He Sui’an’s mind was still in disarray, her thoughts drifting to the recent memories. Distractedly, she agreed.
Unable to make sense of it all for the moment, she decided to temporarily set aside her questions and focus on helping Qi Buyan find the Wan Cao Flower he was looking for.
Most of the residents of Qingzhou climbed the mountain to visit the Xuanmiao Temple halfway up to pray and offer sacrifices. The higher they climbed, the fewer people they encountered.
Upon reaching the summit, He Sui’an felt a sense of liberation, as if the dark clouds had finally dispersed.
The mountaintop was expansive.
Ancient trees towered, lush and verdant.
Finding a single Wan Cao Flower amidst the vastness of the mountaintop was no easy task. She felt the weight of the responsibility.
It took them about an hour to climb up. The day was still young, and the Wan Cao Flower could only be found at night. He Sui’an found a spot to sit down.
Qi Buyan, seemingly tireless, breathed steadily and did not take a moment to rest. He stood at the jagged edge of the cliff at the summit.
There were no trees or flowers along the edge of the cliff. The wind blew from all directions.
He looked down at the bottomless abyss.
A great eagle flew across the sky, soaring freely into the boundless expanse.
Rubbing her ankle, He Sui’an heard the eagle’s call. She looked up, first at the eagle in the sky, then at Qi Buyan.
Standing at the cliff’s edge, his clothes fluttered in the wind, blending with the mountains. It seemed as if, in the next moment, he could leap and vanish from the world.
She stood up and walked to the cliff’s edge, standing shoulder to shoulder with Qi Buyan.
“You…”
He Sui’an hesitated.
Qi Buyan turned to look at her upon hearing her voice, “What do you want to ask?”
“It might be presumptuous, but can I ask you something?” He Sui’an couldn’t help but want to verify the memories in her mind, “What is your mother’s name?”
The mountain wind howled, whistling past her ears. He Sui’an held her breath, fearing she might not hear Qi Buyan’s response.
He did not answer immediately.
She waited.
“I’m not quite sure,” he finally replied. “It might be Qi Shu, because I only ever heard someone call her Ah Shu, and I took her surname.”
As she suspected, it matched the memories in her mind. He Sui’an couldn’t understand why she had memories of these people but chose not to act rashly. She suddenly wanted to uncover all the truths.
The silver ornament in Qi Buyan’s hair reflected the intense sunlight.
“Why did you suddenly ask that?”
He questioned her back.
He Sui’an twisted the hem of her clothes, not wanting to lie: “I want to understand something, but I don’t really want to say it now. Once I figure it out, I’ll tell you, okay?”
The young man, broad-shouldered and tall, stood in front of her, his shadow completely enveloping her as if he was encompassing her within himself.
Qi Buyan bent down, and He Sui’an looked up.
Their eyes met in midair.
He tilted his head slightly and smiled with his eyes, “Of course.”
He Sui’an’s tense body relaxed, and she pulled Qi Buyan’s hand, retreating a few steps from the cliff’s edge to let him sit and rest.
Qi Buyan’s insects and snakes seemed to feel right at home on Dengyun Mountain, scampering excitedly over the terrain. These were all highly poisonous Gu creatures, making her heart race with fear.
However, they wouldn’t harm her.
They belonged to Qi Buyan.
Unless ordered by Qi Buyan, they rarely acted on their own, but there were always exceptions.
The black snake was one such exception. It slithered toward He Sui’an, who was sitting on the ground, flicking its tongue to lick her hand hanging by her side.
It wasn’t trying to eat her, nor bite her. The Gu creatures shared a connection with their master, and the black snake knew its master felt differently about her, so it wanted to please her.
And the black snake’s way of showing affection was licking.
He Sui’an sprang up like a spring when the snake’s tongue touched her hand.
The black snake was startled by He Sui’an and quickly turned to slither away, only to be caught by its tail by Qi Buyan. Grabbing a snake by its tail was inadvisable, but the black snake dared not resist.
The red snake, lazily basking in the sun, turned its flat head to look at them. Although it also wanted to be close to He Sui’an, it wouldn’t lick her.
The red snake behaved somewhat haughtily.
Well, the main reason was that its saliva was toxic, and contact with skin would cause it to ulcerate.
The black snake was frightened by He Sui’an, and He Sui’an was equally startled by it. Sitting on the ground, she was caught off guard by the snake’s lick. For someone who was still afraid of snakes, her reaction was understandably intense.
Qi Buyan, holding the black snake, walked to the edge of the cliff, ready to throw it down.
He Sui’an, in a sudden impulse, followed him.
Even more astonishing, she raised her hand and caught the falling black snake. The snake curled up into a ball, obediently lying in her not-so-large palm, timidly glancing at Qi Buyan.
The snake’s body was icy cold, sending shivers down He Sui’an’s spine.
She wanted to let go, but feared the black snake would die.
She could only hold it stiffly.
Qi Buyan glanced at the black snake in He Sui’an’s palm. “You’re not afraid of snakes anymore?”
He Sui’an spoke her mind, “I’m still afraid, but I don’t want it to die. It didn’t hurt me.” In a way, these insects and snakes had strengthened her mental resilience.
He laughed softly, “It seems you’re finally starting to accept them.”
Qi Buyan extended his hand toward the black snake.
The black snake quickly left He Sui’an’s palm, climbing back onto him. The red snake, not far away, also slithered over, climbing up to his shoulder via his boot.
“Do you want to touch it?” Qi Buyan referred to the “neglected” red snake.
He Sui’an wanted to refuse.
The red snake seemed to be staring at her.
The refusal reached her lips but was swallowed back down. She slowly moved closer, her fingertips gently touching the red snake’s head, stroking it twice as a friendly greeting.
The red snake, enjoying the touch, rubbed its head against He Sui’an’s hand. Qi Buyan then took the red snake off and placed it back on the ground.
He Sui’an’s heart raced.
It was her first time touching a snake.
Something she had never dared to imagine before, He Sui’an felt she was gradually, step by step, entering Qi Buyan’s world.
A world once filled only with overwhelming insects, snakes, and venomous creatures that repelled others.
The red snake, having been stroked by He Sui’an, slithered away.
It lay back on the rocks, basking in the sun. Brightly colored and intricately patterned, to those who understood snakes, the red snake was undoubtedly a beautiful yet highly venomous creature.
He Sui’an watched the insects and snakes from a distance, her palm still lingering with the cold touch of the snake, reminding her that she had indeed touched Qi Buyan’s snake.
Qi Buyan asked, “How did it feel?”
He Sui’an rubbed her fingertips, “Not as terrifying as I imagined.”
“Have you been raising them since you were young?” He Sui’an wanted to pass the time by talking while they waited for nightfall on the mountaintop. Besides, she was genuinely curious.
“I’ve raised the black snake, the red snake, and the silver snake since I was young.”
He sat down with his knees bent, “The other Gu creatures were cultivated in recent years. Some died, some survived. I only brought a small portion with me this time.”
He Sui’an looked at each of the Gu insects.
Most of them were not pleasant to look at.
Some were even downright ugly and grotesque. The snakes were relatively more acceptable to the eye. She glanced at the purple spider crawling into a crevice and shivered involuntarily.
It wasn’t out of disgust, but a purely physiological reaction.
He Sui’an sat on the mountaintop waiting for nightfall, surrounded by the crawling Gu insects. She ignored them, instead looking up at the slowly changing sky.
The sunset cast a golden glow, and the sky was filled with radiant colors.
The scattered light painted their faces red.
Qi Buyan leaned against a rock, one leg bent and the other naturally extended, his hand resting casually on his raised knee. His indigo robe draped on the ground, illuminated beautifully by the setting sun.
He wasn’t afraid of the cold or the heat.
His body temperature was usually higher than normal, and because his body was somewhat unique, Qi Buyan preferred warmer weather.
As soon as it got dark, He Sui’an started searching the flowers and plants on the mountaintop for the Wan Cao Flower. Then she noticed that Qi Buyan’s Gu were also searching. She was stunned; Gu could help find things?
He Sui’an took a candle from her bundle and lit it with a fire striker for illumination.
The candle flame flickered in the wind.
She walked forward.
Qi Buyan didn’t need a candle. He had long been accustomed to walking in the mountains at night. Even though every mountain was different, there were commonalities as long as it was a mountain.
As she searched, He Sui’an did not find the Wan Cao Flower. Instead, she encountered a person.
It was the man they had met at the foot of the mountain, a villager from Hongye Village. He was hugging his knees, squatting anxiously under a big tree.
At first, He Sui’an didn’t see the man; he saw her first. He had thought they would heed the warning and not climb the mountain at night. To his surprise, they not only climbed but fearlessly roamed around.
He Sui’an, holding the candle, was a few steps away from him, her eyes wide with surprise.
“It’s you?”
The man nodded in fear.
His father had fallen ill today. The man had come up the mountain to gather herbs, intent on finding a good medicinal plant. He became so engrossed in his task that he lost track of time. When he looked up and realized it was dark, he didn’t dare move.
The villagers of Hongye Village believed in the words of Xuanmiao Temple and in the existence of a so-called mountain god on Dengyun Mountain. He didn’t want to die because he was on the mountain at night, so he hid under the big tree at the mountaintop in fear.
Seeing He Sui’an and Qi Buyan also on the mountain, the man didn’t know whether to feel happy or worried.
Happy, because he had company.
The man was worried that the three of them might die together.
He trusted his intuition and sensed that these two people were different from the Qingzhou residents who regarded them as monsters. He did not hide anything from them and explained why he had come up the mountain.
After learning the man’s reason, He Sui’an understood. No wonder he had tried to stop them from climbing the mountain last night, yet tonight he was alone on the mountain—he had been so focused on finding medicinal herbs that he lost track of time.
Qi Buyan paid no attention to whether the man was there or not, concentrating solely on finding the Wan Cao Flower.
The man watched them.
He hesitantly started a conversation.
“What are you looking for? I’ve lived at the foot of Dengyun Mountain for over thirty years. Maybe I can help you find what you need.”
Understanding Qi Buyan’s personality, He Sui’an replied, “No, thank you.”
The man followed them step by step. “Aren’t you afraid that the mountain god will punish those who climb and stay on the mountain overnight?”
Qi Buyan’s hand brushed through the dew-laden flowers and grass, but he remained silent.
He Sui’an bent down, examining the plants.
She understood the man’s panic. “When did the legend of the mountain god start spreading, and don’t you find it strange? How are the people who stay on the mountain overnight different from the Daoists of Xuanmiao Temple?”
“The mountain god forbids anyone from staying on Dengyun Mountain at night, but the Daoists of Xuanmiao Temple are also human. Why are they always safe?” He Sui’an had been curious about this for a long time.
The man’s chapped lips trembled.
He firmly believed, “The Daoists of Xuanmiao Temple are cultivators, favored by the mountain god.”
He Sui’an paused her search. “Is that what you all believe?”
The man said, “Yes.”
