Xilu city is as lively as usual. Business is still booming on the first floor of Tiantian. People come and go in the shop, and voices are booming. Smiling faces are interlaced. During the conversation, a large number of spiritual talents and crystal exchange masters. Some people are happy and satisfied, and some people are depressed and sigh and despair. At this moment, we can see all kinds of human behaviors on the faces of these monks.
But it seems that no one has noticed that a young man who grew up here and played among the spiritual materials under these counters every day has left the first floor of heaven and gone to another place.
Shen Tai went back to the front hall of the shop again and walked slowly with his hands on his back. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, he didn't have any outstanding despotic spirit, but he looked at the shop faintly, and there was something like a lion on the wild inspecting his territory.
Wherever he passed, those busy guys, men and women, nodded respectfully to him. Shen Tai also didn't look arrogant, smiled and nodded slightly. There are many casual practitioners, because they often come to the first floor of this day, and they also recognize the fat boss. They all greet Shen Tai with a smile. Shen Tai also responds with a smile one by one, which is very friendly and makes people feel like spring breeze.
After such a turn, Shen Taicai turned back and went to the long counter on the west side to buy spiritual materials. He chatted in a low voice with one of the white haired old men for a while. His face looked quite relaxed, and then he told the old man a few words. After the white haired old man nodded his consent, he turned around and walked out of the back door with a smile and went to the back hall.
The noisy noise left behind gradually became low and inaudible. The smile on Shen Tai's face gradually converged, and his face became a little indifferent. When he walked by the pavilion in the small garden, he paused slightly. His eyes lingered between the pavilions for a moment, silently thinking about something, and then he walked further into the courtyard.
In the spring, the shadows of flowers moved, gently covering his short and fat figure.
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On the long horseshoe street, the monks in the past were in a hurry. In this supposed spring season, everyone seemed to have a beautiful vision and hope for their future. On the long street, shops of all sizes are still open, and they earn a lot of spiritual crystals from the scattered cultivation with the smiling faces of countless clerks. Naturally, the two most popular shops are the branches of tianyilou and shenxianhui in Xilu City, which face each other on both sides of horseshoe street.
Unlike the Tianyi floor, which has only risen in the past ten years, the fairies who have been galloping the Hongmeng mainland for a long time have more details from the appearance. The branch in Xilu city on horseshoe street is not as magnificent as the Tianyi floor across the street in appearance, but there is a sense of solemnity in it. People's first thought after seeing it is to recall the glorious and long history of this huge chamber of Commerce. In contrast, the Tianyi building opposite is really a bit of a nouveau riche.
At this moment, a seemingly ordinary plain white note was sealed in a blank envelope. It came in from the back door of the shenxianhui branch. The receiver only glanced at a chrysanthemum shaped mark in the corner of the envelope. His face sank. He immediately strode up the stairs and went through a secluded and uninhabited path to the tallest third floor house, knocking on the only door here.
The envelope was handed in, the door was closed again, the footsteps were hurried, and the shadows were shaking. In a moment, this inconspicuous letter was quickly delivered to a man standing near the window on the street and looking out silently.
This is a strong but quiet woman.
With her hair piled on her temples, Phoenix hairpins with pearls in her mouth, thin lips and bright eyes, her back looks quiet and elegant. But once you see her face, you will find that the woman is calm and has a sharp and heroic spirit like a knife. She is no longer a young girl at the age of 17 or 18, but it is the most mature and beautiful time in a woman's life. Her eyes are full and her figure is slim. She stands by the window in a blue gauze skirt, revealing a few white on her chest, and looming plump trenches belonging to women.
In this gloomy city all the year round, she is as beautiful as a brilliant peony. It is strong and dazzling, and people dare not look directly at it.
Plain hands were white, and she opened the small paper. Her bright eyes swept over the simple words on it. The woman took a deep breath, raised her head again, and looked at the busy shop opposite her.
Then, she slowly showed a sneer. At that moment, her beauty was like a cold blade, which quietly flashed through the unknown edge in this noisy street.
At the same time, the pudgy man who personally created the current prosperity of tianyilou was not in the shop, but quietly went to an inconspicuous Street Lane several streets away from horseshoe street. His hands were sleeved and his face was pale. He looked like an ordinary and unremarkable mortal, quietly walking toward the deep part of the lane.
At the end of the front is a secluded courtyard. The wooden door is open, and there is a faint smell of blood.
The bustle of Xilu city seems to have gone away quietly in this secluded alley, as if it were in another world. Shen Tai, who came from that bustling place, was standing at the door of the butcher's house. His eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed that he was looking carefully at everything here. Then he gently pushed open the door and walked in.
As soon as the wooden door was opened, the smell of blood seemed to be stronger. Standing at the entrance, on the blue stone floor in the courtyard, although it had been washed with clear water, you could still see spots of blood in some stone cracks and corners, with dark and dazzling red.
The yard is not big. There are two main rooms in front and on the right. The butcher who used to kill pigs in the yard has not seen a human figure at this moment, nor does he know where he has gone.
Shen Tai paused at the door for a moment, without saying anything or hesitating, and walked to the room on the right. The doors and windows of the house are all open, and the sun shines in from the outside, making it very bright.
There is a round table, a reclining chair in the middle of the room, and two or three round benches beside them. They all look old, but they are still strong and durable. They are simple and have a trace of ordinary life.
Shen Tai walked over and sat down on the recliner. Then he leaned back on his fat body. The recliner gave out a few "squeaks and squeaks" and swung back and forth, shaking the fat man. Shen Tai closes his eyes and looks relaxed.
At this time, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the house, and then a tall and strong figure appeared at the door. It was the butcher who had talked with young Shen Shi to kill pigs not long ago. When he saw that a fat man suddenly appeared on the reclining chair in the room, his face did not show any strange surprise. He only slightly frowned and came over without saying a word. He pulled a round stool beside Shen Tai and sat down.
"Pa", a light sound, but a small cloth bag thrown by Shen Tai fell on the table. The fat man's eyes still didn't seem to open. He was still lying comfortably and lazily with his eyes closed. He only said softly: "where is my son?"
The butcher took a look at him, reached for the bag, and opened it with his hand. A pleasant sound like a beautiful jade hitting each other accompanied by a magnificent light came out of the bag. Under the beautiful light, there were dozens of the most important spiritual crystals in the spiritual world, one by one, crystal clear and flawless, like the most precious gemstones, emitting exciting colors.
The butcher stretched out his big rough hands full of calluses, grabbed a handful of Lingjing and held it in his hands. With a somewhat fierce face, a smile of satisfaction rarely appeared. After a while, he put Lingjing back into the cloth bag, took a look at the fat man on the recliner, and said: "I killed two pigs just now, and he was a little tired. I asked him to go to the back to wash his body and rest. I'll come later."
"Yes." Shen Tai closed his eyes and swayed gently up and down on the recliner.
The butcher uttered a "hum", but his voice still sounded a little low and hoarse, like the drum in the urn, which sounded a little strange. Maybe he thought of something. The butcher glanced at the courtyard. After a long silence, he suddenly said:
"A good child, why do you want me to approach him secretly over the years and teach him the dirty things of killing people in the sight of blood?"
The recliner under Shen Tai suddenly quieted down.
The butcher looked at him and his face remained unchanged, But I still said to myself: "The vassal aristocratic families under Xuanyin sect are far inferior to you in terms of financial and material resources. However, every child with similar qualifications in their family is not protected like a precious pearl. Why don't you take good care of your only son? Instead of letting him get involved in these things since he was a child, you force him to learn this and that, and look at goods and materials. Even if he can't practice Taoism before the age of 12, you force him to paint something The Yin-Yang and five element Rune patterns are just unsophisticated paths. "
Shen Tai slowly gets up from the reclining chair and takes a look at the butcher. The butcher looks back at him without dodging his eyes. A moment later, Shen Tai turned around, put his hands behind him, walked to the door and looked out. In the small courtyard, four walls surrounded a small sky in the patio. He was like a small frog at the bottom of the well, looking up at the boundless sky. The only place he could see was the small cloud blue sky.
The stout man suddenly smiled, then turned to the butcher and said, "because I am too weak."
The butcher frowned.
"I'm too weak. Even in the present situation, I'm still in a precarious situation. I'm afraid everything in my hands will be taken away easily when I wake up." Shen Tai looked at the butcher calmly, quietly and with a smile,
"I have some family property in my hands and can't make it to the public, but I still want to pass it on to Xiaoshi, so I'm worried that this thing will be taken away by others, so I often can't sleep. So I think that Xiaoshi must not be as weak as I am in the future. I've seen blood and killed people. Although I'm not a murderer, I always have a stronger courage and a stronger heart. He knows more things and recognizes more spiritual talents, although I look at it It's unimportant and useless, but it's more or less useful to practice in the future. "
The butcher suddenly sneered, "hey hey," and said, "I can kill two or three of those talented children who are sent by famous families, or who have never seen the blood of slaughter in a aristocratic family in the same realm."
Shen Tai smiled and said lightly, "my Taoism is too bad. I can't teach him anything in the process of cultivation. All I can do is these things."
The butcher was silent for a moment, but suddenly sighed again and said, "what you said is indeed reasonable. But what you have done to your son openly and secretly over the years is too much for a child. Even I can't see it anymore. Sometimes I wonder if the child can survive."
Shen Tai went to the table, reached out and picked up a transparent and shining crystal. His face seemed to be a little sad, and it seemed to be more comforting and loving. He smiled in a low voice and said to himself:
"It's all right. He has come to this day safely after all. I only hope that one day he will repay himself a little for the hardships he suffered in the past."