The word suspicion was clearly evident on Han Changmu's face. Yao Yao pursed his lips, smiled indifferently, and slowly stirred the broth with bamboo chopsticks.
Of course she made up these words, and this lantern was indeed not bought, but a lantern she made with her own hands according to the picture she drew of the lantern in her memory, also known as the angry wind lantern.
But she won't admit it.
The aroma of meat became stronger and stronger. She stirred it, and the sesame cakes placed next to the fire were roasting steaming hot, and the aroma of sesame seeds overflowed.
The three of them hugged the fire, sat on the ground, took a bite of the fragrant sesame cake, and drank a sip of the fragrant broth. They all felt comfortable.
Yao Yao took a sip of soup and asked Han Changmu with a smile: "Sir, the mute girl is chasing Meng Suigai and the others. The two mute girls are not weak in kungfu."
The fire was bright, swaying hotly on Han Changmu's cheek. He smiled lightly and confidently: "Meng Suige and the others will definitely bring the mute girl to the designated location. Let's send the skeleton to the fifth beacon as soon as possible, and then join them. ."
Yao Yao said nothing and lowered his head to drink the soup.
Han Changmu looked at Yao Yao intently and smiled: "A Yao, aren't you curious about how I discovered that there was something wrong with Guard Li?"
Yao Yao smiled: "If you're not curious, curiosity kills people."
Han Changmu was a little disappointed and sighed: "You really don't want to know?"
Yao Yao didn't even look at Han Changmu and shook his head firmly.
Han Changmu was even more disappointed.
Helian Wenyuan looked at this and that with a smile, and smiled narrowly: "Young Master, I want to know, A Yao doesn't want to know, otherwise Young Master will tell me quietly."
Yao Yao was speechless, looking up at the beam covered with dust and cobwebs.
The bad taste of boring men.
Han Changmu raised his eyebrows helplessly, coughed slightly, and smiled: "I didn't realize there was anything wrong with him at first, but he pretended to be dead." He smiled faintly: "I just followed the trick."
Yao Yao snorted and looked at each other and smiled at Helian Wenyuan.
Under such circumstances, if there is a glimmer of hope, who would not give it a try?
Pretending to be dead is the most normal reaction. If you don't pretend to be dead, why don't you rush out and seek death?
The three people were silent, sparks burst and crackled, and the atmosphere was a little awkward for a while.
Yao Yao coughed lightly and took the lead in breaking the awkward silence. He asked Helian Wenyuan with a smile: "Brother Helian, why do you say this village is unlucky because there are so many dead people?"
Helian Wenyuan hurriedly hissed, made a gesture of silence, and lowered his voice, as if to scare away the insects and ants hiding here.
He thought for a while and whispered: "This village was originally called Taoli Village. The villagers were all barbarians who returned from the north. The green mud beads in the village were coveted, which led to the murder."
Yao Yao raised his eyebrows, broke off a piece of firewood and threw it into the fire, causing it to scatter in all directions: "But, Brother Helian, what's going on with the haunting?"
As soon as the word "haunted" was mentioned, ghostly screams rang outside the window in unison.
The wind was whining and blowing, like a ghost crying and a wolf howling.
Helian Wenyuan winced and said tremblingly: "The villagers here died unjustly and have deep grievances. Travelers and caravans who don't know the details often come to Qingnipo to stay overnight, but they all disappeared. No one is alive or dead, so this The rumor of it being haunted slowly spread."
Yao Yao let out a cry and looked around with horror on his face. The gray surroundings and the sound of whimpering wind outside seemed to be like the scenes in ghost movies.
In an ancient house deep in the mountains, a rotten hand suddenly stretched out, grabbed the person's ankle and dragged him to the corner.
She folded her arms involuntarily, as if she heard the sound of something crunching in the corner.
"Are you cold, or are you scared?" Han Changmu turned his head and smiled jokingly.
Yao Yao rubbed his neck, his cheeks were slightly red, and he muttered stiffly: "I'm sleepy."
Han Changmu took a piece of firewood, fiddled with the fire, and looked back at the big kang: "It's late at night. If you're sleepy, go to bed early. Brother Helian and I take turns keeping watch."
Yao Yao nodded with a smile. She was really tired from the bumpy journey, so she didn't pretend to give in to Han Changmu. She kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the kang, wrapped herself in a felt blanket and lay down fully clothed.
The crunching sound is like hiding under the fire kang, surrounding the people on the kang from all directions, making the half-asleep and half-awake people feel itchy and painful all over, as if they were bitten by insects and ants.
Yao Yao sat up all of a sudden and looked at each other in confusion with Helian Wenyuan who also sat up.
She touched the back of her neck and felt creepy. She shook her teeth and said, "It's really weird. Why do I feel like something is biting me?"
Helian Wenyuan was also frightened. He touched his slightly stiff shoulders and stumbled: "Don't tell me, I also heard the sound of something being bitten."
Yao Yao looked at the crumbling fire and felt that something was missing. She had just woken up and was still a little confused. She frowned and suddenly said: "Master, it's broken." She patted her thigh and hurriedly turned over and got off the kang. , his face changed: "Young Master must have been dragged away by ghosts."
There were leather boots under the kang, and she couldn't pull them up. She ran out with bare feet, but she happened to bump into a dark figure. She pretended that the tip of her nose was sore. She let out a sigh, took a few steps back, and glared at the person.
Han Changmu came in with a bundle of firewood and said calmly: "Ah Yao, can you remember me better? I was dragged away by a ghost. You really can think of it."
Yao Yao rubbed the tip of her nose and sighed in fear: "Master, aren't I worried about you? I really heard the sound of something being chewed. It was crunching." She turned around and asked Helian Wenyuan: "Brother Helian, You heard it too, right?"
Helian Wenyuan nodded repeatedly: "I just said this place is very unlucky."
Han Changmu slowly added firewood to the fire and smiled slowly: "The mice have built a nest in the kang hole, but are they not allowed to chew?"
Yao Yao was stunned, not believing Han Changmu's nonsense, and groaned.
"Don't believe it?" Han Changmu raised his eyebrows and raised his chin toward the ground: "See for yourself."
There was a pile of dark things on the ground, which seemed to be still struggling, causing the sand to slide rustlingly.
Yao Yao walked over with a lantern and shone it, and couldn't help but screamed: "Sir, are you carrying away the rat's nest?"
Helian Wenyuan also looked over.
I saw a dozen rats of various sizes tied to a hemp rope as thick as my thumb. They were squeaking in fright, and their light brown back hair stood up.
"These are gerbils that are unique to this place. There is a nest in the kang hole. The gnawing sounds you hear are caused by them." Han Changmu said calmly.
These gerbils are small and small, and their tails are no more than the size of a hand. Their two ears droop down and cover their eyes. Their thin tails, which are almost as long as their bodies, stir back and forth on the sand. Their light brown paws pave the fine sand, which makes them look particularly special. restless.
Yao Yao sighed, a good sleep was disturbed by a nest of gerbils.
However, this gerbil was somewhat similar to the hamster she had raised in her previous life. The two species were probably close relatives.
She picked up the hemp rope, threw the bunch of gerbils out, clapped her hands, and sat down by the fire to warm her hands.
With such a commotion, Helian Wenyuan couldn't sleep, so he took the wine bottle and placed it next to the fire to simmer.
The wine was lukewarm, and the three of them each poured a bowl and sipped slowly.
In the silence, Han Changmu suddenly spoke quietly: "The Western Regions of the previous dynasty presented a green clay bead to Emperor Zetian. It was azure in color and the size of a thumb. Emperor Zetian regarded it as a treasure. Later, the treasure was lost during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong."
Yao Yao nodded. He had never heard of this allusion, but he had heard of these two emperors. The former emperors Zetian and Xuanzong mentioned by Han Changmu should be Wu Zetian and Tang Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.
She has always memorized historical almanac tables very well. She remembers clearly that after the Tang Dynasty came the Song Dynasty. Although there was a long period of troubled times between the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in history, there was indeed no such thing as Dajing. Dynasty country.
The appearance of this Jing Dynasty is very nonsensical, everything is made in the Tang Dynasty.
She couldn't figure out where the Jingchao she traveled through came from.
Helian Wenyuan took a sip of wine and asked, "What happened next?"
"Later." Han Changmu narrowed his eyes slightly, and his eyes gradually became empty. His thoughts seemed to fly to the far, far away past, and his voice was sad and vicissitudes: "Later, during the Anshi Rebellion, the imperial court transferred the Tang Army from the Western Regions to regain Chang'an, and Tubo took the opportunity. Invading Longyou and Hexi, the Western Regions were separated from the imperial court. The villagers in Qingnibo are the descendants of the soldiers who once defended the Western Regions alone."
Yao Yao was a little confused after hearing this. She knew this period of history. After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, there was a period of chaos and chaos. The imperial court also lost control of Longyou, Hexi, and the Western Regions until
When the Song Dynasty was established, the imperial court lost the northwest and western regions, the sixteen states of Yanyun in the north and Annan in the south.
But the current land structure is obviously not like this. It is not much different from that of the Tang Dynasty. The imperial court still firmly controls Longyou and Hexi. Although there are constant harassments from Turks, the countries in the Western Regions still pay tribute to the imperial court every year and become ministers every year. .
Her mind was in a trance for a moment, and she said calmly: "Sir, the countries in the Western Regions are now considered safe and sound. From this point of view, Dajing's national power is still enough to shock these small countries."
Han Changmu smiled bitterly: "On the day the city of Qiuci was broken, the city was full of white-haired soldiers. These soldiers, who were once green young men, never received reinforcements, received no favor from the court, had no extra food and grass, and had no retreat. , has been holding on for nearly ten years, and some are just full of passion."
His face darkened greatly, his eyes were sad, and his words were desperate: "After the fall of the Western Regions, all these soldiers who were trapped alone were martyred. Their descendants did not want to be driven by other people, and returned to Hexi against all odds, but were killed by the governors of various states. Seeing it as ominous, they pushed them around and refused to accept them. These people traveled far away to Mohe Yanqi and found this piece of green mud to stay. Our country's national power is growing day by day, and all the countries in the Western Regions are vassals and pay tribute, but why are these people even here? The orphans and descendants are not willing to tolerate it."
Helian Wenyuan pursed his lips, smelling of alcohol, and slapped his thigh heavily: "This is forcing people to fall into disgrace."
