breaking Dawn.
When the first ray of sunshine in the morning passed through the distant horizon, shining warmly and evenly on everyone, the people in the county town who were originally in high spirits and seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit in the East Valley woke up one by one.
"Where is this, where am I?" Someone scratched his head in confusion and kept looking around.
"Didn't I just watch a big show..." Someone rubbed his eyes hard, as if he had just woken up from a big dream.
"Well, oh, Sugar Gulu is gone!" A child called out immaturely.
"Huh? This seems to be the East Valley..."
Among the group of people, there were naturally Orion woodcutter who often traveled between the east valley and the county seat. They naturally recognized what this place was at a glance.
"Stop! Don't move around casually. Your Majesty has an order. Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"
The government officials who had been on duty all night nearby saw that the people were scattering, so they shouted loudly and raised the sharp swords in their hands.
"Sir, why is this?"
"Sir, spare my life."
"Well, well..."
For a time, the noisy voices of the people filled the entire East Valley, which was also mixed with the sounds of individual people begging for mercy and the childish cries of children.
The noise woke up the young county magistrate Guo Zida, who was half-reclining and half-sitting beside a huge blue stone. Even though he fell asleep, he still pressed his hands on the hilt of the unsheathed sword.
Red bloodshot threads spread in Guo Zida's eyes like vines covering the mountain wall. He didn't close his eyes for almost the whole night, and it wasn't until dawn that he couldn't hold on any longer and wanted to take a nap.
"Well……"
He opened his mouth to say something, but his dry throat made almost no sound come out. Guo Zida reluctantly swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva that was almost empty in his mouth. When the pain in his throat dissipated a little, he said:
"Be quiet, be quiet and listen to me..."
However, the panicked shouts and begging for mercy of the people in the valley mixed with the cries of children were too noisy. Except for a few government officials beside Guo Zida, almost no one could hear what he said.
boom!
A sword struck the bluestone, and the rock made a rumbling sound mixed with the clanking sound of the sword.
That sound was like the only burning torch in the dark night, making everyone in the darkness desperately move closer to the light.
"grown ups……"
"Lord County Magistrate..."
"Master Guo..."
"Common people, please be patient and listen to what I have to say."
When Guo Zida took advantage of the eyes of everyone in the valley to fall on him, he raised the sword in his hand and then put the sword back into the sheath on his waist.
Seeing this, all the government officials also took back their knives.
"Everyone, many strange things that have happened recently are due to evil spirits. Yesterday, a spiritual official came here. In order to protect the people from harm and eradicate the evil spirits, they used illusions to trick everyone into the valley."
Everyone exclaimed, followed by whispering among each other.
"But don't panic, everyone, now..."
Guo Zida actually didn't know what to say to calm the panicked people. As he spoke, he was thinking of strategies in his heart.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the figure strolling at the mouth of the valley.
The other party didn't say anything, just smiled lightly and nodded towards Guo Zida.
The person who came was none other than Xia Zhichan.
"Now that the evil spirits have been eliminated, people don't have to worry anymore..."
Guo Zida's voice became a little louder, covering up all the people's whispers for a while. He waved his hand and ordered all the government officials:
"Order all government officials to protect the people, leave the East Valley and go home!"
"Yes! We will obey the order." All the government officials shouted. Although their faces were haggard and dull, their eyes were bright and clear.
"My lord is so wise..."
"I'm going to kowtow to you, sir."
Everyone was grateful and even knelt down to kowtow. Seeing this, Guo Zida felt really embarrassed and quickly left.
…
After leaving the mountain pass, Guo Zida and Xia Zhichan walked side by side on an unknown path in the mountains. The season is late summer and early autumn, and the branches of the trees on both sides of the road are still green, and the deep or shallow branches and leaves are still hung with morning dew that has not had time to dissipate.
"Has everything... been resolved?"
Guo Zida was the first to stop. He was standing on the hillsides on both sides of the road out of the mountain. Looking through the gaps between the branches of the trees, you can see the figures of the people leaving the East Valley in groups with their young and old.
"You can say it's over, or you can say it's not."
Xia Zhichan made a rare move, but what he said was true, but people who didn't understand it couldn't understand it at all. He had no intention of continuing to lie, and directly addressed Guo Zida's doubts:
"For you, it's over. The demons in Qingtian County have been eliminated. No more strange things will happen in the future. Brother Guo can rest assured."
"Oh, that's good." When Guo Zida heard that the evil spirit had been removed, the heart that had been hanging in his stomach finally dropped, but he realized it as soon as his brain turned around, so he immediately asked:
"That means this matter is not over yet for you?"
"nature."
Xia Zhichan nodded, turned his right hand and took out a green bead and a strange-shaped piece of jade. He lowered his head and looked at the palm of his hand before continuing:
"Brother Guo, do you still remember what I said that I came here to find something?"
"Remember, it's a gold and jade head."
Guo Zida also cast his gaze on Xia Zhichan's palm. The green beads and strange jade made his brows knit together, forming a deep "Sichuan".
He could feel that the county magistrate's seal in the fish bag around his waist was getting faintly hot. You must know that this feeling only appeared when meeting the cat demon.
Green is the color of spring when everything sprouts. It should also give people a fresh, natural, comfortable and gentle feeling.
But these two things are exactly the opposite. The green is like the putrid sewage nourished in the dark sewer, exuding waves of disgusting invisible smell.
"This is part of the golden jade head."
Xia Zhichan is a cultivator, so she is naturally not afraid of the aura emanating from those two evil objects, but Guo Zida is a mortal after all, and even if he has the seal of Qingtian County to protect him, he should not be exposed to them for a long time.
So he just flipped his right hand, and those two things disappeared in his palm.
"Is this...part of it? That means there are other fragments."
After the thing disappeared, Guo Zida felt that his swollen head had relaxed. He still stretched out his right hand and gently kneaded his forehead.
"As far as I know, there should be eight fragments falling to various places. Although these things have been broken, the evil energy on them is huge. Once used by spiritual monsters, it will harm the people."
Xia Zhichan only said half of the story. The other half was about how the golden head was broken and how the fragments were scattered everywhere. He kept it in his mind for the time being and did not say it out.
"Take this cat demon for example. Although she is an immortal spirit, without the nourishment of such an evil thing, she would not have been able to transform into a demon in just fifty years."
I shook my left sleeve, and only a few faint meows came from inside.
Yes, this cat demon also has an evil object in its belly, which is also part of the golden jade human head, and is a pair with the green bead of the Bone Lady. At that time, I didn’t know what kind of coincidence it was, but it fell from the hands of Mrs. Bones to the hands of Liu Cuicui’s resentful spirit who had not yet transformed into a cat demon.
"So, dear brother, you still have to travel around and continue to look for fragments of golden and jade human heads, so as to prevent these evil things from nourishing demons and causing harm to the people."
Guo Zida felt that his discomfort gradually faded away, and then based on what Xia Zhichan said, he speculated and continued:
"Monsters are born and evil spirits are at work. I always feel like someone is behind this. Is there any ulterior secret?"
"Brother Guo has a quick mind. If he becomes an official in the capital in the future, he will definitely enter either Dali Temple or the Ministry of Punishment."
Xia Zhichan laughed, deliberately bringing up the topic in order to prevent Guo Zida from continuing to speculate. Although Guo Zida knew a limited number of things, if he wrote today's speculations as a memorial and sent it to the capital, it might cause uproar. Necessary trouble.
"Brother Xian, you are joking."
Guo Zida was interrupted from his thoughts and heard Xia Zhichan's praise again. He couldn't help but wave his hands in embarrassment, but the smile on his face could not be concealed.
"There's one more thing I want to ask Brother Guo to do for me..." Xia Zhichan said as she shook out a yellow object from her cuff with her right hand and grabbed it in her palm.
"Although the demons in the mass graves on the west slope have been removed, many bones have been exposed. I feel really uneasy. Brother Guo, could you please send someone to collect the bones and rebury them? It would be best to hold a grand salvation ceremony."
After speaking, he handed the thing in his hand to Guo Zida. That yellow thing is a petite and delicate gold ingot. According to the laws promulgated by Da Qi, one tael of red gold can be exchanged for ten taels of official silver. One tael of official silver can be exchanged for regular money, which is one thousand copper coins.
This is only one tael of red gold ingot. It can be said that it takes an ordinary farmer to work for more than four years without eating or drinking to earn it.
"This, this, this... no, no, aren't you asking me to accept a bribe? Absolutely not!" Guo Zida pushed the gold ingot back into Xia Zhichan's hand and shook his head like a rattle.
"It's not for you, don't think too much." Xia Zhichan rolled her eyes angrily, handed the money back to Guo Zida's hand, and continued:
"Doesn't it cost money to bury the bones? Doesn't it cost money to perform the salvation ritual? This Qingtian County is already poor, and even the taxes can barely be paid. I beg you to do something. You can't let you, the county magistrate, spend your salary. Come on too."
"Well, there's no need to go so far. If an unscrupulous person finds out about it, he can take the book and accuse me of taking bribes. Then I won't be able to explain it clearly."
Guo Zida also knew that what Xia Zhichan said made sense, but he still had concerns.
"shit!"
Xia Zhichan took out his waist badge symbolizing the five-color spiritual official and shook it. He pointed at himself and continued:
"According to the system, as a five-color spiritual official who leaves the capital, I have an official position of the same fourth rank. Only the governor of a prefecture can be on the same level as me. You are a small county magistrate, seventh rank! How can there be a fourth-rank superior to a seventh-rank official? The county magistrate paid bribes. Will anyone believe this?"
"That's true, then I..."
Guo Zida then reluctantly took the gold ingot. If an average person gets such a gold ingot, they would want to hold it in their mouth for fear of it melting, or hold it in their hands for fear of dropping it.
Only Magistrate Guo felt uncomfortable as if he had held a piece of red-hot charcoal.
"Okay, there's nothing else to say."
Xia Zhichan shook off his sleeves and robe, and he bowed his hands in salute, then picked up a handful of loess from the ground and threw it into the air. Silently reciting the Earth Escape Technique, his entire figure disappeared directly in front of Guo Zida.
Only his voice is still floating in the air:
"We will meet again later. See you in the capital."
…
On this day, a big river appeared in front of him, blocking the way.
There was only one ferry boat parked on the river bank, and on it stood an old fisherman with a stooped body and a bamboo hat on his head.
There were still a few people standing on the shore, and one of them was talking to the fisherman, as if discussing the price of ferrying across the river.
"It costs a penny to take a boat, and it takes ten people to get on the boat."
"You are really stubborn, can't I give you more money? I'll pay for ten people, and you can just send one of me there."
I have only seen people who marked prices down, but this was the first time I saw a stupid guy who marked prices up. Xia Zhichan found it interesting and couldn't help but take a few more glances.
"No, one person has one penny, and only ten people can board the boat. Otherwise, Grandpa River God will be unhappy, and the boat will capsize halfway..."
The old fisherman didn't even raise his head. He held an old penny in both hands and stood blankly on the boat, unmoved even as the silly boy who wanted to ride on the boat scolded him.
At this moment, a group of people suddenly came. There were eight or nine people in their group, most of whom were dressed as servants. Only the one in the middle was a young man with a white face and brocade robes.
It seemed that they were also planning to cross the river by boat.
"What? You ride on the horse and say it again. Believe it or not, I will smash your old bones and throw them into the water to feed the bastard. You are blind. Do you know who our young master is..."
"Only ten people can sail on the boat..." the old fisherman's voice came over.
"Hey, you really don't know how to live and die, don't you? See if I don't..."
There are eight people in the Young Master's group, but it seems that they are notorious in the neighborhood. As soon as they arrived, except for the silly boy who was willing to spend more money, everyone else ran away quickly. Everyone in the local area knew that this young man was a vicious man who bullied men and women, and no one wanted to get on the same boat as this god of plague.
"It only takes one person to step on the horse and not be able to walk on the boat. It's really..."
The loser who seemed to be the noble prince's confidant was still cursing.
When Xia Zhichan saw what was happening, he walked slowly towards the ferry boat.
He didn't have to take the boat, but this time he had a reason to do it.
Because this boatload of people... are all going to die.
