"The Holy Majesty agrees," Empress Wu turned around and sat behind the table in the Qingliang Hall, concentrating on the raised skirt of the golden phoenix peony entwined palace dress.
At this moment, things have settled down on the Holy Majesty's side. In the huge palace of Qingliang Hall, Empress Wu screened everyone except Xie Yun. Only Shan Chao who came with Xie Yun stood behind the vermilion door far away, revealing a long and slender line between the lights and shadows. back view.
Xie Yun finally asked the suspicion that he had never had the chance to say: "—Yin Kaiyang led the secret door to leave the capital without authorization. The Holy One was furious and scolded the secret door wolf for his ambition and failed the holy grace. Why did he stand firmly on Yin Kaiyang's side this time?" ?”
The emperor has always been suspicious, but today's performance is quite different, anyone with eyes can see clearly.
"I can't explain clearly..." Empress Wu sighed, and said: "Three nights ago, the Holy Majesty suddenly woke up from a nightmare. At this time, Yin Kaiyang, who had disappeared for several years, suddenly appeared to see him. The Holy Majesty was very impatient at first, but seeing After arriving in Yin Kaiyang, he suddenly became extremely docile and quiet again, and even discussed state affairs with Yin Kaiyang behind closed doors for three days... "
"Your Majesty didn't go in to listen?"
"No." Empress Wu gritted her teeth and said, "After the Holy Majesty came out, he became obedient to Yin Kaiyang's words. Not only did he not pursue the old matter of leaving behind a secret door a few years ago, but he also wholeheartedly wanted to help him seize the position of leader, saying that this was a way to rule the folk martial arts forces. The best opportunity, words and deeds are like a different person... "
Xie Yun's complexion changed slightly.
Empress Wu had been paying attention to his expression, and immediately asked sensitively: "What's wrong?"
But Xie Yun was silent for a moment, and then said: "It's nothing."
Without waiting for Empress Wu to ask, he changed the subject and said, "Did Yin Kaiyang put forward any other proposals other than 'sell the world's soldiers'?"
"Nothing so far. I've been talking about the martial arts conference. I haven't dabbled in the harem, the prince, or the government, and my attitude towards the palace is quite respectful." Empress Wu tightened her fingers on the teacup, and said sharply, "But because of this, It is more sinister! At present, the court is full of aristocratic families, and the secret door can't openly get a share of the pie, so I came up with such a method. The first step is to use the trust of the Holy One to seize the popularity of the people, and the second step is to use the popularity of the people to grab something. , do I need to say more?!"
Empress Wu deserves to be the key figure who defeated the Queen and Concubine Xiao, killed Changsun Wuji and Zhu Suiliang, and completely subverted the old Guanlong clan. Her extremely keen political sense has to be praised.
"We can't let him get what he wants," Empress Wu said coldly, "The Holy Majesty has made up his mind to encircle and suppress martial arts, but if there must be someone to be the leader, this person must not be Yin Kaiyang!"
Xie Yun shook his head behind the table.
Empress Wu asked, "What?"
"Yin Kaiyang's martial arts is indeed the best in the world." Xie Yun said softly: "In terms of martial arts alone, no one is his opponent."
People who are not in the martial arts probably don't understand the absoluteness behind this sentence. Empress Wu subconsciously frowned her delicate crescent eyebrows: "Is there no one in the world who can fight?"
Xie Yun said nothing.
"If the Forbidden Army uses the wheel to fight and consume its combat power first, then..."
"Death."
Empress Wu was shocked by the clean and neat words, and hesitated: "Even you... don't even have the power to fight?"
Xie Yun was silent for a long time this time.
From Empress Wu's point of view, he seemed to be deliberating over and over again in his heart the comparison of the combat power of the two sides, but if you look carefully, you will find that he is actually just quietly staring at a certain piece of floating dust in the air.
It wasn't until Empress Wu suspected that he had forgotten his question and was about to repeat it again that Xie Yun said slowly and in a low voice: "... yes."
"If only one battle is required."
The air suddenly froze, like a cold and heavy liquid, slowly flowing through the silent hall in the void.
Empress Wu hesitated for a long time, and finally asked:
"...Then can you defeat him and grab the position of leader?"
Moonlit Atrium.
The palace lanterns in the distance gradually went out, the last human voice was lost in the cold wind, and a layer of hoarfrost seemed to condense on the water surface in late autumn.
Xie Yun was sitting on the jade railing by the pond, with a fur cloak on his shoulders, lazily holding up the flagon.
He has never been like the high crown and bun that is popular among men nowadays. Most of the time, he tied his hair casually with a vermilion ribbon. The long hair hanging from the side of his neck has a soft and cold texture like water in the night. He was probably a little drunk at this time, and he didn't reach out to tuck his hair behind his ears, just like that, his shoulders were slightly drooping, and his eyes were lazily staring at the water.
Soft footsteps came from behind, Xie Yun didn't turn his head, and suddenly said: "Stop."
The footsteps stopped at the sound.
Neither of them made a sound. After a long time, Shan Chao calmly said: "Don't drink, your body can't bear it."
Xie Yun sneered, raised his head and lifted the jug and took another big gulp. However, at this moment, Shan Chao suddenly stretched out his arms to embrace him, took the flagon softly but could not refuse, and threw it on the ground with a clang, and the spilled residual wine immediately exuded a mellow aroma.
"Han Tingchun—" Xie Yun dragged his tone and said mockingly, "It's such a big deal, a drop of precious wine is poured like this. Have you ever seen so much money in your life?"
His voice was a little hoarse because of the blurred consciousness, and even the sarcasm sounded inexplicable.
"Your life is worth more than it," Shan Chao replied.
Shan Chao lifted the cloak that was about to slip off Xie Yun's shoulders, wrapped it tightly around his thin and straight body, and carefully tucked the soft and abundant fur into his neck. When he was doing this, he ran his fingers across Xie Yun's slender neck, only felt the pulse was weak and intermittent, and he could hardly feel any steady pulse, and the blood vessels glowed light blue under the pale moonlight.
Xie Yun closed his eyes and said, "Of course my life is valuable."
Shan Chao asked: "Which one is more valuable than the position of martial arts leader?"
Xie Yun didn't answer, and after a long, long time, he didn't know whether he was sober or in a daze and murmured: "Wealth and wealth are in danger..."
Shan Chao said coldly: "Empress Wu asked you to think carefully and give her an answer tomorrow. Have you thought about how to reply?"
Xie Yun still had his eyes closed. It seemed that if he stayed like this for a while, he would have fallen asleep.
But Shan Chao stood straight in front of him, patient, suppressed and restrained. After an unknown amount of time, Xie Yun's lips twitched, and he smiled briefly and almost invisible.
"Based on Yin Kaiyang's current strength, it is actually easy to think of being number one in the world. This time, all the effort to manipulate the emperor is just to use the power of the court to bring the hidden door to the bright side. If I don't do it , there are very few people in this world who can stop him..."
"At that time, the secret door will be seen again, and the general situation will never return." Xie Yun said leisurely: "The real power in the queen's hands will be very dangerous."
There was a hint of cruelty in Shan Chao's voice: "The queen's authority is worth more than your own life, right?"
Xie Yun finally opened his eyes, and Yoyo repeated: "Wealth is in danger, apprentice."
Shan Chao was speechless under his playful gaze.
"Power is power no matter who owns it. As long as it is there, there will be countless people fighting for it, chasing it, denying all relatives for it, and doing everything for it... You know what is more terrible than betting your life for power and profit ?"
Shan Chao didn't answer.
"It's not even qualified to sit at the gambling table." Xie Yun said.
He stretched out his slender index finger and tapped Dan Chao's chest, under the moonlight, the fingertips were as blue and white as jade.
"—For most people in this world, you are very lucky. You can sit directly at this gambling table without struggling for decades. But remember, what makes you really lucky is not this, but that you don't have to pay any price , you can easily walk off this table."
Xie Yun came down from the jade railing, probably drunk, and staggered when his toes touched the ground, and Shan Chao raised his hand to support him.
Xie Yun broke free, waved his hands casually, turned around and walked towards the back hall - that's where he rested and lived in Qingliang Hall.
Shan Chao moved, and seemed to want to follow but held back.
He stared straight at Xie Yun's back as he walked toward the end of the corridor, then opened the door and stepped over the threshold—at this moment his knees gave way, but before he fell down, he felt the wind whistling behind him, and he was caught by someone. Take a firm hug!
It was Shan Chao who flew across the corridor at the nick of time and caught him horizontally!
In an instant, Shan Chao's whole body was stiff, his muscles tensed like rocks, and he couldn't think of anything in his mind.
"..." He said incoherently: "If you drink too much, I will say..."
Immediately afterwards, he didn't dare to look down at Xie Yun's expression, so he half-supported and half-carried Xie Yun into the room and put him on the bed.
At that moment, his mind was so confused that he couldn't remember how long it was from the threshold to the bed. His mind was full of the touch from his palms and arms, like countless tiny tingling currents flowing up and down his whole body. Afterwards, he subconsciously took a few steps back, held the long sword, and stood in a daze behind the door. When he reacted, he realized that there was no sound in the room, and there was a steady and long breathing coming from behind the gorgeous bed curtains. Voice.
Xie Yun fell asleep.
Shan Chao took a step forward, hesitated for a while, and then took another step forward.
His pace has never been so hasty and hesitant as before, as if he was deeply attracted by the inexplicable evil ahead, and on the other hand resisted with all his strength, struggling to retreat, so that he was in a panic.
A few months ago under the moonlit night in Chang'an, the commander of the imperial army who glanced from the gap in the curtain of the car, and now the faint sound of breathing behind the heavy bed curtain, intertwined and changed before Shan Chao's eyes, and finally turned into a frivolous, frivolous and high-spirited picture. Face.
—That face has a beauty that is unmatched by the world, but also reveals unimaginable malice.
"Monk," he said teasingly, "it seems that there should be a bad relationship between you and me."
Shan Chao half-kneeled beside the bed, lightly held Xie Yun's hanging hand, and stared at those light red thin lips like a demon.
"Master..." he whispered.
These taboo and sinful words are infinitely attractive just by saying them.
"Kiss me once, and I'll..."
I will sit with you at this gambling table.
I would do everything for you.
Shan Chao leaned down tremblingly, his lips approached inch by inch, but stopped abruptly just when they were about to meet. He closed his eyes in pain, stood up suddenly after a moment, forced himself to take a step back and turn his head.
Can't look back.
cannot.
Shan Chao strode out of the house, and when he closed the door, he trembled so much that he almost pinched his fingers, but he didn't even notice, he hurried across the corridor, staggered in disorder, and almost tripped himself when he ran down the steps.
Like a defeated army running away.
He rushed back to his small bedroom at the guard's, slammed the door shut, and let out a long breath.
Immediately afterwards, this tone was never taken back.
I saw a ray of white light engulfing Li Feng and descending on his head, and instantly hit the front door!
— Clang!
At the very moment, Shan Chao drew his sword and shot, and the sword's edge collided heavily head-on, splashing a frightening flame, instantly illuminating the attacker's face!
"——Shan, Chao." The man smiled behind the blade and said, "I've heard the name for a long time, are you safe?"
Shan Chao said coldly: "... Yin Kaiyang."
Yin Kaiyang flicked his arm, and the long knife slid across the sword with a teeth-stinging sound of rubbing. Shan Chao suddenly changed his moves with extreme sensitivity, and countless cold lights burst out in the small bedroom at the same time. In an instant, the two were living and dying They fought back and forth several times.
Yin Kaiyang said with a smile: "Ah Yun has taught people so many times, but your kung fu has turned upside down compared to when you lost to me last time. It can be seen that your talent is really good."
Shan Chao pressed heavily on the edge of the blade with the body of the sword, and instantly slid upwards and slashed obliquely. The Longyuan Seven Stars were stimulated by internal force and lit up one after another. The murderous aura pointed straight at Yin Kaiyang's throat with an extremely paradoxical arc!
Shan Chao shouted: "Who has ever lost to you?!"
Yin Kaiyang had no choice but to abandon the knife and retreat, the sword's edge brushed against his neck without a sound and slid past!
"—Why?" Yin Kaiyang politely expressed surprise: "Young man, can't afford to lose like that?"
Yin Kaiyang is definitely not young anymore, but the half of his face exposed under the mask does not show any age, and the fine lines at the corners of his mouth when he smiles are more like the mellow precipitation of years.
Although they both cover their faces, he and Xie Yun belong to two completely different types of people in appearance—Xie Yun is born with a rare and handsome appearance, and it is difficult to completely block his unforgettable outline even wearing a mask; Most of them are neither ugly nor outstanding.
However, the traces of the years, his mature demeanor, and the supreme power he has been in charge of the secret door for twenty years, make him look like an indescribable aura. If he is placed in the crowd, his conspicuousness will not even be half weaker than Shan Chao .
"Jing Ling mentioned you when she reported to me about Forging Sword Village, so I am very curious to know what you have become now."
Yin Kaiyang paused, and looked Shan Chao up and down with great interest: "Flowers in the mirror and moon in the water are only ineffective for those who are extremely determined and have no fear in their hearts. I didn't expect that you, who had no resistance back then, would become the hero of my life when you became an adult." It's really embarrassing to see the first person who doesn't feel anything about the beauty in the mirror and the moon in the water."
Shan Chao's hand holding the sword was as steady as an iron stone: "I'm sorry, I forgot everything before."
"… forget?"
Shan Chao didn't answer.
Yin Kaiyang frowned, suddenly thought of something, and said with a smile: "So that's it!"
He came up suddenly, like a rabbit rising and falling, but this time he didn't take the knife, but just used it with nothing. Side shot.
How could Shan Chao let him take pictures? Immediately, he turned his body and turned his head, Qixing Longyuan's sword body exuding a curl of cold air slashed at Yin Kaiyang with both hands!
—But it was too late now.
Yin Kaiyang's palm wind struck, sweeping the back of Shan Chao's head near the neck behind his ears; and then retreated like lightning, the world's first qinggong ladder in a century was pushed to the extreme, almost disappeared here, and at the same time he was in the room again. The horn appeared, and in a blink of an eye, he narrowly escaped the powerful slash of Qixing Longyuan!
Shan Chao suddenly raised his hand to press the back of his head, and said sharply, "What are you doing?!"
— What he didn't see was that a silver needle as thin as a hair was stirred up by the palm wind, and it slipped out of the acupuncture point behind his ear, fell soundlessly to the ground, and disappeared in a flash!
"No wonder the illusion doesn't work for you. I still think there are people who are truly fearless in this world. It turns out that you just forgot all the fearful things."
Yin Kaiyang shook his head and clicked his tongue, then clapped his hands and smiled: "Xie Yun's method of inserting needles in the brain is amazing, and I can't solve it for a while... But this should be enough for the time being."
Shan Chao was about to say something, but as soon as his breath reached his throat, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head!
Shan Chao had never felt that pain in his life. It was like a huge shadow that had been buried deep in his mind for a long time. It suddenly broke free and floated to the surface of the water. It became clearer and more shocking. black.
He only saw Yin Kaiyang blinking, and the ghostly white light that appeared in the Nuan Pavilion during the day flashed across his pupils again, looking straight into his own eyes.
—Flowers in the Mirror and Moon in the Water.
He actually used that treacherous pupil technique again at this time!
"Let's see what is your most fearful thing, and whether you can still leave the fantasy world..."
Yin Kaiyang's voice was almost soft, completely different from his cold and strange eyes, and when he heard it in the dark, it gave people a more chilling illusion.
But Shan Chao didn't hear it.
In his ears, Yin Kaiyang's voice and the rough everything around him gradually faded away, turning into a cold and distant, hazy like mist.
The most frightening thing.
Shan Chao suddenly raised his hand to press the center of his eyebrows, his chest rose and fell violently, and he let out heavy and unbelievable gasps. The sword's edge passing through the yellow sand under the scorching sun, and the blood-like sunset in the depths of the desert, intertwined into countless spots and light and shadows in his mind.
— he remembered.
Xie Yun didn't kill him for the first time on the day he left the desert, there was another time before.
That time Xie Yun was absolutely true and wanted him to die.