Blue, Red and White Dark Abyss Cauldron

Chapter 323 Strange Discovery

There is a clear spring halfway up the Gusong Ridge. It meanders all the way to the foot of the mountain. It is not far from where everyone is camping, so it is very convenient for drinking water and feeding horses.

However, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and everyone was still wearing thick military uniforms for spring and winter, and it was getting more and more stuffy and unbearable day by day.

When patrolling the border, they could only wear underwear. Zhang Hou, Zhou Weide and others simply took off their shirts and wore only trousers. There was no one around in the wilderness, so it didn't matter if they did such an indecent thing.

However, he occasionally encountered herdsmen who were out herding sheep and horses, and among them were women in their teens and twenties, which was very embarrassing. Zhang Hou did not feel embarrassed at all, and ran over to ask them where they were from. The herdsmen said they were from Dongxi Village. One of the girls looked cute, so Zhang Hou asked her name, but the girl smiled and did not answer, turned around and ran away, which made Zhang Hou feel hot all over and itchy.

Zhang Hou became inexplicably excited when he saw the lovely horse herder girl. He kept clamoring to go to Dongxi Village and make friends with the villagers there. Everyone said that they needed to patrol the border and practice the Force, so they had no time. Chu Xiaomu smiled and said that he could give him two days off and let him go alone, but Zhang Hou didn't dare to. He just looked in the direction where the girl had appeared and sighed every day, which made everyone laugh.

More than 20 days later, a team of seven or eight soldiers and more than 30 horses came from the west, bringing a lot of dry biscuits, dried mutton, summer clothes, short boots, arrows, herbs and other things. Everyone was very happy. Chu Xiaomu said that the dried mutton could be omitted, as everyone was not short of food. The sergeant in charge still brought them a portion, saying that this was ordered by Zhou Zhongjun, and he would be punished whether he had more or less. Chu Xiaomu and others had no choice but to accept it, thinking that it would be good to keep it for emergencies. The sergeant in charge asked about the border patrol situation, and everyone answered one by one, saying that everything was peaceful and they had never seen any traces of the people of Sha. After the team delivering supplies said goodbye to Chu Xiaomu and others, they did not turn back to the west, but turned north. Their supplies had been distributed, and they probably turned west to return to Bicheng after reaching the official road, which would be faster than going directly west.

Zhou Weide was a hot-tempered man. After practicing for seven or eight days, he saw no change in his body, and he couldn't feel any force at all. He became impatient and said angrily, "This Return to the Stars Art is useless. It must be a lie. I don't think I'd better practice it!"

Wangang said, "I heard that there are more than 20,000 soldiers in the Bicheng Army, and only seven or eight out of a hundred have opened the Force. This is a very difficult task. How can it be effective in just a few days? You should just practice with everyone else honestly. If you put in more effort, you will definitely succeed."

Zhou Weide had no choice but to hold back his temper and recite the formulas and practice the exercises with everyone else. When he couldn't help it anymore, he saw Zhang Hou slacking off and scolded him to vent his anger. Zhang Hou didn't want to quarrel with him, so he simply ran away and didn't mention the matter of opening the force anymore.

The wind blows the grass low, insects chirp at night, summer turns to autumn, and more than two months pass in the blink of an eye.

Chu Xiaomu and the other nine people walked back and forth along the same road at the foot of Lone Pine Ridge every day, but they did not find anything unusual and gradually relaxed. They were familiar with the same road, so they spent less time patrolling the border every day, and had more time to use the force.

Practicing the "Guixingxing Fa Jue" day by day, Chu Xiaomu, Ling Weidou, Lin Zhen, Wu Sheng, and Su Mishun gradually felt that there was a hazy and elusive strange state in their bodies, which was probably what people who practiced martial arts often called "Innate Qi Sea". However, this state seemed real and illusory, and there was no way to grasp it, like a gust of wind or a burst of light. You can feel its existence, but it is far away and unreachable. You can't touch it at all, which makes people feel timid and confused, and even doubt themselves. Fortunately, several people knew that opening the force was not easy, so they just let it go and didn't rush.

On this day, Chu Xiaomu led Zhou Weide, Zhou Weiyi and Zhang Hou to patrol the border as usual. It was midsummer, and the sun was already scorching hot, hanging in the sky and making people dizzy. Zhang Hou wiped his sweat, came close to Chu Xiaomu, and said with a sly smile: "Mutou, it's so hot, I don't think the Saudis will come out, why don't we go to Dongxi Village to take a rest and ask for some water?"

Chu Xiaomu took off his leather water bag and threw it to him, saying with a smile: "Brother Hou'er, you take it and drink it. Just leave a sip for me." He saw that his water bag made a slight "clang clang" sound as his mount moved forward, and there was at least half a bag left in it. He was not short of water at all, and going to Dongxi Village to ask for water was just an excuse.

Zhang Hou threw the water bag back to Chu Xiaomu and said, "This water is not good to drink. I mean to ask for some cooler well water in the village. It's more comfortable to drink in this weather."

Chu Xiaomu pretended to think for a while, which made Zhang Hou scratch his head anxiously. Then he said, "We can go to Dongxi Village to have a look..."

Zhang Hou immediately smiled and said, "Let's go quickly. If we are late, the well water will become hot and won't taste good." He turned his horse around as he spoke.

Chu Xiaomu changed the subject: "But we have to finish today's border patrol. When we return to the camp, we will call Lin Zhen and the others to go with us."

Zhang Hou became dejected again and said, "Why bother calling on a few spoilers? It's such a waste of time."

Zhou Weide scolded, "Hou Pi'er, you are so selfish! If you want to go to Dongxi Village, why don't you take the five of them with you? It's a pity that Wu Sheng still sleeps in the same bed with you and speaks up for you from time to time."

Zhou Wei De had a ferocious look, with his eyebrows raised and eyes glaring, looking like a real evil spirit. Zhang Hou was very afraid of him and did not dare to talk back.

Chu Xiaomu said, "Dongxi Village is so close to us, it's time to go take a look. We're tired of eating rabbits, chickens, and dried mutton, so it's a good time to buy two fat sheep and eat something fresh."

Zhang Hou immediately said loudly: "That's right! I just had the same idea. We two heroes think alike!"

Zhou Weide spat on the ground and said, "If you are so thick-skinned, you can eat my share of meat and I will gnaw on the sheep's hooves!"

Just as he finished speaking, Chu Xiaomu suddenly waved his left hand, signaling the four of them to stop.

Zhou Weiyi asked: "Brother Xiaomu, what's wrong?"

Chu Xiaomu jumped off the horse, walked forward a few steps, then squatted down and stood still, turning over a few fallen weeds on the ground, his brows furrowed.

Zhou Weide and the other two also jumped off their horses and followed him to see what he was doing.

Chu Xiaomu bent his body, constantly turning over the weeds, and walked northward.