions, and everyone has their own ideas." Ambitious!"

This is to praise my son for not forgetting to step on him and not work hard the day after tomorrow, so that the mud can't stick to the wall and waste resources?Zhang Ziyao was a little disapproving, tucked his chin in slightly, and straightened his back: "Second Uncle knows why I came here today. Ming people don't speak secretly, so it's better to speak up."

The middle-aged man who looked up to the sky and laughed loudly stopped laughing when he heard the words, and raised his hand to touch his chin: "Ziyao, second uncle knows that your heart is not on Dream Painter, but my century-old Zhang family The industry must not be neglected, and the "Dianlong Brush" is the glory left by the ancestors. How can you let it be covered in dust in the Zhang Family Ancestral Hall all day long because of your own ambition? Don't think that you don't love it if you don't like it Listen, Second Uncle reasoned with you, do you think this matter is reasonable?"

"It makes sense."

"The Zhang family has always had the rule that the 'Dianlong Pen' is passed on to the descendant and not to the concubine, and not to the side. Naturally, there is a reason for this rule to exist, but in our generation, as the son of the clan, you don't care about your family's opposition. I went to a private school, and I have to test for some kind of fame, and my painting skills have been abandoned long ago..."

"Second uncle."

"In the."

"What is the state of the two younger brothers now?"

"Dream painters are based on painting mountains, rocks and dead things, and plants and birds are the way; next will be beasts such as leopards, tigers, eagles and pythons; after that, a genius like your grandfather will be able to draw in the "Dianlong Brush" With the assistance of the phoenix, the bird and the panlong, this rare beast that does not exist in the world is drawn on the painting paper at sunrise and rests at sunset, and its life is lively, as if it really exists..."

"Just moving on paper?"

"This...Ziyao, how long has it been since you studied the Dream Painter?" Zhang Jiao laughed after a moment of embarrassment, "Different from flowers, birds and beasts, phoenixes, birds and dragons are rare beasts that do not exist in the world. , who can draw it and release it on paper, since ancient times, only our patriarch Zhang Sengyao is alone... Judging by the way you ask this question, you seem to be a layman? Tsk tsk tsk really! By the way, your brothers this year Just reached the age of dancing an elephant, and he has completely mastered the state of a bird, which is even better than your grandfather in those days. If you can have that 'Dianlong Brush' as ​​a supplement, in time, you will be able to..."

"I see." Zhang Ziyao stood up, as if he didn't understand the sarcasm in Zhang Jiao's words, and flicked the non-existent dust on his sleeve, "Since that pen is indispensable to the progress of my brothers, I will Brother, how can you stop them from shining brightly, that pen, if you want it, you can just take it..."

Before Zhang Ziyao could finish his words, Zhang Jiao grasped the key point. Needless to say, he looked very happy, as if his son had rebelled from the bastard, seized power, and reached the pinnacle of life... That look bored Zhang Ziyao, but he wanted Yu Ren, it's better not to have an attack, he just paused, and then said with a blank expression: "But after that, my mother's monthly medication money, please ask the second uncle to say hello to the accountant."

"I want it! Don't worry, with the 'Dianlong Brush', your younger brothers' painting skills will definitely rise to the top, and the Zhang family will be rich in money..."

Zhang Jiao quickly agreed, and was about to say a few more polite words to Zhang Ziyao with a smile on his face. When the general walked away, he was left standing alone, watching his back.

After a long time, the middle-aged man standing in the study withdrew the accumulated smile on his face, and said "Pooh" at the leaving figure of the young man, with contempt and malice in his eyes.

"I really thought I was a pancai, what kind of son and eldest grandson, but just a layman waste!"

……

Zhang Ziyao left the study that day, feeling depressed, and always felt that he seemed to have done something wrong to his grandfather Zhang Huaishan. He walked around the courtyard and went to see his mother. The woman who called her relatives was getting worse and worse. Although she forced a smile on her face, when she turned to leave, she always felt more depressed than before.

Because his father passed away early and his grandfather went away again, although the Zhang family respects him as the young master now, it seems that he is under the fence of others. For the sake of his mother's health, he must make necessary concessions.

How else could it be?

Zhang Ziyao suddenly felt as if he understood the meaning of Zhang Huaishan's last meaningful sigh before leaving.

Day two.

Zhang Ziyao, who was trying to get everything back on track, got up early and went to his private school as usual. After reading for a day, he found that he hadn't read a single word. In the afternoon, he returned home in a daze and wiped his face. He went to bed without dinner until midnight. It was only after he woke up from hunger that he realized that he hadn't shown up all day, and there was no servant to bring him a stutter.

It's as if he doesn't exist in the Zhang family.

The young master's hypocritical temperament came up in his heart, and Zhang Ziyao couldn't sleep anymore when he was angry, so he put on a coat and went out for a night walk outside to step on the moonlight to breathe...

After passing the big study, I found that there was still movement inside, and Zhang Ziyi's laughter came vaguely: "Haha, I finally got this 'Dianlong Brush', it really didn't take much effort to get it, if you really hold those ordinary pens every day Painting every day, I have to paint until the year of the monkey to make progress tonight and night!"

"Yes, if such a fetish falls into Zhang Ziyao's hands..."

"Don't mention that trash, brother, look at me, this white tiger!"

There was a roar of a beast in the house.

This was followed by more excited laughter from the two brothers.

"..."

retarded.

Zhang Ziyao felt even more headache.

In the end, he came to the lotus pond unknowingly, thinking that his mother must be asleep in the middle of the night and didn't want to disturb him, and planned to walk around the lotus pond before obediently going back to sleep. Just as he hadn't taken two steps, Suddenly, from the wooden house in the middle of the pool, a woman's weeping was heard.

Zhang Ziyao listened carefully and found that the crying person was Chunfeng, a little girl who often served his mother.Crying like this in the middle of the night made people feel a little creepy. He shook his head helplessly. Zhang Ziyao walked up the wooden bridge and was about to find out, when he suddenly heard Chunfeng's vague voice——

"Madam, what should I do? Your coughing up blood is getting worse!"

Coughing up blood?

Didn't it mean that I hung ginseng earlier, and it has improved!

Hearing this, Zhang Ziyao paused, fear arose in his heart, and stood on the wooden bridge in a daze on the spot, unable to move at all!At this time, the girl in the room didn't know that her crying was heard by the person who shouldn't have heard it, and she was still crying to herself: "Those people are too insignificant. The old man just walked away. They cut off your medicine on the back foot, and now it’s late summer and autumn, and the nights are cool, and we have to use a fire pot..."

Chunfeng lay on the bedside crying, unexpectedly at this time the wooden door behind her was pushed open from the outside heavily, she stopped crying and sniffed and turned her head, and then saw her young master walking in quickly from the outside with a sullen face, She widened her eyes slightly: "Master! At this time, why do you..."

Before Chunfeng finished speaking, he was pushed aside, and his original position was replaced by a young man with dewy and cold air. He stretched out his hand with a gloomy face, and grabbed the woman who was half leaning on the bed. Hand: "Mom, why are your hands so cold? The brazier in the house is less burning than usual... Where's the soup? Have you taken the freshly caught soup today?"

A series of questions were asked quickly and softly, and the woman who was asked had no time to answer, so she just forced a smile: "It's so late, why are you here?"

"You answer my question first."

"Master, the material room said that winter came early this year, and the new firewood hasn't come down yet. We need to reserve more old firewood left over from previous years for the young masters in the big study, lest they won't be able to stand the cold and refuse to go any further. Let's divide it here!" Seeing that the woman didn't say anything, Chunfeng was so anxious that she interrupted out of courtesy, "As for the daily medicine, it hasn't been delivered today. I went to the accountant to ask, and said that the second uncle just ordered it yesterday. The new rules have been adopted, and the payment of money is much stricter than in the past. Before the money for the medicine comes down, the medicine will be discontinued..."

"A bunch of bastards!"

Before Chunfeng finished speaking, he saw the young man who was kneeling by the bed standing up angrily. The appearance of being so angry and swearing was very different from the image of the old young master who always smiled and had no temper. Chunfeng immediately stopped talking , His eyes widened in fright, and he didn't dare to breathe.

Fortunately, at this time, the woman spoke in time, and she held Zhang Ziyao, who was about to go crazy, with her pale and feeble hand, and comforted him, "What are you yelling about in the middle of the night, and someone heard that our young master has no rules. Crazy in the middle of the night...cough!"

Before she finished speaking, another mouthful of blood dripped down the corner of her lips when she opened her mouth. Under the dim candlelight, the cold sweat on the woman's forehead almost wet her temples, and her eyes became more and more cloudy. Coming soon!

Zhang Ziyao finally calmed down, now seeing his mother's appearance, he felt both anxious and painful, and what's more, he hated Zhang Jiao's family for killing them all!It is not enough for him to give up the "Dianlong pen" verbally, the eldest lady who theoretically has the highest status and the most right to speak in the family must be forced to death, so that they can enjoy the entire Zhang family with peace of mind!

For some reason, the previous conversation between Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Zixiao sounded again in his mind. The joyful and excited laughter of the two brothers after they got the "Dianlong Pen" seemed to be the biggest mockery of him at this time.He seemed to feel that the blood in his whole body was flowing backwards due to anger, flowing to the top of his head and boiling in his brain.

"Ziyao, why did you suddenly stop talking? Don't be angry, there's no need to get into trouble with your second uncle and the others. Your grandfather should be worried if he knows... Mother is fine, but I feel a little cold. Go and help me close the window, okay?" good?"

The soft voice of the woman on the bed came, her gaze was looking in Zhang Ziyao's direction, but there was no focus in her eyes... Chunfeng who was standing aside seemed to realize something, standing aside with her hands covering her mouth, crying It was falling like soybeans, Zhang Ziyao turned his head, glanced calmly at the tightly closed window behind him, stretched out his hand, held his mother's cold and thin hand, and said in a low and hoarse voice, "Okay, I'll go!" Close the window, and then... give you some more fire?"

The woman leaning on the bed smiled and nodded.

Zhang Ziyao let her go, stood up and walked to the window, pushed the window open, and then closed it again, deliberately making the sound of closing the window, then looked back at the smiling woman who was sitting by the bed and only "looking" in his direction People, listen to her ask: "Is the window closed?"

Zhang Ziyao paused: "It's closed."

"I just said, it's not so cold now."

Zhang Ziyao responded, and said again: "I'll add some fire to you.

After saying that, he glanced at the charcoal that was about to burn out in the brazier, and ignored Chunfeng's hesitant and pitiful eyes that wanted to remind him that there was no extra charcoal. He just walked straight to the table in the wooden house, Take a piece of rice paper from the side, shake it gently, and take out an ordinary Zihao from the pen holder, lightly dab the ink, take a deep breath, and then the pen tip falls steadily on the drawing paper!

One tick, one stroke, the round lines spread out on the paper, the ink blots are thick and thin, the lines are lines, the dots are dots, and in a short while, a delicate brazier filled with charcoal fire is about to be completed on the paper...

Zhang Ziyao narrowed his eyes slightly, and his eyes became more focused. When he turned the brush in his hand, he was about to put the last ink on the pot of charcoal that seemed to have been burned on the paper——

Snapped.

A light bamboo crackling interrupted his movements.

The brush that had been full of ink was suddenly broken into two for some reason.The front end fell on the rice paper, and the painting that was about to be completed was caught off guard with a sudden and shocking ink mark...

The young man was stunned, holding a half-written pen, standing alone behind the table.

Behind him, the little girl who was covering the woman's quilt seemed to realize something, her hand trembled, and the thin quilt fell on the woman's cheek, covering half of her sick face.

"... madam? madam!!"

……

Zhang family, in the big study.

The Zhang family brothers, who had been excited all night about the "Dianlong Brush" just taken out of the ancestral hall, stayed up all night because they fantasized about their bright future in the future. When the chirping sounded, the two brothers were discussing whether to go out and find a good place to have a good breakfast and then come back to have a good night's sleep.All of a sudden, there was a sudden gust of wind blowing outside the house, and the door of the big study was blown open with a loud "bang"!

"Who is it!"

The two brothers in the room were startled, and exchanged nervous glances, together with the white tiger lying on the back of them that had just been painted with a "Dianlong brush" and leaped out of the paper, raised its head vigilantly. The tiger's whiskers moved, its ears pricked up, and it looked like it was facing a formidable enemy.

A moment later, a thin figure slowly appeared in the eyes of the Zhang family brothers from the outside to the inside. The strong wind blew his robe a little messy, and his untucked long hair fluttered in the wind.Among the two brothers, Zhang Zixiao recognized the person first, his eyes widened slightly, as if a little surprised: "Zhang Ziyao?"

"Zhang Ziyao?"

Zhang Ziyi was stupefied at first, then quickly rubbed his eyes and looked at the person in front of him. It was indeed Zhang Ziyao, but it was different from his brother who was obedient and foolishly smiling in everything he remembered. His eyes were slightly red, and the brows and eyes were filled with a strong sense of murder. When he met the black and white eyes behind the wind-blown hair, Zhang Ziyi felt a "thump" in his heart, and hit him for no reason. A sudden!

"You, you, you...you don't read your book so early in the morning, what kind of monster do you come to the big study!" Zhang Ziyi mustered up his courage and shouted, his eyes rolled around in his sockets, watching Zhang Ziyao walking away As he got closer, he didn't know why fear suddenly appeared in his heart, and he took half a step back without a trace, approaching Mo Hu behind him as if seeking comfort, and shouted loudly, "What kind of eyes are you! Don't come over!"

After a long time, he heard Zhang Ziyao's hoarse and deep voice: "Give it back to me."

Zhang Ziyi: "?"

"give me back!"

The boy's hands were clenched tightly into fists, and his voice seemed to squeeze out resentment through his teeth.Zhang Zixiao took a closer look, only to realize that the young man was not unarmed at this time, there was thick ink dripping down from the gap between his fingers...By the dim candlelight in the room, when the young man got close enough, He could see more clearly: Zhang Ziyao was holding half of a broken Zihao brush in his hand.

Disturbed by the weird scene in front of him, Zhang Zixiao frowned. Unlike Zhang Ziyi who wrote fear clearly on his face, he made a wrong step between Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Ziyao: "Zhang Ziyao, what are you talking about? What are you talking about?" Back to you?"

Zhang Ziyao stopped, raised his slender chin slightly, and looked at his younger brother who was already half a head taller than him at this time. The corners of his eyes were slightly red, and the eyes seemed to be soaked in black ink. Without a single ray of light, it was as if all his soul had been taken away from him. He just stared at Zhang Zixiao and said calmly, "Give it back to me, 'Dianlong Brush'."

Zhang Zixiao's brows frowned even tighter. He seemed to sense something was wrong with Zhang Ziyao. He moved his lips but before he could speak, an impatient person behind him made a movement. Snatching the "Dianlong Brush" from Zhang Zixiao's hand and holding it tightly in his arms, Zhang Ziyi called out "Mohu" in a sharp voice, and before Zhang Zixiao could react, he heard a loud sound The roar of the beast, the next second, the huge beast drawn in ink brushed his shoulder and rushed out, heavily throwing Zhang Ziyao standing in front of him to the ground!

The young man groaned in pain, only to hear a "hiss", Mohu's sharp claws tore a huge wound on his shoulder, and bright red blood soaked out, dyeing his robe red, the young man Being pinned to the ground by the giant tiger and unable to move, Zhang Ziyi saw that he had no power to fight back, and his fear relaxed. He laughed arrogantly, waved his fist fiercely in Zhang Ziyao's direction and shouted: "Bite him!" Tear him up! Come on! I’ve been displeased with him for a long time, and the ‘Dianlong Pen’ promised to be taken back to us, how can there be such a reason for breaking promises!”

"Zhang Ziyi! Are you crazy!"

Seeing that Zhang Ziyao was bleeding continuously, Zhang Zixiao bit his lower lip and remained silent. Seeing that his complexion was getting worse and worse, fearing that it would cause a catastrophe, he strode forward vigorously, and was about to draw the hand-drawn one by himself. Mo Hu retracted it, but at this moment, he suddenly noticed something different from the corner of his eye——

Zhang Ziyao supported Mo Hu's jaw with one hand, holding the beast's huge mouth tightly to prevent him from hurting his vitals, while the other hand... was waving quickly on the ground!

Traces of dark red blood used as ink gradually formed on the ground!

With slender wings, a small head like a crane, and one foot, it seems to be flying in the air!

"One opens the world, the second produces yin and yang, the three combine and the four images, the five spirits gather together, like dreams and shadows..."

As if guessing what would happen next, Zhang Zixiao's pupils narrowed slightly, he took a step back, pushed Zhang Ziyi, who was still immersed in joy, and shouted "Run away", but it was too late, only to be heard by Mo Mo The young man who was pressed to the ground by the tiger let out a muffled groan, and the strength he didn't know came from suddenly overturned the burly giant tiger from his body. The bloody palm slapped the painted totem hard——

"Should be a dream painter, call Xuanhuang, open!"

In an instant, it was clear that the weather was sunny, but the outside of the house suddenly became gloomy, the wind was strong, and the clouds in the sky were as red as flames. Accompanied by a piercing bird song, scorching flames scattered along the totem, and the fire instantly engulfed most of the totem. The study room swallowed up half of the neatly arranged bookshelves in an instant!

In the flames, a fiery giant bird flapped its wings and flew into the air, swooping down on the ink tiger. In just a split second, the giant tiger disappeared into thin air, and the black ink spots scattered all over the ground like the ink tiger's blood. , At the same time, Zhang Zixiao felt as if his chest had been severely wounded and took a step back, a mouthful of blood spewed out!

There is a record in the "Xishan Jing", which is 280 miles west, called the mountain of Zhang'e. There is a black fire in the city.

In the raging flames, Zhang Zixiao's last memory was the black eyes of the blood-soaked young man with the reflection of the flames, like a vengeful ghost climbing up from hell.