The group walked for another two or three miles, and there was not a single figure on the mountain road. Gao Xiaosan was probably still thinking about the cotton cloth of the country of Mauritius, and he stopped talking.

The terrain here has gradually become open and flat, with ridges and ridges connected into patches, and clusters in the east and west are embedded in the hillside along both sides of the stream. The mist rises in the verdant wheat fields, and occasionally one or two swallows can be glimpsed flying across the ridges, cutting the hazy mist into a green ......

When I turned around the bay, I saw a simple wooden bridge over the shallow stream. Both ends of the bridge are tied to large boulders by thick ropes that are tied horizontally and vertically to the riverside; The few pieces of wood that served as the bridge were also tied with ropes, and the bridge deck was nailed with planks of length, short, wide and narrow. On the other side of the river is a Zhuangzi at the foot of the mountain. Zhuangzi was tightly wrapped in a two-person high earthen wall, and nearly twenty or thirty lines of cooking smoke rose from far and near, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt firewood and grass. The earthen wall opens a small gap on one side of the bridge, and two fence gates made of wood are half-hidden at the opening. The sky was already a little dark, and the things behind the earthen wall were not real, and a touch of blue gray roof could be vaguely seen.

"That's the Li family Zhuangzi." Gao Xiaosan pointed and said. He turned his face and whispered a few words to his father-in-law. Seeing that his father-in-law and his father-in-law crossed the bridge with Liu Laozhu and went towards the Li family's Zhuangzi, he turned his face and explained to Shang Cheng, "It's dark, let's not go into Zhuangzi to rest, I asked my father-in-law and Uncle Zhuzi to go into the village to ask for a pair of shoes for you, and your shoes won't work, and if you go down, you're afraid of hurting your feet." ”

Shang Cheng nodded gratefully and did not speak.

Liu Laozhu and Gao Xiaosan's father-in-law crossed the bridge and were about to arrive in front of the village, when they saw two or three figures turning out from behind the earthen wall, and several people were gathered together through the fence gate and muttering and talking. After a while, they dispersed again, and the people in Zhuangzi opened the fence door by half a crack and let Liu Laozhu and them in. The villagers didn't leave, but only carefully watched the movements of a few people on this side of the bridge through the door. There were also shadows on the earthen wall and two or three people standing longingly.

Shang Cheng stood at the head of the bridge and looked suspicious. What's going on? Could it be that in the countryside and countryside, it is necessary to have such a big pomp and circumstance? Do you need someone to guide you to enter Zhuangzi?

Gao Xiaosan saw that he was puzzled, so he smiled bitterly and said, "This is a last resort to prevent bandits." There are bandits in Dayan Mountain, and the people of Zhuanghu have suffered the losses of bandits, and they dare not be careful in doing things, even if they are familiar faces, they must first interrogate the ins and outs before they dare to let people in and out. ”

The more Shang Cheng listened, the more surprised he became. And bandits here? In this picturesque place with green mountains and clear waters, there are bandits? After a while, he asked, "Bandits...... Are there many bandits? ”

"Many! There are more than 10 bandits with a brand name in Yanshan, and there are even more without a trade name. There are also many and small people, such as the big cottages that break through the sky, Fang Big Eyes and Drill Mountain Leopard, there can be hundreds of people in large and small minions. Gao Xiaosan frowned and said, "Last month, the pack team sent to Beizheng County by our warehouse was robbed by bandits, and the six pack horses were robbed by the leopards in the mountains; Fortunately, they also talked about some rules, and they didn't hurt anyone if they robbed the property, and the warehouse paid ten yuan before they ransomed the Beizheng County branch shopkeeper of the escort team. ”

Shang Cheng frowned and smacked his tongue, unable to speak for a long time. After a long time, he said with difficulty: "The local **......**...... The government, the government doesn't care about these things? ”

Gao Xiaosan laughed and said, "The government wants to manage it, but how can it manage it?" The twenty-nine counties of Yanshanwei Prefecture are all plagued by bandits, and with the little manpower in the yamen, the public security, anti-theft, taxation and people's attention are too busy, where can we seriously rectify the bandits? ”

"Local garrison...... The garrison doesn't care about the bandits? ”

"Tube! How can it not be cared for? The guards have been suppressing bandits almost every year, but the bandits have never been cured! Gao Xiaosan sighed and said, "Some bandits were originally prisoners who were assigned to the army, and they fell into the grass, and the guards couldn't get out of it. But Dayan Mountain is connected to the Bohai Sea in the west, and it is 400 miles along, and the grassland is connected to the north; The guards are suppressing in the east, and the bandits are hiding in the west, and the guards are suppressing in the south, and the bandits are hiding in the grasslands, and they are only chasing the bandits around......"

"The prairie to the north?" Shang Cheng interrupted him and hurriedly asked, "What grassland?" Mongolian steppe?! ”

"A grassland is a grassland, what other name can it have?" Gao Xiaosan glanced at Shang Cheng strangely. "The grassland is the world of the Tuqi people, and the border army does not dare to enter the grassland easily, and the Suo people are afraid that they will be investigated by ......the imperial court if they accidentally provoke the border provocations," he couldn't help but glance at Shang Cheng strangely as he spoke.

"Turquoise? The Turks? Shang Cheng frowned and repeatedly recited this unfamiliar word, which was not at all impressed, and his mind was like a movie, and he quickly filtered through the historical fragments in his mind, such as the Xiongnu, Dangxiang, Qiang, Turkic, Xianbei, Uighur, and Murowei...... The steppe peoples of various historical periods came and went quietly in disappearance, and in a moment he came to the conclusion that he had never heard of the steppe people of the Tuchuci, and he had never heard of any Tuqi people!

Shang Cheng stood at the head of the bridge and looked at the gurgling stream under the bridge in a daze, and Gao Xiaosan quietly looked at him carefully not far away. Gao Xiaosan originally thought that since the tall monk master in front of him dared to walk alone in Dayan Mountain, he naturally knew the situation in this area well, and maybe he had something to rely on with him. But all the way down to know, if you talk about plagiarism and bravery, the monk dares to deal with two evil wolves with his bare hands, this ability is indeed very human, but when it comes to knowledge, the monk is far inferior to an ordinary person, this monk not only knows nothing about the geography and customs of Yanshanwei, but also seems to be ignorant of some things that ordinary children know, and from time to time he also says some rare words that teach people to understand or not...... Could it be that this monk is actually a spy of the Tuqi people?!

As soon as this thought floated, Gao Xiaosan couldn't help but shudder and tremble. He read "Why haven't you come out for so long", and quietly walked a few steps towards the bridge, and then moved away from Shang Chengcheng, and felt a little more down-to-earth in his heart.

But he immediately felt that he had thought things wrong. This monk can't be a spy sent by the Tuqi people, where can a spy be so stupid that he doesn't even know the truth of ordinary things? Besides, spies always do everything possible to hide themselves, how can they wear something as eye-catching as the cotton cloth of the country of Mauritius? The most important thing is that the Tu Ji people are all wide-fronted, wide-nosed, thick-eyebrowed, and detailed, although the monk's appearance is not close to Qingxiu, but it is also angular and dignified, and the monk does not speak like those Tu Tu Ci people are stiff and stiff One by one, although Gao Xiaosan can't hear Shang Cheng's accent, but he also knows that even if the monk is not from Shangjing, he is also from a place south of Shangjing.

Since the monk is not a scheming agent, Gao Xiaosan's heart that has just been suspended has fallen to the ground steadily. He let out a long breath of silence, secretly blaming himself for how he had become suspicious. However, he was still curious about the monk in front of him. He could see that this monk must be full of worries, often in a trance, and often unable to speak, but even when he was in a trance, the monk's thoughts were still very clear. This is not like an ordinary monk......

Just when he was secretly pondering the origin of Shang Cheng, his father-in-law and Liu Laozhu came out of Zhuangzi. They were accompanied by an elder and two sturdy men.

The three people of the Li family Zhuangzi crossed the bridge, and there was no extra words, and after hurriedly greeting Shang Cheng, they rushed to the pack horse to take a closer look. The two strong men carried the two wolves, which were half stiff, in their hands, turned over the wolf's head, legs and feet, and whispered to the elder one by one. After fiddling for a long time, he stuffed the wolf back into the packer, and the three of them came over to meet Shang Cheng again. This time, all three of them were respectful in their demeanor and humble in their words. Although Shang Cheng still couldn't understand what they were saying, he could think of it without guessing, it must be some words of gratitude. While he hurriedly returned the salute, he searched his stomach and thought about his words, and said humble words that did not match the preamble, but he didn't know whether the three of them understood or not. Fortunately, Gao Xiaosan relieved him from the siege, and persuaded the three of them to return to Zhuangzi satisfied.

"They wanted you to rest on their farm, but I politely refused on your behalf." After the three of them crossed the bridge, Gao Xiaosan said to Shang Cheng, "Master Li Zhuang's life is fine, and a group of us didn't cause trouble to others in the past." Anyway, the reward is not received here, and it is redundant to disturb others and owe personal favors. ”

Before he finished speaking, Shang Cheng burst out laughing. This high junior is really a seven-trick exquisite heart, and he has a good eloquence! It is obvious that the landlord surnamed Li is stingy, but it is said that "life is fine"......

Seeing him laughing, Gao Xiaosan also grinned and closed his mouth. Liu Laozhu came over with a pair of half-new round cloth shoes and asked Shang Cheng to change them. Gao Xiaosan glanced at the shoes and asked his father-in-law, "How much did you buy them?" Seeing that the father-in-law raised a finger and spread his palm, he said, "Fifteen Wen? He nodded. Gao Xiaosan scolded with a smile and said, "Master Li Zhuang really deserves his nickname, and he is embarrassed to charge fifteen yuan for a pair of rotten cloth shoes!" ”

The cloth shoes didn't fit well, and Shang Cheng spent a lot of effort, and a pair of big feet still couldn't fit into the shoes. His toes were already tugging at the upper of his shoe, and half of his heel was still dragging on the outb. Liu Laozhu was anxious for him with a sad face, and kept saying sorry words in his mouth. Shang Cheng smiled, no longer insisting on putting his feet into the shoes, and it seemed that these cloth shoes could only be used as slippers to kick and walk first. It was nothing, in fact, it was the only thing today that didn't surprise him—before he came into this world, he had to go several times every time he bought new shoes, after all, his favorite style didn't necessarily have forty-five yards in stock.

Shang Cheng threw the soles of his slippers into the river. More is better than less, he thought! With Mauritian cotton in front of him, he was now doubly cautious about these trivial things.

Not far from Li's Zhuangzi, I crossed a stone bridge over another stream, and went on the official road that Gao Xiaosan said. Under the pavement of the official road, I don't know how many layers of gravel are padded and paved with several layers of soil, and the pavement is repeatedly hammered by stone rammers to make it both strong and flat, and people walk on it, and their feet are neither soft nor hard, and it is easy and comfortable like a walk. The trees and forests beside the road are full of insects and birds, the fields on both sides are green and boundless, the sky is blue and deep, the dark red sunset in the west sky is gorgeous and intoxicating, and the south side can already see a walled house with a few small candles flickering and flickering...... Looking back at the road when I came again, it has long been hidden in the mist of twilight, and the silhouette of the lush mountains is more and more eternal and deep in the afterglow of the sunset......

Immersed in the distraction of the dream, Shang Cheng only felt that someone was pulling his sleeve and pulling it to the side, and when he woke up, he only saw a man and a horse galloping past, and the crisp horse bell fluttered with the wind in the silent evening, fading away.

Everyone looked at the whereabouts of the people and horses, and Gao Xiaosan loosened his sleeves with a happy expression. Not only were a few of them talking, but even a number of people were pouring out of a small courtyard on the side of the road, all standing at the gate of the courtyard and looking around, asking each other what was going on.

"It's the red flag! It's the red flag of the Guards! Gao Xiaosan's face was filled with irrepressible excitement and excitement, "Most of the bandits from the cottage have been suppressed by the guards again!" ”

"Phew!" Someone spat heavily at the courtyard gate, and scolded and scolded in his mouth, "If you kill a bird bandit, you should also use the red flag to report the good news!" The guards are only capable of fucking this idea! Go back, go back to the, and continue to drink our wine! Immediately, several people at the gate of the courtyard pulled the crowd into the courtyard, walking one end and taunting the guards. This one says, "...... Last year, the left army suppressed Fang Dayan, a brigade plus a battalion, three or four thousand people, surrounded a fart mountain, Leng let Fang Dayan sneak out of the loophole, and I don't know what the brigade commander who led the team did to eat! That said, "Shao Lan is okay, at least he doesn't kill good and risky merit!" In the seventeenth year of Shangqing, Xie Que suppressed the old black eagle, and the two brigades tossed for ten months, turning Nanzheng County upside down, and finally they could only find someone to chop up their heads and send them to the Governor's Mansion one by one" and someone asked curiously: "What happened?" There was a wave of contempt and disdain in the man's words, and he said, "What else? Two years later, the old black eagle was arrested in Bohaiwei, and the Criminal Department of the Ministry of War flipped through the copywriting of the year and compared it twice, and Xie Que was cut off ......"

Gao Xiaosan saw that Shang Cheng was listening carefully, so he whispered to the few people who were full of nonsense, "They are all officers of the border army." ”

Border Army? Shang Cheng frowned. How to distinguish between the guards and the border army? Who are these border soldiers? Moreover, he can hear the words of these officers, can he say that the border guards are not natives of this area?

"Most of the border troops are criminals from all over the world, and there are few children from good families." Gao Xiaosan only said one sentence and then closed his mouth.

Shang Cheng nodded with a sigh. He remembered reading an article in a school magazine discussing the conscription system in ancient times, which mentioned that the good family in the Tang and Song dynasties actually referred to yeoman farmers in general, and the children of yeoman peasants were much more preferred to soldiers from other backgrounds when they joined the army. It seems that there is still a difference between the border guards.

He took a closer look as he passed by the gate of the courtyard. The courtyard gate is not big, and there are words on the lintel one by one "post station". Most of the houses in the courtyard were unlit, and they couldn't be seen clearly in the dark, except for one room on the west side, where the border officers were drinking loudly by candlelight. There is also a half-person-high stone tablet next to the courtyard wall of the post station, as if it is engraved with words, he stopped and carefully identified, and couldn't help but laugh dumbly. This is what Liu Laozhu said, what "cloth"! It's not "cloth", it's "fort"!

When Shang Cheng was outside the town, he didn't think there was anything strange about this Huojiabao, compared with the Li family Zhuangzi who passed by before, it was just a circle of earthen walls and a larger area, but after the post station turned to the main street of the town, Shang Cheng knew how prosperous the town was. On both sides of the street, which can accommodate four horse-drawn carriages in parallel, there are all restaurants and restaurants with floors and bottoms, upstairs and downstairs are brilliantly lit, the long shouts of the running hall guys, the sound of the drinkers fighting in the south and north, the soft and lingering slang of the singers, and the sound of silk and bamboo that seems to be intermittent. From time to time, horse-drawn carriages stop or leave in front of the restaurant; There are also drunken drinkers who laugh and scold by relying on red and green. The hawker with the burden and the oil lamp hanging on the other end sang in his mouth, and generally shouted "tofu brain", "melon seeds" and "three more sobering soup" and sold them along the street. The air is filled with the smell of a variety of dishes.

Seeing Shang Cheng slow down and look around like a countryman, Gao Xiaosan said with a smile: "This county has not been attacked by sword soldiers for more than ten years, and the merchants of the South Zheng and North Zheng lines are willing to come over to do business, and even several big shops in Shangjing Pingyuan Mansion are open branches in the county seat. It's just that we are a border land here, and there will be a curfew in the city at night, and all four gates will be locked, so this Huojiabao will gradually prosper. In addition, in recent years, the wind and rain have been smooth, the grains have been abundant, and the people have been rich ......"

Haven't been swordsmen for more than ten years? Hearing this, Shang Cheng couldn't help but glance at Gao Xiaosan in surprise, his lips squirmed, but he didn't speak. He knew that he didn't know how many seemingly shallow and ignorant questions he had asked along the way, as long as Gao Xiaosan was a little vigilant, he should have seen that his fake monk's origin was not clear...... Or Gao Xiaosan was already suspicious in his heart, but it was only out of fear of him, or because he had other ideas, that he couldn't bear to delay the attack. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva nervously, and quietly looked at Gao Xiaosan's expression by the dim light of the big lantern hanging at the door of the restaurant on the street. At this time, Gao Xiaosan was also looking at him secretly. As soon as the four purposeful eyes met, the two of them couldn't help but be a little embarrassed.

Gao Xiaosan reacted quickly, and asked with a false smile: "The monk is the first time to come to our Yanshan, right?" Seeing Shang Cheng nodded, he asked again, "What is the monk doing in Yanshan?" ”

Do what? If only you knew what to do here! Shang Cheng sighed silently. Seeing that Gao Xiaosan was still waiting for his answer, countless statements turned in his heart in an instant, but these excuses had fatal flaws, and he couldn't justify himself at all; To tell the truth, it's even more impossible. In a hurry, he suddenly thought of a brilliant statement, because he said, "Study." ”

Hearing him say so simply, Gao Xiaosan was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say, and asked, "Studying?" What to learn? ”

"Study Buddhism." Shang Cheng said. As he spoke, he also clarified his thoughts, and the person calmed down, and said eloquently as he walked, "Everything in the world should be Buddha's principle, and I came to Yanshan to learn Buddhism." It's just that before I came, I didn't expect that the road to learning Buddhism was full of thorns and bumps, and I was confused and obsessed just after entering the territory of Yanshan...... The luggage and coils were looted by bandits! Amitabha! Then he folded his hands and whispered the Buddha. Except for Gao Xiaosan, no one around him knew what he said, and when he suddenly recited the Buddha, they all hurriedly followed the namaste.

Gao Xiaosan blinked at his pretentiousness. Except for Shang Cheng, who is a monk, he is suspicious of all the things that he encounters when he learns Buddhism. However, he didn't ask Shang Cheng about the story full of loopholes, he just smiled and said nothing. He thought, as long as Shang Cheng is not a spy of the Tu Tu people, what does it matter what his origin is? If the monk wants to stay in Yanshan for a long time, there will naturally be officials to interrogate and ask, what does it have to do with him? Thinking so in his heart, he echoed Shang Cheng in his mouth, cursing the bandits that they would not die well......

As they spoke, the group had already left the densely populated street with neighing cars and horses, and stepped into a dark side street. Compared to the brightly lit and noisy streets, this is a completely different scene. The narrow streets are lined with small courtyards enclosed by half-height earthen walls. After years of wind, rain and sunshine, none of the earthen walls along the way were intact, they were all dilapidated, and some places had collapsed, and people were indiscriminately tied with branches to form a fence to cover them; Some courtyards don't even have a gatehouse, only door frames and wooden doors remain. Through the courtyard wall, you can see the low mud huts and thatched huts, and the adults and dolls are standing in the ground and looking at them curiously. Two mooing cows were heard in the distance, and a few more barking dogs. There were also people standing under the gatehouse to greet and talk to their group, and the thick local accent was difficult to understand. Others ran out and lay on the side of the pack to look at the two wolves, and then followed the crowd as they walked to inquire about what had happened.

Two steps further, someone shouted loudly, as if he was greeting someone, and in a blink of an eye, he saw three female dolls running out of the courtyard not far in front of him, and quickly walked in front of Liu Laozhu and grabbed his hand and asked in a panic, and was pointed over by Liu Laozhu to salute and thank Shang Cheng. Shang Cheng didn't know how to return the salute at this time, so he had to pretend to fold it and recite two sentences of Buddha in his mouth. While chanting the Buddha, he smiled bitterly in his heart, and it seemed that his identity as a monk was completely confirmed.

Everyone surrounded Shang Cheng and walked into the door of Liu Laozhu's courtyard, and said nothing and didn't go inside. Liu Laozhu pulled this and persuaded that, but a few people just didn't move. In the end, Shang Cheng came out to speak, and dragged Gao Xiao's father's clothes and forced him into the courtyard, and several other people who came back with them walked in one after another.

By this time the three female dolls had driven the pack horses into the shed, and the lights were lit in the hall; A small square table was set up in the middle of the room, and a girl was arranging a few wooden stools for everyone. Several coarse porcelain bowls were already on the square table, filled with scautéed pickles and ginger beans, and a wooden drawer was stacked with steamed wheat cakes. Liu Laozhu pulled a female doll aside, whispered a few words, and took out a small pocket that was not deflated or bulging and stuffed it in her hand, the female doll nodded, quietly went out, and came back with a clay altar and a basket after a while, took a roast chicken and a few meat and vegetarian dishes from the basket and put them on the table, and found a few empty bowls to pour wine.

Shang Cheng sat on a bench by the door of the hall and watched several female dolls come and go. At the beginning, he was still strong enough to support himself and cheer up, chatting with a few people with the help of the senior high school. But he has been struggling in the mountains and forests for three days and two nights, during which he has hardly closed his eyes, and he has been fighting with the evil wolf for life and death, his physical strength has been overdrawn, and then he has encountered all kinds of strange and bizarre changes in the floating world, and his spirit is almost broken......