Pawn Crossing the River

Early the next morning, Zhang Yuelu, Qi Xuansu and his party took the horses from the Taoist temple and continued to set off. They left Kunlun and entered the Western Regions.

Among the regional divisions of the Taoist sect, Kunlun and the Western Regions each have Taoist mansions. The head of the Kunlun Taoist mansion is served by the close disciples of the Grand Master. However, because of the existence of Jiutang and Jinque, the position of the Kunlun Taoist mansion is very embarrassing. It is far from the It is as comfortable as other local Taoist mansions, and somewhat similar to the Shuntian mansion of the imperial court.

Logically speaking, the Western Region Taoist Prefecture should have been named after the state like the Qizhou Taoist Prefecture. It was just because there were quite powerful Buddhist forces in the Western Regions, and a war broke out between the two sides. As a result, some counties and prefectures in Xizhou fell into the control of Buddhism, and some of the areas that Taoism seized from Buddhism exceeded the boundaries of Xizhou and no longer even belonged to the territory of the Daxuan court. The name Xizhou Daofu has been It was out of date, so it was renamed Xiyu Daofu.

After entering the Western Region, the white color of the snow becomes less and less, the scenery of the Gobi desert becomes more and more, and the terrain becomes gentler. A group of people can travel about three hundred miles a day by riding horses. These horses are all improved breeds of Daomen. They are good at traveling long distances and can withstand cold and drought.

Only after entering the Western Regions did we understand the concept of a vast land and sparsely populated areas. We often went on horseback for a long time without seeing a single person. It is no wonder that Xizhou is the largest state under the imperial government, but the number of registered residents ranks at the bottom among the states. In a place like this, fighting with people is secondary, and more with fighting with the sky.

This was not Qi Xuansu's first visit to the Western Regions. He and his master were attacked in the Western Regions, and it was also in the Western Regions that they met Qiniang, and their fate changed.

The Bishan Temple where the incident occurred is a full eight hundred miles away from the Taoist temple they stayed at before. It takes three days to walk. Because it deviates from the main official road, there are no Taoist temples or inns along the way. , inns, and even a village where you can stay may not be seen.

This is the reason why everyone in the Taoist sect purchased "March Pills" in advance, so that they can eat and drink immediately. After nightfall, they camped on the spot in the leeward place and took turns keeping watch. Everyone didn't dare to sleep, so they fell into samadhi instead of sleeping. Fortunately, they were all innate people with cultivation skills, so it didn't matter.

It's just that some people who have been in Yujing for a long time are not used to it, and they can't help but criticize Zhang Yuelu for not taking the flying boat and insisting on riding a horse. He is really asking for trouble.

Qi Xuansu and Zhou Bai were both veterans. They arranged everything in an orderly manner, and most of the vigils were held by the two of them. This caused many people who were originally dissatisfied with Qi Xuansu to become a deacon to change their attitudes again.

According to Zhou Bai, luckily it didn't snow. If there was heavy snow, the subsequent journey would be even more difficult.

As a result, I didn’t know whether I should say Zhou Bai had a bad mouth or not, but the situation changed suddenly the next day. Although it has not yet entered winter, it has entered late autumn. September 22nd is the beginning of winter. In addition, it is close to Kunlun and the Daxue Mountains. The terrain is high and the climate is cold. It snows earlier than in the hinterland of the Central Plains. In the evening, It actually started to snow.

The next morning, the snow had stopped, and there was only a white patch of snow left between the sky and the earth. In addition, the Gobi was already empty, as if everything in the world had disappeared, and the roads that were already there were completely missing. .

The sun fell on the white snow, which was particularly dazzling.

This is the purpose of preparing gauze or sunglasses in advance. In this environment, the white snow reflects the sun and makes it white, which can easily hurt your eyes.

Everyone put on sunglasses and cloaks, and continued on the road. In the vast white snowy sky, the group of people looked like a string of black dots, extremely small.

Because of the snow, it was difficult for the horses to run. They could travel three hundred miles a day, but now they could only cover a few dozen miles a day, and the three-day journey became out of reach.

Moreover, the weather is getting colder. Sitting on horseback for a long time will inevitably make your hands and feet numb, and you have to use your Qi to dispel the cold. Fortunately, in addition to water bags, everyone also brought wine. Occasionally, a sip of strong liquor would keep them warm.

Qi Xuansu saw Zhang Yuelu taking this opportunity to start drinking openly. Within a short time, the wine bag shriveled up, but Zhang Yuelu was still a little unsatisfied.

In addition, Qi Xuansu was also a little worried. The road in the Gobi was already very unclear. Now another layer of snow had fallen, and it had completely disappeared without leaving any trace. Looking around, it was all white. , there isn’t even a landmark, it’s almost uninhabited, and there’s no one to ask for directions. What if you get lost?

I was really afraid of what would come. According to the map, the group should have passed through a dry river. But on this journey, they walked for most of the day until dusk, and they couldn't see the shadow of the river at all. It couldn't be the river that let the snow fall. It has been filled up for a long time. It is only late autumn now and there is no such heavy snow yet.

Zhang Yuelu was a little helpless. She got lost again. It seemed that she was always destined to get lost.

Last time I was in Zifu, this time I was in the vast Gobi.

Qi Xuansu looked up at the sky, his face looking a little heavy.

I don't know when thick clouds rolled up in the night, covering the bright moon.

Then the wind picked up, getting stronger and stronger, and gradually became sharper, like a knife, seeming to cut off a few ounces of flesh from a person's face.

After a while, the wind began to mix with snow particles, which hit my face painfully.

It's going to snow again.

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but sigh, and pulled up the one-piece hood of his cloak and covered his head.

He has only lived in Yujing for less than two months, and he is already a little unaccustomed to it. Those who have been in Yujing for a long time may curse their mothers in their hearts.

As expected, many people's faces were not very good-looking, but they were afraid of Zhang Yuelu's power and did not dare to show it. If Qi Xuansu was the one who made the decision at this time, many people would have started to mock him in a weird way.

Qi Xuansu thought for a while and said loudly to Zhang Yuelu: "Deputy Hall Master, the first priority is to find a place leeward to hide from the snow. Brothers are all innate and will not be frozen to death by a snowstorm. The key is the horse."

Qi Xuansu followed Qiniang in the rivers and lakes for a long time, and absorbed many habits of the rivers and lakes, and accidentally used the usual names in the rivers and lakes.

Zhang Yuelu didn't care about these minutiae at this time and pointed forward: "Go to the back of the hillside."

Behind the hillside is a shallow ditch half a person's height, which can indeed provide shelter from the wind.

Just spent the night like this, just as Qi Xuansu said, everyone is a person born with innate nature. A little wind and snow may not kill him, but suffering is unavoidable. After all, the biggest difference between people born with nature and people born after tomorrow is that they cannot be human beings. Being harmed by diseases and epidemics, rather than being immune to cold and heat, is what Zhang Yuelu can achieve.

It’s just that everything is difficult at the beginning. After the initial period, everyone gradually got used to it and soon found the right path. They walked in the wind and snow for about ten days, and finally arrived at the "Bishan Temple" in early September. Taoist temple.

Because of its remote location, Bishan Temple is quite simple. It is just a courtyard with two entrances. In the front is the main hall, dedicated to Taishang Taoist ancestors, and in the back is the living area. There are a row of houses, with a total of less than thirty rooms. They are usually stationed there. There are more than ten Taoist priests from the Western Region Taoist House, which can be regarded as a "post" set up by the Taoist sect here.

As a result, the whole family was slaughtered overnight.

After the incident, the Taoist Government of the Western Regions sent people to check. However, due to the shortage of manpower, after forming a file and reporting it to the ancestral court, they did not continue the in-depth investigation. They only sent two people to guard the body here and wait for the people of Tiangang Hall. .

Seeing that the large team of people from Tiangang Hall finally arrived, the two people who had been worried about it all breathed a sigh of relief.

Although you can't freeze or starve in a Taoist temple, it's really hard to stay with more than a dozen corpses all day long and worry about whether those monsters will leave and come back again.

Zhang Yuelu didn't waste any time and asked the two of them to lead the way to check on the body.

The corpse was parked in the main hall, covered with white cloth under the gaze of the statue of Taishang Daozu.

Starting from the far left, Zhang Yuelu lifted up the white cloth, revealing a pale corpse. Although it had been dead for a long time, it had not yet decomposed due to the cold weather.

Zhang Yuelu did not show disgust like ordinary women, but calmly reached out and turned the corpse's chin.

However, Qi Xuansu carefully discovered that Zhang Yuelu still used "Five Qi Yanluo" to wrap a thin layer of zhenqi on his hand. It seemed that she was not completely unconcerned.

Zhang Yuelu asked: "What do you think?"

Xu Zhen, who had always been taciturn, said: "He lost too much blood and there are tooth-like bite marks on his neck. They should be fangs. It looks like he died from a zombie."

"Zombies will not attack the caravan." Lingquanzi said.

Lingquanzi is an alchemist who is in the stage of returning to his true form. The alchemist is also good at raising ghost zombies and is most familiar with zombies.

Lingquanzi continued: "After death, the soul returns to heaven, the soul returns to the earth, and the three corpses turn into ghosts. The corpse is buried in the geomantic treasure land and is nourished by the earth's energy before it turns into a zombie. Zombies are extremely yin things. Because there is no soul and three corpses, there is no memory of his life and he only acts on instinct."

Xu Zhen said: "Could it be that someone who is good at raising corpses drives zombies to commit crimes?"

Lingquanzi pondered: "It's not impossible, but the Taoist sect has very strict control over the method of raising corpses and ghosts. It's extremely difficult for Taoist disciples to practice it. How can those foreign monsters master it?"

While talking, Zhang Yuelu came to the second corpse and opened the white cloth. It was a seventh-grade Taoist priest. He saw that the death of this corpse was quite miserable, and his expression was ferocious. It seemed that he had seen something extremely terrifying. There are five blood holes, located between the eyebrows, between the eyes, and on both cheeks.

Zhang Yuelu's five fingers were like hooks, and he made a gesture, which corresponded to five holes.

Qi Xuansu's heart moved and he said: "This seems to be somewhat similar to the 'Xuanyin Slaughter'."

"Xuanyin Slaughter" is a magical power of the Taoist sect. After being practiced, the nails can be made to be more than a foot long, like a short sword, indestructible. Qiniang is good at this method.

Zhang Yuelu nodded and said, "They are very similar."

Then she opened the white cloth of the third corpse. The wound on the neck was clearly visible, and the face was pale and even weirder.

The one with a smile on his face seemed to have died in a state of ecstasy.

Zhang Yuelu said softly: "Zombies have no such ability."

Lingquanzi nodded in agreement and said: "This person seems to be under an illusion. Zombies have no souls and no thoughts. No matter how powerful a zombie is, they cannot use illusions."

Zhang Yuelu signaled everyone to take off all the white cloth covering the remaining corpses.