Chapter 17 Section Eleven

The fourth day of August. Huangyuefang, Mingkeli. Towards the end of the evening, the jade shop was empty and there were no customers. The jade worker walked among the large jade wares with a duster in his hand, gently dusting off the floating dust. The curtain rattled.Yugong raised his head and widened his dim old eyes, seeing a young man walking in.A silver chrysanthemum military emblem hung from his shoulders, and his body was armored with black iron scales.Yugong suddenly raised his caution, the one with the silver chrysanthemum emblem was Yajiang. Given the age of this guest, his military rank was not low, and the dace armor was only equipped by the cavalry of the forbidden army. Wolves and tigers are not much better.

The young people who came in didn't look like they were here to buy jade, they stopped when they met the big wine-red jade sea head-on, their eyes were a little dazed, and they glanced at the dazzling array of Guibi Huangzhang.His hair was disheveled, his face was covered with sweat, the neckline of his armor was pulled halfway, and his scarf was crooked, as if he had just returned from a drill. Yugong walked to him with a smile: "Guest, we are going to close the door. If you have anything you like, just pick it up." Far from having the vigor that a young officer of the Forbidden Army should have, the young man nodded awkwardly, walked into the pile of jade wares without looking at the jade worker, and looked left and right.

Yu Gong is a person who has seen the world, so he is relieved and still dusts the dust around.The sunset faded little by little, and when it was time to hold the candles, Yugong turned around and wanted to go to the cabinet to get the candlesticks, but was taken aback.The young man followed behind him without saying a word for an unknown how long.When he got closer, his eyes were actually pure black, as dark as ink. The young man scratched his already messy hair: "Does it scare you? I... I wanted to find something, but I couldn't find it." The jade craftsman had calmed down at this moment, and smiled: "No, the guest's eyes have a special color, which reminds me of a kind of jade called 'ink gall'. When I was young, I saw a piece of stone, even if it was placed under the scorching sun. , and only one color is pure black, without any blemishes, just like a pool of thick ink. I have never seen a second piece in my life... I said too much, what is the guest looking for?"

"It's a jade ring," the young man compared with his hands, "it's about this big, and it's green." He hesitated again, and made a smaller circle: "Probably not that big, only this big." The jade worker laughed: "The guest is joking. Yuhuan is a worthless thing. A big shop doesn't grind hundreds of them every month? My shop is small, and I still grind more than a dozen of them every month. The color is blue and white. Green, red and yellow, and green is the most, so I can't find it. Did the customer meet me before?" The young man shook his head: "I haven't seen it either, so I'm not sure what it is. A friend of mine said he saw it here, probably in mid-April."

"I'm afraid the jade I fancy in mid-April may be gone. This kind of little thing is selling fast." "Is that so..." The young man revealed a disappointed expression. Yugong's heart moved slightly: "I remembered, the guest waits for me." When he came out from the back again, he was holding a tallow candle and an exquisite lacquered wooden box in his hand.When the box was opened by candlelight, the young man took a low breath.A touch of deep blue rose in the candlelight, and it was so green that it was black. In the box, a jade ring lay in the heavy crimson brocade.The jade worker picked up the jade ring and rotated it with his fingers. Sometimes it looked clear and transparent, and sometimes it was extremely dark green, like the dark blue used by girls for thrush eyebrows.

"Yes! This is it!" The young man took Yuhuan and stroked it, loving it. "It's fortunate that there are so many discerning guests who have taken a fancy to this snake jade." The jade craftsman is experienced, and he praised the guests calmly. "How much?" "Two hundred and fifty gold baht." "Two hundred and fifty gold baht?" The young man was stunned for a moment, "I asked around, and Yuhuan only sells for dozens of gold baht elsewhere, which is already the most expensive!" "The quality of jade is good or bad. Snake jade with jade eyes is something that can't be found. Among the stones I have seen, this one is also the best. It is really not expensive at 250 pieces. Actually If it is cheap, it will be easy to sell, and it will not be kept today."

The young man held the jade ring in his hands and remained silent, his thick black eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and the corners of his mouth also tensed up, sharp and lively. Yugong almost blurted out that it would be fifty gold baht cheaper.But he held back, and glanced at the young man's whole body, it didn't look like he was carrying two hundred gold baht.General Ya is just a low-ranking officer. If he only takes military pay, it will only cost four or five gold baht a month. It seems that young people still haven't learned the tricks of making money that are common in the forbidden army.In this case, even if it was reduced to two hundred gold baht, it would only embarrass him even more.

The young man seemed to be holding a heavy object, rubbed it for a long time, and put the jade ring back into the box.He didn't say goodbye, just turned and left. "This one is expensive, and there are other items in the back, do you want to see it?" Yugong asked after him. The young man half turned around and shook his head: "I will be back." At the mid-heaven of the moon, a small courtyard in the south of Nanhuai City. "Your Highness, are you ready?" Yi Tianzhan's deep voice came from outside the door. In the room, Yu Ran took a deep breath, took off the silver silk cloth to cover her face, and pushed open the door.

For a moment, Yi Tianzhan felt that the moonlight was not shining from the top of his head, but pouring out from the hut.He could hardly recognize the girl he had brought up, the moonlight was flowing on her long white dress, and it seemed to flow into every fold.The exposed shoulders have an ivory-like texture, and are wrapped around armbands engraved with Mira star patterns.The long golden hair was bundled up high and held down by a sterling silver crown of wings.Her face was covered with silver silk nets, and countless sterling silver star orchids shone like stars in the nets, making it impossible to see her appearance clearly.

"Gu Mo, I'm ready." Yu Ran's voice was calm. Yi Tianzhan leaned on a long spear, half kneeled and lowered his head respectfully.This is his proper etiquette, but it is not entirely out of etiquette.After many years, he once again saw a person in such a costume standing under the moonlight.The feeling of his hometown that had subsided for a long time returned, and he seemed to smell the fragrance of camphor wood in the forest of Ningzhou again.In a trance, he remembered that many years ago, when he was a child, he looked up at the top of the tallest tree in the Temple of Teclis, and the saint in white sang faintly.The forest was as quiet as the moment when the sky and the earth first opened. Everyone bowed down with tears in their eyes, but he stood there blankly, holding his little bow and arrow tightly, vowing to defend everything.

"Guomo." Yi Tianzhan came back to his senses and stretched out his arms. In the middle of the courtyard, a three-story square platform was built with green camphor logs, the height of a person.Yu Ran supported Yi Tianzhan's arm, and slowly climbed up.She spread out her huge skirt, knelt on the cushion in the middle, and lowered her head.Yi Tianzhan stood in front of the wooden platform and clapped his hands lightly. The door of the yard opened silently, and the moonlight made the long white hair of the person outside the door shine like silver.He approached with a blank face, with a green bow slung across his body, and a gorgeous lacquer armor, with his right hand tightly pressing his chest. Yi Tianzhan bowed to Yuran and saluted: "Your Highness, this is what I told you, the envoy from my hometown, Yihan of the Stark city-state." "Stark city-state, Yihan Volco Stark." Yihan half-kneeled solemnly. "Samurai from my hometown," Yu Ran's voice was far from her usual cheerfulness, it seemed empty and cold, "Did you come here from a far away place, did you have the courage and determination to defend the glory of Teclis?" "Yes, Your Royal Highness! I crossed the entire land and finally found you. I dedicate all of Hexue's loyalty to you, including my life!" Yihan replied respectfully, "Pray for your blessing , in the war-torn era, every Hexue has the highest honor of being able to receive the blessing of Teglisji Martial God." "you come up." Yihan lowered his head and stepped onto the wooden platform, he knelt down on both knees and closed his eyes. Yuran was silent for a while, then gently put his hands on top of his head: "Children of God, God cherishes you like his own eyes. If you want to travel far, just look up, and the kiss of God will imprint on you in the wind." forehead." She lifts the knot on her face, and gently kisses Yihan's forehead.At that moment, she was surprised to find that the skin of this silent young man was hot, burning her lips. Yu Ran covered the net again, and resumed her upright sitting posture.Yihan still closed his eyes tightly, he trembled slightly, and suddenly kowtowed hard. "I've been searching for two years! I've been searching for two years! I've finally found it!" His voice trembled, "I fled Stark like a bird shot through its wings, and they captured my unmarried wife And my mother, they wanted me to go back. But I didn't turn back, they killed them! I lost everything, but I firmly believe that I will return to Ningzhou with the news of Ji Wushen, bringing back our last hope. " "I finally found it! I found it!" There was a cry in his voice, he raised his head and raised his hands to the clear starry sky, "O gods of the stars above my head, thank you for your gifts, for giving us feathers The future of the family." This noble and brave Hexue just lay down on the green camphor platform and wept bitterly. Yi Tianzhan went up and patted him on the shoulder: "Stand up kid, you have seen the brilliance of the Temple of Teclis, what else is there for you to be so sad about?" Yihan wiped away his tears, followed him back to the wooden platform, and sat on the cushion.He lowered his head and worked hard for a long time before finally restraining the bitter tears. He raised his head again and found that the princess sitting on the wooden platform was looking at him through a layer of silver silk.He couldn't see the princess's face clearly, but he felt her curious eyes.He suddenly remembered that she was only a sixteen-year-old girl after all, and his face turned slightly red. "How is your hometown?" Yi Tianzhan asked. "The cypress has disappeared from its ground, and the weeds have taken the place of the noble cypress. The old tree of Zigelin has been surrounded by fire, and the forest in his hometown is full of thick smoke." Yihan sighed, "The Emperor Yu has died and has no heir. Being able to command the various city-states, ambitious people rushed to the battlefield. The entire forest has become a battlefield, and the noble Hexue warriors in the past have become killers flying in the sky." He stood up again and bowed to Yu Ran: "Your Highness, my hometown needs the singing of God Ji Wu!"