One coffin and one pit
Kanasher, also known as Yelan Mountain, means "the northernmost barrier" in ancient Chinese.
Beyond Yelan Mountain lies a vast desert, ravaged by sandstorms year-round. But within the mountains, a completely different scene unfolds. At that time, the snow in Yelan Mountain had not yet melted. Young eagles, pushed off cliffs by their male counterparts, struggled desperately to take flight; fluffy little squirrels peeked out from among the pine trees, their dark eyes fixed intently on their surroundings; chubby tiger cubs rolled in the snow, only to be dragged back to their den by their mothers a short while later.
The true northernmost point is actually a valley in the mountains.
Yu Mo raised his hand and pressed it onto the massive ancient tree that stretched before him, leaving a clear handprint on the thick trunk. With a few rumbling sounds, the snow on the tree fell, revealing a passageway in the center of the trunk. He flicked his sleeve and stepped inside. Yan Dan followed him in.
The two wandered around in the dark tree hollow for a while, when suddenly their eyes were brightened by the dazzling sunlight. Everywhere they looked, there were blooming flowers, lush green grass, and shimmering lakes. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the chilly spring air outside the valley seemed to have no effect on them.
Yu Mo narrowed his eyes slightly: "Home is still the best."
Yan Dan looked around and asked in surprise, "At this time of day, Dan Shu would definitely be here waiting for me to come back and tell him stories. Why isn't he here today?"
Yu Mo's lips twitched slightly, but before he could speak, a shrill scream came from afar. A thing rolled down from the mountaintop, crawling on its hands and feet to the two of them, tears streaming down its face: "Coffin, coffin! There's a coffin over there! Mountain Lord, waah, waah, so scary..." It was a child with ears on its head and a tail dragging on its bottom, with a rosy, apple-like face, and its clothes were haphazardly twisted into a ball and hanging there.
Yu Mo frowned: "Where is the Lord of Purple Lin Mountain?"
"The Lord of Purple Scale Mountain has disappeared. There's a coffin in his room, sob sob sob..."
Yu Mo grabbed him by the collar and shoved him into Yan Dan's hand: "Tell this brat to shut up right now!"
Yan Dan gently scratched the soft ear on his head and coaxed him softly, "Dan Shu, be good, Dan Shu, don't cry. I'll tell you a big secret about the Lord of Purple Lin Mountain, okay?"
Dan Shu's ears twitched, her eyes still brimming with tears: "What secret?"
Yan Dan lightly shook her finger: "Do you know what the true form of the majestic Purple Scale Mountain Lord is?"
Dan Shu's curiosity was indeed piqued, and his large tail swayed back and forth: "What is it?"
Yan Dan smiled slightly, still speaking softly: "Let me tell you, you can't cry anymore. Later, Lord Yu Mo will take us to see the coffin. If you cry again, he will be angry and punish you by making you guard that coffin for the rest of your life."
Dan Shu shivered twice and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "I won't cry anymore, I promise I won't cry. Mountain Lord, please don't make me take care of the coffin!"
Yu Mo closed his eyes, unable to bear it any longer.
Yan Dan patted Dan Shu's head and whispered, "I'll tell you a secret: the true form of the Purple Lin Mountain Lord is a mountain tortoise, the kind that you can't even tell when it's buried in the ground."
"Pfft—" Dan Shu burst into laughter through her tears, quickly covering her mouth with her hand, her big eyes darting around a few times.
Yu Mo sighed softly, silently repeating three times in his heart, "Zi Lin, I'm so sorry that you let others know your earth-shattering secret," before saying, "Let's go and see Zi Lin."
In the center of the bedroom stood a coffin. It was made of the finest poplar wood, and the coffin was very thick; it made no sound when knocked on. On top of the coffin stood an exquisitely carved eagle-headed lion-bodied beast, facing them.
Several bricks laid on the ground have been pried up, revealing the black soil underneath.
Half of the coffin was buried in the black soil.
Dan Shu kept rubbing against Yan Dan's back, trying to shrink himself to the smallest size, when suddenly his collar was tightened and he was pulled to the front. Yan Dan dusted off his big tail and encouraged him, "Don't be afraid, it's just a coffin."
Without saying a word, Yu Mo stepped forward and examined it carefully. He then pulled out a short knife from the weapon rack next to him, pressed it against the seam of the coffin, and with a little force, poplar wood chips fell off.
Yan Dan remarked from the side, "It seems this coffin wasn't closed long ago; the lid and body aren't even joined together yet. Could a mummified corpse have moved in recently?" Dan Shu trembled violently. Yan Dan then pointed to the menacing coffin beast on the coffin and slowly said, "Coffin beasts are specifically for suppressing evil spirits. I wonder what's inside the coffin?" Dan Shu trembled even more violently. Suddenly, Yan Dan patted him on the shoulder: "That's right." He choked, unable to suppress a string of hiccups: "What?"
“Let me tell you a story. This story takes place in Qing Shi Town. A poor family’s child, about your age, lost his father and had no money for a burial, so they had to take him to a mass grave…” Yan Dan began with great interest, only to see Dan Shu tumble and crawl to Yu Mo’s feet: “I never want to hear another story! Mountain Lord, please don’t open the coffin, it’s so scary, so scary!”
Yu Mo grabbed him and scolded, "You're a wolf demon, and you're afraid of ghosts? You've disgraced the wolf clan!"
Yan Dan continued her story: "That poor kid, about your age, died in his own home. His eyes bulged out, his face was purple, and his body stank, attracting flies and maggots that crawled and gnawed at his skin and bones..."
Yu Mo looked at her: "Yan Dan!"
Yan Dan pouted and said sullenly, "Okay, we'll talk about it next time."
Upon hearing this, Dan Shu trembled again, wishing he could wrap himself up with his tail and stay close to his mountain master.
Yu Mo exerted force, and with a clang, the coffin lid was pushed open. He glanced into the coffin, his expression uncertain, and after a moment, he suddenly pulled the hem of his robe from Dan Shu's hand and strode away.
Curious, Yan Dan took two steps forward, wanting to get closer to take a look.
Suddenly, two hands reached out from the coffin and were raised straight up.
Yan Dan was startled and involuntarily took a step back. Dan Shu covered her mouth, but remembered what Yan Dan had said before, "If you cry again, the mountain lord will make you guard the coffin for the rest of your life," and tears could only well up in her eyes.
Suddenly, there was a loud thud from the coffin, and a mummified corpse leaped out. Its face was mangled and tattered, its eyes bulging, and its complexion purple—exactly as Yan Dan had described. The corpse hopped and made soft, rattling noises as it approached them.
Yan Dan glanced at Dan Shu and grabbed his collar: "How about I tell you a big secret about the Lord of Purple Lin Mountain? The secret about what his true form is."
The mummified corpse rushed forward, shouting, "Don't tell! If you dare to tell anyone, I'll—"
"The Lord of Purple Lin Mountain?!" Dan Shu's mouth gaped open, almost big enough to fit an egg.
A flash of light, and the mummified corpse instantly transformed into the likeness of the Purple Scale Mountain Lord. He wore a dark green robe, his black hair cascading down his waist, and his features were quite handsome. Yan Dan bowed slightly and smiled gently, "Mountain Lord, you deliberately scared us."
Zi Lin stood with his hands behind his back and snorted coldly: "I was sleeping peacefully inside, and you disturbed me for no reason. You should be grateful that you weren't severely punished."
Dan Shu leaned close to Yan Dan's ear and asked, "Why does the Mountain Lord like to sleep in a coffin and then bury himself in the ground?"
Yan Dan suppressed a laugh: "What do you think his true form is?"
Dan Shu let out a long "Oh." He used to think this mountain lord was imposing and powerful, and he wouldn't dare say a word. Now that he knew his true form, his former intimidation had greatly diminished, and he couldn't help but want to laugh. "That dark green robe the mountain lord is wearing, doesn't it look a lot like moss on a tortoise shell?" His big eyes darted around, and he suddenly blurted out a question.
Yan Dan was taken aback, but she didn't want to laugh at all.
Zi Lin, with his keen senses, heard everything clearly—the tortoise shell and the moss—and his expression gradually darkened. Before he could speak, Yan Dan picked up the pill and immediately retreated.
Yu Mo was standing outside when suddenly his vision blurred, and he saw Yan Dan throw down the pill and hide behind him. Then he saw Zi Lin's furious face: "Yu Mo, get out of the way! Today I'm going to kill this wolf cub, and that damned lotus spirit too!"
Yu Mo smiled wryly: "Calm down first. Tell me slowly, what exactly did they do wrong?"
Dan Shu rolled and crawled on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
Yan Dan hid behind Yu Mo, tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "Because Dan Shu just said that Zi Lin's dark green robe looks like a tortoise shell covered with moss."
Yu Mo coughed lightly and quickly pulled the furious Zi Lin back: "Let's talk about this later. The fox clan is already waiting outside the valley. Let's go and see them first, so as not to keep them waiting."
Zi Lin straightened his clothes, slowly calming his anger: "Business is important, I'll deal with you two later." He glanced at the two of them, his eyes like knives: "If I hear even a whisper of this, you two will be utterly annihilated." With that, he turned and left.
Yu Mo glanced at Yan Dan sideways, then pinched the tip of her nose: "You owe me again. How are you going to pay this debt back? Let me make it clear first, I don't accept worthless things."
The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments fill the air, the tinkling of jade pendants echoes, and the dancers rise to their feet, their robes fluttering in the breeze.
Zi Lin sat casually at the low table, subtly observing the fox-woman seated below him. The fox clan was an arrogant and elegant race. At that time, all the other races in Yelan Mountain had submitted to them, but the fox clan declared that they would rather be wiped out than submit to anyone. He had no ambition, and only half-jokingly remarked that they had good character.
The fox-woman sitting below was dressed in pure white, wrapped in a cloak, her face veiled. She stared at the bowls, chopsticks, and dishes in front of her, motionless, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings.
Zi Lin had intended to wait for her to explain her purpose, but an hour had passed and she hadn't even changed her posture. Growing impatient, he turned to look at Yu Mo, only to see a fluffy tiger cub perched on Yu Mo's lap. The little tiger was tilting its head back, its mouth wide open, revealing its newly grown sharp teeth, its claws pawing at Yu Mo's sleeve. Yu Mo gently stroked its head, then picked up a chopstick, dipped it in a wine glass, and offered it to the cub. The little tiger licked it, smacked its lips, shook its fur, and contentedly nestled back onto Yu Mo's lap.
Yu Mo looked up and saw the impatience on Zi Lin's face. He smiled gently and said slowly, "Distinguished guests, may we do something to serve you?"
The music suddenly stopped, and the dancers immediately stepped aside.
The fox-woman stood up, bowed gracefully, and said with elegant bearing, "My name is Linlang, and I am the clan chief's daughter." She paused, then spoke firmly, "Linlang has come here today because I have a matter I wish to ask you two for your assistance with. And my fox clan is not one to forget kindness; Linlang is willing to serve the mountain lord." She slightly raised her head, revealing her exceptionally beautiful eyes through her veil.
Zi Lin lightly tapped the table with his finger and asked, "What is it?"
Linlang lowered her head and scooped out a ball of snow-white fur from her cloak. The ball of fur suddenly trembled, slowly raised its head, revealing eyes as black as obsidian, with fur hanging down on its forehead, partially obscuring its eyes. It curiously looked around, then curled back into a ball. Zilin's sharp eyes had already recognized that the ball of fur was actually a three-tailed snow fox.
“This is my younger brother, the most noble three-tailed fox in our fox clan. He is still young. Once he ran away and came back with a curse on his leg. We are all helpless against this curse. If the two mountain lords can lift it, Linlang is willing to serve the mountain lords for the rest of her life.”
The three-tailed snow fox has an extremely noble lineage and will surely inherit the position of fox clan leader in the future. This is good for both sides.
Yu Mo moved the little tiger on his lap to the side and asked casually, "Miss Linlang must have other requests, right? It's better to bring them up now to avoid things getting awkward later."
Linlang raised her head and looked at Yu Mo with her beautiful and charming eyes: "Linlang has only one request. We foxes are loyal to our partners, and we hope that the mountain lord can follow our customs."
Yu Mo smiled and said, "Aren't you afraid that we already have a harem of concubines?"
She seemed to smile, her voice as cold as ice: "That doesn't matter. As long as the mountain lord kills them all, then I'll be the only one left."
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