After dawn, Wangnan, who used to live and work in peace and contentment, was in devastation.
A large number of houses were burned down in the turmoil last night, and even the government office, which symbolized order and rules, was reduced to ashes and no longer existed.
The old soldier was not on duty at night, and the soldiers sent from the government office took over the tower last night, so he, the "old guard dog" who could only bark twice, escaped disaster.
Speaking of which, last night was really thrilling. The veteran took his two grandchildren and hid under the bed, next to his rusty knife.
The zombie knocked on the door several times, but finally failed to open it and left before dawn.
Although the sun was shining through the window at this time, the veteran still hid under the bed with his two grandsons in his arms, not daring to move.
Although the grandchildren were scared, they still couldn't resist their sleepiness and were sleeping soundly at this time, while the veteran's eyes were like fire, ready to fight at any time.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
There was a knock on the door outside.
"Who?"
The veteran could only see shadows coming from the cracks in the door and the utility room, but could not see the specific appearance. He did not know whether the person coming was a human or a ghost.
"It's me."
A tired voice came from outside, "Old He."
"Old He? Didn't you run away the day before yesterday?" the veteran asked doubtfully.
"Why are you running? Aren't you afraid of being beheaded?"
Lao He sighed outside, "And there are no zombies anywhere now? I heard that the ones outside are more ferocious. At least there is a Taoist priest from Maoshan guarding here, which is better than outside."
"Then you came to call me?"
"Of course I'm telling you to go to work, otherwise I'd like to have tea with you?" Lao He muttered.
Yes, now is the time to watch.
Even in the storms and during the New Year and holidays, veterans have never missed a day in the past years - in order to receive perfect attendance subsidies.
"Coming."
The veteran put his two grandsons on the bed, covered them with thick quilts, picked up the knife and went out.
Although he responded crisply and neatly, he still kept a vigilant distance from Lao He as soon as he went out.
Lao He smiled bitterly, "No, you can't even guard me?"
"It's not that I don't believe you."
The veteran said: "You know that I have always regarded you as my brother who has died. Even if you didn't notify me when you ran away, and you made me take the blame the year before last, I still regard you as my brother.
But zombies are really strange, weird things.
A person who was fine at first will become extremely powerful when he gets up and bite others, even flesh and blood relatives.
The old lady next door to me has spent her whole life chanting sutras and fasting, and has not even trampled an ant to death. Then she suddenly turned into a monster last night. I saw through the window that her face was covered with the flesh and blood of someone. It really scared me to death. . ”
The veteran was still frightened, and when he thought of that scene, his clothes got wet again.
Lao He chuckled sheepishly and helped his big belly.
"Which zombie is as fat as me?"
"That too."
The veteran patted his belly and said as usual, "Let's go. I heard the sound of banging on the city gate last night. I don't know what happened to the city tower?"
"Hey, half collapsed."
Lao He couldn't help but sigh, "Even when there were earthquakes, floods, and when the Chinese were bombarded with cannons, the stone wall remained motionless, but now it has been destroyed by zombies."
When the veteran heard this, he was just silent. Somehow, he felt that something was missing in his heart.
When he saw the tragic state of the city wall, he became even more silent. The place where he once stood on guard had been blackened by the flames, and there was a hole in the city tower, as if someone had broken a front tooth.
The veteran regards this city tower as his home and destination. He always feels that after his death, he will be buried under the city wall and become a part of this silent stone wall.
In countless dreams, he dreamed that he had become a part of this stone wall, but he was not afraid or nervous, just silent and relieved.
Now, the stone wall collapsed in front of him, and the veteran's spirit also dropped by half. He suddenly felt that he was old.
"It will be built eventually." Lao He comforted him.
"When the time comes, do we still need to guard this gatehouse?" the veteran suddenly asked.
Lao He paused for a moment, then seemed to have heard something funny, and couldn't help laughing: "Since ancient times, there have only been city towers that were captured by ladders, but the city wall has not collapsed. Even the French cannons cannot penetrate it.
Are foreign guns and artillery advanced enough? Still can't do anything about it.
Believe me, this city wall will be rebuilt in just a year and a half, and then you and I will have to stand on it, one on each side, pulling on the heavy iron chain to open the door.
We can guard this wall until we are buried. ”
He was full of hope, even though this was a job that would never change in sight.
But for Lao He, no change is the best thing.
"Really?"
The veteran did not agree with his optimism, but he had no intention of discussing or arguing with him.
At this time, they walked to the city wall, and the Taoist interpreter was instructing everyone to use horses and other things to block the gap in the city wall.
Among the busy people there were surviving soldiers and local residents, and everyone's face was full of nervousness.
However, the interpreter was wearing a Taoist robe and carrying a sword on his back, which really made people feel at ease. Especially last night, after hearing that he had wiped out all the zombies, people became more and more convinced of him.
The veteran saw the young "couple" who had entered the city yesterday standing next to the interpreter.
Of course he was deceived by the two men and failed to prevent them from entering the city.
However, the veteran didn't think that these two people could call back the disaster that destroyed most of the town. After all, that was really not something that humans could do.
This is not the original intention of those two people, or can it be said that these two people are actually some kind of huge typhoon. Even if they don't want to do anything, as long as they pass through, they will inevitably destroy everything?
These two people are not the ones who call disaster, but they are the ones who bring disaster.
But it doesn't matter what the veteran thinks, because he is just a veteran who relies on his salary to support himself and his two grandchildren. Others can call him when they are happy. If they are unhappy, they can just not look at him at all. .
Because he is an irrelevant person.
So much so that Ma Xiaoyu and Yin Xiu didn't notice him at this time.
The interpreter looked a little ashamed, "Obviously the zombie king and those zombies were eliminated by two people, but in the end, they were all blamed on Pindao. By doing this, wouldn't Pindao be deceiving the world and stealing his reputation?"
"You are the only one who looks like a Taoist priest. If the two of us came out to identify ourselves, no one would believe us."
Yin Xiu smiled, not caring who got the credit.
Because the interpreter is different from the two of them.
The two of them were going to continue to the depths of Jiaozhi, to the Thousand Buddhas Temple.
The interpreter wants to stay here to protect the people in Wangnan and at the same time take in the refugees who come from elsewhere.
With almost all the local officials dead, the current local officials have humble positions and little ability and courage, so they can only place their hopes on this Taoist priest from Maoshan.
In this case, the higher the reputation of the interpreter, the more trust the local people will have. Relying on him is absolutely beneficial at the moment.
Compared with finding Liu Banxian and Ren Qi, the gratitude and admiration of the local people are just in name only.
And as long as there is a friend who is the interpreter, they can't use the local resources now. In this case, these false names will become even more empty.
The so-called reputation only materializes and becomes effective when it appears on a specific person.
Yin Xiu handed a Five Emperors Coin to Jieyu Shi, "This is a token of the Maoshan Sect in Hong Kong. If you come to Kyushu someday in the future, remember to come to us."
"Definitely."
The interpreter put the Five Emperors Coin close to his body. After a pause, he still hesitated and said: "So, are you still going to pursue that drought demon?"
He believed that he did not have that kind of ability. From the beginning to the end, the interpreter was just an ordinary Taoist priest. He had no chance to follow the path of immortality in his life, and was destined to never be famous in Taoism. He knew his own limitations, so he only did his best within a limited range, and because of this, he admired Yin Xiu and Ma Xiaoyu even more.
"Not really."
Yin Xiu touched his face, "Maybe it's the drought demon chasing us. If we continue to go deeper into the south of Jiaozhi, we will always encounter it somewhere."
"That's a dangerous guy."
The interpreter frowned, "Although Pindao has never seen it, and has never even received a few words of news, I always have this feeling.
It seems that it is not just for sucking blood and venting endless hatred, it may have other purposes. ”
"Yeah."
Ma Xiaoyu nodded, "I read a sentence in my notes, saying that Hanba did not become Hanba because he was strong."
"What's that for?" Yin Xiu asked suddenly.
"How do I know this?"
Ma Xiaoyu spread her hands, "You know this kind of notes are always vague.
Maybe Drought Demon is a demonic infant that appeared during a certain cloudy time, or maybe it was cultivated by a powerful being from the beginning? ”
"How terrifying is that existence?" The interpreter felt frightened.
"This has nothing to do with you."
Although Yin Xiu's words were slightly harsh, it was also to dissuade the interpreter from doing his best.
After all, in this battle, the power of the Interpreter was really far behind the two of them.
Everyone has things they cannot do.
"We have to go." Ma Xiaoyu reminded softly.
The interpreter did not hesitate, and said goodbye to the two of them with his sword skills: "The green mountains will always be there, and the green water will always flow. I wish you both a smooth trip, success in slaying the devil, and a good name in Tao Mountain!"
"See you later." Yin Xiu just smiled.
"See you later."
Ma Xiaoyu and Yin Xiu got on the horse together, kicked the horse in the belly, and the two camels left quickly.
After watching the two people leave, the interpreter rubbed his red eyes and continued to direct: "Block that place as well."
At this time, the hawker who was selling duck eggs and maltose on the street cautiously came up and bowed his head when he saw the interpreter.
The interpreter had no good impression of him and just said coldly: "What are you doing here?"
"The common people are trying their best to donate those maltose and duck eggs to deal with zombies."
"Deal with zombies?"
The interpreter touched his chin and said, "That's okay. You can boil the duck eggs and share them with everyone."
……
At night, looking south, there is no wind, and the heat is overwhelming.
Behind the city wall, countless fire tornadoes ignited the night sky and scorched the earth, knocking down and burning houses one after another.
Two days after Yin Xiu and the others left Wangnan, the heavily guarded military town of Wangnan, which had gathered many refugees, fell into a sea of fire.
The general in full armor stood on the half-collapsed tower. The armor reflected the shape of the flames, and combined with the dark color, it looked like flaming clouds.
He is the Emperor Chongluo, the drought demon who caused the drought in Jiaozhi and southern Xinjiang.
He stood there, watching the zombies turn Wangnan into a dead city.
At first, there were wailings, cries, and nervous shouts from the army, but in the end, only the low moans of zombies and the screams of houses being burned by the flames were left.
In less than an hour, almost no one was alive in Wangnan.
Veterans and counselors stood guard in front of the ancestral hall. Inside the ancestral hall were the remaining residents, all of whom were women and children.
In front of them, there is an endless group of zombies. It seems that for some reason, they are staying here and not moving forward.
"Uncle, I didn't expect you to be good at dealing with zombies." The interpreter smiled.
The veteran wiped the blood on the knife, which included the blood from the zombies and his own. The blood spots near the handle of the knife belonged to Lao He.
"It's just a little killing technique, it doesn't help much."
The veteran tied the handle of the knife with his hand with a piece of cloth, "What a pity."
"What's a pity?"
The veteran lamented: "I originally wanted to see my grandson grow up and get a wife. One of them is smarter and may be able to take the imperial examination in the future. The other one is in good health and may become the top scholar in martial arts."
The interpreter just smiled and did not tell the veteran that there was no longer any imperial examination.
However, the veteran changed his subject, "But just last night, I thought it would be good for them to become Taoist priests. By the way, can Taoist priests marry wives?"
"Of course."
The interpreter laughed loudly, "We are not monks, even if we are monks, we have a few good friends outside."
"Then I'll be relieved." The veteran finally laughed heartily.
Emperor Zhongluo walked out from the zombie group, his eyes swept over the veteran and the conciliator, sending chills down their bodies.
"I'm looking for a Taoist priest, but it doesn't seem to be you."
Emperor Zhongluo's voice was low and full of intimidation, "You don't have that ability."
"Of course I know I don't have that ability."
The interpreter was neither humble nor arrogant, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you bring such trouble to Wangnan."
"Is this bastard doing all these good deeds?" the veteran suddenly asked.
The interpreter glanced at him and nodded heavily.
"Then I understand."
The veteran looked back at him, "I took the first step."
The cold blade flashed, and the veteran raised his sword and charged towards Emperor Zhongluo.
Emperor Zhongluo glanced at him. After a few dozen steps, the veteran's body exploded and turned into a pool of blood.
The interpreter immediately stepped forward, opened his sleeves, and threw a dozen talisman papers at Emperor Zhongluo, while thrusting out the sword in his hand.
Dozens of talismans burned in the air and turned into ashes before they reached Emperor Zhongluo.
In the light of the fire, the interpreter stabbed Emperor Zhongluo in the throat with his sword.
Before he could reach him either, the sword broke. The interpreter spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt down heavily.
"Tell me where the Taoist priest went, and I will spare your life."
The interpreter was sweating profusely on his forehead and did not respond.
"I'm in a good mood today. Tell me the Taoist priest's whereabouts. I'll spare the lives of those people in the ancestral hall. Isn't it just to save those people that you fight so hard? Now you have saved them." The emperor said Luo said.
The interpreter looked back at the panicked faces in the ancestral hall, desperately covering their mouths. He felt like a knife was cutting into his heart, and tears could not help but fall from his eyes.
He stood up slowly and said in a trembling voice: "I, a Taoist priest, never negotiate terms with monsters and monsters."
Emperor Zhongluo didn't say anything. He turned his palm and the interpreter's head fell to the ground.
Then, without looking at the ancestral hall, he slowly flew up and disappeared into the night.
Behind him, countless zombies rushed towards the ancestral hall, scrambling for the first place, like a black wave. (End of chapter)