Extra - Zhu Ergongzi's dream of becoming a hero
The road from Liucheng to Jincheng is long and rugged, especially in the Wanqianling area, where there are towering ancient trees and hundreds of springs and waterfalls. Ordinary people cannot climb up at all.
But Palace Master Li was not an ordinary person, so he often took the snow-white scholar to the top of the mountains and forests to see the scenery, bask in the sun, and pick some red wild fruits, eating which would leave their fingertips stained with a layer of sweet fragrance.
At noon that day, Zhu Yanyin sat on a rock in the sun, supporting his chin with one hand, in a daze, feeling bored.
Li Sui used a dagger to peel the fruit for him: "What do you mean by interesting?"
If it were before, the swordplay and dangerous scenes in the storybook would be interesting, but now that Mr. Zhu is already a part of the martial arts world, he naturally doesn't want any more turmoil in the martial arts world, so he yawned and said, I don't know.
Li Sui fed him a piece of fruit pulp: "Just go a little further and you will reach Licheng."
Zhu Yanyin puffed up his cheeks and asked while chewing: "What happened to Licheng?"
"Licheng is the end of Wanqianling. The terrain is more complicated than here. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, so it breeds many horse racing gangs."
After being reminded by him, Zhu Yanyin also remembered: "I have a cousin who married into General Li's mansion. When she came home a while ago, she seemed to be talking about mobilizing troops to suppress bandits. The court was very troubled."
"If you think traveling is boring, I'll take you to fight the bandits." Li Sui handed the fruit over, "Eat it yourself."
Zhu Yanyin was immediately shocked. Because when he usually had nothing to do, he would at most invite three or five friends to travel, recite poems and enjoy music. He had never had a pastime like "It's so boring, let's go fight some bandits together." It sounded so exciting.
Li Sui asked: "Are you going?"
Zhu Yanyin lowered his voice and said, "Then we must be low-key and cautious, lest the gang knows you are coming and pack up and run away in advance."
But it was really hard for the Jiangnan Zhu Mansion's team to keep a low profile. Apart from other things, there were more than 20 carriages alone, plus the accompanying cooks, housekeepers, servants and guards. It was a huge group with nowhere to hide. So Li casually ordered the large team to continue taking the official road, and he took Zhu Yanyin and several shadow guards and chose a relatively hidden path.
The loyal old butler had no idea of his young master's inner thoughts, so he did not try to stop him. He just skillfully took out a palm-sized thick book, which recorded in detail Zhu Yanyin's various habits in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, and solemnly handed it to the disciples of Wanren Palace, and repeatedly reminded them that the bird's nest that my young master had been drinking recently had to be stewed with golden bird's nests produced in Qingzhou, and that those from other places would not work.
The Wanren Palace disciples had a good attitude: Yes.
But in fact, I don’t know what a swiftlet nest is. Never mind, I’ll just agree first.
In this way, he helped his own palace master to abduct the rich and noble young man from another family.
Without the nagging butler, Master Zhu II did not need bird's nest at all. He was extremely happy. He rode on the Jade Lion Zhaoye, and galloped on the mountain path with Li Sui, one in front and one behind. He could hear the rustling of the wind in his ears and see the bright sunshine ahead. He was free and happy, and all he needed to become a real hero was a sword.
Then Li Sui really got him a sword, which was small and exquisite, with hollow carvings on the blade. It was not only beautiful, but also light. Since scholars did not have much strength, it was always better to use less material.
When the sky was filled with moonlight, a bonfire was lit in the forest. Zhu Yanyin rested his head on Li Sui's legs and studied the terrain of the area. It would take about five days to reach Licheng.
Zhu Yanyin put the map down and looked up at Li Sui. At present, the big devil was resting with his eyes closed. He was dressed in black and had a cold expression. The flickering firelight made his whole body half bright and half dark. His hair was very long and was blown by the wind to scatter among the stars. He looked like a destructive villain.
How stupid a bandit would have to be to dare to rob
Zhu Yanyin turned over and felt that he had to change his thinking. If the mountain doesn't belong to me, then I will belong to the mountain. What was the name of the most brutal gang of bandits in this area, the Ghost Head Gang or the Axe Gang
I was thinking about this for most of the night and fell asleep at dawn. I had a few vague dreams. When I woke up, I just saw a shadow guard turning around and leaving.
"What are you talking about?" he asked hoarsely, continuing to wrap himself in his thick fur coat, not wanting to get up.
Li Sui said: "Get up and eat something, I will take you to the Guitou Gang later."
Zhu Yanyin immediately got up and said, "Don't you need to prepare in advance?"
Li Sui threw the small carved and hollowed-out sword into his arms: "Get ready."
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
Okay, okay.
So the two of them set off.
The Guitou Gang was located in the most dangerous part of the forest. Zhu Yanyin stood at the foot of the cliff, looking up to see only the clouds and no top in sight, the smooth stone wall was vertical to the ground, not even a tree could grow, to be able to occupy the mountain in such a place, his kung fu must be quite good.
Li Sui held him in one hand and rushed towards the dangerous peak as if walking on flat ground. Zhu Yanyin buried his face in the other's arms out of habit, and only looked around cautiously until his feet touched the solid ground.
What comes into view is a tall mountain gate. There is no plaque, only white ghost skulls hanging on both sides, which are blown around by the wind. Flames are burning in the brazier, flying ten feet high in the wind.
Li Sui placed him in the center of the mountain gate and flew into the darkness.
Zhu Yanyin was stunned when he saw a group of knife-wielding bandits rushing towards him. Wait, I don’t actually need to experience it so deeply!
But Palace Master Li had disappeared, without even a leaf left behind.
Zhu Yanyin: “…”
The wind blew up his snow-white clothes.
The scarred leader's eyes darkened: "Kill him!"
Following an order, three or four fierce bandits rushed over with knives in hand. However, before they could get close, they were swept back heavily by a powerful internal force and knocked unconscious against a tree one after another. Palace Master Li had obviously considered this carefully. There were no headshots and no blood. He fought in a civilized manner and would never let the scholar vomit on the spot.
Zhu Yanyin still stood there motionless, mainly because he really hadn't figured out how to move, so he could only maintain the same posture, letting his robe and hair fly in the wind, looking cold and cool, with a temperament that showed no moves are better than moves.
Scarface is the leader of the Guitou Gang, named Li Gui. He used to be a bodyguard of the Zhongyuan Escort Agency. In his early years, he traveled around the world and witnessed many martial arts schools, but he had never encountered such strange internal force, like an extremely cold ice wave blown up by a strong wind. Wherever it goes, even the air will turn into sharp needles.
The man in white in front of him looked to be in his early twenties at most.
Knowing that the man was coming with ill intentions, Li Gui suddenly drew out his sword and slashed at him with lightning speed, trying to catch him off guard.
Zhu Yanyin instinctively took a step back.
As he moved, Li Gui also flew into the sky with a "whoosh" and hung on the tree.
The Guitou Gang was frightened into silence. They gripped the hilts of their knives tightly and surrounded him. No one dared to attack first.
Zhu Yanyin was actually quite nervous and would sneeze when he got nervous.
“A-choo!”
"kill!"
"?"
The Xiangjun Sword cut through the wind, and with a clang, the carved hollowed-out sword was shaken out of the scabbard. Li Sui wrapped his arm around Zhu Yanyin, and swung his right arm back with the sword. The valley was filled with screams. Most people fell to the ground in great pain before they could react to what was going on, or see what the fleeting black shadow was.
Zhu Yanyin: Why are you leaving again
But Palace Master Li has such strong professional ethics. He promised to let the scholars in Jiangnan experience the joy of suppressing bandits, and he would never go back on his word. After finishing the work, he retreated immediately, like a gust of wind, and could not be stopped.
Zhu Yanyin was holding the sword that had just been forcibly shaken out, looking very Dugu Qiubai, but in fact he had very complicated feelings.
The gangsters lying on the ground were in even more complicated moods, because when they were struggling in pain and fear, they suddenly discovered another thing, that is, the carved and hollowed-out small sword in the opponent's hand was not even sharpened, and the sword head was still round and blunt. Is there anything more humiliating than this? No, so under the blessing of doubting life, the pain doubled on the spot.
Zhu Yanyin continued walking into the mountain village.
Wherever he passed, people and horses fell to the ground and screams were heard.
Palace Master Li also took the time to study the beloved private collection of short storybooks by the Second Young Master Zhu, and recreated the scene as best he could. For example, he used the oil in the brazier to spread a sea of fire behind him, causing black smoke to billow and no grass to grow, showing his devilish temperament in all directions. For another example, when Zhu Yanyin stretched out his hand to push open a door, several shadow guards secretly exerted their strength at the same time and demolished the entire house.
It's the kind of visual effect where everything is torn into pieces in an instant, with thatch, tiles, and wooden beams flying all over the sky, commonly known as flying sand and running rocks.
The bandits were indeed stunned by this scene. They dropped their swords and knives, sat on the ground in embarrassment, and their eyes were wide open.
Is this still a human being
Thus, the Guitou Gang, which had frightened countless people, was wiped out.
The young man in white kept his merit and fame hidden, and left as soon as the task was completed. His steps were hurried, and faster and faster they went. A true hero never looked back at the explosion.
Li Sui was waiting for him in the woods.
Zhu Yanyin sat on the ground and was unable to stand up for a long time because his legs were so weak.
Li Sui squatted in front of him: "How is it, is it fun?"
Zhu Yanyin looked at the other person's eager expression of "Is this surprise well-planned and awesome? Do you like it?" and hesitated to speak. After holding it in for a long time, he finally said, "Well, it's okay."
Li Sui touched his face with satisfaction and said, "Next time if there are bandits somewhere else, I will take you out to play again."
There is no need for Mr. Zhu to cry on the spot, otherwise we can discuss it further.
Li Sui carried him down the mountain.
In the afternoon, the government received the news and sent soldiers to the Guitou Gang to take Li Gui and his gang down the mountain.
The next day, the thrilling story of "the young man in white razed the entire mountain stronghold alone" spread in Licheng. Because Wanren Palace did not explain the details when he sent the news to the government, but only used a dart to nail a sentence in the air, so even the second son Zhu's cousin's husband did not know that the hero was his cousin, and thought he was some unknown hidden master.
Li Gui was tied up at the city gate and put on display. The rest of the gangs were frightened and dared not to cause trouble again. The imperial court took advantage of the victory and launched a new round of crackdown. The people of Licheng sang and danced to celebrate the peace in the mountains. The whole street was packed with gongs and drums, and there was wine everywhere and the fragrance of fruits and vegetables.
In this jubilant atmosphere, the big devil was riding his snow-kicking black horse leisurely through the long street.
In his arms was the mysterious young man that the whole city was talking about. He was wrapped tightly in a cloak, with only a piece of white clothes visible.
The little kid on the street saw it by accident and immediately looked up in surprise.
Zhu Yanyin raised his finger and made a soft "hush" sound.
The little kid immediately covered his mouth with his hands and watched the two people walk away with admiration.
There is a golden sun in the northwest sky.