"How can you see that?" I asked Lao Gong.
Lao Gong's eyes darted around as he began, "There's nothing to fear… cough cough… as Miss Taiping would say, everyone feels that it's the snake that has caused the disaster. In reality, however, that's not the case… not at all."
"You!" Liang Yu's eyes reddened, as if she was about to cry from being so angry with Lao Gong.
"Lao Gong, speak seriously." I furrowed my brow and said in a low voice.
At this crucial moment, Lao Gong's relentless focus on the weaknesses of Liang Yu would not be conducive to cooperation.
We know very little about Jiang Huang City, and even less about the village the people from Panyuan went to, all of which relies on Liang Yu's information.
"Oh… Taiping Princess is also a princess, praising the young lady wouldn't be appropriate. Hey, young lady, don't get angry, anger will do harm to your body." Lao Gong was still acting jokingly.
Liang Yu hummed and said, "I won't argue with you anymore, after all, you only have one head."
Lao Gong was taken aback. He licked his tongue again.
That expression was more lewd than ever.
I furrowed my brows, afraid that Lao Gong might exchange a couple more lines of argument with Liang Yu, which could result in even more inappropriate words.
Fortunately, Lao Gong didn't argue with Liang Yu for long, turned to look at me, and then shifted the topic back to the main subject.
"Snakes causing disasters must have a head snake. The head snake cannot be a ghost, as it requires the intake and expulsion of lunar radiance, and it's also impossible for it to be entangled with people. This is a misinterpretation being passed down from generation to generation. However, when a dead body is entangled in snake skin, things take on a different light."
"Master, it might be a spiritual horseman who died without transformation, buried wrapped in snake skin, and then continued to crawl out, becoming something akin to a ghost."
"The spiritual horseman who can wrap themselves in snake skin is of high status."
Liang Yu looked somewhat perplexed, as if she didn't understand Lao Gong's explanation.
I understood, the former referred to snakes turning into ghosts, and they were the ones responsible for the strange phenomena in that village. Lao Gong was refuting that belief, suggesting it was a dead body causing the disturbances, much like a "person" causing a haunting.
In this case, the solution would be entirely different.
Just like "Mao", even with a leader, it only has brute force, not much intelligence.
When humans become ghostly cadavers, they often require even more careful handling.
Lao Gong didn't continue speaking, and the topic seemed to be concluded.
I signaled Liang Yu to start the car.
After leaving the parking lot, Liang Yu drove in a certain direction.
Lao Gong turned his head by himself on the chair, humming the favorite vulgar tune he used to sing.
I began to close my eyes and cultivate my spirit, preparing for the upcoming situation.
"Hey, smelly man." Liang Yu suddenly called me.
"Speak." I replied in a tone that was not entirely pleasant.
"All right, since you stopped that old lecher from blabbing, I won't call you smelly man anymore. Call it even."
"Luo Xian Shen, is my daughter Huanying okay? I always feel that you guys are acting strange." Liang Yu looked at me from the rearview mirror.
I fell silent.
Liang Yu knew her daughter, Mochengying. Had she also noticed something amiss?
"Not strange, just that there are some differences in understanding, nothing to worry about."
"Oh." Liang Yu hummed and said, "You've angered Huanying. That's why she came home, right?"
I didn't know how to answer.
"You must treat her well, she is really very good. If you betray her, even if the fox demon can't peel off your scalp, I will also find a way to pull your tendons and skin you." Liang Yu held the steering wheel with one hand and made a fist with the other hand, as if making a demonstration.
However, her tone wasn't fierce but more like a serious joke.
"Ai yo... she's fierce, but it's not really the fault of the master, after all. The master has become a cave dweller on top of the mountain, and he insists on having the young lady. The young lady went home because she felt that they were not in sync." Lao Gong suddenly jumped up and landed on Liang Yu's shoulder.
"Lao Gong!" I whispered, stopping Lao Gong's theory.
Liang Yu suddenly stepped on the brake pedal, but she appeared bewildered.
Lao Gong leaned in close to Liang Yu's ear, whispering something, and Liang Yu's expression tightened. Instead of asking me, she simply started driving normally.
Lao Gong turned around and smiled creepily at me.
I furrowed my brows, wanting to reprimand him, but I couldn't.
"I'll take responsibility for you," Liang Yu suddenly said.
"Hua Ying's nature is too stubborn. Oh my God, what year is it? People still believe in this stuff."
I was surprised, but... if someone were to convince Huanying, that would indeed be a good thing.
"Thank you," I whispered, sincerely saying.
In the end, Liang Yu huffed again, and her tone carried a hint of acidity.
It was midnight when the car exited the city and stopped outside a village.
At the entrance of the village, there were some trees and thorny bushes in disarray, blocking the road.
From the side of the field, one could walk in and see a long trail of footprints over there.
"Don't harm anyone unless absolutely necessary; our goal is only to meet the people of the Luo family."
"Don't take any rash actions."
I cautioned Liang Yu before getting out of the car.
She didn't argue or say anything more stubbornly.
The two of them entered the village from the side of the field. Lao Gong was always on my shoulder, constantly twisting his eyeballs.
The village had decent conditions. Most of the villages I had visited in the past were made of mud bricks, and those in better condition were mostly made of bricks and tiles. This village, however, had concrete roads on both sides, with most houses being small villas.
It seems that the breeding has made them very wealthy.
"I think, since everyone in this village keeps snakes, if a spiritual person comes along, they won't be able to bear having their 'descendants' skinned and bones. Plus, the old spiritual person could just mess with them a bit, and people will be scared out of their minds. The people from Panyu must have some ulterior motive. They will definitely bring the dead bodies wrapped in snake skins."
"Hmm... this fulfills the wishes of those people, but whether they can succeed or not is another story."
"If they succeed, Panyuan will make a profit from them. If not, he will take revenge and avenge himself."
Lao Gong spoke in an ambiguous manner.
"You seem quite intelligent. What does 'revenge and vengeance' mean?" Liang Yu appeared puzzled.
"Ha ha, that's like a child without a mother, a long story. Later, young Liang girl, you make me a pot of wine, and I'll tell you about it properly." Lao Gong's eyes smiled into a sliver.
"Think of it yourself, unless you want to give me your head as a ball to kick around. I don't care about it." Liang Yu tilted her head and said.
"I will tell you the secrets of the master and the cold Miss, the headless Miss, and the widow Miss." Lao Gong appeared mysterious.
"A?!" Liang Yu was startled for a moment, as if she were about to become angry.
"Hua Ying knows about it. Just ask if you're curious. It would be better not to treat it as a ball to kick around. If you really feel that Lao Gong has disrespected you, let him sit down and be a chair for you."
"You'll have to get out of my way..." Liang Yu clenched her fists and stomped her feet.
The village path was originally eerie, but with Lao Gong's humorous comments, it didn't feel so sinister.
I did not try to stop them.
I only came to find someone and didn't intend to do anything here.
We've made such a big commotion; both the people from Panyuan and the group from the Luo family should come out and show their faces?
Just didn't expect that we would walk right into the middle of the village road without seeing a single ghostly shadow.
The excessive silence made the back-and-forth banter between Liang Yu and Lao Gong feel even more empty.
Walking further along, what caught our eye was a tree.
From a distance, it looked like an unusual ficus tree with excessively long "air roots".
However, upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an old locust tree instead of a ficus tree... The thick and dense leaves prevented even the moonlight from shining through.
What appeared to be air roots were actually strips of dried snake skin, fluttering slightly in the wind—a truly eerie sight.
And that's not all.
There was also a person hanging in the heart of the tree canopy, closest to the trunk.
"Oh my, look, it's an old friend!" Lao Gong let out a sharp scream.
