The dark water surface was like a huge black hole, swallowing up the faint moonlight in the sky. Only the occasional splash of water was like a pair of pale scimitars, forcing a small boat to move forward slowly.
When he heard the order to return, one of them looked surprised: "Qin Ming, anyway, we will reach the next port if we go a few miles further, why don't we go ashore and rest for a while first?"
"Return immediately! This is an order!" Qin Ming's tone became serious, and the man did not dare to disobey. He snorted and ordered everyone to turn the bow of the boat, and then quietly lowered a black cloth in the river while others were unprepared. The wrapped bamboo tube floats downstream.
Not long after the ship left, I heard rustling in the woods on both sides. A strange shadow sneaked into the river to retrieve the bamboo tube. I found a few words written hastily inside, "Cancel, disarm!" and then snap. With a clap of hands, many figures emerged from both sides, and a large net was collected from the river. There was a faint flash of sharp light in the net.
"You are lucky!" The leader snorted coldly, "Retreat! Go back to Qingyang Mountain!"
These people from Qingyang Temple received a tip that Sankoutang was going to send someone out to find experts to deal with them. Since it was difficult to take action on the surface, he prepared to take advantage of the night to catch them all on the river and weaken their spirit. Anyway, people here are unaware of anything, and even if there is an accident, people will think that the bottom of the boat has hit a reef, but they didn't expect that the duck beside their mouth flew away, and they had to go home.
But just when they were about to go back, three figures suddenly appeared behind them and approached quietly. Before these people had time to react, they lost their breath. The three figures inflicted a few more blows on the fatal spots on each body, then put away the knives, hid the corpses, and then disappeared into the night.
"Brother, the people from Sankoutang turned back halfway, but when we were about to come back, we found that the people from Qingyangguan were secretly planning to frame them, but we didn't expect that they escaped. I was afraid that those people would come back. Qingyang Temple will definitely expose the matter, so we left all those people behind." The three Jia brothers were reporting something to Wu Fan in a low voice.
"Well done. As long as these people don't return to Qingyang Temple for the time being, there won't be much warning over there. But this matter can't be delayed for too long. Once there is no news over there for many days, there will definitely be If we take strict precautions, our actions will be a little more dangerous. Let's go to Qingyang Mountain tomorrow daytime and act quickly."
Qingyang Mountain is a good place with beautiful mountains and clear waters. It is surrounded by clouds and mist above and surrounded by clear water below. It is full of greenery and feels like spring all year round. But a hundred years ago, this place was an unremarkable stone mountain. Birds never fell on the mountain, no grass grew, and the lives of the people below the mountain were also very difficult.
Legend has it that one day, a cloud floated over the mountain, and in it was an old man riding a green sheep. The green sheep under the old man's seat looked at the bare ground and had no idea what to say, so it bleated three times. At the first sound, the river in the distance was surging. At the second sound, the vegetation on the mountain grew rapidly. At the third sound, the clouds in the sky lowered a bit, blocking the sun. The green sheep let go of its joy and lowered its head to eat the grass with satisfaction.
In order to thank Qingyang for the good fortune given by it, the people at the foot of the mountain renamed Stone Mountain Qingyang Mountain and built an ancestral hall in the mountain, where sculptures of the old man and Qingyang were enshrined, with constant incense and bright lights.
Regardless of whether the legend is true or not, life at the foot of Qingyang Mountain is prosperous. And since an old Taoist who traveled here established the "Qingyang Temple" decades ago, the Feng Shui has also transferred here, and it has developed from a small village with a few households to a large city with hundreds of households. There are often seekers coming here to imbibe the immortal energy, hoping to worship in the temple.
In Qingyang Restaurant, a young man with short hair slapped his money bag on the table, "Waiter! If you have anything delicious and delicious to eat, please bring it to our young master!"
"Okay! These guests, please wait a moment!" Although there are many wealthy young masters, there are not many who are so wealthy. The waiter looked at the money bag on the table and was very happy. He stretched out his hand and He was going to get the money bag, but as soon as his hand grasped the money bag, he was held down by the short-haired boy.
"Don't leave in a hurry. Is there any interesting place, or any interesting people or things in Qingyang Mountain? Tell our young master, our young master likes to hear these stories the most."
"This..." The waiter looked embarrassed, "What's there to say? Let me tell you the origin of Qingyang Mountain? By the way, this Qingyang Mountain! It used to be called..."
"Stop, stop, I've been listening to this story from house to house, and my ears have become calluses when telling it. Isn't there anything new? For example, what's the secret of Qingyang Temple?"
"No! You can't talk nonsense..." The waiter's expression changed, he picked up the wallet and was about to leave, but at this moment, there was a click, and the young man wearing a black gauze hat opened the wallet in his hand. In the birdcage, a flash of silver light wrapped around the waiter's arm. A snake head stared fiercely into the waiter's eyes, with two very ferocious fangs in its mouth.
"Ah... this young master... your... young master, help me..." The waiter in the shop was so frightened that he didn't move. He looked down at this young man with his eyes, asking for help again and again.
"Say, the money is yours! If you don't tell, your life is mine!" Mr. Qingshe said in a hoarse tone.
"I said, I said..." The waiter nodded quickly and agreed. The white snake on his arm returned to the cage with a swishing sound. He then breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked around and saw that no one was there, then closed the door and window and whispered. , "Actually, the locals in Qingyang Mountain know a lot about these things, but they dare not spread them to the outside world. Before I tell them, I would like you to give me a guarantee. Don't tell outsiders when you go out. Otherwise, I... I might as well be eaten by this white snake." It’s over…”
Yuan Hua was about to say something else, but Wu Fan stopped him and continued in a low voice: "I, Mr. Qingshe, are only interested in gossip about otherworldly things. If it is inconvenient for you, just don't talk about it." He spoke silently. Flicking the switch of the cage with his hand.
The clicking sound was like the Lord of Hell knocking on the table. The waiter peeked through the door and window again, gritted his teeth and said, "Actually, only half of the people in Qingyang Mountain are alive."
"What?" After hearing this, everyone in the room was frightened and clenched their weapons.
"Dear guests, please don't misunderstand me. Although I said they are not living people, I didn't say they were dead either!"
The waiter at the store told me that the Qingyang Temple was built privately on the mountain, and the villagers at the foot of the mountain were very opposed to it. They sent people to look for her over and over again, but were turned down every time. Since the establishment of Qingyang Temple, strange sounds have often come from the mountains at night, which frightened the villagers.
Later, a few brave people sneaked into Qingyang Temple quietly at night, but never came back. The villagers thought that these people had been harmed by Qingyang Temple. At dawn, they went to the temple with farm tools to ask for an explanation. Unexpectedly, the gate of Qingyang Temple was opened this time. The villagers were actually dressed in Taoist robes and walked out expressionlessly. They said that they had been inspired by the Taoist priest and were determined to practice Taoism. Then they turned back and closed the door.
This made the villagers confused. Although they said so on the surface, there was a strange color in their eyes, something indescribably strange, and they could only secretly feel dumb. After going down the mountain, some people also told outsiders about this kind of thing, but whenever someone leaked this matter, the listener and speaker would suddenly disappear out of thin air, and they would not necessarily appear in Qingyang Temple at any time.
It turns out that many villagers have been controlled by Qingyang Guan, but as time goes by, this control method becomes more and more clever, so that the initial stiffness gradually disappears, and it can be perfectly integrated into daily life. Not easily noticed by outsiders. The remaining people also discovered this pattern, so they kept the matter secret and did not dare to leak anything.
"So, most of the villagers in Qingyang Mountain are now puppets of Qingyang Temple?" Yuan Hua suddenly asked.
"That's true, but these people are still living as usual. Apart from admiring Qingyang Temple, there is nothing extraordinary." The waiter replied.
"Do you respect Qingyang Temple?" Wu Fan suddenly said hoarsely.
"Of course... the guest officers don't believe me, right?" The waiter smiled bitterly, "My father was the first group of people to be manipulated back then. When my father left that day, my mother returned to her parents' home with her pregnancy, and then she I was born outside. Later, when I heard the news that my father was practicing Taoism, my mother was very angry and wanted to go back to ask for an explanation. At that time, I was young and weak and could not bear the cold, so I was left at my mother-in-law’s house until I was older. Just went back."
"On the way home, I was stopped by a monk. He said that I would lose my soul in the future, so he gave me a piece of jade cicada to wear with me. It could save my life at a critical moment. I didn't take it to heart. I thought it was a good thing anyway. The worst thing I could do was to exchange it for wine and food when I ran out of money. But when I returned to Qingyang Mountain, I felt a strange feeling. The smiles on the faces of the people in the village made my face hairy. Moreover, my mother was very dissatisfied with my father. I also fully agree with the matter of cultivating Taoism, and even advised me to go up the mountain to practice Taoism."
"I was so frightened that I ran around and happened to meet a kid of similar age. He had seen me when I just came back from outside and knew that I was a normal person, so he told me what happened over the years. , I was young and ignorant at the time, so I told my mother these things and persuaded her to wake up. But who knew that that night, the boy and I were caught on Qingyang Mountain... What I saw was something I will never forget in my life. matter."
"The two of us were thrown into the Taoist temple, shivering. Suddenly I heard a strange sound, and my mind became blurred. Then the jade cicada on my chest felt cold, and I woke up. I only saw the Taoist Taoist temple. Long... No! That monster, with green light in his eyes, sucked out a cloud of mist from the boy's head with one puff of his mouth, and then burped with satisfaction. Just when he was about to suck me, he found something between my crotch We were frightened and smelled of urine, so we lost our spirits and asked the two of us to take us back to the foot of the mountain."
"Fortunately, I was too frightened to move at that time. The monster priest didn't notice anything strange, so I survived the disaster. Recalling what the monk said back then, I understood what was going on. I have been trying to find an opportunity for so many years. , to avenge the family, but after so many years, people have grown up, but their courage has become smaller..."
