Lord of the Desert

Chapter 301 Story
The next day, the fifth day of April.

A warm spring day with a bright sun.

Hong Fan, Wu Ruyi, and Bai Jiaci came to Zhan County again.

Last time it was walking.

This time it was by boat.

The last time I came here was in January, the plum blossoms were sparse and the ice and snow had not disappeared.

This time again, Dongfeng has already secretly changed his age.

At the door of Zhan's house, Hong Fan saw Zhan Huizi waiting here.

This trip was to pay homage to his elder brother.

After a simple greeting and no unnecessary pleasantries, the four of them set off on their way.

Then he was stopped by a "wait a moment" call from inside the house.

Hong Fan looked back and saw that it was the father of the Zhan brothers.

The old man looked strong and healthy last time I saw him, but this time he looked like he was dying.

He leaned on crutches and walked slowly across the courtyard with the help of the housekeeper.

Across the threshold, Father Zhan first glanced at the wooden box Hong Fan was carrying, then bowed deeply to him and left without saying a word.

The four of them set out on the road in silence.

It's April.

On the way out of the county town, the sky was filled with catkins of willow trees, lightly scattered in the wind.

After walking for fifteen miles, Zhan Yuanzi was buried in the Zhan family tomb.

Probably for the sake of Feng Shui, the location is also high up with a mountain peak at the back and a wide view.

This is the first time for Hong Fan and others to come.

The tomb is made of blue bricks.

There is a clear pebble on the top of the tombstone pressed against fresh yellow paper.

In front of the grave, the sacrificial offerings have not yet been burned.

Hong Fan looked carefully and recognized the remnants of some paper, pens and drawing tools.

"Did you burn it for him?"

he asked Zhan Huizi.

"My dad burned it."

The latter shook his head and replied.

Hong Fan sighed lightly.

He knew that what was burning in the pile of ashes was not paper and pen, but regret.

Wu Ruyi and Bai Jiaci first went to light incense and candles for the land, and then placed several simple sacrifices.

"Awaited."

With a solemn look on his face, Hong Fan took out Ao Zhixian's head, which was salted with lime, from the wooden box and offered it upright in front of the grave.

He straightened up, seemingly relieved, and opened his mouth to make some remarks.

But he was stunned for a moment, and then he didn't say anything.

From the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to the first day of April.

When you take revenge, your heart burns like a fierce fire, but now it turns into cold ashes.

"Brother, your revenge has been avenged."

Finally, Zhan Huizi on the side said something.

Hong Fan could only nod.

He took off the wine bag hanging from his waist, took a big gulp with Wu Ruyi and Bai Jiaci, and then sprinkled the remaining half of the bag in front of the grave.

Between life and death, any words are redundant.

Silence is the best companion.

Zhan Huizi accompanied the three Tiqi and sat down on the grass in front of the tomb.

The wind is picking leaves nearby.

The clear Yao River staggers in the distance.

In the sky by the river, a small piece of dark cloud was falling on its own.

Outside the rain column, squatted the unknown Nomura.

Hong Fan looked at Yu Yucun and felt itching deep in his bones.

That is loneliness growing quietly.

He got up, squatted back in front of the grave, pushed away the charcoal ash with his bare hands, and used Yanliu Jin to ignite the unburned paper and pen again.

The fire rises, rising and falling.

After a while, the wind passed by and carried away some burning embers.

Hong Fan followed them with his eyes for a long time.

It was as if a part of myself had gone with the wind.

·······
Later that day, at the dock in Zhan County, Zhan Huizi said goodbye to her brother's friends.

Hong Fan leaned on the bow of the boat, and Wu Ruyi sat in the boat.

It's still Bai Jiaci who rocks the oar.

The Yao River is wide and slow.

Although the boat was going against the current, it could easily achieve the speed of a sailboat with the wind thanks to the strength of the paddler.

It was about a quarter or two after Youshi (five o'clock in the afternoon).

The boat passed countless river bends and crossed the southern city wall of Xijing.

Hong Fan drank from the wine bag.

When leaving Zhan County, it was filled with grain wine brewed by the Zhan family.

Just when the genius had a dark plan, countless lights lit up on both sides of the Yao River.

The boat goes further.

Hong Fan put down his wine bag and saw crowds of people on both sides of the Xianzun Bridge, with silhouettes jumping in the middle of the bridge.

"What's going on here?"

he asked blankly.

"Don't you know? It's our Hongyi's 'Wave Breaker' Fan Zhengzhi who challenges 'Flicker of Thunder' Cao Hanhai for the second time."

Bai Jiaci replied.

"Cao Hanhai is approaching his age and will soon be off the list." "The geniuses at this time will often not hesitate to ask for a fight from their fellow villagers - if they lose, the vacant position will most likely stay in Liangzhou."

"It's kind of a routine."

He said, slowing down the boat.

It's rude to interrupt someone else's date.

"Their fight is scheduled in March."

Wu Ruyi added.

"It's just that you and the red-faced god stole the show."

Hong Fan nodded in understanding, drank the remaining wine, rested his elbows on the edge of the boat, and looked around.

Fan Zhengzhi raised his sword with his backhand, pulled out the water bridge from the river, and continued to attack.

Both of them were warriors at the level of harmony between heaven and man, and each move caused turmoil in their innate spiritual energy.

The boat stopped in the middle of the river, facing the sunset across the bridge.

Hong Fan looked at Xianzun Bridge, at the two people fighting on the bridge, and at the eyes on both sides of the bank gathering together, and suddenly he had a strange illusion.

He seemed to be back to yesterday, being his own audience.

The steel knife collided with the iron meteor, making a clear sound.

Hong Fan's thoughts immediately wandered further.

He remembered a year ago.

As soon as I arrived from the border area to the state capital, everything around me seemed to have gone from a story to reality.

Fan Zhengzhi took action again.

It’s still that “mirage” move.

It was issued in April of the 28th year of Zhenghe, and fell in April of the 29th year of Zhenghe.

This time, even the sunset reflected on the blade was exactly the same.

Cao Hanhai was actually defeated.

Cheers of admiration erupted from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Magnificent and ethereal, it seems as if the city of Xijing is speaking.

"New people replacing old people, that's a good thing."

Bai Jia said congratulatory words and raised the oar.

The further the boat goes, the clearer the sound of "Tianjiao" in the wind becomes.

On the bridge, Fan Zhengzhi, the "wave-breaking knife" who had fulfilled his long-cherished wish, was the first to recognize Hong Fan who was sitting on the head of the boat and bowed his hands in greeting from afar.

As a result, the voices on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have also changed.

From "Tianjiao" to "Liangzhou Tianjiao".

Hong Fan couldn't help but be startled when he heard the news.

A year ago he listened to other people's stories.

Become someone else in the story a year later.

"If Yuanzi was still here, I wouldn't want you to be so depressed."

Wu Ru saw the comment and couldn't help but give some advice.

"If he is still here..."

Hong Fanfu chanted.

"If he is still here, he should be happy with the lights of thousands of houses and the sound of people in front of him, and be angry that he didn't bring a pen and paper!"

A smile finally appeared on his face.

For two years, he kept losing.

Lost relatives in the previous life, lost old friends in Jinhai, lost teammates in Xijing.

For two years, he's been becoming.

Became the second young master of the Hong family, the Tiqi of Xijing, and the pride of Liangzhou.

The river waves beat against the boat, shaking the floating world.

Hong Fan's eyes were moist.

The light spreads out.

The lights blurred and overlapped, turning into a raging fire, igniting the years accumulated in his heart.

On the shore of the bridge, the harmony between heaven and man and the Qi Realm warrior instantly felt the fluctuation of innate spiritual energy.

But on the side of the boat, the river was boiling.

Cao Hanhai looked down and saw sunlight mixed with lamplight in Hong Fan's eyes, turning them into a golden red.

"Master Hong, has he made any progress in martial arts?"

He pressed his hand on the bridge railing and asked.

The boat drifted into the bridge hole.

What answered him was the ethereal singing voice.

“It turns away from its roots and sways with the wind.

Why do you want to lift me up and blow me into the clouds?

As high as the sky is, can the road to heaven be poor?
A tourist like this will sacrifice his life and join the army. "

When the whistling sound is gone, the boat has passed the rock bridge and is far away between the water and the sky.

(End of Volume [-])
PS:

It turns away from its roots and sways with the wind.

Why do you want to lift me up and blow me into the clouds?

As high as the sky is, can the road to heaven be poor?
A tourist like this will sacrifice his life and join the army.

The brown hair does not hide the shape, and the vigor often does not fill it.

Don't go back to the road, worry will make you old.

——"Seven Miscellaneous Poems (Part [-])" Cao Zhi

Because it is the last chapter of the volume, the writing style is more lyrical.

The third volume will be serialized normally, but I need to work hard on the outline in the past few days.

I am in my hometown in Zhejiang during the National Day and will return to Shanghai around July [-]th.

It should be updated the next day after returning - I will try my best to stabilize it, but since there are no saved manuscripts, there is no guarantee.

Happy holidays to all of you.

(End of this chapter)