Jiang Liechen's eyes flickered between light and darkness. One moment he looked sad and confused, and the next he looked gloomy. His gaze wandered between the tombstone and the Nangong Xue. He thought about how she had accused him of being cold and selfish. Every time he wanted to refute her, he would give up halfway. He thought angrily, "You think you know him very well? What a joke! If we weren't in front of his tomb, I would have killed you hundreds of times over for daring to be so disobedient to me! "
Although he said this, he still agreed with the Nangong Xue. As soon as he realized this, he immediately suppressed it with his other thoughts. It was as if he was standing on an isolated island in the middle of the ocean, guarding the only remaining faith under his feet. Even though the waves were surging and the sound of the tide shook the heavens, he remained unmoved. However, one day, this small piece of land would gradually disintegrate. It was true that the world was so big, but there was no place to hide.
— — —
Yuan Yi and Li Yijie traveled for many days, almost to the ends of the earth, and finally arrived at the end of the mountain, where the sea and the sky met. They stood in front of a cave, where a dark path led downwards. Yuan Yi suddenly raised his hand to stop Li Yijie. When he opened his mouth, he seemed to be in a difficult position. He said, "Brother Li, it's not that I want to force you, but the teachings of our ancestors cannot be disobeyed …"
Li Yijie was the one asking for help, so naturally he would comply. Before Yuan Yi's guilt faded, he took out a strip of cloth from his pocket and smiled generously. He said, "Before we came here, I promised you. Don't worry. Look, haven't I already prepared everything? "As he said this, he was about to cover his eyes with the cloth. Yuan Yi said, "Wait a minute …" Seeing the sincerity in Li Yijie's eyes, even he, who had always been carefree, had some misgivings and found it difficult to speak.
Li Yijie also had a premonition that this trip would not go so smoothly, but now that they had arrived at the entrance, there was no need to rush him back. He took the initiative to say, "Young Master Yuan, if there's anything you need, just tell me. It's not a big deal. Or perhaps there are some unreasonable rules in the mountain villa? It doesn't matter. Since I'm already here, I'll do whatever you say. "
Yuan Yi said in her heart, "The more magnanimous you are, the more I feel ashamed toward you." He sighed and said, "Blindfolding my eyes is only one of the rules. My father also said that if an outsider enters the manor, no matter how noble their status is in the Central Plains, they must be treated equally. Anyone who had a mouth and could speak could not be trusted unless they swore not to reveal the secret of the villa and cut off their tongues in front of him. Only then could they leave alive. I don't want you to make such a big sacrifice, and I don't want to create an irreparable regret in the future. Therefore, I thought that there might be a way to neutralize the situation. That is, once you enter, you will pretend to be a mute who can't speak. My father may use all kinds of methods to test you, but as long as you grit your teeth and endure it, you will be able to pass safely. As for convincing my father … leave it to me. After all, I'm his son. I know how to cater to his tastes better than you do. "
Li Yijie said, "Blindfolding my eyes, swearing an oath, and so on, I can accept it. But pretending to be a mute … definitely won't work. I also want to join you in beseeching Uncle. I want to tell him the story of Xueer and I, and do my best to move his heart. In front of someone who is equal to Xueer's hope of survival, I'm sorry, but I really can't do it. Besides, I have a lot on my mind, I don't want to pretend to be a mute. I don't know when I'll be exposed. If that happens, I'll implicate you, and it will show that I'm not sincere in asking for help … "
"Brother Li," Yuan Yi interrupted, "If I didn't have confidence, how could I dare to speak so rashly? Think about it, between the two of us, whose eloquence is a notch better? "
Li Yijie said, "Yuan Gongzi is eloquent, naturally I am inferior to you." This time Yuan Yi did not have time to be modest, he blurted out, "That's it! If even I can't persuade my father, then what difference does it make whether Brother Li opens your mouth or not? "
Li Yijie's face turned red. Earlier he was so focused on standing up for himself that he neglected this point. With a bitter laugh he said, "Then … all right." While saying that, he slowly covered his eyes with the cloth. He wrapped it around his head again and again, and when he was tying a knot on the back of his head, he alternated between his hands and fiercely pulled the cloth in both directions, tying it especially tight.
Yuan Yi saw this and knew that Li Yijie was trying to prove to him that he was not peeking. He did not know what to feel. There were many strange rules in his family that could guard against gentlemen, but could not guard against petty people. Unfortunately, a good friend like Li Yijie had to suffer because of them. He felt his throat was hoarse, so he moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue and said, "Brother Li, when we get inside, whatever I tell you to do, you must do it. You must not speak or move irresponsibly. The mechanism has no eyes, once it is triggered, it could be life-threatening. "
Li Yijie nodded and stretched out his hand tentatively to hold Yuan Yi's palm. He said with a double meaning, "No problem, I'll do as you say. Yuan Gongzi, I will leave everything to you. As a brother, I will leave my life in your hands. "Out of nowhere, Yuan Yi felt a heavy burden on his shoulders. Whether or not he could unload it was still unknown. He did not dare to hastily agree, but he also did not dare to refuse in advance. He could only silently smile bitterly.
Li Yijie followed him for several steps in the darkness. He could still hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Then the road suddenly tilted and he felt like he was going to flip over. He knew that this was the downhill road. Focusing his weight on the heel of his foot, he stomped down step by step. Gradually, even the sound of the waves could not be heard. Gradually, a moist smell entered his nose. This was the unique smell of the soil by the sea, deep underground.
Following this was a long corridor with many twists and turns. Li Yijie took this opportunity to think about how he should explain to that 'extremely old-fashioned father' that Yuan Yi mentioned. After thinking for half a day, he finally remembered that Yuan Yi had told him to pretend to be a mute. But thinking that he would have to hand over the power of speech to someone else, he was a bit worried.
Yuan Yi suddenly said, "Brother Li, hold your breath." Before Li Yijie could regain his composure, he felt a burst of water vapor hitting his face. Immediately the vapor filled his nostrils and he could not help but cough in a low voice. His nose was sour, his tears were still bound by the cloth and mixed in the corners of his eyes. His eyes were slightly swollen from the water vapor.
However, in comparison, this could only be considered an appetizer. The deeper he went, the faster the water flow became. It poured down from the top of his head. His hair, his clothes, his entire body was soaked wet. He could not find a dry spot, so he could only use the water to wipe himself. In the summer, perhaps this would make him feel cool and comfortable, but right now it was late autumn and winter. His clothes were wet and stuck to his body. The cold wind went straight into his collar, as if it was seeping into his bones. He thought that perhaps he had just passed through a waterfall to have this kind of power.
Although the water was cold, it was extremely clean. His entire body felt refreshed. Suddenly he thought, "I wonder where this place is? How can there be such a big flow of water deep underground? Could it be … that I have really walked into the water … could it be … could it be that the Four Great Clans are actually hiding at the bottom of the sea? No wonder no matter how hard people tried, they could not find it. "
As soon as this thought came to his mind, he could not help but blame himself in his heart, "Li Yijie, you clearly said that you should not pry into other people's secrets. You should turn a blind eye to all the strange things that are happening here. How can you think of all kinds of things and analyze endlessly when you have just experienced a little bit of abnormality? "
After that, there was a section that was specifically designed to dry people's clothes. At least, Li Yijie used it for this purpose. With great difficulty he finally got rid of the damp predicament. Before he could even take a deep breath, he heard Yuan Yi call out, "Be careful!" He did not know what kind of mechanism he pressed, but immediately he pulled Li Yijie along. After leaping several times, he could hear the mechanism behind him popping out one after another.
Finally he stepped on solid ground, but before he could even take a deep breath, the ground suddenly sank down to the bottom. After reaching a certain depth, he leaped onto another platform. Although he could not see clearly, he could vaguely feel that he was flying up diagonally.
After a series of earth-shaking tosses and turns, he finally stood on his tiptoes and stepped on an extremely thin steel wire, moving forward in a crisscross pattern. Fortunately right now he was blindfolded, so he could not see that below him was a high platform that looked like a bottomless abyss. The bottom of the platform was densely packed with extremely thin steel needles on both sides.
However, one could not judge a book by its cover, and the same was true for common things. Every needle tip was coated with a unique and highly toxic poison. Once a steel needle pierced into a person's body, it would immediately swim into the deepest part of the body, bringing the poison along with it into the meridians. There was no cure. Li Yijie did not know anything, so he was not afraid. Yuan Yi, on the other hand, had been rolling on this steel wire since he was a child. He belonged to the 'practice makes perfect' class.
After crossing the steel wire, he stepped into the innermost secret room. Yuan Yi signaled, "Brother Li, you can take off the blindfold now."
Li Yijie was actually waiting for him to say this. However, after traveling for less than an hour in the Yuan Mansion, which was full of mechanisms, he realized that only by blindfolding his eyes and being led by someone did he truly feel safe. He even felt a little reluctant to become a 'blind person'.
Just as he was about to make a joke with Yuan Yi, he suddenly heard a cough in the room. Although the sound was soft, to Li Yijie, it was no less than a muffled thunder. In front of the original Manor Lord, Xing Zhi did not dare to act out of line. He originally had nothing to do with him, but now it was as if he had delivered himself to his door to be his son. He would also be afraid of the slightest snort.
In a flurry, he pulled off the blindfold and opened his eyes wide to look around. He saw that he was in an extremely spacious hall, and everything was clean and tidy. Judging from the furnishings in the room, the four walls were paved with jade and colored glass, and it was simply no different from the most magnificent palace, and it might even surpass it. It was really hard to believe that this paradise was actually a manor hidden deep underground.
In front of him was a large, round crystal. It was placed neatly in the middle of the hall and was supported by a special stand. The top of the crystal was flowing with wave after wave of colorful light. The side walls were so bright that they could reflect the light. Li Yijie originally wanted to step forward to take a look, but as soon as he saw the tall middle-aged man standing behind the crystal, he immediately dispelled all the absurd thoughts he had when he came.
The man was tall and thin, wearing a dark green robe. His face was grim, as if covered with a layer of frost. His hands were behind his back. His hairstyle was similar to that of Qian Ming, straight to his shoulders. In recent years, due to the power of the Manchurian Qing, many people had no choice but to endure the pain of shaving their heads, leaving behind long braids. The few people who did not shave their heads were the most influential people of the present age. For the time being, even the imperial court could not restrain them.
Although he lived in seclusion for many years, the sky was high and the emperor was far away, but from his body, there was a kind of imposing manner. At first glance, people would be suppressed by this invisible pressure and would not dare to make any strange movements. Just by looking at his face, he looked more like one of Yuan Yi's older brothers of similar age. However, according to Li Yijie's guess, this was most likely the 'main person' he was looking for.
Sure enough, Yuan Yi stepped forward and introduced him, "This is Wulin's Meng Zhu, Li Daxia. This gentleman — is Jiayan. "Li Yijie remembered that he had repeatedly told him to 'pretend to be deaf and dumb'. Hastily he adopted a humble and respectful posture and bowed to the ground.
"Humph," the original Manor Head said, "Wulin's Meng Zhu? Forgive me for not knowing how to appreciate kindness. I do not have much contact with Jianghu people, so there is nothing I can do to entertain you. Please forgive me for my lack of courtesy. " Although his mouth said 'forgive me', but looking at his face, it was clear that he was the most important person in the world. How could he extravagantly ask for other people's understanding?
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