Autumn

The early summer in Qingfeng City is always drizzled, which is a sign of the beginning of the summer rainy season.Although it was drizzle, but because it was dense, after only an hour, the rain curtain hung down on the eaves.Meng Yue sat in a daze in the corridor, watching the continuous water curtains.Although there is still some distance from the study room, the quarrel between Jinse and Yin Danlu can still be heard.The quarrel this time stemmed from an inexplicable chess game. Yin Danlu, who was recovering from her injuries, was afraid of being bored, so she pulled Luo Honglian to play chess.Luo Honglian's chess skills were mediocre, but when she met Yin Danlu, she was a master of reluctance. Luo Honglian, who had lost three games in a row, would not play any more.But Luo Honglian is the only person in front of her who can make her boring recovery life interesting, Yin Danlu is not willing to let go.After finally coaxing and cheating into another round, seeing that Luo Honglian was about to lose again, Jinse made a move on the sidelines.This move is powerful, not only won, but also won back all the previous losses.Seeing this, Luo Honglian naturally applauded.But Yin Danlu was a little unhappy.Just for such a game of chess, the three of them have been fighting for less than half an hour.

Meng Yue frowned, and raised his hand to pick out his ears, as if he wanted to take those quarrels away from his ears.He couldn't figure out how Lu Li could listen to their quarrel so calmly, never complaining.Just thinking about this, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Yueying walking from the other end of the corridor with Lu Li on his arm.

"My lord, are you going to the study?"

"I've been lying on the bed for a long time, and I feel a little uncomfortable. I just wanted to sit in the study for a while, and it happened that Yueying brought me medicine, so she helped me over."

"Ah! I actually forgot that you should take medicine at this hour."

Hearing Meng Yue's remorse, Lu Li just smiled.

"It's okay, actually, I've recovered a long time ago. It's just that Jinse made a fuss and insisted on taking those bitter medicines and resting."

"However, son, it's better not to go to the study..."

"What happened?"

Hearing what Meng Yue said, Lu Li asked with a frown. After a while, Yin Danlu and Luo Honglian's quarrel came to my ears, and the voice seemed to come from the study.

"What are they arguing about?"

"A game of chess."

Meng Yue's tone was a bit disgusting, but he still told Lu Li the whole story in a polite manner.At first Lu Li and Yue Ying were a little confused, but then they couldn't help laughing.

"Anyway, they've been arguing until now."

"Watching chess and not talking is a real gentleman. According to Jinse's temperament, naturally you can't shut up with this sentence."

"Young master really understands her. She said that she is a woman, not a gentleman. Whatever you say, it is difficult to raise a woman and a villain."

Meng Yue stuck her throat and imitated Jinse's speech, which made Yueying hold her stomach and laugh.Although Lu Li couldn't see it, Meng Yue's exaggerated voice still made him laugh.

"It's just a game of chess. It seems that they are also extremely bored, which is why they are like this."

"I see that they have no one to fight, and their hands are itchy."

Yueying managed to stop laughing, and when she heard Lu Li's words, she answered.

"Fight?" Lu Li said with a smile, "I'm afraid there will be a fight."

"Fight with whom?"

Meng Yue, who had been bored for several days, suddenly became interested when he heard Lu Li talk about fighting.

"I don't know." Lu Li smiled lightly, as if he was talking about something very important but not so important, "Meng Yue, go to the kitchen and prepare more food to satisfy your hunger, I think it will be useful .”

Meng Yue frowned, and went to the kitchen resentfully.Yueying on the side was a little puzzled, why did she prepare those for those who neither go out nor greet guests.Although she had doubts, she couldn't ask, because she saw Lu Li's face facing the outside of the corridor, showing a melancholy expression against the continuous drizzle.

"Father! The water level in the swamp has risen again. I'm afraid we can't stay here any longer. You should go and have a look with me."

Lang Yu said anxiously to his father as soon as he entered the door.Lang Xuan frowned and sat on his kang, silently smoking a stick of dry tobacco.Lang Yu's mother, Wang Shi, became a little impatient, she dropped the needle and thread in her hand, and stared at her man.

"Yu'er is right, we can't stay here anymore. It's been raining for a long time, and the swamp is almost flooded. When the time comes, the village will definitely suffer. As Li Zheng, you have to make up your mind. All the old and young in the village are looking at us."

Wang's words finally made Lang Xuan put down his cigarette bag, and he knocked on the pot of dry tobacco on the edge of the kang.He looked up at his only son, Lang Yu, who looked like his mother. Although he looked delicate, his personality was like his own when he was young.

"Where did the swamp level rise?"

"I estimate that if the rain falls for another month or so, Sifang Mountain should be flooded."

The Sifang Mountain mentioned by Lang Yu is located in the center of the swamp.No one knows when this mountain appeared in the swamp. All the residents living in Yunzhang only know that there is a Sifang mountain in the swamp since they are sensible.

Sifang Mountain, as the name suggests, is a square mountain. The mountain looks small, because it is square, and in addition to being in the center of the swamp, no one has ever gone up it, and no one knows anything about it.The swamp of Yunmao is famous in Kyushu, and the scenery varies throughout the year.Most of the swamps in Yunmao are low-lying swamps, which are always full of plants such as reeds and water pine.In autumn, the swamp will change to different colors, and the plants in the swamp also change the colors of their branches and leaves, making the swamp more colorful.Yunmao is located in the southeast of Kyushu, the seasons are like spring, and the air is slightly humid.The residences of the residents gradually formed along the periphery of the swamp, and so did the village where Lang Yu lived.

The rainy season in Yunmao starts in early June and lasts intermittently until mid-June.But this year, the rain has been inexplicably falling for a month. Although the rain is not heavy, it is not a good thing for the swampy cloud marsh.Lang Xuan remained silent for a while before getting down from the kang.

"Go, take me to have a look. If it doesn't work, let's go."

Lang Xuan's expression was a little helpless when he spoke, and Lang Yu couldn't help frowning as he watched his father walk out of the house with his hands behind his back.He knew that this was the place where his ancestors lived, and it was more important to his father than his own life.But in the current situation, leaving is also a helpless move.

The Lang family father and son were walking towards the swamp, but they saw a person running in the rain in a panic.

"Linzi! What are you running for?"

Lang Yu recognized that it was his friend Lin Yuansheng, and the two of them went to see the flooding of the swamp together.When he came back, he asked Lin Zi to stay where he was, and if there were any unexpected things, he would come back and tell himself.This kid ran back suddenly, something must have happened in the swamp.

"Lang Yu!" Lin Zi also recognized Lang Yu and Lang Xuan from a distance, and shouted at them while running, "Swamp! There are monsters in the swamp!"

The father and son of the Lang family looked at each other, feeling that this was a bit strange, Lang Yu ran a few steps quickly, and helped Lin Zi who was about to fall halfway.

"Lin Zi, what happened?"

"The swamp... the swamp... there are... monsters."

Lin Zi said out of breath.

"What monster?"

Lang Xuan, who had walked up to them quickly, asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, I... I only saw that monster climbed up Sifang Mountain from the swamp, it seemed like a snake. What's more terrible, I saw it devoured a water bird that passed by Sifang Mountain."

"There are snakes in the swamp all the time, so what's the fuss about that?"

"But this snake is different from what we usually see." Seeing that Lang Xuan didn't believe his words, Lin Zi became a little anxious, "It has hair on its body, just like the hair on a wild boar."

Lang Xuan's heart began to beat when he heard the second half of the sentence, what kind of snake grows hair, or the kind on a wild boar.Could it be that the continuous rain is also related to the snake?Lang Xuan's brows became more tangled, and after pondering for a while, his eyes fell on his son.

"Let's go! This time I must go to see what this snake with wild boar hair looks like!"

Lin Zi wanted to stop him, but seeing that the Lang family and his son seemed to have made up their minds to find out what happened, he had no choice but to swallow the words that came to his lips.

The dense drizzle showed no signs of stopping, and the swamp had been covered by a layer of not-so-deep rain, but it still looked like a swamp country.Standing on the edge of the swamp, Lang Xuan saw Sifang Mountain from a distance.The top of Sifang Mountain is a bit bare, and the vegetation is not very rich. From a distance, it looks like a bald head that has lost its hair.He squinted his eyes and stared at the top of the mountain. After a while, something seemed to move on the top of the mountain.

"That's the guy."

Lin Zi whispered in Lang Xuan's ear.Both Lang Xuan and Lang Yu watched intently, the thing meandered from the top of the mountain to the halfway up the mountain, with its head poking out of Sifang Mountain, this time Lang Xuan finally saw the appearance of the monster clearly.It was indeed a snake with wild boar hair, and the snake was so huge that the Sifang Mountain might not be enough for it to live in.It is no wonder that since the beginning of spring this year, there have been a lot fewer waterfowl in the swamp.Lang Xuan watched the snake stick its head into the swamp, and returned to Sifang Mountain after a while.

"It looks like it's looking under the swamp. But what's under the swamp?"

Lang Xuan said suspiciously to himself.

"No matter what it was looking for or looking at in the swamp, the rain must have something to do with it."

Lang Yu frowned and said.

"Well, indeed. We must first know what this monster is and where it came from. Otherwise, there is no countermeasure."

"Father, I think it's better to let everyone leave here first, and then find an expert to take a look. What do you think?"

For his son's suggestion, Lang Xuan lowered his head and thought for a while, then took a few puffs of dry tobacco.

"Okay. We will go back to the village to inform everyone that some will go to Dongli Prefecture and some will go to Nanyue Prefecture."

Lu Li was still in the old habit of sitting in the flowing water pavilion in the courtyard and playing the piano. The sound of rain that came from his ears from time to time didn't disturb him in any way.Jinse sat beside him, hugged her legs curled up in front of her chest, closed her eyes and listened.

"Honglian, don't you think the rain is a bit strange?"

Yin Danlu, who was forced to rest by Yueying, sat by the window boredly, watching the drizzle and water curtain,

"Some fishy smell."

Luo Honglian sniffed and said, with a displeased expression on her face, because she was forced to chat with Yin Danlu, but this is not what she is good at.

"It seems to be the smell of snakes." Yin Danlu narrowed her scarlet eyes and moved her gaze to the other side of the yard. "I think Jinse should have found out."

"What should come will always come."

Luo Honglian stretched out her hand towards the window, and the water in the rain curtain was falling on her palm, and it evaporated in an instant, releasing a wisp of gray-black smoke.

"This rain is really strange."

Yin Danlu watched the smoke dissipate, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Meng Yue leading three people into the courtyard and heading straight for the main hall.

"Sit down, old man, I'll call my son right now."

Lang Xuan sat down cautiously, nodded to Meng Yue and said yes.After Meng Yue left, the three of them took a closer look.This Wuwei residence may not look big, but in fact, although the sparrow is small and complete, the main hall alone is hundreds of times better than the grass shed at home.While looking at it, Yueying had already brought tea in.Lin Zi and Lang Yu were a little lost when they saw Yueying.As for what she said, she naturally didn't listen carefully.Until Yueying left, the two of them were still in a daze.

Not long after Yueying left, Lu Li entered the main hall.Lang Xuan looked him up and down, the young man in front of him was about the same age as his son, but his temperament was completely different, he could tell at a glance that he was a literate man.What's more, he was born with a dignified appearance, but it's a pity for those eyes.

"Mr. Lu, excuse me."

Lang Xuan got up and cupped his hands towards Lu Li and said.

"Wuweiju is originally open for business, so you don't have to be polite. I just don't know what the old man is here for?"

After Lang Xuan took his seat again, he told Lu Li what happened.

"I saw the snake with my own eyes, and I'm sure it doesn't belong to Yunmao, but why it appeared in Sifang Mountain is unknown."

Lu Li frowned and remained silent. Lang Xuan's description of the snake reminded him of an animal—a long snake.It is a kind of snake that lives in Daxian Mountain. It is huge and has long hair like a wild boar.Birds and beasts devoured everything.This kind of snake has an extremely long lifespan, and it only kills once in several years or even decades, and it only lays one snake egg each time.On the surface, it seems that the offspring are not prosperous, but the root cause is not only because of their extremely long life span, but also because of their long hair.Those long hairs are as thin as silver needles and as strong as steel, so they are naturally the best weapon to defend against the enemy.It is difficult for ordinary people to catch, not to mention that this kind of snake is often elusive, and few people in this world have seen it.If Master hadn't described it to him, Lu Li wouldn't know much about the long snake.But Daxian Mountain is very far away from Yunzhang, almost spanning the entire Kyushu, who would put the long snake into Sifang Mountain?And judging from Lang Xuan's description, this long snake is very huge, already exceeding its normal size.

"It seems that this long snake appeared a little strangely, and this rain..."

Jin Se, who stood at the door and stared at the rain curtain for a while, suddenly spoke.Lang Xuan was startled by the sudden voice, and turned his head to look outside the door.I saw a woman in scarlet clothes coming out from the side of the door. The woman was extremely beautiful, and her eyes were a little bit coquettish.

"What does the girl mean by this?"

Lang Xuan looked at Jin Se suspiciously.

"This rain has a fishy smell, and it's the smell of snakes."

Jinse's black eyes fell on Lang Xuan's old face, she knew that if she didn't tell the truth, these mortals would not be able to feel it, except Lu Li.

"So, it's really related to that snake?"

Lang Yu widened his eyes and said.

"In ancient mythology, Emperor Xuanyuan brought snake eggs from the mortal world to heaven, and thus a dragon was born."

Jinse seems to have unintentionally mentioned the relationship between snakes and dragons. Although it is just a legend, this kind of legend is true for ordinary people.

"From this point of view, it was indeed caused by the snake. No wonder it has been raining for so long. Now even the swamp has been flooded, and the water level is still rising."

Lang Xuan frowned and smoked again. He began to worry about the fields in the village, some poultry that he could not take away, and the pigs in the pigsty.These are the only belongings of the villagers. Although the village was still intact when they left, it is hard to say now.

"Mr. Lu, when we fled to Nanyue State, some people said that Wuweiju could help us. Right now, you are our only hope. Please save Yunzhao."

Seeing that his father was just smoking silently, Lang Yu couldn't hold back his temper anymore.

"you are?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. This is my son Lang Yu. He has a reckless personality. Don't be fooled."

"It's okay." Lu Li smiled, "The long snake in Yunzhang is indeed suspicious..."

"Lu Li, if you need to take a trip to Yunmao, we can help you."

Lu Li followed the sound and rolled his eyes, he knew it was Yin Danlu.

"You have not recovered from your serious injury, it is better to rest."

"I'm not that weak. I'm all well now, it's just that you made a fuss and insisted on me resting."

"Lu Li, I think it's better to go to Yunzhang. I don't think this matter is that simple. I always feel that the strangeness of the long snake has something to do with that person."

Jinse's words made Langxuan a little confused, but according to what they said, Wuweiju had already accepted Yunmao's commission.If they could really get the strange snake out of the cloud marsh and stop the rising water level, no matter what the cost, he would have no complaints.

Five days later, Lu Li stood at the edge of the Yunzhang swamp, which was the only place that hadn't been submerged.But the continuation of the rain will turn this surviving land into a country of floods.The village where Lang's family is located has been submerged. From time to time, some household items and some drowned animals float by on the water.Meng Yue frowned and watched those things drift farther and farther away. Following the direction they left, he saw Sifang Mountain.

"Is that Sifang Mountain over there?"

Jinse looked at the not-so-big Sifang Mountain and nodded.

"It should be. Mr. Lang said that Sifang Mountain is in the center of the swamp."

"The fishy smell here is heavier, but the long snake should not be on the mountain."

"Where does it go? Could it be... in the swamp?"

Meng Yue looked at Luo Honglian puzzled.

"It's possible. Didn't Mr. Lang say that this long snake often goes to the swamp, as if looking for something?"

Luo Honglian frowned and said, because he didn't know what the long snake wanted in the swamp.

"Although the long snake has an extremely long lifespan, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than a giant python on the Daxian Mountain in Kyushu. What can it want in the swamp of Yunzhao?"

Yin Danlu thought while touching her clean chin.

"If you want to know the answer, you can only find it in the swamp."

Jinse picked up the gravel at her feet and threw it into the Zeguo, where the stone disappeared instantly.The strange thing is that there was not even a small splash of water, and it was swallowed up without a sound.

"There is indeed a problem with this water."

"You'll know if you try it."

Yin Danlu smiled, and stepped into the water indifferently.Except for a few layers of shallow ripples being stirred up on the water surface, there were almost no larger fluctuations.

"I dare to assert that this is just a cover-up. There may be a huge city below."

Yueying looked at Yin Danlu's nonchalant smile with some worry, and was about to pull him back, but saw that he had already jumped into the water.

"Yin Danlu!"

Yueying exclaimed, her feet became unsteady and she fell to the ground.The moment her hands were submerged in the water, Yueying felt the difference in the water.

"This water... No, this should be an enchantment, a giant enchantment built with water!"

Yueying stared wide-eyed, looking at the place where Yin Danlu disappeared.

"Enchantment? Who can build such a huge enchantment, and why?"

Lu Li, who had been silent all this time, frowned and said, his voice was not loud, more like talking to himself.

"The stone just now has verified my idea, but Yin Danlu can jump into the water so easily, which shows that this barrier is not offensive, it only prevents mortals or other low-level monsters from breaking in."

"Then will there be an enchantment below?"

"If this layer of enchantment is to prevent intruders, it means that there is indeed something in the swamp that needs to be protected, and there is nothing wrong with laying an enchantment inside, but in this way, the enchantment behind will be aggressive."

Jinse explained everything in detail.

"So it's possible that the long snake was also protecting something in the swamp."

Meng Yue said loudly as if he suddenly thought of something.

"That's right, and it can also fill your stomach. It's really a good deal. This long snake is enough to scare the residents of the cloud marsh, and the flood formed by the rain covered the already dangerous swamp. People will never venture close to Sifang Mountain. As for those low-level monsters, as long as the long snake hides in the barrier, they will not be attacked."

"But why don't you just set up an enchantment on the swamp? Instead, it rains like this?"

Meng Yue's question seemed to stump Jinse, she frowned and shook her head.

"Yin Danlu has been going down for quite a while, why don't we go down and have a look too, it doesn't seem appropriate to leave him here alone."

As soon as the words fell, Luo Honglian had already jumped into the water.