Wails filled the streets, and sad faces filled the ground.
The Taoist walked through the fields and walked into the city, asking the city officials for details. The officials had some ideas and were organizing responses. They were just fine in the face of a small disaster, but they were powerless against such a major disaster.
For them, this may be like a flood, a drought, or an earth dragon turning over. Officials and rich households still have the ability to sigh, but the people at the bottom have always been the weakest in the face of natural and man-made disasters, so they can only cry and wail in silence. I endured it until I could no longer make a sound.
It is conceivable that after the locust plague, if there is no government relief, the land will be full of hungry people and complaints will spread everywhere.
To the north of Jiyan County, the locust plague was the most severe. The Taoist entered the city from the south, passed through the county seat, and then continued north, heading towards the place where the locust plague was most severe.
Horse bells jingle.
It's afternoon.
The Sanhua Empress huddled in the saddlebags on the horse's back, swaying with the horse's pace, sticking out her head and looking forward.
Suddenly a locust flew over.
"brush!"
The calico cat stretched out its paws like lightning and accurately caught the locust. It held it in front of its eyes and looked at it. It looked up for the swallow, but when it didn't find it, it loosened its paws and threw it away.
"Snapped……"
Another locust landed on the Taoist's shoulder.
The swallow suddenly flew from behind, drew a curve in the air lightly, flew close to the Taoist, passed by the Taoist's shoulder, and the locust disappeared.
The calico cat turned its head and looked in the direction of the swallow.
Those amber-like eyes reflected the turbid sky full of wind and sand. The densely packed locusts in the sky could be seen clearly from a distance, but they couldn't be seen from a distance. All they knew was that the sky was a little darker.
Suddenly the Taoist stopped.
The bay red horse responded quickly and stopped immediately.
The ringing of the horse's bell suddenly stopped.
I saw a figure in the field ahead, with a stooped figure, holding a rag, beating insects all over the sky and the ground.
In the dim world, he seemed tireless.
It seems to be fighting against the whole world.
The Taoist couldn't help but stand by the road and turned to look at him.
After a while, I looked around, found a path, and walked over.
The bay-red horse is still following behind.
There are many locusts in the ground, they are densely packed, and there are countless locusts flying in the air, making the sound of flapping wings.
"Buzz buzz..."
The old man held the piece of cloth and kept patting it.
As I got closer, I realized that instead of being tireless, I was obviously exhausted, sweating profusely and panting. I no longer had the energy to speak anymore, so I had to repeat the slapping action.
If a piece of cloth is hit on an insect, it can really sweep away one piece of it.
You can catch it with a slap and crush it to death with a kick.
It's just that there are so many bugs in the sky that he alone and a piece of cloth can't clean them all.
The buzzing and flapping sounds were really noisy. It wasn't until the horse bell came closer that the old man realized it. He stopped his movements slightly, turned his head and rested his hips, and looked over breathlessly.
I saw that the person coming was a young gentleman, wearing an old Taoist robe and following a bay-red horse. The man and the horse were not walking on the road over there, but they came here.
A closer look revealed that the horse was carrying a bag on its back, and there was also a calico cat in the bag. Amid the locusts in the sky, the Taoist stood on the edge of the field and looked at him. The calico cat in the bag also poked its head out and stared at him. With.
At the same time, a bird flew from the sky and landed on the horse's back. It seemed to be a swallow, staring at him as well.
The locusts were as numerous as sand in the wind, and this group of people was also extremely strange.
Seeing this scene, the old man couldn't help but be stunned.
Then he saw the young Taoist asking him: "Old man, how long are you going to finish fighting the locusts all over the sky?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Then what can I do..."
"I heard that the government is hunting insects in the north. Is it effective?"
"More or less..."
The old man said, but couldn't help but sigh.
After hearing this, Song You roughly understood, and asked again: "Excuse me, father-in-law, when did these locusts start to appear?"
"It's been a while. I was in the north before. When the crops in the north were finished, they flew to us."
"I heard it was a demon causing trouble?"
"There are so many bugs. They are either monsters or locust gods. Otherwise, what else could they be?"
"Are there any in previous years?"
"This bug exists every year. It comes every year. How can we escape its torment? We farmers have worked hard for a year and we don't just pick up what they have left." The old man sighed, "It's just Although there have been some in previous years, after they finish eating, there will always be some left. How can there be so many like this year? This year it has become a disaster, most likely because of a ghost..."
"I see."
The old man only felt severe pain in his lower back. Taking advantage of a little rest, he supported his waist with his hands and talked to him: "Where do you come from, sir?"
"People from Xiayizhou travel around the world."
"Where are you going?"
"I was going to Changjing. I heard that there was a demon here, so I came over to take a look."
When the old man heard this, he immediately asked him:
"Sir, are you here to get rid of demons?"
"I have this idea." Song You answered truthfully, "It's just that my abilities are limited, so I may not be able to have much effect."
The old man sighed again when he heard this.
"Well, not long ago, there was a man who used a sword to slay demons. He also said that he came to slay demons. He was so fierce. He could dance with strong winds when he flicked his sword. When the wind blew, insects all over the sky would fly away. Whereabouts, it’s just that there are too many bugs in the sky. He has been busy for a day, but there seems to be a few bugs, but there seems to be none, and it is of no use. "
"Oh? Where is the demon slayer now?"
"Said he left..."
"That's it."
Song You stood on the ridge of the field again and talked with him several times, asking him what he planted in the field, how much land he planted, how much was harvested, and how much was lost. He only heard the farmers' hard work and helplessness.
Throughout the ages, farmers have always suffered the most.
However, there are still many people who have been away from the farmland for too long. Not only do they not understand the hardships of farming, they also say that the fields and grains are self-sufficient.
How ridiculous.
"..."
Song You shook his head and finally said to the old man: "Thank you very much for your answer and for helping me."
After saying that, he waved his hand and waved away the strong wind.
The locusts on the ground were all blown up, and the locusts in the sky were also carried by the strong wind. When they landed again, they were all motionless.
Song You said goodbye to him and returned to the main road.
Locusts were flying all over the sky.
These locusts have turned black and yellow, which is a change that occurs after living in groups. At the same time, they will become more excited, act in a unified manner, fly in one piece, and when they are the most dense, they are almost arrogant. The Taoist and the bay-red horse collided with each other.
At first, the calico cat exposed her head and kept spitting fire to protect her Taoist priests and horses. However, there were too many locusts, and when she was very tired, it had no effect. She also found that although there were many locusts, they were actually harmful to the Taoist priests and horses. They weren't threatening, just annoying, so they gave up and put their heads in their robes, out of sight and out of mind.
"well……"
Looking at the locusts all over the sky, even the Taoist couldn't help but frown, feeling quite helpless.
Gwangju and Yueju Yeonju above are places where locusts are prone to occur. I heard that there was a locust god worshiped here, but that was just the local evil god, not the righteous god. I heard that he has always been restless and would make some noise every year to harm the crops. Even if he satisfies his appetite, he would use it as a threat to get incense. At that time, the local people did not dare to hunt the locusts when they saw them, but only dared to endure them silently. .
Slowly, the locust god grew bigger, his appetite became bigger and bigger, and each locust plague became more and more exaggerated.
The state officials who took office later were very ambitious and upheld the emperor's grace. In the territory of Dayan, even gods and demons were not allowed to violate the government and cause chaos at will, so they directly pulled out the locust god and killed him.
Then he lived in peace for many years.
This time I think it was a natural disaster.
However, there are too many locusts...
Song You frowned.
At this moment, Yanzi, who was standing on the horse's back, quietly glanced at him, his eyes flickering. He finally mustered up the courage and said to the Taoist:
"gentlemen……"
"Um?"
"I might...maybe...be able to deal with this insect plague..."
"Do you have a good idea?"
"I don't dare to say there is a good strategy. It's just that swallows themselves have to eat locusts. We protect the swallows and have the unique ability to transform ten thousand from one..."
When Song You heard this, he remembered.
An Qing Yanzi does have this ability.
When they were in Yuezhou, the swallow and the cat demonstrated their ability to change by comparing their spells with each other.
It's just that although this little swallow's moral practice is not shallow, he has made great progress since he was with me. But even if he can transform into hundreds or thousands of locusts, how can he kill all the locusts?
Song You couldn't understand it for a moment, but he didn't deny it. He just said to him: "Don't be nervous. Take your time. The locusts here have become a disaster. They are spread over at least a hundred miles. Even I can't deal with them. If you really have a way, Treating disasters means saving the people of the area. If we can't save them, it doesn't matter. If we can get rid of some, it's a good thing."
"I am a humble person, so naturally I can't get rid of so many insects, but my ancestors have reached the pinnacle of this task. They can incarnate into thousands of people. They use swallows to hold grains and can hold the entire official warehouse in one go." The swallow paused for a moment and then said. A lot calmer, "After our ancestors ascended to heaven, they left behind their physical body and some feathers to share with us. Thanks to our ancestors' love, I and several other elders who made the greatest contribution in searching for fine seeds overseas got the most. The feathers on the wing tips are divided into three, and each one can use the skills of our ancestors in their heyday..."
"I see."
Song You suddenly understood and couldn't help but nod.
Anqing Yanxian has practiced Taoism for thousands of years. Whether it is the body of a swallow or this ability, he can just cure insects. If he has his ability, it is not a big problem to control insects.
Yanzi continued to look at him, and after receiving confirmation, he became more confident and said: "Use all three, and you will be able to get rid of these bugs..."
"Then I have to thank you on behalf of the local people."
"Don't dare, don't dare..."
Although Yanzi spoke in a low voice, he was actually happy in his heart.
Then, still standing on the horse, he turned his head behind him and took out three feathers from his wings, as if he were scratching an itch or combing his hair.
It looks like it was pulled from itself.
There was no movement from the swallow. It only fluttered its wings with three feathers in its mouth and soared into the sky.
"Peng..."
A cloud of smoke suddenly exploded in the sky.
The smoke seemed black, as thick as ink, but if you looked closely, it revealed a faint blue and metallic luster, like the black feathers on the back of a swallow.
Then there was a burst of chirping and chirping.
It's like countless birds singing in unison inside.
"Wow..."
Countless swallows flapped their wings, flew out of the smoke, and dispersed into the distance. The sound of the wind flapping their wings easily drowned out the hum of locusts in the sky.
Looking at these swallows up close, they look like a dark cloud. It wasn't until they flew far away and dispersed that the dark cloud slowly faded and turned into countless small dots flying far away in the sky. Most of them They all flew to places where they could not be seen, and some of them lowered their altitude nearby and flexibly turned back in the air to hunt locusts or land on the ground.
The sky is filled with the sounds of birds chirping and flapping wings.
This scene lasted for a long time, and no one knew how many swallows were released, and finally stopped.
Song You looked up -
It was like traveling through time, and seeing the scene when An Qing Yanxian used his skills to bring relief food from the official warehouse in the year of the disaster. I think the victims of the disaster were as shocked as he was when they saw it.
The cat also raised his head high and stared blankly.
"It's so awesome..."
A soft whisper came.
(End of chapter)
