Infinite Brilliant Scroll

Chapter 16 A journey of a thousand miles, more than a hundred years of illness

On the day of meeting, you have to take advantage of the hustle and bustle to fish in troubled waters, but the place where you meet is not a place full of people.

It is not easy to find a place that is deserted enough in Guangzhou, where Huaguang's birthday is held. According to the coach, it was originally a family's ancestral hall.

There are many clans in Lingnan, big and small clans have to contribute money and efforts, and building ancestral halls for their own families has almost become a rigid rule. If the clan rules are still in place, but you refuse to contribute, it is not as simple as being despised. It is to be punished directly.

Clans with more people and more money will naturally build their ancestral halls in a grand style, and those with more people and less money can only reduce the site in order not to look too shabby, so as to appear compact in layout and well-fengshui in the house.

As for this small ancestral hall, it is said that the clan has been completely dilapidated. Unless it is Chinese New Year, the door will be locked for several months, and no one will come.

The small ancestral hall is at the end of a row of residential buildings, next to the river.

Guan Luoyang and the others didn't go to the cobweb-covered gate. They just walked around the perimeter to see where people might hide and shoot cunningly, and which places were suitable for running. Then they jumped over the wall and went inside. to check.

This small ancestral hall is a courtyard of ten steps square, connected to a house.

There are several futons and an incense table in the room.

There were spider webs on the incense burner, candles, and the dozens of memorial tablets at the back, and a large spider web hanging obliquely to the right from the beam of the room was covered with many flying insects.

The decorations on all sides of this place are basically unobstructed, and there is nothing worthy of too much attention.

But as soon as they came in to take a look, they heard something strange in their ears.

A head protruded from the east wall, and Guan Luoyang and the coach had already quietly slipped to the bottom of the east wall, standing against the wall at the corners on both sides.

They waited quietly for the person who did not go through the main entrance to climb over the wall and come down.

This person was wearing a white shirt, a sleeveless gray vest, and a pair of black leather shoes on his feet. He had a strong figure, but when he jumped off the wall, he squatted in front of him and had to put his hands on the ground to avoid falling. It doesn't look like he has any kung fu.

I don't know what he went through before, he sweated a lot, there were a lot of sweat stains on the fabric of the vest, and his short hair was condensed into locks and stuck to his head.

Guan Luoyang and the others could have climbed over the wall and left the moment the man landed before he could turn around, but seeing that he didn't look like he was dressed like someone who needed to steal things in such a small ancestral hall, his identity was a bit questionable.

The coach took the initiative to cough, and the man turned his head suddenly in shock, revealing a pale and sweaty young face.

Guan Luoyang noticed that when this person was frightened, he subconsciously tightened the long brocade box in his left hand, presumably there was something important inside.

Although the young man looked tired and uneasy, he spoke first: "Who are you? How did you break into my friend's old ancestral hall?"

The instructor flashed his gaze and asked, "Since it's your friend's ancestral hall, why don't you come in through the main entrance?"

The young man spoke eloquently: "Before my friend went abroad, he asked me to pay more attention and clean it often. Unfortunately, I was lazy for a few months and came back to visit. The lock in front of the door was rusted, so I had to climb over the wall first to see if I had been burglarized."

The instructor looked serious, and said slowly: "If the family doesn't open the 260-year-old lock, if a thief from outside comes in, it must be smashed directly. How can we leave this rotten door."

Hearing this, the young man's chest heaved twice, he shut his mouth and swallowed his saliva, as if he was afraid that the pronunciation of the next words would be unclear, fixed his eyes on the instructor, and said clearly: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"More than a hundred years of illness, cut the rot and fill in the new."

As soon as the instructor's words fell, the two men's hands were tightly held together.

The young man seemed to be overly excited, he took a few breaths, held the instructor's hand so hard that his veins popped out, and then said: "I am Ma Zhixing, it really is you, it really..."

Before the two sentences were finished, Ma Zhixing's voice was full of tears, and he couldn't continue speaking with sobs.

Guan Luoyang glanced at the instructor.

Even if he finally took over, he wouldn't be so excited. Seeing how he was sweating profusely and flustered before, did something happen to him?
The coach obviously had the same idea, he rubbed his back to comfort him, and asked.

Ma Zhixing said intermittently: "My family is originally a family of good deeds, and my ancestors have shady shadows. I was able to study abroad and join the League. Wait, cough, cough..."

Halfway through his speech, he suddenly felt his stomach churning, retching and coughing repeatedly.

The instructor exerted a bit of strength, stroked down from the back of his neck, pressed his back along his blade, retracted his skills, and relieved his chest and stomach.

Ma Zhixing retched and cried bitterly, which was greatly relieved. There were still tears in the corners of his eyes, but he was able to speak smoothly.

"The generation of my ancestors loved to collect antique calligraphy and paintings. This morning, people from the General's Mansion in Guangzhou came to the door for a painting. My father has a strong personality, but I thought that I would have a meeting with you recently, and it was not appropriate to make troubles. So I secretly persuaded and agreed. Hand over that painting.

Unexpectedly, when I took the painting back to the classroom, I saw that my father had been brutally murdered. I shot and killed the dog thief, and ran away desperately. I just got rid of those Qing soldiers. "

Ma Zhixing gradually calmed down a little, with a haggard look on his face, "I was afraid that I would not be spared in the next few days, so I thought of leaving a secret note here to warn you that something happened to your connector, and I never thought that you just arrived."

In fact, what happened to the Ma family is not uncommon in various parts of the Qing Dynasty today, but I did not expect such a coincidence that Ma Zhixing lost his dear one just before the joint meeting.

The difficulty of breaking up the family and losing the father is of course heart-warming, but after the disaster of the Ma family, whether the roster can be sent out smoothly is even more important.

Ma Zhixing is able to take on important responsibilities, and he is also a clear-headed and courageous person. Before the instructor was in trouble, he took the initiative to explain: "I have already managed to get a boat ticket, ranging from [-] to [-]. I just wait for the day You come to find me a joint, and I can go on the road that day."

"It's just that there are few people in my family. My father and his friends are all people who don't want to travel far. It's suspicious to buy a multi-day ferry ticket all of a sudden. So after I asked different people to buy the tickets, I separated the tickets. Save it, the ticket for the first ferry tomorrow morning is hidden in the bottom right drawer of cocklebur in my Baoshengtang medicine cabinet."

He paused, gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "With the behavior of these dog officials, my medical center and medicine hall will definitely be closed down, and my family's property will be confiscated. Those bastards will definitely not leave in the near future, and the ferry ticket will not be returned, but I There are still a few trusted friends, and I can ask them to think of a way."

The instructor frowned and said: "I'm afraid not. We caused a lot of troubles on the way into the city. After entering the city, the government should have guessed our intentions. Regarding the boat ticket, there will definitely be stricter inquiries. Your friends can get it before. After today, it may not be possible to get it."

"This……"

Ma Zhixing blinked his sore eyes hard, his mind was in chaos, "What should I do, the president and the others have agreed to make another move next year, and they have already started preparations. The roster must be sent before the end of the year, otherwise, the chances of acting hastily are extremely low. , and it's almost October now."

Guan Luoyang said suddenly: "Then I'll go and get the boat ticket."

Ma Zhixing turned his head to look at him, and immediately vetoed: "How can this be done, those dog legs are all armed with guns, if you barge in like this alone with bare hands, it is tantamount to death."

The coach said in a deep voice: "Although Luoyang's move is risky, in terms of strength, it may be worth a try. It's just that Guangzhou City is not small, but it is not big. If we want to do it, we must be quick. Brother Ma, explain in detail Let me tell you the route from here to your medical center and medicine hall."

"and many more."

Guan Luoyang raised his hand and said, "It's not us, I'm going alone. First of all, if you and I go together, then we are responsible. It is very suspicious to take action at this juncture, and it may make them associate. Check the friends around Brother Ma, Even found out about the boat ticket.

And if I was the only one, then it would be much more normal for a murderous green-faced ghost to pass by and draw his sword to kill a few Qing soldiers in righteous indignation.At best, they might even suspect that I'm going to assassinate General Guangzhou next time, and allocate more troops there to make our future operations smoother. "

Guan Luoyang said, pointing at Ma Zhixing, "Of course, the most important thing is that Brother Ma is still being hunted, and with you by his side, it will be easier to escape and hide, otherwise it would be troublesome for him to climb over a wall like this , it will be miserable if a person is found here by the Qing soldiers."

The coach was persuaded by him.

Ma Zhixing saw that they seemed to be very confident, and guessed that they might be really masters with unique skills, so he didn't persuade them any more, and carefully explained the route.

Ma’s medical center and medicine hall are actually not in the same place as the residence. The gate of his house faces west. After coming out, you have to cross an alley and walk half a street to reach the medical center with the gate facing east.

At that time, in order to choose this ancestral hall as the meeting point, Ma Zhixing traveled to and from the three places countless times, and he knew all the routes well. After he finished speaking, Guan Luoyang almost had a three-dimensional outline in his mind.

Those Eight Banners soldiers who are often used by the General's Mansion in Guangzhou are experienced in ransacking houses, and the real valuables are naturally divided up by the superiors, but those small soldiers also have to earn some money.

After they ransacked the house, they would not let go of the tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks. People say that bandits are like fences and soldiers are like combs.

In order to prevent the ticket from being taken away, Guan Luoyang set off immediately even though it was still daytime.

It was close to noon, the busiest time of the day, when Guan Luoyang passed by, he not only encountered a wave of monks who were followed by others, but also saw many performers.

The girl carrying the bowl was wearing a washed and faded red gown, standing on the table with one foot, and there were already eight porcelain bowls on top of her head.

The old man with braided hair took off his jacket, his body was stronger than ordinary people, but his ribs could still be seen clearly, and he pushed the end of a wooden gun with his throat. This old trick, and it was an old man, very few people saw it.

Guan Luoyang shuttled among the crowd, and saw those taking risks.

For example, there is a pair of old and young men working together to sell snake oil. The older man abruptly dislocated the young man's arm. Snake oil, re-bonding, and a set of punches.

This was to show the magical effect of the snake oil, but after Guan Luoyang sniffed the pungent smell, he knew that the snake oil medicinal wine was just an ordinary product.

Young people play with their joints like this, even if they bear the pain, they will have a lifelong disease in three or two years.

But their business is actually better than other places, and more and more people gather around them, most of them are coolies wearing short jackets with their belly exposed and their braids wrapped around their heads.

There is also the tightrope walker, two flagpoles stand on the ground, a steel wire is pulled on top, tables and chairs are piled up underneath, and two people hold up the poles. It dangled on the many steel wires, like a group of brittle and slender flesh and bones, suspended by a thin rope on the edge of the cliff.

There are also jugglers, those who fish for oil pans, and those who play monkeys, and there are more or less people gathered.

In the streets and alleys, the small food stalls in the river are filled with a kind of barren and precious lively happiness.

Guan Luoyang was like a fish swimming through the streets and alleys, approaching the Baoshengtang Medical Center amidst thousands of noisy voices.

On the opposite side of the medical center, there is a stall that makes wontons. The turbid soup is fragrant and thick. The wontons are prepared with salt. The business is very good. In addition to a few tables and chairs, many people even cook by themselves. Squat outside with a bowl to eat.

Guan Luoyang station next to it, first looked at the situation inside the medical hall.

Sure enough, there were some Qing soldiers searching Baoshengtang.

They didn't even assign gatekeepers, they just rummaged inside, and then went out with the things they fancy, and they didn't know where they went.

The costumes of these Eight Banners soldiers should make people stay away, or because of the tragedy of Baoshengtang, some people gathered to watch the fun, but on this day, everyone has other things to watch, and they don't want to cause trouble, just pretend they didn't see these things .

Guan Luoyang silently calculated the positions of these people, and with a single movement, he crossed the street and rushed into Baoshengtang.

The two Qing soldiers who were prying the cabinet under the counter where the money was collected noticed that the sound of other people scrambling for things suddenly disappeared. One of them was alert, and just about to look up, he saw two hands protruding from the outside of the cabinet and clapping it down.

Those who raised their heads, and those who did not, had their neck bones broken and fell dead on the spot.

Guan Luoyang rubbed his body and fell in front of the medicine cabinet.

Cocklebur is poisonous, but it can dispel wind and dampness. According to the habits of Ma Baiwen and his son, it is a useful medicinal material that is not used much, so it is most convenient to find it in the corner of the medicine cabinet.

After opening the drawer and getting two tickets, Guan Luoyang walked away.

When he went out, the street was still so noisy that no one even noticed that all the Qing soldiers in the house were dead.

At about this time, Dimon Seymour walked out of the Ma family's house.

The housekeeper of the general's mansion has been guarding here, seeing him going out, he hastened to meet him.

"You don't need to follow, let someone look through this house, and I will go out for a walk by myself."

Dimon Seymour raised his hand to stop the butler, and left with only his guards.

Walking on the street, Dimon Seymour squinted his eyes slightly, as if he didn't look at the surrounding scenery at all, but the tip of his nose twitched slightly.

The smell of sweat all over the street, human hair and clothes, stone bricks on the ground, tiles and water around, the smell of being exposed to the sun, the smell of food, and the smell of filth.

Many, many, are skipped.

Only in the bedroom of Ma's house, the longest and most important breath, in Dimon Seymour's sense of smell, stretched into a clear trail of smoke, circling to the distance.

He heard his own clear heartbeat and approached step by step.

'Finally... It's finally going to be completed, that thing, in the end, really can't be borrowed from other people's hands. '

'Only if I go in person can I get it! '

(End of this chapter)