Recalling all that had happened today, which took a turn only after the appearance of that old woman, Huang Ying couldn't help but ask.
Bai Zheng waved away the thorns beside her feet with a twig and smiled faintly. "Have you ever seen an old woman in the mountains who talks as pedantically as she does?"
Huang Ying was stunned for a moment and then suddenly realized.
No wonder she had always had a strange feeling since she first saw that old woman.
It turned out that Bai Zheng had noticed something was amiss as soon as the old woman opened her mouth.
"If so, miss, why didn't you capture her earlier? Then she wouldn't have gotten away..."
Bai Zheng frowned slightly, and the smile on her lips faded. "I didn't expect her to be so vigilant. I thought that after going to so much trouble to stage that play, she would surely drink the wine no matter what. But I didn't expect..."
She didn't expect that the old woman had such sharp eyes that she could tell Bai Zheng was hiding in the dark watching. And she was so quick - witted that she soon realized it was a trap. She resolutely abandoned the wine and disappeared in an instant.
It was obvious that she had made full preparations before coming.
However, no matter how much the old woman had calculated, she should never have expected that there was a Huang Ying who had seen her before.
No matter whether she had changed her appearance or not, there were always some things that couldn't be faked, such as familiar eyes or subtle little movements.
No matter which one it was, since Huang Ying thought she looked familiar, she must have been someone who had appeared around her.
As long as they focused on Huang Ying, they would surely find some clues.
Wiping the sweat that had oozed from her forehead due to the arduous journey, Bai Zheng looked up and forward.
Through half of the mountain, they could see the flickering candlelights. The village where Huang Ying had grown up since childhood was just around the corner.
Huang Ying turned around and shouted happily, "Miss, hold on a little longer. We'll be there soon."
In her moment of joy, Bai Zheng suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her leg and couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
"What's wrong?"
Huang Ying happened to see this and stepped forward worriedly.
Bai Zheng waved her hand, bent down to push aside the thorny bush that had stabbed her, and said indifferently, "I didn't notice my footing and accidentally got stabbed. It's okay."
Seeing that along the way, Bai Zheng's skirt had already been torn, and through the hem of the skirt, one could faintly see the blood - stained marks from the thorns. Huang Ying's eyes were full of pity. This pity turned into complaint when it reached her lips, and she couldn't help but speak up.
"Miss, your legs are in such a state, and you still say it's okay? It's late at night. Not to mention you, miss, who has never been to the mountains before, even my father rarely goes out at night.
Miss, you should have asked that adult just now to send someone to investigate. Why did you come here in person?"
Bai Zheng naturally knew that Huang Ying was speaking out of good intentions.
She smiled and patiently explained, "It's okay in other places, but your village is secluded and rarely has outsiders. If I rashly let Lan Xun and the others barge in, I'm afraid we'll scare the snake away. I don't trust others either, so I had to trouble you to accompany me on this trip."
"What trouble could I have? I've been running wild in these mountains since I was a child. It's you, miss, who is so precious and delicate. You shouldn't have to endure such hardships..." Huang Ying shook her head repeatedly. Because of her excitement, her voice unconsciously rose.
Bai Zheng looked at Huang Ying with a beaming smile. Under the moonlight, the round eyes of the girl in front of her were like a clear mirror, making people can't help but be attracted by them, as if all things in the world paled in comparison.
A gentle mountain breeze blew, disheveling the hair on Bai Zheng's forehead.
She stretched out her finger, lowered her head slightly, and tucked the hair behind her ear.
As she lowered her head, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something.
Bai Zheng instinctively looked again, and instantly froze in place.
They were now on the uphill part of a slope, and that thing was lying under a large leaf not far away, in the dark where the torchlight couldn't reach.
The gentle breeze blew, making the leaves rustle. As the leaves fluttered, the bright and clear moonlight shone down, and only then did Bai Zheng see what was in front of her.
It was a snake!
Bai Zheng suddenly remembered that it was already after the Awakening of Insects, and all the snakes and insects had come out.
And they had come in a hurry and didn't bring any realgar powder to repel snakes.
"Huang Ying!" Seeing that Huang Ying was still talking away, attracting the snake's attention, Bai Zheng shouted at her sharply.
Although they didn't have realgar powder, Bai Zheng's years of experience in hiking in the wild told her that snakes were afraid of fire.
As long as the two of them held the torch together, the snake wouldn't get close.
Thinking of this, Bai Zheng slowly, step by step, moved forward and stood beside Huang Ying.
At this time, Huang Ying also noticed the snake lying under the leaf staring at them along Bai Zheng's line of sight.
Huang Ying was so frightened that her back stiffened.
"Don't be afraid." Holding Huang Ying's hand that was gripping the torch, Bai Zheng could feel Huang Ying's nervousness and whispered to comfort her, "We just need to point the torch at the snake and slowly make our way to the village."
Huang Ying nodded with a pale face. Not knowing whether she was trying to comfort Bai Zheng or to boost her own courage, she said, "Father is waiting for me. There's not much way left." Then she slightly turned her body and led Bai Zheng, who was facing the snake, to slowly crawl forward step by step.
The full moon hung high in the sky, and the surroundings were completely silent.
In the vast valley, there was only a weak flame of fire illuminating the way for the two girls.
Because of the nervousness, Huang Ying's legs were constantly scratched by the thorns that seemed to come out of nowhere. She endured the pain, listening to the hissing sound of the snake spitting out its forked tongue, and gritted her teeth as she walked.
Since Bai Zheng was facing the snake, she could only let Huang Ying lead the way and walked uphill backward with difficulty, stumbles and all.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, Huang Ying let out a scream.
Then, her right foot twisted, and she lost her balance and fell towards the grass on the side.
Bai Zheng's eyes widened, and she quickly reached out to pull Huang Ying.
Out of instinct, Huang Ying tightly grasped the hand that Bai Zheng had stretched out, but the backward - falling force was too strong, and Bai Zheng's single hand was not enough to support her to regain her balance.
Seeing that Bai Zheng was about to be dragged forward by her.
Huang Ying gritted her teeth and immediately let go and pushed Bai Zheng's hand away, allowing herself to fall backward hopelessly.
"Huang Ying!" Bai Zheng's eyes were bloodshot with grief.
This was a slope. Once Huang Ying fell to the ground, she couldn't control herself and rolled down, quickly disappearing from the range of the torchlight.
Whether it was Bai Zheng's illusion or the muffled groans that Huang Ying made during the rolling really alarmed something, hissing sounds began to ring out everywhere in the forest.
Bai Zheng rushed towards the direction where Huang Ying had rolled down without hesitation.
Seeing that Huang Ying had left the range of the torchlight, the snake that had been hiding in the dark seemed to have waited for the opportunity and excitedly raised its body.
It pounced towards Huang Ying in the grass.
Under the moonlight, a long and slender figure sprang out at a speed that Bai Zheng couldn't catch up with at all.
Bai Zheng didn't care about anything else and directly threw the torch in her hand at the snake.