Chapter Thirteen: Re-encountering the Snake Demon

  The next morning, the immortal doctor took Lu Jian and Duanmu Cheng with him to bid farewell to He Yu, and left the banks of the Ming Shui River.

  But...

  Duanmu Chengyang sat on the carriage shaft, looking at the old immortal doctor, and let out a deep sigh.

  "Huh? So young, why are you sighing?"

  "Uncle, aren't you a god too? Why are we still taking a horse carriage?"

  The immortal doctor smiled: "Carriages have their own advantages, but the normal state of life is actually dull, where are there so many ups and downs? If you don't like it, you can run behind and follow."

  Duanmu Chengyang pouted and stopped talking.

  Lu Jing had wanted to ask about Jiaolong, but due to Duanmu Yang's repeated reminders last night that he couldn't reveal his identity to outsiders, he swallowed his words several times.

  Two old horses pulled a small ancient cart, slowly heading east towards Dongyue Mountain as they faced the rising sun.

  Xiū yǔ zhī shān, tiān láo, jiāo lóng bèi guān le yī yè, yì zhí méi yǒu rén guò lái shěn wèn. Xiǎng qǐ dào jìng hé lìng gè hái zǐ, tā de xīn li jiāo jí wàn fēn.

  In the Grand Temple of the Supreme God, Tian Yu welcomed a guest.

  "Ah, Immortal of the Eastern Sea, how is it that you have the leisure to visit this prison land?"

  The East Sea immortal smiled all over his face: "Ah, isn't the divine officer's words mocking me? I was afraid you wouldn't want to meet me."

  Tian Yu smiled lightly: "The East Sea and Mount Tiantai have been neighbors since ancient times, could it be that the immortal came here to plead on behalf of Xuan Yi Shangxian?"

  "No, no, I, Donghai, although neighboring the TianTai Mountain, the Dragon King would never compromise the heavenly laws for personal relationships. I've just heard that Nangong suffered a massacre and that XuanYi's Upper Immortal rode down on a dragon which was caught by you, so I brought a gift specifically for you."

  "Oh?"

  Tian Yu was somewhat surprised, and he looked in the direction pointed by the East Sea immortal. Outside the door stood an ordinary person, who was fat and stupid, with a big white goose in his arms.

  "This is..."

  The immortal of the East Sea was indignant: "When I was young, I lived in Nangong for a period. The sweet spring there is beautiful, and the wine brewed is very fragrant, making people unforgettable. But unexpectedly, it was destroyed by that ignorant beast overnight. When I walked on the streets of Nangong, what I saw were all ruins and broken tiles, corpses everywhere, it's really heartbreaking."

  Tian Yu nodded and said, "The South County is indeed a misfortune, but it's not necessarily the work of the Jiaolong. I arrested him because he was suspicious, this matter still needs to be investigated with solid evidence before a conclusion can be drawn."

  "What the divine officer said is true. Fortunately, I found a survivor in Nangong Prefecture!" He shouted to the person outside the door: "Don't you come in and pay respects to the divine officer?"

  The fatty reluctantly put down the white goose, came in and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Grass people see God officer!" At this moment, his words were clear, and he didn't have the slightest bit of his original foolish appearance.

  Tian Yu sat on the hall with a thoughtful expression and asked: "Who are you?"

  "My surname is Zhao, everyone calls me Old Three Zhao, and my family has lived in Nangong for generations."

  "Zhao Lao San?" Tian Yu really didn't want to interrogate someone with such a crude name, and he waved his hand at the nearby judicial officer.

  The judge ordered, walked up and asked: "Zhao Lao San, this is the heavenly prison of rest and relaxation. If you say anything false, it's a great sin to deceive heaven and earth. I ask you questions, you should answer truthfully, do you know that?"

  "Yes, I know."

  "Where is your home in Nangun? What were you doing when the massacre occurred in Nangun?"

  "My family runs a guest house in the town. On May 6th, I went out to buy grain for my family and when I came back on the 7th, the whole town was flooded. It wasn't until the water receded in the afternoon that I realized everyone in the town had been killed."

  "Have you ever seen the murderer?"

  "In the evening, I saw a black dragon hovering above my home's guest house, stirring up a huge whirlwind that shattered the entire house. After it left, I found that everyone in the town was dead."

  The East Sea Fairy, with a face full of anger, stepped forward: "All the gods have heard it, everything was done by Jiaolong, he originally belonged to water, this person's words and the local flood disaster are all conclusive evidence!"

  Tian Yu didn't budge, and calmly responded with a single word: "Oh? Then why did he do that?"

  "Hmph, the divine officer is unaware that he originally belonged to the Six Paths of the Demon Realm and was taken in by Xuan Yi Shangxian from the Endless Sea. After only a few decades on Mount Tiantai, his demonic nature cannot be eliminated. Xuan Yi Shangxian offended the heavenly rules, and entry and exit to Mount Tiantai were forbidden. The Jiaolong escaped without anyone's notice, its ferocity bursting forth - does one need a special reason for demons and monsters to harm people?"

  "Hmm? Immortal, you are the teacher of the East Sea Crown Prince, not in the Dragon Palace to teach the prince, why are you so concerned about the affairs of Tiantai Mountain, and know it in such detail?"

  Facing the gaze of Tian Yu, Donghai Xianren said seriously: "Eliminating demons and protecting the Tao is the duty of the immortal family. Any matter that violates the heavenly rules and goes against the right path should be concerned by us."

  "The old man was favored by the Emperor of Western Yue, and had the honor of being a teacher to the three princes. This time, I came here specifically at the request of the prince, who asked me to bring this handwritten letter." He then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it over to Tian Yu's attendant.

  “……”

  As the sun sets in the west, Lu Jing and others' carriage has not yet entered the territory of Dongyue. Only the old immortal doctor is quietly driving two old horses, and the three children inside the carriage have already fallen asleep.

  "Don't sleep anymore, we're almost there."

  Duanmu Yan stretched out his waist and yawned: "You said that two hours ago."

  The immortal doctor's face turned slightly red, fortunately the sunset was all over the sky, so it wasn't too obvious. He coughed to cover it up and said: "Young people are always so impatient, think about it, if you were traveling with your elders, would you dare to urge them like this, asking for a moment's delay five or six times?"

  "Come on!" Duanmu Yan raised his head and muttered: "My master is not as slow as you, our donkey cart at home is even faster than this."

  Lu Jing had almost slept all the way in the car and only woke up when she heard the voices outside, her first reaction was to look for Dao Jing.

  In the carriage, although this person was really quiet, he wasn't sleeping. In fact, his sitting posture was very proper, sitting in a narrow and shabby horse-drawn vehicle, just like sitting steadily on a temple.

  It's a habit and an instinct.

  Lu Jing watched him, trying to communicate with him. However, Dao Jing remained completely unmoved, and Lu Jing tried several methods, such as suddenly shouting loudly, or continuously calling his name, or even pinching him (of course, secretly).

  "Don't bother trying anymore, even the immortal doctor can't do anything about it."

  Deer Arrow's defeated legs: "Alas, what kind of secret technique is this? It's suffocating!"

  She suddenly remembered something and hastily sat up, shouting out of the car window: "Xuanyi Shangxian!"

  This shout startled everyone, Du Mu Cheng almost fell off the carriage, and Xian Yi quickly steadied the old horse with all his might.

  As for Dao Jing, he suddenly glanced at her and felt a thrill in his heart, but found that Dao Jing was not looking at him, but at the car window behind him.

  His eyes were hollow, but there was a mysterious coldness in them.

  What does this mean?

  Suddenly, Duanmu Canghai shouted loudly from outside: "Not good!"

  Lu Jian pulled Dao Jing to the innermost part of the carriage and got out himself.

  "What's wrong?"

  All I saw was the dark sky outside, two horses snorting and refusing to move forward.

  Duanmu Chengyang grasped the hilt of his sword and said in a low voice: "The snake has transformed!"

  A loud whistling sound suddenly came, and the entire horse carriage was lifted into the air by a strange force! Duanyang, who was sitting on the outside, was instantly flung off, he subconsciously reached back to grab Lu Jian, but was pulled back by the immortal doctor, flying far away.

  The carriage was wrapped in a surge of muddy water from who-knows-where and rolled back along the way it came.

  "Monster!!!!!!"

  A loud shout, a flash of silver light across the sky like a sharp sword cutting off the water flow's path, and the ghostly water flow instantly turned into a vast mist. The carriage crashed to the ground, scattering its frame everywhere, the two old horses bleeding from their mouths and noses, twitching a few times before lying still.

  The mist dispersed, and in the middle of the road appeared a young man's figure. The young man wore a light yellow short jacket, his high ponytail fluttering in the wind, holding a small golden bow in his hand, sternly gazing at a small hill not far away.

  On the hill stood a woman, surrounded by an aura of eeriness in the dimness, accentuating her hunched figure as if suspended in mid-air.

  Kill the snake!

  Du Mu Changyang and Xian Yi finally came to their senses, hastily ran over and joined forces to lift the shattered wooden boards off the carriage. Lu Jian and Dao Jing were squeezed together, a ball of clear light wrapped them up tightly, and surprisingly they were not injured, what a great fortune!

  They pulled the two out, Duanmu Cheng and Xianyi each carefully examined them several times, looking at each other in shock, and then one of them grabbed hold of the other, not daring to let go.

  Lu Jing's face was pale, her two hands tightly grasping the sleeves of Duanmu Yang's clothes. After taking a few deep breaths, she finally managed to speak: "I'm scared to death, if it wasn't for Daojing's jade pendant, we would have..."

  "Never mind, let's go."

  The immortal doctor, although old in years, had agile legs and feet. He pulled Dao Jing and Duan Mu, and they soared into the air. However, his immortal powers were limited, so he only rose a few meters before falling back down after flying less than half a mile.

  "Oh no, it's all over, I knew this would happen eventually, I shouldn't have given you the medicine in the first place."

  Duanmu Chengyang pulled Dao Jing over with one hand, hiding behind him along with Lu Jian, warily staring at the immortal doctor: "What kind of medicine did you give us to eat? Are you trying to harm us?"

  The immortal doctor hastily waved his hand and explained: "I didn't mean to harm you, I actually saw that you knew some Taoist methods early on. If we don't use the Guiwu Dan to temporarily suppress your spiritual energy and immortal power, once we leave Ming Shui, we'll be caught by that monster."

  "Did you know that the snake was chasing us? What kind of person are you?" Du Mu Cheng's face turned cold and stern, his long sword drawn out of its scabbard.

  The celestial doctor cried out in grievance, pounding his chest and stamping his feet: "Originally, I was just treating the mistress of He Yu Palace's illness, I said we shouldn't have gotten involved in this trouble, and now it's turned into a mess where no one is human. Little ones, I won't harm you, just trust me this once."

  Duanmu Rangyan was already on high alert, treating every bush and tree as a potential enemy, and didn't dare to trust anyone easily. He shielded the two people behind him and retreated backwards.

  "Hey, don't be like that, Duanmu Xiao. You have to trust me. Why? Because if I wanted to harm you, I would have done it a long time ago. Aren't you all standing here safely now?"

  Lu Jing poked his head out: "Uncle, do you know about the transformation of snakes?"

  The immortal doctor nodded solemnly: "I know, it's under the demon lord, ranking last among the five demon masters."

  "Do you know who did it in Nangun?"

  "This... is unknown."

  Duanmu Yan's face turned red with anger: "Then how did you know that Huashe is chasing us?"

  The immortal doctor's face was pale and haggard, he wiped his old face and said: "You kids, you have a deep demonic aura on your bodies, especially that mute doll. I've lived for a long time, I can tell what kind of demon is haunting you. Besides, the snake demon is nearby, I'm worried, even if I don't care about you, I still need to worry about whether my old bones are enough for her to crush with one pinch. Let's not fight among ourselves, escaping is more important."

  Lu Jing was about to nod when Duanmu Cheng stretched out a finger: "One last question"

  "My goodness gracious, ask quickly, ask quickly!" The immortal doctor looked like he was about to cry.

  "Do you know who we are?"

  A storm has already brewed behind him, and in the distance, the young man and the snake demon have begun their battle.

  "Oh dear, I didn't know you were kids from Nangong, the three little ancestors of the Duanmu family!"

  Du Mu nodded in satisfaction, sheathed his sword and turned around to pull up Lu Jian and Dao Jing: "Run quickly!"