More than ten miles past Mingshui Town, there is a large mountain on the south bank of Mingshui Town, called Lanyan Mountain.
Lanyan Mountain looks like a concave moon when viewed from above. The rounded side towers into the clouds and is very steep, which is called the back mountain.
The back mountain gradually becomes lower toward the concave side until it reaches the ridge plain in the south and west. Because there is a large city called Kangzhou on this side, it also faces north and south, so the people call it the front mountain.
Unfortunately, the back mountain of Lanyan Mountain faces Mingshui Town, and its main peak is nicknamed Huiyun Peak by several towns in the north, including Mingshui.
The explanation is that when the clouds drift here, they can only go back the same way, which shows that it is unfathomably high.
The Mingshui River runs from north to east and then to the south along Lanyan Mountain, winding around Lanyan Mountain like a big snake.
The lower reaches of Mingshui River are just outside Kangzhou City in the front mountain of Lanyan Mountain.
Xiao Yu and others wanted to rush to Kangzhou City downstream, so they could only walk along a horse path to the foot of the back mountain of Lanyan Mountain.
After an hour's journey, they reached the foot of the back mountain in no time.
Under the steep rock wall of the back mountain, there is a quiet mountain village.
The village is named after the place, called Lanyan Village.
There are only about a dozen households scattered in the village, and the surrounding areas are mostly fields planted with rapeseed and wheat seedlings. Because it is spring, the rapeseed and wheat seedlings in the fields have only sprouted and hung with a few lush green leaves.
When we arrived at the last household at the entrance of the village, we passed by a vegetable field, where an old man of half a century was digging a spot to plant soybeans.
At this point the road split into three sides and became a four-way intersection.
Several people reined in their horses and stopped, and Xiao Yu said, "Uncle Liu, you guys take a break for a while. I'll go down and ask the uncle in that place for directions."
Uncle Liu and others stopped their horses and stood there, waiting for the light rain.
Xiaoyu jumped down and led the horse to the old man's crops. Xiaoyu clasped his fists and made a Taoist sign to greet the old man: "Uncle, excuse me, I want to ask for directions!"
The old man stopped what he was doing, put the hoe upright, and stood up and replied: "It's okay, just ask, where do you want to go?"
Xiaoyu pointed to the three roads on one side and asked, "We want to go to Nanchangzhou, but we don't know which road to take?"
The old man pointed to the two roads due south and southeast, and replied:
"Both of these two roads go towards Changzhou, but not the southwest road. The southwest road goes back along the Rotten Rock Mountain to Lingzhou in the west.
Downstream from Mingshui River is the city of Kangzhou. Only there is a ferry to go to Changzhou by water. The ferry is called Kangzhou ferry, and there are two routes to choose from.
Please listen to me explain to you carefully:
'The first one is the middle one, which starts from the back mountain of Lanyan Mountain along the rugged mountain road, all the way over the mountains and ridges, from the cliff plank road to the natural moat of Lanyan Mountain, and then down the mountain from the front mountain to the downstream ferry.
The second one is the southeast one, which is along the edge of Mingshui River and goes south until it reaches Kangzhou City and goes to Dutou.
If you choose the first option, you cannot ride a horse, because the mountain road in the back mountain is steep, especially the stone cliff plank road. It is impossible to ride a horse and can only be walked, which takes two days.
The second route is along the east edge of Lanyan Mountain, all the way south. Although the road is undulating, it is no problem for horses to travel. If the horse is fast, it will only take more than half a day to reach it.
But this second road is not very peaceful. '
I see that some of you are riding horses, so I would like to advise you to sell your horses in Mingshui Town in the north, and then take the mountain road in the middle over Lanyan Mountain to Kangzhou. "
Xiaoyu was very confused after hearing this. They had just come from Mingshui Town, why did they go back to sell horses? So he asked: "Uncle, why is this? Besides, we are in a hurry and don't want to walk for two more days."
The old man frowned and sighed, and had no choice but to explain: "It's just because on a section of the Southeast Horse Road that passes through Tongzilin, there were people who fell in love with bandits and specialized in robbing passers-by. It's a bit embarrassing to say that one of them was my relative. Son, if your wings are stiff, I can’t control it. I insist on following his third uncle to do that.
Shameful deeds.
So I advised a few people to return to Mingshui Town, sell their horses and take their belongings to the mountain plank road. Although the mountain road is a bit rugged, there is no strong force to rob, and you can save your life and property. It just takes more energy, which is better than losing your life. "
"So that's it. I dare to ask uncle, how many of them are in the group and what their abilities are?" Xiaoyu asked again.
The old man frowned and sighed: "Hey, young man, I see that you are also in the world of martial arts, but few of you are equipped with swords. In terms of ability, I am not an old man and I look down on you. I am afraid that you really can't fight them. Listen to me. Just a word of advice, go back, sell your horses, and take the mountain road over the mountains."
Xiao Yu asked doubtfully: "Uncle, didn't you say that there are your sons and brothers among them? Aren't they farmers? How can they do what strong men do? If they meet a passing Jianghu person, can they beat them?"
The old man waved his hand and replied: "You must not ask Da to fight them."
But when the old man finished speaking, he pointed to an abandoned hut not far away and continued:
"Speaking of which, my brother is the third eldest child in the family.
Yes, that was his home. When we were young, we divided our homes and lived separately, so my parents built a house there for him so that he could farm the land honestly and support himself.
But my brother from the same family is unwilling to farm and insists on going out to make a living.
Later, when he came back, he was indeed wearing gold and silver. I heard that he had joined a Xuantian sect in the southwest and learned a lot of skills. He said that he earned the money by working outside, and he planned to take my son with him. Go to work together.
Later, I heard from people in the village that my son and my third brother, together with a few other guys, actually robbed passers-by in Tongzilin. It turned out that what the third brother said about making money from work was robbery. Make money.
Sigh, it really brings shame to our family.
My son came back to see me a few times. He was dressed like a human, but he was not doing anything human.
I scolded him several times, but he wouldn't listen, saying that they were only robbing passing vendors. They were not locals, but outsiders, so they didn't get in the way! He also said that they had people in the government looking after them, so just let them go! I was so angry that I scolded him several times, not wanting to live off the dirty money he had stolen, and asking him to change his ways as soon as possible.
But this traitor didn't listen to my advice. At first, he came back to see me once every six months. I scolded him too many times, and now he simply doesn't come back home anymore.
Fortunately, you came to ask for directions while I was digging. If you were walking too fast, I wouldn't be able to stop you, otherwise my bastard son would have done some wrongs again. "
Xiaoyu clasped her fists in thanks and said, "Thank you uncle for your guidance and reminder, but we are in a hurry, so we are still going to take the horse path. After all, we are also people who travel in the world, and we are quite capable."
When the old man heard this, he was a little anxious and said with a worried look on his face: "I heard that the Xuantian Sect's martial arts are powerful. Can you really beat them? Don't let your life go in vain!"
Xiaoyu pointed at Yu Liufei who was riding a horse on one side, and replied with a smile: "Uncle, Xuantian teaches us that we naturally know it. Look, that person is my senior brother! His ability is not low. When we go, we will definitely help You advise your brother and your son to start a new life."
