Yangyue

At the third quarter of the first day of Haichu, a sedan chair bumped on the deep and dark bamboo forest path.

Qi Zhu and Liang Yu sat in the sedan chair, talking in a low voice from time to time, while Xiao Yangyue sat on the pedal outside the sedan chair curtain with her sword in her arms, staring at the night ahead.

When Liang Yu learned that the suspicious cases that Qi Zhu and Xiao Yangyue came here to investigate were those kidnapping cases of boys and girls, he was also surprised and speechless for a while.

Afterwards, Qi Zhu straight to the point and said to Liang Yu that he hoped that he could go with them to the vicinity of the Sanfeng Mountain that Liang Yu mentioned, and help them investigate the case and search for clues to the Hongyue Society. Liang Yu nodded and agreed without hesitation. .

Driving at night is not safe, and the bandits around are hard to guard against, especially on such a bamboo forest path where the line of sight is not clear, there are already many convoys that have been robbed at night.

In order not to be too obvious in the night, no lights were lit inside the sedan chair, only dimly illuminated by the moonlight.

Qi Zhu closed his eyes and thought about the arson of the inn and the corpse of the proprietress. He still couldn't figure it out for the time being, why did the members of the Hongyue Club set fire to the inn?Why did you tamper with that corpse again?

As for Xiaoer Dian's sudden suicide, Qi Zhu was not particularly surprised. The old bloody rules of the Jianghu martial arts sect, many people who failed in missions or were captured by the enemy would choose to commit suicide in order to avoid being punished.

Not to mention martial arts sects, even the little shadow guard who was caught by him and sneaked into the Duckweed Pavilion in his bedroom that day almost committed suicide by biting his tongue.

At this time, the wheels of the sedan chair seemed to have run over some broken lumps and bumped slightly for a moment.Qi Zhu looked back from the window, and saw that there seemed to be piles of coke-like things piled up on the ground that was gradually receding, and it was difficult to distinguish the original appearance in the night.

Liang Yu looked at Xiao Yangyue's back faintly looming outside the car curtain, and said to Qi Zhu: "Master Qi, let Master Yang come in to rest, and I'll go out to guard. I'm familiar with the roads around here."

Qi Zhu nodded: "Alright."

Liang Yu opened the sedan chair curtain, mounted his horse, and quickly walked to the front of the team to lead the way.

Henry Zhang returned to the sedan chair, poured himself a glass of water with a teapot, Qi Zhu lowered his voice and asked: "My lord, what happened to those thieves who set fire just now?"

"***."

"Where is the body?"

"Just passed by."

Only then did Qi Zhu become convinced of what the sedan chair had run over just now. He raised his eyebrows and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he raised his hand and put down the window stays and bamboo curtains. on the car wall.

There was only a low pillow and a quilt in the sedan chair. With difficulty, Qi Zhu settled his hands and feet in the narrow sedan chair, covered the quilt, leaned against the corner and closed his eyes: "My lord, let me first Take a rest, you can do what you want."

Xiao Yangyue and the officers and men of the Duckweed Pavilion didn’t have any impact if they didn’t sleep for two or three days. Ordinary people naturally couldn’t do it, but Lord Hou didn’t have the delicate and expensive temperament of those rich young masters. Such a narrow and cold place , I can still sleep.

The sedan chair bumped all the way, Qi Zhu let out his breath slowly, his breathing was not disturbed by the bumps of the road at all.

In the early hours of the morning, Qi Zhu opened his eyes slightly, and the sedan chair had already stopped.

The light in the sedan chair was dim, and Henry Zhang was sitting on the side, putting the human skin mask for changing appearance on his face.

The skin that had been covered by the mask for a long time was slightly reddened, and against the thin pink lips, the astonishing appearance only appeared for a moment before being covered by the mask again.

Qi Zhu yawned sleepily: "Where are we?"

"Xu Zhen is still twenty miles away." Henry Zhang replied, "Let's rest for a while."

Qi Zhu got off the sedan chair, and the group stopped by a clear stream in the mountains, so that the horses who had run all night could catch their breath and rest. It's not easy being a new horse.

Qi Zhu bent down and took a handful of stream water, and simply rinsed his mouth and face.They brought some dry food, so it was no problem to fill their stomachs during the journey, but it was completely out of the question for exquisiteness and luxury.

Qi Zhu was a little hungry, he took a piece of rough cake from the guard, and was about to open his mouth to eat it, but from the corner of his eyes, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Henry Zhang standing aside, arms crossed, looking at him indifferently.

Qi Zhu stared at the cake, deliberately showing a look of disgust and incompatibility, and finally ate it with his mouth open and frowning, looking helpless and tasteless.

Henry Zhang snorted coldly, and said: "Master Qi, when you're away from home, make it a point."

Qi Zhu secretly smiled in his heart, Xiao Yangyue didn't know if he was too cautious, or just because he didn't fit his eyes, and always stared at him, as if he wanted to see some clues from him, he had to be more careful everywhere .

Qi Zhu didn't show it, and replied: "That's natural."

Before Qi Zhu finished speaking, Henry Zhang frowned suddenly, he popped a small stone from his sleeve, and the stone passed over a certain treetop, accompanied by a bird song, a sparrow fell from the treetop and landed on the ground I can't stop thumping.

Henry Zhang stared at the sparrow, then looked around vigilantly, and finally didn't bother with the little creature.His hand was obviously not heavy, the little sparrow fluttered for a moment, then flew crookedly again.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, the group continued on their way and arrived at Xu Town at Maoshi.

There are not many people in Xu Town, at a glance, there are only a hundred or so low and messy thatched cottages, and the farmers are separated by plowing fields and canals. Most of the people who come and go here and there are old men and women.

The outline of Sanfeng Mountain can be faintly seen here, and the area around the top of the mountain is really shrouded in clouds and mist.The mist was really as Liang Yu said, with a bit of blood-like light red, which made the mountain peak seem to rise in the sea of ​​blood-colored clouds. The halfway up the mountain was covered by the mist, and the whole mountain peak could not be seen.

The townspeople of Xu Town rarely saw so many foreign carriages and horses, and their eyes were a little timid when they went to and fro. Many people hurriedly put down their farm work, ran into the house, and watched them secretly from behind the window lattice. Between surprise and uncertainty.

Liang Yu walked beside Qi Zhu and Xiao Yangyue, and said in a low voice: "Most of the young people in the town were conscripted to serve in corvee, leaving these old men and women to live around a few acres of farmland, which is very poor."

Qi Zhu glanced at the dilapidated thatched huts as far as he could see, and the farmland that was not good at first glance, and said with emotion: "The rise and fall are the sufferings of the people."

Liang Yu sighed slightly: "This place is very close to Sanfeng Mountain. If you search around, maybe you can find some clues."

Qi Zhu looked at a thatched hut not far away. He stepped into the courtyard. The walls made of stones were covered with gullies and cracks, and the walls were also covered with moss and weeds. People have always lived in such a hut.

Qi Zhu raised his hand and knocked lightly on the wooden door. After a while, there was a sound of slow footsteps inside the door. A pale-haired old man opened the door tremblingly, and saw more than a dozen people in the yard outside the door who were obviously not dressed as civilians. There are still people with terrifying long knives pinned to their waists, their muddy old voices are smeared with fear, and Dang even wants to kneel: "My lords, this is..."

"Don't be afraid, old man. I'm an official sent by the government to investigate several old cases. I just want to inquire about the case." Qi Zhu supported the old man's thin arm, bent over and cupped his hands.

Hearing the word "government", the old man's expression of fear did not slow down, thinking that the officials here are cruel, the government may have oppressed the people for a long time.

Qi Zhu still wanted to say a few words of comfort, but Henry Zhang didn't have much patience to wait any longer, and asked straight to the point: "Does the old man know about the child kidnapping case that happened in the village near Sanfeng Mountain a year ago?"

Xiao Yangyue usually has a cold face, but he has a stunning appearance. Even with a cold face, he is still a coveted beauty.But at this time, he had changed his appearance, and with this expression, outsiders would inevitably look a little inhumane and vicious.

The old man trembled and wanted to kneel again, Liang Yu hurried to comfort him, Qi Zhu patted Xiao Yangyue's shoulder with a smile, and whispered to him: "My lord, I think the government in this place is cruel, and the people are oppressed by the government. Quite a lot, you should be more gentle."

Henry Zhang frowned slightly, on one side of his body, he pulled Qi Zhu's hand away from his shoulder, and stood by the door with a knife in his hand.

The old man was old and didn't remember much about the kidnapping case, and what he could tell them was no more than what was recorded in the government files.

Qi Zhu turned to ask: "Old man, do you know Sanfeng Mountain?"

Unexpectedly, when the old man heard the word Sanfengshan, the panic on his face became even more frightening. He shook his head anxiously: "I can't go... I can't go... that place, the common people dare not go..."

Qi Zhu: "Why can't you go?"

"The land was polluted by unclean things two years ago. A thick fog rose overnight. The color of the fog was like blood. Many people went up the mountain and never came back." The old man's old voice was filled with Fear, "The crops in the field are not good... The people in the town have also invited the master to do it... It's useless..."

Two years ago, it was indeed the time when the Yuanyang Sect master was killed and the Hongyue Society began to gain a foothold in the martial arts. The "filth" on the mountain that the old man said was probably inseparable from the Hongyue Society's "Fog Hidden Flying Flower Formation".

The more sensational this Wuyin Flying Flower Formation was spread, the more interested Qi Zhu became in its true face.

The Suzerain of Yuanyang Sect was once a well-known master of martial arts, so the martial arts cheats created by him must be worth exploring.

The group stayed in Xu Town for less than three quarters of an hour before setting off again.Before leaving, Liang Yu saw that the old man was really poor, so he begged Qi Zhu to give the old man some of the dry food they brought in the team, Qi Zhu naturally agreed, and asked someone to send some white flour cakes and steamed buns to the old man.

Holding the rough food, the old man raised his hands to kowtow to Qi Zhu and others.

Qi Zhu looked at the old man, and then at the mountain top shrouded in mist in the distance, and sighed: "Although the capital is prosperous and prosperous, it is very emotional to lose to the common people in this world."

There are still tens of miles away from Sanfeng Mountain, and if everyone wants to reach the foot of the mountain before nightfall, they can only hurry.Qi Zhu took out something from his traveling bag and brought it back into the sedan chair.

Henry Zhang sat on the horse in front of the sedan chair and glanced at the things in Qi Zhu's hands.

What Qi Zhu had in his hand was the former dictionary found in Ding Feiyun's residence, "Compilation of Dacheng Characters".