Changzhi County is a small place, and in this small place, there is a small inn called Yingbin.

The innkeeper woke up early, and it was still dark, so he stood at the counter, frowning and calculating the accounts that were not too difficult to calculate.

In normal times, guests often arrive later, but today there are some exceptions, a group of guests came here early and parked the carriage in front of the door. The shopkeeper hurriedly put down the work in his hand, walked out quickly, and helped settle the carriage.

After a while, the group of guests walked into the inn in the dust, and there were four of them, the first of whom was a handsome young man who somehow carried a huge black box on his back. Don't look at this young man's age, but he has a special temperament, and he is quite dignified between Gu Pan, as if he is the leader of this group of people.

Behind the young man, there were two others, one burly and fierce, and the other ugly with a smile on his face.

At the back of the line was a small child. The child wore a hat on his head, a black and white plush garment, no shoes on his feet, and walked barefoot on the ground, his toes were as sharp as hooks, and his nails had not been cut for many years.

"Huh?" The shopkeeper suddenly let out a sound of surprise, because the child who walked at the back was too strange in appearance. He quickly wiped his eyes, fixed his eyes and watched again, and this time he finally saw the true face of the "child" clearly.

It turns out that this child is not a real child, but an unknown strange beast!

The beast was black and white, shaggy and chubby, and looked cute, but not very scary. Most of the ordinary beasts crawl forward, but this beast walks upright, just like a human, and wears a human hat, so it is no wonder that the shopkeeper will look away for a while.

Three strange people, plus a beast of unknown origin, it's an incredible combination. It's the first time that the Welcome Guest Inn has been open for so long and has entertained such a strange guest.

The more strange the guests, the more they couldn't be offended, and the shopkeeper was worried that the shopkeeper was not well entertained, so he put down the abacus in his hand and set off to greet him.

In the eyes of the shopkeeper, a very strange group of people was Zhao Zheng and others, and the beast was Pixiu. They hurried through this place and rested here. These days, under the leadership of Zhao Zheng, this group of people has walked thousands of miles of roads and footprints all over the cities and towns they have passed.

For this trip, Zhao Zheng has long planned in his heart, where to go first and where to go later, and he has already had a plan in his heart.

Zhao Zheng and a few people walked to a table under the greeting of the shopkeeper, each found a seat and sat down, they rushed all night last night, it is not hard, this morning must have a good meal, and then take a little rest. Zhao Zheng was full of physical strength, but he didn't feel too tired, but Ren Qianqiu and Wang Er couldn't.

After the three of them sat down, Po took the initiative to jump onto the remaining chairs, raised his paws, deftly untied the rope on the hat, took off the hat, and put it aside. Losing the cover of the hat, Po revealed his chubby, hairy head and a pair of round black eyes, giving people a dull feeling. If you just look at the appearance, it is really hard to imagine that it is a fierce and abnormal beast.

After leaving the Taishan faction, Ah Bao also seemed to be like a fish in water, and he seemed very lively along the road, full of curiosity about everything. Along the way, it loves to do two things, one is to imitate humans, sometimes imitating human dress, sometimes imitating human movements. The other thing is to taste the food, as long as it sees the fragrant food, it has to taste whatever it is, and it can eat a lot of things along the way, even several pieces of stinky tofu, and it eats it with relish.

With such a strange beast by his side, Zhao Zheng and the others had a little more fun on this trip.

After seeing Bao's appearance, the shopkeeper and the shopkeeper all showed a look of surprise, in their opinion, this is really a magical beast.

Zhao Zheng had no intention of explaining more to strangers, snatched the conversation, and pointed out a series of dish names like a cannonball, which can be described as quite rich.

The shopkeeper came back to his senses and wrote down these dishes one by one, but among these dishes, there were nearly one-third of the dishes, and they couldn't make them in this small shop. Zhao Zheng didn't force it, but retreated to the next best thing and changed some home-cooked dishes.

It didn't take long for some easy-to-stir-fry dishes to be served, as were steamed buns and gruel.

After eating and drinking for a while, Zhao Zheng spoke: "Two big brothers, I have to travel to several places in a row on this trip, some of these places are in the west, some are in the north, and the geographical span is huge. When I go to these places, I will invite some people away, and I will need a place to settle these people when the time comes. This Changzhi County is located right in the very center of these places, and I intend to arrange the place where the guests will be accommodated. When I have eaten and drunk my fill, I will look for a house in the local area, and then the two of you will discuss it, and one will follow me on the road, and the other will stay and take care of the house. ”

Although the two of them had doubts, they also understood in their hearts that Zhao Zheng's trip was quite secretive and he was unwilling to reveal the truth for the time being, so neither of them asked much, but began to directly discuss who would stay.

Both of them have the same mind, and they both want to follow Zhao Zheng to leave, so that they can run around, although it is a little harder, but it is more interesting than staying in one place. Both wanted to stay, argued, and failed to negotiate the result. While the two were arguing, Na Po was still gobbling up food, eating with a greasy mouth and relish. Ah Bao is an omnivorous beast, although he loves to eat bamboo and fruits, but he also does not refuse these meals on the table.

Seeing that the two were arguing, Zhao Zheng smiled bitterly: "That's good, I think it's better for Brother Wang to stay." Brother Wang's surname is calm, and I am more at ease when I do things. As for Brother Ren, he will follow me. ”

"Oh well. Since I didn't even have your words, let me stay. Wang Er said depressedly.

"It's not necessarily a good thing to follow me, although I have a high degree of certainty about this trip, but there is also a certain risk, and Brother Ren will go on the road with me, so we have to take this risk together. And if you stay, you'll be much safer. Before leaving, I will leave you a sum of money, enough for you to spend during this time, so that you can have a good time. Zhao Zheng comforted.

"Okay. Misfortune and blessing depend on it, and it may be a good thing to stay. Wang Er also comforted himself.

After eating, Zhao Zheng left the two eldest brothers to rest here, while he himself took Ah Bao and left the inn together, looking for a courtyard to settle in the local area. After looking around in Changzhi County, he finally chose a single courtyard with high walls, which is quite remote and quiet, and it is quite good to settle down.

This courtyard is inhabited, and it is a wealthy family, with no worries about food and clothing, and there is no intention of moving. Fortunately, money can make ghosts grind, and when Zhao Zheng showed a silver ticket of up to 5,000 taels, the family still couldn't resist the temptation of money after all, and agreed to sell the courtyard to Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Zheng only had to pay the money, and as for the trivial matters such as handing over the title deed and signing the documents, they were all handed over to Wang Er, so that Wang Er could negotiate with the family.

Wang Er was a bookkeeper back then, and he was able to do this kind of thing with ease, and he soon did it all.

After having a foothold, Zhao Zheng handed over another job to Wang Er, and asked Wang Er to hire workers to rebuild the courtyard and dig several basements buried deep underground. For the basement, he also had several small requirements, such as keeping the ventilation smooth, building heavy iron doors, and so on.

Wang Er knew that Zhao Zheng must have a special intention in doing this, so he didn't ask too much and did it one by one.

Building a basement is not a great thing, and without waiting for the workers to start construction, Zhao Zheng took Ren Qianqiu and Ah Bao to leave Changzhi County and set off to the next destination - Xiniu Province, the Lost Desert!

……

The scorching flame was viciously roasting the earth, as if it was about to melt the earth. The scorching of the sky gave off a dazzling light, and the sun here was bigger than the sun elsewhere. Under the sun's rays, the endless desert below becomes hot, and if you put an egg on it, it is possible to bake it slowly.

A hot air rises above the golden sand, refracting the light and blurring one's vision.

Such a ghost place is simply purgatory on earth. As long as you are a little more normal-minded, you would never want to go to such a place to suffer. But things in the world are often wonderful, and there are always various reasons that drive people to do things they don't want to do.

Under the scorching voice, a group of people rode on camels, endured the deadly heat, and ran quickly in this human purgatory, leaving a series of footprints. Swept by the wind and sand, these footprints were quickly covered up, leaving no trace.

"Damn, it's hot to death." Ren Qianqiu complained, grabbed the half-deflated cowhide water bag on his waist, twisted the lid, and poured it into his mouth, but he didn't dare to drink too much, "Zhao Zheng, to put it mildly, I knew that I was going to come to this kind of ghost place, so I would stay in Changzhi County and let Wang Er's kid come over and suffer this." ”

Zhao Zheng rode on the back of a camel, smiled and shook his head slightly, noncommittal. In this cruel environment, it is understandable for Ren Qianqiu to complain one or two sentences. He wouldn't want to go to such a ghost place if he had a choice, but he had to come here in order to find an important witness.

This witness is extremely crucial, knowing some hidden secrets that others do not know, and is a key to solving the mystery.

There are five people and one beast in their group, nine camels, in addition to Zhao Zheng and Ren Qianqiu, there are also three local guides, if there is no guide to lead the way, they will not be able to cross this labyrinthic desert at all, and they will definitely get lost in this purgatory-like desert until they die of thirst. Each of them rode a camel, and the rest carried their luggage.

On the way to the Lost Desert, they walked very hard, suffered a lot of sins, and met two times in the sandstorm alone, during which Ren Qianqiu was bitten by a scorpion once, thanks to Zhao Zheng's many antidotes, which saved Ren Qianqiu's life. Among all the people, the hardest one is Po, because he is covered in hair and feels more heat than others. If it weren't for Bao's unusually strong physique as a strange beast, I'm afraid he would have suffered from heat stroke a long time ago.

Zhao Zheng glanced around, and saw that these people were a little unable to hold on, so he sighed lightly, and activated the internal force of the dantian, forcing the internal force out of the body, forming a cool breeze that wrapped around the team. The cool breeze blew on everyone's faces and clothes, bringing a burst of coolness, which made the heat dissipate a lot.

Everyone felt the cool breeze around them, shouted happily, and their faces looked a lot better. It's a pity that Zhao Zheng's internal strength is limited, and he can't maintain this cool breeze for a long time, and he can only last for about half an hour at a time.

As I walked, in the direction of the right hand side of the people, a prosperous scene suddenly appeared, and the shadows of many buildings could be seen in the distance, and there were many pedestrians shuttling among them.

"We're in place! We're in place! After Ren Qianqiu caught a glimpse of the scene on his right, he immediately shouted happily, looking extremely happy.

When everyone heard this shout, they all turned their eyes to the town scene on the right, and Zhao Zheng's face also showed surprise, thinking that he had walked to the place, and even Ah Bao shouted twice. However, there was not the slightest smile on the faces of the three guides, and they were still very flat.

"You don't have to shout, it's not a town at all, it's a 'sea market', or a 'maze', it's just a phantom, it's not real at all. We are still some distance from the village of Shimizu, and we have to walk for half a day to reach it. The old guide who walked in front reminded faintly.

"Is this a mirage?" When Zhao Zheng heard this, his smile stiffened, and he asked dryly.

"Yes, it's just a sea market, there are often sea markets in this lost desert, and many people have died in the desert because they were deceived by the sea market. That sea market is ethereal and does not exist, and if you walk through it, you will only consume your strength in vain, and you will not get anything. If you are obsessed, you will die of exhaustion and thirst. The old guide replied.

"I see, thanks to you, otherwise, we would have been deceived." Zhao Zheng smiled bitterly. The old guide in front of him was a native of the local area, he knew the desert well, he was the most famous guide in the area, he had a very accurate judgment of this place, and his words carried a lot of weight. The old guide said that it was a mirage, then it must be a mirage, and there would be no mistake.

"Take people's money and eliminate disasters for others, I received five hundred taels of silver from you, so I naturally want to help you do things and send you to Qingshui Village safely." The old guide said.

After confirming that the scene on the right hand was just an illusion, everyone's newly heated minds became cool down again, and they continued on the road with bitter faces. Due to Bao's limited comprehension, he really couldn't understand why everyone didn't go to the town in front of them, but continued to move forward. It protested against this, and even disobeyed Zhao Zheng's order, jumped off the back of the camel without permission, and ran towards the mirage. Thanks to Zhao Zheng's action, he stopped Ah Bao.

After sacrificing a whole bag of beef jerky, half a bag of raisins, and a bag of water, Zhao Zheng finally pulled Ah Bao back and persuaded Ah Bao to move on and not linger on those false illusions.

After a small turmoil, everyone walked for half a day, and finally arrived at the destination of the trip when it was close to evening. Directly in front of the group, the outline of an oasis appeared, with a large lake wave, a field of greenery, and scattered buildings.

The scene that appeared this time was no longer a mirage, but a genuine village, the so-called Qingshui Village.

Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, everyone cheered, and even the guides showed joy.

Zhao Zheng held the reins of the camel in his hand and looked at Qingshui Village in front of him, his eyes becoming deeper and deeper.

The person he was looking for was a former member of the Three Swords Sect who lived in seclusion here, his name was Zhao Huahong, who had the same surname as himself, and he should be around sixty years old if he counted it. This old woman named Zhao Huahong had the cultivation of the Five Heavens when she retired back then, and now she must be far above this and cannot be underestimated. Zhao Huahong, like most of the people in the Three Swords Sect, is good at using knife techniques, and uses the "Lie Yue Knife Method" perfectly, and has killed the resounding nickname of "Lie Yue Mandarin Duck" back then.

In addition to Zhao Huahong, there is another person in the martial arts who also lives in seclusion here, and this person is the female beauty of the silver dart guest, Ji Yushan.

At the beginning, because he was dissatisfied with the silver dart man who continued to commit crimes, Ji Yushan left angrily and ran here to live in seclusion, staying for many years. It's a remote place that is rarely visited, but if you want to avoid anyone, it's a good place to go.

More than a year ago, the silver dart attempted to seize the Zichu Sword from Zhao Zheng, and Zhao Zheng used Ji Yushan's retreat to keep the Zichu Sword. After the silver dart learned about the hermitage of his old friend, he left even after such a long time, he must have already met with Ji Yushan. However, it is still unknown whether these two will be able to get back together.

The silver dart is not a good type, and his martial arts cultivation is also extremely terrifying, and Zhao Zheng doesn't want to meet this person.

Just in case, Zhao Zheng lifted up the circle of gauze wrapped around his neck, covered his face, turned around to look at Ren Qianqiu behind him, and ordered: "Brother Ren, you can also cover your face." ”

Ren Qianqiu was stunned for a moment, then nodded and pulled his scarf up.

After everyone cheered, they continued to hurry, and the outline of Qingshui Village gradually enlarged in their eyes, becoming clearer and clearer. This deserted village once again ushered in a group of uninvited guests. (To be continued.) )