Chapter 49 The forty-ninth round of fearlessness on the ladder

The place where Fang Baoyu was standing at this moment was already the top of the mountain. But this mountain of mist is even higher—it seems to rise suddenly in the sky miraculously, and all the peaks of the mountains are at its feet. Baoyu followed Mrs. Wan in the mist for nearly an hour, through the misty forest, through the misty valley, and over the mountain top. Then, the mysterious stone steps suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. Countless stone steps. Even if Baoyu exhausted his eyesight, he couldn't see the top - the top was foggy and misty, and the stone steps seemed to lead straight to the sky.

In front of the stone steps is a bluestone dome gate, engraved on the gate: "Mifeng Ladder." Arriving here, Mrs. Wan seemed to be a different person again, she walked up with her head down, and every step she took seemed to have exhausted all her life's strength. The stone steps are smooth, with strange green grass growing on both sides. After walking dozens of steps, broken swords and bones of the dead can be seen on both sides of the stone steps from time to time among the tall grass. The green grass is like ink, the white bones are like phosphorus, together with dense clouds, misty fog, fabulous ladders and various legends that have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people for a long time.

All these are mixed into a terrifying and strange magic power, which is enough to make anyone tremble from the bottom of his heart, enough to make anyone chill to the bone. Mrs. Wan murmured: "Did you see that? These are people who want to go to Baishui Palace. These dead bones may not have a lower reputation than your Fang Baoyu." Baoyu frowned and said, "Is it even buried here..." Mrs. Wan said coldly: "Why do you want to bury it? It would be nice to keep it for future generations to see, so that people who come later can know the trick...Actually, even if you know the trick, once you get here, you will never want to go back. "

Baoyu turned his eyes and said, "I'm afraid that's not true. If I want to go back now, who knows?" Mrs. Wan said: "What kind of person is Empress Baishui? She is really omnipotent and omniscient. You think no one knows about you walking here, but in fact, she already knows." Baoyu laughed suddenly and said, "So you didn't mean what you said to me. You knew you had committed a crime by bringing someone here, so you hurriedly flattered her, and only hoped that she could really hear it. In fact..." Mrs. Wan said: "Do you think she can't hear the old man?"

Baoyu said: "She is not a fairy, how can she hear it? It seems that your scheming is in vain." Before the words were finished, someone suddenly said: "You are wrong." The voice was light, soft and beautiful, but it was extremely clear to the ears.At this time, there was no one around, but the voice seemed to be right next to my ears. Baoyu was really taken aback, and stopped immediately. He only heard the voice slowly continue: "Are you afraid? Are you afraid to come up?" Baoyu was stunned on the spot, but Mrs. Wan had already knelt down on the ground. Yes, in this dense cloud and under this endless ladder, this voice does have a magical power, which is enough to frighten people.

But what appeared on Baoyu's face at this moment was definitely not a look of awe, but a strange state of excitement, as if he had understood something. Just listen to the voice saying: "Wan Huangying, raise your head." Huang Ying, of course, is Mrs. Wan's boudoir name. Mrs. Wan didn't want to raise her head, but she didn't dare not to raise her head. The voice said: "Have you convicted?" Mrs. Wan tremblingly said: "I'm guilty...I shouldn't have brought someone here, I beg you old man...forgive me...forgive me!" That voice said: "Forgive you?"

Mrs. Wan paused for the first time, and hissed: "Please forgive me! I... I am old and useless. I am just a useless old dog. It is nothing if you kill me." The humble hissing cry echoed in the misty clouds. But until the lingering voice of this call disappeared, there was still no response at the end of the ladder. The clouds are floating, and the endless ladder seems to be higher. So high that one has to bend one's knees at its feet. After a long time, the voice finally sounded again: "Let's go! Let's go! People like you are not worth killing." Mrs. Wan said happily: "Thank you so much, old man."

The voice said: "But this time you go down the mountain, you have to keep going, you are not allowed to stay, and you are not allowed to turn back. You have to go far, go overseas. Before you go to sea, you are not allowed to say a word." Mrs. Wan paused and said, "Yes, as ordered." The voice said slowly: "You only need to say a word, and I will know. If you still dare to stop in the middle, I will know too. At that time, you will not die even if you want to die!" Mrs. Wan only felt her throat and lips were surprisingly dry, and she couldn't speak a single word with all her strength. She could only let out a wailing like a wounded beast in her throat.

The voice said: "Okay, let's go!" Mrs. Wan jumped up and rushed down without looking back, not even daring to look at Fang Baoyu and the little princess again—she almost rolled down. The voice suddenly whispered: "Fang... Bao... Yu..." Baoyu was really surprised at this time, and said: "You...you know me..." The voice said with a smile: "Of course I know you. You are still thousands of miles away, and I already know that you will definitely come. I can't hide anything from me. Are you surprised?" The mysterious voice laughed for the first time.

The laughter was even more like the wind vibrating silver bells, and pearls falling on a jade plate, so that people didn't need to see her at all, just hearing this laughter, they were willing to sacrifice everything for her. Even the little princess, even though she was a woman, couldn't help being intoxicated. Baoyu sighed, "You really are an extraordinary person." The voice said softly: "You go down now, there is still time." Baoyu laughed and said, "Really? I just think it's too late." The voice said: "Just raise your head and have a look."

Baoyu looked up, only to find that there was another towering stone gate in front of him, with a round dome, which looked extraordinarily brilliant and beautiful. This is an impeccable building, every stone block is flawless in structure, but there is a chilling inscription on it: "One person, one door, another person." The voice said slowly: "Can you see clearly?" Baoyu laughed and said, "How can I not read such big characters?" That voice said: "Are you still coming up?" Baoyu laughed and said, "If you come down, I won't go up." The voice sighed: "I hope you don't regret it." As a result, the voice disappeared strangely and was never heard again. Baoyu looked back at the little princess, and strode up. Although he also knows that he is the only one in this family, even if he is reborn, his life's destiny will probably change—or he will really be like "reincarnated as a human being". But he still strode forward, without any hesitation in his steps. Mrs. Wan's fear of the Water Palace Master has indeed penetrated into her bone marrow. She really didn't dare to stay, didn't dare to look back.She walked on and on and didn't even dare to sleep, fear was whipping her like a whip. The power of fear can really trump everything sometimes. When she arrived at Jihe, she was almost out of shape. The Jihe River is the ferry of the Yellow River. From here to the bay, it is a section of the Yellow River where ships can pass. Therefore, this ferry is full of masts, which is not inferior to the Yangtze River. Mrs. Wan's staff has long since disappeared. She split a branch, used it as a crutch, and staggered to the ferry.Looking at her absent-minded eyes, haggard face, and ragged clothes, I am afraid that few people can recognize this poor and dirty old woman as the famous Mrs. Wan in the martial arts world. She just doesn't want others to recognize her. At the ferry, there was a big man with his coat open, yelling loudly: "Eat white rice for meals, and take a flat boat...Guests who want to go to the provincial capital, Jiyang, Qingcheng, and Lijin, hurry up and board our flat boat." ah!" There was a boy beside him, who also yelled: "This is the last boat, if you miss it, you have to wait for three days." Mrs. Wan walked over waddlingly. She no longer wants to walk.She couldn't walk anymore.But the boatman stretched out an iron-like arm to block her, and said: "Hey, old lady, what do you want?" Mrs. Wan shook her head—she dared not open her mouth, dared not speak.She always felt that there was a pair of ecstasy eyes staring at her right behind her. The boatman sneered and said: "With your appearance, do you want to take a boat too? Tell you, you can't afford the boat fare, and we, Langlihua, never do good deeds." Mrs. Wan shook her head and nodded again. The boatman said angrily: "Smelly old woman, do you hear me? Get out!" Stretching out a big palm like a cattail leaf fan, he pushed towards Mrs. Wan. Mrs. Wan looked at this hand coldly, as long as this hand touched her clothes, she would never want to move this hand again. But at this moment, Mrs. Wan suddenly felt someone behind her. At this moment, there were quite a lot of people on the pier, but those who came behind her at this moment were definitely different from this group of ordinary and mediocre people on the pier. She seemed to be suddenly attacked by a fierce and domineering aura from behind. Among the mediocre crowd, she suddenly felt that a martial arts master had come behind her. This is the peculiar intuition of a martial arts master when he meets another master. Her figure involuntarily took two steps to the left as fast as lightning. The boatman naturally pushed his hand away and looked at her in surprise. Mrs. Wan secretly glanced at the person behind her out of the corner of her eye. I saw that this person was eight feet tall, tall and outstanding, wearing a hat, pressing his eyebrows tightly, and wearing a purple "one bell" on his body, which almost covered his feet. Although he stood there without moving, the domineering aura forced all the mediocre crowd to hang their heads, not daring to look at him more. Mrs. Wan recognized him immediately! Gongsun Hong, this is the "Dragon Stick" Gongsun Hong! Although there is a hat pressed tightly between the eyebrows, and although the clothes on his body are not quite the same as those seen in the Taishan Club, this mighty aura will never change and cannot be concealed. Mrs. Wan immediately lowered her head. Gongsun Hong also glanced at her, obviously also moved by the lightning-like leap of this dirty old woman just now - that leap was really extraordinary. But at this moment, Gongsun Hong seemed to have so many things on his mind that he had no time to take care of other things, so he just glanced at it with surprise and then let it go. The boatman laughed and said, "Is the guest officer going to take a boat?" Gongsun Hong said: "Yes." There was a slight pause in her voice, as if she suddenly remembered something, and said again: "Don't make things difficult for this old woman, her boat money is mine." The cabin was smoky and hot. Although this boat is not old and is quite sturdy, the cabin is very simple, with only two rows of long wooden benches on the left and right sides. At this moment, the benches are not full of people, because some people have already laid out their luggage in the cabin, lying down, sitting, and smoking dry cigarettes. Gongsun Hong sat on the bench like an iron tower. Mrs. Wan bent her body and lowered her head, and walked into the cabin.When she walked past Gongsunhong, she saluted timidly, but she still didn't speak. Gongsun Hong glanced at her again and nodded. Mrs. Wan had already sat down in the corner with a bent body. After that, several more guests came up one after another, and the cabin became hotter and stuffier, but the boatman was not satisfied and continued to solicit more guests. Gongsun Hong seemed impatient to wait, and suddenly said loudly: "Let's sail quickly, if there is not enough money for the boat, it will all be mine." The ship is now anchored. Finally, there was some breeze in the cabin, so the passengers on the boat also became active, some struck up a conversation and chatted with others, some took out watermelon seeds and peanuts, and shared them with the people around them——on the journey, strangers often The easiest to become friends, although when the journey is over, it is easy to forget each other. Gongsun Hong is still sitting upright.No one dared to strike up a conversation with him, so naturally he would not go to others.He frowned deeply, as if he was thinking and lost in thought. Mrs. Wan peeked at him from time to time, wondering in her heart: "Where is he going? What's on his mind?" The wind was very strong, and it was against the wind, and the boats moved obliquely in a zigzag shape - crossing obliquely from the left bank, and then obliquely upwards from the right bank. The sunset is all over the sky, reflecting the river in golden light, which is even more magnificent. Looking from the cabin window, the scenery on both sides of the river is picturesque, and the ships on the river come and go.Mrs. Wan has been working hard, and now she feels a little more relaxed. The boatman who was working hard was already sweating profusely and took off his clothes.The setting sun shone on their tanned skin, and the wind dried the sweat. The boat plods along... right to left, left to right. As usual, the boat will turn back when it is two or three feet away from the river bank. But suddenly a long rope flew up from the shore, as if it had eyes, and it was put on the wooden pile at the bow of the boat. The boatman changed his color and exclaimed, "What, what are you doing?" No one on the river bank answered, but the boat was pulled straight to the river bank—if you don't have a lot of strength, how can you pull this boat. At this time, not only the boatman panicked, but also the passengers panicked, and some of them rushed out of the cabin and squeezed onto the bow, asking one after another, "What's the matter?... What's the matter?" What is it?No one knows. Mrs. Wan couldn't help but secretly glanced at Gongsun Hong again, and saw that although Gongsun Hong was sitting upright, her face had changed color. The boat was finally pulled to the shore. Under the setting sun, there were more than ten well-dressed men pulling the long ropes, all of them had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and their faces were full of fierceness. But among this group of extremely vicious men, there are two beautiful young girls, one in red and the other in green, with smiles like spring flowers on their faces. The most strange thing is that these two girls are holding a plate in their hands, a green wine jug is placed on one plate, and a jasper wine glass is placed on the other plate. Although the boatmen were full of fright and anger, they were too frightened to speak out at this moment.When the passengers standing at the bow saw this group of weird people, they were even more frightened and didn't dare to move. I saw the two young girls with willow-like slender waists, gracefully walked over, took a few steps, lifted their feet lightly, and got on the boat somehow. The girl in red smiled lightly and said, "It's nothing, everyone, don't panic." The girl in green smiled and said, "We're just here to see off and toast a guest." The girl in red smiled and said, "After toasting, everyone can leave." Their voices were so gentle, and their smiles were so sweet, everyone was still panicked just now, but now they couldn't help but stare dumbfounded. Only a few people still couldn't help muttering in secret: "Toast?... How can there be such a farewell toast?" The girls had reached the hatch. Mrs. Wan, who was in the corner, was even more shocked when she saw these two girls, her body shrunk even tighter and her head lowered. She has recognized these two girls, and they are both Aunt Wang's disciples - one was originally with the "multi-armed bear" and the other was with Lu Yun. But the girls did not see her. They were all staring at Gongsun Hong's face. The girl in red smiled and said, "Great, the hero Gongsun is indeed here." Gongsun Hong's face sank like water, and he slowly stood up. The girls walked over one by one—the people in the cabin had already moved out of the way in a panic. Gongsun Hong's eyes were fixed, and she said in a deep voice: "Could it be that the two girls..." The girl in red didn't let him speak, and cut off with a coquettish smile: "Heroes, don't be suspicious, the concubines have no other intentions here." The green-clothed girl said: "It's just that my teacher feels that Gongsun Hero really keeps his word and walks away as soon as he says, he is worthy of being a true hero in the martial arts world, so..." The girl in red continued to laugh and said: "That's why I asked the concubines to come and buy wine to see off, so as to act like a hero." Picking up the wine pot, he poured a full glass into the glass. Gongsun Hongning poured the light blue wine in the glass, a look of sadness suddenly appeared in his eyes, and his heart seemed to be deeply hurt. The girl in red smiled coquettishly and said, "This first glass of wine is to wish Gongsun Hero smooth sailing on this journey, and also to respect Gongsun Hero for keeping his word, he is worthy of being a hero." The girl in green gave the wine glass with both hands, and said, "Hero Gongsun, please." Gongsun Hong hesitated for a while, then suddenly looked up to the sky and sighed: "Good!" Pick up the glass and drink it down. The green-clothed girl giggled and said, "It's really fun, it's really a good drinker." The girl in red poured another glass, and said: "This second glass of wine is to persuade the hero Gongsun not to hurt himself in vain. With the martial arts of the hero Gongsun, why not create another career when he goes overseas." She smiled sweetly and continued: "Besides, even though Gongsun Hero was defeated by his family teacher, it is nothing. In the martial arts world, it is far worse to be defeated by his family teacher and even worse than Gongsun Hero !" The green-clothed girl said: "Isn't it... Hero Gongsun, please." Gongsun Hong bit her lip and took another drink. The red-clothed girl said: "This third glass of wine is to respect the wisdom of Gongsun Hero. If Gongsun Hero doesn't keep his promise this time, if he wants to stay in the Central Plains Wulin, then..." She smiled coquettishly, and stopped her mouth—although the smile was sweet, but the meaning behind her words hurt people like a sharp sword—hurt people's hearts. The girl in green smiled and said: "Gongsun Hero is really very lucky... To be honest, there are really not many people who can survive under the master's hands. It's really worth a drink." Smiling Yingying offered the wine glass and said, "Please!" Gongsun Hong's complexion had already changed. Anger had already ignited in his eyes, and his fists were clenched tightly. The girls still looked at him with smiles on their faces, as if they didn't realize it. And Gongsun Hong only let out a long sigh, and finally drank another cup. The girl in red smiled and said, "Okay, there is a fourth glass of wine." Her complexion suddenly darkened, her sweet smile disappeared without a trace, and her gaze became like a sharp knife. After looking at Gongsun Hong for a while, Fang Zi said slowly, "These four glasses of wine are for the hero Gongsun. coming back." The girl in green smiled and said, "Actually, there is no fun in the Middle Earth martial arts. If someone returns with their lives, it is really not worth it...is it?" Gongsun Hong's chest rose and fell, and she said in a trembling voice: "Okay...Okay, I'm sorry for you two, go back to Fu Lingshi, and say that Gongsun Hong has no face before returning to Zhongtu... If Gongsun Hong breaks his promise..." Suddenly snatched the wine glass, drank it down, smashed the wine glass "dang".He fixed his eyes on the fragments of the wine glass, and said in a trembling voice: "If you come back again, it will be like this glass." The girl in red showed her face and smiled, and clapped her hands and said, "Okay! Good man." Suddenly, she threw herself into her arms, hugged Gongsun Hong's neck, kissed him, and said with a coquettish smile, "This is the concubine's respect. Gongsun Daxia's, isn't this more intoxicating than wine?" The girl in green smiled coquettishly and said, "The concubine will leave now." The two twisted their waists, and Niao Na walked out without even looking back. All the people in the cabin looked at their writhing waists, and each of them was stunned, almost out of breath. At last the boat moved on again. On the river bank, the girl's charmingly smiling voice could be heard faintly: "The wind is rustling, the water is cold, and once the strong soil is gone, it will never return." Gongsun Hong's tall body trembled in the singing, trembling constantly. Mrs. Wan seemed to tremble a little.She knew at this moment that Gongsun Hong must have been defeated by Aunt Wang, and they must have made a solemn oath before the fight: "The loser will stay away from the Middle Earth and never return." She secretly sighed: "It's over, it's over, I don't want even a character like Gongsun Hong to be defeated by Aunt Wang, forced to leave by her, and exiled overseas by her." "This female devil's own martial arts are already so strong, plus the group of little vixens under her... Sigh! With these people, is there anyone else in the martial arts world?" The friendly and lively atmosphere in the cabin also cooled down. The boat passed Jinan silently, and then passed Jiyang. During this period, some people disembarked and some people boarded. Gongsun Hong sat there like a log, not moving. Late at night, the boat berthed in Qingcheng. Some people spread out their bedding and luggage and fell asleep on the spot. Gongsun Hong finally sighed softly, and opened the purple red cloak "a bell" that had been tightly wrapped around him, and Mrs. Wan saw that he was injured. There was a white cloth tied on the broad shoulders, and the blood was splattered. Gongsun Hong's face was full of pain, she untied the white cloth, took out some golden medicine, and put it on the wound.In fact, his pain is not in this wound, but in his heart. The night was deep, and the river was like whispering in the silence. The river was foggy at night, and the dim lights on the hatchway swayed gently in the wind. Suddenly, there was a figure in the dim light. This man was wearing a hat and coir raincoat, like an ordinary fisherman. But this fisherman also exuded an unusual domineering spirit, Mrs. Wan and Gongsun Hong didn't even feel it. Gongsun Hong quickly covered the wind cloak. I saw that this person was wearing a hat lower than that of Gongsun Hong, and the dim lights were flickering, his whole face was bathed in thick shadows. Only those eyes are like pearls, like white blades, shining in the dark. His glowing eyes turned around, and then focused on Gongsun Hong's face. Gongsun Hong turned her head and did not look at him. When Gongsun Hong turned his gaze back, this person had already sat down opposite him. The dim light shone obliquely, illuminating half of the man's face. Mrs. Wan's heart was shocked again. Mei Qian, this is "Heavenly Sword" Mei Qian. She was naturally even more surprised and surprised. How could Mei Qian also board the boat?Was he also exiled overseas? Mei Qian fixed her eyes on Gongsun Hong. However, Gongsun Hong pulled down her hat to cover her face. But among the sleeping people in the cabin, only the two of them are sitting upright——Among the ordinary people in the cabin, only they have a special aura. This is fierce domineering. At this moment, in this narrow cabin, their domineering inevitably confronted each other.Although they are not moving, their domineering is already fighting. Mrs. Wan looked at them and couldn't help but said to herself: "Now we have another good show. But I hope that my wife will not be involved in this play." The fog thickened and the lights dimmed. Mei Qian suddenly cupped his fists and said, "Hero Gongsun." Gongsun Hong didn't raise his head, but after a long time, he suddenly cupped his fists and said, "Hero Mei." Mei Qian said: "It turns out that the hero Gongsun still recognizes me." After a cup of tea, Gongsun Hongfang said coldly, "It turns out that Hero Mei also recognizes me." Mei Qian said: "Who doesn't know the famous Tianlong stick master?" This time it was almost a meal, but Gongsun Hong still didn't answer. Even though Mei Qian could hold her breath, she couldn't help it now. He coughed dryly, and said again: "It has been almost a month since Taishan left." Gongsun Hong took a few deep breaths and said slowly, "Not bad." Mei Qian said: "After the Taishan meeting, the heroes scattered, I only thought that if I want to see Gongsun's heroic demeanor again, it must be very difficult, but I don't know that we will meet here." Gongsun Hong said: "Yes!" Mei Qian sighed suddenly: "Since meeting is so difficult, I can't help but feel a little pity." Gongsun Hong remained silent for a long time, and finally asked: "What's the pity?" This time, it was Mei Qian who stopped answering. Gongsun Hong just sat up straight, but didn't ask him any more. They were not in a hurry, but Mrs. Wan was really in a hurry, she wished she could grab the hair of these two people and tell them to talk more happily. The night was dark and foggy, and the cold air hit people. The people sleeping in the dim and misty cabin unknowingly pulled the things covering their bodies tighter. But Gongsun Hong and Mei Qian were still sitting upright facing each other like guns. They didn't see anyone else at all. After nearly a meal, Mei Qianfang said slowly: "The Dragon Cudgel is famous all over the world, I would like to teach you in the morning, it's a pity that Taishan was too hasty for a while, and at this moment...it's a pity that Gongsun Hero has been injured gone." Although he still spoke extremely peacefully, the meaning behind his words was already sharp and hard to grasp. "Although I want to fight with you, I don't want to bully you and get hurt." Gongsun Hong was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Oh... what a pity..." Suddenly he looked up to the sky and laughed wildly. The laughter shook the dim lights of the hatch even more violently. The sleeping people were also awakened by the laughter and sat up in panic. The boatman also poked his head towards the person and shouted, "What are you doing?" He was about to scold angrily, but Mei Qian and Gongsun Hong glanced at him with four sword-like gazes, he shivered shrewdly, how could he dare to scold. Gongsun Hong said coldly: "Boater, is it almost dawn?" The boatman's teeth chattered, and he said repeatedly: "Yes... soon, soon." Gongsun Hong said: "Is the boat about to sail?" The boatman said: "Yes, yes... soon, soon." Under such gaze, few people dare to say "no". Sure enough, the boat left. Mei Qian and Gongsun Hong still did not move until Lijin. When the boat arrived in Lijin, the sky was bright. The boatman shrank his neck, stood at the mouth of the boat, and said: "Guest officers, Lijin City has arrived, everyone please go ashore... But before you go ashore, please don't forget to leave the boat money." While collecting money in his hand, he kept nagging in his mouth. The passengers really wanted to get out of the two evil stars in the cabin earlier, and in less than a moment, all the people in the boat had left. Only Mei Qian and Gongsun Hong were left - and of course Mrs. Wan who was huddled in the corner, but at this moment, no one would notice her. The boatman looked at Mei Qian, then at Gongsun Hong, and finally stooped boldly and walked in, with a smile all over his face, and said: "Guest officer, this is the land, you two..." Gongsun Hong said in a deep voice, "Isn't your boat leaving?" The boatman said: "I want to go, but...but it's going back to Jihe, the two... are you going back to Jihe? This..." Mei Qian scolded: "Go back to Jihe again? Are you crazy?" The boatman said in a trembling voice, "Then... the two of you, please get off the boat." Gongsun Hong said coldly: "Can't your boat go any further?" The boatman changed his face and said, "If you... go further, you will go to sea." Mei Qian said: "I want you to go to sea." The boatman fell down on the board of the boat with a "pop", and said: "This small boat does not go out to sea." Gongsun Hong glanced at Mei Qian, but Mei Qian suddenly made a move like lightning, pulled out a short knife from the boatman's waist, clasped her middle finger with her thumb, and flicked lightly towards the tip of the knife. The sharp steel blade was shattered by his fingers. Mei Qian said: "Can this change your mind?" The boatman had already turned pale, and said: "Little one... please... please..." Gongsun Hong's hand suddenly stretched out from his bosom, and lightly threw something.