Tight alleys and low-rise houses. Garbage is piled randomly and sewage flows everywhere. Although it is already night, the flies have not rested yet.
They gather and disperse, buzzing around the rotten and spoiled food, bringing a different kind of sound to the originally silent late night.
Snapped! The sole of his foot stepped on a drink box, which made a crisp sound as the air was squeezed out. It also scared a rat that was looking for food, and it quickly ran away towards the hole in the wall.
With his life experience in Cangyuan Outer City, Wei Tao didn't care at all about this. There was even an inexplicable feeling of intimacy.
He walked quickly through the alleys while constantly summarizing the information he had.
"Xu Yao, 23 years old, did not find a suitable job after graduating from college, and has been relying on working around to make a living. In the past few months, he has just joined a decoration company, where he does design and odd jobs."
"Yin Yin, 21 years old, just graduated from a higher education institution in Beijing, and then joined the Baishan Group to work. He is considered to be a white, rich and beautiful persona."
"In all senses, the two parties are not the same person at all. They have only had a few contacts recently due to work reasons, and they didn't seem to have exchanged a few words from the beginning to the end. How come it is her business?"
"And the young man who was eaten doesn't seem like a gang member who often fights and kills. What kind of secret is hidden in it..."
"Forget it, everyone is dead, it's none of my business." Wei Tao gathered his thoughts and stopped at a T-intersection.
He looked at the two scarlet cigarette butts coming towards him, and it immediately brought back memories that were already quite long ago.
The familiar and friendly feeling was quietly reflected in reality at this moment. Are these two guys here to rob?
"Boss, if we two brothers don't join hands these two days, why don't we borrow some money to spend some time?" The short man blew out a smoke ring and patted the bulging thing on his waist.
Another person slowly came closer and said with a smile on his face,
"To give my brother some face, we can also make friends. From now on..." He didn't finish his words. He was blinded by the sudden rise of sand.
Peng! ! Then there was a muffled sound. He covered his face and fell down. He didn't even have time to scream. He got stepped on again in the face.
His head tilted and he fainted. Gudong! The short man's throat surged and he had difficulty swallowing saliva. He subconsciously pulled out the dagger hidden in his waist.
But he has been timid and afraid to rush forward. Moreover, the twitching corners of his eyes and the trembling legs clearly revealed his fear.
The short man did not expect that the guy opposite would be so bloody and brutal. If the two of them were gangsters who took advantage of others, that guy was definitely a murderous gangster.
It seemed as if there was no need to think through the brain at all, and he rushed to kill people without any hesitation at all.
In fact, the tapping and stepping are quite crisp and neat, and it looks a bit pleasing to the eye. However, if these two things happened to him, he couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.
"To make friends?"
"You are worthy, too." Wei Tao casually put the blood-stained statue of Xi Mu into his pocket, and picked up a brick from the side.
He took a step forward slowly,
"If you have any money on you, bring it out to me." Even though the other party had weapons in his hands, and even though the body showed no traces of cultivation, he was not panicked. His state of mind was like a dry well on a dry land, and there was no ripple from the beginning to the end.
After all, his fighting consciousness is still there, and he has the spiritual consciousness of a great master of the Yangji Xuan Realm, and his control over his body is far beyond that of ordinary people.
Moreover, he is even more experienced in fighting in such a dark and dirty environment, far beyond the comparison of two thieves who dare not even make a deadly move.
"Yes, yes..." The short man suddenly became excited and hurriedly took out all the banknotes in his pocket.
"That's all I have with me. I don't know if the boss has any more." Wei Tao stared into the short man's eyes, his eyes fell on his shoulders, and he took another step forward.
"Throw over the money and the knife, and you can leave."
"Yes, yes, I will do it right now." The two sides looked at each other, and the short man's body trembled again. He hurriedly threw the things in his hands to the ground, turned around and left without hesitation.
Peng! As soon as he took two steps, he received a flying brick on the crook of his knee. Then he stumbled suddenly and hit his head against the wall.
Immediately afterwards, Wei Tao grabbed his hair and hit him a few more times with greater force. Soon his eyes turned white and he passed out.
Soon after, Wei Tao walked through the dark alley and turned into another alley. He looked at the Tongzi Tower in the distance, and returned to the small shop with a shabby sign on the roadside. Some memories that had been washed away and turned yellow by time suddenly quietly emerged at this moment.
A long time ago, he was like now, often walking through the streets and alleys, counting how much change he had left in his pocket.
Time seemed to suddenly stop at this moment. The memories of the past and the current reality quietly merged in the depths of his consciousness, and then left in their respective directions.
It's like it's gone and can never come back. The people who were once the closest may drift apart at some point and no longer feel that familiar atmosphere.
And all of this, when I think about it after a long time, it is like being covered with a mask of mold. No matter how hard I try, it is difficult to regain the clear memory of the past.
Wei Tao closed his eyes and slowly opened them again. At this moment, he suddenly understood the Corpse Executioner and the female alchemist.
And for the first time, a little curiosity and expectation arose in the pursuit of the other side of eternity. Kacha made a soft sound.
Wei Tao took out the key and opened the rusty iron door. A breeze stirred up the dust on the ground.
The moonlight slanted in through the crack in the door, reflecting on the worn furniture, dividing two areas of intertwined light and dark, and took out the convenience food that had just been bought.
Turn on what you might call an antique black and white television. Wei Tao sat down on the bench, chose a news program, and started watching it while eating.
"City councilor Lingyuan went to the Baishan area today to have detailed talks with the chairman of Baishan Group on the surrounding wild forest development project."
"A small-scale armed terrorist attack occurred in the northern mining area, and the Golden Circle organization claimed responsibility for the incident."
"Now, an emergency news is being inserted. A dangerous gas leak occurred in a school in this city. The entire campus has been closed and all personnel are prohibited from entering. Since the incident occurred late at night, no casualties have been found so far. The specific cause of the accident is under investigation. Survey."
"The following is the international news..."
"What I saw and heard along the way, and look at the news broadcast, there is indeed some confusion here, but the specific situation needs more in-depth and detailed investigation and analysis to know." Thinking of this, Wei Tao suddenly felt a little confused in his heart. Confuse.
He didn't quite understand why a dangerous gas leak occurred in a school. They even completely blocked two surrounding streets, which is not a normal thing no matter how you think about it.
What's more, if it was a gas leak, it should have been clearly stated in the news, instead of being as covert as the broadcast.
But he didn't really care about that. What really needs his attention is whether there is any cultivation system in this world.
If there is, we must find a way to incorporate it into our hands and study it deeply. Just like what he did in Lingyin Mountain, it was used to strengthen and enhance the true soul.
If not, then all that is left is the mark left by Xi Mu and the reason why it weaves spider webs in this area. Once you find it, you can leave directly. There is no need to waste time staying for a long time.
Therefore, the first thing to do is to transform this weak body. At least if you have enough self-protection power, you can do things with more confidence.
Time passed little by little. Soon the night faded and day came. But the sky outside was still gloomy, and soon a light drizzle began to fall, making a heavy sound on the window.
Wei Tao slowly exhaled a breath and looked down at his hands. For a whole night, he first practiced the Vajra Secret Technique, and then turned to the Red Line Fist, but he was still unable to master it.
The sensory transfer of Qi and blood cannot be said to be completely unworkable, but the effect is extremely poor. If martial arts practice is compared to climbing a peak, he is like carrying a huge weight on his back. Every time he carries energy and blood, there will be considerable resistance, and it is extremely difficult to take a step upward.
Even if you get in, you still don't know if you can use the status bar to reach the top in one go like before.
If you think about it further, even if it can be improved, if you encounter danger, the effectiveness of the imperial martial arts skills against the enemy will be greatly reduced, and it will not be able to play its original role at all.
After thinking silently for a moment, Wei Tao decided to go out for a walk and find out if there were any other means of cultivation in this world.
He quickly ate the last piece of bread, walked out of the door with a black umbrella, and disappeared into the gradually decreasing rain outside.
Although it was raining, pedestrians on the road were still bustling, rushing towards their respective places of work. From time to time, a rather old-fashioned looking car would drive by, splashing water and causing all sorts of angry curses.
Wei Tao stopped at a breakfast shop, counted the banknotes he earned last night, and went in to buy two meat pancakes.
He wanted to just pack it up and take it away, but happened to see people in uniform chatting at the table, so he took out the only two coins he had left, ordered another bowl of white porridge, sat behind them and ate slowly.
When those people got up and left, he put the last bit of meat pie into his mouth, picked up the black umbrella and left the store.
Walking on the street again, Wei Tao has become much more relaxed. No longer as cautious as before, he was extremely cautious.
In the next period of time, because of the experience of making money with his own hands last night, Wei Tao spent his time finding a new target, followed two pickpockets who had caught a big fish, and quietly entered an alley.
After a while, he walked out from the other end of the alley. The umbrella he was holding had disappeared and was replaced by a large black raincoat.
Soon after, he came to the third fighting gym. Wei Tao pushed open the door, took off his soaked raincoat, hung it up, and walked straight to the front desk.
Maybe it was because it was raining outside, or maybe it was not weekend break time, but the entire gym was quiet, and there was no sound of practicing.
There was only one female receptionist sitting behind the stage, holding a book in her hand and reading it with gusto. She didn't even know that someone was approaching.
Dang Dang Dang. Wei Tao lightly knocked on the countertop.
"Well……"
"Sir, how can I help you?" The young woman sitting there was shocked. She stuffed the money into the drawer like lightning, got up and came out from behind the table.
Wei Tao nodded slightly, with a gentle smile on his face. Although she didn't act vigilant enough just now, looking at her agility when hiding things, maybe she can really learn something real in this gym.
"I want to know about your courses." He looked at the pictures posted on the wall and said casually.
"Oh, sir, our courses are mainly divided into three parts: beginner, intermediate and advanced. Generally, beginners need to proceed step by step, starting from the basic skills..." The female receptionist was very articulate and introduced quickly. Up, constantly emphasizing the strength of the gym’s teachers, the professionalism of the coaches, etc.
Wei Tao listened silently, looking away from the wall and looking through the long and narrow aisle at the various training equipment placed inside.
After a moment, he raised his hand and did not let the female receptionist continue talking.
"Where's your curator? I want to communicate with him directly." The female receptionist was stunned for a moment, then a smile quickly appeared on her face.
"Please wait a moment, I'm going to find the curator." Not long after, a tall middle-aged man in sportswear walked out.
Wei Tao observed carefully and couldn't help but sigh secretly. This person has tight muscles, stable lower legs, protruding joints in his hands, and a degree of relaxation in his movements from step to step. He does look like he has two brushes.
However, this is only relative to ordinary people who have never practiced Buddhism. If placed in the territory of Dazhou, I am afraid that it would not be able to compare with the disciples of Hongxian Fist who have just reached the entrance standard.
Even now, if the two sides were fighting to the death, they should be able to win.
"Sir, do you want to learn to fight?" The middle-aged man stretched out his hand.
"My name is Shen Hu, and I am the director of the Huwei Fighting Gymnasium." Wei Tao shook hands with him, felt the power transmitted from his palms, and said with a smile,
"I do have plans to study, but I don't know what to learn better." Shen Hu was silent for a moment, then turned around and gave instructions,
"Xiao Ming, go and make two cups of tea. This gentleman and I will go inside and drink and talk." Five minutes later.
Wei Tao took a sip of tea and looked through the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor of the gym at the continuous rain curtain outside.
He put down the cup and leaned forward slightly,
"Director Shen, what I really want to learn are methods and means that can comprehensively improve myself, including various forms and various meanings of strengthening."
"In this case..." Shen Hu frowned slightly,
"Can I understand that you want to make yourself stronger and stronger in all aspects?" Wei Tao nodded,
"Director Shen can also understand this." Shen Hu rubbed the hot porcelain cup and said slowly, thoughtfully,
"If you want to improve comprehensively, I can help you test all aspects of the data first, and then make a targeted training plan." Wei Tao sighed, and his voice suddenly dropped when he spoke again.
"Director Shen, let's not talk secretly. In fact, I have no interest in these basic exercises at all. If I want, I can do well by practicing by myself, but this is not the training method I want." After going through several gyms, he seemed to have no more patience.
Then he stopped covering up and went straight to the point.
"What I really want is something that can be called the secret method of practice, which can ultimately allow people to break through the limits of their mental and physical bodies and enter a mysterious realm that is difficult for ordinary people to access." Silence fell in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Only the sound of rain lingered in their ears. Shen Hu's hand holding the tea cup paused slightly, then sighed and shook his head.
"Sir, are you kidding me? If I really had that kind of ability, how could I shrink into this small place and live at the mouth of a half-dead gymnasium?" Wei Tao nodded silently. He didn't speak again for a long time.
After finishing a cup of tea, he looked at the training equipment downstairs, took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket, and gently placed it next to the cup.
"I just saw the poster in the library. The money should be enough to pay for the highest level of study." Shen Hu was slightly startled, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
He helped refill the tea and said expectantly,
"Have you decided to sign up, sir?"
"I have already taken out the money, so naturally I decided to sign up." Wei Tao said slowly, and took out more bills from the other pocket and placed them next to the first pile.
"But I am still very interested in that kind of secret practice. If Director Shen has any clues, these money will be given to you as a reward for providing information."
"If I can find a way in the future, I will definitely give you a big thank you." Shen Hu lowered his eyes and focused on the two stacks of banknotes.
"I will keep an eye on it for you, sir, but please don't put too much hope in it." The money on the table totaled nearly 20,000 yuan, which is already a lot of money in this small mountain town.
If there are no particularly large expenditures, it can completely meet all the expenses of a family of three for the whole year. If you are frugal, you can even have a lot of surplus.
Even for this martial arts gym, it is considered a considerable amount of income.
"I just need to be able to provide some clues." Wei Tao observed his expression and pushed both stacks of banknotes over.
"This money can be regarded as the reward that Director Shen deserves. You can just take it." This is probably a person who is not very good at lying. Some clues can be found in his eyes and expressions.
To take a step back, from Wei Tao's point of view, it doesn't matter even if it's a wasted effort. He can also get rich by working hard with his hands.
But now that there is a glimmer of hope that may exist, we must hold on tightly and never let go.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll take the money but not do anything, or even just tell you random nonsense?" Contrary to Wei Tao's expectation, Shen Hu didn't take the banknotes on the table, but he didn't refuse directly either. Instead, he asked again.
Wei Tao sighed and picked up the tea cup again.
"Although it sounds like bragging, I still want to say that the friendship that belongs to me is far more worth cherishing than a stack of banknotes." This time, Shen Hu remained silent for longer.
It wasn't until the tea in the cup had turned cold that he spoke slowly and carefully.
"I know a master, and I can take you to visit him when I have time. I just don't know if he meets your requirements, and I don't know if he will open his door to accept disciples."
"Then please trouble me, Director Shen. I can do it at any time, and the sooner the better." Wei Tao smiled and stood up slowly.
"I just don't know what Master likes, so I can prepare gifts in advance."
"I have all the stuff right here. You don't need to spend time and energy preparing it, sir." Shen Hu stood up and said,
"As for the specific time, it may rain again tomorrow, so let's tentatively decide on the day after tomorrow?"
"Okay, I'll come over early the day after tomorrow." The two of them came to the door quickly, one after the other.
"Director Shen, stay." Wei Tao put on his raincoat and hood, wondering whether he should do another business.
At this moment, Shen Hu stopped talking. He seemed to want to say something, but he closed his mouth and did not speak.
Wei Tao's eyes flashed, and he gently closed the door he had just opened.
"Director Shen, do you have anything else to say?" Shen Hu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He finally made up his mind, and a trace of undetectable fear flashed in his eyes.
"Since sir is very interested in this matter, have you ever seen a foreigner, or to put it another way, a reborn and awakened person?" A foreigner, a reborn and awakened person... Wei Tao frowned, as if he had something to say. think,
"I have never seen a stranger, and this is even the first time I have heard of it. If Director Shen knows something, I hope he can clear up the confusion."
"I also had a brief encounter with one of them by chance."
"If I had known that sir didn't know, why would I bother to say this?" Shen Hu sighed,
"About this kind of thing, it is better not to know than to know. If you can avoid contact, try not to contact them. Anyway, in my eyes, they are a group of crazy people who are sometimes normal and sometimes very abnormal."
"It doesn't matter, I'm very interested in this matter."
"Maintaining strong curiosity and learning more knowledge is the ladder for progress, so I would also like to thank Director Shen for providing such valuable information." Wei Tao touched his pocket, and there were still a few banknotes in it. .
He only kept one card and took out all the rest.
"If Director Shen has nothing to do at noon, why don't you let me get some food and drinks? Let's enjoy the rain and drink, and chat while we drink." In the evening, the rain gradually subsided.
Wei Tao walked slowly on the sidewalk. Unconsciously, he came to the side of the blocked school. A little further forward, we arrived at the campus where the dangerous gas was leaking.
Wei Tao went into a roadside shop, took two bags of biscuits and a bottle of drink from the shelf, and took the opportunity to chat with the shop owner.
After a few minutes, he left the empty bottle and left the store with the cookies.
"According to the stranger who has interacted with Shen Hu, if we go further and speculate, this school is said to be leaking dangerous gas, but in fact it may have become a reflection folding area. The specific location and size of the folding point The area is unclear, and the duration is unclear. We only know that if someone happens to enter it when the folding point appears, strange changes that ordinary people can't imagine will occur. If you are lucky enough to survive, you may awaken some kind of special power. , so he is called a stranger, or a reborn and awakened person." Wei Tao thought silently, and did not continue to approach the past.
Since the campus has been blocked, it means that there is an organization involved here. His current strength level is approaching zero, so he will naturally not break in rashly.
More importantly, even though he was still some distance away, he sensed a chaotic aura of Mo Lake coming from the campus under the night sky.
Wei Tao was instinctively irritated and disgusted by this vague and nonexistent aura. So even if there was no blockade and no one guarding it, he had no intention of entering to find out.
"It's better to meet the master first and find out what the Qi mentioned by Shen Hu is exactly and whether it can be used as a cultivation method to improve."
"If that doesn't work, then consider the so-called rebirth and awakening." Wei Tao squinted his eyes and took another look at the shadow of the campus shrouded in dark rain.
"If there really is a folding map here, based on my instinctive disgust, this kind of rebirth and awakening may not be a good thing. Whether it should be used as a research and exploration goal at that time requires more in-depth thinking. "Fuck." He thought silently, shook off the water drops on his raincoat, and quickly left the street and plunged into an even darker and quieter alley.
Apart from a few hurried-looking pedestrians along the way, Wei Tao never met anyone who could start work.
It seemed that on this cold and rainy night, they had no desire to go out and do anything. Until he came to the dilapidated alley of the compound where he lived, the dusty iron nails and daggers he hid in his raincoat were of no use.
The street lights had long been broken, and the alley was occupied by a lot of debris and garbage, making it appear dark and narrow.
Snap! Click, click, click! Wei Tao's footsteps kept ringing. Soon we came to the corner leading to the compound.
It was here that he stopped. He clung to the debris poking against the wall, his hands shrunk in his sleeves, holding a dagger and iron nails respectively.
He even held a nail in his mouth, and felt the faint taste of rust on his tongue, which seemed to have a subtle sweetness.
Wei Tao held his breath and remained motionless. In addition to the sound of the rain, he also vaguely heard the sound of a very light cough, which came to him just now.
Apart from him, the only tenant in the courtyard was an old couple who lived in the best-decorated east room.
Of course this is not the point. The real point is that the old landlady and his wife don't cough. When they do cough, it is impossible to make such a low-pitched sound, and even sound a little weak and slender.
Could it be that he is here to work? Wei Tao thought silently, and suddenly felt an icy chill, penetrating through the raincoat along with the night wind, and quietly invading his body.
"There seems to be something wrong with this feeling." With a thought in his mind, he turned around and left without hesitation.
Headed towards the road outside as quickly as possible. The wind seemed to be stronger. It was mixed with raindrops falling down.
There was an increasingly dense crackling sound. Suddenly, the same gentle footsteps came from behind. And his speed is extremely fast. If this trend continues, he will be overtaken before he reaches the main road.
After turning a corner, we came to the T-junction where we worked last night. Wei Tao suddenly stopped at this moment.
The whole person shrunk behind the already very familiar garbage pile and waited motionless and silently. A moment later, a slender figure also wearing a poncho appeared in his sight.
