It was a cold winter afternoon, and the sky was foggy and very gloomy.

In the vicinity of Eagle's Beak Mountain, there is a Liuyi Town along the official road, which was originally very prosperous, but because of the chaos in recent years, the people are not able to make a living, and it has become more and more withered. The businesses on the street are struggling to operate, and most of them are closed. Only one mountain inn in the west of the town can still remain open thanks to occasional visitors.

Because the weather was cold, it snowed again last night, and there was not a single guest at the inn all morning. But Zhang Tong, the shopkeeper, didn't have a moment to spare. Just finished cleaning a few guest rooms in the backyard, and was sent by the shopkeeper to deliver food to Shuangshagang outside the town.

Zhang Tong is only 13 years old this year and was originally a local orphan. Because he was handsome and quick-witted, he was valued by the innkeeper, so he accepted him as a companion. Although there are beatings and scolding from time to time, I don't worry about starvation and cold.

Until more than ten days ago, he suddenly got seriously ill and woke up from a coma for three days and three nights. Others only thought that he would not die, but they didn't know that the soul in his body had already been replaced by another person.

Zhang Tong was also taken aback when he first experienced the change. Although he was just an ordinary college student, he was not an outstanding talent, but he had a lot of knowledge and some determination. With improvisation, he finally got confused.

In the past few days, he has secretly planned the future, and on the other hand, he has made mistakes with others, but he has not made mistakes. Listening to the shopkeeper's orders, he didn't dare to slack off. Hurriedly went to the back kitchen and took a large basket of steamed buns, more than 200 of them, and carried two jars of soju, and some cut haode beef and peanuts, and then turned around and hurried to the outside of the store.

As soon as he turned the door of the back hall, a shopkeeper came to him, beckoned him to stop him, and asked with a smile: "It's cold outside, where are you carrying things and panicking?"

Zhang Tong stopped and looked at it, and saw that the person who came was a regular customer who stayed in the store a few days ago. Listening to his self-proclaimed, his name is Zheng Yuan, a scholar in his thirties and forties, who is very well-dressed and looks quite handsome. But the only thing that was a little strange was that he only brought a small leather bag when he came, and it didn't look like he was going out at all. He also said that he came here to visit a friend, but in the past few days, he has not been seen to go out, and he only chatters indoors every day and does not know what to do.

Zhang Tong saw that there was something wrong with this person, and he didn't want to provoke him, but when he bumped into him head-on, he couldn't avoid it, and hurriedly laughed and said: "It's Mr. Zheng!

Zheng Yuan smiled and waved his hand and said, "My business is not in a hurry, you go to deliver food first, and it is not too late to come back to my room." ”

Zhang Tong was about to respond, but after another thought, he said in his heart: "This Mr. Zheng is usually fine, and he never leaves the door for half a step." This time he specially called me, it must be really important, I will sell him first, and then ask him about other things, and he will be embarrassed to perfunctory with me. ”

Zhang Tong made up his mind and hurriedly said: "If there is anything wrong with Mr., just give orders." I went to Shuangshagang to deliver food, less than an hour, and I was not in a hurry. When the gentleman is done, it's not too late to go there. ”

Zheng Yuan saw that he was positive, and his heart was also comfortable, so he took him to the backyard living room and said with a smile: "Actually, it's not difficult, just pay more attention." But I don't want outsiders to know about it for another reason, so you need to remember not to leak it to others!"

Zhang Tong knew that Zheng Yuan was very strange, and when he saw that he was mysterious, he didn't care, so he just promised and agreed.

Zheng Yuan took out a jade talisman from the side and handed it to Zhang Tong, and said, "I came here to wait for a friend, he came from the southwest, calculated the distance, and in the next two days, he will arrive." You often greet you inside and outside, help me pay more attention to it in the past two days, if you see a thin Taoist priest coming with a few carriages, ask him if his surname is Zhen. But if he confesses, don't say much, but say that the old man has invited him, but don't mention my name. Then find an opportunity, secretly crush the jade talisman, and then bring him to the inn to meet me. Remember to crush the jade talisman first, otherwise disaster will come, and Hugh will blame me for not saying it. ”...,

Speaking of zuihou, Zheng Yuan was already very angry, before that, Zhang Tong saw him, although he felt that this person was a little weird, but he was kind and always smiled before he spoke, who knew that it was very scary to be angry. A pair of fine light eyes stared at him, so that Zhang Tong didn't dare to look at him, and said with a smile: "Sir, this matter is easy to say, I will pay more attention in the past two days, and I will definitely not give Mr. a mistake." ”

Zhang Tong saw that Zheng Yuan's eyes were as sharp as a knife, and he was already a little afraid, but after saying that, he wanted to leave. But before he could go out, he grabbed Zheng Yuan again, took out a piece of silver, stuffed it into his hand, and said with a pleasant face: "You pay more attention to this matter, I won't treat you badly, but don't talk about it with the second person." ”

Zhang Tong just wanted to go quickly, didn't dare to say more, and hurriedly replied: "Don't worry, sir, the villain doesn't dare!" Then he walked out, until he went out of the store, and was blown by the cold wind, and his mind gradually sobered up, and his heart said: "This Mr. Zheng is really generous, and his shot is ten taels of silver, if it is just to welcome a friend, there is no need to spend so much time." Besides, if the person surnamed Zhen is really his friend, he can just come out directly, so why do you have to let me secretly crush the jade tablets? I really don't know what kind of medicine he sells in his gourd!"

The more Zhang Tong thought about it, the more strange he felt, so he quickly stopped, took out the jade talisman, went up and down, left and right, and looked carefully. I saw that the jade talisman was white throughout, about three inches long, and the shape was quite clumsy. A few knives, carved out of the shape of a fish, although the technique is simple, but extremely powerful.

It's a pity that this jade talisman is exquisite, but it is not special in itself, Zhang Tong fiddled with it for a long time, and he didn't see the clues. Seeing that the time was delaying for a longer time, he had no choice but to give up, put away the jade talisman, and hurriedly carried things to Shuangshagang.

In fact, Shuangshagang was originally a town, about ten miles south of Liuyi Town, because a few years ago there were horse bandits, and almost all of the hundreds of households in the town died, so it was abandoned. Later, it was occupied by a group of bandits under the nearby Black Wind Village, and it became their stronghold, relying on an official road to rob merchants who came and went.

And the shopkeeper of the Alpine Inn, who was originally a leader of Heifeng Village, was injured in his hamstring due to a robbery from the mountain, so he retired to the rivers and lakes and opened an inn in the town to make a living.

Fortunately, the big boss of Heifeng Village is still a little righteous, and he deliberately takes care of the food and drink in this stronghold of Shuangshagang, all of which are given to the Gaoshan Inn, and the meal money is settled every month, and he has never been in arrears.

Zhang Tong carried more than 200 buns on his back, and he also carried two jars of wine in his hand, all of which were added together, and the weight was not light. When he arrived at Shuangshagang, he was already tired enough and still far away, so he screamed.

On the side of Shuangshagang, it has been abandoned for many years, most of the houses have been destroyed, and only the Chenghuang Temple in the east still has a roof, which can barely shelter from the wind and snow. The twenty or so bandits stationed in Black Wind Village usually stay here, just in time to see the official road.

Since Zhang Tong is here to deliver food, and he has the relationship with the shopkeeper, this group of thieves is not evil to him. Hearing his shout, someone immediately greeted him, took two jars of wine, and asked with a smile: "I said little brother, what are we going to eat at noon today?"

Zhang Tong has been here once or twice, and he is not afraid when he sees this thief, patted the bamboo basket behind him, and replied with a smile: "The pork and celery buns are wrapped in a quilt when they come, and they should be hot now!"

Because of the lack of the burden of two jars of wine, Zhang Tong suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, and entered the City God Temple while talking. I saw about 20 men wrapped in cotton jackets and fur hats, huddled around a bonfire, each with a knife and a sword, with a fierce look in his eyes, and he knew at a glance that he was not a good kind.

The first was a lean man with a scarred face, eight feet tall, born with a wolf's back and a bee's waist, and two eyes that shimmered with cold light, like a beast that chooses to devour people. Zhang Tong was swept away by his gaze, and he was frightened for a while, and hurriedly lowered his head and shouted: "Seventh Master!"

In fact, Zhang Tong didn't know this person's name, he only heard that his surname was Hao, and everyone called Hao Laoqi. It is said that the martial arts are very strong, and among the hundreds of bandits in Heifeng Village, they are only ranked below the big boss and the second boss, and they are definitely ruthless characters who cannot be provoked. If it weren't for his strange temper, he wouldn't have been sent here, leading more than 20 people to live in the cold wind.

Hao Laoqi didn't say much when he saw Zhang Tong, he directly took a jar of soju, patted open the mud seal and poured a sip. The other thieves were already hungry, and when they saw him move, they all followed, and devoured them.

Zhang Tong brought these buns, all of which were specially prepared by the shopkeeper under the orders of the back kitchen, which were large and full of meat. One person divided into a dozen, and then took turns to drink a few sips of soju, eat some beef and peanuts, and be full of wine and food.

Zhang Tong waited on the side, and on the other hand, he also stole two buns, a few slices of beef, and made a tooth sacrifice. Originally, he didn't want to stay for a long time, but he still had to take back the bamboo basket for the buns and two wine jars, but he had to wait here for a while.

It's a shame that these thieves are all reckless, and they don't know what it means to chew and swallow slowly, and they will all eat it in a short time. Zhang Tong hurriedly put away the bamboo basket and the wine jar, and Zuihou still had three buns left, and he also carried them into his arms. When everything was cleaned up, he saw that there was nothing missing, and he was about to say goodbye and go back. But at this moment, a thief who was guarding the door suddenly brightened his eyes, and then shouted loudly: "Seventh master! Look! A fat sheep has come to the door!"

Hao Laoqi had just drunk a lot of wine and was about to doze off, when he heard the man screaming, he was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses and hurriedly stood up and looked. I saw dust rising in the distance on the official road, and three carriages in a row, facing the cold wind, drove over.

However, Hao Laoqi is experienced, and he only took a look, and when he saw that the body was frivolous, he expected that the car could not contain many valuable goods. couldn't help but make him feel excited, he didn't want to rob it, but after thinking about it, this cold winter weather, I don't know when, it will snow again. Instead of guarding in this deserted temple, it is better to be his vote, no matter how much he has, and he can go back and explain.

Hao Laoqi made up his mind, and suddenly the fierce light in his eyes was even worse, and he rushed out with a knife. The other bandits, without his orders, hurried to follow. In a short time, the three carriages were stopped, inside and out, and they were firmly encircled.

The three coachmen, seeing dozens of fierce bandits surrounding, knew that it was impossible to escape, and were so frightened that they quickly threw away the whip in their hands, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy again and again.

Although Hao Laoqi was cruel, when he saw the three bitter coachmen, their faces were pale and their bodies were like chaff, and it was not good to hurt their lives again, so he only took the goods and let them go.

But unexpectedly, in the carriage, in addition to the driver who drove the carriage, there was also a young man in a blue shirt about fourteen or fifteen years old, who was very feminine and handsome.

The young man was not afraid when he saw a group of vicious bandits, but instead showed a somewhat contemptuous expression, as if he was looking at a group of local chickens and dogs. What's especially strange is that in this cold winter, even if not dripping into ice, it's almost rare. And this young man actually only wore a thin shirt, sitting in the cold wind, still content.

I saw that the young man jumped out of the car, his eyes swept slightly towards everyone, zuihou fell on Hao Laoqi, snorted coldly, and shouted: "Where did you people come from?

Heshan Dao is a famous sect in the southwest of Miaojiang, specializing in refining magic weapons with the soul and flesh of human and beasts, and the means are extremely ferocious. Although in the eyes of the serious immortal sect, these spells are not in the stream, but in the world, they are extremely good. When ordinary people in the rivers and lakes heard the name of Heshan Road, they were all afraid of three points, and they rarely dared to provoke them.

The young man believed that he was a disciple of Heshan Dao, and he didn't take a few thieves in his eyes at all, thinking that as long as he reported to his house, he wouldn't immediately stop the other party. ...,

But he didn't expect that Hao Laoqi was a reckless man at all, he had heard of the name of Heshan Dao, but he never really took it to heart, let alone knew all kinds of terrible methods of Heshan Dao.

At this time, seeing the young man's command, his heart was already very unhappy, and before he could finish speaking, suddenly the knife in his hand flashed, and he slashed at the young man's neck without saying anything.

The young man was about to retreat from the group of thieves, but he didn't expect Hao Laoqi to dare to make a bold move, and he was taken aback. What's even more tragic is that although he is a disciple of Heshan Dao, he has only been a beginner for a year or two, and he has never practiced several spells, but he has never done what he wants. In addition, he was completely defenseless before, and when he saw a bright blade slashing, it was too late to dodge. There was only a scream, and the blood burst out, and the head was lost.

Hao Laoqi licked his lips after the killing, and felt that he was still unfinished, so he couldn't help grinning and kicked the young man's head away. Ignoring the blood stains on his body, he flipped his wrist and put the long knife behind him. Then he beckoned to everyone, and was about to search for goods, but suddenly a palpitation rose from the bottom of his heart, and it felt like being targeted by a poisonous snake.

Immediately, I heard a gloomy voice in my ear, and said unhurriedly: "Hmph! What an ignorant thief, he dares to kill my boy, and he won't let me die!"

Hao Laoqi was struck by lightning when he boarded, and the sound was like countless steel needles piercing into his brain, making him "oops". Suddenly feeling dizzy, his body staggered, and he took two steps back. His heart was even more shocked, he must have met a master, just based on his intuition, he didn't want to think about it, he turned around and ran.

Originally, Hao Laoqi's martial arts were strong, and he could usually jump three or four feet away as soon as he jumped up, but at this moment, he seemed to be drunk, his legs were soft, and he couldn't exert any strength.

Hao Laoqi secretly screamed in his heart: "Not good!" guessing that the other party must be using a secret method to capture his mind, he quickly bit the tip of his tongue, and with a sharp pain, he forced himself to cheer up, like a tiger pounced on a rabbit, and it was five or six feet away.

But taking advantage of this slight delay, from the carriage, suddenly a ball of light appeared. Immediately, there was a "poof" sound, like a string of flames, and a big skull flew out, with a cloudy wind and a ghostly atmosphere.

Before Hao Laoqi could react, he was already whistling over. opened his big mouth, clicked, and immediately bit off his head and half of his body.

Although the bandits were accustomed to killing people and stealing goods, they had never seen such murderous methods, and they were suddenly stunned with fright, and it took a long time to recover. They didn't care about anything else, they each shouted and screamed, and they scattered and fled like headless flies.

At the same time, a green-robed Taoist priest in his forties, with a slightly rickety figure and a two-handful beard on his mouth, stepped out of the second carriage. Seeing that the group of thieves was so frightened that they were urinating, their thin faces showed a touch of murderous intent, and they sneered: "A group of things that don't know whether to live or die! Now that Poor Dao has released the skeleton demon, do you still want to live?"

Before he could finish speaking, his right hand suddenly waved, and five or six skulls flew out one after another from under the wide sleeves of his robe. A cloud of ghost fire flew in all directions in the air, and everywhere it went, it brought a scream. The twenty or so bandits, in less than a moment, all died without exception.

At this time, Zhang Tong was still in the City God Temple more than ten zhang away from here, and saw everyone die tragically from a distance, and he was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he felt that his brain seemed to be stirred into a mess.

Since he crossed over to this shijie, he has also heard a lot of legends about immortals and monsters, but he mostly scoffs at this, just as some charlatans, in order to cheat people out of money, but at this moment, he can't help but believe it.

He still had some concentration, so he quickly calmed down, held his breath and hid behind the temple gate, no longer daring to look at the official road, for fear of being detected by the Taoist priest who performed the demon spell, and even he would be buried in the mouths of those skeletons. ...,

As everyone knows, the Taoist priest is quite powerful, and he has already discovered his hiding, but he just ignored it. At this time, everyone was killed, and his eyes naturally looked this way.

However, the Taoist priest seemed to have killed enough, so he didn't want to bother any more, just glanced at it, and then looked away. Looking back at the young man who was hacked to death by Hao Laoqi just now, he couldn't help frowning slightly, his face was cloudy, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Just looking at his expression, he didn't seem to be sad, but showed a little disgust. He scolded "waste" in a low voice, and then grabbed it, grabbed the dragon and controlled the crane, and searched out a palm-sized black pocket from the young man's body in the air. On the one hand, he was in his arms, and on the other hand, he was deeply meaningful, and glanced at Zhang Tong's hiding side.

The look in his eyes was like substance, which immediately made Zhang Tong feel like a mang on his back, and the Taoist priest stopped in moderation, then turned around and got into the carriage, drank the three coachmen, and hurriedly drove on the road.

The three coachmen were all ordinary car handles, where had they seen such a bloody scene, and they were already frightened at this time. was only afraid of the Taoist priest's obscenity, but he didn't dare to hesitate at all, and hurriedly trembled, pulling the reins of the carriage, for fear that if he was a little sluggish, those man-eating skeleton demons would fall on his own head.

It was only at this time that Zhang Tong breathed a sigh of relief, his body was paralyzed, and when the cold wind blew again, he shivered, but he was shocked into a cold sweat just now, and he had already soaked the shirt inside.

He hurriedly tightened the padded jacket outside, and he didn't care about the wet discomfort on his body, so he calmed down a little and wanted to go back to report the news. But as soon as he got out of the City God Temple, and before he had run far, he suddenly remembered what Zheng Yuan told him when he came, and said in his heart: "Zheng Yuan asked me to pay attention to a thin Taoist priest, it could be the person just now! ”

Zhang Tong thought for a while, holding the jade talisman in his hand, but he didn't dare to pinch it for a long time. He had already seen the ferocity of that Taoist priest just now, if Zheng Yuan was looking for this person, I am afraid that Zheng Yuan would be unusual. And according to what Zheng Yuan said, Zhang Tong became more and more convinced that the two were not friends, but enemies. Zheng Yuan specially told him to crush the jade talisman in advance, but he was afraid that he would not be at ease.

The more Zhang Tong thought about it, the more frightened he felt, and he hurriedly wanted to lose the jade talisman, but he was afraid that Zheng Yuan would not be able to explain it. He thought about it for a long time, but he didn't come up with a clue, and when he was in a dilemma, he suddenly noticed a faint gust of wind behind him.

Suddenly, Zhang Tong's heart was alarmed, and he didn't care to look back, all subconsciously, he threw himself forward, and then felt a stream of air behind him. When he looked up, he saw a huge skull, wrapped in a cloud of ghost fire, just two or three feet away, which could stop castration and was about to turn around.

Zhang Tong was taken aback, secretly complaining bitterly, and peeking at the official road. Sure enough, I saw that the three carriages had stopped before they had traveled half a mile, and I didn't know what the Taoist priest meant.

But at this moment, he was no longer allowed to figure out the hearts of others, but in the blink of an eye, the skeleton demon had already turned around, and then rushed over with a fierce vertical, dragging a ghost fire, aiming at his location.

Fortunately, his hands and feet were very dexterous, and when he saw the skeleton flying, he was not slow to react, and he hurriedly leaned against a low wall behind him, rolled to the side, and finally avoided it again. And the skeleton demon, because of its extremely fast speed, suddenly couldn't stop, and slammed into it with a bang.

Although these sand gangs have been abandoned for many years, they did not cut corners when they were first built. The low wall behind Zhang Tong is made of stone, which has withstood wind and rain erosion, but is still very strong. Who knew that when he was touched by the skeleton demon, he was actually vulnerable, and the stones immediately flew into chaos.

However, although the skeleton demon was extremely powerful, Zhang Tong also found a trace of strangeness in it. When the Taoist priest manipulated a few skeleton demons to slaughter the thieves just now, those skeleton demons flew up and down, turning and behaving, all of them were very flexible. And this skeleton demon is very stiff when it moves, as if it can only go straight, and it is not flexible at all.