Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 247 Snake Crossing the Road

A night breeze blew by the campfire.

Long Zongshu's snoring sound rang out in waves, like a rusty saw cutting through a tree, slightly grating.

The firelight reflected on Mo Li and Ran Qing's faces, making their expressions flicker like wax figures.

Ran Qing's refusal left Mo Li silent for a long time.

She seemed to be thinking about how to persuade her.

It was as if they were discouraged by Ran Qing's stubbornness.

Finally, Mo Li sighed and said, "You really are stubborn..."

Ran Qing nodded, not denying it: "I've gotten used to sticking to it."

If she hadn't been so stubborn and persistent, Ran Qing wouldn't have been able to maintain her diligent study and avoid all entertainment activities for ten years.

His stubbornness and tenacity have allowed him, a country boy, to reach his current heights step by step. He only needs to cross the dragon gate of the college entrance examination to transform into a dragon.

He was used to this kind of persistence and stubbornness, and it was difficult for him to change.

Mo Li shook his head, stopped trying to persuade him, and started talking about other things.

"If you refuse to leave, then we'll have to speed up our ghost-catching."

"Perhaps we can find the Ghost King's Coffin before the Gates of Hell are fully opened and everything gets out of control."

As he spoke, Mo Li sighed again: "But you've been catching ghosts all along..."

Laziness is a bad habit that most people find hard to control.

The desire for ease and aversion to work is inherent in the nature of living beings.

But Ran Qing was like a spinning top that never stopped, never giving herself a chance to catch her breath, as if she didn't know what rest or laziness meant.

Ever since his sixth aunt passed away, he has been catching ghosts, catching ghosts, catching ghosts.

In response to Mo Li's sentiments, Ran Qing simply shook her head: "I just want to finish this as soon as possible so as not to delay my studies."

His schedule was packed; besides exorcising ghosts and evil spirits, he also had to study hard and prepare for the college entrance examination.

He will be a senior in high school starting in September.

With the college entrance examination approaching, he had to finish this task during the summer vacation, without any delay.

As a high school sophomore, his summer vacation is very short, with only a few days left.

Ran Qing's words made Mo Li sigh, "You really are a good student..."

The two people by the fire suddenly fell silent.

The conversation seems to have died at this point.

After an awkward silence, Mo Li said, "I told you last time that I've seen underworld messengers... Do you know what underworld messengers look like?"

Mo Li, trying to make conversation, started a new topic.

Ran Qing's eyes lit up, and she asked, "What does it look like?"

The topic shift was abrupt.

But he was indeed interested.

As a wanderer of spirits, he already had a general understanding of the local customs, traditions, and supernatural phenomena in Zangke.

However, he knew very little about the demons and monsters outside of Zangke.

The underworld ghost messengers that Mo Li mentioned last time piqued his curiosity—did the Black and White Impermanence really exist? The Ten Kings of Hell?
Ran Qing asked curiously, and Mo Li continued the conversation on this topic.

The two finally abandoned their business and began to chat idly about the wonderful things Mo Li had seen and heard during his travels.

“…That was when I was crossing the Yellow River, I came across a corpse,” Mo Li said. “The corpse was bound hand and foot, with one end of the rope tied to the bank, and the body was floating in the Yellow River. It was being tossed about by the Yellow River like a fish.”

"I asked the locals, and they said it was someone who fell into the river and drowned, and was pulled up by body retrievers on the banks of the Yellow River." "The body retrievers tie the body to the bank and wait for the family to come and pay to claim it."

Mo Li said, "It was just getting dark when I stood there watching the commotion for a while, and then the family members came looking for me."

"While the two sides were haggling, two strange dark figures suddenly emerged from the crowd."

"They were transparent, with deathly expressions, and they pulled out a ghost that looked exactly like the corpse from the bodies floating in the water."

As Mo Li spoke, his expression turned sinister: "At that time, the ghost struggled desperately, as if trying to escape."

"But those two ghost messengers just pressed it to the ground and tore it in half on the spot."

"Then one of the ghost messengers dragged half of the ghost away. I chased after him to see what was going on, but after a few steps I couldn't find him anymore."

"Later, I ran into a Taoist priest in the city. He told me that he was a ghost messenger from the underworld who was collecting ghosts."

Mo Li's expression was sinister and his tone was eerie, sending chills down one's spine.

He has a remarkable talent for telling ghost stories.

Although she herself was a shady shady character, Ran Qing couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine after hearing Mo Li's mysterious story.

Just as he was about to ask about what happened next, a rustling sound suddenly came from not far away.

The two people by the fire were both stunned, and Ran Qing was especially startled.

—What's the difference between this and someone tapping you on the shoulder while you're reading a ghost story?
The two people who were chatting suddenly stopped, and Ran Qing shone her flashlight sharply in that direction.

A brightly colored snake was seen slithering across the road, and it happened to bump into the bushes by the roadside, which made a rustling sound.

The flashlight beam shone on the venomous snake, and the snake actually turned around and glanced at Ran Qing and the others.

The snake then sped up and disappeared into the grass with a whoosh.

Upon seeing this, Mo Li's eyes widened: "What kind of snake is that? It looks so strange..."

Ran Qing had never seen this kind of snake before.

Although there are many snakes and insects at the foot of the mountain, most snakes will avoid people.

Snakes like these that crawl across the road and even raise their heads to look at people when illuminated by flashlights... that's a bit eerie.

Ran Qing couldn't help but stand up, holding a flashlight and carrying a cane, searching near the bushes where the venomous snake had disappeared.

Although he has never been bitten by a venomous snake, for some reason he has been afraid of snakes since childhood and has a natural fear of them.

Now, seeing a strange, venomous snake crawling past not far away makes me feel uneasy.

He was terrified that the venomous snake would silently creep over and bite him.

It would have been better if Ran Qing hadn't stood up to look for it. As soon as he stood up and the flashlight beam swayed around, he was immediately terrified by what he saw in the bushes.

There was more than one snake in the bushes not far from them.

Snakes, some brightly colored, some completely black, and some even entirely silver-white, were seen crawling in a line through the roadside grass.

When the flashlight beam shone through, the roadside bushes were filled with the writhing bodies of snakes.

The snake that made the noise was neither the first nor the last.

Behind it, other snakes crawled across the road from one side, swaggering across and crawling to the other side.

Something seemed to be attracting them in the direction they were moving, causing the snakes to obediently line up and move forward.

When the flashlight shone on them, all the snakes in the grass raised their heads and stared straight at them.

The bizarre scene sent chills down Ran Qing's spine, and she instinctively took several steps back.

Mo Li was also startled by his unusual reaction and got up to check on him.

When Mo Li also saw the eerie line of snakes crawling in the darkness, her expression changed drastically, and she couldn't help but ask, "Where did so many snakes come from?"

(End of this chapter)