Early in the morning, when Nangong Baixing arrived at the lake, a person was already sitting near the fishing spot.
The man was wearing a black raincoat that also covered his head in shadow. Next to him was a roll of straw mat, which seemed to contain something.
Nangong Baixing smiled and said, "Brother, usually I am the only one fishing here, but now I have a fellow fisherman to accompany me, which is quite interesting."
"As long as you find it interesting." The fisherman responded coldly.
Nangong Baixing was still happy. Not far from the fisherman, he put down the bamboo fish basket and took out the fish hook, fishing line and several earthworms from it.
It seemed as if he was genuinely happy to have a companion here.
"How's the catch today?" Nangong Baixing asked.
"Just arrived."
The fisherman pulled back the rod, removed the bait from the hook, replaced it with a new bait, and threw the rod far away, creating ripples on the water.
Nangong Baixing also threw the fishhook into the water at this time. "When I fished here before, I always felt that there was something missing between me and catching a fish."
"What do you mean?" asked the fisherman.
Nangong Baixing stroked his beard and murmured, "I was about to catch a fish. I felt the float was sinking very heavily, but when I pulled it up, it was empty.
It’s like in the summer, you are hiding under the shade of a tree, staring at the fish float, and when the cicadas are chirping all around you, the fish float moves a little, and you pull up the rod, but there is nothing.
When you come back to your senses, you realize that you didn’t even lift the rod just now, and everything seems to have just dozed off in a trance.”
"Just an illusion, like a bubble on the water?" asked the fisherman.
"You're a wise man, old man."
Nangong Baixing was obviously a little surprised, "You understand the Zen meaning of this very well."
"Zen?"
The fisherman smiled faintly, "I think those should be experiences, not some kind of Zen.
It's like when you are on duty, standing guard, no matter whether it is day or night, there will always be a moment when you are distracted and think you are at home, or forget where you are.
When you come to your senses, you are covered in cold sweat, as if you had a nightmare and for a moment you were distracted by a ghost.
At that moment, you are no longer you. "
"The so-called extraterritorial demon." Nangong Baixing seemed to be thinking about something.
"Outlander? Are you saying that at some point, I was replaced by someone else?"
Although it was the fisherman who first proposed the question, his tone now contained some mockery.
Nangong Baixing didn't care and just reached out to gently fiddle with a leaf of grass.
“The worlds are but dewdrops on a blade of grass, small and transient.
Buddhists say that the three thousand worlds are actually just a grain of sand in the Ganges.
The world itself is such a small and ordinary existence. Many things happen in the blink of an eye, and many worlds are born and destroyed. In this case, at a certain moment, the extraterritorial demon entered our spiritual platform.
Then, the demon from outside the domain left at a certain moment, and everything was as fleeting as a dewdrop on a blade of grass."
“It’s a bit profound.”
The fisherman placed his hand on the mat, still holding the fishing rod in the other hand, and casually cast out again, farther than before, splashing water.
"I am a layman and don't know much about scriptures and books."
Nangong Baixing shook his head, "It doesn't matter whether you understand it or not, as long as you are interested, the source of many things is just a little interest."
"I've heard this kind of thing many times."
The angler obviously didn't agree. "Why don't you say something more interesting?"
"for example?"
"For example, some secrets, fighting and killing, etc., I prefer to listen to these."
The fisherman laughed. "These things are interesting. There is a certain passion and romance in them."
"Really? But I don't really like telling these stories."
Nangong Baixing suddenly put away the fishing rod, placed it on his legs, and carefully separated the fishing line, hook, and earthworm.
The fisherman glanced at him vaguely, and ripples appeared on the water where the fishing float was.
"I caught a fish." Nangong Baixing shouted.
"what?"
The fisherman was in a daze for a moment, and when he pulled up the rod again, the bait was still the same, and no fish took a bite of it.
"what?"
Nangong Baixing had already stood up, carrying the fishing rod on his shoulder, holding the empty fish basket in his other hand, with a surprised look on his face: "Were you talking to me just now?"
"Shouldn't it be you and I..."
The fisherman swallowed the rest of his words, not knowing who was talking to whom.
Or maybe it was just an illusion just now, and the demon from outer space has arrived.
"It looks like we're destined to not catch any fish today."
Nangong Baixing glanced at the sky and said, "I have to go back. I'm old now, and I'm prone to rheumatism if I get too much dew like this. Brother, you can continue to play here."
The fisherman watched Nangong Baixing leave, and only after the Maoshan Great Taoist Priest completely disappeared from his sight did he take off the hood of his raincoat and reveal his face.
It turns out that the person who had been sitting here was not a fisherman, but Ren Qi.
Ren Qi turned over the straw mat, and inside were neatly laid his six sharp swords, each of which was an unrivaled weapon in the world.
There are six weapons that all the fast swordsmen in the world dream of, and they are all in his hands.
This is the most useful thing for killing people. A swordsman with the best sword will be like a tiger with wings.
But just now, he put his hand on the straw mat but did not draw his sword. Even when he had several best opportunities, he did not draw his sword.
He was not timid, nor was he hesitant, he just lacked the courage.
In front of Nangong Baixing, Ren Qi couldn't muster the determination to draw his sword.
Ren Qi sat there, thinking carefully about the confrontation and temptation between the two of them, or his own challenge to Nangong Baixing, his palms were covered in cold sweat.
……
It's the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and time is almost up. It seems like Taoist Qingyun just came to challenge him yesterday, but Yin Xiu is already going to the battle today.
Liu Banxian and Lin Hu had just walked to the outside of Yin Xiu's room when they heard Ma Xiaoyu's scream from inside.
"This is too big, no, absolutely not!"
Yin Xiu responded from inside, his voice urgent, "What's wrong with that? All of them."
"But it's really too big, I'm afraid..."
"It's okay, just listen to me this time, and you'll know its benefits later." "Ouch!"
When Liu Banxian heard Ma Xiaoyu's scream again, he quickly stopped Lin Hu who was about to continue knocking on the door. After giving him a wink, the two of them walked aside.
"Alas, it is true that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but they are separated by force and fly away!" Liu Banxian kept shaking his head and sighing.
Lin Hu hadn't understood what was going on at first, but when he heard Liu Banxian's words, he couldn't help but blush.
"This... young people are indeed full of vigor and vitality. I thought Miss Ma was more traditional. And why is it at this time?"
"What happened at this time?" Liu Banxian asked him.
Lin Hu coughed twice awkwardly and took two more steps outside.
“We martial artists focus on maintaining a stream of energy in our blood. If we can retain that energy, we will be invincible and can do whatever we want.
If you fail to retain your energy and squander it at will, your steps will easily become weak and you will not be able to exert your strength.
Therefore, in the past, those great masters would stay away from women for a month before a duel. This was to preserve their energy and keep themselves in the best condition so that they could give it their all!
At such an important moment today, Yin Xiu still... Well, even if he is a master of synaesthesia, I think it will be affected.
He doesn't know, doesn't Miss Ma know? The war is imminent, and still..."
"What else, sharpening your sword before the battle?"
Liu Banxian did not agree with Lin Hu's opinion.
"Hey, sometimes a string will break if it's stretched too tight.
I did hear someone say that there was a Thai boxing champion in Causeway Bay who was fighting with a boxer from another society over a certain territory between the two societies.
The Thai boxing champion was very powerful and was invincible in all the provinces, Hong Kong and Macau. However, the rival gang found a golden cat the night before the match and had sex with him seven times. As a result, when he stepped into the ring the next day, his legs were weak and he lost the match unexpectedly.
As a result, the society was swept out of Causeway Bay, and the Thai boxing champion was later thrown out to sweep the streets.
But when love between men and women is deep, what is excessive?
Master Lin, since you don’t have this unforgettable experience, it may be difficult for you to understand.”
"Who said I didn't have it? In Xinghualou..."
Lin Hu lowered his head again halfway through his speech. This was a sad thing that had lasted for most of his life and he couldn't bring himself to talk about it.
Seeing Lin Hu's expression, Liu Banxian somewhat regretted his earlier rude remarks.
It turns out that the simple Master Lin in his eyes is not just a warrior, he is also the lover that a girl often dreams of.
"Alas, love has always been full of regrets, and this regret will never end!"
Liu Banxian took off his sunglasses and put them in his pocket. He looked at the New Year atmosphere outside which had not yet faded away. He thought of the fate of Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu, the ill-fated couple. He couldn't help but feel sad and his eyes welled up with tears.
"The sky is full of fallen petals, blocking out the moonlight. I'd like to borrow a cup to offer to the Phoenix Terrace~~The Emperor's daughter offers incense with tears in her eyes~~Dri, diri, diri, diri..."
"Secretly watching, secretly looking at him, he was in tears, secretly sad with tears..."
Yin Xiu had arrived behind Liu Banxian without knowing when, and he was also acting like an opera singer, very passionate.
Liu Banxian felt more and more sad, and sang in a shrill voice: "Alas~ I look forward to wedding night and white hair, who is willing to see it..."
"Why are you singing opera out of the blue?" Ma Xiaoyu also came out.
When Lin Hu heard the voice, he was moved but was frightened by her, "Miss Ma, you..."
Not knowing how to greet Ma Xiaoyu properly, Lin Hu coughed twice awkwardly, "So fast, Brother Yin is quite quick."
As soon as he said this, he wanted to bang his head against his own - how could a big northern man learn such evil habits just by standing next to Liu Banxian?
"He's pretty fast."
Ma Xiaoyu nodded calmly and showed the bulging bag in her hand to several people.
"I told you, this bag is very small, how can I stuff such a big piece of beef jerky into it? What if it breaks the bag?
Yin Xiu insisted that she was afraid that I would be hungry on the road, so she had to stuff this so-called secret, limited-edition jerky into my mouth.
Isn't it just a piece of jerky? I couldn't find anyone the other day so I went to the provincial capital to look for that Xiguan chef god, just to buy me a piece of black jerky like this. Isn't that boring?"
Although she expressed disgust, Ma Xiaoyu's eyes were full of smiles.
After hearing her say this, Liu Banxian lost interest in singing opera. He felt a lot of black lines on his head and was quite speechless: "So that's how it is. I thought..."
Yin Xiu came over and urged Liu Banxian, "There's still one section left to sing."
"You can sing it yourself when you have time."
Liu Banxian waved his hand and got down to business.
"Why, are you really going to accept the challenge from Grand Master Nangong?"
“Not a challenge.”
Yin Xiu corrected him, "It's a duel. He officially notified me of the duel. It makes no sense for us youngsters not to go."
"So you don't even have any plans to run away?"
Liu Banxian felt like the sky was falling.
"No, if you want to run away, you have to see the old Taoist priest first."
Yin Xiu said seriously: "Otherwise it wouldn't be a duel, but a hunting order."
"Speaking of pursuit, I have heard some rumors."
Liu Banxian only talked about himself at this time, "It seems that a lot of assassins have come from the north, ready to deal with me. According to Ren Qi's intelligence, some of them are not easy to deal with."
"Then you're just saying it now?"
Yin Xiu felt his head buzzing. "I was about to run away to Malaysia with Xiaoyu, and you just said it now. Why don't you pack your luggage and go to Malaysia with us? It's not too late now."
Ma Xiaoyu also nodded and said, "As long as you are within the Ma family's sphere of influence, no one can touch you."
"Don't be nervous."
Liu Banxian smiled playfully, "You guys want to run away, do you think I, your uncle, will stay here and wait for them to come and take care of me?"
He pulled a map from his pocket.
"Ren Qi and I are planning to go to Southern Xinjiang."
"To investigate the news about the Dragon Emperor's son?" Yin Xiu noticed it the first time.
"Yes, running away is one thing, and the other is to investigate the Dragon Emperor."
Liu Banxian nodded, "We also know that the Black Dragon is in Southern Xinjiang. This time it's not like the previous search for the Green Emperor. We can't just go to Changbai Mountain to find it. I'm afraid it will take some effort, so Brother Master and I plan to go to Southern Xinjiang first.
When you hide in Malaysia for a few months and come back after avoiding the limelight, Brother Master and I will probably have some clues.
There is nothing important on my side. I have Master Brother here. No matter what masters from the Imperial Palace or from Xiandu or Guidu, they can’t get close to me. I only care about how you spent your day today, Brother Yin."
"Then you don't have to worry about it."
Yin Xiu smiled, "Brother Xiong has already made a plan for me." (End of this chapter)
