Now we can talk about what happened in Ruixuan Town.
When Mr. Zhuang passed away, the old shopkeeper was filled with grief. He knelt there and sobbed for a while before he remembered to tidy up Mr. Zhuang's appearance. As for the funeral, the old shopkeeper knew that it was not his concern. When a person like Mr. Zhuang passed away, he Those old friends in Wuling Sect will definitely cook for him. Thinking of this, he looked at the letters that Mr. Zhuang just wrote and gave to him. These are important items now. He hid them close to his body and will definitely Someone came to get it.
When the morning just arrived, Qian Chao had already realized that something had happened to Mr. Zhuang and was rushing to Ruixuan Town desperately. The sky on this day was a bit gloomy. It was already early morning, but the morning light could not dispel the permeating atmosphere. The darkness of Ruixuan Town makes the place always seem gloomy. It is obviously morning, but at a glance, there is always a feeling of dusk approaching, which seems very depressing. At this time, Ruixuan Town is also very quiet, where Yi Mingxuan is. The street is not spacious, and it is not a lively market, so it is deserted. At some point, two old men appeared on this street, one tall and thin and the other short and fat. The two people walked slowly along the street. As he walked along the street, he looked at the shop signs on both sides of the road, and finally stopped outside the door of Yimingxuan.
At this time, Yi Mingxuan did not open the door. After the two people looked up, the short and fat man stepped forward and patted the door.
"Who is it? We are not doing business today." The voice of the old shopkeeper came from the closed door.
"Open the door, we're not here to buy tea." The short and fat man said in front of the door.
The old shopkeeper was not here to buy tea. Hearing this, the old shopkeeper felt something in his heart. If the people outside were Mr. Zhuang's old friends in Wuling Sect, they would have called the old shopkeeper by his name. But now the people outside just said that he was not here to buy tea. This is strange. Before Mr. Zhuang died, he said that those people were coming soon. The old shopkeeper naturally knew who those people Mr. Zhuang was talking about. Thinking of this, he probably guessed who was outside, sighed, and Open the door from the inside.
Standing in front of the door was a short, fat old man with sparse hair. His forehead looked very broad and shiny. Because his face was full of flesh, his eyes looked long and thin, and his nose, which was like a ball of flesh, was very conspicuous. , his sparse hair was almost pinned back with a thin wooden hairpin, and he had a lot of beard, with a bunch of gray hair floating on his chest. This man was wearing a gray robe, standing there with a slender belly, looking up at The old shopkeeper, well, I have to say that the features of this short, fat old man are somewhat similar to Mr. Zhuang.
Behind the short and fat old man, there is a tall and thin old man standing with his hands behind his back. This man is almost half a body taller than the short and fat old man in front of him. Because of his height, his figure looks slightly rickety and gray. hair, and a goatee poking up under his chin. The old man’s eyes are not big, but the bags under his eyes are not small. The flesh on his thin face is like melted hot wax flowing down, making him look very old. The old shopkeeper is gone When he came out, the old man squinted his eyes, and his sharp eyes shot out from the gap between his upper and lower eyelids that were almost closed together, staring at the old shopkeeper closely.
The pudgy old man raised his head and looked at the old shopkeeper, and asked in a dull voice:
"Does this teahouse belong to Zhuang Qi? Is he in it?"
"Are you...?" the old shopkeeper asked hesitantly.
"His old friend, well, I am still his elder. If he is here, please let him come out to greet me."
Hearing this, the old shopkeeper had concluded that these two people must be from Yingzhou. Mr. Zhuang is from Yingzhou, so his elders must be too. Mr. Zhuang was right, they came indeed.
At this time, the tall, thin old man behind him spoke, with a slightly shrill voice:
"Lao Zhuang, you are also old and dim. Haha, you only think that you are Zhuang Qi's old friend. Don't you realize that this person in front of you is also an old friend?"
"Oh?" After hearing this, the short and fat old man raised his head and looked at the old shopkeeper carefully. After looking for a while, he suddenly slapped his thigh with his fat palm and said, "Ah, I recognize you. You are the one who has been following Zhuang Qi." What is the name of the person who is serving you next to you...what is your name...Bao...Bao Jiang, right?"
The old shopkeeper's name was Bao Jiang, and now that his name had been revealed, he was even more certain that these two people must be extraordinary figures in Yingzhou. Unfortunately, even if they found Mr. Zhuang, they were too late.
"I am Bao Jiang. May I ask your Excellency, are you Zhuang Xie, the eldest elder of the Zhuang family among the seven surnames?" the old shopkeeper asked carefully.
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to still remember me. Yes, I am Zhuang Xie. Well, you have changed a lot. When you ran away with Zhuang Qi, you still looked like a young man, and your appearance was quite pleasing to the eye. How come you are so old now? He looks so good that I can hardly recognize him, eh, stop gossiping, if Zhuang Qi is here, please let him come out to see me quickly."
While the short, fat old man Zhuang Xie was speaking, the tall and thin old man behind him kept staring at the old shopkeeper.
"Oh, Mr. Zhuang...he is here...but...he is not here either..."
The short, fat old man had a straight face and said:
"What do you mean, let him come out since he's here? Is that kid's arrogance so big now? Even if this is Central Continent, wouldn't he go out to greet the elders after not seeing him for many years?"
"No, Elder Zhuang, Mr. Zhuang... alas... has passed away. If you two had been here a few hours earlier, you would have been able to see him one last time."
As soon as these words came out, Zhuang Xie and the tall, thin old man were shocked at the same time.
"What! Impossible, what a coincidence, he died just after we arrived. Did he avoid us on purpose?"
"Hey, I don't dare to deceive you two. Mr. Zhuang's body is still in the courtyard before it's cold. If you don't believe me, just come in and take a look."
The old shopkeeper said this and made a gesture of invitation, then led the two of them into the small courtyard behind Yimingxuan.
In the small courtyard, Mr. Zhuang was sitting in the armchair he usually sat in. He sat upright, with his hands on the armrests of the chair, facing the three people who walked in. This was the old shopkeeper helping Zhuang. Mr. Zhuang still had a faint smile on his face. Even the look in his eyes did not fade. This made Zhuang Xie and the tall and thin old man who walked in see After that, they were suddenly shocked and immediately thought that the old shopkeeper was lying. Zhuang Qi pretended to be dead when he was clearly not dead. They didn't know what the other party was planning, so the two of them immediately became vigilant. The old shopkeeper bowed deeply to Mr. Zhuang and then stood behind Mr. Zhuang. At this time, the two people also discovered that Mr. Zhuang on the chair had not made any move. These two people were considered top figures in both Yingzhou and Zhongzhou. They naturally understood the fluctuations of spiritual energy of several people here. Now There are only three people with spiritual energy fluctuations in this small courtyard. Although Mr. Zhuang is sitting in the chair as lifelike as a living person, a little induction can tell that the body on the chair is already a lifeless corpse.
Zhuang Xie was very disappointed. He took a closer look, then turned back to the old master and said:
"Hey, Gongyang, he is indeed dead. Alas, he came a step too late. This kid will die sooner or later, but he died before you and I arrived. He really knew how to choose the right time!"
The tall and thin old man walked forward with a complicated expression and looked at the deceased Mr. Zhuang quietly. His face was very gloomy, and finally he sighed and said:
"Sigh... He has been running away all his life, and we have been chasing him all his life. We finally got information about him, and thought we could catch him this time. Unexpectedly, he escaped in this way in the end. Now... we I can’t catch up with him anymore, it’s a pity…”
The tall and thin old man had some connections with Mr. Zhuang. In his opinion, Mr. Zhuang was extremely cunning and scheming. When he heard the old shopkeeper said that Mr. Zhuang was dead, he didn't believe it at all, thinking that Mr. Zhuang must be playing another trick. , but after entering the small courtyard, relying on the familiarity with Mr. Zhuang that he had spent day and night with for many years, and after repeated inspections, he finally concluded that the body on the chair was Mr. Zhuang’s body. Now he could confirm that his once half-life friend and half-life partner The powerful enemy, the person who made him both envied and feared and hated, finally passed away. The seven surnames of Yingzhou can finally sleep peacefully, because no one can stir up the turmoil in the past. The huge wave endangering the seven surnames of Yingzhou, but... the residual smile on Mr. Zhuang's face made him feel very dazzling. The faint smile was like a mocking mockery and bitter irony towards him at the end. The tall, thin old man felt quite a stir in his chest.
The tall and thin old man sighed again, looked at the old shopkeeper and asked:
"You said that if we had come a few hours earlier, we could have seen him, which means he died not long ago, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhuang has long expected you to come, but his body has long been unable to support you. You two can meet Mr. Zhuang for the last time even at two hours in the morning." The old shopkeeper replied.
The short and fat Zhuang Xie asked:
"How did he die? Logically speaking, he shouldn't have died..."
This sentence touched a sore spot in the old shopkeeper's heart. He suddenly became angry, stared at the two of them and said:
"Of course, Mr. Zhuang certainly shouldn't die at this time. Not only does he not deserve to die, but with his original cultivation level, it's not an exaggeration for him to become an immortal. Hmm, how could he have done this if he hadn't been seriously injured many times? If not How could he be where he is today after being betrayed first by his family and then by his best friends? He gave up everything and you refused to let him go. Even if he escaped from Yingzhou, you still wanted to get rid of him. The continuous pursuit almost killed him. This made him exhausted and unable to endure it any longer... Couldn't he be taking advantage of the wishes of the two of you?"
The short and fat Zhuang Xie shut up after hearing this, while the tall and thin old man snorted and said:
"Hmph, you are loyal to him. We only did it for Yingzhou. Are we going to let him turn Yingzhou upside down?"
"Haha, for the sake of Yingzhou, to put it nicely, all you want is to maintain the status of the Seven Surnames in Yingzhou. Mr. Zhuang can make more monks in Yingzhou become you and become figures like Elder Zhuang. Haven't you ever thought about what that kind of Yingzhou would be like? Even if you have thought about it, you are never willing to give up what you already have. How Yingzhou has nothing to do with you. What is most important is that your family can continue to rule Yingzhou. What’s important, hum, Mr. Zhuang said, the future decline of Yingzhou lies with your seven surnames..."
"enough……"
"shut up!"
The two men scolded each other at the same time, and their expressions were ugly.
"A little humble servant dares to boast in front of me. Don't think that this is Central Continent so you can be arrogant!"
The old shopkeeper immediately said tit for tat:
"Haha, after Mr. Zhuang passed away, I felt that this world was boring. If you two find my words harsh, how about you give me a ride?"
The tall, thin old man said coldly:
"If you want to go with him, it's not impossible, but there are some things I want to ask clearly. I heard that Zhuang Qi has accepted a disciple here. Well, he is a remnant of Xianzhou. Is this the case?"
"No."
"Humph, this is the Five Spirits Sect in Central Continent. I heard that Zhuang Qi's disciple is from the Five Spirits Sect, right?"
"no."
"You!" the tall, thin old man said angrily, "You didn't tell me on purpose, didn't you?"
"Hey, why are you so angry? Let me ask," the short and fat Zhuang Xie pulled the tall and thin old man aside, and then said to the old shopkeeper, "Bao Jiang, you have been with Zhuang Qi all your life. His... Hmm...did you teach that method to you?"
Upon hearing this, the tall and thin old man immediately stared at the old shopkeeper.
"It's passed on, but it's a pity that I'm so stupid. The method is so mysterious that I can't fully understand it. I've only learned a few superficial things. But even so, I feel like I've been completely transformed compared to before."
"Oh!" Zhuang Xie's eyes suddenly lit up after hearing this, "Look, Gongyang, even if Zhuang Qi is gone, our coming is not in vain. Bao Jiang, let me ask you, are you willing to return to Yingzhou with us?" .”
"I don't want to."
"You!" Zhuang Xie suddenly became angry.
"A person like Mr. Zhuang has been plotted like this by you. He was seriously injured and had no hope of becoming an immortal. He eventually died in a foreign country. If I go back to Yingzhou with you, wouldn't I be treating myself like a piece of meat on the chopping block?" said the old shopkeeper.
The tall, thin old man said coldly:
"You just said you wanted to go with Zhuang Qi. Why, are you afraid?"
"There are burial places everywhere in the world. Even if I die, I will die in a pure place."
"Bao Jiang," Zhuang Xie added, "this Zhuang Qi is a member of our Zhuang clan. Now that he has passed away, he has returned to his roots. When I leave, I will take him back for burial. When the time comes..."
"That's not necessary," the old shopkeeper said, "Mr. Zhuang has made some arrangements for his funeral."
"Oh, what did he say?"
"He wrote several letters before he died."
"Where's the letter?"
"You two, there are indeed letters, but none of them are for you. How can I show them to you? As for Mr. Zhuang's funeral, you don't have to worry about it. Someone will definitely bury him in a proper place. "
"Then did he record his method?" the tall and thin old man asked.
"Then I don't know. Mr. Zhuang's funeral affairs and the arrangement of the belongings he left behind will have to wait until his old friend comes and reads the letter. I am very curious. Mr. Zhuang was because of him in the first place. I was hunted by you for that method. The banner you used at the beginning was to eliminate Mr. Zhuang's rebellious and harmful method. Why are you two so obsessed with Mr. Zhuang's method now?"
"You don't have to worry about this, you just have to... huh?"
The tall and thin old man said "hmm" before he finished his words and then looked up. At the same time, Zhuang Xie did the same. Just now, the sky above the small courtyard was suddenly covered with a layer of bright color, and at the same time a powerful wave of Spiritual energy fluctuations spread out silently from all directions.
"Oh, I didn't expect that we would be discovered despite being so careful." Zhuang Xie said.
"Well, this is the territory of the Five Spirits Sect after all. It's normal for them to notice us." The tall and thin old man raised his head and said. He recognized that this place was already wrapped in a formation. "We'll see who comes next." Well, I know a few guys from the Wuling Sect, and they are all very troublesome people."
