At first, You Ziji could only rely on his own feelings to find the direction. Gradually, the lights of the house appeared dimly in his field of vision.
You Ziji's spirit was shaken, he quickened his pace, and walked dozens of steps forward. His eyes suddenly opened up, and the fog seemed to be dispersed by the thick human fireworks.
You Ziji looked back and saw only the dark dense forest without any fog.
There are a dozen or so houses with bright lights ahead, it should be a small village. Now that we have found the village, there is no need to sleep in the treetops.
You Ziji stepped forward and knocked on the door, which caused a fuss in the room. Not long after, a man's voice came out, saying:
"Who is outside? It's time to rest at such a late hour. We'll talk about anything tomorrow."
"Brother, please excuse me. I was on my way in the mountains and couldn't get out after dark. I passed by this place and saw someone living here. I wanted to stay here for the night."
The man in the room pondered for a moment and said, "We don't accept outsiders here, so you can leave."
In this wilderness, a stranger suddenly appeared and wanted to stay overnight. Normal people would not open the door. You Ziji was somewhat mentally prepared, but there was one more pressing matter.
"Then I won't disturb my brother's rest. It's just that I couldn't find a water source all the way and I'm very thirsty. I hope my brother can give me some water."
The man hesitated and said, "Wait a moment."
The lights flickered and people moved around. They seemed to be looking for something in the house. After a while, the wooden door opened a small crack and a water bag was handed out.
"You can drink it on the road..."
Following the crack in the door, You Ziji could clearly see that the man was dressed as an ordinary farmer, but the animal skin skirt around his waist showed that he was still engaged in hunting, which was in line with the appearance of a mountain village hunter.
The man was stunned when he saw You Ziji. Although the voice sounded childish at first, he never thought it was a child.
When the woman in the house saw that her husband was silent, she quickly came over and asked, "Master, what's wrong?"
She also saw You Ziji's appearance along the crack of the door. He was eleven or twelve years old, but his fleshy face had not yet opened, which made people look very fond of him.
"Whose child is this? He is wandering in the forest so late at night. What if he is attacked by a wild animal? The head of the family, please let him stay for the night."
The man, like his wife, was a kind person, but he couldn't bear to drive the wanderer away anymore, so he opened the door wide and said, "Good boy, come in quickly, it's a little cold outside."
It was the frost season at this time, and the nights were cold, otherwise the heavy fog would not have appeared. With the permission of the wandering economic master, he finally found a place to stay.
Although the houses in the mountain farmhouses are a bit simple, they are also cozy. The woman cared very much for You Ziji. There was no food left at home, so she had to cook some rice porridge for You Ziji to satisfy his hunger.
"Master, help me get some firewood back."
"okay."
The man was very obedient and loving to his wife, and the couple was also very enthusiastic. Regardless of the hard work during the day, they insisted on making something to eat. You Ziji was really embarrassed to stand aside and watch.
"Brother, let me go with you."
The man was still hesitating, but the woman said: "Let this baby go with us. It's dark outside. You two can be companions and come back with more firewood."
The two of them left the room, and the man led the way, using the moonlight to find the pile of firewood. You Ziji walked briskly, but he was suddenly tripped as he followed closely behind. Looking down, he saw the moonlight shining down, clearly reflecting the white bones on the ground, which were clearly human bones.
You Ziji exclaimed, "Brother, look, there are human bones here."
The man was startled by You Ziji's cry. He looked down at the human skeleton but calmed down and said, "Don't be afraid. This must be a traveler who was eaten by wild beasts in the mountains. It's just that the bones appeared here for some reason. Let’s bury him on the spot.”
You Ziji was a little surprised, "Right here?"
"Of course, the mountains and forests at night are the most dangerous. You can't go deep into them, and you can't leave the bones alone. But this is the only place."
You Ziji felt something was wrong, but felt that what the man said was reasonable, so he and he picked up hoes and shovels, dug a deep hole in the courtyard and buried the bones.
The man waved his hoe and said: "The wild beasts in the mountains have become more and more powerful recently. Someone will be killed every few days. I don't know who can kill these wild beasts."
You Ziji's heart moved. Could it be that the silver-white wolf pack the man was talking about? They don't look like ordinary creatures, maybe they have become spirits.
But when he thought of this, You Ziji had new doubts. Isn't the mountain gate of Tianyu Temple nearby? If a monster was really born, he should have taken action to solve it long ago without leaving any further trouble. Could it be that it was just the wild beast that appeared and didn't cause the problem? The attention of the monk Tianyu Guan?
There is no answer to all this, and You Ziji is just making random guesses.
Back in the house, the woman lit the stove with firewood and started cooking. You Ziji and the man had nothing to do, and they were both poor talkers, so they just stayed quietly.
Only then did You Ziji calm down and look around.
If there is anything strange, it is the rattle and a pair of small tiger-head shoes on the bedside. These are items for children under two years old, but there is no trace of children in this room.
The woman noticed where You Ziji was looking and explained, "That's for my child."
You Ziji hesitated to speak. He wanted to ask where the child had gone, but he suddenly became alarmed. Wouldn't that be rubbing salt into people's wounds?
The woman saw his thoughts and said, "That was for my former child. If he was still alive, he would be roughly the same size as you by now."
You Ziji heard the meaning of the woman's words, "Did he leave? Where did he go?"
The man who had been silent for a long time answered, "He disappeared. He was neither dead nor lost, but he disappeared alive in front of our eyes."
"Disappeared! How is this possible? Could it be that a monk used a spell to snatch the child?" You Ziji felt a little confused.
"Maybe it's divine magic. The god we worship, Qi Youtian, has ignored us since my son left. The child's affairs must be related to him."
As the man spoke, he looked at the altar table in the room. You Ziji didn't observe carefully just now, and only then did he discover the problem.
The tablet enshrined on it is the God Qi Youtian. There is only one god in this world, so there is nothing wrong with enshrining him. However, for some reason, the tablet opened a huge gap and almost split into two. How could something with such divine power be in such a state?
“After I lost my child, this tablet became what it is today.”
"God? Why would he do such a thing."
No one knew the answer, so You Ziji had no choice but to keep his questions in his heart.
Soon, hot porridge was served, enough for Youziji to have a delicious meal.
It's just that You Ziji didn't have any money in his hands, but he felt really uneasy if he didn't repay others, so he took out two amulets drawn on yellow paper and gave them to the couple.
"Brother and sister-in-law, I don't have anything as a gift. I can only give you two talismans. Wearing them on your body can ward off some evil spirits and bad luck. I hope you can accept them."
Seeing that the talisman was not a valuable thing, the couple happily accepted it, and You Ziji finally ate his hot porridge with peace of mind.
At night, You Ziji slept on the bed that the woman had made for him. It was very comfortable. He should have fallen asleep soon, but for some reason, he felt something was wrong deep in his heart. But after much deliberation, I couldn't find any problem. After struggling for a long time, I finally became exhausted and fell asleep.
Suddenly, there was a long whistling sound outside the house.
That was the sound of a wolf howling, and it was soon echoed by other wolf howls, extending to the vicinity of the village.
When the man heard the sound, he immediately jumped up from the bed. Without even having time to put on his clothes, he picked up the bow and arrow for hunting and came to the window.
He looked along the crack in the window and saw a group of wolves with white hair, their bodies reflecting the moonlight, scattered around the village, faintly surrounding the place.
"They are going to attack the village?"
The man turned back to look at You Ziji who was speaking, and nodded bitterly, "That should be the case. I have never seen such a sight, but I seem to be able to understand their thoughts."
The man clenched his fists and made a "clucking" sound with his knuckles. He seemed to have made a decision, "You stay in the house and I will go find other villagers to drive away the wolves."
You Ziji was thoughtful and stopped the man's thoughts.
"I've seen these white wolves on the road. They should be looking for me. Let me go."
After saying that, without waiting for the couple to retort, You Ziji stepped out of the room, leaving only one sentence, "Put the amulet on your body and it will protect you."
They're just some white wolves who have just gained intelligence, and the Peace Talisman is enough to deal with them.
And You Ziji only needs to lure away as many white wolves as possible.
You Ziji struck a white wolf in front of him with a flying palm, turning up the soil. The wolves seemed to be one unit, and immediately locked onto him and gathered around him.
The ordinary spells used to deal with monsters are in no way comparable to the suppression of them by the Samadhi True Fire. You Ziji did not take action directly, but waited for the wolves to gather together before raising the flame in his hand.
When the wolves saw the Samadhi True Fire, they all stopped. They were stunned for a while, and then ran away. You Ziji was worried that they would return to attack the village again, so he had to follow them and chase them all the way.
The bright moonlight, coupled with the white fur of the wolves, reflects the light to the surroundings, allowing You Ziji to clearly see the road in the mountains and avoid losing his footing. Gradually, the fog in the forest rose, seeming to fill the space between heaven and earth again in an instant, but You Ziji still did not give up and continued to drive away the wolves.
The two sides chased and escaped for an unknown distance. Suddenly, his eyes suddenly opened up, and he rushed out of the fog. It was dawn at some point, and the wolves he had been chasing for a long time suddenly disappeared.
Looking back, I saw that the fog was still thick behind me, but it was already weakening because of the rising sun.
You Ziji's heart moved, as if something was leaving him.
It is a talisman. It is different from ordinary talismans. It has a certain resonance with itself. But now it has suddenly lost contact, as if it has never existed in the world.
He shook his head and felt that what happened last night seemed like a dream. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the mist behind him finally disappeared between heaven and earth.
