The Distant Fengling Ferry

Distant Fengling Ferry

That familiar feeling of déjà vu lingered in my heart and would not fade for a long while. I hurriedly called, "Senior Skeleton, put me down!" Skeleton Man understood me and set me down, his expression filled with delight.

Curious, I asked, "When you said just now that you'd teach me gu arts, was that true? Do you know gu arts too?"

Skeleton Man nodded hard, the bones all over his body clacking.

I thought to myself, Skeleton Man knows too few words. Even if he knows gu arts, he might not be able to pass them on to me. But for many things, besides teaching by words, there is also teaching by example. Even if Skeleton Man can't speak, he can still give me pointers and help me mature.

Delighted, I said, "Then from now on, we'll live in this cave. I have some gu worms here. Help me take a look at them. If they can be refined, teach me how."

After I felt that Skeleton Man was extremely familiar, I no longer had any guard up against him, so I decided to ask him for guidance at the first opportunity.

When Skeleton Man touched the Earth Egg, he kept nodding. Then he saw the Black and White Worms and also clucked his approval. Looking at the Green Nest-Head in the bamboo tube, he let out a cry of praise: "Good!" The clacking of bones kept ringing from all over his body.

Finally, his attention landed on the Yellow Jar that held the Three-Corpse Snake Gu. With one hard fling, he threw the Yellow Jar several meters away. Fortunately, it landed on the dirt; the jar only rolled a few times and did not shatter.

I hurried over, picked up the Yellow Jar, and said, "This is the Three-Corpse Snake Gu my master raised for me. It has drunk blood from my palm. Why did you throw it away? This is the Dong People's number one gu worm..."

I thought to myself, looks like Skeleton Man's gu arts aren't that brilliant after all. He doesn't even know the Three-Corpse Snake Gu, and without a word he just threw the jar away.

Skeleton Man kept shaking his head. Pointing at the Yellow Jar, the corpse qi all over his body suddenly swelled, and he gave a low, muffled sound: "Not good."

Afraid that Skeleton Man would smash the Yellow Jar, I said sternly, "This is the gu worm my master raised for me. It doesn't matter if you think it's bad, but you can't smash it. If it breaks, then you don't get to stay by my side."

Skeleton Man let out a long sigh, lowered his head, and stopped crying out.

The two of us had fallen into an unpleasant mood.

I said, "It's getting late. I'm going to sleep. If you like staying in the cave, then stay in the cave. If you go out to play, don't go to Camellia Village. Watch out for my martial uncle. He specializes in dealing with zombies."

I returned to the cave and wrapped myself in the quilt again. Skeleton Man followed me and stood guard at the side, his body ramrod straight, unmoving. Afraid he would throw away the Three-Corpse Snake Gu in the middle of the night, I hugged the Yellow Jar as I fell asleep.

When the sky was about to brighten but had not yet brightened, I suddenly heard the sounds of fighting, thud after thud, as if something were being smashed onto the ground. I hurriedly turned over and ran outside. The morning wind was piercing. Skeleton Man was holding Walking Corpse high in the air.

Walking Corpse's four limbs flailed as he gave strange cries. Walking Corpse had left Qingya Village together with us, but later, because we traveled during the day and Walking Corpse feared sunlight, we left him in a cave and let him return to Camellia Village on his own after dark. Only now, at this hour, had he made it back to Camellia Village.

I hurriedly shouted, "Skeleton Man, he's my friend! Don't smash his bones to pieces!"

Skeleton Man loosened both hands, and Walking Corpse dropped straight to the ground. He cooed, his eyes looking at Skeleton Man with a bit of panic. Skeleton Man glared hard. Walking Corpse didn't dare say a word.

I laughed and said, "Brother Walking Corpse, you're no match for him. Hurry into the cave and hide. Don't make him angry."

Walking Corpse had suffered a loss and been taken in, so naturally he didn't dare bristle. He hopped into the cave, the talisman paper on his forehead fluttering, his body stiff and motionless. His eyes closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Skeleton Man now had an extra tree branch in his hand. He cried at me twice, swung it, and charged at me with his gaze fixed on me. I was caught off guard and took a blow to the back. It hurt like hell.

Skeleton Man cried again, and the wooden stick came swinging at me once more. I hurriedly ran forward. Skeleton Man's wooden stick followed right behind me; if my speed slowed even a little, the stick landed solidly on my back.

As I ran forward, I shouted, "Brother Skeleton, are you forcing me to run and train my body? The sky isn't even really light yet. Do we need to come out and run this early?"

With a bang, the wooden stick struck my back, the pain so hot it nearly killed me. I could only grit my teeth and run forward. The mountain path was rugged and uneven, and with the dim gray light on top of that, I nearly fell to the ground several times.

Skeleton Man hit harder and harder, giving me no chance to catch my breath. I took dozens of blows and finally ran up into the mountains, gasping in great mouthfuls, my whole body burning hot, not feeling the cold in the slightest.

Skeleton Man held the wooden stick and paced back and forth. When I had rested enough, the stick in his hand came swinging at me again.

"Brother Skeleton, again?" I cried out, and without another word, I jumped up and ran, following the mountain ridge all the way down in one breath. By the time I returned to the front of the cave, my body had taken another dozen or so blows.

Only then did Skeleton Man cry out twice in satisfaction. Without speaking to me, he strode toward the cave, stopped at the entrance, and used his sharp claws to carve three words into the stone at the mouth of the cave: Corpse Man Cave.

My heart leaped with amusement. This cave had originally been where Ma Huoxin kept zombies. Naming it "Corpse Man Cave" was actually quite fitting.

Skeleton Man strode into the cave, stood beside the stone wall, closed his eyes, and fell asleep. The morning sun rose from the east, and dawn light shone over the whole earth. It seemed that no matter how powerful a zombie was, once the sun came out, it still had to hide inside a cave.

I rested for quite a while before my whole body fully recovered. I had never run for my life like I had just now, and my shoulders still ached faintly.

I went to the riverbank to fetch clean water, washed the pot, and cooked rice, dealing with breakfast first. Then I chopped some trees and brought them back to make a door and put together some simple furniture. I was still short a few tools and needed to borrow them from Ma Erlei.

A little after nine in the morning, Ma Erlei came to find me, carrying a sack of things on his back. They were all things useful for daily life.

I had Ma Erlei sit down, took his pulse, and sensed with force, but I didn't discover any trace of the Five-Colored Gu worm.

Startled, I said, "Erlei, where's the Five-Colored Gu in your body? How did it suddenly disappear?"

Ma Erlei scratched his head and said, "Brother Kunlun, last night I suddenly choked badly and started coughing. Who would've thought that after coughing for a few minutes, I spat out a mouthful of black blood? In the black blood, there was actually half of a five-colored worm. I guessed the Five-Colored Gu had already died."

I had seen the way Ma Erlei was tormented by the Five-Colored Gu, yet now the Five-Colored Gu was gone. Hearing him say this, I quickly confirmed it again, but in the end I still found no Five-Colored Gu.

I said, "Erlei, it should be gone." I paused, blinked mysteriously, and said, "I'll take you into the cave to see something. You have to be a little braver."

Seeing me acting so mysterious, Ma Erlei also grew curious and immediately said, "Brother Kunlun, I, Erlei, am brave. Don't worry, I definitely won't be scared."

I led Ma Erlei into the cave.

When Ma Erlei saw Skeleton Man, whose whole body was a skeleton frame, he still plopped down on the ground, his voice trembling as he said, "What is this thing... No flesh, only bone and skin. Is it a zombie? Or is it a skeleton frame you dug out of a grave..."

Skeleton Man suddenly opened his eyes and shook both hands, his joints making clacking sounds. Ma Erlei hurriedly hid behind me.

I burst out laughing and said, "Erlei, no need to be scared. He's my friend. He followed me the whole way and only arrived at Camellia Village last night."

Cold sweat poured from Ma Erlei's forehead. He let out a long breath and said, "So he's Brother Kunlun's friend. My name is Ma Erlei. Greetings, Senior."

Skeleton Man glanced at Ma Erlei, leaped two steps forward, reached out, and grabbed Ma Erlei by the collar. Ma Erlei was so frightened he didn't dare move, looking at me pitifully.

Skeleton Man slapped Ma Erlei hard on the back. Ma Erlei coughed and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. In the blood, half of a Five-Colored Gu wriggled its body. Skeleton Man stretched out one foot and crushed the half Five-Colored Gu to death.

Skeleton Man let go of Ma Erlei, walked two steps, leaned against the stone wall, and fell asleep again.

Ma Erlei and I both started in surprise. We had thought there was no Five-Colored Gu left inside Ma Erlei, but who would have thought Skeleton Man would slap out another half with one blow?

"Half last night, and half now. Erlei, the Five-Colored Gu in your body is finished for good," I cried out in delight.

Ma Erlei dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed to Skeleton Man, shouting with the utmost respect, "Lord Skeleton, thank you for intervening and saving me. Otherwise, who knows how much longer I'd have been tormented by half a Five-Colored Gu."

Skeleton Man ignored Ma Erlei, shut his eyes tightly, and fell asleep.

Amid my shock, a trace of confusion also rose in my heart. Skeleton Man had seen at a glance that there was still half a Five-Colored Gu inside Ma Erlei, so why had he disliked the Three-Corpse Snake Gu so much last night? Without a word, he had thrown the Three-Corpse Snake Gu away. Wasn't that contradicting himself?

"Xiao Kunlun, are you in the cave? Please come out and talk." Guo Ni's shout came from outside the cave.

Ma Erlei and I left the cave. Guo Ni stood at the entrance, while Chen Junfeng was not far away. I looked at Guo Ni. She was still wearing that red bridal gown, and judging from her expression, she had come to say goodbye to me.

I said, "Miss Guo Ni, the mountains are high and the road is long. You must be extra careful. We met like duckweed drifting together by chance, so I won't see you off. Take good care of yourself from now on."

Guo Ni bit her lip and said, "Xiao Kunlun, you've offended Ma Shi and Ma Bianlang. You're the one who needs to be extra careful. My home is at Fengling Ferry by the Yellow River. If you have the chance in the future, you must come to Fengling Ferry. I want to properly thank you."

I could not help feeling somewhat melancholy and said, "I have no idea what the future will be like. Miss Guo Ni, grow up quickly and leap out of that fire pit as soon as you can. If I'm still alive, then let's meet again if we get the chance."

Guo Ni tugged at the corner of her clothes, wanting to say something, but then held it back. In the end, she turned and walked out. After meeting up with Chen Junfeng and walking more than ten meters farther, she suddenly turned around and shouted loudly, "Xiao Kunlun, I'll be at Fengling Ferry. Remember to come see me. I won't forget what I said."

I jumped onto a rock, waved to her, and shouted, "I wish you smooth winds all the way."

Under the sunlight, Guo Ni's figure grew smaller and smaller, until at last it vanished among the green mountains.

That night, Camellia Village welcomed its first winter snow since the start of winter.