Under the curtain of night, a carriage drove out of the city gate and went far away to the suburbs.
There was a large river flowing outside Yiyang City. It was an official road from the south to the north, with dense forests on both sides and rivers flowing around it. In the past, rich families often built courtyards in the suburbs, occupying the stream and using it as a place to cool off in June. Some families moved away, and the courtyards were left empty. As the years passed, they became more and more dilapidated and became the habitat of refugees and beggars.
The carriage crossed a forest and went deep into the forest. Occasionally, the fluttering of birds could be heard. The moon in the sky was so dim that it could not be seen, but there was a fire ahead.
"Ha —" The coachman stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard. Immediately, two people came forward with torches to illuminate the place. They were two well-dressed young men with upright faces. Two men jumped out of the carriage one after another. One was tall and thin, and the other had a scar on his face.
"Senior Brother, you're back. Master is angry. Why haven't you got the people yet?"
"They're in the carriage. I'm going to see Master. You guys get them in."
The scar-faced man ordered and hurried into the courtyard. A young man holding a torch opened the curtain of the carriage and saw three people lying inside. He could not help but ask the tall and thin man curiously,
"Didn't Master ask you to find the children of the Water Dragon Sunrise? Why did you bring back three?"
"Don't mention it. I wasn't careful. I was seen when I took them, so I brought them back. Anyway, they're all boys. Looking at their shabby clothes, I can tell that they're still children. If the Taoist Priest made a mistake and killed one or two of those children, they can still count, right? "
"Humph, Master takes this religious ceremony very seriously. If you let him hear this, even ten lives won't be enough."
"Hey, don't be angry, little master. I just said it casually. How can a powerful person like the Taoist Priest make a mistake? Didn't he say that he's waiting inside? Let's go in quickly."
They fished out Yu Shu, Yu Xiaoxiu, and Xue Wenzhe from the carriage and carried them into the dilapidated courtyard.
***
Smelling an unpleasant stench, Yu Shu's nose twitched, and she slowly woke up from her coma. Instantly, the dull pain from the back of her neck froze her body. She didn't move recklessly, but opened her eyes a little, and looked at the environment she was in at the moment.
It was very dark, and the only light came from the opposite window. This was enough for Yu Shu to see what was going on, and her heart sank.
More than a dozen people were lying on the ground in this dark room. They seemed to be unconscious, and judging from their figures, they seemed to be children. The door was closed, and an unpleasant smell of urine and feces filled the air. Obviously, these people had been locked up for more than a day or two, and they were not treated well by the other party.
She suddenly remembered that a few days ago of Cao Zixin had mentioned that a lot of boys went missing in Yiyang City. They were about her age. It seemed that she had run into of human traffickers.
She turned her head and saw Yu Xiaoxiu lying next to her legs. She reached out to touch his warm neck and calmed down a bit. Only then did she perk up her ears to listen for any movements outside.
There was a voice outside the door. It was clear in the quiet night.
"… Sigh, it's another night. How long do we have to stay in this broken place?"
"Didn't they say that they got the Water Dragon Boy? They are preparing to open the altar for the ritual. Maybe tomorrow we can go to the capital to eat and drink together. Haha."
"Hey, what do you think is the origin of that sword that Master wants us to snatch? I see that there isn't even a blade on the body of the sword. Are we really going to take that thing to celebrate his birthday?"
"Shh, you don't know what's good for you. I heard from Brother Feng that the sword is called Chun something. It's an ancient sword with thousands of years of history. Because it has been hidden for so long, it has lost its spirituality, which is why it looks so ordinary. That's why Master put in so much effort to resharpen the sword. If it really succeeds, that sword will be priceless. Even if you have money, you won't be able to exchange for it.
"So powerful …"
Yu Shu heard about fifty to sixty percent of their conversation. She was perturbed. These people were not human traffickers. It seemed that they didn't catch people to sell them, but to use them on the spot. What's more, they did it tonight. They didn't even give people a chance to escape.
The Water Dragon Boy must be the Master Xue. By the way, where is that guy?
Yu Shu looked around the room again. After confirming that Xue Wenzhe was not found, she turned over and lay on the ground. She approached the window at the back quietly. She knelt up and touched the paper of the window. She poked a hole in the window and looked outside. It was terrible!
What were they doing?
The trees in the backyard were all cut down. Several men were standing under the eaves with torches. There was an offering table in the middle of the yard. It was full of fresh fruits, incense burners and candles. A man in a gray Taoist robe was standing with his back to her. He was holding a peach wood long sword in his hand. He was murmuring to burn talismans and put them into the bowl. Suddenly, he turned around and showed a middle-aged face. His eyes were sunken and very gloomy. Yu Shu was so scared that she shrank her head. She thought she was discovered by him.
Yu Shu was too shocked. The middle-aged Taoist didn't find her. He turned around and dipped the sticky blood in the bowl with a wooden sword. Then he drew an array on a flat open space behind him.
"Go and pick seven people."
"Yes, Master."
This order was clearly heard by Yu Shu. She didn't know whether the seven people the Taoist wanted to pick were dead or alive, but she was sure that it was not a good thing.
Glancing at Yu Xiaoxiu, who was lying at the entrance of the door, she thought for a moment and quickly went back to his side, trying to pull him inside so that he wouldn't be taken away by someone who entered the door first. However, she couldn't move him even after dragging him twice. Afraid that he would make too much noise, she could only cover his mouth with one hand and pinch his philtrum with the other. She hurriedly whispered into his ear,
"Xiaoxiu, Xiaoxiu, wake up. Xiaoxiu?"
Yu Xiaoxiu was not drugged. He was just knocked out. Being called by Yu Shu, he grunted and woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes and was about to call out, Yu Shu pinched his ear and poured her voice into his ear, "Shh, shh, don't make a sound.
It's my sister. Xiaoxiu, don't be afraid. Don't make a sound. We've been caught by the bad guys. Don't think about anything. I'm here. Listen to me, and you'll be fine. Listen to me, okay? "
Yu Shu repeated her words. Yu Xiaoxiu nodded in a panic. In the dark, he held Yu Shu's hand tightly and trembled slightly. He still remembered that when he was eating wontons with Yu Shu at the stall, he dropped his money and ran into the alley. He only saw that there were people inside. Before he figured out what was going on, he was knocked out.
"Get up. Come with me and hide inside." Yu Shu pulled him into the room. On the way, they tripped over several pairs of legs. She could feel that Yu Xiaoxiu was trembling violently. Fear was contagious. She was also a little scared.
She just said that to comfort Yu Xiaoxiu, but in fact, she didn't even know where they were. There were so many people outside, and they seemed to know martial arts. It was impossible for them to escape safely with the help of two half-grown "children". As a person who used to work in the insurance industry, she quickly analyzed the current situation. Under various probabilities, she helplessly came to a conclusion.
The safest thing to do now was to hope that these people would not kill them to keep their mouths shut. After the ritual was over, they would abandon them and leave, sparing their lives.
As soon as they dragged Yu Xiaoxiu to the corner, they heard footsteps outside the door. Yu Shu looked around at the children with messy hair and dirty faces. She reached out and pulled Yu Xiaoxiu's hair rope. She messed up his hair like she did in the afternoon, but she was not in the mood to play.
The siblings lay side by side on the ground. Yu Shu scratched her hair and held Yu Xiaoxiu's hand tightly. She said in a low voice, "No matter what happens later, don't make a sound. Pretend that you've fainted, okay?"
"Okay." Yu Xiaoxiu gritted his teeth. His eyes were sore as he smelled the stench in the room.
Yu Shu was afraid that Yu Xiaoxiu would expose himself. She hesitated for a moment. When she heard the sound of the door opening behind her, she did not hesitate anymore. She raised her hand and half lay on Yu Xiaoxiu's back, covering him under her body.
"Sister —"
"Shh, listen to me. It's okay."
The next moment, the dark room was filled with light.
"There seems to be a sound?"
"It's a mouse, right? Uh, it's really stinky here. Hurry up, pick the person and leave."
"This, this, and this … Carry them out."
There was a sound of movement in the room. Yu Shu waited anxiously. She counted the number of people they had moved. There were exactly seven. She was about to feel lucky when she heard bad news.
"Tsk, one of them is dead. What should we do?"
"Let's change to another one. Um, the one over there."
Hearing the footsteps approaching, Yu Shu squinted her eyes. She repeatedly said "Don't come over, don't come over" and "Look over there, look over there" in her heart. Unfortunately, the heavens did not go her way. One of her arms on Yu Xiaoxiu's back was pulled up by brute force.
Damn it, do you know how to pick? There are still a few lying there!
Yu Shu cursed in her heart. She was carried out as if she had no bones. She did not even dare to open her eyes to look at Yu Xiaoxiu. She was afraid that this brat would suddenly go crazy and stand up.
Fortunately, nothing happened until she was carried out and the door was closed again.
The room turned dark. Yu Xiaoxiu crawled up, trembling. He clenched his fists tightly and stared at the closed door. In the darkness, his eyes flickered not only with fear, but also anger and … shame.
The seven children were carried or carried to the backyard. The middle-aged Taoist had already drawn a formation on the ground. He pointed to the positions and asked his disciples to place the children in the correct positions.
Yu Shu was thrown on the ground. She tilted her head and smelled a fishy smell. She recognized it was the smell of blood. As soon as she thought that it might be human blood, her stomach turned sour. She bit the tip of her tongue hard to stop herself from vomiting.
"Open the altar!"
It was already late at night. Lying on the cold ground, listening to the little Daoists ringing the bells and the middle-aged Daoist muttering obscure sentences, it was so eerie that it made one uncomfortable. Yu Shu's eyelids opened a slit. From her current angle, she could only see his shoes and trouser legs.
Initially, she was a little afraid. However, the middle-aged Taoist mumbled for a long time without taking any further action. Gradually, she became impatient. Her eyeballs moved. The children around her were lying down in a daze. She was the only one whose ears had to suffer this kind of torture.
She was so annoyed. Hurry up to the next step!
"Boom!"
A spring thunder exploded in the sky, which made Yu Shu shiver. Fortunately, the people standing around were paying attention to the Taoist and did not notice her movement.
"Disciple! Bring the Water Dragon Boy here! Hurry! "
Yu Shu felt uncomfortable because of the thunder. She moved her eyelids and saw someone enter a room in the backyard diagonally across from the Taoist's trousers. He carried a white person out.
Why is it white?
Because the person is not wearing any clothes.
Yu Shu quickly closed her eyes. She was not embarrassed, but she was afraid of getting a needle in her eye. Moreover, what was there to see about a white chicken?
During this period, there were two more thunders. She endured it for a long time before she opened her eyes again. She was stunned when she saw the middle-aged Daoist holding a long metal sword. He waved it twice and pointed it towards the sky bravely in this stormy weather.
"Boom!"
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