It doesn't matter what the lord is.

After looking at the man for a while, she felt that his aura was a little similar to Anna's, but the man's face had been basically destroyed, his body was icy cold, and there was no breath at all.

Merlin thought he had seen it wrong, shook his head and continued walking inside.

When we got to the depths of the prison, there was no smell of blood and everything was very clean.

Soon, Merlin felt a warm breath unique to living people. He continued to walk inside, and soon he saw the flower-watching girl who was under house arrest.

The prison where the flower girl stayed was different from others. It was just like an ordinary girl's room, and there were blood-red flowers that were found from nowhere. The flower girl heard footsteps, raised her head from the chair, stared at Merlin in a daze, and then smiled softly.

She said to Merlin:

"You didn't bring any candied haws today." Merlin was stunned for a moment and replied: "I'll make it up to you next time."

When he was in Xiqin, Meilin had disguised himself as a big brother selling candied haws and tried every means to get close to the flower girl. Now, although Meilin had changed his clothes, the flower girl still recognized his identity accurately.

"There is an undercover agent in your army." The flower-watching girl said suddenly.

This was the message she had wanted to send, but it hadn't worked out at the time, and now she had finally said it. Merlin replied:

"That person is not an undercover agent, he was just affected. Don't worry... I care more about you than this. Merlin walked to the prison, sat cross-legged on the ground, put his staff aside, looked at the flower girl and asked: "Why are you locked up here?"

46. ​​He should be a cloud in the sky

—“Why did you tip them off?” —“Why are you here?”

The question that Mr. Ying had asked before was now asked again by Merlin in a different way to the girl who was looking at the flowers.

To Mr. Shadow, the flower girl only responded with four words, "I don't want to say". But when Merlin asked the question again, the flower girl fell into a long silence. She didn't seem to want to lie, nor did she want to perfunctorily answer the question, so after a slight sigh, the flower girl said to Merlin:

"I wanted to pass on the information I had to you, but failed. The big shots above are too smart. They watched my every move." The flower girl paused and continued:

"As for why I am doing this... First, my father and the Lord of Western Qin had agreed on some things, so we stayed in the Western Qin territory. But now, the Lord of Western Qin is gone, and my father and I don't have much affection for the new owner here. We are just continuing the previous agreement."

Merlin nodded.

Mr. Tingchao has stayed in the Xiqin territory for many years. It must be that the lord of Xiqin has promised him something.

From an outsider's objective point of view, the world has long been in turmoil. Qingyun died to protect the capital, and Gabriel died on the battlefield with the giants. Even if this was their own choice, the royal family and the spiritual warrior lord must have been influenced in this choice.

But Mr. Tingchao has been able to live a very comfortable life in Xiqin, which shows that the lord of Xiqin has never imposed his will on him or tried to influence his judgment by various means. Only in the territory of Xiqin can Mr. Tingchao maintain an absolute neutrality, which is an important guarantee for him to stay out of trouble and devote himself to his family.

So Mr. Tingchao will also do something for Xi Qin. At least he will not stand on the side of the enemies of the Xi Qin lord.

The girl who watches flowers has the same stance as her father, so in the past, when Merlin and Xiao Hei approached the girl who watches flowers, she rejected their request for cooperation.

But now, it is said that the Western Qin lord Ying Tong was stabbed in the chest by the Southern Chu lord Xiang Mu and died on the battlefield. The past agreement naturally became an empty talk. Tingchao and his daughter no longer need to stay in the Western Qin territory, and naturally there is no need to continue to favor the owner of this land.

This agreement has come to an end, and the tacit understanding that once existed will one day turn into mutual suspicion.

Merlin didn't say anything, because he knew that the "reason" the flower-watching girl said was just one of many reasons, and it wasn't even the most important one.

If that was all, she wouldn't have to risk her life. She could just wait for Mr. Tingchao to come back, repay all the favors, and then flee. No place would reject a great swordsman of the tenth level, and if the new god was smart enough, he would definitely not embarrass the father and daughter before the final battle with humans.

Sure enough, the girl who was watching the flowers lowered her eyes, looked at the ground, and the smile on her face gradually became a little sad.

She said to Merlin:

"My mother once told me that when my father was young, he was a knight who traveled the world with a sword. He once tamed the unruly snow sculptures in Tianyue Mountain and shot down the beasts that harmed people in Yunmeng Lake. He once traveled all over the world with a sword in his hand. Wherever he went, the bad guys were defeated, leaving only laughter and peace."

The girl looking at the flowers smiled, as if talking to herself:

"Later, he met my mother, and all he had in his eyes was tenderness for her. Later, I was born, and my father divided his love into two parts, one for my mother and one for me. He no longer used the name that was popular in the world, and he no longer ran around everywhere. As far as I can remember, my father often sat by the sea, watching the ebb and flow of the tide. He said that this kind of life was everything to him—"

The flower girl looked at Merlin, put away her smile, and said softly:

"Until almost all the people in the West Qin territory died. I once asked my father if he really didn't care. He said he didn't care, and I believed him. But after the [Awakening Day], my father looked at the desolate ruins of West Qin, and his expression was heavier than I imagined. At that time, an idea suddenly popped up in my head.

Dad actually cares about this matter, but for my sake, he has to make himself not care. "

Merlin sighed.

For Mr. Tingchao, there is probably nothing more important than family. In the past, he could give up his dream of traveling the world with a sword for his lover, and now he can naturally give up the opportunity to be a hero for his daughter.

Both the Western Qin Territory and the Abyss Church behind the Western Qin Territory are unimaginable behemoths for ordinary people.

Even if Mr. Tingchao has reached the tenth level, what about Miss Kanhua? Once he breaks his promise, there will be no safe place in the world. Compared to what to do in this chaotic environment, Mr. Tingchao chose to protect his family first like ordinary people, which is understandable.

Before becoming a hero, he was first and foremost a father, a father who gave all his love to his daughter.

Merlin took off the staff behind him and said to the girl watching the flowers:

"Anyway, I'll take you out first."

Merlin didn't seem to want to talk about this cruel topic, but the flower girl seemed not to hear him and continued:

....One day, I suddenly had an idea. If my father had not met my mother, would it be a good thing? Without my mother and me, maybe he could have fulfilled his dream when he was young and faced these things without any regrets. "

Merlin's eyes slowly widened.

The flower girl raised her head, and only then did Merlin realize that she looked weaker than he thought.

When they first met, Merlin just thought that she was frightened and her face was pale, but when the flower-watching girl said these words, Merlin suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

He pulled out a thin sword from his staff and quickly cut off the bars of the cell. The flower girl did not move, still looking at him quietly. Merlin reached out and touched the flower girl's forehead, and his heart suddenly turned cold.

The flower-watching girl's voice was very calm:

"When the jailers tortured the prisoners outside, they would use many violent methods, including many toxic drugs. When the jailers came to deliver food, I would use the excuse of playing with them and steal a little bit each time to hide it. Today I finally saved enough, but after eating it, I found that it was much more painful than I thought... Why can the people outside endure it for so long?"

Merlin opened his mouth and said to her:

"Why do you have to go to this extent?" The flower girl said to him:

"Brother Merlin, you came to me because you want me to convince Dad, right? But as long as I am alive, Dad will never be able to find his former self again. After Mom passed away, he gave all his love to me, but can I really accept it with peace of mind? This love should have belonged to many people in the world..."

The girl who was looking at the flowers pulled out the hairpin on her head, rubbed it gently, and then pierced her neck without any hesitation.

Her technique is very skillful, and one can see some foundation in kendo.

Then the flower girl placed the red hairpin* steadily in Merlin's hand and said to him:

"Tell my father that Mr. Ying imprisoned me according to the oracle, and I died in agony. You came a little too late and only brought back my hairpin. Oh, he probably won't believe it completely. Tell him that I have two things to say to him before I leave. One is to thank him for his selfless love for me and my mother, and the other is... It is said that father's love is like a mountain, but I... would rather he be a cloud in the sky, not a mountain on the ground..."

The flower girl's body fell forward and hit Merlin.

Merlin held the hairpin silently. After a long time, he carried the gradually losing temperature of the flower-watching girl on his back and walked out of the prison set up by Ying. On the same day, Mr. Tingchao was escorting the seriously injured Xiaobai and Huang Zhi back to the territory of Xiqin.

When he thought about seeing his well-behaved and sensible daughter soon, Mr. Tingchao smiled and was eager to go home.

47. Life is like the ocean

It was two days later when Merlin met Mr. Tingchao and told him the news of the flower-watching girl's death.

Mr. Tingchao stood there in a daze, silent at first, then took two deep breaths. He seemed to want to calm his restless and boiling blood with his sword energy, but soon bright red blood flowed out of his nostrils and ears. His eyes were wide open, full of bloodshot, making him look like an angry beast.

Merlin witnessed his expression change from shock to anger to indifference, and finally to an unfathomable exhaustion. This exhaustion was a natural reaction of the body. The excessive pain almost instantly overdrew his mental strength, and the body naturally gave rise to a kind of fatigue and numbness, hoping to give him a temporary rest. If it were someone else, this excessive exhaustion would probably make them faint directly, in order to escape the pain of losing their loved ones.

Mr. Tingchao's state at this moment was like a desperate man holding a bomb that could flatten everything. Happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy were all far away from him. From now on, all the good things in the world had nothing to do with him. Mr. Tingchao aged twenty years in an instant, but he did not have the loneliness that ordinary old people have.

Because he still holds that "bomb", which makes him look extremely dangerous.

The bomb is himself.

An old man lost his only child, and everyone who heard about it cried. A tiger lost its cub, and its roar shook the mountains and fields.

Mr. Tingchao's clothes fluttered, and a heavy sword energy suddenly surged from his body. At that moment, Merlin, who was also at the tenth level, had to take two steps back, feeling as if he was at the bottom of the sea, with the vast sea pressing down on him.

Mr. Tingchao took the hairpin from the stunned Merlin and inserted the bloody hairpin into his hair. "Where is my daughter buried?"

Mr. Tingchao opened his mouth, his hoarse voice was like two pieces of rough sandpaper grinding continuously. Merlin pointed in a direction and replied:

"After leaving the prison, I found a quiet place for her and built a small tombstone with stones. Logically, I should have waited for you to come back, but I didn't know when you would come back, so I could only send her off first."

Mr. Tingchao nodded and said, "Thank you."

Meilin thought about it and decided not to deceive Mr. Tingchao with the words that the flower-watching girl had said to "frame" Ying. Instead, he told him everything. The flower-watching girl had a good idea, but children's thinking is limited. Adults only care about interests. There is no need for Mr. Ying and Meijiu behind him to torture the flower-watching girl. This white lie does not work with Tingchao.

So Merlin told Mr. Tingchao the truth: All this was the choice of the clever little girl.

Mr. Tingchao could turn a blind eye to this catastrophe for the sake of his daughter, but Miss Kanhua, whom he protected, could not bear to see so many people die because of her. In the eyes of every child, parents are omnipotent heroes, and as Mr. Tingchao's daughter, Miss Kanhua believes this especially.

So the flower girl made this decision. It was her own idea and she did not discuss it with anyone.

It is for this reason that Mr. Tingchao feels even more helpless and desolate.

He walked in the direction Merlin pointed, feeling extremely painful in his heart, but his mind seemed to have never been so clear.

Warm memories of his time with his wife and daughter kept coming back to him. Things have changed, and everything has come to an end. When he was young, he traveled the world with a sharp sword, and the world was his home. Now, Mr. Tingchao has lived half his life, his hair is gray, and the only thing that accompanies him is still the sword at his waist.

Scenes of sweet smiles and happy families flashed by, and suddenly a rainstorm tore apart all the warm memories, and a loud voice like a huge bell rang in his mind:

"Isn't the sea like this? Sometimes it's windy and rainy with rough waves, and sometimes it's sunny and peaceful. What it is like never changes because of our likes and dislikes. Life is the same. Yesterday I was stealing water from the pig pen, today I made a fortune and invited guests to Zuixianlou, and tomorrow I am homeless because of bankruptcy..."

He met a fisherman in a rainstorm many years ago. The fisherman's boat was hit by a wave and almost sank into the sea with the boat and the man. The fisherman tried his best to reach the shore, but not only did his hard work for half a month go to waste, but he also lost the old boat that he had relied on for many years.

Tingchao pulled him out of the water. He thanked him, took out a cigarette that was wet by water, dried it, and started smoking it.

“This is all I have left…”

The damp, low-quality cigarettes gave off a pungent smell after being lit. The tobacco leaves that were not completely burned sizzled. The fisherman showed the cigarette in his hand to Tingchao, and his smile was quite helpless:

"For so many years, the sea has provided for my family. Now, it is finally taking it all back from me.

At that time, Mr. Tingchao thought he was optimistic. A few days later, when chatting with nearby villagers, he learned that he had thrown himself into the sea in the early morning of the next day and was eaten by fish. For many poor fishermen who bear high taxes, the boat is their life. Without the boat, they have no means of survival.

The sea itself will give birth to many poems and stories, but it also buries many dreams and lives. It has its romantic side, but buried under the deep water is an invisible darkness. Just like the old fisherman said, it will not change because of anyone's likes and dislikes, it just exists there, witnessing countless deaths and rebirths in countless days and nights.

In the many years after his marriage, Mr. Tingchao absorbed the sword spirit from the ebb and flow of the ocean, and learned it in form and spirit. But at that time he was happy and contented, so naturally he would not be as cold and ruthless as the ocean, which naturally made his sword spirit still a little far from the top.

Now, Mr. Tingchao let the cold wind blow over his body. His cheeks and arms were frozen and numb. The copper pieces on the hairpins collided lightly, making a crisp sound, which became extremely long in Mr. Tingchao's ears.

"I am finally like the sea."

Mr. Tingchao said softly, not knowing whether he was speaking to his deceased wife and daughter, or to his former self.

See all living things in despair. The sea and life were once compared to each other by the old fisherman, and now Mr. Tingchao finally understood. Life is like the sea, and there is no knowing what is going on. Mr. Tingchao raised his head and looked at the dark clouds above his head. He knew that he could no longer become a cloud.

Clouds accumulate to form water, and water gathers to form the sea. It no longer has the freedom and unrestrainedness of the past, but is silently accumulating strength and then bursting out.

Mr. Tingchao saw his daughter's grave. Everything around it was tidily arranged, with a small tombstone standing on the ground. He walked over there and gently stroked the soil in front of the grave, just like he had touched his daughter's warm and round cheek.

Mr. Tingchao put his sword on the ground, raised his head, and told the last story to his daughter who was sleeping in the ground.

He said that he did have some nostalgia for his heroic dream of traveling the world with a sword, but that nostalgia was nothing compared to the smiles of his wife and daughter. Even if he had to choose again, he would not hesitate to throw away his sword that night and write a poor love letter to the mother of the flower girl.

However, if this is what the flower-watching girl expects, then Mr. Tingchao will pick up a piece of the fragment of his dream and throw it into the sea, letting this small wish merge into the vast ocean.

After saying that, Mr. Tingchao drew his sword. He placed the scabbard in front of his daughter's tombstone, held the sharp sword, and left with a very calm expression. Every time he stepped down, it seemed to carry a great force, and the uncontrollable sword energy spread in all directions, like the sea rolling up circles of waves.

South of the sea of ​​clouds, huge waves piled up on the sea surface, as if echoing Mr. Tingchao's momentum.

48. True Genius

In the army formation of [Potian], the dusty Jiang Lianqing was listening to the report from his adjutant.

In fact, there was no need to report anything to her, Jiang Lianqing was already aware of the current situation. There was bad news everywhere.

The situation couldn't get any worse. If they weren't surrounded on all sides with no way to retreat, with the current casualties, even the powerful Potian Army would have collapsed long ago.

Despair was a dark cloud hanging over everyone's head. The soldiers didn't know whether there would be rescue from the outside world, and the supplies were almost exhausted. The strength of both sides was completely not on the same level. A large number of companions died every day, but the effective casualties caused were never enough to break through the opponent's defense line.

Mr. Ying did not make a move, but the average strength of those black-robed men was so strong that they did not even need any complicated formations. A simple group charge could tear through the defenses of the Potian army. If the Potian army was compared to a living person, then the black-robed army would be constantly chiseling wounds on this person, constantly bleeding him, making the Potian army increasingly weak.

To the men in black robes, this seemed to be the last step on their long ladder to godhood.

On the day of awakening, they climbed out on the corpses of countless people and became the chosen ones. They may not have heard the story of the old gods selecting the successors of the gods from the human world, but they are very clear about the changes in their bodies: after being chosen by Meijiu, changes occurred on their backs, and the flesh buds could break through the skin at any time and turn into snow-white wings.

At that time, a brand new halo will appear above their heads, and they will soar in the sky, looking down on the ants on the earth.

This one-sided slaughter seemed to confirm their guess. Facing the most elite human army, they were still able to suppress it with fewer people, which showed that they already had strong bodies. When they broke through the opponent's defense, those desperate and unwilling eyes also aroused their nerves, making their emotions, which had been almost extinguished, start to stir again.

I am the only one in the world, and I have no rivals in the world... All kinds of thoughts filled their minds, making them extremely excited. Whether they were officials, businessmen, powerful people, butchers, beggars, or refugees, they all felt superior at this moment. They were sure that they had become elites, and they were still climbing up.

This feeling was intoxicating, until a silver-white sword energy fell from the sky.

The sword energy rolled like a huge wave, instantly evaporating dozens of black-robed men. Only a pool of blood and an unfinished dream were left on the ground.

Time seemed to freeze on the battlefield. Both sides could feel the pressure of the earth-shattering sky. The soldiers fighting on the front line chose to stop fighting at the same time. Jiang Lianqing directed the flow of power in the army. She felt that this was like a raging wave hitting the protective embankment. The aftermath made her cough continuously, and a ball of red blood mist turned into a cloud in the wind. Jiang Lianqing reached out to take the handkerchief from the adjutant, wiped the blood while ordering the soldiers to remain on guard, feeling uneasy.

She didn't know who had swung the sword, but this kind of pressure that changed the world must be achieved by a person at the tenth level. Jiang Lianqing knew very well that she led her troops to fight here to buy time for Li De and others. If the masters of her own camp came to rescue her, it would be a loss for the overall battle situation.

Compared to Jiang Lianqing's uneasiness, Mr. Ying's emotions seemed more complicated.