Acacia is thousands of miles away, and the bright moon is hanging alone.
The young man wearing a black robe with a silver belt and a gold medal hanging around his waist looked around and saw that on this late autumn night, dew condensed in the clouds and frost fell in the sky. The moonlight in the sky became more and more desolate and hazy, and the cold air dropped, creating a large white mist. , covering the mountains and forests and misty fields.
He seemed to be feeling something, and sighed softly: "With the obstruction of the Xiuling mountains, the late autumn cold comes much later than in Liaozhou."
When he said this, the young man was sitting on the back of a black and white tiger-striped beast, speeding along a winding eastward road on the edge of the foothills.
A moon-white unicorn cub leaned half of its body out of his arms, holding a translucent bead in one of its small paws, trying to stretch it toward the moon in the sky.
This bead bloomed with faint brilliance under the moonlight, and the light of toad and the shadow of osmanthus were faintly visible inside, flickering on and off. You could tell at a glance that it was not a mortal thing.
The two beasts walked for a while longer, and saw that the white mist around them became thicker and thicker, and the sound of wind and birds in the forest beside them gradually became inaudible.
"just so so!"
The unicorn cub screamed angrily, because the moonlight hanging above its head had weakened a lot, and even the bright pearl had become dim, no longer as beautiful and magical as before.
The little guy quickly retracted his little paws that were holding the pearl tightly, and immediately shrank his whole body into the young man's arms, revealing only a pair of big watery eyes, staring at the increasingly dense and moist white mist in front of him, with half a look in his eyes. Anger half wariness.
Qi Jingzhi stretched out his hand and patted the corners of Ban Ban's flesh twice, looked forward intently, and frowned slightly.
The next moment, he asked directly: "Who is blocking the way ahead?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a white paper lantern floated out of the mist, a few feet away from Madara Nu, and a bright white light lit up inside.
Ban Nuquan pretended not to see it and just ran away with his head down.
The white paper lantern then flew back, always hanging in front of Ban Nu, and kept fine-tuning its position in mid-air, as if it was guiding the way.
Seeing this, Qi Jingzhi immediately shook his head and said: "I have no intention of entering the mountain. I just want to go straight along this road. I don't need any guide."
The white paper lantern seems to have never been heard of, and it still goes its own way.
The corners of Qi Jingzhi's mouth turned up slightly and he chuckled: "I have been traveling through Meizhou in recent days, and I have seen many lofty mountains and deep old forests along the way. When I rest by the roadside, I often hear the locals talk about the legends of the so-called White Road God and Black Road God. There are also those called white ghosts and black ghosts, or tall white demons and short black demons.”
"Some people say that the God of the White Road is a god of good fortune, who can give guidance and save people from misfortunes. He will be happy when he sees it, and he has to bend down and clasp his fists to express thanks. The God of the Black Road is a fierce god who likes to block people's way forward, plunder property, and even pick off people. Souls. In addition, there are black and white heads who worship spirits like you as the underworld."
Having said this, Qi Jingzhi took out the jade box and took out a mountain coin with a slight green mountain charm.
When Ban Ban saw it, he immediately stretched out his little claws to grab it, but was easily dodged by the well-prepared young man.
Qi Jingzhi looked at the white paper lantern with a warm and sincere smile: "Five nights ago, I met a pair of road gods. They were tall and looked like two wooden poles. They were kind enough to guide me. The black Although Lu Shen also made a little joke, it didn't mean any harm. I am grateful for their kindness and good deeds, so I will repay them with money."
"The road is quite smooth now, so there is really no need to bother driving. I accept it with kindness. This ancient coin is a thank you gift. You can take the money and leave."
The white paper lantern suddenly stopped, but only paused briefly before flying ahead again on its own terms.
At the same time, wisps of mist poured out from the white paper lantern, making the young man's field of vision become increasingly whiter, and a dark and muscular silhouette faintly emerged from the depths of the mist in front of him.
"Moo!" A long cow cry came from afar, revealing joy and greed.
The smile on Qi Jingzhi's face grew brighter and he said leisurely: "It's a coincidence that I met another pair of road gods the night before yesterday. It was dark at that time, and I couldn't tell my direction. There were many ghosts and shadows in the fields, and then suddenly A ball of white light lit up, leading the way for those below. I immediately followed happily, but unexpectedly I was led to the edge of a cliff, and I almost fell to my death."
"Seeing that the matter was exposed, another black cloth bag suddenly appeared. First it opened its big mouth and tried to cover my head. After it failed, it used magic techniques like ghost punching the wall to trap me. It held the white light and wanted to slip……"
Qi Jingzhi's eyes suddenly flashed with fire, and his tone also changed suddenly, and he said solemnly: "You two might as well take a guess, what happened to the white light and the black bag?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the white paper lantern had no time to respond. Instead, the young master of Linshan suddenly emerged from the young man's arms with most of his head, and cheered fiercely: "Like this!"
At the same time, it also stretched out a small paw and sneaked towards the mountain money in the boy's hand.
Seeing that this little guy had taken the lead, Bannu's face was filled with shock and annoyance. He hurriedly raised his neck and let out a frightening growl.
The white paper lantern was obviously not very smart, and it was only then that he finally realized that he had hit an iron plate.
It was startled by the sudden ferocious aura of one person and two beasts, and it shuddered and swooped into the thick fog ahead, flying in the direction of the black cow.
But before it could really escape, a full moon suddenly lit up in the mist, swallowing the white paper lantern in a hurry without any explanation.
The Xuanjian of Heaven and Earth, which had successfully waited and waited under the cover of the fog, was still not satisfied, so it turned around and rushed towards the black bull deep in the thick fog.
The screams of shock and anger suddenly became louder, but disappeared without a trace after just a moment.
The originally dense white mist became visibly thinner, and soon there were only traces of autumn frost and dew left.
Tiandi Xuanjianzhi flew back with satisfaction. There were two dark stone tablets standing in the mirror, with a pale paper lantern hanging on the top of each tablet.
"The corpse of a road evil spirit represents the worry of getting lost and the pain of going astray. It wanders on the road and guides others. It is mixed with good and evil, and has different paths of life and death. It is cold in nature, pungent in taste, and non-toxic. It blocks the eyesight, blocks evil spirits, and leads to the netherworld."
Qi Jingzhi's eyes fell on the inscriptions on the two stone tablets.
The names of these two stone tablets are the same, with the words "Arrow Blocking Tablet" engraved on the top, but the rest of the words are quite different.
A stone tablet reads: "The bow is opened and the string is broken, and the arrow is blocked by the tablet. To the left is Budai Stream, and to the right is Liuguishu."
This pair of Lusha corpses was obtained by Qi Jingzhi the night before yesterday. At that time, he encountered a white light on the road, which penetrated the netherworld, changed the road, and led him directly to Budai Stream.
The Butai Stream has tall walls and a deep interior, which is quite similar to the mountain stream in Xiaosong Mountain where the Three Scenery Altar of Shangqing Cave is located. If an ordinary person stumbles and falls, there is no way to survive.
Qi Jingzhi took a quick look and turned his gaze to another stone tablet that had just been refined. He saw the words on it: "Flowers have stable roots and are easy to cultivate. Head to Xiema Bridge in the east, Jiming Village in the west, and Baibai Village in the south." Zaolin, heading north to Niutou Cliff."
Thinking of the black bull that the Black Road God had shown earlier, he snorted coldly and said: "It is indeed a mixture of good and evil, and a different path of life and death! This is because he has the intention of seeking wealth and harming life, and wants to lure me to Niutou Cliff. Fall to death."
At the end of the inscriptions on the two stone monuments are the name of the person who erected the monument and the year, month and day when the monument was erected, but they have been completely eroded and it is difficult to distinguish them.
As far as Qi Jingzhi knows, this so-called arrow-blocking monument is a local custom in Meizhou. Relying on the merit of erecting a monument to guide the way, it can protect oneself or his family from disasters, or protect their children from growing up safely. Some people also seek long life and wealth. .
These arrow-blocking monuments were erected at the forks of the road, absorbing the thoughts of passers-by and the atmosphere of the mountains. Over time, some of them inevitably developed supernatural powers and turned into so-called road gods and road ghosts. They can be regarded as unforgettable and must have echoes.
Although this kind of spirit can guide people, it may have absorbed mixed thoughts, or it may have been influenced by different mountain atmospheres. It is actually good and evil, making the people of Meizhou reverent and fearful, and will not easily rush at night.
When Qi Jingzhi heard about this, he changed his mind to walking at night. When he met a kind-hearted road god, he would buy mountain money as a reward, and he would naturally kill and refine those who met him.
Seeing that the fog had almost dissipated, there was an intersection ahead, which was a crossroads, but there was no arrow-blocking monument to guide the way.
Qi Jingzhi took back the Xuanjian of Heaven and Earth and thought: "I came from Jiming Village in the west and wanted to stay at the inn next to Xiema Bridge in the east, but I didn't have time to see the white jujube forest and Niutou Cliff."
He looked in the right direction and pointed toward the east intersection.
Bannu immediately neighed and started running wildly.
One person and two animals walked for half an hour, and saw a gurgling stream ahead, green pine trees beside the stream, and a flying stone bridge over the stream.
Bannu stopped on the west side of the bridge and stopped moving forward.
Qi Jingzhi raised his head and looked at the sky. He saw the white dew in the sky and the clear moon flowing in the sky. Suddenly a crane flew past in the clouds, and its melodious chirping echoed through the forest.
In autumn, the sky is covered with frost, and the moon rises among the blue clouds. The pine trees along the stream are ancient in color, and the sound of cranes is cold in the middle of the night.
Qi Jingzhi withdrew his gaze and then looked at the children in brown clothes who were playing and playing on the stone bridge.
The corners of the young man's mouth turned up slightly, and he smiled very kindly: "Excuse me, is this the Xie Ma Bridge? Where is the Xie Ma Zhan?"
There were seven children in brown clothes on the stone bridge, and their appearance seemed to be carved out of the same mold. When they heard Qi Jingzhi's questions, most of them just played and slapped without paying any attention to them.
Only one of the boys turned to look at the young man and said bluntly: "You have caused a big trouble. It's too late to turn around now, but you can't go to the resting place!"
Qi Jingzhi was startled and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "This is strange, how come I don't know what trouble I have caused?"
The boy's eyebrows stood up and he said angrily: "Why did you lie to me? I heard that the road god of Budai Jian was killed a few days ago. Now you are stained with the resentment of the road god. You must be the culprit. , how dare you walk on this road and come all the way to the horse resting station?"
Qi Jingzhi lowered his head and looked at his body, then raised his head and said with a smile: "Although I am not at a high level, I am still very sensitive to aura. If there are traces of Lu Shen's resentment left in my body now, it should belong to Niutou Ya Lu Shen. As for the Budai Jian Road God, it’s been two days since he settled his account, how can he still have any breath left?”
The fire in his eyes jumped, and he turned his wrist at the same time. There was a sharp knife in his palm, and then he swung the knife several times from head to toe.
In an instant, a trace of black energy was chopped out of thin air, and then dissipated in the pitiful moo of the cow.
At this time, even the other children stopped playing and turned to look at the boy blankly.
Qi Jingzhi chuckled and said, "In this case, can I go to the horse resting place?"
The boy who took the lead in answering was also stunned, with a hint of fear on his face. He frowned and said in a deep voice: "What a good trick! Since you don't listen to the advice, just cross the bridge and walk half a mile along the road. There is a resting place in the mountain col next to the road. Where is the stable?"
After that, the boy waved his hand and led the other six children out of the way.
Qi Jingzhi was silent for a moment, with a more sincere smile on his face: "Your tone is not kind, but your words of warning are good intentions, and I should appreciate it."
He paused, then stretched out his hand and pointed under the bridge: "I said before that I am sensitive to breath. It is no lie. If my sense is good, your body will be buried in this stream. If you need help, just ask. !”
What Qi Jingzhi was referring to was a small sandbar in the stream under the stone bridge. It was made of accumulated mud. It was no more than the size of a square table and looked inconspicuous.
The seven children all turned pale in horror, and the leading boy's expression changed even more. It was obvious that his life was being controlled.
After a long while, it suddenly gritted its teeth and knelt down first: "Back then, our brothers fell under the bridge and were buried in the mud and no one cared about them. Now, although they have developed spiritual intelligence, they are also suppressed by the bridge and cannot be free. If If you are saved, you should serve your benefactor as the Lord!"
As soon as it knelt down like this, the other six hurriedly followed suit and knelt down without saying a word, but the expressions on their faces were the same.
Qi Jingzhi took a look at the vault of the stone bridge cave and saw an animal head carved there. Although it was badly damaged and worn, the majestic charm was not lost, and he couldn't help but feel convinced.
He looked at the seven children in brown clothes again, shook his head and said: "I revealed your identity, not to threaten you, and I have no intention of repaying you with kindness. You are blocking the road to warn me, but you are giving me a favor, and I will help you." When you get out of trouble, it's just a favor in return, it's just a little effort for both of you, it's really not worth mentioning."
After saying that, he jumped up from Ban Nu's back and swept towards the sandbank in the water.
Qi Jingzhi's feet could barely touch the stream, and the water exploded and was pushed to both sides by an invisible force.
The seven children in brown clothes exclaimed, lying down on the edge of the stone bridge one after another, looking down at the bridge deck.
I saw that the stream on the sandbank had been drained, revealing a square of dark brown mud. The young man in a black robe with a silver belt and a gold medal hanging from his waist knelt down and was groping with his hands in the mud.
The leading boy's face showed hope, and he couldn't help but stretched out his hand and pointed: "My benefactor, please go east again..."
Qi Jingzhi raised his head and smiled, then followed his words and soon touched a hard object, which was quite big.
When his hands were firmly grasped, he used all his strength to pull out the hard object inch by inch.
The seven children in brown clothes let out uncontrollable cheers and turned into brown brilliance, throwing it between the young man's arms.
Qi Jingzhi looked down and saw that he was holding a wheel made of hardwood in his hand. The wheel was equipped with spokes made of the same material, but it was incomplete. There were only seven spokes left.
The next moment, the seven straight wooden car spokes each had eyebrows and winks, and then they all laughed loudly: "Thank you, my benefactor, for the rescue!"
Qi Jingzhi smiled casually, raised his hand and threw the wooden wheel onto the stone bridge: "Now that we are out of trouble, let's go have fun!"
He jumped out of the stream and returned to Bannu's back. There was no water stain on his body, not even the slightest bit of mud.
Bannu ran straight up the stone bridge, glanced at the wooden wheel curiously, and passed by.
"My benefactor, wait for us! We really can't go to the horse resting place!" Qigenxi shouted anxiously.
Immediately, the hardwood wheels suddenly stood up and rolled down the stone bridge, chasing Bannu from a distance.
(End of chapter)
