ask willow

There was silence in the darkness, only the very light dripping sound, which sounded desolate and cold.

After Liu Zhongyi exercised his skills and adjusted his breath, he felt that the suffocation of his internal injuries had eased a lot. He picked up the fire and lit it, and saw Wen Yan lying on his side with his arms pillowed on his side, as if he had fallen asleep.

The fight in the morning was too exhausting, and the man had lost a lot of blood, so it was inevitable that he would be sleepy and exhausted.

Liu Zhongyi didn't want to disturb him, but he didn't want to turn off the fire for a while, so he just got closer and looked down slightly.Wen Yan's face was still pale, and there was not much blood on his lips. When he fell asleep so quietly, he looked a little weak.

Liu Zhongyi couldn't help raising his hand to touch that eyebrow, but when he was about to touch it, he stopped, stopped, and finally wanted to withdraw it for fear of disturbing him.

But without waiting for him to move, Wen Yan opened his eyes, with a smile on his brows, grabbed his hand and pressed it to the side of his face, propped his other hand on the ground to sit up with his strength, and looked at him like water.

"Master..." Liu Zhongyi was startled in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. When his hands were held by him, he felt a little cold, and his cheeks were also slightly cold, "When did you wake up?"

Wen Yan chuckled and said, "It was just when you lit the fire."

Liu Zhongyi turned his eyes a little uncomfortable, and thought to himself, didn't that person know clearly about his actions just now?After a while, he thought that since they had communicated with each other, and even made a promise of life and death in the future, why should they hide it anymore, so they raised their eyes and looked directly at the past.

Those peach blossom eyes seemed to be showing undisguised affection in the faint light of the fire, clear and bright, Wen Yan was startled for a moment, then realized what he was thinking, and couldn't help but chuckle.

He had always hoped to let this person reveal his feelings in front of him, but now it seemed that it was not too far away.

Liu Zhongyi said, "Is it cold?"

Wen Yan shook his head and said with a smile: "I'm fine." There was no sign of fever in the body, so at least the wound was not infected, "How long have I been asleep?"

"It's about nightfall." It was impossible to know the exact time in this cave, and Liu Zhongyi could only make some estimates.

Wen Yan nodded, and said: "Qi Su will definitely send people to look around, but there should be other exits from this place."

Liu Zhongyi took the fire and got up and looked inside the cave. The cave was very large, with stalactites of various shapes and quiet dark river stretching far away, with no end in sight in the darkness.He looked at the pool of water for a moment, and said: "Follow the direction of the water flow, you can probably get out."

"Well, even if there is no hole, it is probably possible to get out of the dark river, but it is a bit dangerous." Wen Yan stood up while supporting the rock wall, feeling the pain behind his knees, and frowned slightly.

Liu Zhongyi keenly sensed that something was wrong, walked up to him, wanted to lower his body to look at the injury, but Wen Yan held him back, and said: "Don't look, it's indeed hurt some bones and muscles, I'm afraid he won't be able to recover so quickly. "

Liu Zhongyi frowned, but did not speak.

Wen Yan sighed, took off the jade ring on his finger, put it in his palm, and said, "Take this."

Liu Zhongyi clasped his hand, but refused to take it, raised his eyes slightly to look at him, and frowned deeper, "I can't leave you here alone, in case those people come back or there is any danger..."

Wen Yan spread his palm, looked at it, put the jade ring on his ring finger, and then said in a low voice: "If you talk about danger, you are many times more dangerous than me. With this, you will remember Promise me."

Liu Zhongyi met those firm and warm eyes, wanted to say something, but finally bit her lower lip.

"Counting the distance, there is only one day left now. You must go to the appointed place and inform Senior Yuan that they have changed their plan, otherwise..." Wen Yan did not continue, but raised his hand to hug him, and put his chin against him shoulder, "There must be Qi Su's people outside. If you take me with you, it will be inconvenient to move, but it will be a burden... I know you must understand. Besides, I am like this, when I face the Mingsha Sect, it will also help me." Nothing to you, I'm afraid there will be..."

"Stop talking." Liu Zhongyi interrupted him, hugged him back, and took a deep breath.

"Yeah." Wen Yan patted him on the back lightly: "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"But, the red line..." Liu Zhongyi couldn't help exerting a little force on his hand.

Wen Yan smiled softly after hearing this, and said, "It's just a little pain, how can I not bear it, I'm only worried about you."

Liu Zhongyi let go of his hand, but his eyes looked at him for a moment, as if he was hiding many words that he hadn't said yet.

Wen Yan still smiled, took out a wax pill from his bosom, handed it to him, and said: "If Xie Mo still has martial arts for a while, and you are right, you can find the right time to use this. Also, I will give you You must carry the sachet with you."

Liu Zhongyi held the wax pill and nodded.

Wen Yan touched his brows and eyes with nostalgia, and said, "Remember, we... live and die together."

Liu Zhongyi grabbed his hand, that hand looked as beautiful as high-quality jade, and the red mark on it looked a bit strangely beautiful, he lowered his head and kissed the red line, and replied softly but firmly: "I Know."

Wen Yan's heart trembled because of that tenderness, although he was reluctant to give up, he still said: "Go."

Liu Zhongyi didn't respond, put out the fire, leaned closer and kissed his lips, closed his eyes slightly, and nibbled on his pale lips.

In the darkness, such actions seemed more intimate and gentle, and Wen Yanqi acquiesced in his capture and plunder.

It's passion, but it's also anxiety.

When Liu Zhongyi left, he took a hard bite on his lips, and Wen Yan tasted a bit of saltiness, as if bloodstained from his bite.

Liu Zhongyi didn't light the fire again, didn't speak any more, turned around and left, and walked deep into the cave.

His footsteps were so light that they could hardly be heard, and there seemed to be only the sound of quiet water droplets in the cave. Wen Yan raised his hand to caress the stinging lower lip, closed his eyes, and did not move for a long time.

Liu Zhongyi didn't look back either, and walked step by step along the stone wall to the depth where he couldn't see his fingers.

I don't know how long he walked, but he couldn't hear that person's breath, and the front became narrow again, and there was no dry place under his feet. He had to step into the water, and the cold feeling spread from his toes to his legs, not far away. There was a faint light.

When he got closer, the water was up to his knees, and he saw clearly that it was a very narrow hole, and the water flow was connected to the outside from there, and the light of the hole was just the faint moonlight outside at this time. .

Liu Zhongyi walked there slowly, and when he reached the entrance of the cave, the water had already soaked up to his waist.When I touched the edge of the underwater hole with my probe, I felt that although it was narrow, as long as the method was right, there was still enough width and height to pass through.

Liu Zhongyi put the fire bag, sachet, pills and some non-wet items into a spare leather bag, tightened the mouth, looked back at the seemingly endless darkness in the cave, took a deep breath, Holding his breath, he submerged under the surface of the water, and with the guidance of that little light, he cautiously and slowly passed through the entrance of the cave.

After swimming in the water for a while, he was about to go ashore, but as soon as he surfaced, he heard the sound of footsteps coming from far and near, he immediately dived into the water again, holding his breath.

I vaguely heard a person on the bank say: "Is there something in the river just now?"

No one answered, and Liu Zhongyi also held his breath and remained motionless.

After a while, another person seemed to say: "Maybe it was a fish just now, go and look elsewhere."

Liu Zhongyi stayed for a while, and then swam along the direction of the current for a while, and then floated up a little bit, listening intently to the movement around him, and only went ashore when he was sure that there was no one around, not daring to stay longer, and found a giant tree to hold The body was hidden, and Fang was slightly relieved.

After making his clothes half dry, Liu Zhongyi checked the direction and headed towards Chiyue Lake quickly.

They previously agreed with Yuan Qingfeng and others to meet in a small city called Luoyun outside Chiyue Lake. Chiyue Lake is a must pass. However, the terrain around Chiyue Lake is complicated. Most of them will not be able to get out, or even strayed into the swamp, but if they follow the main path...

Liu Zhongyi couldn't help but slow down when he approached the junction of Wangran Mountain and Chiyue Lake. Based on his understanding of Qi Su, that person saw that he and Wen Yan had to pass on the news. However, I am waiting here, just like I was at the intersection of Zhongzhou and Yunchuan at that time.

Liu Zhongyi hid his figure in the canopy of the trees, looking at the main road by the Chiyue Lake not far away, the moonlight was dim there, and it was even darker under the shade of the trees.He estimated in his mind how many chances he had to get away from Qi Su with his current physical strength, and finally shook his head secretly, his eyes turned to the other side of the vertical and horizontal path that was cut into fragments by vegetation and swamps.

Both are bad strategies.

Liu Zhongyi frowned, and glanced at Chiyue Lake, Luoyun City was diagonally opposite the lake, but from here, only faint lights could be seen.Looking at the distant twilight, his heart suddenly moved, and he looked at the river connecting the lake not far away, hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind.

With the cover of the trees, Liu Zhongyi quickly moved to the river, carefully dived into the water, and then followed the river to the middle of Chiyue Lake——

Although Chiyue Lake is big, his physical strength is enough to swim to the opposite side, as long as he is careful not to make too much noise, he should not be noticed.

Liu Zhongyi dived into the water and tried his best to swim towards the opposite side of the lake. After a long time, he came out of the water to take a breath, orient himself, and then dived into the water again.After repeating this, I don't know how long it took, the lights on the opposite bank that became sparse due to the darkness of the night gradually became clear, and his physical strength was continuously lost in the icy water. Liu Zhongyi didn't dare to neglect, and still tried his best to approach that side.

The moon was gradually setting in the west, and when Liu Zhongyi climbed ashore almost exhausted, he heard the crowing of cocks coming from the city.

He leaned against the willow tree by the lake to rest for a while, used his internal strength to dry his drenched clothes, and tied up his messy hair again, so that he would not look too embarrassed, but just like an ordinary Traveler.

After sorting out, the sky was getting brighter. This is a post city on the official road. At this time, there were scattered passers-by, and Liu Zhongyi followed them into the city.

After entering the city, Liu Zhongyi followed the simple signs left by Yuan Qingfeng and others to an inn. The inn was called Yunsu, and it looked like nothing special.

As soon as he entered the door, the shop waiter came up to greet him, and asked attentively whether he wanted to be a top student or stay in the shop.

Before Liu Zhongyi could answer, someone said: "This young master is my friend."

At a glance, I saw a young man with simple clothes and a handsome face sitting in a seat near the window in the lobby. It was Izumo.

There were still few people at this time, and as soon as he came in, Izumo could naturally see it.

The waiter then asked him to sit there, Liu Zhongyi nodded slightly, signaling that he didn't have to follow.The waiter returned to the counter knowingly, just as a pretty woman came out, he was taken aback and greeted repeatedly.

The woman seemed to be the wife of the shopkeeper of the inn, she gave him a charming look, and ordered her to take care of the tables and chairs.

Liu Zhongyi didn't see anything unusual, and was about to look away, the woman seemed to have noticed his gaze, her red lips were slightly drawn, and she smiled at him with a winking eye.

Liu Zhongyi turned his eyes away, walked to the Izumo table and sat down, and asked, "Are you alone?"

Izumo shook his head, and said: "Young Xia Qin has been guarding all night, but he didn't wait for you, so he went to rest now, and I waited here when I got up. I didn't see you yesterday, and they were very worried." He paused slightly, a little hesitant asked, "But what happened?"

Liu Zhongyi's face remained unchanged, but his voice was a little cold: "This matter is a long story, I will talk about it when I go back to my room and see Senior Yuan."

"Okay," Izumo nodded, pointed to the breakfast on the table, and said, "You must be very tired, so eat something first."

"Ah."

He didn't eat anything since yesterday, and he expended a lot of physical strength, so he naturally felt hungry, but Liu Zhongyi couldn't feel the taste at all when he ate the soft and hot steamed buns.

I kept thinking about the person who stayed alone in the cave so that he could leave smoothly without burden. There was nothing in that place, only the continuous stone walls and the quiet pool. There is red thread Gu, but he can't stay by his side.

Only then did he suddenly understand the mood of that man when he cut off the iron chain on Muyue Cliff, and he also understood why he refused to leave him to fight with Qi Su yesterday...

Looking at the jade ring in his hand, Liu Zhongyi thought of the man's gentle and smiling eyes, and felt a lingering pain in his heart.

If it is possible, from now on, even in the line of life and death, they will be by their side.

"Coming."

Xie Miao raised the side curtain of the carriage, glanced out, said something pointed, then turned to look at the man in blue shirt sitting beside him with his eyes closed.

Liu Zhongqing opened her eyes, frowned slightly, for a moment, but didn't intend to pay attention to him, and turned her gaze away.

Xie Miao didn't follow his temperament, raised his hand to clasp his chin, faced himself, and said with a half-smile: "Why, are you guilty?"

They were still far away from the Yinshan faction at this time, and what Xie Lu was referring to was obviously not the so-called destination.

Liu Zhongqing frowned, and before she could answer, she heard a report from someone outside the carriage: "Master, there is a message."

Xie Man raised his eyebrows slightly, let go of him for the time being, lifted the car curtain, and took what the man handed over—it was just a small piece of paper, which seemed to be plucked from the leg of a pigeon.

Xie Man opened the note, glanced at it a few times, raised the corners of his lips, and brought it to Liu Zhongqing's eyes.

Liu Zhongqing took a look, his face suddenly changed, his thin lips were pursed, and after a while, seeing that Xie Miao didn't seem to intend to say anything, he asked coldly, "When did you find out?"

Xie Min said: "As soon as Li Yan died, I knew something was wrong." He raised his brows slightly, and looked at the man in front of him who was still looking hard and not in a hurry, his voice was low, "There is a kind of Gu in him, It's called 'Lianlizhi', twin male and female, no matter which one dies, the other will die immediately. When the Gu worm died, I naturally knew that something happened to the main altar."

Liu Zhongqing frowned slightly, and said, "I was negligent."

"An accident happened in the general altar, but no one sent a letter. Naturally, it was tampered with. Of course, I will continue to investigate." Xie Miao said: "The thing happened so coincidentally, and the concealment was so strict, it can be seen that it didn't happen overnight. Except you, I don't think second-guessing."

Liu Zhongqing snorted coldly, and said, "Thanks to the leader for looking up to me."

"I think you came back to be an internal messenger to pass on the news, and I didn't know who in the sect secretly voted for you, so I called Qi Su's Mingsha sect hidden in the ghost building, and finally found the person who sent the message— —Fu Jin."

"Presumably Fu Jin has already confessed everything?"

"good."

"You guessed that we were going to take action in Wangran Mountain, so we sent Guardian Zuo to lay an ambush under Wangran Mountain first, and also deployed people in Luoyun City to monitor all actions." Liu Zhongqing raised his eyes slightly, "The leader is a good method."

"Acceptance." Xie Miao raised his hand to caress his side face, with a slightly cool smile: "Tell me, what should I do to you?"

Liu Zhongqing was still expressionless, and said coldly: "Of course I want to kill or cut into pieces, so take it as you please."

Xie Mu nodded, smiled, and said, "Then what about the others?"

Liu Zhongqing raised her eyebrows and sneered: "Why ask me, could it be that the prisoner of the next class can influence the decision of the leader?"

Xie Miao was not angry, but said indifferently: "Even if you don't care about other people, don't you even care about your brother?"

Liu Zhongqing closed her eyes, pursed her thin lips, and said, "After being a member of the Yun family, how can I beg for mercy from my enemies and live on in this world."

Xie Miao was silent for a while, his expression was slightly cold, and he said, "Not bad."

As he said, he clasped the man's wrist, took out an iron chain from nowhere, bound him with one hand, and locked him on the hard iron window lattice of the carriage, "Then you just watch, what is the result of this chess game?" .”

Liu Zhongqing took a look at the iron chain, but didn't care, just sarcastically said: "How can the leader be sure that he must be invincible?"

"I didn't think so," Xie Miao looked at him quietly, and said for a while, "If you lose, it's not bad to take it as a compliment to you."

Liu Zhongqing frowned, turned her face away, and did not speak again.

Noon is the busiest time in the tavern in the lobby of the inn. The guests passing by here are almost full. Yuan Qingfeng and others sat at the big round table by the window, and the rest of the disciples also found places to sit down. I ordered food and wine.

In the morning, after Liu Zhongyi explained what happened yesterday one by one, Yuan Qingfeng let him rest for half a day, and after discussing with everyone, he decided to take action at the junction of Chiyue Lake and Wangran Mountain—since Mingsha Sect was in Wangran Mountain is also prepared, if not, they will choose this boundary point, neither of them is prepared, and there is no advantage.

After the lunch break, everyone planned to go there after eating.

The waiter in the tavern was so busy that he was sweating profusely, his feet barely touched the ground. The shopkeeper's wife, who was originally thinking about the abacus at the counter, also carried a teapot to help the guests refill tea.That woman has a pretty appearance and exquisite figure, which caused many guests to stare at her secretly, but she didn't care about those gazes, she smiled sweetly and tactfully met her, but it just happened to be just right, and she clicked on it.

When the woman gracefully walked over to pour tea for them, Liu Zhongyi frowned slightly. He looked at her figure and thought for a moment. He always felt that this person was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. .

When the woman met his gaze, she gave a wide-eyed smile, vaguely seductive.

Liu Zhongyi lowered his eyes, and picked up the cup of tea. The tea fragrance mixed with heat rose from the cup, but there seemed to be a different kind of fragrance in it, which was very faint, but he could feel it.

Somewhat familiar, but I can't remember what it is for a while.

Liu Zhongyi raised the teacup to his lips, but did not drink it, but looked at the man calmly.

It was thought that the teapot was too full, and when the woman was pouring tea, some tea overflowed from the opening on the top, she quickly stretched out her hand to support the bottom of the pot, and then carefully filled it up.

It was a very ordinary movement, but Liu Zhongyi still felt a subtle sense of incongruity.

The tea smoke filled his eyes, his heart moved, he stood up and walked in front of the woman, and said, "I'll do it." Then he took the teapot and held the bottom of the teapot with one hand like her, the hot temperature immediately spread to the palm of his hand, If it wasn't for the calluses on his martial arts hands, he probably couldn't stand the scalding heat.

Liu Zhongyi thought about it, and suddenly remembered where the familiarity of the aroma in the tea came from——

That was the smell he and Wen Yan had smelled when they passed the cold-year-old sand orchid on Banxing Ridge.

"Don't drink." Liu Zhongyi stopped the disciple of the Yinshan School who was about to drink tea, put the teapot on the table, clasped the dagger in his sleeve, turned to look at the woman, and said, "Who are you?" who?"

The woman opened her eyes slightly, was stunned for a moment, and smiled sweetly: "The young lady really couldn't understand what the young master said."

Liu Zhongyi clasped her right hand, not paying attention to her surprised cry, turned her palm over, and said coldly: "How can ordinary women have such thick calluses on their hands, especially here, only practice swords or some hidden weapons Will you stay?"

The woman blinked her eyes, and said rather pitifully: "Master, you are joking. The little girl only got calluses on her hands when she was doing rough work since she was a child. I don't know anything about what the Master said."

Unmoved, Liu Zhongyi pinched her veins and said calmly: "Then tell me, why do you add Hansui Shalan to the tea?"

The woman didn't seem to expect him to say this, and she didn't know how to answer.

Liu Zhongyi didn't ask any further questions, but just looked at the shop waiter who was stunned, and said, "Is this really your shopkeeper's wife?"

At this time, the bustling noise in the restaurant had gradually died down, and those visitors who noticed something was wrong were all looking at this side, and some timid ones were already packing up their things at hand, planning to leave immediately if any fight happened.

The shop clerk looked at the woman hesitantly, then at Liu Zhongyi and the others, seemed to weigh for a long time, before he answered in a dumb voice: "No, it's not..."

Liu Zhongyi turned to the woman and said, "What else do you have to say?"

Now that the matter was over, the woman didn't make any further distinctions, and the expression on her face gradually changed from charming and pitiful to cold and indifferent.

Liu Zhongyi frowned slightly, staring at her face, said: "Have we met?"

The woman lowered her eyebrows, as if she didn't intend to answer.

Seeing that look, Liu Zhong couldn't help but become more certain, and put his hand behind her ear, and sure enough, he felt a thin layer of something that didn't match the skin, which seemed to be the edge of a human skin mask.

Before he could take off the mask, the woman shot out suddenly, and shot a short arrow from her sleeve, directly hitting his face!

Liu Zhongyi didn't let go, and tore off the mask forcefully, and turned around while holding her veins, lightly dodged the sleeve arrow, and the dagger was already on her neck when she stood still.

The woman bit her red lip, turned her face away, but no longer resisted.

Liu Zhongyi tapped his acupoints, and said calmly: "So it's you, Miss Fei Cui."