Night fell, and heavy rain poured down outside the window, washing away the annoying summer heat. The room was filled with warm light as Hong Ti, needle and thread in hand, sewed a garment. It was supposed to be a scholar's robe, but due to Ning Yi's insistence, it had become a "handsome swordsman's outfit" of Ning Yi's own design. His reasoning was that Hong Ti was a female warrior, and even after marriage, she should sew swordsman's clothes.

As for Hong Ti herself, she didn't see much difference between a female warrior and an ordinary person. In her eyes, Ning Yi seemed more like a scholar than some bloodthirsty butcher. The two were in the midst of their honeymoon, having moved out to a separate house—an arrangement insisted upon by the old man, Liang Bingfu. After marriage, they needed some space to themselves, and some people in the courtyard were simply too much in the way. The old man's "in the way" even included himself. Sometimes, when they joined him for dinner, he would tell them to go back to their own meal. Moreover, Liang Bingfu believed that as the chieftain, she deserved this privilege.

For these reasons, the two moved to a quieter old house near the small platform on the mountainside. From there, they could overlook the entire Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village), yet few could pry into their lives. Once evening arrived, it became their own little world.

On half the days, they would return after having dinner with Liang Bingfu; on the other half, they would light a fire and cook their own meal. Ning Yi was meticulous about his food, while Hong Ti ate rather coarsely. Consequently, Ning Yi often cooked dinner himself, preparing two small dishes, while Hong Ti was responsible for cooking rice, lighting the fire, and washing dishes. Although she took on most of the housework, Hong Ti still felt it was her inadequacy that made Ning Yi cook. However, after so many years in the mountains, even if she wanted to learn, she couldn't become a great cook.

To say they were as respectful as honored guests might be inappropriate, as Ning Yi's behavior was often unrestrained and unconventional. However, in their daily life, they were harmonious and inseparable. The newlywed couple found contentment and happiness in this life. Compared to the Su family, known for their cloth-making, Hong Ti's needlework was nothing special. Still, sewing a pair of soles and making a garment for her man was a source of satisfaction and happiness for a mountain woman.

After dinner, they would take a stroll nearby, or go down to the village to greet acquaintances. When the lamps were lit in the evening, Hong Ti would do her needlework under the lamplight, occasionally glancing at the man beside her reading or writing. Sometimes they would chat, reminiscing about past dreams and future fantasies. Sometimes, they would also do things that were outrageous and exclusive to a married couple.

Ning Yi was essentially a man of extremely unrestrained and uninhibited character, though it was masked by a gentle and indifferent appearance—that was only because, having lived through it once, he took many things lightly. However, he didn't need to face those close to him in that way. Sometimes he would come up with outrageous, even slightly perverted ideas, and Hong Ti, with her gentle nature, would inevitably suffer his bullying in silence and submission.

In her heart, she couldn't say she rejected Ning Yi's excessive demands; she just felt shy, shy, especially shy. Ning Yi told her, "Everyone does it this way," and she could only assume that wealthy families in the city were all like that, and then blush. But since there was no one around, blushing in front of her own man was probably something a wife should naturally experience.

In the warm lamplight, during whispered nights, even the summer heat would sometimes fade away. This kind of thing would often happen every day or two when she gave Ning Yi massage to promote blood circulation. Now that they were husband and wife, the massage meant to alleviate the damage to his body from breaking through the Six Paths was often not so simple. Sometimes, when she massaged him and he had certain reactions and desires, she could only bear the "bitter fruit" of being bullied with a burning face.

Or, when night fell and Hong Ti filled the bathing tub with water for Ning Yi to wash, Ning Yi often refused to let her leave. She would have no choice but to undress in the room. Ning Yi would untie the strings of her dudou (an ancient Chinese bodice), and she would fold her clothes, dudou, and underwear neatly beside her before walking over and getting into the water under Ning Yi's gaze.

After being together for a long time, because Ning Yi often regarded her as a female warrior, she would occasionally say in a low voice, "You only know how to bully a xia nü (female warrior)..." Then her cheeks would flush slightly. But this blushing only happened when Ning Yi was watching her. Once their bodies were close together and their skin touched, she no longer felt shy, but only felt that it was the duty of a husband and wife.

The intermittently rainy and sunny summer, the people living and thriving in the village, the gradually changing shape of the village, the increasingly clear mountain roads… For the two of them, there was already a realization in their hearts: Ning Yi would eventually return to Bianliang, while Hong Ti would still have to guard her village. Their future would probably still be one of infrequent meetings. Therefore, Hong Ti was making clothes and sewing shoes for him with utmost care. And Hong Ti could accept Ning Yi's various demands, accepting those seemingly excessive and embarrassing interactions, with shyness but without resistance, probably also had some of the reason.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Ning Yi would think of these things and feel that he was letting Hong Ti down. If possible, he sometimes even wanted to stay here permanently, in this war-torn mountain village, with this strong and gentle woman who had endured countless hardships. Looking back on the past, he had similar thoughts about everyone around him. If there was no wife Su Tan'er, he might have lived in seclusion with Yunzhu elsewhere. If there was only Su Tan'er, he might have settled down to take care of the family with her. If he had met Liu Xigua earlier, he might have managed the Badao营 (Badao Camp) with her, or wandered the world, enjoying a life of vengeance and justice. And if Hong Ti had brought him back to Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village) earlier, he might have taken root here by now. And among them, there were also Chan'er, Jin'er... and so on.

Of course, in such a scenario, he might have met other women who moved him. Men always seemed fickle. If he were in the future, he would have to make choices, and then experience the regrets and happiness after the choices. Of course, he might also, with the expansion of money and power, only enjoy the satisfaction of lust and no longer care about love. But in this era, although he could rightfully be with them, he could only feel guilty after each debt.

As long as he was in this world, he would never have absolute perfection. Under such circumstances, whether greedy or fickle, this was the only direction he could take at the moment. And during this period, the affairs of the Wu Dynasty, the affairs of the Jin Kingdom, and even the affairs of Genghis Khan in distant Mongolia, the affairs of the small Lüliang Mountains, the affairs of the Prime Minister's residence, and the affairs of this half of the world were already mixed together. How the future would be was something even he himself couldn't see clearly.

The end of June passed, and at the beginning of July, Ma Jun, the leader of the remnants of the Liao Kingdom who realized the combat power of Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village), sent envoys to submit to Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village). What followed was the negotiation under Ning Yi's control, and the preparations for "殴打大公鸡 (Beating the Rooster)" were becoming more and more complete with the increase of things like elm cannons and landmines. Although it would take some time, the future result would only become clearer.

On this night in early July when heavy rain fell, Hong Ti, who was in Ning Yi's arms and only wearing a dudou (an ancient Chinese bodice), opened her eyes from her sleep and heard the noise coming from the distant courtyard. The two put on their clothes and leaped out, arriving at Liang Bingfu's courtyard, where the old man had already fallen into suspended animation. He seemed to have wanted to get up for a drink of water in his sleep, but a mouthful of phlegm got stuck in his throat. After coughing twice, he alarmed Xiao Hei, who was guarding outside.

Hong Ti massaged the old man's chest and then patted him twice. The unconscious old man then spat out the phlegm from his throat. In recent days, this was not the first time the old man had shown such weakness. Sometimes, when he swallowed porridge, he would choke on it. After this incident, the old man's body could often only be active for two hours a day. Sometimes he could walk with crutches, and sometimes he would lie in a chair and fall into a daze. When he woke up, it might already be dusk the next day.

Liang Bingfu still sternly rejected Hong Ti's idea of ​​moving over to take care of him nearby. When he was conscious, he was happy about everything, watching the development of the village, watching the children running, and sometimes even giving the chasing children some naughty ideas. On him, there was no longer the majesty and airs of the past who had struggled to support him, nor the great weight of shouldering responsibility.

He mentioned his wish to go back to the old village again.

Due to Hong Ti's description, Ning Yi actually knew that Liang Bingfu had not stayed in the old village for a long time. One day they were taking a cool break under the eaves, and Ning Yi took the opportunity to ask, "Is the old man very familiar with Sister Duanyun?"

After hearing this, the old man thought for a while, not knowing what he was thinking, and then shook his head and smiled: "Not very familiar."

A few days later, with Hong Ti's consent, they finally drove the best carriage all the way to the old village. Getting up early in the morning, the old man looked very energetic, put on a brand new and neat scholar's robe, but he could only be energetic for a while. He chatted with Ning Yi in the carriage for a while, and then fell into a deep sleep. Hong Ti guarded him, adjusting the operation of his qi and blood. The old man occasionally fell asleep, and occasionally woke up due to the bumps. It was not until the afternoon of this day that they returned to the old village that was the original Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village).

All the buildings here had begun to be renovated. Some of the houses had been built and people had moved in. Fences and defensive facilities had also been built. Fu Duanyun still lived here. Although she could occasionally greet some people, she was not well yet. She was dirty and her house was smelly, but her tone when talking to people was extremely sad.

When the carriage passed by, they saw Fu Duanyun greeting her former neighbors, saying seemingly normal things. The old man had already woken up, looking at all this calmly, and then let the carriage drive past. At this time, Ning Yi knew that he was really not familiar with Fu Duanyun.

"I have been in the Lüliang Mountains for so many years. I have seen everything. Duanyun is indeed pitiful, but... everyone is not doing well..."

In the Lüliang Mountains for so many years, the life or tragedy like Fu Duanyun that moved Ning Yi, the old man had already seen many, and it was difficult to be moved again...

He only got out of the car next to the house he used to live in. The house had collapsed and had not yet started to be rebuilt. It looked like even the complete past was just two simple earth houses. He walked in with his crutches, waved away Hong Ti's support, closed his eyes and took a breath, and then tremblingly walked to a section of soil and sat down with his hands holding his crutches.

"Liheng, Hong Ti, go out for a walk. The old man wants to sit here." The old man waved his hand and looked aside, "Hong Ti, take Liheng to stroll around your home..."

Hong Ti and Ning Yi still went out, leaving Xiao Hei guarding beside them, but they didn't go too far. They sat down not far away where the old man couldn't see. As soon as they sat down, Hong Ti grabbed Ning Yi's clothes with both hands and leaned her head against his chest, crying silently. Ning Yi stroked her hair.

"If I hadn't come... he might have held on longer..."

As grand masters of martial arts, Hong Ti, Lin Echan, and Zhou Tong all knew people's bodies like the back of their hands. The old man had worked hard for more than ten years. He was not a smart person, but he had carried the responsibility all the way with his life. Over the years, Hong Ti had been able to take care of his health, but she could not take care of a person's exhaustion after his life was burned out.

He was not trapped by an accident to his body, but just reached the end of his life.

Of course, as Ning Yi said, if he hadn't arrived at this time, Liang Bingfu, who had survived on one breath, might have been able to survive for a few more months, or even half a year or a year. But after Ning Yi arrived here, the old man's heart was finally relieved. He had lived through the most peaceful and fulfilling period of his life, and would also finish his fulfilling life.

The setting sun gradually began to show a fire-like color. Xiao Hei did not send a warning. When Ning Yi and Hong Ti returned, the old man was lying in the chair, in the ruins, as if he was asleep, or as if he was reminiscing about something. However, hearing the sound of footsteps, he opened his eyes again and woke up. He smiled at the two of them, lay there, and held their hands, folded together.

He recalled the past days and said some words about the past.

"...Actually, I'm not very familiar with your master... I'm just a scholar from outside. Your master she... respects me very much, but the two of us are not very familiar with each other. Now that I think about it, apart from official business, we haven't said much about personal matters..."

"...But I think she trusts me very much. I think my feeling should be right... She sometimes comes to care about my life, Hong Ti, do you know, although the people in the village are hungry, I have never been hungry when your master was here..."

"...She doesn't come often, private matters, official matters... I live in the room, the door is over there... She comes from the side of the door, sometimes sits down, takes a sip of water, and sometimes leaves in a hurry. Ah... I want to say a few more words to her..."

"...My talent is very poor... Reading, taking the exam for Xiucai, wanting to be an official... I haven't done anything. Hong Ti, your master... your master gave me such a heavy burden, she... could she have trusted the wrong person, she... she died so confused..."

"...Ah... you two should be well, you should be well... live well, seeing that you can be together, I... I'm really happy..."

The old man's words were intermittent, sometimes closing his eyes, as if he was about to fall asleep, and then opening his eyes again. He was initially looking at the sunset, but gradually, his eyes had become dazed, not knowing where he was looking. After telling the two to live well, the old man was quiet in a trance for a long time, suddenly struggling, as if he wanted to sit up, and then lay down again.

"Ah, do you see it..." he said in a low voice, looking into the distance, just like that, as if to trace back to the end of memory and time, "That kind of day... we, we met bandits, I'm going to die... but, she came out like that, she was holding a sword, ah, ah... she... is so beautiful... I... I... always..."

The old man's voice stopped here, and the sunset was like a tide in the sky. Life had permanently left his body at this moment.

Hong Ti's crying came out.

In our lives, sometimes we meet a person, she just appears like lightning, but changes our whole life.

Not far from this day, also on a day in July, in the north, in a large hall lit with candles, another old man was also talking to batches of people by the bed.

Since falling from his horse two months ago, this old man's body had also come to an end.

Before the Jin Dynasty, the Jurchen tribe was just a group of weak and loose tribes in the cold and remote Northeast. They struggled to survive between the white mountains and black waters, living like slaves under the oppression of the Liao people. In the second year of the Liao Dynasty's Tianqing period, Emperor Tianzuo summoned the Jurchen chieftains to court, and ordered the chieftains to dance for fun. Only the Jurchen chieftain named Wanyan Aguda refused. Two years later, Wanyan Aguda started an uprising with 2,500 Jurchen soldiers, expanded to 3,700 people after the Battle of Ningjiangzhou, and then at Chuhedian, he used these 3,700 people to fight against 100,000 Liao soldiers and won, starting the true myth that the Jurchen could not be defeated by 10,000 people, and also sounded the prelude to the demise of the Liao Kingdom.

Fighting horizontally and vertically, he spent his life in the military. At a time when a nation was weak and enslaved, he supported the prosperity of the entire nation with great will and strength, and lifted the spine of prosperity. For the Jurchen nation, he was an undeniable hero. For the entire era, he was also the brightest star, a generation of Genghis Khan!

His path had come to an end here, and beside him were his proud sons and clansmen: Wanyan Zonggan, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongbi, Wanyan Zongyao, Wanyan Zongjun... Wanchan阇母 (Wanchan Zhamu), Wanyan Lou室 (Wanyan Lou Shi), Wanyan Xiyin, Wanyan Wolu, Yin术可 (Yin Shuke), Ci不失 (Ci Bushi), Ba离速 (Ba Lisu)... They existed beside this hero, accepting tests, inheriting the fire, and were the most dazzling generals and assistants of the Wanyan family in this era.

The wolf king who led them out of the ice and snow and roamed the world was about to fall asleep, but as long as these people were there, there was still soaring wolf smoke and essence, truly swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger!

In the solemn atmosphere of the entire hall, the old man on the bed said a lot to the people by the bed. Even at this moment, his thoughts were still clear, but he would occasionally fall into silence and a brief sleep. When the night was at its darkest, people could hear the whistling of the flames outside the hall. At a certain moment, the old man opened his eyes again, looked up, and thought quietly about something. In the terrible silence, the sons and ministers near the bed leaned forward and heard a low, weak but simple voice.

"...The war against Liao has been completed, Wu Dynasty can be taken..."

In the night, this was a simple one of the many things he had entrusted. The person by the bed nodded and then listened to him say other things.

In the early morning of this day, Wanyan Aguda passed away. Afterwards, Wanyan Wuqimai, the fourth brother of Aguda, succeeded him and became the second emperor of the Jin Kingdom, ruling the world.

The long wind blew over ten thousand miles.

Knowing that Wanyan Aguda had finally died, the Wu Dynasty court was secretly celebrating. An opponent they considered the most terrifying had finally left this world.

Two months later, in late autumn, golden leaves danced in the Lüliang Mountains. Early in the morning, in that old village, Fu Duanyun woke up from her sleep and looked at the house she was in.

She walked out of the door, as usual, walking around in the newly built village. Someone greeted her as usual, and she smiled with some trepidation, nodding in response.

She cleaned the room, washed the clothes, and also took a bath. For many years, except for the most tragic memories, she had become clean again. In the afternoon, seeing her appearance, the villagers who realized that something seemed wrong finally decided to ride a horse to Qingmu寨 (Qingmu Village) to inform Hong Ti. That evening, before Hong Ti arrived, the villagers saw her hugging her knees, as usual, sitting on the earthen slope at the entrance of the village, with wide eyes, watching the yellow leaves fall, watching the returnees from the distant mountains, and occasionally had a smile on her face.

At a certain moment, she seemed to see something, and a smile that was difficult to describe appeared on her face. She stood up and took two steps forward. She reached out her hand towards the direction where the yellow leaves were falling.

She fell on the earthen slope and never opened her eyes again.

…

Youcheng, Grandma... I'm back...

…

The wind stirred the spring, stirred the summer rain, stirred the autumn yellow leaves, stirred the winter snow, rolling in and rolling away.

An old era is about to pass, and before the new era arrives, people will still have to experience countless wars and conflicts, countless sorrows and desolations.

Just because the heaven and earth are like a furnace.

And all things are copper.