Mu Xiao and Heilong followed the woman with heavy makeup into Lidu Town, and the dust blowing from the streets in the evening breeze made people unable to open their eyes. The streets are lined with locks, and there are few lights left. Along the way, it is rare to see a few people, and they are all old and weak people, not to mention young heroes.

The women walked in front, looking back from time to time, and Hei Long and Mu Xiao browsed the capital as they walked. After walking a few hundred meters, the woman turned into an alley, pushed open a devastated wooden door, looked back and smiled: "Two sons, this is it." ”

As she spoke, the woman's face was slightly embarrassed, and what she saw in front of her was not an inn at all, but an old mansion, except for a path less than a meter wide that was cleaned quite clean, everything else looked like an abandoned courtyard. In the center of the courtyard three or four feet wide, an ancient well is covered with moss, and the wooden barrels on the side have rotted into shape.

Squeak......

The wooden door opened and made a sour sound, and the woman was afraid that the wooden door would bounce back, so she deliberately pushed it twice more before walking in, and moved the wooden lump next to her to plug it under the door. After making sure to stabilize it, he smiled and said, "Two sons, come in."

"Auntie, is this the inn you are talking about?" The black dragon's face darkened a little, everything in front of him, which one looked like an inn?

The woman threw the sign in her hand on a pile of firewood, shook her head and sighed bitterly: "There are no inns in this town now, they are all tricks that we, the women left behind, came up with in order to make a living." ”

Call......

The woman lit an oil lamp, lifted it and went into the house. In the dim light, her voice came again: "I will wronged the two of you to stay here tonight, the house money, just watch and give." ”

With that, the woman hung the oil lamp on a pillar the size of her thigh and walked back. At this moment, she was not as excited as she touted in the town, but more of a frustration. Seeing that Heilong and Mu Xiao were still standing at the door, she spoke again: "I live next door, and there is no one else in the family, just call me if there is something." ”

"Auntie......"

"Okay, thank you!" Mu Xiao stopped the black dragon who was still talking, smiled and nodded at the woman. He became curious in his heart, this is the town, although it looks depressed, but the past prosperity still leaves some traces, this town is definitely not so ordinary. I'm afraid that the so-called inns elsewhere are the same as the conditions here, so you don't have to run around to find them.

The woman walked to the door, and Mu Xiao hesitated and asked, "Auntie, your surname, can you get us something to eat?"

"Okay, just call me Aunt Liu. You sit down for a moment. ”

The woman said, walking towards the room at the head of the courtyard, Mu Xiao and Heilong paced back and forth in the house, both of them were guessing what happened to Lidu, why didn't a young man see it?

Zila!

There was a tidal sound in the room, and after a while, the smell of eggs came, Mu Xiao looked at the black dragon and said, "Look at this environment, there can still be eggs to eat, it should be considered a good food." ”

I vaguely remember that many years ago, this was also a post station for merchants, although I don't remember it clearly, but I always feel that the impression of the ceremony is not so defeated. The black dragon looked at the night outside, which was already dark, and there was a trace of memory.

Mu Xiao looked at him strangely and was surprised: "Have you been here?"

"It's been many years ago, don't talk about it, it's all tears when you think about it. The black dragon waved his hand and smiled bitterly, pulled out a stool next to him, patted off the dust on it and sat down.

I haven't heard of the origin of the black dragon. There were too many things in the first few days, but I didn't pay much attention to them. Now that he is walking all the way, he is not afraid that he will not have time to interrogate properly, Mu Xiao squinted his eyes slightly and looked at the black dragon. The black dragon who had just sat down looked up and asked strangely, "Why are you looking at me?" ”

Tuk Tuk!

It happened that there were two knocks on the thick door panel, and Aunt Liu stood at the door with a plate. After knocking on the door, he walked in, placed the plate on a table with uneven legs, found a piece of sawdust to cushion the legs, and pressed it on the table with his rough hands.

"There's nothing at home, so the two of you will just do it and don't charge money!"

Aunt Liu pointed to the two fried eggs on the plate, swallowed her saliva and smiled. These are the only two eggs left in her family, and since her husband and son left, life has become more and more difficult for one person, and it has been several months since she did not receive the next meal. But seeing that the two people in front of him are not simple people, they can only give up and curry favor.

She couldn't escape the eyes of the black dragon, he stood up and asked in a low voice, "Aunt Liu, is there no food at home?"

Heilong said, tinkering with his cuffs, took out the broken gold and handed it to Aunt Liu: "This is our two room fees, and then help us get some food, and you can keep the rest." ”

But Aunt Liu looked a little embarrassed, and said with a helpless smile: "There is nothing to buy for the whole gift, what can I do if I have money? "Huh......" said and choked up: "After the men in Lidu were arrested half a year ago, there were only some old, weak, sick and disabled women left, and now there is almost nothing to eat in Lidu. ”

Mu Xiao was shocked when he heard this, there are at least hundreds of people in such a big town, and they will be arrested if they are arrested. I'm afraid there must be an ulterior secret in this. It seems that even if you don't sleep tonight, you have to figure out the reason.

Under Mu Xiao's questioning, Aunt Liu still told all the ins and outs. It turned out that some time ago, I heard that dozens of miles away from Lidu, there was a golden valley where gold was dug up.

Overnight, the young man in the town was arrested by unknown people and went to the Golden Valley to dig for gold, saying that he would be released back in two or three months. But this time it was more than half a year, and no one came back. The women of the town had also spontaneously searched for nothing but dense forests, let alone gold.

"It's like the world has evaporated, no one has come back, even the merchants who passed by here in the past have become fewer, and sometimes there is no one alive for half a month. ”

Aunt Liu's tears kept rolling down, her husband and son, who had been missing for half a year, didn't know if they could see each other, and they didn't know how long they could live in the face of the dilemma, and if they continued like this, they would starve to death sooner or later. Black Dragon and Mu Xiao fell silent at the same time, not knowing how to comfort her at the moment.

After a long time, Mu Xiao looked at Aunt Liu and said, "If you leave this town, are you willing?"

As soon as Mu Xiao's words came out, even the black dragon was surprised, where else could he go if he left here?

"Leaving here, we haven't thought about it, and besides, there are the old, weak, sick and disabled, a group of women and children, where can we go?" Aunt Liu said worriedly.

Mu Xiao and the black dragon looked at each other and smiled, the construction of Tianyuan City was short of manpower. Although most of the people in Lidu are women, there are also light chores to do, and it is absolutely no problem for one person to work to support himself.

"There's a Heavenly Garden City most of the way from here, you can go there and take my own letter with you. Someone will arrange everything, but if you want to survive, you have to work. Mu Xiao didn't hide it, he had to make it clear what he had to say, don't make it difficult for Wan Shaohong to do it when the time comes, after all, this is a gesture. Of course, with Wan Shaohong's style, he will not refuse.

Aunt Liu hesitated a little and said, "If we leave, what will happen when they come back in the future?"

"There is hope in life, and if you all starve here, what if they come back? The black dragon picked up the water bag and said with a grunt.

This is true, Aunt Liu thought about it and finally made a decision: "Then I will gather everyone and ask everyone's opinions." ”

Looking at the fried eggs on the table that had cooled, Aunt Liu couldn't hide her embarrassment: "The eggs are cold, I'll give them to you." ”

Saying that, she picked up the plate and returned to the room, at this time she didn't seem to be as depressed as at first, and Mu Xiao was also a little relieved: "Aunt Liu, I'll prepare some paper and ink later." ”

"Good"

Soon after, the burnt egg was put back, but Mu Xiao and the black dragon couldn't eat it. When Aunt Liu came back with paper and ink, she looked at the omelette in the basin and did not move. Her eyes were a little moist with low tears, and she said, "Why don't you eat it?"

After a pause, he said: "It's all my fault, the craftsmanship is not good!"

"No, no!"

"No, it's just waiting for you to eat together, and then write a letter after eating. Mu Xiao took the paper and ink in Aunt Liu's hand and smiled.

Three people, two omelettes, although a little browned, but they ate with relish.

After writing the letter and handing it to Aunt Liu, Mu Xiao and Heilong slept with peace of mind, as for whether they went to Tianyuan or not, it was up to them to decide, and no one could force it.

The next morning, Mu Xiao and the black dragon left some gold, and left the capital before dawn, and the depressed capital was like a broken wall of an empty city after the war before dawn. Where will the future go, it can only depend on Aunt Liu's decision, after all, there are so many scenes in the world, and what Mu Xiao sees is only the tip of the iceberg, and he can't help them all. But as long as he encounters it, he just can't let it go.

"Mu Xiao, I feel that you are a little impulsive, wouldn't it be too abrupt to let them go directly to Tianyuan like this?" The black dragon was a little worried that Wan Shaohong would complain.

Mu Xiao stopped in the dark, patted the black dragon on the shoulder, and said, "Are you worried that Uncle Wan will be unhappy? Don't worry, Tianyuan is not only for thousands of families, but also for the people of Tianyuan." They've been through a lot of displacement, and they'll understand. ”

"Maybe! In this world, if you can help some, it can be regarded as accumulating some virtue for yourself. The black dragon smiled and walked forward.

Mu Xiao followed and thought to himself: This guy has opened his mind, even if you go to Liaocheng with me this time, I don't know what my idea is.

The sky was flooded with white fish belly, and the two of them had walked into a dense forest. The black dragon walked in front, the dagger in his hand cut the branches that blocked the way from time to time, and every distance he walked engraved a few numbers on the book, Mu Xiao didn't pay attention at first, but the further he went, the more cautious the black dragon became.

"Black Dragon, why did you leave these marks?" Mu Xiao wondered if he didn't want to come back immediately, and he wouldn't necessarily leave here when he returned.

Phew

The black dragon dagger left an "X" shaped number on one tree after another, and did not look back, muttering in his mouth: "This forest is very large, and the depths are even denser, and it is often foggy inexplicably. ”

Tearing off a leaf and holding it, he continued: "Leaving a mark is also to be careful not to circle in place. ”

Click

At this moment, a discordant sound came from under his feet, and the black dragon stopped and looked down, and under the faint morning light, a skeleton loomed under the pile of leaves, and his head had been trampled on by him.