In the early morning of the next day, a young man in white clothes and silver armor with a face like a crown of jade stood outside the door of Xuanji Hall, his sword eyebrows were deeply locked, and he seemed to be haggard. determination.
The disciple guarding the hall finally couldn't bear it any longer: "—What's the matter with you, Senior Brother Wen?"
This person was Wen Xiuyang. Hearing the words, he let out a long breath and gritted his teeth and said, "It's fine." Then he stepped forward with a stiff expression and pushed open the door.
The morning light passed through the green bamboo forest, through the black jade carved window, and reflected on the two people sitting opposite each other in the hall. At all times, Xu Shuangce was expressionless and straight. His ivory white robe was rolled with black borders and embroidered with the golden Cangyang emblem. The boy opposite him was about sixteen or seventeen years old. His profile was so transparent that it seemed to glow in the morning light.
Wen Xiuyang didn't dare to look up, he stood still and said, "Sect Master, this disciple is on duty."
Xu Shuangce didn't look at him, just waved his hand.
Gong Wei got up from the futon and wanted to salute his senior brother, but Xu Shuangce stopped him as soon as he moved: "It's your back."
Wen Xiuyang lowered his gaze and retreated to the stone pillars in the main hall, only to hear Gong Wei's "oh" sound, and sat down to continue his endorsement.
It was probably because of Xu Shizun's affectionate hope that moved the gods yesterday, the dull-witted lover worked hard all night, and even memorized the first volume of "Ding Soul Note". Although there were mistakes and omissions in the middle of the recitation, as long as Xu Shizun frowned slightly, the observant disciple immediately changed his words and corrected them automatically. After repeating this eighteen or nine times, I finally stumbled and recited to the end, and the last two or three sentences were really incompetent. After repeated corrections and procrastination for half an hour, I finally finished memorizing, a long sigh of relief.
Xu Shuangce said, "Although I can recite it, it's too unfamiliar."
Gong Wei just wanted to delay the time, and didn't want to be sent to Hanshan Prison by him for three or five days, and immediately said: "This disciple does not dare to let down the earnest teachings of the master, I have already memorized it last night, but I just saw the master now. I was nervous, so I took care of one thing and another. The disciple will go back and study hard for two more days, and he will be able to recite the entire first volume fluently.
Xu Shuangce frowned and asked, "Why are you nervous?"
Gong Wei said solemnly: "This is the reason why the sect master is intimidating people."
"But this sect master is your master."
Gong Wei immediately said, "Yes."
"So when you see you as a teacher, you should be close in your heart, why are you intimidated by the gods?"
"… "
Xu Shuangce said, "That's why I'm not diligent enough." There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
"… "
Gong Wei stood there for a long time, speechless.
"—Master's wisdom is like a torch, and the disciple really admires it!" After a long while, he took a deep breath and kowtowed in pain: "The disciple has just recited unfamiliarly, and there is indeed another reason for it to be difficult to explain!"
Xu Shuangce said "Oh": "What's the reason?"
"The disciple studied hard all night last night. He only wanted to live up to the teacher's diligent teaching and high hopes, so he didn't have the heart to eat, and he didn't even have a good breakfast. The disciple couldn't recite the first volume fluently just now. Because of the unbearable hunger, I just need to go back and have lunch to guarantee that it will be fine. Please respect your teacher!!”
The hall was quiet.
"… "
Xu Shuangce fixedly looked at Gong Wei, the face that had never had an expression was calm, Gong Wei could even see his own reflection in his deep well-like eyes, and it took him a long while to hear him say:
"It makes sense."
If Wen Xiuyang just didn't dare to make a sound, then the heart in his chest would have stopped beating now.
When Xu Shuangce stretched out his hand, he squeezed a thousand-mile transmission of objects in mid-air, and then a silver-painted celadon plate in front of him suddenly flashed crimson, and four large and round peaches appeared neatly!
With a soft ding, he slowly put the porcelain plate in front of Gong Wei.
The peaches, with their jade-like skins, flawless and enticing fragrance, know at first sight that they are extraordinary - certainly not ordinary. The peach forest outside the dormitory of Sect Master Xu is undefeated in all seasons, and the whole world knows that it was cultivated by whipping the corpse of the Fahua Xianzun!
Fahua Xianzun Gong Wei stared at the four peaches for a long time, so moved that he couldn't look directly, he said after a while: "Master, the disciple is full of fear, and he is speechless..."
Xu Shuangce said, "No need to say more. Let's eat."
Gong Wei picked up a peach under the extremely oppressive gaze on the opposite side, and took a bite with trembling hands, feeling like swallowing his own flesh and blood.
- But if you think about it, it doesn't make much difference. Anyway, as long as Xu Shuangce finds out about his resurrection from the dead, it is worse than eating his own flesh and blood. There are definitely 10,000 ways for Mr. Xu to make him regret why he did. come back alive.
He ate all four peaches, and found that the fruit of the peach blossoms nourished by his blood turned out to be really tastier. He couldn't help but feel even more pained in his heart. He put down the peach core and said, "Master, I..."
A piece of silver silk wrapped in the breath of white sandalwood rushed down, which happened to cover his wet fingers.
Xu Shuangce said, "Wipe it."
Gong Wei held Sect Master Xu's silk, as if holding an imperial decree, and wiped his hands with difficulty.
"Are you full?"
If there are thousands of peaches waiting outside, Gong Wei is immediately moved: "I'm full."
"Can you endorse it well now?"
"… can!"
This time, Master's affectionate and high hopes not only touched the gods, but also touched the disciples. The whole first volume of Ding Soul Note was memorized with unparalleled skill. Although there were several stumbles in the middle, he did not make a single mistake, as if he was in a lotus pond last night. The 200 frogs reappeared in the world. After Gong Wei finished reciting the last word, Xu Shuangce finally sighed:
"It's okay this time."
It's more than acceptable, for "Xiang Xiaoyuan", it is simply a super-level performance. Gong Wei remembered that he was taught to write by him in his previous life. No matter how well he wrote later, all he would get was a cold "Fair". He couldn't help but think that Mr. Xu was so stingy when he praised others, so he must be careful.
He opened his eyes slightly and looked at Xu Shuangce, but saw Sect Master Xu pondering for a moment, as if hesitating for something.
"Forget it." He didn't say anything in the end, just waved his hand and said, "Go play."
There was a subtle strangeness in Gong Wei's heart, but he couldn't tell if it was what people call disappointment, so he bowed his head and answered "yes", got up and stepped back a few steps, and said respectfully: "Senior brother, I'm leaving. Lah." Then he turned around and walked out of the hall briskly.
The wind came from a distance, rolling up a few crimson peach petals, passing over the majestic Xuanji Temple like a fairyland.
The young man jumped over the threshold skillfully, his hands behind his back, his sleeves curved up under Xu Shuangce's focused pupils, and then disappeared at the end of the long white jade steps.
There was silence in the hall for a while, Wen Xiuyang stared at the ground under his feet, his muscles tense like a bow, and suddenly heard Xu Shuangce in front of him indifferently say:
"Xiuyang."
"… Yes."
"I see you have something to say?"
I don't know when the wind outside the hall stopped. Wen Xiuyang felt as if his throat was being tightened by an invisible wire. After a long while, he heard his dry voice saying, "...Report to the sect master, the disciple has nothing to say."
"Is it?"
Every second seemed to be endless, and the clothes on Wen Xiuyang's back were soaked with sweat. After an unknown amount of time, Xu Shuangce's voice finally rang out from above his head again, word by word slowly and clearly:
"Then I will give you another jade pendant. Next time, be careful not to break it again."
The suffocating breath finally came out of Wen Xiuyang's throat suddenly, but fortunately, he bent his knees, "Boom!" and covered it with a muffled sound, and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you, Sect Master!"
·
Boom!
A stone floated three times on the water, creating a perfect circle of ripples.
Gong Wei is a sincere person, Xu Shuangce asked him to play by himself, and he really went to play - if he didn't play, wouldn't he go back and continue to carry that deadly soul bet
Xuanji Hall is terrifyingly large. In his last life, he never had the opportunity to come in and take a good stroll. Only today he found out that its inner hall is a complex of buildings, including pavilions, pavilions, and Xuanxie Langfang; I have nothing to do when I live high on the top of the mountain all the year round. I guess I have been thinking about architectural design all day long.
He walked all the way, wandering for most of the day before he reached the end of the building complex, and further away was a deep mountain stream. A trestle bridge connects the moat, leading to the vast and uninhabited mountain range at the other end. Gong Wei was planning to turn back the same way when he suddenly stopped.
In the pale blue mountains in the distance, a glazed tile and silver eaves loomed, and there were even buildings.
Gong Wei never knew that there was a palace hidden in the barren mountains so far away from the Cangyang Sect, and it was directly opposite Xu Shuangce's residence, showing a faint match. His first reaction was the tombs of the suzerains of all dynasties, and he immediately became curious, thinking that I only know what kind of house Xu Shuangce lived in when he was alive, and I haven't seen what kind of tomb he will sleep in after his death. No one was there, so I walked on tiptoe to the trestle.
His pace was much brisker than that of ordinary people, and he walked briskly for more than half an hour before his eyes suddenly opened up. I saw a huge palace sitting in the shade of dry forest, with flying eaves on three sides, dragon hooks and phoenix drops, and an endless silver vault under the dark sky.
The gate of the hall was hidden, as if no one had come for a long time, and the surrounding mountains and forests were so quiet that they did not hear a single bird chirping.
Gong Wei put his hands behind his back, looked up at the palace, and suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.
This building is not like a shady house, but its system is too oppressive, as if the builder wanted to use it to suppress something.
Which suzerain built the temple here
What do you want to use it for
He gently walked up the steps, stretched out his hand and pushed open the door of the hall, and a light wind blew into the hall, rolling up the layers of crimson veils, like a boundless peach blossom blooming in an instant.
The wide paulownia wood floor stretches far away, and at the end are twelve screen doors separated by huge whale bones, which are now open.
Gong Wei stopped in front of the screen door, looked around for a long time, and felt that there seemed to be some violation, but he couldn't tell.
He had seen the bed where Xu Shuangce slept. It was spacious, hard and flat, just like the character of its owner. But in the inner room, there was a high bed and soft pillows, covered by a light gauze. On the sapphire table was a pen holder. , There are various toys on the Bogu shelf, which are dazzling and very interesting, which is very different from Xu Shuangce's style. There is also a set of twelve ancient paintings mounted on the ivory-white walls, which are the Taoist legends that everyone has heard of when Xuanmen disciples opened their doors, "the ghost prince welcomes his relatives".
This set of pictures is obviously old, and the whole has faded and yellowed. Gong Wei's eyes fell on the eighth picture in the middle, and his eyelids suddenly jumped.
The picture shows a fiery red little fox blowing a suona. It is naive and vivid, and anyone who sees it will find it more cute. However, the lower corner of the picture was suddenly splashed with some traces, and the stars have faded into dark red with the passage of time.
It was a mouthful of blood.
Gong Wei stood there suspiciously, the corner of his eyes suddenly moved, and he shuddered to see another thing—
On the sapphire case under the picture, a short knife that is very familiar is being offered upright, and the blade is still quenched with a faint blue light.
It was the dagger that failed to kill Xu Shuangce on Shengxiantai 16 years ago!
Mahayana masters are immune to all poisons, except for the "Secret Yin-Yang Chaos Great Dharma Mantra" created by Fu Guimen decades ago. For the Mahayana monks, it is the only poisonous poison in the world that sees the blood seal the spiritual veins.
Fu Guimen has long been wiped out, and its evil door ban has also been permanently sealed, but Gong Wei is a person who has written all the files silently with a pen. Back then, he used this Huangquan poison to assassinate Xu Shuangce but failed. After that, the dagger disappeared. He originally thought that it had been permanently sealed by Ying Kai in the Xianmeng Punishing Shu Palace, but today he was caught off guard and saw it again.
Why is this most murderous blade here
Chilled from the bottom of my heart, Gong Wei took a half step back, suddenly raised his eyes and looked around, and finally found out where the violation was.
- The beams, screen doors, window lattices, and even the couch in this hall are carved with inconspicuous patterns. When you look closely, they are not ordinary decorations, but pictures of forbidden spells. The number of secrets and the depth of mana are unprecedented. , once all the forbidden spells are activated at the same time, even Daluo Jinxian can be trapped here.
This hall is not a mansion, but a huge cage!
"Who is in the temple?!"
Suddenly there was a shout from outside the window, and Gong Wei Mi turned back - there is actually someone here!
He pondered for a moment, but did not say a word, and took two steps towards the corner. The voice outside the door did not hear the answer, and when he spoke again, he suddenly became stern: "The formation at the foot of the mountain has been broken, has anyone entered the temple?"
"… "
"This is the important place of the sect, come out for me!"
Gong Wei was startled and suspicious in his heart. He was still in the same place and did not move. He saw a sword light piercing the gap between the window lattices, swiftly and violently, and slashed straight at him!
Gong Wei flew back abruptly, but the sword light was chasing after him like lightning, forcing him several feet away in an instant. The gate of the palace was close behind him, Gong Wei frowned slightly, and squeezed the sword light with his two fingers together. The serpent-like sharpness between his fingers seemed to have suddenly pulled out his fangs, and he was then surrounded by him—
The stern sharp edge disappeared into nothingness by sticking to his wrist.
Immediately afterwards, the palace door was knocked open, and Gong Wei didn't struggle, and rolled down the steps in front of the person who came.
"who?!"
As soon as Gong Wei fell to the ground, a sword pointed at the end of his nose.
The visitor was a sharp-looking young man with white clothes and silver armor and silver crown with hair tied in the same attire as Wen Xiuyang. He was obviously one of the eight guarding disciples appointed by Xu Shuangce. He looked slightly younger than Wen Xiuyang by two years, and looked very straight, but his face was blue-white and gray, and the blue-purple blood vessels on his neck and back of his hands protruded.
Gong Wei remembered who he was, and his face changed like a conjuration, excited and kindly:
"Brother chicken!"
"… "
"Can't you recognize me, Junior Brother, Brother Chicken?!"
"..."
Wen Xiuyang's bottom-ranked brother-in-law, known as "Sheng Shaxing" in Xuanmen, and a small coffin flesh that was pasted on the forehead by the headmaster of the palace in his previous life - Sheng Bo, who was released from Hanshan Prison only yesterday, unaware of himself. Just the chicken that was killed to show the monkeys.
He stared at Gong Wei blankly, and said suspiciously for a while, "Aren't you that outer disciple Xiang Xiaoyuan? What are you doing here?"
Finding out that he wasn't a gangster, Sheng Boming's dangling sword tip moved half an inch away, Gong Wei took advantage of the gap and got up, wiped his face with both hands, and instantly became sobbing: "Senior brother, I'm lost, and I don't know how I got through it. I came here after crossing the bridge, it was so dark inside, I was so scared, there was no one there, I didn’t know how to get out…”
Sheng Bo is not easy to fool: "Can you get lost here?"
Gong Wei said pitifully: "Senior brother, please don't tell the sect master, I really can't memorize that book. The sect master said that I have to check it again at night. If I can't memorize it, I will be punished by Hanshan Prison. I will - I will - "
The atmosphere froze for a while, and Sheng Bo said in disbelief, "You want to hide?!"
Gong Wei covered his face and choked: "Hey."
Sheng Bo's forehead twitched violently. After a long while, he took a deep breath. The next moment, he yelled: "Nonsense! - It was a blessing for three lives to be checked by the sect master himself. How dare you shirk the blame and hide, and still run around the mountains in the sect gate! Do you know where this is? Where?!"
Gong Wei's movements froze.
With his hands covering his face, he let go of one of his fingers, peeking at Sheng Bo from the gap even more aggrievedly, and choked up: "I-I heard that it is the tomb of the former suzerain..."
"Who said that? This is a forbidden area supervised by the sect master 20 years ago. No one has ever entered it except the sect master!" Sheng Bo's tone was very fierce: "Everyone has known for the past 20 years that anyone who trespasses on this temple will be killed! "