Autumn water.
After passing through the forest at the foot of the mountain, there is an extremely steep mountain road ahead. The dark rocks on both sides go upwards, leaving only a very narrow gap in the middle. The dusk floats on the sky and falls to the world. In the distance There is a surging river falling from a very high place. The river water hits the black soil and rocks in the mountains, and falls down layer by layer. The majestic falling force from two thousand feet splashes into the glow, and then finally turns into a The autumn water that carries the twilight away.
Most of the time, Styx is actually over the heads of the world.
Therefore, there are still some very ancient sayings in Huangliang.
Not called Gui Ming.
But to return to heaven.
The great human demon who had seen Qiushui by the Qiushui River before was walking on those dark mountain roads. The umbrella trees on both sides were covered with light, and they were a bit colorful.
If we look at the realm of the human world, this big demon should be around the Xiaodao realm.
Not too low, but not too high either.
Naturally, if the demon tribes who still call the Youhuang Mountains their ancestral home were too strong, Kamigawa would not ignore them for thousands of years.
Although they are both demon clans, Kamigawa is the majesty of this human world, so naturally he will not allow any unstable factors to exist, especially between two clans that are rarely the same.
The man walked for a long time before walking out of the mountain road and appeared on a rather vast mountain flat nearly a thousand feet high.
Although there is no snow in Nantuo.
But the Youhuang Mountains do.
This mountain that does not belong to the human world begins to be covered with ice and snow all year round due to the low temperature in the upper air after a few hundred feet.
So the world sees the Youhuang Mountains as black, and you can also see those black tops, covered with snow that looks like melted lactose.
The twilight here is not as intense as below - when we were at the bottom of the mountain, it felt like the colors of the sky illuminated the autumn water. But standing on the mountain, it seems that the colors of the world are painted on the wind and snow.
The mountain snow is mottled because the umbrella trees are black, and some black soil is stubbornly exposed from under the snow, which together form a mottled world with some clouds floating in the mountains.
There are many settlements in the mountains that are similar to those in the human world.
It extends towards those high cliffs.
This is a rare place in the world where pure monsters gather.
The man passed through those buildings and headed deeper.
There are cliffs in the depths.
There is no one on the cliff, but there are people under the cliff in the wind and snow.
He is an old man with a very ordinary appearance. The old man is not lame, but he is also called the Demon Lord.
Because he was a person who had witnessed ten thousand monsters crossing the autumn water many years ago.
At that time, he was just a little demon, a little demon who stayed in the maple forest, watching the people going north together with the remaining demon clan.
There is nothing sad about him.
Because the high mountains above the autumn water are indeed his ancestral land.
This is one of the few monsters in the human world that was truly born in the Youhuang Mountains.
It was a piece of black soil under an umbrella tree. Later it got a very weird name, called Queran. They were two words he randomly found in books on the human world. The names of the demon clan probably always feel a little strange. Maybe it's because they don't have the inheritance and can't pass on their surnames, so they feel this way when the world hears them.
It's the same now, there's no sadness, I'm just standing quietly by an open space under the cliff. There are also cliffs under the cliff, and the layers are not only covered with wind and snow, but each step is like a vast staircase. It's not just the cliffs with different heights.
Queran, who had also lived for many years, stood there, looking down at the autumn water in the world, looking at the autumn water in the world.
The man stood next to Que Ran and said softly: "The cliff master doesn't want to see you."
Que Ran quietly turned around and looked at Fei Gu, who had the same weird name.
"What did she say?"
Feigu, who was probably in the realm of the human path, said softly: "She said that unless the people on the mountain go down the mountain..."
Feigu didn't finish speaking, but Que Ran naturally knew what it meant.
But he turned around and looked quietly down the mountain. Under the wind and snow in the high mountains, the autumn water was extremely distant, perhaps just like here and in the human world.
Maybe it is the distance from outside the human world to the human world.
"The demon clan has never had to live in the human world." Que Ran said very calmly.
This old man who was just an ignorant little demon back then has thought about a lot of things after thousands of years.
"We are in the mountain, and they are at the bottom of the mountain. We have been peacefully together for thousands of years. What's the point of going down the mountain?" Queran said softly. "She can't live without her hometown, and naturally we can't live without our hometown either."
The Youhuang Mountains are naturally barren.
The black soil of the world is fertile.
But not in the Youhuang Mountains.
This land seems to have been burned, leaving the black color on the entire mountain range. Sometimes people think that maybe a long time ago, there were no settlements, no language, and no writing on this high mountain. There was once a fire that burned everything, including the nutrients for the growth of living beings. So on this high mountain in the southwest of the human world, except for umbrella trees, no plants could grow, not even rice, not even tares.
It’s just a barren hometown, but it’s still a hometown after all.
No matter how dilapidated thatched cottage is, it is still the residence where I once lived.
Fei Gu fell silent and said nothing.
Quran turned his head and looked at the person beside him.
Queran is a monster on the mountain, but Feigu is not. He is a monster at the foot of the mountain, just like most people in the monster towns between the mountains and flats.
Because I had doubts about the coexistence of humans and monsters, I recognized Queran as the demon master, recognized the mountain as my ancestral home, and walked up this barren mountain.
No one in the world can truly be in the same boat.
Naturally so do the demon clan.
Living in the world and not living in the world are just two choices.
Fei Gu knew that Que Ran was looking at him, but he didn't look back and just stood there in silence.
After a long time, he said softly: "The demon master wants to see the cliff master, so he should just see those years back then."
Queran nodded calmly and said: "Yes. Although the Cliff Master may not be able to remember a little monster like me, there will be no one in Qiu Shui who would not recognize the Cliff Master. After thousands of years, the demon clan back then can survive to this day. There are not many people left. Although the demon clan has a long lifespan, it does not mean that all demon clan can live a long time."
Feigu said sincerely: "But what I think is different from the Demon Lord."
Queran said calmly: "I can see it. You want to borrow some of the Cliff Master's power in the current chaos in the world."
Feigu said softly: "Yes, although the rumors in the world were very sporadic when they reached Huangliang, there are still some. The Huaian Monster Clan is facing troubled times, and the Lingnan Lame Deer Sword Sect has been killed. It is inevitable that the world will Thinking of the land of Qiushui. As long as the cliff owner has been up the mountain, when the demon clan really faces some unbreakable situation, he will look here."
"It's despicable, but sometimes we remember a lot of things."
Queran looked at the big demon beside him quietly and said slowly: "For example?"
"For example..." Feigu looked at the world and said softly, "The world is already very old."
Human beings have been living in this world for a long time, and have existed since before the age of gods and ghosts.
So maybe they are really old, not just one person, but the whole world.
"More than two thousand years ago, humans began to practice the Great Way. However, two thousand years later, they are still walking on the same path without any progress. The life span of the world limits their ability to move forward."
"The Feng Dynasty is a good transitional era. His Majesty Kamigawa has successfully allowed the demon clan to continue and survive in the human world. However, it is undeniable that this era is still dominated by the aging people."
"The old things should slowly withdraw from the stage and hand over the task of moving forward in the human world to the new demon clan."
Feigu said quietly, this big demon who was only in the realm of human beings had a rather grand plan.
"Despicability arises in peace, but in times of trouble, it can become something very great."
"Kamikawa is great, but his vision is short-sighted. Those of us who come after us have to look further. The long-cherished wish of the previous generation of demon lords has not yet been completed. If we want to be a good person for future generations, we must be true to the world. of the world, not just the same people."
"The chaos in the world is our best chance."
After Feigu said this last sentence, he became quiet, turned his head, and looked at the old man beside him quietly.
When Feigu looked at the old man, the old man stopped looking at him and turned his head.
"I just thought there was something unusual in the town." Que Ran said softly, "But it turns out you have already thought this far. But I have a question to ask you."
"What?"
"Have you not washed your face for a long time?"
Fei Gu was silent for a while and said, "Sir, do you want me to look in the mirror?"
Que Ran chuckled softly and said, "What else?"
Fei Gu didn't say anything more, turned around and left the snowy cliff.
"I have convinced the nine towns of the Thirteen Demonic Lands."
Queran didn't care about these things.
There is no sadness or sorrow.
Just quietly looking at the autumn water below.
The Styx is on the heads of the world, and it is also on the heads of the demon clan.
Everyone who comes to this world along the current will also go against the current.
...
The story above the autumn water in the south is naturally extremely distant to the entire human world.
The world has a lot to worry about.
Those who stand low should think about how to spend the New Year this year.
Those who stand tall should think about what the goddess wants to do.
As for those on the Yellow Mountains, probably no one cares about what the world has been like.
When Jing Zhaoyin returned to his house after a busy day, he saw some things in the yard, and his wife and her servants were counting them there.
It's not anything expensive, just some bacon for the New Year or something like that.
However, Jing Zhaoyin was still puzzled, who would think of coming to deliver something to his family?
After all, the boss has been working hard for most of his life and never accepts gifts. People in the fake capital should know very well.
"Who sent this?"
Jing Zhaoyin walked over with a strange expression, looking back and forth at those things.
His wife raised her head and said guiltily: "Xuanshuyuan."
Jing Zhaoyin fell silent.
After a long time, he said: "Why did you accept it?"
"It was a man from Aoi-yuan. He brought a sword - without a scabbard. He politely delivered these things to the door."
The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and they bring swords to give gifts in the courtyard. No matter how polite they are, they naturally don't dare not accept them.
Jing Zhaoyin sighed, put down the piece of bacon in his hand, and walked towards the yard. Halfway through, he stopped again, looked at the snow in the yard, was silent for a long time, and said, "Can you retreat? "
"Yes." Madam also sighed, "But they said they want you to retreat in person."
Jing Zhaoyin didn't say anything more. He sighed and said, "Forget it, forget it, take it."
The servants behind him were counting those things with sad expressions.
Jing Zhaoyin walked through the front yard and went to the study room in the back yard, where he sat in front of the desk in a daze, undressing.
After a long time, when his wife came in with a basin of hot water, the elderly Jing Zhaoyin was still undressing, the stove was not lit, and the whole room was cold.
Mrs. Jing Zhaoyin sighed, put the water basins on the chairs beside the table, went over to help him take off his clothes, and then walked over to light the stove.
The stove was lit, and the room warmed up a bit.
But probably the two people in the room still felt a lingering chill.
"Is what happened today in Xuanxuyuan due to something happening in the spring next year?"
Mrs. Jing Zhaoyin asked sadly while twisting a hot towel and wiping the face of this conscientious old man.
"Apart from this matter, what else could be the reason?" Jing Zhaoyin sighed.
Jing Zhaoyin of Huangliang is always in a dilemma when facing some major events in the world.
Some power, but not much.
But he is still in charge of many things in the false capital.
The lady also sighed.
Jing Zhaoyin pushed the hot towel off his face, took a deep breath, and asked, "Where is Fengchang Mansion?"
The residences of the three lords and the nine lords are often in the same square.
Fengchang Mansion is naturally not far from Jing Zhaoyin's mansion.
The lady dipped the towel back into the hot water and whispered: "No one from the courtyard has gone. I had people go out to see it before. In the entire Minghefang, we are the only ones with people from the courtyard here."
If there are other families in the workshop who have also received something, then Jing Zhaoyin can naturally pretend to be stupid for a while and be stunned for a while.
But only his family received it.
So probably the meaning of Xuanxuyuan is also very obvious.
Just to drag this old man into trouble.
Jing Zhaoyin frowned, leaned back on the chair, and kept pinching his eyebrows.
The lady twisted the towel there for a long time, and then said tentatively: "How about telling them about the Taiyi Spring Festival? Jing Zhaoyin is just cooperating with Feng Chang Mansion, and I don't know the details?"
Jing Zhaoyin said softly: "The sewage has been poured on you. There is no point in talking to the person who poured the sewage on you. You have to find a way to prove it to the fake ones."
The lady fell silent.
This is indeed an extremely simple truth.
Everyone knows that today's Xuexuyuan is different from the rest of the false capital. They exist independently from the false capital. Their attitude can be seen from some things this winter.
Even the witch and ghost courtyard in the courtyard does not follow the same path as the witch and ghost path in the human world.
The goddess has returned to the world, and many people are still waiting to watch, but it is obvious that the attitude in Xuansheyuan is clear rejection.
So whether it's sending a cart of bacon or a cart of money, in the final analysis, it's all sewage thrown at Jing Zhaoyin.
Moreover, Jing Zhaoyin couldn't hide from this sewage. The people from Qingniuyuan brought swords and gave gifts, so they couldn't hide.
Even if the world knew that Jing Zhaoyin had to be taken in, they still began to have doubts about whether this Si Ya was already on the opposite side of the goddess.
The three princes have been abolished, and the remaining nine divisions still remain silent.
At least in today's Huangliang, the attitude on the face of it is still to favor the reappearance of the witches, ghosts and gods.
The two were silent in the study for a long time.
"how to prove?"
"Go to the palace and ask to see the goddess." Jing Zhaoyin said softly, "But..."
But asking to see the goddess wash away the sewage poured from the Xuansheyuan means that Jing Zhaoyin is completely on the side of the goddess.
Being on the side of the goddess is not necessarily a bad thing, and being on the side of Xuanxuyuan is not necessarily a good thing.
It's just that in the current world, no one who truly understands the gap between Huaian and Huangliang would want to jump out and take the initiative to make such a choice.
Being on the side of the goddess means that we will face the majesty of the north in the future.
This is the first winter day that the world has truly heard of the goddess.
As for your Majesty in the north, they have heard about it for a thousand years.
So it's a dilemma.
The two were silent for a long time again.
Jing Zhaoyin said softly: "Please ask someone to go to the workshop again and pay a visit to the Lords of Jiu Si."
The lady took a deep breath and said, "Are you going to drag Jiu Si into the water?"
Jing Zhaoyin sighed and said: "We can only try our best to struggle. If they already know about the bacon, they may not be willing to open the door."
The lady said softly: "Okay."
So he hurried out with the basin of cold water.
The door of the study room was closed, and the sky outside the window was dark, with only the fire emitting some light not far away.
There were some sounds outside the door.
"If you go to places like Fengchang Mansion and Dianke Mansion, your behavior will be a bit suspicious."
"Do you want others to see it?"
"If you want others to see your behavior suspicious, it's best to make people suspect that you have something going on."
"..."
Jing Zhaoyin sat at the table with a frown on his face.
Although such a thing is very shameless.
But there is no way.
You can't offend Xuanxuyuan, nor can you offend the goddess.
You can only offend the people from Jiusi.
When this conscientious old man lived for the second half of his life, he thought he could retire peacefully, but in the end he encountered all these messy things.
Jing Zhaoyin gave a wry smile, then pulled out a piece of white paper from the side and pressed it on the table. He then brought an inkstone, poured some water, and began to rub the ink.
After everything was ready, Jing Zhaoyin stopped, put the pen aside, and quietly waited for the news from outside to come back.
If it is true that no one in Minghefang is open.
Then he could only write to Xuanxuyuan.
Between the goddess and the world.
There are always choices to be made.
