Chapter 272 Returning Home

Time flies and it’s the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

On the straight official road in the north of Liangzhou, Ye Jingtang was riding a big black horse in front of the team, looking at the surrounding barren yellow land. It was inevitable to feel a sense of intimacy in my heart when I returned to my hometown. Of course, there was also a sigh of regret at the difference between things and people.

Pistachio Bird didn't have so many ideas as he did. After returning to the place where he grew up, he was very excited. One moment he flew to the tree to look at the bird's nest, and the next moment he went into the ground to look at the mouse hole and found a familiar native dog. He would also spread his big wings and pounce to chase away the dog, which made the local dog howl and bark wildly. It can be said that he showed his "village bully" style.

In the carriage behind him, Dongfang Liren raised the window and looked at the birds enjoying themselves in the fields, a little amused:

"Was it this naughty at home before?"

Night Terror Hall is not very easy to answer this topic. In the past in Honghe Town, because there was nothing interesting in the town, he was really busy. Apart from practicing martial arts every day, he spent the rest of his time fishing for fish and poaching bird eggs to chase away local dogs. Birds and birds had followed him since he was a child. He must be so ruthless. Learned from him.

Ye Jingtang definitely couldn't tell Benben these past events that were detrimental to his cold image. He just said:

"I'm just a little excited to finally come back after being away for a long time. I used to be very well-behaved at home."

"Yeah……"

…

While chatting, Ye Jingtang led the convoy and gradually arrived at the entrance of the town.

Ever since the encounter with the Black Flag Gang at the Bone Beach, the journey since then has been uneventful and nothing worth mentioning has happened.

The Gobi Desert is already boring. After more than half a month of traveling and driving from Yunzhou, even She Long and others, who are highly skilled in martial arts, are a little tired.

After the initial excitement, the Queen Mother sat in the carriage for a long time, unable to get out, and gradually became exhausted. What she wanted most now was to find a house and sleep on the bed down to earth.

Seeing that the convoy had arrived at the border town and the speed of the convoy slowed down, the Queen Mother raised the curtains of the car and looked around:

"Ye Jingtang, you lived here when you were a child? Yujunniao in the mountains, it's really not a joke..."

"Ji~"

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything about you..."

…

The streets of Honghe Town are not comparable to those of the capital city, or even the countryside of Yunzhou. There are yellow mud walls on both sides, as well as sheepfolds, cowsheds, etc. Although there are some businesses, the flow of people coming and going is small. It seems There is no business either.

The people in the town were busy outside during the day during the autumn harvest season. Only some idlers squatted at the door and curiously looked at the motorcade. Although they saw the Night Terror Hall, the momentum of the Night Terror Hall changed too much when they went out, so they were not sure.

The people who are familiar with Ye Jingtang have all brought their families to the capital to take root last time. But after living in the town for more than ten years, it is impossible not to meet people in the town without looking up. It is impossible not to meet the familiar people. Fellow fellows, they will still say hello the same way they did when escorts came back:

"Lao Zhang, I haven't been in such good shape for a few months..."

"Hey, Jingtang, why don't you go to the capital? Why are you back before the New Year?"

"I got an errand in the capital, and I'll be back on my way as a escort..."

"Looks like he's doing well, this big bird has gained weight..."

"grumble!"

…

Ye Jingtang succeeded Dao Kui and is now famous in the world. However, Honghe Town is too remote and the news is almost blocked. The ordinary people in the town may not be able to see the grandmaster once in their life, and they will not pay attention to these at all. It is definitely not Know what's going on with him outside.

And Ye Jingtang didn't look like he was returning home to show off his power. He was chatting politely as before, and soon passed by the only private school in the town.

Ye Jingtang didn't study in a private school, but he had a good relationship with the private school teacher. In the past, he got those classics and ancient books without telling his adoptive father through this channel. Although he also paid a lot of pheasant eggs and pocket money, the pheasant had Price and knowledge are priceless. To this day, he still often wishes a good person a safe life in his heart.

Returning to his hometown at this time, Ye Jingtang still did not forget to bring something from the capital even though he was busy. When he arrived in front of the private school, he took out a small book box from the carriage, which contained a complete set of well-edited books. Although it is not expensive, you may not be able to find a second set of this kind of thing even if you search Liangzhou.

The private school teacher heard the sound of horse hooves and had already arrived at the gate of the courtyard. When he saw Ye Jingtang approaching, he smiled happily and said:

"Jingtang is back. Yo~ why did you bring me something..."

"I bought a set of books in the capital. They were all hardcover originals that were proofread by everyone, and I brought them back. The books you got before had missing chapters. I didn't know until I went to the capital that the original illustrations were included..."

"I actually brought those with me. When you were young, I was afraid that I would teach you badly, so I tore out a few key pages for you..."

"What?!"

Ye Jingtang took the bookcase he had just touched and put it back, his original smile turning into seriousness.

And Da Benben, who was following not far away, his eyes widened a bit when he heard this, showing a little bit of laughter.

The private school teacher was very conscious. He stepped forward to pick up the book box and walked into the room. At the same time, he changed the subject and said:

"By the way, a girl came to the town to look for you a few days ago. She stayed in your old house without you. I knew you would come back then and waited here every morning..."

"girl?"

When Ye Jingtang heard this, he put away his distracting thoughts, stopped paying attention to this disrespectful old man, and turned around and said:

"It's probably Ning'er and the others who have arrived. Come over quickly."

Seeing this, Dongfang Liren called for the team to follow, and then walked in the direction of the escort office.

The Escort Agency in the town was planned and built by Pei Yuanfeng. It was originally just a small courtyard. After the Escort Agency became famous, it was expanded and renovated. Because the land at the border is not valuable, it occupies a quite large area. The courtyard outside can park more than 20 vehicles. A carriage, plus dozens of horses, and a residential area behind it. In addition to the father and son, some of the bodyguard's family members also lived there.

After Pei Yuanfeng passed away in March, Ye Jingtang followed his will and sold all the properties; just a compound in a small border town could not be bought for a thousand taels of silver, and the valuable parts were mainly in the connections that Pei Yuanfeng had built over the years. , such as large merchants with long-term cooperation.

The person who took over the escort agency was a wealthy man from a nearby town. He made a lot of money by buying and selling between the two countries. He wanted to change his career to a stable business, so he took over the escort agency. Before Ye Jingtang left, he visited the people he had cooperated with one by one. Businessmen from all over the world passed by.

Based on the reputation that Ye Jingtang and Pei Yuanfeng have built in the past years, as long as the escort agency operates normally, it is a business that will make a profit without losing any money.

But it is a pity that the escort agency is a martial arts business after all. Just like the Jianghu gangs, it puts morality first and money behind, so that it can truly last long.

Businessmen, who put profit first, simply couldn't get enough of this trick. First, they stingy the bodyguard and chilled the heart of the escort, and then they were reluctant to pay the money and argue with the sponsor. They just shut down the business of the escort agency in less than three months.

Hearing this on the way to Ye Jingtang, he could not help but shake his head secretly, but he couldn't say anything about the things he sold for a lot of money.

Ye Jingtang originally thought that the business had collapsed and the former escort agency was in a mess and dilapidated. However, when he walked near the Honghe Escort Agency, he saw that the outside of the compound was clean and the old porch had been painted with a layer of paint that had not yet dried. , obviously it was just painted recently.

The door of the Escort Agency is open, and there is a plaque on the door, with the four characters "Glacier Escort Agency" written on it...

"Jiji?"

The bird landed at the door of the house, tilted its head and looked at the signboard, with questions in its head.

Night Terror Hall is equally baffling.

But the Queen Mother behind her understood the meaning at a glance - except for Shui Shui, who was never very serious, normal people would not be able to do such inexplicable things.

The Empress Dowager tried her best to control her diet these days and not use the method of bathing in fire, so she could barely suppress her recovery power and let the poison of Prisoner's Miasma stay in her body. Perhaps she was afraid that Shuishui would notice something strange, so he took her back to the capital. He acted weak again and lowered the curtain of the carriage.

Ye Jingtang, with some doubts, came to the door of the escort agency and looked inside. When he looked up, he saw a ladder set up outside the door of the main room.

A woman in a white dress stands on a ladder, her belt outlines her perfect waist. The perfect skirt and voluptuous buttocks are clearly displayed in the autumn light. Her slightly raised profile is even more glamorous to the extreme.

The woman was holding a small hammer in her hand, banging it, and was hanging a large birdcage on the beam. She was humming a tune:

"Uh huh huh~..."

"grumble?!"

When the birds saw this scene, they were immediately shocked. They flew onto the shoulders of Master Xuanji and swept their faces with their wings. It looked like they wanted to slap this heartless person to death.

Xuanji had been on the roof as a watcher. When she saw Ye Jingtang and the others coming, she deliberately nailed a birdcage here to scare the birds. After being patted twice, she used her wrists to catch the birds and put them in. In the cage, he also expressed concern:

"Come and try it on to see if the birdcage I bought you fits."

"grumble!"

…

Ye Jingtang quickly entered the courtyard, came to the main room, and asked:

"Fairy Lu, when did you come? Your Majesty, everything is fine."

Master Xuanji hung up the birdcage, clapped his hands and jumped off the ladder:

"Your Majesty, everything is fine for the moment. I have been here for several days, and I don't know where you are, so I'm just waiting here. Ning'er is still waiting for Sanniang to recruit people, so she will probably come a few days later."

Ye Jingtang nodded and looked around at the neatly arranged escort agency:

"What's going on with this escort agency? Fairy Lu is here to redeem me?"

"What do you mean by redeeming it for you?"

Master Xuanji touched his sleeve and took out a house deed, indicating the black and white words and handprints on it:

"I bought this escort agency from my employer, and it will be my property from now on. You can redeem it if you want, but I have the final say on the price..."

“What am I redeemed for?”

Ye Jingtang was a little funny. He took the house deed and looked at it:

"I won't live here anymore. If I sell everything, there's no point in redeeming it. It's just right for Fairy Lu to buy it. There aren't many decent inns in the town. I just happen to be staying here these days."

Seeing that Ye Jingtang wouldn't let her handle it, Master Xuanji was a little unhappy and took back the house deed:

"Anyway, this house will be mine from now on. If you want to redeem the ancestral house in the future, you have to come to me. The longer you delay, the higher the interest will be. It's up to you."

"Then Fairy Lu is afraid that her hand will be smashed..."

Master Xuanji said a few words and then walked towards the door to visit her best friend.

Fan Qinghe had already arrived at the door. Along the way, because he was not familiar with the Queen Mother and Prince Jing, and it was difficult to strike up a conversation with Ye Jingtang, there was basically nothing to talk about along the way. Fan Qinghe, who was not tolerated by the witch, felt a bit of intimacy and asked at the door:

"What are you doing here? I can deal with the poison master alone. Is it necessary to mobilize an army like this?"

"It really doesn't take so many people to find a poison master. I came here to prevent you, a clever little guy, from making a wrong idea and diverting the Night Terror Hall to the Dongming Department. I have said hello to you in advance. If you dare to attack this Be careful, I will kidnap you back to Yunan when I get back, and you will stay in the dungeon for three to five years..."

Fan Qinghe came all the way here with the intention of taking Ye Jingtang back to the Dongming Department to verify her identity. She was dissatisfied when she heard this, but she hasn't reached her territory yet, and she won't have sex with this witch. There was a verbal dispute, and they just crossed their arms and entered the yard...

——

After a long time, by the river outside the town.

The name of the river is the Red River. Before the river changed its course, it was once a large river across the plains. Although it has dried up and only a knee-deep stream remains, the ancient river channel is still there, and you can see the two-foot-high Fenghua River on both sides. It is a soil slope, and the river bed is obviously lower than the terrain of Honghe Town.

In the inner bend of the ancient river, a loess tomb stood alone on the slope. Some weeds had grown on the tomb. The tombstone faced the direction of Yun'an. There were a few lines of small characters engraved on it, simply writing the name and birth and death. Year.

Dusk is setting, the autumn wind is bleak.

Ye Jingtang carried the incense and came to the slope alone, carefully cleaned the weeds on the grave, then lit three incense sticks, placed the Chilong knife across his knees, sat in front of the tombstone, and looked at the beginning of the year. A few words carved by my own hands.

The bird escaped from the cage. It was rare that he was not naughty. He specially caught a small fish from the river and placed it in front of the tombstone. Then he squatted down obediently, looking a little sad.

Ye Jingtang picked up Niaoniao very early and has been living in the escort agency for these years, while Pei Yuanfeng has no children. After getting to know each other, he actually treats Niaoniao better than Ye Jingtang does.

After all, Pei Yuanfeng wants to teach Ye Jingtang to become a talented person, and he will never be soft-hearted when he should be strict, but Nianniu doesn't need to pay attention to this, and basically loves him how he wants.

Now that the bird is living a good life, everyone rushes to feed it every day, but they have not forgotten the days when they were chasing after Pei Yuanfeng begging for food, and kept whispering.

Ye Jingtang's heart was much more complicated than that of a bird. On the way back, he thought about many things in his heart, telling his adoptive father that he had lived up to his expectations as the sword master, or telling about the process of defeating the Xuanyuan Dynasty, or what he encountered. He falls in love with a woman he likes and is no longer alone from now on.

But when I actually sat in front of the tombstone and saw the cold words, I realized that these thousands of words were nothing more than self-comfort for myself. How could the people in the tomb hear them.

Fortunately, he became whoever his adoptive father wanted him to be before he died. His adoptive father knew that he would be like this before he died, and he should have no regrets. What he says now is meaningless, and what he will do in the future is It’s nothing more than living a good life and continuing on your own path.

Ye Jingtang sat in front of the tomb for a long time, until the three sticks of incense were almost finished burning, then he stood up and turned towards the town where he grew up:

"Let's go."

"grumble……"

After looking at the tombstone for a moment, the bird turned around and landed on Ye Jingtang's shoulder. After taking a few steps, it turned back and waved its wings, and then gradually moved away.

Soon, the sky darkened, and only a solitary grave stood on the mound.

In the old house in the distance, human lights and smoke appeared.

The scene is one of light and darkness, one of yin and one of yang, a new generation replaces the old, this is what you think...