Twenty-six: The Cause of Famous Mountains, Part Three
Mingjin felt like she was in a long dream and couldn't wake up, but she didn't think she was asleep. She just had her eyes closed and couldn't open them, and her mind was filled with memories of the past.
That was probably the first time she met Pang Ming. Fu Nai had something to do and couldn't go down the mountain that day. Huang Jing went back to his hometown with his parents. Shen Du had guests at his house, and he accompanied them. Only he and Zhou Wei were left. They stood under the persimmon tree, drooling over the bright red persimmons. But there were only two of them. If one person knocked down the persimmons, two people would have to catch them, otherwise they would break and they wouldn't be able to eat them.
They suddenly remembered what Chen Du had said yesterday, that a new family had moved in near his home, and it seemed that there were two children in the family.
Zhou Wei didn't dare to go, but Ming Jin still dragged him around the area a few times until they finally found the newly painted gate.
Who are you?
The woman of the house opened the door. She looked worried and was very confused by the little girl who had appeared out of nowhere.
Do you have children in your family?
Mingjin knocked loudly, and everyone in the house heard it, but the woman of the house, who was closest to the door, opened it. Just as she finished speaking, a head popped out from the small house next door and was caught red-handed by Mingjin.
"Come quick, it really is there."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wei also jumped out from the side. While the hostess was confused, the two of them slipped under her legs, each holding one of the child's arms and pulling him toward the persimmon tree.
"Mother, Father, Sister, I've been arrested!"
Where are you going?
The male homeowner and his eldest daughter, who rushed over, saw the two children dragging people and didn't think it was a big deal, so they didn't follow them, but just stood at the door and asked.
"Go pick persimmons."
That afternoon, Pang Ming shed tears all afternoon, watching Ming Jin and Zhou Wei take turns pulling a piece of cloth with him, while another person quickly climbed up the persimmon tree, hugged the trunk, and poked the persimmons down.
"Second son, who is this?"
When Ming Shiyu returned, she remembered that Zhou Wei and Ming Jin had discussed picking persimmons at their doorstep the night before, so she decided to check on them. Sure enough, she saw their daughter standing on a high branch, waving a piece of wood around.
"This is the second brother Shen who recently moved to the neighborhood. We asked him to help us pick up the persimmons. But he just kept crying, no matter what we said."
"Your family name is Pang, right?"
When Ming Shiyu squatted down, he was about the same height as Pang Ming at that time.
Pang Ming nodded, his face streaked with tears.
Years later, when they regained their memories, Mingjin and Zhou Wei learned that Pangjia Village had been afflicted by a malevolent spirit. Their eldest brother was gone, and their infant sister had also died when their mother lost her footing and fell while fleeing. Suddenly, the entire village was reduced to just a few households, and in the end, only their family moved to Changhe Town.
"Jin'er, be careful. If you don't eat the persimmons after picking them, you might as well leave them on the tree to feed the birds."
"I'm sure I can finish it."
As they were talking, the branches swayed, but Mingjin actually managed to stand up on the branches and find a stable spot to continue picking persimmons.
"Mingjin," came an angry voice from afar. Mingjin looked up and saw that Shao Zhe and Lu Ying had returned from hunting ghosts outside. "You've been climbing up and down again. Come down quickly."
"I won't fall."
After saying this, Mingjin threw down the branch in her hand, suddenly made several hand gestures, and muttered something, leaving the people below bewildered. Then, Mingjin jumped down from the branch, but unlike Shizi, she was as light as a feather, finally landing steadily on the ground.
"See, isn't that amazing?"
Shao and Ming Shiyu exchanged a glance, both of them looking worried yet wanting to laugh.
"Amazing, amazing!" Lu Ying clapped her hands and laughed. "Our Jin'er is truly extraordinary. She still remembers what I taught her before."
"My God, this is amazing!" Shen Du, who had just come over to see the commotion with his parents, exclaimed as he witnessed Ming Jin's graceful descent. "I want to learn too! Elder Lu, I want to learn too!"
“Either is fine,” Lu Ying said with a smile. “I will definitely come to town to teach you when I have time.”
Even Zhou Wei couldn't care less about the persimmons. He and Shen Du grabbed Lu Ying's clothes and asked her all sorts of questions, saying what kind of magic they wanted to learn.
Left behind, Pang Ming couldn't manage so many persimmons by himself. He could only watch helplessly as they rolled on the ground, and he burst into tears again. Helpless, Ming Jin took out a bag from his person, filled it with ten persimmons, and handed it to Pang Ming, telling him to stop crying and thanking him for coming out to play with him that afternoon.
But ten persimmons were too heavy for Pang Ming to hold, so he couldn't stop crying.
"Stop crying, you're so annoying."
Lu Ying's residence had a small back gate leading directly to a path up the mountain, surrounded by forests. Therefore, the birdsong was exceptionally clear and distinct compared to Ming Jin's home in town. She finally opened her eyes to the sound of birdsong in the early morning. She hadn't felt like eating last night, and had fallen asleep in bed sometime during the night, only to be awakened by her weak body.
There was a sound of something falling outside.
Then came Rong Shao's voice, gently reprimanding Huang Jing's troublemakers to be quiet. Under the threat of a spanking and the lure of treats, the two cats quieted down, probably meowing against the corner of the wall. Ming Jin felt the commotion was very close.
She wanted to get up and wash her face.
"Tianguang, you're awake."
Rong Shao was about to sweep the yard when he heard the door open and quickly followed.
"Master Rong, thank you for your trouble, being here so early. I just wanted to find some cold water and I'm a little hungry, so I wanted to find something to eat."
“I just got some water,” Rong Shao said, holding a broom in one hand and pulling Mingjin to sit down at the stone table in the courtyard with the other. The courtyard had been watered with the water from here. “Yuanxi got up early and has already gone to Master Miao’s place. Wash your face first, and we’ll have dinner soon.”
Mingjin nodded, then immersed his face in the water, enjoying the rare coolness of summer.
Behind her was the rustling sound of sweeping, above her head was the sound of wind blowing and birds playing. The troublemaker jumped from the stone bench onto the table, and one of them gently licked Mingjin's loose hair.
"Get up, don't sleep a little longer," Mingjin said, lifting his head at Huang Jing's voice. He didn't even need to wipe his face with a cloth; he simply wiped away the water droplets with his hand. "You must be hungry, here are some freshly made hot buns."
Mingjin carried the water basin downstairs. The two cats weren't interested in the buns either; they just drank a few sips of water from the basin and then climbed up to the roof to catch birds. The three of them sat down on the stone bench. The buns were still a little hot, but everyone was hungry, so they split the buns in half to let them cool down before taking a bite.
"Elder Yan is back," Huang Jing said, catching his breath after finishing a steamed bun. "He said the captured evil spirit is not in good condition and we don't know how much longer it can hold on. The sect leader has asked Juxia's guests to come and help. If things go smoothly, they might arrive this morning."
"I'll go take a look," Mingjin said.
“Tian Guang, you don’t need to force it,” Rong Shao said worriedly.
“Master Rong, you don’t need to worry,” Ming Jin said calmly. “After all, nothing has happened to me. Besides, Master Mu and Master Ji went through a lot yesterday, so they should rest today. There’s no reason for me to lie here and grieve. Moreover, the town is busy with Yuanbei’s affairs, so I can’t just stay out of it.”
“This has happened so suddenly,” Rong Shao said, reflecting on his experiences at Kongyun Mountain over the years. He was worried about showing his distress in front of the two younger people and getting them to comfort him, so he composed himself. “I will go down the mountain to the academy in a little while and will return to the mountain for dinner in the evening. Your master and the others are probably very busy today. If anything happens, just come and find me.”
"good."
Huang Jing still had some daily affairs to attend to on the mountain, so Ming Jin and Rong Shao went down the mountain together. Then, because the Pang family and the academy were in different locations, they went to opposite sides.
The monks wore white every day. Although their clothes would get dirty and old, their white color was always recognizable. This was because they didn't know which relative or friend would die every day, and they had to go out without changing their mourning clothes. This is how the custom of wearing white came about. Moreover, since the monks came from all over the country, customs varied from place to place. The rule that Jingmao set at Kongyun Mountain was that when a close relative or friend died, a white band was tied on the forehead. If it was just a peer, the white band was worn around the waist. Whether it was a close relative or a peer depended entirely on the intention of the mourner.
The people of Changhe Town are not bound by this rule. Their weddings and funerals are still conducted according to their own family customs. However, after living together for a long time, they also know what a white cloth means.
As Mingjin walked along, he gradually heard the sounds of bustling activity. Many children sat at the entrance of the alley, each staring at the white-clad adults passing by, wondering why they were dressed like that.
The Pang couple, one weeping and the other sorrowful, stood silently by Pang Ming's coffin. Zhao Xun, seeing Ming Jin approach, quickly came forward to greet him, but could not hide the grief on his face. His relationship with Pang Ming as fellow disciples was distant, but he had been taught by Pang Ming at the academy, and thus, since the previous night, he and several other volunteers had been helping out.
Cultivators are often powerless to act when it comes to matters of evil spirits, so Pang Ming's funeral arrangements were handled by her older sister and brother-in-law. Beside her sat her three children, two boys and a girl. Upon seeing Ming Jin arrive, she instructed her eldest son to look after her younger siblings, then went to speak with Ming Jin before going to offer her condolences to Pang's parents.
“Please keep an eye on things here,” the two said, waving their arms as they walked into the yard. Mingjin said to Pangling, “Yesterday’s matter hasn’t been settled yet, I still have to go and check on it.”
Pang Ling didn't reply immediately, but let out a faint sigh. Ming Jin knew what was going on. In the years since she and Pang Ming had been married, due to matters concerning cultivators and her own constant illnesses, she had rarely had a deep relationship with her in-laws and sister-in-law; their relationship was merely superficial.
“Don’t worry, I’m here. His brother-in-law is here too,” Pang Ling said as she saw Ming Jin to the door. “Take care of yourself too.”
Although there was a void in her heart, Mingjin still left.
Du Gewen and Yan Junyou kept watch all night and went back first. Now, Shen Du, Chu Ying, and Jie Yan are keeping watch nearby.
"Why did you come so early?" Chen Du asked.
“Things here are more urgent,” Mingjin greeted the other two, then turned to Shen Du, “How’s the situation?”
“I tried Juxia’s metal magic,” Chen Du said, looking helpless and confused. “I did see some things. But I couldn’t tell which were the main ones for the time being, and I became even more confused.”
"I also asked several elders who practice this technique, and they all said the same thing: take it slow. This opportunity to practice with evil spirits is rare. What did you see?"
The two took turns using metal magic, trying to find some useful information, while Chu Ying and Jie Yan followed along, learning. Although they had also learned the spells and techniques, metal magic, unlike other spells, required a certain intuition, so it often didn't demand a high level of cultivation. However, according to the elders inside and outside the mountain, only those who were proficient in all spells could master this intuition; therefore, although metal magic had miraculous effects, few could actually use it effectively.
Mingjin had more opportunities to use it, so he was more adept at it. However, Banrui, who was far away in Juxia, had revised his metal magic design, which was said to make it easier to use magic. However, Mingjin had not made much progress after studying it for several days. His current level was still the same as before. He could only see some incoherent fragments and hear some words, but occasionally he felt like a blind man touching an elephant, not understanding the deeper meaning.
"The guests from Juxia have arrived; it's Elder Ban and Elder Zhang with their disciples," Chen Du received the message from the mountain after nearly an hour of commotion. "The sect leader is receiving them."
“Those two,” Mingjin said, his attention still on Jinshu, “might just be the start of an unexpected and interesting show.”
The three people behind him were talking, but Mingjin didn't pay attention. Through the Golden Technique, the scene seen by the evil spirit seemed to overlap with what Mingjin saw. However, it was dark there, with only occasional slivers of moonlight peeking through the clouds, allowing both the evil spirit and Mingjin to temporarily see what was happening before them.
This is?
The night was dark, and the evil spirit was in poor condition, making the current scene a stark contrast to what had happened before. Peeking through a pair of eyes, Mingjin felt his own eyes begin to sting. Something seemed to have caught the evil spirit's attention, but his senses were extremely weak, and Mingjin couldn't perceive anything at all.
Just as he was about to give up, a face suddenly lunged at the ghost, startling Mingjin. The face was colorless, but the fear on the person's face and the open mouth seemed to be screaming. The person moved closer to the ghost, but the neck, along with the head, tried to move backward, leaving several wrinkles on the neck.
Were they the people he had harmed? During the previous hour's search, Mingjin had already seen several such memories, which were utterly nauseating. But strangely, compared to the other people who only knew to flee the disaster, or even what they were about to face—people who were even laughing in the demon's memories—this person knew something. He recognized this as a demon, and he knew how he would die.
Is he a monk?
Ming Jin adjusted his neck, trying to get a better look. Since the robes of the cultivators from different families were different, if he could carefully observe a particular detail, he might one day encounter his relatives or old acquaintances.
A ray of moonlight shone down.
Color appears in the field of vision.
The man's face seemed to be covered with a thin layer of fine silk. His face wasn't stained, but rather had a dazzling sheen. This glaring sensation was familiar, especially after sitting for a long time.
I remember now, sitting on the shore admiring the water, it was a vast expanse of water.
"In my eyes, you are covered by a clear blue veil."
On a night when a storm was about to break, the conversation with the evil spirit suddenly appeared.
In an instant, the person in the memory stopped struggling, lowered their head, and then fell down.
The moonlight faded, and everything became hazy again. The ghost, having gained a glimmer of hope, improved somewhat and instead fell into a coma to recuperate.
The man was forced in. His expression returned to normal for a moment, revealing a look of sorrow and pleading. While this cage spell could only block a portion of the magical damage, its most important effect was preventing the evil spirit from getting within a step. However, Ming Jin could see an arm on the man's back.
Coincidentally, Mingjin remembered who this person was.
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