Guardians of Mountain and Sea - Chapter 5

Early the next morning, before dawn, while the youngest son was still sleeping in the inner room, Apu’s parents tip-toed into the main hall and froze.

The young girl sat upright in magnificent new clothes. Stacked on the large hall table were three large gold bricks, which Priestess Granny had given her the previous night.

Her mother’s eyes kept darting toward the gold bricks, while her father listened in silence as she finished her explanation. The man picked up the wine gourd at his waist, opened it, and took two swigs. “What did the Chief Priestess say?”

“Priestess Granny said that the immortal is a great cultivator from outside Mang Mountain, and that I can follow her without worry.”

The man pushed one of the gold bricks toward Apu. Her mother grew anxious. “Husband…”

“Shut your mouth!” The man turned to look at his daughter. “Two bricks this large are enough for the whole family to live well for forty years. You take one for your traveling expenses.”

“You have been different from other children since you were small. Years ago, when that giant snake that had nearly turned into a spirit strangled people to death and tried to harm your mother, you were so small, yet you dared to stab it with a knife. You were like a wild wolf, biting down on its seven-inch mark and stubbornly outlasting it until it died. Your mother was terrified; she secretly abandoned you several times. It was only later, when we saw the Priestess treating you with such closeness, that we dared to feel at ease.”

Her mother kept her head down and said nothing.

They all thought she had been too young back then to remember, but Apu remembered everything. She simply pretended to be ignorant and acted as if she had forgotten.

She remembered the mangled corpses strewn across the wild path, sticky and foul. They were the remains that the ten-fathom-long snake had vomited out after failing to digest them.

Those who could run or dared to resist were eaten first. Her mother had held her, huddling with the others, collapsing to the ground in a trembling heap.

Knowing that the remaining people were too scared to flee, the great snake moved sluggishly, coiling around and swallowing the survivors one by one.

When it was the turn of Apu and her mother, the little girl had rolled into the pile of corpses, snatched up a blade, and hacked wildly. By chance, she struck the snake’s heart-point, the “seven-inch” mark, opening a bloody gash.

Driven into a killing frenzy, the snake coiled around Apu’s limbs and tightened. A monster that had tasted human flesh and was close to becoming a spirit possessed a cruel nature; though it could have swallowed her in one bite, it refused to give her a quick death, choosing instead to snap the girl’s limbs.

Enduring the agonizing pain, Apu sank her teeth into the bloody wound on the snake’s neck and refused to let go. The great snake thrashed in agony.

When the dust settled, she remembered a beautiful white-haired woman pulling her out from the coils of the dead snake. Everyone else had been crushed to death by the giant snake’s mad thrashing. Her mother, clutching her chest, leaned against a tree a few yards away, looking at her with horror and dread, as if Apu herself were the dangerous monster.

After that, her parents no longer dared to hold her. A few times when she went out with the adults to gather wild vegetables, she would turn around only to find herself alone in the wild forest.

She was too small then. She had stumbled and fumbled her way back, covered in wounds, pretending she knew nothing and had simply lost her way.

Later, she found her own way to the ritual grounds, and the white-haired woman took her in.

Without Priestess Granny, she would have died long ago.

The man continued, “Take this piece of gold. Take care of yourself out there and do not worry about us.”

“The immortal sects do not use mortal gold or silver. I have no use for it.”

So the man kept all the gold bricks.

“Looking at that Wang hunter’s son in the East Town, one can tell that immortals are not necessarily all good people. If you find you cannot make it out there, come back. The family has money now; we can afford to prepare a generous dowry for you regardless.”

Apu nodded and walked out of the hall. After a few steps, she turned back.

The man remained seated, motionless. Her mother watched her back, eyes brimming with reluctant tears, but when Apu turned around, the woman averted her gaze.

The girl knelt and kowtowed three times. Then, she turned and stepped out of the courtyard gate with silent determination.

Apu strolled through the familiar streets, smiling and exchange pleasantries with uncles and aunts along the way. Whenever she saw a food stall or a shop, she went in to buy something and take a few bites. After the reconstruction of her bones and flesh, her appetite had grown significantly, as if everything she ate was rapidly consumed and converted into strength.

It was not until evening that she slowly reached East Town.

The Wang family, who had found “immortal destiny,” was located here.

The Wangs originally lived in a small courtyard with a dilapidated thatched hut. But after Wang Musheng found his immortal destiny, a wealthy family nearby had gifted them a house, and the local idlers had pooled money to send gifts. The Wang family had already moved into the new residence; the atmosphere had completely changed, and everything looked brand new inside and out.

Word was that the immortal would take Wang Musheng away tonight. Many neighbors and idlers were loitering around the shops not far from the Wang residence. They both hoped to be noticed by the Immortal Master and feared stepping forward to disturb him.

Apu sat at a small stall on the edge of the crowd, eating wontons.

As the sun sank below the horizon, the sky grew dark.

A pillar of white light suddenly descended from the heavens, enveloping the entire Wang residence. The crowd erupted in discussion, filled with envy.

The Wang father and son, along with a dozen newly recruited idlers and servants, knelt dutifully before an incense altar set up in the new courtyard. As the pillar of light faded, an elder and a youth stepped out.

“Sect Uncle, it is him.”

The youth was the one who had seen that Wang Musheng possessed a spiritual foundation and had offered to recruit him into the sect.

“Wang Musheng?” The elder’s eyelids drooped, his tone indifferent.

Wang Musheng stood up excitedly, took a few steps forward, and prostrated himself. “This disciple is here!”

The elder told him to raise his head. He saw a sturdy young man kneeling there with honest features, appearing simple and approachable.

“Low grade. Very well, register him.”

The elder flipped his palm, and a green-covered ledger materialized out of thin air above his hand. The pages flipped automatically with a rustle, and a single sheet of paper flew out, landing on the incense altar.

Wang Musheng was overjoyed. He pulled out the brush and ink he had prepared long ago and crawled forward on his knees to write down his name and place of origin.

“Eh?” The elder suddenly turned toward the outside, his expression changing.

“Sect Uncle?” Ignoring the youth’s question, the elder transformed into a white light and vanished in a flash.

Inside the wonton stall, a shimmering white ripple suddenly manifested, encasing a single table. The other customers sharing the table continued chatting and laughing unconsciously, picking up their bowls and walking away of their own accord. Outside the barrier, the noise of the crowd was deafening; inside, it was silent.

The young girl happened to lift her bowl and take the last sip of soup.

The elder wore a kind, smiling face. Just as he was about to speak, a fair, small hand slapped the table. Placed neatly before him was a transparent ice-jade plaque. The longsword embedded within rotated, and the gold-trimmed red ribbon danced vividly as if alive.

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