C190

"What is she doing here, this god of pests?" We don't have a good day with her! " After having been separated for so long, Xue Lian's heart was still filled with resentment towards Xue Muyun.

"It's good that she's not here. We don't have much fun here, so we can play with her now." Xue Lian scolded for a while before he continued to speak. He did not notice that Xue Shaoli had remained silent.

Seeing Xue Lian draw such a picture, Xue Shaoli secretly scoffed. With such a short vision, it seemed that she was destined to only be a minor character.

Ever since they had arrived at this place, Xue Lian had gradually degenerated into the appearance of a villager. Even Xue Shaoli began to feel that she had become vulgar.

Xue Shaoli had used her as an example for her. She had always kept her noble and elegant, just like she had in the capital. Unlike Xue Lian's painting, Xue Shaoli felt that she might become the crown prince's consort or even a queen in the future.

Xue Ruyun came this time, so Xue Shaoli had her own plans. Long ago, she had already communicated with Mu Lingfeng. This time, she was determined to capture all of them in one fell swoop.

Because of this, she had been planning for a long time, waiting for Xue Ruoyun to come.

"This land of exile is indeed desolate." When Xue Muyun and Mu Ying stepped into the boundary of Clear Water County, they saw that the land here was barren and there were very few people. The commoners were all in a hurry, and their faces were thin and yellow.

"Miss, I heard this was called Clear Water County. As its name implies, I thought that it should be filled with fresh water. I didn't expect it to be so dry." Yun Zhi was puzzled.

Since ancient times, many places have been named after local buildings, landmarks, and mountains and rivers.

The typical place name of Qingshui County, coupled with the fact that this place was downstream from the Mount Poyang, there should be a river somewhere. Why is it that after disembarking from the boat, the more I walk, the more dry I become. The land is barren, and the yellow sand is everywhere.

Xue Ruyun looked at Mu Ying, who also felt it was strange. According to the description from before, though this Qing Shui County was remote, it was still a small county. Many people had been exiled over the years. Not to mention how good it was to build this place, even the number of people exiled would not be this few.

What was even more strange was that the pedestrians they passed on the street were all elderly, women, and children. All of them looked listless and listless.

The more they walked in, the more they realized something was amiss. The streets and alleys that should have been bustling were now closed to business.

"Perhaps the weather has been very hot and this place is extremely dry. The people don't want to come out." Xue Ruyun thought this, but he still felt that it was strange.

"There's a steamed bun seller ahead. Miss, I'll go buy two steamed buns for you to eat." Yun Zhi finally saw a bun house that was about to close. She was extremely excited.

"Alright, go ahead."

"Yes." Yun Zhi promised as she walked forward.

"Boss, give me two steamed buns."

"Alright, take it."

"Thank you." Yun Zhi handed over the money and took the bun. Turning his head, he was pulled tightly into the alley by a group of people.

All of a sudden, the guards immediately gave chase. Kick these people apart and save Yun Zhi.

"How dare you steal my daughter in broad daylight. I think you all don't want to live anymore!" The guard pulled out his sword and threatened.

Who would have thought that this group of people would be so indifferent to the dark guard's scolding that they would not be afraid to pounce on them.

When the dark guards saw that it was a few civilians, they didn't even use their swords and just used their fists and kicks to beat them up. However, something strange happened. No matter how they fought, these people seemed to not feel any pain. They desperately rushed forward, determined to drag Yun Zhi away.

The dark guards didn't want to hurt them, but seeing that they had no other choice, they could only draw their swords and kill them all.

Mu Sheng and Xue Ruoyun caught up to them, causing them to fall onto the ground. There was a look of displeasure on Mu Ying's face because he never allowed his men to kill commoners who were powerless.

"Your Highness, it's not that we want to kill them, but these people's actions are very strange." Noticing Mu Sheng's expression, the shadow guard immediately explained.

Xue Ruyun quickly went up to the ground and squatted down to inspect these people. He saw that they were all skinny and had hideous faces. Even though they had already been killed, their eyes were still wide open.

"Don't just look at how thin these people are, their strength is astonishing." One of the guards said.

"Mu Ying, come over." Xue Luoyun carefully examined those people, and he saw that there seemed to be something at the back of one of their necks.

"What did you find?" Mu Yong walked over and squatted down.

"Look." Xue Ruyun pointed at one of the dead men and discovered that there was a strange symbol on their necks.

This symbol had a strange shape. In the middle of it was a blood-red mole. Looking at it more closely, there seemed to be something squirming within, as if it wanted to break out.

Mu Ying looked at the Blood Nest and took a silver needle from the hands of the guard. He aimed at the mole and stabbed it down, wanting to check if any of them were poisoned. However, he didn't expect that the moment he stabbed downwards, a Gu worm would suddenly fly out.

"Be careful!" Mu Ying shouted as he watched Xue Ruyun hacked the insect into two halves with his saber.

That Gu worm lay on the ground and twisted for a while before finally dying.

"Are you alright?" Mu Yong asked anxiously when he saw the bloodstains on Xue Ruyun's clothes.

"It's nothing, I just spilled a little blood." Xue Ruyun wiped away the blood. Tell the guards to turn the others over.

Sure enough, their necks all had the same pattern. There seemed to be something squirming in the mole in the middle.

Seeing the situation, Mu Ying immediately ordered, "Burn these people in a secluded place to prevent the Gu from flying out again to harm others after their corpses have rotted away."

"Yes."

When they walked out of the alley, they saw the boss of the bun house hurriedly closing the door. Seeing that she was about to step forward, the boss quickened his hands and pushed the door shut.

Just as the door was about to close, Mu Sheng suddenly blocked the door with his sword.

"What shameful thing have you done? Why are you so panicked when you see us? Speak!" The guard pushed open the door forcefully and pointed his sword at the boss.

"I don't, I don't." The boss covered his head with both hands and kept shouting, "Spare me, please spare me!"

"Boss, you misunderstand. We aren't trying to harm you, we just want to ask you something." Xue Ruyun gently said.

Seeing that his complexion was friendly, the boss finally relaxed. However, he still kept backing away until he stuck to the wall.

"You seem to be afraid of getting close to us?" Xue Ruyun was the first to notice that something was wrong with the boss.

"I'm not afraid of you, but of the Gu worms in your bodies." The boss was extremely nervous.

"You know about the Gu worm?" Xue Ruyun was puzzled.

The boss nodded.

"Now that the person is dead, the gu worm will definitely fly out to look for the next host..." The boss stared at them as if he was worried that they would turn into the same people at any moment.

"Don't worry, we weren't infected by the Gu. When the Gu worm flew out, it was already killed by us." As Xue Ruyun said this, he told the hidden guard to show the corpse of the Gu worm to the boss. Only then did the boss feel relieved.

"Oh, that's good, that's good." The owner patted his chest and sat down.

"I think the few of you are from outside the city."

"Yes, quick, come in first." The owner was still gasping for breath when he suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. He hurriedly called them into the house and closed the door.

Xue Ruyun and the others looked at each other in dismay. They saw the boss lie on the door and carefully listen for the footsteps outside. Only after the sound had gone far away did the boss heave a sigh of relief.

"What's going on? Why would there be such a situation?" Xue Muyun didn't understand.

"You're from outside the city, so you don't know the situation here." The owner sighed.

"What was that noise just now?" Mu Ying couldn't help but ask.

"They're catching people outside again."

"Capture him? "The government?" Xue Ruyun was even more confused. Why was the boss so nervous?

"No. Anyways, we can't stay here for long. If you guys are passing by, then just leave. The further you go, the better." The boss waved his hands with an indescribable expression.

"Boss, we're here to stay for the long term, please explain this matter clearly." Seeing that the boss had an expression of wanting to say something yet hesitating, Xue Ruoyun continued to ask.

However, no matter how much Xue Luoyun said, the boss didn't say anything.

"I only recently came here to do business, so I don't know anything. Don't ask."

"Boss, since you know something, tell us about it. Let us increase our vigilance as well." Yun Zhi also asked for help.

"I'm just a small businessman. Please let me go. I've been packing my luggage these few days, so I can leave now." As he spoke, he quickly counted the silver and packed up his things.

"Are you telling me or not!" With a look in his eyes, the guard immediately stepped forward and pointed his knife at the boss's neck.

"Hero, spare me, spare me, I will speak, I will speak." The boss was so scared that he knelt down and kowtowed.

"This place has been like this for a long time. I've been doing business here for many years, and these few years have been getting worse every year. Now, I plan to leave for a while." The boss said helplessly.

"Get to the point!" The hidden guard said angrily.

"Yes, yes, yes. Previously there was a river running through the entire county, the clear side of the river was bright, hence the name Qingshui County. The commoners relied on the mountains and rivers to survive. They could live a decent life by relying on this river.

Then the river suddenly stopped flowing, there was no water to irrigate the field, the field was dry, no seeds to eat, no seeds to harvest. The citizens were in a miserable state. Slowly, more and more young men and women disappeared. There was nothing left for the elderly and children, they either died or ran away.

"What does this have to do with capturing people?"

"Listen to me slowly. There was a person who went missing earlier on, so we don't know why, but it might have been due to the desolation of the land. All the young people went to other places to earn a living. As more and more people went missing, I began to feel that something was wrong. "

"Something wrong?"

"Right." As the boss spoke, his voice became softer.