Strange Stories

Chapter 497 Return to Maple Mountain

“I can endure hardship!
“I can work!
"I'm not afraid of getting dirty or tired! I'm also strong!
“I don’t eat enough…”

The girl didn't know what to say, so she could only weakly enumerate her few advantages, which were probably based on folk stories about someone who went to a Taoist temple in the mountains to practice Taoism, chopping wood and fetching water every day, or who made fire and refined elixirs for the gods, and somehow sought immortality through magic.

But it would be fine if I didn’t count them. Once I counted them, I felt even less confident.

Perhaps she also guessed that being a disciple of a god or practicing Taoism and magic would not be tested on these things. But she didn't know that practicing Taoism and learning magic were indeed different from chopping wood, fetching water, and making elixirs, but it was also wrong to say that it had nothing to do with the quality of hard work and endurance. The god in front of her also started with these things when he first entered the mountains to learn Taoism.

Looking up, I saw the Taoist in front of me still sitting cross-legged with ease.

"Young lady, you dare to come here late at night, which shows that you are brave. Young lady, you climbed up this high mountain in one breath, which shows that you are healthy and strong. Young lady lives alone in the village. We have seen it all in the mountains these days. You are really hardworking." Lin Jue said to her, "But since young lady said that someone in the village treats you well, and you are bold and strong, and those two bullies didn't dare to bully you a few days ago, why are you in such a hurry to leave here?"

"This……"

"Someone is still bullying you."

"..."

The girl lowered her head and stopped talking.

Lin Jue knew it as soon as he saw it.

It should be noted that simplicity and primitive ignorance are often related. Even if this place is a paradise on earth, a pure land on earth, how can a single woman without parents not be bullied?
The reason why she is bold and strong is because it is her way of survival.

Otherwise, please look around and see how many women these days have the same personality as her?
His mother ran away and his father was away from home. He worked in the village to make a living and herded cattle for the villagers. This really reminded Lin Jue of the young man in Shu Village back then.

But her situation is worse than that of Lin Jue back then. She does not have an uncle who takes over the fatherly responsibility to raise her, the villagers are not as friendly as those in the wealthy Huizhou where Confucian and merchant culture is prevalent, and there are no books to read. The only thing that is better than that of Lin Jue back then is that she does not have an uncle who suddenly falls seriously ill to treat.

"You have the talent to practice Taoism. Regardless of your talent, since you are destined to be with me, I am willing to accept you as my disciple." Lin Jue said, "But it is not that easy to be my disciple, and practicing Taoism and learning magic is not as simple as you think. Moreover, the world is in chaos now. If you want to be my disciple, you will inevitably have to deal with goblins and ghosts. Are you ready?"

The girl was shocked when she heard this. She was full of disbelief and said quickly, "I'm not afraid of monsters! I'm not afraid of ghosts either!"

"I hope you're really not afraid."

"I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of getting tired either!"

"Go back and pack your things. If you have anyone to say goodbye to, go and say goodbye. If you have things to complete, do them. I will wait for you here at noon tomorrow." Lin Jue said, "I will take you back to my place of meditation and then see whether I will accept you as my disciple based on your performance."

"Yes! Yes..."

The girl immediately leaned forward and kowtowed, but before she could finish her words, she found that the Taoist in front of her had disappeared. Only the white fox next to him was still sitting upright, looking at her with its head tilted.

But a gust of breeze blew, and the white fox disappeared.

There was only a bright moon in the sky, and the moonlight sprinkled down, making every mirror on the terraced field sparkle.

Even though she had been intending to search for immortals for several days, she couldn't help but stay where she was when she saw the result. She was shocked and surprised, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

If she was as smart as Lin Jue was, she would probably be able to guess that this immortal was waiting for her here today.

Unfortunately, she didn't, and just felt it was unreal.

……

There are many fairy tales among the mountains. These may have been accumulated slowly over the years and have been passed down from a certain day in history to the present day.

Just like in the past few days, three fairy tales have happened in the village.

An old man who had done good deeds all his life and was highly respected went to persuade the traitor who had starved his parents to death, but was beaten to death instead. At the funeral, a god transformed himself into an orphan girl in the village and sent her gold.

The scoundrel who starved his parents to death and beat to death the village elder who came to persuade him was really punished by heaven and was struck to death by lightning.
An orphan girl in the village, whose appearance even the gods had transformed into, woke up one day and suddenly said goodbye and thanked those who were close to her and had helped her, saying that the gods had a connection with her and wanted to take her away.

After all, I saw the first two things with my own eyes, so I have to believe them. But for the third thing, it is inevitable that the girl may have imagined it, so I can only believe it with half faith.

Some even said she was possessed by a demon.

You can't blame others.

Even Pumei herself, after waking up, suspected that what happened last night was just a dream.

Until she said goodbye to everyone, thanked those who helped her, packed her bags and went to the mountain, she saw a dark cloud with flashes of lightning and thunder descending from the sky, waiting for her.

Under the gaze of many people, the girl stepped onto the thundercloud and then slowly rose into the sky, as if she had become an immortal.

……

"Are you packing everything? I don't know when you will come back next time." Taoist Yunduan asked.

"I don't have anything..."

The little girl answered like this, but kept looking down.

The terraces below were layered with undulating clouds and mist, and the village houses were looming. There was also a gleam in her eyes.

It seemed that there was more than just reluctance in his eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

"No, I didn't think about anything..."

The little girl immediately looked away.

"Snapped……"

Lin Jue reached out and patted her on the head: "If you want to become my disciple, the first lesson you will learn is that you cannot lie, especially to your elders and fellow disciples."

"..."

The little girl's eyes flickered, and she pointed with her finger: "I want to burn down that family's house!"

"Huh? Why?"

"That family is despicable. They are a father and a son. The older one is single, and the younger one is also single. When they see me alone, they always want to bully me!"

"You had this idea down there, right? You were afraid that I would think you had a bad character and not accept you as my disciple, so you held back." Lin Jue smiled and looked at her. "Yes... yes..."

The little girl was a little scared and shrank back.

This girl's personality is quite different from Xu Yi's.

However, this kind of strong character of seeking revenge, regardless of whether it is suitable for meditation in the mountains, is quite to Lin Jue's liking.

"Although those who practice Taoism are required to have a calm mind and clear thoughts, holding grudges is not a good thing after all, as it can easily wear you down. Arson is also not a good thing, as it can easily lead to disasters." The Taoist priest on the clouds taught her.

The little girl just nodded obediently and was about to forget about it, when she saw the Taoist flick his sleeves -

Whoosh! A violent wind suddenly blew up from heaven and earth!
The house below had mud and stone walls and a thatched roof, so it could not withstand such a strong wind. The roof was blown off by the wind, and the tables, chairs, furniture, bedding and beds in the house were also blown up into the sky, and no one knew where they were.

Unfortunately, only that house was hit by the disaster.

The little girl was stunned again.

Who else but a god could have the ability to create a mountain breeze by just raising his hand?
"Want to learn?"

"Hmm... I want to..."

"It's still early for you." Lin Jue laughed, "You have to leave now."

"Um……"

"Stand firm." Lin Jue said to her, and then said to the thundercloud under his feet, "Wait a minute."

"boom……"

Amid the rumbling thunder, the thunderclouds flew to the northeast.

The little girl on the cloud suddenly tilted her body and couldn't help but scream. She managed not to fall down, but immediately squatted down and couldn't stand up.

At this moment, the thunderclouds were indeed flying much slower and more steadily than before, but no matter how slow or steady they were, they were not as quiet and comfortable as ordinary clouds drifting slowly in the wind. It was also too fast for a village girl who had never ridden a horse.

Too fast, too fast.

This speed made her heart beat wildly, and the strong wind blowing in the air made her facial features deformed, and her breathing became difficult.

What's more, this place is already high in the sky, with nothing around, and below is a rolling sea of ​​clouds and undulating mountains. Once you fall down, it will be an unimaginable fall and be smashed to pieces. People dare not even open their eyes to look, and naturally they cannot experience the freedom of riding on the clouds.

Just excitement and fear.

After a long time, after adapting, I finally felt a sense of freedom as if I could come and go freely in the world.

"Remember, my last name is Lin Jue, and its name is Fuyao. You haven't entered my sect yet. I have another disciple in my mountain who is a few years younger than you. Let's see who can enter my sect first." Lin Jue said to the girl in the sky, "But no matter who is the eldest disciple or the second disciple, when you see Fuyao, you must call her Senior Sister."

"understood."

After the little girl finished speaking, she noticed that the fox was staring at her.

"Senior Sister Fuyao..."

The little girl cried out timidly.

"Hmm!" The fox actually spoke, speaking human language, "You and I are also destined to be together!"

"Don't underestimate its simple nature. It is older than you and has practiced with me earlier than you. It was it that turned into your appearance that day. In fact, your fate with it was before mine." Lin Jue said to her.

"Listen to the fox! The fox will play with you! It's fun!"

"..."

The little girl changed so much in such a short period of time that I didn't know how to respond.

After half a day, the mountains below had already surpassed a thousand levels.

There was another little ghost in brown clothes at the front of the thundercloud, and he was pointing forward.

"Go this way!"

The thundercloud slowly slowed down.

The temperature in Qinzhou is not as warm as that in Yunzhou, but it is spring now. The ice and snow have melted, the mountains are green again, and the mountain flowers are in full bloom, adding some colorful colors to the mountains.

The thunderclouds slowly descended.

The mountains are still towering, the cliffs are still vertical, a classical palace is embedded on top, and the clouds are still lingering around its waist, but the snow is no longer on the ancient pine branches protruding from the cliffs.

There are many flowers blooming everywhere on the mountain and at the foot of the mountain, sparse and orderly, in different shades of red and pink.

A tinkling sound could be heard coming from the mountain. Upon closer inspection, it was the cave that Fuyao had dug out on the cliff according to the location selected by Wan Xinrong and others. Now that they had mastered the art of walking, they began to drill holes in the cave from top to bottom and left to right, and inserted pillars. They should be imitating the classical pavilion above and the hanging temples and palaces in the world, with pillars and beams, and building eaves and balconies to make palaces.

It is conceivable that in the future there will be many suspended pavilions and palaces on this cliff.

There was also a teenager in his teens busy working in the mountains. He single-handedly brought small peach trees that had just bloomed from far away and planted them in the mountains. He was so tired that he was out of breath.

He has planted a large area of ​​spring flowers in the mountains.

The little girl couldn't help but stare in a daze at the scene.

"This place is called Fengshan, close to the capital. It is where I practice in seclusion. It is about 4,000 miles away from Yunzhou." Lin Jue turned his head to look at her and saw the confusion and insecurity in her heart, just like himself and his junior sister when they first came to Yishan. He naturally knew how to deal with it. "You stay here first, and I will arrange things for you to do."

How could I not be confused?
Four thousand miles in just half a day.

Yesterday I was in the Yunzhou terraced fields, and today I am in a fairyland deep in the mountains. Yesterday I was a helpless village girl, and today I am riding on clouds and almost becoming a disciple of an immortal.

At the same time, the people below seemed to have heard the faint sound of thunder above. They looked up and saw dark clouds and the human figure on the clouds.

When leaving, Lin Jue rode away on a white cloud with an ethereal air. Now, it was replaced by a dark cloud. Although it was gloomy, there were constant flashes of lightning inside. It did not have the slightest bit of evil, but was rather majestic and righteous.

(End of this chapter)