Chapter 4 Forging swords

one As soon as Meijianchi (2) fell asleep with his mother, the mouse came out to bite the lid of the pot, which annoyed him.He scolded him lightly a few times, which was somewhat effective at first, but then he simply ignored him, biting himself.He didn't dare to rush loudly, for fear of waking up his mother who was tired during the day and fell asleep when she lay down at night. After many hours, it was calm; he also wanted to sleep.Suddenly, with a splash, he opened his eyes again in shock.At the same time, there was a rustling sound, the sound of claws grabbing pottery. "Good! Damn it!" he thought, very pleased, and sat up softly.

He stepped out of bed, walked to the back of the door by the moonlight, touched the fire drill, lit a pine light, and shone into the water jar.Sure enough, a big mouse landed in it; however, there was not much water left, and it couldn't get out. It just walked along the inner wall of the water urn, grabbed it, and circled around. "It deserves it!" He felt relieved when he thought that it was them that bit the furniture every night and made him unable to sleep peacefully.He stuck the pine tree into the small hole in the earth wall and played with it; but the small round eyes made him hate again, so he stretched out his hand to pull out a reed, and pressed it straight to the bottom of the water.After a while, he let go, and the mouse also floated up, still holding on to the wall of the urn in circles.It's just that the grasping strength is not as strong as before, and the eyes are also submerged in the water, only a pointy red nose is exposed, panting rapidly.

He's been a little bit less fond of people with red noses lately.But this time, when I saw the pointed little red nose, I suddenly felt sorry for it, so I used the reed again, and stretched it down its belly, and the mouse grabbed it, and after a rest, it crawled along the reed. come up.When he saw the whole body—the wet black fur, the big belly, the tail of the earthworm—he felt very hateful again, so he hurriedly shook the reed, and with a plop, the mouse fell into the water jar again. , he then pounded its head with reed a few times to tell it to sink quickly. After changing the pine light six times, the mouse could no longer move, but it sank and floated in the middle of the water, and sometimes jumped slightly to the surface of the water.Meijianchi felt very pitiful again, so he broke off the reed, managed to get it out and put it on the ground.The mouse didn't move at first, and then took a little breath; after a while, its four legs moved, turned over, and seemed to stand up and run away.This surprised Mei Jianchi, he raised his left foot unconsciously and stepped on it.There was only a squeak, and when he squatted down to look carefully, he saw a little blood on the corner of his mouth, probably dead.

He felt very pitiful again, as if he had committed a great evil, very uncomfortable.He squatted, stared blankly, unable to stand up. "Chier, what are you doing?" His mother had already woken up and asked on the bed. "Mouse..." He hurriedly stood up, turned around, but only answered two words. "Yes, Mouse. I know that. But what are you doing? Killing it, or saving it?" He didn't answer.The pine light was burnt out; he stood silently in the darkness, gradually seeing the brightness of the moonlight. "Alas!" his mother sighed, "You were sixteen years old when you were a child (3), and your temperament was still the same, lukewarm and unchanged at all. It seems that your father's hatred is No one reported it."

He saw his mother sitting in the gray-white moon shadow, as if her body was trembling; the low voice contained infinite sorrow, which made him shiver with cold, and in the blink of an eye, he felt the blood boiling all over his body. "Father's hatred? What kind of hatred does father have?" He took a few steps forward and asked anxiously. "Yes. I still need you to report. I wanted to tell you a long time ago; I didn't say it because you were too young. Now that you are an adult, you still have the same temperament. What does this teach me? You have a temperament like yours. , can you do great things?"

"Yes. Come on, mother. I want to correct myself..." "Of course. I have to say. You have to change... Then, come here." He walked over; his mother sat upright on the bed, her eyes shining brightly in the dark moon shadow. "Listen!" she said solemnly, "Your father was a famous swordsmith, the best in the world. I have sold all his tools to save the poor, and you can't see any traces; but He is a famous swordsmith who is unique in the world. Twenty years ago, the princess gave birth to a piece of iron (4). It is said that she was conceived after hugging an iron pillar. It is a piece of pure green and transparent iron. Your Majesty knows It is a rare treasure, so I decided to use it to forge a sword. I wanted to use it to protect the country, use it to kill the enemy, and use it to defend myself. Unfortunately, your father was selected at that time, so he took the iron home and brought it home. It took three years of training every night to refine two swords.

"On the day when the furnace was opened for the last time, what a frightening sight it was! When a cloud of white gas sprang up, the ground felt shaken. The white gas turned into white clouds in the middle of the sky, covering the After entering this place, the crimson color gradually appeared, reflecting everything like a peach blossom. In the dark stove of my house, there were two bright red swords. Your father dripped it slowly with well water (5), and the swords Hissing and roaring, it slowly turned blue. After seven days and seven nights like this, the sword was no longer visible. When I looked carefully, it was still in the bottom of the furnace, pure blue and transparent, just like two pieces of ice.

"The radiance of great joy shone from your father's eyes; he took the sword, and wiped it, and wiped it. But the wrinkle of misery also appeared from his brow and the corners of his mouth. He took the two swords The sword is packed in two boxes. "'You only need to look at the scene of the past few days, and you will understand that no matter who you are, you know that the sword has been forged.' He said to me quietly. 'Tomorrow, I must go to the king. But the sword offerer One day is the day when I die. I'm afraid we will never say goodbye.' "'You...' I was astonished. I couldn't figure out what he meant, and I didn't know how to put it. I just said: 'You have made such a great contribution this time...'

"'Oh! How do you know!' he said. 'The king is always suspicious and cruel. This time I have made him a sword like no other in the world. He must kill me, lest I go again Forge swords for others, to match him, or surpass him.' "I was in tears. "'Don't be sad. This is inescapable. Tears can never wash away fate. I am ready to be here!' His eyes suddenly flashed with lightning, and he put a sword box on my knee Come on.'This is the male sword.' He said.'You keep it. Tomorrow, I will only dedicate this female sword to the king. If I don't come back after I go, then I will definitely no longer be in this world. Haven't you been pregnant for five or six months? Don't be sad. When you give birth to a child, take good care of it. Once you reach adulthood, you will give him this great sword and teach him to cut on the king's neck to avenge me. !'"

"Did father come back that day?" Mei Jianchi hurriedly asked. "Not back!" she said calmly. "I asked around, but there was no news. Later, I heard that the first person to use blood on the sword that your father forged himself was himself—your father. I was afraid that his ghost would be a ghost, and he would kill him. His body is buried at the front gate and the back garden!" Mei Jianchi suddenly felt like his whole body was on fire, and he felt like sparks were shining from every hair.His fists were clenched in the dark. His mother stood up, took off the wooden board at the head of the bed, got out of bed and lit a pine light, took a hoe from behind the door, handed it to Mei Jianchi and said, "Dig it down!"

Mei Jianchi's heart was beating, but he dug it quietly, hoe after hoe.What was dug out was loess, about five feet deep, and the color of the soil was a little different, it seemed to be rotten timber. "Look! Be careful!" said his mother. Mei Jianchi lay beside the dug hole, stretched out his hand, and carefully picked apart the rotten tree. When his fingertips were cold, as if touching ice and snow, the pure green and transparent sword appeared.He saw the sword target clearly, squeezed it, and lifted it out. The stars and moon outside the window and the pine light in the room suddenly lost their brilliance, only the blue light filled the universe.The sword melted into the blue light, and it looked like it had nothing.Mei Jianchi looked carefully, and then he seemed to see that it was more than five feet long, but it was not so sharp, and the edge of the sword was rather round, just like a leek leaf. "You have to change your Yourou's temperament from now on, and take revenge with this sword!" His mother said. "I have changed my Yourou's temperament, I want to use this sword to take revenge!" "I hope so. You are wearing green clothes, and you carry this sword on your back. The clothes and swords are the same color, and no one can see clearly. I have already made the clothes here, and I will go on your way tomorrow. Don't remember me!" She said to the bed He pointed at the broken suitcase behind him and said. Mei Jianchi took out the new clothes and tried them on, the length was just right.He folded it again, wrapped the sword, put it beside the pillow, and lay down quietly.He felt that he had changed Yourou's disposition; he was determined to go to sleep as if nothing was on his mind, and wake up in the morning without changing his normal state, calmly looking for his sworn enemy.But he is awake.He tossed and turned, always trying to sit up.He heard a long, soft sigh of disappointment from his mother.He heard the first crowing of the cock; he was sixteen years old when he knew he had given birth. two When Mei Jianchi stepped out of the door with swollen eye sockets, without turning his head, wearing a green robe, carrying a green sword, and striding towards the city, the sun had not yet appeared in the east.Every leaf tip of the cedar forest is covered with dew, which hides the night air.However, when we got to the other end of the forest, all kinds of brilliance shone from the dewdrops, gradually turning into dawn.Looking ahead, one can vaguely see gray-black city walls and battlements (6). Mixed into the city with the onion picker and vegetable seller, the street market was already very lively.The men stood in a row in a row; the women poked their heads out of the door from time to time.Most of them also have swollen eye sockets, unkempt heads, and yellow faces that don't even have time to apply makeup. Mei Jianchi predicted that there would be a great change coming, and they all waited anxiously and patiently for this great change. He walked straight on; a child ran up suddenly and almost touched the point of the sword on his back, making him sweat with fright.Turning to the north, not far from the palace, people are crowded in dense layers, all stretching their necks.There were voices of women and children crying in the crowd.He was afraid that the invisible sword would hurt someone, so he didn't dare to squeeze in; however, people rushed up from behind.He had no choice but to back away; all he could see were people's backs and stretched necks. Suddenly, the people in front all fell to their knees one after another; two horses came running side by side from a distance.Afterwards came warriors with sticks, daggers, knives, crossbows, and flags, walking along the road full of yellow dust.Another cart with four horses came, and a group of people sat on it, some were beating bells and drums, and some were blowing the name of Laoshizi (7).Then there was another car, and the people in it were all wearing painted clothes, either old men or short and fat men, all of them were greasy and sweaty.Then came a group of knights with swords and halberds.The kneeling people all fell down.At this moment, Mei Jianchi saw a large yellow-covered cart coming, and sitting in the middle was a fat man in painted clothes, with a gray beard and a small head; at his waist he could vaguely see the same green sword on his back. He didn't feel cold all over his body, but immediately became hot again, like a raging fire.He stretched out his hands to his shoulders and grasped the hilt of the sword, while raising his feet, he stepped out from the gap in the necks of the lying people. But he only took five or six steps when he fell headlong, because someone suddenly pinched one of his feet.This fall was pressing on a young man with a shriveled face again; he was afraid that the point of the sword would hurt him, and when he got up to look in surprise, he received two heavy punches in the ribs.He didn't care about it, looking at the road again, not only the yellow-covered chariot had passed by, but even the supporting knights had passed by for a long time. All the people on the side of the road also got up.The young man with a shriveled face still twisted the collar of Mei Jianchi, refusing to let go, saying that he had crushed the precious dantian (8), and he must be safe, if he died before the age of eighty, he would have to die .The idlers immediately gathered around and stared blankly, but no one spoke; later, some people laughed and cursed from the sidelines, but they all echoed the shriveled-faced boy.When Mei Jianchi met such an enemy, he couldn't get angry, couldn't laugh, just felt bored, but couldn't get away.After the time of cooking a pot of millet in this way, Mei Jianchi was already so anxious that he was all over the place, but the number of people watching still remained undiminished, and they were still enjoying it. The circle of people in front was shaken, and a black man squeezed in, with black beard and black eyes, as thin as iron.He didn't say a word, just smiled coldly at Mei Jianchi, while raising his hand, he gently pushed the shriveled boy's chin, and fixed his face.The boy also looked at him for a while, then slowly let go of his hand, and slipped away; the man also slipped away; the people watching also dispersed boredly.Only a few people came to ask Mei Jianchi's age, where he lived, and whether he had an older sister.Mei Jianchi ignored them. He walked towards the south; he thought to himself, the city is so lively, it is easy to accidentally injure him, it is better to wait for him to come back outside the south gate, and avenge his father, the place is sparsely populated, it is really easy to use it.At this time, the whole city is talking about the king's tour of the mountains, the guard of honor, the majesty, the glory of seeing the king, and how low the prostrate is, and should be adopted as a model for the people, etc., very similar to the row of bees (9).It wasn't until they approached the south gate that they gradually calmed down. He walked out of the city, sat under a big mulberry tree, took out two steamed buns to satisfy his hunger; while eating, he suddenly remembered his mother, and felt his eyes and nose sore, but nothing happened after that.The surroundings became quiet step by step, and he could clearly hear his own breathing. The darker the sky, the more uneasy he became. He looked ahead as far as he could, but there was no sign of the king returning.The villagers who sold vegetables in the upper city went out of the city to go home one by one with their empty loads. After being gone for a long time, that black man suddenly appeared from the city. "Let's go, Mei Jianchi! The king is arresting you!" he said with a voice like an owl. Mei Jianchi trembled all over, as if possessed by a demon, he immediately followed him; then he galloped.He stood still and gasped for breath before he realized that he had reached the edge of the cedar forest.There are silvery white streaks in the distance behind, which means the moon has appeared from there; but in the front there are only two phosphorescent eyes of the black man. "How do you know me?..." He asked in extreme panic. "Haha! I've always known you," said the man's voice. "I know that you are carrying a great sword and want to avenge your father, and I also know that you will not be able to avenge it. Not only that, someone has already reported today, and your enemy has already returned to the palace from the east gate and ordered you to be arrested." Mei Jianchi felt sad. "Alas, mother's sigh is not surprising," he whispered. "But she only knows half. She doesn't know that I'm going to avenge you." "You? Will you avenge me, righteous man?" "Ah, don't use this title to wrong me." "So, you sympathize with us orphans and widows?..." "Oh, child, don't mention these insulted names again." He said sternly, "Justice, sympathy, those things, which were clean before, have now become the capital of the devil's debt (10). I don't have any of your so-called things in my heart. I just want to avenge you!" "Okay. But how will you avenge me?" "As long as you give me two things," said the voice under the two grains of phosphorus fire. "Those two? Listen: one is your sword, and the other is your head!" Although Mei Jianchi felt strange and suspicious, he was not surprised.He couldn't speak for a moment. "Don't suspect that I will cheat your life and treasure." The dark voice said again coldly. "It's all up to you. If you believe me, I will go; if you don't believe me, I will stay." "But why did you avenge me? Do you know my father?" "I have known your father as I have known you. But I want revenge, but not for this. Tell you, wise boy. Don't you know how good I am at revenge. Yours is mine He is I. My soul has so many wounds I have inflicted, that I already hate myself!" As soon as the dark voice stopped, Mei Jianchi raised his hand to draw the blue sword from his shoulder, and slashed forward from the back of his neck, his head fell on the moss on the ground, while handing the sword to the black man. "Hehe!" He held the sword in one hand, pinched his hair with the other, raised Mei Jianchi's head, kissed the hot dead lips twice, and smiled coldly and sharply. Laughter immediately spread in the fir forest, and a group of phosphorescent eyes flickered in the depths, approaching suddenly, and heard the panting of hungry wolves.The first mouthful tore away the Tsing Yi from Meijianchi, and the second mouthful completely disappeared the body, and the bloodstains were wiped away in an instant, only the sound of chewing bones could be heard slightly. The first big wolf rushed towards the black man.With a wave of his green sword, the wolf's head fell to the moss on the ground.The other wolves tore off its skin in the first bite, and the whole body disappeared in the second bite, and the blood was wiped off in an instant, and only the sound of chewing bones could be heard slightly. He had already pulled up the blue robe on the ground, covered Mei Jianchi's head, and carried the green sword on his back, turned around, and walked towards Wangcheng in the dark. The wolves stood still, shrugging their shoulders, sticking out their tongues, panting, and watching him stride away with green eyes. He walked towards Wangcheng in the dark, singing in a shrill voice: Haha, love, love, love! Love Qing Jianxi an enemy kills himself. He Yi Lian Pian Xi how many husbands. A husband who loves the green sword is not alone. Heads changed, two enemies slaughtered themselves. A husband has nothing to love! Woohoo! Love woo hoo woo hoo ah hoo, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! (11) three The trip to the mountains did not amuse the king; adding the secret report that there would be assassins on the way made him even more disappointed and returned.That night he was very angry, saying that even the ninth concubine's hair was not as black and pretty as yesterday.Fortunately, she sat on his royal lap acting like a baby, and twisted it more than seventy times, which gradually made the wrinkles between the dragon's eyebrows loosen. In the afternoon, when the king got up, he was a little unhappy again, and after lunch, he almost showed an angry face. "Alas! Boring!" he exclaimed after a big yawn.Everyone from the queen to the jester felt at a loss when they saw this situation.The king is tired of listening to the sermons of the white-bearded old minister and the banter of the short and fat dwarf (12). It also looks meaningless.He often wants to get angry; when he gets angry, he presses the green sword, always trying to find some small mistakes and kill a few people. The two young eunuchs who wandered around outside the palace just came back, and when they saw the misery of everyone in the palace, they knew that disaster was coming as usual. Without haste, he ran up to the king, bowed down, and said: "The servant just visited a strange person, who has extraordinary skills and can relieve the king's boredom, so I came here to hear about it." "What?!" Wang said.His words are always very short. "It was a black and thin man who looked like a beggar. He wore a green dress and carried a round blue package; he sang nonsense songs. People asked him. He said he was good at tricks, unprecedented, and unparalleled in the world. People I have never seen it before. Once I saw it, I immediately relieved my troubles and boredom, and the world was peaceful. But everyone asked him to play, but he refused. He said that first, there must be a golden dragon, and second, there must be a golden tripod. … " "Golden dragon? I am. Golden tripod? I have it." "That's exactly what the servant thinks..." "Come in!" Before the words were finished, the four warriors rushed out following the little eunuch.From the queen to the jester, everyone was beaming with joy.They all hope that this trick can be played to relieve their worries and boredom, and the world will be peaceful; even if they can't play it, this time there will be that beggar-like black and thin man to suffer, as long as they can wait until the word comes in. It didn't take much time to see six people approaching the golden rank.In the first place is the eunuch, followed by four warriors, with a black man in the middle.When he got closer, the man's clothes were blue, his eyebrows and hair were black; he was so thin that his cheekbones, eye sockets, and brow ridges all protruded high.When he knelt and bowed down respectfully, he saw a small round bundle on his back, a blue cloth with some dark red patterns painted on it. "Come on!" Wang said irritably.He saw that his guy was simple, and thought that he might not be able to play any good tricks. "My minister's name is Yan Zhi'ao Zhe (13); I grew up in Wenwen Township (14). I have few jobs; I meet a master late, and teach my ministers tricks. It's a child's head. This trick can't be played by one person, it must be done before Jinlong , set a golden cauldron, filled it with clean water, and boiled it with animal charcoal (15). Then he lowered the child's head, and when the water boiled, the head went up and down with the waves, danced a lot, and uttered wonderful sounds, singing happily. This song and dance is When one person sees it, he relieves his worries and boredom, and when it is seen by all people, the world will be peaceful." "Let's play!" Wang ordered loudly. It didn't take much effort, a big golden cauldron for boiling cattle was placed outside the hall, filled with water, animal charcoal was piled under it, and a fire was lit.The black man stood beside him, seeing the coals turning red, he untied the bundle, opened it, took out the child's head with both hands, and held it up high.On the other end are beautiful eyebrows and long eyes, white teeth and red lips; the face is smiling; the hair is fluffy, like a burst of green smoke.The black man held it and turned around, then stretched out his hand to hold it on the tripod, moved his lips and said some unknown words, then let go of his hand, only to hear a splash, and fell into the water.The water splashed at the same time, more than five feet high, and everything was calm after that. For a long time, there was no movement.The king became irritable first, followed by the queen and concubines, the ministers, and the eunuchs were also a little anxious, and the short and fat dwarves had already started to sneer.As soon as the king saw their sneer, he felt that he had been fooled. Looking back at the warriors, he wanted to order them to throw the scum who deceived the king into the ox cauldron to be boiled and killed. But at the same time, the sound of boiling water can be heard; the charcoal fire is also flourishing, reflecting the black man turning red and black, and burning like iron until it is slightly reddish.Wang Gang turned his face again, he had already stretched out his hands to the sky, his eyes towards nothing, dancing, and suddenly sang with a shrill voice: Haha, love, love, love! No one is alone in love and blood. Min Meng Ming Xing Xi a husband Hulu. He uses a hundred heads, a thousand heads, ten thousand heads! I have nothing to do with one head. I love a head full of blood! The blood is whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! With the singing, the water surges from the mouth of the tripod, with a sharp top and a wide bottom, like a hill, but from the top of the water to the bottom of the tripod, it keeps circling.The other end seems to be going up and down in the water, turning in circles, and doing somersaults on his own. People can still vaguely see his happy smile.After a while, it suddenly changed to swimming against the current, spinning and shuttling back and forth, causing water to splash in all directions, and a gust of hot rain fell all over the courtyard.A dwarf suddenly called out and touched his nose with his hand.Unfortunately, he was scalded by hot water, and he couldn't bear the pain, so he couldn't help crying out. As soon as the singing of the black people stopped, the other end also stopped in the middle of the water, facing the royal palace, and the color turned dignified.This lasted for more than ten seconds before slowly shaking up and down; from shaking to speeding up to undulating swimming, but not very fast, and the attitude was very graceful.Swimming around the water's edge three times, one high and one low, suddenly opened his eyes wide, the dark eyes looked extraordinarily brilliant, and at the same time began to sing: Wang Ze is flowing and grand; Overcome the enemy, overcome the enemy, be strong! The universe is endless and life is boundless. Fortunately, I am here, and I am so green! Qing Qi Guang Xi will never forget each other. Different places and different places are majestic! Majestic, royal, oh, oh, oh, Come and come back, come and accompany Lai Xi Qing Qiguang! The head suddenly rose to the tip of the water and stopped; after a few somersaults, it rose up and down, its eyes glanced to the left and right, very charming, and the mouth was still singing: Ah hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo Love woohoo woohoo! A head full of blood is so in love. I'm worthless with one head! He used a hundred heads, a thousand heads... Singing here is when it sinks, but it no longer rises up; the lyrics are also indistinguishable.The surging water gradually receded with the faintness of the singing, like an ebbing tide, and finally reached below the mouth of the tripod, where nothing could be seen in the distance. "What's wrong?" Wang asked impatiently after waiting for a while. "Your Majesty," said the black man kneeling on his knees. "He is performing the most miraculous reunion dance at the bottom of the tripod. You can't see it unless you get close. I don't have magic to make him come up, because the reunion dance must be at the bottom of the tripod." Wang stood up, stepped down the golden steps, stood beside the tripod in the heat, and looked with his head.I saw that the level was like a mirror, and the head was lying on his back in the middle of the water, his eyes were looking at his face.When the king's eyes fell on his face, he smiled sweetly.This smile made Wang feel familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a while.Just as he was wondering, the black man had already pulled out the blue sword he was carrying on his back, and with a single swing, it struck straight down from the back of his neck like lightning, and with a plop, the king's head fell into the cauldron. When enemies meet each other, they are very discerning, let alone when they meet on a narrow road.As soon as Wang's head reached the surface of the water, Mei Jianchi's head came up to him and bit his helix fiercely.The water in the tripod immediately boiled, surging and sounding; the two ends fought to the death in the water.In about twenty bouts, Wang suffered five wounds on his head, but Mei Jianchi had seven wounds on his head.The king was also cunning, always trying to get behind his enemies.Mei Jianchi was negligent, and finally he bit the nape of his neck, unable to turn around.This time Wang's head was determined not to let it go, he just nibbled into it again and again; even outside the tripod, it seemed that he could hear the child's voice screaming in pain. From the queen down to the jester, the expressions that had been condensed with horror also became active in response to the sound, as if they felt a dark sadness, and the skin was covered with millets; It's like waiting for something. The black man also seemed a little panicked, but his expression remained unchanged.He calmly stretched out the arm holding the invisible green sword, like a dead branch; he stretched his neck, as if looking at the bottom of a cauldron.With a sudden bend of the arm, the green sword suddenly slashed from behind him, the sword fell head-to-head, and fell into the cauldron, with a thumping sound, snow-white sprays shot into the air at the same time. As soon as his head entered the water, he went straight to the king's head and bit the king's nose, almost biting it off.Wang couldn't help yelling "Ayo", and opened his mouth, Mei Jianchi's head took the opportunity to break free, and when he turned around, he bit Wang's chin hard.Not only did they not let it go, but they tore it up and down with all their strength, until the king's head could no longer close his mouth.So they were like hungry chickens pecking at rice, biting wildly, until the king's eyes were crooked, his nose collapsed, and his face was covered with bruises.In the past, he would roll around in the tripod, but later he could only lie down and moan. After all, he was silent, only breathing out, not breathing in. The head of the black man and Mei Jianchi also slowly stopped, left Wang's head, and swam along the tripod wall to see if he was pretending to be dead or really dead.When he knew that Wangtou was indeed dead, he looked at each other, smiled slightly, then closed his eyes, turned his back to the sky, and sank to the bottom of the water. Four The smoke disappears and the fire disappears; the water wave does not flourish.The special silence made the people of the Highnesses alert.One of them yelled first, and everyone immediately screamed again and again; one of them walked towards the golden tripod, and everyone rushed to embrace it.Those who are crowded in the back can only peep inside from the gap between the necks of the people. The heat was still burning people's faces.The water in the cauldron was as flat as a mirror, with a layer of oil floating on it, showing the faces of many people: queens, concubines, warriors, veterans, dwarves, and eunuchs. ... "Ah, my God! Our king's head is still inside, alas!" The sixth concubine suddenly cried like a frenzy. Everyone from the queen to the fools suddenly realized what they were doing, and scattered in a hurry, so anxious and at a loss what to do, they each made four or five circles.One of the most cunning old ministers came forward again, stretched out his hand to touch the edge of the tripod, but his whole body trembled, he immediately retracted, stretched out two fingers, put them near his mouth, and couldn't stop blowing. Everyone settled down and discussed the salvage method outside the gate of the palace.It took about three pots of millet cooking, and finally got a result: I went to the big kitchen to collect wire spoons, and ordered the warriors to work together to scoop them up. The utensils were assembled soon, and the wire spoon, colander, gold plate, and tablecloth were all placed next to the tripod.The warriors rolled up their sleeves, and salvaged those with wire spoons and colanders.There is the sound of spoons touching, and the sound of spoons scraping the golden tripod; the water is swirling with the stirring of the spoons.After a while, a samurai's face suddenly became very dignified, and he slowly raised the spoon with both hands very carefully, water droplets leaked from the hole of the spoon like beads, and a snow-white skull appeared inside the spoon.There was a cry of astonishment; and he poured the skull into a golden dish. "Ah! My great king!" The queen, concubines, veterans, and even eunuchs all burst into tears.But it stopped shortly after, because the samurai picked up the same skull again. They looked around with tears in their eyes, only to see that the warriors were greasy and sweaty, still salvaging.What was fished out after that was a mess of white and black hair; and a few spoonfuls of something very short, what seemed to be a white beard and a black beard.After that came another skull.Then there are three hairpins. He didn't stop until there was only clear soup left in the tripod; he divided the fished objects into three gold plates: one for skulls, one for beards and hair, and one for hairpins. "Our king has only one head. Which one belongs to our king?" the ninth concubine asked anxiously. "That's right..." The veterans all looked at each other in blank dismay. "It's easy to tell if the flesh isn't boiled," said a dwarf on his knees. Everyone had to calm down and look at the skull carefully, but the black and white were about the same size, and even the child's head couldn't be distinguished.The queen said that there was a scar on the king's right forehead, which was caused by a fall when he was the prince, and she was afraid that there would be marks on the bone as well.Sure enough, the dwarf found it on one skull: while everyone was rejoicing, another dwarf saw a similar scar on the right forehead of the yellower skull. "I have a solution." The third princess said proudly, "Our king's Long Zhun (16) is very tall." The eunuchs immediately began to study the nasal bone, and one of them seemed to be higher, but the difference was almost the same; the most regrettable thing was that there was no scar on the right forehead from a bruise. "Besides," the veterans said to the eunuch, "is the king's occiput so sharp?" "The servants have never paid attention to the king's occiput..." The queen and concubines also recalled their own memories, some said it was pointed, and some said it was flat.When the hair combing eunuch was called to ask, he didn't say a word. That night, a meeting of princes and ministers was held to decide which one was the head of the king, but the result was the same as during the day.And even the beard and hair have problems.The white ones are naturally the king's, but because they are gray, the black ones are also difficult to deal with.Discussed in the middle of the night, only a few red beards were selected; then because the ninth princess protested, she said that she had indeed seen a few yellow beards in the king, how can she know that there is never a red beard.So it had to be re-merged as a suspect. In the middle of the night, there was still no result.Everyone actually yawned and continued to discuss until the second cock crowed, at which point they decided on the most prudent and appropriate solution: they could only bury the three skulls together with the king's body in a golden coffin. Seven days later is the date of the burial, and the city is very lively.The people in the city and the people in the distance all came to pay their respects to the king's "big funeral".At daybreak, the road was already crowded with men and women; there were many sacrificial tables in between.In the morning, the knights who cleared the road came slowly.It took a lot of work before I saw the guard of honor, such as banners, wooden sticks, spear halberds, bows and crossbows, and yellow axe; after that, there were four advocacy carts.Behind it is the yellow cover that undulates with the unevenness of the road, and gradually approaches, and then a hearse appears, and a golden coffin is loaded on it, and three heads and a body are hidden in the coffin. All the people knelt down, and the sacrificial tables appeared one by one among the crowd.The righteous people were very angry and swallowed tears, fearing that the souls of the two rebellious traitors would also enjoy the sacrifice with the king at this time, but there was nothing they could do. After that came the cars of the queen and many princesses.The people looked at them, and they also looked at the people, but wept.After that came ministers, eunuchs, dwarfs and other generations, all pretending to be mournful.It's just that the common people don't look at them anymore, and even the ranks are crowded in a mess, which is out of shape. Made in October 1926. (17) ==================================================== ============== (1) This article was originally published on April 25 and May 10, 1927, in the eighth and ninth issues of the second volume of the semi-monthly "Mang Yuan" magazine, with the original title "Mei Jian Chi".It was changed to its present name when it was compiled into "Selected Works" in 1932. (2) The legend of Meijianchi's revenge is recorded in the "Lie Yi Zhuan" written by Wei Caopi as follows: "Moxie, the general, made a sword for the king of Chu, and it took three years to complete. There are male and female swords, and there are also famous weapons in the world. , is the one who presents the king with a female sword and hides the male. Said his wife and said: "I hide the sword in the yin of the southern mountain and the yang of the northern mountain; the pine grows on the stone, and the sword is in it. If you feel it, kill me; if you give birth to a male, take it Tell him.' Until Junjue, he killed the general. The wife gave birth to a boy named Chibi. Tell him. Chibi cut the pine of Nanshan, but he couldn't get the sword. Suddenly he got it in the pillar of the house. The king of Chu dreamed of a man, his eyebrows were three inches wide, and he wanted to say goodbye. Revenge. Purchasing was urgent, so he fled to Zhuxing Mountain. When he met a guest, he wanted to repay him. He cut his head and offered it to the king of Chu. The guest ordered him to cook it in a wok, and he couldn't jump to death for the first three days and three nights. The king went to watch it The guest leaned on the imitation king with a male sword, and the king's head fell into the wok; the guest slayed himself. The three heads were all dead, and they could not be separated. They were buried separately, and they were called the Tomb of the Three Kings."晋代干宝《搜神记》卷十一也有内容大致相同的记载，而叙述较为细致，如眉间尺山中遇客一段说：“（楚）王梦见一儿，眉间广尺，言欲报仇，王即购之千金。儿闻之，亡去，入山行歌。客有逢者，谓子年少，何哭之甚悲耶？曰：'吾干将莫邪子也。楚王杀我父，吾欲报之。'客曰：'闻王购子头千金，将子头与剑来，为子报之。'儿曰：'幸甚！'即自刎，两手捧头及剑奉之，立僵。客曰：'不负子也。'于是尸乃仆。”（此外相传为后汉赵晔所著的《楚王铸剑记》，完全与《搜神记》所记相同。） （3）子时我国古代用十二地支（子、丑、寅、卯、辰、巳、午、未、申、酉、戌、亥）记时，从夜里十一点到次晨一点称为子时。 （4）王妃生下了一块铁清代陈元龙撰《格致镜原》卷三十四引《列士传》佚文：“楚王夫人于夏纳凉，抱铁柱，心有所感，遂怀孕，产一铁；王命莫邪铸为双剑。” （5）井华水清晨第一次汲取的井水。明代李时珍卷五井泉水《集解》：“汪颖曰：平旦第一汲，为井华水。” （6）雉堞城上排列如齿状的矮墙，俗称城垛。 （7）劳什子北方方言。指物件，含有轻蔑、厌恶的意思。 （8）丹田道家把人身脐下三寸的地方称为丹田，据说这个部位受伤，可以致命。 （9）蜜蜂的排衙蜜蜂早晚两次群集蜂房外面，就像朝见蜂王一般。这里用来形容人群拥挤喧闹。排衙，旧时衙署中下属依次参谒长官的仪式。 （10）放鬼债的资本作者在创作本篇数月后，曾在一篇杂感里说，旧社会“有一种精神的资本家”，惯用“同情”一类美好言辞作为“放债”的“资本”，以求“报答”。参看《而已集·新时代的放债法》。 （11）这里和下文的歌，意思介于可解不可解之间。作者在一九三六年三月二十八日给日本增田善的信中曾说：“在里，我以为没有什么难懂的地方。但要注意的，是那里面的歌，意思都不明显，因为是奇怪的人和头颅唱出来的歌，我们这种普通人是难以理解的。” （12）侏儒形体矮小、专以滑稽笑谑供君王娱乐消遣的人，略似戏剧中的丑角。 （13）宴之敖者作者虚拟的人名。一九二四年九月，鲁迅辑成《俟堂砖文杂集》一书，题记后用宴之敖者作为笔名，但以后即未再用。 （14）汶汶乡作者虚拟的地名。汶汶，昏暗不明。 （15）兽炭古时豪富之家将木炭屑做成各种兽形的一种燃料。东晋裴启《语林》有如下记载：“洛下少林木，炭止如粟状。羊琇骄豪，乃捣小炭为屑，以物和之，作兽形。后何召之徒共集，乃以温酒；火□既猛，兽皆开口，向人赫然。诸豪相矜，皆服而效之。”（据鲁迅辑《古小说钩沉》本） （16）龙准指帝王的鼻子。准，鼻子。 （17）本篇最初发表时未署写作日期。现在篇末的日期是收入本集时补记。据《鲁迅日记》，本篇完成时间为一九二七年四月三日。