Translator: Scrya
Editor: Faith
Even after he had perfectly restored, on paper, the section on the spiritual pulse around the stone tower, the question that had been baffling Ning Yu was still unsolved.
From the diagram, the spiritual pulse around the stone tower was completely without anomalies. It was normal to the point where it couldn’t be anymore normal. However, if that was the case, then the strange movements of the compass that afternoon couldn’t be explained at all.
Ning Yu circled back and forth as he looked at the array diagram. Even after he had gotten himself dizzy and his eyes were seeing stars, he still couldn’t find any clues.
The moment he saw that Ning Yu was wobbling a little, Mo Chen couldn’t be bothered to inquire about the issue anymore. He stepped forward to hold Ning Yu, brought him to the chair at the side and sat him down. He even had to be careful of their feet, ensuring that they weren’t going to step on the papers that had only just been neatly arranged.
Ning Yu’s brows were still tightly furrowed while sitting down, muttering, “This doesn’t make sense…”
“What doesn’t make sense?”
“Haah, so many strange things happen on your mountain. This isn’t even the only one that doesn’t make sense.” Ning Yu put down the compass in his hand, and then rubbed the acupuncture point at the back of his ear a few times with his finger. After the headache had passed, he said, “Everytime I come to Returnflow Mountain, I always suspect that the twenty years I spent learning and honing my craft have all gone to waste. I feel like everything I’ve learnt is fake, as nothing actually makes sense when I’m on Returnflow Mountain.”
Mo Chen allowed Ning Yu to vent as he poured a cup of tea and passed it to Ning Yu.
“Let’s talk about the matter today. This afternoon, I was at the stone tower…”
Mo Chen’s expression stayed unchanged, and he merely leaned forward a little. “What happened to the stone tower?”
“Nothing happened to the stone tower, but my compass suddenly moved six positions over there, and the needle shook even more intensely than the time I encountered that evil corpse that slaughtered an entire village. Back then, I was so scared, my body was covered in cold sweat. However, when I raised my head, I didn’t see anything at all.”
Mo Chen frowned. “Really?”
“Haah, I feel that this can’t possibly be true either. If it’s anywhere else, even if the compass circulates tens of times or just go haywire, I won’t find it strange. There’s all sorts of things in deserted cities and the wilderness after all. However, your mountain is different. Forget about demons and ghosts, this great mountain-protecting array is the only one in the world where even a bird can’t get through. How could there possibly be any wild demons or lost ghosts? There’s nothing wrong with the spiritual pulse either, so it couldn’t have been due to a scattering of spiritual energy…”
Ning Yu was really frustrated.
Just as he had told Mo Chen, everything that he had learnt, seen, acknowledged as correct, and believed to be natural, had all been toppled the moment he came to Returnflow Mountain. Not even the slightest logical explanation could be found. After wrecking his brain, he still could not arrive at an answer, and to Ning Yu, this was more unbearable than even death.
It was as if the common sense that he had nurtured since young was that water would always flow downwards, but the place he had suddenly arrived in, had water that flowed upwards. Not to mention he couldn’t figure out the reason why! Wouldn’t you say that this was incredibly frustrating?
Mo Chen slowly sighed.
This matter…
This matter had proven his initial thoughts.
When Little Junior Brother saw Ning Yu in his dream, Ning Yu’s compass had sensed him at the same time.
This dream was definitely not just a dream.
However, if it wasn’t a dream, what could it be?
Mo Chen had read a considerable number of books, visited several places, and heard many strange rumors. Among these rumors and stories, some were merely falsehoods while some were actually true. He had once heard a story of someone absentmindedly travelling to another place in his dream. According to the rumor, a scholar had travelled to a prefectural city several hundreds of kilometers away in his dream, and had even encountered the daughter of a luxurious household there. After that, the two experienced great tribulations and finally became husband and wife. However, after Mo Chen went to inquire more about it, he found out it was nothing but the plot of a stage show, and people were just telling it as a story. Nothing had actually happened.
There was also another story. It was said there was a small village at the foot of a mountain. A person in that village had a dream one night where he saw the mountain collapse and strong waters flood the entire village. When he woke up and told his family, none of them believed him. When he told the villagers, they even beat him into pulp. Not a single person believed him. However, a few days later, there was a large downpour. The mountain indeed collapsed, and large waters flooded the entire village, killing everyone there.
This incident came out of nowhere, and there wasn’t anything that could prove its validity. Where was this village? Even if the village had a name, it would be impossible to find it. After all, the mountain had collapsed and the village had been buried and flooded, where would they find it? Want to look for other people to inquire about it? The story had already mentioned that everyone in the village had died, so how could there possibly be anyone alive to ask?
Speaking of which, since the villagers were all dead and the village was gone, just how did this incident spread? Just the thought of it sounded absurd.
So at present, regarding Little Junior Brother’s matter, Mo Chen really could not think of a single clue.
“In the past, have you ever encountered such strange cases where your compass reacted, but you couldn’t see anyone with your own eyes?”
Ning Yu did not know that Mo Chen was trying to gather information, as there was nothing he wouldn’t tell Mo Chen. Furthermore, he was hoping that Mo Chen would talk more about the array.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I have? There have been many such cases, and there are even times I would encounter them several times a day. Sometimes the compass might be inaccurate because of magnetic rocks beneath the earth, which causes the needle to turn like crazy. Sometimes there are other reasons, such as demons and ghosts. However, those are rarely seen. They’re not something you would encounter wherever you go. It’s just that on your mountain, it’s very rare for the compass to make such erratic movements. This is the first time it ever happened. I say, was there really nothing strange that happened on your mountain recently?”
“There really hasn’t been any strange incidents.”
When he replied, Mo Chen could not help but feel a little guilty.
After all, Ning Yu was a rather honest person, and Mo Chen was not really being a friend by lying.
However, when comparing Ning Yu and Little Junior Brother, naturally his Little Junior Brother’s safety was more important. It wasn’t that he couldn’t trust Ning Yu, rather, this matter was simply too strange…
“Oh right, I heard from Master that the graves at your rear mountain have been wrecked? How’s things going on that end?”
When this was brought up, Mo Chen’s expression turned stern. “Master is still investigating. The last time he sent a reply, the letter said that he had already found a large portion of the missing bones…”
However, the corpse of Little Junior Brother’s uncle had yet to be found.
“Don’t worry, I will help you do some divinations on that later.” Ning Yu said, “Your Little Junior Brother’s pendant sure has gone missing in a strange way. I can’t guarantee that I can find it either. However, regarding these missing bones, I can still help a little.”
Mo Chen stood up and bowed with his fists cupped. “Then I will have to thank Brother Ning in my master’s stead for your helping hand.”
Ning Yu hurriedly stood up and returned the bow. “Haah, I don’t have much to do anyway. You don’t have to act so seriously, you’re making it awkward for me.”
After bidding Ning Yu farewell, a light rain gradually fell while Mo Chen was on the way back. The spring rain formed thick droplets, and when they landed on his body and face, all he felt was a slight cooling sensation.
When he was still far from his own compound’s entrance, Mo Chen could already see the candle light in his compound.
Remembering that someone was waiting for his return, this feeling felt a little foreign, as a slight warmth began to brew in his heart.
Mo Chen could not help but increase his pace.
Xiaodong was currently peeking out of the window. Hearing the sounds of footsteps, he hurriedly raised an umbrella and welcomed Mo Chen back.
“Didn’t I tell you to rest first?” Mo Chen took the umbrella and held it over him. Xiaodong was currently really happy, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. All he could do was give Mo Chen a smile.