Baling County Shoufu covers an area of extremely wide, it was originally the mansion of the rich and noble family of the previous dynasty, it was designed by a famous craftsman, known as the reputation of Xiaoxiang Famous Garden, in the last years of the previous dynasty, the Liukou attacked Yueyang, the day of the city was broken, the county guard * martyrdom, the original county guard mansion became a ruin, but this famous garden, because it was occupied as a mansion by the leader of the Liukou, but survived, Ning Sudao was appointed as the Yueyang County Guard, like this garden is beautiful and elegant, and then rebuilt here into the county guard's mansion. After the first three renovations were added, it was used as an official residence, and the back garden was divided into three small gardens that connected with each other. The one in the middle is called "Orange Garden", also known as the Back Garden, which is named after the orange trees in the garden, and serves as the back house of the official residence. The garden on the east side is called "Crane Garden", it is rich and exquisite, the lake is rugged, the flowers and trees are sparse, and it is the post house that receives VIPs. The garden in the west is called "Bamboo Garden", but it is from Dongting Lake to draw water, impound water into a lake, along the lake planted spotted bamboo, plum blossom bamboo, occasionally there are a few plum blossoms, the bamboo shadow is swaying, the dark fragrance is sparse, elegant and ethereal. There is no other house in the garden, only in the middle of the lake with bluestone as the base, built a water pavilion, only a nine-curved bamboo bridge and the lake shore are connected, but it is a good place to live in seclusion. This is the favorite retreat place of Wu Heng, the king of Dian when he was in Yueyang, so in addition to taking care of the people in the garden on weekdays, even Ning Sudao himself easily does not come here.

In the afternoon, the autumn sun was still very hot, through the light blue screen window on the light yellow bamboo floor left speckled light marks, a bamboo curtain hanging from the roof divided the water pavilion into light and dark, inside the curtain is a wide soft couch, next to the couch placed boxwood short table, hanging on the wall a picture of snow bamboo, and a brown scabbard of five feet long. Outside the curtain, under the east window, there is a pear blossom bookcase, the bookcase is placed with the four treasures of the study room and some files, the Boshan furnace on the desk is burned with agarwood incense, the light smoke is lonely, and the faint lingers in the pavilion, making this almost simple water pavilion more and more quiet and dusty. Under the west window is a square couch, covered with reed mats, on the couch there is a mahogany square table and a set of tea sets, a tea stove is placed under the couch, and there are several jugs with different paper sticks in the corner of the couch, which is the good place for Linshui Sencha.

Wu Heng put down the pen and put aside the documents he had read, and Wu Yunshan, the guard who was waiting for the pen and ink next to him, skillfully took the documents and put them into the envelope, stamped the seal and sealed the mud, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you have been busy for a long time, why don't you rest for a while?"

Wu Heng smiled and said, "When did you know how to take care of the king's life?"

Wu Yunshan was originally an orphan adopted by Wu Heng, and Wu Heng personally passed on his martial arts, and he has been serving with Wu Heng since he was sixteen years old, so he naturally will not be too restrained, and said calmly: "Before leaving, the princess instructed her subordinates that the king's health should be important, and he should not be too tired. ”

Wu Heng smiled, stood up and paced around the room a few times, evacuating his muscles and bones, before he asked as if unintentionally, "Are the guests in the dungeon okay?"

Wu Yunshan was a little stunned when he heard this, but quickly replied: " On the king, after the assassin was whipped by General Duan, his injuries had just improved, and he was sick again, and he burned for two days, and I heard from several gentlemen that he was seriously injured and not healed, and he was tortured and poisoned into the body, but he was young, and his foundation was good, and he recovered quickly after using medicine, and even the whip wounds on his body did not leave many traces, and he was able to get up and walk around in the past two days, and he heard General Duan say that his internal injuries were not yet healed, and he was coughing up blood these days, but several gentlemen said that it was the congestion of the internal organs, and it was good to cough it out. ”

Wu Heng frowned slightly, these days he was busy with military and political affairs, and he didn't ask about Zijing's affairs anymore, but he didn't expect it to be like this. Fang had already received the Youji Message, Luo Chengyu had already sent someone over, and the meaning of the letter was to bring the assassin to Xindu, with Wu Heng's mind, he naturally saw that Luo Chengyu probably did not mean to kill Zijing. If it weren't for the fact that he had already made up his mind and used Zijing to form a good relationship, Wu Heng would really be a little reluctant, after all, such a young master usually has nowhere to find it if he wants to recruit him. It's just that now that I know Zijing's situation, if this person is used by Youji in the future, or escapes, I am afraid that it will become a disaster, and I will pay it back, Duan Yue ordered him to be tortured, but it is inevitably dangerous. Thinking of this, Wu Heng felt that he should no longer avoid it, so he smiled and said: "Since he can walk, bring him here, this king also wants to meet this little demon star who has the ability to wash the Tao Pavilion with blood." ”

Listening to Wu Heng's slightly joking words, Wu Yunshan would not treat Wu Heng as a casual talk, in fact, just looking at Wu Heng's various favors to the young assassin, he still hasn't summoned that person, which is already quite puzzling to these guards, after agreeing, Wu Yunshan hurriedly went to the dungeon to pick up people.

Brought a few guards into the gloomy dungeon, Wu Yunshan couldn't help frowning, the cell was full of pungent medicinal fragrance, in late autumn, it was in the dungeon, even if it was a thick felt carpet brocade tent, it still couldn't isolate the slightest cold, and when he looked in, he saw Yang Ning lying inward, as if he was taking a nap.

Wu Yunshan stepped forward and said loudly: "Prince Zijing, the king wants to see you, please get up and change your clothes." ”

There was silence in the cell, Yang Ning's body did not move at all, and just when Wu Yunshan was a little impatient, he turned over and sat up, turned his head, and said coldly: "Does Tiannan Daozun want to see me? ”

The people who make swords in the world are all admired by Yiwang Yang Yuan as the first, one of the four great masters, and Wu Heng, the king of Dian, is also famous for his sword skills, but for various reasons, he succumbed to Yang Yuan, and only won the title of a sword honor, although Wu Heng does not value the reputation of the martial arts, but in the territory of the king of Dian, no one dares to compare the two. Unexpectedly, this young assassin would talk about this matter as soon as he opened his mouth, Wu Yunshan couldn't help but be angry, wondering if the young man intended to provoke, but when he looked at each other, Wu Yunshan found that the young man's pale and thin face was full of blazing light, and his deep eyes revealed sincerity, like a child who saw his favorite toy, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and the anger in his heart disappeared, Wu Yunshan smiled: " We haven't seen the ability of the Sword King, but I think the king will not be inferior to him, but Zijing Gongzi, have you seen the Sword King make a move, otherwise how can you compare the king with him?"

Yang Ning nodded seriously and said: "Naturally, I have seen it, four years ago, the master competed with him, and I was allowed to observe it from the side, but I fainted before I finished reading it." ”

Wu Yunshan's heart was shocked, and he followed Wu Heng's side, his vision and mind were naturally extraordinary, he couldn't imagine that he had heard such a secret now, this young man's master was able to compete with the sword king, and there was no sadness in this young man's tone, presumably his master was the most disadvantaged and retreated, it can be seen that he must be a master in the world, but if there was such a dragon fight, why had he never heard such a rumor? Wu Yunshan didn't know the secret of Yang Ning as a disciple of the Martial Dao Sect, otherwise he would have been able to deduce more things from Yang Ning's words, and at the moment he just secretly remembered it in his heart, so he asked the servant to come in and serve Zi Jing to change clothes.

Yang Ning was originally only wearing a white silk bedclothes, but now that Wu Heng wants to see him, he naturally can't wear it so casually, after untying the shackles, Yang Ning ignored the nervous expression of the guards standing outside the cell door holding the box crossbow, took the cyan robe and put it on, did not tie his hair, took a turban and tied the loose hair, and then indifferently let the two guards lock their hands with a pair of smaller shackles, and walked out of the prison door.

Walking through the long corridor behind Wu Yunshan, walking out of the door of the room guarded by the guard, the strong sunlight immediately hit his eyes, Yang Ning couldn't help but stop and close his eyes slightly, until he got used to the light, he glanced at Wu Yunshan lightly, and said, "Lead the way ahead." His tone was extremely light, but it was a tone that was accustomed to giving orders, Wu Yunshan almost subconsciously turned around and said, "Subordinates obey orders." Before the words fell, his face was flushed, and he was shocked to realize that he had lost his words, and he couldn't help but look up, but he looked into a pair of fiery and deep phoenix eyes like flames in the snow, and for a while, he forgot his words.

Fang was in the dungeon, although he could see Yang Ning's face clearly, but the dim lights and heavy shackles made this slightly thin young man look haggard, and Yang Ning's slightly childish words and delicate face also made Wu Yunshan have the illusion that he had forgotten the danger of this young man. But after walking under the sun, stimulated by the fact that he was about to meet the peerless master who was second only to the four great masters in the world, Yang Ning's momentum that was originally suppressed by injury was like a box sword and a lantern, and it was difficult to hide it, it was a kind of temperament like a lonely peak in the clouds and a green bamboo in the snow, arrogant, indifferent, and a little bit of loneliness, and those pair of brilliant cold eyes made his originally just a decent and delicate face, with a little bit of rejuvenation.

However, after all, Wu Yunshan was a close guard beside Wu Heng, the king of Yunnan, and he had come to his senses almost instantly, thinking of Fang Cai's gaffe, he simply became a little more respectful, and led Yang Ning to the "Bamboo Garden" as if leading the way for the distinguished guests.

Yang Ning didn't care about whether Wu Yunshan's actions were polite or not, just before he left, he had already breathed again, and found that his internal injuries had only healed thirty percent, plus his illness had not healed, not to mention that he wanted to make a move, even if he wanted to escape, he didn't have enough strength, but he didn't think about running away at this moment. Be able to see the "Tiannan Sword Venerable" As a disciple of the Martial Arts Sect, even if he is seriously injured and has not healed, he will not have the slightest inferiority complex in front of the martial arts people, in the face of powerful opponents, Yang Ning completely got rid of the weakness born because of the imprisonment and punishment and the injury that did not heal, although he himself was not aware of it, but the setbacks of these days still shrouded him in an invisible shadow, but all of this quietly dissipated under this sun.

Walking on the bluestone path full of bamboo leaves, smelling the faint fragrance of bamboo leaves, Yang Ning only felt inexplicable joy and excitement in his heart, bypassing the bamboo forest, his eyes lit up, only to see the Jiuqu Bamboo Bridge leading to the water pavilion in the center of the lake, there was a guard standing on both sides of the bridge, all of them looked like water, Yang Ning didn't look at these two people, his eyes were blazing and he looked at the pear blossom wooden plaque hanging on the door of the water pavilion, which read "Qingshui Xuan" three big characters, and the payment was Wu Heng.

Yang Ning stopped, fixed looking at the plaque, but tried to think about it, although he didn't know calligraphy, but although the lord of Huofeng County did not teach him to read and reason, but always urged him to practice the word pro post, that is, when he practiced martial arts the hardest, it was indispensable to post a few posts every day, and often said that words are like their own truth, although Yang Ning did not have the ability to read and see people, at this moment he couldn't help but think hard, know himself and the enemy, and win all battles, this Yang Ning still understands, so he will not miss this rare opportunity.

But after thinking about it, Yang Ning realized that he had never seen the handwriting of others other than his mother and master, only Wu Heng's handwriting and his mother's handwriting. Shizun compared, whether it is the Lord of the Fire Phoenix County or the Hidden Emperor, there is an excellent hand, the words of the Lord of the Fire Phoenix County are drawn with silver hooks, heroic and fierce, the edge is exposed, the calligraphy of the Hidden Emperor is warm and smooth, and the words are quiet and peaceful, and Wu Heng's words are strong and heavy, magnificent, and after looking at it for a moment, although it cannot be put into words, Yang Ning also faintly understands the difference between the three in his heart, and removes the last trace of confusion, he said loudly: "Xu Zijing, a disciple of the Martial Arts Sect, please see the predecessor of Tiannan Daozun Wu." He still thought about it, and learned from Pingyan's mouth that his identity was too sensitive, so he didn't say the name Yang Ning, Zijing was his word, Xu was his mother's surname, and it was not a fake name, not to mention that although the Youji Xu family is known all over the world, the number of people surnamed Xu is countless, and he is not worried about revealing any flaws, as for him asking to see him as a person in the rivers and lakes, he has avoided the embarrassing identity of the prisoner at this moment.

The wooden door of the Water Pavilion opened without wind, and a hearty voice came from inside: "No need to be polite, come in, Yun Shan has removed the shackles on Zijing's body, there is no need to be so troublesome here." ”

Wu Yunshan naturally knew what Wu Heng meant, not to mention that Yang Ning was seriously injured, that is, he was intact, and he had no ability to show off his might in front of Wu Heng, so he stepped forward to untie the shackles on Yang Ning's body, and Yang Ning did not thank him, and walked towards the Water Pavilion. Just took the first step, and the momentum changed again, as if the sword had been unsheathed, murderous and sharp, Wu Yunshan almost subconsciously held the hilt of the knife at his waist, but was forced to take two steps back by the murderous aura that erupted in an instant.

Yang Ning didn't consider the feelings of others at all, almost the moment he walked into the "Bamboo Garden", his mind was all devoted to confronting Wu Heng, when the shackles fell off, he completely forgot the injuries on his body, and the fighting spirit was raging, which was a feeling he had never had. Since the moment he woke up from his dream, the enemy he faced, only this person in the Water Pavilion gave him endless pressure, Yan Zishuang, Lian Wuji, Meng Yu and others martial arts and him were at most between him, although Pingyan's martial arts were higher than him, but when the two were opposite, his heart was grateful at first, and then angry, although he had the heart to fight to the death, it was not pure war intent. Although the people in the pavilion have never made a move, but the formidable sword qi has broken through the wall, Yang Ning resisted with a murderous aura of fighting intent, but he still felt that it was like a negative mountain, and the more he moved forward, the more difficult it became.

Drops of sweat slipped down his forehead, although the momentum like a wave of mountains rushed in, but Yang Ning still straightened his body and walked forward step by step, the clothes on his body were windless and automatic, I don't know when, the bandana that loosened his hair fell to the ground, and the scattered hair covered his eyes, but Yang Ning's blazing gaze didn't seem to have any obstacles, just staring at the open door of the Water Pavilion. Finally, he took the final step and stepped into the water pavilion, the wooden door slowly closing behind him.

Stunned to see Yang Ning's difficult steps, his clothes exuded a strange scene of flying without wind, but he didn't feel anything unusual, until Yang Ning's back disappeared behind the pavilion door, suddenly, Wu Yunshan found that he could no longer feel any breath, the water pavilion seemed to be empty, and it seemed that the two people inside had closed their world, which was a world that no outsiders could interfere with, and no one could interfere. Wu Yunshan suddenly felt extremely melancholy in his heart, and at this moment he finally realized how far away he was from the king whom he regarded as a god.

As soon as he walked into the pavilion door, Yang Ning suddenly felt that the boundless power was swept away, as if he had stepped into the abyss, his qi and blood were retrograde, and the injuries that had been gradually suppressed suddenly broke out, only to feel that thousands of true qi were rampaging in the meridians around his body, even if it was with his perseverance, he could hardly bear the pain of the expansion and contraction of the meridians around his body, his eyes were dark, and his body fell to the ground.

Before he touched the ground, someone had already helped him to sit cross-legged, pressing one hand on the acupoint of the back and soul, and a wisp of peaceful and righteous true qi crossed into his body, but he did not forcibly collect his true qi for him, but just slowly wandered in his meridians. Yang Ning's martial arts sect heart method is originally seven points masculine and three points feminine, so that he can have both a thunderous offensive and all kinds of vicious and treacherous small changes, this time the injury is serious because of repeated injuries and overwhelmed meridians, and secondly, because the heterogeneous true qi left in his body by Ping Yan disturbed the yin and yang of the true qi in his body, and it is impossible to get better without more than half a year. And this wisp of true qi from the vest is Taoist authentic, the most diluted and peaceful, the most harmonious effect, the true qi in Yang Ning's body does not conflict with it, but it gradually converges under its attraction, after three weeks of luck, the true qi in Yang Ning's body gradually returned to the right track, and even the heterogeneous true qi of Pingyan has also dissolved eight or nine times out of ten. Yang Ning only felt that the originally stubborn and incurable internal injury had been healed by six or seven percent, and as soon as his mind moved, the acupoints and veins were automatically closed, isolating the true qi from the palm behind him, and concentrating on pranayama, and after a while, he had already entered the realm of forgetting things and me, but although he was not worried about someone harming him, he still did not enter the state of turtle breath, after all, there were still people waiting.

Wu Heng withdrew his right hand and looked at it with a smile, only to see that Yang Ning's pale face gradually became a little more bloody, if it weren't for the fact that there was still a little sick appearance between his eyebrows, and it was a little less than when he first saw Qing that day, but he couldn't see that he was still injured, but after looking at it for a while, Wu Heng was a little worried in his heart, this young man was too stubborn, and he just shook his hand away with internal force, but he didn't want to spend more true qi to help him heal, I'm afraid that at most he has recovered half of his strength, Cuihu's heart method and the martial arts sect's heart method are to restrain each other, so that his injury will drag on for a long time, which is the most unwise move for his current situation, but he is still so desperate, It seems that his intention to exchange the favor of healing his injuries for this son is difficult to achieve. Xu Zijing, this name has never been heard of, the surname Xu, will it have anything to do with Youji? It shouldn't be, if he is really related to Youji Xu's family, such a character and skill has already moved the world, not to mention that King Yan really sent someone to assassinate Luo Chengyu, and he would not send a person of his own to make a move. Wu Heng didn't think of Yang Ning's true identity at all, after all, he had recently obtained the secret book of Yang Qiong, the Seventh Highness, and guessed that the young man next to Yang Yuan, the Ninth Highness, was Yang Ning, the Ninth Highness.

I don't know how long it took, Yang Ning opened his eyes, got up and said: "The juniors thank the seniors for their great kindness in helping to heal their wounds, if the seniors have instructions, but please say bluntly, if the juniors can do it, they will definitely give their lives to repay them." His expression was very respectful, this was almost never a move that Yang Ning had ever done, in the past seventeen years, except in front of his mother and master, he had hardly given such a big gift to anyone. However, Wu Heng is ridiculous, this kid is really ignorant of the world, this statement seems to be sarcastic about his own gratitude, although he thinks so in his heart, Wu Heng said in his mouth: " This king rescued you from the lake, but he took advantage of the danger and imprisoned you in the dungeon, and the emperor was not strict, so that you were seriously injured and punished before you healed, and to make matters worse, and my heart was quite uneasy, so I thought about making up for it, and only then did I deliberately make you injured, just to help you adjust your true qi, this king was forced by the covenant, and he also handed you over to the people who came from Youji, and trapped you in fire and water, you should have resented this king, as for any kindness, never mention it again. ”

If these words were to others, it would be similar to announcing that they would be immediately pushed out and beheaded, and Yang Ning was also dumbfounded, although he was already prepared for this matter.

Falling into the hands of Wu Heng, Yang Ning originally thought that he would be executed, after all, he had killed so many guards of the Baling County Mansion in Tingtao Pavilion, but Wu Heng was quite polite to him, although he did not relax his care, but whether it was the furnishings of the dungeon or the extended medical treatment, he was quite moved. Although there was an episode of Duan Yue's torture, Yang Ning didn't take it to heart, because he vaguely felt that Duan Yue had no killing intent towards him later, and even had some admiration, in fact, he still didn't understand why after Duan Yue said those words, although the guards who imprisoned him were still cold and detached, they obviously lacked a look of hatred and anger, although these were not enough to make him have a good impression of Duan Yue, but he would not hold a grudge.

After his injuries improved somewhat, he was sure that Wu Heng would not kill him, that is, he didn't understand the world anymore, and he also knew that there was a chance that Wu Heng would hand him over to Luo Chengyu, because he had never thought of surrendering to others, and as for the possibility of Wu Heng recruiting him, he had not thought about it at all. But even though he had already prepared, Yang Ning still felt a huge shock in his heart when he heard Wu Heng's words. Youji, which was originally a taboo word in his heart, was placed in front of him again, but he could no longer escape it.

Yang Ning refused Wu Heng to continue to help him heal his wounds, and he had the intention of leaving Pingyan's heterogeneous true qi to study it slowly, but he still had a thought that he didn't want to think of himself, if he was seriously injured and did not recover, then even if he was escorted to Xindu, he couldn't help himself, and it would not be regarded as disobeying his mother's order, not to mention that Qingping and Sister Luqi had already gone to Youji, if he didn't go to Youji, how could he rescue them. Although Wu Heng's words were nothing special, they made Yang Ning no longer able to hide the thirst in his heart, he actually wanted to go to Youji, wanted to see his mother's hometown, wanted to see his grandfather who had never been masked, and wanted to see his brother-in-law who didn't know whether he was hated or jealous, but he was cowardly in his hometown, and only when he was forced could he set foot on the land of Youji with peace of mind.