The outside world was still very hot, but after entering this mountain cave covered by strange formations, the temperature around dropped sharply.
The four martial artists of the Mo family had no concept of fear. Although their bodies had shrunk, they sensed that their power had not diminished. Now, holding their treasured swords and lutes, each one walked in calmly.
Deng Chanyu and Long Ji also entered the cave, followed by the vast army of eight hundred heavenly soldiers and Zhang Haitai.
Inside the cave, there was only a somewhat disorderly sound of footsteps. Among them, the footsteps of the giant spirit and the four generals of Mo were the heaviest. After walking over a hundred steps, the giant spirit reported to the back that there was a stone gate ahead.
Deng Chanyu walked to the stone door, took a careful look at it, saw no traps or mechanisms, and immediately said, "Let's see if we can push it open. If not, we'll break it down."
The giant spirit was originally known for his immense strength in the Three Realms. Without hesitation, he placed his hands on the edge of the door, applied all his strength, and tried to push it open.
Using only three tenths of his strength, he could see the stone door slowly open, and a somewhat blinding sunlight pierced through the dark cave like a bolt of arrow.
The giant spirit continued to exert force, eventually opening the stone door completely. He cautiously peered inside with a glance, then picked up two banners of great axes and stepped in.
"Ayu, it seems like there's nothing particularly dangerous here."
Long Ji surveyed his surroundings. Behind the stone gate, it appeared to be a valley. Inside the valley was an endless peach blossom forest with mist swirling and fragrance permeating. Fragments of light filtered through the tree canopy and illuminated the ground. Following the stone steps in between the trees, one could see a distant village with smoke rising from chimneys.
The heavenly soldiers and generals couldn't help but lower the weapons they were holding high. There was no danger here; it seemed to be a place beyond the turmoil of the world, a peaceful Shangri-La free from contention.
"It seems like an ordinary village? Quick, retreat! The fragrance is wrong!" Deng Chanyu had just finished speaking when the tall giant spirit and the four generals of Mo suddenly collapsed, one after another. Then a huge dizziness surrounded her, and many heavenly soldiers' weapons fell to the ground, making a series of crisp sounds. After that, she knew nothing more."
Stepping out of the wooden house, Yu saw her neighbor Jiro sitting by the window, smiling at her. She also returned a bright smile. The scene was so nice.
Yu walked through the village, and the honest villagers greeted her as she went along. She also smiled and returned the greetings. Not long after, she arrived at a house in the eastern part of the village. This was the village school, where, as a scholar, she was responsible for teaching many children to read every day.
Seven or eight children sat quietly listening to Yu's lecture. As the teacher, whenever Yu said a sentence, the children would follow and read it out loud.
The day passed quickly, and the children left one by one, leaving behind only a child named Shui Zha.
The child looked worried and asked, "Teacher, are you really going to marry Ji auntie today? What will happen to Ji auntie then?"
Yu slapped the child's back of the head: "This child, you talk nonsense every day. My affection for Ji and I is a perfect match, as if it was meant to be. What do you mean by 'Ji' auntie? Quick, go back and copy the sutra from today ten times."
Shui Zha hung his head dejectedly: "Oh, I knew it would be copying sutras. You adults are really boring."
Yu finished her work for the day and thought about today being her wedding day. She bought two red candles and some candy as well.
At the village gate, she saw four big men busy chopping wood and another large man moving stones from the mountain downwards.
The old village elder, leaning on his cane, noticed her gaze and smiled as he said to her, "A lot of people have come to the village recently. They're all good kids."
Yu nodded lightly, it was indeed the case. Recently, hundreds of people had come to the village from outside, and they heard that there were continuous wars and unrest outside, with people not being able to live a peaceful life anymore. They could not go on living in such conditions and had to follow the guidance of the immortals to find this utopian haven for refuge.
She heaved a long sigh, "Ah, the world is hard indeed."
The old village elder agreed: "Yes, when our ancestors took refuge here during Xia Jie's time, and now that the world is in chaos again, this world is too hard for people to live in."
The old village elder's face was filled with sorrow for the heavens and compassion for people. He shuffled away with a staggering gait.
After buying the red candles and candy, Yu bought some peach blossom wine. The vendor, a smiling Taohua Auntie, asked, "Would you like some peach blossom wine? This wine is the most intoxicating. You and Ah Ji can drink together and have a good time when you get there."
She emphasized the phrase "have a good time" with an inflection, and Yu felt a bit embarrassed, showing a moment of hesitation: "Ah ha, this, that..."
Taohua Auntie was very generous, forcefully handing her the alcohol: "This one is on me, take it."
Yu immediately accepted it without hesitation: "Thank you so much!"
The wedding was naturally held at dusk. When Yu returned home, she looked at the beautiful woman next door and felt a surge of excitement in her heart.
Being able to get married oneself is truly wonderful!
The village was not large, but the wedding was a joyous occasion, and many of the familiar villagers came to help.
At this time, there was no custom of a red veil; they simply tied a red rope between the two parties, and sending a wild goose was all that was needed to complete the ceremony.
"Wild geese? Oh, I don't have any wild geese here," Yu searched for a while and found that they lacked an important prop.
She immediately went out of the village to catch the wild geese.
As luck would have it, not long after leaving the village, she saw two strangely shaped wild geese flying overhead. Realizing she had no bow and arrows, what was she to do? Suddenly seeing pebbles on the ground, she picked them up immediately and threw two stones to the left and right. The wild geese were knocked out by the impact to their heads and spun down to the ground.
She picked up the wild geese, holding them in her hands and weighing the throwing stones. She wondered when she had learned this technique.
Apparently, teaching children wasn't the only thing she was good at. With this skill, they wouldn't starve after the wedding.
Just as she took a few steps, she felt a strange gaze scanning her. Without thinking, she raised her right arm and hurled a flying stone out with a swift motion.
A soft snap echoed, and she brought down a large grasshopper the length of a child's arm from a branch of peach blossom trees.
Looking at its color, it was full of vibrant hues, and the dense, step-like appendages added to the terrifying sight.
The centipede kept spewing out white mist, but from a distance, it wasn't immediately apparent what harm the mist might cause.
There was a hint of surprise in her expression. How could such a toxic insect appear in a peaceful village like Peach Blossom Village? Could there be others around her?
"Yu! What are you daydreaming about? The bride at home is eagerly waiting!" Someone called out to her, and she quickly turned her head. She saw the hunter from the village had just shot two rabbits and was smiling at her.
Yu forgot the name of the person, only knowing that they looked very familiar. She smiled and bowed, "I just saw..."
When she turned around again, she found that the large centipede had disappeared.
"Today is your wedding day. What are you doing wandering around? Hurry back home!" The big hunter brother, without a moment's hesitation, gave her a rabbit and expressed it as his gift.
"Thank you, big brother!" Yu no longer lingered over the centipede and carried the wild goose and rabbit home.
