Looking to the Thirteen Rivers

"Master, what is that?" Yin Qiu stood at the door of the inn, pointing to a small street vendor selling goods along the street.

The peddler wore a bird feather hat, a sheepskin jacket, and navy blue wool trousers. He didn't look like a Central Plains person. He carried two loads of small iron buckets, wrapped in cotton quilts, and the heat came from the buckets. The inside continuously rises, and the white mist winds around, leaving behind a string of strange fragrance that lasts for a long time.

"It smells so good," Yin Qiu took a deep breath, "I've never smelled it like this before."

Man Jiangxue was carrying her luggage, and the waiter from the same store had just checked out. She stood behind Yin Qiu, glanced at the vendor, and said, "It's apricot milk tea."

"Tea made from apricots?" Yin Qiu was curious.

"It's dried almonds, made with goat's milk," Man Jiangxue said, "It's from a small country in the Western Regions, can I buy you a bowl?"

Yin Qiu nodded, and ran towards the peddler with a happy expression.

A bowl of tea costs only six copper coins. It is cheap and plentiful, and has a strong aroma. Drinking a bowl of tea on a cold winter day will warm you up all over your body.

"It's so delicious!" Yin Qiu held the bowl with endless aftertaste.

The peddler said with a smile: "Little sister, haven't you ever drank it? This is the characteristic of our Western Regions. If it weren't for the war, it wouldn't have spread to you!"

"I've heard of the Western Regions," Yin Qiu said to Man Jiangxue, "When I was in the Xunchunyuan, the incense and cream used by many girls were all tribute from the Western Regions."

"Give her another bowl," Man Jiangxue paid a few more copper coins, and asked the peddler, "Which country are you from?"

The peddler said: "The people from Xiling Kingdom have been scattered by other countries for many years. The guest officer may not have heard of it."

"Xiling," Man Jiangxue looked at the milk soup that was as white as suet in the bucket, and said after a moment's pause, "I know, one of the twelve tribes, Atuduo is the emperor's surname, and Mude is the last monarch. The country was destroyed 15 years ago, but there are still people in the tribe."

Hearing what she said, the peddler couldn't help being dazed, and said in a daze, "The guest officer is so well-informed that he even knows these things." He sighed after saying that, "In places like the Gobi Desert, you can only survive if you can beat them." , If you can’t fight, you can only die. The little old man’s family died in the war, and I was the only one left. I fled to the Central Plains with other tribesmen. I can only sell some milk tea from my hometown to make a living. Fifteen years later, I can’t think of a foreign country. It is really mixed feelings to meet someone who knows about Xiling Kingdom."

"I'm just hearsay." A little tea foam splashed onto her fingertips, Man Jiangxue twisted it, and said, "Sir, if you survive a catastrophe, you will have future blessings. Don't be too sentimental."

The peddler smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words, my little sister will have another bowl? I won't charge you!"

"Thank you very much, I can't drink anymore," Yin Qiu hurriedly waved his hands, and then asked Man Jiangxue, "Don't you want to drink, uncle?"

Man Jiangxue raised his head, took another look at the apricot milk tea, and said softly, "I don't like this, let's go."

After a short greeting, the two got on the horse one after another, bid farewell to the peddler, and left the city.

·

Yunhua Mountain is dangerous and the road is not easy to walk. The horse's hooves stepped on the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow, snorting through the mountains and forests.

Lin Hai Songtao, heavy snow covered the sky, Yin Qiu was carried off the horse by Man Jiangxue, looking up at the grand staircase in front of him.

The stairs are tall and long, soaring into the clouds, with a majestic aura in the simplicity, looking as far as the eye can see, there seems to be a looming dark gate hidden in the layers of mist, mysterious and solemn.

"Go." Man Jiangxue said.

The horse walked towards the mountain road ahead, Yin Qiu's neck was sore, and he asked in surprise, "Go up?"

Man Jiangxue took her by the hand and stepped up the stone steps, saying: "The disciples who enter the palace for the first time have to climb it once, the high hall is not easy to enter, and you will know the hardship after walking."

Yin Qiu seemed to understand, but he followed her obediently without asking any further questions.

The wind and snow hovered all over his body, and the sound of howling wind could be heard in his ears. The stone steps were covered with snow, making it difficult to get off. Yin Qiu held Man Jiangxue tightly, and was out of breath.

Halfway through the walk, looking back, the two of them seemed to be in the clouds, and there was a large blue wave under their feet. The birds were hidden, the traces of people disappeared, and the mountain road was blurred.

Yin Qiu only felt dizzy for a while, and didn't dare to look back.

After an hour and a half, the two finally set foot on the flat ground and stood in front of the mountain gate.

Several disciples were guarding the door, and they were overjoyed to see the people who came, and rushed to greet them.

"Oh! Uncle Master is back!"

"After walking for more than a month, I finally look forward to you coming back!"

"Disciple, go and report to the sect master. I asked you about you yesterday!"

Man Jiangxue waved his hand and said, "Forget it, there is no need to report."

Just like at the post station in Qingluo City, these disciples asked Yin Qiu a few questions excitedly, and they all expressed surprise after learning her identity. Yin Qiu bowed one by one, feeling a little unspeakably disturbed.

Along the way, I received a lot of scrutiny, but most of them were kind and novel. Although Man Jiangxue didn't say much, she still held Yin Qiu's hand. Qiu is very disturbed.

Mingguang Hall was built on the top of Yunhua Mountain. It was the place where the head of Yunhua Palace lived. The door of the main hall was open, and the disciples on the left and right stood neatly. There were bright lights inside, which showed that they were waiting for someone.

Seeing the figures of Man Jiangxue and Yin Qiu, the rotating disciples were a little surprised, but none of them dared to come forward to talk to them, they just nodded their heads dutifully and saluted. Before the two arrived at the main hall, a person came out of it. The young woman bowed to Man Jiangxue and said, "Uncle Master is back."

This female disciple looked to be about the same age as Ji Wanshu, and she was also dressed in a plain Tsing Yi. She was not beautiful in appearance, but she had a good temperament, her gestures were dignified and quiet, and she was quite bookish.

"Master is meeting guests," the female disciple said respectfully, "Junior Sister Lu sent a letter a few days ago, and Master expected you to come today, so he ordered the disciple to wait here. Uncle Master has worked hard all the way, so sit down and have a drink first." Let's take a break for tea."

Man Jiangxue gave a "hmm" and took Yin Qiu to the seat. The female disciple ordered people to serve hot tea and a lot of food. She was not as curious and enthusiastic about Yin Qiu as other disciples, but It can't be said to be indifferent, but entertained the two step by step without saying too much.

A disciple closed the hall door to cut off the cold wind. The hall was lit with bright lamps everywhere, brighter than the outside, and there was a scent of white sandalwood in the air. No one spoke anymore, and the place seemed very quiet, almost dead Needles can be heard.

Yin Qiu ate his snacks silently, a little restrained, he didn't dare to talk to Man Jiangxue rashly, and he didn't dare to look at him casually.

Both of them had tea, and after a while, Man Jiangxue said, "What kind of guest is here in the palace?"

The female disciple had been accompanying her before, and when she heard this sentence, she replied: "It's Master Fu of Mingyue Tower, who just rushed over from Jinhuai City."

There are many martial arts in the world, most of them are swordsmen, and the most famous swordsmanship in the world is Yunhua Palace, and then Mingyue Tower, but Mingyue Tower is good at using soft swords, and it is different from Yunhua Palace's hard swords. Different, the two factions of self-reliance have had friendship since the beginning, and the two sides have had a lot of contacts.

Man Jiangxue asked again: "What are you here for?"

The female disciple said: "Mr. Fu lost his beloved son a few months ago. My uncle must know about this. Mingyue Tower has no successors, and the incense has been cut off. In order to train successors, Master Fu brought back the concubine's daughter who was raised in other places. , I heard Master mentioned earlier that it seems that Master Fu wanted to send the child to the palace to learn from a teacher, and I guess he came here today for this purpose."

"Fu Cen loves sons and doesn't love daughters," Man Jiangxue said, "The Fu family's skills have always been taught only to men. If this child enters the palace and does not learn well, he may not be able to return home."

"That's the reason," the female disciple continued, "one's own flesh and blood are like chess pieces, keep them if they are useful, and throw them away if they are not useful. Master Fu didn't want that child to learn about the Fu family's skills, so he threw it into our palace to have a try. I hope she will work harder and fight for herself."

·

After a while, there was a sound of voices and footsteps coming from far and near, a disciple appeared in the hall first, and bent down to lift the curtain for the first few.

A man and a woman came lightly one after another. Both of them looked like they were in their 30s, chatting and laughing endlessly with each other.The woman was wearing a purple robe, her hair was combed neatly and meticulously, she didn't see any jewelry such as hair pins and earrings, and only a string of sandalwood Buddha beads was around her wrist. rigorous.

The man is wearing a crow green brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, and a pair of black cloud boots. He looks kind and kind, but like the woman, he has a calm demeanor that cannot be ignored, which is not to be underestimated.

These two are Xie Yijun, the head of Yunhua Palace, and Fu Cen, the head of Mingyue Tower.

As they got closer, they saw a girl as slender as a green bamboo behind the two of them, blinking her eyes and looking around.

The female disciple from earlier took a step forward and saluted: "I have seen Master Fu, master, master uncle is back."

Man Jiangxue got up and nodded at the two of them.

"Jiang Xue is back," Xie Yijun played with the beads, and glanced at Yin Qiu across Man Jiangxue, "It's been a hard journey."

Fu Cen and Man Jiangxue exchanged a few words of greeting with each other, and then said: "There are important matters in the building, and it is inconvenient to stay here for a long time, so Xiang'er will be entrusted to the head of Xie, and I hope the head will take care of him."

"It should be," Xie Yijun said with a smile, "Mr. Fu came from afar, and wanted to keep you in the palace for a few days. Since Mr. Fu is inconvenient, I won't force you to stay."

A few people left the hall together, Fu Cen didn't want to see them off, so he said goodbye and led a few disciples of Mingyue Tower away. Before leaving, he didn't say much to his daughter, only told him "don't be lazy" , They left without looking back.

The girl didn't show any reluctance either, she stood beside Yin Qiu silently, showing no signs of sadness or joy.

"Zhi Lan, take the two of them down and settle down." Xie Yijun watched Fu Cen off, then turned back and entered the hall, "I have something to talk to your uncle."

Ye Zhilan responded, then turned to look at the two little girls: "Come with me."

I thought that Xie Yijun would ask me a few words when I saw him, but I didn't expect that she really just saw her, and she just glanced at Yin Qiu the whole time, and she was about to be sent away here, Yin Qiu didn't expect it, and couldn't hold back Panicked, he tugged at Man Jiangxue's sleeve and whispered, "Uncle Master..."

Xie Yijun had already entered the palace, Man Jiangxue patted Yin Qiu's head, and said, "Don't be afraid, this is your Senior Sister Ye, the apprentice of the master, she will arrange everything, just follow."

Yin Qiu bit his lips and said nothing, the fingers holding his sleeve turned white.

"If you are obedient, I will visit you later." Man Jiangxue looked at Yin Qiu's expression and said.

"Really?" Yin Qiu reluctantly grabbed her.

"Uncle Master won't lie to you." Man Jiangxue patted the back of her hand.

Only then did Yin Qiu let go of his hand, forced a smile, and followed Ye Zhilan backwards step by step.

·

"That's Man Dong's daughter?" Xie Yijun took a seat and took two sips of tea.

Man Jiangxue nodded: "There are a lot of situations on the road, and it will be delayed for a few days."

"I saw that she looks more like Yin Xuan," Xie Yijun said, "Did you tell her about her background?"

Man Jiangxue said: "I told her everything," paused, "I think she is more like a senior sister."

Xie Yijun shook his head, his eyes showed a little disgust: "It's a pity that those eyes were carved out of the same mold as Yin Xuan's."

Back then when Shen Mandong fell in love with Yin Xuan, Man Jiangxue was not the only one who saw that Yin Xuan was weird, Xie Yijun did the same.

Xie Yijun entered Yunhua Palace before Shen Mandong, and was the first personal disciple accepted by the former head. Before Shen Mandong appeared, Xie Yijun was always trained as the next head. Afterwards, Shen Mandong entered the palace, showing his outstanding skills in swordsmanship. With excellent talent, the position of chief disciple naturally falls to Shen Mandong.

But even so, Xie Yijun has never been jealous. She not only has no repulsion towards Shen Mandong, but loves Shen Mandong very much. Going back to the palace to meet the head of the family, the young couple lived in the palace for several months, Xie Yijun had a keen mind, and he noticed that Yin Xuan was a man of great wealth and scheming, several times to persuade Shen Mandong to think twice before acting. Less tongue-in-cheek.

However, the result was unsatisfactory. After the Ruyimen incident, even though Yin Xuan was dead, Xie Yijun hated him to the bone. Even ten years later, he still can't let go of it.

"Body and skin, it's up to the parents," Man Jiangxue squeezed the lid of the cup, lightly skimming the tea foam, "Don't blame her."

Xie Yijun sighed, put the tea cup down, and said: "I understand the truth, but every time I think of the tragic situation of the Shen family, I still feel uneasy."

Man Jiangxue looked up at her: "How do you think about accepting apprentices?"

Xie Yijun looked back at Man Jiangxue, and smiled: "If the words have been spoken, there is no reason to take them back. If she is a talented person, I will accept her as a closed disciple, but," she stopped here After a while, he said again, "I see that child is very dependent on you. Could it be that he has developed feelings during this period of time, and you... really don't intend to accept disciples?"

Man Jiangxue leaned on the back of the chair, with a slightly lazy posture, and said, "I don't accept disciples, you know that."

"Your Jingyue Peak is too deserted," Xie Yijun said, "You have been alone all year round. There are no accompanying disciples or apprentices. Although I warned you not to get too close to that child, obviously you didn't either. Listen to me, you have always disliked children, but you are very patient with her, if you really like her a little bit, you can count as having someone to accompany you when you receive Jingyue Peak, right?"

Man Jiangxue propped her head and became quiet for a while.

"Then next year." Seeing that she didn't reply, Xie Yijun thought, "If she wins the first place in the New Disciple Conference next year, I will accept her as my apprentice. There are many good new disciples this year. Each has his own ability, so as not to lose fairness."

"Speaking of which, you have been with her these days, can you tell how kind of heart is?" Xie Yijun said again.

"Nature is pure and kind, able to distinguish right from wrong," Man Jiangxue said, "Although she is young, she is very sensible, and children who have endured hardship are not squeamish. Generally speaking, there is no major problem."

Xie Yijun snorted: "Just don't be like her father, it's enough to be half as good as Mandong in other aspects."

Man Jiangxue laughed suddenly, as if thinking of something, said: "Your apprentices are all adults, and they all behave well. If Yin Qiubai is under your seat, you will like her."

"The apprentice won't be fun when he grows up," Xie Yijun also laughed, "Looking at your tone, are you a likable one?"

Man Jiangxue looked sideways at the wind and snow outside the hall, and said, "Yes."

"Even if you say that, it's true," Xie Yijun thought for a while, and said, "However, I can still convince the public with her strength. Whether she accepts or not depends on how well she learns next year. She can also observe more this year. It's hard to guarantee There are times when you’re going to miss it.”

Man Jiangxue said, "That's true."

Xie Yijun got up and said: "That's all for now, you go back to rest first, I won't talk too much about you."

Man Jiangxue was also tired from the days of eating and sleeping in the open air, the two of them went out of the palace together, and Xie Yijun asked again: "Why didn't you see Wanshu come back?"

Man Jiangxue gave a general account of meeting Wen Chaoyu.

"That child..." Xie Yijun sighed softly, "Forget it, let her go."

The two said goodbye, and each walked in different directions. Man Jiangxue descended the steps, looked up at Jingyue Peak in the distance, and then turned to look at the new disciple's courtyard.

She stopped in the snow for a moment, then turned around and walked towards the new disciple's courtyard.