Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 49

Chu Yanhe felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

She stared blankly at Chu Yanchuan, even forgetting to cry.

Her Ai Ge, the one who always smiled back at her, who played with her and cleaned up her messes, who tolerated, protected, and spoiled her—now had become a fool.

Just like thousands of cursed people in this Linglong City.

Yesterday, he had told her with a blushing face that he wanted to give his longevity pendant to the girl he liked. Today, he sat here staring at her blankly, like a wooden statue.

Chu Yanhe broke down in tears. She couldn’t accept this—how could she possibly accept such an outcome?

Chu Yanchuan seemed annoyed by her crying. He frowned, pushed her away, and let her cry on the floor while he continued playing with an orange.

The maids came in to help Chu Yanhe up. While comforting her, they said, “We’ve sent someone to fetch the eldest young master.”

“What’s the use of calling big brother? Will that make Ai Ge better?” Chu Yanhe cried, throwing these words behind her as she ran out with tears streaming down her face.

Several maids followed, concerned for her safety.

Chu Yanhe, who regularly practiced martial arts, was much stronger than the maids. They were left far behind as she ran off in a flash, disappearing from sight.

A clever maid observed, “Judging by the direction, she’s probably gone to find Miss Yun and the others.”

Chu Yanhe ran straight into Yun Qing and her companions’ courtyard. At that moment, the four of them were eating breakfast. Fu Xue must have said something amusing, as both Yun Qing and Cheng Suiyan were laughing.

Seeing them so happy together, Chu Yanhe grew even more furious. She ran over and without a word flipped their table.

With a crash and a bang, cups and plates shattered on the ground, and the huanghuali wood table tumbled over.

The four reacted quickly, jumping up to avoid the falling table.

Cheng Suiyan, still holding his chopsticks, looked at Chu Yanhe in bewilderment. “What’s wrong with you?”

Chu Yanhe pointed at Yun Qing’s nose and shouted, “You liar! You kept saying you killed the mountain god, but you caused my Ai Ge to become a fool! If you don’t have the ability, don’t boast. I was truly blind to have misjudged you—liar, big liar!”

“How dare you scold my senior sister?!” Fu Xue pushed her hard without thinking.

Chu Yanhe fell to the ground, momentarily stunned. Having grown up pampered in luxury, with parents and brothers who adored her, no one had ever laid a finger on her before.

Yun Qing’s expression turned serious. She asked, “Are you saying Yanchuan has also lost his earth soul?”

Fu Xue finally realized what was happening. “Ah? Second Brother Chu is…?”

Chu Yanhe covered her face and cried in despair and grievance, shouting, “Liars, you’re all liars! All of you…”

Cheng Suiyan saw that although she was acting wildly, she was also pitiful. He bent down to help her up, but she stubbornly pushed him away, covering her face and continuing to cry.

Yun Qing walked up to her, crouched down, and asked, “What exactly happened?”

Chu Yanhe glanced at Yun Qing, and her tears flowed even more violently, like a broken dam, forming two streams down her face.

She answered, “I went to find Ai Ge this morning and discovered he can’t speak or recognize people anymore, just like my second uncle was initially! Ai Ge has become a fool! Didn’t you say you had eliminated the mountain god? Why is the mountain god’s punishment still happening?”

Yun Qing frowned slightly and replied, “I’ve killed all the mountain gods.”

“But my Ai Ge still became a fool!”

“Your second brother becoming a fool has nothing to do with the mountain god.”

The crying stopped. Chu Yanhe looked up at her in shock. “What do you mean?”

“It means that for the past two hundred and seventy years, Linglong City has lost one earth soul every day. This wasn’t done by the mountain god, nor was it because someone offended the mountain god.”

“What?”

“I’m ninety-nine percent certain of this. I interrogated that golden-haired hound. Actually, I was too tired to explain yesterday, so let me tell you now. First, get up.”

Fu Xue bent down and pulled Chu Yanhe up from the ground. By this time, the maids had caught up and began tidying the scene, setting up the table again and serving tea and refreshments in an orderly manner.

A maid dampened a handkerchief with warm water and wiped Chu Yanhe’s face, then offered to help her change clothes. But Chu Yanhe, anxious about her brother, shook her head and sent them away.

Once everyone was seated again, Yun Qing briefly described what had happened two nights ago. Before killing the golden-haired hound, she had interrogated it using the Incantation of Truth.

The effects of the Mountain Formation were undoubtedly enormous. Under her spiritual pressure, the golden-haired hound could barely stand, let alone lie under the Incantation of Truth.

Unfortunately, Yun Qing knew the effect would be short-lived, so her questioning was hurried.

She asked it only three questions.

The first was about its origin. This golden-haired hound had been orphaned in its youth when an immortal invaded its home, killed its mother, and took it away to be raised in an immortal residence.

That immortal was named Yin Meizi, who soon afterward had a duel with another immortal called Qi Guangzi and was defeated, his soul scattered to the winds.

The golden-haired hound was still young at that time. It fled in panic and eventually made its way to Linglong Mountain, where it settled and claimed the mountain as its domain.

Hearing this, Cheng Suiyan was surprised. “Can immortals die too?”

Yun Qing nodded. “Of course. Immortals only live longer; it doesn’t mean they can’t die. Everything in this world will eventually perish.”

After arriving at Linglong Mountain, the golden-haired hound called itself “King Jinsheng” and posed as the mountain god of Linglong Mountain, intimidating the people of Linglong City to offer “brides” as sacrifices each year.

As the golden-haired hound matured and its power grew, surrounding demons gradually submitted to it, respectfully calling it “Big Brother.”

Yun Qing’s second question was about the loss of earth souls in Linglong City, which the golden-haired hound completely denied.

She asked about a bride who had committed suicide two hundred and seventy years ago, and whether they had imposed punishment on Linglong City.

The golden-haired hound said that they hadn’t received any sacrifice that year, and in anger, it had captured several people from the Chongshen Society to eat. The following year, there was a bride again, so the matter wasn’t pursued further.

When Yun Qing asked if it knew who was responsible for the loss of earth souls, it shook its head in ignorance.

“So the people of Linglong City becoming fools has nothing to do with the mountain god?” Fu Xue asked.

Yun Qing nodded. “At least not directly.”

Chu Yanhe asked, “Then why did my Ai Ge become a fool? Who stole his earth soul?”

Yun Qing sighed softly. “I can’t answer that question right now because we’re still looking for answers ourselves.”

Jiang Baiyu said, “Yun Qing, you said you asked it three questions. What was the third?”

“This.” Yun Qing pulled something out of her treasure bag and placed it on the table.

Chu Yanhe looked closely and saw it was a small waist drum, roughly the length of a finger, made with exquisite craftsmanship.

Yun Qing flicked the small drum with her finger, and it expanded with the wind to the size of a normal waist drum.

The drum had a bright red gold-plated body and a yellowish drumhead. On the drumhead was painted the head of a hound with golden eyes, looking quite demonic.

“It’s called the Chixia Soul-Stirring Drum.”

Yun Qing’s third question had been about this drum’s incantation and usage.

After explaining all this, she stood up. “Let’s go see Yanchuan.”

****

They all went together to Chu Yanchuan’s courtyard.

Chu Yanchuan was squatting under a tree watching ants.

Yun Qing pulled Chu Yanchuan up and felt his bones. Under Chu Yanhe’s slightly hopeful gaze, she shook her head gravely, killing Chu Yanhe’s last glimmer of hope.

Chu Yanhe’s body swayed, and Fu Xue quickly grabbed her to keep her steady.

Chu Yanhe stared at her Ai Ge in a daze. She didn’t know what to do or whom to blame. She only knew that she was about to lose an important family member.

She had always admired and looked up to her eldest brother, and although they were siblings by name, her eldest brother was more like a dignified elder.

Chu Yanchuan was the one who had protected and accompanied her like a true brother.

And now she was about to lose such a good brother.

No, she had already lost him.

Chu Yanhe’s heart felt like it was being sliced by a knife. Tears gushed forth, and she couldn’t help but sob loudly. Seeing her cry, Fu Xue’s eyes also turned red, and she handed her a handkerchief.

Chu Yanchuan placed a piece of cake at the entrance of an anthill, clapping and laughing as he watched the ants scurry around the cake.

Yun Qing sighed. She didn’t even know how to comfort Chu Yanhe. Even as a friend, seeing Chu Yanchuan in this state made her feel sad, let alone for her flesh and blood.

“Little sister.” Chu Yanzhang arrived. Seeing his younger sister crying so painfully, he sighed slightly, his phoenix-like eyes filled with affection and pity.

“Big brother, what should we do?” Chu Yanhe cried, throwing herself into his arms.

“It will be alright,” Chu Yanzhang embraced her and said softly, “Everything will be alright.”

His tone was unprecedentedly gentle, and he unconsciously patted the back of Chu Yanhe’s head lightly with his palm. Chu Yanhe felt a moment of confusion; her Ai Ge used to pat her like this when comforting her.

Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by an immense grief and cried so hard she could barely breathe.

****

That night, Yun Qing sat on the roof, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at the moon.

Tonight’s moon was not as full as it had been the previous two nights. It was cold and lonely, like a line of poetry at the end of a grand feast. A few scattered stars in the sky were like the sparse rhymes of this poem.

The surroundings were exceptionally quiet. Except for her, everyone in the city lord’s mansion was sound asleep.

No, there was one more person.

A delicate fragrance of lotus flowers drifted to her nose, and then someone sat down silently beside her.

The night breeze lifted their hair, the strands intertwining like lovers’ whispered words. Jiang Baiyu turned his head and quietly looked at her.

“Baiyu, do you know,” Yun Qing suddenly spoke, “I used to think that every time I looked at the moon, it was different, so I really enjoyed watching the moon.

It wasn’t until later that I realized the moon is always the same moon. What’s different is one’s mood.”

Jiang Baiyu saw a glimmering light dancing in her eyes. He asked, “Are you still upset?”

“Yes. I just feel that such a kind person doesn’t deserve this kind of fate.”

Yun Qing shook her head and smiled bitterly at this point. “What am I saying? The Heavenly Law doesn’t care if you’re good or bad—didn’t I say that myself?”

“Yun Qing, open your hand,” Jiang Baiyu suddenly said.

Yun Qing was somewhat puzzled but did as he asked, extending her right hand in front of him.

Jiang Baiyu placed a piece of maltose candy in her palm.

The familiar caramel color emitted threads of sweet fragrance.

Yun Qing paused for a moment, then smiled lightly, putting the candy in her mouth and narrowing her eyes.

The moon was different each time, but the maltose candy was always the same. Every time she ate the candy, her mood improved.

The autumn wind rustled the surrounding leaves, making them swirl past. Jiang Baiyu reached out and caught a pale yellow willow leaf.

He placed the willow leaf against his lips and played a tune.

It was a peaceful and serene melody that flowed through the quiet autumn night, like flowers blooming and falling unnoticed in some corner.

Yun Qing’s mood quieted along with the tune. She asked, “What song is that?”

“I don’t know. I was just playing randomly.”

“Did you play often when you were on Huayang Mountain?”

“Yes. I… didn’t have many friends before.”

At least according to the descriptions from the people of Immortal-Seeking Town, the Huayang Sect’s young master had lived well. Born into distinction, uncommonly talented, loved by his parents—such a person should have had few worries.

Yet the reality was that he had few friends.

Yun Qing didn’t ask why. She just turned to look at him and smiled, “Now you do.”

Jiang Baiyu also smiled. “Yes.”

“As for this melody, let’s call it ‘Song of Ease.’ After listening to it, I feel much more relaxed.”

“Good.” Jiang Baiyu nodded slightly and said, “Yun Qing, you seem to have something on your mind.”

“You can tell?”

“Yes. Do you want to talk about it?”

Yun Qing raised her head to look at the moon. She rolled the candy around in her mouth with her tongue, sighed, and said:

“Baiyu, to be honest, my personality tends to overthink things. So sometimes, I’m not sure if there’s really a problem or if I’m just overthinking.”

“What are you referring to?”

“Do you remember when we were at the inn in Shanqian Town? We asked the attendant if he had heard about monsters in town, and he was completely clueless.”

“Yes.”

“Logically, inn attendants are usually very well-informed. If even the attendant didn’t know about monsters in town, yet a woodcutter who went into the mountains every day to chop wood did know… I found that odd.”

Jiang Baiyu thought for a moment and said, “And that night, we did encounter a monster. The wealth-eating ghost said it had been released by someone recently. Could it be possible that the woodcutter was the one who released it?”

Yun Qing nodded. “That’s what I suspect as well.”

She suddenly felt a mental comfort—the kind of comfort that comes when the person you’re talking to understands what you mean without needing many words.

Although her junior sister was lovely, sometimes she had to explain things at length when talking to Fu Xue. Her master wasn’t stupid, but their views were often at odds. She called her master a soft-hearted fool, while her master said she overthought things.

Jiang Baiyu continued, “If the woodcutter is suspicious, what about Li Siniang?”

“I didn’t notice any issues with Li Siniang. Her child genuinely lost his earth soul. And her circumstances were truly miserable—it makes sense that she might give up hope and try to drown herself.”

“But it seems too coincidental.”

“Yes, everything seems too coincidental. When we first left Guangling City, we had no plans to go toward Linglong City, yet we ended up here.

It’s as if some force was guiding us toward Linglong City. And now everything we’re encountering in Linglong City feels like a fog.”

“If that’s truly the case, why didn’t the woodcutter simply tell us there was a problem in Linglong City?”

After Jiang Baiyu raised this question, before Yun Qing could answer, he explained it himself. “We met him close to Shanqian Town, far from Linglong City.

Perhaps he was afraid that if he mentioned Linglong City, we would think it was too far and not go. So he had to guide us step by step toward Linglong City. What is this person’s purpose—did he want us to investigate the mountain god matter?”

“I don’t know. There might not even be such a person—I could just be overthinking. You know my personality; I tend to think too much.”

Jiang Baiyu shook his head. “I trust your intuition.”

Yun Qing raised her eyebrows in surprise. “So blindly?”

Jiang Baiyu’s mouth twitched as he thought of something. “Yes.”

When he lowered his eyes and smiled, he looked quite handsome. Yun Qing rested her chin in her hand, looking at his face, and also uttered a soft “Yes,” a gentle nasal sound carrying a hint of cheerful amusement.

Jiang Baiyu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

“Baiyu, this is for you.” Yun Qing tossed something to him.

Jiang Baiyu caught it and saw it was the Chixia Soul-Stirring Drum, still shrunk to the size of a finger and wrapped with a note.

He unfolded the note and saw written in elegant small characters the incantation:

One body of fire, Two faces of self. Golden light shakes the soul, Chixia- stirs the spirit.

Yun Qing explained, “It changes size according to your thoughts… This drum’s effectiveness greatly depends on one’s cultivation level. Your cultivation is the highest, so it’s most suitable for you to use it.”

Jiang Baiyu didn’t hesitate, nodding as he put away the small drum. Then he said, “Speaking of cultivation, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Yun Qing knew what he was curious about.

Cultivators value the “two fields and two seas” most highly. The two fields refer to the heart field and the dantian, while the two seas refer to the sea of consciousness and the sea of qi.

Generally speaking, cultivating the two fields strengthens the physical body, such as forming the golden core; cultivating the two seas enhances one’s cultivation level, such as enlightenment. Of course, physical strength and cultivation level progress together and influence each other, so there’s no need to elaborate.

The sea of consciousness is related to a person’s enlightenment, and after enlightenment, one can expand the sea of qi. Only after the capacity of the sea of qi increases can a person’s cultivation level advance further.

As cultivators continue to gain enlightenment, their sea of qi continuously expands, like a bottle becoming larger and larger, naturally able to hold more water.

This is why, even though enlightenment becomes more dangerous the higher one goes, cultivators still press forward relentlessly. The higher the level of enlightenment, the broader the sea of qi, and the closer they come to ascending to immortality.

In other words, for someone who has not yet attained enlightenment and whose sea of qi has not yet expanded, no matter how talented they are, their cultivation will remain limited.

Such a person’s sea of qi is like a small teacup—even when full, it’s only a teacup’s worth, unable to compare with others’ continuously expanding bottles.

The Way of Compassion’s method of enlightenment remained unclear, and some said the Way of Compassion had no concept of enlightenment at all. In any case, neither Yun Qing nor Fu Xue had yet attained enlightenment, so their sea of qi capacity should have been limited.

Fu Xue’s level of cultivation was normal for someone who hadn’t attained enlightenment.

But Yun Qing was different. Her cultivation level was too high to appear in someone who hadn’t attained enlightenment.

This was what puzzled Jiang Baiyu.

Yun Qing didn’t know how to explain this issue, so she simply turned to face Jiang Baiyu and closed her eyes. “Baiyu, see for yourself.”

Jiang Baiyu raised his index finger and pressed it against her brow.

The small red mole on her brow was slightly raised, making its presence felt under his fingertip.

Jiang Baiyu’s heartbeat suddenly quickened.

He released his spiritual power and closed his eyes, beginning to explore her sea of consciousness.

Ordinary people’s sea of consciousness and sea of qi are both pale red. After enlightenment and condensing qi, they turn pale blue. As the level of enlightenment and cultivation increases, the blue gradually deepens.

It was said that after ascending to immortality, they would turn white, like a vast sea of mist.

But Yun Qing’s sea of consciousness had nothing to do with these three colors.

Jiang Baiyu saw an ocean of gold.