The name "Ah Qi" keeps appearing in the diary of the owner of Lihua Xiaozhu.
A pear blossom hairpin can trigger the sword intent in the courtyard.
This small courtyard deep in the pear forest hides some unknown secrets.
And these secrets make people more and more confused.
Ah Qi, who is it?
Just when everyone was confused, Guo Ji walked into Lihua Xiaozhu.
As the chief swordsmith of Zhujian Mountain, he naturally knew what happened in Lihua Xiaozhu.
But he never thought that Yu Zhi and others could actually activate the sword energy in Lihua Xiaozhu.
"Ah Qi is a child from a farmer's family at the foot of the mountain." Guo Ji said.
Guo Ji held the wine bottle on the table and placed it behind the table. He moved the pear hairpin again, as if it had been moved to its original position.
"The couple put their child in the mountains to learn skills, hoping that he could learn some forging skills and open a blacksmith shop to make a living in the future."
Guo Ji sat on the chair and sighed.
"That year, Li Xue also went up the mountain. The two children, who were only six or seven years old, played together."
"Li Xue, she is the owner of this pear blossom house. This pear blossom hairpin also belongs to her."
"Li Xue, what a nice name." Perhaps because they have the same surname, Li Wantong felt a little familiar.
Guo Ji continued: "Ah Qi is introverted and silent, while Li Xue is extroverted and lively. They are the only two children on the Sword Making Mountain, and all the swordsmiths love them both. However, after all, Li Xue is more popular."
Yu Zhi asked: "Li Xue also came to learn how to make swords?"
Guo Ji nodded, with more respect in his eyes. "Li Xue, she is the most talented swordsmith in the history of Jianlu."
Several people searched for the word "Li Xue" in their minds.
The famous swordsmiths of the Sword House in the past dynasties will be passed down to the world. Even the swordsmiths who came out of the Sword Making Mountain are still somewhat famous.
But no matter what a few people think, there is no memory of Li Xue at all.
Guo Ji saw the thoughts of several people and said: "Li Xue has never left the Sword Making Mountain, nor has he forged a sword."
Yu Zhi wondered: "If that's the case, why is she the most talented swordsmith?"
Guo Ji looked at the tall pear tree in the courtyard and said sadly: "Because, at the age of twenty, she already had the ability to forge a century-old sword on her own."
Everyone was stunned and couldn't believe it.
Like the Po Qiong in Ye Qinghuan's hand, it took the hard work of all the swordsmiths in Zhujian Mountain. It took hundreds of years and several generations of masters and apprentices to create this Po Qiong.
For Li Xue, only one person is enough to complete it.
Forging a sword is no easier than practicing cultivation.
Forging a century-old sword is no easier than cultivating to the ninth level of the Open Monument.
"When Li Xue was ten years old, it was also the ninety-year anniversary of the Hundred Years Sword. The sword body had been forged and was only waiting for the last ten years for the sword to become spiritual."
"This opportunity also gave the two children, Li Xue and Ah Qi, the opportunity to observe and learn. However, the spiritual enlightenment was not so smooth. The spiritual enlightenment runes that had tried hundreds of times in the past lost their effectiveness this time. If the spiritual enlightenment could not be achieved, the spiritual enlightenment in the previous ninety years would be All your hard work will be in vain."
"When everyone was in despair, Li Xue illuminated the spiritual enlightenment runes and enlightened the spirit again. Miraculously, a century-old sword was successfully awakened by a ten-year-old child."
Forging a sword sounds simple, but everything from the selection of the blade material to the spiritual enlightenment stage requires careful forging.
The first ninety years build the edge of the sword, and the next ten years cultivate the soul of the sword.
The two complement each other and should not be judged by the length of time.
Yu Zhi said: "Li Xue's diary also mentioned this century-old sword, but where is the sword? Which century-old sword is it from the past?"
Guo Ji sighed again, his eyes full of regret.
"The Sword House of that generation did not have a sword that was born every century."
Xiao Jun'er asked: "Didn't the spiritual enlightenment succeed? Why isn't there a century-old sword?"
Li Wantong suddenly thought of something, picked up the diary again, and read softly: "April 24, sunny."
"Ah Qi, I'm here to find you."
Li Wantong asked: "Master Guo, is that the last year of the Hundred Years Sword?"
Guo Ji was silent for a long time and did not answer Li Wantong's question. He said: "Ah Qi. He doesn't like sword making. In those years, many sword cultivators came to the Sword Making Mountain to seek swords. Ah Qi just watched them practice sword practice at the foot of the mountain."
"Looking at it, Ah Qi's heart gave birth to a dream of traveling to the ends of the world with a sword."
Yu Zhi can understand the young man's passionate ambition.
That is to say, he had the mentality to see through the world of mortals early on. Otherwise, who wouldn't want to be a young boy in bright clothes and angry horses, wielding a sword and enjoying the world.
"So, Ah Qi practiced sword fighting hard. He asked the sword cultivator at the foot of the mountain for advice. Day after day, his sword skills improved a bit."
"Li Xue and Ah Qi, one of them learned to make swords, and the other worked hard to practice sword moves, and a love developed between childhood sweethearts. The two of them couldn't understand it yet, but the others could see it clearly. As the days passed, the two children Also growing up day by day.”
"The year they were nineteen years old, pirates were rampant on the East China Sea and plundered all the state capitals near Nanzhou Prefecture. The government invited people from the Jianghu to help quell the chaos. That year, Ah Qi also went."
When Guo Ji said this, he stopped again.
It's not hard to imagine what happened next.
He died before his ambition was fulfilled.
"April 22, rain."
"Ah Qi, I heard bad news."
"April 23, rain."
"Ah Qi, the pear blossoms are blooming, where are you?"
"April 24, sunny."
"Ah Qi, I'm here to find you."
Li Wantong turned to the last three pages of the diary, and those few words had already told the ending of the boy named Ah Qi.
"Where is Li Xue?" Li Wantong asked, "Has she... found Ah Qi?"
Li Wantong meant that what Li Xue found would not be Ah Qi alive.
Otherwise, there should still be Li Xue's notes after April 24th.
Guo Ji said: "The news of Ah Qi's death came from the East China Sea. Li Xue didn't believe it and wanted to go to the East China Sea. But the chief swordsmith at that time did not allow Li Xue to go down the mountain. The last year of the century-old sword is particularly important. Li Xue is the sword Qiling is to witness the birth of the century-old sword. Without Li Xue, the sword would never be forged."
"But Li Xue insisted on death, so her master could only let her go down the mountain. The master and the apprentice made an agreement that no matter what the outcome, Li Xue must return to Sword-making Mountain in one month."
Xiao Jun'er was fascinated by the story and couldn't wait to ask: "Is Li Xue back?"
"He must be back." Yu Zhi said firmly.
Xiao Jun'er didn't believe Yu Zhi and said, "How do you know?"
Yu Zhi pointed around. "There is Li Xue's whisper in the sound of the sword. I think she is back."
When Xiao Jun'er heard this, his scalp suddenly became numb.
ghost...
"Li Xue lived a hundred years ago, and was older than Master Guo. After April 20 of that year, no one lived in Lihua Xiaozhu anymore, so Li Xue came back and died." Yu Zhi guessed.
"Then what you said about Li Xue's whisper just now..." Xiao Juner shrank his head and looked around subconsciously. "Is there really a ghost?"
Yu Zhi looked at Xiao Jun'er seriously. "It is said that a ghost hates others touching things in front of her, especially those close to her body. Princess, be careful if you wear that pear blossom hairpin."
Xiao Jun'er looked at Yu Zhi blankly, with this dull look on his face, it was clear that he believed Yu Zhi's lies.
Li Wantong lowered his head and smiled. Yu Zhi's words were just a lie to Xiao Jun'er.
Li Wantong asked Guo Ji: "Master Guo said that Li Xue has never forged a sword, but what is the sound of the sword singing here?"
Guo Ji continued to tell: "Li Xue searched for a month on the edge of the East China Sea, looking among the corpses soaked in the sea. She couldn't find Ah Qi's body. Even if she found it, so what? In the end, it was just a corpse. That’s all.”
"No matter what, Li Xue returned to Sword Making Mountain as promised."
"It rained heavily that night, and Li Xue went up the mountain in the rain. She did not go back to Lihua Xiaozhu, nor did she go to Jianlu. A night of wind and rain turned the pure white and brilliant pear blossom forest into mud, and the pear blossoms were scattered everywhere. And Li Xue... Stand in it,"
"She is as haggard as these pear blossoms, as if she will fall if the wind blows."
Xiao Juner murmured: "She died like this?"
Xiao Jun'er didn't know why she said this, but she felt there was nothing wrong with it.
Guo Ji looked at the bare pear tree in the courtyard again.
"She was just a twenty-year-old girl. There may be nothing wrong with dying peacefully, but she died violently."
...
...
After Fang Tao read the letter, he immediately returned to Fan's mansion without hesitation.
The Fan family is the maternal clan of Fan Tao's mother, and the head of the Fan family is Fang Tao's mother's biological brother.
"Is this true?" Fan Lin asked.
Fang Tao said anxiously: "My father has already sent a secret message, how can this be false?"
Fan Lin looked at Fan Yuan and said, "Dad, what should we do?"
Fan Yuan put down the letter in his hand and sighed in his heart. "What is supposed to come will always come. Lin'er, tonight you and Fang Tao will go to Kyoto with your brothers and sisters of the same generation. The Fan family has purchased a house in Kyoto, and you have a place to stay."
Fan Lin was puzzled and asked: "Dad, where are you? There are many other members of the Fan family."
Fan Yuan smiled slightly and said, "I have my own arrangements."
When Fan Wenzheng returned to the Fan clan, Fan Yuan began to arrange the departure of the Fan clan members according to Fan Wenzheng's plan.
The Fan family is very large and has been rooted in the land of Nanzhou Prefecture for hundreds of years.
In the ensuing catastrophe, some people will have to leave, and some people will not.
The bloody chaos of twenty years ago is still fresh in my memory. With the experience of that year, dealing with it now is not as hectic as imagined.
After Fan Yuan finished explaining, he took the letter and walked to Fan's ancestral hall.
Sitting in front of the ancestral hall were two old men whose faces were somewhat similar. They were brothers Fan Wenzheng and Fan Wuan.
"Dad, uncle, there is a letter from Fang Nanhu. Your Majesty is going to take action against the King of Chu, and Nanzhou will be in chaos."
Fan Wenzheng and Fan Wuan were both calm. This was something they had expected.
Fan Wenzheng glanced at the letter and said, "Let's arrange the matter. If Xiang Ji raises an army, the Fan family will close the house."
Fan Yuan nodded in agreement. Many things have been accomplished ahead of time, and now we just sit back and watch the storm unfold.
Fan Wu'an said worriedly: "Brother, will Xiang Ji really let our Fan family go?"
Fan Wenzheng was not worried at all. "If the Fan family were a royal family member, they would definitely die at the hands of Xiang Ji. But the Fan family is just a noble family. As long as Xiang Ji is not stupid, he will not touch the Fan family, including other aristocratic families in Nanzhou."
"There is no benefit in destroying these aristocratic families. And what we have to guard against is not to become a knife in Xiang Yu's hand."
"I think other aristocratic families are also ready."
