Chapter 25: When Will the Bright Moon Appear (3)

  The person behind him slowly turned around, and under the moonlight, a young man in traveler's clothes appeared before my eyes. He was handsome but had a face full of murderous intent. It was actually that young man from the market who bought poetry, Qi Zhongshu. No wonder he looked so familiar. Suddenly, an image of a crying little boy popped into my mind, and I blurted out: "You, you're Qi Fang, aren't you? I'm Mu Di, the same Mu Di who was sold to Chen Dama along with you, do you still remember? We rode in that ox cart together..."

  His hand slightly trembled, and the sword shook out a complete sword, successfully blocking my excited recognition speech. He lazily said: "So what? You are the original Qingjiang's good friend Jinxiu, Yao Biying was originally Yu Beizhai's maid, and that dead kid Song Mingrui has been promoted to fourth rank. I saw him in the market last time."

  My heart turned cold, six years without seeing each other, and the little Crybaby who used to stick to me and Jinxiu had become so cold. He continued to look at me coldly and said: "Now you five are making a big splash in the Yuan family, while my brother and I are miserable and fallen, wandering the rivers and lakes, being hunted down by the authorities, naturally we're not worthy of recognizing each other."

  He slightly tilted his head and said to his bewildered brother, "Big Brother, do you know who this is? She's the Mu Yu who was sold to Ya Pozi along with me, but now she's Treading Snow Gentleman's favorite."

  I looked into his eyes and smiled faintly: "I don't dare to be pampered, but our Xiaowu Yi is indeed serving under the command of the third young master of the Yuan family. The master of the Yuan family, Yuan Qingjiang Houye, is a hero of this generation, with a unique insight. With Xiao Fang and Qi Dage's talents, if they can serve under the Yuan family's banner, with the Yuan family's power, not only can they clear Qi Dage's name and avenge their great injustice, but also become rich and prominent, showing off their skills, and win over a lifetime of fleeing and wandering in the rivers and lakes. Xiaofang, come back with me." As I spoke, I couldn't help but want to hold his hand, but he swung his sword, and my hand was already cut by a thread, so I immediately shut up.

  "What a clever tongue you have, I thought you were just relying on your noble birth to stay by Yuan Fei's side. It turns out you really do have some talent for speaking. Do you think I and my brother are easily deceived like simpletons? You nobles, which one of you has a heart that is truly kind? Your mouths are full of righteousness and morality, yet you openly exploit and oppress the common people, doing all manner of evil deeds. When you're about to die, you're afraid that you've done too many bad things and will be sent to the 18th level of hell, so you hastily invite monks and Taoist priests to chant scriptures and perform rituals for your salvation. How laughable! Do you think my brother and I rebelled against the Eastern Qing dynasty just for wealth and glory? Ha! You're speaking nonsense, trying to deceive me and my brother into sacrificing our lives for the Yuan family. As they say, 'one general's achievement is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers.' You want us to give up our lives to help the Yuan family conquer the world. Tell you what, I'd rather die with my head held high than kneel down and surrender. We will kill all the nobles to avenge the suffering of the poor people, and it starts with you today." He said this through gritted teeth, his handsome face twisted in the moonlight.

  Not being blinded by wealth and glory, the realm is very high, but unfortunately relying on violence to control violence, is this not the root of solving problems? Still wanting to kill all the nobles, completely a childish and impulsive idea, no wonder Yuan Fei and Song Mingrui ridiculed them as a group of ignorant bandits, not worth fearing. Although they claimed to be acting on behalf of heaven, they only gathered some vagrants in the Bianzhou area, occupied mountains and became kings, killed nobles, helped the poor by robbing the rich, married without clear leadership or step-by-step military plans, and many local rascals and looters joined them. They killed people and robbed money, but were not satisfied with Qi Bo Tian giving most of the money to the poor, so they rebelled against him, causing internal strife, and were destroyed by the government in less than a month.

  I sighed inwardly and said to him calmly, "Xiao Fang, I truly respect you and your elder brother for having a proud bone in your body, unafraid of the powerful. However, there's one thing you got wrong - although Mu Di is from the original Third Master's household, he's an aristocrat. As for me, Xiao Wu Yi, your elder brother, and countless poor commoners, we're all the same because of the disaster that struck our imperial court, causing our families to be destroyed and leaving us unable to make a living. When we were young, in Chen Dama's ox cart, you always talked about missing your parents, missing your elder brother, but you didn't understand why they had to sell you..."

  "Shut up, you're about to die, do you still want to struggle?" He shouted sternly, his sharp sword had already scratched the skin on my neck, and a cold, icy sensation flowed down my nape. I smiled lightly and gazed straight into his angry eyes: "Xiao Fang, I'm glad we meet again, but unfortunately, your nature has changed, and a demon has taken up residence in your heart. You talk about replacing heaven's will, killing off all the nobles, but you've actually grown accustomed to taking lives. You know I'm innocent, yet because you've killed too many people, you no longer have any genuine compassion. If you can bring yourself to kill me, then your conscience must be numb from slaughter. Do you think killing all the nobles in the world will do any good? Today you kill one noble, tomorrow a thousand more will emerge by exploiting innocent commoners. How can you possibly kill them all off? Even if you did manage to kill every last noble, as long as the ruler is corrupt and the officials are crooked, the people will still be suffering. Since chaos has already become the norm, the only way to truly change this chaotic world is to quickly overthrow the rotten Xuan Yuan dynasty, rebuild a new, clear, and just government, and purify the social atmosphere, giving the people a peaceful life and a harmonious paradise."

  He was there, his eyes gradually becoming focused, and a glimmer of hope shone in Ziber Tian's eyes.

  I continued in a soft voice: "Xiao Fang, I don't want to deny it, but helping Yuan San Ye is also for the sake of our Xiao Wu Yi's well-being and future. There's some personal interest involved, but another reason is that Mu Ge thinks Yuan Qing Jiang and Yuan Fei Bai are heroes who can overthrow this corrupt world and save the people from suffering. Think about it, with my humble status as a wanderer, I was still able to gain Yuan San Ye's recognition. How could Xiao Fang and Qi Da Ge's talents not be noticed by Yuan San Ye? Throughout history, every 500 years, there must be a wise ruler who rises to power. I don't want to say that good birds choose the right tree to perch on, but rather that a great man has his own principles and values. Since we've already rebelled against this evil world,..." His sword gradually lowered, and confusion appeared in his eyes. I took a step forward, and he jumped back, raising his sword again, looking at me tensely. I stared into his eyes, raising my voice: "Xiao Fang, thoroughly change your fate! Completely leave behind your current life! Let those who have hurt you, ridiculed you, see how you achieve greatness, help the innocent, and gain fame throughout the world! Isn't that better than fleeing and becoming a thief? Xiao Fang, you're an intelligent person, can't you understand my good intentions?"

  At this, I finally understood why Guo Erren and Han Xiuzhu had commented on my early years as "cunning and treacherous, with a deep city and a mouthful of honey and a belly full of swords". I saw the shock in his eyes, the slowly stirring murderous intent, the gradually growing hope for a normal life, and I was secretly delighted. I looked at him with a serious expression: "Xiao Fang, since ancient times, who has recognized heroes as ordinary people?" I took out a wooden token from my bosom, which was the token of our Xiao Wuyi. I handed it over to him: "Xiao Fang, I will not force you to do anything difficult. You can think carefully about this. This is the token of our Xiao Wuyi. If one day you have thought it through and want to find us, you can bring this token with you. If you feel that this is humiliating, you can also take this token to the Western Regions to join my brother Yu Feiyan's army, first build military merit, and then plot for greater things."

  I held up the wooden board in mid-air, staring at him firmly without saying another word...

  The young man under the bright moon, stared at me fixedly, pondering, hesitating, struggling, finally, his sword tip extremely slowly left my throat, put it down, and then carefully took over my wooden tablet...

  I took a deep breath in my heart and smiled at him: "Xiao Fang, thank you for believing me."

  He looked me up and down, then suddenly raised his long sword again, pointing at me. I was taken aback: "You're indeed as eloquent as you were when we were young, but how can you make me believe that you want to return this dagger and have no intention of harming my brother?"

  How sad! A skeptic, bitten by Lü Dongbin's dog, doesn't recognize a good person's heart. I silently mock him in my mind, and then think: didn't Qi Fang sell it to a seemingly very refined scholar? What kind of pain did he go through to become so distrustful of people?

  I smiled at him, slowly raised my hand, like a magician performing, and flipped my palm over to show him that there was no trickery. He looked at me with a hint of confusion, still gripping the sword tightly in his hand. Zhi Bo Tian also had a bewildered expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow slightly and stretched out my arm straight to the right, still smiling lightly at him. Then, I lifted my wrist slightly, and five small arrows shot out...

  I have been waiting for a long time...

  What's going on? I clearly felt something shoot out!

  My triumphant smile froze, looking at the inexplicable Qi Fang and Qi Bo Tian, a gust of autumn wind blew by, and the three people stared at each other with wide eyes...

  I cursed Zhang Demao in my heart, you can't do it, don't cheat me, now I've lost face because of you...

  A sneer appeared on Zhi's face, he put down his sword and was about to speak when a faint explosion sound came from the right side, followed by a loud crash. A giant tree that two people could wrap their arms around slowly fell towards us, we each took a big step back...

  The Qi brothers looked at me with a mixture of shock and fear, but I quickly regained my composure, clearing my throat a few times before forcing a calm smile. "Now you understand, don't you? If I wanted to harm your brother, I would have had countless opportunities to kill him already. Why would I need to use this dagger?" My heart was racing with excitement and surprise - it seemed that Zhang Demao had indeed added the fire opium to the wine! But you should tell me too! Luckily, luckily, Qi Fang gave me a chance to try it out first.

  Zhi Fang looked at me silently for a long time, his eyes extremely complex...

  At last, he raised his treasured sword again. I cursed in my heart, "This kid is so hard to persuade! Is he going to kill me again?!"

  However, he did not chop towards me, but instead took a step back, raised the treasure sword above his head, and pointed it straight at Wuliao: "Muqi is indeed a superior man in the world. My brother was wrong first, yet you still sincerely helped my brother find a way out. I was suspicious and disrespectful, not even as good as pigs and dogs. Today, I am ashamed and unable to show my face. Please use this sword to kill me, a lowly person."

  Zi Bo Tian was taken aback for a moment, then looked at me excitedly, knelt down beside his brother in a flurry, and gave me a loud kowtow, bumping his forehead and getting a big lump. I was completely stunned, and it took me half a day to come back to my senses. My hands and feet were a bit soft as I stepped over the big tree that lay between us, and the branches poked at my face several times. I stumbled forward, wanting to help him up with both hands, but seeing the silver sword shining brightly, I couldn't help but swallow hard, put my hands behind my back, and carefully said: "Xiao Fang, don't do this, a man's knees are made of gold, get up quickly."

  Qī Fàng raised his head, and under the moonlight, his eyes stared at me intensely: "If you still pity our humble lives, then please accept us as your brothers. Today, under the moon, we, the Qī brothers, swear an oath to be loyal and diligent in serving you. If we betray this vow, may arrows pierce our hearts, and may the gods punish us. Let this Clear Wind Sword drink blood as proof."

  Just as I was about to speak, he swiftly drew the treasured sword across his palm, and blood flowed profusely. As I cried out in shock, he took his brother's hand and made a deep cut on the palm as well.

  This jade is resplendent, I originally wanted to see Yuan Fei, but I didn't expect to encounter such a situation. Now, if I were to say no, with his suspicious mindset, he might get angry again and kill me, even the embroidered brocade wouldn't be of any use. I had no choice but to force a smile, and with both hands, help him up: "Mu Jin, you absolutely must not humiliate Xiao Fang and Qi Da Ge, but I will definitely recommend you two to Yuan San Ye, so that you can return to your hometown with dignity, restart your life anew."

  However, Qi Fang snorted: "Do you think we are shameless people? Serving Yu Qingjiang's person, my brothers and I have no interest. You must be very surprised that the crybaby from back then has become so terrifying?"

  I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued: "My parents, just because of the fortune teller's words, said that I would exhaust all the people around me, so they sold me to a Zhang Xiucan. That Zhang Xiucan called himself 'a man who reads books', but he was actually a cruel person who enjoyed torturing children." He pulled down his left shoulder, revealing pale skin covered with shocking scars, knife wounds and sword injuries, one after another, without a single piece of good flesh. I felt indignant in my heart, and that year when Qi Fang was sold to Zhang Xiucan, he was even younger than me and Jin Xiu! My tears flowed out involuntarily, and he looked at me with some desolation, saying: "When Nanzhao invaded Jiangling Prefecture, they killed the entire Zhang family. I was taken as a slave by the Nanzhao nobles, living a life worse than that of animals. Later, I escaped back to Bianzhou, but Ruan Dian was killed by my father in the ancestral temple. The people of Qiji village said it was me who brought the locust disaster, and if not for Big Brother's rescue, I would have died at the hands of my own parents." He suddenly composed himself, raised his long sword high: "Later, I met Master, who had calculated my fate - 'Moonlight Splashing Jade', a noble person, a life of war and loneliness, ending in solitude. But only he can change my fate. Qi Fang has already experienced the coldness and warmth of human relationships, wealth and nobility like mine are but fleeting clouds. If you think I'm not worthy, then kill me."

  I was pondering the reason why this was so strange and far-fetched, when he actually started talking about beheading himself. I hastily stepped forward and tightly hugged him, startling me into a cold sweat. This ancient man was really too extreme and terrifying. As a result, I had no choice but to take these two peasant uprising leaders as my subordinates.

  But I never expected that Qifang, who looked so cunning and deceitful at the time, would truly keep his promise under the moonlight and follow me through thick and thin for the rest of my life.

  But no matter how I dodged, Qi Fang refused to call me by my name again. So this was the first and last time he called me by my name after we reunited.

  I remember Song Mingkui saying that there was a small Wu Yi's villa in the east city of Xi'an, and if there was an urgent matter, he would take a wooden board to the villa to find the boss's wife, so I let them hide there first.

  The moon was high in the sky, I retrieved my emotions, sent off the Qi brothers, sat on the ground with a thud, panting heavily, stroking my wildly racing heart, wiping away cold sweat, calming myself down, then picked up speed and flew towards Yubei Studio.