Shi Feng stood still against the cave wall for a moment, then suddenly turned and sprinted frantically outside, completely ignoring the jade box and vial on the ground. He ran across the valley and climbed a high slope. Looking up, his legs gave way and he fell to his knees.
In front of him, the Red Stone Town three or four miles away had long disappeared, replaced by a charred ruin. Shi Feng cried and ran wildly. When he got closer, he saw that the snow and ice around him had all melted, and the branches and grass under the snow had all been burned to ashes. The air was filled with a burnt smell.
Shi Feng rushed closer and saw a scorched earth covered with dozens of huge rocks. Half of the rocks had sunk deeply into the ground. Red Stone Town, with only about twenty households, was completely covered by the rocks. It was obvious that after the Demonic Puppet Sect burned the village, they used the Megalithic Technique to bury it.
The snow melted into water, mixing with dust and ash, creating a muddy patch on the ground. Shi Feng dragged himself through the muddy water to the boulder, crying out, "Mother, little sister!" But no one answered. He tried to push the boulder, but it wouldn't budge, like an ant trying to shake a tree.
Shi Feng sat in the muddy water, feeling completely hopeless. He didn't know how much time had passed before the north wind began to pick up and night fell. The muddy water froze into ice again in the cold wind. Shi Feng was frozen in the icy water, feeling the pain was too much to bear, and he had to stand up.
Hongshi Town was thirty or forty miles from the nearest surrounding town. In the dead of winter, the mountains were covered in snow. So, despite the blazing fire and the terrifying noise, no one came to investigate. Shi Feng hadn't eaten all day, but he didn't feel hungry. When he felt thirsty, he would grab a ball of snow and put it in his mouth.
The entire town of Hongshi was submerged underground, and if you spent the night in the snow, you would freeze to death. Fortunately, there were some cave dwellings around the village. Besides hunting, every household in Hongshi Town made pottery. Since they couldn't fire the kilns in winter, the villagers covered the cave dwellings with straw to prevent the snow from entering.
Shi Feng found a cave and crawled into a pile of straw. He was exhausted, but too heartbroken to fall asleep. He tossed and turned in a daze for half the night before finally falling into a deep sleep.
The next day, after Shi Feng got up, he searched around the boulder. He still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, thinking that maybe his mother and younger sister were not in the village the night before and luckily avoided this disaster.
But after searching for a whole day, he could not find any living creatures, not to mention people. In fact, he also knew that the incident happened in the early morning. Not to mention that the villagers were all asleep, even if they were awake, his mother had difficulty walking and could not escape.
After three days of searching, Shi Feng found nothing. When he was hungry, he dug radishes from the fields. When he was thirsty, he ate lumps of snow and ice chips. Finally, he gave up hope, but he had to consider his own situation. He depended on his mother and younger sister for survival. His grandfather and other elders had all passed away. A cousin from the village was also buried under the boulder. Apart from that, he had no other relatives.
Hongshi Town was completely destroyed, and coupled with the freezing cold, it was impossible to stay there. The nearest place was Qiyang Town, where Shi Feng had been several times, selling animal furs with the villagers. However, there was no one there to turn to, and how could a thirteen-year-old like him make a living?
After much reflection, he recalled the Taoist Danyang's last words. Although he was the cause of this catastrophe, it was not his doing, nor his will. Moreover, the Taoist Danyang had taken good care of him, willingly burning himself to death before his death rather than cause him any trouble.
Thinking of Taoist Danyang's regret at his deathbed, Shi Feng's heart softened. He immediately returned to the temporary cave at the foot of Lushou Peak.
The snowflake ice water had sealed the cave entrance again. Shi Feng found a branch and pried open the cave entrance again. Nothing had changed inside. The jade box, nameplate, and small bottle were still lined up on the ground. Apart from these three items, Taoist Danyang left nothing behind after his death.
Shi Feng put all three things in his arms, but was wondering how to get to Taiji Gate. As soon as he thought about it, the map text left by Taoist Danyang immediately emerged in his mind. Shi Feng was secretly amazed, and after carefully "looking" at it, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
The Shigu Mountains where the Tai Chi Gate is located are nearly a thousand miles away from here, passing through many cities, mountains, and rivers. Shi Feng, a child from the mountains, naturally had never heard of it. He only knew the first location, Qiyang Town.
Shi Feng came out of the cave and was about to leave, but after thinking for a while, he moved some big stones and piled them at the entrance of the cave to make a tomb. He then bowed three times.
Leaving the cave, Shi Feng returned to the small river beside the village. He found a dry place on a high bank and piled up earth to make a grave. He placed some large stones around it as markers, found a large tree trunk, peeled off the bark, and inserted it on the grave. He also carved the names of his mother and younger sister on it. Suddenly, his nose felt sore and tears streamed down his face.
The day before he left, his mother sat by his bed, mending and re-stitching his tattered fur coat and tightening the bowstring on his mulberry wood bow. Meanwhile, his younger sister, Shi Biyu, pestered him to pierce and polish the wolf's large canine tooth to make a pendant, because Xiaoqing, from the same village, also had a similar wolf tooth pendant.
Shi Feng sat there for a long time, then suddenly sat up straight, kowtowed deeply nine times, stood up and looked back at the village of the past, then turned around and walked silently south.
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After walking for a day, we arrived at Qiyang Town. Qiyang Town was much larger than Hongshi Town, but the people in the town obviously didn't know what had happened in Hongshi Town.
Shi Feng was hungry and exhausted, but too embarrassed to beg, so he just sat under a roof, only to be chased away. He searched for a dilapidated temple and stayed there. That night, he suffered from hunger and cold, and coupled with his previous grief and several days of being immersed in the ice and snow, he couldn't help but develop a high fever.
He had not eaten for several days and had no money to see a doctor. He lay in a dilapidated temple. Within a day, he was dying and could feel the life force slipping away from his body.
Before dying, Shi Feng suddenly remembered something. He struggled to take out the small bottle from his arms, poured out a mung bean-sized pill, and swallowed it.
The pill was fragrant and sweet, and melted in the mouth. A warm current flowed from the throat directly into the chest and abdomen. In a moment, Shi Feng was sweating all over, the high fever subsided, and the bloating in his stomach and the feeling of hunger disappeared without a trace.
What's even more amazing is that all his muscles and bones are full of strength and energy. Even if a tiger suddenly appeared in front of him, he would be confident that he could kill it with just three or two punches.
Shi Feng was overjoyed and was envious of the magical powers of the immortals. He picked up the small bottle and took a closer look. There were four pills inside. He tightened the cork and kept it carefully close to his body.
The next day, Shi Feng continued to head south according to the instructions left by Taoist Danyang.
The spring rain continued, the road was muddy, and a young boy, leaning on a wooden stick, walked along the mountain path, one step deep and one step shallow, barefoot, with his cowhide boots slung behind him...
On the endless plain, under the scorching sun, a young man, wearing a large leaf as a hat, sweated profusely as he trudged along. His cowhide boots were already worn out, so he could only make a pair of straw sandals out of rattan...
At the edge of the town, a young man, carrying a longbow and holding two pheasants, was exchanging some steamed buns and a few dozen copper coins from a woman.
In the bustling streets of Sijing City, a disheveled, ragged little beggar, holding a broken bowl with a missing corner, slowly made his way through the crowd. He was barefoot, and the mulberry wood bow on his back was missing. I wonder if it was lost or damaged by wind and rain...
Shi Feng set out from Hongshi Town in the first month of the lunar year and, after many twists and turns, finally arrived at Anyang City near the Shigu Mountains in August.