Chapter 645
Fu Shaoping woke up before dawn.
He was always alert, but he slept very deeply that night, as if he was dragged into a deep sleep by some invisible force. The moment he opened his eyes, he realized something was wrong - the room was too quiet.
The baby's cradle was empty, and the bedding was messy, as if it had been taken away in a hurry. On Mrs. Zhou's bed, the bedding was neatly arranged, and the needle box was open, with a few fine needles scattered on the ground, as if she had left in a hurry and didn't even have time to clean up.
"Wan'er!" Fu Shaoping stood up suddenly, his voice low and tense.
Nangong Wan was still regulating her breathing, but when she heard the words, she opened her eyes and looked around, her expression suddenly changed. She rushed to the cradle, her fingertips touched the quilt, and felt a trace of residual coolness. Her pupils shrank slightly: "Less than half an hour."
Fu Shaoping rushed out of the room with his sword in hand, the black iron sword gleaming coldly in the morning light. He looked around and saw no signs of fighting in the yard. The nine little dragons were curled up under the pear tree and sleeping soundly, without any warning - if an outsider broke in, they would not have no reaction.
"Mrs. Zhou wouldn't take the child away without a reason." Nangong Wan's voice trembled slightly, but he still managed to remain calm, "Unless..."
"Unless she has to go." Fu Shaoping replied, his knuckles white from pinching.
-
The two searched separately. Fu Shaoping explored along the outside of the courtyard wall and soon found a series of shallow footprints on the mud. Mrs. Zhou had one leg and her steps were unstable. The footprints were deep and shallow, which was very easy to identify. But the strange thing was that there was another series of small traces next to the footprints, like a snake?
He leaned over to take a closer look, got a little mucus on his fingertips, put it close to his nose and sniffed, there was a fishy smell with a hint of sweetness - it was demonic energy!
"Wan'er!" He shouted in a low voice. Nangong Wan had already flown over and his eyes fell on the slime. His face darkened: "Snake demon?"
Fu Shaoping nodded, his eyes becoming even colder: "Madam Zhou chased after him."
Nangong Wan closed her eyes and made hand gestures, with a faint golden light emanating from her fingertips, tracking the aura left by Madam Zhou. After a moment, she opened her eyes and pointed to the forest in the north: "Over there!"
-
Deep in the forest, the fog had not yet dissipated, and morning dew occasionally dripped between the branches and leaves. The sound was crisp, but it made the surroundings even more dead silent.
Fu Shaoping held the sword in front, taking every step very steadily, with the sword slightly tilted, ready to strike at any time. Nangong Wan followed closely behind, holding a talisman in his palm, his eyes as sharp as a knife.
Suddenly, a muffled groan came from the front - it was Madam Zhou's voice!
The two ran away and pushed aside the bushes. They saw a few silver needles scattered under a dead tree, with the needle tips showing a strange blue-black color. There was a pool of dark red blood on the ground, which had not yet completely solidified. Next to the blood was the medicine bag that Madam Zhou always carried with her, which had been torn open.
"The blood is still warm." Nangong Wan squatted down, touched the blood with his fingertips, and said in a tense voice, "They just left not long ago."
Fu Shaoping picked up a silver needle, the venom on the needle tip glowing in the morning light. He recognized the poison - it was the "Green Snake Powder" specially made by Madam Zhou, which was specifically designed to kill snake demons.
"She fought with the snake demon here." Fu Shaoping said in a low voice, looking around, "But where is the child?"
Nangong Wan suddenly looked up: "Shaoping, look!"
On the tree trunk, there were several fresh claw marks deep into the bark, as if it had been scratched by something sharp. Next to the claw marks, there were still a few blue-black scales left.
"It's not an ordinary snake demon." Fu Shaoping picked up the scales, his face becoming more gloomy, "It's a snake demon in the transformation stage, and it can already half transform into a human form."
-
The two continued to track the blood and traces of fighting, and came to a mountain stream. The stream was swift, and scattered on the bank were several pieces of torn swaddling cloth, which were stained with blood.
"This is..." Nangong Wan's voice suddenly choked.
Fu Shaoping picked up the cloth, his fingers trembling slightly. The little golden dragon pattern embroidered on the cloth was incomplete, but it was still recognizable - this was the swaddling clothes they had made for their child.
"No." Fu Shaoping clenched the cloth tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the bushes on the other side of the stream. Fu Shaoping looked up suddenly and saw a dark blue snake tail flash by.
"Stop!" Fu Shaoping shouted, leaping across the stream. Nangong Wan followed closely behind, the talisman in his hand already burning.
The two rushed into the bushes, but saw only a winding trail of blood on the ground, extending behind a boulder. On the boulder, a strange snake-shaped rune was drawn in blood.
"This is..." Nangong Wan's face suddenly changed, "The summoning array of the snake tribe!"
Fu Shaoping split the boulder with his sword, and the broken stones flew everywhere. Behind the boulder was a deep cave, and the entrance of the cave was filled with a strong fishy smell.
"They were taken in." Fu Shaoping said in a cold voice, "Wan'er, prepare to fight."
Nangong Wan took a deep breath, formed seals with his hands, and a red-gold light shield appeared around him: "No matter what is inside, we must bring the child and Madam Zhou back."
Fu Shaoping nodded, and the black iron sword shone coldly in the dim cave. The two looked at each other and stepped resolutely into the darkness.
Deep in the cave, there was a faint sound of a baby crying and a snake hissing.
The morning light was swallowed by darkness, and the deep cave was filled with the smell of decay. Fu Shaoping tilted his sword slightly, and the tip of the sword struck a spark on the stone wall, illuminating the deep corridor ahead. Nangong Wan followed closely behind, the talisman held in her fingertips glowed with a faint golden light, which made her frown.
"The crying is getting closer." She whispered, her voice trembling.
The end of the corridor suddenly opened up and turned out to be a stone chamber - the walls were covered with blue-black snake patterns, the ground was slippery and sticky, and on the central stone platform lay a baby's swaddling clothes!
"Child!" Fu Shaoping rushed forward, but his whole body shook violently the moment he touched the swaddling clothes - the swaddling clothes were as light as nothing, and when he opened them, he found a tangled bunch of snake skins!
"Not good!" Nangong Wan grabbed his collar from behind, "It's an illusion."
Before he finished speaking, the snake patterns on the four walls suddenly squirmed, and the stone room twisted and shook like the surface of water. Fu Shaoping felt his feet go empty, and the whole person fell into endless darkness.
-
When he opened his eyes again, Fu Shaoping found himself standing in a dense forest filled with blood mist. Withered branches pierced the sky like bone claws, and every leaf was dripping with sticky scarlet liquid.
"Wan'er?" he called out hoarsely, the black iron sword vibrating in his hand.
There was a rustling sound from the bushes on the left, and Nangong Wan stumbled out, with half of a green-scaled snake tail stuck in her left shoulder, and blood soaked half of her Taoist robe. Her lips were pale, and her right hand was still tightly holding the broken talisman: "This illusion will devour spiritual power."
Fu Shaoping held her, but was shocked to find that the spiritual power in her meridians was leaking out crazily, as if an invisible mouth was gnawing at her. He tore open the cloth on her shoulder, and found that the wound was wrapped with black curse patterns as thin as hair.
"Snake Soul Devouring Curse." His voice was hoarse, and the sword blade cut towards his wrist, "Bear it."
Blood dripped onto the wound, and the black lines made a hissing and burning sound. Nangong Wan groaned, digging his nails deeply into his arm, and cold sweat dripped down his chin.
“Save your energy.” She gasped and pointed into the mist. “That thing is coming.”
-
The blood mist suddenly surged violently, and two giant pythons broke through the mist - they were conjoined snake demons that shared a common torso! The left head was as red as blood, and the right head was as black as ink. The snake's belly was densely embedded with human-like scales, and each face was wailing silently.
"It's the nightmare snake that has eaten thousands of people!" Nangong Wan forced himself to stand up, and the blood-stained talisman ignited a green flame in his palm, "They use resentment to weave an illusion."
The red-headed snake suddenly opened its mouth and spurted out a bloody rain. Fu Shaoping turned around and swung his sword. The sword energy suddenly appeared like a silver screen, but the bloody rain condensed into countless fine needles in the air, piercing through the sword energy and piercing straight towards him!
"Clang!" Nangong Wan threw out the copper coin sword to block, but several blood needles still pierced into her waist and abdomen. She staggered half a step, and suddenly pinched her fingers and slapped the ground: "Leave the fire and burn the evil!" Three pillars of fire exploded on the ground, and the black-headed snake cried like a baby, and the snake's tail swept across to disperse the pillars of fire. Fu Shaoping took the opportunity to fly into the air, and the sword tip went straight to the seven inches of the red head, but his face suddenly changed the moment he stabbed in - there was nothing under the snake scales, and the sword tip was like sinking into the mud!
"Incorporeal?!" He hastily withdrew his sword, but the black-headed snake had already opened its mouth and was about to bite his throat.
At the critical moment, Nangong Wan rushed over to knock him away, but she was scratched on the back by the snake's fangs. Her Taoist robe corroded and rotted instantly, and she fell heavily on the dead tree, vomiting a mouthful of black blood.
"Wan'er!!" Fu Shaoping's eyes were about to burst, and the black iron sword suddenly burst into a dazzling green light. He bit his tongue and sprayed blood on the sword. The sword pattern squirmed like a living thing, and dense demon-suppressing inscriptions emerged.
"You actually raised the Sword Soul of the Evil Slayer." The red-headed snake spoke for the first time, and its voice was like a man and a woman. "What a pity—"
The black-headed snake suddenly expanded and exploded, turning into a swarm of black maggots that pounced on Nangong Wan! She barely held up the golden light shield, but the maggots corroded the light shield and made it sizzle. A maggot penetrated the barrier and bit her neck fiercely.
"Ah!" She finally screamed, and the copper coin sword in her hand fell to the ground with a clang.
Fu Shaoping's blood almost froze. He saw his wife's pupils begin to dilate, saw her fingertips vainly picking at the maggots that had sunk into her flesh, and saw the red-headed snake taking the opportunity to roll up a bloody wind to bite him -
“Get lost!!!”
Green light exploded like the rising sun, and fine cracks appeared in the space where the sword passed. The red-headed snake screamed and broke into two pieces, but when it fell to the ground, it turned into two identical Nangong Wan, who stretched out their hands to him at the same time: "Shaoping, save me!"
-
Fu Shaoping's sword was slightly stagnant, but the real Nangong Wan suddenly smiled. She struggled to form a seal with her bloodstained fingers, and she actually slapped her own soul: "Clear the void. Break the delusion!"
"boom!"
Blood mist exploded around her body, and all the black maggots vaporized instantly. The illusion cracked like a mirror, revealing the real cave - there was no two-headed snake monster, but a snow-white mother snake with a human face was entwined on the stone platform, and the snake's tail was wrapped around the unconscious Madam Zhou and the baby!
"Use your life to break the illusion." The snake mother stroked the bloody hole in her abdomen and said coldly, "You humans are always crazy and interesting."
Fu Shaoping knelt down to catch the falling Nangong Wan, whose spiritual light was rapidly fading. He tried to cover the bleeding wound on her neck with trembling hands, but he couldn't stop it.
"Child." Her lips moved, and her bloody finger pointed at the stone platform, "Dragon scale."
The mother snake suddenly screamed, and the snake's tail lifted the baby high up. Fu Shaoping watched the small body fall, but the moment it touched the ground -
“Zheng!”
The dragon scales on the baby's chest glowed with golden light, and the entire cave seemed to be melting into a furnace. The snake mother's skin and flesh melted away in the golden light, revealing her white bones. Fu Shaoping took the opportunity to leap up and pierced the snake mother's forehead with his sword!
Clang.
Nangong Wan's copper coin sword slipped from her loosened hands. Fu Shaoping held her gradually cooling body and heard the baby crying loudly in Zhou Niangzi's arms. The morning light finally penetrated the cracks in the cave ceiling and shone on his wife's frozen smile.
Fu Shaoping dug his fingers deep into his palms, blood dripping from his fingers. He stared at the dying white snake on the ground, and the sword blade scraped against the snake scales, making a harsh sound.
“Ask again,” his voice seemed to be squeezed out of hell, “Where is the person?”
The white snake grinned, revealing a strange smile that resembled a human: "Don't you know it in your heart?"
The sword flashed and the snake head fell to the ground.
But at the moment when the snake head rolled down, the whole cave suddenly twisted and deformed. The stone wall flowed like melted wax, and the ground began to collapse. Fu Shaoping stumbled back, but saw——
The snake head rolled on the ground for a few times, and suddenly turned into Zhou Niangzi's face, with tears of blood flowing from its single eye: "Brother Fu, save me!"
"Playing tricks!" Fu Shaoping slashed down with his sword, and the face shattered into countless small snakes, which hissed and drilled into the cracks in the ground.
The entire cave was collapsing, and rubble was falling like rain. Fu Shaoping suddenly realized something and turned around abruptly.
On the stone wall at the deepest part of the cave, there was an ancient bronze mirror. The mirror was full of cracks, but it clearly reflected: Madam Zhou was holding a child and running wildly in a blood-red bamboo forest, with countless snakes chasing after her.
"This is."
Fu Shaoping rushed towards the ancient mirror, but was bounced back by a huge force the moment he touched it. The picture in the mirror suddenly changed, showing Nangong Wan's figure - she was trapped in a dark space, drawing talismans on the wall with her bloody fingertips.
"Wan'er?!"
The mirror shattered with a "crack", and countless fragments floated in the air, each reflecting a different scene:
In some fragments, Madam Zhou is seen sinking to the bottom of the water holding her child;
In some fragments, Nangong Wan was entangled by snakes;
In other fragments, he was actually shown holding a sword and standing in a pool of blood, with a familiar figure lying at his feet.
“That’s enough!!!”
Fu Shaoping shouted, and the black iron sword burst out with dazzling golden light. He stopped looking at the illusions and closed his eyes, concentrating, with the tip of the sword pointing directly at his heart.
"Use your heart as a sword and break it!"
The moment the tip of the sword pierced into the flesh, the whole world was like shattered glass, and all illusions disappeared.
Fu Shaoping suddenly opened his eyes.
He was still standing in the original courtyard, the morning dew had not yet dried, and nine little dragons were sleeping soundly under the pear tree. Nangong Wan rushed out of the house, his face pale: "Shaoping! I found this--"
In her hand was a piece of blue-black snake scale with strange runes drawn in blood on it.
Fu Shaoping took the snake scales and suddenly found that the hem of his Taoist robe was stained with mud - exactly the same as the mud in the cave in the illusion.
"We have never left here," he said hoarsely. "We have been under a spell since the very beginning."
Nangong Wan's fingertips trembled: "What about Madam Zhou and the child?"
Fu Shaoping looked at the rising sun in the distance and held the snake scale tightly. The scale turned into ashes in his palm and drifted away with the wind.
The morning breeze blew across the empty cradle, leaving only a wet mark of water inside, like someone's tears. (End of this chapter)