Hu Lu sat quietly by the river in Nanyi City.
Zhao Gaoxing was not there. The young man didn't know where he had gone. Perhaps he was sitting there sadly, wondering about his fate.
Jiang Hehai, the only senior brother in the Sword Sect, was buying some things on the street in the distance.
Cong Xin came back and turned into that little girl again, staying quietly by the pool without saying anything.
Jiang Hehai was a little helpless. It was never his turn to worry about these things in the past.
But among the current Sword Sect, apart from Cong Xin, there are only him and Hu Lu.
After all, as a senior brother, it is impossible to throw everything to Hu Lu.
As the war progressed northward, Nanyi City became quiet.
But it's not the peace of the past.
Just a kind of lonely silence.
It's like spring has passed, and all the lush flowers have faded, leaving only some flowers with a long flowering period that continue to bloom alone.
So it became a lonely mood.
Hu Lu sat there for a long time, and Jiang Hehai came over hesitantly with some things.
"You said this, would Cong Xin like it?"
The boy by the river turned his head and looked at the gadget in Jiang Hehai's hand. It was a clay painting doll with an outrageous aesthetic.
Even Hu Lu found it ugly, probably not to mention Cong Xin.
So Hu Lu watched silently for a long time, then raised his head and looked at his seventh-level senior brother very carefully.
The young man was probably very curious as to what kind of aesthetic Jiang Hehai had in mind when he chose such a thing and planned to use it to please the little girl under the peach tree.
Even if some things are not said, they are still clear.
If you like someone, it will come out of your eyes, if you hate something, it will show in the twitching muscles of the face.
Although Hu Lu didn't say anything, when Jiang Hehai saw this young man's look, he melancholy took the thing and returned to the street.
In fact, probably the best way is to buy some sugar and oil cakes.
But last winter, the old man never came to set up the frying pan outside Jianzong again.
Perhaps it is just as Jiang Ye and Mei Quming guessed.
People who have lived for hundreds of years always disappear quietly.
Jiang Hehai returned the clay doll to the roadside vendor who had been selling gadgets in Nanyi City for many years. He returned to Hu Lu, thought about it quietly for a long time, and then said, "What if you want to buy one?" Would Cong Xin like this machine bird made of wood?"
Hu Lu thinks this idea is not bad.
He had seen that kind of machine bird in Nanyi City.
It's just that as a swordsman, he can't fight for such things with those children who are still running noses.
Therefore, Hu Lu had never bought a gadget that was rarely made.
"It's a pity that many of the shops selling these things are closed."
Jiang Hehai sighed.
Although the mutiny in Nanyi City did not kill those people, it was just that in the chaos, this ancient city naturally lost a large number of people.
Like a flower withered.
Like leaves falling.
Only a bare old tree was left, hanging quietly on the edge of the swamp.
The two Sword Sect disciples were quietly thinking about how to make Cong Xin happy with something like this.
About war, about rebellion, about goddesses.
No one mentioned the many things in the human world.
No one spoke first about the Jianzong brothers who left the south and went to Huaido.
Not to mention a certain thousand-year-old sword cultivator who once slept on the bridge.
There are some things that everyone accepts with utmost sincerity.
Understand that the story is irreversible and cannot be repeated.
Like running water.
Just like the years.
Jiang Hehai sat there for a long time, and then walked toward the lonely and quiet streets of Nanyi City with his sword in his arms full of melancholy.
"I'll go shopping again, maybe I can find something."
Hu Lu looked back at the senior brother's back.
In fact, this young man really wanted to say something like - Stop looking, I can't find it, what are you still thinking about?
It's something that even a young man can understand, so how could Jiang Hehai not understand it?
Nothing in the world would make that little peach blossom demon happy.
It’s just that teenagers are not the only ones who can dream.
The disciple of the Sword Sect named Jiang Hehai sometimes has dreams.
For example, when he woke up one morning, he saw Chen Huaifeng standing in the Sanchi Pavilion waiting for him. He told him that Zhang Xiaoyu went crazy playing cards last night and had not come back yet. The master asked him to go look for him so that he would not lose everything by then. Qian was caught cheating and he lost the Jianzong's face.
Just a simple reverie.
But it includes all the years that once existed, but now have no trace left.
The sword sect is empty.
Where have all those people gone?
Hu Lu looked at it for a long time, then turned back.
Look at the big river quietly.
Not only Jian Zong, but also the Nanyi River.
There have been many stories on the river.
But that’s gone now.
Like some dream bubble.
Like dew and like electricity.
It was difficult for the boy not to think about it.
If, if the story in that dream was true...
Hu Lu sat there quietly.
In the afternoon, a lot of sunlight was quietly falling on the Nanyi River, and the water was slowly flowing downstream amid the sparkling waves.
There are occasionally some boats on the river.
After all, there are still some people in Nanyi City.
Those boats floated so quietly amidst all the unrealistic fantasies of that boy.
So Hu Lu saw such a small boat floating over in the sparkling sun.
But the one sitting at the head of the boat is not Shushu, but Qingqing.
A little kingfisher.
That little mouse demon's best friend.
Qingqing's face no longer has the smile of Qingqing like a bird returning in the spring breeze.
Very calm, very dull.
He stood quietly at the bow of the boat and swayed along with the boat.
"I heard something happened in Nanyi City, and I'm a little worried about Shushu."
As Qingqing said this, she lowered her head and looked at the river and the boat that were undulating like fate.
The little kingfisher looked at it for a long time before saying softly: "But I never thought that something had happened to her long before the accident in Nanyi City."
You can know such a story by just asking anyone in Nanyi City.
Hu Lu didn't say anything, but calmly took off the sword from behind, pulled it out, and threw it to the head of the boat, where it was nailed and dangling.
"You can also strike with a sword."
Qingqing did not pull out the sword, but just stood there quietly and spoke in a very mocking tone.
"People from the Sword Sect don't know other principles besides swords?"
Maybe so.
The Sword Sect has stood too high and lived too well in the past thousand years.
Even if he walks around the world all day long and encounters many things, he still draws his sword out of habit.
They may believe that the truth on the sword can solve everything.
But the sound of drawing the sword was cold and emotionless.
The person who draws the sword will not feel the pain of having his flesh and blood cut open when the sword is unsheathed.
Hu Lu was silent for a long time, and then said softly: "Maybe so."
The boy sat on the guardrail and looked up at the sky.
"We sometimes talk about things that are not practical, but we often use the sword in our hands to solve problems."
"We always feel that we should be right. Even if we do something wrong, it is excusable."
"The world may win us with words, but without swords in their hands, they often remain silent."
"Just like the night I killed Shushu, my senior brother came to the Nanyi River with his sword and sincerely spoke high-sounding but useless words, such as promises, right and wrong, and what if the world thinks If you are dissatisfied, you can draw your sword against Jian Zong."
Hu Lu said very calmly.
"But in fact, the people in Nanyi City did not use their swords against Jian Zong until the end."
"It's like, if my master did something wrong and left Fang Cun to the world, saying that if you think I'm wrong, you can kill me with a sword."
"Of course, he was really killed by the disciple who was wearing white clothes like him."
"But what about the world?"
"Do they really have the courage to draw their swords out of their sheaths and say coldly, "My sword is not bad at all?"
Hu Lu lowered his head as he spoke and looked quietly at the little kingfisher demon in front of him.
"Just like you are now, maybe you are seriously sarcastic that the Sword Sect can only use the sword to reason."
"But from a certain perspective, doesn't it mean that you don't have the courage to draw the sword?"
"You think you can't kill me, you think it's useless, just like everyone thinks when facing Jian Zong."
"Instead of drawing your sword and stabbing with no results, it is better to stand with a frown and sneer."
Qingqing looked deeply at this young man for a long time.
After experiencing certain stories, the young man who once walked around the world in ignorance also died.
After a long silence, the calm voice of the little human demon girl rang out from the river bank illuminated by the warm sun.
"So a place like Jian Zong will never end well."
Hu Lu just said calmly: "We have no good ending."
The Human Sword Sect, which once boasted of looking after the world, has become a rebel.
Became the source of rebellion in the South.
The two looked at each other for a long time.
Qingqing pulled out the sword from the boat's head and threw it back to the shore, and the boat slowly drifted away.
Hu Lu quietly watched such a girl come and go quietly.
Then he bent down and picked up the sword that was thrown by the river.
When the boy stood up straight, he stood there for a long time, looking upstream from the river bank.
A black-clothed swordsman carrying a famous broken sword on his back was walking slowly.
Hu Lu very quietly looked at the young swordsman who was once as famous as one of his senior brothers in white, and bowed calmly while holding the sword.
"Meet Senior Brother Cheng."
Cheng Lu looked at the young man by the river with a complicated expression.
From the top of the head to the soles of the feet.
Just looking around.
This twenty-five-year-old swordsman could never look like that fourteen-year-old boy.
Of course, this is the matter of the Human Sword Sect. He is a member of the Liuyun Sword Sect, so naturally he will not be so enthusiastic about looking for many reasons.
"I want to visit the Sword Sect."
Cheng Lu said straightforwardly.
Cheng Lu and Hu Lu were naturally not swordsmen of the same generation. When Cheng Lu became famous, Hu Lu was probably just a kid from the south who whittled a wooden sword and pretended to be a peerless swordsman.
If Cheng Lu likes playing cards, the two may have some intersection.
It's just that Cheng Lu doesn't like playing cards.
The Liuyun Sword Sect does not have a card-playing culture like that in Nanyi City.
Hu Lu suddenly remembered that in March last year, a man named Gongzi Wubei was walking in Nanyi City like this.
He said he wanted to see something.
Hu Lu threatened him very sincerely at that time - if you mess around, I will go to my master and file a complaint.
It's just that now this young boy no longer has a master.
His master died in the East China Sea.
So for many things, he needs to investigate the causes and inquire about the cause and effect.
"Why?"
Hu Lu stood under the tree by the river with her sword in her arms, looking at the sword cultivator in black seriously.
Cheng Lu said calmly: "There may be many things hidden in the human sword sect that have been ignored in the past. I need to find some answers from them."
"what is the answer?"
"If I could tell you, then what am I doing standing here?"
Cheng Lu's words were very calm, and there was no contempt for him. Instead, he talked to the young man in front of him as an equal being.
Hu Lu was silent for a long time, and then said slowly: "Is it related to Zhang Xiaoyu, or is it related to my master?"
Even though the Liuyun Sword Sect is now in chaos, for a sword cultivator like this, the answer he wants to find in the Sword Sect will naturally only be related to these two people.
Cheng Lu quietly thought about some of the things she saw in the diary, and said calmly: "Maybe."
Hu Lu was silent for a long time, and then said, "I can agree, but maybe Cong Xin won't."
Cheng Lu said softly: "It doesn't matter, you take me to see her."
The young man said nothing more, holding his sword and walking under the April sky, passing through those long bluestone streets that were very lonely in the world.
The stone slabs are either cyan or black, as dark as a pool of still water.
There is a lot of blood in the gap.
Those were the traces of blood that once dripped from the lantern.
Rain and river water brought up by the world have washed it away, but those streets and alleys are no longer what they used to be.
War may be short and fleeting.
But the stories left behind will slowly fade away over many years.
Cheng Lu walked quietly behind the young man, looking at the young man's back and at the power that seemed to be slowly flowing in such an ancient city.
"Nanyi City seems to be very close to the Styx River."
Cheng Lu said slowly.
The young man stopped in front.
Turning around and looking south.
Nanyi City is naturally very close to the Styx River.
After walking out of such an ancient city and standing on the edge of the large swamp, you can see the tail of the Styx River falling from a mountain more than 2,000 feet to the world.
But this is not the reason why the power that should belong to Huangliang flows in the city.
"We're not very close to the River Styx."
Hu Lu said softly: "We are very close to the goddess."
Cheng Lu quietly looked at the light overflowing in the long streets.
"How close."
Hu Lu turned his head and said slowly: "The distance from the Human Sword Sect to the Xuansheyuan."
This is the distance between humans and gods and ghosts today.
Cheng Lu was silent for a long time, and then continued to move forward.
Hu Lu said nothing more.
The two of them walked all the way to Jianzong in the north of the city.
The door of Jianzong is open.
It was as if some of the wind from the human world had to be blown in to make such a peaceful Jianzong garden lively again.
But the sounds of those playing mahjong are already very far away.
As far away as if we were no longer in the same world.
Hu Lu sometimes thinks, if when a certain boy knocked on the door, she did not ask him if he knew how to play cards, but let him walk in directly, would the story be different?
Maybe so.
Some stories may not change, but some will.
Hu Lu stopped at the door of Jian Zong and sat down on the steps without walking in, just like in the past days.
"Go in, you should know where Yichi is, Cong Xin is in Yichi."
Cheng Lu nodded, passed the young man sitting on the steps illuminated by ordinary sunlight, and walked into the Sword Sect.
...
Cong Xin no longer plays on the swing. The swing under the tree house has fallen a lot of peach blossoms and leaves.
The peach demon, who had transformed into a little girl again, sat quietly on the bridge of a pond, just like Cong Ren did back then.
Just like the laughter in the bush.
Cong Xin is looking at the peach blossoms.
Those peach blossoms fell quietly into a pond and bloomed like this for a thousand years.
When Cheng Lu walked through the paths filled with peach blossoms, Cong Xin didn't seem to notice.
I just leaned against the guardrail of the small bridge and sat for a long time.
Cheng Lu didn't speak, she just stood there quietly, looking at the little girl in a small skirt.
The story of Cong Xin and the Human Sword Sect is probably not a secret among these great cultivation places in the human world.
It’s just the world that doesn’t know.
Cheng Lu looked at it quietly for a long time, and then said softly: "Did you bring anything back from the East China Sea?"
The little girl on the bridge looked at the sword cultivator from Liuyun Sword Sect. She looked at him for a long time and then said softly: "There are some ashes."
Some ashes brought back by an emperor from 490,000 miles away from the East China Sea.
In a sense, Cong Xin should probably thank Kamigawa.
The place where Cong Zhong laughed to death was too far away. If it were Cong Xin, even if she had borrowed Qing Xiang's Feixian, she would not have been able to cross such a long distance to find those things.
Laughing in the bush, this is a name that was once known as Chen Yunxi.
This is probably the only connection between the sword cultivator of Liuyun Sword Sect and such a sword sect.
Cheng Lu stood there in silence, perhaps also not knowing what to say when faced with such a story.
Of course there is a lot that can be said.
What suits one's identity is usually silence or sighing, or saying something innocuous.
Of course Cong Xin also knew, so he did not continue the topic.
This little girl was sitting on the peach-blossomed creek bridge, just like the true master of the sword sect. She calmed down a bit and looked at the short-haired sword cultivator in black with great calmness.
"Why did you come to the Human Sword Sect?"
Cheng Lu did not answer the question, but looked at the woman who had returned from the East China Sea for a long time, and then said softly: "I suddenly want to ask you a question."
Cong Xin looked at him for a long time, then turned to look at the clear stream under the bridge. For some reason, she suddenly remembered that there was a young swordsman in white sitting here spitting blood from his mouth, and she said she wanted to find it. The story of Cong Ren’s complaint.
Sometimes there are no memories in the world.
Sometimes the world is full of the past.
"what is the problem?"
Cheng Lu looked deeply at the peach demon on the bridge.
"Back in the East China Sea, you should have been able to kill Zhang Xiaoyu."
