When he reached the entrance to the Earth Den, Yu Ziqing thought for a moment, then turned around and came back. He sat opposite Old Yang, carefully weighing his words.
On the very first day he met Old Yang, Yu Ziqing had known that Old Yang claiming to be nothing more than an ordinary schoolteacher was complete bullshit. When you ventured out into the world, who didn't wear a disguise?
Old Yang had indeed taught him many things, from the official language to written characters, and then all kinds of knowledge.
Given the circumstances of this world, how could someone with such breadth of knowledge and learning be nothing more than an ordinary schoolteacher?
Trust between people was sometimes as solid as a rock, and sometimes as fragile as paper. When everyone could trust one another, digging into someone else's hidden secrets—secrets they clearly didn't want to talk about—was simply asking for trouble.
Yu Ziqing knew exactly where he stood. So ever since Old Yang had refused to give his name at the beginning and had fobbed him off, he had never asked again, always respectfully addressing him as Old Sir.
If he wasn't even willing to give his name, then either his identity was sensitive, and revealing it would get him killed quickly...
Or he had too many enemies, and revealing it would get him killed quickly.
But now, the more Yu Ziqing discovered about Old Yang's store of knowledge, the more absurdly broad his fields of expertise seemed.
Was a method for breaking through part of the Livestock Transformation evil art something an ordinary person could know?
Was a method for making Spirit-Confusing Medicine from Jinlan Mushrooms something an ordinary person could know?
And when that was combined with the fact that Old Yang refused to casually make up a false name, refused to lie about this matter, and carried an indistinct air of pride, Yu Ziqing arrived at a guess.
His identity was sensitive, and he had many enemies. Most likely, he had been someone from Great Qian, with a high status, though no one knew how he had ended up in this state.
Yu Ziqing even had a bold hypothesis: Old Yang had deliberately allowed himself to be captured, using it as a way to evade his enemies.
Then he had encountered Yu Ziqing, a transmigrator, and taught him writing, language, and knowledge.
If he didn't possess any special abilities, then Old Yang was the standard unfortunate old man who came with the transmigrator's personal grandpa package.
Of course, all of that was merely Yu Ziqing's wild speculation. Old Yang didn't want to talk, and he wouldn't ask about it. What he wanted to consult him about now was something else.
"Old Yang, I think I might need your guidance."
Old Yang raised his eyelids and spoke bluntly.
"Don't worry. I've met the Village Chief here. As long as you don't break the rules he set, the people here won't harm you.
"At the same time, remember what I told you. Aside from methods of nourishing the body, don't practice any other cultivation methods."
"Old Yang, when did you start making people guess riddles? Knowing only the what but not the why can lead to misjudgments sometimes. Wouldn't it be better to just spell things out?"
Old Yang lifted his head and glanced outside. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"A secret ceases to be a secret the instant it is spoken. Some things are equivalent to exposing yourself the moment they leave your mouth. There are even certain words, certain names, and certain statements that seem harmless, yet the instant they are spoken, they may become markers that allow someone to lock onto you.
"Out there, I wouldn't even say these things.
"After arriving at Jinlan Mine, there are some things I finally dare to say. This world is far more dangerous than you imagine, and true experts are far more terrifying than you imagine.
"There is Strange Power permeating the heavens and earth throughout the mine. It creates an extremely powerful obstruction—an obstruction that affects both the outside and the inside.
"So cultivating Qi Refining here is tantamount to courting death. For a Qi Refining cultivator, once they enter this place, absorbing Strange Power is the same as destroying their own foundation.
"Under normal circumstances, no one from outside would come to Jinlan Mine either. But things might be different now.
"A few months ago, Great Sun Descends in the northwest of the Wasteland, causing a disaster far beyond anyone's imagination. Judging by the timing, the first wave of people who came to the Wasteland should have arrived, and the second wave, with all the various forces gathering, should be about due as well.
"Eat more while you're here. Restore your health, then hurry south."
Yu Ziqing was somewhat surprised. He had actually only wanted to ask about some matters concerning Jinlan Mine, just so he could be prepared.
Who would have thought Old Yang would stop pretending and lay all his cards on the table?
He was hiding from someone.
What kind of behavior is that? I only casually said you shouldn't talk in riddles. You really stopped? That takes all the fun out of it.
Two hours later, Yu Ziqing walked out of the Earth Den, a trace of bewilderment still in his eyes.
Old Yang had rarely spoken so much. He had explained what to do after leaving, how to head south, where to go, and so on. Yet the more Yu Ziqing listened, the more it felt as if Old Yang were arranging his affairs before death, afraid he wouldn't have another chance to say them later.
Judging by the time, it was almost time to prepare dinner. Yu Ziqing went to the underground Mushroom Forest and laboriously swung his ax, chopping Jinlan Mushrooms. Along the way, he used a small knife to scrape off some raw materials for Spirit-Confusing Medicine.
If he had nothing to do that evening, he could try refining medicine first.
After all the other aunties from the kitchen had finished gathering their harvest briskly and left the cavern, Yu Ziqing was still chopping.
Deep in the Mushroom Forest, a Hungry Ghost as emaciated as a dried corpse quietly poked half its head out from behind a Jinlan Mushroom. It peeked over timidly, then ducked back. After a while, it peeked out again.
Yu Ziqing sensed it and glanced over. He ignored it and continued chopping.
After finally hacking through one, he discovered that there was no way he could carry the entire thing back by himself.
In the end, he had no choice but to shamelessly return and find one of the aunties. Only after promising to teach her the secret to making soup did she carry the Jinlan Mushroom back.
The next day, when Yu Ziqing entered the cavern again, he discovered that beside the Jinlan Mushroom he had chopped the day before, another freshly chopped one had already been placed there. Judging from the cut, it had clearly been felled only moments ago.
Yu Ziqing was puzzled. The village had a clear division of labor, and no one ever sat idle. Getting someone else to help with your work was no easy matter. No one would kindly do your job for you, and besides, no one here was willing to let others do their work for them.
Having work of their own was extremely important to the people here.
He looked around, then turned his gaze toward the depths of the Mushroom Forest. The Hungry Ghost was still poking half its head out, watching from afar with a trace of fear in its eyes.
"You did this?"
The moment he spoke, the Hungry Ghost seemed frightened. It fled into the darkness and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Yu Ziqing was rendered speechless, then laughed.
This fellow had nearly been butchered last time. Instead of keeping far away, it had actually come to help him with his work.
What was it thinking?
This couldn't be explained by the fact that it still possessed some rationality. It definitely still had a sense of self—and it was rather clever, too.
Yu Ziqing didn't bother with it. As long as it didn't come looking for trouble, anything was fine.
Life in the village was peaceful, and the work went smoothly. Yu Ziqing only needed to prepare breakfast and dinner every day together with the kitchen aunties. After that, he didn't need to worry about anything else.
With enough food and drink every day, his body—which had suffered severe damage from being hungry for so long—slowly began to recover.
On top of that, he had turned Jinlan Mushrooms into all kinds of dishes. In just a few short days, he had become the kitchen's main chef. He didn't even need to do chores like scrubbing pots and washing dishes.
After teaching them quite a few recipes, Yu Ziqing began pondering how to press oil from Jinlan Mushrooms...
If he wanted to pass off some of the heavy labor he genuinely couldn't handle, there were plenty of ways to get those incredibly strong and eager-to-learn aunties to help.
When dinner came, the routine chopping still had to continue. Yu Ziqing looked at the tiny bit of thick soup remaining in the pot. After hesitating for a moment, he took a wooden bowl, ladled the soup into it, and carried it down into the underground Mushroom Forest.
When he reached the Mushroom Forest, just as expected, he could see from far away that the Jinlan Mushroom in the area he was heading toward was slowly toppling over.
That emaciated Hungry Ghost fled in panic toward the darkness deeper inside.
"Don't run just yet," Yu Ziqing called from afar.
The Hungry Ghost stopped, then looked back. Fear immediately surfaced in its eyes. It hurriedly climbed onto the stone wall and hid behind a protruding rock. It blended into the surrounding environment, seeming to vanish in an instant.
Yu Ziqing shook his head. He was almost used to this by now.
Every day, this Hungry Ghost carefully timed it so that it would have chopped down a Jinlan Mushroom just before Yu Ziqing arrived.
Even after Yu Ziqing told it that it didn't need to help, the Hungry Ghost ignored him and stubbornly insisted on doing it. Every time it finished chopping, it hid far away.
Yu Ziqing walked to the depths of the Mushroom Forest, placed the wooden bowl containing a little thick soup on the ground, and spoke to himself.
"I don't like always being helped by others for no reason. If you're willing to help, that's your business. I won't feel like I owe you anything because of it.
"This is only me showing a little kindness. It has absolutely nothing to do with you helping me. You must understand that.
"There's some thick soup here. It's for you.
"Remember to take it away once there's no one around."
Seeing no sign of the Hungry Ghost, Yu Ziqing didn't force the matter. He simply put down the wooden bowl, then went to call someone over to carry away the Jinlan Mushroom.
After the Mushroom Forest fell silent again, with only faint points of light illuminating a small part of the area, a Hungry Ghost suddenly appeared on the stone wall nearby.
It carefully climbed down the wall and circled the wooden bowl several times. Desire filled its eyes, but in the blink of an eye, that desire turned into pain.
It opened its enormous mouth and wailed soundlessly. At that moment, one could see that the depths of its mouth were unlike the structure of a human body. Its throat was completely seamless, like a solid sheet of iron, sealed shut.
It had no way to eat anything at all. It couldn't even drink a drop of water.
The Hungry Ghost circled the wooden bowl several times, yet it understood that Yu Ziqing had meant well. Perhaps Yu Ziqing simply didn't know that it couldn't eat or drink...
It looked at the wooden bowl and hesitated for a moment before picking it up, intending to carry it back. Even if it was merely an ordinary gift, to him, it still held extraordinary meaning.
However, the instant he picked up the wooden bowl, he was struck as if by lightning. He froze in place, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.
His hands trembled slightly. When he saw the thick soup in the bowl beginning to tremble as well, he hurriedly set the bowl down, afraid of spilling it.
He knelt on the ground and, with trembling hands, touched the wooden bowl again. The next moment, his eyes began to tremble. He wanted to cry, but he no longer had any tears.
After a moment, he finally calmed down. Only then did he reverently lift the wooden bowl and open his mouth wide.
Deep in his sealed-shut throat, a whirlpool-shaped pattern had appeared. At the center of the sunken pattern was a tiny hole no larger than a pinprick.
He lifted the wooden bowl, stuck out his tongue, and cautiously touched it to a few drops of thick soup before raising his head and closing his eyes.
He drank it.
It was like sweet rain.
Before you continue