Xixiang's Qingmeng Mountain.
The mist on the mountain was no longer as thick as it had been a few months ago, but anyone who stepped into Mulian Village could still perceive the difference between this place and the outside world:
The air was fresh, and with every rise and fall of one's chest, they could clearly feel the stale air being thoroughly expelled from their body.
Although autumn had arrived many days ago, the morning breeze was still gentle, and the wisps of water mist in the air fell upon one's face and body, making them feel refreshed and relaxed.
Mulian Village had already been cordoned off for protection, along with the Shi family's orange tree growing behind their house.
A few months ago, when the bizarre fog lingered over the southwest region for an entire month, photos and videos flew everywhere, and all kinds of rumors spread like a virus through netizens' chat groups.
News of the “Mulian Lake Water Monster,” the “Mulian Lake Yellow Dust Storm,” and the “Mulian Lake Immortal Orange Tree” even reached foreign websites, drawing countless curious onlookers who flocked to the area.
The orange tree was no longer acting crazy.
When the newest batch of visitors arrived, they could only peer over the tall enclosing wall to catch a glimpse of a tree full of white blossoms and a few green, unripe fruits.
Grandpa Shi lay on his bamboo chair. Just as he was about to reach for his water pipe to smoke, he suddenly remembered something. Lowering his hand, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a couple of handfuls of broad beans to eat.
His hair was pitch-black, and he had even grown two new teeth in his mouth. His eyes were no longer blurry, and his ears were no longer deaf; he could even savor a few rock-hard fried broad beans with great relish.
“Jiang-yazi! Jiang-yazi!”
The old man shouted with a voice full of vigor. Shi Hongjiang, who was outside feeding the ducks, poked half of his body through the doorway and asked what he wanted:
“Grandpa, what do you want to eat? Those people are heading to the city in a bit. I'll ask them to bring something back for you when they return.”
Nowadays, half of Mulian Village had been converted into a scientific research base. Many of the villagers who lived there had received hefty subsidies and happily moved to the city to live in high-rise apartments.
Only Grandpa Shi's family refused to move, staying behind to guard the orange tree, their ancestral home, and the Nan family's old house.
Aside from the patrolling soldiers catching one or two trespassers trying to sneak in every day, and their own lives being much more convenient than before, there didn't seem to be any other major changes.
“I told you to send some things to the Nan girl. Did you actually send them? Tell her that the conditions in the village are great now. If she's having a hard time out there, she should just come back to raise some cattle, tend some ducks, and learn her grandma's old trade.”
Grandpa Shi chewed on his beans, squinting his eyes as he rambled on for a long while:
“Is her phone still unreachable? It's chaotic outside right now, with gods and ghosts everywhere. It's worrying for a young girl to be running around out there all by herself.
When I die and go down there in the future, I won't even know how to face her grandparents.”
“Pah, pah, pah! Grandpa, what are you talking about? Your health is perfectly fine, and you'll easily live to a hundred and eighty. Why talk about dying?”
Shi Hongjiang picked up a duckling and expertly checked its sex:
“I did send them to her. She's traveling outside right now and can't receive them directly, so I sent them to her company and asked her colleagues to sign for them.
Did you forget? Sister Zhizhi quit her job to go on a road trip. She even sent me photos a couple of days ago.”
Only then did Grandpa Shi nod, muttering, “Tell her to take care of herself, and not to be too honest with people...”
Shi Hongjiang agreed to everything, but when he turned his head to look at the sky, his face was filled with anxiety.
Sister Zhizhi, where on earth did you go?
He had already been out of touch with Nan Zhi for over four months.
If it hadn't been for the last message Nan Zhi sent him, saying she was going on a long journey and telling him not to alarm anyone else, Shi Hongjiang would have reported her missing to the police long ago.
He wasn't stupid; he hadn't told anyone that the changes in his family stemmed from a bottle of “health supplements” Nan Zhi had gifted them.
Shi Hongjiang was terrified of causing trouble for Nan Zhi, so he weighed his words carefully whenever he sent a message.
He had a faint premonition that Sister Zhizhi must have obtained some kind of fortunate encounter, and even this disappearance was related to that “fortune.”
But after so much time, Sister Zhizhi, he was about to lose his ability to keep it a secret!
It's not like you don't know how much it hurts when Grandpa hits people with his cane.
Two streams of comical tears silently rolled down Shi Hongjiang's face.
...
Up on Qingmeng Mountain.
The mist was hazy, and the scenery in the mountains had undergone a massive transformation. Spiritual flowers and exotic herbs bloomed everywhere, and clear springs and bright streams flowed over the rocks.
Exquisite flowers shone like jade, ancient pines stood vigorous and strong, orchids wafted a delicate fragrance, and the green grass was lush and beautiful. Even the rocks in front of the Mountain Lord's cave dwelling looked different from those elsewhere.
Large beasts of prey frequently flashed through the dense forest—clouded leopards, wild boars, black bears, and gray wolves—and even the pine trees were draped with pythons of various shapes and sizes.
There was no longer any sign of human activity here.
The dense forest blocked out the sky, and wild weeds choked the paths, displaying the beauty of nature in all its wild, untamed glory.
It was a paradise for beasts.
Dozens of zhang away from the cave, someone had built a crooked straw hut.
Calling it a straw hut was a stretch; it was actually just a medium-sized dog kennel.
A drizzling rain fell on the mountain, and three yellow foxes of different sizes lay in the straw nest, poking their heads out to look around.
The rain brought moisture, and threads of spiritual energy permeated the mist, pitter-pattering onto the ground.
Even the surface of the stream flowing down the mountain was covered in a white mist that looked as if it had been mixed with milk.
Of the three yellow foxes—one large and two small—the large one was quite chubby, with a large patch of fresh scratches beneath its eyes that looked as though they had been clawed by fingernails.
“The Mountain Lord is still in closed-door cultivation! It's been almost several months now, hasn't it?”
Hu Cuiling scratched her face with a paw, looking with a hint of envy at the large python hanging from a tree, letting the rain wash over it.
The only bad thing about being a furred creature was that their coats would get damp whenever it rained, and that soggy feeling was always uncomfortable.
“Are you stupid?!”
The much larger Hu Ban'er slapped his granddaughter on the head:
“The Mountain Lord has been in closed-door cultivation for so long this time, which means her cultivation is bound to leap up by another massive margin! When that time comes, let alone our Hu family, even the other spirits will share in the blessings!
What's that saying again? When one person achieves the Dao, even their pets ascend to heaven!
Look at how uncultured you are. Tomorrow, I'll bring you a couple more books written for humans. You'd better learn from them how to flatter the Mountain Lord properly. Show some initiative, got it?”
Hu Cuiling nodded listlessly, while Hu Cuixian shook her fur beside her, mercilessly exposing their grandfather:
“Grandpa, did something happen down the mountain that made you come up this time?”
“Aren't you the clever one.”
Hu Ban'er tucked his two paws into his chest, squinting his eyes as he muttered:
“What else could it be but that business at the Western Xia Imperial Tombs a few months ago? It caused quite a stir, and those families in the north lost quite a few of their younger generation.
Take that girl Lanhua's great-granddaughter, for instance. Her family usually doted on her like the apple of their eye, but when they heard she had met with an accident, they cried their eyes out.
You two have been cooped up in the mountains, so you wouldn't know. The old Liu family already finished the funeral for their grandson, yet they're still insisting that the authorities set a trap for them to walk into. Now they're demanding to see him alive or have his corpse returned.
Sigh, tell me, how can they blame others for this? They only want the rewards without facing the risks. They saw the authorities getting benefits, so they jumped up and down insisting on following them in. But once they got inside and people died, they started making a huge fuss.
Entering the underground palace was always a matter of life and death. Who knows what kind of terrifying things are lurking in there?
Besides, whose cultivation journey is ever completely smooth sailing? In my opinion, they've just lived too many comfortable days. Raised in a greenhouse, they don't have a single drop of grit left in them.
If they're not willing to take the risks, they should have just stayed home to eat and drink, living as ordinary mortals. That would have been much better.”
Hu Cuiling was close with the Ma family and naturally knew Hu Manni. Hearing this, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad:
“If I were as powerful as the Mountain Lord, I would definitely be able to rescue them.”
“Why should the Mountain Lord go rescue them?”
Hu Cuixian patted her sister on the head:
“If I were there, I'd risk my life to save them. We're household guardian spirits, so it's our duty.
But our Mountain Lord is destined to become an immortal in the future. She has no obligation to clean up the messes made by those humans.
Every family fusses over their own. It's been so many days now, and who knows if they're even still alive.”
Hu Ban'er sighed:
“Don't say such things in the future. Everyone has their own destiny. The people of the Lyu and Liu families had their eyes blinded by benefits, and they just insisted on going down.
This time... unless they run into an immortal, they are truly beyond saving.”
The light rain pattered, and silence fell over the straw nest.
After a long while, a few lines of conversation drifted out:
“Grandpa, how come the scratches on your face still haven't healed?”
“Shut up.”
“Was it Grandma who scratched you again? It's not like the two of us intentionally passed on the wrong message back then. It must really hurt, right?”
“...How did I end up so unlucky to be saddled with you two wretched things?”
Rate on N.U.
