The national teacher practiced in Qingfu City, sacrificed countless livestock, burned paper pagodas, and sprinkled a large amount of chicken and dog blood into the sea. However, after three days, there was no effect at all. The sea in the Qingfu area is still rising day after day, and the surging waves are constantly encroaching on people's land. More and more coastal residents are choosing to leave their homes and flee inland from Qingfu.

"Flowey, where's Junko? Why are you the only one here, didn't we say before, let's go to Yu'an County together today? Yao Ping and Li Jun jumped off the small sampan together, and when they came to the place where they had agreed to meet Qu Shun, they only saw Chen Dahua alone.

"He, he and his father are still in the county seat..." Chen Dahua stood on the shore and said with a gloomy face.

"Why are you still in the county? We agreed to go together at this time. Yao Ping asked, pulling the rope around a boulder.

"Wait a little longer for them." Chen Dahua said, "Perhaps, they will come in a while." ”

"What the hell are they doing?" Yao Ping noticed something abnormal from Chen Dahua's eyes, and he hurriedly asked her seriously, "Huahua, you tell me the truth, what's wrong with Shunzi and Uncle They?" ”

"Father, father, he is trapped in Qingfu City, and Junzi has gone to save his old man." Chen Dahua whispered intermittently, "Junko asked me to wait for you here before I went, he said he would be back before dark yesterday..." We... Let's wait a little longer. Maybe, maybe they're coming. ”

"Uncle, why is he trapped in the city?"

"Because, because the law made by the national teacher a few days ago has not been effective for a long time. When people heard that the national teacher was going to return to the imperial capital in the near future, some angry and hungry villagers poured into the county seat. They blocked the city gates, broke into the county government, and did not let the national teacher go back, asking for an explanation. Chen Dahua sighed, "Who knows, who knows that after you sent Yao Ping back the day before yesterday, things suddenly became more and more chaotic, and some hungry villagers finally killed the national teacher and robbed the granary of the county town." ”

"What?! Aren't those people the opposite?! Yao Ping asked with some horror, "Shunzi is still in the city with his father?" ”

Chen Dahua nodded with a crying voice and said, "My father went to the city to beg for food the day before yesterday, but he was trapped in the city because of this change. Junko also went into the city early yesterday morning to look for him, and he said that he would bring his father back last night, but as a result, he has not come back yet. ”

"Oh my God. How so. Yao Ping exclaimed, "This is a big problem." ”

"I, I'm so scared." Chen Dahua lowered her head and touched her tears, and said, "Shunzi him, nothing will happen to him." ”

"Don't worry, Flowey." Yao Ping said, "You and Miss Li are waiting for me here, I'll go to the county town first." ”

"Bottles! You're still wanted, you can't go to the city. Chen Dahua said.

"They all rebelled, what am I afraid of?" Yao Ping walked as he spoke, but after walking a few steps, he turned his head to look at Li Jun on the beach and said, "Miss Li, just wait here for me to come back, don't go far." ”

"You stay safe." Li Jun nodded, she looked at Yao Ping and said.

Yao Ping trotted all the way to Qingfu.

When Yao Ping looked at Qingfu again from a hilltop, Qingfu was already surrounded by water on three sides, and the sea engulfed the wider land east of Qingfu City.

When Yao Ping arrived outside the city of Qingfu, he found that the city gate was closed, and there were no refugees left outside the city walls. In the open space outside the city, there are cooking pits and traces of people's lives. Looking towards the city, Yao Ping saw many poorly dressed people, standing above the city gate with swords in hand.

Yao Ping watched for a while, and he saw that the city gate was closed and guarded, and he knew that those anti-people were not allowed to enter the city again. At the moment he could not enter the city, nor did he dare to get too close to the city, so he turned around and ran back.

"Bottle, you're back so soon? Have you seen Junko? Chen Dahua asked Yao Ping, who was hurrying back from the coast.

"No, Huahua, the county town is indeed occupied by the rebels now. The gates were shut, and the militia stood above the city. It seems that no one can get in for a while. Yao Ping said.

"Ahh So, what to do? Chen Dahua asked anxiously.

Seeing that Chen Dahua was about to cry again, Yao Ping hurriedly said, "Huahua, don't worry, you listen to me." As long as the gates are closed, it means that there is still food in the city, and the people in the city will not starve to death. Shunzi and Uncle won't have any big deals, after all, those riotous anti-people are also our fellow villagers. ”

"Close the city gates, Shunzi him, he and the old father, how can they come out and walk with us." Chen Dahua asked anxiously, "Bottle, what should we do now, what can you do without it?" ”

"The gates are closed, and I don't have anything to do." Yao Ping shook his head and said, "I can only wait." ”

"Etc.. Do you have to wait for the officers and soldiers to come? Chen Dahua asked.

"No, the officers and soldiers won't be able to come for a while. I have seen that the sea water has risen very rapidly in the past few days, and it is estimated that within three or four days, the sea water will probably reach the root of the city wall of the county. Even if there is more food in the city, people will not be able to stay in it. Yao Ping said, "Let's wait for the sea to force all the people in the city out." At that time, the city gate must have been opened, and Junko might be able to come out to find us. ”

Chen Dahua sighed, she knew that there was no other way, and she could only do this.

For two days in a row, Yao Ping climbed the mountain every day to look out at the city, and ran to the beach to watch the sea rise.

Finally, in the early morning of the third day, Yao Ping saw that when the waves were about to crash against the east wall of Qingfu, the west gate of Qingfu City opened.

Large numbers of people in the city began to move inland under the help of some mobs. Yao Ping observed and found that among the ordinary people, there were many armed rebels, many of whom were numbered and formed a large team, and they also carried and transported a large amount of supplies and food obtained from the city, which became a ragtag army.

Looking carefully at the procession out of the city, Yao Ping kept seeing that no one was coming out of the city gate anymore, but he never saw Qu Shun and his father. Yao Ping rushed down the mountain, and just as he was about to go to the city to find Qu Shun, he saw from a distance that Li Jun and Chen Dahua rowed over together, and Chen Dahua also shouted his name.

"Huahua, Miss Li, why are you here? Didn't you say that you should wait for me? Yao Ping rushed to the shore and asked them.

"Just now Dahua and I saw from the sea that the guards at the east gate of Qingfu had withdrawn. I think maybe the gates were opened, and we came looking for you. Li Jun said.

"Bottle, do you see Junko and Father?" Chen Dahua asked eagerly.

"Not yet, Flowey. But don't worry, the city gate is open, and the anti-people inside have all come out, so I'm going to go to the city to find Junko. Yao Ping said.

"I'll go with you." Chen Dahua said.

"No, no, I'll just go by myself, I don't know if there are any rebel mobs in there now, you are a woman, it's better not to go in easily." Yao Ping said.

"I'll go with you with Dahua, there are more people, so it's good to have a care." Li Jun said as he took a weapon from the ship and held it in his hand.

"No, no, you are all women, it is too dangerous for you to go in, and it may even affect me." Yao Ping saw Li Jun take out a weapon similar to a horizontal knife from the boat, so he asked her, "Miss Li, what is this in your hand?" ”

"Shadow Cut." Li Jun glanced at the weapon in his hand, and then said to Yao Ping, "It's a very sharp knife. ”

"You've been hiding weapons before?" Yao Ping asked.

"Hmm... I've always tucked it under the sampan bench in case I need it. Li Jun looked at the weapon in his hand, and then handed it to Yao Ping and said, "Yao Ping, if you insist on going into the city alone to find Qu Shun, then take it." You take it, and if there are still some trouble-seeking mobs in the city, you might as well have something to defend yourself against. ”

"Hmm.." Yao Ping took the "Shadow Cut", he looked at Li Jun and said, "It's okay." I should have taken a weapon to defend myself. ”

Looking at Yao Ping, who was tying the shadow cut behind her back, Li Jun took a step forward gently, and she turned to him and said softly, "Yao Ping, you... But come back safely. ”

Yao Ping nodded, "Miss Li, don't worry." Then, Yao Ping ran towards Qingfu City.

Outside the city gate, Yao Ping first saw the notice board used to post notices. And on the notice board, there is a portrait of himself. He approached the portrait and took a closer look, and it did indeed resemble himself. But now that time was running out to find Qu Shun, he didn't have time to look at it two more times before he tore off the portrait and tore it apart. Then, Yao Ping quickly ran into the open city gate.

Standing in the messy streets full of debris, Yao Ping saw that even some of the shop signs and door panels had been removed by the mob and used for other purposes.

An unkempt, mud-covered man ran past Yao Ping and shouted to him, "Hey! Do you know where else there are people in the city, this friend? ”

The man didn't answer, but ran into an empty grain store. Yao Ping saw that the man was hoping to find some remaining grain before the sea overflowed here.

Yao Ping shouted Qu Shun's name and looked for him everywhere in the city, and he searched from the west gate of the city to the north gate of the city. He saw that although the north gate was closed, the waves had already spilled into the city through the gap under the gate.

Yao Ping felt the urgency of time, and he continued to shout Qu Shun's name as he ran. When he shouted Qu Shun's name all the way to the road in front of the county government, he never met anyone again. He saw that almost all the people in the city had run away when the gates were opened.

Yao Ping turned to look at the county government, the door leaf dumped by the county government and the scattered debris in front of the door showed that there had been a fight here during the riots a few days ago, and although the body on the ground was dragged away by no one, a large area of blood was still clearly visible.

Yao Pingchong shouted a few times in the courtyard of the county government, but no one responded. After a little hesitation, although Yao Ping didn't hear anyone in the county government respond, he still expected to find something in the mansion, so he hesitated for a moment and rushed into the county mansion.

Walking through the ransacked lobby of the county government, Yao Ping shouted Qu Shun's name and came to the dilapidated backyard of the county government. He hurriedly pushed open every door around the backyard and looked inside, but there was no one but broken porcelain and a mess of debris.

"Junko!" Yao Ping shouted anxiously.

"Anyone?!" He continued to shout.

No one answered, Qingfu City was very quiet at this moment, Yao Pingwei heard the sound of waves outside the city, he felt that in this case, even the rats hidden in the city should have run out. What about Quing? Yao Ping pondered, could it be that he didn't recognize Qu Shun in the group of departures in the morning? No, since he can get out of the city, he should have left the group and gone straight to the place where they had been arranged, so that he could be easily seen, unless he went west with the anti-people group, but that would never be possible.... Don't......

Thinking of this, Yao Ping suddenly had a spirit, and he suddenly thought that there was a place in this Qingfu City that he should have gone to find the most, but he had never looked for it until now.

That's Qingfu Prison.

Stepping on the shallow water that had approached the city from the east gate, Yao Ping ran quickly to the Qingfu prison. The prison is located in the southwest of Qingfu City, where the gate is high and surrounded by high walls, which is easy to find. All the way to the outside of the prison, Yao Ping was surprised to find that the door of Qingfu Prison was still locked at this time.

Yao Ping immediately threw himself on the strong courtyard door of the prison and slapped it vigorously, shouting loudly. The heavy door blocked the sound, and after Yao Ping shouted Qu Shun's name for a while, he couldn't hear the response from inside the door. He glanced at the door, quickly put his ear to the crack in it, and listened intently.

Through the crack in the door of the prison, Yao Ping heard a faint sound coming from inside the door, and he couldn't tell what kind of sound it was, maybe it was the sound of chains striking. But no matter what the sound was, Yao Ping was already surprised to realize that right now, there were really people locked in the dungeon and not released.

After Yao Ping heard the sound of being in prison, he cursed fiercely for the rebellious mob. Then he hurriedly looked around the prison, and he tried to find a way to get into it. But after some searching, Yao Ping saw that the prison was surrounded by high walls, and there was no other way to enter and exit the prison except for the prison gate in front of him.

The door in front of him was extremely heavy, and it was locked by heavy iron chains, Yao Ping fiddled with the iron rope and then anxiously picked up a piece of masonry on the ground and smashed it towards the iron chain. With a "bang", the masonry was halved by the iron chain, and there was only a shallow brick ash on the chain.

After smashing the iron rope twice with a brick, Yao Ping saw that the waves were slowly surging here. Just when the waves were about to spill onto Yao Ping's thin cloth shoes. Yao Ping had no choice but to take off the "shadow cut" on his back.

Yao Ping believed that it was impossible for a knife to be able to cut through heavy chains, and while removing the "shadow cut", he even worried that the blade would be damaged by it. But the urgent situation in front of him was no longer Yao Ping's concern so much, he could only try it with a knife. He held the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other, and with a faint cold light flashed, the knife was pulled out of the pitch-black scabbard wrapped around the purple belt.

Seeing that the blade lines of the "Shadow Cut" were like white waves rolling up, and the faint purple light on the blade of the knife, Yao Pingdang even felt a cold and terrifying chill. Even though Yao Ping has rarely used weapons, he can feel with the simplest intuition that this knife is really a ghost-like killing weapon.

In order to save the trapped people in the prison, Yao Ping couldn't take any more look at the "shadow cut", he clenched the handle of the knife with both hands, gritted his teeth and swung the knife towards the chain.

With a spark and a crisp sound, the chain was instantly cut off by the "Shadow Cut".

Yao Ping looked at the broken chain in disbelief, and before he could see if the blade of the "Shadow Cut" had collapsed because of this, he kicked open the door of the prison and rushed into the prison.

Yao Ping, who rushed into the inside of the prison, saw that there were indeed many prisoners in the cells in the house. When the prisoners saw Yao Ping running in, they all cried and begged Yao Ping, and they begged Ping to release them from the cage.

But Yao Ping ran all the way to the inside of the cell, and he didn't even look directly at the prisoners on either side of the room. Because Yao Ping knew that in this prison, there was another prison area, the dungeon.

Yao Ping, who hurried to the front of the dungeon, found that the sea water had flooded here, and the waves were pouring in through the fence door on the dungeon. Standing in front of the fence door, Yao Ping clearly heard the screams coming from the dungeon, which were the terrible howls of the prisoners who had fallen into despair.

Yao Ping swung his knife again, and the lock of the dungeon's fence did not withstand the blow of "Shadow Cut". Yao Ping stepped on the seawater poured into the dungeon and quickly rushed into the dungeon. Standing at the bottom of the prison, Yao Ping was surprised to find that the seawater here had accumulated up to his calves, and the seawater was still rising rapidly.

Seeing the people struggling to ask him for help in the cells on both sides, Yao Ping struck the "Shadow Cut" against the prison locks on each cell door in turn, and the "Shadow Cut" also lived up to his expectations and cut off the locks one by one.

By the time Yao Ping reached the two cells at the end of the dungeon, the sea water had already reached his chest.

Due to the resistance of the water, Yao Ping swung several times before cutting the lock of the penultimate cell. By this time, the sea water in the dungeon had quickly risen to his neck.

After spitting out a mouthful of seawater in his mouth, Yao Ping swam vigorously to the last cell of the dungeon. Through the light shining through the ventilation shaft of the cell, Yao Ping saw that the person imprisoned in this last cell was Qu Shun, who was holding up his frail old father.

"Junko! I'm here to save you! Yao Ping shouted to him urgently after seeing Qu Shun. Without waiting for Qu Shun to struggle to reply, Yao Ping quickly held his breath and dived into the water.

Yao Ping groped his way in the dim and turbid water to slash at the iron cable, but at this time, due to the resistance of the sea water and the extremely poor line of sight, the iron chain was not successfully cut by him. As Yao Ping repeatedly slashed the chains, the sea water was almost reaching the roof of the low cell.

Yao Ping resurfaced before the sea touched the zenith of the dungeon, and he quickly took a few more breaths, and at the same time, he heard Qu Shun shouting at him, "Bottle! Leave me alone, you go! ”

Yao Ping took a sharp breath and dived into the water again. He continued to attempt to cut the chain, but as he swung his sword, a prisoner he had released quickly swam over and instantly snatched the "Shadow Cut" from his hand.