Chapter 53: White Bone Hairpin 8 Snake Fish
Xun Shu stood on the shore, watching Li Xuanhe and Yuchang fighting with the strange beast. It was fierce and dangerous. He was anxious and his mind was racing.
The strange beast has no eyes and cannot see things, so it must rely on other means to identify its direction, such as sound or smell.
Xun Shu picked up a stone and threw it far away.
The stone fell into the water, creating a huge splash. The sound was mixed with the sounds of fighting, but it was still clear enough. However, the strange beast didn't react at all.
When one move didn't work, Xun Shu didn't stop for a moment. He immediately took out the handkerchief from his bag, looked around, and his eyes fell on the stone wall behind him.
The stone wall wasn't smooth; it was uneven and lumpy. The raised rocks carried the wildness of the rocks, sharpened like knives. Xun Shu gritted her teeth and pressed her palms hard against the sharpest rocks, pumping them rapidly. The moisture-covered rocks sliced her palms like sharp ice knives, and blood flowed instantly.
Xun Shu clenched his injured palm into a fist, letting the blood flow onto the handkerchief, soaking half of it in a moment.
The situation in the pool changed rapidly. Yuchang had been knocked into the water, and Li Xuanhe was entangled by the snake's tail and could not break free. Xun Shu could no longer delay, so he picked up a stone, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and threw it far away with all his strength.
The handkerchief fell into the water, and the blood on it dissolved in the pool, spreading a sweet, lingering scent that instantly attracted the snakefish, half submerged in the pool. At that moment, Li Xuanhe seized the opportunity and swung his sword, completely wiping out the entangled snake's tail. He finally escaped the stench.
The carcass of the strange beast floated in the center of the cold pond, Li Xuanhe's dagger piercing its head. Blood spread everywhere, the crimson blood mingling with the dark blue water, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. The stench of blood filled the entire cave, mingling with the damp, earthy odor, making it nauseating.
Li Xuanhe slid ashore, one hand supporting his knees, the other rubbing his chest as he coughed. His clothes were mostly soaked, his hair sticking to his face. His cheeks were pale, and his eyes still held a murderous intent. Yuchang swam to the shore, leaning against a rock to look back at the body in the water, still in disbelief. "What kind of monster is this?!"
Xun Shu tucked his hands into his sleeves, put them behind his back, and said slowly, "One head and nine bodies, the sound is like a barking dog, it must be a snake fish."
"Snakefish? Isn't this the legendary beast? It actually exists?"
"Most of the legendary beasts do exist. It's just that over time, some have changed their appearance, while others have hidden themselves in deep mountains and abysses. They rarely appear before the public, and even if they do, people wouldn't recognize them." Xun Shu hesitated as he looked at the corpse swaying in the pond. "The legendary snakehead fish hides near the riverbank, waiting for wild beasts to approach the water, then leaps up and drags them into the water to eat."
Yu Chang sighed, "I never thought I would see the legendary beast here. This trip is definitely worth it."
Xun Shu hesitated to speak, and Li Xuanhe hurriedly asked, "But what did you think of?"
Xun Shu sighed, "Yes, I once read a record in a book that said the snakehead fish is crimson in color, and its flesh and blood have medicinal properties. Eating it can strengthen the body. If you feed it with the flesh and blood of young boys and girls, and wait until the fish scales turn black, eating it can grant immortality."
Immortality?!
Li Xuanhe looked at the body of the snakehead fish in the water and saw that its body was pitch black, with only two snake tails remaining in dark red. It was almost dead.
Yuchang climbed ashore, still unable to believe it: "Immortality? How is that possible? Is this a lie?"
Xun Shu spoke cautiously, as always. "The book records that a thousand years ago a prince caught a snakehead fish and fed it to a young girl. As for whether it succeeded or not, I don't know. Although I've never seen anyone achieve immortality, I can't say that such a thing doesn't exist." She looked at the snakehead fish, belly up in the pond, with a hint of regret. "This method is vicious. Even if ordinary people knew it, they wouldn't do it. Now that this fish is almost done, we'll soon know if the record is true... It's really a bit of a pity."
Li Xuanhe turned his head to look at Xun Shu beside him, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "I thought you would feel sorry for those who became fish food."
"There's no contradiction." Xun Shu's eyes were clear. "I feel sorry for the innocent people who lost their lives, but I'm also curious whether the records in the book really exist."
Li Xuanhe and Yuchang rested for a moment, and once their breathing had completely calmed, they followed their original plan and walked along the stone path beside the pool to the other side. Xun Shu leaned against the stone wall behind him, looked at the two of them, and said, "You go first, I'll follow."
Yu Chang thought she was afraid and comforted her, "Don't worry, Miss Xun. The monster is dead and won't come out again."
Xun Shu pursed her lips and said nothing. Li Xuanhe, who was standing beside her, stared at her and suddenly said, as if he remembered something, "I forgot to ask you just now. What did you do to make that snake fish lose its focus?"
Xun Shu blinked and said honestly, "I threw something far away. I thought if I could throw something far away, maybe it would attract its attention and give you a moment's respite."
Li Xuanhe's eyes were filled with pressure as he continued to ask, "What did you throw away?"
Xun Shu couldn't lie, so he could only answer honestly: "...a handkerchief."
Li Xuanhe was amused: "I'll give you another handkerchief, can you throw it to me and see?"
“…I wrapped a stone in the handkerchief and then threw it.”
After these words fell, even Yu Chang could sense something was wrong: "Miss Xun, why didn't you just throw the stone? Why did you wrap it with a handkerchief?"
Xun Shu saw she couldn't hide it anymore, so she lowered her eyes and spoke softly, "...because my blood was on the handkerchief. Snakehead fish don't have eyes, so I guess they rely on sound or smell to find their way. To them, there's probably no smell stronger than the smell of blood, so I squeezed some blood onto the handkerchief." She pursed her lips and smiled, "I'm glad I was able to help you."
Li Xuanhe's expression turned serious: "Stretch out your hand."
Xun Shu hesitated and stretched out his hands which were behind his back.
Li Xuanhe held her wrist and raised her palm upwards. Yu Chang held the fire starter closer so that the light could clearly illuminate the scar on Xun Shu's palm.
The scars were scattered and disorderly, as if they had been cut on a sharp, protruding rock wall. The wounds were extremely deep, and the edges curled white when wet. Xun Shu must have taken advantage of their inattention to sink his hand into the cold pond and use the water to wash the blood off his palm.
Li Xuanhe's heart was clenched into a ball, which was more painful than being stabbed on the hand several times. He wanted to say something, but when he raised his eyes, he saw Xun Shu's pale lips, and in the end he couldn't say anything.
He pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve pocket, squeezed out the water, and neatly wrapped it around her wound. Xun Shu looked at him silently, his expression gloomy. He didn't know where he had done wrong and felt very aggrieved. "He Xuan, I helped you, why are you angry?"
Li Xuanhe released her wrist and closed his eyes, trying to calm the swirling emotions. "I'm not. I'm just a little angry with myself. Why did I go down into the cave? Why couldn't I protect you? I could have waited until it was absolutely safe and brought more people to check. That way, we wouldn't be in danger and you wouldn't be hurt. I was reckless."
"He Xuan, we are companions and family." Xun Shu looked at her with seriousness in his eyes. "We should support and protect each other."
Li Xuanhe was stunned.
Time seemed to stop in an instant, everything stood still, but the wind in the corridor was still howling, the water in the riverbed was still flowing, sunlight was still shining through the cracks in the top of the cave, and the heart in the chest was still beating violently.
Everything seems to be an illusion, and yet nothing is ever an illusion.
An impulse broke through the ground and instantly grew into a towering tree, with nowhere to hide. Li Xuanhe looked at the person in front of him and spoke softly, naturally and smoothly: "Ashu, to me, you are more than just a family member or a companion... You are different to me."
Xun Shu felt as if a wheat ear had pricked her chest, tingling and itching, a strange sensation she had never experienced before. She had read many storybooks and had a vague idea of what this was like, but she had never experienced it herself. She didn't know how to face his feelings or the strange and bizarre feeling that kept surging in her heart.
She was anxious and panic-stricken, and she tightened the strap of her bag until the wound on her palm oozed blood and stained the handkerchief.
Li Xuanhe looked at her like this, unable to breathe, and finally sighed resignedly: "Forget it, we'll talk about this later. You're injured, go out and bandage the wound first."
After these words were spoken, Xun Shu hadn't reacted yet, but Yu Chang on the side secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ever since he climbed ashore, every moment had been torture, he dared not even breathe. Now he was finally leaving this damn place.
Why is there no tree or crack in this cave where he can hide himself and not delay the conversation between his husband and Miss Xun?
Yu Chang's joy didn't last long before he heard Xun Shu reject his husband's proposal.
Xun Shu pointed to the nearby stone gate with his uninjured hand and said, "Since we're already here, we might as well go and take a look. Otherwise, wouldn't this trip be in vain?"
Seeing Xun Shu's insistence, Li Xuanhe relented: "That's true, let's go and take a look."
The three of them walked around the pond and arrived at the stone gate opposite. They saw that the stone gate was locked and the surface was rusty, indicating that no one had opened it for a long time.
Li Xuanhe took a quick glance and ordered Yuchang to smash it open. Yuchang stepped forward and struck it a few times with his scabbard. The lock, embroidered so tightly that the keyhole was invisible, broke and fell onto the stone with a crisp sound that echoed throughout the cave.
The stone door was pushed open.
The stench of decay and staleness filled the air, mixed with an indescribable, strange smell that was nauseating. The three of them stepped aside, waiting for the strange odor in the cave to dissipate before entering.
Yu Chang walked in front, walked around the cave, and found a usable oil lamp in the corner. He lit it and illuminated the entire cave. Xun Shu walked last, and after stepping into the cave, he could see the surrounding environment clearly with the help of the light.
This cavern was much smaller than the outside, divided into several connected spaces by stalactites. Water dripped from the ceiling, filling the cavern with steam and making it extremely humid, making it easy to slip. In the center of the cavern stood a simple stone table, piled with tools that looked like jade cutting tools. In the corners lay some debris, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be bone fragments, mixed with small stones and tattered cloth. It was unknown how long they had been there.
Li Xuanhe squatted down, picked up a piece of bone fragment and examined it carefully. He then drew out Yuchang's sword and turned over the pile of bones. After a while, he confirmed, "It's human bones."
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The author has something to say: The Snake Fish is inspired by the Heluo Fish in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, with a slight modification~
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