Bright Moon and Cold Thousand Mountains

"Cough...cough..."

At the end of the dream, he sank into a river, drifting aimlessly along the direction of the tide, the cold water kept pouring into his lungs, squeezing out all the air, and then...

It is a little light, like the rising sun.

Liu Shiqi's eyes moved, and tentatively held his fingers first. The vain feeling was not real, but it was a trace of strength after all.He tried his luck with closing his eyes, and caught a faint trace of phaseless energy... It can be called "ghost lingering", when the whole body's power is crippled, it is still there even after death——

wait, dead?

As if he suddenly understood something, he suddenly sat up straight, gasped for breath, and finally woke up from the nightmare of drowning after a long while, coughing until he was dizzy.

It's an unfamiliar room, probably not an inn, it's a bit like a wing in someone's courtyard.Liu Shiqi sat on the couch and looked around, his throat was still sore, his limbs were weak, and there was a little light outside the window, and the sun was already high.

He jumped off the couch, only to realize that his clothes had also been changed.He was wearing a plain white jacket, and a folded coat was placed on the small table next to the pillow.Liu Shiqi picked it up and gestured, and found that he was still too big to wear, and was just pulling it into one sleeve. The door of that room was pushed open from the outside, and a person walked in.

A young man of modest stature, who looked to be in his twenties, could not be called as good-looking as Pan An, but he definitely had good facial features and an extraordinary bearing.But this person is not kind, his eyebrows linger with a ferocity that is different from killing and violence, and it looks extremely dangerous.

Immediately, Liu Shiqi gave up his clothes and looked around for his knife.

The man sat down at the table, saw through his intentions at a glance, and said calmly: "Your broken knife has been put away, is it better now? There are many people who drown every year, but you can save them this year." First."

"Really?" Liu Shiqi asked casually, standing vigilantly without moving.

His internal strength is still there, and his cultivation has not been reduced by half. It should be just an ordinary drowning.But who is this person? Could it be that he rescued himself? Listening to his voice, he seems to have the skills to get close to him...is he from Sheng Tianya?Or the twelfth floor?It is difficult to judge whether it is an enemy or a friend with this attitude.

Just as Liu Shiqi was thinking, he guessed the other party's identity all over, but the man mentioned a name he hadn't heard for many years: "Do you know a monk named Huici?"

The Bailong Temple seven years ago is vivid in his mind. He still remembers the fire and the confusion when he was first taught Wuxiang Gong. He understood what the other party said.When he finished his enlightenment, the monk who looked like an eminent monk except for his bald head ate up a chicken and asked him enthusiastically, "Is there any more?"

It turns out that the feeling of being mentioned suddenly about the old man is really a bit sad, especially when the old man is gone, there is no trace of him in the world, and even the longing has been melted in the long years.

As soon as this remark came out, Liu Shiqi froze in place. He didn't answer the other party's question, but instinctively asked, "Who are you?"

The man's expression was calm: "I am his disciple, Duan Wuchi."

Liu Shiqi was even more shocked: "Are you Duan Wuzhi?"

Well said, the head of the Bodhi Hall is fine even if he is in the prime of life, why isn't he a monk? !

The world's top master alongside Zuo Nian, the head of the Bodhi Hall in Nanzhao, is also inextricably linked with the Dali royal family - he is a figure that only exists in rumors, no wonder Liu Shiqi thinks he is already the same as Zuo Nian and the others It's middle-aged.

It is said that Duan Wuchi came to the Central Plains alone at the age of 16, and went to Wenfa Temple, the largest Buddhist sect at that time, to challenge the head Zen Master Jingkong.No one knew who won the battle, but Abbot Jingkong spoke highly of him, saying that he was worthy of the name of "Longxiang Palm Technique" in Bodhi Hall.

Jing Kong Kua has always been reserved, he only said three points for being very good.As a result, there are rumors in the world that Duan Wuchi is a young man with extraordinary talents, and he can even compete with Xi Lanyu, who was in full swing at that time.

Because of this sentence, Duan Wuchi, who was only at the age of tying his hair, became famous all over the world, and was rated as a master of the world alongside the other three by Green Mountain Pavilion that year.

After half a year of seclusion, he returned to the arena without any followers, and he was never tired of the prosperity of the Central Plains. He only looked for masters to challenge him with a strong purpose.He hadn't failed for three years, until ten years ago, he lost half a move to Daoist Shi Shan of Ziyang Temple.

That day the ice and snow on Ziyang Mountain melted, Duan Wuchi conceded defeat, leaving a sentence "It's just that Longxiang's palm technique is no match for Sanqing's Fuchen Kungfu", and then returned to Erhai Sea to study painstakingly, and never appeared in the Central Plains again.

How could he be in Yuhang suddenly?Still claiming to be Huici's disciple?

And Duan Wuchi glanced at him sideways, and after waiting for a long time for a startled question, he said angrily: "Is it impossible for me to be Duan Wuchi? I'm afraid you haven't seen him ten years ago. If you ask me, you can answer it." , how can there be so many tricks, say yes if you have seen it, and say you don't know it if you haven't seen it, is it that difficult?"

Liu Shiqi was never competitive, so he half-cast his eyelids and said, "The chance with Master Huici cannot be explained in one or two sentences. The man has passed away. If you want to find him, I have nothing to say."

"Of course I know that he has reached the bliss early!" Duan Wuchi interrupted him impatiently, "So you have seen him?"

Liu Shiqi didn't answer.

Duan Wuchi probably saw that the young man was very wary of him, he didn't force it, moved a stool and sat beside Liu Shiqi's couch, and put on a posture of long talk: "He is my master, but because of many years I The previous dispute... Now I am the head of the Bodhi Hall, but I don't even know the cause of his death. This...excuse me, what's your name?"

"Liu Shiqi." He replied, Duan Wuchi didn't have any malice, so he said softly, "It's in Luoyang."

The voice was so soft that Duan Wuchi couldn't hear clearly, he poured tea and handed it to Liu Shiqi: "little brother of the Liu family, in the past I didn't have the strength to challenge my uncle, but when I was in my first year, I couldn't wait for my time. So far, I have called him three times. Years later, I found out that my master had passed away... If you have any idea who killed him, if you are a teacher for a day and a father for the rest of your life, I will avenge him."

Another revenge.

Liu Shiqi's throat moved slightly, feeling inexplicably sore.

He thought of many things.

Wendi endured for 14 years to avenge his murder of Zuo Nian, and Wangyue Island walked repeatedly between the Central Plains and the East China Sea for seven years to arrest Sheng Tianya and seek justice. Duan Wuchi always wanted revenge when he opened his mouth - what kind of pain can make people never forget?

Hatred and love, as Xie Xingzhou said, hurt people the most.

But Liu Shiqi couldn't figure it out.

In the year of dancing the spoon, just escaped from death, the candlelight of Bailong Temple was flickering in the deep night, Huici smiled and said to him: "You are very strange, you have deep inner strength but not vicious, you are born with a peaceful temperament , it would be difficult to live in troubled times.”

Liu Shiqi argued with him: "But it's not a troubled world now."

Huici wanted to touch the top of his head, but she just stretched out her hand and then retracted it, probably thinking that it would be useless for this cheap apprentice to flatter her, so he clapped the scroll in his hand: "If you unite for a long time, you must divide, and if you divide for a long time, you must unite. Besides, who said that there is only one under heaven Will it be chaotic? The dragons in the martial arts world have no leader, and you are in it, and the doom will not come."

At that time, Liu Shiqi wholeheartedly urged him to continue the mantra of Wuxiang Gong: "I know, I know, let's talk about the calamity in the future. Master, eminent monk, what's behind the 'mortal world's suffering and joy, sensuality and white bones'?"

As if Huici didn't hear him, she said to herself: "Xiao Shiqi, the poor monk has only known you for more than a month, and it is not easy to force it because of fate. If I met you sooner or later, it would not be the current situation. Although you have a pure heart, you don't respect life and death as a major matter. It's a pity that the poor monk has not much time left, so I can't enlighten you one by one..."

It sounds nice to say that Liu Shiqi is not burdened by worldly grievances, but in reality he is too indifferent.

Such a person concentrates on practicing martial arts in the first half of his life, and when he is not involved in the world, he will naturally go smoothly and concentrate on it.But when stepping into the world of mortals and encountering insurmountable hurdles, it can range from heartbreak to serious...

Hit the south wall.

Liu Shiqi was still young, so he didn't understand what he said, and he didn't take his words to heart. It wasn't until Duan Wuchi mentioned Huici seven years later that he inexplicably remembered this rare conversation between the two that didn't talk about martial arts.

After witnessing everyone's love and hate, Liu Shiqi finally vaguely realized that something was wrong with him—whether he heard Di talking about the hatred of his family's ruin and death, or seeing Yi Chunqiu crying in front of Wang Qian'an's coffin, he couldn't put these things together. He has always thought that it was because of chance that he was connected together.

Could it be that he is too cold?

Liu Shiqi was thoughtful, but Duan Wuchi couldn't sit still, he was aggressive first, and then sensationalized with reason, but Liu Shiqi seemed to be indifferent, and he was not moved at all.

He slapped the couch heavily with his palm, and said sharply: "Brother Liu! If you keep doing this, don't blame Duan for turning his face!"

"No... Hero Duan, I'm just in a daze." Liu Shiqi buried his head, feeling that he couldn't intervene in other people's grudges, Duan Wuchi couldn't listen to his words even more because he heard the flute, and said in a deep voice, "I do know Master Huici. "

Duan Wuchi snorted softly: "When I rescued you and came back, I helped you to force out the accumulated water in your lungs, and I noticed that you have traces of self-free and non-phase skills on your body. This is the secret of Bodhi Hall. How could it not be strange for an outsider!"

Liu Shiqi laughed dumbly and said, "Hero Duan already knows, why bother to ask."

Duan Wuchi: "Don't call me a hero, you people in the Central Plains keep claiming that I am a master, but privately say that I am just a Nanzhao kid who doesn't know the heights of the sky and the earth - let's get down to business, do you know who the master is for?" Harmful?"

Liu Shiqi thought for a while: "I was only 13 years old that year, and I met Master Huici in Luoyang. He was chased and killed by two monks. Both of them were very thick and strong in martial arts. They were the same as Master Huici. The moves are completely different, but the two cooperate with each other tacitly and react very quickly..."

Duan Wuchi: "As expected..."

"By the way," Liu Shiqi said suddenly, "I was hiding behind a tree, and I heard Master Huici say, 'Both of you are monks', 'Although they are not from the same sect, why bother killing each other', they were beaten by him later. Halo, he didn't kill, but said contemptuously: "What Bodhi Hall, let's go back to Dali to practice for another two years!" Nothing else was mentioned."

Duan Wuchi murmured: "Was he seriously injured at that time?"

Everything from that year was revolving around in my mind, and Liu Shiqi said: "It seems that he vomited blood. In the next few days, I took medicine for him and gave him food. He said that he had a chance with me, and he wanted to make 'Zi Zi Wu Wu Xiang' Gong' passed on to me, helped me heal my wounds, and said that this is the only way to save all living beings. However... that day, he passed the last mantra, and passed away before I could fully understand it."

After he finished speaking, his heart ached slightly, and he looked up at Duan Wuchi who was sitting by the couch.

The other party couldn't help closing his eyes, his eyebrows twitching, as if trying to suppress his emotions.Duan Wuchi didn't move for a while, opened his eyes after a few long breaths and said: "Thank you, I probably know what's on my mind."

Liu Qiqi said sharply: "Is it your fellow disciples who want to kill them all?"

"It's not something you can interfere with." Duan Wuchi said, the sternness in his eyes was fleeting, "I really thought he wouldn't hurt the killer, but unexpectedly, the high-sounding words on his mouth still can't tolerate Master——"

Liu Shiqi: "Who?"

Duan Wuchi didn't know whether it was because of his big heart, or he felt that this matter was not an insult to the family. After thinking for a while, he said: "You know the Nanzhao Bodhi Hall, so you should understand that the Bodhi Hall is closely related to the Dali royal family."

Liu Shiqi nodded: "Mr. Duan, I know."

Duan Wuchi said: "Bodhi Hall was originally called Tianying Hall, and it was Duan's close guard. Because Duan believed in Buddhism in the past dynasties, and his internal strength was mainly masculine, after the first few generations converted to Buddhism, he gradually became a A vassal of Buddhism. The chief seat has always been respected in Dali and highly regarded, and has often disturbed the situation in the government for a long time."

Nanzhao is too far away from the Central Plains. Although it has become a minister and pays tribute, it is still separate from the Tian family.Liu Shiqi knew about this, and he never cared about the political situation, but now he heard Duan Wuchi talking about it, so he couldn't help but become serious.

"My father died early, and now the emperor is my uncle. He agrees with me, and we can't let monks meddle in politics. Buddhism emphasizes being born, but they can almost cover the sky with one hand in Dali!" Duan Wuchi was a little excited when he said this , "So when I was young, I invited myself to enter the Bodhi Hall, and practiced hard for several years to achieve great success. I wanted to work with my uncle to get rid of Buddhism's interference in government affairs."

"But this matter is easy to say, but it is difficult to do. I worship under the master, and he has always been informal. Because of this, I didn't know that he was actually on the side of my uncle, and I had a lot of prejudice against him. Getting along with each other, I noticed that the Bodhi Hall has a faint tendency of two parties to oppose each other..."

Liu Shiqi interjected, "Is it Master Huici and the person who wanted him dead?"

Duan Wuchi was not surprised that Liu Shiqi guessed it, nodded and said: "Yes, the other side is the first uncle. His father was a descendant of the Duan family, and his title was abolished for committing a serious crime. The Duan family has never waited for someone , he wants to make a comeback.”

Liu Shiqi, who had never known that there could be fights among Buddhist sects, was amazed. He could imagine the consequences of these conflicts: one faction advocated being born out of the world and not setting foot in the world of mortals, while the other faction concealed its ambition to usurp the throne. solve.

Presumably, it was nothing more than Duan Wuchi hiding his strengths and biding his time for several years to get rid of the first seat, cleaning up internal and external threats to consolidate his uncle's throne.Later, he remembered his master who was forced to leave the Central Plains, but it was too late to order to search for him.

Duan Wuchi took a deep look at him: "Uncle's people are watching in the dark all day long, so I had to pretend to be addicted to martial arts, and come to the Central Plains for a few years to compete with other masters and let him relax his vigilance. After returning, the contradiction It has been impossible to reconcile. The master couldn't bear to kill each other, so he left Dali with hatred, and sent me to the depths of Cangshan Mountain when he left. But I know that he...he only wants to convert to the Buddha, save all beings from suffering, and make great achievements in Wuxiang..."

Liu Shiqi asked suspiciously, "Where are your senior brothers?"

"Heh," Duan Wuchi laughed mockingly, "All of them were wiped out by my master. When my master left Dali, I was the only apprentice left in his lineage."

Liu Shiqi couldn't help thinking about Huici's appearance back then. His last days must have been extremely painful, but he still endured the transmission of the formulas of the exercises before he passed away. Give it all.

It's for righteousness, but that's all.

"You are his last disciple, I will not do anything to you, and I will not force you to do anything." Duan Wuchi said, "I just hope that you don't tell those Central Plains people what happened today. Let anyone say it!"

It turns out that the Bodhi Hall has been torn apart due to disputes between monks and laymen, and the remaining seat is just a shell?

Hui Ci said that "the troubled times are coming", so he foresaw the end.

He didn't care about Nanzhao's affairs, and the two sat opposite each other. After drinking a pot of tea together, Liu Shiqi had a chance to ask him the whole story of drowning: "Hero Duan, you...why did you save me in Yuhang?"

Duan Wuchi glanced at him, seemed to dislike him for taking so long to ask this question, and said helplessly: "My disciples and I followed Master's footprints to Yuhang. I was wandering near the ferry last night and heard the dispute, so I hid in the dark and watched. Look, it's you and that... Your senior brother wanted to escape by boat, but you were pushed into the water. When those people left, my subordinates picked you up. Fortunately, it didn't take long, and you still had a breath. .”

Liu Shiqi shook his head and said, "I don't believe in coincidences, Daxia Duan, tell the truth."

This young man saw through it, Duan Wuchi laughed and said: "It's not easy to lie! In fact, I was bored in my heart. I suddenly saw a woman passing by the door. After she left, there was an extra handkerchief on the ground with a few lines of ink writing on it." .'Yangliu'an, it's three o'clock in the middle of the night, and the opportunity has never been cut off'. I saw it, and naturally thought it was related to my teacher's last wish. I stepped on it and saw you."

It should be from the Green Mountain Pavilion, Feng Tingyun said that they know the secrets of the world, plus Lingxi appeared during the day...

Liu Shiqi didn't doubt that he was there, and bowed slightly: "Thank you for saving me."

Duan Wuchi said frankly: "Thank you also for telling your teacher's last words, he didn't tell me not to fight, I'm going to fight."

He inexplicably felt that this was a chance encounter with Wu Chi, so he stopped talking about it.Liu Shiqi took another sip of hot tea, got up and said, "I'm leaving now."

Duan Wuchi suddenly said: "It stands to reason that you want to leave, and I shouldn't stay. But after saving you yesterday, the doctor at the house took a pulse, and there was cold poison in your body. It seems that it is not a new injury. If you don't recuperate and recover, you will walk in the rivers and lakes. There are troubles."

"It's an old disease from the early years." Liu Shiqi took his own pulse. He has been ill for a long time and knows that the chronic disease is not cured. "I have been struggling for the past six months, and at first I stayed... for a long time in the cold mountains in the north."

There is a hot spring in Little Penglai, which is so warm that it is true that it is early spring, and the ice and snow of Xixiu Mountain are still seeping into his blood.He didn't take his medicine for a few days, and it's reasonable to have recurrent attacks.

He sat down on the side of the couch, the stove was burning in the room, the spring cold in the south of the Yangtze River was incomparable to the stream on the iceberg.

"I originally had medicine in my luggage, but..." Liu Shiqi frowned, hesitant to speak.

"You brought a knife with you when you came back after saving you." Duan Wuchi said, easing his heart, "This is the other villa of Bodhi Hall, and the doctor is also from Dali, why don't you stay for a while? - Teacher Liu I will give you the formula of Wuxiang Gong, I definitely don't want you to suffer from injuries at a young age."

Liu Shiqi put his coat on his body, understood the deep meaning of his words, and thought to himself whether it was a blessing or a curse, he would not be able to escape the Formless Kung Fu in this life, and he also owed his renewed martial arts to it.

Dali's medicine was not the same as that given to him by Feng Tingyun. Liu Qiqi drank it for half a month and bothered him for half a month, and the cold poison was temporarily eliminated.He couldn't delay any longer, so he asked Duan Wuchi to resign, but this time the other party didn't say anything.

It was not dusk when we left Duan Wuchi's residence, another spring rain fell in the south of the Yangtze River, the air was humid, and new willows sprouted delicately.

Looking back at Tsukishima?I wonder what happened to Feng Tingyun?Where to stay at night is also a problem.

Duan Wuchi has no position to let him eat and drink, Liu Shiqi knows it very well.Not only did I get my life back this trip, but I also learned about a relationship behind the old events back then, and I can meet Duan Wuchi in the future before talking about other things.

He was walking aimlessly along the street, and before he left, Duan Wuchi stuffed him with a bag of broken silver, enough to look back at Moon Island all the way.Liu Shiqi thought about spending the night first, and then went to the inn in the East China Sea.When they get there, they will know whether Feng Tingyun has returned to Wangyue Island. Every [-]th day of the lunar new year, someone will go ashore to exchange for grain and cotton, and they will return at that time.

Take the waterway from Yuhang, wait until you go upstream to Yangzhou, change your horse at the ferry, and you can reach the coast in less than half a day.

The journey was not difficult. Liu Shiqi set out alone the next day, and when he got off the boat, he felt something was wrong——

He only took two steps towards the post station, why did a few tea drinkers look over at him?Liu Shiqi frowned instinctively, stretched his hand behind his back to hold the handle of the knife, and clasped the three silver needles around his waist with his other hand.

On the shore of Yangzhou, the dawn breeze blows, and the warbler sings willows.

The teahouse next to the post station was built in the open air. When Liu Shiqi passed by, the tea drinkers put down the cups in their hands tacitly, and began to follow him from a distance.There are guards patrolling here from time to time, but no one has noticed the raging undercurrent.

Liu Shiqi's footsteps became faster and faster, and he kept walking in the direction of leaving the city, while the tea guests were only a few feet away from him without hurrying.

The hand holding the handle of the knife was a little sore but he didn't dare to let go, and his eyes gradually opened up.A few wild peach trees outside the city of Yangzhou hadn't yet bloomed, and their bare branches were growing wildly. Looking back, the ferry and the river bank were far away.

Liu Shiqi thought for a while, rather than sitting still and waiting to be killed, it would be better to preemptively strike. He paused a little, and when he heard the breath of the people behind him, he suddenly turned around and the silver needle flew out——

Those few people were not idle people, seeing that they were seen through, they didn't say much, and rushed forward with weapons in disorder!