Gu Meizhi

Squeak.

I don't know how long after the boundless darkness, Mei Qingjian suddenly heard this slight creaking sound, as if the door was suddenly blown open by the wind.

He involuntarily shook slightly, and his confused mind suddenly came to his senses.

He opened his eyes, and saw the candlelight in the quiet house in the snow, and with the gust of wind, the candlelight reflected on the window paper danced slightly, and he saw it more clearly than before.

The strangely blowing cold winter night wind seemed to push him involuntarily into the body of the white-haired child—his own body, like a hand behind his back.

Mei Qing gradually looked down at her hands.In the blink of an eye, the thin and thin child's palm quickly became fleshy, and soon, this body was no different from his own.

Mei Qingjian looked at the shadow reflected on the window paper ahead, hesitated for a moment, and walked over.

For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten the collapsed Great Wilderness and Kunlun Mountains, as well as his own soul that was still struggling in the sea of ​​pain and suffering just a moment ago.

The road he was on right now was too dark, once there was light, he couldn't help but follow the light.

Stretching out her hand to cover the half-open door, Mei Qingjian paused, and slowly pushed the door open.

- Squeak.

The first thing that catches the eye is a screen.

The paper screen and the frame made of bamboo, at first glance, are just common household items, but upon closer inspection, one can see that the bamboo used in this screen is a rare natural cloud-patterned black bamboo, with many traces of bamboo, which is elegant in its own right. place.

In the middle of the screen is painted a snow scene of black plum blossoms with three or two slanted branches, with endless meaning.

Mei Qingjian stretched out her slightly trembling hand, and gently caressed the ink plum paper screen. Over the years, the surface of the paper had already turned yellow and became brittle, only the few branches of plum blossoms were still beautiful.

Mei Qingjian closed her eyes suddenly, and she seemed to see her master splashing ink on the window again, writing like wind, and in a blink of an eye, there was this plum blossom in the snow with both form and spirit.

And he himself was just a child at that time, halfway through grinding ink for the master, he couldn't help but clapped his hands happily.

Mei Qing gradually opened her eyes, and gently rubbed the paper screen back and forth a few times, suddenly, as if thinking of something, her eyes lit up slightly.

Without thinking about it, he rushed forward, walked around the screen in two or three steps, and looked into the room impatiently.

Naturally, this is no longer the quiet house in the heavy snow in Kunlun Mountains, but a small thatched cottage made of green bamboo and thatch.

There are only ten or so steps to go in and out of the thatched cottage, except for two low couches, a table and a chair, there are almost no other decorations.On the wall on one side of the bamboo door, farm tools are placed randomly. In front of the desk, there are pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and a bouquet of fresh wild flowers with dew on the other.

Everything that came into my eyes was familiar, and there was no doubt that this was the thatched cottage in Wuling Mountain where Mei Qingjian lived with Elder Tianji for 12 years.

With the bamboo doors wide open, the candlelight in front of the table was blown slightly by the wind even though it was covered by a screen, and even the shadows reflected on the window paper were hazy.

But at this moment, Mei Qing gradually stepped into the house, and just now she saw the figure reflected in front of the window clearly with her own eyes.He stared at it for a moment, and the brilliance in his eyes that had just been ignited slowly dimmed, and he couldn't hide his disappointment for a while.

That back figure is also an old man, but he has a stooped figure and gray hair, one can tell at a glance that he is not Elder Tianji.Mei Qingjian was silent for a moment, then bowed down and saluted respectfully.

"Senior created this illusion and called the junior into a dream, what can I learn from you?"

"—Is this a dream, how do you know?"

A warm laughter sounded not far away, and the old man turned around slowly.

His back is very bent, his face is full of wrinkles, his white beard is sparse, and there are still some old people's brown spots on his cheeks, but his eyes are not cloudy like ordinary old people, but deep and unusual, as if he can see through people's thoughts at a glance.

Even though he was old, he could still see the sharp lines of his facial features, without losing the faint intention of killing, but the kindness and peace in his eyes made the coldness of his body somewhat tempered.

Mei Qingjian looked at him suddenly, but she was startled in her heart, she felt that this old voice was very familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere.

He collected himself, and then turned his gaze to the Momei screen that he saw when he entered the door.

"...Bamboo rotten paper is brittle and difficult to preserve for a long time. As early as when the younger generation was 14 years old, this screen had already rotted."

The old man said slowly: "Since you know that the screen is fake, what was on your mind when you rushed in?"

Mei Qingjian felt bitterness in his heart, and after a moment of silence, he said in a low voice: "The dream of nothingness is the intersection of yin and yang, and it may be possible to reunite with the dead. Although it is the moon in the water and the flower in the mirror, the younger generation can't escape their hearts." magic."

The old man smiled and said: "If you can't escape your demons, you won't see the old man here. Most people in the world are greedy and paranoid, and few people are as honest and thorough as you.

"All four things are empty is nothing but Buddhist empty talk, but it is rare for anyone who can afford it and let it go."

The old man's voice is gentle and peaceful, originally very easy to comfort people's hearts, but Mei Qingjian heard it in her ears, but it seemed to be drawn by an invisible thin thread, and she couldn't help but want to explore the looming familiar source in her mind. With a movement of consciousness, the severe pain in the head that exploded before surged again.

He put his fists firmly on the temples on both sides, and there was a golden light flashing in front of his eyes. He staggered a few steps for a while, almost unable to stand, and moaned in a low voice:

"Void is useless, since it is all a dream, please senior... also please send me back to the present world."

The old man said indifferently: "You are in this world, but you still want something?"

When her headache was about to split, Mei Qingjian only felt that her eyes were full of golden light and splendor, and it was empty, and she couldn't catch her thoughts for a moment.

With no mentors and friends, and fellow sects betrayed, there should be nothing left to ask for in this world.

He couldn't answer this sentence, the old man on the opposite side already sighed:

"Fool, fool. This screen is fake, the thatched cottage is fake, even the old man is a fake, only you are not a person in a dream, why do you still care about the present world? It's getting late, let's go!"

The wind blowing in front of him was suddenly bitter, and the old man walked over with his wide sleeves fluttering, and grabbed Mei Qingjian's wrist.

Suddenly, as if thousands of bright rays of light appeared in front of her eyes, Mei Qing gradually shone with golden light, her body was as light as floating in the clouds, and the old man forced her to stride out of the thatched cottage.

At this moment, the severe pain in his skull suddenly stopped, and there seemed to be a distant and familiar question coming from the vagueness.

"...Where is Teng Huang, are you still sleeping?"

Mei Qingjian suddenly opened her eyes.

Stepping out of the grassy cottage, the world in front of you has changed again.

The green hills are verdant, and a bend of the Qinghe River zigzags and flows along the mountains.The cool and moist rich moisture lingers in the air, soaking the plants and trees in the surrounding area to become more verdant.

It turned out that it was bounded by the Qinghe River, with thin streams meandering on both sides of the river. Scattered houses were built along the stream. Although the stream was shallow, it was intermittent.

The moisture here is extremely humid, and to Mei Qingjian, it was like rain from the sky, which suddenly wiped away his previous headache and depression.

He didn't have time to look around and take a closer look at the scenery, he turned around in a hurry, and bowed to the old man beside him.

"The younger generation doesn't know the senior emperor so far, and his words and deeds are insignificant, and he still hopes to forgive his sins."

The old man's voice was exactly the same as what he had heard in his dreams in the past. It was the father of the Dihong Clan, the Great Emperor of Haotian, the ancient god Dixuan. Beard, with a kind look on his face, waved his hands and said with a smile:

"The old man is not the emperor, but just a wisp of his thoughts left in the world.

"The predestined relationship is over, so we should say goodbye. The Di Kuang clan left seven ancient divine steles on the land of Shenzhou, soaked in the spiritual energy of the world, and they are recorded in his remains. One day, you may have a chance to see them."

The old voice became more and more ethereal, but the gurgling water and the rustling of insects gradually became clearer.

Seeing that the old man's figure gradually faded away, Mei Qing gradually took a step forward and shouted: "Senior, wait a minute! This junior is the son of Emperor Yuan of the Bai Min Kingdom. senior--"

Before he finished speaking, the old man in front of him was already blown by the wind and turned into countless shining stars, falling into a thin stream in front of him, only his old voice could be heard from afar, and he said with a smile:

"If you have anything to say, you can just ask Emperor Zhongrong."

Mei Qing gradually stood on the spot in a daze, and suddenly felt a spiritual movement in his mind, as if water ripples were coming, he turned around, and happened to see a person standing under a willow tree not far from the stream.

This one is also an old man, with a bearing above dust, his whole body seems to be shrouded in a faint blue aura, one can tell at a glance that he must be a descendant of a god.

Compared with Di Jiang and Mei Qingjian of the Bai people's clan, this person does not seem to be more cold and lonely than them.He was dressed in a lake blue dark suit. Although he was over sixty years old, he had black beard and hair, and he looked radiant.

He was clearly a stranger, but the spiritual breath contained in the faint blue radiance made Mei Qing gradually feel warm and close involuntarily, and even wanted to get more familiar with the owner of the spiritual breath.

The faint golden light danced, and a slim figure seemed to pass before his eyes. It was a gentle woman whose face could not be seen clearly, standing far away in the depths of the flowers and green grass at the end of the sky.Mei Qingjian remembered clearly that it was his mother.

He still remembered what Qiongqi had said to him at the top of Tianfu Peak - the wife of Emperor Yuanshi of the Baimin Kingdom was the Diji of the Kingdom of Zhongrong.

Emperor Zhongrong walked slowly, and the rich spiritual breath that was as clear and majestic as the waves all over his body was also approaching. He looked rather melancholy, and his eyes were fixed on the golden and yellow totem that flickered between Mei Qingjian's eyebrows , murmured authentically.

"Descendants of the Bai people, the stars are shining...you, you are Yingji's child left in the mortal world..."

He stretched out his hand slightly, as if he wanted to shake Mei Qingjian's hand, but he didn't know what to think, and suddenly stopped in mid-air.

After Mei Qingjian took a look, she couldn't help being slightly startled.

But seeing the old man's half-inch fingertips protruding from the wide lake blue sleeves is particularly strange, the skin of the five fingers is almost transparent, the deep purple and black blood veins are clearly visible, and there are still countless tiny blood vessels buried deep under the skin.

Emperor Zhongrong realized where he was looking, and immediately lowered his hands to cover them with his sleeves.However, this short glance was enough to shock people's hearts. Mei Qingjian suddenly raised her head and blurted out:

"you--"

"Gu is Emperor Zhongrong, Yingji's biological father..." Emperor Zhongrong pulled up his sleeves, deliberately stopped the question he was about to utter, looked at Mei Qingjian with endless love and pity, and sighed,

"God Emperor Qi entrusted a dream to send an edict to tell Yu Gu the whole story, don't be afraid, although China is just a corner of the world, it can protect Yingji's son safe and well...

"Son, you have suffered a lot."

Apart from the master, Mei Qingjian almost never experienced the protection of the elders. Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel a heat in his heart.Immediately resisting the faint sourness in his eyes, he took a step towards Emperor Zhongrong, and bowed down.

"Grandfather..."