A ranger, his words must be believed, his deeds must be fruitful, he does not love his body, and he goes to the misfortune of the warrior. --Sima Qian, "The Biography of the Rangers in the Historical Records"

At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the prince of Chu surrounded and killed the king to seize power, and it was for the king of Chu Ling. This man is tyrannical and wanton, and he wants to dominate the world. At this time, it was rumored in the rivers and lakes that the Chengying Sword of King Shangtang unified the world reappeared in the rivers and lakes, this sword was infinitely powerful, containing mysterious power, and the princes and countries wanted to embrace it.

On this day, dark clouds were pressing down, and a shower was coming, and on the road leading from Luoyi, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, to Weiguo Chaoge, a carriage galloped from east to west. The carriage was protected by more than 20 soldiers armed with halberds, and at the front of the carriage was a hussar general, wearing a bronze helmet and bronze armor, carrying a large sword more than a zhang long, leading the way.

From time to time, the man looked up at the sky, and saw a thunderous thunder smashing down. "Brothers, hurry up, there is an inn in front of us, let's take shelter from the rain and rest. This is a breakthrough, and it will change. The general said.

The soldiers immediately ran, but the ranks were in good order. No sooner had they squeezed into the inn than the rain arrived. The general dismounted and walked to the carriage, bowed and said, "Sir, now that the rain is getting heavier and heavier, let's rest here for a while!" The curtain was lifted, and an old man stepped down from the car, and saw that this man was thin and thin, with gray hair, and holding a thing on his chest, three feet long and more than three inches wide, wrapped in black cloth. The old man paced to a wooden table and sat down, without speaking. The general shouted loudly: "Why don't you serve tea quickly, waiting for the military master to tear down your broken shop?" ”

"Don't be rude!" The old man glared at him.

"Yes!" The general took a step back, showing great respect for the old man.

At this time, the innkeeper came over with a pot of hot tea and two plates of side dishes to make tea for the old man, "Sir, use it slowly!" After speaking, he couldn't stop peeking at the black cloth wrapped in the old man's chest. The old man took a sip, "Good tea!" The old man said, "Shopkeeper, why do you open an inn in this wild and barren place?" ”

"I am a villager in a mountain in the back mountain, only because three years ago a fireball fell from the sky and landed on a mountain fifty miles to the north, I heard that the fireball turned into a firebird, spit evil fire from its mouth, and burned the mountain into a volcano, people call it Chiyan Mountain. Legend has it that the firebird is a divine beast in the sky, and the monarchs of various countries offer rewards, and whoever catches the firebird will be rewarded with ten thousand gold and ten thousand households. Since then, there have been countless capable people, rangers and warriors who have gone to catch firebirds. Because this road is a big road leading to Chiyan Mountain, the villain opened an inn here to provide a place for people passing by to rest and quench their thirst, shelter from the wind and rain, earn a little money, and support their families. The bartender stood beside him with his head bowed, sometimes peeking at the old man's arms.

"You're good at tea!"

"Coarse tea in the countryside, home-made."

"Alright, you go down." After the old man finished speaking, he looked into the distance and thought thoughtfully.

"Something is wrong? That firebird is a three-legged black phoenix? The general asked softly, bowing his head.

"There was a problem with the bartender. This place is Zheng Guo's Tiger Prison Pass, and the tea on the bartender is clearly Chu tea, but he said that it is local coarse tea. When did Tiger Prison Pass produce tea? After the old man finished speaking, he lowered his head and spit out the tea he drank into the tea bowl: "This tea is poisonous, you have to be careful." ”

When the general heard this, he exclaimed, "What? Tea is poisonous? Grandma's, I demolished the store for him. Before the words fell, four big men jumped down from the roof, wearing hats, wearing robes, and straw sandals, with hideous faces. When I walked into the lobby of the inn, the water on my coat was flowing non-stop.

When the soldiers saw that someone had broken in, they put the old man in the middle, and the general drew the long sword on his back several times with great difficulty. He held his sword in front of him and shouted loudly: "Where did the thief come from, dare to be presumptuous in front of this general!" Get the hell out of here! ”

The four of them said in unison, "I want what you have in your arms." As he spoke, he looked at the old man who was seated. The general didn't notice it, thinking that he was trying to carry a great sword in his arms. So he said angrily: "I don't know what is dead or alive, I want the sword in my grandfather's hand? Eat me with a sword first! Before he could finish speaking, he jumped out and swung his sword at the four of them.

Each of the four men took out a black rattan stick, which looked like a black snake from a distance, and fought with the general. I saw the four of them wielding the black snake rattan stick, the strength was strong, the moves were the same, and the cooperation was like a combination of four people, and the martial arts were exerted, but they were much stronger than the skills of the four people. The general's big sword swung vigorously, slashing upward, horizontally, left and right, and the force was also extremely strong, and in an instant, he was entangled with the four people.

After a few rounds, the general gradually felt that the hall was cramped, and the big sword could not be wielded, and he was suppressed by the four people everywhere, and gradually became a little overwhelmed. The general swept his sword and jumped out of the hall, and the four men chased after him. At this time, the rain was like a torrent, and the sound of five people shouting to kill was drowned in the rain, and only the occasional sound of swords and sticks colliding was heard.

Suddenly, the four of them changed their moves, and two of them raised their swords and slashed at the general, who blocked it with a horizontal sword, and then the other two attacked the general with both feet. The general couldn't take care of it for a while, and the lower plate showed a flaw, only to hear a muffled sound, the general was kicked in the lower abdomen with four feet, and took a few steps back, and then four swords chased and stabbed the general's chest, and saw the piercing clothes piercing the skin. Suddenly, from the inn hall, four cold rays of light shot out, piercing through the curtain woven by the heavy rain, and the raindrops shot into the back of the four people's heads with the cold light.

The rain kept falling, and the blood that flowed from the heads of the four men was washed by the rain, staining the avenue in front of the inn red. The general returned to the hall, put his sword into its sheath, and saluted the old man, "Thank you, sir, for your help." At this time, several soldiers pressed the innkeeper out, and the general stepped over and twisted the bartender's collar, and asked, "What is your relationship with those bandits, and why do you want to murder my husband?" If you don't say it, Uncle will screw your head off. ”

"Wei Chong, don't be rude!" The old man said.

The bartender was so frightened that he burst into tears, his legs were shaking, his feet were slippery, and he didn't know if it was the bartender's urine or the rain from the general. "Spare the villain, spare the villain! I'm all forced. The bartender cried.

The old man said: "Don't be afraid, speak slowly, if this matter really has nothing to do with you, I will spare you from death."

"Thank you sir, thank you sir!" The bartender kowtowed, "Seven days ago, twelve people passed by here, dressed like the four men who had just died. Because there were many strange people passing by the small shop, the villain didn't particularly care. The strange thing is that the twelve people do not avoid the villain when they speak, thinking that the villain is a village man, and it is not in the way. I only heard the leader say that they also went to catch the firebird, called the three-legged black phoenix. Just because the three-legged black phoenix is stable and can breathe evil fire from its mouth, it is very difficult to catch. The only thing that can subdue it is the legendary Chengying Sword, they say that they have found it, and the Chengying Sword will pass by here in a few days, so they agreed to set up an ambush here to snatch the Chengying Sword, and forced the villain to help them, that is, poisoning the food and tea. When the villain heard this, they refused to obey, so they threatened the villain, if they didn't comply, they would kill my whole family, destroy my whole village, and cut off one of my wife's hands in front of the villain. The villain really has no choice but to agree to do this hurtful thing! After saying that, he began to cry.

"You too have been forced by men, and the sin is not on you. Hurry home and tell the villagers not to walk around Chiyan Mountain, or their lives will be in danger. ”

The bartender thanked him and quickly left the inner room to pack his things.

"It seems that the three-legged black phoenix has been cultivated and formed, and it is very dangerous." Wei Chong leaned over and suggested: "Sir, when we return to Weiguo this time, the nearest way is to take Chiyan Mountain, for the safety of Mr., let's take a detour." ”

The old man thought for a moment: "No need! If disaster is about to come, it is useless to blindly avoid it, it is better to take the initiative to face it. If the three-legged black phoenix doesn't show up, if it does, we just take it. The old man said silently: "I heard that the three-legged black phoenix is one of the legendary five ancient beasts, the embodiment of fire, both good and evil, and the major vassal states want to subdue it, strengthen their own power, and compete for hegemony in the world." It is said that the Chengying Sword is the three-legged black phoenix nemesis, and I hope that this time it will succeed and restore our national strength to defend the country. ”

Wei Chong looked at the old man, then at the thing he was holding in his arms, sighed and silently stepped aside. At this time, a soldier brought a set of dry clothes for Wei Chong to change into.