The area of the courtyard was not large. Other than the ancient pagoda in the center, the rest of the area was only 30 to 40 meters. Li Rui drove the car five to six meters away from the pagoda, turned off the engine, and got out of the car. He introduced the history and structure of the ancient pagoda to Xu Da.
The pagoda was 36 meters tall and had 13 floors. It was an octagonal pagoda with a Sumeru base and an octagonal brick base. The base was three meters high, and above it was a lotus cornice that extended upward and outward. Above that was the first floor of the pagoda. After entering, there was a wooden spiral staircase that led directly to the top of the pagoda. Standing on the highest floor, one could see the entire Qingyang District through a small door. Because of this, some cultural relic experts found that this was a military pagoda from the Jin Dynasty. It was used to monitor the enemy and alert.
When Li Rui was in elementary school, he often came here with his classmates during the holidays. He also tried to climb up with his classmates. After more than nine hundred years of being exposed to the elements, the bricks at the corners of the platform were already worn down, revealing a lot of space for one to stand on. Thus, it wasn't too difficult to climb up to the platform, but it was difficult to climb up to the lotus cornice above the platform. Because the cornice extended upward and outward (refer to the lotus seat that Guan Yin sat on), under normal circumstances, people could climb up the inward-sloping high places, such as the pyramids, but it was difficult to climb the outward-sloping high places, such as the protruding rocks encountered during rock climbing. Therefore, many people were blocked by this cornice. Only those with great arm strength, courage, and body balance could climb up the stairs.
Li Rui was in elementary school at that time. He was very short and did not have enough strength, so he could not climb up no matter what. When he could climb up later, he focused on his studies and did not have time to play. More than ten years passed in a flash. When he came to the bottom of the pagoda again, he was already in his thirties. He could not help but sigh at how fast time passed. What passed faster than time was the Sang Bai River's water. It had already dried up eight or nine years ago, leaving behind an empty and withered river course. Recalling the wide river surface and the torrential water of the past, he lamented endlessly in his heart. His childhood and the river had disappeared and would never come back.
After the introduction, he said, "Let's find a clean spot under the tower to drink." Xu Da looked up at the tower and said casually, "Since we're all here, of course we have to go up the tower. Let us brothers go up and drink. "Li Rui was shocked and cried out," Go up the pagoda? "Xu Da looked at him and said," What? You don't dare? "
Li Rui really didn't dare. Although with his current ability, climbing to the top of the pagoda — in fact, the most important thing was to climb to the top of the Cornice Lotus. After that, climbing up the stairs was equivalent to climbing up the stairs. There wasn't the slightest bit of difficulty. However, following the rise of his status, marrying a beautiful wife, Qing Man, making a few female confidantes who could cause others to feel tender affection for him, and also having a bright future ahead of him, he unconsciously began to cherish his life. He wasn't willing to take this kind of unnecessary risk. However, after hearing Xu Da's words, he wasn't willing to lose in front of him. He deliberately laughed and said, "How is that possible? Why wouldn't I dare? I just don't think there's a need … "
Xu Da interrupted, "There's a need. I want to drink with you at the top of the pagoda. The scenery at the top of the pagoda must be very good right?"
Hearing him say this, Li Rui was a little moved. He had never been to the top of the pagoda and had never seen the beautiful scenery at the top of the pagoda. Even at night, the top of the pagoda should have its own scenery. But he hesitated and said, "It's late at night and it's dark. It's not very … convenient to climb up, right? Besides, I've never been to the top of the pagoda and I'm not familiar with the environment … "
Xu Da interrupted, "Won't you be familiar with it once? How about this, I'll go up first. You pass the beer to me and then I'll pull you up. We'll go to the top of the pagoda together. "
Since he said so, Li Rui couldn't refuse anymore. He secretly gritted his teeth and agreed.
Xu Da returned to the car and started the engine again. He drove the car to the bottom of the pagoda and parked it. After turning off the engine, he jumped out of the car and jumped on the front of the car. He stood from the front of the car to the roof of the car and walked two steps to the base of the ancient pagoda. He jumped up and grabbed the lotus cornice with both hands. His feet alternately stepped on the wall of the base of the pagoda. He didn't seem to use much strength, but he had already landed on the cornice and reached the first floor.
"Give me the beer!"
He turned around and shouted at Li Rui.
Li Rui stared at him and was once again shocked by his kung fu. He thought to himself that he could climb up using the roof of the car, but it definitely wouldn't be as easy as him. He could climb up with just a few steps like a monkey. He estimated that he would need to climb for a long time mainly because the protruding lotus cornice was too disgusting. If he wanted to climb up, he would need to use both his feet to push against the wall of the base of the pagoda. However, once he did that, it would cause his center of gravity to shift outwards and back, making it easy for him to fall. If he didn't push against the wall, he would have to rely on his two arms. He needed to have the arm strength of a rock climber to climb up easily, and it was obvious that Xu Da had that kind of arm strength. Li Rui was far inferior to him.
He sighed and took out the two boxes of beer from the car twice. He placed them on the roof of the car and then climbed up to the roof of the car. He lifted the boxes one by one and passed them to Xu Da, who was squatting on the lotus cornice. Xu Da took them one by one and placed them inside the pagoda door. He said, "Alright, you can come up. I'll give you a hand."
Li Rui remembered that there was still a big bag of peanuts in the car, so he went down to get it again. After returning to the car and passing it to Xu Da, he walked to the base of the pagoda and imitated Xu Da's actions. He jumped up and grabbed the lotus cornice with both hands. He stepped on the wall of the base of the pagoda and tried his best to climb up the cornice.
He didn't want to be looked down upon by Xu Da, so he didn't plan to borrow Xu Da's strength. He wanted to climb up by himself, so he used all his strength to climb up. He climbed up very quickly and his upper body soon reached the cornice.
Xu Da said, "Alright, just put the leg pieces up." Then he laughed and said proudly, "Because of my identity and work, I have very few friends. I didn't expect that among the few friends I have, there would be one who would be willing to risk his life for me. He even risked his life to drink with me. Not bad, Brother Li, you're really not bad. However, I don't care that you're willing to take the risk to climb the pagoda for me. Do you know what I value the most about you?"
Li Rui didn't dare to answer. He was afraid that if he spoke, he would vent the Qi in his dantian. If that happened, it would be difficult for him to climb up again. Thus, he didn't answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and used his arms to support himself on the cornice. Using the force of the force, he lifted his right leg and accurately placed it on one of the lotus cornice. Then, using the force of his hands and feet, he finally managed to climb onto the cornice with much difficulty.
He huffed and puffed a few times before asking, "What do you value the most about me?"
Xu Da patted his shoulder and laughed, "What I value the most is that you're not afraid of dirtying your clothes when climbing the pagoda. You climbed as you pleased. This is something that ordinary people can do. However, the more ordinary people are, the less I have to say about it. On the contrary, with your current identity and position, it's not easy for you to do this."
Li Rui laughed and said, "What identity and position do I have? Even if I have a little, it's nothing in front of you, Brother. If you don't care about dirtying your clothes, why should I be afraid? If it gets dirty, I can just wash it! "Xu Da said," You're saying that I'm the son of the Deputy Governor? Brother, you're not bad either. The son-in-law of the Deputy Governor, we're about the same. "Li Rui shook his head and said," No, it's your job. " Xu Da sighed and said, "I don't have a job anymore. I'm just an ordinary officer now." Li Rui was shocked and said, "No way? Why? " Xu Da patted his shoulder and said, "Let's go to the top of the pagoda. We'll talk while we drink. I'm troubled by this matter."
The two of them entered the pagoda. Each of them carried a case of beer and climbed to the top of the pagoda. Xu Da walked at the front, holding a flashlight in his hand to illuminate the area. Li Rui lagged behind and placed the bag of peanuts on top of the beer case.
The first few floors of the pagoda were filthy. There were feces, toilet paper, and various food bags on the ground. It seemed that there were many uninvited guests like the two of them. However, the higher they went, the cleaner the pagoda became. Of course, the cleanliness here was only relative. Compared to the filth on the first few floors, there were still many spider webs and bird nests. In addition, the higher they went, the stronger the wind. When the two of them reached the top of the thirteenth floor, they already felt like they were strolling in the wind.
The thirteenth floor of the pagoda was extremely small. It was equivalent to a small attic. The two of them and the two cases of beer were basically full. It was only slightly spacious when they sat down. In fact, when the two of them reached the top, they opened the case of beer and placed the paper under their buttocks.
The height of the pagoda was thirty-six meters (of course, the thirteenth floor they were on was less than thirty-six meters). It was nothing in the city. There were many tall buildings of sixty to seventy meters or even more than a hundred meters. However, in the suburbs, it was extremely tall. Moreover, the pagoda was built on top of a mound. The mound was a few dozen meters above the water level. As a result, the top of the pagoda was seventy to eighty meters high. This kind of height could be said to overlook all living things in the suburbs.
Inside the pagoda, the night wind passed through the layers. The whistling of the wind carried the warmth of spring and the vicissitudes of history. Outside the pagoda, it was pitch black and silent. Looking through the pagoda door to the west, in the dark and distant night, one could see that the city was brightly lit. It was like a mirage, but also like a night celestial market. It gave people a blurred, distant, and unreal feeling. Of course, it also made people feel more and more quiet and cold at the top of the pagoda.
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