Chapter 584: Giant Leech

"Uncle Village Chief, I understand." Mengdie nodded with a hint of grievance.

"Alright, let's go." Ye Qingning smiled and pulled her along as they walked forward.

"Village Chief, what about this little girl's parents?" Chen Yu asked.

"Sigh, her parents passed away a long time ago. Every year, our village pays homage to the Witch Ancestor. Children with natural talent are left at the ancestral grounds to follow the Great Witch and practice Witchcraft."

"But before mastering Witchcraft, no one is allowed to leave the Sacred Land, so we send daily necessities in there every year," the Village Chief said. "Her parents lost their lives when they encountered a flash flood while transporting supplies."

"Then, has there been anything different about her compared to other children since she was small?" Chen Yu asked, looking at the little girl's back.

He recalled the little girl's ability to control insects earlier. This ability was not Witchcraft, and she herself had never practiced Witchcraft; it seemed that this ability was an innate talent.

"Yes, she can communicate with our Gu, and she can understand the feelings of Gu and some insects. You must know, only our Wuming can possess this ability after reaching the 'Wuling Realm'. She has never learned Witchcraft, yet she possesses such an ability. Everyone unanimously believes this is the Gu Ancestor's compensation for the passing of her parents."

Mentioning this, the Village Chief said with a glow of excitement: "That is why we must send her to the Sacred Land to practice, but this little girl is unwilling, so she missed the time for ancestor worship this year. However, we must send her to the ancestral grounds next year."

Chen Yu nodded, took a thoughtful look at the cute little girl, and then continued walking forward.

Soon, the group arrived in front of the pond on the west side of the village. This place was a valley, and a huge waterfall fell from the high mountain rocks.

The place where the waterfall landed was a huge pond. The water was cool and clear. The water fell from the waterfall above into the pond and then flowed out through a small stream.

"This pond is the only water source in the village. We have relied on this pond for generations to survive." The Village Chief walked to the edge of the pond and sighed slightly: "If those things have appeared in the water, what are we to do?"

"Mr. Village Chief, please don't worry. Let Chen Yu take a look first; he will definitely have a way," Ye Qingning said.

Chen Yu bent down and reached his hand into the water. He only felt that the river water was cool and the water quality here was quite good—pure, natural mountain spring water. However, the fact that such long-extinct things would appear in this place was something Chen Yu could not fathom.

There were a few fish swimming back and forth in the pond. Chen Yu pondered for a moment, took out a Dagger, made a cut on his hand, and then put his hand into the water.

Fresh blood dripped into the water along the wound on his palm. A moment later, the water in this area was already dyed red.

"Chen Yu, what are you doing?" Ye Qingning was somewhat stunned.

"Although these Shura Leech things live in water, they love to eat fresh blood and raw meat. I'm testing if I can lure them up," Chen Yu said.

Sure enough, in less than five minutes, more than ten pitch-black masses surged up from the water.

These pitch-black, clumped things were exactly the Shura Leech found on that villager earlier. They gathered in the blood-scented water, greedily sucking on the water that smelled of blood.

Just seeing these huge bodies twisted together made everyone feel their scalps tingle.

"This, what can be done about this?" The Village Chief's hands were almost shaking. There were too many of these things; how could they be wiped out?

"It is not difficult to wipe these things out. Dissolving coarse salt into the water can wipe them out completely," Chen Yu said.

"Easier said than done," Ye Qinglong snorted and said. "This pond is so big, who knows where these things are hiding? Are you planning to turn this entire pond into salt water?"

"That is not difficult," Chen Yu looked at the surrounding terrain and then smiled: "Village Chief, rest assured, this matter is not hard to solve. Find some people, dig a large pit on this side of the pond, and then dig a drainage ditch to divert a portion of the water into the pit."

"That is not hard to do, but what is the use of digging a pit and diverting water?" the Village Chief asked, puzzled.

"Just dig it first. Remember, the drainage ditch doesn't need to be too wide, just over a meter is fine. Then prepare quicklime, slaughter a cow or sheep, and put all their blood and meat into the pit," Chen Yu said.

"Chen Yu, are you trying to use fresh blood and meat to lure the giant leeches into this pit and then wipe them out in one fell swoop?" Ye Qingning reacted quickly.

"Exactly," Chen Yu nodded and smiled: "I guarantee they won't be able to return. However, this won't be done in a moment. Village Chief, prepare first. Using lime to exterminate them will also work; these things themselves are not difficult to wipe out."

"Good, good, I understand. I will find people to do it immediately." The Village Chief's eyes lit up as he understood Chen Yu's meaning, and he hurriedly turned to find people.

The people in the village were quite united. Upon hearing that someone had been bitten by something in the water and that these things now needed to be wiped out, in less than half an hour, dozens of young and strong men who were idle at home came running over with shovels on their shoulders.

"Everyone, pay attention. Stay away from the water source. Do not enter the water until the leeches are completely wiped out, otherwise, it will be very troublesome. Hang in there, and this matter can be resolved by tomorrow," Chen Yu said.

"Did you hear that? Everyone remember Mr. Chen's words clearly. This concerns the water source; everyone, put your backs into it and hurry up to dig the pit," the Village Chief shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Understood." A group of men didn't say another word and started working right by the side of the pond.

Everyone worked with great enthusiasm, but after all, this was manual labor, so the digging was relatively slow. If there were an excavator here, the deep pit would have been dug in less than two hours.

"Chen Yu, are you so certain that the leeches are only in this pond? The waterfall upstream and the stream downstream are all water; how can you guarantee they won't run there?" Ye Qinglong wanted to find trouble for Chen Yu from time to time.

"These things belong to a type of ancient species. They like stillness and dislike movement, and they need to lurk in deep water, so they can only be in this pond," Chen Yu said indifferently.

Ye Qinglong curled his lips. Although he wanted to refute Chen Yu, he felt it was useless, so he didn't ask for trouble.

In the blink of an eye, the sky had already turned dark. The villagers here lit torches and continued to work, but the large pit could not be finished in a moment, so Chen Yu and the others went back.

The people in the village were hospitable, and all guests would be sent to someone's home to eat.

Responsible for the meals of Chen Yu and the others today was an elderly couple. The two elders took out things they usually couldn't bear to eat to treat Chen Yu and the others.

"Distinguished guests, it is difficult to get out of our mountains, and we don't have anything good to treat you with. Please just make do with a home-cooked meal," the old lady said with a smile after she finished working and served the dishes.

The five bodyguards did not come; there were only Ye Qingning and her younger brother, along with Chen Yu and Wei Hongye.

However, the two elders had prepared a table full of dishes: wild boar meat from the mountains, wild mushrooms, many game meats, and some wild vegetables.

"Grandma, please sit down quickly. We can't eat these things at all when we are outside," Ye Qingning said with a smile.

"No, no, I still have to go take care of the old man. He broke his leg while hunting in the mountains half a year ago," the old lady sighed.

"Is he unable to get out of bed now?" Chen Yu's heart stirred, and he stood up to ask.