The dumplings stuffed with mutton made by Ai Xiaozhou are delicious, dipped in vinegar and minced garlic, they are a real treat.

As the night progressed, I don't know which house set off the firecrackers first, and then followed a street, a neighborhood, and the entire holy city. The sound of firecrackers went off one after another, and there were also bright fireworks that exploded.

There are more children laughing and men and women talking and laughing on the street.

After Chu Yunqing finished eating, he walked to the yard. The smell of firecracker smoke and incense filled his nostrils, and the fireworks in the sky lit up the night.

"It's the Chinese New Year," he thought.

I don’t know what happened to Ke Fang and the other brothers of the Yuan Xing Gang. Speaking of which, he has been busy with his own affairs. Except for a letter he sent when he first arrived in the capital, he didn’t write anything else this year.

When I went back, Ke Fang and the others were the same, no letter was sent.

When I was in the gang, I didn't think anything of it, especially when I was undercover, and I was even very tired of the Yuanxing Gang. But now that I have been away for a long time, I still miss it a little bit.

Chu Yunqing shook his head, thinking that human emotions are really strange.

"What are you thinking about?" Ai Xiaozhou put away the dishes and came over with his hands behind his back.

Perhaps it was because the fireworks tonight were much stronger than before, and the wind blowing was not very cold. Ai Xiaozhou gently pulled her hair around her ears, and a strand of black hair stuck to the corner of her lips.

Chu Yunqing thought it was beautiful.

Ai Xiaozhou seemed to be blown by the smoke from the wind and narrowed his eyes, then stretched out his arms towards Chu Yunqing.

"What?" Chu Yunqing was a little confused.

"Shouldn't you hug me now?" Ai Xiaozhou's cheeks were slightly red.

Chu Yunqing shook his head and smiled. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes suddenly froze.

"What's wrong?" Ai Xiaozhou asked subconsciously when he saw the change in his expression.

Chu Yunqing suddenly looked towards the roof of the kitchen not far away, his energy and blood surged, and golden light appeared in his palms.

Ai Xiaozhou hadn't noticed anything yet, but seeing him like this, he became alert.

The next moment, Chu Yunqing suddenly took action, and golden light shot out from his palm like a bolt, hitting somewhere on the roof directly.

On the roof, which was originally empty even under the light of fireworks, a black shadow suddenly moved. The golden light fell into the void and shattered the corrugations. However, the black shadow was also unstable and sank directly from the roof.

First there was a cry of surprise, then there was the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, and then there was a scream of pain.

"Is there someone there?" Ai Xiaozhou was startled, his eyes serious, and he walked directly over there.

On the night of the Chinese New Year, a thief came to her house. Regardless of whether he was a gentleman or a passer-by, she would never let him off lightly.

Chu Yunqing accompanied her over.

In fact, he wasn't too worried. Although there was a vague sense of energy in his initial perception, he could make the opponent appear with just a casual move, and he was in such a mess, so he was not a master at all.

Moreover, according to the perception at this time, the other party's breath is unstable, showing weakness, and seems to be injured?

Soon, the two of them arrived at the kitchen door and saw clearly the people inside.

A middle-aged Taoist priest was wearing what should have been a washed-out but luxurious Taoist robe, but at this time, the Taoist robe was mostly stained with cuts and blood, making it look tattered.

He was also in a mess, his hair was in a mess, and there was a lot of dust on his face, making him look dirty and downcast.

At this time, he was half lying on the ground, his legs and feet seemed to be broken, but he was devouring the leftover mutton dumplings in the kitchen, as if he hadn't eaten for several days, and he was choking and rolling his eyes.

Chu Yunqing and Ai Xiaozhou were both stunned, not because they were surprised by the other's honor or behavior, but because they recognized each other, especially for Chu Yunqing, the man in front of him was an old acquaintance.

"Zhou, Taoist Master Zhou?" Chu Yunqing asked in confusion, "I said that after that day in Thunder Tribulation Valley, why did you disappear? It turned out that you came to the capital. Aren't you from the Qingjing Sect? How did you become like this?"

He said this with ridicule, because the middle-aged Taoist in front of him was Zhou Wangchao from Taiyuan City, and this Taoist had been waiting outside the Thunder Tribulation Valley, wanting to intercept Hu himself.

Earlier, in order to get the banana fan back, this Taoist even lied to himself that he was from the Qingjing Sect. However, Gu He later said that there was no such person in the Qingjing Sect, so Chu Yunqing felt that this Niubi was a liar.

At this time, Ai Xiaozhou originally thought that he had admitted the wrong person. When he heard what Chu Yunqing said, he immediately understood that he had not admitted the wrong person. The man in front of him was the cow's nose who wanted to cut off his beard outside the Thunder Tribulation Valley.

That charlatan who pretends to be a fairy and has the demeanor of a master.

"Hey, isn't this the old man who flew away in the wind? If you don't go to the palace to eat elixirs during the Chinese New Year, why are you here to steal dumplings?" Ai Xiaozhou deliberately mocked.

Zhou Wangchao only ate dumplings to fill his stomach and turned a deaf ear to the cynicism and sarcasm of these two people. He didn't think about anything else now, he just wanted to have a full meal.

If he was still worried about his situation and the danger he was involved in before, now, after seeing who appeared in front of him, he was no longer worried at all.

We are all old acquaintances, so what is there to worry about?

Zhou Wangchao ate hungrily, eating two whole plates of dumplings. At the end, he burped and asked if there was more.

Chu Yunqing felt that this New Year's Eve was really interesting. He let himself look at the messy cow nose and ate dumplings for a long time.

"Here's some water. It would be better if there is good wine." Zhou Wangchao collapsed on the ground and smiled flatteringly at the two people in front of him.

"Hey." Ai Xiaozhou has such a bad temper that he wants to take action when he goes up.

Chu Yunqing stopped her, walked aside, scooped a ladle of water for Zhou Wangchao, and poured it into the bowl.

Zhou Wangchao smiled and did not dislike it. He drank a lot. After eating and drinking, he found a relatively clean spot on his sleeve and wiped it on his mouth. He immediately let out a comfortable hum and moved it to the bellows like this.

He leaned back and let out a long breath.

"You evil disciple."

Before Chu Yunqing could ask, Zhou Wangchao let out a long sigh.

Chu Yunqing raised his eyebrows, it sounded like there was a story.

Ai Xiaozhou moved a bench aside and sat down, grabbing a handful of melon seeds.

Chu Yunqing hugged him with his arms and leaned on the wooden frame nearby.

"Taoist priest, why did you come to the capital if you don't just show off and cheat in Taiyuan City?" He asked proactively: "And you're still like this?"

Zhou Wangchao gave a wry smile, and his eyes became tired, even more desolate and sad.

"Once upon a time, there was a man who was naughty since he was a child. He always wanted to practice martial arts and dreamed of fighting in the martial arts. But he was not strong enough to practice martial arts. He didn't believe it. When he grew up, he visited famous teachers everywhere.

I don’t know how many times I have been deceived.

Later, he met a Taoist. The Taoist said that although he could not practice martial arts, he could cultivate, that is, become an alchemist. So he left his hometown and followed the Taoist up the mountain.

He is gifted. No matter how complex and exquisite mysticism is, as long as he is willing to learn it, he can use it freely within a few days. His master often says that he is a genius. In the sect, everyone knows that he is a genius. How lovely.

, it is easy to get carried away once one is praised.

He forgot his master's teachings and believed in villains. As a result, he accidentally broke into the forbidden area of ​​the sect, caused trouble, and killed his fellow juniors and sisters. If his master had not begged for mercy, he would have been expelled from the sect.

However, although he stayed in the sect, because of his ignorance and recklessness, he killed his close friends. He always felt that the way other people looked at him was disgust and disgust, and he began to become suspicious.

, even a little nervous.

His practice had fallen behind, and his excellent talent had stagnated due to cracks in his state of mind. He was very anxious, but had no idea what to do.

The master saw this and went down the mountain to find a solution for his heart ailment. Unexpectedly, there was a flood that year and the flood caused disaster. The master could have rushed back to the mountain gate, but in order to save the people, he used his magical power to cut off the flood, and finally died of exhaustion.

die.

The apprentice on the mountain never saw his master again."

At this point, Zhou Wangchao's eyes were blurry with tears. He wiped his tears and nose, took a deep breath, and continued to talk.

"Whether it is the people in the sect or the people at the foot of the mountain, they all talk about the master's merits and spread the master's good name, but as an apprentice, he is gradually forgotten. Because a respected and loved master's disciples should not have such

A selfish, crazy apprentice.

The death of his master made his heart die. He seemed to suddenly wake up. He was no longer confused and started to practice again. He had changed. Although his attainments in mystical arts were not as good as before, his practice also slowed down.

, but he is more willing to help others, even if he suffers cynicism and endures the glare.

He is more like an ordinary person, no longer the genius he was before, but an honest, calm and obedient disciple in the mountains. Year after year passed like this, and decades passed in the blink of an eye.

The former brothers and sisters are also getting old. Some have left the mountain gate and become worshipers in the houses of powerful people; some have established their own businesses and enjoy admiration; some have died due to misfortune and are separated forever, etc.

He is still alive, just in the mountain gate, doing idle things all day long.

Later, after messing around, he was actually elected as the head of the outer sect by his disciples because of his seniority. At that time, he looked at the enthusiastic young faces in front of him and thought of himself back then.

Like them, he is in high spirits.

It's just that the head of the outer sect at that time was the master, and I just looked at him with such reverence.

He knows that this is the result of his silent dedication. When these young juniors need help, he is always generous and spares no effort to help them solve their difficulties. Whether it is practice or daily life, he is the most important person in the mountain gate.

The most respected senior.

This is not because he did this deliberately, but because he understood the state of mind of his master at the time. He wanted to protect the younger generations and trust them. This is the responsibility of being a senior and a forerunner.

After becoming the head of the outer sect, he continued to do the things he was used to as before. It seemed that he just had an extra name and did not change at all in his life.

But those dignitaries who had ignored him in the past began to try their best to win over him. Temptations such as gold, silver and beauties came one after another, which seemed to take him back to decades ago when he was hailed as a genius.

Everything you see and touch is prosperous.

But to him now, all he could see was filth, and beneath the seemingly flashy gold foil, what flowed was disgusting falsehood.

He disdains social interaction and all these things, and he still lives his life in the mountain gate.

Until he met a young man.

He was a thin but unyielding man. Everyone said he couldn't do it, but he fought and worked hard. He vaguely saw his own shadow in the other person. Back then, he was also unrecognized by others and couldn't find his direction.
To be continued...