0p0 Chapter 254: Lingnan City's Terror One Night
Chapter 254: Lingnan City's Terror One Night
Although it doesn’t get dark as early in the twelfth lunar month in Lingnan as in the north, it still gets dark faster than in spring and summer.
Before the hour of Xu, the sun had already set behind the western hills, and the lights in Lingnan City gradually lit up.
The wine shops, tea houses, brothels and night markets all over the city gradually began to become noisy.
Tianhe Street is the main street of Lingnan City, connecting the entire city from south to north.
Peddlers and street vendors hawk their wares in waves, all wanting to do more business and have a prosperous New Year as the New Year draws to a close.
Going southwest from the end of Tianhe Street is the old vegetable market in Lingnan City.
Usually, it is only open in the morning market. In addition to the vegetable stalls, there are also slaughterhouses for poultry and livestock of different sizes.
As soon as people enter the old vegetable market, they will be overwhelmed by the smell of blood and organs.
At night, apart from merchants reselling goods, there are very few pedestrians coming in and out.
Tianhe Street was bustling with people, but no one noticed a pair of blood-red, sinister eyes flashing across this old vegetable market!
……
2:15 PM, old vegetable market in Lingnan City.
"My brother is carrying firewood to sell on the street, and my sister-in-law is going out wearing flower girl shoes!
Flower shoes, flower socks, flower belt, pearl butterflies on both sides~
There are twelve in a row, untie your belt so I can touch Nana..."
Zhuang Er was humming a little tune by the river, carrying a load dripping with cow blood, and walked all the way from the livestock farm outside the city into the city.
This was his daily routine. He would buy two loads of fresh beef offal at a low price from a livestock farm outside the city, carry them to his own shop in the old vegetable market, clean them, light a fire, and add brine, preparing to sell them the next morning.
Unexpectedly, just after walking about ten steps outside the old vegetable market, I heard some inhuman noises coming from inside -
“Crack, crack…”
"Uh...hiss..."
Zhuang Erhe was stunned and stopped.
He put down his load and looked inside. The market was pitch black.
He pricked up his ears again, feeling like he was at the third store from the inside out...
It sounded like the sound of a wild beast tearing raw meat, mixed with the sound of people breathing, which was extremely creepy.
Zhuang Erhe was a little timid. After all, he was only sixteen years old and had not received much education. He had followed his father to run the family beef offal shop since he was a child.
Although he is a man, he has never lacked meat since he was a child and can be said to be big and strong.
But this is the first time I have encountered such a strange thing.
A few years ago, I heard a story from a street storyteller about people from Lingnan eating people from Minnan. Now, when I hear the noise in it, Zhuang Erhe still feels scared when he thinks about it!
He stood at the entrance of the old vegetable market, hesitated for a moment, smacked his lips, and then gritted his teeth and picked up the load, ready to put it in his shop and leave quickly.
"Ow!!!"
Unexpectedly, just as Zhuang Erhe put the carrying pole on his shoulder, he heard a howl from inside!
The howl scared Zhuang Erhe so much that he almost peed himself. He felt all the hair on his body stand up, even lifting up his clothes!
Zhuang Erhe peeked inside nervously, only to see a man in frontier army armor lying on the ground, gnawing on something...
At this moment, the carrying pole on Zhuang Erhe's shoulder slipped off his body with a "snap". The thing turned its head suddenly at the sound, and its pair of bulging bloodshot eyeballs stared straight at Zhuang Erhe!
Zhuang Erhe only felt a chill rising from his tailbone, and then his scalp felt numb and exploded!
"Ghost!"
Zhuang Erhe, nearly frightened to death, yelled, dropped his load of beef offal, and fled the old vegetable market like a flash...
The man behind him obviously didn't intend to let Zhuang Erhe go. He threw the messy body on the ground and chased in the direction Zhuang Erhe fled!
"Den!"
The man lay on the ground, using his hands and feet, then kicked his legs and actually rushed four or five feet away!
Zhuang Erhe ran about a hundred steps. Seeing the lights ahead becoming brighter and brighter, he was about to reach the main street. He breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down his pace...
"Oh!"
The man suddenly shot out from behind Zhuang Erhe and knocked him to the ground!
“Ah! Help… someone’s killing someone… someone’s killing someone… uh… gurgle…”
Just as Zhuang Erhe let out a scream, in less than half a heartbeat, the man who pounced on him from behind bit through his throat!
The blood vessels in his neck burst at the same time, and blood rushed into Zhuang Erhe's mouth. He could only make some vague "gurgling" sounds, and gradually became silent...
……
The night patrol soldiers finished their shift before midnight. There were twelve people in a team, led by a sergeant.
Go around the city from north to south.
This is the rule set by Su Xin after he received the order from the Emperor.
At the end of the 11am hour every day, soldiers would be sent to patrol the night. Their sole purpose was to give an explanation to their superiors.
Prove that he is not useless in Lingnan, and at least he has played a role in protecting the country and the people.
The one leading the team tonight was not an ordinary squad leader, but the scout leader who was scolded by Su Xin in the afternoon.
In addition, a team of scouts was also sent. They were dressed in black armor and had two-foot-long steel daggers on their waists. They were all in high spirits.
The scout leader knew that if Hou Simao couldn't be found tonight, he would definitely be forced to feed the horses when he returned to the camp.
"Shangfeng, why don't we go get some midnight snack first?"
One of the scouts, a man with a fair complexion and a lean build, approached the scout leader with a playful smile and asked carefully.
"Xiao Xiao Xiao...Xiao your mother's head!"
"All you do all day is eat! If I can't find that kid Simao, you'll have to eat horse manure!"
The scout leader bared his yellow teeth, glared at the scout and scolded him.
Seeing this, the others dared not say a word and could only follow the scout leader in disappointment.
“Ding, ding…”
"It's midnight, everything is fine!"
The night watchman from Lingnan City walked towards the soldiers, holding a lantern and beating a gong.
"It's midnight. Sigh... Do I really have to feed the horses tomorrow?"
The scout leader glanced at the night watchman, smiled bitterly and muttered to himself.
The sound of the gong gradually faded away, and the soldiers were almost at the end of Tianhe Street.
Just as they were about to turn west and go around the parapet back to the main camp, the scout leader heard a jaw-dropping noise.
“Crack, crack…”
He had a very sensitive nose and he immediately smelled a strong smell of blood mixed with the stench of manure!
Years of military experience told him that this smell was not common!
Only a person who has just died and been disemboweled will emit this kind of smell that will never be forgotten in a lifetime!
"Qiang!"
The scout leader was filled with anxiety and drew out his dagger without a second thought. The cold blade reflected the starlight and made the soldiers behind him shudder!
"Up to the peak?"
"Don't talk, brothers, draw your swords!"
That team of scouts was obviously more alert. When they heard the order from the scout leader, they all drew their daggers and held them in their hands.
But the ordinary soldiers who were patrolling the streets did not react so quickly. They were still surprised that these scouts suddenly drew their swords.
One of the soldiers was about to ask the scout leader a question, but before he could open his mouth, he heard the sound of wind in his ears!
"Ow!"
A dark shadow jumped out from the west wall and knocked down the soldier who was about to ask questions!
"Pfft!"
The scout leader's heart was pounding, and he swung his dagger, but was hit in the face by a stream of blood!
He wiped a handful of warm and slippery blood and growled:
"Fire starter! Quick!"
As soon as the roar came out, the scout raised his knife and stabbed the guy who was lying on the soldier's neck and gnawing at him madly!
……