The prince is very fierce

Galloping on a rainy night, the horse's hooves stepped on the muddy official road, rain and cement splashed, and the road ahead could only be seen clearly with the help of lightning.

After Xu Buling left Chang'an, he turned back to Yufeng Mountain and arrived at the small market at the foot of the mountain. It was already very late.

In the middle of the night, there was a heavy rain, and the small market was like a dead town flooded by rain, with no lights, no fire, and no one.

Xu Buling took the bamboo hat and walked straight through the town. He hesitated at the intersection of Stone Street. Instead of going directly up the mountain, he turned his horse around and headed for the summer resort near Yufeng Mountain.

Tap tap tap——

Horse hooves made a crisp sound on the stone road. As he passed a small inn in the market, lightning flashed in the sky. From the corner of Xu Buling's eyes, he suddenly saw an old woman with white hair standing under the eaves of the dilapidated inn.

The lightning flashed away, and the surrounding area fell into polar night and dead silence again, with nothing else but the sound of rain.

"Uu——"

Xu Buling frowned, reined in the horse and stopped on the stone street, and turned his head to look in the direction where he had just glimpsed.

thunderbolt--

Soon, another lightning flashed, illuminating all kinds of things in the small market.

Empty wine jars, firewood and other items were piled under the old eaves of the inn. A white-haired old woman in a gray sarong, with a hunched back and a hunched waist, and wrinkles on her face, stood there like a wooden figure, her eyes narrowed into slits. , looking at the street in front of him.

The lightning was short-lived, and the surrounding area fell into polar night again.

Xu Bu Ling stopped where he was, his ears moved slightly to feel carefully, but there was only the snort coming from the horse under his crotch.

Hua Hua Hua——

The heavy rain hit the tiles, stone bricks and bamboo hats, making a crackling sound.

After a while, a hoarse voice sounded from under the eaves of the old inn next to it:

"Mengzi is back?"

The voice was weak and somewhat slurred.

Xu Buling frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, took an umbrella and a flint candle from the side of the horse, got off the horse, walked to the eaves of the old inn, inserted the candle into the gap between the firewood by feeling, and held on. Open an umbrella to cover the rainwater leaking from the eaves, and strike the flint.

Ta-ta-

It was dark all around, and the sound of rain covered up all sounds.

Xu Buling felt the raincoat on his body being touched, and the sparks erupted from the flint gave off a faint light. He could see an old face moving closer, but quickly pulled it back, and a weak voice sounded again. :

"It's not Mengzi..."

"Old lady, it's raining heavily, why don't you go inside?"

The candles were lit, and the dim yellow light came on in the rainy night, illuminating a few feet under the eaves.

The old woman's eyes didn't work well, but she still had a sense of light. She tilted her head to look at the candle. Her face was dry and wrinkled, her skin was khaki, and her white hair was neatly tidied up with a wooden hairpin. She smelled of Chinese medicine. .

"...Mengzi ran out again...wait for him to come back..."

Since almost all his teeth have fallen out, his speech is slurred.

"With such heavy rain, if you go out to work, you will definitely not be able to come back at night. Just go inside and wait."

"Frustration...can't sleep..."

Xu Buring sighed softly, looked around, picked up two large jars from the side, turned them over and placed them on the ground, sat down on them with an umbrella, and chuckled:

"Sit back and wait, it's raining so hard, I'm afraid I won't be able to come back for a while."

"Oh...thank you..."

The old woman looked around, touched the jar with her dry fingers before confirming its position, sat down shakily, and turned her gaze to the street where the heavy rain was pouring.

The heavy rain covered the world, and there was only a lamp like a bean under the old eaves. The white-haired old woman was sitting next to the candle, and beside her was a young man in a raincoat wearing a bamboo hat. He was sitting with his back straight, and the umbrella in his left hand was stretched out to cover the old woman's head. The raindrops slid down the coir raincoat and bamboo hat, and merged into the rain curtain not far away.

Ta-ta-

After a moment of silence, the old woman seemed a little demented and had no intention of speaking.

Xu Buling looked at the empty rain curtain in front of him and thought for a moment: "Is the old lady from outside? Her accent doesn't sound like someone from nearby. Have you just come to Chang'an?"

The old woman seemed to have just remembered that there was someone beside her. She moved a little and faced the direction of the voice. It was unclear whether she smiled or not: "This is my first time... I seem to have been here a few days ago..."

"What are you doing in Chang'an? My son is taking the imperial examination?"

"Haha... Mengzi never went to school. He attended the village school for a few days. He disobeyed and was kicked out by his teacher..."

The old woman's eyes were blurry and white, and the only place she could focus on was the candlelight. She said slowly: "... I got sick a few years ago, and the doctor in Murakami couldn't see it well. Mengzi took me out to see the doctor... thinking he was going to the county seat. , but it turns out that after leaving for more than two years, the wheat grown in the fields has not been confiscated, and I am afraid it will be wasted..."

Xu Buling listened quietly and thought for a while: "Young Master is actually filial."

"Alas~..."

The old woman shook her head and sighed softly: "He was not filial and disobedient since he was a child. He was asked to study when he was a child, just like the gentleman in the county. When he grew up, he became an official... and gave two chickens to the gentleman in the village. , but after two days in school, he beat other people’s children, and also beat the teacher... The teacher said that he couldn’t teach him, so he should go home and farm..."

Xu Buling thought for a moment and shook his head: "In this world, there are only a few people who can study, and even fewer who can become talented by studying. There is nothing wrong with farming the land honestly to support the family."

"Yeah~"

The old woman nodded and spoke slowly: "Mengzi was not happy to farm, saying that farming was a dead end and that men should do great things. He ran to the county town at the age of twelve or thirteen, mixed with those ruffians, fought everywhere, and came back with injuries many times... Alas~ Many years ago, Mengzi was married to a girl from the village. After a few days of marriage, she complained that there was nothing in the house, so Mengzi got angry and beat his wife, and then left. His wife also ran away...

... I waited at the entrance of the village every day, but I didn't see Mengzi come back for a long time. I thought he would not come back. In the end, he came back with a lame leg, like a beggar... But he did make a lot of money, bought a few acres of land, rebuilt the house, and married a beautiful girl. He ran to the village every day to show off..."

Speaking of this, the old woman laughed. Even though her face was too old to see her expression, she was still very proud.

Xu Buling shook his head and chuckled: "It's good to have a promising future."

The old woman was silent for a while, then sighed: "But I am useless as a mother. I got a serious illness and couldn't be cured no matter how I treated it. I spent all the money Mengzi saved. The house and land were sold. My wife said a few words and was kicked out by Mengzi. I persuaded her not to treat it, but Mengzi was stubborn and ran away with me to find doctors everywhere...

...I have been to the county town before, and I thought it was not far away, but I didn't expect that this road would be so difficult to walk. There is no end to the journey... Mountains, water, all different, and... well... big rivers, big ships, a ship as high as a small mountain, Mengzi even took me on a ride...

... At the end of the journey, I forgot what my home looked like... Once I came across a forest with flowers everywhere, and I asked Mengzi to bury me there, but Mengzi didn't listen, saying that I was fine, why should I bury me. Alas~... People who don't die when they get old are harming others..."

The voice was unclear, and several times he forgot what he said before and started over again.

Xu Buling took a deep breath, turned his eyes to look at the wind and rain in front of him, and was silent for a long time, but didn't say anything.

Swish-swish-swish--

Thunder flashed occasionally, and the whole world seemed to be lifeless, with only the endless heavy rain in front of him.

The candle became shorter and shorter until it went out, and then it was lit again.

"... Just now Mengzi ran away secretly again, and it was like this before, not listening to advice, and ran away secretly to fight..."

Xu Buling's eyes swept across the empty and deserted streets, listening to the unclear words, and felt like a stone was pressing on his heart. Perhaps the old woman who was reminiscing about the past was also like this...

-------

Crackling——

I don't know how long it took, but there were some noises in the rain.

Xu Buling's ears moved slightly and he looked towards the source of the sound.

It was pitch dark in the rainstorm, and he couldn't see anything, but he could clearly hear the uneven breathing and the sound of clothes dragging in the rain.

Thunder——

The lightning flashed again, illuminating the earth.

Xu Buling squinted slightly and vaguely saw a black shadow at the end of the market street, holding a wooden stick and walking slowly, limping, with his left leg dragging on the ground and his waist hunched, and a long shadow was dragged in the rain behind him.

Xu Buling had killed many people, and even if he only saw a black shadow, he could recognize that it was blood.

"... Mengzi is back?"

The old woman noticed that Xu Buling tilted his head, and he came back to his senses a little, and his turbid eyes looked twice in the hazy rain.

Xu Buling smiled and stuck his umbrella on the firewood pile, blocking part of his sight.

"Not yet, I'll go get some water..."

"Oh... It's too late, you should go back early, I don't have to accompany you..."

Xu Buling took a breath, turned and walked into the rain, walked quickly through the street based on his memory, and came to the black shadow just now.

"Hu-Hu-"

The heavy breathing sound continued, the figure stopped in front of him, and a hoarse voice with blood foam sounded:

"Thanks, hero..."

Xu Buling frowned, and based on the feedback of the sound of rain hitting the man, he determined the man's position, raised his hand and touched it, but his hand was full of warm blood.

"Are you Mengzi?"

The shadow in front of him leaned on the stick and panted heavily. After a short silence, he chuckled with blood foam:

"Yeah... I took a job, and something went wrong... Thank you hero for accompanying my mother. I sneaked away just now, thinking she was asleep."

The lightning flashed, and the scene in front of him fell into his eyes - the black clothes were full of sword scars, several of which were pierced through. His left leg was tied with a strip of cloth torn from his clothes to stop the bleeding. He was also wrapped in cloth. It should be that he had just found some herbs and chewed them and reluctantly applied them. His face was pale.

Xu Buling raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, his eyes were a little annoyed: "You have a family, why do you want to go to the rivers and lakes?"

The man focused his eyes on the firelight blocked by the umbrella in the distance, breathing heavily, and sighed:

"I had no choice... It could be cured immediately, God is blind..."

"..."

Xu Buling was silent for a moment, took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, and stuffed the pill into the man's hand:

"It can stop bleeding and keep you alive. Don't go to the rivers and lakes in the future. It's good to accompany your mother around."

The man held the medicine in his hand and nodded slightly: "Thanks, I haven't gone to the rivers and lakes for a long time... Can this medicine cure the disease?"

Xu Buling sighed and looked at the candlelight in the distance: "It can't be cured. What kind of job did you take? The injury is so serious, are there any pursuers?"

Kou Meng shook his eyebrow stick and shook his head: "I fell into the trap. I said I was going to beat up a rich man on the mountain. But it turned out that the guards were all powerful people. They didn't even see him, but he almost lost his life... There may be someone behind him." Chasing troops, young master, please leave quickly..."

"...?"

Xu Buling frowned, turned his head to look at the rain curtain, thought for a while, and whistled.

"call out-"

The next moment, seven or eight figures appeared on the surrounding houses, all of them were palace guards.

Kou Meng's expression changed, and he immediately picked up the eyebrow-level stick and looked cautiously at Xu Buling beside him, but after a moment, he put it down again and sighed softly.

Lao Xiao walked out of the corner of the house with a cane and an umbrella in his hand, feeling a little sad:

"I wanted to let the tiger go back to the mountain to see who is behind it, but it seems that I can't find out... I met the young prince. If the news leaks out, people will definitely know that the young prince is not on the mountain tonight. It is better to keep silent. Do you think, young prince?"

Xu Buling took a breath, turned his head to look at the light under the inn in the distance, and remained silent for a moment:

"Let's go. Leave Beijing overnight and keep tight-lipped."

Kou Meng hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded, stuffed the elixir into his mouth, and walked slowly towards the inn in the distance with his cane. After walking a few steps, he turned back and said:

"Young master is also a Jianghu person. I owe you two lives. After my mother is buried, she will definitely come to repay this debt."

Xu Buring didn't speak, just raised his hand.

The two palace guards immediately disappeared into the rain, staring at Kou Meng to avoid leaking what happened tonight.

Lao Xiao turned around and left with his cane in hand. After thinking about it, he turned back and said:

"This is the fucking world, how do you feel, young prince?"

Xu Buring didn't say anything. He raised his hand to slow down the horse, turned over, lightly lifted the horse's belly and galloped away.

Lao Xiao shook his head, looked at Xu Buling's leaving figure, and sighed softly:

"Everything you do should be done with a clear conscience. We should treat everyone equally in the temples and in the marketplace... This is the way of chivalry, not the way of kings..."