The mountain god said I would grant you a chance.
Over the years, Xu Yi had spent her days atop the mountain, and all she could see, besides the endless rows of trees and the occasional wildflower, was the back of the stele. Although she had a pretty good idea that it was a blank stele, she couldn't help but be curious. Every time she had the urge to read the inscription, she felt dizzy, nauseous, and wanted to vomit. But Xu Yi was stubborn and persistent, so she drove herself to the brink of unconsciousness…
Only then did she realize that ghosts also need rest. Every time she got a good night's sleep, she felt particularly energetic and could endure the torment of her thoughts for longer. Later, she didn't know how many times she slept or fainted, but she was finally able to close her eyes and sense the environment around the mound of earth, but she still couldn't see the inscription.
At this point, time held no meaning for Xu Yi. So in the end, Xu Yi not only saw the inscription, but also saw far beyond.
For example, right now, she could see a man in plain clothes carrying a wooden trunk with a Bagua diagram on it, rapidly traversing the dense forest, heading towards Xu Yi's location. Xu Yi, relying on the blank stele, simply judged how far the man was from her by observing the swaying of the treetops and the startled sounds of birds taking flight…
Xu Yi grew impatient, waiting until it was almost dark and she was getting sleepy. The man was still running at top speed. His clothes were soaked with sweat and clung to his back, making him look very disheveled. He would occasionally snag on tree branches and fall, but he would quickly get up and keep running, as if a demon was chasing him.
Xu Yi glanced at the sky, thinking that the boy wouldn't make it today, and then leisurely went back to sleep.
After Xu Yi woke up and fell asleep three times, the man finally got within a hundred meters of her. Perhaps he had taken the wrong path, because he kept circling around a hundred meters away and couldn't get any closer. Xu Yi finally shouted, "This way!"
As soon as the sound reached the other side, the commotion stopped. Xu Yi called out again, "Here... here, here, here," and the sound carried over to the man. Although Xu Yi didn't look, she could feel that the man was startled by her voice and coughed. He said, "Cough cough... Grandma, please stop shouting. I know."
"Fine," Xu Yi thought, "I kindly pointed you in the right direction, and you don't even appreciate it. I might as well just ignore him and focus on counting how many flowers that branch five hundred meters away has produced this year." When Xu Yi counted one hundred and thirty-six flowers, she finally sensed movement from the man. He had placed a magic artifact in front of him and was chanting incantations over it. Xu Yi couldn't hear what he was saying, but after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he shouted, "Open!"
Xu Yi clearly felt the air around him suddenly move, but there was no wind, and the flowers, plants and trees did not move at all, almost making Xu Yi think that he had sensed something wrong.
Before Xu Yi could figure it out, the man finally managed to climb up, pulling the wooden box with one hand and using the other to climb the tree and the surrounding soil. He was covered in sweat, and after only a couple of steps, he was panting heavily, as if he was exhausted. He bent over, supporting himself with his legs, glanced at Xu Yi, and after catching his breath, he casually threw the wooden box on the ground, wiped his head haphazardly with his sleeve, and then strode towards Xu Yi.
The man pulled a white, ash-like substance from his sleeve, repeatedly wiping his hands with it. Then he picked up the red rope binding Xu Yi, squeezing and examining it. Next, he straightened up, grabbed Xu Yi's head, and pried open her eye sockets to look at her eyes, looking left and then right. Xu Yi was completely bewildered and kept asking him, "What are you doing?"
The man didn't answer his question, but just said to himself, "It's okay, that's great." After saying that, he lay down on the spot, sprawled out, and said to Xu Yi, "I'm going to rest for a bit." Then he turned his head and fell asleep.
Xu Yi was quite surprised by how quickly he fell asleep. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly, she squatted down and poked the man's shoulder, only to find that she couldn't reach him at all. It was as if she and the man were in two overlapping spaces, unable to break through the spatial barrier between them.
Xu Yi was very curious about what the powder on his hand was, and why the man could touch her even though it was dusty. She tried to touch it with her hand, but found that the powder wouldn't stick. She tried several times with the same result, so she gave up. She went back to sitting in front of the tombstone as usual and watched the wind.
Another day and night passed before the man finally woke up. He approached Xu Yi from behind and cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Daoist Wu, are you Xu Yi?"
“Mm,” Xu Yi nodded.
"Alright, I'll untie the red rope for you, and you can come down the mountain with me."
Xu Yi wasn't curious about why he had untied her; she was more concerned about why she had come down the mountain with him. So she asked, "Why did I come down the mountain with you?"
"Huh?" Wu Zi was somewhat surprised: "You've stayed in this desolate mountain for so many years, don't you want to go out and see the world?"
"What's so interesting about it?" Xu Yi asked back.
Uh… Wu Zi was somewhat surprised. He had been ordered by his master to help Xu Yi, hoping to bring her out of the mountain to seize an opportunity where good deeds would be rewarded, so that she could gradually move towards the future his master had envisioned for her. But now, the woman was blankly asking him what was so interesting outside, and he really didn't know how to fool her. So he simply said, "Anyway, you have to come out with me. Just listen to me." Wu Zi originally thought Xu Yi would ask something else, but unexpectedly, the woman just blinked at him and calmly replied, "Oh."
This...that's it? So simple? Wu Zi was startled again, but remembering that the first step was complete, he quickly took out the magical artifact given to him by his sect and tossed it into the sky...
Xu Yi watched as Wu Zi tossed a mirror-like object into the air, which miraculously landed directly above Xu Yi's head. Xu Yi then felt a warm, comforting aura lock onto her, and unconsciously stood up. Wu Zi made hand seals and muttered to himself. As Wu Zi's chanting melody rang out, the mirror above Xu Yi's head began to slowly spin, then faster and faster. Xu Yi felt a suction force, but this force wasn't directed at her; instead, it went towards the red threads in her hands. Under the mirror's suction, the red threads slowly began to straighten upwards, then broke off in small sections, finally turning into soft strands of red energy that flew into the mirror above her head. Once all the red threads had been collected in the mirror, the mirror slowly stopped and spontaneously flew back into Wu Zi's hand.
Xu Yi was very surprised, so she ran up to Wu Zi and asked him, "This mirror can fly back to your hand by itself, can I take a look?"
"No," Wu Zi said firmly, then quickly stuffed the mirror into his arms, looking as if he was afraid Xu Yi would think of it.
"Stingy," Xu Yi pouted.
“Grandma, you really can’t touch this mirror.” Xu Yi didn’t say anything, but Wu Zi immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, saying, “We have to leave right away, hurry up.”
Xu Yi was quite surprised to see the powder still clinging to Wu Zi's hand. She let Wu Zi pull her away, but after only five steps, Wu Zi suddenly stopped and blocked Xu Yi's path, pulling her back step by step. As Xu Yi retreated, a white tiger emerged from the shadows of the trees. Wu Zi's eyes widened, and he immediately knelt down, saying, "Mountain Lord."
The tiger that Wu Zi had called the Mountain Lord stepped into the sun and gradually transformed into a handsome man. The man's brows and eyes were serene, his gaze calm and undisturbed, and a cluster of fiery red marks adorned his forehead... As the man approached, Xu Yi felt the surrounding wind quiet down. Xu Yi stared wide-eyed as the man approached and said to her, "Your heart is pure; you are an innocent person and an innocent soul. I will grant you an opportunity."
Then the man raised his hand, and a golden light gathered at his fingertips, striking Xu Yi's brow with lightning speed. Xu Yi felt as if something had entered his body, then dispersed throughout, merging into his body so completely that he couldn't feel a trace of it. He looked up and asked the Mountain Lord, "I don't feel anything?"
The mountain king laughed: "You will know in the future."
"Oh," Xu Yi touched his brow, but couldn't find a trace.
Then the mountain king looked at Wu Zi, who was still kneeling and dared not raise his head, and shouted, "As for you, from now on, you are not allowed to set foot on this mountain again." As the man spoke, thunder roared in the sky, and the mountain king's voice struck Wu Zi like thunder, making Wu Zi tremble with fear. He dared not raise his head and could only loudly reply, "I understand, I understand."
The man turned his gaze back to Xu Yi, his voice calm: "Let's go."
Xu Yi bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Lord Shan."
Shan Jun smiled and said, "No need to be so polite." Then he stepped aside to let Xu Yi leave.
As soon as Xu Yi passed the mountain king, Wu Zi quickly stood up. Without daring to turn around, he backed up, grabbed Xu Yi's hand, and started running wildly. Xu Yi was a spirit, so there was no obstacle. He heard the whistling wind rushing past his ears and turned around to find that the mountain king was gone. He asked Wu Zi, "Why were you so afraid of him?"
Wu Zi kept walking and answered, panting heavily, "That's the mountain king, the mountain god, a god. Of course I'm afraid."
"Oh, then why doesn't he let you come to this mountain again?"
“Mortals are entangled in desires, and naturally they are extremely foul-smelling, which the mountain lord would certainly dislike.”
"Then why is your master allowed to come and go as he pleases?"
“My master is a master, a national champion, more than qualified to be the national advisor, so he is naturally much better… Sigh…” Wu Zi turned and glanced at Xu Yi: “How do you know he is my master?”
Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief: "In all these years, I have never met anyone else, yet you were able to find this place precisely and come straight here. You must know me. It must have been your master who told you."
"Ah... Princess Thirteen is truly clever; Master was right after all."
"Why are you running so fast?" Xu Yi asked Wu Zi, hearing the increasingly rapid sound of the wind in his ears.
"Grandma, didn't the mountain king tell me to leave immediately?"
Did you say so?
"I said so."
Did they say so? Xu Yi asked, puzzled, but still obediently replied, "Oh."
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