"Ah Fu, this one is moving to the east. Laisheng, don't throw this here, take it to the west yard. ”

In a blink of an eye, it was Su Lan's mother's birthday, the Su family had always been simple, and it was not a good time, so they didn't invite any relatives and friends to make a big show, but just set up a table in the mansion, and the family simply celebrated. But even if it was just that, because Su Yan let his son preside over it alone, Su Lan was very busy.

"This jar of wine hasn't been sent to the back kitchen soon, who put it here?"

Su Yan and his wife Yue Chengxiu stood at the door of the room and looked at their son, with a faint smile on the corner of their mouths: "Lan'er can already be on her own." ”

Yue Chengxiu was happy in her heart, but she said: "Why do you have to force Lan'er to learn these things so early, Lan'er has really suffered a lot over the years." Yue Chengxiu's appearance was born kind and kind, although he said a little reproachful, the corners of his eyebrows and eyes were still full of warmth.

Hearing this, for some reason, Su Yan's expression darkened.

"Dad, mother, Cangbai Hall is ready." At this moment, Su Lan walked over, and the young man wiped the sweat from the corner of his forehead and said with a smile. The bright sunlight fell on the young man's clear face, revealing the unique color of youth.

"Where's Lian'er?" Yue Chengxiu smiled and nodded, and asked.

Lian'er said that she had prepared a surprise and would deliver it at the opening of the table.

"Don't let her get any more weird things." Su Yan frowned slightly.

"Dad, don't worry, Lian'er already knows how to measure."

Yue Chengxiu seemed to think of something, smiled, and said to Su Yan: "You, you are strict enough with the children on weekdays, why do you have to worry about this today." ”

Su Yan looked at the young man in front of him, who was already as tall as himself, and caught a glimpse of a batch of trees in the court. The emerald green leaves are slim and canopy, and the late spring sun falls on the shuttle-shaped leaves, sliding lazily and lazily, reflecting a little glimmer in the shadows of the ground. This is a plant that he planted with Su Lan five years ago, and it has inadvertently been so prosperous, and in another year or two, the fruit should be layered on top of each other. Su Yan smiled with emotion: "Also, the juniors have grown up, just do it with them." ”

The three of them laughed and entered the Cangbai Hall, which had already been decorated, and the furnishings were brand new, with delicacies from the mountains and seas on the table, cups and plates. As soon as Su Yan and Yue Chengxiu sat down, they heard the voice of the girl outside the courtyard come in from afar: "Dad, mother, the Taoist chief is here!" The Taoist is here! Immediately after, the green figure ran into the hall like a wind, and Su Lianbi's flawless little face was still flushed with a faint flush. The girl didn't care to take a breath, so she shouted happily: "Mother, a few days ago, there was a Taoist chief from Yuemeng Mountain in the city, Lian'er took a lot of effort, and finally invited him, and today I asked the Taoist chief to give Niang Qingyuan." ”

In the current world, spirituality flourished, and countless sects rose, but many cultivation methods in the two veins of Buddhism and Taoism have been passed down for thousands of years, and their uniqueness is still beyond the reach of most exercises. The description of the art of the Qing Yuan is very widely spread among the people, this method is to light up the spiritual platform with the three Qing Taoist techniques, prolong life, and more importantly, it is possible to open the six senses of people and know the comer, if it is a unique opportunity, you can even foresee your future when you receive the art. It's just that the Dao required by this technique is not low, the location of Nanyun City is remote, and it is not a place with abundant spiritual power, few Taoist disciples come, and this kind of opportunity is even more rare for Qingyuan.

After a while, a young Taoist priest walked in, this Taoist priest behaved calmly, his face was as warm as jade, and he had a faint smile. He was dressed in a Xuanqing robe, and a white jade whisk dust in his hand, which seemed to be no different from an ordinary magic weapon at first, but if you looked closely, the white jade loomed on it, inscribed with a dense and complex spell pattern.

"Dad, mother, this is the Yuan Hearing Daoist of Yuemeng Mountain." Su Lian's crisp voice sounded suddenly, and the Taoist priest smiled and was about to salute, but his movements were suddenly paused, and the expression on his face froze for a moment, he looked at the few people in the room thoughtfully, without saying a word, and even the greetings were not finished.

Su Yan has been slightly calm since Su Lian ran in, and when he saw this person so rude, he was even more angry, and put the teacup in his hand on the table, and said, "Dao Chief, I don't know what's so special about this Cangbai Hall?" ”

The moment he met Su Yan's eyes, the Taoist priest squinted slightly, but his face was still smiling. He waved the dust and saluted: "Don't dare, forgive Xiaodao for being clumsy, I can't see through the stakes in this." ”

Hearing this, Su Yan's face changed, and he said coldly: "It is better for people outside the Dao Changfang to be outside the Fangfang." ”

Although Su Lian's mind was not sharp enough, he also noticed that the atmosphere was wrong, and he didn't dare to come out, so he looked at Su Lan at a loss.

Su Lan hurriedly smiled: "Dao Chief, Lian'er is full of filial piety, and he also asked Dao Chang to teach his mother a little Taoism." ”

When this man heard this, he looked up and smiled: "I really don't have to walk in this rotten place outside of my own side." Yama has passed, why bother Qingyuan, go, go-" After that, he brushed the dust away, turned around and walked out.

"Smack!"

Even the cups and saucers on the table shook a few times with a heavy palm, Su Yan's face turned pale, and he suddenly rose: "Stop!" The rude little guy dared to come to my Su family and speak wildly. ”

The Taoist priest stopped, didn't turn around, but said with a faint smile: "Why should the head of the family be angry, if the sword and soldiers are facing each other today, I'm afraid it will be unlucky." ”

Yue Chengxiu hurriedly persuaded Su Yan: "The Taoist chief has a clear temperament, do whatever he wants, just ask him to leave." Su Lan saw that something was wrong, and hurriedly persuaded his father to dissipate his anger, the green tendons on Su Yan's forehead jumped a few times, and finally said coldly: "It's also a loss to touch today, and from now on, the whole city of Nanyun will also ask the Taoist chief not to do it." ”

The Taoist priest calmly walked out, and did not answer Su Yan, but just laughed: "The blue mound jackdaw has not cried, and it is difficult to be sad." The mirrors are all empty. What's the pain, what's the pain. Confused, confused. ”

The room was silent, Su Yan stood in front of the table, his forehead was bruised, and the palm of his hand on the table was almost pressed into the Nansi Xuanmu. Su Lian wanted to surprise his father, but he didn't expect that the Taoist chief invited would disagree with his father and make such a fuss. Her little face was pale, she lowered her head and didn't dare to say a word, the corners of her mouth were deflated, tears rolled a few times in her eyes, she was aggrieved and scared, and she almost cried.

After a while, Yue Chengxiu saw that Su Yan's breathing had calmed down, glanced at his daughter worriedly, and said to Su Yan: "Okay, okay, this-"

"It's all ripples messing around, it's already so big, it hasn't grown at all, it's ridiculous to ask this kind of demon to stir things up!"

Su Lian's body trembled, looked up at his father's eyes, opened his mouth, and cried out with a "wow": "Why did Daddy treat him like that in the first place, Lian'er just wanted to cheer up her mother's birthday, who knew it would be like this." ”

"What? You still don't know what to do? Qingyuan This kind of thing is just a folk rumor, should you get it on this kind of day? ”

"Dad, Lian'er actually-" Although it was a disturbing scenery on his mother's birthday, Su Yan's attitude towards that Dao Chang was a little strange, and this kind of thing was unpredictable. Su Yan usually has a very good demeanor towards people, and Su Lan couldn't understand his father's reaction just now, and just wanted to intercede, but Su Yan's anger became even stronger.

"Shut up! It's all my usual spoiling, from today onwards, grounded for three months, and twenty copies of the house rules every day! ”

Although Su Yan is strict on weekdays, he is actually not harsh on his children, especially Su Lian, who only admonishes him a little when he occasionally messes around, and has never been so responsible. As soon as he heard this, Su Lian couldn't bear it anymore: "It's wrong to want to celebrate your birthday, Lian'er just doesn't understand." With that, he ran out crying.

Seeing Su Lian running out, Su Lan was anxious and wanted to chase after him, but saw his mother secretly shaking her head at her, so she had to stand in place with anxiety. Su Yan stood in the hall for a long time, his anger never subsided, and finally walked away. Yue Chengxiu showed a worried look at this time, and whispered to Su Lan: "Go and see Lian'er, I'll go and intercede with your father." ”

Su Lan was already on fire and hurriedly ran out of the house. He didn't see Su Lian after going around the house, so he hurriedly grabbed a servant and asked, only then did he know that Su Lian had gone to the back mountain.

It was already noon, and the early summer of Broken Dragon Mountain was warm but not hot, and the golden sun wheel sprinkled a warm glow in the air. Su Lian sat on a stone in the practice ground with his legs crossed, quietly looking at the ridges stretching under the cliff, as well as the Su Mansion that had turned into a palm-sized square.

Hearing the footsteps, Su Lian turned his head suddenly, and when he saw that it was Su Lan, he called softly with gloomy eyes: "Brother." The girl's eyes were still stained with tears, and her usual radiant appearance was gone, she sobbed, lowered her head and turned back.

Su Lan felt very sorry in her heart, so she did it by her sister's side, looking into the distance with her. In this location, Nanyun City looks like a small piece of land. The vast fields are dyed bright green in the sunlight and stretch to the end of the clear blue sky.

"Dad's mood has been uncertain these days, it's not your fault, just take it easy."

Su Lian sobbed a few more times and buried his head in his arm: "I wanted to make my mother happy, but my father had such a big temper." ”

Su Lan wasn't very good at words, so he just looked at his sister: "It's okay, I won't punish you when my father is angry." ”

The two of them sat in silence, and suddenly, a crisp and gentle bird cry sounded not far away, and I saw a bird with a blue body and the size of a palm standing on a paulownia tree, its small beak constantly trembling, and wonderful notes spit out one after another from its small pale blue mouth.

"Hey, Dome Sparrow." Su Lan was very surprised when he heard the prestige.

Dome sparrows are very rare, and they only breed in the area of Broken Dragon Mountain, but even those who live there all year round are rare. The bird's feathers change color seven times a year, and its chirping is melodious. It's a pity that the dome finch is difficult to breed and has a proud temperament, so it is almost impossible to tame, so it can only be enjoyed in the wild.

Su Lian also looked over, his slightly reddened eyes were full of surprise: "It's really, it's such a coincidence, the last time I saw it was the Prayer Festival the year before last." ”

Su Lan smiled: "If it weren't for Daddy, you wouldn't be able to see it." ”

After all, he was cheerful, Su Lian was completely attracted by this small bird, glanced at his brother, rubbed the corners of his eyes, snorted, and looked at the bird again. The dome finch, too, spotted the two of them, and shook its little head flexibly, its eyes flicked a few times, and flapped its wings a few times, and flew off into the distance.

"Ah, fly away, quick, brother!"

"It's useless, the Dome Sparrow doesn't like people, and it's rare to see it once." Absolutely colorful Ze Baoyu, Cuiwei Jiuxiao Festival', this kind of bird can't be raised. ”

But Su Lian was still unwilling, and ran after the birds, Su Lan had no choice but to follow.

Although the body of the Dome Sparrow is small, its speed is fast, and the brother and sister have used their spiritual power to move as best they can, but they have not been left behind. The ravines and trees quickly retreated on their sides, and the two of them had chased far away before they knew it.

The blue bird circled in the air a few times, landed on the top of a tree, blinked at the two suspicious tail walkers, seemed to lose interest, and flew towards the cliff to the side. In the blink of an eye, it had already melted into the blue of the sky, and there was no trace of it again.

Although the time for this period of rapid travel was not too long, the cultivation of the two brothers and sisters was not profound, and they were already exhausted and out of breath. Seeing that the bird that had finally caught up flew towards the cliff like this, Su Lian stomped his feet in annoyance while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Su Lan looked at the delicate shadow in the distance with some loss, and was in a trance.

Su Lian snorted and sat on the ground with a pout. Su Lan looked at the girl's sullen appearance, and suddenly laughed, and Su Lian was immediately unhappy with this laugh: "Brother, you will gloat." ”

"Okay, okay, mine is wrong."

The mountain reaches a low level, and a wide road leads down the mountain, while the other end leads to a cave not far away. Along the road, the tall trees around are tied with red and yellow silk strips, and the silence looks solemn and solemn.

Su Lan was stunned: "I actually came to the ancestral cave." ”

The ancestral cave is not a place to worship ancestors, but a seven-sided tripod for the inheritance of Beichen Xuannu and the Su family. Legend has it that in ancient times, Nanyun was a barren barrenness, and Beichen Xuannu descended the magic weapon Qifang Ding Town to soothe disasters and run the Quartet, so that there was later Nanyun. So with the Su family as the head, a small sacrifice in three years, a big sacrifice in five years, a radius of 800 miles in Nanyun to communicate with the gods through the seven square tripods, praying for the prosperity of the Su family and the blessing of local peace, called the ritual of the gods.

The girl was stunned for a moment, and her expression became serious: "Brother, let's go and worship." ”

It was nearly dusk, and the golden sunset sprinkled on the tall statue of the god in the cave, making the veiled goddess look even more sacred. The two of them bowed respectfully, and Su Lian looked up at the Beichen Xuannu with faint compassion under the veil, and said, "Thanks to the goddess, we can live here in peace." ”

"Well, every year I pray for the ritual of the gods, may the goddess always keep Nanyun Antai." Both of them have pious expressions, which is a belief passed down from generation to generation by the Su family, and it is also the oldest legend of Nanyun.

At this moment, a strong feeling of dizziness suddenly surged up, Su Lan felt a tearing pain in his chest, his breathing choked, and the idol in his sight turned blood-red.

"Ahh

In a trance, there was a painful cry in his head, the sound should have been unfamiliar, but it made his soul throb, and he opened his mouth wide as if he were drowning, but he couldn't breathe in a little air.

"Brother?"

Su Lan was stunned for a moment, the candle flame in the cave was inexplicably crooked, Su Lian looked at himself a little strangely, everything in the previous moment was like a dream.

But the pain of the sorrow of the unknown master was deeply engraved in his memory, and he was faintly worried.

"Oh, it's okay, let's go out." Su Lan glanced at the tall and majestic statue of the god and the pitch-black hole on both sides leading to the place where the clan was enshrined, and suddenly felt that something was uncomfortable, so he pulled Su Lian out and retreated.

In the dim candlelight of the ever-bright lamp, the goddess under the sunset looked like compassion and ridicule, looking at the world outside the cave that would not be dark.

Out of the ancestral cave, Su Lan felt a little tired, and Su Lian was also a little tired from chasing the sky, so the two sat down on the edge of a cliff.

"Ah, I'm tired, I knew I wouldn't chase it." Su Lian pouted, tilted his head, and leaned on his brother's shoulder.

"You're all this old, don't always be like this."

"No. By the way, brother, don't forget to accompany me to Yunbo Pool to watch the festival during this year's prayer festival. The girl suddenly looked up, her dark eyes blinking, full of anticipation.

The Prayer Warehouse Festival is a festival unique to the southern soil, where people nourish the spiritual grass to the gods with spiritual nourishment, and on this day they offer sacrifices to the gods and pray for the harvest of the year. There is a pond in the north of Nanyun City, which is said to be the ancient gods who transformed with mana, connected with the rain veins of the sky, and controlled the balance of drought and flood in the Nanyun area. Every year in May, the people of Nanyun City sprinkle the spiritual grass into the pond and perform a grand performance to invite the gods to receive tribute, and on the second day, the less spiritual grass in the pond, the more the gods will accept, and the more abundant the harvest will be in the coming year. Year after year, the festival has evolved into a grand gathering of residents from hundreds of miles away, and this year, it is just in time for the day after the ceremony, and I am afraid that it will be even more lively.

"I've watched it for so many years, haven't I seen enough?" Su Lan said with a smile. He still remembered that at last year's prayer festival, the girl wore the mask of the rice god and burrowed around in the crowd, which caused the servants to be worried for fear of losing the young lady.

"It's not enough, it's only once a year, so many beautiful lanterns, it's so beautiful."

The wind blew slightly, rolling up the warm air, and the two of them were brought together together, the temperature of the girl's body brought a distinct touch on the skin, Su Lan thought about the day's brilliance, lights and candles, and couldn't help laughing.

"Lian'er, you say, what does Nanyun look like outside?" Su Lan suddenly said softly. In early summer, the ridges are still turquoise, stretching into the distance. The vast heaven and earth were reflected in the eyes of the young man, shining with brilliance.

"Lian'er?" There was no response, Su Lan turned his head, but saw the girl leaning on her shoulder, already asleep, the girl's long black hair hanging in the air, gently swaying with the breeze.

The young man carefully adjusted his posture, turned his head, looked at the small Su Di at the bottom of the cliff, and smiled slightly.

When the years are long, the world is a corner.

In the blink of an eye, it was night, Su Lian was obviously exhausted by the events of the day, sat up sleepily, and didn't care about his brother who had been leaning on him all afternoon, he just muttered that he still wanted to sleep, and went to his room when he went down the mountain, Su Lan had to order someone to make a meal and send it alone, and go to see his father by himself.

Su Yan stood by the window with his hands in his hands, his eyes wandering, not knowing what he was thinking. The dark candle on the table was half an inch long, and it was dimly lit, and the whole room was dim.

"Daddy." Su Lan called out at the door of the room.

After a while, Su Yan said slowly: "Lan'er, come in." ”

Su Yan didn't speak again, and Su Lan walked into the room and waited quietly. The heavy light and shadow lit up rhythmically on the middle-aged man's face, and Su Yan was a little old at this moment, and he lost his usual square and serious temperament. Su Lan suddenly felt that the man in front of him was a little unfamiliar, his eyes were deep and gloomy, flashing with complicated thoughts.

"How's Lian'er?" The wind blows in through the window, and it is slightly cool with the humid heat of summer.

"Lian'er has gone back to her room to rest."

Su Yan sighed softly: "During the day, I was too angry, so those punishments will be waived." The man paused, and his tone contained deep exhaustion: "I still can't stand a little grievance when I'm so old, how should I ······ in the future?"

Su Lan originally wanted to intercede for her sister, but she didn't expect it to go so smoothly. I was slightly happy in my heart, but I was a little puzzled, and I hesitated: "Is there anything bothering Dad?" ”

"Lan'er, I remember you said you wanted to go and see outside Nangumo?" After a short silence, Su Yan suddenly asked.

Su Lan scratched his head: "Have you ever thought about it, many things written in the book can't be seen here." ”

The young man hesitated for a moment, and his face turned slightly red: "But...... If you go out, you have to leave here again. ”

When Su Yan heard this, he smiled slightly, and there was an inexplicable bitterness in his smile.

The night sky of Nanyun is clear and clear, the dark blue night is embedded with bright stars, the silver light in the sky is clear and brilliant, he looks at the starry sky silently, countless stars are reflected in his eyes, outlining a strange trajectory. Su Yan inherited his family education, and he already had a calm temperament unique to a scribe, and at this moment, in Su Lan's eyes, that contemplative look added a bit of mystery.

"Lan'er, what is my Su family's family motto?"

Su Lan was a little strange, and said without thinking: "Humility and benevolence are also knowledgeable. ”

"You have a good temperament, remember these eight words."

The children of the Su family have been familiar with these eight characters since they were young, and Su Yan's words made Su Lan a little confused, but he still replied respectfully: "Yes." ”

Su Yan sighed: "The benevolent, the ancestors have great wisdom. Remember, even if the wind and rain are strong, don't lose your mind. ”

Su Lan seemed to understand whether he understood or not, felt that his father's expression was surprisingly serious, and he was also a little inexplicably nervous in his heart, nodded cautiously, paused, Su Lan remembered something, he rummaged through his pocket, and took out the spirit pendant he picked up before: "Dad, a few days ago, when Lian'er and I were practicing swords in the back mountain, we picked up a spirit pendant, and this talisman seems to have never been seen." ”

Su Yan took it and looked at it, his face changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Where did you pick it up?" ”

Su Lan didn't expect his father to have such a big reaction, and said helplessly: "It's on the cliff of the martial arts training ground, a stone crevice." ”

Su Yan fell silent, as if in deep thought.

Su Lan was full of doubts: "Dad, is something wrong?" ”

Su Yan's eyes darkened for a moment, and for a moment, the young man seemed to see an extremely painful distortion on his father's face, but it was like an illusion, and the next moment he disappeared. The man looked at the sky in the northwest, and the night sky was still seven half-bright stars twinkling quietly among thousands of pearls. After a long time, he said slowly: "No, I hope not." ”

In the shadows, the spirit pendant in Su Yan's palm silently turned into powder.