Chapter Fourteen: The Snake's Ferocious Counterattack

  "Li Yan, Li Yan, are you still there?" I felt a bit uneasy, and Li Yan had actually become my confidant in this dark realm. It's really ironic when I think about it - a living person relying on a ghost to get things done.

  But it was quiet and silent. Thinking about it, this Li Yan is not what I thought she would be, but somehow our hearts are connected, which makes me feel a little more at ease.

  At night, they each slept in a different room. Old Qian was a lucky guy, with a full stomach, he fell asleep soundly.

  In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt an eerie chill. It seemed as if a strange and ominous wind was swirling around my bed, and a faint noise was echoing in my ears. Listening carefully, it sounded like someone was knocking on the door downstairs. The copper bell moved slightly, and even when I slept, I kept it close to my heart, making it my top priority.

  No more sleepiness, lightly and nimbly I throw on my clothes and get up, suddenly feeling amused, in doing so I seem like a wandering ghost.

  Sneaking up to the stairs, a patch of darkness, seeing or having a few strands of moonlight passing through the window, but instead pulling back and forth, white and cruel. A light knock on the door sounds from downstairs, like wind and also like hands, grasping at people's hearts.

  I lightly walked down the stairs, and the copper bell moved slightly again. I stood at the edge of the hall.

  Suddenly a white light flashed, and it seemed like a human figure appeared, staring at me with a grin. I was startled and my whole body tensed up. A soft humming sound accompanied the swaying of the white shadow. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it had disheveled hair and was trembling in agony on the ground.

  I plucked up my courage and took a closer look, and was shocked to find that it was Zhang Mei.

  At this time, Zhang Mei was all in white, with her hair down and her mouth a bright red. It seemed she had discovered me long ago, and the humming sound earlier came from her mouth. Why did she only tremble on the spot but not approach? Upon closer inspection, no matter how much her upper body shook, her feet remained perfectly still.

  Grass, it's another trick of Zhān Niàn Dù Yáng, but this time he actually cast the Confusion Curse.

  My anger rises from the heart, all the way here. Damn it, not enough fun yet. The door is definitely not peaceful. I dare not underestimate, step on the lotus flower, stroke the copper bell, and walk towards the big gate. Zhang Mei's appearance becomes more and more vicious, wailing sounds lingering in my heart, cannot be shaken off.

  With a loud creak, the door swung open, and I stood there, frozen in shock. The air outside was filled with the eerie sounds of the Eight Trigrams trees swaying in the wind, their branches dancing ominously. But what caught my attention was the ground below - it was a sea of black, writhing snakes, twisting and turning, as if trying to surge into the house. Just moments before, they had been blocked by the closed door, but now that I stood at the entrance, like a barrier, their advance was halted. They continued to writhe and twist, but were neatly stopped at the threshold.

  Not good, this time it's going to be a disaster. I quickly pulled out the copper bell, held it in my hand, opened my eyes wide, stood with my right foot on the lotus heart and my left foot lightly tapping the lotus tip. In a soft voice, I said: "Which superior being is hiding? Show yourself now, otherwise, I'll charge into the formation and by then it will be too late to regret."

  "Well, come on then!" A gloomy and aged voice, somewhat familiar, no mistake, it was the old man's voice from when we first arrived.

  "The evil spirit cursed the loss of yin virtue, Daozhang said I want to cultivate the sentient being way, you first deceived us into entering and living, we voluntarily entered with the intention that you would have some restraint. Now, you must be going to ruin our affairs." I didn't go rashly, actually, my heart was still a little afraid, I only saw Daozhang's superficial appearance, blindly relying on the copper bell to fool around.

  "How many generations of peace and happiness, yet now destroyed by you. Do you still have feelings? My big and small brothers all have no place to live, it's all because of people like you. Are you the one who provoked or are we the ones who don't understand?" A faint voice came from within the Bagua tree array, piercingly cold and eerie.

  "You've entered Zhang Mei's place, what crime has she committed? Moreover, you've accepted the snake group, don't harm my friends. I'll enter the formation." Because of the Liu Lang River incident, I know that the underworld also values conditions.

  "You come in, I'll take it." The low voice was very firm.

  It seems that the wait is over, a group of snakes are rolling and have formed a small ridge, blocking Zhang Mei's front door, while Zhang Mei is still extremely miserable, swaying back and forth.

  "Go ahead with your heart, I'll help you." Oh heaven, Li Yan is by my side, I felt a surge of excitement and suddenly gained great confidence.

  "Remember, the path is still lotus-shaped. Don't mind whatever or whoever calls you, just walk through the nine lotus flowers and you can exit the formation. It's still Li Yan speaking."

  Without hesitation, I stepped into the Bagua tree array in a lotus-shaped pace.

  The gloomy wind made me almost unable to stand upright, what I saw inside was completely different from the daytime scenery, all were dense and tall trees, with white and desolate small paths scattered among them, the eerie sounds never stopped in my ears, no wonder Old Qian couldn't get out at first.

  I followed Li Yan's instructions, stepping on the lotus flower with my right foot always on the center of the flower and my left foot on the tip of the lotus leaf, moving in a spiral motion.

  "Come out, is there something we can talk about?" I said loudly, suddenly feeling that my voice at this moment was different from usual, perhaps because of the emptiness, the sound was fine and sharp, lingering among the trees.

  "I am right in front of you."

  I turned and entered, and saw an old man, his whole body was pitch black, only two eyes were shining brightly.

  I hold up a bronze bell and loudly say: "One is in, two are in, three are in. Ten thousand things obstruct me, what is the reason?"

  "You have come once, twice, thrice, and each time you have broken me, what is the reason?" said the old man.

  "Building bridges and repairing roads accumulates hidden virtues, it's a great virtuous deed in the world, what can't be done?!" I let go of my worries and became fearless.

  "Be careful behind you." Li Yan's urgent voice.

  I turned around, and it was all snakes, they all climbed up onto the back of my legs at once, but then there were loud cracking sounds, falling to the ground, my body felt like it was on fire, the snakes couldn't get enough.

  "Do you have a pure spirit?" The old man suddenly turned around to face me. It was only then that I got a clear look, and indeed it was the same old man as before, except this time his complexion was even darker, and his eyes were even brighter.

  I feel more at ease now, it seems that evil will never triumph over good, this is a universal truth.

  At this moment, the old man suddenly flipped his hands over, let out a loud roar, and sand and rocks flew everywhere. A strong gust of wind blew in, and a swarm of snakes rushed in, instantly surrounding me on all sides like a high dam, trapping me inside. The stench was overwhelming, making me feel nauseous. The copper bell rang loudly, suddenly emitting a bright white light that enveloped me.

  Suddenly felt a heat on his back, clearly feeling the woman's soft body approaching, panting non-stop.

  "Li Yan, you've come?" I asked excitedly, struggling to hold back the surging blood.

  "Don't worry, I'm with you." Li Yan was panting non-stop, apparently having rushed over with all her might.

  "What should I do?" I asked.

  "Copper bell protects the body without hindrance, you calm your mind and that's it. Don't let these shameless scoundrels take advantage of you, I'll deal with this group of good-for-nothings." Li Yan's soft voice immediately calmed my heart down.

  All that could be heard was a loud explosion, and it seemed that Li Yan had made his move. In an instant, the snakes collapsed, and the ground was covered in blood.

  "Hand over the ghost, you disobeyed orders and secretly took action, aren't you afraid of being reduced to ashes?" a low voice came.

  "The master of the Wind and Dust Sect has treated you kindly, why do you repeatedly offend against the Yang realm and dare to stir up evil spirits? If the master were aware, he would forgive me." Li Yan said.

  It turns out that this old man is Feng Chen Jiu. He seems to be another master with a heart as big as the sky, wanting to unify the Yin world.

  At this time, he could see Li Yan more clearly, still as beautiful as ever, and even more charming than when they first met. In her hand was a willow branch that danced like a sharp sword, causing the snakes to retreat wherever she passed, with slower ones being torn apart and their flesh flying everywhere.

  "The one who destroyed my home is the Ling Gate, what crime have I committed?" The old man danced wildly, his feet tracing the Eight Trigrams pattern, his hands forming the yin-yang mudra, one finger pointing to the sky and the other into the earth. Suddenly, a dark wind rose again, blowing me and Li Yanyan almost off our feet, and in the wind was an accompaniment of wave after wave of stench.

  Li Yan was shocked and suddenly shouted: "Feng Chen's residence, Master's original strict order, cannot move the yin spirit here again. Our door will follow the rules to beg for the soul to cross one by one. Now you have started it without reason, if something happens, I won't care."

  "Haha, nice words, but you're all still thinking about Lingdao, aren't you? You're all the same kind of people. When you come begging for Lingdao's help, I'm afraid it'll be us who will starve to death." Fengchen ignored him and continued with his grand movements.

  Li Yan's willow branch was already stained with blood, and as she swung it, her movements became slower and slower, as if she was struggling to resist.

  I followed Li Yan's footsteps, still walking on the lotus flowers, silently remembering in my heart, already the eighth one.

  Beneath their feet was a river of blood, with a foul stench filling the air. The dense forest, like a child's toy, bent and twisted at will, as if it had become a dark shadow within the array.

  Suddenly a loud thunderclap, in an instant heavy rain poured down, Li Yan and I got soaked to the skin, but Feng Chenju didn't get a single drop of rain on him.

  "The demon way wants to cut off your true yang, quickly give me the spiritual blood, this formation will not be broken, and the project will be difficult to carry out." Li Yan said urgently.

  It turns out that the heavy rain was pouring down, and the gloomy wind was howling, but it was actually going to cut off my great Yang. Damn it, this is so vicious. My hands were shaking with anger, if it weren't for Daoist Zhang's previous warning and the ordeal I went through at Old Qian's house, I would have smashed the copper bell and gone all out in a desperate bid.

  I quickly stretched out my right hand and placed my middle finger on Li Yan's lips.

  Li Yan seemed stunned for a moment. I hastily said: "Come on, I believe you."

  The rain poured down, and I clearly saw two lines of clear tears flowing from Li Yan's eyes.

  Things don't wait for people. Li Yan opened her gentle small mouth, lightly biting my middle finger, I only felt a warm heat rushing to my heart amidst the sudden chill. In an instant, Li Yan let go of my finger.

  At this time, Li Yan's body suddenly expanded violently, the willow branch became extremely hard and flew up to dance in the forest, amidst the torrential rain, one could clearly see lotus flowers blooming everywhere. The mournful cries echoed through the air. The storm suddenly stopped, corpses lay scattered all over, the air was thick with dust, Li Yan's eyes had lost their former brightness, becoming dull and lifeless.

  Li Yan stopped beside me again and shouted: "Cultivate in Tao, stop at Tao, what else do you want?"

  The wind and dust residence suddenly burst into a sinister laughter: "You've cheated the Ling blood again, you're not much better off either. I'm leaving now, this matter is far from over."

  A wisp of black smoke disappeared, and the formation calmed down.

  Li Yan's delicate body trembled with exhaustion, yet her hands moved ceaselessly. Seated cross-legged on the ground, she silently recited incantations. A willow branch seemed to appear out of thin air, tracing a lotus pattern in the void. Suddenly, a loud cry echoed: "A small path has its own greatness, a grand path has its own magnificence; your path and my path converge, returning to the origin."

  As soon as the words were spoken, a gentle breeze arose, and the shadows of the trees began to take on strange shapes. The ground suddenly swirled with whirlwinds, and the remaining blood and gore were swept up into the air, only to vanish, leaving everything calm once more.

  It wasn't until now that I realized, Li Yan and I were still in Zhang Mei's courtyard, the courtyard was clean and tidy, and the green trees inside the courtyard only reached our waist.

  Looking at Li Yan again, I let out a breath, and her body was soaked with either rainwater or sweat. Her seductive figure was accentuated, with her upper body's peaks and valleys standing out, her lower body's buttocks and legs straight, her breathing rapid, her red lips and white teeth, and her hair enticing. Suddenly, I was stunned, this wasn't a ghost at all, but a noble concubine just out of the bath.

  Li Yan saw me staring at her, her face turned red, and she stroked her hair with a playful rebuke: "What are you looking at? It's not like you've never seen it before."

  That delicate appearance, I really can't help but want to take everything in hand and hold her tight, through all eternity, letting her drift away.

  Suddenly a muffled sound came from Zhang Mei's house. Alas, I was so busy fighting the wind and dust that I forgot about Zhang Mei, who had been trapped by the curse of the underworld.

  He and Li Yan walked into the house and found Zhang Mei lying in the middle of the hall, the sound just now was the sound of Zhang Mei falling.

  As I was about to approach, Li Yan pulled me and said: "Wait a minute, Xinxin, your safety is really on my mind. What Feng Chenju said just now is right, I did disobey the master's order to come and help you, but I really didn't want to cheat you out of your spiritual blood."

  I suddenly stretched out my hand and said: "As long as you like me, I am yours."

  Li Yan's face turned even redder, and she said: "Don't say any more, if I really can't escape, I'd really like to stay with you in Nancun. Never mind who fights whom, but it won't do. This time I've disobeyed the master's orders, and there will be some complications again. You take care of yourself, Zhang Mei on the ground is fine, just wait quietly for two hours and she'll wake up on her own. When she wakes up, she won't remember anything, and you mustn't say a word either. That's what they mean by fate. Let's talk about it another day. The sky will be light soon, I'm going first, take care."

  As soon as the words were spoken, a red shadow flashed by, just like when I first saw it at the entrance of my home. But this time, however, the mood was vastly different, feeling empty and with a lingering pain.

  Zhang Mei on the ground was sleeping soundly as usual. I followed Li Yan's instructions and didn't disturb her. But Old Qian upstairs was still fast asleep, which suited Li Yan's and my intentions, not wanting to get too many people involved.

  But some things are not going as we wish. The construction site has had an accident again.