The zigzag flowers were full of broken stone steps, they drilled out of the cracked gaps, and the thin and long red petals were stained with snow particles, like blood flowing in the snow. Going up the steps along the mountain, the flowers bloom more and more densely, and the flames generally burn out all the way, bursting into the mountains with vigor and swaying in the snow.
From time to time, sporadic assassins appeared, catching up from behind. Xiahou Rin cut them back one by one, and followed Bailiyuan's footprints into Wuming Nunnery on the top of the mountain.
The nunnery was quiet, no one was there. Snow was piled up on the white stone lantern, and a row of sparse red pine trees were planted in front of the meditation room, and there were clumps of wading flowers blooming at the bottom, like a fire burning. Wumingan is not a ruin, it is even a little delicate, like a garden created out of thin air in a barren mountain. There is a sign of the sun setting, and the orange sun shines in the nunnery, and there is an indescribable tranquility.
But it's too quiet, like a forgotten corner of the world picked out from the chaotic years.
Bailiyuan was gone, only the footprints left on the snow. There may be deceit, but you can only follow the footprints to find. The footprints disappeared in front of the eaves porch. Xiahou Lin did not dare to enter rashly. He stooped to the outside of the meditation room, and cut the window screen with a knife. Inside was a small meditation room, with only the latticed window on the south side. There was no one there. The door facing the corridor inside the house was open. Bailiyuan must have gone out from there.
Xia Houlin jumped in from the window. The furnishings of the room were very simple, a small kang, a rattan table and a few rattan chairs. There are scrolls hanging on the wall, the paper is yellow, the ink is dim, the face of the person in the painting is blurred, and it can be vaguely seen that it is a little girl. On the south wall was a giant worm kite with hanging eyes and a white front. One corner was obviously broken, and then it was sewed back. There was a book on the low table, the cover was broken, Xia Houlin flipped through it a few times, it was a medical book, and it drew all kinds of flowers and plants. A garlic bottle was placed on the rattan table, with a withered twig flower inserted in it. The petals were already dark, as if scorched by fire, dry and hard.
It's probably Bailiyuan's bedroom, but she doesn't seem to have slept here for a long time. Although the quilt was neatly folded on the kang, it was covered with dust. Would you rather sleep in the ruins than in a nunnery? Xia Houlin thought. This room gave him a strange feeling, as if it was not a person but a ghost who would sit by the window at sunset and watch the mountains full of snow and flowers.
The wind picked up, and the wind duo outside rang. As if it was an omen, the sound of footsteps sounded from the end of the originally silent corridor, jumping past like a naughty child. Xia Houlin grabbed the knife and rushed into the corridor. A group of people stood in the dark corridor, tall and short, standing next to each other in strange postures, with a thin body and empty robes.
Is it a puppet? Xiahou Lin did not move his sword.
A candle was lit at the end of the corridor, and the puppets turned sideways. A little girl stood in the only bright place, and Bailiyuan stood there holding the candlestick. In the faint candlelight, Xia Houlin saw the fine silk threads spread out with her as the center, passing through the beams of the bucket arch and the colorful paintings of the columns, and connecting with these puppets.
At the same time, Xia Houlin also saw clearly the faces of the puppets hidden in the darkness. They were not human faces, but skeletons, charred bones, and empty eye holes. The thread pulls together their disjointed bones, making them Bailiyuan's skeleton puppets.
Could it be... Xia Houlin had a terrifying premonition in his heart.
"Aren't these puppets your parents and siblings?" Xia Houlin asked.
"That's right." Bailiyuan's voice came from afar, wandering in the empty corridor, "I want to thank you for your silk-drawing skills, otherwise they would be standing here. The tallest one in the middle is my father. , his name is Baili Kun, have you heard his name? His sword 'Wan Jie' was famous in the world 30 years ago. But no one knew that this young prince from Shuobei Snow Mountain was Jia Lan Yan Luo, everyone thought that He's a first-class good guy."
"I'm sorry, I was born late, I haven't heard of it." Xia Houlin said.
"My mother is on the left of my father. Her name is Wen Ruzhen. She is the daughter of a widower in Huaishuo City who sells sesame oil for a living. Probably because she is afraid of revealing her identity. Baili's family is always like this, marrying ordinary people who have no power. The daughter of the family enters the door, and then marry the daughter to an ordinary man. In this way, if they leak the secret, it is easy to clean up, and there is no need to worry about the intertwined relationship behind it that needs to be dealt with. "
"It's really an impersonal home..." Xiahou said in a low voice.
"Yeah," Bailiyuan smiled, "so it's better to be dead. Look, they can do whatever I want them to do. They're very obedient. Xia Houlin, when your brother dies, I'll pretend to him too. Pull the wire, and he will come back to life with my parents, brothers and sisters, and accompany me."
"That's fake, Bailiyuan."
"As long as they accompany me, that's true." Bailiyuan turned around and walked away slowly with the candlelight in her hand, "I thought it would kill me out of boredom, but I didn't think it was you. That way I don't have to worry about hurting your bones, it doesn't matter if you mutilate." She blew out the candle, and the corridor fell into darkness. In the last ray of light, she turned her head and smiled brightly, "Father and mother, help A Yuan send this brother... on the road!"
The first sword "Wan Jie" approached, and Shen Xiong's sword was like a tiger. Suddenly, Xia Houlin seemed to see Baili Kun's angry face and white beard. Xia Houlin quickly drew his sword out of its sheath, Bu Shenglian's black blade sank into the darkness, and was strangled together with Myriad Tribulations. The two knives collided abruptly, fine sparks rubbed from the collision of the blades, the darkness lit up for a moment, the charred skull face was only a short distance away from Xia Houlin, as if he was breathing coldly.
The other puppets came besieged. Bailiyuan can't swing a knife herself, but she can manipulate a puppet to swing a knife, and she can manipulate nine puppets at the same time! She is far more powerful than Xia Houlin imagined, and her power comes from her intelligence far beyond human beings. The sword technique requires practice day after day, while manipulating a puppet only requires learning the technique of pulling silk and memorizing the manual of the sword.
Bu Shenglian turned over in his hand, and Xia Houlin staggered between the corridors and turned around, his pace was as fast as a drum beat. He knows the weakness of skeletons. Human bones are far more fragile than steel. As long as the bones are cut off, these skeletons will lose the ability to move. There was a gap in the puppet's attack, Xia Houlu seized the opportunity to swing the knife straight up, the black knife hidden in the darkness made a mournful whistle, the blade was only one step away from Baili Kun's arm!
However, the broad sleeves of the skeleton suddenly rolled up, and the fine powder bees attacked. Xia Houlin's movements froze suddenly, coughing and stepping back.
what!
The powder inhaled into the nasal cavity was extremely spicy, as if it had been tasted anywhere. A puppet fired a crossbow arrow upward, and there was a sound of something being cut off from the top of his head. Xiahou looked up and saw countless cloth bags hanging on the pitch-black roof. Because the light was too dark, he didn't notice it before. The powder was oncoming, swirling like fine dust.
Breathing became difficult, the heartbeat was beating like a drum, and the head was dizzy. Xia Houlin suddenly remembered, this taste... is the fruit of bliss!
"Xiahou Leng, you are the younger brother of Chian, let me give you a favor." Bailiyuan sat in the darkness with a sinister smile, "I will let you die without pain in supreme bliss!"
Xia Houlin quickly tore off a corner of his clothes to cover his mouth and nose. He had to hurry up. The fruit of bliss was paralyzed and he couldn't stay here longer. Xia Houlin slowed his breathing and put the knife behind his elbow, so that Bailiyuan could not see his knife. As long as he cuts off the puppet's arm, he can win!
The puppet came stomping on the ground waving the knife, Xiahou Rin clenched the handle of the knife tightly, the tiger's mouth was against the swallowing mouth, and it was icy cold. When the puppet was three steps away from him, Xia Houlin slashed his sword, his sleeves converged behind his elbow, like a black butterfly's wings, the black knife slashed into the puppet's arm in a narrow arc. This is a blow with the ultimate speed and power. No one can predict or resist it. The puppet will be broken under the blade of Bu Shenglian.
However, the puppet's knife folded sharply and was lifted diagonally from bottom to top, with the tip of the knife coming first!
The arm suddenly hurt, blood spurted out, Xia Houlin widened his eyes in disbelief, and his blade was restrained.
One wrong step, one wrong step. The light of the sword emerged in the darkness, like thousands of poisonous snakes hissing and spitting letters. He was losing ground in the attack of the puppet. Every move was seen through, and every move was restrained. . His breathing was out of rhythm, the cloth strips could not block the powder of bliss fruit, his hands were softening, his head was dizzy, and the puppet in front of him was twisted a little and turned into a ghost.
Bailiyuan's voice sounded faintly, "You forgot, Xiahou Lin, Baili's family left twelve empty doors in the knife technique passed on to Jialan. As long as you use the Jialan knife, you will never win!"
But why... There are hundreds of swordsmanships in his swordsmanship, why are they still being seen through
"One more thing I forgot to tell you, the Baili Knife is the source of ten thousand knives, the sect of ten thousand knives, and all the techniques of the hundred knives come from the hundred knives!"
Thunder-like knife light burst out in the gloomy light, twisted like dragons and snakes haunting in the dark clouds. Baili Kun took a step forward and slashed down with his knife. With a simple blow, it was like a thousand mountains and seas coming from the top! At that moment, Xiahou Lin seemed to see a warrior with angry eyes. His sword had the might of a vajra angry man, and all mortals turned to dust under the sword! Xiahou Rin raised his sword to block, Bu Shenglian let out a shrill beep, the tiger's mouth burst in an instant, and blood was flowing. Xia Houlin failed to stand firm and fell to the ground.
His heart was beating so fast, dong dong dong, dong dong dong, the whole world seemed to echo his heavy heartbeat. Many voices flooded into my mind in an instant, the clanging sound of blades colliding, the sticky sound of blood being separated, the shrill screams of women, the high-pitched crying of children... No, he has to stand up, he has to stand up.
But his legs were weakening every inch, and his vision was shaking and blurring. He saw the puppet approaching step by step, he tried to open his eyes wide, but his eyelids became heavier and heavier.
Are you going to die? Are you going to die? How exactly? What to do... to smash through the empty door!
Someone is calling him in his mind, as if thousands of people are calling his name, countless voices are stacked together, and the tide is like a surging tide, getting closer and clearer.
"Xiahou Lin!"
"Xiahou Lin!"
"Xiahou Lin!"
The last sound was like a bell, and Xiahou Lin suddenly opened his eyes.
The world is bright, with swirling leaves and dazzling sunlight above her head, and Xia Chan chirps in her ears. The sky is full of locust leaves rolling and falling, and a woman in black swings a knife in the rain of leaves. The moment she turned around, Xia Houlin saw her sharp eyebrows, her demon-like eyes emerged, and she held the knife in both hands, sending out a beautiful knife light in the flying rain.
"This is your mother's knife, Xiao Lian." Heart-killer said beside him, "It will never cease to exist, and it will never cease to be destroyed. Her sword can annihilate all things."
Xiahou Pei and Murdering Heart both turned into flying smoke, and everything was silent for a moment, and a desolate and desolate village appeared in his field of vision. Shen Jue walked out from his side, holding a roll of kalan knives in his hand, and a roaring bonfire was burning in front of them. .
"I've often wondered if there will be a sword technique in the world that will reach a desperate state, without the slightest opening." Shen Jue looked at the flame and said.
"My mother's knife," Xia Houlin heard his own voice, "Mr. Heart said that my mother's knife can slay all methods. You used to say that my mother cultivated the trick in the knife, maybe the trick can."
"That's your mother's knife, everyone's knife is different," Shen Jue looked straight over, Xia Houlin saw the flames beating in his eyes, "Xiahoulin, what is your knife?"
In an instant, thousands of worlds turned into torrents rushing past under his feet, a ray of clarity appeared in the darkness, and Xia Houlin heard the sound of fighting outside.
"Hey," Bailiyuan tilted her head slightly, "Did you attack so quickly? Then I have to hurry up."
She violently pulled the thread, and countless threads vibrated and beeped violently in the corridor. All the puppets moved suddenly and walked towards Xiahou Rin with their knives in strange postures. Xia Houlin struggled to get up from the ground, his vision was distorted, then he closed his eyes, and there was a murmur in his ears, then he didn't listen to anything.
He took a deep breath and rushed towards the darkness in front of him. The light of the sword flashed in front of him. Xia Houlin whirled around like a ghost to avoid the piercing blade. There was still another knife slashed at the side of the elbow. clearer. He didn't stop, he continued to charge, he put down the blade in front of him, and at the same time his back was exposed, Bailiyuan forced him to turn back to resist, but he refused!
He roared and stepped forward, his back was slashed with a knife, the chainmail in his clothes blocked the fatal damage for him, but the strong impact still made blood rush to his throat. He continued to swing the knife and slash down, using the power of the puppet's block to turn over and swept over the puppet, rushing forward.
Whether there is an invincible knife in this world, he does not know. He only knew that to cut through the empty doors, the only way was to expose all the empty doors. His goal is not the puppet's arm, not pulling the wire, but at the end of the corridor... Bailiyuan!
His mother's knife is to cut down all methods.
And his knife is to live to death!
Xia Houlin dragged his knife and ran, the cold tip of the knife condensed a little fluorescent light, drawing a mournful whistle. Bailiyuan watched the blood-covered man running towards her. She was pulling the wire like crazy, but the speed of the puppet was far less than that of Xia Houlin. The powder of the fruit of bliss tore his mind, and the pain brought him back again.
There was a burst of pain in the head, the hazy vision seemed to be spinning, the lungs were like broken bellows, and the sound of breathing echoed in my ears. This corridor is too long, and Bailiyuan is a dark spot in the distance, as if it will never be reached.
But he can't stop!
During the long run, the sound of the fighting outside became clearer and clearer, and a snowflake seemed to float in front of him. The sound of fighting passed through the walls, and in the snow and flowers in Wuming'an, the assassins slaughtered each other like wolves, the corpses spread all over the mountainside, and their godless eyes looked at the sky. The blood flowed down the mountain steps and pooled into a river.
Shen Jue stabbed Jing Tie into an assassin's forehead, blood and sweat mixed together in front of his forehead, and the usual Zhang Li's face was already indistinguishable at this moment. Chi Yan cut off the heads of two people at the same time, and the two round heads were thrown away and rolled into the swaying flowers. Shen Jue and Chi Yan leaned back to back, each other could hear each other's rapid breathing. The new assassin approached them, the blade dripping with blood.
In the corridor, Xia Houlin caught the snowflake and held it in his palm.
He can't lose, he bears everyone's wishes, he can't lose.
Before he falls, while he still has strength, run faster!
The closer he got to Bailiyuan, the more dense the thread was. Xia Houlin swung the long knife, but he cut the thread. The fine silk threads fell on his shoulders like snowflakes. Xia Houlin kept waving the knife, only one step away from Bailiyuan remote!
Bailiyuan made a decisive decision, gave up pulling the machine wire, and turned around and ran wildly.
A knife slashed at Bailiyuan's vest, leaving a long bloodstain. She staggered and continued to run. Xiahou Rin chased after her with a knife, followed her out of the meditation room, crossed the empty flowerbed, drilled through the dog hole in the back wall, trudged through the white snow that did not reach his knees, and reached the peak outside the nunnery where there was no way out.
Xia Houlin's blood and Bailiyuan's blood dripped all the way, twists and turns. In the end both lost their strength and crawled in the snow.
Bailiyuan gritted her teeth and crawled forward while picking up the snow, and the ice and snow turned her fingers red. The blood took away her consciousness, and her vision became more and more blurred. In a trance, she seemed to see Ah Chu's cheeks, her face without makeup, her homely dress, like a gentle elder sister at home, standing in the sunlight and looking back. She smiles.
"A Yuan!"
"Sister..." Bailiyuan crawled desperately with tears in her eyes, "I don't want... I don't want to die here alone..."
It's too cold, it's too cold, it's so extreme, there's no one there.
Xia Houlin caught up from behind, took out a dagger from behind her waist, and stabbed it into her chest. She gripped Xia Houlin's dagger tightly, and the blood flowed through her fingers and flowed into her cuff. Xia Houlin inhaled too much bliss fruit powder, and the seven orifices began to bleed, hitting her face drop by drop. With all his strength, the dagger sank into Bailiyuan's chest little by little, and gradually a blood halo appeared.
Consciousness gradually faded away, Bailiyuan looked up at the blue sky and was pulled back to the past years.
She remembered the moon in Yunxian Tower. It was big and round. She and her brothers and sisters sat under the moon and put out sky lanterns. Young sister will always be together".
Such a simple wish, why can't it be realized
The deserted sunset at Wuming Nunnery, the fire of Baili's house burning all night, and countless snowmen piled up by one person... The past scenes flashed before her eyes. It turned out that her days in Yunxian Tower were the best times of her life.
However, time flies, after all, can not be kept.
What if... If time could stop there.
In a trance, she seemed to hear Ah Chu's voice coming from afar again, traveling through thousands of mountains, rivers and rivers, and sent to her ears by the distant wind.
"A Yuan—"
"Sister...Brother..."
She murmured, and suddenly gave up her resistance, letting the dagger sink completely into her chest. The world lost its color in her eyes, she opened her eyes wide in tears, and her dark eyes gradually became dull.
Xia Houlin climbed off her and fell into the snow.
There was blood in his mouth. He raised his sleeve to wipe, but found that the more he wiped, he looked down at the sleeve. It turned out that his wrist was also injured, and the sleeve was already red. It was so cold that he had lost the pain. He lowered his head and touched it, covered in sticky blood. Xia Houlin tore off the cloth from his outer garment, took out the golden sore medicine he carried with him from his arms, bandaged it little by little, and then lay motionless in the snow, so that the blood would flow less and more slowly.
He kept breathing, he was waiting for Shen Jue to pick him up. Shen Jue had said that he would come to him.
I don't know if it's because I'm too tired, or because of too much blood, or because of the fruit of bliss, my hands and feet are gradually numb, as if they have turned into ice cubes. When his consciousness slowly drifted away, he heard footsteps, he turned his head to look over, and walked up step by step, leaning on the knife.
He opened his mouth, but made no sound.
Chian is also covered in bruises, but he looks better than him. Chi Yan squatted down and touched the top of his head, "My young master and I are looking for you separately, he should be here soon, you wait a moment."
Chi Yan stood up, picked up Bailiyuan's body, took a few steps back, and said to Xiahou Lin, "I'm leaving, Xiaolin."
Xia Houlin vomited a few mouthfuls of blood and sat up with difficulty, "What are you doing? Where are you going?"
"It's probably far away." Chi Yan squatted down, took off the fox fur around his neck and wrapped Bailiyuan, "I can't leave Baili's body with you, I promised Baili that I would take her with his ashes by his side."
"You... you..." Blood choked in his throat, Xiahou Lin was speechless.
"Xiao Lian, didn't you say that you have your own wishes?"
Chi looked at the bottom of the cliff, the sunset west of the mountain, the snow-capped mountains stretched, and the distant mountains were misty, his eyes were clear and clear, reflecting the wind and clouds of the world.
"I'm very relieved to have the young master to take care of you." Chi Yan stood up, his pale face stained with blood was still peaceful and peaceful, "I want to travel a hundred miles away, while I'm still alive, go to many, many places, walk As soon as you leave, take a look. In this way, my wish and Baili's wish can all be realized."
Xia Houlin swallowed a few mouthfuls of blood and said hoarsely, "Can we meet again?"
Standing in the sky wind, Chiyan said softly: "Yes, whether it is the other side of the Yellow Spring or this life, we will meet each other eventually."
He turned around and stepped into the long snowstorm. The assassin who came by the wind and snow finally disappeared in the wind and snow.
Xia Houlin lay back and tried his best to keep breathing. He had to hold on for a while longer until Shen Jue came.
The medicinal strength of the fruit of bliss came up, he wanted to sleep very much, and slowly closed his eyelids, and finally there was a voice in the distance, he came back to his senses and opened his eyes with difficulty. He suddenly remembered that his bloody face must be scary now, and Shen Jue might feel sad when he sees it. He struggled to sit up, took a handful of snow, wiped his face, and lay back again.
After I don't know how long I waited, my body finally fell into a warm embrace. Shen Jue took off his jacket and wrapped him, softly calling him, "A-Lin, A-Lin."
He opened his eyes, raised his head and kissed Shen Jue's cheek.
He really wanted to say how did you come, young master, I waited for a long time. But he was too tired to open his mouth, he couldn't open his mouth, he couldn't vomit blood in front of Shen Jue's eyes.
"A-Lin, hold on, let's go to the doctor." Shen Jue carried him on his back, "A-Long, don't sleep, be obedient, don't sleep."
He leaned on Shen Jue's back, blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, his eyelids became heavier and heavier, he tried his best to open his eyes. In the distance was a splendid sunset and red clouds, the sky seemed to be on fire, and the snow-capped mountains were stained with rouge. color.
so beautiful. he thinks.
Consciousness became precarious, and he felt as if he had turned into a small snowflake, slowly rising up and floating in the sky wind. He saw the vast white snow covering the killing field, washing away all dirty sins, the assassin sleeping under the snow, and the years here returning to silence and serenity.
Is it all over
He forgot who said it, if he commits murder, he will be killed.
Has his sin been paid for? Has he paid off his blood debt? Is his retribution over? Whether his cruel years have finally come to an end, from then on, he can rest in peace.
But... he still has a deep nostalgia in his heart.
"A-Lin, A-Lin," Shen Jue called him over and over again, "Will you touch my face when you hear it?"
He raised his fingertips tremblingly and touched Shen Jue's cheek, tears streaming down his half-closed eyes.
Lord, forgive me. I really want to… live.
Even one more moment.
The hand hangs down weakly, and Xingyue Bodhizi slips out of the sleeve and hangs on the wrist. Shen Jue was shocked and turned around to call his name.
"Xiahou Lin!"
Like the stillness that sinks into the water, the world suddenly drifts away from him, the world is a reflection in the water, the sparkling waves become more and more blurred.
The sound dissipated little by little and disappeared into the wind.
In the end, everything was silent.