Water Zhuzhou, Qianhua County.
The ground under my feet is full of cracks and weeds, and even in the season of April flowers, it is still withered and yellow, and there is no green green.
Loren Hill slowly landed on the ground, looking at the end of the road, a small village was located on the hillside, and now sporadic smoke can be seen.
She flew all the way, from Min Zezhou all the way to the west, and happened to land on this Shuizhuzhou today, which is actually not far from Huiluzhou.
According to Leng Yan, the previous member of Tuo Shi Tang, this place should gradually be restored to a region with fertile water and grass. Why does it seem so desolate, and the girl can't even see any animals as far as the eye can see.
After stepping on this dry ground, some clods were very hard, and there were broken powders on the edges. It looked like it had not been moisturised by rain and dew for a long time, and there was also the smell of dried bellflower in the air.
Walking into this small village on the hillside, there was a sound of dogs barking, and a small black puppy was standing in front of the adobe hut in the distance, barking at this strange visitor, but it was a pity that such a voice was heard Sharp and weak, not intimidating.
"Stop barking." The girl said softly, then looked at the hut behind the puppy and slowly approached.
This is the only house in the village that has cooking smoke.
In the creaking sound, the dilapidated wooden door with air leakage was pushed open, and an old woman with silver hair walked out slowly, hunched over her waist, she looked at Loren Hill outside, and then picked up the puppy, A few strokes calmed the puppy's barking.
"This girl, who are you..." She was a little puzzled, how could such a young girl appear in this remote place, and looking at the clothes, she didn't look like an ordinary person.
Biquge
"My name is Jialan, I came back from a long way, and I want to know what happened here and why it is so desolate." Roland Hill said.
"Have you come back from out of town? Oh, yes, you shouldn't be an ordinary person, or you wouldn't be able to get here..." She muttered in a low voice, her teeth still leaking. If it wasn't for Roland Hill's keen hearing, I'm afraid It wasn't immediately clear what she was talking about.
"Old man, a guest is here." The old woman grunted for a while, as if she didn't want to talk to Roland Hill, and then carried the puppy into the house.
After a while, an old man with sparse hair but still looking healthy walked out. He was wearing a thin brown-brown linen coat. Feel.
"This lady, who are you?" He looked at Loren Hill with a little hesitation.
Roland Hill repeated a simple sentence, and then the old man on the opposite side answered slowly.
"It's the young man who came back..." He sighed, and then walked to a stone beside the hut with a cane and sat down before speaking slowly.
"This is Qianhua County, um, that's how it was called before."
"However, this will be young and strong, and all those who can run are gone." His voice was dry and hoarse, like a withered reed.
"Why are you leaving?" Roland Hill vaguely guessed the answer.
"There is no water, the upstream is cut off... There has been no water for a long time... I could dig a well to get some water before, and now the well is almost dry."
"While we can still walk, many people have left... That's why my wife and I are getting old and can't run anymore, so we just stayed here..."
"Look around here, there used to be dozens of households, but now there are no more..." He pointed to the abandoned houses in the village.
"There is no water... there is no water..." He said slowly, staring blankly at the uninhabited house in the village, his body did not move.
"I'm sorry." Feeling that it was a little wrong to let such a thirsty and uncomfortable old man say so much, Roland Hill bent slightly, then thought about it, and waved to the sky.
With the sound of wings flapping, a bird with fluffy feathers flew down slowly, holding a large basket on its claws, which seemed to contain a lot of things.
Although he knew that the contents in the basket were snacks that Dai Ju wanted to bring, Loren Hill still opened the cover and took out one of the sealed jars, which contained clear dew.
"Do you want a drink?" Roland Hill handed a glass of water to the old man.
"Ah..." The old man turned around slowly, made a hoarse voice, and then looked at the sudden appearance of Qingshui.
"You... you're a good person." He said tremblingly, holding the glass of water, drank it thirsty, then drank half of it, suddenly put down the glass again, turned his head to the side of the room and shouted.
"Old lady, come, come out, have some water to drink... have some water to drink."
The old woman walked out slowly with the puppy in her arms, and she was still gurgling, probably thinking that the old man was fainting.
When he saw the water jug handed over by Roland Hill, his face was surprised, and it took a while to react.
"Thank you girl, thank you..." She pursed her lips and kept talking, and then she held the water jug carefully, as if she was afraid of falling, and carefully placed it on the wooden board in front of the door, and then slowly poured it into the water. In the mouth, sip by sip.
After the two old people finished drinking water, they seemed to be much more energetic, and then the two of them took the initiative to return to Loren Hill's words.
"Thank you girl, where are you from? Just now I was dizzy and didn't want to talk, so I hid in the room."
"It's okay, it's my fault." The girl shook her head and continued to ask about what happened here.
After listening to the girl's question, the two slowly explained that it turned out that three years ago, the scene here was just like what Wei Lengyan said, and it slowly returned to the hometown of water in the past, water Zhuzhou, lead red water Zhuzhihua, local The cinnabar, rouge, and dyes are all very famous, and there are many people.
However, such a scene gradually disappeared as the river was cut off and the climate became dry day by day.
At first, the local people petitioned the shrine maiden to preside over the rain prayer ceremony, which could bring in some rain and dew from the southern coast to moisten the earth, but as time passed, the rain became less and less, and the shrine maidens also expressed their inability to do anything.
After that, the local priestess' rituals gradually left. Before they left, they told the locals that this place might not last for a long time, so everyone should plan ahead.
"Will the Miko Festival also leave?"
The girl remembered that the general shrine maiden was under the jurisdiction of the government, and it was officially canonized by the dynasty.
"Yes, it is said that after the Spring lawsuit sent someone to check here, they agreed to this decision."
The girl could not imagine that the powerful officials of the four seasons would give up so easily. It seems that the disasters in various parts of the dynasty have already exhausted them. Otherwise, the Spring lawsuit, the head of the four officials, would not tolerate such a thing.
In the past, driving the flood dragon to dispatch the rainwater from the South China Sea, it was not that Zewei did not do things like the Central Continents, but now he doesn't do it.
"Then the surrounding factions, there are still door-to-door visits, haven't they done anything?" Even if the dynasty officials ignore it, as a local major faction, they will still maintain their own boundaries, which are far from Huiluzhou. The Sun Feather Sect is not far away, and there is also a mighty Red Valley in the west.
"The Huangyu faction in Huiluzhou began to close the mountain five years ago, and now they can't see their disciples walking outside. As for the Wanziqianhonggu, we don't know, but we heard that the west is not stable."
"I see."
Roland Hill let out a sigh, and then looked at the distant sky.
The Burning Sun and Feather Sect has closed the mountain. Did Senior Sister Jinhua know something in advance
Then she patted Dai Ju on the side, and then handed the large carrying basket to the two old people.
"This place is no longer suitable for living, do you two want to leave with me?"
"Thank you girl, but I'm a couple of years old, and I won't be able to live for long if I'm not in good health, so I won't bother you." The old man shook his head, then coughed again, as he said, his body is already old , it can't last long.
"This way..." Lorraine Hill was silent.
"There's still a lot of food here, so let's give it to the two of you. As for the water..." She thought for a while, then walked into the thatched hut and found the water tank in the house. After a while, a burst of clean water flowed out of the air, The tank is full.
"This should be able to last a little longer. I think it will get better after a while." Roland Hill saluted the two old men, and then lightly stepped into the air with Dai Ju beside him and flew away.
Looking at the girl who disappeared at the end of the sky, the two old people were amazed, and they were kneeling on the ground and praying continuously.
"Thank you for the gift of the fairy..."
"Thank you for the gift of the fairy..."
In the eyes of these ordinary mortals, such a powerful transcendent is actually no different from an immortal. It is no longer an existence that they can understand and come into contact with. I don't want to be lucky enough to meet one today.
The dusky sky was low, and this desolate village was a little more angry than before.