Chapter 74

Hearing this, Cen Ming had no time to react; he ran off home.

Ling Yue was led by Yu Fengping, following behind.

Most houses in Dahe Village are low, so Cen Ming's family's concrete house stood out conspicuously, even more imposing; when they arrived, a crowd of villagers had already gathered at the door.

Ling Yue didn't enter, but immediately felt a strong evil aura rushing at her; she heard mournful crying from inside.

At that moment, in the inner bedroom, Cen Ming gazed at the elderly lady lying on the bed; his head buzzed and he fell to his knees with a thud.

"Mom? Mom, what happened to you?!"

"Mom, don't scare me! I'll take you to the big hospital; we'll see a doctor!"

Hearing this, the village chief opened his mouth: "Our place is a remote mountain-encircled, water-surrounded corner; even if we could leave, wouldn't we wear the person out to pieces?"

Moreover, the Cen family elder looked as frail as a spider's silk; he patted Cen Ming's shoulder and said, "Ming kid, the doctors said this is already... too late; better let your mom spend her last days in peace, which also counts as fulfilling your filial duty."

Cen Ming silently glanced; a tall, sturdy man at 1.78 meters, hearing this he painfully covered his face, his eyes burning.

"What, what's going on?" the little old lady on the bed slowly woke up, seeing the person slumped at the bedside, she dazed: "Ming, Mingzi?!"

She thought she was dreaming; the little old lady rubbed her eyes as her son seized her hand: "Mom, it's me—I got the call and rushed back!"

"Really my son?" the old lady exclaimed joyfully: "You, you finally came back; I've been holding on just to wait for you."

As she spoke, the little old lady glanced outside; seeing the daughter-in-law, her face lit up even more, but upon seeing Ling Yue she froze: "Why, why don't we have our grandson?"

Hearing this, the couple simultaneously gave a wry smile: "How could we call Hanghang over when we're like this?"

Hearing this, the old lady stared blankly: "What?"

No sooner had the words finished than Cen Ming respectfully greeted Ling Yue: "Master Ling, please."

"What on earth happened to this house?"

Ling Yue nodded: "This is the place."

Hearing this, the old lady was utterly bewildered; she never expected this. Her doubtful gaze lingered on Ling Yue, sizing her up—she'd seen all kinds of local mediums, never one so young; could she be a charlatan?

Ling Yue dispelled her doubt with a single sentence: "Your illness also stems from offending something unclean; if I'm not mistaken, it happened about half a month ago."

Everyone who heard this gaped, knowing Ling Yue had just arrived in the village—aside from Cen Ming and his wife, she hadn't exchanged a word with anyone else, let alone known the details of this matter.

"Half a month!" Cen Ming bellowed, staring shocked at his mother: "Why didn't you tell me? If I'd known earlier, I'd have brought you out!"

The little old lady hemmed and hawed, taking a long while to explain clearly.

It turned out the old lady thought her son and daughter-in-law had a hard life outside, so she delayed treatment, getting a few prescriptions from the village barefoot doctor—only to let a minor ailment worsen into a serious illness.

Ling Yue's eyes narrowed: "Surely there's more than that?"

Everyone around startled; the little old lady on the bed turned pale—anyone could tell something was definitely wrong.

Half a minute later, the villagers who had been inside came out; after just two steps they glanced back at the concrete house, feeling as if a cat's claw were tugging at their hearts, and walked to the alley entrance.

The chatting villagers burst into a clamor and gathered: "How is it? What exactly happened to Old Lady Cen?"

"Hey, you came out really fast—didn't even stay a moment?"

"I heard the person inside ended up like that because they offended something unclean."

"The old Cen family's field... isn't clean."

Hearing this, the village chief instantly frowned: "What nonsense—you're practicing feudal superstition; back in the day you'd be dragged out for a public parade!"

"You old woman, why so chatty? Don't you plant grain in the field? If you're able, go plow a couple more mu, so you don't chatter all day."

He furiously knocked his cane; the onlookers shrank back, scattering like sparrows—even the local hunting dog that liked to gossip tucked its tail and ran home.

Many still muttered behind their backs: "In this situation, if it's not an evil influence, what is it?"

We're all from the same village—who doesn't know whom?

For decades the Cen family has only borne sons, never a daughter; the male line thrives, and a big tree has sprouted on Cen Gou Dan's grave—everyone says there's something in that tree.

The Cen family members are even worse: as the willow tree grew ever larger, half a plot lay fallow, and they never thought to cut it down.

They can't keep their mouths shut; they missed the village chief's sorrowful face—though he spoke so definitively, they know deep down that old age brings wisdom, and he's lived decades; what hasn't he experienced?

Master?

Other people had already summoned the master, but he could only pretend not to understand.

At this moment, inside the Cen family's house.

After only family remained, the old lady stared unblinking at Ling Yue: "You, you, what did you just say?"

Who would have thought Ling Yue would suddenly walk over, yank off the old lady's blanket, roll up the sleeve on her right arm—the part most afflicted by evil qi—and see that the Cen couple were shocked pale, for that section of arm had turned a bluish‑gray, with scale‑like patterns appearing.

"Mother, what on earth is going on?!"

The old lady's face turned pale, she looked panicked at Ling Yue: "Master, I—"

Ling Yue glanced at the old lady, whose eyes were full of hope, and she said in a low voice: "This is a serpent's binding; a snake paid the price, casting a deadly curse—so long as your line lives, it will erode you until death."

"Cen Mr. said before, you could run and jump; with your vitality, living another ten or eight years would have been no problem, but you've been cursed by a snake, your body already riddled with holes…"

She didn't continue those words; realizing this, Cen Ming regretted not having paid more attention earlier, while the old lady took it in stride: "It's fine; I've lived this long, I've had enough—going earlier just means I can go find my husband."

"Mom!" Cen Ming burst into tears.

The old lady's greater concern was another matter: "Are you the master summoned by Mingzi? Mingzi—has something happened to him?!"

She thrashed on the bed, and whenever the younger generation was brought up, she would utter a sentence fraught with anxiety.

In an instant, the door— the family's last hope— all rested on Ling Yue.

Ling Yue: "Since I've come here, it's only to help you."

With those words, the Cen family instantly put their minds at ease; the old lady hid nothing, recounting item by item what had happened during this time at the door.

As it turned out, half a month earlier she had fallen ill; a minor ailment dragged on for seven or eight days, she endured the pain and got out of bed, until a few mornings ago she rose early, went out, and encountered a thick fog.

The gray‑white fog was so thick you couldn't see your fingers; the old lady gripped her hoe and went down, feeling around for a while, when suddenly something tripped her and she knocked herself unconscious.

When she woke up, she found herself lying in the field, surrounded by a circle of people: "Aunt Cen, are you alright?"

The old lady instinctively tried to rise, but her hand didn't touch soft earth— instead it pressed onto a hard object; she felt something was off, turned her head, and was startled by what lay before her.

Where is our big willow tree?!

All I see is a bald stretch; the fresh wooden stake is still wet, and the massive willow tree by the grave—so big two people couldn't wrap their arms around it—has been reduced to nothing but this bald stump right before my eyes!

The old woman fainted right there, then regained consciousness, but her condition worsened; she lingered for days until she could no longer endure, at which point the village head finally notified her son to return.

Meanwhile, she herself was confined indoors, bedridden by severe illness, and her skin broke out in strange blotches.

To Ling Yue's eyes, these aren't snake scales—what else could they be?

Her eyes flickered as she recalled her conversation with the Feng Shui turtle master the night before she left.

Based on Ling Yue's observations, the Cen family has been afflicted by a snake entanglement; folk belief holds that the four great household guardians are the fox, yellow, white, and willow spirits, and the willow spirit is a snake.

Ling Yue seems at ease, but after entering the village she has been closely watching; the villagers are ordinary, except the Cen family, which is overflowing with evil energy.

According to the old woman's account, the large willow tree she saw in her divination is probably the one at the Cen family's ancestral grave, but someone cut it down, angering the willow spirit.

Ling Yue even suspects that the other party might be the Cen family's household guardian spirit.

But when she asked, everyone in the Cen family denied it, looking utterly bewildered.

After Granny Cen clutched the talisman, she wasn't sure if it was a placebo or truly effective, but that very day she could get out of bed; she felt protected, and the clumps of evil energy had no effect on her.

The old woman couldn't contain her joy: "I can get out of bed!"

His face showed no trace of fatigue; Cen Ming burst into tears of joy, covered his face, and laughed like a child.

Ling Yue withdrew her gaze, and the evil energy seemed provoked, clawing and thrashing as it surged back.

After repeated failures, they tried having others present, but aside from Ling Yue, the evil energy couldn't get close to anyone.

Ling Yue's gaze fell on the midair, where the evil energy coalesced like a sky‑covering wave, rolling on without cease.

These things bring no benefit to ordinary people and only endless disaster, but they are a great tonic for the dragon fish Jinjin; I wonder how it's doing now.

The evil energy seemed to sense her distraction, anger building, and it slammed heavily toward her!

Ling Yue suddenly felt a twinge of regret, lifted her eyes, formed a one‑hand seal, and a speck of golden light flashed from her fingertip, solidifying like a stream of light that surged toward the endless evil energy.

In an instant, the gate exploded like fireworks.

She faintly heard a roar, and countless fine threads, like swimming snakes, fled outward.

The courtyard erupted with frenzied dog barks.

Ling Yue rushed out; the few earth‑hunting dogs she had seen earlier were skulking outside the courtyard, sensing something foul, and they barked loudly at the sky.

"I'm the village's little tough guy; nobody can scare me!"

"What big brother said is right! Go, big brother!"

Ling Yue raised an eyebrow; even the little dog lackeys were cheering. A few seconds later, the lingering vapors vanished, and her gaze fell on the several dogs, which drooled eagerly at the sight of her.

This pack of dogs, who remember food but not fights, glanced at each other and actually began to discuss.

"Wuu wuu wuu, big brother, I'm so hungry, I really want to eat!"

"Don't move! You don't even see whose territory this is—let you starve to death!" The lead big yellow dog hissed and licked its lips.

The three puppies stared pleadingly; Ling Yue casually beckoned, and they looked at her pleadingly, "Come over."

She then scattered a handful of milk curds, returned, and agreed with Cen Ming to go to the fields at noon; since they'd found the source, figuring it out would be easy.

After lunch, the sun blazed fiercely.

Cen Ming followed closely, gripping his peace amulet tightly; only he and his wife came along, and since the old lady is elderly, there might be some scene, so it's better not to let her run out.

All of He River Village's land lies in the northeast corner of the village; continuing up the mountain path brings you to the barren hills behind the village, lush and green—a place of splendid scenery despite its desolation.

Looking far and wide, the hills are verdant, and a mountain stream holds a clear spring that trickles gently.

"In recent years the state has strongly supported ecological improvement, and it really has gotten much better; my mother says that in recent years wild boars have roamed the mountains, and some families' corn fields in the village have been ravaged by wild boars."

He said this while curiously glancing at the sky: "Master Ling, did we choose noon because the yang energy is strongest then, so that thing wouldn't dare come out?"

Ling Yue glanced at him: "……"

What if I say it's because I'm hungry?

Whether it's noon or midnight, it doesn't really matter to her, but seeing how anxious the Cen family is, the sooner it's resolved, the sooner they can relax.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the fields; Cen Ming hadn't even led the way when he saw Ling Yue heading toward his family's fields, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "No wonder she's a master!"

His wife gave him a sideways glance: "You didn't even notice that huge wooden stake—what a waste of those big eyes of yours!"

Ling Yue's steps faltered slightly—not because of that—she lifted her gaze and saw that the vast open field had only one patch, from which billowing evil energy rose; as soon as she stepped in, she furrowed her brows.

Straight ahead, in a place the two couldn't see, lay a massive serpentine form; it lowered its head to look at Ling Yue, its snake eyes like red lanterns: "This is my business with their family, you stinking Daoist, what are you meddling in?"

As soon as the words fell, a gray mist spread out of nowhere; the startled Cen Ming and his wife reacted, but Ling Yue's trace had already vanished.

They were so frightened they huddled together and shouted: "Master Ling? Master Ling!"

The two shivered in the great fog; suddenly a gentle breeze blew, and the lingering thick fog instantly dissipated. Cen Ming rubbed his eyes and discovered he was actually standing on the ancestral grave!

He was so frightened he jumped straight down, looked up, and saw Ling Yue—and an enormous monstrous serpent!

The next moment, the giant serpent actually spoke in human language!

This was Ling Yue's first true encounter with a worthy opponent; she gave it her all, and moments later, seeing the small snakes rolling all over the ground, she was momentarily stunned.

"Ahhh, despicable human, you're too vile, actually hiding your cultivation!"

Ling Yue: "!!!"

"It's not me, I don't have it—don't spout nonsense!"

"How does she know this snake is so……weak?" Ling Yue fell silent for a moment, then looked at the serpent before her—more accurately, a snake demon—and asked, "Why are you targeting the Cen family?"

Cen Ming, drenched in cold sweat from fright, heard this and lay on the ground, staring at the monster serpent.

The giant serpent flicked its tongue, raised its body, and fixed its gaze on him: "You don't know anything—this is what they owe me!"

It was so angry its serpentine body trembled; it turned its head toward Ling Yue and said: "I was only one step away from success, but it's because of them! I painstakingly protected them for years, yet they destroyed my cultivation—this enmity cannot be shared under the same heaven!"

Ling Yue pondered for a moment, then suddenly recalled the previous events: "Then go ahead and tell me."

The giant snake was about to get angry, but then realized it couldn't defeat her, and, forced to submit under the eaves, lowered its head: "I was merely a snake living on this mountain..."

The giant snake was a native snake demon of the mountain above Dahe Village; it accidentally opened its spiritual aperture, cultivated on its own, and somehow managed to succeed, until heavenly tribulation arrived.

Exactly the situation Ling Yue saw that day; it, trying to dodge the heavenly tribulation, panicked and ran into Cen Gou Dan, who was looking for an ox. Cen Gou Dan inadvertently helped it survive the tribulation, but he himself died in an accident. To settle the karmic debt, the giant snake saved Cen Gou Dan and thus became the guardian spirit of the Cen family.

And that destroyed willow tree was actually its half-body.

The giant snake stared at Cen Ming: "You humans aren't just fond of boys; I bless your descendants with a house full of sons, generation after generation—how could you forget me?!"

However, the fact is, decades have passed, and no one remembers it anymore.

Only this great willow tree has remained.

The giant snake was quite pleased with its condition, but just as it was weak from undergoing another tribulation, a band of petty thieves appeared, eyeing the willow tree and planning to cut it down in a few days.

Right under its nose, the giant snake immediately notified the Cen family, but on that day it watched helplessly as the thieves cut down the half-body that had long been intimately connected to it.

It had given a warning, yet the Cen family remained utterly indifferent, not even taking any action!

Cen Ming shuddered, and instantly recalled a dream he had a week earlier—a snake coiled on his family's ancestral grave, telling him to hurry back.

Cen Ming looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears, thinking it was just a dream!

Giant snake: "Dream my ass!"

This willow tree had been nurtured with its painstaking care, long intertwined with it; the snake demon's hundred years of cultivation instantly turned to nothing, and even its immortal path was severed.

Filled with rancor, the giant snake swore on its life and cursed the Cen lineage: may none of its descendants die a good death!

"I just want them to die! I painstakingly protected them for years, and this is how they repay me? My half-body is gone!"

Cen Ming: "QAQ"

He felt wronged; if he had known how important this tree was to it, he would have hired people to protect it long ago, and those tree‑stealing thieves are simply despicable!

Thinking this, he suddenly heard the giant snake's contemptuous chuckle: "I already knew you humans; I chased after those people right away—do you know what happened to them?"

The giant snake laughed ha‑ha, its blood‑red eyes locked on him, and Cen Ming grew so nervous he dared not breathe.

"Hiss—once I finish with them I'll come for you; too bad you went to Jing Shi, otherwise I'd have made you pay with your life already!"

Ling Yue listened, curling the corners of her mouth; this snake… is actually quite interesting.

Cen Ming felt a wave of relief, but suddenly the giant snake lunged—just a fist's distance away—when it abruptly jerked back, having been seized by Ling Yue who shook its body: "Don't worry, with me here you're fine."

The giant snake thudded onto the stump, staring fixedly at Cen Ming, sending chills down anyone's spine.

Cen Ming: "Um, uh, Master Ling, what should we do now?"

He spoke while averting his gaze, afraid to look at the giant snake, knowing that the root of this matter largely lay with it, and even his family's well‑being came from its protection—how could he face it…

Ling Yue gazed at him wistfully: "Whatever you decide is up to you, but I have something to say."

"It's lying."

The giant snake stared at her in shock: "What nonsense are you spouting? This is what they owe me!"

"You despicable, shameless humans—you truly deserve to die!"

For some reason, Cen Ming felt that its angry look resembled indignant embarrassment more than pure rage.

Compared to the snake demon, he trusted Ling Yue more: "Master, what exactly is going on?"

Ling Yue: "Cen Gou Dan died because of you; you saved him, which was naturally your duty, and you are destined to face a tribulation—this is because you once ate a person on the mountain, and later you saved Cen Gou Dan, which counts as repentance, so this tribulation will therefore be lifted."

That's why, back then, when Cen Gou Dan went up the mountain, none of his companions dared follow, because the adults told the children that a man‑eating giant snake lived there.

Cen Gou Dan went up the mountain reluctantly for a yellow ox, tripped over the snake's body, and knocked his head against a stone, causing his death.

Ling Yue withdrew her gaze; this is the true full sequence—if it weren't for her, anyone else might have been fooled by the giant snake's superb acting.

Ling Yue shook her head: "Decades ago you delayed because of Cen Gou Dan, and decades later this tribulation is still fated—you can't escape it!"

Whether or not her thunderous words struck him, the giant snake suddenly slumped, forcing a brave front: "But I have protected them for so many years…"

Ling Yue looked at Cen Ming, who clutched his head in a wave of headache: "This… I… I also don't know what to do."

Their entanglement with the giant snake could no longer be sorted out in a sentence or two; karmic retribution is real, the years of protection were real, and it was also his failure to heed the warning—but how could he know? Such things still exist in the world.

Isn't this just the kind of fantasy novel his son reads?

His wife supported him, saw his hesitation, finally hardened her heart and said: "Why not let it lift the curse, and then we can forget all of this?"

The giant snake blinked, looking at the couple who had lingered here for so many years, having never witnessed such entanglement—aren't humans supposed to be most particular about 'those not of our kind must have different hearts'?

The choice lies in the other's hands; if it were me, I would surely kill the other party!

Ling Yue: "You heard that too."

She waited for the giant snake's reply, but the snake instead lowered its head, coiled on the bald willow stump, and said: "Then just eat me."

Including Ling Yue, everyone was stunned, and the giant snake explained: "The way to lift the curse is to eat my flesh."

The Cen couple reluctantly took some snake meat, brows furrowed; eating the flesh of a talking giant snake… they just couldn't bring themselves to accept it.

In the end, only Ling Yue remained.

Cen Ming asked her: "Master Ling?"

"You go on ahead; I'll rest here a while."

Ling Yue spoke while lowering her gaze, looking at the dozens of growth rings on the stump; beside it lay a three‑meter‑long, wrist‑thick bluish‑gray snake body, looking as if it were dead.

After a moment, the snake's body suddenly quivered; from the recently ruptured belly of the giant snake, a slick green little snake burst out, the original serpentine form instantly turning to ash, leaving only a long trace.

The little snake curiously surveyed its surroundings; upon seeing Ling Yue, it startled and retreated backward.

With a soft 'shush', it darted quickly into the nearby bushes, vanishing in an instant.

Ling Yue lifted her eyes to where the little snake had disappeared; what she didn't say was that the giant snake would not die.

By now, the giant snake's tribulation is truly over; it once strayed onto a wicked path, later saved people, endured decades of turmoil, its cultivation dissipated and it became a mundane snake; as for whether it will ever cultivate again, Ling Yue has only one word: "difficult".

When the matter was finally settled, it was already rather late, the mountain paths were rough, and they prepared to spend the night and set out the next day.

Ling Yue had no objection to that.

She wandered around the village; three local hunting dogs, catching the scent, came running. From afar their tails wagged like fans, but as they drew near they stopped and trotted over with a soft patter.

Ling Yue rubbed the three dogs that had drawn close; the leader, Old Brother A Huang, sniffed, grinned with a smile, his looks somewhat like a Shiba Inu, but he was even more adept at coaxing affection than a Shiba.

The fluffy head rubbed against Ling Yue's palm, letting out a soft cry, its big, watery eyes looking at her: 'Pretty little miss, can you give A Huang something to eat?'

The scrawny white earth hunting dog let out a 'heng heng heng' sound, looking at her pitifully: 'Me too, me too, I'll let you pet all my fur!'

The smallest Xiao Huang lay on the ground, raising its dog head and howling 'ao wu ao wu'. Finally, it looked at Ling Yue, exposing its soft belly: 'So hungry, so hungry, so hungry—I haven't eaten in two minutes, Xiao Huang is about to starve to death QAQ'

Ling Yue rubbed and rubbed the dog's soft belly, lifting its little belly: 'Really hasn't eaten for two minutes—how could I not believe that?'

Xiao Huang: 'My appetite is huge QWQ'

Just as the words fell, it suddenly felt something was off, and saw the older two brothers looking at it in terror—more precisely, they were looking at Ling Yue behind it.

The dog's head still in the human's hand, Xiao Huang dog did a 360-degree Thomas spin jump: 'Help! Anyone who can understand dog speech!'

'Mom, we've run into a monster!'

All three dogs' fur stood on end; instantly they grew chubby, twisting their buttocks as they sprinted away.

Ling Yue looked helplessly at the startled dog, patting the little fur on her hand: 'Those who ran off don't get any milk curds.'

She said, pulling out the pet food she carried; a rich milk aroma wafted out, and the dog instantly couldn't move its legs, gazing longingly at Ling Yue.

Ling Yue: 'Eat or not?'

She said, shaking it, and the milk curds in the bag rattled.

'Gloop!'

Unable to resist the temptation, the dog came running with its tail tucked, but after a few steps it suddenly stopped, its big eyes darting left and right.

'Slurp~ slurp~'

Xiao Huang dog drooled, constantly licking its mouth; they knew this tasted especially good and couldn't help themselves.

Xiao Huang dashed back for the food, gobbling it up; the other two, seeing this, instantly became anxious.

They wouldn't be outdone, and ran back as well.

After finishing the milk curds, the dogs had completely warmed up to Ling Yue; suddenly they ran off, and before Ling Yue could figure it out, the big yellow dog waved a paw at her: 'Human, wanna come with us up the mountain?'

Ling Yue blinked, and the three dogs proudly shook their fur.

Da Huang grinned smugly, humph, no news in the whole village could escape its ears.

It wagged its tail: 'Aren't you leaving tomorrow? We brothers will go up the mountain to get you some local specialties!'

Xiao Huang: 'Remember to bring a super huge sack—there's plenty of stuff up the mountain!'

Xiao Bai, who had somehow gotten onto the small dirt mound, held its head high and chest out, raising its paw: 'If you can't carry it, we'll help you haul it back!'

Ling Yue: 'But I heard there are wild boars on the mountain.'

The earth hunting dog trio practically slapped their chests, declaring domineeringly: 'Up the mountain, we've got you covered!' ，，.