Brother, did you confess today?

The scholar is a very strange person.

He knew exactly what reputation he had in Longzhou County, but he went to the streets begging for food all day long, and when he got it, he went to the back door of the academy to attend lectures, as if he didn't care about the ridicule in his ears at all.

But he was so persistent in wanting to leave, even if he was looking for the Taoist priest, even if it was a slim possibility, he still had to look forward to his departure.

He said that Xu Xiangfei was a predestined person, but after meeting him, he didn't say his name, with a smile on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

It's so strange to be so inconsistent, yet inexplicably frank.

The scholar led them to his home: "Mr. Academy is resting today, so I won't go there... When will someone tell me when I can leave here?"

Xu Xiangfei coughed a few times: "I really want to tell you, but I have more heart than energy, and I can't leave for the time being."

"Why?" The scholar tilted his head, "Could it be that you are also trapped because of something?"

Xu Xiangfei said calmly, "Yes."

He put it another way, saying that he was looking for distant relatives, but he only heard that they were in Longzhou County, but he didn't know their names.

"That's not easy to find, your relative... Could it be related to my family?" The scholar took them to a bridge in the county. There were many fishermen selling fish on the bridge, and his house was on the bridge. In a dilapidated house next door.

The house is not broken, at least there are five or six rooms, and the yard is quite big, but there are many weeds, it seems that no one has taken care of it for many years, so it looks a bit dilapidated.

The scholar rubbed his head in embarrassment: "Oh, I really don't know how to take care of these things. Before I moved to the county, my house was a wasteland with yellow sand all over the sky, and the place I live is not like this."

He suddenly groaned, and turned to look at Xu Xiangfei: "When did that relative of yours come to Longzhou County?"

"About ten years ago." Xu Xiangfei stretched out his hand and grabbed the next foxtail, and weaved a ring in his hand, "Oh, it's just that there are so many people, I don't know how to find him."

"Ten years ago..."

The scholar was still hesitating at first, but he couldn't match the expectations in his heart. He stayed here alone for too long, and all the kindness and gratitude were inevitably worn away in the day-to-day struggle.

He wanted to leave, thinking about it day by day, thinking about it when he was studying, thinking about it when digging mud, and thinking about it even more when he saw those familiar faces and heard the familiar sneer.

How could he not know what the Taoist said, sometimes it was just his own wishful thinking?

But even if it was wishful thinking, he wanted to give it a try.

The scholar gritted his teeth: "Come in with me."

Xu Xiangfei took Zhu Xuguang to go in together, and when he arrived at the main house, he saw two spiritual tablets inside, one for his father and one for his benefactor. The scribbled handwriting would always make people think that the enshrined person was very disinterested.

But the scholar smiled embarrassingly: "At that time, I just learned to write not long ago, so my writing was a bit ugly... Later, I felt that there was no need to change it. People who are destined should not think that I am not sincere."

He stepped forward and inserted a few incense candles, and placed a steamed bun on it. When a few wisps of smoke circled upwards to the spiritual position, he let out a long breath.

"I've been here for almost ten years."

……

Xu Xiangfei has almost heard what happened after the scholar came to Longzhou County from many street vendors on the road, but before that, he had a more tortuous and bizarre experience.

"I am...a slave from the northwest tribe." The scholar stroked his eye sockets, which were deeper than those of Xu Xiangfei and Zhu Xuguang, "My father is also, and my mother is a maidservant from the south."

But his tribe was occupied by the Northern Yuan royal family, but this group of displaced slaves still did not get free.

They are unwelcome and inferior people, without a name, let alone freedom.

When the world is admiring the strength of the Beiyuan royal family, they can only wander between other tribes outside the Great Wall and Beiyuan, looking for that glimmer of life.

"Later my mother passed away, and my father and I depended on each other for life. That's when we met our benefactor." The scholar was silent for a moment, and forced a smile on his face. "The benefactor was good at medicine and martial arts, and saved our family, uncle and the others. But that place There are too many people, just, just too many people like you."

"The benefactor took us to look for a safe place to live, but we couldn't find it. Instead, he died... But he had a lot of money left, so he gave it to my father and asked him to come to Longzhou County."

"But my father couldn't keep his money, so he was robbed halfway, and he was hacked with a knife. After coming to Longzhou County, he was raised for a year and a half. If he couldn't take care of him, he left."

They were sitting in the courtyard, with the breeze blowing, blowing the loose strands of hair, and also blowing the hair on the scholar's forehead. There was endless sadness in those eyes, and there was also a bit of unspeakable resentment.

Of course he wanted to be free, but when he was truly free, he realized that he was already alone.

His parents left, leaving him alone to guard his benefactor's last wish. The clansmen who once went to find the paradise together also became desperate souls under the butcher's knife.

When he was a child, because he was a slave, he never had a full meal, and he wanted to beg for life at the feet of the little prince of the tribe, begging for a little mercy.

At that time, he thought it was because this was the hardest day.

But when all his clansmen died so tragically in pursuit of freedom, he couldn't help wondering whether it was worth it.

"So you didn't leave Longzhou County because..."

The scholar slowly came back to his senses, put his hands on his knees, and tightened his robe slightly: "Because my benefactor's last wish is also my father's last wish."

His father came to Longzhou County with his benefactor's last wish, and he kept his father's last wish for nearly ten years.

Sometimes, he feels that it is not that difficult to wait, but sometimes, he feels that it is too difficult to wait.

The city gate of Longzhou County was a place he could never leave.

"Is the person you are looking for... a benefactor?"

Xu Xiangfei looked at Zhu Xuguang, and slowly shook his head: "I don't know, we... are actually looking for someone for other people."

"Then you want to find a person with a scar on his forehead? Or, or his appearance, don't you know his appearance?"

Xu Xiangfei shook his head: "I'll go back and ask... I can't say anything else."

The scholar couldn't hide his disappointment, but he also looked forward to it again: "I know! Are you hired! Are you looking for your relatives?"

"Sorry, I just concealed something." Xu Xiangfei sighed, "Those who want to find him have waited for ten years."

"It's okay, it's okay." The scholar waved his hands again and again, "I can understand it, but I'm afraid that someone will fake it, and I'm also afraid of this, so I've been guarding it all these years, just because I'm afraid that if someone fakes it, it will be really difficult for me to face it. benefactor."

"Then you must ask..."

"The benefactor has a name, Yu Chenqiu. He is very powerful...but he also has a good temper. He has compassion for people like us, but he also teaches us the foundation of our lives."

"I don't know who he is looking for, or who he is waiting for... It's just that my father said that I can't leave Longzhou County unless someone comes to find my benefactor, so I have been waiting."

"But I want to go..."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just a slave. I also want to go to the distant Jiangnan for a try, and I also want to see the beauty of other places. I also want...to become an official through the imperial examination."

His people have been looking for freedom all their lives, and perhaps only the moment of liberation is the real freedom.

And he got rid of his slavery and became the only one who survived, but he never got free.

……

The matter of the scholar was like a big rock, and both Xu Xiangfei and Zhu Xuguang were silent for a long time.

After walking out of the dilapidated courtyard and seeing the stone bridge above the gurgling water again, Xu Xiangfei suddenly said: "...Look there."

Zhu Xuguang followed his gaze, and not far away was the restaurant where they were with the Taoist that day.

The windows on the second floor were shaken by the wind. Behind the windows, the swaying curtains, the priest's figure loomed, and when one looked around, there was only the slightly shaking windows.

That's right, how could the wind make the windows crumble.

Xu Xiangfei murmured: "Yu Chenqiu..."

The scholar didn't know who Dongfeng Lord was. He had stayed in Longzhou County for too long, so he didn't know much about Jianghu.

Whether it is Dongfeng Jun or Yu Langzhong, they are all unfamiliar titles to him.

Yu Chenqiu was also an unfamiliar name to Xu Xiangfei.

No one has ever known the real name of Mr. Dongfeng, but if Yu Chenqiu is really Mr. Dongfeng, that means...

The people in Yulang Center who have been thinking about it for ten years, in this city, with the only remaining spiritual seat and a promise, can they survive ten years of wind and rain?

That's too... cruel.

So cruel that Xu Xiangfei hesitated.

Zhu Xuguang raised his hand on Xu Xiangfei's shoulder, moved closer to him, and said in a low voice: "I know senior brother can't bear it, so I just heard this and went to ask Yu Langzhong, it's a bit inappropriate..."

"Just asking is the fastest way." Xu Xiangfei turned his head to look at the fisherman who was selling fish by the flowing water, and the fisherman's face was full of happiness.But looking back, there was also a crying woman who lowered her head and covered her face, threw her handkerchief and hosta into the water, and left without looking back.

Here is joy, there is sorrow, a bridge separates sorrow and joy, and gurgling water accepts sorrow and joy.

This is probably the case in the world, one moment you can still laugh and talk, but the next moment you are speechless and tearful.

Xu Xiangfei could only sigh: "Let's ask."

……

Yu Langzhong was still watering and growing vegetables in his field, and then holding a valuable brocade handkerchief, he wiped off the dirt bit by bit.

When he heard footsteps and turned his head, he thought it was Shuang Lian and the others who came back, but when he saw Xu Xiangfei walking over in silence, their expressions were a little lonely.

Yu Langzhong only thought that the two knew that finding someone was not easy, and wanted to give up.

This was normal, and he had expected that two young men not much older than him could find someone who had retired for ten years?

He would be angry if it was so easy to find.

"Can't find it?" Yu Langzhong said lazily, "Come on, I think you two are very pleasing to the eye, do something for me, I can consider changing the conditions to heal you."

This is a rare privilege for him.

If people outside listened, they might doubt their relationship.These years Yu Langzhong can be said to be one-sided, self-willed and proud, disdainful of money and power, and only cares about torturing his patients.

Famous for many years, this is the first time that Yu Langzhong has changed his conditions.

He really liked Xu Xiangfei, probably because of his senior brother, because of those past events that he wanted to forget but couldn't forget, he was willing to let Xu Xiangfei go once.

But the expression on Xu Xiangfei's face became even weirder. Standing in front of Yu Langzhong, he and Zhu Xuguang were like two children who had done something wrong. They lowered their heads and wanted to admit their mistakes, but they didn't know where they were wrong.

Yu Langzhong looked funny, and was about to say a few words of ridicule, when Xu Xiangfei said: "...Senior, we may have some clues."

The author says:

I don't know what to say, let's hug my head and run away