Beyond the walls of the end of the world.

It's definitely not a romantic trip.

The wind mixed with the drizzle whipped on Bu Yangying's face, and he sandwiched his horse between his legs, crossing the swollen stream.

Beside him, Lord Yan Beixing pulled the hood of his cloak and cursed the weather in a muttering voice. His crow rested on his shoulder, and the wind and rain wrinkled its feathers, making it look as wet and irritable as Yan Beixing.

The wind was protruding, and the wet leaves were flying, like a flock of dead birds.

This is the ghost forest outside the country, Bu Yangying thought to himself. After all, he had seen old maps.

Bu Yangying secretly hoped that Nalan who was following behind would be invincible and still able to hold on.

Not to mention this kind of ghost weather, even if it is warm and warm, Nalan Invincible can't ride well.

Now, it has rained for six days, and the road conditions have become very dangerous, with soft mud and gravel everywhere.

The wind whipped up, and the rain fell into the eyes. Warm rain mixed with snowmelt filled all the streams and rivers, making it seem that the walls of the exile might be overwhelmed.

At this moment, Mu Sheng and Heita must be sitting by the fire in the hall, drinking the hot soup before dinner. Bu Yangying himself was covered in a soaked woolen coat, wet and itchy, and his neck and shoulders ached from the weight of his armor and sword.

Ahead, a battle horn made a trembling tone, and it looked extremely hazy through the intertwined torrential rain.

"Looks like the scout has confirmed the location. Yan Beixing showed a smile, "God forbid, the old ghost finally didn't move." ”

Bu Yangying often listened to the older people in the penal colony tell the story of the old ghost Maury and his haunted house, and now he finally has the opportunity to see it for himself.

I was worried that Maury's haunted house was a dead silence and desolation, but fortunately, it was superfluous. Maybe Yan Beixing can find the answer he was looking for there, Bu Yangying thought.

At least, to get rid of the heavy rain there.

Earlier, Yan Beixing had told everyone that although Morry had a bad reputation, he was indeed a friend of the Guardian. "I'll admit, it's not normal for that guy to scream," Yan Beixing told everyone, "but if you stay in this cursed forest for the rest of your life, you'll be like him." He is insane, but he never turns us out of the Guardians, and he should be able to provide us with some useful information. ”

As long as he can provide a hot meal, provide eaves, and dry clothes, I am satisfied. In Gan Tiesheng's mouth, Murray is not only a murderer of relatives, but also a liar, a robber and a coward, and he even hints that the other party and the hard worker deal with the devil. "What's even more terrifying," added the old commissioner, Daiaf, "crackling," chewing on his wooden dentures, "and this bastard smells cold." ”

"Bu Yangying," Lord Yan Beixing ordered, "ride to the back and tell everyone the news." Also, remind the officers to restrain their subordinates, I don't allow anyone to beat the idea of Mori's wife, no one is allowed to be careless, and there is nothing to talk to them. ”

"Yes, sir. Bu Yangying turned the horse's head. He was able to get the flying fish away from his face for a while, although it didn't take long, and he felt comfortable.

Along the way through the many brothers, each of whom looked like they were crying, the whole queue stretched for half a mile through the woods.

In the middle of the baggage vehicles, Bu Yangying met Nalan Invincible, who was wearing a hat and sitting listlessly on the saddle. He rode a tall, clumsy horse and shouted at the rest of the spare horses. The raindrops buzzed against the tarpaulin that covered the iron cage, and the letter crows inside flapped their wings and neighed, protesting incessantly.

"Ha, didn't you let a goat in?" Bu Yangying teased him.

Nalan Invincible raised his head, and the rain poured down with the brim of his hat. "Brother Shadow. No, they just hate the rain, just like me. ”

"How do you feel, invincible?"

"It's terrible. The fat boy struggled to squeeze out a smile. "But it's okay, it's not dangerous. ”

"That's good, Maury's fortress is ahead, and hopefully there will be a warm fire then. ”

Nalan Invincible showed a half-believing expression. "Maybe we should spend the night in the rain. Legend has it that Maury was a terrifying barbarian. He took his own daughter as his wife, and it was far away from the Seven Kingdoms, and no law would work in his eyes. Mu Sheng also said that he had heartless black blood on his body, because his mother was a female savage and made peace with the Rangers, so he was a miscellaneous ......" Suddenly, Nalan Invincible realized something and shut up.

"Bastard," Bu Yangying said with a smile, "just say it, invincible, I haven't heard of it before." He kicked the spurs and drove the sturdy horse under his crotch forward. "I'll have to tell the others. By the way, don't provoke Maury's woman," as if Nalan was invincible and still needed to be reminded, "after camping, we'll talk." ”

On the way back after informing everyone, Bu Yangying avoided the long queue and chose a shortcut in the dense forest.

The voices of the men and horses gradually subsided, engulfing the damp greenery, and in a moment the only sound was the sound of the pouring rain hitting the leaves, trees, and rocks.

It was early in the afternoon, but the forest was as dark as dusk, and the shadows searched for a path between the rocks and puddles, through the great oaks, the grey-green sentinel trees, and the black-barked iron trees.

The dense forest covered him with a canopy and gave him a temporary break from the beating of the raindrops.

As he rode past a chestnut tree that had been struck by lightning and covered with wild moss, he heard the rustling of the grass. "White Flash," Bu Yangying called, "White Flash, come here." ”

What came out was a fat man with a black beard, and there was Ding Busan next to him. Yan Beixing sent cavalry on both flanks of the marching column, not only to survey the terrain, but also to warn the enemy of approaching.

Yan Beixing has been cautious all his life, and he doesn't dare to be careless at this time. The scouts were instructed to work in pairs.

"Ah, it's you, Brother Buyangying. Ding Busan grinned. "Brother Fat and I thought we had met a strange ghost. What's the matter? The wolf is lost?"

"It went hunting. "White Flash doesn't like to go with the team, but he doesn't go far either. Whenever people set up camp, it would always find a tent and return to Buyangying.

"In my opinion, I'm afraid it's just catching fish, and there is a huge amount of water everywhere. The black-bearded fat man said.

"My grandfather said that rain is good for the dealer. Ding Busan interjected optimistically.

", mildew grows faster on crops," the black-bearded fat man retorted, "and the only benefit of rain like this is that it saves the effort of bathing." ”

"The scouts ahead found Maury. Bu Yangying told them.

"Did the scout lose him?" Ding Busan chuckled, "You boys, don't mess with Morry's wife, do you hear?"

"Do you want to monopolize Fangze, Ding Busan?" Bu Yangying asked with a smile.

Ding Bu's eyes are full of peach blossoms. "Don't say it, I really have such a plan. Maurie has only ten fingers and a second child, which adds up to eleven at most. Two or three less, and you won't notice it even if you think about it. ”

"Seriously, how many wives does he have?" asked Heihu.

"Anyway, don't even think about it, big brother. That guy's wife gave birth to herself, and she wanted as many as she wanted. Look, Brother Shadow, your wolf is back. ”

White Flash trotted to the Buyang Shadow Horse, his tail cocked high, and his white hair looked much thicker in the heavy rain. It departed silently, and Bu Yangying didn't know when it appeared.

As soon as Ding Busan's horse smelled the breath, he retreated in shock. Even now, after more than a year, the horses have not been able to get used to the presence of snow wolves.

"White Flash, follow me. "Walk up the shadow and ride towards Maury's fortress.

Bu Yangying didn't dare to imagine that a stone castle could be found so far away from the penal penalty, so he imagined a picture of a wooden building surrounded by a fence among the trees, but he didn't expect it to be even worse.

There was only a garbage dump, a pig barn, an empty sheepfold, and a hall of branches and mud, not worth mentioning, not even windows.

The hall was long and low, the wood was rough, and the roof was covered with grass.

The fort was built on a small slope that was simply not worthy of what could be called a hill, and was surrounded by an earthen embankment. The perennial rain has carved into numerous holes in the embankment, and the brown water overflows the slope into a rushing stream that winds northward, and the once well-supplied stream has become a dark rapid.

To the southwest of the earthen embankment, there is a small open door, and by the door there are a pair of long poles with animal skulls in them: a bear's head on one side, and a sheep's head on the other. Bu Yangying joins the large group that enters the door, and finds that there is still a little flesh left on the bear's head.

Inside, the scouts who came first had lined up their horses and were busy setting up their tents.

A little girl is squatting in the rain in a vegetable garden pulling turnips, and two other women are preparing to slaughter a pig. The screams of the animals were high-pitched and terrifying, like the cries of a man in great distress.

Ding Busi's hounds roared wildly in response, and no matter how much Ding Busi cursed to stop it, they still barked, causing a group of dogs raised by Maury to bark as well. Fortunately, Bai Flash appeared in time, and the two groups of dogs shut up one after another, running away with their tails between their legs, and only a few of them were still complaining in a low voice, refusing to admit defeat. The snow wolf ignored them.

This place is too small, and there are too many people.

Bu Yangying calculated that there were only enough for thirty people to warm up and dry their clothes. Bu Yangying looked at the house carefully and came to the conclusion that it might be able to accommodate fifty people, but it was not enough for two hundred people anyway, so most people must still have to stay outside.

But where do they want to live? In this messy courtyard, except for ankle-deep puddles, there is wet mud. It seems that it was another gloomy night.

Lord Yan Beixing has already handed over the mount to the black-bearded fat man to take care of. When Bu Yangying dismounted, he was busy washing the mud from his horse. "Lord Yan Beixing is in the hall," Blackbeard told him sourly, "he told you to come over, but you had better leave the wolf outside, for its hungry eyes are even redder, and Maury may have thought it would have taken his child and eaten it." Well, seriously, I can eat a child of him if I'm hungry, as long as it's served hot. Go, leave the horse to me. By the way, if it's warm and dry inside, you don't have to tell me, no one invites me in. He said as he bounced away a puddle of mud from the horse. "This mud, doesn't you look like, could it be that this whole hillside is pulled out by Morry?"

Bu Yangying smiled: "It's not impossible, I heard that he has lived here for a long time, and he shouldn't run far to." ”

"Don't talk nonsense with you, you better go in and see Lord Yan. ”

"White Flash, stay here. "Bu Yangying commanded. The door to Fort Maury was two bearskins, and Bu Yangying pushed them open and bent over the lintel.

Before him, twenty or so Ranger leaders had entered the house, standing around the brazier in the middle of the dirt, water running down their boots and gathering into a small pool.

The hall was mixed with the smell of soot, feces, and wet dogs. However, despite the heavy smell of smoke, the air is still humid.

Rainwater seeped through the chimneys in the roof, and the whole house consisted of one room, plus an attic on top that was used as a bedroom, connected by a rickety ladder.

Bu Yangying still remembers how he felt on the day he set out from the penal colony, looking forward to the mystery and wonder behind the strange horizon that continues to rise ahead. Well, I've finally found one now, he told himself as he looked at the dirty, smelly hall.

Maury leaned against the brazier, the only person in the room with a chair to sit on. Even Yan Beixing's adults could only squeeze on the bench.

In comparison, Maury's cloak of sheepskin vest and animal skins looked much shabby, but on his thick wrist was a bracelet, which was quite heavy and shiny in gold. Although he seems to have reached the end of his life, his hair has turned from gray to gray, and his days should not be long, but there is no doubt that he is still a very powerful man. His flat nose and drooping lips gave him a ferocious look, and he was missing an ear. Completely savage.

"I haven't seen Su Dingfang in years," Murray told Yan Beixing, "and to be honest, I don't miss him at all." Six or seven little black dogs and one or two lonely pigs hid among the benches, and the ragged women brought a jar of home-brewed wine, lit a fire, and began to put mutton and carrots in the pot.

"He should have been passing by here not long ago. Yan Beixing said. A dog sniffed at his feet, and he flew up and kicked it. At that time, Su Dingfang came to look for the missing Shangguan Qi. ”

"I haven't seen any of the people you mentioned. Maury shrugged. "I have a lot of things to do, where do I have an air control, where do the crows come from, where do they fly. He drank the bowl of wine and set the broken bowl aside. "Hey, I haven't seen anyone else in a whole year. I'm drunk and I'm missing a new axe. The old one is too blunt and useless, and Lao Tzu still has a lot of wives to protect. He looked around at his busy group of wives.

"You are few and isolated," Yan Beixing said, "and if you wish, I will send someone to escort you south to the high walls of the penal colony." ”

Maury made a dirty grin, revealing a mouth full of broken yellow teeth. "What are we going to do there. I'm a freeman by nature. All the people locked by your high walls have to serve all kinds of adults, lords, including you, and the bullshit king. I, Maury, will never serve anyone. ”

"In these difficult times, it's not right to live alone in the wilderness. The cold wind is already blowing. ”

"Blow it casually, my roots are very deep. Maury jerked at the waist of a woman passing by. "Tell him, wife. Tell Raven-sama how much we love this place. ”

The woman licks her lips. "This is our land. Mori's fortress protects our safety. We would rather die for a free man than be a slave. ”

Yan Beixing leaned forward. "It's very different now, and the people we photographed are missing one after another. Earlier, we also found the bodies of two of Su Dingfang's rangers not far from the high wall. They were pale and cold, their hands and feet were black, and their wounds did not bleed, and when we brought them back to the penal colony, they got up in the middle of the night to kill them, which shows that although they retain some memories of their lives, they have been replaced by a malicious heart that has no humanity. ”

The woman in Maury's arms closed her mouth in horror.

But Maury scoffed: "We don't have this trouble here, I beg you, don't talk about these evil things under my roof." I am a godly man, and God will keep me safe. Even if the corpses do crawl out, I know how to get them back to the grave. Well, you have to find a sharp axe first. He slapped his wife and yelled at her to get to work.

"Since you are not afraid of the dead," said Diaf, "what about the living?

"He's not my king," Maury spat into the fire, "the so-called king of the outside world?" he turned his head and squinted at Yan Beixing, "If I were so easy to bully, even if you found it today, I would have disappeared a long time ago." He did send for me to get out of here and wag my tail at his feet. I drove the people away, leaving only the tongue. Nail it to the wall. He pointed, "Maybe I can tell you how to find him, and we'll talk about that slowly." You'd love to live under my roof, hehe, I'm afraid you'll want to sell off all my pigs. ”

"We are grateful to have an eaves to shelter us from the wind and rain," Mr. Yan said, "and we walked a long way and were soaking wet." ”

"Well, then, you'll be my guests tonight, only tonight. We slept with my wife in the attic above, and you can arrange the floor as you like. I only provide food for twenty people, and there are none. ”

"We have enough provisions," Yan Beixing said, "and we'd love to share our food and wine with you." ”

Maury rubbed his drooping lips with the back of his furry hand. "I'll taste your wine, I will. One last thing: if that stinky hand dares to touch my wife, I'll chop it up. ”

"Under your roof, you have the final say. Chief Dai Yafu said, and Lord Yan Beixing nodded stiffly.

At this time, Bu Yangying vaguely understood that beyond this high wall, there was a king outside the plug.

The king of the outside is the wild man who rules this place.

Bu Yang Ying walked out of the animal skin door to feed the horses, and Bai Shen followed him closely.

He walked into the dilapidated courtyard, where the rain had abated into a drizzle.

It was getting dark, and another damp and cold night was coming, and the clouds obscured the moonlight, the stars, and turned the trees as black as asphalt.

Outside the courtyard in the woods, the Rangers picked up enough fallen leaves and branches to light a campfire under the rocks of the ridge. Some people set up tents or hung cloaks on low-hanging branches as a simple shelter.

Bu Yangying stood quietly in the courtyard for a long time, looking at the group of brothers called 'Guardians'.