Su Yue and the other three sat up in shock, followed Tong Xi's gaze, and sure enough, they saw that in the woods under the moonlight, there seemed to be a figure flickering. Dian Yin was fast, and a shadow of an arrow stepped forward, and a man slipped out of the woods. Jumped in front of Su Yue and the others, and threw him on the ground like throwing a burden, the man's face hit the ground first, the mud in his mouth, and rolled on the ground a few times before he lay on the ground and shouted for mercy. Liao Tingyun listened to his voice, and then looked at his face by the moonlight, isn't this the young man who wants to do something bad after drugging himself?

Liao Tingyun stepped forward to stop Dian Yin and said, "I know this person." When everyone was puzzled, Liao Tingyun told everything that happened that day.

Dian Yin sneered: "I've seen the coward, but I've never seen such a big one." You are a cripple who doesn't know martial arts, dare to follow us for so long? It seems that the hardships that Mr. Qingzhu gave you last time were not enough. So saying, he lifted him up and twisted his neck.

Hou Sheng neither resisted nor shouted, but stretched out his neck, but just said: "If you want to kill me, let me say a word and then die." ”

Su Yue grabbed Dian Yin's arm and said, "Wait, see what he says?"

Dian Yin glanced at Liao Tingyun again.

She nodded in acquiescence.

"I saw her outside the palace gate, and I saw you all come out of the palace gate, and then follow you out of the city, and my foot is broken, so I rented a donkey......"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Liao Tingyun said, "We can strangle you by raising our eyes." ”

Hou Sheng swallowed.

"You can't go to Ant Town. He said.

"What ant town, we're going to Penglai. Tong Xi hurriedly said.

"Penglai was called before, and now it's called Ant Town. ”

"How do you know if you can't go, you've been?" Su Yue said.

Hou Sheng shook his head: "I haven't been there, but it's rumored in the city, they say it's haunted here." My donkey can't be found, so I guess it was eaten by a ghost. Otherwise, I wouldn't show up now. ”

If a person has evil in his heart, there will be a kind of anger invisibly, and this anger is often impossible to hide, but Dianyin can't see even a little bit from his face. Because he hadn't washed for a few days, his face was full of dirt, but he couldn't hide his delicate face and the sincerity in his countenance.

Liao Tingyun looked at Hou Sheng and then at Dian Yin, and said with a smile: "What kind of person hasn't seen it?"

Dian Yin looked at Su Yue again, and Su Yue said, "I'll talk about it after tonight." ”

Liao Tingyun sneered: "After tonight, who watched him? The old lady didn't sleep enough!"

Hou Sheng was so anxious to sit up, and after being suppressed by Dian Yin, he didn't forget to raise his head and say: "I don't run, I don't run, if you don't worry, the tight point of the dead buckle, I have no power to tie the chicken, and I won't untie the button, you can rest assured." "Unable to move because he was pressed to the ground, every time he looked up and gasped in the wet and cold night, it would turn into white vapor and disappear in the moonlight.

Hou Sheng ended up tied to a tree with his mouth stuffed.

Nothing happened overnight. After dawn, Hou Sheng was awakened by a cold hard object against his neck, he opened his eyes, and saw a donkey not far away, with a white nose and lips, big eyes that looked worried under the long eyelashes, and the stump to the lower abdomen were round and bulging like a bucket, obviously full of food and drink.

"This donkey is yours?" Liao Tingyun said with a sword against his neck.

Hou Sheng lowered his head and blushed: "I don't know." ”

Dian Yin took the donkey and pulled the donkey's ears to show him. In order to prevent their own donkeys from mixing with other families or farmers, the original industry would put a nail in the ears of the donkeys, and then hang a paper-thin pigskin with the name of the leaser printed on it, and the name and address of the rental shop engraved on it.

Obviously, Hou Sheng's name is printed on it with radish red.

Liao Tingyun lifted the green pupils up a few points, and Hou Sheng had to tilt his head up. With the sharpness of her green pupils, she could shave Hou Sheng's head from the bottom to the top with a little force.

Su Yue said: "Let's go around his life first, at least so far, he hasn't harmed us?"

Liao Tingyun didn't put away the divine sword, and said with a smile: "I really don't know how Su Pihu's reputation came about, such a lewd thief wouldn't dare to kill him." ”

Su Yue smiled, looked up at the sky, as if reminiscing about the past, and said lightly: "It is precisely because I am used to seeing the bloody slaughter on the battlefield that I know the value of human life." ”

Dian Yin and Tong Xi also said: "Let him go first, wait until Penglai to see what he says." ”

Liao Tingyun still held the sword against Hou Sheng, and even because of a little force, the blade cut the skin, and the blood dripped down the blade.

Tong Xi saw that her face was as cold as ice, as if she had seen the terrifying scene of blood spraying wildly when Hou Sheng was cut off half of his head by Qingtong, and couldn't help but say loudly: "Qingzhu!"

Liao Tingyun instinctively withdrew her sword, the sword hung in the air, and she suddenly turned the hilt of the sword, causing the spine of the sword to slam him on the shoulder. Hearing only an "ah" sound, Hou Sheng fell to the ground.

The four of them continued on. Su Yue opened the way, Liao Tingyun followed, Tong Xi and Dian Yin side by side, Dian Yin led the donkey, and the donkey carried the half-conscious Hou Sheng.

The journey on that day was still uninhabited, and there was occasional dry land on either side of the road or in the distance, but it was all barren, as if it had not been cultivated for a long time. The people could only eat some dried meat and drink some cold water. Hou Sheng woke up later, and his shoulder hurt so much that he couldn't stop moaning. No one paid attention to him, only Su Yue and Dian Yin occasionally fed him a piece of jerky.

It's boring to live like this. However, people in the martial arts like Su Yue, Liao Tingyun, and Dian Yin are used to it, and Tong Xi is fortunate to be accompanied by those different books. Now she is reading the "Book of Wood Qi", she doesn't care whether it is useful or not, she reads it when she rests, and memorizes it according to the requirements of the book when she sets off. Su Yue couldn't help but smile when he looked at her serious appearance from a distance, and whispered to Dianyin: "It seems that this Nizi is determined to be a Qiren mage." ”

When it was about to get dark, the people were about to find a leeward place to rest, but they saw a faint light in the deepest part of the darkness in the distance. Tong Xi was so happy that he wanted to jump up, and after walking for two days, he finally saw someone, although he didn't know if he had arrived in Penglai, but at least there was the possibility of eating hot meals and sleeping on the bed.

With a goal in his eyes, he felt that his legs and feet were much lighter. Tong Xi, who was originally depressed and gradually fell behind, suddenly rushed to the front. Su Yue and Dian Yin told her to slow down at night, but she didn't listen, she just ran forward, forgetting all the losses she had suffered. Liao Tingyun didn't have the patience to call her. She stepped forward with an arrow, grabbed Tong Xi's shoulder and said with a fierce face: "If you dare to run around, I will knock off your shoulder." Only then did Tong Xi stop in a panic and didn't dare to run anymore.

The lights got closer and closer, as if they had turned a corner. Since leaving the capital, it has always crossed fields, mountain roads, and riversides, and the lights not far away are hidden among the foliage and trees, and the road is dark under the shade of the mountain forest, and only the scattered moonlight spills through the leaves. There was a faint light around the corner, and when I got closer, I found that there were a pair of stone floating temples on both sides, and there were dim candles lit in the floating temples. There is also a stone tablet next to the stone floating temple on the outside, and two bold characters are engraved on the front: Penglai.

As soon as Hou Sheng heard that it was Penglai, he shouted to go back. A few times later, Liao Tingyun came up again and knocked him unconscious.

"Turns out we've arrived. Dianyin muttered to himself.

Tong Xi looked at the dark depths of the mountain forest and suddenly stopped: "Why is there no one here to pick us up?"

"Maybe it's too late, maybe we're too late. Su Yue stepped forward and said, "Let's go, let's go find a place with a bed and hot water first." ”

Not long after, they walked out of the mountain road, and what they saw was an open field surrounded by trees, and between the mountain road they walked and the open field there was a wooden bridge, the wooden bridge was slightly longer, and there seemed to be a deep waterfall under the sound of water. There is only a single fir terraced house in the open field, and the wooden planks divide the terraced houses into shops. The most conspicuous feature of the terraced houses is the big red lanterns hanging in every shop under the eaves, which is why they can find this place.

After crossing the bridge, they found that there were no floor tiles in the open space in front of the terraced houses, which looked like they had just been built. There were weeds on the mud floors, moss on the part where the terraced houses met the ground, the weeds showed no signs of being trampled, and the shops were deserted, as if no one had visited them again. Su Yue shouted to everyone to look at their feet and be careful of slipping. People browse from store to store, and the shops don't sell. Fortunately, every store makes cooked food, and all kinds of barbecue and snacks are freshly made and sold. Like all the cheap food streets that welcome out-of-town diners, there are no special features, just okay to eat, but the four of them had a good meal, because they hadn't eaten a hot meal for a few days. Su Yue also bought some for Hou Sheng.

The prices of all kinds of food are hung on the façade, and the shops are smiling and courteous, but they are silent. After a full meal, Su Yue asked the store if there was a place to live nearby. The shopkeeper smiled: "Three miles north of this townhouse is the main street of Penglai, where there are many inns and inns. ”

After thanking the shopkeeper, the five men and a donkey headed west. Hou Sheng has been struggling, several times to jump off the donkey's back, Dian Yin also annoyed him, separated the rope that bound him, grabbed him by the collar and said: "You cowardly child who was frightened by the long-tongued village woman!

Hou Sheng turned his head to look at Tong Xi, and then at Liao Tingyun who was sneering, and suddenly stopped arguing. Ask the shopkeeper for a bunch of torches, and after lighting them, Dianyin holds them up and opens the way in front. Tong Xi suddenly said: "Those shops are really strange, everyone is a smiling face, and everything they ask is answered with a smile without thinking, as if wearing a mask." ”

Dian Yin said in front: "Yingxiao has been like this for a long time, people's business is so bad, it's good to have a smiling face, do you still dislike him?" Tong Xi stopped talking. Sure enough, a few miles later, I saw a block, brightly lit and bright as day. It is expected to be on the main street of Penglai. When I got closer, I felt a little strange, the doors and windows of every house were open, and the bright candles were shining out of the doors and windows, which made it even brighter. But there was no figure in sight, no sound could be heard, and the whole neighborhood was filled with an eerie silence that gave people goosebumps all over their bodies.

"This is Ant Town! Ant Town like a ghost city! Hurry up! Hurry up!" Hou Sheng suddenly seemed to be crazy, and he was about to turn around as soon as he pulled the reins of the donkey. As soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it again, and turned to find that no one's attention was on him. Tong Rhino leaned close to Liao Tingyun, and Liao Tingyun's sword was slowly unsheathed, and Su Yue and Dian Yin both clutched the hilt. Hou Sheng calmed down and listened carefully, only to hear the sound of uniform footsteps slowly approaching in the distance, accompanied by the sound of metal colliding. It was clear that there was a heavily armed army approaching this direction.

In a few moments, the end of the street was covered with dust, and along with the rolling waves of dust, there was a team marching through the dust and mist. The sound of neat footsteps is getting heavier and heavier, with many years of experience in leading troops, Su Yue deeply thinks that this team is not simple, and he is also a strong general, whether it is brought by himself or what he hears and sees, there is no team that can walk so neatly. The sound of footsteps was neatly like a walking giant.

Before the troops arrived, the dust had covered them like waves.

"Ghost soldiers, ghost soldiers, ghost soldiers......" Hou Sheng muttered uncontrollably.

Tong Xi couldn't help but cover his mouth and nose, and his little hands couldn't stop fanning the wind. The leader shouted the order, and the army stopped in unison. The dust and mist slowly dissipated, and everyone saw the team in front of them clearly: the ranks were neat, and the black pressure was full of elite soldiers with black robes, armor, and helmets, their movements were neat, their expressions were serious and cold, and thousands of horses and thousands of troops were pressed on top of their heads, giving people a sense of oppression for no reason.

Tong Xi stared at it for a while, and suddenly whispered: "This place is different from the capital and even the town we went to a few nights ago—it's all men!"

As he was talking, he saw that in front of the queue, there was a general, with a gold-inlaid robe, armor, and helmet, riding a black high-headed horse, and the horse was wearing a helmet. Thirty or forty years old, with a thin face, thin eyes, and a mustache. He arched his hand and said to this side: "Is it General Su Pihu Su in front?"

Su Yue took a step forward and said, "It's Su Yue down there." ”

When the man heard that it was really Su Yue, he glanced down, hugged his fist and said: "General Su, a certain Penglai border general Yata has come to greet him on the order of the city lord." Because of the late arrival, I hope that the general will forgive the sin. ”

Only then did everyone put away their weapons, but they all felt curious, since they welcomed the whole armored army, why did they send a fully armored army to come? Su Yue also clasped his fists and saluted: "When we meet for the first time, we will bother for no reason, and the general is elegant, so I don't think it's strange." ”

Yata said: "General Su is polite, it's cold at night, the general and the heroes go to the city lord's mansion to take refuge from the wind." ”

After saying that, the team changed to the front team and went first.

Su Yue and the other four led Hou Sheng and his donkey to follow behind the team.

"This guy is pretty good at posing. "Dian Yin and Su Yue said.

"The border fortress is different from the mainland, one is high and the emperor is far away, the second is to prevent the invasion of foreign enemies, and the third is to check and balance the inland forces, so the guards are generally the confidants of the county lord and the king, and they rely on it more. Therefore, the main generals of the border fortress are generally a little arrogant and domineering, this one is not bad, some of the border guards are extremely powerful, and they don't even pay attention to the king's envoys. ”

"Then why are there fewer such things in the eight counties?" Dian Yin asked, after all, he had been a dart guard for several years, and he knew all about officialdom, but he didn't know everything.

"It's not nothing, but it's really not as serious as the north, this is because the patriarchal system of the eight counties is different from that of the northern countries, and the second is because the strong harmony is in the north, and the strong northern neighbors are weak, and correspondingly, the rights of these guarding generals are much smaller. ”

After entering the city lord's mansion, Hou gave birth to a donkey, and the people in the mansion carried him in his arms. Yutta led them into an open living room with a few of his relatives. As soon as they entered, the guards clapped their hands, and there were people in the doors on both sides bringing wine and meat and delicacies.

Looking at the expressionless smiling faces of those servants, Tong Xi said annoyingly: "Except for that leader, there is no normal one here." ”

Dian Yin tugged at her arm and said, "Isn't it strange that the so-called smiling faces greet each other like this? As a military officer, of course, his complexion is different from that of the people below." ”

After serving, the Ata guard retreated with his servants. No one greeted them, and before the host arrived, they were too embarrassed to sit down to eat, so they stood awkwardly. Tong Xi was the most impatient, relying on Su Yue being there, she was not afraid, and said at the moment: "No one, let's go." Su Yue said: "Maybe the city lord is busy with government affairs, after all, this is someone's territory, wait a minute." ”

After waiting for a while, I heard a long voice outside:

"The lord of the castle has arrived—"

As soon as the words fell, I saw the middle door of the mansion wide open, and several strong men carried a shoulder without a cover: black lacquer, black curtains, black belts, and gold trim. On the shoulder sat a man wearing a purple crown and a black robe.

The shoulder man stopped under the innermost door, and the servant on the side hurriedly held the stool and put it on the side, and the city lord stepped on the stool and walked down the shoulder with the support of the servant. As they approached slowly, everyone saw that he was thirty or forty years old, with a thin face, thin eyes, and a mustache. Isn't this the guard Yata who rode a horse to meet them, how did he become the city lord of Penglai again? Moreover, this city lord is not only dressed differently from Yata, but also walks in a way that does not look like a military general.

The five were stunned.