Ink Burns

Chapter 5 Heavy Rain

[I have made some changes to the previous chapter. To fit the character of a country girl, the elder sister will not kill anyone for the time being. At the same time, I would like to reiterate that this article is not a non-legacy article. It does not involve making ink or doing business. It is a story with a strong plot.]

"How many people did you see along the way you escaped?" He Shanyue lowered his eyes and took out a pair of scissors.

She stood up slowly, her expression calm and composed, but she was praying in her heart: I hope the other party won’t notice her legs trembling like a sieve and her weak and empty self.

——Once the round-eyed young man suddenly attacked, the three of them had completely lost the initiative and were completely powerless to resist.

“Just two!” The round-eyed boy wiped his face and wiped away his tears with difficulty: “I saw those two men.”

He Shanyue nodded slightly, bent down to pick up a vine from the ground, and tied the round-eyed boy's hands together.

The round-eyed boy stretched out his hands in front of him. Not only did he not struggle, he didn't even show any dissatisfaction. He was obedient and calm. When he spoke, there was a bit of absurd excitement hidden in his words: "Are we going to kill those two people?"

He Shanyue pursed her lips and said, "No."

"Not going?" The boy raised his voice. Xiao Er realized something was wrong and lowered his voice. He said in a submissive manner again: "Then what should we do?"

"Nothing to do, just wait." He Shanyue said, but his hands were not idle either, tying the boy's hands into a knot: "Let them kill them, we will wait until the end."

There is not much difference between tying up people and tying up the New Year pig.

He Shanyue patted the knot and said, "We don't ask for money, as long as we can find a path out of the mountain, we can survive."

The round-eyed boy didn't respond. Instead, he looked at Qiu Erniang and He Shuiguang who were cowering on the side and asked, "Are you three mother and daughter?"

He Shanyue replied: "Yes."

Then he deftly made three torches with vines and scattered firewood, took out a flint from his arms and handed it to He Shuiguang, asking her to light all three torches.

The round-eyed boy widened his eyes: "Aren't you guys willing to be a target?"

He Shanyue looked at the round-eyed boy with a half-smile, and said simply: "It's just a confirmation."

The round-eyed boy didn't understand, but it didn't matter whether he understood or not. He turned away and continued to ask in fear: "What should we do now?"

He Shanyue looked at the round-eyed boy again and said, "Xunshan." He handed the long vine to Qiu Erniang and He Shuiguang in turn. The tail of the vine tightly bound the round-eyed boy.

He Shanyue looked up at the sky and decided to walk in the direction of the star's tail.

After walking for more than a quarter of an hour, He Shanyue said in surprise: "It's dark in the southwest! Maybe there's no one guarding that place!"

After he finished speaking, He Shanyue glanced at the boy and saw that the round-eyed boy quickly curled the corners of his mouth and then quickly smoothed it down as if nothing had happened.

He Shanyue's heart sank. In the woods not far away, there were a few shimmering ripples of water. Above them were green clouds and old trees. It seemed that they were puddles formed by the heavy rain five or six days ago, and they had not dried up because of the lush forest.

The four of them then walked outside. Early birds flew into the forest, night snakes returned to their nests, and the night was as bright as day. It was as absurd as if they had accidentally entered Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. They walked forward step by step aimlessly, not knowing where there was hope, yet fearing that everywhere was a fatal flaw. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Qiu Erniang's sobs gradually became clearly audible.

Suddenly, a muffled groan was heard in the distance, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

"Those two are dead too." The round-eyed boy stared at the direction where the voice came from.

He Shanyue was walking in front and stopped.

It seemed as if there were more lanterns around in an instant.

The smell of pine oil suddenly became strong.

Countless arrows were shot at the treetops, and the lanterns hanging on the treetops lit up one after another from near to far. With a "boom", a huge brazier filled with pine oil appeared in the open space a hundred steps away. It was even more unknown when a sandalwood carriage frame pulled by eight horses appeared. The sound of stringed instruments rang out beside the carriage frame, and a dozen graceful white shadows swayed to accompany the music. He Shuiguang moved towards his sister little by little, his eyes filled with fear: "Is it a ghost? Is it a ghost...?"

Not a ghost, but a human being.

He Shanyue narrowed his eyes slightly and saw several people with unbridled and arrogant looks sitting on the carriage behind the shadows of the trees.

A person who is scarier than a ghost.

The man in black descended from the sky and quickly pushed the four people to the center of the ground.

Without the obstruction of tree shadows and vines, He Shanyue raised his head and stared at the sandalwood platform frame.

There were five people on the carriage, four men and one woman, the woman sitting in the middle. All of them were young, about sixteen or seventeen years old, leaning on seats decorated with long white feathers, with a low desk in front of them. On the desk were crystal clear grapes, fruits that had never been seen before, wine glasses that were made of unknown material but emitted a brilliant halo, and many double-handled wine cups that were also tilted in all directions.

The fine wine flowing on the sandalwood frame exudes an intoxicating aroma.

The four people strung together by vines on the flat ground looked like a group of cramped ants in front of the tall frame.

"Look! Look! They look like two bedbugs tied together!" The woman, who was the center of attention, had fair skin, black hair, a pair of narrow and long phoenix eyes, and a bright red teardrop mole right under her eye.

She tilted her shoulders, with her chin resting on her shoulder, her eyes were blurry but her smile was ostentatious. She was smiling at everyone, but her eyes glanced to the left.

"Who said it wasn't? I can smell the stench even from such a distance!" The only man who was not sitting and serving wine outside the table hurriedly replied, half squatting beside the woman and pouring wine: "This is the first time in Songjiang Prefecture. Next time, tell these lowly people to rinse with cold water before abducting them."

The woman's expression faded, and she moved the wine cup slightly away: "Don't speak Songjiang dialect, I don't want to listen."

The man on the right of the woman immediately said, "Who said it wasn't! As soon as I hear Jiangnan dialect, I will definitely blow up the cat!"

"How dare you nag at your mother when she's talking?" The woman with the phoenix eyes glanced at her sideways, the light in her eyes still falling on the far left.

The man on the right had sparse eyebrows and was the most burly. His voice was very similar to the tone that came from the copper trumpet at the beginning, excited and high-pitched: "My mother is my mother. What a vile place, how dare you mention my mother!"

The woman with phoenix eyes covered her lips and giggled, then bumped the elbow of the man on her left: "Little brother Xue, did you enjoy today's show?"

The man on the left is the youngest, with thin shoulders and a bad complexion. He stammered, "I...I didn't pay much attention."

The burly man sneered, "Oh, you have the guts of a dead cat." He turned his head again, his eyes fixed on the audience, "Why are there so many people left today? - Today's killing was slow, and it didn't look good. They looked like a bunch of sick chickens!"

This man's gaze was like a poisoned knife, and wherever it fell, blood was killed.

Qiu Erniang suppressed the frightened sobs in her throat and tried to move closer to her eldest daughter.

Everything that had happened tonight had overturned her poor cognition of half her life.

He Shanyue quietly loosened the vine in his hand and followed the woman's gaze, glancing to the far left.

The man on the far left has been silent. He is dressed in white, drinking with his face up. He has a high nose and deep eyes. He is indeed a man of the best appearance.

The bustling laughter and noise on the frame sounded like the ticking of an hourglass.

"We won, didn't we?"

He Shanyue raised his head and spoke.

(End of this chapter)