When the accident happened, the short team followed the leader as usual through the mud. When two weight-bearing horses fractured the congealed mud husks on the swamp, no one noticed anything unusual. Until the third horse stepped on it, a hoof crushed the surface.

In an instant, in a frightened hiss, its legs sank in. Qi Huan reacted quickly, he grabbed Mo Dao and immediately jumped off the horse, a few not very good-looking ups and downs, and stood on solid ground. Too late to be afraid, he called out to his companion who had found an anomaly in front of him:

"Come here and take a hand, this horse is sinking!"

They approached in a hurry, alert, reaching out and handing out their weapons at the closest distance they could stand, and scrambling to pick up their bags from their saddles. At last they even tore the saddle off the horse's back, and the horse neighed in despair and struggled to pull out its hooves and stand up. The quagmire was slow and unforgiving, engulfing its stretched legs and belly inch by inch...... By the time only the horse's head was still floating on the surface, it had ceased to scream, and most of them had stopped their futile efforts, turned their faces away, stood up and rearranged their luggage, and no longer looked at its big dark eyes.

Jun Aoyan was the last to get up. She was half-kneeling on the ground, staring deeply at it. Even if the horses of the Nine Heavens Kingdom were different from their homeland, they often reminded her of the similar, wordless four-legged comrades in the barracks. At this moment, such a pair of similar pure eyes are humanized with tears, like horses with broken legs and broken chests and abdomen on the battlefield, flowing with their last attachment to the world at the end of their lives.

There was a faint throbbing in her heart. It was for the horse that died in the end, and for everything she had and lost.

Like every time in her and her companions' lives, they always had to get up again and keep going. One less horse slowed down the trip somewhat. Jun Aoyan's knife and the supplies that were originally on Qi Huan's horse were transferred to Bai Ya's mount, and he and Qi Huan took turns leading the horse or exploring the way ahead.

In private, Liu Shenghan and Bai Ya expressed their concerns. From the map, the swamp was so vast that if they had been circumnavigating the mud like this, they would not know when they would have been able to get out.

The days of walking on thin ice did not last long. Liu Shenghan's inference a few days ago came true: as if suddenly, Bai Ya found traces of sparse vegetation in the forest, like a path that had been trampled on. As we walked along it, the vines entangled in the surrounding trees decreased, and the marks of axes and chisels began to appear; There were not so many dead branches under the trees, as if someone had picked them up and lit the smoke. Occasionally, when they search and hunt, they will see the remnants of the trap. After a while, Qi Huan noticed that on the trees on the side of the road, about the same level as his eyes, a strangely shaped symbol appeared.

He and Bai Ya invariably thought of the dense forests near the sea, those desperate marks that led to death. In this wooded swamp, if they deviate from the path they found at the beginning, the map will not allow them to reconfirm the direction they are traveling. Fortunately, Liu Shenghan has a compass given by the god of incense in his hand. She led them cautiously along the winding path marked by the carved tree trunks, convinced that the signs were leading in the distant Xiangji country beyond the swamp.

They all breathed a sigh of relief and moved forward with renewed spirits. Following their guidance, sporadic and humanly carved blocks of wood or stone gradually appeared along the way; Further on, they found some half-deserted huts, which seemed to have been temporarily inhabited but had left.

This gave them a brief fear that the inhabitants had moved away or died out. But it didn't take long for the eyes to suddenly brighten up, and more houses appeared in the field of vision.

These buildings are not compactly spaced and are scattered among the forests, forming a vast, loose settlement. Their systems are different from what they are familiar with, and even different from each other, and they all have strange personalities and are built as they please. What they all have in common is that they are all made of wood and stone, and the surface of these materials is engraved with strange symbols. Some of them resemble simple sketches of flowers, birds, insects and beasts, while others are twisted and turned, sometimes repeated, and there is a vague pattern that seems to be a special text. But a few people are well-informed, and they can't understand their content.

The inhabitants are as quirky as the houses. The four of them walked towards the denser area of the house, and along the way, they occasionally caught glimpses of people moving in front of the house. Some people have plain faces, others have missing arms and legs, or the skin surface is covered with large scars, probably because they are injured or born with a disease. They even caught a glimpse of a small human-like figure, which reminded several of them of the inhuman appearance of the demons they encountered in the Garuda Territory.

What these people have in common is that they seem to be blind to outsiders. Most of the villagers on the side of the road only glanced at the group a few times, and then went about their own business, not like welcome, nor repulsion. The treatment made them feel a little dazed, and when they came to an open space surrounded by houses, they stopped, dismounted, and met to discuss.

"These people are not surprised." After Liu Shenghan finished speaking, he shook his head again, "It looks like a very old settlement, not like it often interacts with big city-states." ”

Jun Aoyan also said: "These houses are too scattered, and I don't know where the center is, so it's hard to find someone in charge - if there is." ”

"Just find a kind face and ask? Knock on the door of a house? ”

Bai Ya was also a little moved: "It's easy to talk about it." ”

Someone noticed their confusion, stopped, looked at them for a moment, and then stood still; But he didn't say anything, just watched quietly, and when Qi Huan asked, he just shook his head, which made people scratch their heads. Fortunately, there were curious people who were attracted by the few people who didn't move here and gathered around.

The more and more people gathered, and finally a middle-aged man with one eye came forward and asked loudly:

"You're also lost?"

"Hmm...... We got lost and strayed into this place. Liu Shenghan replied politely.

The middle-aged man scratched his head, as if he was a little puzzled, and he didn't know where to ask. His reaction caused the four of them to look at each other, vaguely feeling that what he wanted to ask didn't seem to mean that. Before they could ask questions, he nodded and walked away on his own. This move without a beginning or tail made Bai Ya feel inexplicable:

"People here...... Pretty casual, huh? ”

The crowd suddenly parted ways. They all turned around and saw a woman dressed in black and red. There was a man standing beside her, the first villager to watch them, who was enthusiastically gesturing something.

"I said why I asked him not to speak, it turned out to be a mute ......" Qi Huan suddenly realized.

On the other hand, the woman seemed to understand the narration of the voiceless man, and after saying something to him, she walked towards the others.

Her costume is very solemn, like a shrine maiden, and the wooden staff in her hand is connected to the top of a zigzag paper, which also resembles a shrine maiden's imperial coin. She walked up to them and saluted them blandly.

"How many of you are strangers?"

"Hmm...... Be. ”

She examined them for a moment, her gaze as calm as water, without any malice.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

The four exchanged glances, and Liu Shenghan replied:

"I'd appreciate it if I could help. We passed through your place, and the journey was unfamiliar, and the horses were already stuck in the mud, and we were worried about the feathers and scales in the vast forest. I wonder if I can be lucky enough to take a break here? ”

She was too polite, and the response was friendly. The shrine maiden smiled politely and said softly:

"If so, come with me."

Seeing the shrine maiden talking to them, the villagers scattered in twos and threes. They led their horses and followed the shrine maiden through the houses and trees. I don't know how many bends I made, and the surroundings were empty, and there were no more village houses I saw before. As far as they could see, there was a crimson torii gate in the middle of the forest. Beyond the black cornices and forest vines in the twilight, a magnificent temple is faintly recognizable.

The shrine maiden led them through the torii gate and straight towards the temple. Along the way, you can see women dressed like the shrine maidens, or men wearing black robes with pointed hoods, red on a black background, and holding a staff in their hands. The shrine maiden did not greet them, but when they came closer, they nodded their heads when they wiped their bodies, and they were considered salutes. On the surface, it is really as casual as Bai Ya unintentionally sighed.

It wasn't until the door of the temple that the shrine maiden stopped and saluted a black-robed priest by the door:

"Please report to the Great Priest that there are four strangers who have entered Daze."

The people inside asked something, and the shrine maiden shook her head and said, "It's not the Lost." ”

The man acknowledged, motioned for her to wait, and turned back and entered the temple.

Behind her, Liu Shenghan raised his eyebrows slightly. Again, the word comes up, and it's hard not to guess what it might mean in a particular way, not to a lost traveler.

The reply came quickly. They entrusted their horses to the other two priests who had been summoned by the shrine maiden, and under the guidance of the shrine maiden, they cleaned their hands in a nearby pool. The priest opened the door and said to them:

"Come in, the Great Priest is invited."

The shrine maiden stopped outside the door, and had no intention of going along; They thanked her and went in with the priest.

The door closed, and there was a sudden darkness in front of him. Bai Ya's eyes were the first to get used to the light, and he squinted and looked inward, inside was a deep corridor, and there were lights and candles on the walls, so it was not too dim. Some of the closed doors on both sides are probably side chambers of the temple with different functions. The priest led them through the stone corridor, and finally stopped and pushed open a door, and saluted the people inside:

"Great priest, the people have brought it."

With that, he respectfully stepped aside and stretched out his hand to invite a few people in.

It is a spacious room, with a simple décor and nothing unusual. Only the four walls and the roof have some shallow reliefs, which are illuminated by candles to show their clumsy lines.

There was a long table, and the one sitting at the end of it must be the great priest in these mouths. When he got closer, he could see that the scepter he was holding was different from the witches and priests outside, carved with a vein, embedded with a red ore. The flickering firelight cast a shadow on his face, and in a moment, they felt a little cold when they had never relaxed, and they almost thought that they had entered some snake cave and tiger's den.

Fortunately, the ominous atmosphere was soon shattered. The high priest took the initiative to stand up and greeted them in silence:

"It's not easy for a distant traveler, so come and take a seat first."

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