Chapter 73

A snake?!

Manager Cen's brow twitched violently, he almost cried out; he hated such things, and he immediately declared firmly: "No, no, absolutely none!"

We don't even dare keep small pets.

Ling Yue seized the point: "Why?"

Manager Cen gave a bitter laugh: "You don't know, we actually kept animals before, but none lived more than a month; we dare not keep them anymore—if we kept going like this, wouldn't we be harming them?"

So I can confidently say, there are absolutely no pets!

Ling Yue's expression turned grave as she glanced at him: "How about we go to your place and take a look?"

Manager Cen quickly agreed; he wasn't a fool—having a master voluntarily come to inspect, he welcomed it and couldn't be happier.

In the car, Manager Cen never imagined things would turn out like this; he was greatly relieved to have personally invited Ling Yue, otherwise he feared he might collapse someday without knowing why.

His phone vibrated in his pocket; Manager Cen opened WeChat, saw a message from his direct superior, and replied with a wry smile.

【Boss, I'm taking a day off today.】

The other party was quite puzzled: "【What's wrong? What happened?】"

The boss highly recognized Manager Cen's abilities; this subordinate was capable, daring, and basically never took leave—so what happened today?

Manager Cen sent the message as concisely as possible; he never expected that, after receiving approval, he would let out a sigh of relief.

Compared to his life, the bonus was nothing at all.

He let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't know how his boss felt upon seeing the message; he sat silently for a while, lit a cigarette, and gave a soft hiss.

If he remembered correctly, Old Cen had gone to deliver the invitation—sent back and forth, yet the person never returned?

Mixed feelings. JPG

Here, the car entered a high-end residential complex in Third Ring Center; Manager Cen, relying on himself and his wife, after saving enough money, directly bought an apartment outright.

Ling Yue looked up; the high-rise stood firm, not exactly a prime feng shui treasure land, but it was solid and stable, the various mortal bustle condensed into one—viewed from outside, there wasn't a trace of evil energy.

Then let's go inside.

She pushed open the door; Ling Yue lifted her eyelids—the interior was spotless. She decisively went to the bedroom, reasoning that, by common sense, this would show the heaviest signs of life, where the occupants spent the most time.

But——

She glanced around doubtfully; aside from a faint evil aura that had seeped in over time, the whole house was clean, which also meant this wasn't the source.

Manager Cen stood by, accompanying her; he didn't understand, but he could sense Ling Yue's aura—those swaggering, deceitful wandering swindlers were utterly incomparable to her.

Having experienced that before, he instinctively stepped closer to Ling Yue, as if that would give him safety, and asked: "Master Ling, how's the situation?"

Ling Yue shook her head: "Not found."

Manager Cen respectfully brought over a cup of hot tea: "Master, please have some—this year's pre‑rain Dragon Well."

Ling Yue: "……"

Actually, she preferred sweet‑and‑sour fruit juice.

After drinking it, she realized some fine tea really is different; Ling Yue's eyes flickered, and just then the door lock was suddenly opened—a clean‑looking woman in work clothes walked in, and upon seeing Ling Yue she instinctively turned: "Sorry, I took the wrong——"

Her voice cut off abruptly.

She stared in shock at her husband, glanced around—this was her home! Who was that woman before her eyes?

The furious wife glared at her husband and, without hesitation, launched: "Cen Ming, who is this woman? Great, you actually hid this from me!"

Her furious expression made Ling Yue frown; Manager Cen, accustomed to reading faces, was startled by his own imagination into a jerk, and hastily blocked his raging wife: "Honey, hear me out! This is the Master Ling I invited—we have nothing going on!"

The wife looked at her husband half‑believing, half‑doubting, full of anger, and lowered her voice: "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

Hearing this, Cen Ming couldn't help but wryly smile: "You also need to give me a chance to explain."

The wife came to her senses, her face flushing red with embarrassment, and involuntarily glared at him: "Well, I guess I overreacted just now—I thought…… I thought you two……"

Manager Cen wanted to cry but had no tears; he led his wife to apologize to Ling Yue, who caught a glimpse of her—at that moment a surge of gloom instantly filled the doorway, and the wife furrowed her brows.

Ling Yue rose, her fingertip touching the woman's temple; Manager Cen didn't even have time to react before the wife closed her eyes and fainted, and he stared at Ling Yue in shock: "Master Ling——"

Before he could finish speaking, the wife let out a soft groan and slowly woke: "Old Cen? What happened to me?"

As she spoke, the doorway suddenly reminded her of her recent actions; she couldn't go on—was that madwoman really her? Impossible!

She, Yu Fengping, was straightforward, not rash; she never did baseless things—was it really her who just threw a tantrum? Her Old Yu is as honest as they come; how could he have done such a thing!

Moreover——

Yu Fengping glanced at Ling Yue, then at her own husband; that old face was familiar to her, but now his fawning expression made her eyes sting.

Yu Fengping: "Old Cen."

Cen Ming looked at his wife suspiciously; she took his hand and patted it: "What just happened truly wasn't my nature, and with your old‑fashioned self, could a young lady even take a liking to you?"

Cen Ming: "……"

He never imagined that, after worrying all day about his wife, her first words would be this!

Hearing this, Ling Yue almost couldn't hold back a laugh.

She rose to her feet, firmly gazing at Yu Fengping: "You're right—what just happened truly wasn't your nature; from your physiognomy, you belong to the bold and straightforward type, one who looks after the big picture and adapts to circumstances."

Yu Fengping nodded repeatedly as she listened; though she looked gentle, her actual personality was extremely bold and sharp‑tongued, and after an argument she could make someone furious half to death yet leave no fault to find.

That utter foolishness just now definitely wasn't her!

She looked at Ling Yue: "Master, what just happened to me?"

Ling Yue uttered only one word: "cup‑bow‑snake‑shadow."

You all know this idiom—your emotions were deliberately magnified; during this period haven't you become irritable and quick‑tempered, unable to control yourself?

Yu Fengping nodded: "If you hadn't said so, I would have thought I'd hit menopause."

Ling Yue fell silent for a moment; this couple—far from the saying 'outsiders don't enter a family's door'—are remarkably alike in their dullness.

She furrowed her brows; because of this, it further corroborated her guess: "He's been entangled by something unclean, and what leaks out has affected you."

Ling Yue also didn't know how to explain it to her; in short, it was an innocent disaster, and the main assault was aimed at Cen Ming—if she hadn't noticed, perhaps not much longer would pass before something happened.

Yu Fengping didn't know how to describe her complexion; suddenly she realized she was still suffering an undeserved disaster!

At this time, Yu Fengping should have been at the company, but she offended a client with her bad temper, was sent away by her superior, and given half a day to adjust.

As for Cen Ming, his face was deathly pale, his heart felt icy, he almost burst into tears, covering his face and wailing: "Master Ling, what on earth is happening to me? From childhood I've never dared to kill a chicken, how did I get entangled with this?!"

Suddenly, Ling Yue gave him a deep look: "Raise your head!"

Cen Ming instinctively complied, fearing he wasn't proper; his wife supported his head, and the moment their gazes met, his body's hairs stood on end, as if some fierce beast had locked onto him; in an instant, his pupils turned vertical.

Ling Yue was startled; he actually saw the omen of disaster affecting descendants.

She immediately said: "Do you have a son?"

The couple's hearts jumped at once; Ling Yue looked at Yu Fengping: "His situation is the same as your husband's, but you don't need to worry for now—their attacks mostly fall on your husband, coming one after another."

Hearing this, Cen Ming: "……"

Should I be glad?

As Ling Yue spoke, her tone suddenly stalled; she suddenly caught a snippet of a scene, likely from the 1960s-70s, the protagonist a cowherd boy in a small jacket, while the adults worked in the fields, he and his companions herded cattle on the mountain and cut pigweed.

Suddenly the weather changed drastically; a violent storm hit in an instant, the companions drove the yellow cattle down the mountain, only he went up the mountain.

His companions called out to him: "Cen Gou dan, what are you doing?"

Cen Gou dan anxiously scratched his head, burning with urgency: "I'm going to look for the ox, one is missing!"

In that era, oxen were the lifeblood of a family, even a village. For thousands of years before machinery appeared or became widespread, livestock had always been an indispensable aid to farmers' labor, especially the plow ox.

Only some wealthy families would raise oxen, and often the livestock lived more meticulously than people.

Cen Gou dan held up a leaf, calling out the yellow ox's name across hill and dale, finally discovering its traces in a hidden mountain cave; he ran over excitedly, but didn't watch his step.

A grayish thing like a tree root tripped him; Cen Gou dan's head struck a sharp stone, and blood instantly gushed out.

However, not long after, he mysteriously regained consciousness, walked into the cave, stroked the yellow ox, the bloodstains on his body washed clean by the rain, and he seemed to have completely forgotten what had happened.

At that moment, the rain outside grew heavier; suddenly he heard a strange sound, a wholly grayish large snake as thick as a wrist, its long body slithered into the cave, showing no sign of biting people, instead it looked toward the cave entrance.

Coincidentally, the next moment the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

After Cen Gou dan came to, he finally reacted, warily glancing at the corner, finding the snake gone, he drove the yellow ox home, but didn't notice that in the cave a green snake suddenly hung upside down, flicking its red tongue at his back.

Afterwards, Cen Gou dan married, established a career, had two sons after marriage, and after his death was buried in the ancestral land.

Ling Yue suddenly furrowed her brow; beside the man's bald grave, a willow tree gradually sprouted.

As the willow grew larger, a green snake coiled around its roots, and the surrounding land gradually shifted from manual farming to machine sowing and harvesting.

That great willow grew to the thickness of two people's arms around, a tree before the grave.

At every memorial, rows of boys—from the original couple to the whole Cen clan—it would not be an exaggeration to say the descendants flourish.

At that time, unknown underground, the willow's roots twisted and knotted, thick roots entwined, eventually wrapping the entire coffin, a frightening, bizarre sight, as if it had directly swallowed the coffin.

Ling Yue suddenly came to, meeting their concerned gazes, she frowned slightly: "I may have found some clues—a willow as thick as two people's arms—have you seen——"

Just then, Cen Manager's phone suddenly rang; a rough male voice came from the other end: "Old Cen family junior, your mom was working in the field and suddenly fainted—hurry back!"

Cen Ming's face immediately changed; he instinctively looked at Ling Yue: "Something's happened at my home!"

He remembered his mother being healthy, having just seen her a few months ago—a woman in her sixties, full of energy, shuffling and playing cards, even some young people couldn't match her.

How could she suddenly have an accident?

He seriously suspected this was also the work of that thing, but a problem lay before him—he wasn't a Jing Shi native; his hometown was elsewhere.

So then…

He clenched his fingers and looked at Ling Yue: "I, I——"

His wife cut in: "Master Ling, could you come with us? We've saved some money over the years—just say how much you need!"

Ling Yue gave them a deep look, noncommittal.

Cen Ming anxiously said: "Our family's ancestral grave does have a big willow; what you mentioned might be that one."

His wife dared not commit, quickly saying: "Is it that one? Master Ling will know after seeing it—you tell us whether it is."

Ling Yue: "……Alright, I'll help you this once."

She naturally knew what this couple meant; regarding the unclean thing, she had also formed a partial hypothesis—the couple couldn't possibly set off now, ask for leave, pack up, and with the children, the earliest would be tomorrow.

Ling Yue left them three talismans before returning home, agreeing to meet again tomorrow.

That night, the Cen household.

Cen Ming woke to find himself lying inside something square, immediately realizing he wanted to get up but couldn't move at all.

"Hiss~~hiss~~"

"Honey, kids, where are you?"

In this oppressive place, only his own voice echoed; suddenly a chill flowed from his calves—no, to be precise, it was moving.

Slimy, icy, uneven things rubbed his calves, wherever they passed raising gooseflesh.

Cen Ming's pupils widened, his breathing grew ragged, as if someone had snatched the air from his lungs, the air dwindling.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled Ling Yue's earlier question—snake!

In the darkness, Cen Ming stared wide-eyed in terror, kicking wildly, but seemed to have utterly angered it; the hissing grew more urgent, the cold snake body climbing higher, he trembled with tension.

Suddenly, Cen Ming found he could rise; he sprang upright, and upon seeing what was before him, his pupils shrank sharply.

A huge snake head flicked its tongue, its face covered in disordered, upturned scales; those pale yellow vertical eyes locked onto it, and a scarlet tongue shot out.

"Ah——snake!

"Thud."

The lights blazed on, Cen Ming's face ashen as he met his wife's worried gaze: "I, I just……snake!"

He was so frightened he kept shaking, unable to speak clearly.

In the following time, Cen Ming dared not close his eyes, causing the next day, when he saw Ling Yue again, the dark circles under his eyes were practically national treasure‑level.

Ling Yue didn't need to worry about anything else; the couple had long planned the route, to get there as fast as possible they took the high‑speed rail, then hired a car to the countryside, detoured around several mountains, even walked a stretch, and finally reached the Dahe Village where Cen Ming resided.

Just as they entered the village, Cen Ming attracted the attention of a crowd, and many people stared in amazement at Ling Yue.

At that moment, the village's native hunting dogs suddenly rushed out and barked wildly at them.

"Stranger, I warn you, take one more step and I'll bite you!"

The slightly frail yellow native hunting dog opened its mouth wide: "Did you see that? My big white teeth aren't for show!"

A few dogs warned in a simple-minded way, almost making Ling Yue burst out laughing.

She flicked her fingers, tossing out a few little milk curds; beside her, Cen Ming couldn't help rubbing his head and told her, "Master Ling, the dogs in our village are exceptionally smart—they never eat strangers' food, nor dog kibble, so scattering it would be wasted."

As soon as she finished speaking, several native hunting dogs surged forward; before their brains could react, their mouths were already chewing. Animals are more sensitive than humans, and they immediately sensed that these things were beneficial to them.

A few minutes later, they were already wagging their tails at Ling Yue.

"Pretty young lady, do you have any more candy?"

"I still want to eat; can I trade something with you for it?"

Cen Ming: "..."

"Why am I being so talkative? She's a master—how could she be like me?!"

At that moment, an elderly old man walked over, and upon seeing Cen Ming he immediately said, "Ming'er, you've finally come back!"

"Hurry up and come with me, your mom won't last much longer!",:,,.