South of Xiangji Temple, a hundred miles away.

The Qinling Mountains stretch endlessly, there is a flat pass here, which is the way to pass through the north and south, and there is a village not far from the pass, named Hujiayi.

It is rumored that a long time ago, Hu Jiayu was tragically punished by heaven, and most of the people surnamed Hu in the village died, and only one family surnamed Hu remained, which was an old woman who lived alone.

Therefore, the merchants from the north and south of the country came and went, and many foreigners stayed and started to make a living, and over time, this place has become a bustling town store, and Hujiayi is also occupied by others with other surnames.

Every day, the merchants in the town come and go, business is booming, and people are only busy, so they gradually forget the only old woman surnamed Hu in the town, only to know that she is 99 years old this year, but no one has seen her.

There are more rumors, along the town of the avenue to the north out of nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, there is a sheep intestine trail on the right hand, walk in and then go around nine hundred and ninety-nine circles, you can see a stream, along the stream through a ghost face peach blossom forest, then come to the end of a waterhole, next to the pool there is an old locust tree in the arms of three people, under the tree is the old woman's residence.

This rumor is just a thing for people to talk about after dinner, but in the eyes of careful people, the old woman surnamed Hu that people often say in their mouths was already ninety-nine years old a few years ago, and she is still ninety-nine years old, as if she is immortal. Although everyone was puzzled, they didn't have time to see if there was a legendary ninety-nine-year-old woman under the big tree next to the pool.

"Amitabha, I didn't expect this Hu Jiayi to be so mysterious. Thank you for telling me. ”

On the side of Zhennan Road, a young monk wearing monk's robes said to an old man who was over the age of six.

This monk is about twenty years old, although he is young, he is a solemn appearance, with thin eyebrows and thin eyes, a square nose and mouth, and his appearance is quite upright.

At this moment, the old man sitting on the bluestone stroked his silver beard with his hand, and Chong Lianchi said: "Monk, you are polite, the old man is old, and there is nothing to do on weekdays. ”

The old man's words sounded very strange to the little monk, and he was already surprised. Lian Chi bowed slightly.

"Everywhere, women and children know about this matter, and it is not unusual, even the merchants who come and go have heard of it. Since you are a monk of Xiangji Temple, how can you not know that you pass by here?" the old man asked.

"Amitabha, the little monk used to go down the mountain, only taking the east road, but he never came here. Lian Chi said, and then asked, "In this way, this ninety-nine-year-old woman, but there is no one in the town to take care of her?"

"Where is there someone to take care of, the people in the town are already working hard every day to make a living, and ......," the old man said and suddenly whispered with a nervous expression, "In recent years, there have been many evil things in the town. ”

"What's the matter?" asked Lian Chi tightly.

The old man pointed to the entrance of the town and said, "See?"

Lian Chi followed the old man's point, and saw that the street was full of traffic and there was no abnormality, so she looked at the old man in puzzlement.

"Don't you see a few soldiers on duty on the side of the road?" said the old man.

After the old man's words, Lian Chi found that under a tea shed next to Zhenkou Road, there were two people who looked like officers sitting, and several soldiers were standing beside them, holding official knives and watching passers-by vigilantly.

The old man continued: "Just a few years ago, many children in the town were lost for no reason, and at first they reported to the official's house, and the government suspected that it was a passer-by trafficker, but because there were no clues and no traces, they had to deal with it hastily. In the days to come, not only the children of the local towns, but also the merchants, but whenever they passed through this place, some children were lost, and over time, the government was tired of coping, so they also ignored it. ”

Hearing that the old man said this, Lian Chifang and he resented that the corpses of the officials here did not ask about the people's suffering, but they saw the old man smiling proudly, and then said: "Coincidentally, two months ago, there was a commander who passed through this place, and his son was also lost in the town. The commander was furious and pressed the county to thoroughly investigate the case and crack it within a time limit. Then a team of soldiers was transferred to guard the main roads in the south and north of the town, and it has been more than two months now. ”

Hearing that the situation was serious, Lian Chi frowned and asked, "Then now, do you have eyebrows?"

The old man sighed and shook his head, and after a while, he asked again: "You just said that you want to go back to Xiangji Temple?" ”

"Thank you, old man. Lian Chi saluted the old man, and Fang Ji stepped away, but saw a team of Dao teams coming this way from a distance.

The Taoist team is full of dozens of people, there are four Taoist priests in the front wearing magic clothes and holding a ceremonial staff to lead the way, followed by six young Taoist priests holding floating dust and saluting with one hand, and there is a green cloth sedan chair carried by six people in the middle of the team, and more than ten porters carrying shoulders are closely behind.

"This?" Lian Chi couldn't understand where this Dao team came from, and couldn't help but look at the old man beside him.

The old man looked at it for a long time, and said excitedly: "I'm afraid it's not Zhang Tianshi who is here!?"

"What? Zhang Tianshi? Dare to ask, but is it Zhang Tianshi from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi?"

Because the case of the child's loss has not been investigated for a long time, the local government said that it was a demon, although many mages were also invited, but none of them worked, and then the commander used his relationship to invite the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain. The old man stood up with a shudder, and said with joy in his eyes, "Let's go, let's take a look, I haven't seen Zhang Tianshi yet, I heard that he is a master of Taoism, and he is in the fourth grade, but I want to see what it looks like." ”

Invited by the old man, Lian Chi also followed towards the entrance of the town.

At this time, many villagers had gathered outside the town, and the two officers under the tea shed were leading more than a dozen soldiers to greet them outside the town.

When the Taoist team approached and the sedan chair landed, the two officers quickly walked to the sedan chair, clasped their fists with both hands, and said, "Welcome to the Heavenly Master!"

Then a small road in front of the sedan slowly lifted the sedan curtain, and a white fat Taoist priest walked down from inside.

Seeing the dignity of this white fat Taoist priest, Mo said that he did not have the slightest appearance of a monk, but looked a little ugly.

Although he has a fat head and a very short figure, he is dressed in a costume, and when he meets the two people before meeting at this time, he is not polite, he looks condescending, he waved his sleeves at the two officers, and said lightly: "Lead the way." He turned back to the sedan chair.

Then, the officers and soldiers sounded the gong in front of them to open the way, leading the Taoist team to the town in a majestic manner.

Lian Chi Fang saw it very clearly, and the person who arrived was not Yan Yu, the head of the Dragon and Tiger Sect, but a strange Taoist with a bloated body, and couldn't help muttering: "It's not him......"

"Who's not?" asked the old man.

Lian Chi looked at the Dao team in the distance in a daze, and did not hear what the old man said.

The old man muttered again: "Why does this Heavenly Master have such a respectful face? Tsk, it's no wonder that people can't look good." ”

Without chatting with the old man anymore, Lianchi hurriedly said goodbye and walked towards the Taoist team.