themonasnovels Chapter 8 Escape
Chapter 8 Escape
Upon hearing this, the maid's face lit up with joy, and she shook the pure and innocent-looking girl's fair and delicate forearm with a hint of excitement.
Only then did Fang Hongxuan properly examine the person in front of him.
The pure and beautiful woman's slender figure is like a dancing butterfly, her delicate waist slightly cinched, which accentuates her graceful curves.
"My daughter, He Nianwei, is from Qingyang Town in the Kanze Mountains. We are not wealthy, but we are well-off."
"Unfortunately, there has been a lot of war and chaos lately, and our family's caravan was attacked by bandits, and all of our goods were looted."
Their already precarious livelihoods have been further jeopardized by these blows, leaving them with no way to survive.
At this time, the Liu family sent someone to propose marriage, offering a dowry of ten thousand taels of gold and promising that the woman would manage the treasury if she married into the family.
However, Liu Yiheng, the young master of the Liu family, was a notorious playboy.
They bullied men and women, and were licentious and unrestrained.
"By the time my daughter learned of this, the Liu family's betrothal gifts had been almost entirely spent. Not wanting to trouble my father, she had no choice but to flee with Cui'er..."
At this point, He Nianwei seemed overcome with grief, covering her face and sobbing softly.
"By the way, I haven't yet asked the brave warrior's name or where he's headed."
"You may refer to him as Fang Hongxuan."
Fang Hongxuan frowned slightly, as if he was thinking.
Although He Nianwei couldn't be described as enlightened or wise, she was certainly adept at reading people. She wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes:
"Young Master Fang, it's not that my daughter is unwilling to fulfill the marriage agreement, but rather that the Liu family is extremely strange. Rumor has it that demons reside within the Liu family mansion..."
How do you know?
"Seven or eight years ago, the patriarch of the Liu family, Liu Shenghong, had already passed away. At that time, the Liu family was at the height of its power in Qingyang Town, and the funeral of the patriarch of the Liu family was a seven-day-long banquet."
"What's horrifying is that on the seventh day after the burial of the Liu family patriarch... the grave was dug up... and Liu Shenghong, covered in mud, staggered back to the Liu family mansion."
"Everyone in the entire Qingyang Town knows about this matter."
"Afterwards, the notice posted by the Liu family stated that Liu Hongsheng dreamed of an immortal who taught him how to live forever, and thus he faked his death for a few days."
"While most rumors are unfounded, they are not entirely baseless either."
"Given all these strange circumstances, how could my daughter willingly marry into the Liu family..."
Cui'er, standing to the side, couldn't help but pout:
"Miss, what are you still trying to cover for the Liu family? The stench of corpses throughout the streets is undeniable..."
"I have a mission to perform, but I have no choice but to make the trip to Qingyang Town." This was not Fang Hongxuan's way of making excuses, but rather because the records clearly stated that Qingyang Town was suspected of being haunted by spirits, and most of the chickens and ducks in the villagers' houses went missing in the middle of the night.
He Nianwei's face turned deathly pale, and her hands trembled violently in her sleeves. Cui'er, standing beside her, seemed to have realized something as well, staring at Fang Hongxuan with suspicion and uncertainty.
"Your matter is outside my jurisdiction."
"I will leave once you reach the main road."
Two figures gradually appeared in front.
Who else could it be but those two burly men?
"Considering your official background, hand over all your money and we'll let you go, how about that?" The burly man's face was fierce, and salty saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.
The compass at Fang Hongxuan's waist swayed slightly, eventually pointing directly at the two of them.
Upon seeing this, He Nianwei and Cui'er exclaimed in surprise and quickly hid behind Fang Hongxuan.
"Please don't abandon us..."
As the yellow sand swept through, the already hazy sky became even more blurred.
Fang Hongxuan took off his bamboo hat and handed it, along with the reins of his black horse, to He Nianwei: "Stay here and don't move. I'll be right back. Don't let the wind blow the hat away."
Beneath the robe, the coarse cloth that had been wrapped around the finely forged steel sword had somehow fallen onto the sand.
"In the Wild Hunting Army of Lintao County, small groups often deserted the camp, became outlaws, and wreaked havoc in the area. The reason for this was simply that they felt the military pay was too low and that it was more satisfying to be self-sufficient."
"The proclamation in the prefecture clearly states that soldiers who rebel will be rewarded with five taels of silver, and squad leaders with ten taels. It seems that my purse will be bulging a little more today."
Fang Hongxuan walked up to the two men, holding a finely forged steel sword in his hand, his indifferent smile unchanged.
"Hmph, anyone can talk big, aren't they afraid of their tongues getting blown off by the wind? As far as I can see, you have delicate skin and don't seem like someone who's been in the military. I suppose you'd be quite a character to savor."
The burly man brandished a knife, but the red light in his eyes grew ever deeper, like that of a bloodthirsty jackal.
The gloomy man beside him was equally formidable, his scabbard flying out of his hand.
The two worked together skillfully, their footwork unpredictable yet quite methodical. No matter how Fang Hongxuan tried to defend himself, he inevitably sustained several more wounds.
The burly man's face was contorted with rage as he excitedly licked the blood from the knife wound.
"It is so sweet and delicious that it truly delights us."
If Fang Hongxuan did not use his blood energy or the power of his Yin Elixir, he would never have been able to use his Golden Bell Cover or Iron Shirt techniques.
In fact, he hadn't even thought about defense.
As a living corpse, it has long been immune to the pain from various wounds.
On the contrary, upon witnessing the two men drink his blood, Fang Hongxuan's throat twitched involuntarily several times.
The two, who had been excited, suddenly gasped as if they had swallowed poison, desperately trying to control their throats. The eerie red light in their eyes intensified even further.
Far behind the sand dunes, He Nianwei and Cui'er suddenly felt a chill and trembled uncontrollably.
"What happened? Why do I feel so uneasy about what's ahead?"
Dark red resentment intertwined with black malevolent energy soared into the sky, giving Fang Hongxuan, who stood in the shadows, an even more eerie aura.
"What...what...thing are you...?"
The gloomy man trembled as he spoke; at this moment, he was truly terrified.
A fear that stems from instinct.
"You devour the corpses of spirits and monsters, and you possess a demonic aura, so naturally you are drawn to decaying human flesh."
"Coincidentally, I'm also very fond of people like you."
Fang Hongxuan finally stopped pretending and, after shedding all his blood energy, naturally revealed his identity as a living corpse.
a moment
A strong wind swept by.
The two desiccated corpses were buried by the swirling yellow sand and never returned.
He Nianwei, who was getting a little anxious, tried to go forward to check several times, but was scared away by the cold aura.
"Miss, you haven't returned for so long. Could something have happened to you? If not, let's go back to the inn."
"That place isn't a proper inn; if we turn back, we probably won't be able to get rid of it."
"Since we're going the same way anyway, why don't we leave his horse behind and head out first?" Cui'er suggested. He Nianwei hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly agreed.
When Fang Hongxuan returned, he remained silent for a while, and finally watched the two walk away until they disappeared from sight.
Only then did he put on his bamboo hat, mount his horse, and head towards Qingyang Town.
Yellow Sand
A scorpion suddenly emerged from the eye socket of the dried corpse. The scorpion was entirely black, but its whole body exuded the same resentment and murderous aura as Fang Hongxuan.
It brandished its pincers and began to probe deep into the mud and sand.
...
"Look, there are two people over there!"
"Still a woman..."
Six men emerged from the yellow sand; they were the bandits who had escaped from Fang Hongxuan's clutches.
After carefully examining the head, the bandit leader used his tongue to remove the bits of flesh from between his teeth: "It's He Nianwei from the He family."
"Great, we've finally found her..."
"That way, we won't need to go to the Cliff Gate Inn. Capture He Nianwei and bring her back to Qingyang Town. As for her maid, let the brothers have her for a treat..."