Seeing the village head fall silent, Gu Congshan also breathed a sigh of relief. If the old man had insisted on defending the so-called earth deity at the cost of his own life, that would have been a real problem.
Not wanting to waste the flames he had conjured, Gu Congshan took the opportunity to burn away the vines binding the villagers of Zhuxi Village.
Once freed, the village head immediately retreated from Gu Congshan with an agility that belied his age, clearly afraid that the young man might burn him too at the slightest provocation.
With the vines removed, the village head could decide what to do next and how to explain things to the villagers. Bai Zhi had no energy left to concern herself with such matters, and only prepared to take the still-unconscious A'He back home.
"After this, you should set out as soon as possible," Bai Zhi said in a low voice to Gu Congshan on the way back.
Although she had not mentioned the destruction of the clay statue, once dawn broke, the villagers of Zhuxi Village would naturally discover it for themselves.
Gu Congshan and Ming Zhu were cultivators, so these villagers could hardly do anything to them, but if they refused to let the matter of the clay statue go, it would ultimately be a nuisance.
Gu Congshan understood why she was saying this and nodded in agreement.
Having been busy for most of the night, they returned to A'He's home. Just as Bai Zhi had settled her in, she heard a bout of violent coughing from the next room.
Her expression changed, and she hurried over to Sang Niangzi's bedside.
In the faint light of the lamp, Sang Niangzi coughed, her face pale and bluish. Her half-open, half-closed eyes stared into the void, and large patches of grey could be seen in her disheveled hair.
She was only in her forties, yet she had already withered to such a state.
"Teacher!" Bai Zhi knelt by the bedside, her voice tight.
Having studied medicine, she knew well that life, aging, sickness, and death were sometimes beyond human control. But Sang Niangzi had been like both a teacher and a mother to her, and Bai Zhi could not bring herself to face her death with equanimity.
As if hearing Bai Zhi's voice, Sang Niangzi turned her head. Whatever she saw, a faint light flickered to life in her dimmed eyes.
She struggled to raise her hand, her withered fingers grasping at Bai Zhi as she asked in a hoarse voice, "Immortal Master… has my sin… been atoned for…"
Her words carried a cautious hope.
Bai Zhi knew that Sang Niangzi had mistaken her for someone else, but at this moment, she did not correct her. She only choked back her tears and answered in the affirmative.
Hearing her reply, Sang Niangzi seemed to have a great weight lifted from her heart. She released her grip, her breathing calming, and closed her eyes in peace, a contented smile still on her face.
Bai Zhi watched as Sang Niangzi sank back into unconsciousness, then lowered her gaze to hide the sorrow in her eyes.
Her time was running out.
Gu Congshan watched this scene, then quietly withdrew from the room. He did not pry into matters that were not his business, nor could he think of anything to say that might comfort Bai Zhi.
In the face of life and death, words were far too pale.
In the morning light of the rising sun, Ming Zhu sat in a tree. The Golden Seal Script on her face had completely faded, and her eyes had returned to normal.
Seeing this, Gu Congshan finally felt some relief. If she could not recover, it would be difficult for Ming Zhu to walk openly among people again. At least now she looked no different from an ordinary person.
Since Ming Zhu had recovered, even if he had not rested well the night before, he had no intention of staying longer in Zhuxi Village.
After all, Ming Zhu had destroyed the earth deity’s clay statue in Zhuxi. Though it should have been a help to these villagers, they would likely not see it that way. It was easy to imagine that they would not welcome Ming Zhu and Gu Congshan staying any longer.
So Gu Congshan decided not to linger where he was not wanted.
But before leaving, he should still say goodbye to Bai Zhi and A'He, who had let him stay.
When he entered, Bai Zhi was packing her belongings, with A'He helping nearby. He wasn't sure whether Bai Zhi had told her about what happened last night.
Gu Congshan was somewhat surprised that Bai Zhi was also preparing to leave, but Sang Niangzi's health… she was so gravely ill—could she endure the hardships of the road?
"It is precisely because my teacher's illness has reached a point beyond the help of medicine that we cannot delay any longer," Bai Zhi replied softly. What Sang Niangzi wished for was nothing more than to set foot on her homeland before she died and take one last look at her daughter's grave.
When she heard Gu Congshan taking his leave, Bai Zhi glanced at A'He, who was looking at her with helplessness written all over her face. Bai Zhi sighed and said to Gu Congshan, "There is something I would like to ask of you."
Gu Congshan was taken aback. He couldn't think of anything he could possibly help Bai Zhi with.
Bai Zhi's request was not for herself, but for A'He.
"Since you are headed to Pingxiang Town, might you take A'He along with you on the road?" Bai Zhi asked.
Gu Congshan found it strange. A'He was born and raised here—why would she suddenly want to leave Zhuxi Village?
In response to his question, A'He merely stood timidly to the side, watching them cautiously without speaking. Perhaps because they were not yet familiar, she seemed somewhat afraid of Gu Congshan and Ming Zhu.
Seeing A'He like this, Bai Zhi felt like sighing again. With such a temperament, staying in Zhuxi Village any longer truly would not be a good thing.
She explained the reasons to Gu Congshan on A'He's behalf.
A'He had lost her parents at a young age and had depended on her grandmother, the two of them relying on each other. Her grandmother had supported herself and her granddaughter on two mu of thin farmland. She had a strong temperament and held a high position in the clan hierarchy, so none of the villagers dared to provoke her.
But now that her grandmother had passed away, A'He was utterly alone in the world. Not only had she not inherited her grandmother's forceful nature, she was instead quiet and reticent to the point of being called cowardly.
It was for this reason that, taking advantage of her youth and the fact that she was not yet considered an adult, her grandfather's cousin from a collateral branch of the family had used "taking care of her" as an excuse to try to seize the house she currently lived in.
In a rural place like this, two mu of thin farmland and an old house with three rooms were more than enough to make villagers fight each other bloody.
A'He, accustomed to relying on her grandmother, didn't know what to do, so she told everything to Bai Zhi.
After hearing it all, Bai Zhi met her bewildered, helpless expression and didn't know what to say either.
If A'He had even a fraction of her grandmother's strength, there might still be room to turn things around, but if she couldn't stand up for herself, how could she expect others to do it for her?
Even if Bai Zhi managed to protect the house for her now, Bai Zhi would eventually have to leave. By then, someone as timid as A'He would likely be unable to hold on to the house in the end.
That would be one thing, but what she feared was that this grand-uncle might, in the name of an elder, casually betroth A'He to someone and sell her off like goods.
A'He was well aware of this too, so after hesitating, she had decided to go to Pingxiang Town to seek refuge with relatives.
She had an aunt who had married into Pingxiang Town. Because the distance between Zhuxi Village and Pingxiang Town was great, the aunt only returned home to visit her mother during festivals and holidays. Now, the closest relative A'He had was this aunt.
But how could A'He dare to travel alone? In all these years, the farthest she had ever been was a town several dozen li away.
Bai Zhi needed to take Sang Niangzi back to the State of Chen, which was in the opposite direction from Pingxiang Town. Remembering that Gu Congshan had mentioned earlier that he was headed to Pingxiang Town, Bai Zhi made her request to him.
After listening to Bai Zhi's explanation, Gu Congshan instinctively glanced at Ming Zhu first. She didn't seem to have any intention of interjecting, leaving the decision entirely to him.
Under A'He's uneasy gaze, Gu Congshan ultimately didn't voice any refusal. Simply bringing someone along the way wasn't much of a burden for him, after all.
If he didn't agree, A'He alone would find it very difficult to reach Pingxiang Town safely.
With that settled, Bai Zhi stepped forward and personally spoke with the village head and A'He's great-uncle. Even though A'He had decided to leave, there was no reason to let them have the house and farmland for nothing.
After considerable negotiation, Bai Zhi secured two mules for A'He and exchanged some of the property for silver to keep on her person.
In the afternoon, carrying their packed belongings, they left Zhuxi Village together. After walking a stretch of road, they finally reached the point of parting.
"The mountains are high and the rivers are long—may your journey be safe." Bai Zhi turned and bowed, taking her leave.
Gu Congshan quickly returned the bow, a hint of parting melancholy rising in his heart. Though they hadn't known each other long, he admired Bai Zhi greatly and felt she was someone worth befriending.
A'He gazed at Bai Zhi, her eyes faintly reddening. After her grandmother's passing, she had instinctively sought support from Bai Zhi, but now Bai Zhi was leaving too.
Facing the unknown road ahead, A'He couldn't help but feel anxious. Pingxiang Town was simply too far away for her.
Only Ming Zhu seemed untouched by any sorrow of separation, watching the scene calmly, not understanding what they were so sentimental about.
After parting with Bai Zhi, Gu Congshan led the two of them along the winding creek. He was fairly familiar with the area around Pingxiang Town, so he knew the way.
Remembering something, Gu Congshan looked at Ming Zhu. "What are your plans from here?"
Earlier, when they were lost in the Wuyin Forest and didn't even know when they'd find their way out, he hadn't thought to ask her about it.
Now that they were heading to Pingxiang Town, Gu Congshan needed to know her intentions before making his own plans.
Gu Congshan himself planned to go to Pingxiang Town first, exchange the spiritual treasures found in the Wuyin Forest for Spirit Jade, and then consider other matters. In his view, Ming Zhu deserved half of those spiritual treasures.
As for anything further ahead, Gu Congshan hadn't thought that far himself. Wanderers like him, roaming the four corners of the land, mostly had no fixed abode—they went wherever they could scrape together a meal, never considering long-term matters.
To put it nicely, they were called wandering knights; to put it bluntly, they were little more than homeless, landless, propertyless vagrants.
What to do next?
The wind blew through the bamboo grove, stirring up a rustling sound. Ming Zhu looked into the distance, sunlight falling into her eyes, reflecting a clear, bright gaze.
She thought for a moment, then named a place: "Qianqiu Academy."
She planned to go to Qianqiu Academy.