Autumn Leaf Castle belongs to the East Ji Wild Goose Country.

It is adjacent to the "Imperial Capital Jingguang" in the west, only 100 miles away.

Because it is located in the south of Dongzhou, the climate is warm and moist, and the spring and autumn have been long since ancient times. In addition, Tianqiong Castle happens to border Qi and Luo, and there is an abyss sea in the southernmost part, so the trade route from Tianqiong Castle to the "Imperial Capital Jingguang" of the Dongji Dynasty will be transit through Akiba Castle.

With such unique advantages, the politics, economy, and culture of Akiba Castle have developed rapidly in recent years, and it has become one of the most desirable cities for Dongji people today.

Many scholars in later generations believed that if there was another event similar to the "Chiyan Rebellion" or the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation" in the Dongji Dynasty at that time, the emperor would be destroyed and the Son of Heaven would be exiled. Then, Autumn Leaf City, located in the country of Yan, is very likely to become the next imperial capital of the Dongji Dynasty.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this reason that before the "Jingwei Pass Alliance", Xia and Hand, which were located east of Jibei and north of Yanguo, experienced the "Chiyan Rebellion" and formed a "life and death alliance" in the process, would always harass and invade the territory of Yanguo from time to time for various reasons. And this occasional friction did not come to an end until after the "Jingwei Pass Alliance".

......

In the second year of Emperor Huai of Dongji, September 20, evening.

On the outskirts of Autumn Leaves, the wind stops.

When the autumn wind sweeps away the locust leaves, the birds return to the mountains and forests.

The setting sun spills over the criss-crossed chessboard.

In the courtyard, Bai Qiang and Yan Jing suddenly looked at each other and smiled, it turned out that even they didn't know how long they had been playing this game of chess, and why they hadn't decided the winner yet.

In the past few days, the injuries on Meng Jian's body have healed.

Thanks to the bottle of "Black Cloud of the Moon" given to him by Senior Sister Bai Qiang. Now he is boiling medicine for his second senior sister Yan Jing, and there are still vegetables in the pot, and he is a little busy for a while.

In the courtyard, under the thousand-year-old trees, the fireflies flying at night are still wandering in their dreams, and the black and white koi in the pond look very happy. Zhang San and Li Si, who were guarding outside the wind stop, seemed to be chatting. Inadvertently, the laughter from outside the courtyard disturbed Bai Qiang and Yan Jing, who were still playing.

But seeing Ye Huaihong strayed into the clear pool, Yan Jing dropped the white son in her hand, and then said curiously: "Senior sister, who are the two strong men outside the door, and why have you been appearing and disappearing from time to time in the past few days, mysterious and mysterious." ”

"The tall one is called Zhang San, and the slightly chubby one with a beard is Li Si," after thinking about it, Bai Qiang held the sunspot in his hand and said lightly, "They are all soldiers of the Yanyu Army who have been 'retired' for some reason, and now they are all in the Prime Minister's Mansion at the discretion of Yan Li." ”

"'Retired' for some reason?" Between the words, Yan Jing's gaze shifted from the chessboard to the white Qiang in consideration, "How do you say this?"

"How can I explain it to you? Because his performance was too outstanding, but he didn't fit in, he was finally persuaded to retire from the military. Bai Qiang smiled slightly, and dropped the sunspot in his hand, "If it weren't for Yan Xiangxicai's secret recruitment of them, maybe you would have seen them elsewhere at this moment, such as a blacksmith shop, a pork stall, or a corner of the street." ”

Yan Jing looked at Bai Qiang in surprise and didn't say much.

Bai Qiang smiled slightly: "I once asked them privately what they would have done if they hadn't been recruited by Yan Xiang in the first place." The places I just mentioned are actually just one of the places they go. ”

Yan Jing held the white child in her hand but did not fall, and her gaze returned to the chessboard: "Therefore, the reason why I saw them in Fengzhiju is because of ......"

"They who were recruited by Yan Xiang have become the private soldiers of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and now they are obeying Yan Li's deployment and protecting me at all times. Bai Qiang answered, her tone slightly serious, "Actually, at present, in addition to Zhang San and Li Si, there are two other people who have been around me, but they have not appeared for the time being. Their names are also very simple. One is called Wang Er, and the other is called Long Wu. Of course, these are certainly not their real names. ”

Yan Jing was puzzled and dropped the white son in her hand, "Are these names all made by themselves? What is the reason for the ranking order of two, three, four, five, and is there one?"

Bai Qiang said lightly: "I don't know the rules of the ranking order. The name was given to them by Yan Li. Both to disguise the identity and to facilitate memory. As for the 'one' you are curious about, I estimate that it is very likely to be Yan Li. ”

Yan Jing listened and smiled slightly.

Bai Qiang was puzzled, she didn't know what Yan Jing was laughing at, she just picked up the sunspot and picked up her sideburns and hung her hair on the side of her ears. When he raised his hand, the white jade crescent moon pendant on his wrist was inadvertently dyed golden by the afterglow of the setting sun.

Yan Jing, who saw the white jade crescent pendant bracelet again, immediately remembered the night when Bai Qiang just came back five days ago, and the past with her was accidentally interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"By the way, Senior Sister hasn't told me yet, what kind of story is behind such a beautiful crescent pendant. Yan Jing asked curiously.

Bai Qiang said lightly: "Where did we talk at that time?"

"I talked about an old man. Yan Jing recalled, "Senior sister said that the old man's eyebrows and eyes have the ambition of a rare hero in the world, but his demeanor is full of the spirit of the rivers and lakes. ”

Bai Qiang frowned: "That's what I said?"

Yan Jing nodded: "That's roughly what it means." ”

Bai Qiang pursed her lips and said nothing.

While thinking about it, a leaf of autumn color fell into the chessboard with the wind.

In the autumn color, her afterglow was attracted by Meng Jian, who was boiling medicine and stir-frying vegetables behind Yan Jing. The afterglow of the setting sun gilded Bai Qiang's sideburns with a faint layer of gold. After a moment of silence, she gathered her thoughts, dropped the sunspot in her hand, and said vaguely, "The old past, after a while, I won't mention it anymore." It's you, junior sister, and some things should be turned over. ”

Yan Jing subconsciously avoided Bai Qiang's gaze. Bai Qiang continued: "When the interruption continues, it will be chaotic. ”

"Actually, I know the relationship is over. Just accepting that it always takes some time. Yan Jing said sadly, "He is Chu Yu, the third son of the Yan Kingdom, and the lord of Autumn Leaves City, so he naturally wants to marry the right person." ”

"Born in a family of emperors and generals, it has always been like this. Bai Qiang couldn't help but think of her marriage to Yan Li, and suddenly sighed, "Everything is paving the way for politics." ”

"Is it like Yun Ji, the current lord of the Su Kingdom?" Yan Jing sighed. Bai Qiang was stunned for a moment, and then said, "The open and secret battles between the kingdoms of the world are actually similar to the deceit of the merchants in Tianqiong City. Speaking of which, how long has it been since you returned to Tianqiong City to have a look?"

"Why do you want to go back to Tianqiong City, Fengzhiju is my home!" Yan Jing didn't want to recall the past, and her voice trembled slightly, "Since I was a child, that man has never taken care of me." In order to run for the president of Tianqiong City, he can even ignore the lives of his wife and children. If it hadn't been taken in by the master at the beginning, maybe Yan Jing would have been a white bone at this moment. ”

Bai Qiang's eyes were full of pity, and she didn't know how to comfort her for a while.

The "man" in Yan Jing's mouth refers to the father she has always been reluctant to mention. That is, such as the president of the twenty-seven commercial houses in Qiongcheng today, Yan Feng.

Yan Feng, a native of Yan Country. Born in a family, he grew up with Yan Guogong Chu Qiang. Later, the Yan family fell, and Yan Feng relied on Chu to help him, until he became an adult, and went to Tianqiong City alone. During this period, Yan Feng suffered a lot in order to gain a foothold in Tianqiong City.

At that time, Tianqiong City was not as "well-organized" and "orderly" as it is now. It is even more difficult for outsiders to get a piece of the pie there than it is to climb to the sky. If you are not careful, your family wealth will be scattered and your reputation will be ruined, and you are more likely to die in your sleep and lose your life. It is conceivable that Yan Feng, as an outsider, went through what kind of ups and downs he went through to climb to his current position.

Bai Qiang had heard Yan Jing mention it.

In fact, her sentimental sister originally had a brother and sister. The elder brother should be the same age as Chu Yu, the elder sister's personality is similar to Bai Qiang, and the younger brother is as naughty as Meng Jian. It can be said that Yan Jing's attachment to Chu Yu and Bai Qiang's dependence, as well as Meng Jian's pampering habits, originate from this.

Back then, Yan Feng decided to run for the president of Tianqiong City, but was threatened by his old enemy. The other party kidnapped Yan Feng's wives and children, forced Yan Feng to withdraw from the presidential election, and was not allowed to set foot in Tianqiong City for the rest of his life. And Yan Feng cared about the life and death of his wife and children in vain, and insisted on going his own way.

Yan Jing was frail and sick in her early years, so she was fostered by Yan Feng in the "Spiegel Layman" Ming Ruyue to meditate and regulate her body. In the end, she was the only one in the family who was lucky enough to escape this catastrophe. Although the old things are now like a cloud of smoke, Yan Jing can't forgive Yan Feng.

After thinking about it, he saw Meng Jian, who was originally busy in the house, suddenly poked his head out and shouted: "The medicine will be boiled for a while! It's getting late now, senior sister, second senior sister, let's start eating first!"

Bai Qiang glanced at Meng Jian, who was sweating profusely, smiled at him, and said to Yan Jing, "Don't always think about unhappy things. No, you still have me, Master, and Senior Brother by your side. The top priority is to take care of your body first, and firmly believe that our future days will be sweeter than honey~"

"Thank you, senior sister. ”

Between the words, Bai Qiang took her hand: "Let's go, let's go and see if the little junior brother's skills have regressed, and then come back to finish this game of chess!"

"Good. Yan Jing smiled back. In the afterglow, the victory and defeat on the chessboard at this moment have come to an end with the advantage of sunspots for the time being. Under the thousand-year-old tree, the glow of the blue glow wakes up from sleep and flies in the quiet courtyard.

When you raise your eyes, the last rays of the sunset burn the clouds in the red sky. The bright moon in the old days, at this time, rode the wind and hung high above the starry sky. The koi fish in the pond taste the freshly planted bait, regardless of the year of the day. In the laughter, Meng Jian greeted the two senior sisters and sat down in the inner room of the "Wind Stop House" to taste his craftsmanship.

No one cares, outside the courtyard gate,

Li Si and Zhang San have long since disappeared.

For their disappearance, Bai Qiang didn't care.

Or rather, she wished they hadn't shown up again.

Because, they will report Bai Qiang's every move to Bai Qiang's husband, Yan Li. It's not so much that they're here to protect Bai Qiang, it's better to monitor Bai Qiang for Yan Li. In fact, it is also understandable that the lady who made Yan Li is recognized as the "first beauty in the country of geese".

Let's get back to the moment when Zhang San and Li Si left Fengzhiju, let's see where they went at that time. When the afterglow of the setting sun falls on the crescent moon pendant on Bai Qiang's wrist. As everyone knows, in the bamboo forest outside the courtyard, a woman dressed in green clothes and covering her face with a light veil is sneakily observing everything that happens in the courtyard.

Her figure blends in with the surrounding landscape.

The evening breeze rustles through the bamboo forest.

Those gossamers made of "spiritual power" spread with the wind throughout the "Wind Dwelling" here. These "spiritual gossamers" can only be felt by martial artists who have stepped into the "realm of mental martial arts", and ordinary people have no way to detect them with the naked eye alone. Normally, only a powerful mystic can unleash a "spirit gossamer" and use it as a "weapon".

In addition to this, there are ......

In fact, this woman in green clothes has been observing the "Wind Stops" in the bamboo forest for four days, since Bai Qiang appeared here. Almost every day at this time, the woman would show up on time and would not leave until before dawn the next day.

Although Zhang San and Li Si couldn't detect the spiritual gossamer she released, for her traces, after all, the two of them who had received professional training were actually alert from the beginning. It's just that before figuring out her purpose and intention, Zhang San and Li Si didn't want to startle the snake.

Until this evening, this woman in green clothes appeared directly in front of them, and then turned around and left.

At that time, Zhang San and Li Si thought about whether this would be the "plan to divert the tiger from the mountain" of the woman in Tsing Yi, although she was still not sure whether her purpose was Bai Qiang or someone else in this courtyard, but considering that there was still Wang Er and Long Wu secretly guarding Bai Qiang, in the end, Zhang San and Li Si were a little entangled, and they still chose to catch up with the footsteps of the woman in Tsing Yi to see what she wanted to do.

From the perspective of ordinary people, this is obviously "turning the tiger away from the mountain". However, Zhang San and Li Si did this, which is actually equivalent to "wanting to capture and indulge". As the "private soldier" of the right prime minister's mansion of Yan State, and the "dead soldier" of Yan Li. Zhang San and Li Si belong to the "Ming Servant", that is, the guards who protect Bai Qiang on the bright side, while Wang Erlong Wu belongs to the "Dark Servants", that is, the guards who secretly protect Bai Qiang.

In the event of such a "diversion of the tiger from the mountain", only by pretending to be a trick can we gain insight into the true intentions of the comer and lead to the mastermind behind the scenes. This is the responsibility of the Darkservants.

In other words, when Zhang San and Li Si were "transferred from the mountain", Wang Er and Long Wu, who had been dormant for a long time, also returned to their positions in the shadows at the same time, alert to the "mastermind behind the scenes" that may appear at any time.

Under the sunset, in the wind, the bamboo leaves rustle,

Two men were chasing a woman, not letting up for a moment. When their figures walked through the bamboo forest and came to an empty valley abyss, the woman in green clothes slowly stopped, turned her head and smiled at the two behind her.

When she looked back, Zhang San and Li Si were already sweating profusely, and they couldn't breathe. At this time, the woman unhurriedly lifted the veil and revealed her true face. In this regard, Zhang San and Li Si behaved as if they were facing a great enemy.

Their surprise was not because of the woman's appearance. After the veil was lifted, the woman looked mediocre, and the only special thing was probably the pair of scarlet eyes.

Why did the woman in Tsing Yi choose to unveil in front of such an empty valley abyss? Wasn't she afraid that her appearance would be remembered by Zhang San and Li Si? In fact, the reason was very simple, the woman wanted to kill Zhang San and Li Si here, and Zhang San and Li Si should have guessed this, so they showed their weapons one after another.

"What does this girl mean?" Zhang San, who took out the iron hook, tried to distract the woman and create an opportunity for Li Si to sneak attack. saw Li Si pull out his sword from the scabbard and slowly approach the woman between the words.

The woman sneered: "You guess?"

Zhang San smiled: "The girl spent so much effort just to trick us into coming here to kill us, there must be a backhand, right?"

"I don't need it, it's a hassle just thinking about it. In fact, all along, the other two warriors lurking around that courtyard had already discovered it since I first arrived. It's a pity that I want information about the three people in that courtyard, and those two warriors are always hiding in the shadows, so they don't know as much as you. The woman said lightly, "After all, these days, I see that you and those people in the courtyard are talking and laughing, and I think you should be able to search for what I want from your memory." ”

The more Zhang San and Li Si heard this, the more confused they became.

Li Si: "What are you talking about?"

"Could it be that you have killed Wang Er and Long Wu?" Zhang San said tentatively. Between the words, he and Li Si slowly took a step closer to the woman. But when she saw the woman sighing: "Killing them will definitely alarm you, but if you kill you in this way, presumably they will think that this is a diversion of the tiger from the mountain, and then they will not dare to act rashly." After all, if the Bright Servant and the Dark Attendant join forces at the same time, I am afraid that it will be difficult for me to settle it alone. ”

At this time, Li Si's brows furrowed slightly, as if he had seen this woman somewhere. While pondering, Zhang San was surprised: "Who are you who actually know about our open and secret servants?"

The woman let out a silver bell-like laugh and ignored Zhang San's question. saw Li Si and Zhang San whispered: "This woman, it seems that she is the maid who followed that beautiful woman in front of the Yufu a few days ago, I estimate that the matter between the Ming and the dark is leaked out from the Yufu." ”

Just as Zhang San and Li Si were whispering, Qing Ying shouted, raised his hand and pulled out a narrow long sword and stabbed Li Si's eyebrows, Li Si was shocked!

Zhang San on the side waved the iron hook and locked the woman's shoulder. The woman sneered, turned around and kicked Zhang San dozens of steps away, and then hit a boulder alive, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, Li Si frowned and turned the hilt of his sword.

Between the swords and blades, countless sharp needles turned into spiritual gossamers struck from all directions, directly turning Li Si, who was busy fighting with Qing Ying, into a living hedgehog.

"Fourth!"

This scene made Zhang San not know how to deal with it for a moment. Since he couldn't see those sudden spiritual gossamers, he didn't know what had just happened, only that Li Si was fighting against a woman, and then his whole body inexplicably began to bleed like a sieve.

"Demon girl, I'll fight with you!"

In Zhang Sansan's shouting, countless spiritual gossamers regathered on Qing Ying's back, gradually condensing into a pair of black wings visible to the naked eye. Under the setting sun, Qingying slowly closed her eyes and raised her head slightly, bathed in the blood-colored afterglow, as if mourning for the dead.

In the evening breeze, the swift iron hook hit Qingying's heart.

Qing Ying didn't react and continued to "condense her wings".

Until Zhang San was only seven steps away from Qingying.

Suddenly, Huo Ran's scarlet eyes suddenly opened.

The feather blades made of countless spiritual gossamers set off a gust of wind, directly nailing Zhang San who was rushing to death on the boulder just now, leaving him with only his last breath.

saw Qing Ying grinning at the corners of his mouth, lifted the iron hook that fell to the ground with one kick, and kicked straight at Zhang San at this time. In the face of such a disparity in strength, Zhang San finally let go of the struggle and slowly closed his eyes.

At the critical moment, a white light flashed!

When the sparks burst out, the iron hook was knocked away!

Qing Ying frowned slightly, but she saw a woman dressed in red in front of her, holding a black ancient sword, blocking in front of Zhang San, who only had one breath left.

Her eyebrows are like willow leaves, and her skin is better than snow.

The emaciated face makes people shudder a little, and the high nose bridge is a little arrogant and cold. The eyes as clear as sapphire were looking coldly at Qingying in front of him at this moment.

In silence, Qing Ying lifted the sword that belonged to Li Si on the ground with one foot, and shouted: "Who is here?

The woman in red said lightly: "Is it important?"

Qing Ying sneered, and instead threw the sword belonging to Zhang San in his hand towards the woman in red. But seeing that the woman was not in a hurry, she turned the hilt of the sword. The chilling sword qi set off an unstoppable wave of qi in the silence, directly rolling the sword that was coming towards her and stabbing it in the opposite direction!

Transform your heart into your mind and kill the enemy with your energy!

This is a terrifying stunt that has entered the realm of "Heart Martial Arts"! Qing Yan was shocked and hurriedly parried! When the sparks burst out, the woman in red raised her sword and slashed it in the air! In an instant, even if the black ancient sword was parried by Qing Ying, it also pressed into her shoulder by two points. Qing Ying looked at the scene in front of her in disbelief, revealing a look of surprise and fear.

Perhaps out of fear of blood,

Or maybe it's the desire to live.

In the wail, Qing Ying tried to condense the spirit gossamer again, and attacked and defended, and then exchanged for an opportunity to prepare to escape from here. The short confrontation had already made her realize that she was definitely not the opponent of the woman in front of her! At present, this woman has not tried her best, and if she uses all her strength, I am afraid that she will be dead just now!

So, why didn't she use all her strength just now?

The reason is very simple, she wants to catch it alive!

The evening breeze comes from time to time, accompanied by bursts of blood.

At the time of life and death, after Qingying gained insight into the woman's motives, the woman also understood her. But I saw the woman grinning and turning the hilt of her sword. In an instant, the evening breeze stopped, the falling bamboo leaves were still in the air, Zhang San's eyes in the distance were dull and motionless, like a boulder behind him, and the clouds on the horizon returned to the painting, and time stood still.

All the spiritual gossamers that converged towards Qingying's body also seemed to have lost contact with her at that moment, as if they were separated from two worlds under the same sky.

"The Realm of the Ten Directions"?!

Qing Ying looked at all this in front of her in disbelief, and was shocked in her heart. Before she could react, the antique long sword directly cut off Qing Ying's sword and shaved off her arm.

In the wail, time flowed again.

With a sharp roar, Qing Ying used the blood on her body as a guide to set off a gust of wind blade again, this time her target was no longer the woman in front of her, but Zhang San who only had his last breath left in the distance.

The scene in front of her made the woman in red frown.

She muttered to herself, "Black Heaven Sect?"

Surprised, she hurriedly turned around and retreated, giving up Qingying, who had lost her ability to resist, and rushed to Zhang San's aid. If this blow can't be blocked by Zhang San, then there will soon be a blurry pool of flesh on the boulder.

With a wave of sword qi, the blood-colored wind blade vanished in the crackling sparks. Zhang San, who was seriously injured, was able to survive. The woman in red let out a long sigh.

By the time she came to her senses, the blood mist had lifted.

Seriously injured, Qingying took the opportunity to flee here.

And he jumped off the abyss in front of him to escape.

Since she has been severely injured, it is estimated that there will be more luck than luck.

So the woman in red did not hunt her down.

Under the setting sun, the last streamer fell into the eyes of the woman in red. Looking at the mess in front of her, she looked solemn, turned around and sealed several acupoints on Zhang San's body to stop the bleeding and heal his injuries.

The faint scent of osmanthus is mixed with the blood in the wind.

Sniffing carefully, the frightened Zhang San once again experienced the taste of being alive. Looking at Li Si lying in a pool of blood in the distance, Zhang San did not forget to thank the woman in red in front of him with a sad mood: "Thank you for the timely rescue." ”

The woman in red: "With a lot of effort, why worry about it." ”

At this time, Zhang San hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"I don't know what Engong is called?"

The woman in red was silent for a moment, and helped him up.

But I saw the last rays of the sunset disappear into the night.

Fragments of starlight surrounded the bright moon and gradually rose above the east mountain.

The woman in red only then spoke: "The brightness of the bright moon, the wishful thinking, the moon of the bright moon." The world calls me as bright as the moon. ”