As the saying goes, it is a blessing, not a curse, but a curse cannot be avoided.
The three of them were moving forward among the hills in this area. Just after noon, they saw smoke curling up from behind the hills ahead.
"There is no village here, right? The old man said it." Ling Huan stopped and did not dare to step forward.
"Even in the village...the cooking smoke is white. Why are these smoke columns so dark?"
While Han Zhang was thinking about it, Xie Zhe's face darkened. He stared at it for a long time, but couldn't explain it. So Han Zhang spoke for him:
"You want to say that this ghost thing looks abnormal, but it doesn't have any evil spirit, right? At least you can't feel it here."
"...Indeed. If you want to know more clearly, you have to get closer."
The two of them nodded in unison while talking. Ye Linghua stood there, his eyebrows twisted together.
"I feel that it's very bad there... Is this the so-called trace of the village? Maybe it's just a place where it burned down."
They could hear the hesitation in the girl's words. Han Chang just said that wildfire smoke is not like this.
He continued: "And it's not necessarily the so-called... ghost village. The terrain in this area is relatively open and the resources are quite abundant. It's normal for a few more households to be spread out."
"Then what is this smoke?"
Ling Huan asked. Xie Zhe honestly said it looked like traces of war.
"War? But it's so peaceful here..."
"Ah, it's just a wooden house or something like straw. When it burns, it produces this kind of black smoke." Hanshang explained.
"So since there is no evil spirit - is anyone in danger?"
At this moment, Ye Linghua was a little worried. He did not rule out this possibility, but neither Xie Zhe nor Han Zhang moved. They could not come to a conclusion that convinced each other. Linghua looked around for a while and saw
After seeing their reactions, he made up his mind and said:
"...Then, let's go and have a look."
Zhongli Hanzhang is indifferent, and Xie Zhe can be regarded as a good helper. Of course, it is most important to find out the situation first. You can't be suspicious all day long just because someone else said a few words. No matter who is really in danger,
To die without saving was obviously not his principle in life. So the three of them climbed towards the top of the hill. Ling Quan was the first to reach the top. The moment she saw something, she suddenly stopped and let out a short cry.
's exclamation.
"oops--"
Xie Zhe quickened his pace and came to her side immediately, followed by Han Shang. They soon understood what Miss Ye was marveling at.
Compared with "traces", this is obviously a ruin, a wreckage, something more real than that light and shallow thing. This is a real village! At least it once was... from a high place.
Looking from the flat bottom, there are at least forty or fifty households on this scale. But it has been destroyed, and there is almost no intact building. The black smoke also comes from some fire courtyards or stoves.
of.
It is not some kind of miraculous phantom, but a real village that has just experienced a catastrophe.
After a brief daze, Xie Zhe and Ye Linghua rushed down the hillside almost at the same time. Han Zhang reacted and followed closely behind.
Save people.
A part of his hand was exposed under a pile of collapsed timber. Xie Zhe tried his best to lift the heaviest wooden stake. But there were too many things, and his strength was like a fly shaking a tree. Ling Huan had no one to help him, so he lay down and looked inside.
people shout.
"Hello! Can you hear my voice? Hold on, let's..."
Ling Huan stretched out his hand and tried to hold the pale arm. The moment he held it, Ling Huan suddenly let out a shrill scream, which startled Xie Zhe. His hand lost strength and the wood smashed.
Go down.
Han Shang pulled Ling Yu back and helped her stand upright. She was frightened because when she held the hand, she felt "loose", as if it was independent of the body. Or rather, it was
It was independent of the body. Xie Zhe bent down and pulled out the amputated arm with a little force.
He was stunned for a moment and immediately threw away the severed hand.
"Alas -" Han Chang's lament was deliberately loud, "Thanks to you claiming to be an experienced Onmyoji, don't you think there's anything wrong?"
"I'm eager to save people. And I didn't find anything unusual about this village - at least there's no evil spirit. I guess it's possible that bandits robbed the village."
Xie Zhe honestly admitted his recklessness, and his point of view was indeed the most tenable. Han Chang was helpless. He put his hands on his hips and taught the two people in front of him who were in trouble as if scolding a junior.
.
"I rushed forward without any hesitation. It's really... don't you think it's strange that there's no sound at all here?"
That's right. Although this village doesn't know what happened, it is eerily quiet. There are no calls for help, only some vague burning sounds. All human sounds are not heard here at all, as if they can be rescued.
Everyone has been evacuated, leaving only a pile of hopeless corpses here.
"Don't be careless." Han Zhang said sternly, "Although there is no evil spirit here, it doesn't mean there is no danger! Besides, there are some things that you can't see at a glance. You are an expert, so forget about your own mistakes. Don't treat Miss Ye like that.
Take them into the ditch too."
Xie Zhe wanted to retort, but in the end he didn't open his mouth to speak. After all, what this guy said was good, but his elder-like scolding look was a bit dissatisfying. Thinking about it again, the old fox had lived for hundreds of years and had to be scolded.
Just accept the punishment. But this way, they were not so anxious. The three of them walked side by side on the not-so-wide street, looking around at the disabled people.
The broken scenery. Ye Lingquan was sandwiched between them. If he encountered someone who looked like... a dead person, he would use his body to block her so as not to scare the girl. Fortunately, Miss Ye's eyes were not very sharp, and her
His attention was mainly focused on the trees on both sides. The trees were also burnt and black, looking extremely desolate at a time when all their leaves had fallen.
What's even more desolate is that it's snowing.
The snow is so small that it melts and evaporates in the palm of your hand as soon as you reach out your hand. But when the white dots fall in threes and twos, it still makes people feel sad. I am afraid that the fierce fire has passed long ago, after all, what I saw along the way
The corpses were all black, and the most serious ones were almost charred, making it impossible for ordinary people to recognize them at a glance.
"well."
Ling Huan let out a sigh and exhaled a small cloud of white mist from his mouth.
"What could happen here?" Han Chang was also confused. "It doesn't look like a war. After all, there are no traces of weapons. But it doesn't look like a simple fire. Otherwise, how could the whole village..."
"But it doesn't seem to be a monster. Even if a long time has passed since the monsters were swept away, there should still be traces of witchcraft here. But so far, I don't see anything wrong. What about you?"
"I...haven't either. But you are probably like me, because you can't find a reasonable explanation, so you feel something is wrong. However, it's only to the extent that you feel something is wrong. There is too little information to deduce anything. The only thing we know and confirm is
It's... it's late. That's it."
"It's too late."
Ye Linghuan looked at Xie Zhe and then at Han Shang, showing undisguised worry.
"Are you really not searching carefully? What if, what if there are still people alive? If we fail to save them, it would be too..."
"We don't know if we can't save him." Han Chang smiled.
Xie Zhe didn't like this about him. This kind of cold black humor was too cruel, even cruel to the point where Miss Ye could only detect the surface and feel dissatisfied with it - such as Zhongli's personal ruthlessness. Going deeper.
, she was afraid that she would not expect it for a while, but both for the person and the event itself, it was too cold.
"Wait!" Ye Lingyu suddenly stopped and pointed forward, "Look! Is that there..."
Most of a house collapsed, and the jagged walls revealed a lone figure. Because it was a little far away, the figure seemed to be kneeling or sitting. They immediately ran forward and found that it was not an adult, but
It was a child. The child just stood here blankly, standing straight, but his eyes were dull. Even if the three of them approached, there was no reaction.
Is this a... girl? Or a boy? It's a bit difficult for them to tell. The appearance of the gender at this age often makes it difficult to tell at a glance. The child looks about ten years old, not older. It may also be malnourished.
, it is difficult to judge because he is not tall. The child's hair is cut neatly, and the sideburns are connected to the length of the back of the head, as if they were cut flat with a knife. The bangs are also neat.
, revealing a pair of confused eyes. It is this hairstyle that blurs gender, because regardless of boys or girls, many places give children this kind of hairstyle that is easy to take care of and looks very good. A long time ago, people felt that the body
My parents were unwilling to cut my hair because of my skin condition, but now there are not so many rules. No matter whether it is the upper class nobles or the common people, everyone no longer sticks to this troublesome tradition.
Then again, this kid... is actually still alive.
Ye Lingquan thought - or at least thought he was a boy. The gender of the child certainly did not affect what she did next. She immediately lifted up her clothes, stepped on the short wall and climbed over. Although the other two people had their thoughts
Concerned, Ye Linghuan hurriedly stepped forward. Ye Linghuan discovered that the child was indeed alive, but... he seemed to be frightened and just stood there. Linghuan squatted in front of him and grabbed him with both arms.
The child still had no reaction.
"Hey kid, wake up."
Han Chang gently shook the child's shoulder, but the child didn't respond much. But at least he knew that someone appeared by his side at this moment to rescue him from this predicament. The child's slender neck turned stiffly,
His gaze slowly moved from the distant sky to the face of the person in front of him. It seemed a little difficult for him to focus his gaze, but after a long struggle, his eyes finally reflected the shadow of Ye Lingyu.
The child's face is a little dirty, stained with a lot of dust, and the linen clothes are the same. However, his clothes are mainly dark red and dark blue, which are very old. He is thin and small, and besides the dust on his face, there are also
The fleshiness has not faded at this age. But this is due to age and has nothing to do with nutrition. I am afraid that if he gets older, he will become like most children from poor families, with sunken cheeks due to lack of food.
He looks very cute and pitiful.
The surrounding fire was about to spread, and the child was unaware of it. They had to take him away from here first.
