It is still a forest here, but the vegetation is sparse. The grass and trees are all downcast and desolate, just like them. Jun Aoyan walked to a mountain wall and looked up. It was not a steep place here.
There are also plants that can be used with hands, but she doesn't know where to go after climbing over the low mountain. She turned her head and accidentally caught a glimpse of Liu Shenghan, who was bending down and stretching out between two small trees not far away.
Start, as if to describe something there.
"Shenghan? What are you doing?"
Jun Aoyan asked as she moved closer to her. Others were also attracted by her sudden voice and turned around one after another. Liu Shenghan freed up his hand and waved towards her: "The direction of the spiritual power here is not right.
, I can probably see some clues."
"What's the clue?" Qi Huan asked, "Are you painting?"
"It's not a painting... it's just erasing the 'ink stains' on it. There is a door here."
"Door?"
As she spoke, the blank space gradually revealed a different outline. They gathered around Liu Shenghan and watched helplessly as a structure similar to a fence appeared there. Liu Shenghan pushed lightly, and the fence
The door opened. She took two tentative steps and found a path under her feet, which seemed like she could enter.
Mingming curiously walked around to the other side and exclaimed loudly: "What's going on? Where have you gone? I can't see you here!"
"It's probably some kind of barrier, right?" Qi Huan gathered his energy and marveled, "There should be some kind of cave inside here, but from the outside, you really can't see it at all."
Although I don’t know where this road leads, in this desolate forest, it is still a breakthrough for progress. Needless to say, several people filed in one after another, and Jun Aoyan, the last one to come in, even closed the door. Liu
Shenghan waited by the door and added a few strokes there, making the painting look as ordinary as before.
Looking up again, the scenery has been turned upside down. It looks like an ordinary quiet village, and the place they stopped seems to be the entrance of the village. Looking back, they can't see the wild forest outside at all. The neat paths seem to have been specially repaired by someone, surrounded by
With
Looking far into the vast sea of bamboo, you can see that the forest road forks and twists a hundred meters away, vaguely leading to many small buildings hidden in the bamboo forest. The smoke rises from the swaying bamboo shadows, and the quiet and peaceful atmosphere makes it feel...
This small village looks even more strange.
"What...is this place?"
I don’t know who asked everyone’s doubts. Of course, no one among them could answer. Mingming couldn’t wait to urge: “Let’s go quickly, go into the village and ask someone, don’t you know?”
After that, he was already jumping up and down, and took the lead to walk in. The remaining four people followed without any objection, and walked along the path at their feet into the forest. On both sides of the path, green bamboos stood, full of life.
It makes people feel a little more relaxed without realizing it. Occasionally, you can hear the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs in the village, conveying the warmth of human fireworks to the tired travelers.
After walking around the bamboo forest for several times, before approaching the vague houses, they suddenly saw someone walking towards them.
The man had his hands empty and was obviously watching them, a little wary, but not hostile. As he got closer, he could see a faint smile on his face, showing a polite detachment towards strangers. This kind of normal
The unfamiliarity and the warm connection with ulterior motives, on the contrary, made them relax a little.
From a distance, they saw that the person was wearing white clothes with his hands behind his back, but the sleeves were too short, which was a bit strange. When they got closer, they discovered that his hands were hanging naturally at his sides, and the clothes were also long-sleeved.
It's just the opposite of jet black. This man has thick eyebrows and big eyes, is dignified, and has a very elegant temperament in his movements, unlike ordinary mountain people.
When several people stood facing each other, he bowed his hands politely to the group: "It's snowing, what do you call them?"
They reported their names one by one, and Xue Mo also greeted them one by one, with a calm expression. Only when he saw Mingming, a bit of surprise flashed across his face. After greeting him, he said hesitantly:
"Our village is somewhat remote, and there is a barrier outside the village. I wonder how the guests arrived here?"
"We are not locals." Liu Shenghan said truthfully, "We were not familiar with the road, and we lost our way in the mountainous area. We fumbled randomly through the spiritual veins and arrived here. We happened to find the strange spiritual power, and out of curiosity, we opened the door.
Please don’t be offended.”
Following her words, Xue Mo's expression seemed to relax a little. He said something like "It's okay, don't worry", and then asked them where they wanted to go and why they got lost in the mountains - they knew this was
The territory of the bird god Garuda?
Liu Shenghan answered one by one, using some Spring and Autumn style, and only told him that his group actually didn't know where to go. They wanted to find a way out and go out first. As for the Bird God, they also met each other, no.
We can have a good conversation and have a good relationship
They were a little nervous. What was more helpless was that they had left something important with Master Shenniao, and they were worried about what to do. They found that there was a cave here, so they tried to come in, hoping to find a place to rest and discuss the itinerary.
That’s fine.
The atmosphere that was completely different from the outside world made everyone feel at ease. Only Bai Ya still stared at Xue Mo with vigilance. The latter didn't mind. He nodded frequently while listening to Liu Shenghan's words, and finally pondered for a moment.
"In that case, come with me. My home is quite big and can accommodate you all to spend the night together." He smiled tolerantly at Bai Ya, "Of course, you can also turn back the way you came and look for it on your own.
Accommodation. However, it is somewhat dangerous at night in the mountains, so you should pay more attention to safety."
Bai Ya looked away without saying a word. Liu Shenghan tugged at the corner of his clothes.
"You are kind and willing to give us a place to stay temporarily. We are naturally grateful. Thank you for leading the way."
"It's easy to say, you're welcome."
Xue Mo led them through the bamboo forest while briefly introducing the village to them. According to him, this village is called Bamboo Village. This village is worthy of its name. Not only are bamboos planted everywhere, but also the small villages hidden in the forest.
The buildings were originally made of bamboo. Maybe they were not as good as
Said that those buildings are all made of bamboo. They are very different from the houses in ordinary villages. They are more like some small buildings in the southwest of their hometown. A few bamboo pillars underneath support the house in the air. In the bamboo forest
At a glance, the huts look like they are floating in the air.
There were several villagers busy beside each small building. Some were cleaning up the debris accumulated under the house, while others built a fence around the house and raised chickens under the house. They were feeding them at the moment. They also saw a
An older woman put her hands on her hips and shouted in a long tone at the door. From what she heard, it seemed that her child was naughty and had gone somewhere to play.
To their surprise, when almost everyone saw them, they would temporarily stop what they were doing and say hello to Xue Mo loudly, with a cordial tone. Perhaps because Xue Mo was quite popular, the villagers looked at outsiders like them.
Although his eyes were unfamiliar, they were open and pure, without any malice.
"Is this... a paradise?" Qi Huan murmured, and finally corrected himself, "No, a paradise?"
Xue Mo glanced at him with a smile.
"It doesn't count. If I must say it, it's probably the Pure Land in Troubled Times."
His home is deep in the village. It is a hanging building that is more magnificent than the ones they just saw on the road. However, there seems to be no trace of other people living in this home. Only Xue Mo greeted them to enter, and in the hall
Sit in a circle.
"It's hard work for you to travel a long distance. There are some words that I wouldn't bother you to answer while standing on the road outside the village."
"You are so kind to us. If you have any questions, just ask us and we will answer you."
"Since you said that, I feel relieved. Miss Liu, you seemed to be quite worried when you answered the question. Could you please tell me the specific experience in detail? Where did you come from, why did you come, and what was lost?
What important object is it? Besides..." He paused briefly
After a while, "What's the conflict between you and Lord Bird God? Although it's not polite to chase guests away, as the guardian of this village, if I can't figure out your origins and can't confirm whether you are safe for us,
I have no choice but to ask you to leave. Please forgive me."
"Guardian?"
To everyone's surprise, Bai Ya suddenly got angry. He looked at Xue Mo with a sullen face, even if it wasn't out of malice, he was still completely wary.
"Or a patron saint, or something else? No matter what it is, you are not the guardian 'person'."
He emphasized the word "人" very hard.
Jun Aoyan was stunned: "You are...how can you tell? Are you really..."
"Young Master Bai is right." Unexpectedly, Xue Mo was not angry, but admitted openly, "I am indeed not a human being. But you don't need to panic. You should have seen it for yourselves along the way.
.These villagers are indeed real human beings.”
The question was asked by Bai Ya. He nodded in agreement.
"Do they look like they are being oppressed and bullied?"
"No way." Mingming interrupted, "They look much happier than the people in our village. And they all seem to like you."
Xue Mo smiled at the child.
"So, you can also see that Zhucun is different from the territory ruled by the Bird God, and I have different ideas from the other monsters here. When you come here, you should also know the rules of the Bird God outside.
It's natural to feel resentful. But Zhucun and I are not like those monsters, so you don't need to vent your anger on me."
Bai Ya let out a breath and relaxed his expression slightly.
"We will tell you where we came from. But correspondingly, I also hope... to know more about you."
"Sure, that's fair."
Bai Ya roughly explained the origins and intentions of several people, and also revealed to him the friction with Master Shenniao. Xue Mo kept his promise and readily introduced his origins to them. From the conversation, they learned that he was indeed
Not a human being, but a rare monster.
"Iron-eating beast?" Liu Shenghan looked surprised.
"Yes, iron-eating beasts - I understand that our clan is not common... I think there are still many of my clan members alive in the vast world. But in this Nine Heavens Kingdom, we were originally few in number. Until now, this whole
There is only this small bamboo forest left in this mountainous area. I am the only one left with the iron-eating beast here."
Xue Mo seemed to be talking casually, with a somewhat sad tone. After all, he hadn't mentioned his past for a long time.
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