Chapter 176: This year

His words were ambiguous, yet they sparked wild imagination.

Strangely, this Weibo post had many likes, but very few people commented.

Many netizens went to look up information about Longyuan Mountain; although much of the information had been cleared away initially, those who were determined could still find a bit.

Soon after, the blogger quickly deleted the post and even cancelled the account; this series of actions made people ponder deeply.

Since no aftershocks occurred and supplies were delivered promptly, most government agencies resumed work and could basically maintain normal operation.

In the testing center, professionals in white coats looked at the black pill on the instrument, used tweezers to pick up a small piece, and began the analysis.

The government was very interested in the animals rescuing people in the disaster area, managed to obtain such a pill, and sent it to the testing center to find out its principle.

As the tester operated carefully, a line of data soon appeared on the screen.

The tester showed a puzzled expression, saying, "Strange, the ingredients here are just simple herbs like coptis, salvia, angelica, red root, and licorice; some even clash, and taking them has basically no effect."

Hearing his doubtful voice, a colleague came over and said, "Impossible, let me take a look."

The herbs were quickly detected as nothing special; although taking them wouldn't kill you, they also had no healing effect.

So the question arises: many people indeed took the elixir and their injuries improved, something many witnessed firsthand, since quite a few people had taken the elixir.

Someone suggested, "Could the instrument be faulty? Let's test again."

After trying several instruments, the result remained the same; instruments don't lie, and the data they show certainly don't deceive.

If the elixir had no effect, how exactly did those people's injuries improve?

The staff at the testing center, seeing the report in hand, fell into silence.

"Why don't we try to replicate it? Maybe it would work."

Although they thought the chance was slim, considering the task assigned from above, they had no choice but to give it a try, and soon they produced the same pill from those herbs.

As expected, the replicated pill turned out completely ineffective.

What they didn't know was that these elixirs contained a spiritual energy imperceptible to the human eye; the machines naturally couldn't detect it, and no matter how they analyzed them, the elixirs' composition was just ordinary herbs.

It is precisely because the spiritual energy extracts the life essence from the herbs, and the two fuse together, that this is the most important factor, giving the elixir its effect.

Even if human technology advanced another hundred years, they still couldn't figure out this principle.

The report was soon delivered to the Wu Du municipal government.

The mayor's desk was piled with many documents, all related to post‑disaster reconstruction, so you could hardly see the mayor himself.

Hearing the knock, he finally lifted his head and said, "Please come in."

"Mayor, this is the report sent by the testing center; the pills have been tested and show no abnormalities."

The mayor looked at the report in the secretary's hand, his expression full of complexity, and said, "How could this be?"

Seeing that those elixirs had such miraculous effects, they originally planned to analyze the principle and replicate it, then mass‑produce it, but now it seems this path is unworkable.

"Moreover, according to informed sources, those animals eventually seemed to have returned to Longyuan Mountain."

The mayor couldn't help muttering to himself: "Again, Longyuan Mountain."

"By the way, there's another matter: the disappearance of the aftershocks is also related to Longyuan Mountain."

The seismograph's prediction might be off, but at the originally predicted time, an anomaly appeared near Longyuan Mountain, witnessed by many, and coincidentally the aftershocks vanished.

With so many coincidences in the world, plus Longyuan Mountain's own supernatural nature, this is certainly worth investigating.

The mayor's secretary reported on the hot topic being discussed online.

All of Wu Du lies within the quake‑affected zone, the damaged area is extensive, the government's workload is huge and manpower insufficient, so it's inevitable that some places are overlooked—for example, the remote mountain area of Longyuan Village.

As for the mayor, he has been swamped these days, and this is actually the first time he's heard of it.

Upon hearing this news, the mayor stared wide‑eyed: "There's actually such a thing? Longyuan Village is unharmed? Is the information reliable?"

The secretary nodded: "We went to check it out right away."

He paused, his expression somewhat incredulous, and said, "Completely intact."

Longyuan Mountain is like a utopia isolated from the world; external upheavals have not affected it at all, and if they hadn't personally experienced the earthquake, they might have thought the quake was just an illusion.

The environment there and the urban area here simply form a stark contrast.

Looking at the pictures the secretary brought back, the mayor's face was full of astonishment.

"Moreover, we asked the local residents; they said that when the quake began, Longyuan Mountain already showed anomalies, and the people there claimed some mysterious power was protecting the vicinity."

The secretary compiled all the gathered data and information and reported it to the mayor.

"Based on all the clues, everything points toward Longyuan Mountain; should we continue investigating?"

The mayor looked at these materials, fell into a long silence, rubbed his temples, pondered for a moment, then said:

"Post‑disaster reconstruction work is overwhelming, and the Longyuan area has already been sealed off, so there's no need to waste more time."

Although the mayor's words were vague, the secretary understood his meaning, nodded, and said, "The mayor is quite right."

If it's related to Longyuan Mountain, pursuing it further would likely yield no clues, and they couldn't really go up the mountain to search.

Moreover, at this critical juncture, the earthquake has just passed, and many post‑disaster matters need to be handled; who has that much energy and manpower?

After this incident, we found that Longyuan Mountain still harbors goodwill toward humanity; otherwise those animals wouldn't have come down the mountain to rescue people.

The only mystery is where those animals' elixirs come from.

If government officials knew those animals could refine elixirs, their jaws would probably drop in astonishment.

At the same time, the military region, as the main rescue leadership in the disaster zone, naturally received the news and couldn't help recalling the earlier operation in the Myanmar area.

"Lately, animal‑related strange events have been cropping up nonstop—first the overseas cultural relics group's outpost was attacked by animals, then came news of animals rescuing people; could these animals really have become spirits?"

"Online it's said these animals all came from the Wu Du area; could they not be the same batch?"

"Do you still remember what that poison‑snake mercenary said on his deathbed? You guys say this world couldn't really have monsters, right?"

Going by what they said earlier, they would definitely not believe these things, but now, seeing the related news online, everyone fell into a moment of silence.

These animals' behavior is so human‑like; if they were being driven by someone, who could possibly have such power to make them obey?

Moreover, the operation against the overseas cultural relics group not long ago is still fresh in memory; combined with the present situation, it inevitably invites speculation.

Since the Wu Du government had not issued an order to investigate, the military region also found it inconvenient to intervene too much, and with many post-disaster reconstruction issues, this matter could only be temporarily shelved.

Because the urgent priority was still to rescue the disaster area.

But this matter left the military leaders of the Wu Du garrison keeping it in mind.

The word "monster" also occasionally began to appear in their minds.

……

The mountain wind blew, tree shadows swayed, the towering beautiful peaks rising from the ground, under the veil of the sea of clouds, appeared especially tranquil; the clear stream flowed down the stone gullets, bursting with the sound of jade and stone.

On a large stone covered in moss, a green snake lay coiled; several shafts of sunlight shone on it, its scales emitting an unusual radiance.

From not far away came a faint rustling sound; countless animals gathered around the green snake, and Ye Qin slowly opened his eyes, asking, "Is everything done?"

The animals excitedly nodded and gestured with animated movements, depicting what had happened down the mountain.

"You did well; this time you have rendered great merit."

Receiving Ye Qin's praise, the animals became even more excited.

Ye Qin extended his mental power to sense carefully; the animals' merit had increased considerably, all gained while rescuing people, and in future cultivation these merits would be of great use.

Although it cannot let them ascend to heaven in a single step, at least it will protect them from inner demons, making their cultivation path smoother.

The affairs down the mountain should not require Ye Qin's further concern; he has helped as much as he could, and the human side should handle the rest well.

"Continue refining the elixir."

However, this time the elixir refinement was not for human consumption, but for themselves.

With the first refinement experience, the second was easier to pick up; although there were still many minor issues, seeing the animals become more skilled, Ye Qin felt greatly relieved.

Although the refined product was still dark and dull, the spiritual energy inside kept increasing, which can be said to be great progress.

Even later, some animals could refine a pill of decent appearance.

The Northeast tiger held a green pill the size of a bean, showing off constantly, swaying back and forth before the other animals, instantly drawing many envious glances.

After all, its cultivation level was placed here, plus its comprehension was not bad; among all the animals it could be said to be far ahead.

Besides the Northeast tiger, the weasel also had talent in this regard, quickly refining a green pill as well, though not as perfect, with a few black spots on it.

The medicinal fragrance permeating the air grew ever richer, mingling with the mountain breeze as it drifted away.

In this earthquake, casualties were not many, and with help from all sides, things in the disaster area also returned to the right track.

After all, the earthquake magnitude was not large; if it were not for the surrounding terrain being mountainous, its impact would probably have been even smaller.

Thus, only half a year was needed for the cities near Longyuan Mountain to basically stabilize; collapsed buildings were actually few, and reconstruction work was not troublesome.

But for Ye Qin, however, he encountered a problem.

"Over a year has passed, yet my cultivation level has made no progress at all, stagnant, and I have hit another bottleneck."

……

Ye Qin fell into contemplation on the mountain, while for Longyuan Village, whether before or after the earthquake, there had been no change; clearly this is not the season for autumn harvest or sowing, yet all villagers have begun to become busy, because the Mountain God Grand Ceremony is about to arrive.

Mountain God Temple.

Besides the village chief, the venerable and respected people of the village all gathered together to discuss important matters.

"In three days will be the annual Mountain God Grand Ceremony; we must organize it well this time."

The white-haired elder beside him nodded.

"If not for the Mountain God's protection, our village would have been destroyed in this earthquake; now, taking this opportunity to thank the Mountain God and also pray for blessings of favorable weather and no illness or disaster for the village next year."

Everyone's opinion was the same; the Mountain God Grand Ceremony occurs only once a year, and with the earthquake just ended, taking this opportunity to hold it grandly also serves to dispel ill fortune.

After the people talked for another long while, they had settled the details of the ceremony; amidst the curling smoke, everyone's expression was filled with reverence.

Just as they were discussing, a noisy clamor came from outside; the village chief stepped out and saw a dark shadow rushing toward him, nearly knocking him over, but he reacted quickly and darted aside.

Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a huge fat pig weighing several hundred jin, with a figure closely pursuing it from behind, holding a gleaming machete that flashed cold light in the air—clearly just sharpened, extremely sharp.

"I say, Old Li, what are you doing?"

Old Li gave an embarrassed smile, saying, "I wasn't just thinking; the Mountain God Grand Ceremony is coming soon, I wanted to slaughter this year's pig—who would have thought that as soon as I opened the pigpen, this beast would run out?"

The so-called "year pig" is the pig slaughtered for the New Year, a traditional custom; nowadays, in the villagers' eyes, the Mountain God Grand Ceremony is even more important than the New Year.

Not far away, the large fat pig was stout, its whole body lard, showing it had been well raised; Old Li didn't even blink, saying kill and kill, which shows the importance of the ceremony.

"Alright, let's all come help."

With everyone's help, the large fat pig was quickly caught.

The men mostly did heavy labor, while the women handled decorations; also, groups of three or five went together to the town to purchase the items needed for the ceremony.

The entire Longyuan Village, up and down, sprang into action; even the children took up brooms to sweep the ground, leaving it spotless, awaiting the arrival of the grand ceremony.

The village chief was nearly busy to the point of dizziness, like a spinning top, since all matters of the ceremony required his attention; if he messed up, he feared he would have no face to meet the Mountain God.

Fortunately, the village chief possessed purple qi, so his busyness showed no fatigue; if it were an ordinary elderly person, by now they would be too exhausted to straighten their waist.

As the day of the Mountain God Grand Ceremony drew nearer, every household hung red lanterns, and the whole village took on a fresh appearance.

The altar was set up at the mountain base, relatively close to Longyuan Mountain; because work had begun earlier, its scale was truly grand, appearing very imposing.

The ceremony began in the afternoon; first came the sacrifice to the Mountain God, then the banquet. Since this year's event was exceptionally grand, the village chief laid out nearly a hundred tables of feasts, inviting not only villagers but also people from other villages to attend.

Longyuan Mountain covers a broad area; at that time, besides protecting Longyuan Village, Ye Qin also bestowed blessings on other villages—though they were not unscathed like Longyuan Village, they suffered only minor damage.

Moreover, over these years, under the influence of Longyuan Village, other villages also came to worship the Mountain God; although their faith may not be as strong as that of Longyuan Village, it is still sincere, and they occasionally come to the Mountain God Temple to offer a stick of incense during festivals or holidays.

On another note, as one of the Mountain God's foremost devotees, Sun Zhenbang naturally had long known of the Mountain God celebration, so he had requested leave early.

The bureau chief also found it somewhat strange, given that Sun Zhenbang always stood guard at his post during the New Year, being very dedicated to his duty; now taking leave could be said to be unprecedented.

Watching Sun Zhenbang's hurried back, the police bureau colleagues were somewhat puzzled, asking, "Team Leader Sun, why the rush—what are you off to do?"

"I don't know; lately I feel Team Leader Sun's work has been absent-minded, I've seen him zone out several times."

"I heard he seems to be going to attend some kind of grand ceremony."

The people chatted a few sentences and didn't take it to heart.

The pirate Zhao Jianhua also received the news; earlier, under Ye Qin's intimidation, he had gone to the British Museum to steal artifacts, and since then he has been keeping an eye on the movements of Longyuan Mountain.

Upon learning that during the earthquake, the anomalous phenomena of Longyuan Mountain protected the villagers, and even animals came down the mountain to rescue people, he immediately realized this was the work of a mysterious existence.

He revered and admired Ye Qin even more in his heart; how could he possibly miss this grand occasion?

Since people from other villages were also attending this gathering, he planned to blend in and participate in the grand ceremony.

Over at Cloud Ridge, Zhou Team and Bai Yanfei also heard about the Mountain God Grand Ceremony; they originally wanted to join, but the distance was too far, and besides, they were tied up with matters here, so they couldn't go.

But although they couldn't come, several very special old acquaintances did show up……

(End of Chapter)