Chapter 3 Chapter Two
At that time, Mr. Wan had not returned to the west, and every night of the full moon, he would have a lotus pond meeting with a few of his lifelong confidantes, and the place was at the Botanical Garden on Nanhai Road.During the banquet, there was nothing more than a pot of white wine, a tail of sea bass, two pieces of preserved eggs, four liang of fried beef with green onions, and half a liter of peanuts in a salted pot from Penghu.The old people who attended the meeting didn't hold up many chopsticks, but they always had a lot of feelings.There was such a time, when the moon was over, Mr. Wan clapped his hands and summoned the guards, and gave some instructions in a low voice.But seeing the guard immediately lean on his boots to salute and leave in a hurry.About half a cup of tea, the guards went back and forth, spread a layer of woven blankets and a layer of silk on the small stone table beside them, lit a whale blubber candle lamp, and prepared the four treasures of the study.Mr. Wan filled a cup, stepped forward, flicked his sleeves and picked up the brush, and lightly poured a penny into the inkstone pool; immediately flew dragons and phoenixes, danced cranes to catch snakes, and drew a bamboo forest.
"It's the most dripping! The most dripping!" Wei Sanye, an old gourmet who is nicknamed Baili Wenxiang, hurriedly said: "Watching Wanlao's paintings is like watching a cook but a ox. The official wants to do but the god wants to stop. Mo Wei The breath comes first, it's wonderful—"
Before he could finish speaking, Mr. Wan raised his hand to stop them. Before everyone could speak, they saw two lines of tears streaming down Mr. Wan's face.
"Wan was studying calligraphy and painting when he was young, and there was a romantic relationship; he was taught by a village elder, Fang Fengwu, for a few years. ;The villain writes about bamboo, and loves its branches and tendrils. "There is some truth to this statement. Just think about it: How difficult is it to arrange a single branch of bamboo into a painting? But a clump of bamboo, no matter whether it is swaying, leaning forward or backward, it seems that there is always something to hide and rely on. The truth is also true. It's right here." Having said this, Mr. Wan suddenly stopped, raised his sleeves to wipe away the tears on his cheeks, and sighed.
"This--Li Shouwu, the Senior Minister of the Presidential Palace, frowned, arched his hands, and said: "Wan Lao, can you please explain this more clearly? "
"Yes, yes." Sitting at the bottom is Wang Xunru, the number one genius doctor of Zhiluyu, the yellow-bearded old man nicknamed Crazy Bianque. The short collection of "The Wind Attacking the Moon" has been running for more than ten years. Although the government avoids the Qin Dynasty and the affairs of the world make people unbearable to look back on; Big topic. Today, Wan Lao suddenly got up and painted a good painting. The wine didn't sink into his belly, but he shed a few drops of tears first, which makes people hard to understand."
"I don't understand." Sitting next to Wang Xunru, the master of Chinese studies, Qian Jingnong, took a porcelain cup, poured it for Mr. Wan, and poured another one for everyone, and said, "Mr. Fengwu's bamboo is a divine product. Not bad. I have heard another anecdote; it is said that someone asked Mr. Fengwu: "How did your old bamboo grow so thin? "Mr. Fengwu answered wonderfully: "I am just a garden of bamboo, and I can make a living for a few more years if I sell it for a small amount. Once I clear it, your brother will teach me how to live?" "Wan Lao's brush is flying like flying now, and he has cleared a garden of bamboo in a short time. It can be said that his family has gone bankrupt, no wonder he is about to cry——Thinking about it this way, I seem to understand again!"
Qian Jingnong hadn't finished speaking, and everyone was already laughing so hard that even Mr. Wan couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, and he was slightly panting.
On the other hand, Zhao Taichu, who sat next to Li Shouwu's left and right, and Sun Xiaoxu, the head of Piaohua, just pursed their lips and exchanged winks.Sun Xiaoxu went on to say: "Just kidding, what's the feeling in this bamboo forest of Wan Lao? Let's ask for more details." After speaking, he pushed himself up, approached the small stone table, and moved the whale blubber lamp closer to the paper. , but heard Mr. Wan call softly: "Wait a minute."
At this moment, that Baili Wenxiang Wei Sanye suddenly pursed his lips and let out a few strange laughs of "huhuhu".At the same time, he stretched out a pair of chopsticks and pointed at the seven-star perch that was about a foot and a half long.Everyone knows that Wei Sanye’s chopsticks are specially made, and the two chopsticks with silver caps covered with teeth and jade tails are actually not exactly the same—the one supported by the ring finger and the tiger’s mouth is slightly thicker and shorter, with a round cross-section and a central shaft. Run through with a thin steel wire.Wei Sanye called this chopstick "Tangzhen", and the other chopsticks that were gently clamped on the thumb, food, and middle fingertips were called "Jiedi". "Jiedi" is light in weight but slightly elongated, and has different shapes throughout. The tip of the chopsticks is extremely flat. Even if it is covered with a silver cap, it is still as thin as a paper leaf. Some, rounded in the middle and squared off at the end.Wei Sanye said: There is an allusion to this "Jiedi". It was originally the Dharma protector next to the Buddha. Because it helped Monk Fahai capture the herring monster under Bai Suzhen and White Snake without authorization, he sent the Buddha a censure. Just peel off the skin of the fish in the hands of the gourmets, but you can't taste the slightest taste.As for this "exploring the truth", it is a sentence in Meng Jiao's poem: "Stopping silence and exploring the truth at the same time, can you stop all night?" It's just——Wei Sanye said: "Master Meng stayed up all night to study metaphysics. I can It’s different, I, Wei San, only eat one word to sleep and prevent sleepiness.” However, Wei Sanye turned his right hand and touched the tail of the perch lightly: “Tangzhen” pressed, “Jiedi” took advantage of the situation Lift it off, and immediately peel off a layer of extremely thin fish skin, only a black spot under the almost transparent skin. "This is a top-quality perch. There are seven layers of film on the skin, and a spot on one layer." Wei Sanye glanced at Mr. Wan, and said, "Should we also deal with this painting of Mr. Wan?"
"Who knows me, why not the three of us?" Before he finished speaking, Mr. Wan stepped forward, suddenly stretched out his left palm, and lightly brushed the drawing paper on the table with the knife in his hand, but he saw where the edge of his palm touched. Then a burst of white and black smoke was rolled up.However, when they looked closely, everyone knew that it was not smoke, but the drawing paper on the stone table. Everything is there, no damage.Compared with the fish skin on Wei Sanye's chopsticks, it may be a little thinner.
Wei Sanye suddenly called out "Okay", and then stretched out his chopsticks to touch, press, and lift the tail of the perch, peeling off the second layer of fish skin.The corner of Old Man Wan's mouth twitched slightly, and between half-smiles, he flicked his right palm on the drawing paper again—this time, the edge of his palm was more than an inch above the ground, but the second layer of drawing paper was still peeled off as usual.Going back and forth like this, the two old men peeled off six pieces of fish skin and six pieces of drawing paper in an instant as if they were trying their best.Mr. Wei laughed again, "Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!" He said, "No, no! My fish skin is only seven layers, and you can eat half of it. But Mr. Wan, your piece of paper is clearly a "venetian leaf card" In the Song Dynasty, Zhang Xixian used this kind of paper to paint peonies. After he drew one or two flowers, he took off the layer, inscribed it, and sold it to the hairpin; Uncovering and painting again saves labor and earns money. You can’t bully Wei San with this kind of good material.”
"I didn't mean to compete with you at first. This painting is divided into seven parts. Wouldn't it be convenient for the seven of us to hold one and watch it?" When he said that, Mr. Wan had already put the six ink bamboos on his arms one by one. distributed to the public.I saw that Sun Xiaoxu, who was holding the floating flower palm of the painting, frowned slightly, but his eyes stared like black mercury pills in an instant, and a wisp of steam rose from the top of his head.Li Shouwu, who was beside Sun Xiaoxu, had extremely bad eyesight. He was taking out a magnifying glass the size of a plate from his pocket, and moved it inch by inch. Sitting on his left was Zhao Taichu, who knew the machine, and his hands trembled just as he held the painting. He stood up straight, stretched the paper to a brighter place, and yelled "Ah!"
Almost at the same time as this cry, the idiot Wang Xunru said: "Weird!" Wang Xunru said while drawing the index and middle fingers of his left hand, touching his parietal bone, shoutai bone, occipital bone, He touched the crossbone again and again, suddenly two huge white front teeth were exposed, he laughed, and bumped Qian Jingnong's right arm beside him with his left elbow.At this moment, Qian Jingnong was concentrating on looking at the painting in front of her, and she seemed to have lost sight of it, making a wooden chicken-like clenched fist in the palm of her right hand, as if holding a pen, and her wrist bones were shaking up and down gently, as if holding an invisible hand. The three fingertips of the pen have forced a few beads of sweat, and they are writing in the air.At the beginning, Qian Jingnong's writing fingers waved and tapped very cautiously, but after a while, his movements became stronger and stronger, and he danced like a tiger and a tiger, and he danced like a tiger. Later, he simply withdrew five steps at a time. The left hand is still holding the picture that looks like a cicada's wings, and the right hand is stretched out in all directions, and a large character with a radius of Zhang Xu is written.Standing directly opposite to Qian Jingnong was the guard, he didn't look at it, he frightened away two souls - in less than a blink of an eye, he actually saw the guard appearing in the sky One character, fortunately, the strokes of this character are simple, even if it is reversed, it can be recognized at a glance: it is a character for "immortal".
"This painting is indeed a masterpiece!" Qian Jingnong originally had a purple face, and when he faced the book so high in the sky, his face was already rosy purple, like a heavy jujube, and immediately startled the guard again, thinking that This old man became Guan Shengdijun after writing a fairy character.Let's talk about the prince of Guan, Qian Jingnong, who wrote a post in one breath, and clasped his fists at Mr. Wan: "Unexpectedly, there is still a banner of Ni Hongbao's Qijue hidden in this painting of Mr. Wan; I admire it!"
The Ni Hongbao mentioned by Qian Jingnong was named Yuanlu and styled Yunru.He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi in the Ming Dynasty, and he was an official to the Ministry of Rites.In the last years of Chongzhen, Li Chuang fell into the capital, and Mrs. Ni hanged herself to death; she can be called a generation of loyal ministers.Mrs. Ni is also an outstanding calligrapher; Qing Dynasty Wu Dexuan's "Chuyuelou Lunshu Essay" once said: "Mingren Middle School (Yan) Duke Lu, there is no one better than Ni Wengong." Qian Jingnong is from him. In the ink bamboo painting above, I read the meaning of Ni's Qijue banner: "One city is pounded by rain and thousands of houses are smoked/everywhere is cool and flying Taiji springs/people are like cranes in Yangzhou/I don't know whether it is a slaughter or a god".The guard didn't miss him just now, the "Xian" character in the night light of the kiosk is blue and bright, like a neon rainbow, is the last character of the Qijue of the Ni family.
"No, no!" Wang Xunru scrambled: "In my opinion, the mystery in this painting is a map of meridians! The bamboo plant goes straight up, and every ten out of ten is the meridian. The bamboo branches go sideways, and every ten out of ten There are five, which are the collaterals. Here are the three yin and three yang of the hand, and here are the three yin and three yang of the foot. And here, another large collateral in the spleen, which unites and governs the three, is exactly ten The number of five. Looking at the twelve meridians and fifteen collaterals together, the bamboo leaves are scattered, and each leaf is derived from the twenty-seven qi, following each other up and down. Isn't it exactly what Li Shizhen said: "like the flow of a spring , Like the sun and the moon, there is no rest. "Looking at it again, the eight plants in the back, which are lighter in color and concealed, are actually the eight extraordinary meridians that "contain viscera inside, and Confucianism and interstitial principles on the outside". Look at the Yangwei Meridian among these eight meridians. Well, it originates from the Jinmen acupoint of the foot sun, five inches below the lateral ankle, seven inches above the lateral ankle, and meets the foot Shaoyang at Yangjiao—"
"Stay and stay." Sun Xiaoxu also turned around at this time and said: "If what the idiot Bian Que said is true, why do I see another way? Everyone, let's look at it from the so-called Yang Weimai of Brother Wang. It does seem to be "behind" the bamboo in front of it. This is a subtlety of applying ink to this paper, because it is a stroke drawn later, but it has nothing to do with the shade. You have to pay attention to the time when viewing this painting."
"Sure enough, you really don't show your face; I didn't expect that Piaohuazhang also knows the way of painting." Mr. Wan, who had just sat down, smiled with his beard: "That's right, the painting materials such as rice paper do have such a trick, so I put the pen first. It seems to be in the front of the painting, and the painting behind seems to be behind; but I don’t know what you mean by “seeing time in”?”
Sun Xiaoxu nodded slightly when he heard the words, then lifted his robe and got up, and said: "Painting is static, but viewing painting is a dynamic; if you enter the static through motion, the static will also move with it. This - say it doesn't understand, I don't understand." Just perform a set of boxing." At this point, the person had already soared into the sky, his figure suddenly elongated, like a stick of strength, but in the middle of the way, his waist buckled, like a tangle of branches, and his left palm made a gesture. The trick is to keep a fat body from falling in the air, and at the same time, the right palm is used to push the window, and there are three shapes in one form, which are divided into stabs, dials and hooks.Don't wait for this style to be exhausted, people will rise up again, and after another setback, they will become a bamboo knot again.This time, the right palm is copied down, and the left palm is used to block the car, which is also one form and two forms, which are divided into sweeping, grasping and covering.As soon as the three forms of the second form appeared, everyone saw the clue: it turned out that Sun Xiaoxu used his own palms to perform a set of boxing that fit the bamboo in the painting. The appearance—or smooth, or astringent, or virtual, or solid, or oblique, or slanted, pitched and closed, all resemble the meaning of the brush.Picking up the knots in this way is exactly what Wang Xunru called the Yangwei vein earlier—in the painting, it is a bamboo shadow in the back with a lighter ink color.Obviously, there is no other reason why Sun Xiaoxu deliberately performed this bamboo shadow: because this one is shorter.If it was the old bamboo in front of it, Sun Xiaoxu would have to break through the roof of this small pavilion with low eaves.Just as everyone came back to their senses, Sun Xiaoxu had already landed lightly, saying: "Show ugly." Then he returned to his seat.In the midst of laughter and sighs, only the Third Master Wei stubbornly said: "No, no! One or two of you have missed everything. The drawing of Wan Lao is clearly a set of food, how did it become boxing?"
As soon as this remark came out, everyone was in an uproar. They thought that Wei Sanye had become a habit of joking, and at this moment he was typing the target language again.Unexpectedly, Mr. Wei sat upright, and said solemnly: "Everyone, this bamboo forest is nothing more than bamboo, but I said that none of its stems are bamboo stems, and none of its leaves are bamboo leaves." The senior minister sitting opposite Mr. Wei Li Shouwu laughed immediately and said, "Don't you see a plate of fried pork with bamboo shoots in the eyes of the third master?" Wei Sanye didn't laugh with everyone, but looked at the painting with his own eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Part of this is here. "Pheasant-tailed water shield", part of which is "silk water shield". At first glance, I thought it was bamboo, but when I looked at it again, it was clearly water shield; Organ. I didn’t expect Xiaoxu’s set of fists and palms to be performed, but it inspired me to think: Yes! Viewers have different hearts, and they can each come up with their own ingenuity and self-contained understanding; It’s very ingenious to set up a dynamic trend. Thinking about it this way, brother, I realized a set of "water shield soup" food list. It’s just that this is a dish that can’t be cooked. It’s a pity, a pity, a pity!”
Qian Jingnong, who was sitting on the right side of Mr. Wei, immediately clapped his hands and said, "This "water shield soup" is a famous dish; but it is really not a big deal to cook it together with "pheasant tail water shield" and "silk water shield". Possibly. I think this "Phasian-tailed water shield" is the first birth of water shield in March or April. The stems and leaves are curled up but not stretched, and the tip is like a pheasant's tail, hence the name. "Silk water shield" is after five or six months. The leaves are slightly open and produce mucus; this mucus is about to drip, and there is a thread of suspense, so it is called "Silk water shield". The same water shield, two months before and after, have the separation of the pheasant tail and the silk respectively. However, you Wei San Ye Baili smells the fragrance, how can I cook these water shields that will be on the market in the first and last two months respectively into one pot?"
"The beauty should lie in the impossibility." Wei Sanye still stared at the picture intently, and then gradually raised his eyebrows and smiled after a while, and said: "Yes, yes! Lao Wan's painting has to be viewed from a place without ink. Only then can I get another level of experience.”
As soon as this remark came out, everyone looked at the paintings in their hands again, and they all exclaimed in unison.Sure enough, the blank space in the picture is not unintentional, but dozens of large and small shapes that look like shuttles but not shuttles, cones but not cones.Li Shouwu hurriedly said, "It seems to be a fish."
"It's the perch on this plate." Wei Sanye glanced at Qian Jingnong, and said, "The black one is water shield, and the white one is perch. You should know the story here."
"I understand." Qian Jingnong was also happy, and said: "This is the meaning of "water shield soup with sea bass". Sure enough, there is such a story hidden in Wan Lao's painting."
It turns out that this "water shield soup with perch and perch" was published in "Book of Jin".The story of Zhang Han in Wenyuan Biography.It is said that Zhang Han, whose name is Ji Ying, was born in Wujun.By chance, Zhang Han got acquainted with He Xun, a native of Kuaiji, and followed He Xun to Luoyang without saying goodbye to his family.Seeing the autumn wind blowing up one day, Zhang Han suddenly thought of "Wuzhong wild rice, water shield soup, and perch", so he said: "Life is so expensive, how can you keep an official for thousands of miles in order to be famous?" Township.Therefore, the phrase "water shield soup with perch and perch" refers to a kind of homesickness and retiring feelings.
"Wan Lao is not like my brother and I, and he still has a job in the court. Why did he suddenly have the idea of watermelon?" Li Shouwu said: "This makes people not understand."
"That's wrong!" Sun Xiaoxu patted Li Shouwu on the shoulder, and said: "Wan Lao has tens of thousands of followers; commanding one party, making a sound in the world, even "Jin Shang" is still his disciple—— "
"Don't mention it now." Mr. Wan raised his hand to stop Sun Xiaoxu, but Sun Xiaoxu was talking, so why bother?Pointing back at the guard in uniform behind him, he continued: "Otherwise, where did all this ostentation come from? Your Excellency is the senior minister of the mansion, so why don't you allow Wanlaoxing to return to hermitage? Hey! You should be fined a cup .”
Li Shouwu couldn't help blushing, shook his head and smiled wryly: "You should be punished!"Mr. Wei also immediately picked up the wine cup in front of him, and said: "Shouwu is actually right; the trick of Wanlao's rebus is here: since the phrase water shield soup and perch refers to resigning from office and going back to seclusion." Zhi, then I would like to ask: If there is no official who can resign, how will you teach Wan Lao how to hide?"
"Well said." Zhao Taichu, who hadn't spoken for a long time, burst out, and then quietly looked at the painting again.
"That's why I said that the beauty of this painting lies in the word "impossible". It is almost difficult to stew pheasant-tailed watercraft and silk water-vessel in the same pot; It is even more difficult to have the idea of retiring." While speaking, Third Master Wei drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, his face overflowing with pride, and he turned to Old Master Wan with a smile and asked, "How is it? Wanlao! Didn't I spoil your "Picture of Sea Bass in Water Shield Soup"?"
Without answering him, old man Wan raised his wine cup, took a sip, and said, "Ai Chu and Shouwu haven't talked about each other yet." "I've already had a glass of fine." Li Shouwu laughed and said, "Besides, don't worry about it I'm drunk. I'll let Taichu do the talking."
"I—" Zhao Taichu pondered for a long time before saying, "I dare not say."
Just when everyone felt surprised and murmured endlessly, a dazzling white light suddenly flashed at the end of the embankment outside the pavilion that divided the lotus pond into two, and it could be seen at a glance that it was a few high-wattage flashlights.Because the embankment corridor meanders in the pond, it is in the shape of nine curves, so the lights are also meandering and approaching, and they are bright and dim.But knowing that the coming was very urgent, the footsteps were even more chaotic, as if something extremely important had happened.Sun Xiaoxu tilted his head slightly, listened carefully, and said: "There are four people here, two of them are wearing boots, maybe they are the servants of the old man. One is wearing leather shoes, and his legs and feet are not flexible. The other one is a tall man. People, wearing a pair of cotton-soled mulberry shoes, have excellent lightness kung fu, and a weapon like a nine-section steel whip wrapped around their waist."
Old Man Wan stood up hesitantly, with a slightly sullen expression on his face, but the anger only disappeared in a flash.Needless to say: he was very displeased with his subordinates intruding into Qilao's "Lotus Wind Attacking the Moon" episode, but after all, he was willing to take the risk of breaking in, and there must be a reason for it, since he didn't know Just in, how can you suddenly get angry at this moment?
Just as the beam of light from the flashlight was approaching, Zhao Taichu suddenly let out a long sigh, and said: "It's really not good!" He quickly looked at the painting in his hand again, and then suddenly floated up, like a piece of paper. Like a paper kite, it fluttered and flew out of the pavilion, and unexpectedly entered the pond, standing alone on a lotus pod.This move of his is really unexpected - I think the seven elders have been friends for decades, and the regular monthly meetings have not only lasted more than ten years, but no one knows that this Zhao, who is nicknamed the Wuxiang God In the early days, there was such a pure and peerless lightness kung fu.Looking at him with a dignified expression, he covered his brows with bright palms and looked towards the northwest sky. It seems that showing his skill is not to show off, but to avoid the lights in the pavilion and the flashing flashlights, and to see clearly the dots in the sky. stars.As expected, everyone followed Zhao Taichu's gaze and saw a shooting star the size of a light bulb flashing across the night sky in the northwest. The shooting star was red in color and had a pink tail.Almost at the same instant, six white meteors appeared immediately behind the red meteor, the size of a light bulb, each trailing a white trail.Let's see that the moment the red meteor passed through the middle sky, it exploded like fireworks and disappeared without a trace.But at this moment, where the red meteor disappeared, another small star glowing with blue light appeared, and it could almost be seen that it continued to move forward in the same direction as the previous red meteor, and went straight to the southeast.It was too late to say, but it was too soon; the first six white meteors were also flying away in three directions, northeast, southeast and due east, with lightning speed, and there was no landing at the moment.Only the little cyan star continued to move forward, hiding itself among the willow branches.All of this came and went quickly, and in just a few blinks of an eye, it left a gloomy night, as if nothing had ever happened.Everyone was suspicious, Zhao Taichu had already floated into the pavilion, and sighed again.
At this time, Mr. Wan turned his face and glanced at the figure outside the embankment corridor, but he seemed to be speaking to Zhao Taichu: "Zhijizi has glimpsed a secret from my painting, do you think so?"
Zhao Taichu didn't say a word, but Li Shouwu put his face close to the magnifying glass to look at the painting, and said loudly: "This painting actually turned into the astrology scene just now, it's really miraculous and indescribable. "
The rest of the elders changed their minds, and suddenly found that on the line from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the picture, there are indeed a few dots of strokes, which are respectively hidden on the bamboo joints, and their distribution is just like the competition in the night sky. The rising and falling stars.
"But there is a little inconsistency." Wang Xunru pointed to the sky, then pointed to the painting, and said, "The little blue star is not on the painting." Before Mr. Wan could answer him, Baili Wenxiang Wei Sanye hurriedly said: "Idiot Bianque's words! Don't you see that I just exposed the skin of the fish? The top-quality seven-star perch has a layer of membrane skin and a spot, and the spots are not on the same point. If Wan Lao's painting corresponds to celestial phenomena, he must be able to understand it." This principle."
"Not bad." Zhao Taichu's brows relaxed slightly, and he continued: "When I was painting just now, Wan Lao was feeling emotional for a while, and shed a few drops of clear tears. In this painting in my hand, I can still get it from this plant—— —”
"That's the Yin Yin Vessel," said Wang Xunru, "it's the separate meridian of Foot Shaoyin, which originates behind the Rangu Point of Foot Shaoyang, and follows the foot Shaoyin five minutes below the medial malleolus to reach Zhaohai Point; this painting is Couldn't be more clear—"
Zhao Taichu ignored Wang Xunru's words, and continued: "On the right side of the third section of this plant, there is such a piece of Wanlao's tears, and this tear falls on the paper, exaggerating the stroke of the previous bamboo section. "
"I also have it in this one." Qian Jingnong also praised: "It's on the word "smoke" in Ni Hongbao's poem! It's really amazing."
"Indeed!" Sun Xiaoxu and Qian Jingnong said at the same time: "The tear stains in my painting are in the center, which is different from yours. Instead of being painted into other brushes and inks, it is like a drop of lighter color. In the painting, it looks like a morning dew, glittering and translucent, just falling from the tip of the leaf. In my set of bamboo palms, it is a dangerous move to escape death in one step and seek victory in defeat."
Zhao Taichu slightly nodded his head, smiled bitterly at Mr. Wan, and said, "Mr. Wan's tears shed so profoundly, it seems that it is really God's will, and it is beyond human power; you and I are seven brothers, can it be Do you want to end up like this?" After finishing speaking, they turned their eyes to the back of Mr. Wan for a moment, and everyone followed the trend, only to see four men standing quietly on the embankment corridor outside the pavilion, about a distance away from the Seventh Elder.At first there was a man in a suit and leather shoes, carrying a yellow suitcase. Behind him stood a fat man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. If you don't pay attention, you think that if you teach someone to twist the rope, you will die immediately.The fat man ignored others, and bowed his head slightly to Sun Xiaoxu, his eyes seemed to show a sense of awe; and because of this respect, the fat man's viciousness was greatly reduced.Almost no one noticed that he took eight small steps on his thick legs like a house pillar - this kind of step seems to have no intention of facing the enemy, but when Lian Jiazi stepped on it, his heels missed the ground and his toes barely touched the ground. Chen, the strength of both legs is on a pair of big toe mounds, he can raise his energy to charge forward at any time, and dominate the enemy in the air.And the pair of cotton-soled mulberry shoes under the fat man's feet was covered by the suitcase in the hands of the person in front, and even Sun Xiaoxu didn't see the way of the eight steps.
Mr. Wan turned around slowly, and said to the person who came first: "Why are you still wearing a fire tree sprayer?" When he said that, his eyes flicked a little far away, and the two armed guards frowned, and the carbines in their hands were all in the air. Unknowingly, the copper buckle belt on the waist was rubbed and clicked yesterday!Needless to say: these are two new recruits with absolutely no experience.
"Can I ask the old man to speak for a while?" The man in the suit bowed slightly, and said, "There is a shout of panic."
"There are no outsiders here, so there's nothing you can't say." Mr. Wan ordered, then turned around, spread his hands towards the six elders, and gestured for a seat.He himself stands holding the pot and pours wine for everyone - this action is tantamount to telling the visitors that not only are there no outsiders in the pavilion, but all of them are distinguished guests, so the visitors must not be neglected in terms of language and behavior.
"The "old man" sent a javelin soldier to the ancestor's house, and said that he would invite the old man to sit down." The words in the suit were very polite, but when he said the word "sit down", his eyebrows raised, revealing There was a look of sullenness or murderous look that could not be distinguished.
Mr. Wan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said with a half-smile: "What time is this? Should I go sit down?" After saying that, he raised his cup to show the public, paid respects, turned to Zhao Taichu and said, "That's right, that's right. , Taichu just explained the painting, swallowing and spitting, hesitating to speak without speaking, it really makes people feel sulky. Now it is easy to say that it is clear, and Wan Mou will also have a good time."
Zhao Taichu pondered for a moment, couldn't help but glanced at the four people on the embankment with strange expressions, and thought to himself: One of the doomsday should be in the painting, and the other should be in the sky, it seems inevitable I couldn't avoid it, so I said in a low voice: "I am known as the god of no form, and I know the subtleties, but tonight I would rather see the wrong eye, see the wrong phenomenon, and make a joke for you to laugh at in the future. But--ah Let's go back to the source and try to figure it out from Wan Lao's painting! Let's talk about these old tears, some of which were dripped by Wan Lao when he was painting. Ink, making it smudged, became a bit of Ni Tie's brushwork in Jing Nong's painting. On my layer of painting, it is the protruding spots of bamboo knots. What is its meaning? I will explain in detail later. Talk. Another drop of tear fell on the blank area, did not get ink, and then dried, and then only deposited on the last layer, so there was only a slight trace in the center of the layer on Xiaoxu's hand, and the six sheets next to it But it has no effect.
"Besides, just now, when the "Great Prajna Palm" of ten thousand elders and above used the internal force to peel off the layers and divide the painting, perhaps touching the paper to make love, and shed a few drops of old tears respectively. It was time when the ink was still dry, peel off a layer, and sprinkle a drop It is the origin of a small spot between blue and ink on each layer of painting. Because each drop has its own place to fall, before it seeps down, it forms a stroke of its own in the painting, which is what Wei San said. The spot of the metaphorical seven-star perch is different for each person, and the position on the painting is also different. As for the vision of the star competition in the scene a moment ago, it is also very consistent with the mystery revealed in Wan Lao's painting, and I am still hesitant The reason for not speaking—this,”
"Just talk about it!" Mr. Wan said while pouring wine for everyone.
"Forget it! It's a calamity anyway. Knowing or not knowing, speaking or not speaking, it's hard to recover. Let me make it more clear: this year, Yisi, is the year when Qimen Dunjia entered the eighth game in ancient times. Rest, Health, Injury, Du, Scenery, Death, Surprise, Open the Du gate among the eight gates. The so-called: Du gate Yang wood, time value Xia Dong / Occurs outside, body fluid has been defeated / Yang Qi is extremely hyperactive, and a Yin is approaching To put it simply: the big fortune is already a little ominous sign. The bamboo in Wan Lao's painting actually made Wei San see it as "the thought of water shield and perch". Is it "occurring outside"? If you want to combine the pheasant-tailed watercraft and silk watercraft into a cauldron and cook it, isn't it "the body fluid has been defeated"? Xiaoxu developed a set of "bamboo-connected palms" from the painting. All the moves are raised high, like a bird fighting a kite, I ask, isn't it a set of "extreme yang" boxing—"
Wang Xunru interrupted again at this time: "Then what about the meridian map I saw?"
"Good question!" Zhao Taichu immediately answered: "Didn't we just say that Wanlao shed two tears when he was painting, one drop sank to the bottom, only in Xiaoxu's painting, and the other if it formed in Jingnong's painting The first dot with the word "smoke" on it, where is it on your brother's card?"
"Alas!" Wang Xunru stared at the words, and found that the point was hitting Taiyin in his hand, Taiyin governs the spleen, and the large network on the spleen was canceled.After Wang Xunru exclaimed, the word "death" burst out of his mouth.
"In the twenty-fourth difficulty of the "Eighty-one Difficulties and Sutras", is there a saying that "the hand is too yin and the fur is scorched"?" Zhao Taichu continued to ask.
"Yes, yes!" Wang Xunru's old face had turned pale, almost whiter than his two front teeth.He said tremblingly: "The scriptures also say: "The body fluid will go away when the fur is burnt", which is exactly what you said "the body fluid has been defeated"!"
Qian Jingnong also said sadly at this time: "The first stroke of the word "smoke" is a dot of the character "fire". If the character "fire" should be in the language of "extreme yang", it is in line with "a yin is coming" and " If the nature of wood is so far, it will be bent"; Dumen Yangmu, who died of a strong bend, Ni Wengong, who kept his integrity and did not surrender, may also have the regret of being bent."
"Jing Nong should know that Ni Yuanlu also has another poem about recovery from illness in Chongjiu, and there is a word missing in the middle." Zhao Taichu changed the subject, but still pointed at the painting by Wan Lao.
"You're talking about the post "There's nothing wrong with the joys and sorrows of the world"?"
"Exactly." Zhao Taichu replied: "There is a word "land" missing in the third sentence of this post, and Mrs. Ni added it at the end of the whole post. However, that was not an unintentional mistake. The original sentence is: "The old man avoids one end of himself", read along with the poem, it becomes "The old man avoids one end of himself". There is a deep meaning in this."
"I understand." Qian Jingnong said: "Ni Yuanlu used this mistake to hide a code word of "there is no place to avoid". Taichu really has a unique eye, and he can see the subtle words and righteousness of the ancients—but, this post and What does Wan Lao have to do with this painting?"
Zhao Taichu glanced at Li Shouwu suddenly, then turned his gaze back to the paper, and said, "From the ancient rumor of Qimen Dunjia, the bamboo in Wan Lao's painting is not only the one just mentioned and the one that came out of tears. There is an explanation of the ink point, it can be said that the whole thing should be on top of Dumen's ballad. The lyrics are as follows: "Dumen's four or four stars are fierce/Jupiter is Fang Yin Maobo/Closing water and sealing dust/Tranny and evil prosperity can't be trusted /Anonymous surnames and surnames in the six scattered/far disasters and sparse people don’t say anything/official punishments are intimidating and there is no place to escape/Secrets can be used to treat oneself.” This word is an ancient word, but it has been copied and interpreted for thousands of years. It is unavoidable that although the words are old-fashioned, the meaning is actually humble. In the field of observing the sky and knowing people, if we have a little practice, we will not stick to the literal meaning of these rumors. But the bamboo in Wan Lao’s paintings, The branches of the pen are hidden by the leaves, and there is no tree that does not hide next to the other, and no joint that does not avoid the side of the other. Everyone, don’t forget: among this strange door, the master of Dumen is a Tibetan character , so there is the principle of "everything is evil except to avoid disasters"."
"You mean: there is a catastrophe imminent, and it must be avoided?" Wang Xunru said.
"I'm afraid it was Jingnong who said: "There is no place to avoid"!" Zhao Taichu sighed again, and said: "Besides, when I read the lyrics of Dumen, I always felt that the fifth line "I am alone and scattered in hiding" Name and surname" and the eighth sentence "Secrets can be treated by oneself" are simply incomprehensible, and there must be mistakes in them. When we combine the celestial phenomena tonight, we can't help but believe: at least the description of the fifth sentence is really accurate!"
"Then what do you mean by "secret possession can be your own appointment"?" Sun Xiaoxu tilted his head, and his face turned red again.
"This year, Yisi and Jimao are thirty-four years later, which happened in the eighty-eighth year of the Republic of China. If our brother is not dead, he is also an old man in his 90s!" Wei Sanye smiled wryly, turned his face and looked again Mr. Wan said, "Mr. Wan is also a hundred and eight years old."
At this moment, old man Wan suddenly burst out laughing loudly, and said: "The lyrics clearly refer to "Liu San", I'm afraid I won't have time to wait with you for the "Ji Mao's covenant"!"
"Boss Wan knows idleness. He is not stuck in the vulgar, he is already a person who escapes life and death, and swims beyond the dirt." Zhao Taichu's expression was quiet, and even his voice was a little choked up.他勉力挺胸振脊，打起精神，举杯先朝孙孝胥一示意，道：“先前尙未观画之时，孝胥与我相视一笑，我明白其中深意，祇可惜各位老兄弟不知就里。这一笑，今夜若不言明，咱们七人恐怕要终生抱憾。”
“那是因为乍见万老画了一园竹子——”孙孝胥说到一半，凝重的面色之下忽地浮起一抹笑意：“让我想起今日与太初同车来赴会时，我们聊起近年来有一帮浮浪子弟，组织了一个青痞帮会，号称“竹联”，太初便与我说：不过是孩童们械斗为戏，居然敢聚众结盟，称帮道会，乃至糟蹋了竹之为德，有君子之风。不意万老一出手，果然是一丛风中劲竹，且其中还有如许奥妙的机关——”
赵太初抬手止住孙孝胥，接着说下去：“我要说的是这孩童嬉戏之事，日后恐将酿致极大的恩怨，牵连很广、情仇亦深，于万老手创的一番事业、乃至我等兄弟也有颇为尴尬的干系。”
“不过是一班黄口小儿——”魏三爷大惑不解地问道：“与万老和你我兄弟能有什么牵涉呢？”
“三爷千万别忘了。”赵太初起身伸臂，一把抓起酒壶，二为诸人注满杯盏，缓声说道：“回首前尘，你我也曾经是黄口小儿；昔时情景，犹如昨日呢。”说到这里，赵太初又对万老爷子一举杯，道：“至于万老，是大泽焚而不能热、河汉冱而不能寒、疾雷破山风振海而不能惊了——”
“你这话的后半截我听说过，是“若然者，乘云气、骑日月，而游乎四海之外。死生无变于己，而况利害之端乎？”这是里的〈齐物论〉。说得客气一点，我恰是瞿鹊子所说的“不就利、不违害、不喜求、不缘道”；可是说得坦率些，我可不就是大祸临头、死之将至，却仍麻木不知么？”万老爷子一面说着，一面举酒而飮，再道：“其实太初所说的劫数，的确就近在眼前，我——知之甚详而不忍为诸君历述个中究竟。孰料天机人事居然偶摄于图中，成了画谜。倘若我就这么为诸君解说了这谜，怕不又要增添多少是非恩怨了！更何况太初拿〈齐物论〉之语谬奖老夫呢？我看——关乎这劫数之事，就此打住不谈了罢。是福不是祸、是祸躲不过。祇可憾那一个杜门的“藏”字诀，说的竟是什么隐姓埋名、疏人远祸的门道。如此一来，我个人死生事小，株连诸君六人过不得闲散的日子，倒使桑榆晚景少不了奔波流离，却是万某的罪过了。我这里自罚一盏，先告个罪罢！”
赵太初闻言至此，再也忍禁不住，突然放声长啸，一啸不止。这啸声如歌如泣，其音绵密悠长，翱翔而上，有绝云气、负青天，以游浩渺无穷之概；恍若这荷塘波光间竟有人吹着一支似箫非箫、似笛非笛的乐器，又如千万缕针发般细的风，或轻或重、忽高忽低地窜入无以数计的竹叶、竹枝之间。众人侧耳倾听了一阵，刚刚听出那曲调的来历，忽然间啸声之中又窜入了一阵怪声，渐逼渐近，似是警笛之鸣。
赵太初的啸声被那警笛一扰，非但不肯示弱，反而拔了个高，令众人如登险峰之后乍见一阵岚气，在霎时间蒸腾而起，扑九霄而入云汉，破虹霓而贯日星。此音一出，远处那警笛竟哔哔剥剥好似裂竹爆仗一般地破了、断了、再也发不出响声来了。啸声亦随之渐柔渐止。
“这——是《孤竹咏》！”李绶武失声叫道：“太初！这啸曲犹古于、《兰台操》、《夷齐引》与《绛云令》，号称乐中之隐；你，你是如何得知此曲的？”
赵太初啸罢，意味深长地凝视着问话的李绶武，道：“不是这一曲《孤竹咏》，我还引不出绶武的高言妙论呢！”说时眼眶一红，竟扑蔽簌落下泪来。好半天，他才深吸了一口气，止住哽噎，道：“你我兄弟七人之中，除了万老之外，就以绶武的韬略最高、学养最厚、识见最精，即使是拳脚兵刃上的伎俩，也不在孝胥之下；观天知人的方术，更教我这摆卦摊的郎中汗颜。今夜我们这一会，想来应该就是永诀了，试问：阁下仍旧大隐不言、大音希声，连句知心告别的话都没有么？”
这一刻，万籁俱寂，众人都将目光注于李绶武那张阡陌纵横、皱绞如织的麻子脸上，连李绶武身后三步开外的警卫、以及亭前丈许远处的四个不速之客都屛息静待，彷佛生怕发出些许声响，惊动了这位外号人称哑巢父的大老。
李绶武不慌不忙地将放大镜收入怀中，又仔仔细细将手上那一层极薄的画纸连着对折了七次，折成一块钞票大小的纸方，也收进口袋里，这才向众人拱手揖了一圈，道：“万老刚才示意：画中究竟不必再议，我也祇好谨遵所嘱；此谜若要得一悬解，亦恐在十数年、甚至数十年之后。至于太初所说的么——唉！我非草木，怎么会不懂你老弟适才屡屡冲我抛眼风儿的意思呢？要我出头说几句，也非不可，祇不过我担心的，却正是借你老弟“杜”字门中的两句诗可以解释：它在“清秋燕子”与“同学少年”之间啊！”
这一席话夹七缠八，说得外人如丈二金刚摸不着头脑，可是六位老者一转念便懂了。原来赵太初以遁甲盘解昼，看出八门之中的杜门凶兆，而李绶武却借了这个“杜”字，用以射“杜诗”，自然也就是杜甫的诗了。杜甫〈秋兴八首〉第三是这么写的：“千家山郭静朝晖/日日江楼坐翠微/信宿渔人还泛泛/清秋燕子故飞飞/匡衡抗疏功名薄/刘向传经心事违/同学少年多不贱/五陵衣马自轻肥”。是以这“清秋燕子”和“同学少年”之间，所指的便是“匡衡抗疏功名薄/刘向传经心事违”两句，这两句分别说的是汉元帝时匡衡数度上疏陈事遭贬迁、以及汉成帝时刘向上疏搭救房管而遭斥的典故；然而这祇是老杜原诗用事的意旨。在李绶武言下，抗疏遭谤而不为“上意”所喜祇是表面的意思，其实这话在另外一层上说的是匡衡凿壁引光的寻常典故。为什么要引这么一个通俗的轶闻来道出李绶武不肯表白的担忧呢？众人此时已然了悟：那是“隔墙有耳”的意思——换言之：李绶武信不过身后那名警卫，更不消说后来不请自到的四个人物了。
可是，李绶武藉老杜诗句传递消息，于六位老者却能沟通无碍，这正是他用心良苦之所在。于是当即又朗声说道：“我眼力极坏，几乎已经是个睁眼瞎子了，若强要我说看出来些什么——恕我直言：这么粗枝大叶的一幅画，倒让我想起当年要去成都草堂村，在第四节车厢里遇见严老五的情景来。那天严老五就捧着一盆竹子，一数就四根。”
说到这里，李绶武忽然打住，不再说下去了。众人顿时明白：他这还是在藉杜诗打哑谜。想这李绶武活了大半辈子，从未入川；哪里去过什么成都草堂村呢？他说的，分明是老杜〈将赴成都草堂途中有作先寄严郑公五首〉里的诗句。所谓“严老五”更无此人，所指即是唐肃宗宝应二年受封为郑国公的严武。因为这一部诗作共有五首，那么第四节车厢所暗示的应须是其中的第四首。接下来，盆中种了四根竹子，明白说的是该诗的第四句——非常骇人的一句：“恶竹应须斩万竿”。万老爷子心念电转，情知李绶武说的这“万竿”之“万”正是自己的姓氏；质言之：他是在暗示自己：大祸之所以临头，必是由于他自己“家门”里的帮众出了叛逆，以致变生肘腋，乃有“恶竹”一词。这时，不仅万老爷子会了意，其余五老也揣摩出李绶武话中有话了——看他伲促而谈、状似闲雅，其实语锋已直指杀机；而且这杀机可能就在咫尺之内。万老爷子却沉得住气，道：“我也有十五年没见着严老五了，其间神州陆沉、国府易帜，不论那盆景落于何人之手，总希望能栽莳入土，所谓“但令无翦伐/会见拂云长啊”！”
万老爷子末了所引的这两句居然又是老杜的诗，且同样是杜甫写给严武的。原题为〈严郑公宅同咏竹得香字〉。写这两句诗时的杜甫与写先前那五首时的杜甫心境大不相同，非但没有“恶竹应须斩万竿”那样的愤懑，反而尽是同情、喜悦与宽慈悲悯，每一句都是竹之为物的怜赏：“绿竹含半萚/新梢才出墙/色侵书帙晚/阴过酒樽凉/雨洗娟娟净/风吹细细香/但令无翦伐/会见拂云长”——如此说来，万老爷子言下之意，乃是连可能导致杀身巨祸的叛帮罪首也不愿施以“翦伐”之责了。
“我懂了！”李绶武沉声道：“万老确实是“游乎四海之外”、“生死无变于己”的怀抱。李绶武言尽于此，已然造了口业。就此告罪别过了罢！”说时长揖及地，不待众人拦阻，掉转身躯，便从那艺口卫旁边一闪而逝。
此时坐在万老爷子右首的魏三爷急忙喊道：“绶武！又是你先行离席，欠罚一杯——”话音未落，祇听得阗黑的夜色之中传来李绶武的吟咏之声：“九载一相逢/百年能几何/复为万里别/送子山之阿/白鹤久同林/潜鱼本同河/未知栖息期/衰老强高歌/歌罢两凄恻/六龙忽蹉跎……”
这又是一首老杜的〈送唐十五诫因寄礼部贾侍郎〉。然而诗中字句，无不点出了此时此地诀别的处境和心情。众人听了，益发悄然起来，独那赵太初忽一抖擞精神，道：“好个“六龙忽蹉跎”！我又明白了一些。万老！今夜无论生出什么端，都有破解之道了。”说时，他再看一眼手中之画和顶上之天，笑了：“不过！请恕我不能再多说了。”
接着，钱静农双眉乍展，浑似忽有所悟，也道：“不可说！不可说！”一面说，一面将画纸对折再对折，一共折了七道，同时起身，冲赵太初使个眼色，道：“你既与孝胥同来，是要与他同去呢？还是——”
不待赵太初答话，孙孝胥也照样将画折成纸方，道：“说散便散，哪里有什么同来同去之理？”
便在这一剎那间，分坐在钱静农左右的魏三爷和汪勋如也折了画纸，争先起身，异口同声道：“散了散了。”
这等情景看在那警卫与亭外四人眼里，如坠五里雾，简直不明其然，更不知其所以然。倒是万老爷子文风不动，顺手拾两粒花生米，放在嘴里嚼了起来，且前言不搭后语地喃喃自道着：“若有豆腐干同吃，该当吃出火腿味才是。”
据说：这两句话典出当年金圣叹罹祸临刑之时的绝命语。金氏故意作家常语以示无畏不惧、视死如归的潇洒。如今万老爷子这样说来，六老焉有不凄不恻之理？可是先前哑巢父李绶武授意甚明：万老身边必有尴尬人；换言之：即此永诀的一刻，亦须避人耳目，免遭牵连。而且这免遭牵连，更非贪生怕死之图，却是隐忍一时，运筹千秋的打算——因为不祇赵太初看出来，其余各人也在学着李绶武那样将将画纸对折七次的时候发现：对折之后，从纸背面看去，万老爷子先前揭画之际在各层纸上所落下的泪斑，正如那六颗自西北而来的彗星，分别印在六处“↑”字形的竹叶前方，恰使泪斑与竹叶呈一流星拖尾的图形，朝六个不同的方向一闪而逝。也偏在这一霎时，薄薄一层纸膜上的泪渍完全干涸，浑如方才穹苍中转瞬不见的星光。
于是孙孝胥、赵太初、汪勋如、钱静农与魏三爷依序出了小亭，各自仰头瞻望一眼之前群星竞逐的夜空，再回想起自己手上那画纸所曾默示的方位，当下掉臂疾行而去，连一声告别的招呼也没有。
直到这五人的背影步声全然隐没于夜暗之中，万老爷子才露出一抹愉悦轻松的笑容，随即转身起立，一步跨向旁边的小石桌前，似乎是自言自语，又彷佛是对那警卫与亭外四人说道：“不过是张胡乱涂鸦的试纸笔墨，惹来这些白吃白喝的跳梁小丑这许多低三下四的议论，眞是可笑之至——”话还没说完，一掌击下，那石桌登时有如灰粉盐粒一般，连声也不出便给震得坍碎落地，粉粒堆成尺许高的一座小丘，接着，一张半透明的、写着一丛劲竹的第七层画纸才冉冉自上方飘落，正覆盖在那尺高小丘的尖顶上。原来万老爷子看祇轻轻扬了扬手，不意在掌起掌落之间，已先将石桌上那第七层画纸吸引上腾，直窜亭顶。这一手是失传已久的“无极北辰掌”末式，名为“拂槛逍遥”，其动态乃虚拟道教远祖陈搏陈眞人寐起临窗，拂槛观星的姿势。相传陈搏曾长睡百日，忽然坐起，时値中夜，乍见星如雨落，从此悟出一个生死眞相、以及一门独特武功的玄妙经历。万老爷子这一掌便不是寻常出手，其中大有奥义；他是在以陈眞人自况，有超然物外之慨，亦有浮生若梦且大梦先觉的解脱。
此刻荷塘风静，偶有两、三秋虫间或低鸣，益发显得这方圆数里之内悄无任何响动。亭外当先肃立的那人环视了四周一圈，似是不耐久候的模样，身形微微一颤，问道：“是不是可以请老爷子起程了？”
“方才我们这几副老骨头瞎说八道的话你也听进去几分，我说——”万老爷子已然阖上的一双凤眼又缓缓开启，睛露光，睇视着这个穿西装的人物，道：“万熙啊！今晚我要是不去见“老头子”，你说——！会招惹些什么祸殃呢？”
这万熙轻喟一声，先不答话，径自踱步上前，走进亭来，将黄皮箱往亭中央的圆桌上一搁，随即轻启箱盖，从里面取出一迭寸许厚的红框纹十行纸；但见那纸上密匝匝以沾水墨笔写满了文字。万熙将最后一张纸页抽出，置于表面，复由西装内袋掏出钢笔一管，取下笔帽，双手捧笔，递至万老爷子面前，恭恭敬敬地说道：“老爷子是明白人。今晚就算是去了，也见不着“老头子”，不定反而落一番折腾，我们这些弟子儿孙便大大地不义不孝了。“老头子”放下话来：请老爷子签了这份文件，他好依法裁处、秉公发落。这样的话，祖宗家业也可保长治久安，不至于一网打尽。”说到“老头子”放下话来之后的这几句上，万熙的声音压得又轻又低，直如蚊蚋盘旋。可是听在万老爷子耳中，却字字分明。一面听着、他一面点着头，似乎极其满意。然而万熙话才讲完，他立刻笑着问了一句：“要是我不签这口供呢？”
万熙忙一欠身，退后两步，将皮箱盖上的文件收回箱内——且没忘了把那末一页十行纸塞回原处，同时套回笔帽、收笔入袋。这一切祇是一、两秒钟之间的事，远近各人尙不及反应，万熙已经从皮箱之中抽出掌心雷一把，直指万老爷子心窝，连扣扳机，射出五发子弹。几乎也就在这同时，亭外持卡宾枪的一名武装警卫也将枪口朝旁一歪，喷出一串火苗，将另一名警卫射了个蜂窝透穿，翻身摔下塘去。水花激溅、荷叶掀扑，那人登时沉底，且正因一身披挂少说也有二十公斤的重量，从此陷入泥淖深处，永世不得翻身了。
这祇是一弹指顷间事，亭边那警卫早巳吓得面如白纸，四肢抖颤，裤裆里“噗喳”一声，拉了个黄金满溢，随即和身歪倒。万熙全无任何表情地眄了他一眼，嘴里的话却像是冲亭外那唐装棉鞋的胖子说的：“岳师父，我这也是奉命行事，身不由己的。”
那岳师父显然也不曾料到：仅在这电光石火之间，已经变生肘腋，连伤两条性命；且其中之一竟然是纵横大江南北一甲子有余的漕帮遗老总舵主万老爷子。不过这岳师父本来是个会家子，内力外功一体双修，气性涵养到一定的程度，即令临此奇突诡谲的事故，也看不出有半丝火躁焦急之态，他不慌不忙地朝后望一眼，见那开火的枪兵正颤着手、抖着牙，将枪口指在他后脖颈上。
“万老弟要岳某来帮闲干一桩棘手之事，你老弟台已自干得干净利落。看来我全无用武之地，莫非只是要顺便搭上岳某一条性命的么？”
闻言之下，这万熙立时将枪收入皮箱之中，却祇掩上箱盖，仍是面无表情地说道：“岳师父这么说便太见外了。请岳师父出马，原本倒是为了提防那飘花掌出手助拳，坏了正事。不料这几个老家伙只不过又是一阵妖言怪语，骗我们老爷子一顿吃喝，就这么缩头畏尾地闪人了。至于岳师父这边呢——”说到这里，万熙又疾速伸手，朝皮箱中一摸，再抽手出来时，掌心里捧着黄澄澄、光闪闪，一望即知是千足纯金打造的六支条块，同时冷声说道：“号称百两，其实是九十六两；岳师父不嫌少，就请笑纳了罢。今夜之事，说起来全是为国为民，绝非个人恩怨、私相雠衅。岳师父是顾全大局的人物，当然明白我的意思。”
“这金子烫手，拿不起！”岳师父瞥一眼横陈在地的万老爷子，继续说道：“万老弟口口声声“我们老爷子”，却依旧突下杀手，却说什么“为国为民”，教人太不明白。”
万熙微一颔首，思忖片刻，道：“我格于阶级太低，不能尽实相告。不过，老爷子把我从枪林弹雨里拣回一条小命、带进祖宗家门、给了姓字、传我——身文武活计、还将我一寸一寸地拉拔到大；我万熙今晚能干下这等事体，要不是有个为国为民的大道理在，岂不要背上一桩欺师灭祖的千古大罪吗？”说着，一掌拂向木桌，劲力到处，将一干杯盘壶盏尽数扫出三丈之外，二落入塘中，连这临时架设的木桌都险些儿推出亭去。接着，万熙手一抖，指尖乱弹，竟将金条如插香般杵进桌面，深可三二寸，几至透穿。另只手扣紧皮箱盖，才又说道：“人称义盖天龙纹强项岳子鹏明辨是非、通晓利害，万熙绝无半点非分得罪之念。这金条原本就是要孝敬您老人家的；而且这是“御赐”，上头雕着库号，来路绝对是正大光明，请岳师父放心取用——毕竟岳师母那边还等着用针药，不是么？”
说完这话，万熙倒退两步，反手楸起地上那软成一滩泥的警卫，咬牙闷声道：“你小子与此事无关，我也有好生之德，所以留你一条活口。可是这活口二字的意思你得三思：那就是“要活命、免开口”，你且牢牢记住了。”说时手一松，祇听那人“哐当”一声摔倒在地，人又昏死过去。话说地上这人一口气息还不曾缓转过来，万熙早已一个箭步斜里弓身跃起，好似一根橡皮圈儿那样弹向右前方十尺开外，一皮箱先打落了岳子鹏身后那警卫的钢盔带卡宾枪，另只手叉起食、中二指直去锁喉，同时沉声迸出两句：“我没工夫问你为什么开枪了；袍泽相残，横竖是个死罪。”说完，另只手上的皮箱再兜了个三百六十度的大圆圈子，硒上这警卫的太阳穴，将他从先前那警卫落水之处正对面的白漆石栏杆上打下水去，这一砸势道尤猛于前，教此人倒栽一跟头没顶而下，从头至膝全埋在泥浆之中。这两名初出茅庐的警卫死得极其冤枉，此冤少不得也须沉埋个数十年。
这厢万熙翩然落地，站定在岳子鹏身后，道：“这是咱们的