Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect Chapter 219

Chapter 219                             Red Comb Snake

A small town stood at the base of the hill. It was a unique town filled with bamboo houses designed to fit in with the mountainous terrain.

Crowds in traditional Miao clothing filled the streets.

"This is a place of the Miao people. Be mindful of your language," Tan Xiaohui warned.

"Yes we will," Xiao Ma nodded and laughed a little as he mischievously added, "But honestly, these Miao girls are all beautiful. Look at their bodies…"

Then, he realized Ye Shaoyang and Tan Xiaohui were both glaring at him, so he immediately shut up.

It was getting late, and the trio was exhausted after walking for such a long distance. Tan Xiaohui looked all over the city, and she finally found a small hotel to stay for the night. It was a small two-story bamboo building with less than ten rooms. The rooms looked simple, but they were decorated in the unique Miao style.

Tan Xiaohui requested dinner to be delivered to their rooms. Unsurprisingly, the dinner was made of Miao's traditional dishes: sour fish soup, Miao's tea dishes, and blood tofu. It was all complemented with a sweet liquor. These were all authentic dishes freshly cooked in the town, so the trio's tongues were extremely satisfied. After dinner, Tan Xiao Hui ordered a few glasses of worm tea.

The brew was dark brown in color like black tea, and it tasted refreshing but nothing like a normal cup of tea.

"This is nice. What type of tea is this?" Ye Shaoyang asked out of curiosity.

Tan Xiaohui laughed with her hand covering her mouth, "This drink is called worm tea. What do you think it is made of?"

Ye Shaoyang's face froze in surprise. He had a bad feeling about this, "Is… Is this made of dead worms?"

"Nope, but you were close enough. This is not made of dead worms, but worm's excretion."

Xiao Ma had just gulped a mouthful of the drink, so when heard this, he spat the drink right onto Ye Shaoyang's face.

"Hey, don't waste it!" Tan Xiaohui raised her voice, "Isn't this just the same as honey? Worm tea is now selling like hot cakes everywhere! Everyone loves it!"

Xiao Ma waved his hands in protest, "Not me, I can't."

Soon, it was late at night, and it was raining. Raindrops fell onto the bamboo building creating calming sounds.

As Ye Shaoyang lay on the bamboo bed, he was immersed in his thoughts. Just a day ago, he was in a busy city, yet today, he was in a peaceful Miao village deep in a rural area. It was almost surreal, but it certainly felt good.

Suddenly, he heard a noise underneath the bamboo bed. It was a crackling sound as though something was creeping under the bed. He looked under the bed and was surprised by what he saw.

There was a hole in the bamboo floor, and through it, a snake with a red comb on top of its head slithered into the room. It was carrying a rat in its mouth. It soon noticed Ye Shaoyang in the room and immediately retreated back from the hole's opening. Ye Shaoyang could hear the noise it made while it was crawling away, and the noise soon faded.

A snake with the red comb of a cockerel? Ye Shaoyang could hardly believe his eyes!

After witnessing this, even a Heavenly Master like Ye Shaoyang could not help but be cautious. He tied a red string around his bed and attached bells on each bed foot before he went back to sleep.

The next morning, Ye Shaoyang got out of his bed early. He was brushing his teeth when Tan Xiaohui knocked on his door to check if he was awake. Then, she did the same to Xiao Ma, and they gathered for breakfast.

Ye Shaoyang recounted what happened the night before and asked if Tan Xiaohui had any idea about that.

"The owner of this hotel must be a witch."

"What?" Ye Shaoyang was taken aback. He immediately thought of a Gu Master. He had heard some rumors about Gu Masters in Miao villages. They would run a hotel to lure unsuspecting outsiders to stay. Then, they would claim their lives and money.

Xiao Ma was thinking about the same thing. He jerked up as he yelled, "Why did you bring us to such a hotel? Now we are as good as dead!"

Being a drama king, he pressed his stomach as he continued yelling, "Oh no! The food we ate-- it must have been poisoned with Gu! I'm not feeling good! Oh no! My stomach is aching!"

"Yeah, right," Tan Xiao Hui rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Don't be stupid. The owner of this hotel is a white witch. That is why I brought you here. This is the safest hotel in town."

Xiao Ma's eyes widened upon hearing this. Even the discomfort he felt in his stomach disappeared suddenly. He asked, "Why is it so?"

Tan Xiao Hui explained, "The red-combed snake you saw last night was the Guardian Soul for the hotel. It lives in this building. It protects those in the building from any danger, especially from Gu. It will never harm anyone except bad people."

As they were speaking, the owner entered the room to deliver breakfast. It was a Miao tea dish and Baba served on bamboo plates.

The owner was a fine looking Miao woman with big brown eyes and a sharp chin. Her skin looked especially radiant like a blossoming girl in her twenties, but in reality, she was a mature woman almost in her forties. The trio only learned about this while they were chatting with the woman during dinner the night before.

Tan Xiaohui looked at the woman while speaking to the latter in their native Miao language. She seemed to be blaming her for something.

The owner reacted with a surprised expression. She nodded to both Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Ma as a sign of apology as she continued explaining herself in her native language before she exited the room.

"I told her about what happened last night. She explained that the red-combed snake usually lives in the bamboo and rarely comes out. It only came out from hiding last night because it was raining, and rats came into the hotel. The snake was only catching the rats."

Ye Shaoyang smiled as he thought, It was lucky that the snake retreated back into the hole before I could react. I could have killed it, and then, we would be in trouble.

The door opened again, and the owner came into the room holding a tray. She politely smiled before she spoke in Mandarin, "My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience last night. Here, I brewed a few cups of tea for you guys. It's on the house."

"Thank you, you are too kind," Xiao Ma stood up as he reached for the cups. His face suddenly froze as he saw the drinks. He reluctantly turned to Tan Xiaohui, "Worm tea…"

Tan Xiaohui replied, "She is sincerely apologizing. You must drink it."

As she finished speaking, she held up a cup of tea and finished drinking it.

Ye Shaoyang immediately pressed on his stomach as he sprinted toward the bathroom. He said without even turning back, "Oh God, I'm having such a bad stomach ache! I need to go to the toilet, and it is going to take a long time. Xiao Ma, go on and drink my tea too! It's your lucky day!"

Xiao Ma stared at the woman, who looked at him with such a hospitable expression. Without uttering another word, Xiao Ma held up the two cups of worm tea, the tea made of worm's excretion, and gulped them.

Soon, it was time to leave the town. The trio continued their journey with Tan Xiaohui leading the way. They walked along the Green Dragon River as they descended the mountain.

Tan Xiaohui explained to Ye Shaoyang and Xiao Ma that their initial plan was to take the bus to another town and get to the Dead Man Valley from that town. However, since they were on their feet, they had cut through the town and were headed straight to the Dead Man Valley.

They walked for a few hours, and by noon, they were in a middle of a jungle. It was a jungle deep between the mountain that had never even touched by those living in the rural area. It was in the middle of nowhere.

"Dead Man Valley is nearby," Tan Xiaohui carefully observed the surroundings, "I've never been to this place. I'll need some time to find the route."

Ye Shaoyang looked around. It was noon, and the sun was on top of their heads, so he could not even tell the direction they were headed in. He started to panic as he asked if Tan Xiaohui could find the way.

"I have an idea," Tan Xiaohui said as she sat down on the ground. She reached into her backpack and took out a metal container. Then, she took out some grains and poured them into the container. She covered the container with a metal net, picked some grass leaves from the ground, and ground the leaves with her bare hands to make a juice. Then, she poured the juice into the container through the net.

As she covered the metal net with her hand, she closed her eyes and chanted aloud. Before long, she released her hand from the net and miracle happened.

A small white moth crawled out through the net and spread its wings. It flew in a direction.

Tan Xiaohui quickly gathered her belongings and pointed in the direction of the moth, "Follow the moth! That is the direction of Dead Man Valley!"

Chapter end