After nightfall, the three arrived outside Chidi City as promised. Although Chidi City is ruled by Cangyumen, the eight villages under it have their own village masters, and most of the time they act independently. The Kanliu village they were in was the most remote and chaotic one among them, because it was the farthest from both Fenglinzhou and Shazhou—the three just formed a triangle shape. Poverty has made Kanliuzhai an illegal place where many beggars, refugees, criminals, demon cultivators, and assassins gather. There are all kinds of shady black market transactions here. Here, as long as you have money, you can buy anything, which can be called the Ukimene outside the pass.
After reuniting with Qingwuzi, Qingwuzi led them to a hill outside the city, where there were no people and lights, and the thin moonlight sprinkled on the vast white snow, reflecting a bleak light, and there were spots on the snow. Little bulges, at a glance, look like beans rising from a person's body, which is really scary.
Several people immediately felt the thick yin energy here, and Xie Bian's soul-suppressing battle also responded. There are unharvested evil spirits here, and there are more than one.
"Is this the cemetery?" Lan Chuihan asked.
Several people fell to the ground, and Qingwuzi's feet sank into the deep snow. He was not tall, but at this moment he lost a piece of his body: "Yes, it's a mass grave, and dead people who are left alone go there. Once it is lost here, it will be buried on the spot." Qingwuzi walked forward cautiously, "Sometimes no one even bury it, because the soil is so frozen that it is very difficult to dig. It is completely covered, so if you walk around here, you will step on dead people if you don’t keep it clean.”
"Is this the place where the entrance to the secret passage is?" Lan Chuihan pouted, looking down at his own footprints.
"Only this place is not inspected." Qingwuzi walked to a snow-white grave, which was a rare grave with a monument. He recited the spell in his mouth, and the stone tablet silently retreated to one side, revealing the entrance of the secret passage.
Xie Bian let out a breath of white air, clenched his sword tightly, and dived in without hesitation.
Fan Wuxi followed closely behind.
The secret passage was short and cramped, filled with bitter cold air, and several people had to bend forward, and in some places even had to climb over it, as if they were passing through the esophagus of a glacier, throwing themselves into the trap without hesitation.
Jie Bian tried his best to keep warm with his spiritual power, but his two rows of teeth were still fighting with the cold.
"How far is it?" Fan Wuxi asked.
"Soon, soon." Qingwuzi said with a trembling voice.
"Brother, hold on a little longer."
Xie Bian let out a "huh", such a simple sound made three turns.
After about two sticks of incense, they walked out of the secret passage, climbed up the ladder, and entered a dirty firewood room.
Qingwuzi lit up the lamp, and they saw a thick layer of ash in the room, and the footprints on the ground were clearly visible, obviously the place had been abandoned for a long time.
Qingwuzi explained: "This place is very safe and hidden, and generally no one comes near it. Decades ago, the man of this Orion family suddenly went crazy, hacked his wife and children to death, and spilled his flesh and blood everywhere. It was horrific, and the house has been abandoned since then."
Xie Bian did feel a deep resentment, which hadn't completely dissipated for decades, but the evil spirits here have been saved by the monks.
"This secret path was originally dug by someone to escape. You must also know that Kanliu Village is very chaotic. Doing some dirty business will inevitably lead to death."
"How did you know about this secret way?" Xie Bian asked.
Qingwuzi smoothed his beard: "In Kanliuzhai, as long as you spend money, you can have everything you want."
Lan Chuihan patted the dust on his clothes, and said: "Qi Mengsheng is working in a village, so she should have put the Qingfeng sword in the palace, too."
"Yes, but Xiaodao doesn't know exactly where it is. Xiaodao can only take you here. This Kanliuzhai is chaotic, but there are eyeliners of various forces everywhere, so we have to separate. Several Xianjun should hide his identity well and don't attract attention." Qingwuzi cupped his hands, "Xiaodao is waiting for the three of you in Ganyi Village, and when the time comes, I will try my best to help you."
Qingwuzi left the deserted house first, and the three of them checked Yirong's attire slightly before going out. The street scene here is dilapidated, without a single light on, and it looks even more lonely in this dark night. Looking around, it looks like an empty city.
Qingwuzi asked them to go out of the village with the crowd going to the market early in the morning. It would be too conspicuous to leave now, so they walked a few streets and found an inn.
The inn is also dilapidated, Kanliu Village is not like those well-located fortresses, there are people from the Cangyu Gate or people from the Central Plains coming and going, so there are no serious travelers here, so naturally there is no decent inn.
They knocked on the door of the inn, gave some extra silver taels, and asked Xiao Er to clean up a clean room. At this time, the sky was almost dawn, and they had no time to rest. They just wanted to enjoy the fire and keep warm, and they left when the hour came.
The three of them gathered around the charcoal brazier and drank a few cups of shochu, and their stiff bodies slowly recovered from the cold.
"Bian has been afraid of the cold since he was a child." Lan Chuihan gave Bian a good look with a smile, "When you came to Chidi City to watch me temper my sword, it was wrapped like a small rice dumpling."
Xie Bian smiled embarrassedly: "Where have I ever been to such a cold place? Master fooled me, telling me how fun it is here. It's rare to see the Shennongding cauldron when it's open. We must come to learn more."
"The Heavenly Master is right." Lan Chuihan only moved his body, and heard the creaking sound of the chair under his buttocks, which made people worry that it would fall apart at any time, so he had to sit upright carefully, helplessly He said, "Back then, I had booked the four best inns in Ganyi Village for our guests in Xianyue Pavilion, but now we come in through holes in the ground like mice, and hide in such a crappy place to warm up. It's not as good as it used to be."
"Yeah, at that time it was the young master who lived next door to me, and the sound of snoring in sleep sounded like thunder..."
The two chatted about the year, and it was very uncomfortable for Fan Wuxi to be on the sidelines. He silently observed Lan Chuihan, Zong Zhongming's face in his memory was already blurred, and Zong Zhongming was only seven or eight years old at the time, so he couldn't imagine his adult appearance, but the more he looked at Lan Chuihan, the more he felt like it, The more it feels like it, the more uncomfortable it is.
However, Ruolan Chuanhan is really Zong Zhongming's grandson, that is, his great-nephew, who is three generations behind him in seniority, when he thinks of this, he feels happy again.
When the two of them were chatting about Huayueye, Fan Wuxi took the opportunity to interject, "Mr. Lan, I heard that the history of the Moon Pavilion's fortune is quite legendary. I don't know if what is said in the wild history essay is true or not."
Xie Bian took a sneak peek at Fan Wushi. In fact, he had wanted to inquire about Lan Chuihan's grandfather, but he hadn't found the opportunity yet. It would be easier for Fan Wushi to ask. After all, Fan Wuzhen had never been afraid of offending Lan Chuihan.
"Oh, those are half-truths and half-false." Lan Chuihan smiled, "Even if it's true, it's just embellishment, so you can't believe it."
Xie Bian said: "Realist Hua Yuan is very low-key and mysterious. I heard that in those years when he founded the sect, he didn't have much contact with other sects. He just quietly led disciples and practiced."
"Grandfather has a restrained temper and doesn't like to make friends with others." Lan Chuihan's tone was somewhat proud, "Given Junlan's swordsmanship is so powerful, if grandfather has the heart to manage it, he won't only have dozens of disciples. My father is completely different Temperament, so after he became the head, the Yueyue Pavilion developed and grew stronger."
Fan Wuxi asked casually: "Realist Hua Yuan has always used his Taoist name to show others, so I don't know what his name is."
Lan Chuihan raised his eyebrows.
Xie Bian was a little nervous, and he pretended to reprimand lightly: "Don't be intimidated, don't be rude, how can you just ask the elder's name casually." He looked at Lan Chuihan, "However, it seems that no one has ever heard of Hua Yuan. Do you have any scruples about the name taboo of a real person?"
Lan Chuihan said calmly: "No, it's just that the Taoist name Hua Yuan seems to be very important to my grandfather, and my grandfather wants this name to be passed on. My grandfather's name is Lan Zhongming."
Xie Bian quietly took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. Although he had been prepared for a long time, when he heard the word "Zhong Ming", his heart still trembled. He knew that this throbbing did not belong to him, but came from Zongzi Heng.
"Lan Zhong's name." Fan Wuxi read these three words silently, "I don't know who Hua Yuan's real master learned from. The Junlan swordsmanship only appeared in the era of Emperor Houzong."
Such a powerful swordsmanship would shine brilliantly in any era. Junlan's swordsmanship cannot be that dusty pearl. The only explanation is that he has never seen it before.
The answer is already there.
Fan Wuxi recalled the wonderful exchange between Lan Chuihan and Song Chungui that day on the Yunwei gossip stage. Compared with Zongxuan's fierce and aggressive swordsmanship and Wuliang's old-fashioned and conservative swordsmanship, Junlan's swordsmanship is elegant and suave, but without losing his sharpness. Every move is soft and firm, and his advances and retreats are slow, just like a flower standing in troubled times. De Lan is free and easy but restrained, gentle and firm.
Is this the sword technique created by Zong Ziheng? Does it project the creator's ego
Fan Wuxi suddenly felt jealous. Eldest brother has said more than once before that although Zongxuan's swordsmanship is formidable, he is too hostile and fights like a hungry wolf rushing for food. He wants to create a set of swordsmanship by himself, which should be both elegant and powerful. This set of swordsmanship already exists, but he never heard his elder brother mention it to him until his death. Instead, he gave this swordsmanship to a wild species with no blood relationship.
Jun Lan's swordsmanship should belong to him, just like every hair of the eldest brother belongs to him.
Lan Chuihan noticed that the two of them were too curious about their family background: "Why are you suddenly interested in the family history of my Lan family?"
Xie Bian quickly returned it: "Just ask casually, this question is indeed a bit presumptuous, Brother Lan is inconvenient to say it, so I won't mention it."
Lan Chuihan smiled faintly, noncommittal.
"Let's discuss what to do when we get to Ganyi Village. We don't know what will happen along the way. We have to adapt accordingly, but our goal remains the same—to find the Qingfeng Sword and return it to its original owner." Xie Bian He patted his Qiankun bag, "Wu Wunbi can sense the Qingfeng sword from miles away, it's not a big village, we'll try to find the approximate location before it gets dark today."