That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 173 A Money Bag and Two Jugs of Wine
At noon, Xu Beiyou and Xiao Zhinan met together, and had a vegetarian meal at the altar. After the meal, Xu Beiyou accompanied Xiao Zhinan to a secluded wishing pool.

Xiao Zhinan carefully took out a small money pouch from his sleeve, and threw the copper coins in the pouch into the wishing pool one by one, making a series of ding-dong sounds.

Both the money bag and copper coins seem to be old. The copper coins are authentic copper coins cast by officials during the Huanglong period. They contain a lot of copper and are not as cheap as privately cast copper coins. The rich and noble children who will never touch copper coins in their lives will not know this, but Xu Beiyou, who grew up in poverty, knows that the copper coins of Huanglong Nian are the most popular, followed by Taiping copper coins, and finally It is today's Taiping copper coin.

"Originally, the wishing pool should be a very lively place. You can make a wish to the gods and Buddhas with a few pennies, which is very cost-effective. Unfortunately, there are not many people in Jiming Temple. They are all wealthy families who throw gold and silver into the wishing pool. It is a vulgar behavior that celebrities disdain, so no one comes here." Xiao Zhinan smiled and said: "But every time I come to Jiming Temple, I have to come here and throw a lot of copper coins to make a wish. Isn't it greedy?"

While speaking, Xiao Zhinan had already thrown away all the copper coins in the money bag, and the whole money bag was empty, and she carefully put it back into her sleeve.

Xu Beiyou answered the wrong question, "You seem to attach great importance to this purse."

Xiao Zhinan didn't deny it, and said, "The money pouch is to me, just like the sword box is to you."

Xu Beiyou hummed, noncommittal.

His sword box is not just as simple as a relic of his master, but also the foundation of his life. In other words, it is by no means empty words that the sword box is like life, so even if there is any special story about this money bag, Xu Beiyou doesn't think Xiao Zhinan's Her Highness a princess valued a purse as much as she valued a sword box.

Xiao Zhinan didn't distinguish anything, just smiled without saying a word.Of course she could see what Xu Beiyou was thinking. From her point of view, it was not surprising that Xu Beiyou had such thoughts. After all, it was just an ordinary money bag, not comparable to Xu Beiyou's sword box. There are also peerless swords such as Zhuxian, Tianlan, Quexie, Moming, and Xuanming from the Xian family. In terms of preciousness, the two are quite different.

Xiao Zhinan was carrying a small basket, which she brought out from the altar, she put the basket aside, sat on a smooth boulder by the side of the wishing pool, and asked, "I remember you don't drink?"

"That was before." Xu Beiyou sat on a rock not far from her, and said, "I have relapsed since Master passed away, from once to twice, to drinking anytime and anywhere, it is logical."

Han Xuan taught Xu Beiyou since he was a child that the word wine and sex is the most erroneous thing. The word sex is justifiable because it involves human desires, but the word wine does not need to be contaminated, so Xu Beiyou has never been in the habit of urinating since he was a child. Drinking, it was not until Gongsun Zhongmou's death that he began to drink for the first time.As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, once it starts, it is difficult to stop.

"I haven't drunk for some time." Xiao Zhinan said, and took out two delicate and small jugs from the basket he brought, one jug was placed in front of him, and the other jug ​​was handed to Xu Beiyou.

Xu Beiyou didn't refuse, took a sip from the jug, moistened his throat, and said in surprise, "There is wine in the temple? But the taste of this wine is not quite right."

Xiao Zhinan also took a sip, his face did not have the blush after drinking, but became whiter and jade-like, with a unique charm, and smiled sweetly: "This is a plain wine made from fruits, it will not be intoxicating, and it is not a violation of the precepts for monks and nuns to drink it. "

Xu Beiyou smacked it, "It's too soft, it can hardly be called wine, and the taste is rough, like fruit juice."

"Mr. Gongsun is a master of brewing wine. The Baihualu and Qianniaoniang brewed by him are even as famous as Taoist longevity wine. It is only natural that you look down on this wine." Xiao Zhinan said slowly while sipping wine .

Xu Beiyou, on the other hand, had a blank expression on his face, "Baihualu and Chiniaoniang? I've never heard Master mention that the wine Master usually brews is snake gall wine."

Xiao Zhinan was startled, then shook his head and smiled: "Then you are really not lucky. Father once collected a jar of Chidori Niang brewed by Mr. Gongsun himself. Every time there is a happy event, he just has a drink. He will not give it to outsiders when he is free. .”

Xu Beiyou took a sip of his wine and didn't speak.Now he suddenly understands the state of mind of his master, whether it is Baihualu or Chiniaoniang, they are undoubtedly much better than snake gall wine, but the bitterness of snake gall wine is not possessed by the former two, just as Precipitation after vicissitudes in old age, the entrance may not be very good, but the aftertaste is long.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Zhinan turned to look at him and asked casually.

Xu Beiyou said with emotion and a little sadness: "Just now I suddenly remembered Master. When I was in the Muwang Mansion, he advised me not to get too close to you. If there hadn't been a battle on Biyou Island, if Master was still alive, I might I won't come to Jiangnan to see you."

Xiao Zhinan drank very fast, the jug in her hand had bottomed out at this moment, after she drank the remaining wine in the jug in one gulp, her eyes were in a daze for a moment, and she said softly: "Speaking of which, you and I are still the same age, However, I probably experienced more things than you. About three years ago, I met a woman when I was traveling. That woman was similar to you. The little grass that raised its head from the crevices of the rock was exceptionally tenacious. But she was not as smart as you. She couldn't see my identity from the beginning to the end, but she just regarded me as a rich lady who sneaked out of the house. That time we Go together for a thousand miles."

Xu Beiyou's expression was a little surprised and a little weird, as if he didn't know what to say.

Xiao Zhinan's expression became surprisingly gentle, but his voice became a little hoarse, "The journey of a thousand miles is not long or short. I met many people and experienced many things. She took good care of me along the way. , and also taught me a lot of things, how to make a fire in the wild, how to buy the most plentiful dry food with the least money, how to distinguish wild vegetables, how to find the traces of wild animals, in short, some very useless and very useful things.”

In the end, Xiao Zhinan looked at Xu Beiyou firmly, and whispered softly: "Her name is Wenxiu, a girl of my age. She came to the Central Plains from the Northwest to look for her long-lost father."

Xu Beiyou already had guesses in his mind at this time, but he still whispered: "Then did she find it?"

Xiao Zhinan's eyes turned red for the first time, and he bit his lips lightly, "Later, she died. In order to save me, she was stabbed through the heart by an assassin and died in my arms. She had nothing left, only this purse, which was her mother's There were three copper coins left for her at the time, and I buried those three copper coins with Wenxiu."

Xu Beiyou remained silent, and drank the wine in his hand in one gulp.

Everyone gets drunk when the wine is not intoxicating, Xiao Zhinan seemed to be really a little drunk, crying and laughing: "Wenxiu, she is such a stingy person, she can't bear to put green onion in a bowl of Yangchun noodles, and she can't bear to light candles at night, no matter how you look at it How come you are so generous when you are poor and short-sighted? Why are you willing to give your life to me?"

Xu Beiyou hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand to press her shoulder, and said softly, "Zhinan, the first time I saw you was in Danxia village. At that time, you were riding Sa Luzi, even though you were wearing a cloak, you couldn't see clearly. Looks, but it gave me the feeling like a fairy in the sky. I was thinking at the time, I don’t know what kind of man can marry such a woman home. Someone like Duanmuyu."

Speaking of this, Xu Beiyou discovered that what Xiao Zhinan gave him was a pot of vegetarian wine, but what she left for herself was a pot of real spirits. The more others drank, the redder they became, but the more she drank, the more flushed she became. He became paler, and now he was drunk, his face was snow-white, he looked at Xu Beiyou in a dazed way, and spewed a mouthful of mellow alcohol at Xu Beiyou.

Xu Beiyou didn't dodge, let the mellow wine smell on his face, and murmured: "But now I've changed my mind, who said that toads can't eat swan meat? I will definitely eat you, the No. [-] white swan in the sky." gone."

(End of this chapter)