The calico cat took cheerful little steps, walking alone in front, stopping now and then.
When he stopped, he turned and looked back.
People and ghosts walk behind.
The Taoist asked the ghosts around him: "I wonder how many ghosts there are in the city now?"
"Mr. Hui, more than 1,200."
"So many..."
"There were so many last year."
"It's amazing."
"I wonder...I wonder where the magic is?"
"Are they all the original garrison of Yuan'an City?"
"The news you heard, sir, is wrong." The ghost in armor said, "More than ten years ago, the Saibei people went south and indeed captured Yuan'an City. Not only did they slaughter all the soldiers in the city, but many of them were also After being tortured to death by them and filled with resentment, a few of the three thousand troops stationed in the city did turn into ghosts and refused to disperse. However, the vast majority of the more than 1,200 ghosts in the city are not the original three thousand. The garrison turned into ghosts, only twenty or thirty of the original Yuan'an City garrison turned into ghosts."
"oh?"
"Just like me." The ghost in armor looked back at the people around him, "We were the ghosts who died in battle on the northern border battlefield more than ten years ago. We have gone through many twists and turns to get here."
"I see."
This is more reasonable.
He originally thought that the ghosts in Turtle City were all transformed into the garrison in the city, but that really shocked him - even now, it is impossible for hundreds of people to become ghosts out of thousands of garrison, let alone more than ten years ago.
Song You glanced at the ghost a few more times, and then continued to ask curiously: "Why are these people here?"
"This is really helpless."
"You have nowhere to go if you die."
"I heard that there was a turtle city here that turned into a ghost town. Since the city was massacred by the Saibei people, the imperial court has not sent any new people in. We thought we had a place to stay, so we gathered here."
"I heard that in the past two years, Taoist priests, monks and ghost messengers from the south have been searching everywhere for us soldiers who have become ghosts after death. Some of us have been taken away by them, and we don't know what to do. I heard that some of them have been taken away. The consequences of the ghosts are not very good, so we don’t want to go, so we have to stay here. There are so many ghosts here, and those people don’t dare to come.”
"I wonder where those ghosts were taken..."
"I heard that a ghost city of the underworld was built in the south? Is it true or not?"
The ghosts seemed to realize that Song You didn't have much ill intentions toward them, and they felt that there was no need for such gods to pretend to deceive themselves, so they started talking to each other one by one.
Song You also nodded, expressing understanding.
Most ghosts actually have thoughts similar to humans, but they are far more lonely than humans. After being alone for a long time, they will become timid and may change. If they can gather people to keep warm, no ghost will refuse.
"I also heard that the imperial master built the ghost city of the underworld in Fengzhou. However, although I have traveled all over the world, I have not visited Fengzhou with my own eyes, so I dare not tell you about it." Song You paused, "But it's not the ghost city of the underworld." It is indeed not a good thing for ghosts to gather in the world of the sun. It would be fine if you just gathered here, but something happened again. I heard from you earlier that Thunder God has dropped thunder a few days ago. I am afraid that it will be difficult for this Turtle City to continue in the future. I’ll be your support again.”
All the ghosts were shocked when they heard this.
They are not new ghosts anymore. They have gathered here for more than ten years, and they are different from the ghosts in the south who have no companions since they became ghosts. There are often demons and ghosts making trouble here, and there are often gods to eliminate demons. Even if they are just watching, Learned something more or less.
"It's all that big ear's fault!"
"I should have persuaded him to be honest!"
"And General Chang..."
"well……"
"What should we do?"
At that moment, some of the ghosts were frightened and angry, some complained, some sighed, and some were extremely anxious.
But this grassland is not as good as the south.
There are villages everywhere in the south. If there are villages, there must be graves. If there are graves, you can rest. The land here is sparsely populated, and graves are harder to find than in the south. Although they became ghosts from warriors, they did not become ghosts for a short time. When it comes to Taoism, they are actually far inferior to the scholar ghost in Changjing. place to hide. If we leave this Turtle City and settle down elsewhere on this prairie, we may not be able to find the next place with a tomb within a day. It is really not an easy task.
At this time, another Taoist voice came from beside me.
"I just heard from you that you all come from different armies in the north. So I guess you and the ghosts who are causing trouble to the people around you are not necessarily affiliated, so I asked you directly." Song You turned around and looked at the ghost soldiers with a smile. , "I don't know who you are talking about, who is Feng Da'er? Who is General Chang? The events around us in recent years seem to be related to them?"
"this……"
The ghost in armor who had been talking a lot just now refused to talk anymore.
After a while, a ghost behind him gritted his teeth and said:
"What's not good to say?
"Although Feng Da'er is capable, he is greedy by nature and brings harm to the people. How can he be considered a good man? Although you and I joined the army and became ghosts, who was not the son of the common people during his lifetime?
"General Chang doesn't do this kind of thing, but he is not the general we had when we were in the north! What's more, this man has a bad temper and often whips soldiers. Why should we hide the crimes he committed?
"Why should we be implicated in what these two people did?
"Go back, sir! General Feng Dayer and General Chang are the only two ghost generals in the city, and many ghosts in the city obey their orders! After we gathered here, there was a decree from the Imperial Advisor from Changjing. He said that he would give us a place to stay here, and ordered us not to cause trouble or hurt others. We also paid more attention to it, so we have been able to tolerate it until now!
"But Feng Da'er relied on his being the first to become a ghost, his high abilities, and his followers here. He always sent people out to harm the people's cattle and sheep, and competed with General Chang for power!"
Song You asked curiously: "Where is General Chang?"
"General Chang was originally a ranger general from the north. He was very brave and most of the ghosts from the north were willing to listen to him. Previously, Feng Da'er often made trouble in the surrounding areas. The Yanzhou government once sent people to check. One time, a group of people As soon as they came up, they had to burn our place again, and they also dug the soil and opened the grave. They came in the morning and left in the afternoon, burning and digging next to each other. Several brothers were left in a state of shock. General Chang was also very angry. Yes, after knowing where they lived, I gave the order that night and took people, oh no, took ghosts to find them..."
"That's right..."
Song You also found it interesting.
This ghost is a young man with a round face.
The accent sounds like someone from Jingzhou.
It's quite sad to think about it. This ghost seemed to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old when he died, but he lost his life on the battlefield at such a young age.
Looking up, I saw a huge shadow in the darkness in the distance. It must be approaching Turtle City.
The calico cat still walked in front, stopping from time to time to look back at the Taoist and listen to what he and the ghost were saying.
After talking to this round-faced ghost for a few more words, Song You almost understood.
General Feng Da'er and General Chang were both former generals in the northern frontier army. They were highly skilled in martial arts and very brave during their lifetime. They beheaded countless people in the army. After turning into ghosts, they were naturally extraordinary.
Feng Da'er was the first to become a ghost and the first to come here. He was very capable and experienced. In addition, he often ignored the laws of the state and went out to absorb the essence and blood of the people's cattle, sheep and horses to strengthen himself, so he was very capable. However, these ghosts were very dissatisfied with Feng Da'er, and were also dissatisfied with him for not listening to the Imperial Master and causing trouble for Turtle City.
General Chang had an outstanding record in the north and had a higher prestige than Feng Da'er. However, he had a bad temper and was murderous. He often bullied the ghost soldiers when he was not fighting, so he was not liked by these ghosts.
However, the rules in the military are different after all.
Neither Feng Daer nor General Chang were the generals they followed during their lifetimes. But he was a general after all, and he was quite powerful during his lifetime. After his death, he settled in Turtle City together. Among these ghosts, except for the round-faced ghost who was willing to talk about their affairs, the rest were reluctant to talk about them.
And not all these two ghosts do bad things.
This place is very close to the border. More than ten years ago, people from Saibei moved south in large numbers. They even crossed Yanzhou and entered Hezhou, and reached the Beifeng Gate. The people who died here were not only Dayan people, but also Dayan people. Yan Cai is qualified to transform into a ghost. The two sides were enemies in life, and after death they were driven by obsession and naturally refused to deal with each other.
The ghosts in Turtle City cannot tolerate them.
In addition, in the past two years, the Eighteen tribes of the Saibei Grassland have once again sent troops to the south, and I heard that demons and ghosts were involved. In the past, little demons and ghosts often crossed the border and headed south, seemingly wanting to go to the snowfields. Many of them were stopped when passing near Turtle City.
It sounds really complicated.
"gentlemen……"
The ghost in armor looked at Song You and said anxiously: "Yuan'an City is just ahead."
"good."
Song You almost knew what they meant.
This Turtle City really does not need anyone to lead the way. It is just above the grassland and can be reached by walking along the Great Wall. Looking at it from this point of view, it is true that there is no gate and anyone can enter. I think these ghosts brought me here because they heard about my deeds of slaying demons and slaying demons in Heyuan. They were frightened and admired me, but even if I said I was just here to gain knowledge, they would still inevitably have some conflicts with the ghosts in the city. They are also afraid that other ghosts will have opinions about them and think that they are traitors or something like that.
"Everyone, please bring it here. Since there is no door here and it is a deserted official land, I can just go in by myself."
"Then Mr. Benyi."
The ghost in armor raised his hands and said.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard this man shout again:
"Please wait a moment."
"Any other instructions, sir?"
But he saw this man staring at him intently: "The general's accent sounds like he is from Yizhou, and the general's appearance also sounds familiar. Where did he live during his lifetime? What's your surname?"
The ghost looked like he was a school captain.
"Mr. Hui, I lived in Yidu during my lifetime, and my surname is Tang and my name is An." The school captain ghost replied.
"Tang An..."
Song You already smiled.
Memories seem to have been brought back.
"yes."
The school captain didn't know why.
"The general doesn't know something." Song You said to him, "Before going down the mountain, I practiced in Lingquan County, Yizhou. The first stop when I went down the mountain was Yidu."
"Then...that is fate..."
Xiaowei Gui thought of what he said, "somewhat familiar", and suddenly felt a feeling of tightness in his heart, similar to when he was alive.
If he hadn't stopped breathing, he would probably have to stop breathing.
"Does the general have a younger brother?"
"My brother's name is Tang Zhong!"
"The general looks a lot like him."
"Everyone has been saying this since we were young!" The tone of the school captain's ghost changed a bit, "Sir...sir, have you ever seen my brother in Yidu?"
"I've seen it."
"Is my brother okay?"
"It was already five years ago when I left Yiyi. It was pretty good then."
Song You thought of the middle-aged man in Yidu and the woman's obsession with her remaining soul.
The remnant soul often sings and dances in the courtyard, with sad songs and graceful movements. Looking forward to the return of her husband in this way is Song You's most profound memory in Yidu.
Although Tang Zhong really wanted to use Song You's help to get rid of the residual obsession left by his sister-in-law, and then take over his brother-in-law's courtyard, but Song You didn't do what he wanted and in the end he seemed to give up.
As for this person...
Human nature is complicated, there are thousands of people with different faces, and the world is also complicated. Song You doesn't want to comment too much.
"As long as it's safe, it's good as long as it's safe."
The school captain ghost murmured to himself, as if he had lost his soul.
At this time, he heard the Taoist say to him:
"The general also has a wife?"
"Sir! Sir, you have also met my wife? How is she? How have you been these past few years? Has the news of my death been sent back? I was promoted to Colonel Yihui before my death. Have they received any pension?"
"Perhaps too many people died that year, and no news seems to have been sent back." Song You shook his head and said, "But although there is no news, Ling Zheng has been waiting for you to come back at home."
"She...she hasn't remarried yet?"
"No."
"Is she still waiting for me?"
"Waiting." Song You said, "Waiting impatiently."
"..."
The armor-clad school captain ghost was stunned on the spot.
If it weren't for ghosts without tears, they would already be filled with tears.
(End of chapter)
