Hu Changfeng kept the two of them here. At night, Weihu Villa was brightly lit, and he was going to host a banquet in their honor.
The banquet was held in the courtyard, with a rock pond as a companion and a bright moon and gentle breeze as a friend.
Only the three of them were seated at the entire banquet. Not far from the three of them, several villagers stood around with their hands behind their backs.
There were not many people, and they were all acquaintances, so Hu Changfeng had no worries.
"I have never liked servants and maids, so most of the people in the villa are the brothers who retired from the Beiting Protector's Mansion with me and the brothers who were subdued in the Jianghu. They are all rough people. If there is anything inappropriate with etiquette, they will also
Please don’t be offended, gentlemen."
Hu Changfeng raised the white jade wine glass and laughed:
"I, Hu Changfeng, will do it first out of respect!"
Li Xin'an shook his head, "What Senior Hu said is wrong. We are all charlatans. If any of us is not a rough man, who would care about those poor etiquette. Besides, Senior Hu was born in the army and has a heroic spirit. I appreciate his authority.
Hushan Villa has a strict atmosphere from the inside to the outside. I think all the villagers in the village are very disciplined, how can they not know the etiquette?"
Hu Changfeng was surprised and said: "This young master has an extraordinary conversation. Mr. Murong has never mentioned that he has such a good friend in Chang'an. Do you dare to ask the young master his name?"
"Senior Hu, you are trying to break me." Li Xin'an hurriedly raised his hands and said:
"I don't dare to talk about the famous names, the boy Li Xin'an, the master Pei Min."
The wine glass in Hu Changfeng's hand fell directly on the table. Fortunately, he had drank all the wine in the glass before, so it did not lead to the tragedy of spilling wine all over the table.
"Mr. Pei Min's disciple?"
Hu Changfeng's eyes were solemn, he pulled out his chair and quietly stepped back a few minutes.
"Senior Hu, there is no need to doubt that Brother Li is indeed Mr. Pei Min's disciple." Murong Bai saw this and expressed relief:
"Brother Li and I hit it off instantly and have fought several times. Our swordsmanship is not inferior to mine."
Hearing such praise from the young owner of Murong Villa, Hu Changfeng also let down his guard.
"There have been rumors in the world for a long time that Mr. Pei Min has a disciple, but neither he nor his disciple Sanyu has spoken out to admit it, so this is also a question that has been hanging on the minds of people in the world."
Hu Changfeng nodded repeatedly, "I never thought that I, Hu Changfeng, would be lucky enough to receive a disciple of the Sword Master of the Tang Dynasty."
"Senior, what are you talking about? A master is a master, and a boy is a boy. It is a boy's honor to be entertained by senior."
"Young Master Li, thank you." Hu Changfeng said with a smile, and the thick beard on his face trembled.
"How did Mr. Murong get acquainted with Mr. Li? I heard that Mr. Murong came to Chang'an to be the swordsmanship teacher of His Highness the Emperor's Grandson Li Chu. Is it possible that Mr. Li also has a connection with His Highness the Emperor's Grandson Li Chu?"
Murong Bai didn't expect Hu Changfeng to ask this question, and his expression froze for a moment. He didn't know whether he should tell the truth or not.
He quietly looked at Li Xin'an, who smiled and said:
"I have been ordered by my master to train with His Highness Li Chu. When the army is sent to the Khitan next year, I will go with the army."
Murong Bai's eyes moved slightly. He understood what Li Xin'an meant, so he followed his words:
"Brother Li happened to be present when I entered the Emperor's Sun Mansion. His Highness asked us to compete. I was impressed by Brother Li's swordsmanship and became close friends with him."
Li Xin'an nodded solemnly, "Yes, Bai Mumu was trapped by me and couldn't resist. It's a pity that my cultivation level is one level inferior to his, so I lost with all my strength. Otherwise, he would be the loser."
Hu Changfeng's eyes widened and he praised repeatedly: "Oh, heroes really come from young. Mr. Pei Min's disciples are not inferior to you, Mr. Murong. The future of the martial arts in the Tang Dynasty is promising!"
"Come on, drink!"
Murong Baitie's face was livid, he raised his wine glass stiffly, and bumped into this liar stupidly. If Hu Changfeng hadn't been present, he would have wanted to stuff Li Xin'an's head into the wine jar right away.
Brother Li, how much wine did you have to drink to be able to say this nonsense? Senior Hu, how much wine did you have to drink to believe this nonsense?
Li Xin'an glanced at Murong Bai, who looked uncomfortable next to him, and laughed:
"Senior Hu, forgive me for being unreasonable. The most comfortable thing for us young men in Jianghu is to drink from a big bowl and eat meat. You are a general who came down from the frontier to fight. It would be too much to use a small wine glass that is not big enough to fit between your teeth.
It doesn’t make sense.”
Hu Changfeng lowered his head and stared at the petite white jade cup that did not fit his broad palm. He suddenly put it on the table and cursed:
"Damn it, after spending so long with those poor scholars, I have become such a bitch."
"Come here, change the wine bowl, a big one!"
Zhuang Ding quickly put away the wine glass and replaced it with a wine bowl as big as Hu Changfeng's hand.
Hu Changfeng took the wine jar and poured the wine into the wine bowl. When he picked it up, he hesitated again.
He looked at the wine bowl, then at the wine jar in his arms, clicked his tongue, and pushed the filled wine bowl to Li Xin'an in front of him.
"Senior, what are you..." Li Xin'an looked at the wine bowl with a puzzled look on his face.
"Drink from a wine bowl
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
I'm still unhappy. When we won the battle in the Beiting Protector's Mansion, we all had one jar of wine per person. Whoever drank first would be the grandson, haha..." Hu Changfeng smiled boldly, with nostalgia for those years in his eyes.
Remember.
"Of course, you can't drink alcohol indiscriminately. In that place, people from the Western Regions who are not afraid of death might come and kill you at any time."
"I have a brother like this. He went out to explore the road with 500 people. He didn't bring any wine, but somehow they met a caravan in the desert. As soon as those people saw them, they all ran away, leaving them alone.
He got off dozens of camels, all full of wine. When he was camping at night, he drank too much and got drunk. People from the Western Regions came and killed him. All five hundred people were buried in the desert. He was hacked to death with random knives."
"When we found him, his body had been disfigured by a vulture..."
Hu Changfeng took a dull sip of wine and stopped talking.
"Sacrifice your life for the country, wrap your body in horse leather, and die a worthy death." Li Xin'an said with relief.
"Bullshit horse-hide corpse, it's not shameful enough to die!"
Hu Changfeng sighed: "Let's not talk about him anymore, let's drink! I'm used to holding the wine jar, and you little kids use the wine bowl."
"Little baby..." Li Xin'an's mouth twitched.
"Senior Hu, I heard that you have been living in Guannaidao since the martial arts review. Why did you suddenly appear outside Chang'an City? There is no news at all in the world."
After three rounds of drinking, Li Xinan raised this question at the right time.
Hu Changfeng glanced at him sideways, smashed the wine jar on the table, smacked his lips, and felt a little irritated.
"Hmph! Thinking about this makes me angry!"
"Before... I was wandering around the world without a place to stay, and I was followed by so many brothers. I thought it didn't matter if I wandered around, but I couldn't let them suffer with me. So I took advantage of the martial arts review and settled down in Guannai Road.
"
"But the big tree attracts the wind, and there are always people who come to bother me. Those aristocratic families, wealthy merchants, and local Jianghu sects in Guannei Dao keep bringing gold and silver to my door, or do they ask me to look after their homes and homes?
Can I do it? No! I am a deputy commander of the Tianshan Army. If I help those big families to guard their homes, whose face will it be? It will be the face of the court and the army.
The honor of our brothers who sacrificed their lives for the country! If you do such a thing, I will have no shame even if I die to see them in the afternoon!"
Hu Changfeng opened another jar of wine, raised his head and took a sip.
"Also, they ask me to teach their children martial arts. I have no objection to this. If you want to learn martial arts? I'll teach! As long as they can endure hardship, I can make any child successful. Back in Beiting, no matter how weak the soldiers were, I could control them.
After a year of staying there, you will become more powerful. But those pampered young masters can't bear the hardship at all, let alone good seedlings, they are either seedlings at all, they are just green onions!"
Hearing this, Li Xin'an wanted to laugh, but suddenly felt a little depressed. Back then, she also wanted to learn martial arts and had many cheap masters. Now think about it, in their eyes, was she just a green onion back then?
?
Hu Changfeng sighed: "Then there are people from the government who want to invite me to join the army again."
"Honestly... I don't want to go."
"Why?" Li Xin'an said in surprise.
"Because I've had enough of being in the army."
"I joined the army at the age of eighteen and spent twenty-five years in Beiting. I can confidently say that my blood has been left on every inch of land within the Beiting Protectorate."
"I have seen too many life and death. The people around you may be chatting and bragging with you one moment, but they will die in the hands of the enemy the next moment. The Datang border troops came one after another.
One after another died, we used our own flesh and blood to feed the Tubo Khitans in the Western Regions and these unfamiliar white-eyed wolves. The court, which was full of benevolence and morality, tried to influence them with benevolence and justice, but what they got in exchange was the death of innocent soldiers."
"I'm tired and don't want to fight anymore. I consider myself worthy of the Tang Dynasty. Now, half of my body has been buried. I just want to live the rest of my life well. I don't want to get involved in military affairs or court affairs anymore.
.”
Li Xin'an nodded. This middle-aged man left all his energy and energy in Beiting. He wanted to live a stable life, and no one could blame him for what he did.
"The most annoying thing is those Jianghu sects!"
Hu Changfeng suddenly slapped the table and said angrily:
"Those people are afraid that I will steal their disciples in the Guannei Dao. They give me gifts one by one. They are a bunch of villains whose behavior is no different from merchants. They have simply insulted the martial arts and the world!"
"Those who are able to set foot in the world of martial arts, who really want to make a name for themselves in the world of martial arts? They are all forced to have no choice but to live a stable life. I am afraid there will be less than half of the people in this world."
Li Xin'an sighed: "Scholars pursue fame, businessmen pursue profit, and Jianghu people are the most complicated. They want fame and fortune. It is not unreasonable for them to be afraid that their predecessors will cut off their financial path."
"Hmph! I just can't stand what they are doing. If I hadn't been greedy for purity, I would have really wanted to compete with them on the Guannai Road. Let's see if it's me, Hu Changfeng, who overestimates my capabilities, or they, the local cowards, have lost their face!"
Listening to Hu Changfeng's words, Li Xin'an thought of Zhong Nanxun for no reason.
Zhong Nanxun was also a high-spirited person back then. He once squeezed into the eighth place in the Tianji Tower Martial Arts Review, but unfortunately he was eventually broken down by the world's sophistication.
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
God, now he has left the top 20 in the martial arts review and is only ranked 23rd.
Hu Changfeng sat down, took two bites of side dishes with chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth. After eating and drinking, he wiped the corners of his mouth, remembered something, and asked doubtfully:
"Speaking of which, how did you two find this place? Could it be that my address was leaked?"
"That's not true. Otherwise, your threshold would have been breached before we could even find you."
"Hey, let me tell you, it scares me to death, otherwise I will have to find another place. I originally chose this place because there are few people nearby and it is close to Chang'an City, which is more convenient. Several of my old brothers are here
It’s inside the city. Isn’t it quite comfortable to go in and take a look when you have time?”
Hearing that he didn't say anything about Xinglin, Li Xin'an was a little confused and suppressed his doubts about the method of suppressing the nightmare in Xinglin outside.
"The two of us went out to relax today and discovered a small village outside the villa called Chenjiacun. The man in the village suffered from a strange disease. He fell asleep during the day but would sleepwalk at night. He could only sleep briefly at dusk when day and night alternated.
wide awake."
Hu Changfeng suddenly raised his head and said, "Keep talking!"
Did he know? Li Xin'an was a little surprised, and then said:
"This strange disease occurred a year ago. A caravan from the Western Regions came to Chenjia Village and built a well for them. We followed the river all the way up and found several villages along the way. After asking about it, we found out that the Western Region caravan
The caravan stayed in each of these villages for one night, but only built a well in Chenjia Village."
"We suspect that this caravan from the Western Region is testing poison."
"Test the poison..." Hu Changfeng took a breath and looked solemn.
"Is this only happening to men?"
"Yes, only adult men, old, weak, women and children are completely fine."
"I saw the situation you mentioned before when I was in the Western Regions. It is very similar to the situation in Chenjiacun."
"Senior, please speak." Li Xin'an said happily.
"That was...ten years ago. A small country in the Western Regions attacked the caravan of the Tang Dynasty. The entire Tianshan Army was dispatched to destroy it."
"Although that small country has a small number of people, its terrain is extremely dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The soldiers in Qi's country are extremely fierce. We caught a few tongues and found out that in order to protect the capital, the king actually asked the national teacher to prepare a poison.
, after the soldiers take it, they will tirelessly and die of exhaustion."
"This has caused great trouble to us. The Tianshan Army went deep alone without sufficient supplies. Moreover, it was a time when wind and sand were raging, so we could not hold off."
"At this time, a group of women from the Western Regions appeared. They gave us a strange flower, which has a strange fragrance when burned. People who smell it will gradually become weak, but at night they will feel like sleepwalking, and the flower is soaked in
In water, the spread of toxicity is more violent."
"We relied on this strange flower and after waiting for half a month, we invaded their capital. We saw the streets full of corpses, the stench was overwhelming, and their flesh rotted into mud. In half a month, they couldn't help but
Without food or drink, everyone in the entire capital has died, and this place is already an empty city."
"The name of that kind of flower is Milo flower."
"Miluo flower?"
Li Xin'an and Murong Bai looked at each other, they had never heard of this thing.
However, Li Xin'an noticed something and asked:
"Senior Hu, you said it was a group of women who gave Luohua to the Tianshan Army?"
"good!"
"That's strange." Li Xin'an frowned and murmured:
"That Western Region caravan is obviously all men..."
"Is it because of makeup?" Murong Bai said.
"Hard to say."
Li Xin'an raised his head and said, "Senior Hu, what was the name of that small country that was destroyed by the Tianshan Army?"
"Jinlun Kingdom, I remember it very clearly."
Hu Changfeng grinned, "Although there are quite a few small countries that have been captured by the Tang Dynasty in recent years, I will never forget that tragic and terrifying scene. It's like hell on earth."
"Jinlun Kingdom... I have no impression."
Li Xin'an tried his best to recall the map of the countries in the Western Regions given to him by Xueyitang Luda. It recorded hundreds of countries in the Western Regions, large and small, but there were too many, and Li Xin'an could only recall a few.
"Speaking of countries, the Jinlun Kingdom is the size of a city, and its capital is its territory. It is one of the smallest among the countries in the Western Regions. Otherwise, it would not have been destroyed by just a few thousand Tianshan Army troops."
"What are the identities of those women?"
Hu Changfeng shook his head, "I didn't know about that. I only learned about it later. As the deputy commander at the time, I took people out to look for water sources. When I came back, the group of women from the Western Regions had already left."
"Then who was the person who handled this matter at the beginning?"
"The commander-in-chief of the Tianshan Army, Lu Yanxiu."