National Rare Monster Illustrated Book

The molting lasted for three days, during which the rocks were shattered and large areas of dense forest were razed to the ground.After the third day, all the chaos finally subsided slowly.

The phantom of the giant snake hundreds of feet away disappeared. Fenghuang searched for more than ten minutes by stepping on the broken rocks and branches all over the ground, and finally found the black snake curled up into a small ball on a leaf.

The little black snake was wet all over, and a small one curled up limply among the leaves.There is a piece of snake skin that has just shed beside it, probably because it feels cold, the little black snake raised its small head, twisted and twisted its thin and soft snake body, and tried to drill itself under the snake skin.

Fenghuang squatted beside him, and lightly tapped the little snake's head with his fingertips.The little black snake raised its head, a pair of black gem-like snake eyes stared at it without blinking, hissed, and made an attacking gesture.

"cute,"

Fenghuang laughed and said, "You don't recognize me just after shedding your skin?"

Little Black Snake: "Hiss—"

"I know, I know, I'm super fierce, I won't mess with you."

Fenghuang put the jade box on the ground and stepped back.

After confirming that Phoenix was going away with suspicious eyes, the little black snake put her head close to the jade box, seemed to sniff it, and then snorted into the jade box.

It nestled at the bottom of the warm and soft jade box, with the tip of its tail wagging, looking very happy.

——Not long after, the little black snake curled up into a small ball again and fell asleep in its little bed.

Fenghuang slowly stepped forward, put away the shed snake skin, and hugged the sleeping little black snake together with the snake and the jade box.

The little black snake slept peacefully, and did not react much when Fenghuang poked its limp snake's body with his fingers, but subconsciously twisted to the side.

"so small."

Fenghuang smiled lightly, and in the next second his expression changed, and he looked up at the sky.

——The originally clear sky was covered with overcast clouds at some point, and there were faint thunderclaps in the sky, gradually gathering above him from far to near.

Fenghuang frowned, he tossed three copper coins out of his sleeve and made a hasty calculation, then his face changed slightly.

"It's precisely at this time..."

He muttered in a low voice, stayed in place for a moment, and showed the prototype.

The phoenix gently hooked the jade box, dragging its golden and colorful tail feathers, and flew to the distance where there was still a glimmer of skylight.

-

"..."

In her sleep, Shen Qing heard bursts of thunder ringing continuously in her ears, which seemed to never subside.

He thought it was just a dream, but he didn't realize it was not until he woke up.

The thunder faded away, and the dark clouds in the sky had just dissipated. The little black snake lifted the lid of the jade box and got out, turning back into a young man.

Shen Qing looked up at the sky where the light was beginning to bloom, and frowned slightly.

If he read correctly...it should be Jieyun.

There was still a burning smell in the air, and a familiar smell.Shen Qing identified it for a few seconds and found that it was the breath of a phoenix.

Fenghuang should have encountered Jieyun, judging from his aura that he may still be injured, but his life is fine, and he is no longer in the human world, probably returned to the demon world.

Surrounded by unfamiliar mountains and forests, Shen Qing didn't know where he was taken by the Phoenix, he stood silently at the same spot for a while, picked a random place, and walked there with the jade box in his arms.

It's cold in the forest, but fortunately there is a jade box to keep warm.The colder the place, the warmer the box, so Shen Qing hugged it and slowly walked out of this primitive mountain forest, and turned onto a mountain path stepped on by humans.

The path is winding and winding, and there are stones rolling down on it.Shen Qing walked alone for almost an hour, and finally saw a village in the distance.

The village is located among the remote mountains, and there are probably only a few dozen families.Some khaki tile walls are scattered, mottled and dilapidated like old houses from decades of last century.

This should be an isolated and backward village, but there are still people living there.Shen Qing watched across the hill for a while, and was going to ask someone for directions there.

He didn't bring his mobile phone when he went out, but he brought Qin Mo's money and card, and now he doesn't even know where it is, which is really inconvenient.

The village seemed to be only a short distance away, but it was not close if I really wanted to rush there.Shen Qing's speed was not slow, but the closer he got to the village, the more he felt something was wrong.

He sensed the popularity there, and he also sensed the... death energy that was stronger than the popularity.

Many people have died in this village, but this is not the only reason for its death.

Shen Qing raised her eyebrows slightly, and continued to rush over there without slowing down.There are dense forests on both sides of the mountain road, but the closer to the village, the more withered and yellowed the forest leaves. When it is almost there, there are dead trees on both sides, which are in stark contrast to the green behind.

The mountain road meanders and turns a corner.When Shen Qing passed the turning, she stopped.

He turned his head and saw a person squatting on the side of the road with his back facing him among the withered yellow ground. It was a skinny woman.

It's winter now, but the woman is only wearing a rotten cotton jacket, her face is unkempt, her bare hands have been cracked by the cold, and pus is still oozing out.

She didn't notice when Shen Qing walked over, she lowered her head and didn't know what she was muttering.

"Hello,"

Shen Qing said, "Excuse me, what is this place?"

"..."

After hearing his words, the woman slowly raised her head, revealing a muddy face.

Her eyes were big and lifeless, she might be a lunatic, she didn't react any more after hearing Shen Qing's words, she just smiled at him strangely.

Shen Qing asked again, and found that the crazy woman was just smiling, so she stopped asking.

He walked away, the crazy woman stared at his back for a few seconds, then slowly turned around, still muttering some vague words, looking extremely nervous.

Not long after being separated from that crazy woman, Shen Qing met someone from this village.

The village has probably not seen outsiders for a long time, and there is an obvious xenophobic atmosphere from top to bottom.They looked at Shen Qing suspiciously and without kindness, and not long after, an old man who looked like a village head rushed over with two or three middle-aged men holding a tool.

At that time, Shen Qing was standing at the entrance of the village looking up at a century-old tree. The roots of the tree were knotted and entrenched on the yellow mud ground, and the thick branches were wantonly criss-crossing, casting a heavy shadow.

The village chief stared at him unkindly, and when he was about to speak, Shen Qing introduced himself politely—first he babbled nonsense, then made up a lie about accidentally getting lost and losing his luggage when he went out to sketch, and finally He took out the money and rented a house from the village chief.

After seeing those bright red bills, the village head's bark-like old face burst into a smile, he took the money into his hands, and invited Shen Qing to his home with a smile on his face.

At the beginning, one of the middle-aged men named Wang Li who came with the village chief stared at the money in the village chief's hand. After a while, he walked away alone.

Shen Qing raised his eyes casually, and saw that Wang Li's entire head was wrapped in a cloud of black air, and the black air spread down his shoulders, almost reaching his heart.

……Hopeless.

He looked away, and was warmly invited to his home by the village head all the way.

The village head, surnamed Li, is a big family in this small village.From his mouth, Shen Qing learned that this is a small village on the edge of H province near Haicheng, with poor traffic conditions and a full day's walk from the nearest town.There is only one family in the village, the third son of the Sun family, Sun Ji, who works in the town and has a van. He usually comes back every three months, and it should be tomorrow.

"You can stay here for one night at ease. When Sun Ji comes back, I'll ask him to give you a ride to the town."

Village head Li counted the banknotes in his hand, smiling so that a chrysanthemum bloomed on his face.

Shen Qing sat silently in front of a painted Eight Immortals table. The village chief's daughter-in-law came over with her head down and poured him a glass of white water.

Village head Li has a son in his 40s. A few years ago, he accidentally fell and broke his leg. He is still paralyzed in bed.His daughter-in-law, Xiaoling, wore a yellowed old cotton-padded coat and was called around by the village chief. Her weather-stained face was numb and lifeless—but it was clearly a young face, after wiping away the heavy weather, Can vaguely see the beautiful background.

Shen Qing picked up the broken cup, looked down and saw a large piece of yellow on the bottom of the cup, and put it back silently.

The village chief was in high spirits, calling for Xiao Ling to cook dinner for him.Xiaoling didn't say a word, and went to the stove in a numb manner.

Half an hour later, Shen Qing hastily finished her dinner.He was actually not hungry, and the dinner at the village chief's house was so coarse that it was almost unpalatable, so with a few chopsticks, Shen Qing went back to the room the village chief arranged for him.

In the room with clay tiles and yellow walls, a greasy wire hangs from a light bulb, and the dim light barely illuminates the small room.The bed had just been made, and the off-thread quilt of the big red peony exuded a strange smell that had been buried deep in the bottom of the cabinet for ten or eight years without seeing the sun.

Shen Qing: "..."

He missed Qin Mo, who still had a clean and bright villa.

Shen Qing stared at the bed silently for a while, then pulled up a chair that barely fit a person and sat down, intending to spend the night just like this.

No one in the village has a mobile phone, let alone a telephone.This is a truly isolated and backward place-they are like people who took an ax and chopped off the railroad tracks connecting with the modern world. The whole village is willing to bury itself in the stale atmosphere until it completely rots.

The black snake has just shed its skin, and its power and body are in a period of decline.It didn't take long for him to feel sleepy, and he leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes slightly.

"..."

Outside the completely darkened window, a shadow flashed quickly, but Shen Qing just closed his eyes, as if he didn't realize it.

-

In the middle of the night, the rustling of grass and leaves sounded outside the earthen wall of the courtyard. Wang Li ran away from the corner of Village Chief Li’s house with his waist down. He was clutching a few bright red banknotes that he had just stolen. money.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Wang Li quickly sneaked onto the path beside the field without anyone noticing.He lowered his head and tapped the few bills with his saliva, smiled and stuffed them into his trouser pocket.

The night in the village was quiet, and the fields on both sides were pitch black.Wang Li has walked this road many times, but for some reason today he always felt that something was wrong, and the wind at night was cool and whizzing, which made people feel hairy.

"What the hell……"

He grumbled, pulled the old jacket on his body, bowed his head and hurried home.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

In the dark night, a low cry came from nowhere.Wang Li's footsteps froze, and through the dim moonlight, he saw someone squatting beside the field... like a woman with her head bowed.

At that moment, the hairs all over his body exploded, and when he took a closer look at the next second, the edge of the field was still pitch black, and there was nothing there.

"Fuck."

Wang Li breathed a sigh of relief, and then cursed fiercely.

He quickened his pace and continued walking forward.However, when he walked past the place just now, he heard a faint cry from behind him.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

The cry was very close, as if it was only one step away from him.A cool breath floated on the back of his neck, and he could almost imagine that "thing" was behind him.

Wang Li cursed subconsciously, and then ran away.

He ran fast all the way, but the crying sound was always drifting behind him, making his scalp tingle, and he didn't dare to slow down, let alone turn around.

Usually only less than 10 minutes away, but this time it seemed like an hour.It was pitch black and silent, as if the whole world had disappeared and he was the only one.

Just when Wang Li was running almost out of breath, he suddenly saw the door of his house, and the crying sound also disappeared at this moment, as if it had never appeared before.

Wang Li's face showed joy, and he ran to his house quickly. The courtyard door was unlocked and left open, and he kicked it open.

squeak-

The old courtyard door swung open, and Wang Li froze.

By the dim moonlight, he saw that the yard was full of weeds and broken tiles, and it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time.

This is not his home, here is, here is...

"Ah...ah..."

Wang Li raised his head tremblingly. In the inner hall without a door, a black and white portrait was placed in the center of the inner hall. The woman in the portrait had no expression on her face, and under the pale moonlight... looked at him sinisterly.