Chapter 2 Chapter 02

Taiyuan, the northern capital, the Di family's old house. In the north of Taiyuan City, in Renxingfang, there is a large courtyard with five rooms and six entrances, Wutou gate, plain tiles and white walls.The corridors in the courtyard are linked together, and the grids are carved, simple but not simple.Rows of emerald bamboos are planted along the wall, and they are covered with withered yellow in the late autumn.A few towering pagoda trees, together with a few pillars of begonia scattered here and there, can only add a little limited greenery to this slightly bleak courtyard. Di Chun stood in the first courtyard, spitting and directing a group of servants to unload the goods from the several carriages he brought.Surrounded by several maids and women, they were chatting with him in a hurry.

When they were in a mess, suddenly one person took three steps and two steps at a time, blowing in like a gust of wind, stretched out his hand and slapped Di Chun hard on the shoulder.Di Chun gritted his teeth and was about to explode when he saw the man standing in front of him smiling happily at him. Di Chun shouted in surprise: "Third Young Master!" "You little fellow, Di Chun, I haven't seen you for a few years, you've gained a lot of weight. It seems that you're following my father, and the food is pretty good." The person known as the third young master looked Di Chun up and down, nodded and smiled.I saw his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a thick black mustache under the straight bridge of the nose, which was carefully groomed.He was dressed in a black brocade robe inlaid with gold and silver threads, tied with a bright silver leather belt, which made him look more like a bee waist and crane arms, with a free and easy demeanor.He is Di Jinghui, the youngest son of Di Renjie.

Di Chun scratched his head embarrassingly, and said with a smile: "Third young master, don't you know our master? If you follow him, it's no problem to eat enough, so let's talk about it." Di Jinghui laughed heartily, glanced at the truck, and asked, "Di Chun, when will my father be home?" Di Chun hurriedly took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Di Jinghui: "Third young master, this is a letter from the master. Before the younger one left, the master told him to leave three days later than the younger one. It should be there the day after tomorrow.”

Di Jinghui took the letter without opening it, and asked, "I'm in a hurry to return home this time. I haven't heard anything about it before. Do you know what's going on?" "I don't know about this little thing. It seems that the emperor suddenly approved the master to take office, and our master left as soon as he said it. Third young master, why don't you read what the master said in the letter first?" Di Jinghui frowned, and said: "What will the letter say? I know my father very well. He can't write anything in the letter except for some high-sounding formulas. I still wait for me to send this letter to my mother, so that her old man Go and see."

As he said that, he smiled mockingly again: "A woman is a woman after all. This kind of chaotic and capricious style is what my father can serve." Di Chun groaned, and said, "Third Young Master! Why are you still so careless when you speak?" "What's the matter? There are no outsiders here. Isn't it like you are going to sue me?" "I don't dare to kill the little one. It's just that if the master hears this when he comes back, he will be angry with you again." "Hehe, no matter what I say, he will be angry anyway. I might as well just say what I want. My father and the others, scholars and officials, have served the heroine for a long time. They spend a lot of money on their crowns and belts. They speak insincerely and can't say a word. To be honest, Di Chun, don't learn to be coy about it."

"I..." Di Chun blushed, speechless. Di Jinghui patted him on the shoulder: "Okay! Let's not talk about this. You haven't been back to Taiyuan for a long time. I'll take you out to have fun tonight. How about it?!" "Third young master, I dare not dare." "Why don't you dare? I advise you to hurry up these two days. When my father arrives home the day after tomorrow, you won't have a chance even if you want to play. Let's go to my restaurant in Dongshi tonight. Orchid orchid wine is a must in Taiyuan City, we will not go home if we are not drunk tonight!"

Di Chun was still hesitating, Di Jinghui waved his hand impatiently: "That's it. I'm going to say hello to my mother right now. Wait for me for a while, and we'll set off immediately." He turned around and was about to take a step when he suddenly sniffled, looked at Di Chun carefully, and asked, "Why do you have a scent on you?" "Ah?" Di Chun thought for a while, and suddenly realized: "Oh, it's the name card from Mrs. Hean Ying Shanzhuang." As he said, he took out a plain note from his arms and handed it to Di Jinghui. Di Jinghui took Su Jian, looked at it, and an imperceptible look of disgust flashed across his face, and asked, "Why do you have this?"

Di Chun narrated the process of sending Di Renjie's name card to Henying Villa. Di Jinghui listened attentively, raised his hand, and threw Su Jian back into Di Chun's arms, and said with a faint smile, "So you saw that woman. How is it? It's a beautiful woman, right?" Di Chun smirked and didn't answer. Di Jinghui didn't ask any further questions, he withdrew and walked towards the inner hall. After taking two steps, he suddenly remembered something, turned around and said, "My father didn't come back alone, did he?" "Of course not, Master and General Li are here together."

"General Lee?" "Oh, it's the head of the master's guard, Li Yuanfang, General Li." "Li Yuanfang?" "Yeah, that's..." Di Jinghui interrupted Di Chun's words: "I see, Li Yuanfang, I've heard this name all these years and my ears are calloused. What is he doing here?" "I don't know the little one. But the master always takes General Li with him wherever he goes." "I have to take it with me when I go out on errands, but now I have to take it with me when I go home?" Di Jinghui thought for a while, and then said: "It seems that this Li Yuanfang is really a character. I heard that he is only in his early thirties, and he followed my father all the way to the rank of the third-rank general of the imperial court. I didn't expect my father to go home. With him, I have never seen my father depend so much on anyone."

Di Chun eagerly interjected, "Of course. General Li is a great hero, and the master trusts him very much." Di Jinghui snorted: "Great heroes? Are there really great heroes in this world? They are all ordinary people in their hearts, and at most they are more sanctimonious than everyone else." Di Chun hurriedly argued: "Third Young Master, General Li is not a pious man, he is a real hero." Di Jinghui glanced at Di Chun attentively, nodded meaningfully, and said, "Very well, I really want to meet this man." As he said that, he walked towards the inner hall again, and said as he walked: "Di Chun, I know that you feel uneasy about letting you go to the wine shop. Let me tell you, when my father returns home the day after tomorrow, I will hold a welcome banquet for him. I want the best chef in my restaurant to cook a first-class banquet in Beidu. Tonight, you, the big butler, should go to inspect the flavor of the food."

Foothills of Taihang Mountains. On a winding mountain road, the autumn wind is strong, blowing yellow leaves all over the ground.The two horses galloped all the way, their hooves stepped on the yellow leaves, like flying on the golden river, and the crisp footsteps echoed in the mountains. "My lord, we set off at noon and have been running all the way until now. It's time to rest." Li Yuanfang prancing and galloping, shouting to Di Renjie on the horse beside him. Di Renjie also urged the horse to run fast, and replied loudly: "What's the matter, Yuan Fang? I'm an old man, and I haven't been tired yet, so you're going to rest?" "My lord! It's not that I'm tired, it's that your horse is tired!" Li Yuanfang clamped his legs, and the steed under his seat rushed forward, and immediately stopped in front of Di Renjie. The reins of the horse are firmly held in the hands.The horse neighed, stomped its hooves a few times, and stopped obediently. "Eh? Yuanfang, what do you mean?" Di Renjie panted heavily, looking at Li Yuanfang suspiciously. "My lord, look at it." Li Yuanfang patted Di Renjie's mount lightly. Di Renjie looked down and saw that the horse was sweating profusely. His body was trembling slightly, and his four hooves stepped on the ground in turn, as if it was difficult to maintain his center of gravity. "It, how could it be like this?" Di Renjie asked suspiciously. "You rushed too fast today." Li Yuanfang said. "No, the post station obviously gave us the best horse. Besides, isn't your horse still in good condition?" Li Yuanfang smiled faintly, and glanced casually at Di Renjie's waist.Di Renjie looked down at himself, and couldn't help but smile in relief. Li Yuanfang jumped off the horse, stood in front of Di Renjie, stretched out his right hand to him and said, "My lord, if you continue to ride this horse, it will be dangerous. Please get off the horse, and I will walk with you for a while. You can change my horse at the front." Di Renjie got off his horse helplessly, and Li Yuanfang took the two horses and slowly followed him.The two were speechless for a while, and walked in silence for a while. Di Renjie sighed and said, "Yuan Fang, do you know why I was in such a hurry today?" Li Yuanfang shook his head. Di Renjie looked around, and muttered: "It should be around here." Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he walked quickly towards a steep slope ahead. Li Yuanfang saw that the path was extremely narrow, and shook his head. He tied the two horses to a nearby tree and quickly followed. The two of them climbed up the steep slope three times and two times, and it suddenly became clear in front of them. The mountains under their feet were covered by deep clouds and fog.Di Renjie sighed with infinite melancholy, and said, "Yuan Fang, I walked this same road thirty years ago." "Thirty years ago?" "Yes. At that time, I was recommended by my teacher Yan Liben. I was promoted from Bianzhou Panzuo to Bingzhou Facao. It was through this Taihang Mountain that I traveled all the way north to Taiyuan. Back then, I came to this place, and I wanted to be an official. Ye's old father, looking south at Heyang, was full of emotions, and tears stained his clothes. Only then did he deeply understand the truth that "loyalty and filial piety are not the same, and the relationship between son and minister is difficult to have both." I never thought that in the past thirty years, one It’s gone in a blink of an eye. Now that I’ve reached the point where I’m going to retire, I’m still walking the same path.” As Di Renjie spoke, his eyes couldn't help getting a little moist. He suppressed the ups and downs of his heart, looked at Li Yuanfang beside him, and said with a smile: "Thirty years ago, you were just born. I'm afraid it's hard to get sympathy when I tell you this. Huh? Isn't it Yuan Fang?" Li Yuanfang smiled gently, and said, "My lord, as long as you don't say you are playing the piano against a cow, I will be very grateful." Di Renjie was amused by him and laughed loudly: "Well, I have never seen such a smart cow." Li Yuanfang said: "My lord, if you finish expressing your emotions, let's continue on our way. There should be a pavilion to rest our feet in front of us. Let's go there to drink horses, drink saliva, and then we will go over the road before sunset. cliff." "Okay, just listen to the general." "grown ups……" The two walked back to the mountain road side by side, Di Renjie was still immersed in the melancholy feeling just now, he only felt his heart was surging, and thousands of thoughts rushed to his heart, but it was difficult to figure out a clue.He looked at Li Yuanfang, who was silent beside him, and always felt that he was by his side when he walked this road thirty years ago.Even though he knew it was impossible, he still persisted in this idea in his heart. The fate with him definitely not only started ten years ago, but should be in the farther past.It's just that the past is hard to get back. "My lord, look." Li Yuanfang's voice woke Di Renjie from his contemplation, and when he raised his eyes, there was a gazebo a few steps ahead. In the gazebo, an old man set up a small tea stall.Next to it is a simple manger for horse riders to feed horses, and a large bamboo cage, which is placed on a small fire supported by wooden sticks. The drawer cloth is steaming. Di Renjie laughed: "Hehe, it seems that today we are lucky." Seeing someone coming, the old man hurriedly greeted Di Renjie to take a seat.Li Yuanfang tied the horses to the side of the manger, watched the two horses start to chew the fodder in the trough, and then came over and sat beside Di Renjie.At this time, Di Renjie had chatted with the old man several times. "Oh, the weather is getting colder and colder. There are fewer and fewer pedestrians on this mountain road. If I leave this stall for a few more days, I should take it home for the winter." The old man complained while pouring two bowls of hot water. Tea. "Old man, what good things are you steaming in this steamer?" Di Renjie asked with a smile. "You said this, it's a specialty of our Taihang Mountains, it's called Pengyan Cake." The old man lifted the lid, and a fresh fragrance came out.The old man looked at Di Renjie, and said again: "You old man, your accent sounds like a local, why don't you know this?" Di Renjie laughed loudly: "Ah, the old man heard it right. I am from Bingzhou, but I have been to the hometown for many years, and it has been a long time since I have the opportunity to eat the delicious food of this hometown. Today, I will take this opportunity to taste it. Old man, give each of us a piece. Come, come, Yuan Fang, I'll treat you today." The old man put the cake into the bowls in front of the two of them, and said, "Why are you two fathers and sons still so polite? What else do you want?" "Oh? Old man, how do you know we are father and son? Do we look alike?" Di Renjie asked with great interest, blowing the heat off the cake. The old man looked at Li Yuanfang carefully, then looked at Di Renjie, and said, "If you want to say, it doesn't look alike. But my old man is so old, and there are many people watching. You are obviously two fathers and sons. I will never Misread." Di Renjie looked at Li Yuanfang with a smile, nodded and said, "Yes. The old man has good eyesight, you are right." The old man looked at the fire, and said to Di Renjie: "You two eat first, this firewood is not enough, I'll go find some in the bushes behind." "Hey, you are busy with your work." Di Renjie watched the old man walk into the bushes, watched Li Yuanfang take a bite of the cake kindly, and said in a low voice: "Cross this mountain today, walk another day tomorrow, and you will arrive at Bingzhou City. The situation has been introduced to you." "My lord, please speak." "En." Di Renjie nodded, and the expression on his face gradually became serious: "Although Bingzhou is my hometown, I told you just now, because my father has long been an official in the court. Since I was a child, I followed him everywhere and traveled all over the land of China. In fact, I didn’t stay in Bingzhou for a long time. But later, when I was in Bingzhou as the Facao of the Metropolitan Governor’s Mansion, I stayed here for more than ten years. It’s been the longest time in Bingzhou. Now, my eldest son and second son have also become officials. One is in Weizhou and the other is in Yizhou. They are very filial and took my two wives there. In my hometown, only my eldest wife and youngest son Jing Hui. Speaking of this Jing Hui..." Di Renjie was about to continue, when suddenly, a figure sprang out from the nearby bushes, slanted towards the table in front of the two of them, and just as he was about to pounce on him, Li Yuanfang suddenly jumped up. , gave Di Renjie to his back, lightly tapped his leg, and the whole table fell on the visitor. The man was struggling under the table, scratching his hands and kicking his feet, making whining noises. Li Yuanfang stretched out his right hand and grabbed the back of his neck, picking him up like a chicken. .But seeing this person's appearance clearly, Li Yuanfang and Di Renjie were startled at the same time. They saw that this person's hair was messy, with branches and grass stalks mixed in, and his face was filthy, except for two blood-red eyes. , I can't see the appearance at all.The clothes on her body were even more torn, barely able to cover her body, covered in mud and dirt, and she had long looked down on the original color.The man screamed indistinctly, and continued to struggle violently. Although Li Yuanfang had a strong arm, holding this man in his hand, he felt an indescribable disgust and discomfort in his heart, and a pungent stench emanated from the man's body. The smell made Li Yuanfang want to throw him out immediately.He looked at Di Renjie, who shook his head and said, "Yuan Fang, this person doesn't seem to have any malicious intentions, you put him down." Li Yuanfang threw the man to the ground with a "boom", the man crawled two steps on the ground, suddenly saw a piece of Pengyan cake rolling down in front of him, he rushed over, grabbed the cake and stuffed it into his mouth.Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang looked at each other, and Di Renjie said: "It seems that he is hungry." The man stuffed the whole cake down three times, then crawled around on the ground trembling, and saw another piece of cake , swooped over again, and stuffed the second cake in an instant.He continued to crawl on the ground, his mouth was open, his blood-red eyes were crooked, saliva dripped down the corner of his mouth, and his whole body was trembling.Di Renjie walked towards him slowly, Li Yuanfang said softly, "My lord, be careful." "It doesn't matter, it seems to be a sick person, let me take a look." Di Renjie was about to approach the man, when the old cake seller followed the sound, and when he saw the table turned over and the bowl was broken, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh, what do you mean?" Hearing the cry, the man suddenly screamed and rushed towards the old man like crazy.The old man backed away in fright, bumping his back against the drawer, the drawer toppled over, and the cage full of fluffy oatmeal cakes rolled to the floor.Li Yuanfang rushed over, and was about to catch that person again, but saw this person suddenly kneel down, grabbed three or four pieces of Pengyan Cake from the ground at the same time, and stuffed them into his mouth desperately.The mouth was stuffed so tightly, the eyes were protruding, even the whites of the eyes were turned out.Although Li Yuanfang was experienced in many battles, he had never seen such a scene before, so he suddenly lost his mind and looked straight at Di Renjie. Di Renjie's face sank like water, and he shouted loudly: "Yuan Fang, stop him quickly, he's going to choke himself to death." "Yes!" Li Yuanfang stretched out his hand and grabbed the man's hands firmly behind his back.But the man stretched out his neck again, bit a piece of oat cake from the ground, rolled his eyes, and swallowed it with difficulty.Li Yuanfang had no choice but to lift him up, standing there halfway, and saw the man stretching his neck, moaning in pain, his body twisting gradually slowed down, and finally turned his eyes up and never down again, and his head down As soon as he slumped, his tight body instantly collapsed.Li Yuanfang probed his breath and looked at Di Renjie in surprise: "My lord, he is dead." He gently put the person's body on the ground, and Di Renjie came over and squatted beside him, silently looking at this completely deformed face, and sighed: "Yuan Fang, get some water to wipe his face." Face, I want to check it." After scrubbing, the man's face showed some of its original appearance.Although the mouth and eyes are crooked, his face is blue and gray, and the original facial features can no longer be distinguished clearly, but it can still be seen that he is not very old, that is, in his twenties. Di Renjie picked up his hand and examined it carefully, then looked at his clothes, and said, "Yuan Fang, can you see what this man does?" Li Yuanfang pondered for a while, and said, "My lord, he seems to be a Taoist priest." "Well, is it because of this scarf?" Di Renjie pointed to a green cloth scarf that was crooked on the man's head. Because it hung loosely behind the ears and was covered by messy hair, they didn't see it just now. "Yes, and he is wearing a Taoist robe, too." Li Yuanfang pointed to the man's tattered clothes. "That's right, this dress is indeed a Deluo Dao uniform, but there is a problem..." "Is there something wrong, my lord?" Di Renjie pulled out a chain from the man's collar, and said, "Yuan Fang, do you have a look at this?" Li Yuanfang saw that in the middle of Di Renjie's palm was a golden rectangular pendant, which shone dazzlingly under the sunlight. It was obviously made of pure gold, and embedded in this golden frame was another light green pendant of the same shape. The gemstone is transparent throughout, and you can vaguely see some strange patterns engraved on the inside of the gemstone, neither like patterns nor words, very rare. Li Yuanfang looked at Di Renjie suspiciously, and said: "This kind of thing is very strange, it doesn't seem to be an object in Taoism." "This is for sure. Moreover, you can see that these lines are neither flowers nor animals, they are twisted and twisted, and they don't look like any symbols or symbols that we can see in various sects in Middle-earth. How about wearing such an object?" Di Renjie took the chain off the man's neck, weighed it in his hand, and said: "This is made of pure gold, and this green gem is also a rare and precious thing. Since you have such a valuable How could things be wandering in this mountain in misery?" "Yes, my lord, since he is so hungry, why don't he pawn or sell this object and exchange it for something to eat?" "Yuan Fang, do you think his binge eating just now is just because of hunger?" "Then why?" "It's hard to say. Although it is true that extremely hungry people will eat indiscriminately, and there are also examples of being full and sick due to this, but it is unbelievable that he would eat to death like this." Di Renjie then opened the man's palm and signaled: "Yuan Fang, look at his hand again. Every finger pulp of his left hand is dyed." Li Yuanfang nodded. He also found that this person's left hand was very strange. The entire palm was covered with various colors of black, red, blue, and green, and the pads of his fingers were even more overlapping and mixed. He wiped it vigorously with some water, and looked up. : "My lord, these can't be wiped off, it seems to be printed in." Di Renjie nodded, stood up, and called the old man who sold cakes: "Old man, the two of us have to continue on our way, so I can only ask you to transport this corpse down the mountain to hand over to the officials." The old man was embarrassed: "This, this..." Di Renjie took out a small silver tree from his bosom, stuffed it into the old man's hand, and said, "Old man, this man's death is very suspicious and pitiful, we need to report it to the authorities for a thorough investigation, and in addition, we must find his relatives and family members." , so good for burial." The old man sighed: "Oh, it seems that I have to use my transport guy's car to transport him. It's really bad luck." Di Renjie said: "Yuan Fang, come and help this old man." Li Yuanfang agreed, and was about to step forward to help, when suddenly his eyes froze, his right hand tightly grasped the Youlan Sword hanging from his waist, and he took two steps towards the bushes beside the mountain road. Di Renjie said alertly: "Yuan Fang, what's wrong?" Li Yuanfang stood at the same spot, his gaze was like an arrow, and he scanned the bushes and grass, heaved a sigh of relief, turned around and said, "My lord, it's all right. Let's get ready to go." The two helped the old man carry the body onto the cart, and watched the old man winding down the mountain road.Li Yuanfang led the horse and said: "My lord, you ride my horse." Di Renjie got on the horse, but set off in no hurry. He looked at Li Yuanfang and asked, "Yuanfang, what did you find just now?" Li Yuanfang nodded and said: "Yes, my lord, just now someone was spying in the nearby grass nest, and after I found out, he fled to the back of the mountain. I was afraid it was a trick to divert the tiger away from the mountain, so I didn't chase after him." "Oh, let's go and have a look together now." "Yes." Li Yuanfang led Di Renjie to the depths of the bushes, and said, "My lord, in fact, just now I felt that the spy was very small and his steps were very light, like a child." "Oh?" Di Renjie looked around, but there were fallen leaves and grass all over the ground, and he couldn't find any footprints.While hesitating, he suddenly found a small stream winding away not far in front of him. Steam was rising from the very narrow stream, and the grass branches beside the stream were trampled crookedly. A series of footprints and muddy water clearly follow the creek, pointing directly to the depths of the dense forest. Di Renjie urged his horse, and said, "Yuan Fang, let's go and explore." "My lord, will it delay our trip?" "It's okay, there's still some time. Let's explore for a while. As long as we return to the main road before Shen Shi, we can climb over this mountain today. Besides, Yuanfang, look, these footprints are really narrow, and they are clearly children. Yes. It is dangerous for a child to spend the night in this deep mountain, and it is best to find him." "yes!" The two followed the footprints step by step along the creek, and drove slowly towards the depths of the dense forest.Surrounded by some towering ancient trees, even though it is late autumn, the huge canopy is still stretched out to cover the sky and the sun.The creek was getting wider and wider, and the hot steam coming out of the water and the smell of rotting branches and leaves were almost suffocating.Suddenly, Di Renjie yelled in a low voice: "Too bad, the footprints are gone." The series of footprints along the creek was broken, and the creek also formed a circular deep pool here, with bubbles popping out of the water.Li Yuanfang urged the horse to lean close to Di Renjie's side, the hand holding the sword was slightly sweating, and he could clearly feel the danger lurking beside him.There was silence all around, as if something was waiting and watching. Suddenly, accompanied by a muffled roar, a large group of black figures jumped out of the deep black pool and rushed towards Di Renjie.Li Yuanfang had been prepared for a long time, and when he probed forward, the Youlan Sword in his hand drew a few cold lights, and blood splashed everywhere, only then did he see clearly that the black shadow was a ferocious giant dog. The sword was cut into three pieces at the waist, and the black hair that stood up all over his body was bloody and bloody.But just as the front half of the dog fell to the ground, the dog's head poked forward and bit hard on the leg of Di Renjie's mount.The horse neighed in shock, even in shock and pain, it carried Di Renjie and galloped away desperately.Li Yuanfang shouted anxiously: "My lord!" He chased after the horse, but the one in front of him was already a frightened horse, but he himself was riding the weakened horse that Di Renjie was riding. The speed of the two horses could not match at all. The enemy, seeing it, opened a large distance.Just as Li Yuanfang was complaining, the horse in front had already run out of the dense forest, and seemed to be rushing up the mountain road. Li Yuanfang galloped afterward. When he looked up, he was shocked, the end of the mountain road was clearly a cliff! Seeing that it was too late to catch up and save people, Li Yuanfang gritted his teeth, kicked the horse's belly violently, and took advantage of the horse's forward momentum to soar into the air, and threw the Youlan sword in his hand at the same time, and the sword was thrown in the air. Draw a swift arc, and cut off both hind legs of Di Renjie's horse in an instant!The horse hissed wildly and fell backwards. Li Yuanfang flew over just in time and hugged Di Renjie tightly. Only then will he stop at the edge of the cliff. "My lord! It's dangerous. Are you alright?" Li Yuanfang was terrified, and quickly helped Di Renjie to sit up, wanting to see if he was hurt.But suddenly they heard a strange rumbling sound above their heads, and the two looked up together, and couldn't help being shocked again.It turned out that this was an extremely narrow mountain road. Not only was there a cliff in front of it, but there was also a cliff on both sides, and the strange rumbling sound came from the cliff on one side. The rocks rolled all the way and fell towards the mountain road.Li Yuanfang hurriedly picked up the Youlan Sword from the ground, and while waving it to block the rocks, he dragged Di Renjie to avoid it, but the mountain road was already very narrow, with a cliff in front, and the mountain road going back was crossed by the horse with a broken leg. In the middle, there are also mountains and rocks falling down one after another, and there is no way to hide. "My lord! Squat down!" Li Yuanfang yelled and pushed Di Renjie down, covering his body herself. Seeing that the falling rocks became denser and bigger, several pieces hit Li Yuanfang's head and back , were all blocked by his internal strength, but even so, it still caused him severe pain, his eyes turned black, and he almost couldn't hold it anymore.At the critical moment, Di Renjie suddenly shouted: "Yuanfang, there is a cave here!" Li Yuanfang looked down, and there seemed to be a cave entrance on the cliff in front of him, which was covered by a clump of vines and thatch. Li Yuanfang held the orchid tightly Jian, probed into the entrance of the cave, and brought down a large piece of mud, stone, vines and grass. He no longer hesitated, and called out: "My lord, be careful!" He pushed Di Renjie in, and jumped into the cave after him. middle.With two plops, the two fell to the ground more than ten feet below. There were several loud bangs behind them, and the entrance of the cave was tightly blocked by rolling rocks. The cave was pitch black, and the ground was wet and hard. Di Renjie fell hard and took a long time to recover.I heard someone shouting beside me: "My lord, my lord, how are you doing?" "Yuanfang, you will break every old bone in my whole body." Di Renjie said tremblingly, while groping, he held Li Yuanfang's hand, feeling very comforted in his heart. "My lord, it's my fault. The situation was dangerous just now, and I was too anxious." "Hey, I'm just joking with you. If it weren't for you, my old bones would really be smashed right now." "My lord, just wait, I still have a fire fold on my body, I'll light it up right now." With a puff, a little light ignited in Yoyo, flickering, illuminating the surrounding circle, as well as the two of them who were in a state of distress. Li Yuanfang carefully looked at Di Renjie's face by the light of the fire, but he didn't see anything unusual. He breathed a sigh of relief, and looked around. There was a clump of wormwood growing on the ground beside him. He tore off most of the clump, and then tore off his own. The hem of the robe is rolled together with wormwood and folded with fire to make a simple torch.The torch was blazing, illuminating the surroundings a lot. Di Renjie had already sat up at this time, watching Li Yuanfang's busy work with approval, as if the life-and-death crisis just now had been forgotten. Li Yuanfang lit the torch, looked up at Di Renjie, saw him smiling at her, couldn't help but also smiled, and asked: "My lord, what are you happy about?" "Yuan Fang, we escaped death, how can we be unhappy?" Suddenly, Li Yuanfang yelled, "Blood! My lord, blood!" Di Renjie was taken aback. He had never been so shocked. He didn't know what happened.Seeing Li Yuanfang staring at the front of her clothes, she lowered her head and saw a large patch of bright red on her chest!Di Renjie was also a little dazed for a moment. He fell hard just now, and his bones all over his body were sore, but he didn't feel any injury to his chest?Li Yuanfang stretched out his hand, as if wanting to check where the wound was, but his hand shook so badly that his eyes immediately turned red. Seeing Li Yuanfang like this, Di Renjie was not nervous anymore. He collected himself and touched it himself. It was blood sticky, but there was clearly no tear on his clothes. He looked around and saw blood dripping from his chest to his arms. To the shoulder and then to the ground... He suddenly raised his head, and a stream of blood was rushing down the back of Li Yuanfang's head and onto his shoulder.Di Renjie said "Oops" and said, "Yuanfang! It's you! Quickly check if the back of your head was smashed by a rock?" Li Yuanfang reached out and touched the back of his neck, his hands were covered with blood, and he let out a sigh of relief: "It's okay, it's okay, it's my blood." Di Renjie was angry and distressed: "I think you have been fooled by a stone, don't you even know the pain?" Li Yuanfang smiled, frowned and said, "There are too many painful places, and I can't figure it out." Di Renjie lowered his head and lifted his robe, tore off a long strip of cloth from the white silk shirt lining, and was about to bandage Li Yuanfang's wound, Li Yuanfang took out a small paper bag from his arms like a conjuring, and waved it in front of Di Renjie : "My lord, I have medicine." Di Renjie carefully applied good medicine for him, wrapped up the wound, and then roughly checked it from top to bottom. Fortunately, it was all scratches and bruises, and there were no major wounds, so he was relieved.Looking at him again, a strip of white cloth was wrapped around his neck several times, looking silly, he couldn't help laughing. Li Yuanfang knew that Di Renjie was laughing at him, rolled his eyes at him, and muttered: "You can really laugh, if it weren't for your physique, I wouldn't be so troublesome to trade horses with you, why are you so embarrassed?" Di Renjie laughed even more heartily now, and said, "Yuanfang, we encountered so many series of dangerous situations just now, but now you blame my physique completely, which is a bit unreasonable. Hahaha." Li Yuanfang Qi said: "I am unreasonable? I think you, the dignified prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, are the most unreasonable to me. Okay, you can laugh slowly. I will find an exit." Di Renjie stopped him: "Yuan Fang, you just shed so much blood, take a rest before moving." "It's okay. We can't stay here for long, we have to find a way to get out." Li Yuanfang jumped up, holding the Youlan Sword tightly in his hand, and turned around in a circle. "Strange." He whispered something. "Strange." Di Renjie also whispered. The two looked at each other and smiled.Li Yuanfang put his sword aside, lifted the hem of his robe, and sat cross-legged beside Di Renjie.Both of them looked up at a crack on the rock wall of the cave roof not far ahead.Drops of water were dripping down from that crack, and the surrounding area was filled with mist, and the drops of water fell quickly, forming a puddle on the ground, and the puddle was also steaming.Along the uneven ground, the water in the puddles flowed all over the place, so the whole ground in the cave was wet.Di Renjie touched the water stains on the ground beside him, and said, "This water is really hot." "My lord, it's late autumn now, and the mountain spring should be icy cold. But what we followed all the way just now is a hot spring." "Yes, this is the water of the hot spring, which comes from the depths of the ground, so it is very hot. It is not too surprising to say that there is such a hot spring in the Taihang Mountains, but we are following the hot spring. The footprints next to the water were attacked by vicious dogs and rocks, and now they fell into this cave, and unexpectedly encountered hot springs." "My lord, could this be the same spring?" "It's very possible. And you can see that the cave is seeping water from the top of the cave, so we are probably under a hot spring." "Under the hot spring? Then, what should we do? Where should we go?" "Yuan Fang, don't worry. If there is water, there should be a way out. Let's explore along the cracks in the roof of the cave, and we can probably find some directions." Li Yuanfang supported Di Renjie, and the two walked slowly along the water trail on the top of the cave.水流时小时大，但始终连绵不绝，行了大约半个时辰不到的光景，能听到前面哗哗的水声越来越响，于是加快脚步又走了大约一刻钟，前面豁然出现了一个大大的洞口，只见大股冒着热气的泉水从上面倾泻而下，形成了一个天然的瀑布水帘。 李元芳站在瀑布前面，颇为犯愁地说：“这个地方若是我一个人，恐怕还能试着出去，可是带上您……” 狄仁杰不吭声，一个人在洞口周围上上下下地摸索，忽然低声唤道：“元芳，你快过来看。” 李元芳凑过去一看，就在洞口旁边的石壁上，另有个刚能容一人经过的小洞，举火把伸过去照照，居然能看出洞里有一条凿刻出来的小径绵延而下。李元芳兴奋地对狄仁杰道：“大人，这回看来有门。我先进去，您跟上。” 小径十分逼仄，李元芳还能腾挪自如，狄仁杰就走地满头大汗，十分费劲，好不容易七扭八绕，朝下爬了大概百来级台阶，头顶出现了一块木盖板。李元芳举起幽兰剑，毫不费劲地一捅，那木盖板就骨碌碌的滚了出去。李元芳轻轻一跃，跳出洞口，只听咣当一响，狄仁杰忙问：“元芳，怎么了？”李元芳的脑袋又出现在洞口，探身来拉狄仁杰，嘴里道：“没事，大人，出来吧。” 狄仁杰气喘吁吁地爬出洞口，原来上头是个床榻，已经被李元芳翻起竖在墙边。四下看看，是个黑乎乎的屋子，除了床榻和一幅桌椅之外，再无他物。李元芳一脚踢开房门，两人走出屋子，站在门前空地之上，深深呼吸了几口山间的新鲜空气，却见月光静静地撒落在草木之上，原来他们折腾了整整一个下午，现在已经是晚上了。 哗哗的水声依然近在咫尺，两人循声看去，只见不远处就是一堵十来丈高的岩壁，冒着热气的温泉水从上奔涌而下，在他们的面前汇入一个大池，足有几十个下午看到的深潭那么大。 李元芳张望了一会，突然倒吸一口凉气，道：“刚才还好没有从水帘那里出来。” "how?" “大人，您看，那岩壁的中间是不是就是我们方才发现的洞口？” 狄仁杰眯起双目使劲眺望，借着月光，确实可以发现在五、六丈高的岩壁上，泉水掩映之后，有一个洞口。 他点点头，道：“嗯，如果当时我们从那里莽撞而出，必然是要跌落这个深潭，那不是摔死也要淹死了。” 李元芳道：“大人，看来咱们最终还是走到了这个山泉的最下面。可是，现在该怎么办？” “嗯，先看看周围吧。” 环顾四周，除了前面是绝壁，热泉瀑布和深潭之外，另外三面也都是高高的山峰，在月光之下只能约略看出高低不平的山脊和林木的轮廓，其他便都分辨不清了。但是，就在他们的身边却有十多间屋舍，孤零零地伫立在这个山间盆地之上。 狄仁杰道：“没想到这里还有人家。天色已晚，你我已筋疲力尽，你还带着伤，需要休息。看来今天是要在这里宿上一宿了。” 说着，两人便一起朝离得最近的一栋屋宇走过去。走了几步，李元芳满腹狐疑地看看狄仁杰，道：“大人，这肯定不是住家啊。” 狄仁杰点点头：“嗯，元芳，你眼力好，你念念这门上的匾额。” 李元芳念道：“老、君、殿！大人！这是个道观！” “哦？呵呵，看来咱们今日还和这李老宗派结上不解之缘了。走，过去看看。” 老君殿里漆黑一片，推开门时一股霉浊之气扑面而来，借着月光可以看见里面神坛上布满灰尘，道德天尊、元始天尊和灵宝天尊的塑像上也是污秽不堪，一副被荒弃已久的模样。 狄仁杰并不往里走，示意李元芳再去旁边的屋宇。很快，他们就把这里的十多间屋舍转了个遍，除了两间正殿供着三位天尊和玉皇大帝的神像之外，剩下的看来全是给道士居住的丹房。他们钻出来的洞口就是位于其中一间最为狭小的丹房的床榻底下。这些丹房倒不像那两间正殿那么破败，都打扫地挺干净，奇怪的是任何一间屋里都是漆黑一片，没有半个人影。 转了一圈，两人回到中间的空地上，狄仁杰自言自语道：“这个地方太为怪异了。像是道观吧，可正殿被荒弃至此，神像布置又都很粗疏，漫不经心，竟仿佛是略作姿态遮人耳目的用途。供人居住的丹房处置地倒很妥当精心，却又一个人都没有。真是奇哉怪也。还有，今天死在路上的那个人，也是道士打扮，会不会和这个地方有什么关联呢？” 李元芳问：“大人，要不要我再到周围转一圈？看看有没有什么别的蛛丝马迹？” 狄仁杰听出他的声音有些嘶哑，月光衬的脸色也很苍白，知道他失血不少，再加奔波一天，身体必然十分疲倦，便道：“夜间看不清楚，你我也很疲乏了，还是先休息。待养精蓄锐后，明日再作探查。” “是。大人，我看这些丹房还算干净，不如我们就挑一间住下。” 他们随便挑了一间丹房，李元芳找来树枝，在屋子中间点起个火堆，房间里面顿时温暖了不少。狄仁杰和衣躺到榻上，方才感到浑身上下都脱了力，想要把白天发生的事情在脑海里整理一遍，却已经昏昏沉沉，不知不觉就堕入梦乡。 睡到下半夜，狄仁杰突然惊醒了。耳边只听得水声哗哗啦啦，迷迷糊糊间还以为又来到了那个泉下的山洞之中，但又感到声响有异，心中一震，顿时清醒了过来。他坐起身，一件黑色披风从身上滑落，忙捡起来，不用看也知道是李元芳的披风，一定是他趁自己睡着时盖在自己身上的，耳边的哗哗水声更响了，狄仁杰侧耳听了听，才分辨出是雨声，心中叹道：好大的山雨啊。屋子中央的火堆还在冒着火花，散发出阵阵暖意，李元芳坐在火堆旁的门边，微闭着眼睛，怀里抱着幽兰剑。狄仁杰看了他一会儿，拿起那件披风，轻手轻脚地下榻来到李元芳的身边，把披风披到他的肩上。李元芳睁开眼睛向狄仁杰微微一笑，却朝他努了努嘴唇，示意他不要出声。狄仁杰略感诧异，忙又注意听了听，果然在滂沱的雨声中听到了另一种细微的声音，尖尖的，十分凄楚，似乎是人的哭声，在一片雨声之中若隐若现。 经过一夜的暴雨冲刷，早晨的天空一片澄碧，显得异常清爽。在他们爬出洞穴的那个狭小丹房中，狄仁杰细细地查看了地面上的足迹，对李元芳道：“元芳，咱们跟踪的那个小孩子的足迹也在这里出现过。只可惜，和你我的足迹混在一起，现在已经分辨不清了。” 李元芳道：“大人，看来那个小孩子先于我们到了这里。那他现在会在什么地方呢？这屋外一点足迹也没有啊。” 狄仁杰道：“昨晚的一场大雨把所有的足迹都冲刷掉了，所以我们也不可能知道他的去向了。不过，昨晚上你我听到的那隐隐约约的哭声有些尖细，听着倒也仿佛是个小孩的声音。” 李元芳点点头，沉吟道：“也不知道这个孩子现在怎么样了。那哭声听上去似乎很伤心。” 狄仁杰拍拍他，道：“如今也顾不得这许多了，咱们再去别处看看。” 狄仁杰和李元芳又把周围的屋舍转了个遍，再没发现什么别的线索。回到屋前空地之上，狄仁杰自言自语道：“每间丹房都收拾得整整齐齐，尚未蒙上什么灰尘，说明人走了不久，而且走时井然有序，可为什么他们会一起突然消失呢？这里究竟发生了什么呢？” 李元芳看看狄仁杰冥思苦想的样子，眼珠一转，突然拉拉他的衣袖，指着老君殿摇头道：“大人，您看这个道观盖的忒也潦草了些，连个观门观名都没有，算什么呀。”狄仁杰被李元芳扯断了思路，嗔怪地嗯了一声，只好跟着四处一通乱看，忽然，脸上堆起了笑容，拍拍李元芳的肩，道：“元芳啊，你捣乱还捣得很有道理哩。你来看看这岩壁上我们昨天发现的那个洞口上面是什么？” 李元芳仔细一瞧，突然欣喜地叫道：“蓝玉观！原来观名是刻在这岩壁上的。大人，您是怎么想到的？” 狄仁杰呵呵一乐，道：“元芳啊，你可知道道教是有洞天福地之说的？老子在道德经中说：'人法地、地法天、天法道、道法自然。'道人最讲究的就是要在青山秀水之中修身养性，得道成仙，故而道观常建在自然山水之间。你看这个地方闭塞荒僻，怎么会建有道观？照我想来一定与这座热泉和岩壁上的那个洞穴有关系。恐怕是有哪位真人挑选了这个洞穴作为修炼之所，才有了这依泉壁而建的道观。洞穴里的小径也是为了修道之人上下方便而凿刻出来的。” 李元芳点头，道：“我明白了。可这也解释不通为什么正殿废弃，丹房又空无一人啊。” 狄仁杰道：“目前来看，这确实是个难解之谜，只能暂时先搁一搁了。你我二人当务之急还是要赶紧离开这个地方，走回正路，否则只怕要饿死在这里，那可就直接成仙咯。” 李元芳道：“昨天来的那个洞穴，另一头已经堵死了，恐怕不能走了。可是这里四周又都是绝壁，哪里会有出路呢？”他想了想，又道：“既然这里不久前还有人居住，怎么没看见厨房？大人，您在这里别动，我再去找找。要是能找到厨房，说不定还能发现些剩下的食物。” 李元芳跑到屋宇后面的树丛里去了，狄仁杰背着手在老君殿前踱步，看看这深山幽谷里头别有一种与世隔绝的味道，若不是一路行来险象环生疑窦重重，倒还真有心试试在此清修自省。 忽然只听得李元芳在树丛后头一声声地叫：“大人！大人！您过来看！”狄仁杰连忙赶过去，绕过密密匝匝的树丛，前头又是一堵高耸的绝壁，似乎此路不通，但却听到李元芳的声音在绝壁后面，道：“大人，您沿着这绝壁走。”狄仁杰依言沿着那绝壁绕行，大约走了百来步，忽见那绝壁就此断了，而后头又是另一堵更高的绝壁，但两堵绝壁之间却现出一条窄窄的夹缝，从夹缝中往后一转，眼前豁然开朗，大片矮矮的灌木，再往前，依稀已能够看见蜿蜒的山道了。狄仁杰大喜，对等在夹缝旁的李元芳道：“元芳啊，跟着我，就知道什么叫吉人自有天象了吧？”李元芳也笑了，道：“大人，您再来这儿看看。” 原来紧贴在这绝壁的夹缝口，又建有两座小小的屋舍。走过去一看，其中一间正是厨房，灶台家伙齐全，屋角还堆着些米面和萎败的菜蔬，似乎几天前还有人在这里起锅造饭。狄仁杰的靴子突然踢到什么东西，捡起来一看，脸色一沉，李元芳过来看看，也是一惊，狄仁杰手中的正是块昨天他们见过的那种蓬燕糕。这糕已经变得干硬，上面沾满了灰尘，狄仁杰抽出手绢，把糕细细裹起，塞入袖中。两人走出厨房，又进到对面的小屋，只见简单的土炕和桌椅，特别的是墙角横七竖八倒着几柄刀枪，狄仁杰点点头，道：“我明白了，这里才是道观通常的出入口。而这间小屋应该是把守道观的人住宿的地方。此地还真是一夫当关，万夫莫开。如此狭窄的出口，四周又都是绝壁，只需要几个人就可以把出路堵得死死的。” “大人，一个道观有必要这样严加看守吗？再说，既然严加看守，那么道观里的人怎么还是都不见了？看守又去了哪里？” 狄仁杰呵呵一笑，道：“元芳啊，我也很想知道这些问题的答案。怎奈已经一天一夜粒米未进，你大人我啊，如今除了热菜热饭，可什么都想不起来了。” 李元芳也笑了，忙道：“大人，别着急。咱们这就上大道，我看这周围的山势明显比昨天看上去要高，咱们一定是下到了较低的山脊上，应该很容易见到人烟。” 二人说笑着穿过灌木丛，走上山道。又往前走了大约两、三里地，山路越来越宽阔平坦，周围的林木也越来越稀疏，拐过一个弯，眼前出现一条平坦的大路，路口停着辆马车。马车前坐的那人一身大户人家家人打扮，正在向山路上张望。 李元芳停住脚步，一拉狄仁杰的衣袖，道：“大人，您看！那不是狄春吗？” 狄仁杰还来不及答话，狄春已经兴奋地叫着：“老爷！李将军！”催马车就朝他们冲了过来。来到跟前，狄春跳下马车，刚要开口，一看他们两人的样子，大惊失色地叫道：“老爷？！李将军？！你们，你们怎么啦？这、这身上……你们的马呢？！” 狄仁杰斥道：“教训过你多少次了，宰相府的管家，就不会学得端庄些？成天大惊小怪的。” 李元芳忙道：“大人，我们俩今天这个样子，就是皇帝看见也会大惊小怪的。” 狄仁杰一摆手，道：“罢了，你这小厮怎么会在这里？” 狄春道：“三少爷估摸着您和李将军今明天就该到，特意让小的在这里等候你们的。此处是往并州城去的必经之道，三少爷说在这里等最好。可就是没想到你们这么早就到了，我还想着最早要下半晌呢。” 狄仁杰和李元芳相视一笑，狄仁杰道：“看来我们倒是走了条捷径了。” 狄春道：“老爷，李将军，你们很累了吧，快请上马车。从这里到并州城还有三十里官道要走呢。” 狄仁杰道：“且慢，老爷我还饿着呢，你有没有给我们准备些吃食？” 狄春笑了：“有蒸饼、油塌和一壶您最喜欢的湖州紫笋茶，都热在暖窠里，就在车上搁着呢。也是三少爷让准备的。” 狄仁杰这才笑眯眯地上了马车，李元芳随后跟上，狄春“驾儿”一声，马车在官道上飞奔起来。 金色的阳光洒在路上车上，远远的，太原城的巍巍城楼破雾而出。