The educated youth didn't finish clearing the thick snow until almost dark. Actually, An Moxue could have finished the task much earlier, but she didn't want to. If she finished early, she wouldn't be able to help the other educated youth. She was afraid of being the first to stick her neck out and that others might not appreciate her help. They might even see her as a scapegoat. Why bother?
On the way back, people were in high spirits, and someone started singing revolutionary songs.
"The sun sets in the west, the red clouds fly, the soldiers return to camp after target practice, return to camp. The red flowers on their chests reflect the colorful clouds, and joyful songs fill the sky, fill the sky!" The educated youth lined up in two rows, men in one row and women in another. This youthful enthusiasm also infected An Moxue, and she hummed along with the group.
She thought that they were in the prime of their youth. If they were in her original time, they would be at the age of freely expressing their passion on campus. But they were away from home, facing the yellow earth and the sky, struggling against themselves and against fate.
After a long day of work, even with the thickest shoes on, the soles of our feet were still freezing cold, and everyone was walking very fast.
The awkwardness of the morning seemed to have vanished, and everyone was full of enthusiasm, but only the parties involved knew that things were different, and they were merely maintaining a facade of harmony.
Upon entering the village, An Moxue quickly separated from the other educated youth.
Back home, he hurriedly filled the pot with water, added firewood to the stove and lit a fire before entering the space.
Fortunately, everyone was far away at noon, so I just hurriedly took some food and drinks from my space without anyone noticing. But being outside all day was still quite unbearable.
Entering the bathroom, turning on the water, taking a bath, and having a huge cup of taro and yam milk tea, An Moxue felt that she finally had some popularity again, otherwise she felt like she was going to turn into an ice sculpture.
I finally felt alive again after drinking most of my milk tea and taking a bath.
He added some more firewood to the stove to give the two little ones a little extra dinner, then returned to the space to tidy up the food and fruit before going into the study to continue studying.
The next morning, An Moxue thought that she hadn't been to Old Man Li's house for many days. After breakfast, she took the two little ones, put on the deerskin boots that Wu Sicheng had given her, and headed towards the back mountain.
Once inside the forest, An Moxue used her lightness technique, lightly touching the snow with her toes and using tree branches as cover. In just a few leaps, she covered more than ten meters, like a forest sprite.
As her skills improved, An Moxue felt increasingly at ease in the mountains and forests.
When they were almost at the foot of the mountain where Old Man Li lived, the two little ones went into the forest as usual, and she went down the mountain.
When she arrived at the house at the foot of the mountain where the young man who had led her had been, she overheard him talking to another person.
An Moxue happened to pass by and overheard him ask, "Are you really going? Several people went to Majia'ao, and they all came back either unconscious or half-dead. Have you thought it through? Anyway, I don't recommend you go; it's too dangerous!"
"But they offer high pay! You know our family's situation, what else can we do but take a chance!"
Neither of them spoke, and An Moxue quickened her pace toward Old Man Li's house.
When An Moxue arrived, Old Man Li was practicing martial arts with Wu Sicheng in the courtyard.
An Moxue went in and greeted them, "Uncle Li, Wu Sicheng, good morning!"
"morning."
Then he joined the team.
After the group finished their practice, Old Man Li said, "You two spar a bit, let me see how much you've improved lately."
The two performed an ancient greeting to each other, and then attacked each other without holding back. All that could be heard was the sound of them hitting each other, which looked painful.
As the two sparred, Old Man Li gave them instructions, "Sicheng, push your skills forward, don't hold back. Your punches need to be fast and decisive."
"Ah, yes, that's it."
"Mo Xue, remember to lower your leg a little higher, or you can focus on the knee. When attacking the same spot repeatedly, be quick, even faster, so that the enemy has no chance to react."
"Yes, right, remember that, don't hesitate, or you might lose the initiative."
The two men beat Old Li while pointing out his shortcomings, and he improved rapidly. They both felt that he (or she) had improved so much in just a few days!
Little did they know, they were not ordinary people, but martial arts prodigies, and they were all very diligent. How could they not make great progress?
After a round of sparring, An Moxue vaguely felt that she had found the threshold for a breakthrough, but she was still missing something.
Both of them were still eager for more, and Old Man Li was very satisfied with them, but he wouldn't say it out loud. Instead, he urged them, "Practice hard and don't slack off. Diligence can make up for lack of talent."
Two novice martial arts practitioners, unaware of the true extent of their skills, were fooled by an old fox. They believed they were not good enough and kept striving to improve.
Old Li was secretly pleased with himself, not telling anyone else.
After the fight, An Moxue told the two people about what she had heard about Majia'ao on her way here, and also mentioned that she had overheard about Majia'ao by chance in town a few days ago.
All three of them felt that the matter was not so simple.
Old Li then told them the exact location of Majia'ao.
It also told the legend of Majia'ao—
Legend has it that long ago, there was a yellow-skinned fairy who lived in Majia'ao. The fairy was very efficacious and would grant any request as long as the fairy did not do anything bad. However, with the invasion of foreign enemies, the enemies set their sights on the yellow-skinned fairy. Once, more than a thousand enemies died and disappeared in Majia'ao. People in the vicinity never saw the yellow-skinned fairy again, and many strange things happened for no reason.
But we haven't heard of any accidents in Majia'ao for many years. Why is there one again this year?
After everyone finished breakfast, An Moxue and Wu Sicheng decided to go to Majia'ao to check what was going on.
The two followed the route Old Li had given them and finally arrived at Majia'ao around 3 p.m.
This place is deep in the mountains and forests. It is worth noting that this is a dangerous place, easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it the perfect place to serve as a base. Moreover, there is a lake nearby.
When An Moxue heard that a Yellow Immortal had once cultivated and lived here, she thought it must be a blessed land, or at the very least a place with stunning scenery.
When An Moxue arrived here, she didn't see any blessed land, but instead felt a strong aura of malevolence and resentment.
Judging from the terrain and mountain features, according to the feng shui she had learned, it was one of the most dangerous places, a dead end with no way out and no return.
An Moxue was very averse to this place, feeling that nothing good would come of it, so she suggested, "I have a bad feeling about this place. Let's walk around the area first, see how things go, and then decide what to do next, okay?"
Wu Sicheng originally wanted to go directly into the depths to investigate, but An Moxue had already made a suggestion, so he didn't object. It would just be a matter of going later. Anyway, he couldn't go back today, and he could investigate in detail tomorrow. If she didn't want to go, he could go himself. Why should he object?
Little did he know that this decision would save him once again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com