The city gate plaque with the word Wu Ling engraved on it was buried under the ruins together with the collapsed city gate.
The white beasts of darkness shuttled among the ruins of the city.
Accompanied by the screams of children and the elderly, broken limbs and arms were thrown into the air, and blood flowed into the earth.
Several figures in black robes slowly walked in from outside the dilapidated city gate.
The Yin beasts that were raging in the city stopped one after another, crawled on the ground, and let out low roars of submission.
They walked through the streets littered with corpses and arrived at the dilapidated Taoist temple.
There is a large peach forest there, but most of it is dead. Only a huge peach tree in the center still glows with some life.
But only a little.
Half of the huge peach tree was dead, and the leaves on the other half were all yellow. Only one or two new branches had bright red flowers in bud.
It seemed out of place in this dark world.
It's like a flame burning in the shadowless night.
Hot and dazzling.
The men in black robes came to the peach tree.
They gathered around, with pious expressions under their hoods and on their thin cheeks.
That piety is almost fanatical.
They stretched out their hands, their arms were white and had strange black lines on them.
There were words coming out of their mouths, the same strange syllables.
That seems to be some kind of ritual.
As the ceremony progressed, a cold breath began to escape from their bodies.
The breath surged and swirled, wrapping the dying ancient tree within it.
The branches and leaves of the ancient tree began to tremble, and the few remaining branches and leaves began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye.
And something shining with golden light slowly overflowed from his body as the ancient tree withered.
The clouds above the dome began to billow and turned into whirlpools.
A black light fell from the center of the vortex and illuminated the ancient tree.
When the people in black robes around caught a glimpse of this scene, they felt as if they had seen a miracle.
"The God of Eternal Night!"
"Wings cover the frosty sky!"
They shouted fervently.
And as if in response to this twisted piety, there was a faint figure swimming among the black clouds.
Huge pressure also spread out at this time.
The ruined city began to tremble.
It was as if heaven and earth were afraid of the god who was about to come.
The golden light group that was extracted from the ancient tree slowly rose up under the pull of the dark aura, almost reaching the center of the black cloud vortex.
The figure swimming in the black cloud stopped at this moment, and he slowly poked his huge head out of the black cloud.
The true face of the gods will be revealed.
The trembling between heaven and earth became more and more intense.
He lowered his head to look down at the earth and slowly opened his eyes.
At this moment, the stars seemed to gather in those eyes.
Huge, indescribable fear invaded Chu Qingxiao's body and mind at this moment.
call!
call!
Chu Qingxiao sat up from the floor. He gasped for air and reached out to cover his chest.
This dream is no stranger to Chu Qingxiao.
Among his many dreams about the city under candlelight, this scene appeared most often.
The peach trees, the ancient gods, and the pair of eyes peeking out from the black clouds made Chu Qingxiao tremble with fear every time he thought about them.
And every time he woke up from such a dream, he would feel a sharp pain in his chest.
He took a deep breath, and the beating of his heart gradually calmed down.
When the pain slowly dissipated, he finally recovered. At this moment, he turned his head and looked at the bed beside him, only to see that there was no one there.
He was startled, quickly stood up, put on his clothes, and walked quickly to the outhouse and said loudly: "Dad, that girl yesterday..."
But these words were only spoken halfway before they stopped abruptly.
Chu Qingxiao opened the door and immediately saw the girl from yesterday sitting at the wooden table in the outer room, holding her cheek with one hand and looking at him with a smile.
Chu Qingxiao's steps paused, a little nervous, and he looked around, but did not notice the voices of his father and uncle.
It was early in the morning, and the light of dawn penetrated through the door lintel and shone into the room.
The girl's side face is reflected in the sun, but it looks bright and bright under the winter snow.
The corners of her mouth raised and she whispered softly: "Good morning, brother Qingxiao."
Chu Qingxiao frowned and looked wary: "Where is my father and uncle?"
"Go to work." The girl said calmly, got up and walked towards Chu Qingxiao.
Chu Qingxiao subconsciously stepped back, trying to keep a safe distance from the girl.
"They went to work without telling me?" Chu Qingxiao asked.
"Seeing as you were sleeping too much, they didn't bother you. Aren't I still here? I can take care of you too." The girl said again, the smile on her lips getting even bigger.
"You take care of me?" Chu Qingxiao looked suspicious.
Yesterday, Chu Yueshan and Sun Kuan were wary of the girl's origins. How could they easily leave her alone with them?
The girl remained silent, but turned around and walked into the small kitchen nearby.
The next moment, she came out with hot steamed buns and rice porridge, put them on the wooden table, then looked at Chu Qingxiao who was still standing there, and said: "I can't eat people, you are so afraid that I will do it."
What?"
After saying this, she suddenly smiled slightly, as if she had thought of something: "You don't think I killed Uncle Chu and Uncle Sun, do you?"
Chu Qingxiao's expression changed. Such a guess did flash through his mind, but when he turned his head, he saw that the bedding on the floor was neatly laid out, and the simple furniture in the room were all safe. There seemed to be no traces of a fight.
"Do not worry."
Seemingly sensing Chu Qingxiao's thoughts, the girl said again: "It was just a misunderstanding yesterday. As soon as I woke up, it was like that. No other girl would be wary."
"After resting for a night, I figured out the situation. I made it clear to my two uncles early this morning."
"If you don't believe it, we can go to the grain store and take a look later."
Chu Qingxiao thought about it carefully. Yesterday, before the girl's second coma, the other party indeed seemed to be no longer hostile to them.
After feeling a little relieved, he walked to the wooden table and sat down on the opposite side of the girl.
"But who are you? How do you know us?" Although Chu Qingxiao put down his hostility, the girl's words yesterday still made him feel weird.
But the girl sat up straight, coughed, then looked at Chu Qingyan seriously and said, "Introduce yourself."
"My name is Chu Zhaozhao, a disciple of Qingque Peak in Tianxuan Mountain. This time I am here to take you and Uncle Chu to Tianxuan Mountain on the orders of my junior uncle."
"Who is the junior uncle? Why did you take me and my father to Tianxuan Mountain?" Chu Qingxiao looked confused.
The girl named Chu Zhaozhao rolled her eyes and asked angrily: "Do you know many people in Tianxuan Mountain?"
As soon as these words came out, Chu Qingxiao immediately reacted.
His eyes widened with surprise on his face: "Is it Nian Shuang?"
"Of course." Chu Zhaozhao nodded.
But after the brief surprise, Chu Qingxiao felt an indescribable uneasiness in his heart.
It's true that he and Zhao Nianshuang were childhood sweethearts, and it's true that they have had feelings for each other for a long time.
But that was what happened before Zhao Nianshuang went to Tianxuan Mountain, and now their identities are completely different.
The embarrassment of being ashamed to see old friends filled my heart.
This is not out of pure hypocrisy, living to save face.
I just don't want my embarrassment to show up in front of those close to me.
The closer you are and the more you care about someone, the more intense this embarrassment will be.
"Nian...Nian Shuang, why do you want to see us?" Chu Qingxiao asked.
Chu Zhaozhao didn't understand the turmoil in Chu Qingxiao's heart at this moment. She just said: "Uncle Junior has encountered some troubles, and these troubles can only be solved by you and Uncle Chu."
"Listen, junior uncle, you have a close relationship with her. I wonder if you would like to make a trip for her."
"Trouble? What trouble?" Chu Qingxiao, who was feeling a little sorry for himself a moment ago, suddenly became nervous after hearing this.
"It won't be clear for a while, but you will know when you go there." Chu Zhaozhao said with a smile.
"Then when will we leave?" Chu Qingxiao asked.
Chu Zhaozhao, who was sitting in his seat, looked at Chu Qingxiao who looked eager with satisfaction: "Any time."
"But the premise is that we can leave Wuling City."
Chu Qingxiao was stunned and a little confused: "What do you mean?"
Chu Zhaozhao raised the corners of his mouth and said meaningfully: "You understand what I'm talking about."
Chu Qingxiao frowned: "I don't understand."
Chu Zhaozhao was not in a hurry, and continued: "I heard Uncle Chu say that you were suffering from hysteria, right?"
"So what?" Chu Qingxiao felt wary.
The girl stood up, looked straight at Chu Qingxiao, and raised a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
She walked towards her, her footsteps were very slow, and her landing sound was clear.
But Chu Qingxiao's breathing was inexplicably heavy.
His heart beats very fast.
And at this moment, the girl's voice sounded.
"Then have you ever thought that maybe you are not sick?"
"But the people in Wuling City have forgotten something they shouldn't forget?"
When Chu Qingxiao heard this, his body trembled, and his pupils suddenly dilated when he looked at the girl.
The wind and snow outside the house suddenly surged at that time, blowing the lintel of the door, and the wind and snow poured in, ruffling their clothes.