"Have you noticed that those barbarians seem to be more honest?"
Soon Da Ganjun forgot about the assassin and continued marching.
After walking for half a day, the clever soldiers noticed something strange and whispered.
"When you say so, it's true."
From time to time, they would look at the Red King who was riding a horse with the princess.
At first, their eyes were obviously fierce and dissatisfied.
Now all that's left is cowering fear.
"It turns out it's because of the Red King."
"Go back and forth and defeat them!"
The gazes of the barbarians made the soldiers suddenly realize that this was the case, and at the same time they admired the Red King.
History books say that barbarians act like fierce ghosts on the battlefield, and are as powerful as ferocious beasts. They would rather die than surrender, but it turns out that is nothing more than that.
It's not that they have a fierce personality, it's just that I've never met anyone who can beat them into submission before.
It is not difficult to defeat a barbarian, but to conquer him physically and mentally, you need some means and charisma.
The soldiers of Daqian, watching the barbarians getting quieter and quieter during the march, gradually began to miss their original unruly appearance.
It took half a day to march and successfully crossed the river bed.
The end of the river bed was also three feet high, and Zheng Xiu once again used the [Painter] magic to draw a bridge.
"you……"
This time Huo Huo couldn't help it anymore. He stared with one big eye and the other small, and asked: "Red King, I would like to ask, are you really a 'painter'?"
"Replacement guaranteed."
Zheng Xiu glanced sideways at General Huo, wondering in his heart.
Why, doesn’t my temperament look different?
Huo Huo got a positive answer, and the questions in his mind dropped like a big stone. When he returned to the army, he sighed with emotion: "The world is so big, there are all kinds of surprises! It's because Huo's structure is too small!"
Zheng Xiu, who was the first to board the river bank, suddenly sneezed.
Zheng Xiu is currently using his true body to draw, and cannot fully utilize the true strength of [Painter] Yiren.
But it’s not bad for daily use.
Now he has many confidants around him, whether it is Feng Bei, Nervous Monk, Qing Shisan, or Pei Gaoya, they are all giants who can stand alone. Zheng Xiu hardly has to do anything himself, but he is quite leisurely.
The sun rises and sets, the wind blows and the snow falls, and the clouds roll and relax.
In the endless wilderness, the days of marching were boring and boring.
After crossing the dry river bed and continuing to travel north, the bodies of some wild beasts or barbarians can gradually be seen on the snow.
They didn't know how long they had been dead. Their bodies were frozen on the snowfield, enduring and maintaining the same appearance as when they died.
When they saw the corpse, Zheng Xiu and others dismounted and went to check, just in case.
They discovered that the barbarians who died in the snowy fields were not entirely barbarian warriors in terms of their clothing. Some of the corpses looked like ordinary barbarian people, ragged and emaciated.
Among the frozen corpses passing by, three corpses caught Zheng Xiu's attention.
The three corpses looked like a family of three. They were frozen to death on the snow while hugging each other. The child, who was estimated to be only four or five years old, was dying with his eyes closed. The two parents were smiling, kneeling on the ground, hugging each other. The child prayed devoutly to heaven.
So dead.
"They are 'exiles'."
Zheng Xiu's solemn expression was different from the others. Looking at Zheng Xiu's profile, Yue Linglong seemed to be touched.
They have always had a question-and-answer relationship.
This was a rare occasion when she took the initiative to talk to Zheng Xiu.
"Exile?"
Zheng Xiu turned around and asked in a gentle tone.
Yue Linglong nodded and said: "We live in clans in the wasteland, and clan is everything to us, our roots. Once someone seriously violates the clan rules, he will be exiled and become an 'exile'. Exiles live only But wandering in the wasteland will not be accepted by any clan, and their fate can only be to freeze to death, starve to death, or be eaten by wild beasts in the wasteland."
Zheng Xiu chuckled: "Is this how you barbarians treat your people?"
Yue Linglong was choked, took a deep breath, held up the umbrella, raised her head, showed a bit of stubbornness in her mouth, and said word by word: "You have never killed Da Ganren?"
Zheng Xiu nodded first, then shook his head: "Good rebuttal."
Before he finished speaking, Zheng Xiu calmly raised an index finger.
"It's a pity that you haven't learned how to talk to me yet."
Yue Linglong was stunned at first, and then turned pale with shock: "Don't—"
Click!
In the distance, there was a scream.
With a ferocious smile on his face, Pei Gaoya seized the opportunity, shouted loudly, jumped up high and fell heavily, trampling a barbarian to death alive.
Another one added.
Yue Linglong stretched out her palm out of her sleeve out of desperation, and a dazzling red spot appeared as soon as it came into contact with the sun.
Another person died.
These people were her bodyguards.
Now they are dying one by one.
Yue Linglong suddenly calmed down, bowed Yingying, and knelt down in salute.
She bit her white lower lip, trembling all over. She bit it too hard and broke it, and a wisp of bright red slipped from the corner of her lip.
"Husband, Linglong is wrong."
Zheng Xiu raised his eyebrows and had nothing to say.
Get back on the road.
Zheng Xiu still hugged Yue Linglong gently, looking like a loving couple to outsiders.
Pei Gaoya returned to his horse and geared up, waiting for the next time.
Qing Shisan went back and forth, holding the cigarette rod in his mouth without lighting it, thinking deeply.
Pei Gaoya noticed Qing Shisan's weirdness and kept pace with Qing Shisan.
"Lao Qing, what's wrong with you? Are you out of temper?"
Qing Shisan rolled his eyes at the brainless tough man and lowered his voice: "You just killed so happily, but did you notice that the master is a little different from the past?"
"Different?" Pei Gaoya thought for a while and suddenly realized: "When you say that, it seems to mean something like that. The master is a little more irritable than usual."
"Some? More than just a few." Qing Shisan wanted to use a cigarette rod to pry open Pei Gaoya's head to see if it was full of muscles. He said with hatred: "Obviously, the master is a little dissatisfied with the barbarian princess. The same thing is inside.”
"Huh?" Pei Gaoya's eyes widened: "Are you saying that the master really likes her? That's not possible!"
Pei Gaoya doesn't believe in evil.
"It's not the kind of love between a man and a woman." Qing Shisan thought for a while with his eyes closed, and then nodded firmly: "The master is angry."
"Angry? With whom? The princess?"
Pa~pa~pa~
Qing Shisan opened the fire certificate, lit it several times, and finally lit it. He took a deep breath and blew out smoke rings of different shapes.
After a long time, he slowly said: "With himself."
…
Sunset.
Set up camp.
Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei got into the small tent as usual.
He went out to dig a handful of ice, waited for the ice and snow to melt, sharpened some ink, and spread out the rice paper.
The orange cat stood in a corner of the tent, stretched out his arms, held his cheeks, and looked at Zheng Xiu's back with interest.
Meow~
"You think beautifully."
Zheng Xiu replied to Orange Cat.
Feng Bei smiled slightly on the couch, half-lying like a noble concubine, looking lazy and charming.
This time her expression told Zheng Xiu that she seemed to be drifting between two personalities again.
Feng Bei changed his posture, squinted his eyes and asked with a smile: "What are you drawing?"
"write diary."
Zheng Xiu didn't even raise his head.
"...?"
Zheng Xiu replied with a dull head and quickly started writing.
The only sound left in the tent was the rubbing of Zheng Xiu's pen tip and paper.
Feng Bei stood up angrily and looked at Zheng Xiu's simple table.
He drew a picture.
In the painting, there are exactly three corpses of exiles seen during the day.
The only difference from daytime is that Zheng Xiu added something else to the painting. The child closed his eyes gently and looked calm. The two parents were surrounding him, smiling kindly.
There was no longer a world of ice and snow around them, but a grassland.
Finally, Zheng Xiu gently tapped the child's hand, and it turned into a blooming flower.
Zheng Xiu put down his pen gently and looked at the painting, his mood gradually calmed down.
Behind him, Feng Bei gently hooked his arms around Zheng Xiu's neck and pressed his little face against Zheng Xiu's.
"What are you angry about?"
Feng Bei heard the storm-like, suppressed anger in Zheng Xiu's heart.
The calmer Zheng Xiu looked on the surface, the louder the roar in his heart became.
Feng Bei felt very uneasy as he listened to the screams in Yue Linglong's heart and the roar in Zheng Xiu's heart.
"I'm all right."
Zheng Xiu threw the painting into the brazier and watched helplessly as the brazier burned the random painting into ashes bit by bit.
"I was really angry."
It wasn't until the painting was completely burned that Zheng Xiu smiled and said, "Reason tells me that we shouldn't vent our feud on the next generation. There is no use in doing so."
"But it drives me emotionally."
Zheng Xiu touched Feng Bei's long, silky hair: "Every time I see her facing me like a victim, it feels like a fire is burning in my heart."
"Obviously it was because of them that my family was ruined."
"Why is she so humble, as if she is being persecuted by me?"
Zheng Xiu looked away and stared at the flickering candlelight on the table: "I told myself several times that once she dared to get angry and show any murderous intention, I would kill her without hesitation. This This hatred is over, and I can turn around and go south with peace of mind, return to my comfort zone, and be my rich prince."
"Too bad she didn't."
Feng Bei was silent.
She understands Zheng Xiu's thoughts.
Zheng Xiu seems to be heartless on weekdays, but once something happens, his stubbornness is terrifying.
The ten years of getting along in the painting allowed Feng Bei to fully understand this person.
"Don't say such unlucky things."
Zheng Xiu laid out a new piece of paper and drew a new "doorway map" on the white paper stroke by stroke.
On the portal diagram, most of the blanks have been filled in by Zheng Xiu's inferences.
Zheng Xiu pointed to the nine doorways below [Prisoner]: wind, flower, snow, moon, thunder, swamp, mountain, forest, and fire.
"Nine days."
There were ten blanks immediately below, and Zheng Xiu filled in "crow" and "snake".
"Ten places."
[Emperor], [General], [Usurper].
"Three."
"As well as those who are hidden in the city... the upper, middle and lower ranks."
"There are forty-nine doors in total, and the 'forks' that extend from each door."
Putting down the brush, before the ink was dry, Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei had their heads touching each other.
Bo~
The orange cat sneaked over at some point, pushed through the obstacle, and placed its small head between the two of them.
Meow is also looking at the "Pathway Map" drawn by Zheng Xiu.
Zheng Xiu hugged the kitten: "Tell me, is my guess correct?"
"Meow!"
"You're pretending not to know on purpose, right?"
"Meow meow meow!"
"Why are you not interested in things that are just human beings? Believe it or not, I will cut off your food tomorrow?"
"Meow?"
"What do you mean I don't dare... OK, you are awesome, I really don't dare."
Seeing Zheng Xiu put his hands under the orange cat's armpits and lifted it up high. The faces of one person and the cat were almost touching each other, arguing in a strange way. Feng Bei covered his mouth and chuckled. She silently stuffed a piece of fried fish cake into the orange cat's arms.
The orange cat rolled its eyes at Zheng Xiu proudly: "Meow!"
Zheng Xiu raised his palm and lowered it slowly without hitting him.
Feng Bei's eyes sparkled and he asked curiously: "What did it say?"
Zheng Xiu was speechless: "It said, look how sensible you are."
Feng Bei: "..."
When she heard this, she also wanted to take action. No wonder Zheng Xiu raised his hand and wanted to hit the cat.
Zheng Xiu spent a lot of time and finally summarized most of the forty-nine paths.
Nine heavens and ten earths, three statues and nine streams.
This is the original appearance of the doorway diagram that Zheng Xiu speculated.
"It's just like the first fire worshiped by savages who drank hair and drank blood in ancient times."
"Or maybe the ancients were restless under the rolling thunder."
"Roaring floods."
"Ruthless natural disaster."
"People's powerlessness, gratitude, confusion, and ignorance when facing nature will eventually turn into awe and worship."
"Human beings are eager to overcome nature. Once they can't defeat it, they can only try to become them."
"Or perhaps the predatory postures of wild beasts in the Ten Lands make humans unable to help but imitate them, longing for that pure predator-like power."
"Emperors, generals, usurpers...or various professions and identities among ordinary people..."
"In the final analysis, it's all a 'wish'."
"I finally understand now why the practice of Menjing must be tireless, playing a certain identity day after day, year after year, or like a barbarian, worshiping and reverent a certain totem devoutly year after year. "
"The intersection of Chang An and Chang Shi, the proximity of the two, has made countless people's 'wish' come true in an almost violent form."
"So it became forty-nine doors."
"This is the... way for humans to realize their wishes!"
Zheng Xiu sighed with emotion, his mind was wide open, and he vaguely understood the principle of the door.
"But,"
There was a hint of melancholy on Feng Bei's face, which was quickly covered up by a smile.
"I never expected it, even for a moment."
Zheng Xiu noticed the loss in Feng Bei's heart, and she remembered her own experience again. Then he reassured: "It's not just you, I guess, it's 'everyone'. The wishes of countless people gather together and grow into a 'stone'."
Feng Bei was stunned when he heard this: "Knot, stone?"
"It's a weird thing. You can roughly understand it as the essence of everyone's wishes."
"This can explain why there are cracks connecting the Bunds."
"In the darkness, human desires influence each other and do not exist independently."
The orange cat quickly finished eating the fish cake and smiled secretly from the side.
Next came another rain cloud.
Great work.
A few days later.
Everyone walked in the wilderness for several days.
What he saw and heard along the way made it difficult for Zheng Xiu to understand how the barbarians could live in this land for so many years in such a harsh environment.
The reason why the Northern Barbarian Kingdom and the Daqian Kingdom have been at war for many years is rooted in this.
The Daqian land is vast and rich in resources, and the Northern Barbarians are brave and good at fighting. Various inequalities have led to this kind of contradiction and conflict.
Walking this journey in person made Zheng Xiu understand that there was no possibility of peaceful coexistence between the two.
Absolutely not.
Zheng Xiu had a vague premonition about the outcome of this marriage.
In the distance, two continuous mountains stood in front of us like a chasm.
There is a narrow canyon in the middle.
After opening the map and comparing it repeatedly, Huo Huo was very sure that this was the canyon where the Red King had ambushed his men in advance.
In other words, Gu Qiutang has been blowing the northwest wind on the top of the mountain for several months.
Just as we were struggling at the beginning, it would take nearly a month to go around this east-west mountainous area.
It was precisely because of this mountain that, like the Wall of Sighs, it blocked the barbarian army and gave Zheng Haoran a chance to breathe.
Without this natural moat, Zheng Haoran would not have been able to complete his desperate counterattack.
The Wolf King back then would never have imagined that the natural chasm that was supposed to be their geographical advantage would actually help Zheng Haoran once, which made people lament the strange and changeable situation on the battlefield.
Ten miles outside the canyon, the marching army set up camp to rest, and Huo Huo, Shen Shizong, Zheng Xiu and others held an impromptu meeting.
Huo Huo and Shen Shizong each expressed their opinions. Shen Shizong believed that he should venture into the valley without fear of the barbarians. After Huo Huo experienced the riverbed assassin, he thought that it was better to take a detour in order to keep everything stable.
Zheng Xiu did not participate in the dispute inside, but walked silently outside the tent, took out the painter's artifact, and walked to an open area.
Many soldiers noticed the lonely Red King and secretly wondered, but the next second they saw a "bloody cage" rising from the ground.
"Full moon."
Zheng Xiu drew a cage in the snow.
"projection."
"inspiration."
"Investigation."
Skills were released one by one. In Zheng Xiu's field of vision, there were shadows in the canyon, and assassins were lurking.
"really."
Zheng Xiu smiled and patted the snow off his body and walked in.
As he walked, behind Zheng Xiu, the thick black fog covered Zheng Xiu's body bit by bit like armor.
Finally, the thick fog formed a ferocious iron hood on Zheng Xiu's face.
"paste……"
Crazy and ominous figures entered the canyon silently like ghosts.
"Abyss Walker."
