The water vapor in the air is getting heavier day by day.
Seasonal flowers poke out their buds until they are in full bloom. Some of the flowers that are impatient have become wrinkled in the humid weather, showing the signs of defeat but not defeat. Even so, if Ling Huan were still there, he would definitely be attracted by the still flourishing spring scene and admire it. It's a pity that there are only two old men left who don't know much about the style. They are rushing to reach the goal and walking in a hurry, without paying much attention to the scenery.
As they headed south, the bright green grass along the road became darker and darker. Sometimes, they happened to encounter a town and could rest in an inn; more often, they were trekking and sleeping in the open air. The insects and mosquitoes are not annoying yet, but the singing and chirping from far and near at night are already very lively. Han Chang is used to this, so he won't be bothered by it. He yawned, squinted his eyes and turned over, only to see that his companion's eyes were still open and staring, which almost startled him.
"Why, is it so noisy that you can't sleep?"
Xie Zhe shook his head. They spent the night in the wilderness more than once, and he was not a pampered person. It's just that people tend to think a lot at night. Once they put aside the things they care about during the day and don't need to distinguish the road, he suddenly feels a hint of the loneliness of spring that is about to decline amidst the noise of night insects. No matter how loud the insects chirp, there are no cats chasing around and no need to worry about whether the birds can bear the mosquito bites. With nothing to think about, Xie Zhe suddenly found it difficult to fall asleep.
I don’t know where this girl is tonight. Is she under the protection of the house, or is she looking up at the hazy crescent moon like them?
He didn't want to be immersed in melancholy too much, so he changed the topic:
"I'm thinking, looking at the weather, it might rain in the near future."
"I can't tell, it's already rainy at this time of year." Han Chang turned over and looked at the night sky with his arms on his head, "I hope we are lucky and don't run into each other as soon as we hit the road tomorrow. If we walk a few more miles, there will be people. You can also find shelter from the rain.”
Their luck is not bad.
Although the sky was thin the next day, the clouds were only misty and it had not yet started to rain. In the moist light, the town gradually emerged in the distance like a veil. Even so, the distinct black tiles and white walls still clearly outlined the outline of the house, causing the two people who had been running around in the wild for many days to subconsciously speed up their pace.
At a glance, this town felt familiar to them. The distinctive black and white wall tiles were quite similar to the Eclipse Tower they had visited. However, as soon as he got closer, Xie Zhe Hanzhang clearly felt that this place was different from the illusion. Perhaps due to the weather, there were not many pedestrians on the street, but whether they were residents passing by in groups or people selling food across the street, they all had a human atmosphere that Xiguangque never had. Looking up close, the wall is not as white as in the illusion, but is stained with real mottled yellowing marks eroded by wind and rain.
They still have fresh memories of the water channels extending in all directions in the Eclipse Palace. In contrast, there are no river channels here. More than the Eclipse Tower, there are flowers everywhere, full of vitality and clusters of flowers. The two of them didn't take a closer look, but the sweet fragrance, which was either quiet or fragrant, was surging, and waves brushed the tip of their noses, as if they were encouraging people to relax and savor it.
This subtle fragrance didn't last long. As soon as he stepped into the town, a drop of rain fell on the side of Xie Zhe's face. The spring rain came as soon as it came, and the sky wasn't even dark yet. The patter of raindrops sounded far and near, and the unique smell of rain diluted the fragrance of flowers and sunshine.
The rain was not too heavy yet, and it did not damage the flowers and leaves. Instead, it washed away the dust, making them brighter and brighter under the trickling water from the sky. The spring scenery in the rain has its own charm, but travelers have no time to appreciate it and are eager to find shelter from the rain. The two hurriedly walked between the narrow shelters with narrow eaves. This was still the outskirts of the town. There were no teahouses, restaurants, or inns in sight. Fortunately, they soon saw a small shed on the side of the road and hurriedly ducked in.
There were already people there, and they seemed to be here to take shelter from the rain. They were standing at the other end of the shed. Perhaps they saw them running towards them and deliberately gave up their footing. They shook their clothes and brushed away the water drops on their foreheads. Hanshang looked at the sky and murmured:
"I wonder how long this rain will last."
It was more of a sigh than a question. None of them had brought rain gear. Although it was okay to brave the rain for the time being, they had to worry about the continuous spring rain getting worse and worse, with no end in sight. The weather is not cold anymore, but it is not good for people or luggage to be exposed to rain, damp and cold for a long time, and it is not suitable to run on muddy roads.
"How far do we have to go? We only know that we have to go to the south, but the clues are too limited. It's like searching like a headless fly. Wherever we can find information along the way, we know very little about Wuyong's whereabouts."
The two were silent for a while, and Xie Zhe also sighed. Han Chang patted him on the shoulder.
"But speaking of which, Lao Xie, have you noticed that along the way, it seems that you have never encountered a living corpse again? This is a good sign. Maybe it is not just our luck, but the situation is under control."
"Indeed... although there are still rumors from mouth to mouth, those things have not been eliminated, but they are not as active as before." Xie Zhe pondered for a moment, "Since spring, the discussion seems to have been decreasing day by day. I don't know if it is related to the impermanence of the six paths. It’s about hard work. Where we can’t see it, they must be doing their best for the country and the country.”
Han Chang said "Huh", as if he thought of something, and suddenly asked:
"Have you ever thought that the thing about living corpses must be related to the Wuyong clan? After the living corpses, there will be a proliferation of puppets, and the puppets have their hands and feet. You also said that the eyes and hair of the puppets may come from For those dead people, so..."
Before Xie Zhe had time to think about his answer, another voice suddenly intervened in the conversation between the two.
"Excuse me if I may...I seem to hear you guys talking about the Wuyong family?"
They were all a little stunned, and stayed stunned longer than usual when they heard someone interrupt. The voice was strange, young, and... pleasant. The two of them had this feeling in their hearts, and even subconsciously hoped that the other party would say more. It was like hearing a light and soft clear sound played by a precious instrument, and couldn't help but want to hear it play another moving piece of music.
Naturally, they would not be blinded by such thoughts. It would be too rude to ignore and wait for the other party to speak again. Besides... Xie Zhe Hanzhang quickly turned to the other person under the awning, the woman who had previously made room for them.
To be precise, a beautiful woman.
Her long hair is a strange, well-proportioned gray. It doesn't look like it's mottled by age, but more like it has an unusual hair color. However, she still looks slightly older, with some subtle lines. She bowed to them and smiled, quite understandingly, as if she was used to people's reactions when they heard her voice. She behaved as if she came from a well-known family. She was not showy or arrogant, but she was well-mannered, dignified and noble.
The two of them quickly returned the favor. Xie Zhe took a few more hidden glances. The clothes the women were wearing were of pure white and seemed to have dark lines, but they couldn't be seen clearly under the gray sky. Covering the white clothes is a slightly shorter layer of blue satin, which complements the background and makes this woman look like a graceful and square blue and white porcelain piece. Xie Zhe felt inexplicably familiar, and the workmanship seemed to be similar to Gui Hai's clothes. But it should be... just similar, right? After all, Gui Hai's body is Long Xiao, so what could this be.
"Yes, madam...my friend and I were discussing Wuyongshi. Do you also know about them?"
Han Chang responded to her question just now, feeling a little surprised. Has the notoriety of this group of people become so well-known that even such ladies have heard of it?
"The Wuyong Family, they are notorious among monsters and monsters. It's not just a matter of a day or two." Madam nodded slightly.
Han Chang opened his eyes slightly and looked at her doubtfully. It was difficult for him to judge her identity. From what he could tell, this lady didn't look like a monster...at least, not like any monster he had ever seen.
Xie Zhe beside him couldn't recognize him either, but he frowned and felt a little worried. The lady gave him a strange intuition, which seemed human but not human, and seemed like a monster but not a monster. This reminded him uneasily of evil spirits, but the woman was very different from any evil angels he had ever seen. Is she a half-demon? That's not right, Long Miao and her, in his perception, are like two types of characters. He asked tentatively:
"It sounds like you know a lot about monsters."
"I have some friends who are monsters and have mentioned to me the evil deeds of those people." The lady sighed softly, "Anyone with a conscience who has heard about it will find it difficult to forget such ugly things. "
There are many people in the world who regard monsters as aliens, but few people are like the Wuyong family, who persecute creatures with intelligence and emotions in a planned and regulated manner in a crueler way than they do to birds and beasts that have not yet developed their intelligence.
It was common practice for them to raise monsters, limit water and food, and beat them with irons. Every life frustrates the spirit of the demon, hurting the body and spirit, until it is forced to obey and be used by it. The Wuyong family knows the monsters very well and is familiar with the likes and dislikes of each monster. They torture the sensitive people with non-stop noise or light, or cast spells on the monster's most vulnerable parts and practice it repeatedly. These things are for them. It's as easy as flipping a finger, it's commonplace.
They also understand the softest part of the monster's heart. Not only will they not sympathize with it, but they will take advantage of it even more. Those who value their spouses use their partners to coerce both parties; those who value their companions use siblings as bargaining chips; those who value offspring use their children to threaten their parents, which often works. There are also young monsters who have been treated harshly since childhood. When they were at their weakest, the Wuyong family burned fear deeply into their hearts, so that until they had the power to resist, they could no longer escape the shadow and could only be submissive to the people of the Wuyong family. . For example, a calf who was shy of a short whip when he was young, even when he reaches a strong age and can break human bones with his front hooves and pierce human flesh with his horns, he is still afraid of the small whip rope of his childhood, which is already weak and weak. Even if the slap on their bodies now is nothing more than a tickle, in their eyes, it is still worth the fear like a haunting nightmare.
In addition, the Wuyong family is powerful enough to support them in suppressing those who disobey with force. In the beginning, they only designed to round up young or lonely monsters in the wild. Then, they try to use it to lure out relatives and friends of the victim, or coax or force them to work for them. These seemingly fair transactions gradually disappeared as Wuyong's power grew, leaving only the servitude of one party absolutely over the other.
In the end, even with all these means, Wuyong was no longer content. It is time-consuming, laborious, and requires a lot of materials. The ambitious Wuyongshi is stingy with many efforts and only wants to achieve greater benefits with smaller efforts.
then……
