Mortal Mage

In the twilight, beside the mountain path, a tent stood quietly.

Zhang Mingxuan pressed his eyelids and looked.

The candlelight flickered faintly from the tent, making it seem particularly isolated.

Near the tent, a luxurious carriage was parked, and its gorgeous decorations looked luxurious and dazzling in the night.

A group of soldiers sat around the campfire around the tent, the firelight reflected their red faces. From time to time, bursts of laughter and chatter could be heard from the front.

Everything around them seemed to be under their control.

Outside the soldiers sat some ragged civilians.

These people had no bonfire, and they clung to each other tightly, looking very silent and tired.

Zhang Mingxuan looked around.

There is only this one path between these mountains, and there are bushes and rocks on both sides, so there is no way to get around this group of people.

It seems that there are some mortals and soldiers ahead, so there should still be some laws and regulations.

He gently pinched Haofen's slender waist, intending to let Haofen transform into a white fox and hide in the ring, but Haofen was delicate and panting, humming and groaning, showing great reluctance.

There were two Jindan-stage cultivators in his storage ring. Thinking that it was like a cage inside, Zhang Mingxuan felt a little bit reluctant and shook his head helplessly.

If you encounter any difficulties later, the worst that can happen is that you just give me some money.

After thinking about it, he walked towards the crowd.

Just in case, he pulled open the stopper of the spiritual gourd to hide the aura of the monk.

Then he waited for a long time at a distance, until the soldiers had fallen asleep and rested, and then he gently walked over with his horse's belly between his legs.

When they approached the crowd, a strong smell of sweat hit them in the face. He and Hao Fen looked down at these people while riding on their horses.

Although the people at the back were dressed in rags, covered in mud and sweat, with pale and exhausted faces, they were not naked and looked like ordinary people doing hard labor.

Not far from this group of people, there were two heavy wooden carts, each with two huge pieces of jade fixed on it with hemp ropes as thick as wrists.

The two pieces of jade were originally one piece, but now they were cut in the middle and divided into two pieces.

The jade is also covered with a thick layer of rock.

The people were all sleeping soundly, and no one cared about the people passing by.

Passing through these civilians, several soldiers on night duty raised their heads slightly and looked at the man in white riding on the brown horse. Finally, their eyes fell on the graceful woman in front of the man in white.

A soldier on night duty was slightly moved. He used his wrist to nudge his companion who was sleeping soundly beside him, trying to signal him to open his eyes. However, the companion shook his hand impatiently and continued to sleep soundly.

The night soldier exchanged glances with the other two night soldiers, and the three of them chuckled meaningfully and nodded to each other.

At this time, Zhang Mingxuan had already walked past the group of soldiers and was about to pass by the luxurious tent in the front. Suddenly, he heard the soldier behind him shouting in a very low voice: "Stop!"

The sound seemed to be made in fear of waking up the other sleeping companions, but at the same time, it did not want to let Zhang Mingxuan pass by safely.

Zhang Mingxuan lightly pulled the reins in his hand, stopped his horse and looked back.

Three soldiers on night duty picked up their swords from beside the campfire and walked over slowly with light steps.

"dismount!"

"I wonder what the officers have to say?"

Zhang Mingxuan had a kind look on his face and also lowered his voice and spoke politely.

With his cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining, he disdains to get into unnecessary disputes with these mortals.

"I told you to get off your horse, why are you talking so much nonsense!"

The leading soldier gave a solemn order, "Behave yourself. If you alarm the other brothers, you won't be able to leave."

Seeing the three men threatening him, Zhang Mingxuan dismounted.

Of course, he also understood the purpose of these three people, so he secretly took out two silver ingots from his ring, held them in his hand, and then helped Hao Fen off the horse.

"This woman, take off your veil, and let us see if she is a demon or not."

The leading soldier continued to give orders in a very low voice.

Upon hearing this, Hao Fen bowed slightly to Zhang Mingxuan and asked for his opinion.

Zhang Mingxuan knew that there were many monsters and ghosts among the people in this world.

Many independent practitioners also engage in the business of exorcising demons, catching ghosts, warding off evil spirits, and praying for blessings among the people to earn some money.

These folk ghosts and monsters are not the same thing.

Ghosts and monsters are just the result of people's unjust deaths, unfulfilled wishes, and so on. At most, they can bring harm to mortals and cause chaos in some houses.

Generally, as long as one reaches the first level of Qi Refining and is able to mobilize the true Qi and activate the talismans, the enemy can be subdued.

If you encounter some evil spirits or monsters, at most you can just perform a ritual and borrow the master's magic power.

If there are monsters among the people, the disciples of the sect will rush out of the mountains to snatch the monster pills, and it will not be the turn of the common cultivators at all.

But no matter how bad a ghost is, it is still a supernatural event. No matter what, ordinary people will not end up well if they encounter it.

Zhang Mingxuan knew clearly that these soldiers were just trying to show off.

Their provocative behavior obviously has nothing to do with their real strength.

The current situation is nothing more than a rampant behavior relying on numbers.

If they were to see Lao Fen's face, they would surely have evil intentions.

After thinking about it, he spread out the two ingots of silver in his hand and said in a low voice, "This silver is for the three generals to buy wine. I hope the three generals will not make things difficult for me."

The leading soldier saw the silver ingots and heard what the man in white said. He took a step forward and grabbed two silver ingots. "Tsk tsk, you are really sensible!" He stuffed the silver ingots into his lapel and raised his chin to the two soldiers behind him. "Brothers, let's not make things difficult for this little couple."

"Well! Since the boss said it's not difficult, then it's certainly not difficult, but it won't hurt to take a look."

"Yes, yes, it's okay to look."

The two people behind the leading soldier were whispering.

"Well, let's take a look then."

The leading soldier nodded and whispered to Zhang Mingxuan, "Boy, these are our rules. Since you gave us the silver, we won't make things difficult for you." He patted the silver ingot inside his lapel again, and with a provocative smile, he whispered, "There are many weird things in this mountain, and there have been many rumors recently. Who knows if she is a demon in disguise? We have to take a look, in case something goes wrong, and no one wants it."

Another soldier interrupted in a low voice, "Right, right, right. We don't mean to embarrass you. She's just a little girl, so showing her face is no big deal."

The third soldier also lowered his voice and echoed: "That's right, after looking at her appearance, I will definitely let you two go."

Zhang Mingxuan frowned slightly, with a hint of disgust in his eyes.

These three people are still lustful and don't realize their own worth. They use demons and ghosts as a cover.

I'm afraid it's not enough to fill the gaps between my teeth.

But he didn't need to compete with a few mortals, so he put his hands in his sleeves and secretly took out two silver ingots from his ring again. "My wife has been burned since she was a child, and her face cannot be shown to others. I hope the three generals will not embarrass me." He spread the silver ingots on his palms. "Three generals, this is the only money I have."

When the leading soldier saw Zhang Mingxuan taking out another silver ingot, he immediately smiled and whispered, "Wow, you are indeed a rich man." Then he grabbed the silver ingot and ordered the two soldiers behind him in a deep voice, "What's the point of burning your face?" Then he lowered his voice and scolded the two soldiers behind him, "Once we transport the two pieces of jade to Yujing Port, these forty taels of silver will not only be enough for the fare for you and me to go to Changjiang City of the Song Dynasty, but also..." He stopped talking, glared at Zhang Mingxuan and Hao Fen in front of the horse, waved his hand to let them go, then put his arms around the shoulders of his two companions behind him and returned to the campfire, continuing to whisper.