Chapter 66 After Xie Zhuo left the courtyard, the courtyard...
After Xie Zhuo left the courtyard, only Xie Baoqiong and Wen Conglan remained.
"Why doesn't Xiao Bao go for a stroll in the village with Lin Langjun?"
Xie Baoqiong shook her head, saying that she didn't want to go out.
He couldn't say the reason.
After learning that demons were causing trouble, Xie Baoqiong suddenly realized that he was now in the Sishui Mountain. Although it was in the mortal realm, there were also many monsters running around.
If he really goes out with Xie Zhuo, they might encounter a monster who knows him, just like they did with Xin Xuan a couple of days ago.
Other monsters might not necessarily call him "Little Treasure" like Senior Xin did. If they called him "Little Tombstone" in front of Xie Zhuo...
How did Senior Xin know his name?
But after the question lingered in his mind for a moment, he put it out of his mind.
Xin Xuan is a powerful demon, so it's not surprising that he knows a lot.
As his thoughts wandered, Wen Conglan beside him began to pick up the spilled herbs on the ground.
Xie Baoqiong squatted down, picked up the relatively intact herbs from the ground and placed them aside, then asked:
"Aunt Wen, has anyone in the village seen what a demon looks like?"
Among cultivators, those who betray the Way of Heaven are called demons.
Thousands of years ago, demons ruled and stirred up trouble. But since the ancestor of sorcerers and many righteous people sacrificed themselves for their cause a thousand years ago, there have been few traces of demons in the world.
Occasionally, rumors would surface, with various sects of the immortals sending disciples to suppress them, and the Anti-Evil Division taking action to punish them.
In recent years, demonic cultivators have become extremely rare.
Therefore, although there were many monsters gathered in Sishui Mountain, Xie Baoqiong had never seen a demon cultivator who had fallen into demonic possession.
Wen Conglan stopped sweeping with her broom in place, the bright sunlight clearly illuminating her dazed expression.
The long, thin shadows of the morning light gathered at her feet, and after a long while, she finally spoke:
"I don't know, no one in the village has seen what he looks like..."
Xie Baoqiong reached out to pick up the herbs on the ground again, but Wen Conglan stopped her:
"The sun is so strong now, Xiao Bao should go play in the shade. I'll take care of cleaning up here."
Xie Baoqiong was half-pushed and half-driven to the shade under the woodpile.
He glanced around and noticed that the long knife wrapped in cloth that he had seen before leaving the house was gone.
He turned to look at Wen Conglan, who was carefully arranging the intact medicinal herbs.
Xie Baoqiong withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the kitchen not far away.
In the kitchen, the stove was burning brightly, and a faint aroma of cooked rice wafted from under the pot lid.
Wen Mao picked up some firewood and stuffed it into the fire under the stove.
He then picked up the long knife beside him and continued to carefully polish it on the whetstone.
Xie Baoqiong approached very quietly.
Wen Mao didn't even look up: "The food isn't cooked yet. If you're hungry, there are some flatbreads in the basket hanging on the stove."
Xie Baoqiong walked straight toward Wen Mao behind the stove.
Seeing Wen Mao sharpening his knife, Wen Mao paused in his hunch, inexplicably recalling the blade that had struck him last night, and casually asked:
"Hey Cat Bro, are you going out to chop someone up again?"
Wen Mao glanced at him briefly, then silently buried his head and continued sharpening the knife.
Xie Baoqiong continued to peer behind the stove, the heat emanating from the firebox carrying the smell of wood ash, which splashed onto his face.
Despite not being afraid of the heat, Xie Baoqiong took a very honest step toward Wen Mao's side.
Wen Mao made room for him, moved the whetstone aside, picked up the sharpened long knife, and stood up.
Now that they were closer, Xie Baoqiong noticed that the long sword in Wen Mao's hand, when held upright, was almost as tall as him, including the length of the hilt.
Like Wen Mao's height, this knife was much longer than an ordinary knife.
Xie Baoqiong, noticing Wen Mao's sudden increase in height, spoke up to remind him:
"Brother Cat, are you going to go chop someone up right now? I don't know how to start a fire."
Wen Mao took the strip of cloth from the stove, sat back on the small stool behind the stove, and wrapped the long strip of cloth around the blade, one circle at a time.
"No human being would casually mention killing someone."
Xie Baoqiong sat down on the stack of firewood beside her and obediently replied, "Oh."
Wen Mao put down the wrapped knife and took a piece of firewood from next to Xie Baoqiong, stuffing it into the stove.
The crackling sound of firewood being licked by the flames came from the stove, and the flickering firelight shone on the two of them, with sparks occasionally flying out and falling to their feet, turning into ashes.
"Is Brother Cat going to kill someone?" Xie Baoqiong considered for a moment and changed the words she was saying to two other words.
In the dim and quiet environment, Xie Baoqiong's words sounded rather jarring.
The roaring flames in the stove were reflected in Wenmao's dark gray eyes, and the crackling of the flames seemed to stir up embers in that dark gray, silent world.
“Killing ordinary people will prevent you from becoming an immortal.” Xie Baoqiong’s voice, accompanied by the crackling of flames, entered that gray and black world.
Wen Mao raised his hand and used the fire poker to stir the firewood in the stove, and sparks surged and churned with the incoming air:
“I am different from you; what I seek is never to become an immortal.”
Wen Mao's eyes, reflecting the twinkling stars, shifted towards Xie Baoqiong, his tone seductive:
"And you?"
Xie Baoqiong's ahoge (cowlick) stood up: "Hmm?"
"Isn't there anyone you care about?"
Wen Mao put his words even more clearly.
Xie Baoqiong turned his head, the red flames scorching his other cheek. The word "care" swirled in his mind, and the words that came out were perfectly natural:
"My friend is very capable; no one can bully him." Only Xiaochun is the one who bullies others.
Wen Mao poked at the firewood in the stove with the fire poker in his hand. The fierce flames gradually died down, leaving only a few sparks in the blackened stove. His voice fell into the ashes below along with the sparks:
Where is your father?
The heat on his cheeks suddenly subsided, and Xie Baoqiong's expression froze. He rested his cheek on his knees, staring at the glowing red charcoal in the stove.
After carefully chewing Wen Mao's words on her tongue, her expression went blank.
He was born of nature, nurtured by heaven and earth, and heaven and earth were his parents.
He had thought this way for thirteen years.
The wind howled past below the cliff, making his robes flutter, but he was enveloped in warmth.
It seems that it's only because she occupies the identity of Xie Baoqiong.
Xie Zhuo is a mortal. What was he thinking when he was cushioning Xie Zhuo's fall?
Xie Baoqiong didn't know, and he also said "I don't know" regarding Wen Mao's question...
Wen Mao chuckled softly, the sound vibrating in his throat making Xie Baoqiong's mind somewhat confused:
"I know, I know what I should do."
He placed his hand on Xie Baoqiong's head and rubbed it hard: "Xiao Bao, becoming like a human might not necessarily be a good thing."
Xie Baoqiong's thoughts were interrupted by Wen Mao's sudden action, and he blinked his eyes in confusion:
"Would Cat Bro go and kill someone?"
In the dim light as the fire died down, Wen Mao withdrew his hand. His eyes, now cold from the heat of the fire, flickered with emotion. His voice, no longer sharp, rang out:
"Just teach him a lesson."
—
The end of the village.
Xie Zhuo suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned around, and a figure slowly emerged from the woods, stopping three steps away from him.
Seeing that no one had spoken for a long time, Xie Zhuo spoke first:
"Immortal Master Xie, have you been able to find any trace of the demon?"
"No," Xie Heng replied. "Are you... a guest at Doctor Wen's house?"
Xie Zhuo nodded and replied, "My surname is Lin, and my given name is Jin."
"Lin Jin," Xie Heng readily agreed, "you're not related to Doctor Wen's family, are you?"
"Master Xie is incredibly insightful. My son and I were saved by Doctor Wen by chance, and we will be leaving soon."
Xie Zhuo did not deny it in front of Xie Heng, but directly accepted Xie Heng's guess.
Xie Heng glanced at Xie Zhuo, but didn't say anything more about Xie Zhuo's identity. Instead, he asked:
Are you heading into these mountains?
Xie Zhuo's expression remained unchanged as he shook his head: "I took a walk around the village and am preparing to return to the Wen family."
"It would be better if we didn't go into the mountains," Xie Heng said.
"Why is this? Is there something strange in the mountains?"
The two walked unhurriedly toward the Wen family courtyard. Xie Zhuo heard Xie Heng's words and a faint look of doubt appeared on his face.
"The spiritual energy in this mountain is abundant. I encountered more demon cultivators than in ordinary places as I went in."
"Although demon cultivators won't harm people without reason, some demons dislike humans trespassing into their territory and will tease those who do," Xie Heng explained.
"I see." Xie Zhuo's thoughts drifted away:
“I have read about this mountain range in a book. Thirteen years ago, one day, the air in the mountains suddenly became refreshing and all fatigue disappeared. Could it be, as Master Xie said, that it was because of the abundance of spiritual energy?”
"Ordinary people would indeed have this effect if they were in an environment with extremely rich spiritual energy. But the concentration of spiritual energy is not that high now."
Xie Heng seemed to have thought of something and continued speaking:
"In earlier years, there were rumors of a rare treasure descending upon this mountain, and many cultivators came here to seize the opportunity."
My grandmaster also went to this place, but found nothing. He only noticed that the spiritual energy in the mountains was abundant, leading some to speculate that the treasure had already been intercepted by the great demon residing here..."
Xie Heng casually mentioned a couple of things, steer the conversation back on track:
"However, since the spiritual energy here can attract so many demon cultivators, it is hard to guarantee that it will not attract demons to live here as well."
...
Before the two returned to the Wen family's courtyard, several children were peeking into the yard from behind the fence.
"Where is the immortal? Tiezhu, are you lying to me?"
"I'm not lying. I heard it from my grandpa. The immortal who catches demons is staying at Aunt Wen's house," Tie Zhu said confidently.
"Will this immortal who comes this time be unable to capture the demons like the one before?"
"That's right, we haven't caught the people who came last time. Uncle Shunzi was just sitting in front of the yard the day he died, and then he just disappeared..."
"Brother Tiezhu, the immortal, the immortal is behind us." A slightly thin child was squeezed at the back and couldn't see the scene in the courtyard. He ate his hands and looked around with his eyes, just in time to see the two people returning.
The other children followed the drool-covered hand and saw two tall, slender figures.
When the two children who were leading the way and suspecting something behind them saw the figure behind them clearly, their faces flushed red, and they turned and ran away quickly.
The smallest and thinnest child was left behind: "Brother Tiezhu, wait for me."
But Xie Zhuo stopped him:
"What happened to Uncle Shunzi, whom you mentioned, who suddenly disappeared?"
The child clutched his clothes with both hands and stammered:
"Actually, it didn't just disappear suddenly. I saw it when I was hiding under the bean pod trellis that Uncle Shunzi had built."
Mao came to see Uncle Shunzi and beat him up. After Mao left, Uncle Shunzi chased after him.
"Have you told anyone about this?" Xie Zhuo asked.
The child nodded: "But they all say that Uncle Shunzi bullied people first, and that's why Brother Mao taught him a lesson."
After saying that, the child's face became conflicted: "Immortal, don't tell Brother Mao these things. Brother Mao has become so fierce."
Xie Zhuo agreed to the child's words, looking thoughtful.
Xie Heng interrupted their conversation at this moment: "Changed? Wasn't he like this before?"
The child looked at Xie Heng, who had suddenly appeared in front of him, and took a small step back. This immortal looked just as fierce as Mao Ge.
"When I was very young, Brother Mao was so kind to me. He would play with us and bring me malt candy made by Aunt Wen."
But ever since Mao got lost in the mountains and was found, he has become cold and aloof.
Especially when Mao Ge was first found, he could barely speak. My grandmother said he was so frightened that his soul had left his body, and she asked Aunt Wen to find someone to summon his soul, but Aunt Wen didn't believe in such things..."
A look of understanding appeared on Xie Heng's face.
No wonder he felt something was off about Wen Mao when they first met.
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