Most of the content in this chapter (including the chapter title ashes of time) is a parody of the movie "Ashes of Time". Any similarities are not coincidental.
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Autumn, the twenty-fourth year of Hongde's reign.
This year, the fifth lunar month approaches Tai Sui, and there is drought everywhere.
Where there is drought, there must be trouble.
If there's trouble, I have business.
My name is Di Bujue, from Dengzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. My profession is to help others solve their problems.
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"I see you are in your early forties.
"In the past forty years, there are always some things that you don't want to mention again, and there are some people that you don't want to see again.
"Some people have been sorry to you, and maybe you thought... of killing them.
"But you don't dare, or you think it's not worth it.
"Now, actually killing someone... is easy.
"I have a friend who is very good at martial arts, but his life has been a little difficult recently. As long as you give him a little bit of silver, he will definitely help you kill that person.
"Heh... just think about it."
That day, as soon as I finished saying this to the other party, dozens of officers and soldiers rushed out from around me. They beat me up without explanation and took me into the Yamen.
In prison, they asked me if the "friend" I was talking about was myself...
I was twenty years old that year. Although I had been traveling in the world under the banner of the Cao Gang for several years, it was my first time to make a living on my own, so my experience was indeed somewhat lacking...
However, after this "fishing", I understood that the public security in Beijing is really good, and it has nothing to do with whether there is a drought. It is better for me to go to a more remote place to do business.
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In the spring of the twenty-fifth year of Hongde.
After I got out of prison with some money, I left the capital and went to the desert to start another life.
I used to be the younger brother of the young gang leader of the Cao Gang, and I was very powerful and powerful. Even those old guys had to give me some respect.
Now, I am just the unknown shopkeeper of a small wine shop. Of course, I also do some part-time "killer agency" business.
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On the sixth day of the lunar month, there was a sting of insects.
A man came to me for a drink, his name was Hu Wenzhi.
This person is from the east.
If you ask why, it's because the desert is in the west.
That day, in addition to wine, Hu Wenzhi also brought me a souvenir.
When we were drinking at night, he said to me:
"Not long ago I met a man who gave me a jar of wine.
"She said it's called drunkenness, life and dreams.
"After drinking it, it can make you forget anything you have done before.
"I wonder why there is such wine.
"She said that the biggest trouble people have is that they have a good memory. If you can forget everything, every day will be a new beginning. How happy would you be?"
That night, I beat Hu Wenzhi violently and sent him to the county government.
After all, we have known each other for so many years, but he actually wants to use this kind of wine to trick me, haha...it's easy to take advantage of others, right? Then you can't blame the brothers for being unkind.
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There are always a few months every year when people seem unwilling to die.
Well, when I say "a few months," I actually mean "twelve months."
In short, since the beginning of spring last year, I have not been trading.
I heard that someone in this area is very fast with his sword recently, and I happened to have nothing to do, so I went to find him to see whether his sword or my palm was faster.
"I shouldn't be here."
"You know it's too late now."
"Can you leave one hand alone?"
"No, if you want to stay, keep your life."
I originally thought I had won.
Unexpectedly, after he said this, he immediately yelled, "There is no need to talk about morals and morals with this scum, let's go together." Then dozens of his brothers who were ambushing around rushed out and used lime powder to fight chaos.
The stick struck me.
The world is dangerous, and I am still too young. Fortunately, this group of people are just ordinary scoundrels. If they were really people in the world...I am afraid I would have fallen into trouble here.
Of course, they wouldn't really beat me to death. "Keep me alive" was just a harsh word spoken by scoundrels, but I was still beaten so hard that I couldn't get off the ground for more than half a month.
From then on, I understood that in this world, martial arts alone are of no use. The so-called "morality" is just something that only those who have survived can talk about or make up.
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In the twenty-fifth year of Hongde's reign, Xia.
A swordsman came to me, his name was Lin Dong.
Lin Dong's sword is very fast, but he is very slovenly and doesn't even like to wear shoes.
I know that he can help me make a lot of money, but I have never liked this person because the fortune teller once told me that I "will end up in bad luck".
Lin Dong is ten years older than me, but most of the time he is as childish as a stupid boy. Once the money is in his hands, he will spend it all quickly.
Of course, he is not stupid, he is just too principled.
If he doesn't want to do the business I introduce, he won't do it.
I told him that I was here to find killers, not knights, so he smiled and continued to eat for free.
I wanted to drive him away, but his martial arts skills were much higher than mine.
When I came back to my senses, I realized that this shameless guy seemed to be planning to eat me to death, so one night, I took out the jar of wine left by Hu Wenzhi and told him the story of "Drunken Life and Dreaming of Death".
But he said he didn't want to drink.
Because there are many things that he doesn't want to forget.
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The tenth day of the lunar month, the beginning of autumn, was sunny.
A woman came to see Lin Dong.
"That woman has been waiting for you outside for several days."
"What can I do if I don't chase her away? Do you want me to take my wife with me to travel around the world?"
"Haha... who says it can't be done? It all depends on the person. I once..."
"Have you ever crossed mountains and seas, and also crossed mountains and seas of people?"
"no……"
"Isn't that enough? You are only in your early twenties. What's the 'past'? Okay, let's eat."
"oh……"
I don't know if Lin Dong is simply rude, or if he has seen through my mind.
What he didn't ask me to say was indeed what was in my heart.
I used to be like Lin Dong, bent on conquering the world, and thought I could leave my woman behind. Unexpectedly, when I got home, I realized that she had become my sister-in-law.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!…………
On the 15th, it will be clear and windy. The earth official will come down to determine the good and evil in the world. There will be blood. It is forbidden to travel far. It is better to recite sutras to ward off disasters.
Today Lin Dong made another loss-making transaction.
In order to stand up for a little girl from a poor family, he killed a local bully.
The bully's martial arts skills were not bad, and he had many accomplices around him, but Lin Dong came to the door alone, and the result...
"Is it worth losing a finger for a bowl of noodles?"
"It's not worth it, but I ate two bowls of noodles and only had the money for one bowl of noodles with me. I can't help it. I don't like to owe others."
"Do you want to be shameless?"
"The child said that her parents were killed by the bully, so she was selling fans alone. I can't just eat for free at her place."
"If I chop you to death now, it doesn't count as taking advantage of someone else's danger, does it?"
"Sigh... I should be fine, but my sword is not as fast as before. I was fast before because I was direct and just did it when I thought it was right. I never thought about the cost, but I kept hanging out with you and let me
Gradually I lost myself... I don't want to be like you, because I know Di Bujue will never take risks for a bowl of noodles. This is the difference between you and me."
I was very angry with this freeloader that day. Fortunately, within a few days, he finally decided to leave my place.
"Where are you going?"
"You always call me a freeloader, so I'll join the Beggar Gang. I will be the overlord among the beggars in the future."
"what is that?"
"Still a beggar."
"Well...what about her?"
"Take her with you. Like you said, it all depends on the person. Who said you are not allowed to take your wife to wander the world, right?"
I finally understood why that woman liked Lin Dong, because she would always have something to eat with such a thick-skinned person.
When I watched them leave, I was very jealous. I once had such an opportunity, but I don't know why...but gave up.
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After Lin Dong left, it kept raining.
Every time it rains, I think of someone who once liked me very much.
I don't know if it's a coincidence or other reasons, but every time I leave her for a long trip, it rains. She said it's because she's unhappy.
Later, she married my brother.
The night she got married, I went to look for her and asked her to come with me.
But in the end, I left Caobang alone.
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In the early years of Yongtai, the new emperor ascended the throne and granted amnesty to the world.
Hu Wenzhi should have been released as well, but he will never come to my place again, and he will never see me again.
Many years later, I accidentally heard that he had already sailed eastward and had not been heard from since.
This year, when I was packing my things, I found a souvenir.
Because I misunderstood Hu Wenzhi, I put this letter away and couldn't find it. I didn't expect it to appear again now.
This letter was written to me by my sister-in-law Ruan. She told me that she found out that she was pregnant not long ago and hoped that I could know about it.
A fortune teller once said to me: "If the sun in the husband and wife palace turns into evil, the marriage will be real but not real." I didn't expect it to be true.
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I sat outside the door for two days and two nights, watching the sky constantly change.
Then I understood Lin Dong - the feeling of being hungry is really bad, and it doesn't help you think.
That night, I drank so much that I was intoxicated.
I never thought that the woman I had loved for more than twenty years would actually use laxatives on me in such a despicable way.
This was also the first time I learned that the laxatives added to the wine were still effective more than a year later.
If I had understood at that time that she was really stupid and was very happy to torture me for the rest of my life, I might not have gone back.
But after all, I was young and confused...
Not long after, I left this desert and returned to Caobang.
On the day I left, it was written on the almanac: The post horses are moving, the water is flowing into the sky, and the wind and thunder are coming from the east.
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Hongde twenty-four years, winter, Dengzhou.
Hu Wenzhi: "I always thought you two would be together, why not marry him?"
Ruan: "He never said he liked me."
Hu Wenzhi: "Some things don't have to be said out loud."
Ruan: "I just wanted him to say a word, but he refused to say a word. He was too confident and thought I would definitely marry him. Who knew I married his brother.
"On the day I got married, he asked me to go with him...I...I didn't agree.
"Why wait until you lose it to fight for it? In that case, I won't let him get it."
Hu Wenzhi: "Do you think you will win this way?"
Ruan: "I don't know whether I won, but he will definitely lose."
Before Hu Wenzhi left that day, Mrs. Ruan gave Hu Wenzhi a jar of wine and a souvenir.