Chapter 152 What is the truth
After Zuo Chen returned to the village, the two demon kings had extinguished the flames on the big tree in the village, and then burned the big tree that had been contaminated with evil spirits. The roots were dug out and all the corpses hanging above were lowered.
The corpses of demon slayers hung on the outermost layer of the tree. When the tree fell, the corpses collided with each other and crackled, like "wind chimes" made of blood and flesh. There was the sound of bones knocking against each other.
As the big tree fell to the ground, smoke and dust flew everywhere, and the two skulls at the top of the tree crown also rolled to the ground, turning into a burst of flying ash and completely disappearing.
Both of them seemed to have their souls burned out.
The bodies of other people were also burned and distorted, and their specific shapes could not be seen.
According to what the old man said before, the village has hired three groups of demon slayers. The first time was just a nearby sheepherder. He had some skills, but not much. His limbs were cut off in one encounter and hung on the on the tree.
The second wave came in a slightly more formal manner, consisting of a few warriors running darts. However, their methods were also inferior and they were all burned to death.
The last group of wanderers came here to start a practice, trying to use the methods passed down by the ancestor to rectify this lunatic who had lost his mind.
The final result was the same. Their heads were cut off, their bodies were even broken into pieces, and their bodies could not be found.
After putting down the bodies of these people, Zhu Laoba used a hoe to throw away the tree and found four people lying inside the trunk.
Two men and two women, two old and two young, an elderly couple and a brother and sister, they should be the family Dong Yi mentioned.
After seeing this family of four, Hu Wen felt that Dong Yi's death was too easy.
After they arranged the corpses, Hu Wen rode out to inform the villagers.
When the old man among the villagers saw Hu Wen coming back on horseback, tears flowed down on the spot. The other villagers were the same. They hugged each other and cried. It didn’t look like they had returned to their hometown. Like going to a funeral.
When the bustling villagers returned to the village, this originally dead and silent place came to life again. The house that had not been away for long also welcomed its owner again.
After the old man put away his things, he did not linger in the room for long. He hurriedly found Zuo Chen and his party who were still in the village. At that time, he wanted to kneel down and bow down to express his gratitude, but Hu Wen stopped him. Come down.
When the old man saw the corpses lying on the ground, he was so frightened that his face turned pale.
"Hey, this is a crime! So many people died, and the Zhang family had done so many good things in their lives, but they were all stuffed into a tree trunk and burned alive. What a crime! What a crime. ! "
He grabbed his wrist and sighed repeatedly, not knowing whether to shed tears or curse the culprit like a living beast.
After Hu Wen thought about it for a while, he told the old man in front of him everything about Dong Qian.
After hearing this, the expression on the old man's face was also stiff:
"This? The thief turned out to be Dong Yi Dong Xiaozi? His parents always said that he was unwilling to leave his hometown, so he Wandering around in the village, I ended up wasting my talent. I really didn’t expect that things would turn out like this..." "Dong Yi didn’t tell anyone else in the village about this for so long?" Hu Wenqi said.
"...It seems that I haven't said it yet." The old man recalled for a long time: "Dong Yi talks little and is taciturn. If he doesn't say anything, we can't tell what's on his mind. He can't be idle. It’s not a big deal to go to his house and give his parents a beating.”
"Is it true that his parents were bewitched by people from Du Village and Wushi Village in their early years and became addicted to both gambling and drugs?"
"It is indeed true. But they both quit long ago. Ah." The old man nodded: "This is considered a shameful matter in the village. Their son is a talented man. How could the village elders let them harm their children so much? So they organized a meeting and invited several people who specialize in treating addiction. The old man spent a lot of money to help them change their ways. Later, after Dong Yi earned money from selling calligraphy and painting to pay off the famine, the old couple also saved it. They also said that they would go to the Zhang family to propose marriage next year... "
Hu Wen frowned as he listened to the old man's description.
The inner and outer meanings of these words are very contradictory to Dong Yi’s self-report.
Is it possible that Dong Yi lied at that time?
"The couple didn't imprison Dong Yi at that time?"
"How is it possible? People from our village still visit them from time to time. Dong Yi's child doesn't like to talk. If he is really He's tied up, you can tell at a glance. "
If Dong Yi had not been imprisoned, he would have run away if he had really encountered the things he described.
Strange!
Hu Wen felt that something was wrong both inside and outside of his words, but he really couldn’t figure out why.
Zuo Chen, who was listening to the whole process, frowned slightly after thinking for a moment, as if he thought of something.
After the old man sighed for a few words, he wanted to keep a group of people here to have a banquet.
As the great benefactor who saved the village, if he didn’t even invite him to the banquet, wouldn’t it make other nearby villages laugh if word spread?
However, Zuo Chen declined the invitation.
After learning that there is likely to be a corner of the sea of suffering in the north, we still have to get to the northern fortress as soon as possible.
On the road, you can slay demons and rectify some injustices. You can eat three meals a day normally, sit and chat, and have a banquet for the time being.
This kind of village banquet lasts three or four days, which is a bit of a waste of time.
I promised the old man that if I had another chance to come here next time, I would have a drink with him.
So, with a lot of gratitude from the people in the village, the group continued to move along the road, heading towards Shangbao City.
While walking on the road, Hu Wen was still thinking about what had just happened. His mind was full of mud and his thoughts were not very clear. Then he saw Zuo Chen kicking something in his palm, so he asked:
"Taoist Master, what do you think of what happened in the village just now?"
"You are referring to the contradictory words of the scholar named Dong Yi."
" Indeed." Hu Wen nodded: "Although people They are all dead, and it seems that there is no use in finding out the truth, but my thoughts are blocked in my heart, and I am really not happy. Taoist priest, you are very capable, can you see anything strange?"
"You? Put your hand over here.”
Zuo Chen did not directly answer Hu Wen's words, but turned his hand and took out a mud dumpling wrapped in flower petals.
Hu Wen was a little puzzled, but he still controlled the speed of the horse and let it walk side by side with Mr. Donkey. Then he stretched out his hand and touched Niwanzi under the signal from Zuo Chen's eyes.
The moment his fingers touched the clay balls, Hu Wen felt an unspeakable emotion rising in his heart.
All the malice, negativity, and dirty thoughts in his memory came out at once, filling his head almost in the blink of an eye.
He thought of how he broke his uncle's vase while playing around when he was a child. His uncle got angry and beat him severely, then threw him into a solitary room and locked him up for three days, starving him to death.
He thought that some big cities in Youzhou were being controlled by the Kyoto bureaucrats, and the people were being exploited, but they had no choice but to let them dominate.
He also thought of the soldiers on the front lines who turned pale when faced with the evil water, ran away in fear, and threw off their helmets and armor. They were like a bunch of spineless cowards who deserved to be executed!
These negative emotions were like waves, washing away his dam called reason, and when these emotions were about to burst, a breeze came to him, making his heart full of joy. flower.
Withdrawn his hand as if he was electrocuted.
Hu Wen was horrified, breathing heavily, and his face turned pale with fright.
"This... what is this?"
"This is the sea of suffering." Zuo Chen said: "How do you feel?"
"It's very bad." Hu Wen said honestly He said: "He magnified all the karma in my life. It was just a trivial matter, but it seemed to be added to the evil spirit."
When he broke the vase, he was indeed locked in a solitary room. But in the solitary room, he had constant meals every day. Even after he came out on the third day, his uncle personally apologized to him, saying that he was too impulsive at the time and shouldn't have been so cruel to him.
Not all bureaucrats from Kyoto are full of malicious intentions, some are still working seriously and pragmatically, and can be regarded as honest and good officials.
Finally, there was the soldier who was so frightened that he ran away.
There was only one recruit at that time. When he saw the terrifying monster, he was so frightened that he lost his soul and turned around and wanted to run away.
But the soldier died on the front line against the evil creature in the end.
The wound is on the front.
"What is sealed here is the sea of suffering, and it is also the culprit that made Dong Yi become like that." Zuo Chen said.
After hearing Zuo Chen's words, Hu Wen finally showed some clarity on his face.
I already have some guesses in my mind.
“Perhaps it is as Dong Yi said, his parents did not take the right path, and still squeezed him at all levels, and finally forced him to look like this, or maybe the old man just now was lying, the whole The whole village forced him to become a demon.
“Of course, it may also be because of the malice of this sea of suffering that all the good thoughts in his mind were wiped out, leaving only a madman who burned everyone in his thoughts. . "
Zuo Chen turned his hand and put away the Niwan: "But now everyone is dead, and even the three souls and seven souls are scattered. No one knows which kind. ”
"...But I do understand one thing."
"Huh?"
"If there was no so-called Buddha, then things in the village would not be like this."< br>
When Hu Wen said this, his expression became slightly gloomy:
“Some people are actively using the sea of suffering to cause chaos in the world.”
"I guess that monk is Zuo Changqing Smiling Buddha in Xiao Huan Xi," Cai Yi suddenly said: "Xiao Huan Xi is just like Wu Xiang Forget, they are not good people, and they are likely to go out to cause disasters. "
"But what are they trying to do?" Zhu Laoba scratched his head: "Is there anything wrong with letting the sea of suffering succeed? If the entire Central Continent is swallowed up, how can they survive?"
“Who knows?” Caiyi couldn’t figure it out either.
On the other hand, Zuo Chen, after hearing Zhu Laoba's words, fell into deep thought for a few seconds:
"After seeing this drop of suffering, I have a guess. Maybe it can be explained. their behavior.”
(End of this chapter)