Xu Feng dreamed of overwhelming red. When he woke up, the sun was setting and the sky was full of rays, just like the color of blood. Xu Feng stood up under the covers, feeling his heart beating, his eyes were hazy, everything looked like a layer of red.
After a while Murong Fei pushed the door open and entered, seeing that he was awake, he couldn't help but happily said: "Brother Xu, you've finally woken up. Are you hungry? I'll go get some food."
"No need," Xu Feng shook his head, squinted his eyes and looked around, guessing that he was in the Murong Mansion, and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"
"One whole day and one night." Murong Fei sat down at the table and said, "Yesterday you fought with that devil, and after you stabbed the sword, you suddenly fell down. It's all over together. Fortunately, Master Zhikong is proficient in medical skills, and said that you just passed out from exhaustion, and your body is fine."
Xu Feng's memory only goes to the long sword that pierced through his chest, and he doesn't remember anything after that. It turns out that he passed out. What happened afterwards? That person... is he alive or dead
Before Xu Feng asked, Murong Fei had already said: "Brother Xu, you have done a great job in capturing the big devil in the Palace of Bliss this time."
Hearing the word "catch", Xu Feng's anxious heart finally calmed down, and asked: "Is the Palace Master not dead?"
"You stabbed hard enough with your sword, but it's a pity that you missed your target and failed to hurt your heart." Murong Fei said while pouring a cup of tea, then remembered that Xu Feng was the patient, and hurriedly handed over the tea. "According to what I said, it was time to add another sword to kill the devil, so as not to have many dreams in the night, right? But my father said that he can't be killed yet."
Xu Feng took the teacup, although he didn't say anything, he knew why Murong Shen did this in his heart. The palace of bliss is powerful, so what's the point of killing a palace master? It's better to use his identity to wipe out the rest of the people.
It's just how proud that person is, even if he is seriously injured and captured, he will not let others manipulate him, Murong Shen is afraid that his efforts will be in vain this time.
The sky gradually sank, and the layer of red mist floating in front of Xu Feng's eyes also dissipated. He raised his eyes to look out of the window, his eyes wandered away slowly, and suddenly said: "I want to see him."
Murong Fei didn't realize it for a while, and asked in a daze, "Who?"
Xu Feng's voice was difficult, and he said: "Then the palace master should be locked in the dungeon in Murong Mansion, right?"
"Yes, it was the place where Hall Master Chu was locked up in the past, but there were many more guards than last time. It is strange to say that when Hall Master Chu was arrested, Bliss Palace sent countless people to inquire about the news. Now It's changed to the Palace Master, but there is no movement outside. My father is afraid of fraud, and will not allow anyone to enter the dungeon later... "
"I just want to go in and ask him a few words, and leave after I'm done. I will never embarrass Mr. Murong."
"It's not difficult, but I don't know what you want to ask him?"
Xu Feng moved his lips, but did not make a sound.
Fortunately, Murong Fei didn't ask any further questions, and just said: "Understood, this matter is on me. But it's already dark today, so I'll think about it tomorrow. You should eat something first and take a good rest."
After all, I asked someone to bring food over.
Xu Feng actually didn't have much appetite, but under Murong Fei's urging, he still ate some. But he had slept for a day and a night, but he really couldn't fall asleep, after Murong Fei left, he was still sitting by the bed.
A waning moon appeared and disappeared in the clouds outside the window, Xu Feng calculated the time, only to realize that another month had passed, and in a few days it would be the beginning of the month, and it was also the day when the Gu worms in his body broke out. In the past few months, he relied on Zhou Yan's blood to survive, but this time...
The moonlight was dim, Xu Feng thought numbly in his heart, at worst it would hurt to death.
He hardly slept that night, and lay down in a daze for a while before dawn, and when he woke up, Murong Fei had already got his father's badge. Only this time the cell was much more heavily guarded, Murong Fei couldn't accompany him in, so he had to go into the dungeon alone.
The road in the dungeon was still dark and damp, Xu Feng walked all the way, and saw that the other cells had been emptied, only the one at the end was still held by someone. Because of the absence of the occasional screams, it showed another kind of gloomy taste.
It might be that Murong Shen had greeted him beforehand, Xu Fengyang raised the badge in his hand, and the two guards let him in. When the rusty iron door opened, there was a weird and ear-piercing sound. The cell was very dark, and when Xu Feng got closer, he saw a person soaked in the water. Because the man was seriously injured, only his right arm was chained, and he leaned on that arm, barely standing with this strength. He was still wearing the original clothes, and the blood stains on his chest had long since dried up, turning into a dull dark brown. If it wasn't for the slight ups and downs of his chest, one would think he was dead.
Xu Feng had never seen him in such a state of embarrassment, like the person in the painting who fell into the mortal world and was trampled into the mud. There was a little pleasure that was almost painful in his heart, and just as he took a step forward, the man raised his head.
The man's loose black hair covered half of his face, and the other half was also stained with blood. There was only a pair of eyes shining slightly, a bit like his face when he was disguised.
Somewhat like... his brother Zhou.
Xu Feng was in a daze for a moment, but he heard the man say: "Brother Feng, you are here."
It seemed that Xu Feng had been expected to come. Although his voice was very low, he was not as hoarse as when he was pretending to be Zhou Yan, obviously he had removed all disguise.
Xu Feng woke up in an instant, hating himself for being obsessed with ghosts, and came to see him even at this point. But the question in his mind was like a thorn stuck in his throat, he couldn't get it out quickly, so he said: "I came here today just to ask you a question."
"what?"
Xu Feng didn't look into his eyes, but just stared at the dark red patch on his skirt, and asked, "Why did you teach me that sword technique?"
Knowing that I wanted to seek revenge from him, why did I teach him how to kill with the sword? If it's just to use him, why do you have to do this? If it was for something else... Xu Feng couldn't think of any other reason.
Xu Feng waited for a long time before he heard the man say: "As I said, everything will be as you wish."
He had heard Zhou Yan say this more than once, and it sounded sweet at the time, but now it's a different feeling. He clenched his fists, finally raised his head to meet the man's gaze, and still asked, "Why?"
The man laughed under his breath. This smile touched the wound, and there were some coughing sounds in the laughter, and it was intermittent in the end, almost out of tune. After he laughed, Fang Ban closed his eyes and said slowly: "This is already the second question."
Xu Feng was very angry with him, stepped forward and grabbed his collar. The man closed his eyes and gasped slightly. Only then did Xu Feng feel that something was wrong. Pulling off his collar, he saw that his body was covered with all kinds of scars. Except for the sword wound on his chest, which had been scribbled and bandaged, there was hardly a piece of intact flesh. Xu Feng's gaze followed the bloody wounds, and finally submerged in the turbid water. One can imagine the taste of such wounds immersed in the water.
Xu Feng stared blankly for a while, then suddenly thought of something, and reached out to touch the hair covering his face.
The man raised his hand to stop it, and said with some difficulty: "Brother Feng, don't look."
But he had no strength in his hands, and he couldn't stop him at all. Xu Feng brushed aside the black hair, and with the help of the faint firelight outside the cell, he could clearly see a bloody welt on his face—from the corner of the eye to the chin, ruining half of his face.
Xu Feng's eyes were frighteningly bloody, and he asked, "Did they torture you?"
"Isn't this a matter of course? Murong Shen didn't kill me, of course he wanted to get some news from me." The man moved his left hand, as if he wanted to grab Xu Feng's hand, but in the end due to lack of strength, he slowly It slipped down, "Only the clothes on my body have been smoked with special medicinal materials, which can suppress my internal energy. If it is broken, it will be useless, but it is because of this that I survived."
Xu Feng was startled, and said, "When did you know?"
"It's the few days when you were sick. You usually have all your worries written on your face, but in those few days... you really didn't pretend to be."
A layer of cold sweat broke out on Xu Feng's back.
If this person made trouble at that time, wouldn't everything be different
"Since you already knew it was a trap, why did you come here alone? Why did you wear the clothes I picked?"
"I like whatever you give me."
The man's face was pale, and there was a ferocious welt on his face. He looked like he was dying, but there was still tenderness and affection in his eyes looking at Xu Feng, and he said: "Brother Feng, I love you Every word I said was sincere. If you hadn't accidentally discovered the truth, I originally wanted to hide it from you for the rest of my life."
Xu Feng just found it ridiculous.
"Could it be that the owner of the majestic Palace of Bliss can only cheat and deceive? While telling the truth, but also planning to hide it from me all the time, it's really a good trick!"
As he spoke, he involuntarily pressed his right hand.
The man also looked over, and after a moment of silence, he said: "It is true that I am sorry for you, and you should hate me. Is that sword enough to relieve hatred? If it is not enough..."
He paused, and glanced into the corner of the cell.
Xu Feng turned his head to look, and saw a whip thrown on the ground, with barbs on the whip, all of which were dark in color, and he did not know how many people's blood had been stained on the whip. Xu Feng knew that the man was deliberately provocative, but still couldn't restrain his temper, he rushed over and picked up the whip. Then he walked back step by step and raised his whip to face the man.
If it was just three years of humiliation in the Palace of Bliss, that sword would have been enough. What Xu Feng really hated was the only brother Zhou who treated him well in this world, and it turned out to be a fake.
He stared at the scars on the man's body, raised his hands sorely, and then dropped the whip heavily. But it hit the surface of the water with a "pop", causing a splash of water.
The man looked at him in surprise.
Xu Feng didn't look at him, dropped the whip in his hand, and went straight out of the cell. He walked very fast, and it didn't take long for him to pass through the long corridor and walk out of the dark dungeon.
The sun was shining brightly outside, and when it fell on the body, it hurt people's eyes. Xu Feng then slowed down, stopped and pressed the corners of his eyes.
Is everything as he wishes
Xu Feng never said that the wish he made on New Year's Eve was to be with Brother Zhou every year.
... There will be no chance to talk about it in the future.
Murong Fei had been waiting outside, and when he saw Xu Feng coming out, he came up to him and said, "Brother Xu, how are you doing? Did I ask you what you wanted to ask?"
Xu Feng was a little distracted, nodded and shook his head, finally sighed, and said: "I think too much, there is no need to ask."
He paused, and said: "I saw that man... the devil seems to have wounds on his body, I don't know how Senior Murong plans to deal with him?"
"Of course my father wanted to destroy the Palace of Bliss in one go. He just used the owner of the palace as a bait, but the people in the Palace of Bliss did not take the bait. Now we have to find another way. My father said that as long as the devil is alive, it will be fine." , I can’t care about anything else. After all, the whereabouts of those kidnapped women are still unknown, so they must be rescued and brought back, right?”
Xu Feng originally strongly disapproved of Murong Shen's actions, people of evil ways are cruel, if people of their righteous way also behave in the same way, how can there be a difference between good and evil? Just thinking of how much humiliation and torture those women would suffer when they were taken captive to the Palace of Bliss, they immediately lost the position to speak.
He chatted with Murong Fei for a few words, then went back to his room to rest.
The next few days were calm and the Bliss Palace seemed to have disappeared from the rivers and lakes overnight, without hearing any more news. The more so, the more Murong Shen didn't dare to take it lightly. Xu Feng heard Murong Fei talk about it, and knew that he tortured that person several times later, but he never asked what he wanted.
Because Xu Feng saved Murong Fei that day again, he was honored as a guest of honor in Murong's mansion, not only did Murong Fei pick up delicious and interesting things to bring over every day, even Mrs. Murong also gave him things several times. Xu Fengyuan just fainted from physical and mental exhaustion. He has already recovered his body these days, but he can't explain why, and he still lives in Murong Mansion day by day.
That night, everyone in the mansion had already gone to sleep, but in the middle of the night they were disturbed by a commotion, it turned out that Murong Shen had brought several doctors into the mansion overnight. Xu Feng got up in a cloak, stood at the window and watched, and saw the butler of the Murong Mansion holding a torch from a distance, leading several people to the dungeon in the southwest corner. The fire illuminated the faces of those people. Xu Feng looked familiar and recognized the famous doctor in Suzhou City that Zhou Yan had called when he pretended to be sick.
The group of people walked into the dungeon, and the faint light was quickly swallowed by the thick night.
Now there is only one person locked up in the dungeon, and why Murong Shen came to find the doctor in the middle of the night, he doesn't need to guess.
Xu Feng stood by the window for a while, until the wind got stronger and knocked against the window lattice, then he stretched out his hand to close the window, folded his clothes and lay back on the bed. He was in poor spirit these past few days, he was very tired, but now he couldn't fall asleep no matter what, he just stared at the top of the bed with his eyes wide open.
The night was terribly quiet, and Xu Feng was lying there alone, always feeling that he heard a sound coming from the other side of the dungeon. When he jumped out of bed in a hurry, he found that it was just a false alarm, except for the occasional dog barking in the quiet night, there was nothing at all.
His heart went up and down, until finally he simply couldn't sleep, he just sat on the edge of the bed and waited. Until the sky turned white, there was no movement, but the servants and maids in the mansion quietly got up to work.
Xu Feng stayed up all night and didn't plan to sleep anymore at this time. After he was fully dressed, he glanced at the mirror on the table, and saw a pale and numb face in the mirror, without any life on it, which shocked himself.
After a while, the servant who served him brought over food, and Xu Feng vaguely asked what happened in the mansion last night. The young man was very clever, knew what he wanted to ask, and replied: "We can't find out about the things in the west, but according to Steward Feng's tone, there was no dead person in the mansion last night."
After hearing this, Xu Feng couldn't tell if he was relieved.
He rewarded the young servant with a piece of silver, and the young servant went away happily, but as soon as he left the door, he heard a commotion outside. Xu Feng hurriedly called the man back and asked, "What happened?"
The boy was also confused: "It looks like someone is making trouble outside the house, I'll go out and have a look."
Xu Feng was uneasy, so he simply followed out. I met Murong Fei on the way, he knew some of the reasons, and said to Xu Feng while walking, "It's not because of that devil! My father spared his life, but many people are dissatisfied with it."
Xu Feng went to the gate and took a look, and sure enough, he saw many people gathered outside the gate of Murong Mansion, some he had seen before, some were very strange, they made a chaotic mess, shouting something like "eliminating demons and defending Taoism", " Kill the devil."
The Palace of Bliss did a lot of evil and made countless enemies in the Jianghu. Now that the Palace Master has been captured, there are naturally many people who want to eat his flesh and sleep his skin. At this moment, the crowd was excited, and the steward came out to persuade them several times, but he couldn't persuade them, so he had to ask the guards to guard the gate firmly so that no one would rush in.
On the other hand, Murong Shen thanked the guests behind closed doors, and even ignored the commotion outside.
In the evening, only one person entered Murong Shen's study. Xu Feng also recognized this person, it was Mr. Lin's father, Lin Xiao. It is heard that the owner of Lin Zhuang is Murong Shen's best friend. When they were young, they wandered in the rivers and lakes and saved each other's life. Later, they got married one after another, and even made a marriage agreement early. Murong Fei's younger sister was the second son who was employed by the owner of Lin Zhuang, but the marriage was delayed because of the Bliss Palace incident, and the two have not yet married.
Owner Lin came here at this time, and he didn't know what to talk about
Murong Fei was so courageous that he took Xu Feng outside the study to eavesdrop, but the two of them didn't dare to get too close, and only heard a few words indistinctly.
"...Brother Lin's words like this are really embarrassing for my younger brother."
"Brother Murong locked the devil in the mansion, but he has a huge relationship with him. Rather than causing disasters in the future, it is better to do it now..."
The two talked secretly in the study for more than half an hour before Murong Shen went out to see off the guests. He is very deep in the city, knowing that Murong Fei is eavesdropping outside, but his face is not showing the slightest bit of expression, until he sent away Master Lin, he called Murong Fei and Xu Feng into the study together.
"Fei'er, I have already reached an agreement with your Uncle Lin." Murong Shen paced back and forth in the study for a while, then turned his head and said word by word, "After three days, the owner of the Palace of Bliss will be executed in public. "
Murong Fei raised his eyebrows and said: "In this way, three days later is the best time to lure those demons out."
Murong Shen smiled and said, "What if they don't take the bait?"
Murong Fei choked for a moment, and said: "Then, killing the Palace Master of the Palace of Bliss is a great satisfaction."
Murong Shen turned his gaze, landed on Xu Feng, and asked, "What does Shaoxia Xu think?"
Xu Feng's eyelids twitched and he didn't hear what he said clearly. He didn't nodded until he asked again, "So... very good."
That person is heinous, he should be rewarded, there is nothing wrong with it.
As soon as the news spread that the owner of the Palace of Bliss was going to be executed in public, many people from the Jianghu rushed to Suzhou City one after another. man. Some people thought it would be too cheap to kill the palace lord with a single sword, and clamored for some kind of lingering execution and quartering of the body. If it wasn't for the fact that Murong's family had a solid foundation in Suzhou City and established a good relationship with each other, these people would have been arrested by the government long ago.
Three days passed by. On the last night, Murong Shen suddenly invited Xu Feng to the study. He didn't say anything else, just handed Xu Feng a pot of wine.
Xu Feng didn't realize it for a moment: "What is the meaning of this, Senior Murong?"
"Before that man died, he wanted to see you. After all, you have some friendship with him. You can't persuade him. As long as he agrees to cooperate with me, I will naturally have a way to save his life."
Xu Feng said: "Torture and torture can't make him nod, how can I persuade him?"
Murong Shen looked at Xu Feng meaningfully, and said, "That's not necessarily the case."
Xu Feng couldn't shirk it, so he had no choice but to agree.
This day is already the end of the month, there are no stars and no moon in the sky, and the night is so thick that it seems to choose someone to devour. Xu Feng got Murong Shen's waist card and entered the dungeon with a jug of wine. Without a torch, he walked through the corridor in the dark, and only saw a little fire at the end.
The appearance of the man in the cell was even more miserable than the previous few days. Both arms were hung by iron chains, old wounds were piled up with new wounds, and blood was oozing from the bandaged wound on his chest. The clothes he was wearing were also completely stained with blood. If Xu Feng hadn't picked the fabric himself, the original color could not be discerned at all.
Xu Feng's footsteps faltered, thinking that he might die before tomorrow.
But when the iron door of the cell made a sound, the man still managed to raise his head. Seeing that the person who came was Xu Feng, his dark eyes seemed to be a little more angry, but he didn't even have the strength to speak, so he just moved the corner of his mouth lightly.
Xu Feng's mind went blank for a moment before he realized that the man was smiling at him. He held a breath in his chest, and said after a while: "Senior Murong asked me to see you off. He said that if you are willing to change your ways, he will find a way to spare your life."
It was a matter of life and death, but the man didn't listen to it, and just stared at Xu Feng intently, as if he wanted to engrave his face into his eyes. After watching enough, the man moved his lips and said hoarsely, "You know it's impossible."
That's right, there is no balance between good and evil, and the only way to go is life and death.
Xu Feng had already expected the answer, so he stopped persuading him. He opened the jug of wine in his hand, then stepped forward, handed the jug to the man's mouth, and said, "You should already know what will happen tomorrow? If you were just Brother Zhou, I would have..."
He lowered his voice and finally couldn't finish his sentence, he just said: "Unfortunately you are not."
The man was drinking with Xu Feng's hand. Hearing this, he coughed suddenly, and the wine seeped blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Seeing the dazzling red color, Xu Feng involuntarily reached out to wipe it. When he touched the man's lips, the man turned his head and took advantage of the situation to kiss his fingertips.
Xu Feng's hand trembled, and he quickly withdrew it.
There was a little smile in the man's eyes, and he said hoarsely: "Brother Feng, come closer, I have something to say to you."
don't listen.
Nothing fancy.
Xu Feng said this in his heart, but he had already moved over. He leaned down, and the man's lips were close to his ear, as intimate as a kiss, and said slowly: "In a few days, it will be the beginning of the month, and the poison on your body is about to explode again. I was really angry that day, Gu The worm has entered the veins of the heart, if I die, you will dig out my heart..."
"Boom!"
The jug in Xu Feng's hand fell and shattered on the ground. He took a step back, refusing to listen to what the man had to say. Obviously this person was seriously injured and couldn't move by being chained, but in Xu Feng's eyes, he was like a raging beast, forcing him to step back step by step.
When he retreated to the edge of the iron gate, he remembered that he was here to deliver a message for Murong Shen, and he had already persuaded what should be persuaded, since that person didn't listen, there was no need for him to stay any longer.
Xu Feng turned around to leave, but he heard the man call out: "Brother Feng."
Xu Feng's body froze for a moment.
The man's voice was actually a little far away, but it seemed to be close to his ear: "Brother Feng, I'm going to die tomorrow, don't you want to look back at me again?"