After walking out of the palace, Chu Kunyang walked along the Luo River with a cold face, his solid military boots kicked away the small pebbles that stood in the way, and the whole person was like an unsheathed sword, exuding an awe-inspiring chill. Those who approached him hurriedly avoided it, for fear of offending the young man. But all the way he went, his back was so tired and lonely.

Finally, he sat down on the bluestone slab by the Luohe River, gently pulled the "Qingfeng" out of the scabbard, and pushed it back into the sheath, listening to the hum of the metal friction, only in this way could he calm himself. The breeze on the river blew the willow branches on the riverside, the mirror-like river rippled slightly, and the lonely boy sat by the river, looking at the distance where the Luo River went.

The kind-faced middle-aged man sat down next to Chu Kunyang and put one arm around his shoulder: "Why don't you go to the palace to participate in the celebration banquet?" You are one of the protagonists of this banquet, and many celebrities want to befriend you." ”

Chu Kunyang didn't even look back, he could only hear his voice without temperature: "There is no need." ”

Chu Xiong sighed and patted his back lightly, trying to calm his emotions: "I know you don't like this kind of occasion. But you are now the superior of the Empire, the most powerful cornerstone of Great Xia, and the indestructible blade of the kingdom. Half of the hope for the revival of Great Xia is in you, don't play with the child's temper, you will be nineteen years old soon. ”

"I'm not playing with a child. He still didn't look back, "I just don't like those people." ”

"But these are the people who hold the power of the world, and the whole world is in their hands. You'll have to deal with them sooner or later, whether you like them or not, it's something you're always going to have to deal with. Instead of running away, it is better to face it directly, you hold the power, which is a side effect of power. ”

"What's the use of power for me?" Chu Kunyang said softly, "I regret returning to the imperial capital now, after returning here, my brother and sister have forgotten that I still exist." I was given so-called power, but I felt so lonely, like I was abandoned by the world. ”

"How can you think like that?" Chu Xiong frowned, "You are no longer a child, Yiyang and they have important things to do, and they can't always let them accompany you." You are the sword of the empire, the meaning of the existence of a sword is to cut, and a sword does not need to think so much. ”

"But I'm tired of it, and I want to get out of here and live a peaceful life alone. The expression on Chu Kunyang's face had not changed.

Chu Xiong was silent for a while before speaking, this time he changed the topic, and there would be no good results if he continued to talk about the previous topic. "Do you remember meeting that beast on the Dragon City Fortress?"

"Remember, there is a bronze statue of it in the underground palace of the imperial tomb, 'hideous'. ”

"That's right, it's really 'hideous'. Chu Xiong affirmed his answer, and he handed Chu Kunyang a mottled scroll of ancient books. The scroll looked old, and the corners were broken. Chu Xiong motioned for him to open it and take a look, "This is a history book about it recorded by the previous historians, and there are only a few numbers about this mysterious creature on it. It said, 'There is a beast in the mountains of Zhongnan, with five tails and horns, like a red leopard.' Temperamental, good at cannibalism, can control clouds and mist, and then return to the ruins. ’”

"That's all?" Chu Kunyang swept the few lines of small words at a glance, "But this is just a record after all, what we need is real evidence." These words are equivalent to not saying. ”

"No, it's still useful, you've fought with it, what do you think of it?"

"Agile, bloodthirsty, brutal, almost unbreakable when hidden in the mist, combined with strength and those claws, it's perfect. Chu Kunyang paused: "But it's not without weaknesses." ”

The implication of this is that "Hideous" is not his opponent, and others may think that he is a little too proud, but he himself does not think so, he feels that this is just an objective fact.

"Actually, I've seen this thing twenty years ago. Chu Xiong said in a deep voice: "At that time, it was the period when your father's reputation was at its peak, and with his strange ability, we fought against many ** teams and were invincible. Once, when we were in Beihai, your father's face suddenly became serious, and we were all taken aback. At this time, a thick fog rose on the sea, just like you can see on the Dragon City Fortress, the fog obscures our vision, and we can only smell the disgusting smell of blood. We all began to get restless, fearing that there was an enemy ahead, and your father suddenly ordered the arrows to be fired forward, and we did so, despite our doubts. Just two rounds after a rain of arrows, the Hideous appeared right in front of us, and your father drew his sword to confront it. It also seemed to be afraid of us, and after a long confrontation, it fled. It ran wildly on the surface of the sea, treading the waves, and it was so fast that it finally escaped from our view. After that, the strange fog also dissipated, and the whole sea was full of dead fish with white bellies, and the sea was red with blood, and even the sharks that came with the smell of blood were killed, no doubt it did it, and it was certain that it did not eat meat, but only liked to drink blood, and was not a 'good eater' as the record says. This incident was tightly sealed by our high-level management, and within us, it was also called the 'Beihai Guiru Incident', because the 'hideous' was suppressed in the Guiru, and the entrance to the Guiru was rumored to be in a place called 'Cangdao' in the Beihai, which is the origin of the Guiru. ”

"What do you want me to do?" Chu Kunyang realized that the next thing he had to face was to assign tasks.

"Just want you to relax, Beihai is a great place to relax. Chu Xiong smiled, "You will be nineteen years old soon, and it is not a solution to be bored in one place all day." Let's go out for a walk and investigate the clues about 'Hideous' by the way. ”

"I see. Chu Kunyang got up and left.

"Wait. Chu Xiong stopped him from behind, "You're not young now, do you have a favorite girl?"

The answer is still stiff, like a certainty, "I don't need to." ”

Beihai is indeed a great place to relax. Chu Kunyang rented a small boat and went to sea alone. The sea breeze blew his clothes, and his forehead fluttered in the slightly wet and salty air. The seabirds spread their wings in the blue sky, and the ups and downs of the waves were very rhythmic, and the whole person relaxed, and the mood couldn't help but relax.

Suddenly, Chu Kunyang's eyebrows furrowed, and he squinted his eyes to see who was in front of him. Out of the blue horizon, there is a faint irregular land.

Cangdao.

There are many theories about this island, some people say that it is some immortal cultivators, who practice immortal arts in this isolated place and live forever, some people say that there are countless treasures buried on this island, waiting to be opened by those who are destined to open it, and some people say that it is sealed with heinous devils, and those who set foot on the island will be devoured by demons. In addition, there are only a handful of people who go to this island, and those who can go there and come back are all crazy people, and the words of crazy people are naturally not credible. However, it is certain that this island is overgrown with towering giant trees, and the dense canopy of the giant trees blocks out the sun, so the places below the canopy of the island are dark shadows, and there are miasma and fog in the shadows that can kill people, so it is also called Shadow Island, which is an extremely dangerous place.

Despite the danger, there are people who go out of their way to find it. No one could say its exact location, the only thing that was certain was that it was indeed on the North Sea in Great Xia. The North Sea of Great Xia is a pure sea with no other islands, and if you can find an island in this area, then it is this mysterious and dangerous Cangdao.

For thousands of years, countless people have tried to set foot on this island, and most of them have failed. The first time Chu Kunyang came here, he went out to sea purely with a relaxed attitude, and this island was like waiting for him to discover there, like a trap.

Although he hesitated before, Chu Kunyang finally set foot on this island. He walked here for half a month, and sure enough, as rumored had it, the trees here were terrifyingly tall. When you look up, you can't see the head at all. The canopy of the trees had blocked out the sun, and the canopy had been full of shadows before, and the so-called fog and miasma had not been seen until then, but the island still exuded an eerie atmosphere everywhere. Except for those trees, Chu Kunyang has not seen any other creatures in the past half a month, this island is very calm everywhere, it is this calm and the shadows under those huge ancient trees that make it exude the taste of ancient vicissitudes and evil. Like a ghost that has survived the cracks of time.

The road was paved with yellow fallen leaves, which had accumulated a thick layer, and the feet stepped on it crushed the tiny dead branches, making a slight sound. Walking in such an abyss-like forest alone, it is inevitable that there will be no fear, but Chu Kunyang did not, he was a killer who survived the battlefield, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he has already experienced death. He walked alone in this strange forest without fear, but he was careful everywhere and listened carefully to the movements around him. In addition, his eyesight is far beyond ordinary people, and he can still see in such darkness, so he is fearless.

After entering the interior of the island, there are finally signs of life, but these signs of life are getting more and more creepy. You can hear the birds flapping their wings in the woods, but you can't see their tracks, you can hear the beasts running not far away, but you can't see them running past. Little bugs are singing in the soil, like a ghost or ghost is sneering at you. If the island used to be a sleeping ghost, now it has awakened.

Chu Kunyang had already opened the senses of his whole body to the maximum, and he pricked up his ears to carefully analyze the information brought by each wisp of sound. Even though he couldn't see them, he could analyze what they were doing. His steps towards him stagnated, and on a certain tree behind him, there was a person lurking there, carefully staring at Chu Kunyang's movements.

Although that person's breathing and heartbeat had been suppressed to a very low level, Chu Kunyang could still sense the slight heartbeat brought about by excitement, and the air was filled with a small breath of humoral hormones secreted by that person because of nervousness, and for some reason there was a little Fenyin feeling, like a girl's body fragrance.

Chu Kunyang took a few more steps forward, during which every nerve of his body was tense like a full bowstring, and his muscles and joints were silently adjusting themselves. He was in a state of imminent shock, and on the surface he still seemed to be so calm, but at the slightest change he would immediately become an angry dragon.

The man still didn't know that he had been exposed, and he couldn't resist the urge to do it himself. He was beginning to pull out his weapon, and there was a slight grinding sound from the corner of his coat, and his hand broke as it reached over a branch, making a crunch that was just enough for him to realize that he had been exposed.

Chu Kunyang stood still suddenly, his hands flickered, and the blue arc reflected the cyan sword blade. He unsheathed his sword and swept in the man's direction at ghostly speed. When he was in the Dragon City Fortress, he advanced at such a high speed, and finally changed the outcome of the entire war.

There was the sound of metal grinding from above, and the taut bowstring snapped into flames, sharp arrows tearing through the air with a piercing screech. Chu Kunyang dodged the oncoming arrow sideways at an extremely tricky angle, and the sharp wind provoked by the arrow tore a corner of his clothes, and then shot into the ground.

It easily pierced through the decaying layer of dead branches and leaves on the ground, and nailed all the way to the ground, leaving only a small tail feather to quiver slightly on the surface.

In an instant, the blade of the sword turned into a faint blue glow of air, and sliced at the base of the tree, cutting it into a large gap. At the same time, he kicked hard at the gap. He used his force to jump back, dodging another arrow that broke through the air, and judging by the speed of the shot, the opponent was using a powerful crossbow.

As early as a hundred years ago, the technicians of the Xia army invented this technique, using multiple crossbows to pull multiple arrow strings and fix them on the same crossbow machine to achieve continuous firing. The rate of fire is greatly increased while retaining the original power, so that the efficiency of use is multiplied. It was with this kind of technology that the Xia army ruled the plains a hundred years ago, and any army that tried to challenge them was crushed by a dense rain of arrows, until Anivia passed on more advanced mechanical technology.

Of course, the astonishing weight of the tree could not be maintained by the remaining connected parts, and the sound of huge wooden fibers breaking was heard. It began to tilt to one side, and the broken branches fell off, and it was about to fall.

The man in the tree jumped deftly on the tree, using the branches to unload the fall, while he kept his mind clear as he fell. Every time he jumped onto a branch, he shot an arrow downward, and those arrows also maintained excellent accuracy in such a situation, attacking Chu Kunyang at various tricky angles, and he was agile enough to dodge.

Chu Kunyang really heard the sound of those crossbow arrows breaking the wind clearly, and at the same time, that person's heartbeat was as fast as if he was carrying hundreds of rabbits, and every movement of his clothes would make a sound, and Chu Kunyang judged his position in the shadows based on these sounds.

The sound of the metal sword rubbing against the scabbard was heard directly above his head, and the man, presumably sensing that the crossbow bolt was not very useful, changed to a throat-cutting tactic, which was the assassin's technique, appearing in an unexpected place for the enemy from a stealthy angle, and cutting the throat with a single sword. Maybe he was already a very good assassin, but now he was facing the king of assassins, a legendary assassination knife called the "Dragon King", and all his tricks were in vain in front of him. Because he knew every little trick by heart, he was born to be the king of assassins.

As such a legendary Assassin, he predicted these tactics with the precision of almost every move. At the moment when the blade of the opponent's blade was about to touch the top of his head, he flipped his wrist at an incredible angle, and the arcing blade was placed on top of his head, blocking the opponent's dagger.

The moment the dagger and the blade of the "Thunder Arc" intersected, a large amount of electricity flowed down the blade to the person's shoulder. That person didn't expect Chu Kunyang to react so quickly, and immediately wanted to follow the force of the shock that slid away from the top of his head, and the high-intensity electric current instantly paralyzed his shoulder with the dagger, and Chu Kunyang's blade flipped and 'threw' him out. That person probably thought that he had a chance to breathe, and then this force continued to retreat, but unexpectedly, Chu Kunyang followed him like a ghost who couldn't get rid of him, and the glimmer of the cyan sword blade was like a wolf's fangs!

There was no way to avoid it, he slammed into the trunk of a tree, fell to the ground, and faced the murderous sword blade, and in a hurry, he raised the crossbow in his other hand to resist Chu Kunyang's sword blade.

The indestructible cyan blade rightfully sliced through the fragile crossbow. With the faint sound of metal sharps, the crossbow fell apart, and the small parts on it fell to the ground. As soon as the man lifted his head, the cyan blade touched the center of his brow. Then the glimmer on the blade of the sword, Chu Kunyang looked at this strange sneak attacker.

It was actually a girl, and she looked like she was only the same age as Chu Kunyang. The jet-black hair is tied out of a beautiful ponytail with a tree vine at the back of the head, and the skin is fair and delicate, and every inch of the skin is dancing with a youthful luster. She could have been said to be beautiful, but the ill-fitting clothes buried her beauty, and in some places it was scraped by the branches as it fell, revealing the delicate skin inside. She was a little frightened and a little depressed, and her big black eyes were watery, as if she was going to cry at any moment.

This is a very strange thing, this place where life is dead and silent is like being forgotten by the world, except for those trees along the way, Chu Kunyang has never seen a living thing, and now there is a girl, just like seeing Snow White in the ghostly devil's castle. The place where she was supposed to appear was the boudoir of a large family.

But no matter what her identity is, as long as she makes a move in this situation, Chu Kunyang will see her as an enemy, and he spit out words in an indifferent voice as always: "Who are you, why did you attack me?"

"You were the one who attacked me first!" the girl retorted without showing any weakness, "it was you who drew your sword and rushed at me first, so I shot you with a crossbow!"

Chu Kunyang was stunned for a moment, and reacted randomly. It was indeed his first move, the girl had not moved in the tree before, and the movement with the crossbow was not necessarily aimed at him. The girl shot him with a crossbow and did happen after he drew his sword and rushed forward.

Her voice was nice, with a certain familiar flavor, like an old friend from many years ago. But Chu Kunyang really doesn't remember when he met such a girl, he has always been alone, and he has never intersected with any girl, but this familiar taste seems to have known everyone for a long time, so long that his hair is gray.

Speaking of the crossbow, the girl looked down at the small broken parts, and tears welled up at once. The sun shone into the forgotten forest from the canopy of the fallen tree that had been cut off before. The girl's crystal tears hit the yellow leaves one by one, shining in the sun. She hugged the crossbow machine with a smooth fracture, and really cried quietly. Her throat was still against the cyan blade that could kill her, but she cried out in spite of it, her long eyelashes stained with a few tears, like a sad and well-behaved kitten.

Chu Kunyang was a little at a loss, this situation was something he didn't expect at all. He has killed many people, and he has no mercy when the blade cuts through the skin of those people, as if it is as simple as killing not a person but an ant, but when facing this strange girl, he actually has "hesitation", this is the first time he has the emotion of "hesitation", as if his heart has been closed for many years and opened for this girl, and the emotions of "human" began to appear in the brain.

Chu Kunyang silently inserted the sword back into the sheath on his back, squatted down and stretched out a hand towards the girl, trying to comfort her: "Are you okay?" ”

If it were in Luo'an, the girl who could comfort the famous "Great Xia Dragon King" would be as happy as if she had received a great honor, but this girl completely ignored him. She cried sadly as she hugged the completely scrapped crossbow.

Such a crossbow machine costs a lot of money, and it costs dozens of gold coins, which is the income of an ordinary family without eating or drinking for a year, but for those who are slightly wealthy, it is not a big problem to bear these dozens of gold coins at all. But the preciousness of this thing is that it is a military equipment, and even now that this technology has fallen behind, the method of its manufacture is top secret, and I don't know where this mysterious girl came from such a crossbow.

But no matter where it came from, its importance to this girl is undoubted, and it can be seen from the sadness on her face now, what is the matter with this inexplicable "pity" of hell? Chu Kunyang rubbed his temples vigorously, trying to calm himself down and think.

After a moment, he reached out to help the girl wipe the tears from her face in a gesture that he thought was friendly, and the girl waved his hand away without looking at him.

He was denied.

He felt that he still had to do something for this girl, so he took out the money bag on his waist and poured all the gold coins in front of the girl: "Don't cry, I'll compensate you." ”

In just an instant, the expression on the girl's face became magnificent. She carefully looked at the pile of gold coins like a small mountain, and felt that this thing was worth it, and the tears on her face naturally stopped flowing, revealing a bright smile like a flower. Seeing her expression change so quickly before and after, I couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

This is nonsense, the girls he saw in Luoan were all those ladies who spoke softly and steadily, and behaved elegantly. They have a "transition" process when they express their emotions, for example, if she wants a gemstone ring, she will tactfully and implicitly hint to you, if you want to cry, you want to cry weakly, and you want to laugh softly and movingly. If you make a girl cry in Loanne and try to make her laugh, you must first comfort her broken heart with kind words, so that it takes a few tongues before they stop crying. Then you have to swear a lot of benefits to her, promising her one kind of benefit or another, and finally she will show a little "laugh", but at this time you will probably have completely lost patience with her. This girl does not have the pampering and indulgence of an aristocratic girl, she can cry when she wants to cry and laugh if she wants to, Chu Kunyang admires her character very much.

She held on to a tree and tried to stand up, but the high-voltage electrical paralysis she had received had not dissipated completely. Her thighs were trembling, and her arms couldn't even hold on to the tree, so she fell straight to the ground. Chu Kunyang's eyes were quick, and he stretched out his hand to hold her, she took advantage of the situation and fell into Chu Kunyang's arms, looking up at Chu Kunyang aggrievedly. She pursed her rosy little mouth: "Numb." ”

Of course, although the "Thunder Arc" is just a knife, it can't be said that it is not a weapon beyond human cognition, it doesn't seem that a huge electric current can actually turn over a crazy bull, and as long as it is used on a person, it will almost lose its ability to move, because the excess current will completely paralyze every nerve in your body, so that your nerve center is completely paralyzed.

Chu Kunyang is in trouble now, he doesn't want to take this girl with him, but it is very irresponsible to throw an incapacitated girl in such a strange forest like this, although this girl herself is as weird as this forest.

What really made him difficult was not this, when the girl fell into his arms, he clearly heard his heartbeat, the girl's hair was long and soft, with a fragrant fragrance like a white lotus, an indescribable throbbing beat in Chu Kunyang's brain, that breath was strange but familiar, like the old man who parted many years ago, when you first saw him, you felt that he was a little familiar, but you couldn't remember the unfamiliar face, and it was only when the two parties reported their identities that you suddenly realized that he was your old man.

After many trade-offs, Chu Kunyang still decided to take this girl with him, just for the familiar aura on her body.

But how to bring it has become a problem, Chu Kunyang is carrying the pair of swords that made him famous on his back, so naturally he can't carry this girl on his back. He hesitated to reach out and pick up the girl, an intimate gesture that seemed impolite to him, but the girl did not refuse. She stretched out her slender arm around Chu Kunyang's neck and giggled. She put her mouth to Chu Kunyang's ear and exhaled like a lan: "My name is Jiela." ”

Her voice was delicate and warm, her body was soft, and when that breath blew on Chu Kunyang's earlobe, he stiffened slightly, and randomly returned to normal. He hugged the girl hard so that she would not fall, and only after a little hesitation did he report his name to the girl: "My name is Chu Kunyang." ”

Shadows still shrouded the dark forest, and in the shadows, the figure of a boy holding a girl was engulfed in darkness.