Looking to the Thirteen Rivers

Man Jiangxue stood in front of Shen Xing Hall, looking up at the bright moon above the night sky.

The cold wind came with frosty air, brushed over her body, touched the corners of her snow-white and soft skirt, and swayed gracefully in the air.

There are colorful lanterns and red silk hanging everywhere in the palace. It is a festive scene. In the distance, you can hear distant and ethereal laughter from other peaks. Only Jingyue Peak has not been decorated, and it is still the same .

The whole body was covered with frost, the main hall was not lit, only a few solitary dim yellow lanterns floating in the corridor, the lights were reflected on the back of Man Jiangxue, which seemed a bit indescribably deserted.

She has been standing here for a long time.

A disciple of the hidden guard flew down from the forest, and said hesitantly: "Master, the master invites you to the Mingguang Hall. The New Year's Eve dinner is ready, and we will be waiting for you to sit in."

Man Jiangxue did not reply.

She looked at the crescent moon, and suddenly a bright and moving smile appeared in front of her eyes. With her big belly, Shen Mandong walked all the way down the mountain to Jingyue Peak, and said to her out of breath, "Junior Sister, you have been busy with official duties on your wedding day." Come there, I'm due to give birth at the beginning of next month, so you should come and see me that day?"

The picture changed suddenly, Ruyi Hall was on fire, Shen Mandong stood in the center of the fire, dressed in blood, holding a sword, looking desperate and lonely, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

But her eyes showed it clearly - you still came, but you came too late.

The next moment, there was another childish face in front of her eyes, Yin Qiu threw herself into her arms joyfully, and said, "Don't worry, uncle, I will definitely get a good ranking this time, and have a good year with uncle .”

The two similar faces kept changing in his mind, Man Jiangxue frowned tightly, his eyes were far-reaching and unpredictable.

"Uncle?" The hidden guard disciple looked at her, hesitantly, "If you don't want to go, disciple, just go and tell the master."

Man Jiangxue sighed silently, withdrew his heavy thoughts, and replied: "No, I'll go there now, and you all go down to rest, you don't have to take turns tonight."

The hidden guard disciple looked at her for a while, and wanted to say something comforting, but he didn't know how to speak, so he had to back away.

The first day of the Lunar New Year was supposed to be a good day, but Yin Qiu was kidnapped by the Ziwei sect, and she still doesn't know how she is doing. Man Jiangxue hardly slept a lot in the past two days, and didn't think about eating or drinking.

That day she chased all the way down the mountain from the disciples' courtyard without stopping, but she didn't see any suspicious people on the way. When she arrived outside Shangyuan City, the disciples who guarded the city followed her all over the mountains and plains to search, and finally only found Ji Wan who was poisoned and injured. sparse.

At that time, Ji Wanshu had already hallucinated due to the toxin, and she couldn't get any response when she asked her, but she was talking vaguely in her sleep. She was insane, and her relatives did not recognize her. After pestering her for a fight, she was exhausted in the end, and was dazed by the poison. She was in a coma for two days and two nights and did not wake up.

Being delayed by Ji Wanshu, it was too late to chase her. Although Man Jiangxue wanted to continue chasing, Ye Zhilan quickly rushed to the forest with Xie Yijun's message, telling Man Jiangxue not to chase anymore, but to go back to the palace to discuss countermeasures .

And it wasn't until the dark guard disciple sent the message just now that Xie Yijun couldn't have a good talk with her because of Ji Wanshu's poison.

This completely cut off the possibility of recovering Yin Qiu.

·

When they arrived at Mingguang Hall, Xie Yijun had been waiting inside for a long time.

Seeing Man Jiangxue's figure appearing outside the hall, Xie Yijun hurriedly ordered his disciples to bring the food and prepared a lot of warm wine.

"It can be counted, the dishes have been heated up many times, please sit down."

Man Jiangxue took his seat, looking at the delicacies that were passed on one by one, feeling uninterested.

She rarely drank wine, but now she took the wine cup handed over by Xie Yijun and took a sip.

"Eat something first, then we can talk," Xie Yijun took the initiative to spread the dishes, holding a fishbone and said, "If the sky falls, there will be people to support it. Nothing is urgent at this moment. You haven't touched anything in the past two days. If you want to talk about business, you have to talk about it first." Eat my meal."

Man Jiangxue has no appetite at all, she doesn't even want to take chopsticks.

Ye Zhilan closed the hall door outside, did not enter to sit together, and isolated from the cold wind, there were no people inside and outside the hall, not only could not feel any festive atmosphere, but it made people feel deserted.

Looking at the dishes on the table, Man Jiangxue recognized Yin Qiu's favorites at a glance.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed egg custard, dumplings stuffed with lotus root, and Yin Qiu's favorite red bean soup.

If Yin Qiu was here, she would definitely give Man Jiangxue all the dishes first, and she would not use her chopsticks until Man Jiangxue had tasted them all.

If there is no accident, this table of New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten by the two of them together.

Every year in the palace in the past, Xie Yijun would throw a big banquet, invite the elders of all peaks to gather together in the hall, and have a good time with wine and talk, while Man Jiangxue just came here every time for a formality, and then went back to Jingyue Peak alone.

It wasn't the first time she celebrated the New Year alone, but this year, it was more difficult for her to meditate than ever before.

The Xuan window was half-closed, and through the moonlight outside the window, one could see the soft green smoke curling up there, just like Yin Qiu's hair flying up and down when he was dancing a sword in the wind.

Man Jiangxue looked at the smoke, and remembered that when she first saw Yin Qiu in Sangyu Mountain, she was lying on the couch in a daze, her eyes under the long eyelashes reflected the faint candlelight.

I don't know how the child is doing in Ziwei's teaching. Can he have enough food and hot tea?

I don't know if the place where she lives is good, is it cold, and is there a thick quilt to cover her at night?

A person in an unfamiliar environment, can she sleep well?Fearing that he would have another nightmare, he would curl up into a ball in the dead of night, his eyes would be swollen from crying.

The more Man Jiangxue thought about it, the more disturbed she became, her brows furrowed even deeper.

Xie Yijun couldn't help sighing when he saw her rare restlessness.

Since Ruyimen suffered a sudden disaster ten years ago and Shen Mandong disappeared without a trace, Xie Yijun has not seen Man Jiangxue so depressed for a long time.

Xie Yijun entered the palace early and was the first apprentice accepted by the master. She grew up watching Man Jiangxue. Among all the teachers and sisters, Man Jiangxue is the most low-key and the most important one.

She is indifferent, not as joking as Wen Zhaoyu, nor as lively as Shen Mandong, she is always calm and rational, never timid and restrained when she should show her face, and never lose her sense of restraint when she should be cautious, Speaking of which, Man Jiangxue is the youngest junior sister among the group of people, but she has assumed the role of an elder over the years, silently protecting the senior sisters and Yunhua Palace behind her back.

She even gave up her wish to travel around the world, and she was willing to spare no effort to assist Xie Yijun, just to fulfill the master's request before he died.

Xie Yijun was far from expecting that such a person who has always been calm and calm, who seems to be immune to all kinds of troubles in the world, is now restless because of a child.

She really did not expect that Man Jiangxue would take Shen Mandong's daughter so seriously.

After all, Xie Yijun didn't have deep feelings for Shen Mandong, and in fact, she didn't have any feelings for others.

But Xie Yijun can also understand that when Man Jiangxue entered the palace, Shen Mandong and his master came down to pick her up. For many years after that, Shen Mandong devoted everything to Man Jiangxue, caring for her like his own sister, Man Jiangxue doesn't like human relationships, but greets Shen Mandong with a smile and listens to her in everything.

If you want to say what Man Jiangxue regrets most in this life, it is that she didn't rush to the Ruyi Gate to rescue Shen Mandong in time, and then she made Shen Mandong disappear in front of her eyes.

Now the old things are repeating itself, and it is Yin Qiu's turn to be kidnapped by the Ziwei Sect again under her nose. Adding up the whole situation, how could Man Jiangxue not be worried?

·

This year's incident happened, although the palace celebrated the New Year's Eve as usual, everyone was holding a sigh of relief.

Firstly, he was worried about Yin Qiu's safety, and secondly, he was angry at such arrogant behavior of the Ziwei Sect.

Such a huge Yunhua Palace actually allows the thieves to come and go freely, not to mention what will be said outside, how can the disciples in the palace swallow this breath?

Seeing that Man Jiangxue hadn't moved her chopsticks for a long time, Xie Yijun was inconvenient to persuade her, she raised her head and drank a glass of wine, and said in a deep voice: "The situation in the evening of the past two days is not very optimistic. Fortunately, there is no danger of life, but I also It was checked by someone, and Ding Lian really never left Tianyin Peak, and from what Wan Shu said in her sleep, she can be sure that it must be Wen Zhaoyu who came into the palace this time," she said, slipping from her sleeve. He took out a mask and threw it in front of Man Jiangxue, "The disciples found this when they were searching in the mountains, take a look."

Man Jiangxue picked up the mask and looked at it, but didn't speak for a while.

"You and I both know about Vice Elder Li's disguise technique in Wuhui Peak, and I have asked him to see it," Xie Yijun said, "He said that the materials for this mask came from the palace, most of which were made by himself. , Wen Zhaoyu was able to get these things, it means that someone in the palace helped her, it seems that apart from taking poison to commit suicide last time, there are also people from the Ziwei sect in the palace."

Man Jiangxue pondered for a moment, and then said: "The things related to disguise are under the control of Deputy Elder Li. Even if a disciple wants to get the materials, he must agree and register them."

Xie Yijun said: "That's right, but Vice Elder Li asked someone to take an inventory, and some of the materials were indeed missing, but no records were left."

That is to say, someone secretly stole the mask-making materials from Deputy Elder Li, made a mask according to Ding Lianzhen's appearance, and gave it to Wen Chaoyu.

Who is it?

There are not many disciples in Wuhui Peak, but almost all of them are capable of writing and martial arts. They can be regarded as the group with the highest comprehensive strength among the disciples in the palace. Disciples are basically sent to post stations in major cities to maintain local stability, so very few people can stay in the palace to do things.

"But even so, it's not easy to investigate," Xie Yijun said, "Although there are few people in Wuhui Peak, there are no clues when we go deep into it. The only person who can be ruled out is Huaiwei. Not long after she returned to the palace, she was taught by Ziwei. He was seriously injured, and he is still recuperating in the medical pavilion until now, and he never leaves the door without leaving the door. As for the others, they haven't found anything suspicious in the past two days, so it's a bit difficult."

Man Jiangxue paused, and said slowly: "You can slowly find out who is the secret agent, and the most important thing at present is how to rescue Yin Qiu."

Xie Yijun sighed again: "Speaking of which, he was self-defeating. He lifted a stone and shot himself in the foot. He thought that by releasing the false news that the holy sword was in the palace, he could follow the vines to find out the secret work of the Ziwei Sect. But he was mercifully borrowed by that Nangong. This matter has defeated our army, she wants us to replace her with the holy sword, but where did we get the holy sword?"

Man Jiangxue said: "Have you ever seen what that holy sword looks like?"

Xie Yijun's eyes flickered, and he shook his head after thinking for a while: "I just heard Master mention a thing or two about how powerful the holy sword is, but she has never described what it looks like."

Hearing this, Man Jiangxue fell silent again.

Without a sword, Nangong Min will not let people go, but even if there is a holy sword, Nangong Min may not necessarily do what he says. Now it is impossible to do what Nangong Min wants, so he can only rely on his ability Yin Qiu snatched it back.

"Even if there is a sword, I won't give it to you," Man Jiangxue said coldly, "There are countless casualties at Ruyimen, and it can't compare to that broken sword? If she Wen Chaoyu can come to my Yunhua Palace, I will take it for granted." Go to Ziwei Sect for a walk."

Hearing what she said, Xie Yijun was taken aback: "Are you going to the Ziwei Sect to rob people?"

Man Jiangxue's face turned cold: "Why not?"

Xie Yijun frowned and said, "Nonsense, why did you become so impulsive? No matter how strong your martial arts are, the Ziwei Cult is not an easy place to break into. Besides, Nangongmin must have strengthened his defenses and set up many traps. If you rashly If you go, you will only fall into her trap."

"I can't wait any longer," Man Jiangxue stood up abruptly, "I failed to protect my senior sister ten years ago, and I will never let Yin Qiu have an accident ten years later."

Seeing that she was about to leave after saying this, Xie Yijun could only shout angrily: "Jiang Xue! Stop!"

Man Jiangxue turned a deaf ear and walked out of the Mingguang Palace. Xie Yijun hurriedly flew in front of her and said patiently: "Even if you want to rob someone, you have to discuss a perfect plan, not to mention Yin Qiu has already arrived at Ziwei. Yes, but Nangong Min may not be able to embarrass her. If you guess wildly, maybe the child is unscathed in Ziwei Sect and lives a happy life. That is where her father stayed! How could Nangong Min treat her badly? ?”

Man Jiangxue said: "Whether she will treat Yin Qiu badly, I really don't know, but Yin Qiu can't be left alone."

Xie Yijun rarely saw her in such a hurry, so he could only try his best to comfort her: "No one said to ignore her, just wait, you and I will think of a way first."

Two days have passed, if he could think of a way, he should have thought of it a long time ago. Since there is no holy sword, the only way to go to the Ziwei Sect to rob people is the only way to do it.

Man Jiangxue has made up her mind, but seeing Xie Yijun repeatedly obstructing her, she will definitely not agree. After thinking about it, Man Jiangxue calmed down a little, and said softly: "Then let me go back to Jingyue Peak and think about it carefully." , I will come to discuss with you tomorrow."

Xie Yijun looked at her for a while, and seeing that her expression had softened, he nodded and said: "That's fine, I'll think about it tonight, then we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Man Jiangxue nodded slightly, and Xie Yijun said again: "Don't worry too much, people must be saved no matter what, but don't be reckless, and remember to discuss with me before you have any ideas Make a decision, you know?"

Man Jiangxue replied "Yes".

After the two finished talking, they went in different directions. Man Jiangxue went back to Jingyue Peak, took off her white dress, and changed into a plain black dress. Then she extinguished the candles in the hall, closed the Closed the gate of Chen Xingdian, planning to go down the mountain.

However, when she turned around, she saw a thin figure standing under the maple tree, looking at her expectantly.

"Uncle Master."

Seeing who this person was, Man Jiangxue was slightly surprised: "What are you doing here?"

Ji Wanshu supported the tree trunk, her face was still a little pale, she approached Man Jiangxue vainly, and said, "I'll go with you."

Man Jiangxue frowned: "No, your injury is still not healed."

"It's just a small injury," Ji Wanshu said with a firm expression, "I was the one who brought Yin Qiu back with you, and I should go with you now, not to mention that I couldn't stop Wen Chaoyu from rescuing Yin Qiu that day, it was also my fault."

Man Jiangxue fell silent for a moment, looked at her and said, "Can you hold on?"

Ji Wanshu nodded: "It's just a little weak, there is no major problem, don't worry, uncle, I will never drag you down."

Man Jiangxue thought for a while, and finally agreed: "That's fine."

Ji Wanshu's eyes lit up: "Thank you, uncle."

The two of them didn't talk much anymore, and immediately used their lightness kung fu to fly into the maple forest, and walked down the mountain along the uninhabited path.

And after they left, another vague figure appeared at the corner behind the main hall.

This person is hidden in the darkness, unable to see his face clearly, he can only be seen wearing the uniform of a disciple in the palace, his stature is not considered tall, he hides his movements, silently watching the figures of Man Jiangxue and Ji Wanshu drifting away .

After the two people disappeared completely, he gathered the robe on his shoulders, turned and left the place.