I am Zhao Zhijing, a poor Taoist priest, and I have disciples all over the world.

For the past three days, everyone had to sleep in the open air and eat dry food every day to hide their whereabouts.

Guo Fu had rarely experienced such hardship. When she saw the disciples of Jueqing Valley preparing dinner, she thought that since the wedding was so grand, the meal must be sumptuous.

Therefore, although he didn't say anything, his eyes were always fixed on the direction of the stone house.

But after waiting for a while, the banquet served was nothing but vegetables, tofu, radish and winter melon. Not to mention fish and meat, there was not even a single bit of meat.

"We don't eat meat in the valley, so please forgive me, dear guests."

Guo Fu was unhappy after hearing this and said angrily, "Without wine, there is no feast; without meat, there is no feast. Since there is no meat, there must be wine, right?"

Before the disciple who led the way could speak, another woman walked out of the stone house. She was also wearing green clothes, which made her skin look extremely white and delicate. She looked about the same age as Cheng Ying.

Zhao Zhijing looked at her face and thought that this should be Gongsun Zhi's daughter Gongsun Lu'e.

"I am sorry to neglect you distinguished guests. Unfortunately, the ancestral precept of not drinking alcohol has been passed down for hundreds of years in the valley. We have only seen the word "fine wine" in books, but have never seen it in person."

They are all delicate girls with sweet and gentle voices. They should have a sweet smile on their faces, but no emotion can be seen on their faces, as if they were wearing a mask, which makes people feel very strange.

"I read in a book that alcohol can lead to sexual promiscuity, so I guess it's better not to drink it."

Guo Fu hated being argued with the most when Huang Rong had already picked up a piece of vegetable with chopsticks and put it into her bowl.

"Miss, you are right. I will just follow the host's wishes."

After a quick meal, everyone rested in the stone house.

The stone house looked quite large, but there was not even a bed inside, only a few straw mats. Guo Fu became irritated again when she saw this, wondering what kind of hospitality this was.

But no one else said anything, so they had to endure it in secret.

"Master Zhao, before I came here, I was wondering what this Jueqing Valley would be like."

Huang Rong frowned slightly and expressed her opinion, "The four people who went to Xiangyang to deliver the letter are fine, but the girl I just saw is so young, and her words and actions are just as stiff and pedantic."

"Moreover, these people never smiled from beginning to end. How could they look like they were having a wedding?"

Zhao Zhijing nodded in agreement, but thought in his heart, Gongsun Zhi, this shameless old man, cannot eat meat or drink alcohol in order to practice his family's martial arts, so he has to focus all his attention on women.

The impression we have of Qiu Qianchi is that she is a heroine who enjoys big chunks of meat and big bowls of wine, but she is willing to live this isolated and hard life for the sake of Gongsun Zhi.

It seems that Qiu Qianchi truly loves Gongsun Zhi!
Cheng Ying said, "I also feel that although Jueqing Valley often talks about various etiquettes, it is actually very inhumane when you think about it carefully."

Seeing that everyone had their own opinions, Zhao Zhijing listened silently and finally reminded: "If you want to fight in person, we will continue."

"But before that, everyone should be extra careful. Don't touch even flowers, plants, or trees easily, lest you fall into some trap without realizing it."

The legendary love flower had not been seen at this time, so Zhao Zhijing would not mention it for the time being.

That night the six of them rested in the stone house. Originally there was a difference between men and women, but fortunately the stone house was divided into inside and outside, so Huang Rong and the other two slept inside, while Zhao Zhijing and his disciples rested outside.

Although Zhao Zhijing and Yang Guo were taking turns guarding outside, Huang Rong and the other two still couldn't sleep well as they were in this place where they didn't know whether it was good or bad. Only Guan Man'er didn't care and soon he could be heard snoring.

"Master, do you think that the Master of the Gongsun Valley has really imprisoned Grandmaster Zhou in the Jueqing Valley?"

Originally, Yang Guo was supposed to guard the first half of the night, but when it was Zhao Zhijing's turn to guard the second half, Yang Guo couldn't fall asleep, so he asked in a low voice.

Zhao Zhijing glanced at his disciple and chuckled, "Don't worry, Valley Master Gongsun's martial arts may be as high as two or three floors, but your great-grandmaster Zhou's martial arts are as high as four or five floors." Yang Guo knew that his master was trying to comfort him, but he still felt relieved in his heart, and then asked, "Master, how high are your martial arts?"

This time Zhao Zhijing did not answer, but pretended to scold: "You little brat, go to bed!"

After his disciple lay down, Zhao Zhijing looked silently at the roof and slowly let out a breath.

“It’s almost as high as a six-story building.”

The night was peaceful and nothing unexpected happened. The next morning, everyone woke up early and walked out of the stone house to wait for the people from Jueqing Valley to come and take them to see Valley Master Gongsun.

Yesterday I was busy traveling, and it was almost evening, so I didn't pay much attention to the scenery in the valley.

At this time, with the rising sun, I found that the grass and trees were lush, the flowers were in full bloom, there were cranes circling, deer were calling, and white rabbits and yellow rats were looking for food everywhere. It was really like a paradise.

"If Gongsun Zhi is still going his own way like in the original novel, this Jueqing Valley can be left to his disciples to practice in seclusion."

Although Zhao Zhijing helped Guo Jing and his wife to defend Xiangyang, he knew that the Southern Song Dynasty was too weak to recover and that it was inevitable for Mongolia to unify the world.

All I can do is to delay the arrival of this day so that Guo Jing and his wife's generation can have a good ending.

By that time, Huashan might not be safe, and Jueqing Valley might be the best way out.

"Good morning everyone, please have breakfast."

Gongsun Lu'e walked out of the woods, holding a flower basket filled with a lot of petals.

He came closer and presented the flower basket to everyone.

"Eat some flower petals?"

Seeing Guo Fu's look of disbelief, Gongsun Lu'e reached out, took two petals and put them into her mouth, chewing them slowly. Everything happened naturally and there was no intention of joking.

"I guess this is the love flower. The more beautiful it looks on the surface, the more dangerous it is inside."

Zhao Zhijing followed suit and ate a few petals. At first he found them extremely sweet, even sweeter than honey.

But when it comes time to swallow it, there is an indescribable bitter taste that makes people want to vomit but can't bear to, and want to swallow but can't.

"I never thought that I would also taste the bitterness of love today."

When the others saw Zhao Zhijing eating it, they all tried a few petals out of curiosity. Their expressions were different and no one knew what they were thinking.

"May I ask if we can meet Valley Master Gongsun today?"

The wedding was tomorrow, and Zhao Zhijing wanted to find out more about it in advance, so he asked.

"Please wait here for a while. There are many things to do in the valley, and the valley master needs to take care of them all."

"I guess we'll invite our distinguished guests to meet us after noon."

After Gongsun Lu'e answered, she bowed and left. Everyone returned to the stone house to rest or admire the scenery.

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon and someone came to invite them as expected. This time it was not Gongsun Lue'e, but the disciple from Jueqing Valley who had rowed here yesterday.

"The Valley Master invites you. Please follow me." (End of this chapter)