Chapter 2: Searching for Sima in the Deep Mountains and Old Forests

  When I arrived at my old nest, Chen Zhou had already greeted Yuke. Little Cui saw me bring back a beautiful Miao girl and looked at me with an expression as if she had seen a monster, making me feel very uncomfortable. It wasn't until my fourth brother came out to help me explain the situation that she finally said something, saying "A beauty paired with a dog-headed man" which made Huo Ling hide behind me, giggling uncontrollably.

  Everyone rushed to my master's room without taking a break. At this time, it was not yet dark, and I saw that the back of my master had no black color, his whole body was like soft mud, very cold. It seems that at this time, the evil spirit is haunting my master's body. However, one thing is certain: my master's curse has worsened a lot compared to when I left that day.

  Everyone stood silently by the bed for a long time without saying a word. Now, there is no longer the sorrow of the past because they knew the whereabouts of Mo Jin School Lieutenant. It seemed that seeing the hope of breaking the curse in their hearts, knowing that standing like this was not a solution, so they gently covered their master with a quilt and ordered their brothers to rest well first, as they still had to prepare for the trip to Mount Yao tonight.

  Look at the sky, it's almost dark, and I don't know when Ling has gone to prepare dinner.

  I called Little Cui over and told her to prepare some essentials for this trip. There were still many leftover items from last time in the Miao village. The tomb is rarely visited by people, and there are many insects and reptiles inside. Most of them fear realgar, especially snakes. Therefore, it's very necessary to bring more realgar powder and realgar wine.

  Also, prepare enough preventive measures for the old dumplings, such as glutinous rice, garlic, and items to ward off evil spirits like children's urine, black dog blood, peach wood spears, etc. Black donkey hooves and other things are ready, just waiting for dawn to set out.

  After busy finishing, Huo Ling has already prepared dinner with a harmonious balance of meat and vegetables, making Xiao Cui sigh in admiration.

  Looking at her, I always feel a little guilty. These past few days, she has been taking care of everyone's food and daily life. Only now do I realize that she is not only an expert tracker but also an invaluable good wife, even though we haven't formally gone through the wedding ceremony.

  After breakfast, I left my fourth brother in Zhuyouke to handle daily chores and let my fifth brother return to Chengdu Baoguang Temple to report. The others began to prepare for departure, but Houling insisted that I take her with me, so I had no choice but to bring her along on the road. We arrived at Erge's residence in Changsha City four days later.

  After resting for half a day, everyone began to carefully study the route north. It was now the period of warlord infighting, with the Anhui clique led by Duan Qirui fighting fiercely against the Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin and Cao Kun in the Central Plains region. Henan happened to be located within this area. We had to find a way around their battlefield to take a safe route; otherwise, we might not even make it to Qinling before being defeated, as there was no way to deal with regular army troops.

  And the Qinling we are going to is in the section where Shaanxi and Henan intersect. Finally, everyone decided to take a big detour, not directly from Hubei, but via Jiangxi and Anhui, and then enter Qinling from the intersection of Anhui and Henan. Although it may take a few more days, safety is the top priority after all.

  After resting for a day in Changsha, I set out on the journey to Qinling with my sixth brother, second brother, third brother and Gou Ling after all necessary items were prepared.

  Due to concerns that Sima Lin would get into trouble alone, everyone was afraid to linger along the way. The whole journey was a rush under the stars and moon, and they had to try their best to avoid official roads, opting for more secluded small paths instead. The luggage bag was filled with things, carried by a single horse, while everyone else traveled lightly; only I wore a large bamboo hat to cover my face, lest I scare passersby and be mistaken for a monster or something, which would be troublesome. Guo Ling still dressed as usual, using her long, flowing decorations to conceal her beautiful face.

  Often, one can see soldiers who have retreated from the front line supporting each other and limping along the road, looking very disheveled. After walking for over a dozen days, they didn't encounter any large troops, and because they had disguised themselves, they actually avoided a lot of trouble for us.

  After more than half a month of traveling, we finally arrived at the border of Henan Province. Since this is a battlefield, we dare not stay here for long. The Chicken Mountain and Xinyang are two days away from the Qinling Mountains mentioned in my second brother's letter, which is the northern branch of the Qinling Mountains at the junction of Henan and Shaanxi provinces.

  The road is getting harder and harder to walk, many places can no longer ride horses, there's no way but to abandon the horse and walk. The dense trees make the bright day like dusk, often seeing giant rocks blocking the unformed roads, forcing us to climb with our hands and feet to pass through. The vast mountains don't know where Sima Lin is now.

  As soon as we entered the deep mountains, we began to carefully search for the hidden marks left by Sima Lin, hoping to get some clues, but in vain.

  I walked for a day, still wandering aimlessly, with a feeling of flying blindly like a headless fly. My body was scratched all over by thorns. Before it even got dark, the mountains were already shrouded in mist and the light had dimmed. I had to use a walking stick to feel my way as I walked, to avoid falling into the thick layer of leaves on the ground. From time to time, I could hear the sound of tigers roaring and monkeys howling - it was now the best time for animals to come out and forage for food.

  "I think it's better to stop and find a spacious place to rest for the night, this way of walking isn't feasible." I said, looking at everyone's exhausted appearance "Tomorrow, pay attention to the hidden marks left by Sima Lin, otherwise we might encounter danger in these vast mountains."

  In his heart, he secretly sighed: "It's really not easy for Sima Lin and others to do this line. They've been stuck in these most dangerous places with the worst living conditions all year round, it's truly a sight that makes me look up to them."

  We found a sparse area with fallen leaves and stopped to prepare for the night. Sweeping away the leaves, my third brother, sixth brother and I, having some experience of outdoor life, naturally started gathering firewood without needing to be told. After starting the fire, everyone ate dry rations by its warmth.

  Not long after sitting down, a difficult problem arose - how to fend off those mosquito-like insects the size of fingers.

  A swarm of mosquitoes kept buzzing around your ears, and with a casual swipe of your hand, you'd catch a big handful. If you weren't careful, they'd bite you, leaving a large red mark that was painful and itchy. It seemed like these insects didn't fear us at all, treating us like ordinary animals, and no matter how hard you swatted at them, they just kept coming back for more, flying towards you with reckless abandon. Poor things, they must have been starving. I couldn't understand why there were so many mosquitoes already, even though it was still quite chilly in late March, and the mountains outside seemed to be a different world altogether.

  Still clever, don't know what kind of plant leaves were picked and burned on the fire to produce thick smoke, those mosquitoes were smoked and fell to the ground. After driving away the mosquitoes, Lao Liu's troubles came, shouting that they hadn't eaten meat for days and people were about to starve to death. Hearing the calls of animals around, he couldn't bear it anymore, staring at me with eyes full of infinite expectation.

  I knew what he meant, so I called Third Brother to accompany him. Old Six drew out his big knife and together with Third Brother they walked straight into the dark night. Watching their silhouettes disappear in the center of the night sky, my heart grew even more worried about Mò Jīn Xiāo Wèi Sīmǎ Lín. I didn't know where he was at that moment, but I hoped nothing unexpected would happen to him.

  Before long, shouts and wails were heard from the nearby woods, mixed with the miserable squeals of wild boars. It was estimated that Liu Di had already succeeded.

  Soon, he saw his third brother emerge from the woods, with his sixth brother following behind him, carrying a wild boar weighing over 100 catties on his shoulder. The wild boar's head was missing half of it, and at this sight, he couldn't help but secretly sympathize with the wild boar, thinking that it was unlucky to have run into someone as powerful as his sixth brother.

  After eating, everyone started to rest by the firelight. I took it upon myself to take the first watch of the night. Without the disturbance of mosquitoes, everyone was able to sleep soundly. Huo Ling leaned against my shoulder, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. Perhaps only being with me is what she truly wants in life right now. In the distance, eyes that glowed green would occasionally appear, but upon seeing the fire, they would retreat into the woods. The wild beasts were afraid of fire.