Chapter 38: 38 Ding Sigu

The gray fog tide rose and fell quietly, coming from the boundless wilderness, originating from nameless deep earth, as if a world-ending flood had been pressed onto "extreme slow-motion" by a god.

It came slowly, gradually, from all directions, first submerging the grasslands of the North Land.

That grassland was a paradise for barbarians and magical beasts, a barbaric land labeled "lacking civilization" by the song-and-dance-filled Great Shang Dynasty of Zhongtu.

Magical beasts naturally liked the vastness and also loved to forage in the grasslands where creatures were numerous; they did not like the pavilions and towers of the towns, so in previous years, the barbarians would at most take advantage of the autumn harvest to raid for grain and then return.

But now, ten thousand beasts were stampeding!

The barbarians were fleeing in panic!

Behind them, there was no terrifying enemy; there was only the gray fog.

What was hidden in the gray fog, no one knew; the magical beasts just subconsciously began to flee, and many barbarians also crazily headed south.

Compared to facing this gray fog, they were more willing to go and breach the Six Towns located in the North Land.

Simply because they truly did not know.

They only knew that once one entered the gray fog, one might go missing at any time.

How did they go missing? Unknown.

Dead or alive?

Unknown.

Even if the strongest warriors went to investigate, they went and never returned.

Not only did they not return, but not even a shred of news was sent back.

The mysterious, unknown terror made the barbarians decide to migrate quickly.

Even if they actually preferred the grasslands, at this time they had no choice but to head south.

The north was no longer suitable for their survival!

Fierce winds, strong grass. A giant man riding a two-headed black giant wolf, wrapped in colorful tiger skin, and bare-chested was leading his tribe of just over ten thousand south. But the tribe this giant man belonged to was only a small one, and they knew very little about the Great Shang Dynasty to the south.

The conclusion discussed by the tribe was to first go raid for grain, capture a few Zhongtu people to act as guides, and then talk.

Barbarians always had hot tempers, fought based on feeling, and didn't give a damn about strategy or tactics. Among themselves, you didn't submit to me, I didn't submit to you, and they couldn't be twisted into a single rope at all; they all acted on their own. Even heading south, each swept the snow from their own doorstep.

The giant man tilted his head to look at the gray sky far behind him, lingering fear in his heart, while at the same time beginning to think about where to capture people.

Perhaps many barbarians were worrying about the same thing as him.

Suddenly, "gibberish" shouting sounds came from afar.

The giant man immediately became solemn.

Central Plains people? Did the Central Plains people come to ambush? His eyes were blood-red.

Kill first, then capture!

"Spare my life, hero, spare my life."

On the grassland, a thin youth with dark skin was begging.

Yet another skinny youth, who looked like a big boy, had a cold expression, filled with a bit of unwilling violence, "Second Brother, if you beg for mercy, will he spare us?"

"Heh, you little bastards who have done all kinds of evil, don't put on an unwilling look." The sword-wielding hero also looked coldly at the two, "Wang Bo took you in, and what about you? You molested the woman in the village and even took advantage of the middle of the night to do such filthy things; if you shouldn't die, then who should?!"

That skinny big boy laughed as if mad or insane: "Should die? Should die?

We forcibly occupied good women, that's called doing all kinds of evil. The masters don't call it that; the masters say it was the girl's own willingness.

If they were beaten to death after being played with until tired, that's called complaining that the masters gave too little, being greedy, and they deserved to die.

In this world, how many people force good women into prostitution and act like tyrants? Borrowing an official robe, they become lawless; holding blood-stained gold and silver, they become rich and unkind.

Covering one's eyes with both hands, there is no evil in the world; instead, those who speak of evil are the ones whose hearts deserve to be punished.

Hmph hmph hmph, hahahahaha. You? Just a fame-seeking hypocrite.

You dare not uphold true justice, yet you tracked us for a hundred miles to kill people like us who don't even hold weapons and are living from hand to mouth.

Let me ask you, you said Wang Bo took us in.

Is Wang Bo's daughter beautiful? Did Second Brother and I molest her?

No!

We would rather run far away to molest other women than touch Wang Bo's daughter!

This is called knowing gratitude and repaying it."

The sword-wielding hero listened to this sophistry, his hair standing on end with rage. He knew this little bastard was glib and had even read books, so he didn't want to say more, and thus drew his sword with a clang.

The thin youth trembled in terror.

But that big boy suddenly stood tall, turned vicious, and used all his strength to ram forward, pushing the hero back a bit.

"Second Brother, run!"

The thin youth had long since lost his Soul to terror; hearing the word "run," he hurriedly got up, his hands dancing wildly, and ran away into the distance like a madman.

The sword-wielding hero flung the long sword in his hand, shooting it rapidly at the thin youth's back. It pierced into his body, but perhaps because the wind was strong or the distance was far, it didn't hit a vital spot and only cut his arm.

The youth screamed and ran even faster.

The hero casually punched the big boy in the belly, and the big boy flew out spitting blood.

The hero went to chase the youth first.

The two chased and ran, the distance closing rapidly. And just at this moment, the earth suddenly trembled.

Wolf riders, a terrifying tide of barbarian iron and flesh, came from afar.

The leading giant man grabbed a giant scimitar, his eyes bloodthirsty. As he approached the youth who looked like he was possessed by madness, he slashed out with one blade, and the youth was cut into two halves. Then, passing the hero holding the weapon, he swung his blade horizontally again.

The hero swung his sword to block.

Crack! The sword broke!

The hero's head flew up, fresh blood exploding from the severed neck, spraying everywhere.

The leading giant man only then realized that perhaps it wasn't an ambush... after all, there were too few people.

He looked left and right, then swept a glance at the tribesmen behind him, feeling somewhat awkward. Then, he suddenly jumped down from the two-headed giant wolf, ran to the front, grabbed the big boy vomiting blood on the ground, and asked in the barbarian language with a "walah walah" sound: "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The big boy's gaze was still dull.

Second Brother, in his eyes, had split into two halves.

His eyes were turning red.

However, that gaze quickly regained its focus.

He suddenly opened his mouth and actually spat out the barbarian language, though it was raw, it was still clear enough: "Ding Sigu, a nearby villager, being hunted by fierce people."

The barbarian leader did not expect this child to be able to speak the barbarian language; he was overjoyed, picked up the big boy at once, and said: "Great!"

Afterwards, he tilted his head and said: "Are both of them fierce people?"

Ding Sigu said: "One is, and the other one is also fleeing for his life."

The barbarian leader said: "Are you familiar with him?"

Ding Sigu stared at his Second Brother, Ding Siyan, who had been hacked into two halves.

Late last winter, he had led bandits into the village, and seeing his eldest brother die a miserable death, he simply could not believe it. Later, after interrogating those villagers who went to be drowned in pig cages, he found out. The one who killed his eldest brother was actually a blind man, Song Xiazi!

Afterwards, a Ghost Disaster occurred in Tanghe Village, and relying on his quick-wittedness, he dragged his second brother and fled frantically, later drifting to the vicinity of the Six Towns, and because he was young and knew how to play the victim, he was taken in by an old man surnamed Wang in the local area.

However, a dog cannot change its habit of eating excrement; not long after, he and his second brother Ding Siyan took a fancy to a girl in that town, went secretly in the middle of the night to defile her, and as a result, they kicked an iron plate and were hunted all the way to this place.

During this period, he and his second brother relied on each other for survival.

Many thoughts flashed by, Ding Sigu regained his senses, looked at his own brother who had split into two halves, shook his head, and said with a calm expression: "Not familiar."

Then, with red eyes, he looked at the barbarian leader and said: "Great King, I want to follow you."

The barbarian leader asked again: "Then why are you crying?"

Ding Sigu's tears could not stop rolling down, but he smiled and said: "Seeing the Great King, I am excited."

The barbarian leader laughed out loud, then turned around and said: "Found an interesting kid! He can become our guide!"

The tribesmen of the barbarian tribe also roared along.

Ding Sigu cried and cried, then suddenly wiped away his tears fiercely, raised his voice, imitated the way of the barbarians, and roared along with them.

Awoo~~~ awoo~~~~ The sound of wolf howls rose and fell.

An Daxiaojie slightly lifted the carriage curtain, swept a glance at the slow mountain forest and gloomy haze outside the ox cart, and a pair of apricot eyes behind the white veil fell into a thoughtful state.

Ten carts of grain should have been more than half sold, but now only two carts have been sold, the reason being that many villages in the borderlands have fled, and others seem to be in an environment similar to Tanghe Village.

She sent people to keep an eye on Tanghe Village, not only waiting for Guan Xi, but also observing.

She even went to the scene in person.

Therefore, An Chenyu had a great understanding of the characteristics, manifestations, and so on of the Ghost Disaster.

For those who trade, there is also the timing, the geographical advantage, and the human factor.

Choosing a time without disaster to trade is called timing.

Choosing a place with convenient transportation to trade is called geographical advantage.

Insight into people's needs, purchasing power, providing what they need, and supplying goods according to their strength is called the human factor.

The times are changing, and An Chenyu has always been learning about the new era.

Her eyes stared fixedly at the gray fog surging in the distant mountain forest, and she suddenly said: "Uncle Wang, the road ahead does not go to the right."

Wang Tianchuan rode his horse over and said in astonishment: "Young Miss, if we don't go to the right, where are we going to sell this grain?"

An Chenyu said: "Go left, pass through Beishui Xian, and go home."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone accompanying her was stunned.

Wang Tianma, one of the Wang brothers, said: "Young Miss, this... we haven't finished selling our goods yet, how can we go back?"

An Chenyu pointed to the distance and said: "That fog is the same as the fog that rose in Tanghe Village. Chaos is starting here, it is not suitable for trade, let us return home quickly."

Although many people in the caravan were skeptical, thinking "isn't it just some fog," what was the big deal, but because the Young Miss's prestige was there, everyone still followed her words and prepared to return early.

The ox cart jingled... The Young Miss's cold and beautiful cheeks showed signs of contemplation.

She seemed to have thought of many people and many things, and only then, in the dim carriage, did she gently pinch a chess piece and say faintly in a voice that no one could hear: "Little Song, don't let me down."

(End of this chapter)