Chapter 1 The storyteller

The water of the Chengjiang River is endless all year round, day and night. It flows through the mouth of Liangjia Village, and then flows into Lingcang Lake through the northern corner of Kangcheng, silent for traces.

There is a broken small ferry at the entrance of the village. There are dozens of willows next to the ferry. The branches and leaves have gradually withered, and the willow catkins are rising one after another. It is the season when the wind is high and autumn, and the reeds on the shore are becoming less and less alive, and the ground is yellow.

There are a few remnants under the willow group. At this time, a white-haired old man was talking about something. Many people gathered around him, all of whom listened with relish and their faces were full of joy.

At this time, several children came from afar. The eldest one was about thirteen or fourteen years old, and the youngest * was in the early position, fighting all the way, bringing a lot of laughter.

When those children saw the scene under the willow tree here, they only heard the eldest 13 or 14-year-old child shout, "Someone in front of the little ones wrote a book. Let's take a look with me."

As soon as he shouted, the other children stepped up and ran under the willow tree here with him. Obviously, the older child was the king of the children.

The storyteller heard the laughter of the children and glanced at the corners of his eyes until the children approached and sat down around the periphery before continuing.

"Last year, the beacon gold armor was buried, and today the peach blossoms are blooming."

This poem is about the deeds of the great general Li Mu, who was killed by the despicable trick of Hu Manzi in the battle against Hu Man. Unfortunately, he died on the battlefield and buried him in a foreign country.

Speaking of this, the storyteller paused, looked at the children sitting on the ground and asked, "Children, you think Grandpa Li Mu, the general, has fought for the country all his life, but is a hero."

Hearing the storyteller's question, Wang, the child of the group of children, curled his lips and was about to reply, but he didn't expect a trace of light flashed in the turbid eyes of the child next to him, as if a seed was about to break out of the ground in the darkness.

I only heard the child shout urgently, "Of course, Grandpa Li Mu is a hero and a great hero. We will also be such a hero in the future."

It's just that when it comes to the back, the child's voice is obviously getting smaller.

When the old storyteller heard this, he naturally looked at all the child's faces at this moment. He couldn't help but be a little distracted, as if he remembered something, adding a sense of sadness to his face.

He muttered words that only he could hear: "I think we are young like this. We are not open, but we also yearn for the heroic deeds of our predecessors. I don't know whether this son will have your old way in the future or not, but he looks like you."

The child Wang saw the storyteller's look at this time, and the people around him glanced over and looked at his playmates. He suddenly felt that he had been robbed of the limelight. He was at a prosperous age, and it was inevitable that there was anger and unhapproval in his heart.

No one expected that he would suddenly jump up, with an angry face, pointed to the child who had just spoken and roared, "Xiao Li, why did you rob me of my words to put them in your mouth? These are all what I was going to say. How did you know?"

The child called Xiao Lizi suddenly stood up in a panic when he heard the child Wang's anger. He waved his hands on his chest and said, "Brother Liang, no, it's not like that."

This little plum, named Li Xiaohe, was originally a servant of the Liang family. It is said that he was an orphan picked up by the Liang family from nowhere and made a book boy for the Liang family's son "Liang Ziqiao". At this time, seeing that the young master was angry with him for some reason, he naturally felt a little worried, but he didn't know how to explain it and was anxious.

When Liang Ziqiao saw Li Xiaohe's embarrassment at this time, his anger subsided more than half of his anger, and his mind turned around and said, "Well, you won't pursue what you just said about me. At this time, just say it again in your own words."

"My own words, that was my own words just now, so what else should I say?" Li Xiaohe didn't know what to do, and his eyes were even more anxious.

When the people around listening to the book saw that the two children were quarreling about this matter, they also stood up to watch the two children with great interest and see how they were going to play. Only the storyteller was still sitting upright on the remnants of the willows, had come back from the distraction just now, staring at this side, and didn't know what he was thinking about.

At this time, Liang Ziqiao's eyes showed a successful look of treachery, and he bowed his head and whispered in Li Xiaohe's ear. The people around him didn't know what he said, but the corners of the storyteller's mouth rose slightly, with an original look in his eyes, as if he had heard Liang Ziqiao's whisper.

However, Liang Ziqiao didn't seem to have finished speaking in Li Xiaohe's ears, but Li Xiaohe suddenly stepped back two steps and opened a distance from him. When Liang Ziqiao had to lean over to talk again, he only heard Li Xiaohe say angrily, "Brother Liang, how can this be? I can I can't say that."

Liang Ziqiao obviously didn't expect a change at this moment, and his face was a little stunned. Li Xiaohe has always been very good for himself. It is not too much to say that he is a master servant and a brother. He has always been obedient to himself. Although the two often fight, it is a child's heart, and no matter how fierce the fight is, he will not remember it.

But now Li Xiaohe is like this. The firmness that flashes in his eyes is something he has never seen before. What's wrong? Liang Ziqiao stopped thinking about it, but at this time, another thought came to his mind, "Li Xiaohe is betraying himself and embarrassing himself."

Thinking of this, the anger that had just dissipated in Liang Ziqiao's eyes came out again, and even just now, he didn't say more. He strode up and pinched Li Xiaohe's neck with both hands and pressed him to the ground. He kept shouting, "Don't say it or not, are you talking about it?"

Li Xiaohe obviously did not expect that Liang Ziqiao would attack him like this. He instinctively broke Liang Ziqiao's hands with both hands, but he couldn't break them apart and his face turned red. The children around saw that the two, who were usually close as brothers, didn't know how to pinch so desperately at this time. Although they were a little anxious, they didn't know what to do, and the adults who listened to the book only saw the two children fighting as watching the fun. Naturally, no one came forward to stop them.

Only the storyteller sitting on the remnant willow saw that Li Xiaohe had been pinched and was about to get out of his breath. He took a step up and saw that his palms as dry as willow bark touched Liang Ziqiao's shoulder, and Liang Ziqiao bounced his hands on Li Xiaohe's neck like an electric shock.

Li Xiaohe felt the bondage on his neck and immediately sat up, coughing, and his eyes were full of stars.

However, Liang Ziqiao felt that his whole body was as if he had been electrocuted. When he finally came to his senses, he saw a red circle around Li Xiaohe's neck that had been pinched by him. His eyes were actually a little wet and he came forward to help Li Xiaohe up.

"Xiaohe, I was not good just now, and I don't know what happened to me. Are you all right, Xiaohe!"

Seeing that Liang Ziqiao, who helped himself up, naturally no longer care about what happened just now, Li Xiaohe was relieved and said, "Brother Liang, I'm fine. I've fought with you so many times. When did you see me?"

The storyteller stood aside like this, and the river wind blew his white temples, which was quite a fairy spirit.

In the afterglow of the sunset, the Chengjiang River is yellow and rolling. The people around him are no longer lively to see, and the sky is getting late.

Seeing that the two children became close after fighting, the old man couldn't help sighing and whispered, "You are really stubborn. You'll be fine if you say what he told you just now. If it hadn't been for me today, you wouldn't have suffered a hard time."

Hearing what the old man said, both of them turned around and looked at the old man with white temples and a moist face. He was dressed in a sackcloth, and the corners of his clothes rose slightly in the wind. The sunset pulled his oblique shadow very long. His figure at this time was like those immortal masters in the book, and the two looked at him and lost their mind.

Liang Ziqiao came to his senses first, stared at the old man hostilely, and pulled Li Xiaohe beside him and said, "It's not early. Let's go. This bad old man wants to provoke our relationship for no reason. It's too boring to stay here."

Liang Ziqiao pulled Li Xiaohe and bowed to the old man and said something, but Liang Ziqiao snorted and dragged him away.

Li Xiaohe was dragged by Liang Ziqiao and had to follow his footsteps back on the road. However, when he left, Li Xiaohe turned back and saw the old man smiling.

Then when he was about to climb over a slope, when Li Xiaohe looked back at the old man again, the old man's face was blurred, and his lonely figure was already dark. He stood under the withered willow forest, and the Chengjiang River in the distance was also dark.

He seems to have been standing there since ancient times. The gradually sunset, the rolling clear river, the sparse willow forest, and the boundless earth seem to be used to support the old storyteller.

At this moment, Li Xiaohe naturally felt that he was as hazy and mysterious as the dark sky mountains in the distance.