Endless route

Chapter 276 46. There are bandits in the mountains

"Master Immortal, this ancient battlefield is very huge. In addition to these artillery shells, there should be a large number of war supplies, all of which we urgently need at this moment. Let's find a place to open an immortal gate and mobilize manpower to move things to the Heavenly Palace."

Ji Dao couldn't walk when he saw something good.

"With the scale of this place, it can't be explored in a day or two. It will take more than ten days and a half to move all the things. Don't rush for now. Let's do a general survey and look elsewhere."

Zheng Yun shook his head and rejected Ji Dao's proposal.

There is no need to rush these things. There are at least two hundred sunken ships in the valley. When the boat division was suddenly attacked and sank quickly, the supplies on each ship were probably not a small amount.

At this moment, they haven't investigated the matter clearly and don't know what happened to the boat master, so they rush to move things. Not only is it dangerous, but it also seems a bit short-sighted.

The ancient battlefield is here.

The Immortal Gate has also been connected.

After a clear investigation, they can send personnel to stay here and slowly clean up the materials in the many sunken ships.

"Okay." Ji Dao nodded.

Everyone walked towards the other boat ahead.

The wreckage of the ancient ship was scattered all over the ground. Its huge size blocked the moonlight. The passage between the two ships was overgrown with weeds and so dark that it was so dark that you couldn't see your fingers. It was like a maze with no end in sight.

Just in case, Zheng Yun asked everyone to put on gas masks, which would at least prevent them from the toxins in the air.

The second ship was equally huge. The entire bow completely disappeared. The fracture was broken by a huge force, and the hull fell to the ground. There were obvious signs of water soaking in the cabin.

Went in and scanned around.

Zheng Yun then led the team towards the depths of the group of ships.

Ancient naval divisions had formations during naval battles, and most of the ships on the periphery were smaller. Viewed from the bow, these ships may be reconnaissance ships located in front of the formation.

There are fewer valid clues in this kind of ship.

If you want to find clues, you still have to go deep and look for the treasure ship of the navy commander. There should be detailed information on that ship.

So everyone moved forward carefully.

Occasionally, there were small sounds coming from the wreckage of the ancient ship. When I shined the flashlight, I saw that it was just an ordinary small beast in the mountains.

All the way to the depths, no danger appeared. Everyone used flashlights to observe carefully and found many clues.

Without exception, these ancient shipwrecks were all killed by a single blow, and the injuries were extremely horrifying. They often had huge holes or were cut off at the waist, and none of them had minor injuries.

It’s thrilling to watch.

What exactly happened to the boat master back then.

This degree of injury must have been caused by a shocking sea beast, and the number was not one or two, but a group attack. Judging from the formation of the group of ships, it was even a planned sneak attack.

They had seen in Qianzhou that the ancients could use the jade xun to command the sea monsters. Perhaps the sea monsters here were also used by people, and were controlled by bad guys, lurking in the valley with the intention of destroying the boat master.

If this is not the case.

Then these sea beasts are somewhat sane, they know how to sneak attack, or they have sworn enemies with the navy guards.

"Master Immortal, there are countless sea beasts in ancient books, and there are thousands of huge ones. There is a picture of monsters in the Immortal Sea in the Heavenly Palace, which depicts giant beasts that are unimaginable."

"Just based on the injuries on the ancient shipwreck, it is difficult to identify which kind of sea beast committed the murder. But what puzzles me is that there are only ancient shipwrecks here, but no bones of the sea beast."

"With the ability of the boat master, is it really impossible to fight back? Can't even cut off the severed limbs of a sea beast?"

Ji Dao spoke in confusion.

He knew that the Ming Dynasty Sea Guards often suffered defeats, but even if they were defeated miserably, they were usually not so disastrous.

"That may not be the case. Not only are there no bones of sea beasts here, but there are also few bones of sea guards. I guess that this place must have been cleaned up by later generations of sea guards and all the bones were taken away."

Zheng Yun speculated based on clues.

This valley was originally a river, but now the river is cut off. In addition, they can only see Triton's waistband but not Triton's bones, so this place must have been cleaned up by future generations.

If this is the case, they may not be able to find important clues, and they may also be taken away by Triton.

"Master Immortal, when you say this, I suddenly remembered something. There seem to be a lot fewer nails and iron ropes on these ships, and there are also few anchors. It is suspected that they have been taken away."

Ji Dao suddenly whispered.

Zheng Yun didn't say much and led the team into the deepest part. The ancient shipwrecks on the left and right were extremely huge, most of them were more than 200 meters in length. They should be the core of the entire boat division.

Enter these wrecks to view.

As expected, they could only find some irrelevant information. There were few clues about the valley and the war that year, and they might have all been taken away by future generations.

However, there are some scattered pieces left behind.

Zheng Yun and Ji Dao dug out a nautical chart. The size of this chart was astonishing. It was more than ten meters long and more than three meters wide. After unfolding it, they discovered that it was actually a navigation chart.

But the place depicted on this chart was something Zheng Yun had never seen before, and even Jidao frowned and thought about it.

"The chart was signed in 1634."

Zheng Yun roughly converted it based on the age at which it was signed. The chart was drawn in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, more than 300 years ago.

"It's really clean. Master Xian, what should we do next? Although there are not many clues left, there are a lot of materials here. How about we move them first?" Jidao asked.

"Move it."

Zheng Yun nodded, then turned to look at the little Taoist priest beside him: "Did you just say that you saw lights in the south?"

"It seems, very bleak..."

The little Taoist replied immediately.

At this moment, the cry of a crane suddenly came from far behind them, and the sound resounded through the silent valley.

"No, the crane is in trouble."

Ji Dao's expression changed, and he immediately looked behind him to where they came from, and then explained to Zheng Yun in a low voice: "The crane's cry is usually made when danger is detected."

"Come back quickly, be careful."

Zheng Yun led the team back with a serious expression.

There are so many cranes in the Heavenly Palace, a few cranes are nothing, the key is to see the source of danger here.

Everyone was wary of turning back, turned off the flashlights in their hands, and moved forward quietly in the shadow of the wreckage. They could only hear the continuous cry of the cranes, but could not hear any other sounds.

When we are about to reach the edge of the group of ships.

Zheng Yun and others stopped to prepare their methods. Jidao took out the immortal corpse antidote from his arms. The little Taoist priest quietly took out the blood method. Zheng Yun could also extinguish the jade lantern at any time.

Then everyone moved forward again.

After rounding the blind spot of an ancient ship, everyone saw the cranes beside the ancient ship. The four cranes had their necks raised high and looked directly at the woods in the distance. There was a slight movement in the woods.

Uh-huh.

Suddenly there was a sound of breaking wind.

A foreign object flew out of the dark woods.

Zheng Yun and others were shocked, but when the foreign object flew out of the shadows and entered the moonlight, they saw that it was an iron arrow, shooting straight towards the largest crane.

"people?"

Ji Dao squatted in the corner and muttered. Although the arrow shot at the crane, he didn't take it seriously and showed no worry on his face.

Wow.

The crane spreads its wings and dodges lightly.

After dodging the arrow, the crane no longer crowed, but raised its neck and shook it, with disdain in its eyes.

Compared to the huge strange birds in the Heavenly Palace that are as fast as lightning, the speed of this arrow is so slow that it makes people laugh. The crane has been escaping from the strange birds all year round, but it can't dodge this arrow.

"Just wait and see what happens."

When Zheng Yun saw this, he chose to stand still. They were hiding the other side, and they could see the other side's next move.

Whoosh.

Another arrow shot out.

The cranes fluttered their wings and got out of the way. The leading crane was even more impatient and spread its wings to rush forward into the sky.

at the same time.

A small sound echoed in the woods.

Ji Dao listened with his ears pricked up, his expression suddenly became strange, and he lowered his voice and repeated to Zheng Yun:

"Master Liu, what's on that crane's back?"

"It seems like a saddle?"

"It's actually a saddle? Why is there a saddle?"

"Sixth Master, isn't this crane an owner?"

"You must have seen it wrong. This crane is so huge. Shoot an arrow quickly and hunt it back to celebrate the birthday of the master."

"It seemed like it was flying over."

"Isn't this crane going to attack us?"

"We are in the woods, what are you afraid of? If it rushes down, won't it be delivered to us alive?"

"No, Mr. Liu, it grabbed a huge boulder and seems to be trying to hit us!"

When Ji Dao retells.

The situation in the field was constantly changing. The crane picked up a stone from the ground, spread its wings and took off over the woods. It aimed at a certain pine paw and threw it down. The stone was brought down quickly and violently.

This move was unexpected.

They were so frightened that they fled in all directions, and several of them ran to the edge of the woods. They could vaguely see figures, carrying bows, arrows and long knives, and wearing wild animal furs over coarse cotton coats.

"Master Immortal, those people look like bandits." Jidao looked back at Zheng Yun with a smile on his face.

"Don't kill me."

Zheng Yun also couldn't laugh or cry.

There are bandits hiding in the woods? And you want to hunt cranes? There was a special ancient charm in the accent that Ji Dao just recounted, and these bandits seemed to be locals.

This is a good thing. They were worried that they had no clues, so these people came to their door and they could ask them.

"I was talking about why the crane suddenly cried. It turned out that he saw human figures. The crane probably thought they had some skills. It wasn't until the arrow was shot that he saw their true identity."

Ji Dao said with a leisurely smile, then looked into the air and learned a bird song, asking the crane to force the bandits out.

"That's how it should be."

Zheng Yun nodded in agreement. In the eyes of the crane, humans are very powerful creatures. He must have been startled when he suddenly found someone approaching, but bandits in the mountains could not pose a threat.

The two of them whispered.

Several cranes had already used huge rocks to force the bandit to the edge of the forest. The bandit was forced into a state of embarrassment. One of them was hit in the arm by a stone and was almost beaten to death.

Cranes are no ordinary birds.

If they were killed, these people would probably not survive more than a few breaths, unless they had some magic tricks in their hands.

"Master Immortal, shall we go out?"

Ji Dao took off his gas mask and took back the immortal corpse antidote. There was no need for the immortal corpse to deal with several bandits.

"Come out."

Zheng Yun nodded and handed the jade lantern to the little Taoist priest. There was no need to invite Han Xian, as one Ji Dao was enough to control the situation.

Several people walked out of the darkness.

Ji Dao walked under the moonlight, stretched out his hand to wave his Taoist robe, and shouted to a few people at the edge of the woods:

"You young men, how dare you attack our mounts? Quickly put down your weapons and accept the questioning. If you can answer to the satisfaction of the Immortal Master, I will give you a way out."

Zheng Yun remained silent.

Ji Dao seemed to have used some Zhenxuan sound. His voice was not too high, but his momentum was deafening.

This time he was satisfied.

But it doesn't matter. The existence of bandits here proves that there is not much danger in the surrounding area. If the surrounding area is extremely dangerous, it is impossible for these bandits to make it here alive.

"Mount? Immortal?"

Many bandits looked at the ancient ship in surprise.

But he saw a bald Taoist priest standing under the moonlight, his Taoist robe was illuminated with a fairy-like atmosphere. He was carrying a sword case and holding a long sword. His facial features were straight and his belly was round, but he looked full of righteousness.

There were three people behind him.

A person walked out slowly in a long white robe. The fabric of the robe was smooth and noble, but he did not completely step out of the shadows. He stood with a sword hanging on his waist and his hands behind his back, watching them calmly.

The other two were two handsome Taoist boys, carrying lanterns of fairy light, with wisps of fairy light lingering behind them.

This scene shocked many bandits and held their breath. Before they could react, the cranes crowed in unison in mid-air and landed next to Zheng Yun, looking down at them with their heads held high.

This composition is so fairy-like.

You can tell at a glance that they are no mere mortals.

"Excuse me, Master Immortal, we are blind and cannot recognize Mount Tai. We were just hunting in the mountains and accidentally saw a giant bird flying in the air, so we found this place to hunt some meat."

"Several immortal masters, we didn't know that this big crane was your mount. It's just that there is an eighty-year-old mother on top and a three-year-old child on the bottom. There is no food left at home, so we can only go hunting in the mountains."

"Master Immortal, please spare my life."

"We are all good people of the mountains!"

The bandits hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, with runny noses and tears, and they defended themselves on the ground.

"Where do you live?"

Zheng Yun walked to the field and asked aloud.

"We live in...Wazi Village!"

The sixth master quickly opened his mouth to answer the question.

"How many villages are there within a hundred miles, how many people are there, what year is it today, where is the nearest county seat, the origin of these ancient shipwrecks, and your ancestral land."

Zheng Yun asked one after another.

"Immortal Master, there are sixteen or seven small villages in a radius of a hundred miles, with a population of about three to four thousand people. The nearest county town is two hundred miles away to the west, and there are more than a thousand households in the city."

"We mountain villagers can't tell what year it is today, but these ancient ships have been here since our ancestors, and they can be used to dig iron and forge... farm tools."

"My ancestral land is in the mountains behind Wazi Village. Our ancestors have been buried there for many generations. They are all good families in the mountains."

Mr. Liu quickly replied that he did not dare to neglect.

"I'm not asking where your ancestors are buried. We have no interest in your ancestral tombs. The immortal master is asking you where your ancestors moved to this place from." Jidao scolded.

"My ancestors are from Jin."

Mr. Liu was frightened and trembled.

"I'm asking about the last time your ancestors moved, from where to here!" Jidao was furious.

"It's Nanze. He moved here from Nanze!" Mr. Liu quickly knelt down and kowtowed, his old face full of grievances.

"Nanze..."

It was no surprise that Zheng Yun had a calm expression.

As expected, the ancestors of these people moved here from the ancient city of Nanze. As the ancient city of Nanze was buried, they were trapped on this side of the Immortal Gate and could not leave for hundreds of years.

"What happened to Nanze back then?"

Ji Dao quickly asked, the reason why Nanze Ancient City was abandoned is also the target of their careful investigation.