Red Dust Daqian

There was no moon tonight, but the sky was dotted with stars. Zhou Sen and Xiangcao sat side by side on the cliff, gazing at the distant starry sky. They were speechless, unwilling to break the tranquility. Both of them knew that this secluded life was coming to an end. Xiangcao's swordsmanship was already perfect, and Zhou Sen had already planned his future trip. It was time to set off for a distant place.

Zhou Sen reached out and grabbed Xiangcao's hand. Xiangcao rolled her eyes at Zhou Sen and struggled to get rid of Zhou Sen's hand. Zhou Sen pretended not to see it and held her hand tighter. "Senior sister, I feel so happy now. I really hope time will stop at this moment." Xiangcao couldn't get rid of Zhou Sen's big hand, so she stopped struggling and let Zhou Sen hold it. "Mumu, I think so too. I have been so stable during this period. I feel so safe and comfortable." Xiangcao gently leaned her head on Zhou Sen's shoulder. "Senior sister, I'm sorry. I may not be able to give you a peaceful life for a long time in the future. We will set off tomorrow. Let's create a future that belongs to us." Xiangcao shook her head and said, "Mumu, don't say sorry. As long as I am with you, I am happy, whether I live in seclusion or venture into the world." Zhou Sen stood up and took the map of the Daqian Dynasty and spread it on the stone table under the oil lamp. Draw a line between Longhu Mountain and Kyoto. He pointed to the map and told Vanilla in detail about his planned route: "For the time being, we plan to set out along this route, mainly by land, passing through Changnan, Jiangxia and other places all the way to Kyoto..."

The next day, the two packed their bags early, looked out from the edge of the cliff for a while, shouted, "Goodbye, Longhu Mountain", and walked down the mountain without looking back. After reaching the foot of the mountain, they bought some dry food and other supplies, and purchased a carriage. The two officially set out on the road to the north.

Walking and stopping along the way, playing and making noises, it was so happy and free. The two arrived at a small town that day. Changnan County was engraved on the city gate. The city wall was tall but a little dilapidated. The rows of shops indicated the prosperity of the past. But strangely, the streets were empty, the houses were dilapidated, and it was obviously quite depressed. "Mumu, it feels so strange. It's just evening, and it will be dark for a while. Why are there no people on the street and the shops are closed." Xiangcao in the carriage asked puzzledly. "Yes, the dry food has been eaten these days. I want to take you into the city and have a good meal. By the way, I want to replenish some dry food." Zhou Sen, who was talking, saw a noodle shop owner hurriedly closing the door and putting up the door board, and hurriedly shouted to the shop owner: "Hey, shop owner, don't close the door, we are eating here." The shop owner waved to Zhou Sen and hurriedly closed the door, without paying too much attention to Zhou Sen and the two. After walking for a long time, they still didn't see any shops open, which made them feel puzzled. Xiangcao was a little tired, so she said to Zhou Sen, "Mumu, let's find an inn to rest first. It's getting dark, so we'll set off tomorrow." Zhou Sen replied, "Okay, I see there's Jingyue Inn up ahead, I'll go knock on the door."

Zhou Sen walked to the door of the inn, knocked and shouted, "Owner, is there anyone here? Open the door, there are people staying in the inn." He knocked and shouted for a long time before the waiter replied tremblingly, "Who is there? We are closed, you can go to another place." Zhou Sen was puzzled and asked, "We are traveling Taoist priests passing by here. It's not dark yet, isn't this the time when your inn is doing business? Why are you closed?" When the waiter heard that they were Taoist priests, he opened the door a crack to look at Zhou Sen and the others, and after confirming that they were dressed as Taoist priests, he opened the door timidly and let Zhou Sen and the others enter the inn.

"Store owner, open two rooms and prepare two side dishes." The store owner replied: "Okay, you two take a seat first, I'll arrange it for you." After the dishes were served, Zhou Sen asked the waiter: "Waiter, why is this place so strange? It's not even dark yet, there are no pedestrians on the street, and the shops on the street are all closed." The waiter asked in confusion: "Aren't you two here to catch monsters?" Zhou Sen was slightly stunned. Monsters? Are there really monsters in this world that he traveled through? Those Taoist priests on Longhu Mountain have been cheating for so many years, but they have never really caught any monsters? Zhou Sen shook his head and gave himself a psychological hint. I am a 21 university graduate in the 211st century, an atheist, and a staunch communist. It's nonsense to believe that there are monsters.

Xiangcao nervously grabbed Zhou Sen's arm. Zhou Sen pretended to be calm and replied to the waiter in a profound manner: "It is the responsibility of people like us to exorcise demons and evil spirits, to subdue demons and defend the Way. Can you tell me what kind of demon is causing trouble here?" The waiter looked around and said quietly, "This story started a year ago. On that day, the son of Wang Yuanwai in the city got married. The bride was a girl from the neighboring Xiaojia Town. It was said that she was fair-skinned, beautiful, and curvy. On the wedding day, the bridal sedan had set out from Xiaojia Town long ago. I don't know why the journey, which usually takes half a day, took a whole day that day. It was past the auspicious time. The bridal sedan slowly arrived in front of our city gate in the evening. Just after passing the city gate, a strong wind suddenly blew up, and the bridal sedan was tilted from side to side. After a while, it suddenly became dark, and the barking of dogs and wolves was horrifying. The sedan bearers heard the bride in the sedan and screamed miserably. After a while, the sky was bright again. The matchmaker hurriedly asked the bride in the sedan if she was okay, but there was no response. The matchmaker hurriedly opened the curtain of the sedan and found that the bride was gone. She couldn't find her anyway. They said that the dog-wolf demon swallowed the sun, kidnapped the bride, and spit out the sun again."

Xiangcao was horrified when she heard this. She held Zhou Sen's arm tightly, and her hand tightened. Zhou Sen thought, this must be a solar eclipse, but how come the bride was missing? The waiter continued, "At first, people didn't pay much attention to it. After that incident, one day the county magistrate's son was bitten by a dog. The county magistrate was eager to protect his son. He couldn't find whose dog bit his son. In a rage, he ordered the constables to kill all the dogs on the street. The next day, the county magistrate's son was like crazy, barking and scratching, and howling like a mad dog. He died in the evening. Everyone said that it was a dog and wolf demon who cast a spell to kill his son in order to avenge the county magistrate." Zhou Sen thought, isn't this rabies?

The waiter said, "This is not the end. Next, young girls and children who were walking at night were abducted every once in a while. Some people saw a huge blood-red wolf shadow with a bloody mouth appear when the girls were caught, and the girls disappeared all of a sudden, and the wolf shadow also disappeared. There were claw marks of wolf monsters at many crime scenes." "Up to now, more than ten girls and children have been missing. It's such a pity that they were all young girls. So now the girls dare not go out during the day, and every family closes the door in the evening, for fear that the monster will find them." Zhou Sen asked, "Does the government just let the monsters cause trouble and do nothing?" The waiter replied, "Who said no matter what? The county magistrate offered a reward of more than 500 taels of silver to catch the wolf demon. Several groups of Taoist priests and monks came to catch the demon." After a sneer, the waiter continued, "They are all swindlers. They do some random rituals, chant scriptures and knock wooden fish, and say that the demon has been caught. They take the money and leave, but not long after, girls are still caught." "Now the government really has no choice. This time, 1000 taels of silver have been raised and a reward for catching the demon, but the reward will only be paid if there is evidence that the demon has been caught and it is ensured that it will not happen again." Zhou Sen's eyes were straight when he heard 1000 taels of silver. The money of Zhou Tianshi, who rolled up last time, had already run out of money, and he was worried about having no money. This is not the best time to cheat for food and drink. What kind of dog and wolf demon is it? It is obviously a solar eclipse. Rabies makes ignorant people associate it with demons, and some bad guys take the opportunity to make trouble. They kidnap women in the name of wolf demons. As an upright and brave young man of the new era who takes saving the people as his own responsibility; as Zhang Tianshi who takes exorcising demons and defending the Way as his own responsibility; how can he give up this opportunity? He must take on the heavy responsibility of saving these girls. Zhou Sen asked: "Waiter, is the 1000 taels reward you mentioned true?" The waiter hurriedly replied: "It is absolutely true. There is a notice in front of the government office." Zhou Sen said seriously: "Money is external to the body. Subduing demons and defending the Way, and upholding justice are what we practitioners pursue. I will help you catch the wolf demon tomorrow."

After the meal, the waiter brought Xiangcao and Zhou Sen to the room. Just as Zhou Sen was about to close the door, Xiangcao rushed in angrily, grabbed Zhou Sen's ear and roared: "Exorcise demons and defend justice? Do you have this idea? You have been stupid in the mountains for more than ten years, and you can't even do things like fetching water and sweeping the floor. When will you be able to exorcise demons? Do you have such a great ability?" "It hurts~it hurts~it hurts" Zhou Sen cried out in pain, and said: "Senior sister, the sky suddenly turned dark. I guess it was a solar eclipse, not a dog demon swallowing the sun. The county magistrate's son went crazy because he had rabies. Being bitten by a mad dog is very likely to cause rabies, not a dog wolf demon casting a spell. Someone uses the dog wolf demon to confuse the crowd, and then does some trafficking of women. There is no monster at all." Xiangcao let go of Zhou Sen's ear with doubt and asked: "Is what you said true? It's not a demon? What is a solar eclipse? What is rabies? How do you know these?". Zhou Sen was also stumped by these questions. As a civilized young man in the 21st century, he didn't know how to explain these questions to someone who had not been baptized by the knowledge of the new era. He could only say vaguely: "Senior sister, don't you still believe me? When have I ever lied to you? Believe me, solar eclipses and rabies are all normal natural phenomena, not the work of monsters. Girl, the children are missing and kidnapped, it must be someone's doing. You are so good at swordsmanship now, if you meet those bad guys, you can definitely kill them with one sword." Xiangcao still said with a trembling heart: "Mumu, I still feel a little weak, why don't we just ignore it." Zhou Sen replied righteously: "Senior sister, we practitioners take it as our responsibility to eliminate demons and uphold justice, how can we just ignore it." Xiangcao rolled his eyes at Zhou Sen: "Just you? I think you are attracted to those girls and are plotting the 1000 taels of silver." Zhou Sen replied sternly: "Senior sister, I already have you, how can I be attracted to those girls? Besides, I haven't even seen those girls yet. A gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way. I helped them get rid of the monster, so isn't it normal for me to take the 1000 taels they offered as a reward? Leave all this to me. If you encounter criminals, just pick them off with your sword. You are so good at swordsmanship." Xiangcao replied coquettishly: "Go, who is your girl?"