This villain has become a ghost

Okay, case solved.

These are three fools.

The boatman thought.

Only a fool would be so idle as to seek death.

While drying the clothes, Yue Liuyun leaned over to Nangong Wanqing and whispered a few words to her. Nangong Wanqing's eyes turned slightly cold.

Rainwater dripped down the eaves, forming a curtain of water that washed the stone steps in front of the temple gate smooth and wet. The vermilion paint on the temple gate had long faded, and the wooden door was shaky in the wind and rain. The ancient trees outside the temple twisted their bodies in the wind and rain, their branches shaking violently.

After an unknown amount of time, Qiu Shuangwan's ears pricked up as he heard a strange sound. He immediately became alert and whispered, "Did you hear anything?"

The sound was like someone dragging heavy footsteps in the darkness, mixed with the sound of rain, getting closer and closer...

Nangong Wanqing placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, while Yue Liuyun frowned and gripped the sword. The boatman turned pale with fear and picked up a piece of firewood.

The sound of rain outside grew heavier. With a creak, the old door was pushed open and a dark shadow slowly emerged. It turned out to be a middle-aged beggar.

He was dressed in rags, but his eyes were shrewd. His face was covered with a dirty and messy beard, and he exuded a strong stench of decay.

When the beggar saw the few people, his eyes lit up and he grinned:

"...So you are some noble people. I have been living in this dilapidated temple. I went out to look for food today because it was raining. I didn't expect to have guests when I came back."

"Excuse me," the boatman stood up and explained, "I'm a boatman from Dongdu. These are my passengers. I came here to take shelter from the rain. I don't mean to disturb you."

The beggar's eyes rolled around, a strange light flashing in them as he stared at the other three people: "...From Dongdu?"

Nangong Wanqing calmly protected the other two behind her, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

In addition to the strong smell of decay, there was also a smell of blood on this person.

"It's good that Dongdu came..."

The beggar chuckled, his eyes bloodshot, then ran to the side, reached behind a broken Buddha statue, and took out a cold axe.

The small knife in his arms accidentally fell, and it was stained with rotten flesh and blood, but he bent down to pick it up.

Yue Liuyun looked at his expression, and a thought suddenly emerged in his mind, and his heart turned cold.

She immediately drew her sword to defend herself and shouted to the boatman, "...Master, get away from him!"

The boatman shuddered and his pupils trembled.

The beggar smiled strangely and said, "Don't be afraid, my lord. I just picked up some dead things on the road to fill my stomach." As he said this, he licked his lips.

Qiu Shuangwan couldn't help but dry heave a few times and scolded, "You actually eat humans? You're really crazy!"

The beggar snorted coldly, his smile becoming even more bizarre, with remnants of rotten meat still lingering between his teeth, looking eerie and terrifying:

"If I weren't extremely hungry, who would want to eat that filthy thing? Now that you've brought it to my door, it's a good change of pace for me. The food from Dongdu... is all desserts."

After saying that, he rushed over, swinging the axe vigorously!

The boatman rolled and crawled to avoid it.

Nangong Wanqing drew her sword to meet the attack, but after a few moves, she found that the beggar was extremely strong and was swinging his sword without any rules. If she directly took out her sword to meet the attack, she would probably be chopped in half by him.

"Wanqing, get out of the way!"

Qiu Shuangwan shouted.

Nangong Wanqing reacted extremely quickly. She immediately dodged to the side in the direction of the sound, and the beggar was immediately exposed to the sight of the other three people.

"boom--"

The sound of musketry was accompanied by gunfire.

A bloody hole suddenly appeared on the beggar's forehead. His eyes, filled with scarlet bloodshot, widened in shock, and the axe in his hand fell to the ground.

Qiu Shuangwan tremblingly put away the musket and wrapped it in oil paper again, her stomach churning.

He hadn't killed anyone since the last mutiny at the peace banquet, and had only been secretly practicing with his musket. Now that he had picked up a weapon again and killed someone again, he felt sick all over again.

Nangong Wanqing put the knife back.

"Are you okay?"

"fine."

The boatman hiding on the side had not yet breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a chill on his neck the next second. A sword with a cold glow was pressed against his neck. A little more force would have cut his throat.

The fire was still burning and crackling, and the rain outside seemed to be slowly stopping.

Qiu Shuangwan widened her eyes in confusion, a little dazed by the scene before her.

Nangong Wanqing, however, remained calm.

Just now, Yue Liuyun whispered to her secretly, "There is something wrong with the boatman." She became cautious and originally wanted to take action when he was off guard, but unexpectedly, the beggar suddenly rushed in.

Yue Liuyun held the hilt of the sword, placed it across the boatman's neck, and said casually:

"Just now, before I could even start, something unexpected happened... Now, tell me, who are you?"

The boatman's pupils constricted, and he stammered, "...Girl, what are you talking about? Don't scare me, I'm just an ordinary boatman!"

"is it?"

Yue Liuyun chuckled.

The sword slowly approached, leaving a bright red mark on his neck, causing a burning pain.

"As the best boatman at the Dongdu dock, you're so clumsy at adjusting the sails to the wind and don't know how to observe the weather. I originally thought you were just unworthy of your reputation, but I never thought you had ulterior motives."

"You're familiar with the private docks here, but you don't know how to read the wind and sail."

"You brought us here on purpose."

"Just now, there was a black-sailed boat parked at the dock, and the lights were still on, which means that this place is owned by someone. But we haven't seen it yet, and you are so familiar with this place, it's hard not to suspect that you are the owner."

The boatman looked at her tremblingly, with cold sweat already pouring down his back.

He also wanted to ask, who are they? One is skilled in martial arts, one holds powerful weapons, and one is cunning and clever. Which girl from a good family would be like this!

The sword was hanging on his neck, and his life depended on her will. He trembled and begged for mercy: "...Miss, I'm sorry, I was just following orders!"

"I really didn't find this beggar. I didn't know he was here, otherwise I wouldn't have brought you here!"

"Quanzhou has become what it is now. Not only can we not even get enough to eat in Quanzhou, but we will also become someone else's meal if we are not careful. We have no choice but to go to Dongdu!"

"Everyone at the Dongdu docks is ours. No matter which one you choose, the result will be the same. At least we won't harm your lives!"

"Please let me go!"

"Don't kill me, I'll take you away at daybreak!"

The more Yue Liuyun listened, the colder he felt.

Quanzhou has become like this now, people are eating each other...

Yue Liuyun frowned and asked, "...'They'? Who are 'they'?"