Luoshen Peak experienced a sunrise.
In the backlit silhouette, Ning Jiujiu squatted down, Zhao Xiang'er lay gently on his back, her hands wrapped around his neck, Ning Jiujiu held her thighs and carried her on his back, neither of them had anything to say. He spoke and walked down the mountain path silently.
"Where to go next?" Ning asked for a long time.
After crossing the overlapping mountain road, Ning Changjiu looked at the vast surrounding fields. At the bottom of the mountain, the grass and trees were covered with dew, which made his clothes wet in the blink of an eye.
Light filtered into his eyes dimly from the branches of the trees. Zhao Xiang'er half-opened his eyes and whispered, "You can go anywhere."
As she said this, she picked a leaf, wrote something on the leaf with her fingertips, and then blew it gently, causing the leaf to float up and spin towards the direction of Zhao Guo.
Next, Zhao Xiang'er seemed to be completely settled.
She lay on Ning Changjiu's back, closed her eyes, and was extremely quiet.
The hair fell between the neck, itching slightly. Ning Changjiu's nose twitched slightly, and he couldn't tell whether the fragrance lingering in his nose was the fragrance of vegetation or the fragrance of a girl.
"Where can I go?" Ning Changjiu asked.
"Um."
"The further away, the better?"
"Um."
It is said that the further away the better, but where can they go? Even with the cultivation level of Ziting Realm, it still takes a whole month to drive a sword across Nanzhou.
It is also one of the smallest states in the entire world.
They did not leave Zhao State after all.
In the afternoon, in a small border town, the bleak wind blew several times, and the autumn rain suddenly fell.
Zhao Xiang'er put one hand on his neck and held up a red umbrella with the other to cover their heads, blocking out the drizzle of late autumn.
She looked at the falling rain curtain, looked forward, and said, "This is really boring."
They passed through many cities and towns. Although the scenery was different, it was only pleasing to the eyes, not the mind.
"Then what's interesting?" Ning asked for a long time.
Zhao Xiang'er gently turned the umbrella handle to shake off the rain bit by bit.
"Did you ever listen to storytelling when you were a child?" Zhao Xianger asked.
"No." Ning Changjiu said.
Zhao Xiang'er sighed and said, "Have you always read the knight's storybook or something?"
"I have seen some." Ning Jiujiu said. In his spare time while practicing meditation, he used those books to imagine the world under the mountain.
Zhao Xiang'er was slightly lost in thought: "When I was a child, these stories were told to me by my sisters in the palace. At that time, I was very happy after listening to them, so I ran all over the mountains with branches, looking for those caves, hoping to find my identity. Chance or something.”
Ning Jiujiu smiled and said, "Are you still like this?"
Zhao Xianger pinched his ears, frowned and said angrily: "Don't laugh."
Ning Jiujiu repeatedly begged for mercy.
Zhao Xianger stretched out her hand into the rain and said, "Let's leave some stories in Nanzhou. Even if we all leave one day, we can still leave some traces."
"You have left many stories in Nanzhou." Ning Changjiu spoke gently.
Zhao Xiang'er shook his head and said stubbornly: "That's a story written by my mother, not mine."
Ning listened to her words for a long time and nodded slightly: "Then what do you want?"
…
This was the first day of six days. Ning Changjiu and Zhao Xianger returned to Yunshang City. They each bought a set of sassy black clothes and became great thieves.
Since he is a criminal thief, he must steal the most valuable things.
The two of them inquired for a long time and finally heard that a rare treasure was enshrined in Guangpo Temple in Rongguo. So they planned a route and sneaked into Rongguo secretly after nightfall. According to the original plan, they opened the temple one by one. One of the people inside went to steal the treasure.
In order to make this heist more real and exciting, they even lowered their level to the Nascent Realm, which is only the level of ordinary martial arts masters.
Everything went smoothly. The sound of gongs was accompanied by the light of the fire. Ning Jiujiu beat the gongs and drums to lure away the people in the temple, and escaped with ease among the pursuing soldiers.
The person responsible for stealing the treasures was Zhao Xiang'er. She knocked out two guard guards with a knife and sneaked into the deepest part of Guangpo Temple.
There is a little glimmer deep down. There was an old woman there who was chanting scriptures in front of a lamp.
Zhao Xiang'er slowly came behind her.
The candle flickered.
"This is a treasure left by God. Back then God told me that a little girl would come to take it away. I originally thought I wouldn't be able to wait until I died..." The old woman was too old to open her eyes, but she heard what was happening outside. Sound.
Zhao Xiang'er's breathing was slightly stagnant, and she saw the appearance of the treasure clearly.
It was a small statue of a god carved from stone. The statue had no face and looked like a goddess in a mural. The lines of its clothes were carved and elegant, and it didn't look like it was made of stone at all.
"How long have you been guarding it?" Zhao Xianger squatted down, looked at the old lady by the candlelight, and asked.
The old woman said: "It's been seventy years."
Zhao Xiang'er asked again: "Have you seen the god who left it?"
The old woman lowered her head and stopped talking.
The candle burning in front of her slowly dimmed and went out.
In the autumn rain, a girl in black clothes walked out of the ancient temple. Ning Changjiu went to meet her. He looked at the faceless statue in the girl's arms and praised with a smile: "The heroine of Xiang'er is really amazing. She can walk on the ground wherever she goes." .”
Zhao Xiang'er was not happy at all. She threw the statue to Ning Changjiu and said, "I'll give it to you."
Ning looked at the faceless statue of Wushen for a long time and frowned.
Zhao Xiang'er held an umbrella and listened to the sounds of pursuit coming from behind, and said, "I don't want to be a thief anymore, it's boring."
Ning Jiujiu said: "Then let's be heroes together?"
Zhao Xiang'er nodded and said, "Okay, from now on, you have to call me aunt."
"Ah?" Ning Jiujiu was puzzled.
Zhao Xiang'er handed over the umbrella: "You can scream if I ask you to!"
The dark nine feathers broke through the autumn rain and merged with the night sky.
Soon after, the legend of a knight riding a black eagle spread in the world.
They killed many famous villains in the world. Those evil people bully men, bully women, and do all kinds of evil. They have been notorious for a long time, and they seem to be waiting for them to kill them.
This heroic plan stopped on the third day.
It was a great evil man from the country of Jin who lived in the Thousand Buddha Mountain and was called the Hundred-faced Ghost.
He once killed Master Guangci, the most virtuous and respected Zen master in Zhao at that time. After killing Master Guangci, he solved several major cases, and then escaped into the Thousand Buddha Mountains of Guo State, never to be born again.
All the knights who wanted to enter Qianfo Mountain to perform chivalry and righteousness failed to come out.
Ning Changjiu and Zhao Xiang'er rode the divine sparrow Nine Feathers to the mountains.
The Hundred-Faced Ghost was far from as ferocious as the world's legends say. When they saw him, he was sitting on a futon in the cave temple, chanting sutras in front of a broken ancient Buddha, as if he was meditating on Zen that is difficult to understand.
Zhao Xiang'er closed her umbrella under the eaves and walked into the grotto Buddhist hall.
The Buddhist hall smelled of damp and musty. The broken ancient Buddha's face was covered by a hanging curtain. Several imprisoned imps were sitting at both ends wearing chains, chanting Buddhist scriptures hard, with burning in their mouths. Red iron block.
The Hundred-Faced Ghost was as skinny as a stick, and his monk's robes were in tatters. He heard the footsteps behind him and slowly turned his head.
Ning looked at his face for a long time. It was an ordinary face. He did not see evil in that face, but instead saw compassion, but this compassion was as empty as a grave.
"I'm here to kill you." Zhao Xiang'er took out his sword from the umbrella and explained his purpose.
The Hundred-Faced Ghost was not surprised. His voice was slow and filled with an inexplicable relief: "I know... someone told me back then that a girl with a statue of a god would come to kill me."
In Ning Changjiu's arms, he held the statue they stole from Guangpo Temple.
He and Zhao Xiang'er looked at each other.
"Who told you?" Zhao Xianger asked with a frown.
The Hundred-faced Ghost laughed twice and said, "I don't remember. I only remember that the person told me that the person who killed me had the purest fire in the world, and she could burn away my sins."
Zhao Xiang'er's hand holding the sword lowered slightly.
She looked at the Hundred-Faced Ghost, put the sword back into its sheath, and said, "No one can help you atone for your sins."
"Yes. I have done many evil things, and it is not enough to be cut into pieces with a thousand cuts. How can there be any fire that can burn away my sins..."
Zhao Xiang'er didn't speak, her face didn't look good.
She just wanted to leave some stories that were unique to them before she left, but she didn't want these things to be tainted with her mother's brand.
But he was right, he had done many evil things and committed countless lives, so of course he deserved to be killed.
But if you kill him, you will obey your mother's arrangements again, and if you don't kill him, you will go against your heart's wishes.
Zhao Xianger held the umbrella with complicated emotions.
The old monk turned his head and said, "Are you here to kill the Hundred-Faced Ghost?"
"Yes." Ning Changjiu said.
"Let me tell you a story." said the old monk.
"I would like to hear the details." Ning Jiujiu said.
The old monk told that story.
"There was once a wealthy family who broke the legs of a lazy and lazy servant and kicked him out. Later, the servant got some opportunities and occupied a hilltop. It was not a big deal. Then one day during a heavy rainstorm At night, the door of the family was broken open, and a group of men with knives rushed in and massacred. Women, children, and the elderly all died under the knife, and blood flowed across the walls and splashed all over the wall."
As the old monk's voice sounded, the autumn rain outside also became heavier, and the sound of rain seemed to separate the world.
The old monk continued: "The whole family was wiped out overnight, and only one child crawled out from the pile of dead people. Later, that child got some immortality and killed the servant. But after killing the servant, he discovered that it turned out that What happened back then was not as simple as a servant's revenge. There were too many people involved afterwards, and it was impossible to kill them all."
Ning Jiujiu listened carefully and said, "But you still finished the killing in the end."
The old monk's words became slower and slower: "It was the Hundred-faced Ghost that killed them."
"Aren't you just a ghost with a hundred faces?" Ning Changjiu asked.
A bitter smile appeared on the old monk's dry face: "I am Zen Master Guangci."
…
In the thunder, the old monk talked about that past event. After he killed his servant and learned the truth, he lost all hope and planned to become a monk because he had kindness in his heart. He knew that if he continued to take revenge, many innocent people would die. The most important thing is that at that time, he had great martial arts skills and was a famous hero in the world. He was unwilling to abandon these names and virtues to go on a bloody killing spree that wiped out more than ten families.
So he suppressed the hatred in his heart and became a monk. Until that day, a hundred-faced ghost came to the door. In the empty Buddhist hall, he tried his best to fight against the Hundred-Faced Ghost. Many times he thought he was going to die, but before he died, he saw fire. The empty fire gave him strength, and he stood up angrily. He picked up the Zen staff and smashed the Hundred-Faced Ghost's head like a hammer.
He looked at the corpse of the Hundred-Faced Ghost and the empty Buddhist hall, and the evil in his heart also awakened.
In the past, he was restricted by his reputation and could not kill all his enemies, but now, he saw an opportunity.
He cut off his head with the Dragon-Slaying Sword of the Hundred-Faced Ghost and exchanged clothes with him.
Those who enter the Buddhist hall are ghosts, and those who walk out are still ghosts.
When the Buddha became a ghost, he naturally no longer had the constraints of dogma or morality. He could kill people as he pleased, killing many, many people. Under that dragon-slaying knife, there were hundreds of dead bodies, including those who were guilty of the most evil crimes, and more. It's an innocent person...
In the hearts of the world, Master Guangci died innocently and tragically long ago, and the one who did all kinds of evil was the damned Ghost with a Hundred Faces.
"Just give it to me." After the old monk finished telling his story, he pulled out a dragon-slaying knife from the side of the Buddha statue. The rusty blade stuck to the ground and drew an arc.
Without waiting for their answer, the old monk jumped up, his robes whirling around, and the half-raised dragon-slaying knife in his hand whirled with it, striking down on his head.
When the knife fell in front of Zhao Xiang'er, the red umbrella suddenly opened. The blade of the knife collided with the umbrella surface, causing sparks to fly.
He knew he would die, but why was he willing to die? Good people live forever, and so do evil people. He just wanted to know whether the fate predicted by that person was true.
The old monk pressed forward with all his strength.
The girl caught the knife, and the snow-white spiritual power surged up instantly, like a thin dragon piercing through her sleeves. The umbrella that was slightly bent by pressure lifted upwards and was suddenly closed. While closing the umbrella, the girl drew out her sword. She waved the red umbrella and the rapier together, staggering and cutting out a cross made of flames.
The man's monk's robe flicked away from the firelight, blocking his face. After briefly adjusting his thin body, he turned the dragon-slaying knife from bottom to top in a smooth half-arc, and pointed it at Zhao Xiang'er.
This is his last stab.
The sword failed to hit Zhao Xiang'er. The gushing fire rushed to him first, and he saw the bird bathing in flames, just like before. Then the body was burned to death, and when it fell, it was already an old withered skeleton.
Ning looked at the bones on the ground for a long time. When the little ghosts who were imprisoned and chanting sutras saw the old monk dead, they thanked and knelt down one after another, bared their sharp teeth, and began to bite the iron locks around their necks.
After leaving Qianfo Mountain, the two of them remained silent.
"Is there any point in continuing like this?" Zhao Xianger asked softly.
Ning Jiujiu knew what she was thinking.
In the entire world, everything she experienced was hidden in the shadow of that fire bird.
This confused her.
Zhao Xiang'er said: "I'm tired."
Ning Jiujiu said: "I will carry you."
Zhao Xianger shook her head gently: "No."
"hug you?"
“…”
"Then dear aunt, do we still want to continue to fight for justice?" Ning Changjiu asked: "There are only two days left."
"Go back to the imperial city." Zhao Xianger said, with no trace of anger in her brows.
Ning rubbed her hair for a long time, but she didn't react at all.
Ning sighed for a long time, then leaned down directly, picked up her legs with one hand, hugged her beautiful back with the other, and hugged her.
"Ning Jiujiu! Put me down!" Zhao Xianger exclaimed and ordered angrily.
"Don't let go." Ning Jiujiu said.
Zhao Xiang'er beat his chest with her fist.
Ning Chang hugged her tightly and led her running wildly in the autumn rain.
After a while, Zhao Xiang'er stopped struggling. She let the other party hold her, looking at the falling rain above with slightly empty eyes, and asked: "If fate is like this rain, where can we hide?" Open it?"
Ning Jiujiu said: "The edge of the cloud."
"What if that cloud is as big as the sky?" Zhao Xianger asked.
Ning didn't answer for a long time and couldn't answer, because this was what he had been thinking about.
He looked at the rain falling from the sky and thought how she and he had the same problem - the cloud they faced covered the entire sky.
He held Zhao Xiang'er and walked in the rain, the cold autumn rain whipping down like a whip.
The mountain road was muddy, and the jade body in his arms was not warm, but seemed a little cold.
They were walking like this, not knowing when they would end.
"I lost the three-year contract." Zhao Xiang'er suddenly spoke, his voice as light as rain.
She was motionless in her arms, her face buried in her messy and soaked hair, and she couldn't see anything clearly.
Ning Jiujiu stopped slightly and hugged Zhao Xiang'er tighter.
Zhao Xiang'er was silent for a while and continued: "I can win against you only because I saw that wedding dress... That was what my mother specially let me see. At that time, I naturally broke through all the acupoints and completed the whole body. I have a sealed Suzaku tattoo, so it’s natural to win against you.”
"At that time, I felt that I could accept defeating you like this, because you were just playing dirty tricks, and I could also tell myself that if I didn't use the Nine Feathers to knot the world, but used the Nine Feathers as a blade, it would be better to confront you head-on. You won’t lose...that’s what I think and believe.”
Zhao Xiang'er said slowly: "You see, this is the fate my mother gave me. I want to return to Zhao intact, so I cannot be defeated and will not be defeated. This has nothing to do with how strong you become, and I... And I also want to win, so I just need a reason, a reason to convince myself, so that I can naturally feel that I have won."
"So I stepped into the destiny arranged by my mother again."
"The outcome of the three-year contract has long been determined... She knows that I am proud and stubborn, and knows that I am unwilling to admit defeat, so I will convince myself to step into my destiny willingly."
"Just like that eminent monk Guangci, his hatred and hatred are all suppressed by his fame and virtue, but as long as he has a chance, those entangled evil thoughts will still break out of the cage and take over everything. Some of those evil thoughts are his , some of them are those of the Hundred-Faced Ghost."
"In short, when he crawled out among the dead, he was a ghost. Even if he became a Buddha, he would still be a ghost wearing a monk's robe."
"This is his life."
The rain was beating down, and the girl in black clothes was drenched by the rain. Her body exuded a soft and fragile aura, which Ning had never seen before.
"I lost..." Zhao Xianger repeated it again, speaking clearly.
She was unwilling to believe those self-seeking reasons, nor was she willing to step into the river of peace of mind.
The rain is getting heavier.
She didn't use her spiritual power to resist the cold rain, and trembled slightly in Ning Changjiu's arms.
Ning Jiujiu knew that she was not afraid of the cold, but of the fate that was everywhere.
If your whole life has been arranged, will you accept everything with peace of mind
Ning thought this for a long time.
He gave an answer sheet in his previous life, but the ending did not satisfy him.
So what outcome did Zhao Xianger face in his last life? With her character, she would never agree to this marriage proposal. She should also be like herself, complete all the tasks of her mother, and then let the mother-in-law take the course and return her to Zhao.
According to the wishes of the master and the empress, this marriage letter seems to be just an expression of friendship, and there is no possibility of it being realized... But history has changed, and time has gone back twelve years. Everything has been overturned, and they meet again. Fate has shifted and become entangled.
Every deviation in the line of fate may lead to a completely different ending.
It was himself who changed her.
The rain is getting heavier.
Ning Jiujiu didn't use his spiritual power to spread the barrier to protect Zhao Xiang'er from the rain.
Because he knew she was crying. This was the first time she had cried, so she didn't want to see it.
The autumn rain never stops.
"Xiang'er." Ning Jiujiu suddenly spoke.
"Yeah." The girl's nose twitched slightly in her soaked long hair.
Ning Jiujiu said: "Let's go back to Zhao Kingdom and get married."
Zhao Xiang'er didn't respond.
Ning Jiujiu said: "You said that if you lose, I will be free to break off the engagement or marry you..."
"Yes." Zhao Xiang'er hid in his arms and said softly, "But if you are also an arrangement of fate, should I run away from you?"
If you agree to the marriage contract, you will submit to your fate. If you refuse, you will be violating your heart.
Ning Jiujiu asked: "Do you like me?"
Zhao Xiang'er bit her lower lip slightly and asked, "What is it about you that I like?"
Ning Jiujiu also asked: "Then why did you let me hug you?"
Zhao Xiang'er didn't answer, nor did she struggle to come down. She asked, "What about Lu Marian? Do you like her? What will she do if I marry you?"
Ning pondered for a moment and said with a guilty conscience: "There is a word called Taoist companion, and anyone who walks on the Tao can be a partner..."
"Bah!" Zhao Xianger pinched him hard.
Ning Jiujiu laughed and said: "It's your business to struggle with fate. I am the winner, and this matter is ultimately decided by me."
"Then you want to marry me?" Zhao Xianger raised her head and asked.
"I want to marry you." Ning never stepped on her text trap for a long time.
After saying this, Ning Jiujiu hugged her tightly. He soaked in the muddy mountain road, and his trousers and clothes were splashed with muddy water.
This was the last rain in the late autumn of Zhao State in the Bai Zang Year. Many years later, Ning Changjiu and Zhao Xiang'er would often talk about this day.
…
…
Above the palace gate of Zhao State, sword light pierced the dark night. The muddy boy and girl chased them all the way, almost crawling and rolling into Zhao Xiang'er's bedroom.
"You change your shoes first!"
The moment Ning Jiujiu entered the door, Zhao Xiang'er grabbed his collar angrily. Ning Jiujiu grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled it forward. Zhao Xiang'er slipped and fell to the carpet with a scream. Ning Jiujiu held her hand and pressed her up. In the darkness, their faces were very close.
Ning looked at her exquisite dimples for a long time and gently pressed his lips to hers.
Zhao Xianger put a finger between their lips.
"Xian'er still won't obey?" Ning asked with a long smile.
Zhao Xiang'er shook his head and said: "No, you are not allowed to be on top of me!"
As he spoke, Zhao Xiang'er turned over and pinned Ning Jiujiu down with his backhand. She was hesitating whether to kiss him or not, but Ning Jiujiu raised his head unreasonably and bit her lips.
"uh-huh… "
Zhao Xiang'er snorted softly and was pulled over. The girl's undulating jade body was rubbing and squeezing with him. Ning Changjiu gently bit her lips with his teeth, and pressed the back of her neck with one hand. After kissing her, he placed a hand on her slender waist and slid down further.
Zhao Xiang'er didn't take it seriously. She pressed against him, feeling the warmth between them that was hotter than the fire of Suzaku. The blush on her cheeks was hidden in the darkness, and the rain and mud on her clothes were still dripping, falling on the precious and soft carpet.
After a long time, their lips finally parted.
"Go and change your clothes first." Zhao Xianger ordered: "If you do this again, you won't be allowed in."
Ning Jiuchuan lamented that her husband was weak and walked towards the screen that blocked her.
"Wait." Zhao Xianger stopped him.
"What are your instructions?" Ning asked with a long smile.
Zhao Xiang'er said: "I'll change first."
As she spoke, she picked a few clothes from the cupboard and walked towards the screen.
When she came out again, she was only wearing a white, thin singlet, the edges of which hung down just enough to cover her buttocks. She stepped on the plush carpet to the case, knelt down and acted as if there was no one else around.
Ning Jiujiu also went to change his clothes, but the cabinet was full of women's clothes, so he picked a loose robe, but the robe was still much tighter for Ning Jiujiu.
When he changed his clothes and walked out, Zhao Xiang'er had already drafted a letter. She handed the letter to Ning Changjiu and said, "Put your fingerprints on it."
"Huh? What is this?" Ning Jiujiu took the rice paper, glanced over it, and frowned gradually.
Zhao Xianger said seriously: "Although I don't know what we are going to face, if one day it goes against our original wishes, I hope we can have the courage to defy it... This is a private agreement between you and me. I just thought of a name for it..."
Zhao Xiang'er raised his head, his black and white eyes filled with energy: "An agreement to resist the decree."
"The common people obey the decree." Ning looked into her eyes for a long time and smiled.
He bit his finger and pressed his fingerprints on the rice paper.
It's been a long night.
The next day, the news that the Zhao Kingdom's empress was getting married would spread throughout the Zhao Kingdom.