On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it snowed heavily. Wuxian Town is pure white. The streets in the early morning are not trampled by cars and horses, and the snowy roads are like jade belts.
When Yu Sichen opened the door, light snowflakes were still flying. The thin snow particles hit his face with a chill, and the north wind blew his hair and clothes belts.
"Ruixue, is today's trip a good sign?"
At this time, the door to the upper room opened, and a young man came out holding an umbrella.
In the wind and snow, I saw him standing tall with an elegant posture. He was wearing a beige long coat and a black cloak. He had black and white ink mist and rain painted on the oil paper umbrella. The wind and snow blew on the umbrella and obscured the ink painting. Only the A little bit fell on his shoulders.
Suddenly, Yu Sichen seemed to see the handsome young man coming out of the painting, or perhaps a legendary banished immortal.
It wasn't until the umbrella was slightly raised, revealing a plain face with a somewhat sick smile, that the indifferent breath of poetry and painting was dispersed.
"Oh? You didn't bring an umbrella?" Tang Zhao greeted.
Yu Sichen choked and wanted to ask: "Why should I bring an umbrella?"
It's snowing a little, and it's almost stopped. It's not a knife. You, a young man who is almost 20 years old and has outstanding martial arts skills, how can you learn to use an umbrella like a girl swimming in the lake? Or an ink painting paper umbrella?
But he still remembered Tang Zhao's strength and could only swallow these words.
Tang Zhao added: "I still have an umbrella in the house, go get it."
Yu Sichen smiled dryly and said, "No need."
Tang Zhao was thoughtful and said: "You want to hold an umbrella with me, okay, let's get over it."
Yu Sichen had goosebumps and said hurriedly: "I don't..."
Tang Zhao glared and said, "Come here!"
His glare was no different from that of a gangster who collects protection money on the street when he stares at a small businessman. If a gangster glared at Yu Sichen like this, Yu Sichen would not be afraid at all and would gouge out his eyes and throw them with cannons, but Tang Zhao With such a glare, Yu Sichen's back stiffened, and he actually walked over.
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Tang Zhao nodded with satisfaction, tilted the umbrella a little, and it really covered him. The umbrella was not small, and could basically cover the heads of the two of them, but both of them were not short, so they were still very awkward holding a small umbrella.
But Tang Zhao didn't feel awkward and took Yu Sichen out. Instead of joining Black Widow and the others, he walked along the street out of the town and went straight to the agreed-upon gathering place outside the town.
Along the way, Yu Sichen lowered his head, always feeling like someone was looking at him on the road, which saved him the time of having to talk to Tang Zhao with fake politeness.
I heard Tang Zhao suddenly ask: "What is the most delicious thing in Wuxian Town?"
Yu Sichen didn't react and said, "Huh? I don't know."
Tang Zhao said: "Really? Don't you go out to eat every day these days? It turns out that it's not for eating, but just for shopping? I thought you were a eater."
Yu Sichen was speechless for a moment, then heard Tang Zhao continue: "When it comes to shopping, I see you didn't buy anything back? You don't buy anything when you go shopping? Don't you even like it?"
Yu Sichen said: "It's not that..."
Tang Zhao said: "Is it because you have no money?"
Yu Sichen was stunned for a moment, and Tang Zhao continued: "You don't have money to tell me. Isn't it too foreign? I have some here. If you had asked, I would have lent it to you. You don't have to pay back ten or eighty taels. It saves you money." You spend every day shopping around for nothing."
Yu Sichen gradually began to sweat. He would not think that Tang Zhao was chatting with him about family matters. It was obvious that the other party had noticed that he had gone out early and returned late in the past few days, and his whereabouts were suspicious. He had already become suspicious, so he asked him here. And this person's style is to have weird ideas, so he doesn't leave any room for words.
In fact, as a disciple of Jianghu, Yu Sichen does not know how to do Tai Chi. Dealing with outsiders with words is a basic skill, but it depends on who said it. In the face of the awareness of strength, all skills will fail. Even though it had been several days, he still remembered Tang Zhao's careless words about clamping Yue Lai's sword with one finger during the Gu fight. The pressure was like a rabbit and a sheep squatting in front of a tiger and a wolf. Not to mention not being able to handle it well, it was just the sound of breathing. It's a little bigger and can easily be swallowed in one bite.
He just kept mumbling and hesitating, and followed Tang Zhao, because he was so embarrassed that he even forgot about his embarrassment. What he hoped most was to rush to the meeting point and keep this man, who was either scheming or mentally ill, away from him.
Fortunately, Tang Zhao didn't push him too hard, and he walked not too slowly. While chatting, he had already left the town. In the distance, he saw half of a pavilion under a big tree at the foot of the mountain, which was the meeting point.
Yu Sichen breathed a sigh of relief and was about to rush over when he suddenly saw a person turning around the corner of the street with a serious look on his face. It was Yue Lai.
Yu Sichen was stunned. Yue Lai was obviously waiting for them here. There must be a story. He just thought in his mind: Why did another trouble come after one trouble didn't go away?
He was about to speak when Tang Zhaoxian said: "Hey, you don't hold an umbrella either?"
Yu Sichen's embarrassment suddenly increased tenfold. He was afraid that Tang Zhao would have three people sharing an umbrella. He simply didn't dare to think about that scene. He ignored the fear and directly interrupted and said, "What are you doing here?"
Yue Lai tilted his head slightly and said, "Be careful. There is a swordsman."
Tang Zhao's eyes moved slightly, and Yu Sichen's hair stood up as he said, "Swordsman, where is the swordsman?"
Yue Lai moved his lips lightly and said, "He found it."
Yu Sichen suddenly turned around and looked into the pavilion, but he couldn't see anyone.
When he was about to ask Yue Lai again, Yue Lai had already turned around and walked away quickly, apparently going directly to the meeting.
Tang Zhao and the others naturally stopped for a moment, leaving a time gap for both sides.
Hearing the news about the swordsman again for no reason, Yu Sichen was a little upset - he was just a member of the martial arts world, and swordsman-level power was far away from him, so he could only be intimidated. Moreover, the sudden appearance of the swordsman will add unpredictable variables to the trip, and the unknown will bring fear.
"Hey," Tang Zhao called him at this time, "Mr. Meng is here to find a swordsman. Do you know about this?"
Yu Sichen said: "How should I know?"
Tang Zhao suddenly said: "My shopping these days has been in vain."
Yu Sichen pursed his lips and remained silent.
After waiting for a while, the two set off again and went straight to the pavilion.
Under the big tree, people have already arrived.
Black Widow, Xu Si Yao, and Yue Lai each stood on one side. Meng Huazhou stood a little in the middle, but also at the foot of the pavilion steps.
There was only one person in the pavilion.
He was a man in his forties. From the appearance, he did not necessarily look older. It seemed that he could be in his twenties or thirties. But from the look of his hair, which was half black and half white, he seemed to be in his seventies and eighties. The long hair is not combed up, just hanging down like this, and it looks very casual.
He looked into the distance, his brows furrowed, as if he was worried.
A swordsman can have various appearances, some are young, some are old, some are vigorous, some are sluggish, and some look like a shameless drunkard.
But when Tang Zhao saw this man, his heart moved. There was indeed a feeling in this man that no other swordsman had.
That is twilight.
A kind of decaying air of old age and loss of vitality.
Tang Zhao rarely saw this kind of old age in swordsmen. Oh, it's not that he had never seen it before. He had seen it a few days ago, and it was Meng Tiansheng, the owner of Jingzhe Villa. He was really in his dying years, although he was holding on to a strong Qi, also the twilight Qi.
But when the swordsman reaches that point, his end is really approaching. He should make funeral arrangements at home, and should not expose his self-explosion weakness and give others an opportunity.
The swordsman who came out to see people, not even the white-haired Marquis Gao Yuan, nor the Ping Jiangqiu who was sulking in a jar, Tang Zhao had never seen such a gloomy one.
He thought to himself: Is this the helper Meng Huazhou found?
Meng Huazhou didn't seem to want to find the swordsman as a helper when he first met him at the old man's singing place. But I don’t know if he had some exchanges with Tang Zhao. Although he was rejected, he got enlightened. Somehow he found another swordsman to help him, maybe he took over Tang Zhao’s role.
As for the swordsman looking older, this is normal. Meng Huazhou was not a swordsman, so how could he be a swordsman at the time when they were dating as equals? He didn't have anything to do with his father. The swordsman didn't know how he deceived him, or what the other party had in mind. Of course he would have some weaknesses.
Tang Zhao guessed at the same time and was wary at the same time.
No matter what, there is an extra swordsman on this trip, and the situation suddenly becomes complicated.
Although this man looks decayed, there is no reason to underestimate him. A swordsman is a swordsman. The swordsman's body will decay, but the sword will not. The sword will remain intact until the swordsman dies.
Meng Tiansheng was about to die, and Tang Zhao had to suppress it with all his strength, not giving him a chance. Moreover, this person didn't know where he came from, what his sword power was, or what methods he had, so how could he take it lightly? During this trip, he still wanted to help Black Widow seize the sword, and at the very least, he had to ensure her safety.
Fortunately, he didn't know where the other party came from, and the other party didn't know him, or even that he was a swordsman. In terms of lurking, he was deeper.
Black Widow breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Tang Zhao arriving. She had been under a lot of pressure when facing a strange swordsman just now. Only when Tang Zhao arrived did she have a backbone.
When Meng Huazhou saw Tang Zhao and the others arriving, he nodded slightly and said to the swordsman with long hair: "Swordsman Shangguan, everyone is here, you..."
The Shangguan swordsman half-closed his eyes and said, "Don't worry about me, just tell me what you want."
Meng Huazhou bowed and said: "Yes." He turned around and said: "Guys, you have also seen that Shangguan Swordsman is traveling with us. No, I dare not say that we are traveling together, but it is our honor to guide Shangguan Swordsman and climb aboard together. Fairy City.”
Everyone bowed and saluted, Shangguan Swordsman waved his hand, his posture was normal, but he didn't take it seriously.
Meng Huazhou did not further introduce the origin of Shangguan Swordsman, and others did not need to know. Said: "Our destination is the top of Xishan Mountain in Xishan County. When we get to the top of Xishan Mountain, we must climb the mountain at midnight on New Year's Eve and be guided in a special way, so that we can see the fairy city. When you reach the top of the mountain, you are not allowed to act without authorization. You must listen to my command, if anyone doesn't listen, not only will he not see the fairy city, but he himself will also end up miserable."
Tang Zhao glanced at Shangguan Swordsman and thought: Who are you talking to? Just for us to listen to? How do you feel about knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger?
Meng Huazhou said a few more things to pay attention to, and then said: "Let's go now."
