Sealing Sword

Many things start vigorously and end as plain as water.

Many people, initially high-spirited, eventually remain silent.

That day the first snow of the year fell, but there was still greenness on Wangchen Peak, and the green pines and cypresses stood proudly in the wind and frost, and they are still able to handle it with ease.

Ji Qingyan is only 15 years old, and he is just a teenager. Although he is not as playful as ordinary children, he can calm down when he is practicing martial arts and reading scriptures, but sometimes he is unavoidably lonely.

Loneliness can be the desolation of being alone and sleepless, or the arrogance of being overwhelmed by the cold, but for the current Ji Qingyan, neither of these two things is at all compatible with him. What he is lonely is that he has no one to get along with. younger brothers and sisters.

His master, Daoist Su Qing, is the head of the generation of Taishang Palace. He is humorous, but he is very strict in accepting apprentices. For many years, there has only been one disciple like Ji Qingyan. Among the refugees, women gave birth.

At that time, the Great Chu had not yet been established, and the previous dynasty was at the end of the precarious period. There were continuous wars and the people were displaced.Among the sects in the rivers and lakes, there are those who fish in troubled waters, those who save lives and help the wounded, and those who watch the fire from the other side.

Su Qing belongs to the second category.So when he encountered this trouble, he couldn't find a stable woman around him, so he had to bite the bullet and help the woman deliver the baby. Unfortunately, the woman suffered from a difficult childbirth, even if the Taoist priest used internal strength and ginseng slices to help her continue. With a sigh of relief, it was only enough for her to give birth to a baby boy, and before she could say a word, she passed away, leaving Daoist Suqing kneeling in her arms holding a baby boy who hadn't even cut the umbilical cord, was covered in blood and had a wrinkled face He looked helpless in place.

He took out dry food to help a few refugees, and asked them to help bury the woman, but he made trouble for the child. The world is bad, and it is difficult for people to support themselves, let alone a newborn baby?After thinking about it, Su Qing kept him by his side and took him in as an apprentice, naming him "Qing Yan" after his surname.

——I hope that one day, the world will be peaceful, and Haiyan and Heqing will be clear.

Ji Qingyan has been obedient since he was a child. Although he is not considered talented, he is very down-to-earth. Su Qing is very satisfied with this apprentice, and never thought of taking another apprentice to cause trouble for himself.

The Taoist leader probably couldn't bear to look back on the memory of washing diapers with his nose pinched. As the culprit, Ji Qingyan didn't dare to speak. Finally, he returned to the mountain and brought back a little junior brother.

At that time, he was climbing up a big tree, and carefully put a chick that had accidentally fallen back into the nest, then lay on the trunk with hands and feet together, smiling at the chicks and eggs in the nest.

Suddenly a voice came from under the tree: "Master, is that a monkey?"

The voice is soft and waxy, like the sweet-scented osmanthus cake that Senior Sister Qiwei made for herself.Ji Qingyan poked his head down, and saw a purple bamboo umbrella with splashed ink under the fine snow curtain. The umbrella surface moved back slightly, revealing most of the body of the umbrella holder and the child beside him.

The child was really small, standing on the ground just reaching the height of the umbrella holder's legs, wrapped in a thick snow-white fox fur, with a felt hat on his head, showing only a small face no bigger than a palm, Looking up at him.

The umbrella holder smiled lightly and said, "Shang'er, that's not a monkey, it's senior brother."

As soon as the voice sounded, Ji Qingyan was stunned, and quickly jumped down from the tree, and sure enough, he saw Daoist Su Qing's face.

Su Qing laughed and scolded: "You monkey, you have only been away for a few months for the teacher, and when you come back, you see you jumping up and down. Is it true that you will go to the house in a few days?"

He scratched his head. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned. He said hello to the master first, then squatted down to look at the little child from a straight-up angle, took out a candy wrapped in oil paper from his sleeve pocket, and whispered Coax him gently: "The newly made ginger candy may be a bit spicy, but it can warm you up. Would you like to eat it?"

The child blinked his eyes, looked up at Su Qing again, waited for the Taoist priest to nod, and then stretched out his hand timidly to pick up the candy.

Ji Qingyan saw his hand protruding from under the fur coat, it was thin and pale, like a paw made of paper, although there was no scar, it was even more shocking.

His throat rolled a few times, but he didn't say anything, watching the child eat the candy, his face wrinkled into a bun, but he didn't spit it out.

Such a young child, logically speaking, would not like such a spicy and sweet taste, and would not be very obedient, but this child in front of Ji Qingyan was a little surprised and a little heavy.

I don't know how much I have seen, heard, and endured so much that I can behave like this at this age.

He stood up and asked Su Qing: "Master, is this... your new disciple?"

Su Qing nodded, motioning for him to pick up the child and walk beside her, then said: "His name is Mu Qingshang, he is nine years old, and he is my second apprentice."

Nine years old?Ji Qingyan was stunned for a moment, the child was too thin and light in his arms, no matter how he looked at it, he looked like five or six years old, but he didn't expect that he was almost ten years old.

Feeling the baby in his arms tremble, Ji Qingyan hugged him a little tighter, with a smile on his face, coaxing him softly: "Don't be afraid, senior brother is holding you."

Stepping on broken branches and a thin layer of frost and snow, they walked from the mountainside to the top of the mountain. When they passed Qingming Road, Mu Qingshang poked his head out of Ji Qingyan's arms, his eyes wandered around, and finally looked back and forth.

"Brother, what are you looking at?"

He asked softly, Mu Qingshang put his hands on his shoulders, but did not speak, but Su Qing stopped, looked back, and said: "Shang'er, if you still can't let go of the past, now is still too late."

Mu Qingshang's body froze, Ji Qingyan turned his head to look, but found that the master who always liked to smile was expressionless at this moment, and his eyes were so solemn that it made people feel heavy.

He didn't seem to care whether a child could understand or not, and he continued on his own: "In this life, many times you have to make important choices, but not every time you can think clearly. Wait for this Once you have passed this road, you can't turn back, because those things have nothing to do with you from now on."

Ji Qingyan sensed unspeakable grief from these words, and he felt Mu Qingshang trembling.

Before he could try to comfort him, the child struggled twice in his arms. Ji Qingyan had no choice but to bend down and put him down. There was thin snow and ice on the ground. As soon as Mu Qingshang landed on the ground, he slipped and knelt on the ground .

Ji Qingyan was startled, and hurriedly tried to help him up, but saw that the child moved himself with his hands while kneeling, turned around, and kowtowed three times in the direction he came from.

After knocking, he stood up and hugged Ji Qingyan's leg without looking up, but Ji Qingyan felt that he was crying.

Daoist Su Qing sighed, and walked forward again. Mu Qingshang didn't let Ji Qingyan hug him this time, but staggered while holding the hand that was a circle bigger than himself. At least he finished the walk by himself. The way you choose.

When he took the last step, Ji Qingyan understood that no matter what Mu Qingshang's past was, from now on he was just a disciple of the Supreme Palace, a disciple of Taoist Priest Su Qing, and his own junior.

He led the newly-baked junior brother on the familiar road, and all the disciples along the way paid attention, but unfortunately they were all frightened away by the rare and indifferent Daoist Su Qing, and watched the three masters and apprentices enter the Ruoshui Temple.

Su Qing went to the quiet room to burn incense, and Ji Qingyan took Mu Qingshang to her room to take a shower and change clothes.When the hot water came up, he tested the temperature of the water, stripped his junior brother naked and put him in, picked up the handkerchief and scrubbed him.

This child has delicate skin and tender flesh, which should only be raised by a wealthy family, but which rich family would raise the child so sickly?

From the beginning to the end, Mu Qingshang was very quiet, as if the child who first asked "monkey" was not him at all, so silent that it was almost dead.

Ji Qingyan felt sorry for him for no reason, but he didn't know what to ask him, so he had nothing to say: "Junior brother, do you feel the water is hot?"

Mu Qingshang shook his head first, and then murmured: "Senior brother, as a master's apprentice, can I only be a Taoist priest for the rest of my life?"

Ji Qingyan was stunned for a moment, and said: "The Taishang Palace follows Taoism, but there are also lay disciples. It doesn't matter if you don't want to be a Taoist priest."

"To be a Taoist priest, you have to recite scriptures and meditate every day. Can't you do what you want?"

Ji Qingyan thought for a while: "That depends on what you want to do, some are okay, some are not."

Mu Qingshang looked up at him: "Brother, tell me, okay?"

It was the first time in Ji Qingyan's life that he was acted like a spoiled child by his younger brother. He was elated and said like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube: "If you are Taoist, you should abide by the Taoist precepts and the door rules, stay away from wine, sex, wealth, and integrity... If you are vulgar, then just follow the door rules , this is much more relaxed, as long as you don’t do anything against justice, you can do anything, even if you burn Master’s beard, it doesn’t matter, brother will help you.”

Mu Qingshang: "..."

"So, junior brother, what do you want to do?" Ji Qingyan lowered his eyes, accepted the joke, and asked him seriously, "You tell me, senior brother will definitely help you."

Mu Qingshang was silent for a long time, until the water in the barrel began to cool down.

Ji Qingyan wrapped him into a rice dumpling with a large cotton cloth and put him on the bed, turned around to get the clothes, but heard Mu Qingshang's voice from behind: "Brother, I want to be like Master."

Ji Qingyan smiled and narrowed his eyes: "Are you going to be the Palace Master?"

What he said was very relaxed, and his heart was also relaxed. After all, since he was a child, he had seen Su Qing's desperation in managing such a huge mountain, and a fool would be happy to take on this burden. Unfortunately, before that, he was the only disciple of Taoist Priest Su Qing. The position of Palace Master is almost decided by default.

Ji Qingyan looked at his younger brother expectantly, hoping that if he nodded, he would be able to travel around the world happily in the future.

Unfortunately, Mu Qingshang rejected him cruelly.

The child probably didn't understand what a "Palace Master" was at all, and shook his head instinctively, but couldn't explain why, so he simply stopped talking.

Ji Qingyan was a little sad, but also a little eager to try.

"Then let me assume that you want to become as powerful as Master." Ji Qingyan put on new clothes for him and said with a smile.

The brothers in the room spoke softly, and the two people outside the room looked at each other and walked away one after the other.

The plum blossoms in the yard were in full bloom, and the fragrance was lingering. After Su Qing walked for a while, the people behind caught up and patted him on the shoulder.

It was a kind-hearted Taoist nun, she brushed off the snow from Su Qing's shoulders, held up an umbrella for him, and said with a smile: "You two disciples are very interesting."

Su Qing glanced at her and said nothing.

"One is thick while the other is thin, and one is a big kid. It will not be a fuel-efficient lamp in the future." Taoist nun smiled and narrowed her eyes, "You are a master, you have to work hard."

Su Qing suddenly said: "Actually, what they said was wrong."

"Ok?"

Su Qing put Fuchen on her arms and said, "I'm not very good."

So what about martial arts?There will be a day when a hero ends.

So what about high status?There will be a time when the clouds and rain will overturn.

No matter how powerful a person is, they cannot escape birth, old age, sickness and death, just like the rise and fall of a family and country, success or failure is inevitable.

"I'm just a human being, and there will always be times when I can't do what I want." Su Qing flipped up a strand of white hair and smiled slightly.

The Taoist nun was startled, then smiled and said: "I remember that my brother has always been strict with me, but I didn't expect that now I'm starting to be old."

Su Qing said: "I'm old too."

The Taoist nun was suddenly speechless.

Su Qing raised her palm, caught a piece of falling snow, and said, "I want to pass "The Promise" to him."

The nun immediately came back to her senses.

Ji Qingyan is Su Qing's eldest disciple, the next head of the Taishang Palace. He started to practice "The Promise Kung Fu" five years ago, so naturally he can't say "pass it on" now, so what Su Qing refers to...

"Senior brother, this is against the rules." The nun said solemnly, "The "Wuji Gong" is a skill that can only be practiced by the master of the Supreme Palace, and..."

"And it's not a good thing." Su Qing raised her eyes, "But I've made up my mind."

The Taoist nun lowered her face: "Brother, give me a reason."

"Shang'er didn't express his wish just now, and now I will speak for him." Su Qing looked at the closed door, "What this child wants... is to live like me."

The nun was stunned: "Like you..."

"I met him in Mizong Ridge." Su Qing said, "It's not a good place, I didn't catch up with the good time when I sneaked in, and I didn't meet any good people."

The Taoist nun looked solemn and listened with bated breath.

"At that time, the master of Mizong Ridge killed a lot of people, and it was raining, and the people who abandoned the corpses all walked away. I saw him running out, unable to walk steadily, his face was pale with fright, but he was still serious. I went to touch every corpse, and finally found one that was still breathing, smiling like a fool..." Su Qing recalled these things, his gaze gradually deepened, "But that person is beyond saving, his ribs pierced his heart, live a moment longer It’s all painful, and there’s only a moment to live on.”

The nun's throat choked up: "What happened next?"

"Later, he killed that man." Su Qing stretched out his hand and gestured, "Take a piece of broken porcelain hidden on his body, cut it on the neck, and he was about to die at once. The man died quickly, his hands trembled but Good shot."

The Taoist nun's complexion changed drastically. She thought of the child with a weak voice in the room just now, and suddenly a chill came down her back.

"At that time, I thought, I have to take this child away. If I let him stay in Mizong Ridge..." Su Qing smiled, "I have always believed that human nature is the most difficult thing to endure. He just Like a piece of snow, it has been stained by blood and footprints, and there is still a white area, we have to cover it with snow, rather than let people continue to trample on it."