Chapter 677: Yu State Taizu in the Boxing Gym (5k)
The huge moon above the Mubei Forest was once again obscured by clouds.
After the huge monster in the forest died, the remaining limbs and arms were still oozing blood.
Wearing a silver mask, a round hat, and a simple sorcerer's robe, Pei Niannu stared at Zhao Duan coldly and slowly put the dagger in his hand, which he had wiped clean with snow, back into the scabbard at his waist.
Master.
Does Zhao Duan have a master in this world?
Yes.
If you have to count, there are actually two.
One is Lao Xu, who had just entered the path of "Martial God" and was encountered on the top of the mountain in the "Martial God Picture". In the scroll, Emperor Taizu took him through the desert and snowfield to the East China Sea and taught him the initial skills.
Then, there are the two versions of "Pei Niannu" that appeared in "The Six Chapter Sutra" and "The Great Dream Scroll".
They have also taught skills.
The one in front of him was the "Silver Armor" version of the sorceress who was supposed to have existed six hundred years ago and roamed the world.
But...why?
Zhao Duan was completely stunned and fell into great confusion. Everything before him was too absurd.
Not to mention, Pei Niannu had already died, leaving only his soul, which was preserved in the "Six Chapter Sutra" by some unknown method.
Even if Pei Niannu can really be "resurrected", it should be the golden armor version, not this.
Yes... The golden-armored Pei Niannu that had just floated beside him merged into the silver-armored man's brow... Zhao Duan cautiously probed:
"Master... Master? Which version are you... No, I mean, are you the one I summoned, or..."
The Pei Niannu in front of him after the two merged into one was obviously a "living person".
Listening to his question, her silver eyes dimmed slightly, but she did not give a direct answer. Instead, her gaze swept over the faces of the Empress, Zhang Yanyi, and Tuoba Weizhi in turn, and then she said coldly:
"Are you from outside?"
Then, she stared at Zhao Duan again, with a meaningful look:
"Did you bring them here?"
Outside? She knew we were from outside Mubei Forest… Zhao Duan’s mind raced.
At this time, Xu Zhenguan took the initiative to step forward. The empress's eyes were filled with excitement as she spoke:
"I... I am the current emperor of the Dayu royal family. I have come here specially..."
"I don't care who you are," Pei Niannu interrupted her rudely and said calmly:
"Whether you are an emperor or a sorcerer, since you have come here, you must abide by the rules of this place.
I know you have many questions in your hearts, but these questions are not for me to answer. I will give you a quarter of an hour to recuperate and then follow me."
"Where are we going?" Zhang Yan asked thoughtfully.
Pei Niannu said calmly:
"Go wherever you want to go."
After saying this, Pei Niannu left them alone and walked straight to the monster's corpse on the ground. Then he rummaged through it and dug out an "inner elixir" as big as a goose egg.
After putting away the inner elixir, she walked to the side and sat cross-legged to breathe.
"this……"
The four people looked at each other. This was all too weird. Not to mention why Pei Niannu, who had died six hundred years ago, was living in this forest in his prime, the other party's attitude was also very strange.
And… the most crucial thing was that the other party actually knew Zhao Duan and acknowledged their “master-disciple” relationship… It was as if the other party knew about the story in “The Great Dream Scroll” where Zhao Duan became her disciple…
"Strange... There's something strange about this place..."
Zhao Duan felt his mind was in a mess. Even with his intelligence, he couldn't understand anything at all.
Zhang Yanyi pondered for a moment and said in a low voice:
"I always feel that she came to pick us up and seemed to know we were coming. And... that Pei you summoned earlier..."
He paused, turned his head, and saw the sorceress in the distance meditating with her eyes closed, not looking in his direction, before continuing:
"She said she would lead the way for us. Was it a two-way attraction?"
Zhao Duan said:
"What the Heavenly Master means is that the Senior Pei I summoned is like a flag in our team, sending out a... signal?
Did it attract my master to find us? Senior Pei brought us here just to reunite with my master? And then pick us up?"
You keep calling me "Master", and it sounds so natural...
Bah, so shameless... Zhang Yan muttered in his heart and nodded on the surface.
This is a logical guess, otherwise it cannot explain why Silver-Armored Pei Niannu could arrive in time to rescue.
Xu Zhenguan walked straight to the tent and said:
"I have a feeling the answer is very close to us. Let's pack up and get ready to catch up."
She seemed a little excited, excited... seemed impatient. Zhao Duan saw her flushed face and understood the reason for Zhenbao's excitement:
If Pei Niannu was still alive in this forest six hundred years ago, then Old Xu might be alive too!
even……
It was Old Xu who sent Pei Niannu to pick them up!
This speculation is not without evidence, because the "merger of two Pei Niannu" seems strange in the eyes of others, but the empress thought of something.
"Soul-splitting technique!"
She explained to Zhao Duan in a low voice:
"The soul-splitting technique mastered by Emperor Taizu!"
Zhao Duan suddenly realized:
Isn't it very similar that Pei Niannu's dual souls are in one body, and the empress's real body is now in Xiping Road, with a wisp of soul following him?
If it was Old Xu who brought Pei Niannu back to life, and then used the "soul-splitting" method to cut her into two parts, one part would remain in her real body and remain forever in this forbidden forest.
The other part is hidden in the mural...It is theoretically possible.
With this in mind, they didn't delay any longer and began to quickly pack up their things and rest.
Fortunately, although they fought with the monster, none of them were seriously injured. A quarter of an hour later, Pei Niannu opened his eyes, without even looking at them, stood up and walked into the darkness.
"Master, go slower..." Zhao Duan took out a few torches, lit them on the bonfire, and then extinguished the bonfire with snow. The four people each held a torch and hurriedly followed.
"Master," Zhao Duan leaned forward flatteringly:
"Isn't it safe to travel this late at night? If we run into that person again..."
Pei Niannu didn't even look at him and said coldly:
"No. This area around here is the beast's territory."
Zhao Duan was very smart and immediately understood:
The Mubei Forest seemed to be cut into pieces of territory by powerful monsters.
Monsters definitely have a sense of territory and will not easily cross the line.
Therefore, as long as you don't leave this territory, you won't encounter a second monster.
As expected, the rest of the journey went extremely smoothly and the group did not encounter any danger again.
Occasionally, when encountering small wild animals, we would avoid them from a distance.
With the cultivation level of Zhao Duan and others, they can go for several days without sleeping and not feel tired. This will give them courage and they will not feel any burden when traveling at night.
But along the way, several people tried to talk to Pei Niannu several times, but they always hit a wall. Pei Niannu seemed too lazy to pay attention to them, and did not respond to any of their indirect inquiries.
A few hours later.
The night faded and the sky grew brighter. When the morning light illuminated the woods, the group heard the sound of rushing water coming from the front.
A river!
Zhao Duan actually saw a river running through the Mubei Forest!
This river is not big, only one order of magnitude wider and deeper than a stream, so it is considered a small river, but the strange thing is that in this cold winter, the river has not frozen!
I stretched out my hand and dipped it into the river water, and actually felt a slight warmth!
A warm river that doesn’t freeze!
"I'll give you half an hour to make a bamboo raft to cross the river." Pei Niannu stood by the river, scanning the few people with his silver eyes, and said coldly.
It was a pity that in the outside world, the four people who could shake the whole world with just a stomp of their feet were now being scolded like servants.
However, considering that the other party was an ancient person and was once a senior in the realm of heaven and man, even Zhang Yanyi did not have much temper.
The four of them quickly got busy, cutting down trees and securing them with strong vines. Half an hour later, a sturdy bamboo raft that was big enough to carry five people with room to spare plopped into the Nuan River.
Several people got on the bamboo raft. Zhang Yanyi took out a yellow paper talisman with cinnabar painted on it from his sleeve and stuck it on the raft. Then, gusts of wind swirled around and pushed the raft to move rapidly deeper into the river.
“Clatter—”
Several people sat on the bamboo raft and got a long-awaited rest.
Zhao Duan turned his head and looked at Pei Niannu, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the bamboo raft, covered in silver armor, and couldn't help but say:
"Master, there seem to be no fish in this river? Is there any danger?"
Pei Niannu said coldly: "No."
Zhao Duan immediately felt relieved, took off his shoes and socks, and put his red, frozen feet into the warm river.
Everyone: “…”
Zhao Duan said, "Why are you looking at me? If you don't believe me, try it yourself. It's quite refreshing."
A moment later, the empress, Zhang Yanyi, and Tuoba Weizhi followed suit, put their feet in the water, and squinted their eyes comfortably as the bamboo raft moved forward.
Xu Zhen watched the trees flying by on both sides of the river and suddenly said with concern:
"We should have left the last monster's territory, right?"
In other words, have we entered a new dangerous area?
Pei Niannu said calmly: "There is no danger in this river area."
This was the last sentence she spoke that day, and she never spoke again.
The bamboo raft carried the group quickly deeper into the river. The river was not straight, but winding.
During the process, Zhao Duan sensed several times that a powerful aura was approaching the shore, but it stopped after approaching the river, as if no monster would invade here.
"Safe Zone." Zhao Duan silently gave the river a name.
Then, he realized a new problem:
Their group had been walking for a whole day and were still on the road. How did Pei Niannu get to them so quickly last night?
Could it be that he had already arrived at the outskirts long beforehand? That's why he was able to arrive in time?
The speed of the bamboo raft was much faster than walking. In a blink of an eye, the sun set and the second night arrived.
However, in the evening, the bamboo raft passed by a "village".
Yes!
village!
Pei Niannu stood up and ordered the bamboo raft to stop at a small "pier" on the shore. Then he took a few people ashore and walked towards an open area in the distance.
This is actually a valley with wooden houses and some residents making fire and cooking.
These residents included old and young, men and women. Zhao Duan took a quick look and found that except for the children, almost all of them were cultivators, but their cultivation levels were not very high.
The clothes of these people were a bit rough, many of them were made of animal skins. There were also some people of status who wore cloth clothes with slightly crude stitching, as if they were made by themselves.
The appearance is not much different from the outside world.
These people obviously knew Pei Niannu, and they showed great respect to her and showed great curiosity about Zhao Duan and his group.
During the process, he asked something in a mumbling manner. The words were a bit obscure and difficult to understand, but if you listened carefully, they seemed to be the same language as the outside world.
"It's the dialect of the inhabitants of the northern part of Qi State." Tuoba Weizhi suddenly said:
"Listen carefully and you can tell."
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment and wanted to say something, but Pei Niannu in front of him turned around, glanced at him, and said:
"These people originally lived here, but they haven't communicated with the outside world for a long time."
Xu Zhenguan said:
"Senior, do you mean that they are the people of Qi Country?"
Pei Niannu did not comment, and then said:
"This village is called Peach Blossom Spring."
Peach Blossom Spring... Others didn't feel anything, but Zhao Duan felt something in his heart. Was it a coincidence?
Or was it deliberately named after the earth?
But he immediately realized something was wrong:
According to Tuoba Weizhi, there were indeed a small number of residents in the Mubei Forest a thousand years ago, but after a huge forest fire, those residents must have fled. After that, a barrier appeared and this place became a restricted area, and no one would enter again.
So, these people are the descendants of the residents who did not evacuate back then?
Or are they descendants of people who later entered this forest and never left? Why didn't they leave?
All kinds of doubts made him frown.
However, knowing Pei Niannu's character, he did not ask any further questions, but kept his mouth shut and entered the village with the empress and others.
…
That night.
The villagers of Taohuayuan prepared a simple banquet to welcome their arrival.
The villagers set up tables in the square, lit a bonfire, put pieces of barbecued meat in fired pottery pots, and brought out jars of fruit wine and many strange and exotic vegetables that did not exist in the outside world.
The Empress's mind was not on eating, but she couldn't help but ask: "Is this the place that Senior wants to bring us to?"
This village was too ordinary, and the person she was looking for was not there.
Pei Niannu sat on the chair, cutting a large piece of fragrant meat with the dagger in his hand, and shook his head:
"no."
No? Zhang Yan stroked his beard and asked, "Then why stop here?"
Pei Niannu gave him a strange look and said confidently, "I'm hungry."
Zhang Yanyi: “…”
Well, in the end, it was just that we were too impatient.
At this time, Tuoba Weizhi, who was eating and drinking, opened a wine jar, picked it up and took a sip, then let out a low cry, stretched out his little hand, reached into the wine jar, and then, in full view of everyone, took out an inner elixir.
Zhang Yan's eyes lit up:
"A demon pill of excellent quality would have been a valuable item even in ancient times, but it is now extremely rare in the outside world."
Zhao Duan also opened a jar of wine and found one inside. Apparently, this thing was used to soak wine here, similar to the effect of old mountain ginseng...
Then, they were surprised to find that the fragrant leaves used to wrap the meat on the table were precious plants worth hundreds of taels per piece in the outside world.
The various chopped "dry sauces and dipping sauces" on the plate are all extremely precious and rare herbs.
This forest, which had been covered in dust for so many years, was like a treasure trove and gave several people a great shock.
After dinner, Pei Niannu stood up. Without any intention of staying overnight, he said goodbye to the village with a few people and prepared to continue his journey.
The villagers walked to the village entrance to see them off.
Just as the two sides were saying goodbye, an accident happened.
Behind the crowd, an old man in cloth clothes, with messy gray hair and who seemed a little crazy, pushed through the crowd, staring at Zhao Duan with wide eyes.
Suddenly, his knees gave way and he knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Zhao Duan excitedly, and shouted something in dialect, repeating it over and over again...
The surrounding villagers rushed to support him and took him away.
"This is..." Xu Zhenguan couldn't help but ask.
Pei Niannu said calmly:
"This was the previous village chief of Taohuayuan. He got too old and his mind was sometimes lucid and sometimes confused, so he rarely came out."
Zhang Yanyi asked, "What did he just shout?"
Pei Niannu did not answer, but turned and walked towards the bamboo raft, saying lightly:
"It's getting late, let's go."
Several people looked at each other and followed silently, but Zhao Duan's brows were furrowed even more tightly.
He didn't know if he had heard correctly, but he just vaguely made out a few words in the old village chief's northern dialect, which seemed to be...
"master."
Master? Who did he call Master? And who among us did he think was who?
…
During the rest of the journey, the words of the crazy old village chief kept circling in Zhao Duan's mind.
The team went deeper and deeper into the Mubei Forest and saw traces of villages along the way. It seemed that there was more than one settlement along this river.
The next night, the few of them did not reach the village and simply found a place to rest. Pei Niannu wanted to go hunting, but was stopped by Zhao Duan.
He took out the prepared food brought from the capital from the scroll. Pei Niannu was a little embarrassed at first, but after eating a piece of pastry from Mingshengzhai in the capital, his eyes lit up slightly behind his mask.
Next, she used her authority as a "master" to forcibly seize all the pastries and ate them all... and she looked at her disciple Zhao Duan with more and more satisfaction.
On the third day, we continued our journey.
Zhao Duan calculated repeatedly based on the rough map he drew and found that the group had arrived at the central area of the forest.
…
evening.
The bamboo raft once again stopped at a larger pier.
A few people went ashore and saw the largest village they had seen along the way, no... it should even be said to be a town.
The town is full of houses built with bricks, stones and wood, and there are even some shops!
The architectural style was also quite ancient, the style of the Great Qi Dynasty. Zhao Duan was even surprised to see some lanterns, paper and other objects, and he couldn't help but become more puzzled:
This place has not had contact with the outside world for so many years. Even if some daily necessities were preserved a thousand years ago, how could they still be used for so long?
After entering the town, everyone found that the residents here lived a much richer life, and residents along the way would occasionally nod and salute Pei Niannu.
A few people walked on the cobblestone road in the center of the town and even passed by a "school" where a teacher was giving a lecture to a group of children.
This made several people feel even more incredible.
Finally, Pei Niannu and the other four stopped outside a boxing gym in the town. Yes, on the lintel of the courtyard, the words "Xu's Boxing Gym" were written in large black characters on the wood.
"The person you are looking for is inside." Pei Niannu glanced at the four people, then took a few steps back to make way.
Zhao Duan hesitated for a moment, raised his hand to hold down the empress who was about to step forward, shook his head, then walked forward himself, raised his hand, pressed it on the door panel, and pushed hard!
“Squeak—”
The wooden door was pushed open from the outside to the inside, and what came into view was a clean courtyard with two main rooms and side rooms on the left and right under the setting sun.
In the center of the courtyard, there stands a huge fiery red banyan tree!
The big banyan tree is extremely old and very large. Bathed in the sunset, every leaf seems to be burning!
There is a well under the banyan tree, and next to the well, there is a stone table and several stone benches.
At this moment, an old boxer with a burly figure, wearing a plain cloth shirt and with slightly gray hair at the temples, was standing under the tree, performing a set of punches at a moderate pace.
With every breath, wisps of sunset glow swirled around him like flames, so gorgeous.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old boxer slowly retracted his fist, raised his eyes and looked towards the courtyard gate, met the eyes of several people, and smiled slightly:
"You're here."
Zhao Duan was hit hard:
Taizu of Yu State, Emperor!
(End of this chapter)
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