So a few people actually visited the town. What the female onmyoji said was true. At noon on the third day, they arrived at their destination. It is indeed a lot more lively here. Although it is not very large compared to many towns, it is located on the edge of some large cities and borders three areas. It looks busy and very prosperous.
They inquired a little while eating, and found that this place was not so lively before, but it has become noisy in recent days. Many outsiders came, asking about the evaporated town. In fact, the reason why this matter spread is because the place is not particularly remote, and the result... is not silent. The fire had been burning for so long that at night, the red fire could be seen from far away. Some people even said that the fire came from hell and was the punishment of the devil Yama for unclean things.
"However, you should stop asking the locals." The waiter said while serving the dishes, "I am patient and nagging, and most people would have left with a sullen expression. We have been asked here and there these days, which is annoying. It’s annoying, but not everyone knows about it? The current discussions about the village are all spread by outsiders. The most outrageous thing is that some people say that the village did not actually exist at all, but was just an illusion. All this is It’s just an illusion... Anyway, I’ve never been there, so I can’t explain why.”
"I see, thank you so much." Han Chang took the dish from his hand, found a place to place it, and said, "Thankfully we met you first, otherwise we would have been in trouble. These rumors are indeed outrageous, but ...Where can I find out more about it? It’s just a rumor. Just treat it as a joke.”
"Going east, across four streets, there is a wine shop. It is very close to the inn, and many mages from other places gather there. But as to whether it is trustworthy or not... it is their guess. Whether it is true or false, they can decide for themselves. "
After thanking the waiter, they finished their meal and headed east. On the way, they also chatted a few words about it. Obviously, what the female onmyoji said was right, and according to the locals, the accuracy of this information is now...
"Although it's all their imagination, I think it's probably the same."
Han Zhang thought this way, and Xie Zhe also agreed: "It is understandable that the locals are annoyed by the harassment. And those who can be attracted by the strange news here should also have some real talents, just like that Just like a girl... maybe we can still gain something."
"It would be great if we could directly find the people who escaped from the village and ask the truth directly!"
Xie Zhe shook his head and said, "Although this is the most effective, it's better not to expose their scars."
"And we probably won't be able to find those refugees now," Hanshang added.
They hadn't reached their destination yet and were discussing it when they suddenly noticed a commotion ahead. It seemed like a group of people were beating someone with sticks. The ones who hit people didn't have sticks in their hands, but brooms, rolling pins, etc. They looked like they were a group of hotel waiters. The person who was beaten didn't cry out either because he was too weak or simply mute.
How could the three of them just sit back and do nothing? They rushed forward. Xie Zhe and Han Zhang pulled away a few who were fighting fiercely, and Wenying got inside to grab someone. As soon as the three of them got mixed up, the five or six people dispersed. One of them, a fat bald man wearing an apron and holding a large spatula, said angrily:
"What are you doing? Don't mind your own business!"
Han Zhang laughed and asked: "Ha! We have seen unevenness on the road. It's obvious that you bullied the younger ones by bullying them, right?"
"Don't mind businessmen's business!" the man holding the feather duster said, "I don't know how much this bastard stole from us, but he helped these thieves instead. How are you different from robbers?!"
"Is it possible that you will pay for the loss of our restaurant?!" another person said.
The person Wenying helped up was a drunkard. There are many injuries on his body, both old and new. Some of the red bruises may have been from the beatings just now. In his half-open mouth is a set of yellow and black teeth, and two are missing. I don’t know if they are caused by something. Sometimes it was aborted. But he didn't scream at all. Wenying pulled him like a big bag of flour, and he refused to move for a long time. The most important thing was the smell of alcohol coming from him. The smell was so irritating that Wenying couldn't open her eyes, and the drunkard himself was unconscious. He didn't seem to know who had rescued him, and he couldn't even react when he was beaten.
"No matter what, you should not use force." Xie Zhe said sternly, "Even if it is for your own sake, think about it. If someone loses his life, how should you explain to the Yamen?"
"Yamen?" The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks holding a pole sneered, "The yamen doesn't care about this kind of refugee, and he doesn't have the family to go to court on his behalf. This kind of person will never change unless he is taught a lesson. Yes! No - even if you beat him to death, you won't be able to restrain yourself at all. It's better to say that this garbage should die early so that the people in the town can feel at ease!"
His words were so unpleasant that all three of them frowned in unison. But they soon discovered that the expressions of the townspeople who gathered around to watch were not friendly. And this feeling of hostility does not seem to be towards the perpetrators, but...the three people who lend a helping hand to the victims.
Could it be that what those guys said was true? The Yamen really won't care, and he is indeed a persistent and unrepentant criminal? No, Xie Zhe shook his head secretly. Even so, he would never allow this to happen. In terms of behavior, whether there is supervision or not, their blatant disregard for the law and disregard for human life should be condemned.
But how to stop them? Xiaozhi's reasoning and emotions don't seem to be effective. Just when Xie Zhe was at a loss what to do, Han Zhang suddenly pulled out the long sword from its scabbard. His movements were so fast and his momentum was so cruel that no one noticed that it was the hilt of a short sword. All eyes were taken away by the shining blade. These people were frightened and took a few steps back, still dissatisfied. But no matter what, it is not a good thing to actually go to war with these gangsters.
There are some who do not know what is good and what is evil. A tall young man with tendons all over his body. Relying on the long stick in his hand, he didn't know whether he wanted to scare Han Shang or if he really refused to admit defeat. He picked up a long stick and stepped forward to test it. Han Chang just waved his hand lightly, and people saw the shadow of the sword lightly passing over the long stick, as if directly passing over the entity. After a pause of two blinks, the front part of the stick fell to the ground, rolled around a few times, and the cut was very neat.
"Aren't you afraid that your neck will become like this?" Han Zhang said with a smile.
There was a fat man who seemed to want to argue, and a red flame suddenly ignited on Han Shan's fingertips. He made sure that he blocked the view of onlookers and only scared those in front of him. The fat man was startled, and the others also backed away. The fire at Han Chang's fingertips burned even more eerily, and several people fled in a hurry. Two or three guys who were still about to eat fell on the scene. The people dispersed, leaving only four people, including those who were beaten, staying in place. Han Zhang sheathed his sword and helped with his strength, and finally he and Wenying managed to fight the drunkard. The smell on his body was still too strong, and Xie Zhe almost held his breath before he dared to approach.
"Let's find a hotel first..." Han Chang's expression was not good, "Just leaving it here is not an option."
Wen Ying muttered, "Are we—are we really meddling in other people's business?"
"Don't say that." Han Chang stopped her and asked Xie Zhe, "Can you give me an idea?"
"In this case, it will be too late to go to the wine shop over there. We can't really throw him into a shop. We have also seen that the locals really don't like him. Who knows what else will happen... But, Did they just say refugees? I have a guess, could it be that he——"
"I'm afraid he is the one who escaped from that village." Han Chang said firmly, "I just used fire to scare them, and their fear of monsters is more exaggerated than ordinary people. But we can't find a place to live, so we have to take him to no one place to go.”
They all agreed and pulled the drunk to a nearby unused shed. The interior of the shed was overgrown with weeds, and there was a hole in the roof, allowing feeble sunlight to leak in. There should be no one here, so Wenying helped the drunkard go out to find some water and food so that he could relieve his hangover when he sobered up. Han Chang was quick on his feet and decided to go to the wine shop mentioned by the waiter to find out information about the village and the drunkard before the news spread. Xie Zhe stayed and watched him to avoid any accidents.
Wenying was the first to come back, and there was no food nearby. They knew she was helping the drunkard and refused to sell it to her. She could only bring back some water. The drunkard fell into a deep sleep, and the two of them waited for the drink together. There was no news until dusk. Their stomachs growled, and the drunkard's snoring was indeed louder, but only intermittently, as if he was going to die at some point.
Before dark, Han Chang finally came back and bought pancakes from a few streets away. The two of them drank the water and started to eat it on the spot. Han Chang briefly told them what he had found out.
"That's where this guy came from. He was very depressed when he came here." He glanced at the drunkard who was still snoring, and his sharp fox nose felt that the smell on his body was not diminishing. Han Shan shook his head and continued: "There were many people who came with him. When they came, they couldn't do much work, their attention was very distracted, and they didn't have any bright ideas. People who had been in contact with their village He said that they were not like this in the past, they were just ordinary people, and they didn't know why they ended up like this. But needless to say, it was naturally the work of monsters. The temple in the town performed an exorcism ceremony for them to remove the remaining filth. But This filthiness does not seem to be caused by evil spirit, but by themselves - their health is already very poor, and now they have no ability to take care of themselves. Most people in the town still think that they are unclean, so they drive them away. This guy... is shameless. Stay here and make a living by robbing people of food.”
Wenying pinched the tip of her nose, as if she wasn't used to the smell yet.
"Where did he get the money to drink? So, did he really steal it? Hey, he really wasn't wronged!"
"That's almost enough." Han Chang stopped her again. He knew that his sister was still not used to the rules of the world. He wasn't used to it and didn't like it in the past, but after following Xie Zhe for so long, he became a little self-conscious.
Xie Zhe didn't say anything. He held the cake in his hand and was thinking about something. After a while, he said:
"I feel like... they seem to have had something taken away from them. It's probably a state of being distracted and lost, right? I haven't seen it, and I can't say for sure, but this person is so dependent on alcohol. , even if he was beaten so many times, there must be a reason for it. He may have replaced one kind of dependence with another. "
Wenying didn't know how he figured it out, but Han Chang seemed to have figured it out. Before the two of them could say anything, the drunk man sniffed like a dog smelling meat in a dream. He opened his eyes with a snap, and his gaze fell directly on the cake in Xie Zhe's hand.
