The chivalrous spirit is fickle

Song Chao's pupils trembled as he looked at the words on the paper in his hand. His body shook uncontrollably, as if he was enveloped by boundless fear and pressed into a deep pool of despair. His face was covered with mud and sand, and he was so desperate that he couldn't breathe.

At this moment, a despair more terrifying than death enveloped Song Chao, turning him into the helpless child in the ruined temple in an instant.

"Impossible... Impossible... I looked for Qing'er, but she's dead. She can't be the Madam... Impossible."

Song Chao shouted loudly, but looking at the seal of Tsutenkaku on the paper, he recalled the meaningful smile on Shen Zhongyi's face when he said he wanted to find his sister.

An answer he was unwilling to admit had completely crushed his last hope.

"Shen Zhongyi has always known the truth, but he wants to see a good show, a show that is enough to drive you crazy."

"So, five years ago, you personally sent your niece Shen Qiu to Huiyin City and made her Shen Zhongyi's wife."

"Then, I watched her go crazy slowly in the torture."

"Sixteen years ago, your sister Song Qing became pregnant again, and you were sent back to Dengzhou to personally imprison your sister and your newborn niece, Shen Yue."

"Seven years ago, you tortured and killed your last sister, leaving your niece without a mother."

"You don't know it, but you did it yourself."

Song Chao stared at Shi Gu in a daze, his lips turning purple. At this moment, he recalled the tragic scene when Song Qing died.

At that time, he never thought that the stubborn woman in front of him was his last sister.

The pain, regret, and the guilt that was about to tear him apart left Song Chao speechless. He could only lie on the ground like a mad beast, hitting his head with his fists.

Shi Gu exhaled a breath of turbid air and said lightly,

"Shen Yue is about to wake up. Do you want her to see these things?"

"Let's do it."

"Or do you want your niece to know that the person you have hated all these years is your uncle, and let her know that it was your uncle who killed your mother."

Hearing this, Song Chao suddenly went crazy. He stuffed all the papers with words on them into his mouth and swallowed them down in big gulps. Blood mixed with tears went into his stomach.

The lights were dim, and Song Chao suddenly turned around. In his already blurred vision, he saw the three small shadows again. He smiled miserably, stretched out his hand, and dug out his own eyeballs, as if he was unwilling and dared not to look at the three figures again.

He did not use the sword that Shigu gave him, but instead used his hands madly, grabbing the corners of his mouth and tearing his face into pieces, with blood all over.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Fireworks were set off in the distance, one after another rising into the night sky. The bright light from their blooming flowers shone on Song Chao's body, but all that was left was a body that was unrecognizable and curled up into a ball.

Shi Gu took a look at the corpse and turned away.

Chapter 47: First Meeting

The fireworks were brilliant, gathering in the night sky, trailing bright tails of light as they fell toward the ground.

Shi Gu gently pushed open the gate and looked into the yard, only to see Dan Xiu alone standing in the yard under the moonlight. She looked up at the sky. The bright moonlight fell and reflected on her milky white neck, like a piece of warm white jade.

Dan Xiu had a lonely look in her eyes, staring blankly at the bright moon in the night sky, and she seemed unaware of Shi Gu's arrival. Seeing this, Shi Gu walked to Dan Xiu's side without saying a word and sat beside her.

After a moment, Dan Xiu withdrew his gaze, but did not look at Shi Gu, and spoke in a low voice.

"Little Moon won't wake up for a while, aren't you going to deal with the bodies outside?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Gu shook his head slightly and replied softly.

"No need for that. I have already arranged everything for Huang Che and the others. Someone will take care of the bodies."

"Besides, I have something extremely important to do now."

Dan Xiu lowered his eyes slightly, not interested in what Shi Gu said, and just asked casually subconsciously.

"What's so important?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shigu's hand quietly fell on Danxiu's head. Danxiu was stunned for a moment, then slapped Shigu's big hand away and said angrily.

"Do you take me for a child?"

Shi Gu looked normal, without any embarrassment, and spoke to Dan Xiu with a smile.

"Having a bad mood?"

Hearing this, Dan Xiu's eyes quickly dimmed. She turned her head, looked at the weeds in the distance, and spoke in a low voice.

"Not really, I just suddenly envy Little Moon a little bit."

"You can do so much for her, even willing to end your retirement."

"But my master... wants to kill me."

"She was once the person I trusted the most."

Upon hearing this, Shi Gu looked up at the sky. Looking at the bright moon in the night sky, a hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes, and he said for no reason.

"You know, my master is a stubborn and stupid person. She is not good at comforting others."

"He would just touch the other person's head with his hands, like he was coaxing a child."

"Every time she tries to comfort me in this way, I slap her hand away like you just did."

"Then she would get angry and grab anything she could get her hands on and chase me and beat me up, totally forgetting about comforting me."

Dan Xiu turned his head slightly, as if his curiosity was aroused by the story told by Shi Gu.

"Many years later, I asked her why she only comforted me in this clumsy way, and she told me... for her, that was her favorite way of comforting me."

"When she is sad, what she wants is someone who can touch her gently and comfort her softly, like her elder."

Shi Gu leaned over and picked up a weed, twisted it between his fingers, and whispered with nostalgia.

"She lived like a child, simple and pure, so I didn't learn from her how to comfort others."

"So, I will just do what she did, like an elder, and touch other people's heads."

"Many years later, I met a girl who didn't object to my clumsy way of comforting me, but she thought I should go a step further."

"She said if patting her head didn't work, then I could try hugging her, maybe that would make her happy."

Dan Xiu's eyes turned, with a hint of strangeness in them, and he took the initiative to ask for the first time tonight.

"And then, you hugged her?"

Shi Gu scratched his head, sighed, and said helplessly.

"I tried to give it a try, but she closed her eyes and leaned in before I could give her a hug."

"I'm not stupid. I understood as soon as I saw her look."

"That crazy bitch obviously wanted to take advantage of me, so I ran away. Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Dan Xiu rolled his eyes speechlessly and turned his head away again, not wanting to pay any more attention to Shi Gu, the man who was talking nonsense.

However, the moment she turned her head, Shi Gu's big hand fell again, stroking Dan Xiu's soft long hair. His fingers gently stroked her long hair, sending a faint warmth.

Dan Xiu's body trembled, but this time he did not slap Shi Gu's big hand away. He just pretended that he knew nothing.

Shi Gu pinched Dan Xiu's long hair, looked at Dan Xiu with gentle eyes, and spoke softly as he saw Dan Xiu refusing to turn his head.

"After all these years, I still don't know how to comfort others."

"Danxiu, can you teach me?"

Hearing this, Dan Xiu lowered her head slightly, her eyes flickering, and she refused to turn back again. She bit her lips lightly and spoke in a low voice.

"You... do you want to try the method that girl taught you?"

Shi Gu was startled when he heard this, then his face turned stern and he spoke with a strange look.

"That's easy... but you can't be like those people who turned against me and beat me up after I did it."

When Dan Xiu heard this, she frowned, turned around suddenly, opened her beautiful eyes wide, stared at Shi Gu, and asked loudly.

"From what you said, it seems like you have done something similar to other women before?!"

Shi Gu's face froze. Knowing he had said something wrong, he turned his eyes away awkwardly and said with a dry laugh.

"No, don't ask too much about this kind of thing. We are all children of the underworld, so why bother about such trivial matters."

Dan Xiu snorted coldly, glared at Shigu and said viciously.

"Beast!"

Shi Gu did not refute anything. Instead, he spread his hands out like a broken jar, shrugged slightly, and said helplessly.

"I've already told you, I'm not very good at comforting others."

"Not only did I get taken advantage of despite my good intentions, but I refused to admit it and even turned the tables on myself, calling me a beast."

"I really died unjustly."

Dan Xiu curled his lips, ignored Shi Gu's explanation, sat down again angrily, turned sideways, and never looked at Shi Gu again.

The loneliness and sadness that were originally evoked disappeared completely after Shigu's "comfort", leaving only the inexplicable anger and the unspeakable jealousy hidden deep in his heart.

After a long time, Dan Xiu finally stopped being angry, turned his back to Shi Gu, and asked softly.

"Shigu, I want to ask you something, and you are not allowed to make jokes."

Upon hearing this, Shi Gu sat up straight and asked softly.

"Ask me. I'll try not to make jokes."

Dan Xiu turned around slightly, his eyes dodging, his chest heaving, and after hesitating for a long time, he stammered and asked.

"You...what were you thinking when you first saw me?"

Shi Gu was stunned when he heard this, but his mind involuntarily recalled the scene when he first met Dan Xiu.

In the heavy snow, a stunning woman stood under a dead tree. She suddenly turned around and looked at herself. Her smile was as beautiful as a flower, and she and the world were connected into a scene that was unforgettable.

Shi Gu came back to his senses, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he said with a smile on his face.

"I was thinking... this girl's body is really white, wow."

Bang! As soon as Shi Gu finished speaking, he was hit on the shoulder by Dan Xiu's fist, but the punch was weak and powerless. Then Dan Xiu turned around and ran away with a red face. He ran back to the house and closed the door tightly, as if he was afraid that Shi Gu would catch up with him.

Chapter 48: Lies (I)

A few days later, a dusty woman, carrying a thick package, came to Qingcheng, which was built on the mountain.

Qingcheng is a mountain city of medium size. Unlike ordinary cities, Qingcheng is built among the mountains and is surrounded by dense woods. It is airtight and has only one narrow path.

But at the same time, there is a big river, which, like a magic work of nature, goes straight through countless mountains and flows through Qingcheng.

The Qingshui River flows from west to east all the way to the East China Sea, passing through countless large cities. It is a golden waterway, which is why people built a city in this remote place.

Jiang Baizhi, who was exhausted from the journey, walked down from the ship carrying a package on her back. She stood on the dock, looked around Qingcheng surrounded by mountains and forests, and let out a long sigh.

"It's finally here."

Jiang Baizhi had a very difficult journey to Qingcheng. She had already booked a boat and was waiting for the departure date, but she did not expect that after she left Tongtian Tower, Tongtian Tower released a shocking piece of information.

Several valuable treasures that had been lost in the martial arts world for many years were found to be in Zong Ming Mansion in Huiyin City.

For a time, the martial arts world was in turmoil, and sects of all sizes gathered towards Huiyin City. The originally spacious waterway suddenly became crowded.

The boat that Jiang Baizhi booked was snatched away by another sect at a high price. She couldn't compete with the other party's financial resources, so she had to give up and wait until the storm was over before setting off for Qingcheng.

For several days in a row, Zongming Mansion was caught up in this turmoil, and not only was it in a miserable state, but there were also reports that the leader of Zongming Mansion, Shen Zhongyi, had been seriously injured and his realm had fallen, leaving him only with the strength of a fourth-grade martial artist.

After this news spread, some small sects that were originally wary of Shen Zhongyi also took action, thinking that if they couldn't get the meat, they would at least have a taste of the soup.

As a result, Zongming Mansion became more and more lively, and some people in the martial arts world had already asserted that the Zongming Mansion sect would not survive for more than five years.

It was in this chaotic situation that Jiang Baizhi's plans were disrupted again and again, until today when she finally arrived in Qingcheng.

After placing her luggage at the inn, Jiang Baizhi rode away on horseback, taking her notebook with her and began to inquire around the city. She first went to a teahouse and booked a private room.

When the waiter came to the private room where Jiang Baizhi was, carrying the teapot, Jiang Baizhi placed a copper coin on the table and gently pushed it over.

The waiter saw this, grinned foolishly, took the coin, and poured tea while secretly looking at Jiang Baizhi.

Jiang Baizhi has fair skin, but a heroic look on her face, without any sense of weakness. Her long hair is simply tied up, making her look quite capable.

"Sir, you are from another place, right? If you want to know something, I will tell you everything I know."

Jiang Baizhi spread out the blank book she brought with her, picked up the pen, and asked lightly.

"Qingcheng Shigu, do you know this person?"