PS: Thank you Mo Yufeng Lan for your support.
Human Realm, Giant Deer Realm.
Giant Deer Realm was the darkest and most chaotic place in the entire Human Realm. Because it was adjacent to the Asura Realm, it lacked Astral Power. The land was barren, and there was only four hours of light a day. It was the most desolate place in the entire Human Realm. Even Meteorite Beasts couldn't be born there.
The Holy Dynasty didn't care about it, and no one took care of it. Over time, this place became a paradise for criminals who gathered intelligence, assassinations, black markets, gambling houses, brothels, and so on. Villains, killers, thieves, fugitives, perverts, horse thieves, bandits, Asura Clan, Demon Clan, Ghost Clan, and even the infamous Followers of Heaven were gathered here. It was also the entrance to the Asura Realm.
A hundred miles away from Giant Deer City was a small village called Widow Village. As the name suggested, there were many widows in Widow Village. It was because when the young went out to work, there would often be unexpected disasters, leaving behind orphans and widows.
This was a place where people didn't have to pay with their lives. Ordinary people were the same as livestock here.
Then there was a question. Why didn't these people who lived in the abyss of suffering leave this place?
In fact, most of the people living here were descendants of refugees and criminals. They were still considered 'legal' residents in Giant Deer Territory, but once they left Giant Deer Territory, they had no household registration and became unregistered residents. They had no identity and no ability to protect themselves, so it was difficult for them to do anything outside.
New Year's Eve was a rare peaceful time in Widow Village. Usually, on this day, the people of Widow Village would gather together to enjoy a short celebration.
This was the day that the children looked forward to the most in a year, because the adults would give them New Year's money.
Happy times flew by quickly. The bitter cold in Giant Deer Realm never came late. In the second half of the night, people had to return to their beds or they would freeze to death.
Song Guihua was one of the widows in Widow Village, but she was different from other widows. She became a widow first before coming to Widow Village. She had a ten-year-old girl named Song Xiaolian.
Song Xiaolian rested her head on Song Guihua's chest as usual. "Mother, are you asleep?"
"I'll sleep after you are." Song Guihua patted her back.
Song Xiaolian turned his head and poked his head out. "Mother, I want to see the fireworks."
The smile on Song Guihua's face froze. "Mother can't afford it."
"I know." Song Xiaolian said, "Xiao Hu said that the fireworks in Northern Tang are the best. My mother took me to see them."
Song Guihua sighed and was about to speak when she suddenly heard the muffled sound of a heavy object falling to the ground from outside the house. It was closely followed by a clear and melodious voice, "Master, where is this place? Yue-er is so cold …"
"Mother, are they robbers …" Song Xiaolian became nervous.
"I'll go out and take a look. Don't make any noise …" Song Guihua suppressed her fear and put on a coat before getting down from the kang bed. She walked to the door and picked up a stick. She carefully opened the door and looked out through the crack.
As Giant Deer Border did not receive any light all year round, it was so dark at night that one could not even see their own fingers. Song Guihua could only vaguely see two black figures, one big and one small, standing beside a well in the middle of the village. That small black figure was looking around.
Song Guihua turned her gaze and saw that the villagers had all gotten up. Each of them was holding a stick, knife, or spear as they surrounded the two people.
Having more people gave her courage. She also pushed open the door and walked out. She asked the two people, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
When she got closer, she saw that the small black figure was a little girl who was about the same age as her daughter. She looked very cute and likable, smiling with a pair of crescent eyes.
"Master and Yue-er are just passing by. They don't have any ill intentions." The little girl said with a smile.
Song Guihua took another two steps and when she saw the true face of the big black figure, her breathing instantly stopped.
It was a woman, a peerless beauty that only appeared in her dreams. Even though she was also a woman, she couldn't help but be attracted to her and involuntarily fell into infatuation.
The woman was dressed in a gorgeous palace dress. It was made of fabric that Song Guihua had never seen before. It had complicated hollowed out golden patterns, wide water cloud long sleeves, and a magnificent and exquisite floor-length robe.
Her straight and smooth black hair hung down like a silver waterfall, fluttering beside her delicate waist. She looked gentle and fresh; but her exquisite face that could cause the downfall of a city and state had a haggardness that made people pity her. Her slightly pointed chin matched the smooth lines of her face, but because of her emotionless eyes, she looked especially cold. Her slightly raised brows made people feel a kind of fearless strength.
She stood there like a cluster of crystals, clear and transparent; but that sharp thorn made people fearful, and could only be seen from afar and not desecrated.
Suddenly, there was a slight tremor on the ground, followed by the noisy sound of horse hooves approaching.
A widow suddenly screamed, "The Black Mountain Bandits are here!"
As soon as the voice faded away, the villagers scattered like birds and beasts.
Song Guihua was so scared that her beautiful face turned pale. Just as she was about to return to her house, she suddenly stopped and said to the two women, one big and one small, "You two better hide quickly, the Black Mountain Bandits specialize in robbing passers-by …"
"I hate bandits the most."
The beautiful woman's beautiful eyes shot out an astonishing killing intent. Not only did she not listen to the advice, she instead walked towards the direction of the horse hooves.
…
The end of the night.
Northern Tang Empire, Jishui Prefecture, Huajiang City.
Huajiang City was known as the Flame City because of its world-famous firework craftsmanship. It was known as the birthplace of fireworks. Every year, countless tourists came here to participate in the Fireworks Festival of Huajiang City.
The day of the Fireworks Festival happened to be the Lantern Festival.
Jishui Prefecture, which was under the jurisdiction of Huajiang City, naturally had a special fondness for fireworks. On the night of New Year's Eve, the curfew was lifted, and the whole city was lit up. This was also a time when the rich families compared their financial resources. Whoever spent more money, the fireworks would last longer and look better. Of course, this indirectly showed the wealth of the rich.
Therefore, on this night, it really could be called a hundred flowers blooming, faintly resembling Huajiang City.
Probably when the fireworks feast was about to end, a meteor streaked across the sky.
"Father, look, it's a meteor."
On a small slope next to the pier outside the city, Father Wang and his daughter Wang Qiaoqiao were admiring the fireworks. Wang Qiaoqiao suddenly pointed at the meteor and said.
Father Wang was one of the hired porters outside Jishui Prefecture. The so-called hired porter was the leader of the porters. He was responsible for negotiating the price with the merchants who used the porters. This effectively prevented the merchants from maliciously lowering the price of the porters. Because of the huge value of this industry, hired porters were usually only people of virtue and prestige.
"What's so good about a meteor?" Father Wang was a native of Jishui Prefecture. He had been a porter for forty to fifty years before he became an hired porter. He had also been watching fireworks for forty to fifty years. He had no interest in what meteor. He lowered his head and patted the pipe twice. He poured the ash out of the pipe and put some tobacco into it. Then he lit it and took a deep breath. Just as he was about to spit it out, Wang Qiaoqiao suddenly screamed.
"Father, look, the meteor is coming towards us."
Father Wang almost choked. He looked up and saw that there was indeed something falling from above.
Before he could take his daughter to dodge, the thing fell on the slope behind them. It seemed to be a person, rolling down the slope.
"Father, it's a person!" Wang Qiaoqiao chased after it before she finished speaking.
"Qiaoqiao, don't move. Aiyo, come back quickly. I don't even know if it's a person or a ghost …" Father Wang only wanted to say that a person would fall like a meteor. It was simply impossible, but his daughter had already rushed down the slope.
"Father, he's still breathing. Come quickly and take a look," Wang Qiaoqiao shouted.
Father Wang hurriedly ran down. He first pulled the woman behind him, then carefully looked at the person. With one look, he couldn't help but be shocked. He saw that the person's face was covered in black gas, and his entire body was shrouded in an ominous aura. He was lying down like a zombie.
But the black gas quickly disappeared, and then revealed a face that was between that of a teenager and a young man.
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