A cold voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Back then, your father was here, on the condition of handing over the Autumn Wind Sword, retreating to the Dragon Head Stone, and standing on the top of the dragon's head all night, in exchange for the promise of Deng Yu, the general of Zhengxi, to ensure that your mother was unharmed, and your grandfather would take her down the mountain first and leave Wudang."

Shen Ruoyu woke up suddenly, and then realized that the sunset had already completely set; The clouds in the sky had turned purple brown like blood clotting, and the mountains had become very dark, and a layer of cold purple frost seemed to have formed on the wings and the cliffs behind them.

He turned his head and looked at Huandan Zhenren, a little surprised.

"What?"

Wang Jing walked to his side, but his eyes stayed on the dragon head stone, thoughtful.

"The next morning, your mother was already down the mountain. Deng Yu personally went up to the south cliff and saw that your father was still standing on the dragon's head as before, so he also told the news that Lingtang had left safely, and then ordered the army in his hand to attack. The south cliff was surrounded all night, and thousands of strong bows and crossbows were waiting for it, and there was no moment of relaxation and slackness. Deng Yu thought that after a night of cold wind, even if your father was lucky enough not to fall, he was still on the dragon head stone, and he only had half a life left; As soon as he gave the order, in an instant, the rain of arrows covered the sky and the sun, and on the south cliff, it was dark for a while, and there was no light and shadow in the day. After this rain of arrows, the dragon head stone was left with a bare stone beam, and there was no human figure. The subordinate governors looked down and saw no trace of him. Deng Yu then sent the army down from the south cliff to search the mountain, to see people alive and corpses to die. ”

Shen Ruoyu was silent. Huang Lizi told him that the details of the Wudang Battle were now unknown to anyone; After all, it was impossible for him to go to the far northwest border pass and inquire about the whereabouts of the veterans of the western expedition to Tibet. He actually ignored such an obvious fact: the head of Wudang Mountain had personally experienced the scene.

He asked, "Why is my grandfather here?" ”

The king replied in surprise: "After the poor Dao received the secret decree of the Son of Heaven, the first and only person to reveal it was your grandfather. You must already know that your parents' marriage contract is not the order of your parents, and the media is marrying. Your grandfather always believed that it was your father who abducted your mother, and he always wanted to help you rescue your mother. But where do I have such a great ability to persuade a woman who is in deep affection to change her mind. The only thing I can do is for your grandfather to see their affection and understand that there is really nothing I can do about it. ”

Shen Ruoyu asked in a low voice, "Then ...... And then? ”

Wang Jing continued:

"Wudang Mountain is so big that it is more than enough to hide one person; The imperial court does not say that there are 100,000 troops, even if there are millions, it is not easy to search the mountains. General Deng and Mu have been on the battlefield for a long time, whether it is the plains and deserts, or the mountains and jungles, they have rich experience in commanding troops and fighting; When stationed in Wudang Mountain, he set a strategy, divided the army into two places, one surrounded by the mountain, and did not go up the mountain, but guarded the mountain passes day and night, and constantly patrolled between the guards, so that within two zhang, there must be officers and soldiers patrolling each other; The patrol soldiers each hold a bamboo whistle, and when they encounter the police, the whistle is extremely sharp, and they can be heard immediately within ten miles, and the water does not leak; At the same time, 3,000 mobile troops were stationed in the general camp for improvisation. On the other hand, they followed the main road uphill and concentrated their forces on Yuxu, Nanya, Zixiao, Lingxu, and Jinding, without setting up ambushes on the roads, and completely ignoring the secluded and hidden mountain streams and wild trails, so as to achieve maximum mobility. The unification of the troops on the mountain was commanded by Deng Yu; Mu Ying stayed at the foot of the mountain, supervising the siege and commanding all the defenders under the mountain, echoing Deng Yu. ”

Shen Ruoyu quietly held her chin and listened to her thoughts. Night has fallen; The mountain wind became stronger and stronger, and there was a gloomy twilight above the south cliff. Wang was shocked to see the glint in his eyes, and smiled quietly.

Shen Rufeng disappeared from the south cliff, Deng Yu led his army to search the mountain, and disappeared for a day and night, feeling that the general situation was not good, he immediately decided to give up the search mountain, led the whole army down the mountain, joined forces with Mu Ying, and strictly guarded the foot of the mountain. Unexpectedly, Shen Rufeng was one step ahead of him, sneaking all the way through the dense forest, and he went down the mountain first. The police post was great, and Mu Ying immediately sent troops to the rescue, and the camp was instantly empty; And Shen Rufeng had already broken through the defense line at that time, sneaked outside the general's camp, and just waited for the elite soldiers to dispatch, he broke into the general's camp and directly kidnapped Mu Ying.

Ling Zun had Mu Ying in his hand, and waited calmly in the general camp, only waiting for Deng Yu to lead the army to arrive, so he threatened Mu Ying's life to coerce Deng Yu to return his autumn wind sword, allow him to hurry up, and let him leave safely. Mu Ying was originally a strong man, and at this moment he shouted protests, trying his best to persuade Deng Yu to leave himself alone, and to die for the court, and he must not compromise with this traitor who has lost his conscience. However, after all, he was the first emperor's favorite adopted son, and the first emperor regarded him as his own; Deng Yuzong has three heads and six arms, and he favors the ministers in front of the first emperor, and now he dares to say a word to Shen Rufeng in the face of such a threat? He had no choice but to answer. Ling Zunyou easily took back the autumn breeze, and got a fast horse, carried Mu Ying on the horse, and successfully escaped from the encirclement that was originally difficult to fly, not only was he unharmed, but also bloodless from beginning to end; There was not a single one of the 100,000 troops, but they were all silent at the moment, and they didn't dare to move, so they could only watch him kidnap Mu Ying and leave.

He rode alone, galloped fifty miles away, in a barren mountain forest, drew his sword and injured Mu Ying, and abandoned him. Mu Ying was injured and couldn't chase him, he shouted weakly, and was left in such a wild place where no one cared about him, and it took a day and a night before he was found by the army. And when Deng Yu had just fled with Mu Ying by Shen Rufeng, he immediately sent troops to chase Du Nanshan along the way, and he must chase your mother back. The cavalry sent out to return the next day, but only your grandfather was brought back. It turns out that your parents have already privately negotiated and agreed to use your grandfather to make Du Yunjun break through the siege first and meet your father at the agreed place fifty miles away. Du Yunjun followed Du Nanshan out of thirty miles, and suddenly took the opportunity to get rid of his father and disappeared. Du Nanshan waited until the pursuers arrived, only to know that Shen Rufeng had already escaped. ”

Wang Jing turned around, smiled faintly, and shook his head.

"The battle of Wudang Mountain that year was nothing more than that. Your father knew that no matter how high his martial arts were, he would not be able to fight hard enough to withstand an army of 100,000, so he had already planned to control the enemy according to the situation. In the eyes of the world, it is a myth that he escaped from death from a place from which there was absolutely no way to escape. In fact, when it comes to the battlefield, everything is just that simple in the end. He was unarmed, and without injuring a single soldier of the imperial court, he could directly hijack the main general, and finally was able to retreat with his whole body. As one of the founding generals, Deng Yu has never suffered such a humiliation in his life; And Rao is like this, in the end, he couldn't stop Mu Ying from being injured, abandoned in the wilderness, and almost died, and he was even more ashamed and angry in his heart; When his pursuers came back with Du Nanshan to report the news of Du Yunjun's escape, Deng Yue was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted on the spot, and he couldn't afford to be sick from then on. On the way back to the capital, General Zhengxi was lying on the sickbed, refusing to eat and take medicine, and even said that he had lived up to the love of the saint and the trust of the court, and he had no face to see the Son of Heaven. When the army marched to Shouchun, Deng Yu, the general of Zhengxi, died of illness.

"The first emperor received the battle report, and sent Qin to the army overnight, still to beg for the work of Tubo, and entered Mu Ying as the Marquis of Xiping, and sent the imperial doctor with Qin to treat Mu Ying's injuries. Five years later, Empress Gao fell ill, Mu Ying's old injury suffered for the first time, and she vomited several liters of blood. The world thought that he had fallen ill at this time; In fact, the root of this disease really stems from the trauma of the Battle of Wudang Mountain. In the next ten years, Mu Ying's injuries recurred frequently, and finally in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, due to Prince Yiwen's illness, he was overly sad, and his old wounds collapsed and died. ”

Huandan Zhenren finally finished telling the story. Shen Ruoyu still leaned on the stone railing in one posture, and did not say a word from beginning to end. For a time, all that filled my ears was the whistling mountain wind; Behind him, the Chen Mu doors and windows of Taiyi Zhenqing Palace swayed and creaked in the mountain wind.

Wang was silent for a while, and then sighed softly:

"There are many things in this world that you can't change or deny. You are Shen Rufeng's only son. You have his blood in you. I can see a lot of your father's shadow in you, not just in his face. You have the same perseverance, perseverance, and ruthlessness as him. I can see infinite possibilities for your future; Infinite astonishing potential, and infinite falling abyss - both coexist. ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled helplessly: "My father's capriciousness, treachery, and immorality, you can also see it in me?" ”

Wang replied serenely, "I have never seen these in your father. If he was really capricious, treacherous, and unscrupulous, he would not have come up with such a way to save your mother; will not last overnight, keep promises, and stand on the dragon's head stone; will not only hurt Mu Ying alone, but not a single soldier of the army. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "However, you obviously said that what Huang Tanzi told me is the truth. ”

Wang Jing smiled faintly: "The facts are true; However, not everyone has the same view of the facts. Many things are just personal choices, and there is no need to distinguish between right and wrong; What's more, the public opinion recognized in the world is sometimes short-sighted and narrow-minded. ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled bitterly: "Senior, since everything he did is true, I want to know, what kind of opinion can exonerate him?" He repeatedly swayed between Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and the first emperor, and played all three parties around, what did he want? And his indiscriminate killing of innocents, how can you rehabilitate him? ”

Wang Jing replied calmly, "I can't." I just choose not to judge, because your father never explained; Any judgment I make must be unfair to him. His performance in the Battle of Wudang is enough to prove that his nature is not exactly what is legendary; Behind all his previous actions must have been his own good reasons. Maybe one day, you will find yourself in the same position as he was back then, and everyone in the world scolds you and hates you, but you insist on your choice without hesitation; Perhaps, at that time, you will be like your father in the scolding of the world, and will not refute and ignore it. There are some things that are not explained because the heart is weak, but because the heart is full and fearless. ”

Shen Ruoliao pondered for a long time, reminiscing about Wang Jing's words.

He frowned slightly, shook his head and said, "Senior, maybe that day is really too far away for me. Don't talk about my father's reasoning; Even now, I don't understand your reasoning, I can't understand it. It's just that if you're worried about my origins, I hate my father—I can't say I don't hate, but I know my destiny after all. He is my father, and I have his blood in my veins, and I cannot deny it, nor do I try to try it. Before my father died, he told my third uncle that no matter what I thought of him, it was my own business and had nothing to do with him. It's the same for me; Whether he is a righteous man or a bad man, that is his business; I can't change it, I can only accept it. I also don't believe that I will necessarily follow the same path as him. I have my own opinions and choices, I have a completely different life, and none of them have anything to do with him. But in the eyes of the world, nothing is so; Although the world's opinion could not change my father, it finally forced the imperial court to send an army and forced him to hide back in Yanshan; It's the same for me. Even if I had the full conviction to insist on myself, regardless of the eyes of the world, how could I still have a chance to stand in this worldly world ruled by men? ”

Wang shook his head and said, "When you threw yourself into the river in the middle of the night, you had full faith; Only now, I don't see the slightest shadow of faith in you. Could it be that your courage and persistence in prison were washed away by Han Shui? Ruo Xiao, you once said that the reason why you chose to go to the river is because you have some contact and understanding of King Yan, but Jinyiwei is a stranger to you; Compared to the two, you would rather choose to believe in King Yan. In this case, why did Huang Lizi believe him when he was alone, just a few words, and you felt that King Yan must be playing tricks on you, and he never took you seriously in his heart, and he was only secretly watching jokes? In the final analysis, deep down in your heart, you still regard King Yan as the same as all short-sighted and narrow-minded people in the world; You can't help but be too unfair to King Yan. ”

Shen Ruoyu was a little weak-hearted, and remedied in vain: "I didn't ...... I was just...... Can't be sure ......"

Wang said softly: "What does King Yan think in his heart, you and I can continue to guess for three months, and it can only be speculation. If you really want to know, why don't you just ask him yourself? For three months, I have never asked you, because I know you can't escape yourself; This choice, you have to do sooner or later. How long are you going to hide? ”

Shen Ruoxiao didn't speak, stood for a moment, turned around and left the terrace, but didn't go down the mountain to find a way, but walked into the Taiyi Zhenqing Palace.

The king followed quietly, lit a candle, and stood quietly behind him. In the candlelight jumping, Huandan Zhenren said softly:

"I am on Wudang Mountain, and there is never a shortage of vacant seats. But those who sincerely enter the Tao and are willing to be here for the rest of their lives, retreat and cultivate purely, Wudang Mountain will definitely accept it with humility. If not, the gate of Wudang Mountain will always be open to you; But here you were born to belong to you, you were born not to belong here. What you want is not a degree. ”

"I understand," Shen Ruoyu said in a low voice, "It's not that I don't know what I want. I just ......"

He said no more.

The king smiled silently.

"Do you know who your father trusted most during his lifetime, besides your mother?"

Shen Ruoyu was a little dazed. "My second brother? He said it himself. ”

Wang shook his head: "I mean that before he retired to Yanshan, he was still galloping in the world, when he was infamous. ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated a little: "That...... It's just you, senior, right? ”

Wang Jing smiled faintly.

"Of course; Everyone in the world knows that Shen Rufeng can't get along with anyone in his life, but he can only be friendly with Huandan. The world doesn't know that in addition to the poor road, there is actually another person who Shen Rufeng believes in and respects the most. And this person happens to be the father-in-law of His Royal Highness King Yan. ”

Shen Ruoyu's heart froze: "Xu Da, the king of Zhongshan? ”

Wang nodded in surprise.

"People say that Lingzun has a bad relationship with everyone in the court, and the six departments and five armies are all gnashing their teeth at him, which is indeed true; Only the great general Xu Da is an exception. Initially, Shen Rufeng was recruited by Xu Da, and later rebelled against the imperial court twice, so the first emperor blamed Xu Daduo. When it came to Bianliang, Xu Da insisted on his opinion, overrode public opinion, and accepted Shen Rufeng's request to surrender, so as to successfully recover Bianliang and make Ling Zun take the lead in the Battle of Luoshui. The first emperor was worried about this, which can be imagined. He secretly instructed Xu Da that he must not trust this person, and asked him to be more vigilant and vigilant, and to strengthen his precautions; If Shen Rufeng changes in the future, ask Xu Da is question first. Xu Da received a secret order, but he was as respectful as ever to Ling Zun, and even put his heart in his heart and entrusted him with important tasks; Ling Zun also lived up to his love and helped him successfully conquer Dadu and pacify the northwest. Until a few years later, on the top of Wudang Mountain, surrounded by the imperial army, Ling Zun and I mentioned the imperial court, from the Son of Heaven down to hundreds of officials were regarded as dust and mustard, but Xu Da, the Duke of Wei, did not have a word of bad words, and repeatedly called it different, fair and friendly, beneficial to all things and the people without fighting, the real heart is as clear as water, is the only credible person in the court.

"You must already know that Xu Da is honest and honest, and the Manchu Dynasty is unrivaled in civil and military affairs; When Hu Weiyong was arrogant, even Li Shanchang also joined his disciples, and Liu Bowen was poisoned by him. dared to angrily reprimand Hu Weiyong in person, and bluntly admonished the former emperor as a traitor, Xu Da was the only person in the court; As far as Poor Dao knows, he is also the only one, before Ling Zun came to Wudang Mountain, he wrote a book with him, persuading him to kill less, restrain his temperament, forgive the world, and leave a good legacy for the world. As for your father's bloodless defeat of the imperial army, returning to Yanshan to live in seclusion, and never coming back, whether it was moved by Xu Da's letter or not, it is not known. ”

Shen Ruoyu thought for a long time and said: "All this can only show that King Zhongshan is indeed different, but it may not have anything to do with King Yan. ”

Wang smiled and said, "Exactly." All this has nothing to do with King Yan. King Yan is eloquent, ambitious, and assertive, and it is difficult to be moved by others. Xu Da is a meritorious person, and he is also the father-in-law of King Yan, although he is respected and loved by King Yan, he rarely influences his opinions and decisions, and never tries. Even Emperor Gao back then had difficulty controlling the opinions of King Yan. Not to mention the people of the world who have nothing to do with him? ”

Shen Ruoyu sighed deeply and asked:

"Senior, you said that my father exchanged Autumn Wind from you with a promise. His promise is that he is willing to give everything he has in order to get the autumn breeze, and he will never regret it? ”

Wang said lightly: "Your father promised that he was willing to give everything for Qiu Feng, including his reputation, life, beloved, everything. ”

Shen Ruoyu said softly: "However, my mother did not die because of the autumn wind in the end, but because of me." ”

Wang smiled and said, "You think so. Where's your dad? ”

"He would tell me that every day, for fifteen years."

"He's just telling you that, that's telling himself. In fact, how he believed, and who knows? ”

Shen Ruoyu was slightly shocked in her heart.

"However, my father died in the end, not because of the autumn wind, but because my third uncle poisoned and murdered. And at that time, Autumn Wind had not been by his side for five years. He questioned.

Wang was shocked: "Ruoxiao, your father and Qiu Feng are one person, one heart. He has become an invincible martial artist in the world with the autumn wind, and he has become the world's most evil infamy with his martial arts. If he didn't have that martial arts, he might have been defined by the world as a scoundrel at best. If your mother dies and takes away his soul; The separation of the autumn wind took away all his remaining life. ”

"Senior, the autumn wind is not him," Shen Ruoyu shook his head and said, "The autumn wind has a spirit; This spirit is not to be defiled. My dad doesn't deserve the autumn wind. The promises he made and the vows he made were all selfish ideas, and they could not prove the true value of Qiu Feng in the slightest. I will prove to you, to the world, that Autumn Breeze is born with a noble and immaculate heart, which can withstand fire and blood, but must not be defiled. If I have this in the future and trample on the justice and goodness of the world, I will teach him to rather break and break into the sky into snow, and never take it in my hands. ”

Huandan Zhenren was silent for a moment, and said solemnly: "You don't need to prove anything to the world, let alone prove anything to me. I have never been the master of the autumn winds. The autumn breeze is born to belong to you; You were born with the autumn wind. All the choices you make, whether good or evil, will be the choices of the autumn breeze at the same time. Your father has done nothing wrong in his life. Always be honest with yourself and don't let yourself down. ”

Shen Ruoliao turned around, walked out of Taiyi Zhenqing Palace in two steps, and returned to the Longshou Stone Terrace. In the darkness of the night, the wind howled; The starlight on his head was faintly shining, but he couldn't see his fingers in front of his feet. He jumped over the Huabiao and landed steadily on the dragon's head stone. The king chased after him, hurried to the edge of the stone fence, and cried out:

"The sword is in the dragon's kiss—"

As soon as he spoke, a strong wind swept in front of him; Shen Ruoyu had already crossed back to the terrace. He walked back to the Taiyi Zhenqing Palace, his hands held horizontally in front of him, and the autumn wind slowly came out of the sheath; In the faint shadow of the candles, the reflection of the autumn wind is reflected on the old temple beams and window paper, and thousands of golden rays shine.

He looked at the ancient inscription on the sword and read softly: "The goodness is like water, and the sword is in the autumn wind." ”

Huandan Zhenren smiled: "There is also real water without fragrance; These three sentences are one. ”

Shen Ruoyu lowered his arm and retracted the autumn wind into the sheath. The candlelight is about to end, the night is as dark as ink, and the mountain wind is screaming angrily outside the palace; But he felt that his heart was brighter and more determined than ever.

Good is like water. Water is good for all things without fighting, and it is evil for everyone, so it is in the way. Dwelling in a good place, having a good heart, being kind and benevolent, being kind and believing, being good in governance, doing good things, and moving in good times. The husband is indisputable, so there is no especially.

Wang was shocked to see the light in his eyes, just like the autumn wind, although the sword had been sheathed, it was still shining in the palace temple in the dark night.

He nodded and said with a faint smile: "Set off tomorrow morning, be careful all the way." After arriving in Beiping, don't forget to greet Master Daoyan on my behalf. ”