October 18, sunset dusk.

In the past few days, there has been no snow in Jibei.

The number of pedestrians on the road gradually increased.

Amid the noise, dozens of heavily armored warriors separated pedestrians on both sides, creating a wide road for a carriage drawn by three brown horses to drive unimpeded in the setting sun.

After a few moments, the samurai pulling the reins hard, the three horses stopped, and the carriage stopped in front of the gate of Kafu. At this time, Akzat came out of the carriage first, and carefully helped Gu Yina out of the carriage under the gaze of everyone.

When looking back, Lu You was dressed in a crimson robe and greeted the two of them into the house with a smile, and the onlookers immediately discussed after seeing this scene, but they were soon dispersed by the people of Lufu like birds and beasts.

As Lu Weiwen had expected, Lu You planned to use this banquet to win over Gu Yina and the others. Although it was just for the sake of show, it was fully positioned. In addition to Gu Yina and others, there were also many rich gentry in the city.

With the appearance of Gu Yina, these rich gentry stepped forward to hand over "Jane", a symbol of their identity, hoping to get a chance to talk to Gu Yina, but they were all blocked by the samurai who accompanied them.

Seeing this, Lu You on the side sighed and gave the housekeeper a look. The butler understood, so he stepped forward to relieve Gu Yina and the others, and then quickly led them into the banquet hall and sat down. After arranging many processes, the butler returned to Luyou and told him that everything was ready.

The cautious Lu You finally asked the housekeeper more: "Tonight's banquet is extraordinary, and the supply of wine and food will not be bad, right?"

The housekeeper smiled: "Don't worry, sir, our preparations are enough for these men to eat for three days and three nights." ”

Lu You: "Then did we put the "Awakening Pill" in the wine we drank?"

"Sobering pill" is a pill that cannot be decanted but can turn alcohol into water, and usually needs to be put into alcohol to take effect. The sake that has been brewed with the "Sober Pill" has the smell of alcohol, but it is not drunk.

Butler: "At present, three jars have been brewed. ”

Lu You: "Three altars are not enough, thirty altars." ”

Butler: "That's ......"

Lu You: "You only need to brew the wine that Lu Ming and I drink, Lu Ming and I can't drink thirty jars, this is just to be prepared." As for the rich gentry, leave them alone. At tonight's banquet, someone has to get drunk with Gu Yina and them, understand?"

The butler bowed and nodded: "The minion will do it." ”

Lu You: "Be quick." ”

......

Akzati and Guina were the guests of honor at tonight's banquet, and their seats were naturally not far from the host's seat. Originally, Lu You planned to entertain Gu Yina and the others in the hall where he had previously hosted Qianyu Fenghua, but he thought that that hall might not be able to accommodate so many people tonight, so he changed it to the pavilion he often used to receive foreign guests.

Previously, Lu You didn't plan to invite these rich gentry to cheer, but he thought that since he wanted the entire kingdom to know that he was going to win over Gu Yina and others, it would be better to make a bigger move. These businessmen at the banquet didn't know what Lu You was thinking in his heart, but they all knew that Gu Yina and the others who went to the banquet tonight would be the future ministers of the Shu Kingdom, so it would only be good for them to have a good relationship with her.

Raising the eye, the lanterns are full of color, scattered on the stone slabs paved with green jade, showing the magnificence. The crowd sat on the floor. On the small case in front of everyone, there is a special altar of "drunkenness".

When Lu You was not seated, many rich gentry had already raised their wine glasses and took turns to toast Akzati and Gu Yina and others who were seated in the VIP seats. Lu Ming, who was sitting opposite the VIP seat, watched this scene silently, his eyes swirling on Gu Yina's body from time to time, which made Gu Yina feel a little uncomfortable.

However, all the wine dedicated to Guina was blocked by Akzati, and although the feast had not yet begun, Akzati had already drunk a lot. Akzati didn't know what these Chinese wanted to do, but if it dragged on like this, I was afraid that by the time the banquet started, most of the guests in the VIP table would be drunk except for Akzati.

I don't know how long time has passed.

When Lu You slowly walked into the banquet hall tonight, all the rich gentry raised their wine glasses and got up to welcome Lu You in. Akzati, who was drinking heavily, got up together to welcome Luyou's arrival at the signal of Gu Yina.

At the suggestion of Guyna, Akzati pretended to be slightly drunk, took two steps forward, and almost fell in exchange for Luyou's support. However, Lu You did not do what Akzati wanted, but stopped when he was about to be hit by Akzati, and at this time, Lu Ming on the side came out very cooperatively to support Akzati, and then led him back to his seat.

"Is the general drunk?" Lu You smiled slightly, sat down in the seat of the master's family, and although what he said was Akzati, he could see that Gu Yina was indeed there. The servant beside him handed Lu You a glass of wine at this time, and it seemed that he was planning to pay homage to Gu Yina.

Seeing this, Akzati blocked for Guyina again.

Lu You's brows furrowed slightly, but he still had a smile on his face, and he didn't say anything. However, when Akzati drank the wine, Lu Ming received Lu You's eyes here. Lu You thought to herself, "Since you want to block the wine, then I'll let you block it later."

While thinking about it, everyone in the hall seemed to be waiting for Lu You to speak, so they still stood in place and did not sit down. Seeing this, Lu You didn't get up, but just congratulated Gu Yina beside him: "Tonight's banquet is mainly to thank General Gu Yina for traveling thousands of miles to help my long-cherished country in danger. ”

Gu Yina smiled slightly: "Lord Deer is polite." ”

Lu You raised his glass: "I salute the general with you for this glass of wine, and please don't blame the general." ”

At this moment, everyone in the VIP seat was holding wine glasses, as if waiting for her to speak. This glass of wine is the main family's respect for the host and guest, Gu Yina heard Lu You say this, and thought that she couldn't hide after all, so she filled the wine glass, held the cup and waved Lu You and the rich gentry under the table: "I am new to the place, I am not familiar with the place, and I still have a lot of things I don't understand about the rules and etiquette of many Chinese people, so please take care of me." ”

Seeing this, everyone in the VIP seat immediately raised their glasses and returned the salute.

Lu You on the side continued, "Gather tonight, the general will no longer fight alone in this lonely city in the north of Jibei, Lu is willing to run for the general, change the dream of the country forever, and the bright moon will always be bright." ”

"Then it's up to Lord Deer. Gu Yina drank all the wine in the wine glass, and Lu You smiled and waved her hand, "Open the feast." ”

After the attendants in the hall got Lu You's "feast", they immediately spread the sound outside the hall. Then, one by one, the young and beautiful maids heard the sound and brought the rich Northern Desert cuisine and rushed in. When the dishes of the Northern Desert are on the table, there are many classic dishes of the country.

The pungent aroma whetted everyone's appetite, but Guina and Akzati in the VIP table only glanced at it faintly, without revealing much joy or curiosity.

Lu You seemed to notice this, so he asked, "Can these dishes suit the tastes of the two generals?"

Akzati didn't speak, just emptied the wine in the jug, and then drank it by himself, while Gu Yina said lightly to Luyou: "It's okay, Lord Laolu has to worry about it." ”

Between the words, Lu Ming's gaze unexpectedly touched Akzati, and it happened that Akzati's wine jug here was empty, so Akzati said bluntly: "I don't know how many altars are 'drunk' in Lord Lu's mansion?"

Lu You hesitated, but listened to Akzati continue: "It's better to take it all, let's have a drink tonight!"

Without waiting for Lu You to speak, Lu Ming on the side showed a sly smile: "General, wait a while, I'll arrange it." ”

Looking at the weird smile on the corner of Lu Ming's mouth, Gu Yina suddenly remembered the last words that Lu Weiwen said to her on the night of October 15, and she didn't know if Liu Fengsoul was already waiting to answer on the way here at this time.

......

Back in the night of October 15th.

After leaving the Yao Pavilion, he went directly out of the Guangyuan and rushed to the north of the city. In the "Ice Prison", Xiao Li had already told Mo Yan who the inner ghost of the Frost Sword was. But out of caution, Mo Yan did not tell Lian Mu. First, he didn't want to startle the snake, second, he wanted to make sure whether what Xiao Li said was true, and then choose whether to tell Lian Mu, and third, Mo Yan wanted to listen to the inner ghost admit the sins he had committed.

Thinking of this, his pace quickened a lot. All of this is no longer just a contest between the Frost Sword and the inner ghost, but also the enmity and resentment between Mo Yan and that person.

After learning the true identity of the inner ghost, and contacting the last word that was not burned in the brazier this afternoon, Mo Yan couldn't help but worry about Xiao Er lurking in Lufu. He plans to return to the north of the city as soon as possible and try to contact Xiao Er through the carrier pigeon to confirm that he is okay.

However, when Mo Yan returned to the northern part of Frost Sword City, he was surprised to find that the lights were on in his house. It seems that someone is already in his house at the moment. Still cautious, when he came back in the afternoon, Mo Yan told everyone who had seen him not to make a noise about his return.

Therefore, the person who appeared in the Ink Dead Room now was most likely the same person who had lit the brazier while he was away. Low-level martial artists can't hear the footsteps of tenth-order martial artists. And those who could hear the sound of Mo Di's footsteps might have known of his return as soon as he stepped through the northern gates of the city.

The man in the Ink Death Room at this moment was like a prey to the Ink Death. Mo Yan was silent, blending in with the night. When he slowly came to the window and quietly spied on the movements in the house. The burning brazier turned the unburned part of the paper strip into ashes.

Mo Yan's caution has to be admired.

In order to prevent the grass from startling, when he left the northern part of the city this afternoon, Mo Yan kept everything in his house as it was, as if he had never returned. Inadvertently, the evening breeze stirred the candle flame, swayed the figure, and finally saw the person's appearance clearly through the crack in the window.

To be honest, although he had already guessed that person might be the inner ghost that Xiao Li told him, when he saw that person, Mo Yan still felt a little hard to believe. At this moment, he should be more sad than angry.

As another evening breeze broke up, the fire in the brazier gradually went out. Since he was going to see Qianyu Fenghua at noon, Zhou Kang was in a hurry. He didn't expect Mo Yan to come back today by such a coincidence, so he gambled and hurried away without waiting for the brazier to finish burning.

When I came back, I looked at everything in the house again, and nothing unusual happened. Most of the letters in the brazier had been burned, and there was only a note with the word "deer" left. Zhou Kang thought to himself: "Fortunately, out of caution, I finally came back to check it out, otherwise if Mo Yan came back, it would be difficult to explain."

Just as Zhou Kang was thinking about it, Mo Yan pushed open the door at an inopportune time, and pretended to look at Zhou Kang who was in his room at the moment: "Why are you here?"

Zhou Kang saw Mo Yan come back suddenly, although he was a little flustered, he still pretended to be calm on the surface: "Naturally, I am waiting for the master to return." ”

Mo Yan: "How do you know I'll be back tonight?"

Zhou Kang pondered for a moment and said, "If I say that it is because of the revelation I got in my dream last night, do you believe it, Master?"

Mo Yan: "God is chattering, let's talk about it." What the hell are you trying to do in my room so late? ”

Zhou Kang: "Actually, there's nothing else to do, I just miss Master." So I came to your house to see if you had ever been back, and it turned out that you had really come back shortly after. ”

Mo Yan: "The mouth is quite sweet. Isn't there anything going on in the north of the city these days?"

Zhou Kang: "Master rest assured, there are apprentices here, everything should be in order, how can it add to the incident!"

Mo Yan: "That's good, by the way, what about my token, I haven't lost it with you, right?"

Zhou Kang was stunned, and then offered it with both hands: "Finish and return." ”

Mo Yan accepted the token, but he didn't wear it on his body, but asked Zhou Kang instead, "Is there anything else?"

Zhou Kang thought for a while: "It's gone." ”

Mo Yan: "Let's go down first, I'm tired, it's time to rest." I haven't had a good night's sleep in the past few days. If there's anything else, we'll talk about it tomorrow. ”

Zhou Kang waved his hand when he heard this: "No." ”

and bowed down to face Mo Yan and slowly withdrew.

The reason why he slowly left facing Mo Yan was because the cold sweat had soaked Zhou Kang's back clothes during the conversation. Mo Yan's sudden return made Zhou Kang almost show his feet, but fortunately, he had an idea to please in time, but because of this, he had to finish the unfinished business as soon as possible, such as disposing of Xiao Er's corpse.

Originally, Zhou Kang planned to find an opportunity to set Xiao Er's body on fire along with the room, but now that Mo Yan is back, if he does this, I am afraid it will only arouse Mo Yan's suspicions, so Zhou Kang decided to transfer Xiao Er's body to the city for burial, and then fake the evidence that Xiao Er is actually the internal response, and then the golden cicada comes out of its shell.

Of course, this is only Zhou Kang's temporary idea.

It's certainly not going to be that easy to implement.

For now, however, there is no time to wait.

Zhou Kang couldn't wait any longer, and neither could Mo Yan.

When the candle flame in the ink house was extinguished, Zhou Kang quickly left the northern part of the Frost Sword Hanjiasi City and hurried to the house in the slum where the corpse of Xiao Er was displayed. And Mo Yan also secretly followed Zhou Kang when he left.

Zhou Kang left on horseback.

Along the way, he was very careful.

After many twists and turns, Zhou Kang came to the dilapidated room. Due to the cold weather in Jibei, coupled with the heavy snow in Mingyue City in the past few days. Xiao Er's body showed no signs of decomposing. At this moment, Zhou Kang, in order not to be recognized, actually changed into Xiao Er's costume, and then put Xiao Er's body into a sack, while Mo Yan witnessed the whole process by moonlight.

The sadness that had originally remained in Mo Yan's heart turned into forcibly suppressed anger at this moment. He watched Zhou Kang unload Xiao Er's body in eight pieces in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of Xiao Er's body. In the end, guilt and reason suppressed the anger in Mo Yan's heart.

At this moment, Zhou Kang is like an emotionless executioner. However, unlike the executioner, Zhou Kang dismembered Xiao Er's corpse with "frost cutting". In the process, Mo Yan almost had an emotional breakdown several times.

I don't know how long it has been like this. Mo Yan hid outside the window and silently watched everything that happened in the house, until Zhou Kang picked up the sack and walked out of the room. Before leaving, Zhou Kang seemed to remember something, so he returned to the house, took out a shovel, and then really left. Then, the sound of horses' hooves sounded again in such a night, and soon Zhou Kang disappeared into the night, without a trace.

As a well-known tracking master in the kingdom of Shu, Mo Yan naturally will not lose his prey. The emotions of grief and indignation slapped against the cliffs of Mo Yan's heart like a surging wave. He tried to concentrate and keep his sanity, so that he could not let himself kill Zhou Kang at any time.

In the darkness of the night, a man rode a horse with a sack of corpses. Behind him, a man secretly followed, silently. The moonlight is sprinkled, and the wind shakes the shadows of the trees. Unconsciously, they left the city one after another for different reasons.

It was a dead wood forest on the northern outskirts of Bright Moon City.

It is said that it is out of the city, but in fact it is still in the city wall.

It's just that the place is very remote, and even Mo Yan can't think of such a place in the north of Mingyue City for a while. However, out of professional vigilance, Mo Yan didn't dare to get too close, and only dared to watch all this happen quietly from a distance.

saw Zhou Kang pick up the shovel from the horse, scolding and scolding, while digging a pit between the shadows of the trees under the moon in the dead wood forest, it seemed that he wanted to bury Xiao Er's body on the spot.

And Mo Yan could only watch all this, unable to do anything.

Unconsciously, the clenched fists revealed the blood that exploded. The majestic killing intent swayed the shadows of the trees with the evening breeze, making Zhou Kang, who was already a little flustered, subconsciously look back into the night: "Who is it?"

Zhou Kang didn't find Mo Yan, he just had a weak heart, so he shouted to strengthen his courage. And Mo Yan naturally knew it, because there were only him and Zhou Kang here, and Zhou Kang looked back in the opposite direction of Mo Yan's location.

At this moment, Mo Yan can easily kill Zhou Kang at any time. But he didn't. Because Mo Yan knew that it was too early to kill Zhou Kang. In "Ice Prison", while Xiao Li told Mo Yan that the inner ghost was actually Zhou Kang, he also pointed out that this inner ghost was actually not any of the forces that were currently serving in the Su Kingdom, but Xiao Li did not say who it was.

In order to find out the power behind Zhou Kang, Mo Yan could only endure it for the time being. No matter how sad and angry he felt at the moment, he had to hold back.

Time, and a long time has passed.

Zhou Kang dug a pit, buried Xiao Er's body along with the sack, then dug a pit and buried the shovel, and finally rode away on horseback. This time, Mo Yan did not follow Zhou Kang again. As the sound of horses' hooves faded away, Mo Yan slowly walked to the place where Zhou Kang had just buried Xiao Er's body.

Every step he took was very heavy, like a thousand mountains pressing on his shoulders. The soil that buried Xiao Er was cut away by this man little by little. The bright moonlight sprinkled on this square inch of land, as if he was the only one left in the world.

Mo Yan carefully dug up Xiao Er's body, then put it back together, and finally buried it. In the process, tears burst out of his eyes without stopping. It doesn't matter, except for Mingyue tonight, no one will know that he has cried.

After completing this, Mo Yan moved the surrounding stones to Xiao Er's grave, temporarily using it as a tombstone, and also as a marker, so that he would not find it next time he came here.

He got up and kowtowed to the stones three times, and then turned and left the dead wood forest on the northern outskirts of Bright Moon City without saying anything.

The night of October 15 was the most memorable night for many people in Bright Moon City. Ordinary people may only remember that night when the moon was big and round, the sky was full of stars, and there was no snow the next day. But for some, the whole kingdom will be reborn after that night.

"You put on a mask because of what you went through."

"What will you take off your mask because of what you've been through?"

On the way back, Mo Yan's mind always echoed the two words that Xiao Er had said to him, and his answer at that time was: "I wear a mask to protect those who can make me care, as for when I will take off this mask, I think that those who do our job will not really be able to take off the mask unless they die." ”

"In that case, let me put on a mask for my brother from now on."

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to protect my brother, to be a big husband like my brother, to protect more weak and helpless people, to protect them from the injustices of this world."

"Silly boy, what are you thinking about every day in your little brain? The Frost Sword is a forbidden army, but it is not a place for you to play at home. ”

"Mer requests to join the Frost Sword, please approve Deputy Commander Mo."

At that moment, Mo Yan saw the perseverance and firmness he had in Mo Er's eyes. He knew that his younger brother actually had the same personality as himself, and once he decided, he would not look back.

"Have you figured it out?"

"The last general, Moer, is willing to do his best for the frost sword."

When the emaciated man came back to his senses.

The sky was already slightly bright, and the appearance of Xiao Er in his memory gradually blurred in the morning light, and finally turned into Meng Jian's appearance with the wind. The distracted Mo Yan, because of the nightless sleep and the grief in his heart, mistook Meng Jian for Mo Er.

At this time, Meng Jian was on his way to the north of the city, but unexpectedly met Mo Yan who had just returned from the dead wood forest. This was the first time Meng Jian had seen such a sad look in Mo Yan's eyes.

didn't wait for Meng Jian to ask, but listened to Mo Yan say to himself: "At the beginning, I also joined the Frost Sword at your age, but I really didn't expect that in the end, as a brother, I couldn't even protect you. ”

Mo Yan's words made Meng Jian not know how to answer for a while. He looked at Mo Yan suspiciously, but was inadvertently shocked by the bloodshot eyes full of sadness. The two of them stayed where they were, until the misty morning light gradually engulfed their figures in silence.