Chapter 54: All in the Same Boat (Part 3) We all came to fulfill our mission. …
As soon as they fight, humans will find that the gods have been infected with the human plague and their magic power is not as strong as before. The emotional backlash after fear is terrible.
Zhang Deng had heard the noisy sounds. He looked in the direction of the sounds and saw a woman in white standing at the door. She saw them and seemed to want to say something, but was suddenly shot through the heart by an arrow and fell face first to the ground.
Soon, a man appeared. He stood on the steps and looked at them.
Zhang Deng thought he looked familiar, so Shi Hong asked, "Zhang Hu?"
The madness in Zhang Hu's eyes faded. He saw the faces of several people clearly and was also stunned: "How many of you?"
"What's going on?" both parties asked at the same time.
Zhang Hu said, "I came here with the main force and encountered some immortals blocking our way. They seemed to have some problems and their magic power was low. After a conflict, we accidentally killed a few of them. Then everyone got furious and killed their way up. I heard that the martial spirit's true body is at the top of the mountain. Did you see it?"
They were at a loss for words, so Zhang Deng said, "When we arrived, the spirit's body had already been devoured by the immortals."
"How could this happen?" Zhang Hu said, "It's a shame they still call themselves gods."
Zhang Hu looked at them again: "Didn't you eat it?"
If Zhang Deng didn't notice that there was something fishy about Zhang Hu's expression, he would be very slow-witted.
Dong Yu was still lying on the ground, and said with a hint of death in his eyes, "If you don't believe me, just cut open my stomach and come and see."
Zhang Hu walked in, looked at everything in the yard calmly, then laughed again and said, "Why would I do that?"
Zhang Hu asked, "Was it like this when you came? Was there no one here?"
"One," Shi Hong said, "was beaten to death by us."
Zhang Hu pretended to understand and said, "I know. I heard along the way that there is a most powerful immortal who has not yet appeared. Could it be that you have already dealt with him?"
Zhang Deng felt that every word he said was testing, and he was a little wary. He said, "Maybe, I don't think it's that serious."
Zhang Hu said: "Of course, I recognize your brothers' strength."
"If you don't want these bones, I'll take them," Zhang Hu said, walking up to the pile of bones. "I miss my wife day and night, and I can't sleep. It's really painful. I heard this thing is a tonic. I'll see if it can cure my insomnia."
Zhang Deng glanced at Lin Yuzhou, who turned to look at Zhang Hu, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Take it if you want it."
Zhang Hu was a little stunned, as if he didn't expect them to give it so readily.
In fact, Zhang Deng and the others also thought this matter was quite strange.
Lin Yuzhou said, "But from the look of your face, it doesn't look like your wife died young."
Zhang Hu turned to look at him: "What do you mean?"
"Excuse me," Lin Yuzhou said, "You said your wife died. Have you seen her body? I think your fate is to separate you from your wife in life, not death. But it is true that we will never see each other again."
Zhang Hu said, "The body... My wife was kidnapped by a white tiger and eaten alive. Where can I find her body?"
Lin Yuzhou thought for a moment, then stepped aside and said, "Take whatever you want."
Zhang Deng didn't open his mouth, but whispered in his throat: "You are too generous."
Lin Yuzhou tilted his head slightly and said, "It's useless for me to keep it."
At this moment, a black shadow suddenly passed by the two of them at an extremely fast speed. Lin Yuzhou pulled Zhang Deng over to let him avoid the unknown hidden weapon. The hidden weapon hit Zhang Hu's hand. Zhang Hu cried out in pain and turned around to see a man standing on the wall.
Zhang Deng thought this man looked familiar, as if he had seen him in the capital before.
Without a word, the man threw a few black, fingernail-sized objects at him. Dong Yu climbed up, afraid of accidentally injuring himself, and said, "Jiao Darts, highly poisonous."
Zhang Deng hid behind Lin Yuzhou. Zhang Hu gritted his teeth in hatred and said, "Don't you understand what first come first served means?"
The man jumped down from the wall, walked over calmly, and said, "You want to keep it all for yourself?"
Zhang Deng said, "Don't fight. Wouldn't it be fine if each of you took a little?"
"Everyone take a little?" the man said. "There are hundreds of people outside. Have they all been given a share?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Deng seemed to have heard the sound. When he turned around again, he suddenly found that the wall was covered with people - they were covered in blood, with cold eyes, looking down at them.
Zhang Deng suddenly got goosebumps. The anxiety and fear he had been feeling for so long finally got an answer at this moment.
Zhang Deng seemed to know all of these people, but he also seemed to know none of them.
Zhang Hu covered his hand, which slowly turned purple. He said, "Do you think I'm not prepared?"
A few people fell behind him, and Zhang Hu said coldly: "Kill him and take back the antidote."
"Who was killed?" a voice sounded from the door.
Another old face - Li Sen.
But when he saw him here, Zhang Deng felt that something was not good, not good, very not good.
Li Sen walked in, his expression filled with hidden pleasure, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. He walked in front of them, lifting his robe, and said, "Long time no see."
"Just a few days."
"One day in heaven is one year on earth," Li Sen said. "It seems like only a few days to you, but it's been a grueling pursuit for us. We've suffered a lot out there."
Zhang Deng asked, "Is this true?"
"It's been two years outside?" Zhang Deng was desperate. He could only think of one thing, "My cactus!"
Wei Yuanye: “…”
Wei Yuanye was caught off guard. Even if he had all the skills, he couldn't save a cactus that had died of thirst.
Wei Yuanye would not say such a stupid thing as, "I'll buy you another one of the same kind." As a result, he was speechless and looked at Zhang Deng with guilt on his face.
But Zhang Deng was only slightly sad for a moment, then said, "Let's buy succulents next time. They'll be cuter."
Everyone: “?”
Shi Hong patted his shoulder and said, "I'll give you a ride."
"Just give me the most expensive one," Zhang Deng said bluntly, "You don't need a whole truck. I can't afford it. I'm too busy with work."
Shi Hong made a gesture that it was all right, and then he heard Li Sen look at Zhang Hu with disgust and say, "I've tolerated you for a long time."
Li Sen said, "I've been gone for a few years, and you've monopolized the Qiang industry in Yingzhou. You've made a lot of money, right?"
Zhang Hu asked, "If you don't do this business, won't you allow others to do it?"
Zhang Hu looked around and saw no one approaching. He actually picked up a leg bone and started to chew it. Only scattered pieces of flesh and fascia were left on it. He bit his gums until they bled and laughed wildly, "Come and stop me if you have the guts."
Zhang Deng felt as if he had become numb. If it were in the past, he would have felt terrified and might even have vomited, but now when he saw this scene, he actually felt like "this is just the beginning."
Li Sen looked at him with a cold and gloomy look. He waved his hand and said, "I have prepared a gift for you."
The people behind him took a woman and threw her to the ground. The woman fell on the cold stone slab. Judging from her hair accessories, it turned out to be red beads.
Zhang Hu looked at her coldly, blood stains still hanging from his lips, and asked, "Where did you find this ugly woman?"
Li Sen pretended to be surprised: "You don't recognize me?"
"Isn't this your first wife?" Li Sen said, "Don't you recognize her?"
Li Sen said, "You've been spreading the word that your wife died in the White Tiger Tribulation. But how she died is something only you know."
Hongzhu collapsed to the ground, as if she had been abused and insulted. Her makeup was smudged, she looked haggard, and tears were on her face. She said, "My dear..."
Upon hearing this voice, Zhang Hu's expression froze and he looked a little stupid.
Zhang Hu murmured blankly, "Ajin."
Zhang Deng looked at Shi Hong, but noticed that Shi Hong, who was always upright, avoided his gaze.
Li Sen said, "You thought your spouse was dead, but he had actually been staying at your best friend's brothel. When you two were drinking and eating, did you ever consider that they had conspired to deceive you?"
Zhang Hu asked, "Why?"
He slumped on the ground, his eyes fixed on Hongniang. He asked, "Are you Ajin? Ajin is dead, and you are not. Are you Ajin?"
Zhang Deng looked at his condition and felt that Zhang Hu must really miss his lover. He was like a child and suddenly withdrew all his mental faculties.
Shi Hongdao said, "I have never done anything to let my brothers down in my life, so there is nothing I cannot say about this matter."
"It was your wife who said she didn't want to live with you anymore," Shi Hong said. "She begged me to take her in, but I haven't touched her in all these years."
The first time A Jin came to see Shi Hong was on a rainy night. Shi Hong happened to be in the store. When he heard someone was looking for him, he thought it was a casual customer. Unexpectedly, when he went downstairs, he saw A Jin standing at the door in thin clothes, without even an umbrella.
Shi Hong saw the scars on her neck and the places not covered by her sleeves, and guessed what had happened. He asked a female relative to take A Jin to clean up the situation and took her in for the night.
The next day, Shi Hong sternly drove her out: "You are my brother's wife. It is not convenient for me to intervene in this matter."
After Ah Jin left that time, it was a long time later, almost a year, before he came back for the second time. It was still raining, and Ah Jin was still covered in wounds. Shi Hong couldn't help but ask, "Why did I hit you?"
A Jin said: "He has another woman outside, and I found out."
"Then you should beat him." Shi Hong said.
A Jin said, "I can't beat him."
Shi Hong had no choice but to look at A Jin and still said, "You can leave tomorrow."
A Jin asked, "Don't you think your brother is being too extreme? Why are you still friends with him?"
"How he treats women is his business," Shi Hong said. "He has no problem with me as his brother."
Later, at a dinner party, Zhang Hu brought A Jin, and Shi Hong saw A Jin once. A Jin was still the same, neither fat nor thin, fair and beautiful, but she dressed very conservatively, covering her neck high. When others teased their relationship, A Jin hid behind Zhang Hu with a tender smile, but her eyes shone on Shi Hong.
Shi Hong raised the wine bowl high to block the view.
There were many people at the party, so after the two of them left, Shi Hong deliberately inquired about their relationship. He heard from them that although A Jin looked innocent, she was actually very coquettish. She had learned the art of seduction and was very experienced in matters between husband and wife. It was because of her art of sex that Zhang Hu was seduced and married.
However, he did hear that Zhang Hu had many women kept outside. After hearing this, A Jin made a fuss several times, which made Zhang Hu angry and beat him severely. After being bedridden for several months, he no longer cared about him.
Shi Hong thought it was someone else's business. He went to relieve himself when someone grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. Ah Jin stood in the dark corridor and said to him, "I want to divorce him, but he won't let me. Can you help me? Only someone like you will listen to him."
Shi Hongdao said, "It is better to demolish a temple than to destroy a family."
"Please," Jin said, "help me."
Shi Hong didn't know what was wrong, and he felt uncomfortable. He said, "Men are good at spending money, so why bother with it? Just pretend you don't know. You're spending his money, not his loyalty, so why make it difficult for yourself?"
Ah Jin gave a bitter smile and said without explanation, "I'm pregnant."
Shi Hong: "..."
Ah Jin touched her belly and said, "He doesn't know yet, and I don't want him to know."
Shi Hong thought about it again and again, and finally said: "This is a matter between you two."
Ajin's eyes gradually dimmed, and his hands loosened Shi Hong's sleeves. Shi Hong felt that he was about to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
After Ajin left, he was glad that he didn't say anything.
Later, it was heard that Ajin had run away with a man who was a servant in Zhang Hu's mansion. Zhang Hu was not afraid of embarrassment and made a big fuss to look for her, claiming that his wife had disappeared on the way back to her hometown. After searching for almost a year, he suddenly said that she was dead.
Zhang Hu was so heartbroken that he drank for more than half a year. He would burst into tears when he drank too much. Finally, he was so drunk that Shi Hong said he had something to do and could not refuse when he heard that he was at the party.
Another summer came, and Shi Hong was finally about to forget the unfortunate thing he had experienced. One rainy night, he was drunk and went home to sleep, and saw a woman standing at the door of his shop.
Shi Hong looked at her, his head groggy, but he thought she was beautiful. Shi Hong had drunk too much and didn't have any desire to do anything else. He waved his hand to let the woman go, but the woman grabbed his arm and looked at him.
The woman said, "I'll give you another chance, help me."
Sometimes Shi Hong really felt that this woman, A Jin, was ridiculous. It was obvious that she was the one who needed help, but it seemed like she always gave Shi Hong the opportunity to help her.
Shi Hong said, "Who are you?"
"I seem to be dead," the woman's face looked pale in the dark night, except for her lips, which were blood red. "I was found by Zhang Hu, and I was so scared that I jumped into the well."
Shi Hong asked, "Where is your son?"
The woman's expression darkened. She said, "Not long after he was born... he fell ill. The man refused to treat my Bao'er, saying that Zhang Hu would find out. He died not long after."
Shi Hongdao said, "No wonder you want to commit suicide. If Zhang Hu knew that you killed his son, he would never let you go."
A Jin asked, "Can you help me this time?"
"I have nowhere to go," A Jin said, "and Zhang Hu doesn't recognize me now."
Shi Hong felt something was wrong, but he agreed this time.
Thinking about it carefully, Shi Hong felt that he had rejected this woman too many times. He didn't like to reject women. Besides, A Jin was indeed very beautiful. Whether in life or in death, she was the kind of woman who made men soften their hearts.
Besides, she is already dead, and the feud between her and Zhang Hu should be over.
A Jin later stayed in his shop, and Shi Hong slowly realized something was wrong. After A Jin came, a very beautiful and huge flower bloomed in the shop. It had no name and was hung on the lamp on the ceiling. The men who came to the shop were also weird and spent money irrationally. Shi Hong did make a lot of money, but he didn't bother to care.
Later, I met Wei Yuanye, who said that the flower was a ventriloquist flower that grew on a corpse.
Shi Hong thought that he did have some individual visitors who came only once and never came again, but they were all people with no status or wealth, and if they suddenly disappeared, no one would look for them.
Shi Hong originally planned to give A Jin some money and let her leave after the matter was over, and he didn't want to pursue anything else. However, he didn't expect that it would not go as he wished, and everyone knew about it in the end.
"This is strange," Shi Hong looked at Li Sen, "How did you know?"
Lin Sen pretended to be profound: "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself."
"Come on," Shi Hong said, "you've been studying the alchemy technique for half your life, what kind of brain do you have? Who told you that?"
Hongzhu said, "It was him. He dug up my son's bones and forced me to show up. He and Zhang Hu are at odds, so he came to embarrass us mother and son."
Zhang Hu suddenly heard something: "Son?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Hu was a little crazy. "Do I have a son? Why are there only bones? Is my son dead?"
Hongzhu turned her head away and refused to answer the question.
Zhang Hu took two steps at a time, lying on the ground to hold Hongzhu's shoulders, forcing her to look at him: "Speak!"
Hongzhu suddenly broke down and said, "He wasn't going to live long anyway. You beat me up every day, and that's why my son was born weak and sickly. If I hadn't run away, he wouldn't have lived to see the day he was born!"
"You have to tell me!" Zhang Hu shouted, "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"
Hongzhu looked at him hatefully: "Why should I tell you? I wish you would have no children or grandchildren in this life."
Zhang Hu slapped her in the face, making a crisp sound.
Zhang Deng was furious and was about to go up with his arms around her, but Zhang Hu hugged Hong Zhu again and said, "It's okay, Ajin, we will live a good life in the future and have children. It doesn't matter if we don't have any. We will be fine in the future."
Hongzhu smiled bitterly behind his back, and then she said, "Okay."
Zhang Deng said, "No!"
"Don't believe him," Zhang Deng said. "There are only zero and countless instances of domestic violence. Don't forgive him."
Hongzhu said, "I have you in my heart."
Zhang Deng: “…”
Hongzhu said, "We've been together for six years. How can you say we have no feelings for each other? That year, there was a snowstorm in Yingzhou. You came to see me every day. I thought you wouldn't come that day, but you walked through the snow all afternoon. After seeing me, you walked all night to go home. I asked you to stay, but you said it would be bad for my reputation. How could I not have you in my heart?"
"I often wonder what kind of woman can be happy." A tear slowly rolled down the corner of Hongzhu's eye. "I could have spent the rest of my life relying on those memories. I could have turned a blind eye to it."
Hongzhu: "But my son is gone."
"A woman whose son has died can never be the same as other women," Hongzhu said, "and I don't deserve happiness anymore."
"I could have closed my eyes peacefully, I was already dead," Hongzhu said, "but it was because I wanted to see you that I came back to this world because of this obsession."
Zhang Hu said, "Ajin...I am sorry for you."
Hongzhu's eyes were empty, but Zhang Deng felt that it was not that Hongzhu no longer hated, but that she was overloaded with emotions. Zhang Deng had also experienced such a thing. When his emotions had reached the limit, he would become slow and dull.
Zhang Deng seemed to have sensed something and looked at Hong Zhu. Hong Zhu said, "Women are soft-hearted. If you say you are wrong, I am naturally willing to believe you. I have no choice but to believe you."
Zhang Hu said, "That's right, we will be fine in the future."
"I really know I was wrong, and I'm willing to forgive you," Zhang Hu held her hand and supported his face. "I've missed you so much over the years. How could you have the heart to treat me like this?"
Hongzhu cried, but it was not necessarily because she felt sorry for Zhang Hu, but perhaps because she felt sorry for herself. Zhang Deng guessed that Hongzhu loved Zhang Hu. She must have loved him very much, and she must have loved him even more before she died. She must have loved him when she left Yingzhou and committed suicide by jumping into the well. Amidst the intertwined love and hate, she chose to end her life.
This is women's love, the kind of love that Zhang Deng has portrayed in countless film and television works, and even in her own novels. Even when she knows it is wrong, she still clings to it because the man has been good to her.
This faint firelight is enough to support the woman through the long night.
Hatred and helplessness are both caused by loving too much, loving to the point of losing oneself, loving to the point of self-deprecation, feeling that one is too cheap, and therefore loving even more.
Love is the most toxic thing for women, because once you get involved, it is like a drug addiction, and it is difficult to quit. Therefore, there are always women who enter the same relationship again and again, drinking poison to quench their thirst in harmful relationships.
Zhang Deng felt as if he had been taught a lesson. Just when he felt uncomfortable, he heard the sound of flesh being pierced. He turned around and saw Hongzhu's face covered with blood.
Zhang Deng's heart sank, but she saw Zhang Hu slowly falling into her arms.
Hongzhu's hand pierced through Zhang Hu's abdomen, and her red nails hung down, dripping blood.
The world seemed to be quiet for a moment. Hongzhu lowered her eyebrows and concealed all expression. However, a tear still flowed down stubbornly, falling on Zhang Hu's neck and sinking into his collar.
No one knows what Hongzhu is thinking.
Maybe in Hongzhu's dream, she is still in love with Zhang Hu. Was it the dream that created Hongzhu, or was it Hongzhu who gave birth to the dream?
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