Chapter Fifteen Another Unexpected Event

  The morning dew moistened the window paper, and soon the rising sun dried it up. The clear light was just right, illuminating the room with a bright glow. Shen Baiying turned over on the bed board, and the creaking sound finally woke him up. As he opened his eyes, the brand new lotus-leaf-shaped pouch was still clutched in his hand, and Shen Baiying smiled dazedly at first.

  It wasn't until he sat up that he realized it was already a bit late, so he hastily hung the bundle back around his neck and carefully tucked it into his collar, feeling around to make sure it couldn't be seen from the outside before putting on his outer shirt and heading towards the kitchen. The inner room was still quiet, Shen Danqing must have been fast asleep, summer days were long and sweltering, even in the mountains it was a bit better, but she always lay in bed, so she could only sleep with her head covered, Shen Baiwang didn't dare disturb her much except when bringing in medicine.

  After finally brewing the medicine and pouring it into a porcelain bowl, Shen Bailian blew on it while carrying it towards the inner room, lifting the door curtain and calling out: "Mother, drink your medicine."

  Dead silence in the house.

  Shen Bailian's eyes widened as he stared at the bed, his hand trembling slightly as the scalding medicine spilled onto his fingers, instantly turning red. But Shen Bailian didn't have time to react, his eyes fixed on the neatly made bed in front of him, the blankets and sheets folded and stacked neatly, but the small room was empty.

  Shen Danqing has gone missing again.

  Shen Bailian hastily ran out of the house, originally at this time he should have been carrying a basket up the mountain, but collecting medicine was a small matter, his mother being lost was a big deal, and Shen Qing had been coughing non-stop for several days, although the symptom of coughing blood had improved somewhat, it hadn't healed yet, thinking this way made him even more anxious.

  "Shen big brother, are you here to catch cicadas too?"

  A tender voice sounded from behind, Shen Bailian diverted some attention from her thoughts and found herself unknowingly walking into a small patch of weeds at the village entrance. Next to the grass was a small child, thin and small with a hint of cleverness, it was Xiao Huzi from the neighboring Yun family.

  Yun Xiao Hou Zi was still holding a irregularly-shaped grass cage in his hand, from which came occasional listless chirping sounds, apparently the crickets he had caught. Seeing Shen Bai Ling's worried face, he asked again: "Shen Da Ge, you come here to catch frogs too?"

  "No, I'm here to see my mother." Shen Bailian replied with a furrowed brow.

  Yun Xiao Huzi burst out laughing: "Could it be that your mother is also hiding in the grass roots or stone crevices?"

  Shen Bailian was taken aback and shook her head, saying: "Nonsense! My mother doesn't know where she went, she's not in good health, I'm afraid something will happen to her..."

  "That fierce aunt is fine, she's just pretending to be ill and stealing other people's things." Yun Xiao Huzi said with a pout, carrying the grass basket and wanting to walk away.

  "Are you saying my mother is faking her illness and stealing things? That's absurd!" He didn't believe it at all. His mother had been beaten by those Taoist priests from the village, and Shen Qingcui coughing up blood was something he had seen with his own eyes. As for stealing, that was even more unthinkable. He thought Little Monkey must have believed the rumors spread by the villagers, which made him very angry.

  Who would have thought that the little monkey's eyes rolled over, and he struggled to say: "I didn't cheat! I saw it with my own eyes. On the day you just arrived, that fierce aunt rushed into my room in the middle of the night, like a thief, thinking that my mother and I were both asleep, but actually I was awake at the time, and she took away my green stone!" As soon as he remembered this, his cheeks puffed up, looking angry.

  "What's with the green and red stones? My mother has no interest in your human tribe...in you villagers, she hasn't even left her room for so many days!" Shen Bailing also raised his voice.

  Yun Xiao Houzi angrily said: "I knew you wouldn't believe me, my mother didn't want to listen either! She even refused to teach me how to tell you. But that stone was left to me by my father, it's a treasure he dug up from the mountain, and it glows at night. Your mother saw how beautiful it was and snatched it away!" As he spoke, he remembered something else and said: "You said your mother never leaves the house, but I saw her wandering around the village entrance last night, it was already very late. I think she must have been feeling suffocated while you were sleeping, so she came out to take a stroll."

  "It's even more nonsense, what is she doing going out late at night, and how would you have seen her?" Shen Bailian furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes, gazing sideways at the little monkey with suspicion in her eyes.

  The little monkey shook the grass cage and shouted: "It's not nonsense, General Wu also saw it! The red-striped general I raised was bitten to death by Wang Zhangshou's stinky locust, and I had planned to come here to catch a new one and fight with him. Who knew that there were so many frogs in this village? Last night, I sneaked out while my mother was sleeping and hid in the grass for half a day. Just as General Wu was calling happily from behind a stone, I pounced on it and caught it. At that moment, I raised my head and saw an aunt wearing red clothes walking out of the village. She walked very fast and soon reached the village entrance. All the big aunts in the village are either strong like the village chief's big cow or fat like Ah Xiang's old pig. My mother is neither strong nor fat, but when I sneaked out of the house, she was sleeping soundly... Who else could it be? Moreover, when she snatched my precious stone, I saw clearly from the gap between my eyes that her face was as white as a ghost, her chin was pointed like a cone, and her eyebrows and eyes were similar to yours. Her eyes seemed to be able to fly out and kill people with knives, wasn't it a fierce aunt?"

  Shen Bailian listened, feeling both angry and amused. This little monkey had no filter on his words, which were also very unpleasant to hear. What a pale face like a ghost, a chin like a sharp cone - his mother indeed looked somewhat pale due to illness, and her chin was slightly pointed. But being described in such an exaggerated way, she was transformed from a beauty into a ugly freak. How could he not feel both angry and amused? However, the description of her eyes being as sharp as knives, he secretly agreed with deep down.

  However, Cloud Monkey said that it seemed to be true. Shen Baiying thought for a moment and then said in a gentle tone: "Alright, alright. Then tell me, where did my mother go afterwards?"

  Yun Xiao Houzi furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, and said: "She left the village entrance, didn't stay long, and went straight to the mountain road. I'm afraid she's going up to the Purple Cloud Shelf..."

  "What is Mother going up the mountain for?" Shen Bailian asked out of curiosity.

  The little monkey showed two big white eyeballs again: "How do I know? Maybe the fierce aunt is not enough to stroll around in the village, so she wants to go up the mountain for a walk. Anyway, she's so fierce that even the tigers in the mountains will have to take a detour when they see her..."

  What else was he going to arrange, Shen Bailian didn't have time to listen anymore. Since he had heard that his mother had gone up the mountain and there was only one road from Taiping Village to Ziyun Bridge, he set off without hesitation and rushed towards the mountain.

  He ran all the way, thinking: It turns out that Auntie can already walk on the ground, her injury has healed... But why didn't she tell me, and secretly ran up the mountain? If she was tired of staying in Taiping Village, just talk to me about it, I would naturally hide with her in Huangshan, only there are leopards and tigers in the mountains, but no little monkeys as playful as this child...

  Thinking of Yun Xiao Hou Zi, he suddenly realized: Ah, yes! Little monkey said that his mother had taken away his laboriously obtained stone, no wonder when he first came, he was always causing trouble for me. It turned out that he was dissatisfied with his father leaving him the treasure being taken away by his mother... But what did his mother want with little monkey's stone?

  He thought and thought, but couldn't make sense of it. Before he knew it, he had already reached the middle of the mountain. The slope here was slightly gentler, and the tea tree forest that Shen Bailian had discovered earlier was not far away. He stopped in his tracks and wandered around the mountain waist for a long time, but still couldn't find any trace of his mother.

  At this anxious moment, a gentle breeze with a faint scent floated in. Shen Bailian, who had been walking in the mountains every day, sniffed and recognized it as the fragrance of nearby wildflowers. He thought to himself: If mother were like these wildflowers, leaving behind some scent, it would be great to follow the smell to find her... Ah, there's a method that can be used!

  As he thought of this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he hastily pulled out the small pouch containing the incense blocks from his bosom. Shen Bailian turned the pouch upside down and poured its contents into his palm, then picked out a small, crimson-colored incense bead and hurriedly ignited it with flintstone, also tossing the remaining incense leaves in the pouch onto the fire to burn together. In just an instant, a scarlet mist rose from the flames, wafting upwards in a hazy, swirling cloud that slowly extended into a thin line, like spider silk drifting back and forth in the wind.

  That wisp of fog was like a red thread, swaying and gradually lengthening, drifting and floating towards the purple cloud slope. Shen Baiying watched from the side for half a day, delightedly saying: "It's really useful!" Hurriedly following that red thread to climb higher.

  It turned out that this incense pill had some subtlety, and it was called Xun Ji, which was specifically made to find missing people. When Shen Dan was young, he learned the art of making incense and heard about the wonderful use of this incense pill, and he also made some. When she taught Shen Bai Ling the art of making incense, she also gave him the method of making Xun Ji incense and one pill that she had left for herself, unexpectedly it came in handy today.

  The incense and the object carrying the scent of the person to be found were lit together, and the smoke would drift in the direction of that scent. Shen Bailian arrived in a hurry and didn't bring her mother's handkerchief or anything similar, but she remembered that her mother had always used the fragrance she made herself, so she threw all the herbs into it. Sure enough, the smoke indicated the direction where Shen Danqing went.

  That wisp of red smoke in the air, fine and delicate, floated away, carrying Shen Bailong over the Purple Cloud Scaffolding to another mountain peak, Qing Luan Peak.

  The scenery on the top of Qingyan Peak is very beautiful, even better than that of Purple Cloud Pavilion. The green trees are shaded everywhere, with birds chirping and cicadas singing, revealing a vibrant vitality. Generally speaking, high mountains and peaks often give people a feeling of "coldness at high altitudes", but Qingyan Peak is warm like spring, full of life. With the grandeur of Huangshan, I'm afraid it's hard to find another peak like this one.

  Shen Bailian glanced around and felt that this was a rare good place. Especially the three ancient pines with dense foliage at the summit, which looked very rustic, although not as old as the juniper on Bailian Island, but also suitable for climbing. However, he still remembered his mother in his heart, and after looking back reluctantly, he chased the red smoke to the other side of the summit.

  That wisp of red smoke had drifted for so long, it was already somewhat broken and unbroken, swaying and fluttering as it flew over a turbulent stream before gradually dispersing. The creek water surged forward, turning out from behind a large boulder, then rushing down straight from the top of the cliff, hanging in mid-air like white silk, forming a silver-white waterfall.

  Shen Bailian stepped on the mountain rocks, and after a few leaps, he reached the other side. The red smoke had already disappeared with the wind, so he could only search around himself. Fortunately, the area at the top of the peak was not large, and soon he found the traces of footsteps in a small forest of green grass. Just as he felt a little joyful, he was shocked again. Along the edge of the forest, not far away, the muddy ground revealed many dark red spots, and when he smelled it, it was a bloody smell.

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