Chapter 124

Two more days passed, and it must be said that with the help of the carriage, Fan Xiaoxiao and her companions traveled quite quickly.

If they continue at this pace, they expect to reach the Tianshan Mountains within a month.

But fate is unpredictable, and sometimes, even if they want to leave, they can't.

For example—now.

Fan Xiaoxiao looked at the rain curtain in front of her and sighed helplessly.

When they reached midday, a sudden downpour trapped them in this dilapidated temple.

"Girl, come here. I'll teach you how to use a crossbow."

Uncle Wang beckoned to Fan Xiaoxiao. He had been teaching her how to use the crossbow that Master Lu had made for the past few days.

Fan Xiaoxiao glanced at the rain outside, which seemed unlikely to stop anytime soon, so she decided to follow Uncle Wang and practice crossbow techniques using hastily tied bundles of straw as targets.

However, after practicing for a long time, Fan Xiaoxiao discovered that the arrows always missed the target.

Master Lu watched their movements for a while, then frowned and said, "Miss Fan, bring me the crossbow so I can take a look."

"oh."

Fan Xiaoxiao obediently handed over the crossbow. After carefully examining it for a while, Master Lu weighed the ox horn in his hand.

"This seems a bit too heavy for you. Let me adjust it for you."

After saying that, Master Lu took the crossbow and sat down to tinker with it.

Seeing that she couldn't practice with the crossbow, Fan Xiaoxiao decided to go to Aunt Wang and the others to prepare provisions for the journey the next day.

However, when she looked around the front hall of the dilapidated temple, she only saw Xiao Miao and the old ghost doctor who was giving Ye Da Lao acupuncture, along with herself, Master Lu, and Uncle Wang. The rest of the people were nowhere to be seen!

Where are my older sisters?

Fan Xiaoxiao asked Xiao Miao with some concern.

"them……"

"Ah!!!!!" Before Xiao Miao could finish speaking, a scream came from the back hall, and the voice sounded like Xiao Bao's.

Everyone was startled. Fan Xiaoxiao and Xiao Miao in front of her exchanged a glance and immediately ran towards the source of the scream.

"Xiao Bao! What's wrong?!"

Fan Xiaoxiao, her breath unsteady, ran through the rain to the back hall. Xiao Bao and Xiao Yu were shivering in Fan Shi's arms, while the two adults were also pale-faced.

"There are...there are skeletons..."

When Xiao Bao saw that it was Fan Xiaoxiao, he raised his pale face and gave her a pitiful, crying look.

"Skull?"

Fan Xiaoxiao frowned in confusion, and was about to ask more questions when she heard Xiao Hei walk in through the rain from outside the back hall.

"Yes, there are quite a few skeletons outside the rear hall here. I just took a look, and they all seem to have been dead for a year or two. Judging from their tattered clothes, they are most likely monks from this dilapidated temple."

Fan Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, wanting to ask something. At this moment, the old ghost doctor who was following behind stepped in, and just then, he heard Xiao Hei say that there were dead people outside the back hall.

"Hey, is there a dead person?!"

The old ghost doctor was excited. He took two steps in one and flashed to Xiao Hei's side, grabbing the other's arm and trying to walk out.

"Come on, come on! Show me around!"

"Grandpa Fatty...Grandpa Fatty, aren't you scared?" Xiao Bao peeked out from Fan Shi's arms, the look of fear on his face not yet completely gone.

The Ghost Doctor scoffed dismissively, tilted his chin up, and continued walking out.

"That's just a pile of bones! Only a three-year-old would be afraid of that!"

His words clearly dealt a significant blow to the three-year-old, Xiaobao; Fan Xiaoxiao visibly saw the little bundle tremble. He then took a step outside, seemingly hesitant about whether to follow.

Fan Xiaoxiao found it amusing and gently patted the little dumpling's head: "Xiaobao, you don't need to force yourself."

After saying that, she stood up and followed the Ghost Doctor in the rain.

Watching from behind, Madam Fan and Granny Wang hurriedly called out, "Straw raincoat! Sister! (Girl!)"

At this moment, Fan Xiaoxiao didn't care about the raincoat anymore. She was so shocked by what she saw that she was speechless. Goosebumps were rising all over her body.

Beneath a colossal, ancient tree, lay numerous skeletons, some lying on their backs, others reclining. Many of these skeletons were covered with moss and vines.

Raindrops pattered on the treetops, penetrating through layers of leaves and striking the white bones, creating an indescribable eeriness and chilling atmosphere.

The old ghost doctor stroked his chin, squatted down next to a skeleton, and clicked his tongue twice: "This whole nest probably died here back then, so many bald monks!"

"Can you tell how he died?" Xiao Hei followed the Ghost Doctor's movements and squatted down, curiously leaning closer.

Fan Xiaoxiao was also curious and was about to go closer to listen to what was going on when Bai Hua's voice suddenly rang out from behind her.

"These bald monks were poisoned."

"How did you know?" Fan Xiaoxiao turned around, somewhat surprised that the other person could tell the cause of death of these monks at a glance.

“The bones of these bald monks are somewhat blackened, which is a clear sign of poisoning.” Bai Hua pointed to the chest and abdomen area of ​​the skeleton, where an eerie black color was clearly visible.

"They were poisoned... What could possibly kill so many people at once?"

"I'm also very curious about this old man. These bones don't have any obvious signs of fighting, so they're clearly poisoned by himself! They must be some kind of herbal medicine, right?"

"Hiss, that's possible."

Fan Xiaoxiao nodded and took a step closer. Her eyes suddenly fell on the towering tree behind the skeletons.

"Hmm? This tree..." Fan Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes slightly. She looked at the towering tree in front of her and felt as if she had seen it somewhere before.

"Tree? What's wrong with the tree?" Hearing Fan Xiaoxiao mention the tree, the old ghost doctor looked up in the direction of her gaze.

"!! Wait! This, isn't this a poison arrow tree?!"

"!" Fan Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback. She finally remembered why this tree looked familiar! Poison Arrow Tree! Wasn't that the Bloodthirsty Throat Tree from her previous world?!

Those were very precious trees in her hometown! The tree was highly poisonous from top to bottom, so it seems that these monks must have accidentally ingested or used its sap, which led to their deaths.

"Oh my! This is good stuff!" The Ghost Doctor rubbed his hands together, his face flushed, as if he had found a treasure.

"Hey! Kid! Go and collect some sap from this tree! We can use it to make some new poisons next time!" The Ghost Doctor rubbed his hands together excitedly, seemingly looking forward to making new medicines.

"Okay." Baihua replied, then turned and went into the dilapidated temple to find a white porcelain jar.

He then cut a slit in the poison arrow tree and slowly collected the venom.

Seeing that he moved, Fan Xiaoxiao hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Young Master Miao! Could you take more? I'd like some too."

The Ghost Doctor looked at her with some confusion: "What do you need that for?"

"Hehe." Fan Xiaoxiao chuckled and said, word by word, "Make hidden weapons!"

(End of this chapter)