The next morning, we continued on our way.

There are more and more people in the hinterland of the center of Jixu Prefecture, and there are many prosperous counties along the way. Everyone was in a hurry, and when they encountered a place with excellent scenery, they had no intention of staying.

Seven or eight days later, everyone passed through Jixu Prefecture and came to the boundary of Huazhou.

The whole territory of Huazhou is hilly and undulating, the mountain roads are winding, and the weather is uncertain, the road surface is muddy, and it is very difficult to walk.

On this day, on the road, from time to time I met refugees who were in tatters, their hair was messy, their faces were haggard, and when they saw Yun Tianjia's horse team from afar, they were like frightened birds, and they didn't go on the road, but they went into the forest, around the big bend, and ran north regardless of their lives.

Luo Erniang lifted the curtain, raised her eyes to look, and said: "There are so many refugees, and they are panicked, it seems that the war between Ning and Tongerzhou has a great impact on the people. Could it be that the big victory has already been lost?"

Yun Tianjia frowned and said: "From the Great Victory Pass to here, there are several dangerous checkpoints in the middle, such as Fengzui Pass, Xinhu Pass, and Xianghe, and the distance is not short, even if the Great Victory Pass is lost, it is impossible for the rebels to break through so many defense lines for a moment and a half." ”

"So you mean, something happened in Huazhou?"

Yun Tianjia shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. Let's go back and ask a few refugees. ”

Xiong Zhuangzhuang patted his horse in parallel with Gong Luoluo, and asked, "When you go back to the Tail Fire Country, do you also take this road?"

Gong Luoluo said: "This road is the closest, and it has been an official road since ancient times, of course take this road." ”

Xiong Zhuangzhuang said: "After entering Huazhou, in addition to refugees, there are obviously a lot fewer pedestrians, and the villages are sparse, the fields are barren, and the crops are withering.

"Where do you remember the events of three years ago so clearly?" Gong Luoluo pointed ahead and said, "But I do remember that there is a small town not far ahead." ”

Before Yun Tianjia came to Huazhou, he carefully read the map of the Star Continent that Shi Zhengyang gave to He Xiaoduo, and someone copied it, so he remembered the geography of Huazhou very clearly, and said: "This is the jurisdiction of Tongyuan County, adjacent to Hanyuan County. The town in front is called Huangxi Town, which is about 300 miles away from the Chengguan of Hanyuan County, and after we enter Huangxi Town, it only takes two days to reach the destination. We hurried to get to the town of Huangxi before dark. ”

Half an hour later, everyone went out of the mountains and forests, the road gradually widened, Yun Tianjia grabbed the reins of the horse, and said: "Look, from this section on, the road is paved with bluestone slabs, indicating that the scale of Huangxi Town is not small. ”

Luo Erniang looked at it and said, "It's a little weird to say this!"

Zhong Dinghe asked, "What's weird?"

"The bluestone road was covered with moss on both sides, and the middle of the road was even more dull, and it was evident that there was very little movement. But since there is a market town ahead, how can there be so few pedestrians?"

When everyone heard Luo Erniang say this, there was a warning in their hearts, and they subconsciously slowed down.

After walking a little further, Xiong Zhuangzhuang suddenly said, "Why is there a smell? Do you smell it?"

Yun Tianjia said: "It's the smell of corpses." ”

The scalps of the crowd were numb.

Zhong Dinghe said: "I'll take a look." "Rush the horse.

Yun Tianjia said in a loud voice: "Cover your mouth and nose with your clothes, don't be reckless." Seeing Zhong Dinghe turn over and dismount, he picked up a piece of broken wood, carefully rummaged through the grass on the side of the road, and after seeing the corpse in the grass, he took a few steps back in horror.

Yun Tianjia led the crowd forward and asked, "Do you see clearly?"

"It was the body of a little girl, eight or nine years old, her face was completely rotten, and she had been dead for about four or five days. ”

"What are you wearing?"

Zhong Dinghe turned over and got on the horse again and said, "The clothes are not bad, not like a homeless beggar." ”

Yun Tianjia pondered for a moment and said, "The Violent Corpse Wilderness is not appropriate in the end. Let's dig a little pit and let her settle in the ground. ”

Everyone hastily buried the woman's corpse and continued to hurry, with a hint of bad premonition in their hearts.

After walking a short distance, I encountered a lot of corpses one after another, most of them were about to decompose, some were old and some were young and strong, and the preliminary judgment was that these people were killed in the fighting, and the wounds were shocking.

In other words, four or five days ago, there had been an extremely violent fighting here.

Xiong Zhuangzhuang led the horse on foot and said, "It depends on the situation, there will be more corpses in front." We can bury one or two, but we can't bury so many. Presumably, the people of the town either suffered or fled, so the corpses would be left uncleaned. It's no wonder that those refugees hid when they saw us, and they were scared for the rest of their lives. ”

"The situation in Huangxi Town is weird, don't rush in. Let's find a place to camp first, and Gong Luoluo and I will go to find out the situation. Yun Tianjia looked around and said, "There happens to be a temple there, let's go over and take a look." ”

Everyone stared at it and saw that there was a building at the entrance of the town.

When I got closer, the door was overgrown with weeds, kicking away the weeds, and a brown stone tablet vaguely read the words "Ten Kings Temple". Although this temple is dilapidated, it occupies a very small area, the lintel of the beams, the bricks and tiles are painted, and you can vaguely imagine the grand occasion of the year.

Zhong Dinghe and Xiong Zhuangzhuang led people to take a closer look inside and out, but they saw that the cobwebs were coiled, the tiles and stones were scattered, and the smell of mildew was exuding everywhere, obviously no one had been here for a long time.

Xiong Zhuangzhuang came out of the temple and said: "It's dilapidated and old, I don't know how many years it has been." ”

Zhong Dinghe said: "Dilapidation is a little dilapidated, but at least there are no dead bodies, and people can live there." ”

"Who said that if there is a dead body, no one can live there?"

Xiong Zhuangzhuang sneered: "Besides, although the Ten Kings Temple is dilapidated, the ginkgo tree in front of the door is very luxuriant, with a large area of golden gold, even if you sleep a few people on it, you can't see it." ”

There was a small stream next to the ginkgo tree that flowed through the town. In autumn, the ginkgo biloba leaves fall into it, lining the golden water of the stream, and the town of Huangxi is named after it.

Zhong Dinghe said with a smile: "That's right, today you will sleep on the tree and give us a sentry." ”

When the two of them raised the bar, a thick smoke suddenly rose in Huangxi Town, black and gray, and went straight to the sky.

Yun Tianjia said: "There are still people in the town! This wolf smoke seems to have the intention of asking for help." Let's set up camp here, guard the gate, and wait for us to come back!"

Zhong Dinghe said: "How long will you have to wait?"

Yun Tianjia jumped off the horse and said, "This is not good. Don't worry, there aren't many people in this world who can trap me and Gong Luoluo at the same time. But you must not be careless. ”

Zhong Dinghe and Xiong Zhuangzhuang knew Yun Tianjia's ability, so they naturally didn't worry, and said, "Then you guys go and come back quickly!" and Luo Erniang and the others went to clean the temple and prepare to stay.

Yun Tianjia turned on the spiritual detection, and Gong Luoluo walked quickly into Huangxi Town in the direction of the thick smoke.

Houses in the town have collapsed, and the wooden beams are charred black, apparently having been burned not long ago. There was an endless stream of corpses lying on the side of the road, and the smell of it was unspeakably miserable.