It was probably due to her madness, but she did have a life-threatening ferocity, but Han Zhang did not dare to casually injure or kill a sick child, and did not know where to start. He felt as if what he was pressing was a huge catfish, twisting and struggling ferociously, and because he had no way to start, it was as slippery as a fish. Several times he was almost thrown away.
If this stalemate continues, I don't know what to do. While rolling around, Han Chang caught a glimpse of the low bed not far away, with a corner of the sheets hanging down. After thinking for a while, he came up with an idea.
Xie Zhe and Jiao Mo finally found it by following the traces along the way. As soon as they approached the house, they saw Han Chang sitting on the ground without any image, wiping the dirt on his face. The child next to him was tied up with sheets in various shapes, his hands and feet were bound, and his mouth was stuffed with a ball of cloth.
Xie Zhe opened and closed his mouth several times, not knowing what to say, and finally raised his hand to Han Shang:
"clever."
"Don't rush me, it's very laborious." Han Chang gasped and waved his hands helplessly, "This is not a child, it's just a little mad cow. Fortunately, she didn't rush into the door. You should have come in. I saw it, the blood on the ground... it's just..."
"Just what?"
The tone of Xie Zhe's questioning was not friendly. Perhaps, he already had the answer in his heart, and this answer was exactly what he resisted. He hoped to hear another answer from Han Chang's mouth. But in fact, no matter which one, it is not a good thing.
"...It's a daytime woman." Han Chang finally said it.
The two were startled for a moment, then reacted immediately and sighed in unison. Before they could ask any other questions, Han Chang spoke first:
"What about the family? How is it? Is the house badly burned?"
"The fire was extinguished quickly. The house has not collapsed, but it is not suitable for people to live in it." Jiao Mo replied, "We took that family away and protected them to find a safe open space. As for what happens next? What they do depends on their own plans."
While he was talking, Xie Zhe walked over to the child on the ground and knelt down to take a closer look. The girl's eyes were still wide-eyed, with a fierce look on her childish face, and her eyes couldn't stop wandering to the fatal parts of Xie Zhe's neck and chest. Xie Zhe was not afraid, and stretched out his hand to feel the girl's breath, which was hot; and then felt the pulse, which was strong and strong, just like a normal child after strenuous exercise. In the process, his hand inevitably came close to the girl's mouth, but she didn't make any other move except for her fierce and dull gaze.
"Look, this is a completely alive person. During the fight just now, there was no bite." Han Shang squatted down beside him and said with a frown.
Xie Zhe nodded, he was also troubled by deep doubts.
"Definitely not a living corpse. But what could it be? Although I have heard that some types of madness can cause people to attack others for no reason, but it will also cause the limbs to be uncoordinated. It looks like they are sick at first glance. But This kid's actions are fine, but he seems to be possessed by something. All he wants from his heart is to hurt people, and all he can think about is how to tear people apart. I never knew there was such a strange madness."
Jiao Mo also came over, and the three of them tried to calm the girl softly, asking her name, surname, age and other simple questions. Unfortunately, the girl didn't respond at all, like a little beast that couldn't understand human words. She only responded with that ferocious look. In the end, Han Chang had no choice but to say:
"Perhaps, as Lao Xie said, children should not be fascinated by unclean things. Can you handle this kind of evil thing?"
"...It's very simple. I can only try, but I'm not sure. After all, no one knows what's causing the trouble." Xie Zhe shook his head tiredly, "Anyway, it's still dark at night and the sky is cloudy. None of us are in good spirits. The matter of exorcism can only be dealt with after we take a short rest and wait for the sun to rise."
The only bed in the room was old and narrow, so they simply placed the girl on it, avoiding the bloodstains and planning to rest on the relatively clean ground. The room was narrow, not far from the stove, the kitchen utensils were chipped, and half of the water tank was broken. Jiao Mo seemed to have thought of something, so he walked to the basket containing food, opened it and took a look.
There was only a small handful of brown rice in it. When you raise your head, you can see the gruel cooling in the pot on the stove; when you lower your head, in the shadow behind the basket, there lies the rice bag that the woman held tightly in her arms during the day.
"..."
Han Zhang and Xie Zhe were attracted by the silence. When they looked over, they also saw what she saw. The three of them quietly packed up their bedding and forced themselves to close their eyes without saying a word.
In front of Han Shang's eyes, the woman's miserable face swayed for a long time. Although the other two people had never seen the tragic scene in the pool of blood, the same question lingered in their minds:
What's going on here?
It's obviously not a chaotic world, but it's such a chaotic world...
The ground was so hard that the faint rotten smell of blood and moisture lingered. Although they closed their eyes and were exhausted both physically and mentally, they couldn't tell whether they were asleep or not. The rooster crowed several times, and the sky outside the house gradually turned white. In this pale light, chaotic footsteps came from all directions, gradually approaching this lonely courtyard.
Such chaotic movements soon woke the three of them up. Their faces were solemn, worried that more people would go crazy and surround the small courtyard where they were. Xie Zhe looked at his companions who were on guard, then opened the door and looked out into the yard. There were crowds of people outside the courtyard. They were all ordinary townspeople. They didn't look crazy, but they all had weapons in their hands. Sickles, hoes, axes, rakes, and pickaxes all look like farm tools. Some people even hold onto a shovel that is difficult to use as a weapon. It is conceivable that compared to real force and coercion, the array of people holding "weapons" is just to embolden themselves so that they can have some... not-so-peaceful dialogues with them.
This makes it impossible for them to wait and see, and it is difficult for them to assume a posture to deal with the real enemy. The three of them looked at each other. Xie Zhe took a step toward the entrance of the courtyard with a sullen face, trying his best not to pay attention to the way the townspeople shrank for a moment because of his move.
"What are you doing? If you have anything to say, let's talk about it."
The group of people looked at each other for a while. Finally, a middle-aged man standing at the front swallowed his saliva and imitated Xie Che, standing forward and raising his head.
"We, you, you..." He hesitated at first, then quickly raised his voice, "Hand over the murderer! Outsiders, hand over the murderer to us and let us deal with it!"
This first standout seemed to give others courage. Immediately, a voice came from behind and in the center of the crowd:
"I know that old woman is sneaky and has no good intentions all day long! She dares to harbor a little murderer, she should be beaten to death!"
"She must have been the first to be hacked to death. Damn, she deserves it! If you ask me, don't bury her next to the town. Only by throwing it away to be eaten by wild beasts can she atone for her sin!"
"Is the little bastard dead? Hand it over and peel off the skin in front of your father and fellow villagers to see what kind of monster is inside!"
"Yes, peel off the skin! Whether you beat her to death or burn her to death, she must pay the price!"
These sounds were scattered at first, but soon one after another, they became one and full of energy. Everyone seems to have suddenly found an outlet to vent their anger and a channel to execute justice, and therefore they are full of triumphant courage. The children in the room behind them also woke up, whining in confusion. The three of them quickly stepped forward, blocked the courtyard door, raised their voices, and tried to argue with them:
"Have you ever had a crazy person in your family? This is still a child and we have it under control. She will not hurt anyone again..."
"Bullshit!" The crowd immediately burst out shouting, "How can you easily control an evil monster! If you ask me, you are also very suspicious. Have you been infected with evil spirits? We don't have any monks or Taoists here. Who can believe it? You are full of lies!”
Xie Zhe's temples ached due to their quarrel, and he felt the veins on his forehead throbbing. He rarely gets angry. After all, he has almost no sense of presence in the crowd, let alone the right to speak, so being angry has no effect. But this time, he felt truly angry. He has seen a lot of stupid people, but a bunch of stupid people get together and talk about uneducated stupid things, which has no effect except exposing their vision and intelligence. This situation was enough reason for him to be on the verge of rage.
"I am Onmyoji!!"
His sudden tremor made the two people beside him tremble. Those ignorant villagers were quiet for a moment, and it turned out that they were all bullies and afraid of the strong.
"You are a bunch of rabble! How dare you all say that you are possessed by evil spirits or evil spirits even before I have confirmed it! Is there a reason? Is there a reason? Is there any evidence? Also, let me ask you, what is the so-called evil spirit in the past? Where are those people? Were they all beaten to death by you?!"
For a moment, his questioning seemed to have an effect. People were silent, looking at each other, and no one could tell the reason. But soon, they seemed to be even more angry because of this. The people at the front pointed and almost poked Xie Zhe's forehead with their fingers.
"Where did you come from, a little bastard, to instigate us to attack our fellow villagers?"
"The past was the past, and the present is now! You are a person from outside, and it doesn't hurt to stand and talk. Don't worry about the affairs of our town!"
"This is not evil spirit. What else is evil spirit? Do you have to wait to harm others? I think you people outside are just unscrupulous and want to kill us!"
Xie Zhe almost fainted from their anger, and the other two were not in a worse mood than him. They are not people who are good at or disdain to argue with others. They are overwhelmed by all the noise and are unable to cope with it. They can only insist on blocking the door and not allowing the townspeople to enter. With such an angry attitude, once they are given a chance, the children inside may not have a way to survive. But staying in a stalemate like this is not an option.
When I was worried, a strange and clear voice suddenly appeared in my ears.
"Everyone, fellow villagers and young heroes, please calm down for a moment."
The sound was not deafening, but it inserted quietly and steadily into the noise, as if it had penetrated directly into people's hearts. As if the boiling porridge suddenly encountered the cold mountain spring, the boiling crowd calmed down and turned around to look for the speaker.
That person was a Taoist. The reason why he was so sure at a glance was because he was wearing a Taoist robe and his identity was obvious. His eyebrows are clear and his eyes are clear, and his movements have a natural and natural demeanor, like a strong pine tree or a bright moon. Apart from this, there is not much that is strange about the Taoist's appearance, except for his mixed green silk and snowy hair, which makes people feel surprised at first glance.
Even the ignorant people who were blinded became quiet because of the different power in these words. The silence lasted longer than before. Even the three people standing in the courtyard were a little surprised. They didn't know why in such a poor place, there would be such a fairy-like person visiting.
After a while, someone regained his energy, stretched his neck and shouted:
"Where did you, a Taoist priest, come from? You must have come from somewhere else. How come it's your outsiders' turn to dictate matters in our town!"
When he said the last sentence, he looked around, as if hoping that everyone would be incited and respond. However, the others were somewhat persuaded, and they all looked around without saying anything.
