Zhending Prefecture, Fuping County, near a small stream.

There was a boy of eight or nine years old, wearing a velvet cloth dress with a short knife with a few yellow and white feathers on his waist. He was holding a green bamboo in his hand and putting it on the fire to smoke it. There was a half-large pheasant on the bamboo.

There was a girl with a dirty face next to her, with her big eyes open, looking at the roasted pheasant, smelling the smell of meat mixed with the earthy smell, and swallowing gently.

"Brother Xiao Ling, how long will it take to bake it?" the girl asked impatiently.

"Mingxia, wait a little longer, it's almost done." The boy slowly turned the bamboo pole, and sweat kept flowing down his temples.

"Oh!", the girl responded, then saw the sweat on the boy's face, and raised her wet sleeves to wipe him. Obviously, the girl's sleeves were not clean. After the sweat, the boy's face became the same as the girl, full of mud.

The girl looked at his dirty face and laughed a few times.

But the boy shouted "Okay!" and took back the bamboo pole and handed the roasted pheasant that was emitting a rich aroma to the girl, "Come on, Mingxia, you can taste it first."

The girl's attention instantly shifted to the roasted pheasant, and she stretched out her little hand to pull the chicken leg down. As soon as her finger touched the chicken leg, she suddenly shrank back and put it in her mouth to hold it.

Seeing that she was hot, the boy inserted the bamboo pole on the ground, grabbed a handful of grass from the ground, wrapped the chicken feet with the grass, pulled the chicken legs off, and handed it to the girl.

Seeing this, the girl laughed again, took the chicken leg and took a light bite.

"How does it taste?" the boy asked.

The girl nodded like a chicken pecking at the rice: "It's so delicious."

The boy smiled, pulled out the bamboo pole, found a stone to sit down, and tore the small piece of pheasant meat from the bamboo pole, put it in his mouth and chewed it.

However, the girl sat down next to the boy regardless of whether the floor was dirty or not, and began to eat chicken legs in big mouthfuls.

Looking at the girl who was eating voraciously, the boy tore off another chicken leg at the base of his legs and handed it to her.

The girl held a chicken leg in one hand and said while eating: "Well, Brother Xiao Ling, you are so awesome. You caught the pheasant so easily. My father is just a fool. He hasn't caught it several times."

The boy said softly: "I have been hunting with my father since I was a child and have learned some skills in catching small animals. Uncle Li is farming all day long, so it is normal that he can't catch them."

The carefree girl only ate the chicken legs in her hand, stammered for a few perfunctory times, and did not talk to the boy again.

The boy smiled and looked at her eating method like a windy cloud, and tore off another piece of meat for her. After that, once the girl finished eating the meat in her hand, the boy would tear her another piece of tender meat for her.

After eating like this for a long time, the girl pursed her fingers with satisfaction, patted her bulging belly, suddenly raised her face, and said to the boy seriously: "Brother Xiao Ling, can I marry you when I grow up?"

The boy was stunned and said, "Mingxia, do you know what marriage is?"

The girl felt a little greasy on her hands, so she wiped the boy's clothes. After hearing his words, she pinched her chin with her unwiped hands, pretended to be thinking, stared at the boy and said, "It's just like my father and mother, I won't be separated forever. When I go with you, I will ask you to catch pheasants and rabbits every day for me to eat. Hehe."

Before the boy could answer, the girl grabbed his sleeve and said proudly: "Listen to me first, Brother Xiao Ling. My mother likes you very much. I overheard her and her father say: 'The old Mo family is so smart. I like you no matter how you look at him. It would be great if our ugly girl can be a couple with him in the future.'"

Looking at the girl's arrogant look, the boy smiled and said, "You are so happy to say you are ugly girl."

Unlike boys whose faces have edges and corners, the girl's eyebrows and eyes have not yet grown. With her round face, she is not ugly, but she is not pretty. She only has a pair of aura and big black eyes that are pleasing to the eye.

After hearing what the boy said, the girl whined and hugged his sleeve tightly and said, "No matter what, I want to marry you. No matter how ugly you are, you have to marry me."

The boy reached out and wiped the oil stains remaining on the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile, "Okay, I marry you, but there is one condition, that is..." As he said that, the boy stood up suddenly, ran away, and said as he ran, "You can catch up with me!"

Looking at the boy's figure running away, the girl was stunned for a moment, hurriedly got up and followed, chasing and shouting, "You are cheating!"

After running for a while, they arrived at the entrance of their village. The boy stopped and waited for the girl behind him.

"Xiao, Brother Xiao Ling! You are cheating!" the girl said panting.

The boy whispered: "Okay, stop playing, go home quickly, it's almost dark, your mother should come out to find you."

The girl gasped, looked at the gloomy sky, nodded and said, "Okay. It's so late, I'm going to be scolded by my mother when I go back." Then she walked towards the village with him.

After walking dozens of steps, I suddenly heard a faint sound from afar, accompanied by the slight trembling of the ground.

The agile boy immediately grabbed the girl's hand and ran away.

"No! Mingxia, that's the sound of the horse team. I'm afraid a horse thief is coming! Hurry up and hide."??

While running, the boy looked around and saw a haystack. He immediately pulled the girl to hide in.

At the same time, shouts sounded around him, and sounds of horse hooves rolled in, as big as thunder. The boy hidden in the haystack realized the seriousness of the matter and reached out to cover the girl's lips tightly.

After a while, there were roars and screams. A group of soldiers with sharp swords on their waists and soldiers holding sharp swords were slaughtering the people in the village. None of the elderly, weak, women and children were spared, and only a few slightly beautiful women were knocked unconscious and tied to the horse's back.

After the soldiers had plundered, they began to set fire to the houses, and wisps of black smoke rose into the sky.

The girl in the haystack heard the villagers' crying and slowly realized what was going on. Her petite body began to tremble, and tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. The boy hurriedly moved his feet to let the girl see her eyes, while staring at her eyes tightly, trying to calm her down...

"Uh———!!!"??

With a scream, the boy woke up from his dream. The scenes before seemed to be still in front of him, and the hostility in his eyes could not be dissipated for a long time.??

Soon, the bedroom door opened and an old man in his sixties walked in with a hunched over.??

"Ling'er, have you had a nightmare again?" the old man asked softly.??

The boy nodded, stood up and looked at the old man and said, "Master, I want to go south to find Mingxia. She must have gone south, and I must find her."??

The old man sighed and said, "Ling'er, I asked someone to ask the government. There is no girl named Li Mingxia in the Zhending Mansion. At her age of seven or eight, she would not have gone too far back then."??

Staring at the old man's deep eyes, the young man said firmly: "Mingxia must be alive. No matter what, I will find her!"??

Seeing the young man insisting repeatedly, the old man's face froze and said angrily: "Bastard! A good man should hold a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled achievements. How can he miss his life because of his children's love for his children!"??

Seeing the angry face of the old man, the young man panicked. No matter how lazy he was in practice, the master had never been so angry. Now he was really angry and hurriedly fell to the ground: "Master calm down, my disciple is just confused for a moment!"??

Seeing the boy kneeling on the ground and crying, the old man couldn't bear it and sighed, "Get up first. It's not a bad thing for you to care about your childhood sweetheart, but for so many years, she may have become a wife even if she is alive.

Today, our Song Dynasty has a weak national strength, and the Jurchens are rising. The people are brave and brave. If they don’t accept the Khitan, there will be a great war between the Khitan Jurchens. At that time, our Song Dynasty will inevitably be affected by the war. Don’t be obsessed with the private relationship between children, and you should have the desire to serve the country."

The young man slowly stood up and said seriously: "Master, please rest assured. Your disciple must obey your instructions. If there is trouble in the Song Dynasty in the future, I will definitely contribute to the country."

The old man didn't care about his disciple's words, sighed, shook his head and left the room.

After the old man left, the young man closed his eyes and thought for a moment. When he dreamed of Mingxia again, he became even more determined to be alive.

...

A few years later, in the first year of Xuanhe, Bianliang City.

Bianliang City was the capital of the Song Dynasty with a population of millions. It was the most prosperous capital among all countries. All the high-ranking officials and nobles gathered here, and it was the center of the power of the entire Song Dynasty. There are all kinds of vendors. However, many merchants did not buy industries in Bianliang for profit, but to make it easier to get close to some high-ranking officials and nobles, so as to use money to do things.

The capital is so big that the tea rooms and the wine shops are filled with fragrance. Naturally, there is a place of romance and flowers, and the alum building is one of them.

At this time, in a room in the alum building, a boy was sitting at the table yawning boredly, as if waiting for someone.

After a while, a middle-aged man stepped into the house.

"Junior Brother Ziling, why are you here? I haven't seen you for many years. I wonder how Master is doing?" The man looked at the handsome young man in blue in front of him, with a full face of concern.??

The young man stroked the sword in his hand, placed it aside, and looked up and said, "Master Senior Brother Lin, don't have to worry about it. He had been fighting with me a few months ago and had fought for nearly three hours without any fatigue. But I was so tired that I recovered after three days of rest. It was also because the master nodded, so I was able to leave. I recently passed by Bianliang City and thought about meeting Senior Brother Lin. But the master is indeed old and has no desire to disturb the world. "??

When the man heard this, he was a little sad and sighed: "Oh, Zi Ling, you don't know. Master still had great ambitions back then. However, the world is difficult. The national policy of the Song Dynasty emphasizes literature over military affairs. In addition, the treacherous ministers are in power, and the master's ambitions are hard to fulfill. He is a little discouraged and has just returned to the world to travel."??

The young man nodded and said softly: "The master hasn't let go. A few years ago, he specifically asked me to join the army if the Song Dynasty is in trouble in the future. But based on my impressions along the way, with the current situation of the Song Dynasty, it is probably difficult to resist the Liao, Jin, Tiger and Wolf Army."

When the man heard this, his face changed slightly, and he looked at the young man with a firm look: "Zi Ling's words are wrong. Since the alliance between the Chanyuan, the Liao and Song dynasties have been peaceful for more than a hundred years, and they are at peace. The rich life has made the Liao people lose their spirits, and the combat power of soldiers has decreased a lot.

Although our Song Dynasty values ​​civil governance and neglects military merits, fortunately, the generals and corps of the Imperial Army have performed their duties for many years and have not stopped practicing. As for the Jurchens, although they had won consecutive battles before, their soldiers were few and few people, and it was extremely difficult to annex the Liao Kingdom. How can we do this for our Song Dynasty?"

The boy suddenly laughed and said, "What Brother Lin said is reasonable, but I am worried about it."

The man looked at it for granted, nodded, and said, "Zi Ling, are you ready to go? If you don't have a place to go, you can arrange some legitimate chores for you. After a stable place in Bianliang, you will always be better than wandering around."

The young man smiled and replied: "I heard many anecdotes in the world along the way, and I yearned for them. I wanted to see the great rivers and mountains of the Song Dynasty and see the heroes in the world."

When the boy heard the answer, the man was not disappointed, but just instructed: "It's good to go out and try it out, but Ziling must not have a deep relationship with others. Most of the people in the world are sinister and cunning people, and they will follow the profits for profit. You have had a shallow experience, so be very careful when dealing with them."

The young man said helplessly: "Senior Brother, you are just over thirty years old and are chattering like an old man in his seventies and eighties. It's better to be as refreshing as the master."

Before the man could speak, the young man suddenly remembered some of the things he had done before and asked, "Senior brother, can you know a man named Lu Qian?"

The man was stunned and shook his head and replied, "I have never heard of it, I don't know who it is?"

The boy looked at the man who was not like a pretender and said softly: "Maybe I recognized the wrong person."

...

After chatting for a long time, the boy picked up the long sword beside him, stood up and said goodbye and left.

In the evening, on the official road outside Bianliang City, a young man was wearing green clothes and riding a white horse, slowly heading eastward.

Looking at the bustling official road and the various peddlers and pawns, the young man's mood couldn't help but change. Although the world is difficult and the world is dangerous, everyone is working hard to live. On this land, everyone is like flowers and trees, born towards the sun.

However, what the boy didn't know was that there were the most insects and ants under the flowers and trees.

The boy looked back at the towering city of Bianliang. The Song Dynasty Kyoto under the sunset actually gave him an inexplicable feeling of desolation.

The boy shook his head and dispelled the strange thoughts in his heart.
Chapter completed!