Scorpion tail!
However, after the sting, Xie Lian also pinched its tail, capturing the entire scorpion-tailed snake with perfect precision. With a powerful squeeze, he squeezed it unconscious. Despite being stung, his expression remained unchanged. He simply tossed the unconscious snake to the ground and said, "Everyone, be careful. There might be more snakes nearby..."
Before he could finish his words, his wrist felt tightened. He looked up and saw that it was San Lang who had grabbed him. Xie Lian was slightly startled and asked, "San Lang?"
The reason why he asked this was because the expression on the boy's face at this moment was really not right. He had no idea how to describe it in words. It was almost chilling.
He stared intently at the tiny wound on the back of Xie Lian's hand. The wound had originally been as painful as a needle prick, but the poison had taken effect rapidly, and the back of his hand immediately became a huge purple-red lump that swelled up high, and the tiny wound was stretched to the size of a knife cut.
Sanlang's face was sullen, and without a word, he seized Ruo Xie and used it to tie a tight knot around Xie Lian's wrist, stemming the flow of poisonous blood. Xie Lian had never seen him look like this since they met. Just as he was about to speak, he pulled a dagger from a merchant's belt. Nanfeng immediately understood what he was about to do, and with his right hand, a palm flame erupted. Sanlang didn't even glance at him, simply placing the tip of the knife on the fire to warm it. Turning back, he quickly made a cross on the wound on the back of Xie Lian's hand with the dagger and was about to lean down. Xie Lian said hurriedly, "That's not necessary. The scorpion tail snake's venom is potent; inhaling it won't do any good. Be careful not to poison yourself..."
The young man, however, didn't hesitate to speak, but instead grasped his hand tightly and pressed his lips against it. Somehow, Xie Lian felt his arm, held by him, tremble slightly.
Over there, Fuyao said, "You can get stung, it's really poisonous. He might not get bitten at all, why are you trying to catch him? It's just causing trouble."
That was the truth. In fact, thinking about Sanlang's effortless demeanor as he tied the snake's knot, Xie Lian felt he wouldn't be bitten. Perhaps he simply didn't take the scorpion-tailed snake seriously. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. What if the young man truly didn't notice the snake and got bitten? Wouldn't regretting it be useless?
He waved his other intact hand and said, "It doesn't hurt and I won't die anyway, so don't worry about it."
Fuyao asked, "Are you really not in pain?"
Xie Lian said honestly, "Really. I don't feel anything anymore."
This is true. Xie Lian was extremely unlucky. When he walked in the mountains, eight out of ten times he would step on a poisonous snake or wake up a poisonous insect. He had been bitten by all kinds of poisonous creatures thousands of times. But perhaps because he had been a priest, he was very stubborn and could not die. At most, he would have a fever that would last for three days and three nights, and when he woke up, he would still be fine. Moreover, he was very insensitive to pain. He would get used to any pain after enduring it. After he finished speaking, Sanlang finally raised his head. The redness and swelling on the back of Xie Lian's hand had disappeared, but there was a trace of blood on his lips. His eyes were extremely cold, and he moved his gaze to the side, moving it to the scorpion-tailed snake on the ground. With a sharp "bang", the purple-red snake exploded into a pool of purple-red meat paste.
Everyone was shocked when the snake exploded, but no one knew who had done it. Although the blood didn't splash on them, they were still terrified. Only Tiansheng remembered that Xie Lian had been stung, and he asked anxiously, "Brother, you've been stung too? What are you going to do?"
Xie Lian tightened the bandage around his wrist and smiled, "Good boy, I'm fine. Let's proceed as usual. Next, we need to go into the city to find the Good Moon Grass."
A businessman hurriedly asked, "You guys go? What about us? Should we send someone too?"
Xie Lian said, “You won’t need to. The Half Moon Nation’s former territory is likely fraught with danger. One more person means more mishaps. Once we find the Good Moon Grass, we’ll bring it back to you within twelve hours.”
Several businessmen said, "Is this... is this true?! Thank you so much..." "How can I be so embarrassed..."
However, their expressions changed as soon as Xie Lian opened his mouth. Xie Lian said, "In order to find the Banyue Ancient Kingdom as quickly as possible, I'd like to trouble you to temporarily lend us this young brother to guide us."
The one he wanted to borrow was, of course, Ah Zhao. If the merchants' faces just now were filled with gratitude and relief, now most of them were hesitant. Xie Lian also knew that they must be worried that he and the guide would find the Good Moon Grass and run away. Even if Ah Zhao still had a conscience and didn't run away with him, and was willing to come back, it would take up a lot of time. However, they really didn't want to go to that ghost place where "more than half of the people disappeared every time they passed the checkpoint", so they were very conflicted. It was human nature and completely understandable, so Xie Lian added: "But I'm also afraid that something else will come to attack you, so, Fuyao, you stay here and look after them."
Leaving one person here is a guarantee that they will come back. The merchants finally nodded and said, "Okay. As long as A Zhao is willing to go with you."
Then, Xie Lian turned to Ah Zhao and said, "Little brother, would you like to help me? It's okay if you don't want to."
Ah Zhao nodded and said, "Sure. But actually, Banyue Ancient City is also easy to find. Just walk in this direction and you'll get there."
After bidding farewell to the merchants, he walked in front, leading the way, with Xie Lian, San Lang, and Nan Feng following closely behind. After walking for a while, Xie Lian asked, "A Zhao, are there often scorpion-tailed snakes around here?"
Ah Zhao said, "Scorpion-tailed snakes don't appear often. This is the first time I've seen one."
Xie Lian nodded and stopped asking questions. In reality, he had lived near Half Moon Country for a while, and this was his first time seeing a scorpion-tailed snake. Therefore, there was nothing wrong with this answer. Nan Feng, sensing his intention, whispered, "Are you suspicious of this Ah Zhao?"
Xie Lian also whispered, "We've brought him out anyway, so we just need to keep an eye on him."
In the past, San Lang would have been the first to speak to him. However, perhaps because of what had just happened, the young man's expression remained grim, and he remained silent. Xie Lian didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't speak to him and could only walk.
The four of them traveled through the vast Gobi Desert for half an hour. The storm had already passed, and with no sandstorms blocking the way, they could walk briskly. Gradually, they could see some extremely hardy weeds growing between the sand and the rocks. As the sun was about to set, Xie Lian finally spotted an ancient city on the horizon.
The ancient city was difficult to see because of its earthy yellow color, blending in with the vast expanse of yellow sand. The city walls had collapsed, with sections still buried in the sand. As they approached, they discovered the walls were incredibly tall, reaching a height of more than ten feet at their highest point. It was easy to imagine how magnificent they must have been in the past.
After passing through the city wall, the four of them officially entered the territory of the Ban Yue Kingdom.
Beyond the gate, a main street opened, still wide and empty, its sides lined with broken walls, shabby houses, crumbling stones, and tattered wood. Perhaps because he was used to being told this, Ah Zhao said, "Everyone, be careful. Don't wander around." The three of them naturally didn't need his warnings. Perhaps because this ancient city was so different from the Half Moon Kingdom he imagined, Nan Feng wondered, "Is this the Half Moon Kingdom? How come it's so small, smaller than a city?"
Xie Lian said, "It's a small desert nation, but it's only as big as the oasis. Even at its peak, the Ban Yue Nation had only about 10,000 people. It really was only that big. When there were a lot of people, it was pretty decent and quite lively."
Nan Feng observed for a while and said, "It will probably only take a few days to defeat this country."
Xie Lian shook his head and said, "That's not entirely certain. Nanfeng, don't underestimate the Banyue people. Although they only have about ten thousand people, their army consistently maintains over four thousand. They have more men than women, and apart from the elderly, the sick, and the disabled, and even the farmers, almost all the remaining men are in the army. Furthermore, the Banyue soldiers are practically nine feet tall, fierce and aggressive. He dared charge forward with a mace, a knife stuck in his chest, making him incredibly difficult to defeat."
Ah Zhao seemed slightly surprised. He glanced at Xie Lian and said, "This young master seems to know quite a bit."
Xie Lian kept smiling and was about to say something casually when Nan Feng asked again, "What is that wall?"
What he was pointing at was a huge loess building in the distance.
Calling it a building wasn't quite right, because strictly speaking, it was just something surrounded by four tall earthen walls. There were no doors, no roof. Just four walls, each more than ten feet high. A tattered pole swayed in the wind, a flag or something else fluttering in the wind. For some reason, looking at it gave me a slight chill.
Xie Lian turned around, took a look, and said, "That's the sinner's pit."
As soon as he heard the name, he knew it was definitely not a good thing. Nan Feng frowned: "Sinner's Pit?"
After a moment's silence, Xie Lian said, "You can think of it as a prison. It's a place specifically for holding criminals."
Nan Feng said, "There's not even a door, how can we imprison them? Are we going to just throw them down from above?"
Xie Lian was just trying to decide whether to speak when San Lang suddenly said, "Throw it down. Besides, there are poisonous snakes, scorpions, and hungry beasts down there."
Hearing him finally speak, Xie Lian felt relieved and glanced at him. However, Sanlang held his gaze for a moment before looking away. Nanfeng cursed, "This isn't even a prison! This is pure torture, so vicious. The Ban Yue people are either mentally ill or brutally cruel."
Xie Lian rubbed his brow and said, “Not entirely. There are some lovely people among the Ban Yue people…” At this moment, he suddenly stopped talking and frowned, “Wait.”
As expected, the other three stopped. Xie Lian raised his hand and said, "Look at that pole above the pit. Is there a person hanging there?"
The sun was setting and night was falling. The distance was so great that it was difficult to see what was hanging on the pole. However, when I walked a little closer and saw the outline of the object, I could clearly see it was a thin man in black, with tattered clothes, hanging above the pit of sinners, swaying back and forth in the wind like a broken doll.
Sanlang said: "Yes. And she is a woman."
Ah Zhao's face paled slightly when he saw a person hanging there. This scene was so horrific and strange that even a calm person like him couldn't bear it. At this moment, Sanlang tilted his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "There's someone."
Not only did he sense it, but Xie Lian also heard the faintest footsteps. The street was lined with dilapidated houses, and the four of them immediately dispersed and hid inside. Xie Lian and Sanlang hid in the same dilapidated house, while Nanfeng and A Zhao hid in the one across from them. Not long after, a woman in white emerged from the end of the dilapidated street.
The woman, dressed in a light, snow-white Taoist robe and clutching a whisk, walked down the street, glancing left and right with bright eyes. Her demeanor made it seem as if this wasn't some long-abandoned ancient city, but rather a small back garden she could freely explore. Not far away, a woman in black walked slowly behind her, her hands behind her back.
The black-clad woman had beautiful yet cold features, her gaze like a dagger unsheathed, her long hair loose, and a chilling aura emanating from her. Even though she walked behind the white-clad woman, no one would consider her a subordinate.
They were the two people they saw outside the abandoned building at noon.
At that moment, the two figures flashed by. The one in black was so tall that Xie Lian couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Now he knew that both were women. The one in white could only be Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor, but who could the one in black be?
The Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor swung his whisk leisurely and said, "Where have those people gone hiding now? They disappeared without a trace. Do you really want me to hunt them down and kill them one by one?"
Xie Lian thought to himself, as expected, as soon as they entered the city, they were immediately targeted.
The woman in black walked up, walked past her expressionlessly, and said, "You can ask your friends to help you kill."
These "friends" could only refer to the extremely lethal group of Ban Yue soldiers. Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor smiled and said, "I don't like to call others, I just like to call you. Are you happy?"
The woman in black, however, didn't give him any face at all and said coldly, "I'm not happy about being asked to do something like this by you. Go away."
Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor raised an eyebrow, and indeed, he was leaving quickly. Listening to their conversation, it seemed like they were old acquaintances with each other. These two were definitely not ordinary people, and the man in black must be well-known. Who was this woman familiar to Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor? A mysterious fellow disciple? Or did Ban Yue actually have a queen or a female general?
Xie Lian thought rapidly, holding his breath. He didn't want to be discovered right now. It seemed like Ban Yue Imperial Master had a rather erratic temperament. If he saw them, he'd get excited and call in all those legendary nine-foot-tall Ban Yue soldiers wielding maces. That would mean another long fight. Twelve hours, every hour less would mean a little more danger. But he had a personality that made it so the less he wanted something, the more it would come. The woman in black suddenly stopped as she passed the room, her gaze piercing.
The Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor had already taken a few steps forward. Seeing her stop, he leaned back and said, "Hey, are you going to leave or not?"
The woman in black said, "You, step back."
Master Banyue said, "Oh." As expected, he stepped back. The girl in black seemed to be about to raise her hand, when suddenly, there was a loud noise from across the street!
Across from them, the house where Nanfeng and the others were hiding suddenly collapsed. The collapse of this one brought down the entire row to its left and right. Instantly, dust billowed through the streets, and a dark shadow suddenly leaped out from the flying sand and rocks, emitting a fierce flame that attacked Banyue Imperial Master. The woman in black spun around, blocking Banyue Imperial Master's path. With her left hand still behind her, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed the entire flame in her palm, sending it directly back at him. The shadow was also incredibly swift, dodging the attack. In a few quick leaps, it vanished into the distance, carrying a cloud of dust with it. Banyue Imperial Master gave chase, and the woman in black glanced over before following suit.
This sudden change happened in a split second. Xie Lian thought to himself, "Good job, Nanfeng!" He knew that Nanfeng, who was hiding across the street, saw that they were about to be discovered and made a feint to the east and attacked in the west, helping them to divert the enemy. If he jumped out alone, Ah Zhao would definitely still be in the house. After making sure that the three people were far away, Xie Lian pulled Sanlang out and said, "Ah Zhao, are you still alive? Are you hurt?"
After a moment, a muffled voice came from under the collapsed house: "...It's okay."
Xie Lian felt relieved and said, "I'm glad you're alright."
Although he believed that the south wind would carefully control the collapse of the house, leaving space for another living person, he still needed to confirm it before he could be reassured. He lifted a rotten beam with one hand. After a while, Ah Zhao struggled to crawl out from under the house, his head and face covered in dust. He brushed it off twice and regained his calm expression.
Xie Lian said, “There are only three of us left now. Nanfeng is being pursued, so we need to speed up. Ah Zhao, do you know where the Good Moon Grass grows in the city?”
Ah Zhao shook his head and said, "I'm sorry. I only know the location of the ancient city. I've never been here before, so I don't know where the Good Moon Grass grows."
Sanlang said, "It's said that the Good Moon Grass prefers shade and grows short. Its roots are very thin, but its leaves are large, shaped like a pointed peach. Why don't you look for it near that tall building?"
Xie Lian pondered for a moment before saying, “A tall building?”
Speaking of tall buildings, what building in a country could be taller and grander than the imperial palace? Furthermore, in the myth, the queen plucked a piece of the Sunmoon grass after the banquet, suggesting that it could grow in the palace.
The three of them looked around and saw a palace made of bricks, stones and wood in the center of the city.
The palace looked quite imposing from a distance, but up close, its state of decay was only slightly better than the other houses on the street. Passing through the palace gates, one could see a vast garden. Perhaps once upon a time, this wasn't a garden, but a square or something. However, it had been abandoned for years, leaving only a patch of land covered in various green plants.
Indeed, what he stepped on wasn't sand, but mud. Perhaps it was the only remnant of the oasis. The Good Moon Grass might be hidden among these numerous plants. Xie Lian said, "Let's hurry and search. We only have twelve hours. But be very careful of the scorpion-tailed snake."
Ah Zhao agreed, and San Lang hummed a "hmm." All three lowered their heads to search. But Xie Lian suddenly remembered that Ban Yue Imperial Preceptor could manipulate scorpion-tailed snakes. So, once they reached her territory, there should be more scorpion-tailed snakes. But once they entered Ban Yue Ancient City, they saw no scorpion-tailed snakes.
He straightened up and was about to speak when he suddenly felt a cylindrical object in his hand.
Looking down, I saw a human leg.
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