"Nest bow," she explained, "if it touches it, it shoots bamboo arrows, usually for small beasts, but also for ambushes." ”

Further on, the more desolate it becomes, the road slowly can't be seen, in the grass, from time to time there is a bird's call, Li Mei from time to time to learn a few sounds, her mouth is dexterous, the bird call she learns, almost chaotic, sometimes attract the real birds in the grass, to respond to her voice.

"Coo-coo-" In front of him, there was another bird's call.

Shi Suo smiled: "Xiaomei......" Before he finished speaking, Li Mei stopped him with his hand and listened forward.

"Goo-goo-"

Professor Wan and the others didn't hear this bird call, what was the difference between it and other bird calls just now, but looking at Li Mei's nervous face, they knew that something must be wrong, and everyone bent down.

The birds chirped one after another, and everyone slowly heard the question, this sound really seemed to be imitated by people, and the sound was very regular, one long and two short, repeated several times. The screaming stopped, and a sound of footsteps came from the depths of the grass, Li Mei waved her hand, and everyone turned around and hid in a dense reed bush next to her. There was not much time, and two figures came out of the grass.

These two people were covered in black cloth, black clothes and black pants, one was carrying a knife, and the other was carrying a long shotgun with a pole on his back, and he couldn't tell whether he was a hunter or a bandit, and one of them shouted softly: "Xiao Wu, is it you?" ”

"It's me." Another voice came from behind.

With the voice, two people walked behind, one in front was also wearing black clothes and black pants, black cloth wrapped his head, and a bald thin man in the back, holding an iron rod and carrying a big gourd behind his back, but it was the person who called himself "Tie Guan Li" that Shi Suo and others met when crossing the river.

Shi Suo couldn't help but glance at Li Mei, and saw that Li Mei was also staring at the person carrying the gourd from the crack in the reeds, with a strange expression on his face.

"Uncle Li, you have worked hard." The man with the shotgun nodded to the bald.

"Are the other friends here?"

"There are quite a few," said the man with the knife, "everyone entered from the front door, there is a reception station there, and our Tieda master heard that you are coming from the back door, and I am afraid that you will get lost, so I specially sent Xiao Wu to pick you up." The boss is waiting for you, so come in with us. ”

A few people talked, and gradually moved away. When they were far away, Professor Wan and the others came out of the grass and discussed together, and Shi Suo said, "It seems that we are going the wrong way." ”

"Yes," Professor Wan said, "we should enter through the front of that 'Immortal Terrace', we are not familiar with the path of the bandits, and we almost got into their back door by mistake." In my opinion, since we have an iron card, we should swagger through the front door, and from here we may not be able to get in, and it will be dangerous. ”

"Yes."

Dafeng asked Li Mei, "Do you know this bald man just now?" ”

"I don't know, I'm still wondering, how can he dress up with my father."

"He calls himself Tie Guan Li."

"Huh?" Li Mei was a little crying and laughing, "Pretending to be my father? Why? ”

Why did the bald man pretend to be Tie Guan Li, everyone was also puzzled, and after discussing for a while, they returned from the original road, and according to the location of the "Xianrentai" indicated by the villagers, they made a detour to the front.

Walking on the road on the side of the reeds, walking less than three or five miles, I saw a small forest in front, a few mat sheds were set up on the edge of the forest, and more than ten people sat in the shed and gossiped.

"Brother Wan," someone beckoned in front.

As soon as everyone saw it, the person who beckoned was Ding Changyou, and he walked out of the tent by the woods quickly, "Brother Wan, I've been waiting for you for a day." ”

It seems that the tent is a "reception station" set up by the bandits, where more than a dozen people drink water, smoke and chat, some carry guns on their backs, and some cover half of their faces with turbans, as if they do not want to show their true colors. Two young men looked like people, carrying a large teapot, pouring tea and water for everyone.

Professor Wan and the others also entered the tent to rest, and chatted with Ding Changyou for a few words, and a man wearing a black turban walked from outside the tent and bowed his hand to everyone, "Everyone, let's go inside." ”

Everyone stood up one after another, with this person, along the path into the reeds, walked not long, then saw a puddle in front of him, horizontally, the puddle is full of swamp silt, clumps of aquatic weeds and reeds, black mud and black water, with the smell of ** grass, if people step in, they will fall into it and be difficult to extricate themselves.

The person leading the way in front of him whistled, and from the opposite side of the puddle, several black-clothed people came out, each holding a wooden plank in his hand, and spread it into the puddle. I saw the wooden plank paved, steady, not the slightest sink, look carefully, the original wooden stake in the mud, hidden in the mud is not easy to find, the wooden plank is paved, stable as flat ground, it seems that the wooden stake is already firmly laid, specially used for laying wooden planks.

"Good plan," a bearded man stretched out his finger, "Tie Ye really built the old camp as stable as a rock." The crowd also marveled that as soon as the planks were removed, the stakes were not easy to find, and it was extremely difficult to get in and out of the reeds.

As soon as the planks were made, a path was just opened, and the people lined up in a line, passed in turn, and turned around among the reeds to a high earthen platform. The earthen platform is about three zhang high, on and off the stage, full of barren grass, just like a huge mausoleum in ancient times, on the edge of the platform, straight up and down, there are two long wooden ladders erected.

Under the guidance of the man in black, everyone came to the front of the earthen platform, it seems that this is the so-called "fairy platform", Professor Wan carefully observed, found that there are traces of man-made trimming in many places on the earthen platform, and the gentle slope was deliberately steepened, so that people could not climb it with bare hands.

Climb up the earthen platform along the wooden ladder, look out around, the platform is about two miles long and wide, very wide, on the platform, the wild grass and trees are overgrown, and the reeds under the platform are connected into a piece, there are some mounds and earth holes on the side of the platform to make a bunker, the defense measures are very tight, look into the distance, the platform is deep, the trees and grass are covered, and the scenery in the depths cannot be seen.

"Everyone, Tie Ye is waiting in front."

Black-clothed bandits hurriedly walked by, some carrying pots, some carrying vegetables, as if they were preparing for a feast. Everyone walked a hundred and ten meters, and saw a wooden fence in front of them, all of which were nailed to the ground with thick wood at the mouth of the bowl, connected and connected to form a fence wall, with a door on the wall, several sentry posts, carrying knives and guns, standing in front of the door, looking at the scene, it was similar to the ancient bandit cottage, Professor Wan and others had never entered the bandits' den, looking at this posture, I couldn't help but be secretly surprised in my heart, this Xianrentai bandit's nest by the Iron Lake was indeed tightly defended, easy to defend and difficult to attack, if you accidentally exposed the stuffing, it was extremely difficult to escape.

"Everyone, please show the Iron Lake card." The black-clad bandit who led the way shouted loudly.

At the gate of the fence, someone checked the "Iron Lake card", and Ding Changyou whispered to Professor Wan: "You will say that you are my entourage." ”

"We have cards," Professor Wan said with a smile, pulling out the captured Iron Lake card from his bosom.

Ding Changyou smiled, and together with Professor Wan and others, let the bandits check the sign and smoothly entered the fence, inside, in a small forest, there was a watchtower made of wood, the tree was in the middle of the woods, and there were sentinels on the tower. From the top of the tree, you can look into the distance.

"Why, why stop me?" Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind.

Everyone looked back and saw that the sentry was at the gate of the fence and stopped two people outside, both of whom were wearing short jackets and looked like roe deerheads, and were shouting, "Why don't you let in?" Our Tiehu brand was stolen by someone, you go to the Yangtze River to listen to it, we are also famous in the rivers and lakes, why not let it in. ”

"Second master, the rule here is to enter by cards. If you don't have a license, I'll escort your old man back. The black-clothed bandit said politely.

"No way," the two men shouted, "The Tiehu card that General Hou gave me can still be faked, and you have no right to stop me." ”

Ding Changyou smiled and said, "Don't worry about them, let's go in." ”

Passing through this grove, the eyes suddenly opened, an empty field, dozens of zhang square, trimmed to be smooth and smooth, just like a huge wheat field, the edge of the empty field, dozens of wooden houses and mat sheds, arranged like a barracks, planted in front of the house with a few rows of trees, neat and orderly, it can also be seen that it is artificially cultivated, the house and the empty field are cleverly separated into several parts, because the terrain is high, you can see the iron lake surrounded by reeds under the stage, a lake water, blue and clear, Professor Wan can't help but admire: "The master here is a master." ”

In the open field, dozens of wooden tables were set up in the circle, next to which were wooden benches made of long logs, which seemed to be very well prepared, beside the wooden table, there were already twenty or thirty characters of all colors, men and women, old and young, tall and ugly, all kinds of things, most of them carried weapons, there were fast guns, there were big knives, and there were single whips, iron halberds, and miscellaneous things. Among these people, there are people who know each other and greet each other, and there are people who shrink to the side and are silent.

Professor Wan and the others found a corner and sat down, and a man in black immediately served tea in a black porcelain bowl, and Ding Changyou quietly introduced: "The master here, called Tie Million, is the biggest bandit in the local area, this person was originally a showman, originally a family, because the family declined, was framed by others, couldn't survive, became a bandit, and his reputation was not too bad. ”

A man in black walked over, Ding Changyou stopped, and the man in black smiled and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please record the name of the mountain, and we will arrange the seats in charge." ”

Ding Changyou said: "We are all from Changsha, and my name is You Changding." ”

Professor Wan said, "My name is Tao Shengwan. ”

The two of them reported their names backwards, and the man in black said, "Long admiration, long admiration," and wrote it down carefully, then nodded and left.

At this time, the sky will be late, the sky in the west, the red glow is all over the sky, on this high platform, look at the iron lake closely, clear as a mirror, look at the west sky, the smoke and haze are one color, it is extraordinarily spectacular, Professor Wan stood up, enjoyed the scenery for a while, and said: "Tie million is very talented, this immortal platform, it is really like being located in the immortal mansion, living here, the mind is peaceful, it is better than cultivating immortals." ”

"Brother is right," walked by a thin man next to him, with a split head and a long shirt, not like a bandit, but like a scholar, and smiled at Professor Wan: "Tie Dangjia was originally a literati, and he did not change his true character as a scholar after falling into the grass, it is said that Tie Dangjia still recites poetry and books every day, recites poems and paints, and in this paradise-like place, he is indeed like an immortal." ”

There are more and more people coming to the stage, left and right, and at a cursory glance, there are already hundreds of people, but the platform area is too large, and so many people are sitting on the wooden bench on the stage, which still looks sparse.

The sky gradually darkened, there were people in black lighting torches, trees around, illuminating the platform, everyone was bustling, very lively, but I didn't see the master come out, someone asked the black-clothed bandits: "Where is the iron master?" "Do you have time to catch up with us?"

The man in black replied, "I'm afraid that the iron master won't be able to come tonight, he has something to do, let us entertain your distinguished guests." ”

After a while, the meals were served, rice, shochu, beef, all of them were barrels and altars, but there was indeed a bandit style, and the noise in the empty field was even worse, there were many high-rollers in the crowd, drinking in big bowls, eating meat in large pieces, and guessing the boxing order, Professor Wan shook his head and smiled: "The cottage scene written in the ancient book really appeared here." ”

The moon is on the east mountain, the autumn breeze is blowing, the fire is blazing in the empty field, and the voices of people are boiling.