wait a minute

Chapter 220 Father and Son

18 years ago, the winter solstice.

woohoo~~
The cross wind swept across the endless snow field outside Liangzhou Pass, a crescent moon hung at the end of the sky, and the pale moonlight illuminated the endless land.

In the wilderness, there was a bonfire, and next to it was a temporary triangular tent built with oilcloth, and two horses were tied to wooden posts.

Two men in sheepskin winter jackets sat on the ground by the campfire.

One person holds a wine bag, wears rabbit meat with a wooden stick, and roasts it on the fire.

The person on the opposite side was holding a silver hairpin and rubbing it lightly, and beside him was an old knife with a black sheath.

The man roasting the rabbit meat took a big gulp from the wine bag, exhaled white mist from his mouth and nose, and looked blankly at the northern snowfield:
"Yuanfeng, I've been looking for a month, what are you looking for, at least tell me."

The man opposite him was in his early thirties, and his appearance was quite handsome. His name was Pei Yuanfeng, and he was also called Zheng Feng in Jianghu, but these things had long since passed.

The current Pei Yuanfeng is just a prodigal son from the border town who is wandering aimlessly, far away from the rivers and lakes and the secular world.

Facing the questioning, Pei Yuanfeng put away the silver hairpin, took the wine bag and took a big gulp:

"I'm looking for a herb called Snow Lake Flower, which grows by Tianlang Lake and blooms in winter."

"You always say that. I, Yang Chao, have been wandering around the border for more than ten years. I have never heard of such a thing outside the border. Even if there is, I heard that there is a war in the northern part of Tianlang Lake. Martial arts, in the past, had to be pulled by a strong man..."

Yang Chao, who was in his early thirties, chatted alone for a while, seeing that Pei Yuanfeng was silent, he asked curiously:

"Yuanfeng, I see that you have thin skin and tender flesh. You can read and write couplets. You look like a rich man in the city. Why can't you think about it and come to this poor country to wander around?"

"I'm the second child in my family, and I wanted to inherit the family business. The father refused to give it to me, so I had a fight. I wanted to get ahead and go back, but I didn't have the face to go back."

"There's no shame in going back here. If you don't make a name for yourself, you know you're worthless, so you can honestly hand it over to be your second uncle and help your eldest brother manage the family business. You're still the second in command..."

rumbling...

While he was talking, there was a rumble coming from above the snow field, and it sounded like thunder rolling from afar.

Yang Chao handed the roasted rabbit meat to Pei Yuanfeng, then lay down on the snow, with his ears on the ground:

"It seems to be the Beiliang frontier army... I guess there will be another war, let's go..."

Pei Yuanfeng pulled out the chilong ring sword from his side, untied the reins, got on his horse, and glanced to the north:
"You enter the customs first, and I will look for it later."

"Then you have to be careful, don't collide with Beiliang soldiers..."

hoof clack hoof clack——

After Pei Yuanfeng watched Yang Chaoyuan go, he rode his horse and continued heading north. After walking for half a mile, he saw a wild battlefield at the end of the snowy field, and the shouts of killing were loud.

Pei Yuanfeng sat on the horse with a knife in his hand and watched, but did not approach. He bypassed the area where the two armies met the enemy and continued to march towards Tianlang Lake.

But after walking a few miles, I heard a faint cry coming from the snow field:
"Wow-"

Pei Yuanfeng hesitated for a while, and followed the sound to a hill in the snow field, only to see a lonely carriage moving slowly through the ice and snow.

More than a dozen arrows were hit by the pulling horse, and the same was true on the carriage. There was a streamer hanging in front of the dilapidated carriage, and an ancient emblem of a tribe could be faintly seen on it, and the crying sound came from it:

"Wow-"

Pei Yuanfeng quickly came to the carriage, lifted the curtain to check, but saw a man dressed as a servant lying in the carriage, with an arrow stuck in his back, leaning against the corner of the carriage and dying.

And the servant was holding a swaddle in his arms, and inside was a little baby, crying loudly.

Pei Yuanfeng got off his horse and entered the carriage, picked up the baby, but saw a small package beside the servant, which contained many jade medicine bottles.

With the baby in his arms and the package in his arms, Pei Yuanfeng came to the snow hill to look out. The desolate snow field was deserted, and only the flames of war in the distance were left, gradually spreading to this place...
-
Soon after, Liangzhou frontier fortress, Honghe Town.

The old town was covered with heavy snow, and there was no one at night. In a small escort agency at the corner of the town, a cry could be heard.

"Wow-"

In the wing room in the backyard of the Escort, dim lights were on.

Yang Chao stood in front of the table with a bowl of hot goat's milk, muttering non-stop:

"Little ancestor, stop howling, come and drink milk..."

Pei Yuanfeng brought hot water, poured it into the basin, tested the temperature of the water with his hand, then opened the jade medicine bottle and poured a few drops into it:
"This kid seems to have a problem with his body. He doesn't need this medicine to soak him, and he keeps crying. If the doctor in the town sees it, he can't tell what kind of medicine it is, and he doesn't know how long he can live..."

Yang Chao held the milk bowl and fed it into the baby's mouth:
"I think this baby is quite strong. It is probably a medicine for nourishing the body. It will not cry when it is comfortable."

After Pei Yuanfeng finished feeding, he picked up the baby and put it in warm water.

Yang Chao stood in front of him and looked around, seeing that the little baby was not crying or fussing, and was still looking around, he said with a smile:
"This doll looks smart at first glance. It's also big. It's going to grow up to be amazing. I haven't seen my parents come to look for it. I'm afraid I will have to raise it in the future. Do I have to give him a name?

"I have to get one, what's it called?"

"Well... How about being my Yang family in the future, and my surname is Yang, and my name... The past is over, and I will be called Yang again from now on, and start again..."

"Wow-"

"Hey? Don't like it yet? Then what do you want to be called...Yang Dayiao?"

"The crying is so loud that the noisy people can't sleep at night, so let's call Jingtang..."

Pei Yuanfeng looked to the far north in a blink of an eye, thought for a while and then said:

"The Nightmare Hall."

"The Hall of Nightmare...not bad..."
-
Four years later, the end of the year.

In the small bodyguard agency in Honghe Town, because of the addition of a clever little doll, the originally lifeless atmosphere became much more active.

Raising a baby is a delicate job, and it also costs money. For this reason, Pei Yuanfeng, who had been traveling all year round, settled down, and put all his mind on the business of the bodyguard bureau, and recruited seven or eight bodyguards.

At the end of the new year, more than a dozen people gathered in the escort agency to eat the New Year's Eve dinner. Aunt Lin next door was cooking in the kitchen with her six-year-old son on her back, while the four-year-old young master was standing behind, Holding a candied haws in his hand, teasing the fat boy on Mrs. Lin's back.

"Tangtang, there is a firecracker outside, why don't you go out and have a look?"

"Children set off firecrackers..."

"Hehe, such a big doll can talk like a little adult..."

Compared to stepping up to a regular bodyguard agency, Pei Yuanfeng, who was the boss, put all his energy on his adopted son and gave up what he wanted, so he let go and became increasingly depressed.

Before the New Year's Eve dinner was over, Pei Yuanfeng went back to the backyard alone, sat alone under the eaves, staring at the chilong ring sword lying across his knees in a daze; after a moment of silence, drunkenness hit him and he fell into a deep sleep.

And in the middle of the night, when all the bodyguards dispersed and the whole bodyguard office became quiet, there was a soft 'rustle' sound, which suddenly woke up Pei Yuanfeng who was intoxicated.

Open your eyes and look around, the lanterns under the eaves emit a little light.

A little doll full of aura, stepped on a bench, holding a sheepskin jacket for going out, and put it on him.

Noticing that he woke up, she scolded him in a childish voice:
"Go to bed and sleep, what to do if you get sick from the cold."

Pei Yuanfeng blinked. He had never felt 'father's kindness' before, but now he suddenly understood what 'child filial piety' is.

After a moment of silence, he grinned and raised his hand to rub the little baby's head:
"Jingtang, do you want to be a master?"

"It's not good to fight and kill. The family at the town's entrance, their son was stabbed to death because of a fight..."

"Practicing martial arts is for defending the family and the country, not for fighting and killing. It's better to have a knife in your hand than to be unable to keep your home when something happens. I'm an experienced person. You must remember this."

"Oh……"

"Furthermore, these days, a man with no strength to restrain a chicken is not generally depressed. If you don't practice martial arts, you look so good-looking, and when you grow up, you will be snatched away by the daughters of the mountain kings outside the town. One by one, the arms are thicker than your thighs..."

"..."

"Heh~ Do you still know how to dislike beautiful girls? There are no beautiful girls in Honghe Town. The most beautiful girls in the world are all in the capital. They have no worries about food and clothing since they were young. They all have big buttocks, big breasts, and plenty of milk... "

"Where is the capital?"

"It's in the southeast, just after crossing the Qingjiang River. How about it? Do you want to practice martial arts? I'll teach you sword skills."

"okay."

"Hmph! Practicing martial arts is not a child's play, go for an hour and do some horse riding!"

"Eh?"

……
-
It was another four years in a blink of an eye.

It was early summer, and Honghe Town, located in the Northwest Great Gobi, had a khaki-yellow earth, with few green trees and few pedestrians.

By the small river outside the town, Ye Jingtang, who had been beaten three times a day for four years, stood alone on the knee-deep rocky beach, smashed the stones in the small river with a sledgehammer, then turned them over, and picked them up from under the stones. Small fish with long fingers.

On the stone beach not far away, several women from the town were washing their clothes and chatting casually:

"I heard from my man that the current emperor is a woman who just took over a few days ago..."

"Women can also be emperors?"

"Why can't women? Look at the family in the oil workshop. The woman is so fierce that she can't be scolded for half a street. The man is as thin as a chicken, so it means that the woman is in charge..."

……

On the riverside, there was a small bamboo basket with hay burning in it. An ugly bird covered in gray fluff was lying lazily in the bamboo basket. From a distance, it looked like a hemp ball, looking eagerly at Ye Jing Tang. Small fish skewered with foxtail:
"Chichi..."

"I know it all day long, no matter how fat you gain weight, be careful that someone steals and stews you during the Chinese New Year..."

"Gu..."

"Hey?"

Ye Jingtang discovered that the little chick he had picked up would actually respond, and when he turned around, his eyes were full of surprise.

Before I figured out why, a sound of horseshoes came from afar:

Hoof hoof hoof...

Ye Jingtang looked up, but at the end of the official road, there was a horse running from afar, heading north. The horse was very majestic and mighty, and it was very different from the ordinary horses in the Escort.

Honghe Town is located in a desolate border area, and there are very few outsiders on weekdays. Seeing this scene, Ye Jingtang carried the small fish and hugged the bird, and quickly ran to the small dirt bag next to the official road to look at it.

The speeding figure looked like he had traveled a long distance, but he was not in the dust. He was wearing clean black and white clothes and a veiled cap on his head. He seemed to be a woman from a good family background. Compared with the khaki border town, It looked out of place.

The woman in white came galloping, and when she was about to pass by, the horse stopped slowly. The woman in white looked around, and then looked at him:

"Little baby, where is Tianlang Lake going? How far is it?"

The voice is very light and agile, with a feeling of being out of the world.

After Ye Jingtang took a look, he didn't run down the dirt bag, but pointed to the distance:

"Go to the right at the fork in the twenty miles ahead. When you exit the customs, go northeast. I don't know how far it is. I haven't been there before. It's outside the customs. Ordinary people are not allowed to enter or leave. What are you going there for?"

"It's quite organized... to find a kind of herbal medicine. Thanks."

The woman in white took out an ingot of silver, threw it to Ye Jingtang on the dirt bag, and then rode her horse and continued galloping into the distance.

Ye Jingtang moved Niao Niao, who was taking advantage of people's unpreparedness, to steal the small fish, and looked at the back of the woman in white who was going away, a little puzzled, and before he could think twice, his leg was knocked down by the handle of the knife.

"hiss--"

Pei Yuanfeng, who appeared behind him at some point, had an ugly expression on his face, and severely reprimanded him:
"This world is not peaceful. When you meet strangers of unknown origin, remember not to size them up casually. If you meet someone who is cruel and merciless, just throw a dart down and you will die."

"That's a woman..."

"A clean woman, walking alone at the border, can she have no real skills? In the Jianghu, this kind of person is far more terrifying than those bandits who are full of gangsters..."

Ye Jingtang thought it made sense, so he carefully wrote down the words, and asked again:

"Who is that woman?"

"It looks like someone from Yuxu Mountain."

"Yuxu Mountain... is that very powerful Taoist temple?"

"I know quite a lot. Why? Do you want to marry such a daughter-in-law?"

"I'm just curious..."

"Father Zhizi Moruo, I still don't understand what you're thinking? A woman like this doesn't have the ability to be a master, and she has no chance to marry back home, so don't even think about it. When you grow up and practice as a master, she will soon be married to you." Just married..."

"I've beaten all invincible players under the age of 15 in Honghe Town, how can I be considered a master?"

"You are far behind. Martial arts masters are all godlike figures. You are down-to-earth, study hard and practice hard, and don't aim too high. I guess you can step into the threshold of a master at the age of 30; if you spend all your time fishing and walking birds like now, you are waiting to be suppressed." The daughter of the king of the mountain outside will be snatched to be Mrs. Yazhai..."

……
-
Ten years later, it is another year.

In the bodyguard bureau of Bianguan Township, four large tables were set up, and more than a dozen bodyguards sat at the table to drink and talk happily. The leader was a tall young man, dressed in black, with an extremely handsome face.

The big fluffy white bird stood on the stool, looking eagerly at the wine and meat on the table.

Yang Chao, who already had white hair, sat beside him with a glass of wine, and said softly:

"After doing business with Beiliang, life is indeed a lot more comfortable. The business of the Escort Bureau has increased several times compared to previous years. The empress still seems to have a few tricks. If there are no bandits like the Hongshan Gang and the Horse Gang , this day is really comfortable..."

"Honghe Town is a small place after all. There is not even a county magistrate in the surrounding area, and the imperial court can't control it at all. You have to run hundreds of miles to collect the reward with the head of the horse bandit. If you want to be safe, you have to go to the Central Plains."

"With the ability of the Dong family, they can make a name for themselves wherever they go. In the past, the Shaodong family was young, and it was too risky to abandon the Escort industry and take the Shaodong family to travel outside. Now the Dong family is also old, with old injuries on his body and spends all day long. Drinking, I guess I can't run..."

"I'm eighteen, and my martial arts are better than my father's. I'm good enough to be in charge of the family. I'll try to persuade you later, but if it doesn't work, I'll go to the Central Plains first to have a look, and after I've laid the groundwork, I'll take my father to enjoy the blessings..."

"The Young Master's family wants girls from outside, right?"

"Ugh……"

"Shaodong's family is so handsome. They are still young at eighteen. They almost make the big girls and daughters-in-law in the town cry. They have to worry about letting the birds watch after taking a bath. I wouldn't be able to survive this day... "

After chatting for a long time, Ye Jingtang left the table first and came to the backyard.

In the backyard where only two people live, there are stone locks, wooden stakes and other weapons for practicing weapons. Because of studying hard every day, it is not covered with snow.

There is a chair under the eaves of the old house. The gray-haired Pei Yuanfeng, just like 15 years ago, leans on the chair to sober up with a long knife across his knees.

What is different from the past is that he looks a bit sloppy, with a beard and a lot of wrinkles on his face.

Ye Jingtang sighed secretly, took a blanket from the room, and put it on Pei Yuanfeng's chest.

rustling~
When there was a slight sound, Pei Yuanfeng opened his dim old eyes from drunkenness, looking at the little doll who no longer needed to stand on the stool, and even had to bend down to make clothes for him, a flash of light flashed in his eyes as if it had been a lifetime ago.

"Go into the house and sleep, be careful to catch a cold here."

"got used to……"

Pei Yuanfeng sat up a little straighter and motioned to the bench next to him:

"It's New Year's Eve again, the days are so fast... In the blink of an eye, a lifetime is almost over."

"For those who celebrate the New Year, say something auspicious. I heard that the masters in the world can usually live to be over a hundred years old, and 50 years old is considered to be in the prime of life."

Ye Jingtang sat down in front of him, looking at the moonlit night sky with few stars:
"Now that I've grown up, you don't need to worry about the escort agency. How about we go outside? You've worked hard all your life, so it's time for you to enjoy life in peace."

Pei Yuanfeng shook his head slowly. After all, he had already enjoyed Qingfu before the age of 20, and his old age was to atone for his impulsive and reckless youth.

Looking at the grown-up Ye Jingtang, Pei Yuanfeng thought for a while and said:

"I'm old and I'm too lazy to run. You must go out and venture, or you will live in vain. Where are you going in the future? To the capital to find a wife?"

Ye Jingtang shook his head: "People in the Jianghu, going to the emperor's feet is not just looking for fun. I heard that there are many swordsmen in Zezhou. I have practiced swords since I was a child. I guess I can meet many like-minded friends there."

"Ha ha……"

Pei Yuanfeng was not surprised at this statement. The first stop for young swordsmen on the rivers and lakes is usually Junshantai.

That is the starting point of swordsmen, and it is also the end of all swordsmen's pursuit of life.

"Don't worry about Junshantai, it's better to go outside to see the world first. By the way, don't run to Beiliang."

"Huh? Why?"

"This is the rule of the rivers and lakes. The Great Wei Jianghu is your hometown. When you have nowhere to go, you will go to the Beiliang Jianghu to be a homeless prodigal son and find a way to start again. You still have a way to go. Now you have gone to the past, and you have broken the past." The way back."

"Oh...it's because I don't plan to go to Beiliang, I still want to visit the Central Plains."

"When are you going to go there?"

"In the third year of junior high school, I have to send the darts to Shazhou. It's probably March when I come back. Let's talk about it then. You should go out for a walk too. It's no fun staying here all the time drinking."

"Ha ha……"

Pei Yuanfeng shook his head and smiled, didn't say much, just picked up the jug from the side of the chair and poured Ye Jingtang a bowl of wine:

"I don't know when you were born. You will be one year older in one year. After today, you will be eighteen. You have to go your own way in the future. Don't embarrass me when you go out."

"That's natural."

Holding the wine bowl, Ye Jingtang touched Pei Yuanfeng:

"For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, do you have to say a few auspicious words?"

"Well... everything welcomes the spring and gives away the residue, and the end of the year is tonight. In the new year, I hope you will find some beautiful wives."

Ye Jingtang was full of smiles, and after a little deliberation, he choked out a sentence:
"Happy New Year!"

Pei Yuanfeng heheed twice, picked up the wine bowl and drank it down in one gulp, then leaned on the chair, looked at the fireworks shooting up into the sky in the town, and then at Ye Jingtang after a while, with deep reluctance in his eyes, but also No regrets.

After all, there are times when Jiang Hu is saying goodbye to the old and ushering in the new. Although he has accomplished nothing, a Jianghu guest should go on his way. On the day his son becomes an adult, he will have finished his journey completely. The next road should be handed over to the newcomer. ...

----

Happy New Year, Aguan wishes everyone a happy new year, and wish everyone a year of good health and good luck or2!

(End of this chapter)