Chapter 129: The Orchid in the Empty Valley, a Fairy Herb of the Mortal World

Su Yuanshan was even distracted for a moment, unable to help but offer a word of praise.

"What a truly fine piece of music. It seems the one playing it is a person with a story to tell; they might even be the master of this place."

"Xiaobai, come, let's go over and take a look!"

Su Yuanshan beckoned to the little white fox and walked slowly in the direction from which the flute music came.

Sure enough, not long after walking, Su Yuanshan saw a beautiful young girl with naturally curly long hair draped over her chest, wearing a flower crown and a pale cyan dress, sitting atop an ancient pine tree, dangling her jade-like feet and playing with self-forgetful focus; the moving melody, with its sobbing and pleading tones, added a hazy sense of beauty when accompanied by the light mist drifting through the mountains from time to time.

Even Su Yuanshan and the little white fox seemed to be intoxicated by this wonderful and moving melody, unable to bear disturbing it; until the girl finished playing the piece, he still felt a lingering sense of wanting more, remaining with his eyes closed as if savoring its wonder.

Only after a long while did he open his eyes, and he saw the girl sitting upright on the tree, gazing blankly into the distance as if he did not exist; it was not until he gave a light cough and looked at her that the girl turned her face to size him up for a moment and asked in surprise.

"Can you see me, young master?"

Su Yuanshan replied indifferently.

"With such beauty, how could one turn a blind eye?"

The girl smiled slightly.

"You certainly know how to talk!"

Su Yuanshan then said.

"I hear a sense of resentment and sorrow in your music, young lady; could it be that you have something on your mind?"

However, the girl seemed somewhat distracted as she shifted her gaze toward the distance, then sighed softly, slid down from the tree, and said kindly.

"This is not a place you should be, young master; you had best return quickly!"

As she spoke, she turned to leave.

A mountain breeze blew, filling the air with fragrance, and the green gauze of her clothing was gently lifted by the wind.

As the girl bent down, the flower crown on her head was inadvertently blown off by the mountain breeze; just as she was about to pick it up, the little white fox suddenly snatched it up and delivered it into Su Yuanshan's hands.

The girl was startled, a trace of slight anger appearing on her face, but Su Yuanshan, looking apologetic, walked over to return the flower crown to her and smiled.

"My pet fox is a bit mischievous; I hope you will not take offense, young lady!"

The girl took it back but said nothing, turning and walking away.

Wushan Shennü!

For some reason, watching her graceful silhouette grow more distant in the mountain mist, this term suddenly popped into Su Yuanshan's mind.

Upon descending the mountain, Su Yuanshan found that the old man had already returned, sitting before the brushwood gate leaning on his cane as before, gazing at the small stream by the entrance.

Occasionally, a few cicadas chirped from the willow trees, though the sound was somewhat mournful.

Seeing Su Yuanshan, the old man asked.

"Young man, out for a stroll? You didn't go to Shanwei Lin, did you?"

Su Yuanshan did not answer, but instead asked.

"Old man, I heard from a woodcutter brother that Shanwei Lin doesn't seem as dangerous as you say!"

The old man huffed indignantly upon hearing this.

"You're talking about Old Wang's second son, aren't you! What do young people know?"

"Listen to me, don't go to that place; it will do you no good!"

Su Yuanshan smiled upon hearing this; he had originally wanted to ask about the thatched cottages on the peak and the girl with the flower crown in the forest, but after a moment's thought, he gave up and turned to return to his room.

He could even hear the old man muttering to himself, though he did not know what he was saying.

The matter of repairing the City God's Demon-Slaying Sword still had no leads, and Su Yuanshan planned to go down again to visit the owner of the thatched cottage, hoping to find some clues.

As for that mysterious girl, he could ask about her as well.

He went to Shanwei Lin again in the afternoon and found the thatched cottages, but unfortunately, the owner of the house had still not returned, and he did not see the mysterious girl either.

He stayed at the old man's place for nearly three days, but since that chance encounter, Su Yuanshan never ran into the mysterious girl again, and the owner of the house never returned, leaving it empty the whole time.

However, he did run into the woodcutter again, and when he brought up the thatched cottage on the peak and the girl, the woodcutter looked surprised.

"What? A girl? Never seen one! Could what you saw be the Craft Spirit?"

Craft Spirit?

Su Yuanshan's eyes lit up at these words, feeling as if he had found a key clue, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, Craft Spirit? Can you tell me about it?"

The woodcutter put down his axe, sat carelessly on a tree root, and wiped the sweat with a towel before speaking.

"There is a legend passed down through generations here, a legend about the spirit of a blacksmith.

It is said that during the Western Ling Dynasty, there was a blacksmith family surnamed Mu who forged weapons and armor for the imperial family for generations; they were true imperial blacksmiths with exquisite craftsmanship and a great reputation. Later, when the Western Ling was destroyed, that blacksmith family suffered as well. It is said that the last head of the Mu Family was a woman, and her skills were even more famous than her father's.

Later, after she died, she was worshipped by nearby blacksmiths as the patron saint of blacksmiths and was called the Craft Spirit.

However, in recent years, the Kaicheng Dynasty issued a restriction on iron, forbidding private blacksmithing and requiring everything to go through public workshops, so the blacksmiths all changed professions. I suppose no one goes to worship that Craft Spirit anymore!

The girl you saw is nine times out of ten the Craft Spirit! But I've never seen her, so I can only guess.

But I advise you to stay away from her; seeing a ghostly spirit is not a lucky thing around here.

Although the Craft Spirit was worshipped by blacksmiths in the past and revered as a deity, she is not a deity after all; to put it plainly, she is a ghost. It is said that ghosts seek lives, and contact with them is inauspicious!"

Hearing him say this, Su Yuanshan finally understood why the old man had spoken that way and why he had repeatedly warned him to stay away from Shanwei Lin; it turned out there was such an ancient legend.

But at the same time, he was also somewhat excited, feeling that the girl was the person he was looking for and might truly be able to help him repair the City God's Demon-Slaying Sword.

A spirit, after all, is not a god; it is not easy to have persisted until now.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize a very serious problem; he suddenly seemed to understand why the girl would play that piece of music, why the melody was so mournful and resentful, so sobbing and pleading, and so ethereal.

Without a source of incense, without the offerings of incense, that girl would dissipate into nothingness!

She must have been sustained until now by someone who kept offering to her, but since she was once considered the god of blacksmiths and now all the blacksmiths have changed professions, who would still offer to her? Clearly, there should be no one left to worship her. If no one believes in her or makes offerings, her life would naturally reach its end, and there would be only one outcome—dissipating into nothingness!

After all, if she could have been reincarnated, she would have been long ago; why wait until now? It is likely that for some reason, her path to reincarnation was severed, and she can only drift in this mountain forest like duckweed without roots!

Three hundred years! Three hundred years of loneliness! She, a girl, endured it all alone! I don't know how she managed to survive; although revered as a god, she is not a god, just a lonely soul!

Moreover, it is estimated that it won't be long before her soul scatters and she dissipates; besides playing the xun flute to relieve that loneliness and that fear, what else could she do?

Su Yuanshan could not help but sigh, thinking to himself, to become a god, one must endure the loneliness of a god!

What's more, she is not a god, is she?

Seeing Su Yuanshan sigh and look into the distance, the woodcutter clearly misunderstood his intention and said.