Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

"Can you trace her whereabouts based on these footprints?" Mu Liuyun asked in surprise.

"This kind of place has few people and a lot of vegetation, which is the easiest terrain to track." Zhang Chi replied while lying on the ground carefully looking for the next footprint, "If you are such a high-level martial arts master, I really can't do anything about it." , but with Bai Ling's skill, it shouldn't be a problem."

Mu Liuyun followed Zhang Chi in amazement, watching him find out the subtle traces left by Bai Ling's escape bit by bit, and almost completely restored the whole process of Bai Ling's escape, including her knocking over after jumping out of the window. Hidden beehives, tripped in the grass, slipped up a dirt slope, etc.

The trail of escape stretched all the way to the creek.

After crossing the creek, there are no traces.

"This woman is really not simple. She even knows how to cover her tracks when she is desperate for her life." Zhang Chi found it difficult.

Mu Liuyun frowned: "Did she run along the stream? Would it be difficult to find her whereabouts?"

"...The stream will greatly hinder the speed of progress, so she will not stay in the stream for a long time. I will look for it again, and there must be some traces left."

Although the hope was slim, Zhang Chi still did not give up. He searched downstream for a while, and then turned back to search upstream. Finally, he found some clues, such as slip marks on moss-covered stones. The traces of the pebbles on the floor being kicked over and the like.

Mu Liuyun, who didn't want to get his shoes and trousers wet, watched Zhang Chi roll his trousers and sleeves from the bank, bent over and tirelessly groped in the stream, and couldn't help feeling a little admiration for this young man with not very good martial arts. .

Zhang Chi finally straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I found it, she landed here."

Mu Liuyun jumped to the other side of the creek, but didn't see anything, and asked suspiciously, "What did you find?"

"You see, although she was very cautious, she didn't take a step on the sand, but the sand here has traces of being dripped by water droplets not long ago."

Mu Liuyun looked at the terrain where rocks and sand were intertwined. After a while, the water traces had already been dried by the sun, leaving only shallow pits on the flat sand. He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled: " How can you be sure that this mark is not left by something else?"

"It can only be said to be an experience. The shape of the pit and the distance between it make me feel that it is caused by people's wet clothes dripping down." Zhang Chi said, "I don't know how to describe this feeling. Just like some people are particularly gifted in martial arts, and some people can remember poems and articles with a photographic memory. When there are too many, I can tell at a glance whether the bunker is caused by water droplets or other things, and I can even tell the height from which the water droplets fell."

"Really, you have such great abilities." Mu Liuyun admired him a little.

Zhang Chi smiled embarrassingly: "How come, I can't write in peace and martial arts can't fix the country. I only have such a little crooked specialty. It's not like you. You are not very young but you are so good at martial arts. Everyone has to be afraid of you three points .”

While talking, they had followed the traces from the rocky beach to the forest by the stream.

At this point, Bai Ling probably thought that it was impossible to be found, so he no longer covered up his tracks.

No wonder Zhang Chi said that this kind of place is the easiest to track. A large living person walked through the dense forest. The divided grass, broken branches, and torn leaves were so obvious that even Mu Liu Clouds can be seen.

Zhang Chi didn't have to stop and search carefully, and their tracking speed became faster and faster.

***

Since Ah Wu came to ask them how they beat people in the morning, after such a whole day of tossing, the sky finally gradually darkened at this moment.

Before they couldn't see it completely, they found a hilltop with dangerous terrain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Apart from wooden houses, there were also some simple fortifications arranged on the hilltop.

With the last light of the sky before the sun set, they could vaguely see a four-legged snake with its teeth and claws painted on a large flag in conspicuous black ink.

"This... Could it be that this is Heilongzhai?" Zhang Chi squatted behind the bushes and carefully observed the cottage, "I have seen topographic maps before, and I know that Heilongzhai is near Miaojiang, but I didn't expect it to be so far away from Wuguzhai." close."

Mu Liuyun looked at the indescribable thing on the banner speechlessly: "You say this pattern is a black dragon?"

"Well, the only decent faction around here is Heilongzhai, and you don't need to care about such trivial things as whether the painting looks like it or not." Zhang Chi knew that Mu Liuyun knew very little about the affairs of Jianghu, so he explained to him Said, "Ma Guangyi, the head of the Heilongzhai, is famous for his No. 72 White Horse Saber Technique. He has a relatively low-key temperament and doesn't like to provoke other sects. I think there must be a reason for Bai Ling to flee in this direction. She is now hiding in the Black Dragon Village."

"Then let's go in and let them make friends." Mu Liuyun was about to get up, but Zhang Chi held him back: "Don't act impulsively, people on the road save face, and it's not good if they can't come down. Leave it to me to negotiate."

Although Mu Liuyun felt that there was nothing to talk about with a group of thieves, he had gotten used to letting Zhang Chi arrange everything in the past few days, so he didn't insist at this moment, and just followed Zhang Chi without saying a word like before. , followed him to come out and walk to the gate of the village.

After a long distance, the guard on the watchtower shouted, "Who is here?"

Zhang Chi cupped his fists from a distance: "I'm Zhang Chi, in order to find a murderer who passed through this place, I'm here to pay a visit to Ma Guangyi, the head of Ma Da, in Heilongzhai. Please pass me a message."

"You wait." The guard hurriedly climbed down the archery tower, and disappeared, only the heavy sound of closing the door came from the village.

Zhang Chi and Mu Liuyun looked at each other and walked to the closed gate of the cottage.

Through the fence nailed with logs so wide that they could put their arms through, they could clearly see that the gate of the main hall of the stockade had been closed at this time, and there was a faint light of fire shining through the crack on the top of the gate. Some voices could be heard, as if the people inside were arguing fiercely.

Seeing that no one came out for a long time, Zhang Chi said again in a loud voice: "My next Zhang Chi, I am passing through your place to visit Ma Guangyi and Ma Da's family in Heilongzhai. Please show up and see."

The voices of the dispute inside the door became more heated, but still no one came out. Mu Liuyun became impatient: "It's just a group of bandits, why do you need to be so polite?"

Zhang Chi said helplessly: "Although it is true that they are bandits, they are so numerous and powerful. It is better not to use force if they can be resolved on the face of face. After all, you can't fight a group alone, can you?"

"Why not?" Mu Liuyun lifted his hem and flew over the fence.

"Hey, wait!" Zhang Chi couldn't stop him, so he had to hurry up. His qinggong was far behind Mu Liuyun's, but the fence that was as high as two people could still climb over it.

When he climbed over the fence, Mu Liuyun kicked open the door of the main hall of the cottage.

***

There was a sudden silence in the hall, and everyone stopped what they were doing or speaking, and looked at the uninvited guest who broke through the door in amazement.

Zhang Chi poked his head around and saw, my dear, sitting or standing in the huge hall, at least [-] to [-] well-dressed men holding various weapons, judging by the formation, probably the most capable fighters in the entire village are gathered here .

The man sitting on the big tiger-skin chair in the middle of the hall with a big knife must be Ma Guangyi, the head of Heilongzhai. Now Bai Ling shrank behind Xu Tianchuan, looked at Mu Liuyun in horror and said, "Brother Chuan, it's them!"

Xu Tianchuan patted Bai Ling's hand on his shoulder, and said reassuringly, "Don't be afraid, Brother Chuan will make the decision for you."

Zhang Chi, who wanted to play around, really wanted to cover his face and lament the death of me, but when Mu Liuyun heard this, his sharp eyes shifted from Bai Ling to Xu Tianchuan.

After all, he remembered the instructions of the senior brother in charge, and before he acted, he showed his identity and warned: "This woman poisoned my family members in the Shangqing Palace. I will definitely bring her back to the Shangqing Palace today to question her. enemy."

Stared at by those sharp eyes, Xu Tianchuan involuntarily clenched the weapon in his hand, and was about to show his tough attitude when Ma Guangyi lazily said, "Excuse me for your name."

Mu Liuyun glanced at him disdainfully, in his heart he actually looked down on these bandits who occupy the mountain as king, but to the word "please", he still replied flatly: "Mu Liuyun, Shangqing Palace."

"I've never heard of such a person in the Shangqing Palace." Ma Guangyi saw that he didn't even declare a Taoist name, and he was dressed in a very ordinary way, so he naturally regarded Mu Liuyun as someone who didn't even have the qualifications to formally enter There are no unknown pawns who want to use the prestige of the sect to strengthen their momentum.In his opinion, Bai Ling is the brother's woman, and the Shangqing Palace is the sect of the Central Plains where the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Of course, this remote place can't be controlled. I have to give some fluff, since the person who came was just an unknown person, it's fine to dismiss my brother.

"I must have misunderstood this matter, but your Excellency barged in so blatantly, what did you think of my dignified Black Dragon Village?" Ma Guangyi wanted to scare him, and the brothers around him also chattered tacitly. Tongue questioned, "What are you", "You're tired of being crooked" and other scolding one after another.

"Don't talk nonsense, if you don't want to make friends, then do it." Mu Liuyun reached behind his back and pulled out the Zhishui sword neatly, pointing the tip of the sword obliquely at the ground, his calm eyes swept over everyone present, "One by one or all together?"