The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Chapter 30
When the old man Xiao walked into the yard, Brother Liu was squatting under a tree, telling the story of Guokui to the children in the neighborhood vividly:
"The pot helmets made by the old Qin people are big, thick, and solid. The pot helmets were not called pot helmets at first, but because they looked like tree stumps, they were called pier cakes. The pier cakes distributed by Qin Bing weighed five or six catties each. , the breastplate is so big, and the vegetable pier is so thick. Qin Bing drilled two holes in the pier cake, tied it with a cowhide rope, and put one on the front chest and one on the back chest, like a bag. The role of the armor. The arrows shot by the enemy pierced the pier cakes, were pulled out by the Qin soldiers, turned around and shot at the enemy.

The pier cake became the magic weapon for the Qin army to win.Later, Qin Bing called the pier cake "guokui" - a hard-faced armor baked with a pot. "Guokui" became famous because of this. "

The words were so vivid that the children laughed out loud.

Brother Liu was talking about the excitement when he saw old man Xiao walking into Jinli with a livid face, and said angrily, "I'm very embarrassed and humiliated today, but I have soup."

Brother Zhang hurriedly dispersed the children and asked Mrs. Zhang to prepare hot water, food and drinks.After the old man Xiao tidied up, the two had a drink.

……

After finding the place where the old man was staying, the soldiers returned immediately.Tell Li Gan what he saw in detail.After Li Gan heard this, he pinched his fingers and counted, his heart skipped a beat.Worried about karma, after much deliberation, I decided to resolve this grievance.So, he turned down the evening entertainment, took off his official uniform, put on a green cap, and followed the soldiers to Jinli.At this time, it was already dark.

The soldiers entered the courtyard and informed the master.Li Gan then stepped into the courtyard, bowed down in front of the old man without saying a word, and sincerely apologized: "This official doesn't know the face of a real person, he deserves death."

Old man Xiao was startled: "How did you find this place? Who brought you here?" After finishing speaking, he helped Li Gan up.

Li Gan worshiped again, seeing the old man's expression softened, he hurriedly excused himself, and said slowly: "I ask for your forgiveness for today's rudeness. I also have unavoidable difficulties. According to court etiquette, imperial ministers travel on behalf of the Holy One. If your prestige is slightly damaged, you are worried that the court will blame you. You are buried in the crowd, and you cannot recognize it unless you have insight, and you cannot completely blame the officials. If you blame me for this, you will blame me and other ordinary people. Now, I have confessed my crime , if you don’t forgive me again, it will be against the benevolence and righteousness of the sages.”

Old man Xiao saw that Li Gan was playing tricks on purpose, and said with a joking smile: "The official word is two mouthfuls, according to what you say, this matter is still the old man's fault? Hehe"

Today's matter, both the guest and the host just smiled.Brother Liu set up a new banquet, brought his own soldiers, and the four of them drank together.After drinking for three rounds, it was late at night, and the old man Xiao was full of enthusiasm for talking, from self-cultivation and health preservation, to immortality and chivalry.The more Li Gan listened, the more awed he became, and he felt that the trip was worthwhile.

When talking about a certain part of the past, the old man Xiao put down the wine cup and said, "I have a skill, let me drink for everyone." Xin walked into the room, Brother Liu saw what he was thinking, and knew what he was thinking.

After a long time, old man Xiao came out of the house.When he came out again, he was dressed in purple clothes, with seven long and short swords hanging from his back.

Li Gan stood on the spot dumbfounded.

I saw the old man Xiao controlling the seven swords with both hands, dancing in the courtyard, jumping and squandering, changing the light and exciting, or turning like a silk, spinning like a fire, the seven swords are like seven people wielding at the same time, chopping, stabbing, cutting, splitting and breaking stone.Old man Xiao spun like a top, advancing and retreating like the wind, capable of both offense and defense.

When the dance reaches the exciting point, the sword light is seen but the person is not seen.During this time, a sword skipped Li Gan's face from time to time.made the latter tremble.

Finally, the old man Xiao retracted his hand, and the seven swords rushed to the sky and flew out of the courtyard, then the seven swords swooped down, passed Li Gan again, and penetrated deeply into the ground, unexpectedly taking the shape of a Big Dipper.Old man Xiao stands tall and proud, looking down on the world.

Li Gan kowtowed again to thank old man Xiao for not killing him.

The old man Xiao sat down and said to Li Gan: "I just tried Master Li's courage, it seems to be not bad."

Li Gan bowed again, and said: "From today on, my life is bestowed by you. Li is not talented. If I can worship you as my teacher, I would like to resign from office and go to seclusion to serve you."

Old man Xiao shook his head and said: "You have no Dao spirit, you are not expected to learn Dao. I can't take you as a disciple, let's talk about it later." After saying that, he gave a salute, turned and entered the room.

Li Gan had no choice but to return home.Along the way, he was in a trance and looked sick.After thinking about it, I was afraid and regretful.When I woke up the next day and looked in the mirror, I found that my beard had been shaved by the old man Jian Guang by more than an inch.

The next day after finishing his court errands, Li Qian went to Jinli to look for Mr. Xiao, but he couldn't find the old man at all, and the soldiers could no longer find the courtyard where Mr. Xiao lived.

After this incident, Li Gan fell seriously ill in Sichuan.After recovering from illness, he left Chengdu resentfully.

Although Li Gan searched all over Chengdu, he couldn't find Mr. Xiao, which became a knot in his heart.But the paradox is that for the neighbors, the old man Xiao never went out, and he still worked hard on his wonton pickers every day, and received diners from all walks of life who patronized his stall...

　The story is adapted from "Youyang Miscellaneous Zu" by Duan Chengshi and "Dark Night of the Tang Dynasty" by Wei Fenghua.Mr. Wei's "Dark Night of the Tang Dynasty" series is wonderfully written, which is mind-opening, and I sincerely recommend it.

　　


(End of this chapter)