Cheng Lu carried his sword on his back and walked quietly through the snow-covered streets of Nanyi City, heading towards the tomb hill that had been the most iconic feature of Nanyi City for thousands of years.
During heavy snowfall, those green tombstones are covered by the snow. From a distance, they look like many cabbages that are buried under the snow but still have their heads sticking out.
The story of the South is probably often inseparable from the human world.
Or maybe the human story itself is inseparable from the human world.
Cheng Lu walked quietly in the snow, and the people around her hurriedly walked past holding umbrellas and shrinking their hands. Such a thinly dressed swordsman without holding an umbrella was naturally very eye-catching.
It's just that the people in Nanyi City are not curious enough to take a second look.
Of course, sword cultivators can dress extremely bulky and squeeze into the crowd like ordinary people.
But there are also people like Zhang Xiaoyu who like to act cool. Probably like what the white-clothed sword cultivator said to a young man under an umbrella later, the sword cultivator's way of showing off naturally goes a long way.
The human world is used to seeing sword cultivators acting like the common people, and the demon clan acting like the human beings. Naturally, they can also accept that sword cultivators act like sword cultivators, and the demon clan behaves like the demon clan.
Cheng Lu walked all the way to the tomb mountain without any hindrance.
As Cong Ren said, such an old man should be given the peace of dreaming on a snowy night, so Cheng Lu sat uneasily in a pool all night, and finally woke up from that early morning. Jianxiu learned the news that Bai Fengyu was actually at Tomb Mountain.
Cheng Lu stood quietly at the foot of the tomb mountain and looked up.
Although not long ago, he climbed this tomb mountain in April of the year 104 of the Gale Calendar.
But at that time, he didn't know that the former Qingtian Taoist Temple Master had stayed quietly in this tomb mountain for decades.
Therefore, time and history are probably things that are often stepped on.
The snow-covered rocks are the intersection of the new and the ancient.
Cheng Lu looked at it for a long time, then walked up the tomb hill, passing countless tombstones, and then stopped in front of a tombstone on the top of the mountain.
This location is probably really good.
Bai Fengyu is considered to be an extremely outstanding group of people in the entire thousand-year history of the human world.
So a certain tombstone on the top of the mountain is naturally a good choice.
Cheng Lu quietly looked at the green tombstone without a name. The green tombstone was covered with snow, like some stories that had long been silenced.
There are weeds growing crookedly in front of the monument. In the windy December of the year 1002, there was no such cup of wolfberry tea placed in front of the monument, nor was there a young man named Bei who wrote such an old saying here. person's name.
Everything was quiet and nothing seemed to be disturbed.
Cheng Lu looked there for a long time, then bent down, reached out and swept away the snow on the tombstone, and helped pull out some weeds.
This sword cultivator from Liuyun Sword Sect had a hard time imagining how a person could live in a dark tomb without seeing the light of day for so many years. Although sometimes the sword cultivators of the Liuyun Sword Sect would feel that the Liuyun Mountain Range was actually like a tomb covered with snow on the top.
But the flowing clouds are just flowing clouds.
The grave is the grave.
After cleaning up the tombstones in the heavy snow, the sword cultivator stood up straight and bowed with his sword.
"Junior Cheng Lu, please meet the old temple master."
The world is very lively and very peaceful.
When some distant noises passed through the wind and snow and fell towards the tomb mountain, they calmed down with a sense of remoteness.
It was a kind of reassuring excitement.
The excitement in the world often represents a peaceful world.
The opposite is still true.
Cheng Lu lowered his head slightly, holding on to the sword, maintaining that saluting posture, letting the wind and snow fall under the black clothes, freezing the exposed skin.
But such a respectful gesture from a sword cultivator did not receive any response.
The green tombstone is like an old but stubborn green door. No matter what, it is unwilling to sweep away the moss and open something.
Cheng Lu stood there quietly.
Cong Ren didn't tell him how to get such an old Taoist to come out.
Just like Cong Xin didn't tell him how to get the goddess to send him back.
So Cheng Lu had to figure it out on her own.
Cheng Lu raised her head and looked quietly at the old Taoist who occupied the magpie's nest, recalling the records of the story of such an old Taoist in the Liuyun Sword Sect in her memory.
Of course some people are paranoid and cannot be reasoned with.
What's more, Cheng Lu probably doesn't know any principles or etiquette.
So the swordsman in black stood in the snow for a long time, then pulled out the sword in his hand, only to quickly put it back into the sheath - naturally not because Cheng Lu thought it was inappropriate.
It's just because the sword in his hand is not Cheng Lu's sword, but the sword of young Hu Lu.
So Cheng Lu reached behind her and pulled out another broken sword.
Four feet of separation, even if it is broken, is still the same as the world.
When the black-clothed swordsman held the hilt of the Juli sword, a trace of determination and guilt flashed in his eyes.
"Sorry, senior."
There are some things that naturally have to be disturbed.
Even if this is the last peace of an old man of nearly a hundred years.
The wind and snow stirred, and the sword whistled softly.
The Jue Li was pulled out of its sheath, and then raised above his head by the black-clothed swordsman, like an unreasonable lunatic, he struck straight at the green tombstone.
It's just that Jueli didn't fall on the tombstone.
It’s not that I don’t want to fall, it’s that I can’t fall.
A monument of wind and snow turned into a monument of wind and rain.
Such an old Taoist appeared in front of Cheng Lu with an indifferent expression, holding the Taoist secret in his hand, pulling all kinds of wind and rain, and curbing the tendency of the sword to fall. The old Taoist waved his hand in front of him, and Cheng Lu and his sword rolled down the tomb mountain. They didn't stop until they hit a tombstone below.
Cheng Lu was not surprised, she just wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, then stood up with her sword in hand, stood next to the tombstone below, looked up at the old Taoist standing in the wind, rain, and snow, and saluted with his sword.
"Junior Cheng Lu, I have met my senior."
Bai Fengyu stood there quietly, looking at the Jue Li in Cheng Lu's hand.
This is probably the reason why Cheng Lu doesn't use the Sword of Youth.
Naturally, even Bai Fengyu couldn't ignore the decisive sword strike.
What's more, this sword was made by Cheng Lu from Liuyun Sword Sect.
"Mo Jian Ya Jue Li, it seems you are from the Liuyun Sword Sect."
Jueli is naturally the sword of Mojian Cliff, but just like Fangcun Lingtai is also the sword of Mojian Cliff. With such a high cliff, it has long since ceased to care about the whereabouts of the swords of Jianya Cliff.
It was natural that Bai Fengyu had not heard of Cheng Lu's name.
When such an old Taoist came to Nanyi City, even Chen Huaifeng was only twelve years old when he first entered the Sword Sect, and Cheng Lu was probably only about four years old.
If you've heard of it, that's something you shouldn't do.
"Cheng Lu, Liuyun Sword Sect."
The black-clothed swordsman said softly.
"Master, Chen Yunxi."
When he heard the words "Chen Yunxi", the old Taoist who originally looked indifferent also had a look of surprise in his eyes.
He really never thought that this young man who suddenly found Tomb Mountain for some reason would be such a disciple of the ancient sword cultivator.
Bai Fengyu looked at the sword cultivator quietly for a long time, and then said slowly: "Did Chen Yunxi ask you to come to me?"
Cheng Lu shook her head, held her sword and stood respectfully behind the Snow Monument, and said softly, "It's Senior Cong Ren."
Bai Fengyu narrowed his eyes.
Probably compared to the former, the latter name can make such a Taoist feel more uneasy.
After a long silence, the Taoist gathered his wind and rain charm, turned around and headed towards the top of the tomb mountain.
There was a snowstorm on the mountain, and the Taoist figure looked a little thin and frail.
Cheng Lu stood there and calmed down a little, then sheathed her sword and followed the old Taoist to the top of the mountain.
In the entire Nanyi City, probably the place where you can best see such a sword sect is the tomb mountain in the city.
When Cheng Lu walked up through the wind and snow, the old Taoist stood there silently, looking at the peaceful place to the north of Nanyi City, where even the sound of playing cards was suppressed by the wind and snow in the Jianzong Garden.
"tell me the story."
Bai Fengyu suddenly spoke.
Cheng Lu stood there at a loss.
The old Taoist glanced back at the short-haired swordsman in black, then turned back.
"I'm curious about what kind of story it was that Cong Ren asked you to come to me."
Cheng Lu did not tell such a story, but looked at the Taoist's back for a long time, and then said softly: "What if my master asked me to come to you?"
Bai Fengyu stood there quietly, with a lot of heavy-looking snow on his thin and old shoulders.
After a long time, the veteran Taoist said very calmly: "Do you think I have many shady connections with your master?"
"I don't dare." Cheng Lu said softly. "It's just that sometimes it's inevitable that there will be some very weird guesses."
This sword cultivator's attitude was very respectful, which was different from someone like Cong Ren.
Not everyone is easy to talk to.
And although Bai Fengyu didn't live as long as Cong Ren, in terms of affinity with the world, he was naturally not as good as Cong Ren, a sword cultivator from a thousand years ago.
Even if people in the world occasionally think of Bai Fengyu, they will think that it is an ancient story.
As for the other, more ancient sword cultivator, the world thought that he was a person from the current generation - a person who slept late in the current generation.
Of course Cheng Lu thought the same way.
Cong Ren is so close, but Bai Fengyu is so far away.
Things like closeness and distance are natural and human.
Bai Fengyu stood there quietly, and then said lightly: "I may know what you want to ask."
Cheng Lu stood silently on the top of the mountain.
The old Taoist in the wind and snow raised his head, looked at the world from a distance, and then said softly: "It's just..."
He looked back at Cheng Lu and spoke slowly.
"Back then, Cong Ren cut off my heart with a sword. This also means that my life is coming to an end. Maybe this year, maybe next year, I will go to the River Styx."
Bai Fengyu looked at Liuyun Sword Cultivator quietly. The latter frowned, but he seemed to understand what Bai Fengyu meant.
People with three views in the world today are all disciples of Bai Fengyu.
It is the divination operator, and those heaven and earth hexagram techniques all come from such an old Taoist.
How could Bai Fengyu not see that such a sword cultivator was not someone with a thousand and two years of experience in Dafeng?
So the old Taoist's meaning is very obvious.
Maybe there will be many complicated stories happening in the future.
This makes you eager to find some answers.
It’s just Cheng Lu.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Bai Fengyu said lightly, turning his head again and looking at the world covered with heavy snow.
Cheng Lu stood there silently, and then said softly: "Senior, do you drink?"
Bai Fengyu stood in the wind and snow, raised his eyebrows, looked at the Jianzong Garden from a distance, and said lightly: "If you can bring some wine, you can indeed drink it. Just drinking your wine does not mean that I agree with you. request."
Cheng Lu chuckled softly, turned around and walked down the tomb mountain, saying, "I understand, I just want to treat my senior to a drink to express my apology for interrupting so rashly."
The Liuyun sword cultivator gradually disappeared into the wind and snow on Tomb Mountain.
Bai Fengyu had been looking at Nanyi City for a long time, and then sat down quietly in the snow on a mountain.
Liuyun Jianxiu, who went to buy wine, spent a long time before finally walking back from the tomb mountain path, passing through countless green tombstones covered with snow.
Bai Fengyu was probably a little confused when he heard the slow sound of stepping on the snow behind him.
"You've been gone a long time."
Cheng Lu's voice came not far away, and then stopped next to Bai Fengyu.
"Because I bought some other things."
Bai Fengyu sat there for a long time, and then slowly turned his head.
Cheng Lu, dressed in snowy clothes, stood there with a jar of wine in his arms - Bai Fengyu's eyes glanced over the jar of wine and fell into Cheng Lu's hands.
The old Taoist's pupils shrank clearly.
Cheng Lu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the old Taoist's reaction. Then he placed the jar of wine in front of Bai Fengyu, and at the same time handed over the thing in his hand - it was a branch. Candied haws.
The old Taoist didn't take it, he just raised his head, squinted his eyes, and looked at the young swordsman who handed the candied haws to him very respectfully and sincerely.
The two of them remained in a stalemate on the top of Tomb Mountain for a long time.
But when Bai Fengyu stretched out his hand after a long silence and planned to take the candied haws, Cheng Lu retracted his hand and stood up straight next to the old Taoist. Just like the old Taoist before, he looked towards That Jianzong garden in the wind and snow.
"Before coming here, I actually asked Senior Cong Ren - what should I do if Senior Bai doesn't want to tell me something?"
Cheng Lu looked down at the candied haws in her hand, smiled softly, and said, "Senior Cong Ren thought about it and told me that the first time he saw you, you were in Nanyi City and took out a penny from the sole of your shoe. With the money, I bought a stick of candied haws and ate it in small bites."
"Senior also knows that Liuyun Sword Sect has nothing else. It has never been outstanding in the two thousand years of human history. The only advantage is that it has a long history."
"It's older than Hangu Temple."
Cheng Lu said softly.
"Liuyun Sword Sect is not as good as the Human Sword Sect, not as good as Mojianya. In the tide of history, it may not even be able to compare with the former Qingtian Dao. But such a Sword Sect is a kind of history in itself."
Cheng Lu's soft voice ended here, and then turned into a very calm tone.
"So we'll probably know a little bit more, too."
"Senior, the reason why you started practicing Buddhism back then was because your family was too poor to survive, so your father sent you to Taoism. But no one thought that such a child who came out of poverty would become that kind of person. The most dazzling existence in a hundred years.”
Bai Fengyu fell silent, perhaps remembering that many years ago, his father took out the last penny from his pocket and bought himself a candied haws, and the two never saw each other again.
Of course Cheng Lu would not be stupid enough to tell everything.
For some things, it is best to say half of it and leave the other half.
"You have also been passionately committed to making the world a better place." Cheng Lu said softly, but suddenly remembered the words of the goddess Yao Ji. "As one of your disciples said, people who come out of the mud will know more clearly what they want."
"Perhaps becoming an immortal is indeed a good choice."
"It's just that such a path is unproven and everything is uncertain, but the seniors are in a hurry and can't wait to take everything into it."
"So someone dashed your hopes and extinguished your enthusiasm..."
There is certainly regret in the world, and this matter has nothing to do with the wind and the moon.
Bai Fengyu sat on the top of the snowy mountain for a long time, looking at the world from a distance, but there were many turbid things in his eyes, like some large lake with no living water, where dust and fallen leaves were accumulated day by day, so it became chaotic and changed. Gotta hate it.
The old Taoist reached out and picked up the wine jar beside him, brought it to his lips and took a big sip, and then said softly: "Yes."
Cheng Lu held the candied haws that gradually took on the color of snow and seemed to be richer and sweeter, and looked at the Jianzong garden quietly.
"I was also in a hurry. Last night, I wanted to come to see senior, but senior Cong Ren rejected me. If I am not mistaken, there is actually a very deep look in the eyes of such a swordsman in white. Guilt.”
Bai Fengyu drank wine and said calmly and calmly: "I can also see that he likes me, a Taoist with outstanding talents."
The Taoist's words gradually increased.
"When I was young, when I was twenty years old, I came to Nanyi City for the first time and saw such a thousand-year-old sword cultivator, I could see from his eyes that sometimes flashed with brilliance. , seeing those things.”
"He should feel that I look very much like him when he was younger."
So my heart and eyes are full of shadows from my youth.
The old Taoist said softly, sitting in the snow and drinking heavily.
Wine naturally gets warmer the more you drink it, but that's just an illusion.
People will be deceived by the warmth, so they will lie in the snow until they freeze to death.
Bai Fengyu looked down at the wine jar in his hand, thought quietly for a long time, and then said softly: "Actually, there are many things that the world is unwilling to admit, but they are like extremely cruel truths."
Cheng Lu turned around and looked at the old Taoist quietly and asked, "For example?"
"For example, maybe I was really wrong back then - just like you said, I walked out of the mud. I was eager to pull everything out of the mud, so I acted too hastily, so I was stubborn and unrepentant."
Bai Fengyu quietly looked at the wind and snow in the world.
It’s the same whether it’s wind, rain or snow.
All should exist.
But sometimes it happens too suddenly and it becomes a disaster.
A branch of candied haws was brought to the Taoist.
"Everything goes well, senior." Cheng Lu said seriously.
"What does it matter if you are loyal to the human world again?"
