Wei Wuxian said, "Oh, there are man-eating monsters there, right?"
He has heard similar legends at least a thousand times, and has eliminated them hundreds of times with his own hands, which makes them boring. The doctor said in an ups and downs tone: "That's right! It is said that there is a 'man-eating castle' in the forest ridge, and there are man-eating monsters living in it. Anyone who accidentally intrudes will be eaten by them until no bones or dregs are left, leaving no trace. Down to the corpses, without exception! Isn't it scary?"
No wonder Jin Ling appears here. He failed to capture the Soul-Eating Goddess of Dafan Mountain last time, and this time he must be here for the monsters on Xinglu Ridge. Wei Wuxian said, "How scary! But since there are no bones left and no bodies can be found, how do you know that they were eaten?"
The doctor was silent for a moment and said, "Of course someone saw it."
Wei WuXian admired him, "But didn't you just say that anyone who accidentally intrudes will be chewed to the bone, without exception? Then who spread this rumor? It's so powerful that you can still live after seeing this kind of scene." Come out to spread the news?"
"..." The doctor said: "This is how the rumors spread. How do I know?"
Wei Wuxian: "Then do you know how many people were eaten on Xinglu Ridge? When were they eaten? How old are they? Male or female? What's their last name? Where do they live?"
Doctor: "I don't know."
Wei Wuxian: "Qinghe Bai Xiaosheng? Huh?"
The doctor was angry and carried the basket on his back: "The rumors never spread like this!"
Wei WuXian chuckled, "Don't, don't, don't leave, don't go. Let me ask again, is Xinglu Ridge still within the territory of Qinghe? Isn't Qinghe the Nie family's territory? What if there really are man-eating monsters haunting Xinglu Ridge? , they just sit back and ignore it?"
Unexpectedly, the doctor did not answer "I don't know" this time, but showed a look of contempt: "Nie family? If it were the Nie family before that, of course they would not sit idly by and ignore it. This is the second time such rumors have spread. The sky can quickly and resolutely raid the places where evil spirits roam. But now the head of the Nie family, hey, isn't he the one who 'doesn't know anything about anything'?"
The original head of the Nie family in Qinghe was Chifeng Zun Nie Mingjue. After his father's previous head was killed by Wen Ruohan, the head of the Wen family in Qishan, he took over the Nie family before he was even crowned. His style was upright and tough. He is sworn brothers with Zewu Lord Lan Xichen and Lianfang Lord Jin Guangyao. After the Sun-shooting Campaign, under his control, the Nie family was once as powerful as the Lanling Jin family. And after he became obsessed with cultivation and died in public, the person who took over as the head of the family must be his younger brother Nie Huaisang. Wei WuXian asked, "You call him 'one question, three questions'?"
The doctor said: "You don't know this allusion? This Mr. Nie, when people ask him something, he won't tell what he doesn't know, and dare not tell those who know. When asked urgently and pressed hard, he will shake his head and cry. Saying 'I don't know, I don't know, I really don't know!' Please let him go. Isn't this just asking three questions and not knowing?"
Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang were classmates back then, so they could say a few words about this guy. Nie Huaisang was a good-natured man and not unintelligent, but he had no intention of learning and used his intelligence elsewhere. He played hooky to catch birds and caught fish. He was indeed extremely talented in the cultivation field and was eight or nine years behind his peers from other families. It was only when he was young that he could barely form elixirs. When Nie Mingjue was alive, he always hated the fact that iron could not become steel, and he was very strict with him. However, he still couldn't hold up the wall with mud. Now that there is no elder brother to protect them from the wind and rain, to provide guidance and advice, the Nie family in Qinghe is making rapid progress under his leadership - and the river is declining. After becoming an adult, especially after becoming the head of the family, Nie Huaisang was often too busy with all kinds of unfamiliar things. He asked for help everywhere, especially for his eldest brother's two adopted brothers. Today he went to Jinlin Terrace to cry to Jin Guangyao, and tomorrow he came to Yunshen. I don't know whether he was in the right position or not, but with the support of the two heads of the Jin and Blue families, he reluctantly took the position of the head of the family. Nowadays, everyone talks about Nie Huaisang. It's hard to explain clearly, but there are four words written on their faces: pustule and waste.
It is inevitable to feel sad when we recall all the events of the past.
After Wei Wuxian inquired about Xingluling, he still took care of the doctor's business, bought two boxes of rouge, carried them in his arms and walked back to Lan Wangji. Walk in the direction pointed by the doctor.
There is a large cedar forest on Xinglu Ridge. The forest road is open and the green shade is rustling. I walked through it for a while and didn't encounter anything strange. However, the two of them didn't have much expectations and took this trip just in case. If the horrifying rumors about a place are true, there is always something that has a nose and an eye to it. The soul-eating goddess of Dafan Mountain is causing trouble. Once you inquire about the victim's home and surname, you will know clearly. You can't even hide the nickname of A Yan's fiancé. And if the details of the victim's name are hesitant, then it is mostly based on rumors and sensationalism.
After less than half an hour, they finally encountered some setbacks after all the hard work. Seven or eight figures staggered towards the opposite side, rolling their eyes and wearing ragged clothes. They seemed to fall over in the wind and were extremely slow. They turned out to be a row of extremely low-level walking corpses.
This kind of walking zombie is not only the only one that is bullied among its kind, but if it meets a slightly stronger living person, it can knock over a row of them; if it meets a child who runs faster, it can be thrown across the street in an instant. Even if you are extremely unlucky and get caught by them and take a few breaths of Yang Qi, they still can't kill you. Apart from their ugly appearance and unpleasant smell, they do not pose a threat at all. Therefore, when encountering them during night hunting, most senior monks will simply ignore them and leave them to the juniors. This is the same as hunting only tigers and leopards but not mice.
When Wei Wuxian saw them approaching, he knew something was wrong, lowered his head and retreated behind Lan Wangji. Sure enough, this row of walking corpses twisted and walked five or six feet away from them. When they saw Wei Wuxian, they were so frightened that they immediately turned around and retreated the same way. Their legs and feet were two or three times more agile than when they came around. Wei Wuxian rubbed his temples, turned around and said in horror, "Oh my God, Hanguang-Jun, you are so powerful! As soon as they see you, they turn around and run away in fear! Haha."
Lan Wangji was speechless.
Wei Wuxian laughed and pushed him: "Let's go, let's go to Lingzi. I don't think there are any other monsters. The people in this place are really capable. A few useless walking corpses can turn into cannibals." The monster that vomits bones and the 'man-eating castle' must have been staged, so you've been there for nothing!"
Lan Wangji was pushed several times by him before he took a step forward. Before Wei Wuxian could catch up, a frantic barking sound suddenly came from the distance in the fir forest.
Wei Wuxian's expression suddenly changed, and he instantly dodged behind Lan Wangji, hugging his waist, squatting down and curling up into a ball.
Lan Wangji: "...You are still far away, why are you hiding?"
Wei Wuxian: "First, first, first, first, first, first, hide before we talk. Where is it? Where is it?!"
Lan Wangji listened for a moment and said, "It's Jin Ling's black-maned spirit dog."
Wei Wuxian stood up when he heard Jin Ling's name, and was immediately forced to squat down again by the barking dogs. Lan Wangji said: "The spirit dog is barking, something must have happened."
Wei Wuxian complained incessantly, and managed to stand up with trembling legs: "Well, let's go and take a look!"
Lan Wangji didn't move a step, and Wei Wuxian said, "Hanguang-Jun, move, move! If you don't move, what will I do?"
After a moment of silence, Lan Wangji said, "You...let go first."
The two of them were tugging and stumbling, following the sound of dogs barking, but ended up twice in the fir forest. The barking of the black-maned spirit dog also came and went far away. After hearing the barking for a while, Wei Wuxian managed to get used to it and finally stopped stammering: "Is there a maze here?"
This maze is obviously man-made. Just now, I said that the rumors about Xingluling were just based on rumors, but now it becomes interesting.
The black-maned spirit dog roared for half a stick of incense and was still full of energy. After distinguishing the maze, the two followed the sound and followed the sound. After a while, the outlines of dense stone castles emerged in the cedar forest.
The stone castles are all made of gray-white stones, with ivy and fallen leaves covering the surface. Each one is built into a weird semicircle, as if several large bowls are buckled on the ground.
There is actually such a stone castle in Xinglu Ridge. It seems that the rumors are not groundless. But it is hard to say whether it is a "man-eating castle" or what is inside.
Jin Ling's black-maned spirit dog was on the outskirts of the stone forts, running around it, sometimes purring softly, sometimes barking loudly. Seeing Lan Wangji approaching, although he backed away timidly, he did not run away, but shouted louder at them, and looked at the stone castle, digging holes in the ground with his front paws, causing dirt to fly up, anxious Uneasy. Wei Wuxian hid behind Lan Wangji and said painfully: "Why doesn't it leave... Where is its owner? Why is the owner missing?!"
From the time I heard the barking of dogs, I haven't heard any sound from Jin Ling, not even a cry for help. He must have brought this black-maned spirit dog here, and it must have broken the maze, and a living person seemed to have disappeared just like that.
Lan Wangji said: "Go in and take a look."
Wei WuXian said, "How to get in? There's no way."
There is really no way. The gray-white stones were sealed tightly, leaving no doors or windows. The black-maned spirit dog jumped up and whined, as if it wanted to bite the corner of Lan Wangji's clothes, but it didn't dare, so it went around him, bit Wei Wuxian's hem, and dragged him out.
Wei Wuxian's soul was about to leave his body, and he stretched out his hands towards Lan Wangji: "Lan Zhan... Lan Zhan Lan Zhan... Lan Zhan Lan Zhan Lan Zhan!!!"
The black-maned spirit dog dragged Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian dragged Lan Wangji. A dog dragged the two of them around for a short half circle, behind the stone castle. There is a cave entrance nearly as high as a human being. The shape was irregular, and the ground was full of large and small gravels, which had obviously just been exploded by someone using a violent magic weapon. The entrance to the cave was so dark that it was difficult to see clearly, but there seemed to be a faint red light. The black-maned spirit dog opened its mouth, barked wildly at the group inside, and wagged its tail crazily at the two people.
Needless to say, Jin Ling must have broken open the stone castle with force, but something unexpected happened after entering.
Bichen automatically unsheathed him half an inch, and the blade emitted a cold light blue light, illuminating the dark road ahead. Lan Wangji bent down and entered first. Wei Wuxian was driven crazy by the dog and rushed in after him, almost colliding with him. Lan Wangji held his hand and shook his head, not knowing whether it was reproach or helplessness.
The black-maned spirit dog clearly wanted to follow, and it tried its best to rush in, but it seemed to be blocked by some force. It could not break through the barrier anyway, so it had to sit down at the entrance of the cave, its tail wagging more and more crazily. Wei Wuxian was so happy that he almost knelt down before it. He withdrew his hand and walked a few steps inside. The cold blue sword light was contrasted with the black surroundings and turned into cold white.
The trees on Xinglu Ridge are high and the forest is deep, making it very shady, but the inside of this stone castle is even cooler. Wei Wuxian went into battle in light clothes, his cuffs and vest were whistling with the cold wind, and he was sweating all over from being frightened by the black-maned spirit dog. The light at the entrance of the cave has long since disappeared like a candle extinguished. The further you go in, the wider and darker it becomes.
The top of the stone castle was rounded. Wei Wuxian kicked the gravel around his feet and heard a slight echo.
He finally couldn't help it, stopped, put his right hand on his temple, and frowned slightly.
Lan Wangji turned around and asked, "How?"
Wei WuXian said, "…It's so noisy."
Inside the stone castle, there was deathly silence, as quiet as a tomb. It originally looked like a tomb.
But in Wei Wuxian's ears, they were already surrounded by a lot of noise.