There are many birds singing and beasts howling in the jungle, and Li Zheng has heard a lot of them, and he is also bored. But the sound of gurgling water not far ahead lifted the group's spirits.

The crowd approached quickly, and sure enough, there was a river running through the forest. Xiao Yilan cheered, ran over quickly, did not take off his shirt, jumped directly into the river, stirred up a splash, and the wood that walked in front also took heavy steps, walked to the middle of the stream and sat down, letting the stream flow past him. Luo Yu, who opened the road in front, sat on the bank and washed his face with a handful of water in the river.

Meng Lin showed a relaxed expression, walked to the river and sat down, took off his boots that were already full of mud, revealing white lotus-like jade feet, reaching into the water and patting gently, the white skin was as transparent as in the water.

Xiao Yilan grew up in Benhai City since he was a child, with excellent water quality, as flexible as a fish in the stream, Meng Lin looked at Xiao Yilan who was swimming in the stream, stretching his waist comfortably, showing amazing lines.

Suddenly, a puddle of water slapped on Meng Lin's body, causing her to hang down in front of her with green silk, she brushed the silk and looked up in amazement, but saw Xiao Yilan giggling in the water, and couldn't help but say angrily: "Nonsense!" But the feet turned up again and again, like a flying butterfly, kicking out bursts of water waves towards Xiao Yilan.

Duan Xinnan found a clean place to sit down by himself, and did not rush to hurry, watching the young boys and girls by the stream playing in the water, drooping his eyelids, and he was not interested. He glanced at Li Zheng beside him and asked, "You're not with them?"

In fact, Li Zheng's heart was very itchy, southern Xinjiang was hot and humid, and his clothes didn't dry for a long time after sweating, they were slimy, he just wanted to wash them, but he didn't want to leave a rash impression on Duan Xinnan, so he had to sit down beside Duan Xinnan obediently.

"Senior, are we heading in the right direction?" he asked.

"Legend has it that there is a river in the southern part of Xinjiang, which originates in the extreme south, goes around in a circle, and eventually flows into the southernmost jungle, like a Ouroboros. This river is called 'Katoqi', which means 'life cycle' in the ancient language of southern Xinjiang. ”

Li Zheng's eyes lit up: "Then this river is the 'Katoqi'?"

"I've never been here, I've only heard legends. If the legend is true, then we only need to walk along this river to find the extreme south where the dryads are located. ”

When Duan Xinnan spoke, his expression was still as cold as ever, without the slightest hint of joy. Li Zheng looked at his expression and asked tentatively, "Senior, you are so good at it, have you ever accepted a disciple?"

"I've received two, and one is more useless than the other. Duan Xinnan snorted coldly.

"That'...... Does that senior have any plans to accept another apprentice......"

"Nope. Duan Xinnan interrupted Li Zheng very decisively.

Li Zheng was stunned for a moment, and asked with some frustration: "Is it because the qualifications of the juniors are too poor?"

Duan Xinnan glanced at him and said: "You are too indecisive, you seem to follow the rules, but in fact, you are always timid, looking forward and backward, and you don't even have the courage to play in the water. Such a disposition is not worthy of my sword. ”

Li Zheng bowed his head gloomily, looked at Xiao Yilan by the river, and said in a low voice: "As a little prince, he is naturally not comparable to me......"

Duan Xinnan sneered: "What about the little prince? Where are people worse than people?

Li Zheng bowed his head with some shame and said, "The seniors taught us." Duan Xinnan stopped talking, twisted his head to the side, and closed his eyes to recuperate. Li Zheng waited quietly beside him for a while, and finally stood up and walked towards the stream.

Xiao Yilan noticed Li Zheng, but pretended not to see it, and when Li Zheng approached, he suddenly turned over in the water and splashed on Li Zheng. Looking at Li Zheng**'s clothes, Xiao Yilan laughed and said, "I thought you had been with that old man for a long time, and you had become as pedantic as him!"

Li Zheng inadvertently looked back, Duan Xinnan didn't react, he turned his head and chuckled at Xiao Yilan: "Second Young Master is soaked in water like this, I'm afraid that my clothes won't dry if I walk for a few days." ”

"Anyway, when I walk, I am covered in sweat, and it is better to soak in the river than in sweat. Xiao Yilan said nonchalantly.

Meng Lin pulled her wet hair behind her ears, and asked with a chuckle, "Brother Li is good at water?"

In front of Xiao Yilan, Li Zheng's young man's refusal to admit defeat was about to move. He replied with a smile: "It's okay, it's only a little bit stronger than the second young master." ”

Xiao Yilan scolded with a smile: "You are quite thick-skinned, so hurry up and get into the water, let's compete!"

Li Zheng's heart moved, and he suddenly had a strong desire to win**, and jumped into the river without saying a word. If he was in Huanbenhai City, he would probably deal with it casually and let Xiao Yilan win, but after Song Zhuo's words that day and Duan Xinnan's few interruptions, he suddenly had an urge to prove himself.

Xiao Yilan and Li Zheng stood side by side in the water, and Luo Yu also came to the side and watched the two compete. With Meng Lin's crisp voice sounding, the two jumped out like arrows from the string, cutting through the waves of water and shooting forward.

Under the shade of the tree, Duan Xinnan squinted slightly, staring at the two figures in the splash.

Meng Lin was smiling at the two people who were as agile as swimming fish in the water, but suddenly her face was ugly, and she looked up into the depths of the jungle. Luo Yu noticed her abnormality and asked, "Miss Meng, are you uncomfortable?"

Meng Lin shook his head with a pale face and said, "Quickly call the two of them out, something is approaching!"

Li Zheng struggled to paddle his limbs, and from a distance it looked like a toad was beating. But he was not slow at all, and the sound of the water was full of his ears. He vaguely heard Meng Lin, Luo Yu, and even Xiao Yilan's voice, but he turned a deaf ear and still swam forward with all his might, for fear that Xiao Yilan would take the opportunity to surpass him.

Suddenly, he felt something huge in front of him, and his eyes were obscured from the light, and it was pitch black. He gritted his teeth, and then leaped out of the water with the momentum of his forward, only to see a hideous face.

The face was like a bull, with horns on its forehead, and a body as thick as a bull, but it was larger than an ordinary bull, and had dark brown coarse hair. At this moment, it has a bloody mouth, and Li Zheng can still smell the rich fishy smell in its mouth.

"Aren't you stupid, kid! Run!" Xiao Yilan's voice came from behind him.

Before Li Zheng could react, the monster took a step towards him and let out a deafening roar, so close that Li Zheng only felt pain in his ears, and he couldn't hear other sounds for a while.

A figure suddenly appeared in his sight, reached under his armpit, and pulled it up. Duan Xinnan held Li Zheng in one hand, turned over deftly in the air, and landed just beside the wood.

"All stand beside the tree spirits!" Duan Xinnan shouted in a deep voice.

Xiao Yilan and the three of them hurriedly complied, they all gathered around the wood, hugging his legs or waist, the wood had already stood up at this time, the stream only reached the root of his thighs, he looked at the crowd around him crowded in a circle, a little confused.

The monster glanced at the wood, then lowered its head and stuck out its scarlet tongue to drink in the river. Li Zheng found that he was already covered in cold sweat, and his ears were also a little tinnitus because of the loud noise before. His eyes were fixed on the monster, not daring to look away for a moment.

It's just that the monster didn't seem to have the intention of attacking, and after drinking the water, it raised its head and let out a long roar, used its limbs together, and disappeared into the jungle in a blink of an eye.

Xiao Yilan breathed a sigh of relief and asked with palpitations: "Senior, what is this?"

"The horns and fur on the body of the ghost horn are all treasures, and they are very valuable, but this beast has rough skin and thick flesh, and it is extremely difficult to deal with. I've hunted ghosthorns with caravans before, but the caravan of dozens of people was killed and injured by the infested group of ghosthorns. ”

"Then why didn't it come and clean us up? It looked like it had been hungry for a long time. Meng Lin smacked her tongue.

"The girl's small body is not enough for her to eat. Xiao Yilan answered on the side.

Meng Lin glanced at him, but the corners of her mouth kept rising. Duan Xinnan ignored the two of them and said: "The tree spirit is born from a thousand-year-old tree, and legend has it that every grass, tree, branch and leaf in southern Xinjiang is born because of the tree spirit. Therefore, thousands of creatures in southern Xinjiang, from the big ghost horn beast to the small ant, all inherit the favor of the tree spirit family, and naturally will not harm the tree spirit. ”

Xiao Yilan suddenly said: "It turns out that the predecessors want to go deep into southern Xinjiang with us, and they have seen this. ”

Duan Xinnan was noncommittal, his toes touched the ground, jumped lightly, and fell into the shade of the tree before.

Xiao Yilan and Meng Lin learned a lesson and didn't dare to play arbitrarily anymore. Li Zheng was also excited, and walked back to Duan Xinnan and sat down. Duan Xinnan suddenly opened his eyes and said, "You want to learn swordsmanship from me?"

Li Zheng was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly nodded: "Yes!

Duan Xinnan was still sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding the hilt of the sword with his right hand, and pulling it outward, the sword came out of its sheath with a sound. Before Li Zheng could sigh, he saw Duan Xinnan swinging his sword seemingly casually, and a half-human-tall weed beside him was actually disconnected.

Li Zheng couldn't wait to see his next move, but Duan Xinnan threw the scabbard in his hand to Li Zheng.

"I'll teach you one trick today, and then I'll teach you the next trick when you're ready. ”

"This ...... Is this just a trick?" Li Zheng's eyes widened in disbelief and he looked at the scabbard in his hand.

Duan Xinnan said expressionlessly: "Practice diligently every day, and you can't leave your hands down." When you are proficient, you are allowed to use the sword. ”