Xie Jinwen drew a talisman on Ling Xiao’s back. In a short moment, the soaked fabric of his trousers began to emit steam, and the water droplets on his body evaporated. His skin turned warm.
She patted his shoulder. “Alright. You’re my mount now.”
Upon hearing this, Ling Xiao squatted down so she could climb onto his shoulder. He then started descending the mountain.
“Um… can I call you Wenwen?”
“No.”
“Oh…”
“‘Wenwen’ is what Grandma calls me. You can call me Xie Jinwen, or Jinwen.”
“…Jinwen.”
They talked intermittently as they descended. Soon they returned to the front mountain and faint voices could be heard. At the foot of the opposite slope, more than ten men were constructing a platform.
Ling Xiao asked, “What are they doing?”
Xie Jinwen looked over. Her gaze landed behind the platform—there was a small pool there.
The Fallen Immortal Pool.
The place where things begin, and end.
Her tone was flat. “They’re building an altar to report to the gods and hold an adulthood ceremony for girls who’ve turned eighteen. It’s also the day they get engaged.”
Ling Xiao was shocked. “Marrying right after adulthood? That’s a feudal backward practice!”
Xie Jinwen agreed slightly. “It’s been like this for a thousand years. Yes, it’s feudal.”
Ling Xiao was surprised. “A thousand years? This village has such a long history?”
Xie Jinwen raised her hand. “Look.”
Following her gesture, Ling Xiao saw a dense swarm of bees ahead. On closer inspection, they were highly venomous yellow-shouldered hornets. If they attacked, it would be difficult to evade.
Just as he was about to warn her, he saw the hornets forming orderly formations in the air, shifting into patterns.
A woman falling headfirst from the clouds into water, while countless men appeared along the shore.
Ling Xiao was slightly stunned. “That’s more precise than drone control. Impressive.”
Xie Jinwen waved her hand again, dispersing the hornets back into the forest.
“What you just saw is the origin of this village. What do you understand from it?”
Ling Xiao thought for a moment. “A woman was suppressed in water, and many people were watching her. If this is the village’s origin, then the village was likely established to guard this woman—and she’s not ordinary.”
Xie Jinwen nodded. If Ling Xiao didn’t become muddled in matters between men and women, he was quite perceptive.
She asked again, “What does the terrain here resemble?”
“Lotus,” Ling Xiao answered.
From the sky during flight, he had observed the mountain ranges forming the shape of a blooming lotus, with the village located at the flower’s core.
Xie Jinwen said calmly, almost coldly:
“Three days later, due to crustal movement, the lotus will contract into a bud. That will be both the final group of girls’ adulthood ceremony, and the burial of this village.”
Ling Xiao was shocked. “Burial? Then the villagers…”
Xie Jinwen frowned slightly, her expression complicated. “Everyone has their own fate.”
Going uphill was hard, going down was easy. In about ten minutes, Xie Jinwen comfortably sat on Ling Xiao’s shoulder and reached the foot of the mountain.
Ling Xiao was tall and broad-shouldered; Xie Jinwen was slender and light. With his careful support, she didn’t feel any bumps along the way.
At the foot of the mountain stood a person.
A young village girl with thick eyebrows and big eyes, carrying a simple, pretty face. A gray pigeon stood on her shoulder.
It was the mute orphan girl who lived at the village edge—Ah Mei.
She held a small basket filled with steaming buns. When she saw Xie Jinwen, she smiled brightly and lifted the basket toward her.
Seeing another person present, Ling Xiao became awkward again and gently set Xie Jinwen down.
Xie Jinwen looked at the faint red aura above Ah Mei’s head—it signaled imminent bloodshed and danger to life.
She sighed lightly and took the basket. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Ah Mei nodded obediently.
Xie Jinwen repeated, “A heavy fog is about to seal the mountain. You must leave the Lotus Mountain range before sunset today.”
Ah Mei smiled foolishly and tugged at Xie Jinwen’s sleeve, urging her to leave with her.
Xie Jinwen shook her head. “I still have unfinished matters. You go first. I’ll find you later.”
Ah Mei’s smile gradually faded, replaced by sadness and grievance.
Xie Jinwen patted her hand. “Be good.”
Ah Mei had always been obedient. She did whatever Xie Jinwen taught her—learning formations, divination, and esoteric techniques quite well.
But today, she did not move.
She stood still, unwilling to leave.
Having taught her for five years, Xie Jinwen knew Ah Mei had some ability. She likely had already deduced the village’s fate.
But experience still won out.
Earlier, when Xie Jinwen patted her hand, she had already placed a “Obedience Talisman” on it.
“Ah Mei, leave the Lotus Mountain range.”
Ah Mei’s eyes instantly lost their light, becoming like a controlled puppet, turning and walking away.
The gray pigeon on her shoulder also closed its eyes and followed silently.
“Little White, protect Ah Mei.”
A small paper figure jumped out from Xie Jinwen’s back, leaping onto Ah Mei’s shoulder, waving goodbye before settling in.
After sending Ah Mei away, Xie Jinwen opened the basket and tossed a bun to Ling Xiao.
“Eat. My disciple’s cooking is good.”
Though not formally apprenticed, Ah Mei was already considered her disciple in Xie Jinwen’s mind.
Ling Xiao followed her and took a bite. The vegetable bun tasted surprisingly good. It was the first warm food he had eaten since the crash, and hunger made it even better.
He ate three in a row before stopping.
After wiping his mouth, he asked, “Jinwen, what unfinished matters do you still have?”
Xie Jinwen looked toward a distant direction—the Fallen Immortal Pool.
“There’s no real unfinished matter. That’s just an excuse. The situation hasn’t started yet, so I can’t leave.”
She withdrew her gaze and looked at him.
“I can’t leave. And you can’t leave either. Ling Xiao, do you have the resolve to die with me?”
She was serious.
If she ultimately failed to break free from the seal, she would die.
And if she died during a major seismic collapse, Ling Xiao would have no chance of survival.
In fact, Ling Xiao did have the best escape option—leave now.
But she was not merciful to the point of letting him go.
Ling Xiao was the key for her to leave the Lotus Mountain range. She would not allow him to leave.
Night fell.
Xie Jinwen lay in a vine chair under the eaves, staring at a sky without stars or moon, murmuring:
“It’s completely sealed.”
The heavy fog had fully blocked the borders of the Lotus Mountain range. But Ah Mei had already left, so she was safe.
Suddenly, movement came from over the low wall. A short young man slipped in with a fierce expression, holding a woodcutting knife, rushing straight at Xie Jinwen.
She barely raised her eyes when the blade struck her shoulder.
Pain surged instantly.
“It’s all your fault… all your fault… you bullied Cui’er!”