Ye Wuji hesitated outside the tree hole for a long time before summoning up the courage to walk into the tree hole. He saw a few old men who were so skinny that they were sitting in a circle around the ancient well. They lowered their eyes and looked peaceful, as if they had just fallen into a sweet and lasting sleep.
Ye Wuji walked around the deserted village, found a sheet, and wrapped the bones of the old man who left her last words. After entering the city, Ye Wuji went to the coffin shop to order a thin coffin and hired a carriage. But she didn't know where Xuanji Mountain was. She had never heard of this place.
Since the old man knew about Xuanji Mountain, it meant it was a local rumor, so Ye Wuji asked the coffin shop owner.
The boss is an old man in his fifties. He is leaning on a sandalwood coffin, holding a huanghuali ivory-mouthed brass pipe in his hand, and blowing out a smoke ring from his mouth.
"Xuanji Mountain, I haven't heard this name for a long time." The coffin shop owner had a nostalgic and distant look on his face.
"You know?"
"I know. We, the older generation, all know this. It is a legend. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, there was a great plague here, and a passing immortal saved the whole city. That immortal claimed to be from Xuanji Mountain."
"Then do you know where Xuanji Mountain is?"
"Who knows the real location of this legendary place? Whether it exists or not is a matter of debate."
Ye Wuji's expression darkened. Could it be that the old man's last wish couldn't be fulfilled
"However, it is said that someone once arrived there. That person left a message."
"What words?"
"Towards south and north, forward and backward, a river without water, a tree without roots."
This sentence sounds very contradictory. Based on this sentence, how can we find Xuanji Mountain? The old man's body cannot be buried for a long time. The weather is hot now and it will rot and stink if it is left for a long time.
"You'd better not order a coffin." The owner of the coffin shop exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I think you are a good person, so I won't cheat you. You are looking for Xuanji Mountain, and you don't know when you will find it. Bring a coffin with you. It’s both inconvenient, and by then the body will stink, and I’m afraid no one will let you enter the city. Why not burn the body and take the ashes with you.”
Ye Wuji was a little hesitant. According to the rules of the capital, only those who had suffered from plague or serious crimes would be cremated.
The owner of the coffin shop knocked his pipe. The ashes fell to the ground and he crushed them with his foot.
"Don't worry, we don't have those rules here. Many old people are buried after being burned. It's also related to the legend. The immortal said that plague is prone to outbreaks here. Only when the corpses are burned to ashes will it not cause another outbreak of plague."
Ye Wuji thought for a while, then clasped his fists towards the coffin shop owner and said, "Then I'll get rid of you and help me arrange it."
"It's easy to talk about."
Three days later, Ye Wuji took the urn on the road again. Based on those four sentences, she was ready to go south. Regardless of whether it is right or not, there is always a direction.
After walking for a few days, a city appeared in front of us again. Ye Wuji drove into the city, but was stopped by soldiers at the city gate.
"The city is under martial law, no one is allowed to enter now."
Ye Wuji had no choice but to turn his horse's head and was about to take a detour. Suddenly a man came out of the city. When the man saw Ye Wuji, a surprised smile appeared on his face.
"Wuji!"
Ye Wuji turned around and saw the person coming, with a long-lost smile on his face.
"Big brother!"