Looking for plums under the moon

The man in the pavilion looked at him for a while, his half-gray and half-white hair was disheveled like withered grass in the night wind, and he sighed: "Little Guyue, you have grown so big..."

Ling Guyue smiled at him, "Uncle Ge, you haven't changed much, but the stories you tell can no longer scare me."

"Yeah, it's been 15 years in the blink of an eye, and you've become an adult," the third master sighed, and then smiled, "It's rare that we can recognize each other at a glance."

Ling Guyue blinked and said: "In fact, I thought you were very familiar with me at the pier, but I didn't expect..."

"Didn't expect me to be alive?" The third master touched his neck, "Even I myself didn't expect to see you in my lifetime."

"Uncle Ge, back then you said you were going to hunt deer in the woods..." Ling Guyue couldn't wait to ask, "What happened afterwards? Since nothing happened, why didn't you come back?"

The third master shook his head, turned his back to him and said: "At the beginning, my life was indeed hanging by a thread, but I managed to escape down the mountain by force, and I survived by luck."

"Escape?" Ling Guyue frowned, "Why do you want to escape? Someone is chasing you?"

The third master said: "Oh, it's all in the past, and I don't want to mention it again."

Ling Guyue felt that this matter was weird, but seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, she had to suppress it, and asked again: "Then what happened afterwards? Why did you go to Shuyinglou after going down the mountain?"

The third master said: "Everything is a coincidence. As soon as I got off the mountain, I was rescued by the old owner of the Shuying Building. He found someone to heal my injuries. After I recovered, I stayed."

Ling Guyue said: "Is that when your throat disease came from?"

"That's right, I almost became a mute..." The third master turned around and said with a smile, "When you were young, didn't you most hope that Uncle Ge would become a mute?"

Ling Guyue lowered her head and whispered: "Isn't it because you always scare me..."

The third master laughed: "At that time you were the most naughty, how could you become obedient if you didn't scare you? Why, little Guyue, do you still like to bully people like before?"

"How could it be?" Ling Guyue argued: "I was young and ignorant back then, but it's different now."

"Really?" The third master squinted at him and said with a smile: "I also found out that the girl Qingchan in the building has told me about you several times."

Ling Guyue looked slightly embarrassed, "It's nothing..."

The third master continued to joke: "Little Guyue's face has also become thinner."

Ling Guyue slightly annoyed: "Uncle Ge!"

The third master stopped laughing appropriately, and asked, "Little Guyue, why are you here?"

Ling Guyue coughed and said: "Something happened to Pingchuan, so I went down the mountain and took a walk."

"What's the matter?" the third master asked curiously.

"Several disciples died for no reason, and it seems that someone wants to blame me."

The third master frowned, and asked: "How old are those disciples? But they are all thirteen or fourteen-year-old boys?"

Ling Guyue shook her head, thinking of Lian Yi's immature face, said in a low voice: "Only one is still young, and the other two are adults."

The third master said: "Who did it? Do you have any clues?"

Ling Guyue pursed her lips and said, "Not yet."

The third master said in a deep voice: "It seems to be another conspiracy..." He raised his head and said, "Why did you come here?"

Ling Guyue said: "I wanted to find someone in Jinling, but unexpectedly I ran into people from Shuyinglou, so I followed them."

"A few days ago, I heard Miss Qingchan talking about you, and I thought who was Mr. Feiyi..." The third master laughed, "The little doll who was so lovable in the past is still so cute when he grows up. "

Ling Guyue turned her face away, and said a little uncomfortable: "Uncle Ge's appearance hasn't changed, so I can recognize him naturally, but how did you recognize me?"

The third master smiled and said: "The girls all praised how good you were, so I thought to myself: Who else is worthy except Xiao Guyue? I just saw the red mole in the corner of your eye, and it seems to overlap with the face you had when you were a child." , I’m guessing that it’s close to ten.”

Ling Guyue said angrily: "It's hard for Third Uncle to remember how I was when I was a child."

The third master's eyes were full of tolerance and love, and he said gently: "I have been secretly inquiring about Pingchuan all these years, and I know that everything is fine with you brothers and sisters, so I am relieved." After a pause, he asked: "Where is Xiao Luo? You are always inseparable, this time you are the only one going down the mountain?"

Ling Guyue cleared her throat and said: "As the head of the sect now, he has a lot of things to do, so naturally he stays in Pingchuan to deal with things."

The third master's eyes changed slightly, "Master... A few years ago, there were rumors in the world that Gu Huasong had retired, and there has been no news of him since. Even you don't know his whereabouts?"

Ling Guyue shook her head, thinking that Master's life and death are still unknown, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

The third master said seriously: "Before he disappeared, did you find out that he behaved differently?"

Ling Guyue asked puzzledly: "Why did Uncle Ge say that?"

"Oh..." The third master eased his expression, "I was wondering why he suddenly retired for no reason..."

Ling Guyue looked away, and said lightly: "Maybe there is something else hidden."

"Little Guyue, do you know something?"

The matter of that year has not been investigated clearly, Ling Guyue did not want to draw conclusions prematurely, so she shook her head and said, "I'm just guessing."

The third master pondered for a while, and asked: "In the years since I left, has he ever accepted any more disciples?"

Ling Guyue said: "Except for me and Junior Brother, Master has no other disciples."

The third master frowned and said, "Then he has gone down the mountain many times?"

Ling Guyue replied: "Master seldom goes down the mountain, and even stayed in retreat for three years in the back mountain."

"Retreat?" The third master said with wide eyes, "When did it happen?"

Ling Guyue was secretly surprised by the change in his expression, and replied: "When I was 15 years old...that was the third year after Uncle Ge left."

"Are you sure your master was really in the back mountain in those years?"

Ling Guyue noticed the strangeness in his tone, and asked: "Uncle Ge, do you doubt Master..."

"This... I can't say it yet," the third master looked hesitant, "If you don't want to answer, then forget it."

Ling Guyue stared at him, seeing that he really had something to hide, she said: "Master has indeed stayed in the back mountain for three years, every day there are disciples to deliver meals, and the younger brother is also by his side."

"Xiao Luo followed him?" The third master's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "I understand..."

"Understand what?"

The third master asked without answering, "Is Xiaoluo in Pingchuan now?"

"exist."

"Okay..." The third master walked a few steps in the pavilion with his hands behind his back, "Can you send a letter to him to come to Jinling? I have something to tell him."

"This..." Ling Guyue hesitated: "Since Uncle Ge is still alive, he should come to see you, and I will write to him."

The third master sighed: "I should have gone to him, but I made a poisonous oath that I would never set foot in Pingchuan in this life..."

Seeing that he was always hiding, Ling Guyue couldn't help but said: "What happened back then? Why did you have to keep it from me?"

The third master sighed and said: "Put it to death and then live... I once stepped into the gate of hell with one foot, thinking that I would never live again, but who knew I could live for so long..." He smiled wryly, "Alone You can't know too many secrets, the more secrets you carry, the more painful it will be..."

Ling Guyue observed the change in his expression, and said, "Uncle Ge is in pain now?"

"That's right." The third master went to the fence, picked off a leaf from the branch outside the pavilion, and crushed it with the palm of his hand, "Since it's a secret, you can't tell it to others, you have to hide it, you have to deceive it."

"But now that I know you are fine but you are lying to me, I will suffer too." Ling Guyue said.

The third master shook his head and said: "This is a small pain for you, and it will dissipate as soon as the wind blows. If one day you know the truth, I'm afraid it will be a hundred times more uncomfortable than now."

Ling Guyue became more and more curious, "What's the matter? Uncle Ge, don't be fooled."

The third master still shook his head: "Xiao Guyue, Xiao Luo must know the truth, but it's not the time to tell you, since he doesn't say it, he has his own reasons, and I can't reveal too much to you. You want You know, we're here for your own good."

Ling Guyue frowned upon hearing the phrase 'for your own good', and said, "I don't want you to deprive me of the right to know the truth just because of the three words 'for my own good'."

The third master looked at him for a long time, saw that his eyes were shining like stars, and sighed: "Wait a little longer... I will tell you the whole story when I see Xiao Luo."

Ling Guyue felt disappointed, "Okay, Uncle Ge, I believe in you."

The third master frowned and asked, "Did Lin Jue ask you to help him with something?"

Ling Guyue secretly said: I saw Lin Jue and Uncle Ge getting so close just now, but it seems that Lin Jue didn't tell him the matter, so should I tell Uncle Ge?

The third master said: "Lin Jue is a rich man... He knew how to deceive people with sympathy when he was three or four years old. You have to be careful with him."

Ling Guyue asked suspiciously: "Uncle Ge, didn't you say that you came to Shuyinglou 15 years ago? How did you know about Lin Jue when he was three or four years old?"

The third master was at a loss for words for a while, and he reacted quickly and explained: "I heard it from the servant who served him..."

Ling Guyue seemed to believe it or not, nodded and said: "It's nothing, Lin Jue is a martial artist, he sees that I am capable, so he just let me stay for a few days."

The third master seemed to know that he wasn't telling the truth, and he didn't mean to point it out, so he just told him: "Lin Jue doesn't like you and Xiao Luo very much, remember, don't tell him your real identity."

Ling Guyue had listened to it on the beam for a long time before, and she probably understood why he hated herself, so she nodded and said, "I see."

"Little Guyue," the third master temporarily put his unhappiness behind him, and walked in front of him with a smile, "Let me see, is there still a scar on your forehead that you fell from a tree when you were playful when you were young?"

Ling Guyue pursed her lips and smiled, raised her chin obediently, revealing her smooth forehead, but said in her heart: You have been away for 15 years, I am not naughty anymore, and I have not climbed a tree for a long time. It’s fine if you feel it, but you don’t know this.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After 15 years of separation, the two who were once as close as a family finally had a gap.

Ling Guyue wrote a letter to Shen Luo, and after a few days, she received a pack of sweet-scented osmanthus, and when she opened it, there was a note inside, on which Shen Luo wrote a few simple words: Depart soon.

Ling Guyue gave the old woman who delivered the package a few scattered silver coins, picked up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus and tasted it, it was exactly the taste of osmanthus in the Pingchuan Mountains in early autumn.

Holding the silver in both hands, the old woman bowed her waist and said, "Thank you son, the things have been delivered, so I will take my leave first."

"Go, I'm sorry." Ling Guyue stood in front of the door, watched the old woman turn around, and walked staggeringly on the street, thinking to herself: It has been three or four days since he wrote back to me. Cheng, I think I will arrive first, why did I ask someone else to give me this sweet-scented osmanthus?

Looking at the old woman, seeing her slowly disappearing at the end of the Swallow Square, Ling Guyue smiled, "I want to see what tricks you are playing..." and handed the package in her hand to the person in the building. A maid said with a smile, "Miss, please send it to my room."

The servant girl took the package and said shyly, "My lord... this servant is from Lingnan, and my hometown is rich in sweet-scented osmanthus. The scent of osmanthus just wafted reminds me of my hometown. Can you let my servant have a taste?"

Ling Guyue shook her head slightly and said: "It's not that I'm being stingy, it's just because my younger brother entrusted someone to send it, I should cherish it... and the girl is from Lingnan, but I am from Shanbei, the two places are separated by thousands of miles, so the taste must be different. It's quite different, if the girl wants to eat sweet-scented osmanthus, I will go to the street to buy fresh ones for the girl later. As for my brother's thoughts, it is really inconvenient to share."

Knowing that she had been declined, the servant girl immediately blushed, lowered her head and shook her head and said, "It's okay, my lord, then... I'll go down first."

Ling Guyue left Shuying Tower and stepped up to catch up with the old woman. Logically, the pace of the old man should be very slow, who would have thought that the old woman had disappeared as soon as he left the Swallow Workshop.

"Brother, did you see an old man with white hair passing by here just now?" Ling Guyue stopped a peddler carrying a load and asked him about the whereabouts of the old woman.

"Oh, she went over there." The vendor thought for a while and pointed to the north.

"Thank you." Ling Guyue continued to chase north, but walked into a dead-end alley. There was no one in front of him, no one in the back, and there were no ladders and narrow passages nearby. He searched the place, but still had no clue.

At this time, Ling Guyue suddenly heard the cooing sound of pigeons from above his head, he looked up and saw a few gray turtledoves perched on the tiles of the roof in front of him.With a thought in his heart, he volleyed up to the roof that was about three feet high to the side, looking around, the nearby houses and pedestrians could have a panoramic view.

Ling Guyue looked around, and saw that the old woman who delivered the letter to him was standing at the gate of the temple not far away.

But the old woman seemed to be a different person, not only had flexible legs and feet, but also behaved strangely, fighting for something with the two white-clothed boys next to her.

For that old woman, Ling Guyue was indeed very unfamiliar, but he recognized the two teenagers next to her, they were exactly the attire of Pingchuan's white-clothed disciples.

Ling Guyue took light steps, performed lightness kung fu on the roof, and approached the temple little by little.

"Let go! Let go! This is the money my uncle gave me!" the old woman shouted.

The young man in white next to her grabbed her hand and said while jumping, "I'll give you ten taels of silver, you give it to me!"

"No, no!" The old woman shouted in a juvenile voice: "How can the things that my uncle touched are only worth ten taels? Someone gave 50 taels for a piece of rag that was scratched on the corner of his clothes before! Don't want it!" Take it from me!"

"Then I'll pay 20 taels!" Another boy said.

"Don't sell it, don't sell it! I want to keep it for myself!" The 'old woman' took the scattered silver coins into her bosom and put them away properly.

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell the head. If the head finds out, you have to hand it in again!" A teenager threatened with narrowed eyes.

When the 'old woman' heard it, she put her hands on her hips angrily and said with a stare: "You're playing a rascal again!"

The two teenagers smiled and said: "We are scoundrels! Hand over the money!"

The 'old woman' said angrily: "Forget it, I knew it would be a good thing to come out with you! Bring 20 taels of silver, and the uncle's silver will be yours!"

Just when several people reached an agreement, Ling Guyue descended from the sky and said with a smile: "If you want my money, ask me for it. Everyone has it. I'm very fair."

Seeing the person coming, several teenagers turned pale with fright, and shouted, "Uncle Master!"

The 'old woman' said: "Master... Uncle Martial, why are you here..." The mask on his face almost fell off.

The other two pointed at him and said, "It's not you! It's not enough to fail! It must be you who made Master Su suspicious!"

The young man playing the role of the old woman grabbed off the wig and said with a mournful face, "I obviously look like one!"

Ling Guyue didn't know whether to be angry or to laugh, she folded her arms and said, "It's just sending a letter, why are you sneaking around and pretending to be a ghost?"

The young man pursed his mouth and muttered, "I'm not the master yet..."

The two people next to him hurriedly covered his mouth, and interrupted: "It's the master who thinks this is more pleasant."

"Surprise? Really?" Ling Guyue glanced at them, "Where's the master?"

"Muhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" the boy whose mouth was covered yelled unwillingly, but no one paid any attention to him.

The two white-clothed disciples winked at each other and said, "The master has a lot of things to deal with. I was afraid that my uncle would be anxious, so I ordered us to deliver the letter first."

Ling Guyue nodded, seeing them huddled together, looked at her innocently, and said with a smile: "You are all genius disciples of Pingchuan, and now you are making such a fuss for a few pieces of money, so people will not be afraid of laughing at you if you see it Come on, come on, I have money here, but the master doesn’t give you money and my uncle will send it to you.” After saying that, he took out a money bag from his waist, and actually wanted to send money to them.

Several teenagers waved their hands again and again, "Master, we don't want it! We have money!"

Ling Guyue paused, wondering: "Then what did you grab?"

The teenagers looked at me and looked at you, and laughed loudly, and finally said in unison: "We are just kidding... Master uncle, don't take it to heart."

Ling Guyue blinked, and asked with the purse in her hand, "You really don't want it?"

"No." The three teenagers shook their heads together.

"Okay then, do you have anything else to do?"

"No, the head wants us to send a letter to the uncle... If the uncle is okay, we will leave first, and the head is waiting for our reply." After saying that, he ran away in a hurry.

Ling Guyue looked at their backs with their clothes fluttering and shook her head, weighed the purse in her hand, and said in her heart: Fortunately, they didn't really want it, otherwise the gold leaves in it were really not enough.