Under the sky

Chapter 169

The road from Jinan to Xi'an is not easy to travel. Although it is the fastest to go from Yudi to Zhengzhou, Su Yilin doesn't want to take risks under Juekong's nose, so he can only go to Handan.The governor of Shanxi is his brother-in-law Xiao Qinggu's master, Jueru, the former abbot of Zhengyu Hall. Jueru is not friendly to Songshan and is shrewd.

The Songshan motorcade put away its flags and passed by disguised as business travelers.Only when they arrived in Linfen did they meet up with the others.

This is the solitary graveyard.

Since Fenyang's night attack, Shaolin and Huashan have withdrawn from this area at the same time. These hundreds of miles of fertile land have suddenly become a lawless land for the nine families.Horse bandits, thieves, fugitives, and countless ghosts gathered together. Another theory is that the base of the night list is in the lonely cemetery. Otherwise, why can't the nine families overturn the land and find it?

This is the first time Su Yilin has passed through the solitary cemetery.It's as desolate as a desert.Of course, he has never been to the real desert recorded in history books, but he has been to Yulin. That was three or four years ago. He sent his eldest sister Wanqin's wedding invitation to Songshan. Yan Zhaochou knew that he was in a bad mood and took him to Yulin to relax. .Yan Xuancheng also went with him.He did understand that Yan Xiangcheng would not miss any opportunity to escape from his father's eyes.

The solitary cemetery is as desolate as the Yulin Desert. This does not mean that there are few trees and water, and the ground is full of yellow sand. On the contrary, it is covered by weeds and dense forests, and there are hidden places for ambush everywhere. The original jogging road has long been abandoned and is as rugged as the river bank. It is a gravel land with very few human beings as far as the eye can see, even after passing through several run-down villages.It was unknown who lived in the dilapidated house.

But it would be wrong to say that all the people living here are roosters, dogs, and thieves. I heard that there is a saying in Lone Cemetery that it is good to have shade under the big locust tree.The Big Sophora Tree refers to the area around Hongtong. It is said that a group of bandits gathered there, reformed their evil ways, reclaimed wasteland, and formed a market.In addition to the big locust tree, there are also some scattered and well-maintained towns, but not too many anyway.

But Su Yilin doesn't plan to stay in the town. What would a town be like without the management of a local sect?He doesn't want to take any chances.

"Stop!" Zhao Dazhou shouted: "We will rest here tonight."

Leading the convoy of thousands of people and escorting 10 taels of cash, in addition to Su Yilin, there was also the head coach Zhao Dazhou.He was as rude and careless as ever.

"Slow down!" Su Yilin shouted: "Go forward."

Zhao Dazhou rode forward and said, "It's almost night. It's difficult to travel at night."

Seeing the dense forest on both sides, Su Yilin shook his head and said, "It's not good here. Let's go forward."

Zhao Dazhou frowned: "I'm afraid there won't be such a large open space ahead."

Su Yilin still shook his head and said, "Go further."

Zhao Dazhou's crow's mouth really made it right. The further he went, the dense forests on both sides became less sparse, but the road became more and more rugged. Su Yilin saw a shadow ahead.Have people move forward holding torches.It turned out to be a large stone, more than a foot wide and seven feet high, enough for seven or eight people to hug it.It was just left on the road, filling most of the old street.

Su Yilin looked around and saw that there were no mountains nearby. Such a big stone would not stop in the middle of the road for no reason. The miscanthus on both sides was almost half a person tall. He feared that there might be an ambush, so he ordered to be more vigilant and sent people with torches to search the grass.After searching for a long time, there was no movement.He rode his horse forward, being extra careful and lighting the torch around the boulder. He saw words engraved on the boulder. He leaned over to look and saw engraved on the stone: "Shi Gandang shall be the horse to suppress the bamboo demon."

The stone can be used to suppress evil spirits. It is said that "the stone can be used to fight against the fierce tiger, and the dragon is still young." It is commonly used among the people at T-shaped intersections or road collisions that are prone to accidents. Is there any reason to stand in the middle of the road?This huge boulder blocked the road and had to be moved. Su Yilin ordered the boulder to be moved. More than twenty disciples stepped forward, including people and horses, and it took a lot of effort to move the boulder.Someone shouted: "There is something under the stone."

Su Yilin stepped forward to take a look. It turned out that there was a bamboo stick embedded in the ground. This bamboo stick was pressed by a huge boulder, but it was not broken?Su Yilin leaned over to pick it up. It turned out that the bamboo stick was embedded in the ground and was almost level with the ground. Su Yilin felt weird and picked up the bamboo stick. It was about six feet long. There was a colorful ribbon tied on the front. It turned out to be a bamboo horse?The bamboo patterns are quite mottled, and there are even traces of cuts with knives and swords.

A disciple on the side asked strangely: "Why is there such a thing?"

Another disciple asked: "The words carved on the stone, can't they be evil spirits?"

Su Yilin shouted: "Don't talk nonsense." He knew that someone was pretending to be a ghost, so he shouted: "Raise the flag and be on alert."

Zhao Dazhou was bragging about his interpretation of Li Jingfeng's past with his accompanying disciples. When he saw Su Yilin raising his flag, he stepped forward and asked, "What's going on?" He also saw that he was holding a bamboo stick in his hand, and asked again, "What is this? "

Su Yilin said: "Someone must have moved this huge boulder to block it. I'm afraid it won't be quiet nearby. Everyone, please be on guard."

Zhao Dazhou took the bamboo stick, looked at it, and said with a smile: "Isn't this something on the stage? I'm very familiar with it." After this delay, Zhao Dazhou said again: "We really have to rest."

Su Yilin had no choice but to see that there was no flat ground around, and was annoyed that he had not set up camp just now, so he had to let the team rest on the spot and ordered more rows of torches.Doubled the number of guards.Everyone wore armor and slept.They also set up campfires and held shields on guard.But I didn't see any ambush.

At midnight, Su Yilin couldn't sleep peacefully. Suddenly he heard the sound of horse hooves outside the camp. He quickly got up and left the camp, asking: "Who is riding the horse?"

He raised his eyes and looked around. The campfire illuminated the surrounding area, but where was the horse?The guards looked at each other, and one disciple said: "I only heard the sound of horse hooves, but no horses were seen."

The camp was so long that Su Yilin sent people to ask, but they all said they only heard the sound of horse hooves but no horses. Su Yilin was confused and went back to the camp.Not long after, I heard the sound of horse hooves again and ordered to ask again, but still no one saw me.

"What's going on?" Su Yilin couldn't figure it out, so he simply didn't sleep. He put on his armor and mounted his horse to patrol back and forth. The surrounding wind was howling, and the miscanthus and leaves were rustling, adding a sense of gloom.Not long after, the sound of horse hooves was heard again. The sound was very close. It was estimated that it was no more than ten feet away. Along the direction of the gallop, from east to west, it gradually got closer and further away, but was only about ten feet away. It suddenly stopped and Su Yilin turned around to look. go.Apart from the miscanthus that undulates in the wind, where is the shadow of a horse?

Su Yilin suddenly felt a knot in his body.

After a while, the sound of horse hooves started again, this time from west to east, also gradually getting closer and then farther away.

Not only Su Yilin listened, but many patrolling disciples shuddered when they heard the invisible ghost horse hooves. Someone shouted: "Is it the bamboo horse causing trouble?"

Su Yilin saw the soldiers' morale fluctuating and shouted: "What kind of bamboo horse is causing trouble?"

Zhao Dazhou also shouted from behind: "Which bastard is talking about causing trouble? I'll slap you and go to see the King of Hell. Damn it, I've had this knife consecrated in the Guandi Temple, and Guan Gong will bless it. If any monster or ghost dares to get close, I'll give you a knife. Discipline it." He was out of his mind.”

Su Yilin said loudly: "Bring the bamboo horse."

The disciple presented the bamboo horse. Su Yilin broke the bamboo horse and threw it into the campfire. He shouted: "Whoever disrupts the morale of the army again will be killed." As soon as he finished speaking, the campfire suddenly burst into a ball of green light, accompanied by a stream of green smoke. It's even more weird.Many disciples screamed.Su Yilin and Zhao Dazhou couldn't stop shouting.Just settled down.

Zhao Dazhou rode his horse closer and said in a low voice: "Captain Su, this is very weird. Are you really running into some evil spirit?"

Su Yilin frowned and said: "Why are you talking such nonsense? Be careful. I'm afraid there are thieves." He patrolled for another week and saw that the horse's cry had stopped. Then he returned to the camp, but he hadn't laid down to rest yet. Suddenly, the sound of horse hoofbeats was heard again, and Su Yilin hurriedly mounted his horse.The horse's cry disappeared again.Just when he had no choice, someone shouted: "There is a ghost! There is a ghost!" Su Yilin shouted: "Whoever is talking nonsense, get tied up."

Someone else shouted: "There is really a ghost."

Su Yilin rode forward and heard a low voice from the distance, singing a nursery rhyme:
"In the lonely graveyard, the grass and trees are withered, the moon refuses to come out, the parents cry, who will ride the bamboo horse?"

The sound seemed far away but near, coming with the sound of wind.Su Yilin shouted: "Brothers on the road, don't come out pretending to be a ghost."

But no one paid attention to him. There was another sound of horse hooves and no one was seen. Su Yilin sent people to follow the sound. Four disciples held torches and went forward to search. Just where the sound of horse hooves disappeared, a disciple suddenly screamed loudly. Yelling, obviously very frightened, Su Yilin shouted: "What are you looking at?"

With trembling hands, a disciple raised a bamboo staff decorated with colorful ribbons.

It's a bamboo horse.

"In the lonely graveyard, the grass and trees are withered, the moon refuses to come out, the parents cry, who will ride the bamboo horse?"

Weird nursery rhymes came from far away on the other side of the road, and many disciples screamed.Su Yilin sent someone to look, but still found nothing.

"Fuck! Damn it..." Even Zhao Dazhou's hair stood on end as he asked, "Did you really ruin people's feng shui by moving that stone?"

Su Yilin said: "Mr. Zhao is afraid?"

Zhao Dazhou is an honest man, and said: "This... is weird, a little hairy."

"Teacher Zhao, when Emperor Guan sees you like this, he will definitely scold you for not living up to your expectations." Su Yilin said: "Even if there is a ghost, he can still call him. Didn't your sword be fired in front of Emperor Guan? Is it? You can slay demons and ghosts. If you can’t slay them, doesn’t it mean that Emperor Guan is ineffective?”

These words can scare Zhao Dazhou away. This sword has indeed been opened in front of Emperor Guan's throne, prayed for blessings, and made an oath, saying that it would only kill unfaithful and unjust, rebellious ministers and traitors. If this sword cannot kill monsters and ghosts, Don't you just say that Emperor Guan is not smart?Who dares to say that Emperor Guan is not smart? Zhao Dazhou was the first to refuse.Since Zhao Dazhou doesn't agree, then this sword must be able to kill demons. What's so scary about those evil spirits?
Zhao Dazhou regarded Emperor Guan's loss of face as more serious than his own loss of face, so he became bold and said, "That's right!"

Su Yilin loudly said: "Which fairy home, which cave, where to get wild grain and cut grass? He is a heroic man, don't be so pretentious, come out and take a look, and see whether he will fight for life and death on the knife edge, or divide the wine and meat. Make friends." He raised his inner strength and shouted loudly, and his voice spread far away.Not long after, the vague nursery rhyme still came from the distance.

"In the lonely graveyard, the grass and trees are withered, the moon refuses to come out, the parents cry, who will ride the bamboo horse?"

Su Yilin frowned again.

That night, no one in the convoy slept peacefully except for those bold ones.

If this continues, the army will lose its morale.Su Yilin knew it in his heart.He was wondering what was going on.

The march on the second day seemed slow and cumbersome. This time they found an open space, and Su Yilin ordered them to rest early. The formation last night was really inappropriate. They dragged a long row, but fortunately they were not attacked.What's more, the disciples are exhausted and didn't even get a good rest last night.Zhao Dazhou led his people to patrol the surrounding area, but found no ambush.Su Yilin took a rest early and waited for night to come.

That night, just after Hai Shi, the nursery rhyme came again.

"In the lonely graveyard, the grass and trees are withered, the moon refuses to come out, the parents cry, who will ride the bamboo horse?"

The singing seemed far away, but it was clearly heard. Su Yilin walked out of the tent and held a torch to inspect it himself.The wind was strong at night, and I could feel the wind blowing loudly. The nursery rhyme came with the wind, and suddenly one changed into two, two became four, left and right, forward and back.It was all about that nursery rhyme.In a daze, it seemed like there were singing sounds from all directions.

"Monster!" A disciple finally couldn't stand it any longer and ran away with a shout. Unable to stop anyone around him, Zhao Dazhou rode up to catch him, kicked him to the ground and cursed: "Where is this monster?" , a ghost without eyes, come here and take a stab at grandpa."

Dada, dada, the inexplicable sound of horse hooves sounded in the wild grass on the left side of the camp. It was only a few feet away, but there was no horse in sight.The inexplicable sound of horse hooves suddenly appeared, and the morale of the army was immediately thrown into chaos. Everyone said there was a ghost and ran away in all directions. Zhao Dazhou couldn't stop shouting, but he couldn't stop it.

Su Yilin handed the torch to the left and right and picked up the bow and arrow.Just waiting for the invisible sound of horse hooves to sound, Su Yilin said loudly: "Don't be afraid, everyone, watch me catch ghosts." Then he twisted his bow and nocked an arrow, and shot towards the sound.

Just hearing a scream of "Oh!", Su Yilin shouted: "We've caught the ghost, go quickly!"

While everyone was in shock and doubt, Su Yilin shouted again: "Go quickly!" Four disciples rushed forward and pulled out a strong man from the grass that was half a man tall. There was an arrow on his thigh and he couldn't run.When the disciples saw that it was a living person, they shouted with great joy: "Caught, caught, it's a human, not a ghost." Su Yilin pointed at the grass and shouted: "If you don't come out, I will shoot an arrow." After saying that, he ordered his subordinates. Point your bow and arrow at the nearby grass.

After a while, when there was no response, Su Yilin said loudly: "Fire the arrow."

"Don't cum! Don't cum!" Four people stood up in the grass, two men and two women, all quite young.

Seeing that the living people were not ghosts, the military's morale was settled.More than a dozen disciples became furious, rushed forward, grabbed the four people, and began to punch and kick them.Su Yilin knew that these people were still useful, so he ordered a ban and dragged them over.

Zhao Dazhou grabbed the strong man who was pretending to be a ghost and asked, "How did you make the sound of horse hooves?"

The man's face turned pale in pain, and he was sweating all over. He said in a trembling voice: "I... I can learn ventriloquism, and I can learn the sound of horse hooves. I can also learn how to make ghost calls, and I taught this group of companions."

Zhao Dazhou didn't believe it and shouted: "You can learn how many times you want to hear it. If you don't sound like it, then take a few more punches from me."

The man's sharp mouth flicked his tongue, and sure enough, he made a clicking sound, like the footsteps of a horse's hooves, and everyone around him laughed.I was angry and admired at the same time.

Su Yilin shouted loudly to the dense forest: "There is a good trick on the top of the mountain. If you come out to meet each other, you can make friends. Otherwise, I won't keep you brothers."

After a long time, fires began to light up in the depths of the dense forest on both sides. First one was as big as a firefly, then two or three, and finally dozens of lights. Su Yilin was secretly shocked that there were so many ambushes.

The dozens of fires gradually came closer and brighter, and outside the dense forest, there were about 600 people on both sides. The leader of the group had a messy beard, about forty years old, and wore a cloth robe. Covered in old leather armor.The left side of his face is tattooed with stolen characters.It seems to be a Huashan criminal.

When the Songshan disciples saw the enemy appear, they had their arrows on strings, their swords out of their sheaths, their spears erect, and their shields in their hands.Zhao Dazhou couldn't hold it any longer and said to Su Yilin: "This group of horse bandits are just pretending to be evil and making me unable to sleep well for two days. Let's wipe them all out."

Su Yilin had other plans. He raised his hands and asked, "Su Yilin, please give me your name."

The leader said: "My name is Bao Chongyang. There is a special number on the solitary graveyard. I am called Bao Shanggrave. You have a good ability. In addition to ventriloquism, my brother also has a lot of martial arts. He is the most agile in rolling on the grass. He has never I have been grabbed by others. Today, I fell under your arrow. Since everything has failed, please show your noble hand."

Zhao Dazhou yelled: "Blind dog, didn't you see the Songshan flag? You still want to hijack the car?"

Bao Chongyang sneered: "The ground in the lonely graveyard is full of wild ghosts. Even if a Shaolin monk comes, he still has to taste whether Tang Monk's meat is sweet or not."

Su Yilin pointed at the horse bandits and said, "Let them all go."

Zhao Dazhou said in surprise: "Brother Su?"

Bao Chongyang also didn't expect him to let him go so easily. Seeing that he was young and gentle, he just thought he was cowardly and sneered: "Thank you, Bao will leave." Just as he was about to ride away, an arrow suddenly shot at Bao Chongyang. With quick eyes and quick hands, he can swing his horsewhip down.He said angrily: "What does this mean?"

Su Yilin said coldly: "I didn't say I would let you go."

Bao Chongyang said in surprise: "You want to fight?"

Su Yilin said: "We are not familiar with the solitary graveyard. Please ask Brother Bao to lead the way and help us take care of things in front."

Bao Chongyang smiled and said: "You want us to start a bodyguard business? If brothers want to make a living in this business, the nine families will have no place to stay and have to dig bones in a lonely graveyard?"

Su Yilin shook his head and said: "I'm not asking you. To be honest, you disturbed the peace of the motorcade all night. I have no intention of letting you go. If you don't agree, I will destroy you immediately. If you are willing to help," Su Yilin pointed at the motorcade and said : "There are forty boxes of silver here. Just pick one and leave."

Bao Chongyang chuckled and said: "You can't help but underestimate the evil spirits in this place. I, a few hundred people, are little devils, and there are too many hells with 2000 people. You can do some damage here, some damage there, these dozens of carts of gold and silver All treasures must be left on the solitary graveyard.”

Su Yilin replied: "It's better than asking you to gather other gangsters and gang up to rob."

This was what Po Bao Chongyang was worried about. He saw that the convoy had many guards and they were regular disciples. He planned to pretend to be a ghost to disrupt his military morale, but Su Yilin saw through it. He was planning to gather other gangsters, preferably one or two thousand people.Fight an undefeated battle.

Seeing his hesitation, Su Yilin shouted: "Archers, come forward. The cavalry are mounted and ready."

Zhao Dazhou also shouted: "The archers come forward, the cavalry is on standby."

Bao Chongyang couldn't help but feel frightened when he saw that he seemed to really want to start a war.So he said: "Brother, where do you want to be?"

Su Yilin smiled and said: "It's not difficult. I'll let you brothers wear Songshan costumes. Open the way in front and just act like we brothers. Brother Bao, just follow us and help guide the way."

Bao Chongyang pondered for a moment. If he fought, he would definitely not be his opponent. If he ran away, leaving the empty goal to the opponent would inevitably lead to the loss of some brothers, but there would be a big deal.But if we gather from other hills, we are afraid that the money will be thinly distributed, and we are also afraid that the black will take advantage of the black.So he said: "Brothers can put on a good show for you. But I won't join your team. I will just put on your clothes and open the way for you. And..." He pointed at the convoy and said: "I want two boxes!"

Su Yilin smiled and said: "Sure."

At that moment, Bao Chongyang and others changed their clothes. At dawn, Bao Chongyang led the team and headed west.The Songshan motorcade had an extra 600 people in its lineup.Even the 2000 bandits nearby did not dare to act rashly.

"Too few." Su Yilin thought to himself: "If we want to pass through this lonely cemetery safely, we must prepare at least 5000 people to protect us."

They traveled day and night and finally arrived at the border of Shaanxi safely. Su Yilin kept his promise and asked Bao Chongyang to move two boxes of silver totaling 5000 taels.

After all, they underestimated the dangers of the lonely graveyard, and it was a fluke that they were able to get through it this time.Or it may have been too many years, and there has not been such a large convoy passing by the lonely graveyard. The news may have been missed temporarily, but the next time, there may not be such good luck.

(End of this chapter)