After getting the map, Lorraine Hill walked out of the old man's house and saw two children hiding under the window sill and eavesdropping.
They have big, smart eyes, but their bodies are very thin, and their pale skin makes them look like they will fall over if the wind blows.
Seeing the old man escorting Lorraine Hill out, the two children dispersed and ran elsewhere.
"This is a child in the village who is not very sensible and makes you laugh." The old man explained briefly.
"It's okay." The girl can understand. After all, there are very few outsiders here, and it is normal for children to be curious.
"Then I'll take my leave first."
After finishing speaking, Lorraine Hill rose into the air and flew towards the other side of the mountain col, while the old man still stood there, silently watching the retreating figure.
After a long time, several thin men from the village came over.
"Village chief, this woman..."
"No need to ask, she has nothing to do with the recent events. She is a disciple from far away. Just don't provoke her easily." After finishing speaking, the old man shook his head, and then silently walked back to the house, looking through the young people's books.
A shabby diary left behind.
[Xianyu Sect: Hui Luzhou comes to visit, the surrounding forces are huge, but fortunately they are mostly peripheral sects, and there are not many real disciples... It is also the main source of Zhaoye Palace...]
This diary is written on yellowed mulberry paper. There are some curls at the corners and a lot of black dust on it, which shows that it is old.
"Grandma Geluo actually skipped Zhaoye Palace and directly invited Xiangyu to send support. It can be seen that the situation is getting more and more difficult, alas..."
The old man put down the book he had written when he was young and wandering around, sat at the table, and fell into dull thinking again, while the village outside the window gradually returned to its usual calm.
——————
After crossing the mountains, the time gradually came to afternoon, and there was a hint of coolness in the air, blowing on the girl's dress and hair.
After turning around dozens of peaks and canyons, a strange place in the distance finally appeared in Lorraine Hill's perception. She turned around, fell sideways into the canyon, and flew forward.
As it continued to fly downward, a tall and deep canyon gradually appeared in front of Loland Hill.
There are steep and towering mountain walls on both sides. Its specific shape is like the groove left by a giant ax that was struck into the earth and then picked up.
The mountain walls on both sides are not separated in a V line, but in an A shape gradually coming together at the top. There is a sense of oppression that is about to collapse, which makes people feel frightened and frightened.
While walking in it, gusts of cold wind blew from the front of the valley, making a whistling sound, and the canyon in the field of vision became darker and darker, as if it was heading towards the underworld.
Although Lorraine Hill is not very afraid of this, walking in it can still feel how heart palpitating and panic this is for ordinary people.
Two little birds slowly descended from behind and landed on the stone next to the girl. They chirped, which echoed far and wide in the valley.
"Okay, don't scream for now, in case something bad happens..." Before the girl could finish speaking, there was a sound of rapid running in front of her.
Soon a group of people in black robes rushed over. They had almost no exposed skin, and their whole bodies were wrapped in black clothes. They even wore wooden masks under their hoods, resembling ghosts.
After seeing this girl, the leader paused, raised his left hand, temporarily asked the people around him to stop, and then began to ask.
"Who are you and why are you here?" The voice was cold and seemed to be very guarded.
As a last resort, Lorraine Hill had to explain it again, and this time it took a lot of effort to finally convince the leader.
"You wait here first and give us the token."
"Okay." The girl nodded helplessly. It seems that this place is very unfriendly to outsiders.
After that, a man in black picked up the token and went back. Lorraine Hill had no choice but to lean on the stone nearby, close his eyes and rest for the time being, ignoring the group of people who were watching eagerly.
About half an hour later, the man who took the token finally came back. He whispered a few words to the leader, and then the leader calmed down a little.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come with me."
After finishing speaking, the group of people moved out of the way, and then the leader led the girl, and the two of them walked towards the depths of the canyon.
There are many broken pebbles in the land under your feet. It is very barren and does not look like a place for farming. The sky above your head is also very small, like a thick line, spreading forward. And the mountain walls on both sides,
It is the kind of slightly weathered rock with signs of peeling. Its tilt angle covers most of the sky, making people worry that it will collapse at any time and bury the entire valley.
After walking a few miles inward, the mountain walls on both sides gradually closed up and became narrower and narrower. Finally, they seemed to be close together, leaving only the line of sky in the middle. And leading to the line of sky in the distance was a long
steps.
Following the nearly 45-degree staircase, slowly climbing up, finally, a relatively flat open space appeared in front of the girl. And behind this open space was an 'elegant' shrine.
The reason why I say this is because this shrine has a lot of damage, the eaves and corners of the walls are peeling off, but even so, the elegant and graceful style of this shrine in the past can still be seen from its general shape.
"Miko-sama is in the shrine, so I won't go in." His voice was a little deeper, with a somewhat military air.
"Yes." The girl nodded, greeted the two birds to stop next to the open space, and walked slowly inside alone.
Coincidentally, it happened to be dusk at this time, and the canyon opposite the shrine also happened to be in the west. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the long canyon, giving the area around the shrine a faint red color.
A few cold cries came from the woods nearby, and a few crows stood on the treetops, watching the girl walking towards the inside of the shrine, her shadow stretching very long on the ground.
Boom, boom.
Even though he was as light as Lorraine Hill, he still made clear footsteps when he stepped on the wooden boards of this shrine, and there was silence all around.
The inside of the shrine is very dark, with a dry and cool atmosphere.
As Lorraine Hill gradually adapted to the dim environment, she focused her gaze directly in front of her. There was an old man sitting with her back facing her. She was wearing a black dress.
The reason why he is called an old man is because he has long gray and withered hair on his back, which is not what a young person would look like.
"Welcome." The old man's deep and slow voice sounded in the room. She bowed and knelt again, then slowly stood up and turned around.
"You are the disciple sent by Xiangyu, right?"
"Yes."
The girl looked at the old man in front of her. She had wrinkles on her face and some sagging skin. From her eyebrows, she could still vaguely see her former good looks. If she were 20 years old again, she would probably be a beautiful woman.
.
"My name is Ziqiu Geluo, and I am the shrine maiden of this shrine." The clothes on this old man's body are indeed somewhat similar to those of the shrine maidens in the outside world. The atmosphere is elegant and luxurious, but her age is difficult to find.
Reminiscent of those young and pretty witches in the outside world.
"Hello, my name is Luo... Jialan." The girl said it smoothly for a moment, but then quickly changed it.
"Luo Jia Lan, it's a very good name." The old man nodded, and his quiet look made Luo Lan Hill hesitate for a moment and missed the opportunity to explain.
"You're still carrying your luggage, right? Come with me first, and I'll help you arrange a place to stay."
After finishing speaking, the old man led Lorraine Hill toward the side exit. From there, he could see a small yard in the woods next to the shrine.
After seeing the girl come out, two birds in the open space in front of the shrine also chirped and then flew over.
"Is this your partner?" the old man asked.
"Yes." The girl nodded.
"Very good, then we have to arrange a place for them to live." The old man nodded approvingly.
With the girl and two birds, the old man walked in front of him unhurriedly. Although she looked very old, her steps were not shaky. Instead, she seemed calm and quiet, as if nothing could trouble her.
Pushing open the courtyard door, the corners of the door panel rotated in the round stone groove, making a slight creaking sound, and then the two of them walked inside.
The yard is not big, there is a small open space in the middle, and there is a well in the open space.
"This place is not as good as the outside world. It may be a bit shabby. I hope you can understand." The old man explained slowly, then took out the key and opened the door on the side, revealing the environment inside.
There is a table in the simple hall, and then there is a bedroom on the side, with a wooden bed in it. The wood looks very old and a little dull, but the quilt and sheets on the bed are new and seem to have been prepared recently.
"You can usually live here." The old man briefly introduced the situation in the courtyard, the bedrooms, the hall, and the kitchen nearby.
"We have very few trees here and they are very precious. If you want to cook, I'm afraid you will have to use magic to make a fire yourself." The old man said apologetically.
"Well, it doesn't matter." The girl shook her head, it was not difficult for her.
"As long as you can adapt." The old man looked at Lorraine Hill with relief, and then said.
"You must be tired after coming from such a far away place. Why don't you take a rest for the night and I will tell you about the surrounding situation tomorrow."
The girl thought for a moment and then nodded. The old man saw this and after giving an explanation, he slowly withdrew.
Seeing that the courtyard became quiet, Lorraine Hill breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the house.
She first put down her salute and checked the bedroom roughly. Seeing that there was no problem, she lay down on the bed. At this time, two birds also jumped up, huddled together, and squatted next to the girl.
"You are not cats, you are not soft at all." The girl touched the two slightly fat birds and looked up at the ceiling. Well, maybe this cannot be called a ceiling, because the top of the head is the eaves and tiles.
I saw a few spider webs on one of the beams.
After arriving in this area, the girl saw a lot of new things and filled her head with a lot of information. At this time, she also fell into a period of analysis and thinking.
Based on what I heard at the border inn and the explanation given by the old man in the village during the day, I can roughly understand that this should be an isolated area where outsiders are rare.
The Ximu Mountains are located between Xiyou Continent and Mushan Continent. Compared with other areas of the Plantagenet Dynasty, this place is more like a foreign land, that is, a place that is not under the jurisdiction and protection of the dynasty.
According to the people in the inn and the old man's description, the mountains, rivers and dragon veins here contain a heavy amount of necromancy magic, which causes ghosts and undead to spontaneously appear in the area. Therefore, it is very dangerous, so people need to be sent to clean it up frequently.
.
In addition, under the contamination of the magic power of the Necromantic Sequence, many lands are not suitable for growing crops, and there is also some damage and corrosion to people.
The Youchi clan living here were citizens who specialized in practicing the Necromancer Sequence in ancient times, so they still retain the tradition of practicing the Necromancer Sequence. On the one hand, they can absorb the overflowing Necromancer Sequence magic power, and on the other hand, they can deal with them.
Wild ghosts with the same undead sequence can be found in one fell swoop.
However, due to complex historical reasons in the past, the residents here did not have a good relationship with the outside world. It can be said that they hated each other. On the outside border, many people in the dynasty believed that it was these ghosts and ghosts who were driven by the evil clan.
He will harm people everywhere, so he must be suppressed vigorously.
As for the rogue clan in the Ximu Mountains, judging from their behavior, this group of people also has a strong resistance to the outside world. It can be seen that there are many conflicts and contradictions accumulated in daily life.
However, due to historical reasons, few people outside the world sympathized with this group of evil people. In addition, this place was inaccessible, and it gradually became a corner forgotten by the dynasty.
"However, that Lord Zhou Mu seems to be very hostile to this group of evil people." The girl recalled what she saw in the inn.
Not only are the Black Leopards often patrolling the border, but also because they deliberately provoke those mixed-race men in white.
According to Lorraine Hill's flying observations in the Twilight Mountains over the past two days, these ghost tribes are not powerful, and can even be said to be very weak. They have very few residents and villages, and are far less prosperous than outside towns. They are not
The kind of strength that threatens the outside world makes it difficult to even survive in the mountains.
Logically speaking, this group of evil spirits should be in a very weak position, and there is absolutely no need to pay so much attention and suppress them.
Why deliberately provoke conflicts? Is there any benefit in making the border people hostile to the Youchi clan?
As she recalled what she had seen these days, the girl slowly analyzed it.
Finally, she slowly closed her eyes and put these thoughts aside for the time being.
Let's take a look at it in a few days. The information we know so far is still too little. No matter how much we think about it, we can't come up with any clues. It's better to wait for a while and then talk about it. As time goes by, everything will naturally become clear.
Furthermore, I was only ordered to come here to assist the miko in defeating ghosts and evil spirits, and there was no need to intervene in this chaotic situation.
Just complete the task step by step. Let's stop here today. It's time to have a good sleep.
Thinking like this, the girl lay on the bed and took a nap for a while. When the sky got dark, she woke up from her sleep.
I'm hungry. I can't sleep well without eating.
Lorraine Hill stood up from the bed, and the two birds were also awakened by the action.
"Do you want to eat too?" The girl touched the two excited birds, walked out of the room, and came to the yard. There were a few sparse stars in the sky, and there was a slight chirping of insects everywhere.
She picked up a bucket of water, then went to the kitchen on the side. After cleaning it briefly, she used her magic power to condense a blue flame and sent it into the stove.
Looking at the stove made of stone bricks and the large iron pot for boiling water, the girl sat aside and felt as if she had returned to her childhood home. It was like this back then.
By the way, what should I eat tonight? At this moment, the girl remembered that she did not ask the witch for food, and her eyes drifted to the two birds on the side unknowingly.
It would be nice if they were fatter, this thought suddenly came to my mind.
Seeing the two little birds' uninformed expressions, the girl smiled and then stood up again.
It's better to go to the witch and ask, otherwise you will really be hungry tonight. The other party should not be asleep at this time.
Lorraine Hill pushed open the door to the courtyard, and a loud sound of insects entered her ears. She lit a few cold flames formed by the magic power of the undead, surrounded her side, and then walked towards the shrine in the night.
The night was cold and dark, but the sound of wailing and chanting could be faintly heard from the distant shrine.