Chapter 161: The Hospitality of the Divine Sparrow

In front of Su Qingkite, the handful of herbs wrapped in straw paper did not emit flames, only a thin wisp of white smoke floated out, emitting a choking smell.

However, after a while, white smoke also came out of the pile of snake corpses, and wisps soon spread.

The soldiers clenched their blades and vigilantly looked at the group of snakes that did not stop "dancing" outside the circle, and everyone felt that their scalps were numb.

Later, white smoke also rose from the hay in front of Su Qingyuan, almost enveloping her whole body in smoke.

In addition to the choking smell of herbs, there was some damp earthy smell added to the air, as well as ...... The aroma of barbecued meat.

A golden-armored soldier came to Gu Lingxiao's side and asked in a low voice, "Great Commander, what are you doing?" ”

Gu Lingxiao frowned, and said after a long time: "Probably to roast snake meat to eat!" ”

The soldier nodded, and suddenly realized: "No wonder." - The emperor and the mother are really affectionate, and the purse they carry is full of barbecue condiments! ”

Lu Li heard this conversation on the side, and he couldn't cry or laugh. Looking at Su Qingyuan's words in front of the pile of snake corpses, he didn't know what to say.

Then let's not say anything, it seems good to have a full meal before dying.

- Don't say it, it smells so good!

In the smoke, Su Qingyuan slowly stood up.

Lu Li estimated that this should be almost roasted snake meat, and it can be eaten.

Su Qingyuan went to the fire and found two thin wooden sticks that had not been burned, and sure enough, he went back and picked up half of the roast snake, and raised it to his eyes to look at it carefully.

Lu Li couldn't help but say, "Hey, you can't eat alone!" Everyone is starving, why don't you let the soldiers first? ”

Su Qingyuan raised her head and rolled her eyes at him, then lifted the half of the roast snake - thrown out of the ring of fire.

Lu Li clearly heard the soldiers' regretful inhalations.

Su Qingyuan also heard it, raised his head and showed a smile of "I understand you" to the soldiers.

At this time, Gu Lingxiao suddenly exclaimed, "They ran away!" ”

When everyone was busy looking closely, they saw that the group of snakes near the half of the roasted snake suddenly turned their heads and fled in all directions after a brief commotion.

Because the ring of fire was still there, the snakes basically ran in the other direction after being entangled in a mess for a while.

The soldiers were dumbfounded.

Su Qingyuan smiled at them and said, "What are you still doing in a daze?" Hurry up and throw all the roasted snakes out! This is not the time to feel distressed, how many delicacies do you want to eat in the future? ”

The soldiers woke up like a dream and threw the pile of roast snakes out with all hands and feet.

Immediately there was chaos outside the ring of fire, and countless snakes twisted and entangled with each other, biting, and fled in panic.

Because the situation was too chaotic, many snakes hit the ring of fire, and even some broke in, and the meat on their bodies was "hissing" and still crawling.

The soldiers hurriedly slashed and slashed, caught some by the way, and threw them into the firewood.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the dense snake array outside the fire ring had disappeared without a trace, and only some dead or half-dead ones were still lying in a row.

The soldiers of the Golden Armor Guard breathed a sigh of relief in unison, looked at each other and laughed.

Su Qingyuan threw herself directly into Lu Li's arms and fell down: "Damn, I'm scared to death!" ”

Lu Li hurriedly grabbed her, carried her to the original stone and put it away, and asked funny and distressed: "Are you afraid?" ”

Su Qingyuan nestled in his arms and refused to look up: "I never want to see those broken things again in my life!" ”

At this time, the soldiers were already laughing and pulling out the cooked snakes in the fire ring one by one. Someone diligently took a few and sent them to Lu Li and Su Qingyu: "Emperor, Niangniang, taste it, it's fragrant!" ”

"Let's go! Open! Su Qingyuan roared in a rough voice, refusing to even raise her head.

Lu Li smiled dumbly, and after a while, he instructed the aggrieved soldier: "You guys stay away and eat, and don't worry about snakes in front of Niangniang in the future!" ”

The soldier agreed and retreated, and Su Qingyuan slowly poked his head out: "You let them clean up the surroundings!" ”

Lu Li smiled: "Don't worry, they will eat cleanly." ”

Su Qingyuan was not at ease: "The ones that were roasted by burning charms before can't be eaten!" ”

Lu Li nodded and rubbed her head: "They know proportion. ”

Lu Li finally sat up straight and raised his head: "Are they really all scattered?" ”

"It's all gone," Lu Li said with a smile, "With our little witch here, we can always survive in a desperate situation." ”

Su Qingyuan suddenly sighed and said with a wry smile: "Sometimes I feel that I should really thank my mother." If she hadn't pushed me to that point, I wouldn't have learned any damn sorcery; If it weren't for witchcraft to save my life, I would have died several times. ”

Lu Li echoed: "I should thank her." ”

Su Qingyuan glanced at him: "Thank you, thank you!" If she hadn't stolen the child, we wouldn't have had to travel all the way to this hellish place! ”

"You're right." Lu Li said with a smile.

Su Qingyuan habitually pinched the back of his hand, but he didn't even leave a red mark.

Lu Li knew that she still had palpitations in her heart, and she couldn't bear to say it, so he gently patted her on the back and asked with a smile: "Before the matter was completed, how much confidence did you have in that witchcraft?" ”

Su Qingyuan thought about it seriously and said with a smile: "Seven points." ”

"Seven?" Lu Li was a little surprised, "Since you are seven points sure, why do you want to say something like 'eat a whole snake feast and die'?" ”

Su Qingyuan smiled "sneer": "When I'm unhappy, I want to scold people, and in the end, even I don't know what I'm scolding - does it matter?" ”

"Swearing? That's not a spell? Lu Li was amazed.

Su Qingyuan smiled, "Not all witchcraft requires spells. Most of the time, the only effect of the spell is to say to the person next to you, 'I know how to spell, I'm great, you all have to worship me, I'm ......very different from you incompetent mortals'. ”

Lu Li couldn't hold back and laughed.

Su Qingyuan added seriously: "So the content of the spell is not important at all. Xiao Lizi once told me a joke - when his brother was learning divination, his favorite mantra was 'Man is iron, rice is steel, there is no soup in the bones' and 'The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, you eat grass, I eat sugar'. ”

Lu Li laughed twice very respectfully, and then pretended to be careless and asked, "Which little plum?" ”

Su Qingyuan was stunned for a moment and smiled: "The one who died." ”

"Dead?" Lu Li frowned.

Su Qingyuan exhaled heavily, as if he didn't care: "Yes." Aunt Nian said that he escaped from the tunnel to cover me and died. I didn't believe it before, but then I asked Luoxia, and she said it was true. ”

Lu Li was gloomy for a long time, and changed the topic: "Listen to what you mean, Xiao Lizi still has a senior brother?" Divination? Where is that brother now? ”

Su Qingyuan shook her head and squeezed out a smile: "How do I know, I don't know him well!" ”

Lu Li frowned and muttered for a long time.

Su Qingyuan slowly stood up, took two steps and stood still, turned around and smiled bitterly: "My legs are still weak!" ”

Lu Li hurriedly stood up, bent down and picked her up: "Go back to the tent to rest first?" ”

Su Qingyuan was about to nod her head when she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves.

Soon four or five horses were galloping along the mountain path, and in the blink of an eye they were in sight.

Lu Li had no choice but to put Su Qingkite down, stood up straight and looked at the comer.

The gold-armored soldiers hurriedly gathered over and made a posture of vigilance.

Su Qingyuan took a closer look: among the people who came, there were old men with white beards and white hair, pale and emaciated young people, and children with childish faces. One of the women with a hat covering her face seemed to be the one who appeared in white last night.

Interesting.

Lu Li's expression was calm, and he didn't mean to speak first.

The two sides looked at each other face-to-face for a long time, and finally the other party couldn't hold his breath first: "Listen to Lily of the Valley, you came here last night and lured all the snakes on this mountain?" ”

Lu Li's face was expressionless: "How did the snake come from, I'm afraid you still know better." ”

The woman with the hat took two steps forward and said in a deep voice: "I don't plan to go around the bend with you either—the snakes are raised by us and are specially used to deal with outsiders with bad intentions!" Since you saw it last night, you should get out of the mountain immediately, why are you still here and refuse to leave? What is the purpose of your entry into the mountain, that you can even risk your life? ”

"Strange," Lu Li smiled calmly, "Isn't it your people who kindly invited us here?" ”

The hat-girl Lily of the Valley let out a sneer: "Invite? You're really going to put gold on your face! ”

Lu Li raised his eyebrows slightly: "What, isn't it an invitation?" If we weren't welcome, why did the town outside give us so many 'ingredients' in our wagons? Do the descendants of the gods treat 'outsiders with bad intentions' only after being entertained before they are willing to go out of the mountain? ”

"How dare you fight those snakes?" Lily of the valley asked angrily.

Su Qingyuan grinned: "Thank you sister for your hospitality, we are very full!" The snakes in this mountain taste more delicious than those in other places! ”

Lily of the valley was furious, and raised her horsewhip to beckon.

Su Qingyuan held the blood-colored long knife in her arms, smiling and not moving. Lu Li looked at it calmly, and he didn't mean to block it for her.

The old man lifted his whip and grabbed the whip of Lily of the Valley: "Don't mess around." ”

Lily of the valley stepped back a little and glared at Su Qingyuan angrily.

Su Qingyuan moved her lips and said silently, "It's not interesting." ”

The old man hugged his fists and said in a deep voice: "The people of the country who have died in the gods dare not live carelessly, so they have always been reluctant to meet outsiders. There are many offenses, and I ask for your forgiveness. ”

"Well said." Lu Li was faint, but still didn't say much.

The old man said: "The old man was originally a priest of the god sparrow, and now he is in the position of the patriarch, and he can still say a few words about the affairs of the clan. If you have something to do, you might as well say that you know with the old decay. ”

Lu Li frowned slightly, and Su Qingyuan was already beside him and said impatiently: "I already said it last night!" Didn't Sister Lily of the Valley tell you? ”

"Who's your sister!" Lily of the valley said angrily.

Su Qingyuan spread her hands: "Then Sister Lily of the Valley." ”

Lily of the valley seemed to be angry, but the patriarch hurriedly stopped her and asked in a deep voice: "You said that the mother clan and the divine sparrow have a blood relationship?" ”

Su Qingyuan pursed her lips: "I knew that the Divine Sparrow Man was so fierce, so I didn't want to come to this kind of ghost place!" ”

"Girl, come here." The patriarch suddenly beckoned.

Su Qingyuan was not afraid, holding the blood knife, took a few steps forward steadily, walked to the horse and stood still, and raised his head.

The patriarch suddenly leaned down and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Ah Kite-" Lu Li was a little flustered.

Su Qingkite stood still and did not move.

The patriarch suddenly jumped off the horse, stood face to face with Su Qingyuan, and said in a deep voice: "You have practiced the art of charming, but you have not penetrated into it, so it can only be regarded as an entry level. ”

Su Qingyuan avoided his gaze and nodded reluctantly.

The patriarch retracted his hand and said, "You, have taken the Wuzhi Soul Renewal Pill." ”

Su Qingyuan frowned slightly and snorted vaguely.

The patriarch became more and more serious: "Wuzhi Soul Renewal Pill is the best holy medicine of the Divine Sparrow, and the formula is now lost. Even twenty years ago, only a handful of people were given the drug – where did you get it? ”

Su Qingyuan couldn't answer, so she had to say perfunctorily: "A friend gave it." ”

The patriarch suddenly became excited: "Friend? What kind of people are they? Be...... Isn't it the Third Highness? ”

Su Qingyu's brows tightened.

She really didn't know any of the "Three Highnesses" of the Divine Sparrow.

The patriarch didn't get an answer from her for a long time, and his old face turned red in a hurry.

Lu Li walked over slowly and took Su Qingyuan's hand: "Our friend is indeed a descendant of the Divine Sparrow, but he has never revealed his identity in the Divine Sparrow. So the foolish couple didn't know if he was the 'Third Highness' in the mouth of the patriarch. ”

The patriarch was stunned for a long time, and finally lowered his head: "Now, where are the others?" ”

Su Qingyuan was about to answer, but Lu Li smiled and said: "That friend is free and easy by nature, and his whereabouts are uncertain, who knows where he is going to be at ease at this moment!" ”

The patriarch looked at him and asked in a deep voice, "Where did the two come from?" When and where did you meet that friend? ”

Lu Li said unhurriedly: "My husband and wife live in the capital, and I also met that friend by chance in the capital - speaking of which, in fact, the acquaintance time is not long. What is rare is that friend is affectionate and righteous, so he hit it off at first sight and became a close friend. ”

Su Qingyuan was listening to him open his eyes and talk nonsense, and he was stunned for a while.

The patriarch was very excited, grabbed Lu Li's hand and said vigorously: "The Third Highness has been a child who values love and righteousness since he was a child!" It had to be him, it had to be him! ”

"It turns out that he is actually the third highness of the Divine Sparrow!" Lu Li seemed to be very emotional.

The patriarch wiped the corners of his eyes, sighed with a wry smile: "Where are there any 'divine sparrows' now, and where are there any 'Three Highnesses'!" It's been more than 20 years...... Today, it is nominally the Suzaku County of South Vietnam, but it does not even have a serious county guard. The city is full of ruins and desolation, so it's no wonder that the Third Highness is reluctant to come back......"

Lu Li sighed and didn't answer his words.

Su Qingyuan felt strange in her heart, and only pretended to be sad on her face, bowing her head and saying nothing.

The patriarch took Lu Li's hand, wiped his tears and smiled: "Since you are a friend of the Third Highness, of course you are our honored guest." ——If the two of you are not too slow, please come to the clan to stay for a few days, and let the people of the Shenfinch clan talk about their hearts. ”

Lu Li said with a smile: "The foolish couple is bothering, so they won't be polite to the patriarch." ”

The patriarch was overjoyed, and he was busy asking people to lead the way.

Gu Lingxiao and the others led the horse over, and Lu Li got on the horse with Su Qingyuan and walked with the patriarch.

On the way, the eight or nine-year-old child kept sticking to the two of them, rubbing their legs all the time.

Su Qingyuan felt a little uncomfortable, and was about to remind Lu Li to avoid it, but the child suddenly reached out and grabbed the knife in her hand: "How is this thing dyed red?" Show me ......"

Su Qingkite didn't move, but the child suddenly screamed and fell off the horse.

Lily of the valley hurriedly dismounted and helped him up, and asked urgently, "What's wrong with you?" Did you fall for their plot? ”

The kid rubbed his buttocks and looked up at Su Qingyuan in confusion.

Su Qingyuan flattened her mouth innocently: "Messing with other people's things, is it reasonable?" ”

The patriarch instructed Lily of the Valley to help the child get on the horse, reprimanded a few words, and smiled at Su Qingyuan: "The young son is ignorant, don't blame the lady." ”

"It doesn't matter." Lu Li replied for Su Qingyu.

The patriarch stared at the knife for a long time, and suddenly asked with a smile, "Madame, where did you get this knife?" It couldn't have been sent by a friend, right? ”

Su Qingyuan turned his head, smiled at him, and asked, "Why, don't I think I'm worthy of such a knife?" ”

The patriarch hurriedly said: "That's not it, it's just - this knife is very evil, it really doesn't look like a young woman's thing." Looking at Mrs. Lady's appearance and bearing, she is not like a martial artist, how can she ......"

Su Qingyuan hooked the corners of her lips: "Old man, if you can be the patriarch, you must have something extraordinary." Shenque is good at divination, you must be a leader - an old man who is good at divination wants to know something, just ask the hexagram directly, where is the need to ask the root cause of everything? ”

The patriarch smiled: "Divination is not immortal art, how can you know everything?" That's it, if Madame doesn't want to say it, the old decay will not be uninteresting. ”

Su Qingyuan shook her head proudly, squinted her eyes and asked with a smile: "Actually, the patriarch had already divined the hexagram before he met us, right?" ”

The patriarch hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Su Qingyuan pretended to be casual and continued to ask: "What is the result of divination?" ”

The patriarch smiled: "Madame is really exquisite!" It doesn't hurt to say to you—the old man had already divined a few days ago that a distinguished guest was coming, although he didn't know the intention of the two of them, and he knew that you were beneficial and harmless to the Sparrow. ”

Su Qingyuan pursed his lips and said dissatisfiedly: "Knowing that we are not enemies, they also sent so many snakes to meet us!" ”

The patriarch blushed a little, and paused for a moment before smiling: "Be careful to sail the 10,000-year-old ship, we also have to do it as a last resort." The Divine Sparrow has no ill will towards the guest, and if the snake gets out of control, someone in the clan will go to rescue the guest from danger. ”

Su Qingyuan sneered, expressing disbelief.

The patriarch smiled and asked, "Madame's snake exorcism should be passed down from the Wu clan, right?" ”

Su Qingyuan was startled, and then became furious: "You are monitoring us nearby? You deliberately let out snakes and watched us frightened, while you watched the excitement from the sidelines? Is this the hospitality of your gods? ”

The patriarch was embarrassed and hurriedly apologized.

Lu Li patted Su Qingyuan's hand and said with a smile: "The patriarch has already explained, after the great calamity, he will be cautious everywhere. If you don't give up like this, it will make people laugh at us for being stingy! ”

Su Qingyuan snorted heavily: "You're not stingy!" You 'gentlemen are frank', and I am 'only women and villains are difficult to raise', right? ”

Lu Li and the patriarch looked at each other and smiled, but the child before answered angrily: "You just scold yourself, why do you want to be involved with 'villain'?" Where is it difficult for our children to be raised? ”

Su Qingyuan was stunned and laughed.

The patriarch wanted to scold the child again, but Lu Li smiled and said: "Mrs. Jing is a little childish, and she likes to quarrel with people the most, so the patriarch is not strange." ”

"It's true that I'm still a child, haha......" The patriarch laughed, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Talking and laughing all the way, I climbed a hillside, and I saw a courtyard of houses with white walls and black tiles hidden in the belly of the mountain, among the green trees, and there were always two or three thousand households.

Presumably, the people of the Divine Bird Capital City moved here. It's no wonder that there are many ruins on the road, and few new houses are rebuilt.

The patriarch pointed to the building and sighed to Lu Li: "The Divine Sparrow was also famous for a while, but now it has ended up like this...... There was no hope of recovering the country, and he broke off his career, so he could only live in a corner and survive. ”

Lu Li groaned slightly, and said lightly: "Actually, the imperial court is not hostile to the Divine Sparrow. The events of the past years were all instigated by the enemy country and caused trouble, and it was not the fault of the lord of the Divine Sparrow Country alone. The people of the gods are even more innocent, how can the court not know that you are in a difficult situation? ”

"What do you mean by ......," the patriarch froze.

Lu Li smiled: "The juniors are talking in vain." ”

The patriarch was a little excited, and he had the heart to ask, but he felt that he was too presumptuous, so he had to temporarily suppress his thoughts.

The patriarch's residence is a very simple compound, and there is no grandeur at all in the exterior or inside.

Su Qingyuan pursed her lips, and was seen by Lily of the Valley, who immediately said angrily: "What do you mean by that?" Don't you look down on our yard? Our patriarch is different from those powerful officials outside you, don't you like it? ”

Su Qingyuan squinted her eyes and smiled: "I didn't look at this yard unpleasantly, but Sister Lily of the Valley, you don't like it!" - I only look at things that are more beautiful than me in my life, I don't know if you are the same, sister? ”

"Of course I don't ......" Lily of the Valley retorted halfway through and stopped angrily.

She didn't want to lose her momentum, and she didn't want to admit that the other party was better looking than herself, so she couldn't continue this sentence.

Lu Li patted Su Qingyu's hand to signal her to be quiet, then raised his head and asked the patriarch with a smile: "This courtyard is simple and elegant, it doesn't look like it was newly built." Could it have been here before that incident? ”

The patriarch nodded and said, "This place is not far from the temple, and this courtyard was originally the place where the children of the royal family rested when they entered the temple to pray for blessings. After the destruction of the capital, the people took up residence near the temple and the courtyard......"

"Temple? Isn't it far from here? Su Qingyuan couldn't help but interject and asked.

The patriarch glanced at her in surprise and said lightly: "Naturally, it is not far away." ”

Lu Li pressed Su Qingyuan's hand and said with a smile: "If there is faith, people's hearts will not disperse; If the hearts of the people are not dispersed, the kingdom will not be destroyed. This divine sparrow may not be able to fly high again on a different day. ”

The patriarch looked up at him with an excited expression.

At this time, a little maid in the hall walked out quickly, and said hurriedly: "The people from the second highness are here again, and the lady can't cope with it, so the patriarch should think of a way!" ”