Bright Moon and Cold Thousand Mountains

Linzi.

The buildings of Beichuan Academy are still as dignified and majestic as in the past, but they are less lively than before.Calculating that it has been less than half a year since the last time I came here, it was the beginning of July when Xie Xingzhou brought the invitation for the symposium back to Wangyue Island.During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the heroes of Ludi gathered together, discussing whether it was fun or not.

Now things are changing and people are changing, the future is uncertain, and I can't help but sigh when I think about it.

There was no arrogance in receiving the disciples from the school. After hearing the flute and explaining his intentions, the man bowed amiably and said, "I would like to ask you two chivalrous men to drink tea here and rest for a while, and the disciples will report to the master."

"Thank you." Wen Di said politely, and then took Liu Shiqi's wrist, motioning him to go in with others.

Surrounded by eyes, Liu Shiqi and Wendi didn't have much to say, and drank tea in silence, which really answered the word "rest" just now.It's just that the tea from Beichuan Xuemen tastes so-so, and I can't taste it.

The tea on the table was still warm, and the disciple who had just informed him hurried over, cupped his hands and said, "I invite you two to meet in the auditorium."

This time the tea served again was the best Longjing tea. Shang Zihuai sat at the head, his face was a bit haggard, and he could see two spots of black and blue under his eyes.Wen Di was not in a hurry to drink tea, and said with concern: "Sect Leader Shang doesn't seem to have a good rest?"

"To tell you the truth, since senior brother came back from Yangzhou, Shang hasn't had a good night's sleep." Shang Zihuai said bluntly, "Recalling the scene that day, I can vividly remember it. Fortunately, senior brother and all the heroes are fine— —Let’s not talk about that, the two little friends came to Linzi specially, so why?”

Wen Di: "Actually, I came here today because I want to ask senior about an old matter."

Shang Zihuai said with a smile, "But it doesn't matter."

He didn't have the lofty attitude of his predecessors, so when he heard the flute, he didn't give a shit, and said directly: "My teacher passed away, according to the rules of the twelfth floor, the remains should have been sent back to his hometown for burial. If there is no hometown, he will be buried under Yanxue Peak. Rest in Xixiu Mountain together with the previous seniors. But when the senior brother of the sect inspected the old things of the family teacher, he found a letter from the family. The person who wrote the letter was very close to the family teacher in words, and they were called husband and wife. ..."

He spoke slowly, and when he mentioned the end, Shang Zihuai's face changed slightly: "A letter from Miss Ayi?"

"But the matter of master's marriage, even the brother in charge has never heard him mention it. Is there something else hidden?" Wendi observed his words and looked at his expression, and asked: "Senior Shang and the family teacher are still old friends. I don't know if senior can reveal anything, so forget it. The family teacher's funeral."

"This..." Shang Zihuai showed embarrassment, and the knuckles of his fingers holding the teacup turned white.

Huai Auditorium screened off the others, and was so quiet that even breathing could be clearly felt.

After a long while, he sighed as if giving up on something: "Forget it, forget it! The man has passed away, and this matter is not difficult to talk about, so let me tell you!"

Wendi immediately "browded with joy", got up and gave a big gift: "Thank you, senior!"

Shang Zihuai leaned back on the table, half-closed his eyes, and recalled what happened a long time ago:

"Back then, your master and I met and knew each other. We were only in the weak years. We were like-minded, and when we talked about forgetting love, he invited me to live on the twelfth floor and talk about scriptures and Taoism together. I readily agreed, but once I go to Ning The state is far away, and mistakes are inevitable.

"Not long after leaving Yumen Pass, by chance, we rescued Ayi from a group of horse bandits. She was originally the daughter of an ordinary family in a small town in Guannei. Unfortunately, her father died early and her mother remarried. She was bullied at home and couldn't bear it. After escaping from the customs, I met a horse bandit again. Brother Zuo and I planned to send her back, but she refused... Later, I don’t know what Brother Zuo said to her, so she asked us to take her to Ningzhou to resettle .

"At that time, I joked with brother Zuo that being too nice to a girl would lead to trouble, and he laughed at me for thinking too much. I didn't take it to heart when nothing else happened along the way...

"After we arrived in Ningzhou, we settled down for Ayi, bid farewell to her and went to Xixiu Mountain. When I left a month later, I visited Ayi and sent a message for Brother Zuo. If you have any difficulties, you can go to the twelfth floor Ask for help. Unexpectedly, just a year later, I received a secret letter from brother Zuo, saying that his master passed away, and he is about to take over as the head of the sect, and he wants to marry Ayi to pass the sect."

Hearing this, Wendi frowned and said: "There is no rule on the twelfth floor that the head of the sect is not allowed to marry..."

"That's right," Shang Zihuai said, "The situation at that time was somewhat similar to now—more than twenty years ago, the situation was unstable, and the power of the Demon Cult had not completely disappeared. My friend, you must have not been born at that time, right?" No wonder you don’t know anything. If brother Zuo marries, it’s the head of a family, and he must be of the same family. Ah Yi is a woman of unknown origin, how can I let him go her own way?”

Wendi hesitated and said: "This is... the twelfth floor has had many marriages with Miaoyin Pavilion."

Shang Zihuai: "That's right. Miaoyin Pavilion has been in a slump after undergoing the great changes of Qinqin Banquet 70 years ago. At that time, it finally got better and was planning to marry Twelfth Floor to stabilize its position. As Brother Zuo, as the head of the sect, but Let me tell you that I would rather not inherit the position of head, and insist on marrying Miss Ayi as my wife. This matter even alarmed Kang Yinxue, the old senior of Miaoyin Pavilion..."

Liu Shiqi couldn't help interjecting: "Senior, is this Kang Xueyin known as 'Sushou Qingyin'...?"

Shang Zihuai fell into the melancholy of talking about the past, and nodded after hearing the news: "Yes, Kang Yinxue, who was seriously injured by Ye Tang during the piano appreciation banquet, but saved her life. She lives in seclusion, but has a high prestige. When Brother Zuo was young, she was still alive, and she was the elder of Miaoyin Pavilion, so anyone who said something should give three points of respect."

Liu Shiqi asked anxiously: "Didn't it be said that the sons and daughters of the Jianghu care about family status even if they don't care about trivial matters?"

Shang Zihuai could not help laughing at these words: "Little friend, you are still too young. After five or ten years, you will know that there is no real willfulness in this world."

Liu Shiqi showed doubts on his face.

Shang Zihuai stroked his head lightly, like an elder lovingly said: "If you want to be in a high position, you must pay a price. Reputation, relatives, lovers, and even life are just tools for the game. The farther you go, On the contrary, the more entanglements you have, the more weaknesses you will leave to others—Xiaoyao is just a self-deceiving dream."

Touched by these words, Liu Shiqi couldn't help but want to shake Wendi's hand.He tentatively stretched out his hand, and tapped his fingertips on the other party's cuffed wrist. He didn't wait for a long time to respond, and looked sideways.

Wendi looked thoughtful, lowered his eyes and said nothing, and asked after a while: "Senior, what's next?"

"Then...Brother Zuo is a mild-mannered person, and because of this, he had a falling out with the elders on the twelfth floor. Everyone in the rivers and lakes was waiting to see his jokes, but they didn't take it seriously." Shang Zihuai said Here, there was another long sigh, "Hey...according to what I saw later, brother Zuo and Miss Ayi are happy together, so why bother to stop it! It's a pity that I was deceived by the so-called reputation of the sect at that time, knowing this No one is on his side!"

Hearing the flute, he seemed to be talking to himself: "Master... also put all his eggs in one basket for love."

Shang Zihuai stroked his beard, and said: "Later, brother Zuo said that he would never marry in this life. If he is not allowed to marry Ayi, then no one else will be able to enter Zuo's house. The elders heard that he was so determined, I had no choice but to compromise. As soon as the oath came out, Miss Ayi was heartbroken, and I went to Ningzhou to visit her a few times after hearing about it, but at the end of that year, I ran into Brother Zuo."

Liu Shiqi said: "At that time, master... the left master had already talked with that lady—"

"That's right," Shang Zihuai said here, showing a very gentle smile, "Brother Zuo and Miss Ayi secretly tied the knot. In order to avoid people's eyes and ears, he only asked Miss Ayi to live in Ningzhou City. They came to see her every fifteenth day. In the second year, they had a son, Brother Zuo was very happy, and promised to teach him martial arts when his son was older."

Wen Di suddenly said: "It's a pity that he didn't wait until his son was older, his wife and children were murdered by traitors—Master Shang, thank you for telling so many old things, the matter has come to an end, the younger generation will not hide it from you."

Shang Zihuai: "Why, my little friend came here for this?"

"That's not true. I said before that the burial of the family teacher was indeed entrusted by the senior brother of the sect." Wendi got up, and cupped his hands at him, "The death of Mrs. Zuo and the son is related to the fact that the family teacher later practiced the "Heaven and Earth Kungfu" and became obsessed." The relationship is very important, and the family teacher passed away strangely, and I hope that the senior knows everything and can say everything!"

After finishing speaking, he wanted to lift his clothes and kneel down, Shang Zihuai hurriedly supported him, and said: "Why did you say that, brother Zuo's practice of insanity, Shang knows about it, is it related to that traitor?"

Wendi said: "Exactly, since the murder of my wife and son, the master has focused on revenge and forcibly broke through the tenth level of the "Heaven and Earth Kungfu". He was too impatient and failed to reach the level, and instead damaged his sanity..."

When he said this, he suddenly stopped talking.

No matter how close the relationship was, Shang Zihuai didn't know why Zuo Nian died!

On the contrary, the story of the theft of Du Xin Dan was widely circulated. At the meeting that day, he probably recognized Liu Shiqi. If he continued to talk about it, Shang Zi might be suspicious, and other clues would be completely cut off.

Sure enough, Shang Zihuai withdrew his hand, and the kind smile on his face froze for a moment, then gradually disappeared.Wen Di didn't dare to move rashly, glanced at Shang Zihuai's expression from the corner of his eye, and felt that he was a little strange, presumably his thoughts were confused, and he didn't know what to do for a while.This situation was overplayed, he looked at Liu Shiqi, who was also at a loss.

Just as Wen Di was thinking hard about how to explain it, Liu Shiqi took a step forward, protected him behind him, and said frankly: "Senior, I stole the Duxin Dan back then, and I was the one who defected at the Zuo Zhang gate at the meeting." , but I think that my grievances with him are closely related to the death of the left head's wife and children."

Shang Zihuai narrowed his eyes: "Oh? How do you say that?"

Liu Shiqidao: "This junior was originally a disciple of the head of the left, so he left the twelfth floor on his own and joined someone else's sect. But this matter has nothing to do with Senior Brother Wen, this junior is solely responsible for it!"

Wen Di hurriedly said: "Seventeen, you don't need to say more..."

Liu Shiqiyi stretched out his hand to interrupt him, and said earnestly to Shang Zihuai: "Senior is a confidant and friend of the head of the left, if you care about Du Xindan and want to take revenge, this junior is at your disposal. It's just that brother Wen felt sorry for me and protected me. I was punished, he really came here only to investigate the enmity of Zuo Sect Master during his lifetime, and he also hoped that senior would treat him with respect."

The room was silent, Wendi was surprised for a long time before he could speak, and completely admired Liu Shiqi.

The situation was really embarrassing right now, and he didn't even think about how to resolve it, Liu Shiqi reacted quickly.Although Shang Zihuai has been under the control of Xi Lanyu in Beichuan School for many years, he is still an old fox who is about to mature. Lies can only be covered by bigger lies, and it is very easy to reveal his flaws——

But what if the truth is mixed with half?

Isn't that what Liu Shiqi said?He admitted Shang Zihuai's doubts, but let go of the suspicion of hearing the flute, and let himself have a good impression of going through fire and water for his senior brother, regardless of his own safety.

If it wasn't for being in the middle of the game, Wen Di couldn't help rubbing his hair, then grabbed him into his arms and kissed his face.

He regarded Liu Shiqi as a plain white paper and couldn't bear to be stained, but he didn't think that he was not very pure and innocent.Thinking of this, Wen Di was not only not disappointed, but felt a little relieved.

"Grow up." Wen Di secretly thought, the corner of his mouth could hardly contain his smile, "Sure enough, those who are close to ink are black..."

Liu Shiqi's words were so earnest that Shang Zihuai was taken aback for a moment, and then his expression relaxed slightly.He squeezed the space between his brows and said, "Forget it, this is a family matter on the twelfth floor. How can I interfere indiscriminately? What's more, the meeting was too chaotic that day, and Shang couldn't see clearly... Little friend Wendi, what do you mean?" ?”

Wen Di quickly answered, "Senior Shang, you know, would anyone who met Master before him know where his wife and children are?"

Shang Zihuai wondered: "This...except that I know Ayi girl's background clearly, it's brother Shen Xian who talked with brother Zuo all year round and tasted wine. But we have no enmity with brother Zuo, the key point His wife and children!"

Wen Di: "Where are the others?"

Shang Zi wondered, "How do you explain this?"

"Perhaps, several seniors told this matter to someone close to them when it was not important, and that person happened to have a feud with Master and held a grudge—is such a person the most suspect?"

"Impossible..." Shang Zihuai was about to deny it, but suddenly his face turned pale, and then he interrupted himself, as if he remembered the person who matched the description, but he shook his head immediately, "No no no, It can't be that person, brother Zuo's feud with him can't be regarded as enmity..."

Wendi pressed on step by step: "Senior, do you have a clue?"

Shang Zihuai waved his hand, and repeatedly denied it, Wendi vaguely had a clue, and he had a plan.

He deliberately raised his voice, got up and said: "It's a matter of great importance. Are you covering up that person? What are your scruples that you can't say it directly? Or is it just that you can't say it here?!"

Every time he asked a question, Shang Zihuai's complexion changed again, and when Wendi's voice fell, he was completely pale, and hurriedly went to see the guard disciples outside Huai Auditorium, and he was relieved when he saw that no one was paying attention.The head of the Beichuan Academy showed such an expression, which made people feel amused, but no one who saw it could laugh.

Liu Shiqi said softly: "Senior Shang, is it...Mr. Xi?"

Those three words fell into the dust like a feather, but Shang Zihuai was shocked.The elder, who was nearly fifty years old, almost shivered when he saw a cat or a mouse. He sat down behind the table and forced himself to calm down. It took a long time to stop the trembling of his shoulders.

Liu Shiqi: "Looks like it really is Xi Lanyu, it scares you so far."

"Nonsense!" Shang Zihuai scolded bluntly, "Senior brother is an elder respected by everyone in our sect, how can he make random... slander indiscriminately! Did I mention him a word!"

Shang Zihuai, who had just been refined and courteous, seemed to have changed. The middle-aged man in front of him was timid and embarrassed, but it was just a name that turned him into this—it was really funny.

No wonder the rumors that the head teacher of Beichuan Xuemen is a puppet intensified. It turned out that it was not all groundless.

Wen Di signaled Liu Shiqi to stop, and approached a few steps forward, saying: "Sect Leader Shang is under the control of others, I'm afraid it will be very hard?"

He changed the subject, Shang Zihuai didn't expect it, and almost lost his mind.He was silent, and when he looked at Wendi, his hand had already pressed the long sword at his waist out of its scabbard an inch, and after a moment he said vigilantly: "Where did you hear this? Senior brother helped me take care of the general affairs of the sect, which relieved the pressure on me." There are many burdens, how can we say 'subject to others'..."

"But it's a fact that only Xi Lanyu is known in the Jianghu, and Shang Zihuai is not heard of." Wendi said, with a slight hint of ridicule in his tone, then straightened his eyebrows and said, "Master Shang, there is no one else around at this time. You don’t need to identify anything, you just need to tell me one thing, and everything else is on the twelfth floor.”

Shang Zihuai's expression relaxed a little, but he didn't let go of the scabbard: "Really?"

Wen Di's tone was low again: "I swear by my family teacher Qingyu, we will leave immediately when we get the truth. When we talk about it in the future, we will never involve Senior Shang with a single word."

Liu Shiqi, who had watched everything quietly, suddenly felt a little sad. He thought Shang Zihuai had reached such a position, but he was still beaten to death by a single person, and he didn't even dare to say a few more words in his own place. ——It’s no wonder he came to the realization that happiness is just a dream, and after waking up, he still fights against each other, and the weak eat the strong.

The time was extremely short, but it seemed extremely long, Shang Zihuai stood up quickly, put his sword back into its sheath, and said as if he had made a great decision: "Just believe you once, I have been commensurate with Brother Zuo Nian for so long, but I have not done anything for him." What happened, even if others don't tell me, I will feel guilty and uneasy-come with me."

When he got up, he took something from the side shelf, went to the bookcase, and found a wooden box from under several layers of scriptures and secret books.While opening it with the strangely shaped key, Shang Zihuai said:

"I have sealed this thing for many years, and it is time to let it see the light of day again."

Lying in the wooden box is a handwritten page.

Shang Zihuai turned the wooden box and showed Wen Di its contents.The thin piece of paper has turned yellow, and there are burn marks on the edge. It looks very tough, not like ordinary goods.

"This is a corner of the high-level familiarity announcement. It was torn off temporarily and left a few words. I picked it up by chance and was surprised by the content. I had to save it first and keep it as evidence. I didn't expect that many years have passed, but it is still there." If you don't have the courage to stand up...for the time being, leave it to you two." Shang Zihuai said.

The handwriting in the blood book was loose, and it took Wen Di a long time to barely make it out. He murmured, "It's written...'You can do it in August, in the north of Ningzhou City, the begonia flowers are in full bloom on the courtyard wall'?"

Shang Zihuai: "This is Senior Brother Xi's handwriting, especially the word 'Ningzhou', it is impossible for him not to recognize it."

Liu Shiqiduo asked, "What kind of hatred does he have with Zuo Nian?"

"It's not a deep hatred." Shang Zihuai explained, "My senior brother has always been cautious and arrogant, and I can't bear others to be superior to him. He became famous at a young age, and the gentleman's swordsmanship has just been recognized by the Green Mountain Pavilion. Jingming Sword is the best in the world. Weapons, but there are rumors immediately, they are still not as good as the folding hand, which is unpredictable."

Liu Shiqi: "So he made an appointment with Zuo Nian to discuss each other?"

Shang Zihuai sighed, and said: "That's what I said, but Brother Zuo didn't even let him see a single form of folding hand. Up to now, what he has learned about folding hand is only the form of last year's meeting 'Sparse shadows.' Brother held grudges and thought Brother Zuo deliberately humiliated him, but I didn't know that he intercepted the letter between Brother Zuo and me, knew Ayi's residence, and hired someone to go..."

When he said this, he choked up several times, as if recalling those frivolous and regrets back then, and couldn't continue.

The spring is just right outside the window, and the willows are green. I don’t know if the withered crabapples in Ningzhou city were more stunning than spring in that rainy night before?

When leaving Beichuan Academy, Wen Di rode his horse side by side with Liu Shiqi, weighed the handwriting, and said to Liu Shiqi: "Is there really someone in the world who would take the lives of innocent people out of jealousy?"

Liu Shiqi shook his head, this question was obviously difficult for him.

If this is the case, isn't the series of blood debts that happened later seem too absurd?But no one dared to say "at the beginning", and they didn't know the many changes caused when it happened.

Like a stone falling into the sea and causing ripples, no one expected that it would cause a storm.

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