Chapter 38: Iron Sword, Mountains and Rivers, Reunion at the End of the World (Part 1)
In the spring of the tenth year of Jinghan in the Wu Dynasty, Zhenjiang.
When the sun sets, it's as if the wind is blowing petals across the sky. The weather has not yet completely warmed up, but people can no longer feel the coldness of winter. Willow trees are budding, poplars are dancing, and the peach trees are already dancing.
Turning pink, this spring has gradually entered its best time.
This is a city surrounded by mountains and rivers. It’s already dark, and many ships sailing near the pier have gathered. It’s very lively. The cormorants stand on the rafts watching everything, the calls of fishermen, and the calls of herders.
It was noisy, with boatmen coming and going, and sometimes the cabin touched the net, causing a burst of chaos and abuse. When the bells of Jinshan Temple were heard in the distance, the ancient city behind was already dotted with lights.
The setting sun dyes the corner of the distant mountains a faint red.
"It was summer when I left, but when I came back, it was already the beginning of the second spring."
With the lanterns lit at the door of the house, looking at the spring scene outside, Ning Yi and Lu Hongti sighed.
The heroine in Jingchai cloth clapped her hands, and not long after, she sat down on the threshold in an inconspicuous manner, tilting her head and watching the pedestrians returning in twos and threes.
Ning Yi smiled and sat at the threshold for a while. Then Xiaochan called her uncle to look for you, and then she got up and went in.
The day we arrived in Zhenjiang was February 27th.
Compared with the leisurely journey south, when I really rushed back, it didn't take much time on the road. When the city was destroyed, Su Tan'er was already more than eight months pregnant, although it was said that she was well-known.
However, anything could happen in the newly broken city, so under the protection of Wenren Buer, Su Taner, Xiaochan and others immediately went north to Zhenjiang, waiting for the matter to settle.
When the matters at Ba Dao Camp were finally settled, Ning Yi and Lu Hongti rushed here together.
Since July last year, the crisis of the trip to Hangzhou has come one after another, almost without stopping. At the most difficult time, even Ning Yi was a little confused about whether he could return. But at this time, the whole
The matter has finally come to an end, especially after dealing with the issue of the fate of Ba Dao Camp. I finally let go of a big stone in my heart and can breathe a long sigh of relief. I can feel the peaceful atmosphere on the streets of Zhenjiang. It really feels like a world away.
For Lu Hongti, it may be a different mood.
Luliang Mountain, where she originally lived, is not necessarily much better than Hangzhou when it fell. There is Liao Kingdom in the north and Tian Hu in the south. After arriving in Hangzhou, she just saw a group of fellow-minded people revolting. No matter where they came from,
In this sense, Zhenjiang is not a distant world for her. Rather, it is another world similar to Jiangning that is difficult to reach.
For Ning Yi, no matter Zhenjiang, Jiangning or the original Hangzhou, their prosperity was only tolerable. As for those in remote areas, many people were poor and could not even wear clothes.
Although he could understand and imagine the remoteness of the mountains, it was naturally impossible to empathize with it.
The situation in Luliang Mountain is generally so miserable. Farmers have planted their fields. Not to mention whether the harvest for the year can be guaranteed, the Liao people invade the border from time to time, and occasionally people from a village cannot escape. Often the land becomes white.
After the Liao people left, government officials who didn't know where they came from would appear to collect taxes and rents. Those who were able to bring swords with them would be famous for a while and then died under the sword. Those who had fallen off the grass would kill their enemies in groups, skin them and hang them.
On the flagpole, after Tian Hu's uprising, more forces participated in the robbery, but no one seemed to feel more sad, it was just that they were used to it.
Being able to come here and see the stable life of these people really feels like I have entered another world. Even in Hangzhou after it was occupied, you can still see the prosperity of the recent past from the previous buildings.
All I can think of is "What a pity...".
Today's Luliang Mountain is a little better, at least it's much better in the village, but it still can't be compared with here. She sat at the door and watched for a while, and when Juan'er came over to call her for dinner, she got up and went in.
During those days in Hangzhou, she did makeup every day. Although she had her own method, it was still very troublesome. Except for some necessary trips, she just stayed in the yard. During this time, it was relatively
There was some silence. Ning Yi occasionally talked to her about Luliang Mountain and briefly talked about some ideas with her, but did not make anything decisive. She also watched what Ning Yi did during those days.
Everything, try to remember them, understand them.
However, this time when they came over, she was no longer dressed as a woman in her thirties, but showed her original beautiful face, which made Xiao Chanjuan'er and the others a little surprised. She already had a big belly.
Su Tan'er seemed normal, but she couldn't help but look at Ning Yi and then her with suspicion.
These people don't think they have problems with Ning Yi.
Thinking of these, some emotions made her smile slightly. On the way south last year, she thought about some things with some complicated thoughts. Among these things, she persuaded Ning Yi to go to Luliang, and even... had an affair with him.
There are some possibilities. After all, she is not young, and there are many things that she needs to force herself to seriously consider.
She was used to the people in the north. The customs she saw along the way to the south were too weak, and some were stronger, and some were more cold and cold that she didn't like. Only this man named Ning Liheng was strange.
He has the elegance and calmness of a scholar without losing the grandeur of strategizing. Even when he is in close combat with others, he treats others so cruelly that he may be frightened by many desperadoes near Luliang who are famous for their ferociousness. If so,
There was an assumption that she would be with such a man. She thought she wouldn't mind.
Of course, this kind of feeling only sprouted at the beginning, and was washed away by many things. It was not that I rejected it, but... it was no longer easy to think about it.
Everything that happened in the Ba Dao camp, everything Ning Yi did, she saw it openly and secretly, saw how others got lost in the conspiracy, how they were deceived, how they were incited and infected by him, even that one
How did the girl named Liu Xigua fall in love with him? It made her feel that she couldn't do the things this man did, and it was even difficult for her to guess what he was thinking.
From the previous acquaintance in Jiangning to the parting, Ning Yi wanted to ask her for martial arts lessons. There was not much calculation in it. At that time, he showed a sincere side. Occasionally telling some stories, in his
She did some messy "experiments" in that little "laboratory". Sometimes she would be amazed. But at that time, she could appreciate him. This was based on the self-perception that "everyone looks the same".
Now it is different. She is not disgusted with what Ning Yi has done, but after watching it for a long time, she is just amazed and even feels like she is standing tall. Especially the whole plan he made for Liu Xigua, the one about letting Liu Xigua
The concept of everyone living a better life, she didn't know how much of it was deception and how much was his serious thinking. However, when these things were fully unfolded, the breadth and depth of the man in front of her was beyond her reach.
, it would be hard for her to think about more things.
It's just that... I suddenly felt a little lost.
I once heard a similar story from Grandpa Liang.
It's like a Jianghu man meets a true Confucian, the kind of person who serves the country and the people like a saint. He is convinced by his ideas, and even infected by the other person. He wants to do something, but in the end.
In the end, people in the world have no choice but to live in the wild. There is still a huge distance between the two people.
She didn't think Ning Yi was a saint, but her emotions were similar.
After dinner that night, she sat in the courtyard. Feeling bored, she sat on the roof for a while and looked at the lights of thousands of houses. Her inner strength was superb, and she could hear the conversation between Ning Yi and his wife Su Tan'er intentionally or unintentionally.
The conversation came from there. Su Tan'er would not give birth for more than a month. Zhenjiang was not very far from Jiangning, so she wanted to return to Jiangning as soon as possible. After all, she had a doctor, Wen Po, who was more familiar with her at home, and the environment was also good.
Better.
Su Tan'er usually runs around and is in good health. After being pregnant, she experienced many things. Recently, except for the occasional lively movements of the child in her belly, she hasn't been too strenuous. If it was just more than a day's journey, it wouldn't be too hard.
It's not that I can't stand it. Ning Yi should have nodded in agreement.
After all, it is not good to listen to people's privacy. Lu Hongti had already listened to a few words and wanted to leave, but then the two of them started talking about her. Su Tan'er said: "This Lu female hero is the same as the one I met in Hangzhou."
Other Jianghu people are a little different."
She paused on the roof for a moment, but she heard Ning Yi say: "She is not a charlatan." This made Lu Hongti a little curious, and he sat down again.
"What's the matter? She's very skilled in martial arts, right?"
"The world of those people I met in Hangzhou has something to do with their martial arts, but it has little to do with it. Their lives are just like those of merchants. They just live their lives. What kind of people they meet, what kind of words they say, and what kind of etiquette they use.
What kind of rules are followed? These are things they can see and touch in life. Once you learn martial arts, you are more likely to have to live your life in this way. For Miss Lu, martial arts is for survival, and it is used for cutting.
Trees are used to cut vegetables, and martial arts are learned to live a good life. How to live is a matter later."
"My husband said this...it seems..."
"Um?"
"Miss Lu seems a little pitiful..."
Lu Hongti frowned on the roof, but heard Ning Yi below say: "It's not pitiful, I think it should be... cute." He thought for a while, then softly made this definition, Lu Hongti
Su Tan'er blinked her eyes upstairs, perhaps a little stunned: "Mr. sir..."
But Ning Yi's words were somewhat solemn: "In the most harsh environment, fighting out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on their own strength, and being able to survive so strong all the way, I think...
Very powerful... In some aspects, I think he is similar to people like Qian Xiwen."
Su Tan'er probably didn't expect Ning Yi to make such a comment. Lu Hongti was also a little distracted for a while. Was she similar to Qian Xiwen... She had heard Ning Yi tell the old man's story in Hangzhou, and had also heard it before.
He commented on the old man, but he never thought about anything similar between himself and the other person. Su Tan'er only thought about it and said: "So, my husband thinks Miss Lu is... admirable?"
"
"No." Ning Yi answered simply this time.
"Um?"
"She is a woman." Ning Yi said.
Su Tan'er hesitated: "So what?"
"She is a woman." Ning Yi emphasized. After a moment, he probably saw that his wife could not understand, "She is a woman. How can I admire a woman? Of course women are cute, right..."
Su Tan'er probably laughed angrily, and Ning Yi's voice lowered slightly: "Aren't you the same? A woman who wants to do men's things, be a housekeeper and do business, and so on, when we first get married,
During that time, you were always thinking about how to accommodate me, and I was a little tired, so why bother... I don't want to admire you, so I just think you are cute."
"Now the baby is about to be born. If I had known earlier...hehe..."
I thought I was talking about myself, but it turned out to be flirting... The conversation between the husband and wife in the room over there was still going on. Lu Hongti thought so and recalled that paragraph, and her face felt hot unconsciously.
But then he sighed and left from the roof... (To be continued) rq