Chapter 10 Nightmare
When the two returned to the courtyard, it was already past noon. Du Ruozhi, who had been running for several miles, was now starving and looked at Du Huaizhi with starry eyes.
"Sister..."
"Gurgle, gurgle..." My stomach growled at the perfect time.
Du Huaizhi fought against Du Ruzhi's starry eyes and was defeated. "Wait." She was also hungry.
After washing the pot and lighting the fire, not long after, a bowl of noodles was placed on the table in front of Du Ruozhi, along with a pair of wooden chopsticks.
"Thank you, sister." Du Ruozhi said. The noodles exuded an enticing aroma, and there was a fried egg on top. After taking a bite, her eyes lit up, "Delicious, delicious."
Du Huaizhi ignored her and ate his bowl slowly.
After finishing her noodles, Du Ruozhi wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and expressed her gratitude again. However, her clear eyes began to blur. "Ah... Sister, why are you shaking?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Du Ruozhi closed her eyes and fell to one side. Fortunately, a hand supported her in time, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Du Huaizhi looked at her peaceful sleeping face with an indifferent expression. He had only given Du Ruozhi an ordinary sleeping pill, the dosage was enough to make her sleep until the second half of the night. Having her around was too much of a nuisance.
He sent Du Ruozhi to the inn where she lived, then put on a mask and went to the magistrate's residence.
But halfway, I met someone who shouldn't be there.
"The leader invites you." The man was covered up completely, and his voice was that of a middle-aged man with a strong voice.
Du Huaizhi: “…”
At night, Xue Feiheng and Xie Sui hid in the dark and guarded the mourning hall.
Since they knew that "Xi" would come again to take the magistrate's head, they used the magistrate as bait, without worrying that "Xi" would not show up.
At first, the magistrate refused to be the bait and cried and begged for mercy. After Xue Feiheng and the others weighed the pros and cons, and used threats and inducements, he finally gave in, no, finally cooperated.
Although Xue Feiheng and his men, as well as the mansion's guards, were protecting him, the magistrate was still afraid and spent a large sum of money to hire martial arts masters to come and protect him.
Under the temptation of huge sums of money, a large number of evildoers gathered together, but most of them declined after hearing that the killer was "Xi".
They claimed that this was not a matter of money. "Xi" had the support of the Tiandihui, and the county magistrate dared to confront the Tiandihui because the county magistrate had the support of the imperial court, while they were just wanderers who traveled around the world. What could they use to compete with the Tiandihui?
He was afraid that as soon as his hand touched the silver, his head would fall off the next moment, so he was unwilling to do so even if the price was ten times higher.
However, there are also a few who value money more than their lives, so this guard lineup can be considered luxurious - luxurious in terms of the cost of hiring people.
Time passed slowly, and in the blink of an eye it was already late at night. The whole house was peaceful, and even the dogs slept soundly.
The whole night passed peacefully. It made sense that Xi had restrained himself after they alerted the enemy last time.
But after two or three days, everyone was almost exhausted. It was almost the seventh day after the death of the magistrate's son, but there was still no sign of "Xi".
Xue Feiheng couldn't help but wonder if he had misjudged something. The magistrate wasn't on the menu for "Xi"?
…
In the void of darkness, there was a noise, the tender cry of a child, the whispering of conversation, and the faint barking of a dog.
The closest thing was a few shouts: "Hey, wake up, wake up, don't sleep anymore." It was a child's voice that was indistinguishable between male and female.
A ray of light appeared in the darkness. It was hazy at first, but it became clear in an instant. In front of me was a little girl with disheveled hair and a sack on her body.
The girl looked about four or five years old, with a fairly round face. Her clear eyes showed joy as she said, "You're finally awake." She looked around and quickly stuffed something into the mouth, whispering, "Here, eat quickly."
He lowered his gaze to a small, cold, sandy ball of flour in his hand, its original color unrecognizable. He glanced at it briefly before a short, washed hand reached out to cover it.
"Stop looking at it and eat it quickly, otherwise it will be snatched away by someone else." The girl urged again in a low voice, looking so cautious, as if what she held in her hand was some rare treasure.
His gaze shifted upward, first landing on the skinny ribs exposed by the girl's collar. Yellow skin tightly wrapped around the bones, and the pulsating veins could be seen between breaths. He pushed the ball in his hand back to her.
The girl looked at Tuantuan, her mouth drooling wildly, but she still shook her head, "I'm not hungry, you eat."
The owner of the sight wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
"By the way, my name is Erya, what's yours?"
Before she could respond, the girl muttered to herself, "Oh, I forgot. Last time I asked you, you said you didn't have a name."
"Then I'll give you a name. Hmm, what should I call you..." The girl thought for a moment and said, "Let's call you Mantou."
"Do you know what steamed buns are? They are made of white flour. They are whiter than the clouds in the sky. They are very fragrant, soft to the touch, and slightly sweet when eaten."
The girl's words were not reserved, which made the already hungry children nearby even hungrier.
A boy swallowed his saliva and said to her, "You talk so nicely, but have you ever eaten steamed buns?"
"Of course I have eaten it." The girl replied hurriedly, "My father bought it for me. That day he took me to the market for the first time. Before that, he only took my younger brother. At that time, he held my hand and bought me a steamed bun.
The steamed buns were plump and fragrant, steaming hot. I couldn't finish one, so I left half to take back for my mother.
"Then why did you get here?" the boy asked again.
This sentence seemed to touch the girl's heart. "My mother is sick..." Her eyes were visibly sad, but soon they brightened up again and she said confidently, "But it's okay. I'll go back when I earn enough money. With the money, I can cure my mother's illness."
The girl looked over and said, "Mantou, come home with me when the time comes. My mother is a very kind person and the food she cooks is delicious."
The vision gradually blurred, accompanied by a sharp clicking sound, and the girl's voice was faintly heard in it.
"Steamed bun."
"Steamed bun?"
“…”
The sound became softer and softer until it could no longer be heard. My sight fell into darkness once again, and my body seemed to fall into a bottomless pit, with no support around me.
Swish——
Du Huaizhi suddenly opened his eyes.
"Master, the execution is over." As a strong male voice sounded beside him, his five senses recovered and a burning pain came from his back.
She was currently in a dark underground palace, kneeling on the ground in black. Standing beside her was a middle-aged man, also dressed in black, holding a bloody snake-bone whip.
Each joint on the whip has tiny barbs. When the whip is whipped, the barbs will dig into the flesh, and when it is retracted, flesh and blood will be pulled out together.
Ordinary people would find it difficult to endure even one whipping, but Du Huaizhi had just been whipped ten times.
You don't need to look to know that the back is already a bloody mess. The black clothes are of good quality and not torn, but they are soaked with blood and stuck to the shredded flesh. Then they take off the clothes and apply medicine, which is another torture.
"'Xi', do you still remember what crime it is to kill a fellow guild member?" A lazy and magnetic male voice came from the darkness ahead, and a human figure could be vaguely seen in it.
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