A maid on the opposite side hurriedly walked over, holding a black wooden box in her hand. When she arrived in front of Xia Xue'er, she suddenly bowed her head and bent over, and presented the box with both hands.

Xia Xue'er was stunned by the maid's sudden movements, and looked down at the exquisitely made ebony box in front of her, and was very puzzled in her heart, this was not her belonging.

"What is this?"

"Back to the third young lady, just at the gate of the mansion, a son asked the slave to hand over this box to you."

"Childe?" Xia Xue'er became more and more puzzled, "Do you have any words left?" ”

"Back to the third miss, the boy only said that the young lady would understand when she saw this thing, and the rest had nothing to say."

Cuizhu stepped forward and opened the box held by the maid to examine it carefully, and then turned to Xia Xue'er and said, "Miss Hui, it's an ancient spectrum." ”

After that, he carefully took it out and handed it to Xia Xue'er.

Xia Xue'er took the ancient book in Cuizhu's hand, and after opening it, she found that the thing in her hand was the ancient music score that she had lent to a son to read on her birthday.

"Su Han?" She vaguely remembered the name, but she wasn't sure, so she asked the maid beside her, "Cuizhu, is that person's name Su Han?" ”

"Miss Hui, exactly."

Xia Xue'er remembered that on her birthday, in the plum forest, the son named Su Han had helped her out of the siege many times, and he spoke and behaved like a gentleman, so she had a good impression of him, and now she made a special trip to send back the ancient score, and she should invite him to a cup of tea. So he turned his head and asked the maid, "Is Su Gongzi still at the gate of the mansion?" ”

"Back to the third miss, Su Gongzi didn't stay long, he handed over this thing to the slave and left after leaving."

After Xia Xue'er heard this, she felt a little lost in her heart, nodded and ordered: "I know, you go down." ”

"Yes."

Back to Tingyuxuan, Xia Xue'er has always been in a haunted spirit, she always feels that she has seen such a wooden box somewhere, but she can't remember it if she wants to break her head.

"Miss? Miss! ”

When Xue'er returned to her senses, she found that Xianglan had been standing beside her at some point, calling her.

"What?"

"Before you leave, ask the slave to give you this token."

After that, he took out a rosewood token from his sleeve and held it in his palm, and then said: "In the past year, more than 200 Guzhong disciples have been arranged in the city one after another, hidden in all walks of life. Miss Fan, you have a ......."

Before Xianglan finished speaking, Xia Xue'er seemed to have a sudden opening in her brain, her eyes lit up, and she said to herself:

"Netherworld! Third uncle! ”

Yes! After Xianglan's inadvertent reminder, she had already remembered where she had seen such a box, it was in the pharmacy of the third uncle, on a high shelf, it looked like something that had not been used for a long time, but there was no trace of dust and dirt, which showed that it was a very precious thing.

She was all on the box with all her heart, and she didn't notice what Xianglan said, and she didn't notice Xianglan's tangled brows at the moment, so she only stood up and hurriedly ordered: "Cuizhu, quickly get the box sent by Su Gongzi!" ”

Xia Xue'er's sudden command made Cuizhu a little frightened, although she was very puzzled in her heart, she still entered the study, took out the box she had just put and handed it to Xia Xue'er.

Xia Xue'er opened the wooden box, carefully took out the ancient score and put it away, and then picked up the box and looked at it carefully.

On the whole, this wooden box is not ornate, except for the precious ebony wood, there is no longer any rare treasure as decoration, although the workmanship is exquisite but not very eye-catching.

The lid of the box is very thick, and the four sides are as high as the roof, and the top is inlaid with a black and shiny agate stone; The body of the box is engraved with dark lines, which is neither complicated and fancy but also elegant, and every line is carefully carved and very smooth, but what kind of scene is to be expressed or depicted, Xia Xueer can not see a clue.

When the box is opened, the five walls of the box are smooth, and there are no traces of artificial carving except for the natural grain of ebony. Moving his gaze upward, the inside of the lid, which is not noticed by people, is engraved with a vivid picture of the green dragon piercing the clouds. The green dragon soaring freely, even every beard and every dragon scale has been carved by skilled craftsmen, plus two indispensable big bright eyes, just like a real dragon in the sky!

"That's what I guessed, this is it!"

Seeing that Xia Xue'er was very excited, Cuizhu and Xianglan poked their heads in confusion, only to see her slender and white fingers lightly covering the two black onyx eyes of the green dragon, pressing and turning slightly, and in an instant, the auspicious clouds drifted away, the green dragon retreated, and an unknown space appeared in front of the three of them.

Cuizhu and Xianglan couldn't help but widen their eyes and open their mouths, while Xia Xue'er smiled with satisfaction, as if she had already known. Reach in and take out a yellowed piece of paper. Open it and take a look, what is Cnidium monnieri, Dihuzi, and mugwort leaves...... It's all the names of the medicines.

"It's like a prescription, but I don't know what it's for."

Xia Xue'er listened to Cuizhu's words, and then looked at the name of the medicine on the paper, although the specific usage was not indicated, but the dosage of some medicine names was indeed marked, which was a bit like a prescription for curing diseases and saving people.

But she thought about it again, she was not sick or sick, what was Su Han doing to give her a prescription for no reason? If it weren't for the fact that she felt that the box was familiar, she wouldn't have opened it for a closer look, and she wouldn't have found that this seemingly inconspicuous wooden box was actually hiding a mystery, so the doubts in her heart were swept away.

Xia Xue'er folded the paper according to the original traces and put it back in the dark grid, slowly closed the box after recovering the green dragon through the clouds, handed it to Cuizhu and said: "Ebony is precious, you will keep this thing alive, and when you have the opportunity in the future, you will return it to Su Gongzi." ”

Cuizhu took the box, but after thinking about it, ebony is not only moisture-proof but also insect-proof, it is the best choice for storing ancient books, and now the young lady took out the ancient score and only gave her an empty box, so what should I do with the ancient score?

Xia Xue'er seemed to see what she was thinking, and said with a smile: "Send this ancient book back to the secret room, what utensils were originally used to pack it, and now use it to load, remember to place it high and avoid the tide." ”

"Yes."

Hearing this, Cuizhu went to work with confidence.

At this point, Xia Xue'er's doubts in her heart were solved, and she turned her head and saw Xianglan still standing beside her, looking at her with a solemn expression, so she asked puzzledly, "What?" What's wrong? ”

Xianglan came back to her senses and slowly replied, "Miss's handling is reasonable, and there is nothing wrong with it." ”

Xia Xue'er said angrily: "Then why are you looking at me like this, making me think that something big has happened!" ”

"The slave has something to say to the young lady."

"Say it!"

Xianglan placed the token that she had been holding in her hand on the table.

Xia Xue'er first looked at the rosewood token on the table, and then looked at Xianglan with a puzzled face and asked, "What is this?" ”

Hearing this, Xianglan knew that Miss hadn't listened to anything before, so she repeated Fang Cai's words to Miss Listen.

"The same as the deputy valley master?" Xia Xue'er exclaimed: "How is this possible? ”

"When Miss Dan has any trouble or encounters a place to employ people, and there is no trustworthy person in the house, she can use this token to summon the disciples in the city to listen to orders. In addition, this token will give you full authority to handle all matters in the city of Netherworld, including resolving emergencies. ”

Xianglan saw that although Xia Xue'er didn't believe it, her eyes were already dim, and she knew that she must have felt that she had won this token because of her mother's light, and she had a feeling of victory, so she carefully persuaded her: "Of course, the valley lord gave this honor to Miss, of course you have the reason for your wife, because you know more about the roots, so you will have more trust."

"However, it's not all because you're the child of his deceased, it's also because of your extraordinary talent for martial arts, and it's out of consideration for the future of the Netherworld.

"Among the younger generation, you and Senior Brother Su Qi can be said to be the best among them, you can be famous in the martial arts at a young age, it can be said that you are the hope of the future of the Netherworld Valley, so the new valley master must also be one of the two of you.

"Although Senior Brother Su Qi is excellent, he is arrogant and introverted, not good at dealing with people, and he doesn't understand human feelings. And Miss you are different, you have lived in the capital city since you were a child, dealing with powerful families, you know the skills of dealing with people, and what is even more rare is that you have not been swallowed up by the insensitive undercurrent of wealth and wealth, and you retain the purest heart and kindness, if you want to develop and grow in the Netherworld Valley, you are the best candidate for the new valley master!

"This time the disciples entered the city on a large scale, and many of them are people who do not care about the world and concentrate on cultivating martial arts in the valley all the year round, and in the process of getting along with ordinary people day and night, they will definitely stir up another torrent, and the valley lord also wants to take this opportunity to hone and hone you, so he leaves the affairs in the city to you with full authority.

"Therefore, Miss must not feel burdened, and try her best to do a good job."

Xianglan put her hand on Xia Xue'er's shoulder, looked at her with eyes full of trust, stared at her, and transmitted strength to her, to convey confidence to her.

"Father?"

Xianglan was stunned at first when she heard this title, her whole body stiffened, and then she slowly turned her head, only to see the old man standing solemnly and majestically at the door, a pair of discerning eyes kept looking her up and down, and she was picked up from the inside out like a rake in her heart! She endured the discomfort in her heart and hurriedly retreated to salute.

Seeing that her father had been staring at Xianglan, she could see that her heart was furious, would her father kill her in a fit of anger when he knew that Xianglan was a person sent by Shizun to infiltrate the Xia Mansion? After all, for ten years, Xianglan has been active under his nose.

After a while, Xia Qingxuan said to Xianglan: "You don't have to be nervous, I won't do anything to you." ”

As soon as these words came out, Xianglan and Xia Xue'er exhaled at the same time.

Xianglan is not afraid of death, but she is afraid that without her, it will be rare for Xia Xue'er to be assisted by someone she trusts wholeheartedly in the future. And Xia Xue'er is really afraid of Xianglan's death.

Xia Qingxuan glanced at Xianglan again, and then walked to the table and sat down.

Xianglan brought tea and exited the door. She knew that as a disciple of the Netherworld Valley, it was not suitable for her to stay in the house while Xia Xue'er's father and daughter were talking, after all, Xia Qingxuan was so unkind to see the valley master.

Xia Xue'er saw that her father's face had lost the affection and doting on her in the past, and she felt bad, so she said tremblingly: "Father......"

"You don't have to speak!"

Xia Qingxuan interrupted her daughter, there was obvious displeasure in her voice, and the room was quiet for a while, and the silence was terrifying!

During this period, Xia Xue'er felt as if time had stopped, every second was long and unbearable, like a sharp blade sliding across the tip of her heart, a long pain, feeling that she was so painful that she couldn't breathe, just begging someone to break such a terrible silence.

After two teas, Xia Qingxuan looked up at her daughter, seeing that her appearance of lowering her head and biting her lip was really pitiful, her heart softened, and she sighed helplessly.

"It's not that your father doesn't let you practice martial arts, it's just that you don't have this idea to tell your father, you have been galloping on the battlefield for decades, and there are not a few masters brought out by your subordinates, as long as you say it, your father will find a good teacher with both virtue and virtue for you!"

Xia Xue'er knew that her father was still angry, so she only listened silently, nodded obediently, and did not answer a word. Although she really wanted to defend her master, she really wanted to tell her father that Shizun was a master with both virtues and virtues.

"When did you start cultivating martial arts, and how did you worship under the Earthquake Heavenly Hero, my father doesn't plan to pursue it, but there is one thing you must promise me!"

"Father, please."

"Break off the master-apprentice relationship with Zhentianxiong!"

As soon as Xia Qingxuan's words came out, Xia Xue'er was completely shocked, her master treated her well, and she must not do such an ungrateful act!

Xia Xue'er knelt on the ground with a thud and said in a low voice: "Please forgive my father, this matter is ...... My daughter can't do it! ”

Xia Qingxuan was very incredible, he never thought that his daughter would disobey him. After calming down a little, he spoke:

"Okay, for my father to give you a choice, is it him Zhentianxiong, the master or my Xia Qingxuan, the father?"

Xia Xue'er looked up at her father in shock, she couldn't believe that these words came from her father who had always loved her, he actually forced her to make such a difficult choice, no matter which side she chose, it was an act of disloyalty and injustice, and it was against her wishes all along.

"Father, don't force your daughter, your daughter will never make such a choice."

However, Xia Qingxuan didn't give her any respite, and said bluntly: "You can't have both fish and bear's paws, you have to make a choice today!" ”

"You are not a fish, and he is not a bear's paw. You are the father who gave birth to me and raised me, and you are a teacher for one day and a father for life, and he is my other father, you are the two most important people in my life, and you are my dearest relatives.

"No matter who a daughter abandons, she is unfilial, disrespectful, disloyal and unjust, and will be despised by the world, criticized by the world, and spurned by herself!

"Father, you have loved your daughter since she was a child, do you also want her daughter to become such a tainted person?"