Deer Town
Having learned from Qian Jin's serious injury last time, Ao Ming made extra thorough preparations before going out this time.
He not only brought plenty of the East Sea's holy medicines for healing, but also prepared a large quantity of antidote pills, miasma-avoiding pills, calming incense, and even wound medicine suitable for mortals, filling a storage bag to the brim. If Qian Jin hadn't stopped him, he almost would have packed up the Dragon Palace physician as well.
"We're going to find someone, not to fight a war." Qian Jin looked at his tense expression and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but her heart was warmed.
Following the vague directions provided in the letter from the elder, the two headed west. The "Deer Town" was indeed remote, nestled among the mountains, and without clear guidance, it would be easy to get lost in the winding mountain paths and swirling clouds.
However, when the two finally passed through the last pass, the scene before them took them by surprise.
This is not the desolate, remote, and impoverished place one might imagine.
On the contrary, the valley is open, the land is fertile, and the streams murmur. In the distance, there is even a small natural harbor, where several fishing boats are quietly moored, their masts standing tall, clearly connected to the outside world. The houses in the town are neat and orderly, not luxurious, but clean and tidy. The crops in the fields are growing well, and although the faces of the villagers are weathered, there is no sign of sorrow, but rather a sense of peace and contentment.
However, this place seems to be in a no-man's-land, with no trace of the imperial government offices, nor can one sense the usual aura of local deities or celestial officials, forming a tranquil little world of its own.
Old Shen was standing under the old locust tree at the entrance of town, waiting for them. When he saw the two of them, he greeted them with a smile: "You've finally arrived! This place must be hard to find, right?"
"Master Shen!" Qian Jin stepped forward quickly, not even bothering with pleasantries, and asked anxiously, "Is what you said in your letter true? Is it really... really true that there is my master's aura?"
The old man stroked his long, snow-white beard, his expression kind yet tinged with emotion: "Girl, don't be anxious. This matter is a long story, and it can't be explained in just a few words. Come, I'll take you to see for yourselves, and you'll understand once you see it with your own eyes."
He led the two deeper into the town, saying as they walked, "This town didn't even have a proper name before, just a few dozen households scattered around. It is said that a hundred years ago, one day, the clouds and fog cleared, and rays of light shone everywhere. A divine deer, pure white with antlers gleaming with auspicious light, descended here, stood at the highest point in the town, raised its head, and let out a clear, melodious cry that echoed through the valley."
"After the deer's cry, withered trees came back to life, mountain springs gushed forth, and the once barren land became fertile. The villagers all said it was an auspicious omen, and so they named the place 'Deer Cry Town'. The place where the divine deer descended and cried out became the town's sacred site." As the old man spoke, he pointed to a small, carefully maintained earthen mound not far away. Sure enough, on the mound stood a natural boulder shaped like a deer antler, with incense burning beside it and fresh fruits offered as sacrifices.
“A few days ago, while traveling around, I vaguely sensed a trace of extremely ancient and faint, yet mellow and gentle, earth faith. Following the trail, I arrived here.” Elder Can stopped, his gaze falling on the “Deer Stone,” his expression becoming more solemn. “And that familiar aura… its source… lies within the earth’s veins here, and is completely integrated with the faith of Deer Town.”
Qian Jin's heart suddenly raced. She held her breath and, following the guidance of the ginseng elder, slowly extended a wisp of her spiritual consciousness into the ground beneath her feet.
At first, there was a mixed scent of soil, roots, and water veins. Then, a deep, profound spiritual aura, full of inclusiveness and protection, slowly emerged. That spiritual aura was not singular, but rather three intertwined and interdependent thoughts!
One is as broad and resilient as the earth, one is as gentle and nourishing as the spring breeze, and one is as upright and unyielding as metal and stone.
This feeling...this feeling...
Qian Jin's tears welled up instantly. She covered her mouth abruptly, looking at Elder Shen in disbelief, then at Ao Ming, her voice choked with sobs: "It's...it's the masters...it's them! It really is them!"
Ao Ming quickly supported her trembling shoulders, his heart also deeply shaken. He could also vaguely sense the three faint divine thoughts that were sleeping deep within the earth's veins, almost integrated with the mountains and rivers.
The old man sighed, his eyes filled with both relief and regret: "It seems my feelings were correct. Your three masters must have suffered severe damage to their souls back then, unable to maintain their physical forms and divine positions. In the end, they chose the most thorough way: to transform into earth spirits, merging their remaining divine essence with the spiritual veins of this mountain range, becoming the nameless yet real 'guardian land' of Deer Cry Town. Although they lost their freedom and their minds mostly slumbered within the earth's veins, they were able to continue their existence and bless the people of this land."
Qian Jin was already in tears. She broke free from Ao Ming's hand and rushed to the "Deer Stone," gently stroking the cold stone with both hands as if touching her masters' faces, sobbing uncontrollably: "Masters... your disciple has come... your disciple has finally... found you..."
As if responding to her call, the "deer stone" seemed to warm up slightly for a moment, and the surrounding earth energy also gently surged, like a silent comfort.
For the next few days, Qian Jin stayed by the deer stone almost every step of the way. She talked incessantly to her sleeping masters about her experiences over the years: how she entered the God of Wealth's Mansion, how she met friends like Ao Ming, Sister Lan, Brother Ban, and Da Qiangzi, how she beat up the Black Fiend Bandits, how she was almost killed by the demon dragon but was saved, how she helped the merfolk stop suffering and made a fortune... She told them everything in detail, as if she wanted to make up for all the time she had missed.
Ao Ming and Elder Shen stayed quietly by his side. Ao Ming thoughtfully prepared food and water, silently supporting him. Elder Shen would occasionally use his gentle essence of herbs and trees to communicate with the earth's veins, attempting to nourish the three sleeping souls. Although the effect was slow, Qian Jin could feel that his masters' condition was becoming more and more stable.
Although the villagers didn't know exactly what had happened, they could sense the respect these extraordinary outsiders held for their "sacred land." In addition, the old man was venerable and sage-like, Qian Jin was sincere and touching, and Ao Ming, though cold-faced, was polite. So they all treated them warmly, bringing them fruits and food, and telling them many stories about the divine deer and how this land had nurtured them.
After the joy of reunion subsided slightly, Qian Jin's long-buried idea became even more resolute: she wanted to build a real temple for her masters here!
She took Ao Ming and Can Lao with her and began to carefully survey and select a site around the town. It needed to have good feng shui and abundant earth energy to better nurture the spirits of the masters, and it also needed to be in a convenient location for the villagers to make offerings.
On this day, the three surveyed a sunny hillside on the east side of the town. The view from this spot was expansive, overlooking the entire town and port, with distant views of green mountains and blue sea; it was considered to have excellent feng shui.
Qian Jin was poking and probing here and there with her "fire poker" to sense the direction of the earth's energy when the tip of the poker accidentally hit a bare, dark rock.
A crisp "clang" rang out, the sound unusually clear and melodious, unlike the sound of striking an ordinary rock.
Qian Jin was startled and subconsciously focused his gaze. He saw that where the tip of the stick had struck, a small piece of the dark stone skin had peeled away, revealing a breathtaking deep purple crystal inside, like a galaxy settling within, shimmering with a mysterious and rich spiritual light in the sunlight!
"What is this...?" Qian Jin squatted down and brushed away more of the stone skin with his hand, revealing more of the deep purple crystal. The pure earth elemental spiritual energy contained within was so abundant that it was suffocating.
Elder Shen also came over, and after just one glance, he gasped, his snow-white beard standing on end: "This, this is... 'Starry Amethyst'? And it's such a high-quality outcrop of a mineral vein!"
Upon hearing this, Ao Ming's expression also turned solemn. As a member of the Dragon Clan, he possessed extensive knowledge of the world's precious mineral veins and naturally knew how rare the "Starry Amethyst" was for refining artifacts. Moreover, it was a spirit stone vein containing the purest earth elemental power, and its value could not be estimated with ordinary spirit stones!
Elder Shen was so excited that his hands trembled slightly. He bent down and carefully examined the surrounding earth veins. After a long while, he suddenly slapped his thigh, his voice changing tone: "Incredible! Incredible! This Deer Cry Town is more than just good feng shui! This entire mountain is probably an enormous vein of star amethyst! It's just buried deep underground and is usually difficult to find! This exposed spot is probably only revealed by chance because the earth's energy surged when the divine deer descended!"
Qian Jin stared wide-eyed at the "ordinary" stones covering the mountainside, then at the small, dazzling, deep purple crystal in her hand, her breath catching in her throat.
She slowly raised her head, looking at Ao Ming who was equally shocked beside her. Her expression was a mixture of crying and laughing, and her voice was as faint as if she were dreaming.
“Ao Ming… this time… we seem to need to think about… how to talk to this town, which is ‘unregulated by the government and no one’s in charge,’ about this mine?”
The matter was of great importance and involved the interests of Luming Town itself, so Qian Jin felt that it could not be concealed or handled arbitrarily. Suppressing the great shock in her heart, she immediately asked a kind villager for help, who then invited several respected elders from the town, one of whom was known as "Old Li" and was considered the person in charge of the town.
Beside the deer stone, Qian Jin explained the situation to the elderly men in simple and easy-to-understand language. She did not hide the preciousness of the Starry Amethyst, but she also frankly stated that the mine belonged to the town of Luming, and its ownership and disposal should be decided jointly by the townspeople.
Old Li and the other elders were stunned. They had lived here all their lives and only knew that the rocks in the mountains were hard and could not grow any good crops. Occasionally, they could quarry some ordinary stones to build houses and roads, but they never imagined that such an amazing treasure was hidden in the dark, rocky mountains.
Old Li scratched his gray hair, his face full of simple confusion: "Miss Qian, you mean this...this amethyst is very valuable? More valuable than...more valuable than the fish we catch and the grains we grow?"
Qian Jin nodded vigorously, trying her best to explain, "Old Li, this isn't just valuable. This small piece..." She held up the amethyst in her hand, "could probably buy all the fishing boats and grain in the town, and still have some left over."
The elderly people gasped in shock, exchanging bewildered glances, all stunned by the enormous number.
After a long silence, Old Li clicked his tongue and said, "Miss Qian, you are honest people. You found such a treasure and still came to tell us. According to the rules passed down from generation to generation in our Luming Town, whoever finds something in the mountains has the right to deal with it. You are the first people in the past hundred years to find it, so in principle, how to deal with it should be up to you."
Now, it was Qian Jin, Ao Ming, and Elder Shen who were stunned.
They had anticipated all sorts of scenarios and even prepared for negotiations or compensation, but they never expected such a response based purely on trust and ancient traditions.
This unreserved trust and open-mindedness weighed heavily on the hearts of the three, making them even more at a loss.
Such a massive mineral vein, with its intertwined interests and potential turmoil, is far beyond the capacity of a small town like Luming Town to handle. Directly "dispose" of it? None of them could easily make that decision.
Seeing Qian Jin's furrowed brows and the calm yet bewildered looks on the faces of the elderly, Ao Ming pondered for a moment, stepped forward, and said gently, "Elder Li, elders, this matter is of great importance, far exceeding our previous expectations. The value of this mine is enough to shake the outside world. If it is not handled properly, it may bring disaster to Luming Town."
He paused, looked at Qian Jin and Elder Can, and suggested, "Why don't we return to the East Sea Dragon Palace first and report this matter to my father and mother? They are knowledgeable and experienced in handling such matters, and will surely be able to weigh the pros and cons and find the safest and fairest solution for us and for Luming Town. What do you all think?"
Upon hearing this, Elder Li and the others, though not quite understanding the specifics of the "East Sea Dragon Palace," were reassured by Ao Ming's extraordinary demeanor and earnest words, and by the agreement of Qian Jin and the venerable Elder Shen. They repeatedly said, "Of course, of course! We will leave it to you gentlemen to decide!"
Ao Ming then looked at Elder Shen and respectfully invited, "Elder Shen, we are very grateful to you for guiding us here. Why don't we go to the East Sea together for a few days? I dare not say about other things in the Dragon Palace, but we do have a few jars of fine wine that have been stored for ten thousand years. Please have a taste."
Elder Shen was already quite interested in the mineral vein, and upon hearing about the millennia-old wine, his face lit up with a smile, and his long, snow-white beard trembled with joy: "Good, good, good! Let's go together!"
With the matter temporarily settled, the three felt somewhat relieved. Qian Jin reassured Elder Li and the others that he would definitely secure the best arrangement for Luming Town before bidding farewell to the villagers.
Before leaving, Qian Jin stood quietly by the deer-shaped stone for a while, silently saying to her sleeping masters, "Masters, rest assured, Jin'er will handle everything well. Once the mine matter is resolved, I will return to build you the most magnificent temple!"
The earth's energy seemed to surge gently, as if in a subtle response.
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