Chapter 183: Wuxiang City Is Like a Ruin

Hearing the words Qingzhuling, the expressions of Yao Wang and the men behind him changed drastically.

"What is your relationship with Qingzhuling?" Yao Wang asked in a deep voice.

Zhao Ya smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, I just have some accounts to settle with Qingzhuling."

"So there is a grudge?" Yao Wang heard the meaning and immediately asked.

"So be it."

Yao Wang then took a deep breath and said slowly: "To be honest, we also have a grudge against Qingzhuling."

"Oh? What grudge?"

"Our group has been occupying Yusong Mountain at the junction of Wuxiang City and Guangqing City. We are in harmony with Qingzhuling."

"I didn't expect that two months ago, Qingzhuling suddenly invaded in large numbers. We were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. We even lost our old nest that we had been operating for many years. We had no choice but to escape from Wuxiang City with our men and live here. "

Zhao Ya observed secretly and found that Yao Wang's face was full of anger when he said this, and his expression did not seem to be fake, so he asked.

"Then why did Qingzhuling suddenly attack you?"

"I didn't know, and not only us, but also the surrounding forces have been almost wiped out. This Qingzhu Ridge is just like crazy, attacking everywhere, and the attacks are extremely ruthless."

Zhao Ya frowned and thought for a moment after hearing this, and then continued: "I heard that there is a plague over there in Wuxiang City, and the situation is very bad. Do you know this?"

"I have heard about it, but I don't know the specific situation because I haven't entered the city, but the number of wild beasts in the mountains and forests around Wuxiang City has increased significantly, and they are all attacking people like crazy."

Zhao Ya's heart moved slightly, he secretly wrote down this information, and then nodded.

"Very good, now let's talk about your affairs. Your third village leader had evil intentions and spoke rudely to the women I brought with me. So I first defeated his tricks, but I didn't expect that he would still persist in his obsession and even ordered his subordinates to attack me. He laid siege and I took his life."

"I'm here now. If you want revenge, just come up and I'll take care of you." Zhao Ya said calmly.

There was a commotion in the crowd.

Although they were all eager to avenge Fang Dao's death, when Zhao Ya said these four words so calmly and calmly, all of them were frightened.

No one is a fool.

Especially being able to successfully escape from the siege of Qingzhuling proves that these people know how to survive.

This young man of unknown origin is obviously not an ordinary person, otherwise he would not dare to enter Blackwater City alone.

At this moment, a hurried shout came from the distant street.

"Wait a moment!"

Then I saw Tian Heng running over.

He had been injured during the previous fight with Fang Dao, and now that he had run so far in one breath, his face turned abnormally flushed.

Zhao Ya couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw it was him.

"How did you come?"

Tian Heng said breathlessly: "I...I was worried that you would be alone, so I came...to help you."

After saying that, he stood next to the carriage and looked at Yao Wang and others opposite with a solemn expression.

"Are you going to take action?"

To be honest, Tian Heng's move was beyond Zhao Ya's expectation and even made him slightly stunned.

You must know that he and Tian Heng met by chance before, but they dared to go into danger alone just because of their acquaintance. This shows that this man who is nearly fifty years old has an innocent heart that is rare in this world.

Zhao Ya immediately laughed.

"Don't worry, I can't do anything!"

As he spoke, he said to Yao Wang, whose expression was changing: "Since no one is willing to take action, prepare a clean courtyard for us. I want to rest here for the night."

Yao Wang hesitated for a moment and finally nodded, "Yes!"

Because no restaurants or inns in the city were open at this time, Yao Wang simply arranged for Zhao Ya to be in the government office.

After cleaning up, Zhao Ya said to the confused Tian Heng, "Let's go."

It wasn't until he passed through the crowd and entered the small courtyard in the government office that Tian Heng gradually came to his senses, and then asked with disbelief on his face.

"Is this the end of the matter?"

"Yes, otherwise what do you think?" Zhao Ya said.

"But... isn't that Fang Dao the leader of the third village of Yusong Mountain? If he died like this, wouldn't these people avenge him?" Tian Heng still found it difficult to accept.

Zhao Ya smiled and said, "Not everyone is like you and takes the loyalty of the world so seriously! To put it bluntly, this Yusong Mountain and even Qingzhu Ridge are just a bunch of rabble."

"Seeing that you are weak, they will bully you, but once your strength exceeds theirs, they will immediately become intimidated."

"To put it bluntly, we are all begging for food. How many people would be stupid enough to risk their lives for others?"

Tian Heng was silent.

Although he was already quite old, he had only been in the world for a few years, so Zhao Ya's words shocked him greatly.

"If others don't take revenge, then Yao Wang, as the leader of the village, doesn't dare to express his position. Isn't he afraid that his subordinates will become disloyal?" Tian Heng couldn't help but ask.

"Cleaning one's heart and being virtuous?" Zhao Ya sneered, "You think too highly of these people. They are just a group of gangsters who use their power to bully others. How can they be virtuous?"

"And this Yao Wang is obviously a smart man, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to escape from the siege in Qingzhuling, so he won't do any tricks unless he doesn't want to live anymore."

The fact was just as Zhao Ya expected.

After returning to the government office hall, no one dared to mention the word revenge.

Some people are even secretly glad that Fang Dao died, because there will be one less person to share the money with.

As for Yao Wang.

Ever since he was attacked by Qingzhuling and even lost his old nest where he had been operating for many years, Yao Wang had become disheartened and no longer had the ambition of the past.

At this time, he just wanted to make enough money as soon as possible, and then find a place to live happily for the rest of his life.

As for brotherly loyalty...how much is that thing worth?

In fact, Yao Wang had a deeper reason in his heart that he didn't say out loud.

That is, if this young man can really challenge Qingzhu Ridge successfully, then he might be able to get his Yusong Mountain back.

certainly.

Even Yao Wang himself found this idea a bit ridiculous.

After all, it was Qingzhuling where no one dared to mess with him!

No matter how strong this young man is, he can't be a match for a group of tough bandits.

But somehow, Yao Wang always had a vague feeling that this young man really seemed to have hope of destroying Qingzhuling.

The night passed safely in this strange atmosphere.

Early the next morning, Zhao Ya and his party finished breakfast, and then Yao Wang sent two minions with a tacit understanding and sent them out of the city respectfully.

Not far ahead, they came to a fork in the road. Tian Heng wanted to go east to catch up with the Gao family's caravan, while Zhao Ya wanted to go west to Wuxiang City.

So the two of them parted ways here.

Before parting, Zhao Ya said to Na Tian Heng: "Commander Tian, ​​you are loyal and loyal. This is an extremely precious quality. However, people in this world are unpredictable, so you should be more careful."

"The same goes for Young Master Zhao. You must be careful when going to Wuxiang City and don't be impulsive."

Zhao Ya smiled casually, then clasped his fists, "See you soon!"

"See you later!"

The two walked in opposite directions. After walking a few steps, Zhao Ya suddenly thought of something and turned around and shouted: "Commander Tian, ​​if you have anything to do in the future, you can come to the Dingtai Martial Arts School in the county to find me!"

"Okay!" Tian Heng shouted from a distance.

Meng Shiwen couldn't help but ask: "You seem to value this Tian Heng very much?"

Zhao Ya sighed, "I just feel that there are fewer and fewer people like him, so I can help every one."

The rest of the journey was uneventful, except for a group of blind thieves who blocked the road and robbed them. After being taught how to behave by Zhao Ya, they successfully entered the territory of Dancing Elephant City four days later.

Looking at the increasingly familiar scenery, Zhao Ya was also filled with emotion.

When he first left, he was just a third-level warrior, and was hunted down all the way. Although he managed to pull himself back in with his super visceral talent, he ended up leaving the country far away.

But now when he returns, he has already advanced to the fifth half-step realm.

It was finally time to sort out the original grudges piece by piece.

"Go back to Wuxiang City first!" Zhao Ya said.

Zui'er and Meng Shiwen had no objections.

So the carriage went westward along the official road, and finally arrived at the foot of Wuxiang City two days later.

Looking up, the city wall was even more dilapidated than before, and weeds had grown on the road in front of the city gate, creating a withered scene.

There was no guard in front of the door. Zhao Ya first asked Zui'er and Meng Shiwen to take the elixir that could prevent and cure the plague in advance, and then drove the carriage straight into the city.

The situation inside was even worse.

Many houses on both sides of the street have collapsed, and fox rats openly built nests among them. They stared at Zhao Ya's carriage with big green bean eyes. Crows circled and screamed above their heads, making it look like a doomsday scene.

Looking at this shocking scene, Zui'er turned pale and whispered: "Xiao...Brother Xiaoya, what's going on? Is there anyone in the city?"

"There should be someone else."

Zhao Ya looked into the distance. It was approaching dusk, and a few lights could be faintly seen flickering in the ghost-like city.

really.

After walking a little further in, the houses on the roadside looked a little more tidy, and occasionally someone could be seen moving behind the windows, probably peeking at Zhao Ya and the others.

Zhao Ya didn't say anything and continued walking inside.

Finally, the walls of the inner city appeared in front of them.

Compared with the dilapidated outer city, the inner city wall looks much better. At least there are guards guarding the door.

It's just that these guards are listless, with sunken eye sockets, and their clothes are shabby. It's obvious that they are not living a good life.

Even when Zhao Ya's carriage approached, the guards did not move. They just raised their eyelids and glanced, and then lowered their heads, as if they had not seen it.

Zhao Ya's carriage passed through the city gate majestically and arrived at the inner city.

The situation in the inner city is a little better than outside, at least there are pedestrians on the streets.

Although he was also in a hurry and dressed in rags, it somewhat added a bit of popularity to the city.

But compared with the once bustling and bustling scene in my memory, the gap is still too big.

So much so that Zui'er couldn't help but ask: "What happened here...? Could it be that a plague really happened and all the people in the city died?"

Zhao Ya said nothing.

In fact, he had been observing carefully since entering the city, and he actually found some clues.

For example, there was an obvious rotten smell in the air. Although the smell was very light, Zhao Ya's five senses were different from ordinary people, so he could still feel the ominous smell.

How to describe it.

It's like the lingering smell of a corpse after it's completely decomposed.

But this smell obviously cannot be formed by one or two corpses.

The second thing is that Zhao Ya noticed that there were no signs of man-made damage to these dilapidated houses, which eliminated the possibility of a war.

Then there could only be one.

What Tian Heng said was true. There was indeed a great plague that swept the whole city.

Zhao Ya did not say anything, so Zui'er naturally did not dare to speak again.

The carriage continued to move forward, and after turning a corner, the former Song family manor was in front.

However, this once magnificent manor had long been abandoned, and even half of the gate wall had collapsed, revealing the weeds in the yard.

Zui'er covered her mouth, her eyes full of sadness.

She had lived here with Zhao Ya for a long time, but she did not expect that time had passed and everything had changed.

Zhao Ya's face became more and more solemn.

In the past, the Hong and Yang families did not hesitate to start a war in order to obtain the meat field cultivation technique of the Song family. As a result, the Song family is now abandoned, which obviously shows that these two families have also had problems.

As expected.

When he arrived at the gate of Yang's house following the old route, Zhao Ya found that this place was also deserted.

But unlike other places, there were obvious traces of fighting on the ground and walls of Yang's manor.

It seemed that someone had fought a big battle here.

Zhao Ya got off the car and took a simple look, then walked towards Hong's house again.

The situation of Hong's house was obviously better.

At least the gate and wall here were intact, but the gate was closed, and there were many fallen leaves in front of the gate. Obviously, no one had cleaned it for a long time.

Zhao Ya broke the bolt with a palm, and after entering, he looked around inside and outside and found that there was no one.

But in the backyard and some places, there were obvious traces of struggle or fighting.

But these traces were very slight, as if the battle was forcibly stopped as soon as it happened.

Zhao Ya exhaled.

"I understand!"

"Brother Xiaoya, what do you understand?"

"The reason why Wuxiang City has become like this is indeed related to the plague. At least many people in the outer city died in the plague, but the inner city is different."

"Most people in the inner city, including the Hong and Yang families, should have been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?" Meng Shiwen was stunned, and then she thought of a place and blurted it out.

"Qingzhuling?"

"Yes, it's Qingzhuling!" Zhao Ya's face was as gloomy as water.

"And I suspect that this plague should also be related to Qingzhuling."

"But... why?" Meng Shiwen asked.

"Yes, why?" Zhao Ya sighed, also a little puzzled.

Although they are a group of bandits who occupy the mountains as kings, they must have people under their rule to have wealth to plunder.

If they really make it so that there is no rooster crowing for thousands of miles, then these bandits have done their best.

Considering that they had previously launched large-scale attacks on other bandits in nearby cities, and even spared the Hong and Yang families, with whom they had once cooperated, what exactly did Qingzhuling want to do?