ghost city

Most of the grass on both sides of the Laoshui River has been eaten by cattle and sheep, and this place should also enter the rest period, so Wei Ling suggested to Cheng Ting that the herdsmen should go to the mountain pastures to graze.

Cheng Ting felt a little troubled when he heard this, in the past when the ghost army of the Huns came to attack, they would always cross Gouzhu Mountain and go all the way south.The herdsmen are afraid of the ghost army, and unless the grass on the plain is eaten up by cattle and sheep, they seldom approach this place.Now that Wei Ling wanted the herdsmen to approach this dangerous land again, he always felt that something was wrong.But seeing that Wei Ling was very confident, and Sima Shang was also very supportive, he couldn't stop him.After all, Wei Ling and others promised to help the border residents get rid of the ghost army of the Huns.

The peaks of Gouzhu Mountain are steep and steep, and it is connected with many peaks to form a huge barrier, cutting this place apart.To the north of the mountain is the vast Yanbei Plateau.

Looking at the mountains, the long ridge seems to fit perfectly with the sky, and the Great Wall of Zhao is like a giant dragon, winding and entrenched on the ridge.At the top of the mountain stands the majestic Pass.

In the past, Xiongguan and dangerous passes were an excellent barrier against the Huns, but now, how can it stop the ghost army of the Huns?

Cheng Ting ordered some border residents to replace Wei Ling's army and continue to manage the fields, while the other part of the border residents drove the cattle and sheep to the grassland at the southern foot of Gouzhu Mountain to graze.Although this place is not as lush as the water and grass on the banks of the river, after a winter of snow water, the grass has grown luxuriantly.Mountain streams can still be found in the valleys, and drinking water for people and animals is not a problem.

It was early summer at this time, and the weather was getting hotter and hotter day by day, but the hillside was still much cooler than the flat ground.

Aunt Zhang and Ziyou followed the herdsmen to drive their cattle and sheep to the mountain. After searching for a long time, they finally found a gentle slope near the water.

"Mother—" A call suddenly sounded, Aunt Zhang turned around, but froze in place, her son followed here at some point.

Ziyou also came back to his senses, watching the young man for a long time without regaining his senses.She also had doubts in her heart: This kid usually doesn't like to herd herds the most, so why did he follow him today? Could it be that his sex has changed?

Aunt Zhang smiled, and the wrinkles on her face relaxed. She came over and stroked her son's face, and said softly, "Chang Sheng, go back quickly. Since you have been a guard under the son, you must naturally obey military discipline." . If you miss something, you will be punished."

"Mother—" The boy's feet were still firmly planted on the ground, his face was stubborn, but his eyes were full of worry.

Aunt Zhang understood what he was worried about.When Chang Sheng was eight years old, her husband died under the iron hooves of the ghost army of the Huns. That painful memory left a lingering shadow on Chang Sheng.Although the young man is stubborn by nature and cheerful and open-minded, this incident has always been an indelible pain.

"Go back, Chang Sheng, don't worry," Aunt Zhang persuaded, "There are so many folks here, mother will be fine."

After persuasion several times, the young man remained indifferent, and even Zi You became a little impatient, and said with a cold face: "You go back, with me here, your mother will be fine."

The young man sized her up for a while, then moved away his distrustful gaze, hesitated for a moment, and ran down the mountain.

"It is often said in the army that this girl is the daughter of General Li Mu, and she is very skilled. Although she has a bad temper and is a shadowy charm, it can be seen that she has a good relationship with Mother, so she should protect Mother well!" The young man thought, One side quickened the pace.

The fact that Wei Ling, Sima Shang, and the soldiers under his command are all ghosts is well known to the border people, but they are not afraid of them. One is that Wei Ling and the others have no malicious intentions, and the other is that the border people have been infested by the ghost army of the Huns all year round, so they are not afraid of ghosts. up.On the contrary, the border residents trusted Wei Ling and others very much.After all, Sima Shang still had a great reputation in Zhao Min's heart.

So when Chang Sheng learned that the girl who was not a few years older than him was Ying Mei, he didn't feel scared either.

The border residents are all vigilant, they dare not spread too far from each other, and dare not go further up.Even for lunch, most of them get together.From time to time, people were sent to wait and see in case the ghost army suddenly attacked.

Ziyou didn't like the excitement, so when the border residents got together for lunch, she hid far away, staring at the Xiongguan on the top in a daze.

The fragrant roast lamb, the clear kumiss, the laughter of the herdsmen, everything is so familiar, as if it was yesterday.That joy and warmth is by her side now, but she can't feel the slightest warmth, her heart is getting cold inch by inch.

Father... Mother... They will never come back, and they will never see each other again in this life.

Now, they should have been reborn as human beings.It's not like my own lonely soul is still floating in this floating world.

At some point, her face was full of tears, but she didn't realize it.

"Girl." Aunt Zhang came before her at some point, her face was full of love and pity, and she could guess why the girl was sad.

General Li Mu died unjustly at the hands of a traitor, and the people of Zhao State were all heartbroken, let alone his daughter.

"Don't think about sad things anymore. Come, eat a piece of jerky with sauce."

Aunt Zhang passed the dried meat with one hand, and gently wiped away the tears on the girl's cheeks with the other.

The girl did not refuse, but after she took a bite of the jerky, her heart ached again.

Same taste, nothing changed.It's just that the person in front of her is no longer her gentle mother.

"Don't cry." Aunt Zhang stroked her back gently, and slowly took the girl into her arms.

The girl's tiny cries were finally buried in the laughter of the herdsmen, and disappeared with the wind.

************************

During the more than ten days of grazing in Gouzhu Mountain, no ghost army was attracted.The herdsmen also breathed a sigh of relief, and they even speculated that the ghost army of the Huns had left this place.

Zi You didn't feel relaxed at all, on the contrary, she actually smelled a faint smell of danger.

Wei Ling didn't know when he would stop sending people to guard the post, but ordered the scouts to spy on the enemy.

The hot afternoon sun shone on the hillside. After lunch, the herdsmen became tired and lay down on the hillside, wanting to sleep.Cattle and sheep are scattered not far away.

Once the sun was shining, Ziyou also felt a little tired, she stayed aside, closed her eyes and took a nap.Beside her, Aunt Zhang's low snoring began to sound.She glanced at it, then closed her eyes again.

After a while, she also fell into a deep dream.The warm wind blows on the face, like a mother's warm hands.

The girl babbled, turned over and sank into the grass, her head resting on the ground.

"Mother...Mother..." In her sleep, that loving and gentle face appeared before her eyes again, and she not only reached out to touch it.

However, she only touched a piece of ice, and that beautiful phantom was shattered.

"Mother—" The girl suddenly woke up from her sleep, and when she sat up, her whole body was already icy cold.But looking around, the herdsmen are still sleeping.

A strange feeling filled my heart, the surroundings were eerily quiet, even the cattle and sheep were lying on the grass, dozing off.

"Dong dong—clank——" The strange sound began to sound at some point, and it became louder and more obvious, as if a thousand troops were rushing towards them.

Could it be them?

The voice became more and more obvious, but the air seemed to be frozen, stagnant and impenetrable.The herdsmen are still asleep.Even the sheep on the hillside were too dull to respond.

The girl's face paled all of a sudden, she jumped up from the ground, rushed to Aunt Zhang, and pushed vigorously: "Wake up! Aunt Zhang! There is something wrong!"

The woman woke up suddenly from her screaming, not knowing what happened.The girl's face was terribly pale, and her lips moved: "I can feel that they are coming!"

"Get up! Get up for me!" The girl shook her body and rushed to the side of the sleeping herdsman, shouting sharply.Helplessly, these people were so sleepy that they didn't even move.

She had no choice but to jump into the flock and kicked the sheep in the middle several times.

"Meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." The few sheep were startled by this, jumped up suddenly, stepped on the surrounding flocks, and rushed down the mountain frantically.

"Boom—" Startled by this shock, the sleeping cattle and sheep were all startled, and they became restless and fled in all directions.

The herdsmen woke up when they heard the sound of the cattle and sheep screaming and fleeing.

"Get up quickly! The ghost army is coming!" The girl yelled sharply, going to slap those who hadn't got up yet.

Looking up again, the top of the mountain was covered with black clouds, and the black shadows in light armor and holding scimitars were just——

"Boom———" Before the herdsmen could react, the heavy army on the ridge had already smashed down like a huge wave.

The war horse neighed and the shouts shook the sky. When the tide swept over, the sky and the earth changed color, and the red sun dimmed.

"Retreat to the city immediately!" the girl hissed, directing the herdsmen to evacuate.

The crowd was already in a mess, rushing frantically to their horses, and after riding on them, they galloped down the mountain.Those without horses fled desperately down the mountain.

The ghost army did not give the herdsmen any time to breathe, for a moment, they were already rushing down like a rushing torrent.A few fast riders rushed to the herdsmen, drew their knives and slashed.

The smell of blood instantly diffused in the air.Sharp screams and cries, as well as the triumphant howling of the ghost army, pierced the air, and came in bursts.

Some cattle and sheep are huddled together, and before they can run away, they have already been crushed by the ghost army, and where the iron hooves pass, there are dense bones!

The girl saw it by accident, and was startled in her heart. The ghost army had sucked the flesh and blood of the cattle and sheep in an instant.They—they don't need looting at all!

Most of the herdsmen left their cattle and sheep and fled down the mountain desperately.The ghost army didn't go after them, they just roared and caught up with the cattle and sheep that hadn't escaped in time, like a huge black net covering the hillside.After they withdrew, the hillside was already covered with fragments of blood and bones.

The girl stayed at the end and drove the crowd to flee, but there were still a few of them who couldn't move and were surrounded by a small group of ghosts.

The woman's desperate cries and screams almost pierced the eardrums, and there was a shrill voice that was very familiar, that was—Aunt Zhang!

The girl's heart sank suddenly.Just now I was only focused on waking up the herdsman, but forgot about her.

The cries of the women were gradually drowned out by the obscene and frightening howls of the ghost army, and Zi You felt that her whole body was frozen.

If she goes back to rescue her, she will be surrounded by ghost army. They are so numerous that she is definitely no match for her, but now she withdraws and with her instant shadow technique, she will definitely be able to throw off the ghost army.

To answer or not to answer, she has no answer in her heart.Hesitating and struggling, my heart seems to be twisted together.

If she goes back alone and has no help, she may be in danger.The family feud has not been avenged, the country's hatred has not been snowed, how can she die willingly?What's more, in order to save their mother and daughter, my uncle was willing to sacrifice his life.How could she take her own life as a trifling matter, and how could she be worthy of her uncle like this?

The woman's terrified screams were louder and louder, almost piercing her eardrums.The desperate cry swept her memory back six years ago, the day when she and her mother parted forever.

That day, she watched her weak mother die under Qin Jun's butcher knife, but she was powerless.At that time, she only hated herself why she wasn't a man?In that case, she can also raise the long knife, protect her mother behind her, and fight the enemy!She can even decapitate her enemies and drink their blood.

However, she was powerless to save her, and her mother died to protect her.

Her heart was in a frenzy and her headache was about to split. At that moment, she suddenly remembered the promise she had made to the boy: "With me here, your mother will be fine."

"Aunt Zhang!" The girl screamed, turned around, and seemed to be able to see the struggling figure of the woman from the group of ghosts.

"Mother—" The worried expression on the young man's face before he left appeared in front of his eyes again.

what to do?Could it be that Aunt Zhang and the others were left behind in order to protect themselves?They have no power to restrain the chicken, and there is only one result when they are entangled by the ghost army.

Although she hadn't been in contact with Aunt Zhang for long, the woman treated her very well after all.She admits that although she is not a good person, she still has the most basic morality.Moreover, they are all survivors of the Zhao country, and they were all protected by their father, how could she abandon them?

"That's all." The girl sighed, her heart sank, and she turned and ran without hesitation.

"Damn it!" The ghost army gathered more and more, she cursed, and with the light blade in her hand, she jumped towards the small group of ghost army.

At this moment, the entire hillside was covered with dark figures of the ghost army. They howled and chased the cattle and sheep that had no time to escape, eating blood and flesh happily.

The ghost army didn't notice her, and several light knives left their hands, piercing the ghost soldier's chest with a roar, and these ghosts turned into flying smoke immediately.

Apart from Aunt Zhang, there were four or five other women who were trapped, and two of them had collapsed to the ground, their flesh and blood sucked away by the ghost soldiers, leaving only blood and bones, which was extremely shocking.

The siege surrounding the women had been opened by the girl, she pushed it along and shouted, "Go!"

The few women who survived had already been frightened, pushing and shoving, and ran down the mountain in a stumbling manner.

The girl jumped up and followed her, and at the same time she folded her hands, and countless light strings wove into a giant net to block the ghost army.

When the women ran for their lives, their speed was astonishing. When they ran a certain distance, the giant net burst instantly with one of the girl's hands, condensing into countless light blades and flying towards the ghost army.

Some of the ghost soldiers were struck by the sharp blade and instantly lost their souls, while others narrowly avoided the fatal blow and rode their horses to catch up.

More and more ghost soldiers noticed her, instead of chasing those women, they surrounded them one after another.

Ten cavalry...twenty cavalry...seventy cavalry...ninety cavalry...the ghost soldiers were too many to count, and the black-faced and curly-haired Xiongnu soldiers looked at her and came together to form an inseparable formation. Ventilated enclosure.A strong smell of blood permeated the ghost soldier's body, and gusts of wind wrapped her tightly with the smell.

She screamed inwardly that it was not good, just now she killed those few ghost soldiers in one fell swoop, it was an element of a sneak attack, so that she could face more than a hundred ghost soldiers, she couldn't stand it at all.Even if her magic power is enough to fight against so many ghosts, it is enough to make her die from exhaustion.

His hands were already trembling, his heart was beating violently, almost bursting out of his chest, his panicked eyes swept outside inadvertently, only to see three or five ghost soldiers surrounding Aunt Zhang and the others again.

The ghost soldiers had already raised their shining scimitars, one after another, forming a circle.

She forced herself to calm down, gather all the spiritual energy in her body, and gather them together.

With a clear whistle, the girl soared into the sky, and the light blade in her hand had condensed into a long spear, stabbing towards the void above her head.

"Bang!" The girl failed to break through, but fell heavily to the ground.She raised her eyes and saw that the circle of scimitars was vibrating violently at this moment, making a crisp "ding ding" sound, and a black halo gradually formed above her head.

A chill suddenly rose in my heart: these ghost soldiers should be creating a "array".

The shrill cries of the women were still heard intermittently, but she was relieved: at least these women were still alive, and the ghost army was probably torturing them.

The scimitars collided with each other, and the clanging sound became louder and louder, sharp and piercing, as if it could reach people's hearts and tear people's hearts.The fishy smell became heavier and heavier, and the whistling wind was even louder, making her almost unable to stand upright.

Ziyou felt nauseated and dizzy. Along with the sound of the impact, waves of evil energy also invaded her body, and her consciousness began to become chaotic.

She tried her best to launch attacks again and again, but that "array" seemed unbreakable, no matter which angle she attacked from, it couldn't be shaken.

The whole body gradually darkened, and the black halo above the head became thicker and thicker, almost blocking out the light.

If there is no light, then she will...

The phoenix tears between her eyebrows glowed again, but there was a buzzing in her head, as if thousands of troops swept past inside, and the evil energy that penetrated into her body spread, and her body felt numb again, and the phoenix Gu again Faint seizures, she could barely condense the blade of light!

"Uncle! Wei Ling!" She yelled fiercely, hateful!What are they doing now, didn't the scouts find a trace of abnormality and report it in time?Didn't they do arming at all?Those herdsmen who ran fast should have returned to the city by now.If it is believed, it is natural to send troops in time.But why is there no rescue?

Are you going to die here for no apparent reason today?

No!no!She couldn't die in such a stupid way again.

Hold on a little longer, maybe Uncle will send reinforcements.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her mind, but her heart broke, her teeth had bitten the tip of her tongue, and when the sharp pain hit, she barely regained a little consciousness.

The ferocious faces of the ghost army of the Xiongnu pressed down layer by layer, and a big hand even came close to pick her up.

They communicated in a strange language, and from time to time they let out a horrible laugh, which was rough and ugly.She was almost nauseous.

The re-condensed light blade densely protected the whole body, blocking the big hands reaching towards her, but she could feel that the strength of the light blade was getting weaker and weaker, and she couldn't hold it for long.

The woman's cries gradually weakened, her heart became cold instantly, and her mind became clearer: "Aunt Zhang, she..."

"Boom——" It seemed that another iron cavalry was coming, and she couldn't tell which direction it was, let alone who it was. Could it be that another group of Huns surrounded them?

At the last moment when her consciousness disappeared, she used all her strength to deliver the final blow, and the purple sharp blade condensed in her palm finally pierced the black circle of light screaming.

After that, his body withered and fell to the ground like a withered leaf.

"Miss Zi—" The shout came from afar, but she couldn't hear it anymore.