Chapter 345: Disaster Descends upon Xiyao Mountain

In the seventh year of Shenyuan, a heavy rain had not ceased for half a month. The lower reaches of the Great River flooded, causing the Emperor to fall ill from worry.

This heavy rain came so suddenly that even the Sitai Observatory had not predicted it.

Upon hearing the news, the Imperial Preceptor personally visited the Guanxing Terrace to divine the fortune, unexpectedly calculating that a baleful star had descended upon the southwest. The Imperial Academy received the news and urgently sent it to the Imperial Court, causing an uproar throughout the court.

The Emperor was bedridden and unable to attend to affairs, so the Crown Prince oversaw the state, ordering Wude Envoy Xiao Liangqing to lead three agents of the Unruly to the southwest to execute the source of the disaster and appease the heavens' wrath, with Imperial Academy Assistant Director Chen Zhangde accompanying him to assist.

The Crown Prince at that time later renounced his succession to the throne and became the lord of a city; that is a story for another time.

The Wude Envoy and the Assistant Director set out from the capital, traveling through wind and rain without stopping, and arrived at the Great River basin in just seven days.

However, the torrential rain caused the levees to collapse, and the river water surged endlessly. The group was trapped on the bank, but fortunately, the Imperial Preceptor's divine calculations had provided Assistant Director Chen with three silk pouches.

Among these three silk pouches, two were embroidered with the characters for "Wind" and "Fire," while another ochre-colored pouch had a Dharma Array embroidered on it with gold thread.

Assistant Director Chen opened the wooden pouch and took out a long ruler, upon which was carved: "When encountering a dead end, throw the ruler upon seeing water; the wind will calm and the path will appear." Below the characters was a long talisman seal.

Wude Envoy Xiao was puzzled, but he saw Assistant Director Chen hold the ruler, chanting words, bowing toward the northeast, and then, rising and waving his hand, he threw the long ruler into the turbulent Great River.

At first, the wind and waves remained, but after a short while, the clouds swirled, the wind grew fierce, and the river surged even more violently; yet, in the blink of an eye, the clouds cleared, the rain stopped, and the wind and waves calmed.

Seeing this, the Wude Envoy exclaimed in wonder, but at this moment, the calm water surface suddenly began to churn again, like boiling water.

The river water rolled, continuously receding to both sides, and before long, it had actually cleared a narrow path. In the path lay the very ruler that had just been thrown in, as if it were this long ruler that had severed the river water.

Wude Envoy Xiao looked out; the long ruler formed a path leading to the opposite bank. Assistant Director Chen invited the Wude Envoy to go first, and the group walked toward the opposite bank.

After crossing the Great River, they retrieved the long ruler, and the clouds and rain returned, with the wind and waves surging once more.

After traveling another few dozen miles, the rain vanished and the clouds dispersed. They caught sight of a village; the village was dilapidated, clearly caused by the flood, with muddy ground and collapsed houses.

Yet, even though the village was in ruins, men and women, old and young, could still be seen busy within it: the able-bodied men were repairing houses, the women were washing and cleaning, and the children were running about helping, as if this disaster had never occurred.

It is said that there must be a great plague after a great disaster, yet these villagers looked extremely spirited.

Strange, truly strange.

Wude Envoy Xiao was about to have someone make inquiries when he suddenly smelled a fragrance of medicine, and in an instant, he felt incomparably refreshed, his fatigue swept away, not at all like someone who had just experienced a storm and a long, arduous journey.

"There must be a capable person protecting this place," Assistant Director Chen whispered as he stepped forward.

Wude Envoy Xiao understood, and seeing an old man, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

"Old sir, our group has fled from the southeast. The journey has been very tiring, but we see that although there is disaster here, everyone looks spirited. May I ask why?"

The old man had poor eyesight; he squinted at Wude Envoy Xiao and his group for a long time, and seeing they were covered in mud and truly looked like refugees, he sighed.

Natural disasters show no mercy!

"You young men have suffered. This place did indeed suffer a calamity, but fortunately, there is a Xiyao Mountain to the southwest, and a Fairy lives in the mountain. During the disaster, the Fairy displayed great divine powers, saving the villagers from the flood, and after the disaster, she distributed medicine, which is how the lives of the whole village were preserved."

As the old man spoke, he bowed toward the southwest, and then said to Wude Envoy Xiao.

"I see that you young men are few in number, and I imagine you have suffered much along the way. There is still some spiritual medicine in the village bestowed by the Fairy; why not rest in the village for a while?"

Upon hearing this, the Wude Envoy hurriedly declined the old man's offer, claiming that his brothers were still ill and that he wished to pay a visit to the Fairy to request her help.

The old man knew he could not force them to stay, so he pointed out a direction for them. After Wude Envoy Xiao thanked him, he exchanged a glance with Assistant Director Chen, and the group headed into the mountains.

Xiyao Mountain was not very high; from a distance, it looked like an overturned bowl.

Assistant Director Chen had been silent the whole way, and the Wude Envoy knew there must be a mystery to it, so he hurriedly asked why.

"It is said that such heavy rain must bring flash floods, yet this place is completely unscathed. I have been carefully investigating along the way and discovered traces of Witchcraft; I imagine it is the work of the Fairy the old man spoke of."

Hearing this, Wude Envoy Xiao suddenly realized.

The saying goes that a mountain need not be high, but if there is a celestial being, it will be famous; Xiyao Mountain was so beautiful, presumably because that celestial being was there.

However, Assistant Director Chen's next words made the Wude Envoy frown.

"Although this mountain is not vast, the person who could use Witchcraft to stabilize such a mountain must have a cultivation level that cannot be underestimated."

Assistant Director Chen felt some unease: the baleful star calculated by the Imperial Preceptor was likely right here; if it were related to this Fairy, this trip would likely not end well.

The group followed Assistant Director Chen's footsteps cautiously, fearing that one wrong step would trigger the Witchcraft in the mountain. However, along the way, apart from the talisman arts that stabilized the mountain, they did not encounter any other Witchcraft.

Assistant Director Chen could not help but wonder: was he worrying for nothing?

After about a quarter of an hour, the five of them climbed to the top of the mountain.

Only then did they discover that Xiyao Mountain was not as unremarkable as it looked from afar; rather, several peaks occupied the northwest and east directions, leaving only a small opening to the southwest.

The entire valley was shaped like a crescent moon.

Looking out, there was actually a small courtyard in the valley, and wisps of cooking smoke drifted out from the courtyard.

That someone would actually live in such a place was truly strange.

The group reached the foot of the mountain and quietly concealed their figures; the Wude Envoy sent one man to sneak in and scout the situation.

Those who lived in such places were mostly reclusive experts; if they went in rashly and caused a misunderstanding, it would be hard to resolve. Caution is the parent of safety; it was better to scout the situation first.

Before long, the man who had been sent returned.

Seeing that man frowning with a grave expression, Wude Envoy Xiao and Assistant Director Chen's hearts sank—had they run into trouble?

The man shook his head: "That courtyard is called Ding'anju, and there is only a woman and a child in the courtyard, but..."

But as soon as he approached, the woman had discovered him.

Wude Envoy Xiao was greatly alarmed: this man had the best lightness skills and was extremely adept at stealth and scouting; he rarely met his match in the world. If even he had been discovered, then their group must have already had their tracks exposed.

It seemed that the woman was no ordinary person! Could she be the Fairy the old man spoke of?

Just as the Wude Envoy was pondering, he heard a clear and beautiful voice coming from the valley:

"You lords have come from afar, and the journey has been arduous. If you do not mind my humble abode being simple, why not reveal yourselves and rest your feet over a cup of tea?"

Wude Envoy Xiao and Assistant Director Chen looked at each other; the two stared at each other for a long time before deciding to reveal themselves together.

When they reached the house, they saw a woman already waiting outside the courtyard, and standing beside her was a...

Child?

Although it was called a child, its appearance was truly ugly, just like a mountain demon or a ghost, while the woman, on the contrary, was as beautiful as a celestial being,

No!

Even a celestial immortal could not compare to half the beauty of the woman before them.

The Wude Envoy was stunned; he had never seen such a beautiful woman, and just then, he heard the woman instruct the child: "Chiyanzi, serve tea to the gentlemen."

That monster called Chiyanzi, looking to be no more than three or four years old, carried a tea tray and walked toward the group with his short little legs, moving with great caution.

It was at this moment that Chen Siye pinched a Fire Character Formula and threw it straight at Chiyanzi's face.