Legend of the Demon Emperor of Kyushu

"Old man, this pair of armor is not bad. I think it fits well. How about a price?"

"I have a good eye, but not everyone can inquire about our family's things casually."

"Do I look like a poor boy? Alas, I really had no money in the early years, and I have a lot of poor family habits. It seems that I can't get rid of it. But old man, don't be afraid. The poor boy in the past is also lucky to earn some money now." Yin, I dare not snatch you empty-handed."

"Hmph, even if you have money, you may not be able to afford it."

"Oh?"

"This is the top grade, what kind of person you have to pay for it."

"Interesting. Dare I ask the old man, what price should I pay?"

"My country Ju, ten years of peace."

The young man in front of the armor raised his head. Even when he heard such astonishing words, his eyes were indifferent, and the corner of his mouth was still smiling.

"It's a good price, I bought it."

Since that day, there have been rumors in the city that the newly appointed general in Erwei bullied the lonely old man with his power, and robbed someone's shop of a pair of armor without giving him any money.

-

Floating sky and water are far away, rain clouds buried mountains.

The gloomy weather has been going on for several days, with a light snow in the middle, like the mood of the people in the city, being reflected in the sky.The hopeful old man said, looking at the cloud towers stacked up today, it is going to rain heavily.

"Little Ye Zi, tell me again, how did General Lian fight his last battle?"

"Why do you ask this again? The general let the big snake swallow it, cut it up and came out, gave it to us as the queen, and then disappeared." Ye Ziqi said impatiently, while staring at the iron in his hand without blinking. piece.

In the past two days, the old blacksmith taught him a new skill, using a stylus to carve patterns on the nail plate, which can form many kinds of buff effects.

It's just that you must be meticulous when doing this work, but the old blacksmith has started to like to chat with him in these two days, and he has learned about his military career.If it wasn't for the imminent battle, Ye Ziqi would have wondered if the old man wanted to take in an apprentice to support him in retirement.

"Oh—" the old blacksmith gave a long answer, and his hands began to move crookedly.Seeing this, Ye Ziqi was curious, finished his work, and leaned over to have a look, ho!This old man draws snakes on the iron sheet!
"What does this pattern mean?"

"Suppress snake poison, rely on this piece of armor to protect the poison from attacking the heart."

Ye Ziqi smiled: "Just the big snake, the horse thief, if I really want to meet it, it doesn't matter whether it is poisonous or not, it will swallow me in one bite. Hurry up and change it to a big bell, it's better than this one!"

As Ye Ziqi spoke, he wanted to grab the hand, but the old blacksmith stopped, and with a bow of his waist, he knocked him away, and stubbornly carved the snake again.Ye Ziqi had no choice but to grab a few more pieces of iron and engrave a big clock. This was to enhance the anti-shock effect. He thought that if the enemy's hands were numb, if he was hit by a knife, he could quickly fight back and kill a few more.

"Grandpa, don't keep asking me, and tell me about you?" Ye Ziqi engraved the clock intently, but suddenly asked.

"The old man has nothing to say."

"You live so old and are still so energetic, don't you have some hope in your heart?"

"...Hope? The old man's hope is to make a piece of armor that is not broken. Someone bought a piece of armor from the old man before, and the price was too high. The old man has to pay for the good one."

"Hey, all the shops on this street have been closed long ago according to your honest business—who is that man?"

The old blacksmith didn't answer, and the two of them carved patterns quietly, with clouds and leaves flowing outside the window.

"As for people, it's best to be spoiled by many people when you were a child, but you just don't know what is good, thinking that everything should be there."

The old blacksmith suddenly began to talk about the truth, as if the old man had lost his mind.

"Later, when I grew up, I became even more arrogant, thinking that I was the only one who was different, and that this small family couldn't contain me anymore. If I let others coax me, I would learn how to go outside like others. One year, two years, if I don't come back, ten years , 20 years, if I haven’t come back, I think that I have climbed to a new level, and I can establish a foothold.”

"However, except for the folks in your hometown, even if people outside coax you, no one is really nice to you, and no one really loves you. You think that you should light a fire by yourself in this life, but they only treat you as a firewood!"

"When you figure it out, it's too late, only a wisp of white on your head and a handful of ashes on your hands. You know it's time to go home, but when you come back and take a look, it's too late, and all the villagers are dead. I heard that someone's child is still alive, do you dare to admit it?"

"Then what hope do you have? There is no hope. But you look at the land where you were born and raised, and you haven't repaid it yet. Those childhood playmates have children, and they are playing with you again. You have to give them a chance to grow up. Then what else can you do? You have to do it."

Ye Ziqi has been engraving his pattern wholeheartedly, without saying a word.

A dark cloud came over, and the shop was a bit dark, Ye Ziqi suddenly drew a stroke, cutting a scratch on the iron plate, like a knife wound.

He put down his armor, stood up, and walked to the door.

"Little Ye Zi, do you know why the old man saw you as a soldier the first time he saw you?" A voice came from behind.

"Because you have death written in your eyes, waiting for death, begging for death, and you are not very afraid."

"But you are still young, you still have time to grab some things, you should fight for those things, not for death."

Ye Ziqi didn't look back, and replied: "Old man, I haven't told you yet, my hometown is not Hanye, it's Beishan Town, my folks are all dead, killed by horse thieves."

He left, leaving the old blacksmith holding the armor in his hand.

-

Ye Ziqi went out because he heard the commotion in the city, the horse thief was coming.

At first, it was a group of sentinel cavalry who galloped into the city.Then, the peasants who were still digging the moat outside the city were called back urgently.

As soon as the gates on all sides were closed, a piece of yellow sand rose up at the end of the northern wilderness.The sand and dust are like waves rising from the sea, pressed in together with the sound of thunderous horseshoes.

The guards at the top of the city are all terrified, with galloping horses, long bows on their backs, thick arms, and falcon tattoos. A cavalry cavalry from the Gale Department with hundreds of people rushed towards the tower!

Bai Chengshuang, Chief of Guards, and Wang Zhong, Commander-in-Chief of Thousands both boarded the north tower to supervise the battle.But when the wild riders rushed to the city, they divided into two teams, held their sabers high, and walked around the city. Although there were bows and arrows shot down from the city, they could not chase their horses' tails.

Looking at the strength of his army, Wang Zhong secretly sighed in his heart, if they met in Pingyuan, the less than [-] soldiers trained by himself in the city would not be enough for these hundreds of barbarians to charge face to face.

After circling the city, the barbarians gathered again in front of the north gate, and one of them stood out.The man was stout, holding a short spear and a shield in his hand, pointing the tip of the spear at the top of the city, and shouted loudly in Song Dynasty dialect:

"Is there any general in the city? Dare to go out of the city and fight with me!"