Chapter 21 Chapter 21 It actually happened to him. ...
Nan Qiong Shuang felt rarely frustrated.
Just when she had managed to win Gu Zhi's heart back a little, before she could turn the conversation to the Xingchen Pavilion's mountain-guarding jade tablet, she somehow returned to the starting point.
At first, she was too optimistic and thought that taking his heart would be as easy as taking candy from a sack.
Now I understand that Mingyue Baixue, who lives on the top of the mountain all year round, will not easily come down from the platform for anyone.
The so-called flower on the top of the mountain may be because he has never coveted any other woman.
He is really like a god, not tempted by worldly desires.
She raised her hand and pressed it between her eyebrows, but her heart was still pounding.
Blindly throwing yourself at a man won't achieve anything.
Where's Li Xuanbai? No news these days.
Why haven't you come to find her yet?
If I want to meet Li Xuanbai, I'm afraid I have to tell Gu Zhi first and wait for Gu Zhi's consent.
Last time, she left the hospital without permission and was seriously injured. The guards would never dare to let her go out again.
So she waited for Gu Zhi in the yard.
After waiting for a long time, she grabbed an empty chessboard on the stone table, took out two chess pieces from the chess box, placed them randomly, and played chess with herself in boredom.
As she was doing this, the gate of the courtyard suddenly opened wide, and the servants in the courtyard were unable to stop it. She raised her eyes and suddenly caught a glimpse of a pair of black leather boots with tiger stripes standing in front of the stone bench opposite.
The man in front of her was arrogant, with his shoulders crossed, looking down at her, his expression was as naughty as ever.
It’s Li Xuanbai.
He actually rushed directly into Gu Zhi's courtyard? He really didn't take the young master seriously.
Nan Qiongshuang was rubbing her earrings, wondering whether to speak to him in front of everyone in the courtyard, when she suddenly saw him stretch out a hand, walk in front of her, and say unreasonably:
"Come with me."
Nan Qiong Shuang was stunned. "What?"
"What 'what'?" he asked matter-of-factly. "It's been so long, and your injuries have healed. Aren't you tired of staying in your room all day?"
"I..." The situation changed too quickly. Just now she was lying on the stone table, not knowing what to do, but now she didn't know what to do. She was rarely confused.
Li Xuanbai didn't give her a chance to hesitate. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Holding her arm, he led her out of the yard step by step. However, when she was about to step over the threshold, she was stopped by Asong.
Asong looked respectful and blocked the gate tightly.
"Miss Chu is the Young Sect Master's guest. If Senior Brother Xuanbai wants to take Miss Chu away, he must at least ask the Young Sect Master first."
"I asked." He didn't stop, grabbed her and walked towards Asong, "She didn't agree, so I came directly to bring people."
Asong Taiyangxue jumped.
"Since you took Miss Chu away without the Young Sect Master's permission, Senior Brother Xuanbai, aren't you afraid of the Young Sect Master's punishment?"
"Punishment?" Li Xuanbai had already pulled her past Asong, facing the vast sky. He turned back and sneered, shaking the pigeon blood earring under his ear twice:
"Go ahead and punish me. I'd like to see if this young master can control me."
What a crazy person.
How could he be so arrogant when he is obviously a spy?
Nan Qiongshuang was reconsidering whether it was right to provoke this giant Buddha. Before she knew it, she was dragged out of the courtyard by him.
The courtyard gate slowly closed, and Asong looked at her back in vain between the double doors, unable to reach her.
Nan Qiong Shuang: "Where are you taking me?"
Li Xuanbai: "Where do you want to go?"
Good question. She was about to ask him to take her to the mountains, specifically to the Star Pavilion.
But Li Xuanbai continued, "Besides my Lingjue Pavilion, where else do you want to go?"
Nan Qiong Shuang:?
"You're being too sentimental." She commented, "Traveling in the mountains. I want to see everything." She couldn't just mention the Star Pavilion, otherwise the purpose of the trip would be written clearly on her face.
Li Xuanbai walked in front, her neat high ponytail hanging down to her waist and swaying:
"Some places are indeed beautiful, like Floating Light Valley, Butterfly Valley, and Hualongtan. But some places are inaccessible right now, like the Jiangzuo Peaks. The time is not right yet, and the purple smoke has not yet dissipated, so we can't go to the entire Sanqing Peak area."
Nan Qiongshuang's heart moved. Xingchen Pavilion was on Sanqing Peak.
"Purple smoke?"
"Whenever the mountain flowers bloom, the area to the south of the Yangtze River is covered with clouds and mist, the color is like dusk purple, and the people in the mountains call it purple smoke."
She was irritated and asked, "When will the purple smoke dissipate?"
Li Xuanbai pondered, "It's hard to say. Every year is different. Looking at previous years, it takes at least a month. Last year, it took longer. The entire mountain was shrouded in mist, and by the time I could see the glazed tiles of the Xingchen Pavilion, it was already scorching hot down below."
Nan Qiongshuang felt upset when she heard this, but because Li Xuanbai was by her side, she pretended to be calm.
It would take at least a month for the Star Pavilion to open, and she wasn't sure if she could get in even if she went there. If she wanted to, she would have to go in when no one was around, not to mention that it was probably not an easy place to get in.
She still has two months left in the March deadline.
It’s definitely too late.
Let’s start with Gu Zhi first.
Li Xuanbai was still in high spirits. "That's fine. I'll take you to Jiangyou someday. But if we go hiking today, I'm afraid we won't be back before dark. Let's go to my place first."
She was helpless and speechless, and looked at him, "Why are you going to your place?"
"What?" He smiled carefreely and spread his hands. "I'm bored too. Two bored people, let's play together."
*
The weather was perfect today, the sky clear and blue, and the wind had died down considerably. Even though Lingjue Pavilion stood on such a high cliff, the sea of astragalus flowers didn't surge like it had that day, only the leaves trembling gently.
Clouds pass by.
Standing in front of the ice silk formation, Nan Qiong Shuang folded her arms as if it had nothing to do with her.
Li Xuanbai: "Let's go."
Nan Qiong Shuang spread her hands: "How can I walk? I can't lift it with my hands, and I can't carry it on my shoulders."
Li Xuanbai: "...What are you pretending for?"
Nan Qiong Shuang stood there motionless with a smile on her face, saying nothing.
If it wasn't necessary, she would never show herself on Tianshan Mountain, even if this person already knew that she was skilled in martial arts.
After all, how would she know if someone was following her in the dark?
Li Xuanbai: "You can dance quite well, don't you? Show me how to dance again?"
Nan Qiong Shuang tilted her head, smiling brightly, but did not move.
After a while, Li Xuanbai surrendered and walked to her side muttering, "I'm speechless. The woman who stabbed me twice when we just met is pretending to be like a white lotus." He passed through her knees and picked her up.
Nan Qiongshuang put one arm around his neck and pressed it against his chest, wondering how Gu Zhi would react if Song Yaojie or Muxueyuan really sent someone to follow them.
Will you be angry?
Like that day in his room, when he was arguing with Song Yaojie for her?
Thinking of that day, she felt a subtle sense of satisfaction in her heart.
Gu Zhi obviously always had a very good temper. Even though he had been the young leader for many years, he probably had never been angry in public.
Not to mention that the object of his anger was Song Yaojie, who had great experience and a high status in the mountain.
The peaceful man was excited for a moment because of her, just like a flawless jade statue that suddenly had a crack.
Some people say that the crack is a flaw, but she insists that the crack is the other side of the jade.
She liked him to get angry for her and get excited for her.
If she gets close to Li Xuanbai, it will shake Gu Zhi's mind, which would be great.
Suddenly she remembered that just now, she deliberately took a nap on the stone table, but he ignored her and walked straight past.
Being abnormal because of these things...will he?
"arrive."
The tiger-striped black leather boots landed steadily in front of the wooden door. Nan Qiongshuang suddenly realized that while she was lost in thought for a moment, Li Xuanbai had actually hugged her and jumped off the cliff. He used the flower tree to gain leverage and jumped to the hidden wooden door at the bottom of the cliff.
The petals of flowers and trees flutter in the air, mixed with the dust, and swirl around.
Li Xuanbai pushed the door open, and light and petals rushed in together.
He gestured: "Please."
Inside Lingjue Pavilion, there is a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Climbing the narrow staircase and turning a corner, the view suddenly opens up. The attic built on the cliff has exceptionally good lighting, and the interior is filled with bright white light.
The spacious hall and quiet room are furnished with simple and low-key utensils, such as mahogany tables and chairs, and white porcelain cups.
Nan Qiongshuang gave him a strange look. This man was so ostentatious and arrogant, she had thought he was a spendthrift, but he didn't want to use something so simple.
Li Xuanbai saw her eyes and understood what she meant. He adjusted his collar lazily and said, "This place is isolated and hard to move things up. Do you think I don't want to?"
As he spoke, he walked to the wide-open window, took a duster and swept the flower petals on the bed under the window, sweeping them all to the ground.
He took out a low table and placed it in the middle of the bed, and then found a chessboard from the cabinet.
Nan Qiong Shuang looked at the flower petals that he had thrown on the ground without paying any attention to, and the ends of her eyebrows twitched uncomfortably.
"Let's play chess." The person on the bed raised his chin and pointed to the seat opposite the coffee table.
Finally, ignoring the petals, she lifted her skirt and sat down opposite him.
"Black or white?" Li Xuanbai asked.
"White."
Li Xuanbai handed over the chess box containing the black pieces.
"You first, me first?"
"Me first."
Li Xuanbai held on to the white piece and made the first move. He raised his eyes and looked at her with interest.
Nan Qiongshuang rolled her eyes without hesitation.
"How childish." Then he made his move.
The chess pieces clattered onto the board. Li Xuanbai stroked the pieces with his fingers and asked casually, "Aren't you tired of staying in Gu Zhi's yard all day?"
"He won't let me go out. And it seems the mountains are really dangerous."
"Dangerous?" He smiled slyly, and the small teardrop mole under his fox eyes made him look strange and handsome.
"Are you afraid?"
"I just don't want to cause trouble."
He spoke lazily again, and this time, as if he had laid enough groundwork, he began to get to the point: "Gu Zhi is such a boring guy."
He shut up and waited for her response.
She didn't respond.
What else? Is it okay to just be as carefree as he is every day?
Gu Zhi was so busy with official duties that he was rarely seen. But he was so lucky that he took her, a free person, back to his room to play chess at a good time.
Without waiting for her answer, he adjusted his earrings and continued, "You want safety, you want the rules, you want your reputation. You don't even have a chance to leave your house when you're with him. Can you really accomplish what you want to do?"
Nan Qiong Shuang looked up, "What do you want to say?"
He smiled and stopped talking.
White dropped another piece.
As they talked, the chess positions of both sides gradually became clear. Nan Qiongshuang's black pieces had no way to escape his fierce attack, and the usable pieces were scattered all over the board, forming no usable situation.
However, this chessboard, like scattered sand, is vaguely connected only at one key point.
As long as there is a child here, everything will be fine.
She lowered her eyes, held the chess piece between her fingers, and stroked it absentmindedly.
Just one piece missing.
It's just one move, but a slight difference can lead to a huge mistake.
This game was lost. Nan Qiongshuang threw the chess pieces between her fingers into the chess box with an expressionless face.
Li Xuanbai tapped his fingers on the table twice and raised his eyebrows. "Give you a piece?"
Nan Qiong Shuang lazily raised her eyelids and glanced at him.
She didn't care about winning or losing, "No need."
Winning or losing is not important; what is important is understanding his temper.
His style of play was fierce and unstoppable, and he pressed her down with each move, making it difficult for her to breathe.
He was obviously a very competitive person. But at the last moment of the game, he said he would give her a piece.
Was that for her?
That was to show off himself.
Li Xuanbai was sitting opposite the low table. His disciple Yi Shengxue was dressed like a demon, and he was laughing with great pride and unrestrainedness.
She said, "It's just a game of chess, why bother? Yesterday can't be kept, come again."
After a few incense sticks, the chess pieces were scattered all over the board again, in black and white.
This time, the two sides were evenly matched. Nan Qiongshuang had figured out Li Xuanbai's tactics and finally began to counterattack him piece by piece. While appearing to tolerate his evil deeds, she subtly formed the momentum of catching a turtle in a jar.
Li Xuanbai has always been arrogant. He smiled with a determined look and threw open his folding fan with a "whoosh" sound, waving it, not taking her seriously.
Finally, a black piece fell.
Click.
The encirclement was complete.
Fallen petals floated in in groups of three or two, the folding fan was stiff against the cheek, Li Xuanbai put his hand under his nose, his expression changed from relaxed to confused, to surprised, and then to obscure.
Nan Qiongshuang sat opposite him and leisurely poured herself a cup of tea.
Her hand groped the edge of the porcelain cup, and without raising her eyelids, she asked indifferently, "Are you happy?"
Li Xuanbai remained silent, hunched over the chessboard, almost lying on it, like a cat that had finally found its prey but suddenly discovered that the mouse had escaped through the crack in the wall.
Surprised, rebellious, and unwilling.
He pounded the table with his fist, causing the cups and plates to tremble slightly.
Nan Qiong Shuang just held the cup and drank tea.
Let's wait and see what happens in the end.
She always likes to play dirty.
She smiled sweetly and tilted her head, "Give you a son?"
Li Xuanbai's expression only grew darker.
She sneered in her heart, this guy can't afford to lose.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew up several pieces of calligraphy that Li Xuanbai had placed on the side of the table and dropped them to the ground.
Since Li Xuanbai was still thinking, she bent down to pick it up.
After picking them up and sorting them out, she aligned the remaining copybooks side by side, folded them into a neat stack, and weighed them down with a white jade plum blossom paperweight.
When I looked back at the chessboard, the encirclement had dissipated again.
A black piece that served as a hub flew away for no reason, and the whole board was in chaos.
The person opposite laughed triumphantly, picked up the folding fan again, and waved it leisurely.
Nan Qiong Shuang took a deep breath, picked up a black piece and tapped it three times on the edge of the chessboard:
"Li Xuanbai."
Li Xuanbai smiled, knowing that his rogue behavior had been discovered, so he squinted his eyes and shook his head, replacing the black piece.
He threw the white piece into the chess box.
"I lost."
Nan Qiongshuang placed the chess pieces into the chess box and carefully closed the lid.
When he looked up, he saw Li Xuanbai lying on the embroidered pillow on the bed opposite the coffee table, with his arms folded. He was like a fox with ghostly eyes flashing in the dark, observing the movements of its prey.
Smiling, with a faint look in his eyes.
He looked at her without saying anything.
Nan Qiong Shuang was used to seeing men, and knew that she won this round, but he probably didn't expect it.
What's so unexpected? She's not simple, he already knew that.
She pushed the chessboard away with a calm expression, stood up, and bent down to straighten her wrinkled skirt.
"It's getting late, Gu Zhi will be back soon, I'm going back."
"Hey." He called her.
Nan Qiongshuang looked back at him.
The mountain breeze blew into the house, causing her long hair to flutter. Amidst the falling petals and sunlight, he tapped his fingers on his arm, smiling like an idle prince:
"Come stay with me."
He reached out and smoothed her long hair that was flying in the wind. "That boy is so boring, and he won't let you go out. Do you really need to stay in his room with him every day?"
"Come to my place, I'll take you wherever you want to go, how free."
free.
Nan Qiong Shuang lowered her eyes.
Taking on missions at all costs is just for the sake of freedom one day.
She said, "No."
Li Xuanbai was stunned for a moment, then he understood and chuckled.
"You came into the mountains because of Gu Zhi?"
Nan Qiong Shuang's heart was like a slowly tightening string. She lowered her eyes, but her expression was calm. She wrapped her fingers around her long hair and rolled it around twice.
After a while, he raised his eyes and smiled in a vicious and sarcastic way.
Even with a little... pity.
"Li Xuanbai." She smiled teasingly, "It's just a kiss, you took it seriously?"
Li Xuanbai was stunned.
Suddenly I understood the meaning of her smile.
I kissed him just to tease him, nothing else meant.
For a moment, he felt like a dog that had a bone dangled before its eyes and was salivating at the thought.
It's a great shame and humiliation.
"Fuck! Chu Jiaojiao, you..."
He threw the chess piece in his hand into the chess box. The chess piece, like a cannonball, hit the other chess pieces in the box, causing two of them to jump up.
He suddenly grabbed her arm that was lifting her hair.
The slender arm was like a plum branch, which would break with a "crack" if he exerted a little force.
But he was not afraid at all, and his eyes were cold and indifferent, like glass beads.
She glared at him playfully and jokingly.
He sneered, "It's getting late, please take me back to the courtyard, Senior Brother Xuanbai."
*
On that day, Gu Zhi squeezed out time to practice the waterfall meditation for three more hours in addition to his usual practice and daily affairs.
He also spent an hour hand-copying Buddhist scriptures in the Buddhist hall.
He was restless all day, and at dusk when the sky was dyed purple by twilight, Gu Zhi put down the last stroke, put the pen on the pen holder, rolled up the scriptures, and looked at the sky getting darker outside the window.
The anger in my heart finally subsided.
He actually thought about it carefully.
Miss Chu was not at fault for what happened yesterday. It was he who was so despicable that even he himself despised him.
I don't know what's wrong with him that he would have such thoughts about her.
Miss Chu didn't deserve such a rude farewell from him.
During lunch break, he saw her sleeping alone under the flower trees in the yard. He felt a pang of fear in his heart and was afraid to see her, so he did not dare to go forward.
No one in the house knew to remind him.
I wonder if someone so weak has caught a cold.
He lowered his eyelids, and the orange afterglow was cut into several pieces by the window lattice. He slowly rolled the scripture into a tube, thinking that he should go and apologize to Miss Chu.
He is the dirty one. He is ashamed, disgusted, remorseful, confused, and ashamed of himself.
But all this has nothing to do with Miss Chu.
He didn't like his absurd dreams. He could copy scriptures, worship Buddha, enter into meditation, and practice martial arts, but his rotten cotton-like emotions should not be borne by that woman.
He was the one who was fantasizing about her.
He recalled absentmindedly how she had supported her cheeks, the dim light from the lantern, and how she smiled with her eyes crooked:
"Aren't you lonely, sir?"
She is... so nice.
He promised that he would never abandon her again.
He sorted the scriptures with an expressionless face, placed them on the bookshelf, and slowly closed the wooden door of the Buddhist hall.
But he saw Aliang waiting outside the Buddhist temple.
Aliang bowed slightly and said, "Young Master, Junior Brother Xuanbai has requested to see Miss Chu for the fourth time today."
Gu Zhi didn't even raise his eyes, "No. Ask him to go back."
That day, he saw Li Xuanbai's eyes so clearly.
Even if he was a fool, he knew what he meant.
Li Xuanbai?
Gu Zhi lowered his eyes and picked up the fallen flowers from his shoulder.
Since he didn't allow himself to have such thoughts about Miss Chu, he naturally wouldn't allow others to have the same thoughts.
When she returned to the courtyard, there were only a few fallen petals on the stone table where she had rested at noon. She looked around but could not find her.
I knocked on her door several times, but no one answered.
He was just wondering when Asong came over, his head lowered in fear and guilt. The usually polite and confident man actually hesitated:
"Young Master, today... Senior Brother Xuanbai came straight to the courtyard and took Miss Chu away."
"Took him away?" He was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "You came to me and took my people away without asking me any questions?"
"Senior Brother Xuanbai said..." Ah Song lowered his head even lower, "I asked. Without your permission, I simply snatched the person away."
"Where did you take it?" He found himself unable to suppress a sneer.
"I don't know..."
He smiled and said, "Good job, Li Xuanbai."
It actually happened to him.
Is the young leader him, Gu Zhi, or you, Li Xuanbai?
He turned around, went back into the house and took the sword on the table. He drew the sword and saw that the sword light reflected a cold smile. With a flash of snow, he suddenly put the sword back into the sheath.
Take your sword and go out.
The sleeves of his robe fluttered.
Asong watched his back, standing in the corridor with a deep gaze.
It is rare for Tianshan Mountain to be peaceful for a hundred years.
Now, things are about to change again.
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