Xuanxia

Chapter 3 Miao People
In front of the dilapidated temple, Fu Qingzhou sat on the stone steps of the mountain path, looking at the strange black and red marks on his palm that were wriggling like a centipede, his face gloomy.

Beside him, Shi Xin trembled slightly, and heard the low voice of the smoker: "Do you believe it now? I was also a local tyrant hundreds of years ago. Isn't it normal for me to be on guard against you?"

Fu Qingzhou sighed softly.

You can’t believe it.

From the moment he saw the Smoker, he knew that there really were gods and demons in this world. He also guessed whether the other party had done anything to him in the past three years. However, there had been no unusual signs in these three years, so he gradually relaxed his vigilance.

I didn't expect that when I schemed against the smoker, the smoker also schemed against me.

But this is not such a shameful thing... On the one hand, it was because the two sides had lived in peace and harmony for the past three years, and even got along quite well, that I gradually relaxed my mind, and the smoker also felt at ease to get into the heart of stone; on the other hand, I had no ability and no way to discover what the other party had done.

But in the end, I found out that they were all bastards.

Fu Qingzhou didn't ask why the smoker didn't expose this matter before. The reason was simple. If this kind of thing was revealed, it would be a threat. If things went wrong, the two would break up and no one would have any fun. This was a trump card to protect oneself in life and death situations.

"Row."

He smiled self-deprecatingly: "You are awesome."

"Hmph." The smoker's voice was also very dissatisfied: "What do you mean? Do we die together now, or do we think about the next step?"

Fu Qingzhou raised his head and looked to the south: "I heard that deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains in the south, there is a big sect called Wandu Mountain."

"never heard of that."

The smoker said disdainfully: "But most of them are descendants of the Black Miao people."

"Hmm." Fu Qingzhou narrowed his eyes. "I heard that they are very good at all kinds of poisons and witchcraft. Do you think they can remove your curse?"

“Hehehe…” The Smoker sneered, “You can give it a try. The Black Miao guys are extremely hostile to outsiders. If you go there, you might be poisoned by them!”

Fu Qingzhou smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go and try. As for you..."

"You must take me with you."

The Smoker interrupted him: "Without me to relieve the curse for you, you will still die!"

Fu Qingzhou narrowed his eyes: "Are you looking for an opportunity to seize someone else's body? If you succeed, I'm afraid you'll kill me first."

"So do you want to die in a few days?" The smoker sneered again.

Fu Qingzhou raised his head and looked at the sea of ​​clouds in the sky, and said lightly: "Okay, then you continue to teach me."

The smoker was a little surprised: "Still teaching? Aren't you afraid that I will do something?"

"I've already moved, so more debt won't weigh me down."

Fu Qingzhou smiled and said, "Of course, you should be more restrained in your current state. If one day I think I am hopeless, I will smash you to pieces with a brick, and then neither of us will survive."

This is a reminder and also a threat.

At this point, the enemies who had just faced each other life and death silently reached a balance.

So Fu Qingzhou picked up the stone heart, put it in his clothes, and strode down the mountain.

What he said before was not a joke, he really planned to go south... to look for the Ten Thousand Poison Mountain that was talked about by word of mouth in several nearby villages.

……

There is a small town at the foot of Bailu Mountain.

Fu Qingzhou rode an old horse, and the old horse swayed into the town and into a sparsely populated street. There were few stalls on both sides of the street, and the stall owners were either taking a nap with their legs crossed or smoking water pipes.

This place is called Bailu Mountain and this town is called Lingxiang Town. The streets are not busy, but it is the most prosperous place in the surrounding area.

The reason I chose to come here is because... there are Miao people in the town.

The legend about Wandu Mountain was brought to this place by the Miao people.

Wandu Mountain itself is not that mysterious. In fact, it is a large Miao sect that is well-known in the martial arts world and even among the common people. It is located deep in the Shiwan Mountains. Although it is not easy to find, there are often disciples walking around the world, and it has close relations with the Dayan court.

But this "Ten Thousand Poisons Mountain" is nothing more than a martial arts sect that is good at swordsmanship and the use of poisons. Few people have seen those mysterious techniques of controlling poisons and strange spells.

But according to the Miao people in Lingxiang Town, the wizards in the mountains can use the art of witchcraft to play with the life and death of other people at will, and even the ghosts of the dead can be controlled by them. As a result, many stories have been derived that can stop children from crying at night.

Fu Qingzhou was originally skeptical, but now that he has seen the smoker and has been cursed, he is about 80% convinced.

He came to this town, intending to use the Miao people here as a breakthrough point to find the location of Wandu Mountain first.

"Humph."

The voice of the smoker drilled into his ears like a mosquito's hum: "You are looking for a way to break the spell in front of me, aren't you afraid that I will directly ignite the spell and make you live a life worse than death?" Fu Qingzhou smiled faintly: "If you have this ability, you would have done it before when I wanted to kill you."

Both of them understood this principle, and the smoker was just talking nonsense. Soon he became interested in the people on the street.

"This old man has good bones, right? It's a pity that he is too old. If he was a teenager, he would have a nice appearance."

"Hey, this girl is so pretty. If I were still the same guy as before... I would definitely take her in to make a furnace tripod!"

"Huh? Are they making pancakes? I almost forgot what pancakes taste like... I've made up my mind. When I get a body, I'm going to have pancakes for my first meal!"

The smoker kept chattering, and Fu Qingzhou silently took out two balls of cotton from his clothes and stuffed them into his ears.

Fortunately, this guy is too weak and has no means of secret communication, otherwise these voices ringing in his head would drive him crazy, wouldn't they?

After walking through the small street, we finally arrived at a clinic.

The owner of this clinic is the most famous Miao man in the town, also a doctor, named Mu Chihai. However, this name is difficult to pronounce, so everyone calls him Lao Hai.

Fu Qingzhou was occasionally injured while hunting charlatans, and he always went to this old man for medicine and treatment. They were not familiar with each other, but he was definitely not a stranger to him.

"It's Azhou."

The host, Lao Hai, immediately saw Fu Qingzhou jumping off the horse and asked with a smile, "Injured again while hunting?"

As a doctor, he was rather bulky, but his face had the kindness and honesty that are unique to middle-aged men, which made people feel comfortable when looking at him.

"Yes."

Fu Qingzhou walked into the clinic and spread out his right palm to him: "I touched a strange stone in the mountains, and my hand became like this. I don't know if it's poisoned. Can you take a look?"

The strange black and red marks on the palm of his hand were gently moving, clearly the mark left by the evil curse.

There's no point in hiding this thing, so it's better to reveal it right from the start and observe the other party's reaction - just hide its true source.

Sure enough, upon seeing this strange curse, Lao Hai's smile immediately faded, his expression changed, and he grabbed Fu Qingzhou's wrist: "This, this, this is not poison..."

He really knew!
Fu Qingzhou pretended to be confused and scratched his head: "It's not poison? Then what is it? Can this thing kill people?"

"It looks like a Gu, but it also looks like a curse. I, I can't tell..."

Lao Hai lowered his head and looked at the strange curse carefully, his eyes almost popping out: "I can't really say..."

The smoker's gloating sneer entered his ears: "I thought this kid had some knowledge, but it turns out he's still no good."

Fu Qingzhou was too lazy to pay attention to it and made a nervous expression: "Lao Hai, please tell me the truth, will this hurt my life?"

"so."

Lao Hai sighed: "Azhou, I can't see what you have, but it's not completely impossible... You can't tell anyone about what happens next."

Fu Qingzhou was really nervous this time. Could it be that he had hit the jackpot? Did he run into someone who could break the curse?

But Lao Hai said slowly: "You also know that the wizard of Wandu Mountain knows all this. Although I don't know where Wandu Mountain is, there is an old lady in the town who used to be there. I can take you to find her."

"She has a strange temper, but she is quite familiar with me. You prepare some money and buy some souvenirs, and I will take you there... Regardless of whether this succeeds or not, you must not tell others her identity. Remember?"

Fu Qingzhou nodded frantically, playing the role of a confused and frightened teenager perfectly.

After some instructions and shopping, Lao Hai led the way to a small courtyard on the edge of the town.

When Fu Qingzhou arrived, he knew who this person was. The owner of this yard was an old Miao woman who was somewhat famous in the town. Because she had a very bad temper, anyone who spoke loudly within a hundred meters of her door would be scolded by her. Once, a scoundrel tried to scold back, but the old woman rushed out with a bamboo broom, which was covered in feces...

Unexpectedly, this old Miao woman who no one dared to mess with was actually a disciple of Wan Du Mountain.

Lao Hai led Fu Qingzhou to the gate of the courtyard and called "Auntie" several times, but there was no response from inside the house.

"What's the matter?"

Lao Hai was a little confused: "Could he have fallen asleep?"

"It shouldn't be this late in the evening, right?" Fu Qingzhou suddenly sniffed, his face changed: "Wait, Lao Hai, do you smell a foul odor? Like... a corpse?"

Lao Hai also sniffed, then his expression changed drastically. He kicked open the gate and rushed in.

Fu Qingzhou threw the gift in his hand away and followed closely behind him, breaking into the yard with him, coming to the front of the house, and breaking open the door of the cottage.

A foul smell wafted into the air. In the middle of the hall, a badly decayed corpse was placed with a rusty hatchet stuck in its chest. Flies were flying around and a group of rats were escaping from the corpse.

(End of this chapter)