After leading He Zhizhou out of the Criminal Court, Tian Xianzi brought his disciples to the City Lord's Mansion.

Luan City is well-known for its affluence and extravagance, and the City Lord's Mansion is naturally full of extravagance and splendor. Looking around, even in the seams of every floor, there are four words written:

I am very rich.

Although Galan City, which Ning Ning had visited before, was also an important commercial place, it was buried in water and remained silent for so many years. In addition, the City Lord's Mansion is mainly elegant and restrained, and its temperament is completely different from this place.

Passing through the magnificent main gate, and then passing through the long corridor shaded by high walls and brightly lit, amidst the noisy laughter and piano music, we arrived at the front yard used for welcoming guests and holding banquets.

"Elder Tianxian! Sorry for not welcoming you in advance, sorry for not welcoming you in advance!"

As the servant who led the way stepped back, a young man in gorgeous clothes came forward to greet them. He glanced at Ning Ning and the others and laughed loudly, "The disciples of the Xuanxu Sword Sect are all young talents. I believe that your sect will be able to defeat the rest this year."

Tianxianzi laughed heartily, "Thank you, City Lord, for your good words."

After he finished speaking, he looked up at the woman in red behind the young man, "This must be the City Lord's wife, right?"

The City Lord turned aside and said in a gentle voice, "Come, Luan Niang."

The woman was standing in the shadow of the high wall, and most of her figure was blocked by the young man. It was not until she slowly stepped forward after Tianxianzi's inquiry that Ning Ning finally saw what she looked like.

She was born extremely beautiful, with charming peach blossom eyes embedded with amber pupils, like ice water melted on a snowy mountain, although it was shimmering and charming, it was cold and cold, without much warmth belonging to a living person.

The red skirt was woven from dragon silk and cloud brocade. The dragon silk was thin as mist, and the brocade was gorgeous like smoke. The two intertwined to form a picture of thin mist and smoke with clusters of flower shadows, which made her figure swaying and beautiful.

Ningning did her homework before coming to Luan City. The city lord's surname was Luo and his name was Yuanming. He was a genius talisman cultivator of Yuan Ying's high level.

He had a previous wife, who was said to be a sickly young lady from an official family. Not long after giving birth, she died of a serious illness.

The current city lord's wife is called Luan Niang. She was sold to the red-light district when she was young and has long since abandoned her original name.

One is a famous city lord, and the other is a lowly dancer. These two people should not have any intersection, but Luo Yuanming fell in love with her at first sight at a banquet.

This romantic story was sung by the people in the city, and more than ten versions of the love story between the two were written, each more tortuous and bizarre than the other, and each more ambiguous and fragrant than the other.

Even the city lord's mother, who had passed away many years ago, was lucky enough to be resurrected in the storybook, and directly gave the heroine Luan Niang a bunch of banknotes: "Five million spirit stones, leave my son alone."

In terms of the degree of absurdity, Prince Yan would cry when he saw it. But it can also be seen from this that regardless of ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, the enthusiasm of the people to eat melons and eat CPs is always the same.

Luan Niang had a cold face, but when she heard Luo Yuanming's voice, her expression relaxed slightly and she showed a faint smile.

She was a dancer, and her posture was charming and affectionate when she walked, and her skirt swayed, and the brocade was shining under the long-burning lamp, which was beautiful.

Tian Xianzi exchanged a few simple greetings with the couple, and then led everyone into the banquet.

The front yard of the City Lord's Mansion was incredibly spacious, with tables set out in order, filled with all kinds of cakes and dishes. Ningning had the best relationship with the eldest senior sister, so she walked side by side with Zheng Weiqi. In the interweaving of light and shadow, she saw several familiar faces.

The young master Mingkong from the Fanyin Temple was still surrounded by a large group of people in the center, talking about great principles that he himself could not understand and had memorized from the Buddhist scriptures.

A group of people around him pretended to understand and nodded in agreement. If anyone asked a question, they would receive a lot of pitiful looks that said "it can only be understood but not expressed in words."

The Wanjian Sect arrived here early, and several of them started fighting with Liumingshan over a disagreement. A servant from the City Lord's Mansion curled up in a corner, holding a small notebook in his hand, recording the number of spiritual stones that needed to be compensated.

According to the onlookers, when Liumingshan was tasting snacks, he criticized the sweet tofu pudding and praised the salty tofu pudding. The Wanjian Sect disciples heard it and argued with them. After a fierce verbal battle, they finally drew their swords and took out talismans to fight.

And that's it -

Ningning's eyes stayed on a sharp-edged profile in the crowd, and she was slightly stunned.

It was a tall and thin young man, with a breathtaking red at the corners of his eyes. He seemed to notice her gaze and turned around without saying a word.

It turned out to be the young lord of Jialan City, Jiang Si.

Jiang Si had been sleeping for several years, and after waking up, he looked like he had not recovered from a serious illness. However, his sickly body could not stop the endless domineering spirit in his body. After seeing Ning Ning and Zheng Weiqi,

he sneered: "Heh, woman." Zheng Weiqi's face wrinkled consciously: "Tsk, idiot."

After saying that, she thought for a moment and whispered to Ning Ning: "Little sister, have you seen that sucker? Let me teach you how to do business."

Seeing Zheng Weiqi staring at him without blinking, Jiang Si coughed lightly a few times with an expressionless face, and a barely perceptible smile flashed across his eyes.

The woman was indeed deeply in love with him. When she saw him, she walked towards him without hesitation with her fellow apprentice.

It was a pity that he was heartless and destined to not be able to give her a future.

"Young City Lord."

Zheng Weiqi took a few steps forward and approached him, with a faint smile on her lips: "Why are you here?"

Jiang Si responded coldly: "Jialan and Luancheng have been friends for generations, and now is the time for the Ten Dharma Assembly, so I came here to celebrate."

He paused, and then coughed lightly, "You want to participate in the Dharma Assembly? Hmm?"

The "hmm" at the end of the sentence was the result of what he learned from the storybooks -

Jiang Si knew that he could not keep up with the changes of the times, so before saying goodbye to the people of Xuanxu Sword Sect, he specially found Zheng Weiqi and bought a lot of storybooks. After studying hard day and night, he summarized the typical behaviors of men today.

For example, he is cold and aloof, and likes to use the word "woman". This is exactly the same as many years ago, there is nothing to say.

For example, the most common expressions are "raising eyebrows", "smiling evilly" and "licking back teeth", and no matter what they do, they are all "lightly".

Another example is that they always add a "hmm" at the end of the sentence, and they must use a very "deep and mellow" voice, with a slightly questioning tone.

Jiang Si pondered for a long time and felt that it should be similar to the feeling of a buffalo mooing, after all, they are all low monosyllables.

In addition, he also learned many new sentences that he had never heard before. But even someone as mentally strong as Jiang Si could not accept himself pushing a woman against the wall, saying with red eyes like someone with conjunctivitis: "Call me Young City Lord, and I'll give you my life."

Or hugging someone tightly, "as if he wanted to embed her into every inch of flesh and blood in his body."

It was terrifying, just like reading a strange story novel. He still wanted to live well and did not want to die young.

"Have you finished reading the previous storybooks?"

Zheng Weiqi smiled familiarly, "I have some new stuff here, I wonder if the Young City Lord is interested?"

Jiang Si was silent for a moment.

When he first read those love novels, he was so absorbed in them that the demons in the city were quite curious about this, and the streets were filled with conversations like this:

"The young city lord has not shown up for many days. I wonder what he is doing in his mansion?"

"I heard he is reading."

"Reading? Is he reading strategies for governing the city, or practicing peerless martial arts?"

"...I heard they are "The Crazy Favor of the Overbearing Master", "Refusal to Marry into a Rich Family: The Little Wife's 33 Days of Escape from Love", and "This Meng Zhu Obviously Loves Me Very Much But Is Too Stuffy"."

"..."

"..."

Within a day, the whole city was saying that the young city lord had a girlish heart and read love novels so much that he forgot to eat and sleep.

Later, the story became more and more outrageous, and it changed from "mostly stories about the elders of Xuanxu Sword Sect" to "Which one does the young city lord love the most, Tianxianzi or Zhenxiao Sword Master, or both?"

Just because the number of stories about these two people is the largest among all people.

It is very cause and effect, reasonable and well-founded, and there is no way to deny it.

Jiang Si wanted to refuse, but Zheng Weiqi continued: "Young City Lord, I have two books on hand, both with you as the male protagonist. The supply is in short supply, so if you want to buy them, you'd better hurry up."

Her words were true. Ever since the incident in Jialan City became known to the world, Young City Lord Jiang Si was said to be a gentleman with a clear mind and deep thoughts. His popularity has soared, and countless fan stories appeared overnight, and they were sold very happily.

Jiang Si was stunned when he heard this. After a mental struggle, he looked a little depressed and said: "How much?"

Zheng Weiqi pointed a number with her fingers: "One thousand spirit stones."

Jiang Si sneered again.

Although he is an old antique, his brain is not rusty yet. A book costs a thousand spirit stones, so this woman might as well go and grab it: "Too expensive, I can only give you five hundred at most."

Zheng Weiqi shook her head: "One thousand."

Jiang Si was determined: "Five hundred."

Zheng Weiqi: "One thousand."

Jiang Si: "Five

hundred." "Five hundred ."

"One thousand."

Jiang Si: ...

He was thinking about singing a different tune from the other party, but he didn't expect that she would lead him into a dead end, using this inertia of thinking to kill him directly.

Zheng Weiqi tried hard to hold back her laughter and handed him a copy of "The City Lord is Too Difficult to Pess: The Cute Baby is Three and a Half Years Old".

This title was too shocking and unconventional, and Jiang Si felt cold on his back when he saw it, and almost sued the author directly to the Criminal Court.

When he took it with trembling hands, he heard Zheng Weiqi say, "I have another one here, also for one thousand spirit stones, do you want it?"

Jiang Si suppressed the pain of being cheated by unscrupulous merchants, and replied expressionlessly, "Five hundred."

Zheng Weiqi still said in the same tone as before, "One thousand."

The young city lord of Galan City frowned, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.

The same trick will not work twice. This woman actually wants to use the same routine, which is too contemptuous of his mind.

Jiang Si answered quickly, "Five hundred."

"One thousand."

"Five hundred."

Another round of bidding with almost no pause. When Zheng Weiqi started to read out the next number, Jiang Si concentrated and held his breath, his pupils shrank.

——Now!

The number she just said was not one thousand!

According to the previous routine, he had already guessed that Zheng Weiqi would modify the price during a quotation.

At that time, he must not follow his inertia and deliberately go against the woman's words, but should follow her words and read out the same number without hesitation.

That is -

Jiang Si spoke with full energy, word by word: "One thousand five hundred!"

Silence is the Cambridge tonight.

In the lively feast, there is suddenly a sad person.

His own voice echoed in his ears, Jiang Si raised his head with a blank face, and faced Zheng Weiqi's smiling face.

She just... said one thousand five hundred?

Not five hundred?

Haha, it turns out that it is not a repetition of the old trick, but another trap for him to jump into.

- So why don't you play by the rules! Is it fun to bully an antique man who knows nothing? Huh? Is it fun?

This vicious woman!

Even if she gets his money, she can't get his heart!

"As expected of the young city lord, you are generous when you act."

Zheng Weiqi shook her head and took out another booklet from the storage bag and handed it to him; Jiang Si took it in a trance like a sculpture.

Looking down, it was "My Genius Husband".

Killing people and destroying their hearts, every word was really mocking his stupidity and fragility. Zheng Weiqi definitely did it on purpose.

Jiang Si felt that he couldn't breathe smoothly and almost vomited blood: "Woman...you are challenging my limits."

Zheng Weiqi smiled politely and accepted the IQ tax he handed over: "It's okay, this doesn't mean it's unsuccessful? There is a long way to go, we can continue."

Jiang Si tried to breathe in and out to avoid being mad at her.

Zheng Weiqi took the money, and then happily said goodbye to this sucker, and walked to the other side of the banquet with her little sister in her arms.

Ning Ning was amused by her ferocious actions and laughed continuously. During the conversation, she did not notice the hidden gazes in the crowd.

"I saw her, the girl from Xuanxu Sword Sect."

A charming girl sat on the rockery and smiled at the red-dressed boy leaning against the mountain: "Rong Ci, we were fooled by her last time. This time we can finally have a fair fight... Let's make a deal, whoever catches it first gets it, and the other person is not allowed to snatch it."

Rong Ci retracted his gaze and said with a lazy smile: "Of course."

"Oh my..." Her eyes fell on the black-clothed boy holding a sword in the corner of the banquet. The girl covered her lips and chuckled, her voice as sweet as honey: "Is that Miss Ningning's junior brother? We were watching her talking just now, and he glared at us fiercely."

As she spoke, she wrapped her hair around her green index finger, and a cold light flashed in her eyes like a predator hunting: "He looks pretty good, maybe he is an interesting person...right?"

On the other side, the Wanjian Sect.

Xu Ye looked at his senior sister in fear and shock: "Senior sister, you have been grinning for a whole half an hour, more than the total time you laughed in the first half of the year - do you have a cramp in your mouth?"

"You don't understand."

Su Qinghan held the long sword at his waist, stopping the sword's constant buzzing due to excitement: "The Ten Dharma Conference is a place for people to make friends through martial arts. Elite disciples from all major sects gather here. Don't you want to spar with them?"

Xu Ye was timid and answered with a stiff upper lip: "Maybe... I do."

Glancing at the purple-shirted girl in the crowd, Su Qinghan frowned slightly: "Junior Sister Ningning's performance in Xiaochong Mountain was quite impressive. In this trial, there will definitely be many people who challenge her."

Thinking of Ningning's struggle with Niguan Island and Haoran Sect, Xu Ye nodded consciously: "That's true. Ningning must be in danger this time - Senior Sister, do you want to help her?"

"Help her?"

Su Qinghan chuckled, with a determined look in his eyes: "I will be the first to defeat her."

=====

The scenery of Luancheng is just right, and the combination of fine wine and delicious food makes people linger. If it weren't for a sudden sound in her ears, Ningning would be willing to call tonight "an unparalleled night."

However, when that voice appeared, it went from "an unparalleled night" to "the source of many troubles" in an instant.

"My dear friends, I am Luo Yuanming, the Lord of Luan City. After some discussion among the elders, it has been decided to open the Secret Realm of Trial tonight, which is the first round of competition in the Ten Dharma Conference."

Ning Ning listened carefully while looking up and meeting Zheng Weiqi's eyes. It was obvious that the latter had also received the same secret message.

"Before the first round of competition, everyone will receive a special token. Once you enter the secret realm at Jiuyou Mountain, you can challenge others at will and snatch their tokens."

The voice continued, "Traps, schemes, and collective cooperation are not prohibited. If the number of tokens in someone's hand reaches zero, they will be forced to leave the secret realm immediately; if the number of tokens in someone's hand is counted down at the end of the trial, they will also be eliminated."

"The trial will last for three days in total, and there are many adventures waiting for you to discover in the secret realm. So-" "

The flying boat will arrive at the City Lord's Mansion immediately and will take you to Jiuyou Mountain. Please be prepared." As soon as

these words came out, the whole room burst into laughter.

Not only did the Dharma Assembly have the rule of competing for tokens, but it was also the first time it was announced during a banquet, which was like a blow to the head. Many people were not fully prepared, and they were all extremely anxious after hearing this, not knowing what to do.

And just as Luo Yuanming said, within half an incense stick of time after he finished speaking, several flying boats arrived as scheduled, breaking through the thick clouds like cotton wool over the city lord's mansion.

Just like a surprise exam, all the teachers in the world are really the same.

"The number of tokens cannot be counted down..."

Zheng Weiqi smiled helplessly: "Isn't this clearly encouraging everyone to kill each other? Those elders are really getting more and more disgusting every year."

She is a sword cultivator in the Yuan Infant period, and the trial secret realm is vast. In order to ensure fairness, she will naturally not be in the same place with Ningning, who is in the Golden Core stage.

After a brief thought, he told her with some concern: "I heard that Junior Sister performed well in Xiaochong Mountain, and she might get into trouble because of this. Remember to act cautiously and try to meet up with other people in the sect."

Ning Ning nodded obediently.

The flying boat was suspended in the air with a majestic sound, and a long staircase with several steps winding down was lowered.

The elders were probably watching the show secretly somewhere, and no one was seen from beginning to end. The disciples were happy and sad, and they boarded the boat one by one.

Among all the people in Xuanxu Sword Sect, He Zhizhou, who took the opportunity to eat and drink, was the last to board. He ate too much and couldn't sit, so he could only stand at the door of the flying boat with his waist supported, and leaned his head out to look down.

As the flying boat slowly ascended into the air, the people and objects on the ground became smaller and smaller, and more and more blurred.

The outlines of the houses were already submerged in the night, and the myriad lights were clustered together, swaying in the wind, like dots of colored ink smeared on pure black paper. People's faces also became unclear, half swallowed by the darkness, and the other half hidden in the firelight.

When looking around, He Zhizhou saw the elders of the Xuanxu Sword Sect in the attic at a glance. As if their eyes collided with his, they raised their arms and waved.

He Zhizhou was moved.

The cabbage field turned yellow, and he lost his mother when he was two or three years old. His master Li Wangsheng was away from home all year round, and would only occasionally send back a bunch of sword manuals and precious spiritual plants. If it weren't for the care and support of his uncles and uncles, he might have fallen into such a miserable state.

This time when he was arrested and taken to the Criminal Court, it was Tianxianzi who rushed there at the first opportunity and took him out of that hellhole. This kindness will never be forgotten, and he will never let his uncle down.

"Dear uncles and uncles--"

He Zhizhou shouted at the top of his voice: "Don't worry, I will definitely pass this test!"

Tianxianzi opened his mouth, probably saying something to him. Unfortunately, the distance between the two was too far, and He Zhizhou could only see the other person's mouth open, but couldn't hear a single sound, just like watching a silent movie.

But after thinking about it, what else can the teacher say before the game? Nothing more than some words to cheer him up.

Thinking of this, He Zhizhou became even more passionate and shouted loudly: "Uncle Tianxian! Don't worry, I won't let you down--"

The word "hope" was blocked back in his throat before it came out.

To be precise, it was squeezed back in his throat.

- When He Zhizhou was looking out and feeling moved, the door of the flying boat was closed quietly.

It turned out that the uncles and uncles were not waving goodbye.

Instead, he desperately signaled to him: "Pull your head back quickly! Otherwise, it will be caught in the door soon!"

He Zhizhou had no expression on his face. He stood in the flying boat in a daze, with only his head squeezed out of the door, unable to move.

The evening breeze blew his unruly black hair, and in his hazy vision, he happened to meet the surprised eyes of a family of three in the high-rise building.

The flying boat, the night sky, the fire, and the head hanging at the door.

A piercing scream cut through the night sky.

He Zhizhou: ...

Listen to his explanation! He is a handsome swordsman with a good character and a romantic temperament. He is really not a head embedded in the crack of the door!!!

However, before he could show a friendly smile to the family, he noticed that someone behind him was randomly grabbing his hair.

Then there was a pat on the back.

Ning Ning's voice was very clear: "Senior sister, what are you doing? Don't bully Senior Brother He."

Zheng Weiqi said righteously: "It's obviously you who hit him, and you want to put the blame on me!"

Most of the people in this flying boat are disciples of Xuanxu Sword Sect, and they laughed when they saw this scene. Many of the fellow disciples who have a good relationship with He Zhizhou followed suit, touching and shaking each other.

Unfortunately, his head was locked outside and he could only hear a buzzing sound behind him. He had no idea who was doing it and could only struggle desperately with a distorted face: "Stop it! You bastards!"

Ning Ning stood in the flying boat, and within his sight was only half of his body, which was hunched over like a 90-year-old man. The scene was so funny that she couldn't help laughing. Suddenly, she heard He Zhizhou shout, "Oops!"

She still had some conscience, so she asked, "What happened?"

He Zhizhou seemed to find it embarrassing, and his voice became much softer, and it took careful listening to hear it clearly: "... I seem to be watched by a lot of people below. A lot of people."

His third junior brother, who studied with him under Li Wangsheng, laughed heartlessly: "What's so good about this? It's just a head hanging on a flying boat--"

Wait.

This is a head hanging on a flying boat!!!

Imagine that on a day of bright fireworks and city celebration, you and your wife are eating hot pot and singing songs, and as soon as you look up, you see a weird hanging human head outside the window -

this is too scary!!!

"Brother He, calm down!"

The scene was in chaos. For the physical and mental health of the people of Luancheng, no one dared to continue to torture him. The young disciples all looked serious and gave their suggestions at the same time: "You must keep smiling, and your expression must not be too gloomy, otherwise it will scare the children!"

Ningning agreed: "That's right. Use your smile to tell everyone that you are not a head hung on the door, but your head just happened to be caught in the door."

So on the night of the Ten Dharma Assembly Banquet, fireworks were set off when the flying boat took off, and many people in Luancheng leaned against the window to look, wanting to admire the charm of the immortal gate.

The flying boat floated in the air, the lights and shadows blended together, and the child, who was ignorant of the world, opened his eyes and asked curiously: "Mom, what is the big boat flying in the sky?"

"That is the flying boat of the Ten Dharma Association. The flying boat is full of the most outstanding disciples from various sects. If you want to board the boat, you must practice hard, and in the future--"

The woman leaned on the high building. Before she could finish her words, she took a breath of cold air and her back began to tremble involuntarily.

——On the door of one of the flying boats, there was a head with a hideous face and a miserable face!

A firework exploded.

The head had a blank look and a trance. It accidentally collided with the eyes of the family of three, and actually grinned stiffly, with an awkward but polite dry smile.

This was scary enough.

Unexpectedly, this smile was fleeting. In the blink of an eye, the head suddenly changed its color.

It was seen crying and laughing, shaking non-stop, and no one knew what it was saying with its mouth wide open. Only a hideous and terrifying face was particularly clear in the firelight, deeply engraved in everyone's memory.

As the flying boat slowly moved forward, more and more people saw it.

The head of the unknown person was twitching with a grin, as if in extreme pain, the eyeballs rolled around, the cheeks wrinkled into a ball, and the mouth silently cursed, perhaps to accuse the injustice it suffered in its life.

The children in the high-rise building cried in unison, and the crying was continuous and endless.

Suddenly, someone shouted as if he had suddenly realized something: "I remember now! Isn't that the disciple of Xuanxu sect who caused chaos in the streets today and was locked up in the Criminal Court?!"

A single stone caused a thousand ripples.

Someone trembled and continued, "I heard that he was taken away by the elders of the sect. Could it be that the Xuanxu Sword Sect punished him by...! He is indeed a cultivator. He is still alive even after all this!" "

Why is the Xuanxu Sword Sect like that!"

A woman trembled and screamed, "He just made a small mistake. Why did they chop off his head and hang it on the flying boat for everyone to see! What kind of iron heart does this sect have? It really makes people unable to rest in peace even after death!"

The head swayed in the air with the wind, gradually moving away in the twilight, and was not taken down until the flying boat left.

And its expression gradually softened, and finally closed its eyes, turning into a smiling face full of Buddha nature. So peaceful, as if he was liberated before his death.

After struggling for so long in the face of death, the disciple finally closed his eyes slowly.

The people in the city did not sleep all night. The news that the Xuanxu Sword Sect killed a disciple and hung him on the flying boat spread from one person to another. Many people spontaneously offered wreaths and paper money for the poor man and burned them on the bank of the Cangjiang River.

The scene was so shocking and the impact was so great that history said, "We still don't know the name of the head we saw that day."

The elders of Xuanxu Sword Sect would never have thought that after that night, the way parents in Luancheng scared their children changed completely, from "Cry again? Cry again and Aunt Tiger will come and take you away" to "

Cry again? Cry again and I will send you to Xuanxu Sect!"

Needless to say, the effect was obviously much better.