Chapter 128: The Sound of the Flute in the Secluded Valley

Su Yuanshan naturally could not stop because of the old man's admonition; after all, compared to the words of the old man, a mere mortal, he felt that what the Night-Roaming God said was more reliable.

Perhaps the matter of him repairing the City God's Demon-Slaying Sword lay right here in Shanwei Lin or nearby.

The old man helped him make the bed and gathered up some trash, then, carrying the trash in one hand and leaning on a cane made of prickly ash wood in the other, he left tremblingly.

Watching his hunched back, Su Yuanshan pondered.

"Perhaps I can find the result I want in Shanwei Lin!"

What exactly did the Day-Roaming God's words mean?

Could it be that that skilled craftsman was living in seclusion in this Shanwei Lin? Or was that mysterious figure a resident of this mountain village?

It seems I still need to understand and inquire about this properly!

When the red sun hanging above the mountains, far off at the edge of the sky, was gradually swallowed by the night, it left behind only a stretch of sunset clouds and a few small black dots flying into the distance; those were some unknown birds.

Lighting the oil lamp, closing the windows, and fastening the wooden bolt, Su Yuanshan walked to the bed, lifted his feet onto the wooden platform, then untied his leg wraps, took off his cloth shoes, pulled off his white cloth long stockings, and lay down on the bed fully clothed.

There was a musty smell on the bed, and the accommodation conditions were clearly not very good; his gaze wandered, and he saw a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat hanging on the wall, but they had clearly not been used for a long time, as they were covered in dust.

Su Yuanshan did not know when he had fallen asleep; in a daze, he seemed to hear someone calling his name.

He could not help but push open the door to walk outside, only to discover upon reaching the outside that there was nothing there; it seemed to have become foggy outside, a misty expanse where nothing could be seen clearly.

He turned around, intending to return to the room, but unexpectedly, upon turning, he discovered a figure standing before him.

Su Yuanshan suddenly woke up in a fright, only to discover that he was still lying on the bed, the lamplight like a bean, flickering unsteadily!

He sneered in his heart: what kind of thing was so bold as to dare lead me into a dream and bewitch me?

He turned his head to look at the little white fox and found that it was still in a deep sleep, seemingly completely unaware.

Su Yuanshan could not help but ponder; that thing should have had no malicious intent, otherwise, he feared that before it could get close, the little white fox would have sensed it, as his subordinate god was no pushover.

This also made him discover a problem: the disadvantage of not using magic for the sake of caution!

If he had casually set up a defensive magic array around the house, would such a thing have happened?

However, Su Yuanshan still did not change his mind; he felt that this could also be considered an opportunity to temper his own state of mind.

If everything were solved with magic, he would develop a reliance on it; if he were to encounter a situation where he could not use magic, would that not be bad?

So doing this had both disadvantages and advantages; the disadvantage was naturally the situation that had just occurred, while the advantage was that it could temper his state of mind and better hide his identity; after all, the world was too chaotic, and with the many eyes and ears of Great Demons like Baie Hou, exposing his identity would ultimately not be very beneficial to him.

Therefore, stability comes first; caution outweighs everything!

Thinking as he went, in his drowsiness, he gradually fell asleep again.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

He was suddenly awakened by the crowing of a rooster, and upon opening his eyes, he discovered that it was already broad daylight.

Su Yuanshan stretched, put on his white long stockings, put on his white-soled cloth shoes, tied his leg wraps, and walked out the door, finding the little white fox jumping up and down in the grass outside, chasing a white butterfly.

He then walked toward the room where the old man lived.

"Old man, is the old man in?"

However, after calling out several times, there was no response; he walked in and discovered that the dilapidated wooden door was already locked.

A copper bolt guarded the door, indicating the old man was not there.

Su Yuanshan opened the wicker gate again and walked outside, finding no sign of the old man either.

"I don't know where this old man went! Oh well, I'll go to Shanwei Lin and take a look myself."

Su Yuanshan called out to the little white fox, and the man and fox walked slowly toward the mountaintop.

On the road, birds chirped, but their figures could not be seen; suddenly, the green grass in the roadside thicket swayed, and Su Yuanshan turned his head to look, only to discover that what had scurried out was a wild rabbit, which fled rapidly upon seeing him.

After spending nearly one or two hours gradually approaching the mountaintop, Su Yuanshan discovered that the trees here were clearly much taller than those before.

Su Yuanshan looked up ahead, saying to himself, the place ahead should be Shanwei Lin, right? Aside from the trees being older and taller, they were no different from the trees in other places.

Suddenly, he heard a sound of "thump-thump" woodcutting; Su Yuanshan frowned slightly and walked over, only to see a burly man swinging an axe and cutting wood with a "heave-ho, heave-ho" sound.

Seeing him walk over, the burly man wiped his sweat and looked at him with a face full of surprise.

Su Yuanshan cupped his hands and asked.

"May I ask, is this forest Shanwei Lin?"

The man nodded slightly and said.

"That's right! Where did you come from, little brother? What are you doing here?"

Su Yuanshan smiled and said.

"I am from a village further away; I came here to look for someone. Are there any reclusive extraordinary people or masters nearby?"

"Extraordinary people or masters?" The big man smiled and said.

"I've worked as a woodcutter in these mountains for so many years and have never heard of any extraordinary people or masters. If you're talking about special people, though.

There are some, namely those few Taoist priests in the Taoist temple, right at the foot of the mountain, but usually, they just help others perform rituals, burn paper talismans to help people cure illnesses, and so on; you can go there and ask."

Su Yuanshan cupped his hands and was just about to leave when he suddenly remembered something, so he asked again.

"By the way, I heard from an old man that this Shanwei Lin is very dangerous; why are you still cutting wood here?"

However, the big man laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"Dangerous? What's dangerous about this? I've been doing this for decades!

Their meaning is probably that they are afraid of offending the Mountain God, who knows!"

"Many thanks for the information!" Su Yuanshan turned and left.

Watching Su Yuanshan's back gradually disappear into the mountain forest, the big man muttered a sentence.

"Dangerous... hmm... that's really hard to say!"

Then he swung his axe again and began to chop the tree.

"Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!"

The moss-covered giant rocks, the dilapidated ancient city ruins swallowed and covered by grass and trees—everything seen along this journey seemed to be telling Su Yuanshan that this place was almost the same as recorded in the Huangliang Xian gazetteer; hundreds of years ago, it was indeed a prosperous place, the former capital of an old dynasty!

It is just a pity that as time passed, most of the traces have been buried beneath this soil and amidst the wild grasses of the great mountains, suddenly giving him a feeling that the affairs of the world are ever-changing.

However, after wandering around Shanwei Lin, Su Yuanshan gained nothing at all; although he had seen a few thatched cottages, the owners were clearly not here.

Moreover, judging by the farm tools in the yard, the chickens and ducks kept in pens, and the cultivated farmland in front of and behind the houses, they do not seem to be any extraordinary people or recluses, but rather ordinary mortals with appetites for food.

Standing before the fence for a while, Su Yuanshan was just about to leave when he suddenly heard a melodious "flute sound" coming from the mountain forest.

The sound was wailing, like sobbing and complaining, extremely beautiful and pleasant; it seemed to be an xun flute!

It gave one a sense of ethereal distance, profound and desolate, making one completely lose oneself upon hearing it.