Looking at the row of boats, Gouzi was a little surprised, "It's still so busy in the first month of the year."
"It seems that Wenshui is being used as a canal."
When I opened the map, I saw that the quarry was not far away, and the construction site was just southeast of Wenshui.
"Strange, southeast of Wenshui, shouldn't it be 'Wuwen County'?"
Frowning, Wei Hao was puzzled.
"Gentleman, the national fortunes here have declined greatly. Who is protecting the boatmen and trackers?"
"Generally speaking, it's a demon slayer or a charlatan escort. But in the current situation, that may not be the case."
Entering a mountainous area, it suddenly started snowing, and noises could already be heard.
Wei Hao stepped on the snow without leaving a trace, and soon reached the top of a cedar tree. A white cloak wrapped around his body. Looking into the distance, he saw a valley where Wenshui River passed. The mountains on both sides had been dug out.
A huge gap.
The gravel rolled down, passing through logs and ropes, and gradually slid to the shore.
There are fleets of boats on both sides of the river. The trackers drag the cables and lean forward, almost parallel to the ground.
Use your hands and feet together to move forward.
Next to the team of trackers, someone would cast spells from time to time, mostly to ward off the cold so that the trackers could continue working.
More advanced spells are more expensive, and not everyone can afford them.
However, seeing this scene still made Wei Hao feel very angry. A good spell, instead of finding ways to stretch, is used to supervise the drawing. It is simply abominable!
"I've never seen this kind of attire before."
Wei Hao carefully looked at the warlocks who were keeping the trackers away from the cold. They were not so much warlocks as soldiers who knew how to use magic.
Logically speaking, this kind of person shouldn't appear so arrogantly.
Seeing that those guys all had the same symbol, Wei Hao compared the similar symbols he had seen one by one, but there was still nothing similar.
It's not the symbol of the Imperial Guard, the Qin Tian Prison, the Xun Tian Prison, or the Long Xiang Army, the Flying Bear Army, and other powerful forces.
"This symbol has a horizontal line under the semicircle and a vertical line running through the center... I've never seen it before."
I asked Gouzi, "Xiao Wang, have you seen this symbol?"
After drawing it on his palm, Gouzi shook his head, he had never seen it before.
"It seems that it should be new."
Wei Hao was suddenly startled, "The Lord of the Land said that a noble man has arrived. Is the one who can come here recently not 'Dong Bohou'?"
Moreover, "Dongbohou" is also a strange title that was hastily confirmed. The ancient legends are no longer reliable, and everything has to start from scratch.
After such deliberation, Wei Hao asked Yan Xuanxin to come closer to conduct reconnaissance and make sure.
The flying swallow in the first month is not very reasonable. Yan Xuanxin changed into a linen robe and turned into a little sparrow, jumping around the mining area and landing in the stone ship from time to time.
Soon, Yan Xuanxin flew to Wei Hao's side.
"Elephant Master is from the residence of 'Dong Bohou'. These monks who follow the trackers are members of the 'Heaven and Earth Guard' under 'Dong Bohou'."
"'Heaven and Earth Guard'?!"
Wei Hao was speechless for a moment, what a punishment for "Dong Bohou".
What a loud tone, and even brought out a "Heaven and Earth Guard".
"Xuan Xin, first go and see where these stones are being unloaded. The construction site should be where the unloading is."
"yes."
The little sparrow flapped its wings and flew away, searching along Wenshui River.
"Gentleman, where are we?"
"First go to 'Jiangjiagou' to find out."
"okay."
call!!
The cloak shook and he immediately ran away, not even leaving any footprints on the branch where he was standing.
Not long after, a few first-month tits landed on top, tilting their heads and looking around, apparently not realizing that someone had just come to where they were.
In the mountains, Wei Hao's figure was like a white horse, and the traces could not be seen clearly under the cover of snow.
Wang Zhaixing showed his head and sniffed slightly, sensing where there was a human presence.
Wei Hao's perception has spread to fifty miles away. The location of "Jiangjiagou" is not far away in a straight line. It is only fifteen miles away from the quarry. However, it is blocked by seven or eight hills and the winding mountain road is far away.
As long as I move forward on two legs, I won't be able to hold back for hundreds of miles.
Among the hills, Wei Hao accidentally discovered a large number of altars. Each altar was similar to a beacon tower, with soldiers stationed inside.
As little as one person, as many as a team.
There are both long and short weapons, and they are also equipped with various talismans and magic weapons.
"Good guy, when did the local garrison become so wealthy?!"
Wei Hao was very shocked. You must know that a strong army like Long Xiang's army does not mean that the talisman paper is used as toilet paper.
But along the way, we passed by seven or eight hills, and there were more than twenty sentries, large and small, with a total force of about a thousand people.
To light a fire, you don't use a fire sickle, you use a "fire charm", a kind of talisman paper that can light things on fire.
Although it may seem inconspicuous, in order to make rune paper, you must have the help of a practitioner who specializes in runes.
And if you want to carry magic power, ordinary paper is useless, you must have "aura" inside to show it.
Paper is definitely not simple or ordinary.
According to the practice of past dynasties, the "tribute paper" usually made under the supervision of famous ministers and generals has its own "aura". The cultivation of making talisman paper only needs to solve the problem of running the runes in one go, and the rest is completely natural.
Generally speaking, these items are controlled items and are unlikely to become widespread.
The imperial court controls the demon slayers from two sources: one is the basic materials, that is, elixirs, auras, etc. used to enhance strength; the other is the "righteous method" that is used in the world, which is used for cultivation.
Not all evil spells can be successful. Evil spells can make you stronger, but you will die if you are struck by lightning. However, the "right method" is different and you are not afraid of being struck by lightning.
Like a piebald fox, it already lacks both family assets and "righteousness". If it is just a fox with poor qualifications, it will die if it is struck by lightning, and it has no determination to fight and fight again, which makes it even worse.
Two daughters exchanged a thousand years of cultivation. If any big demon got such a good deal, he would be the first one to come over and kowtow to Wei Hao.
Kowtow a few times, no ambiguity.
Precisely because there are so many pitfalls in practice, how could Wei Hao not be shocked when he saw ordinary soldiers using "fire charms" to make fires to keep warm?!
"What is the origin of this 'Dong Bohou'?!"
Wei Hao patted the dog's head on his chest.
Gouzi was speechless for a moment: "Gentleman, I'm just a dog, not a spy."
"You didn't study hard at Qilin Academy?!"
"That gentleman didn't say anything about ending the world's heroes properly at Zhuque Academy."
"I'm an arithmetic person, so I just need to learn elementary mathematics well. Besides, I'm very familiar with the local officials in Beiyang Prefecture, and I know them all."
"Gentleman, you want to be the number one scholar in arithmetic. If you want to look at the world, how can you only focus on one-third of an acre in Beiyang Mansion? I want to criticize you!"
"..."
The little dog was very eloquent, and Wei Hao was so angry that he rubbed the dog's head angrily.
Not long after, we finally arrived at a Wubao. In terms of shape, it was somewhat similar to a "rectangular earth building", built in the shape of a "pin" and built against the mountain.
The entire "Jiangjiagou" has quite a few Wubao groups in the shape of a pin, but it can be seen that they are a bit depressed now.
"There are officials stationed here."
Wrapped in a white cloak, Wei Hao stood at the highest point, looking down and feeling the atmosphere around him. In a place similar to an ancestral hall, several officials in fox fur were eating around the stove.
Judging from the attire, he is definitely a Daxia bureaucrat.
But there is something wrong with the guys waiting on me.
"fox?"
Several of the maidservants are not human beings, but vixens, with low cultivation and weak magic power. They probably cannot withstand the attack of a hunter.
"It's interesting."
Wei Hao immediately guessed, "Could it be that the generosity of 'Dong Bohou' has something to do with the inhuman spirits?"
This is not impossible.
From the perspective of others, aren't Wei Hao and Wang Fubo cooperating with the spirits?
What they did, "Dong Bohou" naturally did too.
But there was another thing that Wei Hao found strange. The men in "Jiangjiagou" were over-exercised, and not all the people in "Jiangjiagou" died.
There are still men, old and weak women and children left. There are thousands and hundreds of people.
Where are you at this time?
Wei Hao raised his hands to cover his brows, looking everywhere with his fiery eyes, and immediately discovered where people were gathering.
They all gathered at the other two "rectangular earth buildings".
Judging from the activity traces, they should be united in one place to prevent unexpected events.
Moreover, it is easy to restrain children when they are gathered together, so as to prevent a single family from being snatched away by a wolf.
"Let's go over and have a look."
As soon as he jumped up, there was no sound of wind and no snowflakes fell. Not long after, he was already moving around.
The four corners of the entire "rectangular earth building" are archery towers, with strong archers taking turns to watch from the corners.
The ladder that goes up and down is movable, with a pot of fire inside and dozens of bow strings hanging not far away.
The arrows were piled neatly, and there was also water and dry food.
There was no iron armor, only bamboo armor and leather armor brought from the south.
No matter whether they are old or young, they are all silent. The mountainous area in the first month is very dull.
But judging from the traces of each earth building, perhaps the first month in the past was not so depressed.
Wei Hao pricked up his ears and heard the complaints of the women who were busy spinning flax.
Complain about the weather, the court, officials, husbands, injustice...
"When the 'Dingjianao' heard that they had stopped, they asked Ding Juren to borrow food, and they all went to the county seat. I think this 'Dingjianao' is probably going to be in trouble."
"Didn't Ding Juren say that he always takes good care of his fellow villagers?"
"Well, that was the time when 'Dingjianao' had no worries about food and clothing. What was it like before and what is it like now? Ding Juren had at most 500 acres of land on hand, but after this year, he couldn't hold back even 5,000 acres.
"
"Hu Lilie, how can it be that five thousand acres can't be fought!"
"You still don't believe it? Someone died in the East Mine. Yesterday I went to deliver food to those who were not working, and I overheard it."
"Ah? Someone died? Then... what about the 'West Mine'?"
"How do you know this?"
"You silly woman, why don't you ask?"
"There is no news now, it's just good news, don't ask."
"..."
There was silence for a while, and only the twine balls thrown into the basket made some noise.
Just listening to the chatter of these women, Wei Hao was convinced that they had the courage to complain.
Complaining is just complaining, but you still work tenaciously while complaining, and you have stronger wisdom.
Yes, in this world, no news is good news.
"Gentleman, although this place is popular, there is no protection of the national destiny, and fairies can enter the village for activities. How can we maintain order?"
The dog was also observing, and he felt something was wrong just now.
Without the protection of the national destiny, without a large number of armed forces, and without a demon exterminator, if the spirits swarm, it will be a scene of imminent disaster.
"No, just close your eyes and feel it."
Wei Hao gently stroked the dog's head, allowing Wang Zhaixing to feel the surrounding environment again.
When Gouzi heard this, he immediately closed his eyes. The surroundings were very quiet. Except for the busy sounds of women, even the children were gathered together to play, patting each other.
Soon, Wang Zhaixing discovered the problem.
There is indeed no national destiny here, but something brand new similar to national destiny is being born.
No, not born, but already in operation.
Gouzi followed this special charm and discovered that there are different altars on different hills.
When I came here, the outposts and beacon towers on the mountain were actually altars.
Evil God?!
no.
Gouzi originally thought that he was an evil god worshiped by witchcraft, but he found that there was nothing evil at all. On the contrary, this kind of charm, like the national destiny, had the function of uniting and protecting.
A large number of outposts and altars, combined, form an extremely huge altar.
Stretching out, I'm afraid the mountains are included in it.
The scope is very vast. Wang Zhaixing guessed that it is more than 200 miles away. If there were no "Two Boundary Mountains", it is estimated that Mount Tai could be included.
But now, it is obvious that Mount Tai and the two boundary mountains are untouchable, so this weird charm is expanding around the southwest of Mount Tai.
"It seems like there's something in it."
"good."
After receiving Wei Hao's affirmative answer, Gouzi was immediately shocked: "The gentleman knows?"
"My fiery golden eyes are better than your dog eyes."
"..."
The dog's face dropped, and the dog was immediately speechless.
Wei Hao smiled and said: "Although I don't know what it is, it seems that it is not an evil god or ghost, but it should be someone who protects the common people."
"No need to eliminate it?"
"It depends."
Wei Hao said calmly, "As the saying goes, if a righteous person uses evil methods, the evil will be righteous; if an evil person uses righteous methods, the righteousness will also be evil. Everything depends on the follow-up."
"Then shall we go down below to inquire now?"
"No need."
Wei Hao glanced at the surrounding hills and said, "Just go to the fields and wander around in the mountains."
After that, Wei Hao left again and reached a mountainside. At a dilapidated mountain temple, he stamped his feet: "Where is the mountain god?!"
"Uh...which immortal is calling?"
There was a voice, and a blind tiger with broken teeth jumped out from between the rocks in the snow behind the mountain temple.
This tiger is very weak and old. When he speaks, he is still quite shy.
When he arrived in front of Wei Hao, the tiger looked up and immediately prostrated on the ground: "Oh, it's the King of Wei who is coming. The little god may not be far away to greet you, but some may be far away..."
"You have the body of a tiger, how can you recognize me?"
"What the king doesn't know is that this body was originally my mount. It has become old and weak. The little god couldn't bear it to die in the wind and snow, so he possessed it to keep it alive."
When Wei Hao heard this, he stared at the tiger and realized that there was indeed more than one soul. In addition to the tiger's own soul, there was also the face of a middle-aged man.
I looked at the statues in the mountain temple and found they were quite similar.
Wei Hao nodded and said: "This is not a solution. Life, old age, illness and death are all suffering. You have to go through it. You have to be open-minded."
"Well, how could the little god not know? However, this big cat is said to be a mount, but in fact it is like a brother. It was rescued by my father when it was a child. When it was one year old, it was frightened by the neighbors and had to be released into the forest. But later it It often turns around, and many mountain goods are delivered to my home. One year, there was a drought and then locusts. It traveled to more than 30 mountains, saving my family and the folks in this mountain. Hanging one's life is not just one bite. Is that..."
Listening to the mountain god's eloquent talk, Wei Hao was fascinated by the stories of the past.
After the mountain god finished speaking, Wei Hao realized why he had not given up and wanted to keep the tiger alive.
Only because later the villagers accepted the existence of this fierce tiger, and every time there was a famine for forty years, the mountain god who was still alive at that time would take the tiger out to hunt.
With meat, we can naturally survive the famine.
Because driving tigers to hunt is quite magical to outsiders, which is why you can be granted the title of Mountain God after death.
It's just that the mountain god never thinks that this is his own credit. In his opinion, these are all the merits of the tiger brothers.
When a flash flood suddenly broke out one year, he rode a tiger to save people, and finally died of exhaustion. After his death, the image after his death was that of a mountain god driving away tigers and riding on them.
After he became a god, he thought about allowing Brother Tiger to be reincarnated as a human being in the future, hoping to accumulate more merit.
As the mountain village declined, this idea declined, because the mountain god felt that the tiger brothers at this time were more free.
At this moment, the mountain god's idea for the tiger is to make it as happy as possible, and then reincarnate into a human being.
Hearing such a legend, Wei Hao sighed: "In this case, you help me solve the 'Jiangjiagou' case. After it is concluded, I will say hello to the underworld and provide convenience as appropriate."
"Ah this..."
The mountain god was stunned. He never expected that such a good thing would come from heaven!
He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, but the image of the tiger was somewhat strange, and it looked very strange.
The mountain god said repeatedly: "Thank you so much, King Wei, thank you so much, King Wei. The little god will definitely do his best..."
Wei Hao quickly helped the tiger up, and then said with a smile: "It doesn't have to be like this, I'm just saying hello, whether it's successful or not, I don't dare to guarantee it."
That's what he said, but the mountain god had seen it in the underworld, and he was overjoyed at the moment, feeling that he had finally found a reliable place for Brother Tiger.