stonecrandall Chapter 34 My Home is at the Foot of Ridge
Chapter 34 My Home is at the Foot of Ridge
The exorcist led his men into the air and disappeared into the distance, leaving the sky eerily silent.
If we want to find a Nascent Soul cultivator to save the day in the vicinity of Aolai within seven days, the only possibility is the Star Moon Sect.
However, the Chen family and the Xingyue Sect have been mortal enemies for centuries. Not to mention the distant past, in recent years alone, dozens of lives have been related to Xingyue. When Cai Fei's father, Chen Jinghai, stole the family heirloom from the village, it was Xingyue who instigated him.
Chief Chen Jinglong stood frozen in mid-air for a long time, his face ashen. Finally, he stamped his foot in frustration and led a group of people back to the village in haste.
The cultivators left in the market to watch the spectacle were discussing it amongst themselves, and most of them shared the same opinion—this was forcing the Chen family to submit to Xingyue.
The collusion between the exorcists and the Star Moon Sect has been going on for a while, but this is the first time they've done it so blatantly.
"What a beast! He's about to leave, and he still has to leave a pile of shit on our heads."
People cursed and speculated about what would become of the Chen family.
A dark cloud hung over everyone's hearts—the Star Moon Sect's century-long infiltration had clearly loosened its grip on the north of Aolai. Of the thirteen wards on the island, eight were north of Sushan, and each had a Star Moon shop. The Heavenly Class in the academy was also proof of this.
However, Sushanfang has always been like a wall, firmly locking the gourd-shaped waist of Aolai Island and blocking the Xingyue forces from moving south.
If the Chen family yields this time, the consequences will be unimaginable.
As dusk fell, some cultivators descended upon the market town, while others returned to their mountain strongholds; almost everyone wore a solemn expression.
Cai Fei was also in a gloomy mood, so he flew straight to Wujia Ridge on his paper kite.
The area surrounding the market town is a vast plain stretching for miles, dotted with dozens of villages and home to tens of thousands of mountain dwellers. But once you step out of the basin, it's all mountains and forests.
After flying for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wujialing was in sight. As usual, Cai Fei first circled the foot of the mountain to check for any abnormalities.
The carnivorous beasts in the vicinity have been hunted to extinction, but venomous insects and giant snakes remain a constant threat, and roaming monsters require even greater vigilance.
However, the greatest enemy does not come from the mountains and forests.
As Cai Fei flew around the mountain to the east, he spotted a first-grade silver-leaf swallow flying towards the market. The cultivator on it seemed to have seen something, so it dipped down slightly before rising again and heading towards Cai Fei's kite.
"There's a group of hot pot restaurants up ahead. Everyone who sees them gets a share, how about we split it in half?"
The cultivator on the paper kite was thin and pale, looking frail, yet he asked to rob someone with Cai Fei.
"Excuse me, this is my home."
Cai Fei threw down a sentence, then quickly descended on his paper kite. When he was more than ten meters off the ground, he took off again, retracted the kite in mid-air, and vanished into the jungle the moment he landed.
In Aolai, cultivators are always the greatest enemy.
My family's Ling Village is impoverished, and with Kong Fande protecting it, no rogue cultivator with even a little ambition would dare to come. But over the years, Cai Fei has killed seven or eight, and injured or driven away more than ten each year.
Gamblers who have lost everything, passersby who are just wandering around, petty thieves who want to rob someone... all sorts of people.
The man in front of him was probably just passing by. He looked young and frail, but Cai Fei couldn't sense his cultivation level, which meant that his strength was far beyond what he appeared to be.
Therefore, he dared not be careless and immediately went into stealth mode to enter combat mode.
The cultivator had only intended to pick up some bargains along the way, but upon seeing the situation, he quickly gave up after circling in the air for a moment and continued flying towards the market.
It's not worth the risk for something worth a few dozen spirit stones.
From the jungle, Cai Fei emerged, and with a few leaps, he could vaguely see the group ahead. Just as he was about to go forward to greet them, he heard a voice say, "Boss, these trees are valuable today. Let's not put them at the orphanage, let's send them directly to the mountain lord, shall we?"
The orphanage is where Cai Fei works. All the medicinal herbs he has collected in recent years have been handed over to him. Why is everyone having objections?
Cai Fei unconsciously slowed his pace.
Another female voice chimed in, "Exactly! Every time we work so hard to gather herbs, Grandma only gives us some dried meat. She's so stingy!"
"The dried meat is good. Last time I picked a Yao grass, my grandma gave me some dried fruit and a few hard steamed buns."
The "grandma" mentioned by this group is the mountain lord's wife, Grandma Kong. Although Cai Fei lives in the orphanage, she is not there most of the time. The items handed over by the mountain people are received by Grandma Kong.
She was used to living frugally, so her rewards were stingy, which led to her grumbling over time.
The team consisted of eight people. They didn't have much to show for their hunting trip, but they did find a few valuable medicinal herbs. One of them, a mature lavender, had a very distinctive fragrance that could be smelled from a great distance, and it was the source of their trouble.
The group of people had no idea they had just escaped a disaster. Almost home, their guard was down, and they excitedly discussed having extra food for dinner.
But when the topic turned to medicinal herbs, things took a turn for the worse. They started complaining about how stingy Grandma was, and then about the food—the steamed buns were getting harder and harder, and there was less and less meat.
"It's true, life has gotten worse and worse these past few years. Before, although it was tough, at least we could eat our fill. Now that there's a cultivator here, we're going hungry."
"It's all because of Cai Fei! He used all the spirit stones for cultivation. One spirit stone can be exchanged for ten shi of rice in the market. If he used less, the whole ridge could have enough to eat."
"They say that when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, but in our case, it's one person attaining enlightenment while the entire ridge starves to death..."
"In the past few years, whenever the old mountain lord had free time, he would replenish the jade with spiritual energy, neglecting his cultivation level, just to satisfy him."
The complaints came crashing down like hailstones, chilling Cai Fei, who had been eavesdropping the whole way.
Cultivation in Aolai relies entirely on spirit stones. Cai Fei possesses all nine spirits and advances rapidly, requiring more and more spirit stones each year. Over the years, he has exhausted all of Xu Ping'an's savings and squeezed the mountain people dry. No wonder everyone is resentful.
Cai Fei's special status meant he didn't hear these voices on a regular basis. He was also overly focused on cultivation, and cultivators' diets were extremely simple, consisting of just a little cold water and a few apricots each day. Therefore, he was completely unaware of the resentment on the ridge.
Ordinary people run themselves ragged, yet earn only a single hair from a cultivator.
The complaints continue.
Cai Fei's head was covered in sweat. Ashamed and distracted, he snapped a tree branch with a "crack".
"Who?"
The hunters immediately became alert and turned around to search, but found the place empty.
"What's wrong with you? You're already home, what's the rush?" someone laughed and scolded.
"Boss, shall we just hand the stuff over to the old mountain lord this time?"
The speaker was Xu Ping'an's nephew, and the "eldest" he referred to could only be Xu Ping'an's eldest son, Xu Genshan.
While everyone was complaining, Xu Genshan remained silent. After a moment's thought, he finally spoke up: "The things still need to be taken to the orphanage. I'll talk to my mother. The sage is rare, and everyone has worked hard this trip; let her give us some extra compensation."
"I don't ask for anything else, I just want more chicken giblets and two more bowls of chicken soup. We eat wild vegetable buns all day long, without any oil or fat, and the kids don't even have the energy to meditate in the morning."
"That's right, that's right. There are so many children down there, our Wujialing can't just rely on Cai Fei alone. Even if the mountain lord doesn't care about someone born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it's still considered unlucky."
We've reached the foot of the mountain, and as we climb, a new round of complaints begins.
"Say less!" Xu Genshan finally couldn't help but scold, "Cai Fei is a bit greedy with spirit stones, but it's all for the sake of cultivation. Besides, he has made great contributions to our mountain! We've been eating worse these past few years, but his cultivation has improved, and he's given us safety! Think about how many people died every year before? Mountain spirits, beasts, tigers, jackals, snakes, and poisonous insects—seven or eight, even a dozen, would die every year! In recent years, Cai Fei has been patrolling the mountain tirelessly every day, and only three or four people die on the mountain each year. Those who are injured also receive better treatment, at least half as many people die! Don't you remember this benefit?"
Xu Genshan, over forty years old, was already a pillar of the mountain and highly respected among the young villagers. After his reprimand, everyone fell silent.
Everyone remained silent as they walked toward the orphanage halfway up the mountain.
Dozens of meters away, Cai Fei, who was following behind, felt extremely embarrassed. When he saw Wujia Ridge, he didn't go up the ridge. Instead, he turned around and retreated several hundred meters, summoned his paper kite, took off, and then let out a long whistle.
Before long, there was a commotion in the jungle. Two black panthers came running, leaped to a high place, and roared at him.
Eighteen years have passed. The adult leopards that once protected Cai Fei have long since passed away, and the cubs of yesteryear have grown old.
When Cai Fei was ten years old, he revisited the place and found the leopard cub. He brought it and its two offspring back to Wujialing. Over the years, they have followed him to guard the mountain and protect the forest, and they have developed a very tacit understanding.
At this moment, Cai Fei led the way in the air, with two black panthers following closely behind, rushing towards the depths of the forest on the right side of Wujialing.
Half an hour later, Cai Fei brought back three huge wild boars.
That evening, a pig was slaughtered and eaten at Wujialing. Everyone was all smiles. The elderly and children in the orphanage got a bigger share of the meat and oil, and everyone ate to their heart's content.
Cai Fei, however, did not participate.
Upon returning to the mountain, he temporarily switched places with the old mountain lord, moved into the small courtyard on the mountaintop, activated the anti-interference array, and went to bed early.
Within his sea of consciousness, the seed of divine soul on the forehead of the Mengji Beast was emitting rings of eerie light—it was Li Zhu summoning him!
Communication in dreams is extremely difficult. Even with Li Zhu's abilities, it used to happen only once a year, but the most recent time was just three months ago. For him to be summoned again in such a short time, something extraordinary must have happened.