The grass was green, and sometimes there were flowers. Amidst the chaos of bees and butterflies, the sound of the zither strings was clear and long, slowly drifting to the surface of the water.
It was really eye-catching for such a person to play the zither in such a chaotic situation. The white-clothed swordsman sat quietly. As his slender hands stroked the strings, the sound of the zither flowed out. It was still the song "Slow Time".
In fact, he could play many songs, but over the years, he had played this song the most. He had set up a formation around him, and the sound of the zither also had the ability to confuse people. When Uto arrived here, he would be confused by the formation, and it would be difficult for him to find the entrance. He could stall for more time for Cui Yuezhi and wait for the late arrival of the east wind from God.
Uto's ship was slowly approaching, and someone got off the ship aggressively. Liu Buwang sat quietly, as if he was meditating on Qiyun Mountain back then. He was calm and unhurried. Daoist Yunji didn't praise him, but he had always been very tolerant of him. Everyone always said that he was the best among the seven senior brothers on the mountain back then. His senior brothers always laughed and joked that he would bring glory to the sect one day.
But … he had been expelled from the sect long ago.
The sound of the zither paused, as if disturbed by a foreign object, and he played the wrong rhythm. Liu Buwang was slightly absent-minded.
Back then, he met Mu Hongjin at the foot of Qiyun Mountain. Later, he learned that Mu Hongjin was the beloved daughter of King Mengji in Jiyang City. Mu Hongjin didn't want to marry the son of an important official in the court, so she begged Liu Buwang to take her away. Liu Buwang hesitated for a long time and decided to let her wait in the inn. He returned to Qiyun Mountain with his junior sister first and reported this matter to Daoist Yunji.
But once he went up the mountain, he couldn't come down again. It was already a year later when he went down the mountain.
Mu Hongjin always thought that he lied to her and deliberately told King Mengji about her whereabouts. He was the one who sent Mu Hongjin back to King Mengji's mansion. In fact, that wasn't the case.
Back then, Liu Buwang did go up the mountain in a hurry. When he went up the mountain, he told Daoist Yunji that a girl who ran away from her marriage was forced by her family and was now resting outside. He hoped that Daoist Yunji could find a way to let him take Mu Hongjin up the mountain.
Liu Buwang was honest and kind by nature. For the first time, he lied to Taoist Yunji. He only said that Mu Hongjin was a girl from an ordinary family, and did not mention that she was the daughter of Prince Meng Ji. Liu Buwang was worried. Once Taoist Yunji knew Mu Hongjin's true identity, he might not save her.
However, Daoist Master Yun Ji knew better than him.
"Are you talking about Mu Hongjin from Prince Meng's Mansion?"
Liu Buwang was stunned, "Master …"
"You're so stupid!" Daoist Master Yun Ji looked at him and scolded him with a sullen face. "Do you know who she is? She was the only daughter of King Meng Ji and would inherit the throne in the future. The reason why King Meng Ji arranged this marriage for her is because she will become King Meng Ji's daughter. "
"You were so careless as to bring her up Qiyun Mountain. Do you know what kind of disaster you will bring to Jiyang City? How much trouble would it bring to Qiyun Mountain? Even if you don't care about the lives of the people in Jiyang City, your Senior Martial Brothers grew up with you. Don't tell me you don't care about their safety? "
"Master, it's not like that …" Liu Buwang argued.
Daoist Yunji sighed and said, "Do you think King Meng Ji will let go of Qiyun Mountain if he knows that you hid his daughter here?"
"He won't know."
"Buwang, you're too naive." Daoist Yunji flicked his sleeves and said, "Give up. I won't do anything."
Liu Buwang knelt on the ground. After thinking for a while, he stood up and bowed to Daoist Yunji. "I understand."
"What do you want to do?"
"I'll think of a way myself."
Liu Buwang thought that although he was not as capable as Daoist Yunji, there was always a way out. He must be able to think of another way. The most important thing now was that he had to go down the mountain first. The day he agreed to meet Mu Hongjin was approaching.
"Are you still going to find that woman?"
Liu Buwang said, "Yes, I've already made an agreement with her."
Daoist Yunji said, "You can't go down the mountain."
"What?"
"I can't watch you destroy Qiyun Mountain," Daoist Yunji said, "You must stay on the mountain."
"Master, she's still waiting for me!"
Daoist Yunji's face was completely ruthless.
Liu Buwang slowly pulled out the long sword at his waist. He didn't want to fight with his master, but he was really anxious. However, his swordsmanship was not as good as Daoist Yunji's, so he was defeated in the end.
Daoist Yunji locked him in a water cave on the mountain. The cave was surrounded by waterfalls and fragrant orchids. Just looking at it, the scenery was very beautiful. But Daoist Yunji had also set up a formation around him, so he couldn't leave the formation and could only be trapped here.
Liu Buwang's Qimen Dunjia couldn't be compared with Daoist Yunji's after all. He begged Daoist Yunji in despair, "Master, I just need to go down the mountain and say something to her. I can't go back on my words. She's still waiting for me … Master!"
"If you can solve my formation, you can go down the mountain."
Daoist Yunji turned and left.
Liu Buwang was meditating in the formation and trying to solve it. But this formation was even more powerful than all the formations he had encountered in the past. He was anxious and kept solving the formation day and night. Finally, he fell ill and lost his energy.
Yu Shu came to see him and gave him medicine. Seeing Liu Buwang covered in wounds, she was very distressed and said softly, "Senior Martial Brother, why are you doing this?"
"Can you beg Master to let me out?" Liu Buwang leaned against the stone wall of the cave and was dying, but his tone was still stubborn. "I want to go down the mountain."
Yu Shu took a step back and couldn't help crying and shouting at him, "So what if you go down the mountain? She's already married! She didn't wait for you. Mu Hongjin has already married her husband! "
Liu Buwang widened his eyes slightly.
He was in the mountain and in the formation, so he couldn't sense the changes in time outside. He could only count the days. Every other day, he would carve a stroke on the stone wall. Looking back, more than two hundred days and nights had passed.
That girl, who was wearing a red dress with bells on her long braids and always stuck to him with a smile, was already married? What kind of mood did she have? Was it the hatred of not waiting for him and being stood up, or was it the despair of being forced to get into the bridal sedan?
Liu Buwang's heart ached violently.
"She didn't wait for you. She has already forgotten your agreement." His Junior Martial Sister stood in front of him and said with tears in her eyes, "So, you should also forget her."
Forget her? How was that possible? He didn't know when he was in love with her, but he only knew when she left. He had long been used to the days of being relied on, pestered, and deceived. Even though he was angry, he enjoyed it. How could he forget her so easily?
"When was she found by the people of the mansion, and when did she get married?" He asked slowly.
Yu Shu answered, "Not long after you left, she was found by the soldiers. She got married not long after. Senior Martial Brother, "she still wanted to persuade him," Why don't you go and admit defeat to Master and live a good life on Qiyun Mountain in the future? Don't mention that matter again, okay? "
Liu Buwang didn't speak.
"Senior Martial Brother?"
He raised his head. The young man's eyes, which had always been clean and clear like the warm sun in spring, were now a little cold and distant.
Yu Shu was also frightened by his eyes.
"You can go." Liu Buwang said, "Don't come back in the future."
He worked harder to solve the formation and studied it. He ignored whether his body could bear it or not, and there was only one thought in his mind — he wanted to go down the mountain.
Liu Buwang's Qimen Dunjia advanced by leaps and bounds in this day of hard work. At the same time, he also noticed that the power of Taoist Yunji's formation was gradually weakening.
Another spring day came, and he broke out of the formation.
The spring rain wet the green grass under the eaves, and the young man's white clothes were splashed with mud. He was completely undecided, and he walked firmly step by step.
The Senior Martial Brothers and Junior Martial Sisters surrounded Taoist Yunji's bed. After such a long time, the formation was getting weaker and weaker. It wasn't his illusion that Taoist Yunji's time was coming.
Liu Buwang was stunned.
He rushed to Taoist Yunji's bed and knelt down. Taoist Yunji looked at him and asked, "Have you broken the formation?"
Liu Buwang nodded.
His master reached out and touched his pulse slightly. He sensed something and sighed deeply.
"You still want to go down the mountain?" he asked.
Liu Buwang knelt upright and said, "Yes."
There was a long silence.
"You can go." The master who raised him said word by word, "From now on, you are no longer a member of my sect. Don't go up Qiyun Mountain again. "
"Master!" The Senior Martial Brothers were shocked and pleaded for him.
Taoist Yunji didn't speak. He closed his eyes, and when he looked again, he had already passed away.
In a single night, he had lost the master who had raised him and the right to stay on Qiyun Mountain. After burying Taoist Yunji with the Senior Martial Brothers, Liu Buwang went down the mountain alone.
After this farewell, he knew that it would be forever and never be able to meet again.
His wound hurt faintly. Breaking the formation by force like this had hurt his foundation after all. It was raining heavily. Without an umbrella, he stumbled on the muddy mountain road without stopping all the way. Finally, he reached the foot of the mountain and entered Jiyang City.
The city was as lively and warm as that spring day. There was no difference at all. Liu Buwang walked to Prince Mengji's mansion. He hid under the eaves opposite the mansion, wearing a bamboo hat, and wanted to see Mu Hongjin. He didn't know what to say when he saw Mu Hongjin. He was the one who failed to keep the appointment, and he was also the one who was late for more than a year. He was the one who asked her to wait for him, and he was also the one who didn't come.
But if she wanted to leave and shook his arm like back then, asking him to take her away, Liu Buwang thought that he might still be helpless and do as she wished.
Then he saw Mu Hongjin.
Unlike the arrogant girl back then, she had become more beautiful. Wearing an exquisite and luxurious robe, she got out of the carriage and said something to the man beside her. The man beside her also looked gentle. He hugged her waist from behind, and his robe couldn't cover her slightly bulging belly.
Mu Hongjin was pregnant.
The legendary "bad old man" was not old, and his gaze was very gentle when he looked at her. She looked back at him with a gentle gaze, completely different from the arrogant and willful girl in his memory.
The rain wet his boots and robe, but Liu Buwang felt that it was not as embarrassing as him at this moment.
They were in harmony with each other, and they were a loving couple. They looked like an immortal couple, while he stood here, looking out of place.
But why should he make Mu Hongjin wait here all the time? This girl was as bright and lively as the peach blossoms at the foot of Qiyun Mountain. Beautiful people or things were always discovered by others. Just as he fell in love with her unknowingly, Mu Hongjin's "husband" was the same.
Mu Hongjin already had her own peaceful life, so there was no need for him to disturb her.
As if his gaze was too hot and painful, Mu Hongjin seemed to feel it and looked back. Liu Buwang turned slightly and hid under the shadow of the eaves.
"What's wrong?" The man beside her held her hand and asked.
"Nothing." Mu Hongjin shook her head. "It's probably my illusion."
The rain was cold. He was obviously hiding under the eaves, so why did it wet his cheeks? He seemed to taste bitterness at the corner of his lips. It turned out that the spring rain was also not sweet.
He strode away.
The sound of the zither was poetic and picturesque, covering all the murderous intent in the jungle. Some Uto stepped in without noticing and suddenly screamed. For a moment, there were screams. Finally, someone realized that something was wrong and stopped the people behind him.
"Don't come in. There's an ambush!"
Liu Buwang smiled slightly.
After leaving the mountain that year, he had been silent for a long time, like a walking corpse, not knowing what he could do in the future. He could neither return to Qiyun Mountain nor find Mu Hongjin. For a time, he felt that living in the world was meaningless.
Until Yushu found him.
His little junior sister was not as cute as before, and she was much more haggard. Standing in front of him, Liu Buwang suddenly realized that Yushu was also a big girl, no longer the little sister who ran around behind him.
"Senior Martial Brother," the girl looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry."
"What?" He didn't understand.
"The reason why Miss Mu was found by the soldiers of the prince's mansion was that I told on her."
Liu Buwang's expression froze on the spot.
"I like you, like you very much. I don't want you to be with her." Yet, Yu Shu seemed to want to speak out all her faults in one go, as if she was seeking release. "I eavesdropped on your conversation, so I told Meng Ji Wang her hiding place. I thought that as long as she got married, you would forget her and stop thinking about her! I didn't expect you to be so stubborn for so many years. "
"I'm sorry, I was wrong," she burst into tears, "I hurt you, Senior Martial Brother. I'm sorry."
She cried to her heart's content, but Liu Buwang was like a stone, his whole body stiff and cold.
He was young and ignorant, and his mind was rough. He didn't see the deep affection in his little junior sister's eyes when she looked at him, nor did he see the hostility that flashed by when Yushu looked at Mu Hongjin.
A girl's love and hate came directly and simply. She only cared about venting when she was angry, but she didn't expect that she would miss a pair of lovers. It wasn't until the world changed and the regret snowballed that she realized her mistake.
"How could you do this?" For the first time, he got angry at Yushu, "Did you know, did you know …"
He didn't continue.
What did he know? Back then, he didn't know that he loved her so deeply.
He was like a fool.
Eldest Martial Brother, who came after hearing the news, found him and said, "Little Seven, don't blame Yushu. She was young and ignorant, and now she knows that she was wrong. Also, don't blame Master for not saving you and locking you in the formation on Qiyun Mountain. "
Liu Buwang replied blankly, "I didn't blame anyone."
He only blamed himself.
"Do you know why Master locked you in Qiyun Mountain back then?" Eldest Martial Brother said, "Master has always been kind and generous. Since he adopted us seven orphans, so what if Mu Hongjin is the princess? If Master really wanted to protect her, why would he be afraid of the danger brought by this identity?"
Liu Buwang looked at him, not understanding what he meant.
"Master did it for you."
Daoist Yunji once divined for Liu Buwang, and the divination showed that one day, he would die young because of a woman.
Deep love would kill him.
"You are Master's favorite disciple. Master was afraid that you would lose your life because of Mu Hongjin, so he locked you in the formation." Eldest Martial Brother said, "Although he was biased in his actions, he did it wholeheartedly for you."
Liu Buwang felt that it was ridiculous.
It was just a divination. How could he miss it like this? Daoist Yunji did it for him, so who could he blame?
He could only blame the fickleness of the world.
He had been staying in Jiyang City, hiding in the dark, and doing the same things as before every day. Until one day, Yushu was arrested by Mu Hongjin's guards in the temple.
Yushu didn't have the guts to assassinate her. As soon as the news came out, Liu Buwang knew that Mu Hongjin was forcing him to show up. Not only was he not angry, but there was even a trace of joy in his heart. After so many years, he could finally see her in broad daylight.
He saw Mu Hongjin in the temple hall in the middle of the night.
Time had polished her to be even more magnificent and beautiful. She was like a ripe honey fruit, and her whole body was full of unspeakable flirtatiousness and wildness. Liu Buwang thought bitterly in his heart, "Who made her like this? Was it her current" husband "?
Well, they even had a child together. " She had already gotten married and had children, and was getting further and further away from him.
The woman's red robe was gorgeous, and the golden crown slightly reflected sparkling colors in the night. Her eyes were even brighter than this. She stared at him, and there was no longer the naughtiness and innocence in her eyes from many years ago.
He had thousands of words to say to her, but in the end, he didn't know where to start. In the end, the sentence he spat out was, "Where is Yushu?"
Liu Buwang still remembered Mu Hongjin's gaze at that time, which seemed to be a little shocked and a little understanding. The moment he said that, he instantly regretted it. He shouldn't have been so blunt. He should have said something else. Asking her how she had been all these years and apologizing for breaking his promise back then was better than questioning her.
Mu Hongjin looked at him as if she was looking at a stranger, and she replied lightly, "In prison."
The conversation between the two of them was as distant as that between strangers, as if they were standing on opposing sides, and there was no longer the intimacy of the past.
Liu Buwang was very conflicted. He wanted to stay here, talk to her more, and look at her more. But he was afraid that if he stayed here for too long, he wouldn't be able to control himself and reveal his feelings, which would cause trouble for Mu Hongjin.
It had been a long time, and he didn't arrive in time back then. Now, Mu Hongjin already had someone else by her side, and she no longer needed him. Why should he come to disturb her and ask for a snub?
He wanted Mu Hongjin to release Yushu and catch him. Taoist Yunji raised him, and Yushu was his daughter. He couldn't watch Yushu be imprisoned. Besides, Mu Hongjin's purpose of catching Yushu was him.
Liu Buwang thought that Mu Hongjin must hate him very much, but people were stingy to show a trace of affection for things they didn't care about, so Mu Hongjin hated him. Perhaps, after so many years, she still had a little bit of love left.
"She's just a junior sister. You're so protective of her. Do you like her?"
Liu Buwang answered, "Yes."
"What did you say?"
Liu Buwang looked at her, as if he wanted to engrave her appearance at this moment in his heart forever. He said word by word, "I like her."
He admitted that he was the one who told on her, that he lied to Mu Hongjin and made up a promise casually, and that he had never liked Mu Hongjin.
Mu Hongjin smiled. Her smile was contemptuous and sarcastic, as if his likes and dislikes were so insignificant and ridiculous. She wanted Liu Buwang to be her lover as a condition for letting Yushu go.
Liu Buwang was furious. He was furious that she humiliated him and her like this. But in his anger, there was a faint desire. He was horrified to find that he had never given up in his heart. It was as if there were countless fire seeds buried in the ground. As long as she said a word, they could easily break out of the ground and start a prairie fire.
He agreed.
But Mu Hongjin was unwilling.
Mu Hongjin wanted him to get out of Jiyang City with Yushu and never set foot here again. She wanted to draw a clean line between herself and Liu Buwang so that they would never cross paths.
This was the last time he talked to Mu Hongjin.
Liu Buwang later changed his name to Layman Yunlin and traveled around. He went to many places. He was dressed in white and his swordsmanship was outstanding. Everywhere he went, people praised and admired him. But he was always cold and cheerless, as if he didn't care about anything.
He also never saw his own senior brothers and Yu Shu again. In this world, everyone ultimately had to become their lonesome self. But he still returned to Jiyang City every year during the Water God Festival. He secretly entered the city without anyone knowing, just to take a look at the city that Mu Hongjin was guarding.
It was as if he was guarding her.
Fuxi's divination only asked about things and not people. This was a rule he set for himself later. It was inevitable to foresee twists and turns when doing divination for others. In order to avoid twists and turns, he tried his best to avoid some encounters that might bring misfortune. But he didn't know that every encounter in the human world had its own precious fate. While avoiding the calamity, he had also fallen into another trap of fate, just like himself.
He regretted it all his life. He was close at hand but couldn't get it.
In the depths of the dense forest, the screams became louder and louder, and more and more people came ashore. His zither music gradually became more and more intense, like a golden spear and armored horse, looming in the formation filled with killing intent.
The formation wasn't omnipotent. The more people there were, the shorter the time it could be maintained, and the more energy it needed to consume. Back then, on Qiyun Mountain, when Daoist Yun Ji locked him in the formation, in order to get out as soon as possible, he ignored his injuries and forcibly broke the formation to study it. In the end, his mind was hurt. Over the years, he had never set up such an energy-consuming formation.
A trace of blood slowly flowed out of Liu Buwang's lips.
In the spring light, he smiled calmly, as if he was out of this world for the first time. It was as if he was still the young swordsman in white, standing in front of his sweetheart.
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