Six hundred and seventieth eight chapters are strangers
…
The dangers are not stuck in the chest, how are they different from the floating clouds passing through the space?
The night is quiet, the waves are 30,000 miles away, the moon is shining brightly and the sky is windy.
——"Fan Hai" by Wang Yangming (Ming Dynasty)
…
General Guo Yingyi of Zuo Yulin was invited to go to the Changqing Tower for a banquet. Opposite the Changqing Tower, sitting at a window seat of a street-facing restaurant, a person saw this scene through the window spirit.
This man wears a bamboo hat on his head, a short sword made of coarse cloth, and a long sword with a scabbard placed on the wine table. He looks like a swordsman traveling in the world.
He was holding a wine bowl, leaning on the bench with his legs crossed, and drinking soju at leisure. From time to time, he would catch the waiter who was delivering the food and swear, cursing the dishes in the shop for being salty and salty.
It's too salty, it shouldn't be bland.
A scholar couldn't stand this man's arrogance and was about to make a sarcastic comment. The shopkeeper of the wine shop who was passing by laughed loudly and said: "Young Master Liu, you don't understand. This is how you behave in the world."
The scholar looked confused, raised his hands and asked, "Shopkeeper Hu, how do you say this? Isn't he just here to stir up trouble with such abuse?"
Shopkeeper Hu laughed and said: "If he really ruined the place, he should scold our store for watering down the wine and passing it off as good quality! Such words are vicious!
If I don't personally come forward to resolve the issue, the innocent sign of this wine shop will be smashed into my hands, and I won't be able to explain it to my employer."
Mr. Liu was quite confused and asked: "Is the cursing now still appropriate?"
Shopkeeper Hu nodded and said: "The saltiness of dishes varies from person to person, benevolent people have different opinions, and wise people have different opinions. Qilu likes salty, Wu and Yue prefer sweet, Qin and Chu don't like spicy food. Merchants from the south to the north have different taste preferences.
The feelings are also different, just say a few words, it doesn't hurt."
Mr. Liu said: "Even so, you can't just let him scold you?"
Shopkeeper Hu smiled and said: "The scolding is just an excuse, implying that he is a well-established man. It's time for the head shopkeeper to come out and have a drink with him and say hello to him. He has something to ask about."
"That's it! The sage said that if three people are walking together, there must be a teacher like me to teach them!" Mr. Liu suddenly understood and bowed.
"No, no, this is just a little trick played by low-class people like us, but don't offend the young master's ears." Shopkeeper Hu hurriedly returned the gift with an apologetic smile on his face.
Shopkeeper Hu came to the swordsman. When he got closer, he saw that this man had a beard and a scar on his face. He looked fierce and upright.
Shopkeeper Hu cupped his fists and saluted, and said with a smile: "Sir, the master in charge of the dish is ill today, and the disciple who takes over is not ready. Please forgive me. This table is mine today, please forgive me."
The swordsman smiled slyly and said: "They say that Shopkeeper Hu is a smart and chivalrous man. When I saw him today, it turned out to be true. People of the Ming Dynasty don't tell secrets. I have come here today to ask for something. Please come here."
Shopkeeper Hu laughed, bent down with his fat and trembling body, and listened to what the swordsman had to say.
The swordsman didn't speak much, but every sentence made Shopkeeper Hu feel frightened and his eyes wandered.
After the swordsman finished what he wanted to say, he slapped a few large coins on the wine table, put the long knife on his shoulder, laughed loudly, and walked away.
Shopkeeper Hu looked at the tall and burly figure of the swordsman and was stunned, not knowing whether he was happy or sad.
…
The swordsman came to the intersection of the street. The terrain here was open and there were many jugglers setting up stalls and performing arts here.
The largest number of onlookers was an illusionist from Persia. Next to him was a huge backpack, from which he took out various performance props from time to time.
Performing with him was a blond and blue-eyed Hu Ji, with revealing clothes, plump figure and radiant beauty.
The illusionist now transformed a dove from his sleeve, and now turned a silk handkerchief into a flower. The magician's technique was so ingenious that there were no flaws at all, attracting bursts of applause from the people passing by.
The swordsman coughed twice inadvertently among the crowd of onlookers. The illusionist raised his head and glanced, speaking in Chang'an Mandarin that he was not familiar with, he said to the crowd: "Dear readers, the next trick is bloody and cruel. I suggest adults with children to play it.
It would be bad if the child's eyes are covered and it scares the child.
If the trick is over and you find it exciting and satisfying, please support it enthusiastically. Those who are rich will support it, and those who have no money will support it personally!"
As soon as everyone heard this, they knew that the illusionist was going to perform a unique trick, and they cheered loudly, and the venue became more compact.
The illusionist first took out a sharp iron guillotine and asked the people watching to take out objects to test the authenticity of the knife.
Everyone liked this interactive trick very much, and they all took out the items at hand, some took out melons, some took out wooden sticks, and some took out silk cloth.
No matter what kind of thing it is, the guillotine can cut it in half with one blow, which shows how sharp the blade is.
After examining the knife, the illusionist took a wine bag, took a sip of wine, and sprayed it vigorously on the head of the knife.
The illusionist called the beautiful Orchid to him and asked her to lie under the guillotine. The beautiful Orchid scratched her head and posed a few times, then lay down on the ground and put her head under the guillotine.
Everyone exclaimed.
"Is it possible to really cut off Hu Ji's head?!"
Everyone hurriedly called the child running around to their side and held the child's head in their arms, not daring to let the child see this bloody and horrifying scene.
The illusionist spit on his hands, rubbed his hands, grasped the handle of the guillotine, and pressed down hard.
Hands up and swords down!
A beautiful human head rolled down from the edge of the guillotine, and hot blood spurted out from the head and neck.
"Oh! Someone is dead!"
Not to mention children, even adults couldn't help but cover their eyes with their hands.
The illusionist calmly left the guillotine, cupped his hands to the onlookers, and said loudly: "Everyone, as long as everyone spends enough money, I can resurrect Hu Ji at any time!"
When everyone heard this, they suddenly woke up.
"Yes, this is just a trick, not a real trick!"
Everyone laughed and felt very satisfied. They all took out their bags and threw handfuls of copper coins into the arena.
The illusionist looked happy when he saw the huge income.
He first recited a spell, then placed the severed head next to the decapitated Orchid's body, took a sip of wine, sprayed it on Orchid's neck, and shouted: "Get up!"
To let go of the past, as long as he shouts, Orchid's head will automatically grow back, Orchid will stand up slowly, and the wound on her neck will heal without any scars.
But this time it was quite strange. After the illusionist finished casting the spell, Hu Ji showed no reaction and lay straight under the guillotine.
The illusionist initially suspected that he had made a mistake, so he repeated the operation according to the procedure. But Hu Ji still didn't respond.
I saw the illusionist's brows raised, as if he remembered something. He walked to the center of the venue, bowed deeply to the people watching, and said: "I just arrived in Chang'an, and I will have time to pay homage to the masters of the capital in the future.
Now the master is in the crowd, using his magic power to prevent my little skill from succeeding. I hope you will show your support. If you are willing to let me go, I would like to worship you as my teacher and be driven by you."
After saying that, the illusionist once again bowed deeply to the people watching, then recited a spell and shouted loudly. However, Hu Ji still did not come back to life and could not stand up.
The people watching were talking and starting to make noises.
At this time, the Jinwu Guards cavalry patrolling the capital passed by and saw Hu Ji's head missing and bleeding all over the ground. They decided that the illusionist had killed people in the street and wanted to arrest her and send her to the government for trial.
The illusionist didn't explain too much, and said to General Jinwu Guard: "Everyone is surrounding here, and I can't escape even if I want to. I still have a way to save Hu Ji.
If you still don’t succeed this time, it won’t be too late for you to arrest me again.”
After that, the illusionist took out a beautiful wooden box from his luggage and took out a melon seed from the box.
The illusionist took out a horn knife, cut open his arm with the tip of the knife, and buried the melon seeds into the flesh. When the melon seeds were exposed to blood, they seemed to be abnormally nourished and grew rapidly.
Soon, a melon the size of a human head formed in the flesh mold of the illusionist's arm.
At this time, the illusionist bowed deeply again and said to the crowd of onlookers: "I am doing juggling tricks just to support my family in Hukou and make a living. It is the same as offending any elders in Chang'an. I don't want to kill anyone!"
I pray again, hoping that the master in the crowd will let me go and bring my wife back to life. I am really lucky!"
After saying this, the illusionist recited the spell for the fourth time and shouted loudly, but the beautiful Orchid still failed to revive.
Seeing that his opponent still refused to let him go, the illusionist became furious, his face darkened, and he sneered: "Do you think the Za family is afraid of you? You are pressing forward step by step and forcing me to kill people, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"
After saying that, the illusionist drew his knife, raised the knife with his hand, and chopped off the melons on his arms.
I saw a walking monk among the crowd of onlookers, roaring in pain. His head fell to the ground like a chopped melon and rolled into the mud! The blood spattered from his neck was shot a foot away. on the land.
The onlookers screamed in shock and hurriedly got away from the walking monk.
The illusionist then recited a spell and shouted loudly. Orchid's head quickly grew back, with no scars on her neck. She stood up and came back to life.
The illusionist no longer looked at the crowd, and calmly packed the equipment used in the illusion performance into his bag, carried it on his back, looked up to the sky, and blew a breath.
This breath instantly transformed into a colorful pillar of light reaching the sky, full of neon lights.
This beam of light seemed to be real. The illusionist and the beautiful Orchid climbed up into the air along the beam of light like climbing a coconut tree.
When the Jinwu Guards officers and the onlookers saw this magical skill, they were stunned and forgot to arrest him.
The illusionist and the beautiful Orchid climbed more than a foot high, and the light beam suddenly bloomed like fireworks, extremely brilliant, and the two figures disappeared.