Chapter 4 Chapter 4: Book of the Black Sky
All the Japanese people unloaded their goods and disembarked, and carried their cars to the east.Lu Jian couldn't help but asked: "Mr. Ning, do you still want to follow them?" Ning Bukong said: "Now Japan is in a troubled world. The law of troubled times is to live with the strong and die with the weak. I am blind, and you If you want to survive, you must find one of the strongest princes in Japan to rely on."
"The strongest prince?" Lu Jian said in a daze, "Have you found Mr. Ning?" Ning Bukong smiled: "Maybe."
Lu Jian was puzzled and set off with the convoy.There are many monasteries along the way, with thousands of Dharma universes, dense treasures, and ethereal Sanskrit sounds. Presumably because of the hardships in troubled times, the world is all addicted to Buddhism in order to seek inner liberation.As for the Japanese people's houses, they are all made of wood, with low eaves and canopy households, where people and animals live together. They are very simple in comparison with temples.
As soon as I left the city, the mountains in the far field were green, and the light clouds were curling up, like a beautiful woman with a white eyebrow with a smear of black smoke.The stream is vertical and horizontal, bright and rocky, and spans several Tang bridges on the water, curved and without bars, like a rainbow spouting.The Japanese working in the fields are all short and dark, with no clothes covering their bodies. Broken spears and broken arrows can be seen everywhere beside the roads in the fields.
A group of people left the Western Kingdom and headed east via Kyoto. On the way, there were many checkpoints, a lot of taxes, thieves swarmed up, and they fought hard. Fortunately, Ning Bukong secretly protected them with the unique knowledge of the Ministry of Fire, so they were safe from danger.Getting up early and staying up late at night, driving and horses erratically, although life was difficult, Lu Jian did not stop learning to read and practice. Thanks to the supervision of Ning Bukong, as for practicing, Lu Jian felt empty every time he wasted a day, and he was more and more eager to practice. Wonderful pleasure.After refining the Suzaku seven veins, and then refining the Xuanwu seven veins, when he reached the border of Owari, he had already refined the "Ziwei vein" of the Sanyuan emperor vein, and the strange feeling in his hands became more and more obvious as he practiced: touching a cow and horse, you can know the blood of the cow and horse Whether the flow is slow and fast, whether you are tired or not; when you touch a tree, you will know whether the sap in the tree is flowing, whether it is dry or prosperous.Lu Jian was disturbed by all these wonderful feelings and was restless. Every time he asked Ning Bukong, Ning Bukong would pretend to be deaf and dumb, and answered in silence.
On this day, we ended up at Qingzhou City in the Uzhang Kingdom. The Qingzhou Walled City was small and far smaller than Xiguo and Kyoto in scale.There were many samurai in the castle town who were practicing, and when they saw the convoy, they all shouted with joy, dropped their spears and rushed up, Uzaemon hurriedly ordered his followers to surround the cage to prevent the other party from stealing.
A middle-aged Japanese man stepped forward, slapped Uzaemon with his hand, laughed and said: "You water mouse, you have been away for a year, and you finally come back. Everyone thought you were going around went to sea."
Uzaemon knew that the person who came was Kusama Nobumori, a retainer of the Oda family, he quickly greeted him, and said, "Where is my lord?"
Kusama frowned and said: "That idiot, he took the eagle to hunt." Uzaemon said again: "Is Shibata-sama there? I will deliver the goods to him, and store them in the warehouse until the lord returns."
"Singer is here." Jiu Zuo blinked, "Is there any part for me?"
Uzaemon said with a smile: "How can I forget my lord, in addition to jewelry, gold and silver, there are also high-quality Tang silk and tea, and several excellent tea sets, all of which are rare in the world." Kusama laughed loudly. Laughing, he stretched out his palm and slapped Uzaemon on the shoulder. He is a powerful general, and Uzaemon was almost slapped on the ground.
It turned out that Uzaemon was the best swimmer among the Owari samurai, good at sailing, and also proficient in Chinese. Therefore, Owari’s noble retainers invested one after another and entrusted him to go to China for smuggling trade. Uzaemon has worked hard for a year and has not returned yet. .
All the warriors looked at a few treasures, opened their eyes, and dispersed in a moment.Uzaemon said to Ning Bukong: "Sir, come with me to the city, first stay at the hotel, and wait for me to talk to the lord, and then invite you, sir."
Ning Bukong shook his head and said: "You don't get rewarded for your merits, you don't have to tell Master Ling about the two of us. You just need to buy us a house on the street in the city."
"Buy a house?" Uzaemon was surprised, "But the money for buying a house..."
Ning Bukong said: "Didn't you lose the silks and satins in a bet with my nephew? I calculated that the money exchanged for those silks and satins is more than enough to buy a house, and the remaining money after buying the house will be yours as tooth money."
Uzaemon frowns, Nono agrees, and after delivering the goods, he buys a house on the street for Ning and Lu.Ning Bukong asked for a wooden sign with brush and ink, wrote "Bukong Suanguan" on it, and hung it in front of the door.
The soldiers and civilians in the city were all surprised when they saw it, and they all went to watch it.Ning Bukong is very smart, he paid attention to learning the Japanese language on the way to Japan, and he was already proficient in Qingzhou. At this time, he started divination and fortune-telling for the Japanese people. There are few of them, but Jue Ning is not empty-handed. He comes and goes, and he regards it as a god. In order to ask for a divination, they come to pay money for Nanami.
Lu Jianbai does odd jobs in the counting hall during the day, and learns characters and exercises at night. The Sanyuan emperor vein is different from the twenty-eight branches. The entry is slow and there are many thrills.Half a month later, after practicing "Ziweimai", Lu Jian's feeling of emptiness and itching increased day by day, even if he didn't practice, he would have seizures from time to time.
Ning Bukong didn't know what his intentions were, and he stopped responding to every request. When Lu Jian was in distress, he didn't help him. Instead, he used this as a threat to force him to read. If Lu Jian didn't know enough words every day, or went against his will, Ning Bukong would not give him true energy, no matter how painful Lu Jian was, he just let it go.
After going through this several times, Lu Jian hated and feared Ning Bukong, but Ning Bukong had orders, so he was all trembling and went all out, fearing that he would offend him.If this is the case, the weird inner strength still has to be practiced, but because the pain increases, the pleasure of practicing also increases, making it difficult for people to give up.
Time flies, more than a month has passed.On this day, Uzaemon came with a young man, met Lu Jian, and said dejectedly, "This is my son, who lost to you on the boat."
Lu Jian had long forgotten about this matter in Java, and didn't want Uzaemon to bring it up again after many days. He was really surprised when he heard Ning Bukong say, "Lu Jian, give him the bet you made. , it can be regarded as clean-up." Lu Jian had no choice but to find out the contract, which was already crumpled.Uzaemon took the contract, turned around and left without looking back.
Lu Jianqi said, "Mr. Ning, are you the one who wants to come?" Ning Bukong nodded and said, "From today on, you don't have anything important to do. All the chores in the library will be taken care of by this young man."
Lu Jian only felt his anger welling up, and said loudly, "Aren't you breaking up other people's father and son and hurting nature?"
Ning Bukong suddenly turned his head, and said calmly: "What did you say?" His eyes were injured by the poisonous blood, the eyeballs shrank, and sunken deep under the cheeks, like two deep wells, the black holes are very scary.
Lu Jian's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't dare to say any more. Seeing that young man with a thin body and shabby clothes, he stared at him fiercely.
Lu Jian felt pity for his father and son being separated, and he had learned a few words of Japanese these days, so he asked, "What's your name?" The young man gritted his teeth and said, "Cangbingwei." Yang, babbled a series of words, his thin face was flushed red.Lu Jian hurriedly asked, "Mr. Ning, what did he say?"
Ning Bukong snorted coldly and said, "He said that you are not worthy of being his lord. He will kill you in the future and follow the Lord of Zhitian." Be human."
Lu Jian said unhappily: "You can't see him, so how do you know whether he is good or bad? He was forced to leave his parents by you, so he should say a few angry words."
Ning Bukong sneered, and said: "I can't see with my eyes, but my heart can see. If you don't listen to me, you will suffer a lot." Then he ordered the warehouse guards to clean and carry water, light fire and chop wood in Japanese.Strange to say, Cang Bingwei was cruel to Lu Jian, but fearful of Ning Bukong, he lowered his eyebrows and agreed repeatedly.Lu Jian was surprised. Seeing Cang Bingwei holding a broom, he wanted to help, but Ning Bukong yelled, "Midget your own business, get the hell out of here."
Lu Jian didn't dare to disobey him, and followed him into the room, but saw Ning Bukong sitting at the table with two newly made abacus on the table.Ning Bukong said: "Today I will teach you abacus calculation, you have to put your heart into it." Lu Jian saw that Ning Bukong used this abacus to do calculations, and said, "What do I learn it for? I don't work as an accountant." Ning Bukong Bukong sneered and said: "You would rather Bukong follow me, if you don't know how to calculate, wouldn't it be a joke?"
Lu Jian followed him for a long time, and just by listening to his tone, he knew that Ning Bukong's words were insincere, but he was easy-going, once he came, he would be at ease, not to mention that if he disobeyed, Ning Bukong would make excuses and not give him any real anger up.
At present, he would rather not just talk about hand-to-hand comparisons, but teach the formulas of arithmetic, Lu Jian followed the law, but for some reason, once he dialed the beads, he felt that the beads were born on his fingers, and the dialing was very satisfactory.
The two taught one another, time flew by, and they stopped at night. When the two went out, they saw Cangbingwei curled up in front of a pile of firewood and taking a nap, holding an axe.Ning Bukong heard the snoring, his complexion sank, he picked up the dry firewood, ignored Qinghong, and beat Cang Bingwei severely.Cangbingwei prostrated himself on the ground, weeping loudly, but he didn't dare to move.Ning Bukong finished the beating and went away, Lu Jian stepped forward to comfort him, but Cang Bingwei looked fiercely at him and yelled at him.
Lu Jian thought that he came from a family of warriors, and he became a slave because of a bet. Not only did he not feel disobedient, but he felt pity for him. talk.Ning Bukong asked why, he sneered and said: "You are kind to this little beast, you might as well spend your mind on the dog." Even so, he still passed on his Japanese language.
In this way, in addition to practicing literacy, Lu Jian also learned abacus and Japanese in a day.The good news is that he has a very high talent for abacus calculations, and he is very fast. If there is divine help between his fingers, even Lu Jian suspects that he has learned this abacus in the past.Ning Bukong didn't think it was strange. After Lu Jian finished counting one question, he calmly gave another one.
A few days later, Ning Bukong started to come up with a problem, and compared it with Lu Jian, to see who would be the first to calculate the result.His calculations are profound, so he has the upper hand; but although Lu Jian's calculations are not as simple as Ning Bukong's, he is not at a disadvantage because of his quick hands and clumsiness over ingenuity.
This night, when the two of them calculated, Lu Jian was slightly faster by half a point and won by luck.In the midst of joy, Ning Bukong suddenly heard coldly saying: "Have you finished practicing your 'Tianshi Meridian'?" Tianshi Meridian is the last one of the "Sanyuan Emperor Meridian". Hearing what he said, he came to his senses and said, "That's right, I just finished practicing yesterday."
Ning Bukong said: "That's it, this calculation is not in vain."
Lu Jian asked strangely, "What does practicing internal skills have to do with planning?"
Ning Bukong said: "This has a lot to do with it. The faster your internal strength improves, the more dexterous your hands will be. The more dexterous your hands, the faster your abacus will be; on the contrary, the faster your abacus will be, the more dexterous your hands will be. And the inner strength you practice, the faster you improve. So, the abacus is to train your hands, and the practice of your hands is to make your inner strength quick. Or, based on your beginner abacus, how can you beat me, Ning Bukong?" Having said that, he laughed dryly, and said in a dark voice, "Boy, congratulations, you have finally mastered "Black Sky Book"."
Lu Jian frowned and said, "What is "The Book of the Black Sky"?"
"The "Black Sky Book" is the internal strength you have practiced." Ning Bukong said, "From today onwards, you are my Ning Bukong's robber."
"Hei Tian Shu, Jie Nu?" Lu Jian became more and more confused, "What are they? I don't understand."
After Ning Bukong left China, it was rare for him to be happy in his heart. He couldn't help laughing and said: ""The Book of Hei Tian" is a book of martial arts. Anyone who cultivates must have someone to help him with his own true energy. , the person who gives the true energy is the robber, and the practitioner is the robber slave, if there is no robber's true energy, the robber will not be able to resist the 'Heitian Jie'."
He smiled, and said again: "Do you know what 'Hei Tian Jie' is? That is the feeling of itching, emptiness, and pain that you feel when you practice every time. If you don't want to suffer from 'Hei Tian Jie' , you have to listen to me, you have to do what I tell you to do."
Lu Jian seemed to understand Ning Bukong's words, but felt that he had fallen into a huge trap. He couldn't help but panic, and said in a stuttering voice, "What do you want me to do? Why should I do it?"
Seeing that he was so dull, Ning Bukong's face darkened: "If you don't do it, I won't give you real anger. Aren't you afraid?" Lu Jian felt as if he had been punched in the heart, and his tongue was tongue-tied.
Ning Bukong sneered and said: "From now on, if I go east, you can't go west. Even if you die, you still have to protect me. Because of the suffering of 'Heitian Tribulation', there is only Ning in this world. True Qi can be relieved, but other people, no matter how strong their internal strength is, no matter how high their cultivation is, it will not work; this is the first law of the "Four Laws of Existence and Non-existence" in "Hei Tian Shu": no master and no slave. It means, If there is no robber master, there will be no robber slaves, and if the robber suffers, the robber slaves will undoubtedly die."
There was a buzzing sound in Lu Jian's head, as if there were thousands of mosquitoes flapping their wings and biting. He couldn't help holding his head and shouting: "No, no, you lied, you lied..."
"What did I lie to you for?" Ning Bukong sneered, "From now on, you will be Ning Bukong's shadow, and you will never be separated from me in this life."
Lu Jian felt cold all over, but couldn't say a word.He didn't know how he got back to bed, let alone when he fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already the evening of the next day, and the sunlight came in through the window, making him pale and weak.
"Have you figured it out?" Suddenly Ning Bukong said coldly, "You also know the power of 'Hei Tian Jie'. If you don't have Ning's true energy, you will die and experience the most terrible torture in the world."
Lu Jian's heart surged with anger, and he shouted, "Then I'd rather die."
"Life is mortal, so what is there to fear?" Ning Bukong said slowly, "It's easy for you to die, but what about Miss Qing? Do you have the heart to be separated from her forever and never see her again?"
In an instant, Yao Qing's charming dimple appeared in Lu Jian's mind. Missing her every day was like "Book of the Black Sky", which not only gave him endless happiness, but also gave him unbearable pain.Lu Jian stayed there for a long time, then suddenly his thoughts died down, and he lay down on the bedside, crying bitterly.Ning Bukong sat blankly, neither comforting nor reprimanding.
Lu Jian cried a lot, and secretly swore that he would never practice the "Hei Tian Shu" again, but once the miraculous skill was applied to his body, it would be like a curse. If he didn't practice it, the attacks would happen more frequently. "Kalpa" can come much more slowly, and it only happens once in ten and a half months, but when it happens, it is more violent than when you have not completed the cultivation.
Lu gradually understood this truth, and all his ambitions were wiped out, so he resigned himself to his fate and acquiesced in his status as a robber.Seeing him submitting, Ning Bukong treated him a lot gentler.Seeing that Lu Jian was proficient in abacus calculations, he asked him to manage the accounts of the rich and wealthy households in the city and charge some fees. Counting" has not yet been created.Coupled with the separatism of the princes, and the small country of Owari Donglu, no one has seen this magical amulet.Lu Jian managed several accounts and became famous, but he had grievances and vented them all on the abacus. In less than ten days, he broke three abacus.Ning Bukong knew what he wanted, so he laughed it off, and asked a master craftsman to cast a pair of brass abacus. Once the copper abacus is dialed too fast, the copper beads will rub against the copper rod, and it will be scalding hot. Lu Jian was burned several times before he knew Compared with Ning Bukong's own wisdom, there is a world of difference.
On this day, Lu Jian was settling accounts in his room, when he suddenly heard hooting noises in the court, he opened the door and saw that it was Cang Bingwei holding a bamboo spear, sweating profusely from practicing.When Cang Bingwei saw Lu Jian, his eyes flashed fiercely, he suddenly raised his bamboo spear, and stabbed at him fiercely. Lu Jian couldn't prevent him from attacking him suddenly, and before he could think about it, his hands stretched out involuntarily, holding the bamboo spear , hearing a click, the bamboo spear was twisted into two pieces.
Of course, Lu Jian didn't know how to hold the bamboo spear or break the barrel.Cang Bingwei was even more horrified. He originally thought that Lu Jian would either die or be injured in this sneak attack, but unexpectedly the opponent was so clever, before he woke up, a bamboo shadow flashed in front of his eyes, and he was hit hard on the face. Half of his face was numb, his mouth was salty, he took two steps back and stared at Lu Jian, but tears couldn't stop streaming down his face.
Lu Jian threw away the half of the bamboo spear, looked at his hands with a dazed expression, and suddenly saw that the left side of Cangbingwei's face seemed to be swollen, and felt apologetic, and said, "I'm sorry, Cangbingwei. You were not my intention, it's all because of this hand's disobedience."
This matter was really absurd, not to mention that Lu Jian was puzzled, Cang Bingwei didn't believe it even more, hated Lu Jian even more, and cursed at him.Lu Jian could already understand a lot of Japanese, and when he heard him scolding viciously, he felt slightly annoyed: "It's all because of these hands, and I didn't mean to hit you." When he didn't want to think about it, he waved his hands out, crackling, Cangbingwei slapped Cangbingwei four times in a row, Lu Jian couldn't restrain himself, burst into panic and anger, and shouted repeatedly: "Stop, stop..." But when he stopped, Cangbingwei had been beaten like a windmill. Crying loudly, rolling and crawling to go out, hearing Lu Jian yelling, but dare not look back.
Lu Jian looked at his hands, marveling, and suddenly smelled the aroma of the rice, and realized that the rice was cooked, because Cangbingwei was beaten away, and no one was looking after him, so he immediately took out the steamer and filled it with food, and brought it to Ning Bukong.
Today's counting hall is very deserted, the two of them have finished their meal, suddenly there is a sudden wind, thick clouds, thunderstorms, and heavy rain brushes falling down.Lu Jian thought of Cangbei, and was quite worried, and wanted to go out to look for it, Ning Bukong asked the reason, sneered and said: "Don't pay attention to him, he was beaten, he should go to his old man Uzaemon to cry. "Lu Jian knew that he was right, so he had to give up, and then remembered that his hands were spontaneous and uncontrollable, so he asked Ning Bukong. After Ning Bukong listened, he said calmly: "This is a martial arts master. You have easily achieved the realm you have dreamed of, congratulations."
Lu Jian still wanted to ask more questions, but Ning Bukong said, "It's raining heavily today, so no one is expected to come. You can close the door and go back to your room."
Lu Jian complied, and was about to close the door when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the heavy rain, and two figures rushed towards him like the wind, and they were in front of him in a moment.
Both of them were holding paper umbrellas with painted flowers, and the one in front was a young man with slender eyebrows, elegant phoenix eyes, and a tall build. Tucked a white cloth handkerchief.The boy behind him is about thirteen or fourteen years old, he is thin, handsome and fair, with smooth cheeks to neck like porcelain, but he is dressed very primly, and he doesn't roll up his trousers when they get wet.
"Dude." The young man grinned, "Is it closed so early?"
Lu Jian nodded and said, "It's raining heavily, there are no guests." The young man smiled and said, "Who says there are no guests, we are the guests."
Lu Jian felt slightly hesitant, and put the two of them in. The short boy behind him glanced at him when he entered the door, pursed his lips and smiled, and Lu Jian smiled back. The boy's cheeks flushed suddenly, and he lowered his head.
The young man sat down in the hall, uncorked the kettle, and drank water.Ning Bu sat quietly with a blank expression.The young man drank enough water, wiped his mouth, looked at Ning Bukong, and suddenly smiled: "Are you blind?"
Lu Jian frowned slightly when he saw that the man was speechless.Ning Bukong smiled and said: "Although I am blind, I am not an idiot."
The young man suddenly changed his face, and suddenly laughed again, pointing at Lu Jian and said, "That's right, this guy is dumbfounded, he looks like an idiot." Lu Jian had never seen such a rude guest before, and he didn't notice There is anger.
Ning Bukong looked calm, and said with a slight smile: "Some people stay on the surface, but they are smart in their hearts. Some people's eyes are dark, but their hearts are very bright."
The young man smiled and said, "Could it be that you are blind?"
Ning Bukong also smiled and said: "I dare not be, but Your Excellency is a bit stupid on the outside, just like the Lord of Zhitian."
With a bang, the kettle fell to pieces.The young man was in a trance for a moment, his pupils shrank suddenly, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle: "You are not blind!"
Ning Bukong said casually: "You take me as blind, and I am blind. Take me as a discerning person, and I am a discerning person."
The young man listened silently, but his eyes softened, and a smile melted from the corner of his mouth, warm and warm, like a spring breeze in February: "I'm just curious, how did you see it, sir?"
Ning Bukong said: "Thunderstorms and lightning, furious rains, this is the wrath of the sky. God is wrathful, it is an extraordinary time. Those who come to my calculation hall at an extraordinary time must ask for extraordinary things. Those who ask for extraordinary things, He must be an extraordinary person. Ordinary people are afraid of this power of heaven, and their hearts are terrified, and they are afraid that they will not be able to hide. However, those who can still be enlightened by God under this power of heaven must be people of great promise. It is recorded in history books: "Shun entered At Dalu, there was strong wind, thunder and rain without fascination. Yao knew that Shun's feet taught the world'. He came through the wind and rain, and he was still able to calm down and laugh at the princes. This kind of bearing is now in the small country of Wayi. Very rare."
Hearing these words, the young man's expression changed, he seemed surprised, angry, and helpless, and finally turned into a mass of admiration, and sighed: "Sir, there are so many capable people in this world, how can you Are you sure I'm Oda?"
Ning Bukong said: "Before I was only 70% to 80% sure, but after listening to your words, it has risen to 100%."
The young man smiled and said, "I would like to hear more about it."
Ning Bukong said: "First, when you went into the pond to look for dragons, it shows that you are curious by nature, but you must seek the root of everything you can't understand; second, you throw incense at the Buddha's face because you have difficulty understanding Buddhism. You don’t believe what you understand. There are many capable people in this world, but there are very few people like you who are so thorough and self-righteous. Oda Nobunaga, don’t you think so?”
Before the young man answered, the short boy shouted: "Okay, you dare to call the king's name." The voice was delicate and crisp, but it was a female voice.
Ning Bukong smiled and said: "Is your sister here too?" The short boy turned pale with shock, and then his cheeks flushed as bright as a bright glow, Oda Nobunaga was also surprised: "Even if you know that she is a woman, Mr. How can you be sure that it is my sister, not my wife and concubine?"
Ning Bukong said: "Women in your country are always cautious, if they act in accordance with the rules, if they are wives and concubines, they will go out with fear, fearing to offend your Zhitian lord, how dare you interrupt indiscriminately? Only the lord's closest relatives and favorites dare to do this Presumptuous, I have heard for a long time that the King has a younger sister named Ashi, who was spoiled by the King at a young age, so it is expected to be this one."
Oda Nobunaga smiled wryly and said: "It seems that my brother and sister are superfluous when they come here in disguise. Sir, you can't see things, but you won't be confused by the appearance of the clothes. You see people with the eyes of your heart, see through the appearance, and go straight to the truth."
"The lord of the country is absurd, but I really don't dare to take it." Ning Bukong said indifferently, "I don't know if the lord of the country has come, what advice do you have?"
Oda Nobunaga smiled and said: "Since I came to the fortune-telling hall, it is natural for fortune-telling." Ning Bukong said, "What do you want to count?"
Oda Nobunaga's eyes froze for a moment, but he said leisurely: "Let's count the fortune of my Owari country!"
Ning Bukong laughed dumbly, lightly twisted the copper coin between his fingers, but remained silent.
Seeing this, Oda Nobunaga stood up and bowed, and said solemnly: "Nobunaga just tempted Mr., how offending. Uzaemon has already mentioned Mr. Nobunaga knew that Mr. must be a high-ranking scholar in the Tang Dynasty, but he didn't dare to act rashly. Visiting, one is that Nobunaga still has doubts about Mr.'s ability; the other is that Nobunaga is troubled both at home and abroad, and the city is full of enemies and eyes and ears. He is afraid that Mr. will be implicated. He didn't dare to come until the heavy rain and no one was interested in the calculation office. Ask for advice, and please give me advice, sir, regardless of past suspicions."
Ning Bukong smiled coldly, put down the copper coin between his fingers, and asked, "What is your ambition? Is it Owari?"
Oda Nobunaga was stunned. It was the first time in his life that someone asked this question, and he pondered, "No."
Ning Bukong said: "Is it Donglu?" Oda Nobunaga shook his head and said: "No." Ning Bukong said: "What about Hokuriku?" Oda Nobunaga still shook his head.Ning Bukong said: "Xiguo, Kyoto?" Oda Nobunaga still shook his head.
"What a big ambition!" Ning Bukong smiled unconsciously: "Your ambition is all of Japan!" Oda Nobunaga smiled and said nothing.
Ning Bukong sighed: "Those who have taken the world since ancient times are nothing more than the right time, favorable location, and harmony of people. The land of the Owari Fourth War has no danger to rely on, and it can be said that there is no geographical advantage; in addition, the people are few, the army is weak, and the Oda family There are endless internal strife, and the harmony between people is also greatly reduced."
Oda Nobunaga nodded and said, "Not bad."
"However, among the three talents, geographical advantage and human harmony are secondary." Ning Bukong said, "If you use soldiers to win the law, you can rob land; if you govern the country well, you can subdue people's hearts; Unfathomable, and those who take the world, first push the time. Mencius once said: "The right time is not as good as the right place, and the right place is not as good as the harmony of people." This is just nonsense of Confucian scholars."
Oda Nobunaga's heart was shocked, and he leaned forward and said, "Please give me some advice, sir."
Ning Bukong said: "Let me ask you, in terms of land, military strength, military exploits, and reputation, how do you compare with Hojo Ujiyasu, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and Mori Terumoto?"
Oda Nobunaga said: "Nobunaga is far inferior."
"But there is one thing, they are not as good as you." Ning Bukong's tone turned serious, "That is Owari country is located in Kinki, threatening Kyoto. If Owari small country wants to unify Japan, it must take advantage of the time in Kyoto."
Oda Nobunaga murmured: "Borrowing the time in Kyoto?"
Ning Bukong nodded and said: "There are two sentences in the Tang Dynasty. The first sentence is called "respect the king and fight against barbarians", and the second sentence is more straightforward, it is called "holding the emperor to order the princes". In today's situation, internal troubles can be eliminated first. Settle down Owari, then make friends with the Takeda clan in Kai, and join forces with the Imagawa clan from east to west to divide the country together, and then connect with Asakura in the north, Asai in the west, and Saito in the south. When your territory expands, your reputation will grow. , must have been heard in Kyoto. The Ashikaga shogunate is extremely weak, and it is held hostage by the Liujiao and Miyoshi parties. It does not want to get rid of self-reliance all the time. Even though the other princes have many soldiers and generals, they are far away from Kyoto and cannot reinforce them. You can use it to support the shogunate and protect it Under the banner of the Emperor, defeat the Miyoshi Party, invade Kyoto, and then use the name of the Emperor to conquer the Quartet."
Oda Nobunaga was ambitious and talented, when he heard this, he understood it, and wanted to thank him, but Ning Bukong said coldly: "Don't worry, this is just one of the times."
Oda Nobunaga moved and said, "Is there another two?"
Ning Bukong said: "Your opponents have their own strengths. Takeda and Uesugi are good at horse fighting, and the Maoris are good at water fighting. What kind of warfare is your Oda clan good at?"
Oda Nobunaga thought for a while, and said, "I have a hundred blunderbusses. I wonder if it counts as a method of warfare?"
Ning Bukong shook his head and said: "One hundred is too little, if we want to unify Japan, we must have five thousand bird blunderbusses." He sighed and said leisurely, "The five elements are revolving. The generation of gold is about to come to an end. The era of fire is coming. Whoever makes good use of fire will be able to rule the world. This is why the second thing is firearms. Hehe, fire is the brightest. The Ming Dynasty used fire as its name, but did not emphasize firearms. It is ridiculous. I heard that Francois, England and Western countries have sharp firearms, if there is a chance, I would like to see it.”
After hearing this, Oda Nobunaga was stunned for a long time, his expression changed suddenly, and he said in a deep voice: "Mr. Bukong, Nobunaga will ask you to be my military advisor with half of his salary."
"I'm from the Tang Dynasty, so I shouldn't be your Japanese official." Ning Bukong said indifferently, "Besides, today is just talking on paper. In the future, if we really want to unify the world, there are still infinite variables. If you hesitate a little, I'm afraid that your ambition will be everything. vanished into thin air."
Oda Nobunaga said with a smile: "People only have fifty years to live. Even if they live to reach the age of heaven (according to: a thousand years), it is like a dream. How happy is life, and how sad is death?"
Yi Ning is not empty, but he is not moved: "It is not a good omen for you to look down on life and death at such a young age. Suicide is fearless, and fearlessness means less defense. Therefore, it is possible to defeat powerful enemies, but it is difficult to guard against villains. .”
Oda Nobunaga turned around with a smile, and suddenly turned back and said, "Mr. Fukong, Nobunaga has another question."
Ning Bukong said: "But it's okay to ask."
Oda Nobunaga said: "Dare to ask, is Mr. the most wise man among Tang people?"
Ning Bukong raised his brows sharply, and said with a sneer, "China stretches across thousands of miles and has hundreds of millions of people. Ning's meager talent is nothing."
Oda Nobunaga wondered: "Is there anyone smarter than Mr.?"
"In terms of resourcefulness." Ning Bukong's expression darkened, "There is indeed someone who is better than Ning. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be living in a foreign country." Not empty, but I don't know what this person looks like. Could it be that he has two heads?
Oda Nobunaga thought for a while, and then asked, "Will he come to Japan?"
"That's not true." Ning Bukong shook his head and said, "He will never come to Japan in this lifetime."
Oda Nobunaga showed a look of relief: "I will send someone to pick you up tonight, sir, you might as well get ready."
Ning Bukong laughed and said, "You want to force me to be a military adviser?"
Oda Nobunaga smiled and said: "Actually, there are not only two times, but three. One is the capital, the other is firearms, and the third is the gentleman. The one who wins the gentleman wins the world. How dare Nobunaga be careless." Ah Shi, opened the paper umbrella and left leisurely.
Just as the two of them left, some warriors braved the rain and came to guard the gate.Lu Jian was startled and asked, "Mr. Ning, are we really going to Zhitian Mansion?"
Ning Bukong nodded and said: "This Nobunaga is very powerful, if I can't be used by him, he will definitely kill us."
"Is he so arrogant?" Lu Jian said angrily, "Mr. Ning, you are not easy to mess with. At worst, let's go to another feudal kingdom."
"Lu Jian." Ning Bukong smiled suddenly, "Don't you think this Oda Nobunaga is interesting?" Lu Jian said, "He's a tyrant, what's so interesting?"
"What do you know? This is called the style of the overlord." Ning Bukong sighed, "Didn't I say it? The law of troubled times is to live with the strong and die with the weak. This calculation hall is nothing but Ning. The bait is for Oda Nobunaga, a big fish that can swallow Japan!"
When he said this, he suddenly felt that the rain outside the door had stopped, and the cool breeze broke through the door, and the water accumulated on the eaves was like wisps, pouring down on the stone steps, ticking sound, fine and ethereal.
That night, Ning and Lu moved into Zhitian's mansion, Cangbingwei came back at night, when he heard about this, he scratched his head with joy.Only Lu Jian was unhappy and always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't explain why when he explored it.
Oda Nobunaga was assisted by Ning Bukong, either by outsmarting or fighting hard, and defeated his uncles and brothers one after another; at the same time, he set up caravans, carried out large-scale trade, and practiced the "one-money law". The atmosphere is one whole.Ning Bukong personally improved the armor of firearms, lengthened the blunderbuss by more than six feet, compared with ordinary blunderbusses, its shooting range doubled to more than 200 paces, surpassing Japan.
Lu Jian was sent by Ning Bukong as an accountant to calculate the income and exit of Owari's property for him. He saw Ning Bukong rule the country for the Oda family, and when he thought of the real Japanese and fake Japanese, he felt worried: "Whatever the Oda family says, it's the same." A real wo, if Ning Bukong helps a real wo, wouldn’t he become a phony?” Although he knew that Ning Bukong’s actions would cause far-reaching harm, but because of the long-time practice of the “Book of the Black Sky” and the deep indulging, although he was worried in his heart, he dared not Talk too much, for fear that Ning Bukong will lose his true energy in a fit of anger.
Cherry blossoms bloom and fall, gulls come and go, and two years have passed in the blink of an eye.This year, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom again, Oda Nobunaga finally took control of Owari and went to Kyoto to meet General Yoshiki and spy on the situation in Beijing.Although Ning Bukong is Nobunaga's mastermind, he has always refused to be Oda's retainer. For two years, he has been aloof behind the scenes, so it is inconvenient to follow him into Beijing, stay in Owari, and stay behind closed doors all day long.
On this day, Lu Jian asked for a fresh fish from the kitchen to feed Fomalhaut, and when he got to the room, he saw Fomalhaut lying lazily on the ground, with a few more kittens around him, Compete for favor around it.Lu Jian was amused, and laughed and cursed: "This local emperor knows how to enjoy himself."
Immediately, the fish was served on a plate and placed in front of Fomalhaut. Fomalhaut waved his paws to signal the group of cats to use it first. Then he got up and walked outside the door, staring up at the west. His small body was under the sky. , quite lonely.
Lu Jian felt pity in his heart, picked it up and said, "Fomalhaut, do you miss Sister Xianbi again? It's all because I'm useless, I can't take you back." Fomalhaut was still lazy, not at all. ignore.
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from a distance: "Don't worry, Xiaomei must still be in the mansion, let's look for it again." Another woman said angrily: "It's all because of your carelessness. When you turn around, you will be killed." Lose my little eyebrow." After speaking, she choked up slightly, and the woman who spoke first hurriedly comforted her in a low voice.
Lu Jian was surprised that the women of Zhitian Mansion usually stayed in the inner hall, and never appeared in the outer house except to go out to worship the Buddha.In a daze, he suddenly saw two women splitting the flowers and brushing the willows, and they were about to come out. One was a little older, dressed as a maid, slightly fat, with a round face and slender eyes; She has a slender figure, her snow-white cheeks are still wet from tears, but her eyebrows and eyes are surprisingly handsome, not only unique among the Japanese, but even in Huaxia, she is also an outstanding beauty.
When the two of them suddenly saw Lu Jian, they were startled. The maid opened her mouth and scolded, "You man, where did you come from? Don't look around with your thief eyes." Lu Jian thought that you all appeared suddenly, but came Ask me, if you don't look at it, don't look at it, who cares.Turn your face away now.
The beautiful girl looked at him intently, and suddenly smiled and said, "Xinzi, stop scolding, I know him." Seeing that Lu was getting confused, she smiled and said, "You are that stupid little boy from the 'Bukonganan' Dude, right?"
Hearing what she said, Lu Jian suddenly realized: "You, what are you, what..." But he couldn't remember the name for a moment.The girl was very displeased, and said: "My name is Ashi, don't you remember?" Lu Jian said with a smile: "By the way, Ashi, long time no see, you have grown up so much."
Xinzi saw that he was speechless and was about to scold him, but Ah Shi smiled and said, "You have grown taller, even taller than your brother." Although Lu Jian was much taller, he didn't know it. Feeling slightly puzzled, he lowered his head and looked after himself.
信子冷眼旁观，忽道：“公主，你瞧这个呆子怀里的猫儿怪俊的，既然找不到小眉，不妨把那只猫儿要来。”
阿市瞧了北落师门一眼，说道：“这种猫儿我听说过，是西方波斯的异种。奇怪，他怎会有这么名贵的猫儿。”信子笑道：“不管名不名贵，找他要来就是，他敢不给，我便叫桥本君跟他要，还怕他不给。”
阿市摇头说，“这样不妥，再说，我只要我的小眉。”
信子碰了钉子，悻悻讪笑。阿市又轻声叫道：“小眉，小眉。”叫得两声，忽听喵的一声，从房内蹿处一只黄白相间的母猫。阿市喜道：“小眉。”将那猫一把抱住，怜爱不已。
忽听北落师门轻叫一声，小眉听了，猛地挣脱阿市怀抱，跳到陆渐脚下，转来转去。陆渐恍然大悟：“敢情这猫儿是北落师门拐来的。”忙道：“北落师门，你又淘气了。”
阿市也感惊讶，问道：“信子，小眉怎么了？”信子啐了一口：“小畜生思春啦，不中留的东西。”
阿市伸手去抱小眉，小眉却竭力挣扎，冲着北落师门凄声叫唤。阿市大急，对陆渐说道：“小伙计，我的猫儿喜欢上你的猫儿啦，你把猫儿送给我好么？”
若是寻常猫儿，陆渐送人自无不可，但这北落师门委实干系重大，只得摇头道：“不成，这猫儿不能送你。”
“大胆。”信子喝道，“公主的话你也不听？”
陆渐尴尬道：“这猫儿我不能送人的。”
阿市自幼美貌，深得父兄宠爱，凡事予取予求，从未遭人拒绝，此刻被陆渐所拒，面色阵红阵白，蓦地轻哼一声，转身便走。信子急忙跟上，走了两步，转身对陆渐啐道：“不识时务的小子，你死定了。”
陆渐无端受此奚落，大感无趣，一回头，忽见仓兵卫悄然立在身后，望着阿市身影，怔怔出神。便问道：“仓兵卫，你今天不去练剑？”原来入府之后，仓兵卫想跟府内武士练剑，宁不空初时不允，后来陆渐为他说情，方才答应。
仓兵卫激灵灵打了个寒噤，没好气道：“练完了。”说着瞧了北落师门一眼，神色阴沉。陆渐还想与他说两句，仓兵卫早已掉头去了。
陆渐呆了一会儿，将北落师门放下，倍觉孤寂，宁不空要么忙于军政，要么闭门静坐，仓兵卫则极少与他说话，至于织田府中，武士们各分派别，抱成一团，并无一个交谈之人。
当下叹了口气，回账房处理帐务，至晚方闲，找来鲜鱼，叫唤北落师门。叫了一阵，却不听回应，四处搜寻，也没见着。正焦急间，忽见仓兵卫满脸笑容，迎面走来，忙上前问道：“仓兵卫，你瞧见北落师门了吗？”
仓兵卫大不耐烦：“没瞧见，谁知道呢？说不准去田里捉老鼠了。”陆渐道：“不对，北落师门从来不捉老鼠，它只吃鱼。”
仓兵卫道：“猫儿不捉老鼠，算什么猫儿？丢了也是活该。”陆渐听得眉头大皱，转眼间，忽见仓兵卫手上有五道血痕，似被兽类抓过，不由脸色一变，捉住他手，喝道：“这是什么？是不是北落师门抓的，你把它弄哪儿去了。”
他说话之时，手中便觉仓兵卫心跳加剧，血流变快，分明心慌紧张，但仓兵卫脸上却仍镇定，大叫道：“胡说，我没见过猫儿，你放开我。”陆渐又气又急，喝道：“你不把北落师门还我，我，我……”一时却想不出什么有力的法子，逼他就范。
仓兵卫见状，胆气更粗，挺起胸脯，大声道：“反正我是你的仆人，你有本事打死我呀，打死我，我也不怕。”陆渐哭笑不得，道：“我打你做什么，你把北落师门还给我……”
忽听有人冷笑道：“小伙计，我便知道你小气。”陆渐转眼望去，只见阿市容色冷淡，俏立远处，怀中一只波斯猫，正是北落师门。仓兵卫神色大变，匍匐在地，颤声道：“公主殿下安好。”
陆渐又惊又喜，扑将上去，伸手便夺那猫儿，不防北落师门伸出爪子，倏地抓来，若非陆渐手快，几被抓着，不由诧道：“北落师门，你怎么啦？”那猫儿仍是懒洋洋的，正眼也不瞧他，阿市瞧陆渐一脸呆相，矜持不住，噗哧一声，笑了出来。
陆渐正觉不解，忽听宁不空叹道：“陆渐，让它去吧，这猫儿是出了名的势利，一旦有了女主子，再也不会理你的。”
陆渐回过头来，只见宁不空微微佝偻，悄立檐下，不由问道：“为什么？”
宁不空道：“它的第一个主人便是女子，或许日子久了，已经习惯。从没男子能做它的主人，你陆渐也不例外。”
阿市听得眉开眼笑，心道：“天下间还有这么乖的猫儿，只认女子，不认男子。”想着瞅了陆渐一眼，含笑示威。陆渐望着北落师门，见它蜷在阿市怀中，一派恬然，不知怎的，想到自己为它出生入死，事到如今，却被它轻轻抛弃，没的心生酸楚，恨不得大哭一场。
阿市见他眼角泛红，芳心一沉，想将猫儿还他，又觉这猫儿如此依恋自己，若是给他，这猫儿岂不又伤心了，踌躇间，忽听宁不空道：“阿市公主，你身为女眷，当在内殿，擅来外宅，有违家法。”
阿市脸色发白，轻哼道：“我是来还猫儿的，别人不肯送我，我也不要。”说罢瞪了陆渐一眼。
宁不空道：“陆渐不肯送你，自有道理。但北落师门既然择你为主，你就好好待它。只不过，这猫儿非比寻常。若有一天，它离你而去，你也不要难过。”
阿市听得似懂非懂，忽听宁不空扬声道：“公主请回内殿，宁某不送。”阿市身份虽然贵重，却知这人乃是兄长军师，权重尾张，是故不敢违背，小嘴一撅，转身去了。
待阿市走远，宁不空忽又喝道：“仓兵卫，你为讨好阿市，偷盗北落师门，该当何罪？”仓兵卫面无人色，只是拼命磕头。陆渐瞧得不忍，说道：“北落师门总算无恙，便饶了他吧。”
宁不空怒道：“浑小子，你还替他说话？哼，死罪可免，活罪难逃。仓兵卫，我罚你跪到明天日出，胆敢起身，断你双腿。”说罢又向陆渐喝道，“浑小子，给我进来。”
陆渐随他进屋，宁不空关门落坐，神色略缓，叹道：“陆渐，你为人朴实，随我三年，极少违拗于我，这是很好。除开《黑天书》的干系，你我身在异国，相依为命，也算是彼此间最亲近的人！”
陆渐见他一反常态，温言说出这番话来，大觉惊讶，但回想这三年情景，确然又是如此。
“既然这样。”宁不空道，“我想给你瞧一样东西，你瞧见什么，要半点不漏地跟我说，决不能有所隐瞒。”
陆渐应了。宁不空从床头取来一个包袱，解开看时，却是四幅卷轴。宁不空取了一轴，徐徐展开，乃是一幅图画，画中一男一女，男子端坐椅上，剑眉入鬓，容貌俊朗，美中不足的是左颊一道伤疤，自颧骨划到嘴角。女子立在椅后，怀抱一只波斯猫，双目脉脉含情，望着那男子，她相貌虽非极美，但风姿楚楚，温柔可亲。
那画笔法精湛，画工传神，尤其波斯猫那双蓝眼珠，慵懒迷离，如张似闭。陆渐瞧得眼熟，讶道：“这猫好像……”
宁不空冷道：“好像北落师门么？”陆渐道：“是呀，像极了。”宁不空哼了一声，道：“除了猫还有什么？”陆渐道：“还有一对男女，却不知是谁？”
宁不空道：“那是当年名震天下的一对神仙眷侣。咳，你就别问了，把画中人的样子说给我听，半点也莫遗漏。”
陆渐按捺疑惑，将画中人特征一一说了，又道：“除了这对男女，右角还有七个大字。”说罢一字字念道：“有——不——谐——者——吾——击——之。”
宁不空听到这儿，身子一颤，半晌方道：“还有呢？”
陆渐道：“这行字的左下方有一枚三角印章，三角中有一方形，方形中又有一个圆圈，可惜没字。”宁不空不耐道：“这个也无须再说，还有什么？”
陆渐详细描述所见，连轴承的纹理色彩也都说了，宁不空更是不断询问，直到问无可问，才道：“就这些么？”陆渐道：“没别的啦。”
“岂有此理！”宁不空露出疑惑之色，“难道八幅祖师画像一模一样？”
他沉思一阵，将剩下三幅画像展开，问道：“陆渐，你瞧这四幅画像有何不同？”陆渐凝神观看，说道：“画像、文字、印章，均是一样，只是左下脚的记号不同。”
宁不空道：“什么记号？”陆渐道：“第一幅画的记号是三道横杠，但第一道横杠从中断开，变成两道短横。”
宁不空冷哼一声，道：“这个记号代表先天八卦中的'兑'，乃是泽部标记，我派共分八部，这四幅画像分属泽、火、水、山四部，自也有兑、离、坎、艮四种标记，除了标记不同，还有什么异样？”
陆渐道：“定要说异样，那么从左数起，第二幅画被火烧过，还被水浸过，画中女子的脸被烧坏了，画上的颜色也因为浸了水，浑浊不堪。”
宁不空不觉苦笑，这一幅正是火部的祖师画像，当日在姚家庄，宁不空以画像诱敌，击败阴九重，是故画像先被火烧，后被水浸，留下诸多印迹。
宁不空叹道：“陆渐，烧过的，浸过的，都不去管它，除此之外，还有什么不同？”陆渐唔了一声，此时天色已晚，便燃起灯火，专心辨认。
烛影摇红，光阴如流，陆渐久无声息，宁不空不由得绝望起来，他逼陆渐识字，就为让他辨识画上文字；教他《黑天书》，也是为了让这少年死心塌地效忠自己，如此一来，就算陆渐瞧破画中秘密，也无法离开自己。这计谋环环相扣，可谓滴水不漏，阴毒深长。
饶是如此，宁不空仍不甘心将这四幅图示与陆渐，想凭一己之力寻出其中奥秘。卷轴的木轴，画纸的夹层，这三年中他反复摸索，均无异样，看来画像的奥秘终究还是在图文之上，而看图识字，又非明眼人不可，宁不空双目俱盲，唯一信任的人，只有劫奴，故此这几日他在房中摆弄画像未果，无奈之下，只好叫来陆渐辨认。
但万没料到，这四幅画像竟然一模一样，倘若如此，当年的那句谶语，岂不是欺人之谈？而火部同门岂非白白死了？至于自己这双招子，岂不也白白瞎了么？
宁不空心中忽而忐忑，忽而悲愤，忽而绝望、忽又自怜自伤。蓦然间，只听陆渐咦了一声，道：“宁先生，这幅图被烧焦的地方，似乎有字。”
宁不空露出狂喜之色，一把攥住他手，颤声道：“什么字，快，快念给我听。”陆渐凝眸辨认，一字字地念道：“之——上——长——薄——东——季——握——穴。”
“纸上藏帛，冬季卧雪？”宁不空沉吟道，“冬季卧雪却也易解，说的是冬天躺在雪里；但这纸上藏帛，却有些古怪了。”陆渐笑道：“先生错了，不是这八个字。”当下一字一字，说给宁不空听。
“之上长薄东季握穴？”宁不空一阵茫然，“这句子好生不通。”他思索良久，又问道：“这八个字大小如何，在画像的什么地方。”陆渐道：“这八个字又小又淡，在三角印章的下方。”
“谐之印的下方么？”宁不空沉吟道，“陆渐，你将泽部的画像抬起来，用烛火烘烤印章下方，但须小心，不要烧坏了卷轴。”
陆渐举灯烘烤半晌，除了纸质变黄，并无字迹显现。宁不空想了想，又道：“你且瞧瞧，那八字所在之处，可有水浸痕迹？”
陆渐定睛一瞧，那枚印章微微发毛，果然被水浸过，便道：“有的。”宁不空含笑道：“你取一碗水来，先将印章下方润湿，再用烛火烘烤。”
陆渐依法润湿画像，再行烘烤，待得水尽纸燥之时，纸面上果然浮现出一行字来。宁不空听说，狂喜不禁，拍手道：“原来如此，此处必然涂有药物，须得水浸火烤，方能显形。阴九重啊阴九重，多亏有你，哈哈，若是无你，我又怎么勘得破这祖师画像的秘密。”他狂笑一阵，又命陆渐念出显现字迹，却是“大下白而指历珠所”八字。
宁不空默念八字，引经据典，仍然思索不透，又命陆渐将其他画像的字迹显现出来，水部画像上写的是“卵有如山隔春山其”，山部画像则写着“以旌也雪树皆涡屋”。
宁不空思索片刻，先用谐音重读之法，瞧这几行字是否用了谐音，继而又转换字序，瞧这些字是否调换了顺序，若将其重新排列，能否读出通顺句子。
宁不空本是少有的聪明人，一旦陷入此等谜题，必然冥思苦想，废寝忘食。陆渐见他念念有词，甚觉无味，当下出门，却见仓兵卫孤零零跪在花圃前，一动不动，不由暗叹，寻来一张蒲团，说道：“仓兵卫，你跪在上面，舒服一些。”
仓兵卫啐了一口，恨声道：“我死了，也不要你可怜。”陆渐气得说不出话来，骂道：“谁想可怜你了，你这个不知好歹的小子。”说罢将蒲团扔到他面前，转身便走，忽听得仓兵卫在身后发出低低的啜泣声，不觉胸中一痛，双眼酸热。
他躺回床上，寻思道：“仓兵卫虽然可怜，但怎么说也有父母，我却只有爷爷，现在连爷爷也没有了，仓兵卫有我可怜他，谁又来可怜我呢？”想着想着，眼泪不绝滑落。还记得那些海外奇谈，虽是陆大海的胡编，此刻想起，却是别有趣味；又还记得，那年他去卖鱼，被几个镇上的小泼皮抢走了鱼，按在泥地里往死里打。事后陆渐带着一身泥，哭着回家，陆大海听说了，二话不说便出了门，可很久都没回来，直到傍晚，陆渐才知道，爷爷打断了一个小泼皮的腿，被衙门抓去，打了三十大板，关在牢里。那天晚上，他躺在床上，又累又饿，浑身疼痛，心里却默默发誓，以后不论爷爷怎么说谎，怎么输钱，自己也不会怪他，不会跟他吵闹。那一夜，他忽然长大了，开始织网、打鱼，担负起家中的生计。
这天晚上，陆渐不知为何十分伤心，竟是哭着睡去的。第二天醒来，推门一瞧，却发现仓兵卫倒在地上，浑身滚烫，陆渐忙将他抱回房内，找来大夫，诊断之下，却是受了风寒。陆渐去见宁不空，却见他神色呆滞，口中念念有词，似乎说什么“八图合一”。陆渐叫唤，他也不理，只得自作主张，叫来鹈左卫门，让他带仓兵卫回家休养。
送走仓兵卫，院子里越发冷清，陆渐算帐之余，寂寞无聊，削了一把木剑，重新练起“断水剑法”，当他使剑之时，忽然发觉，自己念头方萌，木剑早已刺出，有时心中才想到十招，手上已使到十五六招上下，一把木剑如风中枯叶，飘忽迅疾，超乎想象。
陆渐心中惊讶，猜测必是《黑天书》之故，不觉叹了口气，遥想姚晴往昔总是埋怨自己出剑太慢，若是看到今日这般快剑，也不知有何感想。想到姚晴，他胸中大痛：“三年不见，也不知她变成什么样子，仙碧姊姊给她解了毒么？她住在哪里？她父母双亡，家园被焚，孤零零的一个人，会不会伤心寂寞。”
一时间，陆渐望着碧空流云，不觉痴了。忽听咯咯笑声，有人道：“小气男，丢了猫儿，还在伤心吗？”陆渐回头瞧去，只见阿市和服色白如雪，双袖和两膝处点缀了几点粉红樱花，怀中的北落师门与白衣混同一色，若非碧蓝双瞳，几乎难分彼此。
“这样吧。”阿市笑道，“猫儿还是算你的，我帮你养着，要是将来它不喜欢我了，我便还给你。”陆渐摇头道：“猫儿原本就不是我的，它另有主人的。”阿市想到宁不空的话，忍不住问道：“那个主人也是女子么？”
陆渐点点头，阿市道：“她生得美不美？”陆渐道：“很美。”阿市小嘴一撇，轻哼道：“难怪你这么伤心，是不是怕丢了猫儿，就没法去讨好那个大美人儿呢。”
陆渐一怔，失笑道：“她很美，你也很美啊。”他将阿市与仙碧相比，本无他意。阿市却俏脸微红，低头轻抚怀中猫儿，叹道：“美又怎样，又没人为我伤心。”
陆渐不解她小女儿的心思，想了想，问道：“你一个人来外宅，家里人就不担心吗？”阿市摇头道：“我爸爸妈妈都去世了，兄长里就大哥和我最好，这次大哥去京都，那些侍女们整天围着我，这也不让做，那也不让做，闷死人了。”她偷瞧陆渐一眼，笑道：“小伙计，你叫什么名字？”
陆渐说了，阿市怪道：“你