Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Four

Qiu Xuan stopped in her tracks.She did not expect that there would be a city on the island. The magnificent official room is located in the center of the city, and eight roads radiate around it, dividing the whole city into eight parts.Each block is built with layers of houses, gathering markets, restaurants, inns, and temples.The high city wall encloses the city, and outside the wall is a wide moat.Even Ju County, the most famous capital in the Central Plains, is nothing more than that.However, at this moment, it has all been abandoned. The dusk was heavy, locking the entire city, and the city was so empty that not a single human voice could be heard.The bright gold paint on the palace has faded, and the twilight reflects on it, like an old woman who has lost her age, sighing mournfully in the mirror.The original tall wall has been decayed, with huge cracks criss-crossing, dust and cobwebs covering the doors and windows.In the air, a smell of corruption diffused everywhere.The scale of this city still records its former prosperity, but the ruthlessness of time has made it old.

Qiu Xuan sighed, "It's really a nice place." In front of them is a moat more than three feet wide, and a suspension bridge spans the river.Two iron locks as thick as human arms protruded from the city wall, like the ferocious fangs of the city.The chains were stained with rust, and the planks were almost completely rotten, making a frightening cracking sound when stepped on.The iron lock swayed, and the gray cobwebs fell off from the cracks in the planks, falling into the bottomless abyss.There is no water flow, only inexplicable black haze floating up, rolling up strange eddies in the cold wind.But I still can't see how deep it is.Under the twilight, several mournful wailing pierced the sky, as if reminding every intruder—this is not an ordinary suspension bridge.It's a passage to another world.

On the other side of the river is the legendary capital of the underworld.When the last ray of sunset disappears, the desolate city will be lit with thousands of will-o'-the-wisps, singing and dancing, and turning into a paradise for countless lonely souls and resentful spirits.Once you enter this realm, you will be reborn as a human being. As if she didn't realize it, Qiu Xuan walked over gently, passed through the gate tower, and walked up the dying street.She smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to prepare such a good city for me." Guo Ao silently followed behind her: "I said, I will take you to a place where there are no people."

"I don't agree with that statement. Isn't there someone there?" Guo Ao looked along her fingers, and saw a person sitting on the threshold by the remaining gatehouse beside the road, with his back to them, as if he was bending over to pick up something.He seemed to have tried a lot but failed to pick it up, his bent body trembling in pain. The two walked towards the man.Guo Ao patted him on the shoulder lightly: "Old man, may I ask..." The man's body suddenly collapsed.A scream of screams pierced the ears of the two of them.Guo Ao was taken aback, and pushed out both palms at the same time.The man's body was blown away by the wind of his palm and hit the courtyard wall heavily, and the robe on his body immediately shattered like a dead leaf.A group of mice screamed and crawled out from the bottom of the robe, but instead of running away, they stood up on their hind feet, arched their front feet, and looked at the two of them.

Their eyes are blood red.Red like two blood holes. Guo Ao frowned.All that was left of the man was a white bone, which was densely covered with claw marks and tooth marks, which should have been eaten up by these rats. Guo Ao and Qiu Xuan looked at each other, not knowing what to say.Could it be that there is no living person left in this city? The two walked slowly towards the center of the city, and Guo Ao's sword heart scattered.Searching for every living thing in the city. The city seemed to be really empty, but it wasn't that there were no inhabitants, but there were many, all rats.They filled every corner of the city, the dilapidated houses were all eaten away, the bluestone avenues were devoured and incomplete, and countless rat trails extended in all directions.

They walked for a while, when they suddenly heard a rustling sound, and more and more mice came out from every corner of the city, surrounding them.But these mice felt the terrifying murderous aura on Guo Ao's body, and they didn't dare to get too close. They all raised their front legs, stood like people, and stared straight at them with blood-red eyes. With every step they took, the rats moved with them.Later, more and more rats gathered, and the whole street was densely populated.Every time the two of them took a step, they heard a crash like a tide. Their blood-red eyes stared straight ahead.A little sluggish, and a little weird.

twilight.Locking up the city, it seemed that blood was spread all over the ground. The two almost walked around the city, but found no one.This is an abandoned city, and it is also a dead city.When night comes, the moon is so round, so big, hanging in the sky clear and cold, as if there has never been a day.The mice all stood upright, looked at the moon, raised their heads and hissed miserably. The whole city was immediately filled with that sharp, frantic sound. Qiu Xuan and Guo Ao came to a slightly empty square.Five-color marbles were cut into various shapes, and seven huge peonies were spread on the ground.Each piece of stone has been carefully polished, as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the desolate moonlight.Hundreds of white jade pots, crystal pots, and glazed pots were randomly placed on the mirror surface. There were no exotic flowers and plants in the pots, only a puddle of chalky dust remained.

Here, the garden that should have been a palace, although it has been abandoned for many years, can still see the prosperity of the past.The southeast corner of the garden seems to have been filled with peonies, and there are famous poems praising peonies in the past dynasties carved on the white marble railings.Perhaps because the marble is too hard, there is no trace of mice left here, and it looks surprisingly clean and cold. There are almost no trees in the city, only the remains of a osmanthus tree stands in the center of this garden.The osmanthus tree is huge, casting a majestic reflection on the mirror-like ground, as if still recalling the prosperity of the year when the branches and leaves were sparse and the sky above the moon.The trunk is all withered, and there is not a single leaf.The horned dragon-like roots have been hollowed out and rotted.

Guo Ao cut off a few branches and built a low shed leaning on the osmanthus tree.Cut out a slightly flat place on the root of the tree, and make a bed with sawdust and dead leaves.There is a wind blowing in the distance, it is cold and desolate.Qiu Xuan sat on the bed with her knees hugged, listening to the wailing of countless mice, upset. She frowned: "You can't think of a way, how can I sleep with such noise?" Guo Ao said: "Okay." He sat up on the ground and walked out. After a while, the northern mouse quieted down.After a while, the mice in the south, east, and west were also quiet.The air was filled with ash from the collapse of houses.Guo Ao walked back slowly.

One-third of the houses in the city had collapsed, and the eight streets were all blocked by the rocks raised up.The city suddenly fell into dead silence.This makes the moon appear larger and rounder.Once you look at it, you can't help but imagine what lives in the shadows on the moon.After much deliberation, no matter how difficult it is to fall asleep. Qiu Xuan sighed quietly.Guo Ao sat eight feet away from her, silent. Qiu Xuan asked: "What are you thinking?" "Food, water." Qiuxuan asked again: "Then have you thought of the answer? Where is the water? Where is the food?"

Guo Ao was silent.There was no water and no food in the city.There are only rats, endless rats.Guo Ao said firmly: "Don't worry, I will definitely find it." But day and night passed, and he found nothing. Every well is filled with filth, even if there is water, it is impossible to drink.Guo Ao searched all the houses carefully, but there was no food. Judging from the degree of dilapidation, the city has been deserted for at least 30 years. Even if there is any food left in the city, it has long been eaten up by rats that penetrate everywhere. Guo Ao is still searching, as if tireless.Don't get discouraged, don't stop. However, this city is empty, completely empty. The second day, noon.The scorching sun was scorching the city. No one could have imagined how the weather in April could be so terribly hot.And once it's night, it's freezing cold to the bone.What a hell of a day. Guo Ao made an umbrella for Qiuxuan and put it on her bed.Qiuxuan always seems to be lazy, too lazy to move or talk.She didn't worry about having no water or food. What worried her most was that her skin would get sunburned. Guo Ao stood up suddenly.There was a noise.Far away, under the bright sunlight, I saw a group of people walking in from the north city gate, sighing as they walked, as if they were all surprised by the grandeur of this city.Guo Ao walked out without a sound. There was no fight, and after a quarter of an hour, he came back with a bulging bag in his hand. He threw the bag on the ground, and with a clatter, a large pile of gold, silver and jewels scattered out. Qiuxuan leaned over and picked up an emerald treasure, which was extremely large and beautiful, crystal clear and translucent.Such a quality is worth several thousand taels of silver.Ordinary people get it, and they can't spend it all their lives. Qiu Xuan sighed: "What I would rather see is a hard-boiled egg." "But those people are not hens and cannot lay eggs." "Who are they?" "The Japanese pirates. It seems that they got separated from their leader at sea and got lost and drifted here." "Next time you take me to a place without people, at least one more thing must be prepared." "what?" "egg." The Japanese pirates were obviously hungry and thirsty, and rushed into the empty city, searching frantically for a while.Naturally they couldn't find anything.Qiu Xuan looked at them with a smile, watching their despair getting heavier and heavier, and finally sat down on the street, unable to do anything anymore.They were afraid of Guo Ao's peerless martial arts just now, and they didn't dare to get close.He only secretly glanced at the two of them with complicated eyes, unable to figure out what they were doing. Qiu Xuan sighed: "It's so pitiful. Do you think they can survive seven days?" "cannot." "Then can we survive seven days?" Guo Ao was silent. "Is it as long as you find water, you can, and if you can't find it, you can't?" Guo Ao nodded slowly. "Then did you find it?" Guo Ao shook his head. "Then I think you have to dig a well." Qiu Xuan was just talking casually, but Guo Ao really did it. He picked the largest well in the city.Jumped in and dug for three full hours.It wasn't until Qiu Xuan couldn't see his shadow from above that Guo Ao came out of the well.And this well has become a deep hole, at least ten feet deep. Guo Ao was silent.Not a drop of water.Soil dug out from the ground.Still completely dry.The city's groundwater seems to have been completely sucked dry. Qiuxuan leaned against the bed, shaking her fan once in a while, watching the Japanese pirates collapse in piles on the street, staggering from side to side.Guo Ao dug another well.The harvest is still a pile of dry soil. Qiu Xuan asked suddenly: "Do you find it strange that what do these mice eat?" in this city.There are tens of thousands of mice. If there is no food, how can they survive? Guo Ao: "Not surprising." He waved his palm casually and blasted away a pile of dirt on the street. A few mice that were leaning over to eat raised their front paws and looked at them. What they ate was the dead body of a mouse. The dead rat was already somewhat rotten, its limbs and internal organs were bitten all over the ground, and dark red blood clots scattered on the ground.Those upright mice stared blankly for a while, seeing that nothing happened, they lowered their heads and began to eat again.The creaking and chewing sound is creepy. Qiu Xuan turned her face to the side, frowned and said: "Enough." Guo Ao's robe sleeves flicked, dust and smoke rose, and a big hole appeared on the ground.The rats and dirt were all swept away by this blow, exposing the clean ground. Qiuxuan sighed, raised her fan and placed it on her forehead. Guo Ao dug six wells, covering almost all directions in the city, but did not find a drop of water.And it has been two days since they came to this empty city. Qiuxuan sighed: "This is impossible. The ancients said that everything is our teacher. Animals are often more sensitive to water. You might as well find out where these mice go to drink water." Guo Ao stopped digging.This is very reasonable.With such a large number of rats, they must have lived in the city for a long time.They can never survive without water.What's more, rats are mostly born underground and are most sensitive to water veins.If you follow them, maybe you can find the water source. For a whole day, Guo Ao disappeared.It was near dusk when he reappeared. Seeing the wet mud on the corner of his clothes, Qiu Xuan smiled and said, "Have you found the water source?" "Found it. There's a puddle deep underground, enough to drink for hundreds of people for a year." "Then why don't you take some back?" A look of distaste appeared on Guo Ao's face: "It's full of rats, rats in a whole pool." Qiu Xuan frowned, and covered her forehead with a fan: "Why don't you go change your clothes?" Thinking of where the dirt on the corners of his clothes came from, Qiu Xuan felt sick.After staying in this city for two days, she was full of disgust for those rats with red eyes who stood up from time to time.