to blame

Ming Xia opened his eyes in a cold sweat, and found that he was still lying in his sleeping bag next to the place where Nanjiang was supposed to be. The sleeping bag had been folded, but he didn't know where he went.

Lin Su was holding a pot on the fire to boil water. A little further away, Tang Xun and others were running laps. This was a routine training every morning. Except for Lin Su and Qingqiu, everyone else was required to participate.Probably because he came back after watching Ming Xia, and because he was frightened again, everyone tacitly didn't call him to get up.

The sun has not yet risen, the morning fog in the forest has not dispersed, and the grass blades are still stained with thin frost.If you don't think about where they are, the morning scene in front of you is really refreshing.

Ming Xia wiped the cold sweat off his forehead.

He couldn't figure it out, when he saw Zhu Huai during the day, nothing terrible happened, even in the dream there was no particularly horrifying plot, why did it feel so scary?

In fact, Zhu Huai is still very good-looking just by looking at the appearance, especially the elegant and suave style unique to the ancient princes, which cannot be seen in modern people.But when he thought of the dream he had, before he even remembered what he had experienced in the dream, his little heart started beating wildly.

Ming Xia was very unwilling to admit that he was subconsciously afraid of this monster.Even his human form frightened him far more than his animal form.

As for why, he still can't figure it out for the time being, so he can only put it aside first.

Ming Xia cheered up and started packing her things.They now have the magic weapon to restrain the fishwife, and the next journey should not be so difficult.

With Qingluan's feathers, traveling along the Xixin River became a pleasant thing, not only the scenery is charming, but also safe.

The monsters still have a certain degree of freedom within the seal, and their respective territories are also divided after long-term battles.Near the Xixin River, it would be easy for unscrupulous guys to come to the fishwife's territory to hunt.Occasionally, you will see some strange animals that are not seen in the outside world.

Ming Xia drew them all.He thought, this is also a different kind of diary.

For example, a beast looks like a leopard, but has colorful patterns on its head.There is also a white horse with a horn growing on its head, a bit like the unicorn in the story, but not as beautiful as described in the story.

When they approached the pine tree cliff, they also saw a kind of squid in the shallow water of the river. It was less than a foot long and had a slightly misshapen head. Looking closely, it looked a bit like a dog's head.But when it sticks out of the water, it also makes a sound like a baby crying.

Ming Xia suspected that it was actually a kind of salamander, but Tang Xun said no, and said that this kind of fish had also been found in the Yangtze River Basin, but it became extinct later.It is said that it itself is also a medicinal material that can treat madness.

This kind of statement reminded Ming Xia of the signs hanging outside the cages he saw when he visited the zoo when he was a child. It always said the economic value of a certain animal: the meat can be eaten, the fur can be made into clothes, a certain organ can be used as medicine, etc. , as if they are not independent individuals of nature, but some kind of food raised by human beings.

Such an introduction method made the young Ming Xia feel rather uncomfortable.

"I always thought that "Shan Hai Jing" was an encyclopedia of ancient times." Ming Xia pinched Tang Xun's neck and shook it vigorously, "After you said that, I immediately thought it was an ancient cookbook... ...the grade dropped immediately."

Tang Xun laughed, "That's what's written in the book, that's how we memorized it, and I can't help it. In fact, I took it as the registration book of serious criminals left by the demon town. Really Yes, I won't lie to you."

Ming Xia was about to speak, when suddenly he felt darkness in front of his eyes.

Tang Xun quickly supported him. He thought Ming Xia didn't look at the road and slipped his foot. He was about to tease him, but he found that his face was a little pale and his eyes seemed to be out of focus.

"Ming Xia?" Tang Xun patted his face, seeing that he didn't respond at all, he quickly called Lin Su.

Nan Jiang also noticed the change on their side, and told everyone to rest where they were, and hurried over with Lin Su himself.

Ming Xia had already recovered by this time, but she had symptoms of hypoglycemia, dizziness, and nausea.Lin Su offered him chocolates, but he refused.

"There is no shortage of sugar. That's not the case." Ming Xia tugged at the corner of Nanjiang's clothes, and whispered, "I suspect that there is something wrong around here. My current feeling is the same as seeing the squirrel you brought back. Poisoned river water is the same."

Qingqiu also said at the time that it might be an allergic phenomenon.Allergens are specific toxins associated with water gnats.Ming Xia himself also discovered that if he hasn't touched anything related to water gnats after a period of separation, his reaction will be more obvious when he touches them again.

Nanjiang originally planned to let everyone set up camp, and tomorrow morning on Pine Tree Cliff.After hearing Ming Xia's words, she was not in a hurry to let everyone settle down.

The place where they rest is about five kilometers away from Songtan Waterfall, the source of the Xixin River. On one side is an open woodland, and on the other side is a river bank that gradually becomes steeper.

The river water in this area, in the words of Nanjiang, belongs to the area that cannot be covered by the "layer that seals monsters".

Because of the steep river bank and the extremely fast water, there will be no monsters like the fishwife who are bigger and less flexible for the time being.Occasionally, he could see some strange fish, which Ming Xia basically didn't recognize.Some of them knew Nanjiang, and some of them could not even be called by their names.

Nanjiang left Ming Xia, Tang Xun, and Lin Su to guard the equipment, while the rest of the group began to search the surrounding terrain.

Nan Jiang led Li Youran along the direction that Ming Xia felt most uncomfortable.Qingqiu, as a young detective expert, also went with them.

Ming Xia finds out that he has a new problem now, and whenever he gets nervous, he wants to hug Qingqiu and rub him.Now that Qingqiu is not around, there is nothing to rub, so he is a little restless.

"How far is it from here to the Beauty Pine?" Ming Xia asked Tang Xun without words, "Is the Beauty Pine a place name? Who picked it?"

Such a name doesn't seem to match the serious territory of Xishan Great Formation.When Zhu Huai mentioned this place name, Ming Xia suspected that what he said was actually a nickname, or an unofficial name that was circulated in private.It's like everyone is talking about "Old Town", but in fact, their name is "Yaoxi District".

"Talk about this," Tang Xun scratched his chin, looking a little troubled, "It's actually quite unlucky to talk about it. When the monsters were fighting, the monsters secretly divided into several factions. Zhu Huai is actually not from the same faction, but when the seal was finally issued, both of them were sealed into the aquatic world."

Ming Xia, "..."

"In fact, I suspect that Zhu Huai is playing tricks, deliberately setting up the beauty pine." Tang Xun said, "It is said that the water antler is hidden in the beauty pine, but I always feel that it may not be true."

Ming Xia felt in his heart that the monsters were also engaged in political struggles, "Did the Shuizhi and Meirensong belong to the same faction during the war?"

"I don't know." Tang Xun spread his hands, "This happened so many years ago. If Zhu Huai and Mei Rensong hadn't been setting each other up for years, we wouldn't know they were at odds."

It turned out to be a long-term factional struggle.

Ming Xia asked again, "What exactly is a Beauty Pine? A pine tree?"

"Pine tree." Tang Xun is sure of this point, "To be precise, the body is a black pine. The order of Pinus fir, a pine tree, also known as white bud pine. The transformation was probably in the Jingkang period of the Song Dynasty. This kid can be regarded as a coincidence In troubled times, I have seen too much about life and death, so I developed a temperament that fears the world will not be chaotic, and believes in the saying that heroes come out of troubled times."

Ming Xia was thinking that this monster was unlucky enough, so Tang Xun made a decisive conclusion, "In short, this is a villain. Just like a certain developed country today, wherever there is war, he will intervene wherever there is war. Support and support this side, and then challenge the other side, the more chaotic it is, the happier it is... that's it."

Ming Xia, "..."

Ming Xia realized that he had made a mistake. His understanding of monsters was still in the gentle and harmless, even cute positions of Tu Qing and Qing Qiu.As for the fishwives and water gizzards he encountered, he regarded them more as some kind of ferocious beasts.The truth is, they just act like beasts.

They can also play tricks, and have a cunning and cruel side-because they look so human, they are even more beautiful, gentle, and personable than most people, which is actually more dangerous.

Ming Xia felt that he needed to make a new assessment of his current situation and the opponents he would meet.

If he still feels like he's on a safari, that mentality could be putting himself in danger and possibly compromising his companions.

Li Youran once said to him: "Don't feel sympathy for monsters."

Nan Jiang said: "The town monster will never forgive it. No matter what bargaining chip it puts out, it will not work."

At this moment, Ming Xia began to look at his work and position from a different angle—not a bystander, but a person assisting in combat.

And here is the real battlefield.

At the scheduled time, the three groups came back one after another.

Nanjiang's group was the first to come back from Qingqiu, who chirped and told them that they had found the traces left by the water beetle, and also sent a message to everyone on behalf of Nanjiang: Hurry up and eat something, and go into the mountain immediately.

"From here on up, almost from the halfway up the mountain, it's the territory of Meirensong." Qingqiu leaned on Ming Xia's shoulder and whispered to him, "This guy is very, very cunning, he loves to be someone else's. You don’t look like that, and you like to talk nonsense, anyway, no matter what kind of birds and beasts you encounter, you must remain vigilant!”

Ming Xia solemnly assured it, "Definitely."

Qingqiu glanced at him worriedly.This guy Ming Xia is soft-hearted and easy to deceive, even Zhu Huai who met him for the first time can see it at a glance.To be honest, Qingqiu was really worried.

Ming Xia has just gone through a process of self-reflection, seeing Qingqiu's eyes at this moment, he immediately guessed what it was thinking, felt a little amused and ashamed at the same time.

He was so useless that Xiao Qingqiu was worried? !

"Don't worry, I'm serious." Ming Xia poked Qingqiu's chubby belly, feeling that he hadn't eaten anything delicious during this time, and Qingqiu was obviously not so plump, "I won't treat myself as a After the tour, I will be vigilant, not to let the monsters take advantage of the loopholes, and try not to let myself hold you back."

Qingqiu narrowed his eyes blissfully, Mingxia actually promised it so seriously, as if it was his leader, someone more arrogant than him.

"We are comrades-in-arms," ​​Qingqiu rubbed his head against Ming Xia's cheek, "We were supposed to help each other and complete the task together, don't talk about delaying things. In fact, you have already done a good job!"

Qingqiu thought proudly, before Ming Xia met such a terrifying big monster as Zhu Huai, he was not afraid.As a human being, it's already amazing.

Ming Xia couldn't help laughing, thinking that the two of them were simply flattering each other's feet.

But Qingqiu not only regards him as a friend, but also as a comrade-in-arms.

Ming Xia thought, this feeling...

Not bad at all.

The place where the trace of the water scorpion was found was a valley that was not marked on the map.

There is a lake deep in the valley, about the size of two football fields.Close to the side of the cliff, there are several waterfalls of varying thickness, from which the spring water in the mountain flows into the lake. After careful calculation, it should belong to the downstream of Songshutan Waterfall.

In late autumn, the far and near sides of the lake are covered with dazzling crimson, which makes the lake water look like a gorgeous and colorful brocade.

On top of this gorgeous color that seems to be burning, is the silver-white peak of the pine tree cliff covered with ice and snow.