Rong Yan did not look at her husband. Instead, she opened her moist almond eyes and straightened her back. Choking with sobs, she said, "For the sake of our former friendship, can you allow me to give birth to this child?"
"…" Xu Shuanglin's gaze slowly moved down to Rong Yan's lower abdomen. At first glance, there was nothing unusual, but upon closer inspection, there was a slight bulge.
Rong Yan kowtowed, but her face was cold.
"I beg you."
"…"
"Father is guilty, it's irrefutable. But Nan Gongxu, I want to beg you, please spare my nephew's life. "
Xu Shuanglin stared at this woman for a while. He thought she was ridiculous.
Spare the vile spawn in her belly? That was just a pile of rotten meat that had not yet taken shape. Whether it was his nephew or his niece, what did it have to do with him?
But in that moment, he suddenly remembered the bone-piercing pain from last night. Xu Shuanglin stared blankly for a moment. He suddenly realized that this was a very good thing — the position of Sect Leader of the Confucian Wind Sect could only be inherited by the Young Master after the Old Sect Leader had passed away, or by seizing the position by force. As for the rest, whether he abdicated the position to a worthy person or retired to listen to the sect, it was all useless.
Therefore, abdicating the position to Nangong Liu was already impossible. But a hundred years later, he could pass the position to Nangong Liu's child, and let that child have a taste of the pain of sitting in this position. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?
The son would repay the father's debt, nothing could be better than that.
For a moment he was in a good mood, a brilliant smile appeared on his face. And then, without waiting for the two people to react, he threw the saber away, turned around, and walked out of the prison door with a loud laugh.
Later on, he did not kill Nangong Liu, nor did he kill Rong Yan. Instead, he put them under house arrest in a small courtyard. He planned to wait until the child was born, and then immediately confer the title of the next Sect Leader, and establish a blood contract with him.
Perhaps when the time came, the whole world would praise him for being magnanimous and forgiving, wouldn't it?
But he didn't live to see that day.
Not long after he succeeded the throne, he committed numerous atrocities. For a period of time he accumulated deep resentment inside and outside the School. Later on, there was a city master who harbored resentment toward him. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he secretly released Nangong Liu and Luo Fenghua, two people.
Luo Fenghua did not know the secret behind his back, he only thought that Zhang Wuji was doing all kinds of crazy things for the sake of the Sect Leader position. Plus, Nangong Liu had a glib tongue, so he became more and more disheartened. Thereupon he joined hands with Nangong Liu to seize the position, with the intention of driving Xu Shuanglin off the Sect Leader's throne, which had not yet been warmed up.
That night, the Confucian Wind School had a civil war, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Amidst the flames of war, Luo Fenghua was the first to find Xu Shuanglin, who had taken refuge in the Howling Moon Drill Ground.
It was a full moon night. Xu Shuanglin was in severe pain. His whole body was covered in blood. He was lying in the forest, like a snake that had been skinned alive. All that was exposed was bright red flesh.
When Luo Fenghua saw him, he thought that he had been injured by a spell in the chaos of the war. Although he felt resentment in his heart, he couldn't help but feel compassion for his former beloved disciple.
Xu Shuanglin raised his head, trembling in the forest, and showed a trace of a bitter smile. "You're here."
"…"
"I fought with him, but in the end you always helped him."
Luo Fenghua said, "This time you went too far. Did you kill Master Tian Chan? "
"That's right."
"What about Taoist Lin?"
"He deserved to die."
"… What about your father …"
After a moment of silence, Xu Shuanglin said, "He was unfair. He believed that I was a thief. He asked for it."
Luo Fenghua closed his eyes. His eyelashes were somewhat wet. "You … How did you end up like this …"
"Ha." Xu Shuanglin laughed sinisterly. "Only others are allowed to betray me, but I'm not allowed to betray others? Only others are allowed to stab me, but I'm not allowed to draw my sword. Is this what you call the way of a gentleman? "
Luo Fenghua's expression was extremely broken. He swayed in place for a while, then walked in front of Xu Shuanglin. Before he spoke, tears flowed down first.
"Why are you crying? What's there to cry about? " Xu Shuanglin was angry for no reason. "If you want to kill me, do as you please. Why do you have to shed a few drops of fake tears in front of me? Anyway, in your eyes, in the eyes of the old man, in everyone's eyes, that good-for-nothing will always be more important than me!"
Luo Fenghua shook his head. He didn't say anything. He raised his hand and chanted a forbidden spell.
"… I've forbidden the spell that you learned with me when we were young." Luo Fenghua said, "From now on, Nan Gongxu, you and I are no longer master and disciple."
"…" Xu Shuanglin felt a heart-wrenching pain. Gun's curse was truly heart-wrenching.
He rested in place for a while, then said stubbornly, "Don't think too highly of yourself. I've never thought of you as my master."
Luo Fenghua stared blankly at him. After a long time, he seemed to want to say something, but there was a clamor behind him. The soldiers were approaching, and the shadows of swords and knives were flashing.
Nangong Liu rushed over. "Shizun!"
When he saw Xu Shuanglin and Luo Fenghua talking, his heart suddenly felt weak. He immediately said anxiously, "Shizun, don't listen to him no matter what he says! He's lying to you! "
Xu Shuanglin laughed mischievously.
This elder brother of his was always so naive and cute.
Did he think that he would still bitterly pull on Luo Fenghua's clothes and explain the whole story, the cause and effect of the cause and effect? Not anymore.
For him, life was like a game of chess. Once a move was made, the previous hundreds of twists and turns in his heart were no longer important. The only thing that mattered was the result.
A person who had been killed was killed, and the blood that had been dyed was dyed.
He couldn't clear his name, and he didn't want to clear it for himself.
Luo Fenghua would never forgive him.
There was no need to say anything else.
He supported himself on a nearby tree and staggered to his feet.
The moonlight shone on his face. His skin and flesh split open inch by inch. It was bloody and hideous.
When Nangong Liu and the surrounding cultivators saw this, they couldn't help but take a step back. Someone misunderstood and said in astonishment, "This, this is Luo Daozhang's doing? Death by a thousand cuts … this is too cruel … "
Xu Shuanglin grinned, revealing a mouthful of ghastly white teeth.
He stared at his younger brother outside the forest. He suddenly felt that he didn't want to let this pair of master and disciple go so easily. Thereupon, he turned his head and said to Luo Fenghua, "Tell them to get lost. I have something that I want to tell you personally before I die. I only want to tell you this. "
He supported himself on the pine tree and slowly moved with Luo Fenghua to a dark place.
The moonlight was covered by the dense shadows. Xu Shuanglin's complexion gradually relaxed. His chapped skin also began to heal little by little. Although there were still many small scars, they weren't as scary as before.
Xu Shuanglin didn't turn his head. With his back facing Luo Fenghua, he first asked, "You came here alone with me. Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?"
"You won't."
"…"
"If you wanted to kill me or Ah Liu, you could have done it a year ago."
Xu Shuanglin suddenly turned his head. His eyes flashed with an intense and twisted light. "Ridiculous. Do you think you understand me very well?!"
Luo Fenghua suddenly looked at his face and opened his eyes wide. "Your scars …"
"They're not as scary as before, right?"
Xu Shuanglin sneered.
"What do you think this is? A spell? A fruit of dismemberment? "
He slowly raised his hand. In the palm of his hand, he pinched a ring that was flashing with a faint light. He put his lips together and said with ridicule and malice, "This ring has a spirit attached to it. When you and Nangong Liu drove me down from the position of Sect Leader, it fell from my thumb by itself. It knows that I'm no longer the rightful Master of the Confucian Wind Sect. However, there are two leaders who are scheming against each other, so it doesn't know who it should recognize. "
"You took Ah Liu's position, so naturally it should be returned to him."
Xu Shuanglin grinned. "That's exactly what I think."
He stuffed the ring into Luo Fenghua's hand. In the end, he even solemnly patted it twice and said, "Hold it well, hold it tight. In a moment, when you go out, give this good thing to him. Remember, you must personally put it on for him. He's the real Sect Leader of the Confucian Wind Sect. "
He paused for a moment and stared at Luo Fenghua's face, which was filled with pain.
Then he leaned over, lowered his voice, and said in his ear, "Next, I'm going to tell you a secret. Don't be afraid. This secret isn't dark at all. It's just a heroic past, that's all. "
Slowly, in a low voice, he subdued Nangong Zhangying. Then he told Luo Fenghua about how Luo Fenghua had cursed generations of Confucian Wind Sect's Sect Leaders in full detail. Full of malice, he dipped his teeth into poisonous fangs and pierced them into Luo Fenghua's flesh.
He saw Luo Fenghua's expression become more and more unsightly, his round eyes becoming wider and wider.
He saw Luo Fenghua being pushed against a tree, trembling slightly.
He felt extremely happy.
Ha.
Didn't you spoil him?
You … both of you, don't you all treat Nangong Liu as a treasure?
I want you to personally deliver the poison to him.
The corners of Xu Shuanglin's mouth slowly widened, and then he revealed a sinister and treacherous smile like a lynx. He raised his hand and stroked Luo Fenghua's cheek. "Shizun, the story is over. You can go out now. " He paused, and his expression became even brighter. "Go pay a visit to the Confucian Wind Sect's sixth generation Sect Leader — — Nangong Liu. Go."
That day, he was covered in blood. He flew away from the Confucian Wind Sect on his sword and wandered for half a night. Exhausted, he landed in Sichuan's Colorful Butterfly Town.
He came across a little girl sitting in the courtyard.
When the little girl saw he was injured and bleeding all over, she was so scared that her face turned pale and she trembled, but she still poured a bowl full of water from the house and gave it to him to drink. He drank the water and stared at her. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt that the little girl looked very similar to his close friend, his benevolent master, and his mortal enemy. Her eyes were very similar to Luo Fenghua's.
He saw the orange tree in the courtyard was full of fruit. Suddenly he had an idea and wanted to eat it very much. But the little girl's words were full of pedantic and sour stench. She opened her mouth and closed her mouth about a gentleman, which made him very tired. It was as if he could see that ridiculous thing Luo Fenghua really saying:
"I hope all of you will be young and weak for the rest of your life. Each of you will rely on your own merits to be a gentleman for the rest of your life."
A gentleman for the rest of his life.
… … It was really ridiculous.
He shook off the tangerines, cut down the orange tree, and then swaggered away, leaving the little girl crying in the courtyard. But he was still angry. That night he indiscriminately killed several more villagers. He raised his sword and cut them down. The more he moved away from the word 'gentleman', the happier he felt.
And then he left, intending to conceal his identity and end the rest of his life.
But it was at that time that he heard in the teahouse that Luo Fenghua had usurped the throne and become the first generation Sect Leader of the Confucian Wind Sect.
The customers in the teahouse were all saying, "Ay, who would have thought? It's really true that you can't judge a book by its cover."
"Poor Nangong Liu raised his army to plot a rebellion, who would have thought it would be a wedding dress for someone else."
"He must hate his Shifu to death, right?"
"This Luo Fenghua is really blinded by greed, his heart is gradually turning black. He is not a good person."
Xu Shuanglin was sitting in front of a small greasy table. He was holding a cup of tea that was about to reach his mouth, but he did not drink it. He just sat there listening to the conversation in a daze.
His vision was turning black. The earth was spinning and the sky was spinning.
But he had never thought that in the end, Luo Fenghua would make such a choice.
He would rather bear misunderstandings and hatred. He would rather be condemned by thousands and spurned by tens of thousands.
He would rather be cursed and live a life worse than death every full moon night until the end of his life.
Luo Fenghua could not personally stab this sharp sword into his disciple's heart.
In the end, he was one step behind.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps slowly sounded.
Xu Shuanglin broke away from his memories. He opened his eyes. In his blurred vision, the face of a young man appeared.
On the empty Soul-Summoning Platform, Mo Ran walked in front of him and half-knelt down, looking at him.
In that instant, Xu Shuanglin felt that this young man's eyes were very strange. There were too many things hidden in them. He did not seem like a young man in his early twenties.
Mo Ran said, "… Nangong Liu, you planned all of this to bring him back to life?"
"It's none of your business."
"You left Nangong Liu behind and resurrected Luo Fenghua. From now on, no one can enter this Jiao Mountain. You want to spend the rest of your life here in peace. Am I right?"
Xu Shuanglin shouted harshly, "It's none of your business!!"
Mo Ran picked up the broken spirit core on the ground. There was still light flowing in the core. He said, "You disguised yourself and returned to Nangong Liu's side as Xu Shuanglin. You instigated him to send troops to seize the throne again because you could not bear to see Luo Fenghua suffer the pain of the curse every night, living a life worse than death."
"What makes you think you can guess my heart?!" Xu Shuanglin's eyes were red. There was a moist and ruthless light in them. "You think you know everything?!"
"I don't. I can only guess, "Mo Ran said," but looking at your expression, I also feel that my guess is not wrong. "
Xu Shuanglin gritted his teeth and spat out, "The younger generation is arrogant."
"It's all the same. When you were twenty years old, didn't you also become arrogant?" Mo Ran looked at him calmly. "Nan Gongxu, that year you helped your elder brother regain the position of Supremacy, but you did not expect that he would be plotted against twice. In order to obtain the position of Supremacy, he was already ruthless. You did not expect that after he seized Luo Fenghua's position, he would cut the weeds and eliminate the roots and kill him. You did not expect his death at all. "
"Your mind was in chaos. You did not know what to do." He stared at Xu Shuanglin's face.
He understood that kind of state of despair better than anyone else.
He was reading Xu Shuanglin's heart. He was reading his own heart.
"What should you do in despair?"