Chen Yang asked Ma Shanfeng: "Uncle Ma, are they the group that stole the dragon horns?"
"If they were, I would have killed them long ago." Ma Shanfeng shook his head: "This group of dragon slayers in front of us are no match for the group that stole the dragon horns. That group of people were covered in blood and evil spirits at first glance, and they died long ago. All died in accidents."
Everyone stood on the mountainside in silence for a while.
Chief Witch Yi took the lead and walked onto the suspension bridge: "Let's go, I'll take you to the Dragon Locking Platform."
The suspension bridge is made of wooden planks fixed by simple ropes. The distance between each plank is 30 centimeters. There are two or three places in the middle where a few planks are missing, resulting in a one-meter difference in the distance between two planks. Standing in the middle of the suspension bridge and looking down, the wood chips falling into the turbulent water below are dizzying.
The suspension bridge was suspended on the hillside of the opposite Suolongtai, about 20 meters away from the stream at the bottom of the cliff, about seven stories high. Du Shuo took Wei Xuan from Chen Yang's arms and said, "I'll hold him." Chen Yang handed Wei Xuan to him meaninglessly, and the group walked along the suspension bridge.
Standing in the middle of the suspension bridge, between two mountains, with a sliver of sky above their heads, birds flying by, and strong winds blowing everyone's clothes. At this moment, one can't help but feel the loneliness of the vastness of the universe and the insignificance of human beings. Witch Chief Yi walked across the one-meter-wide gap holding the suspension bridge rope, turned around and said to everyone: "Be careful."
The one-meter distance can be crossed with a big stride, but there is no place to land in the middle, and if the center of gravity is not stable, it is easy to step on the air and cause an accident. Fortunately, everyone is agile, and even Ma Shanfeng and his wife quickly crossed over. As for Du Shuo, he has long legs, and he easily crossed over with one foot while holding Wei Xuan.
The suspension bridge was shaky and became even more unstable when the wind blew. The missing planks were only in a few places in the middle, so it was easier to walk through. Chief Witch Yi said, "These planks have been there for many years. Sometimes they break if you step on them carelessly, and you fall down. Before, a tourist broke in and broke a plank and fell down. The missing plank in front suddenly broke and fell into the stream."
Hearing this, Chen Yang asked: "Why don't you rebuild a bridge? I heard from Wawa that the Wu tribe has to go to the Dragon Locking Terrace for sacrifice every year. Wouldn't this suspension bridge hinder you?"
"It can't be repaired." Chief Wizard Yi said, "This suspension bridge has been around for a long time. It is said that it was built when the Dragon Locking Platform was still in existence. The wooden ropes and planks can be replaced if they are broken, but each Chief Wizard can only replace them once. I replaced it once before, and I can't replace it again unless I wait until the next Chief Wizard comes. Once I replace it, an accident will occur, and I can't find the reason."
Kou Xuanling: "So magical?"
Lu Xiuzhi: "It's probably because the entire mountain of Locking Dragon Terrace is really made of dragon bones, and the dragon soul inside doesn't want humans to build a bridge to make it easier for others to jump on it."
Kou Xuanling: "That makes sense. Dragons should be very proud."
As they were talking, they had already reached the Dragon Locking Platform. In front of them was a narrow staircase with weeds and trees growing on the side. Chief Witch Yi walked up the stairs in front of them, introducing them as he walked: "There is a Dragon Locking Platform up there. We hold sacrifices there every year. There is also a pond there. The team members of the Dragon Slayer Team died there before."
After walking up about 24 steps, the view in front of him finally became wider. Chen Yang looked back and found that he could not see the mountain on the opposite side, which was completely blocked by huge rocks. The Dragon Locking Platform mentioned by Witch Chief Yi was a naturally opened up piece of open space, right in the middle of the mountainside, with a small gap on the top, surrounded by mountain walls on all sides, and a narrow gap in the corners for people to walk.
In the middle of the open space is a wide prism made of blue bricks. The prism is four meters high, with the same length and width, about three meters at the top and five meters at the bottom. There are simple and ancient paintings on the four sides of the prism. If you look closely, it is a comic strip, telling the story of the great feat of the Heavenly Master killing the evil dragon and sealing the evil dragon's evil spirit in the Dragon Canyon. There are stairs on both sides of the prism to go up. After crossing the prism, there is a pool of water against the mountain wall. The water is clear but bottomless.
There was a military canteen abandoned beside the grass by the pond. It was the body of the Dragon Slayer Team member who died here. Chief Witch Yi picked up the canteen and said, "They thought there was a dragon in the pond, so they dived in and drowned. The Dragon Slayer Team was not allowed to move the bodies away and asked to come here to investigate the truth behind their teammates' deaths."
Chen Yang squatted down and scooped up the water from the pool. The water was very clear and cold, like mountain spring water. He looked down. The surface of the water was clear and bright. But the deeper he went, the darker it became. It seemed mysterious and unfathomable. He heard Kou Xuanling ask Wu Chang Yi: "What's the result?"
Chief Witch Yi: "Of course we have to carry the bodies away, otherwise they will pollute the water quality if they are left here. We have set up a formation near Dragon Canyon before, so ordinary people cannot get in unless they are mistaken. If the formation is destroyed, people will die here. Of course, we can't let them succeed. Besides, they can't find the Witch Clan, so they want to negotiate, depending on our mood."
Kou Xuanling: "Well done."
Chen Yang leaned over to look down at the pool, getting closer and closer to the water surface. Suddenly, he saw a pair of huge golden eyes suddenly appear under the water, very close to him. Chen Yang was frightened, and his heart suddenly stopped beating. Then a force came from behind, dragging him away from the pool. He turned around and saw Du Shuo's cold expression: "What's wrong?"
Du Shuo: "You almost fell down."
Chen Yang was startled and looked back at the pool. The pool was calm and clear, but anyone who had really seen it would know that there was a deep hole underneath that could swallow people. At this moment, the harmless pool seemed to have turned into a monster that could swallow people, deceiving the ignorant with its harmless and calm appearance. Chen Yang hesitated and said, "I just saw a pair of golden eyes under the water, like the eyes of a dragon."
Zhang Qiudao and his companions went to the edge of the pond to look. The water was as clear as a mirror three or four meters below the surface. The light became increasingly dim as they went further down. They could not see anything clearly. "How deep is the pond?"
Chief Witch Yi: "It's very deep. No one in the tribe has ever dived to the bottom to see it."
Kou Xuanling: "Could the dragon be in there?" He was eager to go down.
Ma Shanfeng: "If it's not a dragon but some other monster, you will be eaten if you dive in. It's safer to wait for the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly to lead us to the dragon."
Chen Yang looked up at Du Shuo: "Brother Du, what do you think?"
Du Shuo said succinctly: "Wait for the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly." After that, he pointed to the pond and said: "This is the road. Without the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly to lead the way, we will get lost and drown in it."
"road?"
"It is indeed a path." Lu Xiuzhi confirmed Du Shuo's answer. "It's just that the surface of the water is calm, but there are a lot of turbulent currents under the water. If you dive in alone without the Yin-Yang Ghost Butterfly to lead the way, you will get lost in the turbulent currents and eventually drown."
Chief Witch Yi seemed to be thinking: "The drowned member of the Dragon Slayer Team had a complete set of diving equipment. When I checked it, I found that the diving equipment was intact, except that the compressed air cylinder was empty. At that time, I was wondering if he didn't notice the air pressure gauge? Even if he really ran out of air, he should be able to swim up when he noticed it and not drown. Now it seems that he was swept into the turbulence and drowned."
Chen Yang suddenly remembered something: "Is there an undercurrent under the stream?"
Chief Witch Yi was stunned for a moment, then replied: "Yes. But we can't find the entrance to the undercurrent because the stream is too turbulent and there is no way to check it."
"I see." Chen Yang had no intention of looking for the undercurrent, but just wanted to confirm whether the hornless dragon in the deep pool was the dragon whose horn was accidentally cut off by lightning in the Yellow River. That dragon could not ascend to heaven without a horn, and it was unknown how it swam to the tributary of the Yangtze River and then entered the deep pool in the wall of the Dragon Locking Platform from the undercurrent. "Go back, come back on the night of the full moon."
Chief Witch Yi looked up at the sky and said, "We'll be back just in time for dinner."
Kou Xuanling glanced at the time: "It's okay to go back late, I can still have dinner."
Chief Witch Yi disagreed and said, "After six o'clock, it's not called dinner, it's called midnight snack. You have to wait until eight o'clock to eat midnight snack. This is the way to stay healthy. You young people have no sense of time."
Ma Shanfeng and his wife immediately agreed: "Eat breakfast at 7 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m., and supper at 8 p.m. If you miss these times, it's not a good idea to eat randomly. Experts say this is good for your stomach and health." After saying that, he pushed a 'scientific' health article to everyone in the group.
The faces of the young people were indescribable. Chen Yang turned around and saw Du Shuo clicking on the health-preserving soft articles that filled his parents' circle of friends, and he looked very serious: "?? Lao Du, why are you looking so serious?"
Du Shuo: "It does make some sense."
Chen Yang: "Seriously?"
Kou Xuanling chuckled and was about to persuade Chen Yang not to doubt it, after all, Du Shuo was just a young man in disguise. But when she turned her head, she saw Lu Xiuzhi's expression of approval, and he had just exited the interface. Kou Xuanling: "..." It is true that people should be kind.
Chen Yang pulled Kou Xuanling, Zhang Qiudao and the other three young men together and discussed quietly: "Nine out of ten are doctors. They can't be wrong."
Zhang Qiudao: "Wake up, that's a soft article that appeared in my parents' circle of friends."
Although Chen Yang has no parents, he has added many old Taoist priests on WeChat. He sees them posting these soft articles to each other every day, and has also read the popular science articles in his parents' WeChat. He once clicked on them out of curiosity, and was shocked by the various weird ideas in them and left. "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."
The group left the Dragon Locking Terrace and returned to the Wu Village. It was just in time for dinner, and they had dinner at six o'clock. The food at Wuzhang Yi's home was delicious, considering everyone's taste. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they saw the villagers spontaneously move the speakers and dance in the square outside, and move a few stools outside to make tea. Some tea lovers in the village also moved small bamboo stools from their homes, brought their own tea sets and tea leaves, danced after drinking tea, and sat down to rest and drink tea when they were tired.
Life is comfortable, and this is what happiness is.
Chief Witch Yi sat upright and reserved: "They come here to dance for two hours every day, and leave on their own after two hours. They won't disturb the people."
Chen Yang: "Will Witch Master Yi not lead the dance?"
Chief Witch Yi remained silent, his tone low, and tried to explain calmly: "I don't dance. A serious chief witch wouldn't do square dance."
At this time, an old lady came over to drink a cup of tea. When she saw Witch Master Yi, she greeted him, "Witch Master, you are familiar with the next piece of music. Do you want to lead the dance?"
"Ahem!" Witch Chief Yi coughed loudly and said in a loud voice: "I don't dance square dance, don't invite me again! Even if you invite me a hundred times, I will refuse. Go back to your team and don't talk to me."
The aunt was puzzled and muttered as she walked: "Didn't you insist on being the lead dancer? Finally there was a piece of music that wasn't so stiff, but you forced it to be played every day. If everyone hadn't protested, you would have played it on repeat."
Witch Chief Yi picked up the cup to cover half of his face, and hid the other half in the shadow, looking very gloomy: "She has difficulty recognizing faces and often mistakes me for someone else. I am also helpless, do you understand?"
Chen Yang was silent for a while, nodded silently, then looked at Kou Xuanling and Zhang Qiudao, and the other two also nodded: "We understand."
Chief Witch Yi put down the cup with satisfaction and said, "Let them dance for an hour tonight to prevent the child gods from harming innocent people."
Are you sure this isn't a personal vendetta? This thought flashed through everyone's mind, but no one was stupid enough to challenge Witch Chief Yi's reputation now.
At eight o'clock, Wu Chang Yi cut off the water and electricity and drove the villagers away. The villagers protested: "Is it because the only song you can dance to is not playing? Otherwise, how about playing it on loop for half an hour? Let's talk it over and the friendship will last forever."
Chief Witch Yi remained calm and said, "We have to fight against the evil spirits tonight to prevent them from harming innocent people. So all of you go back now, close the doors and windows, and don't come out unless necessary. Even if you hear any noise, don't run out out of curiosity. I won't be responsible if anything happens."
The villagers below were talking about it: "I heard from the witch chief's apprentice that the evil spirits come out at midnight. There are still four hours from midnight, so we can dance for another hour.", "Did anyone of you refuse the witch chief's request to lead the dance? Tsk, our venue belongs to the witch chief, and the water also belongs to the witch chief. Even if the witch chief's square dance is ugly and she feels good about herself and insists on being the lead dancer, you should let her go. It's only one dance anyway, right?", "I just invited the witch chief, and he refused me."
Witch Chief Yi remained calm and collected. He took the microphone and began to speak: "Have you read the latest updates on WeChat Moments? Health experts say that you can't do strenuous exercise after 8 p.m., so go back, everyone."
The health experts had already said something, and they had to listen. So the aunties and uncles pushed each other and left, and as they left, they did not forget to confirm: "Witch Chief, are you really not seeking revenge for personal gain?"
Witch Chief Yi gave them a cold look.
The lively square soon became quiet. The apprentices of Yi Wuzhang packed up the tea sets, tables and chairs and cleaned the place. When they were about to go home, Yi Wuzhang called them and said, "I have prepared a seat on the second floor. You can watch others catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits tonight. Go back to sleep after watching, and give me a 3,000-word review tomorrow."
Several disciples were frightened by the 3,000-word review, and Chen Yang was also frightened: "A 3,000-word review?"
"Of course." Witch Chief Yi attaches great importance to cultural education: "Cultural courses cannot be neglected. Although high school essays are 800 words, university papers need 10,000 words."
Chen Yang stayed away from Master Yi, trembling with Kou Xuanling and Zhang Qiudao. Finally, Master Yi, Ma Shanfeng and his wife, Wei Xuan, Ji Jiang, Wawa and her disciples went to the second floor to watch, while Chen Yang and the other two waited downstairs for the child god to be possessed. Du Shuo and Lu Xiuzhi also sat downstairs, with their eyes closed, as if they were transparent.
The wait was long, so they started chatting, and they talked about the human head with a child god in his belly. Chen Yang: "Just now I was resting in the square, and I asked other people and learned that the human head with a child god in his belly is a kind of ghost. The sorcerer kills the boy and then uses the magic to refine his ghost, and then does things for himself."
Zhang Qiu asked, "What does a child god with a human head and a belly look like?"
Chen Yang: “It’s the same as the Flying Head Surrender.” The so-called Flying Head Surrender does not mean that only the head is separated from the body, but that the head and internal organs are separated from the body together, and go out to find the internal organs of living things to fill the stomach.
Zhang Qiudao pointed at the door and said, "Same as the thing at the door?"
Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling looked back and saw a little ghost head floating at the door, with a throat, organs and intestines attached to it. There was still blood on the head's lips, probably because they saw an animal being disemboweled and its organs dug out and eaten on the road. The blood-red heart was still beating regularly.
Chen Yang: "Who will attack first?" Kou Xuanling raised his hand, and Chen Yang ordered: "Hit slowly, don't kill him too quickly. This is a tutorial, we have to do it step by step."
Kou Xuanling: "No problem."
The child god in the human head and stomach did not feel the movement of the poisonous insect, but was also very excited to see a stranger. It opened its mouth and whistled at him, with a very fast speed and the ability to be invisible. It entangled Kou Xuanling, passing by at a high speed like an afterimage, and tried to bite Kou Xuanling with its sharp teeth every time it passed by.
When the child god with a human head and a belly bites its prey, it usually bites through its throat. When it is full, it will play with its prey and then bite its throat to kill it. It is fast and can be invisible, making it difficult to defend against its sneak attacks. It hides in mid-air, looking down at its prey, and makes a strange and sinister laugh to intimidate its prey.
Kou Xuanling dodged the attack, took out the peach wood sword and the Five Thunder Spirit Talisman and began the tutorial: "When dealing with extremely evil and poisonous things, especially those that have killed countless people for their own selfishness, there is no need to consider mercy, no need to ask why, just kill them directly. Peach wood can ward off evil spirits, especially peach wood swords. But not all peach wood swords are useful, you should know this. Lightning-struck wood can also ward off evil spirits, but the effect is not as good as the peach wood sword."
After saying that, he suddenly turned around and slashed the disguise of the human-headed child god hiding behind him with a sword, wounding him. The human-headed child god screamed, quickly retreated and became invisible again.
In a hotel near the Wu Clan scenic spot, the Nanyang sorcerer suddenly wailed, pulled open his clothes and found a deep scar on his chest. As soon as he saw the scar, he knew he had hit a wall, and he said viciously: "Cunning Chinese people, they deceived me! They are not ordinary people, but heavenly masters!"
Kou Xuanling put away the peach wood sword, thought for a moment and returned to his seat: "If you don't have a peach wood sword or other magical tools, you can use talismans. There are many types of talismans for exorcising evil spirits and demons, and you don't need to know all of them. As long as you know one, practice makes perfect, and you can conquer the world."
On the second floor, several disciples of Master Yi took out their notebooks and notes. Seeing this, Chen Yang gave an example: "There is a member of our branch named Mao Xiaoli. She can draw many talismans, but the only one with strong offensive power is the Five Thunder Talisman. Because she often uses the Five Thunder Talisman, it never misses and is very powerful. Qiudao, show them how to use the talisman correctly."
Zhang Qiudao stood up and said, "Okay."
Chief Witch Yi: "Write it down."
Zhang Qiudao said: "The exorcist talisman, the evil-suppressing talisman, and the five-thunder talisman are the simplest and most effective talismans. If you want to use a formula or spell, it is best to use the Golden Light Mantra or the Nine-Character Mantra."
He walked to the middle of the hall, stood still with his eyes downcast, his hands hanging down at his sides, close to his pants. He hid the Five Thunder Spirit Talisman in his palms, and when the human-headed child god with a stomach pounced on him, he did a somersault to avoid it and grabbed its intestines and threw it to the ground. After beating it for a while, he stuffed the Five Thunder Spirit Talisman into the mouth of the human-headed child god with a stomach, and the latter swallowed it into his stomach subconsciously.
Zhang Qiudao took a few steps back and clapped his hands: "The next step is to detonate."
Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling whispered: "Sure enough, using the Five Thunder Talisman, Mao Xiaoli's..."
The sorcerer sensed something was wrong and immediately summoned back the human-headed child god. The human-headed child god was a ghost and was closely related to the sorcerer's practice. Sometimes the sorcerer would send them out to find organs to feed themselves and increase their practice. Sometimes, when they had no choice, they would send the human-headed child god to duel with people. If the duel failed, the human-headed child god died, and the sorcerer would also die.
The Nanyang sorcerer in front of him regretted it deeply, he thought that they were just a few ordinary people who coveted their organs, so they sent out the child god with a human head and a belly. But when he wanted to summon the child god back, he found that the connection was cut off.
Zhang Qiu said: "The divine soldiers and thunder soldiers are as urgent as the law!"
Bang! There was an explosion, and the child god with a human head and a belly was blown into pieces by the five thunders. At the same time, the Nanyang sorcerer in the hotel struggled for a few steps and fell to the ground, but soon his whole body rotted and dissolved, leaving only empty clothes.
The European magician knocked on the door and came in. He didn't see the Nanyang sorcerer and kicked the sorcerer's clothes. He lowered his head and stared for a few seconds, smiled and left the room as if nothing had happened. When he closed the door, the island magician opposite asked gloomily, "What happened?"
The magician smiled and replied, "It's okay."
The island illusionist requested: "The little girl in that group today, help me find her identity, I want her."
Magician: “Okay.”
Zhang Qiudao kicked the organs scattered at his feet, looked up and said to Ma Shanfeng: "Uncle Ma, I don't think they are as powerful as the gang of thieves you described before."
Ma Shanfeng waved his hand: "They were all real desperadoes back then, but now they are living a life of luxury, eating, drinking and having fun, and have no skills. They can use such small tricks to harm people abroad, but they can only be beaten at home."
Chief Witch Yi stood up and instructed several of his disciples: "Go down and clean up the hall. Remember to write your 3,000-word review. Everyone else go and get some rest. Experts say that staying up all night will shorten your life by ten years." After that, he hurried back to his room to sleep.
Chen Yang: "Let's all go back."
Author's comments: Wu Clan villagers: The Wu Chief dances stiffly, like a zombie. He is a jerk and wants to be the lead dancer. The only song he dances well to is forced to be played every day, and it is almost played on loop. Not serious!
Chief Witch Yi: My dignity is gone!!!
Well, there is actually one more chapter. The outline is messy, so I missed one. This chapter will end tomorrow, and the next chapter will really be the last chapter.
ps: It’s a magician, not a wizard, you’re right, pen refill.