Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven, Thirteenth Tattoo

Xie Xiaoe's acupoints were blocked and she was lying in the muddy water not far away.She stared intently at the depths of the earth gate, and suddenly let out a scream! "elder brother!" Although she was far away, she also recognized who the corpse in the pit was. Xie Xiao'e struggled in the muddy water, but she couldn't break through the acupoint no matter what, so she burst into a burst of cursing: "Nie Yinniang, you must die! Why did you insult my brother's corpse! Nie Yinniang, if I live for a day, I will have your tendons cramped!" peel your skin..."

Nie Yinniang ignored her cursing completely, and just stared silently at Wang Xianke's mud-stained face, the expression on his face fluctuating. Suddenly, a flame of hatred rose from her eyes, she rushed forward, pulled out the sword on the ground, and slashed at the earthen wall in front of her! "Come out! Come out!" Debris flew on the earthen wall, but at some point, someone wrote a large row of "death" characters, the ink was dark red, as if it was written in blood. These "death" characters, large and small, almost covered the entire wall, like mocking faces, staring at the person in front of them mockingly.

Nie Yinniang slashed wildly, and the earthen wall collapsed.Nie Yinniang was panting heavily, she was so tired that she could hardly stand up straight.She stared blankly at the collapsed clod in front of her eyes, and the frenzy in her eyes gradually turned into sadness. Why, why did the master who raised them and taught them martial arts tease them like this?Could it be that his pleasure lies in destroying their self-confidence step by step and letting them kill each other in madness and despair? Nie Yinniang suddenly chuckled, put the sword away weakly, raised her forehead with both hands, as if trying to calm herself down.After a long time, she finally raised her head and walked towards Wang Xianke's body.

On the side, Liu Yi stared at the tattoo on his hand, and fell into deep thought again, as if he had no time to care about Nie Yinniang's actions at all. Looking at Wang Xianke's mutilated body, Nie Yinniang felt a dull pain in her heart. If according to what Ren said, partners are working together to tide over difficulties, then they have also been partners once.However, her first partner in Shura Town, the hospitable and enthusiastic miser, the infatuated brother who was looking for his sister, was decapitated by his master in front of the corpses to protest. And how far is she herself from such an ending?

Nie Yinniang's eyes became hot and she almost shed tears.She carefully picked up the head on the ground, brushed off the filth on his face with her sleeves, and put it together with the kneeling torso, then got up silently, bowed to Wang Xianke's corpse, and was about to push the earth to bury him , but heard Liu Yi say: "Slow down!" Nie Yinniang turned her head, and saw Liu Yi holding the tattoo tightly, with excitement on her face, which made Nie Yinniang somewhat displeased, and said coldly, "It's safe in the ground, what else are you going to do?" Liu Yi pointed to the exposed flesh and blood on the corpse's neck and said, "Have you noticed that the tattoo Wang Xianke was peeled off is fan-shaped?"

Nie Yinniang looked back at Wang Xianke's wound, frowned and said, "So what?" Liu Yi said: "Now I have seen a total of three tattoos. Whether you peeled off Pei Hang or Ren himself peeled off himself, they are all square pieces. But this fan-shaped one happened to be done by the owner himself." .” Nie Yinniang frowned: "What exactly do you want to say?" Liu Yi's voice was a little excited: "In other words, the original shape of these tattoos should be fan-shaped. But both you and Mrs. Ren peeled off the excess parts by mistake!" Nie Yinniang hesitated: "So what?"

Liu Yi said: "These things that were peeled off may just cover up some important truths." He unfolded the piece of human skin in his hand: "Have you ever thought that these tattoos on our bodies may be related, the twelve tattoos When the tattoos are put together, will it be a complete circle?" Nie Yinniang was startled, then lowered her head and took out two tattoos of Pei Hang and Ren's from her bosom.On the two square skins, there are green pictures tattooed.The lines of the tattoo extend from the middle to both sides, and stop abruptly at a certain edge, leaving a large blank space.If these gaps are cut away, it is also a fan!

Startled, Nie Yinniang quickly folded up the blank space, trying to join the edges of the two tattoos together, but failed.The edges of the two tattoo designs do not continue.Adding Wang Xianke's piece together, it is still impossible to continue. She murmured: "It's a pity that we only have three tattoos on our hands, and the possibility of connecting them is too small." Liu Yi shook his head and said, "It's six pieces." He lifted up his sleeve, exposing the skin of his left arm. His arms are empty, and his skin is too fair for a man.Liu Yi stretched out his finger and scratched deeply on the upper arm, blood gushed out immediately, staining his left arm bright red.

Liu Yi tapped lightly on the blood-soaked skin, and after a while, a blue tattoo gradually protruded.He tore off a rag, tied the wound tightly, and carefully wiped away excess blood from the tattoo. The needlework of the tattoo is gorgeous and delicate, depicting the story of Liu Yi's biography. During the reign of Yifeng in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yi, a scholar, was walking on the shore of the Xiangshui River after failing the exam. He found a woman with a haggard face and ragged clothes, herding sheep beside the road.It turned out that she was the young daughter of the Dragon King of Dongting, married to the son of the Dragon King of Jingchuan, and was bullied by her husband.Liu Yi sympathized with what happened to Longnv, and felt righteous and sent a letter to Dongting thousands of miles away for her, so that Longnv could finally return to her parents.Later, after many twists and turns, Longnv and Liu Yi married and went away as immortals.

What is depicted on the screen is exactly the scene when Liu Yi and Longnu returned to Dongting.Liu Yi stood barefoot in the middle of the Dongting Lake, the canopy behind him was like clouds, and the celestial music was swaying, and Luan Jia was coming from the east through the water. Liu Yi looked at the east from a distance, as if he was about to meet the depths of the waves.The water waves rolled up under his feet, and the rays of light were endless, changing to his heart's content on his fluttering white clothes, which further accentuated the smug smile on his face. The patterns are magnificent and extremely dazzling. The dragon, green luan, fairy, and sea monster are flying and moving under the auspicious clouds, and they are lifelike. This small square inch seems to condense the essence of the entire Luoshen Fu scroll.

Liu Yi stared at the tattoo on his arm, and a self-deprecating smile floated on his lips. At least in this pattern, he has not yet drawn his own horrible death. Compared with Wang Xianke, he is more or less lucky. Nie Yinniang carefully pasted the tattoos in her hand, and as expected, one of them was able to connect with it. The patterns of the two tattoos are magically fused together. The two unrelated stories seem to be merged into one under the urging of some mysterious force. A long scroll of magical and strange characters is slowly unfolding in front of the two of them. . And this is only one-sixth of the long scroll. Liu Yi said, "Where's your tattoo?" Nie Yinniang hesitated for a moment, then gently picked up the skirt, revealing a section of her shinbone and her plain feet carved in powder and jade.She also stretched out her pointed nails, and scratched hard under her knees, blood dripped out and wet the skin of her calves. The tattoos slowly appeared in front of the two of them.A woman in Tang suit was lying in a brocade tent, with a circle of beautiful Khotan jade around her neck. An extremely ferocious knife mark crossed the jade, as if it had pierced through the jade, and blood flowed out along the jade, covering her body Most of the mattresses were wet. Nie Yinniang stared at her tattoo, and smiled wryly, "Master seems to like to change the ending of legends." In the legend of Tang Dynasty, Nie Yinniang helped Jiedu envoy Liu Changyi to evade several assassinations by Wei Shuai in succession in order to repay Jiedu envoy Liu Changyi's kindness.For the last time, Wei Shuai sent Kong Konger, a top fighter, and Nie Yinniang knew she was invincible, so she let Liu Changyi sleep with Khotan jade around his neck. At the third watch, Liu Changyi stayed awake with his eyes closed, only hearing a clang on his neck, which was extremely fierce .Nie Yinniang came out from the side, and congratulated: "There is nothing to worry about. Kong Konger is like a goshawk. If he misses a fight, he will die away. He will never strike again. Now, he is thousands of miles away." Liu Changyi Inspecting his Khotan jade, he found that there were indeed traces of a dagger, which could be pierced by only a hair. Nie Yinniang smiled wryly and said: "What the master meant was that Nie Yinniang surrounded Khotan Jade, lying in the brocade tent instead of Liu Changyi, and was killed by Kong Konger with a knife. It seems that the first day he led me into the legend, it has already been arranged to my final death." Liu Yi shook his head slowly and said: "He won't succeed so easily." Tore off a piece of white clothes and handed them to Nie Yinniang: "Copy them down." Nie Yinniang nodded, took out the small magnet from her sleeve, and carefully sucked out the blood shadow needle from Wang Xianke's body.She dipped a rag in the potion and wiped it several times to dissolve the poison on the needle, then slowly unfolded the white cloth, dipped it in the residual blood on the ground, and carefully copied the two tattoos on her and Liu Yi's bodies. Liu Yi held a torch and stood beside her. The light of the fire dispelled the darkness slightly, and illuminated a halo of yellow light around her. Nie Yinniang sat in the halo, her slender left leg lay flat, and she placed the piece of white on her lap.She bent down, dipped a long needle in the remaining blood, and traced it on the white cloth little by little.She drew it very carefully, it didn't look like she was copying, but like embroidery. Her right knee was slightly bent, and the cyan skirt slowly faded away, revealing the hideous tattoo.The flame flickered, reflecting the exquisite curves of her calf. Under the infiltration of blood, the color of the tattoo became brighter, and it looked particularly abrupt against her smooth skin. Her body is extremely soft, and the whole body is curved into a beautiful arc, but the expression on her face is extremely serious. She turns her head from time to time to wipe the blood on her legs. Some naive way.Unexpectedly, this top needle expert in the world looks like a girl who is just learning embroidery. If there is no master, maybe she is just a young girl embroidering in the deep boudoir. The beautiful scenery on a good day, the broken walls, and the girl's thoughts will all be recorded under the five-color silk thread by her bit by bit, and then pressed under the thick dowry.When you get old, hold it in your hands and slowly recall your life. However, the needle in Nie Yinniang's hand was only used to kill people. If she could be sent away from Asura Town, so that she could sit in her boudoir and concentrate on embroidery forever... Liu Yi couldn't help feeling a little touched in his heart, and the fire in his hand trembled slightly. At that moment, an impulse to protect her rose in his heart. ——If I can let her leave Shura Town, so why not face the master alone... Liu Yi's heart was startled, and he immediately became alert: For an assassin, this kind of thinking is too dangerous! Nothing is more precious than your own life; no one is more worthy of protection than yourself.In the heart of the assassin, he can only pretend to be himself! If you become an assassin and become a knight, you are not far from death. Liu Yi shook his head vigorously, as if he wanted to get rid of the ridiculous "chivalrous heart" just now. But Nie Yinniang raised her head and said: "It's done." She carefully put away the blood shadow needle, cut two pieces of copied white cloth into fan shapes, and put them on the ground. Liu Yi didn't think about it anymore, and put the remaining three pieces of human skin on it, and the two of them stitched them together carefully. Among the five tattoos, three of them can be connected to each other, but the other two are still scattered. Liu Yi stared at the tattoo puzzle on the ground, suddenly found something, pointed to the center of the small half circle and said, "Look, what is this?" Nie Yinniang snatched the torch and took a closer look.Sure enough, the tip of each tattoo, that is, the position near the center of the circle, will leave a small group of faint ink marks, as if it was an ink stain left inadvertently.These ink stains are very inconspicuous when viewed separately, but when they are gathered together, they seem to follow certain rules and merge into one piece, showing the appearance of flower and bird pavilions. A smug smile appeared on Liu Yi's face: "This is exactly what I'm looking for, the thirteenth tattoo!" Nie Yinniang was startled: "The thirteenth tattoo?" Liu Yi nodded: "The ink marks under these tattoos are definitely not random. If I guessed correctly, when all the tattoos are gathered together, another hidden pattern will be formed at the core of the ring, which is the tenth Three tattoos!" Nie Yinniang frowned and stared at the smaller concentric arc in the center of the puzzle.Originally, it was just an inadvertent stain on the bottom of each tattoo, but after being spliced ​​together, it gradually showed its original appearance. Although it is only a quarter of the entire pattern, it can be seen that the painting on it seems to be the back garden of a wealthy family, with exotic flowers and plants, bees flying and butterflies dancing, very beautiful.There is still a small red pavilion standing in the depths of the flowers.The small pavilion with carved eaves and painted buildings is very delicately constructed. It is where countless fragrant stories happened in the legends of the past dynasties. Left endless reverie. Nie Yinniang murmured: "You are right. This is another tattoo, and it is more detailed than any of us. This should be the master's painstaking effort." She paused: "But this tattoo Who does it belong to?" Liu Yi said: "Since this tattoo is hidden on each of us, it shouldn't belong to a certain legend. Most likely, this pattern belongs to the owner." He stared at the circular puzzle on the ground, and said in a deep voice: "This What is depicted on the pattern is a legend that belongs to the master himself!" Nie Yinniang took a deep breath: "So, if we can unlock the thirteenth tattoo, we can unlock the master's secret?" Liu Yi nodded. Nie Yinniang said, "However, where can we find other tattoos?" Liu Yi cast his eyes not far away: "At least there is another picture in front of me." The place he pointed at was Xie Xiao'e whose acupoints were restricted. Xie Xiao'e lay in the dust, covered in filth, her voice was hoarse, but she continued to curse. Liu Yi stepped forward, picked up the dagger she had thrown aside, and firmly pressed it against her throat. Nie Yinniang followed behind him, frowning and said: "You want to force her to tell where the tattoo is?" Liu Yi said: "It doesn't matter whether she says it or not, as long as you cut off her head and soak her body with blood, you will always find the tattoo we want." Nie Yinniang frowned and said, "Are you going to kill her?" Liu Yi said: "She is completely crazy now, if you don't kill her, she will kill you sooner or later." Nie Yinniang couldn't help but nodded, she looked up at Xie Xiaoe.Liu Yishicai's blow was not light, her originally beautiful face was swollen and distorted, covered with dust and blood, she was almost a different person from when she first met, only the cold and fierce light in her eyes remained the same as before. Due to the tooth being knocked out, her voice was also blurred, and she could only hear a few words vaguely, which seemed to be "Nie Yinniang...brother...revenge..." Nie Yinniang suddenly felt sad, she turned her head and looked at Xie Xiao'e silently. Maybe she is really crazy. Only a lunatic can avoid his own fault and put all the blame on an irrelevant person.In her heart, she has stubbornly regarded Nie Yinniang as the enemy who killed her brother, and then desperately avenged her only relative.Perhaps, only with the support of this hatred can she survive and forget the reality that her brother actually died by her hands. Her current revenge is so crazy, perhaps it also shows how much she actually loves her brother. Yes, she loved him, deeply. Just like the longing for light in the dark night, how can an assassin who has been alone for too long not be so nostalgic for that family affection?How can a soul that is always hiding in the dark night and covered in blood forget the warmth that was cared for and cherished by others? Before her brother was dying, the gradually cooling embrace and hissing and whispering calls had been fixed as the eternal treasure in her heart. However, it was also she who, with a heart of hatred, cut her only brother's heart and stomach, and tortured him to the point of death. For the flesh and blood they once shared. The reason is to keep him by my side forever. Love and hate are often so strange. Seeing that Nie Yinniang didn't answer, Liu Yi raised the knife and wiped it down Xie Xiao'e's throat. Nie Yinniang stopped his hand suddenly: "No!" Liu Yi looked at her and said with a mocking smile: "Do you want to do it yourself?" Nie Yinniang shook her head and said, "You can't kill her." Liu Yi smiled lightly: "Could it be that you also feel compassion?" Nie Yinniang said seriously, "I can't kill someone for a tattoo that could have been copied." Liu Yi shook his head and said, "It's not because of the tattoo, but because she will never be our partner. If I don't kill her now, I'm afraid I will regret it in the future." Nie Yinniang still stubbornly blocked his hand, and said with a sneer, "What I regret the most is that I couldn't kill Hongxian with a single sword." Liu Yi's face darkened. Nie Yinniang deliberately ignored him, and sneered, "What is this?" Liu Yi's skirt was broken, revealing a piece of purple silk, layered up, as if wrapping something the size of a copper coin. Liu Yi was taken aback, Nie Yinniang suddenly stretched out her hand to his chest! No one expected that she would be so resolute in making a move without showing any sympathy.Liu Yi was still seriously injured, and suddenly defenseless, she snatched him away. Holding the package, Nie Yinniang frowned. The entire package turned dark, and was covered with sweat and blood, as if it had been treasured on his chest for many years, no matter how dangerous the situation was, it never left his body. "Put it down!" An angry shout exploded in her ears, Liu Yi's voice was so high that the dust on the walls of the cave couldn't help but rustle down. Just as Nie Yinniang was about to raise her head, his figure jumped up like lightning and rushed towards her. Despite being seriously injured, his body skills are still extremely fierce, and he is a sure-hit style of play, without leaving any real energy to protect his body-even when facing the strongest enemy, he may not be so desperate. Nie Yinniang felt that her surroundings were empty, and her heart was gradually turning cold. She quietly opened her hand and let him snatch the package back. Nie Yinniang looked at him silently, her eyes were a little strange, she didn't seem to expect that this handsome young man in white clothes would be so terrifying once he got angry. Liu Yi carefully put the package back on his chest, guarding it with his hands for a long time, unwilling to let go for a long time.His eyes were tightly closed, as if he was remembering, and he seemed to be unwilling to let Nie Yinniang see through his heart. After a while, he seemed to feel his gaffe, and looked up at Nie Yinniang. The two men met eyes, but were relatively speechless. What kind of secret is hidden in this package that makes the two go to war? In the dark cave, the faint fire flickered, and the surrounding air seemed to be cooling down gradually. After an unknown amount of time, Nie Yinniang's icy voice broke the silence: "If I'm not mistaken, the phoenix on this piece of purple silk is exactly the same as the one on the red thread. It seems that you are 'partners' for many years, right?" Liu Yi was silent, as if he wanted to explain something, but in the end he just shook his head.He slowly put away the dagger and walked away. Nie Yinniang stopped looking at him, and pulled Xie Xiao'e aside, unlocked her acupuncture points, allowing her to walk, but unable to perform martial arts. Leaning against the stone wall, Liu Yi looked up at the mottled moss on the top of the cave, as if lost in memory. Nie Yinniang turned her back, but her heart seemed to be pricked by something sharp, causing a dull pain. She lowered her head and used her fingers to draw unconsciously on the sand, with every stroke so hard, she said lightly: "The members of the legend should have never met before. However, if I guess correctly, you and the red thread are definitely not in Shura. I just met in the town." Her voice was a bit sour: "Could it be that you are a special case in the legend?" Liu Yi's face became more gloomy, and he was about to speak, but suddenly there was a bang behind him! The two turned their heads in shock, and a big hole was cracked in the ground not far away, and the tattoo puzzles on the ground had collapsed along with the broken soil! Without looking at Nie Yinniang and Xie Xiaoe again, Liu Yi chased after the earth cave and jumped into the cave. Just as Nie Yinniang was about to follow, she suddenly remembered Xie Xiaoe.Her tattoos have not been copied yet, if she is left at this moment, there may never be a chance to see her again. Without thinking too much, Nie Yinniang pulled Xie Xiaoe up and jumped down together. Another long tunnel.Nie Yinniang dragged Xie Xiaoe along and slid quickly in the tunnel.Pieces of soil hit her face, and Nie Yinniang had to close her eyes.After an unknown amount of time, the eyes suddenly lit up, and the two of them fell out heavily. The moonlight was so bright that Nie Yinniang couldn't open her eyes for a while.This place seems to be outside the cave, and there is a shallow gravel beach under him, full of sharp-edged rocks everywhere.Fortunately, the drop between the exit of the tunnel and the shoal is not high, otherwise he would have to fall all over his body with bruises. Nie Yinniang looked up and found that this was the other side of the valley. It can be said that "it has entered the circle of Wanshan Mountains, and one mountain releases another mountain barrier", and there is another scene surrounded by high cliffs in front of her. Liu Yi was standing not far from them, looking up.He stood silently under the moonlight, as if he had been completely shocked by the scene in front of him, and he had completely forgotten about recovering the tattoo puzzle. In front of him, an extremely majestic stone hall was built next to the mountain. The whole body was built of huge stone blocks, and the extremely towering hall walls formed a ring, carving and drawing pictures of the stars in the sky.The images of the rising sun and the moon are carved in relief at the east and west poles, protruding above the stars. On the relief of the sun and the moon, two divine beasts came out across the sky, their bodies and tails were still in the wall, their heads and necks were already howling towards the sky, their teeth were sharp, and their claws were flying. ears.What's even more strange is that the flames spit out from the mouths of the two divine beasts, soaring up to the sky, stretched out on the roof of the hall, and the top of the flames also supported a giant lotus. Inside the core, shrouded in mist and mist, the whole body is like a whole jade carving. Indistinctly, the jade pillars and crystal railings in the hall seem transparent and visible.The two cities in the sky are like a pair of spread wings, hovering and sheltering above the main hall. Such a magnificent building, even if it appears in a remote town surrounded by mountains, it will be a temporary spectacle even if it appears in the bustling Central Plains.What is even more strange is that there is actually a dilapidated plaque hanging in the center of the palace wall, with three large characters written vertically on it: "Huo Wang's Mansion". Different from the mountain temple in the peach forest, this plaque is about three feet long. Although it is covered with dust, it can still be seen that it is actually made of red sandalwood inlaid with gold. It looks very valuable, and the calligraphy on it is also rich and beautiful. Obviously from Gao Ming.However, it seems to be an ancient relic dug out of an ancient tomb, full of traces of time everywhere, as if it has been waiting in the soil for hundreds of years, and now it has finally seen the light of day.