Patrol Captain

Three days later, the mountains were steep and there was a dangerous mountain road.

On one side of the mountain road, the steep peak pierces the sky like a sharp sword, and the cliff is almost vertical, with jagged rocks on top, some like ferocious animal heads, and some like huge rocks about to fall. On the other side is a bottomless cliff, and there is a faint sound of water flowing below. This road is rugged and steep, and the most dangerous part is that there is no stone road, but thick wooden strips inserted into the mountain wall at one end, connecting a suspended plank road.

At this time, the sky was just getting light, the mountains were filled with fog, and occasionally one or two low calls of unknown birds and beasts could be heard.

As we got further forward, the narrow and rugged mountain path suddenly opened up, and there was light after a long time. There was a large flat area between the cliffs, and in the morning mist, there were lights illuminating the goose yellow haze.

There is actually an inn here!
Outside, a large flag with the word "Wine" fluttered in the wind.

At this time, in the morning mist in the mountains not far away, the clear sound of bells came from far away.

"De Leng"

"De Leng"

"..."

As the sound got closer, a carriage slowly emerged from the fog.

The three silver-haired horses pulling the cart had shiny hair, strong muscles, and sparkled with charming silver-plated color. The coachman wore a straw hat that was tilted downward, covering most of his face. Only a tuft of gray goatee was visible on his chin, and he held a whip in his hand.

The carriage was all black, with a few green bells hanging on the corners under the canopy. As the carriage bumped around, the bells rang.

Behind the carriage, there were two more horsemen, riding side by side. One of them was a burly man with a raised beard, wearing a blue printed robe, with a heroic face and sparkling eyes, while the other was wearing a scarlet dress, with gray hair that was combed meticulously.

The carriage arrived in front of the inn and stopped slowly.

At this time, under the dark blue sky, the inn was already bustling with activity. Coachmen were preparing carriages and horses, merchants were heading out on their journeys, and guards were escorting goods...

This carriage appeared in the mist on the mountain road, which attracted some attention!
There are strange mountains and bad waters, desolate mountains and wild ridges, the Dragon Ridge maze, and the Shu Road is difficult to cross. Those who dare to travel there at night must be quite capable, and their temperament is also quite good.

After all, the Dragon Ridge stretches for more than ten thousand miles, like a natural moat, separating Shu and Guanzhong. Who knows how many mountain monsters, bandits and robbers are hiding in it.

Otherwise, why would the ancients lament that the road to Shu was as difficult as ascending to heaven?

Merchants who travel on this road all year round are accompanied by guards and escorts, but every year many of them still disappear into the deep mountains and dense forests.

However, these eyes quickly shifted away. After all, there are countless powerful people in the world, and there are many of these people on the Shu Road recently, which has caused a lot of trouble. Don't look at them for too long, otherwise the owner of the person inside will be unhappy and cause grudges for no reason.

These are all experiences gained from traveling around the world.

After all, no one likes the feeling of being stared at.

As the carriage stopped in front of the inn, the sound of the bell attracted the sharp-eared shopkeeper, and soon a waiter wearing a green cloth, a small hat on his head, and a piece of white cloth on his shoulders came out quickly.

"Hey, how about you? It's dangerous to walk in the fog at night. It seems that you are capable. Please come in and have a cup of hot tea!"

When the waiter saw the horse rider's demeanor and the extremely beautiful silver horse, his eyes lit up and he greeted him warmly, speaking in an accent that was completely different from that of the Shu people.

As he said this, he went to take the reins of the carriage and smiled complimentingly at the two people riding horses behind him.

The two people behind the carriage ignored the waiter, but just pulled the reins and came to the sides of the carriage, looking towards the carriage. It was obvious that the backbone was in the carriage.

At this moment, the driver jumped down and threw the reins to the waiter. Then he bent slightly, pulled the hem of the curtain, and called out, "Young Master!"

Soon, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a young man wearing a wide emerald-gold robe, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, and a thin golden slit between his eyebrows came out.

This person is Chen Yuan, who had left Shu for three days!
Chen Yuan looked at the inn, his brows brightened, and he looked at the two people riding horses next to him and smiled faintly:
"I didn't expect there is an inn to stay at on such a dangerous road. You two have been working hard these past few days. It's a good time to take a break!"

As he said this, he looked at the waiter who came over to meet him.
"Little Er, drink up!"

Then he got off the carriage.

"Okay!" The waiter looked at the young man in front of him. With many years of experience in judging people in the store, he felt that the young man in front of him had an imposing aura and did not dare to neglect him. He turned around and shouted to the inn, "Boss, we have a distinguished guest. Please serve the wine quickly!"

After shouting, he immediately turned to Chen Yuan and the others and said with a smile: "Sir, please come in first!"

"I'll help you tie up the carriage and horses and come right over!"

Chen Yuan nodded and walked forward. The coachman followed him. The two horsemen looked at each other, a trace of helplessness flashed across their faces, and they also dismounted and followed.

As the four of them walked towards the inn, Chen Yuan saw some people going out. They were probably merchants who were resting in the inn and preparing to leave early at dawn. Before they left, they burned incense in front of a small stone hut next to the inn, and knelt down to pay respect to it, looking quite pious.

There was nothing else in the hut except an eight-foot clay statue made of stone with red eyes. The statue had a tiger under its feet and was holding a black sword. It had angry brows and glared, looking quite majestic.

There are quite a lot of incense sticks in front of this small house, and it seems that they are all burned by passers-by.

There's nothing wrong with this thing taken out alone, but it looks a bit strange when placed next to the inn.

Chen Yuan glanced over with his Dharma eyes, and the clay figure was actually glowing with a faint glow and filled with the scent of incense.

There really is a vision, I wonder which god it is.

He slowed down his pace and showed some interest. Just then, the waiters from the shop tied up their horses and carriages and followed him quickly.

"Waiter, I have a question for you!" Chen Yuan gestured towards the small house in a casual manner.

"Why is this shrine next to your inn?"

"Which deity are you worshipping?"

When the waiter heard this, he immediately explained in a serious tone, "Sir, you may not know that this Chencang Road in front of us is the official road connecting Shu and Guanzhong. It is very important, but it is also dangerous. I think you have experienced it. This is still the best way to go."

"The road is dangerous, but the mountains are high and the forests are dense. There are countless mountain spirits and wild monsters. I don't know how many passers-by they devour every year. So the gods were appointed to protect passers-by! Not only this place, there will be some every 100 or 200 miles!"

"This was built by the government. Hehe, our inn not only sells food and wine, but also incense." The waiter meant that this inn also had a government background, and then he said seriously:

"The mountain god is very powerful. Young master and others can burn incense and worship when walking here."

As soon as these words came out, the eyelids of the two people behind Chen Yuan twitched.

One of these two is the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple who is in charge of the incense and offerings of the whole world, and the other is the Deputy Inspector of Xuntian Division who can confer titles on all the mountains, rivers and lakes in the world. If they are asked to worship a grass-headed god, can the mountain god bear it?

Especially if you ask the dragon and tiger that has slain countless demons and monsters to worship it, the shrine will explode!
The two of them twitched their eyelids when they thought about this scene, but Chen Yuan just smiled and said, "Let's see it when we have a chance!"

Having said that, he did not continue with the topic and walked straight into the inn.

When they entered, they saw a few people in the first floor hall. Their clothes and hairstyles were a little different from those in Shu. After three days of traveling, they crossed Longling and now they have reached the border of Sanqin.

The people in the hall noticed that the men had an extraordinary demeanor, glanced sideways, and then carefully looked away.

The waiter led them to a table, wiped the table attentively with the white cloth on his shoulder, and asked what they wanted to eat and drink.

Chen Yuan ordered the local specialty, which required wine, so the waiter quickly brought it.

Chen Yuan sat down on the stool first, and the other two sat down. The driver stood beside Chen Yuan, took off his hat, revealing the face of Gongsun Yang.

This time when he left Sichuan, he served as an old servant beside Chen Yuan.

Soon, the waiter came with the drinks.

"This is the local red meat wine. Please enjoy it slowly, my dear guests!"

Then he carefully put the cup away from the drawer and turned away.

Gongsun Yang picked up the wine pot and poured wine for the three people.

After that, Chen Yuan picked up the not-so-delicate wine glass, looked at the reddish, turbid wine inside, and sniffed it. There was a meaty aroma and a hint of miscellaneous smell.

"Stop looking so sad, both of you. Have a drink!"

Chen Yuan looked at the two men with tense faces and raised his hand.

Xu Liang and Gou Yue didn't want to be tense, but facing Chen Yuan, they dared not take it lightly. This was undoubtedly torture.

And, there is one more thing!

Li the lamp master is missing!
On the second day after leaving Shu, he disappeared right under their noses.

No, he fled for fear of punishment!

In fact, they both knew that with the cultivation level of that Eunuch Li, he could not play any tricks in front of them. This was Chen Yuan's move, but the two of them could only swallow their anger.

There is a saying that goes "to serve the emperor is like serving a tiger". The two of them are in a similar state of mind now and want to get away, but they have made mistakes, the oral order has been tampered with, and Li Huayu is gone. If they don't see this man go to the capital with their own eyes, they won't be able to complete their mission.

So I had no choice but to follow and serve him well!

But what made the two even more helpless was that with their magical powers they could have rushed to the Divine Capital as quickly as possible, but this gentleman was so leisurely, as if he was traveling outside, and it took him three days just to cross Dragon Ridge.

They both raised their glasses one after another. The bitter wine made their hearts ache when it went down their throats, but they were in no mood to taste it.

Chen Yuan leisurely felt the taste of the wine. It tasted spicy at first, with a hint of meat, and then a sweet aftertaste.

It’s hard to say what the highlight was, but it made Chen Yuan feel happy.

It was his first time leaving Shu, and he was finally able to take a good look at this world, so he was naturally not in a hurry to travel. Seeing the two "followers" looking unhappy, he naturally knew what they were thinking.

So he changed the subject and looked at the shrine outside the inn.
"Xu Shaoqing, the Taichang Temple is in charge of the incense offerings of the whole country. The inn is next to the clay statue, and it also sells incense offerings and has an official background. Is this an exception?"

Xu Liang's eyes flickered when he heard this, "Of course not. Nowadays, the world is full of incense and worship, and it is common to build ancestral halls and temples in the Central Plains."

"As for the government building temples and enfeoffment of mountain gods to protect the people, this is to maintain local law and order. The general was born in a government department, so I think he knows the ins and outs of this."

"No, Chen doesn't know much. You basically don't see any mountain gods in Shu because the luck of that area has been suppressed. It has just been lifted. I think you two know some inside information."

"Would you two like to ask if it would be convenient for you to tell Chen?" Chen Yuan shook the cup in his hand, his eyes fell on the two's faces with a faint smile.

It was this look that made the two of them feel a little nervous.

Xu Liang was calm, his expression unchanged, "I do know some information, but it's just the basics. I only know about the fate of Shu. It was used to seal the rebellion of the Ten Evils, which led to the decline of Shu. The cultivation was not prominent, and it became a desolate place. As for more, I don't know."

"General, you are in Shu and have personally participated in the battle against the Ten Evils. You should know more about this than I do."

Chen Yuan raised his eyes when he heard that.

This person asked him back!
As the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, the other party must know some news that he doesn't know, mainly because it is backed by the Martial Temple. As the highest palace in the entire Daqian, Chen Yuan knows limited things about the Martial Temple, and it should be said that everyone in the world knows limited things.

So he raised his eyebrows and did not answer the other party's question, but continued: "The Daqian Dynasty has been established for more than 1,800 years. Chen wants to know about the great sages and great men who founded the Wu Temple. After their physical bodies expired, their incense continued to last. Are there any who are still alive?"

As soon as these words came out, Xu Liang couldn't help but frowned and was silent for a while. Then, with a pair of mysterious eyes, he smiled and said, "General, you have now reached the peak of martial arts. You actually have the answer to this question in your heart."

"I might as well tell the general that of course it exists!"

"There is more that I cannot know."

"There are so many mysterious things in the world, and we are just people seeking the truth on the road."

Although Chen Yuan was shocked after hearing this, he was not shocked. The dragon and tiger have lived for eight hundred years, but above the dragon and tiger, there is still the ethereal realm.

He personally poured Xu Liang a glass of wine.

"Thank you, Mr. Xu, for answering my questions. When I go to the Martial Temple to burn incense, I may be able to meet the great sage you mentioned, who can help me solve my doubts!"

The doubt he was talking about was the origins of those people who had raised the fortune of Shu and sealed the Ten Evils.

If anyone knows, there must be someone who has lived for a long time in the Temple of Martial Arts who knows about it. After all, such a grand event, if someone lived in the same era, he would definitely know about it, and might even have participated in it.

His thoughts were wandering and he couldn't help but associate.

At this time, the waiter came up with the dishes, and Chen Yuan and others didn't say anything.

The three of them ate their meal, took a short rest, and then prepared to continue on their journey.

At this time, the sky had become completely bright. Compared to the continuous heavy snow in Shu, it was still early autumn in the Three Qins. The leaves were slightly yellow and there was a bit of a chill in the wind.

Just as Gongsun Yang went to pay the bill and Chen Yuan stepped out of the inn amid the waiter's compliments, the sound of horses kicking and clattering outside the mountain path came from afar, like the beats of rapid drums.

Then, a few loud shouts came.

"Disperse!" (End of this chapter)