The last drop of rain fell from the sky and fell on the green tiles of the deserted courtyard. It slid down the old moss-covered eaves, stopped for a moment on the corner of the eaves, and then fell to the ground.
Snap.
Like hitting the last note of the rainy night movement, everything returned to silence.
Autumn is a season when all things wither.
The autumn wind is cold and the autumn rain is even colder.
"Sister, Little Peach Blossom has disappeared..."
The woman wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her sister with tearful eyes.
She is a two-hundred-year-old fox demon. She never remembers when she started hiding in this deserted house to practice. It is very quiet here. Apart from her sister, there is only one person - the woman under the peach blossom tree.
The woman's soul was attached to the peach tree after her death, and she developed some strange abilities over time.
Xiao Taohua was the name given to her by the fox demon. Although the latter didn't like it, he never refuted it.
Sometimes when she made her sister angry, she would secretly run to Xiao Taohua to hide, waiting until her sister's anger subsided before going back.
Little Taohua is her only friend.
"Sister, don't be sad..."
The fox demon woman with a tear mole in the corner of her eye gently wiped the tears on her sister's face. This was the first time she saw such a sad look on her unruly and willful sister's face.
"The reason why her resentment persists is that she was too obsessed with it when she died... Even after she died, she still hoped that someone would come to save her, so that's why what happened today."
The woman with the tear stain stared at the dark clouds gradually dispersing outside the window.
"Now that her resentment is gone and her soul can enter reincarnation, you should be happy for her."
"Happy? But I will never see her again..."
The woman with the tear mark didn't speak any more. She just stretched out her hand to caress the top of her sister's head, and the latter rested her head on her sister's body.
…
Dark underwater.
The bubble where Xia Zhichan was located had been shrouded in a thin layer of blood mist, and only a humanoid figure dripping with blood could be seen inside.
"Kid, are you still alive?"
The dragon corpse raised his head, looked at the bubble that had been silent for a long time, and asked worriedly.
"If you die, my three hundred years of waiting will be in vain... Yan Chixia probably didn't lie to me..."
puff!
That was the sound of a blister bursting.
Xia Zhichan's figure was wrapped in the surging cold water, but it did not get any of his clothes wet. If you look closely, you will find that his whole body is filled with invisible sword energy, and the water is blocked when it is a finger away from his skin.
He slowly opened his eyes, and the golden halo on his pupils became brighter and brighter.
"You just admitted that it was Yan Chixia who asked you to wait for me here?"
"Well……"
Realizing that he had spilled the beans in a moment of impatience, Dragon Corpse shook his beard in embarrassment before continuing:
"What did I say just now? Did you hear it wrong?"
"oh?"
Xia Zhichan pointed her fingers together into a sword and waved her right hand downward gently.
Invisible sword energy surged out, splitting the water in front of him, and the sword energy rushed straight towards the dragon corpse underground.
Bang!
The condensed sword energy struck the scales of the dragon corpse, and sparks appeared under the water.
"Huh? This sword energy..."
This sword energy struck the dragon corpse with about the same force as a three-year-old child's fist. To him, it was no different from scratching an itch.
But he felt a familiar feeling from this sword energy.
"Small results."
Xia Zhichan felt the condensed sword energy lying quietly in his sea of energy, and countless invisible sword energy belonging to Xia Zhichan were spinning around it.
Those sword energies formed a huge whirlwind, and the condensed sword energy from the immortal was at the center of the whirlwind.
When the invisible sword energy collides with the condensed sword energy, a little sword energy will be extracted from the latter and blended into Xia Zhichan's sea of energy. This small amount is roughly like scooping up a ladle of water from a vast ocean.
Xia Zhichan used the stupidest but most effective method to polish and digest the condensed sword energy.
Water drops penetrate a stone, and one day he will be able to completely absorb this sword energy.
"Okay, it's all said and done, you can go."
The dragon corpse breathed out.
A column of water spun and rushed out from below, hitting Xia Zhichan directly and blowing him up like a leaf.
"you!"
Xia Zhichan didn't even have time to react before he felt a huge impact rolling him up from the bottom up.
In the water column, he kept spinning like a top.
Bang!
The green brick well made a few gurgling sounds, and then a column of water gushes out.
Snapped!
The water column burst in mid-air, and Xia Zhichan's body spun like a kite whose string was broken by the strong wind, flying into the sky with the sound of breaking wind.
"Ugh, this damn old dragon..."
Xia Zhichan opened her eyes and saw the clear blue sky after the dark clouds gradually dispersed and the rising sun on the horizon.
He had a great sense of dizziness and vomiting due to the violent rotation. He had perseverance even if he didn't actually vomit.
Swish——
Accompanied by the colder autumn wind after the rain, Xia Zhichan's figure fell from the sky, and he finally stood still.
"It's Yan Chixia again..."
Xia Zhichan muttered and walked out of the backyard.
…
"Lord Lingguan."
The woman with the tear mark lowered her eyebrows and bowed in salute, while the younger sister behind her pouted and made a face for Xia Zhichan.
"I'm leaving, my friend..."
"He is already waiting for you at the door."
The tearful woman smiled softly and made a gesture of invitation to Xia Zhichan.
Xia Zhichan shook her sleeves and walked out of this seemingly magnificent mansion.
When he stepped out of the door, the house behind him instantly fell into ruin. The brand-new blue bricks became damaged, the beast-swallowing knocker on the door also rotted in an instant, and the vermilion door also turned dark.
"Hmm...why did I get out?"
The moment Nan Er was in a trance, the scenery in front of him changed. The dead trees in the small courtyard in front of him disappeared, leaving only the dark door that he could not open no matter what.
"Let's go, it's time to hurry up."
Xia Zhichan saw that their horses were tied aside, so she walked over and took off the reins of the horses, and said to Nan Er who was still standing at the door in a daze.
"Uh...okay."
Nan Er lowered his head. There were still a few dry and faded peach blossom petals in his palm.
This shows that what happened before is not a dream.
He took out his close-fitting purse from his arms, carefully put the fragile peach blossom petals in it, and then placed the purse close to his body.
The purse originally contained a strand of black hair, but now a few peach blossoms were added to it.
"where are we going?"
Nan Er got on his horse, tightened his luggage, and asked a little distractedly.
"Well……"
Xia Zhichan scratched his temples. He really had no destination. He was just looking for the fragments of the golden human head everywhere in the rivers and lakes. Most of the time, he just followed his feelings.
He thought for a while and asked:
"Where do you want to go now?"
Nan Er may not have been freed from an inexplicable sadness. Hearing Xia Zhichan's inquiry, he held the long knife in his hand and subconsciously said a place name:
"Jiangcheng."
Jiangcheng is the most prosperous city in the south of Da Qi. It is located at a bend of the river, with extremely developed water and land transportation. It is an important transportation center connecting the north and south of Daqi, and it is also the most prosperous place.
That... is also Nan Er's hometown.
A place where water and soil support a person. When a person is sad and confused, the first thing he thinks of must be the place where he grew up, that is, his hometown.
"Okay, then let's set off to Jiangcheng."
Xia Zhichan urged the horse under her seat, and Nan Er followed behind on horseback with a complicated mood.
Going to Jiangcheng is not that easy. The two of them now need to find a town, determine their location, and then arrange a route to Jiangcheng.
With their destination in mind, the two of them drove for several days, and finally found a townhouse. They stayed for a few days to rest, and then found out that the best way to get to Jiangcheng was to take a boat.
The two finally found a merchant ship heading to Jiangcheng and took a hitchhike.
…
Huh - the autumn wind blows on the river.
Standing on the deck of a merchant ship, facing the cold wind.
Nan Er has become more and more distracted these days. Sometimes he doesn't even hear Xia Zhichan calling his name.
"You've been...very strange these past few days."
Xia Zhichan held a red wine gourd, leaned on the side of the boat and drank sips of wine.
"No, it's just..."
Nan Er sat on the deck, stroking the black sheath of the long knife back and forth, listening to the sound of the autumn wind blowing the river water in his ears.
"Maybe it's because of the shyness of being close to home, and..."
He didn't tell Xia Zhichan about eating the little peach. He felt more and more sleepy these days, but he didn't feel any tiredness. On the contrary, he felt more energetic when dancing with the knife.
He didn't believe that the peach could hurt him.
"what else……"
Xia Zhichan stopped drinking. He blinked and looked at Nan Er in confusion. The latter seemed to have something to say, but he swallowed it again.
He didn't ask further. After all, no matter who he was, he had secrets that couldn't be told.
"You two brothers are so elegant... Why don't you invite me to join you, my younger brother?"
With that said, a white-faced young man in a brocade robe came out waving a paper fan, and came to the two of them with a smile on his face.
This rich man is the son of the wealthy businessman who chartered the ship. He is well-dressed and good-looking, but there is something wrong with his brain.
Xia Zhichan looked at the rich young man who was shivering in the cold autumn wind and still shaking the paper fan persistently, and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You two, sit alone on the bow of the boat at dusk, watching indifferently the beautiful scenery of 'the setting clouds and the solitary swans flying together, the autumn water forming the same color as the sky'..."
The rich man's surname is Qian, and his name is Qian Yiqian. He is a person who loves to read, but he does not read serious books by saints and sages, but likes to read some random books.
In his life, he loved to be arty and elegant. He often called friends to form poetry societies, and imitated the ancients in reciting poems and composing poems. Of course, the people he plays with are uneducated but good at flattering.
"Well, you two wise brothers went to Jiangcheng... because you want to see the 'River God Festival'. When our boat arrives in Jiangcheng, the time will be just right."
Qian Yiqian, a young man from a wealthy family, was an acquaintance of his own. No matter who he was, he could call him a good brother or a good brother. Even though the two people opposite him showed an aura of keeping strangers away from them, he still came over to get close to them.
"River God Festival?"
"Yes, we can just catch up with the River God Festival, which is the busiest day of the year in Jiang City. I heard that this River God, uh, seems..."
Qian Yiqian was looking for something to talk about, but he was so anxious that he couldn't remember the legend of the River God in Jiangcheng. After all, he had only heard a few words from others before.
"Jiangcheng has had a tradition of worshiping the River God since ancient times, and it has lasted for more than hundreds of years... Every September 13th to 15th is the time for the River God sacrifice, and the entire people of Jiangcheng will participate."
Nan Er stroked the weathered scabbard and said with recalling eyes.
"Oh, Brother Xian is so familiar with things in Jiangcheng. He must have been to Jiangcheng before..."
Qian Yiqian shook his paper fan. He didn't know whether it was because he was cold or on purpose, but he was shaking all over.
At this moment, an exquisite two-story flower boat suddenly sailed past, with several red lanterns already hung on it before nightfall.
From the attic on the flower boat, the delicate chirping of warblers and swallows came from the attic, which seemed to be accompanied by bursts of music.
With a creak, a small window opened from the side of the second floor.
There were several beautiful women looking over here, all with smiles on their brows and excitement in their eyes. They either use small round fans to cover half of their faces, or cover their faces with a thin veil, or cover their faces with wide-sleeved robes.
In short, only a pair of seductive eyes were revealed.
Either out of curiosity, out of admiration, or with some other meaning, they looked at the three young men on the bow opposite.
Cough cough cough.
Qian Yiqian quickly stood up straight, coughed a few times, and then looked at the empty river while shaking the paper fan in his hand, pretending to be an elegant poet reciting poetry.
He hopes to take this opportunity to get a kiss.
Nan Er, on the other hand, did not move, just put his hand on the handle of the knife, and then looked at Xia Zhichan, who was drinking alone as if there was no one around.
Xia Zhichan was actually a little surprised, but not at the sudden flower boat, but at Nan Er's reaction.
Many of Nan Er's actions showed that he had discovered something was wrong with the flower boat, but Nan Er's awareness should not have been able to detect it normally.
Xia Zhichan took another sip of wine. He gently shook his head under Nan Er's doubtful eyes and signaled the latter not to act rashly.
Ding--
A burst of resentful pipa music came from the attic of the flower boat. The rich young man Qian Yiqian seemed to be possessed by a man and wanted to walk to the flower boat.
Xia Zhichan then quietly signaled to Nan Er, made a few gestures with her fingers, and then pretended to be fascinated and followed Qian Yi Qiandu unsteadily.
Nan Er held the handle of the knife, he knew that on this flower boat...
There is a ghost.
