Chapter 25 Chapter Ten Heavy Snow

Saying goodbye to Xiao Qianqing, I took the necessary items and rushed to Tianshan. I left the capital, crossed the Yin Mountains, and entered Xinjiang from Yumen Pass. I took the long and narrow ancient Silk Road. From the time I left Beijing, the snow began to fall, first sporadic snow particles, intermittently, and then there was heavy snow like goose feathers, until the evening of the fourth day, the heavy snow filled the sky like crazy, whistling Sweeping across the earth, carrying the snow on the ground along the way, it rushed across the vast desert. The horse struggled in the blizzard, and the snow like fine grains of salt poured into the clothes from the neckline and the bottom of the robe. The edge of the hood slapped on the forehead like a knife cut. Five steps away from the horse, there was a vast expanse of whiteness.

I trekked through the heavy snow for half an hour and arrived at a post station before dark. When I finally saw the stone house in the snow, I breathed a sigh of relief. I tied the horses to the stables, and came to the hut of the post station for travelers to rest. The hut lit by a charcoal fire was crowded with travelers escaping from the wind and snow. I went in and sat down in an inconspicuous corner. This place is located in the frontier, and it is also a place where the knights of the rivers and lakes are active. There are many people of all kinds. When I walked in, the tourists just glanced at me and started chatting again.

Beside the fire farther away from me, a group of people wearing felt hats and riding boots, with high noses and deep eyes, seemed to be merchants from the Western Regions in the past.The group nearer to me was dressed up by people from the Central Plains, and they chatted without saying a word, all of which were the most concerned events in the martial arts recently-the battle between the Central Plains martial arts and the Tianshan faction. A swordsman in front of the fire poked a charcoal fire and said, "According to how many of you, which side has a better chance of winning this time, the Central Plains Wulin or the Tianshan School?"

The lean old man next to him, holding a pipe and pot, took a puff of a cigarette and said slowly, "Who knows?" Opposite the old man was a fair-skinned young swordsman. He immediately said, "Didn't Mr. Fenglaige Bai lead his people to the Western Region? It is not difficult to ask the Tianshan faction to disarm and surrender." The bearded man next to the young swordsman sneered slightly: "Bai Chifan? He is not a god or general. The Seven Great Sword Sects of Shaolin Wudang, together with the young centaur from Fenglai Pavilion, came to the Western Regions aggressively, but they were just trapped. It's been more than three months at the bottom of Bogda Peak, not counting the loss of manpower, not even a hair of the old monster of Tianshan, now that Bai Chifan is here, will the old monster of Tianshan be tied up?"

The young swordsman's face turned red: "Hero Fu, I didn't say that Mr. Bai is a heavenly general, nor that he will tie his hands when he reaches the Tianshan Mountain. I just said that Mr. Bai will have a better chance of winning when he arrives." He said , asking for approval from the thin old man who spoke earlier, "Old Ji, what do you think?" The thin old man took a puff of dry cigarette, and said slowly: "Old Monster Tianshan, the head of the Tianshan School, has been in Tianshan for more than 20 years. Those who pass by will be injured or killed. "Although there are many martial arts in the Central Plains, there are also many elites, but the terrain on the Tianshan Mountains is complex, the cliffs and passes are easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the weather is extremely cold. Many people in the Central Plains are not used to it. In my humble opinion, it is hard to say what the final outcome will be." He said slowly. After finishing speaking, he suddenly looked at the young swordsman, "Wen Shaoxia, do you have relatives or friends from Fenglai Pavilion?"

The young chivalrous man nodded: "I have a good friend in the Fenglai Pavilion. According to my friend, their pavilion master is the most kind to others, and he takes the lead when encountering problems, which is an example. In the Fenglai Pavilion, everyone He is deeply respected. A few months ago, by chance, I admired Mr. Bai's demeanor, and his elegant and unparalleled demeanor really made my generation envy and admire him." The pale-faced man who had been huddled by the fire suddenly raised his head and snorted contemptuously: "Qingya Wushuang? You haven't seen that surnamed Bai's vicious and despicable face when he slaughtered innocents, have you?" !"

The young swordsman was a little displeased, frowned and said, "How can Senior Mu hurt people? Could it be that Mr. Wang Bai has a great reputation at a young age, so he feels dissatisfied?" "What do you mean?" The blue-faced man suddenly sat up straight, and raised his voice, "Could it be that I, Mu, are jealous of that Bai?" Seeing his anger, the young swordsman felt a little embarrassed, and snorted softly: "Senior Mu knows best what it means." The blue-faced man slapped the edge of the brazier with his palm, and smiled angrily: "Even if I was jealous of a dog or a pig, I wouldn't be jealous of that sick man! Wen Shaoxia, the Mr. Bai you admire is a The sick ghost who lingers on the sick bed, come to the Western Region this time, let alone kill the old monster of Tianshan, I am afraid that I will die of illness first!"

The young swordsman was also angry: "Senior Mu, you are too mean, right? Has Mr. Bai ever offended you? Even if Mr. Bai has always been in poor health, it will not be as you said!" The blue-faced man snorted coldly: "Offended? That Bai guy never offended me, he just took my..." He stopped suddenly, sneered and changed the subject, "You don't know, do you? That Mr. Bai of yours, The men and horses from Fenglai Pavilion have been hiding in the carriage since they set off from Jinling, not even daring to show their faces, I think he is dying..." With a sound of "bang", a bullet flew past the blue-faced man's forehead, leaving a bloodstain on his hairline, with no energy left, it sank into the wall behind him.

I blew away the gunpowder smoke from the muzzle of the gun, stood up and smiled, "This fellow martial artist, that young man is right, it's better not to be too harsh." Seeing the musket in my hand, the eyes of the young swordsman suddenly lit up: "Fire gun! You are Miss Ling, Mr. Bai's direct disciple? You really live up to your reputation!" Still with a cold face, I said to the green-faced man: "I don't care what kind of enmity you have with our pavilion master, Jianghu people don't rely on lip service to gain a foothold. Instead of cursing a few words in front of others, it's better to draw a sword Go for it with a gun, even if you die in defeat, others will praise you for your backbone."

The blue-faced man stared blankly at me, I put away my gun and sat down again, except for the yearning and longing eyes of the young swordsman, the rest of the people around the fire also turned their eyes to me, silently saying nothing. think. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes to rest. I heard those people were silent for a while, and gradually began to talk again. They repeatedly said what kind of losses Shaolin Wudang and the Seven Great Swords had suffered in the front, and who they lost, but they never said anything. Don't mention Fenglai Pavilion anymore. With the warm atmosphere, the young swordsman also forgot the unhappiness just now, and went to participate in the discussion with great interest. Only the blue-faced man, I didn't hear him say a word again.

The night passed quickly, and when it was dawn, the strong wind finally calmed down, and the heavy snow in the sky was still falling, but they could barely go on the road. Most of the people in the station stayed in the hut to wait for the snow to stop for safety. I ate the dry food I brought with me, filled a skin full of hot spirits, and hurried on the road again. I asked the post officer at the post station last night and looked at the map, only then did I know that this place is close to Hami. According to the news sent by Hongqing with the falcon yesterday, the group of them just arrived in Hami, and the snowstorm was so heavy last night, they probably won't be on their way anymore. I made up my mind, I no longer cherish the horsepower, and drove the horse all the way. At noon, after passing a Kazakh herdsman’s camp, I actually saw fresh blood and swords scattered in the snow. Going a little further, I saw a few dead men in snow on the side of the road , The sound of fighting behind the mountain bag in front of me gradually became clear, and I hurriedly rode my horse and rushed over. As soon as I approached the mountain bag, I heard that familiar voice: "Xiaoqian, leave a life alive." In the open space behind the hill, Xiao Huan sat in a wooden wheelchair surrounded by white fox fur. Behind him stood Shi Yan who held an umbrella for him. Beside them were the disciples of Fenglai Pavilion and those snow-clothed men who were fighting, because I burst out, and they turned their eyes away. Both Xiao Huan and Shi Yan were stunned. At this moment, a snow-clothed man next to the wheelchair saw the gap and threw the long sword in his hand towards Xiao Huan. The distance was too close, and the snow-clothed man suddenly got into trouble again, the long sword was deflected by Shi Yan's palm, and the tip of the sword still slashed across Xiao Huan's cheek, leaving a thin bloodstain on his cheek. The bullets whizzed out of my gun barrel, and the man in the snow suit was shot in the right shoulder, and the snow suit suddenly turned bright red, and he fell to the ground with a plop. I drove the horse across the battlefield, jumped off the horse in front of the wheelchair, pinched Xiao Huan's jaw on the wheelchair, and turned his face to look: "How about it, will it be disfigured?" Under the paper umbrella, he frowned in disbelief, his dark pupils seemed to be covered with a layer of mist: "Cang Cang?" I saw that the wound on his cheek was not deep, and there should be no scars after it healed, so I wiped off the blood with my fingertips, then let him go, and pushed back a few snow-clothed men with muskets, "Why, disciple come here Helping Master, are you unhappy?" He gave a soft "hmm" behind him, and the heavy snow fell silently on the bloody battlefield. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the corner of the wheelchair under him, which was a bit glaring. Although there are many people in snow clothes, there are not many good players. Fenglai Pavilion did not have an advantage in numbers, but they were all elites in the pavilion, which quickly turned the tide of the battle. I saw that Su Qianhongqing and the others were able to advance and retreat freely among the enemy group, so they stood beside Xiao Huan and said to him: "Is Master okay?" He responded: "It's okay." I knew he would say that, so I smiled: "Fortunately, I rushed here, otherwise I would not be by Master's side for such a big matter, it would be too negligent." He raised his head to look at me and smiled, but the eyes in his deep pupils were a little loose: "It's nothing, you still have business in the capital, so I didn't let anyone inform you." I nodded, a little strange that Xiao Huan didn't know that Hong Qing told me their itinerary, so Hong Qing secretly passed on the letter to me behind Xiao Huan's back? But although Xiao Huan gave his subordinates complete trust, but with the level of detail in his observation of the situation, it is impossible for Hong Qing to send the messenger back and forth many times, but he didn't notice it at all. Just as I was thinking, Su Qian and the others had already repelled the snow-clothed man. Su Qian walked over and kicked the snow-clothed man who was injured by my gun on the shoulder: "Don't pretend to be dead, get up." Not only did the snow-clothed man not get up, he didn't even move. When this guy was first injured by me, he was still trembling and convulsing, but just now he suddenly stopped moving. I knelt down and picked up the snow-clothed man. His face was exposed from the snow, his blood vessels were protruding, and his skin was a strange blue-green color. I couldn't help but let out a low cry. Xiao Huan supported the armrest of the wheelchair with one hand, leaned slightly, and took my hand with the other hand: "Don't touch his skin." Then he asked, "What color is his face?" I was still in a daze, so I quickly replied: "Blue, no, there is some green in the blue, just like the color of peacock feathers." Xiao Huan frowned: "Scattered Peacock?" "The few we captured just now were also killed in this way. They should have taken poison and killed themselves when they saw that the situation was wrong." Hong Qing came over to report. "With such determination, would you rather die after being captured?" Xiao Huan frowned more tightly, and coughed a few times, "This is not a member of the Tianshan sect, so be on guard in the future." Hong Qing took the lead, and everyone went to repack and prepare to go on the road. I looked down at Xiao Huan's hand that was still on my wrist, the wrist bones and knuckles were protruding, slender and thin, as if carved out of ice and snow, without any other color, just like his face now, as quiet and white as ice and snow , but there was a faint breath of silence. As if aware that I was looking at his hand, Xiao Huan let go of it suddenly, and smiled lightly: "Sorry, I forgot." I smiled and stood up: "Master is too polite." He smiled, coughed a few times, and said nothing. Shi Yan, who was holding an umbrella on one side, interjected flatly: "It's snowing heavily, son, let's get in the car." There was still a strong sense of hostility towards me in his tone. This is Shi Yan, everyone else changed his name to Xiao Huan as "Pavilion Master", but he refused to call him "Long Live Lord" or "Prince Lord", and finally found such a title by himself . The carriage parked on the side of the road is not only covered with fur on the doors, windows and ceiling, but also spacious and tall. Seeing this carriage, I finally understood why Fenglai Pavilion, which has always been famous for its swift actions, walked so slowly this time. With this luxurious and tall carriage, this is already considered super fast. The wheelchair stopped in front of the wooden ladder, Shi Yan put away the umbrella, Xiao Huan held his arm, slowly got up, went up the steps, held the door of the carriage, and walked into the carriage. I watched from the side, and finally asked Su Qian: "Master can still walk, why is he in a wheelchair?" Su Qian glanced at me, but said nothing. It was only after I got on the horse that I vaguely heard coughing from inside the carriage. Except for Xiao Huan who got into the carriage, the rest followed on horseback. Shi Yan and Hong Qing, who were walking in front of the carriage, intentionally slowed down their speed, but after walking for a while, the leather curtain of the carriage opened a gap, and Xiao Huan said two words: "full speed." Shi Yan and Hong Qing glanced at each other, they had no choice but to clamp down on the horse's belly and hurry on with all their strength. We drove so fast, and before it got dark, we arrived at a small town where Uyghurs live together. The journey was tiring, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived, and quickly went to the post station to rest and eat. After I tied up the horse, I saw Shi Yan standing alone outside the gate of the post station, looking worriedly at the carriage parked at the gate of the post station. The coachman had long since disappeared, and the horses pulling the cart had also unloaded to rest, but Xiao Huan didn't seem to get off the cart yet. I walked over and asked, "What's wrong?" Shi Yan answered succinctly: "Nothing happened." Then, as if he finally made up his mind, he walked towards the car door, "I'll go and see." I stopped him: "I'll do it." I hurried over and jumped into the carriage, and when I lifted the leather curtain, the first thing I smelled was a strong smell of herbs. I took two deep breaths and looked at the situation inside the carriage. There was no daylight in the carriage, but there were several fixed oil lamps on the wall, illuminating the carriage. Xiao Huan was lying on the wooden table in the car, with his eyes closed tightly, an open map under his head, one hand hanging under the table, and the other holding a handkerchief to his lips. He fell into a coma, I took a breath, leaned down and hugged his head in my arms, then moved the wooden table, pulled a piece of fox fur to lay it out, and carefully put his body on it . As soon as I flattened my body, it seemed that the blood that had been curled up suddenly flowed freely. His body trembled suddenly, and a muffled cough escaped from his mouth. He frowned and curled up slightly, holding the handkerchief tightly on verbal. A little bit of dark red oozes from the handkerchief, and his body trembles violently with the sound of coughing. I quickly hugged his shoulders and made him sit up a little. After sitting up, he removed the handkerchief and coughed a few times, then took a deep breath, opened his eyes and looked at me with difficulty: "Xiaoqian?" I didn't dare to force my hand while holding him, and replied, "Master, it's me." He coughed a few more times and forced a smile: "Cangcang." I took a cushion and put it behind his back for him to lean on, carefully loosened his shoulders, supported his body, and helped him stroke his chest to subdue his breath, and saw his pale blood-colored cheeks return to normal I was so pale that I breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Li didn't follow?" He raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, and said after a while: "Mr. Li must not let me come, and then I insisted on doing so, so he... went away." Didn't it make you dizzy?I looked at him and couldn't help but sighed softly: "Are you going to drive everyone away?" He froze for a moment, then smiled, "Mr. Li said the same thing before he left." I stopped talking, hugged his body, and raised my hand to brush away the broken hair on his forehead. Wiping off the thin sweat on his forehead, I stroked his pale cheek with my fingers again, I curled my lips jokingly: "Master, you are so naturally beautiful that you can't give up on yourself, why do you have to be a loner." He pursed his lips and smiled, with a helpless look: "What nonsense are you talking about?" I smiled and said nothing, he closed his eyes, coughed lightly and asked, "Where are we?" I replied, "Shanshan." He nodded and coughed a few times: "It's very close to Tianshan Mountain." Then he asked, "Has everyone settled down?" Among this group of people, he is the most worrying one, right?I sighed: "It's settled, don't miss it." He forced a smile, frowned as if thinking about something, his voice gradually lowered: "They won't let us go on safely anymore, they just hope that nothing will happen tonight." Hearing this sentence, I suddenly remembered what he had said during the day, and asked, "When that snow-clothed man committed suicide, you said he wasn't from the Tianshan faction, but was he from that faction?" There was no answer, the arm I had been supporting Xiao Huan's back suddenly sank, his body leaned forward, and then trembled slightly. "Master?" I called softly, and put my other hand on his shoulder, trying to help him sit up, but a piece of warm liquid suddenly dripped on the back of my hand. His thin lips were tightly closed, but from between his pale and colorless lips, a dark red blood gushed out, fell between my fingers, and flowed continuously. It was as if a heavy hammer was beating hard in his head, and I couldn't think of anything. I hugged his shoulders tightly and said hoarsely, "Brother Xiao..." The mist in his deep pupils became thicker, he coughed lightly and squeezed his lips tightly, but the blood still gushed out from the corner of his mouth, meandering through his snow-white chin, it was shockingly beautiful. He closed his eyes and leaned against the quilt to adjust his breath for a while, then he opened his eyes and smiled at me: "It's nothing...caused by the bumpy journey, take a rest...it will be much better." As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, the internal breath that had just calmed down became disordered again, and he coughed several times in succession. I raised my sleeve to help him wipe the blood from the corner of his lips, my eyes were a little sore, I tried my best not to tremble: "Is there any medicine?" He pointed to the wooden box behind the carriage, I hurried over and saw many porcelain bottles left by Li Mingshang inside. After taking out the pills, I found a skin bag filled with hot water from the carriage, poured the water into a copper bowl, melted the pills into the water, and held it in front of him. He looked at the concoction in the bowl hesitantly: "I can take the pill directly." His spleen and stomach are so weak now, taking pills would not be effective if he drank them like this. I knew he was afraid of suffering, so I simply took a mouthful of the medicine juice into his mouth, kissed his lips, and pushed the medicine juice over with his tongue. The rest of the medicinal juice was concocted in accordance with the law, and it took an unknown amount of time before this bowl of medicinal juice was fed to him to drink. I put the medicine bowl on the small table beside me: "Mr. Li's medicine is getting more and more bitter. He took this opportunity to fix your medicine?" He lowered his eyes and coughed lightly, his cheeks were still slightly red, and he didn't speak. I smiled, and raised my hand to caress his cheek: "I just feed Master the medicine, this method is quite good." He nodded and smiled lightly, but still didn't speak. I looked at his face, and burst out laughing with a "puchi": "I suddenly felt that in Shanhaiguan, Kummer flirted with you, maybe it was all acting, your cheeks are so red, shy and shy, it's simply It's more exciting than a big girl." He just raised his head and glanced at me, still coughing: "Don't be too big or too small." Ever since he said that he would abide by the duty of master and apprentice with me, he treated me very politely, with a little distance, and never said anything similar to resentment like today. I laughed: "The disciple is so out of tune, I still hope Master Haihan." After all, he was mentally weak, and he kept coughing lightly after taking the medicine, and he leaned on the cushion and closed his eyes not long after. I went out quietly, Shi Yan and Su Qian were waiting outside the car, seeing me, Su Qian asked: "How is the pavilion master?" I shook my head: "I coughed up blood for a while, so I stopped taking the medicine first." Su Qian's eyes darkened: "It's been like this for the past few days. Mr. Li is right. The pavilion master shouldn't come." I looked up at them and said, "Su Qian, Commander Shi, I have a plan, I hope you can help me." Su Qian didn't speak, Shi Yan suddenly looked at me: "The master of the two battalions of imperial guards is originally the head of the Xiao family. As long as the empress is still the mistress of the Xiao family, she can send me to wait." This taciturn commander of the imperial guards had no friendship with me when he was in the palace. Now that he is in the Jianghu, he rarely talks to me. I didn't expect him to support me so much at this time. Smiling at him, I nodded solemnly: "Thank you Commander Shi."