Yin and Yang separated
In order to reach Luzhou as soon as possible, Su Musong did not take the usual route through Hanyun to Xiangping, but chose to take a shortcut and enter Xiangping from Qingning, which could save five days of journey.
However, the Qingning tribe often invaded the border from the south, and the Xiangping army had recently been confronting the Qingning in the northwest, so this place was already a war-torn area. Therefore, although this shortcut could shorten the journey, the Su family did not take this route when they went to Wanhua Fort. However, Su Musong did not care about these dangers at this time.
Entering Qingning, there is an endless Gobi Desert. Fortunately, this is the time of year when the rain is the most abundant, and there are puddles of water at intervals. Otherwise, even if Su Musong could withstand the drought, the horse would die of thirst.
After galloping across the desert for two days, Su Musong noticed that vultures were flying over his head from time to time. The closer he got to Xiangping, the more vultures there were.
Flocks of vultures came like huge dark clouds, covering the sky and blocking out the sun. In an instant, the sky darkened. The falling black feathers fluttered around Su Musong, making it increasingly difficult to see the road ahead, and making the horse restless.
The wind blew from the southeast, carrying a faint unpleasant odor and accompanied by groups of hyenas.
Although Su Musong grew up in Kyoto, he had heard from his father that vultures and hyenas liked to eat carrion, and if the aftermath of a war was not cleaned up in time, these two animals would often be attracted.
It seems that a big battle took place in the direction of Xizhou not long ago.
Although he was mentally prepared, Su Musong still couldn't help vomiting when he saw the scene in front of him.
Vultures pecked at the liver and ate the intestines, hyenas broke bones and dismembered bodies, and everywhere you looked, there were broken limbs and bloody corpses.
The pervasive stench of corpses seemed to cover the entire world. Su Musong, who was in the middle of it, felt as if countless vines seemed to extend from the gloomy corpse aura, trying to wrap him up in this corpse realm. He didn't care about anything else and raised the whip with all his strength, just wanting to leave this horrible purgatory as soon as possible.
Soon, the distraught Su Musong finally reached the pass of Xiangping. However, the battle between Xiangping and Qingning had just begun, and the blockade of the pass had not been lifted, so Su Musong was blocked outside the pass.
The soldiers guarding the city gate believed that a battle had just ended and Su Musong came from the direction of Qingning and was acting suspiciously, so they wanted to capture him on the spot. Fortunately, he happened to meet Jingxi Hou who was on patrol here, and Su Musong escaped.
Su Musong estimated that given the relationship between Marquis Jingxi and the Duke of Anguo, if he said clearly that he was going to find Xiao Luochen, Marquis Jingxi would probably not let him leave, so he had to lie.
"Uncle Xun, I'm going back to Kyoto to check the results. The results of this imperial examination will be announced in a few days."
Marquis Jingxi didn't know that Su Musong had not taken the exam at all, so he didn't suspect anything.
"It's a long journey, and your parents are so brave to let you go back alone."
After saying that, he wanted to send someone to escort Su Musong back.
"Thank you, Uncle Xun, for your kindness. The war has just ended here, and we need manpower right now. There's really no need to tie up manpower for me. Besides, Dad has already arranged for people to support us up ahead. I'm in Xiangping, so I don't think I'll be in any danger."
Upon hearing this, Marquis Jingxi no longer insisted and only gave him a flag.
"In that case, take this. Catch up with the team escorting Marquis Wuning's coffin and return to the capital with them so that you can take care of them."
Su Musong was shocked
"You mean, Marquis Wuning died for his country?!"
"Well, ten days ago, the Qingning cavalry launched a surprise attack. Marquis Wuning led his troops into battle and dealt a heavy blow to the enemy, but he himself was seriously wounded and died."
Marquis Jingxi looked solemn. Perhaps dying on the battlefield and being wrapped in horsehide was the fate of soldiers, but the fall of a wise, brave and righteous general like Marquis Wuning was always a pity.
Su Musong was now thinking of Princess Duanmin. The pain of losing a loved one now fell upon this lively and pretty girl. Even though she was a member of the royal family, without her father's protection, her future would be even more difficult.
This pity only occupied Su Musong's heart for a moment, and then he thought that he had more important things to do and had no time to sympathize with others, so he immediately said goodbye to Marquis Jingxi and rode away in a hurry.
After another five days of traveling southeast, they arrived at the border of Yunzhou. There was a waterway connecting this place to Luzhou. The journey took half a month by land and seven days by water. Su Musong naturally chose to take a boat to Luzhou without hesitation.
Su Musong spent seven consecutive days on the boat. He didn't know the current situation of the Xiao family's treason case, and he was more concerned about Xiao Luochen's safety. Therefore, after getting off the boat, he did not inquire about the news, but went straight to Xiao Luoyao's home in Luzhou.
According to his memory, Su Musong found a house at the address mentioned by Xiao Luoyao in the letter. When he saw the big seal on the door, his eager heart suddenly cooled down.
For a moment, Su Musong didn't know what to do next. He originally thought that he would be able to see Xiao Luochen when he found Xiao Luoyao's home in Luzhou, but when he rushed here day and night, there was only a seal waiting for him.
Su Musong stood in front of the door for a long time until a neighboring woman pulled him aside with a nervous look.
"Young Master, are you looking for this family?"
Su Musong didn't react for a moment and didn't answer.
"Hey, let's go quickly. This family is gone. I heard they were implicated. Don't stay here for long. Be careful not to get implicated."
“Gone…”
"Yes, a few days ago, a number of soldiers came and took away a young man about your age. Oh, it was really pitiful. I heard that the woman in this family was about to give birth that day, and the soldiers happened to come to arrest her. In the end, both mother and child were lost."
The woman felt sorry for this. This family had moved here less than a year ago. The young couple were kind and a perfect match, talented and beautiful. Everyone envied them. She was just an ordinary woman. It was hard for her to imagine how this ordinary family could be subjected to the heinous crime of having their property confiscated and their clan exterminated.
"But even if he survived, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to escape death. He would most likely be beheaded along with the young master who was captured a few days ago."
When Su Musong heard the words "behead in public", he felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded above his head.
"Aunt, you said beheading... and publicly displaying the head. Who will be beheaded and displayed publicly?"
"That's the young master who was taken away. I heard he's the younger brother of that family's husband."
"Behead in public... behead... behead..."
Su Musong turned around muttering to himself, two lines of clear tears gushing out of his wooden and empty eyes. There was no other emotion on his face, but his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. His feet felt weak, and all the strength in his body seemed to be gathering in his chest and lungs, and finally came out of his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.
It was unknown how long it had been, but when Su Musong woke up, the moon was already at its highest point in the sky. After this period of coma, Su Musong's mind slowly became clear, but since he had not seen Xiao Luochen's body, he still could not accept the fact that Xiao Luochen was dead.
Su Musong found an inn to stay in and asked the waiter. He learned that the bodies of criminals here would be thrown into a mass grave after being beheaded. He immediately prepared his things and went to the mass grave to find Xiao Luochen.
Before dawn, Su Musong arrived at the mass grave alone.
The mountain wind howled as it passed through the narrow mountain path, like the shrill cries of ghosts. The wind carried the stench of rotting corpses and the smell of earth, covering the sky and the earth.
Su Musong felt a chill pierce his clothes, seeping into his limbs and bones, reaching his very bones, making him tremble from the bottom of his heart. The wind swept through the treetops, startling the black crows that filled the trees. They howled and flew up and down, like ghosts, entangled and circling around Su Musong.
The graves of varying heights stretched as far as the eye could see, with dark green ghost lights flickering among them. Su Musong tripped and fell on a hard object. Shining a lantern, he saw a skull.
Upon closer inspection, Su Musong saw scattered bones everywhere he looked. It seemed that the body was buried shallowly and was dug out by wild dogs, which then bit it to pieces.
Under normal circumstances, Su Musong might not have the courage to stay here for a moment, but at this moment he only wanted to find Xiao Luochen, and he was not afraid at all. He stubbornly believed that as long as he could not dig up Xiao Luochen's body, then Xiao Luochen was not dead.
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