Chapter 429: Nanshan (Thanks to the alliance leader

The closest mountain to the capital is Nanshan.

Once you leave the capital, you only need to head south for a few hundred *li* to see this mountain, which is why that eccentric performer in the palace once said, "Nanshan is nearby."

Summer rains are abundant, and it rained all night at Nanshan.

It is a massive, towering stone mountain that rises abruptly from among the green hills. From afar, one can take in its magnificence, but if you are close, your eyes are completely filled with it, as if it has stuffed the entire world.

At this moment, from neither too far nor too near, one can see clouds and mist swirling around its base, and the morning sun seems to rise from its very body.

Hence the poem: "Nanshan fills the heaven and earth, the sun and moon rise from the stone."

Yet at the foot of the mountain, among the stretches of forest, there are winding imperial roads and small paths that coil like dragons and snakes, quiet enough that only the sound of birds can be heard.

Suddenly, the sound of people talking came from the road.

"This world is truly finished! Even on the imperial road in Qinzhou, there are mountain bandits and outlaws! The imperial court and the Emperor don't even come to manage it!"

One person said with anger.

"Brother Zhou, that is incorrect. Is it because the world is finished that there are so many outlaws? It is because the imperial court's taxes are harsh and leave people no way to live that there are so many mountain bandits and outlaws, and thus the world is finished. The source of it all is exactly the imperial court and the officials Brother Zhou mentioned," another person sighed. "The old Emperor is muddled and lawless, indulging eunuchs and sycophants; he kills at least ten thousand people a year. The Crown Prince is the same; there are even incidents of him running naked through the streets after taking alchemical pills, forcibly seizing women, and shooting commoners in the street for amusement. This is exactly what they have caused. Never mind that it is said the northern army is marching south; even without the chaos in the north, I fear they wouldn't come to manage such trivial matters."

"Then what are we to do? Half of our money is gone; how can we still go to seek our studies?"

"We can only take it one step at a time," the other said. "Come to think of it, our luck is considered good. The mountain bandits and outlaws at the foot of Nanshan are still somewhat righteous; they don't harm people, and they only take at most half of one's money. I estimate they are just farmers from the villages at the foot of the mountain who were forced up there. If we had encountered bandits elsewhere, Brother Zhou, we would already be in danger."

"Truly vexing..."

"Brother Zhou, do not be vexed! A solution is always found in calmness!"

"What solution could there be..."

As the two spoke, they suddenly froze.

They saw that beside the imperial road ahead, a large tree was lush and leafy. Last night's rain had soaked the entire road, and the leaves were plastered to the ground, save for a small dry patch under the tree. And beneath the large tree, there sat a yellow cloth bag, and beside the bag was a small, exquisitely crafted wooden box.

"This is..."

A wild cloth bag and box?

Could it be that Heaven pities them for having half their money stolen by the village bandits and has sent them compensation?

The two looked at each other, then looked left and right.

There was not a shadow of a person to be seen in any direction.

"Strange..."

Although the two thought that way in their hearts, they actually understood that while the bag looked a bit old, it was not damaged at all; it must have been placed there or lost there by someone.

It was possible the owner of the items was in the woods relieving themselves.

"Could it be a trick by a *yaoguai*?"

"Where would a *yaoguai* come from in the daytime?"

The two looked at each other, yet greed arose.

The two walked over, acting like thieves, looking left and right again, and confirming there was truly no one there, they each took one—the bag and the box—and prepared to leave quickly.

"This bag is tied very tightly. I don't know what's inside, but it isn't heavy; it doesn't seem to contain any silver."

The one surnamed Zhou held the bag.

"This box is quite delicate. Even if there's nothing inside, I fear it could be worth some money!"

The other said, and moved to slide the box open.

"Whoosh..."

The box did slide open, but the sight inside left him greatly astonished.

Inside the wooden box were small compartments, like the layout of an ordinary home, with different rooms, and inside there were even beds, desks, tables, and chairs, and living inside was a Daoist priest the size of a fingernail, wearing grey Daoist robes, who was looking right at him.

"Ah!"

The man was startled and immediately dropped the box.

A wisp of smoke dispersed from the box, and the Daoist priest, who had been only the size of a fingernail, manifested from the mist, having already become the size of a person.

Beside him was also a strange white fox.

Both men were greatly alarmed.

Only then did they realize that the person they had encountered was either an immortal master or a *yaoguai* or ghost. This luggage was naturally his, and this box was actually his dwelling while traveling abroad.

Just then, they heard that person speak, addressing them:

"What is it that you two intend to do?"

The voice sounded gentle, not at all like a *yaoguai*.

"Immortal, forgive our sins! Forgive us! We were walking halfway when we saw the Immortal's luggage placed by the roadside. We thought... we thought it was unwanted, and feeling it a pity to lose it, we wanted to pick it up and take it home."

When the man said this, he felt somewhat guilty, for secular scholars, in order to teach people to be honest and kind, made every immortal or *yaoguai* in stories and rumors possess the ability to see through people. He was terrified that what the two of them were thinking in their hearts was being seen through by this Immortal.

And this guilt was exactly what Lin Jue saw.

"I observe that the two of you speak with quite a sense of proportion, and your attire is like that of scholars; why have you begun to do such things as taking without asking?"

"Immortal, forgive our sins!"

"Immortal, forgive our sins! We are not usually such people. It is just that when we arrived at the foot of Nanshan ahead, we were robbed of half our money by village bandits and outlaws. We still have to go out to seek our studies, and seeing these things placed by the mountain road, we didn't know who had placed them or where that person was," the other said with his head lowered. "In order to seek our studies and recover the money that was robbed, we were moved by greed."

"You are indeed more honest than him."

"Please, Immortal, punish us!"

"Please, Immortal, punish us!"

Both lowered their heads, their faces showing shame.

In their hearts, many stories gradually surfaced, all about mortals who did wrong and were punished by immortals, gods, ghosts, *yaoguai*, or fox spirits.

Some they had heard since childhood, some they had seen in books of the strange during their youth, and some they had heard in various places after becoming adults. In order to persuade people to be honest and kind, the world often borrowed the mystery of ghosts, gods, and fox immortals to compile many such stories; truth and falsehood were difficult to distinguish.

They did not know how they would be punished.

Would the punishment be now, or in the future? Would it be in this life, or after death, or even in the next life? Would it be punished upon themselves, or upon their descendants?

Yet they only saw the Immortal smile and say to them: "What kind of sin is this? Even if one were to discuss sin and punishment, it would only be in your own hearts."

"This..."

The two, who had already prepared themselves to be punished, were stunned for a moment, and only then were they certain that this person was truly an immortal.

"Many thanks, Immortal!"

"Many thanks, Immortal."

They then heard the Immortal ask: "You just said that there are mountain bandits and outlaws at the foot of Nanshan ahead? And they robbed you of half your money?"

"Exactly!"

"Is this not beside the Qinzhou imperial road?"

"The Immortal must have lived in the deep mountains for a long time, so you do not know. Never mind that the imperial court is currently unable to take care of itself; even in the past, they rarely managed such matters. They have always only cared about whether taxes are collected and how much can be collected."

"Why, since they are already robbing the road, do they only rob half?"

!

"Likely because they are all suffering people from the countryside."

"So that is how it is."

Lin Jue nodded and waved his hand at them, saying: "Go. In the future, when doing things, just remember not to wrong your own heart, and that will be enough."

"Many thanks for the Immortal's instruction!"

"We will keep it in mind! Farewell!"

The two scholars left this place quickly, their hearts still pounding.

Everyone in the world tells stories of immortals and talks of *yaoguai* and ghosts, but how many have truly encountered an Immortal? On the contrary, in this day and age, one sees more *yaoguai* and ghosts.

The terrain in the mountains is complex, and their line of sight was obstructed. Before long, the two turned a corner, and looking back, they could no longer see that Immortal.

The two could not help but whisper to each other.

"Was that an Immortal?"

"Who knows..."

"It must have been an Immortal!"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

So gentle and so tolerant—besides an Immortal, what else could it be?

Even if it were some mountain *yaoguai*, fox immortal, or Daoist, in their hearts at this moment, they were willing to call him an Immortal.

It was just that the two still felt their hearts pounding, still feeling it was strange.

To encounter some luggage and a box on the road, and upon opening it, actually be able to see an Immortal—and for an Immortal to go out and actually live in a box—such a wonderful and fantastic thing was something they had never even heard of in stories.

"Wait—"

Just suddenly, one of them stopped and frowned.

"What is it?"

The other asked hurriedly.

That man did not speak.

A Daoist, a white fox—he always felt he had heard such stories somewhere before.

"This is great; such an immortal mountain and blessed land as Nanshan actually has thieves and outlaws," Lin Jue said, looking down at the fox.

"Thieves and outlaws!"

"Let's go."

"Let's go!"

The man and the fox tidied up a bit, ate something, and continued forward along the imperial road.

Because the thousand-year snow lotus had not yet matured, Lin Jue did not lack these few days of time, so he was not in a hurry to rush on his way. He neither transformed into feathers to fly nor turned into wind to depart; he did not even use the *Shen Xing Shu* (Divine Travel Technique), but simply summoned a paper donkey to carry himself and a cloth bag, swaying as he moved forward.

The fox jumped and walked beside him.

Another white heron flew up from the treetops, easily reaching the blue sky, level with the clouds.

"It has been a long time since I've eaten eggplant."

Lin Jue sat on the donkey's back, speaking as he walked.

Following the winding imperial road, they gradually arrived at the foot of Nanshan.

There was a village in the mountains, with old houses and lush fruit trees. A dirt road passed through the village, and the sunlight made the leaves greener, casting mottled shadows. Among the green leaves hung a few pears. Ignoring the silence of this place, it was truly a very beautiful rural scene.

It was just that there was little cooking smoke here.

Lin Jue did not see a single young or middle-aged man or woman; instead, there were some old, weak, women, and children sitting in front of the houses, eating wild vegetables and gnawing on coarse grains.

Lin Jue nodded to them and walked past leisurely.

"Go this way!"

The fox distinguished the direction, found a small path, and raised its paw to point it out to him.

That direction led to the deep mountains, and crossing the dense forest branches and leaves, one could faintly see Nanshan in the clouds and mist.

After speaking, it quickly became small and jumped onto his head.

"I thought you were Chen Niu."

Lin Jue laughed, then walked onto that small path.

Not long after walking, they were stopped by someone.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 430 =====