Chapter 212 Ah Zhu
After seeing her face clearly, Zhu Qingyan felt relieved. She was a girl from the Central Plains, so he asked softly, "Are you Ah Zhu?"
"It's me." Ah Zhu nodded. "I heard the song you played during the day. Could it be that you know my brother?"
Zhu Qingyan explained the whole story in a concise and clear manner.
After hearing this, Ah Zhu took a step forward excitedly, "Is the imperial court really determined to completely wipe out the Great Purification this time?"
Zhu Qingyan nodded, "The King of Zhenbei said it himself."
"That's great!" Ah Zhu suddenly choked up, "My parents died at the hands of these great exorcists. Later, I wandered in the border for a few years and finally found a way to get in again, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge. But... with my own strength, there is no chance for me to contact Tianduo.
The Great Purifier was brutal and I couldn't stand it any longer, so I planned to escape with my brother, but something went wrong and I had no choice but to stay. "
Zhu Lan nodded, "Cheng Hu has already told us all this. By the way, what is the 'Tian Duo' you just mentioned?"
It was the first time she heard this name.
"Tian Duo is the leader of Dafu. He is secretive and rarely shows up. I have been in Dafu for many years and have only seen him no more than five times, and all of them were from a distance."
"Isn't this the lair of the Great Purification? As the leader, Tianduo shouldn't stay here?"
"It is the old nest, but I really don't know if he is here now." Ah Zhu paused, "But, after a few days of sacrifice, he will definitely show up."
Zhu Qingyan then asked, what exactly is the sacrifice?
Ah Zhu shook her head, "I don't know either. It is said that the last sacrifice was more than ten years ago. It seems that the leader of the Great Purification accidentally discovered a ritual that killed women at a specific time and bathed the whole body in blood to gain power. Moreover, such power can also be rewarded to others, so many people followed suit and believed.
Of course, I only heard these, after all, I was not there during the last sacrifice."
"It sounds so ridiculous, but there are people who believe it. It's even more ridiculous." Zhu Qingyan shook his head and said.
Zhu Lan asked again: "Since the sacrifice is so important, all the scattered purification soldiers should come over, right?"
"Yes, in addition to the leader Tianduo, there are also some subordinate leaders. Each of them is in charge of a small team, responsible for looting supplies from villages and towns, or investigating the movements of enemy troops. All the small leaders must be present at this sacrifice, so it is a rare gathering."
"What about you? I mean, your position in the great purification ceremony." Zhu Lan asked, looking into Ah Zhu's eyes.
Ah Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course I also have a team under me, and they are responsible for the defense of this main camp."
Zhu Lan looked at her for a moment before telling her the most crucial thing this time.
"Since you also want to destroy the Great Purification and avenge your parents, then we are on the same front. Since we are both unable to move, we will light a few red Kongming lanterns in the desert on the day of the sacrifice."
"Kongming Lantern?"
"Yes, Kongming lanterns." Zhu Qingyan continued, "We have discussed it with Ah Jing... Princess Ning Yue. She will lead the troops in person and immediately lead the army when she sees the location of the Kongming lanterns."
Ah Zhu hesitated for a moment and made up her mind, "Okay, this shouldn't be difficult, I can do it."
The three of them talked for a few more words and agreed on some details. Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan were worried that they would be discovered if they stayed out for too long, so Ah Zhu sent them back.
After coming out from behind the stone wall and walking a few steps towards where the woman was imprisoned, the three of them suddenly saw a fire in front of them, as if there were many people standing there holding torches.
Zhu Qingyan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the number of people had been discovered and they were being searched?
It would be very bad if Zhu Lan and I were caught at this time!
Zhu Lan looked at Ah Zhu.
"Don't panic." Ah Zhu motioned for the two of them to follow her and walked straight towards the large exorcists holding torches.
Those big exorcists were Hu people. When they saw Ah Zhu, they immediately looked wary. It was obvious that they were not her subordinates.
Ah Zhu first flashed the token in her hand, and the big exorcists immediately became more respectful. Then they communicated with Ah Zhu in the Central Plains dialect, which they were not very familiar with.
Zhu Lan and the other two couldn't hear clearly, so they could only wait on the side. Then they saw those big exorcist soldiers step aside and reveal the situation behind them.
Zhu Lan then saw the ground was covered in blood and was slightly shocked. Zhu Qingyan beside him was also equally shocked.
The two men followed the blood trail and finally saw the body in the corner.
A woman was lying on her back, her eyes wide open with fear, her mouth open, her throat a bloody mess. Two greyhounds were standing beside her body, their fur around their mouths scarlet, their canine teeth still chewing something.
Zhu Qingyan recognized her. This person was the woman who had nearly collapsed during the day and snatched his leaves and crushed them. Her death was extremely horrific, and Zhu Lan and the others couldn't help but take a step back.
At this time, Ah Zhu came over and whispered, "I asked, this woman tried to escape and was bitten to death by a dog."
Then, Zhu Qingyan saw the woman’s body being dragged away. The big exorcist who dragged her body away also took away the two greyhounds.
"Are we... going to bury the body?" Zhu Qingyan asked Ah Zhu.
“It’s to feed the dog.”
Ah Zhu's words frightened Zhu Qingyan so much that he felt a chill. Zhu Lan's face also turned pale, and his hatred for the Great Purification suddenly reached its peak.
No one came to clean up the blood on the ground. The women were so frightened by the scene that they stayed away from the blood. They didn't dare to get close to it even if it meant freezing. No one dared to sleep.
Ah Zhu told the big exorcists that she had picked two people at random to help her carry the things. The other party did not dare to ask more questions and let Zhu Lan and the other person go back.
Perhaps Ah Zhu had given some instructions, and some exorcists threw in a few rolls of straw mats. The straw mats could be used for sleeping or as quilts, so the wind and snow were finally more bearable that night.
Zhu Qingyan and Zhu Lan shared a straw mat. After what happened just now, how could Zhu Qingyan still feel sleepy at all?
"Zhu Lan, do you regret it?" Zhu Qingyan suddenly asked softly.
"Do you regret it?" Zhu Lan glanced at her.
Zhu Qingyan bit his lips tightly, with a hint of unconcealable fear in his eyes.
"I... I don't know. Tell me, if this plan fails, will we die more miserably than that woman just now?"
Zhu Lan didn't say anything. She originally wanted to talk to Zhu Qingyan about Ah Zhu, but now it seems that saying some words would only make her more uneasy.
She patted Zhu Qingyan's shoulder soothingly, "You have such a good relationship with the little princess, she will definitely come, we all have to believe in her."
"...Well, Jing will definitely come."
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