Chapter 89
The Huatingxuan route is very easy to walk, as if you are very familiar with this place and don't need to look at the map at all.
In order to conceal their identities, both of them changed their clothes as the locals did, put away their ostentatious Xuanshui swords, and walked instead. They looked like two wandering monks with low cultivation levels.
Although walking is tiring, it is more conducive to gathering information. As expected, there are new gains on the way - in addition to the small mixed-blood demons begging along the road, there are also many zombies as Meng Cangyu warned.
Most of these zombies moved slowly and did not provoke living people. They were just wandering slowly along the road like ghosts, but they scared Chu Danfeng to death - otherwise, their appearance was too simple and they had no skin.
The limbs exposed in the rags are skinless, and the face is skinless, with only haggard muscles left, and there are no facial features at all!!!!!!!!!
Compared with them, those "Lin Zhengying zombies" on TV who wear Qing Dynasty official uniforms, smeared with pale foundation and red cheeks are all pretty, dignified and handsome!
Such "faceless monsters" are everywhere in sight, but they frighten Chu Danfeng, a good young man who grew up under a red flag and was born in the spring breeze.
Chu Danfeng was so frightened that she clenched the hands of the people around her, which made Hua Tingxuan reluctant to leave. He took the opportunity to half-hug the person in his arms, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
"So and so and so and so are so scared!"
Hua Tingxuan was so cute by her little senior brother's tough talk that she resisted the urge to rub him into her arms and coaxed: "It's because I'm scared and hugging you that Xuan'er dares to continue walking."
"Well..." Chu Danfeng spat out one word timidly. Just as he was debating whether to withdraw from Hua Tingxuan's arms and save a little face, he saw a faceless zombie coming towards him with a stunned look on his face.
“!!!!”
Chu Danfeng screamed and hugged Hua Tingxuan tightly: "Then let's go quickly!"
Hua Tingxuan suddenly hugged the warm and fragrant soft jade into his arms. The end of his nose was filled with the unique warm fragrance of the cauldron body of his little senior brother. His Adam's apple couldn't help but roll up, rippling untimely in the desolate and terrifying atmosphere.
stand up.
He held the person in his arms tightly and said seriously like a big-tailed wolf: "We really can't leave quickly. There is something strange about these zombies. We have to investigate carefully."
Chu Danfeng was completely frightened, and kept shrinking in Hua Tingxuan's arms, asking: "Why?"
Hua Tingxuan stroked his back like a small animal: "The purpose of our trip is to find out the ins and outs of the 'Flying Smoke Bottle'. We also saw it in the secret realm. That thing is used to hold souls."
...I heard that there is an evil method in which human skin can be used as a spiritual tool. If the human skin of an elderly person is used, the effect will be better."
Hearing this, Chu Danfeng suppressed his fear, followed Hua Tingxuan's train of thought, and murmured: "The flying smoke bottle stores souls, and is a magic weapon for summoning souls... To make that kind of evil magic weapon requires human skin, and it is everywhere here.
They are all zombies without skin..."
Hua Tingxuan: "Senior Brother, do you still remember the ghost cultivator who came to Shuangji Sect to find Second Senior Sister?"
Chu Danfeng: "Ruan Fu? Remember! The first flying smoke bottle we saw was found on him. It has been six or seven years. Master also said that several major sects have investigated this incident.
The demons have invaded the secret realm and are closely related to ghost cultivators. Could it be...
From that moment on, they must have been colluding together!”
"Yes." Hua Tingxuan said quietly. Back then, he almost destroyed Ruan Fu's cultivation for many years before he tortured and found out that the flying smoke bottle actually came from the demon clan. The result coincided with today's.
However, he did not have any more clues back then and the investigation did not go smoothly. Of course, the main reason was that Hua Tingxuan spent most of his energy on guarding his little senior brother, for fear that if he was not careful, Chu Danfeng would die in this life.
Then he was seduced by that girl Lin Shuer again.
…
The two walked for more than ten miles, and they saw a large village. The closer they got to the village, the more faceless zombies there were. Especially at the entrance of the village, a large group gathered, pacing back and forth stiffly and slowly.
Chu Danfeng noticed that there was a tall fence outside the village entrance, covered with thorns.
There is an open space half a person's height below those fences, which an adult can get through if he bends down. Living people can come and go freely through there, but zombies are blocked out because their bodies are stiff and unable to flex or extend their joints.
The villagers were probably used to zombies. A few half-year-old children of eleven or twelve years old came out from under the fence as if nothing had happened. They were not afraid of the shambling "faceless monsters" and only looked at Chu Danfeng and Chu Danfeng curiously.
Hua Tingxuan was whispering to each other and pointing.
"Someone is here again, is it another ghost cultivator?"
"I guess so. The adults at home have business again."
"Why are they still hugging each other? They are both men, right?"
"Um……"
"No, look at the one huddled in the tall man's arms. His face and hands are so tender, and his waist is so thin. How can a man be so delicate? He must be a young lady!"
"I know, this is called 'women disguise themselves as men' in order to elope with a man!"
Chu Danfeng: "……………………"
Cultivators have very good ears. Even though they were far away from the naughty boys, Chu Danfeng still listened to these discussions word for word.
The idol baggage that scared him away came back again. Chu Danfeng broke away from Hua Tingxuan's arms in embarrassment, and forced himself to calm down: "It's safe, let's go in. Let's go in."
Hua Tingxuan naturally heard it clearly. In order to save the face of his younger brother, he regretfully let go of "Mrs. Chu". However, as soon as the two separated, a faceless zombie suddenly raised its withered and stiff arm and pointed straight at it.
Hua Tingxuan also made a sharp "Hehe" scream - its vocal cords had long since dried up and shrunk, and it could only barely make such a sound.
Immediately afterwards, the rest of the zombies turned to Hua Tingxuan, opened their dry mouths, and shouted loudly together, stretched out their stiff legs, and opened their teeth and claws slowly and excitedly, as if to prevent him from entering the village.
The "faceless monsters" came in droves, and their ears were filled with hoarse "hehe" sounds, stiff and chaotic footsteps, and the hollow eyes of the zombies uniformly "glaring" at Hua Tingxuan.
Chu Danfeng was shocked and instinctively took out the magic weapon of his life. With a flash in his sleeve, the peach blossom fan was firmly grasped in his hand. However, Hua Tingxuan was one step faster. He performed a spell in a high-profile manner, and the arc of light
Hitting the leading zombie, its bones and flesh melted away, screaming and turning into a puddle of stinky water.
The half-grown children clapped their hands and cheered:
"awesome!"
"He is really a ghost cultivator! I have seen monks pay zombies!"
Hua Tingxuan grabbed Chu Danfeng's hand and pulled him into the fence entangled with thorns.
Seeing this, several half-year-old children also ducked back, muttering: "What's going on? I'm scared to death!"
"Are they crazy today?!"
"Look how anxious they are!"
Chu Danfeng couldn't help but look back and saw the faceless zombies being blocked outside the thorn fence, screaming "Hehe" anxiously.
He turned his gaze away, rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, and murmured with lingering fear: "Why did they suddenly go crazy?"
Although the zombies I saw before were equally ugly and terrifying, their behavior could be said to be indifferent to the world, and they looked like they were living in peace.
"This is the first time we have seen them attacking people," one child asked with a straight face, "How on earth did you provoke them?"
Chu Danfeng just thought that the two of them had accidentally touched some taboo, while Hua Tingxuan looked thoughtful and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Children," Hua Tingxuan waved to the two and a half-year-old children, "We are ghost cultivators passing through. We would like to stay in the village for one night and inquire about some things from you. Who can give the best answer..."
He casually took out a handful of snacks from the mustard bag and said, "There will be a reward."
Chu Danfeng: "..."
Over the years, Hua Tingxuan has become a habit of feeding his little senior brother, and his mustard bag always contains all kinds of Chu Danfeng’s favorite snacks.
Chu Danfeng's appetite has long been cultivated. His snacks are all exquisite snacks that are full of color, flavor and flavor. Where has a child in a deserted village seen such delicacies? He immediately threw away his helmet and fought for it.
He kept telling everything he knew, for fear that the reward would be snatched away by his companions.
Hua Tingxuan asked for the key information in just a few words.
Because this village is adjacent to the "three no matter zone" between the three realms, it has some contact with the three realms of humans, demons, and monsters. As long as these children can remember, they have seen adults doing business with demons and ghost cultivators to make some profit from the price difference.
For example, the demons would skin people, collect the skins, and then sell the skins to ghost cultivators. Those zombies are the monsters left behind after the demons skinned them.
Chu Danfeng shuddered when he heard this. How could these villagers be human beings? How could they be in the business of reselling human skins?
The demons are murderous, so do they want to help others and kill their own kind?
After sending away the children, Chu Danfeng still didn't feel very good about it and whispered: "This village is really evil. It feels even more gloomy than the village in Luo Feng's secret realm."
Hua Tingxuan said: "Don't worry, they are all living people, but..."
Chu Danfeng: "Just what?"
It's just that the human heart is sometimes more vicious and terrifying than ghosts.
Hua Tingxuan shook his head and took Chu Danfeng's hand, "Those children may not be telling the truth. Let's go and see for ourselves."
The two walked around the village. The villagers were a little wary at first, but Hua Tingxuan reported that he was a "ghost cultivator" and came here specially after hearing the introduction from his Taoist friends. The villagers gradually let go of their wariness and returned to the village.
Someone took the initiative to ask them if they would accept the money. Hua Tingxuan only said, "It's my first time here, so I have to compare shopping." Using this excuse, he walked around the village.
The more Chu Danfeng walked with him, the more subtle feeling he got - Hua Tingxuan was too familiar with this village, as if he had lived here before.
"...!!"
An idea gradually took shape in Chu Danfeng's mind. Could this village be... the place where Hua Tingxuan lived when he was a child?
"Senior brother, look at this." Hua Tingxuan suddenly said.
Chu Danfeng followed his line of sight and looked over, but didn't see anything special. He asked doubtfully: "This is... a willow branch? Why is it tied to the threshold?"
Hua Tingxuan: "This is an ancient evil method, a common trick of ghost cultivators... put a willow branch at the door... If my guess is right, there should be a pregnant woman in this house."
As if responding to Hua Tingxuan's guess, there was indeed a woman with a big belly, holding her waist and frowning, stepping out of the threshold.
"!" Chu Danfeng humbly asked for advice, "What's going on?"
Hua Tingxuan: "Pregnant women step in and out of willow branches every day until they are full term. If they do this during labor, they will give birth to a dead baby, and then lead the baby's soul to the branches. This is the technique of 'raising a little ghost'
."
Chu Danfeng was stunned. He knew about raising little ghosts, but he didn't expect Hua Tingxuan to explain the steps in such detail. Should a decent person...should know this kind of evil skill so well?
Hua Tingxuan said without changing his expression: "This is what Elder Kong taught in the big class. Junior Brother said that you know a little about these basic techniques, so you don't like to join in the fun. Dan Feng must understand such simple common sense.
, and now you are asking me deliberately."
Chu Danfeng: "..."
"Of course I know! I'm just teasing you to say a few words." Sure enough, Chu Danfeng felt guilty and swollen his face. Hua Tingxuan also tried to stay calm and suppressed the corners of his lips that wanted to raise.
Chu Danfeng thought thoughtfully: "So there is indeed something strange here. We walked around a lot and all we saw were middle-aged people. There were no old people and no babies..."
Just at this moment, a one-armed young man in his twenties or fives blocked their way, "You two have looked around and asked about the price?"
Chu Danfeng was about to prevaricate as before, but he heard Hua Tingxuan smile and say: "Yeah, I've seen it almost. What price do you want to give me, big brother?"
The one-armed young man smiled honestly: "It depends on how much you want."
Hua Tingxuan took out a bag of high-grade spiritual stones from the mustard bag, unfolded it slightly, and waved it in front of his eyes, making a wonderful sound of money, "As long as the quality is good, you can take as much as you can."
Chu Danfeng didn't know why, but he still nodded cooperatively and looked sophisticated.
The one-armed young man was so happy that he rubbed his hands together: "Then let's come and have a look at home?"
A few people were walking and chatting, and a gust of wind blew up the sleeve of the one-armed young man. Chu Danfeng discovered that his other arm was also terrifying, with old tooth marks and scars all over it. He couldn't help but ask: "This hand of yours..."
"Oh, this." The one-armed young man shook his sleeves and hid the scar on his arm. "It's an old wound for many years. It was injured by a little bastard when I was a child. I just let the dog bite him, but he actually sneaked in in the middle of the night.
At home, both of my arms were bitten to bits."
Chapter completed!