In the tavern with the door half-hidden, the floor was moistened with alcohol, and the smell of wine wafted from the ground.

In fact, it is not surprising for a tavern to have wine stains on the floor, and it is normal for drunkards to be dazzled, dull ears, walk crookedly, and spill wine bowls or break wine jars. So why is Fei Tukong so alarmed?

The reason is still in the wine stain. The outer edge of the stain has dried, indicating that the wine has been spilled on the ground for some time. This is within the threshold of the tavern, and if Xiao Er doesn't clean it up quickly, it will inevitably affect business. But at this time, there was no movement in the tavern at all. This is what makes Fei Tukong feel strange.

"The door was ajar, and the wine was spilled, that is, someone had just entered the tavern. "Wasteland.

"It's also possible that you spilled it when you came out!" said Hua Qingyu.

Fei Tukong squatted down and carefully inspected the ground in front of the door: "No, if you come out, you can't get around that pool of wine stains, so there should be something left outside the door......"

Hua Qingyu suddenly realized: "Footprints!"

Fei Tukong squatted two steps forward and gently pushed the door. Fortunately, the door shaft did not make any sound, and the door slowly opened, and the situation in the tavern gradually revealed before the eyes of the two of them. The tables and chairs inside were a little messy, and there were many wine jar fragments on the floor next to the counter.

Still nowhere to be seen.

"Look!" Fei Tukong pouted forward, and on the other side of the wine stain, there was a row of footprints that had not yet fully dried, leading to the inner hall.

"It's footprints, not shoe prints!" Hua Qingyu emphasized. Entering the tavern barefoot, if it was a drinker, it seemed that he was already very drunk.

"And it's not just one person. Fei Tukong pointed to a slightly smaller footprint.

"Anyone else is wearing only one shoe?" Hua Qingyu found another shoe print in the footprints.

"It's possible that it was hijacking, so I dropped a shoe. Fei futu speculated.

Hua Qingyu immediately asked, "Why are the robbers barefoot?"

Fei Tukong was helpless: "I don't know, let's go in and have a look." ”

The two of them crept into the tavern and headed for the inner hall. When passing the stairs, Fei Tukong turned up and looked, the situation on the second floor and the first floor was similar, the tables and chairs were messy, and there was no one in sight.

When I opened the curtain of the inner hall, a strange smell came to my face. Hua Qingyu sniffed carefully, but couldn't tell what it was. The inner hall was unusually dark, with no light in sight, and all the doors and windows were closed.

"Someone!" said Fei Tukong.

Hua Qingyu listened carefully, and there was a heavy breathing sound in the distance in the hall, and there were many of them, so it could be seen that there were many people in the inner hall, but why did they stay in the dark? The sun was shining outside, and even if the room was shaded, it would not be dark to this extent, so someone must have covered all the windows with opaque things. Thinking of this, Hua Qingyu only felt that the hairs on her body stood on end.

Fei Tukong didn't dare to venture in, he took out the fire fold and a candle, lit it, and then held the candle up with the candle flame, and the two stepped in. Hua Qingyu's heart was pounding.

The light of the candle flame illuminated the inner hall, Fei Tukong's eyes widened as much as an egg, and Hua Qingyu gasped in shock. The situation in the hall was very strange: I saw figures with their backs to the door, all of them hanging their heads and disheveled, standing in the middle of the inner hall.

As if sensing the light, a few of the people on the outside of the group slowly turned around. Hua Qingyu screamed "ah", the group of people were pale, their lips were bloodless, and their eyes were actually black, without the whites of their eyes!

Attracted by Hua Qingyu's voice, more people turned around and bared their teeth at the two of them.

"Y-What's wrong with you?" asked Hua Qingyu in horror.

No one answered, and suddenly, a child popped out of the crowd and rushed towards the two of them.

"Don't come here!" Hua Qingyu took out the fairy sword, but she didn't want to hurt a child.

Fei Tukong blocked Hua Qingyu behind him, lifted his leg and kicked it on the child's knee. The child fell to the ground, did not cry or shout, but immediately got up again, waved his hand and grabbed the candle flame. Fei Tukong raised the candle high, and the child grabbed it, and then kept jumping to grab it.

Fei Tukong suddenly understood something, and immediately threw the candle into the hall, and sure enough, as he expected, the child immediately turned and threw himself at the candle, and at the same time, the other people in the hall also threw themselves at the candle. The candle flame was extinguished by the child's palm, and the others also pressed on top of each other, as if they had a lot of hatred for the candle.

"What's wrong with this?" Fei Tukong was simply inexplicable.

The candle was extinguished, and the group turned to look at Hua Qingyu again, and then rushed over like hungry tigers pounced on sheep.

"Fairy Sword! It's almost over!" Fei Tukong said hurriedly.

Hua Qingyu hurriedly withdrew the fairy sword, and the hall returned to a state where there was no light. The two withdrew to the brighter outer hall, re-branded their blades, and waited for battle.

The curtain of the inner hall shook slightly, and the pendant at the lower end rubbed back and forth on the ground, slower and slower, until finally it came to a complete standstill. Not a single person rushed out of the inner hall.

"They seem to be afraid of the light. Hua Qingyu was frightened and a little out of breath.

"Isn't it obvious, otherwise why would you cover the windows tightly? I just noticed that the windows were covered with planks and nailed shut. ”

Hua Qingyu recalled the situation just now, and still had palpitations: "Did you see it? Their eyes are all black, it's really terrifying." ”

"See. Now I have figured out why no one on the peony set can see it. ”

"You mean, the whole town has become like this?"

"Is there any other explanation? They don't like the light, so they hide in dark rooms during the day and wait until nightfall......"

Hua Qingyu shuddered: "What?"

And he went out and wandered the streets. ”

"This ...... Is it possible?"

"Otherwise, how would you explain the freshly broken jar and the undried footprints?

then hid back in the room. It's winter, and the sunrise is almost close to midnight, just as we just walked out of the ravine and saw the peony set. ”

"Hide by day, wander by night...... How do you say it like a lonely ghost?"

"You're wrong, they're a big group, and they're not 'alone' at all. ”

Hua Qingyu made up her mind: "There must be some reason why the people in the whole town have become this picture of no people, no ghosts and no ghosts." We've got to find it out. ”

"You're not afraid?"

"I'm afraid, but I have to find out. ”

Fei Tukong wanted to say something, but he caught a glimpse of the door curtain of the inner hall moving, and all the strange people inside rushed out!

"Hey, why aren't you afraid of light now?" Fei Tukong couldn't help but be shocked. Judging from the clothes of those strange people, they were undoubtedly all townspeople of Peony Market, and they were all unarmed, so it was not to kill them, nor was it to kill them, so the two had to quickly exit the tavern.

Unexpectedly, those strange people also rushed from the outer hall to the street, and at the same time, groups of strange people poured out of other houses, and even many strange people jumped down from the second floor or even higher floors.

"Oh my God! there are so many people!" exclaimed Fei Tukong. The two of them can be regarded as having learned the "liveliness" of the peony set.

"Oh no, I can't escape!" Hua Qingyu looked around, and strange people surrounded him from all directions. Under the sun, the hideous face can be seen more realistically. She panicked and didn't know what to do.

"There's no choice but to kill. There are so many people, why don't you just poison him!" Fei kicked the approaching stranger away one by one, but the strange people went one after another, grabbed him indiscriminately, and almost grabbed his feet and took off his shoes.

"This ...... No!" Hua Qingyu still felt pity in his heart, they were townspeople.

At this time, there was a sound of "brushing" a knife not far away, and a knife man with a hat rushed away from the strange crowd, came to the two of them, and shouted: "Follow me!"

So, the swordsman opened the way in front, and Fei Tukong and Hua Qingyu followed him closely and fled out of the town. The swordsman is very skillful, and with the thick back of his knife, he injures the legs and feet of the monsters, incapacitating them. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer strange people chasing after them, and the three of them finally rushed outside the peony set and came to the river.

"Thank you brother Tai for coming to the rescue, I am grateful. Fei Tu thanked him empty-handedly.

The swordsman took off his hat, revealing a face full of vicissitudes. A scar from the left eye to the right cheek was shocking.

"Dare to ask Brother Taizun's name?" Fei Tukong asked.

The swordsman didn't answer, but asked: "I passed by the peony collection during the day, why didn't you leave quickly, but went into the house to seek death?"

Fei Tukong and Hua Qingyu glanced at each other and explained: "We see that the peony collection is empty, and we feel strange. Only the door to the tavern was open, so I went in and took a look. ”

The swordsman sighed, "There is something wrong with the door of that tavern, so it is not closed tightly. ”

"Dare to ask the hero, what happened to the people in the Peony Collection?" asked Hua Qingyu.

"I dare not take the word 'hero' seriously, but I just have some kung fu in my hands. Don't ask about the situation here, just leave quickly. Even if you are in a hurry during the day, you should climb a tall tree to rest at night, so there should be no danger. Remember, don't go into any room before you get out of this mountain pass!" The knife man was about to leave after speaking, but was dragged by Fei Tukong: "Brother Tai, children of the rivers and lakes, when the road is uneven, naturally you have to draw a knife to help." The peony set is so weird, how can we ignore it?"

Seeing that the two refused to leave, the swordsman became angry: "It's not that you don't want to take care of it, but you can't control it at all!" He obviously knew what was going on in the peony set.

Hua Qingyu said firmly: "Even if Brother Tai doesn't tell us, we will return to the Peony Collection to find out." ”

"It doesn't hurt to tell you, the townsfolk have fallen for evil to become like this. ”

Evil sounds fresh.

"Of course, if you fall into evil, you must exorcise evil spirits. Tell us about it. ”

"Well, this is not the place to talk, so come with me. Seeing that the two had made up their minds, the swordsman finally relented.

The swordsman led the two of them along the riverbank back to the Peony Market, and the strange people in the street were gone, but all the doors were wide open. In an alley near the river, the knife man pushed open a courtyard door: "This is my house, please come in." ”

The yard was neat, with a willow tree in the northwest corner, and a stone platform under the tree, surrounded by a few rough wooden benches. Next to the wooden bench there was a well covered with a wooden barrel upside down. On the east side of the well is the only row of low houses in the courtyard. The swordsman pushed open the door, sat down at the round table in the middle of the room, picked up the flask on the table, and drank to himself.

Fei Tukong and Hua Qingyu sat down at the table, waiting for the swordsman to speak. The swordsman was addicted to drinking, and he didn't stop taking one sip after another, until a pot of wine was drunk clean, and he patted his stomach with satisfaction.

"My surname is Wu. There are many people with the same surname on the peony set, and even in the entire Shenyu Valley, the surname Wu is a big surname. Alas......" the swordsman sighed for no reason, "it is such a big clan, but it has been destroyed in just a few months, and I am the only one left. ”

"Annihilation, Brother Wu, do you mean to pass away?" Fei Tukong asked.

The swordsman shook his head first, and then nodded: "Even if it is, look at those people, but there are still living people?"

"What the hell happened to them?"

The swordsman said leisurely: "Everything starts with a certain day at the beginning of the year. It was early spring, the weather warmed up, the Cangyun Ridge on the east side of the Shenyu Valley thawed, and the clear spring flowed down as in previous years, merging into the Tianxing River outside the peony set.

The water turned into snow is very clear, so it is very suitable for brewing, making tea, and quenching during casting. Therefore, it has become a habit for the townspeople to go to the mountain spring to get water at the beginning of spring every year.

Suddenly, one day, a mountain spring washed down a little black powder, and no one had ever seen anything like it. A man passing by the Valley of the Divine Jade, who claimed to be a well-known forger, thought that the black powder was most likely the crumbs of extraterrestrial meteoric iron. ”

"Extraterrestrial meteorite?" Fei Tukong shook his head repeatedly, "How can it be so easy to see."

The smith was probably a liar. ”

"The smith is just passing through this place, and after leaving a message, he leaves, so what's the point of him deceiving the people here?" the swordsman asked rhetorically.

Seeing that Fei Tukong was speechless, the swordsman continued: "Extraterrestrial meteorites are indeed rare, but the people here have not encountered them. This place is called the Divine Jade Valley, do you know why?"

"Ah, doesn't 'Divine Jade' refer to the Pangu Crystal in the Meteorite Outside the Heavens?" Hua Qingyu reacted.

"I didn't think you even knew the 'Pangu Crystal', it's not easy!" the swordsman looked at the two of them again, "It is precisely because there have been extraterrestrial meteorites here in the past, so when the forger said this, people were convinced of it. As a result, some anxious people did not wait for the snow on the mountain to melt, and went deep into Cangyun Ridge to look for meteorite iron outside the sky. ”

Hua Qingyu thought it was the black sand in the mountain spring, but he didn't expect the swordsman to go elsewhere.

"After searching for many days and finding nothing, the people returned to the Divine Jade Valley one after another. But there are other people who don't give up, hoping that the big luck will fall on their heads, and they will go to the mountains one after another. There are also those who have been there and still don't give up, and after a few days of rest, they repack and set off.

This situation lasted for most of the year, until winter came, and heavy snowfall after snow, blocking the road into the mountain. The vast majority of people have given up the idea of looking for the extraterrestrial meteorite, and only a few people who are particularly persistent are willing to break through the snow and open the way to continue to search aimlessly in Cangyun Ridge.

Well, it's not necessarily true to say it's 'aimless'. In the beginning, the black sand was washed down from the mountain spring, so many people followed the mountain spring to find it. In winter, when the spring dries up, I continue to look for it along the spring path. One day, a young man from the next town stumbled up the hill and crawled back to the Shenyu Valley, and when he returned, he fell unconscious. ”

The swordsman finally got to the point, and Fei and Hua both listened carefully with bated breath.

"People thought he was wounded in the mountains, but they didn't see him wounded. I went to the doctor for a consultation, but found that he had a high fever. ”

"Hey, it's just a cold, what should happen to me? Fei Tukong breathed a sigh of relief in disappointment.

The swordsman glanced at him: "Something is not quite right in the future. There are a lot of good medicines produced in the Cangyunling Mountains, and the doctor prescribed dozens of medicines in a row, but it didn't work at all, so he had to ask the young man's family to ask for another master. Who knew that the 'smart' one came, and it still didn't matter. The doctors changed seven or eight times in a row, and even the doctors outside the Shenyu Valley were invited, and there were no less than hundreds of pairs of this medicine and that medicine, all of which were useless. The poor lad had a high fever for more than two months and finally ......"

Seeing that he didn't continue, Fei Tukong hurriedly asked, "Dead?"

"Finally started talking nonsense. The words of the swordsman made Fei Tukong cry and laugh.

But for Hua Qingyu, who is well-versed in medical science, this is a shocking thing. With a high fever of more than two months, how can an average person survive for so long? If you want to talk nonsense, you should have started talking about it a long time ago.

"The family thought it was because their brains were burned out, and they were very anxious. Unexpectedly, two days later, the young man suddenly broke out in a stinky sweat, and the high fever did not go away by itself, and he didn't talk nonsense. When he got up from his bed, which had been lying for more than two months, the young man's face was very bad, the same as the one you had seen before, pale and gray, like a dead man. The young man did not speak, but he hated the light very much, and hid under the bed during the day and could not come out, and at night he saw candles and lanterns and had to extinguish them, and he had to seal the windows of the house to block the light, and he could not stop it. The family invited all the doctors from Shili and Eight Villages again, and no one could see the reason.

The day after the boy woke up, his mother also developed a high fever and fell ill. It was exactly the same, but the duration of the high fever was much shorter, only three days. Three days later, my mother woke up with a fever and her face was as dead as ashes. Then, the young man's sister, followed by the neighbors and neighbors, spread to the whole town, and then spread to the surrounding villages and towns, and in just one week, the people of the entire Shenyu Valley didn't even have time to move out of here, and they all became the kind of ghosts that couldn't live or die, alas!"

After the swordsman finished speaking, Fei Tukong and Hua Qingyu were still in shock. Listening to the knifeman's meaning, it seems to be some kind of virulent infectious disease. However, the people in the Yu Yu realm are all cultivating, not to mention their physical fitness, except for children, ordinary diseases cannot be contracted at all, let alone the most ordinary fever.

Fei Tukong swallowed his saliva and asked curiously, "Brother Wu, why haven't you become like that?"

"I don't know. Maybe my body has the ability to resist that strange disease?" the knife man smiled bitterly, "Actually, it's more painful. Lonely every day, reluctant to go. ”

"Isn't it because you haven't started to get sick yet?" said Fei Tukong.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Hua Qingyu pushed him.

"I'm a member of the Peony Collection, and I haven't left the Divine Jade Valley in the past two years, it's been long enough, right?" the swordsman gave Fei Tu an empty look.

Fei Tukong smiled awkwardly: "I'm sorry, I lost my words for a while." ”

"Brother Wu, did you close the doors of all the houses in the Peony Collection?" Hua Qingyu asked, "When I came back just now, I saw that all the doors were open, so I guess those weird townsfolk won't close the doors, right?"

The swordsman nodded: "You are very observant. I wanted to lock them up in my room, but it didn't work. Even if the door is locked, they will use brute force to smash it open and wander the streets. When it was almost dawn, he hid back in his room. So, I waited until after sunrise every day to close all the doors in the town, so that the occasional passer-by would not suffer. I don't know if you two see the weirdness and want to find out, but I haven't had time to fix the tavern door when it's broken. I'm glad I showed up in time, otherwise you would have woed up. ”

"Brother Wu, don't underestimate us, although I am not as powerful as you, but I am also at the level of four elephants, and I am not so easy to die. "Wasteland.

The swordsman said angrily: "It's not that I'm afraid that you will die, but I'm afraid that you will become that ghost." If you are caught or bitten by those living dead, the gods will not be able to save you!"

Hua Qingyu frowned, and she was keenly aware of several suspicious points in the knife guest's words.

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