At midnight, when there was no one around, Zhang Xiluo had a full meal, carried his bag and sword, and climbed up the wall in a remote place in the courtyard. Several monks threw up the clothes tied into ropes so that he could attach them And down. Zhang Sheng held his breath, carefully landed on the ground, waited to see that no one was around, then threw the rope back, so as not to be discovered by dawn.
Zhang Sheng packed his bags and sneaked around. The sky was dark and foggy, and he couldn't distinguish the stars. He could only move forward based on his memory. I ran straight forward for three or four miles, surrounded by wild water, surrounded by high hills on three sides, the river port by the cutting edge was like a coiled snake, and the willow forest under Haoxia was as dense as rain.
When Zhang Sheng was running, he suddenly heard the sound of horseshoes behind him, and he felt bad. Before they had time to find a hiding place, the two horses galloped up to him, one in front and the other in the back, and stopped him. Immediately, the two strong men looked at Zhang Sheng and laughed loudly: "It's a pity that the man got up to pee at night and caught a man who slipped through the net. fish."
Zhang Sheng's heart was beating like a drum, and he drew the sword on his back with his backhand, and put on a posture to meet the enemy. The two of them laughed so hard that they nearly fell off their horses: "Xiu Cai, you want to fight grandpa with your flair?"
"Little thief, just try it and you'll know." Zhang Xiluo took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He also learned swords in his early years, so he was not a weak scholar. However, with one against two, today is probably more ominous than good.
The two men sneered, got off their horses, drew out the simple knife, and said, "Grandpa will cut off your head later, and I will go to the king tomorrow to ask for the reward."
The two approached him unhurriedly.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed from the side, threw a bandit down, and rolled straight into the bushes beside him.
The incident happened so hastily that everyone on the scene was taken aback. Zhang Sheng and the other thief turned around and looked towards the bushes to look at Brother Wang , only to hear that there was a mess inside, and someone screamed once or twice. Once, and then nothing happened.
The thief who was still standing yelled: "Lao Liu, what's wrong with you? Who are you fighting with?"
The man yelled and asked two or three times, and saw the bandit called Lao Liu slowly crawl out from the bushes, his clothes were torn and messy, and he was still holding a bloody simple knife in his right hand, obviously there was a fierce fight just now.
"You son of a bitch, you scared me to death," the thief standing there scolded, "Who threw you down just now? You've already ended up with that guy?"
The sixth child crawled forward with difficulty, and suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Third Brother, save me!"
The sky was gloomy, the night was starless, and the forest was filled with mist. Zhang Xiluo and the thief realized something was wrong. When they looked closely, the lower body of the thief named Lao Liu had disappeared. He only supported his upper body with his arms and climbed out of the bushes.
Zhang Xiluo's hair stood on end, he took a step back, and clenched the sword in his hand. The remaining thief let out a strange cry, swung his knife to protect his body, and quickly retreated towards his horse.
Even though Zhang Sheng had no experience in the world, he could sense something was wrong. There was a dense rustling sound from the surrounding forest, as if something was approaching rapidly, and he didn't know whether it was a human or a beast.
The half of the thief on the ground was still screaming, but the sound became smaller and smaller. Another thief had already got on his horse, and Zhang Xiluo also rushed to the remaining horse, holding its rein tightly.
The thief was about to run away with his horse, but he saw Zhang Xiluo led his companion's horse, turned around and drew his bow and arrow, and was about to shoot at him. Before he could let go of the string, two black shadows rushed over from the right side, knocking him directly off the horse, with such force that they even knocked the horse to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, several black shadows rushed over again, pinning the man and horse on the muddy ground, and biting fiercely.
Zhang Xiluo looked intently. Those things had sharp teeth, black hair, and a wolf-sized body. His heart sank. He wanted to take the risk of rushing into the siege to rescue Miss Liu from the fire and water. Who would have thought that he would encounter them first before the battle? When he came to the pack of wolves, he didn't have a family and didn't get any fame. Could it be that he died in the mouth of the wolves today?
The thief screamed in pain, stretched out his hand to grab Zhang Xiluo, and shouted: "Scholar, help!"
Before Zhang Xiluo could answer, he saw that the arm he held up in the air had been gnawed off and fell to the ground. The thief was bleeding profusely and could not recover.
Zhang Xiluo took a deep breath, forcibly reined in the panicked horse, and jumped on it. No matter what, he couldn't just sit still, if he could gallop the horse, he would have a chance of survival.
Zhang Sheng clamped his legs and wanted to gallop the horse, but he didn't expect that the horse stood still, as if its legs were weak.
Zhang Sheng was impatient, he used the blade of the sword to slap his horse's butt several times, but it was of no avail, when he suddenly heard a hissing sound coming from the front. He looked up and almost fell off his horse in shock.
In the dark jungle directly opposite, dozens of pairs of scarlet eyes appeared, staring at him silently. After a while, those heavy shadows came out from the bushes, getting closer to Zhang Xiluo. The horse under Zhang Sheng's crotch kept retreating, its neck shaking wildly, as if it had been frightened.
Those black shadows got closer, but they were not wolves, but mice the size of wolf dogs, with huge teeth leaking out and a fishy smell out of their mouths. It must be these things that ate the two strong men just now.
Zhang Xiluo looked at these big rats surrounded him, he was alone and alone, he thought there was no way to escape, he sighed, and pulled back the sword in his hand, about to wipe it off his neck.
The rat at the front suddenly screamed, stood up, and pointed its front paws at Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng stopped his movements and looked at it puzzled, thinking that the rat seemed to be laughing.
The world has been at peace for a long time. Although there are occasional bandits and disturbances by foreign races, I have never heard of monsters in the Central Plains. Zhang Sheng looked at the strange mouse, and his head was dripping with cold sweat.
The leading rat turned around abruptly and let out a hasty cry. The group of rats receded like a tide in an instant, hiding in the dense forest, leaving only bones and a faint smell of blood on the ground.
Zhang Sheng was stunned for a while, and then he came back to his senses. After the catastrophe, he was sweating coldly for the rest of his life. He rushed to Du's village at night.
On the second day when the sun was westward, Zhang Sheng just arrived at Du's village. He was exhausted and almost unable to stand. He asked the servants of the village to report on his behalf, and the young village owner Du Meng rushed out to greet him, and wanted to clean up the dust for him, Zhang Sheng couldn't wait for the meal, so he hurriedly explained the situation to Du Meng.
Du Meng just sneered when he heard this, and said that he had heard that the bandits in Panlong Mountain had been doing all kinds of crimes in recent years, harassing the village, and they had long intended to eradicate them. Now he is gathering hundreds of athletes from several nearby villages and towns to practice martial arts, shoot bows and horses, and prepare to kill them when they stop. They went up the mountain to exterminate them in one fell swoop, but they didn't expect this group of bandits to leave the nest by themselves. This was a god-sent opportunity.
Du Meng ordered his subordinates to kill two fat buffaloes, bought dozens of altars of good wine from the cellar, first burned a moss of shunliu paper, and invited the elders surnamed Du in the clan and the leaders of the nearby athletes, all of them Going to the thatched cottage in the village, Xu Chi sat down and asked the farmer to drink a cup of wine while tasting the beef.
In the valley, there are overlapping rock peaks, ravines and bays, tigers and wolves walking in groups, and elk walking in groups. On the hills, there are beautiful pines and thorns, and there is a century-old temple hidden in the shadows of trees, with a plaque hanging on it. There are three gold lacquered characters of "Hengfa Temple".
It should have been an atmosphere of melodious bells and chimes and misty cigarettes, but now it is indeed full of noisy people, the sound of horseshoes, and the roar of people can be heard endlessly. But seeing that the gate of the temple was closed tightly, the plaque hanging high was crooked, and there were a few arrows stuck beside it, and the red lacquered pillar in front of the gate was also traced by knives and axes. Hundreds of men with fierce faces surrounded the gate of the temple with knives and guns in their hands. Some smashed the door with knife handles and long axes, cursing and threatening to burn the temple down; Some unbuttoned their belts and untied their hands facing the temple wall.
A month ago, the former Xiangguo Liugong died of illness on his way back to his hometown. His wife Zheng brought the Xiangguo's daughter Liu Biyun back to the hometown for burial. Due to the heavy rain, the road was difficult to walk, Mrs. Zheng and Liu Biyun came to the Hezhong Mansion to deposit the coffin in the Hengfa Temple. More than ten years ago, Hengfa Temple fell into disrepair for a long time, Xiangguo Lord Liu donated a lot of money to the abbot to repair it, the monks in the temple were grateful for Liu Gong's kindness in the past, and took extra care of Mrs. Zheng and Liu Biyun.
Before his death, Duke Liu had married a friend named Ma in the court, and betrothed his daughter Liu Biyun to his son. Now that former friend has become the Minister of the Ministry of War, and his son Ma Jingjin has also passed the Jinshi exam. Both a man and a woman have reached the age to discuss marriage. Originally, it was planned that Ma Jingjin and Liu Biyun would marry Qin and Jin in a few years. Unexpectedly, Mr. Liu suddenly After passing away, Liu Biyun's father's funeral was not yet complete, and he was not able to be reconciled. It coincided with heavy rains, muddy roads, and the recent unrest in the land. Mrs. Zheng had to temporarily stay in Hengfa Temple. She hurriedly wrote books and sent them to the capital, and called on Ma Jingjin to bring people to help her coffin back to her hometown.
The monks in the temple respected Mrs. Zheng's mother and daughter very much, and vacated the upper room in the temple for the group, not to mention food expenses. Smear mercury, arsenic and other medicines on the body, then stuff the ears, cover the face, wrap the head, knot the hocks, bind the hands, wrap the body with a quilt, tie it with a twist, and put it back into the coffin. Mrs. Zheng, mother and daughter were very grateful to the monks.
There is a girl beside Liu Biyun, named Cui Huaying, who is a few years older than Ms. Liu, who grew up serving Liu Biyun since she was a child. Because Liu Biyun is bored in the temple, Cui Huaying often walks around and sometimes slips out. Shanmen, tell Ms. Liu some interesting news outside.
In the backyard of this temple, there is also a down-and-out scholar named Zhang Xiluo, who was born in an official family, but both his parents died when he was young, his books and swords were lost, and he failed to achieve fame. . This Xi Luosheng is a good-looking talent, and he is also considered handsome and star-eyed. Cui Huaying accidentally saw Zhang Sheng in the backyard that day, secretly marveled for a while, asked the little monk about this person's background, and went back to tell Miss Liu.
After hearing this, Miss Liu just smiled and shook her head. She thought to herself that she had already been betrothed to someone else, so why would she have any interest in other men, but every time she thought of her fiancé, Ma Jingjin, who was notorious in the capital, she couldn't help but worry.
Coincidentally, one day when Liu Biyun was looking at the statue of Buddha and paying homage to the abbot in the temple, Zhang Xiluo, who was out, met him. Zhang Xiluo, who had never seen such a lovely face in his life, felt dazzled and speechless, and his soul flew out for a long time. He couldn't go out either, and just stood there.
Liu Biyun also noticed that someone was staring at her in a daze, and in the blink of an eye, she saw that it was a young man, his face turned red immediately, he wished the abbot a blessing, and walked back to his room. The waist is delicate and soft, like a weeping willow before the evening wind.
Zhang Xiluo came back to his senses, the beauty had gone, Lan Musk was still there, the sound of wearing the ring faded away, only a few young monks were left sweeping the floor, looking at him and laughing endlessly. Zhang Xiluo had the cheek to inquire about the origin of the young lady. After inquiring clearly, he went back to the room and fell on the bed. He couldn't help but sighed. The family background of himself and this official lady was very different, not to mention that she had already been betrothed to someone else. What should I do!
"It's the injustice of the romantic industry five hundred years ago!" he thought.
Since then, Zhang Xiluo didn't think about eating and drinking, and became thinner day by day. He couldn't sleep at night, tossed and turned for a few days, after a watch, the evil spirit secretly recorded Brother Wang , and there was no sound. Imitating the meaning of Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun, he chanted a quatrain outside the wall to express his admiration.
After he finished singing, he stood in the empty courtyard, starry and cold rain, bamboo shoots swaying in the wind, no one answered.
For more than ten days in a row, Zhang Sheng stood outside the wall and recited poems in the middle of the night, like a stone sinking into the sea. One night, after he had finished reciting, he was feeling depressed when he suddenly heard the sound of the door, and then a piece of silk floated down from the wall, followed by the sound of someone returning to the room and closing the door. As if Zhang Xiluo had found a treasure, he quickly held the silk silk in his hands, ran all the way back to the house, lit the oil lamp and inspected it carefully.
The handwriting on the white silk is delicate and elegant, as if it was written by a woman. The Xijiang Moon Ci Ling written by Liu Biyun is indeed Liu Biyun's polite rejection of her own intention. Zhang Changchang sighed, but he was not willing to throw away the silk, held it in front of his face, sniffed the remaining fragrance carefully, felt sore, and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next day, the sun was already high, he carefully put the silk in his arms, and felt that since Miss Liu had expressed his intentions, he should not continue to pester her, so he simply packed his luggage and moved out of the temple, away from this sad place.
Just as he was packing his books, he suddenly heard a loud noise outside. Zhang Xiluo put down his luggage and went out, but saw all the monks were nervous, the gate of the temple was closed, and several young and strong monks were using rough wooden roofs. At the gate, the others were also holding fire sticks and Zen sticks, looking anxious.
Zhang Sheng's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked a person beside him. It turns out that there is a group of strong men on Panlong Mountain, twenty or thirty miles away, all of them are desperadoes with tattoos on their faces. They learned from the pilgrims who were robbed that there is a beautiful Miss Liu in Hengfa Temple, who looks like a fairy who has left Bixiao.
The leader of the strong man in the mountain is called Liao Lihu, his heart itches unbearably, he puts on his horse, wields a mace, and leads a group of men, roaring down the mountain, going straight to Hengfa Temple, intending to rob Miss Liu by force. Thanks to the sharp eyes of the monk who went out to carry water, he could see the hustle and bustle in the forest from a distance, the horseshoes neighed, and the murderous aura was soaring. He hurried back to the monastery to report the news.
The thief saw that the gate of the mountain was closed, the high wall was difficult to climb, and he did not bring any climbing equipment. The monks inside had been on guard for a long time, and it was difficult to attack for a while. The seven orifices were so angry that they yelled loudly outside the wall, and the monk ordered Liu Biyun to be arrested immediately. Donate it, or all the garan will be burned, monks and laymen will be chopped up, and no one will be left alive.
When Mrs. Zheng heard the news, she couldn't stop crying as if her soul had left her shell. Monks and laity gathered under the two corridors to discuss countermeasures, Liu Biyun turned pale with anger, and said that he wanted to find a white practice hedlock and commit suicide, and he could not humiliate his ancestors.
Everyone was chattering, unable to agree, some said they wanted to protect the old lady and Miss Liu, and some said they wanted to keep the monks safe and secure, so that the palace would not be turned into ashes.
Seeing that the momentum was not good, Cui Huaying said loudly to Mrs. Zheng: "Madam, I have no other plan. It is better to choose someone who will make meritorious deeds, kill the thieves, and sweep away the demon atmosphere. Miss, you can lose your family with this person. I would rather be with the hero." Get married and become Qin and Jin!"
As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Zheng, Liu Biyun, mother and daughter were dumbfounded. Mrs. Zheng said: "But my child has already been betrothed to Ma Jingjin, the son of the Minister of the Ministry of War…"
"Ma'am!" Cui Huaying raised her brows and said sharply, "Water far away will not quench your thirst, and the thief is just a short distance away from the high wall. Everyone's life and Miss's reputation are at stake. Tired eggs, please make a decisive decision immediately, Madam!"
Cui Huaying has a fierce personality since she was a child, and she has a lot of experience in the world. Seeing the strong man clamoring outside, and the monks and laymen in the temple are not in harmony, maybe the cowardly person who fears death has the upper hand and clamors to send Liu Biyun out of the door in order to save his life , she came up with this expedient plan when she was in a hurry. With a heavy reward, she wanted to encourage the brave man to kill the thief. She thought, if it can be done, then the next thing can be discussed slowly. The barren mountain ancient temple, with the influence of the Prime Minister's family and the Minister of the Ministry of War, it is easy to go back on his word.
Mrs. Zheng thought for a moment, and could only nod helplessly. All the monks and laymen surrounding Liu Biyun looked at Ms. Liu together. The young lady's brows were green and her face was full of spring, just like the overwhelmed Taizhen. Not to mention ordinary people, even a group of young monks Unavoidably, my heart fluttered, and I couldn't help myself. The abbot who was watching from the side let out a long sigh.
Everyone looked at Liu Biyun, then looked back at the high walls around them, and listened attentively to the thieves who were shouting outside the wall, guessing their own skills, how many rounds they could walk under so many thieves, most people thought about it and were discouraged lowered his head.
Cui Huaying anxiously scanned the crowd back and forth.
After a while, a man like a black tower separated the crowd and took a step forward. He was tall, tiger-shaped, angry, and ugly. A certain person is showing his ugly face just once, not because our family is boasting, but the ghost knife behind our back also drank the blood of a thief's head and neck!"
Liu Biyun saw this man's rude behavior, like an evil star, feared in his heart, and took a step back. Cui Huaying took a step forward, stopped in front of the lady, and said crisply: "If the strong man can kill the bandits, Mrs. Xiangguo will definitely thank you with a lot of money!"
"It's not rare for us to thank you with a lot of money!" The big man snorted: "Everyone heard it just now. The old lady agreed to give Miss Liu to the hero who kills the thieves. We have no other skills. We like to kill people all our lives. The second is sex-loving, in order to consummate the house with Miss Liu today, even if we die, we have to cut off the head of that bandit…"
Cui Huaying's face turned cold when he heard it, and he was about to attack when he suddenly saw the man's mouth open, spewing out a mouthful of blood. It turned out that a sharp arrow shot from the back of his head, and shot out obliquely from top to bottom. The man surnamed Xiang fell to the ground immediately, his limbs twitched, fearing that he might not survive.
Everyone was shocked, and rushed into the hall one after another. There was a loud sound of bowstrings behind them, and a row of arrows fell from the sky, and in an instant, they were inserted into the place where everyone stood just now.
The bandit leader Liao Lihu shouted to stop from outside the wall: "You gangsters, what if you hurt Miss Liu, I will smash you to death!"
A thief outside apologized and said with a smile: "Didn't I just hear a braggart inside boasting that he wanted to take your life, the boss. The younger brother was so angry that he listened to the voice of that guy and presumably shot him with an arrow. I didn't expect the other brothers to kill you." Itching, but also a burst of random ejaculation, I forgot that Miss Liu was still inside, hahaha."
The man turned his head to the courtyard and shouted loudly: "That rascal named Xiang, are you dead? If not, just snort! Don't implicate Miss Liu!"
The bandit leader Liao Lihu laughed loudly: "Ghost Dao Xiang, the third child, what do you care about this kind of role! I hold the guy to pee with my right hand, and use a mace with my left hand, and I can cut off his celestial spirit cover. What a shame for this person! "
Everyone in the temple was shocked when they heard the conversation outside. They thought it was a group of grassroots bandits, but they were superior because of the large number of people, but they didn't expect that there were such capable people. Water, like an eggplant beaten by frost, is silent.
When Madam Zheng and Liu Biyun saw this, they fell into an ice cave, and tears fell like broken beads. When they were at a loss, Zhang Xiluo stepped forward and said in a low voice: "Miss Madam, don't panic, Xiaosheng has a countermeasure." The two of them, together with Cui Huaying, hurriedly surrounded Zhang Sheng, like a drowning man catching straw.
It turns out that there is a big manor a hundred miles away, and the owner of the manor is Du Mingmeng. This Du Meng usually likes to dance with guns and clubs, and he is good at bowing and horses. shop, and after chatting with each other, they hit it off and formed a brother with a different surname. Later, Du Meng lost his name to Sun Shan, and failed in many trials, so he simply gave up the idea of taking a test for fame, and concentrated on working hard at home, trained well in martial arts, and raised hundreds of dealers.
Zhang Xiluo whispered to the three of them, saying that he was willing to risk his way out of the temple and rush to Du's village to rescue the soldiers, but it would take a few days, and he asked the abbot of the temple to use a slow-moving strategy to deter the thieves. The elders on the side listened, clapped their hands and praised Zhang Sheng for his courage, he followed his words.
The abbot first stopped the bandit soldiers in the courtyard, saying that he wanted to ask Liao Lihu to answer, so that outsiders would stop shooting arrows. Liao Lihu heard this, and laughed through the wall: "What can I say to you, old monk, I'm not Lord Longyang, the business is to send the young lady out quickly!"
The elder went to the wall and shouted loudly: "The old lady was going to bring the young lady out and send it to the king. However, the young lady has a father and filial piety. If the king wants to be a son-in-law, he can put on his armor and withdraw from the place of shooting." , three days to complete the merits and virtues, the young lady took off her mourning clothes, changed into colorful clothes, and married the general before going out, wouldn't it be better?"
Liao Lihu pondered for a while, then said: "That makes sense, but monk, don't play tricks on me. If Miss doesn't come out in three days, I will kill everyone and leave you alone. Go back and tell the old lady, We are such a good son-in-law, who has soldiers and horses, gold and silver, so hurry up and ask her to recruit him!"