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!

Beneath the stone slab was a platform about two Zhang wide. Inside the platform was a stone door that was opened wide. He was shocked to find that there was a room inside the door! He was shocked! He focused his mind and calmed his breathing, not daring to let out a single breath.

Because there was someone inside!

A naked person!

He was sitting inside a sealed and transparent object, which was shrouded in white mist.

That person had his hands opened and closed. Sometimes he would stand with his palms up to the sky, but sometimes he would hold his hands up high. Suddenly, he discovered that his hands had turned red, then returned back to normal. Leng Lingfeng was shocked! He knew that not only were there people cultivating, but they were also practicing martial arts. Judging from the changes in his hands, he knew that they must be an extremely abnormal martial art, but he didn't know what it was. However, it was too high in the air, so Leng Lingfeng could not see his face. He slowly tried to stretch his body downwards. He was extremely careful not to discover that he had startled the man. Half a foot down, he finally saw that person's face. That person's eyes were tightly shut. His face was flushed red, but his teeth were clenched tightly. His thick eyebrows were deeply furrowed, and he seemed to be suffering a great deal. Beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead.

Even though the person was naked and surrounded by white mist, Leng Lingfeng still looked familiar. Upon closer inspection, he recognized that it was Master Diao!

He was immediately provoked. He held his breath and slowly moved to the right. When he was one Zhang away, his right foot pushed off and he shot towards the top of the cliff like an arrow. He landed at the place where he had just been sitting, then his figure flashed again as he flew into the wall and arrived at his room in the blink of an eye.

It was actually Master Diao!

Leng Lingfeng was lying on the bamboo mat on the bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He could even faintly hear the sounds of Zhu Ling'er and her mother's laughter coming from the sixth bamboo house.

It was simply too terrifying. Leng Lingfeng could no longer remain calm.

He had been by his side for so many years, but he had no idea that his master knew martial arts! And it had to be an expert.

Only now did he realize that he did not know this county magistrate at all. He only remembered when his father was still in the Ministry of Justice. When he was five years old, he had often seen his father and Master Diao chatting and drinking together. He only remembered that his father had called him "Ninth Master", but the rest of his father had never talked about it, much less mentioned that Master Kai knew martial arts. And he had never seen Master Diao showing any signs of martial arts.

Who would have thought that he would unintentionally discover this secret today. No one would have thought that there was actually a house under that cliff! Master Diao was still practicing some strange martial arts in that room!

Mysterious Master Diao! Indeed, he had to re-recognize his' master '. Too mysterious. Is there any other secret behind this?

Leng Lingfeng let his imagination run wild, not knowing what to do. It was a complete mess.

He suddenly thought of that small cave. The sound of water dripping was still lingering in his ears.

Bat? A cave? The sound of water dripping?

Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly lit up. Then the eyes closed.

It was late at night. Master Diao was sitting in his study, picking up a piece of writing and admiring it in his hands, nodding his head from time to time. He seemed very satisfied with his new work.

"Ai .." "It's time to sleep .." A woman's voice drifted out from behind the screen like an orchid. It seemed to come from the heavens, as if it could pierce through souls .. It was a sound that not even a normal man could resist.

Master Diao put down the banner and walked to the window. He found that the moon was already moving to the west. He opened his hands and stretched. Then, he yawned and put down the bamboo window.

And then the lights in the room went out ..

Other than the soft sound of flowing water, the courtyard was deathly silent.

At this time, a black shadow shot down the cliff like an arrow.

It was Leng Lingfeng.

He arrived at the first cave on the mountain wall and took out a fire piston from his sleeve.

Leng Lingfeng stooped down and peered into the hole that was half the height of a man.

By the light of the fire, Leng Lingfeng could see that there was a narrow passage, on both sides of it was wet with water. A cold wind blew against his face. He could not help but be agitated. He continued moving forward. About ten zhang away, the space in front of him suddenly opened up. It seemed like a small river was flowing beneath his feet. Leng Lingfeng slowly extended his feet into the water. He felt the cold, but the water was knee-deep. He ignored the cold and walked into the water. In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the sound of flowing water could be heard, and the water beneath his feet started to surge. Next, a sword cane touched the bottom of the water as he carefully probed his way through. When he reached 10 feet, he felt that everything in front of him was suddenly bright. The fire in his hands flickered a few times and was almost extinguished by the wind. Only then did he realize that he had arrived at a huge cave. The cave was on his left side, and the water was flowing five feet ahead of him, and the water below was rumbling.

With a flick of his wrist and the sword in his right hand, he leapt out of the water and landed in the cave on the left.

Borrowing the light from the fire, Leng Lingfeng could not help but be shocked, this cave was at least ten Zhang wide. He slowly made his way towards the cave wall. Suddenly, he felt something soft beneath his feet. Immediately, he bent his body down and looked at the ground with the Fire Break. He was almost scared to death! He saw a bat, a huge bat, but it was already dead. A hole was left in the eye area of its small head, and there was still some blood left. He was even more shocked when he saw that all the black and mute bats in front of him were bats, and they were all dead! Every eye had a hole in it, and when he looked again, it was heavens! It was filled with bat corpses!

Clutching his nose, Leng Lingfeng pushed away the bat with his foot and continued to walk towards the cave wall. There were at least tens of thousands of bat corpses!

When they were five feet away from the cave wall, they suddenly saw a dark light shining down from above. Raising his head, he saw that there was a three foot wide opening at the top of the cave. The moonlight shone through the opening. Through the hazy light, he could see two more things that looked like ropes hanging down from above. He immediately rushed over. However, he found out that it was two large iron chains, their bodies flickering with a black light under the light of the fire. He followed the chain all the way until it landed on a stone slab. The two chains, however, were shackled and similarly glowed with a black light. However, the shackles had been stretched outwards and had become severely deformed. It seemed like they were used to lock something.

In his heart, Leng Lingfeng was utterly astonished! He just looked around. Suddenly, an item appeared before his eyes. Leng Lingfeng stared at it for a long time, his expression changing drastically as he ran over.

A piece of clothes! His linen clothes were stained with blood! There was a red hemp rope about six inches long on his clothes.

Leng Lingfeng threw down the "don't ask" sword in his hand and suddenly grabbed onto his clothes. His body was trembling and tears were flashing in his eyes, but he was extremely excited!

"Father!" It was his father! "It's really Father!"

"Father! — Father! Where are you?! Father! Are you there?! "

He was crying!

It must be Father! These clothes were his father's clothes! It was the sackcloth that his father had been wearing the night he returned from Tianshan Mountains! It was a sackcloth that had been stitched up by his father! And that red hemp rope was the belt that he had used for several years!

"Father! — — where is it?" The sound reverberated in the cave, but other than the rumbling of water, there was no one else who answered.

Leng Lingfeng was running around the cave, as if he was going crazy!

Father is still alive! Father must still be alive! In fact, he was too excited to speak.

But there was no sign of my father anywhere. Leng Lingfeng felt extremely disappointed as he sat on the stone slab, holding the cloth tightly and covering his face.

"Father, where are you? You're still alive! "Why haven't I seen Feng'er?!" He couldn't stop crying!

After a while, he suddenly raised his head and picked up the sword. He looked around and then took his clothes and started walking down the path he came from. He took three steps, then turned around and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. Ye Zichen casually put the clothes into his shirt. With a wave of his right hand, he glided up from the cave wall. A gust of cold wind blew over, extinguishing the fire. In the dim light, he saw a shadow shoot out from the opening of the cave ..