It's midsummer, the heat is steaming, and in the most famous garden in Zhao Kingdom's Imperial City, the lotus pond is already in full bloom.
Looking from the small pavilion in the center of the lake, you can see the beautiful scenery of lotuses swaying in the wind and dragonflies flying low.
There are many stone platforms carved in the shape of lotus leaves hidden among the lotus leaves. The maids in palace clothes carrying flower baskets came from among the green lotus leaves. When looking from a distance, the stone platforms are hidden under the lotus leaves, like a fairy walking lightly. Crossing the water, the corners of her skirt are swaying with the lotus leaves.
On the side of the lotus pond, there is a pavilion with eight sides. The pavilion is exquisitely constructed, with glazed green tiles on the top and carved gauze curtains hanging on all sides.
Within the gauze curtain, several elegantly dressed ladies from noble families were chatting and laughing softly. The maids stood behind them, holding cattail leaf fans in their hands and fanning them at a steady frequency.
"It is said that our Emperor will also make an appearance at this year's summer banquet."
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, will you really go?"
"The news is absolutely true. This year, we have not only refined several elite troops, but also a large number of monks have emerged. The country of Jin was so arrogant in the past, and there were reports of border disturbances every three days. It was very annoying. Annoying, what about the past six months? It can’t stop anymore.”
"Is it the autumn rain at the end of last year?"
"Yes, I was already asleep at that time. If I get caught in the rain, I might become a Taoist fairy on those mountains."
"I really hope I can get to tonight's summer banquet as soon as possible."
"Humph, you little girl, I don't think about your fiancée so enthusiastically when I see you on weekdays."
"How can your husband compare with Your Majesty?"
Amidst the conversation, among the lotus flowers in the pond, two women in palace clothes walked over one after another. They lowered their heads and walked in a hurry.
The noble ladies in the pavilion looked over.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Is something going to happen?" Someone asked anxiously, holding the embroidered handkerchief tightly.
The maids came closer, stood outside the gauze curtain, and blessed the lower bodies of several high-ranking ladies in the pavilion. Then she spoke calmly and apologetically: "Your Majesty has ordered that today's summer banquet is temporarily cancelled. Postponing it to another date, the specific date is still under discussion and we will inform you tomorrow.”
"What?!"
"No... we can't do it anymore? How could this happen? Is this something serious?"
The dignified ladies couldn't sit still, with expressions of surprise or regret on their faces. They asked some more questions, but they didn't get a clear reply. It's just that Her Majesty the Empress's unparalleled grace should be answered today. It is destined to miss the opportunity to see it.
Not long after, there was a duller thunder in the already sultry weather, and then the sky turned from bright to dark little by little. The dragonflies on the lotus pond also flew faster and faster, and the big raindrops fell with crackling sounds. .
"Your Majesty is the king of Zhao. This is Your Majesty... Are you feeling restless?" A woman said softly, lifting the curtain and looking at the sudden rain outside the curtain.
…
Deep in the palace of Zhao State, a dark dragon robe with gold embroidery was hidden in the dim palace.
There was the sound of rain outside the palace door.
It gets darker.
A maid wanted to light a lamp, but was stopped by another maid who was close to her. She held her hand and gently pulled her sleeve. The woman glanced at His Majesty sitting in the shadows in front of the case and understood the same thing. , and the maid walked out of the palace without saying a word.
The main hall was cool and cool, and Zhao Xiang'er's black dragon robe lay softly on her body. The dimness in the hall on the rainy day seemed to cast a thin veil in front of her eyes.
She looked at the letter paper and a snow lotus with light blue silk stamens on the table without saying a word. The snow lotus brought with it a chill, spreading out and spreading coldly in the hall, making the hot summer day feel like early winter. Coming to normal.
The makeup on her face was half done, and her bun was not completely combed.
Today she was going to prepare for the summer banquet. When the banquet was held, she would attend and show Zhao Guo's future grand plans to everyone. In the past six months of campaigning, Zhao Xiang'er had become Zhao Xiang'er. The Son of God, respected by thousands of people in the country, is even more beautiful and mysterious than the Empress of the past.
And she is the most beautiful girl in the Zhao Kingdom. She just stands and does not say a word. Her grace is enough to make any words describing women eclipse and overwhelm all living beings.
The makeup on her face has been put on for a long time, and it is also extremely delicate. Her eyebrows are painted with green, her thin lips are as beautiful as hers, her long eyelashes are curved in a pitiful arc, and her figure under the dark dragon robe is becoming more and more graceful. , but this originally bright color turned dim along with the entire hall at this moment.
"How...how could it happen?"
After a long time, Zhao Xiang'er murmured softly. She took the envelope from the case and read it again word for word to make sure she didn't read any typos.
But every time she read it, her heart felt empty.
This is a letter from Yujian Tianzong.
What the letter said happened more than a month ago, but this letter was only written recently, as if more than a month had erased all the luck.
The content of the whole letter is very simple, it just says that Ning Jiujiu fought with evil spirits and fell into the abyss of the Southern Wilderness together, with his life and death uncertain.
She didn't want to believe it.
She had experienced the years of Linhe City with Ning Changjiu. The abyss in the southern wilderness was the place where Madam Bai was first born, and the bones that gave birth to Madam Bai were not human bones, but animal bones - hidden in the abyss. The demon god has been buried for countless years.
Zhao Xiang'er naturally had a deeper understanding of the Southern Wilderness Abyss through the many books left by his empress, but the deeper he got, the more desperate he became.
For more than a month, life and death were uncertain... Na Ning's death was almost certain.
But how could such a person die
There is clearly a three-year agreement, how can he break his promise
Zhao Xiang'er placed her hands on the soft cuffs of her slender and tight thighs, squeezing them tightly. Her shoulders couldn't help but tremble, and her eyes moved little by little towards the magic snow lotus.
It was just something she needed to form a complete Zifu. She had told Ning Jiujiu about it when they were in Linhe City, and Ning Jiujiu would always remember it.
Normally, when she received this, she might have ridiculed him for being nosy.
But at this moment, she couldn't say a word. The tender snow lotus stung her eyes like needles.
"It's a lie." Zhao Xianger said softly and briefly, then folded the letter and pressed it under the desk.
The girl bowed her head slightly.
The sound of rain outside is getting louder and louder.
She herself couldn't tell what kind of feelings she had for Ning Jiujiu, a friend who shared life and death through adversity? Or is it an opponent who is regarded as a lifelong enemy, or... something else
Zhao Xianger suddenly raised her sleeves, and her delicate and pointed fingers gently wiped the skin under her eyes.
She looked at the slightly moist water between her fingers and shook her head slightly.
The girl raised her chin slightly and looked outside the main hall of the White Rain Waterfall. There was a mist there, and the majestic imperial city was completely submerged in the water, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
She suddenly thought that if Ning Jiujiu suddenly appeared at the door and saw her tearful eyes, he would definitely laugh at her, so that she could beat him up like she did in Linhe City...
It's a pity that he may never see it.
The white mist swallowed up everything.
Zhao Xiang'er suddenly remembered the night before parting. She stood quietly by the wall with mottled bamboo shadows, watching him sneak into Lu Marian's blue and white sedan, and then waited for a long time before seeing him with her own eyes. When she came out, she didn't know what kind of feelings she had at that time, so she stood like a wooden figure, wasting so much time, and she also knew that Ning Changchun entered Lu Wenwen's sedan, and it was not for some charming and mediocre purpose. thing, but she felt uncomfortable in her heart.
So she left that night without saying goodbye.
Did fate say goodbye at that time
I should meet him...
The city was raining all night long, but the palace was silent from beginning to end. Zhao Xiang'er sat alone, and he didn't know how much time would pass.
…
…
More than a month ago, when Lu Jianjian was found and returned to the Yujian Tianzong, she was covered in blood and injured and passed out on the edge of the abyss in the Southern Wasteland. Her body was scattered with a few black feathers from unknown sources.
In the days that followed, Yujian Tianzong devoted almost all of its efforts to treat her. Yazhu stayed by the bedside sleeplessly and watched her for many nights. The three peak masters also took turns coming to Tianku Peak and willingly offered their services to her. She protects the law.
Three days later, Lu Marry finally slowly opened her eyes.
Everyone felt that it was a miracle that Lu Jiaoyu had been unconscious at the edge of the abyss in the center of the Southern Wilderness for so long without being killed and contaminated by evil spirits.
No one knew that what really protected Lu Marion were the seemingly ordinary black feathers around her.
It was a random gift from the gods, just because mortals got close to him unintentionally.
After Lu Marion woke up, her first words were: "Where is Ning Changjiu?"
After asking, she herself fell silent.
The scenes shrouded in darkness in his mind were cut through like jagged edges.
There was a pain in her heart, and every inch of her skin felt like being run over by needles, so much so that she couldn't help but tremble all over.
Lu Yuemou was lying on the bed, covered with a plain brocade quilt. Without a pillow under her neck, her long hair spread out naturally. She was no longer as cold as an iceberg as usual. At this moment, her pale cheeks were as cold as icebergs. The new porcelain was about to break when touched, and the nightmare scenes before coma flashed through his mind, turning into real memories.
She blinked slightly, but tears slid down the corners of her eyes.
Yazhu sighed and said: "Sister, please take a good rest by yourself first, I won't disturb you anymore."
With that said, she stood up, scooped the boiled soup aside, and silently opened the door and went out.
Opening the door, there was a girl standing at the door.
Ning Xiaoling seemed to have been standing for a long time.
She was wearing thin white clothes, her cheeks were like snow, and her pupils were as red as a bunny's eyes.
Her dull expression moved as Yazhu opened the door.
"Master... Master, are you awake?"
She opened her chapped lips, raised her head, and spoke in a very low voice.
Yazhu nodded.
Ning Jiujiu hummed, walked past Yazhu, entered the house, and closed the door.
In fact, Ning Xiaoling was the first person in Tianku Peak to tell the story of Ning Changjiu's death.
It was the evening four days ago, when the sun was setting on the horizon.
Ning Xiaoling suddenly rushed out of the house like crazy, looked at the remaining glow on the horizon, and said in a daze: "Senior brother... Senior brother... is gone."
She could clearly feel that the deep-rooted concentricity between her and Ning was like a line that had been cut by a pair of scissors at that moment, no longer connected at all.
In the past, when she was close to her senior brother, she could even sense some of the other person's thoughts and see the pictures deliberately revealed in his heart. But if they were far apart, even though they could not connect their hearts, there would still be a sense of presence. If there is no contact.
That connection is like the string on a kite.
She watched the last ray of light on the horizon turn into ashes, and the kite in her heart also set with the sunset.
Yazhu stood outside the door and looked at the closed door quietly.
In the past two days, Ning Xiaoling had been acting extremely dull, almost lifeless. She would not eat a bite of food, but would occasionally drink water. Sometimes the edge of the cup would not meet her lips, and she would spill all over her clothes.
She didn't know what Ning Xiaoling and Lu Jianjian were talking about.
But not long after, the crying of two people came from the house.
I cried so hard that my heart was broken and my heart was broken.
Soon after, the entire peak of Yujian Tianzong was covered with snow-white linen clothes to commemorate the disciple's departure. There were even stone tablets erected for him on every peak with his deeds written on them.
A month passed before I knew it.
No matter how big the incident in the Yujian Tianzong is, it is ultimately just a fairy family affair in the wilderness. The stories that happened there are only hearsay among the people and have not yet had time to spread.
In front of the main hall of Tianku Peak.
Lu Marry, dressed in snow-white linen clothes and with her hair loose, walked to the statue of Ning Changjiu in front of the temple.
There was no one around outside the palace gate.
She often watched like this, from sunrise to sunset.
Finally, on this day, she returned to the peak master's hall and drafted two letters. One contained the magic snow lotus and the Thousand Miles Sword Book Zhao Xiang'er, and the other passed the title of acting peak master to Lu Yuan. Bai, and she decided to go to the abyss of the Southern Wilderness, build a hut and practice until one day when her realm was sufficient, she would go into the abyss and either find his people or his bones.
She also thought that if one day, Ning Jiujiu really climbed out of the abyss on his own, he would definitely run out of strength. The Southern Wilderness was so dangerous, and someone had to be watching from the edge of the abyss.
Even after a month, she still didn't believe his death.
This matter was naturally strongly opposed by the whole peak, but it was her idea and no one could defeat her.
"Master, I'll go with you."
In the darkness, the girl's voice rang out. She walked silently in front of Lu Marian, lowered her head, and just said this stubbornly.
Ning Xiaoling hasn't smiled for a month.
Her expression seemed to have frozen on that day when the sun set in the west, like a snow-capped mountain that had not melted for thousands of years, only the falling snow became thicker and thicker.
Lu Marry looked at her, shook her head and said: "There are many evil spirits in the Southern Wilderness, and the pollution of the soul is extremely serious. You won't be able to stay long."
Ning Xiaoling didn't say anything, just said: "I want to go."
Lu Married said: "If he is still alive, when he comes back and finds that his little junior sister is missing, he will be as sad as you."
Ning Xiaoling was silent for a long time.
This sentence finally moved her.
Fundamentally, they were unwilling to believe in Ning Changjiu's death.
They felt that the young man in white would come back one day, with a gentle smile, and occasionally said words that made people laugh or cry, but he would always stand at the front of everyone when everything collapsed.
Lu Marry suddenly said: "Xiao Ling, do you blame me? I... didn't protect him."
Ning Xiaoling originally had a grudge in her heart, but that day when she saw Lu Jianwen covered in blood, with her fingernails peeled off, and without a piece of intact skin, she cried for a long, long time. At this moment, she looked at the woman in the night and couldn't bear it. She couldn't help but shed tears again, and she said softly: "Senior brother is gone. Master must not leave Xiaoling behind again."
Lu Marion nodded, feeling extremely sour in her heart, and said, "Let's wait for him to come back together."
"Well, wait until senior brother comes back." Ning Xiaoling repeated in a low voice.
Then they stopped talking, as if they were trapped in the past scene, but the shadow in the scene had disappeared into the white clouds, and they didn't know when they would return.
In the night, the Sword Star seems within reach, while the brighter and colder stars hang high, indifferently watching the joys and sorrows of the world.
…
The biggest chaos in Yujian Tianzong in the past century was temporarily over.
History is always surprisingly similar.
The remains of Jiuying were devoured by Xiu Snake, and then Xiu Snake was jointly killed by Taoist monks. The bones were cut off and kept by the four peaks respectively.
Many people were killed and injured in the peak, and the luck and spiritual power of the four peaks were almost completely devoured. However, the disciples who survived the disaster practiced even more vigorously, trying hard to use the power of everyone to defeat the Heavenly Mandate. The fortune of Manzong linked to the first half of the Sword Classic has been restored, but this process is extremely slow. It will take many years until Yujian Tianzong returns to prosperity.
But fortunately, the Zitian Dao Sect, which they had always been at odds with, was now in even greater decline. The female Taoist master who luckily escaped back to the sect, Thirteen Yuchen, became the new sect master and changed her name according to the sect rules. For Shi Yuchen.
However, most of the top power of Zitian Daomen was killed, and the development of Yujian Tianzong in the future should not be interfered with unnecessarily.
And not long after, Lu Jiaojiao will leave Tianku Peak and head to the Southern Wilderness again.
She crossed the Red River and looked at the beauty's bones in the water. She was silent for a long time, thinking that if Ning had seen this scene for a long time, he would still look at the shadow in the water and say things like the master was really beautiful.
She turned around silently and walked forward along the road destroyed by Jiu Ying.
Within a month, new seedlings have grown on the dilapidated road in this barren mountain and old forest. It is expected that soon, the traces of Jiuying's destruction will be silently erased.
It was no accident that Master Hanchi could find the location of the Southern Wilderness Abyss that day.
Because this abyss is much larger than they originally imagined. It is like a large lake. Even if you want to get around it, it is very difficult.
Lu Marry read a lot of books these days, and she probably figured it out. If you want to enter here, you must either be a life with divine status, or a practitioner above the Five Paths - because ascetics who have cultivated to the Five Paths will be gifted godhead.
Above the Five Paths…
Lu Marry read softly.
How far away it is.
She tried not to think about it.
One night later, a wooden house appeared on the side of the abyss. In front of the wooden house stood a wooden statue of a young man carved with a sword. In front of the statue was a pattern of a small flying formation.
And inside the house lived an unrivaled beauty in white.
She will always live here, meditate, meditate, practice, gaze into the abyss...
…
…
(PS: I’m super grateful to Magi Zui Ge, Ning Qinshui’s husband, and the leader who wants to play McCree and Jian Yisi to see the four bosses for the rewards!!! Ah, happiness comes so suddenly, it feels like celebrating the New Year in advance. Same, super excited, I don’t know what to say for a moment. In short, I sincerely thank the four big bosses for their support, and today we have just gathered twelve alliance leaders! Welcome to the Kingdom of God! There is no way to repay the favor, I can only I have been working hard on coding these days. I can write as much as I can!!)
(Thanks to the two helmsmen rewarded by book friend Cloud Sword Master and the helmsman rewarded by alliance leader Ning Jiujiu! Thank you book friends for your support! Thank you to all readers and friends for your encouragement and support of Jianjian!)