Mo Dongyang

At the beginning of June, the weather was already extremely hot, and many people in the convoy were simply shirtless, humming local tunes to pass the long journey time.Naturally, I dare not take off my coat, so I can only use dried banana leaves to make a simple round fan to drive away the heat.Fortunately, there are some big and three rough men in the team, they never care about my weird behavior.Gradually, in the past few days, I followed Zhang, the drug seller, to sort out more than a dozen carts of herbs. I could also identify some herbs and learn some prescriptions for curing diseases through my ears and eyes, and I learned a lot.Because I can read and write, Mr. Zhang will always ask me to do some accounting work. Sometimes I will borrow some books from him, or ask him to describe the stories about the north, the border, the capital, and the palace. detail.

Three months passed like this, and in mid-September, we were getting closer and closer to Jingzhou, but all we encountered along the way were bleak and ruined scenes, which were shocking.Along the mud-smoky plank road, more and more displaced people left their homes due to the war, and dragged their families to the south to seek refuge.Burned villages, dry rivers, deserted dry fields, graves covered with bones, and rotting corpses pecked by crows on the roadside made me feel inexplicable fear of the imperial city that I was afraid of before.

At the age of 13, I don’t know why I insisted on going to the capital city that is thousands of miles away. Is it because my biological father is there? It seems not. Maybe it’s because Bianjing is the capital city I have heard the most since I was a child.For its understanding, I only got it from my mother, Zhang Zhangshi.It's just that the closer I get to Bianjing, the more I feel the difference between it and the capital city in my heart.

Is this really the capital my mother has always dreamed of?I don't know, I can only move forward blindly according to the thoughts in my heart.

When I finally arrived in Jingzhou, I bid farewell to Mr. Zhang and decided to go to the northern imperial capital alone. I almost ran out of money, so I didn't dare to waste money and find merchants to lead the way, so I could only go on foot.Mr. Zhang kindly told me to be very careful along the way, refugees in exile would always take advantage of the fire and do anything to survive.I could only disguise myself as a beggar with disheveled hair and loessy face, just to avoid attracting the attention of passers-by.But just one day later, I encountered a real massacre and robbery on the way forward. It was bloody and cruel. It forcibly wiped out my little ignorance and innocence, and forced me to do nothing. Don't face this cruel world nakedly at this inappropriate age.

However, this killing completely changed the rest of my life.

After dusk, the sun was setting and the sky was getting darker. I didn’t dare to rush on the road anymore. I could only climb up a big tree in the sky, and wanted to hide in the branches to spend this difficult night, because I didn’t dare to be alone on land. Rest, night beasts and refugees may haunt the woods.Not long after, I saw a carriage rumbling into the woods not far away and stopped under my big tree.Then a few people got out of the carriage, and they were busy setting up a fire next to the carriage, as if they were busy preparing meals.The bright firelight allowed me to see those people clearly, the old man, the old woman, the girl, and the boy, four of them in total.I didn't dare to say anything, I just eavesdropped on their conversation from the tree.

It seems that the whole family went to the capital to seek refuge with relatives. The girl had already established a good relationship and was preparing to enter the palace as a court lady, while the girl's elder brother and their parents were discussing the specific matters after entering Beijing.The conversation under the tree didn't end until late at night. The old woman and the girl got into the car to rest, while the old man and the young man kept vigil by the fire.The forest has returned to tranquility, only the crackling and burning of pine branches and the low chirping of some unknown insects and beasts can be heard.I hugged the tree trunk, my consciousness gradually blurred.It was only in the middle of the night that I was woken up by rustling noises around me. I opened my dim eyes, and before I realized what was going on, I was startled by the rapid screams and almost fell under the tree.Under the tree, the fire was shaking, the sound of swords and swords, the sound of cursing, begging for mercy, fighting, crying, and screaming were intertwined and noisy.

I instantly realized the identity of the group below.

It's a refugee!

I thought it was just a simple robbery, but in fact it was a heinous killing. The fire under the tree was on and off, and I couldn't see clearly at all, and I didn't dare to look at it.My heart almost jumped out of my throat, and my whole body was soaked in cold sweat.Until all the screams ceased, only the cries and pleadings of the girls remained, but the robbers did not stop there. I heard the sound of cloth being torn, horrific laughter, and screams mixed together.In the end, the painful groaning gradually turned into a weak murmur until it stopped, and only endless strange crashing sounds and swearing could be heard.

What happened below, I know, this is the real scene, it is so cruel and bloody displayed in front of me, but for that poor family of four, I can do nothing, because even I can't Unable to help themselves.I, who was only 14 years old at the time, thoroughly understood the fragility of life and the ruthlessness of the world because of this disaster. I even suppressed the tears of fear that were about to overflow from my eyes, and clung tightly to the bark of the tree. I didn't dare to move, because I was afraid that those falling tears would make those devils notice that there was a woman hidden in the tree.

I don’t remember how long the long tragedy under the tree lasted. I only know that because I seem to have experienced a purgatory on earth, even the slightest movement under the tree can scare me to death. Boy, I can't bear this at all.After finally being happy and satisfied, those beasts scattered and disappeared into the jungle in an instant. I tremblingly hid in the gaps between the dense branches and leaves until the sky gradually turned white, and then I dared to climb down the tree cautiously. It was pitch black, I accidentally tripped and fell on a warm corpse in a panic, I could hardly control myself to scream, but when the voice was about to overflow my throat, I choked it in my mouth, I climbed up from that soft body tremblingly, took a deep breath desperately, and ran out of the forest as if flying.

I ran for a long time, until I couldn't run anymore, and then I was willing to stop. Panting heavily, I squatted on the field beside the road and forced myself to calm down. My hands were still shaking, and my lips were shaking. Pale, ashen-faced, and drenched in sweat, I am now sitting slumped by the roadside like a puddle of mud, in a state of embarrassment.But as I gradually calmed down, I suddenly realized that I had to go back to that forest again, because I needed the official status of the dead girl.

The capital is full of fish and dragons, I am not familiar with the place, and I have no one to turn to, and I am penniless, but I don't want the tragedy in the forest to happen to me. After what happened last night, I believe that if I am defenseless If he still insisted on wandering in this vast imperial city, he might not even know how he died.I can only find a place to protect me, and that is the imperial palace, but to enter the imperial palace as a court lady, you must have a certificate issued by the local government. Naturally, I was born in a farming family and I would not have one, but I know that the dead girl would have one. .So I must go back, before the sun rises.

The forest exuded a strong, disgusting smell of blood, and the ground was in a mess. Four twisted corpses and mottled bloodstains could be clearly seen on the yellow ground.Suppressing my fear and nausea, I lowered my head and searched for what I wanted on the ground. The robbers took all the valuables away, leaving only books, scraps of paper, debris, clothes and unburned items all over the floor. Firewood scattered all over the place.I finally found the official title I needed under the root of the tree near the girl. I picked up the plaster-covered booklet and was about to leave when I suddenly felt someone was watching me. I hesitated for a moment and turned my head to realize that it was the girl. s eyes!

I have been carefully covering up since the beginning of entering the forest, just to avoid seeing the whole picture of the deceased as much as possible, but because of my rash action just now, I inadvertently glanced at the horrific death of the girl, which made me unforgettable forever .

She was barely naked, only a few rags barely hanging on her body, her body was covered in bruises and blood, her legs were wide open, and the ground on her lower body was stained red, the black red spread all the way to her ankles , She still maintained the expression of fear before death, with slightly parted lips, red and swollen cheeks, cracked eye sockets, and dilated pupils.I backed up a few steps in horror, fell to the ground, and fled this disgusting forest.

There were more and more pedestrians on the avenue. I squeezed the booklet in my hand tightly, my palms were covered with sweat, and those cracked eyes always flashed in my mind, and I couldn't get rid of it.It took me three days to get over thinking about those disgusting corpses in the woods and, those eyes.During the three days of rushing, I was in a state of embarrassment, and the grass and trees were like soldiers.Whenever a refugee came forward to ask for directions, I felt like I had seen a ghost and fled in a hurry.In order to save my life, I deliberately dressed myself up as a dirty beggar, and walked day and night, just hoping for a safe journey before arriving in the capital.

Finally, at noon on the fifth day, I arrived near the imperial city.