Fire and theft prevention

The herb-gathering girl led the two into the deep forest. She was lively and unruly, answering every question. Mu Qingjia soon recognized her as the granddaughter of the sugar seller's old lady.

He was concerned about the old woman's safety, and asked carefully, "Did you go home last night?"

The girl shook her head, and the broken hair around her ear was also dangling back and forth. "I stayed for three to five days as soon as I entered the mountain, and left home at ordinary times yesterday."

Mu Qingjia's heart sank slightly, but she still had a three-point smile on her face: "Young lady, aren't you afraid to run into the deep mountains and old forests alone?"

"It's okay." The herb-gathering girl said, "Actually, Guyi Mountain was quite safe before. The snakes and badgers that you often encounter when you go out to collect medicines will not take the initiative to attack people. But this time, I don't know why..."

Thinking of the wild boar before, she sighed with lingering fear, and then raised a smile and said, "Actually, I was afraid. But there is no way. The mountain plain has been encircled by rich and powerful people. Those of us who have no money and power can only If you can find Yaocao in dangerous places, you can make a fortune."

"Thank you for your hard work." Mu Qingjia responded warmly, not knowing how to tell her about the old woman.

He thought in his heart that this girl went to the mountain to collect fairy grass with great pains, but she didn't know that the Yao grass she picked might be the culprit who killed the old man.

The girl picking herbs noticed his silence, and asked, "Is your benefactor unhappy? If there is anything my little girl can help with, feel free to mention it."

Mu Qingjia adjusted her mood, smiled and said: "I'm just thinking about something. By the way, I have been in Guyi City for a day or two, and I have heard a lot of rumors about Yaocao. This Yaocao was bred by the wife of the city lord. Is it?"

"Yes." The herb-gathering girl smiled brightly, "The wife of the city lord is gentle and amiable. Every drought year, she will give porridge in front of the city lord's mansion to help everyone. Last year, she discovered Yaocao - let me tell you, she is the best in the world." Great guy!"

"But she doesn't look very healthy." Mu Qingjia tentatively said, "Sorry, did I say too much?"

"No, no." The girl hurriedly waved her hand and said, "This is not a taboo. The city owner's wife was born in poverty in her early years, and she suffered from illnesses; after marrying the city owner, she worked for the city to make a living, and fell ill due to overwork, so she often fell ill. In bed."

"It's a pity." Mu Qingjia said sincerely.

"Yeah, it's a pity." The girl picking medicine didn't understand what he implied, and continued, "However, her life is not in vain. The city owner is young and talented, and he only loves her; He also loves her a lot.”

She emphasized again, "This kind of life is not considered in vain."

"Being sick in bed is a lifetime. If you are so full of vigor, it is also a lifetime to be with these beasts in the mountains." Mu Qingjia smiled and said, "If I had to choose, I would rather live like you."

The girl picking herbs was coaxed happily by him, and she smiled sweetly and said, "Mr. Benefactor is so kind."

Huo Weiwei walked in the front silently, splitting the thick vines and roots blocking the way with his sword energy.The vegetation on the surface is extraordinarily lush, more precisely, there are several unusually large giant trees entrenched here, and other tiny vegetation such as weeds and vines have completely disappeared.

The entire mountain forest seems to be divided into two extremes.

"The name 'Yaocao' has an origin?" Huo Wei said suddenly.

It was the first time for the girl picking medicine to hear him speak, and after seeing his fierce gesture of frightening off the beast with a sword, she became cautious.

"I heard this from my grandma." She recalled, "The yaocao is related to the daughter of an ancient fairy named Yaoji. After death, the fairy turned into a yaocao. It can be eaten..."

Suddenly the girl's face turned red, and she faltered and couldn't tell why.

"Yu Yunyu with Yaoji in my dream." Mu Qingjia saw that the girl picking medicine confirmed his guess, and said thoughtfully, "But I remember that the young daughter of Emperor Yan should be buried in Wushan, so there is this 'Wushan Yunyu' 'One said."

There is a saying in an ancient book: "Yao Ji, who died before she could go, was sealed on the platform of Wushan Mountain, her spirit was on the grass, she was the stem, she was flattered and submissive."

This Yaocao should never have grown in Guyi Mountain, which is [-] miles away from Wushan Mountain.

Huo Wei glanced back at the herbal girl, and said, "The real purpose of Yaocao is not for the cloud and rain in Wushan."

"Yes, yes." The girl replied cautiously, "The yao grass bred by the wife of the city lord is used for beautifying the skin and prolonging life. ——Grandpa, wait a moment, we are almost there."

Here the mountains are high and the forest is deep, and she is the only one who comes here to collect herbs every day, so she is very familiar with this place.The three of them were walking together just now, and it was Mu Qingjia who asked her to take them to find the gathering place of Yaocao, and according to what she said, that place is already close.

"It's right here." The herb-gathering girl pointed not far away, and suddenly said excitedly, "Eh? Why are they all blooming?"

The trees faded, the sun fell on the open land, and countless bright yellow leaves crowded each other layer by layer, sucking the milk of sunlight and soil.

Simple five-petal small yellow flowers are dotted in the center of each cluster of leaves, and the fresh and sweet floral fragrance comes to the nostrils, converging into a strange fragrance in the silence.

Huo Wei frowned and covered his mouth and nose.Seeing the herb-gathering girl walking into the yao grass and flowers, Mu Qingjia wanted to follow, but Huo Wei held her hand and shook her head.

"It's about to mature." An abrupt voice came, "Hee hee, it's about to mature."

When Mu Qingjia turned her head, she saw the girl gathering herbs sitting on her knees among the yao grass, ecstatically rubbing her cheeks against the flowers.The ecstasy distorted her voice and appearance, and the current shift was completely different from the lively girl just now.

In the spiritual eyes, there is a thin white mist from the Yaocao all over the place, and that white mist is connected with the soul of the herb-gathering girl and gradually blends into one.

"Bound!"

Mu Qingjia hand-painted the bondage talisman, and the light blue pattern appeared out of thin air, and several flower vines grew out of it, tied the girl up and threw it back.

Two peach trees grew out of his arms, and he caught the girl and let her lie on the peach wood bed.

"How is it?" He asked while pinching the girl, "Do you know who I am?"

The ecstasy on the girl's face gradually dissipated, she was a little confused about her current situation, and asked hesitantly, "Benefactor?"

She seemed to be in a normal state of mind, but Mu Qingjia knew that some of the souls gathered in the Yaocao had already entered her body, and it was difficult to distinguish between you and me.

Horrible speculations gradually rose in his heart, he squatted down, touched the Yao grass with small yellow flowers, and touched the mist.

The mist coiled around his arms as if attracted, and finally merged into his body, just like scattered flakes falling on the tip of his nose in a theater.

"Mu Qingjia!"

In the anxious roar of his junior brother, countless pictures flashed before his eyes, sometimes he was a snake, sometimes a pheasant, sometimes a weak insect, sometimes a flower... All living beings feel this vast world in their own way.

However, no matter what kind of creature it is, it will end in contact with the Yaocao in the end, and then its consciousness will gradually disappear, its life will gradually weaken, and its soul will gradually dissipate.

Yaocao uses its fragrance as a lure to confuse all creatures in Guyi Mountain, sucking their souls into the body bit by bit, and taking them as their own.

Afterwards, the Yaocao took the souls gathered from these weak creatures and fed them to more powerful species to supplement their three souls and seven souls.The stronger the primordial spirit, the stronger the vitality, the stronger the consciousness of the spirit, the gradual opening of the spiritual wisdom, and the stronger the desire, the stronger the desire.

Except for a few plants and animals, such as the ferocious wild boar just now, the strongest and most abundant people who eat Yao grass are the young and powerful people in Guyu City.

Therefore, Yaocao has the effect of beautifying the skin and prolonging life.

And those who sacrificed for the weak were the old and the young.

——The old lady of the sugar seller, I'm afraid it's more or less auspicious.

"Is that flower yellow?" Mu Qingjia asked.

"So what!" Huo Wei said angrily, "You always act so recklessly, how can you fulfill your promise?!"

Affected by alien souls, complicated information kept crashing into Mu Qingjia's mind.He was still unconscious, and murmured: "'The emperor's daughter is dead, her name is the female corpse, she turns into dew grass, her leaves become Xu, her flowers are yellow, she is actually like a dodder hill, and she is charming to others.'"

"The 'female corpse' is Yaoji. The Yao grass in Guyi Mountain is actually a medium to transmit the soul!" He blinked and slowly realized, "...Junior brother, did you say something just now?"

"You misheard." Huo Wei said expressionlessly.

Mu Qingjia smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure of what I'm doing. The same thing happened last time in the theater, but last time I was passive, this time I was more active—and I feel that my control over the soul-returning wood is increasing."

Huo Wei was slightly relieved, but still refused to talk to him.

Mu Qingjia continued to analyze: "Yao Caobiao takes the soul of the weak and sends it into the body of the stronger through smell and food, and goes up layer by layer until—"

"That woman." Huo Wei said in a deep voice.

"That's right, it's the wife of the city lord." Mu Qingjia rubbed his chin and said, "The lady of the city lord is the top of the food-related chain. Plus her behavior of breeding Yao grass - this person must have something to do with Yao Ji." what relationship."

"Grandmother?" suddenly heard the herb picking girl say.

She couldn't understand what they were talking about, but she understood from the expression that it was not a good thing, and her face turned pale: "What Engong means is, is there something wrong with the Yaocao in our Guyi Mountain?"

Remembering her existence, Mu Qingjia smiled and comforted her: "I'm not sure yet. However, no matter what happens, we will try our best to help the people of Guyi City."

The herb-gathering girl gave a hesitant "Yes", obviously not completely believing him.

"Grandfather saved my little girl's life. She can be a cow or a horse, but this grass is related to the livelihood and future development of the whole town and the people in the suburbs..." She knelt down and kowtowed again, "So I'm still here. Please benefactor, be considerate and act cautiously."

"Cultivators should be like this, so you don't need to be too polite." Mu Qingjia sighed slightly and said, "——please rest assured, no matter what happens, it's only natural disasters and man-made disasters, and has nothing to do with you."

"Benefactor?" The herb-gathering girl was even more confused.

"Take it as crazy talk." Mu Qingjia sighed with a smile, bowed and said: "This journey is thanks to the girl who led the way. Since the girl lost the medicine basket and there are wild beasts in the forest, I should return home early. Let Mu take the girl for a ride."

"How dare you do that? It's obviously the benefactor who saved the little girl first, so how dare you trouble you?" The herb-gathering girl shied away a few times, but couldn't bear Mu Qingjia's insistence, so she had to obey.

The peach wood transformed into a bucket half a person's height, and when the herb-gathering girl stepped into it, Mu Qingjia turned her head and said to Huo Wei: "Junior brother."

"I can save it." Huo Wei looked at him and said.

Mu Qingjia's smile was a little tired: "Don't affect the innocent. Also, be careful in everything."

Huo Wei nodded and said no more.He watched Mu Qingjia leave with the wooden bucket containing the girl picking herbs, and then turned to the yao grass shrouded in bright yellow luster.

They are ignorant, without malice or remorse, and when facing the scorching golden flames, they seem to have no fear of death.

Tongues of fire licked the tender petals, which quickly scorched and curled up as if in pain, and then disappeared in an instant.

The blazing fire ignited on Guyi Mountain.

But the mountain fires one after another only rose for a few breaths and then disappeared. Only the green smoke curled into the air, which would only be regarded by the farmers as the mist rising in the morning.