I promise

Chapter 896 Chang'an
On the way to Heshengtang, the sound of firecrackers for New Year's Eve never stops.

Spring Festival couplets are pasted at the door of every house and red lanterns are hung.

Chang Qianfo and Mu Dianke walked all the way, greeted people along the way, took an unknown amount of sweets and snacks, and distributed them to the children who said auspicious words along the way.

Once coming and going, the blessing becomes double.

Mu Dianke looked at the joyful and kind smiles on the faces of everyone from the octogenarian to the balding, and felt that Changjiabao was really a good place.

It's no wonder that Mu Cangping tried his best to marry Mu Yueting in.

As we approached Heshengtang, we met several groups of exorcism teams.Three or 40 people are not too many, and five or six people can form a group.No matter men, women, old or young, they all dress brightly and wear hideous masks.Or fighting with swords, or holding shields, yelling and jumping, like a group of demons dancing.

Mu Dianke's memory of Nuo dance was still at a very young age.After leaving home, it will never be New Year's Eve.Seeing it today, it feels like a world away.

Just as the exorcising team left, another large group of people came over with a huge drum, beating gongs and trumpets.Followed by a red carp with cocked tail.

The body of the fish is made of bamboo bone colored silk, the length of the fish is two feet long, it is supported by bamboo poles, and it is carried by eight strong men.From the mouth of the fish spit out a spring couplet in golden characters - "A good year to welcome Yuqing, and the name of the Jiajie is Changchun."

Wherever he passed, everyone gathered around to touch the red fish, feeling happy.

A strong young man in colorful clothes and a red scarf on his head held a mahogany drumstick and bowed left and right, stretching his muscles and bones. Fang jumped into the air and hit the sturdy cowhide drum with a heavy blow.

This is called opening the drum.

Then, amidst the cheers, the man jumped up somersaulting around the horizontal big drum, somersaulted and landed a hammer.Three beats each on the southeast, north and west sides, and three beats in the middle. After fifteen beats, the person turned over the top of the big drum, held mallets in both hands, and fell down on his head.

The onlookers shouted "Three--", "Two--" and "One!"

The peach gavel fell rapidly.

Kankan No.18 mallet, there was a bang in the drum.

In response, strings of copper coins tied with red strings were thrown out from the team, ranging from three to five, falling like endless rain.

Someone shouted loudly, "When the drums sound, good luck comes! When the money falls, the evil spirits go—it's Chinese New Year!"

It was like this in previous years. The boys were gearing up for a long time, and they were impatient. They only heard the last "one" and rushed forward with cheers.

If you are smart, just hold a big dustpan and rush out, collecting money while running.Accidentally fell all over the place, and all the money in the dustpan spilled out.

And all the children looted.

The adults were very happy to see it.Mu Dianke also laughed, and suddenly felt a coldness in his palm, and there was something extra in his hand.Looking down, it was a brand new copper coin wrapped with colored thread.

"New Year's money." Chang Qianfo said with a smile, "My little girl, happy Chinese New Year."

Mu Dian laughed more and more, his brows and eyes were full of spring, but he scolded him, "Don't be ashamed, grab money with children."

"Then I'll send them some more?"

Mu Dianke was still reacting, but Chang Qianfo had already let go of her hand, hurried to the crowd, bowed his head and said something to the man beating the drum, the man tore off his scarf, and handed out the drumstick.

When the onlookers saw this posture, they all cheered and applauded that the young master was going to fight in person to bring good luck.

When Chang Qianfo took off his cloak and threw it to Mu Dianke from the crowd, the crowd was completely boiling, and the cheers reached their peak.

"Boom!"

Chang Qianfo's body was as light as a gliding swallow, he flew up the drum obliquely, and with a backhand hammer, he opened the drum with a sharp sound.

Chang Qianfo is not as tall as Jin Yanchen, but he is also tall, with stretched shoulders and back, so the shelf is very beautiful.

The drum beats fell slowly, and he flew up and down around the open space around the big drum. His body movements were very smooth, full of power but not rough-a beautiful dance that was pleasing to the eye.

The applause was overwhelming.

Especially those boys who just practiced martial arts, they slapped their hands so hard that their voices became hoarse.

Chang Qianfo hung upside down above the big drum, raised his hand and dropped the first hammer, and the sound of the shock went up to the sky.

Money rained down one after another.

The second mallet was deafening.

The house guards who were in charge of throwing money were a little confused at the moment—the drum was originally a mechanical drum with a precision mechanical spring inside, and the sound would only be triggered when the number and position of the drum were completely correct.The guards listened to the sound of sending out money.

Usually eighteen drums are played once; if the skill is good, ten drums are also acceptable.

I don't know how Chang Qianfo did it, but he even blew two drums with the hammer.

Once the drum is sounding, it is a good omen, and the money that should be distributed must be distributed.So this wave of copper coins rained even bigger and spread farther.

Another blow, and the earth shakes.

The guards at home were going crazy, and they splashed the baskets when they lifted them, covering the sky and the sun, only to see flying copper plates and fluttering red ropes.

——It’s all the boss’s money anyway, as long as the boss is happy.

Not only children, but even adults have joined the ranks of picking up blessings.

Chang Qianfo lowered his head and looked at the only tall woman with curving eyebrows among the crowd who bowed their heads and bowed their heads everywhere. He smiled softly and sang loudly, "When the drums sound, good luck comes—the money falls to the ground, and the evil spirits go away." -"

He continued in a low voice, "May Qing and I be safe every year."

***
Chang'an is full of wind and snow.

There are three hundred graves in a desolate suburb, and the black stele is like a jungle.

A tall black figure walked alone among the monuments. This person was wearing a long cloak that reached the ground, with a hood attached. The figure could not be distinguished from the back alone, only that it was a man.

A very tall man.

Jiang Song took a tight breath.

The black figure didn't stop, and silently grabbed the handle of the knife. The murderous aura was hidden under the wide black cloak, and it was fully charged in an instant, just waiting to be drawn.

"Six!" Jiang Song came out from behind the reeds.

The black figure froze for a moment, but did not let go of the five fingers holding the knife.

The north wind in December shuttled wildly among the stone monuments, and the snowflakes slapped people's faces as hard as a knife.

Tears welled up from Jiang Song's eyes slowly, but did not fall, dyeing his eye sockets red.

The man finally turned around, and under the hood he could only see half of his face, with a high nose bridge, distinct jawbones, as cold and hard as a knife and an axe.

"Brother Song." The man said in a deep voice.

The bistro is still the same as before.

It has been 13 years, and the world is changing, but it has not changed, and it has become dilapidated.

The wine is still only "Pear Blossom White", and the appetizers are still the same: braised beef and pickled cucumber.

The beef is too old, the cucumber is too salty, but the wine is good.

So the chopsticks did not touch the dishes, and the wine has been drunk for several jars.

"13 years, 13 years..." Jiang Song seemed to be drunk, leaning on the empty altar in front of him, and said this sentence back and forth, "13 years, I didn't expect that after 13 years, our brothers still If we can meet alive, come here for another drink."

He raised his hand to cover his eyes, wiped it vigorously, and raised the pottery bowl in his hand, "Come, have another drink!"

Jin Yanchen drank in silence and listened to him continue talking in silence.

"...I heard about you later and knew you were back. I rushed to Yuzhou, Jiankang to find you, and Pingcheng——Liuzi, can we turn back? Your father, uncle, your grandfather, your grandparents We are all heroes, you have the blood of heroes on your body..."

The wine jars in front of Jiang Song were all empty, leaving only the last half of the jars at Jin Yanchen's hand.

Just two bowls.

After pouring out his own, he filled Jiang Song's again.

"Come on, finish this bowl of wine." He raised his hand, "After drinking, we won't be brothers anymore."

Jiang Song's hands trembled, he froze in the air, and half a bowl of wine was spilled.The man also seemed to wake up suddenly from his drunkenness, and looked at Jin Yanchen in shock.

——The young man in Chang'an who clearly has the same facial features, but no trace of the old days can be seen anymore; the life-and-death brother who once put his arms around his shoulders and proudly said "I and Jiang Song, only my wife can't live together".

"It's nothing good to be my brother." Jin Yanchen said calmly, "I'm sorry to have troubled you all these years. Thank you too."

He shook the bowl in his hand, "I'll do it first."

After the drink was gone, he stood up and put on his hood, with wine stains on the corners of his mouth and a smile.

Beautiful and decisive.

Jiang Song was still holding half a bowl of wine in his hand, Jin Yanchen's figure had gone away, annihilated in the wind and snow.

Brothers and teenagers all passed away, only one guest with a long knife in Tsing Yi.

From then on, I only asked about the way forward, not the return journey.

(End of this chapter)