The night in Zhangzhou is warm and humid. The sea breeze blowing from the Canglan Ocean to the east of the mainland gathers into clouds in the deep canyon formed by the Qingyuan River and Mingquan Ridge, bringing abundant rain to the Lingbei Plateau. Even though
Deep in the moon marsh, one can vaguely smell the salty smell in the air.
There are many lemmings and hares in the moon swamps, so the number of night owls is also very prosperous. These birds that are good at hunting are like assassins lurking in the dark night, moving silently, and then delivering a fatal blow to their prey at the critical moment.
However, tonight, I don't know what disturbed the raptors in the forest, causing them to make as much noise as a flock of domesticated chickens.
Amidst the chirping of birds, Grandma Cen suddenly woke up. This was already the third month since she followed Kunjie's order and led her followers to leave Jingshu City. At present, the group of people had already set up a temporary camp in this swamp.
, Fortunately, there are few large beasts like jackals, tigers and leopards here. There are many catfish and loaches in the swamp, and occasionally you can catch some cormorants and wild ducks, so you won't go hungry.
The old woman subconsciously reached out and reached into the quilt beside her - in order to ensure Ning Yue's safety, she required the girl to sleep next to her every night. However, upon closer inspection, she immediately lost all sleepiness, because
All that was left in the quilt was a piece of coldness, not even a trace of heat, and Ning Yue, who was supposed to be lying in it, had long since disappeared.
"Who told you to sleep? Where did Miss Yue'er go?"
Seeing that the person in charge of the night watch fell asleep leaning under a banyan tree, the old woman was immediately furious. The shouting also immediately woke up the other fire keepers who were sleeping nearby. They looked around, but they didn't know where to look.
.
"The lady took away a few pieces of clean clothes, as well as dry food and fresh water. Even the little white fox has disappeared. She probably planned to sneak away under the cover of night!"
Grandma Cen checked her luggage and became more and more anxious. However, the night went deeper, and the moonlight was blocked by the dense woods in the swamp, so the sight was not good. And the quirky Ning Yue deliberately hid her whereabouts. On the ground
The footprints left behind were even more messy and disorderly, appearing in all directions, making it impossible to tell where the girl had gone.
"It's so dark, Miss, she won't be able to walk far! What are you doing standing around stupidly? Hurry up and split up to look for me!"
After listening to the old lady's order, the firemen just reacted and hurriedly lit the torches and dispersed into the forest. However, Granny Cen herself was not in a hurry to set off, but looked up at the area where the owls were singing in unison the night before.
The woods to the west of the camp.
That direction leads to the depths of the swamp, and it is absolutely impossible for a normal person to choose it as an escape route. However, there is a low hill in that forest, and the coral lady who passed away unfortunately a few days ago happened to be buried there.
There.
The old woman seemed to have thought of something, and immediately picked up her staff and chased westward alone. As she expected, the various traces left in the camp were just a deception left by Ning Yue. She chased them for about half a mile.
After a long road, another line of footprints of different depths finally appeared in the moist soil ahead.
The footprints went up all the way, leading to the tomb of Mrs. Coral. In the darkness, Granny Cen vaguely heard the intermittent sobbing, so she stepped lightly. When she gradually saw the red-haired girl kneeling in front of the tombstone, she
Her heart suddenly softened, and she couldn't bear to disturb the woman who was mourning her mother, so she just stood far behind her.
Ning Yue didn't know that her whereabouts had been exposed, and she still knelt on the ground for a long time and refused to get up:
"...Mother, mother, I wish my daughter could still listen to what you say. Even if it is a severe scolding, I will listen with a smile! My daughter has imagined countless times that one day she will be able to bring the friends she made on land with her. When I come in front of you, I can tell you all the strange things I encountered on the land. But now no matter what I say, you can't hear it. If I had known this, I should have stayed in Cangliu City. I stay by your side and accompany you well. Mother, will you blame your daughter for being ignorant..."
The girl burst into tears, which moved Granny Cen behind her. The old lady couldn't bear her to continue crying like this, and after a while she finally spoke to persuade her:
"Miss, a loving mother and a loving child are not repayments. Mrs. Coral knows your thoughts secretly and will never blame you in the slightest."
Ning Yue didn't expect that there would be someone behind her, and she immediately trembled with fright. She turned around and saw that the person coming was Granny Cen. She immediately lifted up her skirt and burrowed into the dense forest ahead like a frightened hare.
"It's dangerous over there, miss, don't go there!"
The old woman could not have imagined that the person with whom she had been so close not long ago would look like a formidable enemy when she saw her, but she still chased after him, calling out worriedly as she ran. However, Hong The girl ignored him at all and just ran away further and further.
In desperation, Grandma Cen had to raise the staff in her hand and mutter something. In just a moment, a dazzling golden light suddenly fell in the sky. Soon, the firemen who were searching for the girl's whereabouts in other directions heard the news. He came and completely cut off Ning Yue's retreat.
"Miss, please don't embarrass me. Just follow me back first and then talk about it."
The old woman was running out of breath. She stood in front of the girl with a stick in both hands, but she did not dare to relax.
"Mother-in-law, Kunjie has already forced my mother to death, do you still plan to watch him continue to force me to death?"
Seeing the flamers approaching her, Ning Yue could not take another step back. At this moment, her shoes, socks and skirt were soaked in mud and water, and behind her was a large quagmire of unknown depth. The girl knew , if he retreats any further, he may fall into this swamp and be with the countless innocent souls in the moon swamp forever.
"Miss, it is Mrs. Coral's last wish for you to stay with Mr. Kunjie. Please forgive me for not letting you go."
"Impossible! Mother herself said clearly that she didn't want Kunjie to continue fighting with my father! It must have been Kunjie who cast the spell on her, otherwise how could mother trust me and leave me under the care of such a bastard!"
The red-haired girl shook her head vigorously, unable to listen to the advice at all. Xue Ling, who was curled up in her arms, also wrinkled her nose and growled lowly at the crowd surrounding her.
"Miss, Madam entrusted you to Mr. Kunjie out of her own heart. Just listen to me and stay. There is no way that Mr. Kun will treat you badly."
"Then Kunjie and I are not relatives, and we are incompatible with each other. Why do you guarantee him? Mother-in-law, don't lie to me anymore. You want me to stay, just to take advantage of Kunjie's hand. , use me to threaten your father and avenge your daughter who died unjustly!"
The old woman wanted to persuade her again, but the girl turned the blame on herself. These words immediately made her excited, and she gave the girl in front of her a loud slap in the face. She was obviously disturbed by what she just said. It hurt my heart:
"Shut up! Although the relationship between the young lady's father and my daughter's death is indisputable, I will never kill you or another innocent child because of this!"
"Then why don't you let me go?"
"Miss, there are many things in this world, and you don't need to ask so clearly. You only need to know that I personally promised my wife that I will take good care of you, and I will never let you be harmed even a little bit. Isn't that enough? To put your mind at ease?"
Although Granny Cen's words were extremely sincere, the reason she refused to explain was like a thorn in the girl's heart, making her unable to completely believe her. The sadness and fear made Ning Yue unable to think. She couldn't calm down at all. She shook her head vigorously, and actually took the risk and walked quickly into the quagmire behind her!
"Miss, don't be stupid!"
Seeing this, Grandma Cen immediately followed her. The people surrounding her quickly formed a human chain one after another behind her, ready to pull the two of them back from the quagmire at any time.
The heavy mud made Ning Yue's pace slower and slower, and she was soon caught up by the old woman behind her. After a slight tug, the two lost their balance and fell straight into the mire. Fortunately, the mud under their feet did not push them away. She swallowed it, but the red-haired girl wanted to run again, but she had no chance.
"My mother-in-law wants me to go back, so she might as well kill me here!"
Ning Yue's shout echoed over the forest floor, her tone full of helplessness and anger. But before she finished speaking, the little white fox suddenly jumped out of its arms with its four legs. At the same time, those in the forest The night owl also screamed loudly again.
The girl only struggled hard and did not notice this unusual change. Grandma Cen covered her mouth and did not allow her to open her mouth again:
"Miss, please don't make any more noise. There seems to be something strange in this forest. After you have confirmed that there is no danger, you can scold me as much as you want!"
While whispering a warning in the other person's ear, the old woman reached out and picked up a large handful of the smelly mud in the pool, and wiped it on the heads and bodies of herself and the girl. The reason for this was that she already understood in her heart at this time , the screams of the night owls in the forest were not caused by the red-haired girl, but were disturbed by some other uninvited guest. No matter where that thing came from, it was definitely not easy to mess with.
Ning Yue was also frightened by the expression on the other party's face, but said that these were all excuses and tricks of the old woman. Just as she was about to continue struggling, she suddenly heard several screams from the firemen on the shore. The girl's heart The next moment, he turned his head with difficulty, only to see that the firemen were obviously panicking, and some of them did not care about the danger of being swallowed by the mire, and tried their best to escape towards the depths of the mire.
At the same time, the night owls in the forest suddenly stopped screaming. Then the red-haired girl was horrified to see several huge black figures slowly walking out from the depths of the dense forest, and the low roars from their mouths made people feel numb. It was actually a group of galloping wolves that she and Jiang Yan had encountered on Lei Yin Mountain a few years ago!
There were more than ten wolves in this group, and they gradually revealed their true appearance under the moonlight. In the night, pairs of wolf eyes glowing green, like lanterns in the hands of evil spirits who came to seek their lives.
Ning Yue clearly felt that Granny Cen had involuntarily tightened her body, but she pressed her tightly under her body and spoke again to remind her in a low voice:
"Miss, please don't act rashly! If we get up and run away now, the wolves will definitely attack! We are covered in mud, so as long as we don't move, they may not be able to notice us!"
As if to prove to the girl that what the old woman said was right, the flames that rushed into the quagmire quickly attracted the attention of the wolves and became the first batch of victims. Only a few low roars were heard from the first wolf, and the group of wolves
Then it flew into the mire like an arrow off the string.
In order to be able to move freely in the snowfields of Shuozhou, Chilang's feet are not only thick, but also extremely wide. This allows them to be huge and heavy even if they run in muddy swamps, they can still walk on flat ground and catch up in the blink of an eye.
Living people whose legs were sucked by the mud, struggling hard but unable to escape.
With just one blow, one of the people caught in the fire was easily torn into two pieces by Chilang on the spot. His severed upper body still had some feeling, and he screamed and struggled to crawl forward with his arms supporting his torso, but was quickly killed again from behind.
The giant wolf caught up and bit it.
The smell of blood immediately dispersed in the air, causing the wolves to become even more manic. They roared and attacked the remaining fire fighters. For a time, half of the swamp was dyed with color.
The blood showed a strange and ferocious purple-red color under the pale moonlight. The tragic scene also made Ning Yue, who was hiding in the quagmire, almost cry out. In the extreme confusion, she was still at her feet not long ago.
The lingering Xue Ling ran away to nowhere.
"Don't move. I hope these wolves will stop moving forward after they are full. As long as they turn around and leave, we can survive!"
Granny Cen put her mouth close to the girl's ear and kept her voice almost as soft as possible. Seeing Ning Yue nodding silently, she finally moved the hand covering her mouth and nose slightly away, but kept blinking her eyes.
Staring behind him without blinking.
However, the pack of wolves did not leave as they wished. The giant beasts devoured several of the fire fighters in just a few licks. For them, just a few people were not enough to fill the gap between their teeth. After a feast, the galloping wolf still
He twitched his nose and sniffed around, and he was approaching the center of the quagmire step by step.
Fortunately, the smelly mud covering Ning Yue and Granny Cen's bodies covered up the smell of living people. The giant wolf paced around them in twos and threes, but could not immediately detect their presence!
Ning Yue tried her best to hold her breath, hoping to wait until the moment when the wolves left. However, contrary to expectations, just when the giant wolves seemed to be about to turn around and leave, she still couldn't bear it, and she felt that her chest was about to explode.
It felt like it was exploding, and the pain was burning, and I finally started to gasp for breath.
Although the sound of weak air flow was not obvious, it was still caught by the keen wolf ears. Several wolves immediately turned their heads, their yellow-brown wolf eyes looked straight at the two people, and the muscles on both sides of the wolf's nose also wrinkled.
Shrinking, revealing the terrifying fangs in his mouth!
Grandma Cen realized that she could not escape no matter what, so she immediately picked up the girl on the ground and tried her best to escape towards the other end of the quagmire. The wolves behind her were much faster than them. Ning Yue did not dare to look back, she only felt her ears
The gasping sounds of the beast were getting closer and closer, and while his legs were swinging back and forth with the inertia, he had given up hope in his heart.
In a daze, he suddenly heard something muttered by the old lady beside him, and then a bright white light suddenly shot out from the staff in her hand, piercing the wolf's eyes, and finally the two of them opened up again.
The distance of survival.
However, the wolves soon discovered that the white light could not cause any harm to them. They were no longer afraid of the threat, and used their speed to outflank them. Granny Cen had no choice but to stop and protect the red-haired girl behind her. He waved his staff to prevent the giant wolf from getting close, and took out the dagger for self-defense from his waist, preparing for a desperate fight.
At this time, Ning Yue was already scared to death. She could only hear a buzzing sound in her ears, but her heart kept thinking about the young man with black eyes who once saved her from a wolf.
Yes, if Jiang Yan were here now, she shouldn't be so scared, let alone be as helpless as she is now.
The despairing girl closed her eyes tightly, only feeling the claws and claws of the wolves roaring in front of her. However, just when she thought she was trapped in a dead end and had no chance of getting out of this quagmire alive, she heard something in the forest. Suddenly there was a long roar. The roar was obviously made by humans. It was like an eagle's chirping and a dragon's roar. It shocked the sky and filled the clouds, and it made the girl's ears buzz.
Then, a man in a cloak walked out of the dense forest. He was smiling, walking swiftly, and whispering something to the wolves. He was the one who ordered Granny Cen to go to Moon Marsh. Kunjie is waiting for his return.
What was even more unexpected was that the wolves, which had been preparing to attack and tear up the prey to pieces, actually fell silent at this moment. A few wolves even crawled to Kunjie's feet. Let the other party scratch him on the top of his head and under his jaw, as docile as an ordinary domestic dog!