Chapter 3 This divination indicates that one should not be born in the forest or die in the water.
In the early morning, the mountain forest is covered with white dew.
Lin Jianyu followed Lin Jinshui, listening to the chirping of insects and birds, and walked aimlessly into the unknown depths of the mountains and forests as the dawn broke, yawning as they went.
They stopped to rest when they reached a stream.
Lin Jinshui sat upright under the tree, meditating and cultivating while listening to the gurgling water.
At first, Lin Jianyu followed his example and sat upright beside him. Later, feeling hungry, he ran to the stream and squatted down to see if there were any fish or shrimp in the water.
After staring at it for a while, she actually saw a few small fish and shrimp.
If you just reach out and grab it, you'll get it three to five times out of ten.
At first, she caught shrimp, small and almost transparent in color. She put them directly into her mouth after catching them, just enough to taste, not even enough to fill a gap between her teeth.
After catching the fish, she happily ran back to Lin Jinshui's side and asked him for a small aluminum pot to put it in.
After catching fish for nearly two hours, aside from the shrimp she ate directly, there were still seven or eight fish and a dozen or so shrimp left in the pot. She felt that was enough to make a pot of soup, so she stopped catching fish and went to collect firewood, asking Lin Jinshui to start a fire for her.
A fire was lit, a pot was set up, and a simple river fish soup was quickly cooked. The only difference between the soup and plain water was that it had a slightly fishy taste.
"If only there were salt," Lin Jianyu muttered to himself as he sipped his bland soup.
No sooner had she finished speaking than a bag of salt appeared in front of her.
It was given to her by Lin Jinshui.
Lin Jianyu's eyes lit up when he saw it. He quickly added some salt to the pot, which immediately improved the taste of the soup.
She ate half of it with gusto, leaving the other half for Lin Jinshui.
There was no other way; Lin Jinshui only had a small aluminum pot and no bowls, so he had to share the food like this.
Lin Jinshui didn't stand on ceremony with her, nor did she mind that it was leftovers. She quickly finished the river fish soup in the pot.
After finishing his meal, he asked Lin Jianyu, "Are you full?"
Lin Jianyu shook his head honestly.
Her stomach is mostly water now; fish and shrimp only got stuck in a gap between her teeth.
As if Lin Jinshui had anticipated that she would shake her head, he took two packets of instant noodles from the trunk and handed them to her as soon as she finished shaking her head.
Lin Jianyu's eyes lit up again when he saw it.
The next second, she had already grabbed a pot and run to the stream to fetch water to cook instant noodles.
After cooking the instant noodles, she chewed them with her mouth slightly open the whole time, just like last night, exhaling as she did so.
The difference this time was that she didn't finish it all, leaving half for Lin Jinshui.
Lin Jinshui didn't eat, letting her eat by herself, which moved her to tears.
No one had ever been so kind to her, not even her deceased mother.
After eating a whole pot of instant noodles, her belly was so full that she collapsed on the ground, not wanting to move at all.
Lin Jinshui asked her again if she had eaten enough.
She said nothing, but responded with a hearty, satisfying burp.
Lin Jinshui didn't quite believe her burp, because she had burped last night as well.
"Are you really full?"
"Really." After saying that, Lin Jianyu gestured to his neck with his hand, afraid that he wouldn't believe her, and said, "It's already up to this point, I can't be fuller."
Lin Jinshui believed him and took out the box he used to store dried fish.
When Lin Jianyu saw the familiar box, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, thinking of the delicious food he had eaten last night. Just like last night, he wasn't hungry, just simply craving it.
Lin Jinshui saw that she was staring intently at the box in his hand, practically drooling over it, and realized he had been tricked again. He quickly turned his back to her, blocking the dried fish and trying to avoid seeing it.
The moment he turned around, an absurd thought suddenly flashed through Lin Jianyu's mind: the reason he kept confirming with her whether she was full was because he was afraid that she wasn't full and was thinking about his dried fish.
"Master," she called out, wanting to confirm with him whether her idea was truly absurd.
Lin Jinshui didn't respond, but she could feel that when she called him, his body stiffened noticeably, and he even stopped eating the dried fish.
Great, she realized that the reason he cared so much about whether she had eaten enough was because he was afraid she would miss his dried fish.
She admitted that dried anchovies taste better than instant noodles, but if she really had to choose between instant noodles and dried anchovies, she would definitely choose instant noodles, because instant noodles are filling, while dried anchovies can only be tasted.
When it comes to having enough to eat and wear, the desire for food is not that important.
There's a saying in the South Vietnamese dialect that roughly translates to: "Whether the food is good or bad, your throat enjoys it, but your stomach doesn't care."
For the past two years, she has been comforting herself with this phrase, scavenging for food in the trash.
At night, Lin Jinshui gave Lin Jianyu two more packets of instant noodles, fed her first, then took out his own box of dried fish, skillfully turned around and ate alone.
Lin Jianyu figured it out: her master really liked dried fish, to the point that he didn't want to share with anyone. On the contrary, he didn't like instant noodles, to the point that he wouldn't even take a bite. Moreover, he had a small appetite, eating about ten dried fish in one meal, unlike her, who could eat two packs of instant noodles, although she was a little full... well, very full.
Next time, I'll just cook one packet. Anyway, her master doesn't eat it, so the rest is hers.
The deeper you go into the mountains and forests, the more difficult the road becomes.
Lin Jinshui was alright. He grew up in the mountains and was used to walking mountain paths. He was also very physically fit and seemed to never get tired.
Lin Jianyu was out of her depth. She could stop and rest when she was exhausted, but the mountain road was rugged, and forgive her for being only a nine-year-old child who couldn't handle it yet.
When she couldn't handle the road, Lin Jinshui would put her in a trunk he carried on his back and walk with her.
Carrying her on his back, Lin Jinshui walked along the mountain path as if it were flat ground.
Lin Jianyu initially felt like a burden, but as she sat there, she began to doze off without any psychological burden.
When he woke up, only the surrounding scenery had changed, and Lin Jinshui continued to walk deeper into the mountains and forests.
Lin Jianyu was bored sitting there, so he tried to make conversation with him.
"Master, where are we going?"
"Let's go deep into the mountains and forests, to places rich in spiritual energy," Lin Jinshui said.
Lin Jianyu didn't believe there was spiritual energy deep in the mountains, just as she didn't believe in the existence of demons and monsters in this world. However, she didn't question Lin Jinshui's words, but instead followed up by asking, "What would you do in a place with abundant spiritual energy?"
"Cultivate, slay demons."
"Is that a sword on Master's back used to slay demons?" Lin Jianyu reached out and poked the thing on his back that was wrapped in cloth and looked like a sword.
“Yes,” Lin Jinshui said. “These two swords are Master’s natal swords, one named Whale Rise and the other named Whale Fall.”
"Whale Rise, Whale Fall." Lin Jianyu read the names of the two swords aloud, finding them quite pleasing to the ear. "Why are they called Whale Rise and Whale Fall?"
“Because…” Lin Jinshui paused, as if thinking, before continuing, “Because the Whale Rising is a sword of slaughter, used to slay demons. When the whale rises, all things perish. On the other hand, the Whale Fall is the opposite. It is a sword of redemption, used to deliver the dead. When the whale falls, all things are born.”
"Do demons and monsters really exist in this world?" Lin Jianyu asked this question not because his beliefs were wavering, but simply because he wanted to know what he would say.
"Yes, but they are not quite the same as the demons and monsters in folk tales."
"What does it look like?" Lin Jianyu asked curiously.
"There are all kinds, visible ones, invisible ones, and even people like your teacher. Most of them come from the ancient world of mountains and seas, so we generally call them the Mountain and Sea Clan."
"The Mountain and Sea Clan are creatures that existed on this planet even before humans. They are ferocious by nature, cannibalistic, and everything in the world is their food."
"In ancient times, spiritual energy was depleted, and some of the Mountain and Sea Clan disappeared into the long river of history. However, some of the Mountain and Sea Clan fell into slumber. Some of these Mountain and Sea Clan members are still asleep, while others have awakened under certain circumstances or died in their slumber."
"Some of the dead members of the Mountain and Sea Clan will become spirits and wreak havoc on the human world. These spirits have basically lost their reason and only retain their ferocious nature. The spirits with reason are very powerful and are extremely difficult to deal with."
"The awakened Mountain and Sea Clan, also known as demons by most people, will also bring disaster to the human world. Moreover, they are extremely good at hiding. If they do not actively reveal their weaknesses, it will be difficult for humans to discover their existence."
...
Lin Jinshui said a lot, but Lin Jianyu just listened to the story and didn't take it too seriously.
"Master, have you ever seen the Mountain and Sea Clan?"
"I've met you."
What kind?
"That's how I am as a teacher."
"Exactly the same as humans?"
"From the outside, yes."
"How does Master distinguish between humans and the Mountain and Sea Clan?"
"Hunting instinct".
What is the hunting instinct?
"Just like when you see food."
This analogy is so apt that Lin Jianyu would hardly not understand it.
However, she did not delve into why Lin Jinshui reacted to the sight of the Mountain and Sea Clan as if she were seeing food.
Do all the Mountain and Sea Tribes live in the mountains and forests?
“Some also live in the sea,” Lin Jinshui said.
"Then why does Master come to the mountains and forests instead of going to the sea?"
"Because my master, who is also your grandmaster, when he found me, he told me that I would die in the sea. This is another meaning of the name he gave me: born in the forest, dying in the water."
"That's why I rarely go to the seaside," Lin Jinshui explained.
“This divination is inaccurate.” Lin Jianyu instinctively didn’t want him to be associated with the word “death,” and blurted it out without thinking. By the time she realized what she had said, it was too late to take it back.
Fortunately, Lin Jinshui did not resent her questioning the divination his master had performed for him.
"It's better to believe in something than to assume it's not true." Divination is neither absolutely accurate nor inaccurate; whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you. But since it concerns life and death, he had to be extremely cautious.
"That's true, then Master, you'd better not go to the seaside." Although she didn't believe in her grandmaster's divination, she was afraid he might be a jinx!
"Yes, no." Lin Jinshui nodded.
"Are there many mountain and sea creatures in the mountains and forests?" Lin Jianyu asked.
“There are quite a few,” Lin Jinshui said. “Not just in the mountains and forests, but in many places on land, there may be mountain and sea creatures, with sea creatures being the most numerous, because much of the land we see now was ocean in ancient times.”
"The reason I went into the mountains and forests is because the spiritual energy there is more concentrated. The main opportunity for the Mountain and Sea Clan to awaken is spiritual energy. The more concentrated the spiritual energy, the more likely the Mountain and Sea Clan is to awaken from their slumber."
"The Mountain and Sea Clan, who have just awakened from their slumber, will be greatly weakened because of the scarcity of spiritual energy in this world. Usually, they will stay in places with abundant spiritual energy for a period of time to absorb the spiritual energy of that place, or go to the deep sea."
"Wouldn't it be dangerous if we went to a place with abundant spiritual energy?" Lin Jianyu asked casually.
"Yes, but I will protect you with my life." Since he had taken her as his disciple, he had an obligation to protect her.
Lin Jianyu was deeply moved by his words, and then asked, "Master, could you give me two dried fish?" She was a little hungry.
"No." Lin Jinshui hugged the box of dried fish tightly and refused without hesitation.
Lin Jianyu: "..."
In the end, it was all for naught.
A note from the author:
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