The legend of Dukang

Although Wen Ruyu said it lightly, the time was really rushed, so he hurried, and finally there was nothing wrong.As soon as the front foot arrived, Shen's carriage came to pick him up.The three of them walked all the way to Shen's residence in a carriage, and Shen Jia'an greeted them at the door.As soon as they got off the carriage, they warmly welcomed them into their yard.

According to the rules, he should have paid a visit to the master of the Shen family, that is, Shen Jiaan's parents.Unexpectedly, the patriarch Shen Daoyuan was away on business and was not at home, and Shen's mother, Mrs. Li, had been sick recently and had been lying in bed for a long time so that it would be inconvenient to disturb them, so the three of them avoided this ceremony.

Shen Daoyuan is the current patriarch of Cuiping Town, he is nearly sixty years old, and has three sons and two daughters under his knees.The eldest son and eldest daughter have passed away, leaving two sons and a daughter.

The Shen family's house is very large, divided into three courtyards.The largest courtyard in the middle is the main house, and the people living in it are naturally Shen Daoyuan and his wife.The slightly smaller courtyard to the east is the residence of the second son of the Shen family, that is, Shen Jianing, the second elder brother of Shen Jiaan.The small house to the west is naturally Shen Jia'an's residence, but Shen Jia'an is not yet married, and the layout of the house is a bit simpler.

After sitting in the living room, the servant served tea, and then exited the door.Wen Ruyu couldn't help laughing looking at the young servant's slim back.

Shen Jiaan asked curiously: "Brother Ruyu, what are you laughing at?"

Wen Ruyu quickly said: "It's nothing, I just saw that little brother has red lips and white teeth... Hehe, I didn't expect the servant in the house to be so smart."

Shen Jia'an didn't doubt that he was there, and said in a natural way: "Where, brother Wen is too much."

Fang Yunheng glared at Wen Ruyu, motioned him not to talk nonsense, and turned to apologize to Shen Jia'an: "Brother Shen, don't blame, Ruyu is used to being casual, and I look at Haihan when I am rude."

Shen Jiaan quickly returned the courtesy and said, "It's okay, it's okay."

Seeing that he was not unhappy, Fang Yunheng continued: "Yesterday, the three of us went to see Mr. Du, and I heard from him that the patriarch's sword is a sacred object in your town, and he never shows it to others easily. Not too abrupt."

Shen Jia'an was honest and didn't hide it: "To tell the truth, Brother Fang, my father really didn't agree with it at first, but after hearing that Brother Fang and others are extremely loyal and filial people, he didn't object."

Hearing what Shen Jiaan said, Fang Yunheng thanked her repeatedly.

After they chatted for a while, Fang Yunheng proposed to watch the sword.

Shen Jiaan was not in a hurry, and promised: "No rush, it's not too late for you guys to drink some tea before going."

The three had no choice but to sit and continue drinking tea.Just when Wen Ruyu felt that her stomach was about to be filled with tea, Shen Jia'an summoned a servant, gave him a few instructions, and then got up.

The three of them walked through several courtyards all the way, and finally arrived at the ancestral hall where the sword was enshrined.

Probably because of the frequent offering of incense and offering sacrifices, there is a fresh fragrance in the ancestral hall, which smells quite different from the fragrance in ordinary temples.On the sacrificial table in the center of the ancestral hall, there is a very conspicuous golden sword stand with lacquer and ink patterns, covered with a piece of red silk, covering the sword's demeanor.

Wen Ruyu couldn't help but click her tongue: I didn't expect there to be such a treasure in this remote village. Judging by the grandeur of this sword stand, the sword on it must be extraordinary.

Several people bowed down first, and Fang Yunheng asked tentatively: "Mr. Shen, can you take a look at the red cloth on the sword, uh...I mean, I don't know if it's convenient."

Shen Jiaan was very straightforward, after hearing what he said, he saluted the sword again, and then lifted the red silk on it respectfully with both hands.

The patriarch's sword is slightly bigger than normal swords, but it's not even as good as normal swords.Its blade is not that sharp, probably because of the age, the blade is severely worn.The hilt is carved out of wood, and the original color and pattern can no longer be seen clearly.Although the whole sword is not rusty, it exudes an aura of decay.It can only be said that this is a dilapidated sword, placed in a corner, not even qualified as scrap iron.It would be a waste to put it on such a precious sword stand.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like the famous Xuantian Sword!Wen Ruyu showed a disappointed expression.He turned to look at Fang Yunheng, and found that he was also slightly startled, looking thoughtful.Thinking about it, this sword should be different from the picture drawn by Old Man Xie.

Maybe their disappointed expressions were too obvious, and Shen Jiaan misunderstood it: "I told you a long time ago that our patriarch's sword is just an ordinary sword, and there is nothing special about it. You all came here to appreciate the sword, but I disappointed you all." .”

Hearing what Shen Jiaan said, Wen Ruyu realized that she was a little rude just now, and quickly adjusted her facial expression.

Fang Yunheng quickly explained: "What we appreciate is the hero behind the sword and the loyalty of Cuiping Town. The sword of the former patriarch embodies the admiration of Guizhen for the former patriarch. No amount of precious swords can be exchanged." .”

Naturally, these words were very appropriate, and Shen Jiaan was obviously very useful, so he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Brother Fang is so righteous, I admire him very much."

Jieyou has been acting as an invisible person standing by the side, watching the two of them being courteous to each other, without saying a word from the beginning to the end.

The few people returned to Shen Jiaan's room, chatted for a while, and then got up to leave.

Shen Jiaan refused to let them go, and enthusiastically kept them for dinner: "Just now, my younger brother has ordered to prepare meals. My father and elder brother are not at home today, we don't have to go to the main house to eat, and everyone can be more casual."

Shen Jia'an was eager to persuade him to stay, but Fang Yunheng stayed after a little refusal.

In order to prevent the guests from being bored, Shen Jiaan proposed to take them around Shen's residence first, and the three readily agreed.

Because Shen Jia'an's father and brother's house was full of female relatives, it was not easy for them to come in and out at will, so they could only wander around in Shen Jia'an's house.Fortunately, there is a garden behind the house, so I don't have to worry about having nowhere to go.

The garden area is very large, and various plants and flowers are planted in it, and a gazebo for viewing flowers is also built.Behind the pavilion is a clear spring, and a small arch bridge is built on the clear spring, which is quite scenic.Wen Ruyu couldn't help thinking of Du Shaokang's thatched cottage, compared the two, and silently scored in her heart.Although there are all kinds of pavilions, towers and pavilions here, it lacks a bit of pastoral style, and instead is contaminated with a bit of worldliness.

There are fish in the clear spring, not beautiful goldfish, but some wild fry, I can't tell what species it is.Several people simply sat down in the pavilion and watched the fish and the scenery.

Standing on the gazebo, the view is very wide.Across the overlapping roof tiles, a dark tower stands not far away. It is much taller than ordinary houses and looks very abrupt. Judging from the location, it should be in the direction of the main house.

Wen Ruyu pointed at the tower and said with a smile: "Brother Chen, do you still need to be on guard here? Is there someone standing guard on that tower?"

Shen Jiaan looked at the tower building and said with a smile: "That is an old building left over from many years ago, and it is useless now."

Fang Yunheng was attracted by their words, stared at the tower, and saw nothing wrong.He turned his head and his eyes fell behind Qingquan.There is also another courtyard there, almost completely buried in the bushes and vines, it looks very gloomy, if it is not exposed to a corner of the attic, it is almost impossible to be found.

Fang Yunheng thought that Shen Jia'an seemed to have a younger sister who hadn't left the cabinet yet. If she lived here, if she met halfway, wouldn't it disturb her.He hurriedly said to Shen Jia'an: "There seems to be a yard behind the spring, who lives there?"

Shen Jiaan looked at the direction of his finger, and said: "That is my uncle's residence, but his old man has passed away, so it is vacant, and few people usually come."

"Oh, that's how it is." Fang Yunheng smiled and thought to himself: Since it is the house where the elders lived, even though it has passed away, it cannot be left to be abandoned.Seeing that Shen Jiaan didn't want to say any more, he wisely didn't ask any more questions.

Wen Ruyu was very interested in the owner of this attic, why did he hang four bells on the roof?

The few people chatted until the sun was setting, and then went back to the house for dinner.

The dinner was very sumptuous, it seemed that the host had put in some effort, after the meal, the three of them thanked each other, seeing that it was getting late, they got up to leave.

Declining the kindness of the Shen family to send a carriage, the three of them bid farewell to Shen Jia'an.After leaving the gate of Shen's mansion, Fang Yunheng suddenly looked back at Shen's mansion in the night, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Wen Ruyu noticed something was wrong, quickly pushed him and said, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"

"I always feel that someone is staring at us." Fang Yunheng said in a nasty voice, then he shook his head again: "Maybe I'm thinking too much."

Being baffled by what he said, Wen Ruyu also looked back at the Shen residence behind her.

The night and the high walls have completely blocked the courtyard, only a tall tower standing alone in the night, two small windows emit faint yellow light, like two ghost eyes.

There were two crow calls in the air, the voices were sharp and piercing.Wen Ruyu suddenly felt a little panicked, seeing Fang Yunheng and Jieyou walking away, she hurriedly chased after them.

On the tower, a white-haired old man stood in front of the window.The light in the room was a little dim, so I couldn't see the expression on his face clearly.

A young man opened the door and came in, bowed to the old man, and said softly, "Father, the third brother is here."

The old man didn't look back, but raised his hand, motioning for him to come in.

After a while, Shen Jiaan came in, knelt down and bowed to the old man: "Greetings to father." After speaking, he bowed to the young man: "Second brother."

It turned out that the young man standing was the second son of the Shen family, Shen Jianing, and the old man was the patriarch of Cuiping Town, Shen Daoyuan.

Only then did Shen Daoyuan turn around and asked, "Did you not neglect the guests?"

His voice was hoarse, as if it had been smoked by fire.

Shen Jiaan said in a low voice: "I don't dare, I have already sent the guests away."

Shen Daoyuan looked up at his younger son and said: "Okay, you are tired today, go down and rest. Your mother is not in good health, so don't go out for a walk these days, stay at home with her at ease."

"Yes." Shen Jia'an bowed again before retreating respectfully.

Shen Jianing looked at Shen Jiaan's leaving back, and asked in a low voice after a long time: "Father, are you really not telling the third brother about this? He should know about such a big thing!"

Shen Daoyuan said flatly: "Jia'an is not deeply involved in the world, knowing it will only increase troubles, but it will be easier to reveal flaws and give others opportunities. You should go down and make arrangements!"

Shen Jianing still didn't move, Shen Daoyuan turned his head, looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Jianing said slowly: "Father, since the news has leaked out, why not..."

Before he finished speaking, Shen Daoyuan greeted him with murderous eyes.

Shen Jianing lowered his head, swallowed the words embarrassingly, and then whispered after a while: "Father, is it worth doing this?"

"Your brother and sister are already dead, do you think it's worth it?" Shen Daoyuan stared at Shen Jianing closely, and said coldly.

As if afraid of his gaze, Shen Jianing didn't dare to raise his head, and after a long time said in a condescending way: "Brother and sister are already dead, so it's really worth taking more lives?"

Shen Daoyuan looked out of the window, looked at the bright moonlight, and didn't say a word for a long time.A heavy sigh sounded vaguely in the air.