Happy Rain on a Spring Night (7)
Tang Xixu raised his eyebrows and tightened his grip on the sword: "Come again."
"You can't let me go this time."
Xu Ning's eyes were sharp, and his sword attacked Tang Xixu like a silver snake. The young man then lowered his waist and barely avoided the attack.
As Tang Xixu turned over, the sword tip lifted up the water on the river surface and splashed into Xu Ning's eyes. Xu Ning stopped the sword and rubbed his eyes. Hiss, it was a little painful.
The next second, Xu Ning heard the sound of gravel on the shore being hit, "Swish, swish, swish". If Xu Ning had not reacted quickly, the gravel would have hit him.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Ning lost two games in a row.
Tang Xixu showed no mercy and turned around and ran into the forest. There were no stars that night, and the moon was reflected in the water. The Li River reflected the full moon, and the mud was covered with moon frost.
The young man no longer showed mercy and looked at you intently, hoping that you would forgive me. I was only selfish to you this once.
When Xu Ning ran into the woods, he could not see Tang Xixu. The night wind blew through the forest, causing the leaves to slap each other, the branches to sway, and the footprints on the ground disappeared suddenly.
Xu Ning kicked the tree hard and jumped onto the tall tree. Xu Ning looked around at the top, but he didn't see any human figure, perhaps because it was too dark or what.
The woman stayed in the tree for half a quarter of an hour. The view was high and the field of vision was wide, but there was still no one there. She wondered where the person had gone.
Xu Ning frowned and jumped down. Just as she was about to land, a dark shadow flashed by and slapped the woman's slender white neck.
In this competition, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses.
The woman lay in the young man's arms in a daze, "You, what's wrong with you?" Xu Ning didn't finish her words, her eyes turned black and she fainted.
Tang Xixu frowned, and there was a sudden sadness in his eyes.
"Don't blame me. When I capture the imperial city, I will come to pick you up in style."
The nights in Youzhou were very long. The fire of war raged and extinguished and raged again. The houses in the city were in ruins. Tang Xixu knew that this would not be a good thing. If Xu Ning knew about it, she would be extremely disappointed in him.
The young general rode on a fierce horse and strolled through the post-war streets, with compassion hidden in his handsome and indifferent face.
"Wow, wow, wow, mom, it hurts so much, it hurts so much."
The child was about five or six years old. The arrow feathers with the special mark of the Black Armor Army pierced the child's arm, and bean-sized drops of blood kept dripping.
"Don't cry, my dear, don't cry. I will definitely heal you." The child's mother, her hair disheveled, burst into tears, bewildered and at a loss. She held the child tightly to the wound and tried to find a clinic, but there was no clinic anywhere; everything had collapsed.
"There's no doctor nearby. I have some medicated wound medicine. Apply it to the child first. If you trust me, please wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon."
Tang Xixu fell off his horse. The wound on his right chest had not healed yet. The golden medicine was extremely precious. It was given by Qingyi Wuyou to save his life, but now there was not a single pill left.
The woman's eyes were red as she looked at the leader who caused the war. She was afraid at first and wanted to escape, but then she sat down and waited for some unknown reason.
Tang Xixu returned to the camp and lifted Hua Xing onto his horse.
"Hey, City Lord, what are you doing?" Hua Xing was only at the Shangqing realm, and his strength was not as great as Tang Xixu, so he was directly hung on the horse.
After returning to a distant place, Hua Xing felt nauseous.
"We must do our best to cure this child."
Tang Xixu's voice was gentle. If Hua Xing hadn't known him for many years, he would have been deceived by his voice.
The more gentle you are, the more you are telling him that it is not about trying your best but about being sure.
Hua Xing raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and suddenly he missed the days when Xu Ning was around. At least when she was around, the city lord would not be so tough.
"You're finally awake. You've been in a coma for several days."
Qiao Mulan wiped the sweat from the woman's forehead and stood up to light the incense again.
Xu Ning endured the pain in her temples and woke up with difficulty. The sunlight was strong and dazzling.
"I've been asking you for a few days, sister-in-law, where is the war going now?"
Xu Ning went straight to the point without any nonsense.
Qiao Mulan hung the handkerchief up, looked at Xu Ning's anxious eyes, sighed deeply and did not respond for a long time.
"Just live here and let me know if you need anything."
Qiao Mulan turned around to change the water without directly answering Xu Ning's question.
Xu Ning got out of bed and stretched. Warm sunlight shone on the small table, and the gray shadow of the vase was reflected on the desk.
Surrounded by mountains on all sides, it doesn't look like the Buhuo City. Here the mountains are beautiful and there may be spiritual springs and waterfalls flowing through.
"Why is sister-in-law here? Is Ruyanlou closed down?"
Qiao Mulan had expected her to ask these questions. She had known her sister-in-law since two years ago that she was a person who would get to the bottom of things and wanted to know everything, no matter how big or small.
"This is another place that Xu Ge'er found for Cong'er and me, so that Cong'er can grow up safely. Ruyan Tower was originally just a secret post, and now it's useless, so we just closed it down."
"When will Yin Zhao come here?"
Xu Ning realized that she had asked in vain. This question seemed to have no answer. It had infinite answers, it just depended on which one you chose.
"If you're bored, I have some storybooks here. If you're still bored, there are many books in the library. You can check them out yourself."
Qiao Mulan still avoided the question.
Xu Ning guessed that Qiao Mulan would not let her out for the time being, so she could only find a way out by herself.
The exit was hard to find, and Xu Ning had been idle for several days.
She wanted to talk to Qiao Mulan and learn about Yin Zhao's past.
Xu Ning was about to lift his foot to enter the door, but then retracted it.
A pigeon flew in from outside the valley and landed on Qiao Mulan's arm.
She glanced at the secret letter and frowned. She didn't burn it, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of the girl hiding behind the door.
Xu Ning had lunch and strolled along the path.
The books in the library are of all kinds, not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics, there are all kinds of books.
Medical herbs, records of various poisons, evil ways, martial arts secrets, storybooks, and even "The Art of Controlling a Husband". Xu Ning flipped through this book and looked at the descriptive and blushing scenes inside, then closed it shyly.
How come he even has this kind of book? The woman's cheeks flushed slightly.
Xu Ning's heart was pounding. It was already a little hot in early May. The woman gently opened her clothes and opened the window to let in some fresh air.
The light in the library was dim, and there was a copper candlestick scattered next to the small table.
Xu Ning didn't see it, his foot slipped, and he fell onto the stairs with a "hiss", and his forehead hit the corner of the wall, and he saw blood.
Xu Ning stood up by feeling the handrail, pressed his knees, and limped up the stairs.
What's this?
Xu Ning raised her eyes and saw an old book with a yellowed cover and many of the inner pages were damaged.
——The Art of Painted Skin
Xu Ning thought that Painted Skin was like the one in TV dramas, where the skin is peeled off and repainted.
TV dramas are always weird, but what is recorded here is much more serious.
There are two types of skin painting. The first type is retouching, "using special techniques to modify those with poor appearances, and the second type..." The key parts have all been torn out, and the remaining pages are all about introducing how to draw the "face shape" and facial features.
"Painted skin, painted skin, painted as if it were human skin, the best skin painter in the martial arts world is Qing Yi Wu You."
I can’t get out of the place, where can I find Qingyi Wuyou?
Xu Ning would devote 200% of his energy to learning anything that interested him.
The birds were chirping happily, and the little boy, who was as tall as a straw, was holding a kite and jogging. From time to time, he looked back at the height of the kite and laughed.
"Cong'er, run slower, don't fall."
Qiao Mulan passed by the courtyard and gave nervous instructions.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I'm watching here."
Xu Ning originally wanted to help Qiao Mulan with something, but she waved her hand to stop him, saying that it was not much work and that Xu Ning should just rest.
The little boy ran for a while and then stopped. He didn't like the original kite and wanted one with a tiger head.
"Cong'er is amazing! His paintings are so lifelike at such a young age." Xu Ningben was thinking about the painted skin when he suddenly saw little Cong'er sitting on a stone pier fiddling with something.
Children have strong hands-on skills and rich imagination. Xu Ning couldn't help but sigh when he saw it.
"Thank you for your compliment, Auntie. When it comes to painting, my mother is the best."
Cong'er was still concentrating on drawing the tiger's head, and Xu Ning's right eyebrow was slightly raised.
When Xu Ning was still trapped in Buhuo City, Tang Xixu told Xu Ning about his childhood every day. He mentioned that before marrying Mo Tingzhou, Qiao Mulan was the direct disciple of the world's number one painter.
Hua Xing also said that he learned his painting skills from Qiao Mulan.
"Sister Qiao, I heard from Cong'er that you are very good at painting. I'm bored anyway, so I want to learn from you." Xu Ning said shamelessly.
Qiao Mulan used a spatula to stir the vegetables in the pot, shoveled them into the plate, wiped her hands and said, "Do you really want to learn?"
Qiao Mulan looked serious, and Xu Ning was frightened. However, when she thought of the contents of the letter she had read that day, she was still very determined: "I want to, and I must learn. This is the best solution I can think of right now."
Qiao Mulan showed that letter to Xu Ning on purpose. If one were to ask why, it was probably because Xu Ning was the only person in the world that Xu Ge'er could listen to.
Qiao Mulan frowned, glanced at Mo Xinglan who was still chasing the kite, and finally said in a deep voice: "Okay. I'll teach you."
The two of them found some good animal skins. There is a difference between painting on paper and painting on skins.
The war on the front was tense, and Xu Ning, a man without any artistic talent, was forced to develop the ability to learn quickly. In just a few days, Xu Ning mastered it.
She tried to draw the faces of several people, and when she put the skins on their faces, they looked about 70% like them.
"It still won't work. It's easy to be found out this way." Xu Ning pasted a "face" of a young man. Qiao Mulan looked at the man in the mirror. The man looked similar in appearance but not in spirit.
Qiao Mulan stretched Xu Ning's "eyebrows" with her fingers: "Look a little colder, and lower the corners of your eyes."
Xu Ning recalled carefully and tried his best to imitate.
"What about the voice? My voice is very different from a man's."
"You don't need to speak then. Miss Xu, it is our Mo family who has wronged you." Qiao Mulan suddenly squatted down and bowed to Xu Ning.
Qiao Mulan knew that this was very selfish, but what else could she do? She couldn't just watch Tang Xixu go to his death, otherwise, when he got there, Qiao Mulan would have no face to face Mo Tingzhou.
She still vaguely remembered that the night before Mo Tingzhou died on the battlefield, he was still telling Qiao Mulan, "Xu Ge'er can't die. He was originally clean, and he should live a clean life for the rest of his life, without worries."
The situation is urgent now and there is no other way, so Qiao Mulan resorted to this last resort.
…
After the rain, the sky cleared up, but there was still moisture on the plaque of Pei Mansion, and raindrops dripped onto the stone bricks along the green tiles.
Looking at his eldest grandson who had not returned home for many years, the elderly man threw the white jade teacup heavily to the ground.
"Asshole!"
"I always thought you were a sensible child, and I didn't need to worry about anything you did. Now it seems you're even worse than your unreliable brother."
Perhaps because he was at home, the old man took off his official hat and put on casual clothes.
The silk used for the clothes was not precious or rare, it was just the common material worn by ordinary officials and their families.
There were occasionally one or two black hairs among his white hair. His face looked haggard, with big bags under his eyes and a few black spots embedded in the hollows of his cheeks.
His eyes were filled with vicissitudes and helplessness.
Pei Yuanchi knelt on the ground with a frown on his face. There was no servant in the room. The servant who was sweeping outside the door heard the noise inside the room and his hand holding the broom trembled.
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