"Are they humans or monsters?" Hongjun asked.
"Humans." Mo Rigen said, "Rebel army! Go! Leave this place! "
Hongjun said, "They might not be …"
Mo Rigen stared at Hongjun. After a short silence, Hongjun said, "Forget it, let's just retreat."
Hongjun really couldn't bring himself to kill mortals who couldn't fight back. He immediately jumped down from the roof with Mo Rigen and informed everyone to prepare to retreat. Chao Yun heard this and said, "I'll go kill them!"
"Don't!" Hongjun said, "Don't kill mortals!"
Lu Xu pulled out a simple snowmobile. Grey Wolf shook its fur and asked everyone to put the snowmobile on their bodies. Carp Demon was about to pack up when Grey Wolf growled, "It's too late! Don't take it anymore! "
Carp Demon shouted, "What are you going to eat if you don't take it?"
The sound of horse hooves approached the village and the ground began to shake. The rebel army's momentum was even greater than the ghoul army they saw in Liangzhou. Chao Yun carried a bag of flour and threw it on the snowmobile. Hongjun carried Li Jinglong and put him on the snowmobile. Grey Wolf roared, "If you don't leave now, I won't care anymore!"
Carp Demon shouted, "Right away!"
Carp Demon carried another bag of rice and hurriedly threw it on the snowmobile. Hongjun grabbed it and threw it on the snowmobile. Chao Yun said, "I can still take it …"
"Let's go!" Hongjun pressed Chao Yun's head and threw her onto the snowmobile. He and Lu Xu each jumped on one side. Grey Wolf bent down to pull the snowmobile. Its four claws exerted force and the snow it dug out sprayed onto everyone's faces.
"Why is it so heavy …"
"Don't grow bigger!" Lu Xu shouted. "You'll flip over!"
The Grey Wolf could only maintain a moderate body size. Otherwise, if it grew too big, it would flip backwards with the shaft of the carriage. It dug with all its might, but after digging for a long time, it had only advanced a few feet. The sound of the horse's hooves behind it had already reached nearly half a mile away.
Everyone: "…"
"I'd better go down and run," Lu Xu said with a hand to his forehead.
"No need …" Grey Wolf said with difficulty. "I'll be faster if I run."
The snow chariot moved forward one foot at a time, its speed gradually increasing. When Hongjun turned around, he saw thousands of soldiers and horses rushing into the village. Someone had already noticed them and shouted, "What is that?!"
"Someone's there! Catch them! "
Immediately after, the rebel army rushed towards them. However, the Grey Wolf's truck accelerated and sped across the plains. The rebel army behind them clearly did not intend to let them go. They split into small groups of nearly a hundred people and launched a thrilling chase across the snowy plains.
"Anyone else?!" shouted Grey Wolf. "Put them down! So annoying! "
"It's too far!" said Lu Xu. "I can't use my magic!"
More and more soldiers were chasing after them on the snowy plains. At this time, there were occasional bare stones on the plains. The snow chariot bumped and bumped, sometimes faster and sometimes slower. Li Jinglong's entire body was in pain from the bumps. He turned around and said, "Charge towards the forest on the short slope!"
There was a hillside in the distance. On the hillside was a forest. The Grey Wolf turned around. Li Jinglong said to Hongjun, "Throw out the Demon Binding Rope!"
Hongjun: "???"
"Quick!" shouted Li Jinglong.
Immediately after, the Grey Wolf rushed into the forest and bumped into countless shrubs. Hongjun said, "How do I use it?"
"Just like using a magic weapon!" shouted Li Jinglong.
Hongjun asked, "Is that really okay?"
Lu Xu shouted, "Just do it!"
Li Jinglong shouted, "There's no time!"
"Yell at me!" Hongjun said angrily.
Li Jinglong hurriedly raised his hand and begged for mercy. Hongjun was nervous. No matter how he looked at it, he didn't have any fate with this magic weapon. How could he use it?! But since Li Jinglong said so, he could only take out the Demon Binding Rope and inject his magic power into this magic weapon as if he was controlling the Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger.
In an instant, the Demon Binding Rope shone brightly. With a whoosh, it lit up with golden light!
Hongjun: "..."
Hongjun was dumbfounded. This... how was this possible?!
"Throw it out!"
This result confirmed Li Jinglong's guess. Hongjun subconsciously threw out the Demon Binding Rope. A golden light flashed in front of his eyes. The Demon Binding Rope wrapped around two large trees. As the Grey Wolf continued to run, it became longer and longer. In the next moment, the pursuers rushed into the forest. Immediately, they were thrown off their horses and crashed into one another.
More and more pursuers came later. All of them crashed into the overturned cavalry. Grey Wolf let out a long howl and rushed out of the forest. He rushed down the short slope. Behind him was a huge snowball that rolled up with people and horses. Hundreds of people rolled down in an earth-shattering manner.
Everyone's mouth twitched. Grey Wolf turned around and said, "Shook them off? Oh my god! What are you doing! There's an avalanche! "
Grey Wolf was shocked by the dozens of huge snowballs. He immediately ran for his life. Countless snowballs rolled behind him like a wheel. The scene was spectacular. Hongjun was still waving the Demon Binding Rope from time to time, afraid of tripping the snowballs.
"Do you know how to jump rope?" Li Jinglong shouted. "Put away your magic weapon!"
Hongjun thought so too. He put away the Demon Binding Rope. The snowballs gradually sank into the snow on the plains. Finally, they shook off the pursuers.
Snow fell again, but Grey Wolf did not stop. His body was steaming. Everyone squeezed on the snowmobile. Hongjun placed the Phoenix feather in Li Jinglong's arms. Everyone surrounded him for warmth.
"You're so smart," Lu Xu said.
Li Jinglong knew that the exorcists were afraid that he would be too depressed these days, so they came up with ways to comfort him. Naturally, he did not appreciate their words. He only said sadly, "The Demon Binding Rope has recognized you as its master, Hongjun."
"That can't be right?" Hongjun was very surprised. He said, "Why?"
Mahamayuri and Acalanatha had always been enemies. He even had the Tianma seed in his body. How could the Demon Binding Rope recognize him as its master?
"Why don't you try?" Lu Xu said. "It's true."
Hongjun tried to control the Demon Binding Rope. Wherever his mind went, it would stretch out and wrap around his arm. The Carp Demon said, "Wow, baby —"
"Little Highness is a Divine Demon in One," Chao Yun said. "Isn't it normal to be able to use this magic treasure?"
Hongjun thought that it was not normal at all. When he looked at Li Jinglong, Li Jinglong's gaze was extremely complicated. He said, "Congratulations, Hongjun."
"But this …" Hongjun thought to himself. The task of the Acalanatha's successor was to exorcise demons. Now that he was the Acalanatha's successor, if he wanted to exorcise demons, wouldn't he be exorcising himself?
"Get the Wisdom Sword for him to try?" Li Jinglong ordered.
"It's in the bag," Grey Wolf pulled the snowmobile and answered. "This is really too ridiculous."
Hongjun wanted to take the Wisdom Sword, but Li Jinglong said, "Give it to me first."
Lu Xu handed the Wisdom Sword to Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong grabbed it with all his might, his hand trembling uncontrollably. Chao Yun said to Hongjun, "Hongjun, I'll give the Exorcism Division's inheritance to you."
Hongjun quietly looked at Li Jinglong. He knew what this meant to Li Jinglong.
"Isn't it the same no matter who takes it?" Chao Yun said again.
Everyone wondered why this Snake Demon was so talkative. However, this sentence was not wrong.
"It's not the same," Li Jinglong answered. "Hongjun, take it."
Hongjun was a bit nervous. Up until now, the development of the situation had already exceeded his imagination and understanding. What did it mean for the Acalanatha and Tianma to become one?!
Li Jinglong said, "I don't have any strength. I can't hold it anymore."
Hongjun stretched out his hands. He wanted to take the sword hilt with one hand and the sword blade with the other. However, when he touched the sword, he suddenly changed his mind and said, "No, I won't take it."
The Acalanatha artifact had killed his parents. If he had a choice, then Hongjun would definitely not inherit it.
"If it chooses you," Li Jinglong said, "it's useless even if you refuse."
"I've touched it many times." Hongjun said, "It's never acknowledged me."
It wasn't that Hongjun hadn't touched the Wisdom Sword before. When Li Jinglong first entered the Exorcism Division, this sword had been passed around in everyone's hands. If it wanted to recognize a master, it would have already done so. Thinking of this, Hongjun generously took it and said, "Look, it's useless."
"What about the control of mana?" Lu Xu frowned.
Hongjun first injected mana into the sword, but there was no reaction. When he used the Five Colored Divine Light, it directly dissipated on the sword body.
Even if the Wisdom Sword didn't recognize Li Jinglong as its master, it could still break through the Five Colored Divine Light. The Acalanatha artifact restrained Kong Xuan's dao.
"That's strange." Li Jinglong was puzzled and said, "Could it be that other than the sword, there's also something like a sword spirit? Do we need to obtain it together? "
Everyone guessed for a long time. Hongjun didn't want to take the Wisdom Sword, so he returned it to Li Jinglong.
"Maybe it didn't go through the proper unsealing process." Lu Xu speculated, "There's a missing link in the middle. It doesn't matter. Atay and sister-in-law have already found the waterway where the Wisdom Sword was hidden. We can go there again. No matter what, we just need to find the remaining four artifacts one by one and let Hongjun unseal them. "
Li Jinglong breathed a sigh of relief. Hongjun's brows were deeply furrowed. He was actually somewhat uneasy. He really couldn't understand why the Acalanatha would choose him. But at least after this obstacle was solved, everyone seemed to have hope. After all, as long as they found the remaining artifacts, it was at least feasible.
"Hey." Grey Wolf didn't stop walking. He turned back and said, "Where are we going now? To Poyang Lake? "
Li Jinglong said, "I only hate that I didn't know earlier."
"It's not too late to know now." Grey Wolf said, "Boss, quickly make a decision. Where are we going?"
"Let's go back to Chang 'an!" Carp Demon said loudly, "I want to go home!"
Everyone said in unison, "We didn't ask you!"
Carp Demon: "..."
Li Jinglong said, "Let's go to the official road. Let's go through Tong Pass first and try to meet up with the rest of the people."
"I'm guessing that they'll also go to Tong Pass." Grey Wolf replied.
Hebei and Henan had completely fallen. The people whose homes had been destroyed were all retreating to the west. They wanted to pass through Tong Pass and go to Chang 'an. The land of Heluo was full of rebels who were plundering everywhere. Black smoke was everywhere. Nine out of ten villages had been burned to the ground. The official road was full of corpses. Grey Wolf dragged the snowmobile and galloped on the official road.
If he were Atay, he would also retreat to Tong Pass. After all, that was the only safe place.
Grey Wolf ran along the official road for an entire night and half a day. He was physically exhausted from pulling the snowmobile. He couldn't run for three days and nights like when he was in Liangzhou. He found a forest to rest in and transformed into his human form. They left the village in the evening. They hadn't eaten for twenty-four hours. Everyone was thirsty and tired. Mo Rigen sat down on a rock and said, "Give me something to eat. I can't go on."
"Look, it's a good thing I brought rice and noodles." The Carp Demon climbed down and said, "Otherwise, what would we eat?"
There were human corpses everywhere within a hundred miles. The birds and beasts had all fled. Hongjun said, "Yes, yes. You're the smartest."
"Of course …" The Carp Demon said, "Chao Yun, melt some snow and cook something to eat."
Chao Yun said, "I didn't bring a pot."
Mo Rigen was convinced. "Why didn't you bring a pot?"
"I said I wanted to go back and get it, but you didn't let me." The Carp Demon said.
Everyone looked at each other. Lu Xu said, "I'll go find something to replace it."
Chao Yun looked out of the forest and said, "Someone's coming. I'll go grab one."
"No, no." Hongjun hurriedly said, "I'll go buy one. If not, I'll exchange it with some food."
Hongjun gestured for everyone to rest first. He and Lu Xu went to the official road. There was a group of nearly a thousand people behind them. They spoke in a dialect they didn't understand. The refugees set up pots by the roadside to cook food. Hongjun and Lu Xu went over.
"Let's just steal one." Lu Xu said, "It'll be too dangerous if it gets robbed at this time."
Hongjun said, "We'll send it back after we cook. They probably won't leave for a while."
At this time, Hongjun threw out the Demon Binding Rope. The rope seemed to have a life of its own. One end of the rope was caught in Hongjun's hand. The other end rustled as it passed through the snow. It wrapped around a pot on a cart and dragged it back. Everyone hid in the forest and wolfed down a meal. Then, they curled up in the wind and slept for a while.
In the middle of the night, some people came in to hide from the snow. Chao Yun was about to chase them away when Hongjun stopped her.
"Let them in." Hongjun said, "Take care of the things."
More and more people squeezed into the forest to hide from the cold. It was too cold outside. The people couldn't take it anymore. In the middle of the night, someone started a fire and accidentally set a tree on fire. Then, a large area of the forest nearby burned up.
Lu Xu was shocked and shouted angrily, "Are you guys crazy?!"
"Let's go! Let's go! " Mo Rigen urged. He transformed into the Grey Wolf and dragged the snowcart away from the burning forest.
"Bad luck follows wherever we go." Li Jinglong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "There's still a day's journey. We'll probably reach Tongguan. Hold on for a while."
The Grey Wolf said, "We still have to find a cave to rest on the way."
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the official road was full of people who froze to death. This year's winter was colder than previous years. Almost all the people who fled during the war died on the road due to hunger and cold before they could reach Tongguan. Hongjun looked at the scene in front of him and felt that this tragic situation was like a nightmare that would never end.
"I'm so tired … I can't pull it anymore." The Grey Wolf stuck out his tongue and said.
"Hold on for a while." Lu Xu said, "We're almost there."
In the distance, there were towering mountains and steep ridges. The Grey Wolf pulled the snowcart up the mountain road. Everyone looked down from the mountainside. There were more and more people on the official road below, supporting each other as they walked.
The Grey Wolf said, "I'm starving."
"Think of something good." Lu Xu kept encouraging the Grey Wolf. "It's almost the new year! There'll be food when we reach Tongguan! "
The Carp Demon said, "I'll make bacon and scrambled eggs for you guys …"
"I'm even hungrier!" The Grey Wolf roared. "Shut up!"
Originally, they only ate one meal a day, and they had to pull the cart. They couldn't even hunt wild animals. Even the tree bark was eaten up by the fleeing people. The Grey Wolf was so hungry that he felt dizzy and tried his best to lead everyone.
"Let's get down and walk." Hongjun also felt a little sorry.
Everyone who could walk got down from the cart, leaving Li Jinglong in the cart and looking into the distance.
"Where did we spend the new year last year?" Li Jinglong asked.
"Dunhuang." Hongjun answered.
"You spent the new year in the pagoda last year." Grey Wolf said, "Lu Xu and I spent the new year in Xuchang. Atay and Sister-in-law were in Pengze, but they had a good time. "
"It looks like we'll have to spend the new year in Tongguan this year." Li Jinglong sighed.
"Everyone get on." Grey Wolf saw that there was a slope in front of them, so he turned around and ordered.
Everyone jumped onto the cart, and the Grey Wolf actually climbed on as well. The snowcart looked like it was about to fall apart. Accompanied by the screams of several people, it slid down the winding mountain path to the official road at the foot of the mountain.
"So many people!" Hongjun said.
"I don't care!" The Grey Wolf answered. When the snowcart was about to reach the people, he jumped down and pressed against the cart to slow it down. He then landed steadily on the official road. When the refugees saw such a big wolf, they instantly screamed and caused a commotion.
Lu Xu motioned for the Grey Wolf to stop talking and put him on the cart again. The Grey Wolf pulled the cart as fast as he could, pulling it closer to Tongguan. There was a sea of people in front of Tongguan, so the snowcart couldn't go any further. The Grey Wolf howled and jumped onto a high place, disappearing into the forest.
The rest of the road could only be walked. It was still snowing heavily in front of Tongguan, but with nearly a hundred thousand people squeezed together, it was warmer. Hongjun and Lu Xu jumped down from the cart and watched as the crowd slowly moved forward.
Mo Rigen passed through the crowd and returned. He sat on the cart and put one hand on Li Jinglong's shoulder, saying, "Let me rest for a while."
"There's no movement in front." Chao Yun said, "Should I go and scout the road first?"
Hongjun hurriedly waved his hand. If demons appeared here, the people would trample on each other. It wouldn't be good if someone was trampled to death.
"It's moving." Hongjun stood on the snowcart and found that there were two very small doors under Tongguan. They were currently checking and letting people in in batches.
"Who's guarding Tongguan?" Li Jinglong asked.
"Gao." Lu Xu narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance, saying, "Who?"
"Gao Xianzhi." Li Jinglong answered, "Maybe my cousin is here too."
"Let's wait patiently." Someone beside him said, "Maybe we won't be able to enter the city for ten days."
There were too many people. Hongjun said, "I'll go and scout for information."
North China was engulfed in the flames of war. An Lushan's rebel army was nowhere to be found. The weather was cold and the ground was frozen. Hongjun and Lu Xu went their separate ways to inquire about the situation.