Zhang Xiaohe put his hand on Xu Huaigu's shoulder familiarly and said: "After so many years, I have grown a lot taller!"
Xu Huaigu just laughed and didn't know how to answer for a moment. After being silent for a long time, he said somewhat rigidly: "Yes, it's been twelve years, how can you not grow taller?"
Li Zi also smiled, stretched out his hand to straighten his hair that was blown by the wind, and said, "Speaking of it, these twelve years seem to have passed by with a snap of the fingers. It seems like the meeting between the three of us was just yesterday."
Time flies, time flies. The three children who were playing around in Qingling have now grown into independent pillars.
Xu Huaigu looked at the key in Zhang Xiaohe's hand and remembered it. Zhang Xiaohe's mother is from the Chen family, so she should indeed have a key to her own home.
Zhang Xiaohe and Li Zi were still standing at the door. Xu Huaigu hurriedly welcomed them in and said enthusiastically: "Come in and sit down. Fortunately, the house was cleaned two days ago, otherwise there would be no room for people."
Li Zi smiled and said: "Your house is not bad, unlike mine, which has collapsed over the years, so we have to live in Zhang Xiaohe's house."
Zhang Xiaohe also echoed: "Isn't it true? It is said that time does not spare anyone, not even the house."
Xu Huaigu hurriedly greeted them into the room, and they sat down at the table. Xu Huaigu then wanted to make tea for them, but found that his robe seemed to only have wine and no tea, so he had to go to the grocery store next door to buy it. Zhang Xiaohe hurriedly stopped him and said, "No need, Li Zi and I just drink some water. We don't usually drink tea."
Li Zi also nodded in agreement. But Xu Huaigu was happy to see his old friend today, so he naturally refused to give in easily, so he hurried to Jiang Chengcuo to get some tea leaves, brewed a pot of fine scented tea, and served it to the two of them.
The scented tea was steaming hot, and they both picked it up and took a sip.
Xu Huaigu watched the two of them drink tea, then smiled happily and asked, "How did you know I was back?"
Li Zi took a sip of tea, put down the cup, raised his eyebrows, held his chin with his hand, and said with a smile: "We live next to your house, what's going on here, we don't know yet? We have been looking forward to the stars and the moon. I've been looking forward to your return, but now that you've really come back, why don't we come to see you quickly? You won't have to worry about saying that we have forgotten you after all these years."
Xu Huaigu took a closer look at Li Zi and found that she had changed a lot. Her eyebrows seem to be longer than before, and her eyes are narrow, like fox eyes; her short hair is only shoulder-length, making her look very energetic; and her clothes, a clean purple dress, He wore white cloth shoes and carried a small sheathed wooden knife on his back.
The style of the small wooden sword was familiar to Xu Huaigu. Taoist priests who exorcised evil spirits all liked to carry a peach wood sword on their backs. Li Zi's small wooden sword was very similar to the peach wood sword. Moreover, she studied under Sun Xiang of Taihua Mountain, who is the most righteous lineage in the world, and this small wooden sword is also very consistent with her identity.
Her articulation was still as smart as before. Xu Huaigu said with a smile: "It doesn't matter what others say, you don't understand me either? Am I such a fussy person?"
"You can't say for sure." Zhang Xiaohe said with a smile, "Of course it wasn't the case before, but who knows what you have become after so many years? Even you are probably worried that Li Zi and I will disown you. "
When Li Zi chuckled, Xu Huaigu also smiled heartily. All three of them had concerns, but fortunately, they were still the same people as before. Their appearance had changed, but their hearts had not.
Xu Huaigu asked Zhang Xiaohe, "Speaking of which, I heard that you also left Qingling. Where did you go?"
Zhang Xiaohe thought for a while and replied: "I didn't go far away. I just visited Dayu and Dahe, and then I came back. I only left Qingling for four or five years. After that, I I work as a private school teacher here and teach children etiquette and morals on weekdays."
Yamato Country... Then he must have been to Qiyin. Xu Huaigu was still thinking about the man who looked exactly like Zhang Xiaohe in Qiyin Zuihua Garden.
Zhang Xiaohe continued to smile and said: "I am not as famous as you. I am famous everywhere. Everyone in East Fuyao Continent who has some connection with the monk world knows your name."
Xu Huaigu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid my reputation is not good outside.
That's great, right? Alas, I have offended many people everywhere, and I am alone, so I have no choice but to have a bad reputation. "
After hearing this, Li Zi thought about it in his mind, and decided to ask for more information. He then said, "I heard that there was a ferry going to Feiyu Island in East Fuyao Island and it was wrecked in the sea. What happened?"
When Xu Huaigu mentioned this matter, his face turned cold and he said: "I was plotted by someone. If someone hadn't secretly protected me, I would have been plotted to death by that person. Sooner or later, I will be the Yan family in Xicheng." Go back and settle accounts with them."
Li Zi frowned and said, "So, the ferry accident had nothing to do with you?"
"It had nothing to do with me in the first place. Someone framed me." Xu Huaigu clenched her fists with an angry expression. "In order to plot against me, she even gave up all the lives and cargo of the entire ferry to the whales in the sea. The demon clan is really cruel!"
Li Zi and Zhang Xiaohe exchanged a look, quickly put their hands on Xu Huaigu's clenched fist, and advised: "So that's it, let me tell you how could you do such a thing. It's not worth being so angry for that kind of person. , when you return to Xicheng, your grievances will naturally be understood. If I have not left Dong Fuyao Island by then, I will go to the Yan family with you to seek justice!"
Xu Huaigu's expression gradually relaxed and he said: "It's not easy for the three of us to get together today. We shouldn't say these things. By the way, Li Zi, tell me how have you been following Sun Xiang these years?"
Li Zi smiled and said, "What can we do? It's just practicing on the mountain every day. However, there are still many interesting places in Taihua Mountain. Sometimes I learn alchemy from the elders of the alchemy room, and sometimes I find two books. It’s not boring to learn the magic of talismans.”
"Didn't you go to Middle-earth and walk around? I remember you told me when you were a child that you wanted to go around and see different scenery."
Zhang Xiaohe laughed suddenly, and Li Zi was a little embarrassed, and said shyly: "Just ask, why did you bring up what happened at that time? Master is very strict and won't let me go down the mountain easily, but one time he followed me A senior brother went down the mountain to do some work, but he traveled to several big countries along the way and saw a lot of the world. Furthermore, Master often took me to visit various major sects in Middle-earth, and I also met many young people from Middle-earth, and we could talk to each other. Come up with a name. But I definitely haven’t seen as much of the world as you. I heard that you traveled to East Fuyao Continent and Feiyu Continent.”
Xu Huaigu said modestly: "East Fuyao Island and Feiyu Island are just small places. How can they be as good as the Central Plains? I often hear that the Central Plains has a gathering of talents and the most beautiful scenery, but I haven't had the chance to go there yet. I planned to go there in the near future. I’m from China, but I heard that the war was about to break out in East Fuyao Continent, so I rushed back without stopping. I didn’t expect you to come earlier than me.”
Li Zi said enthusiastically: "There is no rush. There will be more time in the future. There will always be a chance to go to Middle-earth. When the time comes, I will take you to take a good tour of Taihua Mountain."
Xu Huaigu nodded and agreed, and while the three of them drank tea, they talked about their experiences in recent years, laughing and talking during the dinner.
Halfway through the conversation, Xu Huaigu saw Li Zi and Zhang Xiaohe giving each other several looks. He felt a little strange for a moment, so he asked: "Do you have something to do and you have to leave in a hurry? In this case, I won't keep you here. I’ll definitely go to your house and talk again next time.”
Li Zi paused, looking a little embarrassed, and said, "No, it's just that we have something to ask you for help, but we're too embarrassed to ask."
Xu Huaigu asked hurriedly: "What's going on? We've known each other for so many years, why are you being so polite? Just ask, I'll help if I can."
Li Zi paused for a moment, nodded and said, "In that case, I won't follow you any further. Do you know that an old swordsman is now in charge of our Qingling Mountains?"
Xu Huaigu said: "I know, I was stopped by him when I first entered Qingling. I heard that this old swordsman is at the top of the ten realms, and he is from the Yang Family Sword lineage in Middle Earth. He came here to kill monsters. Department. Why did you ask him?"
Li Zi was a little surprised and said: "You know a lot, but the purpose of this old swordsman's visit is not limited to this. Let me tell you in detail."
Li Zi said eloquently: "This old swordsman's name is Yang Yun. He is an older generation member of the Yang family swordsman who has been famous for many years. He is at the peak of the tenth realm and is only one step away from the eleventh realm. He is extremely lethal. taller than ten
The first-level monks are not much inferior. It's just that he has been lingering at the top of the ten realms for more than seventy years and has been unable to break through. Now he is over two hundred years old and his life is about to end. If he still can't break through, he will definitely fight within ten years. Dissociation from the world. "
"So, he came to Qingling to find a chance to break through?"
"This is the root of the problem. He didn't want to break through the situation at all." Li Zi frowned and shook his head, "Just listen to me."
"It is said that the Yang Family Sword has been passed down for nearly a thousand years and has a complicated history. It is no longer the same Yang Family Sword that it was in the past. Now, the Yang Family Sword is the name of a sect, and within this sect, there are also direct lineages. And the concubine lineage. The direct lineage is naturally the most orthodox Yang family sword, and the concubine lineage is the second best, but it is not low in status. This old swordsman comes from a concubine lineage. However, now that his lineage is declining, the old man above him The whole generation is about to pass away, and there is not a single person among the younger generation below who can take on the important role. It can be said that there is no successor. If this continues, his lineage will have no choice but to die. This is related to the family honor of his lineage. , so he thought of a way to save it."
"As long as he can kill monsters in Qingling, and kill enough big monsters, his reputation will naturally rise. In this way, even if he dies after being separated from the army, his commoner lineage can still rely on the reputation he earned. Standing firm in the Yang family sword and not losing the qualifications of a commoner, this is the real purpose of this old swordsman sitting in Qingling."
Zhang Xiaohe added: "Therefore, he needs to kill as many monsters as possible, so he wants to use Qingling's formation."
Xu Huaigu frowned and asked, "Is it the formation in the center of Lingjiang River that blocks the demon clan?"
Li Zi said, "No, that formation was later built by Dayu Kingdom's formation masters. What Yang Yun wanted to use was the formation that Qingling originally used to suppress Molong."
"At that time, the blood of the Chen family was lost, causing Mo Long to escape. However, Qingling's landscape formation can still be effective, but its power is not as powerful as before. But to operate this formation, it must be the same as that of back then. The same as the sacrificial ceremony, it requires the blood of every surname in the village. One of the purposes of this swordsman sitting in Qingling is to prevent anyone from escaping from Qingling. He needs the blood of every surname. But think about Xu Huaigu, Isn't it too selfish for him to do this? It's good that he wanted to kill monsters, but there is no reason for the people of Qingling to be buried with him! Once the great formation is operational again, it will indeed be able to kill many monsters, but it can only be delayed The offensive cannot be stopped. Once the demon clan breaks this formation, the people of Qingling will bear the brunt and become the meat on the chopping board! What I came to discuss with you today is about helping the people of Qingling escape from this place. Something."
Xu Huaigu took a deep breath and said with a deep look: "This matter is not only your responsibility, but also my responsibility. No matter what you want me to do, I will never refuse."
Li Zi was overjoyed and said, "It would be great if I had your help! Zhang Xiaohe and I have already made a plan. Please listen to me carefully."
