C13 (1/2)
Zhu Residence's main courtyard.
A large courtyard. There wasn't even a housekeeper inside.
It has been almost eight years since Master Zhong came to Niu Yang to be the Grand Master and built this luxurious mansion the next year. The surrounding commoners only knew that this courtyard was the marquis', but no one had ever been able to place a bet on his dignity.
It was late autumn, but the yard was full of spring. Although the peach blossoms had already withered, the branches were still shaded by the leaves.
Passing through the dense peach woods, he saw the row of exquisite bamboo houses. The bamboo house was surrounded by another one zhang tall wall, which was also made of green hills and rocks. The living quarters of the family were in the enclosed room.
At the back of the bamboo house was another huge garden patio. It stretched all the way to the end of the east side of the house. There were numerous fake mountains and pavilions inside the patio. There were also small bridges, flowing water, fish, lotus, and all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs. There were even birds singing and butterflies dancing.
”Hey-hey-heh!”
On the grass beside the lotus pond was a girl around ten years old. She wore a purple robe and had two butterfly braids on her head. With her large eyes, oval face, and delicate face, she was clearly a beauty.
At this moment, his right hand was holding a six inch small bamboo sword. Although the sword was small, the workmanship was extremely exquisite. She waved the sword in her right hand and the sword in her left. Twisting, pushing, tapping, stabbing, moving, dodging, jumping, as though she was a purple butterfly dancing in the air. Although the sword aura was lacking in heat, the sword art was extremely exquisite!
”Mother, how was it? Ah?” ”How was my practice!?” The little girl shouted loudly as she brandished her sword.
”Mn, not bad, not bad. My Ling'er is definitely not ordinary …” He saw a middle-aged woman beside him. He was dressed in black, embroidered with brocade, sketched, and light clothing. Seductive yet not demonic, beautiful yet not thick. Her fingers were as delicate as spring onions, her teeth were slightly open, and her eyes were bright. And a pair of eyes, a pair of soul-stirring eyes. Any man who saw them would never forget them! Filled with joy, he watched the young lady dance with her sword. With a hand holding a peach branch, she lightly patted it with her jade palm. She was praising the little girl.
”Really? Really? ”Mother …” The little girl heard her mother's praise, but quickly retracted her sword. Turning around, her large eyes stared at her mother, her face flushed red, as she panted.
This little girl was Master Diao's precious daughter, Zhu Ling'er. And that woman was her mother, ”Madam Peach Blossom”.
”Yeah, that's right. Ling'er dances really well. As expected of the smart daughter of father and mother …”
”Hee hee …” En, Mother will not lie to Ling'er … That... ”Then mother will go to Ling'er …” The little girl bent over and put her face close to Madam Peach Blossom's.
”Haha …” ”Hurry up and go wash your face first. There's so much sweat. How are you going to make mom kiss you …” Peach Blossom Fu bent down and wiped the little girl's forehead with his hand. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.
”Humph, no, no, no …” She pouted, rolled her eyes, and glanced sideways at her mother. Then, he threw away the small bamboo sword and raised his right hand. He brushed away his mother's hand, turned around, and ran back into the house. His braids fluttered in the air like two butterflies.
”I'll wait for daddy to come back and teach me how to write …” ”Humph!” He actually had a small temper.
”Madam Peach Blossom” bent down and picked up the small sword. With a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, she shook her head, turned around and walked inside the house with graceful steps. From far away, he heard the sound of a metal basin knocking against each other, followed by the sound of water splashing …
The garden was just a wall away from the bamboo forest. Outside the bamboo forest, which was about fifteen meters wide, was the terrifying ”Bone Crusher Cliff.” This cliff face was a place where even birds would not stay. Of course, no one would come here, much less the Zhu Residence Courtyard.
At this moment, a person was sitting on a rock at the edge of the cliff.
A young man. Twenty-six. White clothes, white coat. Starry eyes and white teeth. Her skin was fair and clean, her face rosy, and her fingers slender.
He held a sword in his hand.
”Don't ask” sword.
It was Leng Lingfeng.
He clearly remembered that he had been sitting here for at least eight years. Ever since he moved in, he had been here almost every day, because he couldn't think of a good place to go.
Being a bodyguard was monotonous and boring. There was almost nothing to do every day. In the past few years, Master Zhong often went out and even took him for a walk. From then on, he rarely went out. Thus, he stayed in this empty courtyard every day.
Even though he was living with his master, he was living alone in a room. He ate by himself. Even if Master Diao had asked Zhu Ling'er to call him over for dinner countless times. But he had never been there. In his memory, he would only eat with his father for the rest of his life.
Every day, other than practicing the sword techniques passed to him by his father and the two sword techniques he had created, he would spend most of his time sitting at the edge of this cliff in a daze. The sharp rock he was using to protect himself had already become round.
He was already used to life alone. He was used to being alone. If no one disturbed him, he could think of his father. In this lifetime, there was nothing more important than Father.
Alone every day, but not lonely. Because every day, he could hear the sounds of Zhu Ling'er's sword hitting against a tree branch from within the wall, as well as her loud yells as she practiced. Moreover, one could hear the voice of a woman, a voice that could captivate one's soul. He could tell that a woman with such a voice must be beautiful. He had wanted to look over the wall many times, but he hadn't. Not once. He knew it was his wife. He had never seen his wife before, not even once.
He held the sword in his right hand. The sword never left his hand when he slept. This was because his father had once said that a sword was a swordsman's life. If a sword was no more, then life would no longer exist, even if one was still alive.
He rested his chin on his left hand. He stared blankly at the opposite side of the cliff. Ten Zhang away was the mountain, and above it was the Shaowang Mountains.
Although there was sunlight. The wind was strong.
”Puff!” Something flew out from under the wall. Its speed was extremely fast.
Leng Lingfeng was taken aback. Looking carefully, he discovered that it was a bat. They were flying down the cliff.
He didn't care about it at the moment.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Where did this bat come from in broad daylight? I've been sitting here for years and I haven't seen anything like this.
Bats should move at night. And in this bare space, let alone a tree, there wasn't even a blade of grass. Where did the bat come from? Could it be?
The white-coat scientist lifted his head and looked down. Other than the bottomless cliff, there was nothing else that was alive.
”Eh? ”Strange …”
With a push from his left hand, he descended the cliff. With his right hand on his sword, his feet and his left hand pressed against the cliff like a gecko, crawling quickly on the cliff without making any sound!
After about three meters, he saw a concave spot on the left side and immediately went through it to stabilize his body. He saw a big hole in the right side of the roof. This kind of hole was very common.
Could it be that the bat flew out from here? According to Master, if the bats were not resting on the trees, then there would only be one place, and that was the very deep and very large cave. But this hole was only the size of a bowl. With a clang, he drew out the ”Do not ask” sword and slashed through the air towards the edge of the hole. With a ”Hua” sound, half of the rock had been cut off, revealing a half-man-sized hole. Looking inside, it was pitch black, and apart from a cold gust of wind, there was nothing else that could be seen. He immediately pulled back, leaned out, and looked towards the far left. However, he also saw that there seemed to be a similar depression on the cliff wall fifty feet away. He immediately gathered his strength and scurried a few steps forward, arriving a foot away from that place in the blink of an eye. There was indeed a concave spot, and a corner of a large stone board was exposed. With that, he retracted his body and landed on the stone slab, landing on the ground soundlessly. Only now did he realize that the stone slab was at least three meters wide. He found it strange. As a result, he gently lifted his clothes, half knelt on the ground, and looked down. He nearly lost his breath for a moment!