There was a hint of anger behind these words. Yan Ting knew that Su Ye had a strong temper and was secretly annoyed that he was trapped in a low-level position. He neither responded to these words nor evaded them, but just spread his hands.
Sheng Xuanyuan said: "Then let me tell you the news we heard?"
Seeing the two of them nodding, he continued: "The fact that Cang Yu was taken to Wu Yue City is most likely true, and it has not recognized its owner." After Sheng Xuanyuan finished speaking, he paused: "The ancient sword has been around for a long time. , basically contains spirituality, and the failure to recognize the master means that the current sword holder is not the master it is waiting for."
"So, anyone can grab it." Su Ye said, clasping his hands.
"This matter... is extremely strange." Yan Ting murmured in a low voice: "Xuanyuan, do you think this news is true? Are the people who are looking for swords all fools who are willing to expose the news?" Why did he think something was wrong, so he finally had to say: "No matter what, we have to proceed with caution."
"Yes." Qiong also nodded: "Without further delay, we will leave for Wu Yuecheng immediately."
"Now?" Su Ye clicked her tongue and heard her accentuate: "Yes, now."
"Now that we have heard the exact news, it is just a waste of time to continue to wait and see." Qiong Yi's voice was as clear as the mountain spring, but now it was a little cold, "All the sword grabbers want to be the first to get there, so naturally we can't fall behind, in case Cang Yu If it is snatched away by someone of unknown origin, wouldn’t it be like trying to draw water from a bamboo basket but in vain?”
"Besides," she said, "in order to prevent innocent people from being harmed, Sheng Jin and I deployed the manpower to guard the tower here. They can't reach Wuyue City before dark, so we have to go first. In a small town like Wuyue, it's too late at night The city gates will be closed once the curfew is over. Although entering the city at night may hide your whereabouts from our perspective, it is extremely conspicuous to those who are lurking in the dark in the city. It is better to enter the city now and mingle in the streets to avoid A situation where the enemy is in darkness and we are in the clear.”
Yan Ting asked deeply: "Deployed guards to guard the platform? Didn't it mean that people from the five tribes would not intervene in this matter?"
"No one will interfere with anyone who seizes the sword." Sheng Xuanyuan replied: "Be prepared for any danger. Just ask them to evacuate the people and fulfill their responsibility to protect the world."
The two of them nodded in agreement, "Okay." Then they began to hide their swords, pack their luggage, and prepare to set off.
Seeing that Yan Ting was deep in thought and silent, Su Ye patted him on the shoulder twice: "Brother Yan, don't worry too much. If you think too much, you will get distracted."
Yan Ting smiled deeply: "That's right, just take it one step at a time."
*
On the way to Wu Yue, the four of them saw many people leaving the city. They were all men, women and children with their families. They looked in a hurry, and they probably left home for refuge. At this time in the evening, the city gate was about to close as dusk fell. Qiong Yi and the others just happened to catch up with the last group of people entering the city, and entered Wuyue City mixed in with the sparse crowd.
The city gate is dilapidated and the buildings at the entrance are sparse. It is indeed a remote place.
In order not to attract attention, they specially changed their disguises and went in separate ways. Even so, Qiong was still asked: "Hey, ugly woman, I heard that people in this city have been rushing around in recent days. You ran away, why are you still coming in?" A tall middle-aged man asked her loudly. This man's appearance was completely contrary to the word "kind and kind". His eyes were like copper bells, his eyebrows were as thick as ink, and a gaping scar crawled on his forehead. , very eye-catching.
Qiong Yi pretended to be deaf and dumb, opened her mouth and said slowly: "Huh?..."
The man repeated it again. She realized that this man was a man of cultivation and must be a swordsman. She said without raising her head: "Pick up the child and leave the city. The bus is late, so we have to leave the city again tomorrow." After that, she said Sheng Xuanyuan walked side by side, and the two of them walked slowly towards the street building not far away. From time to time, there were coughs and conversations: "I said to leave early...it was a mistake! Why did you make your family wait in a hurry? manage……"
"It's okay to leave the city tomorrow..."
Su Ye and Yan Tingshen, disguised as farmers, went to a different road with them. Qiong also observed an empty house on the street. The door was ajar. The owner had probably fled out of the city long ago. She signaled Sheng Xuanyuan to go there. Let's go. After the two of them entered the house for about half a stick of incense, Su Ye and Yan Ting went deep into the house to join them.
The light in the room became darker and darker, Qiong also took off her headscarf to wipe off the old disguise on her face, and asked Su Ye, who was holding the compass in his arms, "Isn't it too suspicious?"
"No, there were some people on the street when we entered the house. We should just think that we are ordinary residents." Su Ye held the compass, a human-tracing tool obtained from the trade in Mingfugui City. He held the compass in both hands to activate his energy. Thinking about the appearance of the middle-aged man just now, the compass pointer began to shift, pointing directly towards the center of the city.
"The man with the scar who just dragged you for questioning went straight to the city." Su Ye said, "He has an extraordinary aura, and the two axes behind him have a vicious aura. They have seen blood."
Qiong also asked: "He went straight to the city? Does he know the location of the man named Zhang Yan?"
"Some people are proficient in divination and can determine the general direction." Yan Ting responded deeply, "Or it may be 'mechanism' or 'psychic' or the like."
Unfortunately, none of the four of them was proficient in this technique. The streets gradually became less crowded, and there was no movement at all from the many people rumored to be entering the city. They had no choice but to wait in this hut without moving.
The sky was getting darker and darker, and the street outside the house was pitch black, too quiet, and a bit eerie.
Sheng Xuanyuan looked around in the room. He wanted to make a simple bow, but he didn't have the materials, so he had to take the tube of chopsticks from the kitchen and put it in his pocket, leaving a piece of broken silver in the cupboard.
There was no light in the house, and it was pitch dark. There was not a little nightlight coming through the windows. Suddenly, footsteps came from the dead street, "bata", "bahta". The sound was not loud, from far to near, but it was extremely clear in the ears of their ascetics. The steps were walking in the middle of the street little by little, rather like the random footsteps of a child.
Everyone in the city is in danger, so why are there still children walking on the street late at night?
"Bata."
"Bah, tah—"
Along with the slow footsteps, there were also the sounds of children's rhymes and laughter, "Hee hee..."
"Hahahaha……"
"The east room is lit and the west room is bright...the west room seems to have lights if there is no light..."
"An inch of light in front of the lamp is like a shade...it's a shame that the lampstand doesn't illuminate itself..."
"You cannot see the person behind the lamp in front of the lamp...it is more true to see the person in front of you behind the lamp..."
"A slow Taoist person has a far-sighted mind...beware of the evil behind the scenes..."
"Hee hee hee……"
The unhurried footsteps acted as the beat of the song, and the laughter was sad and weird. After the nursery rhyme was sung, there was a "dong dong dong" knock on the door outside the street. Qiong Yi stood there and didn't dare to express her anger. Her body was stiff, her heart was beating suddenly, and her hair stood on end from fright. She never imagined that such a haunted thing would happen in Wuyue City!
Seeing the drastic change in her expression, Sheng Xuanyuan supported her and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, you are not knocking on our door."
The next moment, the wooden door three steps away trembled violently, and there was a deep and heavy knock on the door, "Boom!" "Boom!" It was impossible for a child to knock with such force.
Qiong Yi closed her eyes tightly and covered her mouth with her own hands. Sheng Xuanyuan stood in front of her and blocked her sight with his shoulders. Su Ye and Yan Tingshen also hunched over and raised their hands to press their swords, ready to go. The knocking on the door became louder and louder, and when the sound reached its peak, it suddenly fell into dead silence.
There was no sound at all.
They held their breaths and faced off against the things outside the door for more than ten breaths. Sheng Xuanyuan could feel that Qiong Yi was trying his best to restrain himself, but her hands were shaking like chaff.
Finally, the things outside the door seemed to have left, and nursery rhymes and knocks on the door continued one after another.
Qiong Yi took a deep breath, and finally let go of Sheng Xuanyuan's hand tremblingly. He patted her back to comfort her. Seeing that her face was pale with fright, Su Ye comforted her in a low voice: "It's probably Some people are deliberately pretending to be mysterious, so don’t be afraid.”
Qiong Yi nodded, unable to speak anymore.
The nursery rhymes and the knocking on the door were so similar to her childhood experience of encountering a ghost that she suddenly felt immersed in the painful memories of the past.
Yan Tingshen also comforted her several times. Now that they are in a lonely city, the four of them cannot have any accidents, let alone lose her fighting power: "Qiong Yi, can you still hold the sword?"
Qiong Yi lowered his head and took a few steps back. Under Yan Ting's deep gaze, he reluctantly nodded again.
"Let her take it easy." Sheng Xuanyuan held her hand tightly and said.
Qiong Yi told herself over and over again in her heart to calm down and steady her breathing, but she couldn't help but feel afraid, as if the fear of ghosts and evil spirits was engraved into her bones and became an instinct. The great fear of strange things envelops her rationality. It is no longer just a simple fear of ghosts and evil spirits. She is even afraid that she will have emotions such as "fear", that she will fall into "fear" and be unable to extricate herself, and that she will be afraid of courage. The little helpless "self".
Just like that time.
"Be afraid. It's okay, I'm here." Sheng Xuanyuan put her trembling hand on her heart, "If you can't be 'not afraid', then be afraid." I'm always there. "
"Qiong Yi, I have nothing good to say about Sheng Xuanyuan's character, but he will definitely be able to protect you when it comes to getting rid of ghosts." Su Ye comforted.
Yan Tingshen also said: "Well, you don't have to force yourself."
Qiong also saw that they were all gathered around her and saying words of comfort, and she raised the corners of her mouth and forced out a very crooked smile: "...Yeah."
The sound of nursery rhymes on the street became fainter, and the strange thing must have gone away. The four of them heard a thunderous shout coming from the rooftop in the distance: "Wow! Who dares to scare your grandpa and me! Hurry up!" Show yourself!"
"Some people can't sit still." Yan Tingshen said: "Wait a little longer."
"Hee hee hee hee--" The tender childlike laughter like a cone came from all directions, and the young man on the eaves split into the shadow of the streets of the street. Watch the fight!”
After the clash of weapons, the strong man scolded: "Are you also the one who came to seize the sword?"
The one who responded to him was a female voice, with a sweet voice and a northern accent: "No, I'm here to help my sweetheart! Look, this casual scare will scare you out!"
"Refining Ghost Boy! Are you from the Demon Sect?!"
The girl stuck out her tongue and snorted: "I won't tell you! I'm leaving!"
"Don't even think about leaving!" There were chaotic footsteps in the street, and a group of people rushed over to surround the girl. She said helplessly: "That's true!" After saying that, she raised her finger to the strong man on the house: "You guys We should surround him, do you understand? I won't fight for the sword with you, he will fight with you! Even if you beat me to death, you will lose your troops, and he will just reap the benefits. Isn't that what the Chinese say?"
"Yo? Is it so lively?" Another strange man's voice said: "Karasuba, you brought so many brothers here and you have been searching in the city for three days and you still haven't found Zhang Yan?"
"Ren Pingshan! It's you again! What do you want to do when you bring so many people to block me?!"
"Hahaha, what are you doing? Of course you want to clean up your opponents."
"Are you crazy? I haven't found Zhang Yan yet. What's the point of bringing your brother to fight with me at this time?"
The girl pointed to the sky and exclaimed: "Look, it's Zhang Yan!"
"The author has something to say:
The ballads in this chapter are from the children's song collection "Playing Children's Talk", with slight modifications. "
