Chapter Five: The Strange Grass and the Distant Fragrance

  The next day, as soon as the sunlight shone on the window screen, Shen Bailian got up early from her lotus-leaf bed. When she arrived at the ancient city gate after tidying up, she found that Yu Yue had been waiting there for a long time.

  The Nest Guard's monsters were patrolling around the whirlpool of Nest Lake at dawn, as Elder had instructed them to do so yesterday. It was Ao Yue's turn on duty today, and he should have taken Shen Bai Lian to the edge of Nest Lake. When Shen Bai Lian arrived with a basket on his back, there was not only Ao Yue's sturdy figure standing under the city gate, but also a giant snake coiled around him, which was Hua Tan, the father of Hua Hong Yan.

  Huā Tán saw Shen Bai-Ling and smiled: "Shen little brother has arrived! Shall we set off now?"

  Shen Bailian nodded, and the three demons floated up towards the upper part of the ancient country of Jūcháo together.

  Yao Yue didn't like to talk much, so Shen Bailian also fell silent. The journey was dull and uneventful. Hua Tan walked behind Yao Yue, hesitated for a moment, then turned back and asked: "Shen Xiaoge, Hong Yan's injury... is it really not serious as the elder said?"

  He saw his eyes gleaming, his face full of urgency, apparently wanting to ask this question for a long time. Shen Baiying comforted: "I've seen it, but it's just frostbite. I'll pick some herbs and apply them, and it should be fine."

  Huā Tán let out a long sigh and said, "That's for the best... That Qūn Lín is indeed a strange object. Once the whirlpool in the lake has dissipated, I'll have to go search the area outside the city thoroughly, dig three feet into the ground if necessary, and make sure that thing can't harm any more demons!"

  Before long they arrived at the side of Chao Lake, where Fa Hai gave him a few more instructions, merely to be on his guard, and then the two monsters sank into the water and went off to patrol.

  Shen Bailian poured out the remaining water from the bucket, and then walked on the grass towards the forest by the lake. The dew was crystal clear, hanging delicately at the tip of the grass leaves, and with just a gentle breeze, it fell onto the mud and shattered into several sparkling pieces. Shen Bailian had not walked for long when her clothes were already soaked in large patches.

  This forest, Shen Bailong and Ruan Ci had already played through it all, every nook and cranny had been turned over, those useful herbs had long been pulled out clean, naturally there wouldn't be any traces of the Lythrum. Shen Bailong just roughly swept his eyes over the area, then carried the basket straight to the old meeting spot where he and Ruan Ci met every day.

  He walked and picked some flowers and grasses, sat on that big stone and tied them up. The second straw man was barely finished with hands and feet when Ruan Ci arrived.

  "Brother Shen arrived so early!" Today she wore a light purple robe, from afar it looked like a purple cloud. Ruan Ci ran over, her hands behind her back, intentionally making a silly pose with her chest out and belly in, laughing and saying "Brother Shen, listen to a joke, this morning when I went out, I saw Seasoned Mother kneeling behind the fake mountain, continuously kowtowing and muttering to herself, saying 'Fox Spirit Lord has spirit, our small household can't afford to offer to such a great god, you've eaten your fill so leave here!' Hehe, it's really funny!"

  Her eyes rolled around, her face full of slyness, and she learned to imitate it perfectly. Shen Bailian smiled and said: "Your Seasonal Mother is really unlucky, raising a little fox spirit at home, I don't know what to worship, but making more osmanthus and lotus cakes would be the right thing to do!"

  The grass man was already made, and Ruan Ci took out the small hand hidden behind her back along with a package of oil paper wrapped glutinous rice cakes, laughing: "Isn't it that Brother Shen likes to eat these sweet cakes? Otherwise, I wouldn't have to sneak into the kitchen to steal them!" As she spoke, she tossed the paper package into Bai Ling's arms and held out both hands, delightedly holding the grass man in her hands.

  "Alright, I won't be able to play with you much today." Shen Bailian put the rice cake into the reed basket and stood up from the rock. "I've finished picking the medicinal herbs in the forest, I'm going to take a look at Ba Gong Mountain over there."

  "Mount Bagong?" Ruan Ci was taken aback, grasping the straw man hastily and saying, "Something strange happened at Mount Bagong yesterday, Shen Gege, you'd better not go."

  "What strange thing?"

  "Season's mother heard the firewood cutter say that yesterday, for some reason, a sudden sandstorm and stone storm occurred, followed by darkening of the sky and earth, and then a strong wind blew, causing him to tumble several times!" Ruan Ci said vividly. "Then there was thunder and lightning, and it's said that trees on the mountain were split in half!" She clapped her hands and said, "The thunder lasted until midnight, and I also heard it. It's really strange, the sound was like beating gongs and drums, but not a single drop of rain fell. Don't you think it's strange?"

  "It's thunder without rain, but it's not like I've never seen it before." Shen Bailian said so, but her mind couldn't help but wander to the people from Nanjiang she saw yesterday.

  "Besides, there's something even stranger! The thunder stopped easily, but the Eight Public Mountains started shaking, and even the Shouyang City was shaking. Behind the mountain, bright lights were emitted, red and green, and it could be seen clearly in the city. There was also a beam of light flying over Shouyang City, Father said that heaven had given warning, fearing that there would be a great disaster. However, Season Mother said that the mountain god was angry and wanted to go up the mountain to worship!"

  Shen Bailian's heart skipped a beat, but he had always been unwilling to get involved in other people's business. So, as if nothing was wrong, he said: "Where does the mountain god have so much anger to vent? Even if it thunders and rains, what's there to be afraid of? The herbs in this forest were already dug up by us a long time ago. If we don't go to Bagong Mountain, where else can we find them? Alright, I'll send you back to Shouyang City on my way."

  Ruan Ci wanted to persuade him again, but the little demon in the nest country was eager to get the medicine and use it. Shen Bailong didn't listen to her anymore. The two parted ways outside the city gate, and Shen Bailong did not enter the city. He took a path on the west side and climbed up Ba Gong Mountain.

  Nü Luo Rock is located northwest of Ba Gong Mountain, and it is a naturally formed huge cave. Although the fragrance of grass has the effect of warming the blood, it likes to be humid and moist, so it grows luxuriantly in Nü Luo Rock.

  Shen Bailian rarely came to this place, but after all, he was more agile than humans. In less than half a time, he arrived at the mountain waist and saw that many broken branches and leaves had fallen on the side of the mountain road. Several old trees surrounded by people were also struck by lightning, with charred black marks at the broken ends.

  It was easy to get out of the cave, Shen Bailian poked his head out and looked down, it was dark and bottomless, and he didn't know how deep it was. Fortunately, there were old vines tangled outside the cave, some even hanging into the cave, he rolled up his sleeves, hugged a thick vine as thick as his wrist, and climbed down.

  No sooner had his two feet touched the ground than he heard a loud shout: "Someone's here! Bite him!"

  Shen Bailian had just arrived underground, and in the pitch blackness, she couldn't make out anything yet. She could only vaguely see a group of dark shadows gathering around her. Before she could even ask a question, one of the shadows pounced on her, shouting: "Humans, get out of our Lao Rock!"

  Shen Bailian hurriedly raised her arm to block, and with a cry of "ah", she felt a sharp pain on her wrist. The shadow had actually bitten down!

  "Who are you?" Shen Bailian's nose smelled the bloody smell, and his arm was in pain, gritting his teeth and saying, "I have no feud with you, I just came here to pick some herbs, why did you attack me without distinction... hurt a monster?"

  "What a shameless white thing!" The black shadow not only showed no remorse, but instead spoke with an air of righteousness, "You humans are all despicable! You killed several of our brothers and still dare to come here... Hmm, wait a minute, this smell doesn't feel right... You, you just said you were... a demon?"

  Shen Bailian saw those dark shadows for a moment, as if they were talking in low voices, and then retreated a little further. He hastily tore off a piece of cloth from his hem and wrapped it around his wrist, saying: "That's right. My name is Shen Bailian, I'm from the side of Chao Lake, and I'm a water demon from Juque Country."

  "What is the water demon from Jū Cháo doing on this mountain?" The dark figure said half-believingly, stepping forward a few steps from the clusters of darkness to stand in front of Shen Bai Lian.

  "Our nest has several young demons who have suffered frostbite and need treatment. I heard that Nü Lao Rock is rich in Lythrum, which is a rare medicine for warming the body. I came to pick some to take back." Shen Bailian reported truthfully.

  The black shadow moved slightly, seemingly somewhat embarrassed, and said: "So, so it is! Then we were wrong...... Hey, bring some light!" The black shadow behind him surged forward, and a mass of black shadow broke away and ran into the deeper darkness, the last sentence apparently directed at them.

  Before long, a flash of light came from afar. A creature with a grey-blue body, similar to a leopard but slightly smaller, was seen running towards them with a glowing vine in its mouth. The vine had small fruits that resembled Bodhi seeds, and the light was emitted from these fruits, shining brightly and looking lovely.

  Shen Bailian took advantage of the light to glance around and found that the dark shadows surrounding her were actually these strange creatures. One of them was slightly larger, with grass-like feathers on its neck and behind its ears, crouching in front of her, which was the thing that had bitten her earlier.

  That guy's round eyes gleamed with a fluorescent light, constantly avoiding eye contact with Baiying. Suddenly, he flicked his fluffy tail and moved his sharp mouth, saying: "I... I'm Huai Lianli, the Huai Yao tribe leader of this female Luo Yan. Just now, just now I was really sorry."

  Shen Bailian shook her head and said, "Nothing... You're a Huai Yao? I've heard the elder mention that the female Luoyan's Huai Yao has a gentle temperament, never harming humans or demons. Why..."

  Before he could finish, Huai Lianli furiously said: "You don't know the whole story! Our Huai tribe has lived in these underground caves for generations, never provoking humans or making enemies with other demons. But yesterday, a group of humans came, saying they were looking for something, and intruded into our Female Luo Rock, injuring and killing many of my Huai tribe members. How can we tolerate this?! We joined forces to drive those people out, but just one night later, you also broke in. I thought you were human too, so..."

  "How can this be?" Shen Baiying furrowed her brow and said, "What are those humans looking for?"

  Huai Lian Li used his furry paws to scrape off the dirt from his feet and said, "I don't know either... In short, it's their fault! Speaking of which, you also look too similar to humans. You even have a human scent on your body, no wonder our Huai tribe made a mistake..." He lifted his nose and sniffed the air, seemingly puzzled, "It's really hard to distinguish, how can you be so similar to humans?"

  He circled Shen Baiying for half a day, kicked away a stone under his foot and said: "Can't figure it out, can't figure it out... never mind, you're here to pick the Lishang grass to save the demon, then there's nothing wrong. We Huai demons love to eat Lishang grass, we've planted a lot in Nv Luo Rock, picking some and sending you a basket is no big deal, wait - hey, go get some grass!"

  Several Huaiyou took orders and pulled down Shen Baiying's back, carrying the algae basket and running away with small steps. However, in a short while, two Huaiyou returned with the algae basket, slowly placing it on the ground and pushing it forward before squeezing back into the surrounding other demons.

  Shen Bailian lifted the lid of the basket, and a wave of fragrance wafted out. Inside, it was filled to the brim with green herbs, undoubtedly the Li Xiang Cao. Unexpectedly, the Huai Yao was so generous, Shen Bailian exclaimed: "Thank you!"

  Huai Lian took a deep breath, shaking his fluffy tail and said: "Nothing, nothing. You're not an evil person of the human tribe, so you're a friend of ours, the Huai Yao. Helping friends is only natural. Mmm, it smells delicious, I'm hungry... We're going down below now, if you have time, just come to Nv Luo Rock, the Huai Yao are always generous to their friends!"