Sealing Sword

When Gu Xiao walked out of the dungeon, it was already daylight.

There was a handkerchief in his hand, and he was wiping the blade inch by inch. The blood-stained knife was clear again, but the white handkerchief was mottled with bright red.

Lieutenant Lin walked two steps ahead of him, feeling as if there was a thorn in his back, and dared not let out his breath.

The living in the dungeon have become the dead.

Naturally, it was not the first time Lieutenant Lin saw a dead person, but it was the first time he truly realized that death was a kind of relief.

In three hours, Gu Xiao slashed [-] knives on that man, from the skin to the bones, ripping out the tendons and breaking the veins, cutting a tall man alive into skin and bones. During this time, he kept repeating a question, and the man only repeated an answer.

"Three years ago, he was the one who fed me crazy drugs and threw me into the cave of weeping blood. I knew this person when I turned into ashes... I asked him who ordered whom, and he said..." According to the Palace Master Do the King's order." Gu Xiao wiped away the last drop of blood on Jinghong Dao, looked up at Lieutenant Lin's back, "Master Lin, you have been in charge of torture for many years, and you have been tortured to this point. No matter what, you won’t tell lies, right?”

Lieutenant Lin didn't turn his head back, but the chill behind him was creeping up one by one, he managed to keep his voice from trembling: "Yes."

"Since he didn't tell a lie, it's true..." Gu Xiao paused, "Prince Duan Chu Yu colluded with Burial Soul Palace to kill my master... right?"

"Yep!"

The corner of Gu Xiao's mouth twitched: "Why? Our master and apprentice don't interfere with him, and Prince Duan has never asked about government affairs since the Qin Gong case. Why do we do these things?"

Xiaowei Lin forced a smile: "Wang Duan should have a bright future, but because he colluded with Qin Hebai to seek rebellion, his future has been ruined since then. On the surface, he has not acted, because he secretly has a hard time."

Gu Xiao looked at him steadfastly. After a moment of silence, she put the knife back into its sheath, and even smiled slightly, agreeing, "It's hard to understand...that's right, right."

Lin Xiaowei finally landed a big stone in his heart, he slowed down and waited for Gu Xiao to catch up and walk side by side, until a fork in the road, the two parted ways.

The smile on Gu Xiao's face slowly disappeared from the corner of his mouth after his back completely disappeared around the corner, and he murmured: "That's right."

He turned around in the bleak autumn wind and raised dust.

The sun came out, Chu Yao had breakfast, and for the first time, before his master came to drive him with a wooden stick, he obediently and consciously got on the plum blossom pile and began to practice. His clothes and hair were all soaked, and he didn't intend to stop, until he was suddenly poked off the plum blossom pile by a candied haws.

"Ah Yao, your foot is not stable, you have to practice hard." Gu Xiao caught him with a smile, and stuffed the candied haws in Chu Yao's mouth.The little boy subconsciously licked the icing, and the sweet taste filled his mouth. He blinked, like a puppy gnawed on a bone.

Gu Xiao put him down, squatted on the ground, looked up at the sky, and sighed: "It's strange, the sun doesn't come out from the west, so the balls will be piled up!"

Chu Yao's "thank you" was suppressed alive, and he took a bite of the candied hawthorn angrily, and chewed it alive.

He swallowed a mouthful of candied haws, looked up at Gu Xiao with his small face: "Master, are you in a bad mood?"

Gu Xiao raised her eyebrows: "Huh?"

"You look like you're about to cry." Chu Yao carefully touched the corners of his eyes with one hand, while racking his brains on how to comfort others, but unfortunately he was pampered since he was a child, and he couldn't find a way out, so he had to bite him A bite of candied haws came to Gu Xiao's mouth, imitating how he usually coaxes himself, "Master, take a bite, it's sweet."

Gu Xiao looked at him for a moment, then opened his mouth and bit down on Chu Yao's hand. In the blink of an eye, only a bare bamboo stick was left on a candied gourd, and he breathed out, and a dozen hawthorn seeds were scattered on the sand. It fell neatly on the ground.

"Well, it's sweet."

"..."

Chu Yao held up the bamboo stick and looked at the hawthorn seeds on the ground. He was so stunned for a moment that he even forgot to cry.

Seeing his dumbfounded appearance, Gu Xiao couldn't help laughing anymore.

When he smiled like this, Chu Yao finally came back to his senses, his mouth was flattened, but he didn't cry unexpectedly, he threw the bamboo stick out with his backhand, and hit a plum blossom stake in the middle, although the penetration was very shallow and wobbled, at least it didn't fall down.

"It's a good shot." Gu Xiao praised, and poked his steamed bun face, "I ate your candied haws, why don't you cry?"

"I invited you to eat." Chu Yao sniffed, then touched the corner of his mouth with his hand, "Just smile."

"...Ah Yao, you are worthy of being my personal disciple."

"Ok?"

"You're so glib at such a young age, what will happen when you grow up?" Gu Xiao squeezed his face, "It's a good thing you're coaxing me, Master. If it's a little girl, I'm afraid your daughter-in-law will be kidnapped."

Chu Yao was told by him to fill up the small storybook for three years. The white sugar stuffing was replaced with egg yolk cores. Hearing this, he shook his head like a rattle: "No daughter-in-law, they are still fierce about money!"

Gu Xiao teased him: "No daughter-in-law? Then what do you want?"

Chu Yao hugged his neck and did not let go: "Master!"

Gu Xiao was startled, then slapped her legs and laughed loudly: "A piece of candied haws requires me to sell myself, is it too cheap for Master?"

Chu Yao's round face turned red from his vivid smile.

Gu Xiao didn't go anywhere that day, and used all his patience to accompany Chu Yao to practice martial arts in the martial arts arena. He tested his skills in four aspects: mental technique, footwork, sword technique, and martial arts. He explained and corrected him constantly, taught him by words and by example, and took the trouble to make Chu Yao feel ashamed to be lazy.

He just collapsed on the ground like a dead dog during the break, looked up at Gu Xiao, weakly: "Master, can't we take our time in the future?"

Gu Xiao took a sip of water: "Today's business is over today, how can there be so many future things to mention and wait?"

Chu Yao continued to protest: "I'm still young..."

"You will grow up." After a pause, Gu Xiao said, "Soon."

Chu Yao lay on the ground and refused to get up: "Then go and teach Brother Xun first! He has grown up!"

"He... doesn't need me to teach him for a long time."

Chu Yao was still young, so he couldn't hear the deep meaning in his words. He just recalled the unsuspecting discussion last night, and raised his neck and said, "Then let Brother Xun protect me!"

Gu Xiao paused when she wanted to pull him up: "Ah Yao."

Hearing that his voice had turned cold, Chu Yao froze for a moment, didn't dare to play tricks anymore, got up suddenly, Gu Xiao's palm fell on his head, but it didn't caress, but stayed quietly.

He asked in a daze, "Master...Father?"

"There are too many things that hurt others and yourself in the world, and no one can protect you forever, except yourself." Gu Xiao's voice was very soft, "People's hearts are changeable, so don't trust others too much, think more about people and things, do you know?"

Chu Yao felt that his words were a little sad for no reason, but he didn't know how to refute, so he could only nod subconsciously, and obediently picked up the wooden knife and put it on the stake.

Gu Xiao glanced at the dusk sky, turned around and just saw the figure standing silently under the corridor, his face was even paler against the smoky water-colored embroidered cloak, and even the rouge couldn't hide his fatigue.

"The humble job has seen the princess."

Princess Jing withdrew her gaze from Chu Yao, took a deep look at Gu Xiao, and said, "No one has ever dared to say such things to Ah Yao."

Gu Xiao knew she was coming, so she didn't just tell Chu Yao what she said just now, she smiled slightly when she heard the words: "The princess regards A Yao as the treasure in her heart, so naturally she doesn't want to pollute his eyes and ears with these dirty things, just Now that things are coming to an end, he can't be an innocent child all his life."

Princess Jing shook her head: "I didn't tell him, not only because of this."

Gu Xiao raised her eyes, and heard her continue: "An ignorant person is not guilty, he only has to know nothing, and he will have a way out in the future."

The martial arts arena has always been the private place of Gu Xiao and Chu Yao. The princess loves her son dearly, and has already ordered that no one except herself and the prince should trespass here. Gu Xiao has also planted people she can trust around her. Talk about an acre of land.

Gu Xiao savored Princess Jing's words carefully for a moment, and tasted a bit of bitterness from them.

He considered it for a while, and said: "My concubine is too worried, the prince is a person who achieves great things, and A Yao is even more blessed."

"There have been people who fall short in success since ancient times, and there are countless people who have rich fortune and poor fate. Sometimes, it depends on God's mood when all the tricks are exhausted." Princess Jing curled her lips, but she couldn't see much smile, "My lord today! Call me early in the morning, and let me stay in the mansion to do housework, and there have been a lot of turmoil recently, so I will go out less."

Gu Xiao knew in her heart that even though King Jing did not anger Princess Yuning because of Princess Yuning's affairs, estrangement would still arise after all. This approach was already the safest way to deal with their relationship as husband and wife.

Princess Jing saw that he didn't speak, so she just smiled and said inexplicably: "It's windy in the north, I'll send someone to bring over some clothes and hot soup."

She left after she finished speaking, leaving only the smoky back in Gu Xiao's eyes, like a stream gurgling through the mist, not clear, but quietly flowing around the corner of the mountain pass, nourishing the vegetation, trees, earth and rocks.

A gust of wind blew over, and Gu Xiao's expression changed instantly.

At three quarters to midnight, there is no sound of people.

Yongchang Lane used to be a beggar's alley. The houses in it were in disrepair for a long time, and many homeless beggars lived there. Unfortunately, last year a flood caused a fire. Although most people escaped, there were still casualties. Since then There are rumors that this place is haunted by ghosts. Even if pedestrians pass by during the day, they will subconsciously detour.

However, Gu Xiao has been waiting here for half an hour.

He was dressed in black and almost blended into the night, his legs clamped on a crumbling eave beam, he was like a gecko clinging to the shadows, wild cats came and went on the dilapidated walls, mice lived in the dirty garbage Floating around, the spiders had formed a web of heaven and earth, but he didn't disturb any living beings, and even the cold wind poured in through the broken doors and windows, it just blown off the dust on his body.

Lieutenant Lin entered the room along with the gust of wind. After entering the door, he blew on the torch first. The light of the bean fire was barely enough for him to see. Everything in the room was projected on the wall. Lieutenant Lin picked up a few more A stone was thrown at the dead corner of my brother, and there were crisp hitting sounds one after another.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief, and stood behind a pillar, which would neither expose himself nor cover the fire from being noticed by outsiders.

Gu Xiao frowned. He came to meet Ruan Feiyu as promised, but he didn't expect to wait for Captain Lin to come first. Seeing the other party's situation, he seemed to be waiting for someone.

With a change of mind, Gu Xiao breathed the lightest, and waited for another stick of incense before the third person finally entered here.

It was a tall man, wearing autumn clothes and cotton shoes that were in season, his appearance was extremely ordinary, but when he spoke, Gu Xiao's pupils shrank!

Although the man spoke official Chinese, he had a northern accent. He bowed to Lieutenant Lin and lowered his voice, "My lord, General 'Hutal' sent his subordinates to deliver the letter!"

Hutar, the general of the northern barbarian tribe and a member of the barbarian royal family, is one of the key contenders for the next Great Khan. He is violent and greedy, and he uses troops viciously. Fortunately, the soldiers and civilians at the border guarded the country to the death.

However, Hutar was ordered to be stationed on the border of northern Xinjiang, and all the generals of Great Chu were very concerned about him. Seeing that the two countries were preparing for peace talks, why would he send someone to deliver a letter to Lieutenant Lin?

Gu Xiao held his breath and did not move.

Lieutenant Lin took the piece of parchment, smoked it on the fire fold and read it carefully, his frown slowly loosened: "Okay! Since the general is so sincere, I will notify the prince as soon as possible, and it will be fixed in two days. I will reply to you within a few days!"

While speaking, he carefully put the parchment in his arms, and said, "Have you encountered any troubles along the way?"

"Don't worry, my lord, everything is going well." The man said: "The northern barbarian vanguard has been converted into a caravan and escorts to set off with the peace talks mission. It will arrive at the Jinghan Pass in a few days. When the city gate is opened, we will be able to seize the opportunity. Border war together..."

Lieutenant Lin smiled coldly: "When the war comes together, the prince will not miss the appointment, and turn things upside down in Tianjing!"

The man asked: "The general asked his subordinates to take a message, and asked the prince how confident he is?"

"The emperor is powerless now. Among the princes, the only ones who have military power are the prince and the king of Cheng. When the battle comes together, the prince will unite everyone to push the king of Cheng to lead the army out of Beijing to guard the border. , why worry that the big thing can't be done?"

"Although King Duan doesn't have a soldier talisman in his hand, he has a close relationship with the general, so we can't ignore it!"

"Don't worry, the lord has prepared a good knife for Duan Wang, and he will kill him at any time..."

"..."

Gu Xiao took these words into his ears word for word, and didn't even beat his breath, only his eyes were as cold as blades.

The two people below also knew the truth of making long stories short. After quickly exchanging information between the two parties, they left the time and place for the next contact, and prepared to leave here.

Gu Xiao finally moved.

Lieutenant Lin walked in front, carefully opened the door halfway, and after confirming that there was no one outside, he raised his hand to signal the person behind him to take a step ahead, but he didn't see the person stepping forward, instead, a gust of wind blew in, carrying a faint The bloody smell swept out.

His hand paused in mid-air, before his brain could react, his body instinctively flew out of the door, like an arrow leaving the string.

Lieutenant Lin moved very quickly. He jumped about three feet in one breath, and he couldn't wait to look back at the situation in the room before he could stand still.

There was no one at the door, but his body suddenly hit a wall of flesh.

The disappeared person reappeared in front of Lieutenant Lin, staring at him with wide eyes.

Lieutenant Lin licked the blood with his knife for several years, so it was obvious that this person was already dead. The thin knife edge on his neck pierced into the flesh, and his body was still warm.

But how can the dead move?

As soon as Lieutenant Lin thought about it, a strong force hit him through the body of the dead man. Without a firm footstep, he suddenly left the ground. He was beaten back to the shabby room behind him together with the corpse. They were all calculated accurately, one dead and one alive rolled to the ground, without touching the door frame or overturning debris and making abnormal noises.

As soon as Lieutenant Lin pushed away the dead man who was pressing on him, a cold knife pointed into his mouth.

"If you say one more word, your tongue will be cut off."

Gu Xiao stepped on his abdomen, Lin Xiaowei's pupils constricted, but there was a blade in his mouth, and his speech was slurred: "You...Gu...ah!"

The force sank down and oppressed the dantian, and the severe pain spread instantly. Lin Xiaowei trembled all over, and the blade cut his lips open, and his mouth was bleeding immediately.

The scream was short and hoarse, and he didn't dare to utter a second time, because after the blade left his mouth, it was already aimed at one of his eyes.

How many lives have been slaughtered in his life is not as good as the fear of life and death at this moment. It's not that Captain Lin didn't think about resisting, but Gu Xiao shot too fast and was caught off guard. He lost the opportunity in front of Jinghongdao, or lost his way of life.

Lin Xiaowei tried his best to suppress his tone and not to be too embarrassed: "Gu Xiao, why are you here?!"

"Why is Lord Lin here, and why am I here?" Gu Xiao smiled slightly, "If it wasn't for that, how would you know that the prince's plan is so big? But standing so high, wouldn't you be afraid of falling even worse?"

Lieutenant Lin felt chilled when he saw him, knowing that this person might have overheard the secret conversation just now, and now it is futile to deny it, so he changed his tone: "Since you know it is the order of the prince, then You should know what to do! Now that you are doing this, is it because you want to be ungrateful to the prince?"

"Master Lin is right, of course I know..." Gu Xiao lowered his eyes slightly, and the corners of his mouth slowly fell back, "Wang Er waited for the grace of colluding with He Lianyu to kill my teacher, I owe it to you for pretending to be good people and misleading me." Disaster Shuidong Yin recognizes the thief as the righteousness of kindness?"

Lin Xiaowei was shocked, and the tip of the knife almost touched his eyeball.

"Back then, and today's love, Gu Xiao listened attentively to my lord's explanations, and never dared to intervene, but..." He leaned slightly, and the blade slowly shifted to Lin Xiaowei's hand, "If my lord No matter how cleverly you say a word of deceit, I will cut off one of your bones, starting from your fingers... How many bones are there in life, would you be interested in counting them tonight?"

"You—you bastard! If you acted as a tiger's minion and caused chaos, you should be cut into pieces...Ah!"

As soon as the scream came out, it was pressed back into his mouth by a piece of moldy rotten wood, and a small piece of bloody fingertip appeared on the ground.

Gu Xiao took the piece of wood away and said calmly, "The first piece."

Lieutenant Lin has tortured many people over the years, but it was the first time he was tortured, his fingers connected to his heart, he was shaking with pain, and he stared at Gu Xiao: "When did you know it was us... ..."

"I'm the one asking you, not you asking me." The blade moved down and landed on the second knuckle, Gu Xiao's voice turned cold, "Tell me everything you know, don't miss a single word, otherwise..."

Lieutenant Lin was also stubborn, enduring the severe pain and said: "Otherwise, what can you do?"

Gu Xiao tilted her head to avoid a mouthful of bloody saliva, and even smiled: "Master Lin is so strong and loyal, I can't do anything to you, but... the dignified Nanru, can't I do anything to you? "

Lieutenant Lin's expression changed instantly!

Gu Xiao didn't turn his head back, and said calmly: "Master Ruan, you invited me to use the stage to stage a show and borrow a knife to kill people. Now that the play is over, the human flesh is already under the knife. If you don't show up again, I won't stay Live the patience."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door was pushed open again behind him.

Lieutenant Lin struggled to prop up his upper body, looked over Gu Xiao's shoulder, and saw that he was a thin middle-aged man, with elegant features and a cold demeanor, and a dark brocade-patterned scholar's robe that was wrapped around his body and was not supported by his flesh and blood. Just like hanging on a withered tree trunk.

This Wuwu is an inconspicuous person, but when Lieutenant Lin saw him, he was more frightened than seeing Gu Xiao's sudden attack, as if he saw a ghost!

Ruan Feiyu!