Shi Jue said, "Valley Master, if you don't go back soon, I'm afraid things in the valley will be in dire straits."
"I know." Shangguan Tou nodded thoughtfully, then looked back at the immortal mountain Yingzhou on the opposite bank. "You go back first, I'll be back soon."
"This time we've come to take the Valley Master back."
Shangguan Tou laughed: "You want to resort to force?"
“But we all know that the Valley Master has no important business outside, so…”
"Shi Jue, you talk too much."
"Your subordinate dares not."
“I understand what you mean.” Shangguan Tou pondered for a moment and said, “Wait for me here for two days.” As soon as he finished speaking, someone patted him on the shoulder.
Shangguan Tou turned around.
Xuezhi stood behind him, her pale purple thin clothes trembling slightly in the wind.
"Zhi'er?" Shangguan Tou pinched the hem of her clothes and said seriously, "Wearing so little, hurry back."
Her pupils were dark and bright, and she looked at him somewhat uncomfortably: "I need your help with something."
"What's up?"
"Is the Immortal Xingchuan in Moon Valley?"
"exist."
"Xiao She's nose is broken..."
Xuezhi was pondering how to phrase her words when Shangguan Tou chimed in, "Should we invite him to Suzhou, or have Feng She return to Yue Shang Valley with us?"
She had originally planned to suggest that Yin Ci come to Suzhou, but considering that he disliked crowded places, and that the Han general and Shi Jue before her... seemed to be there to invite Shangguan Tou back, Shangguan Tou must have something to do. So she said:
"Wait a minute, I'll go get him."
But when she returned, she realized how difficult it was to persuade Feng She to leave. Feng She even clung to the headboard with both hands, stubbornly refusing to leave, saying he didn't care about being disfigured. This time, Xuezhi couldn't get rid of him no matter what. Xuezhi tried to coax and deceive him, but to no avail, so she shamelessly returned to the bridge.
Shangguan Tou and Han general Shi Jue were still standing there.
"You'd better not get involved in this."
"Is Fengshe unwilling to leave?"
"Well, I'm going back to Chonghuo Palace anyway, so I'll just ask my second father to find a doctor."
"Uncle Lin is currently in Moon Valley."
How could that be?
Shi Jue said, "He said Moon Valley is more fun."
Xuezhi was taken aback. This reason was really in her father's style.
"It's alright, I'll take care of it," Shangguan Tou said, turning around. "You guys go prepare the horses."
"good."
The Han general went to prepare the horses. Shangguan Tou glanced at Xuezhi, then looked back and saw Shijue still standing there, so he had no choice but to stop. Soon the Han general returned, and Shijue also turned and walked towards his horse. Shangguan Tou raised his sleeve to cover their faces, quickly kissed Xuezhi on the lips, glanced at the two of them again, and quickly assumed the extremely composed demeanor he had just displayed.
"I'll be back as soon as possible. Contact me if you need anything."
Shangguan Tou mounted his horse and followed the Han general Shi Jue as they rode away from Suzhou. Xuezhi, thinking about the stark contrast between his public and private behavior, headed back. But as soon as she entered the first floor of the Immortal Mountain Yingzhou, a table flew out of the building. Xuezhi jumped up to dodge it, then grabbed one of the table's legs and laid it flat on the ground.
The sound of whips cracking echoed from inside the restaurant, along with Feng Zi's unusually harsh reprimands:
"I told you before, if I ever see you again, I'll make you pay."
"Miss Lin, is this a ten-year reunion?" a man said indifferently. "I'm afraid Mu Yuan will not entertain you."
107
In the very center of the first floor, there is a sandalwood screen with plum blossom Suzhou embroidery.
Mu Yuan stood before the screen, holding the Purple Phoenix Sword. Before Xue Zhi could speak to him, two sharp rustling sounds were heard, and a long whip pierced through the screen, striking Mu Yuan with lightning speed. Mu Yuan dodged twice and quickly retreated from behind the screen.
A woman rushed out from behind the screen. Though her face showed displeasure, her peach-blossom eyes, apricot-red cheeks, and a touch of vermilion between her brows seemed to be created from fragrant pink rouge mixed with fairy water. Many men present stopped drinking and eating, raising their heads in unison to pay her respects.
Ignoring all gazes, Lin Fengzi jumped in front of Mu Yuan again. The two exchanged several blows, which Mu Yuan dodged without retaliating.
Xuezhi stepped forward to stop her, but a jade flute beat her to it.
The soft whip coiled several times around the jade flute. The flute was as green as a carpet, bathed in the bright autumn sun, which shone on the clear river and sky.
Zhong Tao, holding a chicken leg in one hand and a jade flute in the other, calmly finished the last piece of meat and threw away the chicken bone.
Qiu Hongxiu's voice came from the second floor:
"Where did this wild girl come from, daring to cause trouble in my Qiu Hongxiu's territory?"
Everyone in the restaurant stopped to watch this spectacle.
Feng Zi, feeling somewhat unsure, pointed at Mu Yuan with her whip and said, "Let's go outside and compete."
Qiu Hongxiu said, "Want to go out and compete? First, go and ask someone to fix this place up."
"I don't know anyone."
"Don't know anyone? Then you can work hard for us here for a year."
Feng Zi glanced at Qiu Hongxiu and walked straight out the door. Qiu Hongxiu called out from behind, "Take care, Miss." Then, Zhong Tao, as if on cue, leaped to the doorway to block her way.
Enraged, Feng Zi brandished her whip and attacked Zhong Tao again. Zhong Tao, lacking Mu Yuan's patience, quickly seized her wrists.
"Young lady, why don't you stay and resolve this matter first?"
Mu Yuanren had already stepped outside the door.
A boat moors on the river, a vermilion-painted building, and a small lantern.
In the moonlight reflected on the water, amidst the shadows of the clouds, the woman facing him wore a pale purple dress. Her lips were naturally red, her eyebrows naturally long, and her phoenix eyes were slightly upturned. All the fierceness of her childhood had transformed into breathtaking beauty.
The scene before me seems to overlap with one from many years ago:
At the two ends of the Flying Rainbow Bridge in Chang'an stood two pavilions, their hexagonal, pyramidal roofs covered with glazed tiles, and large red lanterns hanging from their corners. Amidst the red rain and fragrant grasses, and the fluttering petals like snowflakes, a man in a purple robe, his hair as if freshly washed, possessed a breathtakingly handsome appearance that almost scorched the eyes. He glanced back at Xiao Muyuan, then patted the handsome one-eyed young man beside him: "That child is a martial arts prodigy."
The one-eyed man said seriously, "He is an orphan who was adopted by the head of the martial arts school to be his servant. If you think he's good, you can buy him."
The man in purple robes walked over, squatted down in front of the dirty-faced little Mu Yuan, and smiled sweetly: "Do you want to join the most powerful sect in the world?"
The one-eyed man said, "Beautiful lady, you're shameless."
The man in purple robes ignored him and continued to look at Xiao Muyuan.
Little Mu Yuan was still dragging several steel knives that ordinary children couldn't bear, and he was panting heavily. But after staring at the man in purple robes for a long time, he nodded vigorously as if bewitched.
Before the purple-robed man could speak, a pair of small, white hands had already wrapped tightly around him from behind. Then, a miniature version of the purple-robed man's face appeared, displaying a very domineering expression: "Daddy, you're not allowed to favor boys over girls! I'm your own child! You brat, get away from me!"
Then the little girl rushed over and stood in front of Xiao Muyuan, towering over him by more than half a head: "Let me tell you, not everyone can enter Chonghuo Palace. If you want to enter Chonghuo Palace, you must first get past the young palace master!" After saying that, she attacked him.
Xiao Muyuan glanced at the man in purple robes again, not daring to retaliate, only focusing on defense. Soon he was knocked to the ground, the little girl stood with her hands on her hips, laughing loudly, and was finally dragged away by the one-eyed man by the collar.
"Brother Mu Yuan!"
Xuezhi walked quickly over and stopped in front of Mu Yuan, looking up at him with a smile: "What are you doing here?"
"Something's happened recently..."
"Wait a minute, let me go in first and rescue Feng Zi."
Xuezhi ran into the restaurant.
Feng Zi and Qiu Hongxiu faced off, both looking troubled.
Xuezhi stepped forward and said, "Sister Hongxiu, this is my younger sister, Lin Fengzi."
Those who heard this were all stunned.
Upon seeing Xuezhi, Feng Zi exclaimed excitedly, "Sister!"
"I know," Qiu Hongxiu whispered in Xuezhi's ear. "Don't you hate her? If it weren't for Lin Fengzi, I wouldn't bother with her at all."
Xuezhi whispered, "I don't hate her anymore. I'll only stop hating her if she does something to anger me."
Qiu Hongxiu cleared her throat: "Since you are my sister's sister, that is, my little sister, please come up and sit down."
Feng Zi glanced at Xue Zhi, feeling somewhat helpless. Xue Zhi patted her shoulder, gesturing for her to go upstairs.
Xuezhi returned to the door: "Alright, what's the matter?"
Mu Yuandao said, "This month, a disciple of Yue Shang Valley died suddenly, but it has not yet attracted the attention of people in the martial arts world. However, I have ordered people to investigate secretly, and it is almost certain that he died from the third form of the Lotus God Nine Forms."
Xuezhi asked in astonishment, "What? That person has already mastered it?"
"I heard you went out looking for the 'Snow Lotus Sword of the Vast Sea,' have you heard anything?"
Xuezhi sighed softly and recounted her trip to Hongling Temple in search of the secret manual, excluding Shangguan Tou's part. Mu Yuan nodded thoughtfully and added, "By the way, I also heard that you recently..."
"Um?"
"It's nothing." Mu Yuan pointed to the inn across the street. "The other people in the palace live across the street. You can come find us if you need anything."
108
"Wait a minute."
"What's wrong?"
"Brother Mu Yuan can stay in Yingzhou, Immortal Mountain," Xue Zhi said softly, glancing around. "But don't tell anyone."
Mu Yuan was a little confused, but he stayed anyway. It wasn't until the evening that he found out that Xue Zhi and Zhong Tao had nothing to talk about, Qiu Hongxiu was busy with things at the tavern, and Feng Zi had gone back to Lingjian Manor and wouldn't come back until the next day. She was bored by herself, so she went to his place to hang out.
Night falls. In the moonlit palace, amidst the hibiscus-scented curtains, the melodious sound of a flute drifts from the high tower.
Inside the room, Xuezhi slammed her head onto the bed and rolled around a few times without restraint.
"This time, it seems to be the longest I've ever spent outside."
"Xuezhi hasn't been back for quite a long time." This was the form of address Xuezhi had to correct him to after at least fifteen attempts.