Return to the Mountains
Compared to other graves that have more or less weeds growing on them, this one does not appear to have been repaired, but the surface of the grave is clean, which inevitably makes it look a bit abrupt at first glance.
Lao Chang scratched his head and said, "I don't know. It has been like this since the burial. Maybe it's God's blessing."
Ding Can felt that this sentence was not convincing. Zhao Sheng, as one of the first people to step forward to save the entire city, did not have a good outcome in his lifetime and failed to successfully recover from his illness.
How is it possible that after death, one is blessed by God and his grave is kept clean and tidy?
She squatted down, touched two handfuls of soil on the grave, rubbed it between her fingertips, and confirmed that it was just old soil and there was no sign of anyone weeding or renovating it.
Besides, if there really was someone who came to maintain it regularly, it would be impossible to hide it from Lao Chang for so many years.
In other words, there is really no grass growing here naturally, and this has no impact on the people buried there.
A-Lian moved her fingers, and watched as some powder from her fingernails floated onto the grave, then flowed and sank into the soil.
"There's nothing wrong with the soil. Calculating the time, it's indeed been untouched since the burial. However, further inside... there's something blocking the outside world from intruding, as if something is protecting Zhao Sheng's body."
Looking at their behavior, Lao Chang knew they were not ordinary people: "Who are you? Why are you investigating a person from twenty years ago?"
"Thank you for showing me the way. Let's go back first. It's going to be dark soon. We'll stay here for a while, but we'll have to leave soon."
"It's up to you." Old Chang just wanted to spend the rest of his life here. He asked not out of genuine curiosity, but just casually. He didn't want to cause trouble, so he waved his hand and turned around to go back to the charity cemetery.
Seeing his leaving back, A Lian put the little white snake in, and soon saw it break out of the ground again with something in its mouth.
A-Lian opened her palm, and only after she spit it out did she notice that it was actually an earring.
The earrings were of ordinary style, with some worthless gold wire wrapped around the surface. There was basically no decoration. However, they did not look like the common styles that could be bought. They looked more like they were specially made by someone with great care. Even after being buried underground for so many years, there was no sign of discoloration at all.
"There's a restriction underground. Ordinary insects that gnaw on corpses can't get in. Maybe we stumbled upon the key by accident."
This earring must have come from a woman, but the old man in the charity cemetery claimed that he did not see anyone else when he was collecting the bodies. So where did she go at that time?
"Let's take it back. Maybe we can find someone who still remembers it."
Seeing that it was almost time for them to meet up, the two of them didn't waste any more time here. Ding Can took out a small bamboo shoot from his body, poked a hole in the ground and buried it.
"Where did you find it?" A Lian looked at the bamboo shoot that was obviously covered with spiritual energy. When it was put into the soil, it did not grow upwards, but instead went several inches underground in the opposite direction.
"It grows on the mountain. There's a large bamboo forest on the back of Fukong Mountain. When my master taught me how to make magical instruments since I was a child, he used bamboo as a carrier. Over the years, I've accumulated quite a few powerful instruments, both large and small."
The little white snake hissed twice and stuck out its red tongue, as if it was saying something.
Ding Can thought it was interested: "I have some here, can you give it a few as a snake climbing frame?"
"Don't pay attention to it, let's go back first." A Lian pressed Xiaobai's head down twice, and it obediently changed back into the form of a bracelet.
*
When they reached the alley, they happened to see the carriage from the City Lord's Mansion that they had just heard about on the main road outside. Qin Ran was riding in the front and nodded when he saw the two figures.
Yu Beining got off the carriage with a compass in hand. "The direction shown has remained unchanged. It looks like the monster is lurking somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to strike."
If it weren't for the dissuasion of the city lord and his son, he would have wanted to get closer to the monster when he learned its location at noon. There are many fellow disciples in the sect, and if he wants to gain the favor of the master and elders, he must be able to eliminate more monsters.
Among the few people, only Qin Ran was familiar with the terrain here and found the best route to the place indicated by the compass.
After entering Minxiang, more and more people came. At this moment, the main street outside was quiet, but here seemed to be full of fireworks. Everyone was busy with their own things, and they seemed a little out of place.
Someone was squatting at the door killing a fish. The fish scales that were peeled off bounced up very high and almost splashed Yu Beining who was walking nearby.
He took a step to the side, his expression showing a hint of disgust.
"Sorry, the road is too narrow." The man apologized casually and began to kill fish silently with his head down.
"You..." Yu Beining took a deep breath and decided not to bother with this mortal. He quickened his pace and hurried forward, but he began to be especially careful not to be hit by any flying garbage again.
Master Yuanshe looked at the scene of killing fish, said "Amitabha", and walked away with his Buddhist beads.
Smoke rose from many houses, and the aroma of rice wafted into her nose. Ding Can began to regret that she should have gone back to have dinner at the City Lord's Mansion before coming here. Then she suddenly stopped at the corner of the alley.
"But did you find anything?" Qin Ran subconsciously pressed down on the hilt of the sword, and his body tensed up.
"No, no, you guys go first. I want to buy some fried tofu and will be right up." Ding Can gave a wry smile and handed the copper coins to the vendor.
Yu Beining snorted, ignored her, and walked faster.
A-Lian patted her on the back: "Then hurry up."
"This is a specialty of Lancheng. Remember to add more chili powder to make it taste better." After Zhu Nanjing reminded him, the vendor said he was knowledgeable.
Ding Can ordered a small portion and ate while walking along the way. He saw several people in front of him stopped in front of a distant gate, and the compass needle was pointing just inside the gate.
The garden master used his magical powers to investigate and said, "It must be that a demon once lurked here, which is why there are traces of demonic energy left behind."
"The gate is ajar. There should be someone there. I'll go in and ask."
Qin Ran walked forward and knocked on the gate. When no one responded, he pushed the door open and walked in.
The courtyard was very small and could be seen completely at a glance. When I walked to the door, I saw the hunched figure of an old woman inside, mending a piece of clothing.
"Are you the owner of this house? Is there anyone else living here?"
The old woman's hearing was not very good, so she just heard someone coming in and turned around: "It's my house, what can I do for you?"
"I'm from the City Lord's Mansion. I'm currently investigating a case. Have you seen any strangers here recently?"
"Come in and sit down," the old woman said, usually living alone. It had been a while since her home was so bustling, so she warmly welcomed him. "No one would want to come to my house, but a couple of months ago, someone stayed here for a few days."
She didn't have any hot tea at home, so she stood up and wanted to boil some water, but Ding Can stopped her and helped her sit on a stool.
"Don't bother with that. We can handle it ourselves. I just had something spicy, so cold water will neutralize it. By the way, who is the person you said is staying with us?"
The old woman smiled at her kindly and said, "He's a scholar who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He hasn't been here for many days."
It was a man. Ding Can and A Lian looked at each other and knew that he should not be the owner of the earring.
This scholar came from his hometown to go to Beijing to take the imperial examination, but because he did not have enough money to stay in an inn, he looked for someone to stay with him, hoping to have a place to stay.
When I came over to ask, the old woman agreed without thinking too much. There was already an empty room in her house, and it was empty anyway, so it would be great to be able to help others.
Qin Ran then asked, "Did he behave in any strange way during the past few days?"
"Of course not. He's a very hardworking young man. I saw him studying by lamplight late into the night, and he helped me clean the yard during the day. He was very helpful. After he left, I cleaned my room and found that he had left a jade hairpin for me in the room. He said it was a thank you gift."
"Can I take a look at that lily?"
The old woman took out a neatly folded small cloth bag and slowly opened it layer by layer: "This child, it's obvious that he has no money on him."
Qin Ran looked at the quality of the hairpin. Although there was only a piece of jade the size of a fingernail inlaid on the top of the silver hairpin, it didn't look worth much.
However, this jade is very difficult for ordinary people to buy, and the amount of tribute paid by small countries in the Western Regions every year is very small.
If you pawn it at a pawnshop, the money you get can easily buy you a room in the best inn in the city for a year or two.
In fact, the scholar's behavior is inconsistent. With such a treasure in hand, why would he need to come to such a place?
"That's the room, right? Can we go take a look?"
"Well, but he is a good boy and should have nothing to do with the case." The old woman was still thinking about explaining for the scholar.
Ding Can comforted him, "Don't worry, we are just investigating. It's still unclear whether it has anything to do with him."
The scholar had only been in this courtyard for a few days and did not bring any packages or luggage, so he did not leave anything here.
Yu Beining pushed open the door and indeed found that the demonic aura here was more obvious than elsewhere, but still very weak.
"That demon has indeed been here before, but I don't know what's so special about this woman that it could attract him here."
Zhu Nanjing thought for a moment and said, "His behavior seems more like he's coming to repay a favor. The things he left behind aren't likely to attract other people's attention. He wants my mother-in-law to live a better life."
But there was no way the old woman could remember where she had done good deeds for others, especially since they had no idea and didn't ask, so they didn't get any very useful information this time.
Just as he was about to say goodbye, Yuanshe's grip on the Buddhist beads tightened, and he looked up in a certain direction: "The monster has appeared!"
Before he finished speaking, he disappeared from the spot.
"After waiting for many days, it finally appeared." Yu Beining followed the traces of the garden house and left on his own.
Seeing that several people had gone away in their own ways, the mother-in-law was left standing there with a look of surprise on her face. Besides being surprised, she even looked a little afraid. It seemed that she had never really seen a cultivator use magic.
"Mother-in-law, please sit down first. There's nothing to do now."
"I've heard recently that there are monsters appearing in the city. My neighbors told me not to go out on weekdays. I guess you came here just for this. But I really haven't seen any monsters."
Seeing her frightened look, Ding Can patted her on the back and said softly, "I know, but you've lived in Lan City for many years. Have you ever met a soldier guarding the city?"
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