Looking for plums under the moon

Ling Guyue naturally wouldn't worry about Shen Luo jumping into the water with him to catch up, because he knew that although the man's martial arts were unfathomable, he was totally afraid of water.Shen Luo would never go to any place involving the head of the river by the river, probably because a past event in his youth had left a shadow in his heart.

On the contrary, Ling Guyue's water quality is excellent.Shen Dongxie is located on a pool of water, and there is a waterfall flying into the pool not far away. He often takes a bath in the pool.Because there used to be a plum grove here in the old days, in Mengchun season, the falling flowers are like snow, and there is a layer of pink and white petals floating on the clear surface of the pool, so it is named "Luoyingtan".

In the winter solstice of a certain year, it snowed heavily for three consecutive days, and the cliffs in the forest were covered with icicles everywhere, but the Luoying Lake was still swaying with the heat like gossamer.Shen Luo came to Shen Dongxie to look for him to eat dumplings at Pingyi Peak, but he couldn't find anyone after searching for a long time. In the end, the boy secretly pulled him aside, and pointed to the smoky pool among the plum trees behind the house.

At that time, the plum groves here had not been destroyed, and the plum blossoms bloomed, fighting the snow proudly, and surrounded the small pool between the clouds and water, which was really beautiful.

Shen Luo pushed aside the snow-covered plum tips, and saw Ling Guyue soaking in the water in the cold winter months at a glance.

The smog shrouded Luoyingtan, Ling Guyue seemed to be in a painting, with her hair winding and scattered in the water, her appearance was bright and dazzling.

Seeing Shen Luo coming, Ling Guyue spit out a string of bubbles from her mouth and slowly surfaced, brushed the wet hair on her forehead and said with a smile: "Junior brother, you are here."

Shen Luo looked at the snow all over the ground, and thought of Master's words again, "Brother, Master told us to eat dumplings."

Ling Guyue stretched her waist in the water, revealing her suet-like waist, and then slowly swam to the shore, picked up a pile of clothes on the stone, put them on calmly and followed him away .

……

Since you chose to walk by water, you might as well take the river to go further.

Now that Ling Guyue lost her white horse, she was restrained when she landed, so she simply drifted along the current until she stopped in a thicket of reeds downstream.

He let out a long breath, grabbed the tough and slippery reed roots and landed on the shore. He also broke two stalks of reeds and alarmed several egrets.Fortunately, the streamer sword on his back was still there, so he reassuredly twisted his sleeves and walked along the shore with his hair loose.

Stepping on the soft muddy beach with wet shoes, I felt an indescribable feeling on the soles of my feet.Looking around, there is still barren land, not to mention towns, even half of the village is missing.

I walked along the river for about three or four miles, and it was noon in a blink of an eye, but the sky was overcast and the sun never showed up.The clothes on Ling Guyue's body were not completely dry yet, sticking to her body sticky, wrapped layer after layer, damp and airtight, very uncomfortable.Although he didn't mind these little things, his face was already a little pale, and he really needed a place to rest.

But right now there was really no shelter, so I had to shake my clothes and continue walking forward.

Turning a corner along the river, I saw a forest suddenly appeared on the river beach that was still weeds, and there was a hut in the forest.

Ling Guyue stretched her brows and thought to herself: I finally saw him, and I don't know if there is anyone in the room?It is close to the river, so it should be a fishing household...

When he came to this hut, he couldn't help being a little disappointed.

The hut is made of mud, the doorway is overgrown with weeds, and there is not even a footprint. It seems that no one has been here for a long time.Almost half of the yellow mud on the south wall has fallen off, and there are still a few cracks at the thinnest part of the wall, as if it had been eaten by moths.The doors and windows on the wall are tightly closed, and the broken window paper rubs against the wind to make a hissing sound. The decayed wooden lattices are full of spider threads, and a dark piece is peeped inside, as if a mountain goblin is hiding in a legendary storybook. old den.There is also a rough wooden plaque hanging on the door, which reads: Temple of the River.Because a nail on one side fell off, the wooden plaque hung obliquely, and when the wind blew, it began to shake unceasingly, and it might fall down at any time.

Ling Guyue thought to herself: Can such a ruined temple be called a temple?Could Shen Dongxie be renamed Shen Donggong?

Thinking of it this way, I was in a good mood, so I walked in.

Following that, with a "creak", the wooden door was pushed open dryly by him, and a clay statue of a river god was in front of him.The paint on the statue was mottled, and it was covered with a dull red silk, which was covered with dust.Looking at the head of the statue again, it has a ferocious expression and wide-eyed anger, staring straight at the river in front of the door, holding a three-headed iron fork high in its hand, as if it is about to stab the intruder to death at any time.

Ling Guyue picked up the cobwebs hanging down in the room, walked to the altar, bent down to identify carefully, and vaguely recognized a few things on the table: three plain white porcelain plates, filled with There are rotten apples and a few pieces of cakes, and there is a censer with half a piece of incense stuck in the middle.

The fruit must not be eaten, and this fragrance is not the plum blossom fragrance he usually uses, and it will not have a calming effect, but the two old futons on the ground are good enough for people to sit on.

He didn't dislike it either, he patted the dust on it a little, lifted up his half-dry clothes and sat down cross-legged.

It has only been ten days since he was accused of killing his nephew from the same sect, and now he left Pingchuan in embarrassment.

In the past ten days, Ling Guyue has been reduced from a high-ranking master uncle to a restless person in a ruined temple.Once he calmed down, many things were going on in his mind, which made him extremely tired, and he had no time to care whether this was the quiet Shen Dongxie all the year round, nor was it the carved and fragrant carpet under his body.

He closed his eyes, leaned against the altar and fell into a deep sleep, but his brows were slightly furrowed in his dream, and the pair of butterfly-like eyelashes were still trembling slightly.

Ten days ago.

Shen Dongxie's little boy was leaning against the bamboo door and dozing off, with his head drooping in front of his lapel bit by bit.

Suddenly he heard someone walking quickly, and opened his eyes to see that it was Ji Yang.So he stretched out his chubby arm to stop him, "Senior Brother Ji, the master is still taking a nap and no one is here, so go back."

Ji Yang pushed him away with a rare sullen face, "I have something important to do with Master Ling!"

It was the first time for Xiao Tong to be treated so rudely, and he was so frightened that his tears filled his eyes. He hid behind the doorpost and watched him go in blankly.

Ji Yang entered the bamboo house, quickly turned around and closed the door, and threatened the boy with one last look: "This matter is no small matter, if you dare to find someone else, Master Ling will definitely punish you!"

Xiaotong knew that Ling Guyue would not punish him, after all, the master was so kind, he would not even say harsh words to him, and his nature was so indifferent, sometimes he would find a cool place to sit for a long time, and even forget that there was such a person beside him , how can you punish yourself?It's just that he was bluffed by Ji Yang at that time, so he forgot to think deeply for a moment.

Ji Yang walked into Ling Guyue's bedroom, feeling dazed for a moment.This bamboo house is very exquisite. There are bookcases and sword racks inside. Several moon-white curtains hang down from the beams of the house. The wind shakes the bamboo outside the window, and the thin bamboo shadows are reflected on the curtains.

Through the curtain, one can vaguely see the wooden couch in the bedroom behind the tent, as well as the figure lying on the couch.

Ling Guyue lay on her side, a red dress covered the bed.The black hair was like ink, piled beside the white face like jade, and there was a trace of tranquility on the half face covered by the hair.

Ling Guyue heard footsteps approaching slowly, thought it was the boy who came to wake him up, turned over and whispered: "It's not the hour yet..."

Following his movements, a strand of hair slipped from his cheek, and that bloody mole appeared in Ji Yang's eyes.

Standing by the couch, Ji Yang carefully traced his eyebrows and eyes, the more he looked at him, the more agitated and hesitant he became.

One is his biological brother, and the other is his uncle whom he admires, how should he choose?

Just when he was hesitating, Ling Guyue seemed to notice it, and suddenly opened his eyes.

Ling Guyue glanced at him blankly at first, then sat up slowly after seeing who was coming, "Nephew Ji Tong?"

Ji Yang's heartbeat slowed down a beat as he opened his eyes, and then seeing his slender neck under the slightly messy collar, he couldn't help swallowing.

At this moment, he made a decision.

"Uncle Shi, I'm Ji Yang, I have something to say to Uncle Shi." Ji Yang took a step closer, put his knees against the wooden couch, and simply sat on it, the two of them were immediately separated by two punches.

Ling Guyue's face remained unchanged, "Nephew, please tell me." But her body silently moved back three points.

"Ji Yang didn't care about etiquette today. He didn't come here today for anything else, but because Ji Yang liked his uncle and wanted to befriend his uncle forever, so he came here to confess his love." Ji Yang stared at Ling Guyue, all the time The appearance of vice potential.

Ling Guyue raised her eyebrows, but she didn't seem to be angry. The corners of her mouth curled up, and she straightened her clothes while saying, "Nephew, although you and I are about the same age, I can understand that there are so many good uncles in the world, but There is a difference in seniority, I'm afraid..."

"I have made up my mind, and I am not afraid of what others think of Ji Yang," Ji Yang said proudly, "I am not afraid of saying something to deceive my master and destroy my ancestors. If my uncle is afraid of someone pointing fingers, at worst Ji Yang will take my uncle and leave Pingchuan That's right."

"What should I do..." Ling Guyue shook her head and laughed, "I don't want to leave Pingchuan, nor do I want to have a private relationship with my nephew."

Ji Yang didn't seem to care about Ling Guyue's words, he stared at him and said, "Master, do you know about my elder brother's death in Xishan?"

Ling Guyue frowned, "Oh? Nephew Ji Tong... Didn't he come to me for chess lessons the day before yesterday? When did it happen?"

"Just last night," Ji Yang gave him a meaningful look, "It's okay if others don't know, and uncle doesn't know how he died?"

"Martial nephew, what do you mean by that?" Ling Guyue was puzzled. The two brothers of Ji's family usually ran towards him every three days, and the other always stood looking at him from a distance. Dare to go as far as today, it seems that it is time for the head to promulgate a rule about respecting teachers and elders.

"Uncle, brother Youshi suddenly received a note yesterday, do you know what was written on the note?" Ji Yang got up and walked back and forth in front of the couch with his hands behind his back, "Zishiyueban, Xishan night party, Burn it after reading it." He suddenly turned his head, stared at Ling Guyue and said: "Uncle Shi, brother wanted to show me that Uncle Shi made an appointment with him instead of me, so he specially brought it to me to see, the handwriting is indeed Shishu Uncle, I have been resentful for a long time for this."

Ling Guyue said: "But I never wrote a note for Nephew Ji Tong."

"What I saw with my own eyes can be false?" Ji Yang said with certainty, "Everyone with a discerning eye knows what Ji Tong thinks about my uncle, and it must be because my uncle thought he was annoying, so he tricked him to Xishan and killed him in the dark There is only one wound on Ji Tong's body, that is the back of the neck, and the sword is fatal. If it wasn't for someone very close to take advantage of his undefense, he would be a swordsman with extremely high martial arts. Coincidentally, before the note was burned, it was me Seeing it, the uncle said, can this matter have nothing to do with you?"

Ling Guyue changed her posture and leaned on the railing to listen to him continue: "Uncle Shi, now the Great Elder has taken over this matter, I haven't mentioned the matter of the note to anyone, if Uncle Shi wants things to be reversed There is room..." At this point, Ji Yang's eyes paused on him ambiguously, "I hope my uncle can think about what I said."

"Don't think about it," Ling Guyue was still waiting with a smile on her face, but there was no smile in her eyes, "I didn't write that note, and I didn't kill Nephew Ji Tong. You can tell the elder, what do I have to do?" fear?"

Ji Yang stared straight at him and was silent for a long time, and after a long while, he let out a cold snort before leaving.

Ling Guyue breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the gauze clothes on the wooden frame, and then remembered to call Xiao Tong to come in and wait for him to change clothes.

The little boy regained his composure and asked nervously, "Master, are you alright?"

"Nothing." Ling Guyue looked calm, let him fasten his belt, and asked again: "I heard that something happened to Nephew Ji Tong?"

The little boy shook his head like a rattle, "Master, we haven't been out of Shen Dongxie for more than ten days, and the sect master hasn't come here for a few days because he went down the mountain. How can outside things reach us?"

"Oh? The sect leader has gone down the mountain? When did it happen?" Ling Guyue thought to herself: No wonder I feel like I haven't seen Shen Luo for some time.

"Master, that day you were fishing with the master. When you were fishing, you saw that the master caught more than you, so you suddenly dumped the fish into the pool and said you wanted to eat lotus root. Unfortunately, there is no such thing in Shen Dongxie. Lotus. The head said that he happened to be going to Lin'an to do some business, and he would bring back some lotus root." The boy said with his eyes wide open.

Only then did Ling Guyue get a little impression, and asked again: "Then did he say when he will come back?"

Xiaotong thought for a while and replied, "It's tomorrow."

Ling Guyue nodded, "Understood."

The little boy grinned foolishly, and suddenly thought of something, and asked timidly, "Master, Senior Brother Ji Yang just came over... Is there something important?"

Ling Guyue frowned, touched the top of his head and said, "Go and find out if something happened to Nephew Ji Tong..."

Xiaotong came back soon, and the news he brought back was indeed that Ji Tong was killed in Xishan, and the murderer was still unknown.

Ling Guyue originally thought that this matter would come to light soon, but on the second day, before Shen Luo came back, the Great Elder sent dozens of white-clothed disciples to invite him to the Tianxuan Peak Zhiqiantang.

In Pingchuan, the head of the sect wears black clothes, the peers of the head of the sect wear red clothes, and the elders wear gold clothes.The disciples at the bottom are dressed in white, blue, blue, yellow clothes, etc. from high to low.

The white-clothed disciples have a very high status in Pingchuan, because of their superior martial arts, only the master can direct orders.Of course, if the head is not there, the three elders can order it at the same time.

And Tianxuan Peak is located in the deepest part of Pingchuan, it is the domain of the three elders.Here, the peaks are high and the cliffs are steep, the birds and animals are gone, and no one dares to set foot in it.The Zhiguotang is where the three elders interrogate the disciples who have made mistakes. It is said that anyone who enters the Zhiguotang will suffer from flogging at the slightest, and at worst will lose their martial arts and be thrown off the cliff, becoming food for the wild wolves at the bottom of the peak. .

Ling Guyue knew that it was probably because of Ji Tong's matter that the three elders dispatched the white-clothed disciples, but he thought he had no guilt in his heart and was not in a hurry, so Shi Shiran went with the disciples.

A group of people walked through the dark and damp Dieqi Valley, passed the cliff-side plank road hidden in the clouds and mist, and walked across a rusty iron chain bridge. They said in unison: "Master, please come in."

Ling Guyue nodded slightly, and walked in.

"Ling Guyue, you are my junior brother Gu Huasong's disciple, you should call the three of us uncle, why don't you even call uncle in this Zhiguo hall? You have become more arrogant and disrespectful these years!" the second elder He has a bad temper, because he has always been dissatisfied with the former head Gu Huasong, and even has no good looks at his disciples, and has been thinking of ways to criticize.It wasn't until Shen Luo took over as the head and Ling Guyue lived in seclusion in Shen Dongxie that she didn't ask about family affairs, the conflicts were much less.

Ling Guyue stood in the hall, surrounded by disciples who were all whispering.He nodded slightly, and clasped his fists to salute the three sitting next to each other in a neither humble nor overbearing manner, "Gu Yue has met the three uncles."

The second elder snorted softly.

The Great Elder said slowly: "Wai Li, Nephew Ling, do you know why you are invited here today?"

"Probably because of Nephew Ji Tong?" Ling Guyue guessed.

"You didn't pretend to be stupid with us," the second elder twitched his neatly braided beard that hung down to his chest, shaking his head and said, "Usually you always bully your fellow disciples by relying on your status as the head brother, but now You also used cruel means to kill your nephew, do you have something to say?"

"The second elder said that I killed Ji Tong? I don't admit it," Ling Guyue glanced at the three people in the hall, and said calmly: "This matter has nothing to do with me."

"Not only Ji Tong, but also Ji Yang," the second elder sneered, "If you kill one person, you have to kill another person to cover up your previous crimes. In order not to expose yourself, you even killed Ji Yang to silence it!"

"What?" Ling Guyue frowned, "Ji Yang died too?"

"Nephew Ling," the third elder said in a charming voice at this time, "Since ancient times, beauties have been so unlucky. Although you are a man, sometimes your appearance will cause you trouble. Although the brothers of the Ji family often pester you, you don't They should be killed."

Ling Guyue looked directly at his snake-like eyes, and said calmly: "I didn't kill anyone. Is there any evidence for the third elder to say so?"

"Evidence?" The second elder patted the table and said, "If there is no evidence, why would we call you here? Where do you think Zhiqiantang is?"

At this time, the great elder who was silent for a long time said after deliberation: "Nephew Ling, did you write a letter to Ji Tong the day before yesterday? We found the embers of the letter in the ashes of the candle in his room. I checked it specially. The handwriting It does belong to you."

Before Ling Guyue could refute, the Second Elder interjected again: "Poor Ji Yang, who is clenching his teeth and refuses to reveal the murderer who killed his brother, but in the end he also died in Huangquan!"

Taking advantage of the lingering emotions of the second elder, Ling Guyue finally had the opportunity to speak: "I haven't been out of Shen Dongxie in the past few days, and I really don't know about the deaths of the two nephews."

"Still quibbling!" The second elder said angrily, "Bai Jing, tell me!"

At this time, a disciple standing in the crowd stood up, first bowed his hands and saluted, and then said: "I got up early this morning to practice kung fu, and everyone usually gets up at five o'clock, but it's already three poles every day." I didn't see Ji Yang coming to the martial arts field either. I thought he would be sad because of the loss of his brother, so I wanted to go back to comfort him, but when I walked into his room, as soon as I opened the door..." Bai Jing hesitated and stopped talk.

"Just talk!" The second elder patted the table and urged.

Bai Jing had no choice but to continue to say: "I saw Junior Brother Ji Yang lying on the ground, covered in blood... There was hardly a piece of intact flesh on his face, the eye sockets were empty, the teeth in his mouth were all broken, and the stumps were all scattered to the door. It was really horrible. terror!"