At lunchtime, Pan Long's doubts were finally answered.

"The ancestors of the local county once got the help of the god of Lushan Mountain, and they made a fortune from poverty. So he didn't let anyone go to trouble the mountain god, there was someone who wanted to destroy the mountain god before, but because he couldn't help, he never came out after entering the mountain. Li Qiang said, "Those local people who do corner business, when they heard that we wanted to destroy the mountain gods, advised me not to waste my efforts." If you can't kill it, it's certainly life-threatening, and even if you kill it, I'm afraid you will be retaliated against by the county order when you come back. ”

Han Feng frowned, but this time he didn't say anything.

Although he is a little babbling, he is not a person who does not know the importance of it. The county order is known as the "Baili Hou", don't look at the official position is not high, but he really holds power, not to mention that ordinary people never dare to offend, even the people of the rivers and lakes generally do not want to provoke them.

The world of Kyushu is not Jin Yong's martial arts, and there is no situation where there are masters of the rivers and lakes such as clouds, but there are only countless rookies in the imperial court. On the contrary, although the rivers and lakes are indeed many masters, there are more masters in the imperial court - the imperial court can provide a stable environment, sufficient resources, can provide for the masters' families, solve their worries, and their honor and status will not be inferior to the rivers and lakes, unless they are those who are unwilling to reveal their identities or have a strong "egotistic" tendency, most of the masters of the rivers and lakes are willing to accept the imperial court's co-optation.

As a result, the power of the imperial court, at least far superior to that of the scattered Jianghu people.

Taking Lubei County as an example, as a county seat, there will be at least one imperial court master who is close to or even reaches the innate realm. Of course, this master can't obey the county order, but as long as it doesn't violate his principles, he will more or less give the county order a face and help.

With such a master in charge, and a large number of arresters and officials as auxiliaries, even if the county order has no right to mobilize the army, it is enough to suppress disobedience from all walks of life.

He wants to protect the "mountain god", but ordinary people really can't help it.

Pan Long also frowned, he didn't expect that mandrill's backer to be so hard.

If the prefectural order is against it, then ...... With them alone, I'm afraid there is really nothing they can do with that mandrill.

After all, you can't offend a county master for the sake of a mere mandrill!

At this moment, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, pondered for a moment, and called the guy from yesterday.

"Ask one thing. He said, "When did the 'mountain god' on Lu Mountain, whose knees bent back, appear?"

The guy was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously said, "Wasn't the mountain god there from the beginning?"

"From the beginning?" Pan Long shook his head, "Are you sure that since the establishment of Great Xia back then, there has been this black-skinned and bent-legged 'mountain god' living on Mount Lu?"

The guy hesitated, looking incredulous.

"This ...... I'm a little busy right now, and when I'm done, I'll think about it. ”

Lunch time passed quickly, and the guys returned to their side when they were done.

Pan Long also ordered him some wine and food, he didn't shirk, he should eat and drink, and only after he was full of wine and food, did he say: "I recalled it carefully just now, at least since I can remember, I haven't heard that there has been a change of mountain gods on this mountain." Well, anyway, I'll have a few hours of spare time in the afternoon, and I'll take you to the two old men to inquire—I'm also curious about what you said. ”

So they set out to find the two old men.

The first old man was gray-haired and old, and his actions were a little inconvenient. His family was reluctant to let Pan Long and the others disturb him at first, but fortunately, the guy was also familiar with each other, and gave gifts such as oil, eggs, and fruits bought in the market, so they reluctantly agreed, but they still stayed by the side to avoid the old man being stimulated.

Fortunately, it's not a stimulating topic.

"Mountain God...... I also don't remember that Lu Shan ever changed the mountain god. The old man thought for a long time, and just when Han Feng thought he was asleep, he said slowly, "I haven't heard of such rumors, probably not." ”

After thanking the group, they went to visit the second old man.

This old man is actually not very old, nothing more than about fifty. He was a scholar and worked as a teacher in the county school. Knowing everyone's intentions, he smiled slightly and asked his grandson to get a book.

"I inquired curiously about this question when I was young. He opened the book, searched for it, and finally found a record, "Look at this paragraph, about two hundred years ago, someone went up to Lushan to cut wood, and saw a black giant carrying a deer galloping through the mountains and forests. This is the earliest record of the 'mandrill god' that we can find. ”

"And what about going forward?" Han Feng asked curiously, "Is there no 'Mountain God'?"

"Naturally, there are some, but it's completely different. The old scholar smiled and found another record in the book, "In the past, Lushan changed its name, and the mountain temple naturally had to be renamed. The next day, many squires in the county found the county order, hoping that the county order would be written to the court, which eased their cheeks a little. The county magistrate said he didn't hear it and stayed at the mountain temple that night. The next day, his nose was blue and his face was swollen, and he immediately wrote to beg the court not to change the name of the mountain, but the court did not allow it, so he had no choice but to manage to exercise and transfer to another county. ”

Han Feng nodded again and again: "From this point of view, the god of Lushan Mountain does exist, and his intelligence is not low, and he is also a reasonable person, not like a demon and a monster." ”

At least in the early records, this mountain god has no bad deeds except for being careful and loving to quarrel, and rolling up his sleeves to beat people when he loses a quarrel. The old scholar smiled, "There are many similar records, most of which are disputed by county orders or passing literati." If he loses to him, he will be proud, and give money and food and drink, and if he wins him, he will be furious, and if he can't beat him, he will throw his sleeves and run away, and if he can beat him, he will come up and bang a few punches...... I don't want any face from the gods. ”

"When did the mountain god change?" Pan Long asked.

The old scholar did not turn the book this time, and replied: "As far as I know, it must have been about four hundred years ago, when the mountain god suddenly sent an invitation to invite the squires and court officials to go up the mountain and hold a banquet on the mountain to entertain everyone. At the end of the feast, he said that he would leave everyone for a while, and when everyone asked him when he would return, he said triumphantly, 'You will not see you anyway, but if your family is prosperous, when I return, I will ask your children and grandchildren to lead the way and pour a glass of wine on your grave' - this mountain god has always had this temper. ”

He smiled and said, "For a long time after that, there was no record of the mountain god, and even the mountain temple gradually fell into disuse. It wasn't until 150 or 60 years ago that someone rebuilt the mountain temple, and the legend about the mountain god reappeared at that time. ”

Everyone was impressed, and on the way back, Han Feng sighed: "It's good to be knowledgeable!

"Yes, so when you were studying in the county school, you slept a lot, and you were slapped by the old master's bamboo board, and you were not wronged at all. ”

"Brother Long, can you not talk about what happened when I was ten years old! I was still young and ignorant at that time!"

"Last year, when you were studying in the county, the old master advised you to study more in the future, and you replied, 'The eldest husband should immediately take fame, how can he bury his head in the case and waste his time'...... was kicked out of the county school hall by the old master and flew to the street outside, and you are not allowed to enter the county school for half a step from now on, this will not be what happened when you were a child. ”

Han Feng was not embarrassed for a moment, but showed a smug look: "What I said is serious! Isn't what we Northland people pay attention to is to use the knife in our hands to strive for future glory and wealth! What to study, just do it for a smart person like you, Brother Long." I'm a stupid person, and it's the most practical to practice martial arts honestly. ”

Pan Long sighed helplessly, but he couldn't help it.

Han Feng's idea is quite popular among the people of the Northland - even the sentence he said is a famous quote left by a famous general from the Northland.

He is not opposed to attaching importance to force, but in the world, people still have to learn some culture and read some books in order to be less confused.

Is Han Feng stupid? At least Pan Long never thought he was stupid. But he just wouldn't read, like many of the wise people in the Northland.

They just relied on their fists and that little cleverness to live, and in Pan Long's opinion, it was really not a good way out.

In contrast, his father attaches great importance to culture, taught him to read and write since he was a child, and found him a lot of poems and famous essays. Although his mother went back to her parents' house for retreat a few years ago, she was even more enthusiastic about teaching him culture than her father when she didn't leave.

Born in such a family, Pan Long felt that even if he had mediocre martial arts talent, he could probably achieve something.

After all, there is no shortage of people in the Northland who dare to wield knives and fight hard, but there is really a shortage of people who can help them weigh the pros and cons and sort out their heads.

Back at the hostel, Han Feng asked: "In this way, I am afraid that the county commander really made a fortune by relying on the mandrill, and even his family may be in the same group as the mandrill, what should we do?"

Pan Long shook his head: "This thing is wrong. ”

"What's wrong?"

Pan Long walked to the door first, looked at it, and then walked to the window to look, and made sure that no one was eavesdropping nearby, so he asked in a low voice, "What do you think...... How many years do mandrills live?"

Li Qiang asked in surprise: "Mandrill is a monster, will the monster also die of old age?"

Han Feng thought thoughtfully: "All ghosts, unless they are supernatural beings, as long as they can't break the boundary between heaven and man, they have a lifespan limit after all." Mandrill...... It should be no exception, right?"

"That's right!" Pan Long nodded, "The average mandrill is nothing more than a few years longer than us humans, living to be sixty or seventy years old, or even ninety or one hundred years old, which is almost the limit." The long-lived mandrills have all broken through the limits and truly changed from 'trolls' to 'monsters'. If the 'mountain god' on this mountain really lived from 150 or 60 years ago to the present, or even from more than 200 years ago to the present, then it must have broken through this limit, and even ......."

"It may have broken the boundary between heaven and man, and it has already cultivated into an immortal demon god!" Han Feng whispered.

In the small guest room, the three of them looked at each other.