The bonfire in the night, shining in the mountains and forests, is like a falling star.

In fact, it shines brighter than the stars, but sometimes it swells and relaxes, and sometimes it is gloomy and drowsy, as if it shiveres in the cold wind.

Above the flame is a homemade barbecue. Freshly roasted bison meat has a rich aroma on top.

Gu Xu took off a piece of meat from the beef bone, handed it to Zhao Yan's hand beside him and said, "Taste it." ”

At this time, the two had already left the border of Youzhou and came to a no-man's land with a colder climate.

The wind here is like a sharp blade, screaming in the cold night, as if a hundred ghosts are roaring in unison; The trees here are sparse and sparse, and most of them are short and ugly, stubbornly growing in the crevices of the rocks. On the edge of the cliff, there are often ice ridges, which at first glance look like the fangs of wild beasts.

Although the two of them, as cultivators, were able to dispel the cold with their true essence, their breath could not help but condense into hoarfrost in the dark air.

On the way, they also encountered a monster named "Zhen Jiu". It resembles an elk, but its anus grows on its tail, and it lives in the cold north all year round.

It was rare to smell the breath of a living person, and this "Jiujiu" rushed up desperately, wanting to turn Gu Xu and Zhao Yan into a meal in its belly.

However, Gu Xu and Zhao Yan are not soft persimmons.

A "ghost killing talisman", a "fire-proof gun", and "Zhenjiu" instantly turned into ashes.

In addition to the "Nine Sons", they also saw a herd of bison on the slightly flattened foothills. Compared with the ordinary cattle in Daqi, the bison here are obviously much larger, covered with brown fluffy hair, with a pair of sharp horns that bend upward, and are short-tempered and fierce.

Seeing them, Gu Xu smiled and suggested that he should not grab one end to make a barbecue and improve the food.

Zhao Yan readily agreed.

Recently, the two of them have been relying on dry food every day to satisfy their hunger, and she really feels a little tired.

After the beef was roasted, Gu Xu took out a bunch of small porcelain bottles from the "Xianyunju" and introduced: "These are salt, chili powder, black pepper powder, and Sichuan pepper powder...... You can pick and choose what you like. ”

"You had so much seasoning with you when you ran away?" Zhao Yan stared at these porcelain spice bottles, and said with some surprise, "I didn't see that you are such a person who knows how to enjoy." ”

Gu Xu smiled: "Shi Xiaohan especially likes to go to the Luohe River to eat barbecue, but he thinks that the types of spices in the barbecue stall are too simple, so he asked me to use the space magic weapon to carry some for her." I was in such a hurry that I didn't have time to take them out. ”

Zhao Yan noticed that when Gu Xu mentioned the name "Shi Xiaohan", his eyes suddenly softened a lot. This reminded her of the day when Luojing City was broken, Gu Xu rushed to the outskirts of the city regardless of his own safety and rescued his fiancée from Hu Yun, who had become a "ghost servant".

"He still has a fiancée." She said silently in her heart.

In recent days, she has walked with Gu Xu, cultivated together, fought enemies together, temporarily let go of the obsession of revenge and the grievances in the family, and almost forgot the fact that Gu Xu had been engaged to someone else.

At this moment, she recalled that she had been alone with a married man under the same roof, and she also took off the other party's clothes to heal him...... If those rotten Confucians in Jicheng knew about it, they would definitely say that she did not abide by women's morality and damaged her family style.

Of course, Zhao Yan has always done things her own way, and she once cut off her "fear" when she broke through the realm, and she didn't care about the eyes of others.

In her opinion, as long as she has a clear conscience, she has peace of mind.

However, for the girl named Shi Xiaohan, she was faintly envious in her heart.

She envied Shi Xiaohan for meeting a handsome, capable man like Gu Xu, who was willing to work hard for her at a critical juncture, but there were only scum like Zhao Yu around her.

From the conversation in the past few days, Zhao Yan can clearly feel that for women, especially middle- and lower-class civilian women, Gu Xu does not regard them as appendages like most men in the Great Qi Dynasty, but has an attitude of equality, respect, and compassion.

For example, when it comes to Goolan Qinglou, other men will discuss with a hippie smile which girl is the most beautiful and has the best skills, and when to go there to have a good time; Gu Xu will feel that they are all a group of poor people who can't help themselves - the big Qi Qinglou is generally full of criminals and women from poor families who sell their bodies, usually if they are not desperate, no one will choose to do such a thing.

For example, when it comes to the draft, others will think that it is a great honor for a young woman to be selected into the palace to serve the emperor and his concubines, after all, the process of selecting palace maids in Daqi is extremely strict, and the selected ones are all good-looking and well-behaved; But Gu Xu felt that it was really a sad thing for them to be locked in the palace in their prime years, isolated from the outside world, lose their freedom, and be imprisoned under a strict hierarchy.

Zhao Yan has never seen a man like Gu Xu, putting himself in the shoes of these ordinary women.

"Your fiancée...... How are you doing? After a brief pause, she asked politely.

Hearing her words, a bitter smile appeared on Gu Xu's face: "Our marriage contract has been dissolved." ”

"Lifted?" Zhao Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, "Is it because you are wanted by the imperial court?" ”

"Yes," Gu Xu sighed, "The dissolution of the marriage contract was not out of her original intention. But if she doesn't get rid of me in time, she may be implicated and punished by the imperial court. ”

"It's me who is not good," Zhao Yan lowered her head and stared at the dancing flames on the pyre, "It caused you to lose your official position and lose your fiancée." ”

While speaking, she couldn't help but think of the picture of that day in her mind: Gu Xu stood in the raging fire, with anger hidden in his calm eyes; Shi Xiaohan was lying on his back, his eyes were full of dependence on him.

This is undoubtedly an enviable pair of fairy rolls.

It's a pity that it was still lost to the impermanence of the world.

"Miss Zhao doesn't have to blame herself anymore," Gu Xu looked at her and said seriously, "It's not you and me who are wrong, it's the world." Some things are destined to happen and cannot be avoided. ”

Zhao Yan knew that he was comforting himself with a clumsy reason again.

Gu Xu is really interesting, obviously he is the victim who has been implicated, but every time he talks about this topic, he keeps persuading her "Don't be sad", "Don't blame yourself", "This really has nothing to do with you".

"And what are you going to do in the future?" She asked again, "Are you planning to find her to renew your edge after you have achieved cultivation?" ”

"I don't know," Gu Xu shook his head slightly, his eyes a little dazed for a while, "Now, she is the daughter of the Great Qi official family, but I am a wanted thief." If we want to get married, there are only two ways to do it –

"One is that she also took the initiative to commit treason and fled with me. But she's not a lonely person like me who has no father or mother. She still has a family in Daqi. She couldn't leave her family behind and become an outlaw.

"The other is that I have become strong enough to stand up to the Tianxing Emperor and the entire Great Qi Imperial Court. It's just that...... The Skywalker Emperor is even more powerful than I had expected. I didn't have the confidence to beat him. ”

Zhao Yan nibbled on roast beef while carefully examining his handsome face, watching the bright firelight dance in his child's hole.

With only the fifth realm cultivator, he was thinking about challenging the Tianxing Emperor.

Should we evaluate him as "ambitious", or should we say that he "really dares to think"?

"Actually, you have a third option," Zhao Yan said in a joking tone while licking the chili powder on the corner of her mouth with her tongue, trying to ease the heavy atmosphere, "You defect to Dayan, assist me to ascend the throne, and then we will lead thousands of troops together to destroy Daqi and unify the Great Wilderness." When that time comes, I will give you marriage myself. ”

"If Miss Zhao can really solve the Tianxing Emperor for me, then I am willing to be Miss Zhao's pawn, and you are the only one." Gu Xu also smiled slightly, and joked.

After that, both of them focused on nibbling on the bison and did not speak again.

After eating, Zhao Yan stood up, wiped the grease stains on her hands, and then walked towards the gate of "Xianyunju" - now she enters and exits "Xianyunju", just as naturally as she follows out of her own mansion.

On the way, she passed by Gu Xu and noticed that his collar was slightly messy, so she bent down and tidied it up for him.

As soon as she was halfway through the tidying up, a thought suddenly popped up in her mind: Is this kind of behavior a little too close?

But thinking that Gu Xu's marriage contract had been dissolved, and now that both of them were single, her mood relaxed a little.

It's just a small favor for a friend. No big deal.

…………

In the early morning of the next day, when the sun shimmered in the distant sky, Zhao Yan grabbed Gu Xu's arm again, ready to shuttle through space with him.

"Say goodbye to it!" Gu Xu pointed to the sun and said to her with a smile, "In the next period of time, we shouldn't be able to see it for a while." ”

Zhao Yan glanced at him, not knowing how to respond to his sense of humor for a moment.

The next moment, the light of the "astrolabe" flickered, and the surrounding scenery distorted, turning into a rapidly rotating patch of mold lake color, as if falling into a kaleidoscope.

By the time the view became clear again, they were standing on the edge of a cliff.

The sky was dark and cloudless, and there were no moon and stars, and the jagged peaks on both sides climbed high and pressed up, like black giants in a deep sleep.

And in front of them, there is a vast sea. Its end meets the sky. Because the sky and the sea are dark black, it is impossible to pinpoint the location of the boundary between the two.

From a distance, it is like the canopy of heaven extending from the top of the head to the feet, and it is like the vast ocean rushing to the top of the nine heavens, converging with the water of the heavenly river.

When Gu Xu stood by this black ocean, he could feel the "astrolabe" in his hand trembling slightly, and he could faintly hear a voice calling him from the depths of the sea.

"What I'm looking for should be under the sea," he took out a talisman seal and handed it to Zhao Yan beside him, "I'll go to the sea to find it." You just wait for me here.

"If this sigil remains intact, it means I'm still alive.

"If it burns itself to ashes, it means I'm dead in the sea. In that case, you can go home by yourself. ”