Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 94

Since the valley was warmer than the outside world, it still retained the scenery of deep autumn. Looking out, the mountain vegetation was layered in shades of green, yellow, and red, resembling stacked silk fabrics of various colors. Looking further into the distance was a mountain peak wreathed in auspicious clouds, beautiful and towering, with no snow on its summit.

Yun Qing was somewhat curious – did that mountain peak belong to Shenle Valley, or was it part of Liuyun Mountain outside the valley?

The group followed Shi Feijia deeper into the valley, and gradually they began to see scattered houses.

This Shenle Valley was very much like a bustling mountain village, except the houses were larger and more solid than ordinary village dwellings.

Yun Qing noticed that the style and layout of these houses were not much different from buildings in the Central Plains region. Thinking of how Shi Feijia had not been unfamiliar with Qingcheng Zi earlier, and looking at the architecture before her, it seemed this Shenle Valley was not completely isolated from the world.

Among these houses, a wooden platform was particularly conspicuous. This wooden platform was about ten zhang high, with a yellow flag planted on top that fluttered in the autumn wind. She wondered what the platform was used for.

If it were a watchtower, it wasn’t positioned at any strategic point in the valley. Yun Qing was puzzled and thought she would find a chance to ask Sister Muyu later.

When the group passed by a white house, they saw an old woman with silver hair sitting under a large ginkgo tree in front of the house, playing an ocarina. The music was extremely ethereal and beautiful – hearing it, Yun Qing felt her spirit clear and refreshed.

Shi Muyu smiled and called out, “Grandma Bayin!”

The music stopped. The silver-haired old woman called Grandma Bayin put down her clay ocarina and smiled, “Jiujiu has returned? Did you finally find a child on this trip? I tell you, don’t be so anxious – you’re still so young, just a child yourself.

Ah, Dongdong has also been put down? You must be obedient from now on and not anger Pangpang. And Pangpang, you really shouldn’t be so anxious either. I think that boy Wu She probably just ran off to play.”

When she spoke to these juniors, she slightly raised her voice, as if talking to small children. Shi Muyu and Shi Qingshang listened to the old woman’s chatter with smiles, and even Shi Feijia’s face showed a faint smile.

After chattering for a while, Grandma Bayin suddenly exclaimed “Oh!” and stopped using her childish voice, speaking seriously instead. “Xi, you’ve returned?”

Yun Qing and the others looked at each other in confusion. Fu Xue said, “What east and west?” 

Shi Muyu explained, “Grandma Bayin, you’ve mistaken them for someone else. They are my friends.” She then introduced Yun Qing and the others.

“Little friends?” Grandma Bayin hung the clay Xun at her waist and then walked forward.

She had a pair of pale gray, cloudy eyes, with pupils that had almost merged with the whites. Her wrinkled, sunken eyelids covered these strange eyes. She took Yun Qing’s hand and raised her other hand to touch Yun Qing’s cheek.

Yun Qing was quite bewildered, but since the other person was an elder, she didn’t refuse – let her touch if she wanted to.

Grandma Bayin’s aged hand explored Yun Qing’s face for a while, finally showing a disappointed expression. She resumed her childish voice, “Ah, sorry little friend, I mistook you for someone else!”

Yun Qing shook her head, “It’s alright.”

Grandma Bayin then took Ci Li’s hand and asked with a smile, “Little demon, how old are you? For a cat to cultivate into divine form is not easy.”

Yun Qing raised an eyebrow – this was the first time she’d heard the term “cultivate into divine form.” Looking at the old woman’s manner, she didn’t seem confused or mistaken.

Ci Li answered politely, “Grandma, I’m three hundred years old.”

Grandma Bayin patted his shoulder, “Well, you’re still a little friend too.”

Ci Li had been pretending to be an old man for many years, always calling others “little friend.” This was a rare occasion when someone called him a little friend.

“Grandma, may I ask your venerable age?” he asked.

“Ah, I can’t remember anymore.”

After bidding farewell to Grandma Bayin, she stood in place “watching” them for a long time, then sat back down on the stone under the large tree.

The sound of the Xun resumed behind them.

Shi Muyu said, “No one in all of Shenle Valley knows Grandma Bayin’s age – she’s lived longer than all of us.”

Cheng Suiyan looked back and asked curiously, “Does she play the Xun like this every day?”

“Pretty much, ever since Grandpa Kexie passed away.”

Shi Muyu then briefly told them about Grandpa Kexie.

Grandpa Kexie wasn’t originally called Shi Kexie, and as for his real name, like Grandma Bayin’s age, no one knew anymore.

Grandpa Kexie had originally been from the outside world. Once, when Grandma Bayin was traveling outside, she met Grandpa Kexie. After various trials, they ended up together, and Grandpa Kexie followed Grandma Bayin back to Shenle Valley.

He blinded his own eyes, changed his name, abandoned his original cultivation to practice the Way of Silence, and from then on lived as a member of the Shenle clan.

The two had raised three children together – one was nurtured from a Hundred Seed, the other two were born to Grandma Bayin. All three children had already passed away.

About five years ago, Grandpa Kexie died peacefully in his sleep. From that time on, Grandma Bayin would play the Xun he had made for her in front of her door every day.

Fu Xue wiped the corners of her eyes, “How touching.”

“He was truly a wonderful old grandfather. He could make many musical instruments, often gathered flower nectar to give to the children in the clan, and he transcribed many books from the outside world for preservation in the clan. Actually, not just Grandma Bayin misses him – we all miss him very much.”

Cheng Suiyan said, “So Grandma Bayin has given birth to children? I thought the Shenle clan only had children through Hundred Seeds.”

“Each person in our Shenle clan has only one Hundred Seed. If we want more children, we have to give birth to them ourselves.”

“I see.”

Yun Qing asked, “Why did Grandma Bayin say Ci Li had ‘cultivated into divine form’ earlier?”

Shi Feijia, who had been silent all along, stopped and explained:

“Because gods are the origin of all things. The first deity in the world was Pan Gu, who wielded a giant axe to separate heaven and earth. After he fell, his body transformed into the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, four seasons, wind, clouds, thunder, and dew. Only then did this world gradually give birth to all the myriad things we see today.”

Everyone nodded – they had all heard the legend of Pan Gu creating the world as children.

Shi Feijia continued, “When Nuwa created humans, she made the human race in the image of the divine race. So each of us is both human in form and divine in form, possessing both human nature and divine nature.

Our human race is called the most spiritual of all beings, and it all begins with this touch of divinity. Among all the demons, spirits, ghosts, and monsters in the world, the ultimate goal of their cultivation is to manifest divine form.

However, since divine form overlaps with human form, and the gods are gradually disappearing, everyone mistakenly believes that the ultimate goal of demons is to take human form.”

“So that’s how it is,” Fu Xue said. “But if the gods are so powerful, why would they disappear?”

Shi Feijia sighed softly and slightly raised her head, as if “looking” at the distant mountain peak. She said, “It’s precisely because they are powerful that they disappear.”

“Ah?!”

“Gods are different from humans. The survival of gods depends extremely heavily on spiritual energy, and because of their own power, their need for spiritual energy is also enormous.

The spiritual energy in this world grows less each day, unable to support their massive consumption. What awaits them is only slumber – returning to this earth that gave birth to them.”

Everyone was somewhat stunned upon hearing this.

Yun Qing couldn’t help but sigh, “Gods disappear because of their strength, while humans survive because of their weakness. This shows that the strong are also weak, and the weak are also strong. Is this the Heavenly Way?”

Shi Feijia looked at Yun Qing with surprise and said, “For one so young to have such understanding is quite rare.”

“You flatter me, senior. I have one more thing I don’t understand.”

“Oh? Please speak.” Shi Feijia’s tone was now much warmer than the ice-cold manner of their first meeting.

Yun Qing said, “Since all the gods have disappeared, what about Goddess Sheng Xi? She at least performed miracles to control floods twenty years ago. Is she still—”

Shi Feijia suddenly interrupted her, turned around and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to where you’ll be staying.”