May 10th, North, Black Coffin Forest.
Black Coffin Forest is located between Mocheng and Ningchuan Prefecture. The mountains and forests here are quiet and few people come. It is a paradise.
But since three years ago, the Chu Family Villa who was hiding here came out of the mountain with thunderous force, wiped out the remnants of the Youfu, settled the grievances of the rivers and lakes, and was elected as the leader of the martial arts alliance by the rivers and lakes. Outside this black coffin forest, there are always people coming to the door. There is an endless stream of people visiting.
And the rumored Chu Family Villa is hidden deep in the Black Coffin Forest.
Chang An and Zhuang Xiuyu, who were tired of the journey, were standing outside the black coffin forest. They had been waiting here for several days, but they had not yet entered the forest.
Zhuang Xiuyu's delicate face was full of sorrow. She was already carrying an extremely heavy arrow box behind her, which was very strenuous. Now she has to wait here for who knows what, and she is already exhausted.
"Sir, we have been resting here for several days. What are we waiting for?"
Chang An was dressed in purple brocade clothes, holding half a silk book in his hand, and was carefully looking at the incomplete paintings on the silk book.
I saw two words written in blood on the top of the painting. To be precise, it was not two words, but one and a half.
It is a complete "Peng" and only half of the word "Lai" written, and the other half should be on top of the other half of the torn silk book.
Under the word Penglai, there is a painting. The painting seems to be a map, starting from Youzhou and extending eastward to the East China Sea. On the edge of the East China Sea, there are five towering towers. The city is completely different from today's map.
The map after the East China Sea was torn away, and I don't know what is there further east. But on the torn edge, Chang An could vaguely see some edges and corners, and I didn't know what they were.
The information left on this half of the silk book was really limited. Chang An frowned slightly. He had been reading this half of the silk book these past few days, but he still couldn't figure it out. Why did Liang Gong leave this silk book? The only thing he could know was, This may be a map pointing to the legendary ancient divine realm, Penglai Island.
But what does this have to do with Liang Gong’s disappearance? For this reason, he had to wait for news from Taiyang City.
Looking at Zhuang Xiuyu's frowning face, Chang An had a serious look on her face and patted her arched back seriously, making Zhuang Xiuyu scream.
"Stand up straight!"
Zhuang Xiuyu straightened her back in pain. She looked at Chang An aggrievedly and said coquettishly.
"gentlemen……"
"Cuckoo"
At this time, a carrier pigeon flew from the sky and landed on Chang An's shoulder. Chang An smiled slightly and took off the letter paper from the pigeon's leg.
Zhuang Xiuyu leaned over and leaned over.
"Sir, what are you writing about?"
Chang An frowned and said to himself
"The Bridge of Sighs... Zhou Xi'er... still no news about Liang Yi?"
After a while, he tore the letter in his hand into pieces.
Zhuang Xiuyu's delicate face showed great doubts
"gentlemen……"
Chang On Road
"Xiaoyu, we can go."
"What a beautiful thought!"
A childish voice came from the black coffin forest.
In the forest, leaves are floating.
"clang!"
In the darkness of the forest, the clang of the long sword suddenly sounded, and then, the sharp edge broke out of the darkness and struck Chang An directly in front of the door.
Chang An smiled bitterly and shook his head. The wall of inner strength was activated, and he put his fingers together to face the sword. However, he saw that the long sword was gently pressed by Chang An's two fingers and could no longer move forward.
In front of him, there was a child holding a long sword in his left hand, looking at him angrily, but the long sword in his hand seemed not to obey the command, and could no longer be thrust out, let alone withdrawn.
"Let go!"
The kid glared and yelled.
Zhuang Xiuyu stood aside, pointed at him and said
"It's you little brat again."
The child was so fierce that he bit Zhuang Xiuyu's finger, which frightened Zhuang Xiuyu and immediately retracted his hand.
Chang An smiled
"At your age, it is rare in the world to be able to cultivate Kuofu-level internal strength. It won't be too late to challenge me again when you reach the Grandmaster level."
Unexpectedly, the child sneered, and suddenly took out a dagger from his arms with his right hand, and thrust it into Chang An's abdomen.
Chang An shook his head helplessly and flicked the child's sword away with his fingers. The child was caught off guard and took a few steps back.
Zhuang Xiuyu said angrily
"That kid, you come here every day, what do you want to do?"
The child yelled angrily
"You two want to enter my Chu family's door, don't even think about it!"
Zhuang Xiuyu suddenly said
"Hey, it turns out it's the Chu family. Just in time, take us in. My husband wants to see the owner of your village if he has something to do."
The child suddenly said sarcastically
"I know you, Chang An, you have lost the pearl of my Chu family, and you still have the nerve to come to my Chu family."
Chang An smiled bitterly again
"Third Villa Master, I am here to apologize."
The child looked startled
"You recognize me?"
Chang An said
"I heard that Chu Yuchao of the Chu Family Villa has a young brother, Chu Yulou. He is only nine years old and has already reached the level of a wealthy family. He is a genius that is rare to see in the world for a hundred years. I think he is you."
Chu Yulou looked gloomy
"Now that you know that I am Guanyu's little uncle, if you don't get out of here, you are not welcome in our Chu Family Villa!"
Zhuang Xiuyu looked at Chu Yulou with a surprised look on her face. It was hard for her to imagine that this naughty boy in front of her was actually a master at the Kuofu level. Although he harassed them every day, Chang An easily repelled them every time. He, Zhuang Xiuyu, mistakenly thought that the child in front of him was just a doll who could embroider his fists and legs.
She looked at Chang An and asked in a low voice
"Sir, this kid is so powerful."
Chang An nodded
"Not only that, it is rumored that this Chu Yulou is more talented than his elder brother. He is proficient in eighteen kinds of weapons. He is also a left-handed sword, which is also difficult to match. Although we have only seen him use the sword, his other skills should not be weak. For his swordsmanship."
Zhuang Xiuyu took a breath and looked at the child in front of her in disbelief.
When Chu Yulou saw that the two of them were ignoring him and started chatting, he suddenly became angry.
"Hey! Get out of here if you know what's going on, or you'll alert my brother, and you won't be able to eat and walk away."
"Third brother, don't be rude!"
In the forest, a dull and powerful voice came.
But when Chu Yulou heard that voice, he immediately stood aside obediently like a little chicken whose neck was pinched.
In the forest, an imposing middle-aged man walked out slowly, but he was seen with steady steps, wearing a blue-grey robe, and a pair of piercing tiger eyes. He glanced at Chu Yulou slightly, forcing Chu Yulou to shrink back.
Chang An saw the middle-aged man, bowed his head and saluted, and said in a deep voice
"I've met Master Chu."
The person coming is none other than Chu Yuchao!
Chu Yuchao looked at Chang An, nodded slightly and said
"Master Chang has worked hard all the way, please come to the village to rest."
"Brother!"
On the side, Chu Yulou said anxiously.
But Chu Yuchao gave him another cold glance and suppressed his words.
Immediately, Chu Yuchao's expression changed again, and he said kindly to Chang An
"Master Chang, please."
Chang An smiled
"Thank you very much, Master Chu."
Immediately, Chu Yuchao led Chang An and the two into the black coffin forest.
As soon as they entered the forest, Chang An and Zhuang Xiuyu felt the cold wind blowing against their faces, and Zhuang Xiuyu unconsciously hugged his shoulders.
"Why is it so scary here?"
Zhuang Xiuyu said.
Chu Yulou on the side continued to sneer.
"Be afraid."
Zhuang Xiuyu looked at his proud face and became furious.
"There is nothing to be afraid of. I have been to every scary place with my husband."
A few people walked in the black coffin forest for a long time, sometimes going east, sometimes going west, turning around and around, and finally saw a mountain villa located on the edge of a cliff deep in the forest.
"This Chu Family Villa is actually on the edge of a cliff. It's really scary."
Zhuang Xiuyu sighed.
Chu Yuchao smiled slightly
"My Chu family has lived here for generations and rarely goes out. Compared with the outside world, it is normal for it to be a little different."
Chang On Road
"In that case, why did Master Chu come out of the mountain three years ago?"
Chu Yuchao said
"Something happened to our Chu family. We originally asked for help from the outside world, but we happened to encounter Mr. Chang leading the heroes of the rivers and lakes to fight against You Mansion. Our Chu family will offer our modest efforts to help the heroes of the rivers and lakes to wipe out the remnants of You Mansion."
Chu Yulou said proudly
"My Chu family is full of talents. At the beginning, we just dispatched some masters in the village to wipe out the remnants of the You Mansion."
Chu Yuchao glanced at him and said lightly:
"How shameless. Patriarch Chang and Young Hero Mobei teamed up to fight the Sword God and withstood all the pressure for the world. In front of Patriarch Chang, what can you be proud of?"
Chu Yulou immediately lowered his head obediently.
Chang An asked again
"I don't know what happened to the Chu family. Or maybe the village owner's eagerness to marry his concubine into my Chang family has something to do with this change?"
Chu Yuchao's face condensed
"Master Chang, let's go into the village to talk."
Chang An nodded slightly and continued to move forward with Chu Yuchao. They kept going up the slope of the cliff, and soon they arrived at the gate of Chu's Villa.
The mountain gate, which is more than ten feet high, stands in front of you. Above the mountain gate, the two large stone characters "Chu Family" seem to have a high sense of oppression, making people feel a little breathless.
"The owner of the village!"
Under the mountain gate, the two disciples in the village saluted Chu Yuchao with solemn expressions.
Chu Yuchao nodded slightly and led Chang An and others forward.
Pass through the mountain gate and continue upward until you are almost at the highest point, where you can see the Chu Family Villa standing on an isolated cliff.
It was evening at this time, and the afterglow of the setting sun reflected on the main entrance of the villa. On the plaque at the main entrance, the four gilded characters of Chu's Villa appeared even more ancient.
Within the manor, there are countless pavilions and pavilions, and the various courtyards of the manor are dotted with green pines and cypresses, rockeries and strange rocks.
After they entered the manor, it was as if they had suddenly entered a market. People were coming and going between the courtyards. The people passing by the manor looked curiously at the two strangers Chang An and Zhuang Xiuyu, lowering their heads and whispering.
"Is this Chang An?"
"Yes, I heard from people who came back from outside the village that Chang An has been outside the village these days, and today he was personally welcomed in by the owner of the village."
With Chang An's ears, he could hear it clearly. He smiled bitterly. He didn't expect that he was so famous in this isolated villa.
Of course, there are people in the village who are hostile to Chu Guanyu because of his incident.
"Bang!"
Just as a few people were walking outside a small courtyard, a palm force came out from the courtyard and landed firmly two feet away from Chang An.
Chang An looked over and saw a man looking at him coldly, then walked back into the yard.
Chu Yuchao apologized
"This is Guanyu's cousin..."
Chang An waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.
"I deserve this slap."
About half an hour later, Chang An and others came to an deserted courtyard.
"Master Chang, this courtyard is quiet and quiet. You can rest here for the night. We will talk about business tomorrow."
Chang An walked into the yard and saw lush green grass in the yard. The afterglow of the sunset reflected the sparkling waves of the pond in the yard. On the willow trees beside the pond, the willow branches swayed with the evening wind and scattered willow leaves fell.
“Really a great place.”
Chang An smiled.
"In this way, Master Chang has a good rest. I will come back tomorrow."
After nodding with Chang An, Chu Yuchao left the yard.
"Sir, this place is really beautiful."
As soon as Zhuang Xiuyu entered the yard, she lay down on the green grass excitedly.
Chang An smiled
"You have been tired these past few days. You will go back to the house to rest early."
Zhuang Xiuyu suddenly sat up, but the quiver on her back was too heavy. Suddenly, she was pulled back by the quiver.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
Chang On Road
"Of course I have something to do."
Zhuang Xiuyu raised her eyebrows and said coquettishly
"I want to go with sir."
Chang An gently touched her head
"Have you forgotten what you promised me when you came out?"
Zhuang Xiuyu suddenly shrank.
Late at night, the night sky is filled with stars.
Chang An, who was dressed in black, suddenly jumped onto the high wall of the courtyard. Then, he jumped very quickly across the courtyards. Within half a moment, he had already jumped out of the Chu Family Villa, and then continued to walk along the road. Run down.
Until he saw the deep black coffin forest, his speed continued unabated and he plunged into the forest.
He stood on a tree and jumped around among the trees, as if searching for something.
Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes stopped on a tree, he jumped above the ground and walked to the tree.
On the tree body, there is a small mark, which is the word "wine" carved with a sword.
Chang An touched the word and smiled slightly
"Come out."
But he saw a figure slowly walking out of the forest.
"Brother Chang, it's really difficult to walk through this black coffin forest."
Immediately, the figure threw a bottle of wine towards Chang An.
Chang An took the wine and laughed.
"Brother Wan, long time no see, you are still so greedy."
The visitor was dressed in white and looked like a dashing swordsman. He was Chang An's good friend, Wan Chaoyang.
"Hahaha, brother Chang An's eyes lit up when he saw the wine."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Gulu gulu."
After taking a few sips, the two sat side by side under the tree.
"Brother Chang An, you asked me to come here. What do you mean?"
Chang An's face condensed
"To be honest, I came to Chu's Villa this time to investigate a case."
Wan Chaoyang asked
"What case makes Brother Chang An so interested?"
Chang An took another sip of wine.
"Brother Wan, have you ever heard of the Gu family's murder case?"
"I've heard of it. Could it be that the murderer of this murder case is hiding in the Chu Family Villa?"
"I don't know about this, but I always feel that the Chu Family Villa is inextricably related to the Gu family's murder case."
"Oh? Where to start?"
Chang An's eyes narrowed slightly
"I can't say for sure now. It's just a feeling. The matter of my marriage to Miss Chu still makes me feel very strange."
Wan Chaoyang said
"That's why you must come to the Chu family?"
Chang An said
"Not only that, when the Gu family was exterminated, there were rumors in the world that Chu Yuchao had rushed to the north overnight. This makes it difficult for people to think that he has nothing to do with the Gu family."
Wan Chaoyang nodded
"There is indeed a problem."
"But no matter what, we will have to get drunk this year."
Chang An laughs
"That's natural!"
