CHAPTER 462: CHAPTER 18: THE MEAT-EATING MONK IN THE ANCIENT TEMPLE

After about a minute, Xiao Xian applied a ball of chewed-up herbal paste onto Zhang Yiyi’s hand.

"What is this?" Zhang Yiyi still had a sobbing tone.

"Dandelion leaves. Stop crying, get up and let’s move forward. It seems like there is light up ahead," She’d just found the dandelion leaves on the ground and had no tools ready to crush them, so she could only chew them in her mouth, now bitter with the taste.

"Why are you using dandelion leaves on me? Can this cure snake venom? I just saw it, the snake that bit me was fiery red, it must be extremely poisonous. Who ever heard of letting a poisoned person walk? That would speed up the circulation of the poison. It’s always said like that in martial arts movies," Zhang Yiyi ignored whether the sticky mess on her hand was Xiao Xian’s saliva or something else from the dandelion leaves. She was possibly at death’s door and had no energy to walk.

"You’re brainwashed by TV, what poison circulation? Besides, you weren’t bitten by a snake, at least not by a poisonous one," Xiao Xian rolled her eyes as Zeng Xuerou listened, stunned. Not a poisonous snake? Then what was it?

"A person bitten by a snake wouldn’t be crying and howling like her, and the blood flowing from her wound is bright red – clearly not poisoned," Xiao Xian pulled Zhang Yiyi up. The reason for her weak legs and limp limbs was probably having been frightened and famished. In the past when basketball training ended, Zhang Yiyi also dragged her arm, listless with hunger.

"Eh, I can actually walk," Zhang Yiyi tried walking by herself and it was much better than she expected. So, the two supported Zhang Yiyi by an arm each, and moved forward.

At the end of the cattails, their view opened up and ahead was a Lotus Pond. By the end of July, lotus flowers in the pond should have been blooming beautifully. A pond the size of an acre was empty save for the pond itself which had only lotus leaves but no blooming lotus flowers.

By now, the sun had completely set below the mountains, engulfing the mountain area in nightfall. The hazy moonlight surpassed the treetops and bushes, casting light upon the lotus leaves where several round dewdrops rolled, sparkling with a silvery frost-like color.

Behind the pond was a temple with four courtyards, inside which light faintly shone through.

"There are people," Zhang Yiyi excitedly broke free from both of their holds and walked towards the temple ahead.

"Come back," Xiao Xian hurriedly stepped up and held onto Zhang Yiyi.

"What’s wrong? It’s already dark, and this is not a night scene tourist area. The exit probably has already closed. We can only stay in this temple tonight," Zeng Xuerou surveyed the surroundings. It was very serene, especially the lotus pond that seemed meticulously cared for.

"It’s weird, that lotus pond has all different varieties of lotuses. And look over there, there’s a chicken coop," Zeng Xuerou and Zhang Yiyi followed her hand and saw a bamboo chicken coop, inside of which several cattail chickens were kept.

Keeping chickens at the entrance of a temple, the three exchanged glances.

As they hesitated, the door of the temple suddenly opened and all the indoor lights spilled out. After a moment, a Monk wearing a saffron robe and with a head full of thick hair walked out.

"My poor baby, how did you break your teeth? You’ve been so careless," on closer inspection, the strange Monk was also holding something in his hands.

"Ah, it’s that..." Zhang Yiyi caught a glimpse of a vivid red color, looking familiar, and broke out in goosebumps reflexively. Before she could finish, she hastily covered her mouth, as the "Monk" had already looked over. The backlighting made the Monk’s face appear shadowy and vague, his features blurred, looking rather sinister.

"Four-legged snake?" Xiao Xian uttered a few words.

"So it’s still a snake. It’s over, I’m feeling dizzy again," Zhang Yiyi’s steps faltered, and she clung to Xuerou.

"Oh dear, I was wondering how my baby got hurt. It turns out you intruders bumped into it," the Monk said as he approached Xiao Xian and the others, the four-legged snake obediently lying still on his hand. As he spoke, his teeth gleamed ominously, frightening Zhang Yiyi to step back several paces while dragging Xiao Xian and Xuerou with her.

"Master," Zeng Xuerou summoned her courage and took a few steps forward, "we didn’t mean to, we got lost and ended up here."