Fu Shifeng

Chapter 23
In a pasture in the outskirts of Quzhi City, galloping horses, hooves rising and falling, grass flying and mud splashing.Accompanied by the sharp sound of piercing the air from time to time, the arrows hit the straw man's target one after another, and at the same time, the soldiers who were watching outside cheered and shouted.

At this moment, Cheng Sanwu was riding on the big bay red horse, his waist and hips rose and fell with the horse's back, but his upper body was almost stationary, which showed his superb equestrian skills.

Seeing Cheng Sanwu holding a strong bow with an arrow on the string, holding his breath and loosening his fingers, the arrow went straight to the target like a shooting star, the straw man standing on the ground shook slightly, the melon used as the head was pierced by an arrow, and half of the arrow shot through the melon Thread out on the other side.

And Qi Zhiyi, who followed Cheng Sanwu, drew a carved bow, and the arrow pierced through the air. Not only did it hit the melon, but it also directly shattered the melon, which showed its power.

After riding and shooting around the ranch for half a circle, Cheng Sanwu reined in the horse and slowed down, Qi Zhiyi stepped forward and laughed, "I didn't expect that besides fighting on foot, your riding and shooting skills are also as good!"

"Walking in the Western Regions, I often encounter horse thieves. When they fight, they often disperse in a herd. It is impossible to accomplish anything with only swords and guns. You still have to rely on riding and shooting skills."

After Qi Dadu returned to Quzhi City, Cheng Sanwu was free, and Lao Su didn't need him to be busy, he just hung out with Qi Zhiyi every day.

This little general was a brave general on the battlefield, but in normal life, he was just a dandy, he was not as prudent as Qi Daduhu, and he even ignored the academic homework of classics and history collections, military books and warfare methods.

He dragged Cheng Sanwu around these days, accompanied by more than a dozen elite personal guards, rampaging in and out of Quzhi City, and no one dared to stop him.

Cheng Sanwu didn't bother to think too much. During the day, he either followed Qi Zhiyi to watch the soldiers' training, practiced martial arts with him, or went hunting in the jungle at the foot of Tianshan Mountain to relax.Returning to the city in the evening, or bathing and chatting in the soup pool, or going to wine shops and brothels to enjoy orchid wine, usually the next day after three poles, the two of them each wake up from a pile of warm and fragrant nephrite, and then continue to fool around.

Cheng Sanwu is still more willing to get along with a candid man like Qi Zhiyi than someone with deep scheming and unpredictable insidiousness.

During these days, because of Xingsui's affairs, Cheng Sanwu felt more irritable, and he couldn't explain the reason, so he had to follow Qi Zhiyi to have fun everywhere, and he had the right to vent and relax.

"Your horse is really extraordinary, and my Jueyi almost can't keep up." Qi Zhiyi got off the horse and touched his white-colored horse with a golden coat. It has a healthy body and a slender neck. It can be seen that this is a rare treasure horse.

The red horse snorted, and Cheng Sanwu just smiled, he was embarrassed to say that his horse hadn't used all its strength to gallop, otherwise it would be easy to throw Qi Zhiyi away.

Cannibals are soft-spoken and short-handed, and Qi Zhiyi pays for Cheng Sanwu's mischief these days, and he doesn't want to ruin his good intentions.

"What's its name?" Qi Zhiyi gestured to Zaohong Dama and asked.

"Name?" Cheng Sanwu was slightly taken aback, and replied, "It doesn't have a name."

The bay red horse seemed to shake its head and neck in displeasure, and the rein was thrown out of Cheng Sanwu's hands.Seeing this, Qi Zhiyi smiled and said: "Look, horses are all human. If you say that, it will definitely not like it. And it doesn't have a name, how do you usually handle it?"

"Anyway, I whistled and it came over." Cheng Sanwu shrugged.

"How can this be done?" Even Qi Zhiyi felt that Cheng Sanwu was too careless: "Where did you buy this horse?"

"I didn't buy it." Cheng Sanwu replied: "When I first came to the Western Regions, I happened to see it in an oasis in the wilderness, so I took it away and rode it."

Qi Zhiyi laughed loudly and said, "You are a horse thief!"

"How can this be considered stealing? I looked around for a while, but I didn't find anyone else, and I saw it was alone, so I had to reluctantly take it away." Cheng Sanwu quickly explained: "This guy is very troublesome to take care of. On weekdays, if the grass-fed soybeans and wheat are slightly worse, it loses its temper and refuses to be ridden."

Qi Zhiyi smiled and nodded, not sure if he believed it, but then asked: "No, I heard that you have been in the Western Regions for many years, isn't this horse also getting old?"

"It's almost ten years now." Cheng Sanwu said.

"It doesn't look like an old horse." Qi Zhiyi looked at the bay red horse carefully: "Although the old horse is well maintained, it can ride for a long time, but after all, it can't stand the frequent galloping. Blood."

"I think it can still run." Cheng Sanwu patted the horse's neck: "If it can't run anymore, it won't hoof."

Qi Zhiyi shook his head with a wry smile, he took Cheng Sanwu to the pasture outside the city today, and he wanted to take this opportunity to give him a good horse, so as to win him over.But he didn't expect that Cheng Sanwu's own mount was already a rare horse, and he was too embarrassed to ask if he wanted to give it away.

"Come on, tell me about the result of riding and shooting just now!" Qi Zhiyi greeted from a distance.

A military official came on horseback and reported: "The little general hits twenty hits with twenty shots, and Cheng hits eighteen with three to fifty shots!"

"It seems that I'm still slightly better!" Qi Zhiyi couldn't hide his joy. He and Cheng Sanwu competed in martial arts for many days, and finally they beat each other in one aspect.

Cheng Sanwu crossed his hands and said: "The little general has the skill of shooting through Yang with a hundred steps. How can I be as reckless as the little general?"

"Your flattering skills are not as good as your Su's in charge." Qi Zhiyi laughed, and at the same time led Cheng Sanwu to a nearby camp. Soldiers had already roasted sheep on fire, and the fragrance was wafting.

Qi Zhiyi and Cheng Sanwu each shared a leg of lamb. At the same time, several orchid maidservants walked out of the camp, holding wine pots and utensils to serve.

Since the founding of the Great Xia, conquering the Quartet and subduing the barbarians, in addition to expanding the territory, another benefit is the acquisition of a large number of foreign slaves.

In every battle, some of the captives obtained from the extermination of tribes and states were used for Huairou repairs and released, and the rest were used as official slaves.

These official slaves are usually placed to work in the royal industry, or are used to reward princes and nobles, meritorious officers and soldiers, and Taoist temples.A very small number of people with good looks will be selected and sent to the Jiaofang Division to study singing and dancing, female celebrities and serving things, or they may have the opportunity to be sent to the palace.

Compared with the Han land in the Central Plains where desperate people sold themselves as slaves, it is especially common in the Western Regions to sell men and women.After all, most of the barbarians in the Western Regions are not registered in the official households, and they are not among the ranks of good people whose trading is strictly prohibited by law.

And the sale of slaves is the main business of the Western Regions Trading Company. If they can get through the juncture of the court and obtain the approval document issued by the government, they can sell the slaves and maidservants of the Western Regions to the Central Plains.

Naturally, Baochang Club also participated in it. Cheng Sanwu used to have disputes with other caravans because of a team of slaves whose ownership was unclear. It took several rounds of duels to snatch the slaves.

With such a custom in the Western Regions, it was not uncommon for Qi Zhiyi, as the son of the chief guardian of the four towns, to raise Hu Ji's slaves.

Cheng Sanwu once heard from Su Wangting that in order to show off their wealth, the princes and nobles in the court held hundreds of orchid maidservants dancing and playing music at banquets.Some aristocrats who believed in Buddhism asked orchid maidservants to imitate the Gandharva and Kinnaras in the picture book Buddhist scriptures, performing the flying dance to add to the fun.

Compared to such extravagant behavior, Qi Zhiyi just escorted Hu Ji to drink and have fun, which is quite simple.

"I know you don't like wine, so I brought this pot of Shaochun Li, which is brewed by a cook in my family from Shu." Qi Zhiyi ordered Hu Ji to pour the wine, and the wine poured into the glass was almost white water, without any turbidity. However, the tangy bouquet proves that this is a fine wine.

Cheng Sanwu didn't talk nonsense, he tilted his head back and drank it, the wine tasted sweet and sweet in his throat, and then it became warm and hot, spreading all over his body, like being immersed in a spring of soup.

Unexpectedly, Qi Zhiyi saw this, laughed and said: "You actually drink up such fine wine like white water in one gulp!"

Cheng Sanwu didn't mind either: "I've always been like this. Lao Su often laughs at me for not knowing what's good and what's wrong, and I can stuff anything into my stomach."

"Su Zhangshi is really right." Qi Zhiyi took a sip of his wine, and then changed the subject: "It's just that I don't understand why Su Zhang is such a smart person, why did he leave the embroidered clothes envoy behind?" around?"

Cheng Sanwu paused for a while, he saw the orchids on the left and right, he hesitated to speak.

Qi Zhiyi smiled and said, "Don't worry, they don't understand Chinese, so they won't spread it around."

"Actually, Lao Su also doubted Afu's origin, and had long guessed that she came to the Western Regions at the order of a nobleman in the court." Cheng Sanwu said.

"A mere barbarian girl, even if her martial arts are good, she shouldn't be taken so seriously by the head of the office, right?" Qi Zhiyi asked tentatively, "Besides, she didn't reveal her identity before that."

"She's not called 'good martial arts'." Cheng Sanwu was a little scared, and said in a low voice: "She's not a human, but a hag!"

"Mother Yaksha?" Qi Zhiyi's face was startled: "Is she a flying Yaksha?"

"I've seen her walk through the mist with my own eyes, more than once!" Cheng Sanwu looked around when he said this, lest Afu was nearby: "I have fought her before, anyway, I can't beat her."

"Is it really that powerful?" Qi Zhiyi was dubious, he competed martial arts with Cheng Sanwu these days, and knew that he was born with supernatural power, and this kind of person would be a first-class warrior on the battlefield.If the men and horses are fully equipped, it is estimated that Cheng Sanwu can easily smash the enemy in front of him into pieces.

"And that enchantment, she was the first to notice the abnormality, and Mr. Changqing confirmed it later." Cheng Sanwu said hesitantly, "But I don't think she came here for the star marrow."

"Why do you think so?" Qi Zhiyi asked.

Cheng Sanwu shook his head: "I don't know, it's just a guess."

"You don't seem to like the embroidered clothes envoy?" Qi Zhiyi noticed something.

Cheng Sanwu sighed: "Actually, when I met Dilong Qiansha, she saved my life, and I was very grateful. It's just that she watched the deaths of colleagues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and I always felt uncomfortable."

"That Peng Ning, right? You mentioned it when you were drinking that day." Qi Zhiyi asked, "Could it be that you trust Peng Ning a lot? He's from the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"I don't care who he is!" Cheng Sanwu said impatiently: "Peng Ning never forgot to ask me to send his things to Chang'an until the moment of his death, not to mention his death was due to my carelessness."

Compared with the admiration for Peng Ning, Cheng Sanwu felt more guilt in his heart, he couldn't bear not being able to complete what he promised.Every time he thinks of this, he feels a huge sense of hunger, as if there is an ever-expanding hole in his body, trying to swallow Cheng Sanwu himself.

With this in mind, Cheng Sanwu didn't have the mood to drink and chat anymore, he picked up the fragrant roast leg of lamb in front of him, and started to feast on it.

……

Xie Zhihe used his mana carefully, and pulled out a golden needle thinner than a hair from the air, slowly detaching from the corner of Mr. Changqing's eye.

Withdrawing the golden needle, Xie Zhihe took a cold wet cloth with strong medicinal fragrance from Daotong beside him, and covered Mr. Changqing's eyes.

"Okay, most of the blindness in the eyes has been drawn out, let's apply cold compresses for a while to stabilize the blood." Xie Zhihe, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, also wiped his face with a piece of cold damp cloth, and addressed Mr. Changqing who was lying on the soft bed said:

"Fortunately, fellow daoist has a solid foundation. His eyes are only due to the conflict of qi and blood, and he is not completely blind. I first use the golden needle to pull out the obscuration in the pupils, and then use cassia powder to melt the surrounding meridians. Fellow daoist, rest for a few days first. Stop trying to channel Qi and blood again."

"Thank you very much." After going through a difficult treatment, Mr. Changqing's inner tension eased a little: "I never thought that Daoist Xie is also good at knife and needle surgery. This kind of ability is rare in the Central Plains."

"Really?" Xie Zhihe sat down to rest: "To tell you the truth, fellow Taoists, I came to the Western Regions to seek refuge with the Chief Protector of Qi, because I failed to cure the daughter of Wei Shilang from the Household Department. Wei Shilang decided that I was a quack doctor and wanted to arrest me and punish me." ...I had no choice but to flee Chang'an overnight, not to mention how embarrassing the journey was."

"Wei Shilang? Wei Concubine's elder brother?" Mr. Changqing asked.

"Not bad." Xie Zhihe had a melancholy expression.

"Nonsense." Mr. Changqing said with anger: "These nobles in the imperial capital have a pair of white eyes, but they don't know how to thank Daoyou for their talents. Injuries and illnesses are inevitable in life, and doctors do their best. If it is really hard to save their lives, it will be sad and sad. There is nothing wrong with it, how can there be any reason to pursue the doctor? Even arbitrarily using power, the crime is added to the innocent, it is really absurd!"

"Oh, fellow daoist, don't be angry!" Xie Zhihe hastily advised: "The eyes and the liver are connected, anger and anger will not help the recovery of the injury!"

Mr. Changqing had no choice but to suppress his anger, and said: "Thanks to fellow daoist for your ability, the third-class aides of the Duhu mansion are also underestimated. When I recover from my injuries, I will recommend you as a daoist to the governor of Qi Dao."

"No need." Xie Zhihe repeatedly discouraged: "I am satisfied with the arrangement now, and there is no need for a fellow daoist to come forward."

"Fellow Daoist Xie thinks too highly of these dignitaries and dignitaries, as if they really can't handle the law." Even though Mr. Changqing was lying on the bed, he still did not change his arrogance.

Xie Zhihe had no choice but to respond with a wry smile, just as Daotong came to inform the situation of the wounded elsewhere, he hurriedly packed up his things and said, "I still have wounded waiting for treatment here, so I won't chat any more. Fellow Daoist Changqing, remember to rest in peace, Don't get angry."

After saying this, Xie Zhihe left in a hurry, leaving Mr. Changqing alone, falling into loneliness.

(End of this chapter)