Urbaner Blumentraum - Kapitel 248
"A...caravan...heading to beyond the borders...traders...the parents, wives, and children of two generals...are hidden...in the caravan..." The zombie was severely wounded, seemingly on the verge of death, but the transmission of intelligence was of paramount importance, so it fought desperately to continue, "We...we absolutely cannot let them be...taken to Japan...we must rescue them..."
Although Zhu Huihui was usually muddle-headed and ignorant, he knew that the two generals had led the troops to resist the Japanese pirates and supported half of China's land—was there any need to ask? If the Japanese pirates wanted to capture his family, they were obviously after the beautiful land of China!
She was utterly shocked. Thinking of the man in black in the woods, although she knew his words were mostly true, there were still many things she didn't understand, so she dared not believe him easily and asked, "Who are you?"
"See...blood...building...twelve...zodiac signs..."
"Thump!" Zhu Huihui sat down on the ground again.
No way?! It's an old acquaintance!
Although she knew that the Twelve Zodiac Envoys of the Blood Pavilion were no easier to deal with than the men in black, in her mind they weren't that scary—of course, the reason for this conclusion was that she hadn't suffered any major losses at their hands.
As I sat down, something poked my buttock. I reached down and touched it—it was a flat, round bead about the size of a child's fist, heavy, with a hole in the middle. It was an abacus! Oh no! This thing wasn't something a ghost would play with! It was…it was something the twelve zodiac animals used!
I remember back then, when the Twelve Zodiac Envoys assassinated me and the hero at the Listening Wind Inn on the mountain, the one who impersonated the innkeeper, I don't know what kind of envoy it was, was carrying a large abacus!
Remembering the innkeeper, it suddenly dawned on me: no wonder the gray rope hanging from the black-clad figure in the woods looked familiar. That, that, that—wasn't that the weapon of the dwarf dragon envoy? He'd used it to save the great hero and the snake envoy before; I remembered it vividly! Both their weapons were still there, but where were they? In the old stories of the martial arts world my mother used to tell, some fools always shouted things like, "As long as the weapon is there, the person is there; if the weapon dies, the person dies..."
Thinking of "death," I suddenly remembered the mountain of flesh that had just smashed into me, the one whose head I had easily ripped off—it was...it looked just like the Pig Envoy...
Zhu Huihui felt increasingly chilled as she thought about it. Mustering her courage, she went closer and brushed aside the stray hairs on the zombie's face. Nearly half of the skin on the left side of the face, including the left ear, had been shaved off. The wound was so deep that the muscles were exposed and the flesh was a bloody mess. However, the remaining right half of the face still allowed her to vaguely recognize that this was the demon snake envoy!
Although he didn't have a good impression of this person, he was still an acquaintance, and Zhu Huihui believed the snake envoy's words completely.
"You...how did you become like this? Where are your...your brothers?" Where are the others besides the Pig Envoy?
The Serpent Envoy didn't recognize her and said sadly, "Perhaps they...they're all...dead! We...we accidentally...discovered...the General's family...in...that caravan...and followed them...wanting to rescue them...but...but...we were no match for them...we deserve to die...but...if we delay the news...and implicate the General's family...we'll have no face to...see anyone in the afterlife..."
Her voice trailed off: "I...I'm going to die too...to join my brothers..."
That battle, filled with intrigue and a fierce fight to the death, was a testament to the enemy's overwhelming strength. All eleven of his brothers perished, and the Serpent Envoy was also seriously injured. However, due to his usual skill in using poisons and his strong physical endurance, he did not die immediately. Fortunately, the enemy was eager to cover up their crimes and did not conduct a thorough inspection before hastily burying him.
The pig, with its keen sense of smell and fondness for rooting in the soil, actually dug the snake out of the ground. A gust of cold wind roused her, and she slowly awoke, initially thinking it was a wild dog devouring a corpse. Heaven had shown her mercy, but instead, a person had appeared! She didn't know if he was a good person or a bad person, but she had no choice. She only hoped that she could send the message out, and then she could die in peace!
“I…have a…daughter…If…if you have time…go to the Bloodstained Tower…and tell her…that her mother…though a killer who kills for money, never…”
The snake-like figure tilted its head, and its voice abruptly stopped halfway through its sentence.
Although they were enemies, not friends, Zhu Huihui still felt a pang of sadness and shed tears: "Alright! Don't worry, I'll go deliver the message!"
The corpses of the men in black found in the forest were actually killed by the Twelve Zodiac Envoys! Judging from the scene in the forest, they had fought a bloody battle with those men in black, showing no fear even in the face of death. Based on this alone, she would never again consider these twelve people villains!
Serpent Envoy, I will deliver the information you entrusted to me, and I will also visit your child and relay your message to her. If I fail to do so, all twelve of you may come back tonight and strangle me!
Zhu Huihui raised her sleeve, wiped the tears from her face, and took the earring from the snake's only remaining right ear as a keepsake. Then she put the snake's body back into the pit and gently covered it with soil.
The Serpent Envoy didn't say who the message was to be delivered to, but in Zhu Huihui's heart, there was only that slightly cold face and those warm eyes—he was the only person she trusted in this martial world!
Hero! I need to find the hero! Hurry!
Hua Hua hummed twice, rubbed her head against her leg, and followed her up.
The light in the dilapidated house by the cemetery suddenly went out.
The lights were off in the dilapidated house next to the cemetery.
But the light in the forest increased, and the flickering firelight drifted and flowed in the dark night, moving east and west like countless fireflies, adorning the dark forest with a dazzling beauty.
There was no sound left in the world.
The world was still, as if even time had stood still.
The only moving things were the flickering flames.
There was another heart moving at breakneck speed—Zhu Huihui's heart, which was plummeting downwards at breakneck speed!
Her heart sank! Even if she was completely ignorant, she knew these couldn't be ordinary fireflies—if they were insects, that would be better! She had never been afraid of any insect in her life!
Similarly, throughout her life, anyone whose martial arts skills surpassed hers was afraid of her!
The latter was clearly lurking in the woods.
It's just that we don't know if it's one, two, or many—but it doesn't really matter. For Zhu Huihui, one would be enough to kill her. If there are many, the only difference is who will chop off her head.
On one side is a desolate graveyard, where there might be ghosts, zombies, and wild dogs and wolves that feed on corpses; on the other side is a wild forest, where there will definitely be bad people, evil people, and people who will chop off heads with knives.
Bad people and villains will only cut off her head; but ghosts, zombies, wild dogs, and wolves bite indiscriminately, and don't just covet her...
So, after thinking for a moment, Zhu Huihui immediately decided to break out of the mass grave!
The sky was dark, the starlight was dim, and occasionally a shooting star would streak across the sky, leaving a silvery trail that would disappear in an instant.
On the cemetery, graves stood side by side, many old ones with large holes, their coffins exposed, the coffin boards rotten, and pale bones scattered about, gleaming bluishly in the starlight. Some newer graves had mourning sticks stuck in front of them, with strings of paper money hanging from them, rustling loudly in the eerie wind, creating an atmosphere of boundless desolation amidst the terror.
As the air stirred up by footsteps, eerie will-o'-the-wisps chased after the crimson ash, sometimes gathering, sometimes dispersing. Wild grass swayed, and every now and then a dark shadow would flit among the graves, followed by strange, eerie sounds from some unknown source.
Zhu Huihui felt a chill run down her neck, goosebumps rose on her skin, and she felt uneasy, muttering to herself:
"Everyone, everyone, I've been chased by bad guys today and have no choice but to ask for your passage! Please don't bite me, I don't like to bathe and eating this will give me an upset stomach. The guys behind me are strong and muscular, and their fat and lean meat taste good..."
She walked cautiously through the graves, feeling as if she were stepping on something deep or shallow. She couldn't tell if the hard part was a coffin, bones, or soil, or if the soft part was weeds, corpses, or fresh soil. Her heart was in her throat, fearing that some ghost might suddenly appear, or that a pair of withered hands covered in rotting flesh and sticky threads would reach out from some grave mound and drag her in.
The cemetery was too big, and Zhu Huihui didn't know the way. After walking for a long time, it seemed like she couldn't find her way out. Just as she was wondering if she had encountered a ghost wall, she suddenly felt something following her from behind.
A chill ran down her spine. With a "whoosh," she leaped over the two grave mounds and took off running. But the thing seemed to be faster than her; she could even feel the wind it created. Terrified, she ran even faster.
Zhu Huihui hadn't even had a chance to eat the rooster he'd stolen for dinner; his stomach was growling empty, and now, running so fast, he was starting to feel dizzy. Just as he was feeling lightheaded, he lost his footing and fell into a dark grave. He scrambled to his feet, pressing himself to the ground, and found a skull dangling from his toe.