"What the monster looks like...... Toad's beak, extremely wide...... There is a black tongue...... Four-legged, short in front and long in the back, with an extremely short tail that is tucked under the body...... It resembles a big dog, but what comes out of its mouth is not a dog bark, but an extremely deep* sound, like a badly injured animal, licking its wounds in the dark night...... Full of resentment, a great resentment towards this world, looking for every opportunity for revenge...... The most bitter hatred for human beings and all things in the world......" Lotus thought as she slowly described the appearance of the monster.

There are many monsters in ancient legends, such as more than 10,000 kinds of monsters recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", which are all over the corners of the earth. At the same time, Buddhism and Taoism also use monsters as a symbol of evil, and many artificial portrayals have been created according to the real situation. In Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures, you can also see various descriptions of monsters in hell and the underworld.

Lotus's description of this monster is peculiar, especially her reference to the word "*", which seems to be similar to the "Hell's Keeper Dog" in Dante's Divine Comedy.

In that groundbreaking masterpiece that shook the past and the present, Dante used "evil world, hate the past and the present" as the "watchdog of hell".

The monster with a terrible body is only superficial, and when its "terrible" penetrates deep into the heart, the sense of evil and madness is the most terrifying.

I've seen several of the Hellguard Dogs in many Western comics, and almost every one of them was enough to send a shudder out of my heart.

"I don't know why it's here, I've never seen it before, and I've never touched it. But as soon as I touched the scorched wood, it suddenly appeared in the hall and swallowed me up without saying anything......," Lotus muttered.

"What else?" I asked.

"When I was devoured, I heard from within its body* that it seemed to have survived the most brutal torture in the world, so that if it had the opportunity to fight back, it would take a million times more revenge. When I see the destruction of this city, I think that maybe it or the forces behind it are making waves...... When I encounter it, it's my doomsday ......" Lotus replied.

"That's the 'Hell's Guard Dog.'" I say.

As a powerful spy under the command of the Northern Emperor, Lotus's knowledge is naturally not shallow, and he is very familiar with classics such as the "Divine Comedy".

"Is it a monster from the Divine Comedy?" She let out an exclamation.

Judging by her expression, she must have seen the descriptions of "Hell Guard Dogs" in various comics. So, my reminder made her realize.

"Demons are born from the heart, and illusions are born from the heart. It's in your heart, and it's here. If you don't want to be hurt by it, you have to imprison your mind and resist the demons wholeheartedly. I said.

If Lotus can't strengthen her mind and get rid of her demons, then no matter how much others help, she can't get rid of the fear brought by the "Hell's Guard Dog".

"I've never encountered this in the city before I touched Scorched Wood, could it be that it has some kind of power to cause demons and ghosts?" Lotus asked.

"Ask your heart, and your heart will tell you the most accurate answer." I replied.

Lotus pressed her temples with both palms, shook her head vigorously, and made a gesture of "throwing out distracting thoughts".

"Think about it again, what else did you do and encountered before you saw the vision of the 'Hellguard Dog'?" Again, I reminded her.

Lianhua took a few steps back, leaned against the white wall, closed her eyes and thought for a few minutes, and suddenly opened her eyes: "Study, I have been to the emperor's imperial study, and it was there that I saw an open book, and that page happened to be ...... It's exactly ......"

She didn't say in one breath what was going on in the study, but her expression had become too painful to continue.

"What kind of book is that?" I asked.

"That's ...... That's ......" Lotus repeated twice, rubbing her palms vigorously on her temples, the expression on her face becoming more and more painful.

"Take me there." I say.

The invading army sacked the capital, but the palace must have been protected, waiting for the enemy commander to come and inspect it. Therefore, at this moment, the place should still be in its original state, and perhaps the book that Lotus saw can be found.

"I'll take you, but maybe something bad will happen. I had a hunch that that book would bring bad luck. Lotus said.

I shook my head, "You just have to take me." ”

At my urging, Lotus took the lead downstairs, traversing two dimly lit corridors, and passing four gold-lacquered gates, to a courtyard with flowers and trees.

There are houses on all sides of this courtyard, and in addition to the ordinary fragrance of flowers and vanilla, there is also a strong fragrance of books, which makes people feel refreshed.

"There." Lotus pointed to the north room, "When I saw that book, it was on the table, and the page that was turned was exactly ...... None other than the 'Hell's Guard Dog'. ”

She was very jealous of these five words, and gasped as she spoke.

"You don't want to go in?" I asked.

Lotus nodded: "Yes, when I think of the pictures in the book, I am so frightened that I don't want to take a second look." ”

I was no longer reluctant, and walked quickly through the moon gate, entered the small courtyard, and pushed the door straight into the north room.

There was no light in the room, but the smell of books was getting stronger and stronger, and the smell was pleasant.

The four walls of the room are lined with bookshelves, and the books on the shelves are neatly arranged, at least a hundred books.

The bookcase that Lotus said was placed in the center of the room, and the things were placed, and the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone were displayed on it.

I walked around the bookcase, and sure enough, there was an open book on it.

In the absence of light, I could only roughly distinguish between the text and the accompanying images, but I could not see the content.

"What the hell is this book?" I said to myself.

If I really can't help it, I can only take it away and take it back to study it slowly.

"The deterrent power of the 'Hell Guard Dog' is too strong, and it seems that Lotus is really frightened. Unfortunately, I can't figure out why this book is here. I whispered again.

I always thought that I was the only one in this study, so when a figure in the corner slowly stood up, I was indeed slightly surprised.

"Can you read that book?" The figure asked.

I have never heard such a sad, sad, sad, and guilty voice, especially when this voice comes from the mouth of a middle-aged man, it is even more sour.

The shadow was hunched on its back, holding the bookshelf on the side with both hands, and moved slowly, swaying one step at a time, gasping for breath, and looking very weak.

"The meaning of that book is so profound that many people ...... As soon as I saw it, my mind sank into it and could never come out again. He said.

"What's in the book?" I asked.

"There's another world in the book." He walked for a full minute, and finally came to me.

Although the light was dim, it could not hide his pale face.

It was a "dead man's" face, and anyone who saw it would feel that this person's heart was dead, and that he was alive like a walking corpse, just stealing his life, without the slightest pleasure in being a human being.

I had snatched the painting from him, but now he seems to have changed dramatically from the person he used to be.

"I'll take a good look at it." I stepped back vigilantly, holding the book in my left hand and pressing my right hand against the corner of the table, ready to evacuate at any moment.

"Don't worry, it's not the same time anymore. I'm still me, but I don't have the heart to kill anymore. A tiger, with sharp teeth pulled out and claws cut off, although on the surface, it is still a tiger, but it is a useless tiger, what do you say? Hehehehe......" He laughed, but the expression on his face was stiff and blank.

"The city is broken." I reminded him.

"Yes, yes." He seemed taken aback by my reminder, and his self-deprecating sneer suddenly stopped, and his back stiffened even more.

"The city is broken, at least people can still live. As long as people live, there is hope. I reminded him again.

He shook his head weakly: "100,000 troops can't hold the Yellow River, think about it, what the hell is going on?" ”

Of course, I know the reason, and the fundamental cause of the "Jingkang difficulty" is tantamount to the reincarnation of history. At the end of any dynasty, there will be a chaotic situation in which the army is out of control and fights on its own. The two Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and the Republic of China are all like this, history is just a simple cycle of reincarnation, but no dynasty can get out of this cycle.

Zhao Song is nothing more than one of the victims of the strange circle of history, and there is nothing to make a fuss about.

What's more, the emperor in front of me was obsessed with Taoism, almost to the point of going mad.

The subjects of the world bowed down to him, but he bowed down to Taoism.

Such an emperor is not worthy of that dragon chair for a long time.

The ancients said that if you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes.

A petty official should still have such an "official character", but what about an emperor, shouldn't he have the "imperial character" to be an emperor?

If you don't do it, you won't die.

The death of the Northern Song Dynasty and the prisoner of the emperor were absolutely self-inflicted, and the blame was taken by oneself.

"At this point, it's too late to say that." I replied.

"It's their fault, it's their fault...... I'm the emperor, I'm the emperor......" he cried viciously.

He was so weak and ugly, indeed like a tiger that had lost its claws, and was an "old tiger".

"Huh." I could only give two sneers in return.

"Aren't you wrong?" He suddenly glared at me with a fierce look in his eyes.

"My fault?" I'm a little puzzled.

"Of course it's your fault, if you didn't mention those things, if you didn't enter Beijing, if you ...... Autumn silver cicada, of course, is your fault, and a big mistake. Hehe, I mistrusted you to ...... like this," he muttered.

I can't explain it, except that he recognized the wrong person. Of course, there may be another metaphysical explanation, and in a certain cycle of history, there is some kind of relationship between me and the autumn silver cicada. It's just that it's hard to sort out, and it's impossible to explain it clearly in this chaotic moment when the city is ruined and the country is destroyed.

"Let's go." I kindly consulted with him.

If Lotus and I can break in, we can kill them, and we can take someone out.

He shook his head: "No, that's not what I'm going to do. ”

I was a little surprised: "What are you going to do?" ”

He held out three fingers and shook them in front of my eyes.

"What does that mean?" I whispered.

Enemies can break in at any time, and it's really not a good time to play dumb riddles with questions and answers.

"Three sections, three sections of scorched wood, cuckoo crying blood, that is the final end." He replied.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly, in order to get this piece of scorched wood, I had tried my best to break into this kind of historical crack, and finally I didn't know how to go back. If there are three stages of this scorched wood, wouldn't it cost three times or even several times the strength, and one life is no longer enough, unless he is like the Egyptian god cat, with nine lives, one by one to exchange for life.

"What will you do next?" I asked.

"I'm waiting for someone, someone important. He will push me to complete my final mission. He said.

I thought the person he was waiting for was me, but when he said his name, I couldn't help but be stunned. That name has appeared in history, and it appeared as the sworn enemy of the Central Plains. If you only look at history, you would never have imagined that the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty was waiting for that person.

"Wanyan Aguda" - this is the person the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty has to wait for.

When the Jin people roared to invade the south, the supreme leader of the country was Wanyan Aguta, and the commander of the southern invasion, Wanyan Wushu, was the son of Aguta.

As soon as Ah Guda came, it was equivalent to the time when the palace had completely fallen.

"How?" He asked.

I shook my head: "It's nothing, I just think it...... Just felt ......"

Actually, I can't answer at all. He wants to talk to Ah Gu, but he is basically seeking skin with the tiger.

He is an old tiger, a sick tiger, and Ah Guta is a real northern tiger, fierce and fierce, greedy, and has a great appetite, and he is not satisfied with swallowing the entire Central Plains.

"Wanyan is a bone...... Hmph, he was originally a courtier who came to pay tribute every year, and I only blamed myself for not seeing through his wolf ambitions. However, this time he thought he had won, but he didn't know that the real winner was me, it was me who was manipulating this war, and the final winner belonged to me and my Zhao clan. Listen, this world, this country, this world, everything in this world...... In the end, it's all ...... It's all from my Zhao clan, hehe, hehe......" He laughed hoarsely, like a circus clown with poor acting skills, who was putting on a show that no one applauded.

I'm not sure who's crazy, he—or the northern leader who led the rise of the Kingdom of Jin, Wanyan Aguta.

In the history of the two Song Dynasty, Jin destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, Mongolia united with the Southern Song Dynasty to destroy Jin, and then Mongolia destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, forming an entangled history.

The more complex and intractable the situation, the more wise and deliberate the decision of a country's emperor becomes. Otherwise, they will surely end up falling victim to international struggles.