They entered the dim temple.
Everything here is made of stones, showing a dull gray color. The lights are far apart, making it look empty and lifeless. There are no ornaments or murals in the temple. There are only scattered moss clinging to a few stone walls, perhaps because those places are relatively humid. Apart from this unique light moisture, there is no smell or trace of burning incense in the temple. The cool breeze rushed in from the doorless tower hole, blowing on the body with a chill that penetrated into the bones.
"Do you usually live here?" Qi Huan couldn't help but ask, "It's too cold here."
"Some rooms are not so cold." Chu Tianhe held up the lamp and turned around to explain, "And there are lights in the room, which is warm enough. Don't worry about this, I will take you to the underground ruins."
The so-called underground ruins are where Priest Chu said the red pearls were stored. Of course, there are also the relics of Bai Ya's father. He led them towards the depths of the temple, which was already beyond the place where Liu Shenghan set foot last time. They kept walking, passing through the atrium and colonnade, and finally arrived at the temple. But it's really not grand here. It just feels empty, depressing, and cold. Everything was dilapidated and covered with heavy dust, as if no one had ever set foot in it or cleaned it up. They walked on the stone ground, and when they looked back, they could see the white footprints.
Starting from the cloister, the color of the light changed to a strange bright blue, which was more dazzling than the gems. Liu Shenghan looked at the firelight and whispered to them:
"That is the ever-burning light that never goes out..."
"so much?"
They looked at Chu Tianhe's back. He was moving forward so steadily, seemingly unstoppable. The oil lamp refined by the shark doesn't mean anything. He just... bought the product. Besides, they didn't want to think too much because he could hear everything. At this time, several people began to feel that this was a really unpleasant ability.
Priest Chu walked to the center of the temple, holding a lamp in one hand and a staff in the other. He knocked the divine staff hard on the ground in the center, and a dark red light glowed from the cracks in the ground, spreading in all directions. They kept dodging for fear of stepping on these lines. When the red light connected like poured molten iron, a complete circular formation appeared on the ground, with ancient runes stacked on top of each other, whose meaning was unknown. Then, the ground began to sink somewhere, intermittently, spreading deeper. There was a moving sound under the ground, the friction between stone and soil, as if a giant snake was spinning downward and digging.
"Please. I'll lead the way."
The red light overflowing from the ground disappeared. Chu Tianhe came to the side of the hole in the ground and raised the lamp to signal them to follow. Then he turned around and went down until his entire figure sank into the bottomless hole. They approached there and saw a row of stone steps with a specific arc going down to the left, forming a huge spiral shape. There were lights on the side walls. When Priest Chu walked forward, the lights were lit from the sides. The lights gradually lit up faster than where he walked, illuminating the way forward. Bai Ya followed first, then Jun Aoyan, followed closely by Liu Shenghan. Qi Huan looked back at the empty entrance one last time, and followed them towards the depths of the underground.
It seemed that the silence lasted for too long. Chu Tianhe was afraid that they would be bored, so he started talking on his own.
"The underground ruins are the place where the unknown warrior fought with the python god. The battle lasted for three days and three nights, and the fire burned the forest in this area cleanly... and the great swamp became today. The temple was built on Here, people claim that it is to suppress evil monsters. In fact, Lord Python God told me that this is not the case. However, there are not many people who know the rumors, and even fewer who know the truth."
"Indeed... I only know that there was a fire in the dense forest." Liu Shenghan recalled, "That was probably - six or seven years ago? I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't too long ago."
"But the boundary of Jiutian Kingdom was formed ten years ago. You were not a great priest at that time, right?" Aoyan asked.
"Well, not yet. After people built the temple, they disappeared, and no one who remains here has participated in the construction of the temple. Sometimes, some repair work is not easy to do, because
The structure of the temple is somewhat special and cannot be understood by non-professional stonemasons and carpenters. The structures here seem to come directly from the will of the python god - built according to his preferences. "
Qi Huan nodded as if he understood: "No wonder I have never seen such a style... If it does not come from human aesthetic preferences, I can understand it. To be honest, it is quite impressive, but it is too deserted."
"Lord Maharaja doesn't like too much noise."
Along the way, Bai Ya said nothing. His face looked too pale. It was obviously very cold here, but fine cold sweat broke out on his forehead. It can be seen that he is trying his best to suppress the ups and downs of emotions and the uncontrollable attachment to drugs. No one else had ever seen him like this, whether on the battlefield or elsewhere. The thing that must have allowed him to control his thoughts must be the relics he was about to see that belonged to his biological father.
That knife, that knife that Shui Wujun attached to him personally, the knife that cuts iron like clay...
After hearing Bai Ya's thoughts, Chu Tianhe sighed in front. He said softly:
"Your father is a very good man. Before I left my hometown, we had crossed paths and were considered friends. We took completely different paths and lived different lives. We are also completely different. People - in any aspect. I just didn't expect that we would be destined to meet and become friends like this."
Bai Ya spoke with difficulty: "His personality... is actually very good. He can chat with anyone, and anyone can easily trust him - until he found out that his arm was a knife."
"Prejudice is a knife, a knife that kills people without blood. Don't worry about it, Mr. Bai. I have lived for so many years and I have a thorough understanding of what human nature is like. Even if your father doesn't work for Zuo Jinmen, just After seeing his knife, I was afraid and unwilling to talk to him."
"So he always talks a lot."
"That's true. But for me, the more words, the better. I'm also very interested in the changes in my hometown. He talked about a lot of things, other people's things, his own things...your things. He has always been for You're proud."
"..."
He felt nothing but unspeakable sadness. The dim stairs appear longer and narrower.
"Well, you don't like Zuo Renmen very much." Chu Tianhe noticed something, "Actually, I'm a little surprised. Because there are very few people who have never met their mother, but still miss their mother. Your father really Great, he can embody all the beauty of your mother in your heart - as if she had truly participated in your life. Especially for people like you, it seems more difficult to understand this feeling. Oh... I don't I’m sorry, don’t be offended.”
"It doesn't matter." Bai Ya didn't care, "Even I don't know why."
"But there are disadvantages. Your father said that you have an unnecessary hatred towards Zuo Renmen. He thinks that is because he did not teach him well. I told him that everything in the world is a dilemma. Taking this aspect into consideration, On the other hand, he is bound to be negligent or unable to control it. How can he make you feel good about your mother without remembering the murderer of your mother?"
"It's true, and I've told him so since I was little."
"He still chose... to let you feel love. I was completely raised by my mother, but I don't know what father's love is. From this point of view, maybe we can get along well. And Miss Jun... I I know it's not easy for you all. But it's going to be okay, right? That's how I've always felt."
I am afraid that only Chu Tianhe can force a smile on a sad topic. How could Bai Ya not hate Zuo Jinmen? More than once, he thought about how to kill all those evildoers, knife after knife, until the knife and the people were dyed red. Slit their throats, just like the murderer did to the living mother; cut open their bellies, just like what the father had to do to the dead mother...
Kill them all, leaving no one behind. This is not for the sake of the stability of the entire world, not to save more people from the constant fear, but just for... for revenge. It seems that he was born for this, but his father refused to let him. He would rather have the former.
Such a compassionate feeling.
But doesn’t Bai Sha hate them? Shouldn't he hate it? Shouldn't he hate this place that took away the one he loved? Shouldn't he hate the place that killed the people he loved?
"Well... you know? Your father and I both believe that everything in the world has its own reason for existence." Chu Tianhe slowed down his pace, as if deliberately leaving time to speak, "Tiger can hurt people, but also prey. Wild goats and rabbits prevent them from over-reproducing and robbing people's crops. Just like Zuomen... its existence also indirectly controls the balance of good and evil. If it weren't for the existence of those so-called evil people, maybe your mother wouldn't I will grow up safely and will not meet your father, let alone you. I know these words are too dialectical and too calm. It may be difficult for you to understand, and you will not be able to accept it if you understand it, but I should tell you after all. "
Bai Ya didn't speak anymore. His friends are not Chu Tianhe, so they don't know what he is thinking. Of course, it may be that he didn't have the strength to say it. His hands seemed to be shaking again. His walking was not crooked, but it was not as steady as before. This difference can only be seen by people who have practiced martial arts all year round, but it is obvious to his friends. Jun Aoyan wanted to help him, but was afraid that he would be too stubborn and not let him help. This person always feels as if accepting help from others means admitting his own incompetence, and he doesn't care whether he can withstand it or not.
Qi Huan suddenly said casually: "Why don't you take a break? The road is too long and I'm tired."
"Has the alleviating effect of the medicine worn off?" Liu Shenghan looked at him, and then at the back of Chu Tianhe in front of him, "May I ask the priest, how long will we have to walk ahead?"
Priest Chu stopped and turned around. He didn't look tired. Of course he could understand what the situation was now and said:
"It's still a while, it's not far, we've walked more than half way. Does Bai Shaoxia need a rest?"
"Need not."
Since Bai Ya himself said so - even though he could only say so, the group of people followed Chu Tianhe, but the priest also slowed down his pace. Qi Huan heard Bai Ya's rapid and noisy breathing, and even the frequency of his heartbeat was a bit scary. At this moment, Bai Ya suddenly whispered to him:
"Zhuzhao and Youying, do you still want them?"
"Ah?" Qi Huan looked at him blankly, "What are you talking about?"
"If...in the future, these two knives——"
"What are you talking about? You don't understand." Qi Huan waved his hand, quickened his pace, and got closer to Chu Tianhe in front of him.
Bai Ya stopped talking. His eyes felt blurry, and he felt like he would rub his eyes violently before opening them again, or suddenly stand up after squatting for a long time, and his vision would flicker. He put his hand on the wall and felt that the wall was as soft as cotton and as slippery as ice, not as rough as it looked. It seemed to be breathing and rising and falling, making Bai Ya really worried about his physical condition. He has never been afraid of death...but he doesn't like the process of decline. This kind of withdrawal reaction undoubtedly makes people feel that life is worse than death. He would rather die a simpler and more beautiful death.
The lights on the side wall disappeared, and they came to a more open area, probably on the ground floor. Is this the ruins from a few years ago? Several people walked forward in a daze and saw white skeletons scattered under their feet. The bones are all intact, as if they had naturally decayed here. Could it be someone who wants to steal the Chizhen Pearl? Before Qi Huan had time to ask, he found Liu Shenghan frozen in place. He and Aoyan followed her gaze and saw that there was indeed a broken blade in front of her, deeply embedded in the wall. The wall was very high and huge, and there were some indescribable black things covering it, intertwined layer by layer, as if the entire wall was made of it. It resembles the roots of a coiled dragon or the arms and legs of a ferocious beast in the sea. It spreads out from the center of the broken knife in a twisted shape. There seems to be something protruding in the middle.
This isn't right.
Turning back, Priest Chu turned his back to them and looked towards the stairs from which he came. He stopped talking, but there was a continuous, subtle "clack" sound coming from his body, which was a bit harsh in the empty and damp ruins. Bai Ya stretched out his hand and patted his shoulder, which had become as stiff as a corpse at some point.
He suddenly looked back, his whole head turned over completely, and several scarlet eyes split open on his face.
