The storyteller looked in the direction of the toilet and then at the front hall on the other side of the corridor, thinking that perhaps the gentleman had gone to the front to listen to the story.
After weighing the heavy Dangwu Tongbao and stuffing it into his inner pocket, the storyteller straightened his clothes and returned to the teahouse hall with a smile.
"Hey, the master is back." "Hurry up and give the master a pot of new tea, and put the money in my account!"
"Okay~~"
"What are you going to talk about now, sir?" "Yes, tell me something new!"
"Yeah, yeah, tell me something new and exciting."
When a group of tea drinkers saw the storyteller coming back, they all started to cheer and tell stories.
In this society, listening to music, watching plays and listening to books are considered very good entertainment activities. Apart from that, ordinary people do not have many entertainment activities. They may just have sex with their spouses at night.
Therefore, as long as there is a storyteller who is above the standard sitting in the teahouse, it will usually be very lively.
"Okay, okay, everyone, please be patient. I have a story to tell!"
The storyteller held a white paper fan and bowed to everyone. He looked around but did not see the impressive man in white shirt.
However, there was a beautiful lady with a lingering charm at the door. She was supported by her servants and sat down in the teahouse with her two children. A tea doctor was treating them well, which attracted many glances from others, but no one dared to approach them.
The storyteller picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
"Well, since everyone wants to hear something new, I will tell you an old story from Jizhou. Not many people have told it in recent years, and the plot is relatively short, but it is still quite interesting. If someone travels far away to places like Ning'an, Baoshun, etc., there may still be people who witnessed it alive."
Ji Yuan has always believed that storytelling is an art. Every storyteller who can make a living by storytelling is not an ordinary person.
For example, at this moment, the storyteller has aroused everyone's emotions and curiosity with just a few words, before he even started talking or even said what he was going to say.
"Hey sir, please tell me!"
"Yeah, what story are you going to tell?"
"Don't worry, let's start now!"
The storyteller suddenly unfolded the white paper fan, waved it in front of his chest, and began to speak in a clear and loud voice.
"It is said that several decades ago, on Niukui Mountain in Jizhou, there were frequent cases of vicious tigers eating people. In the past few years, countless people have died in the tiger's mouth. The people in the counties near the mountain are all in danger. Even old hunters dare not go up the mountain easily. They really don't go beyond the post when it's dark, and they don't go into the mountain when it's cloudy and rainy..."
The tea drinkers nearby were listening very attentively, but Luo Ningshuang, who had just sat down, was suddenly stunned and looked in the direction of the storyteller.
An older tea drinker nearby had heard this story before, so he lowered his voice and whispered it to his companions.
"This is about 'The Legend of the Nine Heroes'. I haven't heard of it in a few years!"
"Nine Heroes?"
"Well, you will know when you listen. This is the local story of Jizhou."
“Ohhh…”
Beside Luo Ningshuang, two children were fighting over snacks and listening to stories, but the two children were a little strange and placed two pieces of the snacks they had grabbed on empty seats, smiling with great pride.
Luo Ningshuang looked at the storyteller with a slightly absent-minded look, fanning herself or folding her fan, or clapping the wake-up stick or performing body movements.
She seldom came to places like teahouses. Luo Ningshuang had heard of this story, but this was the first time she had heard someone tell it in person in all these years.
The nine heroes in the story have no names, and are replaced by surnames such as Yan, Zhao, Luo, and Du. The plot has been beautified and twisted countless times, and there are even three battles with evil tigers.
"Haha... hahaha... we both fell flat on our faces the moment we met..."
Luo Ningshuang murmured with a smile, her eyes slightly sparkling, and those past events came back to her memory bit by bit. She looked at her own fair and tender hands, the calluses from practicing martial arts had long fallen off, and now her fingers were not touched by water at all.
"I'll leave my dream of being a martial artist to my children..."
Luo Ningshuang sighed and looked tenderly at the children who were scrambling for snacks at the table.
Across the table, Lu Shanjun closed his eyes slightly, listening quietly to the storyteller's story, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"This is the law of fate! It begins in the past and returns to the past..."
Having said that, Lu Shanjun no longer hesitated, stood up and walked to Luo Ningshuang's table.
The two servants at the next table stood up and looked at him vigilantly. Luo Ningshuang also looked at this gentleman with a little confusion.
"Is there anything wrong with this gentleman?"
Lu Shanjun smiled slightly and bowed to Luo Ningshuang.
"I saw the heroine just now in the busy city, taking decisive action against the thieves despite being pregnant, and I admired her very much. I also saw that the heroine looked very much like an old friend of mine, so I came here to see her face!"
Hearing this, the two servants' expressions eased a little, Luo Ningshuang also smiled, and the two children looked proud and curious at the man.
"Of course my mother is amazing. I heard from my uncle that she was even more amazing in the past!"
"That's right. When we grow up, we will travel the world with our brother. Then we will be powerful and become heroes too!"
Lu Shanjun looked at the two little kids and nodded without saying anything.
Originally, he would not let Luo Ningshuang go immediately, but after hearing the story in the teahouse and seeing the sparkle in the woman's eyes, he suddenly understood a little more about the human nature of the world.
"Oh? How did you know I was pregnant? Your friend looks like me? What's her name? Can't you find her?"
After resting for a while, Luo Ningshuang's fetal qi stabilized through the practice of breathing techniques, and she spoke much more calmly.
Lu Shanjun stood up.
"No, we are just old acquaintances, not friends. In a sense, we are more like enemies. No, it is more like a debt relationship. I am the creditor!"
Luo Ningshuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She thought it was a love story of a young man pursuing his favorite girl, but she didn't expect it was a debt collector.
"As for that person's name, it is the same as the woman mentioned in the storyteller's story. Both are surnamed Luo."
These words made the Luo family stunned for a moment. This was really a coincidence. Luo Ningshuang even thought, she looked like her and had the surname Luo. Could it be that the younger sister or younger niece in the family was borrowing money outside
"You only know the last name but not the full name? Tell me the name, maybe I can recognize it. If it is true, I can help you collect the debt."
Owing money is a small matter, but the reputation of Luoxia Villa is a big matter. Luo Ningshuang cannot pretend not to hear about this.
Lu Shanjun smiled again, didn't say much, but turned and walked out of the teahouse.
"No need. I just decided to pay off this debt and let this Lady Luo live a peaceful life from now on. It's good to be a good wife and mother. Who knows, she might even raise a hero in the future."
These words came from afar, and Luo Ningshuang had a strange feeling in her heart, thinking something was wrong. She stood up, turned around and looked at the young man who had already left the teahouse and was walking away.
"Sir, please stay!"
Lu Shanjun paused, turned and looked in the direction of the teahouse, without saying a word, just looking at Luo Ningshuang waiting for her to speak.
"Sir, your words are suggestive. May I ask your full name? It would be best if you could tell me the full name of that woman. If I meet the heroine named Luo you mentioned, I will tell her what happened today."
Lu Shanjun raised one hand and rubbed his chin. His eyes flashed and he smiled. He held his hands together and bowed to Luo Ningshuang again.
"I am Lu Shanjun."
After saying that, Lu Shanjun put his hand away, turned around and left again, and soon disappeared among the crowd on the street.
Inside the teahouse, the storyteller's story had just reached its climax. Nine heroes arrived in Ning'an County together, and went up the mountain together after the announcement of the list.
However, when Luo Ningshuang heard the three words "Lu Shanjun", her heart was struck hard. Her whole body shook violently as if an electric shock had occurred. She stood at the door for a long time without making any other moves.
"Lu Shanjun... His name is Lu Shanjun... Is it a coincidence? No, it can't be..."
The horrific scene in front of the tiger spirit that year kept flashing through Luo Ningshuang's mind. It was much clearer than the memory just now, and the wound on her shoulder was aching even more.
On Niukui Mountain, in front of the mountain temple, Menghu bowed and made a covenant with the nine people. Someone in the temple spoke calmly.
"In the future, if any of these nine people commits evil and destroys lives, you will punish them. Whether you kill them or behead them, it will not violate the laws of heaven..."
Mr. Ji’s voice from that time rang in my memory.
Over the years, everyone thought that it was a temporary measure that Mr. Ji used to help them escape. Unexpectedly, the tiger spirit has now transformed into a human form and come down the mountain to fulfill the promise...
Luo Ningshuang suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body, and a chill rose up belatedly. The person who just spoke to her and left was a terrifying tiger spirit who ate people without leaving any bones!
"Miss, what's wrong with you? You look so ugly!"
"Yes Miss, don't scare us!"
Seeing Luo Ningshuang's pale face, the servants beside her became anxious again, thinking that the fetus was unstable.
"No, it's okay... I'm fine!"
Luo Ningshuang turned around and forced a smile towards the two of them, then sat down in her seat with an uneasy mood. However, when she looked up, she found that there was another person sitting opposite her who looked somewhat unfamiliar yet familiar.
This man was dressed in a white shirt, with a clean face and no beard. His facial features were neat and clear, but his age could not be seen. He had a black jade hairpin on his head to hold his hair together, but his hair still flowed in front of his temples and behind his temples, appearing a little untidy.
The two servants were startled again when they suddenly saw one more person.
"Who are you?" "Who told you to sit down by yourself?"
“Stand up now!”
No one noticed that the two children had strange expressions. They looked at the two servants and then at Luo Ningshuang. One of them hesitated and spoke.
"Mom, hasn't this great teacher been sitting here all the time? He even said he knew me..."
"Well, just sit here!"
Sitting here all the time
Before anyone else could react, Ji Yuan spoke.
"Miss Luo, nearly twenty years have passed. How are you? You don't have to worry about what happened just now. Supporting your husband and raising your children is the right path, and it does not violate chivalry. The promise you made back then is over, and Lu Shanjun will not look for you again. Perhaps this is the last time you will see each other in this life."
Although Luo Ningshuang is in Desheng Mansion, Ji Yuan has never seen her for all these years. Perhaps after today, he will never see her again in the future.
"You, you are Mr. Ji?"
Luo Ningshuang finally remembered who it was and blurted out.
Ji Yuan nodded and stood up.
"That's exactly what Ji said. As the saying goes, there is a beginning and an end. I was present when the agreement was made, and I should be present when it is fulfilled. As Lu Shanjun said, it starts in the past and ends in the past. Haha, take care, lady!"
After saying this and bowing, Ji Yuan also left his seat and walked out of the teahouse. Luo Ningshuang and the servants and children looked over, only to see that the white shirt was dazzling in the sunlight, but when they looked more closely, it had disappeared.
Luo Ningshuang looked absentmindedly in the direction where Ji Yuan disappeared. While she felt relieved, she also felt empty.