From Heicucheng to Huangming Mountain, although there are no mountains or rivers blocking the way, there are no-man's lands such as the Gobi Wasteland along the way.
The cavalry led by Li Si marched towards Huangming Mountain day and night. Because they were worried about being intercepted and killed, they basically only stopped briefly along the way. It can be said that they ran to death.
Although Monk Jingkong and others were not aggrieved, it was a hardship for Ye Jingtang and others who were following behind.
Night Terror Hall cannot be left too far behind. Although he is riding a good horse and can keep up with the speed, there is no rest time on the road. After stopping to let the horse rest for less than an hour, he has to continue on the road, and so on.
Not to mention sleeping, even eating and drinking have to be done right away.
Fortunately, this attack did not last long. After two days of galloping westward from Black Cluster City, the two teams arrived near Duolan Valley.
After passing Duolan Valley, you will reach the point of no return. There are basically no supplies on the way forward. Therefore, you must rest for a night near Duolan Valley to recharge your batteries and prepare enough drinking water and dry food before setting off.
In order not to be discovered, Ye Jingtang did not follow them into Duolan Valley, but kept a distance of more than 20 miles and only camped and rested by a small river at the foot of the mountain.
Under the silvery moon in the sky, three horses were parked on the grass by the river. Hua Qingzhi was helped off the horse by Luzhu, and sat on the grass rubbing her calves to relax her aching muscles.
Fan Qinghe took the blanket from the side of the horse, put it on the grass of the shop, and took the dry food he had prepared.
Ye Jingtang was washing his face with water by the river, while chatting with Shui'er beside him:
"Are you sure you can find water in the Plain of No Return? If you're not sure, let's bring more so that we don't run out of water and have to go to Li Si to borrow it."
Master Xuanji sat on a stone downstream, took off her embroidered shoes, put her white feet in the water, and held a wine gourd in her hand:
"I've been to the original place of no return before, and I know a few water sources. If something goes wrong, you can just deal with it as you please."
The family law of the Ye family was decided by Ning'er and Sanniang, and there was no specific content. They just couldn't refuse when they were tossed, and they could do whatever they wanted.
When Ye Jingtang heard this, he naturally believed in Shui Shui's ability and glanced at the feet and white calves soaked in the water.
As a result, when Master Xuanji saw this, he raised his feet generously and brought them to Ye Jingtang, letting him touch them.
Although Ye Jingtang really thought about it, Hua Qingzhi was behind him. He might have lost his image a little by playing such a trick. He just sneaked a few times, put away his distracting thoughts, and came to the grass to ask:
"How is it? Can you bear it?"
Hua Qingzhi sat on the blanket on the floor, her face was stained with a little dust from the wind, but she looked very energetic:
"I'm not walking, so I can't bear it. It's the horses that should be concerned about."
Luzhu sat in front and handed the water bag to Ye Jingtang:
"The young lady has never left the house since she was a child. She has not had many opportunities to travel far away. Young Master Ye can take her out for a walk. She is in a good mood. She even sang a few songs just now."
"Oh?" Ye Jingtang took the water bag and asked curiously: "What song is it?"
Hua Qingzhi is good at poetry, poetry, chess, calligraphy and painting. Just now she just hummed casually when she was inspired by the scene. Seeing Ye Jingtang's curiosity, she said implicitly:
"I used to listen to students from various tribes in the Western Sea singing songs in the Imperial College. Well... the rain is passing in front of the mountain~ the grass and trees are fragrant~ the water is clear and the sand is shallow~ I see mandarin ducks..."
Qinghe, who was sharing dry food nearby, naturally lit up when he heard this tune and said with a smile:
"Miss Hua is really knowledgeable. She even knows the Wuma tribe's Wangshan ballad."
"It's just this sentence. Sister Fan is the king of the Dongming tribe. You should have heard of it, right?"
Fan Qinghe had been good at singing and dancing since he was a child. He also had a pipa brought from the Dongming Department. Seeing Hua Qingzhi's curiosity, he was not stingy. He sat down on the blanket and sang softly with his delicate voice:
"The man is at the top of the mountain~ When will he return? My heart is like water~ I look around in the sky~..."
Listening to Aunt Fan's smart voice, Ye Jingtang wanted to hold her shoulders and sway together, but Hua Qingzhi was obviously not suitable next to her, so she picked a leaf and brought it to her mouth to help with the rhythm:
"Duwuwu~~"
Seeing this, Hua Qingzhi turned her cheek and looked surprised:
"Young Master Ye can also play music?"
Master Xuanji was admiring the moon by the river. When he saw a few people singing a ditty around him, he also came over and sat in front of him to answer the conversation:
"Not only can he play music, but he can also play. He is very good at 'Long, Slow, Twist and Repeat'. If you don't believe me, just ask Qinghe."
"Yeah?!"
Fan Qinghe, who was singing, saw the enchantress coming and said something inappropriate. He stopped singing and stuffed the dry food bag into her hand:
"How do you feel about eating your own food and coaxing other girls all day long?"
"hehe……"
Ye Jingtang shook his head and smiled. Although he was tired from traveling long distances, it was quite enjoyable to rest and play like this at night.
It was originally estimated that Li Si and the others would stay in Duolan Valley for one night, and they would set off again tomorrow morning.
But just when several people had finished eating their dry food and were lying side by side on blankets to watch the moon and prepare to rest, Night Terror Hall discovered a black dot flying over the mountains, circling in a circle above, and then speeding towards the Duolan Valley.
go.
When Ye Jingtang saw this scene, he immediately turned over and sat up, looking towards the mountains; Master Xuanji also sat up:
"What's wrong?"
"If there's a situation, I'll go over and take a look."
When Ye Jingtang saw the birds coming and going in a hurry, he didn't waste any time. He immediately jumped up, grabbed the saber from his side, and flew towards the mountains...
——
Earlier, Dolan Valley.
Duolan Valley is a large basin located between mountains. The interior is covered with knee-deep weeds, and there is a small village in the center.
Originally, it was Jiang Zahu's family who lived in seclusion in the village, but last year this place was besieged and suppressed once by King Zuo Xian. Jiang Zahu would definitely not dare to let his family live here again. The people in the village had already moved to Hongshan, and after half a year they came to the village.
It has been completely abandoned, and even the vegetable plot within the fence is buried by weeds.
Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...
A cavalry of nearly twenty people galloped in from the mouth of the valley and stopped at the edge of the basin. Even after more than half a year, several battle scars could still be seen crisscrossing the basin.
This was the first time Li Si came to Huangming Mountain. He glanced at the horse and asked:
"Camp here, are you sure it's safe?"
Monk Jingkong responded: "Last year, King Zuoxian of your country fought against Ye Jingtang of the Southern Dynasty here. Jiang Zahu also participated. Afterwards, King Zuoxian cut off the trade route here. No one has come from here for half a year.
It's absolutely safe to move around. Let's go to the village and stay there. There are wells there."
Li Si looked at the deserted scene and felt that there was no threat, so he led the team towards the village in the center of the basin, chatting along the way about precautions for crossing the desert.
But the group had just walked less than half a mile and had not reached the village. Hua Junchen, who was following them, suddenly raised his hand:
"slow."
More than 20 people left Jingsheng. Xu Tianying, who was in charge of the escort, jumped up from his horse and landed in front of Li Si, with a look of caution on his face.
Dong~dong~dong~……
Li Si was not aware of the situation at first, but as everyone fell silent, he vaguely heard the sound of a wooden fish in the basin.
The tapping sound of the wooden fish is neither urgent nor slow. It feels far away, but if you listen carefully, it seems to be very close. The rhythm of the tapping seems to affect people's minds, making Li Si, who is mediocre in martial arts, feel a bit dull in his chest.
.
Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...
Just when everyone was facing a formidable enemy, some chaos suddenly occurred in the rear.
Li Si quickly looked back, only to see that the jovial monk Jingkong had turned as white as a piece of paper at some point. He was slowly retreating on his horse, his eyes fixed on the dead town in front of him, as if a lonely ghost suddenly hit him.
Gods and Buddhas.
Although Hua Junchen's martial arts attainments were mediocre, he was not stupid. Seeing the appearance of Monk Jingkong, he knew that he had reached the gate of hell. He immediately raised his hand to signal everyone to retreat. Xu Tianying also broke out in cold sweat on his forehead, and several Beiliang masters
Go back together.
Boom, boom, boom...
Inside the basin, the tapping sound of the wooden fish did not change at all, and it seemed that they did not mind the sudden intrusion of the outsiders and then left.
But Monk Jingkong is a person from Thousand Buddha Temple, so he understands the character of the real Buddha in the village.
Zen Master Shenchen is a serious monk and does not kill. However, people in Jianghu did not think that Monk Shenchen was compassionate because of this. On the contrary, to people in Jianghu in Shazhou, Zen Master Shenchen was more like a person than Ye Jingtang.
The charlatan.
The Night Terror Hall is brutal in its actions, but its code of conduct is 'to kill the guilty immediately'. Although the death scene is a bit ugly, it can still be a happy death.
But Zen Master Shenchen is different. No matter who you are, as long as you are caught doing evil things, you will be detained in Qianfo Temple to prevent you from doing evil things again, and then advise you to turn back and repent.
This sounds very compassionate, but this ‘admonition’ has no time limit.
If you don't repent, you will be detained and urged. If you repent, you will naturally have to leave the monks. If you refuse to become a monk, you have not repented. It is equivalent to an endless cycle. As long as you are detained, you will never be able to leave the temple again in this life.
Monk Jingkong stole a bucket of sesame oil money from the temple when he was a teenager, and was caught and detained in Qianfo Temple. He chanted sutras and worked odd jobs in the temple until he was more than thirty years old, but he was still unable to atone for his sin; while his foreman, the master,
Because I peeped at a good woman taking a bath, I forced myself to light a fire in the kitchen and burned her to over sixty.
You know, stealing a small amount of money or peeking at a woman taking a bath will only result in fifteen days of detention and a few slaps in the black yamen. Thousand Buddha Temple will directly sentence you to life imprisonment without any explanation. Isn't this more cruel than the king of hell?
Monk Jingkong took advantage of Abbot Shenchen to go out to give lectures and tried every means to escape from Qianfo Temple. Every day he dreamed of being caught back. He even thought that if he was really caught, he would just commit suicide and die happily.
But now he has a heavy responsibility and cannot commit suicide like this. Zen Master Shenchen comes in person, and with the three melons and two dates around him, it is impossible for him to escape from death.
Knowing that it was impossible to run away, Monk Jingkong finally stopped, stepped forward and knelt on the grass, and said loudly:
"Jingkong, the evil disciple, pays homage to the abbot. When I escaped from Thousand Buddhas Temple privately, the fault lies with the evil disciple alone. I would like to take the initiative to follow the abbot back to Qianfo Temple to continue practicing. I also hope that the abbot can be open-minded and let my friends go. They are all
A sinless person.”
Boom, boom, boom.
After the wooden fish rang three more times, it stopped, and the atmosphere in the basin turned into dead silence.
Li Si and others frowned, looking at the village deep in the grassland, and slowly discovered a figure walking through the waist-high grass under the moonlight.
Swish, swish, swish~
Everyone looked intently and saw that the person was of medium stature, with a two-foot-long white beard on his chin and nine scars on the top of his head. His face was worthy of a majestic appearance. He was wearing a red and yellow cassock, and on his neck.
There are Buddhist beads hanging on it, and a brass Zen staff is held in his left hand, and his steps are unhurried and unhurried.
Although Monk Jingkong had stayed in Qianfo Temple for more than ten years, he had never dared to look directly at Abbot Shenchen. At this time, his body tensed up and he quickly touched the bottom with his head.
The remaining ten or so people, although they did not feel any sense of oppression, could not feel any breath, which was the greatest sense of oppression, and they immediately retreated slowly.
Swish, swish, swish~
Soon, Zen Master Shen Chen, holding a Zen staff, walked to the front of the cavalry, and an old voice also sounded:
"Jingkong, you are willing to exchange one life for the righteousness in your heart, and you are no longer the idiot who stole the money for sesame oil. But the war slaughters the people, and there are often millions of casualties. If you let them go today, countless people will be killed in the war tomorrow.
, in my opinion, you are practicing small righteousness and doing great evil, but you still haven’t seen through it.”
Monk Jingkong knew that he could not defeat Abbot Shenchen, so he immediately said:
"Although the move of Qingkong is a contemporary sin, as long as the two dynasties are unified, it will be a great success..."
"If you really had the ability to assist the emperor in creating a peaceful and prosperous age, I wouldn't come here, but you don't. Allowing Huang Liansheng to conspire with Beiliang will only cause a catastrophe to Shazhou."
"..."
The Shatuo tribe's own appeal is to take advantage of the chaos to support its own troops and make the already chaotic situation between the two dynasties even more chaotic. Hearing Abbot Shenchen's words, Monk Jingkong was naturally speechless.
Li Si had been listening and felt that Shenchen Bald Donkey was still a reasonable person. The pressure in his heart became less and he said:
"Only when the two dynasties are unified can the people of the world usher in a peaceful and prosperous age. If we do not fight and maintain the status quo, and continue to conquer from generation to generation, it is the real evil. This is a contest between our dynasty and the southern dynasty. If Master Shenchen is a true saint, he will
We should not stop the general trend of 'what is divided must be reunited'."
Zen Master Shenchen said in this regard: "I am no longer a human being, so how can I be worthy of the word 'sage'? I still haven't given up in my heart.
"I shouldn't have to worry about how the Northern and Southern Dynasties fought, but if Huang Lian raises his troops, all life in the Shazhou Desert will be devastated.
"Lao Monk came to stop me. To put it nicely, I am the Buddha who is merciful. Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. I cannot watch the people in the desert of Shazhou fall into war. To put it more tackily, it means that there is chaos in Shazhou and everyone is in danger.
, will ruin the incense of Buddhism. If there are thousands of disciples under Lao Monkey, how can they eat fast and recite the Buddha's name if there are no people to give alms to them?"
Qianfo Temple and the Shatuo Tribe are forces in the same area. If one family takes advantage of the momentum, the other will inevitably be weak. Since Beiliang supports Huang Lian's family, it is impossible not to affect Thousand Buddha Temple.
Li Si also knew that it was useless to talk about great righteousness and good deeds. If he wanted to resolve the current situation, he still had to say something real. For example, Beiliang strongly supported Buddhism and asked Monk Shenchen to follow Huang Liansheng to cause trouble.
But before Li Si could think of the right words to speak, a middle-aged man's elegant voice came from nearby:
"Master Shenchen is really a master. He doesn't hide anything he says, unlike those wild bald donkeys who talk about compassion all day long, but secretly amass money."
The sudden sound startled Li Si and others.
Hua Junchen quickly turned around and saw a middle-aged man standing dozens of feet away to the left.
The man is tall and straight, with a jade crown on his head and a scholar's robe. Although his face is not handsome, he is very elegant. He looks like a scholar from the Southern Dynasties, but his eyes are sharp and arrogant.
"leader!"
When Monk Jingkong saw this man, he felt as if he had seen a savior. He quickly stood up from the ground and ran behind the middle-aged man.
When Li Si and others heard this title, they knew that this person was the Huang Liansheng they were looking for. Their eyes looked a little surprised, but their movements were not slow and they quickly ran to the front, continuing to face a formidable enemy.
Zen Master Shenchen held his Zen staff and looked at Huang Liansheng. He was not surprised at all. He just sighed:
"The Green Bandit is really powerful. He can even figure out the whereabouts of the old man."
Huang Liansheng said to this: "The situation is irreversible. As a monk, you should stay in the temple and practice Buddhism. When the two dynasties are unified in the future, I, Huang Liansheng, will bring peace to the world. You will know that what Jingkong did today is a great kindness.
Still a great evil.”
Huang Liansheng's words could be said to be ambitious, and even Li Si could tell that this man not only wanted to divide the territory and become a small king on his own, but also pointed his sword at two dynasties and wanted to be the emperor for eternity.
But Li Si didn't mind this. After all, even if Beiliang was really infested with tigers, Huang Liansheng's tiger would definitely not be as big as the tiger in Ye Jingtang. Moreover, Huang Liansheng was ambitious enough to disrupt the situation. If Xiao Fu could take over,
If you don't want to use a piece of land, then it is said to be of no use.
Zen Master Shenchen heard Huang Liansheng's words and did not refute:
"I am not a sage. It is really hard to see who can unify the whole group of heroes. But there is one thing I want to remind Huang Donor.
"The Green Bandit is just raising poison. The Empress of the Southern Dynasties, Master Xiang Han, and even the Night Terror Hall are just pieces on the chessboard. As long as there is the potential to conquer the world, the Green Bandit will secretly help, and then see
Watch these people fight to the death in a cage until a Gu King appears. Donor Huang thinks, who is more like the Gu King than you or the people mentioned above?"
After Huang Liansheng held it with one hand, he really thought about it seriously:
"It's still unclear who will win. If the Green Bandit is really what Master Shenchen said, then what is Fengguan City? A person who raises poisonous insects?"
"Fengguancheng should have jumped out of the chessboard. Who is Huang Donor? We should ask him personally, but we may not have this chance."
Monk Shenchen shook his head, held his Zen staff and turned to leave:
"Since Donor Huang thinks he has the confidence to fight in the cage of Night Terror Hall, I will no longer dissuade him. When he returns, he will personally perform rituals to resolve the unwillingness of Donor Huang during his lifetime and help Donor Huang to enter reincarnation again."
As the last word fell, Monk Shenchen disappeared into the grass almost at the same time, without any trace left.
When Li Si and others heard the last words, they couldn't help but feel a little confused. After Hua Junchen and others left, they whispered:
"This monk Shenchen is a master after all. Why is he acting like a scoundrel and cursing people to death before leaving?"
Monk Jingkong was also puzzled: "This is really not like the abbot's style. If he said he would go back to perform rituals, then the other party must be dead. Monks don't lie..."
"..."
Huang Liansheng frowned, pondering over Monk Shenchen's words and deeds. When he heard these words, he felt as if something had hit him hard in his heart. His eyes darkened, and without any warning, he grabbed Li Si and fled to the west.
boom--
Hua Junchen and Xu Tianying were stunned for a moment when they found out that the envoy they were escorting had been kidnapped. They were frightened and hurriedly chased after them with all their strength:
"Stop!"
"presumptuous……"
…
Monk Jingkong and others, as well as four Beiliang masters, obviously did not have such domineering martial arts. They found that the four people disappeared at the other end of the valley, so they hurriedly turned their horses and chased there, asking at the same time:
"Monk Jingkong, what's going on? Is your leader rebelling?"
"I do not know."
Monk Jingkong was also confused. He galloped and tried to catch up, but the horse's legs couldn't get past Xu Tianying and others. Instead, he jumped up and ran at full speed using Qinggong.
But just as the group of people chased them out among the mountains for a moment, a sound burst suddenly came from behind:
Poof——
Monk Jingkong didn't even react when he realized that everyone was tossed around like a strong wind from the giant roc, and then someone grabbed them by the back of their necks and pushed them directly from the air into the mud.
Bang——
Monk Jingkong was caught off guard. He felt that a powerful dragon had suddenly stepped on the ground with its claws from behind. He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he shouted repeatedly:
"Spare my life..."
As he spoke, he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that the person holding him down in the mud pit was a stern young man in black robes. His face was no more than twenty years old, but his eyes were like those of the Nine Nether Demon God. He stared at him and said coldly:
"Where is Li Siren?"
Monk Jingkong originally had some backbone, but when he suddenly bumped into such a powerful dragon, his brain was short-circuited and he responded without thinking:
"He was taken away by the leader. Hero, hurry and chase west. Abbot Shenchen is also nearby..."
Ye Jingtang had just received the message from Niao Niao and rushed over from twenty miles away. However, the contact between the three parties only lasted a few words. When he came over, he only saw Monk Jingkong and others risking their lives and running to the west.
Hearing that Monk Shenchen was also there, Ye Jingtang's eyes darkened, fearing that he might fall into the trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain, he quickly whistled into the sky and disappeared out of sight.
The birds hovering in the air turned into sharp arrows and chased towards the point of no return in Shanxi.
Monk Jingkong lay on the ground and waited until the black-robed immortal of unknown origin was completely gone before he hurriedly poked his head out of the pit and carefully looked around:
"Where did this god come from?"
A dozen followers and four middle-class fish from Beiliang were actually near Monk Jingkong, but they did not dare to get angry from the beginning to the end, for fear of being crushed to death by the demon god, so they whispered:
"The momentum is so scary, I guess it's the Living King of Hell in the Southern Dynasty. Chief Huang and Master Li are probably in danger."
When Monk Jingkong heard this, his face turned pale again, and he suddenly understood why his unnamed master, who was extraordinary and holy, said that he would be saved by Chief Huang.
He touched his neck and found that he had not been hit by any delayed death magic, and said strangely:
"Why doesn't the Night Demon kill us?"
"You are so dexterous in pointing the way, and you are obviously a teachable talent. If King Ye Dayan kills him again, who will dare to surrender to the Southern Dynasty in the future? This is called attacking the heart among soldiers, treating prisoners preferentially, and destroying the enemy's fighting spirit..."
"..."
Monk Jingkong looked awkwardly: "I was frightened just now. The situation is obvious. It doesn't matter whether I say it or not..."
The dozen or so miscellaneous fish present did not laugh at Monk Jingkong. After all, if they were being pressed down on their heads by the Big Demon of the Night and questioned, they would probably kneel down faster than Monk Jingkong.
The four Beiliang Grandmasters looked at each other, a little confused. After all, they would definitely not dare to pursue Lord Yama, but where would they go if they didn't pursue him? Mr. Li who was escorting him saw that he would not live long, and they did not dare to return to the Xihai Protectorate.
You can't really go to the Southern Dynasties and surrender.
Monk Jingkong obviously did not dare to chase the Night Demon. He hesitated for a moment, turned his horse around and said:
"Let's go back to Liangzhou and meet up with the leader in the desert. I told him that it would be safe to go to Liangzhou. Li Shilang didn't believe it. What a good thing it is now. The two ghosts of the Southern Dynasty Martial Saints knocked on the door..."
Everyone present agreed very much with this proposal, and immediately turned back on their horses and galloped towards the wilderness.