The waves stopped the flying boat, and the raging waves slammed against the cliff. A few seagulls flew past the top of the waves.
A white-haired, white-bearded old man in sackcloth sat steadily on a rock in the middle of the raging waves. He held a fishing rod in his hand, and the fishing float was in the white waves, but his sharp old eyes seemed to be able to see it clearly.
Not far from him, a barefooted youth stood amidst the low reefs that had been washed by the waves over and over again. The youth's back was bare, and he only had a loincloth wrapped around his waist. He stood firmly on the slippery reefs in a horse stance, allowing the waves to hit him one after another.
"Great Master, you don't know, but your legend is widely spread in the Tang dynasty. Everyone knows your name. People say that Curly Beard has never tasted defeat in his life, and that he is invincible in the world. People also say that although you did not seize the world, in the Green Forest Road, from ancient times until now, there is no one who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Great Master. "
The youth stood in a horse stance, letting the waves hit his body as he spoke loudly to the old man sitting high on the cliff.
The old man laughed loudly and said, "Undefeated in the world? Is that what the people say? Well, that makes sense. This is in line with the hero image in their hearts. Even if I personally stand up to deny it, I'm afraid it won't work.
Haha, how can there be a general who always wins in this world? How can there be an undefeated hero? When this old man roamed the pugilistic world, I met the heroes of the world, and wanted to do great things. When have I not been defeated, when have I not been chased by others? If you can't win, you have to run. Those who don't run are idiots!
It's said that heroes shouldn't be judged by success or failure, but there are too many ordinary people in this world. How many people can not judge heroes by success or failure? So, when doing things, you can forget about other things, but you must think of a way out. If this old man died back then, what's there to brag about? I would just be the same as Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande, Wang Bodang, and Li Mi.
But people won't remember these things. The hero in the hearts of the people will be praised to be perfect, and in the end, you won't even recognize that the person they are talking about is you. "
"Grand Master also has times of failure?"
"Of course there is. There's a limit to a person's strength. I don't dare to say that I'm invincible in a one-on-one fight. Moreover, who would want to fight you one-on-one in a fight for the world? Even if you have the ability to reach the heavens, you'll still be exhausted to death! If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not strong enough, why would I need to hide overseas? "
"Uh …" "Fan'er heard that Grand Master once entered the Taiyuan Prefecture and met the King of Qin, Li Shimin. Seeing that he was in high spirits and had an unusual appearance, he had the aura of a king, and he had the appearance of a true dragon and son of heaven. Thus, he left in a carefree manner, scattered all his wealth, and went overseas."
The old man burst out laughing. "Oh my god! Bullsh * t! If he, Li Er, becomes the Emperor, he will have the Emperor's Aura. If he doesn't become the Emperor, he will just be Li Er. Above him is Big Li, and above Big Li is Granny Li Yuan. How can Li Er have the Emperor's Aura? Hahaha, this must be made up by those shameless scholars who flatter Li Er. "
The hemp-robed old man was overjoyed. "At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos. There were no less than a hundred volunteer armies. Where are they now? It's not that I don't want to fight, it's just that I can't win against Li Yuan. The Li family was one of the 'Eight Pillars of the Kingdom' during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It has been passed down from generation to generation. It has a deep foundation and great power. I'm born with a lack of talent, how can I compete with him? I gave up on fighting for hegemony because I was sensible! "
He retracted the fishing rod in his hand, and a fresh silver fish jumped out of the water. The old man swiftly took off the hook and threw the fish into the fish basket. He placed the bait and threw the fish into the sea again. He said, "However, it seems that although Li Er has become an emperor, he is far less happy than I am! The people of this small Nanyang country are simple and easy. They have no worries about the country and no power to scheme. I was full of pride in the past. Now that I'm old, I've probably gotten over it. I feel that out of all the heroes of the Sui Dynasty, I'm the only one who lived the happiest life in my life. Those kings who lost their lives can't compare to me, but even Li Er can't compare to me. "
The hemp-robed old man glanced at the youth standing in the waves and said, "Son, you have to remember, you have to leave a way out for yourself! No matter what you do, you have to think about failure before you think about victory! People say that I, Curly Beard, am unstoppable. Let me tell you, martial arts is just a small path. A person who only relies on martial arts is destined to never become a great person. Even if he becomes invincible in the world, he will only be a tool in the hands of others. The real power lies here! "
The hemp-robed old man pointed at his head and said, "An ignorant man cannot achieve great things."
"Great Master is wise!"
"Hehe, you brat, don't flatter me. You're just too old and cunning. Hahahaha …"
"Whoosh!" Another huge wave came crashing. Perhaps this wave had been charging for a long time, the youth's upper body swayed slightly.
…
"Hmm …"
Yang Fan frowned and woke up from his dream. He opened his eyes slightly and saw a ray of clear light coming through the wooden door. It was almost dawn.
Yang Fan sat up slowly and put on his shoes carefully. He opened the wooden door and walked out. A green mountain was in front of him. The green mountain was half hidden in the mist. The faintly discernible clouds at the waist of the mountain made everything in his vision look like a dream.
This was a col in Mount Wang Wu.
Mount Mang was only a few dozen miles away from Luoyang. He could reach it in a day. Yang Fan left Luoyang for five days and only reached Mount Mang on the third day. What did he do in those two days?
Find a way out!
Before thinking about victory, think about failure first. Great Master's teachings had always been engraved in his mind.
He first bought a horse and a pair of saddles. He disguised himself as a traveling merchant and found a villager in a hidden col in Mount Wang Wu. He claimed to be a merchant who wanted to buy mountain products. He paid the deposit and said that he would stay for a few days. Then, he rushed to Mengjin. On the night of the infiltration, he tied the horse in the forest outside the camp and made all the preparations in case of failure.
When Qiu Shenji laughed and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time", Yang Fan immediately moved. Yang Fan was as quiet as a virgin and as agile as a rabbit. He withdrew, retreated, dodged, went up the house, and pounced on the wall. The whole movement was done in one breath. His reaction speed and agility were indescribable.
Seeing the scene, he knew that his plan had failed. The assassination had turned into an open battle. In the enemy's camp, regardless of the outcome, he would be dead. In the words of his Great Master, "Then what's the point of fighting!"
It was not shameful to run. He could still regroup and make a comeback. Losing was not shameful. He could continue to work hard and turn defeat into victory. Doing it despite knowing that it was impossible was hopelessly stupid. Such an idiot deserved to die!
Yang Fan did not want to become the idiot that his Great Master spoke of. So, he decisively slipped away. His speed was so fast that even Qiu Shenji was shocked.
Qiu Shenji drew his saber and gave chase. Along the way, they only exchanged three blows. The sharp blade cut a wound on the back of Yang Fan's waist. This was a cut that Yang Fan had purposely let go. He used this cut to buy himself an opportunity to successfully break out of the encirclement. He dashed into the forest, cut the reins, and mounted the horse.
He was not good at riding a horse, playing ball, jumping, and turning. But by using the horse as a substitute for walking, it was not difficult to shake off his pursuers in a short period of time. It was just that he was dizzy from the jolting.
In the process of escaping, they only exchanged three blows. But the process of their fight was still fresh in Yang Fan's mind. He was sure that Qiu Shenji's saber skills were godlike, even better than his. If it was his Master, Zhang Kuo, he could definitely defeat Qiu Shenji. Even if it was his Big Brother, Zhang Shaowei, he might be able to fight evenly with Qiu Shenji.
But he could not.
He practiced very hard, and his foundation was very solid. But martial arts needed to be settled and accumulated. There was no shortcut to success overnight. He was not Qiu Shenji's match now.
However, he could not wait a few more years to deal with Qiu Shenji. It was not realistic to wait for his martial arts to become more powerful and for Qiu Shenji to be old and weak. Qiu Shenji had the military power. Did he have to fight him alone? His only chance of success was assassination.
But since Qiu Shenji, who was heavily guarded, knew of his existence, was it possible to assassinate him? Unless he had a spy by Qiu Shenji's side, who could accurately know every detail of Qiu Shenji's daily life, even if he guarded outside the military camp for ten years, it would be no different than three days.
And Qiu Shenji was someone he had to kill. In the beginning, he still had some doubts about whether the person Yang Mingsheng revealed was really the murderer of the massacre of the village. But now he was sure that Qiu Shenji's formation clearly showed that he was the culprit behind the massacre of the village.
The deaths of Yang Mingsheng and Cai Dongcheng had raised his vigilance. Even when he was watching the military camp on the Rogue Mountain, Qiu Shenji had already noticed the existence of such a person.
He had to take revenge. But it was not easy to kill him.
Yang Fan stood on the mountain with his hands behind his back. Looking at the clouds on the mountainside and the fog on the mountaintop, he was confused. It was like the illusory clouds on the mountain.
When he was young, he thought that he would never have the chance to seek justice for his parents and loved ones. Later, the figure of Zhang Bao furiously barging into the Military Governor's Office opened a door in his young heart. From then on, he was infatuated, pursued, and trained hard in martial arts, hoping that he could rely on the bravery of an ordinary man to avenge his parents.
But now he realized that the power of the culprit was too great. He could deal with Yang Mingsheng and Cai Dongcheng by force, but Qiu Shenji was not only better than him in martial arts, but also had the military power. He could not deal with him by force alone.
There was also that Miao Shenke. From what he knew, this person was only a scholar without the strength to truss a chicken. Even if he did not know martial arts, with just his strong body, he should be able to finish off this old and weak scholar. However, just because Miao Shenke's whereabouts were in the hands of a woman in the palace, he could only look on and sigh.
In this world, the courage of an ordinary man could sometimes be of use even to an emperor. But most of the time, the courage of an ordinary man was useless. There was no sword immortal or divine hero in this world that could truly transcend worldly power. Then, in the face of the enormous worldly power, could an individual's bravery withstand a blow?
"Maybe, I should grasp power! The knife of power is far sharper than the knife of martial arts. But the road of official career is also a thousand times more difficult than learning martial arts from a famous teacher … "
This morning, Yang Fan looked at the fog on the mountain and the mountain in the fog and thought about many things. Vaguely, he seemed to have caught something, but also seemed to have caught nothing …
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