Xuande three years, April.

The silver-white hand armor fit perfectly to Luo Shuangyi's hand bones, as tight as a thin layer of skin. Luo Shuangyi slowly retracted his ten fingers, and the bones made a slight sound between the exertion, and the movements were smooth without the slightest condensation.

"This pair of armor is made of special metal, and the internal mechanism is extremely sophisticated, at least a hundred years ahead of the mechanics of the entire Great Zhou." The ghost city lord said proudly, "It's okay to break the skin and crack the bones." ”

Luo Shuangyi looked at the ghost city lord's expression for a moment, slightly recalled the usual words of the people around him, and said tentatively: "Thank you?" ”

"No thanks." The ghost city lord said generously, "Give the money." I won't ask for a lot of money, so I'll charge you a hundred taels of gold. ”

"I'll give you an IOU." Chu Zhixia walked in from outside the door and interjected.

"Go aside," the ghost city lord stretched out his hand towards Luo Shuangyi and said, "The famous pulse interceptor on the rivers and lakes, this money can be earned back by killing two singles, and you can use your IOU?" ”

"It's been several years since the Nine Shadows Division opened to kill people." Shen Zhou answered, "Luo Shuangyi can't take out this money. ”

Luo Shuangyi nodded.

The ghost city lord immediately withdrew his hand and said to Chu Zhixia: "IOU, this money will be credited to the head of the Chu clan in your clouds, and the interest rate will be calculated according to the money bank." ”

Chu Zhixia was good-natured and wrote an IOU according to the request of the ghost city lord and stamped it with the seal of the king of Zhenbei. The ghost city lord took the IOU safely and soundly, and glanced at Chu Zhixia several times with some unaccustomedness. Chu Zhixia did not move, and calmly flipped through the official documents.

The ghost city lord asked Shen Zhou in a low voice: "Did she take the wrong medicine today?" ”

Chu Zhixia said faintly: "I can hear it. ”

Shen Zhou explained: "The latest information from Eagle Eye, the Great Lady of the Blue Eagle Department is pregnant and is said to be a son. Erdan announced that he would never marry again, and made the child in the womb of the Da Yan clan as the son, and the Gultai family was temporarily stabilized. ”

The ghost city lord sighed: "This kid is really at the right time. He couldn't help but glance at Chu Zhixia and asked, "Then isn't your abacus in vain, why can you still sit still like this?" ”

Chu Zhi Xia Long replied to the official document without raising his head: "I have become numb to Erdan's jealous luck. Even if the old khan of the Green Eagle Department now lifts the coffin board and sits up, slaps each of his sons, and orders them to be loyal to Erdan, I will not be able to change my face. Not to mention just a son. ”

"The Beidi people don't need coffins for burial," said Geng Zhi, the ghost city lord, "he doesn't have a coffin board." ”

Chu Zhixia, Shen Zhou, and Luo Shuangyi shook their heads at the same time, and spit on the ghost city lord who couldn't understand the joy of this misery: "Turtle." ”

Annoyed, the ghost city lord smashed the IOU on the face of the nearest Shen Zhou.

——

Luo Tong carried two wheat cakes and sneaked into the root of the city wall. She put her hand to her lips and whistled twice, but she didn't see the familiar shadow running for a long time, and she was a little stunned. The footsteps suddenly approached, Luo Tong was startled, and turned to look at the person who suddenly appeared.

"Home, head of the house." Luo Tong nervously hid the wheat cake behind her.

"Are you looking for this?" Shen Zhou took out the two cages from the darkness, lifted the black cloth covering them, and asked.

Inside the cage were two monkeys with dry fur, pitifully huddled in the corner of the cage, staring at Luo Tong with dark eyes.

"Master, I was wrong." Luo Tong lowered his head and said.

"What's wrong?" Shen Zhou asked.

"I don't know." Luo Tong said.

"Where did the monkeys come from?" Shen Zhou asked.

"Qianfeng ran down." Luo Tong defended, "I raised it with the rations I saved myself, and I didn't waste food. If the head of the house wants to punish me, can he punish me more lightly? ”

"I'm not going to punish you, but don't feed them secretly. If Hawkeye hadn't informed me first, you'd have been arrested as a fine worker. Shen Zhou said.

"Oh." Luo Tong replied a little disappointed.

"Take them back to your room and raise them, and don't let them hurt the soldiers, and don't let them spoil the food. If they can kill the enemy on the battlefield, I believe the generals will agree. Shen Zhou handed her back the cage.

Luo Tong hugged the cage with joy and said loudly, "Thank you, master!" ”

Luo Tong bounced away.

"You're really spoiling her."

Li Qingbai, who did not show a trace from beginning to end, spoke. Because there was no wine to drink, Li Qingbai described him as sleepy and unshaven, and he was more like a man begging for food under the overpass than the rumored Sword Master.

Shen Zhou was silent for a moment and said, "When I took over the Nine Shadows, she had not yet become a qualified assassin, and she would never have such a chance in the future. So, why can't I be more lenient with her? ”

"The disciple of the Sword Saint has become the head of the Nine Shadows, I should have killed you, at least I should have abolished your martial arts, and made a name for myself as a true teacher." Li Qingbai held the sword in one hand and said nonchalantly, "But things don't seem to be the same as I thought, and the Nine Shadows Division is very different from before." ”

"Yes."

Li Qingbai turned his head to look at Shen Zhou, and the bonfire in the distance reflected on his face, like jade in the warm light.

"Aren't you hiding?"

"Master said 'but,' which means that there is a turning point." Shen Zhou said, "If after this, the master still wants to abolish me, I will hide." My life was given by my master, but before Beidi was defeated, I had to stand by Mo Xue's side. ”

Li Qingbai was unmoved and asked, "Does what happened in the imperial capital have anything to do with the Nine Shadows?" ”

"Yes."

"In the past two years, the Nine Shadows Division has stopped searching for children who are suitable for practicing assassination techniques among the people. Will the Nine Shadows be cut off? ”

"Yes."

Li Qingbai exhaled a breath and said intriguingly: "In my sect, I pay attention to 'no delusions', so my disciples are all born. I have already made a big mistake by accepting Chu Zhixia as an apprentice and teaching him with all my money. Now she has entered the WTO with the vicissitudes of swordsmanship, going against the general trend, her state of mind has been broken, and the way of the sword has stopped. ”

"As for you, it is not your fault that you were coerced astray when you were young. But you are in the first place to join the evil demons and the last to meddle in the worldly government, and you are no longer my disciple. ”

Li Qingbai couldn't tell whether it was free and easy or melancholy, and said: "The ghost city master is right, the inheritance of my vein is broken." ”

"Let's go."

The sinking boat did not move.

"Master, if joining the WTO is a breaking of the vows, why do you want to stay in Yongxue Pass?" Shen Zhou asked firmly.

Li Qingbai closed his eyes and did not answer.

——

In the third year of Xuande, at the beginning of June.

Outside the snow pass, the border camp is held.

Tonight is the day when the Guan Shan Army and the Benlei Army change their guards.

Chu Ni stood by the bonfire, looked up at the bright stars in the sky, and said, "The rain this year is not good, I heard that the drought in the north of the city is very serious. The imperial court's disaster relief food has been delayed, and I am afraid it will be difficult to continue. ”

"This is something that the big people in the Xuanzheng Hall have to worry about, and it is not our turn to worry about martial artists." Wang said.

Not only in the north, but also in the south, rainfall is scarce. Even though the emperor had ordered the tax to be exempted for the year, and the palace was exempted from all unnecessary expenses, the situation was still not optimistic. The terrified ministers even began to force the emperor to write an edict for forgiveness, but the emperor angrily refused.

The dry air was mixed with the smell of Martian seeds.

Chu Ni's face suddenly changed, and he drew his knife and swept towards the top of Wang Yi's head. Wang Yi subconsciously bent down, and at the same time drew his knife and stabbed Chu Ni's waist side. Two splashes of blood sprinkled in the yellow sand, Chu Ni carried the head of the Beidi soldier, and turned his head to watch Wang Yi slowly and methodically pull the knife out of the corpse.

"Night Raid."

But no one issued a warning.

The Beidi people lurking in the darkness gradually appeared, and they were draped in black cloth, which merged with the night. Chu Ni's face remained unchanged, and he took off the waist knife of the Beidi soldier and threw it at the alarm bell.

The bell rang loudly throughout the camp.

——

Chu Mingsheng was awakened by the sound of the bell, and his sudden vigilance saved his life. The moment he woke up, Chu Mingsheng rolled to the side on the bed. The man beside the bed stabbed him in the air, and Chu Mingsheng pulled out the knife at the head of the bed and slashed his neck.

Chu Mingsheng's frantic heartbeat was undecided, and he hurriedly put on his armor and broke out of the camp, but he saw a sea of fire. Under the blazing firelight, Chu Mingsheng could hardly distinguish between friend and foe. A war horse broke through the flames, Chu Mingsheng looked at the monster-like war horse, and his hands and feet were stiff for a while, and he couldn't hold himself. As he saw the knife fall on the top of his head, a feathered arrow flew out of the slash, piercing the man's temple, and the cluster of arrows peeked out from the other side.

The archer rode over and scooped Chu Mingsheng onto his horse, shouting at his ear: "Are you stupid? ”

It's Chu Mingying.

"Where's the general?" Chu Mingsheng also yelled.

"I don't know!" Chu Mingying said distraughtly.

The two of them walked around the fire like flies, and when they saw the Beidi people, they cut them, but they found that there were more and more people. Chu Mingying decisively decided to retreat to the south, such a big fire, the south must have realized that something was wrong, if it converged with the reinforcements, it would be able to escape.

Chu Mingying withdrew from the sea of fire, but was pressed by Chu Mingsheng and rolled down. In the next moment, the slender and sturdy legs of the horse were cut off by the giant axes swung from both sides, and the two men in the saddle rolled twice before they broke their heads and bled out.

As soon as she landed, Chu Mingying immediately pulled out the long knife on her waist and raised it high above her head to block. The silver light that fell, as if the mountains were pressing on the top, Chu Mingying gritted his teeth and insisted that he seemed to taste the smell of blood oozing from between his teeth, and the bones of his whole body erupted into an overwhelmed scream.

Chu Mingsheng quickly drew his knife and slashed at the man's knee, the man was not afraid at all, and with a heavy push on the knife, Chu Mingying flew backwards backwards, and his back slammed into a pile of burning wreckage. Immediately after that, his blade swept from bottom to top, and before Chu Mingsheng's knife touched the other party, the waist knife and the armor on his chest were shattered, and the entire chest was cut diagonally.

"Morrigan, you killed the wrong person." The young man said lightly, "This seems to be a general, not a nobody." ”

Chu Mingying's eyes were bloodshot, and he tried his best to look up at the man who came out of the fire in the distorted air of the heat wave. He rode a maroon horse, strolling in the sea of corpses and fire, flanked by black bear-like Beidi soldiers.

Mozhigen knelt down in front of Erdan's horse and pleaded guilty.

"It's a girl." Erdan looked at Chu Mingying with interest and said, "Look at her waist card." ”

Mo Rigen took two steps forward, and the hilt of the knife slammed heavily on Chu Mingying's back. Chu Mingying's throat was surging with blood, almost spitting out her lungs, and she watched Mo Rigen take off her waist card.

"Centurion of the Tiance Army, Chu Mingying."

Erdan read out the words on the waist card, and said thoughtfully: "The surname is Chu, so young, obviously the Tiance Army but appeared in the Guanshan Army and the Benlei Army, could it be that you are a child of the Chu family who came to the army to train?" 'Ming' generation, you are the same generation as Chu Zhixia. ”

Chu Mingying gritted her teeth and did not answer.

"Khan, someone from the south is coming!" The scout galloped in, and said.

"We retreat." Erdan glanced at Chu Mingying, threw the waist card to Mo Rigen, and said, "Take her away." ”

——

June 11.

In front of the snow pass, Baichuan Fort.

The soldiers defending the city on the city wall were waiting for them, except for Chu Ni and Wang Yi, the generals of the seven battalions were all here. Chu Zhixia climbed the city tower and stood among the generals of the seven battalions, looking down on the Beidi army in front of Baichuan Fort. Baichuan Fort's failure to fight was not because of cowardice, but because the other party pushed a person to the front of the battle.

Chu Mingying.

A few days ago, the border camp was attacked by the Beidi people at night, and the garrison army was almost completely wiped out. Chu Ni, the commander of the Guanshan Army, was killed in battle, and Wang Yi, the commander of the Benlei Army, broke an arm and has not woken up so far. With the help of the northeast wind, the fire set by the Beidi people swept all the way south, blocking the footsteps of the reinforcements.

And Chu Zhixia just learned a piece of news.

Chu Mingying is Chu Ni's daughter.

This level of relationship is little known in Yongxue Pass, and only a few generals who are close to Chu Ni know about it. Chu Ni has always been cold to this daughter, and Chu Mingying is not very close to her, the two of them are silent about it, as if they are strangers in the barracks. Now that Chu Ni has died in the line of duty and Chu Mingying has been captured, someone is eager to inform Chu Zhixia of the news, so as not to abandon Chu Mingying.

In the Beidi army, a jujube red horse stood under the battle flag, and the people on horseback looked up at Chu Zhixia. Two Beidi people knelt in front of the formation with Chu Mingying in front of the formation, and put their knives across her neck. Chu Mingying trained a body of tight muscles early, which was still not enough in front of the fierce Beidi people. There seemed to be a lot of grit rubbing against her lungs, and it hurt her.

"General Chu," Erdan raised his voice, "now it's my turn to negotiate with you." I heard that there is an old thing in your house, and I wonder if your cousin dies in front of you because of you, you will have a headache because of it? ”

"What do you want?" Chu Zhixia asked coldly.

"Embrace the snow pass and withdraw from Baichuan Fort." Erdan smiled strikingly.

Erdan felt a sense of revenge in his heart, and he also made a request that Chu Shixia could not agree to, forcing her into a dilemma—although he still didn't know the weight of Chu Mingying. However, Erdan knows that the people of the Central Plains pay more attention to the so-called "etiquette" and "reputation".

If Chu Zhixia is changed, he will be burdened with the responsibility of selfishness and disregard for the overall situation; If Chu Zhixia does not change, he will have to kill his fellow clansmen and be cold-blooded and ruthless.

"Bring a bow and arrows." Chu Zhixia stared at Chu Mingying and said.

The generals of the seven battalions watched Cheng Yuan hand over the hard bow and feather arrows, unmoved, like a stone statue.

Erdan looked down at Chu Mingying, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "Please let her save you." Whether you succeed or not, I will spare you a life. Otherwise, your fate will only be worse than that of your Guanshan army general, and you won't want to know how we treat the women of the Central Plains. ”

Chu Ni, the general of the Guanshan Army, fought to exhaustion, and refused to kneel with a long knife until death. In the end, the Beidi soldiers, who were red-eyed by the military exploits, swarmed up, divided their corpses, and took the corpses to the main general to receive a reward.

Chu Mingying whispered, "Okay." ”

The two Beidi soldiers who were holding Chu Mingying were slightly relieved.

On the city wall, Chu Zhixia pointed the string at the people below.

The strength on Chu Mingying's shoulders was removed, and she looked up at Chu Zhixia, and the glittering arrow cluster was reflected in her eyes.

"Chu Zhixia—"

As soon as Chu Mingying opened her mouth, a drop of blood squeezed out of her aching lungs, splashing out of her throat, staining her teeth red and white. Chu Mingying looked at Chu Zhixia's hard as iron expression, and suddenly showed a smug and lofty smile.

Her voice echoed in the yellow sandy air, as if piercing the blade of obscurantism.

"We are the Chu clan in the clouds, and there is no misseed."

Before Chu Mingying's words fell, she hit her headlong on the knife of the soldier who escorted her. The blade cut his throat, Chu Mingying was killed on the spot, and Chu Zhixia's arrow shot at Erdan at the same time. Morrigan struck quickly, grabbing the feathered arrow that stabbed Erdan's face.

Erdan looked down at the blood gushing out of Chu Mingying's throat and laughed weirdly.

"It turns out that this is the secret of the snow pass that has not fallen for a hundred years."