Cave

That evening, the snow finally began to fall, and it continued all night long.

The next morning, Liu Yuanzhou got up and opened the door, only to find the entire world outside was a blanket of white. Stepping into the courtyard, he found the ground covered with a thick layer of snow, almost reaching his calves.

Liu Yuanzhou took a broom from the wall and began to sweep the snow in the courtyard. Before long, Liu Da and Liu Yuanbo also got up, and the two joined the snow-sweeping team.

After the three of them finished sweeping the snow in their own courtyard, they also cleared the snow on the path leading from the courtyard to the main road. By the time they finished sweeping the snow, breakfast was just ready.

After breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou trudged through the snow to Third Master's house and cleared the snow in the courtyard and on the path there as well.

After sweeping the snow, he opened the door and lit the stove, boiled water in the pot, and rested by the stove, warming himself. Before long, the water boiled, and he first made a pot of hot tea, then warmed up some of the leftover beef and steamed buns from yesterday in the pot.

After taking a few sips of hot tea, Liu Yuanzhou walked to the training ground in the courtyard, set up the Limitless Stance, and began to practice. After finishing the stance, he practiced the Plum Blossom Fist several times until he was covered in sweat before stopping.

After finishing his practice, he went back into the Cave Dwelling and sat on the kang. Looking at the empty and desolate Cave Dwelling, he couldn't help but think of Miss Qin. "I wonder where she is now? She's been gone for almost ten days. I hope she can get home before the New Year."

After sitting on the kang for a while, he got off the ground and ate the meat and steamed buns that had been warming in the pot, and drank another pot of hot tea. Only then did he leave the house contentedly, lock the door, and slowly walk home, leisurely admiring the snowy scenery.

Turning around a mountain corner, Liu Yuanzhou saw Liu Chuang walking ahead. He called out, "Hu Wa, where are you going?"

Liu Chuang turned around, and when he saw it was Liu Yuanzhou, his face lit up with joy, and he turned around and ran over. When he got closer, he said breathlessly, "I was just about to look for you."

"What do you want me for?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

"I'll take you to a place." Liu Chuang said, grabbing Liu Yuanzhou and walking away.

"Don't tear my clothes, I'll go with you." Liu Yuanzhou quickly opened his hand.

Liu Chuang let go of Liu Yuanzhou, and the two walked side by side.

"Do you know what I saw yesterday?" Liu Chuang said mysteriously.

"Don't want to know." Liu Yuanzhou rolled his eyes.

"Yesterday, after watching the ritual, after we parted, I went back to Li Laocai's house," Liu Chuang scratched his head and said with a smile, "I was thinking of waiting for the Taoist priest to come out and ask if he still accepts apprentices. I really want to learn his sword skills."

Liu Yuanzhou was speechless for a while.

Liu Chuang continued, "After waiting for a while, I saw Li Laocai's family of four or five and the Taoist priest all came out, so I quickly hid."

"I saw them walking towards the back of the village, and I was very curious, so I quietly followed them."

"Guess where they went? They went to the Thousand Buddha Cave."

Liu Yuanzhou was also surprised to hear this. The Thousand Buddha Cave was in a small gully seven or eight miles away from the village. Everyone in the village knew that it was a stone cave carved into the mountain wall, filled with Buddha statues of various sizes, hence the name Thousand Buddha Cave. When they were young, they often climbed into the cave to play.

Because Li Laocai's family owned more than ten acres of land below the stone cave, Li Laocai somehow built several tile-roofed houses under the stone cave, built a wall, and enclosed the cave. Anyone who wanted to enter the cave had to go through his gate. The villagers were angry but dared not speak out, and later few people went there anymore.

"What did they go to the Thousand Buddha Cave for?" Liu Yuanzhou asked, a flash of inspiration in his mind, as if he had grasped something.

"They went into the cave to take a look, and after they came out, they said something at the entrance of the cave. I was far away and didn't hear what they said." Liu Chuang replied, then excitedly said, "I went to the Thousand Buddha Cave early this morning, thinking that no one should be there so early, and I could go in and see what was going on, but who knew that when I got there, I found that the entrance of the cave was sealed with stones. Isn't that strange?"

Liu Yuanzhou fell into deep thought after hearing this. Ghost haunting, performing rituals, sealing the Thousand Buddha Cave, there seemed to be some kind of connection, but he was unable to deduce the reason due to the lack of other detailed information.

Because no one had cleared the snow on the road to the Thousand Buddha Cave, the two of them stepped on the snow and spent a lot of effort to reach the cliff where the Thousand Buddha Cave was located. Because the wall blocked them from getting close, they could only look from a distance across the wall. As expected, the originally dark cave entrance was sealed with stones and wooden boards.

"Shall we climb over the wall and go in?" Liu Chuang said.

"Okay." Liu Yuanzhou thought for a moment and said, he was also very curious as to why the cave was sealed.

The two had just approached the wall when the courtyard door creaked open, and an old man walked out, holding a stick in his hand, and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing? Go play somewhere else." As he spoke, he swung the stick in his hand.

Liu Yuanzhou and the other were startled. "It's Tu Ye, we want to go to the Thousand Buddha Cave to have a look, can you let us through?" Liu Yuanzhou quickly said. Tu Ye's real name was unknown, but he was considered a distant cousin of Li Laocai and had been a bachelor his whole life, always working as a hired hand for Li Laocai's family.

"Didn't you see the cave is sealed off? Get out of here, or do you want to lose your life?" Tu Ye remained unmoved and continued to chase them away.

"We just want to go in and take a look, is this cave your family's?" Liu Chuang stepped forward and shouted.

Tu Ye raised his stick, widened his cloudy eyes, and shouted, "Come over here if you have the guts, and see if I don't break your legs."

Liu Yuanzhou quickly pulled Liu Chuang back. "Tu Ye, you're amazing, Hu Wa is leaving." As he said this, he pulled Liu Chuang back.

"Why did you stop me? Am I afraid of this old bachelor?" Liu Chuang looked at Yuanzhou, dissatisfied.

"If he hits you, would you really dare to fight back? If something happens, and he sticks to you, will you take care of him in his old age and bury him?" Liu Yuanzhou said angrily.

Liu Chuang then shut his mouth. The two returned to the village, and Liu Yuanzhou instructed Liu Chuang again, "Hu Wa, don't think about this matter anymore, it has nothing to do with us anyway." Liu Chuang reluctantly nodded.

The two parted ways and returned to their respective homes, not to be mentioned again.

For the next ten days or so, Liu Yuanzhou, besides helping his family with chores such as chopping firewood and carrying water, spent the rest of his time at Third Master's house, wholeheartedly practicing martial arts, and did not pay any more attention to Li Laocai and the Thousand Buddha Cave. Every morning, noon, and evening, he would practice the Limitless Stance once, and the rest of the time he would practice Plum Blossom Fist.

Time quickly came to the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, which is also commonly known as Little New Year. On this day, every household in the village made offerings to the Kitchen God and swept away the dust.

Getting up early in the morning, Liu Yuanzhou finished his Limitless Stance and practiced a round of Plum Blossom Fist, feeling refreshed all over. He could now stand in the Limitless Stance for eleven segments. In addition to his strength increasing, other changes in his body were gradually manifesting, such as jumping higher and farther, his hands and feet becoming more agile, and his body reacting faster, etc. Compared to himself a month ago, he was now more than a notch stronger.

After finishing breakfast, Zhang Shi directed everyone to start cleaning the house.

Everything that could be moved in the Cave Dwelling was moved to the courtyard, and then the dust on the walls was cleaned, the rat holes at the base of the walls were blocked with stones, and the potholes on the ground were filled with soil and compacted. Finally, all the window paper was scraped off and replaced with brand new hemp paper.

After a round of cleaning, the Cave Dwelling looked brand new. Zhang Shi sighed, "It finally looks like a home."

Finally, all the furniture that had been moved out was moved back into the Cave Dwelling and arranged neatly. The general cleaning was considered complete, and it was already evening, and the sun had set.