dognovel Chapter 118 The Magical Mural
Chapter 118 The Magical Mural
Are humans born with the innate fear of snakes? The answer is unknown, because there are no snakes in the realm of suffering, or more broadly, including the four realms of suffering, origination, cessation, and path, and even within the scope of puppet shows, let alone the species of snake, the word "snake" is rarely used in conversation.
However, in terms of strength, they are naturally not afraid of snakes. Otherwise, judging from how often people run to the suburbs and deep mountains, if they were afraid of snakes, they would not be able to continue to roam outside.
Neither Ren Pingsheng nor Jian Feidao were afraid of snakes, but the focus of the scene before them was not simply "there are snakes". The point was that unless the two closed their eyes, all they could see in front of them was a dense mass of snakes crawling around. Even people who were not afraid of snakes would be deterred by this scene because it would trigger their trypophobia.
Now, the two stared at the giant snake in the well. The snake's head alone was thicker than a person's waist. It was impossible to estimate how enormous the snake's body must be inside the well.
While the two sides were locked in a standoff, small snakes continued to crawl out of the well opening, while all the other snakes on the ground and stone walls stood up, staring intently at the two intruders at the cave entrance along with the large snake. No one knew how many snakes were inside the cave.
"...Go back."
Ren Pingsheng made this suggestion, saying that apart from the giant snake at the wellhead, which was a demon, the rest were ordinary snakes, and the two of them would not have much difficulty dealing with them. However, they did not come here for these snakes in the first place.
Moreover, there are just too many snakes here; the entire stone wall is covered with them. Killing them all would be exhausting, and you'd end up covered in snake blood. It's a thankless and arduous task, so it's best not to do it.
"Ah."
Jian Feidao nodded and, together with Ren Yunzong, retreated little by little. This time, they were the ones who had disturbed them first. Although the giant snake had been staring at them with a sinister gaze and the surrounding smaller snakes seemed ready to pounce, none of them actually attacked.
Now that they've confirmed this place isn't related to the noise they just heard, they can leave. As for why there's a snake cave of this size in the mountains behind the temple, and why a giant snake demon is lurking there, those aren't things they should be investigating now.
If they weren't mistaken, the snakes outside the well were all offspring of this giant snake. They had been multiplying in the cave for so long and had such a large number of offspring, yet there had been no reports of snakes injuring people in the surrounding area. There must be some reason for this.
"Go back and ask that master. This place isn't far from the temple."
As the two retreated from the cave entrance, the severed vines began to regrow, climbing up the entrance at an incredible speed, threatening to reseal the snake pit entrance.
Are these vines actually like a seal?
Just as the winding vines were about to seal the cave entrance back in place, the snakes inside suddenly attacked. Several brightly colored venomous snakes darted out from the gaps in the vines, their target the two people who had already retreated.
"Crack! Crack!"
The venomous snakes that darted out and their venomous spray failed to achieve their goal. An open oil-paper umbrella caught all these attacks. Ren Pingsheng peeked out from behind the umbrella, and Jian Feidao picked up a few blades of grass and shot them out as hidden weapons, cutting several venomous snakes that ran out from the gaps in the vines in two.
"Did you really think we were completely unprepared?"
Ren Pingsheng put away the umbrella. The giant snake's eyes seemed to want them to swallow it whole. The bloody smell in the cave did not only come from the snakes that Jian Feidao had accidentally injured. Even though there were so many snakes inside that the ground was clearly visible, the superior eyes of the Xiantian people could still see the occasional white bones left behind by some unknown creatures.
The cave entrance was sealed off by vines, there was an unusually dense swarm of snakes, and inside was a well containing a giant snake. Who would dig a well in a cave? Such an unusual place should certainly be guarded against.
"My friend thinks the strange noises from before have anything to do with this seal?"
The emerald green cane lightly tapped the vines that had sealed the cave entrance again. The two saw clearly when the venomous snakes rushed out. There were more snakes than just the ones from before; any snake that was close to the cave entrance attacked in that instant.
But in the end, only a few small snakes actually broke through the vines and darted in front of them. The largest of them was no more than a meter long. Of all the snakes, only these few small ones were able to actually crawl out. The vines that sealed the entrance to the cave deserve a lot of credit.
"The seal has been broken, and there is a small loophole."
The damage wasn't caused by them tearing the vines apart before entering the cave. The vines were driven by some force and would automatically repair themselves after being cut. The reason they weren't sealed off immediately was probably because they sensed that someone was still there. As soon as the two of them came out, the vines immediately repaired themselves.
The real destruction occurred much earlier, before they even reached the back mountain. Part of the seal on the snake cave entrance had been deliberately damaged, allowing the small snake to escape and harm people.
Normally, these vines, along with the sealing power, should seal the cave entrance tightly, preventing even a small loach from escaping, let alone a snake.
The exact time when the seal was broken cannot be determined, but it can be roughly judged that it was not long ago, because the snakes in the cave only came out to attack last, which clearly meant they were testing the waters, proving that they were also unfamiliar with the state of the seal.
Coincidentally, Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao crossed the temple to reach the back mountain, where they heard some noises that ordinary people couldn't hear. They followed the strange noises and eventually found the snake cave. If you say that the two are not related, no one will believe it.
Generally speaking, the core of a seal is not far from the object being sealed. Knowing that there is a seal in the snake pit, one can find the damaged seal by searching around the snake pit. The two were just about to do this when they were stopped by others.
The old monk never expected that so soon after his death, a supposedly terrifying snake den would appear in the back mountain. In addition, something else happened at the temple, so he quickly sent his servants to the back mountain to look for people.
Ren Pingsheng and Jian Feidao didn't know there was a snake pit at first. They followed the sound and searched little by little until they finally found this place. The monks of the temple already knew the location of the snake pit. The servants followed the monks who knew the way and soon arrived nearby.
However, they dared not approach the snake cave and could only stop nearby and shout. Fortunately, the two innate beings had excellent hearing and immediately knew that they were being called.
The two were suddenly called looking for someone, and thinking that something might have happened at the temple, they first noted down the location of the snake pit and then left to ask the servants about the situation.
"Goldilocks?"
"Yes, my young master asked you gentlemen if you know that blonde girl."
Blonde and white hair, neither of which are common hair colors, judging from this, they do seem to be related.
"You won't get anything out of people just by talking about their hair color; there are countless people in the world with blonde hair."
The two girls who appeared from the mural may have been part of the painting itself, so it's normal that their colors are different from ordinary people.
Did they say what it's called?
"I think her name is something like Qing, quite an elegant name..."
"That female benefactor is named Meng Danqing."
Seeing the servant scratching his head, unable to remember, the accompanying monk filled in the blank for him. But upon hearing the name, the two people opposite him reacted differently.
"Meng Danqing...that name sounds familiar."
Ren Pingsheng kept repeating this name. As a Confucian, he spent most of his time traveling the world exploring beautiful scenery. He had only heard of many people and did not pay much attention to them.
"This is no ordinary painting, but the work of Danxiazi of the Daoist school."
Jian Feidao filled in the name and title, indicating that he recognized it.
"Formerly the Deputy Dao Master of Zhongdao, now the Master of Danqing Banquet."
"So it was him, but how did he get out of the mural?"
No matter how you look at it, this way of appearing out of the mural is a bit too special, and she is accompanied by a girl who may be injured. What did Meng Danqing go through before she came?
In the empty room, the girl who had previously shown signs of discomfort had fallen asleep. Meng Danqing took her pulse, his brows furrowed with worry.
The so-called pulse diagnosis was just a formality. The young-looking girl with her hair styled like a woman was not human; she was a resident of the painting that Meng Danqing had brought out of it.
Meng Danqing was unsure what would happen if she brought the person from the painting into reality. The girl's form of existence was also different from that of ordinary spirits and monsters, but she insisted on going with him. For some reason, she could not stay in the place where she used to live, so Meng Danqing had no choice but to agree.
The current posture of taking a pulse is actually Meng Danqing using it to transfer internal energy to the other party. The girl is originally a person in the painting, and he can also use the paintbrush to perform martial arts. Treating the other party as a painting can also help him heal.
"An extraordinary dream of painting, not just a brushstroke?"
The door to the side room was not closed, and people outside could see part of the room. The first thing they saw was Meng Danqing's dazzling blonde hair and gorgeous dress.
"Yes."
Upon hearing her name, Meng Danqing stood up and looked at the newcomers. It was Ren Pingsheng and the others who had returned.
"How did you get out of the mural?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Danqing glanced at the girl on the bed.
"It's a long story..."
Yue Wuque stayed near the Yang family for more than a month and found this place to be quite nice. The usual disputes were just minor squabbles between mortals. Small demons dared not provoke them, and they could easily take on multiple large demons. Occasionally, they could even watch some excitement. It was truly a great place for tourism.
So he wanted to invite his friends over, but due to various issues, only Meng Danqing arrived first, and their positions were also slightly off, so the two sides couldn't meet immediately.
But as mentioned before, the martial arts strength of the two worlds is very different. Even if Meng Danqing is not a natural-born cultivator who specializes in combat, it is not difficult for him to travel alone.
Moreover, the distance between the two is not very large, at least they are both in the south. When Meng Danqing arrived in the Jinling area, he needed to go downstream to get to where Yue Wuque and the others were.
When Meng Danqing arrived, he conveniently saved a painter who was almost killed by a tiger while trying to observe the scenery of the mountains and forests. The painter was staying at a place with an ancient but still exquisite mural. According to the painter, he came up the mountain to restore the mural.
As a renowned painter in the martial arts world, and someone who can use his brush to depict martial arts, Meng Danqing could see the extraordinary nature of the mural, which contained spiritual energy, as if it were alive.
He suddenly became interested, thinking that since there was spiritual energy in the mural, it must not be an evil thing. It was a pity that such a beautiful painting was covered in dust, so he decided to restore it.
Using his dream brush as a guide, Meng Danqing mobilized the spiritual energy within the mural, bringing it to life. Meng Danqing himself was then drawn into the mural and entered the world within the painting.
"Wait a minute, you came here from the murals of Jinling?"
From south to north, this span is quite large.
"Do not."
Meng Danqing shook her head in denial.
"The actual distance was much farther. According to the child, the place I met her was a mural in a temple in the capital."
In other words, Meng Danqing entered the world of the painting from a mural in Jinling, met the girl in the mural in the capital, and then brought her to Daochangqing County. The three places are quite far apart, and what connects them is actually the mural.
"The world depicted in the murals is a celestial palace. Although I am an outsider, I have not been ostracized by the people there."
Meng Danqing felt that it might be because his method of restoring the murals was different from that of ordinary painters, making the person opposite him think that he was an immortal from somewhere. After all, the people in the paintings referred to their place of residence as a celestial palace and rejected "mortals".
Since it was an accidental intrusion, Meng Danqing didn't plan to stay long. After asking how to leave, he left directly. At this moment, a girl dressed similarly to the fairy in the painting ran out, grabbed Meng Danqing's sleeve, and begged him to take her to the world outside the painting.
Judging from the content of the painting, the girl is one of the "Scattering Flower Fairy". The celestial palace in the painting does not allow "mortals" to enter, but a few days ago, a mortal scholar accidentally entered and developed feelings for her, and they met in secret.
Such a thing is a taboo in their world. Although the scholar left quickly afterward and her companions helped cover for her when the heavenly soldiers patrolled, she was eventually exposed and the girl was about to be arrested and punished.
This matter is serious; if captured, she will suffer severe punishment. Coincidentally, Meng Danqing accidentally wandered into this place and still has the ability to use her spiritual power to travel between the world inside and outside the painting. The girl's companions quickly came to inform her, urging her to escape and go to the world outside the painting with Meng Danqing.
As long as she escapes the mural, the gods will not be able to catch her, and she will be able to find her lover and fulfill their destiny.
Meng Danqing didn't want to agree at first. He couldn't guarantee what would happen to the person in the painting if she were separated from the world she lived in. It might be very dangerous. But looking at the girl kneeling in front of him, who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old and had a petite figure, she kept crying and begging. In the end, he softened and agreed.
"The person this child is looking for is in the capital. I originally planned to send her out through the murals in the capital, but..."
Thinking of what had happened before, Meng Danqing gripped the crimson water sleeves tightly with her hands.
"The passage to the mural has been blocked. Someone has cast a spell on the painting. That spell will erode the mural's spiritual energy and even harm the people living in the painting."
The girl's weak body was caused by the magic, which depleted her spiritual energy. She was also suddenly separated from the object she depended on, resulting in her current state.
"Leaving no other choice, I opened another route, intending to go directly back to Jinling, but I don't know why I ended up here."
Or perhaps Meng Danqing didn't realize that there were murals with the same function elsewhere besides Jinling and the capital. In his haste, he didn't carefully identify them, resulting in a mural version of the "great transformation of a living person".