not bound

The autumnal equinox is not good for the east, so avoid traveling.

It says so in the almanac.

At this moment there is a man who happens to be on his way to the east.

An old woman with ragged clothes and mottled hair. The wrinkles on her face formed deep groove-like curves on the loose skin.

In the desert, the boundless yellow sand wrapped the world, and the strong wind mixed with fine sand wrapped her.

For three days, the old woman has been circling in this area, but she can't get out of this desert.

Last night, there was a heavy snowfall that had not happened in many years, which made the old lady's trip to the desert even more difficult.In the snow-covered desert, white and brown blend together, like yellow land mixed with goat's milk.

But the old woman's pace was still so slow, even under extreme weather, she didn't speed up or stop at all.This behavior itself is a miracle. Who can live in the desert for three days without eating or drinking?

Was she lost, or was she going in circles on purpose?

I'm afraid only she herself knows this, after all, she didn't show any anxiety at all.

The vulture streaked across the gray sky, its black silhouette printed on it.

Then more black shadows appeared, one or two, no, these were human shadows.

The old woman looked up, and a group of people appeared in the desert where she was the only one. They looked very ordinary, just like the people in Wuyun City.

But this is not ordinary. How can people in the desert be the same as those in the oasis city? It is really strange that there are no signs of being invaded by wind and sand on their bodies.

"Mother, where are you going?" asked the man in the green silk shirt.

The old woman's eyes are extremely clear, and she has arrived.

She walked out of the lost formation on the hundred miles of sand dunes outside the flame city.

This is the Qingfeng Valley, the entrance to the Flame City.Although the surrounding scenery has not been changed, there is a taste that is different from the desert, like the hot springs behind the Canaan Valley, which makes people addicted.And only Raging Flame City can raise people who only wear silk shirts during the season when the autumn wind is blustery or even snow paves the ground in the West Sea country.

The old woman said to the leader: "The breeze caresses the four elephants, and the flames burn in all directions."

The man in the green silk shirt headed replied: "Don't ask about those who come from afar, and there is no invitation to welcome guests."

The old lady took out a piece of letter paper from her sleeve, which was the Bafang card.

The four ancient gods and beasts on Cambodia are located in the four corners, but they are not the auspicious patterns spread by the folks. Instead, they seem to have fallen into the magic way, with a black background and red borders, and they look very hideous.Among the four images, there is a strange pattern that looks like a human but not a human, like a ghost, just looking at it makes people feel creepy.

The man in green tactfully didn't ask the old lady's identity. After all, anyone who can get the Bafang card is a figure of prestige in the Jianghu. Except for the group of wild and arrogant bugs, no one will easily offend.

"Guest, please."

The man in the green shirt clapped his hands, and the midair of the desert began to distort, like the air when the flames were burning. The yellow sand also boiled, stirring continuously under the feet of everyone, setting off sand waves, gathering and dispersing.

A clear and long whistle sounded, and countless whistles began to respond.

The yellow sand and white snow under the old woman's feet were like waves at low tide, accompanied by a scalp-numbing rustling sound, spreading towards the surroundings, getting wider and further away.

Soon, there were only dark gray rocks that had been weathered and aged under her feet.In the huge gaps between the rocks, the sound of sand falling could be heard one after another, like the cry of some kind of animal.

The old woman looked at the direction of the man in the green shirt, the hundreds of meters long rift that appeared after the yellow sand in the sky disappeared. That direction happened to be the Qingfeng Valley marked on the dark pattern on the invitation.

"Please lead the way." The old lady put away the Bafang card in her hand, and glanced back in the direction she came from.

Flame City only exists in the legendary mirage. Those travelers who have survived trekking on the yellow sand have seen the flames burning in the desert in this area, and the secluded valley above the flames, and An ancient city among the clear valleys.However, it is a pity that when these people tried to confirm whether the city really existed, they came back to this area without success.So the public circled this large area of ​​yellow sand, named the valley Qingfeng Valley, and named the city Raging Flame City.

It wasn't until after the Bafang Cambodian was issued that the Qingfeng Valley Flame City, a city that only existed in folk tales, appeared for the first time in earnest, and became known to more people in the world.It's a pity that the rumors that Lieyan City has gone and never returned have been raging all these years, gradually obliterating the curiosity of the world.

The entrance to Qingfeng Valley is in a large dry bush.

The old woman followed the man in the green shirt all the way forward. At the beginning, she was still stepping on the top of layers of big rocks, and even saw the ground through the gaps between the rocks.

After passing through the bushes, there is only a stone path that is one person wide. The bottom of the stone path can no longer be seen on both sides. The stone path is not artificially excavated, it seems to be a natural form for thousands of years, and there are occasional breaks ranging from one to three feet in the middle.

After passing the stone road, you go down to the Qingfeng Valley. It is still a narrow road with a width of one person, but the narrow road is tightly surrounded by four-color rocks of black, white, gray and brown on both sides. People who are a little fatter may even find it difficult to move forward.Not long after, soil began to appear under the feet of the crowd, and the air gradually became moist. When they looked up, they could only glimpse the color of the sky, but nothing more could be seen.

The old woman has been silently following behind the man in the green shirt. The man in the green shirt didn't cover her eyes, and walked very calmly, because blindfolding is completely unnecessary, after all, no one has ever left here.Not to mention the strange topography of Qingfeng Valley, nor the vagrant array in the yellow sand, few people can do it just by summoning to expel things that look like yellow sand but not yellow sand.

After walking for about half an hour, the environment in the valley is quite different from what it was just now.The warm weather, green plants, and the smell of sulfur hot springs make this place not like the legendary city of devils, but rather like a health-preserving and secluded residence.

Above the nine stone steps is a very simple door opening, engraved on the door opening is Lieyan City, the three characters are strong and powerful, especially the last stroke of the word "City" stands at the front and then swings out, it can be described as a silver hook. It will even produce the feeling that this word will immediately become a poisonous scorpion, breaking away from the stone.

The person who wrote the words was very strong, and the old woman didn't look up after just glancing at the words.

The people in green shirts stopped moving forward and knocked on the bright red door respectfully.

The old woman didn't hesitate, and walked into the doorway with her body bent.Behind her, the door slammed shut and the light disappeared.

And the front suddenly became clear.

I thought that the location of Raging Flame City was not very open, so this city should also be a small city.Unexpectedly, when the old woman entered the city, she realized that this place was much better than she had imagined.Everything that a big city should have is here, and there are even avenues where you can run horses. Several horse teams composed of ten people are constantly patrolling back and forth in the city.

The old woman was taken to an inn near the City Lord's Mansion by a man who looked very wooden.

"The Bafang Banquet will start in three days. Please don't leave the inn for the next few days. If you need something, you can call the buddy." The man was ready to leave after speaking.

The old woman said humanely: "The strong man stayed behind. I haven't asked the strong man's name and whether he is in charge here. The old woman still has many questions to ask."

While speaking, she quickly stepped forward and tried to slap the man on the shoulder.

As if with a premonition, the man shifted his body, raised his hand and pushed the old woman's arm away.Dodging and pushing, the old woman directly photographed the wall next to the man, trapping the man in her arms in a gesture of molesting a little girl.

The man didn't seem to feel angry, he just raised his hand and slowly pressed the old woman's hand down.

"My name is Xuanju, and I'm mainly responsible for the watch, pouring Yexiang and transporting in the city. What do you want to ask?"

In this short fight, there were only a few dozen times of silence in the heart, but the old woman was surprised three times in a row.

Her shot was quick, but Xuanju, like a prophet, anticipated her movements.At that time, she immediately changed her policy and tried to attack directly when Xuanju turned around, but unexpectedly Xuanju turned sideways again, and her palm hit the sign firmly.After practicing martial arts for so many years, she has never been defuse tricks like this, this is the first surprise.

The second surprise lies in the strength of this person.She clearly patted the wall, and it took [-]% of her strength, but Xuanju was able to press down on her hand lightly, and it seemed that she didn't use much force.

Last but not least, is this person actually the one who poured Yexiang?

The old woman stepped back almost without a trace, and put on a smiling face: "My friends have also received invitations. I wonder if I can meet them?"

Xuanju still had that indifferent look, and said: "The entire inn is full of guests who have received the Eight Directions Cards, you just look for them slowly. But, don't leave the inn."

The old woman nodded on her face, but she thought in her heart that it would be a big deal to go out at night.

"Don't leave the inn at night." Xuanju stared into the old woman's eyes, seeming to guess her thoughts.

"Why? Are there demons and goblins in your city?"

"I don't know about ghosts and ghosts, but you will definitely meet me when you go out at night." The watchman Xuanju replied very sincerely.

The old woman thanked him repeatedly in embarrassment, and then sent him away.

The inn has three floors, with eight rooms on each floor. There are small wooden signs that cannot be read at the door of each room. Standing at the door of the room, you can see the lobby downstairs.The old lady lived on the third floor. She paced back and forth in the corridor, but hardly saw the clerk, nor did any guest show up.But the old lady knew that as long as she called out, a guy with a smiling face would appear, and every resident was always paying attention to the movement outside.

The old woman looked at the sky through the glazed tiles on the roof. She should only do one thing at this time.

eat.

The old woman bowed down the stairs, stood in front of the unoccupied counter, tapped on the table, and said, "The shopkeeper? Buddy? Can I have dinner now?"

A dwarf man with no martial arts appeared bouncingly behind the counter and stood on a special stool. The dwarf man replied: "Of course. The guests of the Leyou Inn in the Flaming City can eat whatever they want, whenever they want." Eat when you want to eat."

"What is the shopkeeper's name?"

"Guys get promoted."

The old woman looked at the guy named Gao Sheng, and couldn't help but laugh: "Could it be that I want to eat Yan Qiubai's heart in Lanwu City, and you will do it too? Brother Gao."

Before Gao Sheng could reply, the door of the seventh room on the second floor was kicked open, and there was a loud yell.

"Bold!"