Chapter 59: Swimming

In the rain that was sprinkled one after another, Shen Shi ran all the way, looking at the expression on his face that was quite excited, Zhong Qingzhu gritted his teeth, and suddenly felt that this person was a little hateful, glaring at him and was about to speak, when he heard Shen Shi with a little excitement, pointed behind her and said loudly: "Waterhole, waterhole!"

Zhong Qingzhu was stunned, and looked back in the direction of his finger, only to see that the waterhole behind him was the same as before, it was still the same calm appearance, the rain fell on the clear water, splashing small splashes, and layers of ripples drifted away silently, adding a bit of seclusion.

"What's wrong with the pool?" Zhong Qingzhu forgot to scold Shen Shi for a while, and just asked with a frown.

Shen Shi looked a little excited, and said, "I've checked all the around, it's all hard stone walls, and there's no way out, but it's leaking this pool." ”

Zhong Qingzhu thought for a moment, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and said, "You mean that this waterhole may be a way out?"

Shen Shi ran to the water's edge and began to carefully look at the small but deep waterhole in front of him, and said, "I don't know, but there is no such thing as a water source waterfall here, so it is possible that the water in the pool may flow in from the outside!"

Zhong Qingzhu nodded again and again, with a bit of joy and expectation on his face, although this waterhole was only a guess by Shen Shi to communicate with the outside world, but for the two of them in a desperate situation, any small hope was so precious, once it appeared, they would do everything possible to seize it.

The two of them stood side by side by the waterhole, their faces changed, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that it was possible, this herring island was in the sea, and there was a lot of water on the island, and the flooding of the underground cave just now was a clear proof, perhaps, there is really a hidden secret passage under this water, which can lead to the outside world?

Zhong Qingzhu subconsciously clenched his fists, full of expectation and excitement in his heart, after all, they are only teenagers, who is not full of desire for life. She nodded heavily at Shen Shi and said, "Shi, you are so smart. ”

"Hahaha......" Shen Shi laughed and said, "It's too early to say this, whether there is a way out under the water, we have to see if there is a way out." ”

Zhong Qingzhu nodded and said, "Hmm." ”

Then, she looked at Shen Shi, and Shen Shi also looked at Zhong Qingzhu with a smile.

No one spoke, no one made the next move.

The atmosphere of enthusiasm and joy was very strange, but there was a moment of stagnation and pause, and the two looked at each other, but neither of them moved. After a while, the two of them seemed to sense that something was wrong at the same time, and they actually said in unison:

"Why don't you go and see ......"

The words were interrupted again, Zhong Qingzhu looked at Shen Shi with a little doubt, Shen Shi seemed to think of something, laughed dryly, and said, "I, I don't know much about water, why don't you work hard, go down and have a look?"

Zhong Qingzhu was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know how to ...... water."

Shen Shi: "......"

※※※

By the waterhole, the atmosphere seems to have become a little colder, and even the rain falling on the face seems to be a little cooler than just now.

Shen Shi shook his head and said with a wry smile: "I grew up on the side of the southwest mountain since I was a child, not to mention the sea, even rivers and lakes are rare, so I haven't learned to swim since I was a child." Aren't you right here by the sea, why don't you know water?"

Zhong Qingzhu had a faint expression of disappointment on his face, and he smiled helplessly when he heard this, and said: "I grew up here in Haizhou, but I have had a hard time since I was a child, and I have been helping my mother do things since I was sensible, and I am busy all day long, how can I have time to play in the water?"

The two of them stood by the water in a daze, both of them were speechless, and finally thought of such a way to get out of the water, but they didn't expect to be trapped because neither of them knew water. Shen Shi sighed and said, "Alas, it's really ......"

Looking at his depressed expression, Zhong Qingzhu felt a little uncomfortable in her heart inexplicably, and for no reason she actually felt a little guilty, although even she understood that it had nothing to do with her, but she still said softly: "Forget it, in fact, there was not much hope, maybe there was a spring under the pool, and it was not a way out." ”

Shen Shi nodded, and then seemed to have a little remorse, and said, "I knew that I would have worked hard a few days ago, and I would rather kill a few less ghost-faced shrimp than learn to swim with starfish." ”

Zhong Qingzhu was stunned and said, "What starfish?"

Both of them have fallen to this point, and Shen Shi has no intention of hiding anything, not to mention that the matter over there in Hongbang Village is not a secret, so he roughly told Zhong Qingzhu about going to Hongbang Village to peel shrimp, and finally said that Haixing promised to teach him to swim, but he taught it, but Shen Shi's own understanding on this seems to be very bad, and after studying for a long time, he only learned to float with bated breath, as for moving forward in the sea water with his hands and feet and swimming water, no matter how many mouthfuls of seawater he ate, he still hasn't learned it.

Zhong Qingzhu listened carefully, and was a little serious when he heard the starfish girl, and then when he heard Shen Shi's embarrassed appearance when he was learning to swim, he couldn't help but laugh and covered his mouth with a smile. In this way, the original fear of death between the two was diluted a lot.

After Shen Shikankan finished speaking, his face didn't look good, and he complained to Zhong Qingzhu: "Do you know how she answered me when I asked her at that time, how long does it take for you Red Beng people to learn to swim......? After listening to this, I looked at myself again, and I really couldn't say a word for a long time. ”

Zhong Qingzhu burst out laughing.

Shen Shi was a little distressed, looked around, and finally his eyes fell on the waterhole in front of him, and finally gritted his teeth, and suddenly stomped his feet and said, "Forget it, no matter how good or bad, you have to try it." ”

As he spoke, he walked towards the waterhole, Zhong Qingzhu was taken aback, and hurriedly stopped him and said, "What are you doing?"

Shen Shi said: "There's no way now, I have to try it, maybe the water is shallow, I can see the movement underneath." ”

Zhong Qingzhu let out an "oh", stopped talking, there was a little worry on his face, and advised: "Then you be careful, don't go too far, try slowly." ”

Shen Shi agreed, and stepped into the water, and the moment his feet entered the water, his face bared his teeth and grinned, but Zhong Qingzhu next to him was startled, and exclaimed, "What's wrong?"

Shen Shi shook his head to indicate that it was okay, and said, "It's okay, it's just that this water is so cold." ”

Although the water in the pool was cold, it was actually not to the point of exaggeration, so after a while, as Shen Shi slowly walked in the water, he gradually adapted to the water temperature around him, and no longer cared about this, but slowly walked carefully towards the center of the pool.

Shen Shi only walked a few steps, and found that the terrain under the waterhole suddenly drooped downward, and the water surface quickly fell from his ankle, and then continued to rise, and when he walked five or six steps into the pool, the water surface was already close to his chest.

This waterhole looks so deep and deep.

Shen Shi turned his head and looked at Zhong Qingzhu on the shore with a wry smile, Zhong Qingzhu also shook his head helplessly, and sighed softly.

※※※

Walking further down, the pool water flooded his neck, mouth and nose, and it would be dangerous if he couldn't swim, and Shen Shi didn't dare to go deeper at will, so he had to turn around and walk back. After walking three or two steps, watching the water retreat to his waist, he was a little unwilling, hesitated, gritted his teeth, opened his mouth sharply and took a breath, and then buried his head in the water at once.

Zhong Qingzhu on the shore widened his eyes and looked at Shen Shi in the water, fortunately, the pool of water was clear, and Shen Shi was in shallow water, so even if he dived into the water, he could still see his figure. I saw that in the chaos of the water, Shen Shi's body looked a little clumsy, and he fluttered twice under the water, and his body slowly floated, but when his hands and feet danced, the whole person was spinning in place, and there was no sign of progress at all.

Although Zhong Qingzhu doesn't know water, he grew up on the shore of the sea since he was a child, he has never eaten pork and seen pigs run, and he has seen more scenes of others swimming in the past.

"Like...... A little pig is struggling in the water. Zhong Qingzhu inexplicably had this ridiculous thought in his heart, and then his cheeks turned red, covering his mouth to prevent himself from laughing, and after a while, he felt that he was sorry for the stone who was looking for a way out, and secretly scolded himself in his heart.

After a while, this breath was exhausted, and Shen Shi drilled out of the water with a "whew", his whole body was wet, but his face was depressed, and he said to Zhong Qingzhu, who was standing by the water, "I can't see anything......

Zhong Qingzhu beckoned to him, with a little care, and said, "Why don't you come up first." As he spoke, he glanced at the pool beside him, and couldn't help but secretly take a step down with his feet.

The pool water is indeed a little cold, cold like a cold air coming in, maybe it was already uncomfortable before, even now facing the situation that the last glimmer of hope may be cut off, Zhong Qingzhu's mood is still calm, and after a while, he tentatively stepped into the water.

Later, I will use this pool of water to wash my body and wait for death cleanly.

The sound of splashing came from not far away, but it was Shen Shi who walked from the water to the shore with a depressed face, and at the same time complained to Zhong Qingzhu: "Why do you say that swimming is so difficult, I have learned very diligently, but I can't learn it, I can't do those movements of paddling and kicking my legs in the water, let alone floating my body in the water, uh...... Qingzhu, why did you go into the water too?"

When he was about to walk to the shore, Zhong Qingzhu also walked into the pool at some point, with a little curiosity on his face, and the palm of his right hand gently swayed and patted between the water waves, as if he had never experienced playing in the water.

After a while, she turned around and smiled: "Stone, who you just held your breath and how to do it, I will also learn to see." ”

Shen Shi waved his hand and said angrily: "Didn't I tell you what the starfish taught me from beginning to end just now, it's probably like that, it sounds easier than done." Holding your breath is to take a breath and get into the water, and after a while, the body will float by itself. By the way, be careful, don't go too far. ”

Zhong Qingzhu smiled, thought about it, with a little curiosity and a little fear, took a few careful breaths, and finally covered his mouth and nose with his hands, looking a little clumsy, and then buried himself in the water.

After a while, Shen Shi saw her body, slowly floating in the water, and couldn't help but let out a "huh", and said, "This breath holder actually learns so fast." Before the words fell, Shen Shi was suddenly stunned, but his eyes widened, staring blankly at the water.

I saw that in the clear beach water, Zhong Qingzhu's slowly floating body seemed to be a little light, although the injured left hand was tightly tied to her side by the cloth belt, but she still tried to stretch out her only right hand and paddled underwater, at the same time, just as Shen Shi heard and relayed to her from the starfish before, while paddling with her arms, her feet kicked backwards in the water at the same time.

The slender and beautiful figure of the girl, in the depths of the turbulent water waves, was completely different from the clumsy Shen Shi before, just like an elegant mermaid, sliding forward so leisurely and easily.

The water waves are gentle, rippling and open, hugging her, and the stone walls and pools reflect her warm and soft appearance.

On the water's edge, Shen Shi was already stunned, looking at the beautiful figure swimming slowly in the water, and after a while, he was a little incredible, and said in a daze:

"No, this, is there any reason for this......

Chapter 60: Blame

Herring set, in the Xuanri Hall.

After gathering all the personal disciples on the island before, with Wang Gan's personal assignment, everyone here was sent out to brave the wind and rain to search for the lost girl of the Zhong family, and finally even Wang Gan himself ignored the danger and personally went to the most stormy place outside the island to search carefully.

The Xuanri Hall also turned from lively to calm, and there was no one else except Zheng Zhe, who was assigned by Wang Gen to stay here. But as time passed, the number of people in the Xuanri Hall gradually increased, and by this time, thirty or forty more people had returned here.

However, among these dozens of people, although they were all dressed in the clothes of the disciples of the Ling Xiao Sect, there was not a single personal disciple who was above the Ning Yuan Realm, all of them were those Qi Refining Realm disciples who had been summoned by Wang Gen before, had been cultivating on Qingyu Island for more than five years, and had been assigned to be this batch of newcomer disciples to supervise the senior brothers.

At this moment, dozens of people in the Xuanri Hall were divided into left and right sides, dozens of people were standing on the left, and there was only one person on the right, standing there with an ugly and embarrassed face.

Zheng Zhe stood in the position of Wang Gen on the side of the main seat, with a little helplessness on his face, he only felt a faint pain in his head, and couldn't help but reach out and rub his head, listening to the whispers of the junior brothers and sisters in the crowd below, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

I don't know how many people's eyes, with strange expressions, fell on the person who was isolated on the side.

Su He stood with his hands tied, his face flushed, he hung his head and gritted his teeth, and scolded himself countless times in his heart, and he really regretted his decision to take over the supervision task in the first place.

After a while, Zheng Zhe sighed and said, "Senior Brother Su, all the newcomer disciples over there in Baiyuwan have clicked it once, except for the senior sister Zhong Qingzhu Zhong who was lost in Caibei Beach and was supervised under your name, there is another junior brother who is missing, and it happens to be one of the ten disciples who belong to your supervision. ”

I don't know who snickered in the crowd, but then covered up the past, after all, this occasion is not a place for jokes, but Su He stood under everyone's sight, with a depressed and depressed look, which is really sympathetic, but also a little funny.

Of the more than 400 rookie disciples, almost all of them were safe and sound, only two of them disappeared inexplicably, but these two people were supervised by him Su He, which was really unlucky.

Just now, Senior Brother Wang Gen was furious at Zhong Qingzhu's disappearance in front of everyone, and he couldn't raise his head to teach several senior brothers who were in the Ning Yuan Realm, and everyone was afraid. At the moment, he is not there, but if Senior Brother Wang returns here after a while, once he knows that he has lost another one, the anger can be imagined, and it is scary to think about it, and these two people are under the name of Su He, how will Senior Brother Wang Gen treat this poor Su He later......

Thinking of this, many people in the crowd felt that the cold hairs on their bodies stood up a little, and Su He, who was under the gaze of everyone, was even more pale, looking like he was about to die.

Zheng Zhe looked at Su He's face, and was also speechless, thinking that you are really unlucky, in this case, Senior Brother Wang Gen will definitely be furious, I am afraid that there is no good fruit for you to eat. Unlike these outer disciples who were lowly and had not even been officially included in the door wall of the Lingxiao Sect and led to the Golden Rainbow Immortal Mountain, Zheng Zhe had been a personal disciple for many years, and he knew all the big and small things in the Lingxiao Sect.

Since ancient times, the Lingxiao Sect has not been the successor of the Changmen in the matter of the succession of the real people in charge of the sect in the past dynasties, and the position of the head of the sect has always been taken over by the most outstanding disciples of the next generation, not necessarily the highest in Taoism, but it must be a disciple who is recognized and respected in the sect in many aspects, such as Taoism, virtue, character, ability, etc.

There are outstanding disciples in charge of the true sect, and of course they will be among the candidates, in fact, there will be some convenience benefits in secret, but in general, this position is still to be taken over by the most outstanding younger generation disciples in the sect. This rule is not the same as the rules of many Xiuzhen sects in the Hongmeng world today, and it is said that it was established by Gan Jingcheng, the founding patriarch of the mountain.

Why did Master Ganzu set such a door rule back then, it is naturally impossible to test now, but Ling Xiao Sect has been inherited for thousands of years, and it will never easily change this door rule, otherwise, how many elder forces in the sect will have a group attack, and they will never cut off this path for their own disciples to reach the top. What's more, if you really want to say anything about the Changmen lineage, the Gan family is the real and undisputed first lineage of the Lingxiao Sect, but after Gan Jingcheng's ancestor, although the Gan family has always been in the Lingxiao Sect, no one has ever taken over the position of the real person in charge of the sect in 10,000 years.

If the rules are changed, how will you explain to the Gan family?

These are all far away, and the most important thing in front of me is that this Senior Brother Wang Gen is actually one of the few popular candidates in the Lingxiao Sect who may take over the position of sect leader in the future. Although now in the sect, among the three swords of Ling Xiao, who is the most famous, everyone thinks that Du Tiejian, the eldest disciple of the real person in charge, should be ranked first, and Gan Wenqing, a disciple of Uncle Yunni, is beautiful and popular. Senior Brother Wang Gen has always been resolute and strong, and he is quite prestigious in the sect, and he is deeply valued by many elders, but compared to the first two, he still seems to be slightly weaker in terms of momentum.

Today, the real person in charge of Huaiyuan is flourishing in the Spring and Autumn Period, and his fame moves the world, and it is recognized as a giant town in the Hongmeng cultivation realm, and it is naturally impossible for Lingxiao Sect to change its generation in the short term. It's just that within the sect, although no one has said anything about it, there are countless forces in the Wannian Great Sect, and the situation is complicated, and several disciples who are regarded as the possible successors of the next generation cannot be left alone, and there are fights in the open and in the dark, but everyone is limited by the rules, and they won't do it too ugly.

In fact, in addition to the three who are known as the three swords of Lingxiao, there are still other people in the sect who are eyeing the position of the next generation of real people, and the leader is Sun Hong, the contemporary head of the Sun family, although this person is older than the three swords, but regardless of Taoism, family background, and ability, he is also outstanding, and his support in the sect is not small. In addition, there are several people like Sun Hong, so although Ling Xiaozong looks calm now, many forces are fighting and entangled with each other in the dark, and the situation is already quite tense.

Wang Gan's visit to Qingyu Island to preside over the affairs of newcomer disciples this time can be said to be a great opportunity to fall from the world, just to show his cautious and meticulous ability to do things, once he can be recognized by those elders who are high in the sect, he can add a heavy weight to the future competition for the position of master. It is precisely because of this that Wang Gen is so anxious and irritable this time, and this Su River seems to have just hit the muzzle of Senior Brother Wang Gen, which is really too unlucky.

Zheng Zhe went through these secret battles in the Lingxiao Sect in his heart, for him, from cultivating the Ning Yuan Realm on Qingyu Island in the same round as Senior Brother Wang Gan, and going to Jinhong Mountain, even if he was Wang Gan's henchman and general, everything was based on Wang Gan's interests, although he looked at Su He a little pitiful at the moment, he couldn't take care of it.

Zheng Zhe coughed, his face sank, and in front of many Qi Refining Realm disciples in Xuanri Hall, he said coldly: "Senior Brother Su, Zhong Qingzhu and Shen Shi, who are under your supervision, have been lost and have not been seen so far, do you have anything to say?"

Su He's face was so aggrieved and aggrieved, he couldn't be depressed, he gritted his teeth and raised his head: "Senior Brother Zheng, the junior brother is indeed inappropriate, and he didn't take good care of these two junior brothers and sisters, but we have a rule in the door, and I rely on myself to practice on this Qingyu Island on weekdays, and I, as a supervisor, can only give them a point or two when they are cultivating, and at most I will be relieved to solve doubts on weekdays." There are many supervising brothers here, don't any of them do this?"

In the crowd of outer disciples on the side, it was quiet for a while, and everyone's eyes looking at Su He were a little more sympathetic.

Zheng Zhe smiled bitterly in his heart, the truth is indeed the truth, but now is not the time to be reasonable. He knew very well the temperament and thoughts of that Senior Brother Wang, and the most important thing at the moment was to suppress this matter and deal with the aftermath, how could he be here to accompany this aggrieved and depressed Senior Brother Su to debate who was right and who was wrong for half a day?

At that moment, Zheng Zhe's eyes widened, and he said coldly: "Shut up, why are all the junior brothers and sisters under other people's names fine, but the two people who are lost are all under your name? It is clear that you have negligence and mistakes on weekdays, and it is important to save people now, I won't say much to you, you go back to the cave mansion and confine yourself for seven days, and you are not allowed to go out to reflect on it, and then I will go to you again to see how Senior Brother Wang will punish you." ”

Su He raised his head suddenly, but when he came into contact with Zheng Zhe's stern gaze, he still didn't dare to resist after all, gritted his teeth and endured it, and then walked out of the Xuanri Hall listlessly.

Seeing this scene, the many Qi Refining Realm disciples next to them felt a little empathetic, and they were silent for a while, Zheng Zhe glanced at everyone, and didn't bother to bother or reprimand them, and said straightforwardly: "The other eight newcomer disciples under Su He's name can be summoned?"

A person from the crowd next to him walked out: "They have all been called, and they are all waiting outside the door now." ”

Zheng Zhe nodded and said, "Let them all come in, hurry up and ask, maybe they still know something." ”

A moment later, eight young men and women walked into Xuanri Hall one after another, among which Sun You, Zhong Qinglu, He Xiaomei, Jiang Hongguang and others were among them, and several of them still had tired and stormy looks on their faces, obviously being called over temporarily.

Zheng Zhe's eyes swept over their faces, and he was about to ask, but suddenly he only heard the sound of the wind and rain outside Xuanri Hall as if it suddenly became louder, and a black shadow fell suddenly, landing steadily, and the momentum was so great that it could almost compete with the wind and rain, and it was Wang Gen who came back.

Wang Gen didn't say a word, strode into the Xuanri Hall, his face was expressionless but his body was damp, there were traces of water everywhere, Zheng Zhe went up and took Wang Gen to sit down on the main seat, his pupils shrank slightly, this Senior Brother Wang has the heaviest etiquette on weekdays, and the rain can't easily fall on his body, but this time he came back like a chicken in soup, you can imagine how violent and violent the storm outside the island is.

Wang Gan's gaze swept over those Qi Refining Realm disciples under Tangxia, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said, "What's the situation now?"

Zheng Zhe sighed slightly in his heart, and whispered in his ear what had just happened, Wang Gen listened to it, his face became more and more ugly, and suddenly he waved his hand, only to hear a "click", the chair arm with the thickness of the child's arm was broken in response, Huo Di stood up, and said angrily:

"What! lost another one?"

This voice didn't seem to be very loud at first glance, but all the Qi Refining Realm disciples in the Xuanri Hall were at this moment, and they only felt that a roar like a fierce tiger suddenly seemed to come from their ears, which shook their ears so much that they couldn't stop trembling, and they all took a few steps back, and they were shocked for a while, and they were even more in awe of this Senior Brother Wang.

Zheng Zhe is the only person in the hall who does not show anything unusual, but at this moment he is also smiling bitterly in his heart, and he is a little more careful, it seems that Senior Brother Wang Gen is indeed in anger at the moment, and when he pointed to the eight newcomer disciples who had just come in, he whispered a few words to Wang Gen.

Wang Gen's eyes were grim and he snorted coldly, but after taking a deep breath, he slowly sat back again, seemingly suppressing his anger. Zheng Zhe turned to the crowd: "Who of you is familiar with Zhong Qingzhu and Shen Shi on weekdays, come out quickly and say, will they go to any remote places on weekdays, I will ask them to look for it quickly." ”

After the eight people were silent for a moment, they didn't see any expressions and movements from the others, only Sun You suddenly took a step forward and said, "Senior Brother Wang, Senior Brother Zheng, I am a little familiar with Shen Shi." ”

Wang Gan, who was sitting in the position, saw Sun You come out, and suddenly frowned, as if he remembered something at this time, after a little thought, the appearance of another young man gradually appeared in front of him, and he frowned: "Is it that person?"