Early the next morning, Xiao Ning packed up his weapons, took dry food and went west to look for it. The mountain road was difficult to travel, so he walked around looking for it but did not dare to run quickly. It was almost noon when he climbed to the top of the ridge. He sat on the top of the mountain and took out some dry food. Looking westward, he saw that there were still mountains and ridges. There is no end in sight.
Xiao Ning chewed the dry food, drank a few mouthfuls of cold water, and frowned secretly. When he came, he thought simply, as if he could grab it when he arrived, but now he couldn't even find the target. It's like being blind in these thousands of mountains, but it's also really discouraging.
After eating the dry food and drinking some water, Xiao Ning stood up and dusted off his clothes, thinking that now was not the time to give up. He took a breath and tightened his belt, climbed over the ridge and headed west again. This journey lasted several hours. Seeing the red sun setting in the west, Xiao Ning touched the dry food on his body and had no intention of going back for a while.
When the red sun went down, a hare fell into his hands. He found a dry and wide place on the mountain to build a fire and started roasting it.
After a while, green smoke curled up, and the smell of meat spread far away, causing the beasts in the distance to hiss and howl. Even though Xiao Ning was still young, he had been licking blood with the blade of a knife along the way. When he heard the sound, he just gave a cold scoff, and his heart Daozheng thought that one rabbit had too little meat, and he wished that more rabbits could be delivered to his door.
When the salt on the meat had melted into the meat, he reached out and tore off a rabbit leg and started to chew on it. At this moment, a burst of footsteps came from behind. Xiao Ning frowned, secretly gathering his inner strength, and secretly grasped the handle of the knife with one hand.
At this time, I heard someone from behind laugh loudly: "This little brother is very interested. I wonder if we and I can hook up?"
As he spoke, an old man with gray hair turned around from behind. He was energetic and strong, holding a medicine hoe in his hand and a medicine basket on his back. He led a boy about Xiao Ning's age over.
Looking back at Xiao Ning, who was almost seven feet tall, he looked like a young man. When he turned around, the old man was stunned. Even if he had been fighting and sleeping in the open air for the past few months, a discerning eye would see that this was not a big boy. The old man never expected that a person who dared to sit alone in this barren mountain would be so old, and he didn't know how to talk to him.
Xiao Ning took a closer look and saw that they were just a pair of masters and disciples gathering herbs, but he put down his guard. He stood up and saluted, "When an elder comes, you should be greeted with courtesy. If you don't mind, please sit on the floor."
The old man was very free and easy. He thanked him and sat down with the boy opposite the fire without any pretense. It was already the beginning of summer and the end of spring, and the weather was getting hotter, but the dew on the mountain was still heavy, and the mountain wind was a bit cold. The two men approached the fire to get warm, and each took out dry food and ate it.
Xiao Ning tore off half a piece of hare and handed the remaining half to the old man. The old man didn't dare to say anything, but Xiao Ning smiled and said it was okay. They should take care of each other when they were out, so the old man accepted sharing the food with the boy.
After the three of them finished eating, the old man wiped his mouth and thanked Xiao Ning, and then asked: "My little brother looks young, where do you want to go alone in this deep mountain?"
Xiao Ning pondered for a moment, then sighed and said: "To be honest with you, I came to Bashu from the Central Plains. I was ordered by my master to find my sect who had been lost for hundreds of years. I didn't want to get lost in this deep mountain. We turned around and it was already getting late, so we had no choice but to rest here."
"Oh? I don't know the name of my little brother's sect. I often collect herbs in this mountain and have been to many places."
"Then I will give you some advice from Mr. Lao." Xiao Ning cupped his fists and saluted, "According to the words left by the founder, the sect seems to be called Yaowang Valley."
"Yao Wang Valley?" The old man twirled his beard with his hand, frowned and thought for a long time, and shook his head, "I have never heard of it. I have walked through this area for hundreds of miles, but I have never seen this 'Yao Wang Valley'. "
After Xiao Ning heard this, he felt disappointed again. This medicine collector had been walking in the mountains and forests for many years and had never seen Yaowang Valley, but he was asked where to look.
The old man thought for a while and then said: "Little brother, you don't have to worry. I heard from my fathers that there was an earthquake here a hundred years ago. Later, many villages moved. Maybe Guimen has also moved out of this mountain." must."
"Yeah." Xiao Ning no longer had any hope in her heart, so she just responded absently.
The old man didn't care. He just smiled and continued: "If my little brother still wants to search in this mountain for a few days, he should listen to the old man's words and must not go further west. If he goes, he must go around for ten or twenty miles."
"Old man, why is this?" Xiao Ning asked strangely.
"It's a long story. Twenty or thirty miles to the west, there is a very long and steep mountain. In previous years, there were always some good medicines growing near this mountain, and there were constant people coming and going to pick medicines. Since two or three years ago, someone I saw white lights flashing on the mountain at night, but when I looked for them during the day, there was no trace. Now some people said it was the mountain god appearing, some said it was a demon emerging from the mountain, and the news became more and more mysterious. No one dared to get close. If the little brother goes west, You should take a detour instead."
It was not the first time that Xiao Ning heard about this, and now he felt even more strange. He had already had some secret concerns, and this time he made up his mind to go and check it out. He hurriedly asked the old man: "May I ask my father-in-law where the mountain is? Xiao Ke can go around it if he comes near."
"Oh, that mountain is easy to recognize." The old man twirled his beard and said, "Go west over three or four hills, and you will see a mountain range stretching across the front, more than ten miles long, steep and difficult to climb, and this is the mountain. .”
"Where is the white light?" Xiao Ning continued to ask.
The old man gave him a strange look, "I don't know, I haven't been here to collect medicine in recent years. I only heard some people say it's halfway up the mountain, and some people say it's at the bottom of the mountain, but I'm not sure."
Xiao Ning nodded, indicating that he remembered, and the two chatted for a while before finding their own places to sleep.
As soon as it was light the next day, the two old men got up and said goodbye. Xiao Ning also packed up a little and ran straight to the west.
It was said to be twenty or thirty miles, and it was quite difficult to go up and down the mountain. After climbing over these hills, the sun was already tilting westward, and then we finally reached the front of the mountain. Xiao Ning was also on a mountain ridge at the moment, which was only slightly lower than the mountain ridge the old man across from him mentioned. What separated the two mountains was a mountain stream hundreds of feet deep and thirty or forty feet wide. This side The slope is still gentle, but there is a towering cliff on the opposite side, making it difficult for apes to climb up.
Xiao Ning raised his head and looked at the sky, thinking that even if he went down to the mountain before sunset, it would be hard to find anything in the dark. He might as well spend the night on the mountain and see the other side. So I found a piece of clean ground on the mountain and sat on it. I ate enough dry food at dawn and didn't want to light a fire. I just waited until night to see what changes happened on the other side.
I stared until the second watch, but there was still no movement on the other side. Xiao Ning thought that he was stupid. This mountain range was more than ten miles long, and he didn't know where the white light was. How far could he see just sitting like this? Now he jumped up and climbed to the top of the tree, found a direction and ran down the branches.
After running for three or four miles in a row, all the mountain ridges on this side were covered, and no movement was found on the other side. Xiao Ning gave up hope now. He was extremely tired after a long day of hard work. He jumped down from the tree, sat under the tree and sighed.
There was nothing else to do all night, and Xiao Ning fell asleep under the tree at some point. He only woke up when the sun was dazzling. At this moment, he ate some dry food randomly, looked at the deep stream below, gritted his teeth and dived down step by step.
There is no sunshine for several hours a day in the stream, and there are very few people around, so it is extremely deserted. After searching for most of the day, I found nothing. When I climbed up the stream again, it was almost the end of the day. Xiao Ning held dry food in his hand and thought to himself, forget it, it seems that this is not a treasure place. It is already late today. I will try again tomorrow. Go and look elsewhere. If that doesn't work, go back to Taiyuan. With the martial arts of the Divine Sword and the Golden Spear, plus the special skills of Breaking the Sky and Shocking the Vibration, you may not be able to defeat Yue Changhai after hard training. Now that I had finished eating my dry food, I lay on the ground and looked listlessly at the mountains opposite.
When he went down to the stream, he was at the northern end of the mountain. During the day, he unknowingly reached the southern end. He rested his head on his arms and looked towards the opposite side. He saw nothing but darkness with no two colors. At this moment, a gust of mountain wind blew by, and suddenly there seemed to be a flash of white light on the opposite side.
Xiao Ning became more energetic now, and sat up from the ground with a sigh, staring at the opposite side carefully, but for more than half an hour, there was no movement. Just when he thought he was dazzled, another gust of wind suddenly blew by, and there was another flash of white light on the opposite side, but it was more obvious than before.
Xiao Ning was overjoyed at this. He took a step and was about to rush towards the opposite cliff. However, he heard the sound of gravel falling under his feet, and then he remembered that he was standing on a high mountain.
It was dark, and the cliff was blurry. No one dared to go down. He was too anxious and had no choice. He just rubbed his hands and stared at the direction where the white light flashed before. After walking a few times, he suddenly found a place. It seems that I have seen that white light a little more often. Although it is still flickering, it is much clearer than before.
Xiao Ning sat down here, secretly remembering the position opposite, adjusting his breath and waiting for dawn.
With my worries on my mind, I felt that this long night was very difficult. I woke up several times during the night. Finally, I waited for the sky to get brighter. When I opened my eyes and looked again, the opposite cliff became more and more clear, but that The bright light could not be found. Xiao Ning was secretly surprised. He stared at the opposite side for a long time, but no bright light flashed.
At this time, he didn't care about not eating all night, so he turned over and descended into the deep stream, climbing towards the cliff on the opposite side. The slope here is gentle, but it is steep and difficult to climb over there. It is impossible to go up in a straight line while looking for a place to rest. When Xiao Ning feels that he has reached a similar position, Xiao Ning clings to the mountain wall like a gecko and looks around, but it is Nothing was found.
How could he give up at this point? He looked for a place to stay and searched for more than ten feet to both sides and above, but there was no place to borrow any more. But the surrounding areas were only mountain vines and dead trees, and there were only cracks in the rocks. I didn't find any difference in the ravine, but I regretted that I didn't have wings and couldn't explore the ravine. All kinds of emotions such as frustration, sadness, and despair surged up at this moment. In addition, there was no water or rice for most of the day. The mountain wind blew, and Xiao Ning, who was hanging on the mountain wall, swayed and almost fell off the mountain.
