Li Qingsu only remembered that the man had a pair of long and narrow almond eyes that were slightly raised, as if misty rain had descended from a river. His eyes swept around the shabby house, and after confirming that no one else survived, he fell on Li Qingqian and his younger brother.
Li Qingqian looked up at the cultivator in Tsing Yi, while the younger brother was soft and small, had a fever, and was crying loudly while lying on his back. The child is so young, he seems to know that he has suffered the fate of the country and his family, that he will no longer have a father who will make him a bamboo dragonfly, and a mother who always loves pinching his little nose...
The blue-clothed cultivator looked at them for a while, then came over, his eyes staring behind the golden mask. He was silent for a moment, and took out a medicine bottle and some silver pieces from his arms: "This medicine can cure all common diseases, keep it for your brother."
Then, without saying anything, he turned and left.
Li Qingsu stayed in the same place for a long time before he reacted abruptly, grabbed the medicine bottle and silver and rushed out. Seeing that the village was full of the corpses of those monks in black, the men in blue seemed to be going door to door to see if there were any leftovers that had slipped through the net, Li Qingsu Kneeling down to him, crying: "Big brother!"
The man in Tsing Yi turned his eyes and glanced at him from behind the golden veil.
"Big brother, please, please take us away!"
The man did not speak.
Li Qingqian's eyes were flushed, and she choked up, "We have been running away, we have been running away...but my mother and father are still...still..." Weeping to the point of choking, "Big brother, I beg you..."
But in the end, the man in Tsing Yi didn't take the two brothers away, he just gave him a copy of the swordsmanship, saying that the swordsmanship was too weak, and it was useless for him. However, if Li Qingqian comprehends well, he may be able to comprehend some of his own kendo with this sword manual, which is enough to protect himself.
But now, when Li Qingqian looked at Hong Shao kneeling in the dust and crying and begging her not to leave, there was a momentary daze in her eyes, thinking of her helpless and hopeless state of mind back then.
He finally sighed and walked back to Hong Shao: "Get up."
"...!" Seeing him go and returning, Hong Shao choked a few times and looked at him tearfully.
"But yes, I'll just take you with me. If you pass by a good place and you can find a good place, I won't keep you anymore."
Where is the red peony, she wiped the wet tears on her small face, smiled through her tears, and agreed with her mouth—she is used to seeing winks, and she knows that Li Qingqian has a good heart. More unforgettable. So he nodded vigorously like pecking rice: "Listen to big brother!"
She listened to a ghost.
She followed him. On the first day, she was still obedient. On the third day, she began to dance and climb trees and roll around.
By the third year, she was already lawless. Li Qingqian would do whatever she wanted, and unlike what she said, she had a huge appetite and didn't eat a lot at all.
Every time Li Qingqian saw that there was no more rice in the tank, and then turned to look at the red peony chasing the dog in the yard, he would sigh with amusement and annoyance and shake his head.
Fortunately, my younger brother was accepted as a disciple by a kind-hearted old scholar in the early years. Otherwise, Li Qingqian would have been really worried if he added another mouth to eat.
Hong Shao asked him before: "Big brother, you are so powerful, you have killed the evil spirits, why don't you charge more money from others?"
Li Qingqian said, "Because those people don't have any money..."
"Then you can go hunt ghosts for the rich."
Li Qingqian's own water-breaking sword had not yet been realized at that time, and he would only draw a gourd and draw a gourd according to the nameless sword manual left by the Qingyi monk back then, so he smiled and said: "One is not good enough, and two, there is so much. More—" He gave Xiaohongshao an exaggerated gesture, "So many people are eager to hunt ghosts for the rich. But few people are willing to go to a small country like Lichun to make peace."
Hong Shao nibbled on the steamed bun and nodded: "Yes! You are a good person!"
"The one who saved me was also a good person." Li Qingqian smiled shyly, "I don't know who he is, but I always wanted to be a cultivator like him. But... I'm definitely not as strong as him. And I guess... It's going to be so poor forever."
Hong Shao was not happy anymore, holding the steamed bun in her mouth, her hands made a big circle, and she said vaguely: "No, eldest brother is the best, eldest brother has... Then... Then..." She stretched her arms hard to make the circle bigger, "So powerful !"
Li Qingqian laughed and touched her head: "Besides, the steamed bun is about to fall."
The red peony bit and hummed twice, and smiled and held the white bun again and bit it again. Both feet swayed happily. The pair of goose-yellow embroidered shoes on the feet were very clean and beautiful. It was Li Qingqian who used his poor shellfish. Bought for her. She wears it carefully, so many years, but it is old, but rarely dirty.
Li Qingqian and Hong Shao just walked all the way, doing the good deeds they wanted to do, and practicing swordsmanship together.
In the illusion, the red peony was riding on the tree and shaking the fruit wildly. Li Qingqian stood under the tree with a headache and looked at her dotingly, but such a peaceful day was not long. Mo Xi knew the ending of these two people, so when he looked back, he only felt that those bright smiles were like a mirror.
This girl will leave Li Qingqian, and then Li Qingqian will become famous, die, and finally become a sword spirit of resentment.
And all this because of what happened
As the illusion continues to change, the mystery layer gradually fades away like sand, revealing the pale and naked truth beneath the sand.
The turning point began one day in late spring when the red peony fell ill.
At that time, they happened to pass by a village and town near the Liao Kingdom. The area where the Liao Kingdom is located is very demonic. During the changing seasons of spring and summer, the demonic miasma is the most intense in the village. The red peony was accidentally infected with the evil miasma, and the person was bedridden with serious illness, and people quickly lost weight.
Li Qingqian sought medical treatment everywhere, but the medicine for this miasma depression was extremely expensive, and even ordinary people could not afford it, let alone a cold person like Li Qingqian? He was rejected again and again, and the pharmacists shouted at him angrily: "If you want to get medical treatment, you need to get money first, how many people have this kind of disease every day, if they all think like you It’s convenient, where are the herbs enough?”
Mo Xi knew that although the attitudes of those pharmacists were poor, their words were not false.
The cure for this miasma is indeed in short supply, and each country has its own austerity measures. For example, in Chonghua, only nobles could buy it. Back then, Gu Mang pretended to be Murong Lian's name to buy medicines at the Imperial Pharmacy for the sake of the poor people in a village.
Liao Kingdom is a little wider, not looking at blood, but looking at money.
Li Qingqian has no money.
He was sitting beside the sickbed of the red peony. The red peony was already like a withered and frosted flower. It didn't have the strength to dance and shout as usual. He only squinted at him with red and swollen eyes, and his lips moved slightly.
Li Qingqian asked in a low voice, "What do you want to say?"
The red peony moved her mouth again.
Li Qingqian then listened to him. After a while, he heard her clearly. She smiled and said—
"Hey, now I eat less, so I can save my brother some money..."
After waiting for her to fall asleep that day, Li Qingqian walked out of the small thatched hut and squatted on the steps for a while, but suddenly she couldn't hold back any longer, and hunched over and cried out. He didn't dare to cry too loudly. First, it was not a manly man, and secondly, he was afraid of waking up Hong Shao, who had finally fallen asleep.
He thought, what to do
What should he do
He wasn't as powerful as Hong Shao said, he didn't become the cultivator in Tsing Yi back then, and he couldn't even protect a little girl who was accompanying him. After so many years, apart from the empty talk of ambition, he still had nothing.
Mo Xi couldn't bear it when he saw it, but he knew that this was the truth and could not be changed.
The fantasy scene is constantly changing. The young Li Qingqian walked helplessly in the lively market of Liao Kingdom. He had exhausted the last thing he could afford, and exchanged seven medicines for the red peony, procrastinating for time.
Now there is only one last post left in the house, what will happen after today
"Come on! Look carefully! The requirements are very tough! Don't try to fool around!"
In a corner of the downtown area, suddenly there was a roar of gongs and drums. In the past, Hong Shao liked watching this kind of liveliness the most. Every time he went, he always dragged him over to look around. He was probably in a trance, and he was used to walking over like that, as if Hong Shao was still jumping up and down while dragging his sleeves, anxiously shouting that he couldn't see it, so he blocked it.
Li Qingqian was stunned for a while, then came back to her senses and was about to leave when she heard shouts from the crowd.
"You really give so much money!?"
"The national teacher is too heroic, God, it's really enviable."
The word "money" used to be a deaf ear to Li Qingqian, but when he heard it now, he turned his head sharply and looked at it with bright eyes, as if being stabbed by a needle.
On the high platform, a senior monk from Liao Kingdom was walking back and forth, beating gongs and drums to attract attention. Behind him, there was a silk portrait that was three people tall, showing a pretty and beautiful woman with a tear mole at the end of her eye. Looking at it like this, it is actually seven points similar to the red peony.
Li Qingqian was slightly startled, when he heard the Liaoguo cultivator repeating: "The national teacher is watching the sky at night, all women with this appearance have the appearance of a prosperous country this year! Anyone who agrees to the conditions can be sent to the palace! "
Qiang Qiang knocked twice, and then shouted.
"If there is a choice, the girl will be the saint of the palace, and there will be a bounty of 1,000 shellfish in the family."
"This matter is voluntary, if you are interested, please check your appearance later!"
Li Qingqian was stunned for a while under the stage, suddenly reacted to something, and hurried to the Liaoguo cultivator who was in charge of the inspection behind him, his voice trembled, and asked, "As long as it is such a girl, the national teacher Do you take it all?"
"If you look alike enough, just accept it!"
"What do you get it for?"
"You're deaf!" The cultivator said angrily, "Come here to be a saint, and follow the national teacher to learn astrology and ask about the way of sacrifice, you can be very lucky! You speak so clearly, you can't understand human words?"
Li Qingqian's palms were all sweaty, his Adam's apple rolled, his eyes widened, both in pain and hope, no matter how bad the other party's attitude was, he asked: "Then, if the girl has a miasma, you... You would also like to…”
"Didn't you just accept it if you look like it?! What is miasma? After a few doses of medicine, it will come alive again?! What kind of bullshit are you talking about! If you have a resemblance, bring it here to see it! If you don't look like it, get out! Holy Women are strict!" The monk cursed, "Poor and sour, a bunch of nonsense!"
Li Qingqian was dumbfounded.
yes…
What's the problem with him? Miasma has never been a disease that cannot be cured. As this cultivator said, in fact, all that is needed is only a few elixirs.
However, these medicines, which were underestimated by the national teacher, could not be replaced by him even if he cut his heart and lungs.
That's right.
He is a waste who can't even save the life of the girl he likes.
A poor sour.
Hong Shao should not have followed him from the very beginning.
It was he who made her suffer.
Li Qingqian slowly walked back to the hut where they were curled up, and seemed to think a lot along the way, but also seemed to think nothing. On the side of the market, a stall owner is eagerly touting: "Beads and jades scratch their heads, flowers and gold necklaces, rouge and gouache are all available, the customer will take a look and see—"
He stopped by the stall and wanted to get closer to take a closer look, but he was too shy to come forward.
The peddler glanced at him and said with a smile, "This little brother, do you want to buy something for your sweetheart?"
The three words "Sweetheart" are like sharp needles piercing the soul.
Li Qingqian was stunned, and was dragged over enthusiastically by the hawker: "Look, the top-quality jadeite gold hairpin, the material from Broken Yecheng, is incredibly transparent..."
"I... I don't have that much money... "
"Isn't that much money?" The hawker was stunned for a moment, pouted, and still smiled, "It's okay, it's okay, look at the cheap ones, this rouge, the cream is delicate and fragrant, it's my grandma's ancestral craftsmanship, the price is also Very fair, only twenty white shells."
Li Qingqian only had three white shell coins in his wallet.
Seeing his embarrassed look, the hawker stopped talking, looked at him back and forth, saw the patch on his clothes, and the smile on his face slowly faded away.
However, he still lazily picked out an old and crude silk flower from the stall. The workmanship and silk cloth were very poor, and he threw it in front of Li Qingqian at will: "Why don't you do this, five white shell coins." He said After lifting his swollen eyes, he looked at him, "To please the girl's family, it's not that you don't even want to pay for such a small amount of money."
Li Qingqian was ashamed and embarrassed, and bowed his head to leave silently.
The peddler was startled and thought to himself that he had lost his tongue for a long time. This person didn't even pay out five white shell coins? Immediately furious, ignoring the eyes of the people around him, he shouted at Li Qingqian's slender back, "Your mother, did you make a mistake? You want a woman without spending a penny, are you worthy?! No Less money will come out and sway! It's hindering me from doing business! Bah!"
Li Qingqian only felt that his face was on fire, and he bowed his head and hurried away in front of those surprised gazes.
When he walked outside the city, no one looked at him anymore, but his head seemed to have been broken, and he no longer had the strength to lift it up. He staggered forward, walked to the long farewell pavilion on the outskirts of the city, sat down slumped, and buried his face in the palm of his hand.
After sitting like this, he sat for several hours, and when he returned to the small broken cottage, it was already dusk and dusk.
Hong Shao lay sideways on the sickbed, her face facing the direction of the door. She couldn't sleep soundly, her cheeks were burning red, when she heard the voice of Li Qingqian coming back, she opened her eyes abruptly. She looked at him with round cat-like eyes, and tried her best to say loudly, "Big brother..."