"It's over, it's over! I told you, in the end, Fan Zhong will definitely win!"

In the attic of the City Lord's Mansion of Luan City,

the fireworks had already disappeared, and the night had returned to its former silence. The ever-burning lamp and the moon climbed up the window eaves together, quietly flowing into the beautifully decorated Qiong Tower, illuminating the faces of the elders of the major sects present.

Tian Xianzi clapped his hands in approval, smiling like a silly child who finally got his pocket money, and tapped the table lightly with his knuckles: "Come on, come on, admit defeat, and those who guessed wrong put the spirit stones on the table!"

Although Mayoi had a cold face all the time, he actually gave face to his junior fellow apprentice. He put his right hand on the jade table, and a lot of spirit stones fell.

He is a true swordsman, and he devotes himself to the sword. Therefore, he firmly believes that money is just a thing outside of his body. He almost never spends money on weekdays, and once he spends money, he spends it as if it were water.

"I put these music cultivators together, isn't it good?"

As the head of the Xuanxu Sword Sect, Ji Yunkai naturally has the right to release it. After watching such a good show, his arms and legs were shaking with excitement: "I knew that all music cultivators were extraordinary, they are talented!"

The leader of Paramount was quite dissatisfied: "Musical instruments are half the life of music cultivators, how can they be used to beat people? If you are so violent, you might as well become a sword cultivator."

Tianxianzi and Ji Yunkai said in unison: "Thank you for the compliment, leader!"

... In fact, they didn't mean to praise you sword cultivators.

"I thought Suona would definitely take the top spot."

Watching his own disciple being hammered, He Xiaochen, the head of Liuming Mountain, sighed, "You don't know, I and several elders in the sect used to love to go for a walk on the mountain where Le Xiu was. The scenery was beautiful and the music was even more beautiful. It was a place to cultivate our sentiments. Until this girl came out of nowhere, she was so good that the suona sounded and all the pianos and flutes were out of tune because of her."

The more he spoke, the more he admired her: "Since then, there has been a large-scale ensemble led by Suona on that mountain every day. Once a foreign guest came to visit and was startled by the sound. He asked me tremblingly who died in Liuming Mountain to have such a large funeral procession."

"It's a pity for the young man who played the flute. He looked like he had seen a ghost."

The Great Elder of Haoran Sect couldn't bear to watch and sighed: "Master Ji, there's no need to be so murderous to force a normal person into the melee."

"It's for the coexistence of diversity."

Ji Yunkai laughed out loud, his childish eyes were like two round black pearls, shining slightly under the light: "Didn't the elder pick a few enemies who were notoriously incompatible and put them together?"

Tianxianzi immediately became interested when he heard this: "Yes, yes, yes! How did that guy fight? Did I win the bet I placed?"

=====

The elders were enjoying the show. Different from the happy and cheerful atmosphere in the attic, the secret trial realm was much quieter and more depressing.

At least that was the case for Ningning.

The monk used the bell pestle with the momentum of a mace, and when the man and the woman were knocked unconscious, he searched for the token from them, without any sense of the intimacy between men and women.

Later, he even got tired of searching and directly grabbed the ankle of the woman in green and hung her upside down, shaking her like a sieve until the token fell out.

This was no longer the level of "not knowing how to be kind to women", it was simply a cruel act of destroying flowers and a cruel and inhumane act.

After the token was picked up by the monk, the two music cultivators were forcibly moved out of the secret realm. It was a movie about four people, but in the end, only the one holding the bell and pestle had a name.

Ning Ning watched the show with great interest, and at this time, she didn't have much thought of catching the cicada while the oriole was behind.

Not to mention that she has always adhered to the principle of "I will not offend others if they don't offend me", just looking at the moves that the monk used to repel the enemy, he must have a high level of cultivation.

She doesn't like to fight with brute force. If she has to fight with everyone every time she meets someone to snatch the token, it is estimated that she will become a human sandbag with thousands of holes in it soon.

Ningning yawned quietly, and wanted to leave after the monk left, but she didn't expect that the smooth forehead as round as an egg shook not far away, and his voice came in the wind: "How long do you want to watch?"

Ningning was slightly stunned.

It is said that Le Xiu has sensitive five senses, and it seems to be true. Even if she deliberately hides her breath, she still can't escape his perception.

"Young Master is really amazing."

She flashed out from the shadow of the tree. Perhaps because she was gradually cultivated by her master, she didn't feel too embarrassed after being discovered: "This is the first time I see someone who enjoys playing the Buddhist bell. I am Ning Ning from the Xuanxu Sword Sect."

The young monk looked her over and finally said in a low voice: "Donor Ning,

I have heard a lot about you." Seeing that the other party showed a bit of surprise, he added with a wooden face: "My name is Mingjing. I have always been good friends with Junior Brother Mingkong. He once mentioned you to me."

It turned out that she was Mingkong's friend.

First, Mingkong was afraid of pain, so all his skills were defensive. Now there is another Mingjing who uses the bell as a stick. Birds of a feather flock together. Who knows how many surprises there are in the Fanyin Temple that she doesn't know about.

Seeing that he looked gentle and had no intention of fighting, Ningning felt relieved and continued, "I happened to pass by here and was attracted by the fighting, so I stopped to watch. I had no intention of competing for the token."

Mingjing nodded, "Monks are compassionate, and I have no intention of fighting."

There was nothing wrong with this sentence in itself, but it seemed a bit weird coming from a big guy who had just knocked two people unconscious with a pestle.

Ningning glanced at the Buddhist bell that he had lifted up, and thought of the scene of a man and a woman ascending to the sky and falling to the ground at the same time, and her chest couldn't help but ache. I'm

afraid that the two disciples would never have thought that the funeral song they played together did not kill Mingjing, but instead sent them away.

"What's more, a disciple of your sect has done me a favor. Even if it is to repay his kindness, I will not easily take action against the Xuanxu Sect."

Ming Jing spoke without a smile, and his tone was as light as boiled water, but Ningning was still interested and continued, "A favor?"

"When I left Fanyin Temple to train, I encountered several demon cultivators blocking the road and robbing people. I was no match for them alone."

His clear eyes narrowed slightly, and when he was lost in the memories, his pupils seemed to be covered with a layer of hazy mist: "Thanks to the disciple of Xuanxu Sect who came to my rescue and eliminated most of the robbers, I was able to escape."

He said with a smile: "His name is He Zhizhou, and I heard that he is familiar with Donor Ning."

Ning Ning listened to his description and subconsciously imagined in her mind the image of a chivalrous and courageous young swordsman with profound skills. Now, she was unexpectedly given the face of He Zhizhou...

Sorry, she could only think of a strange head stuck on a flying boat.

"He Zhizhou?" Ning Ning couldn't hide the surprise in her tone, "He is so powerful?"

"Yeah."

Ming Jing looked into the distance thoughtfully, and said in a deep tone: "70% of the demon cultivators attacked him, and 30% attacked me. If most of their attention hadn't been on him, I wouldn't have been able to escape in the chaos."

Ning Ning: ...

In the end, the two of you were surrounded and beaten, and you just ran away! Is this fair to He Zhizhou who bravely stepped forward to help you?

He Zhizhou is still the one who suffers.

Ning Ning mentally put this monk who looked very serious and reliable into the danger list.

"Since neither you nor I are interested in fighting, I will take my leave first."

Ming Jing saluted her with his hands together, and his voice was still gentle: "Take care, benefactor."

Ning Ning nodded: "Goodbye, Master Ming Jing."

She and Ming Jing had no grudges, so the farewell was particularly neat. After they parted ways, Ning Ning was the only one left around.

The four sound cultivators made such a big noise just now, but no one else was attracted except her. Presumably, there were few people in this forest, and the other disciples were dispersed and sent to other places.

Ningning walked forward aimlessly, looking at the scene in the forest.

The forest seemed to be immersed in the previous gloomy music. The night grew slowly like sea mist, and slowly spread like ink on rice paper, bringing with it a wisp of bone-penetrating coolness. A few faint bird calls came from not far away, without the lightness and agility that birds should have, and they were so miserable that they sounded like wailing.

As for the front, there was endless darkness, the shadows of the slanted branches were like the knuckles of a ghost, and a head that was pale and illuminated by the fluorescent light floated in the air -

wait.

How could there be a floating human head in the woods?

Ning Ning was so shocked that her whole body froze. After barely seeing the scene not far away, she finally breathed a sigh

of relief. It turned out that it was not a floating human head, but Pei Ji in black.

So, in the original book, the male protagonist was indeed the first to appear in an unknown jungle.

His clothes blended in with the night, but his skin was an extremely eye-catching cold white. When illuminated by the mushrooms growing wildly in the woods, his whole face was like a walking eternal lamp, literally glowing white.

Pei Ji did not expect to meet her here, and was stunned when their eyes met.

"Junior brother!"

Ning Ning didn't care about him as much as she thought and trotted forward: "What a coincidence, why are you here too?"

When she got closer, she found that there were several bloody scratches on his face, as if he had just been in a fight.

"I heard a few bells and followed the spiritual energy." Pei Ji looked her up and down, his voice a little hoarse, "Are you injured?"

Ning Ning quickly shook her head: "No, no! I didn't fight with them."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, took out a box of ointment from the storage bag and handed it to him: "You were just injured, but you didn't take care of it properly - did you have a fight with others?"

"It's a small matter."

Pei Ji stretched out his hand to take it, and after a brief thank you, he heard Ning Ning say: "Since we have met, why don't we team up and act together? The trial secret realm is extremely dangerous, at least we can take care of each other."

If it were in the past, when facing other people, Pei Ji would definitely refuse without hesitation.

He was used to being alone since he was a child. If there were other people around him, he would just feel bored for no reason. But at this moment, he somehow felt a little hesitant. He looked up and saw Ning Ning's gaze staring at him, and his heart beat uncontrollably.

This feeling was unpredictable and difficult to control, and Pei Ji didn't like it.

But he still turned his eyes away for the first time and nodded lightly.

=====

The two walked in Luan City for a whole day. Now it was midnight, the time when they were most sleepy and tired.

Pei Ji's experience in surviving in the wild was obviously much richer than Ning Ning's. After walking and stopping for a while, he took her to find a cave to rest.

The cave was very small, like a groove sunken in the mountain wall, and could accommodate less than six people at most.

Vines grow on the stone walls, dyeing the rugged rocks with a vibrant green color. A few mushrooms grow in the corner, like a small lamp with a unique shape, emitting a constant stream of soft white light.

But the light is too dim, and it looks weak and vague in the black velvety night. A thin light mixed with sparse shadows, like the dark tide swaying with the waves in the deep sea, blown gently by the night wind, it becomes scattered waves and floating flowers, dyeing the whole cave with a quiet light gray.

Especially in the silence all around, and the cave is particularly narrow and cramped, in the quiet midnight like soft waves, it is inevitable that some indescribable ambiguity arises.

The word "ambiguity" is very annoying.

In order to facilitate outdoor living, monks often carry one or two quilts in their storage bags. Because the cave is narrow, the distance between them is not very large, only about one person's distance. It

was the first time for Ning Ning to sleep in the same place with a boy of the same age. She always felt a little embarrassed after thinking about it. It felt wrong to lie flat or on her side.

But she was a senior sister after all. She couldn't show her timidity at this moment. She could only pretend to be calm and turned her back, and lowered her voice: "I'm asleep."

A clear and clean boy's voice came from behind: "Yeah."

Then the sounds around gradually faded away like the tide, leaving only the faint light that filled the entire cave.

The summer night brought continuous heat, like a little spark falling on the heart. Pei Ji lay flat on the thin quilt without saying a word, and was a little dry because of the burning.

Because of his childhood experience of being locked up in a cellar by his mother, he has always had a dislike and resistance to darkness.

When he was a child, he would tremble with fear when he was alone in a dark and narrow space; the situation improved a little when he grew up, but he still didn't like too dark environments.

Fortunately, there were spirit mushrooms growing in the cave, which made him feel more at ease.

A few strands of black hair fell on the boy's delicate eyebrows. Perhaps it was the unique dryness of summer that made him upset. Pei Ji frowned and turned his head away gently without warning.

His movements were silent, even his breathing was hidden in the night. The girl's slender back was within his sight.

He had never looked at Ningning so carefully before. He finally mustered up the courage to take a look, but it was only when her back was facing him.

Because she had washed and dressed in the guest inn, the girl had an elegant scent of gardenia. Her long black hair flowed down like pure black ink, covering her slender neck and back, revealing only a thin light purple skirt. She

looked so small, like a willow branch that could be broken with a little force.

... So she is like this?

[Ahem.]

Chengying coughed twice: [Pei Xiaoji, it is not gentlemanly to peek secretly. Pei Ji

responded expressionlessly: "I didn't."

[...You can't even look at me openly while I'm asleep, you little brat!]

It had followed this kid for so many years, and it had figured out most of Pei Ji's thoughts. It couldn't help but sneer: [Why, you usually ignore me, but now you come to look at me secretly? Pei Xiaoji, Pei Xiaoji, I hate you for being a piece of wood.]

"No." Pei Ji responded quickly, "I just can't sleep--"

Before he could finish his words, there was a very slight rustling in his ears.

—— Ningning, who should have been fast asleep, suddenly turned around in an instant, her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she looked straight at him without any disguise.

Pei Ji kept turning his head to look at her, and looked into Ningning's eyes.

Pei Ji's ears turned red, and his breathing stagnated: ...

Chengying screamed like a madman, losing all her dignity: [Pei Ji, close your eyes quickly——!]

Then she struggled desperately in his heart, shouting until her voice broke: [Ahhhh!!! I'm dead!!! She won't find out that you are peeking!!!]

Pei Ji was stunned for a moment, and under Ning Ning's gaze, he closed his eyes obediently.

Chengying: ...

[Are you sent by God to torture me?]

Chengying's tears flowed, and his words were filled with tears: [Covering your ears to steal the bell, the more you try to hide it, the more obvious it is. What's the point of closing your eyes and pretending to sleep at this time, huh? Are you a fool?]

So Pei Ji opened his eyes with a wooden face again.

The man and the sword both seemed calm, but in fact, there was a raging storm in their hearts. Pei Ji only felt the heat in his ears getting stronger and stronger, climbing up to the corners of his eyes and face, causing a burning restlessness.

He had been through countless ghost gates, and never retreated or hesitated. But now, for some reason, he was confused by an unexpected look. What

Pei Ji didn't know was that Ning Ning was just as flustered as he was.

She couldn't fall asleep, so she simply closed her eyes and counted the leaves on the vine one by one. Later, she got bored and suddenly had an idea, so she decided to turn her head to see how Pei Ji fell asleep.

After all, many novels say that the male protagonist who always has a gloomy face will appear particularly harmless after falling asleep. She couldn't imagine Pei Ji closing his eyes obediently, so she decided to go and see for herself.

This was really just a sudden thought, but Pei Ji didn't fall asleep at all. As soon as she turned around, she met his dark eyes -

help! Isn't this just being caught doing something bad?

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.

Both of them felt that their peeking was discovered by the other party on the spot, and their eyes quickly looked away after a brief intersection.

Ning Ning stared at a small stone on the ground and took the initiative: "Those spirit mushrooms are too dazzling, I can't sleep."

Then she coughed seriously and said the most hesitant words in the most stiff tone: "You, you, you...you were woken up by me?"

Pei Ji lay flat this time, staring straight at the top of the cave, his red ears were completely covered by his black hair: "It doesn't matter, I didn't fall asleep in the first place." As soon as

the first three words came out, it was clear that he wanted to completely forget about his peeping. The reason why he turned his head was because he heard the sound of Ning Ning turning over.

Cheng Ying was full of mixed feelings: [Tsk tsk, deceiving an ignorant girl, so cruel and scheming.

"You can't sleep either?" Ning

Ning saw that he had a cold face and didn't care, and the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground slowly. After thinking for a while, she said, "Why don't we talk?"

This time she finally saw Pei Ji's appearance clearly.

The night was as dark as ink, outlining the boy's slender eyes, high nose bridge and soft black hair by his ears, while his lips were the color of roses, pursed down to form a thin arc. The

stern boyish feeling still carried the childishness of inexperienced in the world, but the cold hostility in his eyes dispersed it to a great extent; somehow a layer of crimson appeared at the end of the eye, which made the tear mole look a bit seductive.

Ning Ning never hesitated to praise, Pei Ji was indeed very good-looking.

"Those injuries you suffered before," she held her face with one hand, and when she looked up at him, she could smell the fresh pine scent around the young man's body, "have they all healed now?"

Pei Ji said "hmm".

He was not good at speaking, but he knew that a simple "hmm" would surely lead to an awkward silence, so he added awkwardly: "Thank you, senior sister, for the Yinshan Ghost Pearl and medicine."

Ning Ning was, after all, just a simple-minded girl. When she was thanked in person, she embarrassedly turned her eyes away from his face: "They are all external things, so... there's nothing to thank for."

Thinking of the Yinshan Ghost Pearl, she hurriedly asked: "Is the demonic energy in your body still acting up?"

Pei Ji hesitated and replied: "If it does, it will not hurt senior sister."

"Don't underestimate me!"

She widened her eyes in dissatisfaction: "Even if your demonic energy acts up, I will not be hurt by you. That's not what I'm worried about. It's clearly--"

She suddenly lost her temper halfway through her words, as if she was hesitating whether to say the next sentence.

Chengying understood the meaning of this sentence and laughed in her heart, sometimes making donkey calls and sometimes making chicken crows.

Pei Ji frowned slightly and looked at her sideways in confusion.

"That's right," Ning Ning touched the tip of her nose and her voice became several degrees softer, "Isn't it very uncomfortable when the demonic energy attacks? It would be good if the pain could be alleviated a little."

She was actually worried about him.

Since the great war between immortals and demons, the demons have become the rats crossing the street that everyone punishes. As a remnant of a demon cultivator, he had dirty blood in his body and had long been accustomed to the cold eyes and deliberate exclusion of others. Now, hearing Ning Ning say this, he was unable to adapt and was almost at a loss.

Pei Ji pursed his lips silently, and his heart felt like it was brushed by a furry tail, and he felt an inexplicable itch.

This was also a very strange feeling, but unexpectedly, he didn't hate it that much.

Chengying was already radiating maternal radiance, wandering freely in his sea of ​​consciousness, and giggling like a hen from time to time.

Ning Ning is a chatterbox. When she is in the mood, she can talk nonstop until most of the night. She got gossip about her master from Lian Jian Xin, and finally even brought up her past. She said to him with a proud face:

"I had a very serious illness before. I couldn't get out of bed and walk around. I could die at any time. During that time, I couldn't do anything at home. I could only lie in bed and read, or play with Bobo at home."

After a pause, he continued: "Bobo is a rabbit raised at home. It is white and fat and very cute. Have you ever raised a pet?"

Pei Ji nodded: "I also adopted a rabbit, but it died after only three days."

Ning Ning was stunned for a moment: "I'm sorry, I didn't know... You must have been very sad at that time."

"No problem."

Pei Ji comforted her seriously: "Roasted rabbit is delicious."

- So you ate it! This is not called "adoption" at all, it's just catching it as food, okay!

Ningning was choked by him, and secretly thought he was a talented person. Later, he said a lot of things in a daze, and as he became sleepy, the topic gradually became more and more fantastic.

For example, "The little mermaid fell in love with the prince, but was rejected because of her fish head and human body", and "The feasibility of using lightning rods to survive the catastrophe."

Later, it became: "Why don't you use the hairband I bought for you? Don't you like it?"

Pei Ji was silent for a while, and whispered to her: "No."

On the contrary, it was because he cherished it too much that he was reluctant to use it. He was destined to kill many people, and he didn't want to let Yunjin be stained with blood and taint its appearance.

But he would definitely not say this to her face.

Ning Ning was tired from talking, so she fell asleep in a daze, and mumbled in a half-asleep state: "Good night, Pei Ji."

Her voice was filled with deep fatigue, and it fell softly on the eardrum, with a hint of coquettishness: "Saying good night to each other is a custom in my hometown. It means wishing you... a good dream tonight."

The young man in black clothes and black hair lowered his eyes to look at her sleeping quietly, and the thin light outlined Ning Ning's bright and well-behaved eyebrows. After a long while, a muffled laugh came from his chest.

He moved very lightly, got up, took out a piece of clothing from the storage bag, raised his hand and threw it, letting it fall on the fluorescent mushrooms.

Then there was no light to disturb her sleep, only the dusk, which gradually rose gently like a tide, drowning her vision.

In the silent night, a clear boy's voice rang out, which was deliberately suppressed very low. I don't know if Ningning heard it.

Pei Ji's voice was harsh but soft, and he said to her softly: "Good night."