Chapter 114: The Three Dead People of Impermanence, Is It You?
The girl with braids, wearing a dark blue waistcoat and a lilac-colored top with wide sleeves, tightly grasped Meng Zhao's wrist, her dark eyes unblinking, looking eerie and sinister.
Almost at that moment, the piercing warning sound on Weiwei's wristwatch wailed. The team members pointed their guns at her, ignoring the lingering skeletons. They raised their voices in horror, "Captain! She's the core of the formation!"
Meng Zhao stared at the girl in front of him, his pupils suddenly contracted, the blood color faded from his face, and for a moment he was as pale as paper.
As if he were in a vast, empty chaos, he walked alone under the dome. A familiar voice called his name softly in his ear, and the echo filled the world. He was confused and eager to find that person's face.
"Captain! Captain!"
The team members shouted anxiously and rescued him from the river. Meng Zhao suddenly came to his senses and found that his hand was still tightly held by the girl, with her nails digging into the flesh.
"you……"
Before he could speak, the girl kept that strange smile, raised her other arm straight, and suddenly pointed it in the direction of Bai Heng.
Behind Bai Heng stood a boy in a linen jacket, his long bangs covering his eyes, but he turned his head with perfect understanding and met Meng Zhao's gaze accurately.
In an instant, a sharp dull pain swept through his heart. Meng Zhao shook off the girl's hand and hurriedly took two steps back, trying to force his twitching facial features back to their original position.
The team members rushed over anxiously, only to find Meng Zhao covering half of his face. He raised his other hand tremblingly and pointed at the blind boy: "No, Zhen Xin...it's him."
——"He must be killed!"
…
Meng Caiyun quickly jumped over the corridors and moved around in this huge mansion.
In order to verify her guess, she jumped onto the eaves and stepped on the glazed tiles to identify the direction. However, the formation deliberately obstructed her. There was always thick fog twenty steps in front and behind, making it impossible to see the whole picture.
This mansion was built during the Republic of China period. It has seven or eight courtyards of various sizes. It has the outline of a quadrangle with blue bricks and gray tiles, but also has arched Western-style floor-to-ceiling windows.
She quickened her pace and came to a side courtyard. She climbed over the wall and saw a spacious courtyard paved with blue bricks and a solitary willow tree in the middle.
——It’s the willow tree in Liuxian Temple.
A hundred years ago, Zhao An established his base here and enclosed the Liuxian Temple in his own mansion. After his death, the mansion was razed to the ground by angry people, and the Liuxian Temple returned to the ownership of Hongfu Village.
Meng Caiyun's breath caught in his throat, and he recalled the banquet in his dream.
Mansion...Zhao Family Mansion...The location of this formation is Zhao An’s old house!
Her heart skipped a beat.
If this is the case, then the truth is obvious as to why this place is about to be destroyed.
Before I could think about it, flames shot up into the sky not far away and screams and shouts were heard suddenly.
Meng Caiyun's eyes flashed, and he turned and ran towards the noisy place, passing through a moon-shaped door with a wooden plaque hanging on it, engraved with the words "West Courtyard".
After entering the courtyard, her body suddenly stopped, and in a moment, even her steps became heavy.
The air was filled with the smell of blood that shouldn't be there, mixed with the smell of scorched earth, making people feel nauseous from time to time.
The walls and stone slabs were covered with crisscrossing knife marks. The deepest one almost split the entire gable in half. The rockery collapsed, the screen was torn, and broken arrows and broken limbs were everywhere.
The corpses scattered all over the ground turned this place into a living hell.
Numb and empty faces were pressed together, piled up like dead fish. The sound of dripping water echoed under the eaves. I couldn't tell if it was rain falling through the cracks in the tiles, or blood remaining on the blade.
Meng Caiyun's face turned pale. Even though she was knowledgeable, she still covered her mouth and tried her best to suppress the urge to vomit.
The thick fog that obscured the view was also dyed red.
A man walked out of the blood mist.
He was wearing a very familiar Taoist robe, with long hair tied behind his head. His facial features were not handsome, and could even be said to be ordinary and without any redeeming features. However, his eyebrows and eyes were sharp and cold. Even the way he slowly wiped the blood from the sword made people inexplicably frightened, as if he was the evil ghost Yama who came to take his life.
A man, still half dead, crawled at his feet. He stretched out his neck, his expression twisted and mocking, "What a Taoist Lingxuan, praised by the world... He colluded with the judge to slaughter innocent people..."
Meng Caiyun's eyes widened in shock.
Taoist Lingxuan...is this person my great-grandfather Meng Bujiu?!
She stared at the other person's face and couldn't help shuddering, thinking that he was completely different from the kind-looking portraits at home.
Meng Bujiu didn't bother to deny it. He just casually threw a head in front of the man and said in a faint voice: "It's your fault that you followed the wrong master."
The head rolled in front of the man, and the bulging eyeballs almost touched the tip of his nose.
The man let out a shrill scream: "Marshal!"
Meng Caiyun could barely make out the appearance of the head, which looked exactly like the arrogant warlord Zhao An in his previous dream.
"If you kill us, the others in the Zhao Mansion won't let you go. We're not just your staff, we're also your blood relatives..." The man laughed foolishly, "Kill them all, will you ever be able to kill them all? They're just ordinary people..."
Outside the wall, someone shouted, "Brother, the thief Zhao is dead. Let's go. If we stay any longer, we might hurt innocent people!"
After that, the sound of sword fighting was heard again.
Meng Bujiu swung the sword in his hand, and a few drops of blood splashed onto the collapsed wall next to him.
He saw the man's gloating expression at his junior sister's words, and he couldn't help but find it funny. He said sarcastically: "Cut the grass without leaving any roots. Do you think I will let others go?"
The man's smile froze, and he suddenly began to tremble, trying to crawl forward: "You——"
Meng Bujiu stepped on the man's shoulder, his expression calm and unwavering. "I am willing to bear the consequences of this sin alone."
"No, don't!" The man looked frantic, leaping up like a dog digging for food, his hands trying to grab the other man's ankles. "Please let my family go! They know nothing! Nothing! Those things... are only known to us and the Marshal. Don't worry, you've killed everyone who knew! Really killed them all!"
Meng Bujiu watched him struggle quietly, as if he was watching a fish that was deprived of oxygen after jumping onto the shore.
After a while, he squatted down, his eyes finally showing a hint of pity. He reached out and stroked the man's messy hair, his expression sincere, his tone gentle and whispering, as if he was speaking to him from the heart: "I didn't even spare Zhao An's family, so what's the right to do this to you?"
The man was completely stunned, his eye sockets twitched, his face was pale and desperate.
The next second, the head fell to the ground and there was no life.
Meng Bujiu didn't care. He drew his sword, lifted his clothes and continued to move forward. Wherever he went, blood flowed like a river.
Meng Caiyun stared at this silent massacre in a daze, feeling a little confused.
Why on earth would Great-Grandfather go to such lengths? So, not only did he kill Zhao An, he also wiped out the entire Zhao Mansion? ... No wonder Zhao Fu, who had escaped the disaster, wanted to kill Grandfather to avenge himself. Hundreds of lives were lost...
But is it really worth it to bear such a heavy sin of killing?
Not far away, someone screamed and cursed at the top of his lungs: "Boss! Damn bandit! What have you done to him?"
The woman holding the baby ran towards the west courtyard. The people walking with her quickly grabbed her and said, "Run! They're not ordinary robbers. You can't afford to offend them. If you don't run now, it will be too late!"
In the crowded and scurrying crowd, the girl in the dark blue waistcoat held her blind brother's hand and sobbed helplessly.
"Huh? The door can't be opened, it's sealed!"
"Outside, open the door! Let us out!"
"We are just servants of the mansion... We have never done anything bad!"
“…”
Cries of grief were heard everywhere, and people with their families were crying and looking at the back door that could not be opened in despair.
Meng Bujiu bent down and wiped the blood off the sword on the corpse's collar, then walked towards the noisy area calmly with an expressionless face.
Meng Caiyun panicked. Even though she knew that the situation in front of her might be a trap, she subconsciously stood in front of Fang Cai and her brother. The Imperial Spirit Scissors flew out and hovered in her palm. Several people watched Meng Bujiu walk towards them step by step with a sword in hand.
Am I crazy?
An extremely absurd thought arose in her mind.
What is this? It happened a long time ago. Can she change it by her own strength?
She suddenly thought of the gloomy voice she heard in Baxizhai.
Who are the dead? Who are the sinners? ...
She is the descendant of Meng Bujiu, and her bloodline is the original sin she carries. Is this the question the "Formation" asks her?
"'Sinner'," she began in disbelief, "is it me...?"
Meng Bujiu raised the sword in his hand expressionlessly.
The crowd hid in all directions, some fled in panic, and some knelt and kowtowed, praying for the blessing of the Willow Fairy who was on the other side of the wall.
"Fang Cai, you go first!" Meng Caiyun was oppressed by the decisive and murderous aura of the Taoist priest in front of her. Her heart was pounding and she tried in vain to protect her siblings behind her. However, she knew that this was just deceiving herself.
They will all die.
No one in the Zhao Mansion could survive.
"Sister, are we going to die?" Fang Cai raised her face sadly, no longer as cheerful and cheerful as before. She was like a dry weed in a drought, waiting for God's mercy. "My brother and I, are we going to die?"
Under the sad gaze of those eyes, Meng Caiyun was speechless.
Her throat tightened, and she managed to pull the corners of her mouth together and coaxed, "No."
Everything was silent, as if time had stopped.
The next second, the girl's sweet voice suddenly rang out: "But, sister will die."
Meng Caiyun was startled and lowered his head, only to see Fang Cai suddenly approaching with the Imperial Spirit Scissors in hand, stabbing into his abdomen with a "whoosh". In an instant, blood spurted out.
The girl and the little blind man had malicious smiles on their faces, like two paper dummies.
She was fooled!
Meng Caiyun frowned, and his rationality suddenly returned. He immediately raised his hand to call back the Yuling Scissors. The crescent-shaped blade drew out, and the two paper figures were cut in half in an instant.
The surrounding scenery was also cut apart. The two worlds seemed to be infiltrating each other, and finally overlapped to reveal their true appearance.
Meng Zhao, who rushed over in a hurry, and the team members holding weapons appeared in front of Meng Caiyun one by one.
The spaces overlap.
She covered her wound and had no time to think before she found herself right next to Bai Heng, who was trapped by several thin logs, with the little blind man in a linen jacket standing behind him.
Meng Caiyun gritted her teeth and her mind raced. She spun the Imperial Spirit Scissors between her fingers and suddenly grabbed them with her backhand. The next second, she pierced the blind boy's body.
"Bang!" The boy suddenly turned into a ball of resentment and dissipated. The wooden stake shattered, and Bai Heng jumped out from it and rushed towards Meng Caiyun: "Sister Meng! Are you okay?"
Meng Zhao and his team members ran over, and the moment the boy disappeared, the girl with braids who was holding him hostage also disappeared.
Meng Caiyun took a few deep breaths, refused Bai Heng's help, and patted her shoulder: "I'm fine, the Imperial Spirit Scissors only obey me. The injury just now should be an illusion."
Bai Heng frowned and repeatedly checked the other party's injuries: "The illusion in the formation can really hurt people."
Meng Caiyun lowered his head and pressed his lower abdomen: "It's okay, I reacted quickly, I guess it's just a bruise."
Meng Zhao stood by and watched intently, his forehead wet with sweat. He looked somewhat lost and distraught. He called out softly, "Sister."
"Have you found the center of the formation?" Meng Caiyun took his hand and shook it comfortingly, saying with a smile, "Don't be so serious, I'm really fine."
Meng Zhao curled his fingers into a fist and said, "The one you just pierced."
Meng Caiyun was surprised and asked, "Is he really the core of the formation?"
Meng Zhao raised his head suddenly and narrowed his eyes: "Sister, do you know that child?"
Meng Caiyun was silent for a long time, leaving aside the fact that Meng Bujiu had massacred the entire Zhao Mansion, and recounted the whole story.
"This was once Zhao An's residence. My great-grandfather took his life, implicated the servants as well," Meng Caiyun said with difficulty, his voice hoarse. "The siblings were indeed innocent. Perhaps their resentment lingered, forming a formation... This was most likely aimed at me, and I'm sorry to have implicated you."
"What are you talking about?" The team members tried to comfort him, "Even if we're not coming for you, we have to take responsibility for the formation that has appeared here."
Meng Zhao lowered his head and did not speak for a long time.
Bai Heng lowered his head and seemed to be debugging some equipment, frowning as if he was thinking about something.
Weiwei looked at her watch and exclaimed, "The resentment seems to have truly subsided. The surrounding values are returning to normal, but the signal hasn't fully recovered yet."
The fat man looked around and said, "Then let's go out and report to the headquarters. Only Xiao Wang and the others are left outside to handle it. I'm worried they can't handle it."
Bai Heng suddenly spoke up: "If the ghosts form a formation, the exit is usually near the burial site. Let's look for it first."
Meng Zhao sighed: "Let's go."
A group of people walked through the mansion.
"Strange," Weiwei looked back as she walked. "Why is the fog still here? Have we really cracked the core of the formation?"
Meng Caiyun frowned and said nothing, but his hand holding the Yuling scissors secretly tightened.
After many twists and turns, we arrived at the west courtyard from the front yard.
Meng Caiyun looked around, taking in the scene before him.
This place was just like what I had seen in another space before. It had experienced bloody battles and was probably set on fire when people left. The corpses scattered on the ground had been burned to charcoal and stuck together with the ruins, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other.
The burned-down beams of the house were slanted in the rubble, with black smoke curling up and a few sparks appearing occasionally.
Meng Zhao fanned away the black ash with his hand, his gaze pausing at the ruins ahead: "There is a door."
A big door appeared out of nowhere in front of me. The door was wide open and it was pitch black inside. I didn't know where it led to.
"Can you walk?"
"The door wouldn't appear for no reason. We should be able to leave."
"Try?"
Just as everyone was about to step into the door, the wrist of the person walking in front was grabbed and he was pulled back without any explanation.
"Advisor Bai?" The team member asked in confusion after seeing who was in front of them. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
Bai Heng held up his phone, his eyes scanning everyone's faces with a complicated expression. He said in a heavy tone, "Everyone, I don't think we can leave just yet. There's a question I think we need to clarify first."
Meng Caiyun quickly raised his eyes to look at her: "What's the problem?"
"Who are the dead? Who are the sinners?"
Facing the stunned looks of his teammates, Bai Heng calmly explained, "Remember that skeleton woman we met earlier? I think the question she asked is very important."
Meng Caiyun pondered for a moment, then spoke, "Xiaobai is right. I suspect the 'sinner' they're referring to is me."
She sighed, "In their eyes, I am indeed the 'sinner' who caused this massacre."
Bai Heng nodded. "Assuming the so-called criminals they're talking about are members of the Meng family, then why not Meng Zhao?"
Meng Caiyun was stunned for a moment: "Maybe it's because Ah Zhao's father, my uncle, was adopted by my grandfather? This is not a secret."
"Okay, so assuming the sinner refers to Sister Meng, then what are the dead?" Bai Heng frowned. "This formation gives me a very strange feeling. There are many things I can't figure out."
Meng Zhao reached out and pushed up his glasses. "The formation was originally born from resentment. It's just a collection of all sorts of obsessions and delusions of the dead souls. They're all bizarre and have no absolute logic. It's normal that you can't understand them."
He looked towards the open door with a somewhat melancholic expression. "It's very dangerous here. Let's get out first, and then we'll slowly find the truth behind this."
Bai Heng looked at him with a somewhat unfamiliar expression. She slowly clenched her hands, her expression solemn. "Okay, in that case, I'll ask you in a different way, Meng Zhao."
For the first time, she pronounced the other person's name clearly, staring at the companion who had been with her for a long time and should have been familiar with her.
"'Dead man', is that you?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
