The fairy is fierce

Yan Ge led the way and arrived outside a courtyard. Before entering the house, he smelled the smell of medicine.

The old maid was cleaning the snow in the corridor. When she saw a few people coming, she said:

"Master."

"Is mom okay?"

"well……"

The old maid shook her head, said nothing, and moved out of the way.

There was a stove burning in the yard and medicine was being boiled. The bedroom door was closed and locked.

Yan Ge was very filial. When he got here, the smile on his face disappeared, leaving only a look of worry. He gently picked up the key outside, opened the copper lock, and took a careful look. After making sure that his mother was asleep, he made a shushing gesture and let a few people in.

Zuo Lingquan and Xie Qiutao entered the room together and took a look - the bed was covered with a thick quilt, tied with ropes, and a woman with gray hair was lying inside.

The woman was about the same age as Zuo Lingquan's mother, and her bones were in good shape, but her complexion was sallow and skinny with no trace of blood, her hair was disheveled, and her breath was weak. She looked little different from someone who was seriously ill and bedridden.

Tang Jingxuan frowned and was about to ask Yan Ge how his mother was doing, but she didn't know if the door opened and the air-conditioning on the snowy day entered the room, waking the woman up; before she could speak, she heard a voice:

"ah--"

The scream was almost ear-piercing.

The woman lying on the bed suddenly opened her eyes with fierce eyes. She struggled wildly on the bed, and even the tied hemp rope made a "clucking" sound.

Tang Jingxuan's face turned pale with fright at the sudden tragic scene, and Zuo Lingquan also clenched his sword and took half a step back.

Yan Ge's expression changed drastically and he spoke hastily:

"Mother, mother! It's me, it's me..."

The woman on the bed couldn't listen to anyone's words at all, her eyes were bloodshot, she looked at Yan Ge as if she were an enemy, and she let out an inarticulate roar.

Yan Ge was anxious and distressed, and had no other choice but to wave to a few people to leave quickly, but at this moment, a sound suddenly sounded in the room:

"Dangdang~"

The crisp pipa tune seems to contain some kind of power. The sound is not loud, but it makes people feel tight in the chest.

Zuo Lingquan turned his head and looked. Xie Qiutao was holding an iron pipa in his arms. He was playing it lightly with his fingers. His movements were not big and there were no traces of the true energy. However, the furs on several people's bodies were hidden under the furs. The dumplings, Maomao trembled and trembled according to the rhythm.

Song Fu, who was standing outside the door, couldn't understand what was going on, but when he heard the distinctive sound of the pipa, his eyes showed a strange look, and what surprised him even more was what was behind.

The woman, who was originally struggling miserably, visibly stiffened when she heard the soul-stirring melody, and then fell limply on the bed. Her eyes changed from fierce to absent-minded and confused.

"this……"

The masters and servants of the Yan family inside and outside the door were overjoyed when they saw this scene.

Yan Ge's reaction was almost the same as his father's reaction when he saw Taoist Yunbao. He knelt down on the spot and said:

"Xie Nuxia... No, Xie Xianzi, please save my mother..."

Incoherent.

Zuo Lingquan quickly supported Yan Ge and signaled the people inside and outside the door not to get excited and to wait quietly for Xie Qiutao to do what he did.

Xie Qiutao was not performing magic, he was just playing the family requiem tune, which was similar to the Taoist Sanqing Bell.

She played for a while, and after the woman calmed down completely, she walked over and asked:

"Auntie, what did you see?"

When people are insane and crazy, all they see are hallucinations. The reason why monks who exorcise ghosts and exorcisms ask this question is because hallucinations do not arise out of thin air. Just like "thinking about things every day and dreaming about them at night", hallucinations can be passed through Determine the cause of hallucinations.

The woman's eyes were dull, her lips murmured a few times, and although she couldn't enunciate the words clearly, she still said:

"Gourd...gourd..."

It’s exactly the same as what the eldest son of the Yan family said.

Xie Qiutao naturally frowned when he heard this answer.

When people go crazy, the hallucinations they produce are all kinds of strange and cannot be the same. Being able to see the same hallucination can only mean that the madness of two people comes from the same source and is caused by something unknown.

Zuo Lingquan waited for a moment and then asked:

"how?"

Xie Qiutao was holding the iron pipa, a little worried:

"Judging from the reaction, it's not that it's possessed by an evil spirit, it's more like being stimulated and having an overreaction. Well... it's almost like a recruit Danzi being frightened stupidly on the battlefield. He either doesn't dare to move or starts hacking people randomly. I can’t hold it back.”

Tang Jingxun probably understood the meaning and said:

"Could it be that I hit the calabash spirit?"

Judging from the words of the crazy person, it is indeed possible, but Zuo Lingquan thought about it, shook his head and said:

"It's not like that. It stands to reason that plants and trees can only become spirits in remote mountains and forests, and the ones that can become spirits must be gourd vines. Gourds are similar to peaches, and they are still seeds. They haven't even taken root or sprouted. How can you cultivate them into spirits?"

Xie Qiutao interjected: "It's not impossible. If the mother vine is high enough, the gourd it grows may be able to directly open spiritual wisdom..."

The discussion between the three people was a bit off topic.

Seeing Yan Ge waiting with expectation, Zuo Lingquan asked:

"Forget about the gourd, can Aunt Yan be cured?"

Xie Qiutao shrugged slightly: "When the soul is stimulated, it is just like a heart disease. If the source is not solved, it will be useless no matter how well the body is adjusted. I can only temporarily comfort it."

Yan Ge's eyes were a little disappointed when he heard this, but if his mother could stabilize herself, he could see the light and nodded:

"As long as it can be solved, dad is arranging for people to find objects related to gourds. When they are found, I will notify several immortal masters immediately."

Xie Qiutao didn't see the reason, and felt troubled in her heart. She didn't want Yan Ge to expect too much from her, so she shook her head and said:

"We are not immortal masters, we just know some alchemy..."

A few people chatted for a while, because Yan Ge's mother finally stabilized, and Yan Ge wanted to take this opportunity to feed her, so she left the yard first, and was led by the housekeeper Song Fu, and went to the guest room to stay.

When the housekeeper Song Fu saw Xie Qiutao leaking a hand, there was no contempt in his eyes. He greeted her politely on the way, and when he arrived at the guest house, he even brought a can of 'fairy tea'.

Immortal tea is not a top-grade product, and its taste and spiritual energy are average. However, this kind of pure pastime is not something that ordinary monks can afford to drink on the spiritual path. I don’t know how much the Yan family spent to buy it from outside. return.

Zuo Lingquan drank a lot of fairy tea at the rich woman's baby. He was not keen on this kind of thing, so he naturally did not let the Yan family spend any money and declined these invitations. After Song Fu left, he and the two girls explored the Yan family. The situation inside the shop.

Yanjiazhuang is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is very large and the snowy garden is unparalleled in this world. However, the people in Zhuangzi at this time are obviously not in the mood to enjoy the scenery. Various "immortal masters" of unknown origin are digging around in Zhuangzi. Stone slabs, tiles are lifted, and some people stand on the roof to watch Feng Shui.

Zuo Lingquan and the others didn't have a clear clue. The way of exploration was actually not much different from that of Mr. Jianghu in Zhuangzi. They just walked around and looked for weird things. Tuanzi was very good at this, but he was afraid of being discovered by fellow Taoists. Tuanzi could only huddle under Tang Jingxun's fur ball and observe secretly.

The three of them walked along the verandah of the villa for a while, but found nothing unusual. When they turned the corner of the verandah, they saw a person walking through the round gate by the lake.

The person who came here had a rather rough appearance, wearing a khaki leather jacket, with an iron sword stained with oil on his waist, holding a wooden box in his arms, and the expression on his face was like someone who had just made a fortune from a casino. Like a gambler, he was still humming a tune.

Zuo Lingquan glanced out of the corner of his eye and recognized this person as Fan Jin, the 'Sword Immortal' whom he had met once in the hall. Judging from his appearance, he was about to get the three thousand taels of silver.

Xie Qiutao and Tang Jingxun didn't have very good senses about this person. They pretended not to notice and continued to ponder the flowers and plants outside the verandah. Zuo Lingquan naturally ignored him.

But what people didn't expect was that Fan Jin came through the round door, saw the three of them, and actually said hello:

"Boy, you are dressed like a swordsman. Are you here to help the Yan family slay demons?"

Zuo Lingquan frowned slightly, turned his head and responded:

"Fan Jianxian is sure he is here to help?"

Fan Jin walked to the verandah, placed the three hundred kilogram wooden box on the beauty's back, and rubbed his cold red hands twice:

"It's normal for a young man like you not to understand the rules of the spiritual path. Do you think that I, Fan Jin, am greedy for money? No, this is the rule of the swordsman of Central China..."

Zuo Lingquan was amused and glanced at the oily scabbard on Fan Jin's waist:

"Do swordsmen in Central Continent have such rules? I travel around all year round, why haven't I heard of them?"

"At your age, how far can you run? When I was running around in Sword Imperial City, you were probably still wearing crotchless pants..."

Fan Jin seemed to like to act like a superior person. When Zuo Lingquan retorted a few words, he sat down in the verandah and put the sword on his lap in a dignified manner:

"Seeing as you are not old, I don't mind giving you a few words of advice. Whether it is spiritual practice or martial arts, the most important thing is human relationships. We swordsmen value freedom and ease, and we are not allowed to get involved in this thing.

"Let's talk about the Yan family. If I come here pretending to be a chivalrous person, the Yan family will have to remember me as a favor, and I want both money and face. Isn't this shameless? It would be different if I took the money in advance. Regardless of whether I lost money or made a profit this time, it was the Yan family who hired me, Fan Jin, to do the business. It was a one-on-one deal and we broke it up afterwards. No one owed anyone. This is what it looks like. A swordsman’s style, don’t you think?”

Fan Jin's words are not unreasonable.

But the premise that makes sense is that Fan Jin has the ability to handle this matter and can do his best.

At present, no one is sure, and they are not asking low prices. Fan Jin dares to ask for three thousand taels of silver first. Isn't this taking advantage of the situation?

Xie Qiutao couldn't listen anymore and interrupted:

"Fan Jianxian, you have collected all the money, what are you going to do next?"

Fan Jin obviously didn't know, so he didn't answer directly, but said;

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain. Now that the money has been collected, this matter must be resolved. Don't doubt my words. Do you know who my guide is?"

The so-called guide refers to the elder who leads one to the path of spiritual practice. For example, Zuo Lingquan’s guide is Wu Qingwan, and Zuo Yunting’s guide is Lao Lu. They are not necessarily masters, but they are also very important and can be used as Monk's guarantor.

Zuo Lingquan was curious about who led such a guy to the spiritual path, and asked:

"Who is this master?"

"Jianjiu will worry about tomorrow! Have you heard of it?"

The Eight Lords is the name of the Sword Emperor, and the monks on the mountain are very familiar with it. Zuo Lingquan has naturally heard about it since he traveled to Central Continent, but the details of each person are just like the Eight Lords, very mysterious, and few people know it.

Hearing Fan Jin suddenly bring out a Sword King, Zuo Lingquan didn't know what to say to him, so he cooperated and said:

"Oh? Is it possible that you are the Sword Emperor's disciple?"

Fan Jin waved his hand: "The guide is not the teacher. You can't understand this. Tomorrow Chou Ming Sword Immortal and I are from the same hometown. Although there is a time difference of more than three hundred years, the relationship from the same place cannot be erased. I, Fan Jin, have followed the example of Ming Jianxian since I was a child, and he is my guide. When I conduct myself outside, I will not bring disgrace on his face..."

"...?"

Can this be considered a guide?

Zuo Lingquan felt that he had drunk too much, so he was standing here talking nonsense with a rogue. He shook his head, said goodbye, and took the two girls directly back to the courtyard.

Fan Jin was halfway through his words when he saw that Zuo Lingquan stopped listening and said to himself:

"Opportunities for guidance from experts come only a few times in a lifetime. If young people don't cherish them, why should I force them..."

Xie Qiutao felt so suffocated that after turning the corner, she opened her eyes wide and said in disbelief:

"Who is this person? I have been traveling all over the country for so many years, and this is the first time I have seen someone who can boast better than me. If I want to raise the banner of tiger skin, I will at least find someone who has seen it. This person is just talking nonsense. According to his statement, my The one who leads the way is still the Taoist ancestor..."

Tang Jingxun feels the same way.

Zuo Lingquan shook his head and smiled, becoming somewhat interested in the Jian Jiu Ming Ri Chou he just mentioned. He took out the Tian Escape Card and asked:

"Lingye, who is Tomorrow Chou?"

Ling Ye on the boat quickly responded:

"Who else could he be, the ninth-oldest Sword Emperor? Tomorrow Chou is very carefree and rarely shows up. It is said that he can't even be contacted in Sword Emperor City. I only know that he loves wine like crazy, and every time he shows up, he drinks wine. Related... By the way, the most famous time was when I went to Peach Blossom Pond and asked Lord Peach Blossom for a drink, and Lord Peach Blossom gave me a bottle. Guess what happened? "

If you can ask this, the result must be unusual. Zuo Lingquan asked:

"Is it possible that you are not satisfied?"

"Well, Xianren Brewing is recognized as the No. 1 aged brew of the Xian family. It just doesn't suit Tomorrow Chou's appetite. It's normal for people to disagree. But Tomorrow Chou is stubborn and won't talk nicely. I have to say that Master Peach Blossom's method of brewing is too focused on the ingredients. You can't call it wine, you should change it to 'Qizhen Soup', pfft..."

Laughter is like a silver bell.

Zuo Lingquan's eyes were stunned: "What's the result? Senior Taohua can't he remember to hate him for hundreds of years?"

"You know the temper of Lord Peach Blossom quite well. Lord Peach Blossom himself is also an alcoholic who loves wine. When someone comments on his masterpiece like this, his chest will probably explode with anger. If he doesn't pay attention to the sword cultivator of Zhongzhou, then other sword immortals will be fooled. , wailing all over the place, almost scolding Tomorrow Chou to death..."

Since becoming a wife, Shangguan Lingye's private conversations have gradually become a bit naughty.

When Xie Qiutao heard 'her chest was so angry', her eyes were strange, she lowered her head and glanced, and subconsciously straightened up, but it was a pity that Zuo Lingquan didn't see it in front.

Tang Jingxuan didn't like these messy practices. Seeing that Lingye was a little excited, he interjected:

"Lingye, are you bored on the boat? Xiao Zuo bought some jars of wine in the capital. The taste is very good. Why don't you come down and have a drink together in the evening?"

When Zuo Lingquan heard this, he blinked his eyes. He didn't know whether it was the alcohol bug in his stomach or some other bug.

Facing Jingxun's invitation to form a team, Lingye hesitated for a moment and then said:

"The Yan family is in such big trouble. It's not appropriate to make a fuss in other people's houses. Let's settle this matter first."

Xie Qiutao was worrying about this matter and asked:

"Sister Shangguan, do you see any problem?"

"No, everything is normal. This madness comes out of nowhere. I am checking the past case files of the Demon Division and will let you know if I find something similar."

"Oh okay..."

…

------

At night.

A day's investigation found nothing, but it did not affect the interest of the immortal masters to have a banquet. A banquet was held in the hall of Yanjiazhuang. Immortal masters from all over the place gathered together, drank and talked happily, and "fellow Taoists and immortal elders" could not be heard.

When monks enter the Spiritual Valley, they can abstain from eating grains. Therefore, few people who can eat at the table are worthy of these titles; and those who can truly be called immortals will naturally not join in the fun. Stay in their respective rooms and study this errand.

In the west house, there lived five waves of people, including Zuo Lingquan; in addition to Taoist Yunbao and Fan Jin, there were also two pairs of monks who came together. They had seen each other in the living room during the day. They had high and low Taoist practices, and they were different from each other. I'm familiar with him, but I haven't visited him yet.

There were noisy noises in the distance from time to time, but it was quiet here in the west house.

In a courtyard near the lake, Taoist Yunbao, who was wearing a blue robe, walked out of the eaves, glanced at the direction where Zuo Lingquan and others lived, and then walked slowly to the back of the villa. In just a few breaths, he arrived at Yan San Stop where you live.

Just after nightfall, Yan Sanjie, who had finished drinking, was in the study, discussing things with a few elders of the Yan family. Faint words came through the lighted window into the wind and snow:

"... Fan Jin is clearly a charlatan, and his three thousand taels of silver have been wasted. Fortunately, Taoist Master Yun has a profound knowledge of Taoism, and with his old man here, I think this time he will be sure of success..."

"...Third Master, the Young Master Zuo that Yan Ge brought today looks extraordinary..."

"I've also seen it. That Zuo Shaoxia is indeed extraordinary. He has a solid body, good kung fu, and is really handsome. The fourth girl saw it today. She secretly came to me and told me that I wanted to recruit her as my son-in-law. I’m looking for something, can’t I figure out what’s in my heart? So I came over to discuss it with Third Master..."

"Fourth brother, let's talk about business first. We will consider these things later. Song Fu, please continue."

"The girl Xie who followed Zuo Shaoxia today is also a master of immortal magic. She doesn't look as elegant as Taoist Master Yun, but she must be a true immortal master. Judging from the words and deeds of the three of them, it seems that Miss Xie is traveling with Zuo Shaoxia. How could a knight-errant in the world have a mountain fairy stick to his back and follow him around? According to my guess, Zuo Shaoxia might be the real swordsman in the mountain..."

…

Trivial talk is heard.

Taoist Yunbao under the wall frowned slightly, and after pondering for a moment, he continued to move forward, leaving the villa and arriving at the banks of the Zhuo River.

It snowed heavily and the fields were quiet.

Taoist Yunbao stood on the frozen river, first looked around the surrounding terrain, and finally focused on outside a farmhouse.

The residents of the farmhouse had already moved away to avoid the Yan family's madness. The original vegetable garden was abandoned and covered with thick snow, and a melon frame made of bamboo could be vaguely seen.

Taoist Yunbao came to the vicinity of the melon stand and carefully looked at the dry gourd vines on it, but before he could take any action, he felt violent fluctuations of spiritual energy coming from the distance.

Taoist Yunbao was startled and turned around quickly, only to see that the direction of the fluctuation was inside Yanjiazhuang...

-----

West guest house.

It was just getting dark, and the three of them wandered around outside for a whole day. Without finding anything of value, they returned to the room where they stayed and rested for the night.

A dinner was prepared at the house, and Yan Ge came over to invite it. Zuo Lingquan declined, and the servants sent the food and wine to the room.

Zuo Lingquan could skip the grains and didn't use his chopsticks. He drank wine with Jingxun and fed all the food to the dumplings; the dumplings were not picky and he ate them all as ordered.

After they had had enough wine and food, the two people naturally came to the bed. The people in Yanjiazhuang were half crazy, and it was not appropriate to be intimate in other people's houses. Zuo Lingquan didn't mess around, he just leaned on the bed and held his arms. Jingxun teases Lingye who is alone in the empty room on the boat.

The lights in the room were dim, and Tuanzi, who had eaten and had nothing to do, was lying on the quilt with his arms and legs spread out, humming a little tune "Gujiji~Gujiji".

Tang Jingxuan leaned on Zuo Lingquan's shoulder, his legs buried in the quilt, holding the Tiandun card in his hand, and pretending to be serious:

"Lingye, we searched a lot of... um... places today, but we didn't find anything... um..."

Zuo Lingquan was very honest and did not provoke the white jade tiger or knead the dumplings, but Ling Ye on the other end of the Tiandun card obviously didn't know.

Shangguan Lingye listened, interrupted his words, and said suspiciously:

"What are you doing?"

Tang Jingxun looked flustered: "I didn't do anything, um... I wanted to tell you something..."

"You...you are really...Zuo Lingquan, Tuanzi is still around, don't you know how to restrain yourself?"

Zuo Lingquan heard the jealousy in Ling Ye's cold words, which was a little funny. Just as he was about to continue acting with Jing Xun, the dumpling lying on the quilt suddenly turned over.

Tuanzi seemed to have noticed something. He looked at the window, first tilted his head, and then pointed with his wings:

"grumble?"

Seeing this, Zuo Lingquan naturally calmed down, quickly stood up, carried his sword to the window, and found that the place Tuanzi was pointing to was Xie Qiutao's room.

Xie Qiutao lived in a courtyard with two pairs of doors. At this time, the lights in the room were turned off, the doors and windows were closed, and there was no sound or movement.

Zuo Lingquan raised his hand to signal Jingxun to be quiet, and then walked out of the house silently. After making sure there was nothing strange outside, he leaned against the window and listened:

"Huh...huh..."

There was the sound of breathing in the room, rising and falling.

Even when practitioners are sleeping, their breath is long and difficult to detect. This kind of movement is obviously wrong.

Zuo Lingquan frowned and opened the door softly.

The room was dimly lit, and there were dishes and wine bottles on the round table. The dishes were not touched much, but the wine was finished.

Zuo Lingquan glanced around and found a small dark golden turtle outside the bead curtain of the bedroom, crawling out cautiously. After spotting him, he froze for a moment and quickly retracted into the turtle shell.

There is a canopy bed inside the bead curtain, with an iron pipa leaning against the bedside, and Xie Qiutao, who is wearing a warm yellow pleated skirt, lying sideways on the quilt, her body shape is extremely unnatural.

Zuo Lingquan opened the bead curtain to check, and saw Xie Qiutao on the bed, with clenched fists and bulging veins on his forehead, as if he was struggling to escape from something, his chest was high and his back was almost hanging in the air.

"Thank you girl?!"

Zuo Lingquan's expression suddenly changed, and without thinking much, he rushed to the bed to check.

But what Zuo Lingquan didn't expect was that Xie Qiutao was already 'awakened' before he even got close.

Xie Qiutao, who had been struggling on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, and his pupils turned into jet black. There was no trace of the kindness and agility of the past, but only wariness and hostility. There were even faint scale lines on the skin on the back of his hands and neck. , only the disguised cheeks were not strange.

It was the first time Zuo Lingquan saw Xie Qiutao looking like this, and he secretly thought something was wrong.

The next moment, Xie Qiutao had already jumped up, as fast as thunder, grabbed the iron pipa on the bedside with one hand, put his backhand behind his head, held it with both hands, and let out a loud shout:

"ha--"

Xie Qiutao's power in the past was already terrifying, but now it was even worse. The explosive power of his body and even his natural bloodline were stretched to the extreme, and a phantom of a turtle and a snake even appeared around him.

Zuo Lingquan's eyes were horrified. If Xie Qiutao was allowed to hit him with this blow, half of Zhuangzi would probably be gone. There was no telling whether he would be missing arms or legs. He immediately rushed forward without any hesitation, interrupting Xie Qiutao's accumulated strength. action.

After all, Zuo Lingquan was superior in realm and had no innate blood talent, but his acquired accumulation was no worse than Xie Qiutao's, and he had an absolute advantage in speed. This time, he came first, hugged Xie Qiutao's upper body, and said sternly:

"Thank you, girl! Thank you, girl!..."

If it was really a desperate fight, even if Zuo Lingquan hugged him now, it would be difficult to lock Xie Qiutao, who was slower but had inhuman strength.

But under the pressure, Xie Qiutao exploded with all his strength, pulling back his lost mind. When he picked up the pipa, his consciousness had quickly awakened, and he began to withdraw his strength before taking action.

Xie Qiutao was much smaller than Zuo Lingquan. When he woke up, he found that his feet were lifted off the ground and he was being shaken vigorously.

Xie Qiutao was in a dazed state as if he had been awakened from sleep. He didn't know what had just happened. When he suddenly saw this scene, he was naturally stunned.

The man's breath hit her face. After realizing that the person holding her and yelling was Zuo Lingquan, Xie Qiutao's eyes widened. Her first reaction was to drop her pipa, closing her eyes and saying with a red face:

"Ah - Mr. Zuo, what are you doing?"

The calf also fluttered twice in the air.

? ?

Zuo Lingquan was also stunned, then shook it hard a few times and shouted:

"What did you say I did?! You almost beat me to death, did you know that?"

"Ah? Is there any?"

"you!……"