The ancient sage raised a torch and went to the cave below. The goat mother and her son were nowhere to be seen. He climbed out of the cave entrance. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the many blackbirds that were originally so dark had already flown away without a trace. He came back from fetching water and told Ding Ying, who was also happy. Gu Shengchao hung Ding Ying down with a rope and helped her out of the cave. The two of them looked at each other closely, and realized that the goat mother and her son should have run far away and could never be found again.
The two of them were extremely excited. After experiencing this ordeal, they felt like they were reborn from Nirvana.
Gu Shengchao picked up some rocks and rebuilt the hole inside with mud, firstly to prevent wild animals from entering, and secondly, to avoid deliberate damage by people with ulterior motives. The narrow passage behind the grass is also blocked. In a short time, when the grass grows lush above, outsiders will definitely not be able to find it. While searching for stones, he found traces of man-made piles on a cliff. However, the rocks had been scorched black and the buildings on the ground had long since disappeared. Only stone pillars and stone bases were left. It was obvious that the fire had burned them, and the cliff walls had been burned. The records above are consistent. Gu Shengchao told Ding Ying, but Ding Ying was determined to go. Gu Shengchao wanted to carry her there, but she refused and went with him alone on crutches.
The two of them looked at the dilapidated ruins and sighed. It was really sad that a sect that was once respected by thousands of people finally disappeared without a trace.
The nearest town at the moment was Luoya Bay. Ding Ying gritted her teeth and insisted on walking for a short distance. In the end, Gu Shengchao carried her back there.
The entire town of Crow Bay was in a mess. People could hide from the crows in their houses, but all kinds of livestock suffered. Horses suffered the greatest losses in this disaster, with numerous casualties. Carriages are expensive, and Ding Ying's remaining silver is simply not enough. Fortunately, there are many spare vehicles and they are cheap. Ding Ying had no choice but to buy a two-wheeled car, which was much more stable than the original one-wheeled car. The trolley has a long handle and can be pushed or pulled, which is really convenient.
The two traveled for more than ten days and successfully arrived at the foot of Qixingya Mountain. The mountain road was winding and rugged, and Gu Shengchao planned to carry her up the mountain, but Ding Ying declined, saying that the sect had rules that outsiders, especially men, could never break in without permission. Violators would be severely punished and could even be executed. She took out all the silver she had and stuffed it with Gu Shengchao, then said: "You first find a place to stay at the foot of the mountain for a few days. When I tell Master to arrange errands for you, I will go down the mountain to find you."
Gu Shengchao was penniless, so he accepted it and told Ding Ying that he would return it to her in the future.
Ding Ying used crutches and walked up the mountain alone. The mountain road was steep and she had a lame leg. From time to time she had to use her hands and feet to climb up, which was very difficult. She reached the halfway point of the mountain and was so tired that she was sweating profusely. She sat down on a rock and rested for a while before moving on. Not long after, she came to a waterfall. The rocks were washed by the water and looked like a carp's back, which was dark and shiny. The patches of green moss attached to it were extremely smooth. She accidentally slipped and fell backwards.
"Oops!" Ding Ying secretly cried out, hanging in the air behind her without any cover. She first protected her head with both hands and was ready to roll down the rock. Ding Ying was about to fall, but a pair of hands held her up from behind in time. She turned around and saw that it was Gu Shengchao.
"Why are you here?" Ding Ying was surprised and a little uneasy.
Gu Shengchao helped Ding Ying stand firm, "The mountain road is steep and dangerous. Your ankle is injured and I am worried that you will encounter trouble on the way, so I will follow you all the way. I apologize for any offence, Miss Ding."
Ding Ying looked around in panic and urged in a low voice: "Go back quickly. This is already a forbidden area for the sect. No master allows strangers to break in. If the sisters of the same sect see it, they will kill you."
Gu Shengchao said disapprovingly: "The mountains here are high and the forests are dense, so they can't see us. Let's do this. I'll take you on a small path and carry you to a gentle place above and then leave. They won't be discovered."
Ding Ying raised her head and looked up. The mountain road next to the waterfall was slippery and winding. It would be difficult for her to climb up alone. She could only nod her head and said: "Okay, we agreed, you will come down immediately when you get to the top. Otherwise, your life will not be saved, and I will be blamed." Hard to confine.”
Gu Shengchao agreed, carried Ding Ying on his back and climbed up on the rugged rocks. From time to time, pines and cypresses grew up in the gaps between the rocks, blocking the way. They had to walk through the gaps between the trees and rocks.
"Ouch!" Ding Ying shouted softly again.
"What's wrong?" Gu Shengchao stopped, fearing that the sharp branches would scratch Ding Ying's face.
"It's okay, a branch just hung around my neck and pricked me." Ding Ying replied.
Gu Shengchao was extra careful, leaned down and continued to move forward. Something warm and slippery fell on his neck, slid close to his skin, and fell into the pocket on his chest. Gu Shengchao secretly pinched it with his fingers, and it looked like a jade pendant. It must have been that the branch had hung up the ribbon around Ding Ying's neck just now, and the jade pendant fell free of restraint. The mountain road was difficult to navigate and there were few places to stay. It was inconvenient for Gu Shengchao to stay longer, so he thought of returning Ding Ying to the top.
In order to avoid meeting other disciples of Qixing Cliff, the two walked in a secluded place. After about an hour, they climbed up. Looking around, the road outside the trees was flat, and the two came to the top of the mountain. Gu Shengchao put down Ding Ying, panting from exhaustion, and lifted up his clothes to wipe the sweat from his face.
Ding Ying was grateful. She took out her handkerchief and handed it to Gu Shengchao: "Thank you for today, Brother Gu. Please wipe off your sweat first, take a rest and then go down the mountain! Don't let others see it and cause a lot of trouble."
The handkerchief had a subtle fragrance. He had never seen Ding Ying use powder, so he didn't know where the fragrance came from. After Gu Shengchao wiped his sweat and handed the handkerchief back to Ding Ying, he stood up and remembered the jade pendant in his arms. Just as he was about to reach out and take it out, two women jumped out from behind the tree.
"No wonder Junior Sister Ding Ying hasn't been seen these days. It turns out she went to seduce a wild man." A tall woman mocked in a sinister way.
Ding Ying's face changed greatly, she stood up by the tree and said coldly: "I was ordered by my master to go down the mountain to do something, and I was injured by a gangster. Thanks to this big brother's kindness, our own master has the final say on Tianshu Peak's affairs. , you don’t need to worry about it.”
The woman "tsk-tsk"ed a few times, raised her eyebrows and said, "You've only been out for a few days and you've already become more capable. Even I don't take it seriously. Let me tell you, no matter how much Tianshu Peak protects you, you are still a member of Qixingya. It’s our Tianquan Peak master who has the final say.”
Ding Ying said without being humble or arrogant: "Sister Miao can also see that I have an ankle injury and can't walk. It's justifiable to pay someone to carry me up the mountain. I will report it to the master. If I violate the sect's rules and be punished, it will be ours." Master Tianshu Peak is here to enforce the law. I hired this big brother with money, and I also asked Sister Miao and Amei to let him go and let him go down the mountain."
Sister Miao looked Gu Shengchao up and down: "You, my concubine, have thick eyebrows and big eyes, no wonder I am fascinated by you. This is a forbidden area for the sect. Without the order of the master, people can break in and kill without mercy." She directed the woman named Amei. :"kill him."
Amei was startled for a moment, then slowly pulled out the sword, hesitating and not daring to step forward.
Sister Miao waved her hand and gave Amei a slap in the face, "Why, I, the senior sister, can't talk to you?"
Amei's face was burning with pain. She didn't dare to refute, and she thrust her sword towards the ancient sage Chao. Ding Ying flipped her wrist, shook her soft whip and went out to stop Amei. She ordered Gu Shengchao: "Go quickly."
The ancient sage had lost all his inner strength. He knew he was outmatched and turned around to leave before he could explain himself. Sister Miao chased after her with her sword in hand: "You want to run away, but I'll catch you and let you two adulterers and adulterers be humiliated in public at Qixing Cliff."
Ding Ying had difficulty moving, so she waved her soft whip in an attempt to stop Sister Miao, but the whip was beyond her reach. Sister Miao jumped over the top of the whip and stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way.
Gu Shengchao turned his head and ran to the side, turning around the boulders along the path, but the road suddenly disappeared, and a cliff appeared in front of him. He hurriedly stopped his steps, but the moss on the rock was slippery. He ran too fast and slipped out. Gu Shengchao said "ah" and fell down.
There was a strong wind in his ears, and the ancient saint fell rapidly. The ancient trees that stretched out horizontally next to the cliff were dense. He walked through the trees from time to time, using his hands and feet in an attempt to grab the branches. Even though he was scratched, it was in vain, but his fall slowed down a bit. He kept hitting the branches, and his internal organs were about to shatter. Finally, his head hit somewhere and he fainted completely.
…
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Shengchao slowly gained consciousness. He seemed to have had a long dream, but he couldn't remember what he dreamed about. He just felt exhausted, very tired, very tired.
"You're awake." A vicissitudes of voice came.
Gu Shengchao tried his best to open his eyes. He moved, and all the bones in his body seemed to be shattered, and there was a sharp pain spasm from head to toe. He had to slowly turn his head, and then he realized that he was lying on a bamboo bed, with an elder sitting on a bamboo chair next to him and staring at him.
"Where am I?" Gu Shengchao asked.
The elder did not answer, but said in a hoarse voice: "I checked your body and learned Kung Fu. Your Dantian was shattered and all your internal strength was lost. Judging from the wear and tear on your shoes, you came from a long distance away. Right?"
Under the direct gaze of the elder, Gu Shengchao seemed to have been penetrated by everything. He did not dare to hide it, so he told the details of the assassination of Zhao Yinhu.
The elder nodded slightly, took out a jade pendant and asked, "Where did you get this thing?"
The jade pendant is green, with exotic flowers and plants engraved around it, and in the middle is the word "Chuan".
Gu Shengchao thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "This junior has never seen this thing before. I don't know why my senior asked me."
The elder looked at Gu Shengchao, and his sharp eyes swept over his face. It could be seen that Gu Shengchao did not look like he was lying. The elder played with the jade pendant and asked: "Before you fell off the cliff, were there anyone around you?"
After hearing the elder's prompt, Gu Shengchao remembered and was about to reach out to touch the jade pendant that Ding Ying had dropped in his pocket. As soon as he moved, his whole body felt a heartbreaking pain. Only then did he realize that except for his left arm, his right arm and both legs were fixed, making him unable to move at all.
The elder noticed something strange and warned: "You fell from the cliff and broke many bones in your body. You are lucky to survive. I have fixed your injuries with splints. Don't move them for the time being to avoid dislocation of the bones." If you have something to say, just say it, no need to hide it.”
Gu Shengchao asked: "The jade pendant in the hands of the seniors was obtained from my arms?"
The elder nodded.
The ancient sage took a deep breath and said, "That's it." He first introduced himself and said his name, and then met Ding Ying. The two returned to Qixingya together. He carried Dingying up the mountain and the jade pendant slipped down. The disciple of Qixingya The elders were told in detail about the hunt for him. Even when he took refuge in Luoya Bay and saw the "Feng Wu Sword Technique" in the cave, he told it without any concealment.
The elder was horrified: "You are also a martial arts practitioner. There is no need to tell such secrets. Why do you tell me?"
