Chapter 554: The World of Demons (5K big chapter, please subscribe, please vote monthly)
China is in turmoil, wars are raging, the earth is sinking, and everything within a thousand miles is devastated.
During these troubled times, the population of young and middle-aged people decreased significantly. Most of them were recruited into the army by the great princes such as Liu Bei and Cao Cao who were vying for hegemony in the world. They stayed away from their homeland and threw themselves into the ruthless flames of war.
In towns and villages, there are many old, weak, women and children, who depend on each other and struggle to support themselves.
Zhao Yun looked at a village in front of him with smoke rising from the kitchen, turned around and said to Lin Yi beside him: "Brother Lin, we might as well find a place to stay in this village tonight and take a rest."
Zhao Yun patted the Red Rabbit Horse on his crotch. You must know that the two of them had been running for a day. After a long journey, the Red Rabbit Horse was already showing signs of fatigue.
Although the Red Rabbit Horse is known as a divine horse, with extremely fast speed and extraordinary endurance, it is still only flesh and blood and cannot be compared with the black shadow army summoned by Lin Yi.
Those shadow soldiers seemed to be tireless and could maintain the best fighting condition no matter day or night.
"How far are we from Cao Cao's territory now?" Lin Yi asked.
Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, and after some internal calculations, he replied: "I'm afraid it will take another day or two to arrive."
"Let's go into the village."
Zhao Yun held the reins of the red rabbit horse and walked slowly into the small village in front of him.
The village looked sparsely populated, with only a few children playing in the dirt on the streets.
Apart from these children, the remaining people in the village are mainly old people and women.
The old people sat around the threshold of their homes one by one, their eyes a little dull, and they didn't know what they were staring at. Maybe it was the war in the distance, or maybe it was the memories of the past.
"After years of war, these innocent people have suffered the most." Zhao Yun looked at the zombie-like villagers in front of him, and he couldn't help but feel compassion in his heart, and he couldn't help but sigh.
He looked around the village, and finally his eyes fell on a woman who was hurrying away with her child in her arms.
Zhao Yun walked forward quickly, politely stopped the woman's way, bowed to her, and asked gently: "Auntie, I would like to ask where the village chief is? I am passing by here, hoping to Find an expensive place to rest for the night." As he said this, he took out a few pennies from his pocket and handed them to the woman as a fee for asking for directions.
"Oh, you are so polite. The village chief is not here. He went out some time ago. He probably won't be back for a while. You can stay at Zhou Yuan's wife's house at the entrance of the village. His house is big and can definitely be accommodated. You." The woman responded enthusiastically to Zhao Yun, and at the same time took a few copper coins from Zhao Yun's hand.
She looked at the copper coins in her hand, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes, and then she thought of something: "By the way, my family is eating meat today, do you two want to come over and have a bite?"
"No, we'll come find you after we've settled in."
The woman nodded, pointed in the direction of the village entrance and said, "Okay, okay, my house is on the fifth house on the right side of the village entrance. If you want to eat meat, you can come here anytime." After saying that, she hugged the child in her arms and walked quickly. Go forward.
Lin Yi noticed that when the woman mentioned eating meat, a little drool could not help but flow from the corner of her mouth, and she could even vaguely see the drool dripping onto the baby's swaddling clothes.
However, during this period, the people lived in poverty, and there were not many days when they could eat meat.
This reaction of the woman did not arouse the suspicion of the two men.
Following the direction guided by the woman, Zhao Yun and Lin Yi arrived in front of Zhou Yuanwai's mansion.
The red door of the mansion is closed, but through the crack in the door you can see the magnificent courtyard and exquisite pavilions inside.
Zhao Yun stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker gently.
Soon, footsteps were heard from behind the door. The guard opened the door a crack and looked at the two people outside the door warily.
Zhao Yun politely raised his hand and said: "Hello, I am Zhao Yun, General Yamen under Liu Bei. I passed by this village today. Since it is getting late, I hope it will be convenient for me to stay here for one night."
Originally, the guard outside the committee didn't want to talk to Lin Yi and Zhao Yun, but after hearing Zhao Yun's origin, his expression changed.
You must know that these days, having money is not important, but having people in your hands is the most important.
"Sorry, I need to inform the owner of the house. Please wait here for a moment." After the guard said this, he hurriedly entered the house, apparently to report the arrival of Lin Yi and Zhao Yun to the owner.
Ten minutes later, a man who looked like a butler walked out of the house. He looked Zhao Yun up and down, and then asked respectfully: "May I ask, sir, are you General Zhao Zilong under Liu Bei?"
Zhao Yun was a little surprised when he heard that the housekeeper could call his name.
He nodded and said, "It's me. May I ask your Excellency who it is?"
The housekeeper smiled slightly and explained: "My husband is a relative of General Zhou Cangzhou. He has mentioned General Zhao's reputation many times in his letters in the past. Therefore, after my master learned of the arrival of the two of you, he specially ordered me to come out to greet you."
Upon hearing the word Zhou Cang, a look of understanding appeared on Zhao Yun's face.
Zhou Cang can also be regarded as a powerful general under Liu Bei. Zhou Cang was encountered by Guan Yu when he was riding alone for thousands of miles.
After hearing about Guan Yu's reputation, he went down the mountain alone, followed Guan Yu, and became Guan Yu's man.
Although he currently does not have any position in Liu Bei's military camp, not many people dare to underestimate Zhou Cang.
In terms of actual force value, Zhou Cang's force value should be in the top ten among Liu Bei's army at this moment.
"It turns out he is a relative of General Zhou. How disrespectful." Zhao Yun cupped his hands and said, the doubts in his heart dissipated because of this relationship, but a trace of sadness could not help but arise.
Zhao Yun also saw Zhou Cang in the military camp. When chasing the two of them, the guy who gave Lin Yi an ax was Zhou Cang.
"Okay, you two, please come in quickly. The master of the house has been waiting inside for a long time." The housekeeper smiled and guided the two people inside.
He turned around and motioned to the two guards behind him to come forward and lead Zhao Yun's red rabbit horse to the stable to settle down.
Walking through the door of the house, a small lotus pond comes into view. There are fields of lotus leaves on the water and dotted with lotus flowers, which looks particularly elegant.
In the center of the lotus pond, a small pavilion stands quietly. A few tall willow trees sway gently above the pavilion, adding a bit of movement to the quiet scenery.
Follow a winding path along the lotus pond, pass through several flower beds, and arrive at the entrance of the hall.
On both sides of the hall are the living room and dining room. There is a landscape painting hanging in the center of the hall. If you look closely, it is a painting depicting the Yellow Turban Army's rebellion.
In the distance is an inner courtyard with an atrium and east and west corridors. The east corridor is hung with several large locks and guarded by servants, because some precious playthings are stored there.
The most eye-catching thing in the yard is the large lotus pond.
There are more than a dozen rockeries arranged in an orderly manner in the pool, which complement the surrounding blooming peonies, peonies, crabapples, peach blossoms and morning glories.
These flowers bloom with the change of seasons, bringing endless vitality and color to the inner courtyard.
The tall prune trees beside the pool are full of fruits. The prunes are big and sweet, and the attractive fruity fragrance fills the air.
The surroundings are covered with colorful paper barriers, fluttering gently in the wind, like colorful ribbons.
A narrow path was left between the paper blocks, leading to the back door of the house.
For safety reasons, more than ten nursing homes were arranged to closely guard the place.
In this peaceful atmosphere, Lin Yi vaguely smelled the smell of blood.
Alarm bells suddenly sounded in his heart, and his vigilance was raised to the extreme.
"Butler, is there any happy event at home recently?"
"There is no happy event, but there is one good thing. The owner of the house recently painted a new painting, which was very popular with the owner. So the owner was happy, so he killed a few livestock and distributed some of the uneaten meat to the villagers below. It’s a feast for everyone.”
After hearing what Lin Yi said, the housekeeper smiled and explained to Lin Yi.
At this time, Lin Yi finally understood why the woman's meat came from just now.
In ancient times, eating meat was not an easy task.
Even a wealthy family cannot eat meat every day.
Except for certain days of each month, livestock are rarely slaughtered unless there are festive events at other times. After all, these are all paid for with real money.
Under the leadership of the housekeeper, the two came to a living room. In the living room, they saw a man dressed as a scholar painting in the living room.
When the housekeeper saw this, he did not come forward to disturb him. Zhao Yun and Lin Yi did not speak, but stood aside and waited quietly.
After about a quarter of an hour, the scholar finally finished his work. He gently put down the brush in his hand and stretched his body, which was slightly tired from painting for a long time.
The scholar looked up and saw the two of them, and asked Butler Sun: "Butler Sun, who are these two?"
Steward Sun replied respectfully: "Sir, these two are the comrades of General Zhou Cangzhou. They passed by our village and wanted to find a place to rest for a while."
After hearing this, the scholar smiled warmly and said, "Please take your seats quickly, Mr. Sun. Butler Sun, go and pour some tea."
"Yes, sir." Butler Sun retreated and quickly went to prepare tea. "Since you two are my cousin's colleagues, I wonder how my cousin is doing in the military camp now?"
"Everything is fine with General Zhou. He is moving with the army and there is nothing unusual at the moment." Zhao Yun did not tell the truth and told a white lie.
After hearing this, Zhou Yuanwai seemed to be relieved, and he said enthusiastically: "No news is the best news. If you two are not in a hurry, you might as well stay at my house for a few more days, so that I can have the opportunity to entertain you on my brother's behalf." Bit."
"No, no, Zilong still has military duties to attend to. He will be on his way immediately after resting tonight."
Zhao Yun declined Zhou Yuanwai's invitation. Now that the entire world's safety is tied to Lin Yi and Zhao Yun, how could Zhao Yun be interested in eating, drinking and having fun here.
"Since you two have important matters, I can't stay longer. Please have a good rest tonight. I will ask Butler Sun to take you to the guest room later." After Zhou Yuanwai finished speaking, he returned to the document and picked up the A brush, writing on the paper with concentration.
Lin Yi noticed that the paper Zhou Yuanwai was using was not ordinary rice paper.
Soon, Butler Sun led Lin Yi and Zhao Yun to a guest room that had been packed in advance.
The layout of the guest room is simple but elegant. The two beds are neat and comfortable, and several oil lamps emit soft light, adding a bit of warmth to the room.
Wardrobes, tables, chairs, benches and other furniture are all available. Although there are no luxurious decorations, they are enough to meet the basic needs of people traveling far away.
"Brother Lin, let's go to bed early tonight. We have to get up early tomorrow and go on the road." Zhao Yun said and began to prepare to take off his armor.
This armor had been carefully cleaned by him when he passed by the creek, but he could still smell the faint smell of blood.
"Don't rush on your way yet, I'm afraid there may be a problem in this village."
Zhao Yun's hand stopped in mid-air and looked at Lin Yi doubtfully, "What's wrong, Brother Lin?"
"Don't you think this village is too abnormal? Since we left the military camp, the villages we passed have been desolate and dilapidated, with corpses strewn in the fields. Even if there are people who survive, they will run away in fear when they see us. But the people in this village are not only not afraid of us "Isn't this all strange?"
After the two people left the military camp, they entered hell.
In the first village they passed by, there was a strong man who built a temple with the heads of more than 300 villagers in the village for passers-by to watch.
Now in the Central Plains, not only Liu Beijun is possessed by the devil, but also ordinary civilians in the villages are possessed by the devil.
Originally, Zhao Yun thought that this village was just lucky, but now it seems that there may be a bigger problem.
"Let's go and take a look inside the house of the woman we saw during the day."
"Um."
After hearing what Lin Yi said, Zhao Yun didn't say much, straightened his armor, and followed Lin Yi out of the guest room.
"Where are you two going?"
"We were walking around the village and stayed on the horse all day today. We wanted to take a walk to relax our muscles before going to bed." Zhao Yun made up an excuse casually.
As soon as the two of them went out, they happened to bump into Butler Sun holding a roll of skin in his hand.
That roll of skin looked particularly shocking in the dim candlelight.
"Steward Sun, what is this?" Lin Yi couldn't help but ask.
"Oh, this is our master's habit." Butler Sun explained, "The master loves painting, but ordinary paper cannot meet his needs. In order to preserve the paintings longer, he began to use animal skins to paint."
"Well, let's go."
After Butler Sun resigned, both Lin Yi and Zhao Yun fell into silence.
"You saw it."
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, that should be the skin of a young woman, and it was skinned not long ago." Lin Yi's eyesight is now extraordinary. Since he chose the skill of Master of Anatomy, He can accurately determine the age, characteristics and many other information of the skin owner with just one glance.
When Zhao Yun heard this, he held the gentian gun tightly in his hand, with a hint of trembling in his voice: "Sure enough, Brother Lin is right, this village has not been spared."
"Let's go, go out and take a look and you'll find out."
After leaving Zhou Yuanwai's mansion, the two met the children playing together again under the sunset.
I saw these children gathering together, seemingly playing with something on the ground.
Lin Yi and Zhao Yun approached, and a very horrifying scene came into their eyes.
The children actually had it in their hands.
"Brother? Do you two want to play?"
When a child raised his head, the black veins on his forehead were exposed and his eyes became red.
Lin Yi and Zhao Yun instantly understood that these children had become possessed.
"Brother, if you don't want to play, you can play."
Lin Yi was silent for a while and said with a smile.
"Brother Lin, I."
"I know, leave this to me."
Looking at Zhao Yun's hesitant expression, Lin Yi knew that the other party would definitely not make a move.
Lin Yi took out the black and white rose, and a few tiny strands of sword energy quietly flew out from the blade and injected into the bodies of the children silently.
The children were unaware and continued to play happily with the eyeballs in their hands.
"Let's go."
Lin Yi sighed and continued walking forward.
Zhao Yun shook his head slightly and followed Lin Yi.
Just a few seconds after the two left, the bodies of several children playing on the ground suddenly trembled.
Immediately, countless sword energy penetrated their bodies.
The bodies of several children instantly became tattered under the attack of sword energy.
One of the boys tried to stand up and continue playing the game, but the damage from the sword energy had cut off his heart.
He felt his life slipping away until his consciousness sank into darkness.
"Are they in pain?" Zhao Yun's voice was trembling.
"No." Lin Yi replied softly, "My sword energy directly cuts off their heart veins. They will only feel a black eye and will not experience too much pain."
"This damn world!" Zhao Yun angrily punched a willow tree on his right, causing the leaves to fall.
Doesn’t this damn God even spare children?
The two of them continued to walk forward. After taking a few steps, they discovered that the old man who was sitting at the door of the room was gone.
As they walked along the road, Lin Yi noticed that a large number of villagers gathered at the entrance of the village. The crowds were bustling and seemed to be fighting for something.
Lin Yi sniffed the smell in the air, and the smell of meat came to his nose.
The next second, Lin Yi's eyes turned cold.
If he heard it right,
"Zilong, prepare to fight out with me later."
"Understood."
Zhao Yun seemed to understand something after hearing Lin Yi's cold tone. He took out the gentian gun from behind and followed Lin Yi into the crowd.
Lin Yi and Zhao Yun saw the villagers' hands. Then the villagers sat next to the houses, eating and chatting. They seemed to be having a good time.
The woman I saw during the day was setting up a big pot, "Hey, two brothers are here to eat too? Come, come, one bowl per person, don't be polite. These animals are all owned by Zhou Yuanwai No, just give us a toothpaste." When the woman saw Lin Yi and Zhao Yun approaching, she greeted them warmly, filled a bowl of hot soup for each of them, and placed it in front of them.
Zhao Yun looked down and couldn't help but retched.
(End of chapter)