Fu Shifeng

Chapter 1

The scorching sun is in the sky, and the Gobi Desert is extremely hot. The yellow-red mounds and strange rocks are illuminated with light and shadows twisting, like monsters and ghosts, with their bloody mouths wide open, intending to devour travelers. Snakes, insects and birds have disappeared without a trace.

I saw a burly man with thick eyebrows and a short beard, a magnificent appearance, wearing a strong suit with arrow sleeves, a bay red horse with shiny hair on his crotch, a sword and a bow, looking like a knight-errant, looking at the mounds and rocks not far away.

"Call-"

Cheng Sanwu reined in the reins, clamped his legs slightly, and comforted the restless hooves under him: "Is there movement in front? Could it be that I'm late?"

With this in mind, Cheng Sanwu didn't dare to be negligent, pulled out the horizontal knife at his waist, held it in his backhand, and immediately galloped forward, bringing up a wisp of smoke and dust, and rushed towards the distant mound.

Not long after, Cheng Sanwu heard the faint sounds of fighting and fighting among the ravines and strange rocks.Cheng Sanwu turned over and got off the horse, patted the horse's neck as a signal, let it hide aside, and then went deep inside alone.

In the desert of the Western Regions, there are countless mounds like this fortress, which have been exposed to wind and sun all year round, forming many natural ravines and caves, which can be used for business travelers to rest and shade.

However, water and grass are scarce in these places, and supplies are difficult to sustain. The imperial court usually does not set up beacon towers here.

Cheng Sanwu secretly thought about it, even though the imperial court had already spread across the Western Regions and set up military towns and garrisons these days, it was still dangerous and unpredictable to do business on this road.

Needless to say, horse thieves and others, such as the flying yaksha who specialize in blood-sucking, and the giant sandworm scorpion that swims underground, are all powerful monsters that elude people. Once encountered by ordinary businessmen, very few can escape.

And now it seems that the caravan he wants to support has been robbed and killed.

Looking for the sound and passing through the mound gorge, Cheng Sanwu came to an open space, and saw a group of camels gathered against the wall not far away, and dozens of corpses lay on the ground around them, some were shot by knives or shot by sharp arrows, and their blood was stained red Yellow sand, it can be seen that the fighting was brutal.

Cheng Sanwu frowned slightly. When a caravan encountered bandits robbing, they usually would not fight to the end, but would offer money to save their lives and goods; A hard nut to crack, he would turn his head and flee immediately, and it was impossible to bury all the people easily.

Five horse thieves armed with knives and guns joined forces to besiege a guard in black. These horse thieves attacked fiercely, lifting their feet, stabbing their shoulders, and cutting their hands.

As for the black-clothed guard, he was even more impressive. The long sword in his hand was dancing and flying, and the sword light was intertwined, flowing like clouds and flowing water, as if splashing ink with a pen.If it hadn't been honed for many years, it would be difficult to have such martial arts.

However, the black-clothed guard seemed to be injured, his face was pale, his strength was weak, and he couldn't swing the tip of the gun with all his strength, and his flaws were gradually exposed, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, which was difficult to hold for a long time.

Cheng Sanwu didn't hesitate any longer, and blew a whistle. The sound of the whistle echoed between the mound and rock walls. Two of the horse thieves turned around vigilantly. As soon as he moved, the blade had already sliced ​​across the throat, throwing out two bloody whips.

Both the horse thief and the guards were startled by the sudden change, Cheng Sanwu's attack did not slow down slightly, his movement was like a falcon flying towards his prey, and the horizontal knife in his hand was like a flash of lightning, suddenly illuminating the drowsy world.

Seeing this, a horse thief raised his gun to block it, but felt the sharpness hit his face, and his mouth was shocked.The momentum of the horizontal knife in Cheng Sanwu's hand was comparable to that of a steel whip and iron mace. It directly chopped off the barrel of the gun, cut the neck and shoulders, and with a large amount of blood, cut the horse thief's neck in half, bringing out a cloud of blood!
Facing such a strong enemy, the remaining two horse thieves were only slightly startled, and then they attacked fiercely.Cheng Sanwu was more than capable, sideways to avoid the spear, raised his foot to step on one side of the scimitar, grasped the opening in an instant, and swept the horse thief under the ribs with a whip kick, causing a muffled crackling sound, kicking the opponent's several ribs.

At the same time, the black-clothed guard stepped forward and pierced the chest and back of another horse thief with a long sword, taking his life.

Cheng Sanwu glanced back, took advantage of the opportunity to make up for the seriously injured horse thief, and wiped out all the thieves present.

The crisis was resolved, and the black-clothed guard backed back with a pale face, leaned against the camel, covered a wound in his waist and abdomen, gritted his teeth, and said nothing.

"My name is Cheng Sanwu, and I am entrusted by Quzhicheng Baochang Society to meet you." Cheng Sanwu had already seen the white horse and red flag on the camel's back: "You are the caravan of the White Horse Society? Why are you so embarrassed? ?”

The black-clothed guard didn't answer. He took out a small gourd from the camel's bag, sprinkled medicinal powder on the wound, and frantically bandaged it to stop the bleeding.

Cheng Sanwu didn't care about the other party's indifference, shook off the blood, put the knife back into its sheath, did not take the initiative to show courteousness, but looked at the corpses around.

"interesting."

Apart from the caravan personnel, Cheng Sanwu took off the masks of several horse thieves, including both Hu and Han, so it was easy to see that there was no abnormality.But Cheng Sanwu discovered that the calluses on the hands of these horse thieves were mostly left by holding knives and guns for many years, and considering their tacit cooperation when they besieged the black-clothed guards just now, they could only be from the army.

It's just that in the Western Regions, there are many soldiers, including the soldiers sent by the Great Xia court, as well as the old soldiers who once belonged to the countries in the Western Regions.Soldiers who were scattered due to the chaos of the war, many of them changed their appearances to become bandits. They came and went in groups like wind, which has always been a chronic disease in the Western Regions.

Cheng Sanwu had dealt with these "heroes" quite a lot in the past, but it was really rare for dozens of masters to gather together in one place like today.

"I see that you have more than a dozen camels, and you don't seem to be short of money. Why do you fight to the death with these horse thieves?" Cheng Sanwu asked.

After the black-clothed guard hastily bandaged up, he stood up with his sword and cast a vigilant look: "Desperado, greedy for money and profit, do you still need to ask?"

Cheng Sanwu folded his arms across his chest, and said with a smile: "Then what are you going to do next? I just looked around and there is no one breathing."

The black-clothed guard lowered his head and looked around, with a dazed look on his face, as if he realized that he was in a difficult situation, while Cheng Sanwu was silent at the side.

"I still want to continue walking east." The black-clothed guard regained his determination after a while, and then looked up and down: "Baochang Society only sent you here alone?"

"In the past, there were enough manpower, but now for some reason, from Suye City to Yumen Pass, horse thieves and monsters from all walks of life are making trouble." Cheng Sanwu shrugged his shoulders: "The chief guards of the four towns have sent troops to wipe them out. The manpower of our trading companies has also been recruited... but you, how did you make it this way?"

The black-clothed guard wiped off the blood and sweat on his face, and gestured to mount the horse thief's corpse: "This is already the fifth attack we have encountered on the road."

Cheng Sanwu was secretly amazed, he could tell that this black-clothed guard had extraordinary martial arts skills, and an ordinary caravan with such a master sitting in charge could already solve most of the troubles.But in the face of repeated robberies and killings, they were still almost wiped out.

Rather, how many people would have to be killed along the way if this Baimashe caravan could withstand five attacks to get here?
Cheng Sanwu had a strange premonition in his heart that the caravan was not carrying any prohibited goods, which attracted heroes from all walks of life to covet them.

"What do you call a good guy?" Cheng Sanwu asked, clasping his fists.

"Penning."

"You are the only one left in the caravan. Are you planning to go to Quzhi City to report to the officials?" Cheng Sanwu kindly reminded: "But the officers are probably busy with military affairs at the moment, so they probably won't pay much attention to such things as the caravan being robbed."

There is another sentence that Cheng Sanwu didn't say clearly, that is, this place deviates from the official road, there are few officials and troops here, and there is no flint fort, even if the caravan is robbed by bandits, there is often nowhere to appeal.

Peng Ning thought for a while, crossed his hands and said back: "Thank you for coming to help in time. I want to count the goods and dispose of the dead bodies first, and I would like to trouble you to stay outside for a while to guard against bandits."

Cheng Sanwu curled his lips, knowing that the other party refused to speak out, and he didn't like to inquire about secrets anyway, so he turned and left, and went outside to rest.

With a whistle, the big bay red horse strolled in from another place with light steps. It was very human, and when it met Cheng Sanwu, it snorted, as if asking how things were going.

"Not too good." Cheng Sanwu smoothed the horse's mane: "This caravan is almost dead, and there is only one guard left. The horse thieves who came to rob and kill are not afraid of death. Ordinary property."

When Cheng Sanwu said this, he inadvertently recalled the past. He had committed crimes in the Central Plains and had nowhere to go, so he fled all the way to the Western Regions. It has been almost ten years now.

Ordinary fugitives were either reduced to refugees, became bandits, or joined wealthy families as tenants and guests.Fortunately, Cheng Sanwu still has martial arts skills, and the customs and conditions in the Western Regions are different from those in the Central Plains. Here, merchants and travelers embrace the United Association, and are happy to recruit Cheng Sanwu, a ranger and fugitive.

On the surface, people like Cheng Sanwu are escorting caravans for Baochang Society, but secretly they have to fight against other business companies, and sometimes they have to do some dirty work for the nobles.

After all, it is not easy to go back and forth in the Western Regions, and the caravan may get lost in the desert and die.

"White Horse Club, I haven't heard much about it before, it seems like a newcomer." Cheng Sanwu said to himself, "Look at Peng Ning's swordsmanship, it's fast and dense, it should come from Lantian Huiyun Tower... "

Cheng Sanwu groaned for a moment, Huiyunlou was not an idle sect, it was originally a manor business where an idle prince studied Danqing in the early years of the founding of the Great Xia.It's just that this idle prince himself is also proficient in martial arts, and he embodies superior swordsmanship in calligraphy and painting, and he has formed his own school over time.

And those who can enter the Huiyun Tower and practice Danqing Sword Art, if they are not the disciples of the high school, they are the nobles of the imperial capital. Will such people come to the Western Regions to take the dust and eat the sand?
Unable to think of a reason for a while, Cheng Sanwu didn't bother to think about it, so he found a shady place to rest.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, I saw Peng Ning walking out of the mound gorge with a dozen camels.

"Let me declare in advance that although Baochang Society sent me to help, it's just you and me now. If there is any accident on the way and you lose your camels and belongings, don't get entangled." Cheng San Wu took the initiative to say.

Peng Ning did not argue: "I know the rules."

"Then let's go, we'll be safe when we reach Quzhi City." Cheng Sanwu got on his horse.

"We're not going to Quzhi City."

Cheng Sanwu frowned: "The entrustment I received is to come and take you to Quzhi City, and here to the east, only the vicinity of Quzhi City is considered safe."

"I can pay you extra." Peng Ning stretched out his hand into his arms as he spoke.

"It's not about money." Cheng Sanwu explained: "You are alone, with so much money, you are destined to be targeted by others. When you go to Quzhi City, I will help you contact a few reliable helpers, It’s not too late to go east.”

"No, if there are too many people, you will be targeted instead, and you can't go on the road." Peng Ning threw out a money bag with his hands.

Cheng Sanwu raised his palm to catch it, and realized that it was not light. When he opened it, he found that it was full of white silver coins with lion head and human body decorations. They originated from Persia and were recognized by many trading companies in the Western Regions.

"Like I said, it's not just about money." Cheng Sanwu admired Peng Ning's generosity: "If you don't take the big road, let alone the danger, if there is no big seal of Qu Zhicheng's round trip on your customs clearance document, then Go east, pass through Guancheng, and you will be detained at any time."

Peng Ning took out another inspection card: "I have a certificate of direct customs clearance for four towns and three passes in the Western Regions, don't worry."

Cheng Sanwu was speechless all of a sudden. He had only heard about the customs clearance certificate in the past, but had never seen it with his own eyes. This thing is not owned by ordinary trading companies at all.

Thinking about Peng Ning's Danqing sword skill, if he can't guarantee it, he is really doing business for some royal relatives, so he can get a direct clearance certificate.

"Okay." Cheng Sanwu accepted the money bag without refusing, and then began to calculate the distance: "If you don't go to Quzhi City, you have to take the Hanhai North Path, but this road is very difficult."

"A lot of thieves?" Peng Ning asked.

These words immediately revealed that Peng Ning knew very little about the situation in the Western Regions. The vast sea and desert have always been regarded as an absolute domain. Decades ago, there was an incident where imperial soldiers and horses were chasing the enemy, and they were lost in the vast sea and desert together. Thousands of people on both sides could Less than a hundred escaped.

Cheng Sanwu didn't point it out, but said: "There are not many thieves, but there are many monsters lurking in the desert. They smell the smell of camels, and they might rush out. In addition, there are storms and quicksand raging. You have to be a good fortune for the camel team." Prepare for lost cargo."

Peng Ning nodded heavily: "Yes, let's go this way."

The other party agreed so straightforwardly that Cheng Sanwu had to suspect that Peng Ning didn't care about the dozens of camels and the goods they carried. There must be more important reasons for his trip to the east.

"But... forgive me for asking one more question." Cheng Sanwu still couldn't hold back: "You and I met for the first time, and you just trust me like that? Are you afraid that I'm with the horse thief?"

Peng Ning stared at Cheng Sanwu, and said in a solemn tone, "With your martial arts skills in beheading horse thieves just now, you wanted to kill people and steal money, but you did it by the way, but you didn't do it."

Cheng Sanwu looked up to the sky and laughed: "Okay! Just say this to you, I will guarantee you to pass through the Yumen Pass safely!"

(End of this chapter)