Chapter 689: Strange Village

When the doctor heard this, he had a very strange look on his face and asked doubtfully: "Why do you say that?"

Chen Shou realized that something was wrong with his words, and quickly explained: "Uh...it's nothing." An awkward smile appeared on his face.

Suddenly, Chen Shou asked the doctor with a somewhat curious tone: "Who is your last name, sir?"

The doctor was packing the medicine box. When he heard Chen Shou's question, he stopped what he was doing, turned around, and with a gentle smile on his face, replied: "My surname is Mi."

After saying that, the doctor carried the medicine box and walked out with a steady pace.

Zhao Yun and others searched hard in the mountains and forests for several days, but still found no trace of Chen Shou and Chen's father.

Zhao Yun's handsome face was full of fatigue and anxiety at the moment, his eyes were bloodshot and his brows were furrowed.

"Look carefully! Don't miss any corner!" Zhao Yun shouted loudly, with a hint of trembling and despair in his voice.

The soldiers also looked depressed and walked heavily through the mountains and forests.

"How come they can't be found? Where are they?" Zhao Yun muttered to himself, the spear in his hand hanging weakly on the ground.

His eyes became hollow, and his former heroic spirit was now replaced by deep despair.

"Did they really just disappear?" Zhao Yun punched the tree trunk next to him, and the leaves fell rustling, as if he was also sad for their failure.

As the sun set, the afterglow stretched Zhao Yun's figure very long, making him look so lonely and helpless.

As night fell, Zhao Yun and the soldiers had to temporarily give up the search and return to the camp.

Zhao Yun sat in the tent, staring blankly at the dancing candlelight, with the faces of Chen Shou and Chen's father constantly appearing in his mind.

The deputy general walked into the camp and said softly: "General, take a rest first, and we will look for you tomorrow." Zhao Yun suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of anger: "How can I rest peacefully if I can't find them!" The deputy general lowered his head helplessly, Dare not say any more.

A few days later, still nothing.

Zhao Yun stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the vast mountains and forests, tears welling up in his eyes.

He raised his head and shouted: "Chen Shou! Father Chen! Where are you?" The voice echoed in the valley, but he received no response.

Despair surged into Zhao Yun's heart like a tide, and his body trembled slightly, as if he had lost all strength in an instant.

"Is this God's will?" Zhao Yun's knees weakened and he knelt on the ground, covering his face with his hands and sobbing painfully.

A few days later, Chen's father's health finally improved under Chen Shou's careful care.

In the early morning of this morning, the sun shone on them through the gaps in the leaves. The father and son packed their simple luggage and prepared to leave this temporary shelter.

Father Chen's face was still a little pale, but his eyes were a little more determined.

He looked at the winding road ahead, frowned slightly, and said with a hint of worry: "Shou'er, where should we go next?"

Chen Shou's face was also full of confusion, but he still pretended to be calm and said: "Dad, just take it one step at a time, there will always be a way out." He tried his best to squeeze out a smile, but the uneasiness in his eyes was still there. Hard to hide.

Father Chen sighed, nodded, took Chen Shou's hand, and walked forward slowly.

Their steps were a little heavy, and every step seemed to be filled with fear and helplessness about the unknown.

On this day, the sun shines on the border crossing of Youzhou, and the team of the Princess of Parthia finally slowly arrives.

With a look of exhaustion and eagerness, Grandmother approached the princess's carriage, her voice a bit pleading: "We are at the right place now, can we put my body back?"

The princess slightly opened the curtain of the carriage, with a bit of arrogance on her face, glanced at her grandma, and said coldly: "What's the hurry? We'll talk about it after we enter the city."

However, when they arrived at the city gate, they were stopped by soldiers. The soldier looked serious and said loudly: "Stop! You need a transit permit to enter the city."

When the princess heard this, her beautiful face was full of surprise, her eyes widened, and she thought in disbelief.

I have never heard of such rules, and I am not from the Central Plains. How can I have documents?

She frowned, anger and confusion in her eyes.

The carriage driver walked up to the princess's carriage with a arrogant look and said in a rough voice: "It's better to resolve the fare problem quickly, otherwise don't blame me for being rude!"

His eyes were shining with greed, staring at the princess as if he wanted to eat her alive.

The princess turned red with anger, glared angrily, and yelled: "How dare you be so rude!"

But even if the princess is angry again, entering the city is the top priority now. She had to turn her head, suppressing her anger, and begged the soldiers at the city gate: "Master, please be accommodating and let us in." Her eyes were full of eagerness and pleading, and her hands were tightly clasped in her hands. In front of you.

However, the soldier looked cold and unmoved, and said firmly: "No one can enter without a transit permit! This is the rule!"

At this time, while the princess had no time to pay attention to him, grandma saw the right opportunity and ran away.

She turned back while running, with a look of relief on her face, and muttering: "I can run away, and I don't care if I can go home. Anyway, I don't want to follow this hateful woman anymore!"

When the princess heard the noise, she turned around and saw her grandma running away, and was shocked.

But at this moment, she was filled with anxiety about not being able to enter the city. How could she still have the mood to care about her grandma?

The princess frowned, her eyes full of despair and helplessness.

She bit her lips tightly, her teeth leaving slight marks on her lips, and murmured to herself: "It took a lot of effort to get to Youzhou, how could it be like this..."

Seeing that the princess still ignored the fare, the coachman urged again impatiently: "I have no patience anymore, pay the fare quickly!" His eyes widened, and the flesh on his face trembled with anger.

The princess turned her head, glared angrily, and cursed: "You shameless person, how dare you force me like this!" Her eyes were burning with anger, and her chest heaved violently with anger.

The coachman was angered by the princess's insults, and his face instantly turned livid. Without saying a word, he suddenly picked up the princess.

The princess screamed in horror: "Let me go! You evil thief!"

The coachman ignored him and ran frantically until he came to a cave.

He gasped, threw the princess to the ground, showed his greedy eyes again, and said viciously: "You said at that time, if you really don't have money, you will give yourself up."

The corners of his mouth turned up into a lewd smile, and his eyes were full of evil desire.

The princess huddled in the corner, her face pale, her body shaking constantly, her eyes full of fear and despair: "You beast, how dare you!"

It turned out that the coachman's eyes were red, and he began to utter a series of obscene words: "Hey, little beauty, you have no choice today!" He was breathing heavily as he spoke, with a disgusting smile on the corner of his mouth. with a smile, approaching the princess step by step.

The princess's eyes widened in horror, tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled as she shouted: "Don't come over here! You shameless bastard!"

The coachman ignored the princess's pleas and stretched out his rough hands to catch the princess.

The princess struggled desperately, trying to escape, but the power gap was so great that she couldn't break free at all.

"Please, let me go!" The princess's voice was filled with tears, and her face was full of helplessness and fear.

But the coachman became more and more arrogant, kept saying unpleasant words, and slammed the princess against the stone wall.

After finishing, the coachman straightened his clothes, with a very proud look on his face, and laughed wildly: "Haha, I am so lucky after eight lifetimes to get such a beauty."

His eyes were narrowed into slits, the corners of his mouth were raised, and his ugly face was disgusting.

The princess sat slumped in the corner of the cave, her hair messy and her clothes disheveled.

Her eyes were empty, and she just kept sobbing, tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping on the ground.

The coachman glanced at the crying princess, and without any hint of guilt, he hummed a tune and left the cave in a swaggering manner.

After the coachman left, the princess was still immersed in pain and humiliation. Her cries echoed in the empty cave, which seemed particularly desolate.

After an unknown amount of time, the princess gradually stopped crying.

The princess stood up with difficulty, arranged her clothes, and staggered out of the cave. The sunshine outside was a bit dazzling, but her heart was full of gloom.

She bit her lip and walked step by step towards the populated area, each step filled with deep hatred and determination.

On the other side, several people from Xi Yu rode horses and galloped on the wide road.

The sun shines on them, reflecting their cheerful figures.

Xi Yu smiled heartily, turned to the person next to him and said, "Haha, this trip will be full of surprises!"

His eyes were bright, full of anticipation and excitement.

Song Shuwen beside him also responded with a smile: "That's natural, follow the Prime Minister, that's right!"

A few people talked to each other, their laughter and words drifted in the wind. Their figures gradually drifted away, continuing to run towards the unknown front.

That night, Xi Yu and others came to a village. As soon as we entered the village, a strange silence hit us. The whole village seemed to be shrouded in a heavy haze, making it look lifeless.

It turns out that this village is located in a remote area, with extremely inconvenient transportation and few connections with the outside world.

In order to make a living, the few young people in the village left their hometowns to work outside their homes, leaving only the old, weak, women and children to keep watch in the village.

Without the vitality and vitality of young people, the village gradually lost its vitality.

In addition, the land in the village is barren, the crop harvest has been poor, and the villagers live in poverty.

The difficult days year after year have left everyone’s faces etched with sorrow and helplessness. The dilapidated houses and deserted fields looked even more desolate under the dim moonlight.

Xi Yu and others rode horses forward slowly, and the sound of horse hooves was particularly abrupt on the empty village road.

A hunched old man sat at the door of his house, staring blankly ahead, showing no reaction to their arrival.

"Why is this village so quiet?" Ouyang Linlin couldn't help but whisper.

Tuobayu frowned, looked around and said, "It feels like this place has been forgotten by the world."

Xi Yu's face was solemn, and an inexplicable heaviness surged in his heart: "Let's find someone to ask about the situation first."

They continued walking deeper into the village, but with every step they took, the depressing atmosphere became stronger and stronger.

Xiyu got off his horse and walked towards the old man sitting at the door. With confusion and concern on his face, he asked softly: "Old man, why is this village so deserted?"

The old man raised his cloudy eyes, looked at Xi Yu, and said slowly: "A fortune teller came last year and said that this village was unlucky and that everyone living here would suffer a bloody disaster. So many people moved away."

He shook his head helplessly as he spoke, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.

Xiyu widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and said: "How could such a thing happen?"

He paused, and then asked: "Then old man, why don't you move away?"

The old man snorted, raised his chin stubbornly, and said: "I don't believe this! I have lived in this village all my life. What ups and downs have I not seen? And I have no children, and I don't have anything to worry about. There will be disasters!"

When he said this, his eyes revealed a sense of determination and calmness.

The old man's eyes were dim, and at the same time he said: "Now, in addition to myself, there are some people who are not convenient to move in the village."

After hearing this, Xiyu frowned and fell into deep thought. His eyes were full of doubts, and he always felt that there must be something wrong here.

Tuoba Yu looked at Xiyu and asked anxiously: "Should we explore it?"

Xiyu came back to his senses and nodded firmly. Then he looked at the old man and asked politely: "Old man, is there any empty room for us to live in?"

The old man waved his hand and said casually: "Many houses in this village are empty, just pick one." There was no expression on his face, as if he was numb to all this.

In this way, Xiyu, Tuoba Yu, Ouyang Linlin and others began to look for houses in the village.

The moonlight was like water, sprinkled on the deserted village road, giving their figures a layer of silver edges.

They held flashlights and carefully shuttled between the dilapidated houses.

Every time they passed a place, the closed doors and windows and the mottled walls seemed to tell the story of the past.

"Take a look here." Tuoba Yu's voice was particularly clear in the silent night.

"There seems to be a suitable one over there." Ouyang Linlin pointed to a house not far away and said.

Finally, they found a relatively complete house.

The house was filled with an old smell, and dust was flying in the moonlight.

"Let's just clean up here." Xiyu said, and then he started to clean up the debris on the ground.

Tuoba Yu and Ouyang Linlin also took action, and soon they made a place to sleep.

Ouyang Linlin sat on a slightly clean stone, frowned slightly, and said to herself in doubt: "Why did the fortune teller say that? Is this place really unlucky, or is there some uncontrollable purpose?"

Xiyu straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said: "Anyway, let's ask around in the village tomorrow."

Tuoba Yu nodded, with a serious face: "Well, there must be something wrong when things are abnormal."

The night got deeper, and several people in this simple house, with full of questions in their hearts, gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, the sun shone into the house where they were temporarily staying through the dusty windows with difficulty.

Xiyu and others woke up with sleepy eyes, and after a simple cleanup, they went out to explore the secrets of this village.

They came to the big tree in the village and saw several old men sitting on stone benches, basking in the sun silently.

Xi Yu smiled and asked respectfully: "Dear uncles and aunts, we are new here and want to ask you about the fortune teller who said the village is unlucky."

The old people looked up, their eyes full of suspicion and uneasiness.

A wrinkled uncle took a puff of his pipe and said slowly: "The fortune teller came in a mysterious way and left after talking nonsense. Who knows why he said that!"

Tuoba Yu came forward and asked eagerly: "Uncle, when he came, did he do anything strange, or did he target anyone in particular?"

The old people looked at each other and shook their heads.

Ouyang Linlin frowned slightly and said thoughtfully: "I always feel that there is something fishy here. Maybe someone is behind the fortune teller."

Xiyu touched his chin, thought for a moment and said: "It's possible. Let's go ask somewhere else."

They visited several families who were still living there, but they got very little useful information. Everyone's face couldn't help but show a trace of frustration.

Just as they were about to return to their residence to make plans, a middle-aged man carrying firewood passed by them. Xiyu hurriedly stopped him and said politely: "Brother, I want to ask you something."

The middle-aged man put down the firewood and looked at them in confusion.

Xiyu hurriedly explained his purpose. The middle-aged man frowned and said: "I also think that the fortune teller came strangely. I seem to have heard that he has something to do with the bandit nest on the mountain outside the village."

Xiyu and others looked at each other, and their doubts became heavier.

Xi Yu immediately clasped his fists to thank the middle-aged man: "Thank you for telling me, brother. Do you know more details?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said helplessly: "I just heard it by chance, and I don't know the details. But the bandit's nest has always been a big problem in this area. Maybe they want to attack the village."

Tuoba Yu was angry and gritted his teeth and said: "These bandits are too hateful. They actually use such despicable means!"

Ouyang Linlin narrowed her eyes and analyzed: "If this is true, then what is their purpose? Is it just to occupy the village?"

Xi Yu pondered for a moment and said: "Anyway, let's start with the investigation of this bandit's nest. But this matter needs to be considered in the long run, and we must not act rashly."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then returned to their residence to discuss the next plan.

After returning to his residence, Xi Yu said solemnly: "This bandit nest must be difficult to deal with. We must first find out their situation."

Tuoba Yu clenched his fists and said: "What are you afraid of? At worst, we can fight them!"

Ouyang Linlin hurriedly said: "Don't be impulsive. Let's think of a way to see if we can sneak into the bandit nest to get information." (End of this chapter)