The chief official squatted on the ground and hugged his head and cried, but Jiang Lan, who was hiding in the tree, didn't have the heart to pay attention to him. He focused, searching for something among the corpses scattered all over the ground.

I looked at it for a long time, but I didn't find the long-handled Pu knife.

"If I'm not mistaken, Xiang Beichuan's Pu knife should be the only long-handled weapon last night." Jiang Lan thought so in his heart, but he didn't dare to speak out. He shook his head, and then looked at the corpse of the man in black again, "It seems that Xiang Beichuan's reckless man either escaped or was captured." ”

Jiang Lan guessed like this, and then glanced at the corpses, only to see that the two parties who were still fighting each other yesterday had fallen together in a staggered manner at this moment. He sighed softly. Then he jumped down from the tree, and just landed in another lunge, and disappeared without a trace in the tall grass.

……

There is a small town to the west of Yujialing, called Yuxi Town. The town is not big, but because it is located on the official road, it is also very lively.

At this time, Jiang Lan was wearing a cyan hat and walking on the path of the town.

He came to this town three days ago, because he was afraid of being seen by Xu Blind's eyes, he didn't dare to swagger in directly, but hid outside the town until late at night before daring to enter the town.

The first thing I did when I entered the town was to find a homestay and settle down. In the past two days, he has to go out every day to go around and inquire about the news. What surprised him was that although this Yuxi Town was very close to Yujialing, no one had heard of Yujialing that night. He also asked the townspeople who passed by Yujialing, and they all said that it was the same as usual, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. From this point of view, soon after he left Yujialing, the government cleaned it up......

Jiang Lan was walking on the side of the road, and suddenly heard a commotion, he looked for a sound, and saw that next to the notice board in the town, there were several officials pasting notices. One of them was striking a gong while reading: "Wanted thief!" The criminals in this case burned, killed, plundered, and did all kinds of evil, and once killed 23 households in one night. Now this is wanted, if there is any news of this thief, it should be reported to the government yamen immediately. Those who provide accurate information will be rewarded with 20 silver. Those who do not report the information will be regarded as accomplices! ”

Hearing what the messenger said, the onlookers talked a lot.

Jiang Lan also blended in with the crowd of onlookers, his face was pale, and his eyes were staring at the wanted notice - the portrait on the notice was clearly himself! There are four big characters next to the portrait - the criminal Jiang Lan!

Jiang Lan felt a little chill down his spine, a few days ago, I heard those ghost-faced people say that Xu Blind would operate in both the government mansion and the green forest road. That's how it works! Needless to say, at this time, the green forest road must have also issued its own chase and kill order!

"You blind Xu who has been cut by a thousand knives! Don't fall into the hands of the master! Jiang Lan's white teeth creaked, and he had the heart to strangle Xu Blind at this time.

He didn't dare to go back to the B&B, and there was nothing left there anyway. At this moment, the town could not get out, because he noticed that along with the notice came a dozen messengers, who guarded the two exits of the town, and everyone who entered and left the town had to go through an examination.

couldn't get out, and there was nowhere to go back, so Jiang Lan simply found a remote teahouse and asked for a pot of herbal tea. However, at this time, his hat was pressed even lower.

He drank tea and sorted out all the information on hand. According to this information, it is conjectured that after he left that night, a group of people must have suddenly killed and annihilated Xiang Beichuan and his men, and it was also this group of people who instructed this blind man. It is guessed from the name "Ru Luochen" that they are very likely to be Xianbei people from the Northern Wei Dynasty, and when they mention titles such as "adult" and "military advisor", they seem to be people from the Northern Wei court...... It can be inferred from this: It should be that the Northern Wei Dynasty court wanted Chen Zhongming to die, but it was unwilling to expose its own purpose, so it found Xiang Beichuan and himself to borrow a knife to kill people. And he escaped because of a car chase.

However, looking at the other party's current posture, it seems that he does not intend to let go of his own fish that slipped through the net.

"Hmph, I really didn't expect that I would be planted in this muddy water as soon as I came down the mountain. However, at this point, we have to think of a way - at least we have to get out of this Yuxi Town first! Jiang Lan thought like this, the tea in the pot had bottomed out.

He put down the teapot and stood up to check out and leave, but he heard someone not far behind him talking to him: "Little brother, where are you going?" ”

Jiang Lan looked back and saw that the person who stopped him was a middle-aged man who looked like a Taoist priest. He was wearing a black and white robe, with a cow-hearted bun on his head, a long beard, and a whisk in his hand. He was sitting at the table behind Jiang Lan and was looking at him with a smile.

"You, know me?" Jiang Lan's vigilance was raised, his body did not move, but his right hand slowly touched his waist, clenching his blade of kindness.

"Xiaoyou don't need to panic, there is no malice in the poor road." The Taoist priest also noticed Jiang Lan's small movements, he shook his head and smiled, "Poor Dao called you because a friend of yours wanted to see you. ”

"Is Xu blind?"

The Taoist priest shook his head, he picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip before he said slowly: "Xiang-Bei-Chuan." ”

Hearing this, Jiang Lan slowly put down the hand holding the knife behind him, he walked to the Taoist priest, pulled out a stool and sat down.

"How did you recognize the master?" Jiang Lan asked, but he didn't mention Xiang Beichuan. Because he was very puzzled in his heart, he was obviously already wearing a hat, and a thin black silk was hanging around the hat, which was already covered very tightly, how did the other party recognize him?

The Taoist priest didn't speak, but pointed out the door with his right hand, Jiang Lan looked in the direction of his finger, and saw that his wanted notice was also posted on the wall across the street outside the door.

Jiang Lan was a little panicked, good guy, he still consciously covered it well, and he didn't notice these at all. Since the Taoist priest in front of him, who had never met before, easily recognized him, the pedestrians on the street, and those officials were ...... Jiang Lan couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when he thought of this.

"Why is the little brother so nervous? Poor Dao heard that you are very skilled, and this small Yuxi Town is only a dozen poor people, I'm afraid it won't be a problem for you at all, right? ”

"No, you don't understand. If there is a fight, the master will definitely not be afraid, but now this situation is like stabbing a hornet's nest. As soon as I show up here, the black and white roads in the entire northwest will come to the wind, and at that time, no matter how good the master is, there will be no way! ”

The Taoist priest nodded: "Then what is Xiaoyou's going to do?" ”

"Don't tell me what I'm going to do, tell me about you! Xiang Beichuan asked you to come to me, what about others? ”

"It's a very safe place."

"Do you think I can trust you?" Jiang Lan sank, his eyes staring at the Taoist priest, trying to find a flaw in his expression.

The Taoist priest listened to Jiang Lan's question, but he didn't answer. He took out two copper coins from his bosom and put them on the table, and then shook off the dust and walked away.

"Okay, you're an old man...... Does the master follow......" Jiang Lan sat still, his eyes were closed, and the expression on his face was very entangled. After a while, he stomped his foot, also took out two copper coins from his bosom and threw them on the table, and went in the direction of the Taoist priest's exit.

The Taoist priest did not walk quickly, and Jiang Lan soon found his trace. I saw him walking straight in the direction of the outside of the town, and when he arrived at the exit of the town, he said a few words to the official who was inspecting, and passed smoothly. Jiang Lan frowned when he saw this, he didn't dare to walk out with such a swagger. Just when he was at a loss, a carriage pulling hay came beside him. He had an idea, and while the people around him were not paying attention, he turned over and got into the carriage and got into the cart of hay.

Things went more smoothly than he expected, and he thought that the carriage would be checked when it arrived at the entrance of the town, but the coachman who drove the carriage knew the official, said hello and let him go.

After more than two miles out of the town, Jiang Lan poked his head out of the hay, and saw the carriage on the official road, slowly and leisurely. Jiang Lan was just about to get out of the car to find the Taoist priest, but found that the Taoist priest was sitting side by side with the coachman in front.

"Yo! Lao Dao, this car was arranged by you! ”

The Taoist priest was not surprised at all by Jiang Lan's sudden appearance, he turned his head and chuckled, but he didn't say anything.

It seems that everything has been arranged, otherwise why would I just want to get out of the town and come to a carriage. Jiang Lan felt a little puzzled and a little worried, after all, he didn't even know the details of the other party, and the other party easily found himself in Yuxi Town. He was very vigilant, but there was no better place to go at this time, so he had to follow them.

Along the way, Jiang Lan's chatter problem was committed again, he kept asking questions, while the other two, the coachman never spoke, and the Taoist priest chuckled and said: "Xiaoyou will be clear when he arrives at the place." Jiang Lan never came out of his mind, which made him depressed for a while.

The carriage walked slowly for a day and a night until it reached the bottom of a mountain.

"Little friend, the hill is steep, and I will have to walk from here."

Jiang Lan nodded when he heard this, he stepped forward and got out of the carriage, and as soon as he came, he saw that the coachman also got out of the carriage. He whipped his horse, and the horse pulled the cart and ran back the way it came.

"Hey! Big brother, you're godlike enough! Do you want this carriage anymore, or will your horse find its way home? Jiang Lan exclaimed, and the coachman looked at him, but still didn't speak.

"Little friend, let's go up quickly."

"Good! Master, go up! Although he didn't know what was up there, he had come and had no reason not to go up and have a look.

Jiang Lan said, but he took a lunge and ran up, and the steep mountain road was like flat ground under his feet, and he disappeared in a few breaths. The Taoist priest was stunned for a moment when he saw this, then shook his head, and went up the mountain with the coachman. Their speed was not comparable to Jiang Lan, they just walked slowly.

Jiang Lan ran away in one breath before stopping, and when he looked back, he had already disappeared from the other two. He took a deep breath and felt refreshed.

He walked slowly up the hill while looking at the mountain view.

The mountain road is lined with large trees, and it is late autumn, and the leaves of the trees are almost gone, and they look bare. The mountain road is paved with a thick layer of fallen leaves, and stepping on it is creaky, and it is very childlike.

Jiang Lan walked and walked for half an hour, and finally turned around, and a huge wooden gate appeared in front of him.

"Qiyun Village!" Jiang Lan read out the three big characters written on the door of the village, "Isn't this Xiang Beichuan's cottage?" Is he back here? ”

He had some doubts in his heart, and wanted to go in to find out, but he didn't know what was waiting for him inside this door.

"Squeak-"

Just when he was hesitant to go in, the gate of the village opened. As the door opened, a familiar figure stepped out of it.

"Brother Jiang Lan, I haven't seen you for a few days, don't come unharmed!"

"Xiang Beichuan, you really didn't die!"

The person who came out was Xiang Beichuan, but at this time, a new industry was added to his face - a black cloth blindfold was added to his left eye, covering a scar that had not completely healed. Coupled with the scar on his original face, there was a little more ferociousness on that righteous and awe-inspiring face.

"Sure enough? So you guessed I wasn't dead? ”

Xiang Beichuan's face turned pale when he heard this, and then he immediately returned to normal, he put a big hand on Jiang Lan's shoulder, and said, "Brother Jiang, what about Daochang He and the native brothers, didn't they come with you?" ”

"You said that old bullnose and the driver of the car, they were too slow, and I left them behind."

"Hahaha, it's really your brother's style. Come on, come on, although my cottage is not a paradise, it is also a place to escape from the world, go in and talk. Xiang Beichuan laughed heartily and invited Jiang Lan into the cottage.

As soon as he entered the gate, Jiang Lan saw that the facilities in the cottage were very neatly placed, and it was not the usual chaotic and chaotic appearance he imagined. There are a number of flowstone wooden shelves on the earthen wall on both sides of the walled door, there are two bed crossbows on the door wall, the middle of the village is a large martial arts arena, its surroundings are full of wooden people, sandbags, weapon racks and other facilities, there is an apricot yellow big flag on the side of the martial arts field, and there is a "item" word on the flag. The two sides of the cottage are lined up with thatched houses, and directly opposite the gate is a huge hall made of blue bricks, which should not be a problem to accommodate 100 people depending on its size.

"Okay, old Xiang! If you don't tell the master that this is a copycat, the master still thinks this is a military camp! Don't say anything else, that's it! According to the law of the Great Liang Kingdom, this is 'something that is not available to non-princes and generals', Lao Xiang, your ambition is not small! ”

Jiang Lan was really surprised to see this cottage, although he usually looked out of tune, but when he was a child, he had read a lot of books under the stern advice of his father-in-law and master. The layout of this whole cottage, as long as the gate is replaced with the gate, and the house is replaced with a camp tent, it will be the same as the barracks!

"Haha, we've all fallen into the grass and become thieves, who cares about the law or not!" Xiang Beichuan laughed and said, "By the way, Brother Jiang Lan, I still have two brothers to introduce to you." Erhu, Junzi, all come out, come to the guests! ”

With Xiang Beichuan's shout, two people walked out of the hall. Both of them were in their thirties and forties, and one of them was a little thin, but the green tendons on his hands and the calluses on his palms indicated that he was an expert in using weapons. The other appeared to be ordinary, but his breathing was even between his walks, and his skills were not weak.

The two of them came out, first greeted Xiang Beichuan, and then hugged Jiang Lan and introduced themselves.

"Brother Jiang, these two people, as well as He Daochang and the native brothers who came down to pick you up from the mountain, they are all brothers in life and death that I made friends with Xiang Beichuan in the early years. If I hadn't suffered this catastrophe this time, I wouldn't have called them all from afar, and I really couldn't be sorry for my brothers. ”

"Where is Boss Xiang, even if you're fine, we should come to see it often. What's more, after this incident, it is incumbent on our brothers to do so. The person who spoke was the somewhat thin Erhu, and he patted his chest, looking more like a young man who had just come out and was full of enthusiasm.

"The wind knows the grass, and the adversity sees the heart! I, Xiang Beichuan, have to meet a few brothers in this life, and I am content even if I die. Xiang Beichuan said this, and there seemed to be tears flashing in his remaining eyes.

"Haha, Lao Xiang, why didn't you say such kind words in front of the two of us!" Everyone turned around, but it was the old Taoist priest who entered the gate of the village at some point, and behind him was the coachman who didn't like to talk.

"Come on, come on, you're here at the right time, now that everyone is here, let's all go into the house and talk!" Xiang Beichuan calmed down for a while, and then said in a loud voice. Several people nodded when they heard this, and everyone entered the cottage hall together.

There was a long wooden table on the left side of the hall, and several people each found a place next to the wooden table and sat down. As soon as Xiang Beichuan sat down, he looked at Jiang Lan and said, "Brother Jiang, let's talk about what happened that night!" ”

Jiang Lan pursed his lips: "That night, Chen Zhongming died!" ”