A cold light flashed in Ning Changjiu's arms. The dagger stabbed out first, and then the murderous intent came with the sword. The air in the wooden building solidified after a brief excitement, and the edge on the dagger was like a piece of snow suddenly moved by a strong wind.
The sword stopped in front of Mr. Zhang, touching the skin of his throat, and a drop of blood rolled on the blade.
Mr. Zhang looked at the dagger belatedly and frowned: "What are you doing? You... are you doubting me?"
Ning Jiujiu looked at him deeply, and then took back the dagger in his hand.
His sword was meant to be a test, but his murderous intent could not be faked at all.
But Mr. Zhang didn't make any move.
Ning Jiujiu put the dagger into its sheath, then held the sheath with both hands, placed it on the table aside, and said, "Sir, I'm offended."
Mr. Zhang glanced coldly at the dagger on the table, with anger in his eyes. He touched his neck, sat back in the airtight antique chair, and sighed: "Get out."
Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling left the wooden building.
"Senior brother, is it true that we misunderstood him?" Ning Xiaoling asked uncertainly.
Ning Jiujiu shook his head decisively: "That's him."
Ning Xiaoling asked: "Why? If Grandpa Zhang is really a master, why didn't he react just now?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "It is precisely because he is a master that he is so calm. How would an ordinary person react like this when faced with an assassination... And his calmness is also a warning to me."
Ning Xiaoling said worriedly: "What should we do now?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "What he secretly means is that he will not take action against us and let us wait for this ghost festival to pass and not cause any more trouble."
Ning Xiaoling frowned: "But we are two ordinary disciples, why is he locking us here?"
This is also something Ning Jiujiu wants to know. He suddenly remembered Bingrong's assassination that night. Could it be that Mr. Zhang was the one who sneaked into Hidden Peak and bestowed Bingrong with the realm
If this is the case, then Lu Marian is safe at the moment.
But what exactly does this old man want to do
Ning Jiujiu recalled various behaviors of Mr. Zhang in his previous life, hoping to find some details. Then, Ning Jiujiu thought about something again.
The three screens in the sword hall hide the meaning of the sword. There are obvious traces of a monk in the paintings of Mr. Zhang in the previous life, but in this life his brushwork is just like an ordinary mortal painter.
The reason for this should be that his current realm is higher than that in the past and previous lives, so he has truly managed to hide his edge.
In the previous life, Mr. Zhang couldn't hide his edge, maybe because he was injured...
Ning Jiujiu already had the answer in his heart for leaving the injured person behind—Fourth Senior Sister.
Eight years ago in the previous life, the Fourth Senior Sister came here and had a fight with Mr. Zhang, and then took him to Dahe Town. However, in this life, for unknown reasons, the battle did not break out.
When Ning Xiaoling saw that her senior brother was silent, she thought to herself: "If we can't go back, master will be worried to death."
Ning Jiujiu shook his head and said, "Someone went back in our stead."
Ning Xiaoling was surprised and said: "What?"
Ning Jiujiu mentioned a ridiculous possibility: "Those two paintings have lost their vitality... Maybe someone exactly like us has returned to the peak for us."
Ning Xiaoling thought of those two lifelike paintings, and her hair stood on end: "Can Master find out?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "Lu Marian can tell it at a glance. I'm afraid that she is in seclusion and has no chance to see her."
Ning Xiaoling twisted her fingers and said tangledly: "Given the relationship between senior brother and master, master will come to find you secretly, right?"
Ning Jiujiu was stunned for a moment, looked at Ning Xiaoling, and asked with a wry smile: "What is the relationship between me and Lu Marry...?"
Ning Xiaoling was stunned and immediately said seriously: "Well... it's just an ordinary master-disciple relationship!"
Walking through the yard with swaying bamboo shadows, the bamboos rustled and swayed in the wind, the lamp shadows lit up the dark night, and the birds flew back after they left.
Walking into the hall, Ning Jiujiu stopped.
In the darkness, there was a pair of pitiful eyes staring at him.
"Xiaolian?" Ning Xiaoling was slightly surprised and called her name softly.
The little girl must have been awakened by the knocking on their door just now.
Xiaolian opened her mouth and made random gestures with her hands, not knowing what to say.
Ning Jiujiu seemed to understand. He squatted down, looked at her levelly, stretched out his hand to rub her head, and said seriously: "Don't worry, we will help you."
Xiaolian stopped what she was doing and nodded vigorously.
…
"Senior brother, have you thought of a solution?"
Ning Xiaoling was pacing back and forth in the room, unable to fall asleep, while Ning Jiujiu sat by the window as usual, with half of his body covered in moonlight.
Ning Jiujiu replied: "We must get out of this palindrome poem."
Ning Xiaoling wondered why her senior brother was becoming more and more fond of nonsense. She continued to ask: "How can we get out? Is it possible that we have to dismantle everything in this poem?"
Ning Jiujiu shook his head gently.
Although she was rejected by her senior brother, Ning Xiaoling felt that she had found the right answer.
The next day, she accidentally untied the bell on the door.
"This bell is so beautiful. Can you give it to me when I leave?" Ning Xiaoling shook it in her hand.
Qiu Sheng was also embarrassed to refuse this fairy sister.
Then, Sister Xianshi opened her mouth more and more loudly.
She pulled out the lotus leaves in the water tank at the door, untied the lamp hanging on the wall, climbed up the tall building and drove the little gray sparrow away, but was pecked hard by the gray sparrow's counterattack.
But the Ghost Festival in Liantian Town shows no signs of disappearing at all.
She originally thought it was because the image in the poem had not been completely eliminated. She looked at the bamboo and the courtyard wall tangledly, weighing whether she would provoke Mr. Zhang to chase her if she chopped down the bamboo and pushed down the wall. kill.
Finally, she set her sights on the "bright moon" in the poem, remained silent for a long time, and gave up all her thoughts.
She put all the things she had snatched back into their original places and waited quietly to see if her senior brother could think of a way to break the situation.
Time returned to calm. Ning sat in the house for a long time every day, neither drinking nor eating, meditating silently. From time to time, he dipped his fingers in water and wrote something on the table, but in the end he shook his head and wiped it away.
Ning Xiaoling, on the other hand, acted like a blind cat only to catch a mouse. She went out for swimming every day, or visited those docile animals, or walked on the field ridges, and sometimes went to the lotus pond to look for the animal. Giant python, but that giant python seems to be really frightened. Even if the senior brother is not around, it refuses to surface.
One day, two days... time will not slow down even a little bit because of their anxiety. In the blink of an eye, the day when the four sides of Tianzong will meet to sword is approaching.
…
Han Xiaosu hid in the porcelain vase, looking at the painter who looked exactly like Ning Changjiu. The worry and fear in her heart made her dare not sleep peacefully.
Two days ago, she tried to escape from the window, but was discovered by the other party.
Han Xiaosu originally thought that she would definitely die, but she didn't expect that the other party just said to her coldly: "Go back."
As if Han Xiaosu was amnesty, she hid in the porcelain vase tremblingly, not even daring to look at him.
Next, Ning Jiujiu seemed to have really not noticed her existence. Every day, he turned into a painting and lay quietly on his bed, sleeping like a human being, and the time he slept became longer and longer.
During this period, Han Xiaosu tried to leave again, but every time she left the bottle, Ning Jiujiu would wake up, transform from a painting into a human being, and stare at her indifferently, as if the next moment she would be beaten to death.
After Han Xiaosu was forced back into the porcelain vase for the third time, she quickly calmed down. She suddenly felt that Ning Jiujiu was also afraid of herself.
In the past half month, he had no unnecessary reaction to his existence.
Han Xiaosu imagined that if he were him, he would definitely eliminate the root causes without leaving any hidden dangers.
But she was still afraid. She felt that it was not worth the risk for someone who was not related to her for a long time. He seemed to save her because of his promise to someone. Who was that person? She couldn't remember it.
So the two people in the room faced each other in silence.
But tonight, in the Hidden Peak, a sound of swords sounded in a small area. Nan Cheng opened his eyes, and dozens of iron swords inserted around him buzzed and vibrated. With his thoughts, they came from the hard rock. It was pulled up abruptly and hovered beside him.
The disheveled Nan Cheng pushed away the long hair that covered his eyes. He exhaled and looked at the neatly hovering flying swords. His arms rose and fell, and the flying swords seemed to be part of his body, rising and falling with them. .
"Is this the acquired sword embryo..." Nan Cheng was in awe. He turned his palm into a fist and clenched it violently. The rusty iron swords all hit the wall in front of him.
Iron filings fall like autumn leaves.
After tonight, it was time for the Four Summits of Swordsmanship, and he happened to form the acquired sword body tonight. Not only did his fallen state return to the same state as before, he even went a long way up, and was only one step away from the longevity state.
The sound of the impact of the iron sword gradually faded away in my ears.
He was ecstatic at the moment, but he couldn't find anyone to share his joy with. He thought it would be great if that senior was here.
By the way...where did that senior go
Nan Cheng felt worried in his heart. He felt that it was no coincidence that he happened to form a sword body today. This must be part of the senior's plan. But why didn't he come to see him? Could it be that in his eyes, this was just casual? A small thing for that
He got rid of these distracting thoughts and felt the power of the sword. It was a new and unparalleled realm. He was immersed in it and it took a long time to calm down.
Nan Cheng took a sword and chopped off his long hair that had not been cut for two years neatly. He walked out of the cave and left Hidden Peak. Then he remembered something and walked into the bookstore after hesitating for a moment.
He planned to thank his uncle Yan Zhou. If he hadn't recommended him back then, as a young disciple, he might not have been able to get the jade medal and be qualified to go to Hidden Peak for retreat.
He walked into the library and was stunned.
"Master..." He saw Yan Zhou lying half on the ground, but his back did not touch the floor. He was holding a sword and assuming a weird posture. He originally thought that Yan Zhou was awake and wanted to call him, but the first As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he suddenly realized that his uncle seemed to be sleepwalking
But as soon as the word "teacher" was spoken, Yan Zhou woke up.
His weird sword frame suddenly collapsed and his body fell to the ground.
The old man opened his eyes, stretched, and looked at the sword in his hand strangely, frowning, as if thinking about why he was holding the sword while sleeping.
Then he turned his attention to the person who entered the library at night.
"Who is it?" Yan Zhou spoke unkindly to the young man who disturbed his dream.
Na Cheng held his sword and saluted, and said nervously: "Disciple Na Cheng, thanks to the appreciation of my master and uncle more than two years ago, I was able to practice in seclusion. Today I have achieved great success. I come here to express my gratitude."
Yan Zhou said angrily: "Can't you come during the day?"
Nan Cheng apologized: "This disciple was too happy and wanted to announce the good news to my great uncle earlier, so I didn't pay much attention to the time."
Yan Zhou rubbed his eyes. He had not slept well for several days since Yan Feng's death. Today, he finally had a rest and was disturbed by a disciple. He felt a little depressed. He waved his hand and said: " I know, I know."
Nan Cheng knew it was best for him to leave at this moment, but he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen Yan Zhou's weird sword stand before...
Then, the image of his senior stabbing the old man in gray robe with his sword flashed through his mind. It turned out that the sword move was taught to him by Master Yan Zhou's uncle.
Nan Cheng said in admiration: "Master-uncle is indeed a master-uncle. He never forgets to practice swordsmanship in his dreams."
Yan Zhou wanted to drive him away directly, but this sentence made him startled: "Practice sword in a dream?"
Nan Cheng was slightly shocked: "Master-uncle was setting up a sword stake just now."
Yan Zhou looked at the serious-looking young disciple and mocked: "Just because I am a senior with high qualifications, even if I am sleepwalking and posing casually, I am still practicing swordsmanship?"
Nan Cheng was stunned and said: "Master-uncle... isn't he practicing swordsmanship?"
Yan Zhou finally wanted to have a good night's sleep and was too lazy to pay attention to him. He threw the sword and it flew back into the sheath accurately. He yawned, turned his back and walked towards the lounge chair.
Nan Cheng knew that he shouldn't talk anymore at this moment, so he turned and left silently, then closed the door.
Yan Zhou looked at the sword in the scabbard and laughed to himself: "Sword moves, sword moves... The Heavenly Mandate Sword Scripture has been lost for so many years, am I still worried about it in my dreams? It's a joke to the younger generation."
Nan Cheng walked out of the bookstore and walked towards his dusty room.
Suddenly, he smelled a hint of alcohol.
"Lu... Lu Yuanbai?" Nan Cheng walked to the stairs, looked at the wine jars and the half-drunk man on the ground, and called out his name uncertainly.
Lu Yuanbai raised his head and looked at this young man with messy hair. He was stunned for a long time before he realized his identity: "Hey, you, the great disciple of Nancheng, have you left seclusion? In the daytime, the four swordsmen were standing on our peak. My face depends on you."
Nan Cheng originally didn't want to pay attention to this uncle who was low-level and loved to drink, but he still smiled out of respect for his seniority, sat next to him, drank a few sips of wine with him, and exchanged greetings.
It's a pity that Lu Yuanbai was so drunk that he fell to the ground drunkenly after just two drinks. After being drunk, he kept mumbling a person's name and his words were blurred.
Nan Cheng sighed.
He stood up and wanted to leave. When passing by a certain room, his sword moved and he suddenly turned back and stared at the door of the room. He could feel that there was sudden murderous intent coming from the other side of the door.
…
Han Xiaosu, who hesitated all night, finally made up her mind before dawn. She thought to herself that the young man in white was her only support now. If something happened to him, how would she live in the future? Returning to Linhe City to build a golden body and become a river god has become a dream.
The most important thing is that she really hates the puppet in front of her.
Through her careful observation, she was convinced that this dummy was definitely a bluff, and since she had gained a certain level of practice in the past few days, she might as well take on this dummy first.
Han Xiaosu convinced herself, became brave and floated out of the porcelain vase.
Ning Jiujiu woke up, transformed into a human, sat on the bed, and spoke indifferently without any emotion: "Go back."
Han Xiaosu sneered: "Who are you trying to scare? If you were really capable, why didn't you do it earlier?"
Ning Jiujiu's voice was still mechanical: "I don't want to cause trouble."
Still trying to scare people... Han Xiaosu became more determined in his thoughts.
"Go to hell!" She snarled coldly and struck away with a palm.
But she found that she had far underestimated the strength of this dummy.
Ning Changping raised his hand and slapped her.
That palm almost knocked Han Xiaosu out of his wits.
He didn't deceive Han Xiaosu, he really just didn't want to cause trouble. The moment he was drawn, he was embedded with consciousness: stay safe, stay in seclusion, don't be discovered by anyone, and never make a move with anyone. Not to mention killing people.
After Ning Jiujiu took the palm, he made a mechanical balance in his heart in a short time, and another command was unlocked - "Unless forced".
He slapped a second palm.
Han Xiaosu regretted it so much, thinking that she really shouldn't have meddleed in other people's business. Now she was going to die without anyone knowing. If that person was really still alive, even if he knew about his death, he would be happy that there was no more trouble. Bar.
Just when she was about to be beaten to death by a palm, the door suddenly shattered, and a sword stood between them in an instant.
Ning Changjiu's palm slapped the sword, and the rust on the sword was scattered, revealing the smooth and bright sword body.
"Senior?" Nan Cheng stood in front of Han Xiaosu with his sword. He looked at this murderous figure and said in surprise.
"No! He, he... he's not!" Han Xiaosu exclaimed behind him.
Ning Jiujiu didn't seem to regard Nan Cheng as an enemy. He looked at the ghost girl on the ground and said coldly: "Kill her."
When Nan Cheng came back to his senses, he realized that this girl was a ghost. Yu Jian Tian Sect was a famous and authentic sect. How could a ghost sneak in? She must be up to something evil! He did not ask his senior for the reason, but out of inexplicable trust, he turned around and struck Han Xiaosu with his sword.
"No!" Han Xiaosu shouted. In a split second, she raised the hairpin in her hand in panic, but she couldn't get used to the words: "This...this, seeing the hairpin is like seeing..."
She couldn't remember the rest of the words, but when she took out the hairpin, Nan Cheng's sword-dropping hand did hesitate.
Then, his body froze.
In just the blink of an eye, a sword tip emerged from his lower abdomen.
"You..." Nan Cheng turned his head in disbelief and looked at Ning Changjiu's cold, puppet-like face: "Who are you?"
Han Xiaosu's soul was shaking, and she shouted loudly: "He is not the benefactor! He is a fake. The benefactor has not come back, has not come back!"
Ning Jiujiu originally wanted to explode his sword energy and directly kill the messy-haired young man in front of him, but he also underestimated the opponent. Ning Jiujiu discovered that his sword energy was not under his control, but instead followed the sword body and hilt. Come back to bite you.
Ning Jiujiu withdrew his hand mechanically.
Nan was injured, and with the strength he had been instilled, he originally had a chance to fight back, but the movement here alarmed Yazhu, and within a few breaths, Yazhu came with his sword.
"What's wrong?" She looked at the scene in front of her in surprise.
Ning Jiujiu knew that the situation was over.
In the adjacent wing, Ning Xiaoling opened her eyes.
She stood up silently, and then her whole body began to burn.
She knew that Ning Ning was dead for a long time, and in their established knowledge, if either party dies, the other party will convey this matter to the master.
The scroll burned out, and in the flames, a red butterfly flew away, crossed the window, and disappeared into the night.
When Yazhu and Nan Cheng figured everything out and realized that Ning Xiaoling was also a fake, they came to the house and could only see the remaining dust on the ground.
…
…
"Senior brother, is there really nothing we can do?" Ning Xiaoling waited with him for the arrival of dawn.
Ning Changjiu said: "This palindrome poem is not incomprehensible."
Ning Xiaoling sighed: "I actually thought that as long as I find the incoherence between the front and back of this poem, I might be able to decipher it, but there is no incoherence in this poem."
Ning Jiujiu said: "Yes. No matter how good the palindrome poem is, there is one part that cannot be read backwards."
"what?"
"topic."
Ning Jiujiu calmly said the answer.
Ning Xiaoling's eyes lit up, as if she was enlightened. Then, she suddenly realized that this poem had no title!
This must have been done deliberately, for fear that they would realize this and break the topic!
Broken question... What a broken question.
Ning Xiaoling was excited.
"But what is the topic?" Junior Sister asked innocently.
Ning Changjiu stretched out his hand and patted her head, looked at her like a little fool, and sighed: "This is what senior brother has been thinking about for the past three days."
"oh… "
Ning Xiaoling felt that everything was back to the starting point.
While they were talking, a black cat suddenly jumped up from the open window and purred at the two of them. The sound was still the same, like a baby crying.
Ning touched its soft back and hair for a long time. Then, he looked at the black cat and said two words that made Ning Xiaoling's hair stand on end:
"Xiaolian..."
…
…
In the dark night, in the vast lotus pond, waves suddenly arose on the sparkling silver water.
The lotus leaves swayed, the mud at the bottom of the water rolled, and a smooth black back rolled through the water, its arched body like the ups and downs of the dark tide.
After a few days, the giant python with a green head and black body resurfaced. It was like a raging current sweeping through a lotus pond. The ups and downs of its body created huge waves, like the wrath of the river god.
Finally, the water surface gradually calmed down, and the moonlight reflected faint light on its naked scales. Its upper body stood upright from the water surface, with its head raised high, looking at the silvery moonlight, with a look in its eyes. The pride that has lasted for thousands of years.
It seemed like it was waiting for someone.
After a while, an old man came to the lotus pond.
That's Mr. Zhang.
He raised his hand, and the giant python slowly swam over if it sensed it. It lowered its head, and the old man put his hand on its head.
"Three thousand years..."
Mr. Zhang's fingers gently stroked the scales on its forehead. The old man stood quietly, like an old tree that was about to decay due to wind and frost. At this moment, he saw the birds that often perched on the branches thousands of years ago. In his eyes, With remembrance that transcends time.
"Three thousand years have passed, and one of you has become a cripple, with his broken bones being imprisoned as a container by the Zitian Dao Sect, and you have become a fool..."
"We are existences older than the Lord of the Kingdom of God. If it weren't for that person, Jiu Ying would be able to take over a Kingdom of God. You and I are both divine envoys and heavenly kings. Why are we still surviving today? In the past three thousand years, we have survived How many people have died in this world...even five hundred years ago..."
Mr. Zhang sighed softly and did not continue speaking. He seemed to be getting older.
"Oh, I worked so hard to put you together into what you are now. Don't let me down."
A red butterfly flew in front of him.
This means that the false Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling have been discovered.
But daybreak was coming, and these things no longer affected the overall situation.
He looked at the horizon, looking at the rising sun for the millionth time.
…
…
(It’s not too far away from the end of the second volume, there are still some gaps...)