Chapter 105 – The Mist

Zhan Changfeng stopped in her tracks. Last time, when she had slowly ventured deeper, she hadn’t noticed anything amiss. But this time, rushing in all at once, she clearly felt the place was shrouded in a thin mist. She took a few steps back, estimating the boundary between the mist and the clear scenery, and thought to herself, could this be the ‘Immortal Mist’ spoken of in the village?

That was an old legend: a man went into the mountains to gather herbs, mistakenly entered the Immortal Mist, obtained an immortal herb, and returned home to save his mother who had been paralyzed for years.

There was also another saying: ordinary people cannot enter the Immortal Mist; if they go in, they will become lost within.

However, no version ever clearly stated where the Immortal Mist was located.

Zhan Changfeng didn’t bother pondering whether it really was or not. In any case, she saw a promising Autumn Mountain Ginseng growing not far away and went in. If sold well, it could fetch at least a hundred spirit stones.

And so, she got lost.

The mist wasn’t too thick; she could vaguely make out the shadows of vegetation. But an inexplicable, lingering sense of strangeness clung to her heart.

Zhan Changfeng bent down to touch the grass by her feet, but no matter how she reached, she couldn’t touch it, as if it were always a centimeter away.

When she straightened up, she felt a moment of dizziness, as if all sense of direction had vanished.

Not good, her soul was becoming numb. Zhan Changfeng bit the tip of her tongue to stay alert, knowing full well that the longer she stayed here, the more dangerous it became.

When she had walked towards the Autumn Mountain Ginseng, she had gone in a straight line. Even after realizing something was wrong, she hadn’t turned around. So, the only thing she could be sure of now was that the exit was behind her—if an exit even existed.

Not caring about anything else, she turned and ran. It felt like a road with no end. She never stopped, never looked around, just kept her head down and charged forward along the straight line she had mentally drawn.

In an instant, the moon shone bright and the stars were sparse. Zhan Changfeng leaned against a nearby tree, panting. She looked around; the marker she had made was right by her hand, the thin mist just a few steps away. The place was still the same place, only daytime had turned into deep night.

Zhan Changfeng pondered for a moment, then gave up on the idea of going back in. This place was somewhat interesting, but she wasn’t capable enough.

This fellow sometimes did have self-awareness.

The self-aware someone lit her lantern and headed down the mountain. Halfway down, she saw three torches in the distance. Who would be coming up the mountain at this hour?

That group was thinking the same thing, adding an extra thought: coming up the mountain with a lantern is one thing, but what the hell are you doing with a ghastly green lantern trying to scare people!

A few of them suddenly saw a green lantern floating from the side and their legs went weak. “Wh-what is that?”

The youth leading the group was also startled in his heart, but said aloud, “What’s there to be afraid of? It’s probably just someone playing a prank.”

He called out loudly, “Who’s there? Say something!”

Then they saw that green lantern silently float closer. They couldn’t help but take a step back. The three holding torches were pushed to the front as shields, trembling as they shouted, “Say something!”

A few meters away, the lantern stopped moving. A gentle breeze blew, the wick flickering now and then, illuminating a ghastly green face that appeared and disappeared.

At that moment, a girl screamed. Under that scream, the whole group’s hearts jumped in fright, instantly thrown into chaos. One youth wildly waved his torch, “Go away, go away! My grandfather is the Mountain God Grandma!”

Zhan Changfeng was baffled for a moment. “Is it grandfather or grandma?”

Telling her to come over and then telling her to go away—these kids were really annoying.

Zhan Changfeng turned and left, then heard a hesitant voice from within the chaotic group. “Yi Zhan?”

“Hmm? What are you doing here?” Zhan Changfeng wanted to see more clearly and moved the lantern forward, eliciting another round of screams.

The voice said helplessly, “Could you please put away the lantern first? Even I’m scared looking at it.”

“Oh.” Zhan Changfeng complied readily.

“Yu Sheng, do you know her?” a trembling female voice asked.

“Don’t worry, she’s human.”

Zhan Changfeng had already walked into the light cast by the three torches. Seeing those people glancing at her shadow, she couldn’t help but say, “You scholars are too timid. How are you going to have romantic encounters with female ghosts and fox spirits like in the storybooks?”

“Who wants romantic encounters with female ghosts and fox spirits!” the youth who had been waving his torch most vigorously cried out in despair.

The girl who had screamed then critically added, her voice still trembling, “It’s immoral of you to scare us like that with a green lantern!”

“I’m not that idle.” Who knew she’d run into you? Zhan Changfeng always felt that running into Community School students every time she was on the mountain wasn’t a good sign. Last time she met Cheng Zhigao and the others, and ended up being bitten by a dog and surrounded by a wolf pack. This time…

Looking at these people—the famous talented scholars and ladies of Wangmei Residence—how little do you think of the end-of-month assessment that you’re climbing the mountain in the middle of the night?

“Then why are you carrying a green lantern?!” These frightened people seemed to have a bone to pick with the lantern, as if they wouldn’t feel at ease without getting a clear answer.

Zhan Changfeng could only patiently explain, “There are rules about what lantern to use. Red affairs use red lanterns to welcome auspicious signs; white affairs use white lanterns to send off spirits. Temples hang yellow lanterns to show solemnity and inviolability. Understand?”

“You still haven’t said what the green lantern is for!”

“The green lantern,” Zhan Changfeng said eerily, “is for the underworld patrol. Idle ghosts, make way.”

Everyone felt a chill, as if merely thinking of that green lantern made them shiver uncontrollably. Someone whispered, “S-so… does that mean it repels ghosts?”

Zhan Changfeng neither confirmed nor denied. Yu Sheng had already walked up beside her. “Gathering herbs in the middle of the night?”

She had seen her herb-gathering equipment.

Zhan Changfeng was just about to reply when she heard someone say, as if comforting themselves, “So it’s for repelling ghosts. I’ll light one too when I go out at night from now on.”

To lighten the mood, everyone chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, so that’s the reason.”

“Even if it doesn’t repel ghosts, it’s great for preventing robbery. Who would dare come near?”

Although Zhan Changfeng knew these students were probably just joking around, she still solemnly warned them, “You can’t just light green lanterns randomly. For me, it repels ghosts. For you, it might cost you your life. You’ll bear the consequences yourselves.”

The few of them felt somewhat awkward. Couldn’t this guy talk properly?

Yu Sheng said, “The hour of Zi is almost here. Let’s walk faster.”

Everyone, having been given an out, laughed awkwardly and hurried on with their heads down.

Yu Sheng pulled Zhan Changfeng to the back of the group and continued their earlier conversation.

Zhan Changfeng said, “Do you see me having gathered a single herb? I just went in a circle and it’s already midnight. More importantly, what are you all doing here?”

What she said was both right and not quite right. An ordinary person would understand it as having searched for herbs for a long time without finding any. However, Yu Sheng gave her a strange look. “Did you enter the Immortal Mist?”

Zhan Changfeng was surprised and praised, “How are you so clever?”

“How did I just realize you’re quite the talker?” Yu Sheng shook her head with a smile. Not mentioning the Immortal Mist, she instead said, “There’s a kind of flower with white leaves and red veins called Beaconfire Guide. Legend says it’s the Mountain God’s guiding flower. Obtaining it means gaining the Mountain God’s acknowledgment, allowing one to travel unimpeded throughout Medicine Mountain.”

Unimpeded?

Zhan Changfeng raised an eyebrow, seeing Yu Sheng give her a sly wink.

“This flower grows on the mountainside, usually unseen. It only blooms every night at the hour of Zi, as if painted by a divine hand, bursting forth into a dazzling, passionate sea of flowers upon the earth. However, the sea of flowers lasts only three breaths before withering and vanishing without a trace.”

Yu Sheng said, “The people here regard it as a blessing from the Mountain God. And every year during the Mountain God Festival, they pick it to offer on the shrine.”

“The Mountain God Festival is in three months. We’re here to look for it.”

“Is that so?” Zhan Changfeng felt there was something hidden in her words, which piqued her curiosity. She decided to go along with them to search for it.

“This is the place.” Everyone stopped. “Now we just wait.”

In front of them was a stretch of forest, no different from the forest they were in or the ones they had passed through: straight, tall trunks standing there, with dense layers of leaves and branches above, and occasionally thick, exposed roots coiling and intertwining below. Low-growing vegetation stretched towards the sky, insects whispering within. Sometimes, some black figures would dart past—probably wild rabbits or rodents.

Zhan Changfeng suddenly heard someone’s stomach growl.

She asked Yu Sheng, “Are you sure it’s the hour of Zi?”

“Yes, it could be any moment during the hour of Zi, but usually around the third quarter.”

“Alright, there’s still over half an hour until Zi. I’m going to catch a rabbit first.”

“…”

“Do you want some?”

“…”

The others heard this. “How long does it take to catch a rabbit? You probably won’t even catch it before Zi arrives.”

Zhan Changfeng ignored them and leaped deep into the forest. After a quarter of an hour, she returned with one rabbit and two pheasants. “Do you guys want some?”

The talented scholars and ladies gave reserved assents.

“Wait, go easy on the chili powder.”

“Are you here to gather herbs or have a picnic? Why do you even have marinating sauce?!”

“No, no, I don’t want to eat field mouse. Take it away. Oh heavens, let it go free!”

“Are there any more pheasants? This is so delicious!”

Yu Sheng was puzzled. “I don’t see you eating anything. How do you have all these seasonings?”

“Observation and recording require it.”

“Huh?”

“I say, who noticed it’s already the hour of Zi!”

I didn’t notice before, but there are too few ratings for this book. It seems after two people rate it, it shows one star, and after ten people it’s five stars (actually, I’m not too familiar with it either). The main thing is right now there’s only one star, and some fellow Daoists are suspecting someone is maliciously lowering the score. Rating requires going to the webpage, which is a bit troublesome. Friends with the heart to help, please give it a rating. Tonight’s extra chapter as a token of respect~

(End of Chapter)