Kill me a few more times and I'll be invincible

Chapter 372

The south is mountainous.

Although not as big as the 100,000 mountains in the southwest state, it is also surrounded by mountains.

At this moment, Qiao Mu was walking in a valley between the mountains and valleys.

The valley was shrouded in clouds and mist, and it looked like a fairyland at first glance.

"I remember this place is called 'Fallen Wood Valley', where 'Qiao Mu' died." Qiao Mu thought to himself.

It was obvious that no one had walked through this valley for a long time. The bottom of the valley was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, which made a crisp sound when stepped on.

Qiao Mu did not stay in this Fallen Wood Valley for long, and walked forward with the bandit Zhang Kui and others.

After passing through the valley, the view gradually widened.

In the lingering clouds and mist, the appearance of a village emerged faintly.

This was the bandit village where Wang Songhe and other bandits lived in seclusion in the past, but it is now almost deserted.

The houses in the village are scattered on the hillside, and occasionally a few houses rise with curling smoke, and most of the houses are no longer inhabited.

When I got closer, I found that the people still living in these houses were all old people with gray hair.

"Zhang Kui? Is that Zhang Kui? I heard that you went to Southwest Province, and you are finally back today."

A middle-aged hunter came out with a steel fork and a sullen face. After recognizing Zhang Kui's appearance, he felt relieved:

"The young people followed Wang Songhe to Yancheng. Now there are only old stubborn people like us who don't want to make trouble anymore in the village."

"You are back today, and the village is lively again."

These mountain people who have lived in the mountains for a long time, although they are called bandits, were originally just civilians who avoided heavy taxes or were homeless.

If there is a choice, who would be willing to live in the ravine?

When the city lord Guo died and Wang Songhe took over Yancheng, the bandits in the mountains gradually walked out of the mountains and lived in Yancheng in two years.

Of course, there are also a few mountain people who don't want to make trouble anymore.

"Busy? I'm afraid it will be several times busier than before." Qiao Mu turned his head and looked behind him.

"Li Changshi, what do you think of this place?"

Li Changshi looked around carefully and finally nodded happily.

"That Wang Songhe is a wonderful person. This place is similar to the Black Mountain in Southwest Province. It is a good place to live in seclusion."

"If this village is expanded, it should be no problem to accommodate tens of thousands of mountain people."

This Dongshan is located to the east of Yancheng, not too far from the city.

Wang Songhe is not an ignorant countryman. The secluded place he chose has mountains and water, and it is indeed a livable place.

Two years ago, there were thousands of bandits in this mountain village, but now two years later, nine out of ten houses are empty.

It is just right for the mountain people in the Black Mountain village to live.

After all, if tens of thousands of mountain people suddenly appear and are stuffed into Yancheng, the movement should not be too big.

"Not only the mountain people in the Black Mountain village, but also Taoyuan Villa, maybe they can be settled here." Li Changshi suggested.

Taking Taoyuan Villa with him, of course, was to find a suitable place to settle down.

"That makes sense, but I have an idea for a good location." Qiao Mu nodded and stepped into an abandoned Taoist temple in the village.

This Taoist temple is located in the center of the village.

Or in other words, the entire village was built around this abandoned Taoist temple.

This Taoist temple is not small, with more than a dozen main halls and side halls, but it is already dilapidated, with broken walls everywhere, and only the immortal statue in the main hall is still intact.

The statue behind the altar in the main hall is an immortal in white clothes holding a wooden stick, and the tablet reads "Qingmu Immortal".

"Qingmu Immortal..." Qiao Mu lowered his eyelids.

He later heard that this Qingmu Immortal was actually the first initiator of refining incense and fire talismans.

But why there is a Taoist temple dedicated to Qingmu Immortal here, and why it has been abandoned, Qiao Mu is not very clear.

"This 'Qingmu Immortal' should not be a cultivator from Xuantian Sect, otherwise this Taoist temple should not be abandoned."

"But if this 'Qingmu Immortal' is a cultivator from other immortal sects, why is this Taoist temple built in Nanzhou?"

In the land of Jiuzhou, the nine major immortal sects each occupy a state, and they are clearly separated from each other.

Once they cross the border, just like Qiao Mu crossed the border on a paper boat before, they are likely to be suppressed by the local immortal sect.

Qiao Mu approached the altar and looked at the incense burner on the altar.

There were several half-burned long incense sticks on the incense burner, and the bottom of the burner was full of incense ash.

There was not much dust on the altar, and it was obvious that someone had wiped it carefully not long ago, which was in sharp contrast to the broken walls outside the main hall.

"It seems that even now, there are still mountain people praying to gods and immortals in this broken Taoist temple." Qiao Mu said quietly.

This Taoist temple has long been dilapidated and has lost its magic. The statue of the immortal has no connection with the real "Qingmu Immortal".

So whether there are believers or not, it actually has no effect on this Taoist temple.

"This immortal statue has been here for a long time. Mr. Qiao, don't overestimate their piety." The bandit Zhang Kui said loudly

"Worshiping gods is nothing more than seeking peace of mind. It is not necessarily true that they are very pious and believe in this." The bandit Zhang Kui said:

"If there were really devout believers, they would not come to this mountain with us."

Qiao Mu nodded, and he casually lifted the Qingmu immortal statue with one hand and threw it casually in the courtyard.

The immortal statue was made of stone. It fell in the courtyard full of weeds, making a muffled bang and stirring up a circle of dust.

Qiao Mu put his two fingers together to form a sword, and the three-foot invisible energy came out from his fingertips and condensed into a sword shape. As his fingers moved, he wrote a few words on the Taoist temple plaque.

Taoyuan Villa.

"It's said to be Taoyuan Villa, but there's not even a peach tree in this shabby place." Qiao Mu shook his head.

"Hey, there are so many details." The bandit Zhang Kui said: "Wherever the Qiao family is, there is Taoyuan Villa."

"That's right." The other warriors nodded.

Peaches and plums make their own way without saying anything.

Why does the so-called Taoyuan of Taoyuan Villa really need Taolin as evidence?

After settling the villagers in Heishan Village, the bandit Zhang Kui also tried to ask the bandits who stayed in the village about Wang Songhe's movements.

But the latter didn't know anything about it. He only knew that Wang Songhe went to Yancheng to become the city lord. As for the Southern King who had risen in recent months, he had no idea whether he was Wang Songhe.

"It seems that we still have to go to Yancheng to explore." Bandit Zhang Kui said.

Yancheng was not only the former jurisdiction of Wang Songhe, but also the original burial ground of Qiao Mu.

"It's okay to go to Yancheng." Qiao Mu gently caressed the fat cat lying on his shoulder, with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes.

"Speaking of which, I once had a friend who had his neck cut to pieces, and he died in that place. After all these years, I still sometimes think of the advice he gave me before he died."

"Mr. Qiao Xinxin, do you have an old friend in Yancheng? How many years ago did that happen?" Bandit Zhang Kui asked curiously.

Qiao Mu thought carefully for a moment and stretched out two fingers.

"Twenty years? Is it two hundred years?" Zhang Kui fell into deep thought.

Qiao Xinxin, the elder of the Qiao family, looks like a young man, except for his long gray hair. No one knows how old he is, but everyone knows that he must be quite old.

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Even if he borrowed a thousand brains, he would not be able to connect the Qiao Xinxin in front of him with the Qiao Sen of the Qiao family in the past.

Even if he guessed two thousand years, he would not be able to guess the outrageous answer of two years.

..................................................

The distance from Dongshan to Yancheng is not far, and it only takes half a day for ordinary people.

For today's trees, naturally it doesn't take much time.

When he arrived at Yancheng, it was still early and not yet noon.

But there was already a long queue of people entering the city outside the city gate tower. There must have been dozens or hundreds of people.

"In just two years, when did Yancheng become so lively?" Qiao Mu wondered.

When he came to Yancheng, a famine had just broken out in the city. Ten houses in the outer city area were empty, and the city was in a deep depression.

"It's not that Yancheng is bustling, it's that you went to the wrong city gate." Next to him, a Jianghu guest wearing a bamboo hat and a long sword said:

"The north gate is always lively and you have to wait to enter the city. The south gate is much better."

"Farmers who go to the city to go to the market and do business in the past mostly use the south gate."

"Those who take the north gate are mostly martial artists from all over the place, just like you and me."

The man wearing a sword and hat nodded to Qiao Mu and said with a smile:

"Brother, you came here specially to Yancheng, right? Didn't you find out everything about Yancheng before you came here?"

This man wearing a sword and hat obviously recognized Qiao Mu's status as a martial artist and wanted to talk to him.

Although Qiao Mu today wears loose clothes, he has a well-proportioned figure, broad shoulders, and piercing eyes. He indeed looks like an accomplished martial artist.

"I came to Yancheng a few years ago. Why don't I know the difference between the north and south gates?"

"It's not all because of the Qiao family..." At this point, the man with the sword and hat suddenly fell on the fat cat on Qiao Mu's shoulder, and was slightly startled.

"Isn't your surname Qiao?" he couldn't help asking.

"It's true." Qiao Mu replied casually.

At this time, Qiao Mu and he had already lined up to enter the city gate.

But right next to the city gate, there was a circle of people surrounding the boss. There was also a tea house full of guests by the roadside. Even the Eight Immortals table facing the street outside the door was full of tea guests.

"These people are staying here and won't leave. No wonder the city gate is blocked."

Qiao Mu followed everyone's gaze.

I saw everyone's eyes falling on a line of writing on the wall of the city gate tower.

That line of handwriting was obviously carved on the masonry with a sharp tool. The handwriting was not neat, but it was quite impressive and was done in one go.

"The murderer, Qiao Jia Qiao Sen!"

The storyteller in the teahouse was stunned and shouted out the seven-character handwriting on the city gate tower.

"Well, Qiao Sen actually used a spear as a pen and the blood of City Lord Guo as ink to write these words on the city gate tower, and then walked away with his clothes on."

"Two years later, the bloodstains on the old city wall have long faded, and only the writing is still there. It has been preserved to this day, allowing us to have a glimpse of the Qiao family and Qiao Sen's style back then."

"Okay!" The tea guests around him also cheered.

"Our Yancheng is one of the first places in Kyushu where the Qiao family's footprints appeared."

"The Qiao family came to the land of Kyushu from the overseas knight island. They chose Yancheng because of the outstanding people here."

"That's true."

A thin young man emerged from the crowd and said loudly:

"When we arrive in Yancheng, it's not enough to just look at the handwriting on the city gate. There is also the Qiao family's former residence in the outer city area. It was the former residence of Qiao Mu Qiao Lin and Qiao Sen's family."

"If you want to go to the former residence of the Qiao family, just come with me."

Good guy, this has become a former residence scenic spot... Qiao Mu cursed, but when his eyes fell on the thin young man, he was slightly startled.

Nowadays, his memory has already reached the level of photographic memory, and the appearance of the young man leading the way is indeed vaguely similar to someone in his memory.

"This is Ah Cheng, the servant I knocked unconscious and pretended to be asleep in the former palace of City Lord Guo. Two years later, he has become an adult."

Qiao Mu's eyes moved slightly.

Perhaps it was his gaze that caught the attention of young Acheng, who raised his eyes and looked up:

"This gentleman, when you come to Yancheng, your visit will be in vain if you don't go to the former residence of the Qiao family. You can come with us."

"No need." Qiao Mu waved his hand:

"I'm familiar with that place. The house is bare and there's nothing to see."

Young Ah Cheng was startled, his eyes falling on Qiao Mu's face and the fat cat on Qiao Mu's shoulder.

He used to live in the outer city area near the North Gate. In fact, after the famine, he found a dilapidated and empty house to stay temporarily.

Strictly speaking, it was not the former residence of the Qiao family. The original owner of the house had long since disappeared.

Qiao Mu raised his eyes and looked around.

The surrounding houses are neat, the streets are smooth, and there is an endless stream of pedestrians, not to mention jostling each other. It is indeed much livelier than the inner city of Yancheng in his memory.

Think about it too.

After all, Wang Songhe once served as a minister, and looked at the entire Dayan court as a high-ranking official. With his ability, it would be easy for him to become a small city lord.

Two years have passed, and with the addition of the mountain people who have moved in from Dongshan outside the city, Yancheng is much more lively than before, which is what it should be.

Young Ah Cheng pondered for a moment, looked away from Qiao Mu, and did not insist anymore:

"In that case, I'll leave first."

The crowded crowd separated slightly, and the young man Ah Cheng led them away.

The man with a sword and hat who had talked to Qiao Mu before also left with him, but before leaving, he glanced at Qiao Mu intentionally or unintentionally.

Qiao Mu did not doubt that he was there.

He didn't leave in a hurry, but stopped at the door of the teahouse to ask for a bowl of tea and just stood there listening to the storyteller.

"It's been a long time since I've heard a scholar bragging about my awesomeness. Why don't I just listen to a few more words before I leave?"

Qiao Mu thought for a while, took out a piece of silver from the storage bag at his waist, weighed it and threw it to the storyteller on the stage.

"Storyteller, tell me the story of the young man Ren Xia Qiao Mu. I like to hear it."

"Okay, okay." When a distinguished guest offered a reward, the storyteller naturally beamed:

"This time, let's start with the story of meeting a dandy on Qiaomu Road..."

The storyteller does a good job, his voice is cadenced, and he can win applause from the audience when he says something wonderful.

Qiao Mu gradually became entranced as he listened, and his heart rippled again.

"It's been a long time since I've heard... heard anyone say the name 'Arbor'."

Perhaps because he is getting older, Qiao Mu also begins to feel inexplicably sentimental at the moment when he revisits his old place.

Generations of the Qiao family have appeared and died in battles, and his name has changed countless times.

People say that the Qiao family values ​​righteousness over life and death, and they are like one person from generation to generation. The Qiao family is famous, but how many people remember the name "Qiaomu" now?

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