On the seventh day of May, Qin Tiexin rented a horse at the inn outside the city.
It is a yellow gelding horse, with tall shoulders and a strong body, with shiny coat. The old groom at the post station patted the horse's neck and said, "This horse has strong legs and can go a long way. It just eats a lot and needs to be fed three meals a day."
Qin Tiexin touched the horse's neck. The horse snorted and rubbed his hand docilely.
"How much?"
"Fifty taels a day, a deposit of 10 taels. If the horse is injured and dies, the deposit will not be refunded, but will be returned to the nearest inn." said the old horseman.
Qin Tiexin counted the money and put the bag on the horse. Edgeless Saber wrapped it in cloth and placed it horizontally on the bag. Lin Feng tied the sword to his waist and wrapped it tightly in oilcloth.
He turned on the horse, but his movements were not very skillful. He had ridden a horse in the Northern Army, but it was a war horse with a different saddle. This yellow gelding had a gentle temper, and he waited until he sat firmly before taking a step forward slowly.
"To the northwest?" asked the old horseman.
"Hmm."
"The road is not easy to walk. Two hundred miles away there is a mountainous area, making it difficult for a carriage to travel." The old horseman said, "Be careful."
Qin Tiexin nodded and shook the reins. The horse quickened its pace and headed northwest along the official road.
We walked sixty miles on the first day. In the evening we rested at a roadside inn and fed the horse fodder and beans. Qin Tiexin ate three bowls of noodles and four steamed buns. The innkeeper saw that he had a big appetite and gave him an extra plate of pickles.
At night, we slept on the same bunk, with five or six people crowded into one room. Some snored, and some talked in their sleep. Qin Tiexin pillowed his luggage on his head, listening to the insects chirping outside the window, and couldn't fall asleep.
He thought of the fire in the shop, the sound of Zhou Cang banging on the iron, and the whirring sound of Tu Dazhu pulling the bellows.
These sounds are far away.
After walking on the road for seven or eight days, we gradually entered the mountainous area.
The official road turned into a dirt road with many potholes. The horses walked slowly and could only cover forty miles a day. The mountains were getting higher and higher, and the forests were getting denser. Sometimes after walking for a long time, there was no sign of people, only the chirping of birds and the sound of the wind.
At noon that day, Qin Tiexin rested on the roadside. The horse was grazing, so he took out the dry food and ate it. The dry food was brought by Zhou Cang. The pancakes were filled with bacon and could be kept for a long time.
While eating, a cry for help came from the woods.
It was a woman's voice, sharp and urgent.
Qin Tiexin put down the dry food, picked up Edgeless Saber, and ran in the direction of the sound.
In the forest, three men surrounded a woman. The woman was huddled under a tree with a bundle in her arms, and her clothes were torn. The three men were laughing, one went to grab the bundle, and the other grabbed the woman's arm.
"Stop." Qin Tiexin said.
The three men looked back at him. The leader looked at him and said, "Passing by? Mind your own business."
Qin Tiexin said nothing and took out Edgeless Saber. The blade was dark and did not reflect light under the light in the forest.
The shape of Edgeless frightened a few people, but they laughed again when they saw the young face of Qin Tiexin.
"Hey, you want to use a knife?" Another man pulled out a short knife, "Boy, do you know who we are?"
"I don't know." Qin Tiexin said.
"Then I'll let you know today!"
The man with a short knife rushed over and stabbed Qin Tiexin in the chest. Qin Tiexin sidestepped and Edgeless Saber struck him horizontally - with the back of the knife, on the man's shoulder.
There was a crisp "click" sound, and the man screamed and fell to the ground, his shoulders slumped.
The remaining two were stunned. Qin Tiexin took a step forward, Edgeless Saber swept across, and slapped the second man's knee with the back of the knife. The man fell to his knees, holding his legs and howling.
The third one turned around to run, but Qin Tiexin caught up with him and slapped him on the back with the back of the knife. The man fell to the ground and vomited blood.
"Get lost." Qin Tiexin said.
The three of them supported each other and limped away.
Qin Tiexin put away the knife and walked to the woman. The woman was still shaking and there were tears on her face.
"It's okay." Qin Tiexin said.
The woman looked at him and suddenly knelt down and kowtowed. "Thank you so much, good man! Thank you so much, so good man!"
Qin Tiexin helped her up. "Where are you going?"
"Go, go to the town ahead to find my man." The woman wiped her tears, "I met them on the road..."
"I'll give you a paragraph." Qin Tiexin said.
He brought the horse over and asked the woman to ride it while he led the horse away. After walking for five or six miles, he arrived at a small town. The woman left with a lot of gratitude.
Qin Tiexin continued on the road. He didn't think much about it, just like he saw Shitou blocking the road and moved out of the way.
After walking for another half month, we left the mountainous area and entered the plains.
This place is close to the border, sparsely populated, and the villages and towns are far apart. You can often see refugees fleeing famine on the road, dragging their families with their families, looking sallow and thin.
That evening, Qin Tiexin spent the night in a deserted village. There were few households in the village, and most of the houses were dilapidated. He found a relatively complete mud house, lit a fire, and roasted dry food.
While it was roasting, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside.
Five or six horses stopped at the entrance of the village. The people on the horses were dressed in messy clothes and all had knives in their hands. The leader was a one-eyed man with a scar on his face.
"There's someone inside!" A thin man pointed at the earthen house.
The one-eyed man dismounted and walked in. When he saw Qin Tiexin, he was stunned for a moment - Qin Tiexin was tall, sitting there like a hill, with a dark broadsword leaning against his side.
"Brother, lend me some fire," said the one-eyed man.
Qin Tiexin added a piece of wood to the fire.
The one-eyed man sat down opposite, and several other people came in and sat in a circle. Their faces were illuminated by the fire, and they were not very kind.
"Where did it come from?" the one-eyed man asked.
"East."
"Where to go?"
"Northwest."
"What to do?"
"Visiting relatives."
The one-eyed man smiled, "That place in the northwest is very desolate. Where do you have relatives from?"
Qin Tiexin said nothing and turned over the dry food.
The thin man stared at the luggage beside Qin Tiexin, then looked at the yellow gelding tied outside, and rolled his eyes.
"Brother, this horse is good." The thin man said in a low voice.
The one-eyed man also looked at the horse, and then at Qin Tiexin: "Brother, do you want to sell this horse? I'll give you a good price."
"Not for sale." Qin Tiexin said.
"Don't refuse in a hurry." The one-eyed man took out a silver coin from his pocket, "Fifty taels, enough for you to buy two horses."
Qin Tiexin shook his head and continued to bake dry food.
The atmosphere was tense.
The one-eyed man put away the money and his face became cold. "Brother, when you are away from home, be polite. I like your horse. Sell it to me and we can make friends."
"I said, I won't sell it." Qin Tiexin looked up at him.
The one-eyed man stood up, and the others followed suit. Five or six people surrounded Qin Tiexin in the middle.
"If you don't eat the toast, you will be fined." The one-eyed man drew out his knife, "I ask you one last time, do you want to sell it?"
Qin Tiexin put down the dry food, grabbed Edgeless Saber, and stood up. He was a head taller than everyone present and stood like a wall.
"Want to rob?" he asked.
"So what?" The thin man also drew his sword.
Qin Tiexin sighed. During this period, he encountered many such things. Some people see you walking alone and want to bully you. Some people see you as a good horse and want to rob you.
The three-style sword technique I learned in the Northern Army is suitable for killing on the battlefield. But it takes too much effort to deal with these Jianghu people. You can cut people away with one strike, but you will also be exposed to the opportunity.
He figured out some new uses.
The one-eyed man made the first move and struck with a knife. Qin Tiexin did not retreat but advanced instead. Edgeless Saber tilted upwards, and the back of the knife hit the opponent's sword. The one-eyed man's hand shook and he almost let go of the knife.
The thin man stabbed him from the side. Qin Tiexin turned his wrist and slapped the blade flat on the thin man's wrist. The thin man screamed and the dagger fell to the ground.
Several others pounced on him together. Qin Tiexin's footsteps were not fast, but every step was steady. Edgeless Saber was like an iron rod in his hand. He could hit it horizontally, block it vertically, or knock it diagonally. There was no blade, only the back and blade of the blade.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!"
After a few muffled sounds, five or six people all fell to the ground, some holding their arms and some holding their legs, groaning in pain.
Qin Tiexin put away the knife, sat down and continued baking dry food.
The one-eyed man got up and stared at him. "You... who are you?"
"Passing by." Qin Tiexin said.
"Do you dare to leave your name?"
Qin Tiexin thought for a while, "The surname is Qin."
The one-eyed man gritted his teeth and left with the people. He didn't dare to ask for the horse either.
Qin Tiexin After eating the dry food, he lay down to sleep. The wind was strong at night, which made the broken door panels creak. He rested his luggage on his head and thought: These people may not be able to survive if they are robbing horses. In the northwest, if the weather is not good, there will be many bandits.
Thinking about it, I fell asleep.
Three months later.
Qin Tiexin stood on a hill, looking at the rolling mountains ahead.
The mountain is very high, and the peak is hidden in the clouds and mist. The mountain is exposed with gray-black rocks, and almost no vegetation can be seen. This is the Jueling Mountains marked on the map, the boundary between the mortal world and the cultivation area.
According to legend, there are wolves, tigers, leopards and even spirits on the mountain here. It is also said that there are immortals on the top of the mountain who can obtain immortality. However, no one has ever heard of anyone climbing this mountain.
He is half an inch taller than when he left Ink City - his body has stretched out due to walking on the mountain road in the past three months. He has also become darker, and the skin on his face has been exposed to the wind and sun, turning it into a bronze color. He is a little thinner, but his muscles are stronger, and the outline of the muscles on his shoulders and back can be seen through the clothes.
The eyes are still the same, they look honest and honest, but if you look carefully, there is something more deep in the eyes. It is the result of seeing too many things in the past three months.
He has seen refugees exchange their sons for food, he has seen officials oppressing the people, he has seen knights act righteously, and he has seen bandits robbing the rich and giving to the poor. The world is complex and not black and white.
His sword skills have also changed. Edgeless Saber is still the same Edgeless Saber, but it is more flexible to use. The basics of the three styles are still there, but there are many more changes. The back of the sword can be struck, the blade can be blocked, and the handle can be bumped. When encountering a crowd, he does not seek to kill with one blow, but only seeks to make the opponent lose their fighting power as quickly as possible.
Someone on the road nicknamed him "Black Sword Qin" because his knife was dark and non-reflective and he was taciturn.
Qin Tiexin doesn't care about this. He just wants to be on his way.
The horse was returned at the nearest inn a month ago - the mountain road was too steep for the horse to walk on. Now he is walking.
The bag was a little lighter, the dry food was almost finished, and the water bag was empty. He came down from the hill, found a stream, filled the water bag, and washed his face.
The water in the stream is freezing cold.
He took out the map and compared it with the surrounding terrain. According to Lin Feng's markings, the entrance to the mountain should be in a valley ten miles ahead. There is a secret trail there, which is a relatively safe route that Lin Household has explored over the years. If you enter from this valley and then climb over Jueling Mountain, you can save at least half the distance.
He walked ten miles in one day.
The mountain road is difficult to navigate, and in some places it is necessary to use both hands and feet. Edgeless Saber became a stick to explore the road, knocking and beating to test the reality.
In the evening, he found the valley.
The mouth of the valley is narrow, allowing only one person to pass through. The cliffs on both sides are steep, and when you look up, you can only see a sliver of sky. There is a howling wind in the valley, like a ghost crying.
Qin Tiexin sat down at the mouth of the valley and ate the last piece of dry food. The dry food was as hard as Shitou. He chewed it slowly and swallowed it with the stream water.
After resting for a while, he got up and entered the valley.
It was colder inside the valley than outside. The wind poured in through the gaps, making people unsteady. The ground was made of gravel, which made a crunching noise when stepped on. The rock walls were slippery and covered with moss.
He walked very slowly, stepping firmly on every step. Edgeless Saber was behind his back, climbing on the rock wall with both hands, and moved forward bit by bit.
After walking for about an hour, it was completely dark.
He rested under a recessed rock wall and couldn't make a fire - the wind was too strong and the fire was blown out as soon as it was lit. He huddled in a corner, wrapped tightly in his clothes, and was still shivering from the cold.
I couldn't sleep at night, so I listened to the sound of the wind. Sometimes the sound of the wind was mixed with strange noises, like wild animals howling or people crying.
He thought of the fire in the shop. When forging iron in winter, the fire was strong and the whole house was warm. Zhou Cang was sitting by the fire drinking tea, Tu Dazhu was pulling the bellows, and Zhou Nan was squatting in the corner playing with iron filings.
Those pictures were as clear as before.
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. If he thought about it too much, he would be reluctant to let it go.
Continue walking the next day.
The road became more difficult. In some places, he had to climb cliffs. He clasped his fingers on the cracks in the rocks and moved up bit by bit. Once, the rocks under his feet came loose and he almost fell. He relied on the strength of his arms to hold on.
His fingers were bruised and bloody. He wrapped them with a cloth and continued crawling.
On the third day, he started to feel something was wrong.
The body is extremely heavy.
It's not as heavy as tiredness, but like something is pressing on my shoulders, making me breathless. Every step I take requires several times more effort than usual.
He remembered what Lin Fengxin said in his book, "The Jueling Mountains have very thin spiritual energy. It's like a mountain for monks to cross, and it's even more difficult for mortals to cross it."
He is a mortal, but has a special constitution, so he can feel this "weight".
The further he walked, the stronger this feeling became. By the fourth day, he would stop to take a breath every ten steps. His heart was beating so hard that it felt like it was going to explode. Sweat flowed into his eyes, which was painful.
He leaned against the mountain wall, opened his water bag and drank water. There was only half the water in the bag, so he drank sparingly.
Looking up, I can't see the top of the mountain.
He gritted his teeth and continued walking.
On the fifth day, he met the wolf.
Not one, but a group of seven or eight gray wolves emerged from behind the rock, staring at him with green eyes.
These wolves are also thin, and their ribs are all visible. Probably because there are few prey in this Jueling Mountain and they are very hungry.
Qin Tiexin pulled out Edgeless Saber. With the knife in hand, I felt more at ease.
The alpha wolf pounced on him first. Qin Tiexin sidestepped and hit the wolf on the waist with a knife. The wolf screamed and fell to the ground. It struggled a few times but could not get up.
The other wolves swarmed up.
Qin Tiexin took half a step back, leaning against the rock wall, and Edgeless Saber swept left and right. No blade was used, only the back and body of the knife. The wolf pounced and was shot away.
But these wolves were fierce and would pounce upon them even when they were injured. One wolf bit his calf, and he kicked it away, then slapped the wolf on the head with his backhand.
After fighting for a quarter of an hour, the wolves retreated. Three of them were left lying on the ground motionless, while the others ran away lamely.
Qin Tiexin gasped and looked down at his legs. His pants were bitten, leaving a few teeth marks, but there was no bleeding - the skin was thick, and the wolf teeth did not bite through.
He sat down to rest for a while and continued on his way.
On the seventh day, he climbed a ridge.
Standing on the ridge, looking forward, it is still a mountain. Looking back, the road ahead is hidden in the clouds and mist.
He is tired.
In the past seven days, he had lost ten pounds. His cheekbones protruded and his eye sockets were sunken. He changed the cloth strips on his hands several times, and every time he removed them, his skin and flesh stuck to the cloth.
But he can't stop.
Lin Feng's sword is still on his waist. What you promised must be done.
He found a flat piece of Shitou, sat down, and took out the last bit of dry food dregs from his luggage. The dregs were mixed with water and swallowed.
After resting for half an hour, he stood up and continued walking.
The eighth day, the ninth day...
The concept of time is blurred. I only know that I walked when it was dawn and rested when it got dark. When I finished drinking the water, I would look for the water droplets seeping out of the rock crevices and catch them with my mouth.
Once he found a small puddle. The water was turbid and there were insects swimming in it. He couldn't care less and lay down to drink.
On the afternoon of the tenth day, he climbed over the last mountain ridge. The snow on the mountain ridge was already one person thick. He almost got caught in the snow and slid down several times. Once, he even thought about how to just slide down and return to Ink City guard the blacksmith shop, take good care of Zhou Cang, teach Zhou Nan well, marry a wife and have a few children. Life is so wonderful, why do you have to suffer this?
No, he thought of the world described by Lin Feng, his desire when he first learned about this world, the unknown whereabouts of Lin Feng and the promise he made to him in his heart.
Qin Tiexin packed his bag tightly and continued to move forward. He didn't know how long he had been walking or how far he still had to go. Just when the air was so thin that he could hardly breathe, suddenly, he climbed over Jueling Mountain!
My eyes suddenly opened up.
There are no longer gray and black barren mountains, but lush forests. There are waterfalls in the distance, hanging in the mountains like white water. There is the fragrance of grass and trees in the air. Take a breath and your lungs will be refreshed.
That "weight-bearing" feeling disappeared.
Qin Tiexin stood on the ridge and watched for a long time.
He succeeded. He crossed the Jueling Mountains and arrived at the cultivation area mentioned in Lin Feng's letter.
He looked down at himself. His clothes were in torn strips, and his body was covered with injuries. His hair was messy, and his beard had grown long. Only his eyes were still bright, like two points of fire.
He took off Lin Feng's sword from his waist and held it in his hand. The blade of the sword was cold, but holding it in his hand now, there was an indescribable feeling.
"Lin Feng," he whispered, "I'm coming."
After saying that, he walked down the mountain.
He walked steadily, step by step, towards the unfamiliar forest.
Behind him, the Jueling Mountains stood silently, like a wall that separated two worlds.