Qiao Heng followed Qiu Chuji, all the way to the southwest.

As they approached the foot of Jungnan Mountain, the number of villages they passed on the road increased, and sometimes the two of them would meet a few villagers who knew Qiu Chuji.

A big man who had just returned from hunting saw Qiu Chuji and immediately greeted him with joy on his face. He said, "But the Taoist of Changchunzi, the last time the Taoist cured my father's injury, I didn't have time to thank him, and the Taoist left." If the Taoist chief doesn't dislike it, why don't you sit at my house again?"

Qiu Chuji rejected the other party's kindness. This time he was not alone, he was going to take his apprentice up the mountain, and if he was delayed here for an hour or two, he would not know what time it would be when he returned to the Quanzhen Sect.

The mountain road is difficult to walk, the stone road is steep, and from time to time there are strange huge rocks. The mountains are full of vegetation and trees, and occasionally there are thick branches in the horizontal slopes, which add an obstacle to the hiking path for pedestrians.

Fortunately, Qiao Heng and Qiu Chuji both have martial arts, but they are not afraid that this mountain road is difficult to walk.

It's just that Qiao Heng is still young after all, and his martial arts are much inferior to Qiu's chances. And the biggest problem is that this body is very empty, and the internal body is cold. All along, Qiu Chuji has been carefully recuperating his body, but no matter what medicine he takes, it is like pouring into a bottomless pit, and it has no effect.

Qiu Chuji also knew Qiao Heng's physical condition, so he didn't deliberately use light work, but slowed down and let him follow behind him.

The further you go, the colder it gets in the mountains.

Qiao Heng followed Qiu Chuji for more than half an hour, his face, which was originally pale but faintly showing a few traces of blood, now completely retreated from those few traces of light red, but his heart was beating violently in his chest.

He stopped, slowing his breath, but he still felt like something was buzzing in his head, and he knew he was in a hurry. He had no choice but to call, "Master, let's hold off for a while." ”

Qiu Chuji turned around halfway, he glanced at Qiao Heng's face, and then looked up at the sky, he said: "I think the sky is not good, most of the time it will rain, but I don't know when it will fall." Can't delay any longer, you come first. ”

Qiao Heng took two steps forward and said loudly, "Master?"

Qiu Chuji grabbed his arm from under his armpit, and with his slightly surprised expression, he took him in his arms. The toes are a little on the ground, and the whole person is like a big bird walking among the green ancient trees.

Carefully speaking, it has been a long time since Qiu Chuji has led people in a hurry with light power like this.

His junior brothers had earlier accepted a few personal disciples who were only in the age of the general horn, and these junior disciples liked to pester people and take them back and forth in the forest with light skills. The senior brother is the most soft, he doesn't like to pay attention to mundane things, and he is quite conniving at these little disciples, and then his fifth junior brother Wang couldn't look at it, and preached to these little disciples, which made them stop a little, and then these little disciples gradually grew up, and each learned light skills. After that, there was rarely a time when he needed to use light skills to lead people to hurry.

Qiao Heng honestly leaned on Qiu Chuji's chest, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes. He tilted his head and watched the towering ancient trees flash from his field of vision, and he took several deep breaths before he felt better about his body.

The disciples guarding the gate in front of the mountain gate of the Quanzhen Sect saw a figure coming straight like a flying crane, and they drew their swords vigilantly, and at this moment, the figure stopped.

Qiu Chuji put down Qiao Heng.

Qiao Heng's face was a little guilty, and he said with gratitude in his tone: "There is Master Lao, and it is the disciples who drag down the master." ”

Qiu Chuji waved his hand disapprovingly, and said: "Needless to say, wait for the teacher to regulate your body for you, this Zhongnanshan is not for you to say that you will go up, and you will go down." ”

The two disciples guarding the door also saw clearly who was coming at this time, and they hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "The disciple has seen Master Qiu. ”

Qiu Chuji nodded, and he introduced to Qiao Heng: "We have arrived at the Quanzhen Sect. ”

The two gatekeeper disciples had already noticed Qiao Heng, and when they heard Qiu Chuji's words, they set their eyes on him again.

This young man has a fair face, with a bit of nobility between his eyebrows, and is obviously not from an ordinary family. They heard him call out to Qiu Chuji, Master, could it be that this is the disciple that Uncle Qiu just received when he went out?

It's just that...... How could he have been brought up by Master Qiu with light skills? Although it was more difficult to climb this Zhongnan Mountain, it was only a matter of taking a little more time. When a disciple first came to Zhongnan Mountain, he didn't climb up step by step with his own feet. It seems that Uncle Qiu is extremely satisfied with the apprentice he just received, and he loves it very much, otherwise he would not be spoiled by this.

Qiao Heng saw that they were all looking at him, so he greeted casually: "Hello two senior brothers." ”

The two gatekeepers also returned the salute. They were just two ordinary inner disciples, but they didn't dare to take Qiao in front of him.

Qiao Heng left without stopping at the mountain gate.

Qiu Chuji led him to the main hall of Chongyang Palace, and said on the way: "Kang'er, I'll take you to see your uncle." Your master is calm and easy to speak, if he asks you, you can answer truthfully, don't be nervous, if you don't say much, don't be disappointed. ”

He nodded and replied, "Disciple understands." ”

He looked around, and saw that between the green trees and stones, a corner of the cornice, or a piece of green tiles, was exposed. He thought to himself, this Quanzhen Sect was built on Zhongnan Mountain, the mountain is so steep, I don't know how much work it took to build what it is today.

Ma Yu was meditating in the apse of Chongyang Palace, and there was a half-open and half-closed bamboo slip in front of him, when he suddenly heard someone calling: "Senior brother!"

He opened his eyes, stood up, and hurriedly walked out of the apse: "But Senior Brother Qiu!"

Qiu Chuji stroked his beard and said, "It's the junior brother!"

Ma Yu saw the young man on the side of the fuselage at a glance, and he asked gently, "This is the disciple you said in your letter, right?"

The young man is beautiful and handsome, and his body is a little thin. If it weren't for the fact that he had already received a letter from Senior Brother Qiu, he could have guessed that this young man was the son of the Yang family that Senior Brother said, otherwise he really couldn't get his identity. He seems to be going to dance and write and ink when he grows up, and write poems and grass in his spare time, instead of dancing with knives and sticks, fighting and killing, how could he have guessed that he was actually behind the door?

Ma Yu was already unhappy that his junior brother had made an eighteen-year gambling contract with others, and now he is even more dissatisfied. Senior brother, why did he bother to involve such a young man in the rivers and lakes?

Qiu Chuji said: "Kang'er, why don't you hurry up and meet your uncle." ”

Qiao Heng knelt down very neatly and bowed, "Disciple Wanyan Kang pays a visit to the master uncle." ”

Wanyan ......

Ma Yu glanced at Qiu Chuji, and saw that his junior brother had an expression like a sigh on his face, he didn't say much for the time being, but with his usual kind smile, he said, "Get up." ”

Qiao Heng rose up as he said.

Ma Yu saw that he behaved calmly and generously, and he loved him from the bottom of his heart.

Qiu Chuji coughed, there were some things he didn't want to say to the senior brother in front of the apprentice, he said to Qiao Heng: "I've been traveling for days, I guess you're tired." Go out and find a boy and let him lead you to my dwelling. Although I have been away from the church for a long time, there is still a Taoist boy in charge of cleaning the place where I live, and you don't have to live anywhere else, just find a room with me to rest, and you can live there in the future. ”

Ma Yu on the side was slightly surprised when he heard him say this. Several of their senior brothers have accepted a lot of apprentices, but none of them live with their own apprentices, the master and the apprentices have their own residences, and Senior Brother Qiu simply let him, the apprentice he had just accepted, live in a side room.

Senior Brother Qiu, he values this disciple so much, how should he persuade him to give up the gambling contract?

Qiao Heng didn't think as much as Ma Yu thought, because he knew that Qiu Chuji just wanted to put himself under his nose so that he could take care of himself, and he, a cheap master, had made up his mind to take care of his body. It's a pity that he is the only one who knows, and these are just useless work.

He could hear Qiu's thoughts about trying to break himself away, and he didn't say it through, but said: "The disciples are all arranged by the master." Then he left the main hall.

Qiao Heng walked outside and saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young Taoist priest waiting outside the hall.

This little Taoist priest has been waiting outside, and the main hall has never been closed, so he can hear clearly what Master Uncle and Master Qiu said in the hall before. He saw that the disciple that Master Qiu had just accepted was walking towards him, and he didn't wait for the other party to speak, so he took the initiative to say, "This junior brother come with me, Master Changchunzi's residence is a little far away from here." ”

Qiao Heng had a smile on his face: "Then there is Senior Brother Lao." ”

Along the way, the young Taoist priest couldn't help but look at Qiao Heng several times.

Except for Master Qiu, several other uncles and uncles, including the head of the sect, have already had apprentices, but this Master Qiu has never moved to accept disciples for decades. He had also discussed with his senior brother whether Master Qiu was not ready to accept apprentices in his life, but he never thought that Master Qiu had only been out for a few months this time, and when he came back, he brought an apprentice back.

He was really curious about what was so brilliant about this new junior disciple that he could attract Master Qiu, who had always been reluctant to accept apprentices, to take him into his disciples.

He couldn't see what the other party's martial arts background was, but this junior brother had a good appearance, his eyes were dark, and he was clear to the bottom, with a hint of haggard on his expression, but he was still polite and polite, and he didn't have any patience to talk to him.

This junior brother must be a good-natured person.

He thought.

Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived at Qiu Chuji's residence, surrounded by a row of vigorous and upright cypress trees.

"This junior brother, this is the residence of Uncle Qiu. ”

After Qiao Heng thanked the young Taoist priest, the other party left, and he kept watching the other party go away, and only then did he move his steps.

He said hello to the sprinkler servant here, and then, as the master said, he randomly found a side room in the sun as his future residence.

There is not much decoration in the room, it is simple and clean, but because it is rarely inhabited, it is a little less popular. When I opened the window, I saw a ginkgo tree that had lived for an unknown number of years. The air on the mountain was humid and cold, Qiao Heng opened the window, and after a quarter of an hour of fresh air, he closed the window.

He was a little tired, but when he lay down in bed, he didn't immediately fall asleep.

He first recalled what Qiu Chuji had taught him. Today, he has been in a hurry and has no time to practice swordsmanship, so he took out several sets of swordsmanship that Qiu Chuji taught him separately and practiced them a few more times in his mind in order to deepen his impression.

Qiu Chuji also knows his habit, but he is diligent and studious, even if he has the ability to never forget, he is not slack and complacent.

To be honest, Qiao Heng thinks that he doesn't have the ability to remember at all. The memories he had lost and blurred were long gone. In his eyes, whether it is instantaneous memory, short-term memory, or long-term memory, nothing is impossible to forget.

Whenever people praised him with the phrase "never forget", he always felt that there was a hint of irony in it. After all, he will also forget, he will also lose some old or trivial memories, and there will also be memory errors, but he can't do anything about it.

If he can forget everything at once, perhaps, this is a kind of happiness, but this is also something he can't ask for.

Don't look at him pretending to be light-hearted, in fact, he has long been insatiable.

Qiao Heng was lying on his back on the bed, with the back of his hand on his forehead, and when he closed it, there was a bit of hidden haze in his indifferent eyes.

......

After Qiao Heng left, Ma Yu led Qiu Chuji to the side hall where he was meditating and cultivating.

Ma Yu poured a cup of tea for each of them, and he asked, "Senior brother, have you ever told him about your apprentice's background?"

Qiu Chuji didn't have the tea in his hand, how could he have the heart to drink tea now, he said, "Not yet." ”

Ma Yu was puzzled: "Why is this?"

Qiu Chuji replied: "His mother begged me not to say it yet, but I thought about it and agreed." ”

Ma Yu sighed: "Senior brother, you are confused! As the saying goes, a long pain is better than a short pain, the longer you delay, how can you open this mouth in the future!"

Qiu Chuji smiled bitterly: "Senior brother, I can't open this mouth now! He and Wanyan Honglie, the relationship between father and son is getting stronger and stronger, my apprentice has full trust in Wanyan Honglie, even if Wanyan Honglie wants to put him to death, he doesn't know anything, what else can I say! I have to take him back to the Quanzhen Sect and separate him from Wanyan Honglie. ”

Ma Yu was taken aback, the previous letter from the junior brother only said that Yan Honglie was afraid that he had ulterior motives for adopting Yang Tiexin's son, how long has it been, why did it come to the point of "wanting to put him to death"?

As soon as Qiu Chuji saw Ma Yu's expression, he guessed what the senior brother was thinking. He suppressed a faint anger in his heart, and said: "I don't know what kind of dirty thoughts Wanyan Honglie had when he adopted him, I only know that if I find him a few months later, my apprentice may have been killed by Wanyan Honglie! ”

Qiu Chuji told the senior brother all the speculations he had made before.

Ma Yu has followed the rules all his life, is honest and benevolent, after listening to it, he couldn't help but close his eyes fiercely, and it took a while before he slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the apprentice that Senior Brother Qiu had accepted before, he felt that he was a little weak, but he didn't expect things to be like this.

It's just that......

Ma Yu looked into Qiu Chuji's eyes, and said very seriously: "Senior brother, I'm going to play the same old tune again, I know that you probably don't like to hear what I'm going to say, but whether you like to listen to it or not, I hope you can remember what I said next and think about it." ”

"Senior brother wants to persuade me to give up the bet with the Seven Monsters of Jiangnan?!"

Ma Yu sighed: "They are all benevolent and righteous people, don't call them seven monsters." I know that my junior brother is bent on completing this bet, but now that it has happened, my junior brother should also think more about your apprentice. Brother Wei can see that you have high expectations for your apprentice, I know that my brother never speaks, you say that he is a genius of the sky, and he believes in his brother. Since I am a genius, then there are some things I have to say!

"The junior brother knows that illness comes like a mountain, and illness goes like a thread, and the conditioning and maintenance after the illness is more cumbersome than simple treatment, and it is not an overnight effort. I haven't checked his pulse yet, so I can't figure out the situation, but the senior brother said it scary, so I tried to think about it as strictly as possible. My Taoist exercises are the best at self-cultivation, plus some medicine assistance, I think it should be able to recuperate his body, but it is also a water mill. And the kung fu that the junior brother is good at is more than fierce and powerful, but it is not beneficial to the body and mind at all, you let him learn kung fu with you, alas, ......"

Qiu's fingers stiffened for a moment, then clenched sharply.

"Now, there are only a few years left before the 18-year gambling deadline. Senior brother, you can't have both fish and bear's paws. ”

Qiu Chu stood up angrily and said, "What does Senior Brother mean by saying these words, can I, as a master, still harm him! If Senior Brother just wants me to give up the gambling contract, why should I use my apprentice as a cover!"

Ma Yu: "Senior brother, listen to me, I don't mean ...... this"

Qiu Chuji walked towards the door, but only a few steps away from the door.

"Senior brother!"

Qiu Chuji flicked his sleeves, and the door was shaken open by his internal force, and then he strode out without looking back.