It was freezing outside, but inside the hall, the air was hot and scorching, with charcoal fire crackling and a smell of smoke in the air.
The door of the hall was closed, and there were only four people inside.
Pei Yanhu sat at the head of the hall, and the three people from Wudao Mountain sat at the side below. Strangely, Gongsun Yang, who was there just now, did not appear among them.
"May I ask what your surnames are?" Pei Yanhu said after a moment's hesitation.
"The people of Wudao Mountain look up to the mountain!"
"Ling Yunzi of Yunxiao Peak!"
"This is Zhao's uncle and teacher. I'm Zhao Quanzhen. Nice to meet Commander Pei!"
The three people of Wudao Mountain sat on one side, namely Yangshan, Lingyunzi and Zhao Quanzhen.
As Pei Yanhu was at the second level of Dao Fruit, he naturally sensed the extraordinaryness of the three men. The two old men had a restrained aura, undoubtedly Musashi. Even the young man in front of him with the momentum of a lion exuded an aura that made him fearful. Moreover, the other party's aura was agitated, and he was afraid that he was facing a breakthrough.
However, although this person had an extraordinary aura, he behaved quite politely, which made people feel a little favorable towards him.
Pei Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, his palms resting on the backrest, his body straight as a peak, his expression solemn, "Wudao Mountain is a blessed place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. Two martial arts masters and their disciples came to me and said they have something important to discuss. Pei wants to ask what it is?"
Pei Yanhu invited the three people to sit down, and after asking about their origins, he got straight to the point without much greetings or pleasantries.
As he spoke, his eyes slowly fell on Zhao Quanzhen, one of the three people, and his tiger eyes widened. "I heard from my subordinates that you had posted a list a few days ago, which was about going to the front line to investigate the situation of the demon teleportation array in several prefectures that had fallen!"
Pei Yanhu had some guesses about the arrival of the three people, and there was a hint of anticipation and urgency in his tone.
As the main general, leading the troops at the frontline fortress of Chuanzhongguan, the burden on his shoulders is heavy. He has to stabilize the morale of the troops and cannot show any impatience or worry at ordinary times. However, he feels a heavy worry about the current situation in his heart and is extremely concerned about Chen Yuan's safety.
This trusted and beloved general has unknowingly become a pillar of support in the hearts of the frontline soldiers! If something goes wrong, the southern defense line will collapse!
Facing the emotions implied in Pei Yanhu's words, Zhao Quanzhen looked solemn and said to Pei Yanhu
He clasped his fists and said, "Yes, Commander Pei must have guessed it. The teacher and I are here for this very reason."
"After I announced the list, I discussed with my teacher and uncle and went to Zhennan Prefecture to investigate. After sneaking in, I found that the demons who occupied the city had protected the teleportation array with a protective formation, and there were heavy soldiers guarding outside."
"After two days of observation, we discovered that this teleportation array would teleport a new batch of demon soldiers every night at 15:30. At that time, the protective array outside would be opened, so my teacher, uncle-in-law and I decided to break into the array at this time."
"Teacher and uncle-in-law created a commotion outside and attracted the three great demons guarding the formation to appear, and I took advantage of the chaos to sneak in."
Zhao Quanzhen recounted the general course of events. At this point, Zhao Quanzhen paused and reached into his arms.
His action made Pei Yanhu nervous, and his tiger eyes stared at the other party's movements.
Soon, Zhao Quanzhen took out something from his arms, a fist-sized blue crystal ball with electric arcs flickering inside.
The photo-retaining bead that Zhao Quanzhen fought desperately to protect at that time!
It records what I saw and heard after sneaking into the formation!
As the photo bead was taken out, Zhao Quanzhen's voice also rang out, "This is a photo bead. I took advantage of the chaos to sneak in and released a lot of them to record the relevant information of the teleportation array. However, there was a big monster hiding inside at that time, and it saw through my disguise. I had to flee in a hurry and only kept this one!"
As he spoke, Zhao Quanzhen gently threw the blue crystal ball in his hand towards Pei Yanhu, and did not forget to say, "Commander Pei, see if it works. It's a pity that we failed to destroy the formation and stop the demon clan from sending troops continuously."
He said this very seriously and with regret.
Pei Yanhu quickly reached out to take the photo-taking bead. When he heard the following words, his hand trembled slightly and a strange look flashed across his eyes. Then his eyes became serious and he urged his true energy to surge towards the hand holding the photo-taking bead. The true energy was released and white light surged, flowing into the photo-taking bead.
When the white true energy touched the flashing blue arc inside the bead, the arc immediately flashed brightly, and you could see a series of smooth images appearing inside the bead, accompanied by sounds.
The noisy and chaotic figures of demons, a huge tree as white as jade, and a white beam of light above the tree that was as bright as the Milky Way.
After a dozen breaths, accompanied by a heart-shaking shout, the scene came to an abrupt end.
Pei Yanhu slowly withdrew his true energy, his eyes were solemn, and then he raised his head with an expression of admiration on his face. Then he stood up, floated the crystal ball in the air, and solemnly supported the three masters and apprentices of Wudaoshan.
"The three of you went deep into the demon cave and braved the danger for my army and the people of Shu. I would like to thank you!"
"I will definitely reward you handsomely later!"
He was serious about his commitment.
Although he knew that with the background and strength of this trio, they would definitely not do it for the so-called drop of big fairy blood.
Seeing that the commander in charge of the Sichuan Pass was treating him seriously, the uncle Yangshan, who had been silent since he came in, spoke up at this time, "No problem!"
"With demons in power, this is what we cultivators should do! Besides, if it weren't for your expeditionary army, my fellow apprentice brothers and nephews would have returned in defeat!"
Then he said in a muffled voice:
“It’s not easy for you either!”
Pei Yanhu was a little surprised, so Zhao Quanzhen told him what happened next. Those brothers in the mountain-cutting army helped him divert the demon tide and finally let them escape safely.
After they led their men to break out of Zhennan Prefecture, they took the lead and rushed to Chuanzhong Pass.
Hearing this, Pei Yanhu felt mixed emotions.
However, he did not have time to digest these emotions. The most important thing at the moment was to quickly hand over the photo bead to Gongsun Yang.
He pondered for a moment, then apologized, "Two seniors, Mr. Zhao, please go down and rest for a while. This intelligence needs to be discussed with others. You three have just returned from Zhennan Prefecture after successfully breaking through the formation. The information you have is very important to our mountain-killing army. Please stay here for a while. The barracks are simple, so please forgive me if I have offended you!"
The conversation between the few people was hurried and direct, and it didn't take much time. Pei Yanhu even forgot to serve tea to others and apologized.
However, the three masters and disciples of Wudao Mountain had no objection to his vigorous and decisive actions. The uncle Yangshan nodded and said, "No problem."
Ling Yunzi also expressed his understanding, "Military secrets are more important!"
As they spoke, they stood up one after another.
Pei Yanhu didn't expect that these two martial arts masters from Wudao Mountain were so easy-going and approachable. He respected them in his heart and shouted at them in a stern manner.
"Somebody come!"
Soon, the door opened and a soldier in blue came in and knelt on one knee, "Here!"
"These two are respected elders, and this one is the chivalrous and righteous Knight Zhao. You take the three of you to the west side hall to rest. Treat them well and don't neglect them."
"Yes!" The armored captain immediately received the order.
In this way, the three of them were led to the side hall to rest.
After doing all this, Pei Yanhu immediately ordered people to close the door, then walked to the back of the main hall, and went around the backyard to the side hall.
Here, Gongsun Yang, who had not been seen before, was pacing back and forth here, and the scene was quite similar to when he came to see Pei Yanhu to tell him that his general was trapped in the Shiwan Mountains. He was impatient. It was Pei Yanhu's idea to let him stay here and not participate in the conversation just now. The importance of Mr. Gongsun's identity is self-evident. It is better to show up as little as possible, especially when the three people from Wudao Mountain came just now, Mr. Gongsun seemed to know him and was eager to come forward.
Not knowing the other party's specific intentions and only being able to make guesses, Pei Yanhu still remained cautious.
"What did they say? Is there any news?" When Gongsun Yang saw Pei Yanhu coming, he hurriedly went to meet him, his eyes full of inquiry.
Pei Yanhu nodded, "These three are from Wudao Mountain. Two are Wusang masters, and the other is their disciple, who has a good temperament. The disciple of one of them saw the list a few days ago, and he rushed to Zhennan Prefecture with his teacher and uncle to fight his way into the demon cave, and got some information about the demon clan's teleportation array."
As he said that, he took out the photo bead and handed it to Gongsun Yang, "Take a look first! According to the scene inside, the teleportation array built by the Zhennan Prefecture Guan Yao Clan to mobilize troops is a tree. I will send people to investigate the origin of this tree. In addition, I recognize several types of demons inside. According to records, these demons belong to the Tengu Clan. I think the Tengu Clan is the leader."
"There are currently four great demons in charge. As for the number of demon soldiers, I haven't asked in detail. And according to the senior disciple of Wudao Mountain, at the third quarter of every midnight, the teleportation array there will open and teleport demon soldiers over, and the time will end at the fifth quarter of the midnight."
"This is all the information we have at the moment. The most urgent thing is to pass this information to Chen Zhonglang through your own means, and then see what Chen Zhonglang's next plan is."
Gongsun Yang thought what he said made sense, so he nodded, lowered his head, grabbed the image-retaining bead in his hand, and with his true energy flowing, he followed the same method to activate the image inside.
After a dozen breaths, the picture inside disappeared.
Then he threw the blue crystal ball and it floated three feet in front of him. His pupils flashed and a book flew out of his arms. Then he pointed his hands at the book.
The pages of the book turned rustlingly, and the words inside glowed. Gongsun Yang's fingers moved quickly in the air.
There were sounds like the sound of clear water flowing, mixed with a hint of golden sound, and then small golden characters flew out and sank into the blue crystal ball one after another.
Small golden characters were attached to the electric arcs, which quickly swallowed up the jumping blue arcs.
This process lasted for only three or four breaths. The blue electric arc was completely swallowed up, and then the tadpole-like small characters flew out from it and returned to the flipping pages of the book.
Gongsun Yang then made a hand gesture, and the book turned into a stream of light the next second, penetrated into his body, and disappeared without a trace.
The image-retaining bead suddenly began to show dense cracks from the inside, and then turned into crystal powder and fell down.
After doing all this, Gongsun Yang looked up at Commander Pei.
"I have already engraved this record in my writing, and will copy it to my general. Lord Pei, please rest assured. As for the other information, I will also state it word for word."
After saying this, his expression gradually became serious. "Next, I will find a quiet place to meditate, and communicate with the general through incense and divine thoughts, in order to ask for the next instructions!"
"Okay!" Pei Yanhu's eyes lit up.
As time passed, the sky gradually darkened in Sichuan Pass, and the world became a world of ice and snow, full of desolation and loneliness.
A fast horse took advantage of the darkness and rushed into the city before the evening drum sounded. Then it went straight north along the street, galloping at full speed.
At this time, there were few people on the street due to the wind and snow, and even if there were, they were walking in a hurry.
Chuanzhong Pass is not big, it is a military fortress, and it doesn't take much time for Dama to cross it. After a cup of tea, Dama arrived at the north of the city, turned into an alley, and came to a courtyard paved with bluestone.
"xu"
The horse neighed, and a figure covered in a black robe jumped down from it, carrying a black sword case on his back.
"dong dong dong"
Someone knocked on the door of this house.
In the dim light, only an angular profile could be seen.
"ah"
At this time, the door opened, revealing a sturdy, dark-skinned, cracked-faced farm boy.
When the young man saw the person coming, his face was shocked, "Master Gongsun!"
“You’re not going.”
The young man was about to speak when he noticed that the man was pale, with a strong smell of blood coming from his body, and his face became panicked.
"Are you injured?"
He reached out to help, and then opened his mouth to shout towards the inner room, but was stopped by the person who came. He grabbed the hand that the young man stretched out with one hand, and said in a weak voice:
"Go to Yaoshiju on North Street and ask Shopkeeper Xiao to prescribe ten servings of Feitiancao, Shilongsan, Yuliushui, and Qinghuaguo. Tell me my name."
The young farm boy didn't hesitate, "Okay," and then immediately ran out the door.
At this time, an old man and a girl in a floral jacket came out from the inner room. They were also surprised when they saw the newcomers, and then they hurried over to greet them. When they found out that the hero who had done a great favor to their family was injured, they immediately welcomed him in and were busy all the time.
A stick of incense later, the young farm boy who had run out into the snow and ice came back, but he brought back a middle-aged man wearing a long gown, with a distinguished temperament and carrying a medicine box.
In a dim room with a flickering oil lamp, Gongsun Wuji was shirtless with white cloth wrapped around his abdomen and chest. The wooden basin beside the bed was filled with black blood. He was leaning on the bed with his sword case beside him, and greeted the middle-aged man who had come.
The middle-aged man was a little surprised to see him like this.
"Young Master Gongsun, I noticed that your Qi was unstable, how could you be injured so badly? I heard that you took down the list a few days ago, could it be..."
"That's right. I managed to escape death at Huxia Pass, but I didn't bring back any useful information. I can only blame myself for being useless." Gongsun Wuji's pale face was cold, and his tone was calm.
"Shopkeeper Xiao, thank you for bringing me medicine."
The middle-aged man named Shopkeeper Xiao shook his head and said, "You are working too hard. Also, there are only five doses of medicine this time, and my shop is also in a tight spot. I can't gather more herbs for Huilongdan at the moment."
Gongsun Wuji frowned, "What's going on?"
Shopkeeper Xiao sighed, "You don't know, in the past few days, all kinds of medicinal herbs and spiritual herbs have been basically sold out in major drugstores and black markets. A war is about to break out, and it will be a big war. In the past few days, news has come from Jinguan City that the Ninth Mountain in Jinguan City is mobilizing people from the entire city to build a defense line!"
"You know what this means!"
Shopkeeper Xiao finished speaking in one breath, his expression solemn.
Gongsun Wuji frowned deeply upon hearing this, and the atmosphere fell into silence.
Inside the house, the young farm boy who was following behind was a little at a loss, and couldn't stop the fear in his eyes when he heard those words.
at this time,
"Rumble"
From far away, there is the rumbling sound of horse hooves! (End of this chapter)
