So a few people visited that town seriously. What the female onmyoji said was true, and they arrived at their destination at noon on the third day. It was indeed a lot more lively here, although it was not that big compared to many towns.
, but it is located on the edge of some large cities, bordering three areas, and appears to be busy and very prosperous.
They inquired a little while eating, and found that this place was not so lively before, but it has become noisy in recent days. Many outsiders came, and they were all asking about the evaporated town. In fact, the reason why this matter spread was because
It's not special there
Don't be remote, and the result... is not silent. The fire burned for too long, and at night, you could see the red fire soaring into the sky from a long distance away. Some people even said that the fire was
Coming from hell is the punishment of Yama for unclean things.
"However, you should stop asking the locals." The waiter said while serving the dishes, "I am patient and love to chatter, and most people would have left with a sullen expression. We have been asked here and there these days, which is annoying.
It’s so annoying, but not everyone knows it?
The current discussions about that village are all spread by outsiders. The most outrageous thing is that some people say that the village did not actually exist at all, but it was just an illusion. It is all an illusion... Anyway, I have never been there.
I can’t explain why.”
"I see, thank you so much." Han Chang took the dish from his hand, found a place to place it, and said, "Thankfully we met you first, otherwise we would have been in trouble. These rumors are indeed outrageous, but
...Where can I find out more? Rumors are fine, just take it as a joke."
"Going east, across four streets, there is a wine shop. It is very close to the inn, and many magicians from other places gather there. But as to whether it is trustworthy or not... it is their guess. Whether it is true or false, they can decide for themselves.
"
After thanking the waiter, they finished their meal and headed east. On the way, they also chatted a few words about this. Obviously, what the female onmyoji said was right, and according to the locals,
The accuracy of this information today...
"Although it's all their imagination, I think it's probably the same."
Han Zhang thought this way, and Xie Zhe also agreed: "It is understandable that the locals are annoyed by the harassment. And those who can be attracted by the strange news here should also have some real talent and learning, just like that
Just like a girl... maybe we can still gain something."
"It would be great if we could directly find the people who escaped from the village and ask directly what happened!"
Xie Zhe shook his head and said: "Although this is the most effective, it's better not to expose their scars."
"And we probably won't be able to find those refugees now," Hanshang added.
They had not reached their destination yet and were discussing when they suddenly noticed a commotion in front of them. It seemed that a group of people were holding sticks and beating a certain person. The person who beat the person was not holding sticks, but brooms and rolling pins.
, looking at their attire, they might be a group of hotel waiters. The person who was beaten didn't scream, either because he was too weak, or he was simply mute.
How could the three of them just sit back and do nothing? They hurriedly ran forward. Xie Zhe and Han Zhang separated a few of the fiercely beaten ones, and asked Wenying to sneak in and drag them away. As soon as the three of them got mixed up, the five or six people dispersed.
Open a little more. One of them, a fat bald man wearing an apron and holding a large spatula, said angrily:
"What are you doing? Don't mind your own business!"
Han Zhang laughed and asked: "Ha! We are just seeing injustice on the road. It's obvious that you are bullying the younger ones by bullying them, right?"
"Don't mind businessmen's business!" the man holding the feather duster said, "I don't know how much this bastard stole from us, but he helped these thieves instead. How are you different from robbers?!"
"Is it possible that you will pay for the damage to our restaurant?!" another person said.
The person Wen Ying helped up was a drunken man. He had many wounds on his body, both old and new. Some of the red bruises were probably from the beatings just now. There were yellow and black teeth in his half-open mouth.
, there are still two missing, and I don’t know if they were aborted when. But he didn’t scream at all.
Wenying pulled him like a big bag of flour. She was stunned for a long time and refused to move. The most important thing was the smell of alcohol coming from his body. The smell was so irritating that Wenying couldn't open her eyes, and the drunkard himself didn't even notice.
Unconsciously, he didn't seem to know who was saving him, and he couldn't even react when he was beaten.
"No matter what, you should not use force." Xie Zhe said sternly, "Even if it is for your own sake, think about it. If someone loses his life, how should you explain it to the Yamen?"
"Yamen?" The man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks holding a pole sneered, "The yamen doesn't care about this kind of refugee, and he doesn't have the family to file a lawsuit in court for him. This kind of person will never change unless he is taught a lesson.
Yes! No - even if you beat him to death, you won't be able to restrain yourself at all. It's better to say that this trash should die early so that the people in the town can feel at ease!"
His words were so unpleasant that the three of them all frowned in unison. However, they soon discovered that the expressions of the townspeople who had gathered around to watch were not friendly. Moreover, this kind of hostile emotion did not seem to be directed at them.
Not a perpetrator, but... these three people who lend a helping hand to the victims.
Could it be that what those guys said was true? The Yamen really wouldn't care, and he was indeed a recidivist criminal? No, Xie Zhe shook his head secretly. Even so, he would never allow this to happen.
.In terms of behavior, whether there is anyone to supervise it or not, their blatant disregard for the law and disregard for human life should be condemned.
But how to stop them? Xiao Zhi's reasoning and emotions didn't seem to be effective. Just when Xie Zhe was at a loss, Han Zhang suddenly pulled out the long sword from the scabbard. His movements were too fast and his momentum was too cruel.
, no one noticed
It was the hilt of a dagger, and all eyes were taken away by the shining blade. These people were frightened, and they took a few steps back, still dissatisfied. But no matter what, it was really different from these people in the world.
Using knives and guns is not a good thing either.
There happened to be some unscrupulous people. A tall young man with tendons all over his body. He was holding a long stick in his hand. He didn’t know whether he wanted to scare Han Shang or he really refused to admit defeat. He picked up the long stick and stepped forward to test it.
, Han Zhang just waved his hand slightly, and people saw the shadow of the sword lightly passing over the long stick, as if it passed directly over the entity. After a blink of an eye, the front part of the stick fell to the ground, and rolled a few times.
Circle, the cuts are very neat.
"Aren't you afraid that your neck will become like this?" Han Zhang said with a smile.
There was a fat man who seemed to want to argue, and a ball of red flame suddenly ignited on Hanshang's fingertips. He made sure that his body blocked the sight of the onlookers and only scared the people in front of him. The fat man was startled, and the others also
He retreated continuously. The fire on Han Zhang's fingertips burned even more strangely, and several people were in a hurry.
The ground fled, and two or three guys who were about to eat fell on the scene. The people dispersed, leaving only the four who were beaten, including the ones who were beaten. Han Sheng put away his sword and helped with strength, and then he reluctantly and Wenying set up the fight
Drunk. The smell on his body was still too strong, and Xie Zhe almost held his breath before he dared to approach.
"Let's find a hotel first..." Han Chang's expression was not good, "Just leaving it here is not an option."
Wenying muttered, "Are we—are we really meddling in other people's business?"
"Don't say that." Han Chang stopped her and asked Xie Zhe, "Can you give me an idea?"
"In this case, it will be too late to go to the wine shop over there. We can't really throw him into a shop. We have also seen that the locals really don't like him. Who knows what else will happen... But,
Did they just say refugees? I have a guess, could it be that he——"
"I'm afraid he is the one who escaped from that village." Han Chang said firmly, "I just used fire to scare them, and their fear of monsters is more exaggerated than ordinary people. But we can't find a place to live, so we have to take him to no one
place to go.”
They all agreed, so they pulled the drunkard to an unused shed nearby. The shed was overgrown with weeds, and there was a hole in the roof, allowing weak sunlight to leak in. No one would come here, so I asked Yingying to help the drunkard out.
Find some
Water and food would be convenient for him to relieve his hangover when he was sober. Han Zhang was quick on his feet and decided to go to the wine shop mentioned by the waiter to find out information about the village and the drunkard before the news spread. Xie Zhe stayed and watched.
Him to avoid any accidents.
Wenying was the first to come back, and there was no food nearby. They knew she was helping the drunkard and refused to sell it to her. She could only bring back some water. The drunkard fell asleep, and the two of them waited for Hanbo to drink wine together.
Until dusk, there was no news. The stomachs of the two of them were growling, and the drunkard's snoring was indeed louder, but only intermittently, as if he was going to die at some point.
Before it got dark, Han Chang finally came back and bought pancakes from a few streets away. The two of them started to eat on the spot while drinking water. Han Chang briefly told them what he had learned.
"That's where this guy came from. He was very depressed when he came here." He glanced at the drunkard who was still snoring, and his sharp fox nose felt that the smell on his body was not diminished. Hanshang shook his head and continued: "I came with him.
There are quite a lot of people. When they came, they couldn't do much work, their attention was very distracted, and they didn't have any bright ideas. People who had contact with their village said that they were not like this in the past, they were just ordinary people.
I don’t know
Why did they end up like this? But needless to say, it was naturally the work of monsters. The temple in the town performed an exorcism ceremony for them to remove the remaining filth. But this filth did not seem to be caused by monsters, but themselves - theirs.
Their health is already very poor, and now they have no ability to take care of themselves. Most people in the town still think they are unclean, so they drive them away. This guy... actually stays here shamelessly and makes a living by robbing people of food."
Wenying pinched the tip of her nose, as if she wasn't used to the smell yet.
"Where did he get the money to drink? So, did he really steal it? Hey, he really wasn't wronged!"
"That's almost enough." Han Chang stopped her again. He knew that his sister was still not used to the rules of the world. He was not used to it and didn't like it in the past, but after following Xie Zhe for so long, he became a little self-conscious.
Xie Zhe didn't say anything. He held the cake in his hand and was thinking about something. After a while, he said:
"I feel like... they seemed to have had something taken away from them. It was probably a state of being distracted and lost, right? I haven't seen it, and I can't say for sure, but this person is so dependent on alcohol.
, he did not hesitate to receive so many beatings, there must be a reason. He may have replaced one kind of dependence with another."
Wenying didn't know how he saw it, but Han Sheng seemed to have figured it out. Before the two of them could say anything, the drunk man sniffed, as if a dog had smelled meat in a dream. He opened his eyes with a "pop" and looked straight at
It fell directly on the cake in the hand of the nearest Xie Zhe.
