192. Carving a Boat to Look for a Sword
Guangji Temple outside Luocheng.
Late at midnight, there was a noise coming from the "Jiexu Hall" in the temple. A piece of wooden floor was pushed open. She Dengke was the first to stick his head out of the tunnel and was startled.
Candles were lit in the Jiexu Hall, and two monks who were guarding the temple were meditating in front of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Hearing the noise, the two monks opened their eyes and looked, then closed their eyes again, as if everything was empty and they didn't take She Dengke seriously at all.
She Dengke was a little frightened when he saw the two monks. After they closed their eyes, he hurriedly said to the people in the tunnel, "Come up quickly."
The prince, Liang Maoer carried Liang Gouer on his back, and She Dengke pulled Chunhua, and they crawled out of the tunnel together.
She Dengke put the floor back in place, turned around and led a few people past the temple guards without even looking at them.
The prince followed at the end and suddenly asked in a depressed tone, "How do we leave Ning Dynasty?"
She Dengke explained: "By sea route."
The prince sighed softly: "Oh, the sea..."
She Dengke asked curiously, "Prince, what's wrong?"
The prince lowered his head and said, "We talked about it before in the clinic, that we would go to see the sea together."
She Dengke and Liang Mao'er were both stunned. That day, Old Man Yao had mocked them, saying that as long as they were exiled, they could go to see the sea together. Although their current situation was not exile, it was not much better than exile.
Old man Yao’s words came true.
There were only two people missing from the crowd: Chen Ji and Bai Li.
They seem to have been left on this land forever, spring and summer, autumn and winter.
The prince asked in a low voice: "How can we save Baili? She is still in the hands of the eunuchs."
She Dengke said in embarrassment: "Sir, I'm afraid we can't save him. Look at Brother Gou'er, he's already like this..."
The prince thought for a moment and said, "I still have a few friends."
She Dengke shook his head: "Chen Ji said that as soon as the incident happened in the palace, your friends all hid themselves."
The prince hummed: "Then how do we go out to sea?"
As they walked, She Dengke said, "Miss Zhang Er has instructed us to find a small boat docked outside Guangji Temple. We'll go to Jinling first, then transfer to another boat to go to Zhenjiang, Jingjiang, and Nantong. We'll sail from Qidong and take a detour to the northern Jing Dynasty by sea, disembarking in Lushun."
The prince was in a low mood and asked casually, "Is this road feasible?"
She Dengke explained, "Miss Zhang Er said that the Xu family has always used this sea route to trade with the Jing Dynasty. You will definitely be able to make it. When you reach the Qidong dock, there will be soldiers from the Zhang family to meet you."
In front of Guangji Temple, the prince suddenly stopped, snow falling heavily on him: "We? You...you're not going?"
She Dengke hesitated for a long time before finally mustering up the courage: "Prince, I'm sorry, it's too dangerous to follow you. I've never even left Luocheng since I was a child. Now that I'm asked to go to Jing Dynasty, I'm worried about what will happen after I go there..."
The prince asked softly, "What if the eunuchs come after you?"
She Dengke lowered his head and looked at his toes. "The eunuchs probably don't know I was involved in the prison break. At most, they're arresting Chunhua, but she's not an important figure. She goes to the farm every day without makeup, so the eunuchs won't recognize her. I've discussed it with my family, and tonight I'm going to join my fourth uncle in Mianchi and work in the fields with him."
As he spoke, She Dengke took Chunhua's hand and said, "When this storm has passed, I will use the profit from the cement dividend to buy a few acres of paddy fields, and live a peaceful life with Chunhua."
The prince hummed: "It's good, but I don't know how to repay you."
She Dengke added, "Your Highness, you don't have to thank me. I went to save Chunhua... I'm just the son of a libang family. Unlike you, I can't withstand the storm."
Everyone fell silent.
The prince forced a smile and said, "Since you have discussed it with your family, then go quickly."
She Dengke stepped back out the door: "Then we're leaving. Prince, Brother Cat, Brother Dog, take care."
After saying that, he took Chunhua's hand and walked out of Guangji Temple.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, the prince suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "She Dengke."
However, She Dengke was holding Chunhua's hand. When he heard the prince's voice, he paused and continued walking forward without looking back.
The prince slowly lowered his hand: "...Thank you."
The next moment, he raised the back of his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, looked up at the night sky and sniffed.
Liang Maoer looked at the prince: "Prince, let's go too."
"good
.”
…
…
The remaining three people walked towards the dock.
After leaving the temple, you can see a black-sailed boat docked at the river pier from a distance.
However, there was another person beside the black-sailed boat. Tianma, dressed in white, stood in the snow, looking like a banished immortal. Yet, this godlike figure was the most murderous person in the Secret Service.
The prince turned around subconsciously, intending to return to Guangji Temple for help. However, he saw the gate of Guangji Temple suddenly closed, locking the three of them out.
The prince saw Tianma making some sign language from a distance, but no one could understand it.
Looking at each other from a distance.
The prince suddenly said, "Brother Cat, Brother Dog, please go away. The person they want to kill is me, it has nothing to do with you."
Liang Gou'er was amused. "It's already this late, why are you still running around? Just die. It just so happens that you won't be alone on the road to the underworld. Among the people in the palace and the clinic, you are the only one who can drink a little. Cat, be obedient. Put me down and you can go."
Liang Maoer said stubbornly, "I won't leave."
However, at this moment, a sneer came from the heavy snow behind them: "How touching! If there is no such part as yours in the future, I won't watch it."
The prince turned around suddenly and saw Old Man Yao walking slowly past them in the heavy snow with his hands behind his back and his back hunched.
"Imperial Physician Yao!" The prince was stunned.
Old Man Yao ignored him and just waved to Tianma as he walked away: "Go back, there's nothing for you to do here."
Tianma hesitated for a moment and made a few more gestures.
Old Man Yao responded cheerfully, "He's been playing tricks and telling lies all day long, and he can't control me. An old friend has entrusted me with this, so no one can touch these people. Let's go back to the capital. If the Minister of Internal Affairs asks, just say I took these people away."
Tianma nodded, clasped his hands together in a salute, then turned and strode away.
The prince was stunned.
Old Man Yao walked to the side of the boat and looked back: "Why don't you get on board?"
"Here we come," the three princes hurriedly boarded the boat. Liang Maoer helped Liang Gouer sit down in the black boat, while he rowed the boat.
The sound of splashing water could be heard, and the small black-sailed boat slowly sailed away into the distance.
Old Man Yao stood at the side of the ship and said to the prince behind him without turning his head: "Prince, you haven't forgotten what the prince said to you in the clinic on the day he fell ill, right?"
The prince shook his head: "I haven't forgotten."
Old Man Yao said calmly, "The prince sacrificed his life in exchange for our joining the Jing Dynasty. The road ahead will be difficult. Have you considered this carefully? I am old and a bit soft-hearted. If you really want to regret it, it's not too late to leave now."
The prince shook his head: "I don't regret it, but what about Baili?"
Old Man Yao said casually: "It depends on their luck."
The prince asked hopefully, "Can you tell me a fortune?"
Old Man Yao chuckled, "My disciple doesn't believe in fate. Fortune-telling is useless. Heaven will not accept him. Prince, the journey is long and he may not be able to return. Say goodbye to the prince."
After saying that, the old man turned around and lowered his head to get into the black boat, leaving the prince alone standing on the side of the boat looking at the river.
The prince suddenly burst into tears, knelt on the side of the boat, and kowtowed three times towards the north, bidding farewell to his biological father and his hometown.
The heavy snow fell on the water, making a rustling sound. It turned out that when heaven and earth were silent, the falling snow also had a sound, a dull and profound one.
The prince suddenly picked up the oar and wrote in the water:
The time of youth is long, and we drink wine and walk through the red alleys.
Power is the brick wall and profit is the tile, and friends and guests fill the tent.
When I wake up, I regret that the day is too short, after having a long dream of twenty turns.
Suddenly I realized that most of the people I meet are the same as me, but only two or three of them are sincere.
Alas, I sit alone in a boat listening to the snow, gazing at the distant sky and earth.
The prince wrote the first, and also the last, of his life. No one saw the poem, and it was hidden in the dark river, drifting eastward with the mighty river.
He stood up and walked to the middle of the boat, kneeling before Liang Gou'er and saying, "Please teach me the Liang family sword technique, sir!"
The Prince of Jing, who lived a wealthy and prosperous first half of his life, was full of sword intent.
Liang Gou'er leaned against the black tent and remained silent for a long time. Then he asked dryly, "Why do you want to learn the Liang family swordsmanship?"
The prince whispered, "Follow my father's will and kill the immortal."
"Maybe it will be hard?"
"able?"
"Do you dare to kill someone?"
"dare!"
Liang Gou'er laughed out loud, "Okay, okay, I'll pass on the Liang family sword technique to you. But my Du meridian is severed, so I'm afraid I won't see the day you kill the immortal.
If you can really kill a god one day, please tell him for me, 'You are just a chicken or a dog, nothing more than that, not even as good as my master's little finger.'"
The prince said seriously, "Okay."
Liang Gou'er said with emotion: "Call me Master."
The prince knelt down on the boat and kowtowed nine times. When he looked up again, he said, "Master, it's a pity that there is no wine or tea."
Liang Gou'er smiled, picked up a ladle beside him and threw it to the prince: "The children of the rivers and lakes are always wandering around, and even flowing water is still wine."
The prince turned around and scooped a ladle of water from the river and handed it to him. Liang Gou'er drank a mouthful of the mountain river water and shouted, "It feels so good! You feel much happier than that kid Chen Ji!"
Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "Don't seek death."
Liang Gou'er pursed his lips and said nothing. He didn't know what level Old Man Yao was at, but he was definitely not a simple person to be able to send Tianma away with just a wave of his sleeves.
Old Man Yao pulled out a small wooden box from his bosom and took out a white blood-stained pill from it: "Swallow it, my prince. This Life-Saving Feather Pill can help you cultivate."
The prince was startled: "Shengyu Dan? Why don't you keep it for yourself? Your life span..."
Old Man Yao smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll have no regrets if I can accept a good disciple before I die."
"Chen Ji..."
"His path is more difficult than yours."
…
…
Mao hour.
The snow has stopped and the sky is going to clear up.
Chen Ji rode his horse back to Anxi Street. The Prince Jing's Mansion had been sealed with a white seal. There were messy white papers flying in front of the door, and the wind blew them away, making them flutter.
Arriving at the door of Taiping Medical Clinic, he pushed open the door and said, "Master, I'm back!"
However, the clinic was already empty.
Chen Ji walked in: "Master?"
"Master, where are you?"
“Master…”
Chen Ji stood in the yard and looked around blankly. The small Taiping Medical Clinic was deserted and no one was around anymore... Everyone had left.
He came to the apricot tree and picked off the red cloth strips on the tree one by one.
The princess first wrote: peace, joy, success, and worry-free.
Chen Ji unfolded the words "Master, may you live long and be healthy" written by Liu Quxing, and then the words "Master, may you live forever" written by She Dengke. In his ears, the sounds of laughter and playing under the moon that day seemed to ring again.
In a trance, he seemed to see She Dengke and Liu Quxing chasing each other around the apricot tree again.
But in the blink of an eye, all the old people were gone.
Memories are like this, they only punish those who are nostalgic.
Chen Ji turned around, carried the remaining liquor from the clinic out the door, jumped on his horse, and galloped towards the Drum Tower.
While galloping, he drank and turned his head to look at the sky in the distance.
When they arrived at the Drum Tower, Chen Ji stuffed a silver peanut into the guard soldier's hand and climbed up the wooden steps step by step.
He sat by the railing holding a jar of wine, swaying in the cold wind, as if he would fall down at any time.
Chen Ji looked around drunkenly: "Liu Quxing, what do you want to do in the future?"
Someone in the wind said, "I want to inherit my master's legacy and become the imperial physician!"
Chen Ji laughed heartily: "Okay, from now on you will be the imperial physician of Prince Jing's Mansion!"
He then asked loudly, "Liang Mao'er, what do you want to do in the future?"
Someone else in the wind answered, "I want to buy a few acres of land."
"Okay, I'll send it to you tomorrow!"
Chen Ji asked again: "Sir, what do you want to do in the future?"
"I want to be a great knight! I just realized that reading those scriptures is useless. From now on, I will read whichever page the wind blows. I will tear off the hard-to-read page! Beat the drum!"
Someone in the wind said angrily, "Brother, think carefully. If you hit the drum with your hammer, the soldier guarding the drum tower downstairs will be exiled!"
"Then I won't knock."
The sun is coming out.
Chen Ji looked up and saw a red sun slowly rising at the end of the world. There was no cloud in the sky, and the orange-red light gradually shone on him, who was alone.
Like flowers in the mirror, the moon in the water, and dreams in the world.
In the morning sun, the dark cloud moved lightly along the wooden railing. It crawled into Chen Ji's arms and raised its head. Chen Ji touched its furry head and looked towards the distant horizon.
Wuyun meowed and asked, "Chen Ji, what are you doing here?"
"Looking for a sword on a boat."
…
…
Volume 3, Carving a Boat to Look for the Sword, End.
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