Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ghastly, pale, and horrifying severed foot was covered with wisps of black mist. After being trapped by the "Prisoner's Chain", the sole of the foot hit the wall in "desperation", as if it had some kind of power. Consciously, knowing that he could not escape, he banged against the pillars of the ruined temple.
First it was the [Painter], then the [Orchid], and now the "feet" in front of him. At this moment, Zheng Xiu did not doubt the status of the [Prisoner] over other doors, and temporarily ignored the strange thing that fell out of thin air. , Zheng Xiu asked the monk in confusion:
"How did you get this thing?"
Zheng Xiu used the word "start".
The monk smiled honestly, touched his bald head, and told a sad story.
During his journey, the monk passed by a village. The village chief was kind-hearted and enthusiastically entertained the monk who seemed to be dying of hunger. The monk noticed that the dilapidated door of one of the village houses had a red word "囍" posted on it. The newlyweds, a talented man and a beautiful woman, had been engaged for ten years and were about to get married. hour. It was supposed to be a happy event, but the monk noticed that the newlyweds were looking sad. The bride looked like she was going to a funeral instead of getting married, and the atmosphere in the village was gloomy and gloomy.
The monk is not stupid, he sees the clues. In order to repay the favor of a meal, the monk stayed in the village to investigate. On the third day, the monk asked the reason. It turned out that there was a famous flower picker nearby. He did not pick wild flowers or young chicks. He only picked "yellow flower young women" who were about to become wives but only missed the opportunity. This was extremely bad and outraged. When the monk saw injustice, he naturally wanted to help him with his fists. On the wedding night, the evil man picking flowers really attacked. The man walked like wind and looked like a ghost. The monk fought with him for several rounds, and was knocked to the ground and passed out.
Hearing this, Zheng Xiu looked shocked and couldn't help but ask: "Isn't this pig's surname Xiao, unfair?"
"The young monk doesn't know." The monk did not hear the teasing and reminiscing in Zheng Xiu's words, and shook his head seriously: "It's embarrassing to say that the young monk has a shallow practice and is difficult to defeat evil people. Before he died, he didn't even know what he looked like. I haven’t even seen it clearly.”
"Then how to kill this beast?"
Zheng Xiu wondered.
The monk smiled bitterly and said: "When the young monk woke up, he found that the animal had already died, and only one foot was left to kick around. In the darkness, the foot suddenly broke off. The young monk had quick eyes and quick hands, and there must be evil spirits in his mind. There must be something weird. , we must not let him go out to harm other virtuous women again, so he pounced on him and held him down." The monk seemed to remember the dangers of the battle of wits and courage with the severed foot at that time. He touched his bald head and said with lingering fear: "Later, little monk True to his mission, he finally captured it. The young monk wanted to burn it with fire, but it was strange that his severed foot was not afraid of being cut by a knife or burned by fire. In the end, he had no choice but to tie it up, avoid people's eyes and ears, and walk along uninhabited paths. Go north and make a decision after meeting my eldest brother."
The monk obviously didn't know that the severed foot, which was not afraid of being cut by a knife or being burned by fire, was the source and amplifier of thaumaturgy in the legend of the alien - the "weird thing". The monk wanted to prevent such an evil thing from harming others, so he tied it up and carried it with him all the way.
Zheng Xiu listened to the monk's explanation of the causes and consequences, but he felt lonely. He thought for a while and asked cautiously: "Could it be those hands of yours... that are moved by inner demons?"
The monk heard this and shook his head: "No. The young monk asked 'them' and 'they' denied it. The young monk believed that 'they' would not deceive the young monk on such a matter."
Looking at the monk, Zheng Xiu knew that he couldn't ask more from the monk. Zheng Xiu returned his attention to the "broken foot". Suddenly, Zheng Xiu remembered what Maomao said casually in Lu Town before he was attacked by four orchids at night:
[Have you ever thought that the 'weird things' you call might have been humans? 】
After the joy, his mood calmed down. Thinking of the cat's words, Zheng Xiu felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.
Were these strange-looking creatures really human beings?
Zheng Xiu closed his eyes and once again recalled the hundred years of day after day and year after year in the world in the painting.
Over the past hundred years, the more Gongsun Mo painted, the thinner and stooped his body became, becoming more and more... like a pen.
At that time, what Zheng Xiu thought of was just "acting." Now, combined with Maomao's words and the true forms of several strange things he had seen, even though he couldn't accept Maomao's statement in his heart, it was difficult to refute it for a while.
"even so……"
Zheng Xiu's mind was spinning, and the "broken foot" trapped in the chain was still hitting the pillar and hurting himself. No matter how the flower-picking stranger died, it was a bit depressing to die in front of the monk. If Duanzu was conscious, Zheng Xiu could vaguely understand the despair in his heart.
Click!
With a crisp sound, the bone chain dragged, and the severed foot was forcibly pulled in front of Zheng Xiu. The void in front of Zheng Xiu's palm was twisted and rippling, and his severed foot didn't even struggle for a moment before it was taken into the prison of his heart and locked in a dark corner of the prison with the [Painter].
When the monk saw Zheng Xiu "taking away" the strange things, he breathed a sigh of relief, caressed his chest, and said with a smile: "As expected of Brother Zheng."
"I owe you a favor."
"Brother Zheng, you are doing justice for heaven."
The monk waved his hands repeatedly, not daring to take credit. In his opinion, Zheng Xiu solved a difficult problem for him. He cut the hemp rope around his ankle with a knife and drank the rest of the wild vegetable soup.
While the monk was drinking soup, Zheng Xiu opened the crack again.
This time Zheng Xiu did not dare to enter Fengbei Station, but chose "Shiyao Station".
In the dead of night, Yin Qingqing, who was wearing thin clothes, blushed and hummed in the dark, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up from the bed. She quietly watched the Red King get out of her bed, lift the gauze curtain, and then quietly watched the Red King push the door out and quickly close the door, twisting the corners of the quilt with both hands, without saying a word the whole time. .
After King Chi left, Yin Qingqing breathed a long sigh of relief in the darkness.
She originally thought...
Can,
That's it?
There was a strange feeling in Yin Qingqing's heart. She didn't know whether it was loss, panic or dissatisfaction. In short, a touch of sadness filled her heart. There were various feelings, which could only be felt but not explained.
Going back and forth, Zheng Xiu took advantage of the "glazed body" and became able to move around various "stations" skillfully.
In the past, he didn't understand why a living person would be judged as a "station". Only then did Zheng Xiu understand why a "stranger" would be judged as a "station".
Going in and out of the inn, coming and going freely, is addictive.
Not long after Zheng Xiugang returned from the monk's place, he issued an urgent order.
"Hurry! I want to have a midnight snack!"
"What? Are you having midnight snacks at this time?"
"Have a late night snack!"
"The master has taken the initiative to have a midnight snack!"
"Very hungry!"
"Why?"
"Could it be?"
"The consumption is very heavy!"
"hiss……"
A large number of gasps of cold air came and went in the dark corners of the Red Prince's Mansion, warming up this absurdly cold night.
Some people are smart and understand a little bit in their hearts, but they don't point it out and keep it secret.
"Spread the word! Master wants to eat roast chicken at midnight!"
"The hotter the better!"
Someone gets it.
When the Red King moved, the whole house was shaken, and it was spread from layer to layer, reaching outside the Red King's Mansion.
In just a quarter of an hour, a hot roast chicken was packed and delivered to the Red Prince's Mansion.
Carrying the freshly baked roast chicken, Zheng Xiu once again opened the passage to the monk's inn, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Even though he has gone through several doors now, and the prisoner's incarnation has various qualities, he still can't make a roast chicken in a short time - unless it is to draw a chicken to satisfy hunger. Sure enough, the cash ability is still the most unpretentious but practical ability among many abilities, allowing him to do whatever he wants.
The monk was indeed so hungry these days that his eyes were blue and his face was glowing green. When he smelled the smell of roast chicken, his mouth started to water.
Soon the several kilograms of roasted chicken were chewed down to the skeleton. Zheng Xiu proposed that the monk should go through the passage and return to the city quickly.
Ordinary people cannot withstand the corrosion of foul smell, but aliens can to a certain extent.
Feng Bei didn't stay in the rift for long, and the burns on his body healed in a few days. The monk walked the "Ascetic" route. He once climbed up a snow-capped mountain barefoot with "Zheng Shan" on his back. Even after his feet were frozen, white flesh grew out, which shows that his healing ability is unique. If you are a monk, even if you don't have a glazed body, it should not be a big problem to pass through the crack in a short time.
Hearing this, the monk thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Brother Zheng, what I have seen along the way has benefited the young monk a lot. The young monk wants to use his own feet to complete this journey."
The monk's reply did not surprise Zheng Xiu at all. In other words, this was the monk in his impression. He couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. The monk was still a monk and had not changed into anything else. Instructing the monk to pay attention to safety, Zheng Xiu said goodbye to the monk and got out of Yin Qingqing's bed again.
Being stretched open by the crack again, Yin Qingqing gritted her teeth and remained silent. This time she didn't even open her eyes. She thought to herself, "What do you love, King Chi?" She had obviously given up resistance.
Zheng Xiu, however, was thinking about the new strange thing he had acquired. When he returned to the room, the first thing he did was to close the door tightly and enter the prison of his heart.
Two objects were trapped by chains in one corner of the prison, and they were hung in the corner and being manipulated secretly. Zheng Xiu crossed his legs carelessly, as if he had returned to his own home, and looked at the evil severed foot.
Taking a step back, the predecessor of the treacherous object may really have been transformed by a "human", but now that it has passed away, the uncanny object is just a pure prop, or it may be regarded as a thing that can turn a thaumaturgy into a strange person. Equipment, nothing more. Besides, Zheng Xiu still had doubts about Maomao's statement. The "painter"'s "hands" and the unknown "feet" looked like a part of the human body, which was good. But what about the dead branches of [Orchid]? Which part of the human body is it?
He saw with his own eyes orchids growing on the backs of the four maids. He was even hung up, smelling the fragrance of the flowers, and tossing around all night. It was definitely not an illusion.
At the very least, Zheng Xiu felt that what Maomao said was not entirely correct.
Zheng Xiu stayed up all night. The next day, Zheng Xiu, who was in high spirits, whistled and summoned Qing Shisan.
Comparing the "Gateway Map" that he and Feng Bei worked so hard to deduce, Zheng Xiu believes that the most appropriate image of "Broken Foot" is most likely the "Traveling Foot" pathway.
Among the people Zheng Xiu trusts, if anyone is the most suitable, it is only Qing Shisan.
But what Zheng Xiu never expected was that when Zheng Xiu mysteriously slapped his severed foot on the table, Qing Shisan was silent for a while, then stepped back a few steps. He claimed to have quit smoking and touched it without hesitation. He lit the dry cigarette and smoked it in big puffs.
Zheng Xiu thought Qingpi wanted to be quiet because he was excited, but he quickly showed his disgust: "Qing doesn't want it!"
Um?
Qing Shisan's reaction made Zheng Xiu unable to turn around for a moment, but in the smoke, Qing Shisan's old face full of vicissitudes of life could be seen with "I don't want" written all over it, and it didn't seem like he was joking or meaning. He hesitated and pretended to accept it reluctantly.
"You don't want it? Why? This is a great opportunity to become an alien in one fell swoop."
Zheng Xiu advised.
Qing Shisan smiled and said calmly: "Master, please don't torment us. It's not like you don't know our little thoughts. A few years ago, Qing was tired of fighting and killing. Occasionally It wouldn't be a bad idea to go out and do some work for the master to have some fun, but if you really become a stranger... Tsk tsk, it's better to say goodbye. If you really have that kind of heart, Qing won't choose to be a 'traveler'. "
"Moreover,"
Qing Shisan changed his voice, opened a gap in the window, knocked out the soot, sighed helplessly, and said: "Qing made a slight mistake on the 'walking foot' method and went astray."
Zheng Xiu looked serious: "Did you go astray?"
"Yeah," Qing Shisan grinned with yellow teeth: "It went a little awry, but it's not necessarily a bad thing."
After a pause, Qing Shisan winked at Zheng Xiu mysteriously: "Qing thinks that the master may need this thing more than Qing."
He seemed to know something.
Zheng Xiu never showed his family that he could use his incarnation to take many paths. But due to the various abilities that Zheng Xiu inadvertently displayed, Qing Shisan vaguely guessed what was special about Zheng Xiu. After all, painter and swordsmanship, these two points alone are by no means a thaumaturgy performance that can be covered by the same method.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qing Shisan was afraid that Zheng Xiu would force the feet on the table to him and disappear.
He even used thaumaturgy to escape, which shows that Qing Shisan really dislikes him deep down in his heart.
It's over.
Zheng Xiu looked at the empty room. The severed foot on the table lay quietly and motionless. The night of training was quite effective. But Zheng Xiu was thinking at this moment: This is really a hot spot!
You know, taking a path is not as simple as just "dinging" and filling it up directly, or just walking away. The path that Zheng Xiu has taken the deepest now is the path of [painter]. Only Zheng Xiu understands the ups and downs in it. He and Feng Bei fell into a cannibal painting, and lived in the painting as Gongsun Mo for nearly two hundred years. With the erosion of time, he almost lost his true heart, and the dangers were unpredictable and drained his mind.
Moreover, several incarnations of Zheng Xiu now have their own cultivation directions. Zheng Shan is the [Painter]. Although the evil boy has not seen the door, his [Physique] is exceptional and he has attained the "Purified Glass Body". He can wander in the cracks and filth, and is invincible. It is not impossible to reluctantly step into the "Travel", but Zheng Xiu always felt that it was weird and not in tune; Zheng Baimei's [knowledge] was changed to [understanding], and he entered Taoism with a sword, and the rules were even more incompatible with [walking]...
This hot spot made Zheng Xiu embarrassed and secretly had a headache.
There are too many strange things, which is also a kind of trouble.
Who else is suitable for you?
For a while, Zheng Xiu thought about the people he trusted, but he couldn't think of anyone who was suitable to be a [walking] stranger.
Besides, what if it’s not a trip?
The four maids became [Orchid] strangers, which was somewhat of a coincidence. Zheng Xiu didn't know what the side effects would be if a mortal was forced to combine with a strange creature and something didn't "fit".
After all, monsters are not risk-free.
"etc."
Zheng Xiu's pupils shrank, he hurriedly locked the door of the study room, put up a sign saying "Red King Retreat, Do Not Disturb", and then Shen Nian entered the mental prison.
Waving his hand, the parchment scroll hung in the void, followed by a blank parchment scroll.
Last time, a new door was opened and [Prisoner] was promoted. Zheng Xiu got a blank character card. Because he didn't think about it at the time, he kept it on the shelf and hasn't used it yet.
"What if I create a...'new alien' out of thin air?"
Staring at the blank character card, Zheng Xiu murmured to himself, inspiration pouring out.
(End of chapter)
