The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 498

The villagers who had previously spoken with absolute certainty are now losing confidence.

"What kind of monster is this? How come it sometimes has legs and sometimes doesn't?"

"I guess it's a snake."

Where did the snake's claw marks come from?

Listening to the villagers' chatter all around him, Jiang Ning squatted down and carefully examined the claw marks on the ground.

"These look like turtle claw prints."

After observing carefully, Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

Could there be two strange beasts?

Chapter 678: Searching for Beasts in the Mountains

Once the thought crossed Jiang Ning's mind, he felt that this was very likely the case.

None of the villagers were lying; it's just that they didn't see the same monster. Some villagers only saw a monster without legs, while others only saw a monster with legs, which is why their accounts differed.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Ning stood up and looked at the villagers.

Everyone looked at Jiang Ning, hoping to get a conclusion and see who was right and who was wrong.

"You're not mistaken, but you're not seeing the same monster."

Jiang Ning paused for a moment, then said.

"what?"

The villagers were taken aback, then one of them realized what was happening and asked uncertainly, "You mean...?"

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "There should be two monsters, but you only saw one of them."

"Both ends?"

The villagers were in an uproar.

The appearance of unknown monsters in the village was scary enough, but now they're being told there are two of them?

The villagers were somewhat bewildered.

Jiang Ning looked at the villagers and said, "The monsters are nowhere to be found now, and we don't know where they are hiding. It's hard to say whether these two monsters will hurt anyone. Everyone should try not to go out after nightfall, and don't be curious even if you hear any noises."

The villagers nodded repeatedly, and one of them asked, "When will we be able to catch those two monsters?"

Two enormous, unknown monsters roamed between the villages, causing great fear among the villagers.

The other villagers also looked at Jiang Ning with anticipation.

Jiang Ning was aware of their unease, but he couldn't give a specific timeframe, so he could only say, "The Huashan Sect will search for the whereabouts of the strange object as soon as possible."

Hearing this, the villagers were somewhat disappointed, but there was nothing they could do but turn around and leave. From then on, they could only listen to Jiang Ning and try not to go out after nightfall.

"Senior brother, should we tell Master about what happened here?"

Lin Pingzhi had also come with Jiang Ning to investigate the situation in various villages, and asked at this moment.

Jiang Ning nodded: "Yes."

Jiang Ning initially thought it was just wild animals from the mountains coming down to steal poultry from the village, and that he could easily handle it. However, the current situation is clearly beyond his expectations, so it needs to be reported.

"After you return, report the matter to your master and send people to be stationed in each village to search and protect the villagers as soon as possible."

Jiang Ning said.

Lin Pingzhi asked in surprise, "And what about you, senior brother?"

"I'm going to go into the mountains to search."

Based on the traces and claw marks on the ground, both of the strange beasts eventually entered the Qinling Mountains. Jiang Ning wanted to follow these traces to search for them and see if he could find them.

Lin Pingzhi was somewhat worried upon hearing this.

"Isn't this too dangerous? Should we wait until we have enough people before going in?"

"It doesn't matter."

Jiang Ning shook his head.

He went in just to search and wouldn't encounter much danger.

Seeing Jiang Ning say this, Lin Pingzhi had no choice but to nod and then rushed back to Mount Hua to report the situation.

After leaving the village, Jiang Ning headed straight towards the Qinling Mountains.

The mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse. At first, there was a road, but later it almost disappeared. However, Jiang Ning actually found several houses inside, where hermits lived in seclusion.

Jiang Ning stepped forward and talked to these people. Some of them were reclusive scholars who lived in seclusion in the mountains, some were officials who had resigned and lived in seclusion here, and some were ordinary people who had lived here for a long time.

Jiang Ning wasn't surprised, after all, there were many hermits in the mountains. When Jiang Ning mentioned the strange beasts in his conversation with them, these people either didn't believe it or were skeptical, all saying they hadn't seen them. Only one person provided some clues.

"A strange beast?"

A middle-aged man dressed in a scholar's robe lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Young friend Jiang, I do not know the strange beast you are talking about, but I did hear some strange noises a couple of nights ago."

Jiang Ning replied, "Please speak, sir."

"Three nights ago, I was snoring in my sleep when I suddenly heard a strange noise outside. I got up to check, but found nothing. I didn't think much of it at the time. The next day, when I went into the mountains to search for the poem, I found a long mark on the ground. The surrounding grass and trees were all bent to both sides. I think it was left by a snake. I wonder if it is the strange beast you mentioned."

This middle-aged man was a scholar who came here to live in seclusion in search of inspiration for his poetry.

"Thank you."

Having determined the direction, Jiang Ning bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"It doesn't matter."

The middle-aged man smiled and asked curiously, "Young friend, since you say it's a large, strange beast, it must be very dangerous. You seem quite young; aren't you afraid?"

Jiang Ning smiled.

"This strange beast appeared in the villagers' homes and ate a lot of livestock. There's no guarantee it won't harm people, so we want to find it."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man was filled with respect: "You are indeed a young hero. I have been disrespectful."

Jiang Ning said no more, cupped his hands in farewell and took his leave.

After bidding farewell to the middle-aged man, Jiang Ning headed in the direction the man had described, and after a short while, he indeed saw the traces the man had mentioned.

Jiang Ning's spirits lifted upon seeing this, and he continued to follow the trail. After about two hours, there was no sign of human habitation in the mountains, only withered trees and weeds in sight, and the trails on the ground were fading more and more.

After searching for a long time without finding the beast, Jiang Ning sighed slightly and prepared to turn back.

But just as Jiang Ning was about to leave, he noticed something not far away. After taking a closer look, he quickly leaped to his target location.

This is a deep pit, surrounded by weeds, but these weeds have all been flattened, as if they had been crushed by something.

Jiang Ning paid no attention to these things, but stared intently at the bottom of the pit, his gaze hardening.

A giant python was coiled up in the pit.

No, it should be said to be the skin shed by the giant python.

The python skins inside the pit were coiled together, their exact length unknown, but judging from their size, the owner of the python skins was indeed a colossal being.

Jiang Ning frowned as he watched this scene. He didn't go down into the pit to check, but turned around to look around carefully. He didn't find any trace of the giant python, so he jumped down into the pit to examine the python skins up close.

The python skin was a bit yellowish and looked somewhat dry. Jiang Ning reached out and pinched it, and a crisp sound came from his fingertips, indicating that it had been there for some time.

Jiang Ning shook his head and then jumped out of the pit.

This is not the giant python's lair, but merely a place where it shed its skin; the giant python itself is not located here.

Having searched for so long without finding the giant python, Jiang Ning turned back. By the time he returned, it was already dark, but he found that many disciples of the Weiyi Alliance from Huashan and Emei were already waiting in the village, along with many other martial arts figures.

"Senior brother."

Upon seeing Jiang Ning return, Lin Pingzhi quickly stepped forward and said, "I have already reported the matter of the strange beast to Master. Master thinks it is of great importance and has sent senior brothers and sisters from the Weiyi Alliance to guard various villages."

As he spoke, Lin Pingzhi pointed to the martial arts practitioners and said, "These people came to help because they heard about the strange beast causing trouble."

Jiang Ning nodded upon hearing this, looked at the group of martial arts practitioners, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I am Jiang Ning. Thank you all for your help. I am very grateful."

"Hahaha, Ning Yan... You're too kind, great hero of Guanzhong."

Chapter 679: The Giant Python

It's unclear when the news spread, but it's said that Master Yue of the Huashan Sect dislikes the title "Ning Yanwang" for his disciple, claiming it's a stigma given by evil spirits. He says his disciple has the official title "Guanzhong Hero." The righteous heroes who came to Huashan to accept the invitation all heard this news. Although they all felt that "Guanzhong Hero" didn't sound as prestigious as "Ning Yanwang," they all changed their titles to avoid misunderstandings and causing offense.

They were especially afraid of upsetting Jiang Ning himself, since no one knew whether Jiang Ning actually liked the nickname.

Hearing the man quickly change his tune, Jiang Ning smiled slightly and didn't take it to heart.

He himself didn't care much about these empty titles, but his master did, so he would occasionally correct them.

"May we ask the heroes of Guanzhong, we've heard that a monster is causing trouble at the foot of Mount Hua. We'd like to ask if it's true?"

One person shouted loudly.

The other martial arts figures also looked at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning nodded.

"good."

Jiang Ning's answer caused an uproar.

"Are there really monsters?"

"What kind of monster is that? Where is it?"

Everyone started asking questions.

Jiang Ning shook his head.

"I don't know what kind of monster it is, but judging from the traces left on the ground, there should be two unknown monsters. One of them is a giant python. I just entered the Qinling Mountains to look for its tracks and found its shed skin in a pit. It was about ten zhang long and about five chi in body. The other strange beast is still unknown. Everyone should be careful when you encounter it."

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, everyone's expression changed.

A giant python, several dozen feet long and five feet thick?

They had never heard of such a creature before, let alone seen it. If Jiang Ning hadn't told them, they wouldn't have believed that such a creature existed.

The group, who were initially full of confidence, began to have second thoughts upon hearing that it was such a behemoth. However, when they thought of the many fellow martial artists around them, their hesitation subsided.

Jiang Ning observed everyone's reactions and said, "This thing is dangerous. Although we haven't seen the appearance of the other beast, it should also be quite dangerous. They usually come out at night, so be careful if you encounter them. You can leave this place temporarily and rest on Mount Hua."

The group, who were initially hesitant, saw that Jiang Ning's words were out of consideration for their feelings, but since the words had already been spoken, they all agreed.

"What are you saying, esteemed hero of Guanzhong? We've all come here to rid the people of this monster that's threatening their lives. How can we leave?"

"That's right. When everyone works together, their strength can break metal. Besides, there are many experts here, including the great hero from Guanzhong. Why would we be afraid of a mere beast?"

The crowd was noisy and chattering, but no one wanted to leave.

Jiang Ning bowed to the crowd and said, "On behalf of the people at the foot of Mount Hua, I thank you all."

Everyone said, "You're too kind, sir."

It was already dark, the time when the two monsters would appear. They didn't know if they would show up tonight, but in order not to alert them, everyone began to hide and wait for them to appear.

"Senior brother."

At this moment, Lin Pingzhi asked curiously in a house, "Is it true that the giant python is more than ten zhang long?"

At this moment, there were other disciples of the Weiyi Alliance in the room, all looking at Jiang Ning with great curiosity in their eyes.

"good."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"There are snakes this big in the world..."

Everyone was amazed.

They were all disciples of various sects and lived in the mountains. They had seen snakes before, but the longest snakes they had ever seen were only a few feet long. When had they ever heard of a giant python that was more than ten feet long?