Xu Changming’s remains were found in the fourth cave.
Inside the cave was a stone bed, upon which lay a skeleton.
It appeared Xu Changming had known his time was near and had climbed onto the bed himself.
Without concern for the dirty ground, Shen Wenhe knelt three feet from the bed and kowtowed three times with resounding thuds.
“Old master, I am Shen Wenhe. After reading the letter you left behind, I’ve come seeking you. I have received your belongings and will ensure you receive a proper burial. When I return, I’ll purchase a fine coffin and find you a resting place surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters. If opportunities arise in the future, I will visit your grave during seasonal festivals to burn paper offerings,” Shen Wenhe murmured.
As soon as Shen Wenhe finished speaking, a small whirlwind arose on the level ground.
It seemed to be responding to Shen Wenhe’s words.
Having no coffin prepared, Shen Wenhe left the old master’s remains undisturbed.
He turned and retreated from the cave, closing the wooden door behind him before descending the steps.
Rather than reentering the wooden cabin, he circled around it, examining the surroundings for any small paths leading upward.
After all, in his later years, the old master must have used a small path for coming and going.
Shen Wenhe’s assumption proved correct when he discovered a narrow trail near the cliff face – truly just a footpath.
Having been untraveled for years, it was now overgrown with weeds, nearly invisible unless carefully sought out.
Shen Wenhe decided to clear the weeds while descending.
This secluded location was ideal for refuge.
During droughts, the water source here would suffice, and even during floods, the high terrain would remain unsubmerged.
Should exceptionally severe flooding occur, the caves above offered additional shelter.
While Shen Wenhe was busy pulling weeds above, Bai Nianqing below grew increasingly anxious.
Why had this man gone up without any word? Couldn’t he at least inform her of the situation?
Restless from waiting, Bai Nianqing stood and paced around.
She didn’t wander far, fearing Shen Wenhe might not find her upon his return.
She merely circled past the pond to survey the area ahead.
After walking some distance, she encountered another cliff face draped with hanging vines.
Seeing no way forward and having ventured quite far, Bai Nianqing prepared to turn back.
Before she could retreat, Shen Wenhe emerged from behind the vines.
Bai Nianqing started, never expecting someone to appear from the cliffside.
“Heavens!” she exclaimed, turning to flee.
“Wife! Nianqing!” Shen Wenhe had also been initially startled.
But he quickly realized no one else could possibly be here besides himself and Bai Nianqing.
“Ah? Husband?” Bai Nianqing turned back.
“How is it you? You frightened me to death! Why did you emerge from here?” she said with a tremulous voice.
“My apologies, wife, for startling you,” Shen Wenhe hurried to comfort her.
Being reasonable, Bai Nianqing calmed after a few soothing words.
“I’m fine now, just startled moments ago. How did you come out from here?” she asked after collecting herself.
At this question, Shen Wenhe grew excited: “Wife, come with me! We’ve struck fortune!”
Taking Bai Nianqing’s hand, he led her toward the crevice he had emerged from.
Parting the vines revealed a narrow fissure slightly taller than a person, only wide enough for someone to pass through sideways.
Passing through the crevice, a small basin appeared before their eyes.
“This… this is…” Bai Nianqing was too stunned to speak.
It truly was a small basin, surrounded by mountains on all sides with only the crevice they just passed through as the exit.
The basin was quite small, roughly about half an acre in size.
What shocked Bai Nianqing wasn’t just the small basin itself, but also the medicinal herbs planted within it.
To be precise, it was the ginseng being cultivated.
She wasn’t studied in traditional Chinese medicine and didn’t know much about medicinal herbs.
However, she loved reading novels and was quite familiar with the characteristics of ginseng.
Before her eyes, this half-acre was planted with various medicinal herbs, more than half of which were ginseng, and all of them were very mature plants.
If one asked how Bai Nianqing knew this, it was because each ginseng plant visibly had over a dozen leaves, and some ginseng roots were partially exposed above ground – just that small exposed portion was as thick as a child’s arm.
Among the other medicinal herbs, Bai Nianqing only recognized two types: Ganoderma and a small patch of Cordyceps.
“This herb garden was likely planted by former dynasty imperial physician Xu Changming. He… there are also several chests of gold and jewelry in the cave above. His remains are also in the cave. After we return, I’ll go buy a coffin, and we’ll come back to properly bury the old gentleman and let him rest in peace,” Shen Wenhe explained the situation above.
“That’s only right. Even if we hadn’t obtained the old gentleman’s possessions, since we’ve encountered this, it’s fate. Letting the old gentleman rest in peace is what we should do,” Bai Nianqing said.
“Come, let me take you up to see,” Shen Wenhe said.
“Can I make it up? The cliff looks so steep?” Bai Nianqing wanted to go up and see too, but she felt somewhat apprehensive looking at the steep cliff face.
“Don’t worry, there’s a small path over here,” Shen Wenhe guided Bai Nianqing to a corner of the herb garden.
The weeds along the small path had already been cleared by Shen Wenhe.
The cliff was still steep, but someone had carved steps into it, making the ascent not too difficult.
Shen Wenhe helped Bai Nianqing up: “What do you think? My dear, isn’t this place suitable for us to live and take refuge?”
“Suitable, very suitable,” Bai Nianqing looked at the roughly twenty-square-meter stone platform, then at the wooden cabin. Finally, she came to the spring.
“This is truly a perfect place for seclusion. This spring water is wonderful – we won’t have to go far for cooking and washing,” Bai Nianqing crouched down and took a sip of the spring water.
“Delicious,” it was pure mountain spring water with a sweet taste.
“I think it’s suitable too. Later we can build two more wooden cabins so Chang’an and Xiaochun will also have places to stay. Or we could just let them live directly in the cave,” Shen Wenhe also crouched down to drink some water.
“That works. Even if they don’t live there, we should build two more cabins. Nianchen is getting bigger too, we should build one for him,” Bai Nianqing said.
“Alright. Come, let me take you to see the cave, and we can collect the things while we’re there. Next time we come, we’ll bring Chang’an and Xiaochun along to properly clean up this place and bring some things over,” Shen Wenhe said.
Thinking about bringing things made Bai Nianqing think of her dimension. Shen Wenhe knew she had a dimension, and Nianchen was still young so that was fine. But there was no way to hide it from Chang’an and Xiaochun, unless she didn’t use the dimension at all. But how could she not use it? With the famine coming soon and all the good things in her dimension, she couldn’t possibly not take them out to use.
At this thought, Bai Nianqing asked Shen Wenhe: “Husband, what should we do if Chang’an and Xiaochun discover my Dimension in the future? Living together day and night, whenever I use the Dimension, it will surely be impossible to keep it hidden.”