Chapter 8: Going Down the Mountain
Editor: Atlas Studios
After sending off the two gods, the sky became whiter.
The heavy rain continued to fall. Yun Su had liked rain very much since he was young. He felt calm when it rained, although it seemed to make a lot of noise. He was not anxious and there were very few sudden interruptions. He felt exceptionally at ease and comfortable.
The night wind was mixed with humidity and rich spiritual energy. It was the middle of winter and it should be snowing heavily but the wind and rain were warm, like midsummer heavy rain.
The rain did not stop. Yun Su lay on the bed and did not feel sleepy at all. His mind sank into the longevity space in the sea of consciousness again. Just as he sent off the two gods and the others, the longevity space in her sea of consciousness suddenly moved. In the void above the longevity cloud platform, a token with a dazzling purple light coalesced. On it wrote a large word—Longevity!
The Longevity Immortal Token could allow one to travel the Great Void and obtain some kind of fortuitous encounter.
Miraculously, the Longevity Immortal Token was covered in a thin fog. In the fog, one could vaguely see rain falling from the sky. Thousands of living beings, mountains and rivers were being moistened.
Yun Su was hesitating about whether to use the Longevity Immortal Token immediately when a loud bang came from the roof. A large piece of the roof had collapsed.
When he met the guests at the door just now, he realized that the rain on the mountain was much heavier than at the foot of the mountain. He was already worried that the dilapidated house would not be able to withstand the heavy rain. Now, half of the roof of the house had collapsed and he could not sleep at all.
Yun Su rolled up the blanket and took the Mystic Sutra. He concentrated her Dharmic powers with her right hand and raised it towards the roof. The pouring rain was temporarily blocked outside. Then, he quickly pushed the door open and entered the hall.
The long-bright lamp in the hall was still burning. The rain outside was too heavy but the place was unscathed. He looked at the kitchen again. It was also leaking a little. He took a wooden bucket to catch the rain. After thinking about it, he pushed the door open and returned to the west room. He stood at the door facing the corner of the front mountain wall. He circulated his magic power and waved his palm.
Without a sound, a large hole collapsed. The accumulated rain in the house finally found an outlet and flowed out to the lower ground. This way, it would not soak the other wall foundations, let alone flood the main hall.
Dawn was coming soon and the sound of Wang Xuanji waking up in the secret chamber could be heard. Yun Su could not calm down and entered a meditative state to travel the Great Void to search for that unknown opportunity.
It was not good to stay on Yao Mountain for long. First, there was a natural phenomenon in the form of spiritual rain. If the City God and the Soil God came, they might attract other cultivators.
Yun Su had the Dharmic powers of the Soul Formation realm in this space-time reality but he was extremely lacking in spells. He needed time to consolidate his cultivation, find spells and study techniques. It was not suitable for the five little fellows to continue living on Yao Mountain, which only had one hall.
When the rain stopped at dawn, they should leave the mountain as soon as possible.
A creak was heard.
Wang Xuanji pushed aside the partition and climbed up from the chamber. She was surprised to see Yun Su sitting on a futon.
"Good morning, Brother Yun. Why are you here?"
"It rained so hard last night that the west wing collapsed and the kitchen was leaking. I had to take shelter here."
"Ah!"
The young woman immediately pushed the door open and went to the west room to take a look. Most of the front wall had collapsed and the roof had collapsed. She looked at the kitchen and found that it was indeed leaking rain. Fortunately, it was not heavy. The bucket that was used to fetch water was already half full.
"Brother Yun, I slept too soundly last night…"
Wang Xuanji blamed herself. The west wing collapsed but she was sleeping like a piglet.
It has been a long time since she had slept so comfortably. Her body felt warm all night. Even the cold sickness was gone. She tried to stretch her arms and lift her legs. The usual soreness and chill were gone.
"I slept pretty warmly last night. Even the cold sickness was gone."
"It's going to rain and the house is going to collapse. Let it be. On the other hand, let's see if your cold sickness will get better in the following days."
Yun Su used to be afraid of the cold, especially after waking up in the snow. The bone-chilling cold was not something an ordinary person could withstand. According to Wang Xuanji, her cold sickness struck not only when it snowed but also when it rained.
"Brother Yun, what should we do in the future?"
Yun Su saw the distress on the little girl's face and squatted on the futon beside her with a frown. Her hands were on her face and her mouth was pursed tightly. A twelve-year-old girl was already worried about the livelihood of the people around her.
"This rain has melted the snow outside. After the rain stops at dawn, let's eat something and go down the mountain to Yuyang City to settle down."
Yun Su had just formed his soul. There were still many things to do after leaving this troublesome place.
Wang Xuanji nodded sensibly and went to the kitchen to get busy. Before long, the fire was lit. She took out the bird meat hidden in the jar and stewed it.
When the fragrance of meat filled the air, it was dawn.
Two little guys also crawled out of the secret room. Wang Xuanji returned to the secret room and carried Wang Xuanyu out. She used the remaining paste and mixed it with some meat soup to feed her.
Yun Su saw that Wang Xuanji was busy and wanted to help but it was rejected by the little girl. She said that his injuries had yet to recover and he was not suitable for the rough work like cooking.
The meal went quickly. The little girl's cooking was not bad and the meat soup tasted delicious. Yun Su's cultivation had entered the Soul Formation realm so he was not hungry at all. He left the meat to the little guys and drank a few bowls of soup.
Wang Xuanji quickly packed up. She carefully packed three taels of silver into a pouch and separated the dozen or so copper coins with some holes on the surface and handed them to Yun Su. The rest were some books, clothes, shoes, and pants. She filled a large bag with bedsheets.
Outside, the rain had stopped and the way down the mountain was muddy. Yun Su locked the only hall and found a smaller doorstop. He picked up the package and a wicker basket with the four little guys inside and took Wang Xuanji out the door.
Before they left, the little fellows turned their heads frequently and looked at the dilapidated Mystic Wood Sect with great reluctance. Wang Xuanwen and Wang Xuanwu, on the other hand, were looking forward to the world at the foot of the mountain more. Wang Xuanyu had eaten her fill and fallen asleep again. She was licking her fair fingers.
When they were about to lose sight of the Mystic Wood Sect, Wang Xuanji turned around and bowed three more times to the ruins. Tears flickered in her eyes and she was quite reluctant to part with it. The three little fellows in the wicker basket also followed suit and bowed slightly.
"Brother Yun, can we still come back in the future?"
"I'm sure you can."
Yun Su carried them and looked into the distance. With his powerful Dharma Eyes, he could vaguely see many villages. The road ahead did not seem to be far.
At that moment, they were holding hands. Compared to those main characters in novels, movies, and dramas who were either overflowing with immortal aura or floating in the air, they did not look like immortals in the Soul Formation realm. They looked more like refugees.
It was the way Yun Su chose to repay kindness with kindness.
The mountain path was slippery but Yun Su walked faster and faster. Along the way, he did not encounter any demons or ghosts, nor did he encounter any cultivators. The rain had just stopped and the sky had lit up. There were no pedestrians on the mountain path.
Dharmic powers surged under his feet as he walked. Unknowingly, he walked faster and faster. He only slowed down when he saw the village. After walking for another hour, he saw a small city in the distance.
The city wall was more than 20 feet tall, with the word Yuyang on the lintel of the city wall. The bustling people who entered the city were all here to catch the morning market. Some carried baskets, while others pushed wheelbarrows.
Wang Xuanji had already berated the little fellows to come down and walk by themselves.
Yun Su originally thought that it would be very unusual for him to bring a few children with him while carrying bags and baskets. In the end, he realized that many people used baskets to carry children on their backs. It was very common to bring two or three children with them. There were even seven or eight children with a couple. The couple carried them on their backs and it was extremely lively.
"A big fresh bun, a delicious big bun…"
"We're selling fish. Come take a look at the delicious salted fish."
"We have a new batch of good Jiangzhou floral cloth with excellent quality…"
"Broom. Iron-tree broom. Good and durable. Fair price."
The peddlers' cries, children's cries, laughter, and adults' curses reigned the market. Many people were also discussing the warm rain in the middle of the night.
There were many shops on both sides of the county boulevard. There were many types of rice noodles and oil in the staples shop. There were more than ten types of cotton and silk in the cloth shop. As expected of the market and port established beside the river.
The dazzling array of goods and various hawking voices attracted the little guys, especially when they walked up to the sugar ball vendor. Even Wang Xuanji was a little greedy and tried her best to control her drool. The other three kids couldn't help but stare at Yun Su.
"Dear guest, give the young masters and ladies a few sticks of sugar balls that have just come out of the oven. Each stick costs a copper coin."
Yun Su saw that these candy balls looked like candied haws and how the few little fellows were craving them, so he took out four copper coins and handed them to the owner.
"Five sticks of sugar balls for four copper coins. Buy it if the price is fine."
Seeing that he could sell five sticks at once, the sugar ball vendor hesitated for a moment before accepting the copper coins and letting the little fellows choose. Not long after, five sticks were obtained. Yun Su left two balls for Wang Xuanyu to lick and eat while he tasted a ball himself. The remaining four sticks were distributed to the four little fellows so each of them could have more sugar balls.
At the same time, he asked around about where he could rent a house in Yuyang City. The sugar ball vendor looked at the children and pointed in a direction. He said that many houses could be rented and sold in a rental service set up by the county near the county office.
After thanking the vendor, Yun Su adjusted himself and went straight to the county office in the north of the city. As expected, he found the shop beside the county office.
With the little money he had on him, he naturally could not afford to buy a house and staying in an inn was not worth it. After Yun Su explained his intentions, the clerk first asked about his background. When he heard that he was a disciple of the Mystic Wood Sect on the mountain and had the sect token left behind by Wang Muxuan, he did not ask further and took out two books.
"The houses in Book A are those that are for sale. The houses in Book B are those that are for rent."
-- Gift
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