PFC Chapter 480 The King of Qin Lost His Spear Holder
Chapter 480 The King of Qin Lost His Spear Holder
The second floor of Songhe Tower is filled with the lazy atmosphere unique to summer afternoons.
Uncle Zhu, Uncle Liu and Uncle Zhao sat side by side, shirtless. On the small table beside them were several large coarse porcelain bowls. The tea in them had long since lost its heat, leaving only a faint circle of tea stains on the rim of the bowl.
On their shoulders, bath towels were casually draped. The color of the towels had become a little pale due to washing, but they were witnesses of their countless busy days.
The bathhouse business is much quieter in summer than in winter.
The usual bustling scene of people coming and going and the steaming hot atmosphere is gone, and now you can only get a few back rubs all day long.
This actually gave the old men some rare free time, so they gathered together, drank tea, and talked about the past.
The sound of light footsteps at the stairs broke the silence.
The three of them turned around and saw Li Shimin's familiar face.
"Hey, His Majesty, you're here? Are you still having a one-stop bath today?"
Uncle Zhu was the first to react, his face filled with a genial smile. There was no trace of restraint due to the disparity in status in that smile, but instead it revealed the warmth of old friends reuniting.
In recent years, Li Shimin, Cheng Yaojin and others often came to Songhe Tower to bathe. After a few visits, they became familiar with these three gentlemen.
In this small bathhouse, status and position are forgotten. Everyone is just an ordinary person, enjoying a moment of relaxation and comfort.
"Yes, it's still a dragon. I'm old, so please be gentle. I won't be too strong."
Li Shimin responded with a smile, his voice somewhat gentle.
As he was speaking, he was about to walk towards the bathing area, but he found that three old men were sitting there, not moving for a long time.
Li Shimin was slightly stunned, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes: "What's wrong? Why is there no movement?"
Uncle Zhu frowned and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
He looked at Li Shimin, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked, "Your Majesty, why does it seem to me that someone is missing? Why didn't General Hei come?"
As soon as Grandpa Zhu said this, the entire second floor fell into silence.
The air seemed to freeze, making it hard to breathe.
Li Shimin and Cheng Yaojin remained silent, their lowered eyes making it impossible to tell their emotions at the moment.
After a long time, Li Shimin slowly spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Old Zhu, he's not coming, and he won't be coming again. He left yesterday."
Hearing Li Shimin's words, the three uncles were stunned, and the expressions on their faces gradually changed from surprise to grief.
Although they were just ordinary people, busy in this bathhouse all day, they had heard of Yuchi Gong's great reputation, and over the years they had become friends.
Now that I hear the news of his death, I feel sad.
After a long while, Grandpa Zhu came back to his senses and said softly, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
After saying that, he turned to look at Uncle Zhao and said, "Old Zhao, you don't have any business today. Go and take a rest."
Old Zhao gently touched the bath towel on his shoulder, as if he was caressing an old friend.
He smiled slightly, but there was a hint of loneliness in his smile: "Why? Can't I chat with you if I don't have business?"
"There are fewer and fewer people our age. Being able to get together and chat is a joy in life!"
"That makes sense!"
Uncle Liu echoed from the side, with a hint of emotion in his voice.
This time's back rubbing is completely different from the previous ones.
Everyone was silent, and the only sounds in the bathhouse were the flowing water and the occasional soft sigh.
After taking a shower, Li Shimin no longer felt the relaxed and happy feeling he had in the past. Instead, he felt heavy in his heart, as if a huge rock was pressing on him.
He and Cheng Yaojin were walking back together. The shops on both sides of the street were still bustling with hawking sounds and laughter.
But at this moment, Li Shimin turned a deaf ear to all this.
As we walked, we saw a group of people gathered in front of us, and cheers came from the crowd from time to time.
Li Shimin looked up and saw an old man in green standing in the middle of the crowd, holding a folding fan in his hand and telling a story vividly.
He had a towel draped over his shoulders, which he would take off from time to time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
This old man is the most famous storyteller in Xianyang City - Xianyinke.
On weekdays, his storytelling venue is always packed, and if you want to listen to him, you have to buy tickets in advance.
But today, for some reason, he set up a stall on this busy street.
Li Shimin felt extremely lonely in his heart. Looking at the lively scene in front of him, he was inexplicably led to walk towards the crowd with Cheng Yaojin.
He wanted to find some solace in this hustle and bustle.
Xian Yinke waved his fan gently, cleared his throat, and continued, "It is said that the King of Qin only brought a few dozen cavalrymen to try to lure Dou Jiande's 100,000-man army."
"Everyone was horrified, and felt that the King of Qin was too impulsive."
His voice was rhythmic and infectious, bringing the audience into that war-torn era.
"Unexpectedly, the King of Qin just smiled and said, 'I hold the bow and arrow, and you follow me with the spear. Even if there are millions of people, what can they do to me?'"
"This sentence is truly domineering and extraordinary."
As Xian Yinke spoke, he imitated Li Shimin's expressions and movements. His lifelike performance drew applause from the audience.
"The man holding the spear is the black-faced General Yuchi Gong."
"He just laughed out loud, supporting the King of Qin."
"No more nonsense, just one sentence."
"The general will go where he wishes!"
Xianyinke's voice suddenly rose.
Li Shimin stood quietly in the crowd, listening to Xianyinke's story about the glorious feat of defeating 100,000 with only 3,000 men.
His eyes were fixed on Xian Yinke, revealing complex emotions.
Cheng Yaojin turned his head to look at Li Shimin from time to time, his eyes full of worry.
The relationship between Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde was so deep. Now that Yuchi Jingde passed away, he was afraid that Li Shimin would not be able to bear the blow.
But Li Shimin had been suppressing his emotions, and there was no trace of emotion on his face. That was why Cheng Yaojin was worried.
He just stood there quietly, listening for a long, long time.
It was not until the storytelling ended and the crowd gradually dispersed that Li Shimin slowly came to his senses.
He took out a bag of silver from his waist pouch, strode up to Xianyinke and handed it to him.
Xian Yinke was shocked when he saw the bag full of silver. He weighed it and estimated that the bag was worth no less than a hundred taels.
It's rare to find someone so generous.
Moreover, looking at the person in front of him, Xian Yinke felt that he looked more and more familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere, but he couldn't remember where for a moment.
Li Shimin didn't say much, just looked at Xian Yinke deeply, then turned and left.
Seeing this, Cheng Yaojin hurriedly followed.
After sending Li Shimin back home and meeting Li Tai and Li Zhi, Cheng Yaojin finally felt relieved and turned back to his home.
But when Li Shimin stepped into his house, his steps suddenly stopped.
Li Tai and Li Zhi both looked back at their father in confusion.
An indescribable pain surged in his heart, and the scene the storyteller had just described kept echoing in his mind.
He realized later that from today on, the King of Qin had lost his spearman.
He will never be invincible again.