On the second day of the trip, the four of them finally left Yunzhou and arrived at the border of Lingzhou.
Lingzhou is in the southwest of Yunzhou, and there is a big river separating the two states. Standing by the river, you can see the vast yellow water, the mud and sand in the river are rolling, and the water waves are very turbid.
Tang Zhao was used to the clear water of Jiugao Mountain, and he also heard that this big river was the mother river of two states and several states upstream and downstream. It ran for thousands of miles, originated from the dragon vein, and rushed into the sea. It was a wonder. He had longed for it, thinking that it was a wonder.
It was like the Milky Way lying on the ground in the Devil's Cave, and I felt a little disappointed when I saw it now.
But then I thought again: No matter whether the river is clear or turbid, it has irrigated thousands of miles of territory. Could it be said that if it is not clear, it is no longer our mother river?
He thought, and took a handful of river water. The water flowed away between his fingers, leaving only the strange rustling of his fingers. He thought to himself: What I hold in my hand are guests from a foreign land. I don't know where their hometown is.
where?
Seeing Tang Zhao fishing for water there, Che Sha asked curiously: "What's wrong? Brother, do you want to drink water?"
Seeing Tang Zhao's expression, Jiang Shenyi sighed with emotion and said, "Your elder brother has read too much. Whenever he touches a scene, he feels like falling in love. He'll be fine soon."
Che Sha also knew something about Central Plains culture and said, "Ah, brother, do you want to make poetry?"
Even if Tang Zhao had some feelings, he was only embarrassed when they said this one by one. He stood up and said: "Stop talking about it, how can I compose poetry..."
Just as he was talking, Che Sha and Jiang Shenyi across from him suddenly changed their expressions. Tang Zhao looked back and saw a floating corpse floating on the river. It rose up on one wave and sank again on the other.
For a moment, Tang Zhao was also startled. Then he reacted and took out a roll of rope from the jar. With a shake of his hand, under the action of internal force, the rope naturally straightened, inserted into the water, softened and accurately rolled up the corpse.
Drag it out of the water.
This flick took only a few breaths. Che Sha's eyes flashed and the corpse was already on land.
Just now, Tang Zhao's hand movements were clean and agile. Not to mention his quick eyesight and quick hands, he kept bending the rope and controlled his internal energy very superbly. With this hand alone, he was at least a top knight. Che Sha couldn't help but admire and thought to herself: He has such a talisman.
Why do you need such high martial arts skills if you have attainments in martial arts? How can you have such high attainments in talismans if you have such high martial arts skills?
The body was dragged ashore and lay on its back.
Everyone knew at a glance that he was hopeless. His skin had been soaked in water and his body was white, and he had lost all his features. However, he should not have been dead for a few days, otherwise there were many fish and shrimps in the river, and he might not be so complete. The body soaked in water was really unsightly, Tang Zhao could not bear it.
My stomach was churning and I looked closely, but I couldn't tell what his appearance was. I could only see a young man. Judging from his body shape, he looked a little swollen, maybe due to edema.
Maybe it was because he had been in the water for a long time that the man was naked. Che Sha was the only woman present, but Liangzhou has a bold and unrestrained style, so she did not shy away from it, saying: "Huh? This is too naked. Could it be that he was not wearing any clothes in the first place?
Isn’t it? Didn’t he slip and fall into the water, but he drowned while swimming?”
A few people nodded. If you fall from the shore or a boat, you must not be so naked. Even if you commit suicide, most people will not take off their clothes and jump again. It is really possible that you drowned while swimming in the river and bathing.
However, this river is so vast and turbulent, would anyone really swim in it?
After all, Tang Zhao and the others were not detectives, and there was no need to investigate the cause of death. Since Tang Zhao had dragged him up by chance, they let him be buried. At that moment, Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi dug a hole hastily and buried him. Wusuntong and Che Sha
Although it was strange why he was not buried in water directly, he helped. Chesha also provided a straw mat to serve as a coffin.
"Now we also have to cross the river. Should we fly there or take a boat?"
"It's better to take a boat. We have to fly early. Isn't walking just a little more experience?"
"Okay, the nearest ferry is twenty miles downstream, but there should be a wild ferry three miles away. There should be a boat, right?"
A few people discussed it and decided that it would be fine to just go as they pleased. Since the trip was not in a hurry, they wandered downstream. At this time, the four of them did not bring their mounts, so it was convenient to take a boat.
When I arrived at Yedu Port, I saw seven or eight people waiting at the ferry. It looked like there was indeed a boat. Most of the people waiting were dressed as small businessmen. Most of them were alone or in groups of two or three. There were no rich and powerful people, and there were some people who were cheering each other.
There were one or two powerful men, like Jianghu men with some martial arts skills. The four of them lined up at the back.
Tang Zhao was at the front of the queue, so he took advantage of the situation and started chatting with the people in front of him.
In terms of experience in the martial arts world, Tang Zhao actually has the most experience, including his two colleagues from Liangzhou. After all, he first traveled around the martial arts world with the Sui family for a few months, and also had experience in the devil's cave. In the past few years, he has also done missions intermittently with the Prosecution Department.
, he is quite familiar with dealing with people. Jiang Shenyi is not good at dealing with people, so he gave him the character of "Lao Jianghu".
In fact, Chesha was also eloquent and clever in her actions, but the customs in Liangzhou were very different. The farther south they went, the stranger they became, so she restrained herself.
Tang Zhao dressed up as a scholar when he went out. He had a booklike manner and friendly appearance, and it was easy to chat with people. The person in front of him was a small business owner who called himself Wan. He chatted with Tang Zhao well and asked: "Scholar Xiao
Brother, we businessmen are selling goods back and forth to earn hard money, why do you scholars go to Lingzhou? Why don't you just stay in Yunzhou?"
Tang Zhao smiled and said: "We are here as guests, but we are going to Yongzhou and passing through Lingzhou."
Boss Wan shook his head repeatedly and said: "Going to Yongzhou? Then we should go over Xiwang Mountain and go from Yanzhou. Although there are several commanders in Yanzhou who fight back and forth, they also have a tacit understanding to leave a peaceful passage for merchants coming and going.
Only Lingzhou is a den of thieves who eat people without spitting out their bones..."
As he was talking, a businessman in front of him turned around and said in a low voice: "Shopkeeper Wan, be careful what you say. This is on the edge of Lingzhou."
Boss Wan's expression changed, he held up his hands to express his thanks, and turned to Tang Zhao in a low voice: "You know what this means, right?"
Tang Zhao thought thoughtfully and said, "I know Baixiong Mountain is in Lingzhou." Chen Aoxiong, the head of Baixiong Mountain, is known as the leader of the 413 states in the inner, nine and outer regions. He is the nominal leader of the bandits in the world.
Boss Wan nodded repeatedly, and Tang Zhao added: "But Lingzhou is so big, Baixiong Mountain occupies that area. We can't afford to offend, but we can afford to hide. We can just go around."
Boss Wan quickly waved his hand and said in a low voice: "Where is the Baixiong Mountain? There are dozens of branch villages under one mountain, and there are hundreds of small hills in his name. There are also tens of thousands of mountains that I don't know where they came from.
Water thieves, there are countless little thieves on the road..."
Tang Zhao was very puzzled and whispered: "There are so many thieves, and they all want to steal. Who will they rob? How can there be so much property for him to rob?"
Boss Wan said: "What can we say? But after all, there are millions of people in Lingzhou, so there is always something to grab, right? In fact, there are really rich people in Lingzhou, otherwise why would we risk taking this trade route? The income from a round trip
It's expensive. But those people won't be robbed easily. Most of the people who suffer are ordinary people, small landowners, and businessmen like us who make a living. I heard that in Lingzhou, being a bandit is like being an official for you scholars, it is a way to get ahead.
, once you become a leader in a mountain village, you are considered a master. So there are young people in every village who are bandits."
Just as I was thinking about it, the boat suddenly stopped.
Is this it?
No, that's not right——
Still in the middle of the river!
Just as I was thinking about it, the hatch opened and a bright light shone in from the outside.
That's - the light of the sword!
Tang Zhao squinted his eyes and heard someone outside shouting: "Everyone, it's time for you. The time has come, it's time to eat."
Several of the passengers were still confused, remembering that they had not ordered food, and Boss Wan and other Lao Jianghu's faces turned pale.