Nightwatcher

Walking in the quiet town, you may occasionally see a few children wandering in the empty streets, or taking off their pants to pee on the side of the street.

But rarely see adults.

Xu Qi'an speculated that these children are still weak, and they don't need to hide themselves every day to relieve the side effects of the dark gu. .

When they grow up in the future and their abilities improve, they will become like their parents, hiding in corners every day.

"Could it be that Grandma Tiangu said that the "economic situation" of the Dark Gu Department is not good, so it's no wonder that it can be good, and most of the time is wasted on pointless hide-and-seek." Xu Qi'an muttered to himself.

When he first got the Qijue Gu, he only felt that the side effects of the dark Gu were very troublesome, and he had to take time to hide himself every day, and it took him an hour or two to hide.

It never occurred to me that if people of one race were like this, it would actually be a "disaster".

"Actually, it can be hidden at night, it doesn't have to be during the day."

Xu Qi'an said.

The young men on the patrol nodded repeatedly:

"Of course there are people who hide at night, but most of them are unmarried. Those who have families don't have time at night.

"In addition, the higher the level, the purpose of hiding is not just to eliminate the side effects, you are also a master of dark Gu, you should understand."

Side effects are the most basic needs of dark Gu. If you want to increase your cultivation base and cultivate dark Gu, you have to actively hide in the shadows and feel the power of dark Gu.

While speaking, he saw Xu Qi'an staring at the shadow under his feet, so he said with a smile:

"You read that right, the rest of the patrol is hiding in the shadow of my crotch."

God, the shadow under the crotch, are you people in the Dark Gu Department living under the cover? Xu Qi'an almost couldn't help but spit it out.

Passing through the quiet alleys, the two approached the center of the town, where the population was much denser, pedestrians in twos and threes shuttled through the empty streets, and there were shops on both sides.

Xu Qi'an saw that among these passers-by, there were people from the Central Plains, and some from Southern Xinjiang. They were dressed in ragged clothes, no better than refugees from the Central Plains.

The main reason is that most of these pedestrians do not have dark Gu in their bodies.

"They are slaves. Some were captured from the Central Plains, and some were some unruly southern Xinjiang tribes. They were wiped out by us, and the population was divided equally among the seven tribes."

Said the young man on patrol:

"These slaves are valuable labor in our clan."

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, and said: "The Gu people often conduct population trade with the Central Plains caravan."

The four words of population trade made the young man stunned for a while before he understood, and said:

"Exactly.

"The caravans in the Central Plains know that we are short of people, so they often send people to southern Xinjiang in exchange for some unique herbs, wood, ores, etc. in southern Xinjiang."

Most of those people were abducted. Xu Qi'an thought of the ancestor of the Chai family. When the ancestor was young, his family was wiped out by his enemies, and he himself was sold to the Southern Xinjiang Corpse Gu Department as a slave.

Later, he fled back to the Central Plains somehow, and established a sect in his hometown in Xiangzhou.

By the way, I still have to ask You Shi for the map. The half map of the ancestor of the Chai family is in the Shi Gu Department. At this time, Xu Qi'an saw a big house with the characters of Southern Xinjiang written on the plaque.

"This is the chief's mansion, Xu Yinluo, please come in."

Stepping into the mansion, Xu Qi'an glanced at the layout of the compound. A bluestone paved road leads to the inner courtyard. On the left side of the road are water tanks covered with wooden boards.

On the right are deep pits with narrow diameters.

There are people hiding in the pit. Xu Qi'an withdrew his gaze, followed the young man further, and after walking for a while, he didn't see a single person.

It wasn't until they entered the inner hall that Xu Qi'an saw the shadow of the leader of the dark gu department in black, sitting at the main seat, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

He hasn't seen the sun all year round, so his pale face shows a little smile:

"The tea is ready, please sit down, Xu Yinluo."

It is the etiquette of the Central Plains to serve tea to guests.

After Xu Qian took his seat, he said again:

"Wait a minute, I have already sent someone to invite the elders, the decision to send troops is not for me alone."

This was something that had been initially discussed during the battle yesterday.

During half a cup of tea, eight shadows emerged from the bottom of the table and turned into eight middle-aged or elderly elders in the inner hall.

"The leader has already told us that Xu Yinluo wants to invite members of the Angu tribe to go north to help Dafeng fight against the Yunzhou rebels."

The white-haired old man seemed to be the Great Elder, and said in a slow tone:

"It's not impossible, it depends on what price Xu Yinluo can offer."

Xu Qi'an took a sip of tea and said:

"After the war is settled, Dafeng will give 50,000 taels of silver, 50,000 pieces of silk, and 30,000 stones of grain and grass to the Dark Gu Department every year for only five years."

The elders were slightly moved, and whispered in Nanjiang dialect.

"50,000 taels of silver can fill up my room."

"50,000 bolts of silk can make our Angu tribe wear beautiful clothes."

"Food and grass are more important. Our tribe has never had time to hunt and farm."

The white-haired elder coughed hard, interrupting the whispering of the elders. Fortunately, Xu Yinluo didn't understand Nanjiang dialect, otherwise his bargaining power would be lost by these worthless people.

The Great Elder shook his head:

"But what if Dafeng loses? Wouldn't it be a waste of time for us to fetch water from a bamboo basket?"

Xu Qian's expression remained unchanged:

"How does the Great Elder want to add?"

"Excellent!" The Great Elder nodded, and said in a deep voice, "Double."

"Refreshing!" Xu Qi'an got up silently, cupped his hands and said:

"I still have to go to the Heart Gu Department, so I won't bother you, so I will leave."

Shadow moved his hand, but held back, seeing Xu Qi'an walk to the entrance of the hall, he sighed and said:

"60,000 taels of silver, 50,000 bolts of silk, and 50,000 shi of grain and grass, for six years.

"In return, our clan sent 800 elite clansmen to join the battle. Don't worry, they are all absolute elites."

Although all the people of the Gu clan are soldiers, but after eliminating the old and weak, women and children, and ordinary clan members, eight hundred elites are indeed quite a lot.

Xu Qi'an stopped and said with a smile:

"make a deal!"

He had already communicated with Huai Qing before he came, and obtained from her the reasonable scope of "Sui Ci".

After all, Xu Qi'an didn't study history, so he didn't do much research on this stuff, so he didn't know the market price of "Sui Ci".

Shadow's request is within reasonable limits.

Shadow let out a breath: "The elite fighters of the Dark Gu Department will do their best to help Dafeng destroy the rebels."

As for whether Xu Qi'an can represent the Dafeng court, Yingying and the elders have no doubts. Not only does this person bear the title of Dafeng's number one martial artist, but he is also a dual cultivator of the national teacher Luo Yuheng.

What he said, in the eyes of the Dark Gu Department, is more reliable than the golden words of the Central Plains Emperor.

"After a while, I will ask the imperial court to send documents as evidence of the alliance between Dafeng and the Gu clan." Xu Qi'an said.

Shadow nodded slightly.

After leaving the Dark Gu Department, Xu Qi'an flew in the air, and after half an hour, he arrived at the Heart Gu Department's site.

Birds and flowers are fragrant here, and birds and animals are everywhere.

The houses of the Heart Gu Department are built in the dense forest, and the pavilions are hidden among the green branches and leaves, where humans and beasts coexist harmoniously.

Girls ride colorful giant tigers and play happily in the mountains and fields; all kinds of giant creatures act as animals in the fields; nimble and small long-tailed monkeys carry bamboo baskets and pick fruits all over the mountains and plains.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an saw a scaled giant rushing up from the dense forest below, flapping its membrane wings, and carrying a young Heart Gu clansman, circling around him.

"Xu Yinluo, the leader asked me to receive you."

The young patrol members were respectful and spoke not-so-standard Central Plains Mandarin.

Xu Qi'an gave a "hmm", he chose Yukong to come here, and he took the initiative to "expose" him so that Chunyan could notice him.

The young Xingu tribesman drove the flying beast and landed in the forest.

Well, this flying beast is not a female, it seems that the knight is a decent knight. Xu Qi'an had this thought in his mind for no reason, and followed the patrol to a loft on the south side of the mountain, by the cliff.

There is an old pine tree beside the attic.

Squirrels play on the branches, and white apes cry under the pines.

Outside the attic, a few big birds with long legs and black feathers lowered their heads to peck at food. Seeing the arrival of strangers, they fluttered their wings in panic.

Wearing a long blue dress, with two little red snakes hanging from her earlobes, Chunyan with bright eyebrows stood outside the attic with a slight smile on her face.

"Leader Chunyan!"

Xu Qi'an smiled back.

The two entered the attic and sat down in the lobby on the first floor. Xu Qi'an, who is a heart gu master, immediately noticed all kinds of poisonous insects, snakes, and small animals hiding in the corners.

"There are snakes, insects, rats, ants, birds and beasts all over the place. Do you feel familiar to Xu Yinluo?"

Chun Yan said half-jokingly.

I couldn't help but want to call them all together and dance in the square together. Xu Qi'an smiled and said: "It really makes people linger and forget to return, and it feels very cordial."

A simple sentence seems to narrow the distance between the two sides.

Chunyan Xing's eyes were rippling, and she said with emotion:

"But if you are too close to beasts, you can easily get lost in it."

You mean leaning forward and backward with beasts. A smile without the slightest prejudice appeared on Xu Qi'an's face:

"It's their personal choice."

Chun Yan looked at him steadily, seeing that he was indeed not prejudiced, she smiled a little softly, and said:

"The clan stipulates that anyone who has violated the rules with beasts is not allowed to marry a wife. This is not only to deter the clan, but also to respect their choice."

Xu Qi'an went on to say:

"Holding back the impulse from the natal Gu helps to sharpen the will, and if one sinks into the instinct, it is beneficial to the practice of the Heart Gu. It has to be said that it is a double-edged sword."

He made up his mind that during his stay in southern Xinjiang, he would not release the little mare and let it stay in the Pagoda of the Buddha.

Otherwise, he was worried about being stolen by people from the Heart Gu Department, or eaten by people from the Power Gu Department.

Seeing that the conversation was pleasant, Xu Qi'an clarified his intentions and offered the Heart Gu Department the same conditions as the Dark Gu Department.

Chunyan thought for a moment and said:

"There is no shortage of food and grass in the Heart Gu Department. I hope to replace the food and grass with cloth, tea, porcelain, and salt and iron."

For Heart Gu Masters, eating meat is not a problem at all, and in terms of farming, beasts can also be used as animal power.

"No problem." Xu Qi'an agreed.

After the deal was concluded, Chun Yan's smile widened and she asked:

"So, what kind of troops does Xu Yinluo want? Heart Gu masters are best at controlling beasts. The Central Plains lacks powerful beasts, and they are scattered all over the place, so it is difficult to directly join the battle. The reasonable way is to recruit directly from my Heart Gu department. past."

Xu Qi'an deeply agreed: "What suggestion does Chief Chunyan have?"

The Central Plains is no different than the southern border. Poisonous insects and ferocious beasts are everywhere. The city is full of cats and dogs. There are many beasts in the mountains, but it is difficult to guarantee that there will be a rich herd of beasts at the edge of the battlefield.

Ordinary beasts are not very useful, and their combat effectiveness is not at the same level as the strange beasts in southern borders.

Chun Yan said:

"The Heart Gu Department has two major units, the Alien Beast Cavalry and the Flying Beast Army. I personally suggest that Xu Yinluo choose the Flying Beast Army. The Alien Beast Cavalry marches slowly, and they will go to Qingzhou in groups. It will take at least a month.

"People ate and chewed animals along the way, and food was a big problem. After arriving in Qingzhou, food was still a big problem. The Great Feng cold disaster was raging, and there was a shortage of food, and the beast cavalry only ate meat, not grain.

"Although the Flying Beast Army only eats meat, their marching speed is fast, and they can reach Qingzhou in at most six days. Along the way, the clansmen can find food by themselves, which is easy for us Heart Gu Masters.

"In terms of combat capability, there is no shortage of cavalry in Dafeng, but there are very few flying beasts, only the red-tailed eagles that shined in the Battle of Shanhaiguan."

However, due to the declining national power, the red-tailed hawks could not be afforded. The imperial court had already sold them to local chambers of commerce and wealthy families in Leizhou, leaving only a very small number of flying beasts. Xu Qi'an sighed inwardly.

"How much can the Heart Gu Department give?"

"There are only 1,200 flying beasts in the tribe, and the Dabang will give you five hundred at most."

"make a deal!"

Chun Yan knew that Xu Qi'an still had something to do, so she didn't do much to keep him, and sent him out of the attic.

Xu Qi'an's next stop is the Corpse Gu Division. Among the seven divisions of the Gu Clan, the Heavenly Gu is not good at fighting, so get rid of them; Hatred is deep, excluded;

Therefore, what he wants are the four tribes of strength Gu, dark Gu, heart Gu and corpse Gu.

Among them, the corpse voodoo department plays the most important role. Although the corpse voodoo department needs sub-gu to manipulate corpses, it cannot manipulate corpses in batches to form an army like the wizard's corpse control technique, but the corpses of the corpse voodoo department are superior in high quality , Strong combat power.

And a team of death squads with high combat power can play a considerable role in the battlefield.

The situation of the Corpse Gu Department is somewhat different from Xu Qi'an's expectations. He originally thought that the headquarters of the Corpse Gu Department was similar to the legendary ghost town of Youdu.

But in fact, the base camp of the Corpse Gu Department is the most magnificent among all the departments, enough to be on a par with the Heavenly Gu.

It's quite a small town.

The stone blocks built a high city wall, which was in the shape of a square. The architectural style of the city is similar to Dafeng, a combination of bricks and wood.

People come and go in the city, and trade is quite developed.

The only weird thing is that the bearers who carry the sedan chair have all white eyes, and there must be one or two walking corpses beside the living people, acting as followers and coolies.

In the market where people come and go, two-thirds are walking dead.

This is very scary.

Who would have thought that a group of iron and simple Li Gu tribes had the most normal painting style of the Gu tribe, second only to Xu Qi'an of the Heavenly Gu tribe, and Xu Qi'an sighed silently.

Because he deliberately exposed his breath, he immediately attracted Youshi's attention, and was invited into the Sanjin compound in the center of the city.

The servants came and went in the yard, doing their own work, and the patrolling guards all had white pupils.

The walking dead get along well with the living.

After entering the inner courtyard, Xu Qi'an saw many maidservants in revealing clothes, they seemed to be used to it, without any sense of shame.

Xu Qi'an waited in the living room for a while, You Shi was late, and said calmly:

"Let's talk about the conditions directly."

He didn't come directly, but manipulated the walking corpse to meet Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an looked at him and said with a smile:

"Did it disturb your elegant mood?"

With his current cultivation base, You Shi can clearly hear the movement of the maidservant inside.

"You Shi" said lightly:

"This is the best way to restrain the side effects of corpse voodoo. Whenever you can't help but think about what will happen to the corpse, having a few scantily clad maids by your side can be a good diversion.

"When you vent your desire on them, you won't be interested in walking corpses for a long time."

Cleverly using the sage's time to resist the side effects of corpse voodoo. Xu Qi'an nodded slightly.

The Corpse Gu Department is relatively rich, so it didn't raise the price like the Dark Gu Department, but You Shi added a condition that Xu Qi'an must leave the ancient corpse in the Corpse Gu Department during his stay in southern Xinjiang.

When to leave the Gu clan and take away the ancient corpse.

Listening to You Shiqiang's calm, but in fact extremely eager tone, Xu Qi'an murmured:

"Yes, but I also have a condition."

"But it doesn't matter." You Shi said immediately.

"I once traveled to Xiangzhou, where there was a Chai family who learned the secret technique of the Corpse Gu Department and could make iron corpses."

Xu Qi'an told You Shi about the Chai family's situation, "Do you have any impression?"

The ancestors of the Chai family have been more than one hundred years ago.

Youshi recalled for a moment, nodded and said:

"There is such a slave. That was when my father was the leader. If I remember correctly, he seems to have exchanged half a roll of maps for his freedom."

The maps collected deliberately by Xu Pingfeng are definitely not simple. Xu Qi'an said:

"I need the half-roll of maps."

You Shi pondered for a moment:

"Okay, but I have a request."

Matryoshka is prohibited. Xu Qi'an nodded: "But it's okay to say."

"If you can unlock the secret of the map in the future, I hope you can tell me."

After Xu Qi'an nodded in agreement, You Shi said: "Wait a moment!"

Ten minutes later, a walking corpse with white eyes entered the living room, holding a black wooden box in his hand.