C30

Death may not be so terrible, but what is scary is the expectation of death... After a time of chaos and a moment of emptiness, you could hear the throbbing of your pulse and the flow of your blood, and your nose and mouth began to breathe again. Like this, the terrifying shadow attacked you once again …

At this time of the year, the Mai family was at its happiest — the sun had just set, and the Bai family account steward was commanding the boys to set up the sacrificial ceremony in the courtyard. Three cases were prepared, and there were many cases of meat and vegetables, and the chrysanthemums and Begonia were arranged in neat rows, and the customers were all dressed neatly, waiting for the master and his wife to present their sacrifices to the ancestors of the heaven and earth. After that, it was time for them to enjoy themselves and bring forth their crabs, crabs, full of baskets, and everyone would have their fill.

Master Bai was an official for three generations and paid much attention to the show. The lantern festival on the middle of autumn night, as well as the lamp riddles, made the hosts enjoy themselves to their heart's content.

At that time, inside the pavilion in the back garden, Master Bai had changed into a comfortable undergarment, the couple and their families were snuggled together, the fragrance of tea was in the air, and on the table were placed a variety of mooncakes of all kinds: the Soviet style, the traditional style, the furry type, the starter type, the starter type, everything that could be found. As for the stuffing: bean paste, lotus flower, date paste, egg yolk, five nuts, ham and eight treasures were available. There were too many to count. A few of the fruit must also be, such as pear, persimmon, sand fruit, fresh walnut, crispy lotus root, fresh candied, all complete.

Just like this, as they ate, they chatted until deep into the night. Only under the care of his wife and concubine Yan Mei did he enter the room to rest in peace.

Once upon a time, this year's Feng Shui had changed.

The natural disaster and the man-made calamities had already dispelled this excitement.

The human heart had already withered away, but there was no single calamity. This old golden chicken had flown over again for no reason at all. It was truly "how could a human being endure this".

Because of this, even though tonight was also Mid-Autumn's night, even though it was also the bright moon. However, the Bai Clan was no longer as joyous as they were before.

In front of the "great disaster", everyone had a shadow of death hanging over their heads. From the White Jade Ranking Tournament to the gatekeepers, Ah Fu, there was no longer a smile on his face. As far as the eye could see, even the old yellow dog at Mai's house was no longer barking like before.

Wealth quietly opened a door, peeped outside for a moment, then turned his head back.

In the room, Liao Wu, the guardian of the Bai Clan, was sitting there in his uniform with a saber in one hand. Five fingers drummed on the table in turn. He was very nervous, his face ashen, his eyes wide open. "Motherf * cker!" He got angry, but started cursing at Ah Cai, "Are you f * cking cheating or something? Be careful that they pick the guy who eats your food, then you can stop watching. "

Ah Fu squeezed his big eyes, forced a smile and said, "Yes …" Master Liao, it's the Fifth Master inside that's looking after me. There's a slight movement of the wind, telling me to hurry up and send some information inside. "I was afraid that I would miss Lord Fifth's big matter."

"Fifth Elder, heh!" "Bullshit!" Liao Wu spat on the ground. He looked down on the constables that had come from the yamen.

He had been asking for meat and wine from the Mai family these past few days, and he was already annoyed with them for putting on a show of authority. Even the musketeers seemed to have been set ablaze in the same kiln. The strong man, the old golden chicken, had not arrived yet, but the whole house was in trouble, about twenty of them big and small. They wanted cigarettes and tea, and all of them drank wine and meat, and all of them had the same headache, "Let's see how long you can keep this up for." Liao Wu calculated in his heart. He had an impulse to let all these people die at the hands of the old golden rooster in order to dispel the hatred in his heart.

In the Bai Clan's courtyard, not a single idle person could be seen. However, one could not judge that he was negligent because of his defense, but in reality, he was extremely relaxed.

They followed a straight path paved with limestone and headed straight for the Bai Clan's main hall. There were two pavilions in the main hall that were specially set up to protect the courtyard and communicate with others. Tonight was a special occasion.

The first pavilion was occupied by a man named God Slayer, Du Ming, who was in charge of the first pavilion. The five men were unsheathing their swords and bows, ready at the ready. As soon as there was movement in front of them, they could go forward to assist each other. The strong bows and guns on both sides of the ship moved as if they were waiting for the right moment to strike. They were extremely nimble.

In the second pavilion, there was the Golden Blade, shaking the Nine Prefectures' Qiu Taigou. Wang Shiliang and Hou moved to the side to support them. This was also the crossfire center of the "firearm". If there really were people who dared to force their way through, then the resistance he would face would certainly be a devastating blow, far more so than an ordinary one.

After passing through the second sealing line, they arrived at the great hall.

The accountant and steward of the Mai Clan was Bai Jiu. Bai Jiu was here with him, and there were four guards from the Mai Clan. However, they could only help Bai Jiu strengthen his courage.

If the enemy had passed through three trials and arrived here, then Master Bai would definitely not be able to stop them. However, he naturally had his own ideas. Therefore, he volunteered to take on the heavy responsibility of being the center and taking charge of the overall situation.

As for the master of the Bai Clan, Bai Yu, he was surprisingly calm.

Reading books and being an official gave White Jade a calm temperament and cultivation. After years of nurturing her, although she might not be able to cultivate the bearing of "Mount Tai collapsed before it collapsed", but she could still adapt to her past experiences easily.

What we face today is far more serious than anything we've ever experienced in our lives.

The greatest pain was that the right to decide life and death was in the hands of the opposite party, not in his own hands. Not only that, but once a catastrophe struck, it would affect not just him, but the entire family as well.

Even so, the white jade stairs were not chaotic.

In the past few days, the white jade steps had made the necessary arrangements for everyone in the house to the best of their abilities.

A great number of the diners were dismissed, and the servants and families, with the exception of a few who were determined to stay, sent them on their way.

Such a big family, happy in the old days, was hard to find, much less bleak leaves, autumn chrysanthemums, even more infinite melancholy.

Tonight's dinner was a little too monotonous. There were only four people present, the white-jade rank couple, their daughter, Qiao Qiao, and the righteous hero, Wang Tong. In addition, the old servant Mai Gui, Granny Jiang, and the maidservant Bi Xi were all people who could not be sent away, so they could only stay behind.

White Jade Rank wife, Ma Shi, a strong and resolute woman, so it was normal to see her in times of need. Only at this time did she reveal her virtuous and virtuous nature.

For her husband, Ma personally offered Wang Tong a cup of tea. She slowly retreated to a corner and sat down.

"Master," She called for the white jade steps and said calmly, "You don't have to worry about me. Things may not have come to this. Our daughter might be able to protect us, especially this Master Wang. " As she spoke, her eyes turned to Wang Tong and she nodded with a smile.

Wang Tong stood up and said: "Madam, please don't call me that, I can't afford it."

"Master Wang, don't say anymore …" "The ones who can't afford it are us …" Saying this, Mrs Ma's eyes reddened. "The Bai Clan must remember Master Wang's great kindness for generations to come. It must never be forgotten." He turned his eyes to his daughter, Bai Xiaoqiao, and warned, "You must remember, you must never forget."

Bai Little Qiao nodded and said, "I won't forget, Mom."

"Alright, it's about time." White Jade Step said to his wife, Mrs. Ma, "Madam, you should also hide it."

"Hide?" Mrs Ma was startled and said, "You want me to hide this scene? Where do I hide? "What about you?"

The white-jade step sighed and said, "I told you to hide, so you should hide. There should naturally be a place. Come on." He then stood up and said, "Follow me."

Everyone present, including the old servant Mai Gui, Granny Jiang, and the maidservant Bi Xi couldn't help but be startled. They were all greatly surprised.

After taking a few steps, he saw that Wang Tong was still standing at his original spot. He turned his head and said, "Brother Wang, you come too."

Wang Tong replied and followed.

The white jade steps continued forward, passing through the parlour and finally arriving at his study. He pushed open the door and entered. It was pitch dark inside.

In just a short while, the sky had already turned completely dark.

"Light …" White Jade Step said.

Old Servant Mai Gui agreed and went back to get the lamp.

White Jade Staircase looked at his wife and said with emotion, "All those years ago, these secret chambers were only for the sake of hiding the three generations of our family's cultural relics and paintings. I didn't expect that in the end, we would have to rely on them to save our lives. It can also be considered …" As he spoke to here, he shook his head, feeling extremely dejected.

Madame Bai cried tears of joy. She clasped her hands and said, "Amitabha, since there's such a place, why didn't you say so earlier? That's good. "

At this moment, Ma Gui arrived with a light.

The white jade steps led the way, Mai Gui holding the lamp followed, little Joe and Bixi holding Mai, Wang Tong walked at the back.

The study room was silent. The doors and windows were all closed, and the mosquitoes and flies were not alarmed.

In front of a bookcase, White Jade stopped and turned to her daughter. "Little Joe, look at your martial arts."

Bai Xiaoqiao nodded. Even if he wanted to, he was unable to smile. This was a major event that she had experienced in her life. She had watched her family scatter in all directions for the past few days. Her parents were worried, and her heart had long since shattered.

The white-jade step raised its hand and pointed to the highest level of the bookshelf. "On the seventh floor, after the eighth volume of the Book of Inscriptions, there is an active blue brick. Move it away."

Bai Xiaoqiao did not wait for her father to finish speaking. She turned around and walked towards the cabinet. After listening to her father's words, she immediately displayed the skill of "sticking to the wall". She used her palms to press against the cabinet, gathering strength from the palm, pulling her body up like a gatekeeper and swimming up along the wall.

When the Bai couple saw how capable their daughter was, they were dumbstruck. Even Wang Tong could not help but nod his head repeatedly.

When she reached the top, she did as her father told her. She moved away the book, and found the brick.

The entire wall was made of square bricks of the same color pattern. If one didn't know that one of the tiles was moving, it would have been impossible to identify it.

When the brick was removed, there was a handle to hold on to.

White Jade Step nodded and said, "Left, right, two, seven. You can come down!"

Bai Xiaoqiao obeyed, turned the button twice to the left, and heard a faint creak from the wall. He turned seven times to the right, and heard a creaking sound. After two echoes, she leisurely landed on the ground.

A rustling sound came from the wall, and half of the wall, along with the bookshelves attached to the wall, moved away, revealing a crescent-shaped arch.

Standing outside the door, Bai Yu took a deep breath, sighed, and said to his wife, "You can go in now – as well as Mai Gui, Bi Xi, Grandma Jiang … Go on in! "

Mrs Ma was startled and asked, "Master, what about you?" He looked at Wang Tong and his daughter, "And you …" "Everyone …"

White Jade Step said coldly, "You don't need to ask. You go in first. If you don't die, then your daughter and I will …" It was still those old words. If he wanted to escape, he wouldn't wait here today. Mrs Ma obviously knew her husband's temperament, it was useless to speak much.

Although Mrs Ma had the determination to live and die with her husband, she knew that staying strong at this moment was useless. She thought for a moment, then sadly nodded her head and said, "Alright! I'll be waiting for you in here. "

White Jade said, "It's fine. There's no need to say anything about it, or else …" After seven days, you guys will see the opportunity to come out … Run for your life! " At the end of his words, after coming into contact with the husband and wife pair for decades, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Mrs Ma lowered her head and sobbed a few times. She could not help but hug her daughter and nodded. "You will come …" "Even if we die, we die together …" Granny Jiang, Ma Gui, and Bi Xi all knelt down with tears in their eyes and bid farewell to the old master and miss.

Under the urging of the white jade steps, the group entered the dark room.

White Jade Rank had taught them how to open and close the secret door. Only after seeing his wife and the others enter and close the secret door did he let out a sigh of relief.