ps: Thanks to Aiyao Dongshi, huiyi12345, Frozen Fire 2, skd716, Huoshan 1889, Daolian, johnwinter, Electronic Dad and other fellow Taoists for their monthly support.
Zhao Ran returned to Junshan Temple and felt extremely comfortable. Speaking of which, when he went to Baima Mountain that day, he had lived in Wujiyuan for two years, but when he returned a few months later, he didn't feel like a wanderer returning home. But now facing this I have only been away from Junshan Temple for a month, but I still feel that it is very friendly and I am quite excited to go home.
Unfortunately, Zhao Ran shouted several times in front of the temple, but no one came out to greet him, which surprised him.
Pushing open the temple door and stepping in, the temple was empty, not even a single person. Zhao Ran had a vague feeling about something bad. When he entered the dormitory, there was also no one there, but fortunately, everything in the room was clean and tidy. There were no signs of trouble when he went up, which made him feel a little more relaxed.
When they moved to the courtyard next door, they finally saw Mr. Xu and his wife who had been invited to cook and clean. They heard the noise and had just gotten up from a nap. When they came out, they bumped into Zhao Ran. Zhao Ran hurriedly asked about the whereabouts of the others. Xu The old man replied that he had gone to Jundu Mountain to suppress bandits. Zhao Ran was surprised and asked what happened, but the old man hesitated and couldn't explain clearly.
Zhao Ran had no intention of waiting in the temple, so he hurriedly left the temple gate, mounted the old donkey and rushed towards Jundu Mountain.
Jundu Mountain is located to the east of Junshan section and is also within the jurisdiction of Junshan Temple. Zhao Ran had never heard of banditry in the mountain, so he was surprised and worried. He drove all the way and arrived at the mountain pass in more than an hour. Down.
At the mountain pass, I saw a few familiar villagers. They were all young and strong people who came to open up wasteland with Zhao Ran. They rushed up when they saw Zhao Ran.
"Zhao Miaozhu, you are finally back!"
"Daozhang Zhao, I've finally come to see you!"
"Zhao Shenxian is back. It would be nice to come back, these gangs of thieves have killed a thousand people!"
…
While chatting, Zhao Ran roughly understood what was going on. It turned out that within a few days after he left Junshan Temple, banditry broke out in the mountains. More than a dozen bandits came from nowhere. They were really fierce. In just a few days, several families were robbed, and rumors spread that from now on, every household would have to provide food to them. They would not only pay for the food, but also obey the distribution.
Of course the people refused, so they turned to the Junshan Temple for help. Jin Jiu, who was acting as the temple’s deputy, had never been one to suffer losses, and he could be called the representative of the dandies in this world. He had long regarded the Junshan area as his own territory, and he would not allow others to come in. Stirring food. So Jin Jiu called Guan Er, Lu Jin and Lin Shuangwen, and gathered about a hundred strong men, each armed with plowshares, iron rakes, wooden sticks, short axes and other items to go into the mountain to search for the bandits.
Jundu Mountain is more than ten times larger than Xiaojun Mountain. It is not easy to search for the gangsters in the mountains. It was also Jin Jiu who asked the leader to divide the team into three groups. He and Lin Shuangwen led one group. Guan Er and Lu Jin each led one group. This division of troops violated a military taboo. Although there were only a dozen bandits, they were all desperadoes. They looked for opportunities to attack Lu Jin's road, killing two people on the spot and injuring more than ten people. Jin Jiu waited After He Guan Er heard the news and rushed there, the gangsters hid in the mountains and disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Jin Jiu suffered a big loss. He finally became cautious, so he mobilized more than 200 people from three villages, and together with the total number of 300, he went into the mountain to search again, and agreed on a way to coordinate advance and retreat among several groups of people. . Jin Jiu has been leading people into the mountain for several days now. So far, there is no trace of the gangsters.
While talking, Qing Zhuang, who was leading the way, had led Zhao Ran to a hill. Zhao Ran looked up and saw a simple tower several feet high had been built on the hill. Jin Jiuzheng and Lin Shuangwen were walking around on the tower.
Wait and see.
As soon as Zhao Ran came back, Jin Jiu and Lin Shuangwen came down quickly. Jin Jiu first called out "Senior Brother", and then said angrily: "I don't know where these thieves came from, but they are so hateful. I wish I could kill them all, so that I can understand my heart."
gas!"
Zhao Ran comforted Jin Jiu for a few words, and then asked about the current situation in detail. He knew that these thieves were engaging in "guerrilla warfare". Most people would really have a headache when they encountered them, even if they had ten times the manpower to fight.
It is difficult to stop these thieves, so Jin Jiu's last roundup failed is normal, and it is not a crime of war.
Zhao Ran asked about the injuries of the injured and felt relieved knowing that they were now recuperating in the village.
"The eldest and second eldest son of the Zhong family are dead. I really have no face to face Uncle Zhong..." Jin Jiu's eyes were red when he mentioned the deceased, and his face was angry and sad. Zhao Ran was also very sad. There were only three sons in the Zhong family.
, has always been the leading labor exporter among the people, and they are willing to help others. If other people have any difficulties, these three young men are willing to come forward to help. In those days when the temple was built, the three sons of the Zhong family were the best laborers.
, they rushed to do the heavy and tiring work. Even Zhao Ran personally praised these three brothers in person, but he didn't expect that they would be here.
"Where is Sanlang?" Zhao Ran asked.
"Sanlang is following Lu Jin, over there at Beishan..."
Before Jin Jiu could finish speaking, Zhao Ran scolded angrily: "You are confused! There are only three sons in the Zhong family. Now two have gone, leaving only this single seedling. How can you still let him enter the mountain? If he comes out again
Accident, how can you, Uncle Zhong, survive?"
Jin Jiu said helplessly: "Brother, don't be angry. I didn't let him enter the mountain that day, but there was nothing I could do. Not only did Zhong Sanlang want to go to the mountain, but Old Man Zhong also wanted to follow him. He said that he was not allowed to enter the mountain for revenge, so they
Killed on the mountain pass..."
Lin Shuangwen also said: "Miao Zhu, don't worry. Taoist Master Jin has already taken care of Lu Jin. We must take good care of Zhong Sanlang this time no matter what. There are more than a hundred people there, so there won't be any accidents this time."
Zhao Ran was silent for a moment and asked, "Where is Mr. Zhong?"
Jin Jiudao: "He was just under the post. I assigned him a job of delivering messages. There is no way he would come forward to fight."
"Call Old Man Zhong, I want to see him."
Lin Shuangwen hurriedly followed the path down the hill, and soon invited Old Man Zhong up. Old Man Zhong had deep wrinkles on his face and dark skin. At first glance, he looked like an old banker. Although he was old, his body was extremely strong.
Judging from the way he walks, he is not much worse than a strong young man.
As soon as Mr. Zhong came up, he bowed down to Zhao Ran: "I've seen Zhao Shenxian!"
Zhao Ran hurriedly bent down to help him up, patted Old Uncle Zhong on the shoulder, and said: "Uncle Zhong, I'm back late..."
Uncle Zhong's face darkened, he shook his head and said, "It's all fate..."
Zhao Ran didn't know how to comfort the old man. He was afraid that bringing up old things would make the old man uncomfortable, so he said: "Uncle Zhong, the Zhong family has done a lot for Junshan and Junshan Temple this time. Pindao will remember this contribution in his heart.
When the thief is captured, Pindao will definitely avenge the old man."
Old Man Zhong sighed: "This is a matter of duty. Killing the thief is also for our Junshan. It's just that the lives of the two children are not good..."
Zhao Ran was moved in his heart, thought for a while, and asked: "Uncle Zhong, I have met your Sanlang, a very honest and kind young man. I wonder if Uncle Zhong is willing to let Sanlang come to the temple to do it after the incident here."
Huoju will definitely not treat him badly..."
Before he finished speaking, Old Man Zhong knelt down again with excitement on his face: "Thank you very much, Zhao Shenxian, thank you very much, Zhao Shenxian! If Sanlang can enter Junshan Temple, it will be the smoke of my ancestors of the Zhong family. This kindness,
Old man, I have nothing to repay, I can only let the child follow Zhao Shenxian from now on and serve him as best he can... Old man, I really do... Well, anyway, thank you very much Zhao Shenxian..."
Zhao Ran sighed and said, "There's no need to thank you. This is what Dalang and Erlang have earned with their lives. Don't worry, Uncle Zhong, I will definitely cultivate Sanlang well from now on. I will always ask you to make the Zhong family stand out."
After sending away the old man Zhong who kept wiping his tears, Zhao Ran asked Jin Jiu and Lin Shuangwen carefully about the appearance of the gangsters, then mounted the old donkey, spread his hooves and ran down the hill, heading straight to the depths of Junshan Mountain.
Although Junshan is not small, it is not too big for Zhao Ran and Lao Donkey. Zhao Ran's hearing and eyesight are more than ten times better than ordinary people, and Lao Donkey's feet are also unusually fast and dexterous, searching for traces of bandits in the mountains.
It's not a difficult thing.
Junshan Mountain has three levels: Beishan Mountain and Dongshan Mountain. There are more than a dozen large and small hills, four mountain ridges, and five valleys. In fact, Jin Jiu has gathered more than 300 people to search for the gangsters. There is already a lot of manpower, but the gangsters are always coming and going, so
It’s hard to find. But no matter how good the gangster’s foot power is, can he be faster than Zhao Ran and Lao Donkey? So for Zhao Ran, as long as he makes a good search plan, he will be able to catch the gangster. (To be continued...