Nalan Yanghe and Sima Coo returned to the Funiu Inn, and Wan Qimei came out and said that Lord Thorn Shi had been invited by Lord Zuo Servant and had left for Tongguan.

When Nalan Yanghe heard this, he hurriedly asked, "How many entourages did he come this time?" But he once issued a document to shoot the lord. ”

Wan Qianmei said: "There are only two entourage, and the sergeant who came also issued a document. Master Thorn Shi read it carefully before he walked with him, what's wrong? ”

"It's been this hour, and it's snowing so heavily, why don't you wait for tomorrow."

"The sergeant said that the matter was urgent and that he had to leave today."

Sima was also shocked when he heard it, and he looked at Nalan with eye contact, and the two of them thought of one place at the same time: "There may be fraud, hurry up." ”

Nalan said: "I took the sergeant to chase after me, and by the way, I informed the post that the post chief was missing." The pavilion chief sits in the town, and orders people to guard the main road, and must not mess up. Then he said to a sergeant beside him: "You go back to the camp quickly, pass on my order, retreat at the time of retreat, no one is allowed to go, and those who violate it will be beheaded." The sergeant took the order and left.

Seeing that the situation was so critical, Wan Qimei knew that Master Shi was in difficulty, so she volunteered: "Captain, the slave family also has some kung fu, and the riding skills are also good, and let me follow you to chase Master Shi, maybe I can help a little." ”

Sima Cuo wanted to dissuade him, but he listened to Nalan Dao: "The situation is unknown, if the killing will rise, it will not be good to hurt Mrs., Mrs. will sit in the town to help the Pavilion Chief, Qinglong Town is our base camp, there must be no mistakes." What's more, now that the whereabouts of the post chief are unknown, there are thousands of clues, and it is even more necessary to be cautious. ”

"Yes! Madame, come with me in town. Perhaps Lord Thorn Shi's matter is not as complicated as he thought, and Captain Nalan will be fine if he catches up and asks for clarification. ”

Wan Qimei looked a little lonely and responded, so she went back to the backyard.

At this time, Li Dao hurriedly came to report: "Murong Cheng, the shopkeeper of the coffin shop in the town, brought a few woodcutters into the West Mountain behind the town in the morning, saying that it was an old man from a large family in Shantangyi to make longevity materials, and the fortune teller calculated that the old man's life was prosperous, and the coffin used needed to enter the mountain in the heavy snow season to cut down a snow to the cold wood, and make this coffin to suppress the old man's fire and prolong his life. ”

"Hey, that's weird, what's going on today, it's so lively. The post chief entered the South Mountain, and the West Mountain they went to, Mo Fei West Mountain has a path to the South Mountain. What else is there that I don't know right under my nose? Sima Cuo asked with some relief, patting his head, a little overwhelmed.

After listening to the sidelines, Nalan said, "No matter what, let's see if they come back to be logging." I'm going to ride after Lord Xuanyuan as fast as I can, and he won't have any more stubble. ”

Li Dao hurriedly grabbed him and said: "The captain is slow, and the little one also heard a piece of information that Huang Fu Dan, the owner of the shop, drove a carriage to the direction of Shantangyi in Shenshi. ”

"Oh, Lord Thorn Shi is here, and I'm going to order a roast suckling pig from her shop." Sima Coo muttered.

When Nalan heard this, he felt that it was not too late, and said, "I'll go after Master Thorn Shi first." "After that, he turned over his horse and rode away with his four followers."

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and there was no one to be seen a few meters away. A sergeant said, "Who will come out in this weather, don't they all hide in the house and drink wine towards the fire?" Nalan didn't answer and continued to ride his horse. After the three-fork intersection, continue to the west, did not meet a person on the road, did not find the horseshoe print, after the Shantang post about ten miles, the sky was completely dark, several people immediately lit the ointment torch they carried, and walked in the direction of Tongguan.

Nalan thought in his heart that even if Lord Assassin Shi was not in danger, he would have to go to Tongguan to ask clearly, and then report Duguyue's disappearance to the head post of Tongguan. Another thought that Fan Yang had already raised troops, and Tongguan would not be switched on when it was over, didn't the sergeant who came to report the news know? What is also suspicious is that the owner of the shop, Huangfu Dan, came to Shantangyi in a carriage, and he didn't see anyone all the way, where did he go?

However, after walking forward for about fifty miles, there was still no trace of Xuanyuan Ledao and their shadows, and their horses were really unable to run, so they had to dismount and lead the horses forward, so as to rush to the Tongyuyi in front of them to settle down.

The snow gradually stopped, but the snow on the post road was already a foot thick, and the cloaks and felt hats on several people were also stained with snow, and they were cold and hungry, and it was very difficult to walk.

Just as everyone was struggling forward, a sergeant suddenly shouted, "Captain, slow down." Seeing that he turned over and dismounted, drew his horizontal knife, and carried the torch to the front, it turned out to be an uncovered carriage, and the horse in front was shivering with cold, and when he saw someone coming, he neighed, and the sergeant hurriedly stepped forward to take the reins of the horse, and found that the horse was not led, and it was strange that it would not run away in such a heavy snow.

Nalan and several others hurriedly dismounted to check the carriage, and there was nothing abnormal. Nalan was a little apprehensive by the attack on the canyon, and told everyone to disperse, one leading the horse, one behind the palace, and the two in the center, and they all drew their sabers.

Mo walked a few hundred steps to a wide area, but did not encounter anything unusual, and everyone thought that it might be a false alarm. This car should have belonged to Huangfu Dan, but where did she go?

Just thinking about it, there was a light in front of me, as if Tongyu Post Station had arrived. As he was hurrying forward, a whirlwind blew in the valley behind, which was very strange. Nalan has been on the battlefield for a long time and feels that the situation is not good. One of the sergeants shouted: "Let's run to the inn!" When the other people heard this, they hurriedly led their horses and ran forward, and Nalan shouted: "Don't panic yet, don't panic yet." ”

But the voice he shouted didn't be heard by a few people, and everyone ran desperately. The post road is like a road, the surrounding is dark, there is light along the road, flickering light and dark, you can see hundreds of steps ahead. He shouted hoarsely, but they still couldn't hear him. Running and running, as if in a dream, the body became limp and frivolous, unable to run fast, without strength, and the horses ran away. He didn't know how. How so?

Soon, his brain became sluggish, as if his senses were stretched, and his body was stretched to a longer and shorter shape, and he wanted to look back, but it was so slow. When he finally turned his head to see the situation behind him, he found that what came out of the valley was not a whirlwind, but a group of demons, all monsters with sheep bodies and human faces, eyes under armpits, tiger teeth and claws, and big heads and mouths.

A few people were running hard, but they couldn't run fast. He saw that the two sergeants also looked back at the whirlwind, and could see the shape of their mouths shouting in fear, but no sound came out. Nalan felt that his primordial spirit was scattering and dissolving, and his thinking became slow and long, and he was very anxious but helpless, so anxious that he couldn't pull it out as if he was stuck in a quagmire.

Their pace was getting slower and slower, and the monsters with sheep's bodies and human faces were slowly approaching, just a few dozen steps away. The light of the post road in front of it flickered and flickered, and the road was twisting and lengthening.

Nalan guarded his breath and thought hard: "This time it's really troublesome. Maybe there is an ambush ahead, and he is no longer under control, and he is being chased by the monster and walking towards the ambush circle. ”

Also, where is the station? I can't run away. What if you run away? There are so many monsters behind it.

I don't know how long I ran, Nalan could hear the sound of his own heartbeat, his heartbeat was not fast, but slow. Run a few steps before jumping once.

He couldn't figure it out anymore, and when he couldn't figure it out, his body couldn't run anymore, and he turned around and looked behind him with a lot of effort, and the demons behind him also slowed down, looking greedily, viciously, and salivating.

There was a comfort in his body that he had never felt before, and he couldn't tell what he was doing. He couldn't see the other sergeants clearly. He used his mind to recall that this time it might be really over, and he was ready to sit back and wait. It was dark, and the darkness covered itself like an airtight hood. It's really hard to escape this time, Hangu Pass, Yidao, Father, and the Linghu girl I met......

I don't know how long it took, the darkness covering him was torn open, and the bright light came in, and he felt a big hammer slam a few times in his chest, and he didn't feel anything at first, and then he hurt and wanted to vomit, but he wanted to vomit in his heart, but his body couldn't move. I was hit again, and it hurt, and I couldn't breathe in pain.

To his belief, he moved, not as slowly as he was squeezed and pulled, and when he looked closely, he saw torches, not demons, a familiar bearded old man looking at him, but he couldn't remember who it was. Who are you, he wants to ask? I can't tell.

"Captain Nalan, you've finally woken up." He heard the old man talking to him, and he heard it very well. I was glad that I had escaped death again this time.

The old man asked him to sit up, and slapped him in the back before he was ready, and as he was wondering if this would be a nightmare about to begin again, he suddenly felt a fishy greasy vomit in his chest, coughed twice, and found that he could make a sound.

Only then did I realize that I had just been lying in the snow on the post road, and I didn't know how far I had run. Looking at the old man again, it turned out to be Mr. Linghu, and there were several post guards holding torches next to him.

He asked suspiciously, "Why is Mr. Linghu here?" ”。

"Captain Nalan, let's go to Tongyu Station first, and then talk to you in detail."

"I still have four sergeants in my entourage, I don't know where?"

Linghu Zhao said: "Of your four brothers, only one person was saved, and the other three were useless." Old decay is a step late. ”

Nalan was stunned: "It's the first time I've encountered something like this, it's like a nightmare, it's terrifying!" ”

"Captain, let's move to the post station first and then talk about it in detail, you have just woken up now, and you are still very weak."

When they arrived at the post station, a large number of bonfires were set up in the courtyard, and the post guards were holding swords and bow feathers, and the post man saw that Linghu Zhao and the post man carried two sergeants into the station, and they were busy coming up to greet him, and he was very surprised to see that it was Nalan Lieutenant, and he hurriedly asked: "The captain was trapped in the valley so late, if it weren't for this Linghu old gentleman who was clever, the little one really didn't know that it was the captain who was trapped." ”

"Lord Yicheng, please settle the captain and sergeant, the other three sergeants accompanying the captain have all died, we must strengthen the manpower and strengthen the guard tonight."

"But we have only a dozen post guards combined."

"This is a strange thing today, I have to ask everyone to take turns on duty, and we need to keep the fire in the courtyard burning."

At this time, Ling Huyan went out and saw his uncle carrying a sergeant in a uniform, and felt a little familiar, and when he saw that it was Nalan up close, he was surprised and delighted, and shouted: "Captain Nalan, why are you ......?" ”

Before the words fell, Ling Hu Zhao said: "You go to the room to boil some porridge and warm a pot of wine." Ling Hu Yan went to the room, while boiling porridge, while thinking, thinking that he would be able to cross the Hangu Pass tomorrow, and when he went to the pass to see Captain Nalan, he continued to go east back to Huating, and he might never see each other in this life. I never thought I'd see you here tonight.

After settling down in the room, Nalan asked, "Old general, if I don't meet you today, my life will not be guaranteed." ”

"It's all fate!"

"You and Linghu Niangzi have only been in Chang'an for two months, why do you have to return east?"

"It's a long story, it's hard to say in one word, and let's not talk about it first, or tell me what happened to you today?"

So, Nalan told the strange things of the night.

Ling Hu Zhao pondered for a while and said: "This time it is your fate, it is one of your horses screaming and neighing and running towards the post station, I have eaten and walked on the post road, I have not seen snow for many years, and I am a little nostalgic to see the snow." The horse came with a very unusual pace and neighing, and tried to hold it, but the horse rushed and ran a few steps forward, and died.

I suddenly remembered that in the Western Regions, I had seen the illusions used by the wizards of the Turkic army, once they were hit, everyone and horses would run wildly, and after the primordial spirit dissipated, they would either die of madness or be killed without resistance. Therefore, when I saw the gait of the horse running towards me, as if I had been struck by an illusion, I called some of my postmen to ride after me, and about two or three miles, I saw you lying on the snow.

"When we ran over, there was the sound of horses' hooves running away, and it is estimated that the person who performed the illusion on you did not chase after it was too dark. Later, I found three other sergeants, about a hundred or so paces behind you, and the anointed torches had not been extinguished, but the men were no longer breathing. I didn't see the carriage you mentioned, and I didn't see the rut marks. ”

"That's strange, we just saw a carriage in the snow, and we walked for a while before we realized that the situation was wrong."

"Just according to what you said about this situation, it should be a kind of illusion of Tianzhu to the yin, it is said that this illusion requires a plant called yin, this product is produced in Sinhala in the south of Tianzhu, which is surrounded by the sea and the weather is hot. This thing is very scarce, very easy to find, planted for 17 years to produce fruit, and only one, ripening only one night, missed to wait three years. On the night of ripening, it is plucked and placed in a clay pot and soaked in spring water, which can only be controlled by high temperatures, so it is not toxic in a hot climate like Sinhala. It takes a lot of effort to pass it to the eastern soil, and it must be transported in the dog days of summer, and the water in the jar will begin to release poison when it is cool to the bones, and the surrounding people and animals can be controlled by it. Therefore, it is very troublesome to transport from Tianzhu to Middle-earth over the snow-capped mountains, and it is necessary to use a smokeless charcoal to warm the clay pot so that its temperature does not drop, and it is necessary to climb over the snow-capped mountains. Otherwise, once the cold is encountered, the toxicity will be dispersed, and within fifty steps, people and animals will be crazy, and if they do not heat up and resist, they will inevitably die. Therefore, the power of this thing is huge, but since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people from all walks of life have taken great pains to obtain this thing, and there are very few people who arrive in the Central Plains. ”

"As the old general said, this thing is so powerful, how should it be preserved in Middle-earth?"

"If you are not mistaken, it must be placed by the kiln all year round to suppress its toxicity. Use it when it matters. ”

"Speaking of the perennial earthen kiln, do you remember Huangfu Dan's shop?"

Ling Hu Zhao nodded thoughtfully.

"If you have this thing, then take the opportunity to release it, it's really a disaster. Isn't there a time for this monster to dissipate its poison? ”

"Back then, we captured a soldier who was with a Turkic sorcerer, and he said that the poison is not endless, and it is usually used three times, and the poison is gone. If you don't use it, it can be stored for more than ten years, and the poison will slowly fade. But this thing cannot be completely placed in the fire, and if it is burned to ashes, the poison will be completely eliminated. ”

"It's amazing!" Nalan muttered to himself.

"Therefore, I asked the post minister to build a fire in the courtyard, in case the other party uses this trick again, we will become a turtle in the urn."

At this time, Ling Huyan came in with hot porridge and warm wine.