The demon world I designed

Due to its unique geographical location, Liuzhou in the south of the Yangtze River was set up by the court as the tenth state capital directly under the jurisdiction of the state. Its layout was surrounded by mountains and rivers, with both water and land connections. It was the central hub connecting the south of the Yangtze River to the north, and its business was prosperous.

Coupled with the beautiful scenery and excellent Feng Shui pattern, it has attracted many wealthy businessmen to live here. It also means that even in the prosperous Jiangnan, Liuzhou is a good land for oil and water. Those who want to be assigned to be officials here are indispensable. Check out the above relationship.

But now, an earthquake in the officialdom has made Jiangnan officials keep secret about Liuzhou!

There is nothing I can do about it. The incident of Mr. Painted Skin sounds too terrifying. Human skin is painted on bones, flesh is dug out and marrow is filled, and there is a terrifying monster that can directly skin and replace officials. Such a sneaky place, even if the court claims that it has been The demon is rectifying the Fa, but it still cannot stop people from feeling panic!

Although Qin Guogong's suggestion was good, it also had negative effects. First, all Liuzhou officials were purged. Although it could cleanse the remaining demons to a certain extent, such a big move made it even more difficult to stabilize the already shaken people.

For example, in the past few days, Liuzhou's official government has been left unattended, and the Jiangnan envoy had to temporarily dispatch officials to manage it. But now...who dares to take up a post in Liuzhou?

Everyone who was named declined one after another. If they couldn't avoid it, they resigned from their official posts. This gave the Jiangnan governor who was responsible for temporary dispatch a headache. He kept writing to the court to send new officials quickly. After all, Liuzhou is now... almost in chaos. !

The appointment of new Jinshi officials was not very smooth. After all, not all Jinshi were so poor as Chen Qing that they dared to sacrifice themselves. Some people with better family backgrounds would rather refuse the official position than go to Liuzhou, and were finally willing to compromise and go there. About With only two-thirds of the previous estimate, the manpower is seriously insufficient!

Even those who have received official seals can delay as long as they can, expecting others to wade through the water first while they wait and see.

And under this situation, Chen Qing, a fool, rushed to Liuzhou one step ahead of everyone else! ——

"This is...Liuzhou?"

After traveling through mountains and rivers for nearly ten days, Chen Qing almost didn't recognize him when he arrived at Liuzhou City. Even the horseman following him was dumbfounded.

The huge Liuzhou City was so desolate that Chen Qing almost thought it had just been looted!

There were not even any officers and soldiers guarding the city. If it hadn't been for the clear sky and white sun, Chen Qing would have thought that he had strayed into the Yin and Yang Road.

"What's going on?"

The groom and Chen Qing stared at each other. After a moment of silence, the groom hurriedly said: "Master, I... think, why don't you settle my money now? I... I... I feel like it’s a little scary here, so I won’t spend the night here today. Master, please pay the money and I’ll be on my way now. Maybe I can get to Shangshu County before dark.”

Chen Qing: "……."

If I had known it was so weird, I would have brought the ghost baby with me, but I was afraid of being overcrowded, so I placed the ghost baby at Qinglong Mountain first, but now it’s good, there’s not even a ghost on the street!

"Master... look over there!" The groom pointed over there in horror.

Chen Qing was shocked when he looked over. It was a butcher shop. There was actually someone selling meat on this desolate street?

The key point is that the meat seller looks very scary, with most of the skin on his face taken off, revealing the bones and flesh and the faintly visible wooden structure inside.

Dong Dong…..

The big man looked at no one else, and kept cutting the bones into pieces. His eyes were dull and machine-like. It was indeed not an ordinary horror in this ghost town-like street.

The groom was so frightened that he stepped back, but Chen Qing frowned and took a step closer.

Naturally, he could tell who the butcher was. It was obviously the puppets made by Mr. Painting Skin. After Mr. Painting Skin died, these puppets lost their spiritual bodies and became like walking corpses. They would only rely on some of their instincts in life to do things. Doing something repetitive.

Chen Qing has seen this in Yuchipeng's soldiers who were brought back to the capital. Lu Jiaming's group of soldiers who were replaced by puppets can still do simple jobs in Yuchi Mansion, even though they have lost their spiritual consciousness. , but some simple commands are understandable.

Yu Chipeng was reluctant to get rid of his former brothers, so he stayed and helped practice target practice at the martial arts field.

But the Yuchi family is a big blood family after all. If they are not afraid of these puppets, how dare the common people continue to use them? Aren't you afraid?

"Eh? The little brother over there just came to Liuzhou City today?"

Just as he was thinking about it, a voice came. The speaker was naturally not the mechanical butcher butcher, but a middle-aged woman standing guard next to the butcher shop.

The woman was born fair, and although she was a market woman, she had obviously not done any heavy work, and she was much prettier than ordinary peasant women.

I saw her greeting her warmly from afar: "Would you like to buy some meat back? There are no inn chefs here to cook for you. If you buy some, I can personally cook you two dishes to go with wine."

Chen Qing was surprised when she saw the other party clearly, and asked cautiously: "Ma Erniang?"

"Are you..." The other party was stunned by Chen Qing's shout, and immediately stopped his endless sales pitch and looked over carefully.

"Oh, isn't this Chen Qing?"

When the woman saw an acquaintance, she became even more enthusiastic. She stepped forward and looked at him carefully: "Oh, isn't he the Jinshi master in our alley? Didn't your mother say she was going to the north to become an official? Why are you back again?"

"Ah...this...it's a long story." Chen Qing smiled and changed the subject, looking at the butcher who was cutting the meat: "That's Uncle Zhang, right? What's wrong with him?"

"He..." When she mentioned her husband-in-law, the woman's eyes suddenly darkened.

"That's it... I used to dislike him for being lazy and not working. He often went out to gamble and lose money when he had nothing to do. But now... he can only work!"

Chen Qing was silent, not knowing what to say for a moment.

He has known Ma Er's family for three years. He knows the butcher Zhang very well, but he didn't expect that he still doesn't know him well enough. When was Master Huang replaced him? Or maybe he was just a puppet at that time?

The day she found out the truth, Ma Erniang must have been frightened, right?

But she is still willing to stay with her man...

Chen Qing felt sad in his heart, but he didn't feel sad for long before he asked about the situation in Liuzhou.

"Er Niang, where are the people in the city?"

When the horseman next to him saw that he was an acquaintance, he cautiously came over and listened quietly. He was also curious, why did this huge Liuzhou City look like a ghost town? Where had all the people gone?

"People?" Ma Erniang looked at the desolate surroundings and sighed: "They are all gone..."

"Leaving?" Chen Qing was stunned.

"Haven't you heard about the ghost puppets in Liuzhou City?"

"Listen...I heard something...but I didn't expect it to be so serious..." Chen Qing carefully observed the other party's mental state. After all, she is the butcher's wife. She might not be able to beat her with the butcher's knife. .

"You don't know how chaotic the city was at that time. The officers and soldiers suppressed, banned and banned, and then even closed the city directly. Many people were frightened at that time."

"In that case, people should be locked up in Liuzhou." Chen Qing looked around curiously. It was obvious that everyone was fleeing.

"At the beginning, they were not allowed to leave..." Ma Erniang said with a bitter smile: "Later, some well-connected teachers and wealthy businessmen began to secretly find ways to leave. Once there are more such people, they will be known. There was a big fuss at that time. Many of my neighbors rushed to the city gate. It is said that several of them were trampled to death..."

Chen Qing felt his scalp tingle when he heard the other party's words. Just a few words could make him imagine the chaotic scene at that time.

"There are too many people dead, and it's about to get too much trouble. The people above just withdraw the officers and soldiers. With this withdrawal, won't they all be gone?"

Ma Erniang looked at her husband with complicated eyes.

Chen Qing looked at it and could probably understand why ordinary people wanted to run away. As long as these puppets were around, the officers and soldiers did not dare to move unless they received orders, and the neighbors were afraid, so the ghosts only appeared if they could stay.

"Where have they all gone?" the groom asked curiously.

"Those who have money go to the next state capital, and those who don't have money go back to their hometown in the countryside. After all, they have somewhere to go..."

Chen Qing thought for a while and then asked: "Er Niang, where are your children?"

"I'm back to my hometown in the countryside." Ma Erniang said with a smile: "It's time for the piglets in the countryside to be born. It's okay for the sons and daughters-in-law to go back and help the old people take care of them. Damn it, I just need to accompany you..."

"How many of you are left like this?"

"There shouldn't be many..." Ma Erniang said with a smile: "Most of the homes on North Street are ordinary people like us. I can only find a dozen or so when I visit these days. There are some wealthy businessmen and husbands on South Street. Those who have property have already moved their families.”

Chen Qing: "…….."

Without enough time to pity Ma Erniang's plight, Chen Qing walked south!

Originally, he was the first one to come over, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make a profit. But now, there are not even a few feathers left. The whole place is a mess and all the people have escaped. How can I be the prefect?

"Chen Qing, where are you going?" Ma Erniang shouted quickly.

"Go to South Street!" Chen Qing responded without looking back: "Er Niang, help me weigh a pound of meat and have dinner at your house tonight!"

"Ah? Okay!" Erniang smiled happily, but then said: "There is not a single ghost on South Street, what are you doing there?"

But as soon as he shouted, Chen Qing's shadow disappeared.

Naturally, he was in a hurry now to go over and see how many households were left!

Just kidding, most of the ordinary people in Beijie are hiding in the countryside. They can still get back by using some means by themselves. It is difficult to catch these rich and wealthy people if they run away. If they leave, whose taxes will they collect?