Seeing the beautiful sunshine, Mu Ran went out with her bowl, filling her stomach while basking in the sun.
Sitting on a chair, she asked Han Yu, "Do you know where Jinzhi went?"
Han Yu shook its head, indicating it didn't know.
Mu Ran thought to herself, since Jinzhi left Han Yu behind, he probably didn't go off to do anything dangerous, right?
As she was pondering, she felt a curious gaze sizing her up.
Mu Ran looked up, her eyes curving into a smile as she said, "Good morning, Xiaobao."
Wang Xiaobao was leaning against the outside of the courtyard gate, his large, dark eyes especially bright and spirited. "Sister Mu, is Uncle Cangshu not at home?"
Mu Ran and Cangshu Bai were husband and wife, but Wang Xiaobao called Cangshu Bai "Uncle" and Mu Ran "Sister." In his own words, Mu Ran just looked too young, so he could only call her Sister.
Occasionally, Wang Xiaobao would secretly ask his parents, "Is that uncle next door robbing the cradle?"
Cangshu Bai had exceptional hearing. Whenever he heard this, he would fall silent and sulk on his own for quite a while.
Mu Ran often had to spend a lot of effort to coax him back into a good mood.
Mu Ran said, "He went out on some business. Why, did you want to play with him?"
Wang Xiaobao shook his head and picked up a shovel resting nearby. "Sister Mu, let's go up the mountain and dig for spring bamboo shoots!"
It had rained not long ago, and now the sky was clear for miles; the spring shoots would be growing exceptionally well.
Having nothing else to do, Mu Ran nodded without hesitation. "Alright, I'll go with you."
Like many children in the village, Wang Xiaobao was basically raised free-range. At a young age, he was already catching fish in the river and climbing trees to steal bird eggs. Sometimes, to lighten their families' burdens, they would go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and dig for bamboo shoots. He knew everything about the mountain like the back of his hand.
Mu Ran followed Wang Xiaobao up the mountain. When they reached an area with intertwined bamboo roots, he suddenly squatted down. His chubby fingers poked at a slightly bulging mound of dirt on the ground, and he brushed aside the moist, loose topsoil to reveal the fresh mud underneath, complete with pale yellow fine roots. His eyes sparkled.
"Sister Mu, look!" He tilted his little face up, earnestly showing off his experience. "It's only under these bulging, soft, and damp spots that spring shoots are hiding! If the dirt is flat, even if there is a shoot, it'll be old and small. You won't dig up anything good."
After speaking, he gripped his shovel and gently dug down along the cracked seam in the dirt. His movements were experienced and careful, terrified of damaging the tip of the shoot.
Before long, a plump, tender spring shoot, still covered in damp soil, was dug out completely intact.
Mu Ran clapped her hands. "Wow, that's amazing!"
Wang Xiaobao looked even more triumphant, brimming with motivation.
Mu Ran lacked Wang Xiaobao's experience, but she was accompanied by a little blue fish that was invisible to mortal eyes.
Gripping her own shovel, she gave Han Yu a meaningful look.
Han Yu quickly received the instruction, circled the area, and then its eyes lit up as it stopped above a red wildflower.
It wagged its tail frantically, signaling to Mu Ran that there was something good here.
Mu Ran walked over briskly and eagerly brought her shovel down. After turning over the soil a few times, she felt something was wrong. "There shouldn't be any spring shoots here, right?"
With another strike of the shovel, something was flung out of the turned soil.
It was a small, thin piece of bone, stained with dark brown wet mud.
Wang Xiaobao walked over, stared at it for a good while, and said, "Sister Mu, don't be afraid. It's just a wild pheasant bone or something. They're very common on the mountain."
Mu Ran smiled. "I'm not afraid. Oh, right, I think I heard your parents say yesterday that they were going to throw away all the rocks and pinecones you hid in your room while you were out. You're not home right now; you don't think they've already done it, do you?"
"What? Those are my treasures!" Wang Xiaobao turned and ran. "Sister Mu, it's an emergency, I'm heading back first!"
Once Wang Xiaobao was out of sight, Mu Ran waved her hand gently, and more bones flew out of the dirt pit before her.
They shook off the mud, reverting to their stark white appearance, and then assembled themselves in mid-air into the complete form of a human skeleton.
Mu Ran looked at the skeleton, stroked her chin, and said, "There is a faint, lingering trace of spiritual energy in the bones. This should be a cultivator, only..."
Han Yu circled the skeleton once before returning to rest on Mu Ran's head.
Her brows furrowed slightly. "It seems his root bones were also shattered by someone... No, rather, his root bones were stolen."
Stealing someone's root bones was a method only demonic cultivators would employ.
When had other cultivators ever come to the territory of Hulu Village, and when had a demonic cultivator infiltrated?
For the past five hundred years, Cangshu Bai had claimed Hulu Village as his own territory and would not tolerate demonic cultivators causing trouble.
It was only five hundred years ago, when many cultivators gathered in the areas surrounding Hulu Village to get a piece of the pie from Old Man Longsword, that many people died.
Could this skeleton have also died in that chaotic battle five hundred years ago?
For some reason, Mu Ran felt a vague sense of unease.
She pricked her fingertip, and a drop of blood transformed into a radiant light that shrouded the stark white bones. Using an illusion, she made the bones appear to regrow flesh and meridians, followed by skin and clothing, briefly restoring his appearance from when he was alive.
The moment the young man's face emerged, Mu Ran was suddenly stunned, her breath subconsciously catching in her throat.
"How... how could it be him?"
Immediately, she frantically asked Han Yu, "Did Jinzhi go to Chongyang Mountain?"
Han Yu nodded.
Mu Ran quickly buried the skeleton, and as she hurriedly turned around, she rose with the wind and instantly vanished from the spot.
The patriarch of Chongyang Mountain had not emerged from seclusion for a long time, and it was unknown how many years he had been in retreat. His disciple, Master Yuwei, was the current sect leader, though Master Yuwei had also been in seclusion recently and hadn't been seen for a long time.
Thus, although Yue Qingfeng was only the head disciple of Chongyang Mountain, most of the sect's major and minor affairs were actually handled by him.
When Yue Qingfeng arrived in front of the cave where his master was in seclusion, a look of doubt remained on his face. "Even if you say someone in Chongyang Mountain is secretly rearing demonic beasts, I still don't believe it. Our Chongyang Mountain is different from other sects; our sect's discipline is upright and pure. We could never tolerate such evil practices."
Cangshu Bai said, "You talk too much nonsense."
No matter how good Yue Qingfeng's temper was, he now felt displeased. He turned around and bowed toward the cave entrance. "Master, a fellow cultivator claims that our Chongyang Mountain is rearing demonic beasts and wishes to meet with you."
The restriction at the cave entrance opened, and a pure, righteous aura wafted out from within.
Yue Qingfeng straightened up. "Fellow Cultivator Cangshu, my master is willing to see you. You may enter."
Cangshu Bai's footsteps did not hesitate as he walked into the cave in a few strides.
Yue Qingfeng watched his back, then lowered his gaze and followed behind Cangshu Bai, entering together.
Once their figures were completely swallowed by the darkness, the restriction at the cave entrance glowed with a piercing cold light again. Like a layer of thin ice, it slowly closed, separating the inside from the outside, and returning to dead silence.
