Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Despair
Lu Jian woke up suddenly, the illusions around him disappeared, the foreground gradually became clear, and someone seemed to be calling him by his ears. He shook his head and regained consciousness.Looking around in the blink of an eye, Yao Qing was staring at her with a few tears remaining in the corners of her eyes.
Seeing her come back to life, Lu Jian couldn't help being ecstatic. He wanted to get up, but felt powerless. He said happily, "Ah Qing, are you really healed? Am I dreaming?" Yao Qing shook her head and said, "It's not a dream, I don't know what method you used to suppress the 'earth energy' in my body, and now I'm really healed." She looked at Lu Jian and hesitated, "What's the matter with you? Just now, your face was pale and you couldn't even breathe .”
Lu Jian knew that there was a great change in his body, the restriction would be broken, and death was not far away, but he was afraid that Yao Qing would be worried, so he didn't say much, just smiled and said: "I'm fine, I probably passed out because of too much force. "Yao Qing stared at him for a while, then suddenly said: "Look into my eyes..." Lu Jian met her eyes, suddenly felt guilty, and hurriedly turned his eyes away.
Yao Qing snorted softly and said, "You have never lied since you were a child. You can tell lies with your mouth, but your eyes can't lie. What are you hiding from me?" Lu Jian shook his head and said, "No, it's nothing. " Yao Qing showed a slight annoyance, and said with a sneer, "Okay, stand up and show me." She said and let him go.
Lu Jian nodded, took a long breath, and wanted to get up, but his body was as soft as mud, and he couldn't use his strength. He moved to the wall a little bit, supported the wall, and slowly raised himself up.But even two times, she was limited by her strength, she sat down half way, and looked around, she saw Yao Qing staring at her, knowing that if she couldn't stand up, she would be worried.Thinking of this, I don't know where the strength came from, I tried my best to stand up tremblingly, leaning on the wall with both hands, my legs were still trembling, but I smiled and said: "Ah Qing, you are sorry, I am standing up now!" Is it?"
Yao Qing stared at him blankly, her eyes turned red suddenly, she sighed softly, and said, "You look silly, but you are very stubborn in your bones..." Stepped forward and helped him to the He sat down at the table, bowed his head, and remained silent.Lu Jian saw that her expression fluctuated from hesitation to anger, and he didn't know what she was thinking.
They sat for a while with their own thoughts, and suddenly heard footsteps coming towards the temple.Yao Qing didn't know whether the visitor was an enemy or a friend. Although she had escaped, her cultivation had not yet recovered, and Lu Jian was feeling weak again. After thinking for a while, she helped Lu Jian and turned to the back of the shrine.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. It sounded like there were two people entering the temple in a moment, and one voice said: "Father, this mountain rain is really strange. It is still sunny and fine on the other side of the mountain. After crossing the top of the mountain, it began to rain. " Lu Jian only felt familiar, and before he had time to think about it, he heard another old voice hum, and said absently: "This rain is really not coming at the right time, let's rest for a while, and it's not too late to leave."
The two sat down, and the young man said: "Father, I'm just wondering, we'll go to the sea with all our might. Why go around such a big circle, go west first, then south, and have to set up suspicious formations along the way. "
"Haifeng, you don't know something!" the old man sighed, "This time the opponent is no small matter. The lame man has laid a net along the coast. If you and I force our way into the East China Sea, we will fall into his tricks, and I have a big one I'm worried..." Hearing these words, both Lu and Yao were startled, and vaguely guessed the identity of the visitor.
But the young man gnashed his teeth and said: "You are talking about that guy..." The old man said: "That's right, that guy used the order of the Ashikaga shogunate to lure me and Xu Hai to attack Nanjing. Think, even if we break through Nanjing and get rid of Shen Laizi, we will definitely lose our vitality. Whether we win or lose, our side will be greatly weakened, and then he will take the opportunity to eliminate us, wouldn't it be effortless?"
The young man asked for a while: "Why did he do this?" The old man sneered: "That guy is very ambitious. Once we die, he can use the cover of the Ashikaga Shogunate to recruit Japanese people who are begging for life at sea. Others call me Wang It's just "the king of Japanese pirates", but it's not the case. Chen Dong, Ma Ye, Xu Hai and I cooperate openly and secretly, and each has a territory. But if the four of us are all dead, isn't the huge East China Sea his? At that time he He is the real 'King of Japanese pirates'. As the saying goes: 'There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two kings in the country', for this reason, he will not allow me to live in this world."
When Lu Jian and Yao Qing heard this exchange, their hearts jumped.It turns out that one of the two is Wang Zhi, and the other is his adopted son Mao Haifeng.It's really hard to find a place when you break through the iron shoes, and it doesn't take much effort to get it. Lu Jian raised his strength, but felt that the meridians all over his body were empty, and he didn't have any strength at all. He couldn't help feeling anxious, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
There was silence in the temple for a while, then Wang Zhi suddenly asked: "Haifeng, what are you thinking?" Mao Haifeng sighed: "I will tell you the truth, my father, I am thinking about those brothers who died in Huangshan. They were loyal to us, but they died so unjustly." "Wang Zhi remained silent for a while, and said slowly: "If you and I want to save our lives, the fewer people following us, the better. The fewer people who know your whereabouts, the better. I also had to poison them to death. After all, in this world, the dead Mouth is the strongest..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a long laugh from outside the temple, and someone said in blunt Chinese: "So you two are here!" There was a whining sound, and there were three or four back and forth. Suddenly, there was a clang, as if a sword had broken, and then Mao Haifeng let out a long and miserable cry, which was extremely shrill and creepy.
Suddenly Wang Zhi cried out in surprise: "Haifeng, Haifeng..." But no one agreed, Wang Zhi suddenly called out sadly: "He is dead, he is dead..." The visitor laughed and said, "Of course he is dead." , People are cut in two, can you still not die? Mr. Wang, my master told me to save your life, he will be here in a while, you must be smarter. You also know that it is easy to cut a person in two, and connect them into one It will be difficult."
Wang Zhi was silent for a while, then suddenly said: "Mr. Yu Zuo, if you let me go, you can have as much gold, silver and jewels as you want." The man giggled, but did not answer.
When Lu Jian heard the word "Uzuo", his heart skipped a beat, and when he heard the man's tone of voice, he suddenly thought of someone.After thinking about it, I found it unbelievable, thinking: "What did he come to the Central Plains for? Why did he know Wang Zhi?" While pondering, he suddenly felt like a thorn in his back, and his hair stood on end. This strange feeling happened once in the suburbs of Nanjing. , It can be said to be unforgettable, but the strange feeling at this time is three points better than that day.Suddenly, he looked up and almost screamed, and saw a strange man squatting on the beam of the roof, with a thin body, wearing a yellow cloth blouse, with yellow hair growing on his skin, staring at a pair of Biyingying eyes. His small eyes stared fiercely at himself.
Yao Qing didn't realize it at the beginning, but suddenly saw that Lu Jian's expression was different, she raised her head unconsciously, and seeing that person, she couldn't help but change her face, one reason was because of the strange appearance of the person coming, and the other reason was that the person came to the top of her head like a ghost, and she I didn't notice anything.
The strange man rolled his eyes, curled up suddenly, the yellow shadow flickered, and rushed towards the two of them in the air.Yao Qing wanted to dodge, but this person was coming too fast, so she could dodge it, and Lu Jian couldn't avoid it, so she slapped her palm out in a hurry.
The strange man came swiftly and violently, but he was unexpectedly hit by the wind of his palm. He rolled out on the spot with a squeak, and hugged a pillar with a swish. The two gritted their teeth.
Yao Qing also didn't expect the visitor to be so unlucky, so she was a little surprised, and suddenly heard someone say in a rough voice: "Sage Rat, what are you doing climbing up and down?" Someone!" cried the brusque voice, "is it?"
As soon as the voice fell, there was a click, dust was flying, and the shrine was broken in two horizontally by something impacted.Yao Qing hastily supported Lu Jian and rushed out, suddenly felt the wind blowing above her head, she swung her sleeves and swept it out, the object was swept by the wind, flew far away, stuck to the wall, when she looked closely, it was a mouthful of thick phlegm.The Great Sage Rat huddled in a corner of the beam, laughing uncontrollably, Yao Qing was extremely annoyed, and cursed: "Stinky rat, don't use these shameless tricks if you have the ability."
"Sure enough, someone is there!" A voice rang like a bell.Yao Qing followed the prestige and saw a strange man in brown clothes standing in front of him. He was thick and tough, and his appearance was dignified. He was no different from ordinary people, except that his arms were extremely thick and long, exceeding two knees and hanging down to the back of his feet, like a pair of claws of a crab.
Yao Qing was very surprised to see his strange physique, and suddenly heard Lu Jian whisper in her ear: "Be careful, they are all robber slaves." Yao Qing's heart sank, her eyes turned again, and she saw a corpse lying on the ground, The waist was broken, and the blood flowed all over the ground.There were two men standing in the pool of blood. One was about sixty years old, with gray beard and hair, and a depressed expression. He was expected to be Wang Zhi; Red to purple.
"Cang Bingwei!" Lu Jian frowned and sighed, "It really is you, when did you come to Central Earth?" .
The biggest shame of Cang Bingsheng's life is being Lu Jian's servant. He has become more and more popular recently, and everyone around him calls him "Mr." With a wave, he shouted: "Kill the man, and let the woman be disposed of by you two."
The crab monster listened, grinned strangely, and swung his left arm out.Yao Qing had already planted the "evil factor", and when she saw this, she used her supernatural powers, who would have thought that the vine would turn into flying ash after only growing a few inches.Yao Qing couldn't help but feel bad, knowing that she had not regained her supernatural powers, so she couldn't use the "transformation" technique freely.In desperation, he had no choice but to help Lu Jian walk backwards.
The crab monster swept the air with its left arm, and smashed the ground with a bang, like a giant ax and a plow, piercing through the stone and breaking the ground, leaving a huge groove.Yao Qing was still in shock, but suddenly felt the wind blowing up behind her, she knew it must be the Great Sage Rat attacking from behind, she hurriedly swung her palm and swept it out.
The Great Sage Shu is agile and weird, but he is very timid and dare not confront others head-on, so this attack is intended to harass. Seeing Yao Qing attacking back, he retreats and jumps up on the beams, crawling back and forth, viciously Laughing, disturbing.The crab monster, however, relied on a pair of strange arms that were as steel as iron, sweeping and chopping vertically, stirring up a strong wind that filled the room.Yao Qing didn't dare to act forcefully, and kept backing away. At the same time, she had to be on guard against the sneak attack of the Great Sage Rat. The strange arm was raised high, and it was chopped down heavily.
Yao Qing gritted her teeth, let go of Lu Jian, and thrust her arms hard, trying to block him.Lu Jian saw it, stretched out his left hand diagonally, pressed the crab monster's wrist, and flicked it lightly.This wave seems to be an understatement, but it actually coincides with the "Heavenly Tribulation Controlling Military Law".Involuntarily, the crab monster threw its arm out and slammed through the wall, splashing mud everywhere.Yao Qing saw that the crab monster's arm was stuck in the wall and could not be pulled out, so she took the opportunity to poke his finger at the "Tanzhong" point, it was like a steel plate, and her finger hurt severely.
Yao Qing reluctantly withdrew her hand, but saw that the crab looked like nothing had happened, she pulled out her hand, turned around, and her eyes gleamed fiercely.Yao Qing was surprised: "Could it be that this man's body is made of iron?" Suddenly, she helped Lu Jian ran a few steps diagonally, retreated to a spacious place, and panted slightly.Suddenly, Lu Jian whispered in his ear: "Ah Qing, I'll deal with this man, you pay attention to Wang Zhi."
Yao Qing was stunned, but saw that although his body was weak, his eyes were piercing and his expression was resolute. Immediately, his thoughts changed, and he nodded, "Be careful." Let go of Lu Jian, take a few steps back, silently channel her true energy, and recover her supernatural powers .
Lu Jian turned around and stood up slowly leaning on a wooden pillar, his face was pale, seeing the crab monster striding forward to chase Yao Qing, he raised his voice and shouted: "Crab monster, do you dare to fight me? "
The Crab Monster turned his head when he heard the sound, looked at him with interest for a moment, and then burst out laughing.Lu Jiandao: "What are you laughing at? Don't you dare to fight me?" The Crab Monster sneered and said, "Look at you, you are so timid, like a woman, don't let me give you a blow or two, even a gust of wind will blow you away ...Damn it, Great Sage Rat, learn from Lao Tzu again, I'll take your mouse skin off."
It turned out that when he said one sentence, the Great Sage Rat on the beam followed suit, but when it came to the last two sentences, he suddenly changed to: "Damn it, crab monster, learn from me again, I peeled your crab shell." People have a mouse head and a mouse brain, but they are not willing to suffer in the slightest.
The crab monster was furious, but although his body was like steel, his arms were amazing, and he could move and jump vertically, he was not good at it.The Great Sage Rat was extremely proud, jumping up and down on the beams, laughing nonstop.
Lu Jian frowned, and said calmly, "So you can only move your mouth, you don't dare to move your hands." The crab monster couldn't get rid of the Rat Sage, so his anger was directed at him, his face trembled, and he yelled: " Alright, I'll smash you into a pulp first, and then grab that little girl and have a good time." Immediately, with a wave of his left arm, he swept towards Lu Jian.
When Lu Jian spoke, he had already used the method of calming the pulse to gather the scattered power into the sea of hands.Although his body was weak at this time, it was not as weak as before, he could only jump and bounce, but he still couldn't do it, so he purposely leaned on the wooden pillar to stabilize his body.Seeing the crab monster sweeping towards him, he greeted it with both hands, lightly hugged the giant arm, used it as a weapon, and performed the "Heavenly Tribulation Controlling Art of War", one pick and one send, the crab monster's arm became hot, and he jumped up involuntarily. Kan glanced over Lu Jian's forehead and split open.
The crab monster didn't understand, so it was stunned, and with a loud roar, it slashed down with its right arm. Lu Jian still responded with the "Heavenly Tribulation Controlling Military Method", but changed his pick to hold down. It hit the ground next to Lu Jian, causing stone chips to fly and mud to fly.
The Crab Monster scratched his head and shouted evil, the Great Rat Sage also stopped playing, and stared at his small eyes to see what happened.The crab monster gritted his teeth, and suddenly stretched out both hands, feeling ruthless in his heart: "If you move my right hand, I will chop you with my left hand, if you move my left hand, I will chop you with my right hand, in short, I will chop you in half."
Lu Jian kept his composure, watched his approach, his hands suddenly brushed a willow like a flower, his left hand brushed his right hand, his right hand brushed his left hand, the crab monster jumped up with both arms at the same time, and struck in the air, with a muffled splash, like a defeat .Rao's arms were as strong as iron, and he still felt the pain to the marrow of his bone marrow when he hit head-on with head-to-head. He yelled loudly, jumped three feet back, stared at Lu Jian and said, "You, you know evil methods?"
The Great Sage Rat also called out: "You, do you know evil methods?" After shouting, he burst out laughing, and said: "It's useless, useless, dead crabs are useless."One must know that since he mastered this "Thousand Ton Claw", he has rarely met an opponent, and just now he split Mao Haifeng three times, which is full of power.At this time, he was inexplicable and repeatedly frustrated. He couldn't swallow his breath, and cursed, "I don't believe in evil." With his arms waving wildly, he threw himself at Lu Jian.
Lu Jian's hands were extremely weak, able to resist the crab monster's iron arm, and he operated the "Heavenly Tribulation Controlling Military Technique" entirely by force.But there is only robbery power, lack of original power, using this method to resist the crab monster's divine power, it is like a stone hanging in the balance, a leaf bearing the grain of ten thousand dendrobium, extremely dangerous, if there is a little carelessness, the opponent's strength will pour out, and spread As far as Lu Jian was concerned, due to Lu Jian's weakness, he was alive and dead.At this time, the crab monster Fengmo also seemed to be chopping wildly, and Lu Jian's moves also became faster, and the loss of physical strength also accelerated, gradually causing dizziness in front of his eyes and weakness in his legs.
Cang Bingwei watched coldly, saw the key point, and suddenly said loudly: "Crab monster, if you break the pillar, he will not be able to stand still." , wanting to split the wooden pillar.Lu Jian didn't allow him to succeed, the crab monster turned around and moved accordingly, swaying his hands to defuse the situation.
The crab monster couldn't make a split, and then circled behind Lu Jian. Lu Jian was held back by him, so he could only use the pillar as an axis, and kept turning, always facing it head-on, preventing him from looking for opportunities to break the pillar.But in this way, Lu Jian's physical exertion became even more severe. After a while, he felt his eyes darken and his ears buzzing.
Complacent in his heart, Cang Bingwei laughed, and the laughter continued, when he suddenly saw a cold light in Yao Qingxiu's eyes.Cang Bingwei was slightly startled, suddenly felt his foot move, two vines burst out from the ground, entangled his feet.Cang Bingwei had never seen such a strange thing before, he yelled in horror, suddenly saw Yao Qing jumping up, immediately drew out his long knife, shouted loudly, and slashed forward.Yao Qing lightly and skillfully stepped aside, and slapped him on the shoulder with her palm.Cangbei was in pain, and with a cry, the long knife fell to the ground.
Yao Qing originally saw that he was in charge of the two major robber slaves. If it wasn't for the robber slaves, they must have extraordinary skills, so they dared to attack because they had accumulated enough supernatural powers. After a daze, he couldn't help but feel dumbfounded, and immediately pointed out his "Tanzhong" acupoint.Seeing this, Wang Zhi was overjoyed, turned around and ran away; Yao Qing was about to chase, but suddenly heard Lu Jian grunt, and looked around, but it was his attack that was a little slow, and the crab monster used all his strength to bypass the "Heavenly Tribulation Control Art" , spread to him, the wooden pillar behind him shook, Lu Jian's throat was sweet, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned ashen.
Yao Qing was terrified, and shouted: "Stop." She picked up the long knife and put it on Cang Bingwei's neck.The crab monster raised its pincers high, and wanted to give it a go, but when Lu Jian heard the shouting, he looked around and saw that Cangbingwei had been stabbed around the neck with a knife.The crab was not surprised but happy, he laughed and said: "You little devil, relying on the master's power, shouting and drinking at me all the way, are you very proud? This time, let's see how you survived?"
Yao Qing was puzzled, and frowned and said, "Aren't you afraid that I will kill him?" The crab monster didn't answer, but the Rat Master card monster said with a smile: "It's useless if you kill him, and his master is not ours." Master." Yao Qing's complexion changed, and she raised her knife and shouted: "Whoever was joking with you, I really killed him." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard someone behind him sternly say: "Just give it a try.
Yao Qing felt that the voice sounded suddenly, as if in her ears, she couldn't help being startled, swiped the knife across, suddenly felt the blade tightened, was clamped by someone, and then the handle became extremely hot.Yao Qing quickly let go of the long saber, swept across several feet, looked at it in the blink of an eye, and cried out: "Ning Bukong!"
Ning Bukong was dressed in moon-white single clothes, with a desolate expression, leaning on a cane in his hand, and holding the blade of a long knife with the middle and middle fingers of his right hand, the blade was dark red, like a flame.He suddenly turned the blade around, and turned around against Kurangbei's body, the vines were cut off and turned into ashes.His understatement seems to be effortless, but those who know the technique of "transformation" know the difficulties.There is absolutely no reason to cut off the evil fate vine and revive it. Ning Bukong cut it off so easily, it is because the true energy in the vine was broken.
Yao Qing's face was pale, she stared blankly at what he did, a burst of despair suddenly surged in her heart, thinking that she had gone through all kinds of hard work and practiced supernatural powers, but compared with this great enemy, she was still far behind.
Ning Bukong flicked his sleeves again, slapped Cangbingwei's acupoints open, then turned around, facing Yao Qing with sunken eye sockets, and said solemnly: "Who are you, Mother Earth?"
Yao Qing bit her lip, and said coldly: "No one." Ning Bukong pondered: "Impossible, you know the art of transformation, you must be a master of the earth." Yao Qing sneered: " My surname is Yao, and you know me too." Ning Bukong's body shook slightly, and he groaned.Cang Bingwei said, "Mr. Bu Kong, she is Lu Jian's friend."
"Really?" Ning Bukong smiled slightly, and said, "Lu Jian is here?" Lu Jian saw Ning Bukong, knowing that the big thing was over, and sighed: "Mr. Ning, Lu Jian is here." Ning Bukong Nodding, he said, "Very good, very good." Lu Jian said, "When did you come to Zhongtu, Mister?" Ning Bukong smiled and said, "How long have you been here? I have done two things by hand."
At this moment, a strange laugh was heard, and another person walked in from the door, and one person was lifted in his hand.Lu Jian recognized at a glance that the person was Sha Tianhuan, the chief executive of Prison Island, and that the person in his hands was Wang Zhi.
Sha Tianhuan threw Wang Zhi on the ground, and said with a chuckle: "Junior Brother Ning, you really have no plans, and you guessed that he must escape this way." Ning Bukong was expressionless, just nodded, and said: "Toil Sha brother."
Wang Zhi said angrily: "Ning Bukong, I have already attacked Nanjing as you said, and lost troops and generals. Why do you want to hurt me?" Ning Bukong smiled and said casually: "I let you sneak attack Nanjing, you just attacked Nanjing? Are you just so obedient? In the end, you thought Ning’s scheme was feasible, and you were eager to get rid of Hu Zongxian’s thorn in his heart, so you lost your mind and failed miserably.”
Wang Zhi was silent for a while, and said loudly: "What do you want?" Ning Bukong smiled and said: "I want two things, first, you write a letter, so that you Houfeng, Dayu and other five islands will obey orders from now on. Me; second, you have plundered the southeastern provinces these years, and you have gained a lot, and I also like the gold, silver and jewelry."
Wang Zhi was helpless, snorted coldly, and said: "If I do these two things, will you let me go?" Ning Bukong smiled and said: "That's natural." Wang Zhi thought for a moment, and said: "Okay , bring a pen and paper."
Cang Bingwei brought a pen and paper, Wang Zhi wrote a letter, drew a map, and said, "Is that all right?" Sha Tianhuan took it in his hand, looked at it, and said with a smile, "That's right. Already." Ning Bukong nodded: "Very good." Suddenly he sent the long knife forward, and a soft sound pierced Wang Zhi's throat.
The blade pierced his throat, Wang Zhi didn't feel the pain for a moment, he stared at Ning Bukong, his lips trembled, and his eyes showed a look of bewilderment.Ning Bukong drew out his knife and scolded with a smile: "Idiot, at this stage of the field, he still expects to survive. The so-called king of pirates is nothing more than mediocrity."
Wang Zhi couldn't speak at this time, blood gushed out of his mouth like a fountain, and he fell to the ground without making a sound.
Ning Bukong shot suddenly, there was no warning before, and after Wang Zhi died, Lu Jian came back to his senses, staring at Wang Zhi's corpse, as if falling into an ice cave, sweating profusely, thinking of these days, Gu Zhen and himself have gone through so much Running around hard, narrowly escaped death, but Ning Bukong wiped away all the hard work and hope with just one knife.
Lu Jian was about to cry but had no tears, a blush welled up on his face, he leaned forward suddenly, spat out a mouthful of blood, leaned against the wooden pillar, and slowly sat down.Yao Qing was surprised when she saw this, she rushed forward and said, "What's the matter with you." Lu Jian wanted to say "I'm fine", but his breath was too weak, and the words just turned around in his heart, but he couldn't say it.
Yao Qing saw what he meant, her eyes became hot, and she tremblingly said: "At this time, do you still want to say 'I'm fine'..." As she spoke, she shed tears.
Lu Jian took a breath, forced a smile, stretched out his hand to wipe her tears, and suddenly whispered in her ear: "You, leave me alone, hurry up, go away..." Yao Qing gritted her teeth and stared at him, but keep silent.
"Life and death are really touching." Ning Bukong sighed, "I am also very touched by the blind man; well, Lu Jian, if I knew today, why bother; if you didn't betray me back then, wouldn't there be nothing wrong?"
Lu Jian shook his head and said, "I... have never regretted my betrayal!" Ning Bukong snorted, his face darkened, he paused on his crutches, took a step forward, and said slowly, "Since you died If you don't repent, I will fulfill you."
Yao Qing became wise in a hurry, and shouted: "Ning Bukong!" Ning Bukong laughed and said, "Miss Yao, did you call me? Don't worry, don't worry. I'll take care of Lu Jian, and I'll talk to you again." .”
Yao Qing said loudly: "You have four portraits of the patriarch, don't you?" Ning Bukong frowned, and said, "He told you about this too? This little thing named Lu really doesn't know anything, doesn't it? He doesn't know, if you know this, you must die?"
Yao Qing snorted coldly: "Unfortunately, you can't collect all the other four portraits." Ning Bukong said: "Why?" Yao Qing said: "Because I burned all three portraits of Wind, Thunder and Earth."
Ning Bukong trembled slightly, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed loudly, and said solemnly: "Little girl, you have to look at the person you lie to, don't you know who the old man is?" Yao Qing said: "Who lied, if you don't believe it, sir May I ask Marquis Feng and Emperor Lei... who owns their portraits?"
Ning Bukong said coldly: "I don't believe it." Fang was about to raise his knife, when Sha Tianhuan said urgently: "Junior Brother Ning wait a minute! What if what she said is true?" Ning Bukong said: "How is it possible? How can a little girl snatch the portrait from the hands of the Second Lord Fenglei and Mother Earth? Senior Brother Sha, you are too confused."
Sha Tianhuan coughed lightly, and said with a dry smile: "Although it sounds unbelievable, it wouldn't be too bad if it were true. Brother Ning, this time I betrayed Prison Island and came to Middle Earth with you, all for the sake of This portrait of the patriarch; if there is a mistake, everyone’s previous work will be wasted." Ning Bukong listened, fell silent for a while, and sighed: "Well, Miss Yao, you said you burned the portrait, but why?"
Yao Qing said: "Because I have memorized the secret language of these three portraits and burned the portraits, I am the only one in this world who knows the secret language?" you?"
Yao Qing sneered slightly, and suddenly raised her voice: "Holding the republic is like embracing Yu Bai." Ning Bukong was stunned for a moment, then suddenly his brows gathered, and he shouted: "What did you say?" Yao Qing said: "This is the secret language of the portrait , and the argots of the two parts of Feng and Lei, do you want to hear it? The part of the wind is 'Zhou Bai's sound quality...'"
Ning Bukong couldn't help holding his breath and listening attentively, but when Yao Qing mentioned the word "quality", she sneered suddenly and said, "Do you want to hear it? This girl doesn't want to say it anymore."
Ning Bukong raised his eyebrows, with a murderous look on his face, he twirled his clothes slightly with his two fingers in the middle of the food, after a while, his expression softened again, and he said with a smile: "Okay, Miss Yao, you If you have any requirements, please bring them up first, and we will add up."
"That's about the same!" Yao Qing nodded and said, "First, you have to let Lu Jian go. From now on, don't make things difficult for him."
Ning Bukong sneered, and said slowly: "What if I don't agree?" Yao Qing's face paled, she gritted her teeth, and said loudly: "If you don't agree, I will kill myself right away, and you will never get it together in your whole life." The hidden language in the portrait." Lu Jian was shocked and said urgently: "No..." He was originally weak, but now he was so anxious that he spit out a mouthful of blood and passed out.
Ning Bukong's face was gloomy, as if there was no rain in the dense clouds, and his blind eyes were like two small wells, which sank deeper and deeper. He was hesitating, when Sha Tianhuan said in a low voice: "Senior brother Ning, I would rather believe it than believe it." It's nothing, agreeing to her, there is no harm, why don't you agree... Maybe you will regret it in the future."
Ning Bukong frowned, thinking that Lu Jian had always refused to give in to him. If he didn't torture him to death with his own hands, it would be difficult to vent his anger. But after thinking about it carefully, this kid is already dying, and it would be futile not to kill him right now. Added to his pain for days.While weighing the film, Ning Bukong showed a smile, and said slowly: "Miss Yao risked her life to save her lover, this infatuation, Ning admires it the most, hehe, very good, I will let Lu Jian go and fulfill your kindness. "Yao Qing sneered slightly, and said again: "The second thing is that he is your robber slave, and now that Heitian robbery is about to happen, you have to give him true energy to prolong his life."
Ning Bukong smiled and said, "It's not difficult." He walked to Lu Jian's side, pressed the top of his head, and breathed in his true energy.Yao Qing watched from the side, fearing that Ning Bukong would take the opportunity to play tricks, she was really worried, but seeing a smear of blood gradually appear on Lu Jian's pale face, knowing that Ning Bukong's true energy would work, she breathed a sigh of relief.
After a long while, Ning Bukong withdrew his palm and said: "The true energy I gave him is enough for him to last for more than a month, how about this?" Although Yao Qing felt that the time for more than a month was too short, but at this moment the situation was overwhelming, There is no other way, if you can survive a day, it counts as a day, so you can only sigh: "Okay." Ning Bukong said: "Then you write out the hidden words." Yao Qing shook her head and said: "If I write it out, Aren't you going to kill us right away, I'm not going to be the second Wang Zhi."
Ning Bukong smiled and said: "Then what do you think?" Yao Qing said: "I will follow you, and after three days, I will tell you the hidden words." He thought that if there were three days of effort, Lu Jian would be a faraway guide, and Ning Bukong wanted to kill him. He couldn't be found all at once.
Ning Bukong thought for a while, then nodded abruptly and said: "Three days is not too long, as you said." After saying that, leaning on a cane, he floated out of the temple.
Yao Qing was so distressed and terrified that she squatted down, stretched out her slender fingers, brushed Lu Jian's messy hair on his forehead, and looked deeply at his haggard face and closed eyes. I can't look at him like that anymore.As soon as she thought of this, she felt so sad, she only hoped that the longer she could look at it, the better she prayed silently in her heart: "Silly boy, you have to live a good life, no matter what, you have to live a good life, if you die, I will never forgive you..."
Sha Tianhuan couldn't bear to see it, and suddenly sternly shouted: "Why are you dawdling, why don't you hurry up?" Yao Qing gritted her teeth, got up reluctantly, stepped out of the temple gate, and followed the group of people away.
The wild temple is silent, the residual rain drips on the tiles, dripping in front of the steps, tick-tock, very clear.A few swallows whispered and lingered under the eaves, riding the breeze after the rain, coming and going leisurely.
Suddenly the wind blew up, the sparrows flew away, and a figure was as fast as lightning, entering the temple, saw Wang Zhi's corpse on the ground, and shouted: "It's bad." Seeing Lu Jian who was leaning on the pillar again, he was startled again, and stretched out his hand to explore. He breathed, although the breath was weak, but it did not stop.
Suddenly there was a sound of horseshoes and wheels outside the door, and someone said loudly: "I haven't returned, is there any news?" The person before said solemnly: "Master, Wang Zhi is dead." The wheelchair floats inside.
This scribe is Shen Zhouxu, the leader of the Ministry of Heaven.When he saw Wang Zhi's corpse, he couldn't help sighing: "After all, you came a step too late, did you see the murderer?" The man before was "Wu Liang Zu" Yan Weigui, and he said: "I didn't see it, but I saw this man." As he spoke, he pointed at Lu Jian.
At this time, four more people came in, besides Ning Ning, Xue Er, and Mo Yi, there was another middle-aged man, tall and thin, with a huge nose under his slender eyebrows, shaped like an eagle, with strong tendons on the wings The network is intertwined and has a blue-black color.
Seeing this situation, the four of them all showed shock. Ning Ning was anxious, and couldn't help rushing up quickly, leaning over to visit Lu Jian, her thin black eyebrows trembling slightly.Shen Zhouxu pushed the cart forward, took Lu Jianzhi's pulse, shook his head and said, "He's not dead yet!"
Ning Ning breathed a sigh of relief, showing a look of relief.Shen Zhouxu looked at Lu Jian, thought for a while, and breathed a burst of true energy into his "jade pillow".Not long after, he suddenly heard Lu Jian yelling, opened his eyes and shouted: "Ah Qing, Ah Qing..." He was dizzy and couldn't distinguish things. He vaguely saw a young woman beside him, who he thought was Yao Qing. Zhang hugged Ning Ning tightly in his arms and cried loudly, "Ah Qing, Ah Qing..."
Ning Ning was unexpectedly hugged by him, feeling ashamed and startled in her heart, and wanted to push him away, but when she heard his terrified cry, she felt soft-hearted again, startled, and thought: "Who is Ah Qing? It's a man." It's still a woman..." Thinking of this, Fang's heart was slightly cold, and she thought, "If it's a woman, who is he?" Thinking of this, she suddenly panicked and hurriedly pushed Lu Jian away.
Lu Jian calmed down a bit, and as soon as he was pushed away, he realized that the person in her arms was not Yao Qing, but Ning Ning. She blushed immediately and said, "Miss Ning, I, I..." Ning Ning gave him a hard look , stood up silently, and retreated behind Shen Zhouxu.Shen Zhou looked at Lu Jian in vain, and smiled slightly: "Little brother, why are you here? Who killed this Wang Zhi?"
Lu Jian said truthfully: "Ning Bukong." Shen Zhouxu opened his eyes sharply, and there was a green air between his brows. After a long silence, he said slowly, "Why did he kill Wang Zhi?" Lu Jian didn't understand, He didn't quite understand the strangeness of it, he just guessed something based on speculation, and said: "Listen to him, he wants to kill Wang Zhi, and wants his men, horses, gold and silver..."
When everyone heard the words, they all changed color.Lu Jian looked around, but he couldn't see Yao Qing. He became flustered and couldn't help but asked, "You guys, have you seen Ah Qing?" Shen Zhouxu said, "Who is Ah Qing?" Lu Jian said, "She is a beautiful girl, Seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in white, with a gold ring on his head, and an emerald bracelet on his wrist..."
Seeing his eager expression and listening to his words, Ning Ning felt sore in her heart, thinking: "So he already has a sweetheart? No wonder he was indifferent to me that day, and he refused to tell me where his hometown was. "Thinking of this, a sour and hot air rushed into his eyes, and his brows and eyes turned red.
Shen Zhouxu stared at Lu Jian for a while, seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, he shook his head and said, "We came here after Wang Zhi, and we didn't see that girl." Lu Jian was taken aback, and cried out: "Oops, She, she must have been captured by Ning Bukong." Stretching up suddenly, who would have thought that the internal injury hadn't healed, this struggle caused severe pain in his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ning Ning was originally immersed in sadness, but when she saw Lu Jian vomit blood, she panicked, and blurted out: "You, don't worry..." She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and wanted to go forward, but was stopped by Shen Zhouxu with a wave , glanced at her, snorted softly, took the handkerchief from her hand, and handed it to Lu Jian.Ning Ning knew that the master's wisdom was higher than the sky, so she must have seen through her own thoughts, she was immediately overwhelmed with embarrassment, her red face retreated to the side, and she couldn't lift her head for a long time.
Lu Jian took the handkerchief, coughing unceasingly, blood kept gushing out, and wet the handkerchief.Shen Zhouxu frowned, and said: "Smell the incense, how many sticks of Purple Spirit Resurrection Incense are there?"
The eagle-nosed man said: "Two." Shen Zhouxu said: "This man hurts his heart and lungs, let's light one for him." The strange man nodded, and took out a slender brocade box from his bosom. The box was filled with incense sticks of various colors, and he took out a purple-black incense stick from it, stuck it on the ground and lit it.With a little red fire flickering, the strange and rich fragrance permeated Lu Jian's heart.
说也奇怪，陆渐嗅了一会儿，痛楚渐消，咳血渐渐止了，瞧那手绢，歉然道：“宁姑娘，对不住，污了你的手帕，待我洗净，再还给你好么？”宁凝当此情形，既不能说好，也不便说不好，只低着头，一言不发。
沈舟虚又问道：“宁不空为何要捉那个阿晴？”陆渐道：“宁不空有四幅祖师画像，阿晴有三幅，阿情烧了三幅画像，将画中的隐语记在心里，宁不空若是想将画像上的隐语集全，定要逼迫阿晴说出三句隐语，所以才捉走阿晴的……”说到这里，他眉眼泛红，咬着牙，紧紧攥着双拳。
陆渐口才平平，说得甚是不通，但沈舟虚聪明绝顶，略一推测，便理出其中头绪，胸中惊骇之情，无以复加，不觉长眉连耸，喃喃念道：“竟有七幅祖师画像出世了？”陆渐道：“是呀，如今只剩天部的画像了。”
沈舟虚嘿了一声，忽地笑了笑，淡然道：“看起来，短时内是回不得南京了，闻香，你瞧一瞧，有什么线索。”那鹰鼻怪人点点头，俯下身子，硕大的鼻子微微抽动，如狗儿一般趴在地上，逐寸逐分嗅将过去。
陆渐瞧得奇怪极了，忍不住问道：“这位兄台，你不是瞧线索么，这又是作甚？”莫乙接口笑道：“他在闻臭屁呢？”陆渐讶道：“屁也可闻？”心想若是有屁，自然掩鼻不及，岂有嗅闻之理。
不料那鹰鼻怪人苏闻香爬起来，一本正经道：“若有屁闻，那也好了。”莫乙道：“呸呸呸，贱东西，闻什么不好，偏要闻屁？”苏闻香仍是不急不恼，说道：“书呆子你不知道，每个人的屁，气味都不相同，闻过屁的气味，就能找到它的主人。”
莫乙眼珠一转，笑道：“有一个人的屁，你就算嗅了，也找不到它的主人。”苏闻香道：“是谁呀？”莫乙道：“苏闻香。”苏闻香一愣，皱眉道：“苏闻香？”莫乙道：“是啊是啊，你闻了苏闻香的屁，再去找苏闻香，能不能够找到？”
苏闻香喃喃道：“我闻了苏闻香的屁，再去找苏闻香，苏闻香就是我，我找苏闻香，就是找我，我找我，我是谁，苏闻香又是谁？谁是苏闻香，我是谁……”他自言自语，将“谁是苏闻香，我是谁……”反复念诵，越念越快，目光渐渐呆滞起来，定定望着墙壁，仿佛痴了一般。
沈舟虚眉头一皱，蓦地一声断喝：“你是苏闻香，苏闻香就是你！”这一喝蕴有无上内劲，苏闻香身子剧震，双腿酥软，瘫倒在地，呼呼喘道：“是呀是呀，我是苏闻香，苏闻香就是我，我就是苏闻香……”一边说着，一边拭去额上冷汗，神色疲惫，形同虚脱。
宁凝忍不住埋怨道：“莫乙，你明知道他容易犯痴，怎么尽说一些绕弯子的话，引他难过。”薛耳原是宁凝的跟屁虫，见宁凝开口，也装模作样责怪莫乙道：“书呆子，你太可恶，上次撺掇我听街上的人放屁，再将那放屁之人叫出来，结果惹恼了人家，给我一顿好揍，这次又哄苏闻香闻屁，劫奴之中，数你最坏了……”
莫乙听了责怪，不以为杵，反而裂嘴直笑，模样儿十分得意。
沈舟虚挥了挥手，不耐道：“闻香，能追到那伙人么？”苏闻香道：“能够的。”沈舟虚点头道：“很好很好，你在前带路，务必追上宁不空。”
宁凝微一迟疑，忽道：“他怎么办？”沈舟虚皱眉道：“谁？”但见宁凝双耳羞红，目光有意无意飘向陆渐，不由得冷哼一声，说道：“他也随着我们，唔，未归，你背他出去。”
燕未归点头，将陆渐负在背上，走出庙外，庙前却停着一辆马车，三匹骏马。陆渐随沈舟虚乘车，莫乙驾车，宁凝、薛耳、苏闻香三人骑马。燕未归则徒步奔突在前，追星赶月，疾逾奔马。
苏闻香骑在马上，将头扭来扭去，左嗅嗅，右闻闻。他嗅闻之时，呼吸尤为奇怪，呼气至为短促，吸气却极为深长，仿佛只这一吸，便要将四周空气吸得涓滴不剩，然后便指点方向，但有许多气味因风水流去，苏闻香追踪起来，也偶尔生出差错，走些错路，幸喜错而能改，大致方位不曾有误。
如此马不停蹄，忽东忽南，行了两日，次日入暮，苏闻香忽让众人止步，来到道边树林，趴在地上嗅了一会儿，神色迷惑，回禀道：“禀主人，这拨人奇怪极了，在树林中分开，有一个人，向正南去了，其他的人，却向西南去了。”
沈舟虚下车，推着小车来到树林中，审视良久，伸指从地上拈起一小撮泥土。那泥土色泽紫暗，沈舟虚凑到鼻尖嗅嗅，皱眉道：“这土有血腥气。”又问苏闻香道，“向南去的那人是男是女？”苏闻香道：“从体气嗅来，是女的。”
沈舟虚略一沉思，说道：“小兄弟，那位阿晴姑娘可留有物件给你。”
“物件？”陆渐微微一愣。沈舟虚道：“好比手帕，香囊什么的，总之是那姑娘贴身之物。”陆渐寻思姚晴从未赠给自己什么贴身之物，正想说无，忽地眼神一亮，急从怀里掏出那盛舍利的锦囊，说道：“这只锦囊，阿晴携带过许久，不知道有没有用？”
苏闻香接过，嗅了又嗅，道：“不错，往正南方去的那位姑娘，正有这个香气，这香气在林子中忽东忽西，忽南忽北，跟人捉迷藏似的，好玩极了。”说罢将锦囊还给陆渐。
沈舟虚听了，微微笑道：“小兄弟，恭喜了，那位阿晴，或许已经脱身了。”
陆渐又惊又喜，苍白的脸上涌起一抹血色，咳嗽一阵，急道：“沈，沈先生，你为何这样说？”沈舟虚道：“宁不空一行曾在这林子里歇足，约莫歇足之时，那位阿晴姑娘突然发难，与宁不空等人斗了一场，然后故布疑阵，引得宁不空一行向西南追赶，她却向正南方去了。”
陆渐听得睁大了眼，问道：“沈先生，此言当真？”
“不会错。”沈舟虚徐徐道，“这是闻香从气味上嗅到的，八九不离十。”
苏闻香也点头道：“眼睛会骗人，气味却不会骗人的。这个，这个阿晴姑娘身上有一种体香，十分好闻，几十万个人中也遇不上一个，几乎和凝儿差不多了，她经过的地方，一下子就能闻到。”
宁凝忽地呸了一声，骂道：“苏闻香，你胡说什么？她的气味好不好闻，与我有什么相干？干么拿我来说嘴？”苏闻香皱眉道：“我，我只是随口说说……”宁凝道：“随口说说也不许，我就是我，干么要和人家比……”说到这儿，眼圈儿泛红，扭过头去。
苏闻香不料她如此气恼，大为不解，挠了挠头，讪讪道：“凝儿别气，我，我以后不说你就是啦！”宁凝哼了一声，也不答话。
陆渐心忧姚晴，不曾留意宁凝的心思，急声道：“苏先生，你快些施展神通，看看阿晴去哪儿了。”苏闻香嗯了一声，边走边嗅，穿过树林。陆渐身子虚弱，行动无力，幸喜宁凝随在一旁，顺手搀扶。
苏闻香走了一阵，爬上一处高坡，抽抽鼻子，皱眉道：“这里有那位姑娘的气味，也有其他人的气味。”陆渐转念间脸色大变，失声道：“难道，难道阿晴又被他们捉住了？”
苏闻香不置可否，弯着腰默然向前。陆渐心急如焚，连催燕未归跟上，道路两旁丛林幽深，怪石悬空，或如饿虎居高俯视，或如长戟森然下刺，但陆渐两眼凝注在苏闻香的鼻端，除此之外，其他人事均然不觉，一时间倒也不曾感受这山中的阴森气氛。
光影移转，日渐入暮，众人爬了一程，忽听水声轰隆，行得近了，却是两片山崖夹着一道深涧急流，山高水急，咆哮如雷。苏闻香四处嗅嗅，又皱眉道：“奇怪，奇怪。”陆渐忙道：“苏先生，又怎么奇怪啦？”苏闻香道：“我嗅不到那位姑娘的气味了，其他人的气味却还在，沿着山涧，下山去了。”
陆渐一愣，急声问道：“这，这是什么缘故？”苏闻香道：“只有一个缘由，能叫我嗅不到气息，那就是这位姑娘掉进山涧，涧水湍急，将她的留下的气味冲刷一尽，若是这样，我也没有法子……”
陆渐听得心子陡沉，水声入耳，化作嗡嗡鸣响，他恍恍忽忽，探首望去，涧深百尺，乱石嵯峨，有如狼牙尖刺，直指上天，涧水经过之时，便被切割成丝丝缕缕，更添湍急。想象人若落水，被这急流一卷，撞在这乱石之中，血肉模糊，哪能活命……霎那间，陆渐心头一空，既似伤心，又似迷糊，蓦地喉头发甜，一口鲜血夺口而出，只听得身畔宁凝失声惊呼，便即知觉全无了。
昏昏沉沉，不知过了多久，陆渐张眼看时，眼前四壁精洁，悬琴挂剑；阵阵香风飘至，送来几声鸟语。陆渐循声掉头，窗外却是一座花园，花木繁茂，鸟声啾啾，百啭不穷。
花丛中几双蛱蝶，来来往往，比翼而飞，陆渐瞧见，蓦地深深羡慕起来，想这蝴蝶尚能成双飞舞，而自己或许从今往后，只能一个人孤零零活在这世间，真是好不可怜。
想到这儿，他胸口窒闷，不由得剧烈咳嗽，挣得满面通红，忽觉嘴里腥咸，举手承接，尽是血水，心中好一阵凄凉：“我要死了么？唉，死了也好，这般活着，委实太苦？”
伤感间，忽听门响，宁凝推门而入，手捧托盘，盘中盛着一碗汤药，见他咳血，流露惊色，上前坐到陆渐身前，给他拭去血水，端起药碗，勺了一勺，吹得凉了，送到他嘴边。陆渐咬牙闭眼，微微摇头。
宁凝心里微微有气，叫道：“你不吃药，病怎么会好？”陆渐仍是双目微阖，一言不发。宁凝见他面容悲苦，心知他心痛太甚，生念全无，是故不肯吃药。一时间，她望着这病中男子，心中百味杂陈，那一点点怒气却慢慢散去了。
怔忡一会儿，宁凝收拾心情，软语道：“你知道么？主人派人去山涧下游查探过了，并未发现尸首，或许那位阿晴姑娘依旧活着。她若活着，你死了岂不冤枉。”
陆渐身子一颤，张眼道：“宁姑娘，你，你不骗我？”宁凝只觉一股莫名怒气荡过心头，将碗重重一搁，叫道：“谁骗你了，你这人，真是，真是讨厌……”说到这儿，双眼一热，只恐再呆在这儿，便要当场落泪，一转身，便向外走。陆渐忙道：“宁，宁姑娘，我不会说话，你别生气，我，我喝药便是……”捧起那碗药，咕嘟嘟一气喝光，只因喝得太急，又是一阵咳嗽。
宁凝心中越发难受，冷冷道：“陆大爷你言重了，我只是一个劫奴，没爹没娘，我，我又配生什么气……”
陆渐愣了一下，摇头道：“宁姑娘，你这话不对，我也是劫奴，我也没爹没娘；嗯，我还有爷爷，他虽然爱赌博，心里却疼爱我的，可你也不错啊，那个姓商的夫人，对你就很好很好的。”
宁凝微一沉默，偷偷拭去泪水，低头转身，端起药碗，推门而出。陆渐心中迷惑，望着她背影，叹了一口气。他心神恍惚不定，这般躺了一会儿，又昏睡过去。
睡梦中，陆渐嗅到一股奇香，睁眼看时，却见床前放了一尊香炉，炉中燃着紫黑线香。陆渐隐约记得这线香名为“紫灵还魂香”，香气吸入，胸中痛苦大减，甚感舒服。陆渐当下支起身子，见香炉旁又有一碗汤药，只怕又被宁凝责骂，便不待她来，捧起喝了。
不多时，燃香焚尽，陆渐胃里空空，虚弱难受，瞧得房中无人，便披了衣服，慢慢挪下床，扶着墙踱出门外，一眼望去，园中繁花将尽，流光点点，透过枝桠，印在地上。
陆渐心胸为之一畅，走了两步，忽见花丛中倩影依稀，定眼细看，正是宁凝，她坐在繁花丛中，身前支了一张矮几，几上铺了大幅宣纸。宁凝提一支羊毫，点蘸丹青，对着满园花草凝思一会儿，在纸上添一两笔，然后再想一阵，又添两笔。
陆渐悄然走到她身后，居高下望，只见纸上粗粗画着几丛珍珠兰，寥寥数笔，尽得清雅神韵；左侧则绘了一枝芍药，渲染入微，艳丽无方，与兰花相映成趣，各擅胜场。
陆渐瞧得舒服，不禁赞了一声“好”。宁凝不料他来，吃了一惊，笔尖轻颤，在宣纸上落下几点污墨。
陆渐哎呀一声，叫道：“糟了。”宁凝急急起身，背着身子挡住画儿，双颊白里透红，两眼盯着陆渐，目光清澈，透着几分恼意。陆渐挠挠头，尴尬道：“对不住，都是我的不是，扰了你画画啦。”
宁凝盯着他，似乎有些恼怒，说道：“你这人，怎么不好好躺着，却跑出来了。”陆渐不觉微笑，说道：“我一个大男人，怎么能老躺在床上？”宁凝瞪他一眼，道：“你是男人，也是病人，快回房去。”
但凡男子，无论老少贤愚，面对美丽女子，难免都会有些赖皮。陆渐人虽老实，有意无意，也难免俗，闻言不仅不回房去，反而坐在一块石头上，笑道：“我就坐一会儿，透透气也好。”
宁凝望着他，有些无可奈何，叹了口气，正要收拾画具，陆渐却道：“怎么不画啦？”宁凝瞥他一眼，寻思：“你这么瞧着，我怎能画得下去？”却听陆渐道：“这幅画很好看，若不画完，很是可惜。唉，都怪我不好，一惊一咋，污了你的好画。”
宁凝见他一脸愧疚，心生不忍，脸上微微一红，说道：“虽然是你不好，这画却不算污了。”当即摊开宣纸，挥笔将一点墨污略加点染，便成一只青蝇，细腰轻翅，破纸欲飞；其他三点污墨则连缀勾勒，描成一只翩翩大蝶，穿梭花间，潇洒可爱。
宁凝将未竟花草一一勾完，问道：“你说，这画取什么名儿？”陆渐想了想，说道：“就叫'蝴蝶戏花图'，好不好？”宁凝听了，双颊一热，心道：“瞧你老老实实的，取个名儿却不老实。”虽如此想，仍依陆渐所言，书下画名。
陆渐瞧着画，赞不绝口。宁凝听得好笑，说道：“你只说好，到底好在哪儿，你却说说？”陆渐张口结舌，半晌道：“就是好看，至于好在哪儿，我是粗人，却说不出来。”
宁凝微微一笑，道：“好个粗人，只消这两个字，便推得干干净净了。嗯，这幅画有个地方不合常理，你能瞧出来么？”陆渐又是一愣，挠挠头，支吾道：“我是粗人……”
宁凝不觉莞尔，说道：“这两样花原本花期不一。芍药是晚春开放，珍珠兰却长在夏日；我将它们画在一起，实在是大大的胡闹，你偏说画得好，果真是一个粗人……”说着注视陆渐，嘴角含笑，眼里大有促狭之色。
陆渐脸涨通红，咳嗽两声，不服道：“不管怎样，就是好看，有人曾经说过，你的劫力在双眼，所以画得一手好丹青。”宁凝奇道：“是谁呀？”陆渐道：“仙碧姊姊，她是地部的高手，她的话一定不错。”
宁凝默然半晌，轻哼一声，道：“你认识的女孩子却挺多。”陆渐不防她说出这么一句，正不知其意，又听宁凝叹了口气，说道：“其实我画得一点儿也不好，有时候，我心里想得很好很好，画出来时，却总是不妥，怎么看也不满意，唉，比起古往今来的大画家，我可差得远了。”
陆渐心目中，对画的念头只分“好看”与“不好看”，说到“眼高手低”这些道道，却是一窍不通。当即也不作声。宁凝则盯着那画，痴痴出神，不料那朵芍药鲜丽逼真，竟惹来一只蜜蜂，绕着那花，嗡嗡乱转，却又不知如何下口。
陆渐笑道：“我说好吧，你还不承认，这下连蜂儿都引来了。”宁凝听他反复说好，初时不以为意，听得多了，却有几分信实，心里微微得意，破颜而笑。但见陆渐又咳两声，神色颓败，便道：“医书上说：'广步于庭'，既然出来了，我便陪你走一走，对你身子或许有些好处。”当即扶起陆渐，在花中小径中漫步行走。
陆渐忍不住问道：“宁姑娘，这是哪里？”宁凝道：“这是主人一位朋友的园子。”陆渐道：“沈先生他们呢，怎么只有你一个人在。”
宁凝道：“他们打听宁不空的下落去了；我瞧得出来，主人对这件事很发愁。”陆渐哦了一声，说道：“那也难怪，宁不空不但狡猾，而且狠毒，如今更有沙天洹相帮，就像老虎生了翅膀。你见了沈先生，千万提醒于他，让他当心。”
宁凝沉吟片刻，摇头道：“不知怎的，我总觉得宁不空这个名字有些耳熟，似乎很久以前听过。”陆渐道：“你们都姓宁，宁什么宁什么，听得惯了，自然耳熟了。”宁凝瞧他一眼，笑道：“你这次却还不笨。”
陆渐咧嘴笑笑，但倏尔之间，笑容尽失，轻轻叹了口气，止住步子，望着一丛乌斯菊呆呆出神。宁凝怪道：“你怎么了？”陆渐眼神一阵恍惚，忽地叹道：“以前，我每做好一件事，阿晴就会夸我'还不笨'，你这会儿的口气，和她，和她真是很像。”
宁凝心中微酸，沉默一阵，强笑道：“你别担心，那位阿晴姑娘好人好报，一定没事的。”陆渐转头望着她，眉眼通红，蓦地握住她手，颤声道：“宁姑娘，你这一句吉言，我一辈子都记得……”
宁凝默默抽回手，低眉不语。陆渐方才自觉失礼，讪讪无话。过了一会儿，宁凝问道：“你说过，宁不空是你的劫主，你又怎么成了劫奴的？”
陆渐便将经过说了，问道：“你呢？”宁凝道：“我是孤儿，主人收留我的时候，我年纪很小，什么也不懂。后来主人让我练《黑天书》，我也就练了，说起来，却没有你这么曲折的。”
陆渐叹了口气，道：“沈先生别的还好，这炼奴的事，真是可恶之极。”宁凝淡然道：“习惯了便好。”说到这儿，她注视陆渐，忽而笑道：“我却忘了，你这个劫奴呀，一点儿也不听话。”
陆渐道：“人生天地间，活的不是一口气么？”话音未落，忽听一阵喧闹声，二人转眼望去，却见莫乙、薛耳行入园内。宁凝怕人闲话，忙将陆渐手肘放开。
薛耳远远嚷道：“凝儿，瞧我们给你带什么来啦？”说着手拿一支画轴，赶上前来。宁凝接过，展开一瞧，哎