Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 372 The Stone Courtyard

In the morning mist, the motorcycle drove away from Moonlit City.

Long Zongshu's hometown, Shiyuanzi, is a small mountain village under the jurisdiction of Yue Zhao.

It's not even a village; it's just a group within a village.

The area is remote and sparsely populated.

The motorcycle roared along the mountain road for two hours, passing through three towns, and luckily encountered no obstacles.

Although in the thick fog, one could occasionally vaguely see some ghostly shadows wriggling and crawling in the fog.

But the monsters weren't very interested in the motorcycles passing by on the road.

These evil spirits hiding and wandering in the mountains were all rushing towards the direction of Moonlit City.

Taking advantage of the thick fog and their influx into the city, these mountain monsters and evil spirits seem to be quite adept at it.

Attacking a living person is not guaranteed to succeed, and a failed hunt may also result in injury.

It's safer for these evil spirits to flock to Moonlit City and devour the wandering souls scattered throughout the city.

The three towns that Ran Qing and his group passed through on their journey did not seem to have their red gates open.

This is not surprising.

Red gates are typically located in densely populated areas with unique feng shui features.

Most towns and villages are safe; only cities are the most dangerous.

Ran Qing and his companions rode their motorcycles through the fog, which enveloped the entire Yue Zhao, not only in the city but also in the countryside.

When they arrived safely at Shiyuanzi, the roads there were narrow and bumpy, and the mountains were steep.

Sparse cornfields are planted in the barren, rocky mountains.

The motorcycle couldn't even reach the destination; it had to be parked on the side of the road, and the rest of the journey had to be covered on foot.

The steep, sloping sides are bare soil and rocks, with very few trees.

This is an extremely water-scarce mountain valley. There are no streams or green plants in sight, giving it a gray, dirty, dry, and sandy feel.

Long Zongshu led the way and said, "...My grandfather said that his grandfather's family got into trouble. To avoid the trouble, everyone went their separate ways."

“My great-grandfather fled to Shiyuanzi and hid there, and later settled here.”

"Our lineage has thus taken root here."

Long Zongshu recounted his family history with a smile.

Mo Li clicked his tongue in amazement: "No wonder there are people living in such a desolate and remote place...it turns out they are taking refuge here. This is indeed a good place to avoid disaster."

In the rugged, rocky mountains, the land is barren and the population is sparse.

The villagers here live in scattered households.

The distance between each household is more than tens of meters, and it takes several minutes to walk to the front door of your neighbor's house.

Only with such a sparse population density could people survive on this barren land.

After all, this place is short of water, arid, and has infertile land. There is very little land suitable for planting, and corn and potatoes are the main crops.

As Long Zongshu walked along, he greeted the villagers from time to time.

In the fields and in front of the tiled houses, every villager who saw Long Zongshu would greet him with a smile.

Despite the thick fog and chilly air, this small mountain village, nestled deep in the mountains, is known for its simple and honest folk customs.

Before they even reached Zong Shu's old house, Ran Qing and the others met Zong Shu's grandmother by the roadside.

The short, thin old woman, probably only a little over 1.5 meters tall, wore an old black robe, her head wrapped in black cloth in layers, and carried a large bamboo basket that was taller than her, filled with weeds cut from the mountains.

“I’ll cut it back to use as a slab for the pigsty.”

As the old woman spoke, she greeted the three young men with a broad smile, happily holding her grandson's hand. Long Zongshu, feeling sorry for his grandmother, quickly told her to stop, insisting on helping her carry the large basket of grass.

The sight of the old man, thin and short, carrying such a large basket of weeds was truly terrifying.

But what's even more frightening is that when the old man smiled and put down his basket by the roadside, the tall, thin, bamboo-like Long Zongshu couldn't even carry the heavy weeds.

He even nearly strained his back because he exerted too much force.

It startled everyone present.

Zongshu's grandmother quickly stopped him: "You've never done this kind of work before, you can't carry it, put it down for Grandma."

In the end, Mo Li, the strongest of the three, easily carried a large basket of weeds on his back.

Zongshu's grandmother exclaimed in amazement, "You little girl, you're so fair and delicate, yet you're so strong..."

Mo Li carried that huge basket of weeds on her back as if it were weightless, without even stopping her steps, as if she were carrying only a light feather on her back.

Following behind the old man, they soon arrived at a secluded mountain valley.

Here stands a lonely old house, with a wooden frame and tiled eaves.

A flock of chickens were scurrying around the entrance, while a large yellow dog lay lazily on the curb, watching the group of people appear in the mist.

Zongshu's grandmother hadn't even arrived yet, but she was already laughing and shouting inside.

"Long Hongguang! Zong Shu is back!"

The old man called out several times with a smile, but there was no response from inside the tiled house.

She wasn't surprised. She smiled and led the three of them to the door of the tiled house, chased away the big yellow dog that came up to them, told Mo Li to put down the basket quickly, and led the three of them to the outside of the main room.

On the main door of the hall, there are paintings of door gods on the left and right.

In rural Zangke, the main door of the main room is usually not opened; people enter through the side doors on the left or right.

But at this moment, Ran Qing and the others saw that the main hall door, which was decorated with images of the left and right door gods, was completely open.

In the center of the main room, directly opposite the main entrance, beneath the ancestral tablets for Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher, an elderly man with white hair was sitting in a rattan chair, his head bowed, busy with something.

Zongshu's grandmother walked in, went to her husband's side, and called out, "Long Hongguang! Are you deaf? Your grandson is back!"

The old man, engrossed in his work, said without looking up, "Stop howling, I'm not deaf, I heard you."

The old man didn't turn around to look at his grandson at all, and his voice was cold and wooden, without any emotional fluctuation.

"Zongshu, take your two friends and find a place to sit first. I'll call you when I'm done with my work."

The old man didn't turn around, but he knew with certainty that two friends had arrived.

Mo Li and Ran Qing exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised.

Zongshu's grandfather... has a rather strange temper, and there's a kind of inexplicable oddity about him.

He sat before the ancestral tablets of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher, busily doing what appeared to be weaving something with bamboo strips.

It's like the work of a bamboo weaver.

Unaware of the situation, Ran Qing and Mo Li could only obediently comply.

Zongshu's grandmother was somewhat unhappy with her husband's strange temper.

She glared at her husband, her lips moving as she silently uttered several curses.

Then she turned to Ran Qing and the other two and said with a smile, "Don't mind this old man, come and sit down, Grandma will get you something to eat."

"Zongshu, quickly get a stool for your classmate to sit on, don't stand at the door."

"Grandma is going to pick some vegetables from the field to make vegetarian bean soup later."

(End of this chapter)