“Tell me in detail, where did you see this Immortal Crane?”
He Xiuyuan perked up. If such an Immortal Crane truly existed, it must belong to a Dao sect, right?
To be able to peck down the sunset glow, this Immortal Crane was truly extraordinary.
“It was right in the mountains, probably about a year ago. We were playing in the mountains, and we saw the scene at sunset.”
The taller boy in front of him thought for a moment before speaking.
After speaking, he glanced at his companions beside him, wanting to confirm if he had remembered correctly.
His companions, hearing this, all nodded heavily.
“It was exactly a year ago. At that time, Shixiaoya had to wash clothes at home, so we went to play by ourselves, and then we saw an Immortal Crane peck a wisp of sunset glow and fly away.”
Another child, at this moment, also sniffed and said with certainty.
“In which direction was that, do you still remember?”
He Xiuyuan’s spirits lifted upon hearing this. If that were the case, he would indeed have to search for this Immortal Crane.
“Hmm, I know, it’s in that direction!”
The children didn't know how to describe directions like north, south, east, or west, so they simply pointed towards the distant mountains for He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan looked in the direction the child pointed and then committed that direction to memory.
“Then you…”
After noting down the direction, He Xiuyuan planned to ask if there were any other unusual occurrences.
Just then, he saw several villagers walking over from a distance, and they were all carrying things in their hands.
As the strong men approached, they happily greeted He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan looked closely and saw that the items these strong men were carrying were quite varied.
Things like cured meat, freshly picked cabbage, or other items like eggs, were all held in their hands.
“You are Shitian Yu’s savior, and thus our village’s benefactor. That fellow Shitian Yu probably won’t be able to entertain you well, so we pooled some things together and brought them over.”
The strong man, seeing He Xiuyuan, let out a hearty laugh before carrying the items into the house.
He Xiuyuan recognized these people; they were the porters who had been with Shitian Yu earlier.
A moment after these strong men entered the house, several women also came over, bringing items into the house to help.
He Xiuyuan looked at this scene and immediately hesitated.
If he had known this, he should have bought some grain to bring over earlier; that would have been better.
Never mind, he would leave some silver here later.
He Xiuyuan scratched his head and looked back at the children from before.
At this moment, these children were slightly on their tiptoes, eagerly looking towards the inside of the house.
They had all seen that the adults were carrying meat.
Tonight, Shixiaoya’s family would have meat to eat!
“Cough, cough.”
He Xiuyuan cleared his throat, drawing the children's attention back, and then, with a smile, He Xiuyuan continued to ask.
“So, besides this, did you see anything else?”
He Xiuyuan asked.
“Other things?”
The children all seemed a bit confused upon hearing this.
They didn't quite understand what “other things” referred to.
“Brother, what are you chatting about with the children?”
He Xiuyuan was about to explain simply, but at this moment, Shitian Yu walked out of the house.
Shitian Yu’s expression was relaxed as he walked to He Xiuyuan’s side.
When he first returned home, he was a bit worried. His family only had a few rotten vegetable leaves, and he didn't know what to prepare to entertain He Xiuyuan.
Fortunately, the villagers all knew about his family's situation, and the neighbors pooled some things together and brought them over to help out.
He Xiuyuan’s heart stirred as he watched Shitian Yu sit down.
The children might not know very much, but Shitian Yu should know the most.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan repeated the question he had just asked.
Shitian Yu, hearing this, paused, “Brother, you still believe in these things?”
From Shitian Yu’s expression, it seemed he didn't really believe in such things at all.
“Brother Shi, have you heard of such matters?”
He Xiuyuan, seeing Shitian Yu’s expression, immediately reacted and asked.
Shitian Yu nodded upon hearing this, “I used to hear some old people in the village talk about strange occurrences.”
“However, that should be from many years ago. From what the old people said, it seemed to be stories passed down from their ancestors.”
“Oh, then Brother Shi, please tell me.”
Having just heard the children talk about an Immortal Crane pecking at the sunset glow, He Xiuyuan felt that there must truly be some stories within the Mount Shi Fang.
The children nearby also became interested at this moment, sitting to the side and pricking up their ears.
“This matter…”
Seeing that He Xiuyuan was interested in this matter, Shitian Yu recalled and began to speak.
“Before, I heard the old people in the village say that many years ago, thick black clouds suddenly rolled in the mountains in front of Shifang Village one day.”
“The rolling black clouds were extremely frightening, spreading out for dozens of miles in an instant, engulfing the entire Shifang Village.”
“At that time, the villagers seemed to vaguely hear sharp sounds coming from within the dark clouds.”
“And then, a golden light was seen flying directly towards the dark clouds from the horizon. That golden light didn't look very obvious and usually wouldn't be easy to spot.”
“However, once this golden light flew into the dark clouds, it became very obvious. The deeper it flew into the dark clouds, the thicker and more dazzling the golden light became.”
“In the end, the golden light directly disappeared into the dark clouds, and then thunder rumbled from within the dark clouds, and large flames erupted from within, burning the dark clouds into fiery clouds.”
“However, this great fire didn’t last long and soon extinguished. In the end, even the golden light dimmed.”
Shitian Yu recalled the words of the old people and then retold them.
“The old people said that there was a harmful demon about to emerge from the dark clouds, and then an Immortal came to subdue it.”
“But in the end, it seemed the demon won. The golden light finally exploded, scattering the dark clouds. A few dark clouds and a bit of golden light fell into the mountains, and then the village made a rule not to let children enter the mountains, fearing they might encounter the demon.”
Shitian Yu shook his head at the end of his story, “This matter, I think it’s just a story used to trick children in the past.”
“Before, some children from the village went into the mountains and were carried away by the wolves inside.”