Exorcism

There was an itch on his wrist, and Shen Xiuming opened his eyes suddenly. He still had two or three minutes of hard training at Pangshan Yangshen Peak left. He subconsciously grabbed the child's arm, but it was too late, and tied it around the wrist. The reins have been untied, and the last mount gallops away. Another half-grown man is lying on the horse's back, shouting constantly.

"Let go!" the captured child screamed, lowering his head and biting the back of the adult's hand.

Shen Xiuming felt a sharp pain, and the despair, sadness, and anger of the past half month surged into his heart. He raised his other hand and slapped the child hard.

The power of this palm was not small. The child was hit so hard that he leaned forward. He no longer struggled or bit. His face was dirty, and there was fear and stubbornness in his eyes. It was a kind of "I won't give in if you hit me whatever you want." "The look on his face, the corners of his mouth were bleeding, and he didn't know who it belonged to.

The back of Shen Xiuming's hand was bitten, but the palm failed to let him vent. "The monsters burned down my hometown and killed my family. You and your partners stole my horse. Thank you." You, I finally have nothing. This is human beings, not worth protecting at all. They are destined to perish. Go ahead and steal, rob, kill, and burn. You are worthy of doing this. Get away. The demon soldiers will take care of you."

Shen Xiuming let go of the child's wrist and let him run away in a daze. He lay on the thin blanket again, feeling disheartened and even regretting escaping from the imperial capital.

That was half a month ago, but everything seemed to have happened before falling asleep: countless gray giant snakes rose up, surrounded the imperial capital, and the 100,000 talismans guarding the city dragged long rays of light flying towards The giant snakes around were a magnificent sight, as if the Milky Way had burst its banks and the stars were scattered. However, the magnificence could not save the imperial capital. The meteor-like talismans were no more powerful than fireflies and could not stop the magic snakes at all.

Fire spewed from the earth, fire fell from the sky, and the entire imperial capital and millions of people were thrown into the sea of ​​fire.

Shen Xiuming's heart was tightening. He was only a dozen miles away from his family, but he could never finish running. The imperial capital at that time was an abyss and death, far beyond what his courage could bear. He He turned his horse and fled to a place with few flames. He did not rush into the sea of ​​fire to find his wife, nor did he look for the nearest Huangfu Army outpost.

He didn't know how many humans had escaped that disaster. They just rode horses and kept running, losing another horse along the way. When he met the refugees at dawn, no one knew what happened, let alone where they were going. Here, I just drifted with the flow, following the people in front, hoping to be as far away from the imperial capital and the demon clan as possible.

For half a month, Shen Xiuming had not had a full meal or a solid night's sleep. His mind was blank. There seemed to be a whip behind him that kept beating until the last horse was stolen. The energy in his body The child finally slacked off, and the sadness of losing his loved ones, the fear of the collapse of the building all came to his heart, as well as deep self-blame.

The question that he had never dared to think about finally emerged in his mind: If he had not escaped at that time, but fought hard, could he have killed the two monsters, one old and one young, and thus rescued the imperial capital and his relatives in the city? ?

The possibility of success was as slim as using the saliva from your mouth to put out the fire that burned down the whole city, but this thought tortured him, because he didn't even try. After saying so many righteous words to the old demon, But he fled cowardly.

"Xiao Qiu..." Shen Xiuming has never missed his good friends as much as he does now. He needs, and the entire human race needs, the leadership of brave and fearless people.

The noise in the distance was getting closer and closer, but Shen Xiuming didn't care. He suddenly realized that he was no better than the two children who stole the horse. He was neither worthy of living nor worth saving.

"Queen Xun, Queen Xun..."

Shen Xiuming got up quickly. If there was any name that could make his heart surge as much as "Mu Xingqiu", it would be "Queen Xun" - the former princess of Xijie Kingdom.

How did she escape from the fire in Huangjing? Why are you here? A series of questions arose in Shen Xiuming's mind. He temporarily put aside the despair in his heart and ran towards the road with many refugees.

This is a valley on the roadside, where tens of thousands of exhausted refugees have gathered. They are lying on the ground. The men are guarding the remaining belongings, the women are holding their crying babies numbly, and the two children are cooperating to steal Shen Xiuming's belongings. When the horse was being driven away, many people around him saw it, and no one was minding their own business.

Only the three words "Queen Xun" can wake up this group of desperate refugees.

"Is that really Queen Xun?"

"It's not like that. The royal family all have talismans. It's not difficult to travel thousands of miles in a day. Even if Queen Xun escapes from the imperial capital, she should run in front of us."

"Even so, the ostentation is not big enough. There are only a dozen guards and not even a carriage. Can the Queen ride a horse? Definitely not.

Shen Xiuming squeezed into the crowd and said nothing. He had seen Queen Xun riding a horse. At that time, she was still the princess of Xijie Kingdom, charging and fighting with the soldiers on the battlefield outside Duanliu City, but he had not seen her since then. The true appearance of the princess, and the occasional contact is through the attendants around the princess.

He squeezed forward hard and finally saw the woman on the horse clearly, but he didn't dare to recognize her. He was not a Taoist priest. His memory gradually became blurred as the years passed, and the gap with the reality became wider and wider.

It was a beautiful woman, wearing simple leather armor. She looked a bit like the princess in Shen Xiuming's memory, but she seemed to be missing something.

Tenacity, dignity, faith... these are gone. The woman not far away is more like an ordinary refugee, with a sad face and a little confused, as if she has strayed into the crowd and has no idea what she is going to do. No wonder everyone is I don’t believe she is really the “Queen of Smoke”.

"Everyone, let's go to Fuhai City." The woman spoke, her voice amplified by the talisman, and the pleading in it was also amplified. "The troops of the Holy Talisman Dynasty are gathering there, and you will be protected."

The crowd was silent, and then an impolite voice asked: "You call yourself Queen Xun, what evidence is there?"

The woman smiled bitterly, "What's the benefit of pretending to be her at this time?"

The crowd believed it, but only some people knelt down, while others were quietly retreating. Shen Xiuming was also retreating, not because of suspicion, but out of shame. He was embarrassed to let Queen Xun see the surviving self.

Queen Xun signaled those who were kneeling to stand up, "The army of the Holy Talisman Dynasty can defend Fuhai City."

"I used to say that I could definitely defend the imperial capital, but... I no longer believe it. The Yellow Fu Army will attract the demon army. I want to go northeast. There is no war there."

The crowd echoed in agreement.

"It will be there soon. I have received definite news that at least three demon armies have invaded the three vassal states in the northeast and are advancing towards the territory of the Holy Talisman Dynasty."

The crowd was silent. They fled in a hurry and had no way of knowing what was happening in the distance. Another voice sounded: "Then let's go south. The Treading Country has just defeated the demon army, so it is safer than Floating Sea City."

"Yes, when we go to the Treading Country, the demon army destroys the Imperial Capital, and they will definitely attack Floating Sea City. It's not safe there."

"If it doesn't work, just get a boat and go to the sea. Anyway, don't go to Floating Sea City."

Queen Xun waited for the crowd to calm down before speaking: "You can go to the Treading Country, but a war is about to start there. This is not a war between the Sacrificial Country and the Shengfu Dynasty. This is a confrontation between demons and the entire human race. The royal family and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty I have disappointed you. The security we promised did not come true and the victory we promised did not come. I apologize. This was our mistake."

The Queen personally admitted her mistake to the people. This was the first time. The oldest person among the refugees recalled what he had seen and heard, and could not recall that similar things had happened in the history of the Shengfu Dynasty.

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Queen Xun also fell silent, because the next words were too difficult to say, but she would eventually say that it was her duty as Queen Xun.

"I want to tell you the truth. Floating Sea City is not impregnable. The demon army of the Shishen Kingdom will definitely attack. There is also news that a demon army is approaching from the sea."

"But Her Royal Highness the Queen still wants us to go to Fuhai City?" an old man asked.

"Because there is no truly safe place in the world. Aimless escape will further disperse human power and give the demon army an opportunity. I hope that the surviving humans can unite. I hope... everyone will allow me to do this for you." Make a decision.”

Every decision made on the way to escape could be a matter of life and death. The crowd started to discuss in a buzzing manner. The fall of Huangjing made them lose a lot of trust in Queen Xun, but they themselves didn't know where to go. Although the world is big, it suddenly seemed like they were everywhere. They are all monsters and monsters.

"There is really no way to survive." Someone burst into tears.

Queen Xun waited for a while before speaking slowly, her voice slightly hoarse. This was obviously not the first time she had persuaded refugees, "Let me make the decision for you. If I am wrong -"

If she is wrong, it will mean the death of thousands of people, but someone must bear the heavy responsibility to reunite the humanity that is dispersing like quicksand.

"If I am wrong, please accuse me, hate me, cut me into pieces, crush my bones into ashes, that is the punishment I deserve. Please don't blame yourself, please don't lose hope, because there is only hope left for mankind. It’s on each of you.”

Queen Xun paused. She was good at winning people's hearts, but she hated this skill at this moment, because she couldn't tell whether the words she just said were more of a performance or more of true feelings.

But these words did take effect. Queen Xun's reputation, her personal appearance, her humble gesture, and every word she said moved this group of confused refugees.

"I'm going with Queen Xun." Shen Xiuming said loudly. He was not used to speaking in public, so his voice trembled slightly. "As long as all human beings are not dead, it is not a complete defeat. We lost Duanliu City and the Emperor." Jing, you’ve lost half of your country, don’t lose what’s left of your dignity, then turn around and fight!”

Queen Xun probably recognized Shen Xiuming and smiled at him.

The refugees are not soldiers. Even if they are persuaded, they will not cheer in unison. They nod and observe each other's reactions, so this is done. After many days of fleeing, they finally have an imperfect but clear understanding. destination.

Someone pulled on his sleeve. Shen Xiuming turned his head and was surprised to see the two brothers who had just stolen the horse standing behind him. The face of the child who had been slapped by him was still swollen. He put the reins into his hand and Without saying a word, he turned around and ran away.

For the first time, Shen Xiuming had the belief to fight for something.

He squeezed through the crowd, and Queen Xun bent down on the horse, with obvious fatigue and sadness on her beautiful face. She was not as determined as she appeared, and she needed encouragement, "My God, I really want to hear some admiration now." According to the news about Xingqiu, I don’t believe that he is dead.”

"He is still alive." Shen Xiu Ming said confidently, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Queen Xun smiled. What she needed was confidence and she didn't care about the authenticity of the news.