Cheng Lu, the Sipojian who left Fengqiling on September 9th, 1003, was wandering around a small town in the north.
The town is not famous, but it is famous for the green hills behind the town.
There is a temple in the mountains.
In late autumn, this town seems to be sparsely populated.
Although the temple was large, its reputation in the world was not very good, so after the initial prosperity of the town, it also declined.
Cheng Lu carried the two swords behind her back and walked under the autumn sun at noon when there were not many people. When the wind came in the town, there was a large rustling sound under the trees whose leaves had turned into light yellow.
The ground was covered with small fruits the size of your fingers.
It's black and looks like a large ball of sheep shit.
Huai'an Huai'an, naturally there are many locust trees in the world.
These green trees began to proliferate in Huai'an more than a thousand years ago. It is said that they are in response to the prophecy that there are ghosts beside the trees and the world will be peaceful.
When the Ghost Emperor of Huai'an was in power, these locust trees once occupied most corners of the human world. It was not until the death of the Ghost Emperor that they slowly stopped expanding.
Perhaps it was because there was not much peace in the world back then.
In just sixty years, many major events that shook the world have happened.
This has also stopped the world from planting these trees that were once regarded as national trees.
Cheng Lu looked down at the small fruits, then looked up at the line of locust trees that multiplied along the town - there were still more locust trees in the north than in the south. After all, this land had been called Huaian for many years, and the capital city It has also been called Huaidu for many years.
Where can there be peace in the world?
Cheng Lu thought so.
A place like Liuyun Sword Sect has existed for thousands of years.
There is never peace in the world.
Just look at whether the chaos is big or small.
So, what happened in this view soon, was it big or small?
Cheng Lu didn't know, so he continued walking along the street of the town until he reached a noodle shop at the end of the town.
There's someone in the noodle shop, maybe you can ask.
Cheng Lu thought as she walked calmly along the long street.
There were not many people in the noodle shop, just four or five regular customers. They came in and ordered a bowl of noodles. After eating in a hurry, they gathered at a card table - of course Nanyi City is not the only place to play cards in the world, but there are very few places in Nanyi. The city is like a grand event with five steps and one pavilion.
When Cheng Lu walked in, she glanced at the dull card game over there, then walked to another corner and sat down.
There is a bowl of noodles on the table in the corner, a bowl of dried noodles, sprinkled with chopped green onion, drizzled with spicy oil, and some tofu and fungus piled in the corner of the noodle bowl.
Everything about this bowl of Nanyicheng's noodles is good, but it hasn't been touched yet. It looks like it has been there for a long time. The top layer of noodles has dried up, so it has turned from white to yellow.
Cheng Lu looked at the bowl of noodles in confusion for a long time, then raised her head and looked at the man in white with a sword on his back at the opposite table.
"Senior brother, why don't you go play cards?"
He came from Nanyi City, dressed in white and carrying a sword, and loved playing cards, so he could be called senior by Cheng Lu.
There is only Zhang Xiaoyu in the world.
This 25-year-old young man, who entered the avenue and left Nanyi City as early as April in the world, just sat quietly in the corner by the window, not watching the card game or the mountains outside. Shi Dao just lowered his head and looked at the bowl of noodles in front of him quietly.
Until Cheng Lu asked that question - why doesn't Senior Brother go play cards?
Zhang Xiaoyu just raised his head and looked calmly at the card game in the noodle shop. People were so absorbed in the game that they probably didn't notice two swords that were very famous among the younger generation in the world sitting in this corner.
Maybe you've already gotten used to it.
The young man in white came to the town at the turn of spring and summer. On the first day he entered the town, he came to this noodle shop, ordered a bowl of noodles, and sat there.
At first, people were still a little curious and came over to look at him every day.
After watching it for two months, I left in frustration.
But then many people came, and unlike those who crowded into the noodle shop to watch the town residents, they hid.
They are different from the small town residents who walk through the long streets in sunny and rainy days.
Some of them ride on the light of the sword, and some of them ride on the wind of the Tao.
But without exception, they all hid and watched from a distance.
They may be more patient than Zhang Xiaoyu.
Cheng Lu was the first person to come out and walk into the noodle shop to ask.
Zhang Xiaoyu's eyes stayed on the card game for a while, then calmly took it back, looking at the short-haired junior brother with a sword in front of him.
In fact, Cheng Lu is several months older than Zhang Xiaoyu, and has been in the spiritual world for a longer time.
But Zhang Xiaoyu is indeed Cheng Lu's senior brother, which has nothing to do with seniority.
"I stopped playing cards when I was in Nanyi City."
Cheng Lu said with a smile: "What if the entire red world was turned into a sword?"
Zhang Xiaoyu said softly: "I can't do it, the world is too big."
The big thing here is naturally not the big one geographically.
In fact, this world is not very big.
The eight-hundred-mile swamp stretches across the north and south, the boundless Yellow Mountains in the west and the snowfields at the northern end of the mountains, the desert in the north, the endless deep ocean in the south, and even beyond Jianya, there are 490,000 miles beyond the East China Sea.
Maybe the space is large.
But the area for human survival is not large.
If it were Zhang Xiaoyu, it would not even take a day to go from the extreme south to the extreme north.
If it were the Shanhe Sword, it might even be faster.
But in this world, the longest distance is never the distance from a certain mountain to a certain mountain.
It’s the distance you cover from one choice to another.
Therefore, there is little sword light and little Taoism in the world. Practitioners walk in the green mountains just like the common people, thinking about every decision in their hard-won life.
This is the case for Zhang Xiaoyu.
He left Nanyi City in that snowstorm and headed north.
But until we reached this town, which is located north of Huai'an and more inclined to the snow country of Luming, we had not left April.
This kind of thinking and hesitation takes too little time.
So Zhang Xiaoyu stopped at the noodle shop, ordered a bowl of noodles, and sat there for five months.
The world is too big to touch every hand of cards, so I can only sit here quietly.
So when Cheng Lu heard Zhang Xiaoyu's words, she also fell silent. After thinking for a long time, she said, "Maybe you can stay in Liuyun Sword Sect for a few more years?"
When Zhang Xiaoyu heard this, he laughed. He only laughed for a short moment, then suppressed his smile and said calmly: "Liuyun Sword Sect is not good."
Zhang Xiaoyu did not give a reason.
If the Liuyun Sword Sect is not good, then it is not good.
It's not just because Cheng Lu is only in the seventh realm of the minor path - Liuyun Sword Sect has always been weak in the realm of the great path, or in other words, they have abandoned some things.
But that's not the real reason.
Cheng Lu sighed and looked out the window. There was wind outside the window, and in the wind there were some shadows of birds flitting across the branches in autumn.
Or further away, in those alleys and in those mountains, there are many people watching.
"The Liuyun Sword Sect is indeed not good at it." Cheng Lu said slowly, "Fighting for the right is an honest matter, and the Liuyun Sword Sect's actions are a bit shady."
What Zhang Xiaoyu didn't say, Cheng Lu said it herself.
In fact, the dispute between Zhang Xiaoyu and his senior brother had changed many years ago.
If Zhang Xiaoyu had not gone to the Human Sword Sect, if Zhang Xiaoyu was just a disciple of the Shanhe Guanshan Sect.
So this dispute is naturally an internal matter within Shanheguan.
The world may be interested, but it will never be like this, with Zhang Xiaoyu sitting there and they waiting.
When Zhang Xiaoyu became famous as one of the three swordsmen of the younger generation, this story that was destined many years ago evolved into a dispute between the sword sect and the Taoist sect.
In today's world, the Sword Sect is naturally respected.
Ever since the rise of Mojian Cliff, which suppressed Han Gu Guan in one fell swoop, and then the white-robed spiritual tower on the Jian Cliff, killing eight hundred sects in one day, the power of the world began to tilt towards the Sword Sect.
In today's human world, although the world often calls it the Three Swords and Three Views.
But in fact, the reputation of the Three Swordsmen is far better than that of the Three Viewers.
Karmic Sword Congren, the third-generation master of the Human Sword Sect, followed the Mojian Cliff Sword Way. He entered the avenue a thousand years ago and transformed himself into a demon. He has been in Nanyi City for a thousand years. At that time, Bai Fengyu, the former temple master of Qingtian Dao, was the one who was Cong Ren met each other in the years, and cut off any hope of making progress in the rest of his life with one sword.
Only one of the Demon Emperor Shenhe, the fifth emperor of Huaian, and the five emperors of Huaian is not a madman. After the Empress Li Asan of Huai'an was trapped and died on Mojian Cliff by the Demon Ancestor of Mojian Cliff, this native who came from Youhuang Mountains and had practiced with Cong Ren under the Xiaomen of Congzhong, the first swordsman in the world at that time. The demon cultivator took over the throne of Huaian and launched the war between humans and demons that almost brought down the entire cultivation world.
Then there is Chen Yunxi, the oldest and most mysterious Liuyun Sword Sect.
In fact, not many people have seen this swordsman who survived the Qingyi era in the past thousand years. However, as one of the three swordsmen alongside Baiyi and Cong Zhongxiao, the name will naturally not be unfamiliar to the world.
The one in white above him, with Jian Ya's actions, completely destroyed the entire Taoist sect.
And Cong Zhongxiao, who was under him, also sat in the human world for decades during the last days of Dao after the Grimace Flower Rebellion.
Naturally, the world does not need to speculate too much about what Chen Yunxi is like.
What's more, on top of the Three Swords, there is the Mojian Cliff, a place of four major cultivations.
Qiu Shui, Shen He and Cong Ren were all disciples of Cong Zhongxiao back then. But even earlier, Qiu Shui and Shen He were born together in the demon clan under the autumn water south of the Youhuang Mountains.
From a historical perspective, the Three Views of the World are a bit weaker.
The reason is simple.
The Three Views of the World come from Qingtian Dao, and Bai Fengyu, the old master of Qingtian Dao, was seriously injured by Cong Ren's sword, although it may not be because the Karma Sword is too rogue.
But rogues naturally have their advantages.
The world can accept the fortune teller walking around the world, and can accept Li Shanhe's obsession. Even if the divine river disappears without being heard from the world, it is still acceptable.
But Cong Ren's sword and his people disappeared at the same time.
Those upper-level practitioners should start to recall whether they had any interactions with that lazy old boy.
It's just that the Taoist sect is weak, after all, it's just weak.
Maybe it's just a sign of weakness.
If the Dao Sect was really weak, Zhang Xiaoyu would not have sat in this noodle shop for so long.
...
Cheng Lu looked across at Zhang Xiaoyu, who was looking down at the bowl of noodles again.
"Whether it is a sword sect or a Taoist sect," Zhang Xiaoyu said calmly, "What those who come to see us think is ultimately their business."
"The world won't think so." Cheng Lu said softly, "Unless you put down the sword behind you."
Zhang Xiaoyu laughed softly, looked out the window, and said calmly: "With the sword, I still have a chance. If I put the sword down, I will know that I have lost without stepping into the gate."
Cheng Lu was silent for a while and said, "Senior Brother Li is really that strong?"
"You are not his junior brother, but I am." Zhang Xiaoyu did not waste any words to describe his senior brother who was always smiling and always calm, he just said this sentence. "It wasn't him who left Shanheguan back then, it was me."
This is a simple truth.
Although Li Shi also left Shanheguan later.
At the foot of the green mountains in the far north, a Xiyun Temple was built.
But one is passive and the other is active.
This is something different.
"Or maybe one more sword?" Cheng Lu said.
Zhang Xiaoyu raised his eyebrows and looked at the junior fellow student who was splitting his head and the two swords behind him.
"What sword?"
Cheng Lu took off one of the two handles from behind, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of the noodle bowl.
This sword is very short.
The scabbards are only about two feet long.
The sword hilt is very ordinary and simple, like a sword from a thousand years ago. There is no inscription on the sword tang.
Zhang Xiaoyu looked at it silently for a while, then held the scabbard with one hand and the hilt with the other, raised it to his eyebrows, and slowly pulled it out three inches with a soft cry.
The sword light was as cold as water.
There are two words on it.
Break away.
"When I came here, I went to Liuyun Sword Sect and brought out this sword." Cheng Lu looked at Zhang Xiaoyu who was sitting across from him and said calmly.
"It turns out that there are only two feet left in the Four-foot Judgment. It's true." Zhang Xiaoyu also saw this sword for the first time.
The first time the human world saw a thread of Mojianya's secret knowledge was on this sword.
That was in Huaidu many years ago.
There was a senior brother who was not at a high level. He held this sword and almost killed the emperor who had made a hole in the Styx on the Star-Zhaing Tower.
The world has long forgotten the name of Seventh Senior Brother Mojianya.
But Jueli is his sword, and the line in the world is also his sword move.
It was at that time that this sword was broken into pieces by Emperor Huai.
But there is no sword spirit or sword style in the noodle shop.
As if this is just an ordinary sword.
Perhaps the battle that took place 490,000 miles away in the East China Sea made it lose all its edge.
Perhaps the owner of this sword represents the ultimate core of retro-style kendo, so naturally there will be no sword intent.
There are many possibilities.
But Zhang Xiaoyu just calmly returned the sword to its sheath and placed it again on the brown table that had not been wiped clean of oil stains.
"Why did you give me this sword?"
Zhang Xiaoyu looked at Cheng Lu and asked.
Cheng Lu smiled and said, "Because I am also a human being."
I am also a human being, so I don’t care what kind of story there is between you and your senior brother.
I am also a human being, so I came all the way to read this story.
I am also a human being.
"So senior brother, you can't lose."
Zhang Xiaoyu didn't speak, just looked out the window. The autumn day in the north was a bit dry.
Not far from the window, an old dog was drinking water from a broken bowl, sticking out his tongue.
This reminded Zhang Xiaoyu of the old dog he saw in the place called Old Dog Town by Chen He.
There are also those spring-filled sword waters that fill the lake.
Zhang Xiaoyu didn't know why he thought of these things.
Maybe it was because there was a young man from the town by the Jingsi Lake who once wanted to give him a sword.
That sword is very useful, better than my own sword.
The higher the realm of the person who uses such a sword, the stronger it will naturally be.
But Zhang Xiaoyu didn't accept it.
Of course a swordsman must use his own sword.
Although Zhang Xiaoyu gave up his status as a disciple of the Human Sword Sect when he left Nanyi City.
But he is still a swordsman.
The card players in Nanyi City are still talking about the Red Sword in April.
He was talking about how there once was a Taoist priest with a smile, dressed in white, who came to Nanyi City to learn swordsmanship and play cards, and then lost miserably.
But his cards were completely lost, but his sword defeated the entire Nanyi City.
That day in the wind and snow, although the sword that finally killed the Styx man from Huangliang was the sword of Shenhe.
But what impressed people the most was always the top of Nanyi City.
A young man in white clothes held a sword and left, saying that I have a sword that comes from the world.
That is the most beloved sword in the world.
Although the sword was stopped on the Nanyi River.
But that is still the favorite sword of the people in Nanyi City.
Because in that sword, there was their shadow - it was the red that fell thousands of times.
Even the world will be happy because there is a shadow of themselves in that sword.
What's more, swordsmanship?
Of course a swordsman must use his own sword.
"Even if you give this sword to me on the grounds that I used that sword against Nan Dao in Nanyi City, that would be better."
Zhang Xiaoyu said calmly.
Cheng Lu said softly: "Since the Liuyun Sword Sect started out as a killer swordsman, it is natural that they have to be trustworthy. Nandao is not dead yet, so the Sword Sect cannot give you the sword."
Zhang Xiaoyu chuckled lightly and said, "Even if I really kill Nan Dao, I still can't accept this sword - I kill him for different reasons than others kill him."
Cheng Lu didn't speak, just looked at Zhang Xiaoyu quietly, and Zhang Xiaoyu's smile gradually faded away.
The autumn wind blew in the restaurant.
The blow made Zhang Xiaoyu's white clothes flutter, and there were still some blood stains on them from when he was in Nanyi City.
"Have you met him?"
Zhang Xiaoyu looked at Cheng Lu and asked.
Cheng Lu nodded.
"He came out of seclusion and became enlightened. In fact, I don't quite understand something." Cheng Lu sighed and said, "He doesn't look like a hard-working person, so how can he improve his realm so quickly."
"Actually, he can be faster." Zhang Xiaoyu said with a soft smile.
The sword at the top of Snow Wind City put Nan Dao into a deep sleep for a long time.
Cheng Lu just sighed. It was actually a very wrong decision to go to Nanyi City to listen to Yun Hu's sermon.
The Liuyun Sword Sect didn't pay much attention to these things, not to mention that they later went back and forth because of those messy things, and in the end they still couldn't avoid that beating.
Zhang Xiaoyu didn't care what Cheng Lu was thinking and looked out the window sadly again.
"What did you say?"
