"Zi Yan? What a beautiful name! She really lives up to her name." Li Bai exclaimed in his heart and said, "It turns out to be Miss Zi Yan. Thank you for your rescue!"
"Yes, Sima Heng also thanks Miss Ziyan for saving her life!" Sima Heng said with his hands clasped in fists.
Zi Yan smiled and said: "It's okay, children of Jianghu, if you see injustice on the road, draw your sword to help."
"Girl Ziyan, why do you appear here?"
"I just happened to be passing by and saw that you were surrounded by so many thieves, so I couldn't help but take action."
"How are you sure those are thieves?" Li Bai asked curiously.
Zi Yan pointed at the man in black on the ground and said, "I have seen their clothes before. They are the clothes of the Eighteen Heavenly Kings of Tongtian Sect. This Tongtian Sect is full of evil ways, and there are hardly any good people!"
"Yes, one day I will do justice for heaven and eradicate these evil ways!"
"Okay, since the thief has left now, I have to say goodbye!" After Zi Yan finished speaking, she turned around and left.
When Li Bai saw her, he blurted out: "Purple Smoke Fairy, ah no, Zi Yan Fairy, please stay."
"what's up?"
"Well..." Li Bai scratched his head and said, "Are you leaving now?"
"Yes! I still have something to do."
"What's up?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Ziyan glared.
"Don't get me wrong, girl, I just want to see if I can help!" Li Bai quickly explained.
"No, I can do it alone! Also, don't tell anyone about what you hugged me just now, or I'll let you taste the flower powder too!"
Li Bai thought of the tragic situation of those men in black and said quickly: "I will never say it! I will never say it! But I really didn't mean it at that time!"
"You still said that! Ouch, you're so angry with me!" After Zi Yan finished speaking, she ran down the mountain with a stamp of her feet and quickly disappeared from the sight of Li Bai and Li Bai.
Li Bai stared blankly at her leaving figure, suddenly feeling at a loss.
Seeing this, Sima Heng on the side pushed him and said, "He's gone, so what are you looking at! Let's see how to deal with Brother Wu's death first!"
When Li Bai heard this, he immediately came to his senses and said, "Yes, Brother Wu's death is important!"
After that, the two walked to Wu Guanzhi's body.
I saw that the blood on Wu Guanzhi's body had dried up, and the blood stains were mixed with the mud and dust on his body. His hair and face were unkempt, making him look extremely miserable.
The two of them couldn't help but their eyes turned red, and they shed tears sadly.
After long discussion, Li Bai and Sima Heng decided to carry Wu Guanzhi to the foot of the mountain, wipe him clean with the water of Dongting Lake, then buy shrouds, coffins and some funeral objects, and finally find a Feng Shui cemetery on the bank of Dongting Lake to put him there.
Temporary burial!
Having made up their minds, the two of them picked up Wu Guide and hurried down the mountain.
When we reached the foot of the mountain, it was already dark.
The moonlight is hazy, the stars are dim, the evening wind is rustling, and the night is as cool as water.
The two of them tore off a piece of their clothes and stood by the Dongting Lake with the help of a little starlight, carefully wiping the blood and dirt off Wu Guanzhi's body, lamenting as they did so.
The lamentation was so sad and shrill that the animals and birds in the forest were frightened and swarmed everywhere.
In the middle of the night, the two of them suddenly heard several tiger roars coming from the mountains.
Sima Heng was startled and asked: "Could it be that there are tigers hidden in Wulong Mountain?"
Li Bai stopped lamenting, listened carefully for a while, and said, "It must be the smell of blood from the corpses of those thieves today that attracted the tiger!"
"Then do you think this tiger will escape here?"
Li Bai snorted coldly and took out the Long Yuan Sword from his treasure bag, "There is no way to guard against it. Tigers and thieves are both harmful things. When they come, they will be killed and buried with Brother Wu!"
"Yes! Brother Wu has no companion on the road to Huangquan, so it is quite appropriate to have a tiger with him." After that, Sima Heng simply shouted towards Wulong Mountain: "Tiger, come quickly, there is a stranger here, come quickly!"
The sound spread into the mountains and echoed.
When Li Bai heard this, he also shouted loudly: "Tiger, you're welcome, Li Bai is waiting, and Brother Wu is waiting too!"
Just like that, the two of them shouted into the forest, but the forest was silent. Apart from bursts of echoes, there was no trace of the tiger anywhere.
By midnight, the two of them had cleaned Wu Guanzhi, found some spearweed, spread it on the ground, placed Wu Guanzhi on it, and put a few torches next to it. Finally, the two of them knelt down in front of them and drew talismans.
Reciting a mantra should be considered as a spiritual vigil for the deceased.
After the ritual was over, Li Bai suddenly remembered something and asked, "Sima Heng, do you know if Brother Wu has a family? Does he have any children?"
Sima Heng thought for a while and said: "While drinking in Mount Emei, Brother Wu once mentioned that he had already married and had been traveling for several years. His wife was waiting for him at home. He was very concerned about her, but he did not mention whether he had any children."
When Li Bai heard this, he couldn't help but sigh: "Brother Wu's departure will make things difficult for his brother and sister-in-law. I wonder how my brother and sister-in-law will be heartbroken and shed tears when they learn the bad news."
As he talked, Li Bai couldn't suppress his sadness. He held back his tears and recited a poem loudly:
(not seen alone)
Whose family is the white horse? Huanglong is the frontier fortress.
There are three feet of snow in the Tianshan Mountains, how can it be when traveling far away?
Spring flowers suddenly bloom and autumn grasses bloom, and partridges sing in the west pond.
The wind cracks the cold brown trees, and the moon is filled with frost.
Reminiscing about the year I parted from you, I planted peaches to match my eyebrows.
The peaches are now more than a hundred feet tall, and the flowers have fallen into dead branches.
Finally, I can't see you alone, and I shed tears knowing that I am empty.
After chanting, Li Bai couldn't bear it anymore and burst into tears.
Seeing this, Sima Heng also started sobbing.
For a long time, Li Bai, who could not suppress his grief, suddenly felt that the blood and qi in his body were boiling. Could it be that he was about to break through again?
In fact, when Li Bai was writing "Looking at Tianmen Mountain" on Wang Zhihuan's boat, Li Bai's internal energy had already soared, and he was only a few steps away from a breakthrough. Now that he was sad, he started composing poems again, and his Qi was affected, and a breakthrough in his internal energy was inevitable.
Sure enough, the tumbling Qi and blood circulated several times in the body, suddenly opening up several Qi meridians, and Li Bai's internal strength reached the eighth level.
In order to consolidate his internal strength, Li Bai hurriedly sat cross-legged on the ground and started practicing.
When Sima Heng saw this, he immediately guarded his side to protect Li Bai.
To drive away the cold night, Sima Heng loudly recited his ancestor's poem "The Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix":
(Feng Qiu Huang)
There is a beautiful woman. I will never forget her when I see her.
Not seeing you for a day makes me miss you like crazy.
The phoenix is soaring, and the phoenix is begging for it from all over the world.
Unfortunately, the beautiful lady is not on the east wall.
Use the qin to express your words, and chat with your heart.
When will I see Xu Xi? It comforts my hesitation.
Wish to match virtue, hand in hand.
I can't fly, I will perish.
…
As he was thinking about it, Sima Heng suddenly felt an unknown anger rising in his body for no reason. This anger continued to expand in his body, getting bigger and bigger, as if it was going to burst his body.
Sima Heng felt extremely uncomfortable. In order to control his anger, he immediately began to recite the words "Quietness and Inaction".
Miraculously, Sima Heng just recited Qing Jie Wu Wei more than twenty times, and his anger slowly subsided and disappeared without a trace.
Sima Heng let out a long breath. However, he did not dare to recite the phoenix and the phoenix for the time being. He just sat aside and closed his eyes to rest.
In the early morning, after Li Bai finished practicing, he planned to go to the street with Sima Heng to buy a coffin, shrouds and other funeral items to bury Guide Wu. But when he put his hand into his arms, he thought, no, no money!
Only then did they remember that they came to Wulong Mountain because they had no money and wanted to go to Tangming Pavilion to get the copper seal order to make money.
What should we do? It's too late to get the copper post order! Borrow it, we have no friends in Dongting.
Is it necessary that Guide Wu should not be able to rest in peace even after his death?
Thinking of this, Li Bai couldn't help but feel sad and sobbed while holding Wu Guide.
Sima Heng punched the ground and said angrily: "Brother Wu, Sima Heng is incompetent. He doesn't even have the money to bury you. It's my fault that you can't rest in peace!" After saying this, he also started to cry.
The two people's cries attracted the attention of some passers-by. The passers-by were very moved when they saw the two men holding the bodies in such sadness, so some people came forward to comfort them, and some generously donated money. After half an hour, the two people actually collected enough money.
Burial expenses.
The two of them kept writing to the kindhearted people to express their gratitude for their help. They thought that the people of Dongting were really kind-hearted and pure, and if they succeeded in their ambition, they would definitely not forget to repay them.
Afterwards, the two bought burial items, chose a feng shui site by Dongting Lake, and buried Wu Guide well.
At the same time, Li Bai made a vow to come back one day and take Wu Guanzhi back to his hometown for burial so that his soul could return to his hometown.
After doing everything well, Sima Heng asked: "Li Bai, where are we going now?"
Li Bai thought for a moment and said: "It's November now, and it's just around the corner when the martial arts contest begins. Let's go take the martial arts exam!"
"A test of martial arts?"
"Yes, the martial arts examination! If we can pass the exam, we will be ranked in Tangming Pavilion. If we are ranked, we will have the opportunity to become the leader of the martial arts league! If we become the leader of the martial arts league, we can command the heroes and quell the turmoil and injustice in the martial arts world!"
"Okay, then let's take the martial arts exam! But where should we take the exam?"
"This is Yueyang County. Yueyang County Tangming Pavilion is only a county-level Tangming Pavilion. It cannot elect military officers." Li Bai thought for a while and continued: "The nearest state-level Tangming Pavilion from here is Jinling Tangming Pavilion. Let's go to Jinling Tangming Pavilion!"
"Okay, let's go to Jinling!"
Having made up their mind, the two of them did not delay, bowed three times to Wu Zhizhi's tombstone, and immediately set off, heading straight to Jinling.