Southern Wilderness.
Donglin City.
The setting sun seeped the last few rays of red into the clouds.
Night gradually fell.
Hush!
Flocks of black crows were startled and circled over the city wall with hoarse cries.
A broken copper bell wrapped in whitish talisman paper hung on the eaves of the shop by the wall.
The copper bell moved without wind, but it made no sound.
Tumor-like mosses grew in the cracks of the city wall, and densely packed faded yellow talismans could be seen every few steps.
The crowd surged against the city wall.
Su An was tightly held by his sister Su Ping's wrist, and he moved with difficulty in the shove.
They were going to ask for talismans.
Suddenly.
A talisman paper next to Su An caught fire by itself, causing a scream.
The dark green flame licked the cinnabar spell "Master Huang is here" on the wall, and then disappeared.
Ashes fell on Su An's shoulders.
He could even smell the rotten sandalwood scent.
A moment later.
Su An squeezed through the crowd and turned into an alley full of yellow talismans.
In the corner of the alley, a Taoist corpse lay across the alley, his wooden sword broken into three pieces, and black blood condensed on the hem of his Taoist robe.
Several refugees wearing turbans were wrapping the corpse with straw leather.
The corner of the mat was dragged across the bluestone road, and there seemed to be a scratching sound of nails underneath, as fine as a spring silkworm chewing mulberry leaves.
The refugees seemed not to hear, and they talked to each other, but tightened the straw rope a little more, and dark red water stains gradually seeped out of the surface.
"Alas! Another one died! The Taoist priests who died these days can fill a table, but we didn't even see the shadow of the demon this time!"
"It is said that Master Huang who came yesterday was very powerful. If you get the talisman he wrote, the demon can't get in at all... This hour should be the last time to cast the talisman. You have to ask for his talisman!"
"Of course you have to ask! Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't survive tonight!"
Su An listened.
He glanced at the straw mat.
The protruding human figure seemed to be twitching, and a blurry face emerged, which was extremely hideous.
Su An turned his head away suddenly, breathing rapidly, and dared not look at it again.
Bang!
The sound of the clapper started.
"There is still half an hour! Everyone... Close the door at the hour of Xu!"
The hoarse tail of the night watchman was interrupted by the barking of dogs.
The street dogs were scratching the ground like crazy, their straight necks seemed to be strangled by invisible chains, and saliva was flying.
The cold wind gradually rose, swirling into the market alley.
The old locust tree at the market alley suddenly bent.
The twisted branches were stretched by the wind.
Wow!
The dead leaves all over the sky pressed down.
The old locust tree made a cracking sound, and the bark curled and peeled off, shriveled and black, just like a baby's skull that had been sucked out.
Among them, the purple-green sticky juice flowed down and soaked all over Su An's neck.
The sudden coldness scared Su An so much that he hurried forward, and his straw sandals crushed half of the incense stick.
The incense ash was mixed with yellow talisman fragments the size of a fingernail, and only the bloody half of the word "Zhen" written in cinnabar was left.
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To the market square.
The crowd here was as surging as boiling porridge.
"Xiao An, you stay here. Sister will go to get more talismans, you must not run around!"
Su Ping rolled up the patched coarse cloth sleeves.
Withered yellow hair stuck to the sweaty forehead, and a smile hung on the rough face, with dimples.
She was thin and squeezed through the crowd and sank into the dark mass.
Su An looked from afar.
On the high altar that everyone was paying attention to, the young-looking and white-haired Huang Xianshi sat upright and spoke loudly.
"The spiritual treasure talisman is announced to the nine heavens; Qianluo Dana, Donggang Taixuan; slay demons and bind evil, save thousands of people..."
said.
He threw down a lot of yellow talismans, attracting the people around him to rush up, almost flooding the high altar.
It's called asking, but it's actually grabbing!
Almost half of the people in Donglin City were present, and the talismans scattered by Huang Xianshi were far from enough!
The crowd shouted and even fought, as if they were protecting their lives.
Su An looked at all this from afar. The immaturity on his fifteen-year-old face was out of tune with everything in the city.
In his memory, Donglin City was not like this...
His parents died not long after he was born.
Su Ping was five years older than him.
The two had been dependent on each other since childhood.
For Su An, his parents only left two names, Ping and An.
However, in Donglin City, with a shabby thatched house and a few enthusiastic neighbors, he and Su Ping lived a relatively stable life.
People lived and worked in peace and contentment in the city, and few murders occurred.
But a year ago...
Everything changed!
People died almost every day.
The tragedy that followed one after another made people panic.
Those Taoists said that it was a demon who came to the world to bring disaster to the world!
But no one had ever seen it.
After all, those who had seen it... were all dead!
It's not that people in the city didn't think about escaping.
But outside the city, the demons were even more unscrupulous.
In troubled times, this towering gray-white city wall is a cage and a shelter!
â¦
"Got it! Xiao An, I got a lot!"
Su Ping struggled out of the crowd, panting heavily, her voice very low.
She held the yellow talisman in her arms, covering it tightly, for fear of being seen.
Her messy hair was full of stains, and even her cheekbones were blue and purple.
Only the yellow talisman was not stained with dust.
"Sister, are there really demons?"
Su An looked a little wooden.
Su Ping was stunned.
She gently touched Su An's head.
"Don't be afraid, whether there are demons or not, we have to live our own lives... Go back, I asked for a few more of these yellow talismans, and I have to send them to Aunt Wu and others."
Su Ping rolled up her sleeves, and her thin arms were full of bright red scratches.
"Okay!"
Su An nodded.
The young face showed a firmness beyond that of her peers.
"Aunt Wu has promised me that she will teach me how to make pastries. I can also help my sister share the burden. In the future, I will also open a pastry shop to take care of my sister and protect her!"
Su An took Su Ping's hand and was about to leave.
Suddenly.
"Something happened in the north of the city! Now... the demon hunting team is investigating the case!"
"Today's spell casting is over, everyone go home immediately!"
A group of men in black rushed over, wearing swords on their waists, each with a solemn expression.
The cold voice echoed and resounded throughout Donglin City.
Everyone stopped pushing and shoving, turned their heads and looked, and panic appeared on their faces.
"The demon hunting team is here!"
"It's over, something happened again! I don't know which family is so unlucky!"
"It's been a year, and this kind of life of fear, when will it end!"
Everyone squeezed towards the high altar of Master Huang Xianshi, holding on to the wooden block below, and refused to leave no matter what.
"We agreed to close the doors at 10:00 p.m., how can we do it earlier!"
"We squeezed in here with great difficulty, just for the protection of Master Huang's talisman! Without the talisman, we will die if we go back now!"
"For a year, your demon hunting team has been in Donglin City every day, but you haven't completely eradicated the demons! There are demons sneaking in every now and then. You don't eliminate demons when you should, but you are here to prevent us from asking for talismans to protect our safety. Why!"
"Yes! Why!"
"We want the yellow talisman to save our lives! Give us the yellow talisman!"
A sharp cry startled the crowd, and a commotion broke out in the crowd.
Some even started to climb up to the high altar, rushing up to "beg" for the yellow talisman to save their lives!
The arrival of the demon hunting team seemed to be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Countless people swarmed in.
Curses, persuasions, threats... all mixed in the madness at this moment.
The setting sun gathered its last rays of light and was gradually replaced by the night.
As more and more people came.
The high altar finally couldn't bear it and collapsed.
The suitcase full of yellow talismans scattered.
The yellow talismans fell like rain and were snatched up.
"Xiao An, go!"
Su Ping pulled Su An.
They didn't want to get involved in these troubles.
The two left quickly and returned in the same direction.
...
On the northern edge of the city.
A low and dilapidated thatched house is the home of Su An and his sister.
The door is almost covered with yellow talismans of various sizes, many of which have faded and are as dry as dead grass.
In the dark room.
Su Ping carefully took out a yellow talisman from her arms and pasted it on the door.
She clasped her fists and bowed to the yellow talisman again and again.
After doing all this, Su Ping breathed a sigh of relief.
She specially found a piece of coarse cloth and wrapped the remaining yellow talismans tightly.
"Xiao An, I'm going to deliver the yellow talisman to Aunt Wu and the others. The demon hunters said that there are demons in the north of the city, so you should stay in the house and don't go anywhere!"
Su Ping looked solemn.
"I'll go, sister! You got hurt while trying to grab the yellow talisman, so you should have a good rest. I can run fast, so I can definitely deliver it before the demon hunters come!"
Su An patted his chest.
He was afraid that Su Ping would not agree, so he simply grabbed the coarse cloth and rushed out the door.
"Then come back quickly after you deliver it, and don't stay outside!"
Su Ping warned worriedly.
"Got it!"
Su An responded.
He rushed straight to the street.
Su An was very familiar with this street.
He knocked on doors from house to house and delivered the yellow talisman to the neighbors.
Soon.
There was only one yellow talisman left in the coarse cloth bag.
This was for Aunt Wu.
â¦
âAunt Wu, Aunt Wu, are you home?â
At the door of the pastry shop.
The two paper lanterns were still lit.
But Su An called several times, but there was no response from inside.
Strange.
Aunt Wu would not go to bed so early on weekdays.
Su An waited for a while, but there was still no movement.
He was about to leave.
Squeakâ¦
The door opened.