The white snow gleamed silvery in the moonlight. The coldness of the ancient snow-capped mountains had weakened a lot here. Cedar trees of all sizes grew in the valley, like short towers covered with snow.
Two figures appeared beside the cedar. Shi Ling looked at the people beside him in surprise.
Qi Wan'er did not change her appearance. She wore white sleeves embroidered with black bird arrows, a wrist guard, and small boots. She was reflected by the faint snow light, and her face was as beautiful as a crown of jade, tall and handsome. He let go with some disdain, and threw the bamboo flute back to Shi Ling: "You can go now."
Shi Ling didn't care about his injuries and returned to his frivolous look: "Why did you save me?"
"I'll save you, why are you talking so much nonsense!" Qi Wan'er was obviously in a bad mood, and said in an irritable tone, "Go away and stop bothering my sister."
Shi Ling said calmly: "I would like to leave, but I'm afraid your sister can't leave me."
Qi Wan'er warned: "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kill you!"
Shi Ling ignored his threats and approached him, saying softly: "You saved my life, and I am willing to die under your sword."
There was a strong ambiguity in his words. Qi Wan'er was shocked for a moment. When she reacted, she couldn't help but get angry and her handsome face turned blue. She pointed at him and said, "Stop using foul language and show some respect!"
Shi Ling was not ashamed: "I am a shameless person. Didn't my brother-in-law know that long ago?"
"Who is your brother-in-law?"
"You look down on me, a shameless person, but you come to save me. I'm afraid I will misunderstand you," Shi-Sheng said with interest, turning the bamboo flute. "Could it be that you are also interested in Huanle Tian's dual cultivation method? Although I like women, if it's you, my brother-in-law, I don't mind giving it a try..."
"Shut up!" Qi Wan'er snapped her fingers coldly, and the Jade Emperor Sword beside her shone brightly.
Shi Ling had no intention of hiding. She still stood there, staring at him with a smile, but her voice suddenly turned cold: "Or are you apologizing for your sister?"
The tip of the sword stopped in front of her throat, and Qi Wan'er fell silent.
How could Qi Yanfeng not recognize the people around Qi Zhen? She had already spotted the Qi family disciple and knew that Qi Zhen was sitting in the carriage.
"Why don't you do it, my good brother-in-law?" Shi Ling raised his bamboo flute and easily pushed away the sword tip. "As long as she hasn't broken through the inner alchemy realm, I will still be useful to her. This is not the time to kill me."
Qi Wan'er hummed softly: "No need for you, I will protect her myself."
Shi Ling laughed loudly and poked his chin with the bamboo flute: "You are really protected too well. I don't know that people are treacherous."
Before Qi Wan'er could make a move, a sword swung open the bamboo flute with a "bang". Shi Ling was already injured and was knocked back several steps by the strong force.
"Brother Yao." Qi Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief.
Qi Zhen was the famous patriarch of the Qi family. How easy was it to rescue someone from him? The two had already made preparations. Qi Wan'er rescued the person, and Yao Feng followed up. They used the magic circle they had set up in advance to trip up Qi Zhen, and then went to meet Qi Yanfeng after getting rid of the pursuit. It took a lot of effort.
Yao Feng walked out from behind the cedar and stared at Shijie expressionlessly.
Qi Wan'er had gradually calmed down. She looked at the time and raised her hand to stop Yao Feng: "Forget it."
Yao Feng did not withdraw his sword.
Shi Ling smiled and waved his sleeves. Suddenly, a red mist exploded around them, carrying a strong fragrance that made people dizzy. Qi Wan'er was stunned for a moment, then frowned and retreated far away.
"Wan'er, you are here too!" Qi Yanfeng ran over in the snow.
Qi Wan'er and Shi Ling turned sideways to look at her at the same time.
When he got closer, Qi Yanfeng suddenly stopped and looked at Shi Ling at a loss.
Shi Ling said: "Did you get it?"
Looking at Qi Wan'er, Qi Yanfeng roughly understood the reason. He bit his lip and nodded timidly.
Unexpectedly, Shi Ling was not angry: "Since you have obtained the skills, you can go with them." He lowered his head and coughed twice, wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, and walked away.
Qi Yanfeng grabbed his sleeve.
Shi Ling turned around and looked at Qi Wan'er with sarcasm.
Qi Wan'er had a complicated expression and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
"I... just want the technique," Qi Yanfeng whispered, "I'm not sure, really... You don't believe me?"
Shi Ding looked at the pitiful little face, then lowered his head to look at the slender jade hand, pulled out his sleeves, and left.
Qi Yanfeng was sobbing behind him.
"If you want to follow me, just go ahead." Shi Ling said without even turning back.
Qi Yanfeng burst into laughter, wiped his eyes, and hurriedly chased after him.
The thin smoke in the miasma valley flew away, and the surrounding scenery began to become clear. The bloody miasma was about to dissipate, and the moon gradually returned to its original color. The cold light shone through the miasma, and the temperature seemed to be much lower.
"You've crossed the line," the person on the other side said, "Saving Guangling Sect was a deal and a test, but it made you believe that Jianwang Pavilion had nothing to do with Master Weifeng and that Wanfa Sect was the target. Now you're taking advantage of staying at Jianwang Pavilion to destroy the trust between me and Wanfa Sect. Gu Pinglin, you've done so much in front of my eyes, do you think you can hide it from me?"
Gu Pinglin said: "I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"That's a blatant challenge."
"You challenge the enemy only. We are not the enemy."
Duan Qingming said "Oh" and said, "They are not my enemies, they are just ruining my good deeds."
Gu Pinglin said: "For you, breaking through the realm and ascending is a good thing."
"So what is a good thing for you?"
"My path is difficult, and now I only care about the Lingxin Sect."
"In that case, you should leave the Sword King Pavilion and go back to manage your Lingxin Sect."
Gu Pinglin said: "I am seriously injured. If I leave the Sword King Pavilion now, the Wanfa Sect will definitely attack me. The Pavilion Master will definitely not bear to watch me die."
"Isn't this exactly your plan?" Duan Qingming said, "You stayed in Jianwang Pavilion to wait for the people from Wanfamen. When the time is right, you will let him see how special you are to me and deliberately lead him to deal with you. This is to test and contain me. Secondly, if I intervene to protect them, the trust between Jianwang Pavilion and Wanfamen will be even less."
Gu Pinglin's tone remained unchanged: "You'll test and try to restrain you, which shows that there's not much trust between you two."
Duan Qingming sighed, "Yes, if even this little bit of trust is lost, cooperation will easily go wrong."
Gu Pinglin said: "You think too much. Not to mention that you may not protect me, how could he think that he can restrain you by dealing with me?"
Duan Qingming suddenly disappeared.
Gu Pinglin was completely unprepared, and just as he reacted, his wrist was grabbed.
Whether it was affectionate or not, true or false, the man and woman, each with their own thoughts, walked away together, as if nothing had happened, and only two people were left in the snow.
"The season is not that terrible." Qi Wan'er suddenly said.
Yao Feng did not respond to him. He raised his finger and the Xugu sword flew back from mid-air and inserted into the scabbard on his back.
"My sister... Sigh," Qi Wan'er didn't know where to start and shook her head, "How is the situation at Yuxue Sect?"
Yao Feng did not answer, but turned to face him: "Shi Ling is the deputy leader of Huanle Tian. This person is more scheming than you. You looked down on him with your swordsmanship, but you didn't know that he was deliberately provoking you and taking the opportunity to poison you."
Qi Wan'er shook her head: "He won't do anything to me."
Seeing that he didn't take it to heart, Yao Feng said in a more serious tone: "He showed mercy to you because of your sister. When will you be able to control your temper and be calm when things happen?"
"Okay, let's go to the Snow Valley first," Qi Wan'er was impatient to listen to the lecture, waved her hand and left, took a few steps and found that he didn't follow, so she had to stop, turned back and smiled, "I know, you are here, right?"
Yao Feng pursed his lips, looked away, and followed silently, but deliberately lagged behind for a distance and did not walk side by side with him.
"Why are you..." While urging, Qi Wan'er suddenly thought of something and stopped.
Yao Feng also stopped and stared at the snow beneath his feet.
Qi Wan'er was honest and straightforward, and it was rare for her to have endured for so long. Seeing this, she could not help but become more and more annoyed. He tried his best to control his temper, took a deep breath, and said, "That person was born in Huanletian, and was not a serious person, so he was full of dirty words. Brother Yao, why do you care about what that person says and make us brothers alienated!"
Yao Feng looked at him hesitantly, then immediately looked at the snow and remained silent.
Qi Wan'er was irritated and paced back and forth for a few circles, looking straight at him: "You also know that I have been spoiled by the head of the family and my grandfather since I was a child. I have a bad temper, but I am not an ungrateful person. You saved me several times and taught me, and you really wanted to do it for my own good. If it weren't for you these years, I would definitely not have survived. I respect you as a brother. In my heart, the brothers in the family are not as important as you. But you alienated me because of a few words from others. I am really angry."
Yao Feng finally spoke: "No."
Qi Wan'er looked at him for a while and said, "You can go back."
Yao Feng immediately said: "Really not."
"It has nothing to do with this matter. In fact, I have had this intention for a long time." Qi Wan'er waved her hand to stop him from explaining, her voice lowered, "You are the heir to the head of the Yao family. If I hadn't been so willful, you wouldn't have left your family. Now you have gone to the Sword King Pavilion to obey Duan Liu. I have always felt very sorry."
Seeing his guilt, Yao Feng frowned: "You are not being willful for a moment."
Qi Wan'er shook her head: "I am willful, spoiled by my temper, and I think I can do anything. After all the hardships I have suffered over the years, I finally understand how much I can do. It is difficult to create new moves, and even the skills need the help of Duan Liu. I have also implicated you and delayed your path." He walked to the cedar in silence, holding on to the pine branches, and looked into the distance at the end of the snowfield: "Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I made a mistake in choosing this path."
For decades, just for a young heart, he stayed away from the rich life, hid from here and there, lacked resources, had incomplete skills, and had difficulty in creating new moves... The journey was full of hardships. The young master put away his youthful spirit and pride, and showed frustration and confusion in front of the person he trusted the most.
Seeing that his faith was wavering, Yao Feng immediately scolded him, "Wan'er!"
Hearing this name, Qi Wan'er turned around and glared at him, then reacted and laughed: "It's just talk, I don't regret taking this path, but you don't have to follow me..."
"I have never regretted it either," Yao Feng interrupted him, "I don't regret accepting you as my brother. I said I would accompany you and witness your success."
"Even if you break your promise, I won't mind it," Qi Wan'er paused, "Don't you still have an engagement?"
Yao Feng said: "That's why you wanted to leave in the first place."
Qi Wan'er sighed, "I'm just disappointed. Originally, you and I agreed to focus on swordsmanship for the rest of our lives. I thought you were a confidant, but I didn't expect you to run off to get married and have children halfway through. What's the difference between this and me staying in the Qi family? In the future, are you going to bring a bunch of people to discuss swordsmanship with me? That would affect me. It's boring for me to be alone, so I just left."
Yao Feng said: "I know." That's why I followed you away.
The two of them were speechless.
"Looking back now, I was willful," Qi Wan'er coughed lightly and said uncomfortably, "You can go back. It's the same if you come to the Sword King Pavilion to see me when you have time."
"Um."
Qi Wan'er couldn't help but clench her fingers.
I left my family and have been wandering rootless ever since. It would be a lie to say that I don't care. Fortunately, there is someone who is always by my side. We are brothers of one mind and will never leave each other. Now that we are suddenly separated, I can't help feeling lost.
Yao Feng smiled and stepped forward to pat his shoulder: "Go and check on the situation at Yuxuemen."
"you… "
"Yao family rules say you can't break your promise to others."
Qi Wan'er pursed her lips and said after a while: "You are the eldest son, your parents and brothers..."
"You are my brother too."
Under the moonlight, two figures on the grass overlapped, as if they had merged into one.
"Hmm?" Gu Pinglin's wrist was held, and he couldn't guess what he was trying to test. When he was about to move, a powerful burst of heaven-replenishing true qi suddenly flowed into his body through his arm, impacting his Taoist meridians and heading straight for his dantian!
The injured Dao meridian was impacted and almost broke!
Gu Pinglin suddenly raised his head and met a pair of enchanting eyes, which were extremely clear even with the light behind them.
Just like the previous life.
The severe pain spread throughout his body along the Dao Meridian, and the true Qi continued to rush towards Dantian. Gu Pinglin was horrified and immediately circulated the Creation True Qi to fight against it, but the Heaven-Repairing True Qi had an unexpected realm advantage and completely dispersed the Creation True Qi.
"My cultivation is far beyond your expectations."
Gu Pinglin trembled but could not struggle. That clean, slender hand was like the claw that controlled his fate, trying to take away his last dignity once again, bringing him desperate darkness, making him watch important things being lost, and forcing him to recall the days when he had been hiding from place to place like a wild dog.
Duan Qingming would do that.
Gu Pinglin suddenly spoke in a calm voice: "Senior Brother Duan."
"Call me brother. You and him are truly an enviable pair of brothers."
"Isn't he you?"
The waves in Dantian subsided.
Duan Qingming said coldly: "Because he is me, I will also tolerate your use of him, right?"
With cold sweat soaking his palms, Gu Pinglin stared at the unfathomable eyes and said calmly, "It's because the goal is too easy to achieve. It's not interesting to you at all. I guess you will tolerate it."
"You really understand me," Duan Qingming said, "Since you no longer care about the path of Taoism, you probably won't care about this little pulse injury."
"Of course, the game must be fair."
"You can stay in the Sword King Pavilion and continue to do what you want to do."
After being ruthlessly thrown away, Gu Pinglin turned pale, staggered back two steps, and half-knelt on the ground to barely support his body. He felt excruciating pain all over his body, and his Taoist meridians that had not yet recovered were damaged again, causing a great loss of his cultivation.
The white hem disappeared from sight, and only one person was left on the grass.
The bloody miasma completely receded, and the cold moonlight sprinkled on my body, chilling me to the bone. Under the influence of various poisonous miasma, the weeds under my feet grew rapidly and withered quickly. The dead leaves were corroded by the grass juice and seeped back into the ground. I could even hear the faint "rustling" sound of the grass leaves colliding with each other.
After a long time, Gu Pinglin slowly stood up, pulled his cloak, and straightened his body, as if he was not injured at all, and walked back along the way he came.