My first impression of Master was that he seemed to be a god.
Because in that fire that I thought was certain to die, at the moment before I fainted, I vaguely saw his figure coming leisurely from the sea of fire, and the flames that could destroy everything seemed to meet the eyes around him. The wind and snow seemed to be avoiding his body and not daring to touch his clothes. I was extremely shocked, thinking that this was a hallucination before death, because it is absolutely impossible for such a thing to happen to a mortal body.
In my confusion, I saw him coming to my eyes lightly. He bent down, as if he was carefully observing our two children.
His eyes are very bright.
I saw that he seemed to be smiling.
Then I fell unconscious.
When I opened my eyes again and regained consciousness in my mind, I thought I was dead.
But I saw no smoke or flames. I tried to breathe, but my chest still felt uncomfortable and my head was still dizzy. But the air I breathed was very fresh.
I felt physically sore and exhausted, which surprised me and proved that I was still alive.
I started to observe where I was, and it turned out to be a dilapidated mountain temple.
It should be dawn at this time, and there was already a faint light outside the dilapidated windows of the ruined temple. From time to time, cold wind poured in from the windows and blew on me, making me shiver.
I was surprised and puzzled as to why I was not burned to death in that fire.
Someone next to me suddenly let out a scream, and my heart tightened. I quickly turned around and saw a child.
Those memories of the recent past flashed through my mind, and it turned out that the child named Shen Shen was not dead either.
I was very happy. I grabbed his hand and said, "We are not dead, we are still alive."
Silence's expression was equally confused. He didn't know what was happening as much as I did. He looked at me and suddenly started vomiting.
Like me, he was physically weak after experiencing life and death.
"Two hours, I woke up pretty quickly."
Suddenly someone else spoke in the ruined temple, and we were all surprised.
I followed the sound and found a fire in a corner not far away. The fire only had sporadic firelight, so I didn't notice it when I woke up. And there seemed to be a person sitting next to the fire.
If it hadn't been for the sound, I never would have thought it was a person. Because that person has completely integrated into the environment of this ruined temple, at first glance, he would just be thought of as a blurry shadow.
who's that person? Could it be that this man saved us from the fire? Why did he appear in that manor? And why would you save us?
These questions popped up in my mind, but I didn’t ask them because I was completely confused at the time.
I saw the figure standing up slowly. He looked very tall and wore loose clothes. When he walked closer to us, I discovered that this figure had very long and gray hair.
This is a man with a thin face and seems to be around forty years old.
As he approached us, we were both very nervous and our breathing was a little quick.
Because there seemed to be an invisible pressure on him.
This man came to us and squatted down, looked at us for a while, then took out a gourd and said, "I added something to the wine that has just been heated. Do you dare to drink it?"
There was a time-worn flavor in his voice.
He handed the gourd to us, seemingly with a smile on his face.
Shen Mo and I looked at each other, not daring to reach out for it rashly.
"You're not afraid of fire, but you're afraid of taking a sip of wine?" The man smiled, "You're young, but you're so vigilant. Not bad."
It turned out that the person I saw before I fainted in the sea of fire was really him!
Seeing that we were both silent, he seemed to feel that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he simply sat down, shook the gourd in his hand, and said: "I know you two have many questions in your hearts, so I will tell you the answers. First. , I am obviously an adult, not a bad person, but I don’t think I am a good person either. Secondly, I heard that a group of people have been killing people and setting fires everywhere in the past six months. I happened to be very free, so I followed them all the way to see if there were any. There is nothing fun to do. Third, I happened to come to this place and saw a house on fire, so I went in to take a look, and took you two little brats out by the way. Fourth, you two were injured and needed Take good care of yourself, there is medicine in my wine to heal your injuries, drinking it will be good for your body."
In one breath he answered the question in both of our minds. Then he handed the gourd to us again and asked, "Want to drink?"
While I was still hesitating, Silence next to me had already taken the gourd and quickly took a sip of wine.
He drank very quickly, and then began to cough violently. While he coughed, he stared at the man closely.
The man looked at the silent eyes and suddenly laughed. His eyes shone brightly with the laughter, and he seemed to be very happy and excited to say: "What a pair of eyes. It seems that this trip was not in vain." Run." He reached out and pinched Silent's face, and continued: "You have such an extraordinary talent, and you really shouldn't die in the fire like that. I saved your life, and it seems like this is fate."
Silence was caressed by him so casually on her face, and she didn't even avoid it.
But I could see the way the man looked at Silence, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure.
"Has anyone told you that your eyes are special?" The man looked at Silence and asked him.
Shen Mo rolled his eyes, and then replied: "No. But my mother once told me that you can't just stare at others, it's very rude."
When the man heard this, he burst out laughing again, and then said: "Of course you can't just stare at people with your unique ghost eyes, because that's not impolite, but very dangerous."
Silence was confused and didn't know why.
The man patted Silence's shoulder lightly and said, "You are still young, and the people you meet are all ordinary people. Of course, you don't know what the situation is. It's normal."
Then he turned to me, seemed to frown, and asked me, "Why don't you drink?"
I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer.
But the man was still looking at me, waiting for my answer.
I could only bite the bullet and said, "I'm afraid it's poisonous."
The man was stunned.
But this is indeed what I really think in my heart. I have also thought of other reasons, but I know that the person will definitely be able to tell whether I am lying.
The man was stunned for a moment, and then said: "You are very honest, but you are also very serious." He took the gourd and said: "I never like to force others, you can choose."
This time I didn't hesitate, reached out and took the gourd from his hand, and took a sip of the wine. The wine was very spicy, but as I drank it, I began to feel warmth in my body.
But not long after, I felt cramps in my stomach. The pain became more and more intense. My body spasmed uncontrollably. It seemed like something was pouring into my stomach and then rushing towards my throat.
I was so frightened that I fell to the ground clutching my stomach. I saw the same thing happening to Silence. The pain made him roll on the ground like a shrimp.
That wine was poisonous! I felt desperate and couldn't understand why this happened.
The disgusting and weird pain made me vomit a large mouthful of blood, followed by silence and vomiting.
I thought we were going to die soon.
We howled in pain.
I heard the man's voice whispering softly in my ears: "Your judgment is correct. There is indeed poison in my wine."
My liver and gallbladder are broken.
In despair, I felt my body light up and sat up. It turned out that it was the man who lifted us up one by one and sat us down on the ground. Then he saw him
Put your palms on our chests and pat them gently.
I suddenly felt a wave of heat pouring into my body from my chest, quickly traveling throughout my body, and finally gathering in my abdomen. It was like a fire was lit in my belly, which made me feel indescribably comfortable.
I was immediately extremely surprised. I looked at Shen Mo and found that his face was also rosy and his spirit was completely different from before.
The two of us looked at each other speechlessly again, both seeing surprise and confusion on each other's faces.
Then we both looked at the man.
The man was still sitting cross-legged in front of us. He took a leisurely sip of wine, as if he didn't care at all about what he was doing.
"You... what did you do to us?" Silence finally couldn't help but ask.
The man shrugged his shoulders and said calmly: "I just want to give you a little ordinary internal energy, just enough to save your lives."
When I heard this, I felt even more uneasy and confused, and blurted out: "Then why do you want to poison us again?"
"Because if you don't spit out the stasis in your body, your body will have serious consequences in the future." The man shook the wine gourd and said with a smile: "The things in my wine can both kill people and save lives." . Whether it’s life or death, it all depends on my mood.”
Shen Mo and I couldn't help but feel frightened when we heard this. The behavior of the man in front of us was really unpredictable, and his thoughts were extremely terrifying and unpredictable.
Seeing the fear on our faces, the man smiled leisurely and said: "I have already said that I am not a bad person, but I am not a good person either. But don't be afraid. Since I have saved you, I will not harm you. . What happened just now can be regarded as a lesson to you: Never trust a person easily at any time. A little wrong choice may very well cost you your life."
Both of our hearts sank. Just a few hours after escaping from the sea of fire, we experienced life and death again. The feelings of this experience cannot be expressed in words.
We no longer dare to speak easily.
The man looked at us and said, "Since I saved you, now it's my turn to ask. Are you willing to answer my question?"
There seemed to be sharp knives hidden in his eyes.
We just nodded.
"Very good, then I'll start asking." The man said, "It's fate that we meet. Can you tell me your names?"
After a short silence, Shen Mo and I said our names one after another.
"My name is Silence."
"My name is Xiao Yi."
The man seemed to raise his eyebrows and said: "The name is quite good. Then tell me, why did you almost get burned to death there?"
His eyes moved back and forth between our faces.
I lowered my head and didn't dare to meet his eyes. I could only tell the truth: "Those people are the enemies who killed my parents. They arrested me, that's why I'm there."
The man obviously knew that what I said was not comprehensive, but he did not ask immediately. He turned to silence, "What about you? Are you the same as him?"
Silently replied without hesitation: "Yes, those people suddenly broke into my house and killed everyone in my house. I stayed there just to take revenge."
When the man heard this, his eyes flashed and he asked: "So, the fire burned your home. Did you also kill those people?"
Silence didn't answer immediately, he looked at me.
The man looked at me, raised the corner of his mouth, and said, "Is that you?"
I have no need to hide this matter, because that is my purpose. So I raised my head and said, "I set the fire. Because I couldn't kill any of them, so I set the house on fire, and the two of us took advantage of the chaos to kill the old man."
That person didn't care at all about who the old swordmaster was. He just squinted his eyes and said, "You dare to set fire to kill people at such a young age. Your courage is extraordinary. Aren't you afraid of death?"
"I'm not afraid. My family is all there, and they can't die in vain like that. If I don't take revenge, I'm not worthy of being a descendant of the Shen family!" The dazzling light in Shen Mo's eyes lit up again, and he answered very decisively and simply .
I saw a slight look of appreciation in that man's eyes.
I didn't answer immediately. Thinking of the situation at that time, I was actually very scared. The reason why I didn't give up was because I had no way out.
But now I don't want to tell my true feelings at that time. I feel like I will be looked down upon if I tell the truth.
This seems to be a kind of cheap self-esteem at work.
The man didn't even question me. Instead he asked another question: "Tell me, what does it feel like to kill someone?"
He looked at Silence first. Shen Mo thought for a while and replied: "I'm scared, but I'm happy because after all, I killed my family's enemy with my own hands."
The man smiled and looked at me again. I had to answer: "I want to vomit."
I swear I'm telling the truth.
The man raised his head, exhaled, and murmured to himself: "Those people really deserve to die for killing innocent people indiscriminately. And they died at the hands of you two children who were young but had such courage and strategy, but it is not unfair."
He suddenly let out a long sigh and continued: "I wish I, the Ghost King Yuan Wuzong, as the master of the Guiyin lineage, have experienced so many vagaries of life and witnessed so many vicissitudes of life and death for more than a hundred years, yet I am allowed to meet you here. It seems true. What you ask for cannot be obtained, and what you get is completely unintentional. If you don’t deceive me by saying this, it is true to God’s will!”
Neither I nor Silence could understand what he was saying. But I was wondering in my heart, why did this man seem to be only middle-aged, but he said this for more than a hundred years?
If he is said to be over a hundred years old, I will never believe it even to death.
But I soon discovered that I was indeed wrong. Because the man said something.
"Can't you see that I am almost one hundred and thirty years old?"
As soon as these words came out, Shen Mo and I almost had our jaws dropped. This was so unbelievable.
This is impossible, because that person's appearance and figure, except for the slightly conspicuous gray hair, really have no characteristics related to a person who is more than a hundred years old.
None of us knew how to answer, because the answer was obvious.
The man smiled bitterly, spread his hands, and said, "I know you don't believe it, because many people don't believe it. But that doesn't matter, that's not the point."
He paused, his expression and tone became serious, and said: "For almost a hundred years, I have been looking for two unique and special people to inherit the incense of my ghost lineage. But no matter how many people I meet and how many places I travel, I have never met the right person. Meeting you two tonight is our fate and luck. I can see that there is something different about you from others. This That’s what I’ve been looking for.”
Only then did we finally understand what he meant.
"So, I will give you two choices now." He looked at us and said: "First, from today onwards, you will worship my Yuan Wuzong as your master and become a disciple of my Guiyin lineage. Second, we will go our separate ways after dawn. Your life and death are none of my business, so just pretend you have never seen me."
Both Wen Mo and I couldn't help but feel anxious and couldn't make a decision.
For me, it is a blessing that I can save my life, but I am not optimistic about the days after today. I am not sure how long I can live after leaving this ruined temple. The nightmarish encounters I have experienced in the past six months have made me feel that there is a world of cannibals outside, and I have no ability to survive in this world.
Now it seems that the choice given by the man who claims to be over a hundred years old seems to be the most appropriate and realistic choice. His abilities are stronger than I imagined. If I have his protection, I don't have to worry about my life all the time.
But I had only known this man for less than half an hour, and he asked me to entrust the fate of my future life to his hands. This was undoubtedly the most incredible choice. Because to me, everything about this man is still a mystery.
How could I put my life in the hands of someone who didn't understand me?
But I immediately thought, he is a stranger to me, but how could we not be strangers to him? So what made him think of asking two children who had just met to worship him as their teacher?
Is he gambling? A bet on his lifelong search for purpose?
I made a bet not long ago, and now I think I was right. So why not gamble again?
I felt a sense of sadness in my heart when I thought about it. Maybe only people who are desperate would choose to gamble.
Many years later, when I think back on those two desperate gambles, I don’t know whether they were lucky or unlucky, let alone whether they were right or wrong.
Although this kind of psychological entanglement did not last long, I felt that it had been a long time.
I've made my decision.
But I don’t know what Silence thinks. I looked at him quietly and found that he had his head lowered, as if he was having the same hesitation as me.
But at this moment, the man's voice sounded again, "Before you make your decision, I must explain one thing, that is, what I need is you two, so you two must make the same choice." He paused After a pause, he continued: "The fate is in your own hands, but my patience is not very good, and you don't have much time."
My heart was suddenly shocked. When I heard this, I also raised my head in surprise, with a pair of eyes shining with confusion.
The man crossed his arms and looked at us with interest, waiting for the answer.
I have never felt so clearly that time passes so quickly.
I couldn't wait any longer, I had to tell my decision first, so I said, "I choose the first one."
As soon as I said it, I suddenly felt that there was another road in front of me, a road that I couldn't see clearly.
At the same time, my heart is beating violently because I don’t know what silence will say.
"Oh——." The man responded lightly, with a long tone, as if he was surprised and as if he already knew the answer. Then he looked at Silence and asked, "So, what about you?"
I also turned my head and looked at Silence.
Seeing that he was silent, an extremely heavy silence suddenly appeared in the ruined temple.
The only sound was the cold wind outside blowing against the broken windows.
This decision is related to the future life and death of two people, and also related to the hope of a stranger for hundreds of years.
I was very anxious, but I also knew that I had no reason to force another person I had just met to make the same decision as me.
The man didn't seem to be as impatient as he said. He was waiting quietly.
The waiting at this moment is really a painful suffering.
Suddenly, Shen Mo raised his head. He did not answer immediately, but looked at me and said: "Xiao Yi, without you, I would never be able to avenge my family. You are kind to me. My father told me a long time ago I, a man, must repay a favor." After a pause, his tone and expression suddenly became very calm, and he continued: "So I will choose the first one."
I was shocked all over, and my heart was filled with inexplicable waves.
Does he mean that he made the same choice because of me?
When the man heard this, a smile appeared on his lips. But I didn't see any joy in this smile.
Since he said that he had been searching for almost a hundred years before he found two of us who met his criteria, why didn't he look happy at all?
Or maybe this was the answer he expected?
"I believe that your choices have been carefully considered, even though you are still children." The man said leisurely: "Usually in this case, most people will choose the second option, because we don't know each other yet, so we can't be sure at all. What are the consequences after making the choice? For choices with uncertain consequences, it is safest to choose the path that you can control. But you chose the opposite. This may prove that you all have the courage to challenge the unknown, but I am more willing Believe, this is your bet."
"I appreciate your courage." He continued: "But you should know one thing now. Once you have made a choice, there is no chance of regret. Everyone must be responsible for their own choices."
I started to feel anxious, not knowing what the future would be like.
The man kept staring at us. Silence and I looked at each other and then nodded together.
"Very good." The man nodded, with a hint of approval in his eyes. Then he solemnly continued: "From now on, you two are the thirty-fourth generation disciples of my Guiyin Sect, and the one who will lead you is the thirty-third generation ghost king of Guiyin Sect, Yuan Wuzong."
