beg for chivalry

Wang Xiaoyuan sat in the meditation room.

The stone chamber was pitch black, as if the eyes were covered by a hood.The basement is cool but dry, and there is only a gap in the stone gate for ventilation, which gives people a sense of occlusion.

Yu Jiachen sent him a small bowl of oil, lit it to make a lamp, but Wang Xiaoyuan wanted to save lamp oil, so he only lit it once and looked around the meditation room.

There is a truss in the depths of the meditation room, on which a snow coat is hung, and there is a gauze gauze instead of a muslin hanging beside it.Wang Xiaoyuan walked over, patted the ashes, and recognized that it was an object left by the previous generation of Yubai swordsman, his adoptive mother.

Yi Niang once sat here to watch her mind.Her clothes are kept here, and the empty walls are also the scenery she has seen before.

Thinking of this, Wang Xiaoyuan felt peaceful in his heart.

He faced south and turned his back to north, sitting cross-legged, staring at the dark stone wall.In the faint firelight, bizarre and complicated patterns gradually emerged from his eyes. His eyes were used to seeing the darkness, and he gradually distinguished the patterns carved on the wall.

There is a picture of Li Ningyang, who is topless and ragged, bent under the pine, with a red gourd hanging from his waist, and his iron arm is pressed on the stone, as if he is touching something.

Wang Xiaoyuan knew what he was touching, probably a sword.

Taoist priests love to use swords, whether it is the peach charms hung on the door in the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, or the seven-star sword used in exorcising evil spirits, they are all "swords".There is the Jade Emperor Temple and the treasure hall in the Tianshan Gate, and the disciples also wear Taoist robes. They can be classified as first-class Taoist priests, but exorcising ghosts and evil spirits has become punishing rape and eliminating evil.

But what about the knife?There are very few Taoist priests who wear swords by their side, and even if they do, they are thick, heavy and blunt Shigong swords.The Yubai Sword seems to be a weapon that has fallen from the Nine Heavens to the mundane world.

In the dim candlelight, the potholed stone walls are colorfully painted, and Tieguai Li hangs his hands on the stone, carefully sharpening the non-existent sword.

Or - it was a knife.

Wang Xiaoyuan closed his eyes, and described in his heart what Li Tieguai felt when he was sharpening the knife.He felt as if he had touched the jade white knife. The body of the knife was as clear as a mirror, spotless, white and shiny, as if holding it in his hand and wielding it as a weapon would stain its cleanliness.The Jade White Knife is by no means a lethal weapon, just as beautiful jade must never be flawed.

A knife is flawless, and so should the person who wields it.But he committed the killing command, and his heart was filled with haze.Someone once said that after sitting in meditation for a long time, you can see miasma in your mind.He only sat cross-legged for half a day, and he felt that the five senses seemed to be gradually peeled off from his body, invisible and intangible, and every breath seemed to use up all his life's strength.

What can he see in this painting?Originally, Wang Xiaoyuan thought he could see the way of the third knife, but now thinking about it, he can't figure it out.Wang Xiaoyuan has never really used the third knife in a round, because he always keeps his hand back every time, for fear of accidentally killing himself.If it is really possible to get the third knife, it may not even be a problem to be wrong.

I don't know how long I sat there, maybe one day, or two days.Wang Xiaoyuan just sat quietly, staring at the fairy painting on the wall with a knife sharpened, and silently recited the first half of the jade girl's mind.His mind was muddled and heavy, his body seemed to be turned into a rigid stone, he seemed to be dead, at first he still felt hungry and thirsty in his stomach, then his body swayed, as if spinning and dancing between the stone walls.

The candles were extinguished and everything was plunged into darkness.

In the darkness, the dense fog turned into the shape of a monster, and the ink lines on the wall twisted and danced wildly, attacking him with teeth and claws, and opened his bloody mouth to swallow him into his stomach.

The inner demon knocked on the door and descended to his side in a terrifying manner.

The black mist condensed into a thick mass, gradually turning into a human form.Wang Xiaoyuan seemed unable to open his eyes or open his mouth, sitting quietly on the cattail mat like a piece of dead wood.He saw human faces, faces emerging from the dark sea like fish out of water, densely covered with stone walls.All the faces had their eyes closed and their mouths shut, silently filling his eyes.

A man's face opened and wrinkled in pain, he called out: "...Xiao Yuan...Xiao Yuan..."

The face was unshaven, and there were two peach blossom eyes embedded in the bronze skin.But those eyes were full of pain, and this misery was about to flow into Wang Xiaoyuan's heart.That was his adoptive father, Mrs. Wang.

"You left. You left your adoptive mother and left us alone." Mrs. Wang stared at him, her eyes were empty, "Why did you leave? If you don't leave, maybe our old couple There is still life..."

Although the man spoke in a playful and emphatic way, Wang Xiaoyuan's hair stood on end.Suddenly, Mrs. Wang's face suddenly wrinkled violently, and her facial features were tightly twisted together.The raging fire ignited into the air, burning his face, and the man screamed in the fire, one after another: "Come back! Come back here for me!"

A deep cave was torn open from the blackness, and the demons of Yin surged out along with the cool wind of the tragic song. Wang Xiaoyuan shook his head in horror, only to see that in the cracked cave was the corpse mountain of Yindu, where the rotting corpses lay horizontally.The pale and rotten arm was tremblingly lifted from the pile of corpses, and the dead people grabbed his limbs and dragged him to the ground.

He was dizzy, sweating coldly, trying to get rid of this nightmare, but he didn't know if he opened his eyes.

More arms protruded from the pile of corpses. Looking carefully, the fingers holding him were dry and bony.Wang Xiaoyuan looked down, and saw the faces of one hundred and eight elders of Evil Mangou staring at him.

The elders scrambled to get out of the ground, shouting: "Wang Xiaoyuan—"

Wang Xiaoyuan's heart skipped a beat.

"You escaped, escaped from the villain's ditch! The king of Mingming was so optimistic about you at the beginning, he thought that only you could inherit his mantle. But you are ruthless and ungrateful, leaving us old bones and running away!" The elders shouted , "What a pity, what a pity! It would be great if I beat you to death that night!"

Arms stretched out from hell, dragging him down.Before he knew it, there were several more bloody hands.

The disciple of the Tianshan sect who died on the cliff of Tianshan in the past also crawled out of the river of blood, grabbing his clothes and refusing to let go.There was a gap in their necks, and their expressions were miserable:

"Brother, sect master... you left us, just walked away..."

"If you had stayed in Tianshan from the beginning, wouldn't the Tianshan Gate not have suffered such a catastrophe? Does it mean that we don't have to die and can still stay in the world?"

Thousands of words rang in my ears, sounding like mosquitoes and flies buzzing, and like letter drums rumbling.Wang Xiaoyuan's ears and heart shook violently, and his limbs were torn to pieces.The evil spirits swarmed up, devouring and biting his body with bloody gulps.

Wang Xiaoyuan struggled desperately, these are all his heart troubles, and now he turned into a demon to claim his life.But he seemed to be crushed under the giant mountain, unable to move at all.

He turned his head and looked around in panic, but there was nothing but darkness as far as he could see.

The candle flame flickered.The wick of the lantern falls into the ashes, and a small bright spark blooms.

Outside the stone gate, there was a sudden wind and snow, and the wind and snow penetrated along the gap of the door, cutting on the body like a blade.

Today is also a snowy day. The brown and black rocks stand tall and are gradually buried by the white snow like reed flowers.Looking out from the gap in the door, the sky is pale, snow and mist spread, everywhere is clean but dim.

The charcoal fire in the brazier was creaking and burning, and he was wrapped in oil-tanned wolf fur, leaning against the fire, his hands and feet warmed slightly.

The voice of conversation came from in front of him in a low voice, and when he looked up, two people were whispering in front of him.

Yu Dongqing held the dragon pattern sword in his arms, sat upright, stroked his beard slowly, with a smile on his lips.On the other hand, Yi Niang put her face close to Elder Dongqing, glanced at him from time to time with her dark and clear eyes, and giggled and whispered to each other.He only heard a few words in between.

"Xiao Yuan...although he's a bit stupid...but he works hard."

"Now...how many styles have you learned? Starting posture...haven't you finished learning?"

Seeing him waking up from a deep sleep, Yu Qiuxia let go of her voice, touched his head and said with a smile: "It's still rising, but I've made up my mind to teach him the first pose in a few days, it's perfect. "

Elder Dongqing leaned forward, looked at Wang Xiaoyuan's sleepy eyes, laughed, and his beard shook wildly: "Look at this idiot who looks like he's not awake all day long, can he really learn it?"

Wang Xiaoyuan blinked and nodded unconvinced: "Yes."

"Diligence can make up for one's weakness. Although Xiao Yuan is not a talented person, but he is willing to work hard, and he will definitely succeed in learning." Yu Qiuxia smiled and stroked his head again.

Yu Dongqing smiled knowingly, closed her eyes and meditated for a moment, then asked suddenly: "Little idiot, let me ask you, what should be the explanation for this first cut?"

This old man seems to want to test his knowledge, but luckily his foster mother taught him the formula.Wang Xiaoyuan immediately replied: "Do what you want and don't fight, and live with the light."

"What about the second knife?"

Wang Xiaoyuan thought for a while, and finally pulled out the sentence he had memorized dozens of times from the corner of his head. "Because it's back to the original... Heaven will bear it."

Yu Dongqing was still unwilling to let him go, and asked with a smile: "Where's the third knife?"

"Elder, let him go." Yu Qiuxia cast a reproachful glance at Elder Dongqing, and said, "I don't want to give him the third knife, if he learns it, he won't have to stretch himself every time break, and howl for half a month with weeping tears?"

Elder Dongqing smiled: "I think he is a good young man. If he is not allowed to learn, Yubai Sword will have no successors." Then he took out a rattle from his bosom and teased it in front of him like a grandson. , winked and grimaced, and shouted, "Hey, little idiot, would you like to learn the third knife?"

Wang Xiaoyuan shook his head to avoid him, and murmured: "Yi Niang taught me, I will learn. You teach me...don't learn!"

"Oh, then I can't teach you. You have to lie to your adoptive mother to learn." Yu Dongqing scratched his neck with his beard, and said with a smile, "You haven't said that the third sword operation Why don't you explain it, come on, tell Grandpa Dongqing!"

Being scratched by Yu Dongqing's beard was really itchy, and Wang Xiaoyuan was shaking like chaff.Trembling, he wrapped himself in the wolf's fur, only showing his head, and stammered:

"I... I don't remember."

"I really don't remember?" Yu Dongqing pouted and looked at him with disgust.This elder is like an old naughty boy, he always loves to play with him when he is not learning knives.

Wang Xiaoyuan was most afraid of being looked at with disgust by others, so he immediately turned his head hard, and only after a while did he utter a few words:

"The third knife... the jade is broken and the tiles are complete, the heart formula is..."

Both Yu Dongqing and Yu Qiuxia were smiling and listening to his words.The three of them sat around the brazier, and the charcoal fire creaked, drawing their figures long and long on the rock wall.For some reason, Wang Xiaoyuan only felt that the figures of the adoptive mother and the elder were a little vague, as if a cloud of mist was cast in front of his eyes.

He swallowed nervously, and said:

"I can be me because I am not me..."

Elder Dongqing seemed dissatisfied with his answer, and asked with a frown, "'No Self'? Do you think that if you want to practice the third sword of the Yubai Sword, you have to reach the state of no self?"

"Hmm... yes. That's what Yi Niang said, and it's also written in the book."

"Then do you know why you want 'no self'?" Elder Dongqing asked again, "Is everything your adoptive mother tells the truth? Do you have to believe everything written in the book?"

The two of them stared at him intently, and for a moment, Wang Xiaoyuan was stunned, unable to speak.

Elder Dongqing caressed his white beard, "The so-called 'no self' means to let go of delusional thoughts in your mind. Wang Xiaoyuan, let me ask you, why didn't Li Ningyang sharpen his knife on the stone wall?"

Wang Xiaoyuan seems to have been awakened, this refers to the painting left on the stone wall of the meditation room.But what Tieguai Li sharpened should be a sword, not a knife. Even though he was sharpening a knife, his hands were empty and there was no sign of a knife.

Seeing his dazed expression, Yu Dongqing said again: "Let me ask you again, why sharpen the knife?"

"Because the edge of the knife is blunt...it needs to be sharpened." Wang Xiaoyuan couldn't think of a good idea, so he answered honestly.

"Yes, it is precisely because the knife is blunt that someone sharpens it." Yu Dongqing looked solemn, "But if the knife is sharp enough, do you need to sharpen it?"

"Of course...no need."

"Exactly. Not sharpening the knife is precisely because the knife is sharp, and there is no knife to sharpen. Seeking 'no self' is precisely because there are many delusional thoughts in my heart, I love myself the most, regard myself as big as the sky, retreat from cowardice and cherish my life. Everyone in the world cherishes themselves, so they are disturbed by many demons."

Wang Xiaoyuan was ignorant, shook his head and said: "But what I value most is not myself, but the young master."

Yu Dongqing stirred up the brazier, and said slowly: "Wang Xiaoyuan, you have to forget everything, so that you can focus on that sword that shocks the world."

As soon as he blurted out the words, his eyes seemed to freeze.

The flame no longer flickered, and seemed to be condensed in the iron basin as if frozen.The two sat quietly in front of him, with smiles etched on their faces.Wang Xiaoyuan turned his head and looked outside the stone gate, only to see fluffy white snow dotted in the sky, motionless.

The surroundings darkened a little bit, and the figure in front of him suddenly became fragmented.Elder Dongqing still smiled kindly at him, but his chest gradually opened into a big hole that was as deep as the bones, blood dripped from the knife wound, and in a blink of an eye, he was nailed to the rock wall, just like when he was killed by Houtianlou generally.

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at Yi Niang in panic again, only to see that her complexion became more and more bleak, and her body was as thin as paper. In the end, her flesh and blood collapsed and scattered in the air like flying snow.

Everything is a dream, a hallucination he had in meditation.He dreamed of himself when he was a child, with Elder Dongqing and Yi Niang accompanying him.

The fire went out, and he sat there alone, and all was quiet, and he was alone again.

There is a hunger in the stomach like a grip, and the throat is thirsty for rain like a long-dry field.Wang Xiaoyuan woke up suddenly, as if in a lifetime.He was sitting on the futon right now, living without food or water for a few days.If he hadn't practiced the bigu technique for a period of time in the past, he might have died in the meditation room.

He staggered to his feet, his limbs as limp as cotton.

Li Ningyang on the stone wall was glaring at him, with both hands hanging in the air on the boulder, still sharpening the non-existent knife.

Wang Xiaoyuan looked at the painting weakly.He was enlightened, or should be called enlightenment, from the dream, but this enlightenment made him despair.There is no lower part of the Jade Girl Heart Method, it is empty.Because the previous generation of sword masters who had exhausted the Jade Maiden's heart method died after swinging the jade broken tile sword, the heart method has not been handed down.

He had to forget everything and let go of all entanglements before he could make the third cut.

The monsters are still tirelessly entangled behind him and on the soles of his feet, if they are not careful, they will be dragged into the bottom of Huangquan by them.

"Wang Xiaoyuan—"

The ghosts and ghosts howled miserably, wanting him to fall into the path of demons together.The bloody dead man lay on his shoulders, making him dare not look back.

But Wang Xiaoyuan still looked back in a strange way.A small oil bowl was placed on the floor of the meditation room, and the weak flame swayed on the wick, illuminating a small world.In the thick darkness, only the place where the firelight reaches is bright and warm.

In a daze, he seemed to have never left the cave on the Tianshan cliff.The wind and snow outside the stone gate are heavy, but here is the only place where it is quiet and peaceful.Standing in the jagged stone path, he heard the sound of the corner brazier being fiddled lightly.The light of the fire reflected the figure of the man sitting in front of the brazier on the rock wall, hazy, like water foam that could break at the touch of a finger.

The man asked, "Are you leaving, Wang Xiaoyuan?"

The shadow of the Golden Crow swayed on the stone wall.Standing at the corner, Wang Xiaoyuan recognized his movement of taking off the ghost mask from the shape of the shadow.He and Jin Wu used to play in caves when they were traveling around the world, and they took out thorns from the stream and roasted them.At that time, they were laughing and playing, not to mention how happy they were.This must be the illusion left in his heart by Yu Qiuxia and Jin Wu in the past.

He replied: "Yes."

The firelight was still warm, but he stood quietly for a while and turned his back to leave.There is a dense and endless darkness in front of you, and every step you take is getting farther and farther away from the light.

Finally, Wang Xiaoyuan stood in front of the stone gate.He put his hand on the cold stone door, remained silent for a moment, and said: "If you want to swing the knife for the third time, you have to step into the state of 'no self'."

These words seemed to be said to himself, and also seemed to be said to the shadow of the Golden Crow in his heart.

"Actually... I didn't like myself from the beginning. I'm just a bastard who came out of the villain's ditch. I failed the expectations of my father and the elders, and I suffered heavy casualties from the Tianshan Gate. I have no strengths in my body. .If I had to give up myself, I'd love to have something like that."

Wang Xiaoyuan lowered his head and muttered to himself: "But just abandoning yourself, you can't enter the state of 'no self'. Because what I value most is not me at all, but you, young master."

Jin Wu's shadow trembled slightly: "Are you leaving me again?"

The stone door was pushed open, a glimmer of light poured into the closed and dull meditation room, and the flames and dreams behind him melted like spring ice.All the demonic obstacles dissipated, and the miasma that lingered in my heart gradually disappeared.If you want to use the third knife, you have to make up your mind to cut off the front edge, instead of being meek and hesitant like before, and you can't advance or retreat in the end.

As long as it can save his life, even if he has to forget him, he will not hesitate.

"Yes, I wanted to save you, so I had to deal with Shang Zuo Buzheng, and had to use the third knife. I kept my hand from her on the Tianshan cliff before, because I wanted to survive and continue to stay happily with you Jiading, but now it seems that he has made a big mistake. So next time we meet her, Yubaidao will never show mercy. If you want to kill her with jade and broken tiles, you must first kill my heart."

Wang Xiaoyuan took a staggering step, his body was about to fall, and he seemed to get out of the cocoon, and said in a hoarse voice:

"So I'm going to forget you, master."