"Boss, we better not open for business tonight; there's something ominous in the air." I sensed what might happen next and warned Chen Decheng.
The snake swarm at the door had an abrupt change.
Their thrashing tails began to intertwine with each other.
The air was filled with an odd scent, like earth and blood, like the sweet fragrance of rotting fruit…
In the pitch-black night sky, the bright moon hung high.
The moonlight fell on the reflective snake scales, making them look all the more sinister.
Chen Decheng, his upper and lower teeth clashing from fear, said, "Who would do business at a time like this? No one dares to come near the restaurant; these snakes won't get inside, will they? Why are they doing this at our shop's entrance?"
"Don't worry too much; the ground has a formation drawn by me and Yu Rongling." I comforted Chen Decheng, as he was just an ordinary person; witnessing such a frightening scene must have already caused a psychological shadow.
Fortunately, Xiao Li fell ill with Gu Poison and is too weak to work, taking leave to rest.
Otherwise, she would have been scared to death by the scene in front of her.
Chen Decheng looked around in confusion, searching, "Formation?"
"Drawn with white vinegar and salt; once it dries, it becomes invisible." Yu Rongling and I could both be harmed by Snake Medicine, so we couldn't use Snake-Repelling Medicine inside the shop.
We had simply prepared a formation with white vinegar and salt in advance, invisible on the ground.
It could hold off the snakes for a while and also hide the formation, numbing the person who wanted to come looking for trouble.
Seeing that the evil-repelling formation made of white vinegar and salt truly worked, I was slightly relieved. "Boss, close the shop door quickly; I'm going to ask Yu Rongling upstairs," I said.
I turned and ran up the stairs swiftly.
I raced back to the dormitory.
The first thing I did was pull open the closet door.
Yu Rongling liked to rest in dark, cramped spaces, so the closet was the right place to find him.
At that moment, a pure green python was coiled up, sleeping soundly in the closet. However, it looked as if it was hibernating, its head tucked into its coiled body.
"Yu Rongling! How are you? Is there any discomfort?" I called out, and when I saw he had no reaction, I became anxious and pushed his cold, icy snake body. "Wake up, don't sleep now, the Thunder Charm has lost its effect."
His snake body was as thick as a bowl and was both firm and resilient.
Pushing him felt like pushing against a wooden post.
Realizing that Yu Rongling was still unresponsive, I knew something serious had happened.
I took out my phone and sent a WeChat message to Yu Longting.
I described the situation Yu Rongling and I were facing.
Then, with concern, I touched the snake body on the cheongsam and whispered softly, "Rongling... something seems wrong. He suddenly became unconscious while sleeping in the closet—are you able to come over?"
Although I had already informed Yu Longting, I couldn't just sit and wait.
I had some understanding of Household Spirits, so I used the Spiritual Eye to observe.
I found that his body seemed to be depleted of Spiritual Power.
The night of the full moon should be the time when snakes are most energetically vigorous.
But now, everything was the opposite.
Yu Rongling was not only lacking in spiritual power, but his Spiritual Power was rapidly and continuously draining, causing him to fall into a deep unconsciousness.
Moreover, if his Spiritual Power continued to deplete, he would have no choice but to die from dispersing his power.
I frowned, not having time to delve deeper.
I took out a green cloth strip embroidered to restore Spiritual Power from my pocket, and as if fearful it wasn't enough, I wrapped it around him in a circle, binding it to his body, "Don't scare me, Rongling. Wake up, you can't sleep; muster your energy to resist the loss of Spiritual Power... listen to me, wake up quickly..."
"Fuck, sister-in-law... that replenishment of Spiritual Power was just in time; I almost got drained by that beast..."
Yu Rongling's snake head lifted, cursing weakly, then hurriedly urged me, "You quickly call my brother, have him take you away; that beast is too perverted... Its Combat Power... is against the heavens..."
"You were in the closet, all fine and well, how could it have drained you?" Of course I wouldn't leave him behind, I asked, bewildered.
Suddenly, a chill swept over me from behind; turning around, I saw the window had been opened by someone at some point.
A pair of feet shod in white Cloud-Ascending Boots were perched on my windowsill.