Xiao Jingshu pulled Su Ling out of the Octagonal Pavilion.
Su Ling smiled and said, "You little girl, why did you come here looking for me?"
Xiao Jingshu's face suddenly changed, and she whispered: "Don't look back, leave with me quickly!"
Su Ling instantly understood the implication of Xiao Jingshu's words, and said with a stern expression: "So you already knew?"
Xiao Jingshu said nothing, trying to look as normal as usual, and suddenly said loudly: "Oh, Su Ling, why are you so ignorant? The guests in the hall have already left before they could wait for you, and you are still here blindly talking.
Are you shopping? Let me tell you how to punish you."
Su Ling understood instantly, his expression remained unchanged, and he still laughed and said loudly: "If you want me to stay with you for a while, just say so. They dispersed them, and you can leave alone. I didn't ask you to come to me."
ah."
As Su Ling said this, she was pulled by Xiao Jingshu to speed up her pace.
After leaving the area of the Octagonal Pavilion, Xiao Jingshu's face became extremely nervous. Without saying a word, she just pulled Su Ling and walked forward quickly.
There were thin beads of sweat on her handsome cheeks.
Su Ling whispered as he walked: "Don't worry about me. There will definitely be a carriage when you come. Just leave as soon as possible."
Xiao Jingshu frowned and said in a low voice: "Do you think I really care about you? I just don't want you to die in my third brother's house and cause trouble to him. Do you know the origin of Ling Yijian?
"
Su Ling shook his head and whispered: "I don't know his origins, but I think his giant sword is quite evil."
Xiao Jingshu said in a low voice and very quickly: "I will tell you in detail when I have time. Now is not the time to talk about this."
Suddenly she raised her pretty face, with a smile all over her face, and said in a slightly higher voice: "If you accept the punishment, then accompany me all the way back to my house, just in time to see the snow scene and lanterns. I think there must be no one here at this time."
Su Ling understood and echoed: "I don't care, as long as you, a little girl, are not afraid of the cold."
The two of them stopped talking, and Su Ling allowed Xiao Jingshu to hold hands. However, he saw a figure in white and a figure in pale yellow quickly passing through the corridor without stopping at all.
Xiao Jingshu seemed to be quite familiar with the terrain of Xiao Sishu's house. After a while, he walked around to the front and then whispered: "Follow me. After you go out, find a dark place to hide in."
Su Ling nodded calmly.
The two of them walked out of the gate of Xiao Sixu's residence and disappeared into the darkness in an instant.
But not long after the two of them disappeared, a black figure suddenly appeared out of thin air in the empty front yard of Xiao Mansion.
The night wind was biting, and the black figure seemed to be unheard, standing silently in the front yard.
The wind blew his black clothes, giving him a murderous look.
His eyes suddenly shot out two rays of light that seemed to be substantial, and the coldness of winter was eclipsed.
The fierceness in his eyes looked at the place where the two disappeared, and he seemed to be muttering to himself: "I thought that after leaving Xiao Mansion and hiding in the dark, I couldn't find you and escaped? I want to kill you."
People who have never failed..."
The man's voice was sinister and frightening.
Under the pale moonlight, the man slowly took out something from his arms and gently put it on his face.
Under the moonlight, the face that was unclear at first suddenly turned into a fanged and bloodthirsty face.
If Su Ling were present, he would definitely be able to tell at a glance that this ghost face looked exactly the same as the ghost-faced man he encountered on the night street.
The moonlight was slowly obscured by a cloud blown by the wind. When the moon emerged from the clouds and mist, the front yard was already empty, as if the figure in black had never appeared, and there was only loneliness and coldness in the eyes.
............
The long dark street is silent.
The coldness of this deep winter means that the wild cats and dogs that are used to wandering have to avoid its edge and hide somewhere.
Only occasionally at the corner of the wall, there would be a few low, black shadows of rats, passing quickly, stopping next to the abandoned garbage, and after rummaging a few times, they would suddenly disappear.
In the darkness, it seemed that all the scenery was unclear.
It suddenly seemed like someone was speaking, as if they were coming from underground.
"If Su Ling wants to go back to Badangtang, this deep alley is the only way for him to pass through. Just wait here and make sure to kill him with one strike!..."
There was a sound of "Crack-", and in the rolling darkness, an inaudible fire slowly rose.
But it illuminated the killer who was originally in the darkness.
There are ten people in all black clothes, lined up in a row.
They all wear infiltrative ghost masks on their heads to cover their sins.
Nine of them all held crescent-shaped scimitars in their hands, their blades glowing coldly.
The ghost-faced man in the middle did not hold a sword in his hand, but the giant sword behind him looked particularly terrifying.
However, the voices just now did not come from these ten people.
Right in front of them, there was a young scholar-looking man, holding a small fire fan in his hand, which reflected his extremely sinister face.
In the eagle's eyes, there was a sinister murderous intent. The other end did not seem to turn towards the entrance of the alley, but his eyes seemed to be staring there scorchingly.
What a look like an eagle watching a wolf.
"Wen Chuyi, the young master said that we have to wait until the female young master leaves before we can take action..." The ghost-faced man in the center who was carrying a huge sword said with some dissatisfaction.
This young scholar is none other than Wen Chuyi.
Hearing the question in his tone, he suddenly smiled sinisterly and said: "Young master always wants to save some face when making decisive attacks. Do you want him to say in front of you that you don't need to worry about his sister?"
The giant-sword-ghost-faced man seemed startled for a moment, and then said: "But, I still think it's inappropriate..."
Wen Chuyi's eyes turned cold, and she looked at him closely and said: "Ling Yijian! Do you still want to revive your Wenjian Valley? If you still want to, just listen to me. If you don't want you to leave quickly, I Wen Chuyi
Chu Yi takes matters into his own hands, but if your Wenjian Valley can revive its great cause, I'm afraid you'll have to hire another Gaoming..."
"I..." Ling Yijian lowered his head, his aura seemed to be half lower, but he still hesitated and said: "If the young master blames..."
Wen Chuyi flashed a cold light and said, "I, Wen Chuyi, will take the blame for the young master! It has nothing to do with you! If you miss this opportunity, you will suffer endless consequences."
Ling Yijian thought for a moment, nodded and said: "Since Mr. Wen said it, Ling Yijian will not dare to disobey!"
Wen Chuyi smiled with satisfaction, but even though it was a smile, it was cold.
"Very good, now that this matter is done, the young master will be happy and will definitely help you revive Wenjian Valley... Then the Jian'an Mirror Wuji will be out of the question!"
Hearing this, Ghost Face Ling Yijian's body shook violently, he secretly clenched his fists and nodded.
The dim light went out and everything melted into darkness without making any sound.
............
Su Ling and Xiao Jingshu walked out of Xiao's house, not daring to delay for a moment. They hid in the shadows for a while and watched as no one was following them. Then they walked out of the shadows again and walked in the direction of the bad hall.
Zhuque Street was deserted at this time.
On the broad street, Su Ling and Xiao Jingshu walked side by side.
The surrounding area is surrounded by lanterns put up by every household during the Lantern Festival.
At this moment, although there was no one watching the lanterns, the lanterns were blooming in the dark night without any slack.
The two walked for a while and saw that no one was following them, so they gradually relaxed their vigilance.
If you don’t appreciate this lantern, it’s a waste.
In addition, Xiao Jingshu has a girlish nature, so when she saw some cute and beautiful lanterns, she wanted to go over and take a look.
"Su Ling, look at how cute the doll in front is..."
Su Ling followed the sound and saw that on the street ahead, a wealthy family had put up lanterns that looked like a grandfather and grandson.
The old one is quite decent, but the little one is lifelike.
She has a chubby pink face, red rouge on her forehead, a doll's head with a teapot lid, full of childlike eyes, smiling and being held by the old man's right hand, and there is a big bunch of bright red candied haws on her left hand, which is really lifelike.
Su Ling chuckled and said, "This doll likes to giggle just like you..."
Xiao Jingshu had already walked up to the doll lantern, stretched out her fair hand and touched the doll's teapot cover affectionately, her eyes filled with soft light, and she giggled.
After hearing what Su Ling said about him, he stood next to the doll, waved his fist at him and said, "You are the one who likes to giggle..."
As he spoke, he bent down again and pinched the doll's face a few times.
Seeing that she was reluctant to leave, Su Ling waited for a while with a smile, then said: "Let's go quickly, it's not going to be good not far ahead..."
Xiao Jingshu seemed to have completely forgotten the danger just now, and smiled at Su Ling with an innocent little girl look on her face.
Under the colorful lanterns.
This little girl's smile actually made her look even more delicate and playful.
Lidya Su's heart couldn't help but tremble.
He slowly lowered his head.
Xiao Jingshu never thought that such a shameless guy like Su Ling could be shy. Suddenly she put her left hand on her slim waist, pointed at Su Ling with her right hand, and giggled again.
Su Ling was infected by her laughter that seemed to have never had the slightest trouble, and she also laughed.
The two of them looked at each other on this long empty street, smiling carefree.
Suddenly, there was a hint of nostalgia in Xiao Jingshu's starry eyes. She glanced at the lantern doll several more times and then said quietly: "Su Ling, do you know that my father was still a vigorous general in the military back then?"
At that time, our whole family was in Chongzhou. At that time, there were the eldest brother Xiao Mingshu, the second brother Xiao Jianshu, the third brother Xiao Sishu, and the younger brother Cangshu."
Seeing the look of nostalgia on her face, Su Ling couldn't bear to interrupt her, silently looking at her beautiful face and listening to her faint story.
The nostalgia in Xiao Jingshu's starry eyes was even greater, and she said softly: "At that time, the four of us were together, and my father and mother were not old yet. It was really a quiet time. Every year, the Yuan Dynasty
On the festival day, my mother held my hand, my eldest brother Mingshu held Sishu and Jianshu’s hands one by one, and my father held Cangshu’s brother, who was just three years old. Our family was together, and we happily watched the whole city in Chongzhou City.
fireworks lights.”
Xiao Jingshu's eyes were a little blurry, and she murmured in her voice: "Chongzhou City was so small at that time, so naturally it couldn't compare to Longtai where there were so many lanterns with novel styles. But I felt that I couldn't finish all those lanterns.
Can’t get enough…”
Xiao Jingshu raised her pretty face, looked at Su Ling with soft eyes and said: "You know, Su Ling, the little hamster at that time was exactly like this doll lantern, with just this little bunch of hair on its head.
He was still wearing crotchless pants underneath. We were all attracted by the lanterns, but he was clamoring for some candied haws..."
"If his parents didn't buy it for him, he wouldn't leave and would cry. At this time, the eldest brother Mingshu would pull out a bunch of bright red candied haws from behind and hand it to him like a magic trick...
." Xiao Sishu's face was full of smiles, as if she was immersed in memories.
Su Ling suddenly remembered that in that era, when he was young, he was held by his father and mother like this. His father was afraid of the huge crowd, so he would lift the young man above his head and carry him on his shoulders. At that time, he was really
I just feel that my father’s shoulders are the broadest and warmest...
His face was also full of nostalgia.
Xiao Jingshu smiled, but suddenly her smile froze, and her voice became a little sad as she said: "However, brother Mingshu died in Wanyang, and brother Jianshu no longer had the soft and warm smile on his face...
..and brother Sishu, who has been obsessed with poetry and songs since then. The little hamster seems to have grown up a lot all of a sudden..."
Su Ling's heart trembled, and she raised her head and slowly looked at the light yellow in front of her eyes.
Xiao Jingshu looked at Su Ling dreamingly, and suddenly asked: "Is everything irreversible, right? Su Ling? It can never go back..."
Su Ling wanted to say something to comfort her, but she didn't know how to say it. She could only sigh and said: "Xiao Jingshu... maybe this is the price of growing up."
"The price of growth..." Xiao Jingshu suddenly raised her head and looked at the sky.
Su Ling could see that this unruly little girl had her own stubbornness. She raised her head as hard as she could, opened her eyes as hard as she could, and tried her best not to shed tears.
Just like that, she said with some regret and reluctance: "Su Ling, they all think that I am a naughty little girl who doesn't understand anything... In fact, I understand everything... My father is working hard step by step.
General Wu was promoted to the now powerful Sikong of the Jin Dynasty, and he wanted to be crowned king in a matter of days... Brother Sishu, who is the kindest at heart, did not want to get involved in this battle for the rightful throne, so he wrote poems and songs to live in a dream;
Jianshu and the little hamster... they will never be the brothers they were before... They say brother Jianshu has changed, but the little hamster has actually... grown up too.
..."
Su Ling moved her lips a few times, wanting to say something, but in the end she felt that those were Xiao family's private matters, and she was not qualified to intervene...
Fortunately, Xiao Jingshu was free and easy. She shook her head suddenly, smiled and said, "Su Ling, please promise me something..."
Su Ling just raised his head and said, "Just tell me..."
"I know that whether you are a young doctor or a small chef, it is not your ultimate goal... I understand the beauty in your heart..."
"But Su Ling...promise me, whether it's Xiao Jianshu or Xiao Cangshu, you won't get involved in helping either of them, okay?"
Su Ling was stunned for a moment. She had never thought that a little girl like Xiao Jingshu would actually say such a thing.
Su Ling smiled faintly and said: "I am just Xicao Peng now... Even if I have the will, I am powerless..."
Xiao Jingshu chuckled and said: "In this case, it's okay to deceive those little girls who only know how to embroider, but you can't deceive me, the eldest lady of the Xiao family... Don't look at you now, you are just a little girl.
Cao Cao, but I know that my father will definitely promote you. I don’t need you now. I just want to show favor to his successors, brother Jianshu or brother Cangshu, and let them promote you, so that you can think of their kindness and do it for them.
They do things..."
This little girl's words hit the nail on the head and explained the joints clearly.
Su Ling's heart trembled. Xiao Jingshu really impressed him tonight...
Su Ling said with great interest: "I'm just curious, why do you, a little girl, worry about who I help and who I don't help?"
Xiao Jingshu sighed quietly and said: "Everyone else can participate, but you, Su Ling, are sincere, free and easy, and you are never willing to submit to anyone or subordinate to anyone..."
"But... the struggle for power, especially the battle for heir apparent, will change a person. A complete change will make a person become cold-blooded and ruthless, and they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals...
.”
"Su Ling, I don't want you to become the next brother Jianshu..."
These few words of hers were spoken softly and lightly, not even remotely solemn.
But in Su Ling's heart, every sentence is like a mountain and every word is as important as a thousand pieces.
Su Ling nodded seriously and said, "I'll do my best..."
"Are you just trying your best?..." Xiao Jingshu still looked at him with a smile.
But before he could reply, he smiled and said, "Yes, sometimes, the situation is beyond human control. It's not easy for you to say this."
She walked over and smiled at him.
He smiled at her too.
Xiao Jingshu then stopped smiling and said seriously: "Let's talk about what happened tonight."
Su Ling also nodded seriously.
Xiao Jingshu collected her thoughts and said, "Actually, I didn't know that at first, but after you left, I saw a very familiar figure. I glanced at the door of the hall for a few times, then left without going in.
I suddenly remembered that this person is Zhang Hua, the deputy manager of my father’s house."
Su Ling nodded, and suddenly thought of the person who suddenly came to the Bajiao Pavilion. After whispering in Xiao Jianshu's ear for a while, he left in a hurry. He thought it was Zhang Hua.
Xiao Jingshu added: "It's just that although he is from my father's house, he has always been quite speculative with brother Jianshu. Today, my father is no longer here, and brother Jianshu has not appeared either. I vaguely guessed that maybe my father
Or maybe Brother Jianshu is in Brother Sishu’s house.”
Su Ling nodded and said, "The little girl is quite smart."
Xiao Jianshu chuckled and said: "I saw you hadn't returned for a long time, and I vaguely felt that you should have met your father or brother Jianshu. So I got up and went to the backyard of brother Sishu to look for you, but I met you face to face.
Fucked that Zhang Hua."
Su Ling smiled lightly and said, "I'm afraid this deputy general manager has already taken refuge with your second brother."
Xiao Jingshu waved her hand and said: "Wrong, you are wrong this time. Zhang Hua came here on my father's order..."
Su Ling said in shock: "What, Sikong..."
Xiao Jingshu waved her hands and said, "Su Ling, what are you thinking about? How could my father do anything to you? When Zhang Hua saw it was me, he eagerly told me that Brother Jianshu was restraining him in the octagonal pavilion in the backyard.
You, I’m asking you something.”
Su Ling was thoughtful and did not answer.
Xiao Jingshu said again: "Actually, it was my father's arrangement that Brother Jianshu met you this time..."
Su Ling was stunned and said, "What is Sikong doing?"
Xiao Jingshu chuckled and said: "I don't know this. In short, as my father's official position became bigger and bigger, his suspicions became more and more serious. Zhang Hua told me that today my father just wanted to let Brother Jian Shu
Try to see if you are qualified to be a lonely minister..."
When Su Ling heard this, he suddenly broke into a cold sweat and said secretly, "It's so dangerous, so dangerous. If I agree to surrender to either Jian Shu or Cang Shu in the Bajiao Pavilion, I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of the Bajiao Pavilion..."
Seeing him sweating, Xiao Jingshu laughed and said, "You are so brave, but you are so scared that you are sweating..."
She paused and then said: "It's just that my father just asked Brother Jianshu to try you, and he didn't ask him to kill you. He wanted to kill you just because he wanted to kill you... He was caught by Zhang Hua. Zhang Hua
You just went in and pretended that my father already knew what was going on here and asked him to let you go, but he was afraid that you would be exposed if you stayed too long, so he left in a hurry."
"That's it..." Su Ling suddenly realized.
"But after Zhang Hua left, he always felt that Brother Jianshu would not let you go, and when he met me again, he told the truth. Then I went to the Bajiao Pavilion to look for you. At first glance, it was not only Brother Jianshu, but also Brother Jianshu.
The scholar Wen Chuyi and the most powerful guy are both here!"
"The most powerful guy? Ling Yijian?" Su Ling said lightly.
"If it's not him, who else could it be?" Xiao Jingshu said.
Su Ling said a little arrogantly: "I, Su Ling, didn't get it for nothing...how powerful is his Ling Yijian?"
Xiao Jingshu rolled her eyes at him and said: "You, you don't know how powerful this Ling Yijian is. Do you know the main mirror of Lingwucheng Jian'an Temple is Wuji?"
Su Ling vaguely remembered that Zhang Shennong had mentioned this person before, so he nodded and said: "How could you not know that at the junction of Shaliang and Sizhou, another city was originally named Dunye. Because the owner of Jian'an in the city was a world martial artist.
The existence of the first scholar, one man and one sword, protected the people of Dunye city, and all the major forces could not resist. Therefore, Dunye was renamed Lingwucheng."
Su Ling wondered: "Then what does this have to do with Ling Yijian?"
Xiao Jingshu then pretended to be a master and said: "You don't know this, right? Listen to the female master slowly tell me, in fact, in fact, apart from Jian'an, the only one who can compete with swords in the world is Jian'an.
It’s the Wanren Mountain Wenjian Valley deep in the Shaliang Desert. And this Ling Yijian is the owner of the Wanren Mountain Wenjian Valley…”
Su Ling smiled and said: "Is it possible that there is a mistake? The master of Wenjian Valley, Ling Yijian, who can compete with Jian'an Sword Saint Jing Wuji, will actually become your brother Xiao Jianshu's thug?"
Xiao Jingshu waved her hand and said: "How could I be wrong? You only know one, but not the other. The time when Jiangu and Jian'an were competing was ten years ago..."
"Ah...ten years ago? What about now?" Su Ling asked.
Xiao Jingshu tilted her head and said: "Then I don't know why. On the night of Shangyuan ten years ago, Wenjian Valley disappeared overnight. Even the main hall of Wenjian Valley was razed to the ground. The owner of the valley, Ling
From now on, the end of the sword is unknown."
Su Ling seemed to be listening to a strange story from heaven: "I don't know where to end, why do you appear next to your brother?"
Xiao Jingshu thought for a while and said, "About five years ago, Brother Jianshu suddenly met my father and said that he wanted to learn swordsmanship. He even found a good master, Ling Yijian."
Su Ling felt a headache.
Xiao Jingshu said seriously: "No kidding, when my father heard the name of Ling Yijian, he felt that someone must be impersonating him. Who is Ling Yijian? But the master of Wenjian Valley has already reached the level of Grandmaster Shangpin in martial arts.
ah."
Su Ling was confused when he heard this: "Stop, stop, stop... what is the martial arts realm of Shangpin Grandmaster? How can this be discussed..."
Xiao Jingshu chuckled and said: "My martial arts are just fancy fists and embroidered legs. If you ask me this, how do I know? I just heard my father once mentioned that people who practice martial arts in the world have a set of high and low levels of martial arts. As for how to divide them,
I don’t know, but in short, this Shangpin Grandmaster is rare in the world."
Su Ling nodded in confusion. Is there such a thing in this time and space?
It's not surprising, he feels strange that there is nothing in this time and space...
Xiao Jingshu said again: "My father met this man and found out that it was indeed Ling Yijian, but I don't know why, he asked Jian Gu and ignored him, but he actually wanted to be my brother Jian Shu's swordsmanship master...
..But I heard from my father that his level seems to have dropped a lot, as if he is at some kind of peak now."
Su Ling rolled his eyes and was so pale. This really happened. He weakly said: "I am familiar with this word. Is it the peak of the ninth grade..."