"Bowl what?" Meng Fuyao looked at him in shock. "I didn't snatch your bowl."
"Ghost!!!" The man, looking at her, suddenly sprang to his feet, uttered a shrill cry, clutched his head, and darted about his cell, trying desperately to find a place to hide. But where was there to hide in that cell, with its stone walls on three sides and wooden bars on one side? He slid down the stone wall and covered himself with his clothes. Finally, he lifted the straw and burrowed into the cell, revealing half of his buttocks.
Meng Fuyao was amused. She turned to Zhangsun Wuji and said, "This is the first time I've realized how scary I look."
Zhangsun Wuji looked at the man in the straw thoughtfully. His gaze flickered a few times before he finally said, "It's better if you don't take off your mask during these troubled times."
Meng Fuyao put on her mask and stared at the buttocks. She knocked on the wall and said, "Hey, comrade, come over and have a chat. Tell me, which dead ghost do I look like?"
The man immediately burrowed deeper into the straw pile.
Meng Fuyao curled her lips and plucked out a stone, smashing it on the buttocks. "The bowl … is here …" she said sinisterly.
"Don't look for me!" The man screamed hysterically. Even Meng Fuyao was shocked. "Don't!"
Meng Fuyao tied a few strands of grass together and reached the buttocks through the gap between the wooden fence. She scratched the buttocks and sang, "… There was a girl in the village called Little Bowl …"
She was purely playing around. From the man's tone, she seemed to look like the bowl, and the bowl was dead?
Unexpectedly, the man heard her and felt as if he was being pricked by a needle. "Ah!" With a loud shout, he jumped up and down like a fish out of water. He randomly grabbed some rotten straws and stuffed them into his ears, desperately banging his head against the wall. 'Bang, bang, bang!' Unexpectedly, he didn't show any mercy, as if his head was the wall and the wall was his head.
Meng Fuyao was stunned by the sound. She sheepishly pulled back the grass and murmured, "Don't drive him crazy and kill himself … Forget it."
She tiptoed and looked next door. "A wonderful piece of gossip has flown away just like that …" she said regretfully.
Although she said that, there wasn't much regret on her face. She quickly sat down and began weaving grass for fun.
Zhangsun Wuji tilted his head to look at her … Fu Yao didn't seem to be very interested in her family background, or she vaguely felt that it was probably not a good story, so she deliberately avoided it?
Since she didn't want to know, then let her be.
It was just that … he was afraid that fate would go round and round, and what could not be avoided would not be avoided in the end.
The light in the cell was dim. Meng Fuyao's fingers seemed to be weaving something. Zhangsun Wuji's interest was piqued. He turned to look, but Meng Fuyao blocked him with her palm. "Look after you're done."
Zhangsun Wuji closed his eyes cooperatively. After a while, he felt Fuyao poke him. When he opened his eyes, it was a fat mouse on her palm. "Your Yuan Bao," she said.
He then took out a small person and said, "You."
Zhangsun Wuji picked it up, looked at it carefully, and said, "How could an ingot be so fat?"
He then looked at the little person and said, "I'm not that ugly."
Meng Fuyao sneered. "If you have the ability to weave a peerless beauty out of rotten grass, I'll admire you."
Zhangsun Wuji placed the mouse on the little person's shoulder and looked at it for a while. "Other things are fine, but this thing you weaved has a big flaw. It's missing something very important."
"Oh?" She glanced at him.
"You close your eyes too."
'This person … doesn't want to be taken advantage of.' She smiled and closed her eyes.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the air around her quieted down. Without external disturbances, her consciousness became quieter and sharper. Sounds that she hadn't noticed with her eyes open suddenly floated in her mind like relief sculptures, drawing out a clear outline bit by bit.
He heard the sound of fingers weaving blades of grass, the sound of the hysterical guy in the next cell panting heavily, the sound of the prison guards walking outside the prison, and the sound of water flowing from an unknown place. The water did not seem to be flowing, but seemed to be sliding on human skin. Hmm … Fingers scooping up water and splashing it away? Then there seemed to be the sound of smearing … the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind.
All of a sudden, her vision darkened.
Even with her eyes closed, she could still feel the darkness. The oil lamp on the wall in the distance shone into her eyes, and her muddled vision felt a warm yellow light. Suddenly, the light disappeared.
She opened her eyes abruptly!
At first glance, she reached out to grab Zhangsun Wuji, who was originally sitting opposite her.
The moment she reached out, she seemed to have touched Zhangsun Wuji's fingers in the darkness. It was slightly cold, but before she could grasp it, she heard a sudden boom. Dust flew everywhere, and the iron door and wooden pillars of the cell collapsed and fell to the ground. She flipped over and leaped up. Amidst the dust, she could vaguely see a hand reaching out. "Fuyao, be careful!" She quickly reached out to catch it, but another voice came from behind. "Fuyao, be careful!"
She froze.
Two people!
Two Zhangsun Wujis!
Two voices that were exactly the same!
The cell was destroyed, and smoke and dust were everywhere. She could not see clearly. One of them was in front of her, and the other was behind her. Judging from the distance, the one in front of her should be standing outside the cell, while the one behind her should be inside. But now, who could be sure that the one inside was Zhangsun Wuji, and the one outside was that bastard?
Meng Fuyao stood there in a daze, trying hard to recall what she had heard and what might have happened. Did the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind come from Zhangsun Wuji, who had discovered the enemy? She closed her eyes for a very short moment. When she felt the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind, she immediately leaped up. However, at that moment, the cell door broke, and the dust filled the air. In that instant, it was very likely that the enemy had swapped positions with Zhangsun Wuji. He had rushed in, and Zhangsun Wuji had rushed out.
But … she still could not be sure.
In the face of such a strong enemy, the only way for her and Zhangsun Wuji to survive was to join forces. But now, who could she join forces with? One wrong choice would result in a grave mistake!
Meng Fuyao took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Ever since the night of the storm, she had learned to stay calm. The more dangerous and difficult the situation, the more she could not be too hasty!
She was waiting.
Waiting for the dust to dissipate.
That bastard was not so amazing that he could imitate a person to the point of looking exactly the same. Therefore, every time he appeared, he would use camouflage. The first time was in the dark cabin, and the second time he swept up the bonfire with big strides, forcing them to not open their eyes. This time, he simply took advantage of the moment when she closed her eyes to destroy the wooden bars of the cell wall. Taking advantage of the billowing dust, he appeared at the same time as Zhangsun Wuji.
When the dust dissipated, there would always be a loophole.
However, the dust did not dissipate, and the air was filled with a thick fog. Meng Fuyao held her breath and retreated in alarm. She could feel that the fog was not poisonous, but it had a faint spicy smell. It was useless, but it had mixed up the unique fragrance of Zhangsun Wuji's body.
In the fog, the person in front of her said calmly, "Fuyao, come here."
The person behind her said quietly, "Fuyao, it's me."
The person in front of her glanced at the person behind her. Without saying a word, he rolled up his sleeves, and a jade Ruyi slipped out. The jade light shone brightly, and a faint cloud swept toward the center of Meng Fuyao's eyebrows.
Meng Fuyao's eyes lit up when she saw the Ruyi Ruyi. She immediately flipped over and struck the person behind her with her palm. However, the person behind her did not say a word. He flew up and slid his sleeves, revealing a smooth and clean Ruyi Ruyi.
Meng Fuyao's mind went blank. She forcefully retracted her palm and twisted her body. Unable to retract it in time, she could only hit the wall of the cell. With a loud bang, half of the wall collapsed, startling the person next door who squealed like a pig being slaughtered. Meng Fuyao's strength had not yet recovered, so she retracted her palm midway and hit the wall instead. Annoyed, her blood and Qi were in turmoil. Hearing the person's scream, she could not help but fly into a rage. "Pfft! Shut up!"
With this scolding, she silently spat out a mouthful of blood onto the wall. She immediately raised her hand to wipe it off. The two people behind her couldn't see her spit out blood, but they could hear her unstable voice and were shocked, "Fuyao, are you alright …"
Meng Fuyao was enraged. She spun around and scolded again, "Shut up!"
After scolding, she felt powerless. What the hell was this?
The two Zhangsun Wujis looked at each other coldly. Their unique expressions were actually exactly the same, cold and bitter, filled with hatred. One of them unfolded his sleeves, the jade scepter pressed down, sliding three feet like flowing water. In midair, there was an arc of light with two ends curled up, like a moon floating horizontally in the vast ocean.
Meng Fuyao's eyes lit up again. She had seen Zhangsun Wuji use this move before. It was a unique move. She tapped the wall in front of her with the tip of her foot and flipped up. Like a sparrow hawk, the black light of the Heaven Slaughtering Sword pierced through the bottom of her elbow and headed straight for Zhangsun Wuji.
Zhangsun Wuji looked up at Meng Fuyao. His gaze was deep and filled with anxiety, causing Meng Fuyao to panic. She subconsciously slowed down, only to see her opponent pressing down on the Ruyi Ruyi. With a moonlight arc, he used the exact same move again!
Meng Fuyao broke down. She lost her breath and fell to the ground. She rolled three times on the grass and decided not to get up.
The two of them were shocked again. "You …!"
Meng Fuyao closed her eyes like a dead dog.
The two Zhangsun Wujis looked at each other in the smoke. This time, neither of them said a word. They started fighting like butterflies flipping flowers. Meng Fuyao watched the fight with her eyes wide open. She thought that Zhangsun Wuji would definitely be the weaker one. But she could not be sure. What if the enemy was deliberately showing weakness to lure her into a trap?
This bastard had an eccentric temperament. He seemed to enjoy watching people struggle under his hands, wary of each other, and mistrust each other. He seemed to enjoy forcing out the suspicion, indifference, betrayal, and killing each other in human nature. To him, killing people was not his top priority.
The moves of the two in front of her were exactly the same. A true expert could instantly learn their opponent's moves. It was impossible to find flaws in their moves.
Meng Fuyao was annoyed. She looked down and saw a few small things on the ground. She had made up Zhangsun Wuji and Lord Yuan Bao. There was also a half-finished product. Judging from its slender figure, it was probably her that Zhangsun Wuji wanted to make up.
She picked up the half-finished product and held it in her palm. "Zhangsun Wuji, what did you make up just now?"
The two of them turned around. "You," one of them answered.
Meng Fuyao was delighted. "You, of course," the other said.
The corner of Meng Fuyao's mouth twitched. Although Zhangsun Wuji was a step slower, he had more words. Come to think of it, the two of them opened their mouths at the same time.
As long as one's reflexes were quick enough, it was not impossible to learn the same answer.
The two of them fought until they were in front of her. They turned around and passed by her from time to time.
Meng Fuyao sat lazily as if she did not care about anything. Suddenly, she said, "Zhangsun Wuji, I should have ignored you the first time I met you in the Yan Capital."
The two of them were silent. "Yuan Xuanshan," one of them said.
The other person immediately said, "Who said we met for the first time in Beijing? We were at Yuan Xuanshan … "
Meng Fuyao leaped up.
She leaped up with the Heaven Stealer Black River hanging upside down. Her murderous aura soared to the sky. Without a word, she stabbed the back of the person in front of her!
The one who spoke too many words and the one who said the wrong things!
He had the chance to hurt Zhangsun Wuji, but he had given up on it somehow. Zhangsun Wuji had taken the opportunity to take a step forward, forcing him to move his back in front of Meng Fuyao.
And Meng Fuyao's knife was waiting for his heart!
The knife came out! Her target was his back! She came with hatred! Roaring thunder!
The white light of the Ruyi Scepter shone brightly! The snow-white color of the target's front blazed even brighter, and the rolling light pillar pressed forward without a sound!
A pincer attack!
They had been waiting for this moment!
True tacit understanding and trust could not be easily destroyed by an unfamiliar bystander!
The person finally seemed to be stunned. In that moment, he could no longer escape the sharp, murderous aura of the wind and the merciless killer at such a close distance!
He instantly understood that the so-called "not being able to recognize" was just a trick to make him underestimate the enemy and fall into the trap of the two of them.
"Amazing! So the two of you were already prepared! "
Amidst his laughter, his body suddenly became thin.
It was truly thin — like a thousand-layer cake that was suddenly flattened. The many layers were still there, but they were even more tightly connected together. His body was pulled horizontally and flattened to a strange degree. The dim light shone through the seams of the green clothes, and it was as if the muscles and bones inside were instantly pulled and thinned, sparse and sparse.
This thinness, which exceeded the inherent laws of human strength and the human body, was equivalent to moving himself as far as possible in an immovable space. As a result, his vitals were no longer in their original positions.
"Bang!"
The Ruyi Scepter and the black knife struck at the same time, emitting the sound of gunfire. However, the position where they landed was no longer the original target.
She could even accurately feel that her knife had pierced in between two ribs. The space between the two ribs had already been folded to the point that there was only a thin line between them. Her knife just so happened to graze the bone. At most, it would only injure the muscle, not even causing a fracture.
This scoundrel had actually calculated this distance in an instant and accurately sent it under her saber!
The almost miraculous Bone Reversal Technique!
The powerful instinct of a peerless expert to control the situation of a battle!
The Ruyi Scepter fell and the sharp knife pierced through, causing a flower of blood to bloom below the man's ribs. He tilted his head and laughed in his original soft voice. "Amazing, amazing! I haven't seen my own blood for decades!"
Meng Fuyao did not stop. She tried to raise the Heaven Piercing Sword in her hand and sneered. "Really? Do you want to see more?"
"No." The man laughed. "I've already given you a lot of face. It's time for me to see your blood."
As soon as he finished speaking, a shrill whistle was heard. It was not loud, but it was extremely unpleasant to the ears. It was like the screeching of thousands of snakes in the abyss, the rubbing of bones in a mountain of corpses, or the summoning of a human-faced ape in the boundless mountains, summoning the demons in the dark forest.
Tremble!
At that moment, everything was trembling. The ground trembled slightly, and the broken wooden railings cracked soundlessly again. The extinguished oil lamp on the wall at the top of the stairs fell with a clatter.
The Heaven Piercing Sword in Meng Fuyao's palm began to tremble, moving from the tip of the knife to the hilt. With a slight movement, it bounced onto the web between her thumb and index finger. Meng Fuyao's palm went numb. She felt as if her heart was being clenched tightly by the whistling sound. It was so oppressive that she could not breathe. Subconsciously, she activated her inner breath to save herself. Then, she heard the whistling sound change.
The whistling sound suddenly became wide and clear. If it was said to be a ghost in the abyss of darkness earlier, then it was now an auspicious cloud in the Ninth Heaven or a bright sun in the clear sky. There was no transition from extreme darkness to extreme brightness. It was as if everything in front of one's eyes had just turned dark and suddenly brightened.
Such a situation would cause one to lose one's vision in an instant.
Just like the extreme tightening of the heart and the sudden release of it, there would be a moment of suffocation and dizziness.
The moment the heart tightened, the body would subconsciously use its inner breath to save itself. Suddenly losing the target to save, it would become attacking itself.
Blood surged. In an instant.
In a fight between experts, it was always a fight for a moment!
The whistling sound only lasted for a short moment. In a split second, Meng Fuyao's heart tightened, and she felt dizzy again. Her vision went black.
Then, she heard the other party laugh softly and move away from her knife. The sound of wind blowing against her face was cold. Someone was trying to grab her face.
Meng Fuyao lowered her head and was about to dodge, but before she could, the sound of wind swept past. Someone slid in front of her.
Meng Fuyao immediately pulled him to her side.
Then, he brought Meng Fuyao back.
Both of their movements were as slippery as fish. In an instant, they led each other around like a horse lantern, each wanting to take the other's place and send themselves into the hands of the assassins. The man who saw this laughed and said, "This pair of affectionate lovers is making my eyes blur."
His laughter was full of ridicule. Suddenly, his arm made a ninety-degree turn, and like a snake, he went past Zhangsun Wuji in front of him. He went around Meng Fuyao's chest, and grabbed her from the back!
"Ah!"
A blood-curdling scream resounded in the small and dark prison. Bright red poppy-like blood splattered everywhere.
Under the claw-like fingers, the body spasmed a few times. Unable to bear the inhuman pain, it coiled up like a fried dough twist. A broken sound came from its throat, and blood spurted out, blocking the words it wanted to say.
Then, the sound of a lifeless body falling to the ground could be heard.
"Bam!"
That young voice was a little startled, a little unwilling, and softly said, "What a pity."
It was unknown whether it was because of the lost opportunity or the person who had suddenly pounced on them.
Then, he sighed in boredom, waved his sleeves, and retreated like a wisp of green smoke. "Count yourselves lucky …"
As the green shadow dispersed, the faint fog dissipated, revealing the corpse on the ground.
It was the neighbor in the next cell.
Meng Fuyao had destroyed the wall of the neighboring cell with a single punch. The three of them had long since moved to the neighbor's side. None of them had considered him a human being, so they simply ignored him and let him cower at the bottom of their feet, trembling all over. It was only when the man's snake-like arm reached for Meng Fuyao's back that he suddenly pounced on it.
The fake Zhangsun Wuji's mind was on the front, and he had left a hand to stop Zhangsun Wuji from turning around. He did not expect that there would be someone willing to be his human shield.
Meng Fuyao was also stunned. Looking at the dying man at her feet, she squatted down and asked, "Why?"
The man looked at her. Perhaps it was the final radiance of the setting sun, his eyes brightened. He opened his mouth to say something, but was blocked by the gushing blood. Meng Fuyao reached out and felt his pulse. Then, she patted his back, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
The man pulled himself together and took a deep breath. Staring at Meng Fuyao, he stammered, "You … are … her … right …?"
His voice was so soft that Meng Fuyao could not hear him clearly. She tilted her head and asked, "Bowl?"
The man let out a silent sob that sounded like he was crying.
Meng Fuyao thought about it. Knowing that the man's internal organs were all broken, it was impossible for him to explain clearly. She could only ask herself, "Is the bowl alive or dead?"
"Dead …" Just as Meng Fuyao revealed an expression that said 'I knew it', the man continued, "Alive …"
The corner of Meng Fuyao's mouth twitched. Only then did she remember that this man was half-crazy. What else could he say?
It was better for her to go straight to the root of the problem.
"Where is she? Who is she? "
"Wan … Yan … Lin …"
"Yan Ling? Yan Ling? Yan Ling? "Meng Fuyao was going crazy. There were too many homonyms in China. How could she ask such a question?
"Do you know how to write?"
The last glimmer of light in the man's eyes had already dissipated. His eyes were dull and murky. Suddenly, he straightened his body and grabbed her hand. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Wan … I was wrong …" he yelled hoarsely.
His body was twitching violently, and he could no longer express any of his thoughts with a clear mind. However, he could not stop himself from muttering the word 'wrong'. That word, along with a continuous stream of blood, was continuously pushed out of his throat, unwilling to be swallowed.
Meng Fuyao looked at him hanging on to his last breath, as if he was waiting for something. Living another moment like this was torture. She thought about it and said, "Wait for her forgiveness, right? If … I have anything to do with her … I'll forgive you on her behalf. "
As soon as the word "forgive" came out, it was as if the rope that bound him was suddenly untied. That person's body trembled violently. He raised his head and exhaled a long breath. His eyes opened wide, and the gray color in his eyes slowly faded away. Gradually, they turned black, and then, they stopped moving.
The moonlight crossed the half-destroyed wall and shone on the eternally silent man's lapel. It was pale and stiff.
Meng Fuyao sat silently in the shadows, thinking about his last few words. She thought about the indignation and guilt in his expression. She thought about the Wan 'er that he could not forget to ask for her forgiveness before he died. Suddenly, she felt a chill in her heart. It was like a frozen body in a snowstorm, but seeing an unavoidable ice lake in front of it, she shivered and felt as if all the heat in her body had been sucked dry.
Someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Fuyao, it's good not to know. Knowing is knowing your fate. No matter what, I'll be with you."
Meng Fuyao hummed in acknowledgment and smiled. She raised her hand and held it. The skin on her shoulder gradually warmed up and down to her heart.
Because it was cold, it was even warmer.
The world was so bleak. It was dark and cold all the way.
It was all because of that love that she had ignited the bonfire in the cold winter, forever lighting up the rugged path ahead of her. That was why her heart had never truly frozen.
Meng Fuyao bent down and wiped the man's face. She tidied his appearance and wiped away the filth, revealing the face of an ordinary middle-aged man. From his appearance, one could tell that he was honest and sincere. But who said that honest and sincere people would not make mistakes?
Perhaps it was because of some big mistake that he had accumulated in his memory that he would never forget until his death. Because of that similar face, he had finally found relief.
She and Zhangsun Wuji looked at each other, put down the corpse, and stood up.
After a while, the prison guard who had heard the commotion in the distance shrunk back in fear. He saw that the two prison cells were completely destroyed, with a corpse on the ground. The Daoist priest and the old man who had been locked in the cell were nowhere to be seen. He hurriedly reported to his superior. Because of the bizarre destruction of the prison cells, the Guanyuan County Magistrate did not dare to be negligent. He also reported to the Purple Cloaks. A large group of Purple Cloaks entered the Guanyuan County Prison. After carefully inspecting the two destroyed cells, they kicked the County Magistrate out.
"Bastard! Why didn't you report your arrest?! "
The County Magistrate hugged his thigh, feeling wronged. He turned around and slapped the prison guards who had caught Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji.
"Bastard! Why didn't you report your arrest to me?! "
The prison guards covered their faces and retreated. They looked at each other with resentment. There were too many people who had been randomly arrested in the prison, and they had never reported it before. They deserved it this time.
"Sir … we will definitely investigate thoroughly, thoroughly," the County Magistrate requested with a straight face.
"Investigate my ass!" The Purple Cloaks kicked him again. "Can't you see that the prison has collapsed? I'm afraid the person has already left the Guanyuan County! "
They strode out like a gust of wind, shouting, "Search inside and outside the city!"
The County Magistrate mumbled, "It's good that he ran away. Every day, I have good food, drinks, and women to serve me. I'm almost losing my savings!" Hearing the bailiff behind him asking for instructions on how to handle the corpse, he said impatiently, "Get his family to collect the corpse and pay three taels of silver for the collection fee!"
"This person has no family." The registrar shook his head as he flipped through the book.
"No family? What's related to this? "
"Let me look …" The registrar lit a candle and flipped through the book carefully. After a while, he said, "I don't know. Not even six years ago. It's still in the hands of the previous one."
"What a mess!" The County Magistrate flicked his sleeves. He knew that some bailiffs had a meager monthly income and sometimes relied on underhanded means to earn money. They would catch people for small matters and release those who had money and lock them up if they had no money. This was probably because they had been locked up for a long time and no one knew where they came from. As the County Magistrate, he usually turned a blind eye to such matters.
"Drag him out and throw him into the mass grave!"
The men walked out, and the prison regained its silence. No one took another look at the corpse on the ground, and no one thought of checking the prison again.
The dim light of the oil lamp shone on the two empty cells, as well as on the cells next to them.
Right next to the destroyed prison cell, someone was leaning against the cell wall, revealing a mocking sneer in the dim yellow light.
Meng Fuyao.
She and Zhangsun Wuji had never left.
No one in the world was better than her and Zhangsun Wuji at exploiting people's blind spots. Everyone thought that the person who had been beaten to such a state would have left, but they had not.
If the prison had been the most dangerous, then this was the safest. The imposter was injured and would not return, and the Purple Cloak would not return either. Let them search Guanyuan County like a hole in the ground.
As for that person's corpse … the secret guard would follow him to the mass grave to collect it.
Separated by a wall from the purple cloaked man and the County Magistrate, Meng Fuyao frowned when she heard the last sentence. This person had been here for a long time? Where had he been? Why had he stayed here for so many years? What was his relationship with Wan 'er? What had happened to the girl who looked exactly like her that year? What kind of tragedy had happened to this man that he had to carry the sin and live in this prison, using his entire life to wait for her forgiveness?
Now that things had come to this, some things could no longer be avoided even if they wanted to.
Once she moved forward, her outstretched fingertips would sooner or later touch those dust-covered past events that had been hidden in the darkness for many years. Perhaps with just a light poke, a "pa" sound would be heard, and blood-red dust would roll out, pouncing on her.
Meng Fuyao closed her eyes and let out a helpless sigh.
= = =
Seven days later, Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji were 'released' from prison.
According to the secret guard's markings, a group of people gathered at an inconspicuous residence in the north of the city. It was the residence of the second boss of the underground force 'Guangde Hall' that Zong Yue had established years ago. Currently, it was difficult for outside forces to establish a foothold in Xuanji, and they would be interrogated and harassed daily. However, the second boss was a native of Xuanji and had lived in Guanyuan for decades. He was the most honest and well-behaved person in the city. Even so, he was still shocked every day. The purple cloaked man was running amok in the city, and hundreds of people had already been thrown into the southern district magistrate's residence due to 'suspicion' or 'collaboration with the enemy'. It was said that those who were sent in were either wealthy people or people who had always been critical of the purple cloaked man. Once they entered the mansion, their families would have to offer a large sum of money, and there was no guarantee that they would not be able to return.
"Chaos! Chaos! " The boss of Guangde Hall, who looked like an ordinary farmer, sighed repeatedly. "The purple cloaked men have put up notices all over the city and set up 'Secret News Boxes' to encourage the people to privately inform on each other. Anyone who harbors a serious criminal will have their property confiscated and their entire family beheaded upon discovery. Some people have taken the opportunity to take revenge by randomly sending letters. The purple cloaked men don't care if the letters are real or fake. They will capture and torture them. The whole city is in a state of panic. Many people have built secret passages and hide in basements when they hear dogs barking. They can't sleep well at night … sigh …"
Meng Fuyao and Zhangsun Wuji looked at each other and said slowly, "Then let's take them away. Let Guanyuan have peace. "
"How?" The second boss was stunned. "There are close to ten thousand people outside the city, and the heads of various ranks live in the mansion of the county magistrate. There are a few hundred of them. I heard that there are close to ten thousand purple cloaked men and iron guards waiting for you at the Shangfeng Mansion."
"Don't they have Secret News Boxes?" Meng Fuyao smiled. "Please do me a favor."
= = =
It was early in the morning, and the weather was bright and beautiful.
A purplish-red box was placed neatly in front of the southern county magistrate's mansion. It was tightly sealed, with a narrow slit at the top and a lock on the back.
The Secret News Box was opened every morning to collect letters, and waited for secret letters every night. It was waiting for those sneaky shadows to sneak around the southern city at night to deliver the purple cloaked men's path to wealth and end the lives of innocent people.
A few passersby passed by and looked at the box with hatred and fear. It was such an ordinary box, but it contained the darkest and most unspeakable secrets in people's hearts. Countless families had been destroyed, countless people had been tortured, and countless unmarried daughters had been humiliated and hung.
This was no longer an ordinary wooden box, but the Box of Disaster that Guanyuan had heard of.
With a creak, the door opened, and the passersby hurried out.
The few purple cloaked men in charge of opening the Secret News Box yawned and laughed as they opened the box.
"I wonder which landlord got into trouble today …"
"I'm only concerned about whether he has a beautiful daughter."
"Forget it. Last time, there was a man without money or a woman who also threw himself in. What a waste of effort. If I find out who did it, I'll skin him alive!"
The few men laughed and took the letters, casually carrying them through the door. A few passersby watched in fear, suppressing their thumping hearts as they guessed which family would be the unlucky one.
That night.
A few purple cloaked men mysteriously died in the county magistrate's office.
That night, the purple cloaked men didn't sleep. They lit torches all over the city to search for the murderer, but to no avail. This was because the purple cloaked men died mysteriously. There were no wounds on their bodies, and they didn't struggle at all. In the end, they found out that they were poisoned, and so they turned the county magistrate's mansion upside down.
On the second day, a few more died.
On the third day, they died again.
The people who died were on duty that night, and on the second day they rested. At first, everyone thought of what happened during their shift, but on the third day, someone finally remembered the Secret News Box.
When they opened the box, they didn't find any clues. Those secret letters had been thrown away after reading them, and no one knew where they had been thrown. Where would they find them?
They found a famous doctor and sniffed inside the box. He said that there seemed to be a strange smell, and that the secret letters were poisoned.
On the same day, the Secret News Box was canceled, and the people of Guanyuan ran around in celebration.
On the night that the Secret News Box was canceled, the purple cloaked men held a meeting in the county magistrate's mansion. Halfway through the meeting, the two teams of purple cloaked men came back cursing each other, saying that the other side had stolen their women. Halfway through their cursing, they all fell to the ground and died.
Thus, the topic of the meeting became that they weren't allowed to go out and have fun anymore.
Since they couldn't have fun, problems began to appear in the daily supply of water and rice. The food that the purple cloaked men ate had all been tested for poison before they were sent to the kitchen. However, they didn't know what went wrong. There was clearly no poison in the food, but every day, people would vomit and have diarrhea after eating it, until they died of exhaustion.
The purple cloaked men went back to investigate the entire process of food delivery, but found that there was no trace of it. No one would care about what a farmer who delivered vegetables looked like.
At this time, no one dared to stay in the county magistrate's mansion anymore. The purple cloaked men withdrew from the mansion, and they didn't dare to split up and stay in the homes of other rich families. There wasn't much to live in anyway, and they had already ruined their families.
On that day, the purple cloaked men could only hurry out of the city. Every family hurriedly closed their doors and silently burned incense.
There were many purple cloaked men, and they split into small teams to leave the city. In a restaurant not far from the city gate, a man and a woman stood with their hands behind their backs. They had smiles on their faces, but their eyes were cold and calm as they looked at the purple torrent below.
After a while, the man gently grasped the woman's hand and said with a smile, "The weather is dry, and the environment is dry. It's suitable for killing."
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