Strange Tale of Qingluan

"Su Jin," Ding Xuehou opened his lips, not worried about his injury, but instead asked the young man in white, "Didn't you stay in the valley? Why did you appear here?" The young man in white replied, "The owner of the valley knew you ran out. , I just let go of my face today and asked me to come out to find you, but I didn't expect... to meet you here."

Su Zhongming walked up to Ding Xuehou's side, took a look at his wound, saw that his hand covering the wound was covered with fresh snow, with one hand on his hip, and said: "Let's go quickly, go like this." Xuanxiu Valley is just right!"

The young man in white named Sujin took a look at Su Zhongming, and couldn't help asking Dingxuehou: "Hey, are you friends?" Then he blamed Dingxuehou, "Xuanxiu Valley is not allowed to enter, why did you disobey it?" According to Gu Master’s rules, an outsider must be brought back!”

Dingxuehou looked calm, and only replied: "He has a strange poison in his body, and the owner of the valley must be detoxified." Su Jin said helplessly: "The owner of the valley has never healed or detoxified outsiders. Let him go back." He glanced at Su Zhongming again.Su Zhongming didn't speak, turned his head and looked away.

"He is..." Dingxuehou opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't control it, he bent slightly, and spat out a mouthful of fresh snow.Su Zhongming hurriedly supported him, and blurted out anxiously to Su Jin, "Don't delay here! Hurry up and send him to Xuanxiu Valley for healing!"

Sujin lowered her head, accidentally saw the jade ring between the two of his fingers, and found that it was a pair of rings, she couldn't help but raised her right hand and touched her chin, secretly realizing it.Su Zhongming looked up, saw him standing still, and complained, "What are you doing standing there! Hurry up and lead the way to Xuanxiu Valley! If it's too late, what if the person really loses blood and dies!"

Sujin lowered her hands, put down the oiled paper umbrella and another pair of oiled paper umbrellas under her armpits, walked to the bow, picked up the penny, and moved away the boats that were jammed with dead bodies in disorder. Get on the boat and move forward.

Su Zhongming supported Dingxuehou to sit down slowly, took out a medicine porcelain bottle from the bag, poured out three hemostatic pills, put it into Dingxuehou's mouth, picked up the water bag, and poured a mouthful of water, let him temporarily Stop the bleeding.

At night, when the moon was traveling through the dark clouds and mist, the boat finally docked in front of an old abandoned mill, and the dilapidated big water wheel was still turning with the current.The three got off the boat and walked to the abandoned mill. Sujin went up alone, and after a while she came out with a lighted lantern and stood in front of the mill.

He waved at the other two, Su Zhongming understood what he meant, and immediately helped Ding Xuehou up the dilapidated stone steps covered with moss to the mill, and walked into the mill.Su Jin stood under the water mill for a moment, and a square secret hole was opened in the stone surface of the floor. He was the first to go down with the lantern, followed by the other two, and then screwed on the machine to close the upper entrance.

This passage is narrow and tidal, and it is also chilly, with water droplets falling from the top from time to time, making it difficult to walk.Su Jin gave Su Zhongming the oil-paper umbrella she had brought, and led them straight ahead.Until the end of the passage, there is no road in front of you, only a wide abyss.

"Did I go wrong? There is no way." Su Zhongming stopped, looked at the abyss under his feet, and became suspicious.Su Jin shook her hand and said with certainty: "No, this is the entrance, jump!" As soon as the words fell, the first one jumped down holding the oil-paper umbrella, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Su Zhongming was startled, and nervously asked Ding Xuehou next to him, "If you jump down, what should you do if you don't die or become disabled!" Ding Xuehou was very calm, and replied: "Tell me. If you are afraid, just close the door." Eye."

Die together! ——Su Zhongming thought so in his heart, so he closed his eyes tightly, held an umbrella and followed Ding Xuehou to lift his feet, and also jumped down.In the middle of the fall, the body slid straight down the sloping cliff, encountered a curved terrain at the end, was thrown into the air by a force, and finally landed in a field of exotic flowers and plants.

Those flowers look like roselle flowers, but they are not roselle flowers. They look like epiphyllum flowers, but they are not epiphyllum flowers. The petals are thick, with a hint of pink purple or even bright red in the milky white, and the tender green calyx is extremely long, with a faint scent. The fragrance wafts out, but fortunately there are no thorns.Su Zhongming was attracted by the fragrance, so he immediately stood up, picked a flower casually, smelled it, and said, "What kind of flower is this? It's so strange, it's still so fragrant."

Ding Xuehou's face darkened when he heard the words, and he blurted out: "It's broken!" Su Zhongming was taken aback for a moment, not knowing what it meant, "What's broken? This flower is very good..." After saying that, I don't know where it came from A female voice said, "Who is so and so! Which bastard fell to the medicinal herbs that my mother has worked so hard to plant? You wait, my mother will divide your body into fertilizer and bury it!"

Su Zhongming was stunned, and quickly responded, "We're not dead yet! How do you divide and bury us?" The owner of the voice shouted, "Oh my! We're still alive! Good! Outsiders are not welcome in Xuanxiu Valley , when I beat you to death, I can give Gu Master an explanation!"

As soon as the voice fell, there was a flash of fluorescent light flying over quickly, and the light was close in front of Su Zhongming's eyes. When Su Zhongming saw it, he was really terrified—the young and beautiful woman who appeared was holding a short hoe and was attacking them.

Just when he thought the bones on his body were about to be broken, the woman stopped, raised the lantern to shine a light on Dingxuehou beside him, and suppressed the sand.Su Zhongming was taken aback again, he didn't know what was going on, so he heard the woman say something to Ding Xuehou.The woman lowered her hand with a short hoe and said, "So it's Li Xuan, why did you come back suddenly?"

Before Ding Xuehou could answer, she saw that he was injured, she frowned slightly, and said displeasedly: "It's covered in injuries again! What kind of trouble did you make outside? It seems that there are no injuries, so you won't come back, right?" ?”

"Uh, he is...he met on the way here..." Su Zhongming explained for Ding Xuehou, before the words were finished, the woman shone the light on him and looked him up and down. Fan, said: "This boy is quite good-looking, but... there are rules here, outsiders are not allowed to break in, and the intruder will die! No matter how good-looking you are, I will beat you to death!"

After saying that, she raised the short hoe in her hand again, and was about to chop Su Zhongming, but Ding Xuehou immediately stopped him, "If you want to kill him, you can just kill me!" The woman stopped again and walked away. Going to Dingxuehou's side, he asked doubtfully, "Who is this kid from you? You brought him here, and you still won't let me beat him to death."

"You don't need to worry about it, just take me and him to see the owner of the valley." Ding Xuehou replied.The woman Chen Yin agreed after a moment, "Okay! I'll take you back to the house. If the owner of the valley doesn't spare his life, you have to tell him that I didn't neglect my duty." After speaking, she turned around and led the way.

When they arrived at a certain place, there were buildings in front of them, with lights on, the woman stopped and said, "Go in! I still have other things to take care of." Ding Xuehou nodded, and Su Zhongming supported him on the steps. Passed the threshold and entered the house.

"Master!" Ding Xuehou yelled as he walked in. When he entered the flower hall, Su Zhongming glanced at him and said to him, "There is no one here." Ding Xuehou replied, "Let's look elsewhere." Turning around again , out of the flower hall together.

They went around in a big circle and went to many small courtyards and towers. After about half an hour passed, they finally saw a figure under an ancient ginkgo tree.Su Zhongming pointed to the old man who was making poems and paintings in the light under the tree, and told Ding Xuehou, "There is an old man painting under the tree ahead."

"Is he wearing a gray shirt and a blue jacket?" Dingxuehou asked him.Su Zhongming replied, "Well! The hairpin seems to be ocher red." Ding Xuehou immediately confirmed, "That must be the owner of the second valley! Let's go, let's go there."

When he came to the tall desk, Dingxuehou called the old man "Master" respectfully, but the old man just concentrated on drawing with a brush, as if he didn't pay attention, as if he didn't hear the call.Ding Xuehou called him again, and the old man said, "You ran away, why are you coming back here now?"

Ding Xuehou bowed his head and did not answer, the old man asked again, "How has the outside world become?" Ding Xuehou replied, "If Master asked about people's livelihood, nothing would have changed. If Master asked about the court and the world, It's probably a bit of a mess."

"In this kind of world, if you can still come back here alive, you have some ability." The old man stopped writing, raised his head, and then his words changed, "However, in Xuanxiu Valley, it is stipulated that 'outsiders cannot visit', don't you? Did you violate the rules?"

Dingxuehou opened his mouth to speak, but someone snatched the opportunity first.Su Jin came out of the room, and replied with a smile, "Master Ergu misunderstood, he is no outsider, Li Xuan brought his family back this time."

Murong Xuanpei was stunned for a moment, and replied: "The reason why you ran out was to bring over the guy at home? It would be hard to say if this was a woman, but what you brought back was a jade-faced kid, good! Good ah!"

Su Zhongming was puzzled, frowned and looked at Dingxuehou, Sujin could see what was on his mind from his expression, and then said, "Er Guzhu means: Mrs. Li is a woman, if she has a baby in the future, It disturbs the cleanliness of this place, and the owner of the valley is also worried that this baby will expose the road to Xuanxiu Valley."

Su Zhongming was even more puzzled, "But... isn't there a woman here?" Su Jin replied, "You mean the Nianhua Lady, right? She only has those exotic flowers and plants in her heart, and she only thinks of medical skills that surpass the owner of the valley. Say something To be honest, she and I were picked up by Gu Zhu when we were children, but he despises ordinary people, so let us learn something from him."

Su Zhongming knew it, so he didn't say anything more.Hou Dingxue opened his lips and asked, "Where is my master? I have searched for so long but haven't found him." As soon as he finished speaking, a black shadow flew over and a wooden roller fell from the sky.When Su Zhongming saw it, he broke into a cold sweat from fright, and immediately pulled Ding Xuehou to jump away.

This Xuanxiu Valley is very clean, but why so much retribution? ! ——Su Zhongming was thinking in secret, as soon as his foot touched the ground, he immediately drew out the Qiu Xue sword to block the thick and shiny wooden roller that was chopped down again.The old man holding the stick had a fierce face and cursed: "Stinky boy, how dare you come back?!"

"Master." Ding Xuehou called the old man softly, the old man put away his long stick, turned his face away, and said: "Don't call me Master, I don't recognize you as a disciple anymore!" Ding Xuehou said helplessly He called him again, "Master, I..."

Penglai Xuanjun Long Yuxin snorted, turned around, and put his hands behind his back.Murong Xuanpei put down his pen, and said calmly to him, "Your apprentice daughter-in-law just came here, and you welcome him with this stinky face?"

When Long Yuxin heard the words, she became suspicious and asked him, "What apprentice daughter-in-law?" Murong Xuanpei replied, "The apprentice, what is it called if you don't call apprentice daughter-in-law?" Long Yuxin turned her head and shouted, "Which one is Stand up!" Murong Xuanpei dipped his hands into the copper basin to wash his hands, and then replied, "Look at which one of them is a face-to-face, that's it."

Long Yuxin fixed her gaze on Su Zhongming, and murmured, "I said, why did someone I don't know suddenly appear, thinking that he was old and dim..." Then he asked Su Zhongming loudly, "Son, how old are you this year?"

"I just turned eighteen this year." Su Zhongming replied bluntly.Upon hearing this, Long Yuxin blurted out, "What! Eighteen?!" Staring at Ding Xuehou again, she scolded angrily, "I was only 20 years old when I married your master, you brat , I actually asked for an eighteenth! An old cow eats tender grass..."

Murong Xuanpei calmly interjected, and advised, "I'm in love with you, it has nothing to do with your age. Calm down, you will be angry all day long if you are so old."

Long Yuxin turned her head, hummed at him, and said casually: "I knew... When I was young, I should have picked someone who was mature and stable, instead of being held by someone and then followed."

Murong Xuanpei was suddenly agitated, unable to calm down, and coughed violently for a while, when Sujin saw it, she hurried up and patted his back to help him calm down.Murong Xuanpei stopped coughing, and blurted out at Long Yuxin, "You want to kill me!" Long Yuxin didn't answer, but stuck out her tongue at him, quite like an old urchin.

Su Jin smiled and said: "The owner of the valley has calmed down this time, right?" Long Yuxin was proud, and only replied: "Nonsense! I just saved my face because of that brat, don't think I don't remember it." Tent!" Turning around, he wanted to go into the house.

"Master Gu! Since you have accepted him as an apprentice, you should fulfill your responsibility as a master and heal his eyes and wounds on his body! If you let him ignore you like this, aren't you afraid of being spurned by others?" Su Zhongming said to Long Yuxin. Back, suddenly speak.Long Yuxin turned her head sharply, "Who said I won't heal him?! What do you know! I healed him and taught him martial arts, but I was just in a good mood and was about to heal his eyes, so he ran away! He ran away Can I be healed!"

Without waiting for Su Zhongming to answer, he added, "Early this morning, I sent Su Jin on this trip, thinking that if I find this unfilial apprentice, I will...I will beat him to death!"

Su Zhongming was silent, and Long Yuxin sighed, and continued, "But... I was beaten to death, and my heart ached again. It's so hard in this life to meet such a life that can never die..."

"Valley Master..." Su Jin called him, but he ignored him, kept going, and raised an index finger, "So, I just came up with an idea that is enough to punish him!" Su Zhongming said curiously: " What... idea...?"

Long Yuxin was full of pride, and announced: "Let his son wait for my old man!" Su Zhongming was shocked, Long Yuxin ignored everyone's reaction, and left the sentence "that's it" and entered the house leisurely, innocent people were killed Su Zhongming couldn't stop his decision, so he could only cry for grievances on the spot, "Hey, what does this have to do with me? Why should I be ordered by the current people? I'm here to detoxify!"

"Detoxification? Are you poisoned?" Murong Xuanpei asked curiously upon hearing this.Su Zhongming nodded, "Yes. And it's a strange poison. Someone told me that only the owner of the valley can detoxify me."

Murong Xuanpei asked again, "What kind of poison did you suffer from, and who was the person who poisoned you?" Su Zhongming answered truthfully, "Someone told me that this poison is called 'Making Heart and Five Chaos', and the person who poisoned him is dead. Yes, but I heard that the one who controlled this strange poison was a man named Tiwu, and this man is Gu Zhu's junior."

Murong Xuanpei bowed his head and stopped answering.Dingxuehou asked aloud, "Master, will Master agree to help him detoxify?" Murong Xuanpei replied, "Although I have lived here with him in seclusion for decades, I still have no idea of ​​his decision." Advise Su Zhongming, "Young man, wait for him well! This is an opportunity."

Su Zhongming couldn't answer, so he just tugged Ding Xuehou lightly, the man understood, and said, "Master, then... is there any way to make Master change his mind?" Murong Xuanpei thought for a while, and finally sighed , I had no choice but to persuade him: "To tell you the truth, the old man tried countless times to ask him to change his temper, but he never succeeded."

"Understood." Ding Xuehou lowered his head, and said this lightly.Su Zhongming also had a dejected expression on his face, and he couldn't help raising his head, looking up at the dark night sky, reluctantly accepting his fate in his heart.