Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 16 Living Alone in the Mountains

Four words, neither salty nor bland, like evaluating whether a cabbage is growing well.

Jiang Xun was stunned for a moment, then grinned, his eyes crinkling into crescents, as if he had just gotten a great deal.

"That's right, I've always been clever since I was little, and I learn everything quickly..."

Don't be too happy yet.

The woman in black shut him down with a single sentence, leaving him no room for further explanation.

"This is just the most basic breathing technique; it can only suppress the symptoms temporarily. To truly master it, you need more profound internal energy cultivation methods."

Jiang Xun's smile froze on his face, slowly crumbling like a lantern that had been punctured.

"...Then what should I do?"

The man in black did not respond.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a slight chill, and rustled the branches.

After a long while, she finally spoke, her voice as faint as the night breeze:

"You can only learn this much in one day. The rest you can practice on your own."

She stood up and walked silently into the woods.

"Wait!" Jiang Xun called out to her, scrambling to his feet. His legs nearly gave way, and he almost sat back down. "Where are you going?"

The man in black did not stop walking.

"It's none of your business."

The voice was indifferent, as if the matter didn't need explanation and wasn't his place to ask.

Jiang Xun choked for a moment, then pressed on, "Then... how can I contact you in the future?"

This time she stopped.

He paused for a moment.

Then she turned her head to the side, her gaze falling from her shoulder to him.

Under the moonlight, those eyes were cold and indifferent, revealing no emotion, yet Jiang Xun inexplicably felt frozen in place, as if pricked by a needle.

"You don't need to look for me."

She spoke slowly, pausing between each word.

"If one day you can make it to Yunzhou alive—go to Guangji Medical Clinic and find a man named Lao Yu."

Jiang Xun was stunned.

Yunzhou?

He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something more, but the man in black had already taken a few steps and disappeared into the night outside the cave, like a drop of ink merging into black water.

He chased after him.

The woods were pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Only the wind rustling through the treetops sounded like someone turning the pages of a book in the distance.

In the distance, there was a faint sound of flowing water, low and muffled, like the night speaking.

Jiang Xun stood there, stunned, for a long time.

The wind gradually dissipated the heat from his body, making him shiver.

After an unknown amount of time, he looked down at his hands.

The heat is still there.

It stayed quietly in my lower abdomen, no longer making a fuss or jumping around, curled up at my feet like a tamed cat.

He slowly clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

The man in black's method actually worked.

What's even stranger is that, after a whole day of this, my stomach didn't growl once.

Before, when I was hungry, it was like a cat scratching my heart, but now I'm quiet and still, as if the warmth has suppressed the hunger.

Jiang Xun touched his lower abdomen. The warm current was still there, peaceful and steady, neither making a fuss nor dissipating. It was warm and cozy, like holding a small hand warmer.

He couldn't figure out what was going on, so he simply stopped thinking about it—he couldn't figure it out anyway, so he might as well save his energy.

The most important thing right now is to find a place to sleep.

He found an old tree in a sheltered spot. There was a flat patch of ground next to the tree roots, covered with a layer of dry leaves. It wasn't uncomfortable to lie on, but it was a bit prickly on his neck.

Even with my eyes closed, my mind wouldn't settle down.

What exactly is that iron plaque that Ah Jiu gave him?

Why did the man in black rob me?

What is the relationship between the old man and her?

These words kept swirling in his mind, giving him a headache, like three flies buzzing around his head.

As I thought about it, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

In the night, the occasional calls of unknown birds echoed from the mountains and forests, sounding like a lullaby or whispers in their sleep.

He finally fell into a deep sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already broad daylight.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling warmly on his face, making him squint.

The birds were chirping merrily, a stark contrast to the gloomy forest of the previous night.

Jiang Xun sat up, stared blankly for a moment, and then remembered what he was supposed to do today.

Back to Wuling City?

He shook his head.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I don't dare.

The Chunshui Sect lost its sword manual. The Transmission Elder had seen his face with his own eyes, and he was probably searching for him all over the city right now.

People remember his face clearly. Going back now would be like a fish swimming into a net—no, even dumber than a fish, since at least a fish knows to dodge.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked into the woods.

This mountain is quite large; it should be enough for him to hide there for a while.

There are wild fruits and mountain springs, so we won't starve.

He walked along the creek.

The stream was so clear you could see the stones at the bottom, and occasionally a small fish would dart by, its shadow disappearing in a flash.

On both sides were dense trees, some I recognized and some I didn't, their branches and leaves overlapping, blocking out the sky with only a sliver of light.

After walking all morning, we finally found a way out—a very narrow canyon, so narrow that we could only pass sideways, as if the mountain had been cleaved open by a knife.

He squeezed past sideways, his shoulder brushing against the cool stone wall.

After walking for another half hour, the view suddenly opened up before us.

It was a mountain forest, much more open than the place he had just walked through.

The trees weren't so dense anymore, and large patches of sunlight streamed down, making the ground shine brightly.

Birds chirped, insects hummed, the wind rustled the leaves, and occasionally a squirrel would dart across the tree, dragging its large, furry tail.

He looked back, but the cliff was no longer visible, and he couldn't even find the way he had come.

Jiang found a spot by the stream, cut some branches and built a makeshift shelter—it was really just a few branches stuck into the ground, a few crossbeams on top, and some leaves and grass on top, barely enough to keep out the dew.

They also made a bed out of dry grass, a thick layer of it, which was soft and cozy to lie on.

It's very simple, but habitable.

It's not much worse than a dilapidated temple.

In the days that followed, he practiced his skills, fished, and slept every day.

He practiced the breathing technique taught by the man in black over and over again until he almost memorized it.

At first, I couldn't sit still; my legs would go numb after a while, feeling like ants were crawling on them. Later, I was able to sit for the duration of an incense stick burning, and then for half an hour, and my legs weren't numb as much anymore.

The heat flow became increasingly obedient.

He could make it sink if he wanted it to; he could make it walk if he wanted it to—it didn't walk far, but at least it stopped running around and wasn't darting around like it did at first.

He also discovered something else—he gets hungry quickly when he practices.

I used to only need to eat two meals a day, but now if I miss a meal, I feel anxious, as if the fire in my stomach is burning even more intensely, burning everything away.

Fortunately, there are plenty of wild fruits and fish in these mountains and forests, so we won't starve.

He figured out how to fish on his own.

I sharpened a tree branch and stood in the water to poke it; the water was so cold it hurt my feet.

At first, he couldn't catch the fish; they were even more clever than him, darting away at the slightest movement.

Later, I gradually figured it out—you can't stare at the fish; you have to look at the ripples on the water's surface, and then you can make your move.

Now it's so easy to stab, even easier than stealing a purse.

He also figured out how to make grilled fish on his own.

Build a stove with stones, gather dry firewood to start a fire, and slowly grill the fish skewers on tree branches.

The first time he baked it, it was burnt, black on the outside and still bloody on the inside; the second time it wasn't cooked through, and one bite made him wince from the fishy smell; the third time he finally baked a golden and fragrant one, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and he almost chewed the bones up.

As he ate the grilled fish and looked at the distant mountains, he suddenly felt that this kind of life wasn't so bad.

No one cares, no one scolds, I don't have to see Fatty Song's stinky face, I don't have to listen to Aunt Zhao's sighs, I don't have to hide from anyone or guard against anyone.

The only problem is—

No one spoke.

Back in Jiangzhou, there was Ali chattering away, calling out "Brother!"; Shiliu and Xiaoqi chasing each other around; and an old man lying in a haystack, muttering to himself.

Later, when he arrived at the Spring Water Sect, although Fatty Song often cursed people, at least his ears were not empty.

Now, he's all alone all day long, with no one to talk to.

Sometimes he would talk to himself by the stream, but after a couple of sentences he would feel silly and shut his mouth.

Sometimes he would say "delicious" to the grilled fish, but the fish would ignore him.

This feeling is even worse than being beaten.