When Qi Hao and Zeng saw Zhang Xiaofan here, they more or less smiled and said hello. Only Lu Xueqi still looked indifferent, but she still glanced at him, and there seemed to be unknown emotions deep in her eyes.
It flashed by, but disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Master Daoxuan looked at the four people in the hall and said with a smile: "I have asked you four to come here today because I have something to do. I want you to go down the mountain to practice."
Qi Hao and others were moved together.
Master Daoxuan then told the story about the "Ancient Ten Thousand Bats Cave" in Kongsang Mountain the day before yesterday, and said: "This matter is of great importance. The four of you are the elites of my sect, so I sent you to investigate. But the devil
You must be careful when teaching demons and people to be treacherous and vicious."
The four of them said in unison: "Yes."
Master Daoxuan nodded and said: "In addition, in addition to my Qingyun Sect, Fenxiang Valley and Tianyin Temple have sent outstanding disciples to investigate together. You must not be rude in front of others, but you must not undermine my Qingyun Sect's momentum.
In addition, Senior Brother Xiao Yicai from Nagato has already gone to Kongsang Mountain to investigate the matter. If you find him, we will discuss everything."
The four of them looked at each other and agreed in unison.
Master Daoxuan took a careful look at these four younger generation disciples, and finally his eyes fell on Qi Hao, beckoning: "Qi Hao, come here."
Qi Hao was startled for a moment and walked forward. Master Daoxuan looked him up and down, turned to Master Cangsong and smiled: "Junior brother, you have someone to succeed you at Longshou Peak!"
Taoist Cangsong's face had not looked good since just now. At this time, he finally showed a smile and said with a smile: "Senior brother, it's a joke."
Master Daoxuan smiled and took out something from his arms, handed it to Qi Hao and said, "Take it."
Qi Hao took it and took a look, but it was a small mirror with an ancient shape and a carved bronze edge. A dragon was engraved on the top and a tiger was engraved on the bottom. The eight trigrams directions were engraved on the mirror. The middle lens was not an ordinary bronze mirror. It was so yellow that it was unclear.
.
Before Qi Hao could react, Master Cangsong beside him was already beaming with joy and shouted: "You silly boy, what are you still doing? Kneel down and thank me."
Qi Hao immediately woke up and knew that the inconspicuous thing in his hand was probably the magic weapon "** Mirror". He quickly knelt down and said, "Thank you, Uncle Master."
Master Daoxuan smiled and said: "No, no, no, get up." Then he said to the others: "You go out first."
Everyone knew that he was going to teach Qi Hao the secret of the mirror, so they all retreated.
Walking outside the hall, Zhang Xiaofan first walked aside with Tian Buyi. Tian Buyi glanced at him and said calmly: "You have a heavy responsibility now, so don't go back to Dazhu Peak. Let's go down the mountain with the three of them later. Dazhu Peak
Let me tell you something there."
Zhang Xiaofan was startled, then lowered his head and whispered: "Yes, Master."
Tian Buyi said: "During the month when you were recovering from your injuries, I heard that your master's wife taught you some sword-controlling techniques and Taoist secrets. Have you memorized them all?"
Zhang Xiaofan nodded and said, "Yes, I have all remembered it."
Tian Buyi turned around and said slowly: "That's good. Although your qualifications are not good, you are still my disciple of Dazhufeng. Don't embarrass me when you go out."
Zhang Xiaofan immediately said: "Yes, Master, I will never disgrace you."
Tian Buyi snorted. He had his back turned, and Zhang Xiaofan couldn't see his face. He didn't know what his expression was, but hearing his voice, there was no anger at all. After a while, Tian Buyi seemed to sigh and turned around.
Looking at Zhang Xiaofan, he didn't say anything. He waved his hand as a greeting, then raised his sword to break the sky.
Zhang Xiaofan stared blankly as he watched the master's figure turn into a streak of red light and disappear into the sky. He was startled when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around quickly and saw the smiling Zeng. He looked around again and saw other people.
The leaders of the group have all gone, leaving only the two of them and Lu Xueqi standing in the distance.
Zeng said with a smile: "I guess you are lucky, but I'm worried that you won't be able to pass the test this time!"
Zhang Xiaofan immediately felt much more relaxed when he was with him. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Yeah, I was scared half to death too."
Zeng patted him on the shoulder, looked at him back and forth, and whispered: "Why didn't you bring Xiao Hui?"
Zhang Xiaofan said with a bitter face: "I was brought by Master early in the morning. I didn't expect to go down the mountain immediately. I didn't bring anything with me. How could I expect to get Xiao Hui?"
Zeng smiled and said: "It's okay, I can lend you the clothes, or you can buy them before we go to Heyang City down the mountain." After saying that, he winked at Zhang Xiaofan and whispered: "Haha, anyway, we can make a profit this time.
arrive."
Zhang Xiaofan didn't understand what it meant and said: "What?"
Zeng raised his eyebrows, glanced behind him, and snickered: "There is a beauty accompanying us!"
Zhang Xiaofan was angry and funny, but he still glanced at Lu Xueqi. At the same time, as if Lu Xueqi had sensed it, she glanced here. The two looked at each other from a distance. Zhang Xiaofan only felt that her eyes were frosty, and he was frightened.
He jumped and quickly looked away.
The two chatted and laughed for a while. When Zeng was whispering to him about how he would go on the road with Lu Xueqi in the future, he suddenly noticed that Zhang Xiaofan's originally smiling face suddenly stiffened, and his eyes became straight, staring at his.
behind.
Zeng felt confused and turned around to look, only to see a man walking up under the long steps. He was in his forties. His clothes were relatively clean, but his face was blank, his eyes were dull, and he was saying something random.
If the preface is not followed by the following:
"It's raining, it's dark...it smells...my mother...my god, my god, hey, my god..."
Under the gaze of Zeng and Lu Xueqi, who was looking over from a distance, Zhang Xiaofan walked over, walking very slowly, as if it took a long time before he reached the man.
It's like walking back to the past!
"Second Uncle Wang, are you okay?" He tried his best to suppress his excitement and said in a low voice.
There seemed to be no presence of Zhang Xiaofan in the man's eyes. He still muttered something in his mouth. He threw Zhang Xiaofan away and walked over. Soon, he disappeared behind the main hall.
"Who is he?" Zeng walked up to him and asked.
Zhang Xiaofan looked at the place where Uncle Wang disappeared and said sadly: "A lunatic!"
Zeng looked at his face and wisely did not ask any more questions. After a while, Qi Hao, with a happy face, walked out of the hall and greeted the three of them.
Zhang Xiaofan absent-mindedly walked over with Zeng, and after some discussion (Zhang Xiaofan was in a daze and said nothing), they decided to go down the mountain to Heyang City first.
Zeng smiled and said to Qi Hao: "Senior Brother Qi, is the ** mirror passed down to you by the master's uncle very powerful?"
Qi Hao smiled and said: "The mirror is the most precious treasure of my Qingyun Sect. It is naturally powerful. I am afraid that I am not practicing enough! Haha, okay, this is the top of the mountain. Except for the leader of the Seven Meridians, the other disciples cannot wield swords. Let's go down.
Yunhai, from there, fly with your sword to Heyang City."
Lu Xueqi was expressionless, Zhang Xiaofan nodded blankly, and only Zeng was smiling. It seemed that going down the mountain was a happy event for a fun-loving person like him.
※※※
Along the way from Qingyun Sect to Heyang City, the four most "outstanding" disciples of Qingyun Sect came to wield swords. Others were able to do so with ease, but Zhang Xiaofan could not help but have some difficulty.
He had been recuperating for a month, and Suru seemed to have expected that he would be fine, and taught him some of the secrets of Qingyun Sect's Taoism, and also taught him how to use magic weapons to fly in the air. In fact, it is simple to say, as long as
The Tao practice is deep enough, and the magic weapon is not too inferior. It is enough to use Qingyun Taoism and the power of thought to drive the magic weapon. However, Zhang Xiaofan's practice is not deep, so the magic weapon is not bad, but it is very weird. He is also quite unfamiliar with the newly learned Qingyun Sect Taoism.
This is very troublesome to use.
At the beginning, Suru didn't expect that he would have to go down the mountain as soon as he climbed up to Tongtian Peak. She also wanted to let him memorize the magic formula first, and then let him practice more after returning to Dazhu Peak. Of course, the leaders of other branches did not know about this weird boy.
The bottom line is, looking at his performance in the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Competition, one would assume that he knew the most basic sword-controlling Taoist techniques. Little did he know that Zhang Xiaofan secretly learned the Taoist techniques and muddle-headedly practiced them to the level of "repelling objects".
How do you know the skill of wielding a sword?
Watching other people offering sacrifices to the fairy swords, Qi Hao is the white "Ice" fairy sword, Lu Xueqi is the blue "Tianya" fairy sword, and Zeng is the fairy sword with a slight purple aura - "Xuanyuan". Zhang Xiaofan's heart
Nervous, I forced myself to sacrifice the "fire stick", but the feeling seemed to be a little worse, not as handy as the day of Qimai Martial Arts.
It was a half-day journey through clouds and mountains, but the four of them did not arrive at Heyang City until the sun went down. In order to avoid suspicion, Zhang Xiaofan and the other three fell to the ground in a secluded place outside Heyang City.
Drenched and pale, this situation seemed to be even harder than the competition that day.
Along the way in the sky, he couldn't control the fire stick several times. If Qi Hao and others hadn't noticed something was wrong around him, didn't dare to stay too far away from him, and helped him in time, he would have been afraid that his new "outstanding disciple" of Qingyun Sect would
He inevitably fell from a high altitude and died in pieces. Before he could bring glory to his master, he would be infamy for thousands of years and make Qingyun Sect lose face. Qi Hao and others decided to stop outside the city and walk into the city. Although they wanted to avoid suspicion, they were also afraid.
If Zhang Xiaofan accidentally falls down in the busy city, in full view of everyone, the lofty prestige that Qingyun Sect has worked so hard to establish here for two thousand years will be destroyed in one day, woefully!
After taking a short rest and waiting for Zhang Xiaofan to catch his breath, the four of them walked towards the tall Heyang City in the sunset. Zhang Xiaofan walked at the end and felt Qi Hao and Lu Xueqi in front of him casting doubtful glances from time to time. Obviously,
They couldn't understand why a person who excelled in the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Competition couldn't even use an ordinary sword to maneuver. But Zeng still walked with Zhang Xiaofan with a smile on his face, never mentioning what happened just now.
He introduced Heyang City to Zhang Xiaofan eloquently:
"Within a radius of a hundred miles, this is the largest and most prosperous place. There are at least 200,000 to 300,000 people living in this city. It is also in a good location and has a lot of business trips, making it even more lively.
.....”
Zhang Xiaofan listened, and he really admired Zeng's erudition and knowledge, and said, "How come you know everything?"
Zeng had a look on his face and said, "What's this? You'll know it if you read a lot." As he spoke, he smiled slyly, secretly whispered into Zhang Xiaofan's ear, "Actually, I've been here many times,
He sneaked down the mountain."
Zhang Xiaofan was shocked and said: "You, you..."
Zeng curled his lips and said: "Look at how scared you are? What's the point? Ever since I learned the art of sword control, I naturally have to practice it frequently. I fly here and go shopping when I'm tired. What's the big deal!
"
Zhang Xiaofan was speechless.
Listening to the two of them muttering behind, Qi Hao smiled slightly and said to Lu Xueqi beside him: "Junior sister Lu, it's getting late. Let's spend the night here tonight and start our journey tomorrow."
Lu Xueqi's face was as cold as ice, without any expression, and she just nodded lightly.
After entering the city, in order to avoid trouble, they changed the clothes of the Qingyun Sect disciples early in the morning, which did not arouse any suspicion. However, Lu Xueqi's extremely beautiful appearance caused quite a stir, causing many passers-by to stop and watch.
Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Lu Xueqi from the side and saw that although her face was expressionless, a hint of anger flashed through her bright eyes. He couldn't help but worry about these passers-by. If Tianya was unsheathed, this ancient city with a long history would be destroyed first.
half.
However, Lu Xueqi's self-cultivation was obviously much better than Zhang Xiaofan expected. There was no movement from Lu Xueqi until they checked into an inn called "Shanhaiyuan". Qi Hao had the most experience among the people, and the four of them were vaguely so.
He was the leader, and he was also the one who came forward to arrange things like staying in the hotel. After that, they were arranged by the store to live in the best backyard.
This Shanhaiyuan is quite large, with four separate gardens in the back garden. The four of them live in the Xiyuan, each with a room. After going back to rest for a while, Qi Hao called everyone to have dinner at the restaurant in front.
Shanhaiyuan has its own restaurant, located on the busiest street in Heyang City, but the VIP room on the third floor is very clean. There are only less than ten tables in the spacious hall, and there are about five tables now.
There were guests eating. Qi Hao called the waiter and ordered a few dishes. It seemed that he was very familiar with this place, so he was probably a regular customer.
Zhang Xiaofan thought like this in his heart. He was born in a farm family and had never been to a luxurious place like Shanhaiyuan. When he passed by the second floor just now, he saw the grand hall. But when he walked to the third floor, he saw carved dragons and painted phoenixes, mahogany beams, ancient
The antique color is completely different from the second floor. Naturally, he doesn't know that when people in the world reach a wealthy place, they will pursue status and taste. Even though some people like splendor and luxury, in order to let others say that they are somewhat cultivated, they often become arty.
some.
The four of them sat on a small table by the window. They once took a look at the decoration in the hall and said to Qi Hao: "Brother Qi, the prices here are not cheap, are they?"
Qi Hao smiled slightly and said: "This is the best restaurant in Heyang City, so naturally it's not much cheaper, but our Qingyun Sect has a good reputation here, and their boss is eager for us to come and won't charge us much.
"
Zeng said "Ah" and nodded in agreement. After a while, the waiter brought several plates of freshly fried side dishes to the table, especially at the end there was a plate of fresh stewed fish. Look at the fish body, which is elongated and the front part is round.
The back is narrow on the sides, the body is dark brown, and there are two pairs of whiskers, which are thick and long. The most important thing is that the meat is white and moist, and the aroma is overflowing, which will make people move their index fingers.
Zhang Xiaofan has always been interested in cooking, but he has never seen this kind of fish, so he couldn't help but ask the waiter: "Brother, what is this fish called, and how is it cooked?"
The waiter chuckled and said: "Sir, you are really discerning. This 'Stewed Sleeping Fish' is our signature dish of Shanhaiyuan. It is fragrant, smooth and tender, and has a sweet taste. Within a hundred miles of Heyang City,
But it’s very famous…”
Zhang Xiaofan swallowed his saliva, picked up the chopsticks, took a bite and put it in his mouth. He immediately closed his eyes and nodded: "Ah, the meat is really good, but it's better cooked. It's sweet with some sugar and ginger slices."
It's fishy, uh, has the aroma of fried onions, it must be fresh scallions, ah, the most rare thing is the combination of pepper, five spices, eh... By the way, the flavor of sesame oil goes so well together,
awesome!"
Qi Hao was stunned when he saw the intoxicated look on his face. Even Lu Xueqi also looked at him with a strange expression on her face. However, the waiter standing aside was really impressed and praised loudly: "Your Majesty, you are really awesome."
Experts know the goods!"
Only then did Zhang Xiaofan notice the appearance of the people around him. His face turned red and he quickly put down his chopsticks, but still asked, "Excuse me, brother, where does this sleepy fish come from?"
Before the waiter could speak, he suddenly heard a woman's voice at the big table next door: "This sleepy fish is a specialty of Zhugou Mountain in the south. It is thousands of miles away from here. How can it be transported here? Aren't you a liar?"
What?" (Note 1)
Everyone was startled and looked over, only to see eight people sitting on the big table, six men in yellow clothes, and two women. One woman was wearing a lavender dress and her face was covered.
Under the gauze, the face cannot be seen clearly, but the skin that is exposed is snow-white; the other woman is the speaker. She is not very old, she looks only sixteen or seventeen years old. She is dressed in aqua clothes, has a beautiful appearance, and has fine eyebrows.
She has beautiful skin and a pair of big, bright eyes that are extremely smart and eye-catching, even compared to Lu Xueqi's.
Zhang Xiaofan said "Ah", but saw that after the woman said these words, her eyes fell on Lu Xueqi at his table, and she seemed to be shocked by Lu Xueqi's appearance. Women like beauty, and it is Lu Xueqi who is an everyday person.
The woman who was as cold as ice could not help but look at that woman one more time at this moment.
The waiter smiled apologetically and said: "What this guest said is true, but you don't know. A hundred years ago, this sleeping fish was indeed unique to the Zhugou Mountains in the south. But later, Daoxuan of the Qingyun Sect passed by the Zhugou Mountains and specially brought this fish to the Zhugou Mountains.
The sleepy fish was moved back and placed in the flood waters of Qingyun Mountain. Not only is it now alive, but it is also gradually prospering. It is only through the blessing of Daoxuan Immortal on Qingyun Mountain that we can have this good fortune!" he said.
As he spoke, a look of extreme reverence appeared on his face.
Zhang Xiaofan and other Qingyun disciples looked at it, and naturally they were all happy and smiling. But after hearing this, the girl turned around and looked at the veiled woman, sat back, and snorted.
※※※
After finishing the delicious dinner, Zhang Xiaofan and others returned to their residence with satisfaction. Qi Hao said to everyone at the gate of Xiyuan: "You guys can rest here tonight. We will rush to Kongsang Mountain early tomorrow morning."
Zhang Xiaofan and Zeng responded, but Lu Xueqi didn't say a word. She walked back to her room and closed the door with a bang. Qi Hao was stunned for a moment, smiled bitterly at the two of them, and said: "Two junior brothers,
Let’s go to bed early too.”
Zhang Xiaofan glanced at his handsome face and saw that under the setting sun, Qi Hao's appearance was no less than before, and he still had a sense of being out of the world. Suddenly he became discouraged and couldn't lift his spirits, so he reluctantly fought with Zeng
He said hello, but he ignored Qi Hao and walked back to his room.
Zeng chuckled, joked with Qi Hao, and then the two of them went back to their rooms to rest.
This night was the first time Zhang Xiaofan left Qingyun Mountain in five years. He tossed and turned, not knowing why he couldn't sleep well all night. In the middle of the night, he finally fell asleep, and suddenly he dreamed that he was covered in blood, standing in a mountain of blood with a ferocious face.
In the sea, at the same time, there was an unspeakable fanatical murderous intention surging deep in his heart, as if the red blood in front of him was like sweet spring water, attracting him, tempting him, making him unable to help but want to obtain all this through killing.
.
"ah!"
Zhang Xiaofan woke up from his dream, sat up suddenly, gasped for air, and was covered in sweat. After a while, his violently beating heart slowly calmed down.
He sat in the darkness for a long time. He accidentally reached out and touched the fire stick placed beside his pillow. A cold feeling surrounded him. This dream was very similar to the nightmares he had been dreaming about over the years.
The scene as if he had become another person, the blood-devouring murderous man in the dream, made him even feel afraid.
There was silence and darkness all around.
He crossed his legs, sat up straight in the darkness, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands in front of him.
The darkness was like a gentle woman, gently wrapping around his body, and a layer of faint golden light loomed out from his body. Reflecting that faint light, Zhang Xiaofan's face seemed to be covered with a layer of light.
A dignity that he should not have.
I don’t know how long it took before this layer of golden light gradually dissipated. Zhang Xiaofan opened his eyes in the darkness and felt peaceful. At this time, he especially missed the kind monk Puzhi.
He could no longer sleep, so he walked to the door, opened the door and walked out. The rooms next to him were all dark, and Qi Hao and the others must have fallen asleep. The back garden of Shanhaiyuan was built in a garden, with four rooms in the southeast, northwest and northwest.
There are four courtyards built in each direction. Zhang Xiaofan walked out of the Xiyuan where he lived and went to the garden in the center.
It was late at night, looking up at the sky, full of stars, and a full moon hanging in the sky. The night breeze was blowing, vaguely carrying a hint of fragrance. The path was winding and deep, leading to an unknown place ahead. Beside the road, there were green grass and shrubs of various colors.
Flowers are blooming everywhere.
Zhang Xiaofan felt confused for a while and walked down the path. The breeze blew on his face, bringing a slight chill.
On such a quiet night, a young man walked alone in the deep garden, reminiscing about the past.
On the roadside, a small flower trembled gently in the night wind, with crystal dewdrops clinging to the pink and white petals, which were exquisite and clear. Zhang Xiaofan stopped and was stunned by the sight.
The faint fragrance comes quietly.
Suddenly, a slender jade hand seemed to stretch out from the eternal darkness, with a hint of quiet beauty, imprinted with the moonlight and stars in the sky, and touched the flower.
Fold it off!
At that moment, there was a "boom" in Zhang Xiaofan's mind, as if all the moonlight in the sky had lost its luster, and the garden suddenly fell into darkness.
He turned his head and looked over with a bit of inexplicable hatred.
A young girl in aqua clothes stood there, as if attracting the light from the sky. She gently put the flower in front of her nose and smelled it deeply.
※※※
Note 1: "The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Volume 4 of the Classic of Mountains, Zhugou Mountain": The water travels five hundred miles to the south, and it is called the Zhugou Mountain. There is no grass and trees, and there are many sand and rocks. This mountain is also hundreds of miles wide, and it has many sleeps.