Under the moonlight.
Yu Ye held the long sword in his arms and walked calmly on the path between the villages.
I learned from the old man that on a full moon night, the well in the village would make a sound. Although the old man told him not to pay attention to it, he couldn't help but be curious and wanted to take a closer look and find out what happened. I happened to have carried two loads of water, so I knew the place.
The well is located a hundred feet away, in the woods at the north end of the village.
"Gudu, Gudu——"
In a short while, the forest was right in front of us.
The faint sound gradually became clearer, like the sound of boiling water in an iron cauldron, which seemed quite strange in the dead of night.
Yu Ye walked to the edge of the forest and stopped.
A gravel path seven to eight feet long leads to a clearing in the forest. In the open space is a stone well platform. The square well platform is more than a foot high, and in the middle is a well mouth four or five feet thick. Next to the wellhead, there is a well windlass made of wood.
The sound of "gurt, gurgling" became clearer, and a cloud of mist slowly rose from the mouth of the well.
Yu Ye was waiting to watch, then glanced back.
Two figures came closer from far away.
One person has a long knife hanging on his waist and a crossbow in his hand; the other person has his right hand behind his back and swings his empty left sleeve. The two of them stood in front of each other silently, but in the blink of an eye, they had quietly arrived at the edge of the forest.
Yuan Jiu and Mo Can?
Yu Ye raised his eyebrows and ignored it.
I saw that the mist coming out of the wellhead was getting heavier and heavier, and within a few moments, the entire well platform was covered in mist. The strange thing is that the fog lingers and the sound of "gurgling, gurgling" continues.
Yu Ye's eyes narrowed and he couldn't help being slightly stunned.
With eyesight, it is difficult to discern clues. And if he activates his consciousness a little, the situation in the mist becomes clear.
I saw a snake slowly crawling out of the well mouth?
Sure enough, it was a big white snake, covered with a layer of silver scales, and its two snake eyes were blood red and shining. As it climbed out of the well, it was spitting out mist. As the sound of "gudu, gudu" gradually stopped, the whole big snake crawled out of the well mouth. Its body is as thick as a bucket and three to four feet long. It hovers around the well platform. The snake's head is raised high, and it spits out red snake messages to the sky, while it gasps and gasps.
At this moment, the bright moon was in the sky, the moonlight was pouring down, and the whole forest was as bright as day.
What is the big snake doing? Is it swallowing the essence of the moon?
Yu Ye was stunned.
If the prediction is correct, the big white snake is practicing. According to the old man, it has been practicing in the well for at least a hundred years. What will happen if it succeeds in cultivation?
Yu Ye couldn't help but think of the past in Lingjiao Valley and secretly shook his head.
The snake in front of me is different from the man-eating snake in Lingjiao Valley. It has not harmed the innocent people in the village and seems to be still protecting this small village. In particular, it is very spiritual. When practicing, it spits out mist to cover it, so that no one will see its true form and be frightened.
Yu Ye found out the truth and figured out the whole story, so he wanted to return here.
In the past, he didn't understand anything, and the world he knew was limited to Xingyuan Valley. But since he has gained cultivation, practiced techniques, and read relevant classics, the world in his eyes has become completely different. All things have spirituality, including horses and dogs. It is rare for this snake to become enlightened and cultivate, so why disturb it.
Just as Yu Ye was about to turn around, his expression changed slightly.
Yuan Jiu, who was standing aside, might not be able to see the strange thing in the mist clearly, but he was unwilling to give up and actually raised the crossbow in his hand.
"No-"
Yu Ye hurriedly spoke out to stop him, but it was too late.
Just listen to the "boom" of the bowstring exploding, and a sharp arrow shoots away.
"boom--"
There was a soft sound, and the mist dispersed, and the figure of the big snake emerged from it, but it was twisting and shaking, and kept shaking its head, looking quite painful and panicked. It was still cultivating and obviously didn't have the slightest bit of caution or precaution. Perhaps it had stayed in this village for so long that it had become accustomed to the kindness of the people in the village, and it had forgotten the dangers of this world.
After Yuan Jiu shot an arrow, he was also shocked. He didn't expect that there was a big snake hidden in the mist, nor did he expect that a random arrow would hit the vital part of the big snake. But he did not flinch, but instead showed a greedy and crazy look, then he drew the arrow again and rushed forward quickly.
Yu Ye still wanted to stop him, but gave up.
The big snake has discovered its enemy, circling head and tail, and suddenly jumps up, making a sound of wind and shattering the mist. It sweeps away the windlass with a "click" and rushes straight towards Yuan Jiu with a "whoop".
Yuan Jiushang moved forward and could no longer avoid it. He knelt down suddenly on the ground, fired the crossbow arrow with his left hand, and stabbed upward with the knife in his right hand. "Puff", the arrow hit the big snake seven inches, and the long knife took advantage of the situation and plunged into the snake's belly. He threw away the crossbow and knelt still, holding the knife in both hands, but the big snake couldn't stop the attack. At the moment when they came and went, a hole opened in the snake's belly. He then threw away the long knife, rolled on the ground, and jumped up on his toes. Just when the big snake turned around in pain, the short knife he reached out to grab was stabbed into its head.
"boom--"
3. The four-foot-long snake suddenly fell to the ground, rolled over twice, and stopped moving. Between the woods, dust is flying and the fog has not dispersed. The full moon in the sky is still bright and shining.
Yu Ye looked at everything in front of him quietly, feeling an indescribable feeling in his heart.
Yuan Jiu, worthy of being a master in the world and a ruthless person among ruthless people, actually killed a psychic snake in the blink of an eye. His wit, cunning, and skill are not inferior to Feng Laoqi in the slightest. When it comes to ruthlessness, he is even better.
And a big snake that had lived for hundreds of years, a spiritual creature that had learned how to practice, died at the hands of the people in the world just after it had glimpsed the mysteries of heaven and earth. Is this the sorrow of the serpent, or the fall of human nature? Is it the difficulty of cultivating the Tao, or is it the so-called ruthlessness of heaven?
"A spiritual creature protects the land and water. This village is destroyed, and there will be retribution. Alas—"
It was Mo Can who was sighing in a low voice. At this moment, he was standing aside, with a trace of pity on his face covered with scars. I heard him say again with a rusty voice: "Early tomorrow morning, the village will know that the spiritual creature has been killed. Those women, children, old and young will fight tooth and nail, and neither you nor I can escape!"
Yuan Jiu scratched the snake's belly with a knife, as if looking for something, and ignored Mo Can's reminder. After a while, he had a bloody snake gall in his hand, and then he nodded with satisfaction.
"Three hundred years of white flower snake gallbladder is worth thousands of gold!"
Mo Can is a man of few words. But tonight, he spoke out one after another.
Yuan Jiu wiped off the blood from the snake's gallbladder, put it into his arms, then grabbed the snake corpse and dragged it toward the wellhead. The dead snake was quite heavy and it was a little difficult to drag it up. He shouted coldly: "Boy, come here -"
He asked Yu Ye to go over and help, throwing the big snake back into the well and destroying the corpse. And this person also didn't like to talk. Once he spoke, he would be filled with murderous intent, making people dare not refuse.
Yu Ye took two steps back, curled his lips, rolled his eyes, turned around and walked away. Even if he is disliked by others, he will not bow to guys like Pan Yuan and Yuan Jiu.
Yuan Jiu stared at Yu Ye's back and said indifferently: "Blind man——"
Seeing that Mo Can didn't leave, he called coldly. As for whether the title of blind man was meant to be humiliating, he didn't care at all.
Mo Can actually nodded and said: "The snake skin belongs to me."
After Yu Ye stayed away from the forest, he gradually slowed down.
In the woods behind them, two weird people were working together to destroy corpses and eliminate traces of traces. And Yuan Jiu kills snakes to get their bile just for money. Mo Zhan asks for the snake skin, and what is the use of it?
Yu Ye returned to the millstone at the entrance of the village and put down the long sword in his hand.
Ji Yan was still sleeping soundly, but there was an extra machete in his arms. Pan Yuan lay on the wooden table as if he was falling asleep, but then he snorted in his direction. The owner's little flower dog still hid in the hay shed and did not dare to come out. Perhaps it was the only one who felt the strong murderous intention hidden deep in the night.
Yu Ye sat cross-legged on the millstone, holding the spirit stone in his hand. While breathing and adjusting, he continued to figure out his armor-breaking talisman.
Half an hour later, Yuan Jiu and Mo Can returned one after another. Pan Yuan and Ji Yan seemed to have a good understanding. They sat up at the same time to greet each other, whispering to each other, and then they were busy for a while.
When Yu Ye opened his eyes from sitting quietly, there was darkness all around.
The full moon disappeared and dark clouds covered the night sky. Then the wind began to pick up, and the treetops shook non-stop.
Things have changed!
Is the retribution coming for Yuan Jiu's killing of White Snake?
Ji Yan had already harnessed the carriage and horses. Mo Can knocked on the door and woke up shopkeeper Kuang's family of three. Even Pan Yuan climbed on the carriage. He was going to leave early in the dark!
Yu Ye put away the spirit stone, grabbed the long sword, jumped off the millstone, and walked towards his dark horse. He had just finished packing, and two carriages were already driving towards the entrance of the village.
The old man in the next room was awakened by the silence. He put on his clothes and opened the door to look around. He asked doubtfully: "It's just past the fourth watch. What's going on in such a hurry..."
"Old man!"
Yu Ye dropped the horse's reins and walked over. He took out a small bag from his arms and stuffed it into the old man's hands. He wanted to say something or say goodbye, but turned around and left silently.
He jumped on his horse and left the village entrance.
The man was on horseback, looking back.
The old man was still standing in front of the door, holding up the bag in his hand. Those were the gold and silver that Zhongjian gave to Yu Ye, and he gave them all to an old man who met by chance.
A black shadow ran over. It was the owner's little spotted dog. It ran to the entrance of the village and stopped, its small body being blown by the wind and making it unsteady.
Yu Ye waved his hand at the dog and rushed onto the road with his legs under the horse's belly.
A torch and two lanterns lit up ahead.
Yuan Jiu led the way holding a torch, and a lantern was hung on each of the two carts that followed. There is a word "Kang" written on the lantern, which should be the mark of the Kuang family.
Just as he caught up with Ji Yan's carriage, he saw Ji Yan raise his hand and throw something.
"then--"
Yu Ye stretched out his hand and grabbed it. It was a silk money bag.
He then heard Ji Yan say: "The shopkeeper left a reward for staying overnight last night. Please don't be too troublesome next time!"
Yu Ye weighed the money bag and stuffed it into his arms.
Shopkeeper Kuang seems timid and fearful, but he knows everything? This is the gold and silver he gave back to himself, which is a bit more than what he gave away just now.
The wind was getting stronger and the dust was flying on the road.
Not far away, the torch held by Yuan Jiu went out. The lantern on the carriage was also blown back and forth by the strong wind.
After a while, raindrops as big as peas fell down...
