across the Quartet

Broken Chapter Nine

In summer, there will be heavy rains in Chu for several days.I heard that the Huai River in the south rose sharply, and many villages on both sides of the bank suffered disaster.

"Today, it's almost like..."

Wei Zhuang whispered to himself, dipped his fingers in water, and intentionally or unintentionally wrote the word "stay" on the table; suddenly he sneered, flicked his wide sleeves, and Ji Yang's internal force instantly evaporated the water stains .

Ge Nie was originally looking out the window, but now he turned his head and asked, "What does it look like?"

"It's nothing. I mean, the weather is bad and the roads are muddy. I'm afraid it's not easy to travel."

Gai Nie nodded and said: "It's okay, I watched the sky last night, and I saw the Beidou and Niu clearly. It will clear up within two days."

"Oh? Brother, do you know astronomy?"

"...The method of stargazing, didn't the master teach it to the two of us specially? Xiaozhuang, don't you remember?"

Wei Zhuang pressed his forehead, and vaguely remembered that there was indeed such a thing; unfortunately, it was the time when he was so depressed and frustrated, and most of the useless things taught by his master didn't take it to heart; the only thing he remembers so far is Only the elder brother's star belongs to the Eastern Qinglong, and the marriage is not good.

But Gai Nie asked again: "How much of your internal injury has recovered?"

Wei Zhuang laughed softly, "Why, senior brother is in a hurry to leave now?" Seeing that Gai Nie was silent, he knew he had guessed right, and couldn't help feeling anxious and resentful, he replied in the same tone as usual: "A few days ago, Yeye got the help of senior brother's true energy, and the eight extraordinary meridians can flow unimpeded."

Gai Nie sighed: "Your movement of true qi is different from other people's, and even slightly different from Master's back then. It's difficult for me to judge what counts as recovery from the injury. But look at the situation of the internal injury, dredging the meridians with true qi will eventually It’s treating the symptoms but not the root cause, it’s best to visit the senior medical immortal of the Mo family and ask her to give you a detailed diagnosis and treatment.”

"Hmph, that goddess doctor has been with Master for decades, but she still hasn't cured his old illness. Besides, my illness is still new."

"Although Senior Medical Immortal could not completely cure Master, the blind pill she concocted is called 'Xuanmu Yangqi Pill', which has the benefits of consolidating the foundation and cultivating energy and regulating the meridians. Master has been taking it in the past. If you are free , might as well ask Senior Medical Immortal for some."

Wei Zhuang recalled the situation when he went to ask for medicine from the Immortal Doctor a few years ago, a smile appeared on his lips unconsciously, and he quickly accepted it again. "When I just came down from Ghost Valley, I planned to take a trip to Yunmeng Lake. I didn't want to think that the medical fairy came to Xinzheng to find me first. Of course, what she was looking for was not Weizhuang, but Guiguzi."

Gai Nie was startled, vaguely thought of something, but couldn't bring it up.Recalling the situation at that time, Wei Zhuang said with a sneer: "She brought a lot of Mohist disciples, and she was very aggressive, saying that our Guigu owed the Mohist something, and asked me to hand it over as promised; the Mohist would exchange it with the prescription of Xuanmu Nourishing Qi Pill. "

"Is there such a thing?!"

"She insisted that she had an appointment with Master first, but I never heard Master mention this matter. If she didn't agree with her, she left angrily." Wei Zhuang spread his hands and said, "It's over, I naturally also I can no longer have the audacity to ask for Qi Yang Dan. Besides, there are so many famous doctors in the world, I don't like the feeling of being coerced by people with medicine."

Wei Zhuang seemed innocent, but his conversation with the Immortal Doctor went like this:

"...you Guigu owed the Mo family a debt, and now it's time to pay it back."

"What kind of debt? Love debt? Then Wei can't afford it."

So this can't be blamed for the displeasure of Senior Medical Immortal.

Ge Nie pondered for a while, then asked cautiously: "Senior, did she explain what the Guigu faction owes them?"

Wei Zhuang said with a smile: "Although she didn't say it clearly, it seems to be a night pearl, which should be a treasure. But from Master's perspective, I have long been used to seeing treasures in the world. I don't believe that he will covet a valuable pearl from their Mo family." .”

Ge Nie was startled and angry, and faintly disappointed, "Beads? They actually..."

Just want that bead.

So, what are those three hundred righteous Mohists who escaped from the Qin State, who did not hesitate to fight bloody battles for ten days and protect them with their lives to the end?What was it that the master made him swear to protect the inheritance?

"Brother? Sure enough, you seem to know something—"

As soon as Gai Nie turned his head, he saw Wei Zhuang drawling his tone, his eyes narrowed slightly, and the muscles on both cheeks were tense.When he was learning swords in Guigu, he knew it was going to be bad when he saw his junior brother's expression, and it's the same now.

"At this moment, I really want to ask Master, how many secrets does the Guigu Sect have, which you know, but I, Guiguzi, don't know?"

Gai Nie quickly explained: "I did hear about an old story about the Mo family. This is what the master said when you were not in Ghost Valley."

What he meant was that Wei Zhuang was not in Guigu when Guiguzi mentioned this matter, but to Wei Zhuang's ears, it sounded like he was saying that this happened before he entered Guigu; anger.

At this point, Gai Nie had no choice but to tell the story of Qin Mo's escape from Qin and Chu Mo's rescue, except for the section "Farewell to Mo". Naturally, he also revealed the secret hidden in the wall of the cottage. "The Suihou Pearl was indeed a token of the Mohist family, but back then when Chu Mo was unwilling to save people, the master took it away in a rage; now the Mohist people suddenly remembered this thing and came to ask for it, there must be a reason for it. "

"Sui, Hou... It turns out that after so many years, Chu Mo never remembered the tragic death of his fellow disciples, but he never forgot this bead. The Mo family claims to love all living beings, and their behavior is nothing more than that." : No one in the world knows about Sui Hou Zhu except Gai Nie.If he had the slightest bit of selfishness, he wouldn't claim it as his own, as long as he kept his mouth shut, it would become an eternal secret.

——Thinking that his master, Gui Guzi, has been all-powerful all his life, he has exhausted all his tricks, and at the end of the day, the apprentice he accepts is a fool.

Gai Nie shook his head and said: "If they have no regrets in their hearts, they will not let the Suihou Pearl be hidden in the master's hands for more than 20 years. And since I entered the valley, every winter, the medical immortals will give the master various elixir to suppress what he used to do back then. Internally wounded; perhaps, this is what she called the 'covenant of the year'."

"What? Isn't it because they are old friends?!"

"...Xiao Zhuang, don't slander senior's reputation."

"Qingyu?" Wei Zhuang leaned against the wall, with a slanted smile on his lips, "If she and Master really care about each other, what is the difference between 'clear' and 'turbid'? But now, it seems that She concocted medicine for Master to heal his wounds, and it was also secretly ordered by the Mohist giant, and she had other motives."

Gai Nie shook his head and sighed: "Life is alive, and there are inevitable things. When Qin Mo fled to Qin, the Immortal Doctor was still young, but an ordinary disciple of the Mo family, even if she wanted to save others, how could she do it for the entire Mo family? Make a decision? And the Chumo master who made the decision, although a little narrow-minded, may not be out of consideration for the safety of the disciples... I only hope that among the current Mohists, there will be someone who is upright and concerned about the common people. The true successor of the style of his ancestor Mozi. I would also like to—" Complete the master's entrustment.

"What's good?"

Gai Nie knew that he had almost slipped his tongue, so he changed the subject and said: "Although the Mohists value Suihou so much, it is actually just a rare night pearl. Xiaozhuang, if you go back to Guigu to take this thing out from now on, you can take it out." How about handing it over to a medical immortal in exchange for a prescription."

"Brother, did your head get hit by a coffin board? Do you know how rare that bead is?" Wei Zhuang frowned and said, "About 60 years ago, a certain rumor suddenly spread in the market, and gradually everyone in the world loved it." I know that Heshibi and Suihouzhu have a great relationship with the future co-lord of the world. Now the princes of various countries may have secretly sent people to find its whereabouts, and the black and white in the rivers and lakes are also ready to move. Senior brother, you Have you never heard of the nursery rhyme on the Wei River?!"

"'Heshibi, Suihouzhu, get both and the world'." Gai Nie slowly chanted, "Xiaozhuang, you and I have traveled separately after leaving the valley, and we have gained some knowledge. How can we believe this nonsense? If a mere pearl has such abilities, then what kind of swordsmanship and art of war should we practice? Why should the princes of the world recruit sages, prepare soldiers and horses, unite vertically and horizontally, and fight in front of the battle?"

Wei Zhuang smiled jokingly, but answered seriously. "Senior Brother, if you don't believe it, there are people who believe it. If the person who believes happens to be a prince, then a mere bead will have the ability to summon troops and send out bloody storms. The Mohists want this thing, and they definitely don't want to get it back." This keepsake is so simple. Besides, how do you know that the rumors will not come true? I heard that thousands of years ago, there were strange rumors about the death of Shang Ji in the Xia Dynasty, the death of the Shang Dynasty in the Zhou Dynasty, and the chaos of Baosi; In this world, there may be omens from heaven, and it is unknown."

Gai Nie said: "In my opinion, the so-called "getting both of them and the world" does not mean that the person who gets the jewel and the jade can get the world, but that the person who gets the world can naturally hold all the treasures of the world. Hands, including Heshibi and Suihouzhu. Many times the so-called omens come true, it is the truth that is reversed."

Wei Zhuang said with a smile: "Senior brother is really free and easy. You easily tell the whereabouts of this thing, how do you know that you are not handing over the world to others?"

Ge Nie also made a rare joke. "What's so rare about obtaining the world with a single bead? If it really works like this, Xiaozhuang, if you see anyone in the world who has the wealth of an emperor, you should give this bead to him."

Wei Zhuangxin said that Wei himself is quite good.Regardless of how effective the theory of pearls and bibs is, what my senior brother gave me will never fall into the hands of others.

He had made up his mind, he only lowered his head to sip the warm water, covering up the flash of calculation in his eyes.

Gai Nie's mind was aroused by the previous words, and he wandered for a while, then suddenly said: "Xiao Zhuang, actually, there is something I've always wanted to ask you about this time I'm going south."

"Brother, please speak."

"If Han Fei is still there, would you choose to keep Han or die?"

Wei Zhuang was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Senior brother thinks too highly of Wei. It's as if the rise and fall of South Korea was chosen by me."

Gai Nie was silent for a moment, nodded and said: "That's right. You will choose this path, after all, it is a last resort."

"Before I was born, or even before Han Fei was born, South Korea had been hollowed out. Our country has no strong and dangerous passes, and no good soldiers and generals. Wei and Chu were bullied, and they were repeatedly cut off by the strong Qin. In the end, only a few isolated cities remained, and they could not look after each other. Even if Wu Bai was alive and Sun Wu was resurrected, they were born in my position, and they would not be able to save a half-dead country. " Wei Zhuang said in a flat tone.

He knew it well, Gai Nie was talking about Han, but he was thinking about Zhao; Zhao Guo still had Li Mu struggling to support the overall situation, but in other things, how much better than Han?And if Han Fei is still alive, Wei Zhuang will face a similar dilemma as Gai Nie: Although the monarch is disappointing, although the traitor is cold, and the chances of defeating a powerful enemy are slim, there is a man who wants to defend at all costs. people.

"Since you know you have no choice, you have to make a decision early." Wei Zhuang gently tapped the table on the couch with his knuckles, "Brother, do you still remember how you failed in the Xuanhu test back then?"

"..."

"Master always said back then that it was because you had two minds and were indecisive. But in my opinion, things are not that simple."

He closed his eyes, unconsciously falling into the memory: as if he was in the deep, dark tunnel full of moss and poisonous fungus again.The roar of wild beasts and the screams of human fear almost burst the eardrums.

"I have checked the corpses of the two tigers on your side. One of the black tigers had one of its hind legs severed, but the wound was not cut flat, but in a vertical line. This is obviously the seventh form of vertical swordsmanship 'opening the sky' and the other black tiger, there was no sword wound on its body, but its neck bone was broken. It can be seen that you came up with a plan that took care of both ends in a very short time—once the gate was opened, you aimed at The black tiger on one side uses a hundred-step flying sword, and at the same time, the person rushes to the other side quickly, intending to subdue the other black tiger with bare hands. You jump on the back of the tiger, and tightly strangle its neck from behind to prevent it from attacking. Hurt people. But you miscalculated, Xuanhu became more fierce after being severely injured by the flying sword, and dragged his broken right foot to kill the bandit tied at the end of the passage. As for the other bandit, it was even more bizarre: There was not a single wound on his body, not even a drop of blood; but his face was distorted, his complexion was pale, and the ropes that bound his hands and feet had cut into his flesh, and his death was even more terrifying than the previous one."

Ge Nie suddenly raised his head to look at his junior brother, with an expression of disbelief in his eyes.Wei Zhuang smiled confidently.

"If my guess is right, he was scared to death."

"Xuanhu's movements are vigorous and agile, and he can be called the king of beasts. With your lightness skills at that time, even if you tried your best, you could only catch up with one of them. And you wasted time because you used the hundred-step flying sword first, so By the time you catch up to the other black tiger, you must be very close to the bandit tied to the other end. Since he was tied there by the master, the man knew that his life was not long, and he saw the beast close at hand. The fight was thrilling, and at this moment, the scream of the previous person came from the other side of the ramp—so he was so frightened that he died.”

Speaking of this, Wei Zhuang chuckled lightly, and said: "The reason why you tangled up and down afterward and couldn't extricate yourself is because you think your layout is not wrong; if you become stronger, or your lightness skill is higher, or your sword If the law is more beneficial, you will not lose so simply. Brother, you are a smart person. Unfortunately, everything is not satisfactory. You worry too much, and you are too persistent; once people worry more, there will be more flaws .Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective.”

"When you talk about that battle, it's as if you saw it with your own eyes." Ge Nie met his eyes, and his own shadow was reflected in his eyes. "But I remember that after the competition was over, I didn't return to my residence immediately; I buried those two people with my own hands."

"I dug it out again. How?" Wei Zhuang said with a twist of his mouth. "As your biggest opponent, I'm not only interested in why you win, but how you lose."

Even Wei Zhuang didn't think about the next move.

Ge Nie suddenly took his hand.The palm is rough and warm, with sword cocoons growing on the base of the fingers.There was an expression on that familiar face that gave him such a headache—a familiar, grateful expression with all the insolence and intimacy of his youth.

"Xiao Zhuang, thank you..."

He only felt a restlessness in his body.There are many thoughts that have been buried for a long time and should have been turned into rotten soil, slowly growing out of the cracks in the ground, twisting around the pillars of the top beam like vines.

Ever since practicing the forbidden technique, Wei Zhuang thought that he had let go of some things.He was originally a cold-blooded person, good at killing and making decisions, he discarded the small and chose the big.There is nothing in the world that he cannot give up.Especially now that the country is ruined and the family is destroyed, powerful enemies are surrounded, there is no inch of tile on the quicksand, and there is no place to stand on the ground, and there is no room to fight for things that are worthless to survival.

Since Gai Nie rejected the two paths he offered, he would not stay by his side unconditionally.He is different from Chilian, Baifeng and others; Liusha followed Wei Zhuang, while Gai Nie only followed his own way.Only under the coincidence of the same position, they will stand shoulder to shoulder and share the same hatred; once the purpose is different, this fragile alliance will collapse in an instant.Wei Zhuang has never had much patience for such uncontrollable people.

He flung the hand away as if bitten by a poisonous snake.

Ge Nie retreated back and sat upright, the expression just now was gone, and his eyes were slightly confused.

It was clear the next day.Wei Zhuang picked out two fast horses from the stables and personally sent Gai Nie out of the north gate of Chencheng.After leaving the city, he threw off his entourage and rode his horse for more than ten li, the hem of his cloak was splashed with mud.When he reined in his horse and turned back, he saw Gai Nie following closely behind, his cheeks flushed by the wind.

Wei Zhuang looked at his old white-washed robe and the undershirt with a short cuff, thinking that no one in the world would believe him if he said that this person had a rare treasure before.He pursed his lips and smiled, took out a package from behind the horse and handed it over. "keep it."

The package was quite light.Gai Nie opened it up and saw a fox fur stuffed inside; the root of the fur was silver-gray, but there was a little white at the tip, like a layer of frost on dry grass.Even with Gai Nie's eyes, one can see the preciousness of this thing.

"This..." Ge Nie didn't know how to refuse for a moment. "Everyone on duty in the army wears armor. This thing is of no use to me."

"In your capacity, do you still need to be on duty?"

"I'm just a centurion in the Zhao army—"

Wei Zhuang suddenly grabbed his sleeve with his hands and shook it vigorously - two oranges rolled out immediately.

"Uh... this kind of fruit can only be found in the state of Chu." Ge Nie rode on his horse, with a sweep of his calf, two tangerines flew up in mid-air lightly and deftly, and were caged back into his sleeves. "I'll save it for the road."

Wei Zhuang glared at him, then grabbed the other sleeve and pulled out a bronze leopard talisman. "A mere centurion, what is he doing with a soldier talisman?"

"This, this is a hidden weapon."

Gai Nie ignored Wei Zhuang's contemptuous gaze, seeing that the fox fur was so soft, he couldn't help reaching in to stroke and rub it; then he found a very small sheep fat jade bottle wrapped in the fur robe, with a cork plugged in the mouth, It was tied tightly with red silk again.

"Senior brother gave you a bright pearl, so Wei has to return the gift." Wei Zhuang threw the leopard talisman back, squinting and said, "This bottle of seven kills is scattered, just put a little on the weapon, and you can see it." There is no cure for blood sealing the throat, but it is a rare and powerful poison. If so, it can be considered reciprocal."

Such a gift in return is really hard to bear, Gai Nie thought to himself.He put away the bundle, and just about to turn the horse's head, Wei Zhuang suddenly grabbed the white horse's mane again.

His speech was fast, but his tone was unprecedentedly deep and solemn.

"I, Wei Zhuang, am not a villain who pretends to be deaf and dumb and doesn't know what is good or bad. Senior brother, no matter whether he came here for the Zhangshui alliance or not, he really helped me a lot: when I closed my five senses, you responded to quicksand; my internal injuries When it happened, you healed me with your own true qi; plus that night when you faced the three prisons and joined forces with me to defend against the enemy, there are three things in total. Since I owe you three favors, then the vertical and horizontal confrontation matter, I I will give you another three years. After three years, I will go looking for you. At that time, whether you use someone or your life to pay for it, you must give me an explanation."

Ge Nie's eyes flashed, as if he wanted to say something, but he still didn't say yes or no.The two raised their hands and clasped their fists at the same time, and immediately bowed.

"There will be a period later."

A few days later, Gai Nie took the road to Puyang, traveling day and night, and arrived at the sand dunes northeast of Handan.

Since Master Zhao's father was starved to death in the Li Palace, the Dune Palace has become an ominous place in Zhao's mind, and few people set foot there.Now there is no one to take care of this place, vines and thorns grow on the palace wall, and ravens and wild mice come and go in daylight, so it is not desolate.The nearby villagers also said that at night, you can vaguely see panic ghosts here, and it seems that there are countless resentful spirits trapped in the palace.The rumors became more bizarre and terrifying, and many businessmen would rather take a detour when passing through this place.

Ordinary people would never think that the mountain ghost's camp, the most elite army under Sima Shang's command, was set up deep in this seemingly abandoned Dune Palace.

Gai Nie handed over the token at the entrance, matched the password, and then drove all the way to the hub hall in the middle of the palace.A man with a short black beard on his face was sitting behind the desk, with a pair of bamboo slips and pen and ink spread out in front of him.This person has an ordinary appearance, except for a pair of fierce wolf eyes.It was the Zhongshan wolf.

Gai Nie gave a military salute. "Commander Zhongshan."

"Commander Ge." Zhongshan Wolf's expression was half a smile, "These few months, have you lived happily? General Sima hasn't sent the password yet, why did you come back early?"

"Gai... a little worried." Gai Nie said with his head down. "What's happening in Handan recently?"

The Zhongshan wolf looked him up and down unhappily.At the beginning Gai Nie was treated differently by Sima Shang and promoted exceptionally, so he couldn't see him very much; but he thought that this kid was young and inexperienced, he became the leader of the mountain ghost for no reason, and the people under him were not good at it. Will be convinced.But Gai Nie first made great achievements in the battle of Zhangshui, and then he was so bold that he personally assassinated Guo Kai, he immediately gained a lot of popularity in the army; .

"Guo Kai was injured to death before, and he couldn't find any tricks for the time being. However, we lost two or three ideas in Xianyang one after another, and the cancer hidden in our army by the Qin people has never been dug out. You say, this counts. What's the matter?" he complained sharply.

Gai Nie saw a row of people's names written on the bamboo slips in front of him—it was the list of soldiers from the Red Leopard Camp.

"In the next trip to the south, I got some clues by accident, which can just identify the face of the most important spy."

"Oh?" Zhongshan Wolf asked in a bad tone: "You wandered in the army for a year, but you didn't find a hair of that kid; after leaving Zhao for so long, you know what you know?"

Gai Nie nodded, walked up to him, picked up a wolf brush dipped in ink, and circled a name on the bamboo slip.

"It's him?" Zhongshan Wolf stared in surprise. "How sure are you?"

"Nine points." Gai Nie said, "However, this person not only possesses unique skills, but also has great cunning, which is definitely beyond ordinary skills."

"How are you doing?" Zhongshan Wolf looked at him vigilantly, "I only have about twenty people in my hand right now, and at least sixteen of them must stay here. If you want more people, you have to wait until tomorrow——"

"No need." Ge Nie untied the long sword tied behind his back and held it in his hand. "I'll go meet him for a while."