They didn't know how long it took to arrive in this barren land. They only knew that it should be late February. But there is no sign of spring here, because there is nothing that symbolizes life here. Spring is supposed to be a season that shows the exuberance of life.
Kisaragi-kun's location - if that is really Kisaragi-kun, she has been in this area for more than five days. The results of the divination showed that she stopped moving five days ago and did not suddenly go to other locations. She may still be busy, but no one can guarantee whether she will leave at the next moment. Now, they don't dare to waste time drinking water. The closer we are to our target location, the more time seems to be approaching.
The previous scene was not so desolate. There are still some flowers and plants on the roadside, but the trees are getting sparse. After they were completely immersed in this ocean of nothingness, they looked back and saw that they had walked for an unknown amount of time and could not even see the shadow of a plant. The criss-crossing ravines on the ground symbolize the traces of drought, and even the gravel has become less. If you turn around here with your head covered, you will immediately lose your sense of direction. Only the only solar energy in the cloudless sky points the way.
"...I've been here before." Mu Wan stopped, "I felt familiar from the beginning."
"Been here? When?"
"No change...from last year. It was when I separated from you."
Then only once. It was the time when an accident happened near the shrine that Uzuki-kun visited, and they were transported to different places by spiritual veins. Shanhai and Dailuan appeared in Zanglanhai and met the two assassins of the Tang family who had been waiting for a long time, as well as Tang He and Qingyang Chukong Muyuejun. As for Mu Wan, by chance he came to Qinglian Town, where Lord Xueyue rested. She used to be Qingnu, but now she is the Lord of the Moon in Changye.
The boat she left capsized due to a design, and she fell into a lotus pond and lost consciousness. Afterwards, she was lucky enough to float on the river, and was fished out by a half-demon and a little girl. It's not that Mu Wan has never mentioned this matter before, but now she described it again in detail. Including the encounters with Sakimen Lang, Jiyue-kun, and the Yun sisters in Qinglian Town, as well as the subsequent events with Taki Miao Cangyu Shuoyue-kun, all retelling.
"Oh, it's too dangerous. If you come up face down, you'll be in big trouble."
Dai Luan's emotion is not unreasonable. Mu Wan frowned and didn't dare to think about it. If that were the case, there would be no chance of her coming here a second time. According to her, they should be able to find a tall kapok tree here. Under the tree is a small yard and a dilapidated house, plus a dry well.
"Do you remember how to find it?" Shanhai asked.
"I don't remember at all." Mu Wan shook his head, "It was Lord Shuangyue who took me to take a shortcut away at that time."
Shan Hai looked around and quickly analyzed. If you can't find the yard she mentioned for a while, you won't have anywhere to rest at night. Pessimistically speaking, they may have to sleep here. However, since there is no bunker or water nearby, there should be no wild beasts or monsters attacking them.
The sky began to darken, but the situation was still not optimistic.
Mu Wan suddenly felt warm in his arms. This was not heat from the inside out, but something radiating heat, like a small, dying hand stove. She had a hard time getting the heat source out because it was only covered with a thin layer of shirt.
It was a white feather. It is well preserved with only slight bends. Even in the battle at Snow Inkstone Valley, it was not damaged. Shanhai took it, looked at it carefully, and asked her:
"Is this the token you said Long Miao gave you before?"
"Yeah...isn't it a little hot?"
"indeed so."
Dai Luan kept asking to see it, and Shan Hai handed it to her. She held it in her hands, and the light and warm feathers dispelled some of the cold. But none of them knew why the thing was heating up.
"Could it be that the owner of the token is nearby?" Dai Luan asked.
"It shouldn't be...but, how can we explain it..."
Several people were at a loss. They were talking and walking. As she walked, Dai Luan felt the warmth in her hands becoming more obvious.
"It's a little hot," she said.
Shanhai held the tip of the feather and brought it over. He did feel that the temperature was a little higher than before. But after they walked for a while, the temperature dropped again. At first, they didn't intend to delve into this inexplicable thing. Coincidentally, Dai Luan found out that her safety lock was lost and immediately became anxious. She said she just touched one and it was still on her body.
"Don't just touch your hand and it will fall off."
After hearing what Mu Wan said, she was very anxious. When it got dark, Shanhai said he would look back and asked the two of them to wait. He walked for a long time, but he didn't know how far it was. Because the terrain was flat, he could be seen no matter what, but the skylight made his figure more and more blurry. He picked something up from the ground and waved his hand. But he didn't come back, but took a few steps in other directions. They didn't know what was going on, so they looked at it for a few times and finally decided to run over and have a look.
When he arrived in front of Shanhai, he returned the safety lock to Dai Luan and said to them:
"When I just walked back, I felt that the feathers were a little warmer. I think it was probably related to the direction. I tried taking a few steps to the west and felt that it was hotter than before. So..."
"You want to follow the temperature's instructions?"
"Yes."
"...that's okay."
Since it's all aimless, it's better to just follow the visible clues and walk around casually. So they planned to walk in a direction that would warm their feathers until dark. Not long after, they vaguely saw the figure of a little man. The three of them squinted their eyes and saw a little girl jumping up and running towards them faster.
The girl was about thirteen or fourteen years old, with chubby cheeks and bright red clothes. Her body was decorated with several white cotton balls, fluffy and soft, floating up and down with her steps. The clogs made a clicking sound on the dry earth.
"Kapok!"
"Liangqiu!"
Kapok girl threw herself into Mu Wan, and Mu Wan hugged her and spun her around twice. She was very light, like a real big ball of cotton, as if she would fly away as soon as I let go. This can be regarded as satisfying Dai Luan's "heart knot" of not being in her arms.
At that time, Long Miao left three feathers and gave them to three different people. Kapok said that she had come out to fetch water, but the feathers she was wearing suddenly felt a little warm. It gets hotter when you walk over some places. So she, like them, kept following this path, and finally met each other.
"Aren't you...a tree? Why do you need to come out to fetch water?"
Dai Luan asked her this when they were walking together.
"Oh, you don't know, not long after Liangqiu left, two more people came, and I fetched water for them. They also fished them out of the river! Hey, that doesn't count, either. They crawled out of the water on their own. It scared me. I thought there were kappas in places like this at this time."
"How come there are still people?" Shan Hai glanced at Mu Wan, "They...are also from Qinglian Town?"
"They said they came from hell."
"...Sounds really like an evil spirit."
"Well, not really. One of them said that he was a real human being. The other one didn't say that, but I guess he wasn't an evil spirit or a sinner. That person was very gentle. By the way, they also told me that the name of the river was The Zangtou River connects the world, heaven and hell, and is the river of life and death for human beings."
"The Burial Head River?" Mu Wan frowned, "I heard before that the water in that river has a poison that corrodes people's souls. Mortals who fall into it will turn into water ghosts and pick off the boats of those who have tolls. .”
Dai Luan scratched her head and asked Shanhai Zangtou River if it was also the realm of death and life mentioned by Xiao. Shan Hai nodded and asked:
"That's what I heard. If it was Zangtou River, how could you and those two people come back?"
Kapok walked in front, turned around, and walked backwards on his feet. She spread her hands and said:
"I don't know about this either. When this place was very lively a long time ago, I didn't even know there was such a river, and I didn't hear my brothers and sisters tell me. The newcomers told me how to enter the Zangtou River and when No matter where or what the form is, there are different things to pay attention to. So, I guess Liangqiu was just as lucky as them to be able to survive."
Shan Hai sighed: "...That's right. I don't know much about these things."
"Then, I have another question." Dai Luan asked.
Kapok said generously: "Just ask, I will tell you everything I know."
"You said you were going to fetch water... where is your bucket?"
"...Oops. I don't know!" Kapok suddenly stopped, "Maybe it was placed by another stream, right? Well, it's okay, no one will steal it!"
So there is no water to drink today.
It was completely dark, but in the distance they could see a small courtyard glowing with light. There should be people living inside. This is where Kapok lives. She ran a few steps forward and waved forward. There was a man standing at the door of the yard, holding a bucket in his hand. It seemed that he had gone out to look for her. The man waved back to her. The sky was so dark that Shanhai and the others couldn't even see clearly whether the person was male or female.
"I'm back!" Kapok ran over, "Oh, thank you for looking for me. I met an old friend and delayed the time. Just don't be thirsty. By the way, that big girl is the one I told you. Yes, the one that Long Miao and I fished out of the river!"
They happened to be standing in the backlight at the entrance of the courtyard, and their faces could not be seen clearly. The man stretched out his hand and touched Kapok's head gently, wondering if he said anything. Kapok turned around and waved, urging them to come quickly.
A strange feeling lingered around Shan Hai. He had a feeling that he knew that person's aura.
No...shouldn't say we know each other. But all this made him feel indescribably familiar, frighteningly familiar. An anxiety and uneasiness emerged in his heart, and the uneasiness made him a little excited. He had never been in such a mood. But at this moment, the figure in front of him gave him the same feeling as when he passed someone in a dark alley on a dim day.
There was no heartbeat and no breathing.
He didn't look back. Behind him were Mu Wan and Dai Luan, neither of them spoke. Since they didn't take a step forward, perhaps it was because they sensed varying degrees of subtlety. But he knew there was no point in procrastinating like this. So he took a step forward. This foot felt as soft as stepping on cotton. This feeling of losing balance was too strong. It was not like simply stepping on the sunken ground, but a wave of energy surged from bottom to top. A strong sense of weightlessness.
Dai Luan was the first to rush to the man. Shanhai staggered, but crossed the door and walked straight towards the dilapidated small house. Mu Wan followed closely, but stopped walking in the yard. She was standing under the tree, right under the kapok tree, corresponding to the window.
Lin Shanhai broke through the door and entered.
A familiar folding fan opened in a familiar way, making a sound he was all too familiar with.
"Hey, Master Lin... you're fine."
