Misty Rain of the Old Times

The autumn morning is already a little chilly, everything is withered, the breeze blows through the fallen leaves, the chirping of insects and birds breaks the bleakness, and adds a bit of vitality to the wilderness.

Chen Xuan stretched his muscles facing the morning sun. After a while, he heard footsteps behind him. It was Lan Shan, the early riser.

The people in the cave had already "woke up" one after another. He was the first to come out, with a face towel draped over his shoulder, a water bag and a toothbrush in his hands, ready to wash.

Seeing Chen Xuan relaxing his muscles and bones, he subconsciously said, "Calming and nourishing the body?"

His voice was not loud. Chen Xuan turned around and smiled, "Not bad, I'm sorry to have made you laugh. Although this set of movements is not very useful, it is the best way to stretch your muscles. Doing a few times in the morning will keep you energetic for the whole day."

This set of movements has been promoted by the imperial court for decades and has long been popular. Everyone can perform it and it is well known.

"Go on, I hope I didn't disturb you," he said with a somewhat reserved smile, and went to wash up silently, but he felt a little strange in his heart. Last night Chen Xuan said that he was a wandering man, but he always felt that Chen Xuan was more like a scholar than that young man.

That was when he didn't notice that Chen Xuan was out of tune. He was polite and well-mannered to unfamiliar outsiders, but his true nature was revealed in front of his own people, which made people feel dizzy.

At the same time, Lanshan, who was washing up, was thinking to himself that he had been concentrating on studying and often felt physically and mentally exhausted. Should he exercise?

Seeing Chen Xuan's freehand movements reminded him of the idea of ​​resuming his meditation and health-preserving exercises. Of course, he also knew this set of movements. Every scholar in Jing Country knew it.

At this moment, the young master came out yawning, glanced at Chen Xuan, and curled his lips, thinking that he had guessed right. This is a man who couldn't make it in the outside world, but he still wandered around the world. He practiced the quiet and health-preserving exercises that even dogs don't practice with gusto. Doesn't he have any other skills? To say that his kung fu is mediocre is probably an exaggeration.

Shaking his head, the young man ran to a remote place to release water. His subordinates re-lit the fire and told him to eat some dry food. He also dragged Lanshan, the scholar, away. The relationship between the two of them really took a big step closer last night.

"Goodbye everyone, the mountains and rivers remain unchanged, and we will meet again if we are lucky." The black-clad swordsman who was the last to arrive last night dressed up, said goodbye and strode away. He had no mount and left cleanly.

Then the two disguised women said goodbye and left. They did not ride any horses and walked as well. They were in disguise and would not reveal their true identity by washing their faces in front of others.

After some activities, Chen Xuan took his luggage and got on his horse. He said goodbye to the rest of the people and headed towards Yang County. However, not long after getting on the horse, he became listless and drowsy again, swaying on the horse's back like a boneless person, and it seemed that he would fall down at any time.

The horse had never walked this road before, but Chen Xuan didn't need to control the direction. It just followed the road and moved forward slowly.

After walking for more than ten miles, the sound of horse hooves behind him could not wake up the drowsy Chen Xuan. Instead, the young master and his men galloped on their horses and caught up with Chen Xuan who was one step ahead.

Lan Shan, a scholar, was traveling with them, riding on the same horse with one of the young master's guards. He looked nervous because they were running too fast, and his donkey was leading the way behind them, noisily chasing after them.

They took a look at Chen Xuan when they passed by him. It was dark last night and they couldn't see clearly. Only then did they notice that Chen Xuan's mount was extraordinary. They felt a little envious, but they ran away without looking back.

The sun gradually rose, dispelling the morning chill and dew. Chen Xuan, who had been drowsily advancing forty or fifty miles on horseback, looked up lazily at the front. There was a faint smell of blood in the air.

"The surrounding mountains and wilderness are deserted and uninhabited. It's located at the junction of two counties. A dozen miles ahead is the border of Yang County. This kind of place is the most prone to accidents."

Thinking in his heart, Chen Xuan kicked the horse's belly with his heel, and the horse, very humanely, quickened its pace and ran forward.

They had walked less than two miles when they saw the body of a donkey lying in the grass by the roadside. It was the body of the student named Lanshan. There were traces of fighting and blood around it, but no one was seen.

"The young man went on a long journey with his guards. He usually treats people carelessly. It would be strange if nothing happened if he was caught. He met different people last night. If he handled the matter properly afterwards, he could just put the blame on them." Chen Xuan, who was speechless, urged the horse again to rush towards the direction where the faint sound of fighting came from, hoping that no one was okay.

After walking another two or three miles, we could hear the sound of rushing water ahead. The river, ten feet wide, was surging between the two mountains. An iron chain bridge spanned the two sides of the valley, twenty or thirty feet above the water surface. It was extremely dangerous for ordinary people.

The source of the fighting sound was on the iron chain bridge. Four or five people were fighting in a group. It was extremely dangerous to move on the shaking bridge. If they were not careful and fell down, they would probably die.

Several horses were grazing leisurely on both sides of the cable bridge. They were not frightened by the thrilling life-and-death battle on the bridge.

When he rode here, as Chen Xuan expected, the people fighting were the young man from last night and his guards.

The young man's white clothes were stained with blood, and there were shocking scars all over his body. He was in danger when fighting against four guards alone. With his strength, he should not have been at a disadvantage, but he had to distract himself to protect the Lanshan scholar, so he was in a hurry and suffered many injuries.

This scene made Chen Xuan think of the plot of the evil servant's revenge, it was obvious.

The cultivation of the few people fighting was really not that good. They had no superior skills, and their weapons were not sharp at all. They were fighting just relying on their moves. The young master must have had the conditions to learn an exquisite sword technique because of his family background, and his use made it difficult for the guards to quickly defeat him.

They probably fought their way here. The suspension bridge was damaged and one of the iron locks broke, causing the entire bridge to shake.

The suspension bridge was built by the imperial court. Who will compensate for it if it is damaged?
Lan Shan, the scholar, had a pale face and eyes full of despair. He allowed the young master to drag him away from the siege of several guards. It was a completely unprovoked disaster.

"Oh no, someone's coming, it's that half-baked guy!" "Damn it, this guy usually lives a life of luxury and has a stupid brain, but I never thought he has good skills and is hiding deep enough that it's hard to catch him."

"Get out of here now, or I'll kill you too!"

Chen Xuan's appearance made the guards look nervous, and some of them threatened him.

Lan Shan, the student, felt dizzy as he dodged the young master's hand. He saw Chen Xuan and said bitterly and desperately, "It's over. Another innocent man! These evil servants won't let him go."

He felt so sad that he had no tears. He went to Yang County alone and had never thought about who to travel with. The young master insisted on taking him along, but when they arrived at the remote place, the evil servant showed his ugly face of murdering his master. The donkey he bought for more than ten taels of silver was chopped to death and thrown on the roadside. Fortunately, he saw that the situation was not right and quickly blocked the knife and pulled the donkey to escape, otherwise he would have died long ago.

Several evil servants planned carefully, but they never expected that the young master had a trick up his sleeve. They failed to kill him immediately, but instead fled here while fighting. Both sides of the suspension bridge were blocked by the evil servants, and there was no way for them to escape.

The young man, who fought desperately, carried the blue pine scholar and moved swiftly. He skillfully blocked two blades with two swords, dodging them in time. Another knife opened a gash on his shoulder. Amidst a muffled groan, he even found the time to anxiously shout at Chen Xuan, "Hurry up and leave! These evil servants are targeting me. They have been plotting for years to infiltrate my home. Now that I'm out, they've caught me. I don't want to implicate innocent people."

Whether he should say it or not, Chen Xuan had to admit that although this guy was sometimes a little stupid in dealing with people, he was still responsible. He couldn't even take care of himself, but he always protected the scholar who took the initiative to make friends with him very well, and he didn't get hurt at all. It was estimated that the injuries on his body were borne for the scholar. He was really a man of loyalty and righteousness.

And even at this time, he still did not forget to remind himself, this irrelevant person, to stay away from right and wrong, and he did not lack the character of a scholar.

After witnessing such a thing, if those guards succeeded in killing their master, they would definitely not let Chen Xuan go.

After getting off the horse, he walked straight towards the suspension bridge without stopping. Chen Xuan took out some fried beans that he had used to feed the horses on the road, and with a flick of his finger, the beans flew out silently and landed on several guards who were trying their best to surround and kill him. He pressed their acupoints, and the movements of several people froze. Some of them almost fell down, and they immediately showed fear in their eyes.

Throwing a bean into his mouth, Chen Xuan rode his horse onto the wobbly suspension bridge and said politely, "Excuse me for letting me pass. Thank you. I have to hurry home for breakfast. You can continue while I'm crossing the bridge. I'm sorry, you've been chopping away at me. If you don't do this, my horse won't dare to cross the bridge. If you cut the bridge completely, I won't be able to get home. I have no choice but to do this. Please forgive me."

One of the iron locks on the suspension bridge had broken, and it was a little tilted, but Chen Xuan's horse still dared to step on it. It was indeed a good horse. Of course, horses understand human nature, and their courage was more due to the courage given by their master Chen Xuan.

The originally life-or-death situation suddenly took a major turn. The young man, covered in blood, was stunned for a moment. He was not a fool, so he realized that he had met a master.

Without having time to think, he immediately seized the opportunity, let go of Lanshan the Scholar, and walked around with the sword. With a few "puffs", he chopped off the heads of several evil servants. Their expressions of fear and despair froze, their heads flew everywhere, and their headless bodies fell towards the river dozens of feet below.

The time was running out and the evil servants didn't even have time to beg for mercy.

Chen Xuan rode his horse forward and said seriously, "You killed them, but it's none of my business. I just wanted to go home and I was thinking about untying you guys after I got there."

"Thank you very much for your help, otherwise I would have been in the hands of several evil servants today. I was blind and didn't know that you were in person. Thank you for your great kindness..." The young man, who had been holding on to his last breath until now, suddenly felt weak and almost fell on the shaky bridge. However, he knelt on one knee with difficulty to express his gratitude to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuancai didn't want to be a good guy and be put on a pedestal. He didn't wait for him to finish his words and continued forward, waving his hands and saying, "Come on, come on, I'm not a good guy. Don't put accusations on me, otherwise it will be very stressful. You are really blocking my way. Well, please let me pass, otherwise I will light you up too. I will untie you when I get over there."

Knowing that a master like Chen Xuan didn't care about his gratitude and didn't even want to have too much interaction with him, the young man forced himself to stand up and make way for Lan Shan, bowing gratefully and saying, "Please, hero."

"Well, I hope I didn't disturb you. You can continue," Chen Xuan nodded and said with a smile as he rode past.

How can we continue now that all the evil servants are dead?

The young master knew Chen Xuan was joking. He didn't care about such a small favor, but this was a life-saving favor. How could a scholar be ungrateful? He took a deep breath and said to Chen Xuan's back, "I am Zhu Fang, son of Zhu Yuan, the governor of Jingting County. I beg you to leave your name. I will never forget your great kindness. If you need me in the future, I will work like a slave to repay you for saving my life."

"And me, my name is Feng Huixin. Although I am of low status and my words do not count, I will never forget the kindness of the hero," said Lan Shan, the scholar who had recovered and bowed.

Chen Xuan pretended not to hear and instead turned to Zuo Yan and said, "You guys destroyed the bridge, so you can't blame me. If the government wants compensation, it's you. Go!"

With these words he rode away swiftly, not caring at all about their gratitude, nor interested in knowing the details of the life-and-death struggle between them as master and servant.

I was about to get home, but I still encountered something like this. In life, you never know what will happen next.

Watching Chen Xuan's departing figure, Zhu Fang, who had survived the disaster, sighed: "This young man is truly a man of high moral character. He rides his horse through the martial arts world with such elegance and grace. He is truly admirable."

"It's a pity that he didn't leave a name behind," Feng Huixin said with some regret, her eyes determined. She would definitely repay him in the future. How could a person let down his benefactor?
Zhu Fang grinned and said, "He said he lived in Yang County. I can just draw his portrait and ask around later. But I have to figure out how to repay him first."

"Hmm? I didn't observe my benefactor's appearance carefully, so I can't remember some of it."

"Ah, I can't seem to remember..." (End of this chapter)