After Gan Shaolong returned, he said goodbye to Fang Changsheng, went north alone, and sneaked into the Imperial Palace in Shangjing of the Liao Kingdom. Unexpectedly, he was discovered by the palace guards. He suffered internal injuries and fled to the Northern Han Dynasty. During the trip, he suffered a poisonous attack and lay down in the grass on the side of a mountain road in pain.
On the verge of death, Chang Shan's father happened to throw Chang Qingqing wrapped in cotton mattress beside him. When Chang Qingqing opened her mouth to cry, he tapped her sleeping point, but Chang Shan's father chose to throw it at the corner.
It's always green, and the Khitan cavalry naturally doesn't notice it.
After the severe pain subsided, Gan Shaolong thought that Chang Qingqing's parents would definitely die. He felt that the sleeping Chang Qingqing was very cute. Thinking that he was already thirty years old and lonely with no one to accompany him, he took her with him after giving birth.
The thought of being raised by your side.
After Qingqing woke up, she cried and made a fuss in search of her parents. Gan Shaolong couldn't resist Chang Qingqing's cries and begged. After walking for two days, he returned to the place where the incident occurred. Walking along the scene, he found that
Two new tombs were built, with wooden tablets erected on them. One of them was engraved with: First, examine the tomb of the concubine Chang Gong and the Jiang family. The unfilial son Chang Shan stood in tears. It turned out that when Chang Shan and Meng Xiaohu left, they begged Zhao and Min to help them.
Carve words with a knife and set up a wooden monument.
Chang Qingqing was ten years old. Her father was a scholar and taught her how to read. She suddenly burst into tears when she recognized her. Gan Shaolong felt the same and even cried with her. Chang Qingqing saw from the person who set up the calligraphy that her brother had survived.
It was difficult, so she begged Gan Shaolong to accompany her in the search.
Gan Shaolong couldn't stand her pleas, so he nodded in desperation and agreed, but asked Chang Qingqing to recognize him as his adoptive father. Chang Qingqing knew that he was his savior, so she agreed. The two of them headed south all the way, but they also traveled without any purpose.
On the way, I usually walked through the mountains and fields. When I was hungry, I would catch some hares, pheasants, river fish and the like and roast them to satisfy my hunger.
In the meantime, Gan Shaolong also taught Chang Qingqing how to catch poisonous insects. At first, Chang Qingqing was so scared that she cried and screamed, but gradually she became less scared. After more than a month, she was able to catch some small snakes alone. Gan Shaolong saw her
I am so happy to be so smart and courageous.
Perhaps it was because he was injured in Beijing that Gan Shaolong's poison suddenly appeared. When he arrived near a village outside Cizhou City, the poison suddenly broke out.
He ran into the village to steal chickens and happened to encounter Chu Nanfeng and his party. Fortunately, Chu saved them and they were able to escape.
Gan Shaolong looked at Chang Qingqing sitting on the threshold and sighed. He saw that she had gone to steal the chicken when he was poisoned. She was so affectionate and righteous at a young age. He thought to himself that he would never let her suffer any injustice, so he stood up and held her hand.
He followed Chang Qingqing back to Cizhou City, saying that he would go to find a friend in the city to borrow some silver.
After arriving in Cizhou City, he sneaked into a wealthy family, asked for dozens of taels of silver, took Chang Qingqing to buy some coarse clothes and some dry food, bought a thin old horse and left the city.
After taking off their clothes, they looked at each other and laughed, but they were happy in their own way.
Gan Shaolong looked at the changed Chang Qingqing and said with a smile: "Qingqing, you go back to Xiangzhou with your adoptive father first. Your brother must have been rescued. We can only wait and find him again someday, okay?"
Although Chang Qingqing is young, she also understands that it is not easy to find her brother Chang Shan in the vast sea of people. She nodded silently when she heard this, but did not answer.
So the two of them walked all the way to Xiangzhou, taking things as they came. When it got dark, they would stay at inns, and when they encountered mountains and fields, they would find temples and caves to rest. On this day, they were still more than forty miles away from Jiezhou, and Gan Shaolong saw that the sky had turned dark.
Dark, I found a mountain temple nearby, tied up the horses, and found some hay to spread in the left corner of the temple for Chang Qingqing to rest.
It was late autumn at this time, and the weather was getting colder. Gan Shaolong went to find some dry firewood and set up a bonfire. Thinking that he was tired from the journey, Chang Qingqing fell asleep soon. Gan Shaolong took out a piece of clothing from his bag to cover her.
He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.
In the middle of the night, Gan Shaolong was awakened by the sound of horse hoofbeats, and then he heard someone outside the temple saying: "There is a fire here, and there must be someone inside. Let's rest here too."
After a while, he saw two people wearing curtains and hats walking in. Gan Shaolong squinted his eyes and pretended to be asleep. The two men took off the curtains, and by the firelight, Gan Shaolong saw that one of them was
There was a woman with a haggard face, but the man had her back to him. She didn't know what she looked like. Gan Shaolong always felt that the woman looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't remember.
The two people were sitting by the campfire and after adding some firewood, they heard the man whisper: "Junior sister, please listen carefully and explain..."
The woman snorted, and the man continued: "Although Xue'er is not my biological child, I am anxious that she was kidnapped, but this matter is not a trivial matter. Daddy has gone to find that person for help..."
"That person, you don't know who that person is," thinking that her voice was too loud, the woman lowered her voice and said, "If that person can't be found, then won't Xue'er save him?"
The man said: "The evil thief Liu Gongwen only kidnapped Xue'er for the scriptures. Xue'er will not be in danger for the time being."
The woman said: "Where can I get the scriptures? They were stolen by that little thief Gan Shaolong fourteen years ago. What scriptures can I exchange for Xue'er a month later?"
Gan Shaolong was shocked and horrified. He instantly understood who these two people were. They were Miao Xiuzhu and Huangfuxiu from Yaowang Valley. They got married three years after Gan Shaolong escaped. Huangfuxiu adopted a child because of infertility.
His daughter, who was already nine years old, was unexpectedly kidnapped by her enemies. Gan Shaolong did not expect to meet her here, and his heart was pounding.
But Miao Xiuzhu sighed and said, "That evil guy Gan Shaolong has escaped somewhere. I think he should be dead."
"How did you know he was dead?"
"Gan Shaolong will definitely practice the "Thousand Poison Palm" technique after taking that scripture. If that technique does not include our Miao family's "Zhou Tianxin Technique", he will definitely die when he reaches the state of returning to his true state."
"Why? How do you know?"
"Of course, my father told me that the technique is like bees collecting various pollen to make honey, dissolving many poisonous insects into a kind of poison. Without practicing the "Zhou Tianxin Technique", the toxins of the poisonous insects cannot be completely transformed.
There must be residual poison remaining in the body, and over time it will invade the internal organs."
"Junior sister, you should also know that the essence in the body is the purest when it reaches the state of return to truth, and it can be said to be invulnerable to all poisons. However, if the remaining poisons are in the body, when it reaches the state of return to true state, it is like a baby with a congenital serious illness, which is difficult to cure. Once it reaches the state of return to true state, it is
At that time, the toxicity is difficult to control, and if Miao acupuncture is not used to detoxify, death will be inevitable."
The more Gan Shaolong heard, the more frightened he became. Only then did he know the cause of his poisonous condition. He also heard that Miao's acupuncture method could detoxify the poison, and he smiled bitterly in his heart.
The two were silent for a moment, and Huangfu Xiu said: "Perhaps he has not reached the state of return to truth..."
Miao Xiuzhu naturally understood what she meant, and said: "Hey, even if he is not dead, we can't find him. In the past ten years, as you know, dad has gone out to search for people in the valley, asking friends in the world to help with the investigation.
...In recent years, there have been rising stars in Jianghu who have used poison fists. I only heard that there was a beggar named Long Yiqin in Xiangzhou who knew how to use poison fists..."
Gan Shaolong broke out in a cold sweat. This Long Yiqin was his current pseudonym. He held his breath for a moment and did not dare to breathe. Miao Xiuzhu said again: "This Long Yiqin's poisonous skill is called "Poison Dragon Fist".
He is thirty-seven or eighteen years old, and has a beard. It is said that he is a chivalrous and righteous person. In the past three years, he also killed the famous flower-picking thief "Yulangjun" in the world.
Kill him...Besides, how can the thief Gan Shaolong be so chivalrous?"
"Poison Dragon Fist" was naturally invented by Gan Shaolong himself. He had scheming intentions, but he also did bad things, so he was naturally cautious in everything he did. When he fought with others, he turned his palms into fists. When he was more than ten years old, he was also handsome and practiced poison.
After Gong, his face was covered with beard, which must be the effect of toxins. In addition, during those years when he was hiding in the mountains, he looked like a savage. After arriving in Xiangzhou, he was dressed as a beggar. He naturally looked like he was thirty-seven or eighteen years old. Gan Shaolong sneaked in
Touching his beard, he smiled bitterly in his heart.
After pausing for a moment, Miao Xiuzhu said softly, "Junior sister, you go back with me first. Dad said that we must return to the valley within seven days. If we don't find that person, we will go to the Prince Yan's Mansion in Khitan Xijing to find Liu Gongwen."
Take back Xue'er."
"Why do we have to find that person?"
"The Liu Thief poisoned that man's lover back then, and that person has been looking for the Liu Thief's whereabouts. Even if the Liu Thief has not kidnapped Xue'er now, if he knows his whereabouts, he should inform that person."
"And Liu Thief has not been seen for more than ten years, and his martial arts must have improved. If he dares to go to Yaowang Valley alone to kidnap Xue'er, he must have someone to rely on. Dad was worried about falling into this evil thief's plan, so he went to seek help from that person, not to mention that
I'm afraid the evil thieves may not be doing it for the poisonous power in the scriptures."
Huangfuxiu lost his voice and said, "Why is that?"
At this time, Chang Qingqing had been awakened and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and said to Gan Shaolong, "Father, I have to relieve myself."
Gan Shaolong groaned secretly in his heart. Huangfu Xiu stood up and walked towards Gan Shaolong. As he walked, he said, "Brother, I'm sorry. My voice was too loud and I woke up the child."
Gan Shaolong quickly picked up Chang Qingqing and covered his face, lowering the noise and saying: "It's none of your business if the child wants to relieve himself."
After saying that, he quickly walked out of the temple with Chang Qingqing in his arms, put Chang Qingqing down in the woods not far to the right of the temple, then turned back and approached the right wall to listen. Miao Xiuzhu vaguely heard Miao Xiuzhu saying: "Daddy doesn't want to
I swear, I will tear it off with him..."
Then Huangfuxiu lost his voice and said: "Tear it off? How..."
At this time, Chang Qingqing had already come to Gan Shaolong and said, "My foster father is fine."
Gan Shaolong smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky. At this time, it was about to dawn, so he said softly: "It's starting to get light too. You go in and pick up your bags. Let's hurry up."
Chang Qingqing nodded and entered the temple. Gan Shaolong went over to untie the horse and led it to the path in front of the temple. He turned around and saw Huangfuxiu squatting at the temple gate talking to Chang Qingqing. Then Chang Qingqing
He smiled at her, nodded, and ran over. Gan Shaolong quickly picked her up on his horse and led the horse to gallop.
When he got to the avenue, he asked: "Qingqing, what did the lady say to you?"
"The lady asked me how old I was and told me to be careful along the way." She smiled at Gan Shaolong: "And she said I was cute..."
Gan Shaolong smiled: "Of course my Qingqing is cute."
At this time, he had mixed feelings in his heart, and he naturally understood the feelings of Miao Xiuzhu and his wife after losing their daughter. Although he and Chang Qingqing had only been together for more than a month, he was already reluctant to separate from Chang Qingqing, let alone the daughter he had raised for 89 years.
.
He also thought about the life-saving kindness Yaowang Valley had given him. Although he stole the "Hundred Insects Poison Sutra" out of revenge, he was actually repaying kindness with hatred. Over the past ten years, he had been tortured in his heart. Now he heard that the Miao couple's daughter had been killed.
After some thought, he made a decision and naturally came up with the idea of helping Miao Xiuzhu and his wife to find their daughter.
Four days later in the evening, Gan Shaolong took Chang Qingqing back to Xiangzhou. The beggar who opened the door looked at Gan Shaolong for a moment, and then said in surprise: "It's Lord Long. Brother Fang just said to you, everyone, Lord Long is back.
"
At this time, Fang Changsheng in the hall heard the sound and laughed loudly at Gan Shaolong: "Fang thought Brother Long had forgotten this home, haha..."
Seeing Chang Qingqing next to Gan Shaolong, he was startled: "This girl?"
Gan Shaolong smiled: "Let's go in and talk."
When they arrived at the hall, they saw some wine and food on the square table, and two beggars were standing by the table. When they saw Gan Shaolong, they hurriedly bent over and said, "I've met Mr. Long."
Gan Shaolong nodded and said "Huh", then pulled Chang Qingqing to sit down. Fang Changsheng then ordered the two beggars: "First order some noodles, and then order some wine and food."
After saying that, he sat down, glanced at Chang Qingqing, and said suspiciously: "This belongs to Brother Long..."
"My adopted daughter, Qingqing, is called Uncle Fang."
Chang Qingqing blinked, looking at the dark-skinned man with clothes all over his eyes, and called softly: "Uncle Fang."
Fang Changsheng was overjoyed when he heard this: "Hey, okay, okay, good niece, are you hungry? Just wait..."
He got up and quickly went to the kitchen. After a while, he brought a bowl of noodles, placed it in front of Chang Qingqing and said with a smile: "Eat, good niece, uncle added fried eggs, ah, haha..."
After laughing, he filled up the wine for Gan Shaolong, picked up the wine bowl in front of him and said, "We brothers haven't drank together for two months, let's have a drink."
Gan Shaolong smiled and picked up the wine bowl and touched it with him. After drinking half the bowl, he put down the wine bowl and said, "Brother Fang, how come there seem to be some new faces?"
"Now we meet a good emperor who comes to steal our jobs. This is good, so we don't have to worry about it."
It turns out that the later Zhou Dynasty court distributed the ownerless land to hundreds of thousands of Youyun hungry people who had returned to the Central Plains, and exempted them from taxes. As a result, many refugees had land and no longer had to beg for a living. Fang Changsheng's family had no worries about food and clothing in his early years.
His ancestors were horse traders, and they were good at martial arts for generations. He also practiced literature and martial arts when he was young. Later, the Sixteenth Province of Youyun was taken over by the Khitan. His father had a dispute with the Khitan soldiers because of the horse trade and was killed by the Khitan soldiers.
Fang Changsheng waited for an opportunity to kill the murderer to avenge his father, and fled to the Central Plains with his mother. Since he had no relatives or friends to turn to, and no land to farm, he had to beg for a living. With his martial arts, he conquered the beggars in Xiangzhou and became a
leader.
He was also kind-hearted, but after his mother died of illness, he couldn't resist the instigation of a group of beggars under his command. Like a bandit who lorded over the mountain, he forcibly collected the refugees who were begging in Xiangzhou, and took seven out of ten of the proceeds from begging, that is, in Xiangzhou
A beggar must hand over seven cents for every ten pennies he gets. It was not until he met Gan Shaolong that he changed the rule and took three out of ten pennies.
But I also used the money to buy or rent several dilapidated houses in the city, and housed two to three hundred beggars, giving them a place to stay while begging during the day. In the past seven or eight years, it has helped many homeless people live in peace, and even more
Many refugees encountered injustices and asked him to come forward to solve the problem. Now he has become famous in surrounding counties and is known as the "Beggar King of Xiangzhou".
"Those brothers with families have acquired land, so they don't want to beg and be looked down upon anymore. It's not like me, who can only eat enough and the whole family is not hungry." Fang Chang sighed with emotion.
Gan Shaolong nodded when he heard this and said, "That's very good."
He turned around and looked at Chang Qingqing, who had finished eating the noodles, and said softly: "Are you full?"
"I've eaten, but I'm just a little sleepy."
Gan Shaolong touched Chang Qingqing's little face and said with a smile: "Little girl, you are tired. Let's go, my adoptive father will help you clean up..."
Then he got up and took Chang Qingqing to the side room on the left, spread the quilt on the big kang, and said with a smile: "Xiao Qingqing, come up and have a rest."
Chang Qingqing thought she was tired, so she lay down in bed and fell asleep after a while. Gan Shaolong covered her with the quilt, looked at her sleeping face, was silent for a long time, sighed, exited the wing and closed the door gently.
When he came to the hall, he refilled the wine for Fang Changsheng, sat down and cupped his hands and said, "Long has something to ask of me. I hope Brother Fang will agree to it."
Seeing his solemn expression, Fang Changsheng couldn't help but be startled and said: "Brother Long, just tell me if you have anything to do. How can you be so arrogant and go through fire and water? Fang will never frown."
These words are indeed Fang Changsheng's innermost thoughts. When he deceived the refugees into begging for silver, the beggars complimented him on the surface, but behind the scenes they complained. After listening to Gan Shaolong's suggestion and changing the rules, the beggars usually responded to his orders with all their heart and soul. These are
Fang Changsheng understood the reason for the change in the beggar. Although he was more than ten years older than Gan Shaolong, he admired Gan Shaolong in his heart.
Gan Shaolong looked at Fang Changsheng, who had a solemn expression on his face, and sighed: "I received a favor from a person in my early years. The day before yesterday, I learned that my benefactor's granddaughter was kidnapped by evil people, and I wanted to go to rescue him. It is said that the evil person has extraordinary skills and may not be easy to deal with..."
He raised the bowl and took a sip of wine, and then said: "This child Qingqing's parents were killed by Khitan soldiers. It's very pitiful. After I went to find the evil man, Qingqing asked my elder brother to take care of me."
Fang Changsheng heard his tone as if he was entrusting an orphan, and couldn't help but be shocked: "How can this be done? What is the name of that evil man? What is his skill? My brother and I will go to find him..."
Gan Shaolong shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "I heard that the evil man's name is Liu Gongwen. He comes from Prince Yan's Mansion in Youzhou. I think he is a lackey of the Khitans. It is very dangerous to go here to find him to save people. Brother Fang only needs to help me take care of Qingqing and Long."
…”
Fang Changsheng didn't wait for him to finish his words, and said: "Prince Yan's Mansion in Youzhou is a place for the Khitans. I think there are many experts. Brother Long, if you want to go alone, you must not go there alone."
Gan Shaolong said resolutely: "I have been favored by others, so I should sacrifice my life to save them. Brother Fang does not need to persuade me."
He was ashamed of Yaowang Valley and had suffered a lot for several years. After making the decision today, he felt at ease in his heart.
"Although this girl Qingqing is young, she is affectionate and righteous. In a day or two... I should make it clear to her that I only hope that my eldest brother will treat her as if she were one of my own from now on."
Seeing his resolute expression, Fang Changsheng didn't know what to do for a moment, and then heard Gan Shaolong say: "It's getting late. I'm going to bed. Brother, let's go to bed early."
After saying that, he took some bedding, quietly entered the wing room, lay on the pit with his eyes closed and meditated, recalling the conversation he heard between Miao Xiuzhu and his wife outside the temple: "I'm afraid it's not for the poison... Dad doesn't want to swear, so just
Tear it off with him..."
"Tear it off and give it to him..." Thinking of this, Gan Shaolong thought. In the past ten years, he had never noticed that the Poison Sutra had been torn off. He stood up and lit the oil lamp, leaned down and reached into the kang's mouth.
He took out a green cloth package and opened it, which was the "Hundred Insects and Poison Sutra".
I turned over the pages one by one and looked carefully, and finally found two torn marks in the seams of the book. Look at the contents of the upper and lower pages. The upper page is about the method of refining the venom of various poisonous insects, and the next page is about practicing the "Thousand Poison Palm"
"The technique seems to be intact. It seems that the two pages that were torn out must be independent techniques or formulas.
At that moment, his heart was even more shocked. He had originally thought about bringing the Poison Sutra to exchange for the kidnapped children in the past few days, but if Liu Gongwen was not doing it for the "Thousand Poison Palm" technique as Miao Xiuzhu said, then
It must be because of the two pages of the sutra that were torn out, so exchanging people with poison sutras must not work.
He couldn't help but look at the Poison Sutra in his hand in a daze, suddenly thought of something, and said to himself: "It seems that this is the only way." He wrapped the Poison Sutra and put it in his arms and slept.
The next morning, after having breakfast with Chang Qingqing, Fang Changsheng patted the shoulder of Fang Changsheng who was hesitant to speak and said: "The weather is getting colder, I will take Qingqing to buy some clothes."
After saying that, he took Chang Qingqing out and went back to the courtyard in the evening. Fang Changsheng, who was walking around in the hall, saw them coming back and said, "Where are you, father and daughter, going? Brothers are all over the street.
Can’t even find it.”
"I found a tailor, added some money, and asked her and Qingqing to make a few sets of winter clothes."
Fang Changsheng felt sour when he heard this, and hurriedly shouted: "Everyone, Brother Long is back, hurry up and serve the food."
Then he held Chang Qingqing's hand and said: "Little niece, you came back late yesterday, and uncle didn't serve you anything delicious, so I'll make up for it today. You are my brother Long's daughter, and also my daughter. You will be in charge today, haha...
…”
Gan Shaolong looked at the three tables already placed in the hall, understood Fang Changsheng's intentions, and smiled and said: "Okay, let's have a family banquet today, okay, okay."
After a while, the beggars arranged the food and wine to be served on the table. There was a burst of joy among the people, and they were urging each other to drink and eat food as if it were the New Year. They were naturally very happy, and only the sweetness made them feel happy and sad at the same time.
After everyone had had enough wine and food, Fang Changsheng cleared the table and asked Gan Shaolong, "Drink some tea?"
Gan Shaolong nodded: "Okay, let me talk to Qingqing first."
Chang Qingqing came to the side room with a puzzled look on her face, closed the door, took out the pen and paper she had just purchased and put it on the table in the room, and said to Chang Qingqing: "You go to the kang first, and your adoptive father will write a letter to be written."
I want to tell you something."
Seeing his serious expression, Chang Qingqing nodded and went to the kang. Gan Shaolong picked up his pen, thought for a moment, bowed his head and wrote down. When the ink was dry, he folded the letter, put it in an envelope and sealed it, and then took it from his arms.
He took out the Poison Sutra, put the envelope in it, and wrapped it in green cloth. He came to Chang Qingqing who looked puzzled, squatted down and grabbed Chang Qingqing's little hand and said: "Qingqing, I can't remember that temple with you?"
Madam who is speaking?" Chang Qingqing nodded.
"My foster father will be traveling in a day or two, so you keep this thing on your body and don't tell anyone. When you meet the lady one day, you give this thing to her..."