Following Zhou Yichen's words, I looked out at the manor. The ground was crawling with countless black snakes, intertwined and wriggling over one another. The sight made my scalp tingle and my calves cramp.
"Aren't snakes supposed to hibernate? Why are there so many of them in this manor all of a sudden?" I hid behind Jun He, turning my head away after just one glance.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw those black snakes. It seemed as if they had heard our conversation. Their heads all rose up, and their black tongues flicked rapidly. Their vertical pupils glinted with the fierce light of predators.
It seemed that as long as we moved, they would immediately launch an attack, burying all of us in the snake nest and making us their delicious meal.
"These snakes are venomous. You guys follow me closely. Lan Lan, especially you. No matter what happens, you must stick close to me. Don't leave my side for a moment. Do you understand?"
"Okay." I replied readily.
"Ling Feng, where is the snake buried? Show me the way." After saying that, Jun He pulled Ling Feng to his side.
At this moment, Ling Feng was so frightened that he was trembling all over and could hardly stand steadily.
"I... I'm scared..."
"Don't worry. Jun He has promised me that he will save you." I said to Ling Feng.
Jun He added impatiently, "Do you want your daughter back or not?"
At the thought of Ling Chuchu, Ling Feng regained a little courage. His eyes swept across the vast manor and pointed to a tall pavilion.
"It's buried under that pavilion."
Jun He's gaze followed the direction Ling Feng pointed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and a spherical black mist appeared between his palms.
He pushed his palms forward forcefully. The black ball rolled into the snake group. When the numerous black snakes saw the black ball, their eyes lit up. They swarmed towards it like moths to a flame, rolling into the black mist in a black mass. The black ball grew bigger and bigger like a snowball.
The black ball rolled in the opposite direction of the pavilion. The black snakes followed closely behind, crawling towards the black ball desperately.
As the black ball lured the black snakes farther and farther away, I turned to look at Jun He's face. His face looked rather pale at the moment.
"Jun He, what's wrong with you?" I quickly supported him and asked with concern.
Seeing my concern for his safety, he gave a lazy smile and said, "It's okay. I didn't expect you to care about me so much. It's worth getting injured a few more times now."
"What are you talking about? Why would you get injured?" I patted him and said.
"Those snakes are evil creatures. The demonic energy on me is like a sacred object that can nourish them. So I just gave them a little more."
"Are you still okay now?" I asked with concern.
"Sure. A man can never say he's not up to it."
I pushed him hard and he staggered to one side. He gave me a devilish smile and then immediately sank his face and said to Ling Feng, "Where are those bodyguards who were with you just now?"
"I'll call them out."
"Tell them to bring tools. We're going to dig up the grave."
Ling Feng's hands were shaking violently. After making the call, more than a dozen men in suits ran out from the backyard. They were carrying shovels and bowed to Ling Feng.
"Boss, what are your orders?"
"Did you see anything just now?" Ling Feng didn't answer their question but asked first.
"No. We were resting in the backyard as you ordered. We only saw two black snakes, but they didn't hurt anyone and just crawled away."
After hearing what the bodyguard said, I thought that the snake demon had a very strong sense of purpose in taking revenge. She was only targeting the Ling family.
After the bodyguard finished speaking, there was a moment of silence. Ling Feng glanced at Jun He. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he took a deep breath and said, "Come with me to dig something up."
After saying that, he walked in front, and the bodyguards followed him towards the pavilion.
Zhou Yichen stood beside me and looked at me. I motioned for him to go first.
After he left, I supported Jun He's arm and asked, "Will those snakes come back?"
"Yes, so we have to be quick. Once they've devoured all the demonic energy, they'll turn back soon. It will be hard to deal with them then."
"Or you can go back first. I'll ask Bai Qi to help."
"What's the use of asking him? At most, he'll just be another one to die. I've said that I'll only protect you. I don't care about the others."
"But I've already promised Zhou Yichen..."
Before I could finish my words, I bit my lips and decided to forget it.
"Do you need me to support you?"
"I'm not that weak. But... I'll do my best..."
I tilted my head, not understanding what he meant.
He didn't explain further. He propped up his body, put his arm around my shoulder, and in a blink of an eye, we were under the pavilion.
This pavilion was designed in an antique style. A small pavilion stood on a jagged rockery. There was a wooden plaque on it with green characters reading "Listening to the Dragon Pavilion".
"This pavilion has a very poetic name." I looked up at the plaque on the pavilion and said.
"Which 'shi' are you talking about? The 'shi' in 'corpse'?"
I glared at Jun He and didn't bother to answer him. We just couldn't get along well in conversation.
We waited for a few minutes. Then those bodyguards followed Ling Feng and ran over quickly. They looked surprised when they saw us, but they didn't dare to ask more questions.
At Ling Feng's order, the bodyguards started digging with their shovels.
The black soil was mixed with lime powder. Shovelful by shovelful, the soil was thrown out. Ling Feng didn't dare to rest for a moment. He directed them to dig deeper, but not too hard, for fear of damaging what was inside.
The bodyguards didn't know what was under the ground. They just did as the boss told them.
The soil here was soft and there was no ice at all. The bodyguards dug very fast. In a short while, they had dug more than two meters deep.
At this depth, the soil was no longer black soil mixed with lime, but pure white lime.
The lime was very thick. When a shovel was dug in, a white layer appeared. It was like lime mud with moisture on it, and it came out in chunks.
Ling Feng looked at the lime mud nervously. He paced back and forth beside the pit.
Suddenly, a bodyguard let out a scream. Everyone rushed towards him.
"What's wrong? Did you find something?" Ling Feng quickly ran over and asked.
"P... p... there's a person in here." The bodyguard climbed out of the pit in fright.
Everyone looked into the deep pit. At this moment, a human face covered with lime was revealed in the pit.
The lime covered the eye sockets, so it was hard to tell who this person was.
However, when Ling Feng saw this person's face, his face showed a look of shock.
He jumped into the deep pit with a splash and started to frantically dig at the person's body.
After he had completely uncovered the woman, wailing sounds immediately filled the air.
"Susu..." This shrill cry seemed to wake up the woman named Susu.
Blood flowed out of the seven orifices on her lime - covered face, trickling down from the corners of her eyes, nose, and mouth.