startled autumn

The shadows of the trees flicker, and the moonlight is mottled, reflecting the reed flowers by the stream like snow. Someone stepped on the soft soil and came silently.

There was only one oil lamp burning in the room, You Ming sat under the swaying firelight, his shadow gradually elongated on the wall, his wrist was hanging on the paper, he was carefully recording something, after a while he raised his eyes and looked out of the window, Cold voice: "Who is it?"

Someone entered the room through the window. He was tall and tall with a mask on his face. He walked over step by step, put his hands on the table, leaned down slightly, and met You Ming's face, but he never said a word. .

You Ming didn't glance at him casually until he had finished writing all that should be written, "Why are you here?"

The masked man stood up straight, and touched his left shoulder with his palm. Seeing this, You Ming moved his nose slightly, sniffed the faint blood, shook his head and said, "Take off your clothes."

You Ming has known him for many years, but he has never heard him speak. He only occasionally comes to treat wounds or change dressings. You Ming never refuses, nor does he try to lift the mask on his face, and, generally Before dawn, this person will leave, and it can be regarded as coming and going without a trace.

He didn't come to You Ming frequently, and the longest time he didn't see anyone for a whole year. The strangest thing was that You Ming practiced medicine everywhere and lived in no fixed place, but this person could always find him.

"Such an arrow... Who did you offend?" You Ming frowned, and found that there was a barb arrow embedded in the wound on the shoulder of the masked man, tightly wrapped around the flesh, and he would definitely not be able to pull it out alone. , no wonder he needed help.

You Ming's subordinates moved neatly, but it was still difficult to avoid the pain. Seeing the blue veins on the neck of the masked man, and the cold sweat dripping down, he knew that he must be in extreme pain. Even so, You Ming still couldn't hear it from him. A word of complaint.

Taking out the arrowhead and putting it aside, You Ming applied the medicinal powder for promoting muscle growth and hemostasis on him, and skillfully bandaged the wound.

After the masked man put on his clothes, he stood up, as if he was about to leave. You Ming looked at his back and felt his thoughts go back and forth, and finally called out in a low voice, "Queer."

He was the one who was about to leave, but when he heard this, his back couldn't help but tense up.

You Ming's voice seemed to contain an incomprehensible sigh: "I am your master, even if you don't say a word, I can recognize who you are just by the way you walk."

Ning Banque took off his mask, revealing a cold and delicate face, only to hear him laugh and say: "The way I walk has changed a lot compared to before, Master, I have grown up, you can just say it If you lie to me, I won't believe it again."

"It really is you." You Ming stared intently at Ning Banque's completely opened facial features, as if he wanted to make up for all the lost time at once, "You have indeed changed a lot."

"How do you know it's me?" Ning Banque asked.

You Ming's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Since you came to me for the second time, I have put various medicines in the soup, and you have never caught the trick."

Take all the tonics as ordered, and pour out all the poisons.

Since he understands the principles of medicine and can heal himself, why bother to come to him again and again?He still has to wear a mask and keep silent like a dull gourd. Apart from an awkward child like Ning Banque, he really can't think of other candidates.

"You have grown up with me since you were a child, no matter how much you become, in my eyes, you are still the same as before." You Ming sighed.

Ning Banque's heart skipped a beat, and he said softly, "Master, it's my fault."

"Ning Banque, I made thousands of mistakes. It's because my teacher didn't teach you well." You Ming stared at him and took a deep breath, "You know Fang Hezi is a liar, but you still want to help others. Over the years, you have been hurt from time to time. How many evil things have you done for him?"

Ning Banque collected himself, and said in a nonchalant manner: "He is my master now."

Hearing this, You Ming slapped the table with his palm, his face was extremely angry.He used to be gentle and refined, never had such a moment of losing his composure, but when he thought of the apprentice he had brought out with his own hands, he was so angry that he wanted to imitate Shen Zhiqiu and draw a sword to kill people.

The more You Ming thought about it, the more angry he became, so he had to turn his head away, refusing to look at him again.

"Master, I'm leaving." Ning Banque put the mask on the table with an uncertain expression.

"Wait a minute."

Outside the open door, Shen Zhiqiu and Han Bi stood shoulder to shoulder, watching with cold eyes.

Ning Banque smiled and said, "You three just want to stop me?"

The Yingta sword in Shen Zhiqiu's hand has not yet been unsheathed, but it is full of murderous intent, and he concluded with a blank face: "Ning Banque, your left shoulder is injured, you can't beat me."

"I never fight alone." Ning Banque chuckled with the corners of his lips pulled, "Besides, there is a very lucky Mr. Han here, so you don't have to worry about hurting him because the sword has no eyes."

Shen Zhiqiu was worried that he still had a back hand, and immediately stood in front of Han Bi cautiously, blocking the person tightly, and warned Ning Banque: "Don't do anything to him."

Han Bi was speechless at first, then a little relieved, he stretched out his hand and dragged Shen Zhiqiu back to his side, then smiled at Ning Banque, "Lu Zheliu probably didn't know you came here."

Ning Banque didn't answer.

Although You Ming has no direct confrontation with Lu Zheliu, as Shen Zhiqiu's friend, he is naturally at odds with Lu Zheliu. However, Ning Banque has been sneaking up to see his master, Lu Zheliu. Again, I would rather bear the temperament of the people of the world, and it is absolutely impossible to tolerate this matter.

Therefore, Han Bi concluded that there must be a gap between Ning Banque and Lu Zheliu.

Ning Banque asked: "How do you know I will come tonight?"

"I brought Mr. You back to the capital, and you sent people to monitor me along the way. Later, when Mr. You arrived in Moyi, Moyi was heavily guarded. Naturally, you dare not make a mistake. Therefore, I invite Mr. You to temporarily live in the Xixi other courtyard. So you just sit back and wait." Han Bi explained slowly, and by the way, the villain complained first, "You came too late, and you made us wait for two days."

Ning Banque really thought that the two of them had left Xixi Bieyuan with Yue Yin a long time ago, and now that he was alone, if he wanted to fight Shen Zhiqiu with swords and guns, his chances of winning would be very small, so he snorted coldly Said: "The matter between me and Master has nothing to do with you."

You Ming had been silent for a long time at the side, but now that he heard Ning Banque using him as a lord, he finally said, "I invited them here."

As early as when You Ming was in contact with Han Bi, he only made one request, that is to find Ning Banque.

"You have grown up, and I can't keep you as a teacher, so I can only ask others for a favor."

Ning Banque smiled nonchalantly.

"I'm starting to teach you how to be a human being now. It shouldn't be too late." You Ming took a deep breath, looked at Shen Zhiqiu, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

Shen Zhiqiu asked doubtfully, "Huh?"

Could it be that he was going to present the facts to Ning Banque to reason? He was not very good at this, so he was stunned for a while.

"Que'er, you are disobedient and running around." You Ming asked softly, "I want to break your leg as a teacher, do you have any objection?"

Ning Banque had never seen You Ming like this before, so he was at a loss for words, but at this moment Shen Zhiqiu said to You Ming: "I can arrest him for you."

You Ming: "Then I will trouble you."

As soon as the words fell, Ning Banque drew his sword and said, "You can't fight here, go to the yard."

The Shadow Stepping Sword in Shen Zhiqiu's hand was ready to move: "Come on."

Ning Banque sneered and said: "Swords have no eyes, you are not afraid of hurting your Mr. Han, but I am afraid of hurting my master." After finishing speaking, he came out through the window, and Shen Zhiqiu hurriedly followed.

In the courtyard under the night, both of them were extremely fast. Between the intersection of the swords, the flames could be seen faintly. Shen Zhiqiu was still probing without trying his best, while Ning Banque was injured on his left shoulder, and they exchanged moves several times. At first sight, there is no distinction between superior and inferior.

Ning Banque smiled for no apparent reason, and with a flick of the long sword in his hand, the sword light staggered for a moment, seeming to be nothing, but he was able to accurately target the opponent's flaws one after another, falling into Shen Zhiqiu's eyes, like a night When the thunder broke out, he swung his sword to block, and asked with a frown, "Long wind and rain?"

"Exactly." Ning Banque raised his eyebrows, full of provocation.

The wind and the long rain are the No. 11 style of Yan Yu's life, turning the real into the empty and endless.

Shen Zhiqiu: "Who taught you?"

Naturally Ning Banque would not answer, Shen Zhiqiu saw that his mouth was stiff, and he turned his wrist suddenly. The Shadow Stepping Sword first blocked, and then cleverly circled back and forth repeatedly, but after blocking, retreating and advancing, it completely suppressed Ning Banque's offensive Afterwards, the swords changed several times, sometimes vigorous and powerful, sometimes as fast as thunder, although Shen Zhiqiu also used the same style of wind and rain, Shen Zhiqiu had various changes, but within ten moves, Ning Banque was defeated.

"You don't study well." Shen Zhiqiu pointed his sword at his throat, "It's just a show, but no form."

Although Ning Banque was in a dangerous situation, there was no panic on his face, he just smiled and said: "Even if it has only five points of skill, it will still live in misty rain."

Shen Zhiqiu asked tirelessly: "Who taught you?"

Among Mo Yi, there are very few people who can use the full set of Misty Rain for a lifetime, and they can be counted on ten fingers.

Ning Banque said indifferently: "It is said that it is you."

Shen Zhiqiu had an ominous premonition: "Huh?"

Ning Banque looked at him with complicated eyes: "Soon, everyone in Jianghu will know that the person who will spread the word about Yanyu's life is you, Shen Zhiqiu."

You Ming walked over and stood beside Ning Banque. Ning Banque was very vigilant and was about to push his palm away. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his master, so he had to take his hand back abruptly. Let You Ming touch the acupuncture points all over his body, his whole body limp on the ground, unable to move for an instant.

You Ming gently put him down on the ground, put his palm on the bend of his leg, pinched the pad of his thumb on the joint of his knee, and said with a gentle smile, "Don't worry, my teacher's technique is very good, it won't hurt."

Ning Banque: "..."

You Ming sighed heavily, a little hesitant when the situation came to an end.

Ning Banque said softly: "I'm not a child now, if my leg is broken, you can't hold me." Ning Banque was thin and coquettish when he was a child, so You Ming often carried him around.

You Ming smiled and said, "Not necessarily, I can try."

Ning Banque's expression became colder: "Master, I really have something to do now, and when everything is done, I have no choice but to punish me how you want to punish me."

"You think you are bearing the burden of humiliation, but you don't know that Lu Zheliu probably only sees you as a joke." Han Bi folded his arms and said leisurely, full of sarcasm, "Back then in Yancheng, you didn't poison Shen Zhiqiu to death, so, from From the moment Lu Zheliu knew that Shen Zhiqiu was still alive, he would no longer trust you."

Ten years ago, Lu Zheliu planned to poison Shen Zhiqiu to silence him, and he did so, but it was a pity that Shen Zhiqiu survived.

It was no fluke.

Ning Banque is responsible for providing poison to Lu Zheliu. If Shen Zhiqiu is to be rescued, this is a place where he can make a big fuss.After thinking about it, Han Bi thought that the only possibility was that Ning Banque had a little kindness in his heart, not only saved You Ming's life, but also secretly dropped the poison that poisoned Shen Zhiqiu to death, causing him to temporarily fake his death, thus cheating the world.

Although Shen Zhiqiu didn't know how Han Bi deduced these secrets, he was still taken aback, "So you saved me?"

Ning Banque sneered and said, "Otherwise? You were really useless at the time. You just followed Lu Zheliu's ass around all day long, and finally asked me, a child, to save you."

Shen Zhiqiu lowered his head in shame.

"You can say this to yourself once." Han Bi raised his brows halfway, with displeasure in his voice, "He has only been with Lu Zheliu for a year, but you have been with him for ten years."

Ning Banque sighed full of hints: "Who made it impossible for me to find a new master like Mr. Han?"

Shen Zhiqiu clarified: "Han Bi is not my master."

Ning Banque asked: "What is that?"

Shen Zhiqiu didn't know what he thought of, his whole body stiffened instantly, the tips of his ears turned red, and he said solemnly word by word: "It's a friend."

"...Oh." Seeing his strong reaction, Ning Banque thought he was about to say something earth-shattering, and was speechless.

Han Bi smiled slightly and said, "It won't be soon."

Shen Zhiqiu emphasized: "It still is."

You Ming couldn't take it anymore: "You two shut up."

Several people got back to business.

Although ten years had passed since the old incident in Yancheng, Han Bi still felt very dangerous. If Ning Banque hadn't discovered it with his conscience at the time, maybe Shen Zhiqiu would have died of hatred long ago, and it would be impossible for the two of them to meet and know each other. Thinking about it this way, Han Bi's expression He softened a lot, and smiled at Ning Banque: "You are not a white banquet, and you can't do things for Lu Zheliu without reason. Besides, I may not be unable to give you what he can give you. Moreover, you have now been taken by that Master Kuting has completely betrayed you, besides cooperating with me, do you have any other options?"

Ning Banque was startled, but he suppressed his face and asked back, "How do you know he betrayed me?"

Han Bi glanced at the arrow wound on his shoulder, and explained impatiently: "The arrow that hurt you is the 'lotus arrow' that my brother often uses. It is difficult to remove the skin and flesh.”

"So what?" This question came from Shen Zhiqiu.

Han Bi's tone softened, and he continued to speak to Shen Zhiqiu: "My brother was recently ordered to thoroughly investigate the case of someone buying a murderer to assassinate a court official. He is not impulsive. He will not use the lotus arrow; besides, when he was fighting with you just now, he used Yan Yu Bingsheng, which happens to be the same sword technique used by the murderer, all the signs accumulate, indicating that the murderer in this case must be related to Ning Banque."

Shen Zhiqiu nodded confusedly: "So that's the case, then why do you say that the owner of Kuting betrayed him?"

"I said it casually, but who knew he would admit it." Han Bi replied innocently.

Shen Zhiqiu smiled and said, "You are so smart."

Han Bi said modestly, "It's because others set it off well."

Ning Banque's forehead was throbbing with blue veins: "You two shut up."