Three Springs

"A formation?" Si Mucheng felt like his brain was about to explode. "What formation?"

Wen Ya explained: "Similar to the Bagua formation, it uses the terrain to trap enemies. Sometimes, to dispel evil spirits and prevent innocent people from being implicated in dreams, a formation is set up in advance to make people lose their way. There is also a saying that it is called 'ghost wall'."

Si Mucheng understood now: "So there's a formation set up here to make us lose our way?"

"It's not necessarily targeting us."

Wen Ya took a few steps forward. They were at the entrance of the formation. There were many trees on both sides, and they could easily enter the dense forest if they were not careful.

"It's probably to prevent people from accidentally wandering in. I guess it's just a smokescreen to cover up something."

Si Mucheng perked up: "Then his lodging must be nearby, otherwise why would he be hiding? But then again, why is this person acting so suspiciously, even hiding where he lives? There must be something fishy going on."

Wen Ya did not refute it; the more things are hidden, the more suspicious they become. But it was clear that what Wen Yongjie was trying to hide was not as simple as his hideout.

Having said all that, Wen Ya had no choice but to find the core of the formation to break it. The two continued forward.

The further you go, the wider the road becomes, but Wen Yongjie's figure has long since disappeared.

“He knew the route of the formation he set up,” Wen Ya said.

When they climbed up a small hill and looked ahead, they both paused, startled to see a person.

The roadside was overgrown with weeds, and the person was a tall boy, pacing around in circles by the roadside.

"Huh?" Si Mucheng asked in surprise, "Someone has wandered in by mistake? Do you need help?" He was about to walk over to offer his help when he finished speaking.

But Wen Ya stopped him.

Only a naive and innocent person like Si Mucheng would think that there would be pitiful passersby in need of help in the middle of nowhere.

She covered the vibrating resurrection lamp in the cloth bag with one hand, and pulled Si Mucheng with the other, staring intently at the man: "Don't go."

"What's wrong?" Si Mucheng was puzzled, but Wen Ya's serious expression made him realize that something was amiss.

At this moment, the other party obviously noticed them as well, but the young boy did not show any joy. Instead, he was somewhat surprised and hesitant.

"Xiaoya?" Si Mucheng wanted to say something, but he shut his mouth the next second because he also felt the vibration in Wenya's bag.

The resurrection lamp was in the bag. He was very familiar with this vibration, and every time it vibrated, something would happen.

He turned his gaze back to the man. His eyesight was excellent, and he easily saw the appearance of the boy down the slope. The boy looked to be about the age of a junior high school student and was already going through puberty. He had delicate features and a layer of dark downy hair on his lips, but his complexion was an abnormal dark yellow.

He suddenly realized something and involuntarily took two steps back.

It's a ghost. A ghost that came for the Soul-Returning Lamp.

"...What do we do now?" Si Mucheng asked in a breathy voice, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Wen Ya glanced at him, speechless, completely baffled as to why he was speaking so softly.

She tilted her head: "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Si Mucheng paused, held his breath, and listened for a moment. "Is someone calling for help?"

Wen Ya nodded: "It's nearby."

Si Mucheng glanced at the ghost and asked a thought-provoking question: "Could it be another ghost?"

Wen Ya: "...Do ghosts cry for help?"

Si Mucheng argued vehemently, "What if it's a trap set by an evil spirit?"

Just then, the boy floated over, hesitatingly asking, "...You can see me, right?"

Si Mucheng was startled, but he still shielded Wen Ya with one hand, pretending to be calm. However, when he opened his mouth, his voice trembled: "...You...what's wrong?"

The boy seemed relieved, looking extremely grateful: "Please, save my mother."

Upon hearing this, both Si Mucheng and Wen Ya were stunned: "Your mother?"

"Yes!" the boy pleaded, "It's been several days already, I'm afraid Mom won't be able to hold on any longer!"

"Is your mother a human being?" Si Mucheng realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. What a remark! It was so offensive. "Sorry, that's not what I meant..."

"It's alright, brother, I know I'm a ghost, so it's normal that my words can't be trusted. But please, save my mother. She's been in a dry well by the roadside for two days now, and she's really weak!"

"!!"

Si Mucheng immediately panicked: "Where? Where?"

Wen Ya's expression grew even more solemn, for the faint cries for help had ceased. If what the little devil said was true, then the trapped person was now in grave danger.

"There!" The boy pointed down the slope, right where "he" had just been turning in circles.

Without a second thought, Si Mucheng strode down the slope and reached the roadside, where he discovered the wellhead hidden by weeds. Si Mucheng thought to himself, "No wonder, it's so well concealed; it's easy to slip and fall in if you're not careful."

"How come there's an abandoned well in the middle of nowhere?"

Wen Ya explained, "Some people dug these out to store things in the early years, but they were abandoned later when they were no longer needed. There are many such wells on the mountain, so you have to be careful when going up the mountain and avoid areas with lots of weeds."

Si Mucheng parted the weeds and peered into the well, vaguely seeing a figure at the bottom. Si Mucheng panicked: "Has she fainted? Two days! It must be incredibly difficult for her to hold on until now. We need to get her out quickly!"

Fortunately, the well was not deep. Originally, there was a small earthen ladder on the well wall that people could climb up and down. However, due to its age and lack of maintenance, the well wall had long been plastered and looked difficult to climb. Moreover, it was not hard to tell from the marks on it that the people at the bottom of the well had tried to save themselves, but they lacked a foothold and were unable to climb out.

The boy was very anxious: "I don't know what's going on. No one has passed by here for the past two days. My mother has been calling for me for a long time, but she hasn't eaten or drunk anything and is exhausted. Brother, please think of something!"

Wen Ya looked up at the sky, which was obscured by trees. The woman had probably stumbled into the array's area by accident. The array was designed to prevent people from passing by, so of course no one else would be allowed to pass through.

However, the woman's condition probably won't last long; she needs to find the core of the formation as soon as possible to break it and get the person out.

Wen Ya said to Si Mucheng, "Get the person out here, I'll go find the array's core."

Si Mucheng understood what she meant and nodded: "Be careful."

After Wen Ya left, Si Mucheng said to the little devil, "Could you help me look around for any ropes or anything like that?"

"good!"

After dismissing the brat, Si Mucheng began calling into the well. He thought he should wake her up first; in this desolate wilderness, the chances of finding a rope were negligible. If she woke up and stood up, he could barely reach her at the well's edge, and with both of them pulling, he could manage to pull her up.

Sure enough, the little devil searched around but couldn't find the rope. He asked anxiously, "Brother, what do we do if there's no rope?"

Before Si Mucheng could respond to "him," he noticed the person at the bottom of the well move. He quickly called out, "Auntie? Auntie, wake up! Can you hear me?"

The person at the bottom of the well heard his voice, looked up, and saw a middle-aged woman covered in dust. The woman was overjoyed to see Si Mucheng: "Young man, save me!"

"I know. How are you feeling now? Are you hurt anywhere?"

The woman shook her head: "No, I'm just a little hungry and thirsty."

Si Mucheng was also soaked, and thought he had to finish quickly, otherwise the woman's body wouldn't be able to hold on. He asked, "Can you still stand up?"

The woman stood up, supporting herself against the well wall, and nodded: "Yes."

Si Mucheng lay down and tried his best to reach into the well: "Auntie, could you hold my hand and I'll pull you up?"

"OK!"

Seeing a glimmer of hope, the woman rallied her spirits and reached out on tiptoe to grab Si Mucheng's hand. Fortunately, she managed to grab it. With that, things became easier. Si Mucheng exerted his strength, and the woman pushed off the well wall with her feet. With their combined efforts, they were finally freed.

The moment the woman crawled out, a loud explosion rang out nearby, startling the two of them.

What happened?

Si Mucheng looked in the direction the sound came from, worried about Wen Ya, wondering what trouble she had encountered.

"It's nothing. Auntie, are you still able to manage? Where do you live? Let us take you home."

"Oh, thank you so much, young man. If it weren't for you, I would have died here." The woman patted her chest, still feeling a bit scared.

At this moment, Wen Ya arrived with Wen Xiaofeng. She still had half of the shattered talisman in her hand. Seeing that Si Mucheng had rescued the person, she paused for a moment, threw away the talisman, and said to Si Mucheng, "It's over."

However, she didn't say that although she had found the core of the formation, it would take some time to undo it, so she directly used a thunder talisman to violently blast it open.

Si Mucheng had obviously noticed her subtle actions, but he didn't want to ask too many questions in front of outsiders, so he nodded and said, "Then can we leave?"

"Um."

When the woman recognized Si Mucheng, she was very enthusiastic: "Girls, thank you so much for rescuing me! Thank you so much!"

Upon hearing the thanks, Wen Ya's face stiffened, and after a long while, she finally managed to hum in response.

The woman didn't feel neglected. Seeing Wen Xiaofeng, she laughed: "Hey, what a pretty little chick! Is it a pet?"

When Wen Xiaofeng was praised, she flapped her wings and flew to Wen Ya's shoulder, proudly puffing out her chest.

The woman exclaimed repeatedly, "How impressive!"

Now that they were able to leave, the two decided to take the woman home first. Wen Ya led the way, and after passing a row of trees, they suddenly saw a small path, which led to a cement road that could accommodate small cars.

The woman finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the path: "Thank God, we're finally out. I don't know what happened, but once I entered the mountains, I felt like I was going around in circles, like I was in a maze. I just kept going around and around and couldn't find the way. In the end, I even fell into a deserted well. I never thought that after living here for decades, I would still get lost. I must have lost my mind."

Si Mucheng thought to himself, "You really are trapped in a maze." But he didn't dare say it, and only asked curiously, "Why are you walking up the mountain alone?"

The woman brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, seemingly a little embarrassed, and said softly, "Actually, I'm going to pay my respects to my eldest son; his death anniversary is coming up soon."

Si Mucheng was taken aback, his gaze passing through the woman and looking at the boy behind her.