Changzhi County is a small place. In this small place, there is a small inn called Yingbin.
The innkeeper woke up early, and it was still dark. He stood in front of the counter, frowning and calculating, calculating the accounts that were not too difficult to calculate.
On weekdays, guests usually arrive later, but today there were some exceptions. A group of guests arrived early and parked the carriage in front of the door. The waiter quickly put down his work and hurried out to welcome the guests and help them set up the carriage.
.
After a while, this group of guests walked into the inn together. There were four of them. The leader was a handsome young man. For some reason, he was carrying a huge black box on his back. Don't look at it.
This young man is not very old, but he exudes a special temperament and looks very majestic. He seems to be the leader of this group of people.
Behind the young man, there were two other people, one was tall and tall, with a fierce face, and the other was ugly with a smile on his face.
At the end of this group of people, there was a short child. The child wore a hat and black and white plush clothes. He had no shoes on his feet and walked barefoot on the ground. His toes were as sharp as hooks and his nails
I don't know how many years it has been since I cut it.
"Huh?" The shopkeeper suddenly made a sound of surprise, because the appearance of the child walking at the end was too weird. He quickly wiped his eyes and looked again, and this time he finally saw the child clearly.
The true appearance of the "child".
It turns out that this child is not a real child, but an unknown strange beast!
This beast is black and white, furry, chubby, and looks cute, but not very scary. Most ordinary beasts crawl forward, but this beast walks upright, just like a human, and
He was still wearing a bamboo hat, so it was no wonder that the shopkeeper misjudged him for a moment.
Three strange people, plus an unknown beast, this is really an incredible combination. This is the first time the Yingying Inn has hosted such a strange guest since it has been open for so long.
The stranger the customer was, the more likely he was to be offended. The shopkeeper was worried that the waiter would not treat him well, so he put down his calculations and went to greet him.
In the eyes of the shopkeeper, this group of people was very strange. It was Zhao Zheng and others, and the beast was Pixiu. They were passing by this place on the way and stopped here specially. These days, under the leadership of Zhao Zheng, this group of people
Wearing the stars and the moon, we traveled day and night, covering thousands of miles of roads, and our footprints were all over every town we passed.
For this trip, Zhao Zheng had already planned in his mind, where to go first and where to go later.
Under the greeting of the shopkeeper, Zhao Zheng and others walked to a table and each found a seat to sit down. They traveled all night last night and it was not easy. They must have a good meal this morning before taking a rest.
Take a rest. Zhao Zheng has plenty of energy and does not feel too tired, but Ren Qianqiu and Wang Er cannot.
After the three of them sat down, A Bao jumped onto one of the remaining chairs and raised his paws. He deftly untied the rope on the hat, took it off and put it aside. Without the cover of the hat, A Bao
The chubby, furry head and a pair of round black eyes were exposed, giving people a dull feeling. If you just look at the appearance, it is hard to imagine that it could be a ferocious and unusual beast.
After leaving the Taishan sect, Po seemed to be like a fish in water. He seemed very lively along the way and was full of curiosity about everything. Along the way, there were two things he loved to do most. One was to imitate humans. Sometimes
It imitates human clothing and sometimes imitates human movements. Another thing is to taste food. As long as it sees food that smells fragrant, it will taste it no matter what it is. It has eaten a lot of things along the way.
I even ate several pieces of stinky tofu, and I ate them with gusto.
With such a strange beast by their side, Zhao Zheng and others' trip was a little more fun.
After seeing what A Bao looked like, the shopkeeper and the waiter all looked surprised. In their opinion, this was really a magical beast.
Zhao Zheng had no intention of explaining more to the stranger, so he grabbed the conversation and rattled off a series of dish names, which was quite sumptuous.
The shopkeeper finally came to his senses and wrote down these dishes one by one. However, nearly one-third of these dishes could not be made in this small shop. Zhao Zheng did not force it and backed down.
Secondly, I changed some home-cooked dishes.
Not long after, some easy-to-fry dishes were brought up, as were the two staple foods, steamed buns and gruel.
After eating and drinking for a while, Zhao Zheng said: "Two eldest brothers, I will visit several places in succession during this trip. Some of these places are in the west and some in the north. The geographical span is huge. After I go to these places, I will
Invite some people away, and then we will need a place to accommodate them. This Changzhi County is located exactly in the center of these places, and I plan to place the accommodation for the guests here. After I have eaten and drank enough, I will
I'm looking for a house locally. When the time comes, you two will discuss it. One of you will follow me on the road, and the other will stay and look after the house."
Although the two of them had doubts, they both understood that Zhao Zheng's trip was quite secretive and he was unwilling to reveal the truth for the time being. Therefore, neither of them asked more questions, but began to directly discuss who should stay.
Both of them wanted to follow Zhao Zheng and leave so that they could travel around. Although it was a bit harder, it was more interesting than staying in one place. They both wanted to stay, but they argued endlessly and could not discuss it.
The result came out. While the two were arguing, Ah Bao was still eating voraciously, making his mouth full of oil and relishing it. Ah Bao is an omnivorous beast. Although he likes to eat bamboo and fruits, he also likes the food on the table.
No one will be turned away.
Seeing the two people arguing, Zhao Zheng smiled bitterly and said: "That's good. I think it's better for Brother Wang to stay. Brother Wang has a calm personality and I feel more at ease in doing things. As for Brother Ren, just follow me."
"Okay then. Now that I've spoken to you, let me stay." Wang Er said depressedly.
"Following me may not be a good thing. Although I have a high degree of confidence in this trip, there are certain risks. If Brother Ren goes on the road with me, we have to bear this risk together. But if you stay, you will be much safer.
"Before I leave, I will leave you a sum of money, which is enough for your expenses during this period of time, so that you can live a comfortable life." Zhao Zheng comforted.
"Okay. Misfortunes are where blessings depend. Maybe it's a good thing to stay." Wang Er also comforted himself.
After eating, Zhao Zheng left his two eldest brothers to rest here, while he took A Bao with him and left the inn, looking for a local courtyard to stay. After searching around Changzhi County, he finally
We chose a detached courtyard with towering walls. This place is quite remote and quiet, so it is a good place to stay.
There are people living in this courtyard, and they are a wealthy family. They have no worries about food and clothing, and have no intention of moving. Fortunately, money can make the world go round. When Zhao Zheng showed a silver note worth five thousand taels, the family finally decided to move.
Unable to resist the temptation of money, he agreed to sell the courtyard to Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zheng only paid the money. As for the trivial matters such as handing over the land deed and signing documents, he left all the trivial matters to Wang Er and let Wang Er negotiate with the family.
Wang Er was the accountant back then, so he was very comfortable doing this kind of thing, and he got it all done quickly.
After finding a place to stay, Zhao Zheng gave another task to Wang Er, asking Wang Er to hire workers to remodel the courtyard and excavate several basements buried deep underground. He also had a few small requirements for the basements.
For example, keep ventilation smooth, build heavy iron doors, etc.
Wang Er knew that Zhao Zheng must have a special intention for doing this, so he did as he was asked without asking too much.
Building a basement is not a big deal. Before the workers could start work, Zhao Zheng took Ren Qianqiu and Abao and left Changzhi County, heading for the next destination—Xiniu Province, the Lost Desert!
…
The scorching sun is scorching the earth fiercely, as if it is about to melt. The scorching sun in the sky emits dazzling light. The sun here is bigger than the sun in other places. Under the sunshine, the land below is endless.
The desert becomes so hot that if you put an egg on it, it will be cooked slowly.
A stream of hot air rose above the golden sand, refracting the light and blurring people's vision.
Such a ghost place is simply a purgatory on earth. Anyone with a slightly normal mind would never want to go to such a place to suffer. But things in the world are often very strange, and there are always various reasons to drive them.
People do things they don't want to do.
Under the scorching sun, a group of people rode on camels, enduring the fatal heat, running quickly in this hell on earth, leaving behind a series of footprints. Under the sweeping wind and sand, these footprints were quickly covered up,
Leave no trace.
"Damn, it's so hot." Ren Qianqiu complained, grabbed the half-deflated cowhide water bag at his waist, opened the lid, and took a sip into his mouth, but he didn't dare to drink too much.
Duo said, "Zhao Zheng, to be honest, if I had known that I was going to come to a ghost place like this, I would have stayed in Changzhi County and let that boy Wang Er come over and suffer."
Zhao Zheng was riding on the back of the camel, smiling and shaking his head slightly, noncommittal. In such a cruel environment, it was understandable for Ren Qianqiu to complain a few words. If he had a choice, he would not be willing to go to such a place.
It's a ghost place, but in order to find an important witness, he must come here.
This witness is extremely crucial. He knows some secrets that others don't know and is a key to solving the mystery.
There were five people, one beast, and nine camels in their group. In addition to Zhao Zheng and Ren Qianqiu, there were also three local guides. Without a guide to lead the way, they would not be able to cross this confusing desert and would definitely get lost.
In this hell-like desert, they died of thirst. Each of them rode a camel, and the other camels carried their luggage.
On the way in the Lost Desert, they walked very hard and suffered a lot. They encountered sandstorms twice. During this period, Ren Qianqiu was bitten by a scorpion. Thanks to Zhao Zheng's possession of many antidotes, this
Only then could Ren Qianqiu’s life be saved. Among all the people, the one who had the hardest work was A Bao, because he was covered in fur and felt the heat higher than others. If A Bao were not a strange beast, his physique was extremely strong.
If so, I'm afraid I would have suffered from heat stroke.
Zhao Zheng looked back and glanced around. Seeing that these people could no longer hold on, he sighed softly, activated his internal energy in his Dantian, and forced the internal energy out of his body, forming a cool breeze that wrapped around the team. The cool breeze blew
It touched everyone's faces and clothes, bringing waves of coolness, which made the heat dissipate a lot.
Everyone felt the cool breeze surrounding them, shouting happily, and their faces looked much better. Unfortunately, Zhao Zheng's internal strength was limited and could not maintain this cool breeze for a long time. It could only last for about half an hour at a time.
As we walked, a prosperous scene suddenly emerged in the direction to the right of everyone. We could see the shadows of many buildings in the distance, and many pedestrians were walking through them.
"We're here! We're here!" After Ren Qianqiu caught a glimpse of the scene on the right, he immediately shouted happily. He looked extremely happy.
When everyone heard these shouts, they all turned their attention to the town scene on the right. Zhao Zheng also had a look of surprise on his face. He thought he had reached the place, and even A Bao yelled twice. However,
, there was no smile on the faces of the three guides. They were still very dull.
"You don't need to yell. It's not a town at all, but a 'sea city', also called a 'maze.'
Only then can we arrive." The old guide walking at the front reminded lightly.
"Is this a mirage?" Zhao Zheng heard this. His smile suddenly became stiff and he asked dryly.
"Yes, it's just a mirage. Mirages often appear in this confusing desert. Many people have died in the desert because they were deceived by mirages. The mirage is illusory and does not exist. If you walk past it, you will only see mirages.
You will waste your energy in vain and gain nothing. If you persist in persisting, you will die of exhaustion and thirst on the way." The old guide replied.
"I see. Thank you for being here, otherwise, we would have been deceived." Zhao Zheng said with a bitter smile. The old guide in front of him was a native of the local area. He knew the desert well and was the most famous local guide.
He had an extremely accurate judgment about this place, and his words were very weighty. The old guide said that it was a mirage, so it must be a mirage, and he couldn't be wrong.
"Take people's money to help them eliminate disasters. I have received five hundred taels of silver from you, so naturally I will help you with things and send you to Qingshui Village safely," the old guide said.
After confirming that the scene on the right was just an illusion, everyone's newly heated minds began to cool down again, and they all continued on their way with grimaces. Due to Po's limited understanding, he really couldn't understand why everyone didn't go to what was right in front of them.
town, but continued to move forward. It protested against this, and even disobeyed Zhao Zheng's order, jumped off the back of the camel privately, and ran towards the mirage. Thanks to Zhao Zheng's intervention, Ah
Bao was stopped.
After sacrificing a whole bag of beef jerky, half a bag of raisins and a bag of water, Zhao Zheng finally pulled A Bao back and persuaded A Bao to move on and stop lingering on those false illusions.
After a small storm, everyone walked for a long time. As evening approached, they finally arrived at their destination. Right in front of everyone, the outline of an oasis appeared, with a large lake wave on it.
As well as a patch of green plants and some scattered buildings.
The scene that appeared this time was no longer a mirage, but a real village, the so-called Qingshui Village.
Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, everyone cheered, and even the guides showed joy.
Zhao Zheng held the reins of the camel and looked at Qingshui Village in the distance, his eyes becoming deeper and deeper.
The person he is looking for is a former Sandao Sect member who lives here in seclusion. His name is Zhao Huahong, who has the same surname as himself. Calculated, his age should be around sixty years old. This old woman named Zhao Huahong,
When he retired, he had a fifth-level cultivation. Now he is definitely far above this and cannot be underestimated. Zhao Huahong, like most members of the Three Sword Sect, is good at using swordsmanship, and has the "Scorching Sun Swordsmanship"
"He used it so skillfully that he was nicknamed "Scorching Sun Mandarin Duck" back then.
In addition to Zhao Huahong, there is another martial arts person who also lives here in seclusion. This person is Ji Yushan, the female beauty of the Silver Escort.
Because she was dissatisfied with the silver escort who continued to commit crimes, Ji Yushan left angrily and ran here to live in seclusion, where she stayed for many years. This place is remote and rarely visited by people. If you want to avoid someone, it is indeed a good place.
More than a year ago, the Silver Guardsman intended to seize the Zichu Sword from Zhao Zheng. Zhao Zheng used Ji Yushan's seclusion to keep the Zichujian. The Silver Guardsman immediately left after learning about the seclusion of his old friend.
Well, after such a long time, he must have met Ji Yushan. However, it is still unknown whether the two can get back together.
The Silver Guard is not a kind person, and his martial arts skills are extremely terrifying. Zhao Zheng does not want to meet this person.
Just in case, Zhao Zheng lifted up the gauze wrapped around his neck and covered his face. He turned around and looked at Ren Qianqiu behind him and ordered: "Brother Ren, cover your face too."
Bar."
Ren Qianqiu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and pulled up his gauze scarf.
After everyone cheered, they continued to move forward. The outline of Qingshui Village gradually enlarged and became clearer in their eyes. This remote village once again welcomed a group of uninvited guests. (To be continued. If you like this
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