Seven Rescue Teams
Things in the "ceremonial procession" were scattered all over the ground. They didn't look like wedding items. There were wooden lumps, smelly stones, and some broken wine jars with a strong smell.
Their complexions were not good, and they were all haggard. Their limbs were stiff and unresponsive, like broken puppets. It seemed that their days were numbered. Lu Denghe hurriedly went up to remove the burdens that were weighing them down. "Grandmaster, what should we do with them?"
Lu Yinche shook his wrist lightly, and several extremely fine sword energies shot out, hitting those people's acupuncture points accurately. He actually used the sword techniques as silver needles.
"Puff--" As if a cocoon was punctured, the man who was leading the sedan chair moved his throat and coughed violently, followed by the second person, the third person... The silence in the forest was instantly replaced by suppressed gasps and panic.
Lu Denghe took a lot of effort to calm them down. After careful questioning, he found out that these people were a caravan from the northern border. They were going to Yaocheng and wanted to do more business while people from all over were gathering for the Queen Mother's Banquet.
"Thank...thank you very much, Immortal!" The leading merchant recovered, his voice hoarse as a broken gong, with a sobbing tone of surviving a disaster. Seeing the damaged goods on the ground, he wished he could just die.
Lu Denghe watched them picking up the relatively intact items and helped out. "What happened to you? Why were you captured by the ghost?"
It was just a small matter. This caravan had been delayed in the northern border and wanted to arrive before the Queen Mother's banquet in Yaocheng. Time was tight, so they chose not to take the main road, but hired a local guide and headed into the dense mountains.
"Mishan?" Lu Denghe had never heard of this place name.
The merchant told him that Mishan was the largest mountain range in Xizhou, stretching thousands of miles from north to south. The jungle was dense and sparsely populated, and Yaocheng lay to its west. Originally, there had been more than one road, but that was before Tianmu. After the earthquake and landslide, the area gradually became deserted.
They brought a Si Nan and planned to head west. They were pretty much on the right track. The guide looked smart and boasted that he was a strong man who could fight tigers in the mountains.
Who knew that they would really encounter a ferocious beast.
The businessman used many words to describe the giant python's majestic body and murderous aura. Lu Denghe felt that the long list of adjectives was clanging and waved his hands hurriedly: "And then?" He didn't really want to recall the stench in the giant python's mouth.
This group of people actually escaped.
Could it be that one of their ancestors is also in the mountains? He's definitely not as handsome as my ancestor.
The merchant said that when they saw the giant python, the guide, who had no goods on him, ran away as fast as a whirlwind. Indeed, when faced with such a disaster, the couple had to flee separately. Compared to the size of the snake, even if they could fight ten tigers, they would be no match.
The caravan hesitated over money, but fortunately, no one died. The packhorses carrying the goods outnumbered the human flesh, and they were all filled with snakes. They also lost most of the strong liquor they had brought all the way from the north. The giant python wanted to eat them again, but just as they were about to die, an immortal appeared.
Lu Yinche was standing several feet away, facing them sideways, and now he looked over.
Lu Denghe's eyes widened, and he asked urgently, as if he were talking to a storyteller: "And then?"
The merchant's shoulders slumped, his expression dejected: "She was dressed in red, and we were afraid too, but she just waved her hand, and the snake turned around and ran away obediently. Oh my God, she's really a goddess. But, but--" He sighed heavily.
Lu Yinche coughed at the right time.
Another continued, "We thanked her. Even though she wasn't touching the ground, we knew fairies float, so she definitely saved us. So we asked her how we could repay her. She didn't shy away from admitting her identity as a ghost, so we didn't mind. She told us it was her only wish, and asked if we could help her fulfill it."
She has to complete the wedding ceremony.
The ghost girl claimed her surname was Zhang, and that she had died of illness on her way to get married. Her long-cherished wish remained unfulfilled, and so she remained in the human world. Seeing her honesty, the caravan felt that she didn't seem like a murderous ghost, and that they were still heading to the same destination, Yaocheng, so they decided to stop by.
But once he let go, everything turned upside down. He walked in the forest for several days without control of his hands and feet. The ghost would pick and kill a bite of him to eat from time to time. Perhaps it would be more satisfying to let the giant python eat him in one bite.
Hearing this, Lu Denghe commented, "You dare to agree to this? With your personalities, won't you often be ripped off by others in business?"
Several businessmen smiled wryly at each other and said, "Thinking back now, we were incredibly confused. We must have been possessed by a ghost. Our minds were completely clouded."
"But even facing a fierce ghost, I'm afraid," Lu Denghe said soothingly, "What else can you do except go along with her?"
Lu Yinche then said, "Ghosts can't follow human logic. If she hadn't harmed anyone, she wouldn't have become a ghost. Now that she's harmed someone, she can't go back."
Lu Denghe was stunned for a moment.
I always feel that there seems to be some story behind what the ancestor said.
…
All heading to Yaocheng, this group of merchants was terrified and decided to follow the Lu family. With their packhorses gone, their cargo was also significantly reduced, and they figured they could sell it all and perhaps even make a profit.
Lu Denghe was originally worried that Lu Yinche didn't want them to follow him, but he simply didn't communicate directly with the people in the caravan. He led the way alone in the front and didn't get rid of them.
Hearing Lu Denghe calling the young, serious-looking immortal master "Ancestor", the merchants prostrated themselves before Lu Yinche and worshipped him, calling him a master and saint among immortals.
Lu Denghe listened to these people's endless praise and marveled at them. How could they be big businessmen? They really knew how to talk. But he still had the good intention to remind them that there were some words they shouldn't say carelessly.
"For example, the title of sage is extremely rare for cultivators. Only those with great merit can be accorded this title. The number of sages still in this world can be counted on one hand," Lu Denghe said seriously. "Other cultivators are unworthy of this title, as it will bring them backlash from their karma."
The merchant quickly changed his words, looking terrified, and Lu Denghe felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't that serious, actually. How much weight could the words of ordinary people have? It takes a lot of words to make gold melt.
However, even if he is criticized by thousands of people, a person like the ancestor will not be shaken, right?
He looked at Lu Yinche's back.
Perhaps it was because the young immortal master Lu Denghe had a good temper, these people gradually became bolder and would talk about the customs and practices of the northern border from time to time.
This group of businessmen were all from the same hometown, had traveled far and wide, and were quite knowledgeable in their conversation. Seeing that the young immortal master was interested, they talked more enthusiastically about the strange people and anecdotes in their northern border.
Lu Denghe initially assumed Lu Yinche wasn't interested in these mortal rumors, but he was called over midway through to learn more. What did these people say? Was there any valuable information? Lu Denghe then took note, writing down everything they said and sharing it with the ancestor.
The ancestor is indeed the ancestor. Unlike himself, he only knows how to listen for fun and would never think of this level.
Among the stories told by the businessman, there is one that is most concerning.
It is a folk story about looking back at the great city in the north.
According to legend, there was a family named Gu here who made a living by selling cakes. Because the city was well governed, everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their business prospered.
One day, Mr. Gu's fifteen or sixteen-year-old son was setting up shop for him. He was shouting in the street when two young men came in, arguing. They must be brothers. They looked similar, but their appearance was strange. They both had white hair and red eyes, and their accents didn't sound like locals.
They were originally arguing about whether to eat salty or sweet pancakes, but boss Xiao Gu ignored them and said, "Everyone has their own preferences. Why don't you two just eat your own?"
The two refused to listen and insisted that the other change their words. The quarrel turned into a fight. Poor Gu's stall suffered a lot. Not only was the food damaged, but the boss was also accidentally injured while trying to stop the fight and lost a front tooth.
Fortunately, the city lord arrived in time (I don’t know why the city lord personally showed up, but that’s how it is in the story), stopped the two brothers from fighting, and asked them to compensate for the loss of the pancake stall.
The city lord was no ordinary man; he was a cultivator of the Dao, possessing earth-shaking powers. The two men were forced to submit, but they couldn't afford to pay. One of them said, "Since we broke his tooth, we'll each pay him one." With that, they both pulled out their teeth and handed them over.
What does Boss Gu need this thing for at home?
But the city lord advised them to accept it.
Because he loved the people like his own children and had a high prestige in the city, the Gu family agreed. According to the city lord's instructions, they tied up the two teeth and hung them in front of the door. From then on, they had good luck and everything went smoothly. Their family business grew bigger and bigger, and they became a prominent family in the city.
However, in the Tianmu year, one of the two heirlooms of the Gu family shattered into powder as the sky and earth changed color, and the other also cracked into two pieces.
The Gu family was also unhappy in every aspect, and they declined to the point of extinction in less than a hundred years, so they had no choice but to sell the tooth.
News just came out that the city lord persuaded them to accept the compensation because the two young men who were fighting were not mortals, but real dragons!
"Wow, one front tooth was replaced with two real dragon teeth." Lu Denghe was stunned.
An elderly man in the caravan, who had a missing front tooth filled with silver, laughed and said, "Little Immortal Master, it's not a good look for us mortals to have missing teeth. Like mine, I lost it when I fell on a rock. I still remember the pain. It made me marry ten years later than others."
The people around him started to jeer: "Is that your teeth? Even if you close your mouth, your face is still ugly. Girls won't like to see it."
The man said awkwardly, "That's true. Nowadays, everyone loves beauty and pretty girls. Even those pretty boys are popular. For real, strong men like us, we still need some money in our pockets."
Someone else said, "When you told me that story, it reminded me of something. We were going to Yao City, and there was supposed to be an auction there. I don't remember hearing someone mention there were dragon teeth for sale. Could that be the thing that was split in two in your story?"
The storyteller said, "How would I know? I only heard it from my wife. She originally lived in Suwang City, but later moved north with her family and married me. I just heard some rumors from the local community."
Lu Denghe was curious: "I know that Suwang City is located in the center of the northern border. So, your hometown is even further north?"
"Yes, yes. We're all from Xuejin. Although the weather is cold, it doesn't snow for about half a year, so we can farm. It's just that the harvest isn't as good as in the south, so many of us have come out to trade to make a living."
"We are not the northernmost part yet. If we go further north, towards Mount Zhongmo, there are the cities of Baiting and Ranchuan. It is really cold there. There are only a few warm days throughout the year, and everything is covered in white." The leader of the caravan shivered when he thought of the cold there, and a piece of biscuit crumbs fell from his sleeve.
Somekawa...
Not to mention Lu Yinche, even Lu Denghe knows about this place.
In fact, anyone who cultivates immortality should know this place. It is not actually a mortal city, at least there are very few mortals.
Just as the merchant had said, the land was covered in perpetual snow and extremely cold, making it impossible to grow food and making it difficult for mortals to move. It was a place for cultivators, its name having a tragic origin: the blood of ancient battlefields stained the glaciers, and some of them remain pink to this day, like the glow of a rosy sunset.
The famous Cheng Xiao Sect is located in this vast area of icebergs and snow-capped mountains, and its swordsmanship is famous throughout the world.
The best among them are the Sword Saint Feng Ling, the Sword Master Qianyuan, and Yan Yanshu.
Lu Yinche could no longer remember the last time he went to the Northern Territory. During the few times he went there, he always went straight to the Chengxiao Sect dining hall. A group of heartless and desireless sword cultivators made the food so delicious, but they just wanted people to eat it for free.
He wasn't a scholar who cared about romance. He must have seen the beautiful mountains and rivers, the aurora borealis, and the glaciers, probably just passing by.
But why, when I hear the name of this place, my heart beats like a throbbing as if I had once leaned on someone and admired the colors of the mountains and rivers, and felt that bit of living warmth in the ice and snow.
Lu Yinche looked down at his hands.
The lines are clear and the lifespan is very long.
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