After Tang He left Xueyan Valley, a few grains of snow fell in the sky.
Logically speaking, it's not yet time. In previous years, it would only snow here in late winter. The snow in the valley is warm, and it will neither feel cold nor melt when it falls on your hands. But not long after he left, the few remaining white grains on his body began to feel chilly. He raised his head, and a few snowflakes fell on his face, making him feel cool.
There wasn't much snow, and it melted quickly when it touched your skin. But they all hung on the dogs on the side one after another, covering the black hair with a layer of dazzling white. It shook its fur from side to side, and threw white snowflakes on his black clothes.
Lord Xueyue directly led him here, but he disappeared. He talked with She Ji with a cold face and settled on a new job. It's just that both sides are talking empty words, and there is nothing written in black and white. It's all two mouths that have the final say. They all know that there is no place for "justice" in such documents, so it is better to be reliable.
Naturally, this also provides ample room for betrayal and breach of contract - which is exactly what both parties expect. People die for money and birds die for food. Naturally, you have to make enough money while you are alive. As for the capital, naturally only you know.
Furthermore, it seems that even if there are "yamen" in dark areas, they may not be as useless as real yamen.
She Ji did not give him a map. There are countless cases of handing things like treasure maps to outsiders only to have their love taken away from them. As a minion of the Dead Shadow Pavilion and a confidant of Lord Gaoyue, he is not that stupid. Even though Tang He was dismissive of this, who can really say for sure when the time comes - not even he himself can guarantee it.
To Miying Pavilion, as long as he got the mirror, it didn't matter whether Wan Guizhi's surname was Rin or Tang. Maybe Gaoyue-kun will change his mind at that time and want to keep Wangui Zhi in his pocket, which is not impossible.
After all, things are always changing.
She Ji hired him to kill people and silence them, and the price was arbitrary. No matter how expensive it was, it was no more expensive than a hilltop in Xueyan Valley. Tang He is not a man who speaks loudly. In order to maximize long-term cooperation, he naturally knows how to offer a beautiful and reasonable price. This is something.
"You want to kill the master's disciple without asking her senior brother's opinion?" He said this with a hint of ridicule.
"I'm afraid I can't bear to do this."
"Since he is a child who has grown up under the watch of a snake demon, I am afraid he also has a heart of snakes and scorpions."
"It doesn't matter what he says."
"Really? Then don't hit your eyes on the door frame."
"Well... there are times when an old horse stumbles."
"It seems that I haven't met Bole who is wise."
"If you keep chatting with me here, that little girl will go to the end of the world."
The Tengu might not be able to understand human words, but She Ji's complaints could be heard from the tone. She was lying at the feet of her master, but suddenly she bared her fangs in a demonstration.
"A dog relies on human power." She Ji glanced at him with disgust, "My friends and I don't like cats and dogs."
"Is it because I ate an insect leg?" Tang He sneered. He had heard this joke from Lord Kuchtsuki.
"I sincerely suggest that you choose your words carefully...after all, we have obtained the blood prescription of the Tengu clan."
"I also sincerely suggest you -" Tang He stood up and propped up the table, condescending and aggressive, "you monsters had better learn to tuck their tail between their legs in front of the Onmyoji."
"Yin Yang... Master?"
She Ji held her chin up without fear and raised a slight frown. It was unclear whether it was confusion or sarcasm.
Before leaving Xueyan Valley, he saw Wu Yuangui for the first time, and he knew he was still young after just one glance. He looked like he was in his prime and full of energy, just when he wanted to achieve something in his career. But it can be seen that he is not too arrogant, at least he knows how much he weighs - thanks to She Ji's suppression, he knows very well who Xue Yangu is what it is today thanks to it.
If he had been smarter, he would have known that a monster's motives for approaching a child were not pure. The entire Jianghu sect that he regarded as a treasure or relied on for survival was nothing more than a useful chess piece in the hands of the Shadow Pavilion, and he was manipulated to follow the wishes of the people behind him step by step.
Their thoughts are the same now, but what about the future? If he no longer wants to be led around by the nose, can he still take it back?
None of my business - Tang He thought to himself.
With Lord Xueyue... He doesn't know where he is now or what he is going to do. He doesn't care. The guy can always be found if he's looking for him. Previously, Lord Kutsutsuki had taken a piece of hair from his shoulder, melted it into a cigarette rod and burned it. Tang He knew that there was a spell that could tell the person's location as long as something or an object was removed from the person's body. This should make sense.
But if we talk about "the monster that comes to your door"...
He glanced at the tengu next to him.
Its origin is also so...unbelievable. It doesn't have its own name, but when he mentions the word "Tang Yu", it will prick its ears, raise its head and call twice, as if it can understand him.
Probably because that was the first person it ate.
The Tengu clan who have a contract with humans cannot practice like other monsters - in a world of natural selection, in order to continue to live, their ancestors gradually abandoned their thoughts and turned them into instincts.
Instinct is a terrible thing.
Although there is no step-by-step practice, it has eaten many people over the years - relying on instinct, relying on the master's acquiescence, which has never stopped or even intentionally guided it. Tang He still remembered the day it first transformed into a human form. He didn't know how long it had been before he could be frightened into that state - it was a bit embarrassing to think about it.
Although the transformation was very unstable, it only lasted as long as a cup of tea.
After that, "acquiescence" became "command."
He couldn't stop thinking, even though it was random thoughts, even though it was meaningless and he knew it. It's just... so similar, that face is exactly the same as Tang Yu's. He thought that he had almost forgotten her appearance.
The weather was dry and the hair was always fluffy due to static electricity, which made him not want to touch it. One year, he wanted to brush the thick snow off its head, but was hit hard by electricity. He still remembers how painful it was, almost like being bitten by a dog. He shouldn't be afraid now, but he doesn't want to do it anymore.
It's just a dog.
perhaps.
Is it a human, a monster, or something else...something like a monster?
No one has an answer. Neither does the Hundred Skeleton Master.
He went north with the Tengu, sometimes calling him out, sometimes walking alone. Most of the time, there was only silence between them. Everything was too quiet, as quiet as any time in previous years. But ever since it shouted that name more than ten years ago, he could no longer stand the silence.
"Tang Yu."
He looked at it and it stared back.
There are fewer and fewer people with the bloodline of Tengu - although the bloodline of their ancestors is flourishing, it is getting thinner and thinner, and there are very few people who can awaken the contract. Most of them have become Onmyoji, after all, they are talented. He thought that he should be too.
His mother didn't have a chance to teach him much.
As for Mu Wan, he didn't have any...kindness that was unique to people from the same clan. Instead, he was more interested in the dog.
Lord Kutsutsuki once said: "Dogs that have licked human blood are said to be extremely ferocious during dog fights."
"Really? What I've heard is that dogs that have eaten the same kind of meat will bite people to death."
"Huh? I think I've heard it too. Mutsuki-kun, that talkative Buddhist disciple, actually said that all things taste bitter when they eat the flesh of their own kind."
"Shouldn't you know better than me?" Tang He rolled his eyes.
"Huh? I don't do anything that is tasteless." He smiled, "The heat of fire is inherent in you."
"oh,"
"There is a 'dog farm' in the north of the country. You should go and see it."
"...What kind of dog farm? Isn't it a place where dogs are sold or fought."
"That's different."
After hearing Lord Kuchue's description, he was indeed a little curious. I don’t know if I will have a chance to meet him after taking such a trip.
The sun rises and the moon sets, and the stars move.
He had only been away from Xueyan Valley for a few days, but he had already traveled a long way. People who have no home and no worries always move quickly.
When he left the inn that day, he knew that he was being targeted.
Intuition is a sense. Especially for people with abundant spiritual power, it can almost be said to be the third eye.
The two of them, the martial arts practitioner, were both a few years younger than me.
There was something unpleasant about it, but he didn't know why.
The two people following him didn't deliberately hide their traces. Rather, they deliberately let him notice. Tang He could also clearly feel from some traces that these two people had the ability to fully integrate into the environment.
But they were exposed.
At dusk, he came to the edge of the city. There is only one horse left in the inn, but there are three people who need it.
Through the horses' high heads, he finally saw their true faces.
"People from the Tang Sect are so pervasive." He sneered, "I thought you would all cover your faces. After all, you are doing a shady business."
"The Tang family is a well-known and upright family, there is no need for this."
"This is doubtful, but..." He stroked the mane of the horse's neck, "I mean Zuo Renmen."
A man and a woman looked at each other slightly and said nothing.
The setting sun casts its last warm colors on the white horse's back, making the hair emit a crystal soft light. Although it is very cold, the color makes people feel warm. The mountains in the distance are also covered with a layer of gold, like a veil covering everything.
It looks like the time has passed quietly.
"I don't know how Senior Tang could tell."
The man bowed his hands and his tone was consistent and polite. The woman just looked at him coldly, without saying a word from beginning to end.
"You are so similar - in action. You are so consistent, as if you were carved from the same mold, and every move you make seems calculated. Only partners who have been working together through life and death for a long time can be like this. It just so happens that Zuo Zhenmen is a pair like this. "
"How do you know we are from the Tang family?"
The woman finally spoke. Her voice was cold and deep, like solid sea waves.
"Just found out."
They get it.
It's the knife on the man's waist. That knife was forged by Tangmen himself. It is a special honor to be able to use one's own sword. However, including Tang He's sword, there is no family crest on it, and only an expert can see it.
"We are here to see you on the order of Tang Huansheng, the hall master. I am Tang Qinglan. This is my partner, Tang Huailan."
"You don't look like it."
Having said that, Tang He just groomed the horses and did not look at them.
They really didn't look alike. This might be the pseudonym of the Zuojin sect, or it might be from the Tang sect. He didn't care. It's just that they all wear tall and capable ponytails, and their long bangs are tucked behind their ears, looking well-trained.
"Senior Tang has piercing eyes. We are indeed not biological siblings."
"Tang Huansheng... I have never heard of this name. It is better to say that I have never heard of anyone from the Tang family except my father. I don't know if a well-known and decent family wants to see me, a junior in the world, for what purpose?"
"Take you home."
Tang Qinglan said this with such sincerity in her eyes.
