That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 1211 If you don't return, you will carry the sword box

If Jiangnan is like a gentle gentleman like jade, then Northwest is like a rough man in strong clothes.

Whenever outsiders talk about this place, the first thing that comes to mind is the lonely smoke in the desert, the sunset over the long river, the yellow sand in the Gobi, and the thunderous sound of horseshoes.

Compared with Jiangnan, where the literary style is at its peak, the Northwest, which is covered with traces of wind and frost, is in great contrast.

It is already winter now, but compared with the northwest, the winter in Jiangnan can even be called warm.

The wind in the south of the Yangtze River is the wind of willows that does not blow the face.

The wind from the northwest was as cold as a knife, and the wind was mixed with the sand blown from the Gobi Grassland, which hurt my face.

The dense network of rivers in the south of the Yangtze River makes it difficult for cavalry to move, and it is even more difficult to launch a large-scale charge, so it is difficult to hear the thunderous sound of horseshoes in the Jiangnan boundary.

In all fairness, this kind of environment, in the eyes of literati and poets, may be the so-called frontier wind, but for ordinary people living here, it has great suffering.

The land in the northwest is cold and hard, especially in the winter when dripping water turns into ice, the ground is frozen harder than rocks, and a pickaxe can be used to make a white mark, and you have to use iron drills and a sledgehammer of dozens of kilograms to drill holes to connect the holes. and then use iron drills to pry hard, so that a shallow layer can be barely dug out, but only on such land can there be thunderous hooves.

Now it is the twelfth lunar month of winter, there is a war in the northwest, dead people are everywhere, and the ground is so frozen that it really can't be buried.

After all, digging a shallow pit requires four people to work for a day. After burying the dead, the living will be exhausted, and if the burial is shallow, it will be dug out by wild animals after thawing. one game.

Moreover, there are more and more dead people. At first, a thin wooden box was nailed, and then the straw mat was gone, and the corpse was simply abandoned in the wilderness, especially in Liangzhou, where the two armies were at war. Such scenes can be seen everywhere .

Xu Beiyou has lived in the Northwest since he was a child, and he has a particularly deep memory of the winter in the Northwest.

In addition to the ground that is harder than rocks, there are also ice edges hanging from the eaves that can almost connect to the ground, which are as thick as a child's wrist, which is really scary.

Li Shentong is a native of Jiangnan, born and raised in Jiangnan. This is the first time he has come to the Northwest, and the first time he has come to his master's hometown.

Along the way, the sights in his eyes not only opened his eyes, but also touched him deeply.

The cruelty of war does not necessarily lie on the bloody frontal battlefield. On the contrary, it is this kind of subtlety that is more visible and touches people's hearts.

After Xu Beiyou took him from the south of the Yangtze River to the northwest, he did not go directly to see the old man Zhang Binghu, but went to Danxia village first. Fortunately, Danxia village was already in the hinterland of Shanzhou. Coming from inside the pass, this is the frontier position, but now that the grassland army is coming from outside the pass, this place has become the rear instead, and has not been affected by too many wars.

For Xu Beiyou, it was naturally a blessing.

Because Danxia Village is safe, it means that Xiaofang Village is also safe.

Rao has reached the state of Xu Beiyou, and he still has a hometown plot. After all, his life is not like those old people who have lived for hundreds of years. He has long regarded his hometown as his hometown. He has only lived for 24 years. He spent twenty years in Xiaofangzhai, how could he give up easily.

In the Danxia village, Xu Beiyou just stopped for a while, Li Shentong said: "Master, I heard from my mother that this is where the two of you first met."

Xu Beiyou was slightly surprised and said, "Have you met your teacher's wife?"

Li Shentong was also surprised and said: "Master's wife will meet me specially every time she comes to Jiangdu. Doesn't Master know?"

Xu Beiyou raised his forehead and pressed the purple talisman seal between his brows, "I'm really not doing my job well as a master."

Li Shentong said with a playful smile: "Master has a lot of things to do every day, and travels all over the world, so he can't take care of me."

Xu Beiyou could hear some ambiguities in the disciple's words, but he didn't get very angry. He just smiled and stretched out his finger that had become as white as jade, and gently tapped Li Shentong's forehead.

After Xu Beiyou left Danxiao Village with Li Shentong, he went straight to Xiaofang Village, but he didn't enter the village. Now that there is no husband in the village, Xu Beiyou didn't intend to break the peace and tranquility there. He just brought Li Shentong to come On the cliff behind the stockade.

There is an old tree on this cliff, and Xia Chan from Xu Beiyou caught it from this tree.

Now, the child holding Xia Chan has grown up.

At this time, there are no cicadas on the tree.

It was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and no matter how tough the cicada was, it was inevitable that it would die amidst mournful wailing.Just like Hengqiu's old-fashioned attitude, he is no match for the coming of new winter after all.

There is a small grave under the tree.

This is not a new tomb, but it is not an old tomb either.

In front of the grave stands a wooden sign, with eight big characters written on it squarely, "The tomb of the former master Gongsun Zhongmou".

There are not too many names, taboos and respectful titles, and there is no life sacrificial text. Compared with the clothes tomb in the East Lake courtyard, it is a bit simple, even a bit rudimentary.

Xu Beiyou put the sword box in front of the grave, pointed at this simple tomb, and said slowly: "14 years ago, this is where I met your master ancestor, and it was also here that I saw Zhu Xian born. , knowing that the outside world is so vast.”

"Four years ago, when I returned from Biyou Island, I buried your master's clothes here and made a small tomb."

Without Xu Beiyou's instructions, Li Shentong had already knelt in front of the grave, knocking his head three times with a loud sound, and when he raised his head again, a faint bruise was already visible on his forehead.

Xu Beiyou's purple eyes were full of reminiscence, and he whispered to himself: "Master told me before he died, hand over the sword sect to me. It is because of this sentence that I It was only then that I decided to go to Jiangdu from the northwest alone, and before I left, I didn't know if I could get to Jiangdu smoothly, and I didn't know if I could come back here again."

Li Shentong, who was kneeling on the ground, remained silent for a long time.

Xu Beiyou looked at the tomb, and continued: "Mutang is nothing to worry about, Xiao Jin is nothing to fear, Lin Han is nothing to worry about, the great enemy of Jianzong is not in this world, but outside the world. Taiping, as a teacher, after all, I have to have a fight with Qiuye to seek justice for your ancestor."

Li Shentong clenched his fists violently.

Xu Beiyou said: "Master once told me after drinking that when he was young, he used to be romantic in green clothes and wield swords. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it. I'm afraid I won't have the opportunity to do it in the future."

Li Shentong suddenly raised his head, "Master..."

With a gentle smile on Xu Beiyou's face, he bent down, pointed to the sword box and said, "This sword box, your master has memorized it for a year, and I have memorized it for four years. Now I will pass it on to you. I hope you can one day be able to Be free and unrestrained, walk with a sword."

Li Shentong looked at the sword box, his lips twitched, not knowing what to say.

Xu Beiyou looked straight into Li Shentong's eyes, and said word by word: "I am not sure about fighting Qiuye. If I don't return, you will have to carry this sword box on your back, which represents your master and represents you. For your sect, this sword box is a breath, a line of incense inheritance, and in the future you will bear the incense of our Jianzong, and stand in the world with this breath."

Xu Beiyou straightened up and said in a deep voice, "Carry the box!"

(End of this chapter)