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Chapter 1431: Guardian
Who was Yun Jianyue? When had anyone ever dared to behave like that in front of her? She was about to act when Yan Xuehen stopped her, saying, “He is only an ordinary person in the end.”
“Sure, you’re the one with the great personality. Those who don’t appreciate kindness ought to be scolded, though,” Yun Jianyue said with a sneer.
Yan Xuehen said calmly, “I carry no shame in what I say and do. Why would I need someone else to feel appreciation for what I do?”
Yun Jianyue frowned. However, in the end, she didn’t do anything to the ordinary person. Afterward, since they had been given the cold shoulder, Zu An’s group could only leave. At first, they looked for another local to ask about the area. For some reason, though, apart from the fisherman they had seen earlier, they didn’t meet anyone else.
“Continuing like this won’t be a solution,” Yun Jianyue said as she looked at the miasma-shrouded marsh. There was no end in sight at all. She suddenly thought of something, adding, “Wasn’t that fisherman just an ordinary person? Why wasn’t he affected by the miasma?”
“That is quite strange. The monsters from earlier were still understandable, but even an ordinary person such as him was fine?” Yan Xuehen wondered, sounding puzzled.
“Could it be that this so-called miasma isn’t poisonous to begin with, and we were fooled by the old mulberry tree?” Zu An suggested.
Yan Xuehen shook her head and replied, “When we first entered this swamp, I already removed the leaf and tested it out. This miasma is indeed poisonous.”
Yun Jianyue was a bit surprised, saying, “Wow, stone cold woman, I thought you were just a foolish, naive girl, but you actually had that level of consideration.”
“Otherwise, wouldn’t I have already been done in by a witch like you a long time ago?” Yan Xuehen replied, expressionless.
…
Then, the group began to discuss among each other why the fisherman had such a strong reaction to what they had said. Judging from his tone, he seemed to greatly respect the Xiushe Snake.
However, it was such a savage snake. Why would the fisherman carry such an attitude toward it? They couldn’t find an explanation for that even after talking to each other for a long time.
Yu Yanluo seemed to have sensed something and suddenly said, “I hear a voice calling out to me.”
“Who’s calling you?” the others asked in surprise.
“It seems to be the Xiushe Snake. The feeling is similar to when we encountered it earlier,” Yu Yanluo replied.
Zu An asked out of concern, “Does it have good or bad intentions?”
Yu Yanluo shook her head and said, “I can’t tell. I’m unable to perceive its mood.”
“Be careful. It might be a trap,” Yun Jianyue warned her.
After a moment of hesitation, Yu Yanluo still said, “Since it called out to me, it must have something to say to me. As a fellow snake person, I’m willing to give it a try.”
Zu An said, “Since we don’t have any other solutions, we can only give this method a try. It’ll be fine as long as we’re careful along the way.”
After thinking about it, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen didn’t oppose the suggestion either. The group thus quickly followed Yu Yanluo toward the center of Dongting Lake.
“Where is the Xiushe Snake?” They looked around vigilantly when they arrived, but unfortunately, they didn’t find any trace of the Xiushe Snake.
“I can feel the calling growing closer and closer. It seems to be in that direction,” Yu Yanluo said. She closed her eyes, then pointed in a certain direction.
The others looked in the direction she indicated and saw that it was the mountain they had seen earlier. Only then did they realize that the mountain was at the center of the swamp. It was a lush green and extended seemingly infinitely into the distance.
“This mountain is a bit strange. It feels a little like a dragon vein, and yet it isn’t truly one,” Zu An said. He had studied ‘One Drop of Heaven’s Essence’, so he was already quite knowledgeable about feng shui and geomancy. Thus, he had noticed that the mountain actually seemed to give off the aura of a dragon vein, but it wasn’t quite the same.
“Say, don’t you think this long and narrow winding mountain range looks a bit like a snake?” Yan Xuehen suddenly said.
“Could it be that this mountain is actually that giant snake disguising itself?” Yun Jianyue wondered in fright.
Zu An shook his head and said, “It’s just a mountain. It’s not alive. Even though it looks verdant and lush on the surface, now that we’re up close, there’s a strong aura of death surrounding this place. It’s unlikely to be that snake pretending to be the mountain.”
Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue also examined the surroundings with their divine sense. It was indeed just a mountain. They felt much more relieved when they confirmed that.
Just then, Yu Yanluo heard the call again. She said to the others, “The call is coming from the mountain. It seems to want me to ascend.”
“Be careful,” Zu An reminded her out of concern.
Yu Yanluo said with a smile, “Don’t worry. If it really wanted to harm me, it wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. Besides, I can already sense that it bears no malice towards me.”
She was still the Snake Race’s leader, so the others trusted her judgment. They abandoned their raft and climbed ashore. Soon, they discovered a small winding path.
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“It seems as if this road is used quite often,” Yun Jianyue muttered to herself. There was no way such a path would form if this were the true wilderness.
“It might have been made through other natives like that fisherman using it,” Yan Xuehen quickly deduced.
They wanted to find some people to ask along the way, but they didn’t encounter anyone.
…
Just like that, Yu Yanluo followed the call up the mountain. The others followed her to the very top, where they found a temple.
“Ba Snake Temple?” they exclaimed when they saw the words on the gate. They all recalled that it was the name the fisherman had mentioned earlier, as opposed to ‘Xiushe Snake’.
“It is evident that this place is still in decent shape,” Yan Xuehen said as she looked around. Even though she didn’t see anyone there, it was bright and clean. Everything was rather orderly. There were even several sticks of incense being lit in a big cauldron in front of the temple, filling the air with their fragrance. It was completely different from Er Fu Temple.
Yu Yanluo entered the temple and saw that there was a giant black snake statue enshrined in the very center. It was a small-scale replica of the Xiushe Snake they had just seen. Even though it was a small statue, however, it still took up close to half of the room. Its coiled figure made all who entered feel a powerful sense of pressure.
They noticed that the statue wasn’t as malevolent as they had imagined. On the contrary, it seemed almost a bit… affectionate? How strange… They really couldn’t associate the Xiushe Snake with being affectionate.
Yu Yanluo asked the statue, “Was it you who called me?”
The statue’s eyes suddenly blinked, and the image of a snake emerged from it. It was a big black snake! However, this one was much smaller than the one that had swallowed up the elephant. It was closer to the giant pythons Zu An had seen on tv.
Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly stood in front of Yu Yanluo, worrying that she could be hurt. However, Yu Yanluo gently patted his hand, indicating that he didn’t have to worry.
“Are you Nuwa’s descendant?” the Xiushe Snake asked in human speech.
“I am not,” Yu Yanluo said, shaking her head.
“Then why can I sense Nuwa’s aura on you?” the Xiushe Snake asked, tilting its head. At that moment, it even looked a bit… cute.
Yu Yanluo hesitated, but she still replied, “It might be because I’m from the Snake Race and since I have the Holy Pearl on me.”
“Then you are Nuwa’s descendant,” the Xiushe Snake said, letting out a clear sigh of relief.
Yu Yanluo opened her mouth, but she didn’t explain further. She managed a great clan, so she knew that sometimes, explaining everything explicitly would only bring fewer benefits.
The Xiushe Snake said with a sigh, “When I saw you earlier, I thought that more of those eastern barbarians had arrived. However, I decided not to attack when I sensed your aura.”
Zu An’s group rejoiced inwardly. They were really basking in Yu Yanluo’s limelight this time, or else they would have had to fight another major battle.
“Eastern barbarians?” Yu Yanluo asked in surprise. She recalled how the fisherman had acted when he mentioned eastern barbarians.
“You are not someone from this world?” the Xiushe Snake asked, its eyes narrowing.
Yu Yanluo admitted, “We’re indeed not people from this world. We just accidentally stumbled upon this one.”
“Then it makes sense that you do not know,” the Xiushe Snake said with a sigh. “In the past, the eastern barbarians and the south’s Miao people fought fiercely. The Miao people worshiped me, viewing me as their guardian. They offered sacrifices of incense to me, so I could not just watch them suffer without doing anything. At first, our war went smoothly, but later, the eastern barbarians sent a formidable archer. I was defeated by him, which led to the defeat of my people as well…”
Zu An was startled. He asked, “Is the one you’re talking about named Yi?”
“Yi!” A hint of hatred and fear flickered through the Xiushe Snake’s eyes. “Indeed, that was him. It was him who killed me here!”
Zu An and the others thought, No wonder. However, they were quickly stunned. Then judging from what this snake is saying, it’s already dead? Then what’s the snake in front of us right now?
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