nownovels Chapter 15 A person lives one lifetime, just as plants wither in autumn.
Chapter 15 A person lives one lifetime, just as plants wither in autumn.
"What a load of crap!"
Manager Liu, enraged and embarrassed, vented his anger on the shopkeeper.
"Didn't you see everyone's gone? Check out, put it on our Qinghe troupe's tab!"
After saying that, he grabbed Xiao Shengyun, whose legs were weak, and fled as if they were escaping, not daring to stay for even a moment longer.
Once the pests were gone, the shopkeeper finally breathed a sigh of relief and told his staff to clean up the mess.
"Shopkeeper, look quickly."
The waiter, who was wiping the table, suddenly shouted and pointed to the camphor wood pillar behind the seat where Lu Cheng had just sat.
"What are you yelling about? You've never seen anything like this before."
The shopkeeper walked over, grumbling, and looked in the direction the waiter was pointing.
Upon seeing this, the old shopkeeper's eyes widened in surprise.
On the thick nanmu pillar, which was so thick that it would take two people to hug it, and painted with vermilion lacquer, a white porcelain shard was clearly nailed.
The porcelain shard was only the size of a fingernail, with edges as sharp as a knife.
The scariest thing is that it's not just a shallow insertion on the surface.
It is "embedded" in.
penetrating!
Only a thin white line was visible, and the surrounding paint was completely undamaged, as if the porcelain shard had naturally grown into the wood.
"My goodness..."
The shopkeeper gasped. "Was this done by that Mr. Lu from earlier?"
"That's right, I peeked through the doorway just now."
The young waiter swallowed hard. "I heard a 'bang,' even crisper than a firecracker, and then that was it."
The shopkeeper reached out and touched it; it was slippery and icy cold.
"Bring me pliers."
The shopkeeper got excited, "This is good wood, we have to pull it out in case it gets moldy and rotten later."
The man quickly found a large pair of pliers that he usually used to remove nails.
The shopkeeper gripped the tiny exposed piece of porcelain, gritted his teeth, puffed out his cheeks, and pulled it out with all his might.
"Hey, I don't believe it."
Not moving.
The porcelain shards looked as if they had taken root in the wood.
"Let me give it a try?"
Just as the shopkeeper was sweating profusely from exhaustion, a deep, resonant voice came from behind him.
The shopkeeper turned around, quickly put down the pliers, and put on a respectful expression.
"Oh, Fifth Master, you haven't left yet?"
The newcomer was none other than Master Tan, who had appeared at the Deyun Tea House before. He was a leading figure in the Peking Opera world of Beiping and a true expert in kung fu.
Uncle Tan twirled two agate balls in his hand, walked to the pillar with his hands behind his back, and stretched out his somewhat withered hands to touch the mark left by the porcelain shard.
a long time.
Fifth Master sighed, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Don't pull it out."
He turned around and looked at the shopkeeper.
"This is called 'penetrating strength'."
"At the moment of exertion, the force was rotating, like a drill bit drilling in. The wood grain gripped the porcelain shard tightly."
Master Tan pointed at the pillar, his voice rising a few decibels.
"Manager, your Tongheju restaurant is going to make a fortune in the future."
"Huh?" The shopkeeper was taken aback.
"These aren't porcelain shards!"
Fifth Master smiled, a smile that held a profound meaning.
"This is the 'treasure of the store' that Boss Lu left for you."
"Keep it, put it under a glass cover, and hang a red ribbon on it."
"If the opera enthusiasts in Beijing find out that he has a real skill of 'flying flowers and plucking leaves,' they'll practically wear out your doorstep!"
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's eyes instantly lit up like a 200-watt light bulb.
A businessman understands things immediately.
"Alright, thanks for the guidance, Fifth Master."
The shopkeeper slapped his thigh.
"Hey buddy, hurry up, go to Jubaozhai and get the best carpenter to make a frame for this pillar. We'll spread the word about it tomorrow."
"Tell me... Master Lu's martial arts demonstration at Tonghe Residence was a stunning display of skill!"
……
the next day.
Just as Master Tan predicted.
Even before Tongheju Restaurant opened, a long queue had already formed at the entrance.
They didn't come here to eat "Sanbuzhan" (a type of spicy hot pot), they all came to see that pillar.
There were students in long gowns, elderly people carrying birdcages, and mostly apprentices and instructors from various martial arts schools.
When they saw the porcelain shard embedded in the nanmu wood with their own eyes, they looked at each other in astonishment and gasped.
"Amazing, truly amazing!"
"This is like practicing internal martial arts down to the fingertips!"
"I heard Lei Laohu was so scared he knelt down. I would have knelt down too. If that hit someone, it would be like piercing through tofu!"
at the same time.
The Qinghe Troupe became a laughing stock in all of Beiping.
"Have you heard? That skinflint Liu from Qinghe Class, he got so scared last night that he fell ill, ran a high fever, and was talking nonsense, shouting 'Don't kill me!'"
"That traitor Xiao Shengyun is in even worse shape. He woke up this morning with a hoarse voice. He said he was so frightened that he got a fever. He probably won't be able to open his mouth for the next few days."
"That's karma! What kind of person dares to challenge Boss Lu?"
Public opinion shifted completely overnight.
Previously, everyone thought Lu Cheng was just lucky and that his success was short-lived.
But this "one-finger Zen" skill is undeniable, and that's real hard currency.
In this chaotic world.
If you sing well, people will praise you and call you a star, but behind your back they'll curse you as just an actor.
But if you can both perform and kill, then others will have to respect you as "Master" and call you "Grandmaster"!
……
Let's go back to last night.
As we left Tongheju, the snow outside was falling even harder.
Large, feathery snowflakes danced in the dim light of the streetlights, covering the city of Beiping completely and silencing the hustle and bustle of the night.
Lu Cheng walked ahead, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his cotton robe, taking small steps.
Blind Abing followed behind, carrying his old erhu on his back, stumbling along.
Normally, Ah Bing would walk with his neck hunched and back bent, like a rat that couldn't stand the light.
But tonight, the old blind man's back was straighter than usual.
"Ah Bing".
Lu Cheng suddenly stopped at the entrance of an empty alley.
"Master Lu, what are your orders?"
Ah Bing quickly stopped and tilted his ear to the side.
"You played 'Deep Night' quite well upstairs just now."
"but……"
Lu Cheng changed the subject.
"I hear a murderous intent in your music."
Ah Bing stiffened, and his grip on the erhu tightened suddenly.
"Moreover, there's a hidden element within this murderous aura... how should I put it?"
Lu Cheng took a step forward, and his imposing aura made Ah Bing's breath catch in his throat.
"It's a bloody smell that you can't forget, even if you've seen blood, killed people, and killed a lot of people."
"Ah Bing, these hands of yours, you used to do more than just play the violin, didn't you?"
The wind and snow seemed to stand still at that moment.
Ah Bing remained silent for a long time.
His weathered face held a myriad of expressions.
Finally, it turned into a bitter laugh.
"Master Lu has excellent hearing."
Ah Bing took the old erhu off his back and touched the neck of the instrument.
"Twenty years ago, these hands of mine did indeed hold a knife."
"Back then, I wasn't called Abing, and I wasn't blind. I was the instructor of the 'Qian' battalion in the regiment."
"During that previous disturbance, the foreigners' guns and cannons were too powerful..."
Ah Bing's voice was very low, and it was scattered by the wind in the snow.
"My brothers all died, they died a terrible death. I was blinded by the poisonous smoke back then."
Later, my heart died, and I threw the knife away.
"For the past twenty years, I've lived like a dog, hiding in the opera troupe, just trying to make a living, waiting for God to take my wretched life one day."
As Ah Bing spoke, his straight back seemed to bend again, and that decadent, languid air enveloped him once more.
"but."
Ah Bing suddenly raised his head. Although he couldn't see, his empty eye sockets were facing Lu Cheng.
"Tonight, Mr. Lu, that thunderous sound you uttered, that sound of your finger shattering a teacup..."
"It has awakened my soul, which had been dead for a long time."
"That felt so good, fucking good!"
"I had forgotten that there was such a way of life, that one could stand so upright and be a person like this."
Lu Cheng listened quietly.
This old blind man is a man with a story, and a man with a solid foundation.
They were simply crushed by the world and emasculated by the fear in their hearts.
"Ah Bing".
Lu Cheng reached out and gently patted Ah Bing's snow-covered shoulder.
What's past is past and cannot be undone.
"The loss of that battle was not your fault; it was because the world was corrupt, and the court was corrupt."
"But the future is still in our own hands."
"Your music contains only resentment, not ruthlessness. Only avoidance, not struggle."
"A person's life is as fleeting as a blade of grass in autumn."
"Now that the soul has awakened, don't let it fall asleep again."
"Stand up straight!"
Lu Cheng suddenly shouted.
"Use your instrument like a knife. If your heart is upright, the music you play will penetrate people's hearts. If your heart is crooked, then it's just a beggar's tune."
"From now on, in the Qingyun Class, you won't be Blind Abing."
"You are my musician."
boom!
Ah Bing felt a roar in his mind.
Two streams of turbid tears flowed down his withered eyes, instantly freezing into ice shards in the cold wind.
Twenty years have passed.
Ever since he went blind, everyone called him "the blind man" and considered him a burden and a useless person.
Only this young man in front of me.
Tell him: You are my musician.
Only you deserve it!
This is what you call... the gratitude for being recognized and appreciated!
"Master Lu..."
Ah Bing stuck his erhu into the snow and, ignoring the cold ground, knelt down with a thud.
"This old body of mine will be yours from now on."
Lu Cheng smiled.
He pulled Ah Bing up.
"Let's go home."
"I'm so happy today, I'll ask Grandpa Guan to heat up a pot of wine for us when we get back."
In the wind and snow.
The figures of the old man and the young man gradually disappeared into the distance.
Just this once.
The old blind man carrying the erhu stood ramrod straight, like a javelin that wouldn't fall in the wind and snow.