Chapter 5 chapter Five

This drink was aimed at a Tiewei who was rushing towards him with his sword drawn.The iron guard's sword was bright and ready to strike, but when he heard this drink, he suddenly felt that the meridians all over his body were about to explode. For some reason, the zhenqi of the foreign family blasted out with all his strength was forcefully forced back into his body.With a scream, he fell down like a wooden stake. With a "poof", Ye Hengqiu spat out a mouthful of blood.After he fought hard, he kept trying to suppress the churning blood, but he couldn't hold it back. At this moment, a beam of sword light shot up along the gap where the judge's lock collapsed and flew.In the faint twilight, this sword was like flowing water, bending out an elegant arc, obliquely pointing towards Qiufeng Remnant's left arm.Xiao Qi had drawn his sword a long time ago, but he waited until this time to draw his sword. The timing was extremely ingenious, it was the moment when the last wave of autumn wind's attack had died away and his energy was slightly drained.

Shan Canqiu couldn't help but let out a "huh", only felt that Xiao Qi's sword strike was elegant and leisurely, but it was as fast as lightning. If I make a slight mistake, this sword will take advantage of the gap and attack my inner door. Without hesitation, Shan Canqiu stretched out his palm and pushed Ye Liantao towards Xiao Qi.Jiuqu Lianhuan slammed into Xiao Qi's long sword like a flying boulder.Xiao Qi's eyes turned cold, and instead of retreating, he advanced, the long sword brushed Ye Liantao's arm dangerously and pierced out, still pointing at Shan Canqiu's throat.

There was only a sharp clang, Shan Canqiu flicked the Xiaoyao sword with his fingers, and Xiao Qi's attack suddenly stopped. Since the fight between the two sides, the brothers of the Ye family fought together. Yiye Zhiqiu was injured by the shock and vomited blood, Jiuqu Lianhuan was restrained, and then rescued by Xiao Qiyijian. In the meantime, a Tiewei was injured and fell to the ground by Shan Canqiu. All happened in the blink of an eye, too fast to catch the eye. Over there, Ye Liantao finally jumped back to his original spot out of breath, and stood still.Almost at the same time, Shan Canqiu took a step back and stood still.In this round of fighting, Qiu Fengcan sat on the ground until Xiao Qi drew his sword, forcing him to stand up and take a step back.

"Commander Dong, what a powerful technique of looking beyond the horizon!" Shan Canqiu first looked at Dong Gangfeng, who had never made a move, "Can Jian pointed at a distance, and the sword energy was so strong that it took 40% of the old man's energy." Dong Gangfeng stood with his hands behind his back, without saying a word. Although the broken sword was still slung across his waist, his whole body had turned into a sharp sword.At this time, he didn't dare to slack off a little bit, besides Shan Canqiu, there was also a vague murderous aura near the left. Shan Canqiu looked at Xiao Qi: "It really is the disciple of Wudi Liu, who can force the old man to take a step back."

Xiao Qi smiled lazily: "My master told you about your flaws in martial arts." For the first time, Shan Canqiu's gaze showed a trace of shock: "What did he say?" "If you are too strong, you will fade after a long time. To deal with Qiu Fengcan, you must find the most appropriate time to take action." "The last time I had a hasty meeting with Ling Shi, next time I will definitely learn about Wudi Liu's supernatural powers." Shan Canqiu snorted coldly, his eyes glowed like sharp blades, looked at Ye Hengqiu and the others, and said faintly, "God The Five Elements of Machine are really good, apart from Commander Dong, the brothers of the Ye family are also good at unique skills..."

Covered by his cold eyes, the Ye family brothers, Yu Wuya and others all shuddered, and hurriedly raised their weapons and tightened their doors. "Unfortunately, you have offended the sky demon, and you will all die without a place to bury!" If the autumn wind's faint voice had magical power, it was like an invisible cloud that penetrated from everyone's ears to the bottom of their hearts.Dong Gangfeng, Ye Hengqiu and the others all had chills in their hearts, Yu Wuya's complexion changed even more, and he took a few steps back.His shoulder touched Pang Tong's horse's head, and the horse snorted in shock.

At this moment, a leisurely singing voice rang out: "I have lived my whole life, and I have changed my life... I have my own universe, and the country is like this, so many traces of the past. The world has always been, and I have a glass of wine, and the green shirt will be wet..." Together A handsome figure had already appeared at the corner of the post road behind everyone, it was Bai Fang. If it weren't for this lonely singing, everyone would have thought that Bai Yunjuan was... a white ghost emerging from the ground.Perhaps, he never disappeared, just hidden in a transparent air towel.

"Beautiful Bai!" Lu Ru turned around and sneered, "Why do you have to dress up so sadly every time, girls nowadays don't like this look!" Bai Fang smiled disapprovingly: "I don't know what Miss Luru likes, but Bai can learn and sell now." The remnants of the autumn wind and the white clouds were already in tandem, forming a steady pincer attack. "The old man greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Shan Canqiu's deep eyes fixed on Zhu Zhanji who was in the crowd.He smiled and said, "It's all within the old man's expectation that you rushed to the ferry from here to take the waterway. With my second brother's tracking skills, you can't escape the old man's palm even if you go to heaven or earth."

Zhu Zhanji looked up at the gloomy sky, and said with a sneer, "Rebellious ministers and thieves, mantis is like a cart!" "Your Highness, do you still want to fight trapped beasts?" Shan Canqiu sneered, "That's fine, the old man will feel happy after seeing blood, and all of you will die miserably. !" The last six words came out of his mouth loudly, like a dull thunder, slamming into the people by the bridge. When everyone's minds were shocked, the white defense behind them had already activated.The vigorous white clothes rushed towards him like a bolt of lightning, the light of the knife was like a horse's sword, and his blood bloomed like a peach blossom.

The two horses had collapsed so silently that they didn't even have time to feel the pain before they died.The iron guard immediately fell down with a splash.Bai Yunjuan's knife kept on moving, and several horses were hacked to death by him in an instant. Pang Tong roared like thunder, pulled out his weapon from behind, and slashed at Bai Fang.He is nicknamed "Giant Spirit", and the weapons he uses are also extremely heavy, a thirty-six-jin cooked copper mace can break a sword in just one move. There was a sharp sound, but Bai Fang's Yanling saber did not break, a continuous force on the saber was intermittent, but it stuck tightly to the heavy copper mace.Pang Tong yelled again, he used all his strength to withdraw his mace, suddenly felt the saber energy swallowed and breathed out, and he sent back all his brute strength, his arm felt like being hammered.

Suddenly heard a cold snort: "Give it back to you!" A ray of brilliance pierced towards him, like a lightning strike, and it was retracted in a flash.Bai Fang snorted, and a bloody flower flew out of his left shoulder.Dong Gangfeng's crippled sword was already retracted as soon as it was shot. "Excellent swordsmanship!" Bai Fang glanced at his shoulder and said with a sneer, "So Commander Dong's reputation with this broken sword only depends on this surprise attack?" He said slowly taking out a white handkerchief and wiping the wound.Although his shoulder was wounded, a deep groove of blood was swept out. Dong Gangfeng said coldly: "I will return the original knife last night. Although you were powerful in that battle, you also took advantage of the surprise attack!" Bai Fang waved his hand, threw the blood-stained white handkerchief into the air, and said with a smile: "It's so good! , this battle, you and I will compete!" At this moment, Pang Tong regained his composure, rubbed his arms and shouted, "Brother, what rules are you talking about with these thieves!" Dong Gangfeng didn't turn his head back, he said solemnly: "Ye Da, Ye Er, guard Your Highness!" He slowly swung his sword, and suddenly shouted, "Xiao Qi, Lu Ru is going forward, let's all rush across the stone bridge together! I'll break the back. " The commander of the iron guard obviously also knew that this was not the time to be impulsive. In a moment, he made a decisive decision and decided to rush across the bridge. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous to be blocked here without advancing or retreating. "Delusion!" Bai Fang smiled coldly, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Yunteng!" The Yanling Saber swung out, and the vast saber intent rolled out, like clouds flowing in the desert, rushing and galloping, instantly filling the sky with the endless stream of saber aura.This knife is majestic and majestic, it has wrapped up all the remaining swords. Pang Tong beside Can Jian's face turned blue due to the glare of the sword, the giant spirit hissed loudly, and was about to swing his whip to block it, when Dong Gangfeng shouted: "Pang Tong, go to the front and help Xiao Qi!" Surrounded by the turbulent light of the sword, the voice of the commander of the iron guards was not chaotic, and the broken sword swirled out with an indomitable momentum. At the same time as Bai Fang drew out his saber, Xiao Qi also shouted angrily, and pointed his sword between Shan Canqiu's eyebrows.He has been facing this weird old man alone in the front. Compared with Bai Yunjuan's sword technique that sweeps the world, Qiufeng Can's hard-to-defend mental ultimate move is even more terrifying.Even if Can Jian didn't give the order, Xiao Qi couldn't hold it anymore, so he could only use his sword. Although this sword is a desperate move, it is like a gentle wind blowing, the sword's meaning is deep and unpredictable, and Lu Ru also strikes the sword at the same moment, the sword is like a long whale coming out of the water, domineering and majestic.The sword intentions of the two were soft and strong, and the sword energy of yin and yang blended together in one place, and the sword power suddenly rose sharply. Qiu Fengcan raised his head to the sky and screamed, his sleeves pulled towards Xiao Qi like a swimming dragon.His large sleeves are lined with silver thread, and he is not afraid of swords. A strong spinning force burst out from between the big sleeves, Xiao Qidou felt as if his right arm was caught in a whirling hurricane, the Xiaoyao sword could hardly hold it, and it collided with Luru's long sword in an instant. Every time they hit each other, the internal strength of the two people was shaken.When Xiao Qi took a sneak peek, Lu Ru's jade face was already flushed red like a drunk, knowing that she was at the end of her strength at this moment, instead of retreating, she stepped forward, striding in front of Lu Ru, the long sword flew in spite of herself. out. With each step, the sleeve wind became ten times stronger. Xiao Qi rushed three steps in a row, feeling that he had entered the eye of the hurricane. The strange sleeve wind squeezed him from all directions, and a strange force suddenly hit him. His left arm was hit, and the pain felt like a cut in an instant. At the time of the crisis, the words of Master Yichen suddenly flashed in Xiao Qi's mind, and his heart moved: If I move with his sleeve strength, how can I still conform to the purpose of 'the whole body penetrates the air'?In an instant, the mind was collected, and the energy in the whole body was as soft and natural as the flow of water. This time, like a fish unhooked, Xiaoyaojian escaped from the control of sleeve wind in an instant. The strange force from the left arm has already shaken the heart and lungs, Xiao Qi only felt that the meridians were sore and swollen, but at this moment he was advancing but not retreating, so he raised his sword and stabbed out with all his strength. Suddenly hearing the loud bang, the two iron guards who followed Pang Tong rushed to the front had already been pulled off the stone bridge by Shan Canqiu's sleeves.At the same moment, Xiao Qi's long sword had pierced.It was beyond Shan Canqiu's expectation that he was able to get out of the sleeve wind, and this sword surged like a rainbow, piercing Qiu Fengcan's shoulder.Shan Canqiu had no choice but to take two steps back, and shouted in a low voice: "This is the first time this old man has been stabbed by a junior for the past 20 years." His old eyes were sharp, and he took a long breath, ready to go. "Fifth trick, Yunxuan!" As Bai La yelled, Can Jian's shoulder was hanged for the fifth time, but Dong Gangfeng stabbed out with a backhand sword, tearing Bai Yunjuan's chest and skirt.This was the first time that Can Jian hit Bai Fang, although he did not hurt his opponent, it had a great deterrent effect.With the power of white clouds, his face couldn't help but turn pale.Only then did he understand the meaning of the word "Canjian". The more embarrassed he was, the more powerful this man would be. A round of fierce fighting continued, Can Jian behind, Xiao Qi in front and others were all in a panic.The strength of the Heavenly Demon Trinity under the Han King's throne is so terrifying. Xiao Qi couldn't help looking around, where was the most terrifying and mysterious assassin, Gu Xinghan? At this moment, suddenly there was a loud cry, as if countless people and horses were rushing here. "Could it be that officers and soldiers are here?" Both sides in the fierce battle were stunned. But I saw people moving around the corner of the river bank, at first there were only a hundred or ten black figures, and later there were countless people in ragged clothes, there were men and women, old and young, all of them had sallow complexions and looked haggard. "Let's go, the grandson's house is in front of us!" "Sun Yuzi is so rich that the rice noodles at home are higher than the mountains!" Those people shouted, like a group of boundless dark clouds, covering the stretching river bank. "Look ahead, there are dead horses and live ones!" "More than a dozen horses, drink horse blood and eat horse meat..." Thousands of victims let out wild cries of joy and surprise, and the cries were quickly amplified, deafening like thunder. The entire river bank shook, and thousands of people frantically rushed here. Dai Ye's eyes turned cold in the crowd, and he suddenly shouted: "Xiao Qi, Pang Tong, retreat!" Shenji Wuxing was obviously very familiar with Lianjizi's voice.Pang Tong suddenly grabbed Xiao Qi and Lu Ru, and jumped back with all his strength.Shan Canqiu was a little careless, he was disturbed by the rolling victims, but he didn't attack, he was four or five steps away from Xiao Qi, which gave Dai Ye a chance to make a move. Where the red light flashed, Dai Ye's "Fire and Thunderbolt" had already been released.This is a concealed weapon made by the gunpowder method of the Li family in Annan country. It contains strong gunpowder and shoots it out with a strong reed.This is almost the most powerful hidden gunpowder weapon of Ming Dynasty. The flames were dazzling, followed by a bang, and Shan Qiufeng retreated in a panic in the thick smoke and fog. "Brother!" Bai Fang shouted anxiously, and flew away.After the gunpowder smoke dissipated, Shan Qiufeng coughed again and again and jumped up.The front of his chest was burnt, his beard was ruined, and his lower abdomen and shoulders were dripping with blood.Fortunately, he saw the opportunity early and was lucky enough to avoid the end of being disembowelled. "Come on!" Dai Ye led a group of prince's troops to forcefully squeeze across the stone bridge. At this time, a hundred refugees with fast feet rushed towards the stone bridge with red eyes.With an idea, Dai Ye suddenly pulled out the dagger from his waist, swung it twice, and stabbed the skinny horse beside him.The horse wailed and fell to the ground. "Elders who want to eat horse meat," Dai Ye yelled, waving his dagger wildly, pointing at Shan Canqiu, who was slightly injured and fell to the ground not far away, "the two are the nurses of the grandson's family, and he The master of the family colluded with the magistrate and refused to provide food for everyone, let alone let everyone go to Luoyang!" Yu Wuya understood immediately, jumped up and shouted: "Brothers, kill these two guards, kill their horses, and eat their meat!" Dozens of refugees rushed towards Shan Canqiu roaring. Suddenly, there was a flash of saber light, Bai Yunjuan swung two sabers horizontally, and blood sprayed from the throats of the two refugees.All the victims were starving and had no longer any fear of life and death. Bai Fang's two sabers were tantamount to admitting that they were the slaves of the wealthy households, and immediately attracted more fierce victims.The disaster victims in the back rushed towards the people in front, forming an angry stream of people, and swallowed up the Heavenly Demon Shuangjue in a blink of an eye. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity to breathe, the prince and Dai Ye have already galloped forward.Xiao Qi and the others quickly followed. "Hurry up and chase the prince!" Shan Qiufeng coughed again and again, desperately pushing away the victims around him.But at this time, thousands of disaster victims have rushed like a torrent, and there are screams of people everywhere, men's cursing, women's scolding, and children's crying. The foul breath and waving limbs cover everything between the heaven and the earth. . The prince and his party rushed out earlier, Can Jian, Lu Ru and Xiao Qi hugged the prince and rushed to the front, but after passing the stone bridge, the bank was full of thorns and rocks, and they couldn't run away.But at this moment, another group of disaster victims rushed forward, there were four to five hundred people. "There are still horses!" Someone saw the horses under Zhu Zhanji and others, and the victims immediately rushed towards them like crazy. There are sweaty limbs and crazy shouts everywhere, and the desire to survive makes the victims burst out with terrifying vitality. "Girl, follow me closely!" Xiao Qi yelled, holding Lu Ru's hand with one hand, and pushing aside the limbs around him with all his strength.They had already distanced themselves from Zhu Zhanji, Dai Ye and others, and almost fell into the center of the vortex of the crowd. Green as pale as a face.In her eyes, these screaming victims are far more terrifying than the sky demon.She felt that she had become a helpless butterfly, rushing forward in the torrential rain.Fortunately, there was still Suan Qi, that hand tightly gripped her, pulling her forward. "Mom...Mom..." In front of Xiao Qi, a four or five year old girl was crying, but was knocked down by several adults. "Sister!" A seven or eight-year-old girl was beside her, trying to help her sister up, but was also knocked over.Dozens of pairs of stout feet, shoed, barefoot, men's and women's, stepped on their faces and bodies without hesitation... Xiao Qi was startled and hurriedly jumped up, but there were people all around him, he could only squeeze past with all his might.He found that there was another pair of powerful hands rushing towards the little girl through the crowd. It was Canjian Dong Gangfeng.The two rushed there almost at the same time, only to find that the two girls had already been trampled to death. Only their eyes were still struggling, their innocent and pure eyes passed through countless numb and messy legs and feet, and pierced directly into Xiao Qi's heart. "They're hopeless, let's go!" Dong Gangfeng didn't stop, dragged Xiao Qi and Lu Ru and rushed forward.Xiao Qi's scalp was numb, and there seemed to be countless little snakes crawling in his heart.He knew that those little snakes were all formed by the eyes of those two girls. Hearing Ye Hengqiu hiss loudly, he turned around and slapped the two victims who were closest to him into the air.Two strong men screamed and flew up, knocking down more than a dozen people.As if the torrent blocked by the boulder had created a vortex, the rushing flow of people just stagnated, and then became more turbulent. "You two abandon your horse!" Dai Ye, who was in front of the crowd, pointed at the two iron guards on horseback and shouted.After they jumped off the horse, without any explanation, they swung their swords and stabbed the horse's buttocks. The two horses neighed in alarm and ran wildly behind them, but the victims cheered, as if they were not horses, but a pile of roasted horse meat.The startled horse quickly crashed into the crowd, and the victims surrounded by the prince and his party finally passed by noisily. Zhu Zhanji and others finally took the opportunity to distance themselves from the victims. "Zhu Zhanji, you can't escape, the sky demon is angry, the ghosts and gods are punishing..." A long and gloomy laugh resounded from the hustle and bustle of people, and clearly passed into the ears of Zhu Zhanji and others. The hearts of Dong Gangfeng, Xiao Qi and others were all shaken, as if they saw a ray of ghost in a trance, descending from the sky in a strange way, and went straight to the bottom of their hearts. The Thorny Road finally came to an end, and in front of it was a small river that was not deep.Under Dai Ye's repeated urging, everyone hurried across the water without hesitation. I crossed the river in embarrassment, and when I looked back, I saw the victims on the other side of the small river writhing in a ball.There are dense limbs, like a torrent of human flesh, rolling past with earth-shattering wailing and shouting. Although Zhu Zhanji, Dong Gangfeng and others had followed Emperor Yongle deep into Mobei to fight against Meng Yuan, it was the first time they saw such miserable victims, and they were stunned for a while.Lu Ru and Xiao Qi lived in Wudang Taoist Temple for a long time, and they were even more shocked when they saw this.Dai Ye didn't dare to stay for long, but urged everyone to run faster. Suddenly Ye Liantao called out, "Brother, what's wrong with you?" Everyone turned their heads in surprise, only to see Ye Hengqiu's body went limp, and he fell into Ye Liantao's arms.Dai Ye quickly jumped off the horse and said, "Help him on the horse quickly!" The group originally had more than ten horses, but now only two remained.Except for Zhu Zhanji's mount, the black-maned horse, there is only this green-maned horse left.Pang Tong came over and Ye Liantao hurriedly helped Ye Da get on the horse, but saw blood gushing from his waist, staining the lower part of his clothes, and he didn't know when he was injured. "Lian Tao, support Hengqiu on the horse, everyone must not stay!" Dai Ye looked back, but fortunately, there was no sign of the autumn wind and the white clouds. It was obviously covered by the heavy traffic, but he dared not slack off. Call everyone to hurry up. While urging the horse, Ye Liantao applied wound medicine to his brother's wound, but the wound was still bleeding profusely.Ye Liantao was terrified when he saw it, so he desperately bandaged it a few times, and then galloped again. After turning a few circles in the winding dense forest, the screams of the victims could no longer be heard, and the crowd stopped.All this rushing, and even crossing the river to escape, everyone was soaked through.The twilight had already descended heavily, and only the sound of panting was left in the deep forest. "Your Highness," Ye Hengqiu suddenly pulled himself up and shouted loudly, "Your Highness... Take care!" Then he fell on the saddle and remained motionless. "Big brother!" Ye Liantao exclaimed, Xiao Qi hurriedly jumped over, waved his palms and pressed Ye Hengqiu's vest to send in inner qi, but only after the true qi entered, he found that "Ye Zhiqiu" had no life in his body. Ye Liantao burst into tears, Zhu Zhanji strode over, exclaimed: "Hengqiu, Hengqiu!" and hugged him. However, Mu Wei in Shenji Five Elements was no longer making a sound, but his eyes were still open, looking unwillingly at the gloomy blue sky. "In the end..." Zhu Zhanji suppressed his grief and tremblingly said, "Who was murdered?" Lu Ru asked suspiciously: "I remember that he fought with Shan Qiufeng before, but the wound on his back is obviously a sword wound. Could it be that Bai Yunjuan rushed over to attack him?" Dong Gangfeng shook his head and said, "Bai Yunjuan was entangled by me." Hold on, I'm determined not to have such supernatural powers to stab him!" Xiao Qi said, "Could it be that Brother Ye was murdered when the group of disaster victims came and surrounded us earlier?" "It's hard to say!" Yu Wuya tremblingly said, "At that time, Boss Ye and I were running at the back. Suddenly, I heard him shout. When I turned around, I saw him knocking two strong men into the air. The two of them were like ordinary disaster victims, they were swept away by Ye Boss, and they flew away like kites with broken strings..." "What is this?" Lu Ru suddenly exclaimed, and with her slender fingers, she picked up a piece of paper from Ye Hengqiu's neck.The paper is not big, it is very ordinary thin paper, it has been stained red by blood, in the dark twilight, if it is not as green as a heart, it will be hard to detect. There is a very simple pattern drawn on it. It was a weird grimace, although there were only a few strokes, it outlined a strange kind of gloom. "This is a ghost painting talisman!" Dong Gangfeng exclaimed, "Heavenly demons are angry, ghosts and gods punish?" Ye Liantao said in a trembling voice, "Boss, did my brother die from the curse of the sky demon?" Dong Gangfeng's face was as gloomy as water, and he said: "The curse of the sky demon has been spread in the rivers and lakes, but no one who is alive knows the details. Isn't this weird ghost face just the ghost painting we heard before? Also, in the previous confrontation, Hengqiu once confronted Shan Canqiu alone, not only suffered a great loss under his hands, but was also bewildered by his eyes!" Pang Tong also stared wide-eyed, and shouted: "Also, that man surnamed Shan said... Ye Da will die within a day!" "Yes, my brother's meridians were injured by him at that time." Ye Liantao's eyes were already bloodshot, and he slapped his thigh hard, "It's all my fault, I should pay attention to my brother earlier." Xiao Qi was full of doubts in his heart, so he couldn't help but glance at Lu Ru.The girl was also looking at him, her snow-white face was full of shock and doubt. "The current situation is very serious, please don't make wild guesses!" Dai Ye sighed heavily, "Your Highness, death is the most important thing, why not just bury brother Hengqiu here, it is important for us to hurry." "Make a mark, and there will be a generous burial in the future." Zhu Zhanji nodded, his voice has become resolute and resolute, "Remember this blood account, no matter whether it is the Three Demons or the King of Han, the blood debt must be paid in blood!" Now that Dai Ye had chosen a good place, Pang Tong and the two iron guards swung their weapons, dug a deep pit, and buried Ye Hengqiu in it.Ye Liantao prostrated himself on the ground, buried his head in tears, and his shoulders trembled. The twilight is fleeting, and the night comes very quickly.Everyone stood in the dark forest with mixed feelings in their hearts.Although Yiye Zhiqiu had a gloomy temper and didn't like to talk too much, he was an old man with great wit and five elements. His sudden death made even Lu Ru and Xiao Qi, who had fought with him, feel depressed. Dai Ye didn't dare to stay for long, and hurriedly urged Zhu Zhanji to get on his horse.Xiao Qi said: "Wait, where are we going?" Dai Ye glanced at him, and said: "The group of disaster victims can't trap the sky demon. With Bai Yunjuan's tracking technique, they will catch up after dawn. We just escaped in the middle of the night, and we will be able to reach the next station before dawn. When we get there, change to fast horses and drive on, first pass Yanshi, and then cross the Yellow River!" Xiao Qi suddenly said: "Then... what about those disaster victims?" The forest suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at him with strange eyes.They couldn't see the expression on Xiao Qi's face, they could only see his burning eyes. Ye Liantao sneered and said, "Hero Xiao is brave enough to help the victims?" Dai Ye sighed, "Brother Xiao, you are really warm-hearted, but to help the victims, the local officials will help." Xiao Qi shook his head and said: "But they didn't take action, I just saw two children... were trampled to death alive. Brother Dong, you saw it too, didn't you?" Dong Gangfeng lowered his head and sighed: "That is really miserable. Your Highness, the magistrate must have failed to help..." "Xiao Qi is right." Zhu Zhanji raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Since there are local officials who have failed in their duties, let's take action." "Your Highness!" Dai Ye shouted anxiously, "Which is more important, a city or a country? Remnants of disaster victims or hundreds of millions of people?" Xiao Qi also shouted: "Your Highness, those disaster victims are dying at any time! " "Okay." The crown prince sighed deeply, "The closest government office is Yanshi, followed by Luoyang. The place in Yanshi is too small, let's go to the prefect of Luoyang." Dong Gangfeng was shocked: "Your Highness, have you forgotten that there are three magistrates who have defected to the King of Han according to the news from Feng Spy. Because of this, we have been bypassing the local government. If the prefect of Luoyang is one of the three, wouldn't we be on our own?" danger?" "The prefect of Luoyang...is definitely not one of these three people." Dai Ye sighed, "He is my disciple, and for this reason, he is deeply hated by the King of Han. However, Your Highness, it is not the best policy for us to divert to Luoyang... ..." Zhu Zhanji glanced at everyone coldly: "If you don't want to go, you don't have to go." Lu Ru scrambled: "I'll go. I'm dead, this time, you still have some conscience." "What are you doing, people here, who can not follow His Highness the Crown Prince? We are just concerned about the safety of the Crown Prince." Ye Liantao snorted angrily, "It's just that the road to Luoyang is far away, and it's not easy to distinguish at night." Xiao Qi said: "It's not difficult, I know a small road, which is deserted and secluded, and can go straight to Luoyang." Seeing that Dai Ye's eyes flickered, Zhu Zhanji seemed to be waiting to be persuaded, and suddenly said: "Mr. Dai, we suddenly turned to Luoyang at this moment, which can be regarded as a cunning strategy. If Shan Canqiu and the others chased after him, they must think we I will choose the shortest road, go north to Yanshi and cross the Yellow River, I never imagined that we will go to the northwest and go to Luoyang." Dai Ye's old eyes lit up, nodded and sighed: "Your Highness, I hope we can bet right this time." Xiao Qi couldn't help looking at Zhu Zhanji, and for a moment he couldn't figure out whether the prince agreed to go to Luoyang to help the victims, or to show off his unique skills and throw off the pursuers.The night was so dark that he couldn't see the prince's face clearly. Everyone rushed out of the forest.The two horses that Zhu Zhanji and Dai Ye shared were both biting in their mouths and wrapped in cotton, and they ran without any movement.Xiao Qi was the first to run quickly, while Lu Ru, Dong Gangfeng and others followed silently. Turn from this small river bend to the northwest, bypass the post road, and only take the small road.This way of going westward in circles to Luoyang was really beyond Shan Qiufeng's expectations, and everyone rushed all the way without hindrance. "Luru, do you want to ride a horse?" Zhu Zhanji suddenly whispered. Lv Ru seemed to be overwhelmed, startled, and laughed quickly: "Thank you, Prince, you should ride the horse, the little girl is flattered." Zhu Zhanji smiled "hehe", and was about to make fun of her, and then ordered her to get on the horse, when he suddenly heard Delu Rujiao called out: "Hey, Xiao Qisan, what's wrong with you?" "It's okay girl!" Xiao Qi smiled disapprovingly.It turned out that after running for a long time, Xiao Qi felt a dull pain under his left rib, it was the hidden injury from the fight with Shan Canqiu. "Deadly Seven." Lu Ru suddenly whispered, "I didn't expect that you would still miss the victims of the disaster, and you are kind-hearted!" Xiao Qi wanted to smile, but the eyes of the two girls flashed past his eyes, so he couldn't laugh, and only sighed deeply.In the darkness, suddenly a catkin held his hand.He was slightly startled, but he heard Lu Ru whisper: "Don't move, you are injured internally, I'll hold you and run to save some energy." Under the faint moonlight, Zhu Zhanji suddenly turned his head, and saw the girl's concerned eyes on Xiao Qi, and couldn't help feeling depressed.He swung his whip suddenly, causing the horse's hooves to neigh. Going to Luoyang in the northwest is only a little farther away from the Yellow River, and it is not too far from the distance.After rushing for a long time, everyone finally arrived at the city of Luoyang. Daming had a night ban system, and it was already late at night, and the gates of the city were tightly closed.However, Dong Gangfeng, the commander of the iron guards, had two badges of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment on his body, and he knocked on countless city gates along the way.At this time, the gate of the city was opened without any effort, and Zhu Zhanji and others rode in proudly. Luoyang is known as "the thoroughfare of ten provinces in the world", and it was the seat of Henan Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty.Back then when Dai Ye traveled around the world, he had spent many days in Luoyang, now he was leading the way, and he arrived at the magistrate's office in a short time. The mansions of the Ming Dynasty all had halls in the front and bedrooms in the back. In front of them was the imposing Yamen of Luoyang Mansion. After passing through the gates of the three halls, you came to the garden behind the yamen, which was the resting place for the magistrate’s family. After rushing into the inner hall all the way, he was so shocked that several guards and old servants who were watching the night came to block him, but they were all staggered by Pang Tong. "Tell the magistrate to come out!" Zhu Zhanji stopped outside the back garden. Ye Liantao grabbed an old servant to lead the way, strode into the back garden, and pushed a middle-aged scholar out after a while.The man was in his forties, obese, and only wearing a moon-white coat. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Pang Tong and Ye Liantao, who were like iron towers. He is a good man... If you have something to say, how much money do you want, I will offer it with both hands..." "Xuan Xu!" Dai Ye suddenly shouted, "A majestic court official, a fourth-rank magistrate, without the slightest backbone, how decent is he?" Xuan Xu, the magistrate, looked at Dai Ye carefully by the light of the lamp, vaguely felt familiar, and said doubtfully: "This old gentleman, dare to ask your surname, Taifu..." "The prefect of Xuan is very forgetful." Dai Ye sneered, "I still know you, I know you. You were a Jinshi in the 18th year of Yongle, and you were the Guibang Jieyuan in the Henan provincial examination in the 15th year of Yongle. You broke the question in the rural examination that year The old man still remembers the sentence, "Heaven's destiny is eternal, but virtue is the kinship, the heart of heaven is the heart of all people, and the worry of the king is the worry of the people..." These two sentences still have a little shape." Xuan Xu's eyes widened, and he said puzzledly, "You always... oh, Mr. Dai! The lamp is dim, please forgive the blindness of the students!" He knelt down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Student Xuan Xu, I have seen the teacher." It turned out that Dai Ye was the examiner when he was in the provincial examination in Henan. According to the official rules at that time, Xuan Xu was selected by Dai Ye's Zhubi, so he wanted to worship Dai Ye as the seat owner, and he has been Dai Ye's student ever since. Xuan Xu heaved a sigh of relief after talking about the teacher-student ceremony with Dai Ye, and hurriedly invited the prince and his party into the inner hall respectfully.After sitting down and serving tea, Xuan Xu said: "The teacher is here, and the students are very honored, but I heard that the teacher has been washing horses for the East Palace and accompanying the prince in recent years. How could he come to the student's humble house?" Dai Ye let out a "hum" and ordered him to retreat from the servants in the hall, then he cupped his hands at Zhu Zhanji and said, "This is the current prince!" When Xuan Xu ascended, Gao was stunned on the spot. Although he knew that the crown prince was ordered to sacrifice to Wudang, he still never imagined that the crown prince would suddenly barge into the inner garden of his magistrate's mansion late at night. Dai Ye said again: "His Royal Highness is making a private visit in order to investigate the officials along the way..." Suddenly, Xuan Xu pulled up his clothes and knelt down, kowtowed and said: "Xuan Xu, the prefect of Luoyang, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Zhu Zhanji snorted coldly: "I heard from Mr. Dai that you were born as a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Yongle. You have read all the books of Confucius and Mencius in vain these years. Thousands of elders and elders piled up at the mouth of the river for the disaster victims in Luoyang. Why don't you go?" Sending out food for disaster relief?" Xuan Xu's expression changed drastically, and he quickly kowtowed and said, "This Yellow River has a small disaster every two years and a major disaster every three years, which is the most troublesome. Speaking of which, the most severe famine is winter. There was a disaster last winter, and the official has already Relief. Unexpectedly, the Yellow River flooded again this year, and there was a locust plague, and the victims gathered here in a mess. In such a big famine, my grain storage in Luoyang is really a drop in the bucket. How useful it is. There is absolutely no falsehood in the lower officials, as evidenced by the old Confucian officials near you." "A drop in the bucket can save people. One more mouthful of food will save one person from starvation!" Zhu Zhanji said sharply, "The imperial court pre-appropriates food funds for disaster relief every year. These food and money have been blown into the autumn wind, and have not reached your Luoyang." Is it?" When Xuan Xu heard his words getting harsher, he became more and more frightened, and kowtowed: "I am guilty, I am guilty, I am going to release food!" Seeing Xuan Xu kowtow like chicken and rice, Dai Ye knew that this was definitely not the time to teach him a lesson, so he said: "Xuan Xu, look at your dereliction of duty, if you are not following the old ways, you are perverting the law for personal gain. The current situation is very serious, I hope you will take your crimes and make meritorious deeds, and go to the disaster relief quickly." Seeing Xuan Xu get up and walk out profusely with sweat, Dai Ye stopped him again: "Your Highness's trip is extremely secretive, and there must be no news of it leaking." Xuan Xu promised again and again, and dared not be negligent. He got up from the ground and greeted his staff and soldiers to distribute disaster relief. He also hurriedly ordered the housekeeper to move all his family members into another house, and vacated the good house in the back garden to Zhu Zhanji and others. people. At midnight, Xiao Qi was still sitting alone indoors. The four guards of Shenji lived on both sides of the Prince's dormitory, while his dormitory was in the north room, not far or near, and he could help in time when something happened. Xuanzhi's mansion is not a good official, but the wine in his mansion is good wine.It was a rare moment of leisure, Xiao Qi had already drank two jugs of wine.Suddenly someone knocked on the door softly, followed by a clear and green voice: "Sick, open the door!" "Little Senior Aunt, why don't you go to sleep?" Xiao Qi sipped his wine and said casually, "It's so late, I'm afraid I'll insult Little Senior Aunt's reputation." "Get out of your grandma's Qing Yu," Lu Ru shouted, "If you don't open the door, my aunt will kick you." Xiao Qi hurried over and opened the door.A wisp of faint fragrance drifted in with the refreshing night wind, the green color seemed to be just after taking a bath, the blue silk was slanted, and the moon-white Confucian uniform had been replaced with a light green shirt and skirt.She actually held a guqin in her arms. Xiao Qi's eyes lit up, he didn't pay much attention to Lu Ru's attire, but he looked at the guqin first, and murmured: "It's really a good piano, did you get it from Xuanxu Mansion?" There was a flash of light in Lu Ru's eyes, he put the guqin on the table, glanced at the wine in Xiao Qi's hand, and said: "This corrupt official has good wine in his possession, so naturally he also has a good piano. It's a pity that we can't keep it for ourselves, we can only hug it." Let me show you." Xiao Qi let out a long sigh: "It's a pity, it's a pity, I just showed me a qin, Xiaosheng thought that my little aunt wanted to follow the example of the ancients!" Lu Ruqi said: "What ancient people should I follow?" 萧七道：“红拂啊，小师姑姿容绝世，堪比的古人不多。” “死酸七！”绿如的脸一下子红了起来。她读书不多，却也知道红拂夜奔私会李靖的故事。她一脚踢在萧七的屁股上。萧七揉着屁股，却“呵呵”地笑起来。 “这应是晚唐的古琴。”他的目光再次凝在那张琴上，神色已变得恭敬肃穆，“看这琴面的断纹便知道，琴不过百年，不会有断纹，这竟是极罕见的梅花断。”喃喃自语间，他五指轻抚，一缕琴韵飘然而出，声音纯净、宏大而光润。 “唐代斫琴大家雷氏曾说过，五百年，有正音！”萧七目光沉醉，悠悠叹道，“果真是好琴。” 绿如“哼”了一声，将桌上的古琴拉到了自己身边，冷冷道：“萧七酸，我抱这琴过来，不是让你过瘾的，是要你收回在山上的话！” “什么话？”萧七兀自轻抚着琴上的漆纹，“反正得罪小师姑的地方太多，弟子早记不清楚了。” “你还有些自知之明，”绿如在桌前稳稳坐下，捻了下琴弦，“你不是说我那首怡神谱，微觉清冷，缺少醇和之气么？我要让你仔细再听一遍。” 萧七一惊，忙道：“绿如小师姑的琴艺炉火纯青，早到了随心所欲的化境，就不必再弹了吧。这更深入静的，你跑到小生屋内，偷偷摸摸也就是了，再大张旗鼓地弹琴，闹得四邻皆知，岂不……” “闭嘴！”绿如喝道，“老实听琴！” 萧七叹了口气，只得依言坐下，举起酒壶饮了一大口，才道：“请！” 琴音悠然而起，声色松透而沉厚，仿佛带着千年古木的生命气息。萧七脸上的嘻笑瞬间不见，目光随着琴声变得沉静下来。 “丫头，”他忽然一声低叹，“怪不得你年纪轻轻，内力便如此通透淳和。原来你的内功竟是自琴中得来，真气出于十指，心意融于琴韵，则与外境融为一体。每次弹琴，都是一次入定。” “少废话，”绿如的一双素手轻捻徐按，“跟着我的琴音调息。” “多谢了！”萧七微笑着闭上双目，心中的话却没有说出：你是挂念我的伤势，特意赶来以琴韵助我疗伤的吧…… 琴声起伏悠远，带着萧七的心神飘飘而上，仿佛眼前明月如霜，竹林间清风习习，清泉流淌…… 也不知过了多久，琴声渐缓渐低。萧七睁开眼，眸内竞隐隐有泪水闪烁。 绿如奇道：“萧七酸，我的琴技有如此魔力，竟让你涕泪横流？但我这是怡神谱啊，你闻曲落泪，却与我这琴韵全然不符！” “不是闻曲落泪，是听曲思人。”萧七的目光有些恍惚，黯然道，“我想起了夕夕，那年春天，是个暖暖的春夜，她也曾弹曲子给我听，只是她弹的却是古筝……” 绿如的玉靥立时变得雪白一片，忽然站起身来，玉手一拂，那古琴便向地上坠去。 萧七大是心疼，一把抄住古琴，叫道：“姑奶奶，好好的，你这又怎么了？”绿如却已不搭理他，转身便走。 萧七忙道：“绿如，你去哪里？” “用不着你管。”绿如头也不回地摔门而出。 琴声突然止息，对面的正房内打开了一扇窗子。闪耀的烛火下，太子朱瞻基凝立窗前，目光疑惑地望向北房，正瞧见绿如气冲冲地奔出房间。 一抹不易察觉的失落之色，从朱瞻基的眸中滑落。 “可惜啊，如此好琴！”幽幽叹了口气，太子才合上窗子，回过身来对满头大汗的宣知府点了点头，“几千灾民，自不能一时三刻就安顿好，但你闻令而动，筹措也算迅捷，还算有些干练之才……” 得了太子爷难得的温言安抚，宣旭几乎热泪盈眶，忙从座上跪倒，连连叩头，自述这便要连夜赶回灾区，与灾民同甘共苦，夙夜不休，肝脑涂地，报答太子的知遇之恩。 朱瞻基有些疲倦，挥了挥手让他退下了。 屋内刚刚安静下来，便响起了叩门声，跟着叶连涛的声音响起：“殿下还未安寝吧，连涛求见！” 朱瞻基蹙了下眉，仍是叹道：“进吧。”房门开启，叶连涛像个影子般闪了进来。望着这位最沉默的属下，朱瞻基不得不宽慰他几句，告诉他回京后定会嘉奖他的亡兄。 “多谢殿下，属下感激涕零。”叶连涛似乎想说什么，犹豫了一下，终于咬牙道，“殿下，要不要属下出手，替殿下杀了这小子？” 朱瞻基悚然一惊：“什么，你要杀谁？” “萧七啊！”叶连涛的目光却如鬼火般闪耀着，“殿下看上了绿如那丫头，可这小丫头却总是痴痴地缠着那小子。偏这小子没有眉眼高低，还总爱跟这丫头调侃，不如属下寻隙下手，料理了这小子……” 朱瞻基骤然一个哆嗦，原想张口怒斥，但嘴唇翕张了一下，竟没有喊出口，心里面倒有个声音在冷冰冰地响着：朱瞻基，叶连涛说得是。你才是真正的天下第一，十三岁就被雄视千古的皇爷挑中，亲自带在身边历练，文采风流和骑射功夫都是天下一等一的。怎么绿如偏偏会中意这小子？除了那点乐道和武功，这小子哪里比你强了？ 一股寒意倏地袭来，朱瞻基不由一震：我怎会有这样龌龊的心思？忙板起脸，沉声道：“你胡说什么？” “属下出手决计不着痕迹，或是在一场厮杀时趁乱动手，或是赶路时待他落了后……”叶连涛近前一步，低声道，“殿下放心，没人看得出来！” 朱瞻基，让连涛杀了这小子，也不错啊……心内那声音又响起来，朱瞻基不由攥紧了双拳，终于挥了挥手，低喝道：“不得胡闹。” 这四个字一出口，连朱瞻基自己都觉得奇怪，为何只用这四个不痛不痒的字，叶连涛所说的，只是胡闹么？ 他忽然有些心神俱疲，摆了下手：“连涛，早些休息，我也累了。” 叶连涛的目光熠然一闪，终于低头告退。 叶连涛退下后，朱瞻基才苦笑一声：“罡锋，你都听到了吧？” 太子所居的是一明一暗的套间，他在外面的明厅接见属下，董罡锋则在里面的暗间床上打坐。幼军统领始终不敢离开朱赡基半步。 听得太子问询，董罡锋才低叹道：“殿下英明。连涛所说实在让人不齿。许是他兄长暴亡，心智昏乱了，好在殿下及时喝止，让他悬崖勒马。” 朱瞻基心不在焉地“嗯”了一声，没有答话。 天明了，一道桃红色的云气蜿蜒着挂在东方，如一条待起的赤龙。 眼见宣知府已依令全心放粮赈灾，朱瞻基才放下心来，准备率众离开宣府。不管如何，在宣知府的后园中，众人难得地休息了半晚，清晨也都起得稍晚，辰巳之交时众人才出发。 宣旭办事精明，不但备了好马和干粮酒水，更亲领一支官兵护送太子赶向黄河老河口渡口。 黄河刚刚犯过灾，此时浑浊的河水依旧肆虐狂野，纵目望去，河岸宽阔得有些吓人。 河水摆渡，本来无须大船，但宣知府却动了大心思，仓促间竟弄来一艘长约九丈的双桅巡船。这种船因官舱如大印，俗称“一颗印”，最是宽敞平稳。 宣旭本要亲自陪同朱瞻基渡河，却被董罡锋拦住了，告知太子不愿太过张扬。宣旭只得小心翼翼地伺候朱瞻基登上了船。 巡船缓缓启航，河水拍击着船舷，发出碎玉交击般的脆鸣，在金灿灿的日辉中滔滔远去。 朱瞻基倚坐窗边，远眺着沉浑的黄河水，忽然心有所感，道：“戴老，到了这黄河，我忽然想起了一句典故'河出图，洛出书'，这流传干载的河图洛书，到底是什么？” “相传，上古伏羲氏时，便在这洛阳东北的黄河中浮出了龙马，背负'河图'以献伏羲。伏羲依此演绎出八卦，这便是《周易》的来源。大禹时，洛阳之西的洛河中浮出神龟，背驮'洛书'以献大禹。大禹依此治水成功，遂划天下为九州。故《易·系辞上》说：'河出图，洛出书，圣人则之'。” “黄河中会跃出龙马来献河图，此说虽然玄虚，但这河图只怕与黄河还是有些关联的。”朱瞻基心生怀古之感，又压低了声音，“武当一尘掌教交给我的玄武灵壶上，也有河图的图案。” “玄武灵壶？”戴烨不由脸色微变，却不敢多言，只淡淡笑道，“想来这河图与玄武之秘，都关乎天地间最大的奥秘吧！” 朱瞻基笑了笑，不由探手摸了摸怀中的紫金葫芦，这小小的葫芦中，到底有何玄机呢？ 船舱外，一道竹竿般的人影急促地晃着，瘦脸上的神色与河水一样，一派浑浊。 “乌鸦！”叶连涛忽然在他肩头重重一拍。这一下突如其来，几乎将竹竿样的余无涯拍折。他“哎哟”一声，猛然转头望见了叶连涛，脸色更黑了些，赔笑道：“二爷，吓兄弟一大跳！” 叶连涛冷笑道：“心中没鬼，怎会如此害怕？”余无涯很无辜地瞪大双眼：“兄弟心中那才是坦坦荡荡，好比朗朗乾坤……” “少废话，”叶连涛倏地逼近一步，“当时你离家兄最近？”余无涯脸色苍白，嗫嚅道：“当时人太多，满处都是胳膊大腿，那臭气熏得兄弟要昏过去了，哪里看得那么真切？” 叶连涛森然道：“除了你，还有什么高手在左近？” 余无涯道：“萧七……就在不远处。” 叶连涛的脸色瞬间僵冷，阴冷的目光扫向舱内。 舱内，萧七有些失落地坐在绿如的侧后方，恰可看见她窈窕的腰肢挺得笔直，犹如一根新发的嫩竹，从这笔直中他能看出少女心中的倔强。 绿如一直盯着起伏的河水，一言不发。 也许不该在丫头跟前提起夕夕。萧七有些后悔，蓦地又想到那晚白畴的话，少女剑光霍霍、奋不顾身的倩影在心底闪现，霎时一阵涟漪搅起，心中怅然若失。 “绿如，”坐在舱前侧的朱瞻基忽然回过头来，“这会儿心很乱，可否请你弹琴一阙？”绿如淡淡一笑：“太子爷，这地方哪来的琴呀？” 朱瞻基向董罡锋挥了下手。残剑解下背后的包裹，将一张古琴横放在绿如身前的小桌上。熟悉的梅花断纹，乌沉沉的琴身，这正是昨晚绿如在宣府弹过的晚唐古琴。 “昨晚听你弹了半阙，没有尽兴。”太子望着她微笑，目光如温泉般暖而清澈，“宣旭又是个伶俐人，一大早就把琴送来了，死活要赠给你这懂琴的奇女子。” 绿如给他深沉的目光望着，双颊竟有些发烧，仿佛满腹心事都被这干练睿智的太子看透。不知怎的，这时候她居然鬼使神差地瞥了眼萧七，二人目光一对，心底都是五味杂陈。 这目光自然逃不过朱瞻基的眼眸，他的浓眉微微蹙了下。少女慌忙垂下秀眸，拉过古琴，低叹道：“形势紧迫，绿如只当殿下没心思听琴了。”