Chapter 1: Autumn War
It is already late autumn.
It is even colder in late autumn. It rained a few days ago, and the cold is getting worse.
At the northwest end of Xiutu, there is a small wilderness town, Mianyuan.
It is so small that it is inconspicuous, as big as the tip of a needle.
There are less than 500 households in the town, with three decent streets and the rest are small paths trampled by cattle and horses, without even stones. When walking on such roads, you must be careful of mud and potholes on rainy days. Many drunks bury their faces in the mud and water, and when they wake up in the daytime, only their cold bodies are left.
In late autumn, there are fewer people talking. In summer, there are still birds singing, but in autumn and winter, there is only desolation.
Xiutu is not really a good place, and most people on the run think so. It is far away from the capital Chang'an, and bandits often linger here.
However, thirty years ago, the town also had its glory days. A world-famous general was born here. When Ashern rebelled, he led a thousand cavalrymen to pursue and kill the rebels. In just half a month, he returned to Chang'an with the heads of the rebels and presented them to His Majesty.
Ten years ago, it was rumored that Mianyuan was the base for the Xiu Tu Green Forest martial arts conference, and countless martial arts masters came and went, either making friends or enemies in Xiu Tu.
Anyone who comes to Mianyuan, no matter if he is a famous hero or a notorious thief, knows about Yingmen Escort Agency. If it were just an escort agency, it would not be so famous.
There are five inns in Mianyuan, one of which is called Huiying Inn.
During the day, the few guests in the inn laughed and talked loudly. At night, a single lamp was lit at the door of the inn, and the daytime guests rarely came downstairs to chat and laugh.
Heartbroken people are far away from home. There are always some people with blood on their hands. There are honest figures, and there are also those who are afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night. It is better to go to bed early than to wait for the wronged ghosts to come and take their lives under the lonely lamp.
There is only one proprietress in Huiying Inn. She is not ugly, but there is a long scar on her face. Her boss has gone to Central Plains to make purchases in the past two years, and she always sits by the window waiting day and night.
When it rains in late autumn, there is no sunshine here.
This is the best. Too many people in Mianyuan can only live like insects in darkness and mud. The moment they see light and heat, their souls will fly away.
In this late autumn, when the autumn was the loneliest and Huiying Inn was the least crowded, a pregnant guest came.
There was a large knife on her back. The woman was short and pregnant, so the knife looked heavy on her back. She entered the inn without taking it off. There was a small bundle tied next to the knife.
A girl who would not stand out in a crowd, in her early twenties, less than twenty-five, with calluses on her palms and a murderous aura. It was obvious that she was a veteran in the world, and she had taken several lives to become so murderous.
During one meal, she suffered from severe morning sickness and vomited three or four times. She looked very haggard and kept bending down to find a spittoon.
At first glance, he seems to be a very ordinary person.
The proprietress of Huiying Inn looked at her carefully and felt that she was noble. She was elegant and polite in everything she did, no matter what she ate or drank. She didn't seem like an ordinary rough person.
The proprietress said, "The dew wine in late autumn is the most delicious, but it's a pity that the girl can't drink it."
She heard it but didn't respond.
She hadn't moved since she entered the inn.
The table she sat at was missing a corner and looked quite shabby. There was a plate of pickles, a plate of roasted meat, and a pot of tea. She only ate a few bites of the pickles and left the meat untouched.
It was cold, and she finished the pot of tea. She had been sitting there until dusk.
The proprietress was very curious about why a pregnant woman came to this remote place to eat.
But she could hold it in. Why bother asking questions without answers? There were so many people she interacted with, each with their own unspeakable secrets, so why bother questioning her?
Just don’t owe money and dine away.
Half an hour later, it was completely dark.
It started out as a light rain, but then it got heavier.
Amid the sound of rain, the proprietress keenly noticed the vibration of the ground.
There are a dozen horses coming this way.
For some reason, the proprietress's intuition told her that the uninvited guest was coming for her.
The horse's hooves splashed mud and water.
Every household closed their doors tightly, but some small-time gangsters secretly opened a small window to peek into Huiying Inn.
The neighing of tall horses shattered the tranquility of the night. The leading man wore a bamboo hat, the edges of which were dripping with rain. The scarlet flying eagle fish bag at his waist had turned a deep red from the rain.
The proprietress looked back and saw that the woman was still drinking tea calmly. This was her second pot.
It seemed as if he had expected this situation.
Her complexion looked better, and the hot steam from the tea made her face red.
Halfway through the second pot of tea, she stood up and said, "I know Huiyingmen doesn't want to admit guests who cause trouble."
Huiyingmen is not well-known in the underworld, not even second-rate, so it's amazing that she knows the rules here.
Going out at this time would be seeking death, but the proprietress had no responsibility to protect her. "One tael of silver, tea and meals for the girl," she said.
She took out five taels of gold.
The proprietress couldn't help but say, "Too much."
The girl smiled sweetly and said, "What does a person who won't live long need so much gold and silver for?"
The proprietress was silent.
"After I die, please collect my body, wrap it in a straw mat, and bury it outside the town."
She said it calmly, but the proprietress felt a little sad. She thought that she was living a good life, but she was going out to kill people and rob, hiding from people. It was really stupid.
"Yeah," she agreed.
"Thank you very much."
"What's your name, girl? If you are unfortunate enough to escape death, I will erect a tombstone for you. Five ounces of gold will be enough."
She drew the broadsword behind her and said, "Bright Moon." A thought struck her, and she added, "Please engrave my child's name on my tombstone. I'm really not a good mother. I can't let her see the light of day."
The proprietress sighed, "What are you carving?"
"Bright."
“Nice name.”
"His father gave it to him, saying he hoped he would become a person who is pure and detached from the mundane world."
She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to tell her last words to such a stranger.
After a moment, he said, "I was originally a killer. I killed too many people. The only time I showed mercy was when I stole something for someone. Didn't I get into trouble? How can a killer become a pickpocket? Haha ...
In just a few words, she revealed all the sad memories of her life.
From then on, the beauty was buried in the earth, and there was no such person as Jiaoyue in this world anymore. Right and wrong, success and failure, all disappeared in one night.
Can a rusty big knife still drink blood? She wanted to ask her.
The young man asked, "Madam, do you want to save me?"
"He is not our relative, nor is he our customer. He has brought trouble upon himself for no reason." She held the gold, which was cold.
In the past, when she saw the hustle and bustle outside the Huiying Inn, she would open the window and watch from the second floor. Not only would she watch, she would also pick up a plate of sunflower seeds and eat them while watching the excitement. It was very comfortable. But today, she ordered the door to be closed.
It was an unusual night, and the rain continued on and off for half the night.
The sound of weapons clashing was particularly harsh in the rain. The cold blades, the neighing of horses, the chilly rain, and the bleak autumn were really unbearable.
It's still a while before dawn.
The cock crowed for the first time.
The night has not yet ended.
It had been a long time since she had seen so many corpses, and the landlady couldn't help but take a second look. The rain washed over her, and the smell of blood mixed with the smell of muddy water. On such a cold night, even under her umbrella, she couldn't help but shiver.
As expected, the woman's bag was snatched away. The blade of the big knife was broken, like the corn the old man had chewed.
It's hard for her to wield such a knife.
The rain washed away the poor woman's disguise.
The proprietress couldn't bear it, so she pushed aside the horse's broken head and legs, held up her face, and wiped the dirt off her face with a handkerchief.
Under the lantern, there is a face that is extremely beautiful.
"Oh, what a pity."
Her face was so dazzling that the proprietress didn't even notice her belly.
The boy holding the lantern pointed at the body and asked in surprise, "Is her stomach moving?"
She rubbed five ounces of gold in her palm. But she wasn't rubbing walnuts, and the gold was cooler than the walnuts, so she warmed it up.
She suddenly smiled and said, "Let's give it a try. Open her belly and see if the child can survive."
The child who was crying loudly was a girl with thick eyebrows and big eyes.
After just one look, the proprietress was stunned, "She is so beautiful."
The boy came closer and didn't think the girl was particularly outstanding, except that her eyebrows and eyes were slightly thicker than those of the other children.
"The shopkeeper wants to adopt her?"
She nodded, ignoring the blood, and pressed the child's face against her neck. "You and Master never make a loss in business. Even Master says you're a shrewd businessman. Now this child's mother has only given you five ounces of gold. Is that enough to raise her until she gets married?"
He turned his head and saw the proprietress staring at the baby with a thoughtful look on her face. He couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"What day is today?" "October 16th."
The proprietress's eyes flashed with surprise and a strange look. She lowered her head and coaxed the child, "It's just right, it's a good day."
The young man was puzzled. "It's not a festival, so what good day is it?"
"Just wait and see, this child will definitely be a big shot in the future."
"How can a girl like her become a big shot?" the young man thought to himself.
Later, the waiter told Jiaoran that it was still dark when she was born. The only room that had two lights was the room where she was born.
When the sky was just beginning to brighten, but it was not yet fully lighted, the entire inn was lit with eternal lamps, which burned for three whole days, causing the guests to wonder whether the owner of Huiying Inn had returned so that the proprietress would no longer have to guard the empty rooms.
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