Chapter 7 Chapter 7: When you make a mistake, life and death become a mystery
Chu Tianshu said: "Senior Ding is my father's friend, since he is him, of course we cannot ignore him."
The howling sound came from a mountain peak on the south bank. Chu Tianshu approached the boat, and the three of them immediately performed lightness kung fu and ran towards that mountain peak.It was already dark at this time, and a crescent moon had just risen.The mountain is only a few miles away from the shore, but half a stick of incense will arrive in no time.But within this period of time, they did not hear the whistle again.
Chu Tianshu was puzzled, and thought to himself: "Ding Bo is a great bandit in Liaodong. His whistle can be transmitted from the mountain to the center of the river, so one can imagine his high skill. I can't hear his whistle now, so I don't know if he is already Repel a strong enemy, or be seriously injured and unable to scream? But no matter what, his opponent must be very powerful, but who is it?"
Running to the mountainside, a cliff blocked the way.Fortunately, they are all first-class lightness skills, and the cliffs and cliffs are not difficult for them.Among the three, Chu Tianshu had the highest martial arts and the most experience in the world. He ran ahead and opened the way, seeing all directions and listening to all directions.
On the other side of the cliff is a pine forest. Near the cliff, there is an ancient pine protruding horizontally.Under the hazy moonlight, Chu Tianshu glanced, and suddenly saw the branches swaying without wind.It is not surprising that the wild vines in the air are fluttering, but it is strange that the branches that have not separated from the mother body shake without wind.Chu Tianshu listened intently, and could faintly hear rustling sounds in the woods.Chu Tianshu shouted: "Watch out for an ambush!" He circled his palms together, used the move of "Kai night battle" to protect himself, stepped on the protruding pine trunk, and then jumped up the cliff and rushed into the forest.
There used to be a precept of "no entry into the forest" in Jianghu, but in order to save Uncle Ding, how could they care about these many taboos.Both Jiang Xuejun and Qi Shuyu drew their swords, danced their swords to defend themselves, and followed Chu Tianshu into the woods.
There was no ambush in the woods, but a few birds flew out of their nests in fright.Qi Shuyu smiled and said: "Brother Chu, you are suspicious of ghosts, there is not a ghost here!" Chu Tianshu was startled, and thought to himself: "It is said that the branches will not shake without wind, and what I saw just now is clearly not the same. Dazzling. Could it be a squirrel scurrying across a branch, causing it to sway without wind, alas, I hope it is a squirrel, if it is really a person, this person's lightness kung fu is so high, it is really miraculous!"
Before thinking about it, they had already passed through the pine forest, and the terrain in front of them was open, and they began to hear a sound again, which seemed to be the whistling of the wind, but it was not the sound of wind when they listened carefully.Chu Tianshu ran two steps faster, stood on a high place and looked down, and shouted: "There are people fighting over there, Miss Qi, hurry up..." Before he could finish the word "come quickly", Qi Shuyu had already boarded that block Shitou looked down and shouted: "Ah, it really is Uncle Ding! Uncle Ding, don't panic, we are here to help you!"
There is a mountain depression below, the depression is shaped like the bottom of a pot, and the terrain is relatively flat. A tall and thin old man is fighting with two burly men.Although he only met once when he was a child, Chu Tianshu also recognized him.This slender old man is Ding Bo who once came to his home, Ding Bo, a Liaodong thief who was famous twenty years ago.
The faces of the two men who fought against Ding Bo were not very clear, but they were about the same height, and their clothes were also the same. They seemed to be two brothers.
Chu Tianshu looked intently, and after seeing a few moves, he couldn't help but be surprised.
Those two leaped and pounced, sometimes like giant eagles hovering in the sky, sometimes like tigers prostrated on the ground, their moves were fierce, within a radius of ten or so zhang, sand and stones walked, and the sound was like a gust of wind blowing.Ding Bo, on the other hand, stood upright like a mountain, taking apart moves when he saw them, and breaking them down when he saw styles.But the situation is clearly that he is at a disadvantage.It's only for parrying.Only then did Chu Tianshu suddenly realize that the reason why Ding Bo couldn't continue to howl was because he was overwhelmed by the attacks and could no longer expend his internal energy to howl. "Sure enough, I am indeed the famous Liaodong hero. If it were me, under the combined attack of these two monsters, I might not be able to withstand ten moves!" Chu Tianshu thought to himself.
Although they knew that the three of them might not be able to reverse the defeat for Ding Bo, but at such an urgent juncture, no one had time to think about their own safety, and everyone ran over quickly.
A man who fought with Ding Bo laughed loudly: "Ding Bo, even if you have a party, we are not afraid of you! Hehe, so your rescuers are only these three dolls? Haha, come on, come on Let's die together!" Halfway through his speech, he had already seen clearly who was coming.
Chu Tianshu, who ran the fastest, had just covered half of the distance, and the two men were stepping up their attack. Qi Shuyu followed closely behind Chu Tianshu, his heart skipping a beat, fearing that it would be too late for rescue.
Ding Bo was even more anxious than her, and quickly called out, "Miss, hurry up and leave me alone!"
Before the words were finished, a man jumped up to a height of one zhang, and threw himself down on him, Ding Bo got short and slanted out.Qi Shuyu couldn't see clearly, but he heard a "bang", it turned out that the man hit a pine tree with his fist, and the pine tree was broken by the waist.
Qi Shuyu couldn't see clearly, he only thought that Uncle Ding dodged well, so he didn't hit him.But Ding Bo was very surprised: "It's strange, why did he miss his punch so much?" It turned out that the two men were attacking separately, and if Ding Bo wanted to avoid the volley blow, he would have to hit the other man's. One palm, so although he was slanting, he was not avoiding the attack, but trying to get ahead of the other enemy's attack.But whether he can do what he wants, he is really not sure.Unexpectedly, beyond his expectation, the punch in the volley was skewed.
These two are twin brothers, they share the same mind and cooperate seamlessly.Unexpectedly, something went wrong this time.The elder brother's punch was inexplicably deflected, which gave Ding Bo a chance to defeat him.He made a backhand move of "waving the pipa", just in time to meet the palm that his younger brother slashed at his back.
The two palms intersected, and there was a sound of "Peng", the force of the palm on him was so shocking that he retreated six or seven steps, and almost fell down.
This time again Ding Bo was totally unexpected.You must know that although the opponent lost the cooperation of his elder brother, Ding Bo was almost at the end of his battle.If these two brothers were fighting alone, Ding Bo was slightly better than them, but he couldn't knock any of them back six or seven steps with a wave of his hand.What's more, at this moment Ding Bo was fighting fiercely for half an hour under the situation of one against two, and the consumption of internal energy was far more than that of the opponent.His original estimate was that he just hoped to tie the match.
Not only Ding Bo was unexpected, but the two brothers also seemed to be unexpected. The brothers faced each other with blank eyes.
The two brothers were in the same mind, they glanced at each other, the older brother nodded, and the younger brother shook his head.Although they nodded and shook their heads, everyone thought the same.The two of them shouted in unison: "Ding, you have the backing of your master, we have no choice but to admit defeat! Hmph, I hope your master will live a long life, let you be an old slave for the rest of your life!" Fleeing, the latter two sentences are of course "ironical", but it can also be seen that they really dared to be angry with Ding Bo's "master" and did not dare to scold him.
It turned out that when the boss volleyed down, his foot suddenly seemed to be pricked by a sharp needle, and he couldn't help rushing forward, but he hit a pine tree with his fist before he stabilized his figure.When the second child slapped the palm, the tiger's mouth seemed to be stung by an ant suddenly, and the power was cut in half immediately.But they immediately discovered that it wasn't the plum blossom needle, and they couldn't figure out whether it was even a hidden weapon.
They didn't take Chu Tianshu, Qi Shuyu, and Jiang Xuejun seriously at first, but now they thought, Qi Shuyu is Qi Yanran's granddaughter, since the granddaughter showed up here, could it be that the grandfather has also come?Except for Qi Yanran, no one else has such a great ability to plot against them without them noticing at all!
The two brothers had the same thought, and both thought it was Qi Yanran. The two brothers exchanged questioning glances, and the older brother nodded, indicating that he had the same guess as the younger brother.The younger brother shook his head, which meant that since he was Qi Yanran, he could only admit defeat obediently and stop fighting.
Although Ding Bo didn't know what they were thinking, he already guessed that they were plotting against him and knew who they were suspicious of.
Qi Shuyu was overjoyed, ran to Ding Bo's side, and said with a smile, "Uncle Ding, where did you provoke these two powerful enemies?"
Ding Bo took a breath and said: "They are the brothers of the Sa family who are known as the Northern Hebei Twin Demons in Jianghu. Twenty years ago, when I was in business without money, I had a feud with them for a while. I never expected to meet them today. "
The Northern Hebei Twin Devils, the eldest is named Saduci, the second is named Sadula, and Qi Shuyu has also heard their grandfather mention their name.It is said that they were native savages on Owl Island in Bohai. "Owl" is a variant of owl, much larger than common owls, extremely ferocious, and is a rare bird of prey.Because they gather on that small island, "Owl Island" got its name.There is a "Snake Island" near Owl Island, which is rich in poisonous snakes. Owls restrain poisonous snakes and often catch poisonous snakes as food.Because the two brothers often watched owls pounce on poisonous snakes, they learned by themselves without a teacher, and practiced a very weird martial arts that mainly focused on pounces.
The Sa brothers had become notorious twenty years ago, and Qi Yanran wanted to cut them off, but unfortunately he never had the chance to meet them.
Qi Shuyu said: "It turned out to be the two demons of Jibei, no wonder they are so powerful. But we didn't expect that these two demons were scared away by us!"
Ding Bo was full of doubts, glanced at Chu Tianshu, and asked, "This is..."
Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "Senior Ding, we met before, don't you remember?"
Ding Bo was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Forgive me for Ding Bo's poor memory, where did we meet?" Qi Shuyu smiled and said, "This brother Chu is the son of the great hero Chu Jinsong from Yangzhou, and he once told me But, say you have been to his house."
Ding Bo patted his head and said, "I remembered, you were a child with two tubes of snot back then."
Chu Tianshu said with a smile: "You must have misremembered, I love cleanliness since I was a child, and I would never meet guests with two tubes of snot in my nose."
While talking and laughing, Jiang Xuejun had also arrived.Qi Shuyu said: "This Sister Jiang is the Sister Xuejun that Brother Yuan often mentions."
Ding Bo couldn't help being stunned again, and said, "Your Honor's name is extraordinary, but he later changed his name to Yuanyong."
Jiang Xuejun said: "That's right. But my father passed away half a year ago."
If Ding Bo saw Chu Tianshu and Jiang Xuejun in normal times, he would be both surprised and happy, and he would have many questions to ask them.But at this moment, because he has more important concerns on his mind, he has no time to ask them.
He thought in his heart: "Chu Jinsong's son and Jiang Zhiqi's daughter are expected to have good skills, but how can they be used to plot against the two devils in northern Hebei?"
He looked at Chu Tianshu, then at Jiang Xuejun, full of suspicion, and asked, "Is there anyone else coming with you?"
Qi Shuyu said: "It's just the two of them, there is no one else. I invited them to our house as guests, Uncle Ding, would you like me to tell you how I met them by chance?"
Ding Bo said: "I want to know, but it's not too late for you to talk about it later, I would like to ask you something first."
Qi Shuyu asked in surprise, "What's the matter?"
Ding Bo said, "Did you meet anyone when you went up the mountain?"
Qi Shuyu said: "No, why do you ask?" Seeing Ding Bo's expression was very strange, he seemed to be thinking about something, he didn't answer her for a long time, and asked again: "Who do you think I will meet?"
What Ding Bo wanted to say was: "That person is your closest person, but he is someone you don't know." But because the time didn't come, it was inconvenient for Qi Shuyu to say what he wanted to say.
How clever Qi Shuyu was, he rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Uncle Ding, do you really think that Grandpa really came with me? It's beyond my expectation that those two devils were scared away by Grandpa's reputation!"
Ding Bo said: "I also know that your grandpa won't come, but—"
Qi Shuyu said: "But what?"
Ding Bo said: "It's nothing. However, it seems that those two devils were not just scared off."
Qi Shuyu said with a smile: "Then, do you really think that there is an expert helping you secretly? If there is such an expert, who else but my grandfather?" The implication: since you know it's not my grandfather, of course There is no one else.She didn't know that the person Ding Bo was thinking of was not her grandfather, but she already guessed very close.
Ding Bo looked blank, and said: "I don't know, I just think that these two demons left in a strange way."
Qi Shuyu said: "These two demons fled in panic, I guess they dare not come again. Since they are gone, we don't have to waste our brains to guess. Well, don't talk about these two demons again, Uncle Ding, I want to ask you something first." Ding Bo said: "Excuse me, miss." Qi Shuyu said: "Why are you not at home, but come here?"
Ding Bo said: "It is precisely because Miss you left home that the master was worried, so he asked me to come out and look for you back. He guessed that you might be in Luoyang, and I was going to Luoyang to inquire about you. The master guessed Right?"
Qi Shuyu smiled and said: "Grandpa's guess is good, but I guess he is worried about Brother Wei." Ding Bo said: "That's right. I heard that he was causing trouble in Xu's house the day before yesterday, I wonder if it's true or not?"
Qi Shuyu said: "It's true. Ah, didn't you meet him on the road?" Ding Bo laughed and said, "If I had already met him, I wouldn't have to ask you whether the news is true or not." Qi Shuyu was so disappointed that he said : "I thought he had already returned home." Now she told Ding Bo briefly what happened to her in Luoyang.
Ding Bo was so surprised, he sighed and said: "Unexpectedly, Xu Zhongyue, known as the hero of Zhongzhou, turned out to be a hypocritical traitor. But when it comes to Mr. Jianda is also a person like him, I still can't believe it." Qi Shuyu said: "That's right. , Jian Qianya's reputation is higher than Xu Zhongyue's, but I saw him help Xu Zhongyue deal with Brother Yuan. And he was the murderer of Sister Jiang's mother, there is no doubt about it."
Ding Bo pondered for a while, and said: "Although I dare not say that there is absolutely no such thing, but I know Mr. Jianda's personality quite clearly. I always feel that he and Xu Zhongyue should not be the same breed." Qi Shuyu said: "In the world There are many things that everyone thought should not have happened, but they happened!" Ding Bo laughed and said, "Miss, after going through this training, you are much more mature than before."
Qi Shuyu was very proud, but he pretended to be angry and said: "Do you think I will always be an ignorant child?" Ding Bo smiled and said: "Yes, you are a sensible girl, but the matter of cutting Qianya is the most important thing. Well, you asked your grandpa first, don't settle accounts with him privately. Your grandpa knows more about the Jian family than I do."
Qi Shuyu said: "I don't have the ability to settle accounts with him alone. When I go home this time, I plan to meet up with Brother Yuan, and then go with Sister Jiang to avenge those two old thieves. If Brother Yuan has already returned home, I must He'll tell Grandpa too."
Ding Bo was silent for a while, thinking to himself: "I'm afraid this boy Tian Yuan will not come home." But he didn't want to spoil the young lady's interest, so he didn't express his doubts.
Qi Shuyu mentioned her Brother Yuan, but she became even more heartbroken, and said, "Let's go back quickly, maybe Brother Yuan has already returned home."
Ding Bo thought for a while, then smiled suddenly: "Yes, your grandfather is waiting for you anxiously, you should go back as soon as possible. Miss, I will entrust you to go back and tell the master..."
Qi Shuyu was taken aback for a moment, and said, "Uncle Ding, what are you talking about, aren't you going back?"
Ding Bo said: "I still have some things to do. After finishing cooking, I will be late for about three or five days before going back."
Qi Shuyu asked in surprise, "Didn't you say that grandpa asked you to pick me up in Luoyang? Do you have other things to do?"
Ding Bo said: "Yes! This incident just happened today. Since you are back, I would like to take some time to do some private affairs and ask the master for leave."
Qi Shuyu said: "What is it?"
Ding Bo said: "It's nothing important, I just want to have a few glasses of old wine with a friend I haven't seen for many years."
Qi Shuyu said: "Is it those friends of yours from the underworld again?"
Ding Bo said: "Miss, when you grow up, you'll take care of me!"
Qi Shuyu said: "Okay, if you don't want to tell me, then forget it. Let's go!"
Ding Bo said: "Miss, forgive me for not sending you down the mountain."
Qi Shuyu said: "I'm not cowardly asking you to give it to me, but you have to go down the mountain to find friends. Could it be that he invited you to drink in this barren mountain?"
Ding Bo laughed and said, "Of course there won't be such absurd friends, but I have to recover my mental and physical strength before I can go down the mountain to find friends."
Qi Shuyu was taken aback, and said: "I'm really ignorant, I didn't expect you to be exhausted after a fierce fight. Do you want us to guard you?"
Ding Bo smiled and said: "It's not so unhelpful, besides, as you said just now, miss, forgive those two devils who dare not come back. Miss, leave me alone, go home quickly." After finishing speaking, he crossed his knees and closed his eyes. Eyes, start breathing kung fu.
Qi Shuyu also wanted to go home early. She knew that Ding Bo's internal energy practice was unique and could be practiced and stopped at any time.Therefore, if there are foreign enemies, he can wake up immediately. "With Uncle Ding's skill, as long as he recovers a little bit, even if there are poisonous snakes and beasts on this mountain, it is expected that they will not be able to hurt him." Thinking of this, Qi Shuyu went down the mountain in peace.
Their small boat was tied by the river, in order to travel, Chu Tianshu suggested that they should not enter the county town to stay overnight, and let the boat go down the river, and they could cross Mengjin in the morning.Qi Shuyu said happily: "It's a good feeling. After passing Mengjin, let's go overland again. It's only two days away and we can go back home."
Chu Tianshu didn't speak when he got on the boat, Qi Shuyu suddenly said: "Hey, what are you thinking? You haven't fought those two demons, so you won't be as tired as Uncle Ding?" She bumped into each other one after another all day long. After a few things, I feel a little restless, and I really want to find someone to chat with.
Chu Tianshu said with a smile: "I just think of your Uncle Ding. From my point of view, Uncle Ding is not as tired as you said."
Qi Shuyu said: "He said it himself, do you suspect that he is lying?"
Chu Tianshu said: "Maybe he is pretending to be modest, but there is one more thing, you may think that I am suspicious..."
Qi Shuyu said: "It's okay to be suspicious or cautious, speak up quickly, and don't whet my appetite."
Chu Tianshu said: "Have you noticed that when you asked Uncle Ding if he invited friends to drink in the barren mountain, although he replied no, his smile was very unnatural!"
Qi Shuyu was taken aback for a moment, and said, "I didn't pay attention. But what you said, seems to be that you think that Uncle Ding deliberately lied to me."
Chu Tianshu said: "This is a bit serious, maybe Uncle Ding just doesn't want you to know now."
Qi Shuyu said: "But do you think he really invited friends to drink in this barren hill?"
Chu Tianshu smiled and said: "Of course you can't drink, but it may be a date just to see you, otherwise he was going to Luoyang to pick you up, why didn't he take the road, but ran to the barren mountains up?"
Qi Shuyu said: "That's because of the fight between the two devils in northern Hebei. Didn't we see it with our own eyes?"
Chu Tianshu said: "We only saw fights, but Uncle Dante never said that the Hebei Shuangmo asked him to fight there. Besides, Ding Bo is an old Jianghu, shrewd and capable. Beishuangmo, how can he catch up with this date by himself?"
Qi Shuyu said: "In this way, you think that he was going on a date with a friend, but to his surprise, the friend did not come, but the enemy came instead."
Chu Tianshu said: "That's my guess. However, his friends may have already come."
Qi Shuyu said: "You are very good at inferring. But I would like to ask you, what made you so confused by what you saw?"
Chu Tianshu said: "Didn't you find it strange that he let out several long whistles during the fierce fight?"
Although Qi Shuyu had little experience in the world, he was not confused. As soon as Chu Tianshu reminded him, he immediately became suspicious, and said, "You suspect that his whistle is for help?"
Chu Tianshu said: "That's right, using this kind of superior internal strength consumes a lot of internal strength. If it wasn't for calling for help, why would he waste his own internal strength? But in that barren mountain, how would he know that there will be rescuers?"
There is no need to explain further, there is only one conclusion: Ding Bo originally invited someone with better martial arts than him to meet there.
Qi Shuyu said: "Then shall we go back and see who that person is?"
Chu Tianshu said with a smile: "Since they want to avoid you, even if they rush back immediately, they will never see them again."
Qi Shuyu was still dubious, and said: "If your guess is correct, the reason why the Hebei Twin Demons escaped was because they were plotted against by that person who never showed up. But apart from my grandfather, who else in the world has such ability?"
Chu Tianshu said: "I can't guess." He thought: "Could it be the flying dragon? But although the flying dragon's ability seems to be slightly higher than Ding Bo's, I'm afraid it's not yet capable of scaring away the Heibei double demons. "
"There's no need for us to speculate, anyway, this person is a friend rather than an enemy." Chu Tianshu said.
Qi Shuyu thought for a while and said: "Yes, there are very few people in the world with such great ability. Even if it's not my grandfather, if I go back and ask him, I think he will know."
Bo Xinyue's shadow shakes the river, and Xiaozhou has already passed Mengjin.
The bright moon shines among the pines, and the clear spring stones flow upwards.The moonlight on the barren mountains is extremely desolate, but it is another scene.
Chu Tianshu guessed right. Although Ding Bo was exhausted after fighting the two demons, he was not as bad as he said.By this time he had recovered his energy.
However, he has no intention of admiring the moonlight in the mountains. He is still sitting quietly, but his mind is full of thoughts.
He looked up at the moon, the moon was a little easterly above his head, and it was estimated that it was nearly three o'clock.
Another thing Chu Tianshu guessed was right, he was indeed here to catch up with a date with someone he has a deep relationship with. The date was supposed to be at 2 o'clock tonight, but that person hasn't shown up yet.
Where did this appointment come from?
Before the sun set that day, he arrived in Mengjin.Because he already knew the news about Wei Tianyuan and Qi Shuyu on the way, he knew that even though they made a huge disturbance in Luoyang, they had already escaped from Xu's house on the same day, and there was no accidental danger, so there was no need to hurry.He has been running around for days, wanting to have a good sleep, but after Mengjin, he has to walk another fifty or sixty li to find the inn.Since he didn't have to hurry, he was happy to stay in the county seat.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the room, before he finished washing, the waiter came in and asked, "May I ask if your old man's surname is Ding?"
He was taken aback for a moment, and said, "That's right, how did you know?" This is a small inn in a small county town, where tourists stay and do not need to register their names.
The waiter said: "Someone sent you a letter. I didn't want him to come in, but what he said about your appearance was right, so I asked you first when I came in. If you are willing to accept that letter, I will accept it." Just bring it for you."
Ding Bo thought his words were a bit weird, and asked, "What kind of person is the messenger?"
The waiter said: "It's a little beggar."
Ding Bo suddenly realized, and thought: "No wonder the waiter in the shop didn't allow him to come in." He quickly said: "You don't need to do it for me, I want to see that little beggar. Tell him to come in."
A little beggar came in, only twelve or thirteen years old, disheveled.Shakingly, he took out a letter.On the envelope was written "From Uncle Ding", and the handwriting was very familiar.
Who in the Jianghu called him "Uncle Ding"?Ding Bo's heart skipped a beat, and he thought, "Impossible, it can't be him!"
"I want to ask the little beggar a few words, you can go out." Ding Bo sent the waiter away and opened the letter.After just one glance, he couldn't help but his complexion turned as white as paper, and his fingers trembled.
The little beggar was taken aback, and said, "Uncle Ding, are you alright?"
Ding Bo said: "Who is the person who gave you this letter?"
The little beggar said: "He is wearing a wide-brimmed fur hat and a cloak. I can't see his face clearly. I have never seen this person before."
"Then why did you send him a letter?"
"He gave me a tael of silver. To get people's money, and to get rid of disasters. This is what my father taught me. Is that person a bad person?" The little beggar said tremblingly, regardless of whether the quoted idiom was correct or not.
Ding Bo comforted him and said, "Don't panic, I'm not scolding you. Whether that person is a bad person is none of your business. But I want to know when he gave you this letter and what he said to you talk?"
"It was given to me about an hour ago. He said that there will be an old man who looks like this coming to stay. You can see which inn he enters, and you can give him this letter for me. I am on this street. Waiting on the ground, I dare not even go to beg for food." The little beggar Hua said.This street is where the inns are concentrated, and there are not many inns in the small county.
Ding Bo suddenly remembered, and asked, "You can't see his face, but when he handed you the letter, did you see a scar on the back of his hand?"
The little beggar's eyes lit up, and he said, "That's right, there seems to be a scar. So this person is really your friend?"
Ding Bo said: "It's someone I know, well, it's none of your business, you can use this piece of silver to buy something to eat." He also gave the little beggar Hua a tael of silver, and the little beggar Hua left happily .
In fact, he didn't need to ask so carefully, he already knew who the person who wrote the letter was.
The reason why he was suspicious was because this person was a "dead man"!
There were only a few dozen words in that letter: "Please meet at Baodugang at the second watch tonight. I don't have a reputation."
It's his "young master" handwriting.There is only one person he calls "Young Master", and that is Qi Leming, the son of Qi Yanran.He has served the young master to read and write, even though it's been more than ten years, he can still recognize his handwriting at a glance.
But Qi Leming was already dead!
Moreover, he personally inquired about the news of the young master's death.
This was almost twenty years ago.At that time, the young master of the Qi family had just gotten married.The bride is also from a family of martial arts, she is as beautiful as a flower and has outstanding talents.Relatives and friends all praised them, praising them as a pair of "marriage made in heaven".
Unexpectedly, the young master of the Qi family suddenly disappeared when he was newly married!
Qi Yanran, the father, was of course anxious when his son disappeared.Although his martial arts is known as the best in the world, but because of his withdrawn temperament, he doesn't have many friends in the world.He tried his best to find out his son's whereabouts, but he couldn't get any news.
A year later, the news just started to come in.The news made him angry and sad.He didn't want to believe the news, but he had to believe it a little bit.Because these news came from the mouths of his more reliable friends, and they all spoke with one voice.
These news coming in from various sources all say that his son Qi Leming is doing evil in the Jianghu, mixing with some notorious evil sect monsters, several famous figures in chivalry have been injured by his hands, even people Went to Qi's house to question him.
Qi Leming's whereabouts were uncertain, several times Qi Yanran got wind of his son's presence somewhere, and rushed there immediately, but in the end, they all missed without exception.
Qi Leming's troubles became more and more outrageous. Zhu Lianghai (Chu Liangji in the book) was assassinated, Jiangsu Governor Cheng Dehao lost his daughter and other strange cases. Although no one saw the suspect, they all agreed. It is said that he did it.
Qi Yanran was so angry that he fell ill, so he had to ask Ding Bo to find his son.Ding Bo has more friends in Jianghu than he does.
The news of Qi Leming's death was inquired by Ding Bo himself. Although he didn't see the young master's body, he believed it was true. Two of his best friends witnessed it at the scene. According to those two friends, he The "young master" was besieged by the Wudang five elders together, and suffered at least twenty or thirty sword wounds. The place of the fight was on a mountain near the river, and he was forced to jump into the river.Moreover, the corpse was also picked up later, and the face had been bitten to bloody flesh by the fish, but the sword wounds on the body could still be seen, which was caused by Wudang's serial killing swordsmanship.Wudang Five Elders found his body, so they were relieved.After turning him into ashes, Fang Shi left.
Moreover, after the news of Qi Leming's death spread, he did not appear in the arena for twenty years, which made Ding Bo believe that his "young master" was undoubtedly dead.
Unexpectedly, nearly twenty years after Qi Leming's death, he actually received a letter from this "dead man"!
Ding Bo has received great kindness from the Qi family, and watched Qi Leming grow up. No matter what Qi Leming's behavior is, he still has a heart of love for this little master.
He recognized the little master's handwriting, and couldn't help but burst into tears.
There was an obvious sword mark on Qi Leming's face and the back of his hand, which he already knew.Now it has been confirmed from the mouth of the little beggar. (Although the little beggar didn't see the sword marks on his face, judging from the fact that he didn't want to show Lushan's true face in front of him, it can be concluded that his purpose was to cover up the sword marks on his face.)
Is the little master really not dead?What a friend has witnessed cannot be false, but neither can this letter.He couldn't believe it, but he couldn't believe it.
With strong curiosity, he arrived at the appointment ahead of time.
Unexpectedly, before the young master appeared, the Jibei twin demons suddenly appeared in front of him.
A fierce fight, I still have lingering fears when I think about it.But while secretly yelling "lucky", a big stone in his heart was also let go.
He had heard a lot of news about Qi Leming, saying that he only hangs out with the notorious demons of the evil faction, and among these demons, the Jibei Twin Demons are among them.
So when he suddenly saw the Jibei twin demons appearing in front of him, he was still a little suspicious: Did the young master get used by the twin demons to trick him to this place?At that time, his screaming to the police was not so much a "call for help" as it was to find out the truth of the matter. He only hoped that the young master would show up. As for which side the young master would help, he could only take it as a gamble.
"I really shouldn't be suspicious of the young master. Even if he is really as bad as others say, he will never try to harm me!" He thought.However, he is still a little suspicious, is it really the young master who secretly helped him defeat the double demons of Jibei?Even he didn't know how the two demons plotted against each other, how could the young master have such skill?
This question can only be answered by facts.That is to say, he must see the young master before he can confirm whether the young master will make a move?
But now it's almost three o'clock, and he hasn't seen the young master yet.
He took a breath, and just when he was about to use the internal strength of sound transmission, he suddenly felt a breeze, and a familiar voice said with a smile: "Uncle Ding, I've tired you from waiting for a long time, are you okay?"
The person who appeared in front of him had a scar on his face, but his appearance hadn't changed much. Could it be his young master?It turned out that Qi Leming showed up late because he was afraid of hindering his exercise and self-healing.
Ding Bo jumped up with joy: "Master, oh master, it's really you, you, you didn't—"
Qi Leming smiled and said: "I didn't die, yes, I was injured by the Wudang Wulaolian sword that year, but the corpse they picked up was not me."
The wounds on the corpse were verified by the Wudang Five Elders, and they were indeed wounded by the Wudang School sword they used, and it was precisely because of this that Ding Bo never doubted the news of the young master's death.
But at this moment, his young master was standing in front of him alive. Although he had many questions in his heart, he had no time and no need to rush to ask them.
"Master, it's good if you come back. Thank you for saving me just now..."
He hadn't uttered the words "life-saving grace", but Qi Leming interrupted him and said, "Uncle Ding, I should thank you, thank you for coming to see me!"
Ding Bo said: "If I knew that the young master is still alive, I would look for you all over the world. The young master thinks highly of me, so how can I not come to pay my respects to the young master? You don't know, young master, that year I was honored by the master. Life, search all over..."
Qi Leming gave a wry smile, cut off his words again, and said flatly: "I know, Daddy doesn't regard me as his son anymore."
Ding Bo said: "Master mistakenly believed the rumors in the world, as long as the young master goes back and explains clearly to him, I believe the master will always forgive you."
Qi Leming smiled wryly and said, "What's the explanation? Of the things I've done in the world, even if one or two out of ten of them are not true, most of them are true!"
Ding Bo was stunned and didn't know what to say for a while.
"Uncle Ding, I'm a dead person, I'm not worthy to be your 'young master'. After I'm gone, you can still treat me as dead, and you don't have to tell my father when you go back." Qi Leming Said lightly.
Ding Bo said: "No, no matter what you have done, you are still my young master. My old Ding was a robber in Liaodong. I don't know how many wrong things I did. No one has faults. If you make mistakes, you can correct them. There is nothing good about it. .Master, please go home with me!"
Qi Leming said: "It's too late for me to repent now. Besides, I don't want to repent either. Uncle Ding, don't persuade me."
丁勃不知说些什么话好，心里想道：“怎的少爷变成了这个样子呢？”
齐勒铭道：“你觉得我变得太可怕了吧？”
丁勃说道：“不，少爷，不管你怎样说自己不好，我还是不信！”
齐勒铭说道：“你不相信，我早已不是你心目中那个循规蹈矩的少爷啦，远在未离家之前，早已不是了！”
丁勃心里叹口气，想道：“你以为我不知道，其实我暗中为你遮瞒，你才不知道呢。我知道你只是在你爹面前才装作循规蹈矩，背着他却去花天酒地，甚至跑到邻县去偷富户的银子嫖妓。怪只怪我太过疼你，生怕老爷知道了将你责打，处处为你隐瞒。唉，要是早知你变得后来那样坏，我是应该告诉老爷的。”
原来齐燕然家规极严，儿子稍有差错，就要抽他一顿鞭子，丁勃看在眼里也觉心疼，故此他明知道少爷做了老爷不喜欢的事情，他也不敢泄漏半句。
而且，齐勒铭年轻时候做的那些坏事，在丁勃眼中，亦是根本不当作什么不得了的过错的。要知他本是大盗出身，更大的坏事他都做过。酗酒嫖妓之类的“小事情”，他只当作是少年人的胡闹而已。当时他的想法，甚至还有点同情这个喜欢胡闹的少爷的。
“可怜的少爷，自小就受拘束，一旦有了可以放纵的机会，也难怪他在胡闹了。”他以自己为例：“少年人心性不定，容易放纵自己，那有什么稀奇？我少年时候不也是如此吗。待到少爷成家立室，他自己不会再去酗酒嫖妓的。”
哪知少爷成亲之后，只是安静了几个月，就更为变本加厉了。最后竟然离家出走，变成了被众人唾骂的、诸恶所归的“大坏蛋”。
但尽管如此，直到现在他还不相信少爷真像别人说得那样坏，纵然是少爷自己承认，他也不能完全相信。他是看着少爷长大的。少爷的缺点他都知道，不错，少爷自小就懂得怎样说谎，作伪的本事超过了同年龄的孩子。他的性格轻浮，在严父面前，却会装得循规蹈矩。但他知道少爷的本性还是善良的，虽然有时候少爷也会表现得甚为凶暴，但那只是由于他的性格容易冲动所致。
此时他面前对着少爷，虽然是主仆身份，却好像慈父对着回头一样。（可惜，事实上这个浪子却是并未回头。）他看着少爷面上的伤疤，怜惜之念不禁油然而生。
“少爷，不管你愿不愿意回家，我能够亲眼看见你还活着，我就高兴了。少爷，这二十年来，你在什么地方？”
齐勒铭冷冷说道：“在荒山上与禽兽作伴。更说得确切些，是在一间不见天日的石屋里打坐了十多年，三年前我才能够走路的。”
丁勃心中一酸，说道：“少爷，苦了你了。不过，老仆也要恭喜你。”
齐勒铭道：“恭喜我什么？”
丁勃说道：“少爷，你的武功可是大大长进了。连冀北双魔也禁不起你的一击！嗯，说来惭愧，你是怎样打跑冀北双魔的，我都看不出来呢！少爷，不是老仆故意奉承你，以你现在的武功，恐怕已经比得上老爷了呢！你怎么练出来的。”
齐勒铭冷冷说道：“差不多二十年的光阴，我除了练武之外，什么事情都不去做。前面十几年，更是只能自己把自己关在一间小房子里打坐练内功。我也不知道练成怎样。不过凭我这二十年的苦功，倘若只能打败冀北双魔，那可还不是值得骄傲的事！”
丁勃心头一震，暗自想道：“听少爷的口气，莫非他想打败武当五老，方始心满意足。武当五老如今虽是都还活着，但年纪最轻的一个亦已七十开外了，见少爷现在的武功，要杀五个七老八十的老头儿亦非难事，不过倘若当真如此胡来，那可要掀起武林前所未有的轩然大波了。武当晚一辈的人材辈出，莫说他们会联同各大门派兴师问罪，只凭武当派的第二代弟子，少爷也是打不过他们那许多人的。那时恐怕老爷也非受连累不可！”
他心里惴惴不安，试图劝解：“少爷，你刚才说要我把你当作已经死了，这句话从另一方面看也有点道理。古人说过，昨日种种，比如昨日死，今日种种，比如今日生。我不知道是佛偈还是古圣先贤的说话，但我记得非常清楚，是老爷答允收留我做仆人的时候，对我这样说过的。少爷，你若是过去留有什么未了的恩恩怨怨，依老仆之见，不如都算了吧！”
齐勒铭道：“我只能把自己当作死人，可我还不想做和尚。我也不想像你这样，找一个'好'主人！”说到“好”字，竟是带点诮的味道。
丁勃对他这几句话听得不大懂，但也隐隐感觉到，他实是未能泯灭恩仇之念。他正不知如何劝解才好，齐勒铭已是说道：“丁大叔，我不是来和你叙旧的，也不是来听你劝解的，我只想知道一件事情。”
丁勃道：“什么事情？”
齐勒铭道：“刚才叫你做丁大叔的那个女子是什么人？”
丁勃说道：“她就是你的女儿呀，她名叫漱玉。是你离家之后三个月出世的。你没听见她在和我说要赶着回家见爷爷么。”
齐勒铭冷冷说道：“我知道她是我爹的孙女，但我怎知道她当真是我的女儿？”
丁勃说道：“少爷，你怎能这样胡说？少奶贤慧贞淑，在咱们家里的时候，可没有半点踏错行差！”
齐勒铭冷笑道：“好一个贤慧贞淑的节妇，那么我倒要问你，你眼中如此贤慧贞淑的少奶奶如今是否还在家里替我守节？”
丁勃说道：“少爷，当时大家都以为你已经死了，少奶奶要回娘家，那也不能怪她。”
齐勒铭冷笑道：“她是回娘家吗？你别以为我在荒山养病二十年，什么都不知道。”
丁勃只得说道：“少奶是否回娘家，我不知道，但我知道在你们做夫妻的那半年时光，她可没有对不起你。但少爷，你……”
齐勒铭道：“不错，在她未入门之前我已经拈花惹草了，我知道是我对不起她。但她对不起我的地方，我可不想说给你听！”
丁勃叹气道：“少爷，俗语说清官难判家务事。不管是你对不起少奶，还是少奶对不起你，事情都已经过去二十年了。当初总是你先对不住她。”
齐勒铭道：“我已经死了，她改嫁我不怪她，但她不该抛弃女儿和人私奔！”
丁勃吃了一惊，心里想道：“看来他对少奶的事情，知道得比我更多。”
“老仆不敢遮瞒，少奶是突然失踪的。但却不似和人私奔。我是在家里看着她的，自你离家之后，少奶一直寸步不出闺房，也从无陌生男子到过咱们家里与她见面！她突然失踪，老爷还担心她是受人暗算呢。”丁勃说道。
齐勒铭哼一声道：“你说得她那样好，她既然寸步不出闺房，又从何而来的仇家？”
丁勃说道：“老爷说、说……”
齐勒铭道：“爹说什么？你为何不讲出来？”
丁勃一咬牙，说道：“老爷说恐怕还是你连累她的。你在外面结怨太多，你的仇家报复到你妻子头上！”
齐勒铭冷冷说道：“我是爹爹的不肖子，做了令他丢尽脸皮的事，当然爹爹是要帮她骂我的了。”
丁勃道：“少奶的失踪，究竟是怎么回事，如今尚未水落石出。少爷，你也不必胡猜，但漱玉总是你的亲生女儿，她长得很像你，你不觉得么？”
齐勒铭方始露出一丝笑意，说道：“我却以为她像她的母亲更多呢。”
丁勃松了口气，笑道：“少爷，最少你也承认她有几分像你了吧？那你还怎能怀疑她不是你的女儿。”
齐勒铭似笑非笑的说道：“丁大叔，要不是我觉得这小丫头有几分像我，你早已没性命了！”
丁勃不觉一愕，说道：“少爷，我可听不懂你的意思。”心想：“你的女儿像你和我有什么关系？”
齐勒铭道：“老实告诉你吧，我在荒山练了二十年功夫，功夫练到什么地步，我自己也不知道。冀北双魔的厉害，却是我自小就听得爹爹说过的，因此吓得躲在一边，不敢出手。后来那丫头来了。她不顾性命跑来帮你，我可不能不顾她的性命了。万一她真的是我女儿，我岂能让女儿丧在冀北双魔手下！”
丁勃笑道：“不是万一，是百分之百是你的亲生女儿。”
齐勒铭道：“丁大叔，我已经对你说了实话，不是我想救你，只是我想救我的女儿！所以你不必多谢我，从这件事你还可以看出我有多坏！你不畏人言敢来会我，我却竟然不理你死活的！”
他在痛骂自己的时候，丁勃的眼睛却亮了起来。
“少爷，你知道大叔心里在想什么？”丁勃笑道，他自问自答：“一个人知道自己坏，那么他就不是一个真正的坏人。”
“那是因为你太疼我的缘故，小时候我做了坏事，你也总是替我辩护。其实我早已坏得不可收拾了！”齐勒铭道。
丁勃道：“少爷，你能够自己责怪自己就好。少爷，还是回家吧。我用老命保你……”
齐勒铭截断他的话说道：“回家二字休提，父不以我为子，妻不以我为夫，我回家做什么？丁大叔，我只求你千万别对爹爹说你曾经见过我。”
丁勃说道：“少爷，你就算暂时不想见老爷，难道你不想多见你的女儿一面？”
齐勒铭道：“和漱玉一起的那个男子是谁？”似乎为了避免丁勃缠他回家，另起话题。
丁勃说道：“他是近年声名最响的武林后起之秀，名叫楚天舒。”
齐勒铭道：“他姓楚，是不是扬州楚家的？”声调已是有点不大自然了。
丁勃说道：“不错，他正是扬州大侠楚劲松的儿子。”
齐勒铭道：“哦，楚劲松的儿子？”心跳的声音，自己也听得见了。
丁勃继续说道：“另外那个女子名叫姜雪君，说起来和你们齐家也有点关系，她的父亲名叫姜志奇，和你的卫师兄是好朋友。你的卫师兄大约在十年之前被人害死，后来他的遗孤……”
齐勒铭似乎不耐烦听下去，一挥手打断丁勃的话，说道：“我不管那姓姜的是什么人，我早已不是齐家的儿子了，什么卫师兄的事情我也不想知道。但你说起楚劲松，我倒想问你一件事情。”
齐勒铭烦躁的心情，丁勃亦已感觉到了，他心头卜通一跳，讷讷说道：“少爷，你想知道什么事情？”声调不觉也变了。
齐勒铭道：“丁大叔，听说你和楚劲松交情极好，有人还说你们是八拜之交，对吗？”
丁勃镇慑心神，尽量掩饰自己心里的不安，哈哈一笑，说道：“这是言过其实了。我老丁是强盗出身，怎配与扬州大侠楚劲松结为兄弟？我和他总共不过见过几次面，多少有点交情，倒是真的。”
齐勒铭道：“你到过他的家里吗？”
丁勃说道：“去过一次，说起来也是十年以前的事情了。”
齐勒铭说道：“听说楚劲松现在的妻子是填房，你到他家里那年，你见到他的新夫人没有？”
丁勃说道：“那天很不凑巧，他的夫人正在患病，未能出来见我。”
齐勒铭心里冷笑，几乎冲口而出：“恐怕她是故意避开你吧？”不过这句话他终于忍住了。
对这件事情，丁勃自己也是一直疑心的，暗自想道：“不知少爷还知道了一些什么，不过从他盯着这件事情来问，恐怕他知道的是比我更多了。”
“楚劲松壮年归隐，没在江湖走动，亦已有十多年。倒是他的儿子楚天舒在江湖上闯出了很大的名头。他和小姐是在洛阳相识的，听小姐说，似乎还曾经得过他的帮忙呢。咦，少爷，你，你怎么啦？”
齐勒铭握着拳，面色十分的难看。
他不发一言，转身便走。
丁勃心头一震，暗暗感觉不妙，叫道：“少爷，你去哪儿？”
齐勒铭瓮声说道：“我的事不用你理！”
丁勃叫道：“少爷，你和我回家吧！你们父女都还未曾正式相见呢！最少你也该让你的女儿认你呀！”一面说一面追上来。
齐勒铭反手一弹，冷冷说道：“我叫你别理闲事你就别理！算我对不住你，你给我躺下吧！”
丁勃只觉膝盖一麻，原来是给齐勒铭捏了一颗颗小小的泥丸，打中了膝盖的环跳穴。齐勒铭说到“躺下”二字，丁勃果然应声躺下。
丁勃内功深厚，齐勒铭这颗小小的泥丸尚未至打得他不能动弹，不过，待他爬起来时，齐勒铭已是早已去得远了。他的环跳穴气血亦未能立即畅通，暂时是不能施展轻功了。
齐勒铭摆脱了丁勃的纠缠，心头的烦躁仍未能消，反而更加好似包着一团火了。
忽听得水声轰鸣，原来是从山下流下来的溪水被巨石所阻，陡的变成急流，挟泥沙而俱下。山涧中心的巨石虽然兀立如故，亦已“伤痕”斑驳，在它旁边的几块大石头，更是给急流冲击得摇摇晃晃了。
齐勒铭忽地有个奇怪的联想，觉得自己本来好像溪流，假如没有“约束”，大概是会平平静静的流下来的，巨石一阻，反而令“平静的清流”变成湍急的浊流了。这是溪流对巨石的“反叛”，就像自己糊里糊涂的变成父亲的逆子一样。
急流奔腾而下，他却被卷进了回忆之中。
他的父亲对他管束极严，但也有不能不对他放松的时候。
那就是在他父亲练上乘内功的时候。他父亲练的这种上乘内功，往往要“闭关”三五天的。所谓“闭关”，并非真的有“关”可“闭”，而是静室打坐，非练到功完成、不会踏出房门。闭关之时，视而不见，听而不闻，当然更不会分心管教儿子！
父亲闭关的期间，丁大叔就必须负起守护之责，纵然用不着寸步不离，也得经常在他父亲身旁照料。
因此每当父亲闭关练功的时候，就是他可溜出家门的机会来了。
初时他还只敢到离家不远的小镇上吃喝玩乐，后来胆子越来越大，跑来邻县的县城胡闹去了。
他们这家在黄河北岸王屋山下的一条小村子隐居，王屋山在邵源县，县城依山修建，是个偏僻的小山城，远不及邻县济源的繁华。
在济源县城，他有一个表哥。他的父亲武功天下第一，但他的母亲却是大家闺秀，一家人都不会武功的。他的表哥年纪比他大得多，家道已经中落，开个私塾，教书维生。他跑到邻县，一来是怕在小镇上胡闹，容易给父亲知道，二来邻县有表哥可作护身符，要是父亲问起，他可以说是去跟表哥读书。他到了济源，有时也会在表哥家中住一两天，他天资极好，跟表哥读半天书已是胜过别人读十天八天，要是父亲当真问起的话，表哥也会为他证实的。这只是他预防万一而已，事实上这道护身符从未用过。他的父亲那几年正在练上乘内功，几乎可说是闭门不出。他的表哥是个文弱书生，没有要事，也不会到他家里来。而且他每次到邻县去，也总是算准了时间，在他父亲“开关”前回家，有丁大叔给他遮瞒，父亲根本就不知道他曾经偷偷离家。这是他在二十岁前的事情，二十岁之后，他一向的“循规蹈矩”，已经获得父亲的信心，更是可以行动自由了。
济源是个大县，县城里有许多三教九流的人物，人以类聚，物以群分，渐渐他就交上了一班酒肉朋友，甚至黑道中人。吃喝玩乐，非钱不行，在黑道朋友带引之下，他也开始去偷富户的银两了。钱容易到手，人也越发变坏，酗酒嫖妓，无所不为。
令他变坏的，还有比嫖妓更甚的事情。
一个妖冶的女子似是在浪花中隐现，对着他媚笑。他面对冲击岩石的急流，心里想道：“丁大叔顶多只知道我在酗酒嫖妓，要是他知道我未满二十岁的时候，就有一个以心狠手辣而又以淫贱著名的女飞贼做情妇，他更不知道要多么心惊了！”
这个女飞贼“卖解”（跑江湖的杂技艺人）掩饰身份，通过他的黑道朋友，在济源和他搭上。
很久以后，他才知道她的真正身份。
当时江湖上有一对行为邪恶的姐妹花，也是最负“盛名”的女飞贼。姐姐穆好好，外号“金狐”；妹妹穆娟娟，外号“银狐”。姐妹都是面首无数，姐姐金狐一来嫁了陕甘道上的独脚大盗铁臂猿巴大山，妹妹银狐则一直未婚。在济源变成他的情妇的就是银狐穆娟娟。
最初他只抱着逢场作戏的心情，想不到就此不能摆脱。
穆娟娟有千种风情，万般娇媚，一勾搭上他，就把他迷上了。
但也只是止于“着迷”而已。
假如现在有人问他：“你是否曾经爱过穆娟娟？”他将会感到很难回答。
但在当时，他只是迷恋她的风情，迷恋她的美色，连“戏假情真”恐怕也还谈不上的，假如当时有人问他，他一定会答：“我怎样会爱上这种风尘女子？”因为他虽然不知道穆娟娟的底细，但最少他已经知道她不是“良家妇女”。
尽管他有放荡的一面，这放荡不过是等于孩子玩火一般。有一类特别顽皮而又特别富有好奇心的孩子，由于受到大人严厉的禁止，偏偏要去尝试。烧痛了手指，他才后悔。终于堕落，那是后来的事情；最初他并非“甘于堕落”的。
放荡的另一面是自视极高，他可以和那些酒肉朋友玩至得意忘形，但在他的内心深处却还是和那些朋友划着一道不可逾越的鸿沟。尽管他不满意父亲的拘束，但他从来没有忘记，他是武林第一高手的儿子。那些人根本就不配和他做朋友。
在他的心目中，穆娟娟虽然不同于一般妓女，他是对她待别喜欢，有时甚至几乎可以把她当朋友。但他从来没有想地这要她做妻子。对她，他需要的只是“情欲”，并非爱情。
他要的是名门淑女，是一个足以和他匹配的才貌双全的妻子。
而这个理想中的妻子，他的父亲也给他找到了。
他父亲有一个好朋友名叫庄正光，庄、齐二家乃是世交，和齐家一样，庄家也是武学世家。不过到了庄正光这代家道已经中落，因此他应扬州最大的一间镖局——江南镖局之聘，十多年前，携同幼女，到扬州去做江南镖局的总镖头。
正当他和穆娟娟打得火热的时候，庄正光告老还乡，路经邵源，特地到齐家拜会老友。
庄正光的女儿名叫英男，小时候和他也是相识的。庄英男那时还是个黄毛丫头，他们总共也不过见过几次面。对这个黄毛丫头，他早已没有印象。
想不到十多年不见，这个黄毛丫头已经长成一个十分标致的大美人了。
他的父亲对这位世侄女更是喜欢，立即向老友提亲，庄正光也立即答允。
庄家在山西绎县，从邵源前往，还有七八百里路程。为了避免迎亲送嫁的麻烦，两家谈妥，很快便即择吉成亲。庄正光待女儿出嫁之后，方始独自回乡。
虽然是父母之命，他的心里也是很满意这头亲事的。
早在他未曾定亲之前，丁大叔已经委婉的劝过他：少年人血气方刚，偶然的放荡形骸是免不了的，但该适可而止。
在他订婚那日，他也曾许下誓愿，从此专心一意爱自己的妻子，尽管他还