The gentleman came back carrying the dung basket and saw from afar a figure kneeling at the door of his hut.
He narrowed his eyes and walked over slowly. He poured the pig manure in the dung basket into the dung pit in the backyard, put the dung basket in the corner outside the house, and then took out a bunch of keys from his pocket to unlock the door.
"Sir, I was wrong." Fang Yan stood up straight and said in a deep voice.
The gentleman was hard of hearing and did not hear what Fang Yan said. He opened the copper lock and pushed the door open and walked into the room.
I took off my sheepskin coat and hung it on the wall, then used an aluminum basin to fill half a basin of water from the kettle on the stove to wash my face and hands. Steam was coming out of my face and hands, and the coldness in my body was dispelled a lot.
The gentleman opened the old teapot with a hole on the square table, threw a handful of broken tea leaves into it, and then picked up the antique warming bottle with "Serve the People" printed on it to fill the teapot with water. There were no complicated steps to make tea, it was simple and rough. When he felt that the tea leaves were fragrant, he poured himself a bowl of tea in a large bowl and blew on it gently and drank it.
"Sir, I'm here to apologize to you." Fang Yan, who was kneeling at the door, shouted again.
The gentleman had a blank expression on his face and continued to pretend not to hear. He stood at the threshold of the hut, drinking his big bowl of tea with relish.
"Sir, if you don't say anything I will assume that you forgive me." Fang Yan shouted.
The gentleman is still silent.
Since the teacher didn't say anything, Fang Yan didn't get up.
He knew that there were times when you could be lively, but there were times when you had to be serious.
For example, now.
The gentleman didn't speak, and Fang Yan didn't speak either.
One stood inside the threshold, and the other knelt outside it.
The gentleman lives in the back village, which faces the back mountain.
The wild wind was howling, thousands of miles of snow were buried, and the whole world was white. Fang Yan became a small dot in this white world.
The gentleman was standing while drinking tea, while Fang Yan was kneeling.
The master was sitting and listening to the music, while Fang Yan was kneeling.
The gentleman was lying down and sleeping, while Fang Yan was kneeling.
The husband woke up, washed the rice, cleaned the pot and cooked. He cut the salted fish into two pieces, hung one piece on the wall and threw the other piece into the rice pot. He went to the backyard to pick a handful of green vegetables and some green onions, washed them and blanched them in ice water. Fang Yan was still kneeling.
The gentleman ate the salted fish rice and swallowed the small green vegetables. He washed the dishes and cleaned the iron pot. He filled the teapot with boiling water and drank a bowl of hot tea. Fang Yan was still kneeling.
The warm sunshine in the morning disappeared without a shadow by noon.
The resting snowflakes began to float up again. The snowflakes were gentle, but the coldness was hurtful.
Fang Yan knelt in the snow, his hair messed up by the cool wind, his body covered in snow, and even his eyebrows frozen into ice.
Fang Yan became a snowman.
Just like when they were kids they often made snowmen out of ice and snow, they put a hat and a scarf on the snowman to make it look like a living person.
Fang Yan is the most vivid snowman because he is a real person.
While Fang Yan was kneeling, Yanziwu was still as quiet as before.
However, what was different from the past was that the gates of many courtyards were open, and there were people standing at the door looking into the distance.
Li family.
An old lady in a grey cotton-padded jacket stood at the door and asked, "Is the Fang family's kid still kneeling?"
"Kneeling." Li Xiaotian stood behind the old lady and replied with an expression of reluctance.
"Alas." The old lady sighed and said to her grandson, "This child has great ambitions, so it is inevitable that he will suffer a little bit of pain-----"
Ye family.
Ye Daowen stomped around in the study, opened the window and asked the servant who was sweeping the snow outside: "Is Fang Yan still kneeling?"
"Kneeling." replied the servant.
Snap----
The window closed again.
The servants looked at each other, then lowered their heads to sweep the floor.
Fang family.
Old man Fang Huwei did not clamor for plum wine today, nor did he ask Fang Yingxiong and Fang Haohan to play chess with him.
He had someone push him toward the window. He was not using a mattress to keep warm, nor was he wearing the fur hat he used to keep warm when going out. His big bald head was even brighter than the snow outside.
He looked out the window, at the plum trees in the yard that were wrapped in straw.
Suddenly he got angry and yelled, "Who wrapped it? Who wrapped it? How can it smell so good without going through the wind and snow? Take it down. Take all the straws down for me----"
Fang Yingxiong and Fang Haohan didn't dare to refute and quickly ran out to unpack the bundles of straw that had just been wrapped up this morning.
At this time, Fang Huwei looked murderous. He didn't look like a paralyzed man, but more like a fierce general who had just come down from the battlefield.
Ye Wenrou pushed open the gate, and the old drunkard didn't even look at her. He said, "I'm drunk, do as you please."
Then he lay down in the corner of the porch and fell into a deep sleep, and loud snoring could be heard.
Ye Wenrou slapped the jar with her palm, and the plaster sealing the mouth of the jar flew off the jar and disappeared without a trace.
She tiptoed and the large vat in front of her flew into the air.
The wine jar was slightly tilted, and as it fell, a stream of water poured out.
Ye Wenrou opened her mouth and inhaled violently, with a graceful and unrestrained posture.
Many houses had their doors open and were watching from afar.
Today in Yanziwu, everyone's attention is focused on the young man kneeling in the snow.
Fang Yan, he is already a legend in Yanziwu.
The gentleman drank three bowls of hot tea in a row until the teapot was empty. The tea that poured out became darker in color and more bitter in taste. Only then did the gentleman put down the teacup.
He shouted to the outside: "Stop acting and come in."
Click----
Fang Yan stood up from the snow.
Because he had not moved for a long time, a thin layer of ice formed on his knees and calves in the snow. With the slightest movement, the ice broke apart with a crisp sound.
Snap, snap----
This was the sound of his bones crackling.
The stagnant qi and blood and the stiff skeleton were stretched out and regained vitality.
Fang Yan has the Tai Chi Heart to protect his body, so he is able to keep out the severe cold.
The ice, the body and the Tai Chi Heart became a harmonious whole, and the Tai Chi Heart became a bridge of communication between Fang Yan and the ice and snow, transforming the ice and snow into a kind of energy and transmitting it to Fang Yan, allowing Fang Yan to have a gentle and comfortable contact, rather than directly experiencing the invasion of severe cold.
Of course, if you have internal energy, you can also convert it into heat to protect against severe cold and melt ice and snow. However, the essence of Tai Chi lies in nature, and using internal energy to resist the cold consumes more mental and physical energy, and it is difficult to last long.
This is also the reason why the heart of Tai Chi is more valuable compared to the internal mental methods or energy of several other schools.
When Fang Yan started to move, the snowflakes on his body fell off, the frost on his eyebrows disappeared, and he became a living person with flesh and blood again.
There was an iron sword on his back, with the hilt pointing down and the tip of the sword pointing up, and it was slung across his back in the style of Su Qin carrying a sword on his back.
Fang Yan walked into the hut and said to the gentleman, "Sir, I'm here to apologize to you."
"What's wrong with that?" asked the gentleman.
"Fang Yan is young and shouldn't take the initiative to force the emperor to abdicate." Fang Yan said seriously.
The gentleman looked at Fang Yan and said, "You are not acting on your own initiative. You have been planning for a long time."
"Fang Yan knows he was wrong." Fang Yan bowed his head and admitted his mistake.
"Fang Yan, if you force the palace like this, the entire Yanziwu will be moved by you. Have you ever thought that while you are fighting for the interests of Yanziwu, you are also pushing Yanziwu into the eyes of the world. Is this good or bad for Yanziwu?"
"In ancient times, there was a saying that when a cup of wine was drunk, the military power was released. When the cunning rabbit died, the running dog was cooked. When the birds were gone, the good bow was hidden. When the country is in trouble, we use our swords to relieve the worries. When the country is at peace, we bury the swords and cultivate the fields. We are all warriors, practicing martial arts and seeking the truth, and living a peaceful life. Living in harmony and beauty, multiplying for thousands of years, isn't that good?"
"Thirty years of fame and success have turned to dust, and all my dreams are in vain. What are you fighting for? What are you seeking?"
"Sir, I know I was wrong." Fang Yan lowered his head even lower.
"You're right." The gentleman shook his head. "Young people have lofty ambitions and boiling blood. Who doesn't want to fight on the battlefield? Who doesn't want to be famous? Who doesn't want to have his or her name engraved on a stone tablet at the entrance of Yanziwu Village?"
"My duty is to protect the continuation of Yanziwu's bloodline, to ensure that Yanziwu remains loyal and its martial arts continue to flourish. So I hope to keep a low profile and remain silent. Just like it has been for hundreds of years, I am willing to be forgotten by the world. You chose another path, a path that is aggressive, aggressive and cruel. There is no right or wrong, but have you thought clearly about which path is more suitable for our Yanziwu?"
Fang Yan looked up at the master and said loudly: "I swear on my life that we Yanziwu will remain loyal and our martial arts will never fade. We practice martial arts hard and think day and night, just to strengthen our bodies and promote justice. We swear to protect our country to the death and shed our blood. Anyone who offends China will be punished no matter how far away they are."
"Sir, the world is changing, and so are we. I have never thought about whether this path is right or wrong, I have only thought about the right and wrong of this matter - I am not willing to be aggressive, and I am even less willing to be cruel, I just hope that we will not be bullied. This is the only small ambition I have."
The gentleman pondered for a long time, looked at Fang Yan and said, "Since -- you have figured it out, why are you here to apologize?"
"A gentleman is always a gentleman. He is Fang Yan's gentleman and Yanziwu's gentleman. I have no respect for my elders and have disobeyed you, so naturally I have to apologize." Fang Yan said without changing his expression.
"Fang Yan, kneel down." said the gentleman.
Fang Yan knelt down as ordered.
"Your son Fang Yan has no respect for his elders, is bold and reckless, and has disobeyed the teacher, putting Yanziwu in danger-----" The teacher stretched out his hand and pulled out the iron sword behind Fang Yan, saying: "Give him three severe punishments as a warning."
The gentleman held a long sword in his hand and struck Fang Yan's head with the sword pointed straight ahead.
clang----
With one strike of the sword, it was not Fang Yan's head that was cut in half, but the iron sword - that broke into two pieces.
Fang Yan was so ashamed that he said, "I was afraid that the master would kill me in a rage. So, I tampered with the sword."
The master held the hilt of the sword in his hand, and was stunned for a long time. He said helplessly: "In ancient times, Su Qin carried a sword on his back, and now Fang Yan carries a scepter on his back. Go back. Go back. I can't teach you."
(PS: If you think Lao Liu and Fang Yan are good, please vote for them! Bow!) (To be continued)