White smoke escapes from the lion-shaped copper incense burner, and the agarwood crumbs lit on the pottery shards have turned black. There were no lights in the house, and it was dark all around.

Dugu Ye sat in the yellow rosewood chair depressed, silently thinking back to his past, looking lonely and depressed.

For days, the torture of the demon spell had made him skinny and sunken, and his eye sockets had sunken.

A knock outside the door interrupted his memories, causing Dugu Ye to turn around and call her in. And Yang Qingyan put the bowl of medicinal soup on the side of the desk, and always had a moving smile on her face.

"Brother Ye, it's time to take medicine. This medicinal soup is good for your body. Yang Qingyan took out the red silk from her arms and wiped the fine sweat on her forehead for him. Then she took her eyes off Dugu Ye's body and said to herself.

"I heard what the elders in the city said, the Hongyan Temple here is quite effective, and thousands of pious pilgrims go to its mountain gate every day, why don't you go up the mountain with me to recuperate for a few days?"

It's a pity that he sat there silently, his empty eyes just staring blankly at the dim starry sky. Seeing this situation, Yang Qingyan's eyelashes suddenly drooped slightly, and the enthusiasm in her eyes gradually dimmed. Then she took her leave, and folded her hands together.

At this time, Dugu Ye suddenly spoke: "What's wrong with your hand?"

"Oh, nothing. Yang Qingyan subconsciously covered her wrist tied with a strip of white cloth, smiled disapprovingly, and replied, "When I was preparing medicinal materials in the workshop, I accidentally let the knife cut it. Yan'er is fine, and Brother Ye doesn't need to mind. ”

"Why are you in trouble?"

After hearing this, Yang Qingyan's expression suddenly shook slightly, and the smile on her face suddenly condensed.

Dugu Ye raised his hand and brushed it over the medicinal soup, making the bowl of black-brown medicinal soup turn red. Where does this look like half a medicinal soup? It's clearly a bowl of warm and bright red human blood!

"Do you think this trick will hide from me?" he said, "and you should have killed me while I was in the cave." ”

"Brother Ye, don't say it, you know in your heart that Yan'er can't do this. Yang Qingyan slowly turned away to look at him, and the corners of her reddish eyes suddenly moistened.

"If I tell you that I am the king of Zhaoxin and the general of the Taichen Kingdom, and the culprit of the Second Eclipse War, will you still hesitate like now?"

"What?"

"Don't you want to know, where did I go thirteen years ago?" Dugu Ye looked into the other party's eyes and continued: "Back then, my mother and I survived the disaster of annihilation, so we fled to Taichen Country incognito and lived an ordinary life for many years.

Later, in a dispute, he unintentionally inserted willows and willows, and was able to recognize his ancestors and return to his ancestors there, and since then he has changed his name to Dugu Ye. After I got married to Nangong Huiyue in Qianzhao, I moved to Rinzhou to manage the government and train the army.

"Now I have been ordered to crusade against Nanhua, and led more than 300,000 dark demon cavalry to capture Longyou and Beiying, and the sins I have committed are simply too numerous to mention. However, the war between the two countries started because of me and will end with me. As long as you kill me with your sword now, everything will be back on track. ”

Then Dugu Ye's mind moved, and the Xiaoyao Sword suddenly flew out of the scabbard. I saw it hanging flat in front of Yang Qingyan, and the slightly trembling blade of the sword let out a roar, as if it was crying because of it.

As the saying goes, all things have spirits, and so is the sword.

"If Brother Ye doesn't say these things, Yan'er will naturally be able to guess one or two. On that day, there was a purple-backed dragon horse lying in the snow outside the cave, and Yan'er knew that you were the general Zuo who had been missing for many days.

"But, even if you are the remnant of the demon clan that is rumored in the outside world, so what?" Yang Qingyan suddenly waved her hand to push away the sword blade, stepped forward and put her arms around his neck gently, and replied emotionally: "No matter how long it has been, you will always be my brother Ye."

"In the past, no matter how much trouble Yan'er had, it was Brother Ye who was silently guarding me. This time, would it be good to change Yan'er to protect you? There are many strange people in this wilderness, and someone must be able to save you. But as long as there is a glimmer of life, we must not give up lightly. ”

After hearing this, Dugu Ye pressed the back of her hand and wept, and suddenly laughed sadly.

In the depths of the cold mountain, the blue air gradually rises, and the ancient temple appears and disappears in the pale white mist. Monks with lamps walk along the promenade lined with red columns, and the towers that stand in the mountains are covered with a finger's thick layer of snow.

The bronze bell rings, and the sound permeates the five mountains. The majestic main hall is dedicated to the golden statue of Maitreya Buddha, and a monk in a robe sits quietly in front of a lotus seat, leading the monks in the current recitation.

There was a group of young novices lined up on two sides, all of them looking absent-minded when they were holding and reciting the sutras. The youngest of them, the novice, was the most depressed, and had quietly dozed off.

The old monk of the empty mountain is the presiding officer of the temple, born with kind eyebrows and good eyes and a blessed posture, at this moment is slightly bowing his head and chanting, and the wooden fish in front of him is rattling.

The sky was slightly bright, the rooster crowed, and the number of pilgrims who went to the mountain gate to worship gradually increased. From time to time, there was a clanging sound in the incense cabinet, and the smoke of the incense enveloped the temple. The three gilded Buddha statues are filled with devout devotees, and the benefactors who have visited the shrine stream out of the temple gate.

Dugu Ye, who had been recuperating in the Hongyan Temple for many days, stayed down, climbed the snow-covered stone steps alone, and walked to the vermilion Buddha hall. After the great monk Kongshan finished chanting, he happened to see Dugu Ye next to the door with his spare eyes, so he got up and invited him to visit the temple together.

"Chen Tanyue's condition seems to have improved recently. ”

"Thanks to Yan'er and the monks' good care, I was fortunate to survive. ”

"Lord Weng treats you with deep affection, and I hope that Chen Tan will not be disappointed in the future. ”

"Why did the abbot say that?"

"The old man shouldn't have bothered about Hongchen. The Great Monk of Kongshan paused slightly, and said: "It's just that Chen Tanyue is in a high position in Taichen, if the two armies face each other one day, I hope Chen Tanyue can show mercy." ”

After hearing this, Dugu Ye seemed calm and calm, and said, "Oh, how does the abbot know the identity of the next?"

"It's not a secret, Lao Wei has been born with a discerning eye since he was a child, and he can identify succubus monsters. The Great Monk of Kongshan explained, "Three days ago, since the first time Lao Qu and Chen Tanyue met, they had already seen Your Excellency's Ying Long body.

"In the whole world, only the royal family of Taichen has this bloodline. The disappearance of Dugu Ye, the king of Zhaoxin and the general of the left of the Taichen Kingdom, spread in the Huaibei wind, and the old man only realized a little. ”

"In that case, why doesn't the abbot go to Taiyao Sect to invite merit, but instead talk to me here?"

"A monk should be compassionate, but how can he kill for utilitarianism?"

"Don't you hate me?"

"The old man has cultivated the ten good karma for many years, and this heart has long been immovable. The great monk of the empty mountain calmly replied: "All living beings have fate. The sorrows and joys of this life are the ties of past lives. And if you and I are our own masters, what sin is there?"

"The abbot's great kindness is unforgettable. As for Yan'er and I have been in love since childhood, I will never hurt her. But if he is in the next day, he will not lead the troops to attack Huaibei, and he hopes that the abbot will be relieved. ”

"Good at fighting, the old man thanked His Highness for the people of Huaibei. The great monk of Kongshan clasped his hands together, and then nodded his head and took his leave. And Dugu Ye walked up in the snow, standing on the stone platform in front of the hall and looking into the distance.

A flock of silver-gray pigeons flew in the golden morning glow and perched on the green tiles at the top of the ancient temple. The red eaves on the edge of the roof are upturned like phoenix tails, and under the bucket arches hang an octagonal lamp covered with an iron net.

Dugu Ye put his elbows on the painted red trunk and stared at the few plum blossoms on the mountain temple one after another. When the cold wind from the north touched his cheeks, he began to miss Eizuki again.

In the afternoon of the next day, many monks gathered in the Daxiong Treasure Hall at the time of the day feeding, but they did not know why the abbot of the temple, the monk Kongshan, was absent from the evening class. Therefore, the first Huijue Zen Master ordered his disciple Mingshui to inquire about the reason.

When Mingshui Xiao Shami walked to the front of the presiding meditation room, he suddenly saw Zen Master Huijue walking out of the abbot's door. He couldn't help but scratch his head with his hand in wonder, stepped forward and asked:

"Why is the master here?"

After hearing this, Zen Master Huijue immediately knocked on his head, and said angrily: "Why are you hanging out here if you don't go to the evening hall at this hour? Don't think that you are young, so you will mess up the rules." In the end, it's going to be a big loss. ”

"Where is the master, the apprentice is really wronged. Mingshui wiped away his tears and muttered: "It is clear that you asked the apprentice to come here to find the abbot, but now you have forgotten it, but blame me." ”

Zen Master Huijue suddenly woke up, and then laughed dumbly. He touched the red head of the little novice and said, "Ah, I see. It seems that the teacher blames you, Amitabha. ”

"Master, do I still want to go in?"

"No need. Zen Master Huijue instructed: "The abbot is ill, and no one else is allowed to enter." Go back obediently, and don't bother him again. ”

"Yes, master. Mingshui nodded yes, not suspicious in his heart. It's just that he suddenly thought about it, and felt more and more relieved, so he immediately turned around and asked, "Master, then I want to bring some medicinal stones for the abbot later?"

However, at this time, the figure of Zen Master Huijue had disappeared. Mingshui had no choice but to push open the partition door of the vermilion lacquer and slowly walk towards the inner room of the presiding meditation room.

Grains of ebony rosaries rolled to the ground, and an ominous premonition suddenly flooded his mind. The great monk of Kongshan is facing away from the middle gate at the moment, and the silhouette sitting in front of the Buddha seat seems to be participating in meditation.

"Abbot......" Mingshui Xiaosha stood there hesitantly and shouted at the other party.

Seeing that the Great Monk of Kongshan did not react, he had the courage to push the host's body.

I saw that the great monk of Kongshan closed his eyes tightly, and then fell forward. A three-edged dagger was stuck in his chest, and the folds of his robe were stained with red blood.

Mingshui Xiao Shami stretched out his index finger tremblingly, poked forward, and found that the host had lost his breath. The screams that sounded in the abbot's room did not disturb the monks who were chanting in the Mahavira Hall.

When Zen Master Hui Jue stepped into the layman's dormitory, his appearance and clothing immediately changed. After he pushed open the door, he knelt down towards Dugu Ye's back, and solemnly saluted: "The humble position is the third lieutenant of the Dark Demon Cavalry, see His Royal Highness King Zhaoxin." ”

At this moment, Dugu Ye was picking up the celadon cups and saucers and gently blowing the hot air on the tea pot. The aura of the Dark Demon Clan was hidden in the body of the comer, and he was convinced of his identity.

Then, Dugu Ye slowly turned his head and asked him, "How did you know I would be here?"

"He is well versed in the art of seeing through the eyes, and can use the eyes of birds and beasts to see the scene within a radius of thousands of miles. The Marquis explained: "On that day, the humble man saw that His Highness was saved by the lord of Huaibei, so he followed him all the way here. ”

"Your loyalty can be seen this time, and I will reward you for your deeds in the future. Dugu Ye instructed: "You go back to the camp first and bring my news back to Beiming to boost the hearts of the army." Today, my old wounds have not healed, and I still need to recuperate here for a few days. ”

"However, the assassins of the Taiyao Sect are coming non-stop, and I ask Your Highness to leave immediately. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your Highness doesn't know. The monkey replied, "The old bald donkey in the empty mountain is the presiding officer of the Hongyan Temple on the surface, but his hidden identity is the elder of the outer gate of the Taiyao Sect.

"A few days ago, he had repaired a letter and sent it to the sect, intending to die in the Hongyan Temple. As for his pretense of keeping His Highness in the temple to recuperate from his injuries, it was just to delay time.

"After incarnating as Zen Master Huijue, he tried him many times with words, and that guy really showed his feet. Now, two of the ten elders of Nanhua rushed to the temple when they heard the news, and they would soon enter the temple.

"I have already sent a letter to the military headquarters, but because of the long distance of the mountains and rivers, I have not seen reinforcements coming. Now that the old bald donkey has been killed by me, just in time for the chaos in this temple, His Highness quickly left this place with his ministers. ”