The late autumn rain gradually grew heavier.
Wu Zhu walked out of the alley in the rain, under the strange gazes of the passersby, and came to a small fork in the road beside the Tianhe River. The wet rainwater flowed down his clothes and slowly dripped down the black cloth on his face. He stopped here and then raised his head slightly, looking at the distant Imperial Palace in the misty rain.
Yesterday afternoon, Wu Zhu had also spent half a day looking at the Royal Palace. Although he came from the Temple and had unconsciously followed Fan Xian to see the world of mortals, the Royal Palace was indeed the most worthwhile place to visit in the capital. It was the most magnificent building, but Wu Zhu had come here two days in a row. Presumably, some other opportunity had influenced his decision.
Under the eaves on the side of the street, a few urchins in cotton-padded jackets were carrying square school bags. They rubbed their hands against the cold, their faces pale from the cold. Every day, these children went to the public school set up by the court to study, and they all carried umbrellas with them. But when they reached the mouth of the alley, the rain suddenly grew heavier.
"Look, it's that idiot from yesterday!" One of the children thought that the rain was too boring. Although it seemed that they could delay class, who would want to bow their head under someone else's roof? At that moment, he discovered Wu Zhu, standing woodenly in the rain like an idiot. He recognized him as the idiot who had allowed himself to be abused by him the day before, and was as happy as if he had discovered a new continent.
There were no stones under the eaves, and the urchins rolled their eyes. Next to a coal stove, they found some bits of coal that had not completely burned out the night before. With shrill laughter and yelling, they began to throw them at Wu Zhu.
For some reason, it seemed that when humans were very young, they were very good at bullying people weaker than themselves to prove their strength, and thus obtain some sort of spiritual satisfaction. This seemed to be a kind of innate nature. Otherwise, why would the children feel joy when they heard the bits of coal falling on Wu Zhu's body? Why would they feel joy when they saw Wu Zhu's body smashed and dirty?
There were not many people hiding from the rain on the streets. In the eyes of these few Jingdou commoners, the blind man standing in the rain in a daze was clearly an idiot and a handicapped person. They couldn't help but feel some sympathy, but when they saw the stains on the blind man's body, they unconsciously felt some disgust.
Therefore, other than a woman who looked like an auntie, who fiercely scolded those little brats, no one else did anything. They just watched indifferently as those disapproving children used their own methods to vent their violent desires that were inherent in all life.
With a smack, a lump of coal soaked in water ruthlessly smashed into Wu Zhu's motionless and expressionless face. It made a crisp sound, as if he had been slapped in the face.
That piece of coal knocked the black cloth off Wu Zhu's face a little. Wu Zhu's pale face also tilted a little, as if he did not quite understand what had happened. Then, he straightened the black cloth on his face and slowly turned around to look at the children under the eaves whose hands were not clean.
The urchins were not afraid, because they had smashed him all afternoon yesterday, and this blind idiot showed no signs of resistance. On the contrary, seeing that Wu Zhu had reacted today, they felt even more excited. The bits of coal that were smashed into the rain in the street suddenly became denser.
Smack, smack, smack. Finally, someone found a stone. Mixed with the coal, they smashed it into Wu Zhu's head and face, leaving behind dirty marks and a few streaks of blood. Washed by the rain, they flowed on Wu Zhu's pale face like a flood after a dry season, carrying thousands of years of trash. On the face of the earth, they washed out frightening marks. Wu Zhu still did not dodge.
Wu Zhu still did not dodge. It turned out that Wu Zhu could also be injured. Separated by the black cloth, he stared in a daze at the children who were laughing incessantly and waving their little hands. He did not understand why they wanted to attack him. He also did not understand why the innocent faces of these children could have such savage smiles. He also did not understand why the stones, regardless of whether they were sharp or round, smashed into his head or face. His heart felt somewhat strange.
What kind of emotion was that? Sadness? Disappointment? Anger? Dissatisfaction? Or was it just emotion? Wu Zhu looked at the children and allowed them to smash him. Suddenly, in his muddled mind, there seemed to be something extra.
The rain suddenly became heavy. It was as if someone had cut a large hole in the late autumn sky of the capital. Countless rivers, lakes, and seas poured down from that unfathomably deep hole, turning into a torrential downpour that filled the sky and scattered over the streets and on top of the homes.
It was as if a large hole had suddenly opened in Wu Zhu's mind. Clear and unrestrained sunlight shone down, enveloping his entire body in a strange emotion.
He had emotions. What did this prove? Was it the same as what the young man called Fan Xian said about curiosity? Wu Zhu began to think again. He thought silently in the boundless rain.
The young man called Fan Xian had once said many things to him, but he did not understand. He could not understand. He could only remember it in his heart.
What did the young man called Fan Xian do? It seemed that he went to the Royal Palace. It seemed to be for revenge. Why revenge? For whom? It seemed that someone had died. That was why the person called Fan Xian was dissatisfied and unhappy. It was a woman called Ye Qingmei and an old cripple called Chen Pingping.
These two unfamiliar names seemed to become clearer and more familiar in Wu Zhu's mind along with the rain that filled the sky and the clear light that shone through the large hole. However, what gave him a headache was that he still could not remember who they were. Had he not been in the Temple his entire life?
Wu Zhu still couldn't remember anything, but he had something he shouldn't have had, and that was emotions. In fact, since yesterday afternoon, those emotions had already filled his heart, causing his eyes to only be separated by a black cloth as he quietly looked at the Imperial Palace.
This emotion was called disgust. For some reason, Wu Zhu could not explain it. He loathed the tallest building in Jingdou. Perhaps it was because he instinctively loathed the people inside the building?
When he left the snowy temple, the young man called Fan Xian coughed up blood and told him to follow his heart. But … what was the heart? Was it the fresh and unfamiliar emotion he was feeling right now?
Wu Zhu decided to go to the Royal Palace to have a look and find the true source of his emotions. He wanted to see if there was anyone inside he wanted to see, someone he was fated to see. Thus, he placed his hand steadily on the metal drill by his waist. At the same time, he lowered his head slightly and put on the bamboo hat on his back again. He blocked the rain from the sky and covered his eyes with the black cloth.
However, the children were still happily throwing stones and coal debris. After a moment of silence, Wu Zhu let go of the iron drill in his hand and squatted down. His palm moved through the flowing sewage on the ground and grabbed a handful of coal debris that was not hard.
He could not harm humans unless it was for the benefit of humanity as a whole. The biggest difference between Wu Zhu and the old man in the Temple was that he did not understand what the benefit of humanity as a whole was and what it had to do with him.
Perhaps those young humans were only playing a game. Wu Zhu thought so and reacted in this way. At least, he did not feel any disgust or anger toward these young humans who bullied and humiliated him.
Since it was a game, he would play a game with them once. Perhaps they would stop bothering him like this. Wu Zhu directly threw the coal mixed with rainwater toward the children under the eaves by the side of the street.
A wave of terrified cries, a wave of panicked footsteps, countless cries, and the sound of someone fainting in the rain fell to the ground. A mess of sounds followed Wu Zhu's actions.
A handful of coal briquettes mixed with dirty water accurately split into four portions and accurately hit the bodies of the urchins. One of the urchins who laughed the loudest had his head smashed and blood oozed out. He fainted in the rain without making a sound.
After a deathly silence, an angry roar suddenly exploded, "An idiot killed someone!"
The previously cold and detached Jingdou commoners suddenly became outstanding citizens who were eager for justice. They reported to the officials and their parents. There were even some middle-aged men who took out wooden sticks and mops and prepared to beat the idiot to the ground.
They were all neighbors. Naturally, they could not just watch as the children suffered so much. The mother of the child who had fainted on the ground threw herself on top of the child, crying loudly and cursing Wu Zhu with hatred.
Wu Zhu watched all of this coldly. He still did not understand. If this was a game, why was the woman crying? If this was not a game, why did they not stop the children earlier? He knew that he would not be hurt. Did these humans also know that he was not normal? Did they not worry about his safety when the children beat him earlier?
In the rain, the silent Wu Zhu vaguely learned a few things. He understood a little that human emotions had nothing to do with choice or reason. It turned out that it was divided by affection and disgust.
In this world, Wu Zhu believed that the person closest to him should be that young man called Fan Xian. He hated the Royal Palace the most, so he no longer paid attention to these people who seemed to have gone mad. Very seriously, he smoothed out the wrinkles on the black cloth on his face again. Placing his hand on the metal drill at his waist, he stepped toward the Royal Palace in the distance.
Someone tried to kill this idiot, blind, crazy person, and then fainted on the ground. The wooden stick also broke in two. In the heavy rain, Wu Zhu, dressed in cotton clothes and wearing a straw hat, easily walked out of the angry crowd of Jingdou people, leaving behind only a ground of people crying out in pain.
Wu Zhu did not kill anyone. It was not that he did not dare to, but it was a habit he had developed over hundreds of thousands of years. He did not kill when he did not want to, but when he wanted to, he would.
When the bailiffs of the capital government arrived at the fork of the river, the madman who had beaten the people had long disappeared. Looking at the people crying out in pain in the rain, the leader of the bailiffs took a quick look and sucked in a breath of cold air. He wondered who this master was, to be able to act so cleanly and efficiently. How could a master disdain to make life difficult for these defenseless people? The leader of the bailiffs felt a chill, not because of the people's injuries, but because of the blind man who had disappeared. If, as the people said, that person was an idiot, then, without question, this idiot must be the most powerful martial madman in history.
Having such a martial madman running around in the capital, the leader of the bailiffs was afraid. He immediately had his subordinates notify the yamen of the capital government, and then nervously asked the person next to him, "Where did that madman go?"
"I think he went in the direction of the square," the person replied with a trembling voice. He gritted his teeth and said, "That person has been watching the palace for two days. I'm afraid there's something wrong."
The leader of the bailiffs did not need to ask again to know that this person wanted to kill the madman. If anything involved the palace, there was no way out. But hearing that the martial madman was heading straight in the direction of the palace, the leader of the bailiffs felt a bit more relaxed. After all, there were many masters in the palace, and the imperial guards were strict. Even the most powerful martial madman could only be beaten to the ground. Even if the legendary Sir Fan came back, could he break into the palace?
…
…
The rain continued to fall. Wu Zhu did not know how urgently the people on the street behind him wanted him dead. He also did not know that the leader of the bailiffs had already sentenced him to death. He only wore a straw hat and held a metal drill. Step by step, he walked toward the square of the palace with unusual stability and straightforwardness.
In Langya County in Northern Qi, the new cloth shoes Fan Xian had bought for him had long been soaked in the water. With each step, it was like a drum sounded in Wu Zhu's mind, pounding against his heart and soul. Ye Qingmei, Chen Pingping, Fan Xian, these names that seemed far away but were also close rang out endlessly in his mind.
With each step, he faintly remembered something. Although it was not clear, it was particularly close. For example, this Royal Palace in the cold rain, this Jingdou filled with a familiar smell, and it was filled with glass he had made. It was so familiar.
At the same time, as he approached the square of the Imperial City, Wu Zhu's disgust for the Imperial Palace deepened. This majestic Imperial City that stood in the storm was so unshakable, so strict and … disgusting.
Jingdou was an old place, and the Royal Palace was also an old place, Wu Zhu thought.
Walking alone in the rain in an old place, he had to run into a road blocked by rain. The road was quiet and lonely, and he was too lazy to avoid it in the rain.
…
…
What blocked Wu Zhu's path was people, not the rain. It was a group of imperial soldiers in full armor and full of murderous intent. The rain fell on the gray armor of these elite soldiers of the Qing military, making pitter-patter sounds. It fell on their solemn faces, but it did not stir up the slightest change in their emotions.
The expression on Wu Zhu's face did not change in the slightest. His body continued to lean forward, allowing the bamboo hat on his head to block out the pouring rain. His feet did not slow down, nor did he speed up. He only steadily walked at a speed he was accustomed to, toward the center of the plaza.
Wu Zhu wanted to enter the Royal Palace to have a look, so he had to pass through the main gate of the Royal Palace and walk through the square in the rain. For him, this was unusually simple logic. He did not care at all whether or not someone would stop him. For the imperial soldiers responsible for the safety of the Royal Palace, his unusually simple logic appeared unusually cold and daring.
The news of Fan Xian's return to the capital had already spread from the Ye manor last night. Now, all of the upper echelons of the Qing Kingdom knew of this shocking news. The Royal Palace had been under martial law since last night. Everything that entered was checked very strictly. The defense had also been raised to an unprecedented level of tension.
Even on the day the Jingdou Garrison had escorted the old Director of the Overwatch Council back to the capital, the security in the Royal Palace had not been as tight as it was today. Everyone knew why Fan Xian had returned to the capital. He would certainly try to enter the Palace again to assassinate the Emperor. The Qing court would not give this rebel a second chance.
The Imperial Army's patrol work extended out by a third of the area. There was a heavy rain this morning. The wet and cold feeling made everyone raise their guard. They also felt waves of fear. They didn't know where Fan Xian was or when he would kill his way into the Palace.
The small disturbance at the fork in the Tianhe Road had also fallen into the eyes of the Imperial Army. However, the soldiers responsible for the safety of the outer perimeter did not see the sudden incident of a martial madman as too important.
However, when this blind Martial Madman wearing a conical hat suddenly displayed astonishing strength and began to silently walk toward the Imperial Palace, the Imperial Guards finally realized that something was amiss.
When the cloth shoe on the blind man's right foot stepped onto the puddles of water on the stone slabs of the square, the Imperial Army gave their first warning. They began to gather their military power and prepare to capture him in one move.
However, it was as if Wu Zhu did not hear the warning that was enough to chill the hearts of most people in the world. He continued to walk steadily and silently. Under the wary gaze of the Imperial Army on the palace walls and the cold and stern gaze of the Imperial Army soldiers in the square, he walked steadily step by step.
After three warnings, the blind man in the heavy rain still acted as if he did not hear them and turned a blind eye to them. Step by step, he walked toward the center of the square toward the front gate of the Royal Palace.
Even at this moment, the soldiers of the Imperial Army still believed that this strange person was a lunatic and did not associate him with an assassin. In the eyes of the common people, no matter how powerful an assassin, even Sigu Jian of the past, would not choose such an open and honorable method of assassination. Surrounded by tens of thousands of Imperial Army soldiers, under the towering walls of the Royal Palace, no one would be able to break through the obstruction of so many people, kill their way into the Royal Palace, and point their sword at the Emperor.
Unless there really was a god in this world.
Thus, the Imperial Army thought this strange blind man was perhaps a madman with extremely bad luck. In such a tense situation, to suddenly charge into the forbidden area in front of the Royal Palace, what awaited him could only be death.
…
…
Wu Zhu continued to walk as if he did not see the row of Imperial Army soldiers blocking him in front of him. At this time, the wind and rain that filled the sky were still wreaking havoc. The endless rain was like a huge wave on the East Sea, about to swallow up his lonely figure. In the end, it was unable to swallow him because he walked out of the rain.
"Kill." An Imperial Army officer narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt a bone-piercing chill coming from the body of the blind man not far away. The blind man had already walked into the forbidden area. Furthermore, a sense of danger made the officer give the order without any hesitation.
With a swoosh, the Imperial Army soldiers blocking in front of Wu Zhu drew their swords in unison. In an instant, the light of the swords lit up the rainy sky in front of the Royal Palace.
There was no loud swishing of swords. Wu Zhu only steadily pulled out the metal drill at his waist and then stabbed out. His speed did not appear fast in the ruthless wind and rain. Furthermore, the way he stabbed out with the drill was not particularly exquisite. However, each time the metal drill was thrust out, the tip of the drill would accurately pierce the throat of an Imperial Army soldier.
Accurate, clean, and stable. This was the feeling Wu Zhu felt when he attacked. It was very simple, but when it reached the extreme, it became a certain realm.
From the time the officer said the word "kill" to when Wu Zhu killed all the Imperial Army soldiers in front of him, only a few breaths had passed. In the sky full of rain, the ground behind Wu Zhu was littered with bodies. Fresh blood had just surged out from the throats of the bodies when it was washed away by the rain.
In the process of killing, Wu Zhu's speed did not change at all. His two feet advancing in the rain remained steady as if he had not encountered any hindrance. He moved through the rain and killed as he went.
This was not the ease of a peerless ace. It did not give the Imperial Army soldiers around the Royal Palace the feeling of a powerful warrior taking a leisurely stroll. They only felt cold, very cold. The blind man's attacks were steady, steady to the point of incomparable coldness.
The Imperial soldiers didn't even know how their colleagues had died to that metal drill. This was because the blind man in the bamboo hat didn't exude an aura that could pierce through the heavens and earth, and his attacks weren't particularly crafty or vicious.
However, the metal drill seemed to be covered in a layer of heavenly coldness. In the rain, it easily calculated all the angles and possibilities. Then, it chose the most reasonable crack in space and passed it out.
It seemed to be simple, yet it was actually capable of shaking the heavens and the earth, and it was sufficient to cause everyone who witnessed this scene to completely lose all confidence in going against him!
The officer watched helplessly as his subordinates died at the hands of the blind man wearing the straw hat without even making a sound. He felt a chill throughout his body, colder than the autumn rain that fell incessantly around him.
Wu Zhu walked in front of him. The officer suddenly felt that the other party's clothes, which had been soaked by the rain and had turned dark, were not ordinary clothes. The metal drill in the other party's hand was also not an ordinary weapon. The other party was not a person, but a monster that condensed all the mysteries between heaven and earth and breathed in all the coldness between heaven and earth.
The officer's entire body trembled. He bravely pulled out his knife. Then, he saw the metal drill pierce into his chin. It was then pulled back like a flash of lightning.
Too fast. Why did it seem so slow earlier? Why couldn't he dodge it no matter what? The officer fell heavily into the rain with these questions in his mind. His eyes filled with fear were gradually drowned by the water. Then, he saw a pair of soaked cloth shoes walk past his head.
At this moment, the feet wearing the cloth shoes were still as steady as ever.
…
…
The rain continued to fall, and the imperial soldiers continued to die. The fear of the unknown brought about by the god of killing in the bamboo hat made the imperial soldiers responsible for the safety of the Royal Palace extremely angry and courageous. Wave after wave, they charged forward to kill.
However, these Imperial Army soldiers were unable to stop Wu Zhu's steady footsteps in the slightest.
Wu Zhu lowered his head, turned around, and bent his knees. With a calmness and calculation that completely exceeded the imagination of mortals, he calmly moved aside all the weapons that could harm his body. Then, he thrust out the metal drill and tore apart the curtain of autumn rain in front of him. He tore apart the layers of encirclement in front of him.
He only wanted to enter the Royal Palace to take a look. Because of this, people continuously fell by his side. Blood continuously dyed the curtain of rain red. People continuously died and fell into the rain. There were incessant cries of alarm, miserable screams, and muffled grunts.
He was like an emissary of heaven who had fallen into the dust for some unknown reason. Using the calmest and most terrifying method, he was harvesting the guards by the emperor's side and harvesting the lives of the common and lowly.
The people in front of Wu Zhu grew fewer and fewer, but the corpses on the ground grew more and more.
…
…
Suddenly, Wu Zhu stopped in the middle of the square in front of the Royal Palace. There was no longer a single person standing by his side. Around him, hundreds of Imperial Army soldiers lay in pools of blood. No matter how violent the autumn rain was, it could not wash away the blood in an instant. He slowly raised his head and looked above the Royal Palace.
The Imperial Army on the palace walls had long drawn their bows and nocked their arrows. The densely packed arrows were already aimed at Wu Zhu in front of the Palace gates. At any moment, tens of thousands of arrows could be fired.
Wu Zhu stood in the blood and raised his head. Separated by the black cloth, he looked at the familiar yet strange Royal Palace and the terrifying arrows. His face that was exposed outside the cloth was still calm. There was no fear at all. He only slowly raised his right arm and extended the metal drill in his hand into the torrential rain, allowing the rain to wash away the bloodstains on it.
The rain struck the metal drill with a pitter-patter.
The Imperial Army, who had been struck out of their wits by the metal drill, had been ordered back into the Palace gates. At this moment, the vermilion Palace gates were tightly shut. Other than the bloody corpses lying on the ground, there was only the stormy sea of wind and rain and the blind man wearing the straw hat standing alone.
Countless people on the Royal Palace saw this scene and felt a chill from the depths of their hearts. Who exactly was this unimaginably powerful blind man?
The pale-faced Commander of the Imperial Army, Gong Dian, stood on the Palace walls and watched the blind man standing alone in the rain. His body trembled slightly. He thought of the woman and her young servant many years ago. An unprecedented fear welled up in the depths of his heart. He knew who the other party was. At the first moment, he had already notified the Emperor in the Palace. However, he had no idea whether or not his tens of thousands of Imperial Army soldiers could stop the other party.
Wu Zhu had come. Wu Zhu had finally come. He had come to avenge the mistress!
These words that made his heart tremble echoed endlessly in Gong Dian's heart.
Wu Zhu, who stood alone in the wind and rain and used a metal drill to challenge the entire powerful Qing court, did not have these thoughts. He only suddenly said to himself, "The one living inside seems to be … Xiao Lizi."
The wind and rain filled the sky, and this person stood alone. Although there were millions of people, he would go forward.
…
…
It's the last few days. My feelings are very complicated. Brothers and sisters, please give more recommendation votes and flower votes. Everyone, together, let's make the ending of the story of Qing Yu a little more beautiful, a little more beautiful …
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