Chapter 18

Although Xuandu Mountain is the first gate in the world, it does not have the intrigue and intrigue that ordinary people imagine.

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Qiao grew up in a peaceful and tranquil environment.

The teacher is kind and loving, like the teacher is like the father, the brothers and sisters are brother and sister, and they often play around in private on weekdays. Even when Qi Fengge faces the disciples, it is not as majestic as outsiders think.

The people around him were all gentle, and Shen Qiao naturally became a gentle person.

The timing of his entrance was not very good, neither the eldest disciple of Qifeng Pavilion nor the closed disciple of Qifeng Pavilion.

Among the five apprentices accepted by Qi Fengge, Shen Qiao ranked second and should have been in an embarrassing position, but because of his good temperament and talent, and his lenient manners, he was most loved by Qi Fengge, and finally passed on his mantle to him. .

Yu Ai ranked third, two years older than him, but because he started later than him, he had to call him senior brother. When he was a child, he struggled for a long time because of this mind, and he always pestered Shen Qiao to tease him and call him senior brother. Failed.

The two are of the same age, and since childhood to adulthood, their relationship is naturally the closest. If you want to ask Shen Qiao who the most trusted person in the world is, it must be the master Qi Fengge and his fellow brothers and sisters.

If you want to separate out a close relative among the brothers and sisters, maybe it will be Yu Ai.

Before going up the mountain, Shen Qiao also imagined the scene when the two meet again. Yu Ai may express surprise at the resurrection of the damned person, maybe a little guilty, or maybe disgusted and don't want to see him.

But he didn't expect that the other party was so surprised that even if he couldn't see his expression clearly, he could hear that there was no falsification.

A lot of things that I wanted to say came to my lips, but I didn't know where to ask. After Yu Ai called out that "brother in charge", there was no more text. I thought he was looking at him carefully, and Shen Qiao could only pick the best one. Bland words as opening remarks: "Is everything all right in the pie?"

The other party didn't answer, Shen Qiao tilted his head slightly and asked in doubt, "Third Junior Brother?"

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

The other party spoke again, but the voice was close at hand, Shen Qiao subconsciously wanted to retreat, but was grabbed by the wrist.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Yu Ai asked again.

"The battle with Kunxie fell off the cliff, and it was like this after waking up." Shen Qiao said lightly.

The hand holding his wrist did not loosen, Yu Ai said, "Don't move, I'll check your pulse for you."

Shen Qiao wanted to say no, but he couldn't get away, so he had to let him go.

Yu Ai focused on her pulse, and after a while, she asked, "If your inner strength seems to be absent, what is going on?"

Shen Qiao said lightly: "When you poisoned me, didn't you expect this result?"

Taking advantage of the opponent's hand paused slightly because of his own words, Shen Qiao pulled his hand back.

At the realm of martial arts like Yu Ai, no matter how dark the night or the faint candlelight, it did not hinder his eyesight.

He looked at Shen Qiao intently, the latter's complexion was cold and white, and his body was much thinner than before. It could be seen that he had suffered a lot outside this time, and the wrist holding the bamboo stick was half exposed from the sleeve. , it makes one's heart tremble.

Yu Ai sighed softly: "Since you are back, don't leave. Let me explain this matter slowly?"

Shen Qiao shook his head: "Xuandushan is about to appoint a new headmaster. I, the old man who lost Xuandushan's face, is here, won't it make it difficult for you?"

Yu Ai asked curiously, "Who said that Xuandu Mountain will have a new headmaster?"

Shen Qiao: "Ten days later, Yutai will talk about Taoism. Isn't Xuandushan preparing to establish a new headmaster at the same time?"

Just as Yu Ai was about to shake her head, she realized that the other party could not see her movements, and said, "Since you fell off the cliff and disappeared, I have been sending people to search around secretly, but no matter what, I can't find you. You want to see people in life, and you want to see corpses in death. As long as you don't die, the headmaster of Xuandu Mountain will not be replaced, although I am taking care of the upper and lower affairs on my behalf, I am only the headmaster, and I have no intention of arrogant replacement."

If it were changed in the past, what Yu Ai said, Shen Qiao would naturally believe it, but the situation has changed, and now he does not dare to say such words.

He was silent for a moment: "When I made an appointment with Kunxie that day, I found that my internal strength was stagnant, and my true energy was stagnant. I struggled to support it, but it was useless. I don't even know when and where I got poisoned. In any case, I didn't think about you."

Yu Ai lowered her head and said nothing, but her hands in her sleeves trembled invisibly.

Yes, from childhood to adulthood, Shen Qiao has always given trust to himself, and even to everyone on Xuandu Mountain.

This is not because Shen Qiao is stupid or naive, but because he believes in them, believes that there is always goodwill in the world, believes in the people and things that have grown up with him, and believes that these brothers and sisters who are like brothers and sisters cannot betray himself, so he will be undefended, and will allow himself to easily succeed.

Shen Qiao continued: "Afterwards, I fell off the cliff and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I lost my memory. Zhenri was ignorant and in a trance. I didn't remember many details until recently. The night before I fought Kunxie, you Come to me, said you want to sleep with me, and said a lot of things from the past, and also said that you have admiration for the younger sister, but unfortunately the younger sister is cold and unresponsive to everyone, so I am very distressed and can only Come and tell me, I hope that after the decisive battle with Kunxie, I will come forward to help you and tell the younger sister."

Yu Ai didn't answer.

Shen Qiao: "When Kunxie entered the war book, I didn't want to fight, but you brought up the battle between Master and Kunxie's teacher, Hulu, and said that if I didn't fight, I might fall for Master and Xuan. Dushan's reputation, and later began to show his goodwill towards the younger sister in front of me again and again, but the strange thing is that you never had any expression or behavior that you couldn't help in front of the younger sister. I didn't suspect it at the time, and I also I always comfort you and create opportunities for you and your little sister to be alone, now that I think about it, these are all fake?"

Yu Ai finally sighed: "Yes, I have never had any thoughts about my little sister, and the reason why I said those words is to make you misunderstand, to be more defenseless in other matters, and to find you alone before the final battle. Conversation creates opportunities. You inherit the mantle of the master, and martial arts are the highest among all the brothers and sisters. Ordinary toxins can't work on you. You can only use the world's strange poison to meet each other. It will not kill people immediately, and the dose can be grasped. Well, it can be unknowingly, over time, poisoned into the bone marrow, making people look like they died without a disease."

"But I never thought of taking your life, and it only took a little bit to meet each other. I wanted to make you lose in the decisive battle with Kunxie. With your martial arts, even if you fall off the cliff, you won't be able to It hurts your life, at most serious injuries, and can be raised back in a few months. But unexpectedly things still went wrong. After you fell off the cliff, I immediately sent someone to look for it, but no matter how I looked, I couldn’t find it.”

Shen Qiao frowned a little deeper: "It is extremely rare to meet each other, it is said that this poison was brought into the Central Plains by Zhang Qian when he was passing through the Western Regions, but it was later lost, and it may not even be hidden in the palace, let alone Mount Xuandu. , where did you come from?"

Before Yu Ai could answer, he suddenly changed his expression, showing surprise: "Kunxie? Did you get it from Kunxie?"

Yu Ai: "...Yes."

"You actually colluded with the Turks so that I could not be the headmaster?!"

A slight anger finally appeared on Shen Qiao's face: "Although Shizun was passed down to me, you know, I have never had much ambition for the position of headmaster. Over the years, I have to rely on you to help me with the affairs of the school. I, as long as you say it, I will definitely let the sages, I don't understand, why do you want to go to the Turks?!"

His mood was agitated, his tone was very heavy, and he couldn't help coughing after speaking.

Yu Ai wanted to smooth his back for him, she just stretched out her hand, but paused for a while, then finally retracted, and said slowly: "Because, Xuandu Mountain can't go on like this anymore. Retreat and don't ask about foreign affairs, even in the world. The first door will lose its advantage sooner or later!"

"Looking at the world, among the Taoist sects, the Qingcheng Mountain Chunyang Temple has a faint tendency to rise. The Guanzhu Yi Pichen is also one of the top ten in the world, and his reputation is much greater than that of the teacher in charge. On the other hand, our Xuandu Zifu , since the master became immortal, what else is left except for his old man's Yu Wei?"

"Your martial arts were originally not inferior, if you want to join the world, even if you want to compete for the number one position in the world, there is no chance, but you are willing to be lonely, but you would rather be unknown in this deep mountain, and if this goes on, even if Xuandu No matter how deep the mountain is, it will be replaced by people sooner or later!"

Having said this, Yu Ai's tone became enthusiastic: "Today's world is in turmoil, with different Taoist traditions, Buddhism and Confucianism are fighting for the right to speak in the world. One hand! Only we, Xuandu Mountain, can't escape from the world, close our earplugs to listen, and clearly hold the sword but don't use it. In the future, if the king of Buddhism or Confucianism helps unify the world, when that day comes, we will have a foothold in Taoism. A place!"

He slowed down his tone: "Senior brother, I never thought of replacing you, and I also know that people who are not my race will have different hearts. Cooperation with the Turks is just a part of my plan, but if you still Yes, I will never be allowed to do this, so I can only do this. Now that you are back, don't leave, stay and heal your wounds, okay?"

Shen Qiao: "What about ten days later?"

Yu Ai was startled: "What?"

Shen Qiao: "I'm going back to Xuandu Mountain, how are you going to tell the senior brothers Zhazhong and other disciples? After ten days of Yutai talk, how are you going to explain to the world?"

Yu Ai couldn't answer for a while.

Shen Qiao asked again, "What exactly are you working with with the Turks?"

Yu Ai: "Sorry, no comment for now."

Shen Qiao: "What if I object?"

Yu Ai didn't speak.

Shen Qiao: "If I object, you will put me under house arrest. From now on, I will be a teacher in name and not seen by the sun, and it will not hinder your grand plan, right?"

The answer to him was still silence.

Shen Qiao sighed: "You were not in good health when you were young. Although you are two years older than me, you can't tell it. When you are sick, you like to act like a spoiled child, but when you grow up, you are afraid that the younger disciples of Xuandu Mountain will look down on you because you are not stable. You have always put on a majestic and mature face, and until now, I still remember you chasing after me, pestering me and insisting that I call you brother!"

Referring to the past, Yu Ai's face softened slightly: "Yes, I also remember that when I was young, I had a bad temper, and I would show a cold face when I saw people. Among the brothers, you have the best temper, and you are always tolerant of me."

Shen Qiao: "No matter how good your temper is, you still have a bottom line. You want to be this headmaster, and you plan to lose to Kunxie. I have nothing to say. I can only blame myself for being unprepared for you and seeing people wrong. But the Turks Ambitious, he has coveted the Central Plains of China for a long time, although Xuandu Mountain has never helped any country fight for the world, it will also not cooperate with the Turks!"

Yu Ai smiled bitterly: "I knew you wouldn't let me do this, otherwise why would I go out of my way to design these things?"

Shen Qiao: "The principle of avoiding the world that several generations of headmasters have pursued may be wrong, but this kind of mistake is definitely not because you have not cooperated with the Turks. If you turn back now, there is still time."

Yu Ai said angrily: "Since I have already decided, I will not look back. Xuandu Mountain is also where I grew up since I was a child. I naturally hope that it will be better. This will never be inferior to you, so why should you put it down? Show the face of a saint! Is it possible that you are the only one in the world who is right, and everyone else is wrong?!"

"You might as well ask the other disciples in the sect, if the Xuandu Mountain has been dormant all these years, if they don't talk about it, will they feel dissatisfied in their hearts? After Yutai talks about the Tao, I can officially announce the wide opening of the mountain gate. Disciple, then Xuandu Mountain's reputation and status will only be further improved, and it will never let Tiantai Sect and Linchuan Academy be more beautiful than before!"

Shen Qiao was silent for a long time, Yu Ai vented, his chest heaved up and down, in the night wind, the two were relatively speechless.

Yu Ai suddenly felt a little sad, no matter what, they would never return to their former intimate relationship.

Shen Qiao finally said: "Since you have made up your mind, there is nothing to say."

Yu Ai: "Where are you going?"

Shen Qiao said lightly: "I was defeated by Kun Xie, and I lost all face of Xuandu Mountain. Even if others don't tell me, I have no face to be the headmaster. As for the poisoning, I have no evidence, even if I testify in public. , the world will not believe it, but will think that I am unwilling to speak nonsense. You have already calculated everything, so why bother with me? Wherever I go, it will not hinder your major affairs. "

Yu Ai said softly, "You are seriously injured, and you have to stay to recover."

Shen Qiao shook his head and turned to leave.

Yu Ai's slightly cold voice came from behind: "I won't let you go."