quagmire

Hearing this, Wu Ren didn't believe it at first and started questioning the other party directly.

"Did they really leave on their own? Or did you force them to leave?"

"Little brother, you need to provide evidence when you speak. They think that the remaining young people are the hope of Sulou County. It would be a sin if they stayed and infected everyone else." Slowly, his tone was filled with disdain.

Mingyu didn't bother to investigate whether it was true or not: "Then where are they now? Do you know?"

The man had shifty eyes, which were rolling around, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"I don't really know where they went, but I know they went east."

Hearing this, Yu Tongan crossed his arms, and Mingyu's eyebrows also jumped.

The two brothers last night obviously came back from the south. I don’t know what nonsense this guy is making up to deceive them.

"What's to the east? Why are they going that way?"

"How should I know? This is their decision." The man gradually straightened his chest. He felt that the people in front of him looked difficult to fool, but in fact, that was the case.

Mingyu gestured towards Wu Pi, who understood and handed Mingyu the board.

"Hey, hey, hey. I really don't know." The man wanted to shrink back, but he was tied tightly with ropes, so he could only move back awkwardly. "No, I know. There's a temple to the east. People outside say that people who are sick have offended the gods, so they might want to go and pay their respects."

"Anything else?"

"I really don't know what else."

"Alright." Mingyu hit the man hard a few times.

"Why, even if I tell you, I'll get beaten."

Mingyu practices martial arts, and the strength in his hands is enough to beat an ordinary person to death.

Mingyu glanced at Yu Tongan, indicating that he had nothing else to ask and continued to see if he had anything else to say.

"I don't have anything else to ask." He was full of lies and acted smart, which made Yu Tongan lose interest in communicating.

Wu Ren immediately stuffed the cloth back into the man's mouth. The man whimpered in dissatisfaction and stared at the two people walking away with a sense of pride in his heart.

No matter how they asked, the people in the city would say the same thing. When they decided to drive out that group of rubbish, they had already colluded with each other in their confessions. Even if there were officers and soldiers patrolling later, it would be difficult to blame them.

…

Mingyu followed Yu Tongan away from them, feeling unsure: "What should we do with them?"

Of course, they were referring to the six gangsters. Not only were they in the way, but they were also unpleasant to look at.

"Your suggestion is very good." Yu Tongan said lightly.

"What?" What was her proposal?

Looking at Yu Tongan's face with a faint smile, Mingyu reacted.

"Smash it at the door?" Mingyu frowned. Although she said so, did she really want to do it?

Yu Tongan nodded slightly in affirmation, looking quite docile. He added, "This will at least give us two days of peace."

"Forget it, we still have to go in and out these few days." With the corpse lying at the door like this, and the mild and humid climate here, the corpse will rot faster. Is it to deter them or disgust myself?

"Fight in the opposite corner? I thought you were in favor of this plan when you brought it up."

She just used it to scare people. It was used to punish servants in the palace. She had only heard of it but had never seen it done specifically.

Seeing Mingyu's hesitation, Yu Tongan suggested a gentler approach: "Then after dark, tie them up and throw them out the door, leaving a light on for them. When others see us, they'll have to wonder if we're easy to bully."

This method works.

Neither of them bothered to mention the obvious lies told by the criminals.

They expected men not to tell the truth. Collective crimes involve serious matters, and it is difficult for anyone to be willing to admit their mistakes.

Questioning the man was more like a routine, trying to trick him to see what he could get out so that he could question the two brothers.

"Miss, I brought the medicine you asked me to find." Xueliu covered her mouth and yawned, then handed the paper bag containing the medicine to Mingyu.

"Thank you." Mingyu took it. "It's still early, you can go back and get some sleep."

"No, no." Xue Liu glanced at Yu Tong'an cautiously and warned Mingyu, "Although you are good at fighting, you still have to be careful when you go out. I saw that you didn't eat much this morning, so I packed some food for you to take with you."

"good."

Taking the things Xueliu had prepared, the two of them went out again and came to the brothers' home.

Mingyu adjusted his expression and knocked on the door.

There were footsteps inside the door, but no one answered or opened it.

Mingyu looked around and saw no one nearby, so he spoke directly, "Hello? We met at the market last night, and I wanted to visit you."

As soon as the words were spoken, there was silence inside. After a while, the door opened a little and the person inside looked at them through the crack.

"Can we come in and sit and talk?"

"You are not welcome here. If you have something to say, just say it."

"Of course we can leave." Yu Tongan glanced at the empty street meaningfully, "Then we'll have to find someone to ask you what you're doing at the market."

The situation behind the door froze for a moment, not knowing what to do.

Mingyu jumped out at the right moment to act as the good guy: "We also brought medicine, thinking you might need it."

"You won't let us in? If someone sees us bringing medicine and food, you won't be able to explain yourself."

Yu Tongan pushed the door threateningly, and the person behind the door let them in without resistance.

The yard was a bit messy, but you could tell the owner had managed it carefully before; there wasn't much firewood, and it seemed like it hadn't been replenished recently.

There was a shorter boy in the yard who was watching them warily and trotted over to his brother at the door.

My brother closed the door.

"What's your name?" Mingyu put the things in his hand on the table, trying to show his friendliness.

"...Ding Yuan." The elder brother took two steps closer with his younger brother, but they still kept a distance of half a yard. "What do you want to say?"

"We just want to ask some questions."

"What do you want to ask?"

"For example, what exactly happened in the city? What was hidden in the east and south of the city? How did you deal with the patients and corpses? Where did the city lord go?"

Ding Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Why should I tell you?"

"Of course you don't have to tell me, but this medicine." Mingyu touched the paper bag, "You don't even want it anymore."

"Oh, do you think you can keep this medicine?"

Yu Tongan didn't give them a good look: "Are you talking about Cheng Neng joining us in robbing our things, like you treat your parents?"

"What do you know!" The younger brother glared at Yu Tongan, but Ding Yuan stopped him and asked him to get behind him.

"Do you think we will cooperate with you if you say that? How many of you are there? How many people are there in the city?" Ding Yuan looked indifferent and was not moved by Yu Tongan's words.

"You're right." Yu Tongan smiled, "But we can destroy all the medicine first. Just burn it. It's very simple."

Ding Yuan widened his eyes.

"You have to understand that we are not asking you to give us a chance, but to give you a chance. We can naturally investigate it ourselves, it's just a matter of time, but your father will need these medicines." Yu Tongan said as he found a clean chair and sat down, leaning back leisurely.

Mingyu spoke to ease the atmosphere, "We know you must have been planning something by secretly visiting your parents in the middle of the night, and we don't want to waste any more time investigating. Every day means more deaths, right?"

"Including your father." Yu Tongan added slowly.

"Including your father." Mingyu repeated.

Ding Yuan stood in silence for a long time, watching his brother looking at him timidly. Since the incident happened, everything seemed like a nightmare, and he could no longer bear it. Finally, he made up his mind.

"…Can I ask who you are? Why are you here?"

"I'm just a businessman, come here to see what's going on."

Listening to Yu Tongan's words, Mingyu felt that he was right. They wanted to see if it was voodoo or plague.

"Is that all?" Ding Yuan closed his eyes. Is there still no way for them to be rescued?

Ding Yuan opened his eyes. Even if he was barely alive, he wanted to do his best to save his family.

"I said, the medicine must be given to me, including food."

"OK."

…

Things started quietly, and by the time Ding Yuan reacted, the "avalanche" had already arrived in front of him.

At first, the pharmacies in the city were bustling with business, but Ding Yuan didn't care. He was just preparing for the Spring Festival and was full of anticipation. Later, he took the money given by his father and wanted to go to a nearby city to buy some delicious food in advance for the Spring Festival, but was rejected because he came from Su Lou County.

Seeing Shou wishing to get away from him, Ding Yuan began to realize that something was wrong.

It was unknown when the city became in chaos, and some people even fell to the side of the road. The loud sound of "avalanche" rang in Ding Yuan's ears.

The winter in Sulou County is not very cold, but it is bitterly cold.

Discrimination, exclusion, everyone is in danger.

Finally, shortly before the Spring Festival, the repression broke out. The city lord was no longer able to control the situation in the city, and the city began to fall into disrepair.

Someone suggested letting the sick leave Sulou County before the epidemic dragged everyone into the abyss, and it surprisingly gained considerable support. The avalanche, mixed with the discussion, grew stronger and stronger, and food became increasingly scarce. Later, it became a suggestion that the elderly, weak, and sick should sacrifice themselves to give future generations a chance to survive.

In the end, they were forced to leave voluntarily along with the city lord.

"Father, there's no need for us to pay attention to them. I can still go to the mountains to look for prey. There's no need..." Ding Yuan was very anxious. He actually saw his father packing his luggage.

"Ding Yuan." His father solemnly called his name, causing Ding Yuan to fall silent. "There's not enough food, and it will eventually come to this."

"But……"

"If we stay, you will be isolated, and our family will be the first to be targeted."

He understood very well that some people, if they themselves were unfilial, would not tolerate others being filial. When things got out of control, morality became the most useless thing.

The morning light outside was just beginning to appear, but my memory was filled with darkness.

His father looked at him with reluctance on his face, took his hand and patted it gently twice.

"Din En will be left in your care."

…

Later, what the father said came true. The family that the old man did not leave was targeted by idle hooligans, and finally the old man was forced to leave.

The remaining people were also unable to save themselves. They were like a quagmire. Once they fell into it, they lost all their precious things but still could not escape the fate of falling down.