Chapter 208: Old Friends

Seeing the old woman suddenly close her stall, the stall owners next to her were very surprised,

"Lan Granny, why did you close the stall? There are more people here than at night!"

The Miao old woman dealt with it, "Suddenly remembered that there are some other good goods in the village, so I am going back to get them."

Having said that, the old woman flicked out a small insect. After the insect landed, it became larger. It looked a bit like a snake, but it was thicker and shorter than a snake, more like a huge bamboo tube, and it also had many bamboo joints on its body. The old woman threw everything on the stall into the mouth of the bamboo-joint insect. Subsequently, the insect became small again and returned to the old woman's hand.

Cheng Xinzhan followed behind the old woman, falling behind by a distance, and soon left Mount Tulong. They were walking south, which was the direction of Xiangxi. After Shen Zhaoming watched Cheng Xinzhan leave, he chose another road and also went to Xiangxi.

The road in the Wuling Mountain area was truly difficult to walk, winding and twisting, drilling through mountain caves, crossing streams, and not being able to fly high, because there were too many and too dense mountains, and flying was also blocked, perhaps even more winding. If they flew higher, the miasma, fog, and vegetation would block everything, and they couldn't see anything.

After about two hours, the two came to a cliff wall in a canyon.

Cheng Xinzhan formed the core in spring, and now it was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Here, the fog was dark, the grass and trees were lush, and the wild fruits of various colors—red, orange, yellow, and green—were very beautiful.

At this time, the Miao old woman looked back and said respectfully,

"Daoist master, we are about to reach my village ahead. There are many mortals in my village, so I hope the senior will never leak this place in the future."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded. "You can rest assured about this, but I also want to remind you not to play any tricks."

The old woman nodded and brought Cheng Xinzhan to a cliff wall, touching the cliff wall with her hand.

"Whoosh—"

A patch of moths flew up.

Cheng Xinzhan was surprised to find that the cliff wall in front of him was actually blocked by a patch of moths. The color and pattern of these moths' wings were exactly the same as the cliff wall around them. After the moths flew away, an entrance was revealed here.

The two entered from the opening, and subsequently, those moths returned to their original positions, closing the entrance.

The mountain cave was winding all the way, and there were many forks. Cheng Xinzhan followed behind the old woman, secretly marveling at the concealment of this place.

After walking for a mile, light finally came through, and the mountain cave gradually became larger. After walking out of the mountain cave, it suddenly became clear, and the beautiful scenery in front of him made Cheng Xinzhan feel surprised.

This was a circular mountain valley, surrounded by great mountains. Above his head were heavy clouds and mist, and vines were layered. Looking up, he couldn't see anything. Presumably, if anyone flew over from above, they wouldn't be able to see the situation in this valley.

The lighting in the valley was even stranger. There were strange insects like jellyfish in the sea flying in the high sky, emitting soft light from their bellies, illuminating the mountain valley. The plants in this valley were very tall and dense. He didn't know if it had anything to do with these lantern insects.

In this valley, mulberry forests were planted, surrounded by fruit trees. Under the trees, pigs, sheep, chickens, and rabbits were leisurely, and there were yellow-haired and drooping-haired people enjoying themselves. At the foot of the surrounding mountains, terraced fields were opened, planting spiritual grains and herbs, with a circle of colorful flowers.

At the foot of the terraced fields, there were densely packed stilted buildings. But there were many silver bells hanging on the eaves of the buildings here. In Cheng Xinzhan's view, the placement of these bells was chaotic but orderly, and it should also be a quite profound formation.

"Big sister! Why did you bring an outsider in!"

At this time, two Miao people suddenly fell in front of Cheng Xinzhan, an old woman and a young girl. However, what made Cheng Xinzhan feel surprised was that this "big sister" was not shouted from the mouth of the old woman, but from the mouth of the young girl.

The young girl had a look of vigilance, while the old woman's shoulders and head were already covered with colorful poisonous spiders, as if they were about to pounce on Cheng Xinzhan in the next moment.

And Cheng Xinzhan stood with his hands behind his back, not making any defense.

"Wait!"

At this time, a male voice like a loud bell came, and immediately after, a tall man in a red robe with a red crown and a bearded face flew over, blocking in front of the two Miao people.

Cheng Xinzhan looked at this man. A cinnabar color flashed in his eyes, and then he suddenly smiled,

"Are you the Red Crown Old Master?"

In the terrified eyes of the three Miao women, the tall man pushed the golden mountain and fell down the jade pillar, kneeling in front of Cheng Xinzhan,

"I am not worthy of the master's address. It is good for the master to know that this little monster takes the surname 'Ji' and names himself 'Kaiming'. Master, long life."

Cheng Xinzhan helped the man up and looked at this man who was taller than himself, saying with a smile,

"'Ji' surname comes from the Dao, 'Kaiming' describes the Dao meaning. What a good name. Opening the Yin to see the light, and ancient legends say that the Kaiming beast has angry eyes and electric pupils, guarding the gate of the heavenly world. Not bad, very good."

"I must thank the master for the grace of pointing out the bright form."

Ji Kaiming said.

Cheng Xinzhan nodded with a smile. This was not flattery. Looking at his appearance, he was clearly a big rooster who had determined his human form by observing his paintings. Moreover, when he went to the Miao village many years ago, he had also taught Daoist methods to this big rooster. This was a real grace of pointing out.

"Is the Old Village Master still healthy?" 【208-3

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

"It's here, it's here, but..."

"But what?"

"Sigh, it's a long story."

Ji Kaiming sighed, then noticed the three people beside him who were dumbstruck, so he made an introduction,

"Village Chief Lan, this is Daoist Yun. He is my benefactor who enlightened me, and also the protector of our original village. Those house-guarding door god paintings we brought were all made by Daoist Yun."

At this moment, the old woman who led Cheng Xinzhan in finally had a chance to speak and hurriedly explained,

"Mother, I was setting up my stall when this Daoist happened to see the demon-slaying New Year paintings and said he wanted to see an old friend."

At this time, Ji Kaiming introduced the old woman beside him to Cheng Xinzhan,

"Master, this is the chief of the Miao village here, Lan Yinluo, Village Chief Lan. Thanks to Village Chief Lan for taking us in, we have a place to stay."

The old woman had also put away her poisonous Gu at this moment. This big rooster was the most powerful monster in the second realm, and even it had to kneel upon seeing this person. Her eldest daughter was also not to be trifled with in the second realm, but she didn't dare say a word after being chased home by this person. She herself had luckily formed a Jin Dan, yet she couldn't see through this person's realm, so he must be an old monster who had changed his appearance.

This person had already been brought in and looked quite polite now, so there was no need to seek trouble for herself, so she bowed,

"Greetings, Daoist Yun."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded and returned the bow, "The Lixi village people are all my friends. Many thanks to Village Chief Lan for your help."

Lan Yinluo pointed to the old woman who had brought Cheng Xinzhan in and said,

"This is my eldest daughter, Lan Mujin."

Cheng Xinzhan looked over and saw the old woman flick her silver bell earring. A bug crawled out from inside, bit the old woman on the face, and then the skin on the old woman's face was pulled open by the bug like cloth, turning into a thin film that fell off and was eaten by the bug. Then the bug crawled back into the woman's earring.

And the woman revealed her true face, a good-looking woman with regular features and a gentle, pleasant appearance.

"Greetings, Daoist Yun."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "Sorry to trouble you, fellow Daoist. My apologies."

"This is my youngest daughter, Lan Lusheng."

The Miao girl was terrified to see Mr. Ji, who was usually stern and always held his head high, kneeling to the Daoist in front of her. She hid behind Lan Yinluo and said hello.

Cheng Xinzhan also nodded in return.

"Daoist Yun, please follow me into the village for tea."

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head, "Tea is not urgent. Please, Kaiming, take me to see my old friends first."

Ji Kaiming agreed and looked at Lan Yinluo, as she was the master here.

The woman naturally agreed.

So Cheng Xinzhan followed Ji Kaiming and flew down into the valley.

After the two left, Lan Yinluo and Lan Lusheng immediately gathered around Lan Mujin to question her closely.

————

Ji Kaiming led Cheng Xinzhan straight to the terraced fields and landed on a medicinal field.

The herbs here had nine long leaves like emeralds, with a purple flower held in the middle. Clouds and mist hung low, and dew condensed on the flowers and leaves, reflecting this entire quiet valley.

This was the Nine-Leaf One-Flower, also called the Nine-Story Tower, a sacred medicine for healing and poison in the Miao ethnic group. He didn't expect to find such a large patch here.

The Nine-Story Tower grew to half a person's height. Three or five people were carrying bamboo baskets on their waists, fertilizing here. Cheng Xinzhan took a look; the fertilizer was white and looked like insect eggs. He didn't expect this flower to be a meat-eater.

Ji Kaiming brought Cheng Xinzhan behind a short, thin figure and called out softly,

"Village Chief."

This short, thin, dark-skinned person turned around, saying,

"Shh—Old Master Red-Crest, I've told you how many times, don't call me Village Chief in someone else's village."

"Slap—"

The insect egg fertilizer in the old man's hand all spilled onto the ground.

The old man's hair was as white as snow, and his wrinkles were stacked like terraced fields. His lips trembled as if he had countless words to say, but apart from a few unclear syllables from his throat, he couldn't say a complete sentence.

"Grandfather Munai."

Cheng Xinzhan stepped forward and held the hand the old man was using to fertilize.

"Yun, Daoist Yun."

The old village chief finally managed to say these words.

The old man's muddy left eye kept pressing close to Cheng Xinzhan, as if he were afraid of seeing wrong, while his right eye was completely white and could see nothing. The old man's only remaining left hand held Cheng Xinzhan's hand tightly, not daring to let go. His empty right sleeve was tied in a knot, probably to make farm work more convenient.

"It's me, I'm here."

Cheng Xinzhan said.

Hearing this, the old village chief grinned, tears streaming from his eyes, and made a move to kneel.

Cheng Xinzhan held the old man back, "No need for that."

"Let's talk back in the house."

At this time, Ji Kaiming couldn't bear to watch and said so.

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, raised his hand, and the insect eggs that had fallen to the ground returned to the old village chief's waist basket. He supported the old village chief, flew up from the terraced fields, and followed Ji Kaiming to land in front of a stilt house.

Then came the successive shouts.

"Brother Immortal is here!"

"Daoist Yun!"

"It's Daoist Yun!"

"It really is Daoist Yun!"

"..."

After the people of the old village who were working in various parts of the valley were called over, Cheng Xinzhan's voice was a bit strained,

"Is this all that's left?"

He looked around and saw there were no more than a hundred people, and the white dogs and red chickens added up to no more than ten.

And when he first went to Lixi Village, the old village chief had boasted to Cheng Xinzhan about his achievements. Cheng Xinzhan remembered clearly that it was fifty-seven households and two hundred and twelve people. After Cheng Xinzhan went, with the He Shouwu, the door god paintings, and Old Master Red-Crest's cultivation advancing, the population grew even more, and there were no fewer than a hundred chickens and dogs.

As soon as Cheng Xinzhan said this, low sobs came from the villagers gathered around him.

Seeing that everyone couldn't control their emotions, Ji Kaiming told Cheng Xinzhan the whole story.

"At that time, we received your message, Master. We hesitated for only half a day, then the old village chief made the decision. We packed our luggage day and night and moved the whole village early the next morning. When we made the decision, we also notified the people in the nearby villages, but none of them believed in any demonic tide catastrophe."

Ji Kaiming shook his head and continued,

"We started by heading west, wanting to seek the protection of Qinglong Cave, and settled in the Wangchun Mountain area. But we hadn't walked forty or fifty miles south when I saw the demonic aura filling the air ahead, as if the demonic path had already surrounded the Wangchun Mountain area. Then I took the villagers and wanted to go south to join the Golden Chicken clan and settle in the Tianming Mountain area. Similarly, we hadn't walked far before we saw a large number of demonic path members heading north, so we had to turn back again.

"Several days were wasted like this. Finally, there was no other way, so we had to head north. We went up along the Hong River. Just as we were about to reach Western Hunan, we encountered the demonic path that was chasing us. That was the time we lost fifty-five people and twenty-one dogs.

"It was also from the mouths of the demonic path members who chased us that we learned the eighteen villages of the Hong River had already suffered."

The old village chief added, "It was that time, Old Master Red-Crest suddenly turned into a human and spat fire from his mouth."

Ji Kaiming nodded, "At that time, it was lucky he refined his horizontal bone, turned into human form, and realized his supernatural powers. Otherwise, I don't know how many could have survived."

"Then we hid in Western Hunan and didn't see the demons from the south chasing us anymore. But the poisonous insects and ghosts here were different from those at the Hong River. When we first arrived, we didn't know how to defend against them. Many people inexplicably turned into corpses at night and were taken away.

"The village chief was depressed, his heart fire entered his eyes, and he went blind. Later, while on the road, he was caught by a walking corpse and didn't protect his arm, so he lost his hand."

With Ji Kaiming starting, everyone began to talk one after another, speaking with tears and sobs.

The nightmare-like bitterness and hardship of this journey need not be mentioned. Finally, Ji Kaiming said,

"We wanted to settle in Western Hunan. Although there are many demons here, it's not like the Miao territory where they are searching and looting on a large scale. Moreover, the terrain here is more complex than in the Miao territory. If you find a mountain gully and hide, it's not easy to be found. I have now reached the second realm and can protect the villagers.

"However, just as we were looking for a place to settle, we were targeted by a group of demons. We were chased with no way to heaven and no door to earth. Finally, we broke into the outskirts of this Miao village. At that time, Village Chief Lan led people out of the village, wiped out the demons, saved us, and took us in. We have been settled here ever since."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded and said, "It hasn't been easy."

Ji Kaiming replied, "It hasn't been easy, but it's worth it. I secretly went back to see, and the demons indeed went to sweep it. If we hadn't left at that time, I'm afraid there wouldn't be a single living person left now."

"Then what are your plans for the future? Are you going to settle down here?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

The old village chief replied, "Survival is the priority. We will live wherever we can survive. But if there is a time when Lixi Village can return to the past, we naturally want to go back."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "I understand. Then Grandfather Munai and everyone stay here first. When it's possible to go back, I will come to pick everyone up and take them home. Kaiming, you and I will go see the master here again."

(End of chapter)