The Snail Princess and Her Benefactor

The night gradually enveloped the entire mountain range. From time to time, the roars of wild beasts could be heard in the deep mountains, and the mountain wind made the howling of ghosts and wolves.

Hua Chao and Ling Mi wandered around in the mountains for a whole day. Even though the moon was rising above the treetops, they still couldn't get out of the mountains. They just wandered around in the mountains but couldn't get out of this strange forest.

"Sister! Why am I a little scared? Ling Mi grew up in the mountains and has been living and practicing alone in the mountains. But how come there are so many annoying things as a human being? Why do I feel scared?"

“Don’t be afraid, Lingmi. You and I are both mortals now. We have no spiritual power to protect ourselves. We will definitely feel uneasy coming to this strange place with desolate mountains and forests. As long as you and I stay focused, nothing we are afraid of will happen.” Hua Chao felt sorry for little Lingmi. She had been lonely and helpless since childhood, and now she had to work hard with a sister like him.

"But it's already late at night, and we've been walking for a long time. We're really tired. Can we find a place to rest? We can continue our journey tomorrow during the day."

"Well, I'll look for a suitable place to rest. Nowadays, it's not like before. Snakes, insects, wild beasts and the like can take our lives. We should be careful."

"Yes, sister is right."

As the two were talking, they heard a voice coming from afar.

"Don't catch me... Don't catch me..."

Hua Chao looked up and saw a little girl running away quickly in the distance. The girl's hair was disheveled and her clothes were tattered.

But the way the little girl ran seemed like her heels were not touching the ground, and she was lightly leaping above the grass. When looking closely under the moonlight, there was no shadow under the running figure of the little girl.

A little devil in black came chasing after her, holding a long rope in his hand, as if he wanted to tie up the little girl.

Hua Chao lowered his voice and said, "Ling Mi, this is the Yin Messenger catching the little ghost. You and I should just pretend we didn't see it and don't interfere."

"Oh! ... I didn't see anything!"

"That's good, don't say anything more."

Hua Chao pretended nothing had happened and continued walking forward, but unexpectedly the little girl turned around and walked straight towards them.

"Mom! ... My daughter is innocent! ..."

The little girl cried out softly and ran faster, but how could a little ghost like her outrun the ghost? She was about to be caught up by the ghost.

The little girl looked straight into Hua Chao's eyes and whispered, "Sister, it would be great if you could help me! I am really wronged!..." In the blink of an eye, the little girl flew past Hua Chao.

Hua Chao didn't dare to turn around and look at the girl, but he listened carefully to what she said.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he saw Hua Chao hook his feet and throw the Yin Cha who was passing by to the ground.

Hua Chao didn't dare to look at the fallen Yinchai and just continued walking forward.

The palms of both hands were already dripping with sweat, and his legs and feet were out of control. In fact, it was just a thought, but now Hua Chao regretted it too late.

He told Lingmi not to meddle in other people's business, but in the blink of an eye, he found himself meddling in other people's business. How would he respond if something unexpected happened in this desolate mountain and wilderness?

As I was thinking, I felt a gust of cold wind behind me, and a low, hoarse and gloomy voice rang out: "Two little girls, how could you see me and trip me up? Are you also wandering ghosts?"

"call……"

A pale ghost face appeared in front of Hua Chao, with dry and messy hair and scarlet eyes rolling around.

Hua Chao's heart was pounding, but his expression remained unchanged and he continued to move forward.

"Haha... can't you really see me?!"

A pair of skinny claws stretched out in front of Hua Chao and waved back and forth.

"Sniff sniff..."

The horse sniffed Hua Chao's body and said, "It smells like a living person, not even a hint of a ghost."

As he spoke, he slowly retracted his two dry claws.

"Oh! What bad luck! I wanted to catch a wandering ghost tonight and report back, but I didn't catch the ghost. Instead, I was tripped by a little girl and almost fell to death. Forget it! Go back and report!"

"Huh..." Following the sound, the ghost disappeared in a flash.

Hua Chao then slowly exhaled and patted his chest: "Huh... I was scared to death!"

"What did sister say...what scared me...don't scare me!" Xiao Lingmi was so scared after hearing what Hua Chao said that she trembled all over and looked around.

"Oh... nothing, nothing, just a little rabbit ran past me and I got scared."

"Sister, please don't be so startled. We are walking in the wilderness late at night. It will scare people to death!"

"Hahaha... Xiao Lingmi, how can you be so cowardly? Well, let's look for a place to rest."

"Rumble...Rumble..."

Suddenly, thunder was heard in the night sky: "Oh! It looks like it's going to rain. Let's run faster and see if there is a place to hide from the rain ahead." Hua Chao pulled Ling Mi and ran forward.

Running wildly along the path, I saw a dilapidated temple in the distance.

“Crack…Crack…Boom…”

There were lightning, thunder, strong winds and heavy rain, and in just a moment Hua Chao and Ling Mi were soaked.

The two of them quickened their pace and ran quickly into the ruined temple.

"Oh my! How come the rain comes so suddenly? Look at all the rain on me. Ah Qiu... Ah Qiu..." Ling Mi shook off the rain on her body and hair. "I'm so cold..."

Hua Chao wiped the water droplets from Ling Mi's hair with concern: "Hurry up and dry the rain, and find some dry clothes to change into."

"Sister, change your clothes quickly. The weather in this world is so unpredictable. It changes so quickly..."

Ling Mi started rummaging through the bag as she spoke.

"Xiao Lingmi, you and I are now ordinary mortals. From now on, you should stop talking about the world and how to be a human being. Otherwise, if someone with ulterior motives hears it, it will bring us unnecessary trouble!"

"Ah!... This... Lingmi really didn't think that much about it. Okay, then Lingmi won't say it anymore in the future. It's just like what sister said, it's better to be careful in everything!" Lingmi took out a set of clothes and handed it to Hua Chao.

"Sister, change quickly, don't catch a cold."

The two of them quickly changed their clothes and hung up their wet clothes. They saw some dry grass in the dilapidated temple, so they spread some on it and slept in their clothes.

"Ling Mi, this is the first time we've spent the night in the wild mountains since we left the Water Palace. Maybe we'll have to sleep outdoors a lot in the future. Are you afraid?"

"Sister is not afraid, and Lingmi is not afraid either. Lingmi can do anything as long as she is with sister." Little Lingmi turned around and faced Hua Chao. Her big watery eyes were full of Hua Chao's shadow.

"Go to sleep! You've been tired all day. We have to go down the mountain tomorrow. The road is difficult, so take a good rest tonight!" Hua Chao gently brushed the hair beside Lingmi's eyes.

"Hmm..." Ling Mi closed her eyes lightly, and soon she heard the sound of even breathing.

Hua Chao couldn't fall asleep for a moment and just stared blankly at the wall of the dilapidated temple.

Suddenly, she felt a chill swirling in the dilapidated temple. Strands of cold wind penetrated through the cracks and penetrated into Hua Chao's bones.