paranoianovel Chapter 143 Filial Son
Chapter 143 Filial Son
The winter wind swept across the fields, stirring up gusts of dust.
As Fang Hongxuan led his horse along the village road, he couldn't help but lift the straw hat on his head.
He first glanced at the bright sun overhead, then blocked the blinding sunlight from reaching Li Zhan.
Several days had passed since Fang Hongxuan and Zong Du parted ways. Following the official road southward, they finally arrived at this place.
"This time, I didn't stray even a fraction from the mark, and I actually managed to find this Shahe Town."
Looking at the booklet in his hand, with many blank pages in the middle, Fang Hongxuan felt a deep sense of emotion.
This is the last area marked as potentially inhabited by Rakshasa in the case file given to Fang Hongxuan by Hou Minghui, the head of the Demon Suppression Division of Mixian County.
Although he no longer needs the Rakshasa Yin Pill to maintain the abundance of his blood and qi, he still has to go through it again.
After all, the duty of the Demon Extermination Captain is to search for demons, maintain peace in the region, and protect the people.
Tap...tap...
The hollow sound of horses' hooves echoed all around, yet no one stepped forward to question them despite the noise.
As Fang Hongxuan approached the town monument.
He looked around, and all he saw were collapsed eaves, overturned poles, and fallen sieves. Paper money, talismans, and spirit banners were trampled into the dust; there was not a trace of cooking smoke or human figures left.
On the once bustling streets, clothes, sickles, hoes, swords... lay scattered everywhere. Limbs, fragments, mud, and entrails were all mixed together.
The desolate and quiet Shahe Town is like a living hell, its pale blood-red color appearing particularly eerie under the sunlight.
"Heh...heh..."
Several dark figures flashed past Fang Hongxuan, but Fang Hongxuan, with a calm expression, did not turn around.
He drew his sword with a backhand motion, the blade pointing straight at something behind him.
The dark figure stopped abruptly. Had he hesitated even a fraction longer, the sharp blade would have pierced his chest, ending his life.
Through the reflection of the blade, Fang Hongxuan was able to see that the person he was fighting was a colleague from the Demon Suppression Division of Mixian County.
"Cui Xiangyu, what are you doing here?"
Although Fang Hongxuan was surprised, he did not put down the coin in his hand.
As for the dark figure on the other side, it retreated rapidly, creating distance between itself and Fang Hongxuan.
Cui Xiangyu, with a haggard face and pale, cracked lips, stared blankly at Fang Hongxuan.
"Hongxuan, you're still alive..."
"Why do you say that?"
Although the two were no longer as tense as before, they were still wary of each other.
"More than eight months have passed since you began your patrol. None of your colleagues along the way have seen you. In such chaotic times, you've either fled or died at the hands of demons and monsters..."
"I know you don't believe my identity either. How about we both produce the Demon-Suppressing Token to prove our identities?"
The red light in Fang Hongxuan's eyes vanished in an instant. Having not sensed the slightest evil aura, he sheathed his sword and revealed the Demon-Suppressing Token hidden in his clothes.
The two identical, jet-black tokens gleamed in the sunlight.
Seeing that the blood-red character for "town" remained unchanged, Cui Xiangyu finally felt relieved.
"It really is you... Uncle Li was so worried after you went missing that his hair almost turned completely white..."
"Buzz..."
A series of eerie gusts of wind swept through the alleyway, heading straight for the two.
"It's not convenient to talk here, please come with me..."
Fang Hongxuan led the horse at a leisurely pace, following the direction indicated by Cui Xiangyu.
Hiss... hiss...
The already narrow street was instantly filled with a huge crowd of people.
Take a closer look
The blood-soaked, rotting people were already lifeless. Yet their faces were unusually ferocious and bloodthirsty.
Their limbs were stiff; they were jumping rather than running.
"Has this place also been tainted by zombies...?"
"Hurry! If they spot us, it'll be troublesome to escape..."
Cui Xiangyu's urgent voice came again. At this moment, he was charging forward with a knife in hand. The zombies around him were torn apart, with rotting blood splattering everywhere and limbs flying everywhere.
"Hmm...it's not too late to figure out the situation first..."
Fang Hongxuan lashed the whip hard, causing Wu Qi to howl in pain.
"You all hide first, and I will come looking for you after this matter is settled..."
Upon hearing this, Wu Qi leaped across more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and disappeared around the street corner in an instant.
Fang Hongxuan followed behind Cui Xiangyu, and the two fought their way through the ridges until they reached the vicinity of the mountain god temple. Only then did Cui Xiangyu, who had been tense all along, relax a little.
The horde of zombies tried to give chase, but as soon as they stepped into a certain boundary, they were engulfed in flames. A stench-filled fumes quickly spread around them before quietly dissipating.
"Now we're completely safe, Hongxuan. Come with me into the temple..."
The so-called mountain god temple did not enshrine any gods or even have an altar. On the ground, there was only a burning iron basin and incense sticks stuck in the bricks and tiles.
The small temple was packed with a huge crowd.
The once lively and active children now had eyes filled with fear, the men remained silent, and the women wore expressions of sorrow and grief. Not a single elderly person was present.
In a corner of the crowd, a woman was holding a drowsy child...
Indeed, how could an old man or woman, already nearing the end of their life and in their twilight years, possibly escape the attack of the zombies?
He had no choice but to blend in with the zombies and become their accomplice.
"This place doesn't actually worship any mountain god, Buddha, Bodhisattva, or city god... The divine power forcibly gathered here is almost dissipating... The people of Shahe Town may all be wiped out..."
Cui Xiangyu lowered his voice as much as possible and poured out his troubled thoughts to Fang Hongxuan.
"What exactly happened?"
"The trouble here began half a month ago...it was caused by the coffin that Qi Jingming brought back..."
...
"My son, what kind of business are you doing out there... to earn such a fine coffin... If it was obtained through deception and fraud again, I have already received your good intentions, and I will send it back tomorrow..."
Courtyard
Where was the old lady of the Qi family who was overjoyed before? Even her rosy face had turned pale.
No one knows a child better than their mother. Although they hadn't seen each other for several years, how could Old Madam Qi not know her child's character?
Qi Jingming's expression shifted several times, first turning red-faced, then as pale as paper, before finally returning to calm.
"Mother, don't worry. Although I, Qi Jingming, am not a good person, this coffin was not obtained through deception or fraud. I painstakingly saved up for five years to buy it from the Fang family's coffin shop, the largest in Sishui County..."
"Upon hearing this, Old Madam Qi finally smiled. However, when she grasped Qi Jingming's calloused and scarred hands, she felt a surge of sorrow and tears streamed down her face."
"My son...you've suffered so much..."
It seemed to remind him of his own wandering, lonely and destitute existence. He had endured countless rejections and harsh treatment before finally managing to gain a foothold in Sishui County.
Qi Jingming was also moved to tears, but upon seeing his mother, all the resentment and anger in his heart vanished.
The mother and son embraced each other, their pain and sobs echoing out of the courtyard.
"There wasn't even an argument. It seems Qi Jingming has truly reformed and become a filial son..."