Chapter 127: The Journey to Shanwei

Now, ever since this little white fox became a subordinate deity of Su Yuanshan, it had also gained benefits, able to share in Su Yuanshan's incense; although the amount was extremely small and it had to obtain Su Yuanshan's nod to absorb it, even so, because its natural talent was good enough, its improvement was not slow, and every time its realm improved, it would bring indirect benefits to Su Yuanshan.

Moreover, with the improvement of its cultivation, there were more and more cultivation techniques for subordinate deities that it could learn; those things were all stored in the warehouse of the Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi, but they were merely basic subordinate deity techniques, and if it wanted to learn more advanced ones, it could only obtain them through auctions or other channels, which was not so easy.

But even so, the little white fox had still mastered a few quite practical minor spells, such as the Invisibility Technique, the Wall-Passing Technique, and so on; as for the more advanced "turning stones into gold," it had not yet mastered it, nor were there any techniques to learn, as there were no such high-end goods in the warehouse of the Huangliang Xian Chenghuang Yinsi.

Stretching, the little white fox jumped down from the table, then cast the Invisibility Technique and jumped onto the roof in a few bounds.

The reason it wanted to go onto the roof was because Su Yuanshan was also there.

Su Yuanshan was sitting cross-legged on the roof ridge, eyes closed in cultivation; beside him were the Qi Feng Immortal, the Suanni, the Yayu, and the Dou Niu, these five ridge-beasts, all made of glazed tile, yellow with a tint of green, very beautiful.

The tiles were green glazed tiles, indicating that the local people had been very meticulous when they first built this Chenghuang Temple.

Seeming to sense movement, Su Yuanshan opened his eyes, then flicked the dust off his front hem, slowly stood up, and looked into the distance, seeing houses of uneven heights, standing like scales on a fish!

Willow rows, long rivers, boats, carriages, horses, peddlers, and passersby were all taken in at a glance.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief and say indifferently to the little white fox.

"Let's go, let's go to Shanwei Lin and take a look!"

The little white fox was somewhat puzzled; it licked its little paw and couldn't help but raise its fluffy little head to ask.

"Prefect, what are we going there for?"

However, Su Yuanshan did not explain, only saying indifferently.

"You'll know when we get there! Let's go!"

"Okay!"

Su Yuanshan used his "Cloud-Raising" divine office to summon clouds and mist, then rode the cloud energy to soar into the air, flying toward the direction of Shanwei Lin.

With the whistling wind in its ears and soft clouds beneath its feet, the little white fox lay curled up on the cloud, looking very comfortable; after getting used to riding on cloud energy, it had completely lost its previous nervousness.

The first time it rode on cloud energy, looking at the high altitude below, it had been scared to death at the time, trembling all over.

But now, there was no such feeling of fear at all.

After flying for nearly an hour, and not yet having reached Shanwei Lin, Su Yuanshan pressed the cloud head down early.

Finding an uninhabited place, he shook his body and transformed into an ordinary farm boy, wearing coarse cloth clothes, with a delicate and handsome face.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he also specifically used the Breath-Restraining Technique to hide his divine aura, and to make himself and his identity appear more fitting, he no longer used any spells, acting just like an ordinary person.

After all, the world was in chaos now, with demon plagues rising everywhere, so being cautious was always right.

Even the little white fox had its spiritual energy restrained by him using the Breath-Restraining Technique, looking no different from an ordinary fox.

The mountain road was rugged and indeed difficult to walk; because he was used to using spells, suddenly not using them made him feel very unaccustomed for a time, feeling that it was not very convenient.

After walking for about five miles, he felt his feet chafing painfully.

Finally, before dark, he arrived at a small mountain village.

Su Yuanshan intended to rest in the mountain village for one night first and continue his journey tomorrow morning.

The small mountain village was not large, with only a few dozen scattered households, some located on the mountainside, others located at the foot of the mountain.

As the sun set, the mountain forest was covered in a thin mist, dotted with a bit of yellow amidst the verdant green, like a beautiful painting.

At one of the households, the brushwood gate was half-closed; in front of the gate were five willow trees and one peach tree. An old man with white hair and beard was sitting under a large willow tree in the row of willows outside the gate, leaning on a cane, staring blankly at the stream flowing past his door, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Occasionally, a few hoarse cicada chirps came from the willow tree, intermittent, just like this late autumn, as if it had reached the end of its life.

Seeing Su Yuanshan walk over, the old man's eyes brightened a little, and a trace of expectation appeared on his originally listless face.

Walking up to the old man, Su Yuanshan pointed to the mountain peak not far away and asked.

"Old man, what is this mountain called? How much further is Shanwei Lin from here?"

The old man stood up tremblingly, leaning on his cane, pointed at the mountain, and said indistinctly.

"Han (Shan)wei Mountain... this mountain is called... Han (Shan)wei Mountain, the forest on the top of the mountain... is called Han (Shan)wei Lin..., young man, why are you asking about this...?"

Looking at that mountain peak in the distance, Su Yuanshan replied.

"I have just long heard of its name, and I want to go over and take a look."

However, upon hearing this, the old man waved his hands repeatedly.

"Can't go... can't go... you can't go to that place, young man! You must not..."

Su Yuanshan was somewhat surprised to hear this.

"Oh, the old man should tell me, why can't I go!"

However, the old man just waved his hand and said nothing.

Seeing the old man panting and sitting back down on the tree root, Su Yuanshan asked again.

"Old man, is there any famous blacksmith in your area?"

The old man heard this and replied.

"Old Han in the east village, Old Sun in the west village, their craftsmanship is not bad, but it's a pity... the craftsmanship has been lost."

"Er Gouzi in the south village, who made some hoes, sickles, and the like, was originally quite decent, but in this day and age, it's hard for blacksmiths to get by, so... they have gradually put down their work and changed professions."

"The craftsmanship has become rusty; if you let him pick it up and forge now, I reckon he couldn't even forge a single iron hook well!"

He spoke ramblingly, and Su Yuanshan listened absentmindedly.

Only hearing the old man continue.

"Some have ancestral craftsmanship, some started halfway, exchanged for a few pecks of sorghum with their masters... sigh... it's not easy, they all earn hard-earned money, and... I heard that the authorities issued some iron restriction order, so they all changed professions!"

After asking for a long time without getting much useful information, Su Yuanshan had to change the subject.

"Old sir, is there any inn or something nearby where one can stay?"

The old man waved his hand.

"In this old mountain gully, where would there be an inn? I do have a few empty rooms at home; my son is away and not here recently. If the guest... doesn't mind... you can stay there for a few nights, just give me a few big coins, just as a token!"

Su Yuanshan thought to himself that this old man really knew how to make money, but a few big coins were not expensive, so he let the old man lead him to the room, and after tidying up, he decided to stay for a few days.

The old man asked while panting as he tidied the bed for him.

"Where do you come from, guest, and what brings you to this place?"

Su Yuanshan replied.

"Nothing else in particular, just out to see the world and have some fun for a few days! By the way, old man, you said one cannot go to Shanwei Lin; why is that exactly?"

Upon hearing Su Yuanshan bring up this topic, the old man waved his hand.

"Don't ask, don't ask; knowing too much will do you no... good!"

"If you want to have fun, just wander around the area; there is a pool halfway up the mountain with plenty of fish and the scenery is not bad either, you can go wander around there. As for Shanwei Lin... sigh. You had better forget about it, listen to me and you won't go wrong!"