"Jingting, you seem sad."
After disguising Jialing's body, Jingting and Ren Ruyi returned to Siyi Pavilion.
The night was already deep, but neither of them felt sleepy.
Lying on the bed, Ren Ruyi looked at the Taoist priest. There was no response to her question.
"You seem sad."
Ren Ruyi asked again.
"I am……"
Jingting looked out the window. The rain had stopped, and the moon was hiding in the thick clouds, unwilling to shed any light.
"well enough."
"Your eyes can't deceive, and~ did I ever say, don't lie to me."
Ren Ruyi pressed her face against Jingting's chest: "Are you sad not because of Jialing, but because you lost to the man in black at night? It was all because of me..."
"No, I have already lost, even without any interference."
Jingting hugged Ren Ruyi's back: "My internal strength is stronger than his, and my speed is faster than his, but I will still lose because he has seen through me and every one of my swords."
"This is impossible. Even if the strength is very different, you can't guess every move."
"Yes, but...he just knows."
"Unless he knows you very well..."
Ren Ruyi was suddenly stunned: "Your master... no, you seem to have never mentioned that you still have brothers."
"They have been going down the mountain for a long time, more than ten years."
The Taoist priest said softly: "There is no news."
"Can you talk to me?"
Ren Ruyi pressed against Jingting's chest: "If you want."
"I was picked up back to the mountain by my master."
In the quiet night, Jingting's voice was full of sadness: "Master was already very old when he picked me up, so... my martial arts were basically taught to me by my senior brothers, and he gave me guidance from the side. Their martial arts are all inherited from their master.
Senior brother Baichen is good at Taoism, opening altars, paper talismans and incense, astrology and destiny, all mysterious and mysterious. When I was a kid, I didn’t understand or like it, so I didn’t learn much.
The second senior brother, Ji Yuan, is born with supernatural power. He is very skilled in martial arts and has steel and iron bones. He is best at boxing. When I was young, I loved to cling to the second senior brother because there were always delicious things on him. I don’t know where he came from. of.
Third senior brother Duzhu's favorite thing is to plant trees, but he is extremely talented in medicine. He has already mastered the acupuncture techniques passed down by his master. My palm skills were also taught to me by third senior brother.
Senior Sister Zhu Yao is the master's only female apprentice. Like me, she was picked up by the master. She should... like the third senior brother the most. She cooks delicious food and specializes in swordsmanship. The master once said that she is a genius in swordsmanship. "
"What about you? What are you good at?"
"I know a little bit of everything."
Jingting leaned on the soft pillow: "What I'm best at is probably Qinggong. I don't like practicing martial arts. When I was a child, I always went to steal the tributes offered to Tianzun. I was chased all over the mountain by my senior brothers. Slowly... they You can't catch me anymore.
When we were in the mountains, my master always said that I was very stupid, but I knew it myself. I seemed to be... somewhat talented in martial arts. I could quickly learn what my senior brothers and sisters had practiced for decades. Then there was a back and forth fight with them. "
"Do you suspect...that the man in black tonight is...?"
"My swordsmanship was taught step by step by my senior sister. The angle of my sword, my habits, and the connecting moves. If anyone can defeat them all, apart from the master, she should be the only one..."
Jingting hesitated: "But..."
"But what?"
"But it's so different. The internal swordsmanship is so different. Senior sister's sword is just like her person, upright and gentle as water. It's definitely not like this."
Jingting stroked Ren Ruyi's hair, as if this could calm down his irritable mood.
"More than ten years have passed. Maybe he is your senior sister's apprentice?"
"Maybe."
The Taoist's bright eyes sparkled in the night: "Perhaps the swordsmanship of this man in black is really much better than mine, and he might be able to break them all, but next time, I will never lose again."
Looking into the Taoist's eyes, Ren Ruyi felt distressed. This was an escape, just like she had already guessed that Emperor An was the murderer of the empress, and she had to listen to Jialing's own words.
"How do you plan to take revenge?"
Looking at Ren Ruyi in her arms, Jingting changed the topic.
"I plan to go to the second prince first and use some means to force him to find out what happened back then. Then I will ask Ning Yuanzhou to come up with the information he owes me. In short, I will not let go of anyone who has murdered the empress!"
As Ren Ruyi said, Jingting's ears twitched slightly, and the Taoist heard the rustling grass fluttering outside the window.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. It's cold at night, so close the windows."
The Taoist walked to the window and took off the fork. The room was completely dark.
Behind the rockery in the courtyard outside the window, Yang Ying stuck out her little head and walked softly to her room.
——————
Andu, the official residence of the First Kingdom.
Ning Yuanzhou had already sent Chu Yue and Li Tongguang to the Duke of Chu's palace after evading the search.
Marquis Changqing is still unconscious.
Sitting beside the bed was Chu Yue, and Duke Chu Guo, who was worried about his daughter who stayed up all night.
The man's face was serious, and his fisted hands were shaking slightly.
"Dad, we can't just let it go."
After glancing at Li Tongguang, who didn't know whether he was alive or dead, Chuyue punched the table with such force that the tea in the cup splashed out.
"It is still unclear who ordered the assassination and who was intended to be killed."
"There was a beeping sound, but there was no movement from the city guards and the imperial army. Doesn't this explain the problem!"
"The man in black went to the Changqing Marquis Mansion."
"But she kicked Li Tongguang away and stabbed the child with the sword."
Chu Yue bit her lip, her eyes red: "Li Tongguang blocked the sword to save me. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be able to see me anymore. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be like this."
"You don't like him, don't you?"
"Dad, liking and being a savior are two different things!"
"Your Majesty will not admit it."
The muscles on Chu Guogong's face were very tight: "But we Sha Xixi will never sit still and wait for death! Li Tongguang is Sha Xixi's son-in-law. Whether we kill you or Li Tongguang, we can't give up.
But this matter has nothing to do with you. Once Li Tongguang wakes up, you will get married immediately, and then your father will arrange for you to leave Andu secretly and go to your fiefdom, Jinming County, which is the territory of Shaxi West. "
"No, dad, how can my daughter leave at this time!"
"You must go, don't forget... You were still young and didn't know how our Majesty slaughtered his clan members in order to ascend the throne. Overnight, there was no one alive in the prince's house. After he ascended the throne, those of him who were still alive The brothers who survived died suddenly one after another, do you really think... it was a sudden plague?"
"Then...what should we do?"
"Find a way to contact Deng Zhu. After you left tonight, Deng Zhu came to the house and cried nonsense for a while. Now that I think about it, he was reminding me that Zhu Yiwei is His Majesty's personal soldier. He must know it. What, and..."
Chu Guogong tapped his temple with his finger. Decades of ups and downs in officialdom made him think very clearly: "Prepare gifts. After dawn, we will visit Siyi Pavilion immediately and tell King Li that Sha Xixi fully supports him in welcoming Wu back." Emperor, we really need a master, otherwise we won’t even have the capital to resist.”
