Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 2: The sword is not properly fastened

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dusk.

The setting sun is blood-red.

Wild crows circled around the lonely village. Their mournful cries mixed with the screams and wails from the villagers, making this place seem like a hell of hell.

Zhao Changhe stood blankly behind a tree in the distance, looking at the messy scene in the village. Before he could recover from the discomfort of traveling between two worlds, a small village on the verge of extinction appeared before his eyes.

Broken wood from doors and windows were scattered all over the place, the pungent smell of blood wafted from every household, corpses lay in disorder outside doors and windows, and naked female bodies were thrown on the road at random, covered with signs of abuse.

There were still men in black rampaging everywhere, breaking into houses, searching and looting valuables. With enhanced vision, I could clearly see that someone dragged a woman out and humiliated her in the street, while a group of men in black laughed.

Is this what is meant by "the initial position will be in a safe place"

He appeared in the woods outside the village instead of directly in the village. The murderers were unaware of his existence and could leave quietly. Does this mean he is safe

But a man in black was seen leading a yellow ox pulling a pile of bloody treasures, and he shouted impatiently: "It's almost done. How much fun can the village girls here have? The sun is going down. Kill them all. Don't leave any trouble behind."

Seeing a man in black raising a butcher knife and about to chop down a child nearby, Zhao Changhe became so angry that he could no longer suppress himself. He picked up a thick wooden stick from the forest and rushed out.

By the way, how come the broadsword I always carried with me in my dreams is gone... It doesn't matter, I want your mother's safety, it's just a dream! According to experience, I will wake up after I die, so I can go back and ask that blind man what he is doing!

"Pah!" The wooden stick whistled past, catching the man in black off guard, and his knife was knocked away. Zhao Changhe did not stop, swinging the stick across, hitting the man in black in the face with a solid blow, blood splattering.

The man in black covered his head and screamed. The other accomplices looked over in astonishment. Zhao Changhe quickly pulled the child behind him and turned to run. It was obviously impossible to win a fight with a group of people. Saving people was the most important thing.

Someone suddenly sneered: "There are still people alive. Kill them."

The men in black laughed grimly and chased after him. How could Zhao Changhe escape with his child? He could clearly "see" the scene behind him. A long knife was already slashing towards his neck.

Does the eye behind you really work

Zhao Changhe quickly turned sideways and swung his stick, which was cut in two. He dodged quickly, and the long knife cut a long bloody mark on his face.

And because of this delay, the child was chopped down by another person.

Zhao Changhe didn't care about the pain on his face, his mind was blank.

The child was dead... He was hacked to death right in front of him, and there was no way to save him.

It seems that there are no living people in this village...

"Fuck you!" Zhao Changhe roared angrily, and swung the half-broken wooden stick in his hand like a mad tiger.

"Turns out he's just a farmer who has never practiced martial arts and only has brute force." The men in black were all laughing. The man who had been hit on the head with a stick dodged and easily avoided Zhao Changhe's beating, and slashed his neck lightly with the long knife in his hand.

Finished.

Can't avoid it.

What a fucking nightmare! Not only is it more disgusting than before, but it's even more difficult!

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, there was a sudden sound of a sharp weapon breaking through the air, and with a "ding" sound, the black-clothed man's long sword was knocked away.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves came closer and closer, and someone was riding a horse. Before the horse arrived, the knight on the horse had already leaped past, and Zhao Changhe only had time to see a flash of a red-dressed figure, the cold light of a sword, and blood splattered all around. Several screams rang out almost at the same time, and then suddenly stopped.

The galloping horse just arrived in front of him at this time, and the red shadow flipped back onto the horse.

It was not until now that Zhao Changhe could see clearly that it was a woman in a red tight-fitting outfit, with a high ponytail, riding a green-maned horse, a long sword in a red sheath slung diagonally at her waist, beautiful eyes like lightning, and a heroic demeanor.

"Plop" and "plop" sounds rang out one after another, and the men in black around them fell to the ground one after another, all of them died on the spot.

Zhao Changhe, who had been hacking and killing people in his dreams for so long, felt for the first time what the scene described in the novel of "killing nine geese with one sword" was like.

This is martial arts! There really is such a thing!

The woman looked around at the miserable situation, with some sadness in her eyes, and whispered to herself: "If only you had come a little earlier..."

Zhao Changhe was panting heavily. The thrill of escaping death could not overshadow the anger brought by the tragedy in the village. He even forgot to thank the woman and looked up blankly and asked, "Who are these people?"

The woman shook her head silently, and after a long while she said, "I am just passing by... but maybe I have some clues. Let me ask first, does Luojiazhuang take this road?"

It turned out that he was just passing by and happened to see this scene and took action... Zhao Changhe had no idea what Luojiazhuang was and could only shake his head.

Seeing Zhao Changhe's confused look, the woman understood his mood at the moment. Without saying much, she rode her horse around for a while and saw a stone tablet at the entrance of the village with "Zhaocuo" written on it. She nodded and said, "Zhaocuo, I asked someone for directions before and they said it was dozens of miles ahead of Zhaocuo. So this is the right road..."

Then she looked at the bodies of the men in black around her, frowned again and whispered: "So this is them? Why did they make such a fuss?" She squatted down and carefully searched the two bodies of the men in black, only finding a small amount of silver and no other marks. The woman frowned and thought for a while but couldn't come up with a solution. She turned around and saw Zhao Changhe still standing there blankly. She sighed and said: "Do you... have any relatives?"

Zhao Changhe still shook his head.

The woman said, "I have something to do at Luojia Manor. You may as well come with me. We can ask the people from the manor to take care of the affairs here, and you can also find a job there to settle down."

Why go to Luojia Village to find a job? Zhao Changhe felt that he had strayed from what he was supposed to do in his dream... But if he was asked to find a goal, where should he go

Seeing his hesitation, the woman advised: "In this chaotic world, if you have never practiced martial arts, you will be bullied. Luojiazhuang is a famous family in Daxia after all, and it is said that it has a close relationship with the royal family. If you can learn a few moves there, you will have a hope of revenge, and it will also be the foundation for your future home."

Summer…

Does this dream even involve a worldview

Zhao Changhe was too lazy to think so far, and blurted out subconsciously: "Sister, you are so powerful. If I want to learn martial arts, can I learn from you?"

"Sister? It's hard to say who is older between you and me." The woman smiled and shook her head, "I am a wanderer and cannot teach apprentices. Luojia Manor is quite suitable for you. If I take you there, they may give me some face."

Zhao Changhe had no choice but to say, "Okay. I was confused just now and forgot to thank you for saving my life. May I ask your name?"

"Yue Hongling." The woman answered casually, but she was a little curious: "You talk like you are well-educated. What's your name?"

"Zhao Changhe."

Unexpectedly, it also fits the Zhaocuo here.

Yue Hongling said nothing more. She stretched out her hand and pulled. Zhao Changhe felt himself flying up like a cloud, and soon landed on the horse's back and sat behind Yue Hongling.

The slender and straight back was just a few inches in front of him, and he could still vaguely smell her fragrance. Zhao Changhe, who had been single since birth, was too embarrassed to think about it, so he just held on to the saddle behind him. He felt that this dream was even more outrageous than the previous one, because it was too detailed...

There are dialogues, fragrance, and a dashing female knight, who is free and easy, and is basically a real person.

The light snow around and the wind from the galloping horse were very cold. The ends of Yue Hongling's hair were lifted by the horse and brushed against her cheeks, making her feel a little itchy.

These are things that I could never experience in my dreams where there were no other projects except hacking and slashing. They are so detailed.

The wound on my cheek from a knife cut was still painful. When I touched it, it was covered in blood.

Zhao Changhe looked at the blood in his hands and suddenly felt a little panic - what if this was not a dream

He was confused and didn't know how to ask Yue Hongling the question, so he remained silent all the way.

After walking for about a dozen miles, a large field appeared in front of us. It was early winter, and there was a light snow on the fields. No one was working. At the end of the field was a continuous manor with a towering wall. I didn't know how wide it was. In the middle of the official road leading to the manor was a huge memorial archway with large gilded characters "Luojia Manor".

Yue Hongling slowed down his horse, looked at the guards in front of him, and sighed: "It seems that this manor is still safe."

Soon, a farmhand stopped them and said, "Stop!"

Yue Hongling reined in his horse and clasped his fists in a martial arts etiquette: "Please inform Manor Master Luo that Yue Hongling from Luoxia Mountain Manor is visiting."

The sound was not loud, but it was like the morning bell and evening drum, floating far away. Zhao Changhe was envious, this was the inner strength, right? Unlike himself, he almost got internal injuries from riding a horse...

Before the farmhands could respond, a hearty laugh came from inside the farm: "What kind of wind blew Miss Yue to our farm? It's really glorious, glorious! Open the door and welcome the guests!"

The farmhands hurriedly opened the main gate, and a middle-aged man with a long beard strode out to greet them. He smiled as soon as he saw them, "As expected, at this dusk, the setting sun and the red feathers reflecting the sunset glow are so beautiful that they don't seem to be a human scene. The praise from the martial arts world is indeed not without reason."

Zhao Changhe: "Ugh..."

Yue Hongling: “…”

Zhao Changhe didn't mean to do that. It was his first time riding a horse and he was really vomiting. If he could choose, he would really like to agree with the other person - Yue Hongling is really beautiful.

The middle-aged man's eyes fell on Zhao Changhe, asking, "Who is this..."

"Ahem." Yue Hongling coughed dryly, helped Zhao Changhe down, and said with a cupped hand: "Hongling greets Master Luo. I came here to tell you something secret. This person happens to be related to this matter..."

Zhao Changhe pricked up his ears.

The second card has a jade pendant on the front, which is said to point to the initial position, but the initial experience is inexplicable and has no relation to the jade pendant. Could this be the secret that Yue Hongling is talking about

(End of this chapter)