Everyone filled their bellies indiscriminately. According to the discussion last night, Xu Feng solemnly explained to everyone the specific matters after entering the mountain to prevent any mistakes.
Liu Ruyan and Zhao Qingzhu took the lead. They first went up the mountain to explore the terrain and find out the specific location of the Hell Gate. As well as the possible ambush of the agency, wait until you know the truth and falsehood of the other party before making the next plan.
Xu Feng, Lei Zhentian and Luo Xiangxue found an easy hiding place at the foot of the mountain to hide and wait for news about the two of them. If Liu Ruyan and Zhao Qingzhu are in danger, they will use a soaring arrow as a signal to pass the people below.
Everything was arranged properly, and Xu Feng told the storekeeper to reserve a few good guest rooms for them to stay when everyone retreated.
Everyone packed their baggage and walked out of the inn with their weapons. The waiter led out several strong horses tied in the stables. Everyone took the horses and led them onto the long street.
The long street was already bustling with traffic, and it was very lively, with all kinds of hawking sounds filling every corner.
There is a lively and peaceful scene in the small town!
Lei Zhentian found an iron shop and spent three cents of broken silver to buy five rattling arrows and a simple crossbow for issuing trumpets.
Everyone prepared a little dry food and drinking water, everything was ready, and following the shopkeeper's instructions, they headed towards the foot of Savage Mountain three miles away from the town.
Everyone got on their horses and galloped along the official road of the town towards the more remote mountain road.
The road here is quite spacious and flat. In less than a minute of tea, the group arrived at the foot of Savage Mountain.
A gurgling stream beside the road winds along the foot of the mountain. The tinkling water and jumping whitecaps make the surrounding area even more tranquil. The chirping of insects adds a bit of wild interest.
The group stopped their horses and looked around. When they came to the foot of the mountain, everyone couldn't help but feel alert.
In front of you is a majestic mountain with criss-crossing ridges and canyons. It seems to have more than a dozen peaks. The peaks do not appear steep, but the mountains are stacked on top of each other, making them appear extremely deep and mysterious.
There was no one around, and apart from the sound of running water, the only sounds in my ears were the chirping of birds in the forest, and a faint gentle mountain breeze blowing by.
Everyone turned over and dismounted. Xu Feng looked around and said slowly: "This is Savage Mountain. Everyone should be more careful. We will tie the horses under the tree."
He frowned and looked at a few vigorous old trees not far away. Next to the trees stood a square thatched pavilion. There was a long stone table in the pavilion. He pointed to the thatched pavilion and said, "No, let's go to that thatched pavilion." Everyone led their horses towards the thatched pavilion.
The thatched pavilion is located at the foot of the mountain, with its back against the cliff. There are colorful prayer flags hanging on the four corners of the pavilion. The wind blows the flags, which are particularly eye-catching in the gentle sunshine, giving it a somewhat mysterious atmosphere.
Everyone tied their horses under the ancient tree next to the pavilion, walked into the pavilion, and saw a broken chess set on the stone table. There were four stone benches beside the stone table. It looked like an elegant place.
Everyone looked around, and Xu Feng's eyes were all focused on the chess piece. He just glanced at it lightly and didn't take it seriously. He just thought that some elegant guests had come here to play games with each other.
Suddenly, he frowned and steadily picked up the scattered chess pieces. When everyone saw the expression on his face, they couldn't help but feel surprised, but they saw his pupils shrinking and he said quietly: "This is not an ordinary chess game. Look, What do the placement of these chess pieces look like?" He slowly sat on the stone bench and held his position more carefully.
Everyone came forward to take a look. After looking for a long time, they didn't see anything strange. Liu Ruyan and Luo Xiangxue looked at each other with confusion on their faces. Lei Zhentian hesitated and said slowly: "Ah ha, could this be a map?" He only felt shocked in his heart, and he didn't know whether his guess was accurate. But looking at the direction of the chess pieces, it is indeed like a topographic map.
Liu Ruyan and Luo Xiangxue still didn't see anything, and were confused. Xu Feng stroked his beard, a smile appeared on his face, his eyes flickered, and he said quietly: "Heroes have the same view, Brother Lei I can see the mystery. If you guessed correctly, this is the topographic map of the mountain! But the layout is very clever. A layman who is not familiar with the Five Elements Yili will never see the mystery." He raised his head, He glanced at everyone.
Liu Ruyan and Luo Xiangxue nodded in understanding. Lei Zhentian stared at the chess game on the table and suddenly frowned and said: "There is indeed something special about this chess game. You see, the chess pieces are only black and white, with most black stones and even white ones." The black stones are in an upward trend, while the white stones are placed downwards. There are nine black stones in a row, but there are only five white stones in a row."
He took off the spear from his back and placed it on the corner of the pavilion. He touched his chin with one hand and looked up at the mountains. There were more than a dozen peaks criss-crossing each other. The huge ridges were like dragons and snakes entangled. Under each ridge, It was a deep canyon, and the shape of the mountain was weird and wonderful. He looked up quietly for a long time, and said quietly, "This mountain is majestic, but not beautiful enough. Look, those ridges are scattered from each peak, like There are long snakes entangled, why are there several ridges spread out from each peak? What a strange sight!" He seemed to know some Feng Shui methods, and there was a look of surprise in his eyes.
Xu Feng seemed to suddenly understand something from Lei Zhentian's words. He looked at the chess game, then looked up at the mountain shape, and suddenly said: "Yes, yes, what brother Lei said is true. The placement of these chess pieces is just right." It represents the direction of each ridge, and the entire chess game is exactly the shape of the mountain. The rising trend of the black stone shows the way into the mountain, and the white stone falling under the black stone represents the direction out of the mountain!" He As he spoke, he nodded slowly, with a slight smile on his face.
Lei Zhentian stared at the chess game and nodded in agreement. He clapped his hands and said, "Exactly, Master Xu and my younger brother have the same views. It seems that the person who arranged this chess game is a person who is well versed in the mysteries of the mountain. But why does this person How about setting up such a chess game?"
Just as he was talking, Luo Xiangxue suddenly said in surprise: "What about Young Master Zhao?"
Everyone was suddenly shocked, and then realized that Zhao Qingzhu was nowhere to be seen.
He had obviously come to the foot of the mountain on horseback with everyone just now, but at this moment, he was nowhere to be seen. Everyone looked around hurriedly. Everywhere they looked were mountains and forests. Where was the shadow of Zhao Qingzhu?
When did he disappear? Why did it suddenly disappear? When he dismounted just now, he was still beside him, but why did he suddenly disappear?
Everyone felt surprised and inexplicable. When they were surprised, they couldn't help but feel a deep fear in their hearts.
Liu Ruyan raised her eyebrows and ran out of the pavilion alertly, walking quickly into the jungle on the roadside. While searching, she shouted: "Young Master Zhao? Young Master Zhao?" He shouted in a deep voice, but there was silence all around, but there was no response. .
Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Feng and Lei Zhentian ran out like arrows. They were very calm and did not shout like Liu Ruyan, but looked at the surrounding situation with their eyes like lightning.
After searching for a while, no one found the shadow of Zhao Qingzhu. Lei Zhentian sighed quietly and said slowly: "It's really a ghost. In broad daylight, a living person suddenly disappeared. When did he disappear? Is it over?" He said, and an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his heart. It seems like something terrible is about to happen, but no one knows what will happen?
Xu Feng's thoughts were racing, he looked at the mountain road he came from, then turned to look at the creek behind him, calmed down, and said, "Did this kid sneak away while we were analyzing the chessboard?"
Lei Zhentian had questions: "He agreed to come with us, so why did he leave without saying goodbye? Did he change midway and refuse to take this risk with us? Even if he regretted and wanted to leave, he should have left with us Say hello?"
Liu Ruyan walked around in the forest, but did not find Zhao Qingzhu. Then he returned to Xu et al., shook his head and said: "There is nothing. It's really strange. Why did a big living person suddenly disappear? We arrived earlier When we got down the mountain, he said a few words to me, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
At this time, Luo Xiangxue suddenly said: "Is it possible that he went up the mountain alone?" She looked at everyone with a look of fear.
Xu Feng raised his eyes and looked around. The barren mountains were desolate. There wasn't even a ghost in the surroundings. Where were the traces of human beings? He just sighed quietly: "Maybe he had other plans and left quietly. We just met him by chance, and there is really no need for him to accompany us to stir up this muddy water. Okay, let's not look for him again. Let's stick to the plan. Let’s go up the mountain first!”
Just as they were talking, everyone was walking towards the pavilion, when suddenly a figure emerged from the grass on the cliff in front. Everyone was startled, and after a closer look, they recognized that the man in white who turned over was none other than Zhao Qingzhu!
Everyone hurried forward to greet him and looked at him in surprise. However, Zhao Qingzhu greeted him with a smile, cupped his hands in front of everyone, and said, "Everyone is laughing!"
Everyone was confused. The second monk could not help but look at each other. Just as he was about to ask, Zhao Qingzhu spoke again: "You must be wondering where I went!" He suddenly covered his mouth and smiled, "I will make everyone laugh if I say it. , I may have had a few too many drinks last night and felt a little upset, so I just went over there for convenience!"
Everyone's surprised and inexplicable faces immediately burst into smiles, and Luo Xiangxue couldn't help covering her mouth and snickering. It turned out that he went alone because of a stomachache.
The doubts on everyone's faces disappeared immediately, and everyone panicked for a long time, thinking that he had encountered some danger, but it turned out that he had gone to solve an internal emergency.
Liu Ruyan joked: "A living person suddenly disappeared right under my nose. I don't believe it is true."
Lei Zhentian also came to join in the fun, pretending to be an old naughty boy, winked and said, "I thought I'd hit a ghost too!"
As soon as these words came out, Luo Xiangxue couldn't help but laugh so hard that tears came out.
Xu Feng said seriously: "Okay, everyone, please stop joking." He looked at Zhao Qingzhu and said solemnly, "Just now we carefully analyzed the chess game in the pavilion. That is the route map to the mountain. Zhao Shaoxia, you can follow I come!"
Zhao Qingzhu nodded and followed everyone to the pavilion. Xu Feng explained to him the secrets hidden in the chess game. He said it in a very serious manner. Zhao Qingzhu held his breath for a long time and said that there are deep mysteries in the chess game and everyone should proceed carefully and proceed step by step. !
