Dongji Shuguo, Mingyue City.

October 11, after dark.

A horse-drawn carriage braved the heavy snow and drove slowly on the streets of this lonely city in Jibei. The wheels rolled over the wide pavement, leaving long trails on the thick snow. There are hardly any pedestrians along the way. Soon the fresh snow will cover up the carriage's passing tracks, as if it had never been to the city.

Although the driver of the car was dressed thickly, he could not be seen from his face, but he was not warm at all. All the skin exposed to the cold wind has been frozen purple by the wind and snow in the north.

As a southerner who has lived in the country for a long time, this driver who drove the car today is the first time in his life to experience the taste of winter. Before, he longed to touch the legendary snow with his own hands, but now, the coachman regretted it.

The cold wind took away the southern temperature from the driver's body little by little along the gap in his sleeves, and the driver just wanted to finish this task as soon as possible and return early.

Winters in Jibei are cold and long.

In such a season, many plants and animals will face an existential crisis. If they fail to store food and hibernate in time, they will face the double torture of hunger and cold. Between heaven and earth, there is only a snow, and beyond that, there is the howling wind, and the dead silence of the time.

However, no matter how cold the winter in Jibei is, there are always three plants that can persevere in this long snow until the arrival of spring, holding on to the last hope for this desperate world.

They are known as the "purple willow", "green sunflower" and "red plum" of Jibei Sanyou. The Liu's Mingyue City, Liuyuncheng's Xia's, and Yaoguangcheng's Han clan respectively use these three plants as their family crests, and thus highlight the unspeakable deep friendship between the three families.

In fact, before the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation", there was also a plant called "Red Pine", which was once as famous as the three friends of Jibei. "Red pine" originated from the Xia Kingdom of Jibei, which is a kind of pine tree that is more and more red the more cold it is, and then it becomes extinct in the Xia Kingdom due to the Chiyan Rebellion, and when it reappears, it is in the Mirror Moon City of the Jibei Shu Kingdom.

The Thousand Feather Clan of Mirror Moon City, during the Chiyan Rebellion, settled in Mirror Moon City with Emperor Ji Chu, although "Red Pine" is as famous as the Three Friends of Jibei, but the Thousand Feather Clan with "Red Pine" as the family emblem is not the local family of the Su Kingdom.

The Qianyu clan of Jingyue City is a branch of the Mu clan of the Ji Dynasty, and they regard the Dongji Mu clan as orthodox and take the "red pine" as the family crest that symbolizes loyalty. Compared with the arrogance and flamboyance of the Mingyue Liu clan of the Shuguo Bright Moon, the Mirror Moon Qianyu clan is low-key and easy-going.

In the glorious period, the Mirror Moon Thousand Feather Clan and the Bright Moon Liu Clan, separated between Mirror Moon City and Bright Moon City, the beautiful "Qiguang River" fought against the entire Jibei.

This meaningless open and secret struggle, even if Yun Chen, the lord of the country, came forward to mediate, it was not reconciled, until the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation" that has no reason for this is still unknown, and the grievances between the two families were not resolved because of the decline of one of the families.

When the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation" turned Mirror Moon City into ruins, it was also the day when Akamatsu completely disappeared in the Shuguo. The terrifying "Heavenly Fire Tribulation" ignited Mirror Moon City with black flames, turning the rhizome of the "Red Pine" and the bloodline of the Mirror Moon Thousand Feather Clan into ashes in a snap of a finger.

The beautiful "Qiguang River" has also dried up because of the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation". Bathed in countless wails and sorrows, the "red pine" that escaped the flames of the "Chiyan Rebellion" has disappeared from the world. Of the glorious Mirror Moon Thousand Feather Clan, only a few escaped the fate of being wiped out.

Originally, Qianyu Yanyun, who was ranked seventh in the family and was not favored by many clansmen, because the six heirs in front of her died in the Heavenly Fire Tribulation, so she unexpectedly succeeded to the head of the Qianyu clan.

The Thousand Feather Clan of Mirror Moon City is only loyal to the Mu Clan Imperial Clan. Stories about them are rarely mentioned in the canonical history. This may be related to their low-key family style, but it is not excluded that some people do it deliberately.

Thousand Feathers is an ambitious woman.

Her jealousy is as strong as her self-esteem.

In her early years, her brothers and sisters felt that her abilities were not worthy of her ambitions, but she always talked about them. Over time, the listeners inevitably got bored and distanced themselves from her.

Qianyu Yanyun was born handsome, with a delicate figure and exquisite facial features. Many sons of the family are very fond of her. Whether you wear men's clothes or change back into your daughter's body, it can be eye-catching.

Her character does not have the tenderness of her daughter's family, and more often you can see in her eyes the perseverance that only a man can have. When other daughters are at her age, they may imagine what their future husband will be like and what he will look like, but she is thinking about her family and country, and she is determined to unify the Ji Dynasty.

Perhaps because of this, Qianyu Yanyun didn't have many friends in her childhood, and in addition to Jing Xuan Lianmu, who cared about her a lot, it was Yun Fan. When Mingguang Armor was established, she also wanted to join in disguise as a man, but was cruelly rejected by Yun Fan.

Although Qianyu Yanyun always regarded herself as a man at that time, in the eyes of Lian Muyun, Fan Jingxuan and others, she would always be like a sister.

However, all this quietly changed as Yun Fan said goodbye later. Qianyu Yanyun, who didn't have many friends, felt betrayed when he learned that Yun Fan had quietly left. So it didn't take long for one of her daughters to chase her to the Northern Desert alone, trying to find Yun Fan.

After several ups and downs, Thousand Feathers found the man who said goodbye without saying goodbye, but to her surprise, the man did not plan to come back, and in order to drive her away, she actually humiliated her with words that were difficult to hear.

Heartbroken, Thousand Feathers Yanyun, after returning to the country of Shu, his temperament changed greatly. After learning that she had returned, Jing Xuan and the others asked what had happened, but Qianyu Yanyun did not say a word about his experience in the Northern Desert, and announced that he no longer wanted to have anything to do with Yun Fan, and then alienated all the people and things related to Yun Fan.

In the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation", Emperor Ji Shu died, the prince went into exile, and the Jingyue Qianyu clan was almost wiped out, and then the people of the world were in turmoil, and the princes of the countries fought and killed each other.

After succeeding to the head of the family, Qianyu Yanyun thought that all this was caused by the unfavorable care of the Son of Heaven by Yun Chen, the lord of the country, and Yun Fan's poisonous tongue hurt her self-esteem before, and in the end, all this turned into Qianyu Yanyun's hatred for the Yun clan under the combined effect of time and events. After thinking about it for a while, the Thousand Feather Yanyun Ju clan moved away from the country that was already a turbulent dark tide at that time.

Ling Wujian, the lord of the Luo country, who has always liked vassal elegance and befriended aristocratic families, sent an invitation to Qianyu Yanyun as soon as he learned of this, and personally led the Xuanjia army, known as the "Iron Wall", to the border between the two countries to welcome the Qianyu clan.

......

This year, Mingyue City will usher in this overwhelming snow a little later than in previous years. The coachman from the south drove in a horse-drawn carriage in the lonely city of the north, and there was no one around.

The cold wind howled, and the snow fell between the hair.

Duan Nian's hands were purple from the cold. He shivered as he drove the carriage, fearing that if he did not move, he would most likely be frozen directly on the carriage by the terrible chill.

In the carriage, a woman dressed in a brocade sable cloak and a "red pine" family crest on the placket of her shirt was flipping through an ancient book with jerky meanings by the light of a warm lamp.

The delicate and fair complexion is reflected in the warm lamp, like a flawless warm jade. The wind bun shows the sideburns, and the eyebrows are lightly swept away. Two strands of long black and brown hair fell down their shoulders, and a pair of bright eyes turned wisely with the drift of thoughts. It doesn't seem to eat the fireworks in the world, but it is charming and boneless, and it is glamorous.

Sometimes the arrangement of fate is always unpredictable. The coachman was out in a hurry, and she didn't rush in the carriage. As the younger sister of Thousand Feathers Smoke Cloud, Thousand Feather Fenghua ranks ninth in the family. The eighth-ranked one died in the "Heavenly Fire Tribulation" a few years ago, if Qianyu Yanyun gave up inheriting the head of the Qianyu clan back then, then at this moment Qianyu Fenghua is the head of the Qianyu clan, and the Qianyu clan of Mirror Moon City will not move to the capital of the country "Shaoguang City" because of Qianyu Yanyun's words.

Qianyu Fenghua also didn't expect that he would one day return to this familiar and unfamiliar place. Along the way, under the eaves of the streets and alleys, although the lanterns have been lit, there are not many pedestrians on the road.

Even the frost sword guards who patrolled the streets didn't look at a few. Perhaps because of the deepening of the night and the heavy snowfall, Qianyu Fenghua comforted herself, in fact, she had thought that Bright Moon City would fall into a depression after experiencing many ups and downs, but she didn't expect it to be so depressed.

I had heard early on that the legendary Chiyan warrior had entered Mingyue City, but until now, it was only when I entered the city that I had the opportunity to see the style, and I haven't seen half of it since.

I don't know how long time has passed in her contemplation. The carriage drove on the "Old Dream Bridge" on the Qiguang River, passed through Mingyue City and came to Jingyue City. The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and Duan Nian felt as if his hands had frozen with the reins.

Eventually, after several tosses and turns, the carriage gradually slowed down as it passed by a house with a wide lintel and a gold-carved jade plaque in Jingyue City.

As it happened, a few frost swords who happened to be patrolling the streets seemed to sense something, so they instinctively glanced at the carriage a few more times. In the carriage, Qianyu Fenghua discovered this scene through the gap between the windows.

Out of caution, Thousand Feathers Kaede knocked on the car door.

The coachman realized that the carriage, which was originally moving slowly, bypassed the main entrance of the wide mansion, then went straight left and right, and went around for a long time, and finally came to a deserted alley.

Duan Nian was very careful, and after making sure that there were no people around at all, he stopped the carriage in front of an old stone tablet. It was a ruined old stone monument. The falling snow covered the text at the bottom of it, and the years eroded the integrity of the stele, and it was vaguely visible the story of the stele.

It was a piece of the past about the Thousand Feather Clan of Jingyue, which was inscribed by Emperor Ji Chu himself, and the general content was to praise the Thousand Feather Clan's contribution to the Mu Clan.

Before leaving the carriage, Duan Nian followed Qianyu Fenghua's instructions to find the broken stone tablet. He tapped lightly on the base of the stele, and the echo of the emptiness suggested that there might be a wide dark passage underneath the stele.

So, Duan Nian hurriedly came to the carriage, stretched out his hand and knocked on the side wall of the carriage: "Master, I'm sure it's here, please get off." ”

As soon as the words fell, Qianyu Fenghua slowly opened the door of the carriage and got out of the carriage with the support of the coachman. She handed the lamp to the coachman, and she hid the unfinished ancient book in her sleeve.

In the face of the cold wind, Qianyu Fenghua and Duan Nian revealed two different expressions. At this time, Duan Nian's face had been blown purple, and Qianyu Fenghua was only pale, and he didn't tremble like the coachman.

This may be because Qianyu Fenghua grew up here, so he has already developed a cold-tolerant physique, and Duan Nian is from the south, so it will be difficult to adapt for a while.

After getting out of the car, Qianyu Fenghua looked around, as if he wanted to retrieve some old memories, but all he got was a full of things and people. Eventually, with the help of the coachman, she came to the dilapidated stone monument.

The snow fell into the black-brown hair, and the smart eyes were slightly sad at this moment. She crouched down and stretched out her slender hand to gently wipe the dust and snow from the stele, and inadvertently a few tears slipped from her eyes.

Duan Nian noticed this scene, so he didn't care that he was already frozen, and hurriedly cared about Qianyu Fenghua and said, "Master, are you okay?"

After hearing this, Qianyu Fenghua wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and then got up and said, "It's okay, let's go in quickly." ”

Duan Nian waved his hand and said, "No." ”

Then, Qianyu Fenghua turned around and stepped back, took the warm lamp from Duan Nian's hand, and gave Duan Nian enough space. The dilapidated stone stele, under the action of the arms that had been frozen purple, turned left once, turned right three times, left twice, and finally turned around.

The ground beneath the feet of the two vibrated slowly as the stone tablet turned, and a small low roar lingered in between, as if some giant beast had passed through the depths of the stone slab beneath their feet.

Thousand Feathers Kaede was not worried that the sound would disturb the surrounding residents. One is because this sound is very subtle and can only be heard in front of the stone monument, and the other is because after the Tianhuo disaster, this place has become a "ghost house", and no one dares to live in it. Even if it is a frost sword patrolling the streets, it is not an important situation, and it will not come here casually to find excitement.

When Duan Nian finished turning the stone tablet, the low and long roar under the feet of the two stopped abruptly, and the earth returned to calm at the same moment. Then, a dusty door appeared behind the dilapidated stone monument.

The wind swept down the snow, and the chill hit the eyes.

The faint warm light dispelled the depth of the night, and a staircase with no end in sight, under the reflection of the warm lamp, appeared in the dusty gate at this moment. When Duan Nian hesitated, Qianyu Fenghua did not hesitate.

She carried the warm lamp and wiped her head into the door of the earth without looking back. Then, the door of the ground slowly closed, Duan Nian seemed to remember something at this time, so he quickly pulled out the soft sword in his sleeve, cut off the reins that tied the carriage under the tree, and gave the black horse a kick, and he jumped in while the door was about to be closed, for fear of being locked outside.

The black horse of Luoguo, who had worked hard to pull the carriage here, was frightened by Duan Nian's kick, and pulled the carriage again, as if he was crazy, running wildly in the snowy night, and gradually disappeared.

The snow is still falling, and it's falling heavily.

Whether it's horseshoe prints, pedestrian figures, or track tracks. Sooner or later, the deep recess will be filled with snow that has stopped at some point, and no one will know what is happening here, and even if one day does, it can only be spring.

Under the closed ground gate, Duan Nian followed Qianyu Fenghua slowly stepped through the long stairs, and the footsteps of the two echoed in this deep tunnel. Duan Nian didn't dare to speak, he always felt that there was a terrifying beast living in the depths of this endless tunnel.

And the reason why he has this illusion may be related to his own upbringing. Qianyu Fenghua didn't speak, she carried the warm lamp, followed the outline of her memory, trying to find the only way out from this endless darkness.

This secret passage is known only to the Thousand Feather Clan.

There are countless doors in the dark passage, each leading to a different place in Mirror Moon City. At the beginning, when the Thousand Feathers Smoke Cloud descended into the world, he took some of his clansmen to hide in this secret passage, so that he was able to survive.

Legend has it that deep underground in Mirror Moon City and Bright Moon City, there is a "Dark Star City" that is large enough to accommodate half of the area of Jibei. It's just that, due to the age, no one knows whether this Dark Star City exists or not, and how true this legend is, and most of those stories about Dark Star City are inseparable from the Ember Emperor and the Twelve Sects of the Black Sky Sect.

It was precisely in order to find this "Dark Star City" that the Qianyu clan dug this secret passage under Mirror Moon City, but after digging for many years, nothing was found, but a lot of manpower, material resources and energy were consumed. In the end, the Thousand Feather Clan, who had been searching for it to no avail, gave up the search for Dark Star City with hatred, and used this dark passage as storage and refuge.

The dilapidated stone monument opens the dusty door of the ground.

Right now, after escorting Qianyu Fenghua here, it has become Duan Nian's new task to protect her. He didn't know what Thousand Feather Fenghua was going to do after passing through this deep secret passage, after all, this was not what he should know. Sometimes, knowing too much isn't a good thing.

If a man does not know spirits, how can he be afraid of them?

Qianyu Fenghua carried the warm lamp, thinking about it as she walked. In her mind, she was the dark path that a thousand feathers of smoke had taken her through. There are many stone gates in this dark passage, and there is an exit behind each stone door, basically most of the exits are in Mirror Moon City, and only one exit leads to Bright Moon City.

After going down the tunnel, the light of the warm lamp gradually dispelled the chill on Duan Nian's body. The original frozen purple complexion slowly recovered its original qi and blood here, which also made Duan Nian feel inexplicably grateful for this lamp that could only be used in Jibei.

In fact, the place that Qianyu Fenghua wanted to go was somewhere in Mingyue City, but in order to avoid eyes and ears and unnecessary trouble, and out of caution, Qianyu Fenghua ordered Duan Nian to drive a carriage to Mirror Moon City and go to Mingyue City from the tunnel.

In this way, the two of them walked in the darkness by the light of the warm lamp, and they don't know how long. During this period, they walked in front of a stone gate marked with different names, the winding and rugged stairs made Duan Nian feel longer and longer, as if there was really no end, and finally Duan Nian still didn't hold back, and asked Qianyu Fenghua: "Master, how long will we have to walk like this." ”

Qianyu Fenghua: "It's almost there." ”

Between the words, the refreshing fragrance made Duan Nian a little drunk. After Qianyu Fenghua said this, the two of them then walked for half a cup of tea before they arrived at the exit that Qianyu Fenghua wanted to find.

In the process, Duan Nian clearly felt that the ladder was on an upward trend. Unlike the stone doors that had been passed before, this one was not marked with any words. The place where the words should have been marked seems to have been destroyed by someone with a heavy weapon.

By the light of the warm lamp, Duan Nian saw signs of swords on this stone door, and not only that, but there were also some traces of blood that had dried up for a long time.

Seeing this, Duan Nian frowned. What he saw, Qianyu Fenghua also saw. But Thousand Feathers Kaede was not surprised by these strange traces. Because she knew what was behind the door, including the blood stains on the door and the traces of the past, how they came about.

Duan Nian was not surprised to see that Thousand Feather Fenghua was not surprised by this, and wanted to ask, but he didn't expect Thousand Feather Fenghua to speak first: "Are you ready?"

Duan Nian was puzzled: "Huh?"

Qianyu Fenghua: "It's a little cold outside. ”

As the woman's voice fell, the heavy stone door slowly opened again after many years. The woman clearly remembered that the last time she stood here, she was only twelve years old, and it was her sister Qianyu Yanyun who protected her in her arms and swept away everyone who approached them with her sword, which gave Qianyu Fenghua the opportunity to stand here again today.

In the next picture, as Qianyu Fenghua said, when the stone door was opened, the biting cold wind mixed with the flying snow on his face made Duan Nian suddenly feel a little reluctant to leave this deep dark passage.

Qianyu Fenghua looked at Duan Nian suspiciously: "What?"

Duan Nian hesitated for a moment, then followed the footsteps of Qianyu Fenghua. When the two of them fully stepped out of the stone door, an emaciated old man and a group of attendants with torches appeared in front of them.

Out of instinctive vigilance, Duan Nian pulled out a thin soft sword from his sleeve and protected Qianyu Fenghua behind him at the first time. The killing intent was cleared in the eyes of this southerner, but after seeing this scene in front of him, Qianyu Fenghua did not make any nervousness or fear.

Without waiting for Qianyu Fenghua to speak, the old man in front of him, supported by the attendant, waved his hand at Qianyu Fenghua with a respectful face and said, "It's been a long time, Qianyu girl, after all these years, don't come to harm!"

Duan Nian did not relax his vigilance because of the old man's words, but after listening to the old man's politeness, Qianyu Fenghua gently placed his hand on the back of the hand where Duan Nian picked up the sword, and motioned for him to put the sword away.

The old man's respectful gaze also touched Qianyu Fenghua's smart eyes at this time: "It's been a long time, Lord Deer." ”