Chapter 49: Little Xiao Shimei × 2

The villagers closed the gate of the ancestral hall.

But the wooden gate had long since decayed, and there were gaps everywhere.

"A few Daoist masters..."

The villagers in the ancestral hall were both afraid and at a loss. Their eyes kept shifting between Lin Jue's group and Daoist Qingxuan's group. Ultimately, not knowing if it was because they felt more familiar with Lin Jue's group after walking all the way here, or because they heard from the conversation just now that Lin Jue's group would be more reliable tonight, their eyes fell on Lin Jue.

The Xiao Shimei held the torch to illuminate him.

The two armored soldiers holding bows looked very majestic, their faces painted with bright oil paint, like the guardians beside the spirits in the temple.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. There are many of us here. Be careful, and nothing will happen. Just wait for my Shixiong to return from exorcising the demons." Lin Jue comforted them, "However, I must trouble you to stay in this ancestral hall for the night. Do not go home, otherwise, I fear you might encounter misfortune on the way home."

"Yes, yes..."

Time passed bit by bit, and there seemed to be no movement outside.

This seemed very good, at least it meant the Third Shixiong hadn't encountered danger, but it also seemed not so good, as the Third Shixiong might not have found them.

Suddenly, there were footsteps outside.

"Someone is coming?"

Lin Jue just wanted to ask if the Third Shixiong had returned, but heard a bit of crying and wailing in these footsteps.

"Oh my child..."

The villagers in the ancestral hall were all frightened, and some felt the voice was somewhat familiar.

Lin Jue carried the firewood knife and walked to the door of the ancestral hall, his fingers gripping the whistle-stick tightly, and a breath of fire also rose to his throat.

The little Xiao Shimei naturally held the torch to illuminate him.

The two looked at each other, but saw that even the little Xiao Shimei looked like she was holding a breath, waiting to exhale.

This little girl was unexpectedly reliable.

Lin Jue thought so, and saw that Daoist Qingxuan also took a wooden sword and stood beside him. The eyes of the few met, and then each found a gap in the door panel to look outside.

Only to see that it was dim outside, with only moonlight, and two figures stumbling toward them in the moonlight.

Lin Jue became even more vigilant.

Until they walked closer, he discovered that it was actually a little girl and an old woman.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The two knocked on the door of the ancestral hall.

"Oh my child..."

The old woman cried and shouted while knocking.

Lin Jue was vigilant, but Daoist Qingxuan was stunned.

"Why did you come here?"

His tone was as if he knew these two.

Lin Jue couldn't help but look at Daoist Qingxuan in doubt.

"It seems to be Zhang Da's old mother and his younger sister." Daoist Qingxuan was also not sure. "When we came today, we first went to his house and met his old mother and sister. Zhang Da had already gone out at the time. They originally wanted us to stay at their house, but we came to the ancestral hall."

The villagers behind heard the voice clearly and hurriedly gathered around.

"Why did they come here?"

"There are ghost monsters outside!"

"Open the door quickly!"

The many villagers said one after another.

"Oh my child! Daoist! Daoist Qingxuan! Open the door quickly! Was my child injured?" The old woman's voice was sad, shouting repeatedly, "I dreamed that my child was eaten by those ghosts at the head of the village!"

"Xiao Shimei-in-law, why did you run here in the middle of the night?" a villager couldn't help but shout, "It's dangerous outside!"

"I came to find my child! How is my child? Where is my child? Is he here?" The old woman's words were unclear, but the anxiety in her words was moving.

"Oh my..."

The villagers couldn't help but look at Lin Jue and Daoist Qingxuan.

Even Zhang Da, who was sitting on a chair in the ancestral hall and had just been bandaged, heard his mother's voice and was so anxious that he almost sat up:

"Is my mother here?"

"Don't be anxious." Lin Jue pressed the door panel, looked back at the people in the village, and then looked at Zhang Da, then asked outside: "What is your child's name?"

"Is my child inside? Is he inside? I heard my child's voice!"

"Old Madam, please say first, what is your child's name?"

"How is my child?"

"His name is Zhang Ling! His courtesy name is Shouzhang!" the little girl who was supporting the old woman said, already anxious.

"Where does your brother work?"

"My child..."

"My brother doesn't work anywhere! He is practicing martial arts in the county!"

It was still that little girl who answered, while the old woman was already confused and didn't listen to anyone, only knowing to call out and care for her child.

Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

The villagers understood his meaning, and one clever one also helped ask: "What is the name of the old man who passed away in your family?"

"Is my child still alive..."

"Grandfather passed away before I was born. I can't remember clearly, but I seem to have heard Mother say it, his name is Zhang Hua..." The little girl became more nervous as her mother called out more urgently.

"That's right."

The villager who asked said.

Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.

So they opened the wooden board.

Speaking of which, this door panel had long since decayed. If a monster really came to harass them, it wouldn't be able to block anything, and the largest gap was completely enough for that strange bird today to drill in.

The old woman was supported by the little girl, stumbling in, crying and shouting as she walked.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, the little girl was startled when she saw the three people at the door, while the old woman seemed unable to see clearly, only able to see the brightness emitted by a torch, so her footsteps paused, and she squinted to look over.

Then she looked into the ancestral hall.

Zhang Da had already stood up, supporting himself with a chair. The old woman could see her son clearly, and immediately, supported by the little girl, stumbled toward Zhang Da.

"My child! You are still alive! It's good that you are alive! I told you not to go, not to go, but you wouldn't listen. Mother dreamed that you were eaten by ghosts..."

"Mother..."

Mother and son were worried about each other, naturally with deep affection.

"Why did you come here?" Daoist Qingxuan asked.

"Big Brother went out today, and Mother was worried, especially when Big Brother didn't return for a long time. I finally coaxed her to sleep, but she suddenly woke up in a fright, saying she dreamed Big Brother was eaten by ghosts. Just then, I, I couldn't control my mouth and said I seemed to have heard a scream that sounded like Big Brother. When Mother heard it, and saw Big Brother hadn't returned, she insisted on coming to the ancestral hall to find the two Daoist masters." The little girl's logic was quite clear. "I said there were ghosts on the road, but she wasn't afraid. I couldn't stop her, so I had to support her to come."

Everyone listened to these words, their emotions complex for a moment.

Some were moved by the mother-son bond; the son was injured, and the mother actually had a premonition in her dream. Some were moved by the mother-son affection; even if there were ghosts on the road, which could scare away most people, how could it stop her?

Lin Jue's eyes were flickering.

He couldn't help but suspect that the yin evil didn't dare to enter the ancestral hall, but was resentful of Zhang Da, so it entrusted a dream to Zhang's mother, woke her up, and then used this mother's deep affection to try to lure Zhang Da out.

He glanced at Daoist Qingxuan.

It seemed he thought so too.

At the same time, the mother and son beside them were already holding hands.

"Child, are you okay?"

"I'm fine..."

"You are injured and you say you are fine! How is the injury? Is it heavy? How were you injured?"

"Just a small injury."

"Oh my, you are bleeding so much!" Zhang's mother was frightened again, very heartbroken, simply weeping old tears. "How can just wrapping it like this work? Hurry, follow Mother back, apply some wound medicine, and invite a physician tomorrow."

When Lin Jue heard this, he became vigilant.

"Old Madam! Stay here tonight, that monster is afraid it has already set its sights on Zhang Da, you cannot leave!"

"How can this be? If you bleed here, you will bleed to death!"

"Mother, listen to the little Daoist."

"Such a small Daoist! What can he understand?"

"Mother, I am not going back."

"If you don't go back, forget it, Mother will go back and bring you the gold sore medicine." Zhang's mother said.

"Old Madam, if there really are monsters outside, they want to put Zhang Da to death. If you go out alone without Zhang Da, it is very likely that the monster will attack you and use this to trick Zhang Da out."

"Oh my..."

Everyone was at a stalemate for a moment.

Lin Jue's eyes lowered—

His little fox was squatting obediently beside him, but it had been tilting its head, staring at this old madam, seemingly extremely puzzled.

"Mother, stop being stubborn!" The little girl beside her couldn't help but say, not knowing if it was because she felt sorry for her brother or was frightened by the ghost monsters, she was already crying. "Just listen to the Daoist masters!"

When hearing more people speak, it is a normal reaction to look at the person speaking, and this little girl was crying like rain, so almost everyone subconsciously turned their heads to look at this little girl.

But they didn't see that the old woman had already raised her hand.

Her palm instantly turned into a sharp bird claw.

"Child..."

The bird claw flashed with cold light, unexpectedly grabbing at Zhang Da's throat.

At this time, no spell could be in time.

The only thing that could be in time was a firewood knife.

"Swish..."

A firewood knife slashed at the bird claw of the "Zhang Mother," causing her claw to deflect and grab Zhang Da's face.

Everyone didn't react at all, turning their heads to look at Zhang Mother, and were all shocked when they saw this.

Even Zhang Da, who practiced martial arts, had no guard against his own mother and was scratched with three blood marks on his face by his "own old mother."

"Poof..."

A light sound beside him, black smoke exploded.

Everyone turned their heads again, only to see that the "little girl" had turned into a large bird with black smoke and faint green light flickering in its eyes, flapping its wings and flying outside.

"Poof..."

Another light sound.

Zhang's mother also turned into the same large bird, also flapping its wings, flying up with difficulty, and flying outside.

"Don't let them go!

"Two heroes! Shoot the bird!"

Everyone reacted and used their skills.

The wooden sword just stabbed over, the firewood knife slashed down again, taking away a few wisps of black smoke from the monster bird's body.

Xiao Shimei exhaled yang energy, scaring them into fleeing in a panic.

The rushing flames forced them onto the roof.

There were also bows and arrows shooting through the firelight, either embedding themselves in the beams with a thud, or breaking the tiles with a clatter, rushing into the night sky.

Hoes and shoulder poles were swinging in the sky.

And the little fox jumped up to the height of a person's knee, a zhang away from the bird, stretching out its claws wanting to grab upward.

For a moment, the ancestral hall was in a mess.

Panic was also a good thing; there was no time to think or fear, only letting the blood energy rise, as if it would gather with the number of people. Anger was also like this, boiling in the many curses. Even ordinary villagers, facing this monster that could change and was full of tricks, didn't care about anything, only cursing while trying hard to greet them.

This monster bird was very fast, and because it could fly, it avoided many attacks.

One monster bird found a gap and instantly drilled out of the ancestral hall.

And the monster bird that had been slashed by Lin Jue became clumsy, and after being grazed by several arrows and scorched by flames, it could barely fly, so it had to land on the beam, using the beam to dodge.

"Child...

"You urinate and curse on Mother's head, and ruin Mother's cultivation, Mother will not spare you even in death..."

The hoarse woman's voice sounded overhead.

Lin Jue pretended not to hear, and had already blocked the gap in the door.

The two archers continued to walk with heavy steps, walked to the wall of the ancestral hall, found an angle, nocked an arrow, bent the bow, and aimed at the large bird on the beam.

"Whoosh..."

An arrow shot out.

Only to see that the large bird suddenly exploded into smoke, almost covering the entire ancestral hall. Not only was it foul-smelling, but it also suppressed the torches, making it dim.

"Wind..."

"Poof..."

Wind and fire intertwined in the ancestral hall, dissipating the black smoke.

The torches lit up again.

The good news was that there was no trace of the large bird on the beam. The bad news was that there were two little Shimeis in the ancestral hall, both staring blankly at Lin Jue.

"Where is that monster bird?"

"Who? Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Shixiong, what's going on?"

Two little Shimeis, the same attire, the same white and delicate cheeks, the same solemn yet dull expression and tone, the same lively eyeballs.

"..."

Lin Jue frowned as he looked, but sighed and said: "You have truly chosen the wrong person."

Both Shimeis didn't speak for a moment.

This was indeed true—

Whether it was this little Xiao Shimei's personality or her intelligence, she wouldn't say things like "Shixiong, I am the real one" or "Shixiong, kill her" at this time.

"Xiao Shimei, exhale a breath of pure yang energy."

"Shixiong, my energy is exhausted."

"Shixiong, my energy is exhausted."

Two voices sounded at the same time, and the voices were the same.

"Eh?"

Lin Jue was surprised.

He then opened his mouth to inhale, and exhaled two breaths of pure yang energy onto the two Shimeis respectively.

However, there was no reaction from either.

This was a bit interesting.

It was just a death struggle after all. ===== CHAPTER 50 =====