Chapter 113: The Calamity of Xiantown

  A strong gust of wind howled, whipping up clouds of yellow sand everywhere. The entire town of Baoxian was shrouded in a grayish haze. Aiyimu stood by the window, gazing out, when suddenly a burst of sandy dust blew in through the gap between the felt curtains, making her cough violently.

  "Ai Mu, quickly cover the window with a rug. Your mother's body is not good and can't withstand the wind blowing." A middle-aged man sitting in the center of the house, roasting by the fire, spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence inside the house. Behind him, on the bed, a middle-aged woman was wrapped in a woolen blanket, sleeping soundly.

  "Ah!" Aiyimu quickly put down the felt mat and sat back beside the man, asking in a low voice, "Dad, when will this wind stop? The water jar at home is almost empty, but with such strong winds and sandstorms, we can't even see the road to go fetch water!"

  The middle-aged man remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said: "Let's wait a little longer. The heavens... the heavens will protect us!" As he spoke, he placed his hands on his chest, closed his eyes, and began to pray.

  Aimu secretly turned her head to glance at Ama on the bed, and also placed her hand on her chest. The firelight in the fireplace cast a glow on her devout face, adding a touch of brightness to the girl's delicate complexion.

  "Ai yue mu... Ai yue mu!"

  Suddenly, there were a few low calls outside the door, and the voice was very bright. Aiyimu opened her eyes, and a look of surprise flashed across her face. She glanced at her father beside her, and the middle-aged man still had his eyes closed, but there was an extra wrinkle on his brow. She quickly got up and quietly walked to the door, pulling open a thick layer of felt. There stood a young man outside the door, holding a wooden bucket in his hand. When he saw her poking her head out from inside the door, he smiled and said loudly: "Aiyimu, I brought water for you!" He lifted the lid of the bucket slightly, saying: "Look, I've been filtering this water all night, it's for you and your parents to drink!"

  Aiyemu looked over and saw that the water was still a bit murky, but compared to the muddy river water, it was much better. A smile of joy immediately bloomed on her flower-like face: "Sabir, you're so good!" As she spoke, another strong gust of wind blew in from the west, and she quickly pulled up the felt blanket higher, "Quickly come in!"

  Sabir hastily carried the water bucket into the house, and upon seeing the middle-aged man in the center of the room, his face involuntarily showed a few more hints of embarrassment. He called out: "Uncle Mukhashim!" As he turned his eyes to the woman on the bed, his expression added a hint of concern, "Aunt Abdu is ill again?" His voice naturally lowered significantly as he spoke.

  Muhashi nodded slightly and didn't respond. Ayimu hastily reached out to pull Sabir's sleeve, making a gesture for him to follow her, and Sabir understood, quietly saying to Muhashi: "Uncle, I'll go help you pour the water into the vat." Then he followed Ayimu into the kitchen.

  As soon as they entered the kitchen, the two of them finally put their minds at ease. Aiyimu turned around and whispered with a smile: "These days are strange, the sun can't be seen in the sky, every day and night is windy, several grape racks behind our house have fallen down, my mother's body is not comfortable, my father is worried and doesn't like to talk to people, it's not that he doesn't like you!" Her eyes flowed with a few hints of comfort, fearing that her lover would be unhappy.

  Sabir smiled stupidly and bent down to pour the water from the bucket into the vat, saying in the gurgling sound of the water: "I know."

  Aiyimu let out a sigh of relief, leaning against him and looking at the water in the jar. Her heart was filled with worries again, and she said in a low voice: "Look at this water, it's been calm for a night and can barely be drunk. The river in the town is from Xianshan Mountain, it's always clear and bright, never seen anything like this before. Not only has the color of the water changed, but it's also gradually decreased over the past few days. I don't know what will happen in the future." Sabir, do you think... is something wrong with Xianshan Mountain? The people of Bo Xian Town have always revered the Kunlun Mountains behind them and the people on the mountain as gods. When she asked this question, she was very nervous, constantly looking around, fearing that she would offend the gods.

  Sabir furrowed his brow, and after a long while, he said: "I heard Akumu say that during the earthquake a few days ago, he was standing outside and saw it very clearly... A mountain peak on Mount Xian flew up into the air, higher and higher, until it flew into the clouds. The other people in town also saw it, and the old folks all said that's where the gods live, so someone in town must have offended the gods, which is why they wanted to return to heaven, and everything they had bestowed upon us before would be taken back."

  "Ayimu exclaimed, covering her mouth: "That... isn't all the clean water gone? What about our grapevines, how will we irrigate them? Without grapes, how can we make wine? Those Central Plains people who buy wine from us won't come anymore... My mother's medicine was bought from that Central Plains merchant, what if we can't buy it again? How will my mother's illness be treated?" She almost burst into tears by the end."

  Sabir was at a loss, not knowing how to comfort her. After hemming and hawing for half the day, he finally said: "Aimu, you...you can rest assured that I will always be with you and never let you suffer!" As he spoke, he threw away the wooden bucket and grasped her hand tightly.

  Aiyimu's face turned slightly red, just about to speak, Muhashi outside the house coughed heavily, and the two of them hastily separated like startled birds. Sabir bent down to pick up the wooden bucket, Aiyimu followed behind him, and the two of them walked out.

  Aiyemu straight sent her lover to the door, full of reluctance to part with him, but under the severe gaze of her old father, she dared not show it on her face. She was rubbing the hem of her clothes and thinking of saying a few intimate words in a low voice, when suddenly she glanced at Sabir's back, and her eyes widened instantly, her breathing also stopped: "Sabir... look quickly, what is that?!" She was so shocked that she forgot to lower her voice, and only heard a low cough from inside the house, and the woman on the bed had already turned over.

  Muhashi saw his wife being woken up, his face sank and was about to speak, but he saw two young men standing still at the door, seemingly stunned by some scene. Curiosity arose, and he also walked to the door and looked out, this glance was also shocked.

  The whole town of Baoxian was covered with a vast expanse of yellow sand, which was slowly splitting in two as the wind howled, like a piece of fabric being cut in half by scissors. The gap between the sands gradually grew larger and darker clouds could be seen through it, looking very conspicuous.

  "Ah, Aimu, Uncle, look... there's someone over there!" Sabir had excellent eyesight, he stared intently for a moment, then suddenly pointed and shouted at the crack in the yellow sand.

  At this moment, the yellow sand was divided in two from head to toe, and a line of cyan color traversed the entire town. Only a clear sound was heard, and a green light flashed down from the cloud seam, falling on the center of Baoxian Town. The light then scattered like ripples, soft and gentle, and instantly reached Ai Mu and others in front of them. They only heard a faint "hum" in their ears, and the light had already swept past their shoulders. When the light in front of them dissipated, they looked around again, and the yellow sand that filled the sky had been swept away, leaving a grayish-blue sky like a canopy stretching endlessly into the distance.

  Ayi Mu and others looked in the direction Sabir was pointing, only to see a red figure standing on the empty ground in the center of the village. The person stood where the green light had just fallen. He wore a red robe that seemed to be ablaze, his eyebrows and eyes were far apart and somewhat blurry. He glanced around, then walked towards their house.

  Sabir didn't even notice when the wooden bucket in his hand was blown away by the wind, he just stared blankly at the red-clothed person walking towards him. As the person approached, their face became clearer, and Sabir saw that they had raven-black hair like silk, and eyebrows and eyes like a painting - it was a rarely seen handsome young man. Aiyemu had originally been hiding behind Sabir, but when she saw the person's appearance, she couldn't help but let out a soft gasp and took a few steps forward.

  The man in red bowed to them with a very humble expression. Aiyimu had seen the people from the Central Plains in the town also greet each other in this way, and she secretly admired: it turns out that there are still such good-looking people in the world, and so gentle! Then she heard a soft voice ask her: "Miss, what happened in Baoxian Town?" Aiyimu sighed again in her heart: this person's voice is so nice to listen to!

  Sabir saw that she was staring blankly, not knowing what to think, and quickly replied for her: "Recently, something happened on the Fairy Mountain, and many people in the town left..." He repeated what he had previously told Aiyimu.

  The man in red heard this and his face slightly darkened, with a hint of sorrow and sympathy in his eyes, he said in a low voice: "They actually really held the flying ascension, completely disregarding the common people at the foot of the mountain..." Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by an urgent plea: "Heavenly God, please save the people in the town!"

  Aiyimu and Sabir turned back to look at Muhashi in surprise, this middle-aged man squeezed out from between the two of them and walked forward, his face full of sincerity as he bowed repeatedly towards the red-robed person: "Heavenly God can clear all the wind and sand in the town, it must also be able to restore the river water to its original state...and Aiyimu's mother's illness...Heavenly God, please bless us!"

  Aiyue's eyes lit up and she blurted out, "So it's the Heavenly God, no wonder you look so good!" Before she even finished speaking, she realized her mistake and her face turned red.

  Sabir said: "How can this be a heavenly god? I think he looks like those three people from yesterday, suddenly falling into the center of the town, all carrying weapons..."

  The man in red clothes flashed his eyes and asked hastily, "Did someone also come to the town yesterday?" He paused for a moment and then said, "Were they two men and one woman, with one of them being a young man wearing white robes, carrying a sword scabbard on his back?"

  Saber nodded repeatedly: "Right, right. You... how do you know everything?" He couldn't help but wonder in his heart: Could it be that he really is the Heavenly God?

  The person in red slightly curled up the corners of their lips, a faint smile flashing across their face: "It's really Ziying and the others, I've finally caught up... do you know where they went?"

  Sabir thought for a moment, and said uncertainly: "I only heard from afar that Uncle Kumuo urged them to leave quickly, but those people said they wanted to go to the Immortal Mountain... The Immortal Mountain is so high, now I'm afraid they've already returned to the Heavenly Palace, how can they possibly climb up there?" As he spoke, he shook his head.

  The man in red smiled: "That's not necessarily the case... Hmm, since they've taken a step ahead, I shouldn't be too slow either, otherwise..." After muttering to himself for a few sentences, he nodded his head at several people, "Thank you all for your honest advice, farewell." As he spoke, he raised his hand and with a sword hum, the man had transformed into a green light that shot up from the ground and instantly pierced through the clouds.

  On the ground, Aiyimu exclaimed and tightly grabbed Sabir's sleeve: "He's gone... This man can actually fly, look, Sabir, he can fly!"

  Muhashi scolded from the side: "What's with all this 'he' and 'you', this is Lord Tianshen!"

  Sabir touched the back of his head and said in a low voice, "Uncle Muhashim, I heard that when Zhongyuan came to buy wine last time, he said that the heavenly gods living on Xianshan Mountain are not actually gods, but people called Sword Immortals. They have some divine powers more than us ordinary people...I think this person is probably one of the Sword Immortals he mentioned..."

  A gust of wind blew by, gradually drowning out the conversation of several people.