Yunmeng Duohu Lake, the immortal mansion "Lotus Dock" of the Yunmeng Jiang clan, the largest immortal family in town, was built on the lake.
Starting from the pier of Lianhuawu, not long after rowing down the river, there will be a large lotus pond called Lianhua Lake, which is probably hundreds of miles away. The green leaves are wide, the pink lotus is in the pavilion, and the head is rubbed shoulder to shoulder. The lake wind blew, and the flowers shook and the leaves trembled, as if they were nodding frequently. In the fresh and beautiful, there is still a bit of naivety.
Lianhuawu is not like the immortal mansion of other families. The gate is closed, and ordinary people are not allowed to set foot within a few miles. There are often lotus pods, water chestnuts, and various pastries on the wide pier in front of the gate. The hawkers were squatting and it was very lively. Children from nearby families can also sniffle their noses and sneak into the school grounds in Lotus Pier to peek at sword practice. Even if they are found, they will not be scolded.
When Wei Wuxian was young, he often shot kites by the shore of Lotus Lake.
Jiang Cheng stared closely at his kite, occasionally glancing at Wei Wuxian's one. Wei Wuxian's kite was already flying very high, but he still didn't intend to draw the bow. He put his right hand between his eyebrows, raised his head and smiled, as if he didn't think it was far enough.
Seeing that the kite was about to fly out of the distance that he was confident that he could hit it, Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, pulled the arrow and pulled the string, and the white feather shot out. The kite, which was painted in the shape of a one-eyed monster, was hit by an arrow and fell. Jiang Cheng raised his brows and said, "I hit it!"
Immediately, he said, "Yours has flown so far, can you still shoot?"
Wei WuXian said, "Guess what?"
Then he drew an arrow and aimed intently. The bowstring was fully drawn, and it collapsed.
middle!
Jiang Cheng's brows furrowed again, and he snorted. A group of teenagers put away their bows and ran to pick up kites, ranking second. The closest one is the worst. Every time the last one is the sixth-ranked junior and junior brother. Wei Wuxian's kite fell the farthest, and next to him was Jiang Cheng's kite, which came in second place, and neither of them bothered to pick it up. A group of teenagers rushed into the nine-curved lotus gallery built on the water, and they were flying over the eaves and walls to make trouble when two slender young women suddenly appeared.
Both were dressed as armed maids, and both wore daggers. Among them, the tall maid held a kite and an arrow in front of them and said coldly, "Whose is this?"
When the teenagers saw these two women, they all felt bad. Wei Wuxian touched his chin and stood up, "Mine."
Another maid hummed: "You are honest."
They separated from each other, and a purple-robed woman with a sword came out from behind.
This woman's complexion is greasy and white, quite beautiful, with delicate eyebrows and eyes, but it has a sharp meaning. The corners of his lips seemed to be hooked but not hooked, with a natural sneer, as if withdrawing from Jiang Cheng. The waist is slender, the purple clothes are elegant, the face and the right hand resting on the hilt are like cold jade, and the right index finger is wearing a ring decorated with amethyst.
Jiang Cheng smiled when he saw her, and called out, "Auntie."
The rest of the teenagers respectfully said, "Mrs. Yu."
Madam Yu was Jiang Cheng's mother, Yu Ziyuan. Of course, she was also Jiang Fengmian's wife, and was his fellow practitioner at the beginning. It stands to reason that she should be called Mrs. Jiang, but for some reason, everyone always calls her Mrs. Yu. Some people wondered if Mrs. Yu had a strong personality and didn't like her husband's surname. In this regard, the couple have no objection.
Mrs. Yu was born in the prestigious Meishan Yu clan, the third in her family, also known as the third lady of Yu. She has a name "Purple Spider" in Xuanmen, which can scare a group of people when she reports it. When he was young, he had a cold and severe temperament, and he didn't like to deal with people, and he was not likable when dealing with people. After marrying Jiang Fengmian, he was always hunting outside, and he didn't like to stay in the Jiang family's Lotus Pier. Moreover, her residence in Lianhuawu was separate from Jiang Fengmian's, occupying the area exclusively, where only she and a group of family members she brought from the Yu family lived. These two young women, Jin Zhu and Yin Zhu, are her confidants and maids, and they are always inseparable.
Madam Yu glanced at Jiang Cheng and said, "Are you playing crazy again? Come and show me."
Jiang Cheng was beside her, Madam Yu pinched his arm with her slender fingers, slapped him on the shoulder, and taught him a lesson, "I haven't made any progress in my cultivation, I'm almost seventeen years old, and I still look like an ignorant child. , I only know how to mess around with people all day long. Are you the same as others? Other people know what kind of ditch they will flutter in the future, and you will be the head of the Jiang family in the future!"
Jiang Cheng was shaken by her shot, and he lowered his head and did not dare to defend. Wei Wuxian knew that, needless to say, this was scolding himself openly and secretly again. At the side, there was a junior brother quietly sticking out his tongue at him, Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow at him. Madam Yu said, "Wei Ying, what are you doing?"
Wei Wuxian stood up as usual, and Madam Yu scolded, "It's like this again! If you don't seek to improve yourself, don't drag Jiang Cheng to fool around with you and ruin him."
Wei WuXian said in surprise, "I don't want to be motivated? Isn't I the most motivated person in Lotus Pier?"
Young people don't have high tolerance, they just want to refute a few words. Upon hearing this, Madam Yu's brows showed a sullen look, and Jiang Cheng hurriedly said, "Wei Wuxian, shut up!"
He turned to Madam Yu and said, "It's not that we want to nest in Lotus Pier and shoot kites, but now no one can go out? The Wen family has designated all night hunting areas as their territory, even if I want to go out for night hunting, There's nowhere to start. Stay at home and don't go out to cause trouble, fight with the Wen family for prey, isn't this what you and your father explained?"
Madam Yu sneered: "I'm afraid this time you don't want to go out, so you have to go out."
Jiang Cheng was puzzled, and Madam Yu ignored them and walked through the corridor with her head held high. The two maids behind him glared fiercely at Wei Wuxian and followed their master away.
In the evening, they learned what it means to "go out if you don't want to go out".
It turned out that the Qishan Wen Sect sent a special envoy to pass the word. The Wen family, on the grounds that other aristocratic families had no way to teach and waste their talents, asked each family to send at least twenty children from each family to Qishan within three days, and they would send a special person to teach them in person.
Jiang Cheng was stunned and said, "The Wen family can really say such a thing? It's too shameless!"
Wei WuXian said, "I think I'm the sun in the sky as the leader of a hundred families. It's not the first time that the Wen family is shameless. Because of the family's popularity, last year, other families were not allowed to hunt at night. How much space does it take up?"
Jiang Fengmian sat in the chief and said, "Be careful. Have a meal."
There were only five people in the huge hall, and in front of each of them was a small square table with plates of food on it. Wei Wuxian lowered his head and moved his chopsticks, when someone suddenly pulled the corner of his clothes. Turning his face, he saw Jiang Yanli handed over a small plate. In the plate were several peeled lotus seeds, plump and white, fresh and plump.
Wei Wuxian whispered, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Jiang Yanli smiled slightly, and the very pale face was instantly filled with a bit of vivid color. Yu Ziyuan said coldly, "What kind of meal do you want to eat? When you arrive in Qishan in a few days, you don't know if there is any food for them to eat. Why don't you start hungry a few times now and get used to it!"
They could not refuse this request made by the Qishan Wen Sect. Countless precedents testify that if any family dares to disobey their orders, they will be charged with strange charges such as "rebellion of the immortals", "harm to a hundred families", and so on. annihilated.
Jiang Fengmian said in a low voice, "Why are you so restless. No matter what happens in the future, today's meal will still be eaten."
Madam Yu endured and endured, patted the table and said, "I'm anxious? I'm right to be anxious! How can you still look so lukewarm? You didn't hear what the people sent by the Wen family said. A maidservant, dare to be arrogant in front of me! Among the twenty children sent, there must be a direct descendant of the family, what do you mean by a direct descendant of the family? Ah Cheng and A Li, there must be at least one in it! What are you going to do? Indoctrination? How do other people teach their own children, and it is their turn to intervene with their surname Wen?! This is to send people over to help them deal with it, and make them hostages!"
Jiang Cheng said, "Niang, don't be angry, I'll just go."
Madam Yu reprimanded: "Of course you go! Could it be possible to let your sister go? Seeing her like that, she is still happily peeling lotus seeds. Ah Li, stop peeling, who are you peeling for? You are the master, Not someone else's servant!"
Hearing the word "domestic servant", Wei Wuxian didn't care, he ate all the lotus seeds in the plate in one go, chewing until his mouth was full of cool sweetness. Jiang Fengmian raised his head slightly and said, "Sanniang."
Mrs. Yu said, "Did I say something wrong? A servant? Don't like to hear this word? Jiang Fengmian, let me ask you, this time, do you plan to let him go?"
Jiang Fengmian said, "Look at him, go if you want."
Wei Wuxian raised his hand and said, "I'm going."
Madam Yu sneered and said, "It's really good. You can go if you want, or you can't go if you don't want to. Why does Acheng have to go? Raise someone else's son like this, Sect Master Jiang, you are really a great person. !"
She had resentment in her heart, and she just wanted to vent this resentment, which was completely unreasonable. The rest quietly let her spread the fire. Jiang Fengmian said, "San Niangzi, you are tired. Go back and rest." Jiang Cheng sat on the spot, looked up at her, and said, "Aniang." Madam Yu stood up and sneered, "What did you ask me to do? Like your father, let me say a few words less? You are an idiot, I told you long ago, you can't compare to the one sitting next to you in your life. You can't compare to night hunting, but to shoot A kite can't compare! There's no way, who makes your mother inferior to someone else's mother? You can't compare. Your mother is unfair to you. How many times have you told you not to fool around with him, and you still talk to him. What should I do? A son like you is born!"
She walked out and left Jiang Cheng sitting in the same place, her face turning blue and white. Jiang Yanli quietly put a plate of peeled lotus seeds next to his food table.
After sitting for a while, Jiang Fengmian said, "I will count 18 more people tonight, and you will leave together tomorrow."
Jiang Cheng nodded, hesitantly not knowing what to say. He never knew how to communicate with his father, but Wei Wuxian was handy. After drinking the soup, he said, "Uncle Jiang, don't you have anything for us?"
Jiang Fengmian smiled slightly and said, "I have already given you what I want to give you. The sword is by your side, and the training is in your heart."
Wei WuXian said, "Oh! 'I know it's impossible to do it', right?"
Jiang Cheng immediately warned: "This doesn't mean that you know you're going to cause trouble, but you insist on doing it!"
The atmosphere in the room became lively.
The next day, before leaving, after Jiang Fengmian explained the necessary matters, he only said one more sentence, "The children of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect are not so fragile that they can't stand the outside world."
Jiang Yanli sent them section after section, stuffing everyone's arms with all kinds of dry food to eat, for fear that they would not get enough to eat in Qishan. Twenty teenagers dragged a heavy load of food, set off from Lotus Pier, and arrived at the designated location of the Department of Enlightenment in Qishan before the date set by the Wen Sect.
There were quite a few descendants of aristocratic families from various families, large and small, all of them were of the junior generation. Among the hundreds of people, many of them were acquaintances or familiar faces. There are groups of three or five, or groups of seven or eight, talking in a low voice, and their expressions are not very good. After sweeping around, Wei WuXian said, "Sure enough, there is someone from Gusu."
For some reason, the teenagers sent by the Gusu Lan Clan described them as rather haggard. Lan WangJi's face was particularly pale, but he still had that frosty look, refusing to be thousands of miles away, with the Bichen Sword on his back, standing alone, surrounded by deserted surroundings. Wei Wuxian wanted to go up to greet him, but Jiang Cheng warned him, "Don't cause trouble!" He had to give up.
Suddenly, someone in front of him loudly issued an order, ordering the children of the family to gather in front of a high platform, and several disciples of the Wen family came and scolded: "Everyone is quiet! Don't talk!"
The man on the stage was not much older than them. He looked eighteen or nineteen years old, arrogant, and his appearance was barely comparable to "Jun". But like his hair, it felt inexplicably greasy. This person is the youngest son of the Qishan Wen family, Wen Chao.
Wen Chao likes to show his face, and on many occasions he has to show off in front of other houses. Therefore, his appearance is not unfamiliar to everyone. Behind him stood two people on the left and the right. On the left is a graceful and bright girl, with big eyebrows and big eyes, red lips like fire, the fly in the ointment is that there is a black mole on the top of the mouth. On the right is a man in his twenties or thirties, tall and broad-shouldered, with an indifferent expression and a cold aura.
Wen Chao stood on the high ground on the slope and looked down at the crowd. He seemed to be in a daze. He waved his hand and said, "Start now, hand over your swords one by one!"
The crowd stirred. Someone protested: "The sword of the person who cultivates truth never leaves the body, why should we turn in the sword?"
Wen Chao said, "Who spoke just now? Whose? Stand up for yourself!"
The person who spoke up just now did not dare to speak. When the audience became quiet again, Wen Chao was satisfied and said, "It's because there are still children of aristocratic families like you who don't know etiquette, obedience, and respect, and their roots are broken, so I'm determined to educate you. You are so ignorant and fearless now, if you don't give you a righteous atmosphere as soon as possible, in the future, no one will try to challenge authority and climb up to the Wen family!"
He knew that Suojian had no good intentions, but now the Qishan Wen clan is in full swing, and every family is walking on thin ice, and they dare not resist a little bit, for fear that if he is dissatisfied, they will be charged with some kind of crime and affect the whole family, so they have to swallow their anger.
Jiang Cheng held Wei Wuxian down, Wei Wuxian whispered, "What are you doing with me?"
Jiang Cheng snorted, "I'm afraid you'll mess up."
Wei WuXian said, "You think too much. Although this guy is greasy and disgusting, even if I want to beat him, I won't choose this time to cause trouble for our family. Don't worry."
Jiang Cheng said, "You want to put a sack on him again? I'm afraid it won't work. Have you seen the man next to Wen Chao?"
Wei WuXian said, "I see. The cultivation base is high, but the appearance is not good enough. It seems that he is a late bloomer."
Jiang Cheng said, "That person is called Wen Zhuliu. He is nicknamed 'Pill Huashou'. He is Wen Chao's attendant, and he specially protects him. Don't mess with him."
Wei WuXian said, "'Pill Transformation Hand'?"
Jiang Cheng said, "That's right. His palms are terrible, and he helped Zhou to abuse him. He helped Wen before..."
The two looked straight ahead and spoke in a low voice. When they saw Wen's servant who had collected the sword approaching, they immediately fell silent. Wei WuXian released the sword with ease, handed it over, and at the same time glanced at the Gusu Lan Sect involuntarily. He originally thought that Lan Wangji would definitely refuse to hand it in, but unexpectedly, Lan Wangji's face was terrifyingly cold, but he still released his sword.
Mrs. Yu's ridicule at the beginning turned out to be a prophecy. They received "education" in Qishan, and it turned out that every day was clear soup and little water. The food that Jiang Yanli had given them all over had been confiscated long ago, and among these young children of aristocratic families, there is no one who is fasting, so it is not difficult to deal with it.
Qishan Wen's so-called "education" is to distribute a "Wenmen Jinghua Record", which is densely copied with the glorious deeds and famous sayings of the Wen family's past patriarchs and celebrities. One copy is required to be read and recited and kept in mind at all times. Wen Chao stood tall every day and made a speech in front of the crowd, asking them to cheer for him in unison, and take him as a model in every word and deed. When hunting at night, he would bring all the children of the family and drive them to run ahead, find the way, attract the attention of monsters and ghosts, and fight hard, and then he would come out at the last moment and ease the monsters who had been beaten by others. Knocked down, cut off his head, and then went out to brag that it was his own victory. If there is something particularly unpleasant, he will pull out the person and scold him in public, making him inferior to pigs and dogs.
The year before last, he participated in the Qishan Wen Sect's Hundred Schools Talk Conference. On the archery day, Wen Chao also entered the venue with Wei Wuxian and others. He was fully convinced that he would come out on top, and he took it for granted that other people must let him, but in the first three arrows, one hit, one missed, and one shot the wrong paper figurine. He should have been off the court immediately, but he was too strong, and others were embarrassed to speak of him. In the end, it was calculated that the top four with the best results were Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen, Jin Zixuan, and Lan Wangji. If Lan WangJi hadn't left the field early, his results would have been even better. Wen Chao felt ashamed, so he especially hated these four people. Lan XiChen failed to come, so he grabbed the other three and scolded them in public every day.
Jin Zixuan was the most embarrassed. He grew up with his parents holding him in the palm of his hand. How could he ever suffer such an insult? If it wasn't for the other children of the Lanling Jin Sect who stopped him, and Wen Zhuliu was not a good person, He rushed up and died with Wen Chao on the first day. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, was in a state of stagnant heart, ignoring all things, as if he had left his body. And Wei Wuxian had been scolded by Mrs. Yu for several years in Lotus Pier, and when he stepped off the stage, he giggled and didn't take his point at all.
On this day, everyone was bombarded by Wen's servants again early in the morning, and like a flock of poultry, they were driven towards the new night hunting location.
This night hunting place is called Muxi Mountain.
The deeper the forest, the denser the branches and leaves on the top of the head, and the more shady the bottom of the feet. In addition to the sound of trees and sea waves and footsteps, no other sounds could be heard, and the chirping of birds, beasts and insects was particularly abrupt in the forest.
After a long time, a group of people met head-on with a creek. The stream was gurgling, and there were maple leaves drifting in between. The sound of the stream was maple, which invisibly diluted the depressing atmosphere a bit, and there was a slight squeak of laughter from the front.
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng murmured and cursed Wen Dog in different ways as they walked, and inadvertently, he glanced back and saw a white robe. Lan Wangji was not far behind him.
Because of the slow pace, Lan WangJi fell behind the team. Wei Wuxian wanted to get up close and personal with him several times these days, but every time Lan Wangji saw him, he turned around, and Jiang Cheng repeatedly warned him not to flirt. At this time, it was close, and I couldn't help but stay a little bit more. Wei WuXian suddenly realized that although Lan WangJi tried his best to walk without any difference, he could still see that the landing on his right leg was lighter than the landing on his left, and he didn't seem to be able to exert any force.
Seeing this, Wei Wuxian slowed down, landed next to Lan Wangji, walked side by side with him, and asked, "What's wrong with your legs?"