The young man, who was less than a hundred miles away from the border, naturally knew nothing about the current situation in Nangong Mountain, and he had never thought about the first thing his unreliable master did when he was half out of the border. Just pour all the warm and nourishing purple energy into the two fingers. Thousands of practitioners are willing to give up everything in the world to get the foundation of the five realms, just like that, the phantom shakes the fingers and hands them out, as if they are from the waist. A piece of withered grass accidentally fell into the wine gourd, and I can only dislike it, for fear of disturbing the enjoyment of drinking.
A few days after leaving Baihao Mountain, Yun Zhong and Wen Yu traveled all the way eastward. They did not turn north until they were close to the southern Li border of Yizhang. It has nothing to do with other things, but the Yizhang Northland. The cold wind has become even colder in recent days. Many pedestrians and merchants coming from the Northland are shaking their heads. They have been talking for nearly twenty or thirty years. I have never seen such a severe cold. It is difficult for ordinary people to cope with the charcoal fire for heating even if they live in a small area. Some merchants who have been to the north of Dayuan bluntly said that in the deep winter in the north of Dayuan, it is impossible to cope with this fierce situation. Compared with the cold wind.
The Xu Dan in Yunzhong's dantian became more and more unstable after leaving the Baihao Mountain. Time and time again, he was almost squeezed out of the dantian by Qiu Hu. However, no matter how bright the Xu Dan was, it was still unable to match Qiu Hu's ability. , and then the scorching hot energy, which was like fireworks, flowed from the Dantian into the limbs and bones, causing the meridians to become more and more blocked.
Anyone who has entered the spiritual practice knows that the meridians and acupuncture points are the most important. If it is difficult to unblock it for a long time, it is a small matter if it is not broken, but it is a big matter if it goes astray. Yun Zhong is now on the side of a dangerous cliff, and it is difficult to find help. , even if I think about it day by day, it is difficult to find a way to break this situation.
The acupuncture points all over the body are not clear, and the spirit is loose. How can he withstand the severe cold? Therefore, even though the young man mentioned three or five times that he might as well go straight, Wen Yu still stopped him sternly and forced him to change the route. Unless there were exceptions, he would never Northbound.
Although the young man was still stubborn and his words were not serious, the girl still refused. Wen Yu's temper was the most stubborn when he was in the mountains. He said that if Yun Zhong wanted to go north, he would definitely borrow the blue sky travel book. One letter was sent to his master, and after he returned to the mountain, he scolded Yun Zhong.
Now that we have reached the end of Yizhangdong, the two of them found an inn to stay first, which should relieve the fatigue of the journey. Besides, the cold wave in the north still doesn't know how it is going, so they will stop here for a few days until daybreak. Let’s wait until the weather gets warmer.
Originally, Yun Zhong chose the inn, but this time it was different. Wen Yu specially picked an inn with a strong charcoal fire and a teahouse facing the street. Apart from anything else, this teahouse alone is the most satisfying. There is always hot tea in it, and there is also a restaurant in it. It is very cheap. Furthermore, there are two or three restaurants just a hundred steps away from the teahouse. From Wen Yu's point of view, although the medical clinic could not cure the root cause, it could still slightly improve the young man's health, so he chose this place.
"In this area, I'm afraid the area around Yizhang Border is the richest. With the money you and I have on hand now, this place is a bit too expensive." Since entering the inn, the young man has been smiling bitterly. Now he sees that the furnishings in the room are quite exquisite. , only the table case is carved from rosewood, and the incense is fragrant and clear, and the look is even more painful.
Wen Yu pouted, looked for a wicker chair everywhere and sat down, exhaled a long sigh of relief, and suddenly laughed, "How did you raise such a stingy little uncle, and how can you break it? Although I have never seen it before Master, I heard from Master that the Master who has not yet left seclusion, although he is also stingy on weekdays, he often buys some things to show his appearance. This is the first time I have seen someone like my uncle. On."
"When I was young, I was afraid of being poor," the young man smiled, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He replied calmly, "It would be okay if it were an ordinary year, but if it really happens in those seasons when the weather is uneven, it would be difficult to It’s such a copper coin that I wish I could break it into sixteen or seventeen pieces. To this day, I still remember clearly that when I was a child, I saw the children in the same town holding strings of sugar balls, and I immediately thought that it was the most delicious food in the world; but at home, I really didn’t have much money left, so I found a way to grind a thin, round stone I found in the field into something similar to a copper coin, spending several days grinding it into shape, hoping that I could get a bunch of sugar-coated, crispy sugar balls.”
"At that time, I was very smart. I took advantage of the crowded situation and handed over the fake copper coin, picked up the candy balls and left. Unexpectedly, the old man selling the candy balls didn't really notice the difference and was in high spirits for a long time. But in the end, when I really licked the sugar coating, I found that it was full of sourness and it was difficult to swallow. It was almost so sour that my mouth was full of saliva, but I couldn't bear to spit it out, so I had to hold it in my mouth and suffered enough torture."
"It seems that only then did I realize what it means to be a thief with a guilty conscience and what it means to have a bad heart. After that, I begged my mother for three to five days before returning the money to the old man selling candy balls."
The young man talked to himself, and after he had finished speaking, he looked at Wen Yu, who was slightly suspicious at the side, and grinned, "Instead of using some deceptive tricks, it is better to save some money on weekdays. At least you can have enough food and clothing. For example, if you want to stay overnight today, you don’t have to choose a nice hotel like this. You can just have a room to block the cold outside, so why bother."
Wen Yu leaned the back of his head on the wicker chair and didn't speak for a long time. He didn't know what to think and his expression was dull.
Yun Zhong's family background is well known to most people in the mountains. Even his master Liu Qing often talks about it during his free time during practice. Even the crux of such stingy and stingy people are often mentioned, often with a wry smile, saying such stingy words. Although his nature may not necessarily hinder his practice, if he can really start a sect based on his own ability in the future, it will be really embarrassing. However, Bao Shi often mentioned that Yun Zhong still worked hard, and occasionally earned two taels of silver while going down the mountain, but he kept it tightly. It seemed that silver was more valuable than his family's life.
There is nothing wrong with what the young man said. The silver he brought from the mountain was indeed not enough. He had paid a lot to Liu Langzhong for the medical treatment. In addition, food and accommodation along the way were really tight. With Yun Zhong's many years, I am afraid that my ability to calculate money is barely enough to go to that monastery, but there is not much left to pay for my return.
However, the top priority was to rush to the ancient temple first. Liu Qing had already quietly spent more than half of the three months he had promised, and seeing the time change from late autumn to winter, she couldn't help but delay any longer. Therefore, Yun Zhong did not spend too many words. Instead, he took out a picture scroll from the package, spread it on the rosewood table, pressed a corner with a lampstand, and frowned at it.
The border crossing from Yizhang to Nanli has not been passed for a long time. Even if the caravan has to go to Nanli, it will be blocked at the border between the two places. The interrogation lasts for seven or eight days, which is unaffordable. Although I don’t know the cause, a little thought is enough to figure out the crux of it. Most likely, there are some weird things or even minor disputes between the two places, which makes entering and exiting the border particularly time-consuming.
But if we abandon the border here and go straight to the north, there is only one way, from Yizhang to Qiling Pass. In the past few days, Zhong Yunzhong has inquired about the dangers of this place from many merchants and rivers and lakes who are familiar with the terrain. When people heard the place name of Shujiao Pass, they shook their heads repeatedly and said that this road is difficult to walk and those who are not eager can not go there.
It would be better to go to areas where caravans and bandits are infested, or where there are extremely strong winds and sand. At least you can avoid it based on your experience over the years. However, this place in Shujiao Pass has almost nothing to do with experience.
Yun Zhong's eyebrows are most conspicuous when they are furrowed, but he doesn't know whether it is because young people's eyebrows usually stretch out, so they look more distinct after changing, or because he is still young, there are lines on his forehead and center that are not deep or shallow. You can get a glimpse of his expression by looking at him. When Wen Yu rested for a while and stood up, he saw the young man frowning and looking at the picture scroll on the table attentively.
"What is so special about this Shujiao Pass? Except that the boundary of Qiling Border Pass, where horse thieves and bandits are rampant, is outlined with a vermilion pen. Why is this Shujiao Pass highlighted with thick red color? I wonder what is so special about it?" The girl walked around a few times and came up to the young man. She looked at the terrain map and was quite puzzled.
Yun Zhong frowned slightly, shook his head and smiled, "It's not as scary as those merchants and Jianghu travelers said. As usual, you and I should walk along the east, go south to Xiasong, and then go Looking for that temple. But to avoid waiting and delaying time, the fastest way is to go straight from the northeast corner of Yizhang to Shujiao Pass. It only takes two or three days to arrive outside Qiling Pass."
"But the terrain in the northeast corner of Yizhang is quite high. Compared with the boundary outside Qiling Pass, it is about sixty or seventy feet higher. When Shujiao Pass was first built, it was planned to go directly to Xia Song, but it was delayed due to various reasons. , so now it can only lead to the outside of Qiling Pass. The first half of the road has no slope at all, and the second half is like a dangerous building, almost straight up and down, in disrepair, and rugged. "
As Yun Zhong spoke, he dipped some spilled tea into the table and drew on it, and then sighed, "There is a lot of wind and sand here, making it difficult for birds to cross. Moreover, the closed road is extremely long and narrow, and the terrain is extremely high. If there is a dragon, Here, you can't fly through the wind and sand. If you fall to the ground, you may break your muscles and bones. You can only walk along the narrow path, so it is called Shujiao. But most of them can trap the merchants. We are both lightly dressed, and we are riding lightly. When the wind and sand stop in winter, I think there won’t be a lot of trouble.”
Wen Yu didn't pay attention to Yun Zhong's words, but looked at the scroll with great interest, which was the size of a desk. One point in the middle happened to be Nangong Mountain, and in the middle were intertwined mountains, with the names of various places and the direction of the terrain. , the sky scene is exactly the same, all displayed on the scroll.
"My junior uncle is quite knowledgeable about the terrain of these mountains and rivers."
Yun Zhong raised his head, saw the woman's gaze, and lowered his eyebrows slightly, "Actually, I heard most of it from others. In this scroll of pictures, I probably only walked one-hundred or two hundredths. It is said that it is far from enough to complete the scroll." .”
"Sword training and cultivation are two things that can easily cause fatigue and worry." Wen Yu raised his eyebrows.
"I just want to see how many places I have walked through after going up the mountain," the young man thought for a moment and replied hesitantly, "Actually, this picture scroll should have started from the small town up there. I once started from I took out a volume from the collection of books in the mountains, and there was a sentence scrawled in it, saying that when a person comes to the world, he actually just walks around in a circle, and then goes around and around, and always returns to the original point."
The fine snow was falling outside the window, but the moonlight could still be seen.
The young man just sat here calmly and spoke calmly, as he should.
"When I reach the age of Uncle Ye and Mr. Chu, I want to see how far I have traveled in this life, and whether I am worthy of this life and return to the secular world, but I have to always keep something in mind so that I don't feel hard."
ps. I haven't been in good condition for a long time, and I didn't feel comfortable until the last paragraph.
