Dragon Pattern Roll Set

Silver trees with white stamens and jade railings blow flowers all over the city when the wind blows.

To the north of the Weishui River, the sky is already covered with heavy snow, and a thick layer of plain white has accumulated on the official road. There are many flat lands and few mountains on both sides, so as far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of whiteness.

In this piece of snow-white tranquility, a mighty force... is marching forward, it is the food delivery team from Kaifeng.

Ahead is 10 horses led by Ouyang Shaozheng, escorting a large amount of food and clothing.

Behind is a long patrol team, two imperial envoys, Mr. Bao and Grand Master Pang of Kaifeng Mansion, are sitting there.

Trailing behind are the government servants and the three thousand elite soldiers led by Zou Liang.

Speaking of which, the disaster situation along the road is much better than expected. It seems that the localities have already known that this year will be a severe cold, so the food and material reserves are relatively abundant.

Many people along the way also sent food and clothing for the army to send to the north, so more and more supplies were transported, but there was no shortage, Mr. Bao was very relieved.

Everyone just left Fengxiang Mansion.

Fengxiang Mansion is a large mansion with many prefectures, counties and towns, and the prefect of Fengxiang He Zhiming is also very capable and honest. He helped to accept nearly half of the supplies and distributed them to the surrounding villages. The shed shelters homeless people.He is familiar with Master Bao and Zhao Pu, and everyone can rest assured that he handles affairs.

Hearing that the team's next stop is the capital of Yanzhou, and they will stay there for a while, and investigate the case of Tianmu in Xuecheng, Master He laughed.

"Do you know anything about the name?" Bao Zheng asked He Taishou.

He Zhiming didn't hide anything, "The Tianmu cannibal case has been going on for nearly two years, and it was only settled a year ago, but it was still unresolved in the end. I haven't heard that the goblin came out to eat people again this year, so was also forgotten."

"There is such a thing as Tianmu?" Zhao Pu was curious.

He Zhiming frowned and shook his head, "My lord, someone said it, but no one has seen it. I personally don't believe in evil, and I think it is more likely that someone is playing tricks."

"There must be a reason for being so suspicious, right?" Grand Master Pang knew that He Zhiming was a smart person, so he asked, "Does Master He have a clue?"

He Zhiming thought about it, and asked the master to bring out something and hand it over to everyone.

"What is this?" Mr. Bao was a little puzzled when he saw a white brocade box in front of his eyes.

He Zhiming opened the box, and saw a crystal clear bead inside. There were spots on the inside and outside of the bead. At first, he thought it was a crack from falling, but when he looked carefully, it turned out to be a pattern growing inside the bead, like snowflakes.

Zhan Zhao thought the beads were pretty, so he took them and held them up to the sunlight, and saw some impurities and air bubbles inside the beads, not sure if they were jade beads or night pearls.

Zhan Zhao is not good at antique jades, but Bai Yutang knows it well, after taking a look, he asked, "Snow Flame Orb?"

He Zhiming nodded, rather curious, "How did Young Master Bai know Xueyanzhu?"

"A friend showed me these beads. They are beautiful but not expensive. In the pine forest of Syracuse, you can find a lot of them every time it snows. They are not stone beads but rosin beads." Bai Yutang said, "There is a kind of bead in Syracuse. The bark of a special pine tree is easily cracked by freezing every winter, and the pine resin inside will flow out and wrap the snowflakes. After the pine resin rolls down into the snow, it is blown by the wind and snow, wrapping the snowflakes while rolling and solidifying, and finally Roll it into a round shape, and there will be patterns of snowflakes inside."

He Zhiming nodded, "That's the case."

"This thing is exquisite." Grand Master Pang held it up and looked at it, "It's really not expensive? It looks like it's very valuable."

He Zhiming shook his head, "It's only a few pennies each. Many people in Yanzhou will go to the pine forest to pick them up after the heavy snowfall. After picking them up, they will make some small gadgets, such as pendants and ornaments, and sell them to others. A traveler from the past. This bead of mine is quite large, and it is worth about two taels of silver, and it is hard to find any bigger ones."

Everyone nodded, and after admiring the beads, they asked He Zhiming inexplicably, "What does this bead have to do with the case of Tianmu in Xuecheng?"

"Snow Flame Beads are worthless, but the Snow Eye Beads, which look exactly the same as Xue Yan Beads, are priceless!" He Zhiming raised his eyebrows, "It's a priceless treasure!"

Zhan Zhao felt a little puzzled, "What are snow eyeballs? Eyeballs?"

When everyone looked at Bai Yutang, Bai Yutang shook his head. He really hadn't heard of it.

"It is said that it was made from the tears of Tianmu." He Zhizhang told everyone an ancient legend near Xuecheng.

The little four who had been sitting on Zhao Pu's lap hurriedly rubbed into Zhao Pu's arms when he heard it belonged to both a monster and a snow spirit.

He Zhiming stretched out his hand and poked him, thinking that the meat is quite amusing, so he said, "Don't be afraid, don't be scary."

The fourth son let out a sigh of relief.

"Mother Tian is said to have three rows of teeth in her mouth, which are as sharp as wolf teeth. When she eats people, her mouth can grow very large..."

The fourth son covered his ears and looked at He Zhiming resentfully, it's a lie!

He Zhiming laughed heartily.

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay - this prefect He is also quite boring, deliberately scaring children.

"Tianmu usually dresses up as a woman walking alone in the snow, holding an infant child in her arms, pretending to be injured and falling down in the snow and crying." He Zhiming said, "Of course, it's just a legend. Passing travelers often She will help out of sympathy, but when she gets closer, she realizes that it is not a baby in her arms, but the head of the last person she ate."

Gongsun subconsciously hugged the fourth son and covered his ears - this is the end of the game, the little guy is going to have nightmares for several days in a row.

"Most passers-by will be frightened and stupid. Before they have time to react, Tianmu has already bit off the neck of the person, then dragged them into the snow, and ate them slowly." After He Zhiming finished speaking, everyone looked disgusted. She smiled, "But there is always an exception to everything."

"Could it be that she met something not tasty?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile.

He Zhiming smiled and shook his head, "One day, she met a blind man."

"Blind man?" Everyone was curious.

"The legend goes like this. The blind man was on the road with a large group of people. He heard a woman crying in the distance, so he said he wanted to see it. The local people reminded him of the legend about Tianmu and told him to ignore it. But the blind man did not If he wanted to, he left the team and followed the sound to find it. He finally found Tianmu and approached her, and Tianmu was still the same as before, showing him the head in the swaddling baby.”

Everyone frowned, and He Zhiming shook his head, "But the blind man couldn't see it. He wasn't frightened, but reached out and touched Tianmu's shoulder and asked her, 'Why are you wearing so little? Is it cold? Does it hurt? Where are you?" The blind man took off his cloak and groped to put it on for her, thinking that the girl was frightened, so he said to her, "Don't be afraid, where do you live? I'll take you back. But I can't see, I'm behind your back, show me the way.'"

Everyone was fascinated.

"Tianmu didn't eat him by mistake, but asked him, 'Aren't you afraid that I'm Tianmu eating you?'" He Zhiming continued, "The blind man is also open-minded, saying that he can't see and has no relatives. If it’s really Tianmu, it’s bad luck, if it’s not Tianmu, it’s good to save someone’s life.”

"Under the guidance of Tianmu, the blind man came to the farmhouse where she lived temporarily to avoid the wind and snow." He Zhiming said, "The blind man is very funny, although he can't see others, he knows a lot about the past and the present, and told Tianmu a lot of interesting things. After that, Tianmu stayed with the blind man every day, sometimes they went out for a walk, and sometimes they just chatted... That's it, more than a month passed."

"Isn't that blind man on his way, so busy?" Bai Yutang asked abruptly.

He Zhiming smiled, "Gradually, Tianmu developed feelings for the blind man, until the cold winter passed and spring returned to the earth... Tianmu is leaving here."

"Where is she going?" Zhan Zhao was curious.

"Tianmu can only live in a place where there is snow and ice. Once there is no wind and snow, she will die." He Zhiming spread his hands, "It's still said in the legend that Tianmu is reluctant to be blind. I regret that if I'm just an ordinary girl Now, you can stay with the blind man forever. The snow will stop the next day, which means that Tianmu must leave that night... But that night, the blind man suddenly told Tianmu that he wanted to marry her."

Everyone was stunned—tsk tsk, this is troublesome.

"How does Tianmu do?" Zhan Zhao was curious.

"She decided to stay." He Zhiming said calmly, "The next day, the wind and snow stopped, and the snow began to melt after the sun came out, and Tianmu became a little weak. The blind man happily prepared the big red auditorium, the big red wedding dress, Marriage with Tianmu. Although Tianmu is very weak, she is still very happy. The blind man has a deep love for her. Even if she died on the first day of marriage, it is worth it. It is just a pity that I cannot grow old with him..."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help feeling a little regretful—it's a pity that the monsters have different routes.

He Zhiming looked at everyone's expressions and sneered, "This is not a sad legend."

Everyone was stunned.

"On the night of the wedding, the blind man stabbed Tianmu's heart with a wooden sword made of peach wood that had just germinated in early spring." He Zhiming's words obviously surprised everyone.

"Why?" Although the fourth son covered his ears, he could hear it all the time. He thought he had heard it wrong when he heard it, and opened Gongsun's hand curiously, "Why do you stab your wife with a wooden sword?"

Everyone nodded.

He Zhiming sighed, "That blind man is actually a Taoist priest who exorcises ghosts and demons, and was invited by the villagers to catch Tianmu."

The crowd frowned.

"He's good or bad." The fourth son couldn't help but say.

Gongsun looked at him, "Isn't it worse that day when my mother cannibalized people?"

"Tianmu is also bad, but if you want to catch Tianmu, you should catch Tianmu. Why do you want to lie to the monster's feelings." The fourth son pouted, "The monster doesn't even want to marry him!"

Everyone also felt that although this Taoist priest was catching monsters to eliminate harm for the people, the methods he used were a bit despicable. The monsters were hateful, but there were also pitiful things. In short, it was indeed not sad, it was a tragedy.

"Then what happened afterwards?" Zhan Zhao asked He Zhiming, "Is Tianmu dead?"

"After Tianmu was stabbed by a peach tree, she couldn't move. The villagers tied her up and planned to set her on fire." He Zhiming said, "Before Tianmu died, the blind man asked her if she had a last wish."

"What did Tianmu say?" Gongsun asked, "Does he hate Taoist priests?"

He Zhiming shook his head, "That's not true. Tianmu asked the priest if he was hurt, and the Taoist told her that he was very sad."

Everyone was speechless.

"To deceive others, of course you have to deceive yourself first. Taoist priests did get along with Tianmu day and night and have feelings, but it's still the same sentence, people and ghosts have different paths." He Zhiming smiled, "Tianmu told He Zhiming that he was burned to death After that, I will go to hell, where it is very dark and lonely, and I asked him if he could also go down to accompany her."

Everyone raised their eyebrows—meaning they wanted a Taoist priest to be buried with them?

"The Taoist asked at that time, how to get there?" He Zhiming continued, "Tianmu said that when he died, he would cry, and the teardrops would turn into snowy eyes. Die and go to hell."

"The Taoist agreed?" Zhao Pu was surprised.

"Agreed." He Zhiming nodded, "Afterwards, Tianmu was set on fire and instantly disappeared. She did shed tears when she died, and the tears rolled down into the snow, turning into crystal clear beads with snowflakes inside. The villagers all advised the Taoist not to eat it, because it is not worth burying for a monster, but the Taoist said that he owed Tianmu and wanted to go down to pay her back, so he swallowed the snow eyeball."

"And he died?" Everyone asked.

"No." He Zhiming shook his head, "His eyes, which were blind from birth, can see again."

"What?" Everyone was surprised.

"Not only did he regain his eyesight, he also lost the entire memory of Tianmu. He lived happily until he was a hundred years old, and died after his children and grandchildren were full. It is said that when he died, it was snowing all over the sky, and someone saw a man in white clothes. The girl stood in the snow and waited. After the Taoist died, the girl led a young boy and disappeared into the snow. It seemed that the boy was blind, and he was very similar to the Taoist back then."

When everyone heard this, they all felt—it seemed that the tragedy had come full circle again, and it was okay.

"There are two types of beads, one is snow eye beads and the other is snow flame beads. The difference is that snow eye beads are priceless and can cure all kinds of diseases, and they are as hard as jade. But snow flame beads can be seen everywhere and have no medicinal effect. It’s easy to break, and it’s just like the eyes of a fish, it’s a world of difference.” He Zhiming said, “Some people buy snow eyeballs at a high price, but if you want to find snow eyeballs, you need to find a Tianmu and she has to bleed. Tears."

"Then how to tell the difference?" Bao Zheng asked, "The two beads are exactly the same, aren't they?"

"There is a difference, and the difference lies in the name." He Zhiming said, "The snow eyeballs will look a little clearer, and the snowflame beads, as the name suggests, can be ignited."

Everyone understands - rosin, of course it can be ignited.

He Zhiming handed the bead to Bao Zheng, "Two years ago, the Heavenly Mother reappeared. To be honest, there were far more Jianghu people who arrested Tianmu than the government! If Qin Lisheng's report hadn't alarmed the government, a large number of people in the Jianghu People probably have to check all the girls in Syracuse."

"Did Tianmu never show up after reporting the crime?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Yes!" He Zhiming nodded, "It so happens that Qin Lisheng is also blind, so many people say that he deliberately saved Tianmu. Tianmu left Snow City and went to another place. And the dozens of households who died before His family members all have some opinions on him. The Jianghu people who came here for nothing also think that he is meddling in other people's affairs, so Qin Lisheng encountered a lot of trouble afterwards."

"Trouble?" Bai Yutang frowned, "He's very good at martial arts, it's hard for ordinary people to trouble him."

"That's right, he is the second owner of Baigui Villa. Regardless of his kung fu, Xue Baigui will not let people hurt the people in his villa." He Zhiming sighed lightly when he said this, "But after all, he is dead. There are more than 30 people, is it really Tianmu? Tianmu is just a legend, if someone intentionally uses the name of Tianmu to kill someone, then the villain will still be at large."

Bao Zheng promised that he would thoroughly investigate this matter, and He Zhiming was naturally relieved.

……

After leaving Fengxiang Mansion, they continued on their way, the snow was getting bigger and bigger, and the sky was gradually getting dark.

Everyone set up a temporary tent in a clearing in the forest to avoid the wind and snow.All Zhao Pu's soldiers and horses had fought in the northwest, so they could adapt to the wind and snow without any fuss. In addition, Bai Yutang's Ding, a Ding Kong Islander, had rich experience in traveling north, so everything was arranged in an orderly manner.

The wind and snow blocked the outside, and the soldiers in the camp were having a barbecue and eating, it was very lively.

In the big carriage, on the soft woolen blanket, the fourth son was lying on his stomach with his chin in his hands and his feet up, reading an idle book, while Gongsun was stuffing egg custard into his mouth.

Everyone else is eating too.

The only advantage of a large carriage is that everyone can sit in it, making it easier to talk about things.

Pang Ji leaned on the cushion, holding a pot of hot Biluochun, enjoying it very much.

Bao Zheng was looking at the list of officials in the Syracuse area that He Zhiming had given him, and the cases that happened in recent years, while eating a bun.

The car curtain is opened.

Zhan Zhao walked up quickly, behind him was Bai Yutang in white.

There was still unshaven snow on their hair.

"Is it snowing a lot outside?" The fourth son jumped up, "Let's go make a snowman... oops."

Before he finished speaking, Gongsun pressed him down, "Still building a snowman? Be careful that the snow will bury you later!"

The fourth son twisted a few times and rolled aside, Zhan Zhao held it down and pinched it twice, the fourth son rolled around, with him along the way, adding a lot of fun, making everyone laugh Normally open.

"oops."

As soon as the curtain of the car was lifted, Ouyang Shaozheng walked in, "My lord, let's spend the night here tonight. The snow will probably stop tomorrow. If you hurry up tomorrow morning, you will be able to reach Yanzhou City at noon."

Zhao Pu nodded, and Ouyang and Zou Liang went to assign people to watch the night.

Everyone also looked for a carriage to rest early.

The fourth son is closer to Tianzun recently, and Gongsun wants to read at night and quarrel with Zhao Pu, who finds faults, which affects the boy's rest, so the fourth son nestled next to Tianzun and fell asleep early.And Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang and Zhao Pu said... Tianzun has strong internal energy, if the fourth son can sleep next to him, he will strengthen his body.So Gongsun was willing to let the little baby bear hug Tianzun every night and snore.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were also in Tianzun's carriage, and they sat reading the files together.

It was getting darker and darker.

Zhan Zhao opened the thick curtains of the carriage, and took a look outside... There was a thick layer of snow outside the tent, and some night watchmen were using bamboo poles to poke the snow off the top of the tent to prevent it from collapsing.

The unique tranquility of the snowy night makes this pure white area appear empty and chilling.

Zhan Zhao put down the curtain and saw that Bai Yutang was leaning on the cushion beside him and seemed to be asleep, so he pulled the quilt over him.

Zhan Zhao carefully pulled up the quilt, looked up...but saw that Bai Yutang's eyes, which were originally closed, were opened, and a pair of eyes were staring at him.

Eyes met, Zhan Zhao was a little embarrassed - Bai Yutang's eyes were bright...

The two looked at each other for a while, then Bai Yutang suddenly reached out and pulled Zhan Zhao down.

Zhan Zhao leaned forward, put his arm on his shoulder, blinked and kept looking at him...

At this delicate moment, suddenly... Tianzun sat up and asked, "Who is crying?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were startled and quickly bounced away.

"Ahem." Zhan Zhao sat aside and pretended to pull the quilt. Bai Yutang touched his nose and looked at Tianzun. He was still in a daze. He had obviously just woken up, and his eyes were still open. He just turned his ears sideways, as if What are you listening to.

"Well?"

When Zhan Zhao shook the quilt, his movements were a little louder, which woke up the fourth son.

The little guy turned over, grabbed Zhan Zhao's clothes, and said in a daze, "Daddy, you need to pee."

Zhan Zhao knew that the fourth son was going to make things easier, so he took a thick fur to cover him, picked him up to get off the car, Bai Yutang stuffed him with a cloak—it was cold outside!

Zhan Zhao put on a cloak and brought his fourth son to make convenience.

Seeing Tianzun still sitting in a daze, Bai Yutang asked, "Master, what are you doing?"

"Didn't you hear it?" Tianzun rubbed his sleepy eyes, "Is someone crying? Which maid is homesick? It sounds like a woman's voice."

Bai Yutang frowned, there aren't many women in the army, just Chen Xing'er, Yue Ya'er and the others who know kung fu... who are more manly than men, can cry?impossible.

Bai Yutang listened carefully, frowning slightly, as if... really.

Zhan Zhao held an umbrella, and took the fourth son to the snowdrift outside the tent, and held an umbrella for him to cover him, and let him shush.

At this time, a burst of crying was heard... from a distance.

Sizi tied up his trouser belt and asked Zhan Zhao, "What's the sound of a cat?"

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao thought for a while, "It's rumored..."

"It looks like someone is crying!" Little Sizi put on his pants, jumped up and down and looked into the distance.

At this time, the crying became more and more clear, the curtain of Zhao Pu's carriage was lifted, Zhao Pu came out, looked at Zhan Zhao, and Zhan Zhao spread his hands - he didn't know what was going on.

Many soldiers also woke up and looked into the distance curiously. They didn't hear the legend of Tianmu, but they just wondered——in the middle of the night, why are there girls crying in the barren mountains?

"It's really crying!" The fourth son hugged Zhan Zhao's leg and asked timidly, "Could the cat come out to eat people?"

Zhan Zhao frowned—isn't it?What about the [-] army, isn't Mother Tian afraid of dying?