Stone Fairy!

Xie Ning was taken aback by Dao Zhen's honest answer. He opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

However, she quickly regained her dashing demeanor, looked Daozhen up and down, and finally nodded, as if she had come to some conclusion.

"He has neither demonic nor evil aura; he is indeed a human being."

Seeing that Daozhen only smiled slightly and didn't say anything more, Xie Ning asked again, "Why did you come here?"

"That's how I've come this far," Daozhen answered truthfully.

Xie Ning glanced at the white Taoist robe he was wearing and gave him a knowing look: "I understand, the Taoist path of worldly experience."

She paused, then added, "It's just that you have very little cultivation, so it's quite lucky that you were able to get here unharmed."

Daozhen's eyes flashed with surprise. The other party was right about part of it; he was indeed training. However, Daozhen did not explain much about his cultivation level.

Xie Ning thought for a moment, then spoke again: "Old Yin Mountain is very restless at night. You come with me, and after I take care of things here, I'll send you to a nearby big city."

Daozhen did not refuse. He had come down the mountain to see more of the world, so it wouldn't hurt to have someone accompany him.

So Daozhen followed behind Xie Ning.

As dusk deepened, the two walked slowly along the mountain path.

Xie Ning walked slowly, glancing back every now and then to see if Dao Zhen was keeping up.

After some conversation, the two exchanged names, and Daozhen learned why Xie Ning had appeared in this Old Yin Mountain.

Xie Ning came from a large city called Yunmei nearby, and had learned many skills since childhood. He had come to investigate after hearing that a village called Yushu Village in front of Laoyin Mountain had been beset by demonic calamity, but he encountered Daozhen on the way.

"I heard it's the spirit of their village causing trouble," Xie Ning said as he walked.

"A sacrifice to a spirit?"

"Yes, sacrificial spirits, a kind of living being that has been sincerely worshipped and received incense offerings, thus developing consciousness," Xie Ning explained, fearing that Dao Zhen might not understand.

"Mountains have mountain gods, rivers have river gods, they're all of this kind. It's just that the spirit of this Elm Tree Village seems to have encountered some problem."

At this point, Xie Ning sighed softly, "Sigh, I wonder what exactly happened to that Elm Tree Village."

"Logically speaking, such spirits, which are born from people's incense offerings, should protect people, but now they have become monsters that devour people."

As dusk settled and the light of day began to fade.

The distant mountain shadows, layer upon layer, gradually blended into the deep night.

"Let's rest for the night and set off again tomorrow." Xie Ning stopped and looked around. "The mountain path is difficult and unsafe after dark."

"it is good."

The two found a spot with their backs against a rock wall. The terrain was slightly higher, and the area was sheltered from the wind by stones on three sides.

Xie Ning told Dao Zhen to wait where he was, and then he picked up his spear and went into the woods.

Before long, she returned, carrying a rather large bird in her hand. Its plumage was colorful, and its long tail feathers hung down, shimmering with iridescent light in the campfire.

"I'm pretty lucky, I actually caught a Five-Colored Chicken." Xie Ning said with a hint of pride, waving the bird in front of Dao Zhen.

Daozhen looked at the bird, then at Xie Ning.

Xie Ning glanced at him and suddenly asked, "Do you know how to handle this?"

Before Daozhen could answer, she looked him up and down, then shook her head to herself: "Forget it, judging from your pampered appearance, you definitely won't."

Daozhen originally wanted to say that he really didn't know how, but seeing that she had already made up her mind, he swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He rarely ate in the Taoist temple, only having a meal during festivals. He truly had no culinary skills whatsoever.

Xie Ning didn't hesitate. She found a stream and cleaned the five-colored chicken quickly. When she returned, she skewered the whole chicken with a thick tree branch and placed it on the campfire.

After a while, a burnt smell wafted over.

Xie Ning took the stick off the fire, looked at the blackened object on it, then at Dao Zhen, and hesitantly handed it over: "Uh... want to try it?"

Daozhen looked down.

The five-colored chicken was now completely unrecognizable, its entire body charred black, as if it had been dug out of charcoal ash. A strong smell of burning filled the air.

"Or... you can eat it yourself." Daozhen carefully considered his words.

"I'm not hungry."

Xie Ning examined the roast chicken from all angles, looking somewhat embarrassed. He muttered in frustration, "What happened? I just used a little more heat than they did when they roasted it, and it turned out like this."

She examined it for a moment longer, then finally admitted defeat and threw the charcoal-black roasted chicken into the woods.

"Let's eat dry rations."

Xie Ning took out a cloth bag from his waist, untied it, and inside were several dry, hard flatbreads.

She broke off a piece, put it in her mouth, chewed it, and then looked up at Daozhen: "Do you want some?"

Daozhen shook his head, indicating that he didn't need it.

Daozhen glanced at the dry rations in the cloth bag, then at the direction Xie Ning had thrown away the roast chicken, and finally couldn't help but ask, "You have dry rations, why did you still go hunting?"

Xie Ning paused in his chewing motion, thought for a moment, and then a serious expression appeared on his face.

"Well... in those folk tales, when the heroes eat in the wilderness, don't they always have to be hunting?"

Daozhen: "..."

The campfire crackled, sparks flew into the night sky, and then went out in the blink of an eye.

A night breeze blew in from the mountain pass, carrying a hint of coolness.

Occasionally, a few unidentified bird calls could be heard from the distant woods, but they quickly faded into silence.

Xie Ning chewed a couple more bites of dry rations, then suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up to ask, "By the way, you said you encountered any dangers on your journey?"

Daozhen thought for a moment. He had encountered some spirits on the way, but none of them posed any danger, and he dealt with them easily. So he shook his head.

"That's strange." Xie Ning frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "There should be quite a few spirits in this eight-hundred-mile-long Old Yin Mountain."

Daozhen did not answer, but simply watched the campfire quietly.

Xie Ning glanced at him but didn't press further: "Maybe you were just lucky and avoided it."

Xie Ning took the wine gourd from his waist, uncorked it, took a sip, and then handed it to Daozhen: "Want a sip? To ward off the cold."

Daozhen looked at the gourd and shook his head: "Thank you, but no need."

Xie Ning didn't force him, took another sip, and hung the gourd back on his waist.

She leaned against the rock wall, her spear across her lap, her gaze passing over the campfire and looking into the dark forest in the distance.

"Once it's light and we've entered Elm Tree Village, I'll take care of things and then take you to Yunmei City."

Daozhen nodded slightly: "Okay."

Xie Ning glanced at him again, then suddenly said out of the blue, "You're such an easy person. You answer whatever you're asked, you wait when you're told to wait, and you follow when you're told to follow."

"I've seen many Taoist disciples who have experienced the ways of the mortal world, but you're the first one who's so well-behaved."

Daozhen looked up at her: "Have you met people from other Daoist sects?"

"I've seen it, of course I've seen it." Xie Ning pulled the spear closer to his chest, shifting to a more comfortable position, but his tone was displeased.

"They're all arrogant guys."

That's why I said you were the first one.

After saying that, Xie Ning closed his eyes to rest.

The campfire burned quietly, its orange-red light dancing on the rock face, casting the two figures long and short shadows.