the enlightener says

He glanced at the inn building that was gradually collapsing in the fire. There were also the corpses of his three junior brothers in it. As a stele and as a tomb, it might not be a good destination.

He carefully took back the badges of the three junior brothers. These three badges will follow him back to the Mo family, where they will be placed in the mourning hall dedicated to offering sacrifices to Mo monks, and will be admired by future generations of Mo scholars and even the people.

"From here to Jicheng, you can also take the Jinzhou line, and with the Mohist's waist card, you should be able to save a lot of trouble along the way." Bai Qi said: "However, I heard that Engong's accent also seems to be from the Mohist family. Why is Engong so unfamiliar with the Mo family?"

"It's not that I'm unfamiliar." Qin Ke shook his head and said: "I was born in a small place, and I haven't been to any place except fleeing famine. Even if the Mohist family has a vast territory and is number one in the world, what does it have to do with me? I can see Yes, isn’t it just the one in front of you?”

"Such a piece of land in front of you?" Bai Qi lowered his head and repeated Qin Ke's words several times, and said with a slight smile: "Engong's words seem simple, but they actually contain philosophy. What people can see is not only the square inch of land in front of them." , all countries in the world, princes and dukes, you hit me today, I will hit you tomorrow, fight back and forth, how far can you see in the end? Even the founding emperor of the Ji Dynasty turned into a thousand years ago. A piece of loess, the sky and the earth are the tomb... I love everyone, I don’t know if there will be a day when everyone loves each other and there will be no more wars in this world.”

Qin Ke stared at Bai Qi dumbfounded, and said: "I just said it casually, how did it become a philosophy in your mouth? You Mohist talk like this..."

"Emperor..."

"Don't call me benefactor." Qin Ke waved his hands impatiently, "My surname is Qin, and the only name is Ke. You can just call me by my name."

Bai nodded and asked, "Then brother Qin, do you want to go with me?"

"That's great! I made an appointment with someone to meet in Jinzhou. If they were riding on horseback these days, they would have arrived long ago."

"Since this is the case, it should be sooner rather than later." Bai Qi didn't know what he thought of, his face was a little gloomy, "This bastard prefect, who indulges in smuggling and enriches his own pockets, and imposes heavy taxes on the people under his rule. How could the Mohists allow this kind of scum to flourish in the world?"

Qin Ke looked at his righteous indignation, chewed the spirit of their Mohists in his heart, but finally shook his head and sighed: "But even the Mohism, didn't they also have such famines and wars back then..."

Although Qin Ke just mentioned it casually without any special meaning, but this sentence fell into Bai Qi's ears, it was like lightning flashing suddenly in the night sky.

His complexion changed, and he thought of Qin Ke's Mohist accent, a refugee...could it be...

Bai Qi stared at Qin Ke with both eyes, and said: "Brother Qin said earlier that he fled famine together with his parents... Was he talking about the catastrophe that happened to the Mo family?"

Qin Ke looked at him. In fact, he didn't like to mention this matter.

Old people often say that children can't remember childhood events, but Qin Ke thinks that it must be the old people's contemptuous views on children, at least in his mind, he has never forgotten those things for a day, even as long as he closes his eyes. When you close your eyes, you can see the appearance of countless people in rags struggling to move forward amid hunger, thirst and sparks of hope.

"It was the catastrophe." Qin Ke said: "My father, mother... and my younger sister all died in that catastrophe. Within half a month of going out, the dry food in the grain bag had already been eaten up. Weeds, fish and shrimps in the river... and then there are people who snatch the roots and bark everywhere. At first, people can kill wild dogs, but later everyone is so hungry that they are starving, even dogs are worse... ...and those who can't even grab the roots and bark can only dig the soil on the ground..."

But that thing... Even if it is mixed with water full of sand, it is hard to swallow.

But their bodies seemed to be going crazy, and they tried their best to stuff the dry and hard soil into their mouths, just because at that time, a dry well that could never be filled seemed to grow in their bodies, hunger, The endless hunger made them lose their minds.

But the soil, like the hands of demons, will gradually expand in their stomachs, and finally swallow their lives.

He didn't mention the fact that his sister was cooked by his parents, it was like a thorn, stuck in the deepest and deepest part of his heart forever, just a little touch would hurt him so much that he couldn't breathe.

Qin Ke closed his eyes and stopped talking. Before his eyes, it seemed that Zhuge Wolong's big warm hand appeared again. He limped on one leg, leaned on a cane, and stood in front of him sweating profusely.

He asked softly: "Can you still stand up? Do you want to come with me? Maybe, we can live together..."

At that time, he only felt that Zhuge Wolong's eyes seemed to carry everything in the world, carrying all the vitality that could rejuvenate the earth, and that face, which was a bit embarrassed but still radiant, made Qin Ke put aside all his worries. Doubtful and timid, the little him stretched out his hand with all his strength, and finally reached the same place with Zhuge Wolong's big hand. Since then, only those years when Daoxiang Village was born, and this him who is now armed with a sword in troubled times.

Bai Qi's complexion turned slightly pale when he heard it, and seeing Qin Ke's young but somewhat lonely figure, he couldn't help laughing at himself.

Originally thought that he was young and promising, high-spirited, and thought that he rushed into the cavalry line alone to punish evil and promote good, and he could kill more than a dozen people in a row without changing his expression.

But who knows, he actually has some unspeakable past...

Chapter 342 The Vulture

Bai Qi patted Qin Ke on the shoulder, and said sadly: "I was young at the time, but I knew a little bit of the inside story. At that time, there was a split in Jicheng, followed by a mutiny, and a drought in the south..."

"However, everyone seemed to turn a blind eye to the catastrophe. Everyone was only focused on going to the glorious Jicheng to seize power, and no one issued an order for disaster relief." Bai Qi smiled wryly, "Some of my seniors personally Those who went out to rescue disasters, but when everyone came back, their faces were full of despair. Ask them what the situation is, and they just sigh and say, there are too many, and there is no way to save them..."

He suddenly folded his arms and bowed heavily to Qin Ke: "It's the Mo Family who has failed Brother Qin."

Qin Ke was a little dazed by his sudden gift, and quickly raised his hand to support him, saying, "What are you doing? It's not your fault."

Bai Qi said righteously: "Although I didn't do it, but as a Mohist, I should have the responsibility of rectifying Mohism and revitalizing Mohism. Brother Qin can bear this obeisance."

Qin Ke looked at him, and the gloom in his heart was swept away immediately: "Is it possible that all of you Mohists are like you, it feels like you will hold a sword at any time to save the people from fire and water..."

"Master's teaching, I dare not forget it for a day, but I am weak and can only do some small things within my power." Bai Qi said: "But Brother Qin is different, you already have such a cultivation level at a young age, There will be a lot in the future!"

"Don't praise me, don't praise me." Qin Ke sighed and waved his hands, "I can't be someone like you mohists. I just want to save my master, and then go back to the village to farm together..."

Bai Qi was slightly surprised, and was about to continue asking, but was interrupted by a voice.

"Master! I was buried with the boss and the boss's wife, and I put up a sign, but I can't write. You, can you write a few words for me?"

Qin Ke was slightly taken aback, sighed again, and lazily said while following Chu Gou: "I told you I'm not your master, so don't keep yelling nonsense, do you hear me?"

Bai Qi couldn't help smiling, and led the three horses left behind by the cavalry, and walked over together.

In the next few days, the three men and three horses traveled eastward all the way, leaving the mountain path, and then arrived at Yimapingchuan. From a distance, it was a desolate scene.

Although the Mo family has a vast territory, there are indeed a lot of land that is difficult to cultivate, so Qin Ke and Bai Qi are not very surprised, but Chu Gou's eyes widened all the way, looking at the endless loess and the sky hovering in the sky. A few vultures made a fuss and said, "Master, is this the most powerful country in the world, the Mohist family? Why is it so desolate?"

"Don't call me Master." Qin Ke rolled his eyes. What Bai Qi said before he set off that day was really correct. This kid is a familiar one. Once he gets together, he can't get rid of it. , he yelled all the way, and he scolded him a few times, but he was laughing and not afraid at all.

Reach out and don't hit the smiling man.

Qin Ke secretly sighed, in fact, in the final analysis, it was just that he was a little soft-hearted.Speaking of which, the current Chu Gou is very similar to himself in the past, but when he first met his master, he was not as thick-skinned as him, and it was only later that he gradually showed a bit of naughtiness.

"Master, look, these ugly birds have followed us all the way, why don't you shoot them down, and then I'll make you a barbecue?" Chu Gou looked at the sky, couldn't help but licked his lips, a little I can't control the saliva from my mouth.

Qin Ke looked up and ignored him: "What do you shoot it for? It's a vulture. Do you think vulture meat is delicious? That thing eats carrion. It's full of bones and smells bad. It's better to eat dry food."

Chu Gou was surprised and asked: "The meat of this thing smells?" Thinking of this, he hated these vultures even more, "What do you mean by eating carrion for this unlucky thing, expecting us to die?"

As he spoke, he untied the bow on his body, drew it full with difficulty, and shot an arrow at the vultures.

This bow was left behind by those cavalry who fled in a hurry, even with arrows.But Chu Gou, who has never practiced archery at all, has no accuracy at all. He saw the arrow flying up crookedly for a while, without even touching the vulture's tail, it was blown off by the strong wind and stuck in the sand. in the field.

Chu Gou didn't believe this evil, and shot a few more arrows, but except for one arrow that almost hit the vulture's claw, the other arrows were worse than the first one, and they were all scattered around.

The vultures were still hovering above the heads of the three of them, and they were making ugly calls, as if they were mocking Chu Gou for his incompetence.

Qin Ke got a headache when he saw it, so he simply took down the bow behind him, and took out an arrow made of beast's teeth from the quiver at his waist, and then he shot the bow. Zhang Gong is full!

This bow was sold to him by Orion when he was in Jingwu, and Orion's father was a skilled craftsman, so the power of this "family heirloom" was naturally unparalleled.

Qin Ke brought it all the way to the Tang Kingdom. He couldn't use it in the palace, and it was too late when facing Lu Ming and others. Now, he finally let the bow show its sharpness again. When he loosened his fingers, the arrow shot Gone like a flash of lightning.

Then, the vultures screamed in alarm, and the vultures scattered away, only one flapped its wings a few times, sprinkled a few drops of blood, and fell from mid-air.

"The arrow made from the teeth of this ferocious beast is really sharp." Bai Qi looked at Qin Ke in amazement, "The bow is also a good bow, and brother Qin's archery skills are even more outstanding."

"Can you stop and stop praising me... why do I feel that you are praising me all the way, in fact, my archery skills are far worse than Abu's." Qin Ke smiled helplessly and did not try to explain. Abu is "Where is the Holy One?" He only stared at Chu Gou, and ordered: "Why are you standing still, go pick up the arrow. This arrow is very precious. If you lose it, you will look good."

"Okay! Master, you wait for me!"

Chu Gou laughed out loud. Seeing his proficiency in riding a horse, Qin Ke couldn't see that he had only learned how to ride a horse for a few days.

According to his own explanation, he used to lead and ride quietly when brushing horses for customers, and was scolded by the proprietress for a long time afterward. Now that he has such a good war horse, he almost treats it like his wife Look at it, I kept whispering to it while brushing the horse...

Bai Qi looked at Chu Gou happily picking up arrows, and couldn't help laughing, pulled the rein with both hands, and said to Qin Ke: "Brother Qin, why don't you just take a rest here, and you've already been walking for twenty years. It’s here, don’t be in a hurry.”

Qin Ke nodded, pulled the reins, and made the horse stop slowly. Together, the two found a small slope to keep out the wind, then jumped off the horse, and quickly got out of the bag on the horse's back. He took out the brush, dipped it in the water in the water bag, and brushed the sand from the horse's nostrils and mouth.

This is the marching regulation. Some troops stop every ten miles, and some troops stop every twenty miles. When they stop, they don’t forget to brush the nostrils and mouths of the horses, and then let them rest and eat some forage.

After a while, Chu Gou came back with a few arrows in his arms, and he was still holding the almost lifeless vulture in his hand. As soon as he got off his horse, he worshiped and said: "Master, your arrow is too accurate. It hits the neck. If you want to Or teach me too?"

Qin Ke took the beast-toothed arrow he handed over, found a rag to wipe it casually, then stuffed it back into the quiver, and squinted at Chu Gou: "Still learning archery? Do you think that before you arrived in Jinzhou, Can you lay the foundation of qi and blood cultivation?"

Chu Gou stuck out his tongue. In fact, he just said it casually. He also knew that although he had started to practice under Qin Ke's guidance these days, he hadn't even entered the door after all. The most basic sense of qi and blood came to him. It is very difficult, not to mention gathering Qi and blood to form a sea of ​​Qi at the dantian.

Qin Ke said that as long as he can achieve this step, he will be regarded as a serious practitioner who has entered the path.

"Give the horse a brush and do your homework here." Qin Ke said softly, although he said he had never been a teacher, but since he promised, he must do his best. As for how much Chu Gou can learn, he will have more What kind of achievement can only be seen by himself.

"Okay." Chu Gou nodded, and went to brush the horse very briskly.

It is not too far from Jinzhou. It will take about two days to travel, and the city wall of Jinzhou City should be visible.Thinking of being reunited with Gao Yishui and others soon, Qin Ke felt a little happy, and even the speed of controlling the horse galloped faster unconsciously.

Chu Gou ate the dry bread, but felt a little uncomfortable. He knew that Qin Ke really didn't intend to accept him. Although these days he often joked and said the word "Master" on his lips, but relying on this After all, her tricks couldn't stop Qin Ke's firm heart.

Now that he is still laying the foundation of his practice, what should he do without Qin Ke's help in the future?

This road of practice is like this wasteland, which is as vague as it is endless, but at least the end of this wasteland is Jinzhou, but he doesn't know if he can see the end of his practice, not to mention being a master like Qin Ke He is thankful to be as powerful as the lieutenant next to Mr. Yuan.

"How to keep Master?" He tilted his head and pondered, thinking left and right, but he couldn't think of a good way. After eating a full stomach, he felt even more idle, so he just let the horse keep running forward, and He looked left and right, his eyeballs rolled around, and he looked around.

The few vultures were still circling in the sky. Along the way, they saw more and more vultures instead of fewer. The black crows landed on the dry dead trees and croaked, bringing ominous messages.

"Ah!" Chu Gou exclaimed suddenly.

Qin Ke thought something was wrong, turned his head suddenly, but found that he was still sitting on the horse, and said angrily: "What are you screaming for?"

Chu Gou grabbed the reins vigorously, and amidst the shrill neighing of the horse, the horse stopped, and Chu Gou pointed his finger at a large rock that had been eroded by wind and sand on the wasteland, and said, "That... seems to be a dead man. "

"Dead people?" Bai Qi was slightly startled, then shook his head, said: "I don't know how many people come and go in this wasteland, some died of illness on the road, some met bandits, it's normal to leave a few dead bones. "

It's just that Qin Ke took a look, and his pupils shrank slightly: "That's not a dead bone, it's a living person!"

Several people hurriedly mobilized their war horses and headed for the boulder, but the situation in front of them was a bit tragic. The vultures were probably hungry, and they couldn't wait to pounce on him, gnawing his flesh and blood, lying on the ground. The person under the boulder was covered in blood, and obviously had no strength. He could only breathe with his chest up and down, bearing the severe pain of being bitten, but he couldn't drive away these bloodthirsty beasts at all.

Qin Ke held the sheathed Bodhisattva sword, and after several swings, the vultures flew up one after another screaming and wailing, but they refused to leave. Instead, they hovered in the sky. The less courageous crows did not dare to compete Without food, he could only stand on a dry tree branch, and use a pair of greedy eyes to look at the human blood that was gradually drying up.

Chapter 343 The Destroyed Caravan

Qin Ke drove away the vulture, while Bai Qi bent down and reached out to pick up the man's bloody clothes, which made Chu Gou's scalp go numb.

But he just opened some, and then stopped, with a bit of unbearable in his eyes, he looked at Qin Ke, shook his head slightly and said: "It's a knife wound, deep in the heart, it's hopeless, there is only one person left now." Hanging in one's breath..."

But at this time, the man suddenly opened his cloudy eyes with great effort, as if he was looking back at the light, and saw a figure in front of him, but he didn't know where the strength came from, grabbed Bai Qi's hand, and hissed: "Quick... Save... save..."

Qin Ke frowned, and then squatted down, circulating the blood in his body, hitting the man's chest with a palm, and asked briefly: "What's the matter? Tell me."

"Quick... save..."

Qin Ke looked at his already gray eyes, and the blood in his palms increased, and he put his ear to the man's mouth: "Save who?"

However, he waited for a while, and the heart under the palm of his hand stopped beating slowly, and his question was not answered.

In fact, considering this person's injuries, he was already a dead person, but he probably still had something in his heart that he couldn't let go of, so he held his breath and refused to die.

Bai Qi looked at his staring eyes, sighed slightly, and smoothed his eyelids with both hands, making him look more peaceful: "I don't know what is hanging in his heart, so that he can hold on all the way. He ran here in a hurry, but his strength was exhausted, and he couldn't fight against the sky after all. Most of the blood in his body has been lost, even if the gods come, they can't save him."

"Immortal." Qin Ke stood up and sneered. He thought of Shen Qi and the extremely weird old man from Taishi Bureau, but he shook his head and stopped talking.

Bai Qi said: "Probably someone who was traveling alone, and encountered bandits on the road..."

"Hey, come and see!" At this time, the two heard Chu Gou yelling again, and Qin Ke turned his head slightly. Over there, Chu Gou was standing on a cliff and kept rushing at him. dancing.

The two looked at each other, then led the horse and walked over.

Under the cliff is a wilderness path that can accommodate two cars, but the path should be desolate, but now there are many corpses lying here and there, stretching from one end to the other.

The raging flames were burning on the broken carts, and there were already many crows and vultures fighting for food on the bodies of the dead horses and mules. The broken knives were stuck in the ground, and pairs of hard-to-close eyes looked up at the sky. As if accusing the sky of being unwilling to die in vain.

"This is..." Qin Ke was stunned for a long time when he saw such a tragic situation before he asked, "What's going on here?"

Bai Qi's eyes were solemn, and he said: "This place is already in the territory of the Mohist family. This should be a caravan passing by. I'm afraid they may have encountered someone who robbed the way..."

He took another deep look at the corpses lying on the ground wearing Tang-style armor, and frowned: "Something's wrong... let's go down and have a look."

Qin Ke nodded, and the three of them rode horses and quickly found a way down. The wind blew their clothes, bringing a strong smell of blood and burnt paste. Qin Ke wrinkled his nose slightly, Chu Gou was a little reluctant to move forward, hesitating at the intersection, beads of sweat trickled down his temples and into his collar.

"You don't want to go if you're afraid." Qin Ke said, "Bai Qi and I will come to have a look. You just wait here, and if anything happens, let us know."

Chu Gou nodded hurriedly, while Qin Ke and Bai Qi approached all the way, and gradually saw the appearance of those corpses clearly.

It is indeed the armor of the Tang army, and some are holding sabers, but most of the corpses are people wearing various linen and cotton clothes.However, even the sergeant in armor had his eyes frozen in the fear of the moment before he died.

"It should have happened not long ago. Although the vultures were attracted, many bloodstains were still wet, and the corpse did not stink." Qin Ke looked around and quickly came to a conclusion.

"I probably counted them." Bai Qi returned to Qin Ke's side and said, "There are not many Tang troops who died here, maybe the Tang troops who attacked the caravan this time were not large...Look at the standard of their armor. , nor is it Tang's most elite Southern Expeditionary Army, it looks like a frontier army guarding the border."

Qin Ke checked in front of the cart, took out a small handful of rice from the torn bag on the ground, shook his head, full of doubts.

However, since someone was able to escape to the high ground with serious injuries, would there be other survivors in this group?

On this point, Bai Qi coincided with him, so the two began to rummage through the chaotic pile of corpses.The previous battle should have been extremely tragic. Qin Ke even saw someone's head being crushed and deformed by the car body, and some people's limbs were mutilated or distorted to an unbelievable degree.

The more Qin Ke searched, the more he felt chilled, but he saw that there were not many bloodstains on the carts, and there seemed to be a flag under the carts, and the corners of the carts could be lifted by the breeze. Can't quite read the words on it.

When Qin Ke pulled the flag out from under the cart, his gaze was fixed.

The dark ink stains freely criss-cross the flag, and the two big characters stretch out like mountains on the high-quality fabric. This is a surname.

Public lose.

Qin Ke's hand holding the corner of the flag trembled slightly—isn't he going to Jinzhou on this trip to become a public loser and take the Five Elements Division?

"It can't be such a coincidence..." Qin Ke murmured, stretched out his hand to pick up the flag, and took a closer look. What if it's not a public defeat, but part of it is hidden because of overlapping flags?