I have a weird dynasty

Chapter 317: Hometown (asking for monthly ticket)
The road that Sangque, Xiachan and Qiao Ling took to the north was full of devastation.

The towns and cities we encountered were all deserted, stalls were abandoned, and debris was scattered all over the ground with no one paying attention to them. From time to time, the cries of children and the groans of the elderly could be heard in the streets and alleys.

Most of the surrounding villages were burned down by the fire, leaving only charred ruins.

The once fertile farmland has become barren and overgrown with weeds.

On the country roads, people, dragging their families with them and looking panicked, were like a long dragon, fleeing to places that had not been affected by the war.

Most of them were ragged, looked haggard, and their eyes were full of fear and despair.

The old man was leaning on a cane, moving forward with difficulty; the woman carrying a young child on her back was staggering, her messy hair sticking to her tear-stained cheeks.

There were not even young and middle-aged people among them, and most of them would die on the road before they could go far, especially after nightfall. If they could not find shelter, they could only leave it to fate.

As Sang Que and the other two passed by these fleeing civilians, they could only whip their horses to speed up, but they could not save these people.

Only when the war ends can these people truly settle down.

Along the way, every time Sang Que encountered a fleeing team, she would silently kill the evil spirits lurking around the road. She did not say anything while doing these things, but Qiao Ling saw it all.

Sang Que usually doesn't talk much, and has a cold face but a warm heart.

At night, the three found an abandoned inn and stayed there temporarily.

The buildings of the post stations are still relatively intact. In the past, these post stations were the life guarantee for travelers. Regardless of natural disasters or ghost disasters, the post stations would ensure normal operation.

Now because of the war, even the post station has been abandoned.

There were some people in the post station, about a dozen of them, divided into two groups, sitting around a campfire. Judging from their attire and the bags they carried, they were also refugees from somewhere else. However, they were not ordinary people, but merchants from a town somewhere.

Sang Que dressed up as a gangster and escorted Qiao Ling and Xia Chan to an empty corner and lit a bonfire.

Xuanyu still climbed onto the beam as soon as possible, occupied the commanding heights, and kept watch for everyone.

The summer cicada skillfully found a stick, poured some water on the dry biscuits, and roasted them over the fire.

Sang Que was chatting with Qiao Ling. She was very curious about a question, so she lowered her voice and asked Qiao Ling, "Sister Qiao, if the war continues like this, the number of people in the Xuan Dynasty will drop sharply, and the strength of the Evil Suppression Division in fighting against evil spirits will also be rapidly weakened. Aren't they afraid of the destruction of the world by ghosts?"

Qiao Ling sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. As long as one side insists on fighting, the war will never stop. If it doesn't stop, there will definitely be a lot of deaths. And..."

Qiao Ling looked around and leaned in to tell Sang Que, "Besides, this time the Guizhou Army is being pushed by the Ghost Opera Troupe and Yunzhou. Yunzhou doesn't care about the lives of the people of Xuan Dynasty, and the Ghost Opera Troupe thrives on the fear of the people. If the war continues like this, it will be good for both Yunzhou and the Ghost Opera Troupe."

"The Ghost Opera Troupe and the Evil Suppression Division are now like the yin and yang sides. The Evil Suppression Division is the yang side, gathering the people's incense and wishes, while the Ghost Opera Troupe is the yin side, gathering the people's fear and despair. The Prime Minister, Daojun and Shoufo worshipped by the Evil Suppression Division are the yang ghosts and gods, while the Drama God worshipped by the Ghost Opera Troupe is the yin ghost and god."

Sang Que was puzzled, "Isn't the Prime Minister still alive? Can a living person become a ghost?"

Qiao Ling didn't know that the Prime Minister was once a member of Jiuge. She said softly, "I don't know this either, but I hope the Prime Minister can succeed. If a rational person can become a ghost, it may be a blessing for the people. I know what you are wondering about. I used to think that incense can only be accumulated by the number of people, but it is not the case."

Sang Que's eyes lit up and he listened carefully. Qiao Ling said, "I have some experience myself. When a person has a strong desire to live and is very close to death, if I save him, the incense power he gives me is actually stronger than that of other people I save. So I always feel that the incense power that a devout believer provides to ghosts and gods has not reached its limit."

Sang Que lowered her eyes and thought. In fact, she had been thinking about this question for a long time. There was no fixed standard for incense. Its strength was determined by feeling.

However, the intensity of incense is related to the strength of one’s emotions. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the incense.

So, suppose in peacetime, a person devoutly worships a ghost or god and can offer one incense stick. In wartime, because survival is threatened, a person's strong desire to be saved will be much stronger. Is it possible to offer two or even more incense sticks?
The opposite force of fear is the same.

Even in times of war, this powerful incense is better and purer than the incense accumulated by quantity, and is more helpful in resisting the erosion of Jiuyou.

Could it be that both the Evil Suppression Bureau and the Ghost Theater Troupe benefited from this war?

The war left the people homeless, and their fear and despair made the ghost troupe stronger. When this despair reached a certain level, as long as the Xuan Dynasty won the war and brought peace back to the people, the excitement and joy of the people at that moment would definitely bring a very powerful power of incense.

This may be the only way to increase the power of incense when the population of the Gui Dynasty is insufficient.

Sang Que's heart was shocked and she was frightened by her idea. Unfortunately, she was no longer in the Evil Suppression Bureau. Otherwise, she would know the answer by just feeling whether the power of the incense in the mask had increased or weakened recently.

Sang Que looked at Qiao Ling. Qiao Ling was actually hinting at her about this matter. Both of them frowned unconsciously. No matter when, it is always the upper-level people in power who benefit, and the people at the bottom who suffer.

Sang Que was in mixed feelings. She suddenly began to doubt whether the leader of the Xuan Dynasty, or the prime minister, her biological father, was deliberately allowing the ghost troupe to provoke war.

Otherwise, given the scourge that is the Ghost Opera Troupe, why not mobilize the entire Suppression of Evil Officials to launch a few comprehensive raids? She didn't believe that they couldn't be eradicated.

"Sister, eat cake!"

Xia Chan handed the baked cake to Sang Que, who took it and said thank you. Xia Chan gave one to Qiao Ling, leaving three for himself, and started to eat happily.

Qiao Ling comforted Sang Que, "Thinking too much will hurt your heart. Don't think too much. Just do what you want to do right now."

Sang Que nodded, bit a biscuit and took out the map given to her by Zhang Laosi from her bag to check their current location. She slid her finger on the map and found the location of the post station. She continued to head north, and her finger suddenly stopped at one place, and her eyes became complicated.

Xia Chan, who was happily eating a cake at the side, also stopped and looked at the few words written by Sang Que's fingers, his eyes gradually dimming.

Big Black Mountain.

They had actually walked to the vicinity of Dahei Mountain, where Heishan Village was located. However, there was an obvious red line on the map that separated the area of ​​Dahei Mountain. The territory over there had been occupied by the Qianshou Army.

"Mother..." Xia Chan whispered, thinking of her mother again.

Sangque rubbed Xiachan's head and continued to look at the map. On this map, Tangyuan County and Dongyang County had not yet fallen into the hands of the Qianshou Army. Most of the villagers who escaped from Heishan Village settled in Tangyuan County.

Shouhou and He Baosheng's family settled in Dongyang County, and Mingfu was on the way to Dongyang County.

Scenes from the past came to his mind, and Sang Que didn't know what had happened to these old friends.

She turned to look at the people warming themselves by the fire in the back, cleared her throat and asked, "Excuse me, are you from Tangyuan County?"