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Under the guidance of the storyteller, Chu Yuanxiao moved the bookstall outside the bookstore into the shop.

When he came out again, the storyteller was still lying on the only bamboo chair that had not been moved, holding the handle of the fan in one hand and the small teapot in the other, looking in the direction of Wufang Pavilion silently.

"Mr. Lu?" The young man looked at the storyteller and asked carefully.

After hearing this, the storyteller slowly turned his head to look at the young man, his eyes were indifferent and emotionless, but in just a moment he regained his emotions and changed to a gentle one, as if the fleeting look in his eyes just now was just that of the young man. illusion.

The storyteller, who returned to a gentle smile, looked at the young man and smiled: "What do you think the legitimate son of Shuixiu Lake will do against you?"

The young man who was still shocked by the cold eyes of the storyteller just a moment ago was suddenly asked such a question, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes. He looked at the storyteller in confusion, scratched his head in confusion, and began to frown in thought. To no avail for a long time.

He didn't even have a smattering of knowledge about what kind of methods people would use in practice, but he really didn't know anything about it.

A middle-aged scribe in a gray gown sat on a bamboo chair and looked at the young man with a smile: "I might as well tell you two more pieces of news. After you hear it, guess what he will do?"

The young man nodded, his two hands by his side holding the hem of his short shirt intentionally or unintentionally.

The middle-aged scribe didn't care about the young man's nervousness and said slowly: "The first news is that Yanguan Town is still very friendly to our own people. Someone has made a rule that does not allow outsiders to attack the people here casually. Of course this includes you."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the five-cornered pavilion not far away, and continued: "The people who set the rules are very capable, so not everyone dares to touch this rule. This is why the Ke family disciple did not anger you. The reason why he attacked you on the spot was because he just said harsh words and then left."

The young man finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and asked carefully: "What's the second news Mr. Lu said?"

The middle-aged scribe saw the young man's reaction in his eyes, chuckled with unknown meaning, and then continued with some unnoticeable sarcasm: "The second news is actually not that big news. The Shuixiu Lake gang The Zhu family who settled in Yuzhi Street had a strong sense of subordination between the two families. To put it simply, unless it came to a major event that the Zhu family might be confiscated and exterminated, Zhu Jiantang would basically take care of everything else. …”

At this time, this storyteller, who had always been calm and gentle, looked at the young man with a deep smile and asked, "Now, guess how Ke Yuzhi will deal with you?"

Almost as soon as the storyteller finished telling the second piece of news, especially the four words "do as you are told," the young man's face darkened instantly.

He probably knew something about the people from Shuixiu Lake living in the Zhu family, but before, he only thought that the two families had business to discuss, so he was just entertaining guests, but now it seems that he thought too simply...

The storyteller looked at the young man and smiled meaningfully: "How is it? Do you feel that money, power and force are sometimes helpless? You still have the courage to face the unknown Shuixiu Lake, but you have to face the accumulated power. Is Mr. Zhu a little frightened after such a long time?"

The young man stood opposite the middle-aged scribe who spoke casually, his fingers unconsciously pinching the corners of his clothes, but his face could not turn back. After taking a deep breath, he raised his hand and squeezed his shoulders, and cursed in a low voice: " It’s so damn hard work!”

The storyteller smiled and didn't care about the young man's rudeness. He just said lightly: "The world is like this. It has never changed for thousands of years. This is the reason why the world is in chaos. Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other, and there is no escape."

The young man listened in a daze.

The middle-aged scribe waved his hand casually, "You don't need to understand this. What I have to tell you is that if he really instructs the Zhu family to target you, he will only use more methods than if they did it themselves, and it may also be more... There is no lower limit. , or you can just think it’s an underhanded act! You have nothing else to offer, and the only way to force you to bow your head is from the people around you or the only things you have.”

He looked at the young man and reminded him kindly: "There are not many people around you. Even if that old guy Hou Junchen puts aside his poor cultivation level, he can still be regarded as leading the errands of the salt official office. Zhu will not refuse to give Li's face, then all that's left will be your courtyard and the two tombs at the foot of Zhelongbei Mountain to the east, and I'm afraid you have to be aware of this."

The four words "two tombs" uttered by the storyteller instantly made the boy clenched his fists, but the scribe did not finish his words. He did not seem to care about the boy's reaction and continued to talk.

"In addition, like that reckless man Hou Junchen, I am involved in cause and effect, so I will not directly intervene in this matter to help you fight! If you want to find a way to survive under the pressure of their two families, you have to really rely on your knife. Doing business, or looking for other ways to find some help, who to look for depends on your vision and ability, but I suggest you go to Xuannv Lake."

At this point in the conversation between the two, the bookmaker probably felt that it was almost done, so he slowly got up from the bamboo chair, carried the bamboo chair and walked into the shop, while turning his back to the young man and said something meaningfully.

"In this place in Yanguan Town, where you go and who you meet are sometimes determined, but what you will do and what the result will be are not certain. It will give you a difficult time but also A glimmer of hope has been left for you, but whether you can grasp it or not depends on your destiny, and it’s no different than anyone else!”

The storyteller entered the house, put the bamboo chair in his hand on the ground, and before turning to close the door, he looked at the young man and said, "Think more before you make a decision. If you make a mistake, you will regret it! In addition, your I'm afraid the action should be faster, the Zhu family may have already started planning, don't wait for others to dig up your ancestral grave before you seek medical treatment urgently, by then it will be too late."

After finishing speaking, the middle-aged scribe slowly closed the door of the bookstore without any hesitation, without saying another word.

The young man stood outside the shop door and didn't speak for a long time. He just looked at the closed shop door quietly and thought for a long time. He didn't turn around and leave until the sky turned completely dark.

This mysterious storyteller seemed to say nothing, but also seemed to say everything.

The young man felt that it should be enough.

……

In the first month of Liangzhou, the night is cold and cold.

After leaving Wufangting, the boy did not go home directly. Instead, as Mr. Nalu said, he walked directly through the North Street of the town and came to the big lake that stretched across the north of the town.

This was not just because of the storyteller's suggestion, but also because of some vague speculations that the young man felt he needed to verify for himself.

Someone has already inspected the Hidden Dragon's back in the east of the town, but the large lake named "Xuannv" in the north of the town needs him to do it himself.

Standing by the lake and looking at the sparkling calm lake surface, the young man first did a simple warm-up, then took off his clothes and left only a piece of trousers. Putting the shoes together neatly on a stone on the shore, he looked back at the dotted town lights behind him, and then plunged into the lake without hesitation.

The moonlight is bright tonight, and the already clear water of Xuannv Lake looks even clearer under the moonlight.

The young man squinted his eyes slightly under the water and tried his best to open a gap so that he could see things. He mentally estimated the distance from the shore and swam slowly into the lake.

One foot, two feet, three feet... eight feet. The young man stopped nine feet away from the shore and surfaced again to take a breath. He had already breathed several times during the eight-foot distance.

From here, it seemed that there was nothing unusual under the lake. It was so calm that the young man felt that some of his guesses were wrong.

Then he took a deep breath from the surface of the lake and returned to the surface of the water again. He resolutely crossed the nine-foot limit while swinging his arms!
The next moment, the light and shadow in front of him shook for a while, and the young man suddenly discovered a scene that shocked him. Even though he had made some preparations in his heart before entering the water, he was still shocked beyond measure by the scene in front of him!

Ninety feet away from the shore, the lake bed that was supposed to be the bottom of the lake suddenly disappeared, and what was supposed to be the bottom of the lake turned into a bottomless, pitch-black abyss. The lake water here is clearer and translucent than the water within nine feet, and he You can open your eyes effortlessly without any discomfort.

At the same time, the lake water no longer seemed as cold as before, as if there were waves of heat rising up from the abyss, making the young man in it feel warm and comfortable all over his body!
But such scenes and changes cannot be seen at all when standing on the shore!

What's even more strange is that when viewed from underwater, the moon in the sky seems to have no organizational barriers and is as clear as if it were on the shore. However, after the moonlight shines into the water, it disappears without warning when it reaches the position where the lake bed should be. A tiny bit can shine into the abyss!
After being stunned for a moment, the young man uncontrollably cast his gaze to the bottom of the bottomless abyss, trying his best to open his eyes wide enough to see what was at the bottom of the lake.

However, before he could get any results, a sudden change occurred!

The heat flow that was originally rising from the bottom of the lake suddenly intensified, and at the same time, strings of white bubbles of different sizes emerged from the bottom... It was like the lake water was boiling and suddenly started to boil!
Immediately afterwards, the young man saw a terrifying scene that he would remember for the rest of his life!
Hundreds of feet below the surface of the lake, a huge golden light suddenly lit up in the dark abyss. It was narrow and huge, and there was a vertical black gap at the widest position. The whole scene combined, it was a A golden vertical pupil so huge that it exceeds a hundred feet in diameter!
And from the moment it opened, this huge eye began to stare coldly and indifferently at the thin figure floating on the water, which was so small that it was almost negligible. It was like a god watching an ant, or a ferocious beast staring at it. Fuck the prey that comes to your mouth!

The moment the young man who was still floating under the water saw clearly what it was, a gust of cold air rushed from the soles of his feet to the Tianling Cap!

In such shock, he even forgot to come up to the surface for air, and forgot to swing his limbs to escape from this place!There was a blank in his mind, just staring blankly at that huge, emotionless, indifferent vertical pupil!

……

The east entrance of the town.

Sitting on the bamboo chair in the hut, waiting for the clock to be called when the time comes, Hou Junchen, a slovenly man, changed his face without any warning!
He opened the door of the hut and stared at the huge copper bell hanging on the treetop opposite the door of the hut across the long street!

The huge bronze bell that hundreds of generations in the small town had never seen move began to rotate slowly without any warning at this moment. A faint golden luster came out from the bronze bell, making it appear that The originally mottled green bell body seemed to be made of gold at this moment, shining brightly!
The huge old locust tree that was responsible for hanging the bronze bell also began to tremble slowly due to the rotation of the bronze bell, and the heart-breaking sound of wood bursting began to sound densely from the huge tree pole.

The sloppy man looked at the whole process in shock. He couldn't help but swore and was about to raise his hand to do something. But before he could make any move, there was a gap between the bell and the huge tree canopy. A figure of a scholar in a green shirt suddenly appeared in the distance.

The visitor first gently waved the broad sleeves of the Confucian robe, isolating the scene here from the outside world, and also blocking those who heard the movement and tentatively extended their exploratory consciousness from a distance. Behind Ruowu's curtain wall, some outsiders who sneaked over were also teleported to other parts of the town without any warning and could no longer get closer to this place!
This method...can't be described as extraordinary.

After this move, in the eyes of everyone outside the isolation, it seemed that there was just a sudden spiritual energy explosion in this place, and then it instantly returned to calm. The tree was still the same tree, the clock was still the same clock, nothing unusual...

But only the sloppy man who was still standing at the door of the hut could see clearly. The scholar in blue shirt slowly raised his head after doing this, and looked at the golden bronze bell that seemed huge and splendid at the moment with gentle eyes, and the gentle and calm voice. Slowly sounded: "The younger Confucian scholar Cui Jue has met the senior."...

This side of Xuannv Lake.

The moment the boy was stared at by that huge vertical pupil, he lost all ability to move. He couldn't even move a finger!Because he couldn't breathe underwater and was about to be suffocated to death in the water!

In addition, there seemed to be an ever-increasing huge suction force slowly coming from the direction of some nooks and crannies at the bottom of the abyss, pulling the young man down little by little towards the bottom of the abyss. The force became stronger and stronger, and he even felt that his soul was horrified. It seems to have come out of the body and floated in the direction of the vertical pupil before the physical body!
This feeling of soul being separated from the body was indescribable and extremely real. He couldn't help but look back behind him and saw his body floating under the water not far away, with empty eyes and stiff limbs. Gou stared at the direction in which he was falling, like a dead man!

At this moment, the young man felt like he was dead, and a shudder that seemed like a real thing almost made his soul scatter!
It was at this time that the copper bell at the east entrance of the town suddenly appeared abnormal!

Of course, the boy whose life was hanging by a thread didn't know this.

But the huge vertical pupil that opened under the water seemed to shrink slightly due to this strange movement, and then narrowed slightly and stared at the thin figure, as if it was sizing up the young man who dared to break into the forbidden area again!
Then there was a sudden suction from the bottom of the water, and the helpless boy couldn't help but widen his eyes, because he strangely found that he was back in his physical body in an instant, and became one!

The suffocating feeling of being unable to breathe once again occupied his entire senses at this moment, causing him to start struggling again. At the same time, the terrifying vertical pupil at the bottom of the lake inevitably came into view again!

Just when the young man was forced to look helplessly at the vertical pupil, a slender rope of unknown material suddenly plunged into the water from above the lake, and quickly wrapped around the young man's waist like an arm, and then the loose rope Suddenly tightening, he pulled the boy out of the water with a force and flew back to the shore!

The huge vertical pupil under the water did not react at all. It just stared quietly at the rope entering the water, watching the boy being pulled out of the water. After a while, it slowly closed again, and everyone in the lake The accident also returned to calm at this moment, as if nothing had happened...

The young man Chu Yuanxiao who hit the shore with a splash didn't care about anything else and started gasping for air. He was almost suffocated to death under the water!

Of course, although the boy was trying to breathe, his whole body was also shaking unconsciously. The huge vertical pupil frightened him so much that he could not stop trembling with fear long after he returned to the shore!
A few days ago, the poor boy who was still struggling to fill the temple of the five internal organs had never seen such a spectacular and terrifying sight?One eye alone has a radius of hundreds of feet. How huge must that unknown thing be?
After the young man was temporarily out of danger, he was still in shock. His clothes that were originally stacked on the rocks on the shore were thrown over and hit on his head. At the same time, a smart and cold voice came over. :"Suit up!"

When the young man heard the sound, he immediately turned around and looked behind him. What he saw was a girl in white clothes and a big red cloak with a sword on her back. She was standing on a stone in the distance with her back to him.

The long sword behind the girl has a simple shape and a square blade. At this time, she is holding a coiled slender rope, which is the one that pulled Chu Yuanxiao out of the lake!
Chu Yuanxiao came back to his senses in an instant, quickly put on his clothes, and then stood up from the shore. After an awkward moment of hesitation, he bowed towards the girl who still had her back to him, and sincerely thanked, "I'm wearing this." Okay, thank you girl for saving your life!"

When the girl in white heard the words, she first turned around a little out of the corner of her eyes. After seeing that the young man was indeed properly dressed, she turned around and looked at the young man with some curiosity, "Why did you go to the middle of the lake?"

It was dark and backlit, so the boy didn't notice that the pretty girl's earlobes were slightly red.

He was a little stunned when he heard this, scratched the wet back of his head, and said, "I want to try some of my previous guesses..."

The girl couldn't help but rolled her eyes and said disgustedly: "You are so brave. If I hadn't happened to come over and faintly noticed someone under the water, you would be dead now!"

The young man grinned when he heard this, feeling a little embarrassed.

The girl in white couldn't help but laugh when she saw the young man's embarrassed expression, her smile was like a flower, "Hello, we have met before, my name is Li Yuyao, you can also call me Li Shisan."

"Chu Yuanxiao." The boy was still scratching the back of his head unconsciously and simply answered his name.

Li Yuyao simply nodded when she heard this, as if she already knew the boy's name.

The young man was not surprised when he saw this. He looked at the girl and asked: "Miss Li, why are you... here?"

The girl looked at the boy with a half-smile, and said something that made him feel familiar: "I also have some guesses. I'm curious, so I came here to take a look?"

Without waiting for Chu Yuanxiao's reaction, she looked at the young man with interest again and asked, "I heard that you had a conflict with the man named Ke in Shuixiu Lake?"

As she said that, she turned her head and looked at the calm lake beside her, which had returned to silence again, and said again: "I don't think you are a very stupid person except for being a little reckless. Why would you do such an unreliable thing?" ?You don’t know that it’s difficult for you to deal with him.”

The last sentence was said with conviction, not in a questioning tone.

The young man was a little embarrassed and scratched his head. After all, the girl in front of him saved his life, so he chose to tell the truth: "Well, half of it was on purpose, and half of it was because he wanted something from my house. "

"On purpose?" Li Yuyao's bright eyes widened slightly, looking at the young man curiously.

She naturally ignored the so-called thing that Ke Yuzhi wanted. This was almost an obvious fact. She was a little curious about why this young man deliberately provoked Ke Yuzhi, "You have no grievances and no hatred, but you provoke others to go against you. But he is still someone you can't fight. I don't think you have any reason to support your so-called 'deliberateness'."

"Well... it may be mainly because I had a bad breath before. It happened that he came to discuss business and didn't take people seriously, which made people angry, so I couldn't hold back and became a little impulsive..." The young man's words became more and more intense. I was so embarrassed that I closed my mouth angrily later on.

The girl understood what the boy meant almost instantly, but she still frowned and said: "Although I can probably understand what you mean, but how to say it..."The law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest" is a common saying in the spiritual world. It’s no longer a new saying. People who practice Buddhism compete with God for their destiny, with fellow practitioners for resources, fame, fortune, and opportunities. They compete for the road to immortality in the pass of cultivation... When you get used to looking up, you will naturally not be able to lower your head. ."

After thinking about it for a while, she shook her head with regret and muttered, "It's hopeless."

The young man was a little dazed when he heard it, and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Sorry, I...can't quite understand."

The girl in white probably didn't expect the young man to understand this. She waved her hand and gave up. She didn't mean to explain in detail. She thought about it again and continued: "I'm curious. Since you are deliberately provocative, you are ready to How can we fight him? Are we planning to die?"

"I haven't found a good way yet, so I can only give it a try... Mr. Lu said that I can use that knife to make a deal with a foreign fairy family, but who I can do it with depends on my vision."

Speaking of this, the young man was also a little troubled. After all, it depends on eyesight... how to measure accuracy is a problem. "I wonder if I can find a similar fairy family and ask them to help fight, and then we can It should be okay to accept me as a disciple or something... right?"

Hearing this, the girl turned around and looked the boy up and down, and said uncertainly: "I think you may have some misunderstandings about us outsiders coming here to take over as masters and disciples."

"What do you mean?" Chu Yuanxiao asked quickly. This matter was the one thing he was most concerned about at the moment, not even one of them.

The girl thought for a while and shook her head without saying anything. She remembered what the old Taoist priest from Beilinguan said and felt that some things were probably not suitable for her to explain. So she changed the topic and looked at the young man and said, "Although I think There are some issues with your motive for provoking the dispute, but this should not prevent me from making a deal with you."

"Business?" The young man was a little surprised, "Miss Li, don't you... use a sword?"

After saying that, he intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the ancient long sword that the girl opposite was carrying behind her back.

Li Yuyao didn't mind the young man's eyes and did not answer the question. Instead, he said: "But I have to explain one thing. At most, this deal means that I will help you fight, but there will be no saying that you will be admitted into the sect. In other words, no matter who you go to find one of us outsiders to make this deal, they probably won’t accept you into the sect.”

When the girl said this, she looked at the boy again, spread her hands and said calmly: "Of course, it's up to you to believe it or not. You can also verify it yourself."

"why?"

Li Yuyao's explanation immediately stunned the young man. It seemed to be different from his previous understanding. He couldn't help but recall what the old monkey and Mr. Lu had said to him before.

The old monkey said that he would find a backer to start practicing. He also said that outsiders would come to Yanguan Town to recruit disciples. He also said that he would use the knife to do business, but it seems that he did not say that he could use the knife to do business in order to change his disciples. door argument.

Mr. Lu was similar. He talked about doing business and asking for help, but he seemed to have never mentioned trading swords for teachers...

coincidence?

The young man shook his head and shook off his thoughts. He looked at the girl again and asked, "I don't doubt Miss Li's words, but it's still the same question as before. Girl, don't you use a sword?"

Li Yuyao shook her head and said something in a calm tone.

The moment the girl opened her mouth, Chu Yuanxiao felt inexplicably that a flash of... evil intentions seemed to flash across the pretty face of the girl opposite her, which was always cold and cold.

And what she said was...

"Now I'm missing a reason to kill them!"

……