frivolous

After waking up, Yuan Qing found that he was under house arrest in a very gorgeous room.

The clothes worn by the maidservant who served him three meals a day were of excellent material, and even the cuffs were embroidered with complicated patterns.The maid was only about eight years old, and she was pretty, but whenever she was asked where she was, she would be like a frightened rabbit, she would turn around and leave without caring about the dishes when she put down the plate.

Eighty percent of them are in the City Lord's Mansion.Yuanqing fiddled with the tofu on the plate with chopsticks, thinking to himself.

The uncles and aunts across the door often get together to chew on their parents' short stories after a day of work.The lord of Sanjiang City was a handsome man when he was young. No one knew where he came from, and no one knew his name.The owner of the city is usually very low-key, but he has done a lot of things for the city, such as digging ditches and opening ditches, such as diverting water for irrigation, and won the love of the people in the city.

Not knowing if Doctor Zhang would be kind enough to visit Ah Jiu, or if Ah Jiu was better, Yuan Qing poked the egg on the plate with his chopsticks in deep thought.It's just that Yuanqing originally thought that he had been arrested and was going to be imprisoned, but he didn't expect to be offered such delicious food by the mysterious city lord.All of a sudden, my heart was in a panic, and I couldn't swallow the delicate meals.

It's just that he didn't expect that he would meet the legendary city lord in the evening.

The city lord, who was once known as a handsome man, was tall and tall, with jet-black and smooth black hair, wearing a sea-blue robe with large swirling cloud patterns embroidered with silver thread, and a black python belt around his waist, which complemented his entire body. Duan is unparalleled in style - if you ignore his face.

A slack face with ravines and weather-beaten skin, compared with the more than seventy-year-old Doctor Zhang in Jimintang, it does not show much - this really shouldn't be on a man in his prime.

"City Lord, is that the young man that the crazy corpse hunter is talking about?" A middle-aged Taoist with a strong nose and an old-fashioned appearance next to the City Lord narrowed his eyes and carefully looked at the young man in front of him. His eyes, which had obviously been soaked in the world for many years, were frighteningly bright.

The city lord pondered for a moment, then stared at Yuanqing and nodded solemnly, as if a hunting beast saw its prey, his eyes were radiant, and his whole face was radiant. "I've been waiting for many years, and finally I've waited..."

"Congratulations to the city lord, congratulations to the city lord." Ox-nosed Old Daoist laughed, stroked his hands in congratulations, and suggested meaningfully, "Fortunately, this young man hasn't woken up yet, so he should hurry up..."

The two were playing charades, Yuanqing felt the danger instinctively, secretly clenched his fists, lowered his head, avoiding the aggressive gaze of the two.

Two days later, the beloved lord of Sanjiang City caught news of an ancient demon dragon, which spread like wildfire in the city.

In the streets and alleys, teahouses and restaurants, people talked about it.

This is a rarity.All of a sudden, some people questioned, some were amazed, some were puzzled, and even more interested people asked the well-informed old doctor.

"Doctor Zhang, I have never seen a dragon at my age! Have you ever seen a dragon?" The man with bushy eyebrows and big eyes was standing in front of the counter of Jimin Hall, waiting patiently for the old doctor to grab the medicine, with a dragon in his mouth. a blade of grass.

"That's right, doctor. I heard people say that eating a piece of dragon meat can prolong your life. You are a doctor, do you have any explanations?"

"Doctor, tell us!"

"Yeah, open our eyes too!"

Everyone in the line behind heard the words, and they all echoed.

"This... there is a saying in the medical book that the keel can calm the nerves, eliminate troubles and clear away heat--" Doctor Zhang didn't think much, stopped his movements, and spoke hesitantly.

Someone exclaimed: "Then it is true that eating a piece of dragon meat can make you live forever!"

There were also several people around who nodded in agreement and looked at each other thoughtfully.

This keel is not that keel, Dr. Zhang shook his head dumbfounded, added some herbs to the weighing pan, squinted his eyes and moved the weight meticulously.

"I heard that the demon dragon killed a person, what do you think the city lord will do if he captures the demon dragon?" Suddenly someone patted the table and asked, "Will it be burned alive?"

"Burn it on fire? What a pity!" The man with the grass in his mouth spit out the grass dregs in his mouth. After all, he is an honest person. He boldly suggested, "Anyway, it's a monster. Why don't you give it to me. Use it to cook hot pot, eat a few pieces of meat and drink a few mouthfuls of soup, and the life it owes is not in vain."

Everyone present burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at? I'm serious." The brawny man said with a rough voice, and he repeatedly argued, "Eating a piece of dragon meat can make you live forever. If you take ten thousand steps back, I'm willing to give you a bone, not to mention a piece of meat." Chew. Anyway, this monster will die in the end, so it might as well enter my five internal organs temple, what do you think, hahahaha or hahahaha—”

Dragons are ancient creatures, not to mention monsters or gods. Logically speaking, one should have a sense of reverence for these ancient fetishes.The reason why people are human is because human nature is inherently good, and they are born with a heart of compassion. If they eat their flesh and drink their blood in order to prolong their lives, in order to ask for longevity, then what is a human being?How is such a frightening idea different from the legendary demons and goblins?

"Okay." Seeing that their words were getting more and more outrageous, the elderly doctor blushed and reprimanded in a low voice, "On weekdays, eating half-baked sweet potatoes can make people vomit, let alone a monster. Be careful that if you fail to live forever, you will risk your own life." Then he raised his eyes to glance at the snowflakes flying outside the house, thinking of the young man who was still unconscious in the abandoned house, and summoned the assistant to whisper a few words.

The old doctor gave a rare sigh of compassion, and didn't know what happened to the boy who was taken away.

When I woke up, what I saw in my eyes was the familiar dilapidated ceiling, which was crumbling by the cold wind in the twelfth lunar month.Blown by the draft, Ah Jiu suddenly became more awake. She sat up and rubbed her hazy eyes. Looking around, she didn't see any familiar figures.The neck was heavy, and when he looked down, it turned out to be a safety talisman, with complex runes carved with cinnabar on the outside, and a strand of hair stuffed inside—Yuanqing's hair.

He has been ill for the past few days in a daze, which must have frightened Yuanqing, and he is going out to beg for this time.Ah Jiu wiped her face and sighed. Yuan Qing's health has always been bad. He has been running around for himself these days, and he doesn't know if he can bear it.

With a flash of inspiration in his mind, Ah Jiu jumped up like lightning, and got close to a small crock hidden in the firewood pile in the corner.

The paint color on the surface of the rough earthen pot has long since peeled off, revealing the light-colored interior. There are several cracks below, and a thick brown liquid is seeping out of it, soaking the dry grass underneath, emitting a pungent smell.

Wiping the sour smell in the air vigorously, Ah Jiu covered her nose, opened it carefully, and found that the egg inside was still intact, so she was relieved.He stood up, holding the jar, and moved to the door like walking on thin ice, for fear that the crispy eggs inside would break if touched.On a snowy day, the streets and alleys outside the door, looking around, a red silk on the door handle of every house flutters in the wind, which is particularly eye-catching against the backdrop of the snow.

Who is hosting a wedding in such a cold day?Yuan Qing's birthday is also in these few days, so he selfishly thought that he was celebrating Yuan Qing.The past few days have been sleepy day and night, and I don't know if Yuan Qing's birthday has passed, or I can give it to Yuan Qing directly when he comes back.

He was standing at the door holding the jar, thinking wildly, and when he turned his head, he almost bumped into someone.

"Oh? You finally woke up!" The boy in linen staggered when he bumped into him, still not hiding his anxiety, "My master asked me to bring a message, something happened to your brother!"

"Bang—" With a light hand, the treasured pot hit the ground with a resounding sound.

Ah Jiu firmly grabbed the visitor by his collar, and asked viciously, "What did you say? Say it again!"

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the city lord, who has always been praised by people, ordered to announce to the whole city that within a few days, the monster dragon in the city that would turn into a human form and cause harm to the people would be cooked and killed according to the law.And because it is said in ancient books that those who eat dragon meat can stay young forever and live forever, so all the people in the city who hang a big red ribbon on the door of their house will be able to share a bowl of meat soup at that time.

"Because of the incident, my master told me to go back quickly. I have already brought my words. Your brother will be executed tomorrow in front of the whole city. Maybe it will be your turn next. My master told you to leave the city quickly. ” The little servant struggled to break away the fingertips he was pinching on his collar, turned and ran away, and his figure finally turned into a black spot, blending into the boundless snow.

Yuan Qing—Yuan Qing—Ah Jiu was so angry that his limbs trembled, his legs and feet were so trembling that he couldn't even stand up.The originally festive red silk ribbon in front of my eyes became dazzling, as if the bright red was stained with Yuan Qing's blood.He suddenly burst into flames, rushed up desperately, and hit the door straight, roaring with tears in his eyes, and vigorously tore the red ribbons that were obtrusive to the eyes.

"He's my brother!"

"He never hurt anyone! You are not allowed to hurt him!"

"You devils—nobody's going to touch a hair on him!"

There was too much movement, which attracted many spectators.A tightly wrapped man rushed out of the room where he had smashed the door.The man was born with bushy eyebrows, big eyes and a tiger's back. Seeing him so noisy, he became angry from the heart, raised his foot and kicked Ah Jiu's abdomen fiercely, and saw him flying out, and fell into a deep hole in the snow.

"Where is the crazy beggar, what a bad luck!" The man pouted, and then re-tied the red ribbon on the doorknob, and closed the door with a "slap".

Ah Jiu lay motionless on his back on the street, the sky was overcast, and snow flakes fell on him, as if they were going to bury him alive.

"Is he dead?"

"Who knows? Don't mind your own business, let's go."

Ah Jiu still held tightly the torn red ribbon in his hand, drawing red marks one after another in his palm.

"Yuanqing, my Yuanqing..."