There was a small fire burning in the barren mountains outside Wuji Town.
The smoke was dim.
A skinny girl about six or seven years old with freckles on her face was blowing hard in front of the fire.
"Hoo! Hoo! The smoke is big enough, why haven't you come yet?"
The girl was tired from playing, so she lay sprawled on the grass and stared blankly at the column of smoke above her head.
She has been lighting a fire here for a month. She comes every day and the dry branches nearby have been used up, making it difficult to find any more.
A stern face suddenly appeared above the girl's head, with a frown.
"Are you setting fire here to burn down the mountain?"
The girl opened her eyes wide and shouted in surprise:
"Brother Yun! You are finally here!"
The girl got up in a hurry and almost fell into the fire because she lost her balance.
Yun Que was about to take a detour to Wuji Town from here, and when he saw the girl, he came over to check on the situation.
He recognized this little girl.
He is from Wuji Town, his name is Xiao Douding. He has no parents and only has one older sister.
"What do you mean I'm finally here? You're setting fire here, you're not just waiting for me." Yun Que said suspiciously.
"Yes! My sister said this is called Wolf Smoke. Brother Yun will definitely come when he sees it!" Xiao Douding grabbed Yun Que's hand and said loudly.
"Wolf smoke?" Yun Que said amusedly: "Your fireworks are only a little thicker than the cook's cooking smoke. The wolf is not afraid of it when it sees it, and it is still a firework."
"It's Lang Yan! The one who can wait for Brother Lai Yun must be Lang Yan!" Xiao Douding said seriously.
"Okay, if you say it's a wolf smoke, it's a wolf smoke. Don't burn yourself. Just play slowly and I'll leave." Yun Que waved his hand.
"Don't go, Brother Yun! I've been waiting for you for a long time, you must help me get my sister back!" Xiao Douding did not let go.
Yun Que looked helpless and said:
"What's wrong with your sister? Can you two live in peace and stop causing trouble?"
"Sister is in Wujiazhai. If I don't come back, Brother Yun, help me!" Xiao Douding begged.
"It's not like your sister has no legs. She can walk back by herself. Just go home and wait." Yun Que said impatiently.
The two Xiaodouding sisters are not fuel-efficient lamps in Wuji Town.
Despite his small size, he has a lot of ideas, and he often makes other kids of his age run around.
"Sister can't come back. I know where she is! Unfortunately, I'm too young and can't get in." Xiao Douding said.
Seeing the little girl begging for help, Mu Qingyao couldn't bear it and said:
"Help her."
Yun Que glared at Mu Qingyao.
He didn't want to go to Wuji Town. He could avoid a lot of trouble by going around.
However, since an acquaintance asked for it, Yun Que couldn't just leave Xiao Douding, so he had to agree.
Little Douding became happy and jumped ahead to lead the way, leading several people to his home.
Pingshan Jun had already transformed into a human form. In order to cover the tiger's head, he had prepared a large bamboo hat with a circle of black gauze in advance, otherwise his majestic appearance would have scared little Douding half to death.
Xiao Douding's home is not far from the foot of the mountain. It is on the edge of the town. Behind the house is a deserted forest. No one walks around here, so it is very secluded.
The yard is not big, there are two clean wooden houses.
People in Wuji Town live in wooden houses. It is rare to see bricks and tiles here, especially Wujiazhai in the center of the town, which is entirely made of wood.
Yun Que walked into the yard with ease. He first went to the well behind the house to fetch water and distributed it to several people.
"You are all friends of Brother Yun. I'm going to find you some food!" Little Douding ran to another wooden house and started rummaging around.
"Been here?" Mu Qingyao looked at Yun Que and said.
"I've stayed here a few times. The folk customs in Wuji Town are rather peculiar and don't welcome outsiders. There are no inns here. When I'm hunting nearby, I sometimes stay at their house at night." Yun Que drank the water.
"Since people in Wuji Town don't like outsiders, why would their sisters welcome you?" Mu Qingyao asked curiously.
"I helped her sister once. It was a year ago. At that time, her sister was lighting smoke in the woods and muttering prayers, asking God for help. I happened to have a need to urinate, so I helped put out the fire. Well, her sister thought that there really was a god descending to earth, so she kowtowed to the fire for a long time." Yun Que said.
Mu Qingyao wanted to roll her eyes.
He was obviously teasing other girls, but he had to say that he was helping.
Mu Qingyao could imagine the scene at that time. Xiao Douding's sister must have been so angry that she gritted her teeth when she found out that someone was causing trouble.
"You are really a good help. People who pray to God must have encountered difficulties that are difficult to solve." Mu Qingyao said with a slight complaint.
"Since the princess is so smart, you might as well guess what kind of dilemma Xiao Douding and her sister have encountered." Yun Que said.
Mu Qingyao frowned, thought for a moment, and said:
"The two sisters are dependent on each other and have no one to rely on. It should be a dilemma of survival. Maybe there is not enough food to survive the winter, or maybe they are bullied and have difficulty returning home."
Yun Que shook his head and said, "No, even if I asked you to guess for three days and three nights, you wouldn't be able to guess."
Mu Qingyao was surprised when he heard this: "Could it be a disaster of life and death?"
"That's almost it. Her sister has been chosen to be a sacrifice. There is a big sacrifice in Wuji Town at least once a month, and the sacrifice is a girl." Yun Que said.
Mu Qingyao's expression changed.
At this time, she had already thought of the origin of the blood jade from the sacrifices and grand sacrifices that Yun Que had mentioned.
Dragon-tailed pheasants will lay eggs after eating living people, and the eggs will produce blood jade, so the big sacrifice in Wuji Town is a cover-up for murder!
"You helped." Mu Qingyao said.
If Yun Que hadn't taken action, Xiao Douding's sister would definitely not be alive now.
"Yes, I chopped off the beak of that old hen, which offended the Wu family. I saved it, but I'm not welcome here anymore," Yun Que said.
After hearing this, Mr. Pingshan looked astonished and said:
"No wonder when I came to steal wine last time, I saw a scar on the mouth of a mixed-breed chicken. It turned out to be you who cut it! You Yun Que is brave enough. I could only run away after stealing wine, but you still dare to cut it. Those two chickens!"
"Why don't you dare to use my friend as a sacrifice? Why can't I express my gratitude?" Yun Que chuckled.
Mr. Pingshan had nothing to say. He gave him two thumbs up and was so impressed that he fell to the ground.
At best, it can steal a barrel of good wine secretly, but Yun Que is a pure tiger's mouth, and even dares to steal the Wu family's sacrifice!
Mu Qingyao now understood Yun Que's behavior.
The mark of the knife left on the dragon-tailed pheasant was a kind of shock.
Shock the Wu family and stop trying to take advantage of Xiaodou Ding's sisters in the future.
Soon Mu Qingyao was puzzled again and said: "Didn't the Wu family use their own family members as sacrifices? How come they implicated the people in the town?"
"In Wuji Town, most of the people have the surname Wu. Even though Xiaodouding and her sisters are orphans, they also have the surname Wu."
Yun Que sneered and said:
"Using one's own family members as sacrifices is just an external excuse. The Wu family has been entrenched in Wuji Town for many years and has long since developed most of the people into the Wu surname. Some orphans, beggars and homeless people will be given houses by the Wu family, but There is a condition, you must bear the surname of the Wu family and become the Wu family from now on. Using this method, the Wu family will naturally continue to grow, and there will be more and more sacrifices."
Mu Qingyao frowned and looked at the cheap and simple wooden house.
A wooden house can buy a life!
The Wu family's business is no less generous than even the most greedy profiteers in the world.
Little Douding walked in with a dejected expression, holding a few shriveled fruits in his hand that had been stored for who knows how many days.
"It seems that the fruit picked by my sister cannot be eaten." Xiao Douding said apologetically, holding his mouth.
"We can take whatever is edible and eat it on the road." Mu Qingyao was considerate and took the fruit and put it away.
Yun Que also took a piece of fruit, played with it in his hand and said:
"Xiao Douding, are there any outsiders in Wuji Town recently?"
"No! No one else is here except you." Xiao Douding affirmed.
Yun Que frowned slightly.
Xiao Douding's information is relatively well-informed. After all, this girl is running around outside all day long, so she will know most of the things in the town.
Since there are no outsiders, it means that the Red Lotus Sect has not come.
But Wuji Town and Baiyu City are both necessary places to go to the Imperial City. The Red Lotus Sect has set up such a large battle in Baiyu City, how could it ignore Wuji Town.
"Brother Yun, let's go now!" Xiao Douding urged.
Before Yun Duo could nod his head, Mu Qingyao said, "I'll go too, maybe I can help."
Yun Que looked bitter.
You're not going to help, you're going to cause trouble.
"Sister, are you willing to help me too!" Xiao Douding became happy, her eyes full of expectation.
"Yun Que's friend is also my friend." Mu Qingyao said with a smile.
"Great! Just wait, I'll find a set of clothes!"
Little Douding rummaged through the cabinets and found a set of her sister's clothes. The fabric was embroidered with complex patterns and there was a beautiful and huge hat.
This is the traditional costume of Wuji Town residents. It is mostly worn on important days such as the New Year. Some people also wear it on the streets. However, most families with small families only have one set and are reluctant to wear it. They only take it out during the New Year.
Mu Qingyao went next door to change her clothes, and she turned out to be a local. Anyone who didn't know her would never guess that she was Princess Lingyun.
The little princess dressed in the Wu family's costume has a unique style. There is a mystery in her beauty, and her smile is touching.
"It's so beautiful!" Xiao Douding praised: "You look like my sister in this outfit!"
"Your sister must be beautiful too." Mu Qingyao smiled.
"Yeah! My sister is as beautiful as you!" Xiao Douding nodded seriously.
Yun Que asked Pingshanjun and Menliu to wait at Xiaodouding's house, and the three of them took to the streets.
Wuji Town has been established for hundreds of years and is one of the oldest towns in Zhiyuan County.
Wuji Town is very large, with more than 100,000 residents. There are many pedestrians on the street, but there are not many buying and selling shops.
Most of the people here are self-sufficient and few do business.
Since Mu Qingyao was wearing Wu family clothes, it was not obvious that Yun Que was a man. As expected, no one suspected him along the way, and he walked out of the long street smoothly and arrived at the Wujiazhai area.
Wujiazhai is completely different from Wuji Town. Countless hardwoods are used to build high walls around the village.
The main gate of Wujiazhai is heavily guarded. Only people with Wujia bloodline can live here. Outsiders cannot enter.
Under the leadership of Xiao Douding, the three of them walked around to the back of the stockade.
Xiao Douding searched carefully on the wall of the village and soon found a piece of hardwood and said:
"This is it! My sister is inside. I dug with a knife for a long time, but unfortunately I kept digging."
This place was relatively remote, with almost no pedestrians. Yun Que looked around and saw that no one was there, and motioned to Xiao Douding to step back.
Then the knife went down and cut off the solid hardwood.
The wood was broken, but the wall remained motionless. After all, it was a row of hardwoods connected in series, which was equivalent to opening a small door at the back.
Yun Que moved the broken wood away and immediately revealed a gap that could accommodate one person. He only had to bend down to pass.
Xiaodou Dingdang rushed in first.
Mu Qingyao followed behind, and Yun Que came in last, blocking the broken wood in the gap so that it would be difficult to find traces from the outside.
Yun Que was so cautious because he didn't want to cause trouble.
After rescuing Xiao Douding's sister, he will leave Wuji Town immediately.
However, after entering, Yun Que finally saw clearly where he was.
This is an empty wooden house. There is no living person in the house, and there is only one kind of thing piled up.
Bones!
Neatly, one picture after another of thin white bones!
Mu Qingyao stood there blankly, while Xiao Douding was rummaging around for bones.
"Where's Wu Ling'er."
Yun Que's voice was very low and a little hoarse.
Wu Ling'er is Xiao Douding's sister.
"It's right here! I can find it, quickly!"
Little Douding was so busy that he was sweating profusely and kept rummaging among the bones.
Following the little girl's movements, Yun Que's eyes darkened little by little.
