The bad influence of Huangzhuang aroused the dissatisfaction and resistance of many people.

The encirclement of people's land has left the people with no food to eat, and the affairs of the Huangzhuang are not heard of or asked. Let the princes and nobles deceive the people and occupy the land in the township.

Murong couldn't help but be horrified when he heard this: "Cannibalism!" Such a strong reaction from Murong is enough to prove that this Huangzhuang has really driven the people to a dead end. Even the killer who came out of the wolf gate and didn't blink an eye trembled.

Tao Yao brought a few bowls of hot water, and then listened to Aunt Wang continue: "This is also a helpless way." A good mountain has been hollowed out, wild vegetables, tree bark, grass roots...... I ate everything I could. Those officials occupy the people's land even more, and there are countless hungry people, and the land on which they depend for their livelihood is gone, and they can only wait for death. ”

Speaking of this, Old Man Li couldn't help but burst into tears and said: "Food is in short supply, and more and more people are dying of hunger gradually. When the hungry people are red-eyed, they will eat the corpses of starvation! Poor boy, his father and mother didn't have a whole corpse when they died! ”

When there was no food, the hungry people ate the corpses of the starving people. This is how Old Man Li's son and daughter-in-law were eaten.

As soon as Mr. Li's son and daughter-in-law entered the ground, they were secretly dug up by others.

However, it is not a way to eat dead corpses all the time, and it is easy to get sick after eating the corpses after they decompose. What's more, who doesn't want to leave a whole body of their family after death. After they died, they were secretly buried in their own yards.

So the villagers came to a brutal agreement.

"What's that agreement?" Murong asked curiously.

Old Man Li was almost crazy: "It's a sacrifice!" ”

"Sacrifice? Who to worship? ”

"Isn't it to worship whom? It's a sacrifice! ”

"Sacrifices? What sacrifice? ”

Tao Yao couldn't help but say, "Oh, it's a living person!" ”

"Living!" Murong cried out in a lost voice.

The villagers choose an auspicious day of the zodiac every month to worship the heavens together. As Old Man Li said, the point is not who to worship, but to sacrifice.

On the first day of each month, the whole village gathers in a dilapidated Confucius Temple, where the village chief burns incense and prays to Confucius, and then holds the lot-drawing ceremony. Those who were drawn needed to be sacrificed as sacrifices, saying that the sacrifices were eventually eaten by the villagers.

"How could there be such a cruel sacrifice!"

Old Man Li shook his head helplessly and said, "That's why I begged Aunt Wang to write a couplet!" ”

"In this way, this month's sign is your little grandson!" Murong looked at Old Man Li with a frightened expression, and Old Man Li couldn't hold back in an instant, and tears slid down his wrinkled face.

Aunt Wang said: "It's called a sacrifice, but in fact, I came up with such a cruel idea for the sake of life!" ”

At this time, a childish voice came from outside the door: "Sister Taoyao!" Sister Taoyao! ”

Tao Yao rushed out first, and the old man Li in the house heard his grandson's voice and went out after him.

"Stone!" Tao Yao grinned and picked up the child and spun around twice.

Old Man Li asked, "How did you find this?" ”

"It's dark, I'm scared at home!" Stone said timidly.

Only then did Old Man Li realize that the sky was already dark, and the moon was already hanging high.

Tao Yao comforted: "Don't be afraid, let's go to the house!" Then he carried the stone into the house.

When the stone saw the couplet in Old Man Li's hand, he snatched it and said, "Grandpa, what kind of fun is this!" ”

Murong was even more sad when he saw the joy of the stone playing: this child who only knew how to play didn't know that tomorrow would be his death. I can't help but feel sad.

Old Man Li said with a gloomy face: "Don't move, you kid!" The grandfather and grandson frolicked with each other, ignoring the others. Maybe this is the last time for their grandfather and grandson to get along, Old Man Li is only accompanied by this lovely grandson when he is old, and now he wants the white-haired person to send the black-haired person, and Murong is even more heartbroken when he thinks of this.

"The two of you are so happy, I don't know what tomorrow will bring." Tao Yao secretly sighed and looked at Murong who was stunned.

"Hey, you were very good at saving me today, you can definitely save the stone!" Tao Yao pushed Murong.

Murong hadn't thought about it, but he didn't want to be entangled in these things now, he had planned to leave for Dengzhou tomorrow. But the two men in front of him shook him.

Old Man Li heard Tao Yao's words and hurriedly knelt down: "Please beg the graceful father, save my grandson's life again." After speaking, he quickly kowtowed, and when Shi saw his grandfather kneeling, he also consciously knelt in front of Murong and kowtowed.

The "bang" kowtow all hit Murong's heart, and Murong couldn't bear to refuse. He saw the stone as if he had seen his childhood self, and he was still hesitating......

Jin Yiwei never delays the task, this is his lifelong creed as Jin Yiwei. But...... Saving the lives of Li Min is a lifelong belief. When the two collided together, Murong was in a dilemma.

Murong secretly thought in his heart: My belief cannot be violated, not to mention that Dengzhou is still far away, and I will speed up my pace in the future. He was heartbroken, helped up Old Man Li, picked up the stone and said, "Everything is up to me!" ”

Old Man Li hurriedly wiped his tears with his cuffs and smiled, and was about to kneel down and kowtow but was stopped by Murong: "Enough, enough!" ”

When the stone saw his grandfather laughing, he laughed out loud, laughing so cheerfully, so innocently.

Murong couldn't help but feel heartbroken, thinking that he was such a big child who lived with his brother in the Wolf Gate at the beginning, and now his brother ......

Suddenly, a loud "grunt" interrupted everyone, and the stone scratched his head: "I'm hungry!" He laughed innocently.

Tao Yao also smiled and said, "I haven't eaten yet!" I'll get you a bowl of vegetable soup! This steamed bun is for you! She handed the steamed bun given by Old Man Li to the stone.

Old Man Li wanted to stop it, but was stopped by Aunt Wang.

Murong suddenly said, "Stone! Do you want to eat something good? ”

"What's delicious?" Shi looked at Murong innocently, his big eyes sparkling with cleverness.

"Delicacies of the mountains and seas!"

Murong asked like this, but it attracted Tao Yao's ridicule: "Don't tease the stones, how can there be any delicacies of the mountains and seas in this barren mountain and wilderness?" ”

Murong smiled mysteriously: "I said that there is, there is!" ”

Tao Yao hesitated for a moment: "You mean ......"

Murong didn't wait for her to finish speaking, then said, "That's right! ”

Murong was referring to either somewhere else or the Imperial Village more than ten miles away!

At the same time, the drums of the three watches in the capital were just beating.

The streets of the city have long been quiet and empty, black crows are flying in shock, and the wind is sweeping the weeds.

The street, which was already very sleepy and quiet, was disturbed by the creaking of carriages.

The carriage moved very slowly, from far to near, and slowly wandered down a long street and stopped in front of a mansion.

This mansion is the mansion of Zhang Xuan, the governor of the Jingshi Guard.

In the mansion, Zhang Xuan was drinking with a few guests. Who are you talking about? Zhang Xuan's father is Zhang Yu, a great contributor to following Yongle Yejing's martyrdom. The second generation of officials who are rooted in Miao Hong.

At this time, the wine was already half-drunk, and everyone at the banquet was drunk and half-unconscious.

Zhang Xuan's face flushed, and he stood up with squinted eyes. slurred speech: "All, all for Lao Tzu to get up!" Pick up...... Keep drinking! ”

These people at the banquet are all Zhang Yuan's subordinates, and they are Zhang Yuan's friends of wine and meat. These people are idle and idle day by day. Casinos and brothels are everywhere, and the gangsters spend all day drinking together, but they live freely.

"Zhang, Lord Zhang! Recently, there have been frequent murders in the palace, have you heard of it? That killer is terrifying! Xu Bin, the head of the Criminal Department, said in a daze, still holding a wine glass in his hand.

"What? Are you scared? Lao Tzu doesn't even pay attention to the emperor, what killer are you afraid of? Zhang Xuan was a little crazy, and he didn't know where to take out an iron coupon, "Do you see it?" This is the Danshu iron coupon given to me by the first emperor! ”

Everyone knows him, and every time he drinks half of the wine, he has to take out this Danshu iron coupon to show off.

"Listen, I heard! That killer seems to have killed Cao Jixiang, and there is also the chief of Ouchi Duofu! They...... They are all ......" Xu Yuanliang, the waiter of the Criminal Department, said softly, and heard the sound of the chair falling to the ground with a "bang", which frightened him into a shock.

It was Li Jinglun, the head of the Criminal Department, who got up and went to the toilet and brought down the chair under him. Li Jinglun stumbled out of the door.

"Leave him alone! Keep drinking! Zhang Xuan roared, raised his glass and touched it again.

"Don't say it, the murder in the palace is really mysterious! The murderer seems to have deliberately left a hairpin, I don't know what it means! Xu Bin seemed to be much more sober.

"Hey! It's all based on false rumors, and Lao Tzu doesn't believe the nonsense that a murderer with infinite power killed thirteen people in a row! Zhang Xuan said disdainfully.

"But it's true!" Xu Yuanliang said softly and forcefully, "It's said that he came back to ask for his life!" What do you think ......?"

"Asking for your life? What life? We didn't kill him! Zhang Xuan said angrily.

The three of them chatted for a long time, "Why hasn't this Lord Li come back, won't he sleep anywhere!" The crowd burst into laughter.

Zhang Xuan shouted: "Wait until I go and see if he is sleeping there!" After that, he got up and went out but tripped over the threshold, and was helped up by Xu Bin and Xu Yuanliang in a drowsy state.

"Master Zhang is drunk! Going together? The two laughed.

Zhang Xuan shook off the arms of the two and staggered: "I'm not drunk!" Other...... I don't need your help! After saying that, he walked out quickly, and the two slowly followed.

Zhang Xuan found the back garden like dancing along the way, and shouted from afar: "Li Jinglun? Li Jinglun! Are you sleeping here? Come out! Ben-sama brought you here! ”

Seeing Li Jinglun's response, Zhang Xuan said again: "Xu Bin! You two go and pull him out! Zhang Xuan turned around and saw no trace of the two, and muttered "waste" secretly!

Zhang Xuan took a closer look and saw Li Jinglun lying on the ground motionless.

Zhang Xuan scolded with a smile: "You waste, you can't do it anymore!" Get up! He kicked him twice, but Li Jinglun still didn't move.

Zhang Xuan couldn't help but be annoyed: "You waste wood! He turned Li Jinglun over, and by the moonlight, he saw that Li Jinglun's face was like earth, his eyes were white, and he had already lost his breath.

Zhang Xunden was halfway drunk, so frightened that he sat on the ground and got up in a panic and ran, shouting all the way.

Not far away, he saw the backs of Xu Bin and the others, and kept shouting: "It's dead!" Dead! ”

Zhang Xuan shouted loudly and didn't see the two turn back, sweating too late to wipe it. Just stretched out his hand and patted Xu Bin, and under a beat, Xu Bin's head fell to the ground in an instant. Immediately afterwards, Xu Yuanliang also fell to the ground.

Zhang Xuan's face was suddenly colorless, and he sat on the ground and shouted for help. When he was frightened, he was frightened again, and he was completely sober at this time.

After calling for help for a long time, no one responded. Zhang Xuan was even more flustered, he completely felt that he was the only one left in this mansion.

At this time, Zhang Xuan found that a figure was slowly climbing on the wall, gradually approaching him, getting closer and closer, and the figure enveloped him.

Zhang Xuan trembled unconsciously, and his voice trembled: "You, you...... Who are you! ”

His back was to the moonlight, Zhang Xuan couldn't see his face clearly, he was still getting closer......

Soon, the carriage in front of the house creaked and disappeared into the darkness, not knowing where it was going......

Exactly: the murder case in the capital is repeated, and Murong is sneaking in the Huangzhuang; Confucius Temple sacrificed, and Murong went to Dengzhou.