Painter

Right before and after, the sun has shone into every alley in Yujing. Pedestrians stepped on their long shadows to participate in the fasting meeting of Daxiangguo Temple, but what they talked about was not praying for blessings, but the three trials in the Gongyuan yesterday.Devoted men and women also did not recite Buddhist scriptures, what they recited or embroidered on their handkerchiefs became poems for the imperial examination that were handed down yesterday.

On the east and west sides of the red wall covered with yellow glazed tiles, there are pictures of celestial maidens with golden belts and ghosts playing on the east and west sides. Monks in Qiandara-colored monk clothes hold glass bottles and spray nectar to passers-by with willow branches.A young man in crane clothes and straw sandals walked by, his eyes were dazed, and when the water droplets touched his face, his expression suddenly became sober.He supported the Huayang scarf on his head, and nodded to the monk.

The young man passed the gate of the Daxiangguo Temple, listening to the discussions among the passers-by, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but when he lowered his head and glanced at the unwritten paper in his hand, he showed a puzzled look.He put away the white paper, sometimes stopped to think, sometimes walked, about two quarters of an hour passed, he walked past the Zisheng gate, and from the corner of his eye passed the hexagram stall at the entrance of the west alley. After casting a glance, he stopped and walked over joyfully.

After arriving at the hexagram stall, he confirmed the eight characters on the banner again, and the young man said respectfully to the old blind man sitting on the box: "Zhao Zhi, Xuandu, I have met senior."

The old blind man did not speak.

The young man was a bit puzzled, but his attitude became more respectful, and he continued: "The junior is a descendant of the Zhao family in Kaiyang, and he came to the examination palace. Fortunately, he met senior, and please give me some advice."

Hearing the word "Xuegong", the old blind man's Adam's apple twitched imperceptibly, his little finger trembled slightly, and his palms were sweating, but he let the young man question him for a quarter of an hour without saying a word.

The young man's attitude was always respectful, but he couldn't help but look behind him several times.This exam is full of doubts. If you delay for a moment, you will lose a chance. If you wait for other people to notice this, there will be an extra competition.When he was worried, someone called from behind: "Zhao Zhi?"

The young man sighed secretly and turned around to look.The visitor was wearing a crimson spring shirt, tall and straight, with a heroic appearance, and a straight knife on his waist. He was Xue Nayan, the son of Xue Kuan, the general of Zuo Wuwei and the governor of Yingzhou.The so-called gentleman is slow to speak, but this general has obviously failed his father's expectations. He has no gentleman's style, and he just calls him by his name when he opens his mouth.Zhao Zhi felt a little unhappy, so he responded with a smile, "Brother Neyan", and Xue Neyan had already seen the cloth banner at the entrance of the alley, and with a happy face, he strode forward to salute the old blind man: "Ruyin Xue Neyan , Greetings to seniors."

The old blind man moved his ears, but still did not speak.Zhao Zhi frowned, glanced at Xue Nayan, coughed, and was about to say that everything comes first, then first, Xue Nayan saw that the old blind man didn't speak, but asked Zhao Zhi first: "What's going on?"

Zhao Zhi prided himself on his self-cultivation, but he couldn't help but frown when he talked to this person, but he didn't want to cause trouble, so he took a deep breath, only let out a cold snort, and didn't answer.

Xue Nayan raised his eyebrows, looked at Zhao Zhi, then looked at the old blind man, was silent for a while, sneered, and dropped the sentence "Small belly and chicken intestines".

The two disliked each other, stopped talking, each tried to test the mysterious old man, trying to find some clues from that page of the wordless book, after such a delay for a while, another person came to find him, it was Lu Huaguang, the son of the official minister. .

When the fourth person arrived, and tried again to no avail like the first three, Lu Huaguang finally said: "Listen to me, gentlemen." He looked around, saw the other three looked over, and continued: "This exam can be described as confusing. You and I have found this clue, but it is not easy. If we continue to delay like this, the noise will get bigger..." He glanced to the side calmly.

Several passers-by stopped and watched curiously. What's so strange about this hexagram stall at the entrance of the alley, it attracted a few young masters who were either rich or expensive?
Wanqiu Liu Daojun said: "If Lu Lang has anything to say, just say it."

Lu Huaguang said: "According to my humble opinion, the four of you and I will make a gentleman's appointment and have a competition. This time, the exam will not only be near the Daxiangguo Temple. Those who lose will leave here for the time being." , and then look for opportunities, what do you guys think?"

Both Liu Daojun and Xue Nayan nodded, but Zhao Zhi said, "A gentleman's covenant can only restrain a gentleman. If someone loses, they don't want to leave..."

Xue Nayan was ridiculed, but he was not annoyed, he just laughed, and drew his saber out of its sheath, and pointed it at Zhao Zhi from a distance of two zhang. Come, let me win or lose first!"

Zhao Zhi was not afraid at all, he waved his sleeves, a cold light appeared in his palm, and said seriously: "Since I was 12 years old, I went to the snow-capped mountains every winter solstice to learn swords from my uncle. Since then, I have never failed in competitions with others. My uncle gave me this sword last year. It's called "Goose Feather", and it hasn't shown its sharp edge yet, but if you unsheath it for you today, it doesn't count as insulting you, Xue Nayan."

"You two, this..." Lu Huaguang was about to stop him.But he saw Xue Nayan's crotch cloth rising without wind, and he had already slashed at Zhao Zhi.Lu Huaguang smiled wryly, "Zhao Lang's swordsmanship is profound, and Xue Lang has the courage to be unmatched..." He looked at Liu Daojun, "Liu Lang is also a master of Taoism, but I am a scholar with no strength to restrain a chicken. I want to compete , it shouldn't be like this..."

Before he finished speaking, Liu Daojun had already pulled out an unsharp wooden sword and bullied him, and said with a smile: "I want to teach Lu Lang that the world is not controlled by others!"

Lu Huaguang evaded half a step, but fought with fists and palms.

On the tea house in the alley, the tea was completely cold and hadn't stirred at all.Li Chan looked at the entrance of the alley, only to see that Lu Huaguang showed weakness with his mouth, and raised his hands and feet to stir up the vitality of the world, but he was evenly matched with the opponent.

Yuan Qixuan couldn't stop tutting, "This Zhao Zhen, who was born in the Zhao family of Kaiyang, is the grandson of Zhao Yue, the current sword master. He learned some sword skills from Zhao Yue. The swordsmanship in the school covers a wide range, so it is easy to learn but difficult to master, but this Zhao Zhen has learned the essence. This Xue Neyan killed a man at the age of 12, and at the age of 14 he was able to lead the army to suppress bandits and rebellion alone. Difficult to deal with."

Li Chan said: "The layman really knows all the students who are going to take the exam."

Yuan Qixuan looked at Li Chan and chuckled, "It would be best if he was really that powerful, but I didn't have the slightest clue about Li Lang's identity."

Li Chan didn't know whether the fake monk's words were true or not, so she was wary, smiled slightly, and didn't answer his words.

Yuan Qixuan also changed the subject: "The people who can get here all have amazing skills, the outcome is only a matter of thought, it is unpredictable, you and I have the upper hand, but save a lot of trouble. Looking out of the window again, he saw the old blind man sitting on the mirror-grinding box. Although he pretended to be calm, he was already on pins and needles. He shook his head, "It's better to adapt to the situation after all the tricks are exhausted. Unfortunately, this blind old man is just a charlatan. Embarrassment is of great use. Otherwise, it would not be difficult to deceive the pages of the books held by those four people."

After all, I got up and patted the corner of my clothes, and stayed in the building until now, just to see if the people who came later had any other clues, but seeing the reaction of the four people in front of the old blind man, I knew it would be useless to stay longer, once exposed , on the contrary, it will become the target of public criticism.

The two left the teahouse, walked around the back alley, and arrived near Shaozhu Courtyard on the west side of Daxiangguo Temple.

Yuan Qixuan stopped, and smiled at Li Chan: "I don't know how Li Lang will thank me for giving Li Lang such a big favor from the little monk?"

"I was really puzzled at first, why the layman didn't trick me into it too." Li Chan also smiled.The two tried each other in the teahouse, but they didn't find out the details of each other, but Li Chan at least knew that the fake monk guessed that he had a lot to do with Qianyuan Academy.Yuan Qixuan's words were still probing, and Li Chan simply pretended: "But where do you start with the favor of a layman? Your trick can bluff them for a while, but you can't fool me. The layman also thought of this. At one o'clock, you invited me to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight."

"Li Lang really knows more than I do." Yuan Qixuan said with a smile, "But let's not worry about the cause for now, let's see the result. Once this plan is implemented, both Li Lang and I will save a lot of trouble. This can't be faked."

"Looking at it now, the ones that were omitted are just minor troubles." Li Chan and Yuan Qixuan looked at each other, "The layman's mind is unpredictable, and you are the big trouble."