treacherous world

Holding an umbrella, Zhan Zhao slowly walked out of the city. It was raining heavily, but it reminded Zhan Zhao of some past events.

In Zhan Zhao's memory, he and Bai Yutang have been exposed to countless rains, heavy rain and drizzle.There were a few times, and I was particularly impressed...

I remember one time it was the Ching Ming Festival last year.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang went home together to worship their ancestors that time, because they were in a hurry, and after arriving in Changzhou early in the morning to go to the grave, they immediately boarded a boat and rushed to Songjiang Mansion.

But when the boat sailed on the lake, it encountered a heavy rain.

It stands to reason that it is certain that there will be rain in the south of the Yangtze River during the Qingming Festival, but most of them are drizzle. I don’t know what happened that time, it poured down.

However, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took a small black awning boat for the sake of speed, and they got stuck in the middle of the lake.

The two hid in the black-covered boat, looking forward to the heavy rain like mercury pouring down the ground. The front, back, left, and right were covered with fog, and the edge could not be seen.

Zhan Zhao suddenly asked Bai Yutang, "Will it sink?"

Bai Yutang thought for a while, "Maybe."

"Then what if it sinks?" Zhan Zhao blinked.

Bai Yutang thought for a while, stretched out his hand to hold down a large piece of wood by the side of the boat, and grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand with the other hand, "Hold tightly, I guess everything will be fine, right?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him with a smile, "Is a piece of wood big enough?"

The two looked at each other, but the two wooden basins were placed in front of their eyes.

"Good wooden basin!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stretched out their hands to grab it together, and they were still holding the other two free hands.

At this time, the face of the boatman appeared in front of the two of them, wearing a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat, with a very complicated expression, "My lord, please pour out the rainwater, or it will really sink."

It wasn't until Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came to their senses that they looked down and were startled—it turned out that the rainwater that had accumulated in the boat didn't even reach their feet.

So, the boatman continued to punting the boat, and the two heroes Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took two wooden basins to scoop water out. This was probably the most unremarkable time for the two of them, but when the boat docked, they were almost drowned. .The boatman who punted the boat also said that they were slow, unable to bail water, and clumsy.

……

Zhan Zhao looked at the drops of water on his insteps, and inexplicably remembered the scene of that day, and unconsciously, he had already walked a long way.

A station appeared in front of it, which was the closest station to Heifeng City, and a little further ahead was the boundary of Heifeng Ridge.

Inexplicably, Zhan Zhao thought that if he wanted to enter Black Wind City, it would be the best place to avoid the rain.

So he walked quickly into the post station.

However, the inn is only this big, with four windows and a stable.The only horse rented from the stable was a clumsy black horse, not the handsome Bai Yunfan, and of course there was no handsome man in white.

Zhan Zhao subconsciously scratched his head, thinking that it was wrong for him to be lovesick and sick, but he always felt—as if Bai Yutang was here, was it an illusion?

"Yo, guest officer, why are you still on your way?"

On a cool couch in the corner of the inn, there was originally a soldier sleeping.The post stations near Black Wind City have people on shifts. They don't actually do anything, just feed the horses and pour tea or something.

Zhan Zhao looked up at him, feeling familiar.

"Huh?" Xiao Bing came over cheerfully and picked up the teapot, "So it's Mr. Zhan? Why did you come here?"

Zhan Zhao also remembered him, this young man was named Chen Mingfu, one of the gatekeepers of Black Wind City, he had met him before going in.

"Brother Chen, are you on shift now?" Zhan Zhao greeted him in a friendly manner.

Chen Fu immediately opened his eyes and smiled. Speaking of which, there are not many people in the whole Black Wind City who can call them the names of small soldiers, but Zhao Pu and a few generals can call them, but the usual headmen don't know them. Now There is another exhibition.Sure enough, the more capable people are, the more humble and easy-going they are. The kind of people who carry aloft everywhere they go are almost half full.

"Have a cup of tea." Chen Fu poured water for Zhan Zhao, and frowned when he saw that the rain outside was getting heavier, "Oh, don't come down for a while."

"Will there be mountain torrents?" Zhan Zhao was startled, "Wouldn't it be dangerous to walk along the road in heavy rain?"

Chen Fu quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no! Neither the front nor the back, but some may come down near Heifeng Ridge."

Zhan Zhao heaved a sigh of relief, and then confirmed, "Heifengling is near here?"

"Yes, if something really falls, I will ring the gong to call the police. The marshal ordered that the roads around Heifeng City cannot be blocked." As he spoke, he pointed to the densely forested hillside behind. , "So I'm watching."

"Oh...you can see it." Zhan Zhao was completely relieved.

At the same time, he looked at Heifengling with a teacup in his hand.

Zhan Zhao has traveled around the rivers and lakes for a long time, and he has seen a lot of mountains and forests. Heifengling is quite special, because this mountain is in the shape of a sheep's horn, which is rare.

"Master Zhan." Seeing Zhan Zhao in a daze, Chen Fu suddenly asked, "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Zhan Zhao was slightly taken aback, and looked at Chen Fu with a smile, "Why do you ask that?"

Chen Fu held his chin, "I heard from them that you have handled many strange cases in Kaifeng Mansion, have you ever seen a ghost?"

Zhan Zhao was amused, did he have a relationship with ghosts recently?He was just mistaken for a ghost by Uncle Kuan just now, and now he was asked by Chen Fu if he believed in ghosts, so he thought for a while and shook his head, "I haven't seen a real one anyway, but as for whether you believe it or not, maybe, who knows."

"Hey." Chen Fu sighed softly, as if there was something hard to say.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile, "Did you run into a ghost?"

Chen Fu hesitated, "Don't tell the prince."

Zhan Zhao knew that Zhao Pu's military rules were strict and he didn't like people spreading rumors, especially those about ghosts and ghosts, which would disturb the morale of the army.Therefore, Chen Fu may have seen something, so he was too scared to tell others, but he couldn't hold back his curiosity, so he came to ask Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao naturally nodded with a good temper, "Well, don't worry."

Chen Fu then lowered his voice and said, "A strange thing happened recently."

"Strange thing?" Zhan Zhao laughed, "How weird?"

"How should I put it? Black Wind City extends in all directions. This road leads to the south and is relatively remote. It can be said to be a shortcut. There are not many people coming and going. The other two roads lead to the Central Plains and east. There are many merchants, and the road is wide, but although this road is narrow, it is not that no one walks it."

Zhan Zhao didn't quite understand, "And then?"

"And the strange thing is that no one has been on this road for nearly ten days!"

Zhan Zhao was stunned, "I don't quite understand."

"It's just going and not coming!" Chen Fu seemed to be trying to organize his words to speak more clearly, "Even the dogs that always come to eat on weekdays stopped coming."

The more Zhan Zhao listened, the more confused he became.

Chen Fu lowered his voice a little more, and said in a low voice, "For example, although there is no one on this road on weekdays, at least one or two passers-by or escort teams will pass by every day. At most, it will be empty for three days, and there must be one for the fourth day." Personal experience, I have been guarding here for several years, and it has never happened that I have not seen a person for more than ten days!"

Zhan Zhao thought for a while, and felt that it was rather strange, "Is no one here?"

"Yeah, what's even more strange is that the people who walked past didn't come back." Chen Fu seemed troubled, and he had goose bumps all over his body, rubbing his arms, "There were a few people who went to the neighboring village to deliver things. After I got here, I waited for a long time and didn’t come back, so my family members came to look for me a few times.”

Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, "What's the matter with the dog you're talking about?"

"Oh, it's the wild dogs around here, and they're not considered wild. I guess the people who raised them moved away, so they looked for food everywhere." Chen Fu said, "The marshal has ordered that leftovers are not allowed to be thrown away. Put it on a plate and put it in various places where wild dogs and cats appear."

The corner of Zhan Zhao's mouth twitched, "Zhao Pu is quite caring."

"The marshal said that animals will not bite when they are full. Dogs can guard house cats and catch mice. It is better to keep them than to slaughter them." Chen Fu pointed to the plates piled up with food in the corner, "Look , There are always four or five dogs who come here on weekdays, but they haven't come for more than ten days."

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao really felt that something was wrong, but... Chen Fu seemed to be hiding something.

"There are fewer people and the dog is lost. Why do you think of ghosts?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile, "Is there anything else you didn't say?"

"I heard it from the old man in Heifeng City." Chen Fu looked at the heavy rain that was still falling outside, and told Zhan Zhao, "It is said that there are ghosts in this Heifeng Ridge!"

Zhan Zhao rested his chin, he had seen many unbelievable things over the years, so naturally he would not be frightened by ghost stories, so he just listened patiently.

only……

Zhan Zhao always felt strange in his heart, before Chen Fu could speak, he suddenly asked, "How far is it from Black Wind City?"

"How many miles away?" Chen Fu was also very surprised, why Zhan Zhao came here alone in such a heavy rain.

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao was very surprised, he walked for so long on foot, he seemed to think that he just recalled a little bit of sheltering from the rain with Bai Yutang.Thinking of Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao's feeling seemed to get stronger, and he was sure that he was definitely not lovesick.After the two separated, he would indeed think of him all the time, but it was a normal yearning. Normally, whenever they were separated, they would miss each other, but this time the difference was more intense, and there was also some kind of restlessness.

Zhan Zhao is really sure, he seems to feel that Bai Yutang is nearby, right here.

……

"Heifengling, there is a legend."

In the ruined temple, Han Changzai suddenly spoke.

"What's the legend?" Princess Yan asked curiously. Just now a gust of wind blew people's hairs down, and she was also a little scared, so Xiang Han often leaned against her side.

"Heifeng City and Heifeng Ridge, including Heifeng Town and Heifeng Inn... Do you know why they are named after the word Heifeng?" Han Changzai asked.

Princess Yan frowned, "Because the stones here are black?"

Han Chang shook his head slightly, "It's because of a legend."

"What legend?"

"According to legend, there used to be a lot of people here, the market town was also prosperous, and there were green trees. It is not as barren as it is today." Han Chang said, looking at the dark forest outside the temple, "It's just that many years ago, a group of black winds appeared Strange."

"What is the Black Wind Monster?" Yan Junzhu became even more nervous.

"The origin of the incident was that when the well digger was digging an ancient well nearby, he opened an ancient tomb. Everyone didn't pay much attention to it at first, but a watchman saw a skeleton zombie in a black cloak climbing up from the mouth of the well in the middle of the night."

"Ah!" Princess Yan jumped slightly in shock, "The zombie climbed up from the ancient tomb?"

"Since then, there has been no peace in the world, and people often disappeared or were killed for no reason." Han Changzai thought for a while, "It seems that an expert set a trap, sealed the tomb, and killed those black wind monsters. They drove into Heifeng Ridge, set fire to the mountain and built temples, and then the place settled down.

"Then it's already done!" Princess Yan patted her chest, "It happened many years ago, right? Why did you come out to make trouble now?"

"It is said that..."

Han Changzai hadn't finished speaking, when suddenly, there was a "crack" in the air, and there was a thunderstorm, and the lightning shot out, directly hitting an ancient tree in front of the mountain temple, sparks splashed, and the tree was also blown away. Split in two, instantly pitch black.

Princess Yan jumped up in fright, and at the same time, Bai Yunfan kicked his hooves and moved uneasily.

Bai Yutang stretched out his hand and gently tugged at the rein of the horse, pulling it behind him, and with the other hand, he took out the knife from the cloth pocket on its back.

At this time, Han Chang nodded to the two remaining guards behind him, and they were about to step forward immediately.

But as soon as he got to Bai Yutang's side, he heard Bai Yutang say two words coldly, "Get out of the way."

Both of them were taken aback for a moment, then instinctively took a step back, looking back at Han Changzai.

Han Changzai also nodded, before his bodyguards were actually pretty similar in skills, they went and never returned without making a sound, which shows that the other party is very domineering, so it's better not to take risks, it's safer to let Bai Yutang handle it.

Bai Yutang slowly clenched the hand holding the knife, and at the same time, he felt Bai Yunfan lightly bit his sleeve with his mouth, pulling him back.

Bai Yutang took a step back slightly, and from this angle, he saw something hidden in the depths of the pitch-black forest.

Bai Yutang's pretty brows frowned - Trouble!

……

After hearing what Chen Fu said about the "Black Wind Monster", Zhan Zhao didn't comment, and stood at the window with his hands behind his back, looking at the pitch-black Heifeng Ridge.It was almost dark at this time, and Heifengling looked even more gloomy.

Zhan Zhao suddenly gave Chen Fu a sling of silver, and settled the bill. He took an umbrella and walked out of the station quickly, heading towards Heifengling.

"Master Zhan?" Chen Fu anxiously called him from behind.

Zhan Zhao just waved his hand lightly, signaling him not to worry about it.

When we arrived at the foot of Heifengling Mountain, the road was very clean, and it had been raining heavily, so naturally all traces were washed away.

Zhan Zhao looked back and forth, and found a strange place - although the heavy rain had wiped out the traces, the footprints of passing vehicles and horses were still faintly visible.Strangely, when we got near Heifeng Ridge, the traces all turned to the mountain.

Zhan Zhao touched his chin, why did he go up the mountain?

He looked up at the mountain. Except for a ruined temple, there was nothing... It was understandable to go in to shelter from the rain. If it wasn't raining, who would go up?

Just as he was thinking, a gust of evil wind blew by, Zhan Zhao frowned—the smell of a dead person!

Just as he was wondering, he vaguely heard a sharp but pleasant sound of dragon chant...

Zhan Zhao was overjoyed and surprised at the same time.He was all too familiar with this sound, it was the sound of Bai Yutang drawing his knife out of its sheath.And Bai Yutang would never draw a knife easily.Without even thinking about it, Zhan Zhao threw away his umbrella and ran up the mountain.

……

Bai Yutang was pulled back by Bai Yunfan just now, the angle was wrong, and he saw something hidden in the darkness.

In the dense bushes, some dwarves with the height of half a man were crouching.They wore black cloaks, and seemed to be wearing black masks or their skin was painted black. They only had a pair of white eyes with a lot of white, but the black pupils were only a little bit the size of rice grains, and they were staring at the temple with malicious intent. Here, it looks very strange.

Bai Yutang's actions also aroused Han Changzai's vigilance. He also bent down slightly, and at the same time, he secretly admired the cleverness of Bai Yutang's BMW.

He looked at it for a long time, and asked Bai Yutang, "What is that?"

Bai Yutang ignored him, but glanced down the mountain, as if he had some doubts, his eyes lit up.

Bai Yunfan bumped his head lightly, Bai Yutang turned around, and saw that there seemed to be something playful and teasing in Bai Yunfan's big eyes, and he knew that his heart had come true, that man was here.

At this time, the Princess Yan suddenly yelled "Ah!"

Bai Yutang drew the knife out of its sheath, a cold light flashed, and a black-clothed dwarf passing by the threshold was split in two by the internal force brought out by the blade, fell to the ground and broke into two pieces, a black skull head Gululu rolled to the feet of the princess, and she screamed.

Immediately, a few "swish" sounds were heard, and at least dozens of black dwarves sprang out of the forest. They held shining sickles in their hands, and they were divided into two waves, one wave from top to bottom, and the other wave from bottom to top. Run to the gate of the temple.

After Bai Yutang swung his sword across, he also jumped out shortly, and with two extremely fast swords, he slashed and killed the lower floor.

Han Chang was frowning slightly, Bai Yutang left such a big loophole above, isn't he afraid of being attacked?

Thinking of this, the opponent's sickle also arrived, but Bai Yutang ignored the top and only hit the bottom.Not only Han Chang was there, but even Princess Yan was shocked, and couldn't help saying, "Above..."

It's just that she just uttered the words when she saw a blue figure flying out of the woods like a kite. The black ancient sword was unsheathed, and the different dragon chant sound was equally pleasant, and the majestic sword turned horizontally and vertically. , It seems to have drawn a big "mountain" character.

Han Chang was sighing with emotion, what an exquisite sword technique.

Following the falling dwarf corpse, the blue figure landed lightly and stood behind Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang retracted his knife and killed the few in front of him, straightened up, and the two of them touched their backs slightly.

Bai Yutang asked, "Why don't you take an umbrella in such heavy rain?"

The one who fell was naturally Zhan Zhao, and he stretched out his hand to brush the ends of his rain-stained hair, "While holding an umbrella and dancing with a sword, you're too cowardly!"

Bai Yutang smiled.

Zhan Zhao turned around and poked him, "I want to eat fish."

Bai Yutang nodded, "It will be delivered tomorrow."