The more Ji Liyou tried to confirm his conjecture, the more he was hindered. He realized that he was already very close to the truth, and maybe he could know it if he just took one more step forward.
But Ran Ran was unwilling to paint for him.
"Brother Liyou, His Majesty has long decreed that members of the royal family must not show the appearance of the royal grandmother to outsiders."
Ji Liyou didn't understand, "Why is this?"
Ran Ran lowered her eyes, and when she raised them again, there were tears in her eyes, "I told you before that a woman set herself on fire in the Southern Wei Palace, do you remember?"
Ji Liyou said he remembered, "But what does this have to do with Queen Minhui?"
As soon as the words came out, Ji Liyou's expression changed, "Could it be..."
Ran Ran nodded, "That's right. It was the imperial grandmother who burned herself to death."
"How could this be?" Ji Liyou's throat tightened.
Ran Ran said that the woman who exchanged her life for freedom turned out to be Queen Minhui.
After Ji Liyou heard this, he couldn't hold back the sadness in his heart, "She must be a very kind grandmother, right?"
"Yes, Grandma Huang's hands are very warm. She has dimples on her face when she smiles and her eyes are beautiful. I have never seen a more gentle woman than her."
It was such a gentle woman, the mother of the world, who chose to commit suicide in such a violent way at the most noble moment.
Ji Liyou was wondering if it was possible that Queen Minhui was Shi Wei who disappeared from the Four Schools.
Ranran thought for a moment and said, "I can't paint you a portrait of the emperor's grandmother, but there is someone who can help you."
"who?"
"The old nanny of Qingyou Temple."
"Who is she?"
"She used to be my royal grandmother's maid. When my royal grandmother was still alive, she always asked your Majesty to find a good family for her. Later, she was released when she was twenty-five years old, but I heard that she returned to her hometown. After being sold by her brother, she escaped back to Liangzhu after many twists and turns. When she came back, the Southern Wei Dynasty was in great turmoil, and she learned that the imperial grandmother had passed away. However, the people only thought that her grandmother had died of illness and did not know the inside story. This The palace lady was ordained as a nun in Qingyou Temple and spent her whole life eating fast and chanting Buddha's name for my grandmother."
"If I go, will she paint the appearance of Queen Minhui for me?"
Ran Ran gave him the jade pendant on her waist, "You can show this to her. She will know who I am after seeing it. She won't refuse you any request you make to her."
Ji Liyou rode to the outside of Liangzhu City.
The grass was yellow and withered, and the setting sun shone sadly on the door whose paint had peeled off for a long time.
Under the setting sun, the three characters "Qingyouan" can still be vaguely distinguished.
This is the place he is looking for.
Ji Liyou stood under the sad sunset, looking at the desolation.
He slowly walked up the moss-covered stone steps. With a gentle push, the dilapidated door opened with a "whoosh", and the sound was like the sigh of a miserable person in the world of mortals.
The fallen leaves in the yard are so thick that even the wind cannot blow them.
Following the wind, waves of deep chanting passed through the desolate courtyard.
Ji Liyou continued to walk forward. The hall was dark and gloomy, with no incense or people chanting.
The skylight in the courtyard became fainter. In the darkness, Ji Liyou seemed to hear someone chanting the Buddha's name in a low voice.
He heard someone say to him: "Did the donor come to the Buddha to offer incense?"
An old nun in green clothes and white socks, with his hands clasped together, was standing on the stone steps in front of the hall looking at him.
Beside her stood two nuns who were slightly younger than her. Ji Liyou couldn't recognize which one Ran Ran was talking about.
The leader of the nun's body was as shriveled as a fallen leaf. Her old and yellow face was covered with traces of loneliness and misery. All the joys in the world seemed to be thousands of miles away from her.
Ji Liyou walked over.
"The donor's surname is Gao?"
"My surname is Ji."
Ji Liyou asked for a bunch of incense, lit it, and inserted it into the incense burner that was already covered with verdigris.
Behind the low hanging curtain, Ji Liyou saw the Buddha statue with downcast brows, which seemed to be full of sorrow.
"Is there a person named Hongshao here?"
The woman smiled, "Who among the Buddhists still has a worldly name?"
Ji Liyou looked at the three old nuns and saw that none of them had any intention of admitting it, so he couldn't ask further questions. It seemed like he was about to return without success again.
"The donor has used Suzhai before leaving?"
Ji Li said worriedly, "No need."
"Drink a cup of tea?"
Ji Liyou nodded, there was something he wanted to ask her.
A relatively young nun walked in with her head hanging down, holding a white wooden tea tray in her hand.
Ji Liyou picked up the tea and looked at the old nun.
The nun serving the tea put his hands together and said, "Donor, be careful of the tea being scalded."
Ji Liyou touched the outer wall, but it was only warm, not hot.
Ji Liyou pondered for a moment and finally asked the leading nun: "How long have you been here?"
The oldest one said: "How many years have passed? The old nun has no memory. He only remembers the year when he first came here, when the Buddha statue here was just consecrated."
"Has it been twenty years?"
A trace of sadness flashed across the woman's eyes, and she said, "I'm afraid it's been two decades."
"Can you tell me why you escaped into Buddhism?"
Lao Ni shook his head, "It's been too long, I can't remember it anymore."
Ji Liyou turned around and asked the person serving tea.
The nun said, "To repay someone's kindness."
Her yellow and shriveled face suddenly showed an indescribable sadness. After a long time, she sighed: "Although I have seen through everything in the world of mortals, I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing."
Lao Ni took over and said, "Isn't it a good thing to be alive?"
Ji Liyou slowly placed the bowl of tea in his hand on the table and was about to leave.
The old nun looked at the bowl of tea and suddenly said: "Don't you want to drink this bowl of tea?"
The nun who served the tea said, "Donor, the tea is cold. You shouldn't drink cold tea."
The old nun snorted coldly, and the wrinkles on her face shook, making her look even thinner.
Ji Liyou shook his head.
She added: "If the tea is cold, the donor can sit down and wait for a while, and I will make another cup for the donor."
Ji Liyou said: "My family told me not to drink tea from strangers outside."
The old nun said: "But I am just a monk. Could it be that the donor also..."
Ji Liyou still shook his head.
The old nun sighed again and said, "It seems that the donor was too careful."
Ji Li said worriedly, "With your head on your neck, who dares not to be careful?"
A cold and mysterious smile suddenly appeared on Lao Ni's face. This kind of smile should not appear on this face.
She sneered and said to Ji Liyou: "What a pity... No matter how careful you are, you will die sooner or later."
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly jumped up like a leopard and flipped in the air.
A ray of silver light shot out from the wide sleeves of the robe.
Her attack was too fast. If Ji Liyou hadn't dodged quickly, the silver thread would have passed through his eyes and shot out from the back of his head, like a spider's thread.
When Ji Liyou came to his senses, he stopped dodging and rushed towards the silver wire hidden weapon. At the same moment, his sword was unsheathed and with a flash of light, it split the silver wire into pieces. Two halves.
A steady stream of silver threads swept towards Ji Liyou, and he turned over in the air. His long and wide clothes were still flying in the air, and the silver threads were so sharp that they cut the corner of his clothes.
She sneered and said, "I will send you to see my boss today."
As soon as she said this, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her knees, and the sword hit her knees heavily.
She immediately fell down and fell to the ground.
Ji Li said in a worried voice, "Who is your head?"
Suddenly, one of the two remaining nuns shouted.
Ji Liyou looked again and saw that the nun who had just served tea was already being held hostage.
There was nothing she could do with this one on the ground. Ji Liyou pointed his sword at her and said, "A monk, isn't it bad to kill?"
She spat, "Bah..."
Ji Liyou looked at her and said, "You and her, you are not monks, she is the only one."
The nun said, "To tell you the truth, she is the person you are looking for, but if you dare to hurt my master, I will kill her immediately."
Ji Liyou nodded, "I know, I understand what you mean, what do you want me to do?"
She said, "Put down your sword."
Ji Liyou glanced at the nun who was serving tea, and gently dropped the sword on the ground, "I did everything you said, so don't kill anyone."
He touched the bell on his wrist, feeling a little nervous in his heart. If the woman didn't look into his eyes after a while, how would he seduce her
Just as he put down his sword, a sword was already stabbing him.
The places where the sword stabbed were all Ji Liyou's vital points.
Seeing Ji Liyou as nimble as a swallow, the woman became completely angry. She took off the mask on her face and was sweating profusely.
Under the wrinkled old man's mask, there is a very charming woman, with sweat on her forehead.
She became angry and slashed Ji Liyou's arm with her sword. Ji Liyou was distracted looking at the mask. He had never seen such a perfect disguise before, and even his voice could sound like an old man's.
He raised it casually, and the silver bell hit the woman's sword.
With a "click" sound, this exquisite long sword broke.
The woman's tiger's mouth had cracked open and her hands were covered in blood.
When Ji Liyou saw it, he looked at the silver bell on his wrist. There wasn't even a scratch on it. He shook the bell provocatively, "I can't do anything with this bell. If you can split it for me, I'll give it to you." Gotta thank you.”
Ji Liyou could see the hatred and malice in the eyes of the old nun who fell on the ground, but she was not looking at Ji Liyou, but the bell in his hand.
Ji Li worriedly asked, "Do you recognize this silver bell?"
Lao Ni gritted his teeth and said coldly: "I recognize the sound of this bell."
Her voice was low and hoarse, like a curse from hell.
"No living person should wear this bell."
Ji Li said worriedly, "What an unlucky word."
"Do you know how many people have died for this bell, but they are all fools, because they only know the shape but not the sound. No one has heard the sound of this bell, and no one can recognize it, except me. Can."
Ji Liyou always knew that the storyteller had great magical powers, so he was not very curious about where he found this bell to restrain him, so he asked perfunctorily, "Why?"
She said: "Because it was this bell that ruined my life."
Ji Liyou saw how pitiful she was, "How can you be so wronged by a small bell?"
"of course not."
Her eyes suddenly glowed and she said, "Do you know what the bell in your hand is?"
Ji Liyou shook his head, "It's just a gadget."
The woman suddenly burst into tears. Ji Liyou was startled by her, "Grandma, don't cry. I... If you want it, I'll pick it off and give it to you. Don't cry... I..."
She struggled to sit up, but she waved her long sleeves in her hands, and a silver thread went straight through Fengcha Lao Ni's heart.
Ji Liyou watched with his own eyes as the old nun serving tea fell to the ground, his heart turning red.
He clearly understood her hint just now and knew that she wanted him to escape, but he didn't. He was too arrogant and wanted to see what the fake nun was up to.
It was his fault, and he was the one who killed her.
Ji Liyou regretted more and more, why did he come to her? If he hadn't come, she wouldn't have died at her hands.
Ji Liyou slashed with his sword, and there was a skinny dry wood on the ground, just like the old man he met in the Qianlin Pavilion.
No wonder she said she wanted to avenge someone, it turns out they are all from the same family.
The woman shivered, squatting on the ground and hugging her knees.
Ji Liyou turned around and left without looking at her again.
When Wei Lang came, the night was dark and Ji Liyou had already left.
He only saw the corpse that looked like a flower or tree on the ground.
Anmuda grabbed the corner of his clothes and said, "Who are you looking for?"
Wei Lang gently touched her shoulder and said, "I originally wanted to kill this person, but I thought she was already dead."
Anmuda raised his face, looked at him with a pair of eyes brighter than Qiuxing, and said softly: "Someone helped you, you don't have to dirty your hands, why are you still frowning?"
Wei Lang sighed softly.
"I recognize whose swordsmanship this is."
Anmuda asked, "Is it your friend named Ji Liyou?"
"how do you know?"
"You said that when he uses a sword, he always likes to use the edge of the sword, but he can't bear to spin the sword edge on people. Doing so will leave very small wounds. You said that he never likes to hurt people. .”
Wei Lang nodded, "You are right."
Anmuda sighed and said, "I don't understand, why did he kill someone this time?"
"Maybe he didn't kill him." Wei Lang excused him.
Anmuda said: "I only know that two people have died here."
Wei Lang said coldly: "Even if she doesn't die in the hands of others, she will die in my hands. They can't escape."
Anmuda frowned and said, "Are you angry?"
Wei Lang shouldn't.
"Are you angry with me?"
"no."
"Are you angry with yourself?"
"yes."
"Why are you angry with yourself?"
Wei Lang was silent. After a long time, he sighed and said: "He should be a person with clean hands. If I tell him what I know, he will not look around for the answer he wants, nor will he Things like this will happen.”
"what is the answer?"
"I only know the details. I don't know everything he wants to know. If I only tell him the superficial knowledge I know, I may lead him wrongly."
Anmuda was listening. Suddenly he walked over to the body and took out a piece of silver thread from her sleeve.
"I hope your friend wasn't hurt because I saw blood on the silver wire."
After a while, Wei Lang and An Muda also left the place, and she suddenly sighed: "Your friends are so annoying."
Wei Lang asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Because all you can think about now is him." An Mudao said bluntly.
Wei Lang was stunned.
After being silent for a long time, he finally let out a long sigh and said, "You think too much."
Anmuda's expression was very gloomy. She slowly walked up to him, held his hand, closed her eyes and said, "It's not me who thinks too much, it's you. You think a lot now, and your mind is very messed up."
"Anmuda..." He withdrew his hand, "Don't read my mind."
(End of chapter)