The grassland and hills are rolling, and most places are deserted. The only people walking among them are a Taoist priest, a girl and a bay-red horse.
Empress Sanhua deliberately kept her human form so that she could carry her money, and she would reach out to touch it from time to time.
“So sheep are so expensive!”
"Dayan people like to eat sheep."
"Dayan people like to eat sheep." Sanhua Empress repeated but couldn't help but feel puzzled, "Why don't Dayan people like to eat mice?"
The Taoist just smiled and said nothing and continued to move forward.
Two figures, one large and one small, plus bay-red horses, sometimes climbed up the hill, sometimes walked slowly downhill, and sometimes walked on the ridgeline of the horizon, looking for the road and the turtle city.
Finally arrived at dusk.
It is relatively flat here, with short hills and slow width. A long earth-colored dragon can be faintly seen on the ground, connecting an earth city.
It can't be said that there is no grass growing around Tucheng, but after all, the ghost energy is strong and the yin energy is strong, and most of the surrounding grass does not grow well, and a large area is withered and yellow.
Song You stopped far away and sat cross-legged.
He took out a small jade bottle from his quilt bag, took the Yaner Dan, and turned into a swallow.
Flying high in the sky, you can feel that the grassland is boundless, the edges of the earth have become arcs, the sunset is slowly setting, and it is magnificent. The cool air and vast space make flying more comfortable.
The Tucheng below is also more intuitively displayed.
This was originally a military fortress.
Why is it called Turtle City?
Because its main body is roughly an ellipse, with protruding urns built in four directions, the entire shape resembles a turtle with four legs, hence its name.
Swallows flap their wings, change directions freely, and fly lightly through the air.
It's not like observing, more like playing.
Experience the freedom that ordinary people cannot experience.
Viewed from a high altitude, Turtle City is entirely made of loess, surrounded by a moat. There is a pond outside the city and a temple. I don’t know who it was originally dedicated to, but it is now abandoned. Many houses in the city, I don’t know what purpose they were originally assigned to. Almost all have no roofs and no doors. They look like they have been burned by fire, as if they have been abandoned, but they also seem to be still occupied, which is quite strange.
It looks like it could house at least a few thousand people.
In addition, Turtle City is also connected to the Great Wall.
One leads to Yandu and the other leads to the north, which should be directly connected to the border.
However, both the Turtle City and the Great Wall were built by the previous dynasty. I don’t know whether it is no longer in line with Dayan’s national conditions and strategy, or the original setting was unreasonable. It has been abandoned and the damage on the Great Wall is unknown. No one is going to repair it anymore.
Slowly, the sky darkened.
The swallow lowered its height and almost passed over the top of Turtle City. It vaguely saw a ghost shadow below. Before the ghost shadow could notice it, it flew past lightly and flew out of the city, seemingly returning to its nest.
"..."
The swallow crashed into the Taoist's body.
The Taoist also opened his eyes.
Sanhua Empress sat next to him obediently, took out the money and counted it again, then reluctantly put it into the quilt bag, and then transformed into a cat.
"Let's go."
The Taoist stood up and walked away.
Cats and horses followed him.
On the vast land, the Great Wall made of loess leads directly to Turtle City ahead. The Taoist walked all the way to the bottom of the Great Wall and then walked along the Great Wall. He looked at both the distance and the Great Wall. From time to time, he lowered his head and could see under his feet the countless years of history. Bone fragments, cloth and arrow cluster fragments that had not been cleaned before.
Maybe it will be dug up many years later.
It got dark before we walked far. The moonlight tonight was brighter than last night, but we still couldn't see clearly.
The Taoist walked in that direction in the dark.
"Someone comes out...
"Oh! It's a ghost!"
The cat stretched its neck to look ahead and said to the Taoist.
"How many people are there?"
"One, two...ten." The calico cat counted them one by one and said, "They came to us, and they walked up here."
"Did you spot us?"
"Maybe not."
"That's it..."
"what should we do?"
"What does the Sanhua Empress say?"
"They seem to be walking and talking at the same time." The cat stretched its neck and almost stood up. Its sight not only penetrated the dark night, but also looked far away, with strong curiosity in its eyes. "We can hide quietly and listen to them." What are you talking about, that would be fun."
"Just do as Sanhua Empress says."
Song You smiled slightly and continued to move forward.
The cat seemed to have a special obsession with eavesdropping and hiding its tracks. As it got closer and closer, it not only slowed down its pace, but also turned around and told the Taoist to be careful and walk closer to the edge of the Great Wall.
Song You had no choice but to do as she said.
The two sides are getting closer.
One side is on the Great Wall, and the other side is under the Great Wall.
The Taoist has stopped.
The night wind was blowing this way, but I did hear the voices coming from above.
It seems that the person being discussed is still himself.
"A monster as big as Heyuan, a god born and raised by the earth, can actually be eliminated!"
"No matter how big the monster is, how can it be compared to the gods?"
"You can't say for sure. Aren't there people on earth who have successfully rebelled? Maybe the Heavenly Palace will also change its dynasty!"
"You dare to say this?"
"You don't dare to say it while you are alive, but you don't dare to say it after you die? Besides, I heard that the demons in Hezhou were not eliminated by the gods in the heavenly palace at all, but by a Taoist on earth."
"A Taoist on earth? It's almost like a god descending to earth!"
"I heard that he brought a bay-red horse and a calico cat with great supernatural powers and great abilities. They just stayed on the grassland... Did you know about the grassland before? It's flat as a palm. That Taoist just moved it from another place. We built a big mountain and placed it in the middle of the grassland to suppress the demon king." The ghost walking at the front said, feeling a little worried, "I sometimes wonder, the demon king as big as the grassland is in the north. Among the several demon kings, even if they are not the most powerful, they are also the most difficult to exterminate, right? They have all been suppressed, and we ghosts are here, hehe, I don’t know how long we can be free."
The Taoist stood still, and so did the cat and horse.
This group of ghosts came from in front of and above them, getting closer and closer, stopping and walking slowly, as if they had not noticed the group of people standing below at all.
"Wasn't there thunder a few days ago? It was a sunny day. One of them hit the tower on the north side."
"Alas, this world is a world of living people, how can it accommodate us? Wait until Lord Lei makes his move..."
"Why do I feel something is wrong?"
"Me too."
"Someone!"
This group of ghosts was worthy of being the elite of the frontier army. Even though their sight was far away and the sky was dark, they still found the people below.
All the ghosts were lying on the edge of the Great Wall, looking down.
Through the moonlight, I saw someone.
Not only people, but horses too.
"who?"
"It's a human or a ghost!"
"Is it a ghost or a demon?"
Suddenly a ghost jumped down from above.
The 10-foot-high Great Wall fell to the ground easily.
Seeing this, the other ghosts followed suit.
Just ten ghosts.
Some ghosts still wear the armor they had when they were alive, either broken or intact, while some ghosts don't and only wear common clothes, but all ghosts have no weapons.
"call!"
A ghost jumped up high and rushed towards Song You first.
The calico cat's expression condensed and he opened his mouth to exhale.
"call……"
A large tent of flames exploded, illuminating the rough surface of the Great Wall of Loess, revealing the withered grass on the ground, as well as the people and ghosts here.
"ah!"
The ghost shrank back faster.
The other ghosts didn't have such a bad temper. They stared directly at the Taoist, calico cat and bay red horse reflected in the flames below, and their eyes widened immediately.
"this……"
The character he was talking about as a myth just now appeared in front of him.
This feeling is really indescribable.
The Taoist looked at them with a calm expression.
They also looked at the Taoist, but they were extremely shocked.
"I've seen immortals..."
A ghost in armor was the first to clasp his fists and salute.
"Meet...meet the immortal!"
The other ghosts followed suit, their voices trembling, and each had a different accent.
"Where are you guys going?"
"..."
The ghosts looked at each other for a moment.
It was the ghost in armor who spoke first and said: "Return to the Immortal, let's, let's take a walk around..."
"On patrol?"
"Back to the Immortal, I don't dare to deceive the Immortal. I just came out to hang out out of boredom. However, if we encounter evil spirits, we have indeed killed them."
"I see."
Song You nodded to express his understanding.
People are complete, but ghosts are not. Without the physical body, many ghosts have obsessions and have to endure a living environment that is completely contrary to their habits in life. Some strange behaviors are also common.
Just like the scholar ghost in Changjing.
Look at these ghosts again——
Not only do their accents differ, but their faces also differ. Some look like people from the Central Plains, and some look like people from the grasslands. They are both from the north and the south, and some even have faces from the Western Regions.
This is also normal among Dayan's border troops.
"I don't know about the immortal...but the immortal who suppressed the demon king in Heyuan?"
"You have lived here for a long time and turned into ghosts after death. You stay in the day and night. You should have little contact with people. How do you know this?" Song You asked in return.
"..."
Hearing his admission, the ghosts were even more surprised.
Although he is an elite member of the border army, no matter how elite he is, he will still be afraid of the high officials in the court and the gods in the sky, let alone this one. For a while, all the ghosts thought that he was here to get rid of ghosts, and that his death had come again.
"Go back to the immortal..."
The ghost who spoke before trembled and saluted: "There are often correspondence between Caotou Pass in the south and the border in the north. They are all brothers in the army. No matter who they are, they always bring some meat and food when they pass by us." Give us a glass of wine, even if you are a new recruit. When some pass by, they will find a place to spend the night nearby. When we meet such people, we usually go over to thank them and talk to them by the way. If we don’t spend the night nearby, There’s nothing we can do.”
"I see."
"Immortal..."
"I'm just a Taoist, not a god. You can call me Sir or Taoist Master." Song You smiled slightly, "I don't have that much malice in coming here. You don't have to be afraid."
"Then Mr. came here late at night..."
"I heard that there are often ghosts wandering around at night in Turtle City, harming the local cattle and sheep, and have scared people to death. In addition, it is really rare for people like you to collectively turn into ghosts after death, so I am thinking I came here to gain some knowledge, and I also advise you to be more at ease." Song You said, paused, "But now it sounds like Lei Gong has noticed this place, so it is no longer his turn to take charge. He has already come this far just by walking. , so go in and gain some knowledge.”
"this……"
After hearing this, the ghosts looked at each other again.
Song You asked them, "Are you guys going to continue strolling forward to relax?"
"Yuan'an City is just ahead. With our abilities, we can't stop you sir. Yuan'an doesn't have a city gate for a long time. Anyone can come in and out during the day. At night, it can only scare mortals. There is really nothing we can do." I can't stop you, sir." The ghost said, "Since you just want to go in and have a look, I'll take you there."
"is this okay?"
"Sir is a god. It's our honor to be able to lead him. What's wrong with that?"
"This is really frustrating to me."
"please!"
After the ghost finished speaking, he made a gesture of invitation and led the way.
Song You couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
(End of chapter)
