The night was deep, the mountain wind was strong, and the bright moon shone in the pine forest, spreading a mottled and cold silver glow.
On the dark mountain road, Xu Ziyi walked alone in the pine forest at the back of the mountain. Through the faint moonlight, although you can roughly see the road under your feet, it seems extremely blurry. The mountain road is surrounded by cliffs and deep streams. If you accidentally step on the air, your body will fall down the cliff thousands of meters away.
Xu Ziyi took out a fire fold from his arms, broke off a pine branch on the side of the mountain road, and lit the pine oil on it. The scarlet fire lit up and whistled in the mountain wind. A little squirrel on the pine tree saw the light, and was frightened immediately. It jumped among the branches. There were also chirping insects and some intermittent weird roars coming from the cracks in the cliffs. I don't know what kind of animal it was.
The howling mountain wind blows between the pine forest cliffs, like a sharp whistle, which is eerie to hear in the dark night. Xu Ziyi has been going to Huashan Mountain since he was ten years old. He is as familiar with the terrain of the back mountain as he is with his own body. He will not get lost even with his eyes closed.
He was going to a place called "Phoenix Cave", which was a deep cave between two pieces of natural granite on the cliff. Because there are rocks blocking the side of the cave, it acts like a natural screen. In order to avoid the harsh mountain wind, many small animals will build nests and roost behind the rocks. There are not only flocks of pheasants here, but also hares, snakes, mice, foxes, screw cats and other small animals, but there are almost no large animals.
Xu Ziyi walked forward on the mountain road, passed through a dense pine forest, turned around a protruding curved ridge, and then turned into a long and narrow plank road with two walls.
The plank road is located between two boulders. To pass there, you have to duck through a narrow funnel-shaped pass. When the sun is shining, venomous snakes often appear around the pass. Before passing, you need to use a wooden stick to beat the grass to drive away the snakes. Go, otherwise you may crawl over rashly and you may get bitten if you encounter them accidentally.
Xu Ziyi had reached the pass between the walls and raised the fire in his hand. In the flickering light of the fire, there was a crackling sound in the grass in front of him. He was suddenly startled, and carefully crouched down, stepping lightly with his feet. He picked up the long sword and knocked on the cliff three times with "dong dong dong". Then he put the scabbard into the grass on the inside of the pass and fiddled with it. Suddenly, a long black The snake made a "hissing" sound from its mouth and jumped out from the grass. It raised its head and stared at the pass vigilantly. Although the long snake was disturbed, it did not leave immediately. Instead, it stayed in place and made an attack gesture. , it has realized that its territory has been invaded.
The "hissing" sound coming from the other side of the pass was endless, like the light breathing of a person, but it was the angry sound of a long snake. Xu Ziyi did not dare to be careless, and judged from the sound it made that it might be a snake with a thick body, and it was a venomous snake.
He was frightened and did not dare to be careless. He stopped moving forward. He raised the fire pleat in one hand and slowly approached the stone wall. The long sword was unsheathed in the other hand. The scabbard was placed on the ground. The whistling fire of the fire pleat illuminated the inside of the pass. Xu Ziyi glanced at As expected, a big snake covered in darkness raised its head, spat out a message, and stared at the fire. Using the pine torch, he finally saw clearly that this was a thick mountain crossing.
Xu Ziyi was startled: It is indeed a mountain crossing. I have to be careful. I have encountered venomous snakes here before, but I have never seen such a big one crossing the mountain. This snake is extremely venomous. You must not be bitten by it. I have to try to get rid of it.
Under the light of the fire, the big snake shook its head and hissed continuously, warning the intruder not to get closer. If it pushed further, it would fight to the death and deliver the most fatal blow to the intruder.
Xu Ziyi clenched the sword in his hand, and slowly advanced the sword tip to the big snake's mouth. The big snake was frightened and suddenly sprayed venom at the tip of the sword like lightning. The fire flickered and a trace of golden venom was quenched on the sword's edge. Xu Ziyi saw the poison dripping down the edge of the sword. He knew that the poison from the mountain was very overbearing and he must not get it on his body.
Just when the snake head made an attack again, he suddenly shook the long sword in his hand, and the sword light flashed, forming an oblique arc. At the same time, the snake head suddenly launched an attack, and the sword edge strangled the snake without hesitation. Seven inches from the neck, the snake's head suddenly separated from the snake's body and fell into the grass. But the severed snake head still had its mouth wide open, and its long, headless body was still twisting, apparently not dead.
Xu Ziyi smiled slightly and exhaled faintly, but he did not immediately step forward to cross the pass. He had grown up in the mountains since he was a child. He had seen many kinds of poisonous snakes, every kind of poisonous snake.
Their temperaments are all different, but it is not common to see such a large mountain passer. If Cross Mountain appears in this pass, at least one situation can be determined: there are preys that it preys on nearby, such as pheasants, hares and mice, which can attract Cross Mountain.
At this time, the bright moon above his head had gradually disappeared into the clouds, the stars were becoming increasingly sparse, the mountain wind was still biting, and the coldness at night was getting stronger, and he couldn't help but shudder.
Seeing that the snake's head was still shaking slightly, he didn't dare to be careless, fearing that the snake's head, which was not yet stiff, would spit out venom again. He then stabbed the snake's head with the edge of his sword. The snake's mouth opened and closed slightly, and then it could no longer move. He used the edge of his sword to slash the snake's head and body further into the grass. But the grass around the bloodstain of the broken snake was all yellow and withered, which showed how overbearing the venom that had passed over the mountain was.
Thinking that his master and the guests from afar were still waiting for him in the hut to bring back some game, he cheered up and walked quickly through the pass towards the Phoenix Cave behind the cliff in front.
While walking on the mountain road, he was thinking about what the master had said to him before. The master had a secret conversation with Xu Daxia in the hut for a long time. What exactly did they talk about? The master deliberately asked him to avoid it because he didn't want him to know the content of their conversation. It seemed that this matter was not trivial and must be an unknown secret! Also, what the master said to him in the yard was too abnormal. Could something be going to happen?
Thinking about it over and over in my mind, I walked even more briskly, and not long after, I arrived in front of Phoenix Cave, which is a deep cave located behind the cliff. The cave was oval in shape, and it was dark inside, with the clear sound of water dripping on the ground. The entrance to the cave was covered with weeds, and the pheasants built their nests in the lush grass.
He slowed down, crouched down, lowered the torch, and illuminated the surroundings. Suddenly, several low squeaking sounds came from the grass.
A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he knew in his heart that this cry was made by the pheasant. By the light of the fire, he looked towards the source of the cry. The grass a few meters in front of him was shaking slightly, and he had discovered the exact location of the pheasant.
He stood up slightly, bent over and approached cautiously step by step. At this moment, the two pheasants were suddenly frightened and started to flutter from the grass. Xu Ziyi immediately jumped slightly and swung the long sword in his hand towards the pheasants that had just taken flight. When he came out, the sword light flashed, and the two pheasants screamed sadly, a few feathers fell, and they both fell to the ground.
