Hu Wei treated himself with more than just his heart and lungs. Perhaps it was the insult that really hurt him. After settling down, he still worked hard to make money. When the children in Fukou went to school, he also scraped together enough money to pay for his own school tuition.
That evening when Hu came excitedly to tell himself that he could go to school and study with other children, that bright child-like smile was a very special image in Dongfang Shiming's memory.
He didn't want his young master to become a beggar. The young master is his inheritance, his life, his atonement as a witness, and all the responsibilities on his iron shoulders as the captain of the guard.
…………
"...Shi Ming! Wake up!"
There were bursts of short shouts in his ears, and Dongfang Shiming suddenly woke up.
"Ah... I fell asleep?" Dongfang Shiming saw Bai Hao next to him, and his consciousness was still in a trance.
"Of course!" Bai Hao looked anxious next to her, "You will catch a cold if you sleep like this. Does your head hurt now?"
Dongfang Shiming held his forehead and tried: "Well... not yet." But he immediately noticed the stopped horses and asked, "Where are they?"
It was still dark all around, and it was probably midnight. The wind had stopped, and the endless woods had fallen behind their car.
"We haven't reached the village pictured on the map yet." Bai Hao shook her head, but then she pointed her finger at a dilapidated wall in front of her, "But look, we have a place to stay at night."
"Oh?" Dongfang Shiming noticed the half-collapsed wall next to him, like a giant black thing standing up.
The two got out of the car. There are no villages or towns around this place, but Dongfang Shiming noticed that there were some deserted roads. It’s just that over the years, it has been buried by withered grass.
After kicking the snow around the building, the two touched the courtyard door that no longer had a door panel. The threshold had long since decayed, and Dongfang Shiming led the horse and carriage into the courtyard.
"Look at the width of the courtyard door, this is not an ordinary house." Dongfang Shiming looked around and said.
Bai Hao nodded. This courtyard has become quite dilapidated, and no one has lived there for a long time. But looking at the furnishings on the patio, it seemed a little... familiar.
Dongfang Shiming tied the horse to the pillar, and the two of them found a house that had not collapsed and entered.
However, both the east room and the west wing are in ruins. From inside, you can clearly see the white snow outside, which is cold and desolate.
"Only the main room is left." Dongfang Shiming closed the door of the useless wing and came out with a sigh.
But strangely enough, when they arrived, the doors on both sides were broken and wide open. Only the rather tall main room still had its door tightly closed.
Bai Hao followed him over. The two similar bluestone steps, and even the vague smell floating in the air, seemed to overlap with somewhere in the memory.
Go to the door. But before they could open the door, the smell made them frown.
"The aroma of corruption." Dongfang Shiming hesitated as he was about to push the door open.
"This place is really familiar..." Bai Hao covered her nose with her little hands and opened her eyes wide.
"……Um."
Dongfang Shiming had already touched the weapon in his sleeve. Although this place always felt a bit strange, it made him even more curious.
He touched the edge of the door lightly. Unexpectedly, this broken door was too old. The rusty door hinge suddenly slammed down with a clang, and the entire door suddenly fell over the back.
Then there was a "bang", which stirred up smoke and dust all over the room.
Dongfang Shiming quickly took two steps back while protecting Bai Hao with one hand. However, after a while, everything returned to calm, and there was no expected murderous intention in the door.
Smoke and dust flew out, covered with white snow. Dongfang Shiming saw that the smoke had almost dissipated, and he and Bai Hao were about to enter for observation.
However, at this moment, he suddenly felt an extremely horrifying look!
"Shiming, look!"
A surprised cry came from Bai Hao behind him. Dongfang Shiming immediately looked up, only to realize that the gaze was coming from several statues of gods sitting in the altar.
One of the statues has his eyebrows lowered, one has his eyes closed and smiles, and the other has his eyes wide open. The dim light drifted in from outside the door, adding some self-evident depth and mystery to the scene.
"..."
Dongfang Shiming took a few deep breaths to adjust his mood.
These statues of gods also look extremely dilapidated and dim because they have not been taken care of for many years. Dongfang Shiming carefully crossed the door panel on the ground and walked to the altar table.
He wiped a handful of ashes off it. Looking at the thickness of dust on his fingers, Dongfang Shiming gently blew it away.
He turned his head: "No one has been here for at least five or six years."
But when he looked at Bai Hao, he found that Bai Hao was looking at the three statues in a daze. He was a little strange, so he walked back and asked, "What's wrong? Did you find anything?"
"Yeah." Bai Hao actually nodded, but still didn't take his eyes away from the statue, "Here, it seems like the Xiangfeng Temple."
"Huh?" Dongfang Shiming was a little confused at first, but after thinking about it for a moment, he was suddenly shocked as if he was electrocuted.
He was shocked for no reason, but Dongfang Shiming realized that he seemed to have thought of the problem that had been bothering him before!
First thing to confirm. Dongfang Shiming thought like this and immediately ran out of the door. Seeing this, Bai Hao quickly ran out.
But when she ran to the door, she found Dongfang Shiming standing outside the courtyard door, looking up, motionless.
"Shiming...what's wrong?" Bai Hao looked at him in surprise.
"Sure enough, it's true." Dongfang Shiming's breathing gradually became shorter. He looked closely at the plaque that he hadn't noticed when he came, clenched his hands into fists, and then slowly let go.
On that dilapidated plaque were three large characters that no one cared about anymore:
The view of elephant and earth.
"Like the ground...like the wind..." Dongfang Shiming kept chanting these two names, as if there were countless connections between them.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
He suddenly raised his head: "Bai Hao. You have lived in Shengpingtian since you were a child, so you must know about Kaixiang Guan."
Bai Hao obviously hadn't understood what he meant, and the confusion in her eyes was like water: "Kai Xiang Guan...ah, I know?"
"I understand, I understand... No," Dongfang Shiming lowered his head, his mind sometimes clear and sometimes chaotic, "No, but now I know where to investigate next."
"Hey? What, what do you mean?" Bai Hao became more and more confused as she listened.
The cold wind passed through the forest and slowly blew again. Dongfang Shiming went over and pushed Bai Hao's shoulder: "It's too cold outside. Let's go inside and talk, and I should also sort out the current situation..."
