Jiang Shuo thought to himself that Hun Weiming was right. The top priority now was to chase the kidnapped people. If he could find a few eminent monks, he would be able to prove his innocence. However, Hun Weiming had no enmity with the Shaolin Temple, and he was not here just now. In the Dharma Hall, the Shaolin Temple would not embarrass him too much anyway.
So Jiang Shuo shouted: "Hun'er, I'm going, take care of yourself!" He used Star Step under his feet, and after a few ups and downs, he left the chasing monk behind. He looked down at the footprints on the ground and did not go down the mountain along the corridor. , but went into the mountain forest. People who are poisoned by bright salt will lose all their internal strength and their bodies will be limp and weak. The demon sect has held so many poisoned people hostage. If they go down the mountain on the main road, they will definitely be overtaken immediately, but the mountain road is difficult. , they plunged into the mountains and forests, and they probably couldn't move fast.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shuo's spirit perked up again, and he followed the footprints and plunged into the forest. The light in the forest was dim, and after only a few steps, he could no longer see the footprints on the ground clearly. But when he heard the noise outside the woods behind him, and knew that the Shaolin monks were entering the forest, Jiang Shuo did not want to conflict with them again, so he could only bite the bullet and ran into the mountains. After running for several miles, he saw the sky was getting brighter. The trees gradually became thinner and the mountains became flatter. Unknowingly, they crossed over Shaoshi Mountain and entered Fengshi County on the backside of Songshan Mountain.
Although the Shaolin Temple's pursuers have long since escaped, the traces of the Demon Cult and the people they kidnapped have also long since disappeared.
Since his debut, Jiang Shuo has always been surrounded by companions. Whether it is Dugu Xiang or Li Zhuer, brothers from the Jianghu Alliance or the Caobang, or heroes from Khitan, Bohai, or even Japan, there is always someone who will decide what to do next. Discussion, but now I was alone, and I didn't know where to go for a while.
Jiang Shuo couldn't make up his mind for a moment, whether he should sneak back to Shaolin to investigate again, or go around Songshan Mountain to inquire about the whereabouts of the Demon Cult. With so many people in the Demon Cult operating, it was impossible not to leave any traces, but Mount Song is called Zhongyue. In the world, the Demon Cult can go in any direction. If you look in the wrong direction, you will waste time and have nowhere to look.
Jiang Shuo was thinking in his mind, but he kept walking. He had great internal strength, and even walking was much faster than ordinary people. Unknowingly, he walked several miles more. When he woke up, he was far away from Songshan Mountain and arrived at a roadside. Just now At dawn, it was still early, and there were no pedestrians on the road. Jiang Shuo stood on the side of the road, looking around at a loss, not knowing where to go. Suddenly he heard the sound of gentle drumming from afar, but the sound of the drum was very gentle, not like Ordinary drum sound.
Jiang Shuo followed the sound and saw that the road was filled with morning mist. He could not see clearly in the mist, but he could hear the sound of drums coming from far and near, and there seemed to be the sound of wooden boards beating. After waiting for a while, white mist appeared. A gray figure, and then an old voice was heard singing in time with the rhythm: "
Cultivation into golden bones and refining to return to true nature,
The cave lock ruins do not count spring.
Wild grass spreads along the green hills,
The idle flowers are new to the white clouds.
The wind shakes the green Xiaoxiao and knocks the cold jade,
Water-activated cinnamon phosphorus.
Of course, gods have many variations,
Are you willing to hide your traces in the world of mortals? "
After singing the song, the man broke through the morning fog and arrived in front of Jiang Shuo. It turned out to be an old man riding a black guard. People in the Tang Dynasty called donkeys a guard, and the black guard was a black donkey. This donkey looked very handsome. The back is black and the belly is white, and the coat is shiny without any stray hairs.
The old man riding on it looked much colder. He was wearing a loose gray cloth robe, which looked a bit like a Taoist robe but was too shabby. It was like a huge flour bag covering the old man's skinny body, but The most surprising thing was that the old man was riding upside down on the back of a donkey. The black donkey had no bridle or rein, and only had a felt blanket covering its back. The old man sat curled up on the felt blanket and swayed from side to side, as if he might fall off the donkey at any time. generally.
He held a bamboo harp in his arms. This kind of harp was quite common among the Yunshui Taoist priests who preached Huazhai in the Tang Dynasty. He leaned a two-foot-long bamboo tube against his left shoulder and struck the skin covered under the bamboo tube with his right hand. In front of him, he slapped the bamboo board with his left hand, making a tinkling sound with a soft tone. This soft tune is called "Tao Qing". Although the old man's voice is hoarse, the words are quite refined.
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but praise "Okay".
The old man was playing and singing to himself with his eyes closed. When he heard someone cheering, he reined in the donkey, glanced sideways at Jiang Shuo, and said slowly, "Does this little good believer also understand the rhyme of Bu Xu?"
Jiang Shuo hurriedly crossed his hands and said
"Although I don't understand Huang Guan Tiao, Mr. Jue Lao's words are quite beautiful, so I couldn't help but say hello."
The old man grinned, revealing the few remaining yellow teeth in his mouth, and said: "Since the little philanthropist is applauded, let's give some money to him."
Jiang Shuo stretched his hands on his body a few times and said awkwardly, "Sir, please forgive me, I don't have any money or silk with me."
The old man tilted his head, glanced at Jiang Shuo with his eyes, looked him up and down, and said: "The little good believer is dressed luxuriously, how come he doesn't have even a copper coin on him?" He looked behind Jiang Shuo for a while and said: " Are all your companions lost?"
After the old man reminded him, Jiang Shuo hurriedly said, "Old man, can you see a group of monks in white?"
The old man wondered: "The monk in white? Is he a Jingtu, a Zoroastrian, or a Manichean?"
Buddhist monks in the Tang Dynasty wore gray or yellow clothes, never white shirts. The three religions spread in the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty, including Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, all wore white clothes, but the styles were slightly different, so the elderly had This question.
Jiang Shuo said: "I dare not hide it, old sir, what I am looking for is Manichaeism."
The old man turned his head and looked at Jiang Shuo again, and said, "Little good believer, I didn't expect you to be in collusion with the demon sect?"
Jiang Shuo hurriedly said: "The old gentleman misunderstood. My companions were kidnapped by the Demon Sect. I wanted to rescue them, but I didn't know where they had gone, so I asked the old gentleman if he had seen the Demon Sect's battles."
When the old man heard this, he became interested and sat on the donkey's back, hugging his knees and saying, "Boy, at such a young age, why do you have to save people? I think it's better not to go, otherwise you will just waste your life." ." Although he was dangling on the donkey's back, it seemed that he was about to fall down at the next moment, but he couldn't fall down, and it seemed that he was in danger.
Jiang Shuo said, "The old gentleman said this, have you really seen people from the Demon Cult?"
The old man shook his head quickly and said: "No, no..."
Jiang Shuo saw his eyes flickering, and he seemed to be hiding something. He said anxiously, "Old sir, you really know the whereabouts of the Demon Cult. You must tell me."
The old man just shook his head and said: "I don't know, I don't know... You should be lucky that you didn't ask the Demon Cult to capture you. Why do you still want to provoke them? Listen to the old man's advice. If you lose your companion, just throw it away. I think You are well-dressed and the son of a wealthy family. I will ask your grandpa to buy a few more servants. The most indispensable thing in today's world is people who are so poor that they want to be sold into slavery..."
Jiang Shuo listened to his ramblings and became more convinced that the old man had seen people from the Demon Sect, and was just worried that he would suffer a loss if he went to find the Demon Sect alone. Jiang Shuo said helplessly: "Old sir, I don't know something. My surname is Jiang Shuo, and I am the leader of the Jianghu Alliance. , the leader of the Cao Gang." Jiang Shuo didn't need to say these words before. Today, he said it himself. He felt like he was bragging, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. But at this moment, he could only bite the bullet and continue: "My Martial arts... This... old gentleman doesn't need to worry about my safety... The brothers in my gang have been plotted by the demon sect, and I must save them!"
The old man looked at Jiang Shuo with a smile and said, "Boy, I see your face is so red. I'm afraid it's not just brothers, but also women, right?"
Jiang Shuo blushed because he was shy about announcing his identity, but when the old man said it, he thought of Dugu Xiang again and couldn't help but blush even more.
The old man clapped his hands and laughed and said, "Look, did I tell you what I said? It is said that heroes have a hard time being beautiful. I didn't expect that at such a young age, you have the same temperament as our current saints, and you are very romantic."
Jiang Shuo ignored his weird words at night and said, "Old sir, just tell me, where did the Demon Cult go? If it's too late, I'm afraid I won't know where they went."
The old man said: "Boy, you have to have a life to be romantic. Listen to my advice, you have to recruit helpers, is it safe to save talents?"
Seeing the old man being entangled, Jiang Shuo couldn't help but become more anxious and said: "Old sir, the matter is urgent. How can we still call for help? Just tell me, my martial arts... are really... really It’s no problem!” He couldn’t say any boastful words like “miraculous power”.
The old man just didn't believe it. He simply looked up at the sky and ignored Jiang Shuo. Jiang Shuo said anxiously: "Old sir, what do you have to do to convince me?"
The old man rolled his eyes
, looked at Jiang Shuo again and said, "Unless you can defeat me."
Jiang Shuo looked at the old man who looked like he was in his last years. It looked like he would fall to the ground at any moment and never get up again. Jiang Shuo had also seen many experts who were in their twilight years. Whether they were alone or not, they were in danger or not. None of them showed such signs of decline. Jiang Shuo knew that masters might pretend to be old and practice their internal skills to a certain level, even shrinking their skin, changing their bones and body shape, and pretending to be weak. But there was only one thing that could not be changed, and that was the eyes. The eyes must be clear, but the eyes of the old man in front of me are dim and dull, and the whites of his eyes are yellow and turbid. No matter how you look at it, he does not look like a master.
The old man chuckled and said, "What? Don't you dare? Listen to my advice, kid. Go back and don't make unnecessary sacrifices."
Due to anxiety in Jiang Shuo's heart, a nameless fire surged up and he said: "Old man, since you insist on weighing my martial arts, then let's draw a line. How to determine the winner or loser?"
The old man pursed his lips and said, "Here, if you remove me from the Black Guard, you will win."
Jiang Shuo said: "Okay! If I push you off the donkey, you must tell me the whereabouts of the Demon Cult."
The old man said: "Let's see if you have this ability first."
Jiang Shuo said, "That's how I offend you."
For such an old man, Jiang Shuo did not dare to use any of his inner strength. He only gave the old man a gentle push on his shoulder. Unexpectedly, with the push, the old man who was swaying on the donkey just now did not move at all. Jiang Shuo was shocked. Could he have seen it go? After all, is this old man really a hidden master?
Thinking of this, Jiang Shuo secretly channeled some internal energy in his hands, but he still didn't dare to exert force, and just slowly exerted his energy. However, the more he exerted his energy, the stronger the old man's resistance became, and he still remained motionless. The old man laughed and said: " Boy, use your strength, how can you save someone with your little ability?"
Jiang Shuo gritted his teeth and spat out the inner energy in his hands. Of course, Jiang Shuo still had thoughts in his hands and only used 30% of his strength. However, this time the old man suddenly had no resistance and flew out like a kite with its string broken. It crossed the road and flew straight into the ditch on the opposite side of the road.
Jiang Shuo was shocked and rushed over to check, but when he checked his breathing again, he found that the old man had died!
