Urban Night Returner

In the northwest border, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the autumn wind is refreshing. It is the best season of the year.It's a pity that Luo Jing, Ding Lancha and others who were reunited at the border at this time were not happy at all.

Less than half a year after the signing of the peace treaty, the Beiman harassed the border again with a torn face, and caught the border guards by surprise.Although the yellow grass and fat horses in autumn are a good time for the northerners to invade the south, after all, they have just made a peace agreement, and it is really unexpected that they are so shameless and frank.Moreover, since Ding Lancha left the border gate, there are quite a few leaders without a leader. The new guard is a student of Zheng Wang, who is not incompetent. He neglected to take precautions. Secondly, although he was skilled, he had not experienced many battles. The northern barbarians suddenly attacked and invaded the outer city. Regarding military power, even if they only eat the emperor's food and salary, they still feel somewhat dissatisfied in their hearts. After all, if they don't agree with the new general, the command will inevitably be sluggish.After going back and forth like this, the Beiman came prepared, but it broke down two cities in one go. The people helped the old and the young, and fled in a hurry. I don't know how many people are tired and frightened.Fortunately, the third Wu city had high walls and deep rivers, and got the news that they prepared strong bows and crossbows, rolled wood and beat stones, which was enough to keep the northern barbarians out of the city. Now they have retreated thirty li and stationed at the foot of the mountain outside the city.

Now that the battle has come to this point, no matter how much King Zheng favors his own people, it is hard to speak.The defender abandoned the city, and the commander had to question the crime as usual. Thanks to Zheng Wang's intermediary, he was demoted and transferred to another state as a guard.

The city of Wu is not very big. Its advantage is that it is located in a fortress with a condescending height. Below the city is a natural river. The river flows down from the Yin Mountain in the distance and divides into two tributaries. Now the Northern Man army is camping by the other tributary thirty miles away. It is obvious It is Wu Cheng's determination to win.

Luo Jing stood on the city wall and watched from afar.The Northern Man's military strength this time is even better than before.The spies have got the news that there are fifteen or six tribes in the Northern Man, two or three of them are powerful and do not agree with each other, even though they sometimes invade the south together, they will inevitably have their own interests and hinder each other.In the last peace talks, it was also King Zheng who first gave gifts to the two tribes and taught them to withdraw their troops. In this way, there was an internal rebellion, and the northern barbarian army was also somewhat split, so they followed suit and negotiated to withdraw their troops.Unexpectedly, their army retreated to the grassland, but a tribe got a magic horse.The grassland tribes have always respected horses. Many legends are related to horses. It is said that there is a god horse on the grassland. Its hair is as black as paint, and its sweat is as red as blood. With a whistling sound, all the horses bowed their heads and came. The king appeared, and the god horse was just born. If you can get the god horse, you can win the grassland world.Although this is just a legend, everyone in the grassland tribe does not believe it.This time the tribe did not know what method they used to actually get such a horse.This tribe was originally the most powerful among all the tribes, and with this magical horse, it is like a tiger with wings added.The northerners were originally brave and good at fighting, but now they have won this magical horse. It is because of their great morale that they are naturally unstoppable.Luo Jing looked in the distance, the tents were densely packed by the river, stretching to the foot of the mountain, it was unknown how many people there were.Although he has been fighting for many years and is fearless in battle, he can't help but frown.The northerners are not afraid of death. If their morale cannot be broken, this battle will be really difficult to fight.

The sound of armor came from above the city steps, when Luo Jing turned his head, it was Ding Lancha who came up with Zuo Mu, and the guards saluted one after another.Ding Lancha glanced at Luo Jing, nodded and said, "You're coming up too? Judging by the situation, I'm afraid they won't be able to beat them back for a while."

Luo Jing also nodded and said: "The northerners are in full swing at this time, we should not directly attack them. Wu's city wall is high and the river is deep and dangerous to defend, so it is better to face each other. When it is cold and snowy, the northerners will naturally retreat."

Zuo Mu nodded and agreed, "What General Luo said is true. At this time, head-to-head encounters will cost a lot. Killing one thousand and injuring eight hundred is not the best policy. It's better to stick to it."

Ding Lancha looked at the two young generals in front of him, shook his head and said with a wry smile: "This is the best policy, but it needs to be supported by food and grass. Wucheng is too small, and I'm afraid it can't afford the army to consume for three to five months. Although there is no one in the army, Baicheng The transshipment envoy belongs to King Zheng."

Luo Jing and Zuo Mu are silent.Wucheng is located in a fortress, and the terrain is narrow both front and back. Although it is easy to resist the enemy in the front, it is not difficult to block the enemy in the rear.Baicheng is a hundred li behind Wucheng, and all supplies of food and grass are transferred through Baicheng. If Baicheng is cut off by a little bit, it will strangle Wucheng's vital points.The Baicheng Transshipment Envoy is a member of King Zheng, which means that the army's food and grass are all in the hands of King Zheng. If he cuts off the supply ahead, Ding Lancha's tens of thousands of people will starve to death no matter how brave they are. In Baicheng.If you don't want to be swayed by others, you can only attack when there is enough food and grass to repel the northerners.However, as Zuo Mu said, in a head-to-head battle, even if you win, it will be a miserable victory.Beiman claims to have an army of 20, and Ding Lancha actually has 12 in his hands. According to the danger, he will stick to it and attack when he sees the opportunity. However, if he is forced to fight recklessly, he may not have much left after the battle. people.Although King Zheng didn't do anything at this time, it was like hanging an unsheathed sharp sword above their heads, and it would fall down one day.

All three of them walked around the city wall in silence.Luo Jing said: "Commander, I want to go out of the city tonight to explore the reality of the northerners and the surrounding terrain. If we really want to fight, there is something to worry about." Of course they have topographic maps around Wucheng, but they have never done it here. After the war, it is natural to rest assured after seeing it with your own eyes.

Ding Lancha hesitated.It is necessary to inquire about news and terrain, but if Luo Jing is allowed to go, he is reluctant to do so in case of any damage.The Beiman camp is only thirty miles away, it is too close, it is indeed dangerous to go out of the city to inquire.Seeing that he didn't answer, Luo Jing understood his concerns, couldn't help feeling hot in his heart, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, Commander, I only bring ten people with me, they can come and go easily, and don't go too far, so nothing will happen."

Sensing his temper, Ding Lan made up her mind to do it to the end even if she died, so she just nodded and said, "Be careful, I'll send someone to wait outside the city to meet him."

Luo Jing responded, seeing that the sun was setting to the west, he went down to the top of the city first, and went to prepare himself.Camping in Wucheng this time actually sent some of the people away and taught the soldiers to live in residential houses, which was different from usual, so Biyan also had to come and found a small courtyard in the city to live with Shen Mobai. It was convenient for Biquan to enter and exit the military camp Free to accompany Luo Jing.

Luo Jing went back to the courtyard, where Biyan was doing laundry.Luo Jing glanced at Shen Mobai and said casually, "Where's Shen Mobai?"

Bi Yan shook the water in her hand and said: "Going out, said to go to the city to have a look."

Luo Jing frowned: "Nonsense! Is he able to go up the Chengguan?"

Biyan had followed Luo Jing for a while, so she naturally knew about these things, but she deliberately didn't tell Shen Mobai, so that he could go for nothing, and it would be better if he was scolded by the guards again, if he was pushed and beaten a few times when he was rude. The next is more sympathetic.What a shrewd person Luo Jing is, he thought of her intentions as soon as he thought about it, and said with a slightly sullen face: "He doesn't know much about the world, you don't talk about it, but you see his jokes and tell me that Luo Jing's people broke into the camp without permission." , what is the system?"

Bi Yan's face turned cold when he saw him, and she was too frightened to speak.Although she loves Luo Jing to the extreme, she is also afraid of him.Biquan whispered beside him: "Master, it's getting late, I'd better check my things first, I'll go look for Mr. Shen later and come back."

Luo Jing glanced at him, knowing that he was helping his sister, and was about to speak, when Shen Mobai happened to come in from the door.Luo Jing glanced at him, and said coldly: "We are fighting now, why are you running around? If you are caught as a spy by the city defense, you will suffer!"

As soon as Shen Mobai came back, he was slapped across the face by him, and he couldn't help being startled, standing at the door and not daring to go any further.Luo Jing frowned even tighter: "What are you doing standing there? Can I eat you? Come here! Is there anything wrong with the city defense?"

Shen Mobai shook his head.The soldiers on the city defense happened to be the ones who accompanied Luo Jing to hold the grain last time, and they recognized him, so they took him to a corner of the city wall to look outside to see if the guard had come.As for the reprimand and shoving that Biyan hoped for, naturally there was none.Luo Jing's expression softened a little, he walked into the room, checked his weapons and said: "I want to go out of the city, you just stay in the room, if you run around, I will break your legs."

He spoke lightly, but Shen Mobai couldn't help shivering, and said in a low voice: "I didn't run around, but I just think the mountain outside the city is a bit weird, and I want to go to the top of the city to look."

Luo Jing now attaches great importance to his words, not to mention that he has to go to the mountains when he goes out of the city to survey the terrain, he stopped his hands and said, "What's so weird?"

Shen Mobai's slender eyebrows frowned: "Looking at a black air from a distance, it doesn't look very like Yin Qi."

When Luo Jing knew him, it was the first time he saw him frowning, obviously the blackness in the mountain was extraordinary, he thought for a while and said: "Why don't you come out of the city with me and take a closer look." Thirty miles away, the northerners did not dare to leave the camp easily in the dark, and if they were not disturbed, it would not matter to go and have a look.

Biquan said softly: "General, Mr. Shen is not good at riding. If the northern barbarians find out, I'm afraid..." Where did Shen Mobai ride a horse before? Luo Jing taught him a few times in the few months in the capital.Horses are really good with him, any kind of horse can go on it, but he can't sit still when he starts to run.If he was really discovered by the northern barbarians, he would definitely not be able to escape.

Luo Jing pondered for a while, and said: "It's okay, just ride with me. This mountain is close to Wucheng, if there is anything strange, you have to find it out." Taking a look at Shen Mobai, he said, "You are a big man in a toga I can't even wear sleeves, come in, and I'll find you some clothes."

Shen Mobai was dragged out of the room by Luo Jing in a daze.Luo Jing closed the door with a bang, took out a tight-fitting arrow jacket from the luggage and threw it to him: "Put it on. It will be convenient for you to escape."

Shen Mobai was still holding the clothes in a daze, Luo Jing was already impatient, walked over without any explanation, pulled his belt, and tore off the coat like a skin.His hands were so strong that even his inner clothes were torn crooked.Shen Mobai was a little panicked and wanted to retreat, Luo Jing put his arms around him and hugged him: "What's the fuss?"

Shen Mobai was so hugged by him that he couldn't move, he felt Luo Jing's breath rushing straight to his face, even the roots of his ears were red, and he stammered: "General, this, this—"

Luo Jing saw that his neckline was open, showing a little delicate collarbone, and couldn't help feeling that the clothes were in the way.However, he has a sense of propriety, knowing that this is the most important thing at this time, but he restrained himself as soon as he thought about it, let go of Shen Mobai and said: "Hurry up and change your clothes."

Shen Mobai looked at the clothes in his hand in embarrassment.His inner garment is also loose, but the garment in his hand has tight arrow sleeves, unless he also takes off the inner garment, he can't put it on at all.After hesitating for a moment, he walked under the curtain of the bed, turned his back and changed his clothes.Luo Jing only listened to what was going on in the bed curtains, and couldn't help feeling a little itchy in his heart. He really wanted to go in and change his clothes with his own hands, thinking about the crystal clear and delicate skin that he could see from the neckline, and wondered what kind of charm the invisible place was.While thinking wildly, Shen Mobai had already walked out.Wearing that black arrow jacket on him, it made his waist thinner and his legs longer, and made his skin white like jade.Luo Jing looked at him up and down for a long time, until he saw that his ears were flushed, then he suddenly smiled and said: "It's not bad. Let's go."

The ten people led by Luo Jing are all elites of Ding Lancha's army, all of them are excellent riders, and they are all first-class riders. They have already waited at the gate of the north city.At this time, it was the third watch, the night was as dark as ink, all the horses went to the luan bell, their hooves were wrapped with thick flannelette, all of them were dressed in black and black hats, only a small piece of white cloth was tied on each horse's tail as a mark, and quietly surrounded the city in the darkness. The door opened a line, and they filed out without any movement.Luo Jing asked Shen Mobai to sit in front of him, controlled the reins with one hand, put his arm around his waist with the other, and whispered in his ear: "Don't make a sound, or you will alarm Bei Man, and everyone will be in trouble."

At this moment, Shen Mobai focused all his attention on the black air in the mountain, obediently let Luo Jing manipulate him, and nodded slightly.Luo Jing was overjoyed, shook the rein of the horse, and rushed out first.

More than [-] li away from the city gate of Wucheng is the foot of the mountain, and five or six li further is the Beiman camp, brightly lit and patrolled by soldiers.Luo Jing and his party took advantage of the shadows of the trees to cover themselves, quietly, went straight to the outside of the range of the fire, and looked into the distance.I couldn't see clearly in the dark night, I only saw cowhide tents densely connected, and I don't know how many there are.Luo Jing thought for a moment, then said in a low voice: "Spread out, five people to explore the enemy's camp, five people to check the terrain nearby, don't go deep, if there is any movement, return to the city immediately, the commander has arranged for people to respond."

These ten people have all fought with Ding Lancha for a long time, Luo Jing didn't need to say much to understand: the so-called camp search means to find out where the enemy's food and grass are stored, how to arrange the generals, whether there are any loopholes in the camp arrangement, etc.; To observe the terrain is to find out whether there is a path leading to the enemy's rear, or whether there is terrain for an ambush.At the moment, each of them dispersed to act.Luo Jing lifted the rein of the horse himself, and walked up the mountain.

The mountain road is narrow. Fortunately, the trees are not very dense. Although there are clouds and the moonlight shines through, we can barely walk.Luo Jing's horse is a local horse in Wucheng. It is not tall, but it is good at walking the mountain road. Although it stumbled a little, it walked all the way down.The further we went into the mountains, the more difficult the road became. After walking for about half an hour, the forest was so dense that it was difficult for horses to pass.Luo Jing frowned and said, "How far is it?" The front was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.

Shen Mobai said: "It's still ahead, it shouldn't be far away."

Luo Jing saw that the horse was unable to move forward, so he jumped off the horse and hugged Shen Mobai.Before the person was hugged down, suddenly a gust of wind blew, the sound of the wind was subtle but very shrill, the horse shivered, suddenly turned its head and ran, and even threw Shen Mobai off, fortunately Luo Jing had already stretched out his hand to catch it, otherwise he would have fallen to the ground .Luo Jing has experience in encountering beasts in the wild, so he only thought that the horses were frightened by wild beasts, and he drew out his sword with a slap, but Shen Mobai in his arms said in shock: "Plague ghost!" His eyes lighted up slightly, but Shen Mobai pulled out the sword The bodhi bead in the collar, that inconspicuous bead actually emitted a faint light in the dark night, enveloping the two of them in the pearl light.In Luo Jing's ears, he seemed to hear the whistle-like sound of the wind suddenly rewinding to and fro, and it seemed that something shrank back in the dark, so he couldn't help clenching the sword in his hand even more, and said in a deep voice: "What is it?" Ghost, Shen Mobai has never been so panicked.The last time I was looking for silver in Yongzhou, the unjust dead ghost was at the foot of the cliff, and I didn't see him take out the Bodhi beads, so this time is different from usual.

Shen Mobai held the Bodhi Pearl in his palm, heaved a sigh of relief for a while, and said in a low voice: "Plague ghost! I don't know where it came from. It seems to come from the front."

Luo Jing took him by the arm: "Plague ghost? But the ghost of the person who died of the plague? You have seen many ghosts, what's so special about it?"

Shen Mobai said softly: "If a person dies from a tiger, he will be a slave. If he helps the tiger to eat people, if he dies from a plague, he will become a plague ghost, which can then spread the epidemic. There are so many plague ghosts here, but luckily they didn't come out of the mountain, otherwise everyone who meets them will get sick and die. If we don't have the Bodhi Pearl, I'm afraid it will be difficult to preserve it."

Luo Jing was surprised and wondered: "Can't plague ghosts come out of the mountain?"

Shen Mobai shook his head and said: "Most of the plague ghosts can't leave the place of death too far away, but this mountain is only thirty miles away from Wucheng, which is not very far. There are so many plague ghosts, but they can't go out of the mountain, I'm afraid there is something wrong."

Luo Jing has always been daring, not to mention Shen Mobai has Bodhi beads on his body, so he is obviously not afraid of plague ghosts, so he immediately said: "Since it came from the front, let's go up and have a look."

Shen Mobai also wanted to find out where these plague ghosts came from, and the two of them moved forward again.After walking not far, it was blocked by a cliff head on. There was only a narrow gap on the mountain wall, which only allowed one person to barely pass through.Shen Mobai held up the bodhi bead to take a photo, and said: "This is where the plague ghost came out."

Luo Jing looked carefully, and found that the cliff was covered with vines, only the gap around the gap was barren, not even a blade of grass, so he couldn't help but shook his hand sword again, and said, "I'll go in and have a look, you wait here."

Shen Mobai said anxiously: "No! I'll go in with you."

Hearing the eagerness in his voice, Luo Jing was quite happy in his heart, immediately shook his hand, and the two of them squeezed in through the gap one after the other.There is little wind in the forest outside, but the wind is whistling in this gap, blowing from the outside to the inside, making people bone-chilling.After about ten steps, the eyes suddenly opened up, but it was a small valley with the sound of running water.Because there are no trees to cover the surrounding area, the moonlight falls straight down, which is more clearly seen than outside.Luo Jing has excellent eyesight, and when he saw something shaking in front of him, he immediately pushed Shen Mobai down.Just at this moment, the clouds were blown by the wind, exposing the entire moon, shining brightly in all directions, and I saw that the wandering thing was a monster that looked like a bull but not a bull, and its body was taller than ordinary bulls. , the color is dark, but the fur on the head is white, there is only one eye between the two horns, and the tail swings back and forth behind, but it is not an ox tail, but a snake tail, its length is almost down to the ground.Such a monster looks especially chilling in the dark.Luo Jing was about to take a closer look, but he heard Shen Mobai beside him gasped and pulled him hard, his voice changed a bit: "Go!"

Luo Jing was startled, but Shen Mobai stepped up his strength, pulling him back.Luo Jing didn't know why he was so afraid, so he had to follow him back out.Shen Mobai didn't stop when he got out of the mountain wall, he dragged him and just walked, but he walked too fast, tripped and almost fell down.Luo Jing hugged him by the waist, frowned and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? What kind of monster is that?"

Shen Mobai took a breath, pulled Luo Jing and still refused to stop, and said as he walked, "No wonder there are so many plague ghosts, please don't come here again."

Luo Jing was dragged away by him, and said, "What is that?"

Fearing that he would turn back again, Shen Mobai held his hand tightly, and said: "I saw it in the Library Pavilion, there is a beast named 'Fei', its shape is like a cow with a white head, its eyes are like a snake's tail, and when it walks, it dries up. If you walk grass, you will die, and if you see it, there will be a plague in the world. Unexpectedly, there is such a monster. The plague ghosts here must be people who strayed into the mountains. If they encounter them, they will die. After death, they will become plague ghosts. Tolerate people, but beasts can't pass through. I think the heaven and earth have their own laws to govern the monsters. And the wind blows inward, so the poison of beasts is not easy to leak out. This thing is very fierce. I don't know where the sound of the water in the valley comes from. Where does it come from, and where does it go? It seems to have flowed into the ground. If it flows out of the mountain, everyone who drinks the water will get sick, and it will be spread to hundreds of people, which is extremely terrifying."

Luo Jing was a little startled by what he said.Shen Mobai took his hand, and solemnly said: "You must never come here again. If there is no Bodhi Pearl, as long as the wind changes slightly, we will inevitably be infected. If after the war in the future, someone will come to fill this gap That's good."

Luo Jing suddenly realized that Shen Mobai was holding his hand all the way, and it was very tight, but he himself didn't notice it, and couldn't help but smile a little, and scratched his palm lightly with his fingers, Shen Mobai was really startled , Huo Zhuo was about to withdraw his hand, but Luo Jing held it back, and said with a smile: "Okay, I will never come to this ghost place again."