The Hermit of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3

Thinking of this, Tong Ying waved his hand to the fortune-teller and said with a smile, "The future is destined. You don't have to worry about it."

"Is that so? You're so open-minded, young man. I admire you a lot, but..." The fortune-teller changed the topic and asked, "Have you been having strange dreams all night, and dragons will definitely appear in your dreams?"

Upon hearing this, Tong Ying couldn't help feeling shocked. He subconsciously saw the man in front of him clearly. Although he was dressed in a coarse cloth gown and looked very poor, he had an extraordinary temperament and a subtle demeanor of a master.

Tong Ying couldn't help but give him a high look. He held his breath attentively and saluted him. "You're right, master. I'm really in a strange dream. May I ask what's the solution to this dream?"

"Hehe, as the saying goes, Heaven doesn't speak. People all think that the things in dreams are absurd. But they don't know that dreams can often reveal many secrets of heaven. It's just that mortals don't know." The fortune-teller smiled faintly and slowly stretched out his left hand. His thumb gently touched the ring finger, middle finger and forefinger in turn, and then began to calculate by himself. After a while, his face changed slightly and his eyes shined with a touch of golden light. He said solemnly, "Generally speaking, the dragon in the dream is a sign of ascension, but aren't you the dragon in your dream, brother?"

When Tong Ying thought of the four ice dragons in his dream, he couldn't help but tremble and subconsciously replied, "Master, you are right. Where does the dragon in my dream come from?"

"There are too many people here. Some words can't be passed by two mouths. Heaven's secret can't be divulged. If you have the intention, I'll wait for you on the ten-mile slope outside the east gate at midnight." The fortune-teller shook his head and glanced at the chest of Tong Ying, seemingly inadvertently. Then he smiled and said, "Don't forget to take the things with you."

After that, he did not give Tong Ying any chance to speak again. Instead, he turned around and walked away.

"Master, hey, master..." Tong Ying ran for two steps, only to see the back of the man disappear in the crowd.

"Take the things with you?" Tong Ying stopped and subconsciously looked at her chest, where it was so heavy that she couldn't help changing her face and thinking.

"Brother Ying, is what that person said true?" Tong Ling, who had not spoken at all, caught a glimpse of the somewhat pale-faced Tong Ying and couldn't help but ask.

Tong Ying glanced at Tong Ling and looked in the direction of the fortune-teller, but did not answer.

"Will you go there tonight?" Tong Ling asked with a frown.

"I don't know." After thinking for a long time, Ying Tong finally said with a bitter smile.

"But..." Tong Ling wanted to say something more, but Tong Ying sighed and said, "Go back."

"Okay." Tong Ling answered softly, and the two of them headed back to the martial arts school.

###Chapter2,An 'Anlong!

As soon as he returned to the martial arts club, Tong Ying remembered Tong Yuan's instructions in the morning to test his marksmanship. So he said goodbye to Tong Ling, went back to the house with the silver spear, and went straight to the martial arts arena.

"Why did she come back so early today? Did she change her character?" There were no other martial brothers or teachers in the martial arts hall, but only Tong Yuan. When he saw Tong Ying, he felt a little surprised and asked with a smile.

"Well... Junior Sister had something to do in the school, so she came back earlier." It seemed that he seldom told lies in front of his master, so his expression was somewhat unnatural. He did not deliberately hide the encounter with the fortune teller on the street today. He just felt that he had grown up and that he could solve some problems by himself, so there was no need to bother his master.

"Is that so? This is different from that girl's usual personality. She usually doesn't go home until dark no matter how big a thing she does." Fortunately, Tong Yuan didn't hesitate on this matter. He took his own long spear from the weapon rack at the side and pointed at Tong Ying with the tip of the spear. He said, "Come on, I'll personally examine the results you've learned today."

"Yes." Tong Ying took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the spear, and replied solemnly.

Not long after, the sounds of metal colliding rang out in the martial arts arena. The master and disciple were tussling with each other. The two long spears in their hands seemed to be two long dragons engaging in a fierce fight.

"Spear cuts a line!"

"A spear is afraid of shaking its head!"

"If you want to hit millions of people, why don't you stab them?" The martial arts hall was full of Tong Yuan's voice, and it became more and more severe as time went on.

...

"Stop!" Tong Yuan suddenly drew a long spear and jumped out of the ring. The smile on his face was not visible at all. Instead, he looked at Tong Ying with a gloomy face and said coldly, "If you were on the battlefield now, you would have died many times over!"

Tong Ying couldn't help sweating after hearing his master's scolding. He immediately knelt on the ground, bowed his head, and didn't dare to breathe.

"Haven't I told you that you can't be distracted when you're competing with a martial artist? Otherwise, you'll die without a burial place!" Tong Yuan was obviously extremely angry, and he gasped for breath.

"Disciple... disciple knows that I'm wrong." Tong Ying felt the bitterness in his mouth. He felt extremely ashamed and was speechless. He knew that he was not focused when he fought with Tong Yuan just now. The reason was very simple. He was still thinking about the words of the fortune-teller. Although he had warned himself not to think about it before the match, he still unconsciously remembered every word the man said. How could he not understand?

"Well, you can get up first." Tong Yuan shook his head and waved to Tong Ying, who was on his knees.

"Yes." Tong Ying did not dare to disobey his master. He slowly stood up and lowered his head to stand aside.

"I've only accepted three inner disciples. Ying'er, you're the youngest. You may not be as talented as your two senior brothers, but in my eyes, you're the most resilient." Tong Yuan took a deep breath and tried his best to lower his voice.

Tong Ying bowed his head and listened to his master's teachings silently.

"In fact, you have done a good job. It's just that I have high expectations of you. What I said just now is a bit heavy. Don't put it in your heart..."

"Master, why did you say that? I did have other intentions just now, and I was willing to be blamed by you. I dare not complain to you. Master, I hope you can see through me!" Tong Ying was so scared to kneel on the ground again after hearing Tong Yuan's words.

"Well, get up. I see that you're restless. Let's call it a day. You should go to bed early," said Tong Yuan with a smile. Perhaps because the young man was clever, he smiled and helped the young man up.

Tong Ying saw that Tong Yuan didn't blame him anymore and felt more guilty. He said repeatedly, "Master is so generous to me. I feel guilty..."

"Okay, okay, you don't have to say that. Master knows what you're thinking. Go to rest." Tong Yuan waved to Tong Ying and cut him off.

Tong Ying walked out of the martial arts hall with uneasiness and gently closed the door. By this time, it was dark, and most of the houses in the martial arts club had been lit with oil lamps, while Tong Yuan stood silently in the dark martial arts hall with his hands clasped behind his back. He seemed to be thinking about something.

Not knowing how long it took, a faint voice came out from the quiet martial arts hall.

"It's not you who has a guilty conscience, it's me..."

"The weather is dry, be careful of the fire candle... The weather is dry, be careful of the fire candle..."

Listening to the crisp knocking of the night watchman outside the window, the boy lying on the bed didn't feel sleepy at all. He couldn't help taking out the carved dragon stone wall that he kept close to his bosom. He stroked it over and over again, outlining the shape of the stone wall in the dark.

The reason why he cared so much about what the fortune-teller had said today was that the man had mentioned the stone wall, and the stone wall was the only thing left by his father. Could he find any clues about his father through the stone wall?

This thought lingered in the heart of the young man and could not be dispersed for a long time. He once had no confidence in looking for his family, but this sudden figure let him see a glimmer of opportunity. Perhaps it was very rare, but anyway, the young man was not willing to let go of this chance, which might be the only chance for him.

Having made up his mind, Tong Ying put the jade jade into his arms and quietly walked out of the martial arts school in good clothes.

The evening breeze on the winter night was a little cold, and it was injected into his body through the corner of his clothes, making Tong Ying shudder unconsciously. He hurriedly tightened his collar, and then plunged his whole figure into the darkness under the wall to slowly move forward.

It was no wonder that the childhood hero was so cautious. Although the current Emperor Han was still the king nominally, whether he was the king of the land and the minister of the land in the world, anyone with a little foresight could feel that the big empire had gradually faded away from its former glory. It was busy taking charge of the country in the wild. The little guys were struggling to rise to the top, and the court was not stable and their loyal ministers were separated. Outside the court, the rebels launched an endless fire. The rebellion of the Yellow-scarved Army in the Qing, Xu and other states was getting stronger and stronger, and even occupied many small cities. Although the imperial court had sent troops to suppress it, it had not achieved much.

It was exactly because of the supervision that the officers and soldiers from all over the country were on high alert to prevent all kinds of spies from sneaking into the city. Tong Ying did not want to be accused of colluding with bandits and thrown into prison by the city-guarding guard who was eager to win the merit. Therefore, it was normal to be more careful on this trip.

Tong Ying took the time to come to the 10-mile slope agreed by the fortune-teller. Under the bright moonlight, he vaguely saw a figure with his back to him. Who else could it be if it was not the fortune-teller in the daytime?

"Greetings, master." Tong Ying stepped forward and saluted the man respectfully.

"You're here." The fortune-teller turned around, looked at Tong Ying and said with a smile.

"I'm Tong and my name is Ying. I was too hasty during the day so I haven't asked the master's name yet." The young man first told him his name, then asked the master's name.