As soon as my words came out, the corners of the strange thing's mouth seemed to show a sneer, and he said in that stiff dialect with a mocking tone, "Who will come here...... Gu cheng? ”

"But that's where I met you."

"I don't want to come ......"

The strange thing was sent to Chang'an with hundreds of people, and the rest of the life can be said to be very miserable. For at least a few years, watching the freaks juggle was the most fashionable pastime of the time. Everyone performs four or five hours a day, and no one will treat them as human beings, whether in the eyes of the audience or in the eyes of the people in charge of controlling them.

Because, they are not like normal people in the first place.

Their situation is no different from that of some animals. In addition to performances, they usually live in cages one by one, and if they deviate from their behavior, they will be whipped.

There was no freedom, there were no rights, and for a while, the weird thing really felt like a livestock.

But as time passed, these people developed a stronger and stronger rebellious heart, after all, many of them came from the nomadic tribes of Gask and the plateau, and they were born brave, and what flowed in their veins was blood that refused to give in.

Some resisted and were immediately put to death. The corpses were hung next to the cages, and every freak in the cage could be seen.

Strange things want to die, because that kind of life is really better than death.

Just when weirdos, and even more freaks, felt like they couldn't hold it up, things changed. One reason comes from Datang, the freaks have been performing juggling in Chang'an for several years, and many people have seen it, and it seems that the initial novelty is gone. Moreover, freaks often rebel, resulting in casualties. Therefore, Chang'an does not want to raise these freaks anymore.

Another reason comes from Zhangxiong, Zhangxiong's purpose to curry favor with the Tang Dynasty is to unite with the Tang Dynasty and attack Tibet. However, at that time, the Tang Dynasty was no longer prosperous, and its national strength was declining rapidly, and it had lost control and influence over the countries of Central and Western Asia through which the Silk Road passed.

Tubo was Zhangxiong's greatest enemy, and during the years when the strange things were stranded in Chang'an, Zhangxiong was defeated one after another, and Tubo secretly united tribes such as Gaske to rebel against Zhangxiong. The Tibetans provided food, livestock, bricks and tea, and many other daily necessities, with the intention of letting these tribes who depended on Zhangzhung know that they could live a better life without Zhangzhung.

Under the operation of Tibet, more than a dozen tribes broke away from Zhangxiong's control and became independent, and became enemies of Zhangxiong. Among them, the Gasks resisted the most violently, and they have never forgotten that in the past ten years, none of the Gask children who were taken away by Zhangxiong have returned.

Based on the current situation, Zhangxiong lowered his posture and consulted with the Gaskers. But the negotiations were fruitless, and the Gasks did not accept the material assistance of Zhangzhung, and they only wanted to return the four or five hundred Gask children who had been taken away that year.

Datang wants to repatriate hundreds of freaks, and Gask and some tribes are also asking for people. When these hundreds of freaks were taken out of the Tang Dynasty, they failed to return to the plateau.

Zhangzhung knew very well that if these Gaskers were put back and returned to their own tribe, all the Gaskers would be angry when they saw the freaks. Zhangxiong can no longer make enemies casually, Tubo alone has already eaten away more than half of Zhangxiong's territory.

Judging from the situation at the time, killing these freaks was the most suitable choice, although cruel, but it could reduce a lot of trouble. But Zhang-zhung didn't do that.

"Don't think ...... They are benevolent......" The strange thing sneered: "That's not mercy......"

"Not kindness, then what? They didn't kill you after all. ”

"We can't be killed."

The reason why those freaks have changed from normal people to monsters is because of the immortal bronze. This mysterious bronze brings more than just immortality and mutation.

Freaks are also flesh and blood, and there is no such thing as invulnerability. But as early as the time in Chang'an, some freaks had already learned that they could not be killed.

This discovery came from a freak who had been killed for his resistance. The bodies of the freaks were hung near the cages, and the people were clearly dead, but some of their companions could still hear them talk to them often.

It was definitely not an illusion, it was a real voice, and the sound seemed to echo in my ears.

At that time, it was impossible for the freaks, including other living freaks, to understand what human consciousness really was, and they only believed in the soul. The death of the rebels more than once has made it more and more clear to these freaks that their bodies can be burned by slashes and fires, but their souls do not die and are always there.

At first, I couldn't quite understand the strange thing describing that feeling, but as he described it, I suddenly seemed to understand what it meant.

The immortality of the soul mentioned by the strange thing actually means that human consciousness never dissipates and always exists. What does that feel like? His body has decayed, and only consciousness remains, just as all the organs and even cells of a person have died, and only one brain is still alive.

This brain has memory, it has thinking, it can think about problems, it can recall the things that happened when it was alive. But it's just a living brain, and it's no different from what a vegetative person feels.

Some of the freaks were thrilled when they found out the secret, because even if they were killed, they still wouldn't die, and their souls were still there.

At first glance, it seems like a lot of people are dreaming of it, but over time, the freaks have changed their minds.

The immortality of the soul is actually a very painful thing.

I can imagine that if a person has nothing but consciousness, then it will never have a home, no body, just like a gust of wind, a smoke, perhaps, it can sense what is happening around it, but it has no ability to change what it sees and hears.

It would drift forever, watching its companions die one by one, and then become a soul like it, drifting endlessly in the dark space.

I can think of this, but after all, I can't really appreciate what a lonely and terrible feeling it is without experiencing it myself.

Freaks are all bred by the Elephant Male people, and they should also know the consequences of immortal bronze. If you kill these freaks, their consciousness will not be extinguished, which will be a big trouble. When I was handling the corpse of the Three-Eyed Woman, I heard her voice very clearly, and if some freak stumbled upon the Gaskers in his consciousness, or returned to the Gassk gathering place, and passed on the news, it would immediately be even worse for the males. The Gasks are one of the strongest tribes among the Zhang-zhung's vassals, especially the people in the tribe who hunt all year round, everyone is a qualified hunter and warrior, once these people are completely angry, and then go to war, the Zhangxiong people will not be able to resist the two-front attack.

Freaks are painful, while Elephant Males have a headache, and when they bred them, they probably didn't think about what to do with them in the future. You can't kill it, you can't let it go, so you can only find a safe and hidden place and imprison all these freaks.

This is how the strange thing was escorted to the underground ancient city, and when he came to Ta'er Lake, the underground ancient city already existed.

At that time, the old city only had a bell tower, and there were no small houses dedicated to freaks. Many Zhangxiong people worked day and night, and built many low and sturdy huts in the ancient city, and all the freaks were locked up in them.

The freaks were imprisoned in this place where they didn't see the light of day, but because of that, they had plenty of time.

Immortal bronze affects their form and lifespan, but the vast majority of freaks have no damage to their brains, and some of them are even smarter than normal. They were figuring out how to get out of here, and they were thinking about how to escape from here and back to their tribe.

It is precisely because the consciousness of the freaks affected by the immortal bronze is not extinguished, so some freaks have a strong consciousness, and they gradually learn to control the powerful consciousness.

At that time, the Zhangxiong people who had built the houses were all evacuated, leaving only about forty or fifty Zhangxiong people. Half of them were in the underground city, guarding the prisoners, and the other half were on the ground above the city, patrolling the situation. After being held for almost a year, the weird thing got a chance.

These prisoners had one meal a day, and when it came to distributing food, it was a heavy burden and troublesome, and the Zhangxiong guards chose two people among the prisoners to put them in charge of this. However, this does not mean that the two people who have been singled out can work independently, and there is still an Zhangxiong guard to watch over them.

The strange thing was chosen, and he could take advantage of the food distribution to reach out to all the prisoners and help them pass on some news to each other.

Among so many prisoners, there was a particularly large Gasker. He was taken away by the Elephant Male in the same year as the strange thing, and under the influence of immortal bronze, his head was very large, but his body was very thin.

This man was called Patong among the prisoners, and in the Gasque language, Patong means wise man.

Patong is very smart, he is the best person who secretly delves into how to control consciousness, and Patong's plan is to influence the consciousness of those guards when the time is ripe and he is sure, and then let all the prisoners escape.

The strange thing continued to help Patong pass information from prisoner to prisoner, and after feeling that he was sure enough to influence the consciousness of the guards, Patong made an attempt.

The attempt was successful, and Patong, and the strange things, including some of the other prisoners, were very confident, and they felt that they would be able to escape from this dark ancient city.