Among the participants, there were quite a few who knew a little about magic arts. Words like "evil aura" and "resentful energy" kept drifting into Ouyang Huai's ears, making his heart suddenly tighten. His face turned pale and green alternately, and panic faintly surfaced in his eyes.
Especially when he heard someone mention the anomaly in the mineral vein, his figure shook violently. He immediately turned around and shouted at the butler beside him, "A great change may have occurred in Falling Star Plateau. Quick! Seal the entrance immediately!"
As soon as these words came out, the participants who were still discussing among themselves were instantly in an uproar.
"Master Ouyang, what is the meaning of this? There are still people inside who haven't come out!"
"The situation inside is unclear. How can you directly seal the entrance? Isn't this forcing the remaining people to a dead end?"
"Exactly!"
"......"
Everyone spoke one after another, and the volume gradually rose.
Ouyang Huai's face was ashen, and he said sternly, "I am doing this for the safety of the thousands of people in Thousand Fog Town! If a formidable monster really escapes from inside, who among you can subdue it? In everything, the big picture must come first!"
Everyone was temporarily silenced by his righteous-sounding rhetoric.
Just as the atmosphere stagnated, a young servant squeezed in from the outside of the crowd in a panic, shouting with a pale face:
"Ma, Master! Something terrible has happened!"
Ouyang Huai was already upset. Seeing this, his face darkened even more. "Why are you so panicked?"
The young servant had a bitter expression on his face and was trembling all over. The young master had originally ordered him to keep this a secret, but right now there was obviously a change in Falling Star Plateau. If he didn't say it now, it would really be too late.
"Young Master... Young Master is also in Falling Star Plateau!"
"What?!"
Ouyang Huai was like being struck by lightning. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped the young servant, knocking him to the ground immediately.
"You bastard! Why didn't you stop him!"
Ouyang Rui was born at the hour of Zi. His birth characters were extremely Yin, making him the most prone to attracting evil spirits. He especially needed to stay away from places with Yin and evil auras.
In previous New Moon Archery Competitions, although his son wanted to participate, Ouyang Huai strictly refused and explicitly forbade him from stepping even half a step into Falling Star Plateau.
Ouyang Rui had always been obedient and never obsessed over this.
But this time, he actually went in quietly.
"The young master insisted on showing off his skills in front of the girl he likes, saying he wanted to win a prize for her," the young servant covered his swollen face, his voice trembling. "This lowly one really... really couldn't stop him."
"Quick—!" Ouyang Huai suddenly turned around. "Open the entrance completely immediately!"
He shouted sternly at the servants behind him, "You, all go in! You must bring Rui'er back to me safe and sound!"
The participants present looked at each other, and a sneer couldn't help but rise in their hearts.
Just now, he kept saying "for the people of Thousand Fog Town" and "the big picture must come first". As soon as he heard that his own son was inside, he changed his face in an instant.
*
At the first moment the giant stone's evil aura dissipated, Jiang Zhiyu and White Cat entered Falling Star Plateau.
Following the guidance of their intent, they went straight to the depths of the mineral vein.
In the end, they found the Earth God Temple that looked no different from the outside world.
Hongjiao had just burped and was biting the last piece of the severed limb still entangled with evil aura.
It was really too full. The monster's body was simply too huge.
Hearing footsteps approaching, it quickly shrank from its giant form back to its original size.
But right at this moment, a lump of evil aura remaining on that severed limb suddenly struggled, slipped into the temple like black smoke, and suddenly drilled into the ear of the unconscious Ouyang Rui on the ground.
The snake was shocked; the snake was indignant.
This...
There was clearly only the last bite left!
Falling short of success at the last stage, the matter ordered by its master was not properly handled again.
It was doomed.
Thinking of its master's terrifying and crazy appearance when dealing with the monster, this time its snake life was probably really hard to protect.
It turned its head indignantly to look at the uninvited guests who interrupted its meal, wishing it could swallow the other party as well, but at the moment it saw clearly who was coming, the arrogant flame in its pupils instantly extinguished.
They were the friends of those two little ancestors, not to be eaten.
The consequences of making Xiaomi angry were much more terrible than angering its master.
"Young Master Ouyang!"
Seeing the figure lying in a pool of blood, Jiang Zhiyu stepped forward quickly.
Ouyang Rui's face was as pale as paper, and his sleeves were soaked with blood. Fortunately, he was only unconscious. He quickly took out the blood-replenishing pill he carried with him and fed it into the other party's mouth.
At the same time, White Cat paced slowly to the open space in front of the temple and stopped beside the severed limb.
It lowered its eyes and stared for a moment, and its brows gradually furrowed. This was transformed from the terrifying evil aura it had encountered outside earlier, and now only such a small piece of the remnant body was left.
It was hard to imagine just how strong the power that confronted it was.
"This old man has already seen you. What are you still hiding for?"
White Cat raised its front paw, slowly stroked its beard, and accurately cast its gaze at a stone not far away.
Hongjiao slowly slithered out from behind the stone.
White Cat snorted lightly, and the guess in its heart was already seventy or eighty percent certain: "Where is your master? Why isn't he here cleaning up the mess, but instead left you here alone?"
Hongjiao shook its head.
It didn't know either, but its master came back a short while ago, fetched the shoes, searched for something for a while, and then disappeared again.
At that time, its master seemed to be in a very good mood and even praised it, "You ate well. Keep eating."
Its master rarely praised people, and even if he did, it was mostly reverse words, praising in name but derogating in reality. But the sentence just now, Hongjiao could tell, was sincere.
"Where is Yaoyao? Do you know?" Jiang Zhiyu approached carrying the unconscious Ouyang Rui on his back, his face heavy with worry. This was the issue he was most concerned about right now.
Hongjiao tilted its head and thought for a moment.
Immediately, it put on a cold face, then changed into a smiling appearance, and then opened its large snake mouth as if mimicking an infant crying.
White Cat stared speechlessly at this snake's wonderful performance, suddenly somewhat doubting if it was really raised by Wu Li. This appearance looked more like a pet that only Xiaomi could train.
Jiang Zhiyu's eyes instantly brightened: "Oh, I know! Are you talking about the place where you acted for the ghost infant before?"
White Cat's cat pupils widened, greatly shocked: "You can guess even this?"
"Master, this isn't hard to guess," Jiang Zhiyu explained. "Usually, when we're idle on the road, Xiaomi loves to pull me, Yaoyao, and Wu Li to play the 'You gesture, I guess' game."
However, Wu Li always disdained acting; he was only responsible for guessing.
And Yaoyao, besides having flexible footwork when practicing martial arts, immediately became uncoordinated in her limbs when acting.
So, the ones who gestured the most were usually him and Xiaomi.
This acting method of Hongjiao, in Xiaomi's words, was "abstract acting skills."
The cold face is Wu Li, the smiling one is Xiaomi, and the crying one is the infant.
A family of three, acted clearly and plainly.
*
In the valley, the wind gently brushed over the tips of the grass.
Song Yueyao sat alone on the grass, her chest heaving slightly, her breathing not yet calmed down.
Just now, a spirit sneak-attacked quietly. She subconsciously raised her bow and shot, but at that moment, she clearly realized that, just as Wu Li had said, she really only had superficial skills.
No matter how she buried herself in hard practice these past few days, how she gritted her teeth and repeated the movements of drawing the bow and releasing the arrow, the fact was right in front of her. She probably couldn't even shoot a running wild hare.
Wu Li bringing her in was probably just to make up the numbers for a team.
A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped her.
She remembered the night before she went to be a hostage. Her small body knelt for a long time in front of her grandfather's coffin, and her tender voice said thus:
"Grandfather, you must believe Yaoyao. One day, I will raise the Nie family's military banner once more, eradicate the treacherous officials, and defend our lands!"
But now, having given her absolute all only to discover her own limits,
she finally realized just how laughable those grand childhood vows had been.
She couldn't even protect herself, let alone save her imperial mother. How could she even speak of defending the realm?
"Yaoyao! Yaoyao!"
A loud, panting shout echoed from the distance.
The man came huffing and puffing, his tied hair coming loose and his face smeared with dirt, completely stripped of his usual refined and dignified demeanor.
As he neared her, he tripped over a rock and stumbled forward in a rather comical fashion.
Unable to hold it in, she burst into laughter.
Then, she quickly turned her head away, hastily rubbing the moisture from the corners of her eyes against her shoulder.
When she turned back, she had curled her fingers into a fist and deliberately roughened her voice to scold him, "Jiang Zhiyu! Do you have a death wish? I am entering the Luoxingyuan competition, and you didn't even come to see me off?"
"Quell your anger, Your Majesty!" Jiang Zhiyu grinned playfully, pointing to the top of his head. "Come, come, hit me right here. I promise I won't dodge."
