Chapter 040 The Unlucky Guy
The Nanzhou Dynasty and the Zhongzhou Dynasty have a long-standing grudge against each other.
It can be traced back to thousands of years ago, during the drama of the throne seizure in the Zhongzhou Dynasty, a prince rebelled against Zhongzhou and fled to Nanzhou to make a living.
Nanzhou is densely covered with wet forests, where various ethnic groups live together and tribal villages emerge in endlessly everywhere.
That prince took root in Nanzhou, had children, and developed power in the local area for hundreds of years. One day, one of his descendants finally rose up in rebellion, and relying on the introduction of a sect, he suppressed the local witchcraft and successfully established a dynasty.
Afterwards, that descendant continued to expand outward, and eventually encountered Zhongzhou, which was also expanding outward.
The war between the two is imminent.
In Zhongzhou there are Qilin and Confucianism, in Nanzhou there are poison and various foreign sects, and the two are hostile to each other.
Although the Zhongzhou sects are of high quality, there are many more in the Nanzhou! Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.
Besides, they have the same ancestor, so who is nobler than the other?
Even cursing someone will affect yourself.
The stalemate between the two remained and they became old enemies for many years.
It rains a lot in Nanzhou, and the air is humid and hot.
The forest vegetation is vast, and under the tree canopy that blocks out the sun, a few drooping vines fall down like natural ornaments.
Suddenly, a vine moved and flexibly wrapped around the branch. The golden-brown eyes stared at the passerby in the woods, and there was a bit of beast in the needle-shaped pupils.
There is green everywhere, in different shades, but it is not refreshing, but rather has a sickening stickiness.
Something seemed to be moving in the dark shadows among the layers of leaves.
The rustling sound of insects mixed with the occasional bird calls was particularly frightening in the dense forest where the sun could not be seen.
There was no open space anywhere, and a long-lost feeling of being trapped enveloped the entire team along with these creepy plants.
“Pah—”
The boy used his sword to cut away the branches that blocked his way.
The closer you get to the south, the more deformed and strange the forest becomes.
Occasionally, you can catch a glimpse of a tree tumor that looks like a human face.
The overly enclosed space was filled with dampness and stuffiness, which, coupled with the insects flying in the air, made me feel anxious.
The nun's shoes were covered in mud. She was a nun who came from Nanzhou to preach. She was the only guide in the three-person team. She had lived in the dense forests of Nanzhou for a long time and was only slightly annoyed at this moment.
"The forest in Nanzhou is so painful. We haven't reached the deepest part yet. Be careful not to eat flying insects," the nun reminded lightly. Then she pointed ahead and said, "I have been here before and I know the way. Let's go this way and we will be out soon."
"who--"
Wang Yu suddenly drew his bow, and under the cold arrow tip, a few branches and leaves on the towering tree were shaking.
A few drops of rotten green juice were smeared on the dry white tree trunk, like pus flowing out after something was squeezed.
"Pretending to be a god, playing tricks."
Wang Yu pursed his lips.
Under the oppression of the tree canopy, people always have strange emotions and are easily fooled.
This kind of intimidation from indigenous people who are familiar with the terrain is even more difficult to guard against.
"Did you hear any sound?"
Sui Niang suddenly said towards a certain direction.
She held the soul-calming bell in her hand and could not help but float a few steps in the air.
Wang Yu and the nun looked at each other and both shook their heads to indicate that they did not hear anything.
"Sui Niang, what's that sound?" Master Chengxin asked.
A few drops of dew slid down from the thick branches and leaves, dripped into the puddles, creating ripples and reflecting Sui Niang's expression as she recalled solemnly.
"I heard it. Drums."
Sui Niang's human-skin drum was left in the Forest of Enchantment, but her experiences over the years have left her sensitivity to the sound of the drum in her heart.
Why would there be drum sounds in such a dense forest? This is obviously not a normal plot development.
"This signal is like the sound of a drum for help! There is a hint of weakness in the sound."
Sui Niang frowned and said, she felt a little conflicted.
She had seen and heard many such continuous distress signals in the Forest of Confusion, but it turned out that most of them were tricks used by evil spirits to lure people to eat them.
They are now deep in the South Province...if they fall into a trap...
"I will go with you to have a look." The nun said, twisting her Buddhist beads calmly. Her deep eyes seemed to speak through her drooping skin. "My philosophy is to sacrifice one's life. If there is really someone trapped here, it would be a great merit for me."
“As for Fellow Daoist Wang, you stay here.” Master Chengxin tilted her head and said.
Wang Yu was a little unhappy: "Together."
But he still raised his sword calmly: "Just like before."
If he were a man behind bars, he would draw his sword for it.
If he were to trick a plundering thief, he would also swing his sword for that purpose.
"Then let's go!"
Sui Niang pushed aside the thick branches and leaves and floated forward along the path covered by grass branches.
The drumbeats became clearer.
But soon, Sui Niang couldn't help but stop and murmured, "It's a bit too regular."
Even a drummer with years of experience would find it difficult to produce such regular, consistent drum beats in an emergency.
She calmed herself down, and her two companions followed her.
"It smells like flowers..." the nun said suddenly.
Wang Yu sniffed blankly, smelling nothing, and then listened obediently to the nun's explanation.
"I seem to have smelled this smell somewhere before..." Nun Chengxin searched her brain hastily, then her expression relaxed: "Nothing, it's not a serious ghost, but a ghost of the locust tree that will lure passers-by during the flowering season."
This kind of thing is not a big problem for the nun who already has resistance to bewitching.
Sui Niang, who has become a ghost, also has considerable resistance. What's more, she holds the soul-calming bell in her hand, which has the ability to bewitch people. The fragrance of the flowers is nothing compared to her.
As for Wang Yu, he might as well not mention him.
"But," the nun was a little puzzled, "Can they make drum sounds to attract passers-by now?"
"Robber?" Wang Yu keenly grasped the key point.
Sui Niang pushed aside the last branch.
A locust tree appeared in front of the three people. It was hidden among countless thick trees, and strange patterns were carved on its twisted trunk.
In the center of the tree, an upside-down head lay limply in the air, its entire body having been completely swallowed by the trunk. Only its struggling mouth and nose were still calling for help, the sound as soft as a mosquito's.
Around the locust tree, there is a colorful wooden puppet with strange clothes and a big drum hanging on its body. Its white-gloved hands are beating the drum regularly.
All three of them gasped.
Wang Yu couldn't help but think.
It’s so scary. I must be careful with my head when walking in the woods next time, otherwise it would be really scary to get stuck in the tree branches!
The ghost locust tree, which has not yet developed much intelligence, is instinctively luring its prey.
This kind of major operation that requires cutting down trees was of course left to Jingchun.
"call out--"
A homemade earth arrow came flying through the air.
Wang Yu's eyebrows furrowed and he swung his sword backhand, cutting the earth arrow into two halves. The juice on the arrow mixed with the leaves in the forest, turning them yellow in an instant.
Sui Niang's bell is ringing.
The bewitching voice surged outward like a wave.
Several humanoid creatures suddenly slid down from between the tall trees.
"stop!"
A voice rang out, and along with it, two extremely crisp sounds of gongs and drums.
A woman in a black robe appeared on a tall tree. Her face was serious, with a few green marks made of sap on her cheeks. She said coldly: "The tree ate the man, and the tree is more skilled. This is just the law of nature. Don't interfere. Leave quickly!"
"If you disturb the Jianmu spirit, don't blame us for being rude."
"Tsk." Sui Niang sneered: "I have heard a lot of funny things in my life, and yours is one of the best."
The nun adjusted her body to block the poor man in the trees.
Wang Yu drew the bow from behind and stood beside Sui Niang.
"Trees eat people, and trees have superior skills. Then, if we humans cut down trees now, can we be considered to have superior skills?" Sui Niang asked.
"That's nonsense." The woman's brows turned cold. "You just want to save the people in the tree."
“Heh…” Sui Niang sneered: “Trees are important to you, so you prefer trees. People are important to me, so I prefer people. I am just like you.”
The woman's face became ferocious for a moment, her lips were tightly pursed, and the wrinkles on her face were like tree roots.
"You are just an evil ghost..."
Sui Niang slowly swung the bell and counterattacked: "The evil ghost was once a human being, better than you, a ghost who is more like a ghost than a ghost!"
The soul-calming bell was shaking, and the sound of gongs and drums was slightly inferior to the crisp and deafening sound of the bell.
The nun was chanting Buddhist scriptures in the center, and the scriptures obviously brought a special effect, soothing people's hearts and minds.
The arrow in the swordsman's hand shone with a cold light, his eyes were like a hunting beast, and his arrows may have never missed.
The misshapen branches running rampant in the woods trembled slightly.
The tense atmosphere is spreading.
"Well--"
The unfortunate creature who was eaten by the tree groaned as if he was struggling.
The gazes of both parties could not help but move.
She is not dead yet.
The woman took out the whistle from her neck. The whistle sounded long and clear. She glared at Sui Niang with her gloomy eyes.
"Let's go..."
Dozens of figures appeared among the grass and trees and disappeared into the woods.
Sui Niang's tense nerves relaxed a little.
"Where do these people come from? Let's save them and run away quickly."
Although it is possible to let Wang Yu go out to kill, Wang Yu himself is not adapted to the forest environment, and they have another person to protect.
"They are very much like a cult."
Wang Yu said in a deep voice while brutally killing Gui Huai.
The nun and Sui Niang helped pull the man out of the tree. Upon hearing this, they said, "Namo Amitabha. The Jianmu they are talking about is a common natural belief in Nanzhou. I have seen many believers. This kind is considered ordinary. They are not that extreme. The more extreme ones took action when we tried to rescue the man."
"Most of those fanatics have already been killed by Master Shen. The others are hiding here and there, so we are unlikely to encounter them."
"Does the so-called Jianmu god really exist?" Sui Niang couldn't help but wonder.
The nun shook her head: "I don't know either, maybe there is, who knows?"
Instead, Wang Yu silently interrupted: "No."
His eyes were very determined.
“…”
The nun and Sui Niang calmly turned their gaze back to the unfortunate guy who was dragged out.
"Come, donor, take one of my pills. It's sweet and will help me gain some merit." The nun kindly fed the unlucky guy a pink and white pill.
The unlucky guy was very young, with a tender and fair face. He hadn't spoken yet, and hadn't opened his eyes, but just by looking at his face, one could always feel that one could see through him at a glance.
She had short, messy hair, with the roots reaching her ears. There were a few fallen leaves stuck in her hair, which were brushed away by Sui Niang in disgust.
Her face was wrinkled and her lips were moving, and she looked like she could live for a long time.
The pill melted into liquid within three breaths and poured into her throat as she raised her head.
There was a strong smell of blood between the teeth, which made the unfortunate guy cough several times and his eyelashes fluttered.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
“——”
In front of me was a pair of cloth shoes, with the tips of the shoes touching the woods, floating lightly, as if the owner of the shoes was being hung up by someone.
The unlucky guy swallowed his saliva, covered his mouth nervously, and dared not look up.
Then she helplessly discovered that the person holding her was a nun whose skin had melted like wax, and the nun's deep and gloomy eyes were staring at her steadily.
The unfortunate fellow let out a whimper from his throat and struggled to retreat halfway, suddenly bumping into a pillar from behind, which looked like two human legs.
She couldn't help but look up cautiously.
I saw a cold knife light falling into her eyes, and green juice dripped along the blade. Behind the blade was a pair of extremely sharp eyes, as if they were oozing with blood, hiding a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, which made people's hearts tremble.
After the strong fishy smell between the lips faded away, an extremely strong stench was left, and this stench was obviously not something beautiful or kind.
The unfortunate fellow's face was filled with despair.
Even if the flowers in the greenhouse have experienced some wind and rain, shouldn't they harvest treasures after escaping death? How come she just escaped from the tiger's mouth and fell into the wolf's den again? Will everyone who comes here experience this kind of suffering?
It would be better to just die!
The unfortunate fellow tremblingly took out a piece of soft paper from his arms. The paper was thin and had a picture of a big man with a red face and green clothes. He held a knife in one hand and stroked his beard with the other. It seemed to be a self-portrait of a general.
But what is strange is that the portrait is supposed to be majestic, but its rounded outlines and color fillings show a somewhat cute and lively posture, just like a mountain tiger facing a cat on its knees, which makes people smile knowingly.
The unfortunate fellow stammered, "Go away, demons and ghosts! Go away, demons and ghosts! Guan Yu is here! Don't be so presumptuous!"
Three people: "..."
Is this child out of his mind? What is he doing? Using talismans to exorcise ghosts?
But...which sect would use such a strange talisman?
Just as they were puzzled and amused, they saw the general holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade on the thin paper suddenly blinked, and then started moving on the paper!
The black-faced man just shouted loudly and rushed out from the paper waving a long knife!
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