Chapter 12 Send 1 Sword Blessing
Chapter 12 Send a Sword Blessing
night.
The city is brightly lit.
Since the first year of Yousheng, laws have been abolished and, except in the capital, curfews in other places are in name only.
It goes without saying that brothels, music houses and other places of entertainment are operated at night.
Along the Liujin River, there is a lantern hung every ten steps, and there are special night watchmen in charge of looking after it.
During this period, many vendors were selling goods from the north and south.
Zhang Yu took a fancy to an exquisite and elegant folding fan.
"How much is this?"
"Fifteen ounces of silver."
"too expensive."
"It's not expensive. Sir, please take a closer look. This is an authentic Suzhou sandalwood fan made in the south. The twelve fan ribs are made of purple bamboo and sandalwood glued together. The workmanship is extremely fine. The fan cover is even more amazing. It is made of Sichuan brocade. I asked the best Suzhou female workers to embroider the preface to the Lanting Collection and the picture of the wine cup flowing down the winding river."
"I'll go look somewhere else first."
The boss tilted his mouth slightly and looked at the two people: "Then sir, you can go and take a look."
Zhang Yu put down his folding fan.
Yue Lingshan said, "If you become the son-in-law of the Lin family, you can buy all the fans on this stall. You can fan them and tear them at the same time."
Zhang Yu chuckled and said, "I'm not a little man or woman who wants to vent by tearing a fan."
Yue Lingshan looked at him and asked, "What do you want?"
As they were walking onto the bridge, Zhang Yu stopped and shouted toward the river: "I want this beauty to never grow old, and I want this country to remain as picturesque as a painting!"
Before anyone noticed him, he quickly got off the stone bridge and reached the east bank.
Yue Lingshan hurriedly followed and said with a red face: "You are so arrogant. Aren't you afraid that the Jinyiwei will arrest you?"
"If I am lucky enough to be sent to the Northern Pacification Division's prison, I will have to trouble you to bring me food."
"Ask your Miss Lin to deliver it!"
On the east bank of Liujin River, there is a stall at the bridgehead. An old woman is selling headbands, hairpins and bone combs. They are exquisitely crafted and have more inner warmth and meaning than the monotonous machine-carved ones of later generations.
Zhang Yu's hair was tied casually at the back of his head with a hemp rope. When he first came here, he thought it was troublesome and had the urge to cut his hair back into a flat top. But he didn't dare to be too ostentatious on Heimu Cliff, and over time, he got used to it.
He asked about the prices of several things. Prices in Pingyang City were high. The cheapest Vermillion Bird Jade Hairpin cost eight taels of silver.
"If you want a beauty, why don't you become the son-in-law of the Lin family?"
Ever since leaving Zuixian Tower, every five sentences Yue Lingshan spoke were about Lin Youlan, and Zhang Yu's ears were almost callused from hearing her.
"I don't know her at all. If she is ugly, I will be at a big loss."
"Then you are wrong. I have already found out that Miss Lin Youlan is the most beautiful woman in Pingyang City. Her reputation is so great that every year young talents from all over the world travel thousands of miles to attend the Lin family's martial arts competition to recruit a bride. You are so smart, but you regret it now, don't you?"
Zhang Yu looked behind Yue Lingshan, and his eyes suddenly became extremely sharp.
Yue Lingshan was startled: "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Zhang Yu's eyes gradually softened. He smiled, reached out his hand and touched her face.
"You're paying so much attention to that Lin Youlan, are you jealous?"
"What a narcissistic demon thief! I want to persuade you not to return to Blackwood Cliff, and to abandon evil and do good."
The two sat down in a shop on the east coast.
There were two dim lanterns on a bamboo pole, and on the sign was the words "Liu's Wonton".
A thatched hut, a stove and six small wooden tables.
The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren were busy and happy. One was making the fire, one was cooking wontons, and one was washing dishes.
The environment is very simple, but the business is really good and it is often full.
The two guests were discussing in low voices the major events in Pingyang City today.
"I was delayed during the day by something. Tell me quickly, brother. How was the Lin family's martial arts competition going? Was it the same as last year with no results?"
"Now that the Wild Wolf Gang is destroyed, Miss Lin can finally get married this year."
"That's a good thing. Miss Lin is also pitiful. Now she has a good home and doesn't have to endure those rumors."
The man sneered and said, "Haha, the martial arts competition has a result, but it may not be a good marriage."
"How do you say this?"
"The winner of the martial arts competition is Zhong Zhen, the Nine-Curved Sword Master of the Songshan School."
"Since Zhong Zhen comes from a famous and upright family and is a master of martial arts, why do you say 'a good ending may not be possible'?"
"Hehe, I just heard that Zhong Zhen is forty-five years old, and he used to be on good terms with Lin Kun..."
Two bowls of wontons were served, and Zhang Yu quickly returned to the table, running a little out of breath.
Yue Lingshan asked curiously: "Where did you go?" "To the bathroom."
"Why are you running so fast?"
"When eating with Lady Yue, everything is gone in the blink of an eye. I'm afraid the boss will leave the plate empty."
Yue Lingshan chuckled, knowing that he still remembered the plate of beef at Zuixianlou.
Different from other places, Liu's wontons have rich and fresh fillings. Meat, chopped tofu and fennel are chewed together, which has a unique flavor.
After eating wontons, the two of them headed back. Tonight in Pingyang City, they didn't have to sleep in the wilderness. Zhang Yu had already booked a room in the Ping'an Inn.
"Lingshan."
Zhang Yu stopped. At this time, the two of them were standing under a lantern. Looking at the beauty under the light, the more they looked, the more astonished she became.
Yue Lingshan's face was covered with a hazy light, just like the beauties captured by the lens of the sunglasses king in later generations, youthful yet charming.
"You are so beautiful and charming, I can't bear to hand you over to Blackwood Cliff."
Yue Lingshan was flustered by his gaze and lowered her head and said, "Then let me go."
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I didn't restrict your freedom either."
Yue Lingshan was slightly stunned. It seemed to be true. Since entering Pingyang, he had not restrained himself. During this period, he had many opportunities, but he had never thought of escaping.
"Then...where is the antidote for the Three Corpses Brain Pill?"
Zhang Yu took out a small black wooden box from his arms.
She took the wooden box and asked in surprise, "Are you really giving it to me?"
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Here you go, but don't open it now."
Yue Lingshan nodded and asked again: "Are you really letting me go?"
"Do you really want to go to Blackwood Cliff and become the concubine of Dongfang Cult Leader?"
The lantern swayed gently, and the flames flowed on Zhang Yu's face. She was dazed for a moment and lowered her head quickly.
Yue Lingshan was silent for a while, then mustered up her courage and looked up at the young man: "Will you come back to Huashan with me?"
Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Why should I go back to Huashan with you?"
"I beg Daddy to accept you as his disciple. You will be the eighth disciple of Huashan Sect in the future. If it doesn't work out, I will still be the younger disciple and give you the position of the seventh disciple. Is that okay?"
The more Yue Lingshan spoke, the lower her voice became.
Zhang Yu raised his right hand and rolled up his sleeves.
A black scorpion, waving its claws, its tail stinger emitting a cold blue light.
"You can change your name and appearance, but once you choose a path, you have to keep going. Once you leave a mark, it's hard to erase it."
"The Huashan Sect has a good reputation for a hundred years and will not accept a disciple from the Demon Sect. The only path I want to take is in the Sun Moon Divine Sect."
Yue Lingshan knew that what he said was right. How could her father accept a disciple from the evil sect?
Zhang Yu looked at the girl in green dress, who was carefree at the moment. Thinking of what happened to her later, he felt a little pity for her.
Her father and husband, the people she thought she could rely on for life, all used her mercilessly, humiliated her, and abandoned her. Even when she died under the sword of the possessed Lin Pingzhi, she begged Linghu Chong to look after her husband.
Yue Lingshan always faces this cruel world like a Gu jar with kindness and love.
In front of the stone bridge.
Zhang Yu said softly, "Lingshan, I give you this Jade Water Sword. You can continue to face the world with kindness, but - never put down the sword in your hand. No matter who you face or what you face, you must protect yourself."
Yue Lingshan took the Green Water Sword that belonged to her.
After they got on the stone bridge, the woman in green skirt walked in front and the man in cloth walked behind. When they reached the middle of the stone bridge, the woman stopped.
"If you don't want to go to Huashan Sect, as long as you don't return to Blackwood Cliff, I..."
Yue Lingshan turned around suddenly. People were coming and going on the stone bridge, but that person's figure was nowhere to be seen, as if he had disappeared out of thin air.
"Zhang... Carp."
Only then did she realize that she had never asked him his name and only knew that it was Zhang Liyu, which was obviously a pseudonym.
She looked around hurriedly, tears welling up in her eyes.
Yue Lingshan walked down the stone bridge in a daze, but saw a man in a green shirt standing at the bridge with a sword in his hand.
"father."
Yue Buqun looked surprised: "What a sharp-eyed thief! Did he do anything to you?"
"No, let's go back to Huashan. I miss my mother."
Yue Lingshan threw herself into Yue Buqun's arms, tears instantly streaming down her face.
"Lingshan, it's okay, it's okay, dad is here, no one can hurt you."
Yue Buqun breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the dark river surface.
(End of this chapter)