Legend of the Demon Emperor of Kyushu

The sky is cloudy and cool, and even at noon, the sun cannot be seen. The sky is like a color ink painting painted with azurite as dye, locked by stacks of blue clouds, and occasionally revealing a patch of white.

Contrary to the gloomy weather, the world is in full swing.On the streets of Hanye City, there was a loud shout of "Hey-hey--", this is a military training organized by the citizens spontaneously, which is a bit like the martial arts training ground in Beishan Town;
A large group of people with hoes was led by officers and soldiers, marching in one direction;
There are also people coming and going, constantly transporting supplies, including wood for making spears and arrows, and animal skins and iron pieces transported to the city gate...

Ye Ziqi strolled through the crowd, and out of curiosity, he stopped the soldiers and asked what the materials were used for. The soldiers said that wrapping wet animal skins and iron sheets on the city gates would prevent the enemy from setting fire to the gates.

"But the enchantment on the city gate is the most solid, are you still using these?"

"This...it's always better to make the door thicker." The somewhat shy colleague said so.

Ye Ziqi just walked and watched, only the haze never dissipated on his face, and he seemed a bit out of place with the energetic people around him.

If the city gate is broken, it means defeat.But the barbarians control the group of solid stone men and the giant snake that reaches the sky. With these siege weapons, how can they hold it?

He felt pessimistic uncontrollably in his heart. Under such circumstances, everyone had to do nothing by themselves——

And there was really nothing he could do.

The old demon has lost his inner alchemy, and he can no longer use those strange spells. What he can use now are only a few tricks he knew when he first left Beishan Town, and even the Luogong Jue can only last for a short time .According to Xue Ying, using this technique now is wasting his life.But if he didn't use it, he couldn't even hold his sword steadily.

But it was because of this that he came to the streets and wandered around.He wants to see these people who are still committed to doing things, these down-to-earth people, and hopes that they can bring him back to reality from endless worries. He also wants to find his own direction from them, find what he should do thing.

"Little brother, see you again."

A familiar accent suddenly sounded, and when Ye Ziqi turned his head away, his scattered eyes immediately condensed.

Centurion, Wen Hua.

This officer, who was once whipped by Baichengshuang, led a dozen subordinate soldiers to come up and greet him. His aura alone should not be underestimated.

"It turned out to be Officer Wen. I have heard that Officer is proficient in archery and horses. It's an honor to still remember being the next pawn."

"Haha, little brother, you are being modest. I have lost my studies and haven't practiced for a long time. How can it be compared to a young hero who went to the front with the general and went through life and death." After Wen Hua finished speaking, he turned around and ordered: "Retire, my officer Have a private conversation with the little hero."

The subordinate soldiers retreated one after another, and Ye Ziqi also secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing that he was so polite, he didn't seem to be looking for trouble, but he was here to make connections.He knew that he and Gu Feng were now regarded as celebrities in front of Baichengshuang, and there were many people who wanted to build a relationship.Anyway, they are all officers on the same front, and he doesn't mind talking around.

"Mr. Wen, are you here on business?" Ye Ziqi asked.

"Collect taxes." Wen Hua answered simply: "To collect so much manpower, ironware and coal from the people, there must be some money. The general raised taxes for the wealthy households in the city, and this official is here to handle these chores. "

"Oh—will they give it?"

"Of course I won't, and it's quite difficult to yell about treacherous officials and corrupt officials, oppressing good people. But, hey, look over there—"

Wen Hua pointed to the distance, and at a boundary on the street, many crazy-looking people were kneeling, worshiping a clay figurine sculpture, chanting words.Ye Ziqi took a closer look, and found that the clay figurine had armor patterns on its body, and its appearance was somewhat familiar.

"That's...General Frost?"

"That's right." Wen Hua said with a smile: "The people are ignorant. When they were terrified and powerless, General Shuang came back suddenly and gave them a glimmer of hope. They started to start this strange thing. up.

Two days ago, when the tax revenue was not coming up, Wen Xiang gave us an idea. He deliberately leaked the list of people who obstructed the general's tax policy to these foolish people. Give law and order a break——

guess what?That night, they broke into the homes of the rich families who took the lead in resisting taxes and smashed the houses.Hey, this time it's the people bullying the people, not our officials bullying the people.Just like this, the three families were smashed, and the next day the prominent families in the city rushed to pay the taxes. Now the official is waiting here, and there is no need to show up in person. close up. "

After hearing this, Ye Ziqi opened his mouth wide, surprised that such things still happen in the city.

Wen Hua continued: "I finally understand that as long as it is used well, anyone can be useful. We have tens of thousands of people in the city, but we may not lose to the thousands of barbarians."

Ye Ziqi gradually calmed down, nodded and said, "Yes."

"I haven't asked you, little brother, did you also come out to work for the general?"

Ye Ziqi stared at the centurion upon hearing this, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Yes." Ye Ziqi said:

"Actually, the general asked me to search for a wanted criminal in the city. His name is Huo Geng."

"Oh? Actually at this time——"

"Well, it must be a very important person. If the commander can provide clues, I will help the commander to ask the general for credit. What happened in Hanshi Town has long been over."

When Wen Hua heard this, his face brightened, and after a few more greetings, he turned around and directed his subordinates, and Ye Ziqi left.

Walking on the street again, Ye Ziqi was also a little surprised why he suddenly mentioned Huo Geng.Just when I was thinking about what I could do with Wenhua, I suddenly thought of this name, and suddenly, I felt uneasy.

He quickened his pace, passed a few intersections, and arrived at Yanxing Street. After looking around, he walked into a restaurant and shouted: "Shopkeeper, I have some news for you."

The owner of the restaurant stepped forward in surprise, Ye Ziqi directly showed his military badge, and said: "You have a buddy here, named Huo Er, remember?"

"Master Huijun, our family used to have such a guy, but he hasn't come to work for a long time, and there has been no news for a long time. I don't know what happened to that guy?"

"You don't need to ask too much, the army is looking for this person urgently." Ye Ziqi took out ten taels of silver and put it directly in the boss's hand:

"If you have any clues about this person, go to Louzi Alley and report to me immediately. The ten taels is a deposit. When you have clues, I will give you another fifty taels of silver. At that time, I will receive my military merits, and you With your bounty, is this a fair deal?"

What Ye Ziqi said was a lie, but in fact, the only reward he received for his military exploits was these twelve taels.But how did the owner of the restaurant know, and he smiled happily after hearing this: "Good deal! Fair! Fair!"

Ye Ziqi calmed down a little, and repeated several times before coming out of the wine shop, thinking about what else he could do, crossing the street and street, unconsciously walking towards Qiufeng Lake.

Those who are close to the water are wise, and it is suitable for thinking by the water, and it is also suitable for resting while admiring the scenery - Ye Ziqi knew that this was not the case at the first sight when he came to the lake, he just wanted to see another person here figure.

But she didn't show up.

Even the painting building has been silent, only the people digging canals to divert water are working tirelessly.

He stood by the lake, and it was gradually getting dark.The silver moonlight fell on the treetops again, and suddenly, behind a certain thick wall, or in a certain short house, there came a low chants, it was an autumn song with the characteristics of the frontier fortress, singing Her master is so young, but Ye Ziqi can't tell whether she is singing or crying.

There are still children running with lanterns on the street, and the tense atmosphere in the city can't bind the most immature ankles.Then, more and more people with lanterns came to the lake, sang Buddhist scriptures, put down oil paper boats with candles, water lanterns, and lotus lanterns, to save the souls of the dead, for their lost family members, for those souls who died in battle.

The young soldier stared blankly at the lake lit by candlelight, and thought of the battlefield by the Wanmu River, where thousands of men fell, so thousands of parents lost their sons, and thousands of women lost their lives. husband.

Perhaps among the people standing by the lake, there is a relative of a certain soldier among them, and there is a paper boat with a certain soldier's name written on it.

At night, at night, the wounds of the city are seen.

Ye Ziqi stood up and returned home, the sound of footsteps accompanied by the woman's low groan.

He returned to Louzixiang, walked to the front of his house, and continued to walk in, and stopped in front of a door that sounded "Ping, Ping! Ping, Ping!" The sound of iron striking.It was a low room with a blacksmith's sign outside the door.

He pushed the door straight and went in, his eyes suddenly filled with light.Expensive fire lamps were burning in the shop, and a fire was burning in the clay oven, in which a piece of iron was burning, supported on an anvil beside it.

An old man with a bare upper body, hunched body and muscular body was facing the door, holding a piece of red iron with pliers and wielding a hammer.The water in the sink next to him was muddy red, and there were some weapons in the box on the ground, and the blades were all white.

Hearing the sound of the door, the old blacksmith turned his head vigilantly, twisted his face, and shouted: "Huh! The old man said that if he doesn't go to the barracks with you, you don't have to come again!"

Ye Ziqi didn't know how he saw that he was a soldier at a glance, but it didn't matter, Ye Ziqi shook his head and said, "I'm not here to recruit."

"So, who are you?"

"A defeated soldier." Ye Ziqi said.

The old blacksmith was startled, and asked with a frown, "The defeated soldier... which guard do you belong to?"

"Second guard."

The old blacksmith's face was shocked: "Are you really defeated?"

"Yes."

"Where's your general? Where's your army?"

"Dead, all dead, the second guard is so dead that there are only a few ghosts left."

The old blacksmith put down his hand holding the hammer and remained silent for a long time.

"What are you here for?"

"The army doesn't want to hurt soldiers, don't give weapons, don't give armor. I'm here to see if there's anything I can do."

"Can you still fight?"

"I still want to fight."

"Come on, watch it."

From that day on, in the blacksmith's shop in Louzi Lane, there was a little apprentice wielding a hammer.The iron pieces on the chopping board smashed out red sparks, and the little apprentice often made his face ashamed.But from time to time there was a contented expression on his face.

Because he finally found his own life, this is right, a spacious and tidy house has never been suitable for him, he is only suitable for the dusty face, the pain from the numbness in the arm, and the sharpening of the weapon after being beaten Humming, suitable for splashing red sparks in the alleys deep in the night.