Zhou Zhengqing and the two, followed by a white wolf, passed through a strange valley. It is better to say that it is a valley, than to say that it is a canyon, as if a mountain has been cut through the middle with a knife. The canyon is long, resembling a line of sky, and there are scattered caves on both sides of the high and low places, which is an alternative mountain high road. The valley floor is full of gravel, but there are few plants in the season of recovery, because the valley floor is really not suitable for plant growth.

The north-south direction of the canyon just shades the morning and evening sun, and only the noon sun comes from top to bottom. The team of two people and one wolf climbed the mountain to the top of the east side of the canyon, who knew that they could not go to the opposite side of the canyon at all, and could only go down the mountain from the south to find the way.

Zhou Zhengqing is okay, he has entered the realm of self-cultivation, and his body is stronger day by day, but the monk and the white little wolf are a little unbearable, and they have not yet practiced Buddhism, and Xiaobai just looks a little peculiar. White Patrol is the name that the two of them gave to the little wolf. For the sake of intimacy, let's call Xiaobai, catchy. White patrol, white is the color, patrol is the patrol.

The young Bai Xun watched Zhou Zhengqing's face more vicious than the tiger, and the beast's natural vigilance made it still patrol and did not dare to enter when Zhou Zheng woke up, which was very vivid. Zhou Zhengqing patted the sincere monk on the shoulder, pointed to the village in front of him, and signaled that he was almost there. After figuring out the monk's temper, Zhou Zhengqing didn't dare to speak. Xiaobai was grinning, as if he was afraid that Zhou Zhengqing would throw the monk out in anger like that day.

Zhou Zhengqing raised his hands, pointed into claws, opened his big mouth, made a pounce bite, and learned to bark at the little white patrol viciously. Xiaobai, who was not taller than the monk's calf, swept away his fierce momentum and hid behind the monk pitifully. Zhou Zhengqing held his hands behind his head, happy to scare Xiaobai. After tossing and turning in this canyon for a long time, I finally arrived at Taoyuan Village on the map before sunset.

There is no peach forest in Taoyuan Village, the whole is not small, but it is surrounded by mountains, and the river flows straight down from the mountain, forming a small stream in the south of the village, and flowing out of the mountain on the south side of the mountain that fails to form an encirclement.

Under the sunset, Taoyuan Village is very noisy. On the west side, out of sight of the three passers-by, people in cloaks and ghost masks were bouncing around. In the middle was a small altar made of stone, and in the middle of the altar was a woman of eighteen or nineteen years old. On the west side of the altar is a small courtyard house, next to the western peak. The courtyard was smashed by rocks from the mountain, and there were a lot of rubble scattered around. The gate of the courtyard was directly facing the altar, and there was a stone wall that was only half a man high, which was also smashed by rocks from the mountain.

The two of them and a wolf originally couldn't see this scene, since they entered Taoyuan Village, they didn't see any elderly people in the village, they were all children and young men and women, and it didn't make sense to be reasonable. Moreover, every household saw that the two outsiders entered the village and did not go out, and they could not see the simplicity of the croppers at all. With Zhou Zhengqing's far beyond ordinary people's ear power and Xiaobai's vigilance against the noise of the West, the two and a wolf still came to the altar.

Soon, the arrival of outsiders made the originally noisy environment quite quiet. One of them, a strong man wearing a cloak and a demon mask, came to the two outsiders, turned around and waved his hand, signaling everyone to continue, took off his mask at the two, and looked at the monk with the saber and the white wolf: "Are the two from outside?"

The monk immediately made a Buddhist salute and did not speak, obviously waiting for Zhou Zhengqing to answer with others. Zhou Zhengqing felt that this sincere monk was getting lazier and lazier, he just didn't talk to himself before, but now he didn't speak to anyone, how to save trouble.

Zhou Zhengqing looked helpless and rubbed his hands: "Brother, you just call me thoughtful, that's a sincere monk, we are just passing by the village, no, just in time for dark, I want to find a place to live overnight, and I fed the hungry wolves in the mountains, but outsiders don't seem to be very welcome in our village, it's really not good, we also have some money, and the old brother helps us get some food, and we have the strength to rush some night." ”

The man who took off the mask was half a head taller than Zhou Zhengqing and had a burly figure. Seeing that the two of them didn't show interest in what was behind them, he raised his right hand, pointed behind them, and motioned for the two to talk as they walked. "My name is Ah Shou, our Taoyuan Village, we have been away from the world for many years, and we haven't seen outsiders for a long time, plus the village is really not big, everyone is familiar with it, so once outsiders enter the village, most people in the village can recognize it." Our ancestors came to this Taoyuan village to escape the world, also because the outside world is really not very good, and people's hearts are sinister. Therefore, our descendants are very repulsive to outsiders, and as for the money, I have heard people say that it is used for changing things! But in our village, it is all barter, and the money is used for whatever purpose."

At sunset, the last touch of red glow on the horizon hung weakly in the sky, two people and a wolf followed this burly man called Ah Shou, Xiao Xun hid behind the monk's trouser legs, Zhou Zhengqing asked while walking: "Brother Ah Shou, you are tired, help us find a place to live, eat a hot meal, we will leave tomorrow morning, and the master of the family will wait for me to bring this monk back, so that he can change the court." When I return to the master's gate, I will naturally send someone over and send some treasures to show my sincerity. Of course, I still have to give the money for the meal, the money is not needed, the tiger skin on my body is quite warm, and you will not suffer a loss if you change some food. I just have to ask you to put on some needlework, my old clothes can be mended, and my bare ass doesn't look like words, right? ”

When Ah Shou heard this, the smile on his face was covered with surprise: "The two are the disciples of the Immortal Family?"

Zhou Zhengqing grinned: "The disciple of the immortal family doesn't dare to be a disciple, the family teacher was fortunate enough to go to the immortal family more than a hundred years ago to give a point or two, and his fists and feet were somewhat stained with immortal energy. A few years ago, I asked for the status of the imperial court again, and our disciples, along with the master, also added icing on the cake to the imperial court and doing some errands within their ability. As he spoke, he hugged his fist to the sky, as if he was in awe of the court. A full villain. The burly man was very surprised, and there was a lot of horror: "It turns out that he is indeed a disciple of the Immortal Family, I, a mountain villager, have never seen the world, you can bear more!"

Zhou Zhengqing felt that this man who called himself Ah Shou was very measured in his dealings with people, no matter whether what he said was true or not, he was not questioned by him face-to-face, let alone tempted, obviously he belonged to the kind of person who ate everywhere he went, but he didn't know how much his words were believed. Zhou Zhengqing didn't dare to be careless, his face still had a bit of a complacent look, and then pretended to be approachable: "Brother Ashou, the feng shui of our Taoyuan Village is really good, I must have been hidden for many years, but listening to your conversation and demeanor, my brother is far from the Bai Ding I have seen, and it must be after the famous man who cultivates and reads the heirloom." ”

Ah Shou man scratched his head embarrassedly: "It's not that after a celebrity, but there are also some books in the village, it is said that our ancestors have been here for more than 200 years, and they brought a lot of books at the beginning, but they gnawed their teeth, and there are not many left, passed down from generation to generation, and now in our Taoyuan Village, literate people are rare, in the end, a few pieces of paper can't satisfy hunger and thirst, they are all fooling around when they were children, when the story is read!" Saying that, the man pointed to a small courtyard, two rooms, one sits north facing south, one sits west facing east, there is a cowshed in the courtyard, three big white geese, five old hens, and a half-human tall long-haired dog.

The man Ah Shou had no choice but to scold at the big dog: "Call again, and I will stew you tomorrow." The long-haired dog should have heard too much of the man's scolding, whimpered a few times, and no longer barked, but stared fiercely at the two living people and the white wolf, which scared Xiaobai so much that he had no master, if it weren't for the monk here, I am afraid that he would have run out of the yard a long time ago. The man introduced to the two: "It's time to arrive, the two of you will rest at my house tonight, and the place is quite spacious." As he spoke, he led the two to the west room: "Let my mother-in-law heat some food for you from the stove in a while, don't be careful, don't dislike it." By the way, I have to go out for a while, you can rest early after eating, don't be curious if you hear anything in the middle of the night, just sleep with your head bored. Of course, the two of you may learn the Tao method, but we ordinary croppers really can't help but toss. I still have some things to do, so I won't bother. ”

Zhou Zhengqing is also knowledgeable, knowing that this Ah Shou must be to the two of them, pick what they can say, as for what they can't say, they ask in vain, and the strange atmosphere of the village has always been shrouded since the two entered the village. Zhou Zhengqing expressed his gratitude to Ah Shou: "Brother Ah Shou, we are the ones who bother, so naturally we should be as good as the host." ”

The man turned around with a smile and went to the main house, obviously to make some advice to the mother-in-law in the man's mouth. Zhou Zhengqing and the two wolves entered the house. The house is a clay kang, which is quite clean, obviously cleaned recently, or someone may have lived there. There is a window in the doorway, a small table and two chairs in the room. It is not crowded for two people.

The two of them unloaded the package and the bamboo box. Zhou Zhengqing saw that the monk was obviously a little speechless and stopped, when he was outside, the monk was still calm, and the monk he knew was not like a person, Zhou Zhengqing looked at the monk, and then glanced at the main house in the north, and motioned to the monk to wait and wait. The two of them didn't speak, but they each packed their bags, one meditated and chanted, and the other teased the little wolf. A short time later, a short woman wearing a coarse cloth turban pushed the door in with a meal, and the old brother Ashou went out of the courtyard, apparently on errands. The woman didn't say much: "Both, you've eaten, rest early." After speaking, his eyes dodged, and he didn't talk to the two, and went straight out of the house. Zhou Zhengqing had no choice but to look at the woman's back and say thank you. He closed the door and listened to the woman's footsteps to make sure that she was not eavesdropping under the window, and then said to the monk, "It seems that something is in trouble."

The monk, who rarely spoke, couldn't help sighing: "Alas, the world suffers a lot, along the way, the atmosphere in the village is strange, if you want to say that you are afraid of outsiders disturbing, then you and I will be directly bombarded, but I was invited by the Ashou donor." Then the Ashou donor must have other plans, and as soon as he heard that you and I were related to the immortal family, the appearance on his face was not awe, but horror, indicating that he had intended to be unfavorable to us. Now I don't dare to do anything to us. Zhou Zhengqing looked at the monk and was a little surprised: "I said monk, you are not only not pedantic, but your head is also quite transparent." This Brother Ashou is the same as you, not very sincere, but I don't understand, what do they rely on?"

"Most people have never heard of the Immortal Family Sect, and after more than 200 years of seclusion here, there are still people who know the Immortal Family Sect, either they have the inheritance left by the Immortal Family Sect here, or there was once a disciple of the Immortal Family Sect who came here, and the end was not very good. Our situation is that the eagles are trapped in the hen's nest. If you want to know if I, Brother Ashou, will deal with the two of us bluffing outsiders, you have to see how important the two of us are to him. This Brother Ashou has such a laborious performance, we have to cooperate with it. The monk watched Zhou Zhengqing hold Xiaobai with both hands, and threw him on a high place, Xiaobai whimpered and fell into Zhou Zhengqing's arms, and then was thrown up. The pitiful appearance made the monk feel distressed: "Master Zhou, that woman is afraid that she is in danger tonight, whether it is good or not, according to the law of the Ming Dynasty, it should not be dealt with by lynching." In addition, Master Zhou should have discovered that this is the realm of Daming, even if it is hidden, it is not difficult to find, but there is no trace of Daming left here. Whether it's clothing, food, or the strange sacrifices."

The Ming Dynasty has long forbidden the belief in all kinds of evil gods, those who do not have the official identity of the Ming Dynasty are all classified into the list of evil gods, the Ming Iron Army has passed, all of them have destroyed the temples and ancestral halls, this kind of thing has begun to emerge from the time of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty when he destroyed the Buddha, and later, it really lived up to the expectations of some immortals.

Zhou Zhengqing nodded, indeed, he has read a lot of Ming spy reports, which are involved in all aspects, although he doesn't know much about the details, but there is no deviation in general. The clothing, food and Ming here are different from the Ming can also be explained that they do not know everything, and use the living to hold sacrificial activities, this kind of thing, has long been banned by the Ming court in black and white, once found, do not say that the law is not responsible, the Ming also want you to add a crime, the implementation of joint sitting. Until now, this kind of thing is very rare in Daming, but I didn't expect to encounter it here. The two ate the dinner sent by Ah Shou's daughter-in-law, since Ah Shou was jealous of the two, when he didn't make up his mind, he would definitely not easily attack the two, so the two could eat the meal with confidence. I haven't eaten such a steaming meal for a long time, and the two of them are wolves, feasting on it. The monk didn't care about whether there was meat or not.

Ah Shou is very short on time, this burly man, he needs to get home before it gets completely dark. This is the tacit understanding of the people in the village, if you are still outside after dark, you can't say that something will go wrong. These days are very special, and you can still have a shelter when you go home. He didn't have time to go to the altar, and he didn't think there was a problem, so he still had to go to the village chief's house to determine the 'go and stay' of these two outsiders. The bald head of the saber is naturally worth noting, although the kid who claims to be a disciple of the immortal family seems to be shrewd, but he is just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child, pulling tiger skin in his mouth and wearing tiger skin on his body. The words in the young man's mouth should be half-truths and half-truths, if the village chief really makes up his mind to keep people, then he will think of some way. It's just that the so-called disciples of the Immortal Family are all deceptive methods, and they won't be much stronger than ordinary people like themselves, otherwise, how could the village have suffered from it all these years!

On the other side of the altar, the woman Cong Yun, who was no more than twenty years old, was dressed cleanly, and her hands and feet were firmly tied to the wooden frame. As the crowd dispersed under the altar, she was the only one left. Congyun has no children, no men, no parents, and there is only one person left in the whole family. But he will also spend his only life here. How terrifying is the night? Cong Yun is a woman who knows it all too well, but so what?

She didn't want to struggle because she knew it wouldn't be useful. Here, tears never only get into trouble. There will be no one here who will sympathize with him, and their sympathy will be enough long before he has sent him. For example, Cong Yun is like a livestock, groomed and dressed decently, shh Is this not the last pity and sympathy of the people of the village for themselves, which is already the only remaining humanity of their own nature, and it can be said to soothe the last uneasy conscience of all people about themselves. With a day of careful service, to make what you do reasonable and worthy of your heart. At this time, she wanted to scold, not without strength, before coming to the altar, she had lost the ability to speak, her tongue was cut off alive, but it was healed by hemostasis. When did this begin? Are these people afraid of hearing anything?

She should have known that if these people still had a trace of humanity, then there would never be this horror that has not ended for hundreds of years. My own man just broke his leg and became the sacrifice last time, and he himself was also because they lost their man. At this time, Cong Yun herself became a sacrifice. Cong Yun can only pity herself, because she Cong Yun used to be one of these people! The anger gradually subsided, Cong Yun wanted to laugh, what kind of face did she have to blame others?

Before dark, Zhou Zhengqing's elder brother Ashou finally rushed home. Listening to no movement in Westinghouse, he went straight back to the house.

Night has finally fallen, the bright moon hangs high in the night with the wind, caressing the starry halo and clearing the sky.