Chapter 34: Searching

Sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up with my master’s thinking, it jumps around so much.

For example, just now, it suddenly changed from the snow mountain range to Xiangxi… it’s hard to understand.

“Master, didn’t you say we were going to the Snow Mountain Range? Why did we end up in Xiangxi?” I couldn’t keep up with Master’s leaping thoughts, so I just asked him directly.

The Master looked at me and gave me a look of a person who had just been told something stupid: “The final destination is naturally the Snow Mountain Line, but before that, where are we going? Did I say that?”

“But, Master…” I wanted to say something, but I found that I really had no way to argue with what the Master said. The fact is that the Master only said to go to the Snow Mountain, and he never said whether we would go to any other place on the way.

“Hey, I’ve been a smart guy all my life, but I’ve taught such a stupid disciple. This is fate…” The master sighed to the moon, his face full of melancholy… He never misses an opportunity to “disgrace” me.

I cursed in my heart, so love acting, why not go to the movies? After all, it’s famous, and girls aren’t just looking at it?

Unfortunately, I could only say this in my heart, but I dared not say it in front of my master, otherwise he would not win and would slap me directly.

So after thinking about it, I was honest and didn’t respond to him, but instead asked directly, “Master, why do we have to go to Xiangxi?” This direct transition to a serious topic made the master feel uninteresting, and it was simply the best way to get rid of him.

“Have you forgotten about Qiangzi?” Master glanced at me.

“Qiangzi is in Xiangxi?” How could Master know better than I do? After the battle with the little ghost and parting with Qiangzi, I was in a continuous state of travel. It had been a long time since I had heard from Qiangzi, and I had not specifically inquired about where he was. It was strange that Master knew.

But I really haven’t forgotten Qiangzi. If it were normal life, I would definitely contact him often, but unfortunately, I’m often in places that are not normal…

“He should be in Xiangxi. In this era of great turmoil, no one who should be involved can escape. Chengyi, just as a person’s destiny should be to fight on the battlefield, they will always meet their own generals. Coincidence is like fate! Chengyi, I, Li, have a certain moral responsibility, and this is also your destiny. The people you have met since you were a child are also a combination of chance and necessity… In fact, this is also a kind of inheritance, just as most of the people you know have been friends since my generation.” The master suddenly said something inexplicable, but I couldn’t understand it for a while.

Before, I thought we were facing Yang Sheng alone, but now, after meeting Xiaoding and going to Xiangxi… I suddenly realized that there are many people behind me, and these are all life’s encounters.

“But, Master, is it really in Xiangxi? Is that great era so uncertain? Can Qiangzi be in Xiangxi?” I looked at my master and asked in surprise.

My master kicked me in the butt and yelled at me, “What the hell! Qiangzi studied under a great witch. Although many great witchcraft traditions have been lost, in fact, compared to Taoism, it is equally profound. Do you think you don’t have to spend your whole life learning? Every year from early summer to early autumn, Qiangzi would study witchcraft in the deep mountain villages of Xiangxi.”

Is that the case? I felt a little ashamed, realizing that I really didn’t know as much about Qiangzi as my master did.

At this time, my master had already put away the map and turned off the flashlight, and said to me, “Let’s go. I don’t know how many days we’ll have to walk in these mountains.”

We had to choose to travel at night and rest during the day. After all, we could see each other from afar during the day, so we had to choose to travel at night.

Moreover, in order to avoid being exposed at night, my master and I had to travel in the dark, relying only on the moonlight.

After two nights, when I compared the map with the actual distance we had traveled, I realized that we had only traveled a short distance. At this pace, it would take ten days to get out of the mountains and reach the destination my master had set.

During the day, it rained in the early morning. By the time my master and I found a place to rest in the morning, we were already soaked to the skin and had slipped several times in the muddy ground.

Fortunately, I had all the important things in my arms, such as the powder that Xiaoding had given me. To be honest, the only important thing I had with me was this powder, because I had fled in such a hurry with my master.

The place where we rested was a tree with lush foliage. During our days in the wild mountains and desolate plains, we couldn’t afford to be picky. We had to rely on luck to find a dry cave. It was already good to have a big tree to rest our feet on.

After all, we dare not rest directly on the ground. If we meet Yang Sheng’s people, we won’t have time to hide.

These days were somewhat embarrassing and frustrating, but my master and I never mentioned this. Just like there is always the darkest night before dawn, my master and I had such high hopes that patience became a kind of pleasure. Why mention depressing things?

All we could think about was how lucky we were that we hadn’t met Yang Sheng’s men in the two days we had been traveling.

In fact, what I didn’t tell my master was that after losing the days of living together with him, I cherished them even more, even if it was just a life of fugitives.

The tree we were in had a thick trunk. My master and I shared a piece of dried meat and a piece of dry bread that Xiaoding had prepared for us, and then we used whatever we could to tie ourselves to the trunk.

Even if the tree trunk was thick, it was destined that we could not sleep lying down, lest we fall if we fell asleep and rolled over… We could only lie on the tree trunk, with our legs clamped around it, which was much safer… At least if we fell asleep and fell accidentally, we would wake up immediately if we were tied up.

“Chengyi, hang in there. After we enter the secret passage, we can rest and at least have a hot meal,” my master suddenly said to me. Although he hid it well, the pain in his eyes was undeniable.

There is a saying that parents’ thoughts about their children are always long-lasting. As long as they are there, even if their children are already old, they are still children who are worth caring for in their eyes.

I am already in my thirties, and my master naturally expressed his sympathy for my suffering. This kind of thought is as long-lasting as that of a parent.

I was very tired and couldn’t resist falling asleep in such a harsh environment. Especially when I felt my master’s hand touch my hair habitually, the drowsiness was like a volcanic eruption, enveloping me all at once.

With the warmth of Master’s care in my heart, I mumbled a few “uhs” in response to Master, and I fell into a deep sleep, lying on the tree trunk.

At that moment, I finally understood why soldiers on a forced march would lie down anywhere, even for just five minutes, and be able to sleep deeply, even dreaming!

I slept very deeply, and I felt like I had slipped off the tree trunk several times. Fortunately, I was tied up, which suddenly woke me up for a moment. I would lie down again and continue to sleep. The happiness was that there was Ding’s magical powder. We sprinkled some of it, and in this deep mountain, there were no mosquitoes to bother us.

The clothes were wet and a little cold, but as I fell asleep, I felt warmth. Even though I was in a deep sleep, I felt as if the sun was shining.

This nap on the tree trunk actually made me feel happy.

But this happiness was interrupted by the hands that kept pushing me on my back… I waved impatiently, but the hand that was pushing me seemed to be more patient, pushing me non-stop until I opened my eyes dazedly and saw that it was my master, who was sleeping head-to-head with me, pushing me.

At this moment, he was no longer sleeping, but sitting on the tree trunk, looking serious and solemn. Before I could say anything, the master already gave me a gesture to keep quiet!

Could it be that… my pajamas disappeared all of a sudden, and my eyes opened wide. The blinding light made my eyes go blurry.

But my blurred vision did not affect my hearing. As my consciousness cleared, I immediately heard the sound of footsteps rustling through the woods, as well as the sound of casual conversation.

“What bad luck for our squad to be assigned to such a remote location? Do you think we can find those two troublemakers?” This was the voice of one of the men complaining.

“Whether we can find them or not, we still have to try our best. You know how capable those people are. If we don’t try our best, they will know.” This was the voice of another man, who sounded helpless.

“I know that! But if we find them… we might lose our lives. You know, these two people escaped from Liu Shengwang’s men. I don’t know what they did, but they got snakes all over the place…” After that, the voice paused for a moment and said in a somewhat scared voice, “Not to mention the snakes, they look scary. If you get bitten accidentally, the consequences are unpredictable! Not to mention how many strange snakes have not been discovered in these mountains.”

“Stop talking and search properly.” Another man’s voice, which seemed much colder and calmer.

After all, we have finally met Yang Sheng’s men! But… even though there is a chance of meeting, why did we meet by chance, and why did we deliberately search for them?

My expression became serious, and I subconsciously tucked my legs up against my body.