Li Yi nodded and said. "Although Mr. Storyteller's words are untrustworthy, your conjecture is not unreasonable."
"That's right." Wang Daoping said proudly. "By the way, didn't you say you were from the north? Why didn't you go directly to the Taiping ruins? Is there a hidden secret? Oh! I understand, confidante."
Li Yi rolled his eyes and said. "When you are young, who doesn't want to dream of traveling around the world?"
"I heard people say that the south is very prosperous, but I haven't been there yet! Is it really prosperous?"
"If you go, I'm afraid you will get stuck in it and be unable to extricate yourself. There is no way you can find a woman to marry."
Wang Daoping smiled jokingly. "In that case, why did you go north? It's not just the Taiping ruins, right?"
"I'm not trying to save people. It's good to be alive in these troubled times. Is there any other reason?"
"Hahahaha, Li Yi, if you really want to save the world, you might as well call me. I will accompany you. Fight out the shadow and kill him without leaving a trace."
Li Yi was speechless and found Wang Daoping's words really funny. If nothing else, just talking about saving the world is as ridiculous as trying to pick stars from the sky for your children.
"I am just a young man who is just starting out. You, Wang Daoping, think too highly of me when it comes to saving the world."
Wang Daoping laughed. "Li Yi, don't rush to refute. I have also seen the hell on earth in the north. My parents died in the war. I can't bear to see this tragedy in the world. I want to change the status quo. I have no ulterior motives."
Li Yi smiled slightly and threw him a cake. "Don't talk about this. It's so great. You have to live to be strong. Many people think that they will become famous all over the world by wandering in the world. In fact, there are quite a few who just started out and died on the way."
Li Yi handed the wine bottle to Wang Daoping, and Wang Daoping was not polite.
Li Yi said. "Xi Chu is short of water. It's not easy to brew wine. Don't drink it all in one gulp. We won't have anywhere to replenish it."
Wang Daoping curled his lips. "I didn't expect you to be really stingy."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"Boring! Hey! Li Yi, do you have a girl you like? Like a childhood sweetheart or something?"
What he said actually meant that there was no three hundred taels of silver here. After all, he had said before that Li Yi went south all the way for his confidante.
Li Yi rolled his eyes at him and ignored him, and he continued. "You've been wandering around the world for a while, but you haven't found anyone you like yet! It's a bit sad! However, I can introduce you to one, what do you think?"
"I see you are alone, why don't you introduce yourself to someone first?"
"Alas! I'm ashamed to say that I haven't met the girl I like yet. Besides, I always feel weird when I have a girl with me, just like Fuzhu, she talks too much. So, being alone is not bad. "
Li Yi didn't reply to him, but continued to walk forward.
They were walking on the high ground of the official road. It was supposed to be a place full of weeds and flowers, but instead it was filled with dust and wind. There were cracks and ravines left by lack of water crisscrossing the sky. From time to time, they saw a few corpses.
They bathed in the sunset, and their shadows dragged far down the windy and sandy slope.
At night, the two people lay in front of the campfire and fell asleep leaning against the dead tree.
Li Yi suddenly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on a patch of grass.
His eyes suddenly shrank, he pulled out the long sword from his waist, looked at the target and threw it.
Suddenly, there was a scream from the front, and something that didn't know whether it was a wolf or a dog suddenly rolled out. In an instant, its head was pierced and it lost its breath.
"What the hell!" Wang Daoping woke up from his dream, grabbed the spear next to him and swung it to protect himself.
Li Yi rolled his eyes and said. "died."
Wang Daoping breathed a sigh of relief. "I was shocked. I thought the killer in the shadows was following me again."
Li Yi stepped forward and said jokingly. "Wang Daoping, do you think a sleeper like you would kill me if you walked with me?"
"That's the best. No matter who dies, you will contribute to Xi Chu." Wang Daoping chuckled.
He looked at Li Yi, who raised his knife and lowered his hand, and asked. "By the way, what is this?"
"It's not a dog, it's an underage wolf cub. It's probably lost. Seeing that we were sleeping soundly, it wanted to follow us and attack."
Wang Daoping stuck the spear on the ground and sighed. "Not only is the wolf hungry, but I am too."
Li Yi raised his knife and quickly peeled off the wolf's skin and dug out its internal organs.
But he didn't want it, but threw it in the bushes aside.
Seeing him like this, Wang Daoping rolled his eyes and said. "You just leave it here, aren't you afraid of the strong smell?"
Li Yi came over carrying the skinned wolf meat and said. "We'll leave tomorrow. We can make do with one or two tonight."
Wang Daoping spread his hands. "Okay! Just hold back your smile."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to think of something again and spoke. "If you are thinking about food, you should come to me. This is my strength. Not to mention grandpa and the people in the fog, Fuzhu also praised me very much. I had to be personally guided by my husband."
As Wang Daoping spoke, he had already taken the wolf meat from Li Yi, and Li Yi did not argue with him about whose cooking skills were better. In fact, he knew that he was not a match for Wang Daoping in this regard.
Finally, Wang Daoping tied the wolf meat to several wooden sticks and roasted it.
However, Li Yi was already asleep.
The next day, Li Yi and Wang Daoping continued to head north. The wolf meat they had not eaten last night was cut into pieces and put in a package to take away. Winter had just passed and the meat could still be stored for some time.
What's more, Western Chu is barren, and it's even harder for them to eat meat while they're on the road.
But after walking only a few miles, they stopped in front of a village.
The village's name is Liujiacun. It is a village next to the official road and is surrounded by mountains.
Although there is an official road as a major transportation route, it is still far away from the surrounding counties and even towns, so it is not wealthy.
The military disasters in the past few years have reached outside Pengzhou City, but it seems that this place has not been invaded by the shadow army.
Li Yi and Wang Daoping originally entered to replenish the water source, but they stopped at the entrance of the village.
A family at the entrance of the village was crying and was surrounded by villagers, as if something big had happened.
Wang Daoping said with overflowing curiosity. "Go over and take a look."
Saying that, without waiting for Li Yi to answer, he ran out first.
The two people tilted their heads and looked in through the gap outside the crowd.
After inquiring, I found out that this family was hunters who made a living by hunting. Yesterday when they went hunting in the mountains, they accidentally walked too far and injured an arm. He fainted at that time and was only discovered by people who went up to the mountain to hunt this morning.
Li Yi and Wang Daoping stood on the stone in front of the house, looking at the man's burned arm with some confusion. But in this atmosphere, the two of them still asked others where they could replenish the water supply.
After all, if something like this makes others unhappy, the hoe will come down soon.
Although the man's hands were completely burned, he was fine. He was just a little depressed. When talking about his experience, he still avoided his eyes with lingering fear.
An old man who called himself Yunyou used hot water to clean all the injuries on his arm, then applied medicine to bandage the entire arm, and repeatedly told him not to touch the water.
During this period, Wang Daoping made a deal with a child for fifty copper plates. The child filled three water bags for the two of them and counted the money with a smile.
Seeing that the man was okay, Li Yi led the horse and called Wang Daoping and walked forward slowly.
Wang Daoping followed not far behind him, holding the black horse in his hand. The black horse was only as high as his shoulders.
he said. "Brother Li, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Are you not curious about what that thing is?"
However, he said that he still followed.
The two people left here quietly. The people in the village behind them were noisy, but they didn't seem to see them leave.
After leaving the village, Wang Daoping spoke. "According to the man, he got lost in the mountains and was inexplicably hit when he was looking for the way down the mountain. Based on the injury on his hand, do you think he was lying? If so, what could that thing be? "
Li Yi rolled his eyes. "It sounds very mysterious, like coming back to life. Do you believe it?"
"There's nothing mysterious about it. Among all the swordsmen and spearmen in the world, none of them can cut off mountains and water with one sword. It's not certain, but there are masters sitting on the mountain that the man mentioned. This kind of thing happens all the time. The Western Chu Sword Immortal who ascended to the top position in Western Chu more than ten years ago disappeared within a few years. There are different opinions, but I am more willing to believe that he retired to the mountains and forests, and was not killed by others."
Li Yi turned to look at Wang Daoping. "Brother Wang. I heard what that man said was mysterious. Do you want to take a look?"
"How about it? Why don't we go and take a look together?"
Seeing that Li Yi didn't speak, Wang Daoping spoke again. "But they are all out to make a living in the world. There is nothing to be afraid of. If you don't go, I will go myself."
With that said, he jumped on his horse and rushed out.
Li Yi shook his head, jumped on the horse and followed him.
Wang Daoping smiled proudly and looked at Li Yi from the corner of his eye, but he was suddenly stunned, as if he saw something.
Li Yi saw him holding the reins with a strange look on his face, and became curious and asked. "What's wrong? You don't look good. Did something happen?"
Wang Daoping pointed behind him. "That is?"
Li Yi turned around and was also stunned.
I saw a little white bird following behind me. It looked very strange. I couldn't tell where I had seen it before.
Soon, the little bird slowly landed on Li Yi's shoulder, and when it touched his clothes, it instantly turned into a note.
Li Yi caught the note, opened it and saw a line of words clearly written on it. "Shadow has launched an assassination operation against Sir. Sir, please remember to be careful."
The words are simple and gone.
Li Yi handed the note to Wang Daoping, but shook his head with a wry smile. "Sir, other people really know how to pick names. If I really had that ability, why would I wander here? There are many gentlemen in the world, including Mr. Su from Yangcheng, Mr. Li from Danzhou City, and several wine-making gentlemen from Pengzhou City. , Mr. Li from Beili, Mr. Fanwai from Nanmu Fanwai Academy, and Mr. Chen from Nanjiang, all of them are skilled in the art, how can I be so virtuous and capable!"
"I just said that your identity is not simple, but you still don't admit it." Wang Daoping laughed. "It's a shame you still say you're a nobody. Brother Li, you're being dishonest! Be careful when you give birth to a son without a butthole!"
Li Yi rolled his eyes. "If I say someone deliberately framed me, would you believe me?"
"If you don't believe it, just based on the ability to turn a bird into a blank piece of paper, it has a lot of background. People in the fog can't do it. No big shot is so idle that he insists on delivering a message to an unknown person."
Li Yi looked at the top of the mountain in front of him and said. "I didn't want to go up the mountain originally, but it seems I have to accompany you this time."
"What's the matter? You will only accompany me once. I will follow you up and down the mountain of knives and frying pans. Those killers are not fuel-efficient at first glance. They are sharpening their knives and preparing for the end!"
"It looks like I've earned it."
"Hey! Brother Li is serious. I want to work with you to save the world. This is really embarrassing for me."
It was rare that Wang Daoping was not serious, so Li Yi also laughed and said cheerfully. "If you, Wang Daoping, were really ashamed, you would be afraid that the whole world would be embarrassed and hang yourself."
Wang Daoping held up the piece of paper and asked. "Then this thing."
Li Yi tilted his head and blinked. "It's good for you to keep it as a souvenir."
Wang Daoping rolled his eyes, clenched his fist, and crushed the paper in his hand into powder.
"You two, wait a moment."
At this moment, someone from behind called them.
The two turned around, and an old man riding a donkey came slowly over.
Li Yi and Wang Daoping clenched their weapons and were on guard.
When the old man approached them, they didn't notice it, which meant that the old man was stronger than them.
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person." The old man said, taking out two small medicine bottles from the cloth bag full of stitches.
He came to Wang Daoping and Li Yi, handed the medicine bottle to their hands with their stunned expressions, and said. "I just heard the conversation between the two of you from behind. Want to go up the mountain? It's not impossible, but how can you do without this thing?"
Li Yi looked at the old man stroking his beard, smiling kindly, and asked. "Senior, what is this?"
"It's not an important item, but it can save lives at critical moments. If you really encounter that thing on the mountain, just apply the medicine I gave you."
"Thank you, senior."
"You're welcome, you two, we'll see you again." The old man said and left on his donkey.
He walked away so simply, as if he was really just out of good intentions.
"Who is the senior?" Wang Daoping asked.
"unimportant."
In the afternoon, they came to a forest in the mountains and stopped.
Li Yi put the two horses on the grass, came over and sat next to Wang Daoping.
This was night, the first time they stopped to rest and have something to eat after going up the mountain.
The two men didn't care that they didn't find the place.
Li Yi looked at the bonfire in front of him. Wang Daoping drank the water that Li Yi handed over, but with one hand he turned the wolf meat that he had not eaten last night on the fire.
Li Yi closed his eyes and slowly leaned against the tree behind him. "I'll just lean in and pay attention to my surroundings."
Wang Daoping smiled and responded. "Don't worry! But your sword attack last night was really powerful."
Li Yi did not open his eyes, but closed his eyes and said calmly. "I once read a book about traveling in the world. There are records in it. I learned a little bit, but I'm not proficient enough."
Wang Daoping cut off a piece of wolf meat with a dagger, handed it over and said. "Although it's a bit stale, it's still edible. Think about those beggars who asked us for silver, but they weren't so lucky."
Li Yi opened his eyes and smiled. "Compared to others, it's good to have food. I don't want to die in pieces like the northerners."
Wang Daoping looked at Li Yi and smiled evilly. "I still care about the common people in the world. It seems that I was duplicitous before."
Li Yi chewed the wolf meat, his face expressionless, his eyes flashing, as if he had crawled out of a pile of dead people.
Maybe he really died once.
Wang Daoping curled his lips. "A person like you who talks so little is so boring. I don't know if I can find a girl I like in the future."
Li Yi stood up and threw the wolf bones aside without looking back. "You rest first, I'll go walk around."
Wang Daoping threw a branch at Li Yi like a dart and stood up himself. "It's rare that it's quiet here. Why don't you make some gestures? I really want to see how you're doing."
Li Yi turned his head to avoid the branch thrown by Wang Daoping and said. "You're not afraid of people in the shadows finding out."
Wang Daoping took up his stance and grinned. "Don't worry, I've checked. There's no human habitation within dozens of miles. They won't find them here. Even if they come, so what. They will kill as many as they come."
"OK!"
Li Yi took half a step back, and Wang Daoping jumped up and struck him with a palm.
Li Yi did not draw his sword, but faced the difficulty and struck a blow with Wang Daoping.
As a result, in the next second, he was pushed back dozens of meters by Wang Daoping. His feet slid along the ground, paving away a few centimeters of thick soil.
Wang Daoping was a little proud, but his face suddenly turned pale.
Li Yi saw what was behind him from his eyes.
Wang Daoping came to his senses instantly, pulled out the gun from the ground and threw it over.
