Peach and plum spring breeze and a glass of wine

In the twelfth lunar month, the weather becomes increasingly cold.

In addition, the New Year is approaching and all businesses will come to an end.

The number of businessmen coming and going on the streets of Luting County has become visibly less and less, and the business of Yuelai Inn has also become much lighter. Except for some regular customers who occasionally come to take care of business every day, there are almost no customers. Passers-by come to visit and stay at the hotel.

At noon this day, after Yang Ge saw off the only table of diners, he felt completely at ease.

As usual, he pulled out a piece of straw paper and a small piece of charcoal from under the counter, and silently wrote the formula of "The Eighteen-Road Frost Knife" in one stroke.

Speaking of which, although the three martial arts he learned were all passed down to the hands of Yanyun Five Ghosts, the emphasis of the three martial arts were different.

The Luanfeng Kick focuses on accumulating momentum, and the moves are wide open and close, fierce and unrivaled.

Piao Xue Palm focuses on body skills, with flexible and delicate moves that combine hardness and softness.

The Lingshuang Knife focuses on the true meaning, and its moves are direct and murderous.

Let’s not mention the chaotic wind legs for now.

Although Yang Ge did not dare to say that he had thoroughly mastered this kicking technique, he could say that he had mastered 80% of it, but there was no problem at all.

Of course, what distinguishes a mediocre martial artist from a master is often the last one or two percent.

But if you want to completely master the last one or two percent, or even want to be better than the old, you can only spend a lot of time and actual practice to hone it.

Even with Yang Ge's talent, there is no shortcut.

As for Piaoxuezhang, Yang Ge's progress was very slow.

This palm technique includes a large amount of knowledge of Yin Yang, Five Elements, Tai Chi and Bagua. When practiced to perfection, the body is like a ghost and the Qi is like spider silk. With one palm, the palm power can be transformed into hundreds of thousands. The virtual and real reflect each other and change as desired. Standing in front of the enemy The angle of view is like flying snow hitting your face, there is no way to avoid it.

But it was extremely difficult for Yang Ge to even understand the obscure knowledge of Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Tai Chi and Bagua, let alone integrate that knowledge into body and palm techniques, so his progress was naturally very slow.

Therefore, what he has gained most from this palm technique is not the body technique or the palm technique, but the "Flowing Snow Technique", which is the internal strength and mental technique that is matched with this palm technique.

This internal skill seems to be created to match the movement and palm skills of Piaoxue Palm. It is very slow in the growth of internal Qi. It can even be said that the growth of internal Qi is faster than the growth of this skill by just doing the most basic Zhoutian movement. Internal strength is fast.

However, this internal skill takes a different approach in the control of internal energy. During practice, as soon as the internal energy leaves the Dantian, it differentiates in sequence, enters multiple meridians and circulates at the same time, blends with each other, and finally returns to the Dantian like all rivers returning to the sea.

If the diagram of a normal internal skill is a single line that is curved and continuous but does not blend with each other, then the diagram of Piao Xue Jue is a spider web, and the Dantian is at the center of this spider web.

By practicing this method to achieve great success, the inner Qi can be transformed into steel, and when the internal Qi retreats, it can be transformed into softness. Yin and Yang can be transformed in just one thought.

Of course, judging from the orthodox martial arts philosophy that the cultivation of internal energy is mainly about increasing internal energy and controlling internal energy as a supplement, this internal energy is undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse, and it is like choosing sesame seeds over watermelons.

After all, everyone's time and effort are limited. The more time and effort you spend on strengthening the control of your inner energy, the less time and effort you spend on increasing your inner energy. In the stage of improvement, if you want to make a breakthrough, it will definitely be half the result with half the effort...

But as the old saying goes, there is no best, only the most suitable.

For Yang Ge, who has never worried about the inner energy growing too slowly, but only worries about the inner energy growing too fast, and that "accidentally" he may open the second bridge of heaven and earth and step into the realm of return to truth, "Piao Xue Jue" is a little bit The internal strength that is suspected of being a "side sect" is comparable to the top magical skills!

As for the Lingshuang Knife...

This sword technique is very magical.

From a technical point of view, this sword technique is even simpler than the Luanfeng Kick.

Even if it is a six-way killing move in addition to the basic sword moves, the move is coupled with the internal energy movement map, and it is definitely not more difficult than the six-way killing move of Luanfeng Kick!

But the training method of this sword technique is very confusing...

On the one hand, sword practitioners are required to wield the sword three thousand times a day to cultivate murderous aura.

At the same time, sword practitioners are required to "wield the sword knowing that it is not a sword, and killing living things knowing that killing is not killing" to refine the murderous spirit.

He also repeatedly reiterated that knife practitioners should maintain a pure state of mind that "frost kills all grass and everything returns to silence."

In human terms: you have to know that you are wielding a knife, but you cannot regard it as a knife; you have to know that you are killing someone, but you cannot really think that you are killing someone.

From Yang Ge's own understanding, this sword technique has a pretentious feel about "destroying you, what does it have to do with you".

What's even more confusing is that just when Yang Ge feels that he can't grasp the pure killing intention described in the sword manual, and is thinking about whether to give up this sword technique and stop trying to get into this corner, so as not to train himself into a psychopath... …He split open the knife pile with one stroke of his knife.

The knife is an elm knife one finger wide.

The stake is a thick-waisted iron tree stump.

About a foot apart.

The inner energy moved naturally with the knife without his mobilization. As soon as the knife went down, the snow light flashed, and the knife stake broke in half with a "snap"!

And the break is crisp and clean, without any burrs!

He himself was shocked by the knife.

But before he could be happy, he found that he couldn't split it again... he couldn't even split the bark of the knife stake!

Isn’t it amazing?

What's even more amazing is that the mental method accompanying the Lingshuang Knife is called "Evergreen Jue", which is to practice the killing intention in your chest by imagining the cypress wood resisting the severe cold and heat and being evergreen all year round.

While grasping the phrase "frost kills all grass and everything returns to silence", imagine that the cypress trees will remain green all year round.

Yang Ge felt that he would never be able to master this swordsmanship even if he was mentally ill for a few years.

…

"Squeak."

Before I finished dictating a mantra, I heard the sound of a car parked at the door.

He immediately put away the draft paper, wiped his hands and opened the thick door curtain to see that shopkeeper Liu and another waiter, Zhang Erniu, had returned from buying grain.

He bent down and grabbed a handful of snow to wipe off the toner on his hands. He stepped forward and gently pushed Shopkeeper Liu away: "I'll come, you go in and have a rest first."

Shopkeeper Liu responded, turned around and walked into the store with a long sigh.

"What's wrong with the shopkeeper?"

Yang Ge asked doubtfully.

Zhang Erniu sighed: "We are still late, the food price has increased again!"

"It's gone up again?"

Yang Ge's eyelids twitched and he quickly asked: "How much has it increased?"

Zhang Erniu pointed to the sacks on the wheelbarrow with a frown on his face: "Corn costs sixty cents per dou, and barley costs one hundred and twenty cents per dou."

"What?"

Yang Ge was shocked and plucked his ears in disbelief: "How much did you say?"

Zhang Erniu repeated: "Sixty cents for corn, one hundred and two cents for barley... With this month's wages, we can only buy one bushel of barley!"

Yang Ge: "Didn't you say yesterday that it would still be forty-five or ninety-two? Didn't the price increase by half and half?"

You know, when he went to buy grain in June, corn was only seven cents a dou and wheat was only thirteen cents a dou. These prices were for the new grain that year, and old grain was even cheaper!

In just half a year, the situation has almost doubled!

His salary as the innkeeper is only two hundred and fifty cents per month.

Just two bushels of barley for one month’s salary?

Zhang Erniu shrank into a ball in worry: "That's it, I guess it's not even the beginning..."

Yang Ge: "What do you say?"

Zhang Erniu: "All the small grain shops in the grain market have closed down, saying they are out of grain. Only three big grain stores, 'Yongtai', 'Fengyu' and 'Fuhe', are still selling grain. From now on, How much do they shout?"

Yang Ge was so angry that he slapped his thigh: "The grain merchant who killed you with a thousand cuts!"

Zhang Erniu: "No, these short-lived sons don't have buttholes!"

Yang Ge looked at his frown and asked, "You didn't prepare any food?"

Zhang Erniu sighed: "There are only two or three days of rice and noodles left. Earlier, I saw that the price of food was too high, so I thought of buying less and wait until the price is cheaper. Who knows... Hey!"

Yang Ge hesitated for two seconds, sighed and said: "I prepared a little bit earlier, and one person can't eat much. Let's give you fifty kilograms each, and give it the price I paid for it."

Zhang Erniu felt relieved when he heard this and bowed his head repeatedly: "Brother Renyi, you have saved five members of my family. Your great kindness and virtue..."

Yang Ge waved his hand: "Don't be polite to me, fifty pounds is not much. You should save some food. It's not the New Year yet, and I don't know when the food price will come down."

His heart was also very heavy.

He had previously received some news from Xiuyiwei about rising food prices, and knew that the rise in food prices this year was because the imperial court was secretly stockpiling food in preparation for war with the Tatars next year.

But the current increase in food prices has obviously exceeded the normal range.

When the imperial court was gathering grain to prepare for war, it was impossible to ignore the lives of the people, right?

The cheapest corn costs seventy cents per dou, and this sky-high price is enough to overwhelm the vast majority of ordinary people...

Zhang Erniu was still muttering: "I don't have to worry about it, I don't have to worry about it, you will be my brother from now on, I will do whatever you ask me to do, otherwise, I will give birth to a son without an asshole!"

Yang Ge replied absently: "Don't talk nonsense, we are all inn clerks and we all listen to the old shopkeeper!"

After saying that, he grabbed a bag of grain in one hand and turned around and walked into the inn.

…

It's getting dark.

Yang Ge walked into Chaimen Street with a heavy heart.

A crisp voice called Yang Ge back to his senses: "Brother Yang, are you coming back so late?"

Yang Ge took a quick look and saw a pretty girl wearing a floral cotton coat and a red headband, standing in front of her house with a smile and waving to him.

He forced a smile: "Yeah, it's almost dark, do you still want to go out?"

Pretty girl: "Yes, my sister wants to eat flat food, so I'll go to the street and make a bottle of vinegar!"

Yang Ge replied casually: "Go ahead, the ground is slippery, watch the road."

Pretty girl: "Brother Yang, have you been fed? Are you going to our house for some snacks later?"

Yang Ge waved his hand: "No, no, I've already eaten at the inn."

Pretty girl: "As neighbors, please don't be polite to our sisters!"

Yang Ge: "Thank you, I really enjoyed it."

The pretty girl waved to him: "Okay, I'll call you next time when I prepare something delicious!"

Yang Ge muttered perfunctorily and walked quickly to his home.

When he reached the door of his house, he turned his head and glanced at the back of the girl at the street corner before opening the door and entering the house.

The sisters moved next door to his house more than a month ago. It is said that the house next door was originally their old home.

But the behavior of the two sisters always made Yang Ge feel that they should not live in such a place. Moreover, after arriving at Chaimen Street, he had never seen them take the initiative to talk to any neighbor. On the contrary, they would take the initiative to say hello to him whenever they bumped into him. …

Yang Ge was not being sentimental, but their special attitude towards him was enough for him to stay away.

"Woof woof woof..."

"Do you miss daddy?"

After closing the door, Yang Ge hugged the dog's head and rubbed it wildly.

Xiao Huang gasped and tried his best to stick out his tongue and lick his face.

"Hey, what a loud tone, Choujiu!"

Yang Ge let go of his words in disgust and ran into the house.

Xiao Huang followed him, wagging her tail, and rushed into the house.

The two men hadn't been playing around for long before Xiao Huang pricked up his ears and looked warily outside the courtyard door.

Yang Ge followed its gaze and looked over...

"Tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk."

There was a rhythmic knock on the door.

Yang Ge let go of Xiao Huang and quickly went out and opened the courtyard door.

Fang Ke clasped his hands with a smile on his face and said, "My boss."

Yang Ge let go of the courtyard door and walked in with a smile: "How long have you been waiting?"

Fang Ke stepped into the courtyard and closed the door behind his back: "Not long after, I just came here for a while..."

"Just in time, I have something to ask you...what did you take?"

Yang Ge was about to ask him about the skyrocketing food prices when he suddenly heard the familiar sound of silver coins clashing.

Fang Ke took off the cloth bag on his shoulder and took it in his hand: "I can't hide anything from your eyes... This is your salary for this month!"

The two of them walked into the back room one after another and closed the door.

Fang Ke placed the cloth bag on the dining table and opened it, revealing fist-sized shiny silver ingots...

With just one glance, Yang Ge suddenly frowned: "Isn't this the right number? Are the few trivial cases we have handled recently so big?"

Fang Ke: "Isn't it because your reputation is so great that several merchants want to honor you?"

Yang Ge raised his eyes and stared at him, the last smile on his face disappeared: "Tell me clearly, where did the money come from!"

Fang Ke didn't dare to laugh. He stood up straight and replied honestly: "The Wang family, the Li family, and the Zhao family respect you!"

Yang Ge: "Which Wang family, which Li family, which Zhao family?"

Fang Ke: "'Yongtai' Wang family, 'Fengyu' Li family, 'Fuhe' Zhao family."

Yang Ge suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Co-author: Did I give birth to a son without an asshole?

I've been thinking about the new volume for a long time, so I'm late. Please forgive me~