Li Yunxin, a fourteen-year-old boy, didn't know where he got so much strength. He ran non-stop in the dense forest for three hours before he finally fell headlong to the ground. At this time, the sky has cleared, and the morning light is faint in the east. He heard the rushing water and knew there was a river nearby.

So I rested on the ground for a while, then strengthened my body and slowly helped the tree to walk over, and finally saw it. Last night, there was a heavy rain, and the turbid river rolled down with dead branches and rotten leaves, not wide, but it was enough for him to not have the courage to cross the river.

On the other side of the river, there is a building with blue tiles and white walls, and it is a town. Li Yunxin really wanted to go to that town to find some food and drink, but first, he couldn't cross the river, and secondly, he was worried about the demon-like Nine Princes—in fact, he was a man-eating demon.

He thought so. If the demon were to chase him again, he would be expected to go to a nearby town. Then he didn't stop, and continued down the river, going further.

If ordinary people fall into such a situation, they probably won't survive in this dense forest for a few days. But Li Yunxin has a "treasure".

It's the treasure that the two dead Taoists asked him to hand over.

He lied to the two people before that the baby was hidden somewhere by himself, so the two chased him all the way and didn't really kill him. Thinking about it now, he felt a little puzzled - those two seemed to be reclusive Taoist priests who were completely ignorant of worldly feelings, how could they come to kill people and seize treasures for themselves?

Because the "baby" is actually hidden in the sole of his shoe and stepped on under his feet. It's ridiculous that the two had searched him after catching him before, but they hadn't paid attention to his shoes.

Probably the two Taoist priests didn't dare to think that the "Tongming Jade Jane", which they regarded as a treasure, would be hidden in that kind of place by Li Yunxin so casually.

That's blasphemy.

The so-called "Tongming Jade Jane" is actually a piece of Tongming Jade Jane. Palm-sized, rectangular, transparent as a piece of glass. Probably his parents really wanted him to live in peace for the rest of his life, and they never mentioned this thing to him before they died.

Or did he stumble upon some clues that his parents had inadvertently left behind, and dug them out of a low hill behind the village.

After that, I was disappointed - it looked ordinary, and it was at most a relatively rare "very pure glass" in this world.

As for how he knew about this "Tongming Jade Jane" and more things about his parents, it had to start after the two Taoist priests found him in disguise.

But now is not the time to reminisce. Li Yunxin still had to fight hard and move forward. He didn't want to be chased by the demon and cooked and eaten, he still wanted to live.

This was the first time he had seen a living youkai, and the great fear at that time even shocked him beyond his thoughts, and it was only then that the fear slowly became stronger and stronger.

It turns out that such a thing really exists in this world, and it is still possible, and it is eyeing him behind him.

This emotion and desire to survive brought out the potential in his body, and he walked away for two whole days.

At noon on the third day, he saw a bridge.

A stone arch bridge spanning the river with moss growing on the piers. At this time, the river was no longer as turbulent as it used to be, and it became clear and shallow.

An old man was fishing on the other side of the river, and there were aquatic plants floating in the diving area, and transparent fish and shrimp frolicking. Further away is a small town with smoke billowing from cooking.

As soon as Li Yunxin's heart was relieved, he almost fell to the ground. But he breathed a sigh of relief, and staggered up the stone bridge with his sword in his hand, and went to the town.

The old man glanced up at him. Li Yunxin knew that his current appearance looked strange. Unkempt and wounded on the arm. The strip of cloth wrapped around his arm had been soaked in blood and blackened brown, and the wound was somewhat numb, not very painful, and not itchy. Li Yunxin knew that this was not a good sign.

His clothes were ragged, but he carried a steel sword in his hand—this was not something ordinary people could afford.

He lowered his head and quickened his pace, and staggered for a while before he saw the archway at the entrance of the town.

Qinghe Town.

Under the archway, the two soap-clothed messengers held the short stick with eyebrows and looked at him with a frown. When he approached, he reached out to stop him, staring at his sword vigilantly: "Where are you going?"

Li Yunxin felt that his body was getting more and more tired, it was okay to run for his life in the wilderness, there was always a breath of air. At this time, when I saw the crowd, the breath had already dissipated, and I felt that every muscle in my body wanted to relax. He gritted his teeth and beat his spirit: "I met a gangster on the road......"

When this sentence was spoken, the last breath in his body seemed to be spit out. He only felt that it was dark in front of him, and his body leaned forward. Li Yunxin subconsciously wanted to use the long sword in his hand to support it, but he didn't want to bend his wrist, and the sword blade went straight towards one of them.

So the last words I heard before I fell unconscious were-

"Oops!"

"What a thief......!"

※※※

After waking up, Li Yunxin realized that things didn't seem to be good.

There was a cold, damp, musty smell all around, and the room was dark. He looked around and saw that the house he was in had only three walls, and on the other side was a wooden fence with rusty iron locks.

Outside, there is a dimly lit corridor made of bluestone, and there is an oil lamp in a recess in the wall.

He was thrown into prison. He quickly touched the sole of his shoe and found that the piece of jade was still there.

The people outside seemed to hear his noise, and in a moment a messenger came to look at him with a dark face and a knife at his waist, and then stabbed the lock open and opened the door.

Li Yunxin looked at him quietly, and found that this person was actually dressed differently from the two people he had met at the entrance of the town before. His black hat had a green peacock feather on it, and while it was a little bald, it still meant that he was the head catcher of the county—at least in the town.

The head catcher is surnamed Xing, and his single name is established. Recently, I have been anxious about one thing and have a very bad temper.

Last month, the son of the county took people to spring hunting and entered the wild forest on the other side of the Qing River. He didn't come back that night, and three days later, the old man Xin Orion, who had accompanied him into the mountain, came back alone.

The old man was covered in blood and unkempt, and when he met people, he said that the son of the county and the two domestic servants were captured and eaten by the monsters. When Xing Zhutou arrived with someone, the old man was already crazy, and he couldn't ask a second sentence except that sentence.

I've heard of youkai. But just like hearing that someone has been seriously ill for three years and suddenly becomes exquisite, who would believe that this can happen to their own family?

If someone dies, they say that they were caught and eaten by monsters, and they have to do this law and discipline often.

What's more, it was his own son who died.

The county was furious, threw Xin Lihu into prison, and strictly ordered Xing to arrest the murderer within a time limit.

Xing Zhutou stared at Li Yunxin's arm and looked at it: "That's a sword wound." ”

looked at Li Yunxin's eyes again: "You killed someone." It was the one in your hand that hurt you. The sword shouldn't be yours. ”

Li Yunxin shook his head: "I didn't kill anyone, I just defended myself." I met a youkai. ”

Xing Zhutou's face showed a strange look, and he felt more and more that the guess in his heart was right.

The boy was too calm. Even an adult would wake up and find himself thrown into prison for a while, but now the teenager is not only not panicking, but is very calm. Or even say...... I feel a little "relieved".

In fact, three days have passed since Li Yunxin fell into a coma. The reason why he was not woken up earlier was because a terrible thing happened in Gai County, in the upper reaches of the Qing River, - the remains of two Taoist priests were found in an abandoned temple. It seems that they were killed, roasted, and eaten.

There was a broken steel sword at the scene, exactly like the sword that the young man carried.

The boy found something out of the ordinary—talismans, pen and paper, and some strange bits and pieces.

Xing Zhutou went to Gaixian for a trip, and then felt that things were gradually becoming clearer. This boy may be a painter, a crazy painter. He eats people. Under this inference, many things are explained in a seemingly satisfactory way.

Now it is only necessary to prove that he is capable of killing and eating people.

Today is the last day of the county honorable period, as long as he has this ability.

"You're a painter, and you know how to do some evil spells. Xing Zhutou said, "We found something in you. So you killed people and ate people in Gai County before, and even earlier, you killed the son of the county honor. ”

Li Yunxin sighed in the dim light, feeling that hunger was about to crush him. But he was still a little relieved—at least it was much better here than in the wilderness, and he didn't have to worry about the Ninth Prince coming to eat him, and he didn't have to worry about someone chasing him.

"I grew up in a mountain village in Dingzhou, and my parents taught me a little trick. You say I'm a painter, maybe forget it. But I didn't kill people or eat people......" At this point, he sighed again and said no more.

He thought for a moment and raised his head: "Actually, it's useless for me to say anything, right?" I'm guessing you might need a scapegoat. ”

"Then, no matter how you deal with this, I guess it's also after autumn, and it's spring. I need some medicine right now, I need some food. If I die, you'll be in trouble. ”

Xing Li's brows furrowed even tighter. He stared at Li Yunxin for a long time, then turned around and walked out the door. After re-locking, he couldn't help but ask, "What you said is true?"

Li Yunxin spread his hands. Xing Li didn't quite understand what this action meant, but he could guess that the other party was expressing helplessness.

“...... What about youkai?"

"You won't believe it either. Li Yunxin said.

Xing Li walked out. A waiting soap-clothed messenger in the aisle greeted him: "Xing Tou'er, how is it?"

"That boy is not simple, he is a character. Xing Li hesitated for a moment and said, "It's a pity." ”

"I went to Zhang Bang and said that there were bandits nearby, and I asked the people in the town to go to the mountains less. ”

"Yes. ”

Last month in Qinghe, three days ago in Gai County. Xing Li thought silently in his heart, it should be slowly going away along the river...... Probably won't be coming back.