This is a miraculous and ancient secret art. The person performing the spell will leave a mysterious string of characters on the ground. These characters will change their shapes according to what the spell - caster has in mind, and then form a new string of characters. The changed characters represent the meaning the spell - caster wants to convey.
However, at the moment, the characters on the bricks and stones have not changed yet, which means that at this time, Ye Yue also doesn't know where they are or what they are currently experiencing.
Zhuifeng regretted deeply. She should have followed them closely from the beginning. It was all because the smell of blood in the back yard had disrupted her thoughts, and she didn't notice the danger in the front yard.
Zhuifeng didn't dare to move around casually and just stood there waiting for the characters to change.
The night in Dashuiwan was so quiet that one could count the number of barking dogs on the street. But these slightly noisy sounds suddenly disappeared when a figure landed.
Zhuifeng was both shocked and overjoyed when she saw who had come.
"Master."
Rong Xun had already seen the characters on the ground and also noticed the corpses in the blood - filled pond in the back yard. The coldness in his eyes exceeded that of the coldest day this year, so cold that it was unbearable to look directly at.
Zhuifeng immediately knelt down to admit her mistake. "I failed in my duty. Please punish me, Master."
Rong Xun didn't say a word. One could even say there was not the slightest movement from him. He stared intently at the characters on the ground, afraid of missing something in an instant.
Zhuifeng didn't dare to speak again. At this moment, the most tortured one should be the master in front of her.
They waited until the moonlight had dimmed. The late - night wind was so cold that the cats and dogs in the alleys all hid in their nests. The people squatting in the yard still didn't move at all.
They waited until dawn. A bright streak of fish - belly white appeared in the distance, shining on the entire earth. Then it gradually turned orange - red, until all things were enveloped by a large red disc.
After waiting for who knew how long, the person on the ground suddenly moved.
Rong Xun straightened his back and said expressionlessly, "The camp of the Western Region's great army outside Quzhou."
He dropped these straightforward words and then disappeared in a blink of an eye. His speed was even faster than that of Zhuifeng.
"Quzhou?" Zhuifeng seemed to have heard this name somewhere. "Isn't that the place where the master was abandoned?"
She had met Rong Xun later, and she had heard these things from Tieshou and Wenxue.
Quzhou was a place full of humiliation and disgrace for the master. Back then, when he was still very young, after being abandoned, he was involved in a human - trafficking incident. The place where the human trafficker took him was Quzhou.
Quzhou was a place that strongly believed in ghosts and gods. If a person had a special birthmark or scar on their body, they would be regarded as a ghost soldier sent from the underworld, an extremely inauspicious existence.
At that time, because of his outstanding appearance, the master was sold to a local wealthy family. This wealthy family was a well - known merchant in the area but also extremely superstitious about ghosts and gods. Soon after the master was bought in, he was taken in by the mistress as an adopted son. His food, clothing, and daily necessities were very luxurious, no less than those in the palace.
However, a concubine in the family was jealous. While the master was sleeping, she burned a large mark on his back with a branding iron. No one knew how the master endured that pain.
Then, this concubine reported to the master of the house that the master had an evil birthmark on his body. After hearing this, the master was furious. "How could such an inauspicious thing appear in our family! Beat him to death with sticks immediately!"
At that time, the master's wound hadn't fully healed, and yet he suffered such cruel treatment again. No one knew how he endured it.
The mistress who had adopted him didn't even think about saving his life. She only wanted to distance herself from this matter and completely ignored the inhumane treatment he suffered!
"This damned wretch! How dare he deceive me!" The mistress ignored the cold look in the weak - looking boy's eyes. Her words were even colder than the winter in the twelfth lunar month.
No one was willing to plead for him. Even though they could tell that the scar on his body was deliberately burned, no one dared to stand up and speak for him.
This was just how Quzhou was. Whether it was a natural mark or an artificial one, as long as there was the slightest mark on a person's body, if it was accidentally seen on the street, the person would immediately be beaten up.
Moreover, the scar on his back was so bright and red, and its shape was very much like a ghost - talisman. Even if people knew it was deliberately made, they would still regard him as a symbol of misfortune.
The deeper the belief, the more ruthless the actions. These people with sticks were also eager to gain favor in front of their master. They all exerted their full strength and hit him. After just five blows, the child on the stool was already spitting blood and unconscious.
Finally, an old butler in the mansion couldn't bear to see such a young child die. He secretly stuffed all his savings to those who were beating the child, and only then did the child manage to barely survive.
Later, the master was thrown by the old butler into an empty and dilapidated temple outside the city. He lived in that dilapidated temple for a while. Fortunately, this dilapidated temple was the home of many cats. These cats often brought back some food. Every time he woke up, he had to compete with the cats for food.
No one knew how long it had been. An old wandering hermit passing by took pity on him, saved him, and treated his wounds to some extent before leaving. Only then was he able to get through that difficult time.
However, he didn't get to see the old hermit's face because most of the time he was either in a coma from the pain or from the fever. The time when he was awake was spent competing with the cats for food.
Otherwise, the master might have already died in Quzhou.
This experience was too painful and embarrassing for the master to talk about. Such a place full of unfortunate memories, no one would want to set foot in again.
Zhuifeng had only heard about this experience. Moreover, Tieshou and Wenxue usually liked to downplay things. Thinking about it, that painful past must have been even more torturous than what she had heard.
Seeing this, Zhuifeng quickly chased after him. It seemed that in the whole world, Tang Youyou was the only one who could make the master so eager to go to that place.
It was originally thought that the master was destined to be single for the rest of his life, but unexpectedly, he met someone who could break through his heart's defenses.
This Tang Youyou really had some skills!
Of course, there was also the child in her belly.
Zhuifeng silently prayed in her heart that they must be okay. Otherwise, once the master went crazy, they wouldn't be able to control him.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to leave a letter for Yue Fusheng and Old Man Tang, who were unaware of the situation, telling them not to worry. They had just gone on a long - distance trip and would come back after dealing with things.
Although she didn't know if they would believe it when they woke up and saw the letter, this was all she could do for Tang Youyou.
Zhuifeng thought she was really considerate now.