The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 539 has passed. If the ancient house has spirits, please follow me.
During the Lantern Festival last year, the lanterns were as bright as day. The moon was above the treetops, and people made appointments after dusk.

This year's Lantern Festival...

This year... there is no Lantern Festival...

Shen Le stared blankly at the Qingfeng Tower burning into a huge pillar of fire. The pillar of fire illuminated the entire long street and half of East City, and suddenly collapsed with a roar.

That pearl of the Citong City, which once stood above the harbor during the Lantern Festival and was a famous building where the city's gentry came to socialize and sing, is now destroyed by war and is no different from the most humble of residential buildings.

Thousands of broken wood and eaves flew into the air accompanied by the loud bang, pouring down like a rain of fire.

It fell on houses, shops, and people fleeing for their lives, causing exclamations and screams:

"The building collapsed!"

"The building collapsed!"

"Qingfeng Tower collapsed——"

Shen Le suddenly turned around and looked towards the west of the city. Haiyue Tower, located in the middle of Jubao Street, was built by foreign merchants and was specially used for banquets.
That Haiyue Tower with a strange onion-shaped roof, "where all the utensils were engraved with silver and Kunlun slaves performed art during the banquet"...

It stood quietly in the darkness, with lights all over the building, as always.

On the eaves outside the building, there is a revolving lantern in the shape of a ship. The lampshade is carved from rhinoceros horn and the shadow of a ship is carved on the cover, projecting it onto the wall like a formation of boats breaking through the waves.

It's still fine.

It's still good, and maybe it will continue to be good and prosperous for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years...

It is obvious who was behind the fall of Citong City and who benefited the most from it.

Shen Le couldn't help but sneer. Twenty years, thirty years, maybe it could continue to be prosperous, but what about fifty years?

A hundred years?!

People who betrayed this city and this country, do you really think that you will not be held accountable or face revenge?

He clenched his fists tightly and stared at the brightly lit Haiyue Tower in the distance. He did not blink even though his eyes were pierced by the light and tears came out.

The screams, cries, and pleas for mercy from under my feet were like waves sweeping in. From time to time, a scream would rise halfway and then suddenly disappear. It was unclear whether it was being covered by someone or the throat was cut by a knife.

With the ancestral hall as the center, the closer you get, the quieter it becomes. Shen Le doesn't know if the old women left in the ancestral hall are still alive, or if they have already left on their way.

And on the stone road below, the clattering sounds were extremely rapid and extremely suppressed.

Shen Le lowered his head. The heavy door of the ancestral hall was pushed open a little. Someone walked in quickly with a bent back, lowered his voice, and greeted quietly:
"Quick! Quick! Here!"

"come on in!"

"Don't stand in the yard! Go to the wing! Go upstairs! Go hide in the little room!"

"This is an ancestral hall, how can we just enter casually..."

"What's wrong with the ancestral hall? The elders of the clan have already run away. For those of us who can't run, what's wrong with hiding in the ancestral hall? - Mother, keep your head down, be careful not to get bumped, I'll carry you up..."

"Alian, hold the child tightly..."

One by one, one group of the elderly, the weak, women and children, tiptoed in carefully and then went into their small houses.

Some people lay down silently, some held their children and rocked them gently, and some went upstairs and uttered a half-scream:
"what--"

It was only half a sound, and then it disappeared immediately, probably because he tried hard to cover his mouth. Shen Le pricked up his ears and heard silence for a long time before a soft sob broke out:

"Ninth sister-in-law..."

Shen Le lowered his head in silence. The last few men who came in silently closed the door of the ancestral hall, lifted the heavy bolt, and leaned outside the door to listen.

After a while, the sound of stumbling footsteps came closer and closer. Outside the ancestral hall, someone knocked gently on the door, accompanied by a low voice shouting:
"Shanshan! - Shanshan, are you there?"

Zhao Mengying was panting heavily. His quiver was already empty, and the Seven Star Sword, which he held tightly in his right hand, was only half broken.

The left hand holds a lamp pole, on which a tortoise-shell picture engraved with a ship entering the sea is wrapped with silver threads.

That was the revolving lantern he won for her during the Lantern Festival at the beginning of the year. She held the lantern and walked with him along the long street. Countless envious eyes fell on them.

When he sent her home, the colorful lantern was hung in her boudoir. She said that seeing the colorful lantern was like seeing him by her side.

When he arrived this time, the lantern had been smashed, leaving only the lamp pole and a few fragments.

He turned and rushed to the back door. On the stone steps lay the body of the Huang residence's housekeeper. In the old man's hand, he was still tightly grasping half of the door bolt.

A five-foot-long bloodstain was left on the bluestone slab. One could imagine how the injured old man struggled to catch up, but he eventually collapsed due to exhaustion...

"Shanshan!"

The smell of blood almost choked Zhao Mengying. Shanshan, where is Shanshan? Not at home, not in her boudoir... Oh, right, the ancestral hall, the ancestral hall...

He staggered in the direction of the scattered lantern fragments. He stepped out of the back door, turned the corner, and was about to reach the entrance of the female shrine when a bloody smell suddenly blew in with the wind.

A Semu man wearing a turban came out from behind the wall, holding a scimitar tightly, the blade reflecting the cold light of the blood moon. When their eyes met, the other party bared his teeth and grinned, Zhao Mengying shuddered all over and moved sideways!

Sa——

The sharp blade of the broken sword pierced into Hu Shang's throat. His green eyes widened instantly, and a gurgling sound came from his throat, which soon turned into a gurgling sound of bubbles.

Zhao Mengying looked down at him, a sneer in his eyes:
He recognized this guy. He was a sea merchant who had just visited his uncle's house two months ago. He sat on the gatehouse stool and waited very obediently, not daring to drink a sip of tea.

And now, now, he actually dared to rush into the Huang Family Ancestral Hall with a knife, and the knife was stained with blood!

It's true. The Tartars are in the same group. They can never be tamed even in ten thousand years. Do they dare to burn, kill and loot just by relying on the power of the Mongolian Tartars?

He panted heavily for a few times, tightly grasped the broken sword, and walked quickly towards the ancestral hall. He knocked on the door and called softly. After only the third call, the door of the ancestral hall opened a little, revealing Shanshan's panicked and surprised little face:
"Aying! You're here?!"

"The city has been breached, and uncle and his men have evacuated..."

Zhao Mengying quickly looked up and down his fiancée through the crack in the door. On her dusty little face, her eyes were bright and clear;
The white nails of her bare hands pressed against the crack of the door. She didn't know whether she was too panicked or the door was too heavy. She couldn't move it even with all her strength.

Under the hem of the plain cloth skirt, a pearl is on the tip of the embroidered shoe, sparkling with lustrous brilliance...

Very good, very good, intact, not a single scratch. He reached out to hold the little hand:

"Follow me quickly!"

"You are hurt?!"

At the same time, Shanshan's exclamation came from the crack in the door. Her cheek was pressed tightly against the crack in the door, and it was slightly deformed. Her bright eyes were fixed on her fiancé:
"Blood……"

"From someone else." Zhao Mengying answered quickly. He crossed the sword to his left hand, and pressed the door with his right hand, using his arms, shoulders, waist and legs to push the door wider.

As he exerted force, several wounds on his left leg and right shoulder felt a burning pain, but he didn't even frown and held Shanshan tightly:
"Quick! Follow me!"

The girl's graceful figure crossed the threshold and threw herself into his arms. Zhao Mengying embraced his fiancée and was about to take her away when his expression suddenly changed:
Footsteps!
The familiar sound of military boots hitting the ground is heavy and compelling, like a ghost!

"Hide in quickly!"

Zhao Mengying's face was solemn. He pushed the girl into the door with his backhand. It was too late to escape. A group of Tartar soldiers turned the corner, wearing heavy armor and with blood on their spears.

Zhao Mengying's pupils contracted violently. He recognized the scarred man in the lead. Three hours ago, it was the man who shot his third brother's throat with an arrow!

This guy is very strong and powerful. Even if I am not injured, I am no match for him...

If I fight head-on, I will lose my life here. Although I am not afraid of losing my life, if I fight the Tartars here, they will definitely search the ancestral hall and kill me...

The only way now is to run and lead them away, so that Shanshan and the others can have a chance to survive...

All sorts of thoughts flashed through Zhao Mengying's mind, and he turned and ran. Behind him, the vague sound of wild laughter was chased by the wind and hit his spine:
"Little bastard..."

Before he finished speaking, an arrow rang out!
Zhao Mengying suddenly fell forward and rolled on the ground. The arrow feather passed over his shoulder and hit the wooden pillar in front of him heavily. The tail of the arrow was still swaying and almost hit the back of his head.

He ignored the severe pain in his left leg and continued running. He ran around the corner, leaped forward, and rolled out from the wall on the right.

Shen Le stood high on the roof of the ancestral hall, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this moment. It would be good if one person could escape, he thought, even if one person escaped, it would be good...

However, there was a loud bang under his feet. Shen Le looked down and saw that the Tartar soldiers did not pursue him, but instead formed a team, turned around, and stared at the gate of the ancestral hall.

The scarred sergeant in the lead shouted a few times, and then people dispersed, searched the surroundings, and carried a large piece of wood over.

Seven or eight soldiers crossed the big wood, carried it on their shoulders, retreated, retreated, retreated to the end, and then suddenly rushed forward!

boom!
boom!
boom! ! !
At the first sound, the heavy wooden door shook, and the bolt made an unpleasant sound;

The second time, the bowl-thick door bolt creaked and broke in half;
With the third sound, the door bolt burst open, and the two wooden doors bounced inwards. The front end of the big wooden block was inserted into the gap between the doors!

"@#￥%..." The Tartar soldiers threw down the big logs, looked up and laughed wildly, pointing at the bursting wooden door and talking in unison.

Shen Le didn't understand their language, but he could guess that they were probably saying things like "the door is open" or "there are rich people inside" -

It’s hard to escape like this!

Shen Le felt heavy in his heart. Shanshan, the women and children who had fled to the ancestral hall, the young man carrying his mother on his back, the young child in his mother's arms...

I just hope those Tartar soldiers only rob things and don't kill people...

I hope that the people hiding in the ancestral hall can live, live... no matter how difficult it is, no matter what kind of insults they suffer, they must live, and insist on living...

There was a slight sound of tiles clattering behind his head. He turned back suddenly and saw that Ah Ying had flipped over from the other side and was lying on the eaves.

He carried a quiver filled with several feather arrows on his back. He stared at the Tatar soldiers entering the ancestral hall. He pretentiously placed a white feather arrow on his horn bow and prepared to attack.

"Kill them...Kill them!"

Shen Le picked up two tiles, held them in his hands, and muttered to himself. In this memory, he could not use magic or force, and even if he threw two tiles down, he would not hurt anyone:

However, he still held out a glimmer of hope:

Kill these Tartar soldiers, or at least kill a few of them, and escape, escape safely...

The Tartar soldiers were already shouting loudly, brandishing their swords and marching inward. Bowstrings rang, and the first feathered arrow fell from the eaves and shot at the scarred Tartar leading the group.

Scarface's skills are really good, and his reaction is really quick. He leaned sideways in the midst of his busy schedule to avoid the arrow.

The arrow hit a man behind him. The man screamed in pain, pulled the arrow out from the gap between the armor plates, and pointed it upwards.

Scarface was furious. He pointed his finger and the soldiers around him scattered and walked out of the ancestral hall gate:

Arrests!

Catch him!

Zhao Mengying sneered, shot down two more arrows, leaped up, jumped over the eaves, and disappeared.

"Okay! That's it! We should fight guerrilla warfare with them!"

Shen Le clenched his fist and gave him a thumbs up. Unfortunately, this is a bow and arrow, and it doesn't look like a hard bow, there are not enough arrows, and that Aying was injured again;

If it was a gun, even a revolver with twenty rounds of bullets, I could knock them all down here!

The Tartar soldiers were wearing heavy armor and were obviously unable to climb up to the roof. They circled around in the alleys and roads, and were hit by several arrows, but to no avail.

Scarface saw his subordinates return empty-handed, sneered slightly, suddenly raised his voice and said a few words, raised his hand and waved. His subordinates responded loudly, raised their shields, swarmed forward, and advanced into the rooms of the ancestral hall!
"Oops!"

Shen Le clenched his palm fiercely. This shot hit the vital point!

Even if these Tartar soldiers failed to find Shanshan, as long as they found a few women and children and committed atrocities against them, Aying would definitely not ignore it!
If they didn't resist and just ran away, it would be like putting Shanshan and the others to death;

If he drew his sword to resist, how could he defeat so many people by himself? !

Sure enough, there were screams and cries in the ancestral hall. The doors of the side rooms were kicked open roughly, followed by a series of kicking and wooden breaking sounds.

Shen Le watched helplessly as a Tartar soldier grabbed a young woman by her hair, dragged her to the center of the courtyard, and threw her to the ground.

Beside the young woman, a young man was being held at bay by two scimitars. He tried to charge forward several times, and blood splattered all over his body each time.
The young woman held a baby tightly in her arms and begged repeatedly, but before she could finish her words, the child was violently snatched away by the Tartar soldiers and thrown high into the sky!
Below, several spears were standing at an angle, shining coldly.

Shen Le closed his eyes tightly and turned away. He had never seen such atrocities before. Even the most realistic anti-Japanese dramas dared not act or film such scenes.
From below, there were sounds of pleading, crying, and cursing, mixed with the sound of long knives entering flesh and bodies falling to the ground...

Zheng!
Zheng!
Zheng!
The bowstrings rang three times in succession. The three Tatar soldiers who were committing atrocities fell to the ground. However, the bowstrings rang twice, and two feather arrows suddenly shot out from the window, one on the left and one on the right, crossing and blocking the direction where Aying could dodge!

On the eaves, a half scream was immediately suppressed by the owner. Shen Le frowned:
Aying is injured!
In a split second, he dodged an arrow, but was still hit by one. What's worse, the Tartar soldiers' actions were repeatable!
They could even call on their teammates and repeat this action over and over again until Ah Ying couldn't stand it anymore and rushed out to fight them or left on her own...

No matter what Aying chooses, it will not stop them from wreaking havoc and killing everyone in the ancestral hall.

"you go!"

The window on the second floor of the ancestral hall suddenly opened, and a figure leaned out. Shanshan stood by the window, and she had changed into a wedding dress without knowing when. The colorful embroidery was dazzling with gold and red.

Lotus patterns embroidered with gold thread bloomed on her sleeves and hem. Just by standing there, she immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the yard.

"Beauty!"

"Little lady!"

"Come down quickly, little girl, and let your brother love you!"

"My dear, if you obey me, I will let your lover go, okay?"

The Tartar soldiers in the courtyard whistled loudly, stamped their feet, and waved upwards. Shen Le couldn't help but sneer:

It seems that many of these Tartar soldiers are Han people!

They forgot their origins and ancestors, knelt down at the feet of the Tartars, and joined them in bullying their compatriots!
Damn—damn!
Zhao Mengying was lying on the roof, and he had obviously thought of all this, his teeth were chattering. But he didn't dare to make a sound, for fear of startling Shanshan:
Shanshan was wearing a wedding dress, her face was covered with tears, and she held the skirt knife tightly in her right hand, holding it against her neck:
"Aying! Go! Go! Avenge me! If you don't leave, I will die in front of you!"

"Shanshan!"

From the eaves, there was a long scream, like crying blood. Shanshan ignored it and exerted force with her right hand. A blood mark flowed down her neck, which was shocking:

"I'll count to three! One! Two!"

Before she could count to three, there was a whirring sound of arrows in the courtyard below. With just one arrow, the skirt knife in her hand was broken, causing her to stumble and retreat two steps.

The Tartar soldiers in the yard cheered excitedly, and someone immediately rushed into the room, stepping on the stairs with iron boots, and quickly went up. Ah Ying shouted angrily, jumped down the yard, and ran to the small house where Shanshan was:

"Shanshan! Shanshan! Don't die! I'll take you away—"

"do not come!"

There was a scream in the room. In a moment, Shen Le watched Shanshan leap up and jump out of the window. Her hair was disheveled, and she held the golden hairpin in her bun in her hand and inserted it deeply into her throat:

With a loud bang, the girl fell headfirst to the ground. Blood flowed out from under her body, and along with her wedding dress, it blossomed into a tragic flower.

Shen Le held the window frame with his hands and sighed deeply. He watched Zhao Mengying roar in pain, wielding the broken sword and rushing towards the girl;
Watching him try to pick up his fiancée, and finally only taking the golden hairpin from her throat and holding it tightly in his hand;

Watching him wield his sword and fight while retreating, he retreated into the main hall of the ancestral hall;
Watching him climb up to the roof beam, trying to shoot a few more arrows from above and kill a few more Tartars;

I watched him kill one, two, three, and then thousands of arrows were fired from below, nailing him to the beam. He only held the golden hairpin tightly in his mouth, and he didn't even let out a scream until the end...

Looking at the entire ancestral hall, all those who were hiding were searched out. Men were killed, women were humiliated, and blood flowed all over the ancestral hall and soaked deep into the cracks of the bricks;

Watching the three courtyards being destroyed, watching women holding their children, desperately jumping into the ancient well...

The clouds and mist were lingering, and the light and shadows flickered. Shen Le stood there in a daze, and did not come back to his senses until he had exited his memory and returned to the present:

Is that right?

So, is this the ending that this ancient house has carved into the cracks in the bricks, the soil, and the ancient well, and that it will never forget?
The blood of the tribe members flowed in the ancient house, and the lives of the tribe members disappeared in the ancient house. Even though a group of people had already evacuated, even though the ancestral tablets and sacrificial utensils had been left in advance——

But the house is still here. For this ancient house, the main branch and the side branch, the rich and the poor, are all the blood of the clan and are the objects of his care and cherishment.

It must be painful for it to watch its people being humiliated and killed...

"It has passed……"

He reached out and gently touched the wall of the well. These protruding bricks had once been stained with blood.
These rippling well waters once gently embraced the tribesmen and saved them from the final humiliation;

This heavy soil once contained the bones of the tribesmen. If they died in the well and were not salvaged quickly, or if they were not salvaged carefully afterwards...

He sighed softly. The cold mist at the well mouth rose and fell, lingering around him, as if crying out in pain, or singing a gentle song of sorrow.

After a long while, Shen Le came back to his senses and gently patted the pen holder:
"Come, help me. Give me the model again so I can seal it again - this time, I know where the key points are!"

Two clay figurines jumped out of the pen holder, one in front and one behind, carrying the model. Shen Le walked to the third entrance, looked around, and walked to the bottom of the corner of the second floor with the bricks standing upright:

On the floor tiles, the lotus mark quietly emerged and kept flashing. Shen Le concentrated his mind and calmed down, spreading his mental power, trying to communicate with the entire courtyard:
Connected to the small room above, connected to where the girl once stood, connected to the floor tiles where her blood flowed, connected to where her wedding dress was spread out:
He followed the lotus mark on the floor tiles and walked inside step by step.

The cold mist filled the air, and the lotus mark gradually changed from a golden embroidered pattern to a bloody one, and then to a bloody footprint.
The footprints extended to the beams of the house, and blood dripped down again. Finally, it turned into a whirlwind and entered the model beside Shen Le, disappearing.

Shen Le walked slowly in the old house. Every brick seam, every inch of ground, was where men, women, and children were killed and abused.
Where the old, middle-aged, and young men held the bolts and clubs and fought to their last breath;

Those places where parents open their arms and use their chests to protect their children from swords and guns, fighting for even a second of life;
And there is that ancient well, and the wronged souls that sank into it...

As time goes by, the wronged souls have probably been reincarnated long ago, but this silent old house is still guarding the original resentment, which refuses to disappear.

Shen Le walked slowly around the house, picking up wisps of smoke of various colors and stuffing them into the model:
"If you can't let it go, then come with me... This mansion should be left to the human world, and stop disturbing the living..."

(End of this chapter)