Volume 3: The Demon Cult Advances Eastward Chapter 109 Snowstorm in Baoding City
A heavy snowfall started at midnight last night and stopped at dawn, falling in Baoding City.
In the melting snow, there was suddenly movement in front of the ancient mansion.
Someone swept a large open space in the snow, propped up a winnowing basket with a few grains of wheat under it, and tied a thin hemp rope to the stick.
Behind an old locust tree at the corner, two snotty-nosed, chubby kids were looking around. When they saw a few chirping sparrows, their eyes suddenly lit up and they calmed down.
Just as the sparrows were about to chase the wheat and fly into the winnowing basket, a few horses neighed suddenly, and the sound of rapid horse hooves broke everything.
Then I saw the sparrows flying away in fright.
Seeing that their joy was in vain, the two children stamped their feet in anger. Their little faces turned red and they could only glare at the person who came.
They were a few martial arts men, dressed in fine clothes and riding horses, with swords and sabers at their shoulders. They stopped in front of the locked red door with high spirits, looking at both sides of the door with eyes of great admiration and respect.
It turned out that there was a couplet engraved on the stone wall next to the door.
There are seven Jinshi in one family, and three Tanhua in father and son.
The five of them dismounted from their horses, held the reins and ropes, and looked at everything in the mansion as if they were on pilgrimage.
Once upon a time, this place was famous throughout the world, and countless powerful martial arts masters and heroes had passed through it. There were also countless people who became famous and invincible since then.
This is a holy place in the hearts of martial artists, and it is also a place respected by people in the martial arts world.
Li Garden.
These five people have only heard of the stories of "Li Garden" and what happened here, and now they want to see it with their own eyes.
In fact, in the past twenty years, countless young people and fledgling heroes have come here because of their fame. They all yearn for the martial arts world, and hope to be as famous as "Little Li Flying Dagger" and "Flying Swordsman" one day, and become them, with a reputation as a hero and a sword that dominates the martial arts world.
Unfortunately, "Little Li Flying Dagger" has become a thing of the past in the martial arts world, the hero is no longer there, and "Li Garden" has also declined.
Very old indeed.
The red paint on the door had long since faded, the copper rings were covered with rust, and weeds had grown on the high walls and between the tiles in the courtyard.
The place is deserted.
Li Yuan shouldn't have looked like this.
Five people, five brothers, a moment of loss flashed in their eyes, some even shed tears, and they stood in the snow in silence for a long time.
But the gloom in their eyes soon disappeared, and they became energetic and ambitious.
Because they all firmly believe that they will become famous, just like countless young people who yearn for the world of martial arts, then learn martial arts, sharpen their swords, and with their passion and chivalry, they are determined to make a name for themselves and do something big.
Yes, too many people have entered the ever-changing world of Jianghu from here, but how many of them can finally come back...
The five young men left, singing loudly, riding their horses away, heading towards the world they longed for.
Behind the locust tree, the two children were looking at the five people's graceful backs as they walked away with envy in their eyes, completely forgetting how angry they were just now.
"When you grow up, we will do the same. Big brother will protect you then."
"good!"
"What is this like?"
A woman appeared silently behind them, grabbed their ears, and the two children were dragged back home crying for their parents.
But the silence didn't last long, and someone else came.
Li Muchan is here.
He came slowly, looking at the old house with both emotion and melancholy.
Because once upon a time, he had also been here, just like those who had just left, with the same lofty ambitions, determined to become famous as a hero, wielding a sword and drinking, and laughing proudly in the world of martial arts.
At that time, he was more arrogant than anyone else and the most ambitious.
"Why are you sighing, young master?" asked the Goddess of Bliss curiously.
Li Muchan put his hands behind his back and said softly, "At the beginning of a story, people often have a beautiful dream in their hearts, and my dream started from here."
The goddess of bliss was very smart and understood the meaning of the words as soon as her eyes turned: "Did you start your journey in the martial arts world from here?"
"Yes," Li Muchan looked at the tiles and grass in front of him and said softly, "But the old dream is coming to an end and a new dream is about to begin."
He turned around and left without any reluctance.
A narrow alley, hidden at the corner of the street, against the back wall of the mansion.
The streets were deserted. The heavy snow had not yet had time to melt before it began to fall again, making the scene eerily desolate and cold.
In the alley, a small chicken feather shop is still open for business. Smoke is coming out of the low chimney, the high walls block the skylight, and the dead leaves on the ground are blowing in the cold wind, as if no one cares about the business.
Li Muchan walked in with the Goddess of Bliss.
The cotton curtain was lifted, revealing the shop owner to be a man in his early thirties dressed in blue. If he hadn't been exposed to the smoke from firewood for years, he would have been an extremely handsome man.
A full forehead, thick black eyebrows, a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and two lips as thin as sword blades.
With such facial features, any face would be considered handsome, but the skin on the man's face was too rough, greasy, and covered with blue stubble, making him look extremely shabby.
"Sir, please eat..." Seeing the guest coming in, the man subconsciously wanted to greet him, but halfway through his words, his tone suddenly changed, "It's you?"
This person seems to know Li Muchan.
Li Muchan and Ji Le Tiannv picked a seat and sat down. They smiled when they heard this: "I didn't expect the store owner still remembered me."
The man's eyes were filled with surprise, but he quickly recovered: "I can't help it. My business in this small place is quiet, and there are only a few people coming and going. Naturally, I have to develop the habit of recognizing customers, and my memory has always been very good."
He casually picked up a pot of wine, a plate of cooked meat, a plate of tofu, and a few sesame cakes.
After doing all this, the man said with a half-smile: "You didn't die outside?"
He still remembered that the man in front of him was in tattered clothes, with unkempt hair and a dirty face, like a refugee fleeing famine. But even so, he still looked high-spirited and fearless. He even used a method of brewing wine to exchange for a full meal. He ate seven steamed buns, two plates of beef, a roast chicken, and drank two pots of wine.
So even if they meet by chance, the man will remember it very clearly.
Looking at him now, his clothes and demeanor have changed, and he has a beautiful woman by his side. It is clear that he has made a name for himself.
Meeting an old friend again is always a happy thing. Li Muchan drank his wine and said slowly, "I almost died several times, but fortunately I was almost there."
The man suddenly tilted his ears and heard the sound of horses galloping outside, as well as screams, which brought out a sense of solemnity. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "It seems that today is not suitable to open the door for business."
Li Muchan shook his head: "So you really don't have any business sense at all. The greater the risk, the more money you can make. If I were you, this pot of wine would be sold for at least 1,800 taels of silver, and a plate of peanuts would be worth 300 or 400 taels."
The man seemed to be stunned. He opened his mouth and was about to speak when he heard a voice from outside: "It turns out that he is a ghost young master with wealth that can make money. His way of making money is different from others."
The person who came in through the curtain turned out to be an acquaintance.
"Songyang Iron Sword" Guo Ding.
As soon as this man walked in, three more people came in.
A young man with a gloomy face said coldly: "Li Muchan, do you still remember the blood debt owed by my Wei family?"
"Wei family?" Li Muchan frowned when he heard that, then smiled as if he suddenly realized something and said, "Are you talking about that guy Wei Tianpeng?"
The man just sneered, found a seat and sat down like Guo Ding, without doing anything, as if he was waiting for something.
The shopkeeper murmured, "It looks like business must be good today."
"Haha," the three who came in later each took out a gold ingot and said with a smile, "Then you can make a fortune. Go buy a table of wine and food, and order a few high-quality coffins."
This was not the end yet. After a while, many more people came one after another.
There are both new faces and familiar faces.
Including Ding Lingzhong who I met in Mount Emei that day.
Then I heard a series of crisp ding-dong sounds coming in. It was Ding Linglin...
