Frost Forest (4)
"There's a mechanism under the table. Turn it. It will shut down the silver thread formation."
The childish face spoke to the girl under the yellow cloth table.
"this?"
"right."
Xu Ning pressed the button in the direction Xu Lian pointed.
In an instant, the silver thread array flashing with white light was retracted into the ground. Tang Xixu seized the opportunity and swung his hidden weapon across, breaking the cotton net and causing Xu Lian to fall heavily to the ground.
[Congratulations, host! The side quest has been successfully completed! The bond with the capture target has reached half a point. Please keep working hard, host!]
"Are there no rewards for completing side quests?"
[Don't worry, I'll send it right away. Receive a side story background unlock card. The unlock card is now officially available, please read carefully.]
Xu Ning went through it carefully in his mind.
The villages and towns at the foot of Mount Qilao have been plagued by natural disasters in recent months. A Taoist priest claims that the mountain's immortal, Wong Tai Sin, is punishing the people and demands a monthly sacrifice of a bride to appease the immortal's wrath. The people living below the mountain are forced to comply. Yesterday, the young ladies of the Li and Chen families were getting married. The Li family, a wealthy local family, had found Xu Ning and her companions in advance and had her pose as the bride to investigate.
As a passerby, Xu Ning's ending was just as described in the book: "he was slapped to death on a tree."
Considering my bad luck, I quietly hid under the table. As a useless person, I didn't join the battle, didn't cause trouble, didn't seek death, and that was not to say I was a drag.
This is the basic etiquette for a useless person. As a novice, you should strictly abide by it and resolutely not give yourself away.
Xu Ning was afraid of being discovered by Yin Wumeng, so he didn't dare to stick his head out and held his breath to listen to the noise outside.
The young man leaped into the air, his robe spread out, and he slapped the red-dressed woman on the arm.
Crunch, the bone broke.
"You bastard, you are so cruel, you actually want to cut off my arm!"
The young man curled his lips, his face calm, "You want to take my life, but can't I cut off your arm?"
Earlier, Tang Xixu and Xu Ning were resting in the woods. Blood-Handed Guanyin was searching for her missing bride. After finding Xu Ning, she was about to kidnap her. Tang Xixu woke up nearby and, remembering that she was Xu Lian's junior sister, came to her rescue. Blood-Handed Guanyin's ruthless attacks were fatal.
Blood-Handed Guanyin quickly spat out a mouthful of blood and slid out the door.
Tang Xixu looked at the girl hiding under the sacrificial table. His grape-shaped eyes were round, like a little hamster. The young man was in a good mood and waved his hand as he walked into the house. "I'm in a good mood today. I won't kill you. I'll take one of your arms and this matter will be over."
The bride is missing, and Bloody Hand, as one of the masterminds, is naturally anxious. He had only wanted to kidnap the bride and did not pay attention to the people next to him, otherwise he would not have provoked this madman.
Fortunately, she has bone recovery skills and her arm only has minor internal injuries.
Xu Lian, however, would not let him go easily. "Blood-handed Guanyin, today is the day you die!"
There was a ferocity in the boy's voice, as if he was determined to get this person.
"Ahahahaha, just you? A little boy?" The evil laughter was like poisonous fog, permeating the dilapidated temple.
"But why do I feel that you are reluctant to kill me?" Yin Wumeng stood up and "floated" to Xu Lian's side, gently scratching the little boy's cheek with the back of his hand.
Xu Lian was originally following the wedding procession, but was abducted by this "female ghost" without paying attention.
Yin Wumeng was originally knocked to the ground by Xu Lian, but Xu Lian, seeing that she was a woman, showed mercy and let her go. He also warned her to mend her ways as soon as possible, otherwise he would show no mercy if he saw her doing evil again.
How come Xu Lian just left and Yin Wumeng caught him, and then Tang Xixu and Xu Ning came over and saw it.
Xu Lianshun pressed a few acupoints on Yin Wumeng's body.
Yin Wumeng had a splitting headache. The woman's pale, thin hands clutched her head and cried, "Ah-ah!"
Xu Ning was attracted by the scream and couldn't help but pull away the yellow cloth.
My second senior brother stood with one hand upright, muttering something silently, but it was unclear.
The veins of the blood-stained woman bulged as she stared at Xu Lian fiercely, repeatedly yelling in pain, "Stop!"
Xu Lian ignored him and continued to recite. Yin Wumeng then became murderous, his hair flying, and bloodshot eyes.
A white arm stretched out, and the dark white bone claws chased after Xu Lian.
Xu Lian dodged to the side, and another claw attacked, as if it was going to scratch Xu Lian's face.
The young man, who was resting against a wooden pillar with his arms folded, sneered, "Your bone recovery skills are quite good. Your arm has recovered so quickly."
Yin Wumeng was suddenly frightened and turned to flee without staying any longer, with Xu Lian chasing after him.
Xu Ning was watching intently when someone suddenly patted her shoulder.
"Oh, don't bother me, I'm busy." Xu Ning shrugged.
The shoulder was tapped again.
"I told you..."
The woman turned her head impatiently, her dry and wrinkled face grinning as she looked at Xu Ning.
The face had no eyebrows and was red in some places.
He looked at Xu Ning with a silly grin.
A bit creepy.
"I lost it!"
Xu Ning stood up in a hurry, and with a "bang", his head hit the table hard.
"Let me go, otherwise." The dagger was against Xu Ning's neck. If he moved, the blade would cut his blood vessels.
The man in black thought he had grasped the enemy's lifeline.
The night wind blew, and the coral earrings swayed, gently tapping against the sharp dagger.
Tang Xixu was the only one left in the room.
The girl sighed deeply and had to place her hopes on the person she should least have placed them on.
"Are you going to kill her? Or rather, make her your bride."
Tang Xixu spoke in a playful manner, not caring at all.
Xu Ning immediately acted like a pity girl, tears welling up in her eyes, and she looked at Tang Xixu pitifully.
The man in black held Xu Ning's hand a little tighter.
"Stop talking nonsense. You're here just to arrest me."
"When did I say I was here to arrest you?" Tang Xixu narrowed his eyes, curled his lips and smiled lightly, wiping the dagger in his hand.
"Kill me if you want, it's up to you."
Tang Xixu's careless words made Xu Ning's heart sink to the bottom.
Xu Ning closed his eyes. How could he place his hopes on a madman, a villain?
She sighed to herself: Sure enough, being alive is a victory.
[Alert! Alert! Host's life is in danger. Please resolve the situation yourself!]
Guangyu disappeared after he finished speaking. Xu Ning called out to him several times, but there was no response.
The man in black loosened his grip slightly, surprise flashing in his pupils.
While he was dazed, a cold light flashed in Tang Xixu's eyes, and the dagger flew across the air, piercing his throat. The man in black vomited blood, his eyes wide open, in disbelief.
"I'm not here to arrest you, I'm here to kill you."
The cold voice sounded like the death-seeker, clearly addressed to the man in black, but Xu Ning dared not utter a word.
"clang"
The dagger fell, and Xu Ning returned from the King of Hell with a staggering step.
The skin on his neck was scraped, and blood was still seeping from the red marks.
Tang Xixu pulled the man up and stared at Xu Ning's wound with a gloomy look.
"What are you doing?"
Xu Ning instantly became alert.
The cold long fingers wiped across the wound heavily.
“Hiss—hiss”
It hurts a bit when I press it with my long fingers.
Tang Xixu's pale fingers were stained with the girl's blood. In front of the statue of the Rat Fairy, the candlelight was dim.
In the dark shadow on the wall, the young man's hairband was wrapped around the girl's neck.
The night wind blew, the candle flame swayed, and the shadow swayed with it.
"I think there seems to be an underground palace there. I'll go take a look."
Xu Ning's eyes were darting around, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Tang Xixu looked at the blood on his fingertips with an expressionless face. He brought it to his lips and touched it lightly with the tip of his tongue.
The young man frowned. It tasted salty and sweet, with a slight aftertaste in his mouth.
There were no candles in the underground palace. It was pitch black and deep, and the end of the road was invisible.
A faint smell of blood wafted from the depths of the underground palace. Xu Ning lit a lighter and moved forward carefully.
Tang Xixu followed behind him, taking light steps like a cat, and no sound could be heard.
The smell of blood gradually became stronger. The surroundings were damp and deadly silent. A faint musty smell mixed in the air, without any sign of life.
"Chichi"
Two sparkling little black stones suddenly appeared before my eyes, and fluffy wings brushed past my ears.
I was shocked.
Tang Xixu killed the bat with one sword, and the bat's blood splattered on the moldy wall.
When the bat fell to the ground, Xu Ning was slightly startled and stood still with a lingering fear.
In the candlelight, there were many scattered bones on the ground.
Tang Xixu picked it up and took a look at it, frowning and saying, "It's human bones."
Her eyebrows twitched slightly. Apart from anything else, she had killed someone after all, so she could still handle this "small scene".
"It seems that weasels eat people. Is he planning to eat you today?"
The young man pretended to be intimidating and spoke in a casual manner.
Xu Ning didn't want to pay attention to this person and walked forward on his own.
Tang Xixu squinted his eyes and looked at the pile of bones. They were not human bones at all, but clearly dog bones.
She's not afraid at all. That's not fun anymore. Maybe I shouldn't have taught her how to kill.
Tang Xixu thought of something, went back outside, and closed the stone door from the outside. At the moment the stone door was closed, the young man slid in sideways.
With a loud bang, the stone door closed tightly.
"Tang Xixu, you lunatic! You want to die here, but I don't!"
Xu Ning thought he was outside and had locked her in specifically.
I pounded on the stone door, but there was no sound.
The underground palace was now completely dark, with only a small candle in his hand.
Suddenly, the corner of the girl's clothes was lifted up, and a gust of cold wind rushed into her neck.
"What did you say?"
The young man lowered his voice, which was cold and low, with a hint of anger in it.
Xu Ning didn't dare turn around to look at him. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his teeth were chattering.
"N-Nothing."
"I just want to ask where you are."
Tang Xixu sneered, and his deep eyes turned into a cold pool.
At the end of the corridor was an iron door, covered in rust, and the smell was very similar to the previous smell of blood.
The iron door was not closed tightly, leaving a small gap, and light came through the gap.
When I opened the door, I was met with a pair of frightened eyes. These eyes were very strange. They were clearly human eyes, but the pupils were like cat's eyes at night, with a black vertical line in the middle.
His eyeballs were round and seemed to be bulging out, he had a pointed face and monkey cheeks, two rabbit teeth covering his lower lip, and he was skin and bones. The bones on his face were clearly visible. Perhaps because he had not seen the sun for many years, his skin was as pale as death.
Three words popped up in Xu Ning's mind: "living dead".
The man looked Xu Ning up and down, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Are you my bride?"
Walk around Xu Ning.
"It's so beautiful. I can't bear to let you bleed."
Then, there was another sinister laugh. Xu Ning retreated and tried to get behind Tang Xixu, but he didn't touch anyone after a long time.
Only to find out that the person was not there at all.
My heart skipped a beat. It’s over!
There were two couches in the brightly lit dark room. One was used for him to rest, and on the other... a woman in red was lying.
She was wearing the same wedding dress as Xu Ning. There was a cut on her wrist, and blood was still dripping out. The woman's face was pale and her eyes were dark.
Xu Ning tremblingly felt the woman's breath, fortunately, she was alive.
"This little face is worthy of being the daughter of a wealthy family. She is better than those country women."
The man wanted to touch Xu Ning, but fortunately he reacted quickly and dodged.
"Stay away, I'm going to kill people."
Xu Ning picked up the things in front of him and smashed them around.
One of the inkstones hit the man's forehead and blood appeared.
"hiss!"
"You're truly tired of living! I'm going to drain your blood today!"
The man touched his forehead, his hands were covered in blood, and he gritted his teeth.
After smashing all the things, the man still chased Xu Ning around the house.
Xu Ning's brain was working rapidly. It was such a big place, and this person had lived here for so long, there must be an exit or a vent or something like that.
The man chased her, and Xu Ning didn't think twice and tore off the painting on the screen and threw it away.
When it fell to the ground, the scroll broke into pieces and the painting was stained.
"you!"
The man saw that the painting was damaged and the beauty enjoying the snow in the painting could no longer be seen.
Xu Ning glanced at the painting on the ground: "You were the one who wanted to chase me, don't blame me!"
Without caring about anything else, I glanced around and didn't see anything that looked like an exit.
There is no such thing in the house or on the ground. Could it be in the sky?
While chasing, he looked up and saw a familiar face.
That mole on the bridge of my nose looks so familiar.
A smile spread across the young man's face, and Xu Ning had to admit that Tang Xixu was very handsome, with a feeling of "walking on the snow under the moon".
It's really strange. This expression and temperament are not consistent with his own style at all.
Although many readers believe him to be a villain and a madman, in the original novel, the author actually describes him as "a man with a kind face, a gentle spirit, a chivalrous man who only bows to Zhao Mingchang. In reality, he is ruthless and merciless, leaving no room for others."
Now I can barely understand the meaning of this sentence.
Tang Xixu looked through the ventilation hole at everything underground with a smile on his face, taking in all the girl's movements and emotions.
As for whether to save her, Tang Xixu hadn't thought about it yet. If he felt better, he might go. Just watching her bleed and struggle to death in a pool of blood would be quite nice.
However, Xu Lian asked me to protect her life. What should I do?
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