Clouds and Waters

"Yu'er, I'm a little... a little... nervous."

Yun Chenxiao sat a little awkwardly in the main hall of the private residence of the head of the Tang Sect, rubbing her hands constantly and said.

Shui Xinyou unconsciously smiled and said: "I have told you before leaving, but if you do a good deed, don't ask about the future. Don't ask about the result of this matter, I hope it can settle your worries."

Yun Chenxiao nodded helplessly, sat down and picked up the cup of tea, when the sound of footsteps came from behind the screen.Yun Chenxiao was so startled that she hurriedly put down the teacup and looked up.

From behind the landscape screen, two figures gradually approached.Yun Chenxiao took a closer look, and saw a tall, childish person, Tang Xiaohan, a disciple of the Tang Sect.She was pushing a wheelchair in her hand at this time, and a man about 40 years old was sitting in the wheelchair.The man was dressed as an ordinary scribe in a green shirt, with a long beard reaching to his chest, and a face like a crown jade. Although he was sitting in a wheelchair, he still looked calm and desolate.

The two approached slowly, and Tang Xiaohan pushed the wheelchair to the main seat in the hall, then stood aside with his hands down respectfully, without saying a word.The man in the wheelchair looked around, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "You two distinguished guests are worth a thousand dollars, and they came from a long distance away. I, the Tang Sect, should have swept the couch to welcome you. It's just that you two came in a hurry, and I had to be wronged a little bit last night. I don’t know if the distinguished guests are still used to it?”

Yun Chenxiao was full of anticipation and nervously thinking that the head of the Tang Sect should be her mother Lin Qingying, but unexpectedly, such a man in a wheelchair came out, the disappointment and sadness could not be concealed, and his expression was already hard to see Extremely, I can't answer half a sentence.On the contrary, Shui Xinyou responded calmly, said a few high-sounding greetings, and said: "Tang Sect has always been high in the world, not stained with common dust. The head of the sect, Gao Shan Jingxing, is too modest. People have never seen the face of the head of the sect, and they don't know what the head of the sect is called?"

Shui Xinyou said this cleverly.In fact, she also suspected that the head of the Tang Sect, or that the actual person in charge of the Tang Sect was Lin Qingying, and that the person in front of her might be just a puppet.She complimented the head of the Tang Sect, if this person recognized it, it meant that he was the head, if this person did not recognize it, maybe there are still many strange things to consider.

The man in the wheelchair smiled slightly, and replied: "Lord Shui is absurd. How can I, Tang Zhongping, be able to stand up to Lord Ge Kui's approval and praise. My Tang Sect suffered a severe injury 20 years ago, and it is no longer what it used to be." Glory. I..." He patted his legs as he spoke, curled his lips and smiled bitterly and said: "You two have seen it too, and I am in this situation again, how can I have the face to go out to show my eyes? But clean up the mess and live on in the world That's all."

Shui Xinyou also sneered and said, "Why should the head of the Tang sect belittle himself? The Tang sect is known as the number one sect in Sichuan, and it has made many masters in the rivers and lakes frightened. Such a famous sect that has been passed down for a hundred years is only because of a general of Yunzheng Tingyun 20 years ago. Just a pinch of poison/medicine, and then just collapsed? This is just a deception, but I don’t believe it anyway.”

Tang Zhongping picked up the teacup and took a sip of the tea, and said calmly, "If Mr. Shoufu doesn't believe it, I can't help it."

The words have come to this point, and both parties are quite embarrassed.Tang Zhongping had already started drinking tea leisurely, with the faint intention of seeing off the guests.Tang Xiaohan was also watching his nose and mouth at this time, and kept silent.Shui Xinyou saw that little cloud dog again looking out of his mind, making people both mourn for his misfortune and anger at his indisputability, unaware of his arrogance, stood up and said loudly: "Master Tang, although I, Shui Xinyou, I found an official position in the imperial court, but in the end, I still come from the rivers and lakes, so we don't have to follow the rules of the officialdom and pretend to be here!"

Hearing this, Tang Zhongping dragged his throat and let out an "oh", and said with a smile, "Master Shuimen is going to follow the rules of the rivers and lakes? Well, it's straightforward to speak quickly. Tang would like to hear more about it."

Shui Xin calmed down slightly, and said in a calm voice: "The two of us came to the Tang Sect for two reasons. First, although Yun Zhengting's methods were despicable 20 years ago, after all, he managed the disputes between sects in Central Shu for the court. , The credit is indispensable. Although he frustrated the spirit of the Tang Sect, he did not kill them all after all. The Tang Sect has deep roots and luxuriant family, and the family has a great career. I believe it has already recovered its strength. The so-called enmity between the Tang Sect and the Jingzhou Yun family, and the court, But you can skip it. I don’t care whether Tangmen’s vitality is really hurt or it’s a fake gesture. As long as you maintain the status quo, don’t make enemies with the imperial court, don’t be hawks and dogs of the vassal king, and you will naturally be kind. I won’t embarrass you. But if you don’t forget the old grievances, oppose the court, and act like a tiger, then don’t blame the thunder and wrath, and disaster will come. I’m afraid this time it won’t be as easy as it was 20 years ago.”

"Haha, Master Shui has such a big tone!" Tang Zhongping didn't change his smile, and couldn't see the sadness and joy on his face, he just said lightly: "This is one, I would like to hear the second."

"Secondly, it's a private matter." Shui Xinyou stretched out her hand and pushed Yun Chenxiao, who was full of worries and a sad face, and said straight to the point: "Her name is Yun Chenxiao, and she is the daughter of Yun Zhengting and Lin Qingying. . Given your age as Sect Master Tang, naturally you don’t know Lin Qingying’s name, right?”

Tang Zhongping narrowed his eyes, looked at Yun Chenxiao carefully, nodded his head and said, "It's as solemn as the breeze, and as bright as the moon. On that day, the master wrote this horoscope to the junior sister, saying that the only thing in the world is a clear shadow. Now this Xiaoyun...hehe, although she has the demeanor of a junior sister, but..."

"Do you know my mother?" Yun Chenxiao was originally distracted and restless, but when he heard Tang Zhongping's words, the altar flashed, his eyes were like lightning, his heart almost jumped out, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Do you know me?" Want my mother?"

When Tang Zhongping saw Yun Chenxiao heard the name "Lin Qingying", he was immediately in high spirits. He was completely different from the dumbfounded state before, and he was also secretly startled, thinking: "There are six or seven points of similarity in the eyebrows and eyes, but now this demeanor is actually Ten to ten is the mother's style." He replied: "Qing Ying is my junior sister from the same school, so I naturally recognize it."

"My mother, where is she now? She...she..."

Yun Chenxiao was anxious in her heart, and she didn't choose what to say.Shui Xinyou was anxious, so she had to say for her: "This is the second thing I said. Help her find her mother."

"Looking for Junior Sister Qingying?" Tang Zhongping was taken aback and said, "To be honest, I have been looking for Junior Sister for many years. But my Junior Sister is stubborn... If she wants to see you, she will come without invitation. She If you don't want to see you, it's useless to search all over the world."

Yun Chen eagerly looked at Tang Zhongping, his eyes were full of anticipation, almost filled with tears, his appearance and demeanor very similar to Lin Qingying, Tang Zhongping couldn't refuse.Tang Zhongping sighed, and said eloquently: "Back then, when your father brought his junior sister home, who would have imagined... After the incident, the master abolished his martial arts and expelled all our senior brothers from the sect. Only I fought to die If you don’t leave, these legs were disabled by the master.” When he talked about the past, he was quite sentimental, and he paused and said: “Our senior brothers are not very talented, so many advanced martial arts and formulas have not been taught by the master. A few years later , Master drove the crane to the west, and the secret book was taken away by Yun Zhengting. The future of my Tang Sect is really uncertain. Just when I was anxious and upset, an unexpected visitor suddenly came outside the door, claiming to possess the Tang Sect secret book. "

Upon hearing this, Yun Chenxiao said excitedly, "Is that person my mother?"

Tang Zhongping shook his head and said: "I also thought it was my junior sister who came back, so I hurried to see it. It was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl holding a package in her arms. As soon as she saw me, she asked, 'Are you Tang? Tang Zhongping, the second disciple of Mr. Qianqiu?' I saw that she was learning to speak adult language at a young age, so I knew someone had taught her, so I agreed. She claimed to be Lin Qingying's personal servant in Jingzhou, and she was ordered by her master. Here's something important."

"Cheats of the Tang Sect?" Yun and Shui asked in unison.

Tang Zhongping nodded and said: "That's right. I couldn't help being surprised when I saw it at the time, and asked her the whereabouts of her junior sister, but she just shook her head and didn't know. I couldn't believe it. When I asked urgently, she faltered and said something. What's a 'moderate volume'..."

Yun Chenxiao interjected: "Civilization can be done as you please, and you have no intention of letting it go?"

Tang Zhongping was overjoyed when he heard the words, patted the handle of the wheelchair and said with a smile: "It turns out that this is what my junior sister left behind! Fortunately, I racked my brains at the time, and I didn't understand the deep meaning of this 'book is moderate'! It's just..." Tang Zhongping As she spoke, she looked up at Yun Chenxiao, but couldn't bear to speak.

At this time, Yun Chenxiao's heart was also half cold, and he murmured: "What a 'Wuxin'! Mother, this is, 'Wuxin' with Daddy, and 'Wuxin' with me."

Tang Zhongping saw Yun Chenxiao sad, and comforted him: "Junior Sister Qingying has always been calm and independent, and doesn't care much about the world. Since she has the idea of ​​being born, you can also let it go."

Yun Chenxiao glanced at him unwillingly, but suddenly a flash of wit flashed, and asked: "You said, the one who came to deliver the cheats back then was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who claimed to be my mother's maidservant? Do you remember her?" What does it look like? Do you know her name and place of origin?"

"I..." Tang Zhongping was at a loss for words for a while, recalling in his mind for a while, Fang said: "I lost and found the secret book of the Tang Sect. I was only interested in being happy at that time. I really forgot to ask the girl's name and origin. It was my negligence. After a long time, the girl grows up." I really can't remember what it was like..."

Yun Chenxiao thought that she had caught a chance, but she didn't want to be lost again. Tang Zhongping suddenly said, "That's right... that girl was wearing a veil at first, and refused to show her true colors. Once I heard I was told by a maid serving her that she had a not-so-obvious birthmark on her left cheek, so..."

"Birthmark? Left...left cheek? Do you remember correctly?" Yun Chenxiao jumped up, ran to Tang Zhongping, squatted down and stared into his eyes and asked sharply.

Tang Zhongping didn't expect that Yun Chenxiao's lightness kung fu was so high and his speed was so fast, if she wanted to harm him, how could he survive?Seeing that Yun Chenxiao was just staring at him intently, she panicked for no reason, and said in a trembling voice: "Uh... Maybe... Maybe the maid has made a mistake? The right cheek? Or..."

Yun Chenxiao took a deep breath, forced herself to stabilize her mind, stood up slowly, but felt top-heavy, dizzy for a while, and almost fell, but fortunately Shui Xinyou supported her, rubbed her temples and asked in a low voice Said: "But is there any problem with the birthmark on the left cheek?"

Yun Chenxiao nodded lightly and said: "If Master Tang remembers correctly—I already know who this is my mother's maid with a birthmark on her left cheek."

"Who?"

"She is..." Yun Chenxiao seemed a little embarrassed to say, she lowered her head and said coyly: "She is my father's step-wife, the current wife of Yipin Gaoming, my second mother—her boudoir name is Li Wei. But I don't know, she... she is my mother's maid? Where does this come from!"

The author has something to say:

Note ① It comes from the original poem "Baiyun Xiangkong" written by Jiao Yu in the Tang Dynasty: Baiyun ascends to the distant Xiu, swaying into the clear sky.Take the time to relax, and never let it go.If you want to sell, you will still bring the sun, and it will be broken because of the wind.The situation is thin and flying is difficult to determine, the sky is high and the color is easy to be poor.The shadow collects the vital energy meter, and the light is extinguished in the void.If you go from the dragon, you will also give alms.

In the article, Lin Qingying left this verse, to the effect that she goes with the clouds and has no intention of going or staying.