Chapter 164 Why Are You Seeking the Truth?
Alan from the Liu family helped Liu Xia pack her luggage while she was trying to persuade Liu Xia.
"You are the only male in the family who has not found a husband. This has always been a source of worry for your mother. You are so determined to become a Taoist priest. Aren't you hurting her feelings?"
Not long after Banxia left Liu's house, Liu Xia stated the purpose of returning home. He insisted on going.
After hearing what he said, Governor Liu was so angry that he wanted to use the family rules. He even broke several bowls and plates. If the eldest and second brothers of the Liu family had not stopped him, he would have hit Liu Xia.
Mrs. Liu cried all day long, saying that she must have done something wrong to give birth to such an enemy, and that she must have owed him in her previous life and now he came to collect the debt.
The whole family is now under a dark cloud, and even Long Qi and others feel that they should not stay any longer.
But Liu Xia seemed to be determined and went back to the house to pack up his things.
Previously, the two elders of the Liu family agreed to Liu Xia's cultivation in the Yuanqing Sect because Chi Yanzi told them that Liu Xia had to go through this experience in order to live a peaceful life in the future. But who would have thought that after this experience, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to this cultivation.
Seeing his parents like this, Liu Jia's Alan couldn't stand it anymore, so he came to Liu Xia's room and tried to persuade them.
But he was her younger brother after all. She had watched him grow up and they had a deep relationship. Seeing him like this, she couldn't bear to say even a harsh word and could only silently pack up his luggage.
"Sister, do you know why I am determined to become a Taoist?" Liu Xia suddenly asked Alan.
Alan was stunned when he heard this. Wasn't it because he heard about his relationship with the immortal Chi Yanzi that he devoted himself to the Tao?
Seeing the confusion on Alan's face, Liu Xia smiled softly: "Even though Senior Chi Yanzi saved my life, I don't remember anything at that time. It's not because of him, it's just an excuse."
"That was when I was very young, and I can't remember it very clearly, but I still remember that figure clearly..." He sighed and couldn't help but recall it.
……
Thirteen years ago, when Governor Liu was still a military general, due to his talent as a commander, the imperial court specially ordered him to guard the important border town of Lindong. As a result, all members of the Liu family, young and old, followed the army and lived in Lindong.
But that year, for some reason, Tuhur Khan of Barbarian Continent suddenly launched an attack on Winterfell. Because it was a night raid, the soldiers of Winterfell were caught off guard.
Fortunately, General Liu's brave resistance at that time saved Lindong.
At that time, Tuhur Khan found a sorcerer from somewhere, who used some unknown magic to abduct Madam Liu and Liu Xia, who was only three or four years old at the time, to their camp, in order to force General Liu to surrender.
But as a general of a country, he is naturally full of pride.
General Liu knelt down in front of the enemy at the gate in front of everyone. When the soldiers thought he was going to surrender, they heard him shout at the enemy:
"My wife, Ah Lu, has been in charge of household affairs, helping her husband and raising children, and giving birth to three sons and one daughter for our Liu family. Xian is deeply indebted to her and loves and respects her. Now, Lu is trapped in the enemy camp, and the enemy will use this as a threat. However, as a minister of the emperor, I must share the emperor's worries while receiving his salary. I must not do such a thing as selling out my country. I have wronged my beloved wife, and I hope she will forgive me. When I get out of this predicament and relieve your worries, I will follow you. I hope Lu will wait for Xian on the road to the underworld. I will definitely not let you cross the river of oblivion alone!"
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed twice, and when he stood up his face was full of tears.
But just these words boosted the morale of the soldiers in the city. Not only did they defend Lindong, but they also forced Tuhur Khan to retreat fifty miles.
But even if they won the battle, they still couldn't save Madam Liu and the young Liu Xia.
Because of this defeat, Natuhur Khan became furious and ordered his men to abandon the mother and son in the snow-capped mountains, and then he withdrew his troops back to the barbarian continent.
Speaking of which, Tuhur Khan is really not a magnanimous man. He has no ability and after losing the battle, he took his anger out on women and children.
Mrs. Liu was the general's wife. Although she didn't know any martial arts, she had done farm work for a long time before marrying General Liu. She was strong and could resist the cold to some extent, but the child could not.
The child was already weak, and after being caught in the cold, he became ill. At first he could still say a few words about the cold, but in the end, he could only shiver.
As a mother, she naturally couldn't bear to see her child suffer like this, so she took off all her clothes, wrapped little Liu Xia up, and endured the cold wind herself.
However, even so, little Liu Xia was still dying, and Mrs. Liu fainted shortly after giving the clothes to Liu Xia.
Just when little Liu Xia was confused, he saw a woman coming towards him.
The woman was wearing a blue robe and had her hair tied up high. She looked like an immortal. However, he was a little confused at the time and could not see the woman's face clearly. He only knew that there was a red dot in the corner of her eye, like cinnabar.
Little Liu Xia thought he was about to die, and that a fairy from heaven had come to take him away. However, he did not expect that the woman took out two pieces of talisman paper from her arms, and took out a brush from her waist, and drew for a while, and then stuck the talismans on herself and her mother.
As soon as the talisman was put on, little Liu Xia suddenly felt less cold. After a while, he even felt waves of warmth flowing into his body from the yellow talisman put on by the woman.
After putting up the talisman, the woman only said, "The Liu army will find you in half a cup of tea." Then she turned around and disappeared in the cold wind.
It was this turn that left the image of the back figure deeply engraved in little Liu Xia's mind.
……
Alan naturally knew about the capture. It was because of that incident that Mrs. Liu became ill and has not recovered to this day. Whenever it rains or snows, her bones must be in unbearable pain.
However, she had never heard Liu Xia mention the fairy, and when Mrs. Liu and little Liu Xia came back, she didn't see any talismans on them.
"You mean, it's because of that person that you insist on practicing Taoism?"
Liu Xia held the cup in his hand and nodded: "When I was young, I thought she was a goddess descending from heaven, but later I learned some Taoist mystical arts and realized that she was actually a mortal practicing."
"It's just..." Alan hesitated and said, "Even if you want to see her again, it's been such a long time. Not to mention whether she is still alive, it's extremely difficult to find such a person in such a vast sea of people, just like looking for a needle in a haystack. Why are you so obsessed with it..."
Liu Xia smiled softly when she heard this, put down the cup and looked at Alan: "What about your sister? She still refuses to get married, isn't she also very persistent?"
Alan lowered his head when he heard this - yes, that's how he is, so what right do I have to say about him...
...Liu Xia finally followed Long Qi and the other two. Before leaving, he knelt in front of the door, kowtowed three times to Governor Liu and his wife Liu, and then left without looking back.
Mrs. Liu felt relieved after Alan's persuasion. But she was a mother after all, and she still felt a little uncomfortable seeing her child live in such a miserable state.
Liu Xia was naturally not a heartless person, and he felt bad too, but somehow he always felt that he would definitely meet that woman during this experience. This feeling became stronger after he left Liu's house.
Now that the four of them had gathered, Long Qi planned to go from Xiangcheng to Nanhuai. However, after experiencing some previous troubles, Xinyi Zhao Wuyang no longer let him lead the way, and instead handed the task of leading the way to Liu Xia.
Long Qi also felt aggrieved. No matter what happened before, he finally arrived in Cangzhou City, which showed that the road he led was correct. Even though he suffered some hardships, he achieved his goal in the end. Why couldn't he just follow him?
However, after experiencing the sweetness of staying in an inn once, he no longer felt aggrieved - having a house to shelter him from the wind and rain, and being able to eat a hot meal, and not having to sleep in the open air, was truly extremely comfortable...
Although Liu Xia was leading the way, they were still taking the official road. There were not always big cities along the way, and they would encounter small villages from time to time.
If you meet a people with simple folk customs and a rich life, you may be able to stay with them. But if you meet those who are extremely poor, not only will you not be able to stay with them, you won't even get a penny for food.
Now, the four of them settled in a place called Fengwu Village. This place is really poor, so poor that not even smoke can be seen.
As to why this village is so poor, it is not because of the village atmosphere, but because there has been a long drought. Even the well has dried up and only mud is left.
Even during the Grain Rain season, not a drop of rain fell in the village. As a result, the crops were left barren and there was no harvest.
Without harvest, there is no money or food.
Many young and strong people have left the village long ago to seek a living elsewhere. But the elderly are unwilling to leave the place they have guarded all their lives. Some people with children also find it difficult to endure the hardship of the journey.
So the four of them could only see some old, weak, sick and young people in this village...
Fengwu Village used to be a prosperous village, but it gradually became what it is today after the Waking of Insects this year.
During the Waking of Insects, a bolt of lightning struck a mountain behind the village, and a deep pool suddenly appeared there.
This was already very strange, but what was even stranger was that on the second day after the deep pool appeared, strange things happened to the village's well. A whirlpool appeared in it, and even the bucket placed in the water was stirred into pieces.
This strange phenomenon lasted for three days and then ended. The reason why it was said to have ended was that there was no more water in the well.
The villagers also tried to dig a new well, but no matter how deep they dug, they could not find the spring.
What’s even more strange is that since then, in the entire village, only the deep pool on the mountain would rain, and no rain fell anywhere else.
Seeing this, some of the brave ones went up the mountain and never came back. As a result, the villagers thought it was caused by a monster, and the lightning that day must have been caused by a monster falling into the mountain.
"It does sound like a demon is causing trouble..." After listening to the villagers' explanation of the whole incident, Liu Xia frowned and looked at Xinyi.
Xinyi also frowned, but did not answer. He was very confused in his heart. He had never heard of any monster that could fall with thunder. If that was true, it must be a big monster.
Those who can dance with thunder must be either dragons or jiao...
"If it is really a monster, it must be difficult to deal with," Long Qi analyzed after listening to Liu Xia's words: "It can use its magic so widely, from the mountains to the village, I think its cultivation must be very high. But the strange thing is, why does it need so much water?"
But Zhao Wuyang had a different opinion at this time: "Maybe... it's not caused by the monster..."
After hearing what he said, everyone hurriedly asked why. Zhao Wuyang quickly replied: "Elder Fu Cang once gave me a book called "Records of Strange Stories from Mountains and Seas", which records many strange things and monsters. I remember reading an article in it that described a situation very similar to today..."
"In ancient times, there was a village that also encountered such a thing. Later, a god came to the village and said that it was an ancient sacred object. He went there alone to find it, and later came out with a bead. That bead was the Water Spirit Bead among the Five Elements Spirit Beads. After the old god took the Water Spirit Bead away, the rain in the village became normal."
"It is true that there are some similarities, but the Water Spirit Pearl is an ancient sacred object, so how could it cause the villagers who went to look for it to lose their trace? From what I have seen, it should be a demon..." Long Qi said, looking at Xin Yi, "What do you think?"
Xin Yi nodded when she heard this: "That's true. If it's really a sacred object of the Five Elements, it shouldn't kill anyone."
After staying and listening to what Zhao Wuyang said, he felt that there was some truth in what he said: "I once heard a legend that said a woodcutter went up the mountain to chop wood and saw two people playing chess in the mountain. He stood aside and watched, but after the game was over, the two people urged him to leave quickly. When he returned home, he found that two years had passed."
"What you mean is..." Xinyi didn't understand what he meant and asked hurriedly.
"I think the woodcutter waited two years to return home because he encountered a mountain immortal. And since the Water Spirit Pearl is a sacred object, it must have some divinity. Who knows, those who went there to look for it may have strayed into the path of the gods, and their lives would be different at this time?"
"No..." Long Qi immediately said, "Ling Xiang has a Fire Spirit Pearl on her body, and I didn't see any difference in the time she passed. If it was really a Water Spirit Pearl, it shouldn't be like that."
It seems that this might be caused by a monster.
At this time, Zhao Wuyang said, "What if someone holds the Water Spirit Pearl? Just like Elder Fu Cang holds it, will this happen?"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. If this was true, then this person would be even more difficult to deal with. He could follow Lei Er and activate the Water Spirit Pearl. This level of cultivation must be extremely high.
"We keep guessing, but we still can't figure it out. Why don't we go to the nearby area tomorrow to take a look? Who knows, maybe we can figure out the problem?"
As soon as Long Qi finished speaking, Xin Yi wanted to speak up to stop him - it would be inappropriate to go there rashly without understanding the situation. But before he could say anything, he heard the villager say:
"A female fairy came here a few days ago, and then she went to the mountain alone, and has not returned yet."
"Female immortal?" Liu Xia was very surprised when he heard this. "Did anyone say which sect she was taught by?"
The villager recalled for a moment after hearing this: "I didn't say that, but judging from her attire, it is somewhat similar to yours. She holds a Bagua plate in her hand and has a pen hanging around her waist. It looks quite strange."
Hearing this, the four were shocked.
Could that person be Pinellia?
(End of this chapter)
