Rat's head flower

It took Ren Xiangxiang a while to realize that the other person was asking for help. She quickly put down the bamboo basket, hurriedly helped him to the side, and gave him some water.

"...Xiangxiang?" Caowa climbed out of the bamboo basket, looking at her focused expression, and couldn't help but purse his lips, "How come you can find patients everywhere you go?"

Ren Xiangxiang paused, then suddenly remembered why she had stayed at Fox Mountain. She chuckled and said, "A talented herbalist, huh?"

“Strange…” Ren Xiangxiang pulled out the silver needles and examined them carefully. “No poisoning? Then why is his face bluish-purple? His pulse is weak but not fatal, and there are no injuries anywhere on his body. Such strange symptoms…”

"Who is he? Do you know him?" Caowa asked, hiding behind Ren Xiangxiang and looking up.

Ren Xiangxiang nodded, then shook her head. "I don't know him, but I know he's a flying squirrel." As she spoke, she lifted the young man's hand to show him. "His skin is bluish, and he has wing membranes under his arms, so he's good at flying." She then pried open his eyelids to check his pupil color. It was pale yellow, and the pupils were almost invisible in the sunlight. They were nocturnal and had poor eyesight during the day, relying on their hearing to get around.

“Although this is already the territory of the Flying Squirrel Clan, it is still some distance from the Rugged Cave. He has obviously just come of age and should not have been sent out to patrol during the day. Why is he here?” Ren Xiangxiang muttered to herself, looked around, and said, “Grass Boy stay here and watch over him. I’ll go and see if there are any other people.”

"Huh?" Grass Boy called out anxiously, "Am I alone? Xiangxiang..."

"It's alright, this is Qiling Mountain! Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Ren Xiangxiang patted Caowa's head, and despite his strong resistance, she quickly disappeared into the depths of the forest.

The little grass child hid behind the tree tremblingly, then cautiously peeked out. After waiting for a while, seeing that the person was lying still, he finally mustered the courage to walk forward.

Before he could even catch his breath, the person on the ground suddenly moved, which startled Caowa so much that he quickly hid behind a tree again.

The young man on the ground seemed to hear the noise and opened his eyes groggily, but was so blinded by the sunlight shining through the treetops that he instinctively raised his hand to shield his vision.

He struggled to sit up, looked around blankly, and saw the bamboo basket next to him. He subconsciously pulled it to his side.

"Don't, don't move!" Caowa shouted, mustering his courage. "Those are Xiangxiang's things! Your, your savior!"

The young man's hand visibly paused, his gaze following the sound to behind the tree. "The scarecrow... has it come to life?"

"You're the one who's become a spirit! Your whole family is a spirit! My name is Grass Boy!" Grass Boy jumped out angrily, then suddenly felt a darkness above his head, realizing that the other person had already stood up. Startled, he immediately hid behind a tree. "You, you, don't do anything rash! You, you..."

Stinky Xiangxiang... Bad Xiangxiang... Why aren't you back yet... Waaaaah...

Caowa cried inwardly, but unexpectedly, his body felt lighter, and the ungrateful young man simply lifted him up. His pupils, which had been so pale that their color was indistinguishable, now had a faint crimson tinge.

"Put me down! You, you..." Grass Boy finally burst into tears, wailing and screaming, "Xiangxiang, you big bad girl... Waaah... Xiangxiang, you big liar..."

"You are..." The young man shook his head violently, his throat dry and itchy, his consciousness still stuck in the night. He seemed to smell a faint fragrance and vaguely came out. He turned his neck impatiently, his hands becoming stronger and stronger.

"What are you doing? Waaah... Xiangxiang!" Caowa struggled and shouted at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, with a whoosh, a cold light flashed before Caowa's eyes, startling him so much that he quickly closed his eyes. The cold light grazed past his ear and severed the young man's hand before he could react.

"Ah!" The young man screamed in agony, blood spurting out. The red in his eyes intensified, and a voice kept telling him to kill!

Kill everyone in front of you! Eat them! Kill!

The young man roared and charged at the newcomer. From the depths of the forest, a black and red figure emerged, swung back half of his fan, and slit the young man's throat in one move.

The young man clutched his throat, blood splattering everywhere. Only then could he see the slender yet upright figure before him. His eyes regained a brief clarity, he opened his mouth, and then collapsed softly to the ground.

"What a pity..." the woman sighed softly, a small cluster of blue flames igniting in her palm. Just as she was about to burn the corpse, a hurried shout suddenly came from not far away.

"stop!"

The woman looked up, a hint of surprise flashing across her pale, colorless pupils.

"Aunt Yan, it's me."

Ren Xiangxiang is back.

"Xiangxiang!" Caowa rushed over and hugged Ren Xiangxiang's leg, crying particularly miserably. His face was covered in tears and snot. Ren Xiangxiang had to use a lot of effort to pry him off.

"Little Xiangxiang? Why are you wandering around here instead of going to Yang Palace?"

The woman, named Yan Biegu, was the leader of the Flying Squirrel Clan. She looked Ren Xiangxiang up and down while tucking one half of her pair of fans back into her hair.

Ren Xiangxiang chuckled dryly and quickly changed the subject, "Aunt Yan, let's not talk about me anymore. What's going on here? I just came down from that cliff and found a large white area to the north. I can't tell what it is, and it seems to be slowly moving towards us with the direction of the water flow. I just took a look around, and the fragrance is so strong and alluring. Do you know that?"

“How could I not know? I discovered it two days ago.” Yan Biegu looked at the corpse at his feet, his expression somber. “That place is adjacent to Yang Palace to the west and connected to Shiqiao Rock to the east. I have never dealt with those demon masters of Yang Palace, so I don’t know the situation. I sent a mosquito to inquire about Shiqiao Rock, but I haven’t received a reply yet. Instead, many of my clansmen have been lost.”

Ren Xiangxiang had already squatted down to examine the body. It was a fatal blow, and there was nothing else unusual. She looked at Yan Biegu in confusion, hoping for an explanation.

“…Alas…He is one of my people. Why would I kill him for no reason?” She fell into deep thought as she spoke.

Two days ago, she accidentally discovered some activity to the north while patrolling the mountain. She didn't think much of it at the time, but as night fell, she suddenly received news that her patrolling disciples had gone mad for no reason and bit their own kind. When she arrived at this place, she noticed a strange fragrance that was bewitching people's minds. The disciples who were affected suffered fatal injuries but were still able to move. In the end, she had no choice but to burn them.

Afterwards, she led her men deeper and discovered several strange little white flowers, but their fragrance had faded considerably. Enraged, she ordered them all to be burned. However, when she came to investigate the next day, some more appeared. This time, she burned even more and began to guard against patrolling disciples from approaching the area.

"...As for him, he was bitten by the disciple who went berserk that day and was originally recuperating. I don't know how he escaped. My worries were indeed correct. The wounds of those who are bitten heal rapidly, but they can also become infected and go berserk. Fortunately, I arrived in time." After Yan Biegu finished speaking, he set the corpse on fire. "If I hadn't burned it, they would have come back to life and harmed their companions!"

Ren Xiangxiang watched as the demonic fire rapidly consumed the corpse, the smoke swirling and blurring their vision.

Following the faint fragrance, Yan Biegu looked over and sighed, "I originally wanted to set fire to that strange flower and burn it to the ground, but firstly, it grows too fast, secondly, I was afraid that the fire would be too big to control and burn down the forest, and thirdly, it would only be a temporary solution, not a permanent one. I don't know where this strange thing came from."

"The flower you're talking about... is it the one whose stamen looks like a mouse's head and makes a squeaking sound?" Ren Xiangxiang asked.

Yan Biegu nodded, then snapped out of his daze and said, "Never mind what's going on here. Aren't you going back to Yang Palace? Find out what's going on for me."

“This…” Ren Xiangxiang hesitated for a moment.

"You don't want to go back? Are you really still thinking about that kid from Fox Mountain?" Yan Biegu crossed his arms with interest. "Think about your mother. I have to avoid her when I see her. What do you think your mother would do if she saw her..."

"Aunt Yan!" Ren Xiangxiang was upset. Yan Biegu chuckled lightly, "You'd better take care of yourself. I'm leaving."

Seeing Yan Bie turn and leave as if nothing had happened, Ren Xiangxiang suddenly remembered something and asked, "Aunt Yan, did anyone go into the mountains a few days ago?"

"Hmm?" Yan Biegu turned slightly to the side. "Yes, there are two groups of people. One is a group of merchants from Zhexian Town, and they are being protected by the younger generation of the Ye Hong family. I haven't seen them before, but I won't mistake them. The other is a group from Hushan who came to find you. I pointed out a way for him to survive. No need to thank me. We are all demons, and I don't want him to die in vain at the hands of a demon slayer."

Ren Xiangxiang's eyes widened suddenly. "Who did you say he is?"

"Who is it?" Yan Bie pretended to think, and slowly said, "It seems... his name is something like Mo... You?"

"It really is Mo You!" Ren Xiangxiang blurted out excitedly.

Yan Biegu turned around, frowning slightly. "What are you so happy about? Do you want him to die soon? I sent him to Quyou Path. Everyone, please persuade him to go back to Fox Mountain if he should, and get married if he should. Wouldn't that make everyone happy? Xiao Xiangxiang... even if you have demonic energy, you are still a human girl after all, aren't you?"

Ren Xiangxiang's excited mood was suddenly doused with cold water.

Yan Biegu shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to disappear into the depths of the forest.

—Think about your mother, she would never agree to you being with a demon.

—The Demon Slayer is feared by all demons. Don't you know what she hates most in her life?

But Mo You is different.

—What's the difference? Isn't he a demon? And a demon from Fox Mountain at that? Your mother won't show any mercy.

Ren Xiangxiang was torn. She was afraid he would come, yet she was also afraid he wouldn't. She was overjoyed yet worried, and unconsciously continued walking along the path.

She didn't know how long she had walked, so long that it seemed she was recalling her childhood from Fox Mountain, and from her childhood she remembered bits and pieces of Fox Mountain, the woman she had first saved, and the young man drowning his sorrows in alcohol under the old withered tree...

Ren Xiangxiang paused, vaguely seeing a tall and handsome young man not far away, his gaze fixed on her, calm and profound. He didn't say a word, but it seemed to strike her heart, drawing out all the words she had hidden.

“Mo…” Ren Xiangxiang couldn’t believe her eyes. So this was the moment she had been waiting for. Even knowing that her mother wouldn’t agree to her being with Mo You, even knowing that as a half-demon there were many uncertainties, even though Qiling Mountain and Fox Mountain were at odds, even though…

It felt like a stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Ren Xiangxiang could no longer care about anything else and ran quickly towards Mo You.

But after running only two steps, I suddenly felt a pain in my calf.

"Ren Xiangxiang—"

The distant shout pierced through the clouds and shattered the rocks, striking her chest heavily. The joy that had been on the verge of bursting forth vanished in an instant. Ren Xiangxiang suddenly came to her senses, biting her tongue sharply. The pain instantly cleared her mind.

A dozen or so rat-head flowers were chirping incessantly in front of him. Caowa was hugging Ren Xiangxiang's leg, which had a row of teeth marks on it. He was panting heavily. When he saw that Ren Xiangxiang was awake, he finally sat down on the ground with a thud.

"You scared me to death, Xiangxiang! What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly running forward while crying and laughing?"

Ren Xiangxiang took a half step back and rubbed her temples. "I was careless. This thing is bewitching. I should have burned it all long ago..."

After saying that, she patted Caowa comfortingly, "Thank you, Caowa. Aunt Yan said the flavor of this stuff will fade at night, so let's wait a bit before we leave!"

"Where are we going? To Huiyang Palace?"

"I'm not going back." Ren Xiangxiang shook her head, looked at the squeaking rat-head flower, and composed herself. "I'll go to the damp cliff to deliver the medicine."