The setting sun is still shining, and the mountains and forests are turning towards the evening.
A horse's hooves are fast, galloping on the winding path in the mountain forest.
"Chu Qingxiao! If you keep persisting, we will reach Black Tiger City after crossing Taixuan Mountain!"
Chu Zhaozhao was sweating profusely, and she said this to the young man hanging on her back.
But Chu Qingxiao closed his eyes, turned pale, and was unable to respond to her words.
This was Chu Qingxiao's second coma after leaving Wuling City.
Like the first time, this time the coma came very suddenly without any warning.
And compared to the last time he was in a coma, Chu Qingxiao's condition has obviously worsened. His breathing has become difficult, the color on his face has faded a lot, and the power of blood in his body seems to be being swallowed up by an invisible force, rapidly weakening.
What's more troublesome than all this is that Chu Zhaozhao's initial plan was to cross the Taixuan Mountains in one go today. If it was too late, he would rest overnight outside the mountains and wait until dawn before setting off again.
But when Chu Qingxiao became ill, they had already walked for most of the day.
We are in the wilderness, with no village in front of us and no store behind us.
Chu Qingxiao's situation obviously could not be delayed any longer. In desperation, Chu Zhaozhao had no choice but to take a desperate risk and took the unconscious Chu Qingxiao through the bandit-ridden Taixuan Mountains to the Black Tiger City on the other side of the mountains to find a doctor for Chu Qingxiao.
…
The terrain of the Taixuan Mountains is truly complex.
When she came here before, she followed the escorts who came and went here all year round. It didn't feel too complicated with them leading the way.
But now that I was taking Chu Qingxiao through this place, I realized the difficulties involved.
The narrow mountain road is winding, and from time to time she needs to slow down, or even dismount and lead the horse forward. She will encounter several forks in the road before going a mile or two. Under the dark sky, it is not easy to identify the correct intersection.
.
Chu Zhaozhao made mistakes in his busy schedule and chose the wrong path twice. Once he got into the mouth of a cliff, and once he walked to the dead end.
This back and forth delayed a lot of time, and Chu Qingxiao's condition became worse and worse.
Chu Zhaozhao didn't even bother to take a sip of water, tightened the reins, and started off again.
I don't know if it's because she's too anxious, or because the horse is too tired from running around all day.
When she was walking to a pass surrounded by dense mountain forests on both sides, the black horse under her legs suddenly neighed, stumbled, and fell to its knees.
Chu Zhaozhao on horseback was caught off guard, and his body and Chu Qingxiao were thrown high from his back.
Chu Zhaozhao had no time to react. He just stretched out his hand at the most critical moment, hugged Chu Qingxiao's body, turned his body in the air, and turned his back to the ground.
Poof.
At this time, her body fell heavily to the ground.
Even with her cultivation, she still couldn't help but grimace in pain, but fortunately, Chu Qingxiao had her human cushion as a buffer, so it didn't cause any serious problems.
She pushed Chu Qingxiao's body away and was about to stand up when she heard the sound of footsteps.
"Boss! The goods are here!" A rough man's voice sounded, his tone was very excited.
"Damn it, those guys in Guiyanzhai are so damn overbearing. There are only a few roads in Taixuan Mountain, but they have taken over six of them, leaving us with these few paths where we can only catch some small shrimps, and we can't eat them.
You have to have a good tone to touch me!" Another voice sounded. Compared to the former, the tone of the owner of this voice was a little hoarse, and there was obviously a bit of resentment in his tone when he spoke.
"It's good to have the goods. If the boss hadn't negotiated with us, we might have starved to death in Taixuan Mountain!" Another person said, his voice was hoarse, but his tone was calmer than the first two.
Quite a few.
It's a bandit!
Chu Zhaozhao finally came to her senses. She quickly identified the other party's identity from the conversation. She also thought that her horse had stumbled just now. I'm afraid it was these bandits who were causing trouble.
Of course, she couldn't care about this at the moment. She endured the severe pain in her back and got up from the ground. She was about to pick up Chu Qingxiao who fell aside, thinking of looking for a chance to escape, but before she could reach Chu Qingxiao,
A group of people had already surrounded her.
They held torches and swords in their hands.
The light from the torches could not completely illuminate the dark forest. Instead, it made everyone's faces look uncertain, making them feel a bit more eerie and terrifying.
Of course, this eerie and terrifying atmosphere is not entirely due to the atmosphere, but to a greater extent due to the appearance of the group of bandits in front of me.
Among the three leaders.
One is a tall fat man, holding a big knife in his hand. His face is full of flesh, and his left eyeball is bulging, just like the fat bubbles that appear on the surface after being put into a frying pan.
You can even see streaks of blood protruding from the eye sockets, connected to the eyeballs.
One was a very thin man with the opposite figure. He was holding a steel fork. There was a huge wound at the corner of his mouth, which spread from the corner of his mouth to his right cheek. The wound seemed to have rotted away, and some faint traces of odor could be seen.
Disgusting thick water.
The last one, at first glance, looks very normal, with a well-proportioned figure and an ordinary long sword on his back, with the blade hidden in a sheath.
But when he raised his head, his whole face was filled with cracks that seemed to have been nailed by some sharp weapon, and they were densely covered, like some kind of ghost.
Most of the group of people following them were like this. Some had huge scars on their faces, or they had abscesses. At first glance, there was almost no normal person, and they were equipped with torches of poor quality in their hands.
The firelight danced, illuminating their faces in varying degrees of light and darkness, and for a moment it seemed like a hundred ghosts walking in the night.
"Ah? Why are there only two of us!?" The fat man said at this time, his tone disappointed.
"No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat. Two people are better than no one at all." The thin man took over the conversation and said. After saying this, he looked at Chu Zhaozhao. The wound on his face that penetrated half of his cheek began to rise with his
The corners of his mouth were split and he looked terrible.
The bad reputation of Taixuan Mountain bandits has already spread throughout the two states, and coupled with the inhuman appearance of this group of people, Chu Zhaozhao felt a little frightened in his heart.
"You...what are you going to do!" she asked, and at the same time she stood next to Chu Qingxiao's fallen body with a vigilant look on her face.
"Girl, don't be afraid. It's true that we are bandits, but we are only seeking money. As long as the girl cooperates easily, we will never be in trouble." The man with the sword said at this time, his hoarse voice was like a dead tree being covered in the night.
The sound of rotten branches trembling when the wind blows
It's not that Chu Zhaozhao judges people by their appearance, it's just that the group of guys in front of him really don't look like the kind of people who keep their word.
She remained silent and did not respond to the other party. She just glanced at everyone secretly.
The energy around the three leaders was extremely condensed, and some weak spiritual power fluctuations could be faintly felt.
That is the Qi that can only be emitted by a warrior in the Lingfu realm of the third realm.
Although Chu Zhaozhao also has the cultivation of the third realm, her practice of observing the sword and nourishing the mind means that her combat power can only be fully exerted by relying on the long sword, and her sword...
She soon realized that she might not be able to accomplish the feat of fighting one against three on her own, not counting the twenty or so minions who were also holding swords following behind the three of them.
"Are you really just asking for money?" she asked in a deep voice.
"Of course. If you are interested in seeking wealth and killing, the girl who just fell to the ground will have no chance to stand up again." The man with the sword said this. After saying this, he looked past Chu Zhaozhao and looked at Chu Qingxiao, who fell to the ground unconscious behind her: "
The girl's friend seems to be seriously ill, and if the girl delays it any longer, he may miss the chance to survive."
The man's words touched Chu Zhaozhao's weakness. Chu Zhaozhao frowned, and without hesitating for too long, he took out the money bag from his arms and threw it towards everyone from a distance.
The fat man holding the knife took the money bag and weighed it slightly in his hand, then suddenly looked dissatisfied: "Is that all?"
The thin man also squinted his eyes and looked Chu Zhaozhao up and down: "Isn't the girl dishonest and hiding valuable things?"
Chu Zhaozhao's heart froze, secretly thinking that these bandits were going to renege on their promise, and he immediately showed a defensive look on his face: "This is all my property, are you going to renege on your promise?"
"Whether it is all the belongings, we have to search them before we can say." The man with the sword also said at this time.
The fat man's face suddenly showed excitement, and his bulging eyeballs seemed to be trembling up and down obviously because of the excitement at this moment. He was ready to step forward: "Hey, I'm good at body searches, let me do it! I promise.
Search her thoroughly and leave her naked."
Chu Zhaozhao suddenly felt something bad. Her back was bent and her whole body was tense. She was ready to fight these bandits at any time.
At this moment, a slender hand stretched out from behind the fat man, bent its index and middle fingers, and hit the fat man's forehead hard with the back of the hand.
The fat man covered his head in pain and turned around to look behind him. He was about to get angry, but instead he saw standing there a pretty girl with a petite figure and wearing clean clothes that was completely different from the bandits.
The anger on the fat man's face instantly turned into a look of grievance. He covered his head with both hands and said with a mournful face: "Boss, why did you hit me?!"
The girl looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. She had two ponytails and a bit of baby fat on her cheeks. She looked like a cute porcelain doll.
But at this moment, a fierce look appeared on her face that was completely different from her appearance. She stood up on tiptoes and grabbed the fat man's ears: "Hit you? It's good that I didn't chop you!"
"How many times have I said that we are bandits, not adulterers! If I hear such disgusting words from your mouth again, I will sew your mouth shut and let Grandpa Xu weld it to death with the molten iron he used to forge his sword.
!”
"You! Hear! See! No!?"
"Ah! I don't dare anymore, I don't dare anymore, boss, I was wrong." The fat man's ears were pulled, and he begged for mercy.
When the group of ferocious-looking bandits around them saw this, they became even more silent. They looked as cowardly as if the girl in front of them was a ferocious demon.
Chu Zhaozhao was also a little stunned.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that this cute and cute girl could be the leader of such a vicious group of bandits.
While she was hesitating, the girl had already packed up the fat man and immediately walked up to Chu Zhaozhao. Under Chu Zhaozhao's strange eyes, he stretched out his hands and groped her body.
Chu Zhaozhao was shocked and then realized that this was a body search.
Most likely, the girl's behavior in treating the fat man with protruding eyes just now made Chu Zhaozhao not too dissatisfied with her, so he did not resist, but his body was always tense just in case.
The girl quickly retracted her hand and muttered regretfully: "There really is nothing else..."
Then she looked at Chu Qingxiao who was lying on the ground, and moved her hands up and down for a while, but still found nothing. She just saw a few broken swords in his baggage. The night was too dark, so she didn't take a closer look, she just flicked the sword.
The body was probably of average quality, so he put it back in disinterest.
"There is nothing else. Count how much money she has in her purse!" the girl said, and walked back.
The fat man did not dare to neglect, and quickly took back the hand that was still rubbing his already red ears, and then lowered his head to count the money in the wallet in his hand.
After a while, he handed over the money bag and said with a flattering look: "Boss, there are fourteen taels in total..."
The girl took the money bag and muttered: "It's a little short."
Immediately she frowned again, looking at the money bag and muttering: "Fourteen taels, half of it is four taels..."
"Ahem, boss, half of fourteen is seven." The man with a sword on his side said in a low voice with muscles twitching on his face full of pits.
"I know!" The girl was stunned when she heard this, then her eyes widened and she said angrily: "I mean, half of fourteen taels is four taels plus two taels equals seven taels!"
"Boss... four plus three equals seventeen..." Fatty also reminded in a low voice.
"..." The girl's body visibly paused.
The entire forest seemed to feel the embarrassment in the air at this moment, and fell silent.
The next moment, the girl raised her money bag, her eyes filled with anger, and she greeted the fat man in the head.
The money bag hit the fat man's Tianling Cap hard, and while hitting him, the girl was still cursing.
"That's smart, isn't it!?"
"You just know how to count, don't you!?"
The scoldings and the fat man's wails resounded through the forest. The bandits around him all glanced away in tacit agreement, as if they were used to such scenes.
Only Chu Zhaozhao was stunned...
After about half an hour, the girl seemed to have finally vented her anger. She breathed a long sigh of relief and kicked the fat man who was curled up in a ball on the ground.
After doing this, she looked back at Chu Zhaozhao and threw the purse in her hand towards Chu Zhaozhao.
Chu Zhaozhao was stunned and subconsciously took the money bag. The money in the money bag was still there, but it was about half the weight.
"We bandits in Cangying Village rob the guests, no matter how much money they have, they only take half." The girl seemed to see Chu Zhaozhao's confusion, and said seriously at that time.
"Just fish with the fishermen and put the small fish back into the lake."
"There is a reason why hunters will release young animals when they hunt."
"This girl calls it sustainable fishing..."
"Ah, he is a thief!"
After saying this, the light in her eyes lit up again, and she added: "So, if you want to pass by here next time, remember to walk on the same road, we are much kinder than the bandits on other roads...
"
This was the first time in Chu Zhaozhao's life that she met such a childish bandit. She didn't know how to respond to the other party's warm invitation. She could only ask: "Can I leave now?"
"Of course." The girl said, snapping her fingers, and the bandits behind her immediately moved out of the way.
When Chu Zhaozhao saw this, she felt happy. Although this accident made her worried for a while, the trouble was solved with only a few taels of silver, which was considered a blessing in misfortune.
She quickly put Chu Qingxiao on the horse and was about to leave.
But the thin man beside him suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Wait a minute!"
After saying this, he looked at the girl and said: "Boss, although they don't have anything else on them, this horse is worth at least thirty or forty taels of silver on the market. According to the rules, she will either give us a discount in cash, or she will
You have to leave half of it."
When these words came out, Chu Zhaozhao's expression changed, but the girl nodded: "It makes sense."
"Girl, my friend is suddenly seriously ill and urgently needs to rush to the town for treatment. If we don't have a horse to travel with him, we may not be able to make it in time. I hope that you will be kind enough to accommodate me temporarily. I will definitely give you all the difference in price of the horse in the future!" Chu Zhaozhao hurriedly offered!
Words.
The girl frowned and looked at Chu Qingxiao who was unconscious on the horse. After hesitating for a long time, she waved her hand reluctantly.
"Forget it, I'll let you go today, but you must keep your word and don't let me become the laughing stock of my subordinates!" the girl said seriously.
When Chu Zhaozhao heard this, the stone hanging in her heart immediately dropped, and she hurriedly said: "Don't worry, girl, I, a disciple of Tianxuan Mountain, will do what I promise and will never break my promise."
But as soon as these words were spoken, the girl who had just been moved by compassion suddenly trembled.
Then a fierce light suddenly surged in her big black eyes.
She stared blankly at Chu Zhaozhao and asked in a cold voice: "Are you..."