Knife splashing

Chapter 104: The Book of Seven Arrows

Niubeiliang is a place with numerous strange peaks and majestic mountains.

This place is the main peak of the southeastern Qinling Mountains and the watershed between Guanzhong and Shangzhou. The mountains are majestic, but there are also rivers and streams of all sizes.

The mountains are even covered with glaciers all year round, which turn into streams and flow through various rivers.

Once it rains, mountain torrents will break out. In addition, the forests are tall and dense, and the clouds and fog are shrouded, so outsiders who come in will often be trapped in it.

It is for this reason that many bandits gathered in Niubeiliang.

On the west side of a river ditch, there is a thousand-foot-high cliff with a huge cave hidden inside. Only a plank road connects it to the outside world. This is the location of Baihu Village.

In the cave hall, torches were burning and the atmosphere was solemn.

The air was filled with the smell of blood, groans of pain were heard constantly, and the ground was littered with wounded people.

Bai Yanhu sat on the village chief's throne with his big horse and golden sword. His face was gloomy. He had taken off his armor and was bare-chested. Blood stains kept oozing out of the thick white bandage.

On the two rows of chairs below him sat the surviving pillars of the family and the leaders of various mountain strongholds.

Originally they were still shouting for war and killing, but now everyone has lost interest in it. It was because of their concerted efforts that they escaped from the encirclement and suppression by the garrison.

Snapped!
Looking at the tragic scene in front of him, the man who had been shouting at Bai Yanhu before became more and more angry. He slapped the back of the chair and said angrily: "Okay, if you want to eat alone, don't eat now!"

Bai Yanhu's eyes flashed with a fierce light, "Why, do you still want to play?"

He was also feeling angry.

If these idiots hadn't stopped him, how could he have missed the chance to escape? Even more unfortunate was that the masters of the army kept chasing him along the way, so he had to abandon all the loot.

He escaped from his shell and saved his life.

He had originally planned to take the money, buy a boat along the coast, and continue to make money with his brothers, but his painstaking planning ended up like this, with his trusted subordinates suffering heavy casualties. At this moment, he felt a surge of anger rising to his head.

The man below dared to talk nonsense, which made him want to kill him.

"Play? How do you want to play..."

The man was also a ruthless killer, and equally skilled in martial arts. His right hand was slowly reaching for the hilt of the knife.

"You guys are in such a good mood!"

At this moment, an old voice sounded.

But an old man was seen walking slowly towards the cave entrance. He was wearing a sheepskin coat and a dog-skin hat. He had a thin face and a hooked nose. Although he had a smile on his face, he looked even more creepy.

As soon as he appeared, everyone stood up nervously.

"Old Ghost Long, what are you doing here?"

Bai Yanhu narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice.

The person who came was none other than Long Sanjiu, the leader of Laolong Village.

Originally, the Old Dragon Village was the strongest, and this old ghost Long was a master who had entered the Hua Jin realm for many years. His methods were sinister and no one wanted to offend him.

Some time ago, there were many mysterious masters in Laolong Village, and even a sorcerer, who wanted to conquer the entire Niubeiliang bandit village.

These incidents arose because everyone was unwilling.

He must have bad intentions if he suddenly shows up at my house.

"What are you guys so nervous about?"

Long Sanjiu smiled calmly, "Now that things have come to this, I will never add insult to injury. This time I am only trying to help you find a better future."

Bai Yanhu narrowed his eyes slightly, "What future?"

"Not urgent."

Long Sanjiu smiled and said, "Let me introduce someone to you first."

As he said this, he turned around, bowed, and said, "Welcome, Master Xiang!"

Several figures emerged from the cave entrance and strode forward. Leading them was none other than Dugu Qian, the incense master of the Maitreya sect.

Long Sanjiu then spoke: "Everyone, this is the Maitreya Sect's Dugu Xiangzhu. With his protection, we don't need to be afraid even if more people from the imperial court come."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and Bai Yanhu was even more alert, "Old Ghost Long, when did you join the Maitreya Sect?"

Long Sanjiu laughed in silence, "I have always been like this."

Bai Yanhu snorted and shook his head, saying, "We are not on the same page, so we cannot work together. We are just trying to make a living as bandits, and we don't have any ambitions. Please forgive us."

They became bandits for money, and if they had enough savings, they might even change their identities and go to the prosperous south of the Yangtze River to become wealthy men.

The Maitreya Sect often stirs up turmoil and rebellion. Now that the Daxuan Dynasty is strong in military power, there will be no good results if we follow the Maitreya Sect.

The smile on Long Sanjiu's face disappeared, and his voice became gloomy, "Mr. Bai, you should not refuse a toast and drink a forfeit..."

Before he finished speaking, Dugu Qian beside him waved his hand to interrupt him and said with a smile: "My fellow Taoists, you have no choice now."

"The court is incompetent, so in order to avoid gossip, Li Siyuan will definitely dispatch experts to catch you all in one fell swoop. Niubeiliang Mountain is high and dangerous, but if a magician mobilizes troops, none of you will be able to escape."

After hearing this, everyone's faces immediately turned gloomy.

They knew that what this man said was right. They thought that Chang'an was probably dispatching elite troops into the mountains to encircle and suppress them.

Bai Yanhu sneered: "What if I don't obey?"

Before he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically. He picked up the caltrop hammer next to him and stared at his surroundings with a nervous look on his face.

Call ~
A fishy wind suddenly blew, and a black shadow suddenly appeared in the cave, circling rapidly along the dark corner of the stone wall.

"what is that?"

Many bandits panicked and quickly got up to check.

However, the black shadow was so fast that they could not see its appearance clearly. They could only vaguely see that it was a giant snake.

Bai Yanhu felt it even more strongly.

He felt the hairs on his back stand on end, and a cold chill was staring at him, more terrifying than any beast he had ever seen.

"die!"

Bai Yanhu suddenly twisted his body, his hidden strength burst out, the muscles in his arms swelled, veins popped out, and the caltrop hammer smashed down with a whistling sound.

What he practiced was the Eight Combat Styles used in the military.

The moves were simple, yet extremely practical, straightforward and very ferocious, and combined with the chain mail, he gained a reputation as a fierce warrior.

Bang!
The caltrop hammer hit the target.

But Bai Yanhu felt fear in his heart.

Behind him was the crested snake. It seemed to have shed its skin and had grown much larger, now as thick as a bowl.

The caltrop hammer was covered with spikes, but when it hit the body, it collided with the black scales, emitting sparks, and was then bounced away by a force.

This is the horror of the crested snake.

With its amazing speed, invulnerability to swords and guns, and terrible snake venom, ordinary martial arts masters are simply unable to do anything to it.

At the mass grave, if the commander Si Changxuan had not known the weakness and been prepared, they would have been the ones who escaped with heavy casualties.

Sand~
Its scales rubbed against the ground, making a rustling sound. The crested snake raised its body high, now half a head taller than Bai Yanhu.

At this moment, Bai Yanhu was trembling all over and unable to move.

The crested snake lowered its head, and its pair of cold snake eyes seemed to carry some mysterious power, which made Bai Yanhu stiff all over.

He screamed desperately in his heart, but even with blood in his eyes, he could not move at all and could only watch the crested snake entangle him.

Click!
A chilling sound of bones cracking was heard.

Bai Yanhu's body was soon broken and he was out of breath. Then the crested snake opened its fangs and swallowed his head first, then his body...

Looking at this horrific scene, the bandits were all terrified.

Dugu Qian sighed slightly, "Everyone, I don't want this to happen, but the people from the court will be here soon. I don't have time to talk nonsense with him. Pack up your things and follow me."

"Go...where?"

A bandit leader asked stutteringly.

Dugu Qian looked outside the cave, his eyes somewhat helpless. "Deep in the Qinling Mountains, I want to dig something, and I need a lot of manpower..."

………………

After passing Niubeiliang, the terrain gradually becomes lower towards the south.

Most of the time, it was downhill all the way, so Li Yan and his team sped up. After another two days of walking, they were almost at Fengyang County.

At this point, the mountain gradually becomes gentler.

However, the honeycomb-like caves on the cliffs on both sides of the road attracted everyone's attention.

"Hiss, Daoye, what is that?"

Sharifei was puzzled. "It can't be wild animals. They can build nests in the mountains, and there are so many of them!"

“That’s a cliff tomb.”

Li Yan rode his horse to watch and explained with a smile: "People have been building it since the Han Dynasty, and even now, some people still choose this burial method."

The head of the Chunfeng class Zhou praised: "Young Master Li has good insight."

Li Yan shook his head and said, "I just heard about it before."

In fact, he had been here in his previous life and even visited several of them.

Although it looks unremarkable from the outside, its internal structure is quite complex.

The bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and storage rooms have clear divisions of work, and there are even pools, wells, toilets, stoves, niches, etc.

It is clearly a tomb, but it seems as if someone once lived in it.

"Built on a mountain?"

Sharifei was a little speechless. "It's so obvious, and the local rats are not happy about it. Taoist, what's the point of building it on the cliff?"

Wang Daoxuan laughed dumbly and shook his head, saying, "The ancestors of Shenzhou worshipped dragons and believed that in some places, cliff burials could better occupy dragon caves. On the one hand, it could help the ancestors become immortals after death, and on the other hand, it could help the descendants gather wealth and fortune."

"This custom was also popularized by the Taoism of the Qin and Han dynasties. The Book of the Later Han records that people carved out rocks to build rooms and placed them on high ground to raise immortals."

"The so-called burial is to take advantage of the vitality. Look at this place. It has light in front and support behind. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the water on one side. It has dragon veins and a table. It is well-equipped. It hides the wind and has water. It is naturally a good burial site."

Sharifei sneered, "You've been plundered clean. Damn it! Not only did you get rich while you were alive, but you also wanted to become an immortal after you die, and you also wanted your descendants to be rich as well. How could that be possible!"

"You idiots, you are greedier than me."

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "Who says it's not true? The fortunes of this world are predetermined, but the greed of human beings is endless, and all kinds of killing disasters arise from this..."

Just as he was sighing, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

Upon seeing this, Class Leader Zhou immediately bowed and said, "Young Master Li, Taoist Priest Wang, and Master Sha, we are going to Luonan. We will say goodbye now!"

"Master Zhou, be careful on the road."

"See you."

After saying goodbye to everyone, the Spring Equinox class left along another path and gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

Li Yan and others continued to move forward.

Not long after they walked, Li Yan rode his horse side by side with Wang Daoxuan and asked in a low voice, "Master, have you understood it thoroughly?"

"It is impossible to fully understand it."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head slightly and took out the yellowed ancient book from his arms. It was the "Secret Spell of Seven Arrows" that Li Yan had searched from You Laosi.

"The Nailhead Seven Arrows Book!"

Sharifei happened to come over as well. When he saw the name in the book, he immediately gasped, "The Taoist priest actually got this powerful magic!"

Wang Daoxuan was surprised, "You recognize him."

“Who doesn’t know…”

Sha Lifei's eyes lit up. "It's said in the opera that Lu Ya used this thing to nail Zhao Caishen to death. I can even sing it!"

As he spoke, he began to sing: "He was beaten by the sea whip and fled. From overseas came the immortal Lu Ya. This demon Taoist has seven arrows and great power. He helped the straw man to set up a platform to offer sacrifices to my Qishan..."

"Alright, alright, what are you talking about?"

Wang Daoxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The Investiture of the Gods was compiled by later generations. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there was indeed a great battle in the Xuanmen sect, but there is only a fragment of the record. The true situation is unknown to later generations."

"However, this 'Seven Arrows Secret Spell' is a famous spell with an ancient origin and is widely known. The way peasant women use small figurines to curse others comes from this spell."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Sharifei was a little disappointed and asked, "Is this method powerful?"

Wang Daoxuan nodded with a serious expression, "Of course he is amazing."

"Ancient spells are usually simple and direct. This method only has two spells. One is the Soul-Calling Spell, which can call the souls of living people and the ghosts of dead people. The other is the Seven Arrows Divine Book Spell, which takes seven days to perform and can kill people."

Sharifei said happily: "That's great. With this method, the Taoist will be even more powerful. From now on, whoever messes with us will just bow to him seven times!"

However, Wang Daoxuan did not respond and was somewhat hesitant.

Li Yan's heart moved, "Master, is there a problem with this method?"

Wang Daoxuan nodded and said, "It's not that I'm pedantic, but this method is too cruel and harmful to nature. If you use it too much, you might be haunted by murderous intent and fall into demonic barriers."

Li Yan laughed when he heard this, "Master, I heard that Buddha also has angry eyes like a diamond. Whether a knife is evil or not depends on who holds it in their hands."

"As a Taoist priest, this method cannot be an evil one."

Wang Daoxuan was silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Well, I was once possessed by someone, and my only ghost soldier was killed by the soul-stealing curse. Perhaps I am destined to use this method."

As he spoke, he formed a seal with his right hand, and chanted the Seven Arrows Secret Spell, "I swear here that this spell will only be used against evil spirits and extremely treacherous people. Anyone who misuses it will die!"

Li Yan was stunned, "Why does Taoist priest have to do this?"

Wang Daoxuan was silent for a moment, then smiled calmly and said, "Everyone has seven emotions and six desires, and they will always make mistakes. I am a layman, so I am no exception. It is better to have some restraint."

After saying that, he shut his mouth, as if he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Not long after, he started chatting with Sharifei again.

Li Yan looked at Wang Daoxuan's back and shook his head slightly.

He knew that this Taoist priest must have experienced something. Not everyone has such a firm heart for Taoism at the beginning and is always generous and kind.

But Wang Daoxuan didn't mention it, and he didn't want to ask more.

By sunset, the team finally arrived in Fengyang County.

There are more and more people walking on the official road here, especially mule and horse caravans, coming and going, far more than in other counties.

Wang Daoxuan smiled and said, "Further south of Fengyang is the land of Chu."

"There is Manchuan Pass here, a famous water and land port, connecting Wu and Chu in the south and Qin and Jin in the north. During the Warring States Period, it was still Qin territory in the morning, flying Qin flags, wearing Qin clothes, following Qin etiquette, and speaking Qin language. But in the evening, it was under the jurisdiction of Chu, changing to Chu flags, wearing Chu clothes, following Chu customs, and speaking Chu language, so there was the allusion of 'Morning Qin and evening Chu'."

"These mule and horse teams should all be from the wharf mule and horse gangs. Now that we have arrived, we will not go into the city. Let's quickly send the seniors back home."

"I'm going to ask for directions."

Sha Lifei immediately rode away and asked an old man driving a cart, "Old man, how do I get to Wujiagou?"

Wujiagou is the hometown of Wu Laosi, a man from the underworld.

Unfortunately, this old man should be from Ezhou, and his dialect is very strong. It took him a long time to talk to Sharifei before he could figure out the way.

"Oh, that's really hard work."

After Sharifi came back, he pointed to the southeast and said, "Wujiagou is over there. We should be able to get there before dark."

Everyone didn't waste any time and set off directly.

However, they didn't notice that the old man driving the cart suddenly turned his head and looked at them with a strange look.

Just as Sharifei said, when it got dark, they finally found a village, built against the mountain, next to a dry river.

However, everyone was dumbfounded.

The village is now deserted, overgrown with weeds, like a ghost village...

(End of this chapter)