12dz Chapter 115 Red Letter from the Old Place
Chapter 115 Red Letter from the Old Place
Leng Huan bid farewell to his father-in-law, who was endlessly recounting all sorts of gossip, and went to the mountaintop to find his disciples, a situation that was hard to explain in a few words.
Eight or nine young people, yes, so many. Three months ago, Leng Zhaohe waved his hand with peace of mind, letting Leng Huan leave Beijun with a string of Qi Refining stage cultivators—at this moment, they were attacking a crazed warthog monster.
The monsters were like mountains of flesh, with fangs as sharp as knives, hair as fine as steel needles, and thick, rough skin, making them somewhat difficult to attack.
However, since it wasn't their first time working together, the disciples were fairly in sync.
Leng Huan stopped and watched from a distance. Among a group of light blue shadows, there was a purplish-black figure, which was Murong Bao who had followed.
He stood beside Leng Yan, and while everyone else held the demon beast back, he attacked with fire magic. The demon beast, in pain, roared and unleashed a barrage of hair-like steel needles that indiscriminately attacked the surrounding area. Murong Bao reacted quickly, using his sword to block the needles that flew towards Leng Yan.
Leng Yan was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth, made a hand seal to condense a water arrow and attacked the monster. After being roasted by fire and then attacked by various water magic, the monster's steel needles were gone. After letting out a long howl, it tried to escape.
It crashed straight toward Murong Bao and the others. He used all his spiritual power to raise a fire shield. The beast was fast, and the two collided violently, making a deafening noise. All three people and the beast were thrown away.
Although Murong Bao looked a bit simple-minded, he was quick to react and acted as a human cushion for Leng Yan, while the monster fell into the pit and remained motionless.
Seeing this, Leng Huan lowered his raised hand.
Seeing this, the two Golden Core guards who were following her smiled and said, "Young Miss, there's no need to worry. These days, our disciples have gained a lot of combat experience."
Leng Huan nodded, feeling gratified. Leng Yan had made great progress. In that instant, as Murong Qin formed a shield, Leng Yan seized the opportunity to strike the monster's throat with an extremely condensed water blade.
"Wow, we won again!" The mid-stage Qi Refining disciple ran to check on the demonic beast and confirmed the victory.
"Finally killed it! This monster was so hard to beat!"
The group of newbies cheered, feeling a great sense of accomplishment from successfully defeating the monster through teamwork, and Leng Huan expressed his understanding.
This is especially true for these young people who have never even seen a real, ferocious monster.
"Thank you." Leng Yan quickly stood up and helped Murong Bao up. "Are you alright?"
The boy blushed and said, "Yes, it's nothing. I'm fine."
-
After resting for a night in the village, Leng Huan led her people on their way, with Leng Yan riding in the same carriage.
The rest of the people were assigned to the cars behind. Leng Huan looked at Leng Yan, making her feel uncomfortable.
"What's wrong, Sister Huan?" This is what Leng Huan said; that's how you address her in public. Leng Yan nervously tugged at her sleeves.
Leng Huan rubbed his chin with his arms crossed, pretending to think. "Hiss, I've been thinking about this, and Murong Bao actually agreed to come along. Could it be related to you?"
Leng Yan smiled sheepishly, "Sister, actually, I've seen Murong Bao before, uh, I saw him when we went hunting in the western forest of Beijun..."
Seeing Leng Huan's understanding expression, she added, "But that was two years ago, so we weren't very close."
Leng Huan chuckled and quickly waved his hand, "...Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. I just didn't expect you two to know each other so long ago, it's quite a coincidence."
.
There was no rush on the journey. Half a month later, they arrived at their old haunt—Zhongnan Prefecture. Leng Huan asked Leng Yan to lead everyone to return the carriage, and instructed the Golden Core cultivators to book an inn. She told them they could have some fun in the prefectural city but not to cause trouble, while she herself had other things to do.
Carrying roast chicken and pastries, they bought a cartload of goods and slowly made their way to Linjiazhuang.
Standing in front of the dilapidated courtyard gate, Leng Huan felt a little regretful that he hadn't brought Sang Biao with him. He wondered if Sang Biao still remembered the old man.
Eight or nine years have passed in the blink of an eye. That's the time in the outside world. If you include the time in the secret realm... Never mind, looking up at the sky, it's still azure, and the white clouds are still soft.
Stepping into the courtyard, one gets a feeling that neither people nor things are quite right.
Just as I was thinking the yard had undergone major repairs, a startled voice suddenly came from behind me: "Who are you?!"
Leng Huan turned around and saw a somewhat unfamiliar young villager. She didn't recognize him, but the man seemed to recognize her and exclaimed, "Are you Leng Huan's sister?!"
"Hello, may I ask who you are?" Leng Huan had no choice but to ask. After all, she had dressed as a man back then, and her appearance hadn't changed over the years, so it was normal for people to mistake her for one of her sisters.
She is now dressed in a very low-key black narrow-sleeved men's suit, but without any concealment, revealing her as a capable female knight-errant.
The young man sighed, "Back then I was still young. I heard that Leng Huan and the others went to the Immortal Sect to seek immortality... So, you're an immortal now..."
Leng Huan did not answer the question, but instead asked, "Could you please ask the village head to come over? I have something to ask you."
"Muramasa? Ah, okay, okay." After agreeing, the young man ran off.
It would be a while before the others arrived, so Leng Huan took the offerings to Granny Zhou's grave. There, he noticed that several of the Zhou family's graves had been recently cleared, with the vegetation cut down and weeds piled up around the perimeter. Leng Huan frowned.
No, before leaving, he clearly instructed the village head to take good care of the cemetery and courtyard every year.
But this clearly doesn't look like it's been regularly maintained.
There were embers of paper money and candles in front of the graves. Someone had recently come to tend to the graves and offered sacrifices. Leng Huan offered sacrifices at several graves, placed offerings, lit candles, and burned paper money.
Finally, she knelt down in front of Granny Zhou's grave and kowtowed, saying a few words in a rambling manner. When it was almost time, she returned to the courtyard.
Seeing a group of villagers blocking the gate of the courtyard and watching the horse-drawn carriage from afar, Leng Huan walked closer and coughed expressionlessly.
The crowd parted to make way, watching Leng Huan and whispering amongst themselves.
"This girl must be Leng Huan's sister from back then. They look so alike, and both are very pretty."
"Oh my! She's attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven! This young lady looks just like the legendary fairy!"
At this moment, Muramasa, who had heard the commotion, finally came to the door. It turned out that they were waiting in the yard. "You are Leng Huan's sister?"
Upon closer inspection, Leng Huan realized that the speaker was none other than the former village head's youngest son! After scanning the room and not seeing the old village head, she frowned and glared at the man: "Where is the old village head?"
"My father has passed away, and I am the new village head!"
Since that's the case, Leng Huan swiftly drew his sword, and with a clang, the blade was placed against the neck of the village head. "Back then, Leng Huan gave a large sum of money and entrusted the old village head to manage the Zhou family's courtyard and cemetery. Now, only eight or nine years later, you have already broken your promise!"
This terrified everyone. They hadn't expected her to be so decisive. Muramasa hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, "Fairy, spare me! I... I already know I was wrong!"
“My father passed away four years ago, and I followed his instructions. It’s only in the last two years that… Fairy, have mercy! Yesterday, a strange man came and tried to kill me without saying a word. I only agreed to let me go after I swore that I would take better care of myself from now on…”
Leng Huan pressed down on the blade: "The silver left behind back then is enough for twenty years. Since you don't want to get involved in this matter, I don't mind replacing it with someone else."
Xin Cun bowed respectfully, pleading, "Fairy, spare my life! Fairy, you are unaware that five years ago, the village was flooded, resulting in a complete crop failure. Everyone sold their land and became tenant farmers in Lin Family Village. Therefore, all the money has long been spent. It was my oversight..."
Leng Huan glanced around and saw that the villagers were indeed not as energetic as before. Once the land was sold, it was not so easy to buy it back. They all looked sallow, thin, and even more impoverished.
Killing is easy, and killing unarmed villagers is even easier. What's the point?
Human nature has always been like this. It cannot withstand the changes of the world.
People are already struggling to survive, how can we expect them to remain unchanged?
She sheathed her sword and, right before the villagers' eyes, brazenly stored it away in her storage space.
Let them know that she is truly a cultivator returning home in glory; all that talk about cultivating to sever worldly ties is nonsense.
Let them know that she is not to be trifled with, that things are different now, and that she is a celestial being from Lin Family Village!
Under such circumstances, their willingness to break their promises can only be described as stubbornness; Leng Huan is not entirely unreasonable now.
"I am not talented, but I am Leng Huan, whom you have mentioned. I was fortunate to be protected by Granny Zhou back then, which gave me the opportunity to go to the Eastern Immortal Sect. Now I am a direct disciple of the Great Immortal Sect."
There's no other meaning behind this; I just hope everyone can have a little more conscience. Grandma Zhou was so helpful to everyone when she was alive, so I hope everyone can lend a hand in taking care of the plants and trees around her grave. If any homeless people come to this yard, please let them stay temporarily, as a way of praying for Grandma Zhou's well-being..."
Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, Leng Huan called over a few young men to take the grain from the cart to the village school to donate. The village school had been abandoned for several years and only slowly reopened last year.
Everyone's gaze towards her changed, filled with awe, and they could no longer harbor any other thoughts, becoming even more attentive to the affairs of the Zhou family.
-
Leng Huan planned to stay in the courtyard temporarily. The courtyard had been repaired inside and out, and all the doors and collapsed roofs had been renovated. At this time, the only person who could come here to pay respects to the person who repaired the courtyard was Fu Xun.
However, no matter how much you repair a house, if it remains uninhabited for a long time, it will still deteriorate, and it will deteriorate very quickly.
That's why she said to let people stay temporarily. When we went to the small house next door where we used to live, the situation was even worse, but it had also been repaired... if you could call it repair if you were to say it was basically rebuilt.
Take a stroll outside, and wow, even the fence is newly planted, and the saplings behind the house have grown tall and large, their green canopies like pavilions.
Leng Huan looked up and saw a red note still hanging on the peach tree branch.
Life is finite, but thoughts are infinite.
You are with me day and night, and I think of you day and night.