Volume 1: Tian Nan ? Xuan Qing Volume Chapter 10: Tian Nan's First Forging Sword Mountain Villa

  Gu Baiyun rode on "Hei Yun Ju", while Lu Lun sat in the coachman's position, driving the horse carriage. With a pull of the reins: "Drive!"

  Luren has always been closest to Ma, and on Diancang Mountain, although he is the sixth-ranked Diancang Grand Disciple in the Zhugong lineage, he still takes care of the horses on the mountain by his own will.

  He spent half of his time on the mountain practicing sword, a small part accompanying his junior brothers and sisters to play, and still a small part with the horses on the mountain, often personally cleaning the horse troughs, personally adding horse feed, and having an especially good relationship with the "Black Cloud" colt. Although the "Black Cloud" colt was not his master's mount but rather his uncle's mount, Rulun was a connoisseur of horses and naturally took great care of the "Black Cloud" colt, far surpassing the other horses.

  Generally, when people drive a horse-drawn carriage, they all use whips, but Lu Wang doesn't. He only uses one hand to control the reins and can freely control the running horse: starting, walking slowly, galloping fast, stopping accurately, calmly, quickly and stably.

  Gu Baiyun saw that Luo Zhihan was still dazed and hadn't rested all night, so she said: "Zhihan, you don't have to ride a horse, get in the carriage with Hang'er!"

  The three horses of the Southern Sea were already exhausted and not good horses, so Gu Baiyun said: "Han'er, this horse is not as good as directly giving it to the guest."

  Luozhi bid farewell to Han Shang and Ma, remembering that his master had bought ordinary horses on purpose because good horses would only attract trouble when traveling the world. However, after spending a long time together, he couldn't bear to part with them now, but had no other choice than to follow Gu Baiyun's orders and give them away.

  He closed his eyes, forgot about the past, and bowed again to thank Gu Baiyun: "Thank you, Master!" After finishing speaking, he got on the horse carriage.

  But as soon as he thought of his master, a strong desire for revenge arose in his heart, and he couldn't help himself. Even though he was on the horse carriage, it seemed like his mind was thousands of miles away, chasing after the enemy to avenge.

  Gu Baiyun whispered to Lu Shaoxing: "Xing'er, Luo Xian's younger brother has been working hard for days and didn't rest last night either. You should take care of him more."

  Lu Shaohang nodded and said: "Disciple understands, thank you Master for your concern!"

  He was orphaned at a young age and grew up with his master in Diancang, where his master and two uncles treated him like their own son. He was taken as the first great disciple of the Diancang sect and he only wanted to practice the sword skills of his school to repay his master and the sect. Usually, he just focused on practicing swords, and had already practiced 14 kinds of Diancang's 19 routes sword skills, ranking first in martial arts among the disciples, and rarely spoke.

  But Gu Baiyun knew that his big disciple was cold on the outside and hot on the inside, with a good nature and high innate talent. So he didn't mind his disciple's aloof personality, but instead took pride in him, feeling that his disciple's martial arts skills and character were among the best of the younger generation, and the title "Cold Sword from Diancang Mountain" was not to be taken lightly, even when compared to Shen Que, the eldest disciple of his own master's brother, the "Sword Guest of Yangfeng".

  He was just Gu Baiyun, who had always been carefree and at ease, never thinking about the position of leader. In those years, he automatically gave up because he disliked the trivial matters of being a leader, so everyone in Jianghu knew that his reputation was high, almost surpassing that of the leader's junior brother. That's why he taught his eldest disciple Lu Shaoxing to be like him, without desires and only focusing on swordsmanship, so Lu Shaoxing's heart also only had the pursuit of swordsmanship and no distractions.

  Gu Baiyun also knew that on Diancang Mountain, the relationship between his own disciples and those of the gatekeeper's brother was very harmonious. Many of the gatekeeper's brother's disciples respected him just as much as they did their own master, such as Lian Tian, Lu Lun, and that sunny and lively young disciple Chu Jiu. This was something he quite liked. In recent years, Diancang's reputation had been on the rise, which was naturally the result of everyone in the sect working together in harmony.

  Lu Shao Hang's parents passed away when he was still young, and he didn't experience much deep pain. Last night's events made him blame himself for not being able to save Zhao Yin Feng, and seeing the deep relationship between Luo Zhi Han and his three disciples moved him, although he rarely speaks, he has already been touched.

  He now sees Luo Zhihan getting on the carriage, but only to see that he has almost not slept all night, his spirit is weak and depressed, still unable to extricate himself from sorrow. As the carriage moves forward, the compartment shakes violently, Luo Zhihan sways back and forth, his whole body almost powerless to control.

  Then Lu Shaohang said softly, "Be careful!" and stretched out his right arm to steady Luo Zhihan. This gesture of kindness moved Luo Zhihan deeply.

  Then, a group of people rushed quickly to "Shenmang Manor" in the south of Dali City, and their speed was quite fast.

  After a while, Luo heard a long whistle outside the carriage, and the "black cloud" also let out a long hiss. Far above the clouds, Lu Shaoxing's voice softly echoed in his ear: "Luo Xiongdi, we've arrived, let's get off the carriage!" The horse carriage had already come to a stop.

  Luochi's heart sank, but then he remembered how important it was to avenge his master. His spirit lifted, and he replied, "Thank you, Master Lu!" Then he got down from the carriage with Lu Shaohang.

  The horse carriage stopped about a hundred steps in front of a large mountain villa, and from afar, the green bricks and red tiles, high walls and spacious houses, the villa was built on the mountain, with a majestic momentum, behind it a large mountain, lush and verdant. The villa stretched out for a long distance, with rows of buildings and courtyards, surrounded by walls, in the middle of which stood a wide vermilion gate, above which hung a large plaque, with four golden characters "Shen Mang Mountain Villa".

  On both sides, there is a small archway. Now the big gate in the middle is closed tightly, but the small archways are open. Several servants sit on some benches in front of the gate, cracking melon seeds and chatting idly.

  From the outside, the villa is shaded by lush green trees, and occasionally a corner of the red-painted and glazed-tiled building peeks out from among the dense foliage. The atmosphere is elegant, and upon listening carefully, one can even hear the gentle sound of a stream flowing. As for the ingenuity of the villa's layout, it is truly beyond words, leaving one feeling utterly carefree and exhilarated.

  Gu Baiyun had also dismounted, smiling as he stroked the sorrel coat of "Black Cloud". Lu Lun had also alighted, and was busy grooming the necks of the two carriage horses, for he had always loved horses like his own life.

  On the other side, suddenly "creak" sound, the main gate of "Shenmang Mountain Villa" opened wide, and the servants by the small door stood up immediately with respect and bowed to greet, apparently an important figure in the villa had come out.

  Only then did a number of people quickly walk out from the gate, with one person in front, having a dark face and thin mustache, looking to be only around forty years old, with broad shoulders and chest, slender waist and long legs, his long shirt could not hide his vigorous and heroic spirit, which had a strong and rugged color hidden beneath its plain appearance.

  Luo Zhihan thought that this person didn't look very old either, could it be that the world-renowned number one swordsmith of Tianshan for over twenty years, Lian Ri Feng?

  Behind the middle-aged man, there was a young couple following closely, who looked very young from afar. Behind them were two rows of servants, about 7 or 8 people in each row, walking in an orderly manner, not daring to glance sideways. It seemed that the welcoming ceremony was extremely grand.

  A group of people walked swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived before the horse carriage. The middle-aged man stretched out his hands from afar: "Black Cloud" let out a long whistle, and Lian Mou knew that a noble guest had arrived. "White Cloud brother has come to our humble village, Lian Mou didn't go far to greet you, please forgive me, forgive me!"

  This man was none other than Lian Ri Feng, the world-renowned number one swordsmith of the south, who had already clasped his hands together in a half-bow.

  Gu Baiyun burst out laughing and rushed forward, bowing: "Junior Brother Lian, why be so polite? I'm Gu, how fortunate that you'd trouble yourself to personally welcome me at the door!"

  The two hands had already grasped the visitor's hands, and the visitor couldn't bow down anymore. After a moment, the two of them stood up together, simultaneously bursting into loud laughter.

  Only to see Lian Ri Feng smiled and said: "Brother Bai Yun, it's been half a year since we last met. The inner strength and mental state of the White Cloud Swordsmanship have actually reached the level of 'endless and vague, like white clouds'. I'm afraid there are only a few people in Jianghu who can reach this realm! Truly worthy of congratulations! Congratulations!"

  Gu Baiyun stroked his long beard and burst out laughing: "As soon as Brother Lian sees me, he flatters me, but it seems that his own 'Flowing Star Forging Sword Fourteen Styles' has reached the realm of effortless release. The force in his hands is surprisingly skillful, can't Brother Lian see this himself?"

  It turned out that they both knew from shaking hands just now that the other's martial arts had made great progress compared to when they last met.

  Suddenly, a girl in her teens, wearing a pale yellow dress, appeared from behind the screen. Her big black eyes sparkled as she smiled and said: "Uncle Gu, it's been a long time since you last came to see Xiao Rou. Xiao Rou has been wanting to meet Uncle Gu for a long time!"

  After finishing, she curtsied deeply. Gu Baiyun chuckled and waited for the little girl to bow down before hastily stepping forward to help her up. Smiling, he turned his head to Lian Rifen and said: "Lian Xiongdi, Xiao Rou really is a beauty at eighteen, getting more and more lovely by the day! And she's also becoming more and more like your wife, haha! Fortunately, Rou'er and Tian'er don't take after their father in terms of looks, but rather their mother. That's why Rou'er is so pretty."

  Gu Baiyun and Lian Ri Feng had been friends for decades, their friendship was extremely deep. He regarded Lian's two children as his own, so he naturally didn't feel restrained and took pleasure in it.

  "Master Gu will tease Rong'er again, when I get to Diancang Mountain, and my little sister Xiang'er will definitely make tea for Master Gu..." Little Rong's face turned red, and she said with a playful tone.

  Gu Baiyun's martial arts skills were impressive, and he had many friends. In this world, there was nothing to be afraid of, nor anything to worry about. But now, upon hearing Xiaorou's words, the crowd saw that he seemed rather pleased, as if he truly had some fear. He burst out laughing: "No... no, our little Rou is the most well-behaved, she definitely won't join forces with our mountain's Qing'er to make me drink tea made from Qin's return... haha"

  Originally, Xiao Rou often went to Dian Cang to play and transformed into a playful law. There was also the little princess on the mountain, Lin Ruo'er, the only beloved daughter of Lin Ruochi, the leader of Dian Cang Sect. Whatever was fun, she would play with it.

  Once, Gu Baiyun had just returned from Wudang to Diancang, and Xiao Rou respectfully presented him with a cup of tea in front of his junior fellow disciple. As soon as he took a sip, the bitterness was unbearable, but in front of his junior fellow disciple, he couldn't do anything about it, so he could only watch as Xiao Rou and Ming'er made funny faces behind his back, laughing silently.

  Later, Xiaorou even complained that Master Gu couldn't appreciate the good intentions of herself and Ming'er's younger sister, saying that since Master Gu was tired from traveling, she used the unique medicinal herb Qin Gui from Cangshan to replace tea leaves to make a drink for Master Gu, which made Gu Baiyun smile bitterly.

  Xiao Rou's sideways movement allowed Luo Zhi Han to see her face clearly: willow eyebrows, apricot eyes, a clever smile, and skin as white as snow. Her black hair reached down to her waist.

  At this moment, Xiaoyu was also looking over here. She first saw a stranger she didn't recognize and naturally looked over. Their eyes met, and she saw that he was a handsome young man with a resolute expression. Although he was in deep mourning and his face was pale, he was not an ordinary person. Not daring to look again, she quickly lowered her head. On the other side, Luozhi Han also quickly lowered his head, both of them had flushed faces.

  "Junior Brother Lian Tian pays his respects to Master Bo, Lu Shixiong, and Master Bo's brother! May they all be well!" As Luo Zhihan bowed his head, he heard a clear and powerful voice ring out, and knew that this was the Second Master Lian Tian spoken of by Lu Lun.

  He hastily lifted his head and saw a youth, only three or four years older than himself, with a jade-like face and slender figure, wearing a sky-blue long shirt, who was exceptionally handsome. He was bowing to Gu Baiyun and Lu Shaohang, and he was Lian Tian, the second disciple of the Bianzhang sect. Gu Baiyun smiled and said: "Lian Xiongdi, Tian Er is the most beloved disciple of our sect's master, and he has become more and more outstanding!"

  Lian Tian hurriedly got up and laughed: "Master Bo is teasing his younger brother again!"

  Lü Rong also went forward to pay his respects to Lian Feng and Second Brother.

  Originally, the rules of Congmen were quite strict. The people in the door were very gentle on weekdays, but in front of people, they were polite and severe. The younger generation respected their elders, and the younger brothers respected their elder brothers. When meeting, they had to go forward and salute.

  For several days, Feng had already seen the white cloth on Luo Zhihan's head and the white gauze on his shoulders, knowing that he was in mourning. He also saw that Luo Zhihan had a clear brow and bright eyes, with elegant manners and a calm demeanor, and a resolute expression, which gave him a good impression.

  After everyone had finished asking each other for the courtesy, he hurriedly asked: "Brother Baiyun, this child has a remarkable appearance and an extraordinary skeleton. Although he is thin and weak, he does not lose his demeanor. I wonder if he is the son of a good friend from which family in your past life?"

  Everyone in Jianghu knows that "Baiyun Sword Guest" has been a swordsman all his life, traveling the world with justice and righteousness, without marriage or children. That's why Lian Ruo asked him such a question.

  Gu Baiyun hastily introduced Luo Zhihan, saying: "This is my foolish brother's old friend from the South Sea Sword Sect, 'Yin Feng Jian' Zhao Yin Feng's disciple, Luo Zhihan. Today, I brought him along to pay respects to Brother Lian. There are things to ask about, and it's a long story, so let's discuss later. Han Er, come quickly to pay respects to your Uncle Lian!"

  Luo Zhihan bowed his head three times in a row and said: "A disciple of the South Sea Sect, Luo Zhihan greets Lian Bo!"

  Lian Rong was very fond of her, and personally helped her up. He also called his son Lian Tian and daughter to come forward and pay their respects. After they exchanged greetings and bowed to each other, Luo Zhi finally learned that this lovely and lively young lady's name was Lian Wanrou, as gentle as a new moon and as soft as green silk, truly a beautiful name.

  "Come on, Brother Gu. Let's go into the manor and talk in detail while we walk. Your younger sister has personally warmed up some of our best bamboo leaf green tea for us! You don't know, Lan Mo's brewing skills have become more and more impressive recently..." Lian Rong had instructed the servants to take care of the horses and carriages earlier, and now he himself led Gu Baiyun by the right hand from the middle gate, bringing a group of young followers into the manor.

  Lu Zhi walked behind, seeing Gu Shibo and Lian Zhuangzhu talking and laughing freely. Lian Tian and Lu Shaohang were also gentle and elegant, occasionally chatting, and didn't feel lonely at all. Although Lu Shaohang was usually silent, he had a sense of home in "Shenmang Mountain Villa", so it was rare for him to show such a smile.