The master said not to judge people by their appearance

Caiyunfang.

It was raining non-stop, several girls gathered by the window and complained, it has been raining for four days, it finally became a little smaller yesterday, there are signs of the rain stopping, who would have expected it to rain heavily again this morning , I don't know how long it will be down, their clothes are too dry.

Yun Xiu was also sitting among them, but she didn't speak. While the other sisters were chatting, she kept looking out of the window, wondering what she was thinking.

In the evening, when Caiyunfang was open, the other girls got up to get ready to go on stage, Yunxiu was still sitting there in a daze, a sister called her, and she just came back to her senses.

"Sister Yunxiu, what's bothering you?" the sister asked, she noticed the worry in Yunxiu's eyebrows.

Yun Xiu tidied up her expression and replied, "No, I'm just thinking about when the rain will last."

"Sooner or later it will stop." The sister said indifferently.The government did not explain the connection between the rain and the snake, she only thought it was an ordinary summer rain.

Yun Xiu smiled and said nothing.

She went back to the room with the others to prepare, and performed on stage as usual.She was a little absent-minded, but fortunately, the pieces she played were already familiar to her heart, even if her mind was not here, there would be no mistakes.

There were tables and tables of guests sitting under the stage, and on the side near Yunxiu, sat two men, they were eating melon seeds and talking at the same time.

"Have you heard that someone died in the river again?"

"Is there? I haven't heard of it."

"The government suppressed it," the man lowered his volume, but because the distance was too close, the voice still reached Yun Xiu's ears clearly, "It's the daughter of a family in the south of the city. For some reason, she jumped into the river and killed herself suddenly last night." gone."

"Jumping into the river to commit suicide? Did someone hurt you?"

"Where is the heartbreaker? I heard that the woman doesn't even have a girlfriend, and she is normal during the day, and she has no tendency to seek death at all."

"Why is that? There must be a reason for such a big living person to commit suicide."

"It's strange because there is no reason! I heard people say that it might have something to do with the monster in the water. Think about it, otherwise, why would a big girl want to die suddenly? Or jumping into the river and drowning?"

"It shouldn't be. Didn't Mr. Xie just lead his troops to round up that monster yesterday? I heard that he seriously injured him. How can this monster have the ability to harm people?"

"It's only when you're seriously injured that you want to hurt people again. Don't those monsters rely on human energy to cultivate? It was seriously injured yesterday, so how many more people can help it?"

The companion felt very reasonable when he heard it, and replied: "So, someone has to suffer again?"

"Isn't it? The monster is running away, and I don't know how many people will be killed!"

With a sound of "Dang", there was a sudden noise in the harmonious music, as if the wrong string was played.

The sisters at the side gave Yunxiu a look, and Yunxiu quickly straightened her mind and found the rhythm again. This episode did not attract too many people's attention.

After stepping off the stage, the sister who was on good terms with Yun Xiu specially found Yun Xiu and asked, "What's wrong with you? Every song like this will go wrong?"

Yun Xiu smiled: "It's nothing, it's just that I fell into the water yesterday and got cold, and I'm in a bad state. Please help me and tell my mother, I won't pick up guests tonight, go back to the room to rest."

"Okay, then remember to take a good rest, don't develop a cold." The sister reminded.

Yun Xiu responded and went back to the room alone.

On the other side, after listening to the music, the two men who had just talked under the stage continued to stay in Caiyunfang, drinking and having fun with other guests, while the other ran back to the prefect's mansion in the rain. He told Xie Yunlan Said: "Master Hou, all the words have been let out."

"How did she react?" Xie Yunlan asked.

The man said: "She played the wrong note. After stepping off the stage, she said she was not feeling well, so she went back to her room to rest."

Xie Yunlan tapped the table a few times with her index finger, and ordered: "Continue to stare at her, keep an eye on her, and pay attention to all the people who leave from Caiyunfang."

"Yes." The man took the order and left.

After the man left, Wang Tai couldn't help asking: "Master Hou, why did you tell Yun Xiu the news that someone was killed last night?"

This news is blocked, and Xie Yunlan specifically ordered not to say anything.The rain will cause people to jump into the river in a state of confusion. Although it is said that the people will have an early warning to some extent, but the early warning is not very effective. The influence of resentment will not disappear because of the early warning. Accelerate the expansion of this influence.

Xie Yunlan asked Shen Fan, the more panicked, the easier it is to shake the soul fire, and the easier it is to be invaded by resentment, and jump into the river to become the next wronged soul.

Therefore, after weighing it, Xie Yunlan chose to press the matter. In the name of hunting down the snakes, he ordered the people not to go out in the near future, and set up rope nets in various rivers in the city to prevent anyone from approaching.

But since he wanted to press the matter, why did he go out of his way to tell Yun Xiu?Still using this method, Wang Tai thought for a long time but couldn't understand Xie Yunlan's intention.

Xie Yunlan glanced at him, not bothering to explain, he was still thinking about his next plan.

But Shen Fan also asked, "Why did you tell Yun Xiu?"

Xie Yunlan patiently explained: "Do you remember the change in Yunxiu's expression when we went to Caiyunfang last time and said that the snake had killed no less than thirty people?"

Shen Fan recalled, Yun Xiu seemed to be very shocked at that time, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yes." Xie Yunlan analyzed, "She has been acting in front of us, but the shock at that moment, I don't think it's a fake, she really doesn't know that the snake has killed so many people, I guess she must be very wrong I agree with this matter, so I asked someone to tell her the news that another innocent person was killed, to stir her up."

Wang Tai understood: "Because of being provoked, she may take the risk of contacting her accomplices. We only need to follow the clues to find each other. Hou Ye, you are really good at luring snakes out of their holes!"

Xie Yunlan looked indifferent and didn't care about Wang Tai's praise.

Until Shen Fan also boasted: "The plan is good."

Xie Yunlan's expression was still calm, but the slightly upturned corners of his mouth revealed his true heart.

In the middle of the night, news came from the people watching at Caiyunfang.

"Master Hou, the cloud sleeve has moved! She dressed up as a maid and quietly left through Caiyunfang's side door!"

Xie Yunlan got up immediately and said to Shen Fan: "Let's go!"

It is very likely that Yun Xiu is going to meet the snake, or a person possessed by a demon, no matter which one is not something ordinary people can deal with, Shen Fan must be brought along.

It was inconvenient to open an umbrella for tracking in the dark, so Xie Yunlan put on a waterproof rain cape for Shen Fan, while he himself dressed lightly, only wearing a military robe that was easy to move around.

Yunxiu is very vigilant. She doesn't go directly to the destination after going out, but turns around on the street for a while. If it is an ordinary person, if she goes around like this, she will lose the target if she is a little careless. Or he accidentally exposed himself, but Xie Yunlan sent a subordinate who was very good at scouting and concealment. This subordinate often worked as a spy in the army. Not to mention a weak woman who doesn't know martial arts.

Yunxiu finally came to an arch bridge. She went to the bridge hole under the arch bridge. Her subordinates were going to follow, but Xie Yunlan just came, so she stopped and reported briefly.

Xie Yunlan replied: "Okay, you go back first, I will do it myself next time."

The number of followers should not be too many, he plus Shen Fan, the two are just right.

The subordinates left in response, while Xie Yunlan led Shen Fan to approach the bridge opening quietly from the other side, close to the barrier of the stone bridge.

The night was dark and the rain was falling, which provided them with excellent cover. Yun Xiu didn't realize that there were two people hiding not far behind him, behind the pier of the stone bridge.

Xie Yunlan stopped when he got close to a certain distance. This distance was enough to see clearly, and it would be easy to be exposed if he got closer.

Yunxiu was holding a small basket in his hand, standing by the water, waiting and looking around, with a anxious expression on his face.

Xie Yunlan held his breath and counted the time silently. After about a stick of incense, there was a splashing sound in the river, as if something was surfacing.

After a while, a woman emerged from the water, it was Xu Liniang!

Xie Yunlan's pupils shrank, and after thinking about it for a while, he held back and didn't move.

"Liniang!" Yun Xiu's expression was overjoyed when he saw the snake that looked like Xu Liniang, but when he saw the wounds on the snake's body, it became dim again.

She squatted down, pulled the snake's scorched five fingers, and said with pity: "Why are you hurt so badly..."

She rummaged through the small basket she brought for a while, found a bottle of ointment, and carefully applied the snake to the wound.

The snake that looked like Xu Liniang looked at her quietly, without speaking.

After the wound on the snake's finger was bandaged, it leaned against Yunxiu's leg, and the two cuddled together like very good sisters, just like ten years ago.

"Liniang..." Yun Xiu combed Hua Snake's long hair with her fingers, and she called softly, "There is a grievance and a debtor, I know you have hatred in your heart, if you want revenge, just go for it, I will never I won't stop you, but can you stop killing innocent people?"

The serpent still didn't speak, or rather, it couldn't speak at all.

Although the snake has grown into the appearance of Xu Liniang, it is essentially a monster made of resentment. It does not have human emotions and memories, but only the strong resentment inherited from the creator.

Just judging from Yunxiu's reaction, she probably didn't know this, or she was unwilling to accept it. She seemed to regard the snake as the incarnation of Xu Liniang, her sister who came back from the dead.

Even if the snake didn't respond to her, she was still persuading her meaninglessly.

When Yun Xiu was speaking, Xie Yunlan observed the width and depth of the waterway, and then looked back at Shen Fan, who spoke silently with his lips.

Shen Fan shook his head, no, as long as the snake is still in the water, they will not be able to stop each other, if they do something here, the snake will just run away like the previous few times.

That being the case, Xie Yunlan gave up his plan to do it here.The left and right evidences are conclusive, he can find a breakthrough from Yun Xiu, and now if he disturbs the snake, Yun Xiu's move will be useless.

Yun Xiu said a lot to Hua Snake, but she didn't get any response, as if she finally gave up, she sighed.

It's getting late, she can't stay here for too long, she finally warned: "You have to be careful, that Xuanwuhou is very powerful, and that master Shen Fanfan, you'd better not show up in front of them again gone."

The snake didn't know whether it understood or not, it rubbed the cloud sleeve affectionately, then turned around and dived into the deep water, there was another clattering sound, and the snake left.

Looking at the calm water surface, Yunxiu sighed again, packed up the bottles and jars of wound medicine, opened the umbrella, and left the bridge hole.

Xie Yunlan signaled to Shen Fan, and the two followed closely.

Yunxiu returned the same way, Xie Yunlan was about to follow her back to Caiyunfang, but when Yunxiu reached a dark alley, she suddenly turned her head.

Xie Yunlan confirmed that neither she nor Shen Fan showed signs of it, but Yun Xiu still seemed to have noticed something, perhaps out of a woman's intuition, she looked back with some doubts.

Xie Yunlan thought for a while, and simply walked out of the hiding place. His tall and handsome figure was exposed to Yun Xiu's sight, and Yun Xiu was startled for a moment: "Master Xie?"

At the same time, she also saw Shen Fan behind Xie Yunlan, and realized that the two of them had been following her, a look of panic appeared on Yunxiu's face, could it be that she just met Liniang...

"It's me." Xie Yunlan took a few steps forward, and Yun Xiu retreated a few steps at the same time. What Xie Yunlan said next made her even more flustered.

"Yun Xiu, you conspired with monsters and murdered dozens of people, do you know what crime you deserve!"

"I, I didn't..." Yun Xiu said while retreating.

Xie Yunlan pressed her step by step: "No? Then why did you meet with Hua Snake privately late at night! But you are planning a murder case!"

"No, I'm just...just..." As if frightened by Xie Yunlan's accusation, Yunxiu trembled and couldn't speak a complete sentence, and she backed away further and further.

Xie Yunlan noticed that there was a river ditch not far behind Yunxiu, and if he retreated, he might stumble and fall.

He stopped in his tracks, his tone softened, and asked, "Then tell me, what is your relationship with that monster?"

"That's not a monster, it's Liniang, she's my best sister!" Yun Xiu seemed to have found courage from this sentence, she stopped backing, looked straight at Xie Yunlan and said, "Master Xie, you also know Li The grievances between mother and others, Liniang, she is too bitter, she just wants revenge, blood debt must be paid with blood, shouldn't Luo Hongyuan deserve to die?!"

"He deserves to die. You can take revenge on Luo Hongyuan, Zhang Li, and Zheng Rui, but now that so many people have died, are they all guilty?!" Xie Yunlan asked sharply, "The woman who just died last night was just 15 years old this year. Years old, what crime does she have?!"

Yun Xiu was speechless, she lowered her head slowly, and said: "I don't want to, but Liniang... Liniang needs strength, the Luo family is too powerful, thank you, sir, I will persuade you when the revenge is over, Let Liniang leave, let's find a place to hide in the deep mountains and old forests, and we will never harm anyone again!"

"You can't persuade me." Shen Fan said, "Snake is a monster made of resentment, and it also lives on resentment. It needs to kill people constantly and create resentment in order to continue to exist."

Yun Xiu's expression changed, it was obviously the first time he knew the truth.

"That's not Xu Liniang at all," Xie Yunlan said, "Don't you understand? Xu Liniang died a long time ago, it's just a monster that looks like Xu Liniang, it has no human emotions at all!"

"No..." Yun Xiu shook her head, ten years ago she was unable to stop those people from killing Liniang, but now her Liniang finally came back, that is her Liniang!

"Recognize the reality! Xu Liniang will not come back again!" Xie Yunlan said in a deep voice, "I will avenge Xu Liniang's grievances and your hatred for you. I swear on the reputation of the Xie family that Luo Hongyuan will definitely get what he deserves. !"

"That monster must not exist any longer. Do you think Xu Liniang would be willing to see a monster disguised as herself killing innocent people?" Xie Yunlan stepped forward, "Yun Xiu, tell me, is Luo Yong'an still alive? where!"

"He...he..." Yun Xiu had tears in her eyes, and she was almost about to speak.

But the next moment, a thick and long snake tail emerged from the water channel behind her, as fast as a flash of lightning, neither Xie Yunlan nor Shen Fan could react in time, they watched the snake tail wrap around Cloud sleeve, drag it into the water.

Xie Yunlan stepped forward quickly, ignoring the danger, and also jumped into the water.

Standing on the shore, Shen Fan ignited his soul fire to protect him from being attacked by the transformed snake.

The water was surging, and after a few breaths, Xie Yunlan floated to the surface, gasped a few times, and shook his head at Shen Fan on the shore.

Both the snake and the cloud sleeve are gone.

The rain was pattering and still falling.