Lanpu - Chapitre 4
"Why are you attacking us!" I learned from it and used telepathy to communicate with it. This was something I specifically asked Xiaoyue to teach me because I had a good foundation (fifty years of cultivation!). I was able to use it freely in less than half a day. Actually, it's very simple. It's about concentrating your will in your mind and then using your spiritual energy to transmit what you want to say to the other person.
"For a hundred years, for a hundred years, you humans have been destroying everything. The Five Sacred Mountains are now unrecognizable and no longer a place for me to live. The spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers has been disturbed by your selfishness, greed, and lust, making it impossible for me to absorb it!"
"No, Boss Earbird, we're just here for an autumn outing, we mean no harm. Look at these children, so innocent and adorable, how could they possibly harm the beauty of nature? They'll only live in harmony with nature."
"Get out!"
"Fine, fine, let's go, okay? I'm a teacher, you know, can't you be a little more polite to me?"
After I said that, the bird reluctantly left our heads.
Then, the pressure from Feng Pei Guanghua suddenly eased, and a radiant beam shot out, instantly obliterating all the dark clouds. Sunlight poured in like a waterfall, quickly dissipating the clouds and bringing bright sunshine. After the rain, the world became even clearer and brighter.
"Teacher, you're amazing! You're incredible, I admire you so much!" Xiao Hui, who used to look down on me because I couldn't play basketball, now had eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Stop it, you disgusting thing. Let me tell you, don't tell anyone about this, or I'll erase this part of your memory like the forgetting device in Men in Black." I threatened him, and sure enough, he nodded repeatedly.
Pearl stood to the side, beaming with pride, "Xiao Hui, now you know that nine times out of ten what I say is true, right?"
"No, it's mostly fake, but today's 10% is real!"
"You—take this!" A fist swung out.
"Waaah—" The screams echoed through the valley.
I'm starting to doubt myself. Are these guys really that innocent?
On the way home, Xiaoling, who was sitting next to me, kept whispering in my ear, her breath sweet as orchids:
"Teacher, do mountain gods really exist? The story of Lovers' Peak is because the mountain god manifested himself, right?"
"I've read the story of the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong. They were brought together by the Wood God. Gods do exist, right?"
How should we pray?
I was completely overwhelmed by what I heard, and finally I told her:
"The so-called gods and immortals in novels and movies are all fake, but some mountains in good locations, due to man-made legends, become the focus of public attention. Coupled with the phenomenon of geomagnetic energy gathering, they form natural spirits with superpowers and intelligence, which are mountain gods. They often respond to people's calls, transforming into human form to give them guidance, or their spirits attach themselves to certain animals or plants to provide assistance to those who pray. That's all."
The matter ended there. Fortunately, the students were terrified that day, and under Xiaoling's effective control, they didn't know much about my exorcism outside, so it didn't cause any unexpected consequences. However, my private little group gained another little guy: Xiaohui.
But there are still some things I don't understand. At first, the bird had no ill intentions, so why did it later become so enraged, acting like it was drunk and wanted to kill and chop?
Also, after Pearl and Xiao Hui returned, the two of them acted mysteriously, their eyes darting around and shifting. These two fearless guys, who knows what they're up to.
Only once did Zhu'er ask me a very strange question: "Teacher, what would happen if Tao Yuanming's 'Peach Blossom Spring' really existed?"
I shook my head and said, "This is a fictional story that expresses the author's dissatisfaction with the darkness of society at that time. That's why places like Peach Blossom Spring appear in various places now."
Actually, I also wanted to tell her that Master Tao was one of my kindred spirits. In several books of mythology and supernatural beings that I have read, it is mentioned that Master Tao was once engrossed in "strange books" such as literature, history, mythology, and novels. He also became friends with Buddhist believers Zhou Xuzhi and Liu Yimin, and was known as one of the "Three Hermits of Xunyang" at the time. He also became close friends with the famous Buddhist monk Huiyuan.
---janeadam
Reply [8]: Chapter 4 Missing
A week passed just like that. During this time, Xiaoyue wrote me several letters, which made me extremely happy. She is a very introverted and traditional girl who doesn't like to make phone calls and believes that handwriting can better express her inner feelings. Therefore, I also began to use all the knowledge I had learned from my years of seclusion and study to launch a new round of love offensive.
My favorite book is Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Although it's not a book that's really about ghosts and gods, I still naively hope that a few poems can make a beautiful female ghost or fox spirit pledge herself to me.
As I thought about it, my mouth started watering.
"My dearest Xiaoyue, I miss you so much! Your beautiful image is forever etched in my mind, never fading away... Even the ocean currents could not extinguish my love for you... Your lovely face, your voice, your movements, are just like a poem written by Pushkin..." This is a rambling piece I wrote.
"It feels like three autumns have passed since we last met... I hope you are well!" Xiaoyue's reply was much more concise. In the letter, she told me about the situation of handling internal affairs of the sect. In fact, it was very tedious, because most of the matters were minor, such as expenditures and personnel adjustments. On the contrary, she only mentioned exorcising ghosts and spirits in passing, which she considered not worth mentioning.
Only when I spoke of the mountain spirits and birds did she sigh softly and write: "When people travel through mountains and rivers, it is truly to cleanse their hearts and turn towards goodness, but unintentionally they also bring in the evils tainted by the world. They carry the burden of the body until they leave lightly, but they leave the original burden of their hearts to the beautiful mountains and rivers."
The weekend arrived, and Xiaoling came to my house again to study, and also to return the books she borrowed last week and borrow more for next week. But strangely, Zhu'er, who was always by her side, didn't come.
"Zhu'er and Xiao Hui are hanging out together every day now, like they're plotting something. I went to see her this morning, and Auntie said she went out with Xiao Hui right before dawn, and she even took her little backpack—the one that the teacher modified so that the ghost girl Lin Caixia could live in." Xiao Ling tattled, feeling indignant that her good friend was prioritizing romance over friendship.
"What could those two careless people possibly do? Besides, there's Caixia. If anything happens, Caixia will tell me immediately." As I spoke, I relaxed and played my online game Qin Shang. Wow, I found another copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. I found three in a row! My goodness, how can my luck be so good? I have to try my luck with the lottery.
Two days later, on Monday morning, I woke up a little late because my class started at 10:00. When I entered the classroom, I found it in a mess. Xiaoling ran over to me in a panic and said, "Teacher, something bad has happened! Zhu'er and Xiaohui went out the day before yesterday and haven't come back yet!"
"What's going on? Why didn't you tell me sooner!" I was both angry and anxious. Two days and two nights—this could cause serious problems. "Where are her parents? Didn't they go look for her?"
“They went. Their parents almost turned Ruli County upside down yesterday, but Zhu’er and the others left too early and on bicycles, so no one saw where they went.”
The bell rang.
"Alright, everyone, please go back to your seats and let's start class!"
I was giving the lecture with a distracted mind.
Suddenly, a short, fat woman burst through the door and rushed toward me in a panic. In full view of everyone, I couldn't dodge in time, and she grabbed my hands.
She is Pearl's mother.
"Teacher Luo, you must save my Zhu'er! She's my only daughter, you have to save her!"
"Don't worry, I just heard about Zhu'er's disappearance. Zhu'er is alright, I will definitely find her, so don't worry!" I comforted her.
Another commotion broke out in the classroom, and the students could no longer concentrate on their studies. I had no choice but to arrange for the students to study on their own. Then I took Zhu'er's mother to the empty meeting room, where I wanted to ask her some questions and look for some clues.
"Did Pearl exhibit any strange behavior in the week before she left home?" I asked.
"Yes, the day before, the child of your Dean of Academic Affairs, Mr. Chen, came over. The two of them stayed in the bedroom for more than an hour, but the door wasn't closed—you know what I mean, Zhu'er is still young, she wouldn't do anything shameless. I don't believe they would elope!" She spoke while defending Zhu'er, tears streaming down her face. Truly, the hearts of parents are all the same!