The Northern Lands, leading into the Central Plains Guanzhong, is the Guanzhong Plain, a prosperous area throughout history.
Guanzhong Plain is a vast and fertile land, and it is also a central hub connecting trade between the north and south and the East Sea. It has been a strategic location fought over by military strategists since ancient times, and many of the Northern Lands aristocratic families have businesses in this area.
During the year that the giant python blocked their way, many aristocratic families regretted not fleeing eastward and directly out of the Northern Lands into the Central Plains. Instead, they followed the army's position and retreated northward, which led to their passive situation later on. Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and they returned to this dream retreat route.
But when the group of people arrived at the city gate with excitement, the scene before them immediately dashed their hopes.
The city gate was still the same tall gate I remembered, and there were even many magic arrays familiar to the sorcerer families at the entrance. As a key place for defending the Northern Wasteland and Cloud Capital, Zijing Pass in Guanzhong has always been a heavily guarded place. Even after the north was recovered and many troops were dispersed to the Northern Lands, the defense here has never been relaxed.
But what's the situation now?
The vast and imposing pass was completely deserted, overgrown with weeds that were almost as tall as a person, making it impossible for anyone to even approach.
There were about four or five hundred noble families who came from North Wild Goose City. They were all huddled together in case of any unforeseen circumstances. But now, at such a desolate pass, the group fell silent. On the way here, especially when they left the Northern Frontier, the group was incredibly warm and friendly. Even noble families that had once been hostile to each other were now inseparable and talked about everything.
But now, the huge crowd is completely silent.
As it was getting dark, the tall, elderly man at the front finally spoke up, "How about we go into the city first?"
The old man who spoke was an elder from a prestigious family, a powerful First Rank martial artist who originally looked down on so-called sorcerer families. But now he looked at the sorcerer elders behind him as if seeking their guidance.
The many sorcerers stared solemnly ahead, and an old man spoke up, "Could it be that those giant pythons have already invaded the Guanzhong?"
"It shouldn't be." The first warrior to speak shook his head and said, "The envoy who escorted us here said that the Northern Lands Pythons only live deep in the Northern Lands, and once we reach the edge of the Northern Lands, there's really nothing to worry about. But for safety's sake, he still sent us to the border area. At that time, I could feel that the terrifying aura in the distance had disappeared, and the stench unique to those pythons was gone."
Everyone nodded in agreement; martial artists are very sensitive to danger.
"In those bushes." An old man hesitated, looking ahead. Such tall bushes could be troublesome if a giant python were lurking there.
"I don't think so. Just to be on the safe side, I suggest burning it."
The suggestion was quickly approved, and large flames soon covered a large area of wild grass at the city gate. The flames were three zhang high, and it was clear that there were many strange things in the grass. They quickly fled and did not dare to attack them directly, but the group was still not in a good mood.
Because after they burned the grass, they saw piles of white bones buried beneath it!
The bones bore signs of gnawing; beneath this formidable pass, in a patch of tall, overgrown weeds, the remains of at least tens of thousands had been gnawed on by some lowly demons, left unattended.
Is this still the Guanzhong we used to know?
The hearts of a group of people are growing increasingly heavy.
This bad feeling was quickly confirmed once they entered the city.
The vast city gate was unguarded, and the area outside was littered with corpses, left unattended. If things were like this outside, how could the situation inside the city be any better?
As it turned out, things weren't much better. It was already dusk, and one would expect a scene of smoke rising from chimneys and lights on, but that wasn't the case. As darkness fell, all the people saw was a vast, dark city, without a single light. The bleak, cold wind made everyone feel even colder than in the Northern Lands.
"This"
Everyone swallowed hard, cautiously searching for a place to sleep in the city for the night. Everywhere they could see eerie green eyes, the same kind they had seen many times in the Northern Lands, the kind that had become the watchdogs of demons. Now they watched from afar, not daring to approach.
In North Wild Goose City, whenever such dog demons appeared, the villagers would band together to kill them. But now, these dog demons are patrolling everywhere. What does this mean?
If demons that could be easily dealt with by a few more ordinary people are swarming everywhere, then there's only one possibility: this is a dead city!
how so?
Even in the era when demons roamed the land and kings were in chaos, Guanzhong was a bustling and prosperous place. There were no snake demons invading here, nor any trace of other large demons. How did it become a dead city?
With these questions in mind, the group finally found an old man hiding in a house with a cellar.
Upon seeing such a large group of people approaching, the elderly woman with a young child burst into tears, as if she had encountered saviors.
It took a group of people a long time to comfort the frightened old man before they finally managed to pull him out of the rubble. To avoid attracting attention, no lights were lit in the house, only a small oil lamp.
"This old man shouldn't be the owner of this house, right?" A seasoned sorcerer, who had taken his seat in the hall, observed the old man and asked curiously.
The old man gave a wry smile, "This house belongs to the Su Family. I used to be the steward in charge of purchasing for the Su Family's backyard."
"Oh?" Hearing this, many people's eyes lit up. It was good that he was a local; they could ask him what had happened.
"If that's the case, where is the Su Family? And how did Luyang City become like this? Where are the people of Luyang City?"
"They've all run away," the old man said with a bitter smile. "Those with money, those with able-bodied men at home, after being tortured for more than half a year, those who could run away all ran away. Those who couldn't escape became food for those wild dogs. A few, like me, hide in the cellar at night, barely surviving on some rice and flour."
"They escaped?" Everyone was stunned. Thinking about it, it made sense. Although there were many corpses outside the city, Luyang City was a large city with a population of tens of millions, not to mention the surrounding villages and towns. If the city were really destroyed, there shouldn't be so few corpses.
But why run?
Surely it's not because of those beasts that have turned into demons? These things can be easily overcome if the government is effective and everyone is vigilant. Why should we have to leave our homes?
"Why haven't you left yet, sir?" someone couldn't help but ask.
Upon hearing this, a hint of excitement appeared on the old man's originally pale face. It took him a long time to calm down before he slowly said, "The master left early. Half a year ago, he moved the whole family to Jiangnan. At that time, he left me behind to guard the ancestral home. He promised me that if things calmed down, he would let me go from being a slave and support my grandson to go to school."
"I've been thinking, the Su family mansion has plenty of grain stored in the cellars. If we're frugal, it'll last us three years. Compared to being a refugee, guarding the mansion for the masters has a better chance of survival. Besides, my eldest grandson is talented and a promising student. If he can get rid of his slave status, he'll have a chance to become a scholar in the future. So I'm thinking of staying here with the boss and my eldest son's family to help look after the mansion."
The old man's eyes grew redder as he spoke, clearly indicating that things weren't going well for him. The eldest son's family the other person mentioned were all gone; it seemed...
The group exchanged glances, roughly guessing what had happened. Everyone fled, leaving the animals that had become demons behind to be left unattended. Magic City man-eaters, and one could be devoured at any moment if one wasn't careful.
When the old man chose to stay, he probably never imagined that this city would later become a ghost town.
"What exactly caused this entire city to become a ghost town?" The leading warrior frowned and asked, "Where are the city guards? Where are the officials of the prefecture? This is an important pass in the Northern Lands, and now it has fallen to this state. Has the Taiyuan Prefectural Government not taken any action?"
" Taiyuan Prefectural Government?" The old man smiled bitterly. "I've never been there, but I've heard that it's pretty much the same as here; nobody lives there anymore."
"What?"