Ningxia Town is located more than 20 miles south of Shangyong County, Jinzhou in the north. The surrounding mountains are relatively flat. The roads leading to Sichuan and Shu and heading north usually pass through here. Many merchants and travelers stop here to rest and stay. Green forest bandits and knights who know some martial arts also come here to inquire about news or seek a way to make a living.
There was only one long blue brick street with several low alleys on both sides. It had just rained heavily in the summer and water was dripping from the eaves. The muscular blacksmith pounded his hammer to drive away the bandits who only asked for the price but did not buy. The old madam shouted and scolded the girls in the building. When she saw the guests carrying swords coming in, she forced herself to flatter with fawning looks on her fat faces and powder fell down.
Compared to the somewhat lively scene in the small town at the foot of the mountain, on the northern side of the mountain range, birds flapped their wings and rushed out of the woods in black masses. The branches with water droplets on them shook violently, and the splashing water hit the flying straw raincoats and hats.
In the dim forest, Zuo Zhengyang ran while dragging his long sword, kicking up fallen leaves with his footsteps. He stepped on a tree, turned around in mid-air, swung the sword with his one arm, and slashed down angrily behind him.
puff!
The roots that had broken through the soil split into two, retracted into the ground with smoke, and disappeared from the ground, spreading across the light spots on the ground and returning to the direction of Lanruo Temple.
The one-armed figure in mid-air fell to the ground, and the upright leaves of the straw raincoat fell back onto his body one by one. With a sigh of relief, Zuo Zhengyang lowered the blade of his knife, dragged it on the ground to the nearby green rock, leaned against it and sat down on the wet moss.
After rummaging through his small leather bag, he sighed, held the dry food that had been soaked and turned mushy by the rain in his palm, and ate it. Even though his martial arts had broken through and he was almost at the level of practicing Taoism, he was still limited in terms of food and the monster in the Lanruo Temple opposite.
He chewed the soft dry food in his mouth, untied the water bag and took a sip of water to wash down the food. For more than half a month, he went to look for trouble with the monster almost every day. He knew he couldn't defeat it, but he tried to delay it as long as possible.
After resting for a while, he grabbed the long sword, got up from the ground, and walked towards Lanruo Temple again.
"Just think of it as honing your martial arts skills and cultivating your mind."
The broken footsteps stepped on the wet dead branches and passed through the light spots cast by the gaps between the trees. On the stone tablet covered with dead vines, several crows flew over, folded their wings and landed on it.
Wow!
Amid an ominous hissing sound, Zuo Zhengyang slammed the handle of the knife in his hand onto the ground, looked at the dilapidated and desolate temple, and roared loudly.
"Tree demon, here I come again!!"
The sound was so loud and resounding that the crows on the monument flapped their wings and flew away, but there was no sound from the nearby buildings.
"You skinless tree demon, sucking the essence of human flesh and blood, will be struck by lightning in the future, and your soul will be destroyed!!"
"Tree demon, you dare to rob people, why don't you dare to come out!!"
Roars echoed in the air. The walls of the dilapidated temple were like long corridors. The flying goddesses and the gloomy Buddha dotted with blue and black gave people the illusion of glaring at them.
Behind the temple, next to the collapsed earth spirit monument, the sound of water "booming" could be heard from the deep ancient well. Under the dark green water layer, the mud and sand were blown away by the evil spirits. The water plants were as dense as human hair, swaying with the waves. In the gap, a cave door was revealed, extending into an underwater corridor, with some lights cast on the water.
Above the water surface is a spacious cave with steep and overlapping walls on all sides, showing many strange shapes, and stalactites hanging upside down on the top of the cave.
The bronze lamp post, which had been there for many years and was mottled with rust, burned quietly against the wall. Occasionally, a slight breeze blew from somewhere, causing the small flame of the lamp to sway gently.
Mmmmm… Mmmmm…
There are several openings in the cave. From one of the openings, a low voice like someone covering their mouth could be heard. Five figures wrapped like dumplings by countless tiny roots stood on the ground, and the air was filled with a foul smell of feces and urine.
When it was time to eat, the roots would move out of the person's mouth and feed the other person with juice to prevent them from starving to death.
Feeling the whiskers moving away from his mouth, Wang Feng quickly pursed his lips, exhaled, and spoke in a low voice.
"Are you brothers still alive?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a flurry of conversation broke out all around him.
"I can't die!" "We were born in different years and months, so we must die together."
"What bad luck! What are you talking about? Oh, by the way, do you also eat the sap? It's so bitter that it's hard to swallow..."
This was Ma Liu's voice, and it sounded like Zhang Ti next to him was cracking his mouth and forcing out a laugh.
"Haha, mine is okay, it tastes good, like it's mixed with honey."
"Then why does it smell like citrus?"
…
Wang Feng sighed, and seeing the roots extending out, he would force them in even if he didn't open his mouth, so he simply opened his mouth while sucking.
"It is hard to be a boatman in the sea, why are you so eager to ridicule me?"
The other three people around fell silent. In the last row of root cages, a scholar named Ning Caichen stretched his head out, holding the root in his mouth, and glanced in the direction of the four people.
"Four brothers, what are you talking about?"
Over there, four people opened their mouths at the same time: "Shut up!"
"Oh." Ning Caichen shrank his neck and continued to let the juice pour into his stomach. The taste was extremely hard to swallow. The first time he ate it, he almost vomited out his bile. But there was no other food in the cave. Later on, he had to eat it even if he didn't want to.
Sometimes the monster would come over to look at them and then leave. None of them knew what the situation was like outside or how much time had passed.
Water drops seeped from the tips of stalactites, dripping gently into the dim stone chamber. On the other side of the cave was deep and spacious, with a huge stone bed in the middle. Black gauze was hung on all four sides. On the wall, a woman's back was revealed in a wide black dress with gold edges. She was looking into a bronze mirror, her fingertips gently kneading the veil.
Occasionally, she would turn her head to listen to the noise coming from Lanruo Temple outside, tilt her head to think for a moment, continue kneading, and hum softly.
"Here you go again. I won't be fooled this time."
At a certain moment, the kneading fingers suddenly stopped, and she tilted her head to look at the cave wall, as if she saw through the thick bottom layer and felt something. She quickly lifted up her skirt and stood up. She took a few hurried steps, coughed twice, calmed down, walked to the cave door and stretched out her hand. A naughty little demon in a bellyband came over to support her in the darkness. Then she kicked up her skirt and walked lightly into the cave room with lotus steps.
Water drops dripped from the tip of the stalactite. Wang Feng, who was still eating the strange sap, saw a black shadow swaying slowly and revealing its outline. He was so scared that he closed his eyes and shrank into the cocoon.
The other four were also very frightened, thinking that the monster was finally going to take advantage of them, and they began to stagger around.
"My dear sister, the five of us are starving, skin and bones, please go outside and find another one."
"Yes, we scholars are thin and can't stand a bite from my sister."
"You are talking nonsense. What's wrong with scholars like us?! Scholars should remain calm even if a mountain collapses, but you talk like this? I should call you grandma!!!"
In the innermost part, Ning Caichen squeezed out a weak voice: "Grandma..."
The tree demon standing at the entrance of the cave, under her veil, heard the five people talking nonsense, parted her red lips and chuckled, then she brushed her black gauze sleeves, turned around and left, as if she had something urgent to do, and took a group of little demons with her. She ignored the people in the cocoon and turned into black smoke and seeped into the cave.
The sky was slightly slanting. Zuo Zhengyang, who was standing outside the temple and cursing, was leaning against the stone tablet with his long sword. He felt a dry mouth and squinted his eyes to look at the sunlight through the gaps in the trees.
"I'm afraid the tree demon won't come..."
The sky suddenly darkened and the branches and leaves in the forest swayed violently, making a rustling sound.