Chapter 6 Chapter 5: King of Chu's Nobility and His Excellency in Dongguan Brigade

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the practice of divination had developed to a considerable degree, and if someone knew how to calculate the fate of this young man, he would probably become a great master of his generation immediately. The young man often called himself Lu, but he barely got a surname, Dongguan, until he was twelve years old. So after the age of twelve, the boy's name is called Dongguan Lu. In the short sixteen-year-old life of Dongguan Brigade, the strange things experienced may have been the sum of ten seventy-year-olds. The sixteen-year life is full of unimaginable bad luck, and there are also unimaginable occurrences from time to time. good luck.

When Dongguan Brigade was first born, he originally had a name called Tu'er, which means "Yutu" (tiger) in the Chu dialect. His biological father was King Cheng of the Chu Kingdom, but shortly after his birth, because of a bizarre palace coup, he was stolen and turned into the son of the former King of Chu, Xiongxi. When he was the illegitimate son of King Chu Cheng, King Chu Cheng had not yet become King Chu. After becoming Xiongxi's son, in the blink of an eye, Xiongxi and his wife died unexpectedly, and Dongguan Brigade himself was pushed off the cliff. No matter from that point of view, regardless of whether the king of Chu is Xiongxi or Chengwang Xionghui, the Dongguan brigade may be qualified to be the prince of Chu.

But from another point of view, there is no evidence, and he has no qualifications to be recognized as the royal family of Chu State. Those who know how to tell fortunes should really calculate whether this child is the number one lucky star in the sky, or a bad star who is extremely dark. After being pushed off the cliff by Chu Xionghui's men that day, the king's car of Chu fell into a deep valley and fell to pieces. However, because of the lightness of the Dongguan brigade, the baby fell out at the last moment and got caught on a branch halfway up the mountain. But after hanging for a while, the branch couldn't bear it anymore, and the baby fell on a bird's nest in the middle of the mountain. Strange to say, not only did the birds in the bird's nest not peck him to death, but a few birds Work together to pick him up and send him to a nearby sandbar by the river.

A newborn baby in the wilderness, with no food or warm clothes, usually dies of hunger and cold within half a day, but tigers, foxes and other beasts often come to snuggle up to the young Dongguan brigade on the sandbar. To keep warm, there are also female beasts who let the Dongguan Brigade suck their own milk as if they were feeding their own cubs. The scene of this kind of wild beast not eating the baby, but laboriously and time-consumingly feeding it sounds extremely absurd and suspicious, but it is not uncommon in ancient history, as if it is predicting the extraordinary achievements of these babies in the future.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, Baosi, a beautiful woman who almost overturned the foundation of the entire Zhou Dynasty, was said to have been fed by countless big birds when she was young. And Yin Ziwen, the famous virtuous minister of Chu State, was also protected by a tiger on the frozen snow for a long time when he was just born, before he was rescued. This kind of strange sensory ability with animals is very strange and often appears in the aristocratic lineage of Chu State. It is believed that it has something to do with a kind of strange energy "Yuan Shen" that was common in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In future generations, such abilities may not come as a surprise.

After spending several days on the sandbar, the Dongguan Brigade was finally rescued by a couple of hunters passing by. The couple had heard the loud cry of a baby on the cliff and by the river a few days ago. Jing Shuimei didn't dare to pay any attention to it, and later she bravely waded to the sandbar to check, and finally picked up this lovely child of Yuxue. The hunters and his wife were ordinary commoners who lived in the mountains for a long time. Most commoners in the Spring and Autumn Period had only first names and no surnames. They saw that the baby was cute and had such strange encounters on the cliffs and by the water, so they gave him a baby. A name, call him "Brigade".

No surname, just a first name. Since then, "Brigade" has lived in the mountains with the hunter couple, playing, swimming and growing up. Although the life in the mountains is poor, it is much calmer than the turmoil in the outside world. It was the Spring and Autumn Period, when the feudal states were strife and wars were raging. The early spring and autumn overlords Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, and Qin Mugong had all withered one after another, and the feudal states had not had a strong overlord for a long time. , several superpowers are ready to move, and among them, the southern state of Chu, where "Brigade" and his parents live, is the most active.

At that time, the king of Chu State was the "King Mu" Chu Shangchen. Although "Lu" didn't know his background, he was actually the son of the former Chu King Xiong Hui, and he was considered a brother with the current Chu King. The merchants of King Mu of Chu were as cruel and violent as his father. Back then, King Mu of Chu got his throne by killing his siblings. Now King Mu made it according to the law. After such a few court coups, the power of the Chu royal palace became weak. On the contrary, the power of the aristocratic family rose. In addition, in recent years, the health of King Mu of Chu has become weaker and weaker. The most powerful.

The Doujia of the Chu State is a family that the Chu kings of all dynasties relied heavily on. During the reign of the previous Chu kings, there were indeed several good ministers who governed the country. Like the "Ling Yin" Ziwen who was nurtured by a tiger, he is an outstanding talent in Doujia. Talents are sometimes like rivers, which can carry a boat or capsize it.Although the Doujia made great contributions in assisting the state affairs, after many years of life, it has become a hidden worry that threatens the royal family of Chu. But these conflicts between courts have nothing to do with the "travelers" who live in the deep mountains. People in the mountains are lucky if they only need food and clothing all day long. Of course, they don't have any leisure to mess with this kind of world The most complicated palace contradiction.

In the deep mountains, "Brigade" has a different sensory ability than ordinary people, so he often sees strange and strange things when he was a child. Sometimes he looked up at the starry sky in the middle of the night, and after watching it, he would come back chirping and tell the Orion couple that a strange person from outside the sky flew down to talk to him.Orion and his wife were ordinary people who were shy and ordinary. They didn't know how to teach him when they met this child with extraordinary talent. When "Lv" was twelve years old, he happened to meet a strange old man with bald head and yellow skin in the deep mountains. Vigorous, jumping and walking in the mountains and forests, even young people would feel inferior.

Taking a closer look, there is actually a huge insect-like yellow light and shadow entrenched behind the tall old man.The old man was just passing through the mountains and forests, and he was very surprised to learn that the "Brigade" could see the light and shadow behind him.After chatting with him in the forest for a while, the old man generously suggested that he would be adopted as his adopted son. The old man claimed that his name was Dongguan Qingyang, a native of the Jin Kingdom, a great merchant traveling between countries, and over a hundred years old.During the conversation, Dongguan Qingyang briefly described his own background and life experience. On the one hand, the boy "Lv" was young and on the other hand, he didn't know enough, so he couldn't hear his narration clearly. All he knew was that Dongguan Qingyang had a different bloodline. , the mother is a strange half-human, half-demon race called "Spirit Lion" in the desert of Jin State, so she gave birth to Dongguan Qingyang, who has an extraordinary appearance that is different from ordinary people. The old man Dongguan Qingyang said that he wanted to take "Lv" as his adopted son. He really didn't just say it casually. He chatted with the young man for a while, and then asked the young man to take him to the residence to meet the Orion couple. After explaining his intentions, he left thirty-six A mixed round crystal bright night pearl as a token. When did the Orion couple see such a god-like figure?After hearing a few words from Dong Guan Qingyang's voice like Hong Zhong, the two hurriedly nodded and agreed. Anyway, they belonged to the untouchable class in the Spring and Autumn Period, and they couldn't give the young "Lu" a surname. Now Dongguan Qing Yang came to recognize him. Adopted son, the two were also happy for the boy's "trip". From then on, the boy had a surname, and his name was Dongguan Lu. The eccentric and majestic old man Dongguan Qingyang only stayed in the forest for half a day, and pointed out some strange spells to the Dongguan Brigade, then said he had something important to do, and before leaving, he met the Dongguan Brigade for half a year. But the old man went there, but never came back. Before the half-year deadline, the Dongguan Brigade went to the place where he met the old man when he was free, hoping that the old man could go to the appointment earlier. Several months passed, and half a year passed in a blink of an eye. The Dongguan Brigade waited in the mountains for a long time, but the old man still did not appear. One month, two months, one year, two years, the Dongguan brigade waited from a child to a teenager, from twelve to sixteen years old, but the old man Dongguan Qingyang never appeared again. Sitting quietly in the deep mountains, Dongguan Brigade often looks up at the stars late at night, and sometimes stares intently at the direction where the old man Dongguan Qingyang first appeared in front of him many years ago. It was the first time in his life that someone could talk to him freely. Even though the old man only spent half a day with him, the feeling of knowing each other while talking was a wonderful experience that he had never had in his life. Only the old man could understand what he was talking about, and only the old man knew that the vision this strange boy saw was not something wrong with his brain. "The things you have seen, the deep and mysterious things, even I only know the surface," Dong Guan Qingyang said in a deep voice: "But this world is as vast as the sea, with capable people and strange men, and there are as many strange things as stars in the sky. Maybe one day someone will be able to tell you what those things you've seen are." The wisdom of the old man can be said to be shocking in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was raised by a strange person when he was young, and his understanding of the truth of the whole world has surpassed the smartest contemporary scholars by thousands of times. Although the Dongguan Brigade knew nothing about the old man's profound knowledge, he was fascinated by his strange narration after only spending half a day with him. For example, when the Dongguan Brigade was young, he often saw a big blue crystal ball in the phantom of the starry sky, but the old man said that the big ball is the land where all living beings live, the blue part is the sea, and the earth. The colored part is the place where people live. This big blue ball is called "Earth". Although the Dongguan Brigade didn't know how the infinitely vast land could be a big water-blue ball, they were very interested in what the old man said. The old man couldn't resist his questioning, so he simply said some fascinating things. Unbelievable thing. "The bright sun we can see when we look up is actually a bigger ball, and it's a big fireball, dozens of times bigger than the big blue ball we're in. Around this big fireball, there are nine smaller balls flying around it. The big blue ball we are in is ranked third, while the other eight balls are of different sizes and shapes. Since different... In fact, you may have seen and heard of these big balls, such as Yinghuo, Tai Sui, and Taibaijinxing that we often mention are one of the eight big balls..." Although Dongguan Brigade had thousands of doubts in his heart, seeing the majestic expression of the old man, he didn't dare to say any more, just smiled and said. "Is the Yue'er you saw that night also one of the eight big balls?" "No," the old man shook his head. "It's a small ball hundreds of times smaller than the sun's fireball, orbiting our big water-blue ball." "A hundred times smaller?" The small face of the Dongguan Brigade showed incomparable confusion. "Then why do they look the same size?" Dongguan Qingyang laughed loudly and stretched out his right index finger. His palm was so wide that it was just a finger, and when placed in front of the small face of the East Gate Brigade, it almost covered his eyes and nose. "It's just that people's eyes are wrong. Let me ask you, is my finger bigger, or the biggest tree on the rocky mountain in front?" Dongguan Brigade smiled and said, "Of course that tree is bigger." Dong Guan Qing Yang nodded and put his fingers in front of his eyes. "Then look now, from your eyes, is it my finger that is bigger or that tree?" Dongguan Brigade understood, clapped his hands and laughed, "Sure enough, your fingers are much bigger now." Dongguan Qingyang laughed out loud. "You can't trust your eyes for everything in this world. Sometimes you're wrong, but it will make you confused..." That hearty laughter seemed as clear as yesterday, echoing in the deep mountains. But, that was already many years ago. The night wind in late spring, with the fragrance of grass and trees, the 16-year-old Dongguan Brigade lay on a piece of grass with his arms pillowed, looking up at the Milky Way in the starry sky, thinking in his heart that he would go boating on such a river ? Thinking about it, his eyes became a little hazy, as if he was a little sleepy. Half asleep and half awake, a strange sound suddenly appeared in the space again. That strange sound is a bit like the sound of silk and bamboo, with highs and lows, but it is continuous and never stops. If it is really a silk and bamboo instrument, the player who plays it will always have sore hands, and the player who plays it will always have to take a breath, right? Moreover, this kind of sound is not as pleasant as the sound of silk and bamboo, on the contrary, it will always make people feel a little unpleasant. This feeling is no stranger to the Dongguan Brigade, because this is the harbinger of those weird visions that will appear. Because it was too used to it, the Dongguan Brigade could still roll its eyes, sighed helplessly, and prepared for the weird scene that would appear next. Sure enough, after a while, in the deep black and blue night sky, a faint light gradually glowed. In the light, a group of strangely dressed people appeared, but the lines on these people's bodies were extremely bright, and the outlines seemed to be composed of bright lines of different colors. Of course these people were wearing clothes, but their clothes were very different from the toga with large sleeves in the Spring and Autumn Period, they were tightly attached to their bodies, and they seemed to be naked when you didn't look closely. But the colors of these clothes are very eye-catching and beautiful. Some people wear bright red, like fire, some people wear blue, like the sea and sky, and some people wear bright yellow clothes, which are eye-catching like It's lightning during a thunderstorm. There are a few other people, but they are like ghosts and ghosts, they seem to exist, sometimes they are only transparent shadows, sometimes they appear completely, but the clothes on their bodies are the same color as the surrounding scenery, as if they are dissolved in the wind. These people were sitting or lying down, as if they were waiting for something important. Everyone looked serious, and the appearance of these people was also incomprehensible. Some people's skin was as white as ivory, but their hair was as brilliant as gold. Some people have high noses and deep eyes, and the blue eyeballs seem to be transparent. A strange group of people, a strange void image. But what's even more strange is that if it's a dream, the Dongguan Brigade can always see all the details clearly, just like the blue "big ball", which has a very different appearance several times. Sometimes the blue on the surface of the sphere is breathtakingly beautiful, and sometimes it is dark and dirty. Once, large transparent beads appeared on the surface of the sphere, counting a total of thirteen. After watching this for a while, the images of those strange people began to shake and blur. Seeing such a scene, the East Gate Brigade couldn't help sighing. Because he had seen these strange people several times, he already knew what was going to happen next. Sure enough, in just a moment, the figures of these strange people began to blur, some turned into flames, some turned into bright lightning, some simply turned into a puddle of water, and some even disappeared into the wind when they turned around. middle. How can a good person become fire, water, lightning, and wind? Maybe it's just something wrong with my brain? Good thing I never tell anyone about it.The Dongguan Brigade thought to himself mockingly.As long as I don't say it, people won't know that I'm out of my mind. After a while, the phantoms of these strange people gradually dissipated, and the Dongguan Brigade couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and looked at his night sky in a daze. Usually this kind of looking up and contemplating can last until midnight without feeling tired at all, but today I don't know why, but I feel a little unusual. It seems to be a little anxious, but there is nothing to worry about. There was a faint smell of burning in the air, a bit like burning grass. "A mountain fire?" He frowned, trying to smell where it was, but after sniffing for a while, the burning smell faded away. Because of these weird feelings, the young Dongguan Brigade no longer had the interest to lie there, so he turned over and jumped up, and walked home lightly on the mountain road. When I walked to the mountain road in front of my house, I saw a series of half-lit fires at the far end of the mountain road, and there were faint human voices. Although it was already nightfall, it was not unusual for people's voices and fire to appear here, because this area is where Chu soldiers like to hunt, and the Dongguan Brigade often met Chu soldiers on the mountain road. Most of these soldiers are like wolves and tigers, and everyone has weapons in their hands. Therefore, in the mountains and forests, hunters always have to stay away from such hunting teams, lest the soldiers masters take you as a living target on a whim Disaster. At this time, the Dongguan Brigade also hid obediently in the bushes beside the road, waiting for the group of Chu soldiers to file by. Sure enough, not long after that, the Chu soldiers slowly came over. In the night of the mountains and forests, there were about fifty people. A group of people seemed to be hunting happily, and they spoke high-pitched and excited. A few people seem to be talking about a very stubborn prey, saying that the prey did not know what kind of nerves it was, and it would not give in while protecting some treasures, and even scratched a soldier's face.In the end, a leading general shot it to death, and someone hacked it a few times before dying of anger. But looking at what these people were carrying on their shoulders, they were some ordinary roe rabbits and foxes, and they didn't see any rare and exotic beasts with "hidden treasures". This group of Chu soldiers talked eloquently, and some people even mentioned that they were the guards of the Prime Minister of Chu "Ling Yin" Ziyu. Because of the extraordinary power of the master, it is impossible for a strong general to have weak soldiers. The Dongguan Brigade did not understand these exaggerated remarks, but just hid quietly in the grass, waiting for the Chu soldiers to pass by. It was so easy to wait until their loud chatter and laughter gradually disappeared at the end of the mountain road, and then the Dongguan Brigade came out of the grass and continued to walk home. However, after walking for a short time, he noticed that the situation was different. There is a scorching smell in the air, and it seems to be able to see the flames from a distance. The Dongguan brigade was shocked, and ran quickly, passing a small hill, only to see a raging fire in the house. The house where the Orion couple and the Dongguan brigade lived was extremely simple, a thatched hut built simply. Although it was simple and crude, it was a place where the father and son gathered together happily. Now in the night sky, the roof of the hut has almost burnt down. Only the rough wooden skeleton of the house remained. "Ah!" the Dongguan brigade yelled wildly, rushed down the hill, and then went to the door without thinking. When I was there, I was still choked by the heat and smoke. Running into the house, I saw fires everywhere in the house, but the flames had already diminished. I saw Orion's body lying on the ground, motionless. Turning my head, I saw Orion's wife was even more miserable, lying beside the firewood stove. , the whole leg has started to catch fire. The Dongguan Brigade cried out loudly, black smoke and tears filled his face, and a gust of hot wind hit him, which only curled his hair a lot. In the water tank in the firewood house, the Dongguan brigade had only filled the tank with water in the morning. At this time, he seemed to be mad, picked up the ladle and splashed it on the Orion's wife, and picked up another Zhang Zhuxi kept patting her body, as if this could bring her back to life. It was easy to stop the fire while splashing water, and after the fire dimmed, only the moonlight was left in the entire space filled with smoke. It took a lot of effort from the Dongguan brigade to put out the fire for a while. In addition, he roared and cried, and his subordinates kept going. Hehe gasps. After panting for a while, remembering the tragic death of Orion and his wife, Dongguan Brigade couldn't help but shed tears again. At this moment, he had dragged the bodies of the two from the fire scene, and he was kneeling on the ground under the moonlight. The two wailed loudly in front of their charred bodies. Shortly after meeting Dongguan Qingyang at the age of twelve, the Orion couple bluntly told the Dongguan Brigade that he was not their own child, but was picked up by chance in the mountains.However, this did not affect the intimacy of the three of them. The Orions still regarded Dongguan Lu as their own children, and Dongguan Lu also believed in their hearts that the two were their biological parents. Seeing these two honest and good people die so violently at this moment, apart from weeping, the Dongguan Brigade also had a lot of doubts in their hearts. After crying for a long time, he lit a torch and began to carefully observe the death of the two Orions. After watching for a while, apart from sadness, there was also a raging anger in his heart. It turned out that both of them had knife wounds on their bodies, and it seemed that they might have been killed by the knife before they caught fire.Orion's wife had a deep knife mark on her head and throat, and the Orion's death was even worse. Many knives were cut on her head, neck, and chest, and a feathered arrow was stuck in her throat. There are also several knife marks with deep bone visible. Dongguan Brigade's face was black and gray, and his face was full of tears. Tears and charcoal traces intertwined indistinctly. He stared blankly at the bodies of the two men. After watching for a while, he found that Orion's mouth and palms glowed faintly. With a thought, he wiped his tears, bent down and opened Orion's palm, only to find that what he was holding tightly in his hand was a night pearl that shone brightly in the night. The same night pearl was contained in Orion's mouth. There should be a total of thirty-six such night pearls, which were left by the strange old man Dongguan Qingyang back then to recognize Dongguan Lu as his adopted son. The Dongguan Brigade turned around and rushed into the almost completely burned home. After searching for a long time, they couldn't find the whereabouts of the thirty-four night pearls. His mind was extremely alert, and he immediately figured out the reason behind it. On the mountain road, the words of those Chu soldiers reappeared clearly one by one. "That dog is very tenacious, I don't know what kind of nerves it has, it protects the treasure and never gives in..." "In the end, it wasn't Lao Tzu who shot it to death, and even slashed it a few times, and then died of exhaustion..." The thirty-four lost night pearls... The knife marks on Orion's back are the deepest... Combining these words and scenes, the Dongguan Brigade seemed to be able to see such a few scenes that made him feel like a knife piercing his heart. Chu soldiers swarmed in like wolves and tigers... The adoptive parents who are at a loss can only let Chu Bing rummage through the box in the hut... Unknowingly, Chu Bing found the thirty-six night pearls... In order to protect the token left by Dongguan Qingyang to the Dongguan Brigade, the Orion couple bravely guarded the Ye Mingzhu, just to prevent Chu soldiers from taking it away... During the struggle, I don't know who scratched Chu Bing's face, so Chu Bing became fierce and shot Orion with an arrow, but he was still tenacious and might hug all the night pearls and lay down on the ground... Then, the ferocious Chu soldiers slashed Orion's back heavily... Everything is just to protect the night pearl of the Dongguan brigade. The night wind is cold and the tears have dried up. After thinking about the whole story, the East Gate Brigade bowed a few times in front of the bodies of the two men, picked a high-lying place that would not be flooded, dug two deep holes, and took the two people who raised him up. The loved ones were buried, and the two Ye Mingzhu left behind were buried in their mouths, one for each of them. These two good people who were honest and honest all their lives actually gave their lives for these external things. Thinking of the deep affection between the two of them who fought bravely and fearlessly to protect his things, after the Dongguan Brigade covered the last handful of soil, they still couldn't help it. Howling. When the burial of the two relatives was finally completed, the sky was already dawning. Looking down from the grave, most of the burnt thatched huts had been burnt and blackened. I remembered that I had lived and lived here since I was a child, but now it happened overnight. Relatives and homes were wiped out. A gust of cold morning wind blew by, causing the Dongguan Brigade to shiver, but there was a raging fire in his heart that gradually burned moxibustion. If you kill someone, you must pay the price! Moreover, for the sake of the two elders and Dongguan Qingyang who gave him such treasures that day, he must take back those thirty-four Ye Mingzhus that killed his adoptive parents! Dou Ziyu! He knew that the Chu soldiers who killed his adoptive parents were subordinates of a man named Dou Ziyu. No matter what, he must pay the price! However, the small figure of the Dongguan Brigade was reflected in the vast mountains and rivers of the Chu Kingdom, but it seemed insignificant and insignificant. Just like him, a poor young man in the mountains and forests who barely has a surname. How easy is it to challenge the most powerful fighter in Chu at that time? There seems to be no need to ask this question, and the obvious answer has already appeared.