Sword of Coming

The city is covered with deep vegetation in spring, but in the entire northern part of Shihao Kingdom, it is almost impossible to see a prince and grandson on a spring outing anymore.

The three riders who were stopping and going all the way north, before they knew it, it was already summer.

On this day, we were on a ridge path at the border pass of Shihao Kingdom. The three horses stopped to rest. Zeng Ye was busy cooking, and Ma Duyi was dressing up in the mirror, humming a little tune, and was in a good mood. The small green-lacquered bronze mirror in her hand , is a leaked spiritual weapon of victory, a relatively rare Sunlight and Moonlight Continuous Arc Mirror. She spent less than two taels of silver to bargain for it from the clumsy shopkeeper at the pawn shop, and left it at the Fairy's House. At the ferry, according to the old monk Gui Jiang in charge of the palm eye, at least forty or fifty snow coins can be sold.

Chen Pingan sat aside and looked through the account book. Under most of the names, a touch of ink had been lightly drawn. These were long-cherished wishes fulfilled. However, the last wishes of some ghosts and ghosts can only be put aside temporarily. In fact, Chen Pingan and both of them knew very well that those wishes would most likely become the long-lasting wishes of the Buddhist saying. In this life, regardless of yin and yang, all will be It's hard to achieve. Some of them had knots in their hearts. In the midst of grief and anger, they could not control their emotions, and their anger soared. They almost turned into evil spirits. They could only rely on the few pure heart charms posted in the palace of the King of Hell to maintain their remaining intelligence.

Ma Duyi, who is "thrifty and diligent", did not complain about this matter. Mr. Chen wrote the Qingxin Talisman again and again. When the spiritual energy was exhausted, he would replenish it, constantly consuming the immortal money, which was simply a bottomless pit.

Along the way, we encountered many defeated soldiers and horses from the Shihao Kingdom. They were scattered throughout the mountains and dense forests. They became rogue bandits, gathering and dispersing erratically. They madly plundered the food and grass behind Dali. Some of them were for support, and for the sake of their hearts. That awe-inspiring righteousness had to be directed at the people of the local counties and counties of Shihao Country. At the end of last year, there were three consecutive heavy snowfalls, coupled with the war, the people's livelihood in the northern territory of Shihao Country was in ruins, even if these soldiers and horses were no more than three or four hundred riders. What they wanted was only a small amount of food, but in the scattered barren counties along the border, every household was counting on that little food to last until the next harvest, but it still couldn't support the appetite of Shihao's soldiers, so they had no choice. Avoidance leads to conflicts. One goes back and forth, one wants not to starve to death, the other lives for the sake of the righteousness of the family and the country. The conflict becomes more and more intense.

Chen Pingan's three cavalry encountered a conflict that almost turned into a bloody fight. One of the young soldiers wearing broken armor almost slashed the shoulder of an emaciated old man with a knife. Chen Pingan broke into it and grabbed the knife. Shihao Kingdom's standard saber, dozens of Shihao Kingdom's defeated troops swarmed in an instant. Chen Ping'an stamped his feet, causing the man to flip over. Chen Pingan threw back the saber in his hand and inserted it back into the scabbard of the young soldier. His whole body was struck by a huge The strong impact caused him to stagger back.

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything after that, he just led the horse and stood on the street of the town, and the hungry soldiers silently withdrew from the county town.

Chen Pingan and his three cavalrymen also left slowly.

Behind the scenes, the local people began to loudly curse the soldiers of the country, saying all kinds of unpleasant things, saying that they had no ability to defeat the barbarians of the Great Li. They bullied their own people, but each one was more powerful than the other. They should kill them all on the battlefield, so as not to cause trouble later. own people. Some people even suggested that they could tip off the Great Li cavalry in a nearby large county, and maybe get a bounty.

After the cavalry left the county town, the young soldier suddenly burst into tears.

An old military attache who looked like a school captain stopped his horse and shed tears. The entire cavalry team, which was sallow and thin and almost everyone was injured, also stopped, panicked and confused.

Chen Pingan asked Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye to stay where they were and rode away slowly.

At its peak, this famous Laozi camp cavalry army on the border of Shihao Kingdom had more than 2,000 elite cavalry. Now it has less than 80 cavalry, and every one of them feels like they are facing a formidable enemy.

Chen Ping'an threw out a heavy bag and said in increasingly proficient Shihaoguo Mandarin: "Let's break up, take off your armor, take off your vest, and use this money for travel expenses back home and settlement expenses."

The old military attaché caught the bag and opened it. It was full of official gold ingots. The old man raised his head with confusion on his face.

Chen Ping'an said: "If you don't want to give up just like that, you can choose a few smart brothers to pretend to be merchants and go to those counties that have stabilized to buy food. Try to avoid Dali spies and scouts and buy less food each time. , otherwise it will easily make the local officials suspicious. I believe you can’t tell who is yours now.”

The old military attache asked: "That's it? Don't ask for anything else?"

Chen Pingan nodded and said: "You have no choice now. Since this is already the worst situation, why not give it a try. Furthermore, if I want to rely on your dozens of heads, I can go to the state and county officials who have surrendered to Da Li." There is no need to go to such trouble to ask for credit and reward. Your warriors may not be able to see this, but as a pure martial artist of the Fourth Realm, you should know it very well."

The old military attache hesitated to speak.

Chen Ping'an waved his hand, "That's all. I'm not a philanthropic boy, so don't take me for granted."

The old military attache felt resentful and had to give up the idea that was really not very kind. After he generously put away the bag of life-saving gold ingots, he cupped his fists and thanked the thin man in the green cotton robe: "Sir, you are very righteous!"

Chen Pingan clasped his fists in return and left. As for the final decision made by the Shihao National Cavalry, he did not watch the young man's choice from beginning to end like the previous dog meat shop in the city.

The old military attache was a little embarrassed because he hadn't asked his name yet.

Ma Duyi saw Mr. Chen returning on horseback and joked: "I say that I am not a good-luck boy, but in fact?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "Seeing through things without telling them is a good habit in life."

Just as Ma Duyi was about to say a few words to him, Chen Ping'an had already galloped away, so he and Zeng Ye had to follow in a hurry.

The horses' hooves of the three riders stepped lightly on the vast land of spring flowers.

At this moment, Ma Duyi put down the bronze mirror, turned to look at Chen Ping'an who had closed the account book, and asked: "Mr. Chen, can we return to Shujian Lake before autumn?"

Chen Pingan nodded and said: "It's almost okay."

Ma Duyi stretched out and accidentally bumped into the big bamboo box behind him. He quickly reached out to hold it. It was full of treasures bought at low prices from the last three cities. Even if they were wrapped in satin and padded with cotton, I'm still worried about bumping into those particularly squeamish guys. According to the palm-eyed old ghost who lives in Fang Liuli Pavilion, these are mostly treasures favored by wealthy families in the world. In troubled times, they are far inferior to real money and silver, but once they wait for peace, In the prosperous times, even a small bird food jar like this could be worth two to three hundred taels of silver. If you meet a rich person who loves this, it is not difficult for the price to double.

In fact, these objects can be put into Mr. Chen's close possessions, but Ma Duyi likes to open the box and look through it every time he stops, just like the small bronze mirror that he can't put down. He picks it out to satisfy his eyes and asks for it. Kuchi, she carried it on her own.

Zeng Ye is now a veritable monk in the fourth realm, while Ma Duyi has better understanding and qualifications, and is even more of a fifth realm cultivator.

But for the true foundation of cultivation, Zeng Ye is better. This is the importance of the bones.

One is never too slow, the other is never too fast. Now Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi are getting along more and more harmoniously, and they have some tacit understanding.

While eating, Chen Ping'an still chewed slowly as usual. Zeng Ye squatted aside, took a big mouthful of rice, and asked casually: "Mr. Chen, how is my fist pile doing?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "It's sparse."

Zeng Ye lamented. He originally thought that his six-step walk was very easy to do. Practice makes perfect, so he couldn't run away.

Ma Duyi added fuel to the fire and said: "You are not a martial arts material. Even a layman like me can see it clearly. Your boxing frame is empty and loose, and you have not entered the room at all. Zeng Ye, do you still think it's the same thing?" "

Chen Ping'an comforted Zeng Ye: "Since martial arts is not your main business, it is enough to strengthen your body a little and help you stretch your muscles and bones. Otherwise, you will generate a pure true energy and collide with the spiritual energy of the Qi Mansion. On the contrary, it’s not beautiful.”

Zeng Ye said dullly: "Either you fail to learn anything, or you learn everything slowly. Mr. Chen, why are you not in a hurry?"

Chen Ping'an was amused and said, "If being anxious is useful, I will be anxious with you too."

Ma Duyi was holding back his anger and was about to speak.

Chen Ping'an had already raised his hand, "Shut up, don't continue to have fun with Zeng Ye's practice. Also, it's weird that you can tell about the quality of Zeng Ye's boxing. It was a senior who made casual comments and borrowed it for you." Is it used?"

Ma Duyi smiled and narrowed her eyes, saying nothing and acquiescing.

The three of them continued to move forward, walking along the border of Shihao Country.

Arriving at a fairy sect in the north called Falcon Mountain, the green hills are rolling, the scenery is beautiful, and the aura is quite abundant. The two monks, Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye, felt relaxed and happy after entering the realm. They couldn't help but take a few more breaths. .

In many places where spiritual energy is barren, people may never meet a monk in their lifetime. Even for this reason, merchants are bustling around seeking profit, and monks walking around the world will subconsciously avoid those places where spiritual energy is thin and almost non-existent. After all, cultivating Taoism, There are too many things to pay attention to, and it takes time and effort, especially for monks in the lower five realms and gods in the middle five realms below the earthly immortals. Spending precious time in a place with no spiritual energy within a radius of thousands of miles is a waste in itself.

There were constant wars in the past, and the disaster reached the Shihao Mountains. Later, for some reason, many small hills gathered together, vaguely with Falcon Luoshan as the leader. Falcon Luoshan occupies a larger area, and previously it followed the path of the Immortal Family that was passed down by a single line. , belongs to a mountain sect with a large family business and few people, so many hills of Falcon Mountain were divided and leased to the lowest-ranking monk sects of Shihao Kingdom who came to seek refuge.

In just two years, Falcon Mountain has gained considerable momentum.

I heard that there are a lot of fairy shops opened here, which is also the reason for Chen Ping's trip. Since he was passing by, he asked Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi to pick up dozens of miscellaneous spiritual weapons to see if they could sell them well. The price and all the fairy money they got will belong to them. As for how to "divide the spoils" afterwards, Chen Ping'an doesn't care, leaving it to Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi to discuss it themselves. However, it is estimated that Zeng Ye will suffer a big loss no matter what, so Ma Duyi With that shrewd calculation, none of the three Zeng Ye could be her match.

Chen Pingan thought that if he opened a shop and did business someday, Ma Duyi would be a good helper.

When he arrived at a hilltop outside the boundary of Falcon Mountain, Chen Ping'an discovered that many refugees had gathered together. A market was well-built and bustling with people. Along the way, there were many places where ground was being broken and construction was in full swing. In addition to the relative Young and strong men with strong muscles and bones, as well as many women and children who were able to walk into the Falcon Mountain alive, are all working hard. What surprised Chen Ping'an the most was that a Shihao Guowu Temple has been built. Although it is rough, it is as good as it should be. There is no shortage of court etiquette. In addition, there are some monks who are building mountain protection formations and are also busy.

This is probably the earliest prototype of a fairy ferry or a mountain sect.

The two monks saw Chen Ping'an and the other three who were leading the horses. Facing these three unfamiliar faces, their eyes were a little wary. They secretly communicated with each other. Fellow monks gathered from all directions to scare the outsiders.

Chen Ping'an no longer wore the jade plaque enshrining Qingxia Island, and he had no choice but to ask one of the monks for directions and said he wanted to go to the top of the mountain where the Falcon Mountain Patriarch Hall was located.

The group of fellow monks, headed by an old monk from the cave realm, pointed out the way. It wasn't until Chen Ping'an and the others left the market that they relaxed and continued to work on building the landscape formation.

There was nothing they could do, they were just a low-class sect. Even if they took refuge and moved to Falcon Mountain, compared to other wealthy immortal family mansions, they couldn't raise much immortal money, so they could only be thrown here by the Falcon Mountain Ancestral Master Hall. On the other hand, when the door gods from the east gate of Falcon Luo Mountain come, as soon as there is trouble, for example, if the Great Li cavalry doesn't like Falcon Luoshan and fights all the way, they will naturally be the first to suffer, but they can only bite the bullet and give it to them. The falcon falls down the mountain to ward off the disaster.

The establishment, rise and inheritance of any mountain sect will inevitably involve hardships, humiliation and dangers.

But the old monk, who was already one of the "ancestors" of the sect with a cultivation level of Dongfu Realm, stood on a high platform, his eyes quietly resting on a refugee child who was helping his parents wipe their sweat. The old monk showed a knowing look. Smile is a good seedling. After realizing it, the people at the Falcon Mountain Ancestral Hall planned to pay a small sum of money and a mountain with a radius of ten miles to change the family's mountain household registration, but he was reluctant to do so. The public debated and rejected Falcon Luoshan's good intention, but planned to personally accept this child as his direct disciple. Maybe in a dozen years or a hundred years, there will be one more Dongfu realm monk in the mountain sect, perhaps reaching the level of the mountain sect in its history. The view of the sea is not an extravagant wish for the ancestor of Zhongxing. When he thinks of this, the old monk is quite pleased. Although the brothers in his ancestral hall were quarreling fiercely at the beginning, after all, a small sum of money nowadays, especially in vain. The extra hill is of great significance. However, after truly rejecting the proposal of the Falcon Mountain Patriarch Hall, they became united. Even the stingiest junior brother made up his mind that on the day of the apprenticeship ceremony, the child would take out a long-cherished spiritual weapon. Gifted to my nephew.

After Chen Pingan left the market, he suddenly looked back and asked, "Did you see anything?"

Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi just felt baffled.

Chen Pingan shook his head and said: "It's nothing, maybe I'm dazzled."

Ma Duyi joked: "Mr. Chen, it's not good to say half of what you said."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "In the future, when you are on your own, you will know that this is a university question worth studying."

Ma Duyi clicked his tongue and said, "Mr. Chen is bragging about his abilities in different ways. He is becoming more and more proficient."

Chen Pingan turned around on horseback and clasped his fists, "Reward, reward, reward."

Ma Duyi laughed angrily and said, "Mr. Chen, if you keep doing this, you won't be the Mr. Chen I think of anymore!"

Zeng Ye shook his head and said, "Where is it?"

It was obvious that this young man still wanted to be more oriented toward Mr. Chen.

As a result, Ma Duyi suddenly stretched out his sleeve and hit him on the face, which was very painful.

Zeng Ye said angrily: "A gentleman talks but never does anything."

Now it was Ma Duyi's turn to shake his head, "Only villains and women are difficult to raise. What the saint said, don't you understand this?"

Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly and said: "That's not how I understand this sentence, but you are willing to bury yourself like this, so I think it's okay."

Laughing all the way, the three riders arrived at the real Falcon Mountain Gate.

Compared to the two Xianjia Mountains we passed along the way, this place was majestic and unique. Compared to Huangli Mountain, it was a bit more spiritual.

At the foot of the mountain, there is a peaceful town, or rather a larger village, nestled between mountains and rivers. Judging from the buildings, there should be more than a thousand people living there.

The so-called grandeur on the mountain has disappeared from the human world. Over time, it has become nothing more than a loft in the sky and a stream of water without a source.

It's just that many mountain masters who have not yet climbed to the top are too lazy or disdain to think so.

To go to the village at the foot of the mountain, and then to the mountain, you have to cross a river, not an arch bridge. It is like a slender snake lying quietly in the river. On the back of "it", there are villagers leading a cow. It should be They were going to work in the nearby fields. Behind the strong young man and the buffalo, there was a child riding a green bamboo, shouting "drive", as if he were riding a horse.

Chen Pingan took the lead and stopped the horse, making way for the villagers and the crooked-horned buffalo.

After the villagers and the buffalo walked off the small bridge, they were obviously well-informed and did not take much notice of the three strangers. However, the child riding the bamboo horse was very curious when he saw the real horse. Chen Pingan smiled at the child. , the child also grinned shyly and continued on his way following his father and the buffalo.

Zeng Ye found it interesting.

Above the mist-shrouded Falcon Mountain, there are often sword lights and rainbow lights piercing the sky.

But the children obviously didn't mind this anymore. Instead, they were more curious about the horses around them. The child riding the bamboo horse often looked back.

Chen Pingan took the lead in leading the horse onto the low stone bridge that was not much above the river.

Halfway there, there were villagers who needed to go to the other side and were waiting quietly.

After walking off the stone bridge, Chen Pingan nodded to them and thanked them, and the villagers smiled and nodded in return.

Zeng Ye was thoughtful.

The same is true for Ma Duyi.

At this moment, Chen Pingan suddenly turned his head and looked at the sky.

The small sword tomb wooden box in the sleeve and the Qingxia Island jade plaque became hot almost at the same time.

Regarding this matter, Liu Zhimao did not hide it at the beginning, and he could use them to trace Chen Pingan's footsteps.

Chen Pingan has no objection to this.

A flash of snow-white rainbow light, which the monk quickly rode against the wind, broke through the sky from outside the Falcon Mountain and landed with a crash.

He is an old monk from Qingxia Island with a hurried expression and confused spiritual energy. He is in charge of the secret treasury and the fishing chamber.

This secret journey north almost depleted Zhang's spiritual energy savings in several of his natal acupoints. This was a reckless act that undermined the foundation of the road. Rushing for a message with Yiqi 800 miles away would definitely hurt the horse, and even lead to a series of accidents. It's the same thing to kill a horse and replace it with a ride.

Zeng Ye was full of joy at first. After all, Zhang Tie was the benefactor who personally pulled him out of the big fire pit on Maoyue Island. However, when the young man saw Zhang Tie's face, he immediately shut up.

Chen Ping'an supported Zhang Jing, who was swaying, and asked softly: "Has something happened in Shujian Lake?"

Zhang Jing said miserably: "The sky has changed!"

Chen Pingan sighed. He had actually expected this situation to occur. However, because it was not the worst situation, Chen Pingan did not do much to deal with it. In fact, he could not do many effective things. measures.

After all, manpower is exhausted.

It's very simple. Either Su Gaoshan, the general of Dali, took action, or the person behind Liu Laocheng of Gongliu Island started to enter the game.

Or simply the two parties join forces.

Tan Yuanyi of Lisu Island turned against him and only wanted to protect himself and betrayed the covenant. Liu Zhimao was reluctant to part with the foundation of Qingxia Island and was plotted against him. It was normal for him to be in danger.

But this is definitely not good news for Chen Pingan at the moment.

In the original book, Chen Ping'an had already grasped the direction of the situation in Jianhu, and the chessboard he had worked so hard on might have been casually overturned by subsequent players.

Zhang Jing knelt down with a plop, "Please Mr. Chen, please save the island owner!"

Chen Pingan shook his head and asked directly: "Have Gu Can and his mother been secretly detained by Senior Zhang?"

Zhang Ding, who was kneeling on the ground, raised his head and said, "If something unexpected happens, Qingxia Island cannot do such a thing. Even if it could, I would not do it because I know it will only be counterproductive. The only one who can save the island owner is Mr. Chen."

Chen Pingan helped Zhang Zhi and said slowly: "Senior Zhang got up to speak. I will listen first. But there is almost no possibility of saving Liu Zhimao. I believe that the senior Zhang already understood the reason on the way here. This trip is just a matter of doing your best to obey fate."

Zhang Ding nodded slightly, smiling bitterly, with some gratitude in his eyes.

Chen Pingan had a headache.

In front of Zhang Zang, some words were just like the joke with Ma Duyi before, only half of them were said, and they were seen through but not revealed.

Zhang Ding naturally did his best, but it was very possible that Zhang Ding also knew clearly that his whereabouts had fallen into the eyes of some interested people, and he might be overlooking this place somewhere in Falcon Luo Mountain.

Therefore, Chen Pingan did not add insult to injury and beat him to death with one punch.

In fact, it is considered to be the most benevolent and righteous.

Chen Ping'an said: "Let's talk as we walk."

Zhang Jing stabilized his mind, and his first words shocked Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye, who listened carefully, "Our island master lost to an unidentified monk and was seriously injured and was detained in Gongliu Island Water Prison. In. Not only that, Su Gaoshan, the commander of the Great Li Iron Cavalry, has personally arrived at Yunlou City on the shores of Shujian Lake and thrown a whip into the lake, threatening to kill all the Shujianhu wild cultivators who disobeyed control within ten days."

The first thought in Chen Pingan's mind was that the great monk who could suppress Liu Zhimao forcefully was the Mohist ranger Xu Ruo, or the saint Ruan Qiong.