Chapter 615 Glimmer in the Forest
Tanhe Pass is the deepest pass in the southwest of the Central Plains, and it is not far from Tanhe Town.
This small town was originally a gathering place for the families of the border guards. After a long period of development, it became a transfer station to communicate between the outside and the inside of the customs. According to the itinerary of the convoy, they set off at noon and reached the checkpoint before dark.
But unfortunately, the bridge leading to Tanheguan collapsed.
To be precise, it is the bridge across the Tan River.
This river originates from a deep pool, so it is called Tan River. It merges into the river where Yang Yiyi and others came by boat, which is equivalent to cutting off the road to southern Xinjiang.
As for why the bridge collapsed, merchants passing by had different opinions.
Some said that the river god was angry, some said that the heavy rains in the past few days caused the bridge to collapse, and some said that people from southern Xinjiang deliberately sabotaged it. In short, they all said it, but there was no concrete evidence.
But whatever the reason, it is a fact that the bridge collapsed.
This Tan River is not too narrow, and Qinggong cannot fly across it. The current on the river is very fast, and there are no boatmen crossing the river nearby.
Of course, there was more than one bridge, and the convoy immediately turned to go around it.
And this detour wastes a lot of time.
The convoy could already see the city wall of Tanhe Pass, but before the convoy could get closer, the gate of the pass was already closed, making it impossible to enter.
There are strict time limits for when the border gate opens and when it closes. Anyone who opens the city gate without authorization will be beheaded. Even if the people in the convoy have a good relationship with the border gate officers, no one dares to take such a risk and open the door to let them in.
Helpless, the convoy could only camp on the spot near the official road near the border.
The advantage of forming a circle around the carriage as a temporary shelter is that it can block the jackals, tigers and leopards wandering around in the middle of the night.
A bonfire was lit in the center, and a group of people strung dry food with tree branches and placed it on the fire to lean on and eat some to fill their stomachs.
As for sleeping, there were no tents or bed rolls. After all, we didn't plan to spend the night in the wild. After leaving behind the people who were watching for the next shift, everyone could only find a place to sleep with their clothes on.
Yang Yiyi took the initiative to help guard the first half of the night. She was sitting on the carriage and glanced at the surrounding woods.
Qin Yan and Wu Shaoyi were below her, one leaning on the wheel and the other sitting in a wheelchair with their eyes closed to rest.
Time flies by little by little, watching the moon rise higher and higher. After a while, it will be time to change shifts.
At this time, Yang Yiyi heard a string of tiny sounds coming from the woods.
This kind of sound is not unusual. It is often heard during night vigils. It may be a small animal or a beast hiding in the woods.
But no matter which one they are, they will quickly move away when they see the fire, and they will basically not take the initiative to be aggressive.
After all, people are afraid of ferocious beasts, and ferocious beasts are actually very afraid of people and will not engage in meaningless battles with people.
Yang Yiyi also thought that the sound would disappear soon, but it didn't happen this time.
Not only did the rustling sound not disappear, but it became clearer and clearer, as if it was getting closer.
This aroused Yang Yiyi's vigilance. She quietly put her hand on the mace. If any beast came out of the woods, she would be able to smear it in the face immediately.
Although the voice was approaching, it did not come out of the woods. Yang Yiyi felt that it should be at the edge of the woods, as if hiding under the nearest bush.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s better to be careful.
Yang Yiyi picked up a stone and threw it towards the place where the sound came from. Then there was a muffled sound of the stone falling on the soft soil.
This hit definitely missed, but it also made the thing that made the sound panic. Yang Yiyi heard the sound moving away.
She just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a string of bubble-like spots of light appear in the woods, which seemed to be where the sound came from.
Yang Yiyi was stunned. What the hell?
Is it a real will-o'-the-wisp?
But the color doesn’t look like it?
Will-o'-the-wisps are generally light blue or light green fire balls, while the string of light spots is aqua blue. It looks like the sun's rays are reflected on light blue ink, giving it a sparkling feel.
"Did Miss Yang find anything?"
People in the convoy who were also keeping vigil saw Yang Yiyi throwing stones into the woods, and walked quietly to ask in a low voice.
"There is light in the woods." "Light?"
The man looked up, but could only see the dark woods.
"Did Heroine see it wrong? I didn't see anything."
"Don't see it? It's impossible, it's right there."
From Yang Yiyi's perspective, she could clearly see the string of lights flashing, but the people in the caravan couldn't see anything.
"Is the heroine too tired? It's almost time to change the shift anyway, so the heroine should go and rest first."
The people in the caravan must have thought it was Yang Yiyi's problem, but Yang Yiyi could guarantee with her head that she was definitely not wrong.
In fact, while the two were talking, the string of lights was flashing, and Yang Yiyi could see it very clearly. It was definitely not an illusion.
This is a bit interesting.
In the wizarding world, being able to see things that others cannot see usually means a special gift.
But in an environment like the wild, if you see weird things that others can't see, you have to be careful whether it is a trap set by some evil creature to attract unlucky travelers.
For example, witches like to do such mysterious things.
Mortals all enjoy the feeling of being 'unique'. Some careless travelers, when they learn that only they can see, will think that they have awakened some extraordinary talent, so they go into the woods to find out, but they don't know that it is just trap.
Yang Yiyi and the others definitely don't have hags here, but the reason is the same.
And Yang Yiyi was indeed careless. After hearing that the people in the caravan didn't see anything, her first reaction was to go and find out.
But there is one good thing about Yang Yiyi. She is reckless but not stupid.
"Wake up, wake up, you two, get up and see if there is any light over there."
Since the people in the caravan could not see them, Yang Yiyi immediately woke up Qin Yan and Wu Shaoyi.
It was difficult to sleep well in the wild, but Qin Yan and Wu Shaoyi woke up with a push.
The two of them rubbed their eyes and looked in the direction Yang Yiyi pointed.
"What's that?"
"Did you see it too?"
"It looks like a string of light?"
"It's a bit vague. Could it be a will-o'-the-wisp?"
Yes, Wu Shaoyi and Qin Yan can also see it.
The people from the caravan listened to the conversation between the three and interjected: "Three heroines, please stop joking. Joking around in the wild will attract real ghosts."
This is what the older generation said: Don't tell ghost stories in the middle of the night, as it will attract real ghosts.
But how can any ghost be a string of lights?
Yang Yiyi was not scared at all.
"Maybe it's some kind of monster. Let's go take a look. Please be careful here."
The people in the caravan thought that there was something wrong with Yang Yiyi's brain, but seeing her swearing so confidently, they suddenly felt a little unsure.
To be fair, ghosts or monsters usually don't appear in places like border gates where too many soldiers are stationed. This is mainly because the evil spirit of the army is too strong, and the gold spirit is also strong.
The white tiger belongs to gold, destroys evil, and is the god of military, so there will be no demons or ghosts near the army.
But on the other hand, if a monster really appears near the border, it is definitely not an easy type to deal with...
(End of chapter)