Fire Captain

Seeing Hua Qiangu's distraught look, Tang Bao nodded repeatedly and coaxed her, saying, "Okay... okay... I'll go back to Hualian Village with you. I've wanted to see what the place where Gutou lived before was like a long time ago. When the time comes, we will have the Taoist Master and we can live there for a while, which will be a good opportunity to adjust your body."

Hua Qiangu said: "Master, he may not go with us."

Tang Bao asked: "Why? Oh... It's okay, it's fine just the two of us, Gutou, you sit here for a while, I'll go pack your bags for you."

Hua Qiangu looked at Tang Bao who was busy, and walked to the yard alone. The words Wu Gou said before he fainted kept appearing in her mind. The three words "life and death" were like a sharp sword that kept attacking her mind. She felt like she was walking on the edge of a cliff, as if she would kill her master in the next second. This made her want to escape from Bai Ziyang like crazy, but for some reason, she still had a trace of hesitation and reluctance in her heart.

Bai Ziyang was holding a plate and saw Hua Qiangu sitting on the rockery in the courtyard. He walked over, looked up at Hua Qiangu and said, "Xiaogu, what do you see? You have slept for several days and have not eaten anything. Are you hungry?"

Hua Qiangu looked at Bai Ziyang who was smiling brightly below, and suddenly realized that she felt more than a little reluctant.

Seeing Hua Qiangu was in a daze and didn't move, Bai Ziyang called out again, "Why don't you come down? You're in a daze again."

"Oh!" Hua Qiangu came back to her senses, came down from the rockery, followed Bai Ziyang back into the house, and looked at a plate of porridge and a side dish.

Bai Ziyang said, "You just woke up, so eat something light and easy to digest. Come and try my cooking. ... Uh... It's too simple and I don't think I have any cooking skills."

"How could that be!" Hua Qiangu picked up the porridge and scooped a spoonful to eat it, then smiled happily: "Well... Master's cooking is delicious."

Bai Ziyang said proudly: "Of course, there is nothing that I, your master, can't do..."

Hua Qiangu watched Bai Ziyang stirring the porridge in the bowl and said hesitantly: "Master, don't be too busy handling affairs after returning to Changliu, try to let the Lord and others do it..."

Bai Ziyang smiled without noticing: "That's for sure!"

Hua Qiangu continued, "If you're bored, you can go out for a walk more often, or ask your brothers to play with you... or go play with Ru Zun."

Bai Ziyang glanced at Hua Qiangu and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I promise to make them panic."

Hua Qiangu forced a smile when she heard this. After dinner, Bai Ziyang took away the plate and said, "Don't rest right after eating. Walk around in the yard to digest it, but don't get too tired."

Hua Qiangu replied: "I understand, Master."

After Hua Qiangu watched Bai Ziyang return to his room, she sat quietly in the room for a long time, and finally walked to the door of Bai Ziyang's room, knelt down and kowtowed three times, and said softly: "Master, I'm sorry, Xiaogu doesn't have the courage to say goodbye to you..." After standing up, she looked back every few steps, and finally made up her mind to fly away on her sword.

After Hua Qiangu left, Bai Ziyang opened the door and looked in the direction where Hua Qiangu went. Suddenly, Bai Zihua walked out from behind him and said, "Are you comfortable with her leaving like this?"

Bai Ziyang said: "I respect all of Xiaogu's decisions. I think she also needs some time to calm down."

Bai Zihua suddenly asked, "How are we going to tell Senior Brother Mo Yan when we get back?"

Bai Ziyang smiled and said, "Just say that Xiaogu was frightened by Wugui, and I asked her to go out and relax. Maybe Senior Brother didn't even notice it."

Bai Zihua said: "It's good that she left..."

Bai Ziyang and the other man did not stay for long. After finding Yunyin and giving instructions, they immediately returned to Changliu.

After returning to Changliu, Mo Yan did not notice Hua Qiangu as Bai Ziyang said. Or Luo Shiyi did not see Hua Qiangu so he asked a few more questions and was fooled by Bai Ziyang's excuse.

Bai Zihua stayed behind to deal with Changliu's affairs. Bai Ziyang returned to Xiaoyao Palace. Looking at the huge Xiaoyao Palace, he lay on the stone steps outside the palace, nodded and said to himself: "Hmm... It's still a little deserted."

With a wave of his hand, a water mirror appeared in the air, and the person who appeared in the mirror was Hua Qiangu.

Hua Qiangu and Tang Bao returned to Hualian Village. Everything had gone as she wished, but Hua Qiangu found that although she was away from her master, she did not feel happy at all. Every time she saw the plants and animals in Hualian Village, she would think of Bai Ziyang. Every day she would think of what Bai Ziyang would do and what he would eat in Xiaoyao Palace. Even Tang Bao asked curiously many times: "Gutou, what are you thinking about? Are you worried about something?"

Hua Qiangu forced a smile and said, "No." Then she took her flute and went to the lake to play as usual every day.

Bai Ziyang put away the micro-water mirror and smiled softly. Suddenly, he saw Bai Zihua hurriedly coming with a box. Bai Ziyang rarely saw Bai Zihua in a hurry, so he stood up and asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

Bai Zihua frowned, opened the box and said, "Look."

Bai Ziyang looked down and said, "Isn't it just a life-testing stone?... How could this happen...?"

Originally, there should be three flashing birth stones in this box, one for Bai Ziyang and Bai Zihua and one for Hua Qiangu, and they were kept by Bai Zihua. Before going out this time, Bai Zihua had just checked and found that the three birth stones were intact. When he returned to Jueqing Hall this time, Bai Zihua accidentally saw the birth stones while putting things away, and then he found that his birth stone suddenly returned to its original state, as quiet as if nothing had happened, leaving only Bai Ziyang and Hua Qiangu's birth stones still flashing.

Bai Ziyang picked up his and Hua Qiangu's life-testing stones and said thoughtfully, "It is true that human hearts are hard to predict..."

Bai Zihua asked: "Why is it so... do you know?"

Bai Ziyang shook his head and said, "It's hard to predict God's will. It's hard to say!"

Bai Zihua said: "So has this life and death calamity been resolved? Or has it not been resolved?"

Bai Ziyang said: "Yours is solved, but mine... may not be solved yet."

Bai Zihua said: "Then..."

Bai Ziyang interrupted him and said, "What's going to happen next is between the two of us. You can't help me!"

Bai Zihua said: "Why is that? Since my life and death calamity can be resolved, then yours can also be resolved."

Bai Ziyang said: "Please leave these two life-testing stones with me."

Bai Zihua said, "Okay."

"Your Excellency, Dao Zun!" Luo Shiyi hurried over and saluted the two of them, then said, "Master invites you two to the Changliu Hall to discuss matters."

Bai Zihua frowned slightly, and the two of them hurried to the main hall.

As soon as Mo Yan saw the two, he said, "I just received news that Yuzhuo Peak was wiped out, and Wen Fengyu and several senior disciples were arrested."

Bai Zihua asked: "Who did this?"

Sheng Xiaomo said: "All signs indicate that it was most likely done by the Seven Killing Hall."

Bai Ziyang said: "Is it Shan Chunqiu?"

Sheng Xiaomo nodded and said, "It should be."

Mo Yan said excitedly: "The key now is that they have already issued a message, asking Zihua to go to the snow mountain to exchange people. If they don't see you by noon tomorrow, Wen Fengyu and the others will be killed."

Sheng Xiaomo said: "This request is a bit strange, like a trap."

Bai Ziyang said: "This is clearly a trap. Don't go. Have you forgotten so quickly what Wen Fengyu said when we were at Taibai Gate? Just let him die."

Mo Yan said: "No!"

Sheng Xiaomo also said: "Yes, Ziyang, don't act on impulse. Now this matter is known to all factions. If we stay here for a long time without taking any action, we will lose the trust of the people in the world, and our reputation for thousands of years will be..."

Bai Ziyang said impatiently: "Hey, hey, hey... okay, okay, I got it!"

Bai Zihua said: "Saving people is the most important thing. I'll be there right away."

At the same time, Hua Qiangu, who was far away in Hualien Village, received an anonymous letter. The content of the letter was roughly: There is a trap on the snowy mountain of Yuzhuo Peak, your master has already rushed there, and if you don’t go to save him, his life will be in danger.

Hua Qiangu was not a person who was good at scheming. Her already troubled mind became even more confused. She left a letter for Tang Bao who was out for fun, and flew to the snowy mountains on her sword without delay.

When Tang Bao came back, she saw an empty house and a letter left on the table. Tang Bao unfolded the letter and said immediately, "No, the bones are too dangerous, call for help... Yes, I will call for help." After that, she turned around and left, heading straight to Changliu.

"Senior Brother Eleven!" Tang Bao was best friends with Luo Shiyi in Changliu, so as soon as she arrived in Changliu, she went straight to Luo Shiyi.

Luo Shiyi was taking care of the disciples of Changliu. When he heard Tang Bao's voice, he immediately looked up: "Tang Bao?"

Tang Bao ran to Luo Shiyi anxiously and asked, "Brother Shiyi, is the Lord here?"

Luo Shiyi stabilized Tang Bao and asked, "Tang Bao, what's wrong with you?"

Tang Bao hurriedly said: "Oh, Gutou and Daozun are in danger, take me to see the Master..."

When Luo Shiyi heard that Hua Qiangu and Daozun were in danger, he said anxiously and puzzledly: "Zun went to the snow mountain and is not in Changliu now. And what happened to Junior Sister Qiangu? How could she be in danger? And Daozun... Daozun, I just met him. He is fine in Changliu, how could he be in danger?"

Tang Bao said anxiously: "Oh, I can't explain it clearly, anyway, bones are now..." As she was speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong and asked hurriedly: "You just said that the Master went to the Snow Mountain? But the Taoist Master is on Changliu Mountain?"

Luo Shiyi said in a daze: "Yes, what's wrong?"

Tang Bao jumped up and ran towards Bai Ziyang's Xiaoyao Palace. Luo Shiyi called her several times from behind but failed to stop her.

"Dao Zun! Dao Zun!"

Bai Ziyang was in a daze under a tree outside the palace when he suddenly heard Tang Bao's call. He thought Hua Qiangu had returned, so he looked quickly and unexpectedly saw Tang Bao hurrying over.

Bai Ziyang asked, "Tangbao, why are you the only one back? Where's Xiaogu?"

Tang Bao said: "Guo Tu...Gu Tu she..."

Bai Ziyang frowned slightly, and suddenly had a bad feeling and asked, "What happened to Xiaogu?"

Tang Bao said: "Gutou and I have always been together, but when I came back today, I found this letter that Gutou left for me. Gutou must be in danger. I originally wanted to ask the Master for help, but Senior Brother Eleven said that the Master went to the snow mountains. This... I am confused... Daozun, please take a look!" As he said that, he handed over the letter left by Hua Qiangu.

Bai Ziyang took the letter and saw that it read: Tang Bao, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I am worried about Master going to the Yellow Spring Cave in the Snow Mountain alone, so I am going to look for him. Don't worry about me, I will take good care of myself. Bones.

Bai Ziyang understood as soon as he saw the letter. It was most likely that Yi Xiujun was behind all this. He had a grudge against Bai Zihua and the other five immortals for killing their fathers. He wanted to send Hua Qiangu to Bai Zihua and use the life and death calamity to ruin Bai Zihua's reputation. He certainly didn't expect Bai Ziyang to be a variable, who had disrupted his plan from the beginning. Even if it wasn't Yi Xiujun who did it this time, there must have been a plan behind it, to bring Hua Qiangu and Bai Zihua together, so as to reverse his plan.

Dream on! Bai Ziyang thought to himself, as long as he was around, no one would be able to use Hua Qiangu as a chess piece.