After returning from my cultivation journey, I built a farm through fortune telling.

Chapter 87

Looking at another cliff three or four meters high that he had to climb, Bai Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up at the sky: "It seems that to see my great-grandfather, I'll have to sacrifice either my soul or my body!"

We've been climbing the whole way, and I don't even know how many cliff faces we've encountered where there's no path and we have to climb them headfirst.

"Pah! Pah! May the Grandfather protect you, this child doesn't know right from wrong and is just talking nonsense!"

Qin Xiu, who was standing nearby, heard this and quickly slapped Bai Chen, then repeatedly apologized to the ancestor.

Bai Chen, a "child" in his early twenties, almost cried and begged his great-grandfather for forgiveness under his mother's iron fist.

Qin Xiu was still glaring at him.

You're such a grown man, you have absolutely no sense of propriety!

What if Grandpa hears this?
What if Grandpa takes it seriously?
Do you really want to see your great-grandfather?!
May the Grandfather bless us, but what will happen?
This is unacceptable!!!
While Qin Xiu was disciplining her son, Bai Jiang and the others were trying to figure out how to climb up. After all, it was quite high, and it was really difficult for the elderly and children to climb it with their bare hands.

“Ah Feng, you and Ah Shan climb up first, then lower the rope and hang the offerings up.”

Bai Jiang and his companions were familiar with this path and were well-prepared. They took out two bundles of hemp rope from the basket, tossed one to Bai Shan and one to Bai Feng, who each put the rope around their necks, with one arm looped out. After feeling around on the rock face for a moment, they began to climb.

There are several protrusions about ten centimeters in diameter on the rock face, which can be used as footholds or climbing points.

The two climbed the rocks with ease and quickly reached the top. They then found a tree, tied the rope to it, and lowered it down. Bai Jiang tied the basket to the rope, and Bai Shan and Bai Feng began to pull.

The basket had only been halfway up when the rain suddenly started pouring down!

The light rain, which had been drizzling, suddenly started to fall in a loud patter. The egrets were standing on a pile of rocks, with vines intertwined above and around them.

Qin Xiu and the others were already wearing raincoats, but to better avoid the rain, they took out a large bundle of plastic film from the "supplies" basket and wrapped it around the vines, thus making a simple rain shelter.

Bai Qing sat on a rock, nestled beside the egret. She could feel the chill of spring in every raindrop, which penetrated the plastic film and landed on her skin, causing a slight shiver.

"Are you cold?" Bai Lu turned her head to look at her; her voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the mist.

"It's a bit cold." Bai Qing sniffed. "And I'm so tired!"

Bailu patted her head: "Hang in there a little longer. After we finish paying respects to our great-grandfather, we can go back."

Because the graves of Great-Grandma and Little Great-Grandma were on their way home, and if nothing unexpected happened, Little Great-Grandma's grave had already been cleaned up by Uncle and the others, they only needed to clean Great-Grandma's grave.

"Mmm." Bai Qing nodded slightly, rested her head on Bai Lu's shoulder, and closed her eyes.

Bai Feng and his companions had nowhere to take shelter from the rain on the rock face, so they also hung up a plastic sheet and raincoats. Because the rain was light at first, the two of them only brought a straw hat. Now, wearing raincoats, they covered the offerings with the plastic sheet and waited for the rain to pass.

Spring rains come in bursts.

They come like the wind, and they go like the wind.

It stopped in less than half an hour.

However, the plastic sheet wrapped around the vines had accumulated a large amount of rainwater, and if people hadn't been poking at it with sticks from time to time, the plastic sheet would have collapsed long ago.

After everyone packed up their belongings, they continued to hang the offerings up. Once the offerings were all up, Bai Lu and the others began rock climbing. For safety, the elderly and children tied ropes around their waists, as they had previously fallen due to lack of strength.

Once we climbed up, we saw that, oh dear, it was foggy.

Heavy fog.

The mist, like a light veil, gently enveloped the entire valley, obscuring any figure beyond five meters. Bai Jiang's vision blurred in this hazy atmosphere. Like Sha Wujing, he huffed and puffed as he carried his stall, the heavy baskets bending the carrying pole into a considerable arc. It was too much for one person, so Bai Jiang and Bai Chen took turns carrying it along the way.

Bai Lu wanted to help, but Bai Jiang wouldn't let her, afraid that she would tire out her eldest daughter.

"Everyone, stay close and don't fall behind."

Bai Jiang's voice rang out from ahead, and his figure appeared and disappeared in the mist.

"Old Jiang, be careful, watch where you're going!"

Qin Xiu was extremely worried. While instructing Bai Jiang, she held a basket in one hand and pulled Bai Lu with the other, and kept an eye on Bai Chen and Bai Wei, afraid that if she didn't look closely, one of the family of five would get lost.

"I know!"

Bai Jiang, carrying baskets ahead, said, "We're almost there. Uncle Tong and the others should have cleared the weeds from Grandpa's grave. We can go straight there to pay our respects."

Bai Tong, Bai Chao, and Bai Li are of the same generation as Grandpa Bai and are his cousins. Their father is the half-brother of Grandpa Bai's father.

Their great-grandmother and father are buried relatively close to each other, and their mother is still alive, so they are quick to arrive and are always the first to pay respects to their great-grandfather every year.

The old man's grave was not far from the cliff, but due to the thick fog, the group couldn't even see the road, let alone find it.

Finally spotting a grave, they ran over to take a look, only to find it had been visited and worshipped by descendants. Bai Jiang, after examining it, looked disappointed: "This isn't our great-grandfather's, it's our fourth great-uncle's! Our great-grandfather's should be behind our fourth great-uncle's—we've already passed it..."

"The heavy rains we missed in those years, the love we missed in those years..."

Bai Chen is going crazy online—

"What I've missed over the years isn't just heavy rain and love, it might also be our ancestors who have brushed past us~~~"

The catchy, adapted song was sung in a sassy, ​​unconventional way by Bai Chen.

Bai Lu and Bai Wei almost burst out laughing, and Qin Xiu was so angry she was about to hit him again—

She wasn't a short-tempered mother, especially in front of the elders. She generally wouldn't hit her children unless she really couldn't help it!
Bai Chen, that bastard, really deserves a beating!

"Turn around, turn around, let's go back and look for it again!"

We've gone too far, what else can we do?

The group had no choice but to carry the offerings and head back.

After walking all day, everyone was exhausted. No one spoke along the way; they were all focused on finding Grandpa, afraid of missing him again.

However, the fog did not dissipate, and nothing could be seen.

However, this did not include the three siblings, Bai Lu and her brother. They could see clearly even in the fog. Bai Lu kept a close watch on her old father with her divine sense, afraid that he might slip and fall.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Bai Chen finally saw a blurry outline in the mist on his left front, and it seemed that there were people in it, and he could even hear people talking.

He exclaimed in surprise, "Dad, look over there, isn't that Grandpa's grave?"

Bai Jiang squinted, trying hard to make out the outline, but found that he still couldn't see anything clearly. He could only walk in that direction. When he got closer, he finally heard people talking. It was a very familiar voice. He quickly took a few steps forward and finally nodded and said, "Yes, it's Uncle Tong and the others' voices." His voice was full of joy.

Paying respects to our ancestors is more tiring than laying bricks on a construction site all day. His old bones are about to fall apart, but he can't show it. After all, he's the eldest brother!

"We finally found it!!" Baihe was exhausted.

The family members quickened their pace, pushing through the thick fog toward the blurry outline, which gradually became clearer as they approached.

The earthen grave had been cleaned up. Uncle Bai Tong and the others had finished their worship and were resting and eating soda crackers. White cracker crumbs still clung to their lips. When they saw Bai Jiang and the others arrive, they greeted them with smiles: "Why are you so late? We were about to go back."

Bai Jiang sighed, "Ugh, don't even mention it. The grass is taller than a person this year, and you can't even find the road over at the reservoir!"

"Yes, that place is becoming more and more desolate..."

The adults on both sides exchanged pleasantries, and the younger generation also greeted each other.

No, to be precise, he is not a junior.

All the children in Uncle Tong's family who were five, six, seven, or eight years younger than Bailu were her uncles and aunts.

Bai Lu is of a low generation in the village; many of her peers are her uncles, aunts, or even great-uncles and great-aunts!
For example, Bai Xiao.

When she was little, she would often say to Bailu, "Auntie will buy you candy!"

The egret, unable to bear it any longer, called her "old aunt"...

Qin Xiu overheard this once and almost beat her up again, because in their area, only unmarried girls are called "old maids".

However, people nowadays don't place much importance on seniority. When Bailu's aunts and uncles see her, they all call her "Little Egret Sister." The older generation of grandparents will then jokingly tell them that they each call her by her own name, and that the seniority is all messed up.

"Grandpa...we've finally found you."

Bai Chen squatted by his grandfather's grave, his eyes almost brimming with tears.

He looked at his feet and realized why they were getting heavier with each step. A thick layer of yellow mud on the soles of his shoes made them heavy!
—On a rainy day, when we worship our ancestors, we are 180 feet tall going up the mountain and 185 feet tall going down, all thanks to the yellow mud under our feet that makes us taller.

Bai Chen also wanted to find a place to sit down, but his thighs felt a little itchy, so he scratched them. But the more he scratched, the itchier they became!

Suddenly, something occurred to him. Standing before his great-grandfather's grave, he began rolling up his trouser leg, fearing that leeches might come and suck his precious cultivator's blood.

"Hold!!!"

Oh my God, what I feared most has come to pass!
Bai Chen grimaced, and Qin Xiu shoved him again: "You child, how can you speak so recklessly in front of the Ancestor—oh my god! Old Jiang, come quick!"

Bai Jiang hurriedly put down the basket and walked over!

Don't look at it, look at it!
The leeches are about to burst from overeating!

Bai Chen's calves were covered with tiny mountain leeches, each one plump, thick, and round!

Mountain leeches are different from water leeches. Water leeches can grow up to the thickness of a thumb, but mountain leeches can only grow to the size of a small green caterpillar. Now, the mountain leech's abdomen is so full that its suckers can hardly hold on anymore, but it still can't bear to part with such sweet blood.

Bai Jiang hurriedly took out a lighter and burned the leech. The leech was burned and immediately released its suckers and fell down, curling up in a ball on the muddy ground. A patch of Bai Chen's leg hair was also burned off, leaving a ring of small wounds that kept bleeding.

Bai Chen: "..."

The leech ran away in pain, but he can't escape...

Although he had cultivated, he was still a mortal with a physical body, and he felt pain when he was burned by fire!

But the burning continued, and Bai Chen dared not move, because in just a short while, Bai Jiang had burned down more than ten leeches, and Bai Chen's legs had become smooth.

Bai Chen scratched his thigh again, then suddenly stopped, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He stiffly raised his face, unsure whether to reach out or not...

"No way..." Bai Jiang, seeing Bai Chen's actions, also considered this possibility and immediately led him into the nearby grove of trees. A moment later, they heard a sharp, explosive sound coming from Bai Chen—

Oh my god, he's on fire!
Bai Jiang laughed so hard his hands trembled, the lighter flame flickering wildly. Bai Chen winced in pain: "Dad, do you have to roast me with fire? Aren't you afraid you'll burn me to a crisp and our Bai family line will end!"

He couldn't even uphold his dignity as a man...

"Don't move! You still have two older sisters, what's the point of cutting off your lineage!"

Bai Jiang paused for a moment, then awkwardly put away the lighter and plucked the three leeches from the circle. The leeches were reluctant to leave Bai Chen, and even when Bai Jiang held them in his hand, their suckers were still desperately reaching towards Bai Chen. Taking advantage of their inattention, Bai Jiang flung them to the ground. He originally wanted to use the lighter to set them on fire, but found it inconvenient, so he let them go.

When Bai Wei saw so many leeches on Bai Chen's legs, her scalp tingled with fear, and she quickly began to check her own trouser legs as well—

Over the years, she has gained experience in visiting mountains. She knows there are many leeches on the mountain, so she specially wore a pantyhose bodysuit. It was a bit hot, but it was safe!

Even so, a leech still managed to suck her blood through her pantyhose!

Although there aren't many, just two, they're still quite scary!
"Sis? Did a leech bite you?"

While wrapping her hands in plastic bags to pluck the leeches off and throw them away, Bai Wei asked Bai Lu.

The egret took off its tall rubber boots, rolled up its trouser legs, revealing its fair and tender calves, which were clean and bare.

"Isn't your blood sweeter than mine and Bai Chen's?" Bai Wei was speechless. "Does this mean even mountain leeches bully the weak and fear the strong?!"

Bai Lu patted her head: "Keep trying. When you get better, these snakes, insects, and rodents won't dare to come near you."

A cultivator's aura can intimidate low-level spirit beasts, let alone those that aren't even spirit beasts, such as snakes, insects, and rats!

It's just that Bai Wei and Bai Chen, these two newbies, haven't cultivated their own aura yet.

Others were also looking for leeches on themselves; the bolder ones simply plucked them off, while the less timid ones cried out for their mothers.

After this little farce ended, Bai Jiang and Bai He began cleaning up the firecracker paper around the tombstone, while Bai Lu and Qin Xiu helped arrange the offerings, and Bai Chen and Bai Wei were responsible for lighting the incense and candles.

Other family members followed suit.

Bai Lu took out a stack of yellow paper that Bai Chen had divided up—Bai Chen was in a daze. She went to the ancestral temple to burn paper money, folded three pieces of paper money slightly, and threw them into the fire. The flames danced in the mist, reflecting red onto Bai Lu's face.

The sound of firecrackers went off, deafeningly loud.

She looked up at the sky; the rain had gradually stopped, and the fog was beginning to dissipate.

(End of this chapter)