step on mountains and rivers

In the early morning, Tang Qingfeng and Li Zhenwu changed into a set of common clothes and left Tangmen, heading towards Qingshui Town.

Qingshui Town is a remote town located in the middle and lower reaches of the Shu River. The two of them took a boat down the river and arrived at Qingshui Ferry in less than half a day.

The boat docked slowly, and people came and went at the ferry. The two walked onto the plank road and looked at the bustling town. They couldn't help wondering. This town is so ordinary, what kind of secrets does it hide?

"Go, go in and have a look." Tang Qingfeng glanced at the town and said to Li Zhenwu beside him.

"Okay." Li Zhenwu replied.

After the two finished speaking, they walked into the town unhurriedly.

At this time, it was approaching dusk, and all the shops and shops on the street were busy closing their stalls and closing their doors.Tang Qingfeng ran forward quickly, stopped an old woman in the bun shop and asked:

"Ma'am, where is the inn in the town?"

The aunt of the bun shop saw a stranger asking, she glanced at Tang Qingfeng and said indifferently:

"What kind of inn, hurry up and leave, Qingshui Town does not allow outsiders to stay overnight."

"Auntie, why is this?" Seeing what the aunt said, Li Zhenwu asked doubtfully.

"This is the town's rule, so don't ask, just go, it's getting dark."

After finishing speaking, the aunt packed her things and closed the door.

As for the others, they didn't even look at them.They quickly cleaned up the stall and closed the gate, leaving only two people standing on the deserted street in a daze.

"What's going on here?" Tang Qingfeng wondered.

"I don't know." Li Zhenwu replied.

"Shall we keep going?" Tang Qingfeng asked

"Okay." Li Zhenwu replied.

When the two were about to leave, at a corner not far away, a child's voice stopped them and said:

"Big brother, are you looking for a place to live?"

The two turned their heads when they heard the voice, and saw an eight or nine-year-old child in ragged clothes and a face full of dirt secretly watching them.

Seeing the child speak, Tang Qingfeng and Li Zhenwu walked towards him.

Seeing the two people approaching, the child felt a little flustered.

When the two came closer, Tang Qingfeng said to the child:

"Kid, do you know where there is an inn in the town?"

The child shook his head and replied, "No, there is no inn in this town."

"? Such a big town, why is there no inn?" Tang Qingfeng asked suspiciously.

"Come with me. It's not convenient to talk here." The child said and left the street with the two of them.He walked on a secluded path, led the two of them around, and finally stopped outside a thatched hut on the edge of the town.The child glanced around, then pushed open the dilapidated wooden door and walked into the house.

"Come in, this is my home."

After the child finished speaking, the two followed him into the house.

Tang Qingfeng took a quick glance at the dilapidated house. The furnishings in the room were very simple. A broken board was built on the mound of soil to make a bed, and a burnt black clay pot was hung over the fire pit.

The child next to the fire pit lit the firewood neatly, and put the wild vegetables into the pot to cook.

Seeing that the two were still standing, he pointed to the bed and said to them:

"Brother, sit down, and the meal will be ready after a while."

As he spoke, he took out a fist-sized cloth bag from the haystack, took out a small handful of yellowed broken rice and put it into the pot.

The two looked at each other and then at the child. Li Zhenwu walked over to the child and asked with concern:

"Is this your supper?"

"No, it's for you guys. I won't eat at night, just drink some water." The child said.

"My child, we have no relatives and no reason. What is the purpose of you inviting us to dinner and staying here?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

"Big Brother", seeing Tang Qingfeng's questioning, the child looked up at the two and explained anxiously:

"I, I'm not a bad person, I just have one thing I want to ask you for help."

"How do you know we will help you?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

"I don't know, but apart from you, I can't find anyone else to help me." The child said in a low voice, "I feel that the big brothers are good people."

"Feeling?" Tang Qingfeng asked curiously.

"Well, this big brother, I don't know what's going on, but I feel very relieved when I see him." The child said and pointed to Li Zhenwu.

"Really." After listening to the child's words, Tang Qingfeng looked at Li Zhenwu and smiled slightly.

The fire was burning, and the pot was gurgling, and hot rice soup was pouring out of the mouth of the pot.

"Oh, it's going to be overcooked." Seeing this, the child quickly picked up the clay pot and put it aside, then took out two broken bowls from the grass and handed them to them:

"The porridge is ready, eat it quickly, big brothers, it's very fragrant."

Li Zhenwu looked at the child, took the broken bowl he handed over, filled a little rice soup and drank it slowly.After Tang Qingfeng took the bowl, he smiled and filled a large bowl of rice soup, handed it to the child and said:

"Eat."

"I'm not hungry, big brother eats." The child declined Tang Qingfeng.

"Big brother is not hungry, just eat a little. You are still growing, so you should eat more."

After Tang Qingfeng said, he handed the bowl to the child, took the bowl from Li Zhenwu's hand, filled it with some food and drank it, and the two of them didn't eat any more.

After the two watched the child gobble up the food, Tang Qingfeng slowly asked:

"You just said that you have something to ask us, what is it?"

Listening to his question, the child wiped his mouth and said with a sad expression:

"Big brother, I want to ask you to help me find my sister back."

"Looking for my sister?" Tang Qingfeng asked, "What's wrong with your sister?"

"My sister went to the town to sell things a few days ago, but she hasn't come back yet. I've been looking for it for a long time but I can't find it. I don't know if something happened to her." The child said worriedly.

"Will she go to a friend's house?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

"We have no friends." The child replied.

"What about your parents?" Li Zhenwu asked.

"I don't know. I have always lived with my sister. I have no parents. My sister is my only relative." The child took Li Zhenwu's hand and begged, "Big brother, please help me find my sister."

Seeing that he was so worried, Li Zhenwu comforted him gently:

"Don't worry, we will help you find your sister."

Seeing that Li Zhenwu responded, the child said with tears in his grateful eyes:

"Thank you big brother."

"You're welcome." Li Zhenwu smiled and patted his head.

Tang Qingfeng looked at the gentle Li Zhenwu, and said to the child:

"Since I have decided to look for my sister, my elder brother wants to ask you some questions about the town. Can you tell my elder brother everything you know?"

"Well, big brother, you can ask." The child wiped away his tears and said.

After the child finished speaking, Tang Qingfeng asked:

"Why does your town not keep outsiders? Why is there no inn in such a big town?"

"Big brother, this is actually for your own good." The child replied.

"For our own good?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

Seeing Tang Qingfeng's doubts, the child got up and opened the door to look around, then quickly closed the door, and said cautiously to him:

"Big brother, there is a Qingshui Village behind our Qingshui Town, and there are a bunch of water pirates with high martial arts skills living there, and all the brothers and uncles in the town were caught by them and sent to the village to work as coolies.

They would come to arrest people every night, as long as they were young and strong enough to work, no matter if they were from the town or not, they would all be taken away.Over time, no one dared to stay overnight, and the inns in the town were closed.

A few days ago, a group of people came, saying they came to rescue us, and the people in the town took them in. Later, when things came to light, they were all killed by water robbers in the village.The water pirates also killed the townspeople who helped them, burned their homes, and warned everyone not to take in outsiders, and if found, they would all be killed. "

"Then you still dare to take us in?" Tang Qingfeng asked puzzled.

"It's okay, my house is on the edge of the town, it's broken and broken, and they never come." The child replied.

"So that's it, kid, what's your sister's name?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

"My sister's name is Zhu Xian'er, and my name is Zhu Mingming." Zhu Mingming said.

"Well, obviously, we will help you find your sister tomorrow." Tang Qingfeng said.

"Thank you big brother." Zhu Mingming replied happily.

The next day, under the leadership of Zhu Mingming, the two went to the town to investigate.

The two asked everyone in the town, and they all said nervously that they had never seen Zhu Xian'er.

Seeing that Zhu Mingming had been looking for him for several days, an old woman couldn't bear it, so she reminded her:

"My child, don't look for it anymore. Maybe your sister can't stand the poverty and left with the outsiders."

"Impossible! My sister will never leave me alone!" Zhu Mingming retorted angrily after hearing what the aunt said.

"Hey, you child is so determined, she might as well run away!" The aunt shook her head after she finished speaking.

"Why did auntie say that?" Tang Qingfeng asked.

"Don't ask, it's not good for you." The aunt stopped paying attention to them after she finished speaking.

Tang Qingfeng saw that the aunt did not speak anymore, and the rest of the people seemed to be avoiding something, so he guessed the outline of the matter, so he stopped asking, bought some food, and took Zhu Mingming home.

On the way home, Tang Qingfeng looked at Li Zhenwu and asked:

"Daozhang, what do you think?"

"It seems that the root of all problems lies in Qingshui Village." Li Zhenwu said slowly.

"I think so too. Let's investigate tonight?" Tang Qingfeng said.

"Okay." Li Zhenwu replied.

After the two finished talking, they sent Zhu Mingming home, put on night clothes, and took advantage of the darkness to the outskirts of Qingshui Village.

Qingshui Village is a huge cottage built by the water. It has three floors inside and outside, each floor is patrolled by more than ten guards, and there are four three-foot-high watchtowers on the outside, which are located in the southeast, northwest, and four directions of the village.There are two guards in each watchtower, and even at night, the interior of the village is brightly lit.

Tang Qingfeng and Li Zhenwu met in the dark after inquiring about the situation of Qingshui Village respectively.

"The defense is very strict, what do you think?" Li Zhenwu asked.

Hearing his question, Tang Qingfeng pointed to the watchtower and said, "You two, I two, we will meet up in the backyard after we finish." Tang Qingfeng pointed to the largest room in the village as he spoke.

"Okay." After Li Zhenwu returned, the two shadows separated quickly, and after finishing off the guards of the watchtower cleanly, they flew down and landed behind the roof of the main hall.

On the roof, Tang Qingfeng lifted the tiles, and the two of them saw a scarred man holding a beautiful woman in his arms through the gap, and his right hand was gently stroking her thigh.

"Xian'er, are you really willing to stay with me?" the man asked.

"My lord, Xian'er is willing." The woman replied.

"Okay, good fairy, as long as you live up to me, I will give you whatever you want in the future, and even if you don't have it, I will snatch it for you." The man said.

"Yeah." The woman nodded shyly.