Chapter 382 Buying Life
The Taoist stood on the hill with his sleeves tucked in his sleeves, overlooking the county seat of Long County and the surrounding streets with his piercing eyes.
Many people in Long County also suffer from that strange disease.
The situation is even more serious than that in Ji County.
It’s hard to imagine that two years ago this was an enviable large county. The streets are crisscrossed and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Although it is not that easy, at least they can live a stable and peaceful life, and there is hope.
Now when I come again, everything I see is dilapidated.
Weeds and rocks were scattered, and the corpses of lingering flies were randomly wrapped in straw mats and still lying in the ravine at the edge of the field. Those wild dogs with green eyes were full of menacing looks.
The Taoist opened up a corner of the wasteland, dug a big pit and threw the corpses scattered around.
Those wild dogs were not afraid of humans and wanted to bite the Taoist while he was busy. In the end, they could only leave a few blood-stained dog corpses and fill them into the big hole with the corpses.
Just after doing this, I heard howling and shouting in the distance.
"Don't let him get away!"
"Stop, He San, stop."
"..."
"Catch him and collect the reward."
The person at the front was wrapped in thick clothes, his face was bruised and bruised, and he was running for his life on the ground. For some unknown reason, he actually threw away the swarming people behind him by more than ten meters.
He San turned back and glanced at the person who was chasing him. He didn't pay attention to his feet. He let out a scream and rushed forward like a vicious dog snatching food. Fortunately, he hugged his head in the end and rolled several times. Fell to the ground.
Taking advantage of this gap, the people behind him had already caught up with him.
One of the villagers jumped up suddenly and rushed forward heavily. He hugged He San who was about to get up and shouted in surprise: "I caught him."
The villagers who came up from behind quickly overwhelmed He San and pinned him down.
He San struggled to stand up, but he was no match for so many people. But He San also showed no mercy, and all the villagers closest to him received solid punches.
His fists were heavy and he felt no pain.
The punch fell, and the villagers' faces were immediately dyed.
Two or three of them grabbed He San's arm and shouted, "Break his hand."
Then other villagers raised their hoes high and headed straight for the arm that was fixed on the ground.
Decisive and without any hesitation.
It's like they're not beating people at all but weeding.
"boom."
The imagined screams did not appear.
The villager holding the hoe looked in front of him in astonishment. A long box blocked his hoe, and the box was being held by a Taoist wearing indigo robes with one hand.
The Taoist has a beard, and time has left many marks on his face.
There is nothing special about his appearance, except for his bright eyes.
The Taoist priest in charge was Chi Xuan who had left the Chiyang Palace. He announced his title and said, "Fusheng Tianzun, the donor, if you hoe him down, his hand will be broken."
One of the villagers, whose face was covered with blood, said sternly: "I just want him to cut off his hand."
"Otherwise, if he still resists, the beating will hurt Grandpa."
"That's right, we need to break his hand to prevent him from running away again and causing us not to receive the reward."
The corners of Chi Xuan's eyes twitched.
He blatantly arrests people to receive rewards, and he does so with such confidence.
"I'm not sick. I won't go to the county government office." He San, who was suppressed, did not yell. He wanted to conserve his physical strength. Being caught for a while was nothing. He could still find a way to escape again.
"If you are sick, you should go to the county government office, otherwise more people will get sick."
"Stop talking nonsense, tie him up and send him to the county government to receive the reward."
Chi Xuan turned the sword box in his hand, stopped the villagers who were about to take action, and said very seriously: "Listen to Pindao, this is not a disease."
The villager holding the hoe spat fiercely: "Bah, the wild Taoist wants to meddle in other people's business."
"The wild Taoist wants to stop us from receiving the reward. He wants to steal the reward money."
"I think the wild Taoist priest is He San's accomplice. He is here to meet him." The speaker held Chi Xuan's sword box with both hands and rolled his eyes.
He thought this box was a treasure just now.
Old Man Wang worked hard on the ground, and the force of the hoe could break even gold and stone, but there was nothing strange about this box.
Why not baby?
He thought it would take a lot of effort, but suddenly he felt a light touch in his hand, and he almost fell back and fell into a squat.
Looking carefully, the box appeared in his hand.
Before he could open the box to see what was inside, he heard a loud shout: "Well, you are a bunch of thieves, you are blocking the road in the street and robbing poor people's things."
Immediately afterwards, he felt his body become lighter. It turned out that he was lifted into the air.
He stared at the Taoist priest who lifted him up with wide eyes, a look of horror in his eyes, and quickly defended: "No...it's not..."
However, at this time, a fist as big as a casserole was already in front of him.
"ah!"
Seeing the strange movement of the villagers, the Taoist priest yelled: "Are you all accomplices of the gangsters?" After speaking, he raised his fist and beat a dozen villagers to the ground with three punches and two kicks.
He San stared blankly at what was happening in front of him, forgetting to run away. Until he saw the Taoist priest's gaze coming towards him, he quickly waved his hand and said, "Master Taoist, I am not the same as them..."
Chi Xuan picked up the box with his toes, patted the dust on it and said, "Of course I know."
"How can you be with them if your hands and feet are broken off by them?"
"Taoist Master, stay."
Chi Xuan looked back and saw an old man on crutches.
The man seemed to have just arrived. He cupped his hands slightly and said, "Taoist Master, we have no choice. I don't know what's wrong with the water of the Long River. All the crops we irrigate are dead."
"When locusts came across the border again, all the crops planted in spring and summer died, and there was no harvest for the whole year."
"People always need to eat. We are not as capable as the Taoist priest, so we can only make this decision, otherwise the whole village will starve to death."
"It costs ten taels of silver to catch a person. Ten taels of silver can't buy much food, but it can keep the people in the village alive."
"Who are you?"
"The old man is the village chief of Xiaotian Village."
"Taoist Priest, you also saw it."
The old man said and pointed to the house not far away. There were a few pairs of timid eyes hidden behind the ajar door. A shriveled woman with no clothes was leading the children. The children were bare buttocks and as skinny as firewood, hiding in the door frame. inside.
Chi Xuan responded with silence. In the face of life and death, there is no such thing as benevolence, justice and morality.
It can only be said that such a turbid world that cannibalizes people has turned people into neither humans nor ghosts.
"We still want to get sick, but we don't know how to get sick. And just getting sick is not enough. We have to survive. Only those people are worth ten taels of silver."
"It's not like no one in the village got sick and didn't survive."
Listening to the description of the village chief of Oda Village, Chi Xuan felt that the world was hopeless. But the people are innocent, and if they were willing, they wouldn't want to be like this.
Taking out fifteen taels of silver, Chi Xuan handed it to the village chief: "Pindao bought his life."
"The remaining five taels are considered as charity for you."
The village chief of Xiaotian Village knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said, "The Taoist Master is very righteous, but I am ashamed to receive the Taoist Priest's money."
Chi Xuan helped the village chief up and turned around to leave. He was here to solve the source of the disease.
…
"Why are you following Pindao?"
Chi Xuan stopped and looked at He San who was following him.
He San said: "He San's life has been sold to the Taoist priest, but Taoist priest, where can I go?"
Chi Xuan waved his hand and said as if to drive He San away: "What does Pindao want with your life? Leave you quickly and find a place to hide. Don't let anyone catch you again. Pindao can There’s no time to save you again.”
"The world is so big that there is no place for He San."
"I beg the Taoist Master to show mercy and let He San follow the Taoist Master. I can do whatever I want."
He San, who was about to kneel down, was immobilized by magic.
He San was surprised to find that he could not kneel down, and the look he looked at Chi Xuan was even more shocking.
"I'm going here, I don't know if I can survive. If you follow me, you're just adding to the dust."
Chi Xuan sighed, but He San was right. Those of them who contracted the disease and survived would be wanted by the court no matter where they went.
The final end will not be much better than that of the children in the Yamen Cave of Longxian County.
But, what can he do as a Qi Practitioner?
I can only ask the devil again.
"Please ask the Demon Lord to show off his magical powers again."
Tu Shanjun took action calmly, flipped the seal in his hand, and extracted the incense and wish power to cover He San's body.
A red-yellow light enveloped He San.
He San suddenly felt a warm current in his body, flowing through his limbs and bones. His body was no longer tired, and even the injuries on his body no longer hurt.
He was surprised to find that he seemed to be able to control that power.
This is very similar to the internal power that those heroes and masters talk about, but he has never seen internal power and doesn't know if it is specific.
Chi Xuan nodded profoundly, but actually sent a message to thank Tushanjun for his help, and said to He San: "Go to Chiyang Palace in Ji County. There are people like you there, go find them."
"What's the Taoist priest's name?"
"The poor Taoist Zhang Tianbao, whose Taoist name is Chixuan, and the Chiyang Palace is the dojo of the poor Taoist."
"Go ahead."
After sending He San away, he walked for another half an hour and finally arrived at the place Tu Shanjun told him. This mountain is called Longqiu, which is composed of many hills. It is said that the mountain is actually taller than Jishan.
There is a temple on the mountain called "Chicken Cing Temple". I heard that there are more than a dozen strange monks in the Cock Cing Temple. It is the largest Taoist temple nearby, and it is much more impressive than his dilapidated Chiyang Palace.
"Could it be that the source is within the Taoist temple?"
"No."
Upon hearing these two words, Chi Xuan suddenly said: "Isn't it still underground?"
"Not underground but inside the mountain."
In fact, Tu Shanjun didn't know too much from the memories of those people, but when he stood here, the spirit officer's Dharma Eyes were moving, and all the movements of Longqiu were reflected in his eyes, leaving nothing to hide.
Chi Xuan carried the wooden box and baggage on his back, climbed up Longqiu along the path, and went straight to Cockcrow Temple.
Of course, I didn't come to pay homage to the mountain gate, but I wanted to sneak in.
However, a light curtain blocked Chi Xuan's way.
"Array?"