Yin Ci was stunned.
He had actually heard of the term "cuckoo robbery." Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests, and the chicks that hatch then take over and steal the food from the other chicks.
The "Cuckoo Robbery" legend only exists in more remote areas - an unknown monster gives birth to a child in a woman's womb. The child is pretty and cute, and looks very different from his parents and brothers. Most of these children have amazing talents and eat a lot more than ordinary people.
According to Yan Qing, the "Ah Si" fits the description perfectly.
Ah Si was born in the Su family of Xizhuang. His real name was Su Sigou. He had delicate features and fair skin.
Even in this remote and poor village, the Su family was considered ugly. The Su couple looked like a pair of big and strong brothers, with skin as black as charcoal and eyebrows thicker than thumbs. Their children also had crooked lips and teeth, and were all unsightly.
Su Sigou mixed in with them, like a white dove among a pile of quails, extremely conspicuous.
If such a child was born in the city, his parents would only think that the child was gifted. Even if there was a quarrel, they would at most suspect that the mother had an affair, and would not consider that there was a demon at work.
But in the Su family, the fourth son is not much different from a monster - the village is closed, everyone knows each other well, and every child is born in front of the villagers, so there is no room for falsehood.
Su Sigou grew up day by day, and became more and more handsome. He was born with strong hands and could eat as much as an adult. The Su family was poor and hated this child of unknown origin, so they simply let him go and let him dig for food in the mountains.
Other people in the village also firmly believed that this boy was unlucky and did not treat Su Sigou well.
Unfortunately, Su Sigou was born with a weak mind. He was very good at flattering others and could laugh at nothing. He jumped around all day, using his strange strength to hunt in the mountains, and lived a comfortable life.
He even kidnapped a friend—
Yan Qing's father was never angry, and he only knew how to order his son to work all day long. Yan Qing was just beginning to understand things, and he had to work to earn money while serving his father. He was so busy every day that he could hardly eat a full meal, and he was smaller than a wild cat.
As a fellow ominous person in the village, Su Sigou was particularly curious about Yan Qing. He had been peeping outside the Yan family's yard for two days, and was so angry that he captured the man and made him his friend.
Su Sigou was used to being wild in the mountains and was very good at finding food. It was thanks to him that Yan Qing was able to eat meat and was not dragged to death by his unreliable father.
"Later, something happened at home, so we just fled together. Thanks to Ah Si's familiarity with the mountain roads, I would never have been able to escape by myself."
Yan Qing finished his breakfast with a heavy heart and gently put down his bowl and chopsticks: "We lived together for several years and were separated ten years ago. He was the only one who knew that I buried the mountain ghost and spent money, and he was the only one who hid the note in my window."
"I see. That Su Si... Well, is there anything else special about Ah Si?"
Shi Jingzhi's eyes brightened up, and he seemed quite interested in the theory of "Cuckoo Robbery".
Yan Qing was a little surprised: "No. In addition to his good-looking face, he is also very strong in his hands. Brain...how to describe his brain, Ah Si is the type who will never turn back even if he hits a wall. But he has a very good character and will never take the initiative to provoke others."
Shi Jingzhi was so busy asking about Ah Si that he didn't notice his disciple's increasingly serious gaze.
The determination of "Cuckoo Robbery" is ambiguous, and there are few records in the folk. Yin Ci once investigated it, but it ended in vain. It has nothing to do with factors such as region, stars, and festivals, and there is no pattern to its appearance.
But after investigation, he accidentally discovered a fact.
Every year, there are always some extraordinary children born, they are beautiful and have extraordinary talents. There are very few such people, about one in a million. This ratio is very interesting, and the probability of monsters appearing in other species is about the same.
Yin Ci simply called these people "monsters".
Yin Ci is an orphan, and he doesn't know whether his good looks were given by his parents or forced upon him by God. But judging from Shi Jingzhi's reaction, his beautiful master is most likely one of the "monsters".
Except for Yin Ci, who had an exceptionally long life, ordinary people had no idea about "demon materials", so it was normal for them to be curious. Seeing Shi Jingzhi's interest in the unsolved mystery, Yin Ci did not stop his plan.
The strange phenomenon of Xizhuang, and the one in a million demon material. The two appeared at the same time, and the secrets here are definitely interesting.
The three people from the Kushan Sect wandered around the village for another hour but found no new clues, so they turned to search the surrounding areas of the village.
The wild cats and mice disappeared last night, and the village became quieter again. Yin Ci suddenly had a bad feeling.
As people get older, their premonitions are always more likely to come true than good. As expected, as soon as they reached the edge of Xizhuang, they saw two shadows in the distance.
The sun was about to rise and there was no snow, so the vision was still clear for the few people.
A girl about ten years old stood in the snow. She was wearing a brand new red coat and had two pointed buns on her head. She was very cute. But she was holding something in her hand, so she didn't look cute at all.
At first glance, it looked like a pony. When the three of them got closer, they could see the true form of the thing.
A weird looking black dog.
The black dog was extremely tall, with slender and strong limbs, and shiny fur wrapped around tangled muscles. So far, it was normal, but the strange thing was its head. The dog had no eyes, and the skin on its face was the same as the tip of its nose, with more than a dozen nostril-like holes evenly distributed on it. Its mouth was large and long, almost dividing its head in half.
At this moment it was spewing white steam and showing its sharp teeth.
When Yin Ci saw Shi Jingzhi change from blinking to rubbing his eyes, and then rubbing his eyes was about to turn into digging his eyeballs, he decisively grabbed his master's wrist.
"Master, I've seen this thing in the mountains. It's a monster for sure. Judging from its appearance, it's probably a dog monster."
"Ah Ci, the book says that monsters are the most beautiful among their kind—"
Yin Ci has lived for hundreds of years, but has never seen a monster that meets human standards of "beauty": "Dogs' aesthetic standards for their own kind should be more... dog-like."
Shi Jingzhi was silent. He slowly turned his head away, trying to ignore the strange-looking black dog.
This time Yan Qing took the lead. He was pale and half squatted down: "Little sister, do you know where the people here have gone?"
"Yes, they are in Yuanxian Village!" the little girl said softly. "I am here to take you to Yuanxian Village."
"They just left like that? Without taking anything?"
The little girl blinked, seemingly not understanding the question: "Yuanxian Village has everything, why do you bring extra things? Brother, you have beautiful eyes, you can tell at a glance that you are destined to be an immortal."
Yan Qing touched the little girl's head and stepped back: "I have never heard of Yuanxian Village. If there is a village nearby, Ah Si must know about it."
He didn't dare to speak out in front of the girl. Fortunately, the master and the apprentice were quick-witted and heard the hidden meaning.
If "Yuanxian Village" is really a good place, Ah Si would have left a blood letter.
The little girl was not in a hurry and waited patiently. Shi Jingzhi was about to take people away, and the dog demon suddenly barked wildly. Fortunately, after passing by the ghost tomb, Master Shi was much calmer and only stumbled a little.
Yin Ci took the opportunity to support his master and leaned over to whisper, "Master, there are people in the distance."
Just now, Jingzhi's attention was on the dog demon, and he didn't notice the other breaths. In addition to the girl in red, there were six breaths lingering nearby. Yin Ci looked with his peripheral vision and saw clearly the one who was nearby—
The man wore a bulky white robe tied with white ropes and intricate knots. He had a white mask on his face and a very tall white decorative hat on his head. His whole figure was odd, blending in perfectly with the snow.
The other six surrounded them and slowly approached without saying a word.
Shi Jingzhi's tongue was a little knotted: "Little sister, we have something urgent to do, so we won't go for now."
"Then I can only let Ah Huo bite you." The little girl looked distressed. "Yuanxian Village is a good place, only bad people don't want to go there. Ah Huo, right?"
The dog demon barked a few times out of courtesy.
The next moment, a man in a white robe raised his hand and slashed towards Shi Jingzhi.
His attack had no killing intent, and the force was not strong, but the trajectory was distorted, as if the bones and joints were in the wrong place. Shi Jingzhi almost didn't dodge it and was knocked flying.
Yan Qing and the little girl took a breath at the same time.
During the time in the ghost tomb, Shi Jingzhi basically wore the Nuo mask all the time, and only took it off when sleeping. Yan Qing usually went to bed early, so he really had never seen the true appearance of Master Shi.
The fox showed its face, and the little girl looked even happier: "This brother also has a destiny with the immortals! Everyone must like you, come with me quickly."
Shi Jingzhi glanced at the dog demon and asked directly: "Does your side choose immortal fate just by looking at the face?"
The little girl shook the dog leash in her hand, and the dog demon squatted obediently on the spot, drooling from its mouth.
"Yes, the stronger the affinity with immortals, the more beautiful and powerful they are! Brother, you must be very powerful."
Shi Jingzhi: “…” I am just an insignificant person, and I was just beaten up by a fish recently.
Yin Ci quickly picked out the key point. He poked Yan Qing and said, "That girl doesn't seem to be lying. If the fourth son of the Su family is really a 'cuckoo robbery', judging from his face, he is likely still alive."
Yan Qing was shocked.
Shi Jingzhi also slowly calmed down. He glanced at his apprentice and servants and said, "Yuanxian Village, Xianyuan... Is there an immortal in your village?"
"Of course, we have served the immortals for generations."
The little girl pouted, as if Shi Jingzhi had asked something stupid like "Do people need to eat?"
"No one who comes to the village wants to leave. It's smelly, desolate, and cold outside. It's disgusting... Hey, are you ready? The village is protected by immortals. Without a guide, no one can find Yuanxian Village."
Yin Ci was originally very sensitive to legends about immortals. After hearing this, his interest was completely piqued. Even if Shi Jingzhi didn't want to go, he had to pack up and take his master away.
He cleared his throat and said, "Little sister, my master is not in good health. Do you have any magical medicine?"
The little girl seemed not to hear him and didn't even glance at him.
… The fake face on the ghost leather jacket is indeed ordinary enough, at least not to the level of “having a destiny with the gods”.
Shi Jingzhi moved a few steps and protected his apprentice behind him. Then he put on a brilliant smile and asked, "Do you have any elixir that can cure all diseases?"
The little girl smiled sweetly: "Yes."
Shi Jingzhi smiled more and more: "Let's go to Yuanxian Village to check it out. Maybe we can meet Yan Qing's friends."
Yin Ci and Yan Qing were waiting for this sentence, so how could they object
The three set out at sunrise. Under the brilliant morning sun, Xizhuang still lay quietly in the snow, like a crushed cicada shell.
Six bulky white-robed men lined up in a row, following the three men, leaving two neat rows of footprints. The last white-robed man seemed injured, and his steps were particularly shaky.
His footprints were oozing with pus and blood, as if he was not walking over a living thing, but a highly decomposed corpse.