Going further from Hongshuang Town, we really entered the boundary of Fenghuoling, Tang Yao's hometown. The endless mountain roads here are the nightmare of countless righteous people.

"Ahead is Paiyun Gorge." Wang Hong stood on the top of the mountain and pointed at a narrow passage between the mountains ahead. "The throat of Fenghuo Ridge has cliffs on both sides. After walking through this section, Tang Yao probably wouldn't be able to use it.

What a trick." Chu Tao laughed and said: "If I were Luo Ang, I would definitely cut off this place and catch turtles in the jar." This sentence made Wang Hong extremely frightened: "Then we are still here?!"

"His courage?" Chu Tao sneered, "Xiao Ke and others have already explored the road, and he is busy strengthening the camp to prevent me from jumping in from somewhere else. It seems that the fire shocked him. Now, he

You want to see me walk into Fenghuoling, but never come out. Don’t worry, Uncle Wang."

"Can……"

Chu Tao's face suddenly darkened: "I've been waiting for twelve years, and it's time for him to return the favor." The low voice followed by the crack of a riding whip echoed like a dark cloud for a long time.

Paiyun Gorge was so quiet that it was unimaginable. Wang Hong was frightened every step he took. However, the enemy never appeared, and Tang Yao, who had been so arrogant in the past few days, suddenly disappeared. Chu Tao just moved forward and walked straight.

At the moment when the setting sun was like blood, a bamboo forest in a deep valley stood in front of him. From the moment he entered the bamboo forest, Wang Hong's fearful eyes were in sharp contrast with the tranquility of the bamboo forest. Chu Tao's order sounded a bit harsh to him: "Just

Let's spend the night here!" The subordinates gathered together to gather firewood and set up tents, hoping to light a bonfire before dark. Chu Tao also stepped forward to help, while Wang Hong directed and coordinated.

Chu Tao suddenly became absent-minded. By accident, the dry firewood in his hand was inexplicably scattered on the ground. Wang Hong asked with concern: "What's wrong, young master? It's enough for us to do these things!" Only then did he wake up.

As if, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly: "It's okay."

Wang Hong couldn't help but push him to sit under a tree nearby, nagged him, and told him to be careful.

He shook his hand that was not very agile and leaned against the tree and took a long breath. The scene in this bamboo forest twelve years ago rushed into his mind. He had never dared to recall it in his life, but now he couldn't help it:

At that time, he was just a young man, and his swordsmanship was not as advanced as it is today. He traveled around the world with his father. This trip seemed unusual. His father asked everyone to camp in the bamboo forest, but he went to the depths of Fenghuo Ridge alone. He didn't say goodbye.

He had nothing to do but study and practice swordsmanship in the camp, counting the days and worrying about his father's situation with his subordinates. Until that evening, his father's slightly tired figure appeared deep in the bamboo forest. He was bursting with joy and flew towards his father.

He left. His subordinates came up to meet him.

"Dad, you are back!"

But his father was not in a hurry to talk to him and turned to Wang Hong: "Is everyone okay?"

"Everything is fine. Waiting for your orders."

"Everything that needs to be resolved has been resolved. Business with the Duan family will continue as usual. We will take the water route and avoid the Tianyue Gate. We will leave this place of trouble tomorrow." He patted Chu Tao's shoulder and handed over a piece of parchment: "

Tao'er, keep this picture for me."

"Why should we bypass Tianyue Gate?"

My father didn’t explain much and just smiled: “We will come again in the future.”

But for this "future", Chu Tao had been waiting for twelve years. He only remembered that the wind howling like ghosts and wolves passed through the forest that night, going back and forth, hitting the wall surrounded by thick fog, but unable to break out of the ice cellar.

It was cold in this dense forest. He took the wine bag handed by his father and poured a big sip into his mouth. The strong alcohol smell burned his throat and chest, as if it was draining his soul. His father laughed kindly.

Here, he walked to the stream - just to wash his face and wake himself up. There was no moon, no starlight, and the clear stream water could not reflect the danger in the darkness. The cold water almost froze him.

His hand, his consciousness, his heart. His father was behind him, always there. He heard nothing, only when he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a cold light - a very thin steel wire tightly wrapped

He grabbed his father's neck! What a master his father was back then. He only stared with frightened eyes and stretched his arms helplessly forward, as if he wanted to warn him of the approaching danger. Standing behind his father in white clothes, he couldn't see

When he cleared his face, he could see the trembling hands holding the steel wire with all their strength, carving black blood marks on his father's neck... He only remembered that he was furious and raised his sword to kill.

It was like he had a nightmare. When he woke up, he was lying in the middle of the camp, with blood stains on his forehead. Wang Hong and everyone gathered around him with concern. He asked his father what was wrong, but no one answered him. So he saw the corner

There was a body with a white cloth covering its face. No one found any trace of the man in white, not even any footprints, and the murder weapon could not be found. Even the Zhuyu dagger that Chu Yuan carried with him was missing.

Wang Hong told him that from that moment on, if he did not take up the burden, his father's grievances would never be washed away. So he didn't even have time to cry, and gave his first order to his uncles: return to the village quickly.

, discussed the funeral again, and unanimously announced that Chu Yuan died of a sudden illness, and they were not allowed to mention it even to the people in the village. "Not talking about revenge is called unfilial!" Under the shouts of everyone, he swore an oath: "If you don't take revenge, you will die.

Don’t give up!”

It was from that day on that the Zhuyu Sword Sect had a strict prohibition on alcohol - anyone who dared to drink alcohol during or before performing a mission would be punished with a cane, and those who caused trouble would be expelled. At first, some people didn't take it seriously.

However, when he actually tasted the pain of a stick that can almost kill people, he realized that Chu Tao really hated wine. So everyone was afraid of it and no longer dared to go beyond the boundaries-except for an out-and-out wine lunatic.

However, the loss of the Zhuyu dagger was an even more terrible blow. This sword had always been a symbol of the power of the leader of the Zhuyu Sword Sect. The lack of this sword caused turmoil within the sect. How did the fourteen-year-old man survive?

He never recalled what he had endured every day. If he didn't carry all the things he could carry and those he couldn't, they would collapse in an instant. Now, the Zhuyu Sword Sect's status was unshakable, but what about his father? He

I can never see my father again.

Chu Tao took out a map and unfolded it. Among his father's relics, the only one with clues was a map of Fenghuoling. There were some strange circles on it, and four words: Long River Sinking Sand. He never gave up.

To investigate the matter, he sent his subordinates to secretly disperse into the rivers and lakes to look for clues. The entanglements in the rivers and lakes back then also surfaced bit by bit, but they never had a clue. Therefore, he had no choice but to take a trip to Fenghuo Ridge in person.

Chu Tao knew that he could not predict the danger behind this trip. However, as the current head of the Zhuyu Sword Sect, only if he personally unlocks the secret can he calm down the grudges that have been hidden in his heart for many years. "Uncle Wang, I owe you all.

Of course, I will return the confession. If you still remember that night twelve years ago, just let me go." You didn't need to look up to know that Wang Hong was standing silently behind him, worried silently. For more than twenty years,

, Wang Hong has never been worried about Chu Tao since he was a child. He followed his mischief when he was a child, and when he got older, he let him make mistakes, and then he took care of him.

"Young Master is still injured, so be careful!"

"With Uncle Wang on hand, we won't miss anything. We will proceed as planned." No one can shake Chu Tao's stubbornness. Wang Hong had nothing more to say, bowed his head, sighed and went about his own business.

At dawn, Chu Tao gathered everyone together, said a few final words, and then walked deep into the bamboo forest alone.

Deep in the bamboo forest, the walk became narrower and narrower. Eventually, there was no path at all. There was only unmelted snow under our feet. Where the snow melted, we could see slippery dead leaves. Under the dead leaves, there was soft moss. This road had not been used for at least ten years.

After walking for several miles through seven twists and turns, up and down, the scenery in front of him had changed countless times, from bushes to stone walls, and back to flat ground again. He still had no intention of stopping until the entire mountain forest was silent.

Quietly and without any sign of popularity, until the sun set and the sky was filled with sunset, he stopped on a high slope where he could just see the afterglow.

In front of you is a patch of grass half as tall as a man. The mountain stream flows past, forming a shallow pool of emerald green, and goes down the mountain like a white rainbow. Big trees stretch along the mountain towards the sky. The surrounding area is filled with mist. The grass is pushed aside.

, a stone tablet was faintly seen that was about to collapse. There were vague inscriptions on the stone tablet, but it was washed away by wind and rain and was difficult to read.

The picture left by my father marked this tombstone, which seems to be a very important place.

Chu Tao bowed respectfully to the tombstone, then turned his gaze to the gradually fading red clouds in the distance, waiting quietly. Who rested in this deserted tomb? Why did they choose this remote place to live? Is there anyone else who would?

Come here to pay homage? I don’t know, I don’t know anything. Is this the answer he is searching for? Is the answer he is looking for another mystery? What’s interesting is that just in front of the tombstone, he found a few messy footprints—

—New footprints, the trampled blades of grass were still dripping with grass juice. Who? He realized that there were other human traces nearby.
Chapter completed!