There was rarely a tacit understanding among the people, and they all ignored Ximen Dazhuang's question and walked forward silently. Half an hour later, they encountered a slightly more dangerous place, but Zhao Rang felt that it was far from being as exaggerated as he had thought before, and he could get over it by just turning sideways.
Except for Yuan Kexin, whose martial arts cultivation level was the lowest, everyone present could lift their energy and lighten their bodies. Even Ximen Dazhuang had no difficulty in passing. And Yuan Kexin is a tall and slender girl. Even if she has no cultivation, she can easily get by as long as she is a little careful.
To practice martial arts, you must first practice Qi. When Qi is raised, the body will be light, and when Qi is down, the body will be heavy. Therefore, martial arts cultivators can change their weight to a certain extent within the scope of their own grades, thereby achieving things that ordinary people cannot do. Don't underestimate these two skills. They are simple to say, but if you practice them to a proficient level, it will not be a problem to pull up from the ground and jump several feet. It is a ladder to the clouds. When you fall, whether it's slow or fast, it all depends on your choice. It's a heavy fall. If these two things are used well, they can make their body movements flexible and unpredictable, making them elusive and defeating them.
The guide was a little surprised when he saw that everyone passed through the dangerous places as if they were walking on flat ground. When Mr. Ximen hired him, he only said that he was a Dawei businessman and did not reveal the details of Zhao Rang and others.
Zhao Rang adjusted his breath for a while and looked back. It was already foggy behind him, and he couldn't see the horses tied at the foot of the mountain. It turned out that the fog he saw earlier was now in it, so he asked the guide:
"How long does it take to get to the pavilion?"
The guide pulled out a machete from his waist and made a vertical slash on the pine tree next to him. He then pushed aside the old bark to reveal the fresh pine wood inside. He looked at it and replied:
"Sir, we have a fast pace, and we should be able to get there in as long as we have a cup of tea."
Zhao Rang was very curious about his method of judging distance, but thinking that he relied on this ability to make a living, he didn't ask further. Although I am purely curious, it would be bad if others think that I am inquiring about his ability to keep things under control. So he nodded and asked everyone to move on.
The fog was getting bigger and bigger, and groups were coming from the invisible front. Zhao Rang had to slow down, otherwise everyone would separate from each other sooner or later. Everything on this mountain is unusual. Although everyone is a capable person, it is still much safer to stay in a group than to be alone.
"Everyone, walk slowly! Don't stay too far away from anyone!"
"Yuan Mingkong! Take good care of your sister!"
As soon as Zhao Rang finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.
My voice is obviously very loud, but it seems like it can't get through! Could it be that the mist can still swallow up the sound?
As a last resort, Zhao Rang had to stand down. The guide had been walking beside him, and when he saw Zhao Rang stop, he didn't know why, so he had to stand still. After waiting for a while, I saw Ximen Dazhuang breaking through the fog with his burly figure, followed by Ye Sanniang and Yuan Mingkong who was supporting Yuan Kexin.
"What's wrong, Brother Rang?"
Ximen Dazhuang stared straight ahead. He didn't see Zhao Rang in the thick fog and almost bumped into him.
"The fog is too heavy, let's not spread it too far!"
Just as Ye Sanniang was about to say that she should go in front, she suddenly jumped up and pushed Zhao Rang to the side.
There was only a muffled "bang" sound in the thick fog, and a few cold stars shot out of it, aiming at the exact location where Zhao Rang had been.
Ye Sanniang raised her hand, and the energy spurted out from her palm, gathering all these "cold stars", and then she reached out and held them in her palm.
When he looked down, he saw five regular-shaped iron pieces, black in color and extremely hard.
"What kind of hidden weapon is this?"
Ximen Dazhuang asked.
No matter how strange a hidden weapon is, it should have sharp edges and corners, but this piece of iron is just a square piece of iron, and it has no lethality at all as a hidden weapon! Ye Sanniang picked it up and took a slight sniff. She found that the iron plate had not been quenched with poison, and she was also puzzled.
However, she discovered that these iron pieces were actually black steel!
As black steel has the best balance of hardness and toughness among existing ores, swords made of black steel can be said to be the pinnacle of excellence.
Twenty years ago, there was a man in the world who found the method of smelting black steel from an unknown cave and forged the world's first black steel sword. He then recruited many disciples and founded the Black Sword Hall. Relying on the speed of the weapon, the limelight was unparalleled for a while. In the end, due to excessive killing, other Jianghu sects and aristocratic families joined forces to annihilate him. Almost all the black steel swords were destroyed in that battle. The head of Wu Dao Tang also jumped into the fire with the method of smelting and forging black steel, and died together.
At this moment, Ye Sanniang felt extremely incredible when she saw the black steel piece in her palm. During that battle, her family also took action and was considered one of the crusaders. Could it be that Wu Daotang was not destroyed, but secretly secretly sneaked into the Western Region with Chen Cang, secretly developing, accumulating strength, and waiting to one day avenge the twenty-year revenge?
"Where's your brother!"
Ye Sanniang suddenly pulled out of her thoughts and asked.
But where is Zhao Rang's figure around?
Ximen Dazhuang and Yuan Mingkong were both anxious and looked around.
But except for thick white fog, nothing could be seen...
"Brother Rang!"
"Brother Rang!!!"
Ximen Dazhuang shouted with all his strength.
Such a loud sound, and being in the deep mountains, it stands to reason that it can be transmitted very far, and there will be echoes. But apart from his own ears buzzing, there was no movement at all.
The guide quickly said:
"Master, don't worry! Wait for the younger one to explore the road!"
Ximen Dazhuang glanced at him.
Having experienced so many incidents along the way, he also gained a lot of perspective!
I thought that at this juncture, if the guide ran away again, it would not only be more difficult to find Brother Rang, but he would also be completely lost in this broken mountain. The people in the Western Region are unreliable, and we must not let him go on his own!
"Don't move! Just stay here!"
The guide thought that he had not offended this man, so why was he so angry at himself?
Unexpectedly, it was not enough for Ximen Da Zhuang to just ask him to stay calmly. He even made him squat down, and then sandwiched him with Yuan Mingkong in tandem, thinking that this would be safer.
The guide had no room for excuse at all, so he could only squat down in aggrieved manner, counting the pine needles on the ground in a daze out of boredom.
"Okay, don't move, don't bully others. I'll go take a look around!"
Ye Sanniang said.
Ximen Dazhuang wanted to try to dissuade her, but he saw Ye Sanniang swaying into the thick fog.
"A god is a god! Maybe this god lives here... maybe my sister-in-law and the god here know each other..."
Little did he know that Zhao Rang on the other side was pushed hard by Ye Sanniang just now. He stepped on a slippery pine cone that had just fallen. He stumbled to the ground and rolled several times on the sloping ground. Hit in the head by a rock.
When he got up again, the pain from the back of his head made him grin.
Looking around, I saw that the fog here was much smaller and thinner, and I could basically see the road ahead clearly.
Zhao Rang looked at the traces of his rolling on the ground and decided to return along the long way.
But if you are not used to walking on the road in the mountains, you will not be able to maintain your direction.
Soon Zhao Rang was lost, but he didn't know it.
Getting lost is like singing out of tune. If I had known, it wouldn't have happened. It is precisely because we don’t know that we get stuck in it, making mistakes and going further and further away...
After walking for about a stick of incense, Zhao Rang didn't see anyone else, and then he realized that he must have gone the wrong way.
But when I looked back in the direction I came from, I saw that there was nothing left except my own footprints, and I couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"It would be nice if the mountain breeze blows the fog a little shallower..."
Zhao Rang didn't dare to wander around as he couldn't tell the direction clearly. I picked up a piece of wood from anywhere, followed the guide's approach, found a relatively strong tree around, hit the trunk with a stone several times, loosened the outer bark, peeled off a piece, and made Mark it so you can tell if you've been circling in the forest.
Zhao Rang followed the same pattern every time he walked. Until I marked fifteen trees in a row, I vaguely saw what seemed to be a building ahead.
With a thought, I thought that I might have walked into that pavilion by accident.
He immediately speeded up, but he forgot to continue marking, so he climbed up with a sigh of relief.
After walking a few feet, I discovered that it was indeed an octagonal pavilion!
The foundation of the pavilion is solid, but the flitting eaves and corners have collapsed, like a bald old man standing naked in the unobstructed wilderness, waiting to spend his last years.
After watching for a while, Zhao Rang felt that there was nothing strange, and was about to walk in to rest, but as soon as he took a step, he stopped and sighed.
On the pine tree next to it, a squirrel jumped up in panic and ran into the distance.
A man walked out from behind the pine tree where the squirrel originally lived.
He held a knife in his hand.
Black blade, black handle.
The man holding the knife has dark skin and a thin figure. Although he walked step by step, his shoulders barely moved, and his whole body seemed to be floating.
What surprised Zhao Rang the most was that the knife in his hand had no scabbard!
A knife without a scabbard allows the knife to be drawn out faster, but it also brings danger to the person holding the knife.
Zhao Rang moved his eyes upward and looked at him.
This man was similar to her in age, but his eyebrows were thicker than hers and the bridge of his nose was straighter than hers.
When their eyes met, his back became straighter, and there was no difference between his whole body and the black knife in his hand. It was impossible to tell whether he was holding the knife or the knife was holding him.
The stubbornness and indifference shown on this face were in sharp contrast to Zhao Rang's playful and frivolous look.
"Who are you?"
Zhao Rang spoke first.
This man didn't react at all, and didn't even move his eyes. He was like a blind and deaf person.
"You are Zhao Rang!"
The man suddenly said.
There was no surprise in his tone, as if he was Zhao Rang's old friend for many years.
But Zhao Rang racked his brains and couldn't remember that there was such a friend among his friends. He could only nod and responded:
"I am Zhao Rang!"
