Chapter 1 Mountain Forest in distress

"Drive, drive." There was a shout in the distance, and the ground under his feet kept shaking.

There is only this pothole path in the mountains and forests. Ordinary business travelers complain constantly, and it is difficult for the carriage to pass. It takes two days to walk dozens of miles to pass, but no one has ever been willing to pay for repairs. In this chaotic year, it is safest to put all the money in his pocket.

The sound of horses' hoofs is getting closer and closer. You can hear that there are at least dozens of horses. This is Zhao Haoran's experience for many years. He has been cutting firewood in this mountain forest since he was ten years old. He is very familiar with every plant and tree here. Few so many people come into the mountain. What on earth do they do?

Zhao Haoran carefully got into the bushes, and the wood stacks on his back were put aside. It was easy for the high and low bushes to hide a 17-year-old child, not to mention Zhao Haoran's relatively thin figure.

"Brother, what kind of oil and water is there in Zhaojiazhuang? Why do you have to choose this place? Brothers haven't had meat for a long time. The speaker was a short obscene man, with his beard slightly upturned and walked to the front of the line.

"Stop." The bearded man raised his hand, and the whole horse team stopped in an instant, well-trained, unlike ordinary bandit robbers.

The beard should be the eldest brother mentioned by the obscene man, "Second, do you still remember why we hide our names and fall into the grass as bandits?"

The obscene man nodded, "The suzerain said that as long as he can find the empty door soul ring, he will wash the marrow of our three brothers. Is it...?" The obscene man seemed to understand something and waited for his beard to give him a satisfactory answer.

"Yes, it's rare that the second brother hasn't forgotten it for so many years," his bearded eyes were full of expectation. "I heard that the white-clothed Shura got the soul ring in Zhaojiazhuang. It seems that he was seriously injured, and we still have a great chance."

"Brother, let's hurry up and don't let others take it." The obscene man waved his horse whip, and the sound of his horse's hoofs was getting farther and farther away.

The beard shook his head. The second brother was always so flustered that it was difficult to become a big man. "Brothers, everyone has heard what I said. If you can succeed, you can go to Baihua Tower to play in the evening. This time, unlike the past, everyone needs to be cautious."

"Yes, Commander." With a loud answer, the birds and beasts in the woods were frightened and dispersed, and the horse team continued to move forward.

Zhaoran clenched his fist. Previously, I heard that the villagers said that the nearby village was robbed by horse thieves. Not to mention that no one could survive. I didn't expect that Zhao Jiazhuang encountered such a thing today. How can I inform the villagers?

Lightning lit up in the sky, followed by a "rumbling" thunder. Dark clouds began to spread, and the whole sky became dark. Zhao Haoran was happy. God, hurry up and rain down. This mountain road is no better than other places. If there is a rainstorm, the horses will definitely have no way to move forward. Here is far away. Zhaojiazhuang only has more than ten miles away, but without horses, they have to run to the evening to get it.

Tick, followed by strong wind and rain. Usually, Zhao Haoran will definitely curse the ghost weather. Most of the trees in the mountains are sparsely. Although it is only a shower, it is enough to drench Zhao Haoran into a drowned chicken. At this time, he can only look forward to it for a while, which can stop the horse thief a little more time.

The rain came and went quickly. In less than half an hour, the sun ran out again. Zhao Haoran calculated the approximate distance of the horse thieves. According to their speed, there should be still five or six miles away from Zhaojiazhuang, but when it rains, the speed of travel will definitely It's much slower, and you have to lead the horse. I'm afraid you can't get there without an hour.

Zhao Haoran gritted his teeth and threw the wood pile aside. This was the firewood he cut in the morning. Without it, he would have starve these two days, but compared with the lives of dozens of people in the village, it was obviously insignificant.

Hesitated for a moment. Zhao Haoran did not take the rugged mountain road, but crossed through the woods. If he walked back from the path, he would definitely meet the group of horse thieves. At that time, he could not avoid it, let alone report the people in the village.

Through this forest, there is a hundred-high peak, and you can return to Zhaojiazhuang by turning over. This is also a road that people in the village know, but no one has ever wanted to walk, because there are any fierce beasts in that mountain. In the past, four or five men in the village went into the mountain to hunt, and then they never came back. Over.

This mountain is called Lantern Mountain, and I don't know who got the name. Anyway, it was called so later. Zhao Haoran looked around cautiously and slowly climbed up. Because few people walked from here and there were many thorns, he didn't care about the scratched wound on his arm and took a deep breath.

He cut out a road with his firewood chopper. Zhao Haoran kept gasping. His body looked very thin, but the physique he had been honed since childhood was not comparable to ordinary people.

The obscene man twisted his clothes and said, "Fuck, what the hell is the weather, big brother, let's go quickly. If it goes on, it will be dark."

Standing aside with a beard, I felt an inexplicable palpitations. Is this heavy rain telling me that I shouldn't come today? Looking at the sunset not far away, he hung lazily in the sky, and the light made his body cold. Maybe his clothes were not dried.

He shook his head and got rid of the inexplicable idea. "Second, why don't you take some people back first? There are only a few dozen people in the small village. There is no need for so many of us. The mountain road is so difficult to walk, and it's a little inconvenient for more people."

The obscene man seems to be a little dissatisfied, "Brother, why? It's better for us all to go. It is said that the white-clothed Shura kills people without blinking, and he is a March soul man. Although he is injured, it is not so easy to deal with.

"Enough, second brother, stop talking, take half of the people back." The beard shouted loudly and interrupted him.

The obscene man did not dare to say anything more. No one dared to object to what the eldest brother said. Even if he was the second head, he could not do it. Although he was a little puzzled, he still honestly led people away.

The beard is afraid that even his confidence will be shaken if he goes on. If they go to the soul of March, no matter how many people they go, it will be useless. Wealth and noble were in danger and risked it. The beard was just a one-month soul. He dared to go there when he heard the news that Shura in white was seriously injured. In case of failure, he would only leave his own life.

Strength, beard clenched their fists. All three of them are disciples of the Lishan School. Due to their poor talent, they have only been a January soul for more than 20 years. The patriarch of the Lishan School gave them a chance to get the soul ring and reward Yi Jingdan. Over the years, they have been horse thief. Life is indeed quite comfortable, but it is not the life they want. When they finally have news, they can't give up easily.

"Let's go, all the horses are tied to the tree and run forward at full speed." The mud kept splashing on the ground, and all the people seemed to have not seen it, leaving only rows of neat footprints.

Wow, Zhao Haoran covered his chest and collapsed to the ground. After all, he was not an adult, and his strength was very limited. As soon as he climbed to the top of the mountain, he was too tired to stand up.

No, you must go back to the village quickly and tell everyone to hide. Zhao Haoran tried his best to cut down a branch from the big tree next to him as his crutch. It was not easier to go down the mountain than going up the mountain. Years of experience made Zhao Haoran carefully explore the road for fear of accidentally falling down.

Because no one has ever come to Lantern Mountain to cut firewood, the wood here is particularly dense. Just in the afternoon, under the cover of the branches, everything in front of him has been a little hazy. The darkness has brought great trouble to Zhao Haoran, and the speed of going down the mountain is much slower than going up the mountain.

When will it take? Zhao Haoran's head is constantly sweating, and the direction of moving forward can only be roughly judged. I don't know when the wound was drawn on his face. The clothes on his body are made of coarse hemp. The wetness of the rain and the stumbling in the bushes have rotted into pieces of cloth.

Zhao Haoran was anxious, but he didn't realize that Lantern Mountain was very different from other mountains.

Along the way, there was no life except for the lush century-old trees in Lantern Mountain. The surroundings were quiet, and the wild animals everywhere disappeared here, and even the sound of birds. Zhao Haoran held the tree and walked down the mountain step by step.

The ground of Lantern Mountain has not seen sunshine for a long time. It is all wetlands, and it is soft under his feet. Zhao Haoran can only explore the way with the crutches in his hand. Suddenly, he slipped and the soles of his feet are empty.

Zhao Haoran did not panic. He tried to keep the big tree next to him, but the speed of falling was too fast. There seemed to be an invisible big hand pulling his body underneath, and the speed became faster and faster.

Zhaoran found that he was no longer on the surface of the mountain, but seemed to slowly fall into a bottomless abyss. There was a black hole around him and nothing could be seen. For a moment, Zhao Haoran could not judge where he was, and the five breaths had not yet fallen to the end.

Damn it, Zhao Haoran tried his best and couldn't move his body, completely out of control.

Suddenly lit up in front of him, and two lantern-sized lights appeared below. Zhao Haoran was overjoyed and had a chance to go out when he saw the light. Is this the origin of the name Lantern Mountain?

Getting closer and closer, Zhao Haoran found that something was wrong. With these two lights, he found a huge snake head, opened his mouth, and kept spitting snake letters. He had long heard the old man say that the refined python in the mountain forest can suck people nearby into his stomach.

I didn't expect to be really met by myself today. Those two lights were not what kind of lanterns. The eyes of the giant snake emitted orange light, and the pungent stench came.