The road down the mountain was not as easy as the one up the mountain. Xia Zhaoyi used the dagger in his hand to push aside the dead branches and thorns that were blocking the road.
If she wanted to avoid the crowds, she would have to take a long way, but in the end she still had to cross the sea of people and get to the other side of the mountain.
There were people everywhere at the foot of the mountain, and she had no intention of paying attention to what rituals were being performed on the Chongtian Terrace in the distance, and she couldn't hear them. There was so much noise all around.
At this time, several more birds flew into the sky. Xia Zhaoyi raised her head and saw two birds being shot down. The rest flew towards the rooftop and quickly disappeared from her sight.
Xia Zhaoyi took a deep breath and turned to look at the mountains opposite.
The sky is high and the clouds are wide, the sun is shining down, and the long outline of the top of the mountain is like a pale golden line, outlining the ups and downs.
The wind is strong at high altitude, the clouds are flying rapidly, and the green forest on the mountainside and foot of the mountain is faint. Occasionally, the wind comes down and blows up the forest.
A few more birds flew over. Xia Zhaoyi looked up and saw that they were coming from further south of the mountain.
A crossbow arrow was shot, and a bird was shot through. It whined and fell down.
But at this time, more and more birds flew over.
Three, five, ten, twenty...
From the original colorful chickadees and orioles, they turned into black jackdaws.
The sky was overwhelming and dense, like dark clouds, drifting from the mountain side, and huge shadows spread toward the sea of people.
The soldiers who were hiding everywhere with crossbows in their hands were stunned, staring blankly, as if they were dreaming.
People who heard the noise raised their heads one after another, and their eyes widened in surprise when they saw the black waves like a roaring mountain and a tsunami.
The ceremony officials beside the circle were dumbfounded. The ministers looked up and were stunned for a moment and opened their mouths.
Emperor Xuan Yan, who had just finished reciting the congratulation sonorously and holding a big sandalwood in his hand, frowned, raised his head quickly, and then was shocked on the spot.
The crows of jackdaws were like a black blanket being spread upside down in the sky. Most of the sunlight on the earth was blocked, and only the sky lanterns hanging high around it still illuminated the world.
After reacting, crowds all over the mountains and plains broke out into huge noises.
The servants on the side shouted "Guard you", but no one dared to go up. This was the Chongtiantai. At this time, the only one who could go up was the emperor, but the emperor did not say a word.
"Shoot! Shoot quickly!" shouted the captain in the distance.
The captains of the team are supposed to convey orders, but when they see so many birds that are so airtight, which one should they shoot?
Countless crossbow arrows were fired into the air, shooting down birds one after another.
Bird carcasses fell to the ground like a rain, and the crowd screamed and ran around in a panic.
At this moment, countless rats fled down from the mountains and ran towards the crowd, scurrying through the sea of people.
"ah!!!"
The crowd screamed and fled, and they were crowded together. Many rats were trampled, blood spurted out, and their internal organs were leaked all over the floor.
Tens of thousands of people ran outside, while carcasses of jackdaws were still falling in the sky.
In the panic, someone fell down, and before he could get up, someone else stepped on him and he couldn't get up again.
Some people felt uncomfortable being squeezed and punched the shorter person in front of them, yelling and hitting them. Full of anger, a more chaotic dispute broke out in the chaos.
A child was separated from his parents and was standing outside at a loss. A passerby took him by the hand and took him away in the sea of people.
The inexplicable and complicated panic was like a huge ball of mud falling into the clear water, and then spread out in an instant, filling the lake with chaos, making the sky and the earth a mess.
Emperor Xuan Yan was still standing there, with flags and banners flying in the wind around the tallest round altar in the circular mound.
The jackdaws in the sky circled the circular mound in mid-air, some flew far into the sky, and some gradually settled down, greedily pecking at the meat of the sacrificial cattle and sheep, and stopped densely in circles on several large round altars.
Emperor Xuanyan recovered from his shock. In addition to the noise in the sky, he seemed to be able to clearly hear the sound of flags and flags flying around him.
The ministers all looked up at him, and many of them shouted loudly. After shouting several times, they fell to their knees, crying and hoping that he would leave quickly.
Because Emperor Xuan Yan had never moved, he stood alone on top, always raising his head, and no one could see his eyes clearly.
The wind howled and blew up, Xia Zhaoyi's broken hair was picked up, and her petite face was blown slightly pale by the wind.
She stood at a high point on the hillside, with a clear river behind her. Several dead birds fell and were swept downstream by the river.
Her eyes were calm and cold, crossing the sea of crazy and frightened people, and landed on the back figure on the high platform in the distance.
No one dared to step forward to help him, or the so-called escort. No matter how frightened and worried he was, they only dared to cry bitterly in front of His Majesty to show their loyalty.
After all, this is an emperor who can kill everyone in his family even if he has a heroic heart.
A chill ran down Xia Zhaoyi's spine. She still held the dagger in her hand, but she gripped the handle so tightly that it was trembling slightly.
She suddenly felt that these noisy and thunderous jackdaws in the sky were like a pair of eyes, staring at the world in a ridiculous way.
And she went away in the snow and came back in blood. It was a dagger held by fate. She wanted to use this dagger to recover a blood debt for Da Gan's Duke Dingguo's mansion.
However, she also knows why these jackdaws appear here. This is not fate, this is man-made.
In my ears I heard the loud cries of children, the screams of women, and the roars of men.
Some begged for mercy, some cursed, some wept and mourned.
Tens of thousands of people gathered around the altar praying for blessings from heaven, driven mad by deep despair.
Soldiers in the distance began to disperse the crowd, and several ministers and generals stood up.
Xia Zhaoyi saw Emperor Xuan Yan turn around, solemnly inserted the incense candle in his hand on the bronze tripod, and made a grand ceremony.
Everything under the round altar seemed to have nothing to do with him, so he bowed quietly.
Xia Zhaoyi looked calm and withdrew his gaze. He raised the dagger in his hand and cut off a thick wooden branch on the side of the road. He used the wooden branch as a staff and walked forward.
The last iron cage was opened, and the densely packed jackdaws rushed out and flew into the distance following the smell of raw meat.
In addition to the sacrifices on the circular mound, the fresh corpses are also tempting them.
The crowd had not dispersed yet, so not all the jackdaws had fallen down. In the distance, a general shouted angrily, ordering the soldiers to drive away the birds quickly.
Wave after wave of frightened jackdaws floated and screamed in the sky.
Several of his men shook off the dust and rust from their hands and looked back.
Luo Rui glanced at them and said to Li Xiao: "Master, all the birds have been released and gone."
The boy who was playing with the jade in his hand raised his head, put the jade away, and said calmly: "Well, let's go."
"What about these cages?"
The young man didn't even look back and said, "Throw it away."
