After the immortal disappeared

"The postmaster saw that her clothes were in tatters, that she had a big belly, and that her eyes were flickering and she dared not look at anyone. He remembered the announcement in the city and wanted to hand her over. The woman cried and made noises and said, 'I'm just too hungry,' and 'I don't want to harm anyone. You', just run out. The chaotou rushed to intercept, but a three-foot-tall monster jumped out of the cotton basket behind the woman, killing even the chaotou and the groom under the postmaster's belt. The brothers rested in the inn and came out to rescue them, but they were unable to defeat the monster. One of them was killed and the other seriously injured. However, they threw the monster outside the inn, and at least a dozen passengers on the road saw it. "

"Then what?"

"The passengers who witnessed it were frightened and ran away on the spot. When the police officers arrived at the scene, of course the woman and the monster were gone."

"Is she the monster pregnant mother who escaped from Panlong City?" He Lingchuan pondered, "A few days ago, Panlong City strictly inspected pregnant women. She knew that there was no place for her in the city, so she escaped first."

However, the environment in the suburbs is extremely cold and freezing, and pregnant women who are alone have almost nowhere to go. They may have to borrow some dilapidated houses to live in.

Liu Tiao frowned: "It's quite a long distance from Xikou Village to the mine we're going to now. Can a pregnant woman survive it?"

"Maybe she can." The door panel said gruffly, "The thing in her belly is not a human being, maybe she can do some trick."

Willow snorted.

Chifeng is thirty miles northwest of Panlong City, not far away. This is one of the most important mines in the northwest. The iron and copper produced are of high and stable quality. After years of development, a small town has been formed at the foot of the mountain, called Chifeng Town, with a population of more than a thousand.

The main residents of the town are miners, blacksmiths, officials and their families. The excavated ore is smelted on site, saving time on construction and materials, and is then inspected and purchased by the official before being transported to the city.

Panlong City has been at war for many years and attaches great importance to iron tools. When they learned that the mine had collapsed, they immediately sent people there.

The further you go to the northwest, the fewer the trees and the more rocks. The ups and downs of the hilly areas are clearly revealed. Some steep peaks cannot even hold the snow, revealing a dark background.

But there are many animals here. There is a large group of wild deer that are eating lichen in the snow. They don’t panic when they see people running by. They just stand there and chew.

He Lingchuan and others rushed to Chifeng Town and saw that the road to the mine was indeed blocked, and it was blocked near the entrance. Due to the need for ore transportation, the mountain roads here have been specially widened and repaired to facilitate the transportation of vehicles and horses, but now the snow on the mountains has fallen, and along with it, large chunks of weathered rocks have hit the road, making it tightly blocked. .

But now the work of clearing the blockage is in full swing. He Lingchuan saw two huge ice and rock puppets digging up fallen rocks and snow. They were both more than two feet tall and more majestic than his golden-armored bronze man. Their bodies were made of solid ice and rocks, and their two palms were thicker than door panels. It is large and suitable for use as a digging shovel. It has no lower limbs and is replaced by four or five large ice wheels, which makes it easier to carry heavy objects.

The practitioner who summoned these two things must be nearby. The longer they are maintained, the more spiritual energy is consumed.

The reason why no manpower is used to excavate is that, firstly, the giant ice-rock puppet is stronger and more efficient; secondly, rocks will fall from time to time on the mountain. The big one is wider than a round table, and the small one is bigger than a coconut. If Lifu is hit, his head will open eight pieces.

In addition to the ordinary mules and horses responsible for transporting rock ice, He Lingchuan actually saw a dozen huge long-haired bison, with a pair of curved horns on their heads, and their hair almost covered their eyes.

These big guys are extremely muscular and don't look like good-natured ones, but they obediently get on vehicles and haul construction waste for humans, spraying white steam from their noses with great force.

A single bison can pull a cart full of rubble. With their help, the dredging work goes much faster.

Everyone was amazed, and Liu Tiao raised his hand and pointed at the top of the mountain: "Look, Shanze!"

All living beings were busy, but a solid rock protruded above the mountain road, and a huge sandy-yellow leopard lay on the top.

It is larger than ordinary male lions, lying down in a lazy posture, lowering its head to clean the pads of its front paws.

The palms and claws are comparable to cattail leaf fans.

He Lingchuan asked, "Is this the local mountain in Chifeng?" It looked familiar. The person who caused him to fall off the cliff was also a sand leopard. It also opened his relationship with the sacred bone necklace.

Hey, wait a minute, isn’t Zhong Shengguang’s spiritual pet just a sand leopard?

"That's Master Zhong's partner." Liu Tiao's voice was full of respect. "Legend has it that he was the leader of the sand leopards that Master Zhong conquered in the third year after he came to Panlong Wasteland. He fought with Master Zhong and was later directly appointed as the leader of the Northwest Mountains. Ze.”

When a person attains enlightenment, chickens and dogs can ascend to heaven, let alone a leopard demon who has real qualities in the first place?

Shanze is personally in charge, so it’s no wonder that the long-haired bison suit underneath is so snug that it only requires a human to wear a nose ring.

He Lingchuan sighed, the little leopard demon's ancestor was Shanze, and he had the imperial title. How did he end up becoming a bandit?

One generation is worse than the other.

The mountain leopard demon didn't know what he was planning in his heart, so he stretched out on the huge rock, and then roared at a lazy buffalo.

The saw-like roar startled the bison, and he immersed himself in his work.

He Lingchuan had only taken a few breaths when a burst of cheers came from the mountain road: the first blockade had been cleared.

Someone in the town waved to him, and He Lingchuan and his party rode over.

This man is the chief responsible for managing Chifeng Town. He is dark and thin, with high cheekbones and a naturally sad face.

He said to He Lingchuan: "There are three teams in total, right?"

He Lingchuan looked around the town and saw other patrols. Since defeating Meng Shan, He Lingchuan's reputation has spread among the warriors. Most of the patrols recognize him and are now nodding towards him.

The door panel answered: "Yes."

"Then everyone is here." The chief called the other guards to come over and enter the temple in the town. This temple is dedicated to the Mitian Empress. The back hall is very large, and it is not too crowded for more than 20 people to enter. "My surname is Hu, and I am in charge of all matters in Chifeng Town. I have been ordered to introduce the situation here to you."

"Our mine is not very deep, it is close to the main road, and we can mine it in the winter. If we go deeper, there are several rich mines there, but the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter and we can't get in." This is also the reason why the Chifeng Mine has suffered so much. One of the reasons why Longcheng attaches great importance to it is, “It has snowed heavily in the past three days, but the road to the mine has always been fine, until yesterday there was a sudden avalanche, and the avalanche was huge. The mountain road was blocked for at least two or three miles, and it was very difficult to clean up. "

Hu Lichang continued: "The problem is that there is no break in the mine, and there are always people inside. We heard from the workers who escaped that there seems to be monsters in the mine that can eat people."

"Cannibalism?" Several captains exchanged glances, "What does it look like?"

"It's unclear. It was pitch black inside the mine tunnel, and the thing was moving so fast that they couldn't see clearly. Sometimes they heard their companions screaming, but when they rushed over, they were gone."

He Lingchuan asked: "Is it the work of monsters or wild beasts?"

"With Lingbao Shanze around, the local monsters don't dare to attack humans, and even wild beasts avoid humans." Hu Lizhang said, "Shanze also asked his subordinates, and they all said they didn't eat humans."

"By the way, before the avalanche, some townspeople heard strange noises, like a baby crying. At that time, everyone thought it was a wild cat in the forest calling for spring, but the more they heard it, the weirder it became." Hu Lichang swallowed, "In fact, this half of the town Yue also lost two people. Well, there were originally three people, but one of them went away to collect firewood, and got caught in the snow and was blocked for two days before he came back..."

Another captain, Xu Chun, interrupted him: "Are those two lost or dead?"

"One of them went out shopping eleven days ago and never came back; there was also a man named Ding who lived in our town. When everyone got up the next day, they found that his door was open and he was missing."

"Is there any blood?"

"There is no blood, and there are no signs of struggle or fighting." Hu Lizhang said, "The footprints of his family went out and disappeared four or five feet west. The snow is very thick, and the footprints can be seen clearly."

In other words, after walking out of the house four or five feet away, Lao Ding disappeared?

He Lingchuan thought that this town was built in a valley and there was not enough space, so the houses were built next to each other, and the sound insulation was probably only a little better than his wooden house in Panlong City. If the missing person was attacked, neighbors should at least hear the screams.

Could it be that he was attacked while he was sleeping and had no power to resist?

Willow stood up: "This person who disappeared in the town, which house does he live in?"

Hu Li pointed out to her.

Liu Tiao immediately said to everyone, "I'll be back as soon as I go."

She went to investigate, and Hu Lichang smiled bitterly and said: "After Old Ding disappeared, everyone in the town was uneasy and did not dare to sleep at night. In addition, the mine... Please be sure to get rid of the monsters, otherwise the city will The task of casting iron was really difficult to complete. "

There are quantitative indicators for how many iron pieces Chifeng Mine has to turn in every month.

Xu Chun was about to speak when the woman who came in with hot water suddenly interrupted: "Chief, why don't you tell the inspectors about that woman? She also came here half a month ago, so the time is right!"

Hu Lichang glared at her: "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't make trouble here!"

Where would the patrols miss any clues? "What woman?"

"Master, don't listen to this woman's nonsense. Seventeen or eight days ago, a woman came to the town and said she wanted to join her relatives. But her relatives had died long ago. We saw that she was pitifully pregnant, so we I made an empty house for her to live in."

A big belly? Everyone looked at each other with alarm. Wasn't Panlongcheng conducting interrogations on pregnant women a while ago? The timeline does fit.

He Lingchuan suddenly asked: "Does it look like you are in your fifties, skinny and short?"

"A bit short and thin, but not fifty, right?" Hu Lichang was stunned by what he said, "Only around thirty."

Mrs. Duan Shui stood nearby and said abruptly: "You are born quite fair."

He Lingchuan was surprised.

He thought it would be the old woman he had met.

Xu Chun asked: "Where is she?"

"She left a few days ago." Hu Lizhang shook his head. "She said she was five or six months pregnant. We think she is at least nine months old. She is so big that it's scary. How can she stay here forever?"