After all, the stronghold was hidden in the woods. It was still noon when we arrived, and it was obscured by the branches and leaves, and the sky dimmed unconsciously.
Ning'an held half of a roasted leg of lamb that was still warm in his arms and had a pocket kettle on his waist. When he found out the way, he said goodbye to the lame man.
The further north you go, the mist gets thicker.
The grass was covered with dew, and the mud on the soles of her shoes made Ning An frown.
There is an indescribable earthy smell.
I don’t know how long I left.
There was a sudden noise on the road. I listened carefully, but I couldn't distinguish the source of the sound.
Ning An slowed down and looked solemn.
The earthy smell is stronger.
He turned his back and drew his broadsword.
His mind moved slightly, and his eyes flashed with fire.
When he was outside the woods, he fought against the assassin with a dagger. Ning An could tell that the man didn't have much fighting experience, but he managed to steal a glimmer of life with his killing move. At the time, he thought it was a coincidence, but Thinking back on it, every time the assassin dodged his killing move, his eyes flashed with an astonishing blue light.
Is it some strange talent?
Can my own heavenly fire also be used on my eyes?
Anyway, with the red-level talent Crazy Bone and strong recovery ability, even if the eyeball is exploded, it can still grow back. The cost of trial and error is not unacceptable.
Then, Ning An was surprised to find that when the sky fire moved in his eyeballs... the scene in front of him was as if it had been washed by the clear springs in the mountains, making it look brand new.
The eyes pierce the hazy mist, and the eyes are as clear as fire.
Not long after stepping out of the woods, the wilderness was suddenly open in front of me, but now it was like waves of water spreading out in layers and gradually dissipating.
Ning An's eyes flashed red and he pressed the handle of the knife as if on alert.
The scene in front of me was distorted, with color lines drawn out and reconstructed, gradually outlining alleys, low houses and wheat fields.
It looks like a village.
"ah!"
Ning An turned her head sharply.
The screams turned into screams.
"monster!"
Probably frightened by the red light in Ning An's eyes, the little girl fell to the ground and burst into tears. She even forgot about running away for a while.
Ning An took two steps back and became more cautious.
If there was such a big living person nearby before, how could he not notice it at all?
This seemingly harmless little girl clearly appeared suddenly. Is it related to the strange village in front of her?
In other words, I accidentally ran into an illusion.
In later generations, hallucinogenic puppets are very common both among the people and on the battlefield. They are good at creating environments and misleading the senses of those who are tricked, making them unable to distinguish between reality and reality, or even between ourselves and the enemy.
It is considered a type of mental attack.
Ning'an looked solemn.
Can't it be so unlucky?
The little girl finally came to her senses, stood up in a hurry, and ran away.
Crying but not shedding tears, being frightened but not changing his expression.
Ning An looked at the girl walking away.
He didn't even make a sound of footsteps while running away.
"I'm afraid it's not human."
Ning An turned around and tried to stay away from the increasingly clear village behind.
After walking for another ten minutes, I looked back and saw that the village was still clinging to me behind me.
Ning An took a deep breath.
Since you can't escape, there's no need to waste time. It's better to get in as early as possible and find a way to break the illusion.
Ning An turned around, holding a knife and strode into the door with the "Husband Village" plaque across it.
---------------
Ning An felt dazed for a while, rubbed his stinging eyes, and quickly removed the sky fire flowing in his eyes, and then he felt better.
After opening my eyes, it was as if the world had changed.
Day and night have been reversed. It was still night just now. After stepping inside, it was actually early morning. The dim and waning moon hung in the west, and the early sun hidden behind the clouds hung in the east. The crowing of cocks awakened the villages and farmers who had slept all night. The sounds of work in the room, the sounds of hawkers in the shops, the barking of dogs in the courtyard, and the screams of children all came to my ears.
Ning'an is a big-hearted person. When he sees the street becoming lively, he just runs to a crowded place.
There were a lot of people coming and going, most of them were bearers and poor children hawking along the street. They were wearing coarse shorts and had straw sandals on their feet, some of which had their toes exposed and they were reluctant to change them.
If you look closely, you will see that they are all dressed in ancient costumes.
No, no.
Ning An stopped in front of a large door, craning his neck and peering inside.
The gate is wide open, if I hadn't read it wrong...
Ning An rubbed his eyes, looking worried again.
Is that old man who looks like a housekeeper on the phone?
This is strange. How could such an unconventional object as a smartphone appear in a village with ancient customs?
No wonder Ning An's gaze was too unscrupulous. The housekeeper put away his cell phone in a familiar manner, waved, summoned a few fierce men who looked like thugs, pointed at Ning An outside the door, and whispered something. .
Seeing that the situation was not going well, Ning An made a gesture of apology with his hands raised, and quickly walked forward with a smile.
The housekeeper snorted coldly, but was not aggressive. After letting the men close the door, he took out his mobile phone and began to make calculations with a frown on his face.
"What day? What day is tomorrow? I'm old and can't remember anything..."
He twirled the small tuft of beard on his chin and frowned.
The cabinet door suddenly opened, and a pretty little girl with a ponytail jumped out.
"Master, I will make an offering to the Dragon King tomorrow!"
The butler clapped his hands with his fist, "Remember, tomorrow is the annual 'Feast Festival'... Whose house are you at?"
He quickly lowered his head and scratched the tattered account book in his hand.
"Master, the first year it was the neighbor Li's family. This time, it should be our family."
The housekeeper frowned, "But where is the direct daughter in our family?"
The little girl who jumped out was suddenly stunned, staring blankly at the account book in the old man's hand. Why did it suddenly change from a mobile phone to a book?
"Yeah."
The little girl nodded, "Sanniang gave birth to a younger brother, and Fourth Niang gave birth to a younger brother."
There is a saying among the older generation that men belong to yang and women belong to yin. My husband's village is built on the Yangtze River, and the water belongs to yin. Therefore, the whole village has a strong yin energy. If any family gives birth to a girl, they are competing for the Dragon King of the Yangtze River. Yin energy will be punished by God.
There used to be a family that gave birth to three girls one after another in one year. The head of the family was an outsider and did not believe in evil, so he decided to keep them and raise them. As a result, within a year, the whole family, from the head of the family to the servants, all drowned in the river. bingo. Although his legitimate son repented in time, went to the Dragon King Temple to kowtow to admit his mistake, and sacrificed the three girls, it still did not calm the Dragon King's anger.
When the little girl thought of this, she felt very good, her face kept twisting, her laughter gradually became distorted, and gradually turned into a boy's voice.
"There hasn't been a baby girl in the house for a long time."
The old man laughed too, stroking his beard in relief, his eyes dull.
---------------
Ning An tried to talk to the passers-by, but it was difficult. First, these people spoke very erratically. One moment they were talking about what they had for dinner last night, and the next they were talking about the sacrifices tomorrow. But when asked about the sacrifices, What's going on? They scratched their heads and looked confused, "What kind of sacrifice? Master, maybe you are confused. My village has always relied on water. It has been peaceful for hundreds of years. I don't believe in ghosts and gods. Even if I have some spare money, buying some meat to eat is not as valuable as offering sacrifices." when?"
After saying that, I discussed with my companions what position to grab at tomorrow's sacrifice. They said that they got up late last year, stood at the back and missed the grand scene. They must make up for the regret this year.
Ning An was stunned and speechless. It was neither right to ask now nor not to ask. We had to keep walking north along the avenue.
At the far north is a river with no end as far as the eye can see, cutting across the village and the other bank. On the bank, several floating women wrapped in veils are washing clothes.
Ning'an thought for a moment, then held the broad knife in his hand and slowly submerged it into the water.
Then he pulled the knife out of the water and held it in front of his eyes. Water droplets fell off the blade.
Sighing in his heart, Ning An was not sure that the river was also an illusion, and was about to go back and look for clues.
Suddenly, several loud noises were heard not far away.
I saw that a few floating mothers had disappeared at some point. Listening to the popping sounds just now, could it be that they had dived?
There was no struggle or scream, it just sank to the bottom.
Ning An was a little hesitant and slowly moved towards Piao Mu's original position.
Okay.
Ning An grinned.
Where is this drifting mother? There were clearly several palm-sized pieces of white cloth in the tub, and blood was leaking out.
After a while, a foul smell wafted out of the water in the wooden basin, and it was gradually dyed fishy red by the blood seeping out of the white cloth.
