The night covers a thousand miles. In the same darkness, each place has a different loneliness. Chen's house is located in the corner of a deep alley in Longjinfang. The narrow space and high walls make the lighting very poor. Her house is small and low, and it is a bit old. The soot-covered beams and broken wooden windows make the whole space very dark, which reminds people of the haunted house in the story.
Only then did Yulian realize one good thing about the Chen family man. She wasn't so scared when he was around before. She curled up against the wall, and the more scared she was, the harder it was to fall asleep.
Will there be ghosts after death? Yu Lian seemed to see the corpse with blood on its face and lifeless eyes when it just died. She trembled and whispered to the dark sky: Don't blame me, don't blame me. I was wrong. I shouldn't have hoped for your death. But I didn't kill you and you didn't help me. I was helpless. As a woman, I really couldn't endure such a life. If I couldn't live like this, my heart wouldn't be so cruel.
She kept comforting herself and finally fell into a drowsy sleep. After all, this was not the scariest place, at least it was in the big city of Tokyo; the reason why it was scary was probably because someone had just died in the stinking ditch outside.
Yulian feels that the most frightening place is the place where she grew up as a child and in her dreams.
When I left my hometown, I was still young, but I remember the environment I first saw very clearly. It was a mud-walled hut that was darker and more dilapidated than the Chen family's house in Tokyo. In the countryside, it was pitch black outside at night, and there was no light at night. Behind the house was a barren mountain with many wild graves. Yulian still remembers the situation when she was a child and didn't dare to go to the toilet at night.
I vaguely remember that my hometown belongs to Gaoping in Hedong. I heard the old men chatting that Gaoping used to be called Changping, which is near the ancient battlefield of the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao a long time ago. It is rumored that Qin general Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers in that land. No wonder the villagers often dug up bones accidentally. Yulian loved to listen to the adults' gossip, but she was scared after listening.
Later, she was finally sold to Li Shouzhen's home in Hezhong Prefecture. She still remembered the densely populated city, the busy courtyards, the clean houses, the never-ending lamp oil and candles, and the lanterns hanging outside at night. She immediately fell in love with that place. At least at first, she thought it was a good place with sunshine in every corner.
She didn't know how long she slept. When she opened her eyes, the bright house was gone. What followed was darkness in reality. The air was filled with a faint smell of ash.
Yulian stared in the darkness, not daring to light the lamp. The window was drafty, and the lamp swaying back and forth was even more frightening. Besides, if someone saw her with the lamp on in the middle of the night, they might gossip about her. At this moment, she felt something gently poking her soft chest. She reached out and felt around, and found that it was the lucky charm she had prayed for in the Taoist temple a few days ago, tied with a thin string and still worn on her body.
The talisman was prayed for Shao Ge'er. It was several days ago, before the murder happened.
It is said to be very effective. It has been blessed by the Bodhisattva, and a person with high Taoist skills has cast a spell to draw the talisman. The rune is drawn on a piece of red silk, wrapped into a triangle, and can be worn after being tied with a rope. Shao Ge'er said that he will go to war soon. Yu Lian hopes that he can come back alive from the battlefield. In addition to praying to the gods and asking for the talisman, what else can she do to help
The head of the Yuzhen Temple was a female Taoist priest. The temple was located in the city, so it was very popular among women. Yulian had been interested in finding out the origins of the head of the temple. It was said that her original name was Jingniang. She had met the imperial army general Zhao Kuangyin many years ago. Later, she became disillusioned with the world because of love and built a Taoist temple in Tokyo to become a nun. Women loved such rumors about love, so it was no wonder that the Yuzhen Temple was so popular.
Yu Lian rubbed the talisman in her palm, wondering whether to give it to Shao Ge'er. Tomorrow morning would be the last chance to give it as a gift, as he would have to return to the camp at daybreak.
In her heart, Yulian did not blame Guo Shao for killing her husband, and she even secretly felt grateful to him. Of course, she also looked up to young men like Shao Ge'er, who was not only brave, but also not a simple-minded ruffian. Yulian thought that he had extraordinary knowledge and might really be able to earn wealth if he was lucky. But how could a young officer like him, who was only ten years old, fall in love with a woman who had been married three times but could not have children
If you act impatiently, you might end up degrading yourself: You are flirting with others even before your husband's body is cold. You are a frivolous woman who is fickle and frivolous. Yu Lian knows very well that if you don't respect yourself, others will look down on you and treat you as an insignificant thing that can be discarded at any time.
If it was a few years earlier and still in Li Shouzhen's house, it would have been better. But Shao Ge'er seemed to be obsessed with Fu Shi at that time, and was even willing to die for her. Even now, he has really let it go.
God is never fair. Some people are born to be loved by others. Even if they do nothing, there will be people willing to pay for them. For example, Fu Shi, born in a noble family, beautiful and intelligent, is always a fairy in people's hearts no matter how many times she has been married.
Guo Shao got up early in the morning and opened the back door. He found a red object falling out of the crack in the door. He picked it up and looked at it carefully for a while, then put it away and turned to take a look into the alley.
According to the military order of the Privy Council, the soldiers of the Imperial Guards were to gather at the barracks in advance and report for duty two days later. Guo Shao arrived at the barracks one day before the stipulated time.
Although he was stationed in the military camp for only two days, it was quite idle for Guo Shao, because he was promoted to the position of captain and then became a general again before he could even get comfortable in his seat; the fourth team of Bendu had only about twenty people, and they were all familiar with each other, so there was nothing to worry about.
He sat on the doorstep in the sun, looking listless. The spring sun was warm, and the flowers on the pear tree in the yard were about to bloom. The weather was just right, making people not want to move. He looked lazy when he had nothing to do, as if he had no energy. He didn't talk much, and would never stand if he could sit.
At this moment, a white rabbit appeared from nowhere and immediately attracted his attention. But he still did not move, just looked at it very attentively.
The little white rabbit in spring is cute but easily frightened. If you don't approach it slowly, it will be scared away immediately. Guo Shao pinched the auspicious symbol on his neck, staring at the rabbit in a trance, with a smile in his eyes.
Unexpectedly, a rough man suddenly rushed over from nowhere, wearing heavy armor. Without saying a word, he ran over and pounced on the rabbit. His heavy body fell to the ground with a thud, and the rabbit ran away without being caught, but he fell with a mouthful of mud.
Damn it, Luo Er looked at your stupid look and Guo Shao cursed.
This guy is called Luo Mengzi, a soldier from the fourth team. He seemed to be hurt from the fall. He got up with a grin on his face, dusted himself off, limped over, took the bow from his back and handed it to him: "General Guo, shoot the rabbit quickly."
Guo Shao took the bow and an arrow, and without looking around for the unfrightened white rabbit, he plucked the bowstring casually and said with wide eyes: Wow, this must be a two-stone strong bow, where did it come from
Luo Mengzi said: Didn’t General Guo get a promotion a few days ago? It was a reward from Commander Wang, and you were not in the barracks.
At this moment, a voice with a bad tone was heard saying: I don't know if the ten generals have the ability to pull apart the things used by the captain.
Guo Shao and Luo Mengzi looked back and saw Yang Biao and a dozen soldiers carrying a skinned sheep. Yang Biao was a big and strong man with a fierce horse face, but his words were sharp. This guy is now the deputy general of the fourth team, one level lower than Guo Shao, but he was a centurion before, and it seems that he is not willing to be commanded by a ten-year-old boy like Shao Ge'er; and Guo Shao was demoted from the head of the army to the tenth general yesterday, which caused him to be demoted again. I'm afraid he doesn't like Guo Shao very much.
In the past two days, the Palace Front Department has been very good to the soldiers under it. Because they are about to go to the battlefield, they have given them money as well as pork, mutton, wine and meat as rewards. Everyone is in a good mood, and seeing this, they happily started to make a fuss, asking Guo Shao to show off his skills.
It can be pulled open. Guo Shao replied calmly, and happened to find that the white rabbit had just run out, with its ears erect under the eaves opposite the yard. The soldiers followed his gaze and easily found the brightly colored rabbit. The rabbit was not far away, maybe only 20 or 30 steps away, but the target was too small. Everyone became more and more expectant, and sighs were heard in the crowd.
In this situation, Guo Shao could not step down. He calmly grabbed a handful of sand from the ground, rubbed it in his hands, and took out the finger gloves and put them on.
His movements were slow and lazy, just like his usual style. But suddenly, he took a deep breath, and his whole body became full of strength. He drew the bow and drew the arrow, and the bow was bent like a full moon. The two-stone strong bow was mostly used to practice arm strength and was rarely used in actual combat. He pulled the bow like this, and I'm afraid he would be able to pull it even harder if he added another stone.
The tendons on the long and steady fingers had bulged, and the tendons made a crackling sound as they were tightened, as if they were about to break, and it was also like the noise produced by the huge twisting force of a catapult, which made people inexplicably nervous.
Bows and arrows are not firearms. They can be aimed but their reliability is a bit of nonsense. Whether you can hit the target or not depends entirely on your feeling. From standing still to drawing the bow, every action is actually aiming and looking for the target. This feeling is an intuition formed from countless hits or misses in practice. It is completely indescribable and traceless. Whenever he picked up the bow, this feeling made Guo Shao inexplicably excited, just like facing a girl in love. He had already succeeded but still felt a little worried, afraid that she would leave quietly, and he couldn't bear to have any distracting thoughts. At this moment, Guo Shao had forgotten whether he was in a modern academy or in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms with smoke everywhere. The only thing in his eyes was the arrow.
There was a strong bang of the string, and the lingering sound seemed to carry the sound of a sharp blade piercing the air, startling the soldiers watching. In a short moment, many people were fascinated by Guo Shao's concentration from his eyes to every part of his body, and the sound of the string finally brought them back to reality.
Luo Mengzi immediately shouted excitedly. Regardless of whether he hit the target or not, the force was enough to shock people.
After the sound, the white rabbit was nailed to the corner, without even the room to struggle.
Yang Biao looked surprised and a little embarrassed: He has some tricks.
Guo Shao's expression relaxed, and he ignored the excuse Yang Biao gave him. This is the proper attitude towards subordinates and superiors. Although Yang Biao was a centurion not long ago, he is now a deputy general of a squad. The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are not short of arrogant soldiers and brave generals. This is not a place to pay attention to the virtue of humility. Tolerance will only make people think that you are easy to bully and a fun punching bag. Guo Shao handed the bow to Yang Biao: You try it.
The atmosphere, which had just improved, became slightly tense again, and everyone turned their attention to the square-faced man.
Yang Biao was not very old, but his face was weathered and his skin was dark and yellow. He looked like a veteran. But not everyone who had been in battle could master the bow and arrow, and very few could. From his expression, it was clear that he was not confident.
Unexpectedly, this guy turned out to be a stubborn person who refused to admit defeat. He immediately said: It’s just that I’m an accurate archer.
Guo Shao sneered: If you don't even dare to try, then you'd better understand the rules of conduct.
Yang Biao's face turned red and white, and he couldn't find the words to say. Adding to the ridicule from the soldiers around him, he said angrily: "General Guo's arrows have eyes, but the arrows on the battlefield don't have eyes."
What does this mean? It's a naked threat. It's to trip us up in battle.