The bright moon sits on the ground

The Qin family respects ten elders, the head of the family is next, and the parents are the last.

Qin Rongchong would go to pay his respects to the elders every morning, followed by his father who was the head of the house, and his mother who was sick in bed.

Because his mother is seriously ill, he will stay a little longer when visiting his mother.

The soft-spoken woman kept silent and always liked to listen to him babbling. The eyes that fell on Tan Rongchong were very light, without warmth or weight, like a fragile reed .

"Mother." He finally couldn't help but said, "I have brought back 'Into the Yuan',? As long as Doctor Xiao confirms it, I can give you medicine."

You will be fine, your disease will definitely be cured, he wanted to say that, but he couldn't say it.

"People who are about to die always look down on life and death." The terminally ill woman raised her arm and brushed aside the broken hair on Tan Rongchong's forehead. The vocal cords became fragmented, "Chong'er,? I am very aware of my physical condition, even if I can't save it,? I hope you don't blame your father for his decision."

After her death, the pain left behind,? Tears, guilt, remorse,? All belong to the living.

That's why she was able to be so calm, but Tan Rongchong couldn't let go of it easily. He held his mother's hand tightly, leaned over and kissed the back of her hand, covered the tears in his eyes, swallowed reluctantly, smiled, and put on his face again. The usual frivolous look.

At dawn, the rooster crowed three or two times, Tan Rongchong guessed that the time was almost up, so he stopped talking and said goodbye to his mother.

The Tan family has a lot of rules, and it can even be said that they are more complicated and lengthy than those of the royal relatives.

He walked through the silent alley, followed the bend of the smoked willow, stepped on the fallen leaves, and made two or three crackling sounds.

Lingyan Lake was completed a few years ago. An accident happened when the construction started, and many lives were lost, not only the lives of ordinary people, but also many disciples of the Qin family, including his master and the fourth elder, were also involved in that accident. killed.

Tan Rongchong has never seen that scene with his own eyes, but he can imagine how tragic it was. It must be a scene of flesh and blood flying and limbs separated. It was forgetful, and after a few years, the weeping willows in the green water of Lingyan Lake became a great beauty of Xiayan City, and many people forgot about it.

Others may not know that, as the next head of the Qin family, and his master was killed in that accident, he naturally knows more than many people—for example, he changed his master, and the new master was ranked No. Er's elder, who never accepted disciples, changed his mind after that and accepted him as a disciple, which can be regarded as taking over the responsibilities of his elder brother and passing on the mantle.

Tan Ji, his new master, was reticent and stern, and he didn't even want to deal with people if it wasn't necessary.

Not long after being accepted as an apprentice, about a month or two, Tan Rongchong overheard a fierce quarrel in his father's room. After the quarrel, there was a long silence, and the night wind howled. Outside the window, I gradually felt cold all over.

Something was dug up from the bottom of Lingyan Lake, maybe because of fear, they sealed it back.

As for what it is, the people in the room are vague, no one is willing to say it, or they don't know.

Tan Ji smiled coldly and said, "So, what do you mean, let me bear all the blame?"

The second head, Qin Hong, lost his beloved son in an accident. He was the only one who came back alive. At this time, he looked extremely tired, as if he had walked through an abyss. Tan Rongchong couldn't tell what it was, but he could I felt that there was a chilling gloom around him, especially when he spoke: "Elder, I will apologise with death soon."

Ten days later, Tan Hong really hanged himself on the beam of his house.

And Tan Ji never went back to the Qin Mansion, and since then he has taken root in Lingyan Lake and never left for half a step.

It wasn't until that time that Tan Rongchong really realized that everything he heard was not his fantasy.

He vaguely sensed that Master's actions were to guard something in Lingyan Lake.

Maybe it's what they have been reluctant to say, Tan Rongchong thought, he weighed the wooden box full of food in his hand, because of the abnormality of other people, he always felt that there was indeed some shady secret hidden in Lingyan Lake , and dark.

It's okay during the day, when the sun shines, the sparkling light is really beautiful.

However, at night, Tan Rongchong would rather take a long detour than pass through Lingyan Lake.

He took a flat boat, crossed the lake, cut through layers of water waves, and sailed towards the boat in the middle of the lake.

Every day, as long as Tan Rongchong is in Xiayan City, opens his eyes, and after washing, he will first visit the elders, then his parents, and then he will order his servants to prepare food, and after packing them into wooden boxes, he has to bring these things with him. To Tan Ji on Lingyan Lake.

Thanks to these complicated etiquettes, Gu Huazhi, who Tan Rongchong had been thinking about all night, could only make an appointment with him at Chenshi.

Tan Ji is extremely world-weary, and feels irritable when he says a few more words. This is true for others, and it is also the same for Tan Rongchong, so they have never communicated much. Every time Tan Rongchong handed him the food box, he took it. The exchange is over.

Tan Rongchong saluted as usual, put the food box gently beside Tan Ji, said goodbye and was about to leave.

However, for some reason, Tan Ji suddenly called out to him, and asked in a cold tone, "How have you learned the Gu skills I taught you before?"

"Back to Master." Tan Rongchong hesitated for a moment, "Although those Gu-controlling techniques are different from any I have learned before, it seems that I have messed up everything and learned it again, but as long as I find the rules, the future It's easy to grasp."

"They're all worthless trash." Tan Ji sneered, "From the elders to the disciples, no one has been able to learn this skill of controlling Gu. They only know how to push me out to bear the unwarranted charges. , even you, the eldest young master, can't compare."

His speech has always been so unpleasant, Tan Rongchong has long been used to it, and forgets it when he hears it, and never takes it to heart.

But Tan Ji's words were really strange. He carefully chose his words and asked, "What does Master mean by these words? Is the Gu control technique I'm learning now different from what others have learned? Is it only me who learned it?" Is it different?"

Qin Ji didn't seem to have expected Tan Rongchong to ask, raised his eyes, and looked at him again, his cold, snake-like eyes seemed to be able to see through all the thoughts in his heart, after a long while, a smile appeared on his ravine face, it was not real, Instead, with full malice, contempt, disdain, ridicule, resentment, all kinds of emotions surged in his eyes and gradually settled down.

"The next Patriarch." He said, "Haven't you ever wondered why I became your master?"

After saying this, Tan Ji didn't speak anymore, the madness on his face faded in an instant, and he was about to drive Tan Rongch away with a wave of his hand.

When Tan Rongchong came, he was happy, but when he left, he was full of worries and worries.

He chose to meet Gu Huazhi at Lingyan Lake at the beginning, because he wanted to take this opportunity to take him on a tour of the lake to enjoy the scenery. As a result, before Gu Huazhi came, he felt that the scenery in front of him was the same, whether it was the singing of birds or the sound of the wind. It's all annoying.

But it's impossible to change things that have been decided long ago just because he is in a bad mood.

The number of pedestrians on the street gradually increased, and the hour was approaching. Tan Rongchong took a moment to comfort himself, tried not to think about things that would make people feel bad, and turned all his attention to Gu Huazhi, seriously Where should I go after meeting.

"It's been a whole day thinking about it." Tan Rongchong didn't say how long he stood in the cold wind, and how he changed from expectation to disappointment. Time will wash away the bad memories and leave behind all the good ones. Yes, how brooding he was at that time, how calm and calm he is now, without any extra emotions, just narrated in a very flat manner, "Gu Huazhi missed the appointment."

He was not the kind of person who would give up easily, and even gave up on himself in the end, so he might as well ask clearly.

If Gu Huazhi really doesn't like him, just make it clear, he's not the type to stalk him.

If it's for other reasons, he also needs to know, because he just can't suppress his anger.

More than 20 years later, Tan Rongchong looked back and found that his behavior at that time was too impulsive, reckless and stupid.

After inquiring all the way to find the inn where Gu Huazhi was staying, the moment he knocked on the door, his resentment was still there.

The force of knocking on the door was not very strong, Tan Rongchong subconsciously withdrew his force, not sure if he was afraid of disturbing the people inside.

He wanted to ask, why didn't you come, why did you miss the appointment, at least tell me, why don't you want to see me so much?

But when the wooden door opened with a "creak", the words stuck in his throat were swallowed back by Tan Rongchong.

It was not Gu Huazhi who opened the door.

Tan Rongchong suspected for a moment that he had found the wrong room. Just as he was about to apologize, he lowered his eyes slightly and saw bamboo-blue cranes embroidered on the visitor's robe. Taking a closer look, his attire was similar to Gu Huazhi's. Much the same, with only slight differences.

The person who opened the door was very calm, with a slightly immature face. He bowed his hands and said, "My name is Xu Fengzi, and I am also a disciple of the Suifeng sect. I am Gu Huazhi's younger brother. Mr. Tan came here this time to find the elder brother. Brother, it's a pity that he has already fallen asleep."

Tan Rongchong's lips moved, and he suddenly found it difficult to speak. The words "I and your senior brother are friends" twirled around his lips a few times before being crushed by his teeth—those who regarded them as friends, maybe Only he alone.

"Your senior brother missed the appointment", he couldn't say it.

He suddenly felt that his throat was dry and unbearable, and he could only say one sentence: "Since he has rested, I will leave first."

Thinking back now, Xu Fengzi actually looked at Tan Rongchong very strangely at that time, with traces of resentment in his eyes, but unfortunately he was so distraught and confused at that time that he had no time to care about irrelevant people, and he was about to leave after speaking .

"Eldest brother, he may be unwell because he is not acclimatized to the environment." Xu Fengzi forced those words out from between his teeth, looked at Tan Rongchong's back with a sullen face, and said suddenly, "He said, if it makes you feel uncomfortable , He is very sorry, he will not miss the appointment again... Tomorrow, I hope you will be willing to see him tomorrow, and he will carefully consider how to compensate you. "

Tan Rongchong turned around abruptly, a strange impulse surged up in his heart, wanting to continue to question.

Xu Fengzi was one step faster than him.

Before the words were finished, the door slammed shut with a "bang".