During the bleak autumn season, leaves are falling all over Yunyang City.
Several teachers in the academy were going to take their students on an autumn outing. They were marching through the Diligent Learning Hall and heading out of the academy gate. A little boy in red clothes was holding a few books. He walked through the corridor and the hanging flower gate and came to the courtyard planted with locust trees. The boy handed the book to the teacher who was leaning on the rattan chair. When he opened it, he saw a few volumes of sword manuals. He remembered something and became curious. Suddenly he asked, "I heard that the Sword Saint and you are close friends?"
I couldn't help but feel annoyed after blurting it out. Even though the gentleman was gentle and generous, I shouldn't have pried into such matters.
But Li Tugen didn't feel offended.
"We can't be called close friends," he said, drinking tea under the locust tree, his eyes indifferent, "we just know each other for a long time."
The boy didn't dare to ask any more questions, and bowed and left. Then he was the only one left in the empty courtyard, and the cold west wind blew up the fallen leaves. Li Tugen never thought that he needed any close friends. He thought that Wei Jingfeng was probably the same. He saw the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the white temples in the fluctuations of the tea soup, and thought that he was really old.
But what about Wei Jingfeng? Wei Jingfeng will never grow old. He is always young, always full of passion and vigor. He has an unrestrained temperament, unparalleled swordsmanship, and always sees injustice. There is no one else like him in the world.
It can be seen that aging has nothing to do with appearance or age. When you get old, you will miss the past. Speaking of this, I really miss Wei Jingfeng.
At that time, they were still young, and the school did not have a library. It was just a small private school that forced its way in. The sword master had no eaves to step on, so he had to stand on the gray tiles of the courtyard wall and said condescendingly, "Li Tugen, a group of people want to kill me."
He was dusty, his hair was disheveled, and his cuffs were stained with coagulated black blood. He looked miserable, but his eyes were as bright as ever. It was strange that he did not go to his master for help when his life was in danger, but instead went to Zhonglu and came to Lanyuan Private School.
Li Tugen was standing in front of the window writing. He frowned when he heard what happened, "There's no one like you. We haven't seen each other for three years, and as soon as we meet you ask me to kill someone?" Although he said so, he didn't stop. He put the books back on the shelf, poured water to wash the brush, and walked out the door with the formation plate.
Wei Jingfeng raised his eyebrows, "Then should I pick a good day to hand in the visiting card, sit down for a cup of tea, and then ask you to go kill someone?"
As they were talking, they had already left the yard.
"Where are those people?"
"Tonight we will be a hundred miles outside Yunyang City."
"You are late. If you had arrived yesterday, I would have been able to set up the formation in Yunling."
“…”
There are many kinds of friends in this world. There is one kind who is inseparable from you in normal times, but will abandon you in times of crisis; there is also the kind who will not contact you when nothing happens, but will go to you when you are in big trouble. No matter he is picking willows in Zhangtai or reading by lamplight at night, I will throw down my wine glass and books and follow you through mountains of swords and seas of fire.
After going through all the hardships, old friends are still there, and on stranger roads, we draw swords to share the grudges and gratitude.
Unfortunately, the Sword Master and the Dean were not so heroic and chivalrous. When they were young, they fought together and advanced and retreated together, but it was just a habit, a habit formed since childhood. Both of them thought it was just because they were not strong enough when they were young.
When there was no sword master in the world and no teacher in Yunyang City, there was a village called Xihe Village in the easternmost part of Donglu - because there was a river to the west of the village. Women drew water from the upper reaches, and children played water fights downstream like monkeys. The whole village had no concept of education, and the children were raised like poultry.
Only two children did not play water fights, and never played with others. The older one was called Li Tugen, who stayed in the house reading every day. His mother thought he was wasting lamp oil and drove him out of the house, so he ran to the Wei family next door to read. The younger one was called Wei Jingfeng, born in the only literate family in the village, so he had a good and elegant name. The "Jingfeng" in "笔落惊风雨" reads like a book. Unfortunately, he never read. When he was six years old, he passed by a blacksmith shop and was determined to be an apprentice.
The two were only three months apart in age, but they both had something strange going on. Other children disliked them, and their family members didn't bother to pay attention to them. Logically, they should have sympathized with each other, but they just couldn't get along.
Neighbors were everywhere, especially Li Tugen, who often went to the Wei family to borrow books.
Wei Jingfeng was sitting in the yard sharpening a wooden sword, looking at him askance, "A scholar is good for nothing."
Li Tugen thought, "A gentleman does not argue with a barking dog...but I still want to hit him, what should I do!"
The only thing they have in common is their curiosity about the outside world. Behind the village are mountains with many rare treasures and ferocious beasts, and no one dares to go up there on weekdays. Wei Jingfeng sneaked up there and met Li Tugen, who was looking at flowers and plants and staring at the map in a daze.
I thought, what's so good about flowers and plants? This person must be sick.
At first, they hated each other, but later they met again in the mountains and were chased by wild boars together, and then they developed a superficial friendship. It was so superficial that when they were escaping, they tried to help each other, but when they couldn't help each other, they turned around and ran away.
The locust trees in the village are older than the village itself. They block out the sun in summer and shed leaves in autumn. The days pass by without knowing the years. There is no difference between five years and ten years. When they were sixteen years old, in addition to working in the fields, Li Tugen's life ideal was to be a private school teacher, while Wei Jingfeng had been staying in the blacksmith shop all day.
They all thought that the future was the sweat in the fields, the lamp oil added at night, and the heat from the forge.
When a life-changing event happens, no one knows how this day is different from the thousands of ordinary days before. Li Tugen regretted going up the mountain today. According to the moon and stars last night, it shouldn't rain heavily now. The ground outside was shaking, as if the cave would collapse in the next moment.
Then a dark shadow ran out from the cave entrance, and a flash of lightning illuminated the man's face. It was Wei Jingfeng.
Wei Jingfeng also saw him. There was thunder and lightning, and neither of them spoke.
The ground shook violently, and the stone chips in the cave rustled. After a loud noise, the light suddenly dimmed. Wei Jingfeng groaned and fell to the ground. Li Tugen took a look and found that the cave entrance was blocked by fallen rocks. He smelled a faint smell of blood and thought that the boy could sit so quietly now, most likely because he was injured. It might be caused by broken stones and branches, or by birds and beasts.
The sound of thunder and heavy rain could be heard faintly through the boulders, but the clearest sound was the breathing of the two people.
At this moment, there was nothing to do except wait. After an unknown amount of time, the wind, rain and earthquake gradually subsided. Li Tugen was dizzy and could no longer keep counting. Wei Jingfeng stood up by holding onto the stone wall. They pushed the boulder at the same time, but the cave entrance was stuck tightly. The two of them pushed like a drop in the ocean, like an ant trying to shake a tree, until they were exhausted, hungry and cold.
"If this continues, we will all die."
"If you keep struggling, you'll die faster."
Wei Jingfeng suddenly asked, "What would you do if I died first?"
This was their first formal conversation since they had known each other since the womb.
Li Tugen rolled his eyes and said, "Bury you."
Wei Jingfeng thought for a moment and said, "You should just eat me. Don't waste it."
Li Tugen was stunned for a moment, "That makes sense. If I die first, you will eat me. If I live a few more days, maybe your parents can come and bring people to save me."
I don't know whether they are too young to know anything or they are born different from ordinary people, but they have an incomprehensible view of life and death. Having said this, there is nothing more to say.
On the third day after the earthquake and rainstorm, a ray of morning light shone through the cracks of the cave entrance. The situation had not improved at all. Li Tugen guessed that something might have happened in the village. Although they were not popular, it was not that no one came to look for them. On the fourth day, even the flowers and plants in the cave were eaten up. There was no shortage of water, but they were dizzy and dizzy from hunger. On the sixth day, Li Tugen touched the last grass from the stone wall. It was green with purple, and the roots on the lower body were surprisingly long. He took it and shared it with Wei Jingfeng.
“Why were the leaves left for me?”
“The roots are generally not poisonous.”
Wei Jingfeng said angrily, "Are you trying to poison me to eat meat?"
Li Tugen looked at him with a 'are you stupid' expression, "If you were poisoned to death, your meat would also be poisonous."
Then they shared the "Bi Liu Guang" like cows chewing a peony.
It really was "green flowing light", not as earth-shattering and luxuriant as countless practitioners imagined. It just grew quietly in an ordinary cave, and even though it contained the energy of the galaxy and the universe, there was not a trace of spiritual energy flowing out of it.
As soon as the medicine entered his stomach, Li Tugen felt a cold current rushing up from his mouth and stomach to his limbs, and the pain was so severe that he felt like he was going to explode. From the corner of his eye, he saw Wei Jingfeng was also in so much pain that his eyes were about to burst, but he didn't even have the strength to shout out, and could only whimper from his throat.
He thought desperately, "What a mistake. It turns out that both the leaves and the roots are poisonous."
Many years later, Li Tugen read all the classics and was glad that he shared the food with others, otherwise the meridians that had never been drawn into the body would burst due to the forced infusion of the essence of spiritual energy accumulated over millions of years. But at this moment, they didn't understand why. After the long pain ended, things became extremely simple. Wei Jingfeng's wounds healed as before, and he pushed the boulder away with one hand and walked out.
The long-lost sunlight fell all over him. The mountains and fields were in a mess, with trees broken and rocks blocking the way. The heavy rain had damaged most of the locust trees, but the houses and fields in the village were not seriously damaged, and the roosters and dogs were still barking as usual.
But there was no one.
Suddenly Wei Jingfeng raised his head and shouted, "Who are you?"
An old man in a dark green Taoist robe stood on the tree, sizing them up with sharp eyes, which made people feel extremely uncomfortable.
"A group of demon cultivators came here to search for rare treasures. I heard the news and rushed here to inform them in advance. Now the demon cultivators have returned without success. I'm afraid they will come again in the future."
Li Tugen asked, "So everyone left?"
The old Taoist didn't answer, but his expression said it all.
Wei Jingfeng asked, "May I ask what they are looking for?"
"Bi Liuguang, commonly known as 'Chengxian Grass'. There is someone in Qiong Palace who is good at divination, and he predicted that it is right here."
The old Taoist frowned slightly, as if he felt that he had said too much. After hearing this, the two were a little stunned, but they did not have the ecstasy of accidentally eating a rare treasure, nor the grief of being abandoned by relatives and friends. This made the wandering cultivator look up to them. He did not expect that the country folks also had such a mentality, so he had some thoughts, "You two have taken the immortal grass and entered the world of cultivation. I am afraid you will not live long without anyone to rely on. Would you like to take me as your master?"
If it were someone else, after a series of shocking events happened and they came into contact with traces of another world for the first time, they would probably be ecstatic.
But Wei Jingfeng said, "I don't want to."
Then Li Tugen bowed and said, "Thank you, senior. I don't want to either."
Fortunately, this Taoist was practicing the natural way, and he was indifferent to everything as his life was about to end. He just wanted to cultivate some blessings for his reincarnation, so he didn't force it at this time. He said, "Well, everyone has their own destiny." He left two books and waved his sleeves. One was "An Initial Exploration of Sword Techniques" and the other was "Divinatory Diagrams". They were both the most basic introductory books for cultivation. They were handed over to the two people.
After seeing the man disappear, Li Tugen turned around and asked, "Why don't you want to become my disciple?"
He felt that a reckless man like Wei Jingfeng who liked to wield spears and swords should be happy to accept Lin Xia's rebirth.
"Why did you do that?"
Li Tugen said, "This happened so strangely and suddenly, I don't trust others, I'm afraid it's a scam. You too?"
I didn't think you had any brains.
Wei Jingfeng said, "No, it's just that he said he wanted to take in a disciple, and he said it as if it was alms, and I was unhappy."
“…”
Li Tugen sincerely felt that there was no point in entering the world of cultivation, as something bad would happen to this kid sooner or later.
The two men took out all the savings from their respective families. Wei Jingfeng carried an iron sword and Li Tugen picked up a shoulder pole full of books, and they were ready to go out and see the world.
When he left the village, Li Tugen put down his carrying pole and bowed three times toward the village entrance. Wei Jingfeng sneered and turned away.
The outside world is really huge, with mountains, rivers, people and shops. Each beautiful scenery has its own merits, and each town has its own style. Facing the power that came out of nowhere, Wei Jingfeng actively explored how to use and improve it, while Li Tugen has been trying to control it. Different paths lead to the same destination, but by accident, they both passed the meridian cleansing and marrow removal.
Everything would have been fine if it had gone on like this, but as the world became more open, they still had to make a living by forging iron and copying books, practicing swords and reading books, and practicing cultivation. But the news that they had eaten the "Bi Liuguang" eventually spread.
It was a medical practitioner who first noticed something, and somehow the news reached the ears of the disciples of the Twelve Palaces. As a result, before they could leave the East Continent, troubles came one after another. There were even many rumors that the spiritual energy of the "Bi Liuguang" had merged into the flesh and blood of the two of them, and if they could refine it and take it, they could get 50% to 60% of the medicinal effect. Even if many magic practitioners in the Twelve Palaces did not believe such bizarre claims, they still wanted to see what the difference was between those who ate the legendary immortal grass.
So Wei Jingfeng and Li Tugen began to flee all the way, from the first time they joined forces to kill someone, to being ambushed repeatedly, and then killing others in return. They escaped death many times and made breakthroughs in the battle. They did not dare to seek medical treatment to heal their wounds, and relied on the medicinal properties of "Bi Liuguang" to heal themselves. Finally, they sneaked into a merchant ship crossing the sea and fled to the Central Continent.
When the Sword Saint talked about this extremely bloody experience with Yin Biyue many years later, he just said lightly, "Avoid those who can be predicted, and kill those who can't be predicted together."
Most demon cultivators dared not or were unwilling to leave Donglu. The two of them deliberately hid their tracks, and no one found them after crossing the sea. Li Tugen's handwriting was good, elegant, graceful and elegant. He rented a thatched cottage in Yunyang City to copy books and write letters for others. Several children in the neighborhood who could not afford to go to the academy were sent to him to learn a few words.
Wei Jingfeng got a headache listening to them reciting those "zhihuzheya" every day, so he left with his iron sword on his back.
Li Tugen looked honest and polite, and he collected very little tuition. As his reputation spread, more and more children came to study there. A year later, he bought a small courtyard and opened a private school.
On the day the private school was completed, it was almost the end of the year in Zhonglu, it snowed, and the weather was cold to the bone.
Wei Jingfeng's letter arrived with the first snow, saying that he had become a disciple and was going to practice. If he had no food to eat while teaching in Yunyang City, he could come to Cangya Mountain to find him. Cangya Mountain seemed to be in the West Land, quite far away. Li Tugen thought about it and named the private school Lanyuan.
Teaching is the most stable profession. Being a swordsman who fights and kills all the time will easily lead to starvation.
Li Tugen likes reading and calculating. Reading does not require any threshold, only hard work and concentration. As time goes by, he has read all the books that can be found in the entire East Continent.
Long-term calculations require a strong spiritual consciousness to support them, so he began to practice deliberately. But he never indulged in the improvement of his own strength. In his view, practice is just an auxiliary tool for calculation. With scholars with profound cultivation, the reputation of Lanyuan Private School became more and more famous. Many students came here to study across the ocean, and everyone began to call him "Mr."
Only in Wei Jingfeng's letter did he still call him 'Li Tugen'.
The private school was expanded into an academy, which was magnificent and looked like a city within a city. He planted acacia trees in his backyard.
With the help of magic, the tree grew into lush branches and leaves in just a few months.
Later, he had more students and gradually became a powerful force. A big family in the Central Continent threatened and bribed him, trying to make him submit. After he clearly refused, the powerful men of the big family came to the school in the dark. That night, Wei Jingfeng stood on the eaves of the library with a sword in hand, and did not move all night. At dawn, the powerful enemy in the dark quietly retreated.
Compared to this, Wei Jingfeng had more troubles. When he encountered something he couldn't handle, he would ask Li Tugen to go with him. As their realm and status became higher and higher, the people and things they couldn't handle became fewer and fewer, so they began to not contact each other for many years. Wei Jingfeng was still alone with his sword, but the dean seemed to have many friends. Practitioners valued the mysteries of fate, and often important people came to ask him to tell a fortune.
Later, they also became important figures, important figures that people in the world dared not to criticize.
Until one day, Li Tugen was in high spirits and went to Ming Lake for a night drink. He looked up at the stars and fell into a mysterious state of enlightenment. That night, he saw the world beyond the sky.
He invited Wei Jingfeng to come to Yunyang City for a drink. On a cold night with heavy snow and wind, with the fire burning and the strong wine flowing through his stomach, he pointed out the two stars to him.
"One of the two lives will survive, you see."
Wei Jingfeng glanced at it and said nothing.
When the restaurant was about to close and the wine was finished, the Sword Master slammed the table and cursed, "Don't worry about this! The scholar is useless!"
After cursing, he went downstairs without paying for the wine. Li Tugen knew that the other party didn't want him to intervene, because it would cost a lot to spy on the way of heaven to this extent. Besides, Wei Jingfeng didn't believe in fate.
He stood upstairs, leaning against the railing to sober up. The cold air on a snowy day made him sober. The heavy snow fell on his shoulders and did not melt for a long time. Looking down from above, he saw Wei Jingfeng picking up a child outside the school gate. He was about six or seven years old, so thin that only bones were left. He took a closer look and found that he was a good child.
Because of the final choice, the greatest disaster of their lives came as expected. Wei Jingfeng went to the Sword Tomb alone, and he was trapped in Yunyang City to resist the demon army. He could roughly guess the situation of the Sword Tomb. If Wei Jingfeng wanted to draw out the sword energy there, he would have to bear the consequences of thousands of swords. And he was seriously injured and had to force out his blood to activate the formation, so he was not prepared to live.
It doesn't matter. He has seen a lot in this life and learned a lot about the best furnaces and cauldrons. Although he has never been happy with his grudges, he has no regrets in his life. But he finally survived. The medicinal properties of Bi Liuguang were much stronger than he thought. This time, after saving his life, it completely disappeared. As for Wuwang saying that he could no longer practice and only had a long life left, he didn't care. He still read and wrote, just like a hundred years ago.
Another year has passed with the bleak autumn wind.
The tea was already cold, and the book in his hand was unread. After recalling all this, the old gentleman felt that Wei Jingfeng was different from him. Although they both had no friends, at least Wei Jingfeng had an apprentice. When many people thought he would not come back, they heard that Jun Yu was still waiting.
He looked at the white walls and gray tiles, and felt a little dazed for a moment, as if the man would suddenly appear on the top of the wall and call his name condescendingly.
"Li Tugen."
Someone really called his name, and the voice was unfamiliar. There was no one on the wall, nor on the eaves of the library.
A man walked in from the back door of the school, his steps were unsteady and his breath was exposed. He stood up in surprise, recognized the person at a glance, and was stunned for a long time.
After figuring it out, he felt amused in his heart, but raised his eyebrows slightly, pretending to be puzzled, "How did you become like this?" Without waiting for the other party to answer, he imitated that person's usual tone, "Yes, beauty is just skin and bones, you will never care about such things..."
The Sword Master had already accepted the reality along the way, and now he just said coldly, "I still have at least half of my cultivation left, what do you have left?"
The dean was not angry, "I still have one life left..." Then he frowned and guessed, "The green light reshaped your bones and body, but it is not enough to support you to return to your original appearance?"
“…”
"It can only be reshaped to be a little weaker. Can it grow again? Or is it fixed?"
Wei Jingfeng really wanted to draw his sword, but he never attacked ordinary people who had no cultivation.
At this time, they could only endure it, so that the two of them bickered like ordinary people in the market, "What nonsense! Eighteen years later, I will be a hero again!"
If he was still a young swordsman, he would be enough to make the dean afraid to say anything when he got angry. But now he looked like a cute child, and his voice was still a bit childish.
So the dean just laughed and said, "Hey, don't be angry. Come, uncle will hold you."
Wei Jingfeng turned around and left, "I'm going to take a nap. You write a letter and ask someone to pick me up."
He couldn't really draw his sword and kill Li Tugen, so what was the point of saying more? He didn't mention who the letter was addressed to or who should receive it. He turned and walked into the wing room, closing the door with a bang.
The dean understood what he meant, and smiled even more happily. He wrote the letter in just a few strokes. He summoned the deputy dean and sent it to Xihua Peak, specifying that the letter was addressed to Jun Yu.
Let the people in Cangya Mountain worry about what happens next.
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