Waiting until midnight, when there was no one around, Zhang Xiluo had a good meal, carried his luggage and sword, and climbed up the wall in a remote place in the courtyard. Several monks threw up the clothes knotted into ropes so that he could attach ropes to them. And down. Zhang Sheng held his breath and concentrated, landing carefully, waiting to see if there was no one around, and then threw the rope back to avoid being discovered at dawn.
Zhang Sheng packed up his luggage and sneaked away. The sky was dark and misty, and he couldn't distinguish the stars. He could only move forward based on his memory. After galloping forward for three or four miles, we encountered wild water all around, surrounded by high hills on three sides, the gorges and river harbors looked like coiled snakes, and the willow trees under the halo were as dense as rain.
While Zhang Sheng was walking quickly, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hoofbeats behind him and felt bad. Before he could find a hiding place, two horses were galloping close to him. One after another, they saw him stop him. Immediately, the two strong men looked at Zhang Sheng and laughed: "Fortunately, you got up to urinate at night and caught a slip of the net." fish."
Zhang Sheng's heart beat like a drum, he drew out the sword on his back with his backhand, and assumed a posture to face the enemy. The other two laughed so hard that they almost fell off their horses: "Xiucai, you are so arrogant, do you want to compete with grandpa?"
"Little thief, you will know if you try it." Zhang Xiluo took a deep breath and calmed down. He had also practiced swords in his early years and was not a weak scholar. But with one against two, today is probably going to be a bad day.
The two men sneered, got off their horses, drew out their swords, and said, "Grandpa will cut off your head later, and go to the king in the morning to ask for the reward."
The two of them pressed towards him unhurriedly.
Suddenly a black shadow flashed from the side, knocking down a bandit and rolling him straight into the bushes on the side.
The incident happened in such a hurry that everyone on the scene was shocked. Zhang Sheng and the other thief turned around and looked towards the bushes. They heard a fight inside, and someone screamed once or twice, and then there was no movement. .
The thief who was still standing drank: "Lao Liu, what's wrong with you? Who are you fighting with?"
The man asked two or three times, only to see the bandit named Lao Liu slowly crawling out of the bushes. His clothes were torn and messy, and he still held a bloody knife in his right hand. It was obvious that he had just had a fierce fight.
"You son of a bitch, you scared me to death," the standing thief scolded, "Who knocked you down just now? Have you already killed that guy?"
The man named Lao Liu struggled to crawl forward, suddenly raised his head and shouted: "Third brother, help me!"
The sky was gloomy, the night was starless, and the forest was filled with mist. Zhang Xiluo and the thief just realized something was wrong. When they looked closely, the lower body of the thief named Lao Liu was gone. He only supported his upper body with his arms and climbed out of the bushes.
Zhang Xiluo's hair stood on end as he took a step back and tightened his grip on the sword in his hand. The remaining thief let out a strange cry, brandished his sword to protect himself, and quickly retreated towards his horse.
Even though Zhang Sheng had little experience in martial arts, he could still sense that something was wrong. There was a dense rustling sound coming from the surrounding forest, as if something was approaching rapidly, whether it was a human or an animal.
The half of the thieves on the ground were still screaming, but their voices became quieter and quieter. The other thieves had already climbed onto their horses, and Zhang Xiluo also ran towards the remaining horse, holding its reins tightly.
The thief was about to run away on horseback, but when he saw Zhang Xiluo leading his companion's horse, he turned around, stretched out his bow and nocked an arrow, and was about to shoot at him. Before he could let go and let go of the string, two black figures rushed over from the right side and knocked him directly under the horse. The force of the attack was so fierce that the horse was also knocked to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, several black shadows rushed over again, pinning the man down on the muddy ground and biting him fiercely.
Zhang Xiluo looked at it intently, and saw that those things had sharp teeth, dark hair, and were as big as wolves. His heart sank. He originally wanted to take the risk and rush into the siege to move reinforcements and save Miss Liu from the fire and water, but he didn't expect that he would encounter the enemy first before the attack. When he came to the wolf pack, he had neither started a family nor obtained any honors. Could it be that he would die in the wolf's mouth today?
The thief screamed in pain, stretched out his hand to grab Zhang Xiluo, and shouted: "Scholar, help me!"
Before Zhang Xiluo could reply, he saw that his arm raised in mid-air had been chewed off and fell to the ground. The thief was bleeding profusely and there was no way he could recover.
Zhang Xiluo took a deep breath, forcibly reined in the panicked horse, and jumped up. No matter what, he couldn't sit still and wait for death. Only if he could ride the horse at full speed would he have a chance to survive.
Zhang Sheng clamped his legs and wanted to gallop the horse, but he didn't expect that the horse stood there, motionless, as if its legs were weak.
Zhang Sheng was impatient and struck the horse's buttocks several times with his sword, but to no avail. Suddenly he heard a hissing sound coming from the front. He looked up and almost fell off his horse in shock.
In the dark jungle opposite, dozens of pairs of scarlet eyes appeared, glaring at him silently. After a moment, those dark shadows walked out of the trees, getting closer to Zhang Xiluo. The horse under Zhang Sheng's crotch kept retreating, its neck shaking wildly, as if it was frightened.
Those black shadows came closer, but they were not wolves, but mice the size of wolfdogs, with giant teeth protruding and a fishy smell in their mouths. They must have been the ones that ate the two strong men just now.
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The ghost sword changed to gold curator_The ghost sword changed to gold curator_The ghost sword changed to gold curator’/>
Zhang Xiluo looked at these giant rats surrounding him. He was alone and had no way to escape. He let out a long sigh, drew back the sword in his hand, and was about to wipe it from his neck.
The big rat at the front suddenly screamed, stood up, and pointed towards Zhang Sheng with his front paw. Zhang Sheng stopped his movements and looked at it in confusion, feeling that the big rat seemed to be laughing.
The world has been at peace for a long time. Although there are occasional bandits and harassment by foreign tribes, I have never heard of monsters in the Central Plains. Zhang Sheng looked at the strange rat with cold sweat on his head.
The leading rat suddenly turned around and let out a quick cry. The group of rats instantly receded like a tide, hiding in the dense forest, leaving only bones and a faint smell of blood on the ground.
Zhang Sheng was stunned for a long time, and then he came to his senses. He was sweating coldly for the rest of his life. He rushed to Dujiazhuang at starry night.
When the sun turned westward the next day, Zhang Sheng arrived at Dujiazhuang. He was so exhausted that he could hardly stand. He asked the servants of the village to report on his behalf. Du Meng, the young owner of the village, hurriedly went out to greet him and wanted to take care of him. Zhang Sheng couldn't wait for dinner and hurriedly explained the situation to Du Meng.
Du Meng just sneered after hearing this, saying that he had heard that the Panlong Mountain bandits had done all kinds of evil in recent years, harassing the countryside, and had long planned to eradicate them. He was now gathering hundreds of athletes from several nearby villages and towns to practice martial arts, archery and horseback riding, and prepare to attack them when they were ready. They went up the mountain to eliminate them in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, this group of bandits actually left the nest on their own. It was a good opportunity given by God.
Du Meng gave an order and asked his men to kill two fat buffaloes, and brought dozens of jars of fine wine from the cellar. He first burned a lot of paper and invited the elders of the clan named Du and the nearby athletes' leaders to come. Go to the thatched cottage in the middle of the village, sit down, and let the guest of the village drink the wine and taste the beef.
In the valley, there are overlapping rock peaks, surrounded by ravines and bays. Tigers and wolves are walking in formations, and elk are traveling in herds. On the hills, there are beautiful pine trees and thorns. Hidden among the shadows of the trees is a century-old temple with a plaque hanging above it. There are three large golden characters written "Hengfa Temple".
This place should have been an atmosphere filled with melodious bells and wisps of cigarette smoke, but now it is indeed filled with noisy voices, the sound of horse hooves, and the endless roars of people. But I saw that the temple door was closed, the hanging plaque was crooked, with a few arrows stuck next to it, and the red painted pillars in front of the door were also marked by cuts and axes. Hundreds of fierce-looking men, armed with knives and guns, surrounded the door of the temple. Some smashed the door with knife handles and long axes, cursed and threatened to burn the temple down; some sat on the ground, holding wine bags and drinking to their heart's content; Others untied their belts and raised their hands toward the temple wall.
A month ago, the former Prime Minister Liu Gong unfortunately died of illness on his way back to his hometown. His wife, Mrs. Zheng, took Liu Biyun, the daughter of the Prime Minister, with her coffin back to her hometown for burial. Because it rained heavily and the road was difficult to travel, Mrs. Zheng and Liu Biyun came to Hezhong Mansion and stored the coffin in Hengfa Temple. More than ten years ago, the Hengfa Temple fell into disrepair. Prime Minister Liu Gong donated a large sum of money to the abbot for repairs. The monks in the temple were grateful for Liu Gong's kindness in the past and took special care of Mrs. Zheng and Liu Biyun.
Before his death, Duke Liu had been married to a good friend of the court named Ma, and betrothed his daughter Liu Biyun to his good friend's son. Now that former friend has become the minister of the Ministry of War, and his son Ma Jingjin has also passed the Jinshi examination. The boy and the girl have reached the age of marriage. It was originally planned that Ma Jingjin and Liu Biyun would become friends of Qin and Jin in a few years. Unexpectedly, Liu Gong suddenly When Liu Biyun passed away, his father was still mourning and had not yet been reunited. Coincidentally, there were heavy rains, the roads were muddy, and the land was not peaceful recently, so Mrs. Zheng had to temporarily stay in Hengfa Temple, hurriedly repaired books and had people sent to the capital, and called Ma Jingjin to bring people to help carry the coffin back home.
The monks in the temple respected Mrs. Zheng and her daughter very much. They made room in the upper room of the temple for the group, and provided all the food and drink expenses. They also helped to dispose of Liu Gong's body, bathed in fragrant soup and applied medicinal wine. Apply chemicals such as mercury and arsenic, then stuff the ears, cover the face, wrap the head, tie the ankles, tie the hands, wrap the body in a quilt, tie it with a twister, and put it back into the coffin. Mrs. Zheng, mother and daughter, expressed their gratitude to the monks.
There is a girl next to Liu Biyun, named Cui Huaying, who is a few years older than Miss Liu. She 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 sneaks out. Shanmen, tell Miss Liu some interesting experiences outside.
There is also a down-and-out scholar named Zhang Xiluo who lives in the backyard of this temple. He was born in an official family, but his parents died when he was young, his book and sword are scattered, and his fame has not been achieved. He is scraping and polishing the snow table on the window of the temple, trying to be named on the gold list in the coming year. . This Xiluosheng was a talented person with handsome features. That day, Cui Huaying accidentally saw Zhang Sheng in the backyard. She secretly marveled for a while, asked the young monk about this person's origin, and went back to tell Miss Liu.
After hearing this, Miss Liu just smiled and shook her head. She thought about how she would be interested in other men since she was already betrothed to him. However, every time she thought of her fiancé Ma Jingjin, who was notorious in the capital, she couldn't help but feel worried.
Coincidentally, one day when Liu Biyun was paying homage to the Buddha statue and the abbot in the temple, he met Zhang Xiluo who was out. Zhang Shengna had never seen this lovely face. He was dazzled and speechless. His soul flew out half a day away. He couldn't take a step forward and just stood there.
Liu Biyun also noticed that someone was staring at her blankly, and when she glanced around, she saw a young man. Her face immediately turned red, she said a long blessing to the abbot, and went back to her room. The waist is delicate and soft, like a weeping willow before the evening breeze.
Zhang Xiluo came back to his senses. The beauty had gone, but the scent of orchid and musk was still there. The sound of wearing rings faded away. Only a few young monks were left sweeping the floor, looking at him and laughing endlessly. Zhang Xiluo shamelessly inquired about the young lady's background. After finding out more about it, he went back to his room and fell on the bed. He couldn't help but sigh. He and this official lady were as different from each other in origin, not to mention that she had already been married to someone else. What should she do?
"It was the injustice caused by the romantic industry five hundred years ago!" he thought.
Since then, Zhang Xiluo has not thought about food and tea, and has become thinner and thinner. He could not sleep at night and tossed and turned for several days. After the first watch, Wan Lai was silent, and finally couldn't help but run to the west wall of Liu Biyun's wing, pacing back and forth, imitating Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun wanted to express his admiration by chanting a quatrain outside the wall.
After he finished chanting, he stood in the empty court, the stars were cold, the rain was falling, the bamboo branches were swaying in the wind, but no one responded.
For more than ten days in a row, Zhang Sheng stood outside the wall at midnight and recited poems, but everything seemed to be lost in the sea. One night, after he finished reciting, he was feeling depressed when he suddenly heard the door open, then a piece of silk floated down from the wall, and then there was the sound of someone going back to the room and closing the door. As if Zhang Xiluo had found a treasure, he quickly held the silk in his hands, ran all the way back to the house, and lit the oil lamp to examine it carefully.
The handwriting on the white silk is elegant and graceful, as if it was written by a woman. It is a poem about Xijiang Moon. After reading it carefully, it is indeed Liu Biyun's polite rejection of herself. Zhang Changchang sighed, but was reluctant to throw away the silk. He held it in front of his face and carefully smelled the remaining fragrance on it. He felt sad and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up the next day, it was already three o'clock in the morning. He carefully put the silk in his arms. He felt that since Miss Liu had expressed her feelings, he should not continue to pester her, so he simply packed up his luggage and moved out of the temple, away from this sad place.
While he was packing up his books, he suddenly heard the noise outside getting louder. Zhang Xiluo put down his luggage and walked out of the door. He saw all the monks looking nervous. The temple door was closed, and several young and strong monks were using rough wood to support the door. At the gate, other people were holding fire sticks and Zen staffs, looking anxious.
Zhang Sheng's heart tightened and he grabbed the person next to him and asked. It turns out that there is a group of strongmen on Panlong Mountain twenty or thirty miles away from here. They are all desperadoes with tattoos on their faces. They gather in the mountains and forests, rob homes and homes, and kill people like hemp. They learned from the robbed pilgrims that there was a beautiful Miss Liu in Hengfa Temple, who looked like a fairy who had left the blue sky.
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The leader of the strongman in the mountain was named Liao Lihu. His heart was unbearable after hearing this. He mounted his horse, wielded a mace, and led a group of men, roaring down the mountain, straight to Hengfa Temple, and wanted to rob Miss Liu. Fortunately, the monk who went out to fetch water had sharp eyesight and saw the commotion in the forest from a distance, the neighing of horse hooves and murderous intent. He hurried back to the temple to report the news. The monks hurriedly closed the mountain gate and blocked the thieves outside the courtyard.
The thief saw that the mountain gate was tightly closed and the high wall was difficult to climb, and he did not bring any climbing equipment. The monks inside were already on guard, and it was difficult to break in for a while. Donate it, otherwise all the garlands will be burned, the monks and laymen will be beheaded, and no one will be left alive.
When Mrs. Zheng heard the news, she felt as if her soul had left its shell and she couldn't help but cry. The monks and laymen gathered under the two corridors to discuss countermeasures. Liu Biyun turned pale with anger and said that he would find a white-trained donut and commit suicide, but he could not insult his ancestors.
Everyone was talking about it, and they couldn't agree on what they were talking about. Some said they wanted to risk their lives to protect the old lady and Miss Liu, and some said they wanted to keep the monks safe and secure, so as to prevent the palace from turning into ashes.
Seeing that the momentum was not good, Cui Huaying said loudly to Mrs. Zheng: "Old Madam, I have another plan. Why don't you choose someone to build meritorious deeds, kill the thieves, and clean up the evil atmosphere? Miss, you can lose your family with this person, but you are willing to fight with the hero." Get married and become Qin and Jin!"
As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Zheng, Liu Biyun and her daughter were stunned. Mrs. Zheng said: "But my child has long been betrothed to Ma Jingjin, the son of the Minister of War…"
"Madam!" Cui Huaying raised her eyebrows and said sternly: "The water far away cannot quench the thirst of the near. The thief is just a few feet away from the high wall. Everyone's lives and the reputation of the young lady are at stake in this moment. The situation is extremely dangerous. I’m so tired, please make a decisive decision, madam!”
Cui Huaying has been a fierce character since she was a child, and has a lot of worldly skills. Seeing the strong man shouting outside, and the monks and laymen in the temple are not united, maybe the man who is greedy for life and afraid of death has the upper hand, clamoring and sending Liu Biyun out to survive. , she came up with this expedient plan in a hurry. Under the heavy reward, she wanted to encourage the brave man to kill the thief. She thought that if it could be accomplished, the subsequent matters could be discussed slowly. After all, she was away from this place. In the ancient temple on the barren mountain, with the influence of the Prime Minister’s family and the Minister of War, it would be easy to go back on your word.
Mrs. Zheng thought for a moment and could only nod helplessly. All the monks and lay people surrounding Liu Biyun looked at Miss Liu. The young lady had dark eyebrows and green cheeks, and a lotus-like face. She was exactly like the Taizhen who had conquered the country. Not to mention the lay people, even the young monks His heart was shaking and he couldn't help himself. The abbot beside him let out a long sigh.
Everyone looked at Liu Biyun, then looked back at the high walls around them, listening to the thieves shouting outside the wall. They estimated how many rounds they could survive under so many thieves. After thinking about it, most people became discouraged. He lowered his head.
Cui Huaying glanced back and forth at everyone anxiously.
After a moment, a man like a black tower separated from the crowd and took a step forward. He was tall, with a tiger-like body, an angry beard, and an ugly appearance. He grinned and said in a deep voice: "Since the old lady nodded and promised, Xiang Someone just showed off his embarrassment just now, we are not boasting, the ghost-headed sword behind us has also drank the blood of a thief's head and neck!"
When Liu Biyun saw this man's rude behavior, like the evil star, he was afraid and took a step back. Cui Huaying took a step forward, stopped in front of the young lady, and said crisply: "If a strong man can kill and drive away the bandits, Mrs. Xiangguo will definitely reward you with a lot of money!"
"We don't care if we pay you a lot of money!" The big man snorted: "Everyone heard just now that the old lady agreed to promise Miss Liu to a hero who kills and defeats thieves. We have no other abilities. We only like to kill people in our lives. The second is that I am fond of beauty. In order to consummate the marriage with Miss Liu today, we have to chop off the head of the bandit leader even if we risk our lives…"
Cui Huaying felt a chill on her face. She was about to have a seizure when she suddenly saw the man open his mouth wide and spurt out a mouthful of blood. It turned out that a sharp arrow was shot from the back of his head, from top to bottom, and came out diagonally through his mouth. The man named Xiang suddenly fell to the ground, his limbs twitching, and he was afraid he might not survive.
Everyone was shocked, and rushed into the hall to run towards Director Guijian Kaijin . 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 had just stood.
The bandit leader Liao Lihu shouted from outside the wall: "You guys, what if you hurt Miss Liu? I will smash you to death!"
A thief outside smiled and said, "I just heard a guy inside bragging that he wanted to take your life, boss. I was so angry that I listened to the guy's voice and shot him with an arrow. I didn't expect the other brothers to shoot him. It was itchy, and there was a burst of ejaculation, and I forgot that Miss Liu was still inside, hahaha."
The man turned towards the courtyard and shouted loudly: "That tough guy named Xiang, are you dead? If not, just hum! Don't hurt Miss Liu's body!"
The bandit leader Liao Lihu laughed loudly: "Xiang Laosan, a ghost-headed sword, what do you care about a character like this! I can hold the guy to pee with my right hand and use a mace with my left hand, and I can cut off his Tianling Cap. How can I care about this guy!" "
Everyone in the temple was shocked when they heard the conversation outside. They thought it was a group of grass bandits, but they were better because of their large numbers, but they did not expect that there were people with such abilities. The few athletes who were eager to try just now felt their hearts sinking. Water, like eggplant beaten by frost, was silent.
When Mrs. Zheng and Liu Biyun saw this, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, and their tears fell like broken beads. When they were at a loss, Zhang Xiluo stepped forward and whispered: "Madam, don't panic, Xiaosheng has a countermeasure." The two of them, together with Cui Huaying, hurriedly gathered around Zhang Sheng, like a drowning man grasping at straw.
It turns out that there is a large manor a hundred miles away. The young manor's surname is Du Meng. Du Meng likes to dance with guns and sticks. He is proficient in bow and horse. He is best friends with wealthy people. When he went to Beijing to take the exam a few years ago, he slept in the same room as Zhang Xiluo. After chatting in the store, we hit it off and became brothers with different surnames. Du Meng later fell into disrepute and failed in many tests. He simply gave up the idea of trying for fame and concentrated on working hard at home. He practiced martial arts well and supported hundreds of bankers.
Zhang Xiluo whispered to the three of them, saying that he was willing to risk leaving the temple and rushing to Dujiazhuang to mobilize reinforcements, but it would still take a few days, so he asked the abbot of the temple to use a delaying tactic to delay the thieves. After hearing this, the elders on the side clapped their hands and praised Zhang Sheng for his courage and doing what he said.
The abbot first stopped the rebels in the courtyard, saying that he wanted to ask Liao Lihu to answer, so that no one outside could shoot arrows. After hearing this, Liao Lihu laughed loudly across the wall: "What do you and I have to say to you, an old monk? I'm not Lord Longyang. It's business to send the lady out as soon as possible!"
The elder walked 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 filial father. If the king wants to be his son-in-law, he can put his troops in order and withdraw from the shooting place." , within three days of perfecting her merits, wouldn’t it be better if the young lady takes off her mourning clothes, puts on colored clothes, and goes out to marry the general, the director of the Gui Jian Kai Jin Museum ?"
Liao Lihu pondered for a long time and said: "That makes sense, but monk, don't play tricks on me. If the lady doesn't come out in three days, everyone will die and no one will survive. You go back and tell the old lady, We have such a good son-in-law, he has soldiers and horses, and there is no shortage of gold and silver, so hurry up and ask her to recruit him!"