In the border town of Yanhui City, there was a "General's Slope". The name was awe-inspiring, but in fact, it was just a small hill. The top of the hill could be seen with one's eyes.
General's Slope had not always existed. Legend has it that 14 years ago, Daliang's First Iron Cavalry Xuan Tie's three battalions went on a northern expedition to flatten the 18 barbarian tribes. On their way back to the capital, they passed by Yanhui City and abandoned their broken armor here. They built a small hill on the spot. Later, after the dust and wind blew, it became General's Slope.
General's Slope was a barren slope. No matter what was planted, nothing would grow. Even the weeds were lacking. There was no cover for cheating, so it was left bare. No one knew what it could be used for. The old people said that it was because the Black Iron Battalion had killed too many people, so it was oppressive. After a long time, there were some idle hoodlums who used this as a prototype and made up a series of ghost stories. Over time, no one went there.
That evening, two ten year old brats ran to the foot of General's Slope.
One of them was tall and thin, while the other was short and fat. Together, they looked like a pair of running chopsticks.
The tall and thin one was dressed like a little girl. If you looked carefully, you would know that he was a boy. His nickname was Cao Niangzi. Because the fortune-teller said that he was originally a girl and reincarnated in the wrong body, he was afraid that the heavens would call him back to reincarnate. His family was worried that he would not live long, so they raised him as a girl.
The short and fat one was Butcher Ge's youngest son. His nickname was Ge Pangxiao. Just like his name, his whole body faintly shone with a layer of wealth.
The two of them looked at General's Slope together, but because of the ghost stories, neither of them dared to go near.
Ge Pangxiao held a copper "Clairvoyance" in his hand. He stretched his neck and looked in the direction of General's Slope. He muttered, "You said the sun had already set, but he still hasn't come down the mountain. My big brother is really … what's it called again? He's fasting by hanging!"
Cao Niangzi said, "That's called hanging from the beam and stabbing the butt. Don't talk nonsense, quickly give me the Clairvoyance."
This fake lass often turned her acting into reality. Unfortunately, there was a problem with her real acting. She didn't seem like a young lady, but more like a shrew. She especially liked to wave her chicken claws and pinch people.
As soon as he stretched out his hand, Ge Pangxiao's fat started to ache. He hurriedly cupped his fists and offered the Clairvoyance, warning repeatedly, "You must be careful, if you break it, my father will whip me into meat stuffing."
The so-called "Clairvoyance" was a small round copper prism with the words "Five Bats" engraved around it. Inside the prism was a transparent piece of colored glaze. When placed on the prism's eye, a rabbit ten li away could clearly see the male and female of the prism.
Ge Pangxiao's was especially exquisite. It was left behind by his grandfather, who had been a scout.
Cao Niangzi held it in her hand and stared at it for a long time before raising it to look at the stars. "It's so clear."
Ge Pangxiao followed his gaze and pointed out, "I know. That's Dusk Star, also known as' Changgeng. 'He has the same name as my elder brother. Mr. Shen taught him before. I remember."
Cao Niangzi curled her lips, "Who's' your elder brother '? Did you see him pay attention to you? You're shamelessly chasing after him and insisting on calling him your elder brother. Look at how cheap you are … Hey, wait, look, isn't that him? "
Ge Pangxiao followed the direction of his finger and looked. It really was him.
He saw a young man carrying a sword with his head lowered, slowly walking down the slope. Ge Pangxiao immediately rushed out as if he wasn't afraid of ghosts. "Big Brother, Big Brother!"
He ran too fast and tripped over something at the foot of the slope. He rolled out and rolled to the young man's feet.
Ge Pangxiao raised his head with his face covered in dirt. He didn't bother to get up and first revealed a flattering smile. He bared his teeth and said, "Hehe, Big Brother, I've been waiting for you here for a whole day."
The young man named Changgeng silently retracted his foot and almost stepped on Ge Pangxiao's foot.
Every time he saw Ge Pangxiao, he felt that it was strange. He thought that the butcher Ge, who had slaughtered thousands of pigs, was born with discerning eyes. After so many years, he actually didn't slaughter his son like a pig. However, Changgeng's personality was steady. He was very virtuous with his words. No matter what he thought in his heart, he wouldn't say anything hurtful.
Changgeng acted like an elder brother and reached out to help Ge Pangxiao up. He also patted off the dirt on his body, "Why are you running? Be careful not to fall and break yourself. Do you need something from me?"
Ge Pangxiao said, "Big Brother Changgeng, tomorrow your father and the others will be back soon. We don't have to go to class. Why don't you come with us to snatch the goose food? We'll definitely beat Little Monkey Li and the others until they piss their pants! "
Changgeng's father was Xu Baihu — not his biological father.
When he was two or three years old, Changgeng followed his widowed mother, Xiu Niang, to this place to seek refuge with their relatives. Who knew that their relatives had already moved away with their whole family? It just so happened that Yanhui officer Xu Baihu's first wife had died early and he had no children. He took a fancy to Xiu Niang and married her as his second wife.
Xu Baihu brought people out of the Pass to collect the annual tribute from the barbarians. Counting the days, they would most likely return to the city in these two days.
The border town was poor and the children didn't have any snacks. Every time the officers and soldiers returned from paying tribute, they would bring back some barbarian cheese and dried meat and scatter it along the way. Every time, it would cause the naughty children to fight over it. This was called "snatching the goose food".
Since it was "snatching", a group of children would inevitably fight. As long as the food wasn't broken, the adults wouldn't care. They would fight among themselves and make a show of being serious.
For this kind of thing, whoever could get Changgeng to join them would be in an invincible position.
Changgeng had been practicing martial arts meticulously since he was young. There were many military families in the border area, so there were many children who practiced martial arts. However, practicing martial arts required hard work. Most of the children just fooled around and practiced sloppily. Only Changgeng, from the day he started learning swordsmanship, he would go up the General Slope alone to practice swordsmanship. He practiced hard for many years and his perseverance was amazing.
Now, Changgeng's nominal age was not yet fourteen, but he could already lift a heavy sword that weighed more than sixty kilograms with one hand. Although he knew in his heart that he would never participate in the naughty children's fights, those children were inexplicably a little afraid of him.
Changgeng didn't take it to heart. He laughed and said, "How old am I? Why would I want to pick up the goose food?"
Ge Pangxiao didn't give up and said, "I've already discussed it with Mr. Shen. Mr. Shen also agreed to give us a few days off."
Changgeng walked slowly with his hands behind his back. His heavy sword knocked against his calf from time to time, and he ignored Ge Pangxiao's childish words.
Whether he studied or practiced swordsmanship was up to him. It had nothing to do with whether Mr. Shen gave him a break or not.
Ge Pangxiao said, "Besides, Mr. Shen said that he has to change the bandages for Uncle Shi Liu. He may also go out to buy herbs these few days, so he won't be at home. You have nowhere to go, so just come with us. What's so fun about practicing swordsmanship all day?"
Changgeng finally took these words to heart. He paused and asked, "Didn't Shi Liu just come back from Changyang Pass? Why is he sick again?"
Ge Pangxiao said, "Ah … I think so. He hasn't been well all this time."
"Then I'll go take a look at him." Changgeng waved at the two little followers and said, "Hurry up and go home. It's late. If you miss dinner, your father will beat you again."
Ge Pangxiao said, "Hey, Big Brother, that …"
Changgeng wasn't interested in listening to his "this" and "that". At this age, boys were older by one year. Their size and thoughts were very different. Changgeng couldn't play with Ge Pangxiao and the others anymore.
He took advantage of his tall and long legs and walked away in the blink of an eye.
The little fatty came here in vain and didn't manage to invite anyone. He sighed in disappointment and turned around to glare at Cao Niangzi. "You should say something!"
Cao Niangzi's face was red and her eyes were wandering. The arrogant and bossy attitude she had when she was talking to Ge Pangxiao was long gone. She covered her chest as if she was in love and said, "Even my Big Brother Changgeng looks better when he walks than others."
Ge Pangxiao didn't know what to say.
He couldn't bring this modern treasure out anymore.
The "Mr. Shen" and "Uncle Shi Liu" that Ge Pangxiao mentioned were a pair of brothers. They had a lot of connections with Changgeng.
Two years ago, when Changgeng was still young, he sneaked out of the city gate to play alone. He accidentally got lost and encountered a pack of wolves. He was almost taken away. Fortunately, the Shen brothers traveled to this place.
Mr. Shen used medicinal powder to drive away the hungry wolves and saved his life. The two brothers later lived in Yanhui Town for a long time. Xu Baihu rented an empty courtyard to them. He was grateful to them for saving his life and didn't charge them rent.
His elder brother's name was Shen Yi. He was a scholar who had failed several times. Although he was young, he had already given up on pursuing an official career. He knew his place and became a hermit in this remote place. The neighbors all politely called him "Mr. Shen".
In addition to being a hermit, Mr. Shen was also a doctor, a ghostwriter for letters and couplets, a tutor, and a "long-armed tutor". He was very versatile. He could treat people's injuries and deliver mares. During the day, he ran a private school at home and taught a group of teenagers how to read and write. At night, he sent the students away and rolled up his sleeves to repair steam engines, steel armor, and all kinds of puppets to supplement his family's income. He was very busy living in seclusion.
Mr. Shen knew everything. He knew how to make money and take care of the family. He was also good at cooking and cooking. His brother had nothing to do, so he focused on being a prodigal son. Mr. Shen's brother was called "Shen Shiliu." It was said that he was in poor health since he was young. He was afraid that his family couldn't raise him, so they didn't give him a baby name. Because he was born in the first month of the lunar month, he was named "Shi Liu".
Shen Shiliu didn't study or work all day long. He didn't know how to pick up an oil bottle when it fell. He didn't even pick up water when it fell. If he wasn't strolling around, he was drinking. He was very ignorant and had almost no merits.
Except that he was good-looking.
He was really good-looking. The old man in town said that he had lived for almost ninety years, but he had never seen such a well-groomed man.
Unfortunately, no matter how good-looking Shen Shiliu was, it was useless. When he was young, he had a serious illness. His body was badly burned, and his eyes could only see things two feet in front of him. If he was ten steps away, he couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. He was also hard of hearing. He had to shout to say anything to him. Every day when he passed by the door of the Mr. Shen's house, he could hear the gentle and elegant Mr. Shen roaring at him like a mad dog.
All in all, Shen Shiliu was deaf, blind, and sickly.
According to his conditions, he should have been a well-endowed gigolo. Unfortunately, in this small border town, other than poor people, there were only poor people. Even if he was a fairy, no one could afford to keep him.
According to the local customs, when there was no way to repay a great kindness, they would recognize each other as godparents. If they had children or grandchildren, they would recognize them as godparents. If they didn't, they would recognize them as godparents.
The Shen brothers saved Changgeng from the wolf's mouth. It was a life-saving grace. Changgeng naturally recognized one of them as his godfather.
Mr. Shen's brain was damaged from reading too much. He insisted on saying that it was unreasonable, so he didn't dare to accept it. On the contrary, his brother, Shi Liu, was straightforward. He immediately changed the way he addressed Shen Shiliu as "son."
In this way, Shen Shiliu, the hooligan, took advantage of the situation. If this idle and sickly person became poor in the future, Changgeng would have to take care of him when he was old.
Changgeng walked through his yard with ease. He turned outside from the corner gate and arrived at Mr. Shen's house.
There were two bachelors in the Shen family. They didn't even have a hen. Naturally, they didn't need to avoid anyone. He always came and went as he pleased. He didn't even knock on the door.
As soon as he entered the yard, he was greeted by the smell of medicine and the sound of rustling.
Mr. Shen was frowning and brewing medicine in the yard. He was a young man who looked like a scholar. He was wearing an old gown. He wasn't old, but he was always frowning. He had a chilly aura that was full of smoke and fire.
The sound of rustling came from inside the house. The slender figure of the person playing the xun was reflected on the paper window by the dim light. Obviously, he wasn't good at it. He couldn't tell what tune he was playing. Sometimes, there were one or two notes that couldn't be played. The whole thing was muted, and it brought out a strange sense of desolation and tiredness.
It might be a bit far-fetched to say that this was music. Changgeng tilted his head and tasted it. If he had to praise it, he could only say that the person was howling rather tactfully.
Shen Yi heard the sound of footsteps. Chong Changgeng smiled, then rushed into the house and shouted, "Ancestor, please be merciful. You've already blown my urine out. Changgeng is here!"
The person playing the xun turned a deaf ear. With his hearing, he probably didn't hear anything.
Mr. Shen's face turned pale.
Changgeng listened and felt that the person playing the xun was still breathing. He didn't seem to be sick. He was relieved and asked, "I heard from Ge Pangxiao that Mr. Shen was going to change the medicine for Shi Liu. What happened to him?"
Mr. Shen looked at the color of the medicine and said angrily, "It's nothing. It's just a change of season. The medicine used in each of the four seasons is different. This sickly person is very delicate and difficult to serve. Oh right, you came at the right time. He got something from somewhere today and wanted to send it to you tomorrow morning.
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