The fog covers the clear river, and the moon shines on the reed boats.
A young monk went on a killing spree in the boat.
Against the backdrop of the thick fog and waning moon, everything seemed so reasonable and natural.
After all, this scene should have happened twenty years ago.
The bloody wedding girl floating at the entrance of the cabin hall stared blankly at the murderous figure exuding black energy.
Outside the big ship, above the river.
Li Chaoyi and the young man Jiang Shen watched this scene quietly.
As for Xiao Qianjun, Li Qianye used magic to cover his eyes and ears to prevent the little guy from leaving a shadow.
The waning moon is silent.
In an instant, there was no one left alive in the entire ship.
Whether they are immortal monks, heroes in the world, officials, wealthy businessmen, boatmen, sailors, or seemingly ordinary people, they are all related to the massacre of the Feng family twenty years ago.
Miss Feng, who was already a powerful ghost, spent twenty years finding them one by one, and then used the secret method of ghosts to gather them on this big ship.
At this time, their evil deeds twenty years ago were finally liquidated.
The young monk who killed the last person stood blankly in the cabin hall on the second floor.
Black energy was exuding from his body, and a black lotus mark appeared on his forehead.
This is the unique mark of a Buddhist disciple who has fallen into a demonic state.
The once young ascetic monk has turned into a demonic monk.
He looked at the corpses and blood on the ground, and his face no longer had the pain and regret before, but was filled with indifference.
After seeing the corpses all over the ship, he glanced at the waning moon in the sky through the ship's window.
Finally, he turned around and looked at the bloody wedding girl floating at the entrance.
Miss Feng, who was wearing a blood-colored wedding dress, no longer had that surly expression on her face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling, or crying but not crying.
The thick fog outside the ship gradually dissipated.
Her eyes have also regained their clarity.
The two looked at each other and stared for a long time.
Suddenly, what they saw in their eyes was not a boat full of corpses and blood, but the scene when the boy and girl met for the first time.
That year, the boy in white, who was only thirteen years old, followed his father to the Feng family for the first time.
As soon as I entered Feng Mansion, I met a group of Pingting girls playing on the swings in the yard.
When they saw the head of the Chen family coming to the house with the rumored third young master of the Chen family, the group of girls immediately dispersed like butterflies.
But the most outstanding girl among them could not help but be curious. She leaned against the door and looked back, and happened to meet the young man's gaze.
The girl was shy and quickly lowered her head, pretending to smell the green plums sticking out from the courtyard door.
She thought it had been covered up.
Little did he know that that shy look would be engraved in the young man's heart forever.
pity……
The night wind blew the waves and beat against the reed boat, waking up the two people looking at each other.
"Chen Lang!"
Miss Feng, who had completely regained her consciousness, called out softly.
The expression on the face of the young monk, who was exuding black energy, also softened.
His eyes still contained some regret, and he whispered: "Qiniang, I'm sorry!"
This apology is twenty years too late.
When he rushed to Feng's house and saw the corpses all over the ground, he felt extremely regretful. It was just that the beautiful woman had passed away, and even the corpses were missing.
Even if I want to express regret, I don’t know who to say it to.
These three words were like steel blades, piercing his heart for twenty years.
Even if the blue lamp wooden fish is chanted and the Buddha's name is chanted, it cannot be resolved.
Now, he finally spoke out.
The beauty floating opposite her had the same face as before, as if she had never left.
However, the bloody wedding dress on his body and the blood mark on his neck clearly told him that everything was different after all.
Hearing this apology, Miss Feng, who had just regained her clarity, suddenly turned cold, as if she had been greatly stimulated.
Suddenly, she let out a scream, and endless resentment instantly enveloped a radius of three hundred miles.
Not only the entire ship, but also Li Changyou, Xiao Qianjun, and young Jiang Shen outside the ship were all included.
Li Qingyi, who was hovering above the water, looked slightly changed.
The next moment, he entered another world.
…
The old shopkeeper of Zuiwangxiang Tavern in Hanzhou City died on the frost day, leaving behind a lot of nonsense.
Before the first seven days were over, the four sons and three daughters started making a fuss, and several daughters-in-law and sons-in-law were playing drums for their men and women, making the whole tavern more noisy than the Wenwu Temple Fair on the Lantern Festival.
When the quarrel didn't stop, they began to fight, and the banging and banging were mixed with the roars of men and the screams of women, which was even more thrilling than the water demon attacking the city.
In the end, neither party could gain the upper hand and become the talker. They broke up and no one wanted to inherit the old man's property. The tavern was closed.
There are dozens of large and small taverns in Hanzhou City, not to mention hundreds or thousands. Zuiwangxiang has closed. Except for a few old drinkers sighing in nostalgia, the yellow leaves on Peach Leaf Street in late autumn are silent.
It makes no difference if he slips away.
But for Chen Shaobai and Li Changyi, who relied on the tavern to survive, they were in trouble.
They were bartenders in a tavern, and they had to find new jobs as soon as the tavern closed.
After guarding the old shopkeeper who was very kind to them for the first seven days, the two young men came to the Hanshui River.
The early morning sunlight was thin, shining on them like a layer of golden mist.
"Xiao Ye, I'm going to go to Yeze Pass to join the army." Chen Shaobai said.
"I'll go with you." Li Changyi said without thinking.
"No, with your small body, you look like a purdah girl from a rich family. The border army won't want you."
Chen Shaobai grinned. Although he was only thirteen years old, he was very tall and handsome.
But Li Changyi was different. Li Changyi had a thin figure and a fair and delicate face. It was a bit exaggerated to say that he looked like a boudoir from a rich family, like a young scholar.
Chen Shaobai's smile suddenly faded and became a little deeper.
"What's more important is that the two of us cannot take risks at the same time. At least one of us must live well. If we all die at Nozawa Pass, then who will avenge the whole village, young and old?"
…
Chen Shaobai and Li Qianyi were two careless children in Chenli Village. One evening, evil spirits suddenly rose to the west of the village. Then the whole village was covered by a huge scarlet flag, and it became dark and dark, and no sunlight could be seen.
.
A moment later, all the more than 800 people in Chenli Village turned into blood mist and were swept away by the scarlet flag.
Only Chen Shaobai and Li Xianyue, who were swimming in the river, escaped because they were frightened and hid in the water.
Overnight, the originally peaceful and peaceful Chenli Village turned into a ghost village.
Chen Shaobai and Li Xianyue hid in the water and witnessed the tragedy in the whole village. They also saw a huge black shadow as high as the mountain standing behind the scarlet flag.
Later, the two left Chenli Village and followed the refugees into Hanzhou City, where they met the old shopkeeper who was drunk and forgetting his hometown.
Because Chen Shaobai was smart and Li Changyi could read and settle accounts, the old shopkeeper took them in and made them waiters in the tavern.
Two teenagers from the same village lived day after day in Hanzhou City, but they never forgot the scarlet flag and the huge black shadow behind it.
They want revenge.
For their parents, brothers and sisters, and for all the men, women and children in the village.
And for themselves.
…
Li Chaoyi looked at the tall young man whose smile faded, frowned, and said: "We want revenge, but we don't have to surrender to the army. Nozawa Pass is too dangerous. Every year, there is a battle with the Nozawa Lake water monster, and many people are killed or injured. If you want to become stronger, you can find other ways, such as going to Hanshan Academy, going to Lieshui Sword Sect, or going to Baiquan Sect."
Hanshan Academy, Lieshui Sword Sect, and Baiquan Sect are the three major cultivation forces in Hanzhou.
Chen Shaobai grinned again, "But only by joining the army can you become stronger and make money again. I have already thought about it. I will join the army, receive military pay, and convert all the military merit I earn into money and send it to you."
"As for you, just go to the academy. Haven't you always wanted to go to Hanshan Academy? Now, Shu Xiu doesn't have to worry. You will be a scholar and I will be a warrior. Between the two of us, at least one of us will be able to succeed."
Chen Shaobai said it matter-of-factly, and his body was filled with a look that is rare for young people.
Li Changyi's delicate little face was silent for a while.
He knew that Chen Shaobai had already made up his mind and could not change it.
This companion has been the child king of Chenli Village since he was a child. He often leads a group of "minions" to fight in other villages and climbs over the walls in the village, causing a lot of trouble. Whatever the "Shaobai King" identifies, he can Even ten old scalpers can't bring him back.
Chen Shaobai suddenly took a step forward, stuffed a bag of things into Li Xianyi's arms, then stepped back and said with a smile: "I know what you are worried about, but don't worry, I will be fine, I am still alive. "
"When I was young, the blind old man who set up a stall in Changqiaowei told me my life. He told me that I would live to be at least ninety-eight years old, and that I would be rich and powerful. Just wait for me to become a high official through meritorious services and come back. Let me lead you to live a happy life."
"When the time comes, I will marry three wives, four concubines, and fifteen pretty maids, and I will also marry you a dozen women. Tsk tsk... In that situation, within a few years, our Chenli Village will be prosperous again!"
Li Xiangyue twitched the corner of his mouth.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Chen Shaobai strode away, following the willows along the Hanshui River, heading south to Nozawa Pass in front of the dangerous swamp.
Looking at the tall young man walking away behind the willow silk, Li Chaoyi suddenly shouted: "Dabai, I'll wait for you to go back to Chenli Village together!"
Chen Shaobai turned around, waved and stepped back, with a warm smile on his face.
There was a faint sound of a horse neighing from the official road in the distance.
Li Chaoyi suddenly remembered two poems from "Poems of a Thousand Families" taught by his teacher when he was a child in the village school.
I waved my hand and went away, the horses roared.
…
As the largest academy in Hanzhou, Hanshan Academy is not located in Hanzhou City, but on Hanshan Mountain in the western suburbs.
Wanfengling, the main peak of Hanshan Mountain where the academy is located, is more than fifty miles away from the city.
Li Chaoyi hid the packet of copper coins that Chen Shaobai had given him, and prepared to go to Hanshan Academy.
It is late autumn, the time when the maple trees on Hanshan Mountain are dyed red, and it also coincides with Hanshan Academy’s annual New Year’s Month.
As long as you arrive before the red leaves of Wanfengling fall and pass the assessment, you can enter the academy to practice.
At noon, Li Changyi came out from the west gate of Zhoucheng and walked westward with a small cloth bag on his back.
After walking more than thirty miles, it was getting late and night quickly enveloped the land.
After walking a few miles further, Li Qianyi came across a dilapidated temple at a mountain pass, and planned to spend the night there.
The temple is not big. After entering through a broken courtyard gate, you will find the main hall.
The side rooms on the left and right have collapsed, but the main hall seems to be still stable. There is a wooden plaque hanging in front of the eaves. The words on the plaque are blurred. After Li Changyuan looked at it for a long time, he could only vaguely tell that it was a public temple.
The handwriting is really hard to decipher, and I don't know who the surname of this god is.
Pushing the door open and entering, a tall old man in Confucian robes is enshrined in the center of the lobby.
This old man in Confucian robes holds a writing brush in his right hand and a sword on his left waist. He looks elegant and powerful.
There is a pair of damaged and mottled couplets on both sides of the statue:
A bald pen writes down a thousand military strategies;
The iron sword cuts down the ten thousand-foot demon.
Li Qingyi admired the majesty left by the statue of the god, and was shocked by the momentum contained in this couplet. He bowed three times in the manner of a latecomer.
Then he found dry grass and dry firewood and lit a fire in the main hall to ward off insects and beasts.
After eating the solid food, he read for a while by the firelight. Before the second watch, he put on his clothes and slept in front of the statue, so that he could regain his energy and continue on his journey tomorrow.
At the end of the third watch and approaching the fourth watch, the fire had long been extinguished, and the temple was dark and quiet, with only a little starlight filtering in through the dilapidated roof.
Suddenly, a black cloud came from the north and instantly covered the area five miles around the temple.
A human-shaped shadow more than three feet high condensed in the black cloud, floated down, and stood outside the temple.
"Zhou Lengxi, I'm back again. It's time to settle the old accounts from five hundred years ago!"
The humanoid shadow made a hoarse, shrill sound.
Clang——
The closed door of the main hall suddenly opened, and with a golden light, a tall and majestic old man walked out.
This old man was wearing a Confucian shirt and a sword on his left waist. He was exactly the same as the statue in the main hall.