Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 47
Not long after, behind the heavy cloud curtain to the east, a spot of light suddenly appeared.The spot is extremely small, but the light is extremely bright, when Zhan Zhao looked directly at it, he felt pain and soreness in his eyes, and everything around him was suddenly blurred.

Duanmucui said urgently: "Zhan Zhao, close your eyes!"

Zhan Zhao closed his eyes as he said, but even so, his eyes were still swollen and throbbing, he was choked by the cold wind, and his feet were swollen, and tears flowed out.While booing again and again, Duanmucui pulled him back and said softly, "Zhan Zhao, lower your head."

Zhan Zhao responded vaguely, supported Duanmucui's body and lowered his head, suddenly felt his eyes turn cold, but it was Duanmcuui who stretched out his hand to cover his eyes.

In this way, the scorching sensation in the eyes immediately disappears, and the refreshing coolness seems to have a soothing and peaceful power.Zhan Zhao collected himself and said, "It's much better."

Duanmucui apologized: "It's my fault, I forgot that your eyes can't bear the first dawn... You should close your eyes and rest, and then open them later."

Zhan Zhao nodded subconsciously, his chin was just touching the fine black hair on Duanmucui's forehead, his heart trembled, knowing that she was so close, he didn't even dare to nod his head - but for some reason, he was asked to raise his head at this moment , but he was unwilling in his heart, preferring to maintain the current awkward and uncomfortable posture.

After an unknown amount of time, Duanmucui took his hand away and said in a low voice, "Look, Zhan Zhao."

Although Zhan Zhao heard her voice was low, there was no lack of joy in it. When he opened his eyes, he saw that her left hand was slightly raised, and the sleeve of her clothes slipped off a little, revealing a white wrist like jade. A ball of soft jade-colored light the size of a hydrangea ball, when you look carefully, you realize that the ball of jade-colored light is just a diffuse glow, and the one that really emits light is the size of a chicken, surrounded by countless needle-like light spots , Sometimes it is as bright as a spar, and sometimes it is shining like flowing water.Zhan Zhao stared blankly, and even breathed a lot more quietly, for fear of disturbing the sleepy-eyed Dawn Spirits in front of him.

Duanmu Cui's eyes were full of pity, and she said softly: "Look, they are also very sleepy. When they open their eyes, the light becomes brighter, and when they close their eyes, the light becomes darker. Chi Wushang They could sleep for a while longer on the Sun God Chariot driven by Xi He, but they couldn't. They would push and set off in a daze to show a way for the Sun God Chariot behind. Without them, Xi He wouldn't know Where did He Hui drive the sun god car, maybe it crashed into the sea. Then Han Yu would not be able to write any poems about "Golden Crow Flying from the Sea of ​​the Sea, Zhu Hui Scattered and Qingxia Opened."

When Zhan Zhao heard her say "open your eyes", he felt incredible: those spots of light were only the size of a pinhead of a wheatgrass, and if the eyes flickered, they would turn into white light, so how can we study the nose and eyes?Thinking of this, a feeling of novelty, pity and warmth slowly emerged in my heart, and I suddenly felt that the beauty of things in this world is really hard to describe.

After being so greedy for a while, I suddenly remembered something: "You took away the dawn, what will happen to the world?"

"Not much." Duanmucui grinned, "The sunrise will be delayed by an hour—one hour is missing in this day."

"Won't anyone notice?"

"No." Duanmucui smiled slyly, "Zhan Zhao, don't you realize that there is any difference between now and just now?"

"Different?" Zhan Zhao mused, his eyes flicked around, his brows furrowed slightly, "Compared to just now, there is no wind."

"anything else?"

"Also, it seems... there is no sound."

"anything else?"

Zhan Zhao obviously didn't expect there would be so many "mores", and he thought about it for a while, but he couldn't figure it out. Just as he was about to smile wryly and spread his hands, he caught a glimpse of the bonfire outside Xuanping City from the corner of his eye, and his back suddenly froze.

Whether it is day or night, the fire should be jumping and dancing, instead of being frozen into a silent and terrifying brightness in the bottom of the eyes like it is now.

"I think you guessed it." Duanmucui followed the direction Zhan Zhao was looking at, "It's unbelievable, the moment I took away the dawn, everything in the world froze, even the flame that should have been dancing It’s all limited to the mood of the last moment, let alone people or plants. “Clear water turns into jade, and rain makes hanging beads” refers to the present.”

Clear water into jade, rain as hanging beads?
That's right, since "everything in the world is stagnant", what's so strange about the non-stop flowing water turning into jasper, and the rain falling from the sky turning into hanging beads?If you think about it again, flying flowers can't fly, and fallen leaves can't fall either.

"Will anyone notice?"

"No." Duanmucui shook his head, "Everyone has lost this moment. It's Yin time to lower their eyebrows, and it's already time to raise their heads. They will only save today's time from passing so quickly, but they won't guess that it's the time to be caught by someone." Take it."

"At this hour, Ming Dao will appear?"

"Yes, I hope within this hour, I will finish everything."

"What happens if there is no end?"

Duanmucui's body trembled slightly, and after a pause, she said softly: "If it can't be settled, and I don't come back in time, probably... I will disappear with Ming Dao."

Zhan Zhao's heart tightened, and he subconsciously said, "In that case, I'll go with you."

"You can't!" Duanmucui's complexion sank, and he said with rare sternness, "Zhan Zhao, you are not allowed to enter the underworld. Originally, I shouldn't let you send me off. You stay far away, and don't get close to the underworld. Half a step. After an hour, if I come back, I will go back with you. If I don’t come back, you will go back by yourself.”

Zhan Zhao lowered his eyes and smiled, and said lightly: "What to do, I can do it in my mind."

Seeing that he should be straightforward, Duanmucui couldn't help feeling suspicious, and added: "This is my business, you must not interfere."

Zhan Zhao raised his head, met Duanmucui's eyes with a smile, and said calmly, "Okay."

I don't know why, the calmer he is, the more terrified Duanmucui becomes. He lowered his brows and thought about it, he gritted his silver teeth, and said every word: "I don't care about what to do."

Before the words fell, he suddenly withdrew, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.Before Zhan Zhao could react, he heard the sound of Zhou clanging metal and stone sinking into the ground, and when he stretched out his hand to push it, it really seemed to be pushing on a transparent brick wall, and he tried again in another direction, and it was the same.

Duanmucui actually painted the ground as a prison, trapping him within the barrier.

Zhan Zhao asked anxiously, "Duanmu, what are you doing?"

Duanmucui took a step forward, stretched out her hand to caress the barrier, and said with a sweet smile: "It will be much better this way, the underworld is dangerous, and no one knows what will happen then, if you walk around casually and bump into some ghosts and ghosts, wouldn't it be worrying?" ?”

Zhan Zhaoqiang calmed down and said, "You remove this barrier, and I will wait for you here, and I will not trespass into the underworld."

Duanmucui shook his head: "It's too late, Zhan Zhao, how many times have I told you before, telling you not to do what you can't do, when have you ever heard of me? As long as your previous behavior is reassuring , I will not treat you like this today."

Zhan Zhao smiled wryly, he was indeed "bad and full of stains", it's no wonder Duanmucui said that about him.Will not trespass into Hades?He didn't even believe it himself.

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was speechless, Duanmucui paused and said, "I didn't do this just to trap you, anyhow...you stay inside so that no monster can hurt you. After an hour, Ming Dao If it disappears, the barrier will naturally open."

Zhan Zhao heard that her tone was gentle, but the determination in her eyes was unquestionable. He knew that she couldn't resist her, but he remained silent.

Duanmucui didn't talk to him too much, she just recited the mantra, and after a while, the ball of jade color slowly rose from her palm, moving upwards slowly.Zhan Zhao couldn't help raising his head, watched the dawn rising, and heard Duanmucui's murmur in his ear: "When the dawn reaches the sky, Ming Dao will also appear."

At this point, Zhan Zhao had nothing to say, he was silent for a while, and then said: "You should be more careful."

Duanmu Cui was still a little nervous, worried that Zhan Zhao would be displeased because he cast spells on him, but now hearing his tone, there was no blame in it, but he was more concerned, he relaxed, turned to Zhan Zhao and said, "Don't worry , I naturally..."

In the middle of the conversation, he suddenly had an ominous premonition.This ominous feeling is like a very thin electric light, piercing through the brain instantly, and it is fleeting, but the tail ends are left, sharp and unparalleled, drilling deeper, and then, it seems to test her premonition, originally The surroundings with fair visibility were instantly enveloped in pitch blackness.

This feeling...

It's like walking in a closed but endless mountain corridor, with a shaking and dim yellow lantern hanging on the top, and the sound of footsteps resounding in the corridor. I don't know how far away, there are water stains coming from the brown rock wall. It seeps down slowly until it condenses into tiny drops of water in the low recesses. The drops of water continue to absorb the accumulated stains, gradually expand and round, until the recesses can no longer bite, and finally...

With a ticking sound, it landed on the heart that was shrinking due to panic, splashing smaller water droplets, one after another, falling down along the wall of the warm heart.When I turned back in a hurry, the lantern on the top gradually went out, and the fog and shadows approached instantly, and the image suddenly reflected in my eyes was not only darkness, but also... darkness.

Duanmu Cuima lived.

Her pupils gradually dilated, and the light in her eyes became dizzy, her throat seemed to be strangled by something, and she couldn't breathe.

I don't know how long it has passed, there is an unbearable noise in my ears, the sound of cars and horses rumbling, even the sound of golden drums clanging, pots and bowls bumping into each other, Duanmucui's skull is in severe pain, ready to explode, In the midst of pain, Zhan Zhao's voice was suddenly recognized from the jumble of thousands of voices, it seemed to come from infinite distance, calling her anxiously: "Duanmu, Duanmu."

This voice finally called her back from the brink of losing the master of the six gods and the collapse of the primordial spirit.

The clear consciousness gathered bit by bit, and then trembling all over, a low moan escaped from the bottom of his throat, cold sweat dripped down, Duanmucui's knees softened, and he sat on the ground softly while holding the barrier.

The sound was not loud, but Zhan Zhao stopped immediately——Cai suddenly lowered the dark curtain, stretched out his hand and couldn't see it in front of his eyes, the giant que was pulled out, and there was no sword light, Duanmucui suddenly stopped making a sound, which made him feel anxious, and stood so close Changing steps within the radius, hastily slapped the barrier, and kept calling her, feeling chills in his heart, when he suddenly heard her voice, he was ecstatic.

He listened intently for a while, and recognized Duanmucui's aura seemed to be behind the right head, then groped the screen wall and turned around, slowly bent down towards Duanmucui's position, unsure: "Duanmu, are you outside?" ?”

Duanmucui's breath was not even, and he knocked on the outer wall twice weakly, and responded with a low voice.

Hearing her answer, Zhan Zhao's heart finally fell back to the ground, his legs softened, and he also supported the screen and slowly slid down to sit down. Only then did he realize that his chest was stagnant and painful, his back felt cold, and his underwear was already sweating Get wet.

For a while, there was no words from outside and outside, and the two sat with their backs against the barrier, both exhausted.

The silence was broken by Zhan Zhao first.

"Duanmu, did you hear any... sound?"

Duanmucui didn't answer, but subconsciously sat up straight.The cold wind blows, and the smell of blood passes through the nose.

cold wind...

Cold wind? !
Just now I was still saying that everything in the world has stagnated, and since it has stagnated, there should be no wind.

Since there is wind...

Could it be that he has already reached the Hades?
Duanmu Cui's back was tense, and when people couldn't see, their hearing seemed to be extraordinarily attentive.There was a very small strange voice, which came from an unknown distance, whispering a dangerous aura.What's more, she could tell that the voice was coming from this side, it was neither too fast nor too slow, but it was like a heavy weight falling down and tightening a long string.

Duanmucui opened her eyes wide and looked around in vain.

Modern science has made it commonplace: we see things because light reflects into our eyes.

So Duanmucui couldn't see anything, only darkness came into her eyes.

"Duanmu?" Zhan Zhao seemed to have sensed something was wrong.

Duanmucui calmed down and said softly: "Wait for me, wait for me to light up the fire."

At the end of the sentence, there was the rustling sound of the cloth. Although Zhan Zhao couldn't see it, he guessed that she was chanting a mantra.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for about an hour, there was still no light.

Not to mention the loss of light, even the rustling of clothes that could only be heard before has died down.

Zhan Zhao raised his heart that had just been let go.

He felt that he was about to lose his patience—trapped in this surrounding area, groping around like a blind man, being so close to Duanmucui but as far away as the world away.What's even more exasperating is that Duanmucui didn't seem to understand his worry at all, and suddenly kept silent for most of the day, almost wanting to kill him.

Thinking of it this way, I felt a tight pain in my chest, and subconsciously stretched out my hand to caress it, and my elbow was touching the belt.

Suddenly, his heart moved: When Gongsun Ce gave him the finished belt, he once said that there would be "life-saving things" in the interlayer. Could there be fire pockets in it?

With this in mind, without any hesitation, he stretched out his hand to unbuckle the hidden belt, and poured the interlayer onto his hand.The first thing I got was two golden melon seeds, I discarded them casually, and then I got a small mulberry paper bag, which presumably contained some medicinal powder for detoxification and healing, I also threw it away until a flat, rough roll rolled Putting it into the palm, it felt like a heavy burden, and towards Mr. Gongsun who was far away in the Juke Building, it almost felt like reverence.

Speaking of it, it was also a coincidence. The Riyifang delivered the new shirt that day. I don’t know if the person who customized the clothes in Kaifeng Mansion said that they were made for the exhibition guards. It's an ordinary style, and I can't make a pattern, so I made a fuss on this belt - the material is naturally good, the stitches are extremely fine, and there are multiple layers of dark embroidery. An ordinary belt is thick, wide and carefully made.Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and the others joked that such a belt would cause prickly heat if worn in the hot summer, but it is just right for use in the middle of winter. It does not look bloated and can also block the wind. Can block half a knife.

While talking and joking, Gongsun Ce attracted Gongsun Ce, who looked at the belt over and over for a long time, and was finally inspired by the phrase "it can save lives if necessary", Le Diandian held the belt and went away.When I sent it back the next day, I changed the jade-encrusted part into a concealed buckle, and proudly said: "Guard Zhan, there is an extra layer inside, I put some important things, it can really save lives if necessary."

Back then it was not uncommon for the belt to have an interlayer, so Zhan Zhao took it with a smile, pressed it casually, and felt something in the shape of a golden melon seed, thinking that money is indeed indispensable, he just laughed it off.It was hot summer at that time, and the belt was quite inconvenient to use, so it was naturally put away.Speaking of it, I picked it out again when winter came last year, but I didn't expect it to come in handy today.

Huozhezi's light flickered, and as expected, Yu Zhangyu became dizzy and lit up.Zhan Zhao saw Duanmucui standing in front of the barrier with his head bowed, and felt relieved, but he didn't feel angry in his words: "You are obviously outside, why don't you talk?"

Duanmucui was motionless at first, like a clay sculpture or woodcarving.

When he finally raised his head, his face was pale, and even his lips were ashen.

After murmuring for a long time, he finally called out to him.

"Zhan Zhao."

If the voice had color, her voice must be transparent at this moment, as light as a gust of wind could blow it into fragments, but every word can shake his eardrums endlessly.This pulsating discomfort starts from the eardrum inward, burns through the throat, and reaches the ventricle.

"I can't use my magic power."

For a while, Zhan Zhao didn't know how to digest Duanmucui's words.

Or rather, he didn't believe it.

Duanmucui is usually very fond of joking, but this joke is really not funny at all.

Zhan Zhao's throat rolled with difficulty, and he suddenly felt his lips were extremely dry.

Duanmucui looked at him with wide eyes.

Zhan Zhao has always liked to look at Duanmucui's eyes, which are so vivid that they seem to be able to read anyone's mind.More importantly, there is a smile in her eyes.When he is wronged, when he is proud, when he is narrow-minded, when he is pretending to be angry, he can accurately capture the smile that flashes past her like a star from the bottom of her eyes.

This smile, like a warm light, envelops the softest corner of his heart obediently, and it seems to remind him all the time: Even though the officialdom is impermanent, the world is sinister, and people's hearts are deceitful, there is always something worth protecting in this world. Beautiful things.

But now, her eyes are full of tears, weak and helpless and frightened, Zhan Zhao almost feels distressed.

"Duanmu, don't panic. Think carefully, besides mana, is there any other way to open this barrier?"

He was the first to calm down.

(End of this chapter)