Chapter 2. Reaching the mountains, a small tombstone evokes a feeling…
As they walked into the mountains, the small tombstone sensed the presence around it and, after determining the direction from which it came, turned to look.
A turtle emerged from the stream beside the path and spoke in a human voice: "Little Tombstone, are you going down the mountain?"
The small tombstone looked at the familiar faces that appeared in the water. Including him, there weren't many demons in this area who had embarked on the path of cultivation. On the day he was struck by lightning and his consciousness was released, several demons came to congratulate him, and they were quite familiar with each other.
"That's right."
"When do you plan to come back?" Wu Nian drifted along the mountain stream, but followed the small tombstone all the way.
"I'm not entirely sure either; it could take a few months or several years." The small tombstone scratched its head, its tone full of uncertainty.
The turtle in the water fully revealed its form and sighed, "It's good that you're back. Although the human world is bustling, I feel that nowhere can compare to Sishui Mountain."
The waterway meandered, and it seemed that it was about to part ways with the mountain path. Wu Nian transformed into a refined man with a black beard and his hair tied up with a bamboo stick inserted in his hair.
He followed the small tombstone.
"This time you're coming down the mountain for a few days, unlike your usual leisure trips. Are you well-prepared?"
The little tombstone raised its eyebrows and turned to look at Wu Nian: "What preparations?"
"There are three things that are indispensable when walking in the human world."
Looking at Wu Nian's inscrutable expression, the small tombstone humbly inquired, "What is it?"
"The first is money; without it, nothing can be done."
The small tombstone's expression was a little stiff, but Wu Nian pretended not to notice and continued, "Secondly, there's the household registration and travel permit. Without these, even if you manage to sneak into a town, it will be difficult to find a place to stay. Moreover, nowadays, there are sorcerers at the gates of large towns. Although sorcerers are not as good as cultivators, it's not easy to sneak in."
The little tombstone's expression darkened further, but Wu Nian continued speaking.
"Thirdly, and most importantly, it is indispensable for living in the human world."
Wu Nian deliberately prolonged his tone.
Halfway through his sentence, Wu Nian stroked his black beard, his tone indifferent, as if he were merely offering a suggestion to a junior.
"Have you prepared these three things?"
The small tombstone stopped moving and stood frozen in place. Unfortunately, he had none of these three things.
Wu Nian stroked his black beard and chuckled, "Since these three items are not yet ready, we might as well wait until they are ready before going down the mountain."
When two younger people are arguing, the elders naturally have to help, but that's all they can do; the rest is up to fate.
—
The small tombstone returned to its original spot in a daze, transformed back into its original form, and lay flat on the ground.
He was the only demon in this area who had never stayed at the foot of the mountain, so a powerful demon like Wu Nian had no reason to lie to him.
The lonely, sorrowful tombstone did not reveal any new figure. A beautiful figure walked up to him from behind and poked his body.
"How did the little tombstone end up here?"
The tombstone took on human form, but remained in the same prone position, its face buried in the dirt road, with only messy hair tied back.
Xin Xuan reached out her fingertip and flicked one of the short hairs that was sticking up.
"I want to go down the mountain, but I have nothing." A deep voice came from below.
Xin Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this a coincidence? After I learned that you were going down the mountain, I found these for you. Do you want to look up and take a look?"
Su Xiaochun, that fox, came to him for help. He had a past with the old man from Qingqiu, and when he was in a good mood, he was naturally willing to help this junior. Besides, this was also a way for him to repay that person's favor.
The small tombstone raised its dusty little face, and its eyes lit up the moment they touched what Xin Xuan was holding.
He got up, dusted off his hands, and took the things from Xin Xuan's hands: "Thank you, Senior Xin."
"I have prepared the gold and silver, household registration and travel permit for you. As for the name, I can't help you with that. You'll have to rely on yourself."
The household registration form contains the magic I left behind. Once you've decided on your name, just fill it in.
As the boy lowered his head to pack his things, Xin Xuan could vaguely see the baby fat still lingering on his cheeks. He wanted to take the opportunity to pinch it, but faced with that dusty face, he couldn't find a place to pinch it.
As it hesitated, the small tombstone raised its face, its eyes sparkling: "It's alright, it's alright, I'll think about it slowly later. When the time is right, the name will naturally appear."
Seeing his ingratiating manner, Xin Xuan smiled.
The small tombstone, which was tidying up its belongings, suddenly picked up a piece of gold, brought it close to its eyes, and muttered in confusion, "They're all from the mountains, so why am I not as precious as this one?"
Xin Xuan's upturned lips conjured a folding fan, which he placed against the forehead of the small tombstone.
"No, no, little tombstone, you're wrong. There are always some people in the world who regard money as vulgar and disdain it. They prefer plum blossoms and bamboo, believing that plum blossoms are elegant and bamboo is like a gentleman."
The little tombstone blinked strangely, puzzled, and said, "I'm not a plum blossom spirit or a bamboo spirit, I'm just a stone."
He closed his folding fan, opened it to cover the lower half of his face, and leaned close to the small tombstone. "Yes, it's just a stone that doesn't look particularly special."
At this point, Xin Xuan chuckled enigmatically: "However, who knows, some blind fool might mistake this stubborn rock for a beautiful jade, a precious treasure, and cherish it dearly in their heart."
The little tombstone rolled its eyes inelegantly, then put the things Xin Xuan had given it into its sleeve. "Senior Xin, then this junior will take his leave now."
Xin Xuan stopped him, his smile fading: "Before you leave, why don't you go see Xiaochun? That child knows you're leaving, and she ran to me and Wu Nian crying and making a scene."
"Who is crying and making a scene in front of you?"
An angry figure rushed out from the woods; it was Su Xiaochun, who had run away after arguing with the small tombstone.
"Xiaochun?!"
A look of surprise appeared on the small tombstone's face.
Xin Xuan smiled again, looking at the red fox running towards him.
The little tombstoneman ran forward and picked up the red fox.
"Hmph, who wants you to hug them?"
Despite her sharp tongue, Su Xiaochun remained nestled in the small tombstone's embrace.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things to you before."
The small tombstone buried its face in the red fox's fur.
"Don't think I'll forgive you just because you say something nice."
Su Xiaochun leaped out of the embrace and transformed into human form, taking out a piece of jade from her bosom and placing it in the small tombstone's hand.
"Wear this after you come down the mountain. It can help you cover up your demonic aura. Humans are always kinder to their own kind than to demons."
"Let's go, we'll take you down the mountain."
Wu Nian appeared out of nowhere, interrupting the young man's reluctance to part.
...
The mountain path eventually came to an end, and Su Xiaochun and the other two did not see them off after escorting them to the foot of the mountain.
Su Xiaochun hugged the small tombstone: "Don't be like my older sister, who once went to the mortal world, she didn't want to come back."
The small tombstone knew that Su Xiaochun's older sister was said to be an eight-tailed fox demon, just one step away from nine tails, but suddenly said that her destiny lay in the human world and then left and never returned.
Humans kept his sister.
“I will help you find your sister when I go down the mountain. Once I find her, I will tell her that you should wait for her to come home from Sishui Mountain.”
The small tombstone reached out and touched Su Xiaochun's head.
"I'll wait here for you and your sister to come back."
...
As the small tombstone disappeared into the distance, Su Xiaochun remained standing in the same spot.
"Let's go, Xiaochun."
"Senior Xin, do you think he will come back?"
Xin Xuan stopped walking back. He didn't turn around, but his voice carried on the wind: "Who knows?"
He concealed himself, and the remaining words and form vanished into the wind.
"Xiaochun, stop looking. This is his fate."
Wu Nian stepped forward and put his arm around his shoulder.
Su Xiaochun stared stubbornly at the spot where the figure had disappeared.
"Yes, fate cannot be defied. What am I to them anyway?"
“Xiaochun, don’t be so attached to it. He was born by destiny. Xin Xuan predicted when he was born that his fate was in the mountains. The cause and effect were already determined. This time he has no way to avoid going down the mountain.”
...
The departing tombstone was unaware of the conversation on Sishui Mountain.
Qiu Shuang, who used to come to sweep the grave every month, would ramble on in front of the grave. Before she took human form, the mountains were boring, and she could hear everything clearly from the small tombstone standing there.
The person lying in the grave behind him is Princess Huayang, Lin Huaijin, the only daughter of the current emperor's aunt.
Thirteen years ago, Princess Huayang was pregnant, but the situation in the capital was chaotic. The princess and her husband decided to arrange for the princess to go to the husband's ancestral home in Huaiyang County, near Sishui Mountain, to rest and prepare for the pregnancy.
Despite all the careful planning, no one could have foreseen that the princess would still encounter trouble in Huaiyang County, far from the capital.
After spending several months in her ancestral home preparing for childbirth, Princess Huayang was kidnapped while out and about and disappeared without a trace. However, the small tombstone tells us that the princess lay on the Sishui Mountain for thirteen years.
Based on what Qiushuang murmured each time she came to his grave, he could barely piece together a fairly complete story.
Qiu Shuang had been by Princess Huayang's side since she was a child, and continued to follow her after the princess got married.
Princess Huayang went to Huaiyang County to rest during her pregnancy, and she went with her. On the day the princess was attacked, she was in the carriage with the princess and luckily did not die on the spot.
She didn't remember anything after that, only that a group of masked men locked her and the princess in a dungeon.
After an unknown period of time, Princess Huayang, who was six months pregnant, became increasingly thin.
It wasn't until the dungeon door opened again and someone pulled Qiu Shuang out that she felt the wind blowing again after many days.
The sound of a knife being drawn from its sheath.
She fought desperately, and unexpectedly managed to narrowly dodge the knife.
With her eyes blindfolded, she was slammed to the ground after only a few steps, and a liquid flowed down her forehead and into her eyes.
Just as they were lamenting that there was nowhere to escape, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew up from behind them, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
The hood was gently removed by a hand: "Young lady, are you alright?"
Her eyes, blurred by the red liquid, prevented her from seeing the face of her savior; she could only make out a glimpse of crimson in the moonlight.
After a moment of stunned silence, Qiu Shuang suddenly grabbed the girl's hand: "Please, someone skilled in magic, save my master. I will repay you handsomely in the future."
The man muttered softly, "I have no use for worldly things."
As he spoke, he withdrew his hand. Just when Qiu Shuang thought all hope was lost, she heard the man speak again:
"Alright, alright, saving one is the same as saving two, so let's just consider it accumulating merit. But let me make this clear first: I don't kill mortals. Whatever your grudges are with that group is none of my business."
When the two rushed back to the dungeon, there was no one alive to be seen. Only Lin Huaijin lay in a corner of the dungeon, her face pale and blood trickling from her lips. In front of her was an overturned cup.
The girl in crimson stepped forward to check Lin Huaijin's pulse, then turned to Qiushuang and said, "Please accept my condolences."
Just as I was about to get up and leave, I caught a glimpse of a flash of light out of the corner of my eye.
"Your master seems to be holding something in his hand?"
The girl in crimson took the items from Lin Huaijin's hand and handed them to Qiushuang: a delicate, blood-stained safety lock and a piece of paper.
Qiu Shuang took the paper with trembling hands, glanced at it, and then tears welled up uncontrollably. She then knelt down in front of the girl in crimson with a thud.
"I beg a wise person to help me bury my master."
"Aren't you taking her back to your hometown?"
"The handwriting on this paper is that of my master's mother and husband."
Even when standing before an empty grave, Qiushuang never mentioned what was written on the paper.
Xiao Tombstone casually pulled out the blood-stained peace lock from the story. It was the one Qiu Shuang had placed in a small box and buried in the open space in front of the tombstone. He thought it might come in handy when he went down the mountain, so he took it with him.
A note from the author:
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