Chapter 8 Paper Talisman

The teenagers ran away, still confused about the direction, but instinctively ran downhill to save some energy. Xiaoqiu, Daliang, and Erliang had been grazing in the woods since they were young, and they knew the terrain better, so they ran at the front.

I don't know how much time passed, but even Xiaoqiu, who was the most flexible, couldn't run anymore and fell to the ground. Even if the big snake appeared above his head and opened his mouth to eat people, he didn't want to move.

Daliang and Erliang fell down and gasped with their mouths open.

Fangfang did not fall. She was supported by a force and never left Xiaoqiu within five steps. Her face was frighteningly white, but she did not fall, but slowly sat down.

The young officer arrived next. His hands were tied, but he was not encumbered by armor. He had a strong desire to survive and could run faster than most teenagers.

It didn't take long for others to catch up, and most of the heavy "trophies" were abandoned halfway. The last one is Er Shuan. He is still holding on to the long sword and refuses to let go.

They had entered the depths of the dense forest. There were almost no weeds growing on the ground, only a thick layer of dead leaves. They could not see the sun when they looked up, and it was already dusk outside.

This place is more like a place where demons like to hang out, but no one has suggested moving.

After a long time, Erliang was the first to speak, "I'm going to starve to death."

He reminded everyone that there is more real pain in the world than the snake demon. Several stomachs seemed to understand his words and made gurgling sounds one after another.

Even Xiaoqiu, who was accustomed to wandering in the forest, could not find any edible wild fruits in this desolate dense forest. He reluctantly stood up and looked around, "We have to find the small river first."

Er Shuan sat on the ground and shook his head, "How can I find it?"

"Everyone walks in different directions and makes marks along the way. Come back later, maybe you can find something." Xiaoqiu came up with an idea.

The idiot shook his head faster, "I won't go alone. That snake... we don't even have enough space to fill its teeth."

The mention of the giant snake demon made the teenagers alert. No one dared to walk in one direction alone, not even two or three people. They just wanted to stay together.

The young officer no longer had any dignity at this time. His smooth clothes were more damaged than others. His face was covered with sweat and dirt, but his eyes still showed disdain. "Now you know how scary the snake demon is. I have a way to be safe." Get out of the forest.

"You?" Xiaoqiu stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, "You would have escaped by yourself if you had the means."

The officer stood up. He was about the same height as Xiaoqiu and didn't look particularly strong. "That's because you took my things away."

"That's not robbery. You are a prisoner. Of course the things belong to us. Just like when you arrested us, didn't you also take away all our things?" Xiaoqiu immediately refuted, and his statement was unanimously agreed by the teenagers. , even if the "loot" has been discarded, they still insist on their simple rights.

The officer had a lot to say, but finally it turned into a short snort. He always regarded himself as an adult and didn't bother to argue with children. "Okay, the things are yours, but do you know how to use them?" His eyes glanced around and fell on On Daliang, "Are those paper charms still there?"

"Paper talisman?" Daliang touched his body and took out the pile of paper, "This is called a paper talisman? How much is it worth?"

The officer did not answer Daliang's question, his eyes moved back and forth between Xiaoqiu and Ershuan, trying to determine who was the leader of the group of children, and finally said to Xiaoqiu: "Give me the paper talisman,

I will take you out of the forest to avoid the snake demon. I think that snake monster is a bit weird, maybe it has been invaded by a demon species, so the further away from him, the better. "

"Why didn't you use paper charms in the first place?" Xiaoqiu was deeply wary of this young man, and remembered his fierce attitude towards herself and Fangfang.

The expression on the officer's dirty face remained unchanged, "Well... Paper charms can only be used to avoid demons, not to kill them. Return them to me. The snake demon will catch up sooner or later. This is not a place to stay for a long time."

Xiaoqiu stretched out her hand to Daliang, "Give it to me."

Daliang was a little hesitant, "There are several of them. Are they all for you?"

"Leave it with me for now, but it will still be yours from now on."

Only then did Daliang hand it over to Xiaoqiu with confidence.

Xiaoqiu counted twelve paper talismans. The paper was white with light yellow, and the talismans on it were pitch black, as fresh as if they had just been written. He couldn't even recognize a few of the normal characters, let alone the mysterious talismans. "Tell me which one to use and how to use it?"

"What's wrong with people like us? We have fewer arms and legs than you? Are you caught by us and treated as a prisoner?"

The officer slowly shook his head, but when he saw that the eyes around him were not friendly, he changed his words, "The third one is the invisibility talisman, and the seventh one is the guide talisman. Hold it between your index finger and middle finger, and flick it up and down. Don't use too much force. The paper If the talisman can be burned, it can release the spell, but if it cannot be burned - then you can't.

Xiaoqiu first picked out the seventh one and flicked it several times according to the officer's instructions. The paper talisman just clattered without even a spark flying out.

"I'll give it a try." Erliang said, but the result was the same. The teenagers took turns trying it. The paper talisman was quite strong and not damaged at all, but it didn't burn as the officer said.

Fangfang poked her head out from behind Xiaoqiu and whispered: "Isn't that how paper charms are used?"

"Do you know the method?" Er Shuan was impatient and handed the paper charm to Fangfang.

Fangfang didn't answer, "I don't know how, but I read a book, which said that the paper talisman seems to be burned with some kind of sacrificial fire, and there is no need to swing it around."

Er Shuan turned to the officer and said viciously: "It's fun to cheat, right? Hand over the sacrificial fire."

The officer's trick was exposed on the spot, but he didn't care at all. He said in a teaching tone: "The sacrificial fire cannot be handed over. You can only learn it yourself. If you are smart, it will probably take you ten years to learn it."

Er Shuan punched the officer and knocked him over. Then he rode on him and punched him with both fists in turn, "I'll let you cheat..."

The teenagers were all stunned. Fang Fang was so scared that she shrank behind Xiao Qiu again. After a while, Daliang and others surrounded Er Shuan and forcibly pulled him away.

Er Shuan kicked him at the end and said "I'll let you cheat."

The officer didn't move. Er Liang bent down and looked at him for a while, then raised his head and whispered timidly: "It seems dead."

When the word "death" was mentioned, the atmosphere changed immediately. Even Er Shuan was a little scared. He swallowed his saliva and mumbled in his mouth. No one could hear what he was saying.

Daliang probed the officer's nose and mouth, "He's still breathing, but he fainted."

Ershuan was angry and wanted to beat him up, but was held back by his companions.

"Rest first, and wait until he wakes up." Xiaoqiu said.

The teenagers were divided into two groups, Xiaoqiu, Fangfang, Daliang, and Erliang sat on one side, and Ershuan, Lengzi, Xiaogou, Zhuzi, and Xiaoshun sat on the other side. They didn't play together to begin with, and now they were a little estranged.

The sky was getting darker and darker, and the real night was coming. There was silence all around, and the forest seemed even more sinister. Xiaoqiu stood up and said, "Let's light the fire first."

The teenagers were at a loss, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. When they heard this, they immediately stood up, found some dead branches nearby, and gathered together. Erliang took out the new fire-making equipment, hit the flint hard with a flint, lit the tinder, and carefully lit the bonfire with both hands.

The flames gradually grew stronger, and the heat and the firelight dispelled many fears in the hearts of the teenagers, but no one was willing to talk, and no one knew what to do next.

"Are you looking for death?" The officer finally woke up, and his first words were full of contempt. The beating seemed to have no effect on him.

"What did you say?" Ershuan raised his fist and shook it twice.

The officer had already sat up, his face blue and purple, "It was the fire that revealed your whereabouts last night. I didn't expect you to have no memory at all. You can see it from a long distance when you make a fire in this forest. Are you inviting the snake demon to come?"

Just at this moment, a strange sound came from a distance, like bubbling in the river, and like the roar of a beast.

The teenagers in Yelin Town no longer split up, gathered nervously in a group, hiding behind a thick tree, Ershuan tightly grasped the long sword in his hand, thinking that he had to make everyone admit that he was the leader.

The officer didn't expect his guess to come true so quickly. He jumped up and staggered to join the teenagers.

The night in the forest was so dark that only a few feet away could be seen, but everyone felt that a huge monster was approaching in the distance, getting closer and closer, and then it stopped and made the same strange sound as before.

Xiaoqiu ran out and rushed towards the monster in the incomprehensible eyes of everyone. After a while, she came back with a horse, "It's the red horse. I was so scared that I didn't even recognize its voice."

The red horse rubbed against Xiaoqiu's head affectionately, and it was carrying two bundles given to Fangfang by Grandma Feng on its back.

The teenagers all came out and stood around the red horse. Seeing familiar animals in the dense forest brought them great comfort. When Fangfang searched out a few pieces of remaining dry food from the bundle, everyone almost cheered.

The dry food was divided equally. Although it was far from enough to fill their stomachs, they were not so panicked.

Xiaoqiu even gave the officer a piece of dry food and cut the rope on his hand with a dagger, "Eat the dry food and take us out of the forest."

"It's too late." The officer smelled the dry food he didn't recognize and showed a disgusted expression. Fortunately, it was dark and no one noticed. "The compass can only indicate the direction. It's too dark and we can't walk. Let's wait until tomorrow morning."

Xiaoqiu had no objection, and no one else objected. They were all exhausted. They sat with their backs against the big tree, had no mood to chat, and slowly fell asleep.

Before going to bed, Xiaoqiu said to the officer: "Don't think about running away."

"I don't know the road, and there is no paper talisman to help. Where can I run?" The officer tried to make his voice sound very sincere.

The teenagers in Yelin Town are very simple and don't have much defense. Even in fear, they sleep very soundly. Xiaoqiu and Fangfang slowly leaned their bodies and finally leaned their heads against each other.

The officer couldn't sleep. He had requirements for where to sleep, and he also had a plan hidden.

In the middle of the night, the officer quietly got up, moved lightly twice, and approached Xiaoqiu on tiptoe. After observing for a while, he found it difficult to steal the paper talisman back, so he had to give up and turned to the bay horse.

The old horse knows the way. With this horse, why would he need the paper talisman? The officer secretly laughed at the stupidity of these teenagers.

The bay horse is docile and doesn't care even if a stranger approaches.

The officer grabbed the reins and looked back at the sleeping teenagers, thinking that soon these country boys would understand what an unforgivable mistake they had made, especially Ershuan who dared to hit him and Xiaoqiu who spoke in a very arrogant tone.

He jumped on the horse's back skillfully and was about to urge the horse to run away, when he suddenly saw something exposed a dozen steps to the left front.

It was the boy who refused to come out of the jungle during the day. Others called him "baldy". At this moment, he was smiling at the officer, as if he was a good friend of him since childhood.

The officer felt the blood in his body instantly turn cold into ice.