No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 406: The embroiderer who is so close at hand?

Autumn day, dawn.

White dew is frost.

Drops of dew condensed on the eaves or bluestone slabs of the Buddhist hall, pagoda, and courtyard of this ancient temple on the top of the mountain.

In the early hours of last night, many strange phenomena appeared in the sky on the southwest side of the temple, as if they had never happened, and there were no traces of them.

Frost tiles, bell towers, ancient pagodas...it's still a day when the sun rises as usual.

As for the collapse of a newly built sutra-copying hall on the southwest side, and the distress of the presiding officer and morning monks, the pilgrims staying in the temple's fasting courtyard did not know about it, and not many people felt it.

The same is true for Sanhuiyuan, where Ah Qing's family lives.

Get up early, do laundry, smoke and cook, just like before.

Liu Mu, Ah Shan's widow Yun Niang, and Ah Qing, the three women, the older, middle and younger, live together. Naturally, they are more diligent than the men. However, this morning, there is a familiar yet unfamiliar figure in Sanhui Courtyard.

When Ah Qing and others were eating, they heard the noise coming from the yard outside. The first light of dawn broke through the sky, and the sky was just getting dark.

They had breakfast a little early today.

Outside the yard, there was a sound of footsteps, and there seemed to be a lot of people.

"The little thief really stayed in this courtyard?"

Outside the courtyard wall, a vaguely unfamiliar and cold female voice sounded first, seeming to ask the companion next to her.

"Ah."

A gentle female voice replied, paused, and answered slowly:

"There are blood stains on the wall, and there are three places on the grass in the yard where grass roots have been stepped on. Although there is no blood stain, the grass has no frost. The contrast with the surrounding frost turf is obvious. It is obvious that the man fell into the yard and scooped up the grass. I quickly cleaned the tank with water. However, my movements were hurried, I fell in a hurry, and I walked behind in a hurry...

"This Confucian scholar should have stayed in this courtyard for a while to recover from his injuries. He wanted to hide it, but after cleaning up his feet, he found that he was getting half the result with twice the effort, so he left immediately and went down the mountain...

"On the mountain road behind, there are bloodstains from his footprints, which are newer than those in this yard. They were left when he left."

Xuezhongzhu’s stiff and cold voice sounded again:

"I don't know what this little thief has to do with Buddhism. He activates the cauldron sword, and the sword sprouts lotus. It conforms to some kind of Zen theory, and the sword energy seems to be endless...

"But when I saw the spiritual energy flowing when he escaped, he only had a measly eighth-grade blue energy.

"Although he escaped by chance, he was injured by my sword energy. His injuries were not serious and he couldn't run very far. He had to heal his wounds. But just after chasing him, when he reached the pavilion halfway up the mountain, all traces were gone. It's like he disappeared out of thin air. How could he be able to fly with the wind even though he is an eighth-grade man?"

The gentle female voice muttered:

"So, there are only two possibilities.

"If he hadn't used some method unknown to us, he could have wiped out the traces and fled far away.

"Or it's a cover-up. In fact, the person is still in the temple, pretending to have obvious traces of going down the mountain, but actually going back and hiding himself to heal his wounds. If so..."

Xuezhongzhu didn't have the patience to listen to the detailed analysis and asked directly:

"So you are leaning towards the latter one? Are you taking us back to investigate the suspicions in detail?"

The gentle female voice did not answer the question, but just chuckled:

"At the pavilion halfway up the mountain, leave it to Sixth Junior Sister to continue the investigation. She is careful and cautious, and has first-class lightness skills. She is suitable for finding people along the way. Senior Sister asked Chongniang to follow her in the sky to help guard. If anything happens, Chong Mom, it can also fly back notifications as soon as possible.

"As for us, there is actually no need to swarm them all together. The more people there are, the more conspicuous they will be... Let's come back and take a look to see if there is anything we missed.

"This Confucian scholar seems to be very familiar with Donglin Temple. You can tell by looking at his escape route. He chose hidden shortcuts. I don't believe it when he says it's his first time here. If I were him, I would actually choose a familiar place to lurk. In the end, Dangerous places are also the safest places.

She smiled again and changed the topic:

"But to be honest, looking at it all the way, this Confucian scholar was very calm in dealing with many things. Putting me in his situation, facing the pursuit of the senior sister, I may not have done as well as him.

"In times of crisis, one can see one's character of mind. It is not unreasonable for this Confucian scholar to be able to follow the sword-wielding sword."

Xuezhongzhu asked coldly: "Second Junior Sister, are you praising this little thief?"

The gentle female voice smiled softly, "I'm not boasting, I just want to catch him more. I broke off his hands and feet and threw him into the water prison. We will have time to talk about it later."

After a pause, he asked curiously: "By the way, where is Senior Sister's sword?"

The candle in the snow said nothing.

The gentle female voice asked again: "Why do you, Senior Sister, keep calling you a little thief, a little thief... Could it be that you stole something..."

Xuezhongzhu suddenly interrupted with a strong tone:

"This little thief became a swordsman because he stole the cauldron sword of our sword sect. According to the induction of the Red Lotus Sword Seal, this cauldron sword was left by the old guy from Guyue Sword Shop. He originally asked Xiao Qi to deliver the letter. I promised to represent my sect and compensate my sect with a tripod sword, and I will also bring along a powerful Yue girl to serve as a candidate for the hidden monarch... However, I fulfilled my promise and went as scheduled, but something unexpected happened."

The gentle female voice sighed softly:

"Indeed, this fox-faced scholar's identity is questionable. Why is the Cauldron Sword in his hand? He may have been involved in the events in Dragon City when the Cauldron Sword was born. I don't know what role he played. Is there any connection or transaction with the old gentleman?"

"Pretend to be a ghost."

Xue Zhongzhu snorted coldly, as if remembering what happened that day.

The sound of conversations outside the courtyard wall could be heard faintly in the courtyard.

In the main room of Sanhuiyuan, a family is eating porridge and rice.

Except for a certain dull man whose movements remained unchanged, the other women looked at each other in confusion.

At this moment, a strange and cold female voice outside the courtyard wall said: "You and Xiao Qi go and look for it nearby. If you have any clues, leave them to me."

Immediately.

"Dong dong——!"

There was a knock on the door, and without waiting for anyone in the room to respond, the knocker pushed the door open and entered. The so-called knocking on the door turned out to be symbolic.

I saw a tall orchid with blond hair reaching her waist walking into the house, domineering, looking around at everyone in the house with a pair of blue eyes.

However, after she took a rough look at the scene in the room, her aura calmed down a little.

Four people were in the house. An old woman with gray hair who was ill in bed; a young woman with bunted hair and an apron; a skinny girl with hairpins that didn't even reach her hair; and a woman kneeling beside the bed. A dull man feeding a sick mother.

The general situation of this family is clear at a glance. Xue Zhongzhu glanced at this poor and ordinary family, and suddenly said "Hey" softly, and couldn't help but take a second look at the thin bamboo girl with the word "Yue" tattooed on her forehead. The girl is delicate and delicate, she lowers her head and dare not look at strangers, she is timid and weak.

"Who are you, and what do you do for a living?"

Mother Liu gently pushed away the feeding hand of her son who was returning, forced herself up, and faced the imposing Xue Zhongzhu. She was the first to speak.

Xuezhongzhu said nothing, looked around, turned around and went out, but did not leave.

When everyone looked at it, they saw that the tall orchid was not polite, walked around the courtyard, opened each wing in turn, and looked at it coldly.

She seemed to be observing whether the number of people eating in the main house matched the number of guest rooms in the hospital.

At the same time, you should also be observing whether the corresponding room is occupied.

These cannot be faked in a short period of time. Faintly aware of Xue Zhongzhu's intention, in the main room, next to Liu Mu's sickbed, a dull man who had recently put on thick robes stuffed with reed catkins and grass catkins lowered his eyes slightly.

Ah Qing tilted his head and shook his head imperceptibly towards "brother".

Soon, Xue Zhongzhu frowned slightly and returned to the main house.

The number of people corresponds exactly to the room. Including this dull man, there is also a room filled with clean and simple daily necessities for men.

She pursed her lips and returned to no avail, finding nothing.

Of course, Xuezhongzhu didn’t know that after Liu Ashan’s heroic death, in order to take care of Liu’s mother’s emotions, Ah Qing specially prepared a room for his brother, and put all the things in front of him there and wiped them every day.

Even if Liu's mother later learned of her son's sacrifice, this habit did not change. Instead, it became a silent thing for the family.

Even though he is now moving to Sanhuiyuan, Ah Qing specially spared a room. In addition to missing Ah Shan, it is also convenient for his "new brother" to stay when he comes to visit.

Xuezhongzhu suddenly walked towards Ah Qing.

The dull man who was feeding in a low-key manner in front of the bed suddenly stood up, stood in front of his young sister A Qing, and faced Xuezhongzhu directly without saying a word.

Xuezhongzhu looked at him coldly.

Ah Qing quietly pulled down the corner of his brother's clothes and shook his head to indicate that it didn't matter.

The dull man was silent for a while, then turned slightly and moved out of the way. Xuezhongzhu never gave a man a good look and ignored the dull man who seemed to be her elder brother. She walked directly to Ah Qing, took out a small bag of broken silver from her sleeve, and returned There is a jade stone.

She held the jade in her hand and poured spiritual energy into it, and the milky white jade suddenly appeared lavender.

Xue Zhongzhu put the purple jade into a broken silver bag and handed it to Ah Qing:

"I come from Yunmeng Jianze. There are many nursery rhymes and legends in that place and the land of Wuyue. I should have told some of them. I will not explain much, but only warn you. Your spirituality is natural, your divine court is brilliant, you are weak on the outside and strong on the inside. You are a cultivator. Qi Bao embryo should not stay here all his life, wasting time.

"If you are tired of this cage-like life and want to radiate light and heat, you can smash this jade stone into pieces. I will sense it and come to pick you up and accept you as a disciple."

After a pause, she said coldly to the dull man and Yun Niang:

"The next time I pass by, I will do it again. As brothers and eldest sisters-in-law, if you stop her for your own selfish desires and let me find out, you will never see the sun the next day. If you let her go generously, I will I will leave another jade stone for you. If you encounter difficulties in the future, Sword Sect can help you once. That’s it, that’s it.”

After saying that, Xuezhongzhu turned around and strode away.

Everyone was silent.

Yun Niang glanced at the dull man and breathed a sigh of relief.

Xuezhongzhu stopped suddenly, turned around and asked:

"You are a woman with your hair tied up, so you and this man are husband and wife. Why do you sleep in separate rooms?"

Yun Niang was stunned and stuttered a little.

Ouyang Rong secretly thought something was wrong, but Mother Liu, who was very ill next to him, immediately replied:

"Although my family is poor, it is also a house of etiquette. My son and Yun Niang have just made an engagement and have just welcomed us home. We cannot break the rules. We need a matchmaker to get married before we can live together."

After hearing this, Xue Zhongzhu looked at them. After a while, he nodded slightly and turned around to go out.

After walking out of the door, Xue Zhongzhu's face immediately turned cold. The sword he carried close to his body was unexpectedly taken away by the little thief. It was a great shame and humiliation.

The main reason is that the cauldron sword is too wild, and the sword wielder is obviously only at the eighth level. As a top-level purple qi practitioner, she can't compete with the spiritual energy reserves! As a result, when he ran out of energy and took a breath, the little thing easily handed over the sword.

Yunmeng Jianze has no shortage of world-famous swords. Throughout the ages, through so many sword competitions, countless swordsmen from all over the world have left behind their beloved swords.

However, the confiscated personal sword had been with Xuezhongzhu for a long time, and even connected with her through secret techniques and had mutual perception. Therefore, not long ago, she could still feel that the sword had been touched by the dirty hands of the Confucian scholar. , which makes Xuezhongzhu, who has a mysophobia, still feel a little nauseous.

At the moment, I don’t know what method this little thief used. Every time Xue Zhongzhu tried to sense the sword, his spiritual awareness was completely lost.

It's been a really bad day today.

Don't let her catch this little thief.

In addition, Donglin Temple is also a place that worries her. Every time she comes there, nothing good happens.

This was the case last time when I dealt with my junior sister's secular affairs.

Xuezhongzhu left the yard expressionlessly...

After a while, there was movement outside the courtyard wall.

The tall and imposing Hu Ji seemed to be meeting up with some "Second Junior Sister" and "Xiao Qi". The girls exchanged words with each other, and they probably didn't have any clues, so they left after greeting each other.

In the main room, Ah Qing looked at Ziyu, with a small face hesitant, then looked at the dull man. Seeing that he had no objection, the delicate girl got up and chased out the door, shouting at the backs of Xuezhongzhu and other Yue girls:

"You can take it. We don't accept cash. I...I don't want to leave. I want to stay with my mother, brother and sister-in-law."

Xue Zhongzhu turned a deaf ear and ignored it. She turned around and told the junior sisters behind her who turned around curiously:

"Come on, let's go look for it in front. Hey, Xiao Qi, why are you standing there so stupidly? Come on, are you in love with the scene again?"

"Yeah... um."

Among the crowd of Yue women, a certain girl who was gentle and quiet from beginning to end responded blankly.

The opening is only monosyllable.

In the main room, the dull man who was silently waiting for the difficult Yue girls to leave looked stunned.

This voice... is Xiu Niang!

Ouyang Rong, who was wearing a mask, stood up abruptly, took two steps but stopped, unable to step out.

Although he was very close, he couldn't call anyone.

After a while, Ouyang Rong couldn't bear it anymore. He walked over and picked up a chamber pot under Liu Mu's bed, strode out, and pretended to pour the chamber pot.

He quickly came to the courtyard. When he passed the open door of the courtyard, he turned around and looked around. What caught his eyes was the leaving figures of Xue Zhongzhu and a group of women in the same Wu skirt.

Among the women's vests, there was an inconspicuous but extremely familiar silhouette of a mute woman. She was following the candle in the snow closely, without looking back...

Qianqian's back is charming and beautiful.

But what is strange is that from behind, the mute girl seems to be wearing something on her head. A sky-blue ribbon goes around her head and is finally tied into a bow at the back of her head.

The three thousand soft blue silk of the shawl are made darker and smoother by this sky-blue ribbon.

I don’t know if it’s a special women’s style for forehead wiping.

She is good-looking, and none of the other Wufu Yue girls around her are like her.

Ouyang Rong stood there, watching the back of the "Butterfly Girl" fade away, with his mouth open, but no sound came out.

Ah Qing's cautious voice came from behind: "Brother, what's wrong?"

The dull man holding the chamber pot suddenly calmed down and gently raised his hand to support the heavy mask.

"It's okay. I just remembered an old friend."

(End of this chapter)