Xianyang Bridge

Chapter 9

Turning his face slightly, he seemed to be listening to the sound of rain falling on the water, looking focused and quiet, Qi Shaoshang said, "That's right, it's very beautiful."

nine

……

Gu Xichao was speechless, Qi Shaoshang continued to support the boat.

Maybe he also felt that it was a little perfunctory, he couldn't see with his eyes, so how could the word "beautiful" be enough to describe the scene in front of him.

Qi Shaoshang was quiet for a moment, took his eyes off his face, looked seriously at Yeyu splashing in the water beside him, looked at the drifting lights of Baojin Tower opposite, looked at the pear blossoms blooming like snow on the bank, and said, "It's very dark tonight, the clouds are very low, and the wind lamp on the boat can't shine very far. I saw the rain falling, and I saw our boat paddling across the water. The pear blossoms on the opposite side of Baojin Building were blooming like snow. The rain fell on the water with petals, and there were many beside our boat."

As he was talking, he suddenly remembered that Baojin Tower was the place where Chunwei set up a Qionglin banquet. Did Tanhua also come here to have a banquet when he passed the exam?What an honor to be the first in the imperial examination. If he hadn't been burdened by his birth, he would probably never have stepped into the rivers and lakes.

Qi Shaoshang couldn't help looking at him again, and found that his face was extremely pale, and the corners of his mouth were pursed tightly, which seemed uncomfortable. He was startled and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Gu Xichao endured it and said, "Seasick."

"..." Qi Shaoshang used all his strength to stop the boat. The boat stopped too quickly, and Gu Xichao could no longer keep his balance. He couldn't see at all. The boat was too small, and it kept shaking when it was moving on the water. It's like standing on top of an abyss, suddenly stopping suddenly with nowhere to go, and the whole person is about to fall.

Seeing this, Qi Shaoshang hurriedly stepped forward to support him, Gu Xichao was suddenly supported by him, and couldn't help but tightly grasped his lapel until the boat stabilized again, then slowly let go, saying, "Thank you .”

"I was negligent," Qi Shaoshang led him to sit down under the awning, picked up his umbrella from the water, and moved the lantern to the cabin, and said, "It's almost as far away from the shore. , how are you, do you want to drink some wine to calm down?"

Gu Xichao regained his composure and asked, "Is there any wine?"

Qi Shaoshang untied his wine bag and found two wine bowls to pour in, and said, "Come on."

He pushed the wine bowl towards Gu Xichao, and Gu Xichao reached out to pick it up after listening to the voice, maybe he was a little seasick, but he didn't feel it after touching it, Qi Shaoshang watched him groping forward again, couldn't bear it, pressed his hand He put the wine bowl in his hand.

"Let the boss see the joke." Gu Xichao paused while holding the wine bowl.

Qi Shaoshang asked again, "What's the matter with your eyes?"

Gu Xichao picked up the wine and took a sip slowly, and it still smelled like smoke and fire, and said, "Does Master want to hear me start from the beginning, or do you just want to know how I was blind?"

Qi Shaoshang looked at his face that no longer looked fierce after his eyes were covered, and said, "It's still early, you can speak slowly."

"Then let me not be killed by the boss." Gu Xichao lowered his head, as if thinking about it, "After I took Wan Qing away, I thought that there was no way for me to survive in this world. Wan Qing died. I don't really want to live either."

"But Tie Shou kept his promise. He followed me, buried Wan Qing for me, and healed my wounds. I'm not the kind of person who would seek death. Since I survived, let's live."

"But I don't know what else I want to do when I'm alive. I used to study and practice martial arts, but I just wanted to stand out. Then I met Wan Qing, and I thought I could be worthy of her."

"But she died, and I can't think of anything else to worry about. I stayed with her in the cemetery and stayed with her every day until a man named Ma Zhi came to Beijing."

"Tie Shou came to me. He said that he wanted me to do something. I owed him a favor, so I agreed to him and entered the Secret Pavilion."

"Assist Zhao Liangsi, that is, Ma Zhi, to contact the Jin people and facilitate the alliance at sea."

Qi Shaoshang drank silently and watched him, listening to him talk about the years of traveling thousands of miles, going through all kinds of hardships and finally reaching the covenant.

"I agreed with this plan at the beginning. Jin people are weak and Liao people are empty. It is a good way to drive away tigers and wolves."

"But then the Jin people grew too fast, and no one thought that the Liao people would be so vulnerable. I saw the danger, and told Zhao Liangsi that the plan should be changed. We are not trying to drive away a wolf, we are letting a hungry wolf go. Swallow a dying tiger, and when the tiger is completely eaten by wolves, our fat sheep watching the fire from the other side will also die."

"He didn't agree with me. He believed that the covenant could not be broken at will. I had a big fight with him and left the secret pavilion."

As he spoke, he took a sip of wine and continued, "At this time, three years have passed since the alliance at sea, and the chaos in the south of the Yangtze River will be settled. I was fine in the cemetery, and suddenly someone came to me one day."

"He said that he is the bright left envoy of the Mingjiao, and he wanted to use the wealth accumulated by the Mingjiao over the years as a reward. He asked me to do one thing."

"I said that I'm not interested in your wealth, I'm not interested in the Devil's Cult, I'm not interested in you Jianghu people at all."

"He didn't try to persuade me anymore. Their leader came the next day, and he subdued me as soon as we met. I couldn't beat him."

"He restrained me and still asked me to do one thing for them."

"I said I don't like being threatened to do things."

He stopped here for a long time, Qi Shaoshang didn't urge him, but just filled his wine bowl with wine, he shook his head lightly, "I don't want to be threatened to do things again."

"But things backfired. They fed me poison. I was once again under the control of others. I needed to take the antidote on time so that I wouldn't get poisoned."

Qi Shaoshang frowned, and Gu Xichao wrote lightly, "I tried to resist, I threw away the antidote they gave me, forced the poison, injured my eyes, and then went blind."

"Then why do you still stay in Mingjiao?" Qi Shaoshang was a little puzzled, Gu Xichao said, "Because they promised to cure my eyes."

"What else do you want to know, let's ask together before I'm drunk. I don't know when we will meet next time."

Qi Shaoshang paused, "I don't seem to have anything to ask, let's have a drink."

"..." Gu Xichao was silent for a while, and then said, "Could it be that the boss just wanted to know how I was blind when he invited me? He didn't want to know if I did something unreasonable again. If you don't ask me again, you won't regret it , do you want to turn back?"

Qi Shaoshang looked at him and asked, "Did you do it? Do you regret it? Do you want to turn back?"

Gu Xichao suddenly smiled, under the wobbly light of the wind lamp, this smile looked a little lonely, but it was breathtaking.

"Actually, I have always envied you. Whenever you tell me that you have not turned back, I envy you very much. People who can say such things must have a way behind them and a home when they turn back. I No, I've been in this life to this day, every step forward, there is an abyss behind me, and I have never been able to retreat."

"I can't regret it either."

"I thought about regretting it, thinking about taking Wan Qing away, when I knew that the task Fu Zongshu assigned me was not what I thought, it was a huge conspiracy, I thought about it, before going to Broken Clouds , I was almost about to give up. But I was too...too young at that time, and I didn’t understand that the so-called opening a bow without turning back is actually not terrible, and it’s scary if people are easily shaken when they have nowhere to go.”

"It was also at that time that I didn't know the heights of the sky and the earth. Although people looked down on me, I still thought that as long as I had a sword in my hand and thought in my heart, I could finally achieve my wish. I thought that as long as I did many things, I would definitely have what I wanted. desired result."

"I was too naive. When I lost Wanqing and lost everything in a crushing defeat, I realized that many things are not what I think I can do. No matter how hard I try, many things are ultimately powerless. Humans, after all, cannot fight against the sky."

"I should have accepted my fate."

When he said this, he looked depressed and lonely, losing his vigor. Qi Shaoshang looked at him, as if he wanted to see his heart through the black cloth that covered his eyes, and asked slowly, "These words , do you believe it yourself?"

Gu Xichao bowed his head and smiled, held the wine bowl to his lips, and said, "Guess."

Qi Shaoshang shook his head, "I don't guess, just drink."

When Gu Xichao heard this, he raised the wine bowl in front of him and waited for him to touch it. Qi Shaoshang hesitated for a while, and lightly touched his wine bowl. I never dreamed that one day I would be able to drink and talk with Da Dangjia so calmly, it was really like a dream."

Qi Shaoshang also drank the wine and asked, "What is that thing Mingjiao wants you to do?"

Gu Xichao put the empty bowl on the table and said, "Kill Tong Guan, Tong Guan massacred 20 people of the Ming Cult in the south of the Yangtze River, and only Lu Li was left under the leader of the Ming Cult, and he was seriously injured. They were powerless to retaliate, but I can't help but take revenge."

"As for me, I'm alone, with no foundation in the world, and I have conspired against others before. I think I must be daring, and my martial arts are reasonable. They thought I could do this, so they came to me."

"It's a pity that Tong Guan is not stupid. His subordinates are everywhere, forcing the already crumbling Mingjiao to almost nowhere. Those who are killed are killed, the apostates are apostates, and the divisions in various places are too severely damaged. The leader and Lu Li are lost. Controlling the congregation, the assassination has been delayed."

As he spoke, he smiled slightly at Qi Shaoshang, "You have to be careful, Mingjiao has now sorted out its internal affairs and accumulated strength to prepare for the assassination. The centipede is dead but not stiff. Although Mingjiao suffered heavy losses in the south of the Yangtze River , but the remaining power can still cause a great chaos in the capital."

Qi Shaoshang's eyelids twitched, "Who owns my Ping Luan Jue?"

"I," Gu Xi turned his face to the side, and said to Qi Shao, "Do you want it?"

Qi Shaoshang lowered his head and filled him with wine, saying, "No, you can put it away first."