The remnant sun enters the mountains on the horizon, the afterglow ends, and the night falls into the sky, paving the endless canopy and attracting the stars.

The street long letter lights are lit up, and a foggy light curtain is erected for the city, and under the bright light, there are pedestrians paraded through the streets, laughing and refreshing.

Qiu Shaohu traveled by boat, and saw that the reflection of the river surface was sparkling, and he was cut by the bow of the ship, and it was broken into countless photoelectric lights, and he was left behind. In my ears, the laughter gradually faded away, except for the lingering sound of the wind, only the sound of the gurgling water behind the boat was left.

The boat flows upriver along the river in the city, and the dwellings on both sides of the river are gradually decreasing, and occasionally there are lights shining through the window strings, faintly like fireflies flying in the night sky.

At this time, I suddenly heard the sound of a pipa on the shore, like a warbler whimpering, low and complaining, accompanied by the female relatives singing softly:

"The wind defeats the willows at night, and the dream of the neighbor is longing for the head. When I was a teenager, I didn't get famous? Sleepless, sleepless, empty for the deceased to weep. ”

The lyrics and songs are clear, like needles piercing into the heart, leaving the listener to sigh. However, in a few words, the young man next door sought fame but never returned, leaving the woman waiting for the end of the old pearl.

Qiu Shaohu was touched in his heart when he heard it, and he couldn't help but follow the song and gently responded: "I don't know where the future is, and I am wandering and returning home." Still thinking of the hometown people, how can the end of the world be promised? Clear rain, clear rain, drunk and don't know where to go. ”

"The guest officer is so literate!" The captain at the back of the ship raised his head and said with a smile: "This poem is mourning for mourning, and the beauty is nothing more than this." The woman complained that the old boy did not come back to see her, how could she know that the young man had not lost his way back and could not go to her again? If it is not a sad person, how can we know the suffering of a broken person? But I see that the guest officer is young, so there are so many sad things in my heart? ”

"If it weren't for the sad people, how could they come here alone and lonely now to take a boat, listen to the songs of the singers by the lake, and feel melancholy?" Qiu Shaohu said.

"That's right." The captain shook the oar, and the boat went around the small river, and after nine bends and eighteen bends, it gradually reached a remote place in the city.

In front of the night, suddenly flashing strong lights, far away from the river, there seem to be countless teams stretching forward, each with a lamp to rush to the night road, the shadow is sufficient, like a spirit officer walking at night.

"That's the team of the Taishou in the city," said the captain, "When the birthday of the old father of the Imperial Taifu Xiahou is approaching, officials from all over the country want to take advantage of this time to give gifts, and they can make their official fortunes prosperous, why not?" But this kind of thing can't be put on the table after all, so I only dare to rush at night. Oh, I've been here for so many years, and I've never seen anything. This Chaomen City is bright and beautiful during the day, and at night, all the ghosts and ghosts come out. As far as the port is concerned, there are countless good things that are smuggled in as soon as it gets dark, all of which are smuggled in violation of the ban by local merchants. There are treasured trees from Jingchang Kingdom, famous horses from the grassland, medicinal materials from Lang Kingdom, and even firearms from Dingguo. ”

"Zhao and Ding, the two countries, have been attacking and killing each other for decades, and they are incompatible, but they will also sell such important materials?" Qiu Shaohu was puzzled.

"Attacking and killing, for the sake of just a 'profit' word, Dingguo occupies the northern capital, regards itself as orthodox, and contemptuously calls Zhaoguo 'Southern Barbarian'; and Zhaoguo naturally said that Dingguo's Tao father and son are just chaotic ministers and thieves, and they are not worthy of being emperors. Both sides are just pulling big banners as tiger skins, attacking each other and disregarding people's lives for the sake of the name of a 'world'. But if your emperor and ministers want to fight for this title, what does it have to do with those peddlers and pawns? They just want to make their lives better, and naturally whoever gives them more money will be willing to sell to whomever they want. ”

The captain seemed to realize that he had said something that he shouldn't have said, and changed the topic and said, "Guest officer, where are you going so late?" ”

"Cangxian Mountain." Qiu Shaohu said, "I'm going to go there and have a look." ”

The Lingchuan Sect is located in the mountains on the edge of the mountain, although Cangxian Mountain is not its main peak, it is the closest mountain to the surrounding peaks, and you can overlook the situation of the entire Lingchuan Sect when you climb to the top of the mountain.

After asking Di Ying to check the news, Qiu Shaohu always felt that it was appropriate for him to go and see the situation in person, so he went by night.

"If the guest officer is going to visit the mountains, I can point you to several good places. It's just that this Cangxian Mountain, it is recommended that it is best not to go. The captain said.

"Oh," Qiu Shaohu's eyes flashed, "why is that." ”

"Cangxian Mountain is difficult to walk at night, and there is nothing to see at night." The captain continued: "If the guest officer wants to watch the night view, I suggest you go to Luoxia Peak, where there is a stargazing platform, and you can also see the bright sea of stars at night. ”

"Thank you, but I just want to go to Cangxian Mountain to have a look, and I won't go up the mountain, so I'll go there."

"This ......," the captain hesitated.

"What do you know?" Qiu Shaohu said in a deep voice.

"I'm just a boatman, I know what." The captain said, "If the guest officer wants to go, then go!" ”

As the boat trail progresses, the bottom of the water becomes a little shallower, the banks become hillsides, and the current becomes more urgent. After rounding a mountain stream, the captain found a gentle water and stopped, right at the foot of Cangxian Mountain.

Qiu Shaohu got off the boat, turned his head and said to the captain, "You can go back." ”

"Okay, then I'll invite the guest officer—be careful." The captain nodded, and the boat left.

After the captain disappeared into the darkness, Qiu Shaohu's figure froze and quickly left the place. Along the mountain, even if there is no path, you can gallop forward. The figure was as agile as an ape, and soon became an elusive black shadow in the mountains.

Qiu Shaohu has survived in the Great Snow Mountain for many years, even if the dangerous peaks covered by ice and snow are also flat, and climbing ordinary peaks is naturally not a problem. In a short time, he had already come to a stop halfway up the mountain, not that he did not continue to walk up, but that a tall tower appeared in front of him.

The tower rises from the middle of the mountain, reaches the top of the mountain, and there are vertical ladders in it to connect up and down, automatically taking people up and down, making it convenient for people to climb to the top. In front of the gate of the tower there is a couplet, which reads:

It is extremely steep in the sky, and even the sky is restless;

There is no land, and there is no safety through the ground!

The shocking aura that came to the face made people even look directly at this portal, and they had to retreat.

Qiu Shaohu was naturally not easily frightened by a few words, so he stepped forward and stretched out his hand to push the door.

"Bang-" The portal collapsed as if it had fallen into disrepair and had been completely dilapidated and corroded.

Qiu Shaohu frowned, walked to the tower, stretched out his finger and gently rubbed it on the ground, a layer of dust stuck to it, but it was not heavy. It's not like no one has come here for years, how can the door break so quickly?

With doubts, Qiu Shaohu carefully probed the collapsed half of the door again, and found that the connection between the door panel and the door bolt seemed to be stained with viscous black liquid, and it had not completely dried up.

Qiu Shaohu reached out and picked off a small piece of wooden board stained with black liquid, put it in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully, the black liquid had no smell, and it looked inconspicuous.

Suddenly, an amber glow swept across his eyes.

"Ahh In the swaying of his heart, it turned into a worm again, and rushed towards Qiu Shaohu's face.

In the lightning, Qiu Shaohu bent his back and leaned back, but he was able to avoid this blow, and at the same time, the index finger of his right hand popped out, hitting it in the head, and bounced it far away.

The black worm fell to the ground with a wail, and was silent for a moment.

"Leech or slug?" Qiu Shaohu wasn't sure, "No, it's not a simple bug, I saw it clearly, and there is this flash on it." ”

Qiu Shaohu walked to the place where the black worm had fallen, picked it up again, and sure enough, he saw the light on its back, although it was much dimmer, but it could still be distinguished.

"Is this, a charm? But it's definitely not the spell of Forgetless Island, nor is it the handiwork of the Lingchuan Sect. Even to the best of my knowledge, I have never seen such a shady technique. Qiu Shaohu thought to himself, "It seems that the Lingchuan Sect may have really encountered something wrong. ”

Fantasy here is also useless, Qiu Shaohu threw the insect corpse aside, and walked deeper into the tower, the straight ladder was at the end of the passage, using the lever mechanism as a traction, relying on the weight of the heavy object to drive up and down.

Qiu Shaohu stood on the straight ladder hanging basket and pulled the switch next to it, but found that the straight ladder did not move at all.

"Is this one broken too?" After thinking about it for a while, Qiu Shaohu had a way, he took out a knife with him, cut the rope on the straight ladder hanging basket while cutting it, and then held the other end of the rope connected to it himself, and then flew the knife directly upward, and the blade instantly cut the other end of the rope above that restricted the fall of heavy objects.

"Boom!" The boulder that was tied up on it fell suddenly, pulling the rope connected at the other end to fly upward, Qiu Shaohu held the rope and immediately flew up like an arrow from the string. The sound of the wind in his ears became worse, and Qiu Shaohu continued to control his body, so that he did not let himself directly hit the roof of the shed at the end, but just jumped out of the exit above.

The moment he landed, a black human head was right in front of him, and his facial features were all broken.

Qiu Shaohu was not surprised, because he had already seen that this was just a sculpture head. When you look up, you can see the idol at the top of the tower, still sitting upright, but the head is gone.

And the junction of the neck is also adhered to the black liquid.

Walking out of the gate at the top of the tower, you will reach the peak of Cangxian Mountain. There are no higher peaks around, so you can see it in no matter which way you look. If you look to the southeast, you can see the inner city being brightly lit.

The mountains on the edge of the ridge were originally outside the Chaomen City, and the scale of the Later Chaomen City gradually expanded, so that the Lingchuan Sect was also included in the city, but the mountainous area was remote and still inaccessible.

Qiu Shaohu's eyes completely turned the color of amber, and the night was already unobstructed under his eyes. He took out the clairvoyant mirror in the northwest direction, which was where the sect of the Lingchuan Sect was located.

Riding the night wind on the top of the mountain, he saw it in the clairvoyant mirror - the white flags of the mountains.

Countless spirit flags rose and fell in the evening breeze like a sea tide, stirring the yin wind, as if countless undead were crying and wailing. The harsh sound, accompanied by a pungent smell, made people's hearts sway. In the sect of the Lingchuan Sect, not even a living creature can be seen, as if the entire mountain gate has become a whole mourning hall for the undead.

"I said, I suggest you don't come." The captain's voice came from behind him, "Because you can't find anything." ”

Qiu Shaohu was indifferent, still looking inside the clairvoyant mirror, trying to find something

"That was five days ago, and suddenly there was no news from the entire Lingchuan Sect, no one entered, no sound came out, and even the birds avoided that place. The guys who tried to find something were blocked by something inexplicable, and some never came back at all. The captain stood behind Qiu Shaohu and said, "And you are too conspicuous, you are not the only one who has been staring at the Lingchuan Sect these days." ”

"Is that you, too?" Qiu Shaohu put away the clairvoyant mirror, turned his head to the other party and said, "In front of me, don't disguise." ”

The figure of the captain squirmed strangely, and his clothes fell to the ground immediately after him - not only the clothes, but even his entire "body" was like a skin, slumped on the ground.

And out of that skin, crawled out a spiky snake.

"You know what's going on." Qiu Shaohu said categorically.

"I don't know anything." The basilisk denied.

"I feel the breath of those black bugs in you, you've had a head-on encounter with them!" Qiu Shaohu used Jiaosu's heavenly power aura, which immediately made the snake demon feel a coercion.

"Well, I've met them, but I don't know anything!" The snake demon had no choice but to say.

"Who are they?"

"I didn't know, I didn't dare get too close."

"Why don't you dare?"

"Those people's methods are very strange, not to mention those insects, even a few of my companions have been poisoned and refined into charms by them. I've never seen anyone so ruthless. You must know that I have lived with people in Chaomen City for so many years, and I have never harmed anyone, and my skin is also made of paper! The more the snake demon spoke, the more nervous he became.

"No one asks you this, keep talking."

"I don't know if I continue, I only know that there was no news from the Lingchuan Sect later, and then the group of people walked out of the mountain again."

"So now there is actually no one in the Lingchuan Sect?" Qiu Shaohu asked.

"I don't know!"

Seeing that the snake demon really didn't look like a fake, Qiu Shaohu gradually relaxed his breath and muttered, "Perhaps, I have to make some other preparations." ”

……

"Listen to me, you just lost money, if you don't want to be unlucky again, it's best for me to give you a fortune." Tang Xun was kind to a passerby.

"you, old liar who believes you." Passers-by threw him off directly, but the next moment he was grabbed by an arrogant woman and drank: "I haven't gone home so late, are you going to gamble again!" ”

"Oh, wife, you light."

Seeing this, Tang Xun could only shake his head with a smile and said, "Look, I'll just say it, let me calculate a hexagram for you, and you won't be able to touch your wife." ”

Hearing the footsteps coming from behind him, Tang Xun habitually turned his head: "This person plans to test words or ......."

Before the words fell, he froze in place.

The man in white that Qiu Shaohu and Meng Chen had both met stood behind him.

"White ...... Boss Bai ......, "Tang Xun is beating drums in his heart.

The man in white grabbed his arm and bent behind Tang Xun.

"Oh, boss, you light, my old arm is going to break!"

"Say!" The man in white said.

"Say what?"

"Know what to say."

"I don't know anything."

"So you've been in Chaomen for so many days, and you just remember to cheat money?"

Hearing that the other party didn't do anything at all, an awe-inspiring aura appeared on the man in white, like countless armor soldiers wielding their blades to kill.

"No, no! I want to think about it...... Oh, I remembered! ”

"Remembering what?"

"The Great Household ...... the East"

"What's going on with the big guys?"

"Something strange happened."

"What's weird?"

"It's not clear ......" Tang Xun is not confident enough.

The man in white was even more breathing.

"Clear, clear!" Tang Xun immediately changed his words, "I saw a few tumblers!" ”

"Tumbler?" The man in white said in a deep voice, "It is a resting place!" ”