That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 106
In the blink of an eye, it came to the early spring of the 21st year of Taiping. The sound of firecrackers at the end of the year had just dissipated, and there were still bits of unmelted white snow everywhere.

A caravan composed of more than a hundred horses is slowly moving forward on the edge of the intersection of Xiheyuan and the Gobi of Xiliang Prefecture. About half of the horses are loaded with goods, and the members of the caravan lead the horses. It is a guard who rides and carries weapons.

Walking in the front is a slender figure of Dao, riding a magnificent white horse. Although he is wearing a big cloak, it can be seen at a glance that it is a daughter. The owner of the caravan is an old man with gray hair. At this time, he was following the woman, talking to her in a low voice.

The woman's voice was soft, "Grandpa Yan, do you think my aunt went to the imperial capital by this road?"

The old man who was called Grandpa Yan by the woman said with a smile: "Almost, this time, instead of going to Shanzhou, let's go to Xilingkou of Yanzhou, and we will be able to reach Zhili Prefecture in about a month's time."

The woman nodded, with a smile on her face hidden under the hood.

The old man sighed and said helplessly: "Miss sneaked out this time, if the master found out, I would be scolded at most as an old man, but I am afraid that miss will be grounded for a while."

The woman sneaking into the caravan snorted softly and said, "I'm not afraid. When I see my cousin in the imperial capital, he won't be able to control me."

The old man gave a wry smile.

The woman grabbed one of the old man's sleeves, a little coquettish: "I just want to wrong Grandpa Yan, or Grandpa Yan will not go back to the grassland, and stay with me in the imperial capital for a while."

The wry smile on the old man's face was even worse.

The woman suddenly remembered something, and said with fascination: "Grandpa Yan, I heard that at the exchange market in Julu City not long ago, the Daoist Daoist from the Demon Palace of Daomen Town came in person and fought with a sword fairy from the sword sect. Later, the sword fairy pulled out Immortal sword, the immortals in the Daomen Town Demon Palace were defeated and defeated, and the Daoist headmaster personally went down the mountain and fought against one person on Biyou Island. Are these true? Will we go to Julu City this time?"

The old man laughed loudly and said: "There are no grounds, although these rumors are somewhat false, they are generally true. As for Julu City, we may go there when we return from the imperial capital, but we won't go now. "

When the woman heard this, her eyes sparkled, and she wished she could go to Julu City to take a look now.

Out of the corner of his eye, the old man caught a glimpse of a young man on a horse not far behind him, and subconsciously frowned.

This young man dressed in plain white was carrying a long parcel on his back. This person was temporarily joined by the caravan when it stopped in Danxia village. Logically speaking, such an unknown person should not be accepted in the caravan. But the old man couldn't stand the young lady's begging, so he let the young man join the caravan, but the old man was more on guard, and specially asked his confidantes to watch the young man carefully.

Along the way, the young man has nothing suspicious, rarely speaks, and gets along with the people around him in peace. Since he doesn't make trouble, the old man surnamed Yan didn't make things difficult for him, so he just let him follow in the caravan .

The well water of the two sides did not interfere with the river water, so they came to Xilingkou, the pass where Xiheyuan and Yanzhou meet.It can be said that this is the natural and dangerous hub of the northwest entry. It is a place that military strategists must contend for, and it is also a place that merchants must pass through. At this time of peace and prosperity, merchants come and go, and the market in the city is very lively, which makes the atmosphere of fighting a lot less here. , a little more bustling popularity in the market.

After entering the city, the old man surnamed Yan came to a well-known old-fashioned inn with familiarity, and ordered half of the people to stay to guard the goods, and the other half could move freely in the city first, and rotate the next day.

The man carrying the sword box is on the list of free actions. This is also the sophistication of the old man surnamed Yan. He deliberately let this opportunity go to see if this young man has any suspicious behavior. If this young man is really a spy lurking into the caravan, then now It is the best time to tip off the news.

But to the disappointment of the old man, there was nothing suspicious about the young man, and he stayed in the inn without any intention of going out.On the contrary, he was forcibly pulled out by his own lady in the end, which made the old man somewhat dumbfounded.

The man carrying the sword box was Xu Beiyou who was going to Jiangdu.

Xu Beiyou is now a real remnant of the Tianzijian Sword Sect. Without the protection of his master, if he is arrested by the Town Demon Palace or the Dark Guard Mansion, it will be a big trouble. He knows that he is only a first-rank cultivator now. Because, not to mention the chief deacon of the Temple of Suppressing Demons, he dare not say that he will win even against ordinary deacons. Without the confidence of the past, he can only be more careful, cautious and cautious, so he chooses to hide in the caravan. Follow the caravan into the customs.

The reason why the woman took Xu Beiyou in was very funny in detail. Xu Beiyou followed Gongsun Zhongmou to Julu City, and read the geography of various places and a small book of Taiping Huanyu. The allusions of the book can come at your fingertips.Although the old man surnamed Yan has traveled far and wide for most of his life, he has a lot of knowledge, but he is illiterate, so it is inevitable that he will not be able to tell some allusions.However, this young lady who hadn't traveled far a few times always had endless questions, which made the old man surnamed Yan almost empty out the ink in his stomach, so Xu Beiyou was hired as half a guide For errands, he doesn't need to lead the way, as long as he is responsible for answering the young lady's questions.

At this time, the woman dragged Xu Beiyou out of the inn and onto the street, and the old man surnamed Yan had to come out with her for the safety of the woman.

Not long after the three of them walked on the street, a group of cavalry patrolling the city roared past. The woman's eyes widened and she asked, "Old Xu, how high do you think the general at Xilingkou is?"

Xu Beiyou, who was dubbed the old Xu, was a little helpless, but he still replied: "According to the Daqi official system, the Xilingkou defenders belong to the frontier army and belong to the Northwest Governor's Mansion. The official name of the guard is Xiling The commander of the mouth defense, from a third-rank military general, is not a small figure in a place like the Northwest where the sky is high and the emperor is far away."

The woman from an unusual family let out an ah, and some dared not believe it: "You are a big shot from the third rank?"

Xu Beiyou, who used to make up for this aspect, said with a smile: "From the third rank, it is true that you are not a big-name figure in the imperial capital, but in the local area, you are a powerful figure who can shake three shocks by stomping your feet. They say that the county magistrate who broke the family and the magistrate who destroyed the family , the magistrate does not hold military power, generally no more than fifth rank, the highest is only fourth rank, so it is not an exaggeration to say that the real power generals of the frontier army from the third rank are the emperors of the soil."

After all, a woman is a woman, and she prefers poetic, artistic and talented scholars. She is not very interested in official titles that symbolize power, but Xu Beiyou is different. He was born in poverty and grew up in poverty. He almost has a deep-seated desire for power. He said softly: "The third rank above is the official of the frontier who is in charge of the authority of a state. As for the first and second ranks above, it is really out of reach."

The woman chuckled and said: "What's so fun about being an official? It's better to be a sword fairy, fly nine days with a sword, take heads from thousands of miles, be free and happy."

Xu Beiyou murmured, "Sword Immortal?"

She said naturally: "Of course it is a sword fairy. Lu Zu has a poem saying, in his hand is a three-foot-high spirit, and a spirit snake on a stone. It will flatten the injustice of the floating world. It will rise to the sky with you. How domineering! By the way, old Xu Are there really sword immortals in this world?"

Xu Beiyou said slowly: "I heard that 60 years ago, there was a great sword fairy named Shangguan Xianchen who forcibly shook the nine-fold sky thunder with a three-foot green sharp edge in his hand. As long as he had a sword in his hand, he could be alone in the world. The Sword Immortal of Gongsun Zhongmou broke through the thunder pool in Julu City with one sword, forcing the master of Daomen Town Demon Hall to withdraw from Julu City."

The woman looked fascinated and said: "Sword Immortal, I really want to see it with my own eyes."

Xu Beiyou said softly: "It's better not to see each other. In fact, the sword fairy may not really be able to live at ease."

The woman was surprised: "How could it be?!"

Xu Beiyou shook his head, recalling a sentence that Han Xuan asked him to read not long ago in "Moaning Words", he couldn't help muttering: "The most difficult thing in life is that the heart is muddy and watery, and I know it, so I can't cut off my ears. Sword Immortal can shake mountains and destroy cities, can he cut off the attachment in his heart?"

(End of this chapter)