Chapter 24 Yin-Yang Ravine (Part 12) The Digging Worm and the Unloading Warrior...
One or two times might be a coincidence, but it just so happens that several of them encounter the same thing.
There aren't that many coincidences in the world.
What is the origin of that river where the octopus was hidden?
“Such an unusual river may be recorded in the Records of Mountains and Seas.” Song San stood up, propped himself up on his knees, and turned to walk into the house. “Junior brother, come with me.”
The door was ajar, letting in a faint ray of sunlight. Song San opened the package and emptied its contents. On the messy table, an ochre-colored book lay among the contents.
Song San's eyes lit up. He swept away the other clutter on the table and carefully picked up the book.
Gu Lianzhou peeked over and saw a scribbled "Song" character on the ochre cover, written in ink. He asked uncertainly, "Senior brother, is this the 'Record of Mountains and Seas' you mentioned?"
It was so different from what he had imagined...
Song Sanhun casually flipped through the pages and replied, "The real Shan Hai Bai Wu Zhi is a foot thick and inconvenient to carry. This is just a copy of mine. Although it is not comprehensive, it is sufficient."
She raised her index finger and pointed to her head, "The rest that wasn't copied down are all written here."
The book in front of us records extremely rare monsters and strange creatures.
After quickly flipping through a dozen pages, my finger finally stopped on one of them.
Looking at the simple sketch, Song San's brows furrowed slowly. He read aloud, word by word, "There is a river in the world. If a mortal steps into it, yin and yang will be reversed, and he will fall into hell. People call it the Yin-Yang Stream."
Yin-Yang Stream? It doesn't sound like a good thing.
No one ever imagined that a river could possess such extraordinary power.
What they didn't expect was that the four of them would run into this unlucky Yin-Yang Stream.
Song San turned to look at Gu Lianzhou.
He lowered his head knowingly and said bitterly, "Senior brother... I'm sorry."
They admitted their mistakes with lightning speed.
Song San was amused by his reaction and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not certain yet that Huanxi Village has a definite relationship with the Yin-Yang Ravine, why do you have to take the blame for yourself?"
"Besides, given the situation at the time, no one could have ignored it. My sect wouldn't allow it, and I certainly wouldn't allow it either." Song San closed the book, raised his hand and patted the young master's arm. "So, you're not allowed to apologize so easily in the future. If others hear it, it will sound like I, Song San, am bullying someone."
"Yes." Gu Lianzhou looked down at his senior brother, who seemed to be in a good mood, and temporarily put aside his self-reproach, asking about the important matter: "Senior brother, have you made any progress?"
Song San lazily propped his chin up, lightly tapping his cheek with his fingers, "As for features, of course they're there, but..."
She lifted her eyelids to look at Gu Lianzhou, whose eyes were full of expectation, and said, "This matter still requires manpower and time; neither can be lacking."
-
“River? I haven’t seen a river in the village.” Yu Qi crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, glancing sideways at Liu Dai, who was tidying up the mortar and pestle. “Liu Xingchuan, if I remember correctly?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Dai straightened up and pondered seriously, saying, "We usually drink water from underground wells and have never seen a river before."
He sensed something amiss and asked Song San, "Does the sorcerer Song intend to leave the village by crossing the river?"
Song San nodded and told everyone what she had seen in the Records of Mountains and Seas.
Liu Dai hesitated and asked, "You mean, after we fell into that river and came out, the world outside was completely different?"
Gu Lianzhou corrected him from the side, "Perhaps it's not that the world has changed, but that we've mistakenly entered the territory of demons and monsters."
“It’s like you’re walking down the street and you accidentally step into Wong Tai Sin’s lair.” Song San raised his right foot and, under the gazes of the three, stomped down hard. “And if you want to leave its lair, you just need to pull your leg out the way you came.”
Liu Dai and Yu Qi said in unison, "Should we just pull it out?"
Song San: "Yes, just pull it out."
Yu Qi's eyes widened: "It's that simple?"
Song San clicked his tongue: "That makes sense, but you and Doctor Liu have been in the village for so long and haven't seen a trace of the river. Where am I supposed to look for it?"
Even a clever housewife can't cook without rice, so how could Song San possibly dig a river out of thin air?
hiss……
It's not that you can't dig it up.
However, this skill cannot be acquired overnight. As winter turns to spring, autumn harvests and winter storage occur, and the seasons cycle, until one's temples turn white, perhaps one can truly dig out a river.
"If there is well water, there must be underground water. If the river is not on the surface, then where is it underground?"
Gu Lianzhou's casual remark immediately struck Song San like a thunderbolt.
She turned her head and looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. "Young Master Gu, that's brilliant."
“How could I not have thought of that? The river water flows underground, so it’s invisible.” Liu Dai patted his head, then gave Gu Lianzhou a thumbs up. “Brother Gu is indeed a scholar; he knows a lot and has broad knowledge.”
Gu Lianzhou quickly waved his hand and said, "It's just a guess, not entirely certain."
“Although it’s just a guess, it’s better than waiting to die.” Song San raised the corners of his lips and looked at the snow in the courtyard that was gradually melting. “After the snow melts, it will seep into the ground. Following the sound of the water, we will surely find the underground river.”
At that time, perhaps a way out can be found.
Yu Qi, however, thought this method was like a fantasy, a pipe dream. "I'm telling you, how could a few of us have the ability to go to heaven and earth? Even if we find the underground stream, so what? Are we supposed to dig three feet into the ground and chisel through the rock wall?"
"Go away, go away, you're such a spoilsport." Liu Dai threw the mortar and pestle onto the comb, put his hands on his hips and said with dissatisfaction, "You have to try everything. What kind of behavior is it to say such discouraging things before you've even started?"
Yu Qi pursed his lips and immediately shut up.
"In short, keep an eye on the underground currents these next few days." Song San clasped his hands together, raised them above his shoulders, and said solemnly, "This concerns our future, so I hope you will all take it to heart. Thank you."
After saying this, he bowed deeply to the group.
-
After their initial enthusiasm cooled down, the two brothers sat back down at the table, staring at each other in disbelief at a pile of blank talismans.
"Since I said I would teach you last night, I will not go back on my word." Song San spread out the five-colored talisman paper in front of him, took out the yellow paper, and handed it to Gu Lianzhou. "You will start by learning the most basic yellow talisman."
"Drawing talismans is generally done with a cinnabar brush or an ink brush. If you don't care about the finer points, you can use charcoal sticks. In short, it's all about sincerity. Just copy this 'Invitation to the Gods' talisman from my hand, and silently recite the command of thunder, as swift as a shooting star. May it be heard throughout the ten directions and three realms in an instant..."
Gu Lianzhou read it aloud once, and seeing Song San nod, he picked up the short charcoal pencil on the table and was about to try it out.
"Hey, what's the rush?"
A hand steadily supported his wrist. Gu Lianzhou glanced to the side and saw his senior brother leaning closer, staring at him suspiciously, and asking, "Have you memorized all the spells I taught you?"
Gu Lianzhou nodded honestly, "I've got it."
Song San didn't believe it and said, "Recite it and let me hear it."
Gu Lianzhou lowered his eyelashes and slowly recited the incantation he had just learned, which made Song San's eyes widen in amazement. "Young Master has such a good memory, not a single word is wrong."
"With your extraordinary abilities, it won't be long before you succeed." Song San was very satisfied with his junior brother, who had joined the sect halfway but was exceptionally talented. He released his grip and let him do his best.
“These days, talismans are precious and hard to come by, so you must use them sparingly. If you’re out and about, you can practice on the ground with a tree branch.” After giving a few more instructions, she stood up and walked towards the door.
Under the sun, the snow seemed a little thinner than yesterday, but it was still not enough.
"Too slow," Song San muttered, stepped over the threshold, and headed straight for the east room.
He borrowed some unused old wooden sticks from Yu Qi, sharpened the tops, tied a tube to them, and thus made a simple soil-probing tool.
Seeing her skillful technique, Yu Qi couldn't help but tease her, "Brother Song, I didn't expect you to be such a hidden 'earth-digging worm'."
Song San tossed the long stick, picked up the thin hemp rope, wrapped it around the top a few times, tied it tightly, and then showed a satisfied expression. He casually said, "If I am a 'digging worm,' then you are the Unloading Ridge Warrior. If the two of us work together, we will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Yu Qi was hearing this novel idea for the first time and immediately became interested. "That makes sense. When the time comes, Brother Song will be in charge of finding the key, and I will be in charge of the work. Finding the underground passage will be just around the corner."
Song San took it as a joke and didn't take it to heart. He shook his head helplessly, picked up his long stick, and walked outside.
Halfway there, I suddenly heard light footsteps behind me.
She turned around and saw the man following behind her, grinning at her and saying, "Brother Song, I think Liu Xingchuan is right. You have to try things to know whether they will succeed or fail."
Upon hearing this, Song San tilted his head and raised his eyebrows slightly.
What's wrong with this person? How come he's completely different from the rebellious Yu Qi from this morning?
“I was rude and offended you and Brother Gu Si earlier. It was all my fault.” Yu Qi gripped the wooden sword at his waist, his eyes darting around. “Now that we have nowhere to turn, rather than being trapped in the village and wasting our time, we might as well take a gamble. Whether we succeed or fail, I will have no regrets.”
Looking at the shy boy in front of him, Song San remained silent for a while before crossing his arms, raising his chin, and saying, "Your carpentry skills are quite good. If you're willing to put in some effort, you'll be a great helper."
Yu Qi stood there in a daze, and upon hearing this, he gave a silly grin.
Brother Song has forgiven him and is willing to take him to find the Earthly Cave.
"Yes, of course I'm a good helper." He took a few steps and walked alongside Song San, his whole being coming back to life.
He walked briskly, almost swinging his ponytail into the air. "Brother Song, just let me know if you need anything. Like that soil-probing stick in your hand, I can make ten of them in less than a quarter of an hour."
Song San closed his eyes briefly to avoid the flying strands of hair, and said, "It's good as it is now."
In winter, the frozen ground expands, and the soil, which was originally as hard as iron, becomes loose and easy to dig when the snow melts. Taking advantage of the bright sunshine, Song San walked into the forest without stopping.
“The more lush the vegetation, the more moist the soil and water underground. Today, we will dig along the forest path.” Song San turned the wooden stick and probed downwards. When the stick was almost at the bottom, he pulled it out, inserted the tube, and brought out soil from seven feet underground.
She picked up a pinch of mud, crushed it, and examined it closely in her palm. "For semi-aqueous soil like this, observe the moisture level at the bottom, then mark it on the drawing, and it will be clear at a glance..."
In this way, within a few days, the direction of the underground currents can be found.
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