It's quiet, and it's late at night.

It was such a late night, and the weather was so cold, that there was no one on the streets and alleys.

Not only was there no one, but there was no fire, and the people of this small county town were already asleep.

Some are asleep, others are still awake.

Jiang Shenzhou walked through a dark willow forest and stepped through the soft earth to the edge of the pond, which was just behind the inn where they were staying.

The lotus leaves in the pond have long since withered, only a few stump branches are swaying in the cold wind, their lives have long since withered, but their proud bones are still stubbornly erect.

The autumn wind is bleak, and the autumn night is sad.

On the shore of the pond, a man was facing away from him, and she seemed to be burning something, and the light of the fire was bright and dark, reflecting the side of her face. Her face was beautiful and pale, and there was still a trail of undried tears on her face.

Jiang Shenzhou had already recognized that person as Qin Sheng.

Jiang Shenzhou walked over and said, "It turns out that you are hiding here, no wonder I can't find it anywhere." ”

"Today is their first seven." Qin Sheng said quietly. As she spoke, she threw a handful of paper money into the fire in front of her.

There are also a few dishes of food, a bowl of rice, and a few incense candles in front of the fire, which is a ritual to pay tribute to the dead. Many people in Tiance Mansion died in the Liangzhou Desert, and their bones have not been found.

Jiang Shenzhou squatted down, there was a pile of paper money on the ground, he didn't speak, just silently threw the paper money into the fire.

In the blink of an eye, the fire burned even brighter.

The flames rose and scattered the ashes of the paper money, and it seemed that patches of snow were floating in the air.

"It's in the past, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Besides, Li Que has sent someone to Liangzhou, and he promised me that I will bury the bones of the servant Gushamo, not only him, but also the companions of Tiance Mansion, if they are still alive, Li Que will definitely save them. It took a long time for Jiang Shenzhou to speak.

"I'm afraid, I'm just afraid of ......," Qin Sheng sighed worriedly.

Jiang Shenzhou said: "It's useless for you to worry, instead of worrying about what you can't do, it's better to think about what will happen after returning to Chang'an." "After returning to Chang'an, Tiance Mansion will report the inspection to the imperial court, and according to Li Que, the imperial court will definitely cover up this matter. In this way, Wei Chi Baolin will not only not be punished as she deserves, but will continue to do evil in Liangzhou.

Jiang Shenzhou absolutely could not tolerate this happening.

Qin Sheng didn't think as much as he thought, she suddenly stared at him motionlessly, looking like she wanted to say something.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Shenzhou asked.

Qin Sheng looked at the fire and hesitated for a long time, and finally asked her question: "Have you ever wondered why Li Que suddenly appeared there?" ”

"Of course I thought about it, but you mean." Jiang Shenzhou said, he had seen that Qin Sheng had something to say.

Qin Sheng said quietly: "I don't know why, although he saved us, I always feel that he is helping Yu Chi Baolin." The old general said that Yu Chi Baolin has the support of the prince behind him, could it be him. ”

Jiang Shenzhou said: "Impossible! ”

Qin Sheng asked rhetorically, "How do you know?" ”

Jiang Shenzhou said: "I asked him, and he said no." ”

Qin Sheng said, "Do you believe what he said?" She looked puzzled.

"I don't believe his words, but I know why he is there, because he got our news from the Liangzhou generals." Jiang Shenzhou explained: "There are many generals in Liangzhou who used to serve under King Yi, and King Yi is Li Que's father, although he is no longer there, but his influence is still there. ”

Qin Sheng lowered his head and sighed softly, "It turns out that I blamed him wrongly. ”

Jiang Shenzhou smiled and said, "You don't know Li Que, although he speaks harshly and ruthlessly, he will never do this kind of thing, it's not that he can't do it, it's not that he can't do it, but he is too proud, and he doesn't disdain people like Yu Chi Baolin at all." ”

"But he's willing to be with you." Qin Sheng said, she thought about it, and couldn't help but ask: "Actually, I haven't understood why you became friends." ”

"Actually, I don't understand either." Jiang Shenzhou replied with a smile. He stood up, rubbed his legs, which had become numb, and paced to the pond.

The pond in front of me is calm like a mirror, and the starry sky is reflected on the mirror-like water, and the stars seem to fall into the pond.

"And how did you meet?" Qin Sheng asked.

"How did you know ......" Jiang Shenzhou groaned, picked up a stone and threw it into the pond, ripples, and a pool of starlight instantly shattered into thousands of scales.

The light illuminated Jiang Shenzhou's face, and also illuminated the shallow smile on his face.

"Speaking of which, that was five years ago......

While talking to Qin Sheng, he remembered the past five years ago.

He remembered that it was early spring, when he was only thirteen years old. Previously, he had been poisoned by snakes, so he fell asleep for two years. When he woke up, the master asked him to follow Uncle Li Jin to recuperate while studying medicine.

Uncle Li Jin lives near Zhongnan Mountain, and when he has nothing to do, the two of them will go to the mountains to collect medicine. There are many rare medicinal materials in Zhongnan Mountain, such as crane grass, nightshade, wild ginseng, red peony, Sichuan Qiong, and Atractylodes.

On that day, Uncle Li Tan delayed time in order to save a patient, so Jiang Shenzhou was the only one who went up the mountain in the end.

Jiang Shenzhou went up the mountain early in the morning, it only took less than half a day, his basket was already full of medicinal herbs, just as he was satisfied with the basket on his back, carrying the medicine hoe and preparing to go down the mountain, a painful scream attracted his attention.

The chirp came from the thick grass, hiding a wounded fawn with an arrow in its back, apparently encountering a hunter.

Jiang Shenzhou hurriedly hugged the fawn on his body, wanting to help it pull out the arrow to heal its injuries. At this moment, a little boy of the same age as himself appeared in front of him.

This little boy is Li Quan!

At that time, he was dressed in fine clothes and carried a bow and arrows in his hand. Not long after he appeared, many people followed, these people were all members of the palace's entourage, among them was the red-haired Ge Shu Yanlie.

Li Que stared at Jiang Shenzhou for a long time and asked, "Who are you, why did you rob my prey?" ”

Jiang Shenzhou explained: "I didn't rob your prey, I was saving him, and it was injured." ”

Li Que looked at him strangely and asked, "Save it?" Why save? Can't you tell it's a prey? ”

Jiang Shenzhou said: "Maybe it is a prey for you, but it is also a life." ”

Li Que was stunned and didn't speak, of course he didn't understand why Jiang Shenzhou said that, he grew up in a princely family. Before he could speak, Jiang Shenzhou had already pulled out three finger-thick wild ginseng from the basket behind him.

"Whew...... This one is up to you. Jiang Shenzhou handed the wild ginseng to him.

"Why did you give me this?" Li Que asked hesitantly.

"These three ginseng can be sold for a lot of silver, and they should be exchanged for fawn." Jiang Shenzhou looked at him with a serious face.

Li Que slapped his hand away and asked rhetorically, "Do you think I'm hunting for money?" ”

Jiang Shenzhou was not angry, he blinked, and asked curiously: "My uncle said that hunters hunt for a living, not for money, so why?" ”

Li Que snorted and said coldly: "Ridiculous! To hunt is to kill, to dominate the life and death of all things. You won't understand it. As he spoke, he suddenly became murderous, pulled his bow out, and aimed the arrow at Jiang Shenzhou's eyes.

"Give it to me, or you'll die." Li Que threatened fiercely.

Jiang Shenzhou didn't flinch at all, but hugged the deer in his arms tighter. He didn't speak, and stared at Li Que with a pair of eyes without fear.

The mountains and forests are lonely, the ancient trees are towering, and the sound of insects chirping from time to time sounded in the depths of the sultry grass, and Li Que just held his bow motionlessly and aimed at Jiang Shenzhou. The rest of the entourage didn't even dare to come out, and some of them couldn't even bear to look any longer, and unconsciously turned their heads, only Ge Shu Yanlie stared at Li Que nervously, and a pair of hands seemed to be ready to stop him at any time.

"It turned out to be a stupid boy, and he had to be afraid of death." After a stalemate for a while, Li Que suddenly put down his bow and said disdainfully, "You can go." ”

Jiang Shenzhou hugged the deer, and was about to leave with the basket on his back.

"Stop!" As soon as he turned around, Li Que's voice rang out: "Who asked you to take my prey away." ”

Jiang Shenzhou turned around and said, "Didn't you say to let us go?" ”

Li Que sneered: "My son said to let you go, but I didn't promise you to take it away." ”

As soon as he heard this, Jiang Shenzhou became anxious, he threw the basket on the ground, and said impatiently: "What do you want?" ”

Li Que was obviously taken aback by him, and said, "This son...... I...... Okay, as long as you compete with me, the deer will be yours if you win. As he spoke, Li Que threw down his bow, rolled up his sleeves and was eager to try.

But Jiang Shenzhou said: "I don't want to fight with you, Master said you can't fight." ”

Li Que pointed at the deer and threatened: "If you don't win against me, you won't be allowed to take it away." ”

Jiang Shenzhou glanced at the fawn, only to see that it looked at him with a pitiful look, as if begging for help. He sighed and said, "Okay, how do you win?" ”

Li Que said: "As long as you can make me beg for mercy, you will win, and vice versa." He looked confident, and he didn't look at Jiang Shenzhou at all.

"Don't ......" Ge Shu Yanlie hurriedly persuaded: "The son of the world is the body of a daughter, if there is anything wrong, how can we ...... to the prince." ”

"Don't say it." Li Que shouted: "You give me a retreat, everyone retreats for me, what I want is a fair contest." ”

"Yes!" Ge Shu Yanlie replied, although he was reluctant, he could only obey his master's orders. Ge Shu Yanlie waved his hand, and retreated to the three feet behind Li Que with the rest of his entourage.

Jiang Shenzhou had already put the fawn aside in the grass, and he was ready as well.

Li Que stared at him and said, "Let's start, remind you in advance, I won't show mercy to you, so you don't have to show mercy." ”

Jiang Shenzhou shook his head and sighed: "Your anger is too heavy, this is not good." ”

"You have to take care of it!" Li Que shouted angrily and rushed towards Jiang Shenzhou. In his opinion, Jiang Shenzhou in front of him was thin and pale, and he looked like he was just a country child, and it was impossible for him to know kung fu at all. And he himself has been learning martial arts from a famous teacher since he was a child, and it is easy to deal with him.

Jiang Shenzhou just stood there motionless, he looked like he was scared stupid.

Li Que rushed in front of him and punched out, he hit Jiang Shenzhou's abdomen, the abdomen is the weakest part of the human body's defense, as long as it is hit, it will be painful and unbearable, but it will not be fatal. Li Que had no intention of hurting him, he just wanted to teach this wild boy who didn't know how to lift a lesson.

But he was wrong, just as he punched out, Jiang Shenzhou suddenly dodged sideways, and then grabbed Li Que's wrist with his left hand, and pressed his waist with the other hand, Li Que only felt that he suddenly turned around uncontrollably, and then fell heavily to the ground.

Jiang Shenzhou stepped forward to help Li Que and said, "If you lose, I can take the deer." ”

"I didn't ask you for mercy, how can I lose." Li Que stood up and said unconvinced: "Come again!" ”

Jiang Shenzhou said: "Do you know that you are cheating?" ”

"What a trick, I said at the beginning that begging for mercy is the only way to admit defeat." Li Que replied confidently.

Jiang Shenzhou tilted his head and looked upwards with his eyes, as if he was thinking about what Li Que had just said.

"Be careful!" Li Que reminded and shot again.

This time he was no longer careless, but more cautious, Jiang Shenzhou's blow just now made him palpitate, but he didn't expect him to be a little skilled.

The two of them soon fought each other, and after Li Que calmed down, his ordinary training was reflected, and every move he used was both offensive and defensive, and he was relaxed.

Ge Shu Yanlie on the side couldn't help but show a look of admiration.

On the other hand, Jiang Shenzhou was not far behind, although he didn't make many shots, most of the time he was dodging. But in the face of Li Que's fast and ruthless shots, he was able to play with ease, and he didn't look cowardly at all.

This kid isn't simple, Ge Shu Yanlie thought secretly.

But it didn't take long for Jiang Shenzhou to start panting, and his face looked even paler. Li Que seized this opportunity and flew out with a kick while he was panting.

With a bang, Jiang Shenzhou was kicked to the ground.

"Throw in the towel, you're no match for me." Li Que looked at him and said proudly.

"I ...... I didn't lose ......" Jiang Shenzhou struggled to stand up while clutching his chest uncomfortably: "Come again!" ”

Li Que couldn't help frowning.

Soon, the two fought together again, but their strength was almost the same, and the two of them fought for a long time, although they were both injured, but none of them were willing to admit defeat.

Now, not only Jiang Shenzhou, but even Li Que is already tired and panting.

"This ...... If this continues, we may never be able to tell the winner......" Li Que said as he bent over and held on to a tree, panting.

"What about you...... How? Jiang Shenzhou was two feet away from him, and he was already sweating profusely.

"Next time, who's ...... Whoever falls to the ground first loses. Li Que suggested.

"Good ......," Jiang Shenzhou replied. He raised his head, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he rushed towards Li Que quickly.

"You actually attacked ......" Li Que didn't have time to think about it, and threw a punch.

Jiang Shenzhou fell to the ground with a fist, only to see that he was holding a snake in his hand, the snake was three or four feet long, with a triangular head, and a colorful pattern all over his body, which was obviously highly poisonous.

At the same time, Jiang Shenzhou was lying motionless on the ground, and there were already two more bloody wounds on his wrists.

Why is his hand ...... Could it be ...... He was here to save me. Looking at his wrist, Li Que suddenly realized.

"Geshu Yanlie!" Li Que shouted anxiously.