Abyss Express

Foreword:

When you look at Guo Waichun during the cold food season, you will see that wild people are everywhere without disturbing your spirit.

——Cloud watch

[Part①·Funeral Expenses]

Things started a few days ago.

Two tall and handsome men walked out of Zhaojiazhuang. They are a pair of local brothers in Taiguang County.

Zhao Dalang's name was Jianying, and Zhao Erlang's name was Jianxiong. There are four sons in the Zhao family. When the genealogy is turned to the word "sword", the word "hero" is used.

It was a good time for spring to warm up. Zhao Da pulled the cart out of the village. Looking back, he saw his second brother slumped beside the cart, panting.

"Second brother!" Zhao Jianying shouted: "Can you leave? If you can't leave, just rest for a few more days."

Erlang's face gradually turned rosy, he poked his face out of his deerskin scarf, showed a pair of bright eyes, and responded in a deep voice.

"Brother, if you don't leave, you will stink."

Let's look at the corpses on the bullock cart. They are the parents of the Zhao family, as well as the third and fourth brothers, Swordsman and Swordsman.

The two younger brothers were weak and left with their parents. The weather was cold in the twelfth lunar month, so the family stayed in the main room without worrying about the smell and rot. When spring came, the brothers could not raise the funeral expenses. The second brother Jianxiong's illness was not cured yet, so Jianying alone could not make it happen. .

So the eldest brother took charge of the family and sold his ancestral home and two acres of paddy fields in exchange for some travel expenses. He planned to take his second brother to Zhuzhou for medical treatment and find a geomantic treasure land halfway there to bury all the family members.

Zhao Da went to the Chenghuang Temple to buy a cow and tied the animal to the cart. He had just reached the official road of Taiguang County and was about to enter the mountain road, but he was still worried.

"Are you feeling better?"

"It's just that my throat is itchy." Zhao Er immediately responded: "Drinking water a few days ago was like swallowing iron nails. I will come to help you when you have some strength."

Zhao Da held the leather bag and water bag and led the animal forward one foot deep and one foot shallow. Looking at the deep mountains and old forests, his leather boots sank into the mud of grass and leaves, and a fishy smell of mud came out when he stepped on them. Moisture condensed on the rope. There was a layer of dew, and the sun had just climbed up from the back slope of the hills, and a layer of white steam floated in the mountains.

"Old man Wu who sells road guides knows that our family is in trouble."

Zhao Er immediately said: "What did he say?"

Zhao Da then walked forward, carefully holding the cow rope: "I gave him two bottles of wine in exchange for silk gold."

"Silk gold?" Zhao Erlang was only sixteen or seventeen years old and didn't understand the term silk gold.

Occasionally there are funerals in Zhaojiazhuang, and the young and strong eldest son is required to help. The money sent to attend the funeral is called silk gold. The weak and young second son or girls are not allowed to see the dead, which is also a taboo against the plague.

This epidemic in Taiguang County has killed eight or nine out of ten families in the villages and towns.

Of the six members of the Zhao family, only the eldest and the second child survived. It was these two brothers who were strong and able to survive the torture.

Zhao Da said: "It's just giving money to the deceased's family."

Zhao Er: "Everyone is dead, what's the use of asking for money?"

Zhao Da: "That's different, second brother. Villagers need to help each other, and the silk money can also be used as funeral expenses."

Zhao Er: "Are you arriving soon? Do you only have two bottles of wine?"

"There are not many left, they are all dead." Zhao Da stopped talking after saying this.

Relatives and neighbors in Zhaojiazhuang in Taiguang County have all been poisoned by the plague to some extent. Every household is doing idle things at the beginning of spring. Some of the families with surplus food and money can still set up a mourning hall to perform services, but those who can attend the funeral, There shouldn't be many left.

Old man Wu was an official in charge of the road administration in the county government. Seeing the misery of the two brothers Jianying and Jianxiong, he could only search out two bottles of hard currency in his cellar. Wine and fermented wine were a rarity in the counties of the southeastern countries, and only those with abundant food Brewing is only possible when the situation is right. Whether the two brothers sell it to make money or drink it to keep warm on the road, it is a precious gift that lasts a long time.

After leaving the fields and farmhouses around Taiguang County and entering the mountains, the road became increasingly difficult to walk.

The mountains are full of strange rocks and woods, and it is difficult for an oxcart to find its way. Zhao Da was asked to go explore the road first and listen to the wind, and then come back to drive the animals through the mud and across the stream. On the third day, Zhao Er was finally able to walk a few steps and started to catch the bus with his elder brother.

Just after noon, we arrived at a dry mountain col. After leaving Lion Rock, we saw a yellow plain.

Zhao Da felt happy that he should be not far from Zhuzhou, so he took all the cow dung he had saved in the past few days, flattened the cloth bag and put it in the hot sun to dry.

Zhao Er also came to help. Knowing that his eldest brother was going to light a fire, he ran into the forest. His breathing gradually became smoother, and the pain on his body seemed to be completely healed. He took off his coat and deerskin scarf, only wearing an inner garment that was convenient for movement, and fetched it. Use your slingshot to shoot birds for fun.

In just half an hour, Jianying cleared away the grass and leaves, dug two small pits, brought firewood and cow dung to dry the firewood. The weather in the south was like this. He pinched the branches he picked casually, and the wood was dried. You can squeeze out a handful of water, but you can't start a fire.

When Jianxiong came back with two plump waterfowl, he was still shouting excitedly.

"Brother! There is a lake! There is a lake! I don't have a pole! Otherwise I will fish for you!"

"Hahahaha!" Jianying saw that her brother was healthy, and her heart fell back into her stomach. It seemed that everything had color again: "That's it! I'll roast the bird to eat!"

The two brothers were squatting in front of the fire pit. Jianying was warming firewood, while Jianxiong plucked and decapitated the prey, cut its neck to bleed it, and dug a wind channel for the fire pit where the food was cooked to make the flames stronger.

After stringing the waterfowl on green branches, Jianying fiddled with dry firewood, took fire from the cow dung fire pit, and blew on the haystack fire. The fire suddenly rose. He quickly folded the bamboo tube and returned it to his old man. Afraid of destroying this precious fire source.

He didn't dare to speak and stared closely at the fat meat on the wet branches, fearing that the good meat would be roasted. After a while, you can see that the skin of the bird meat has an oily sheen, and gradually turns yellow and brown.

The same goes for Jianxiong, hugging his legs and coughing from time to time due to the smoke from the fire. Perhaps his illness has not completely healed and his lungs are still itchy.

The two brothers looked like savages with their scruffy beards, just waiting for the food to be ready.

At this moment, Jianying's nose was brighter and he asked.

"Stinky?"

Jianxiong didn't understand, he still couldn't smell it: "What's so smelly?"

Jianying: "Is it smelly?"

As he spoke, Zhao Da brought the roasted bird to his nose and smelled it carefully. There was no strange smell.

"I can't hear it, brother!" Jianxiong was covered in sweat. He had just walked a few miles to find his prey. He spent a lot of time catching the waterfowl. When he returned to his brother, he was already a little cold. When he went back to look for clothes, , glanced at the bullock cart.

At this glance, Jianxiong was almost frightened.

Why does the barbecue stink?

The old scalper who was pulling the cart had already run away, and several animals had chewed through the rope that was pulling the cart! Look at the several dark figures crawling on the car. With their arched backs and shiny hair, they are clearly wolves!

Zhao Er shouted: "Wolf! Wolf!"

The stench came from the corpse. These wolves had bitten the belly of the corpse, tore out the intestines and bitten the heart and liver! How can it not stink? !

The Zhao brothers were too frightened to move at first. The fear in their hearts was gradually overshadowed by anger. Jianying dropped the roasted bird meat and ran towards the bullock cart carrying two burning logs.

The cattle had disappeared long ago. These cunning wolves and dogs knew that the cattle were blunt and stubborn, so they bit off the ropes to drive them away, and then they dared to jump on the cart and gnaw at the corpses.

Jianying jumped onto the cart and waved a torch to chase away the wolf, only to see that all the internal organs of his younger brother Jianjie had been eaten away. The corpse's eyes are also open! It seems that he refuses to rest in peace!

The seven-foot-old man was so angry that his eyes were splitting. He also saw two evil wolves that seemed to be stunned by hunger. They were still fighting for his mother's body. They wanted to remove the old mother's hands and feet, dragging the body and tipping it under the car. ——

——When the beast saw the fire, it immediately retreated to the rear of the car. The slow-running female wolf called Jianying kicked her in the belly. There was only a "click" sound, and the waist of the seventy-eighty-pound wolf was also It broke, and some black blood spurted out from the throat. It hit the thick branch of the tree hard, rolled to the ground and lost its breath.

"Beast!"

Jianying roared, took away the hunting knife from the cart and rushed forward.

The wolves and dogs who were still feasting suddenly fled in all directions. How could Jianying catch up with these wolves? He could only watch helplessly as these beasts fled back into the dense mountain forest.

He chased him for half a mile, and Jianxiong also followed his elder brother all the way forward. The slingshot in his hand was used to throw stones. The hits on these big wolves were not painful or itchy, and the stones hitting the backs of the wolf dogs would only hurt. He heard a whimpering bark, then clawed at the mud with his four paws, and ran faster.

The two of them couldn't catch up, so they returned to the cart. The corpses of their relatives were more or less bitten by the evil wolves. The third brother Jianhao died the earliest, and the corpse was also thoroughly rotten, but it was the most complete.

The parents and little brother Jianjie lost their arms and legs, and there was not much left in their stomachs without the protection of bones.

Seeing such a tragic situation, the second man of the Zhao family collapsed, leaned on the bullock cart and began to cry in mourning.

Zhao Da didn't speak. He seemed to be infected by his younger brother's emotions——

——He didn't dare to cry, he was afraid that if he cried, Erlang would lose his soul and would be unable to move forward.

"This is not the way to go. I will dig two pits and bury my parents. The third brother and the fourth brother will be buried in another pit. This way, they can be clearly distinguished for the next year's worship, and it is easier to arrange the incense altar tributes."

"Are you going to leave them here?! Brother?" Jianxiong's face was already covered in mud and blood. Now with tears in his eyes, he seemed to be unable to see anything clearly. "You want to leave? You have to leave." Already?"

This innocent and upright second brother didn’t seem to notice it or react yet——

——My parents and two younger brothers are all dead. It's just that the body hasn't been buried yet, and Jianxiong doesn't seem to accept it yet.

Just one winter, but more than eighty days ago, this family was gathered in front of the stove, listening to their father and mother telling stories together, about the foreign goods from Sendai Prefecture, and about the Taoist priests from Wuling Mountain who slayed demons. Talking about the skills of tenant farmers and hunters in plowing paddy fields and hunting yellow leather, and talking about the shooting skills of street buskers, my father would also brag that he used to use guns when he was young, and he was the one with the best skills in the land security team.

Zhao Da remained silent and sent a bottle of wine to the old man.

"If you feel uncomfortable, drink a little."

After that, the eldest brother went to find a conspicuous surface, preferably with a stone platform to protect him from wind and rain, and then dug two graves.

Zhao Er still couldn't pass this test. He sat next to his little brother and saw Jianjie opening his eyes. He wanted to close his eyes, but it seemed that the canine teeth of the wolf dog were affecting the spinal cord of the corpse, and he couldn't close the eyes no matter what.

"Brother is useless. Brother"

Jianxiong opened the wine jar but was reluctant to drink it, so he just said it foolishly.

"Children are unfilial. Children are unfilial."

At this moment, the test Zhao Jianying faces is even more difficult and difficult——

——All my belongings were staked on that ox. This beast could be exchanged for more than thirty silver coins. It was a pity to run away like this. He wanted to find the cow back by searching for the tomb.

He followed the grass blades crushed by the hooves of the cows for more than an hour. Seeing that the sun was about to set, Jianying hurried back and finally gave up the idea. He probably couldn't find it.

Back near the cart, Jianying called out to Jianxiong, but Jianxiong didn't respond.

He thought that maybe the second child was drunk and fell asleep.

He ran to the trolley again to look for it, but still couldn't find it. At this time, Jianying finally became alert.

He retrieved another hunting knife from the side of the vehicle, which was just a foot-long woodcutter. It paired with the lawnmower in his hand and could barely be called a hunting knife.

He groped next to the car and looked under the car. After searching several big trees, his second brother was still nowhere to be seen.

When he returned to the fire pit, he saw a huge black bear dragging Jianxiong's clothes into the haystack.

Jianying stared angrily and ran forward——

——The hair on the black bear's body is so thick that its eyes are almost invisible. The long hair on its head has covered its eyes. There are also some white hairs that grow backwards. It can be seen that it is very old.

Jianxiong's whole body smelled of alcohol, his face was red, and he was drunk and unconscious.

[Part②·Misfortune never comes singly]

The elder man of the Zhao family was radiating hot heat all over his body and roared at the prostrate beast. He wanted to scare the blind bear away.

But it was no use. The blind bear's ears seemed to be not working well. Its round ears only trembled for a moment, and then it let go of Jianxiong's leg. With its claws slightly removed, three bloody wounds were left on the prey's legs and feet. When it smelled blood, it immediately sobered up and stood up.

The moment the black bear stood up, Zhao Jianying felt the pressure doubled.

It is almost two meters tall, with two claws hanging down in front of its belly and a streak of white hair on its chest. He leaned forward and used his nose to identify the direction, shaking his head and head, still looking for prey.

Jianying didn't hesitate, he leaned closer to Zhao Laoer, his eyes widened, his legs and feet were shaking, his teeth were chattering, and he touched Jianxiong's shoulders and neck. At the same time, Blind Xiong knelt down again and licked the wound on Jianxiong's ankle hard.

At this moment, Jianxiong woke up from the pain. He watched helplessly as his leggings came loose, his trouser legs split, and a piece of flesh was licked off by the black bear!

"ah!!------"

The sudden scream alerted the black bear and he wanted to stretch out his paws to hug and drag him. When Jianying came back and forth carrying Zhao Er's clothes, Luffy backed away!

Zhao Dalang couldn't turn around, Zhao Er couldn't get up, and he couldn't move away from him when he was chasing and escaping. He didn't dare to shout, for fear that if he shouted in one breath, he wouldn't have the strength to escape, but Jianxiong couldn't die here! His parents and brothers are all dead, he can't lose this brother again!

Not knowing where the strength came from, Jianying simply threw away a knife, let go of Jianxiong's shoulders, and rushed straight towards the black bear. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head and neck, as if he had hit a mountain!

As soon as the mouthpiece was sweetened, blood spurted out of his mouth. He knocked the blind man to pieces and became dazed. When he came back to his senses, he only saw six more holes in his deerskin scarf and cold clothes. Blood was constantly flowing out, and his head was tilted to one side. His body had not completely collapsed, but was lying on the side and it was difficult to move!

The blind bear was frightened by such a bump. It's eyes widened, and it leaned forward and jumped into the air. When its two paws left the belly of the Zhao family boss, they still carried some minced meat, and a half-cut knife was stuck in his heart. , gasping for breath from his throat, it seemed that his heartbeat had stopped and he could no longer exert any effort.

It had a half piece of deerskin in its mouth. It was originally aiming for the prey's throat, but in the end it only bit the piece of leather.

After about ten seconds, neither the man nor the bear dared to move. The pain came so late, so late. The black bear finally wailed in pain, let out an angry roar, crawled on all fours, and flew towards the forest.

Zhao Laoer finally came to his senses——

"——Brother!"

Boss Zhao clutched his stomach and shouted: "Leave me alone! Kill it! Kill it! Exchange it for wealth!"

Zhao Laoer was limping and without thinking much, he followed the blood trail into the forest.

Hearing the gasps echoing in the mountains and forests, Jianxiong finally found the dead prey. When he found his elder brother again, it was already late at night.

The two brothers made simple bandages, buried their parents and brothers, and carried the prey to the Zhuzhou County Government.

At this moment, the watchman had just returned to Si Yaojun's inspection shop (firefighting station) when he heard the excitement in the county government office.

In the yamen compound, the county magistrate and his godson called the leather tanner to process the bearskin.

The county magistrate's name was Wu Chengzhang. He was a eunuch and had no heirs.

The godson was the culprit who framed the Zhao brothers. He changed his surname to Wu Chengzhang and became Wu Xiuwen.

The craftsmen were busy working in the courtyard, and the magistrate and his son just watched the excitement and talked about the Zhao brothers without any scruples.

"Godfather, I didn't expect these two brothers to be so stupid. As long as the godfather used a little trick, they would be fooled!" Wu Xiuwen squatted next to Wu Chengzhang's chair and said with a smile: "Godfather, you will be more useful in the future." Dressed in a bearskin cloak, your good son is a bear-fighting hero!"

Wu Chengzhang still wanted to save face, and a high-pitched voice came out of his throat: "There are outsiders doing things, so don't tell them loudly."

"What's this! In Zhuzhou County! Every drop of rain falling from the sky! It all belongs to our Wu family!" Wu Xiuwen shouted: "These two hunters come to offer treasures? Oh my! They are obviously stealing from your godfather's territory!" Hunt! Am I right?"

Wu Chengzhang responded in a low voice: "That's true, but Xiuwen, since these two hunters can kill bears, aren't you afraid that they will cut off your head? I didn't know there were such powerful hunters in the county government. "

"Where are they? Do you rely on these people to arrest people with wine and rice bags?" Wu Xiuwen became more energetic. At this time, he said proudly: "Isn't it your good son to prepare for a rainy day! Please ask Empress Zhuzhu and King Baimu to send a guest ! This disciple is very skilled in swordsmanship - I took him to fetch people, and as soon as he made a move, the thumbs of those two wild men were cut off! They couldn't even hold the hatchet! How could they resist?"

"So you went to seek help from the gods." Wu Chengzhang heard this and immediately smiled and said, "Are you successful and want to support me until the end of your life?"

"I don't dare!" Wu Xiuwen immediately clasped his fists and half-knelt: "I am doing this for my godfather!"

"Where is this retainer you mentioned? Bring him here." Wu Chengzhang pushed the cup and poured tea for his godson: "Just say that the magistrate wants to see him. Such a heroic and extraordinary immortal, I must treat him well. ah."

Wu Xiuwen did not dare to disobey the order, so he immediately blew the whistle to summon the carrier pigeon and sent an urgent letter to the immortal.

After a while, a strange man in white clothes came in from the main entrance of the county government office and walked silently.

This man's beard and hair are all white, and he has the appearance of a child with white hair. He has a deep aura and steady steps. Although Wu Chengzhang does not practice martial arts, he also knows that this master has deep internal strength. He wants to subdue the two bear-killing savages. It is true, but he still has to talk. After confirming, this godson has been talking sweet words around the magistrate all day long, and he, the godfather, is almost becoming suspicious.

"Are you the hero who apprehends the criminal?"

"I am a disciple of King Bai Mu. I have given up my real name. The county magistrate calls me by my Taoist name. Just call me Yuzhen."

Wu Chengzhang asked: "Taoist Priest Yuzhen, how did you subdue those two hunters?"

"My little friend hurriedly asked for an audience last night." Taoist Yuzhen paused and then said: "It was said that two criminals raped a common girl and committed a murderous act, so I picked up my sword and followed him to the county government office. In the side room next to Yaopu, there are indeed two village men having fun with a woman."

Wu Xiuwen reminded: "That is."

"Oh! They want to harm people." Taoist priest Yuzhen finally turned his head: "So I taught them a lesson and cut off their fingers with a sword. They already had wounds on their bodies, and soon they were so painful that they lost their strength. He was captured without hesitation."

"It's so good! It's so good!" Wu Chengzhang smiled and said, "It's just a pity."

Yuzhen: "What a pity?"

Wu Chengzhang: "It's a pity that he soiled the Taoist Priest's sword. Is that dog-like thing worthy of soiling the Taoist Priest's magic weapon?"

"Hahahaha." Taoist Priest Yuzhen said with a smile: "It's because of my little friend Xiu Wen who has been doing good deeds and accumulated good deeds and formed a good relationship with my master that I traveled across mountains and rivers to come to Zhuzhou. It's just a matter of effort - if the county magistrate said this, it would be a shame for me. Yes, morality and morality, how can a Taoist not do chivalry and justice just because of such a small thing? Even if it is really a dog, and it goes wild and commits murder on the magistrate's territory, I will still kill it!"

Yuzhen changed the topic.

"It's just that when those two people were arrested, they still talked in confused words."

Wu Chengzhang was afraid that the matter would be exposed, so he quickly asked: "What did those two savages say?"

Taoist Priest Yuzhen chuckled: "They lost their thumbs and said that father's essence and mother's blood should not be discarded. They knelt down and begged me to pick it up for them."

Wu Chengzhang breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that the immortal family would hear something he shouldn't hear.

"Oh those fingers"

Taoist priest Yuzhen waved his sleeves gracefully——

——Pointing to the outside of the Yamen.

"The magistrate's house keeps a few dogs, so I feed them to them. The nursing dogs must recognize human blood, otherwise they won't be fierce enough."

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Wu Chengzhang clapped his hands and applauded: "Well done, Taoist Master!"

Wu Xiuwen also shouted: "Okay!"

Wu Chengzhang immediately said: "I don't know what I like. I am like this."

The magistrate of Zhuzhou doesn't usually deal with these immortals, so naturally he doesn't know what the Hundred Eyes King faction likes.

These two hunters are strong and strong. It is really not an easy job for the Yamen to fetch people. With the Immortal Family taking action, this matter will naturally go smoothly, and we can't let others work in vain.

"If the county magistrate can do it conveniently," Taoist Yuzhen decided to get straight to the point: "I wonder if I can send male and female workers to the master's house, preferably boys."

Before he finished speaking, the leather-tanker's scream came from outside the door.

Taoist Priest Yuzhen immediately stretched his neck and looked -

——I saw a burly man with a fair face and no beard coming in from the side door of the government office.

This man was wearing a Western robe, with short black and thick hair. He was holding a nursing dog, and he cut open the big dog's stomach with just his fingers, and took out two relatively complete thumbs from the stomach. Stuff them back into the doctor's bag.

Jiang Xueming could clearly count the knuckle bones.

"Done."