In no time, the waiter brought the food and wine to the table. Wei Shiqi took a piece of beef and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly while his eyes glanced at the young man intentionally or unintentionally. I saw him half-lying on the table, mumbling something in his mouth, his words unclear. The young man sitting opposite scolded him with a straight face. He shrank and looked aggrieved, but he did not dare to disobey. Tuntun stood up and walked out of the inn.
Wei Shiqi winked at Yu Yao, telling her to be careful. He stood up and touched his sleeves, with a bit of anxiety on his face, "I dropped off something at the mule and horse store earlier. You wait here while I go." Come as soon as you go." His voice was neither loud nor quiet, just enough for the shopkeeper to hear without getting suspicious.
Yu Yao was very alert, nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I'll wait here. You go back quickly, don't miss anything."
Wei Shiqi left the inn and followed the young man out a few streets. When he saw him staggering out of the town without looking back, he slowed down and followed him from a distance.
After leaving Tieling Town, vast mountains lay in front of us, with majestic mountains and towering ancient trees. The young man lowered his eyes and walked straight into the barren mountains without looking in the direction. He bypassed a pile of rocks and saw no one around. Suddenly he stood still.
Wei Shiqi stepped forward quickly, reached out and patted the other party's shoulder, and shouted: "Sun Ergou, is that you?" The tentacles were as hard as wood and stone, not like living human skin at all. His heart sank and he immediately retreated. A few steps back, he held the sword pouch at his waist with his right hand and slowly pulled out the iron rod.
Sun Ergou turned around, his eyes fixed, and he stared at him expressionlessly. His nose twitched a few times quickly, as if he smelled something. He suddenly opened his mouth, revealing his white teeth, and let out a "ho ho" deep in his throat. Roaring like a devouring beast.
Wei Shiqi put the iron rod on his shoulder and asked tentatively: "Do you still know me?"
Sun Ergou's joints crackled all over his body, and his body suddenly went limp. He dropped his tattered brocade robe like a snake shedding its skin, and his whole body disappeared underground. The next moment, countless dark vines broke out of the ground, intertwined criss-crossed, and covered an area of several feet. It was so crowded.
The vine passed through the prey's body like a sword, but only pierced a shadow. Wei Shiqi looked like a ghost, appearing three feet away, his eyes flickering, looking for the vine demon's body.
Sun Ergou is no longer the Pingyuan sect disciple he knew. He has become an unconscious walking corpse. The corpse-eating vine demon living in his body has got rid of its bloodthirsty instinct and is like a domesticated spiritual beast. Able to obey orders, the young man talking to him in the inn was very suspicious. He was most likely a monk from Taiyi Sect's Lingxiao Palace, an expert in manipulating vine demons.
The body of the corpse-eating vine demon was lurking underground, elusive and always attacking its prey with its vines. Wei Shiqi dealt with it for a while and felt that there was no opportunity to take advantage of it. He was also a little worried about Yu Yao who stayed in Tieling Town. He then used "Ghost" one after another. "Shadow step", the body shook continuously and disappeared without a trace.
Having lost its hunting target, the corpse-eating vine demon settled down. After a while, the abandoned brocade robe slowly rose up, its chest swelled, its arms stretched into the sleeves, and its head emerged from the collar, returning to the appearance of Sun Ergou. , he looked around, shook his body and continued on his way.
Wei Shiqi quickened his pace and hurried back to the inn. There was no one in the corner by the window. Yu Yao had also gone back to his room to rest. He leaned against the counter and chatted with the shopkeeper for a while, asking about the young man's background. The shopkeeper saw him If you are generous, you will naturally tell everything you know and talk endlessly.
It was almost lunchtime, and the dining hall was bustling with people. The restaurant was full of diners, the shopkeeper was smiling, and the waiter was very busy. Seeing that the shopkeeper was busy collecting the bills, Wei Shiqi was a little absent-minded, so he made a noise and walked into the inn.
The guest room is separated from the dining hall by a long and narrow yard. In the yard, chilli garlic bacon, chicken, and salted fish are dried. An old locust tree is planted in the corner. A deep well is dug under the tree. It is usually covered with a wooden cover. When collecting water, Then he moved away. The food of "Han Ye Ke Lai" is quite famous in Tieling Town. In addition to the chef's skill, it is largely due to the sweet water well in the courtyard.
Room No. 2 in Tianzi happened to be next to the old locust tree. The sun was past noon and the shade was thick. Wei Shiqi and Yu Yao stood in front of the window and talked in a low voice. The sunlight shone through the window lattice and cast their shadows on the wall.
Wei Shiqi inquired from the shopkeeper and found out that the handsome young man's surname was Kang Ping, with Chinese characters. It was said that he came from a prominent family in the Central Plains and was a sideline child who was not taken seriously. He was suffering from a stubborn disease and needed Oolong grass, a specialty of Kunlun Mountain, to be treated with medicine. Oolong grass is a precious herbal medicine from the West. It was transported to the Central Plains. One plant is often worth a hundred gold, and non-rich families cannot afford it. Kang Ping takes one plant of oolong grass every month, which costs a lot of money. As time goes by, his family's financial situation gradually deteriorates. decline. The house leaked and it rained all night. Kang Ping's parents contracted a serious disease and both died. The family's ancestral property was coveted by the clan. Seeing no way out, he had to sell his property and go all the way to the foot of Kunlun Mountain with two slaves to collect oolong grass. , chat to survive.
Kang Ping moved to Tieling Town two or three years ago. As soon as he rented Widow Liu's house and settled in the yard, his two servants had to go into the mountains to collect herbs. Don't make do with it. The skinny camel was bigger than the horse. Although he was down and out, he had some extravagant wealth around him. He could order a few side dishes and spend some wine and rice. With this little money, he could still afford it. He was a regular customer, and the shopkeeper specially left a special place in the corner for him. When Kang Ping got the valuable herbs, he asked him to resell them to offset part of the money spent on wine.
His two slaves, one named Teng Yuan and the other Teng Zhen, were loyal and followed their master to the Western Regions without any complaints. Although these two people can endure hardships, they are very vulgar people. They go to the mountains to collect herbs for many years and rarely return to Tieling Town. Kang Ping lacks servants around him, so he bought a slave and named him Teng Li, who ran away not long ago. The young man who entered the inn, was scolded by him, and then ran out in despair.
Wei Shiqi speculated that Kang Ping was a hidden pile deliberately buried in Tieling Town by Taiyi Sect. Teng Yuan, Teng Zhen and Teng Li were named "Teng", which was a secret joke of the word "vine". It was most likely the key to controlling the corpse-eating vine demon.
