"Blue clouds, yellow leaves. The autumn colors are continuous, and the waves are cold and smoky. The mountains reflect the slanting sun and the sky receives water. The grass is ruthless, and it is even more outside the sun. "Song Dynasty Fan Wenzhenggong's "Su Curtain Cover" expresses the feelings of homesickness through the description of the beautiful and far-reaching autumn scenery.

But for some people, hometown is like a distant memory, sealed in history, not to think about it, not to think about it, but there is a kind of secret expectation, hidden deep in the bottom of the heart.

Maybe I can finally come back, although I don't know what year or month.

Yin Ze and Ziyun rode west, went to Yin Di first, met Yin Qiu and Lian Hu, who were sent back to the family by Yin Yanduo, and asked for the details of Gu Su's death, but did not alarm others, and left quietly.

Yin Qiu and the two asked to follow, but Yin Ze decisively refused, but before leaving, he taught the two some qi refining methods and told them to practice well.

Subsequently, Yin Ze and Ziyun traveled overnight, went out of Yin Dao, crossed Cuihan, crossed the Yellow River in the west, followed Weishui, passed through Xianyang, the capital of Qin, and traveled aimlessly.

Where did they end up? Master Dan did not say it explicitly, and Yin Ze did not know either. However, as the saying goes, "travel thousands of miles, read thousands of books", this journey of thousands of miles opened the eyes of the two, there was novelty and fatigue, but in the end it was novel.

Novelty is beauty, and beauty is the greatest pleasure in life.

Of course, there are also bad places, they have also seen countless births, old age, sickness and death, soldiers and fires. The poet Du Shaoling of later generations has a famous sentence "Zhumen wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road", which is also the norm of this era.

Spring goes to autumn, and it is two years in the blink of an eye. In the past few years, the world has been turbulent, such as the Tanyuan meeting of the Jin Qi and Song Lu, the accession of Zhao Gong of the Lu State, the Wei Shu Podi of the Jin State, the Gongzi of the Qin State and so on, and countless current affairs are staged like dramas.

Yin Ze had heard some rumors, some had not, and he didn't care. In the past two years, although the poison of the Heavenly Qi in his body has not been removed, the black qi in the sea of qi is only a thin layer, and occasionally he can sense the golden pill as bright as the scorching sun again.

However, the black qi in the meridians was only half missing, and it was still not dredged, which made it impossible for him to exert his mana, nor did he return to his normal appearance, but the strength of his physical body became stronger and stronger.

......

On the bank of the Weishui River, Yin Ze was wearing a burlap short coat, his hair was simply tied together with hemp rope, and Ziyun was wearing a blue dress that was washed white, and the shadows of the two were reflected together, a little warm in the lonely Qingqiu.

In the distance, a city nestled beneath a mountain range, with a black flag floating on its head.

"It's almost time to get to Shang, and I heard that the dog Rong is coming again, it's really a bad world. ”

Yin Ze muttered to himself, with a resolute look on his face, tightened the Xuantie long sword on his body, turned his back to the rising sun, and walked forward with Ziyun in the weeds stained with hoarfrost.

In a short time, Shangtai welcomed these two travelers, and the mottled city wall that stretched for miles was completely presented in front of them, telling its antiquity and vicissitudes. At this time, the city gate had just been opened, and there were not many pedestrians, only a group of soldiers were checking the post, and occasionally one or two cavalry pegasus horses entered and exited here.

Seeing the two approaching, a soldier stepped forward and stopped, "Show me the road!"

Yin Ze looked at him calmly, took out a bronze medal from his arms, and after the soldier took it, he looked at it carefully, and the original indifference and pride instantly dissipated, revealing a respectful attitude.

That bronze medal was a proof of nobility, obtained from a down-and-out nobleman of the Qin State, and as for the nameplate of the Yin family, he had already thrown it away as garbage.

The two men had long been accustomed to the attitude of the soldiers, took back the bronze medal, and led the horses into the city with the compliments of the soldiers.

It is rumored that Shangtai City was built by Fuxi and has a long history, but it is not prosperous. The streets are sparsely populated, and the occasional few open shops are very cold and there is no business.

At this time, the commoners either went to build farms, or to transport grain, or to make fine wine for the nobles, and did not have leisure time to go shopping. As for the aristocracy, they often indulge in the gentle countryside, and they will not go out to accept the baptism of the autumn breeze.

Moreover, Shangtai was previously occupied by the dog Rong, and it was not until the Qin Wugong period that it was included in the rule of the Qin State, and the dog Rong has invaded from time to time in the past hundred years, and the population was already sparse due to war, so it is not surprising that this bleak scene is now.

Shangtai is a historical city, but the overall layout is very simple, standing at the east gate and looking along the street, you can vaguely see the black flag at the head of the west gate, and the tallest building in the city belongs to the Fuxi altar in the center of the city.

Yin Ze and Ziyun entered the city, turned around for a while, felt hungry, chose an inn on the side of the street, tied their horses to the door, and entered it. The inn is called the inn, a very simple name, and the layout is very simple, only four or five tables and chairs are placed in the main hall, and there is a shopkeeper in front of the counter to dial the chips.

When the shopkeeper saw the visitor, one was as beautiful as a fairy and the other was as ugly as Shura, he muttered a few words, hurriedly sorted out his clothes, and greeted him with a smile: "Is the guest officer a sharp or a stay?"

After a long day's journey, the two of them were a little tired, and sat casually at the table by the door, Yin Ze threw a string of cloth coins on the table and said, "Two soup cakes and three catties of mutton, and prepare two guest rooms for me, and take care of our horses by the way." ”

The shopkeeper was a little blessed, but his movements were not slow, and after receiving the money, he immediately went to eat.

Yin Ze nodded, untied the long sword and put it on the table, and said to Ziyun: "Sister Yun, not far to the west is the range of Inurong, let's stay here for a while, if there is no gain, let's go back." ”

"Listen to Brother Xi. "After two years, Ziyun has become even more beautiful, and his cultivation has also risen rapidly to the eleventh layer of the chemical qi, and he is about to condense the golden pill. I don't know what kind of exercises the master passed on to her, with the cultivation, she has completed the transformation from a little maid to a fairy, even the jinghai cloth skirt can't hide her dusty temperament.

It's just that this girl remembered the name Yin Xi given to Yin Ze by the teacher, since the two were called brother and sister, she called Yin Ze Brother Xi, which sounded inexplicably happy.

After a while, a plainly dressed woman brought her meal, and after the salute, she withdrew into the back hall, while the shopkeeper led their horses to the stables and added fodder, and then reappeared at the counter to play with the chips.

After eating, Yin Ze beckoned the shopkeeper over and asked him for information about Shangtai

Yin Ze asked: "Shopkeeper, just now I saw the sentry horses frequently entering and leaving the city, and there are few pedestrians in the city, is that the dog Rong coming to the border again?"

For the guest's inquiry, the shopkeeper did not dare to slack off: "Yes, as soon as the dog comes, this business will not be able to be done." The guest officer didn't know that since Wu Gong drove the dog Rong to Longshan, the dog Rong would call almost every year, especially in spring and autumn, and it would be more than a hundred years to calculate the time.

This is consistent with what Yin Ze knew, he pondered for a while, and continued to ask, "So how is the battle situation now?" Can you tell me about it. ”

Facing the bright purple clouds, the shopkeeper was a little restrained, and he didn't dare to look directly, rubbing his hands and saying, "I only know a rough idea." It is said that the leader of the dog this time was called Nu Jin, and he gathered 20,000 troops to invade, but was blocked by Dr. Meng Ge outside the city of Ji County. Guest officer, don't worry, with General Meng here, the dog Rong will not be able to break through Ji County. ”

Yin Ze let out an "oh", a little curious in his heart, although the soldiers of the Qin State are strong, but a small border town in Ji County, the strength of the army is only three or five thousand at most, this Meng Ge can make the people have such confidence in the situation of the disparity in troops, but he has some ability.

Yin Ze smiled and said, "What kind of character is this Menggo? It makes you so confident, listening to what you said, that dog Rong is not a dog Rong, but a dog sheep." ”

Hearing Yin Ze's ridicule, the shopkeeper's face turned gloomy for a moment, and he didn't care about the beauty's current situation, and said in a deep voice: "What are these words, guest officer." That dog Rong is naturally not easy to mess with, otherwise how dare he call every year, but our General Meng is even more powerful, and General Meng is not an ordinary character!"

It seems that this Meng Ge is also an extraordinary Qi Refiner, Yin Ze continued: "In this way, this General Meng must be extraordinary, please tell the shopkeeper for me." ”

Recently, there have been few visitors, and there are beautiful women here, the shopkeeper didn't feel bored at all, snorted, and said for Yin Ze, mentioning Meng Ge, even his eyes became fanatical:

"That's nature, General Meng is not a mortal like us, he is a fairy-like figure, he can make a flying spear, and he can also summon a divine dragon, isn't it powerful? Not to mention the five hundred black dragon guards under his command, they are all brave, they are all well-known immortals. Not to mention slaves, even mountain spirits and wild monsters can't break through Ji County. ”

It sounds like this Meng Ge does have some ability, at least the cultivation of the gods, as for the divine dragon, Yin Ze will never believe it, except for the records of ancient books, how can there be a divine dragon in the world now, and it is still someone else's spirit animal?

Ziyun naturally didn't believe it, and interjected: "Bragging." ”

The shopkeeper was angry at first, turned his head to look, and found that it was Ziyun, and hurriedly smiled: "What the fairy said is that the villain also listens to what others say, and he wants to exaggerate." ”

After Yin Ze heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he secretly complained to himself, another vulgar person who was treated differently was simply vulgar. However, his dignity was really cold, and he was not angry, and then asked: "In this case, how dare the dog Rong come to commit it? I think there are also masters among the dog Rong!"

The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "Yes, it is not as good as General Meng." Guest officer, don't look at the dog Rong people are nominally called people, but they are a group of wild dogs, they are not afraid of death at all, and they come when they smell people. ”

This was quite ridiculous, which made Ziyun laugh. Yin Ze also laughed, but the Qin people have a master like Meng Ge in charge, and the dog Rong still dares to invade, and it won't be far behind.

After talking to the shopkeeper of the inn for a while, Yin Ze asked for some more information about Shangqi and had a general understanding of the situation in this place

Shangtai is a relic city of Fuxi, and the people in power are naturally the descendants of the Fuxi clan. There are three main wealthy families in the city, namely the three families of Feng, Hao and Xu, among which the Feng family slaughters Fengyan as the doctor of Shangtai County, the Hao family slaughters Hao Hu as Sima, and the Xu family slaughters the Xutu as the Sikou, and the three families jointly control the military and political affairs of Shangtai County.

As for more information, it is not something that an innkeeper can know.

The Qin Rong battle in Ji County has the participation of Qi refiners, maybe the opportunity to go west this time is there, but Yin Ze is not in a hurry to go, first take a short rest in the guest room arranged by the shopkeeper, and then go to the street with Ziyun, planning to find a time to visit the wealthy families in the lower city to see if he can be introduced.