The world spun, and the wind howled in the distance.
Sticks came down, hitting his head with a thud. His teeth were filled with the taste of rust. People surrounded him and dragged him away. Sticks, fists, and feet landed on him from time to time. He did not resist and only laughed.
Blood flowed out of his mouth, making him look especially miserable and ferocious as he staggered forward with ropes.
A group of people dragged him and headed towards the rugged terrain of the mountain ahead …
Along the way, the road was muddy and full of potholes. The stench of muddy water and filth wrapped around his body. In comparison, the beatings on his body seemed powerless. At this moment, pain and curses seemed powerless. He lowered his head, still laughing, and looked at the gaps in the footsteps of the large crowd.
Spring had arrived, and the mountains were gray. In the past six months, the hungry ghosts gathered here had cut down all the nearby trees, burned everything that could be burned, and eaten all the edible animals between the mountains and rivers. Everywhere they passed, there was a deathly silence.
He looked in this direction, and in his eyes, there was also a deathly stillness.
Spring of the 10th year of Wu Jianshuo, 12th of February.
My name is Wang Shitong.
This is where I belong …
…
The weather was cold and damp. The people in ragged clothes with knives and sticks in their hands grabbed their captives, cursing and beating them all the way up the mountain.
The mountain was covered with gravel, and the trees had long been cut down. It was not suitable for habitation. Therefore, looking around, there were no traces of hungry ghosts. Beyond this side, there was a dilapidated wooden house at the end of their field of vision. This was the furthest place where the hungry ghosts patrolled. In front of the house, a group of people was waiting. The four people at the front were either tall or short, and they were the leaders of the hungry ghosts. They were anxious, waiting for the crowd to drag Wang Shitong, whose head was covered in blood, to the open space in front of the house and throw him into a puddle.
Wang Shitong's head was submerged in the water. After a while, he suddenly rolled and knelt up. He coughed and spat out mud.
"How was it? Did anyone see him?" One of the leaders had already asked secretly. The minions answered, "Killed them all, killed them all … This Wang guy didn't dare to fight back, so we beat him up and tied him up …"
"He didn't fight back?"
"Yes, yes, yes …"
The leader's expression suddenly changed. He ordered his minions, "Look around." Then he pulled out his sword and kicked Wang Shitong, who had just stood up.
Wang Shitong fell to the ground, coughed twice, and laughed. "Ahem, what's wrong? Was Xiu State afraid? If you're afraid, then let me go … "
"Surnamed Wang, stop bluffing! Now that you've fallen into our hands, we're afraid of you … "The leader named Zang Xiuguo pointed his knife at him. Wang Shitong sat up from the ground, and Zang Xiuguo took half a step back. This action made Wang Shitong laugh again, and he looked around.
"Wu Ding, Chao Yuan, Uncle Da Yi, hehe … It's you guys."
"Screw you! You're playing tricks on us! " Hearing Wang Shitong's words, the leader named Wu Ding rushed over. He raised the stick in his hand and swung it at Wang Shitong. Wang Shitong's body rolled a few times on the ground and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He curled up his body. Wu Ding still wanted to rush over. Not far away, the old man wearing a white headscarf slammed the wooden stick in his hand on the ground. "Enough!"
Wu Ding spat out a mouthful of saliva and turned to leave. Wang Shitong curled up on the ground for a long time. His body twitched for a while, and then he gradually stopped moving. He looked at the grass that had just sprouted on the barren land in front of him, and was lost in thought. Until someone pulled him up, he looked around again. "Hehe."
He laughed, and then seemed to think of something. His expression turned gloomy. After a while, he said, "Since you've captured me, you've captured the others too, right?"
"Good that you know!" Wu Ding said as he waved his hand. Someone opened the door of the wooden house behind him. In the room, a woman in a thin shirt stood there, held up by a knife, and her body was trembling. This was Gao Qianyue, who had accompanied Wang Shitong for the entire winter. Wang Shitong turned his head to look at her, and Gao Qianyue looked back at Wang Shitong. The terrifying leader of the hungry ghosts was tied up, and his face was bruised and swollen. His body was covered in blood and mud, but at this moment, his gaze was calmer and warmer than ever.
"Brother Wang," the old man named Chen Dayi said.
"Hmm?"
"It was my idea to make a move on you …"
"I know, I know." Wang Shitong nodded and turned around. It was obvious that even though he was the leader of the hungry ghosts, he still respected and valued the old man in front of him.
"It was the Lady Zhenren's idea to get rid of you. You know that too, right?"
"… Ah, I know, I know …" Wang Shitong looked at Gao Qianyue, lost in thought for a moment, and then nodded. Wu Ding and the rest of the leaders were puzzled by his reaction. The old man's lips trembled.
"You know … why we did this?"
"I know." This time, Wang Shitong answered quickly. "… There's no other way."
Hearing this, the old man sat down on the wooden stump behind him. "This is not something you should say."
"There's no other way."
"This is not something you should say!" The old man clenched his wooden staff and suddenly stood up. His voice shook the surroundings. After a while, he pointed at Wang Shitong. "Brother Wang, this is not something you should say! You said there's a way out. You always say there's a way out! You told everyone … Brother Wang, you … you saved my life, you saved my family's life! "
"Xiao Yao is still dead."
"But you saved my family's life! My daughter's death is not your fault! Brother Wang, the Lady Zhenren is here, I never thought … I never thought of killing you … "
At this point, the expressions of Wu Ding and the others changed. "Old Man Chen!" The old man waved his hand. "All of you, shut up!"
His authority was obviously higher than the people around him. As soon as he finished speaking, people near the house started to draw their swords. The people were confronting each other. The old man ignored them and turned to look at Wang Shitong. "Brother Wang, the weather is getting warmer. You're smart, loyal, and responsible. If you really want to die, I can die in your place. I just want to ask you one thing … What's the next step? Say something. Don't be like before, hiding in a woman's nest without saying a word! The Lady Zhenren is here, the snow is going to be gone. Should we fight or surrender? "
"There's no other way." Wang Shitong looked at him calmly. There was even a smile on his face. The smile was calm and desperate. The surrounding air seemed to be suffocating. After a while, he said, "Last year, after I killed Brother Yan, I knew there's no other way … Brother Yan also said there's no other way. He couldn't go on, so I killed him. After I killed him, I knew that there's no other way …"
He laughed. There was a sobbing tone in his laughter. "Previously … in Zezhou, that Mister Ning advised me not to go south. He asked me to gather everyone in the Central Plains and fight one battle after another. In the end, only a batch of people could survive. He's … a devil, a beast. What right does he have to decide who can survive? We don't have the right! He's human! These were all human lives! How could he say such words … "
At this point, his roar had tears in it. "But what he said was right … We went south, burning and killing along the way. We killed and ate people along the way. In the end, there's no other way. This world doesn't give us any other way. Millions of people, what have they done wrong? "
Wang Shitong cried. It was the cry of a man in despair. He then took a deep breath and blinked, holding back his tears. "I killed everyone. Hehe, Uncle Chen … there's no other way. You … you should surrender to the Jurchens. Surrender. But even if you surrender, there's no other way …"
"If there's no other way, then kill your way out! Just like what you said before, we'll kill with you! As long as you say the word. "The old man's cane paused a few times. Wang Shitong shook his head.
"There's no other way out, Uncle Chen. I … I'm tired. "
On the other side, Wu Ding tilted his head back. The leader, Zang Xiuguo, licked his lips. At this moment, they finally understood the reason why everything went so smoothly. This ruthless and cruel Ghost King, who had led them for more than a decade, was so easy to subdue.
Only the old man stared at him for a long time. His body seemed to suddenly shrink by half a head. "So … what we, what they did, you know …"
"Hehe, a bunch of idiots."
"You don't want to live anymore …"
"…"
"But we all still want to live …"
Wang Shitong lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Go live …"
"You …" The old man walked over. He raised his cane and slammed it on Wang Shitong's head. Wang Shitong's body leaned to the side. The old man paused his cane and finally turned to leave. "I'll grant you your wish!"
"Elder Chen."
The old man turned around.
"Let me do it myself."
"Hehe, you …" The cold wind blew through the house and the mountains. The old man was furious. He then waved his cane again. His entourage rushed over and drew their knives to cut the rope for Wang Shitong. After that, the old man left with his men. Zang Xiuguo followed. Wu Ding and the leader named Wang Chaoyuan looked at each other and said, "I'll watch him die!"
Wang Chaoyuan twitched the corner of his mouth. "I'll leave half of them."
Wang Shitong no longer cared about the movements around him. He pulled off the rope and slowly walked towards the wooden house not far away. When his eyes turned to the surrounding mountains, the cold wind blew as usual every year. In the farthest mountains, there seemed to be new branches sprouting from the trees.
He no longer had any attachment to this world …
He walked in and hugged Gao Qianyue. But there was too much mud and blood on him. He then let go and took off his ragged outer clothes. The inner clothes were relatively dry, so he took them off and covered her.
"I'm sorry that it still came to this …" Wang Shitong said. "But it's okay. We're together. I'll be with you. Don't be afraid. It's okay …"
He pulled off the cloth that gagged Gao Qianyue's mouth. The woman's body was still trembling. Wang Shitong said, "It's okay, it's okay. It won't be cold in a while …" He walked to the corner of the house and pulled open a secret compartment. There was a bucket of pine oil in the secret compartment. Wang Shitong opened it and poured it into the room before pouring it on himself. But then, he was stunned.
Gao Qianyue ran out the door. Screams came from outside. He walked to the door and shouted for her to stop. There were many people outside the door. They surrounded the place and watched the Ghost King commit suicide. These people had been starving for a whole winter. When they saw Gao Qianyue run out of the house, some stopped her while others tried to pull her back. Gao Qianyue hugged herself and had nowhere to go.
"It's okay." In the room, Wang Shitong comforted her. "You … you're afraid of this. I'll … I'll send you away first. I'll come back to accompany you. Don't worry. It won't hurt. It won't hurt. Come in … "
There were tears on his face, but there was also a smile on his face. He opened his arms and spoke.
"Come back, Qianyue …"
At this moment, all the people outside were not in his eyes. There was only the crying, terrified woman in his eyes. That was the only thing that gave him light in this world.
"Come back …"
He cried.
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