On the way up the mountain, the air was silent.

Hua Shi followed behind Xie Mingchi and quietly went up the mountain.

She didn't speak, and Xie Mingchi was like a stuffy gourd, unable to hold back a word for a long time.

When passing by the temple shrine at the foot of the mountain, Hua Shi was about to bend down and bow down, when his hand was suddenly grabbed by Xie Mingchi.

Hua Shi was stunned: "What, what's wrong?" ”

"No need to worship." Xie Mingchi looked at her eyes, as if he saw the puzzlement in her eyes, and then said: "This is not the shrine of the mountain god, and it is useless to worship it." ”

As for the rumors that if you don't worship the temple shrine at the foot of the mountain, you will be punished by the mountain god and the whole family will suffer, but they are all rumors circulating in the village, and they should not be true......

Hua Shi looked down at the low temple shrine at his feet, and then turned around to keep up with Xie Mingchi's footsteps.

"Don't you even ask me why I'm going into the mountains with you?"

On the way up the mountain, Xie Mingchi, who was leading the way in front, suddenly said something out loud.

After a pause, he blinked, and walked familiarly on the rugged mountain trail, asking, "Why?" ”

Xie Mingchi suddenly stopped, stood still, turned around, and looked at her with a serious expression.

His sudden movement made Hua Shi, who was immersed in his head and concentrate on moving forward, almost crashed into his arms, stood firm, and looked up to see his serious expression, Fancy was full of doubts.

"I found traces of the child that Aunt Suhua lost in the mountains." Xie Mingchi said with a frown.

Hua Shi thought for a moment and asked, "So you went into the mountain this time to find that child?" ”

She remembered what Xie Mingchi had told her last time, that he had entered the mountain several times to find the child, and that child had been lost for nearly five years, and now he was almost twelve years old......

A seven-year-old child has been lost in the mountains for five years, and Xie Mingchi has been looking for it for two years in a row, and there is no news until now... Is that kid really alive?

According to Xie Mingchi, monsters are rampant in the mountains, how did a young and ignorant child survive ......?

Xie Mingchi lowered his eyelids and said, "When he was just lost, I went into the mountains to look for him, but I didn't find ......."

Only in the place where it was lost, I saw a bloody garment and brought it back to the village, and others saw that the people of the capital were gone......

He thought that the man was gone, and that was the end of the matter, but one day two years ago, while hunting in the mountains, he found some strange traces, and following the traces, he soon found a dilapidated thatched hut, and sensed the familiar figure.

After several checks, he finally determined that the trace was three years ago... Traces of the child......

Since then, he has been following the tracks, trying to find people, but every time he is about to approach, something always discovers him before he is a step ahead, and hides it again.

has been tossed like this for nearly two years, and the traces come and go, almost every five or six months, and only appear once......

After listening to Xie Mingchi's words, Hua Shi's brows also furrowed, and she asked hesitantly, "So you suspect that this is related to the spirits in the deep mountains?" ”

Xie Mingchi did not deny it, and instead said: "I suspect that the child can survive because he was adopted by a certain monster." And that youkai is very smart, knowing that I am looking for it, and has been hiding. ”

Although he is a mountain keeper and has been favored by the mountain god, he is different from ordinary people, but he is just an ordinary person after all, and naturally he can't compare to those old monsters who have lived for an unknown number of years......

If the monster deliberately hides his breath and does not let him know, he takes the initiative to look for it, and it is difficult to detect.

But......

Xie Mingchi looked at her, his eyes lit up slightly, and he said: "However, I have been looking for it for nearly two years, and it is not that I have no gains, it should be a wolf demon that has become a sperm, running out of the deep mountains, and will haunt the forest from time to time." ”

I was a little stunned when I spent it.

Wolf Demon...?

She unconsciously came up with the ...... in the movie in her mind The whole body is wrapped in black hair, and the appearance of a wolf-headed human body comes.

Xie Mingchi saw that she didn't speak, thinking that she was talking too much, she was scared when she heard it, so she hurriedly comforted again: "It should be afraid of the mountain god, so it doesn't dare to go around blatantly, and it only dares to run out occasionally to show some horses' feet, and it doesn't dare to go out of the periphery, let alone go down the mountain." ”

"And if you can adopt a human child, you can know that it is not trying to harm people, but it just ran out of the mountains and wanted to evade my search, don't worry too much."

Xie Mingchi looked at her and said a long list of words, and finally made clear the reassuring meaning of his words.

Hua Shi smiled and nodded, "I'm not afraid, I'm still a little curious, what those spirits look like." ”

After Xie Mingchi heard this, he showed a serious look of recollection, and only said half-loudly: "Most of them are half-human and half-demon......

If it's the first time you've met, you'll probably be scared by the appearance of the spirit......

Half-human, half-demon, and mouthful.

Who would have thought that there were such terrifying spirits hidden in this huge mountain forest......

Hua Shi nodded, "So what are we going to do next?" ”

What she originally thought was that after entering the mountain with Xie Mingchi, if he was familiar with the terrain, he would take her to the lake or the stream to have a look, catch all the fish in it, and catch the fry in his fish pond in advance.

From the very beginning, she decided to build a fish pond, she had already thought about going into the mountains to catch fish and raise fish fry, after all, there are springs, and fish farming should be an easy thing for her.

After her words were asked, Xie Mingchi suddenly stood in place, closed his eyes, and said nothing.

The cool breeze blew through the trees, and it was only after half a sound that he opened his eyes, and his expression clearly revealed a hint of frustration.

"It's cunning, and it's gone......" he muttered softly.

At this point, Hua Shi almost guessed the ability that Xie Mingchi possessed as the most village-guarding person...... Something similar to perception...?

Xie Mingchi raised his eyes to look at her again and said, "I need to walk around in the mountains." ”

His perceptual and keen abilities can communicate with almost the entire outer layer of the mountain forest, if the wolf demon leaks traces and hides it, he needs to spend some time looking for it again.

Nodding when flowering.

Xie Mingchi's eyes fell on the fish basket she was carrying around her waist, and her dark eyes seemed to have a bright light, and then she heard him say again: "Are you going to catch fish in the mountains?" I know a place with a lot of fish, I'll take you? ”

When she flowers, her eyes light up, just what she wants.

The sound of birds in the green dense forest, under the trees that shade the sky and the sun, is light and cool, and you can't feel the slightest scorching heat.

In the silent and uninhabited woods, two figures, one in front of the other and one behind, shuttled among them.

Skirting the rugged and winding mountain road, the vision suddenly opens up and the sound of the cascading waterfall fills your ears......

"Whoa—"

The lake below is verdant and turquoise, and it is crystal clear.

"Huo ......!"

Fa Shi was attracted by the scene in front of her, and her eyes followed the direction of the waterfall, and when she looked down, she exclaimed violently.

The noisy sound of fish jumping in the water and on the surface of the lake leaps and collides, making a thumping sound.

Countless schools of fish, in the center of the lake, form a huge whirlpool of fish, at the bottom, in the air, from the bottom to the top, like layers of black and white waves......

“… And more、Fish!! ”

Hua Shi swallowed his saliva, grabbed Xie Mingchi's sleeve unconsciously with one hand, and squeezed it a little tighter, his voice trembling a little.

She had thought that there were a lot of fish, and at most they were just swimming in clusters in the water, but she didn't expect... It's so much that it's rolled into the eye of the storm.

It took a long time to come back to his senses, tugging on the palm of Xie Mingchi's cuff, and a layer of hand sweat overflowed at any time.

She tilted her head, followed his chin, looked into his eyes, and blinked.

His expression was obviously stunned by the scene in front of him, his dark eyes were round, and he was so stunned that he hadn't come back to his senses.

“… Xie Mingchi, there are so many fish that it's a little abnormal. ”

Sluggish as she was, she all reacted to it, which was obviously not normal.

She had good eyes, and looked at the fish whirlpool, several fish leaping out of it, with sharp teeth, making a stinging sound of teeth colliding with each other, and the bodies of the fish were thick......

She had never seen such a fish with a large head and a short body and a mouthful of fangs, not like a normal fish.

Xie Mingchi blinked, came back to his senses, and looked down at her.

Flower time saw a twinkle in his eyes...... Excited gloss??

No...... What is he excited about...??

Xie Mingchi: "This is fish essence. ”

Blink when you spend.

I can see it, but why are there crowds......

Xie Mingchi said again: "When the fish in this lake are in schools, I have seen them twice before, and this is the third time, and every time they are in groups, it is an omen that there is something abnormal in the mountain. ”

His words were too calm, which made Hanashi wonder if he had heard it wrong.

...... the mountains are changing?

"What do you mean by the anomaly?" There was a vague guess in his heart.

Xie Mingchi didn't seem to take this to heart, "It should be related to the monster, it's okay, let's go down and catch two fish first, I have eaten the meat of this fish, it is delicious." ”

Flower time:??

Xie Mingchi said, and dragged her towards the lake with one hand.

"Oops......"

After two flicks, he was dragged to the lake, and the words were still stuck in his throat, and before he could say it, he heard a "coo-dong-" sound.

Xie Mingchi, who hastily took off his shirt, slipped into the crystal clear lake water with a smoke, and the splash flew up, and also wet the thin upper of the flower.

“… Xie Mingchi、! ”

Hua Shi was a little dumbfounded, and subconsciously shouted his name.

I saw the figure that jumped into the water, and in the bottom of the water, I saw him clearly, and dived quickly in the direction of the fish whirlpool.

Hanatoki stared and stood on the surface of the lake, stoking his feet, trying to see his movements.

"Gollum—"

The sound of bubbling on the surface of the water came, and in the blink of an eye, the figure that was still in the field of vision disappeared in an instant.

The whirlpool of fish is still surging, and the figure that has dived to the bottom of the water is nowhere to be found......

"Xie Mingchi!!"

Hua Shi panicked, and hurriedly shouted towards the center of the lake.

"Goo-Goo......

In the distance, the fish are surging and jumping towards the surface of the lake more and more rapidly, densely gathered.

She didn't wait for a response to her shout, and even echoed her in the valley in the distance.

When you spend your time, you step on the surface of the lake and gradually approach the direction of the fish.

She was unconsciously a little flustered......

Unexpectedly, her mood had not yet calmed down, and her eyes had been staring at the bottom of the turquoise lake, when suddenly, the surging fish, as if attracted by something, swam quickly in the direction of her movement......

When Hua Shi noticed it, the nearest lake was already full of fish, densely surrounding the lake, and some even jumped out of the water and flew to the shore.

"Poof, poof—"

The fish that jumped on the shore, flicked its tail, and fluttered to her feet.

Hua Shi looked at the fish scrambling by the lake, as if they were about to rush to the shore at any moment, swallowed his saliva with difficulty, and pushed it back a meter away.

I almost forgot that the spring in her palm... It's always going to attract something in places she doesn't expect and lean towards her......

"Hoo ......"

Xie Mingchi, who dived into the bottom of the water, poked his head out of the lake, holding a fat fish in his hand, with wet hair on his head, his eyes were confused, and he looked around.

What about the fish just now?

He had just dived into the water, and he hadn't caught two fish, and the churning school of fish, in the blink of an eye, was obviously surging in one direction.

When she leaned out of the water, she turned her head and saw the flowers standing on the shore, which had already receded, and on the edge of the lake in front of her, the schools of fish that had just formed a wave were scrambling to surround them, and even some of them had jumped to the shore, losing the lake water package, and the tail of the fish was swinging non-stop, as if struggling, and threw itself in the direction of the flower......

"Ahh …”

Xie Mingchi's round eyes widened, and he was obviously stunned.

He swam to the shore, carrying a fish in his hand, and climbed ashore in two or two strokes.

"What's going on?"

Xie Mingchi bypassed the messy fluttering fish at his feet and trotted towards Hua Shi.

Hua Shi coughed lightly, touched his nose, and shook his head: "I don't know, the fish seem to be attracted by something..." ”

It can't be said that she was attracted by the spring in her palm......

Xie Mingchi saw that nothing happened to her, so his eyes shifted his gaze back to the fish on the ground, fluttering indiscriminately.

It's like I'm attracted to something......

It's really strange, these fish spirits have lived in the lake for I don't know how long, they have all become essences, one is smarter than the other, he jumped into the water several times to catch fish, and every time he tossed half-loudly, he caught one or two.

Today, he happened to meet a school of fish, and he was shocked, and then he was filled with joy.

A rare opportunity, the formation of a school of fish, will cause the speed of the parade and shuttle of many fish spirits to slow down, and he just seized this opportunity to catch a few of them......

Don't look at the ugly head of this fish, but the meat of this fish is really delicious.

Xie Mingchi thought, and his eyes lit up a little.

He hurriedly crouched down, and fished out the fish that were jumping on the shore with both arms, and they were so full that he could not count them.

"It's delivered to the door, don't be in vain, come soon!"

The two tossed for a long time, the fish basket was full, and Xie Mingchi's shirt was also full of fish, and when there was really no place to put it, the two of them hugged the fish and left the shore.

If you don't leave, there will be more and more fish coming ashore......

Xie Mingchi was full of joy at the beginning, and after the harvest was full at the end, and after a steady stream of fish poured up, his mood suddenly became depressed.

Normally, if I want to eat fish, it takes a long time to catch one or two, and now... The fish followed the devil again, and kept jumping into the pit, so many that they could not be counted......

The two of them hugged the fish and walked down the lake to the downstream of the water, and when they were far away from the center of the lake, the lake also turned into a gurgling stream, and the sound of boiling fish fluttering was far away from their ears.

"Hoo ......"

After finding a smooth and flat stone surface, Xie Mingchi threw all the fish he was holding in his arms onto the stone surface, let go of his hand, and let go of his breath.

Hua Shi, who was a few steps behind, stepped on the messy and uneven stones by the stream, and followed, carrying only her own fish basket in her hand, which was not heavy.

In addition, she picked out some small fish, and the fish basket was transformed by her, which could hold water without leakage, and she stuffed a basket full of small fish, and filled it with some lake water.

Hua Shi was afraid that if he didn't get home, the small fish in the fish basket would be suffocated, so he secretly added some spring water into it.

If you have small fish, if you don't have enough, just come in next time and catch some......

It's Xie Mingchi......

Hua Shi's mind turned, and he raised his eyes to look at the stone standing in front of the stone, bare-chested, wheat-colored skin, and smooth texture lines on the back and abdomen......

"Ah Shi, are you hungry?"

Xie Mingchi suddenly raised his head, looked at her and asked.

"Huh?" Flowertime blinked, came back to his senses, and looked away from his smooth muscles with some difficulty, looking into his somewhat sparkling eyes.

I don't know if it's because he does heavy work in the sun all year round, and his whole exposed complexion is a healthy wheat color... Tight muscles, smooth lines......

No, what was she thinking!!

Xie Mingchi didn't notice anything wrong at all, looked at her, and wondered: "Aren't you hungry?" ”

Hua Shi only felt a hot breath surging straight to her face, and her ears were also a little hot, she coughed lightly, "It's okay..." ”

Xie Mingchi grabbed a fish casually, and said in a somewhat excited tone: "Then I'll grill two fish for you, this fish is very fragrant!" ”

Flowers: "Okay.... ”

Xie Mingchi was very mobile, skillfully building a suggested grill with sticks and stones, cleaning the fish by the stream, and using sharpened sticks to thread the fish from the head to the tail and rack it to the grill.

"Poof."

There was a rustling sound of flint, and he familiarly lit the fire again.

Hua Shi watched him deal with it in a decent manner, so he helped pick up some dry firewood on the side and came back.

The flames of the small fire were burning higher and higher, and Xie Mingchi squatted on the side, turning the fish rack leaning on the top with a serious expression......

Hua Shi sat on the side and watched as the originally slippery fish was scorched little by little, and the air was filled with a smell of burnt paste.

Flower time: ......?

"Xie Mingchi? Like a lake? Don't turn it over? Hua Shi couldn't help but remind him.

Xie Mingchi blinked, his face was tense, and there was no change in mood at all, so after hearing this, he turned the other side over.

Then, Hua Shi looked at the other side of the smooth and tender fish noodles, which were scorched and toasted a little bit...... Then, two skewers of fish are baked and baked.

Hua Shi held the grilled fish that had been taken down, pinched it in his hand, and his eyes fell on Xie Mingchi's face.

The latter's eyes were fixed on the two blackened fish in her hand, and he blinked, and then looked at her earnestly.

His eyes were naked and puzzled, as if he was asking her why she hadn't eaten yet......

…