Chapter 135: The Homeward Journey

Li Yue took the wooden box and gently opened it.
Her body suddenly stiffened.
"Seven... seven ginsengs? How is this possible?"
Li Yue abruptly raised her head and looked at me.
Wang Erjun also looked startled, his face filled with extreme astonishment.
"How on earth did you manage to get seven ginsengs?"
I took a deep breath and recounted in detail how I had been separated from them.
I told them about the Saint's Cave, what happened during my escape at the end, and how, after returning here, the spiritual manifestations of the seven ginsengs had continued to chase me.
Li Yue and Wang Erjun looked at each other in dismay.
The look of torment and self-reproach on Wang Erjun's face vanished, instantly replaced by excitement.
He let out a loud laugh and said, "Thanks to Xie Yuan going his separate way, we've struck it rich this time! We've got the seven ginsengs! All this gold and jade—this is pure money!"
Li Yue lightly bit her lower lip and murmured, "These boxes... I'm afraid the seven ginsengs were all burial objects from years past, and by some twist of fate, they ended up in our hands."
I nodded, then lowered my voice and said, "Zhang Zhang is suspicious. I believe he deliberately led you on a wild goose chase. He didn't hear what we just said, so let's tell him right now and set off for Baihu Village."
Wang Erjun nodded heavily and said, "Let's head back immediately. I can't wait anymore!"
He then raised his fist and added, "I've always felt that Zhang Zhang is no good. If he tries any tricks, once the business at Baihu Village is settled, fatty here is going to give him a few beatings!"
I also looked at Li Yue and softly said, "Regarding your master, there are some things we don't need to dwell on. Senior Li values cause and effect and predestined affinity; saying certain things is just like saying nothing at all, and other things might only bring him more trouble."
Li Yue was slightly stunned, a pensive expression crossing her face.
Wang Erjun scratched his head and then remarked, "Then let's listen to Xie Yuan on this. Xie Yuan is much more perceptive about these matters."
Li Yue fell silent for a moment and nodded.
On my arm, the companion ghost suddenly poked its head out gently. It stood on my shoulder, its skull facing the direction of the door.
I made a silencing gesture and walked slowly toward the door.
At the same time, the companion ghost slipped back into my arm.
During this process, Wang Erjun had already hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders, and Li Yue quickly removed the talismans from the wall.
Before opening the door, I reached out and took down the talisman.
I opened the door.
Sure enough, Zhang Zhang was standing outside.
A trace of regret lingered on his face, mixed with a hint of surprise.
"I just got here, and you're already coming out."
I nodded and said, "I woke up just now, so I found Erjun and Li Yue. I already know what they told you."
The look of regret on Zhang Zhang's face deepened as he said, "As for this matter, man proposes, heaven disposes. The little fatty's immobilization spell ran into trouble. The moment I made a move, it would have harmed the spiritual bodies of the seven ginsengs and ruined their efficacy, so in the end, we didn't catch a single one."
"Things having come to this, I still have one last remedial method, which we can carry out after we reach Baihu Village."
"This method requires your cooperation: drain one-third of the blood from your body to cultivate a blood-line ginseng. Because your blood shares the same origin as your mother's, it can barely serve the same purpose as the seven ginsengs."
Zhang Zhang sighed and said, "Don't worry, with me here, coupled with a few methods, although it might be slightly less effective than the seven ginsengs, it will definitely be foolproof."
I smiled, nodded, and said, "Then thank you, Ancestor."
Zhang Zhang was visibly stunned. He looked at me, and suddenly a smile broke out on his face as well. "For the sake of that 'Ancestor,' since your mother is my granddaughter, I will definitely save her, and I will also save that woman who is so closely tied to your fate."
When he said this, Zhang Zhang clearly glanced at my chest.
My heart skipped a beat.
Zhang Zhang wasn't looking at me; he was looking at the jade pendant on my chest.
Although it was hidden beneath my clothes, I was certain that he was looking at the jade.
Yet I no longer wished to tell him anything more. Intuition told me that Zhang Zhang still harbored ulterior motives.
Words spoken too much lead to mistakes; I now understood this truth profoundly.
"Tonight, we won't stay here for the night. I've already seen the chieftain just now. He gave us quite a few things, and he also learned that the little fatty is Celestial Master Wang, but they clearly understood and didn't come to disturb us. Thanks to the little fatty's talismans, those provisions are more than enough for the journey."
"Furthermore, they've arranged for Gama to escort us all the way out of here. It's an eight-day trip, and you and Li Yue will lead the way."
At this moment, Li Yue and Wang Erjun also walked out.
Wang Erjun's eyes lit up as he asked, "Grandpa Zhang, is what you're saying true or false? Did they really give us a huge pile of stuff? And someone is going to drive us?"
Zhang Zhang smiled and said, "It's true. The chieftain even brought out the jeep from his home. Gama spent some time in the army before, so he knows how to drive."
"A car?" Wang Erjun's eyes lit up even more.
I felt a slight hesitation in my heart.
We were finally going back, and this time we had made foolproof preparations.
I didn't take out the seven ginsengs right now; I had to wait until Zhang Zhang voluntarily told me how to use them and trick the information out of him. If all else failed, I would wait until the very last moment, after rescuing the three corpses and souls of my mother.
Zhang Zhang told us to pack up, and he needed to tidy up briefly as well.
Li Yue gathered the items left behind in the room, while Wang Erjun, full of enthusiasm, pulled me downstairs first.
Outside Gama's house sat a jeep with a brightly painted, multicolored body, and plenty of luggage piled on the roof.
Gama's eldest son and his wife, Suifang, were busy carrying things to the car.
The courtyard was filled with large and small bundles—clearly the gifts bestowed upon us by the village.
As soon as Gama turned around and saw Wang Erjun and me, his face broke into a broad smile.
"Celestial Master Wang, Brother Xie!"
My face felt a bit awkward; Gama was clearly much older than me, yet he was calling me elder brother.
This was simply because we had resolved the troubles in the village, coupled with what I had said to Suifang earlier.
Wang Erjun coughed and put on a serious expression, but he still couldn't resist the temptation of four wheels. Walking over, he kept asking Gama about driving and whether he could learn it.
Cars were rare commodities in this day and age. For as long as I could remember, people traveling to and from our village relied on oxcarts, though I had heard other villages had oil-powered three-wheelers.
However, Baihu Village was nestled deep in the mountains with poor transportation, and since the village had a small population and little earnings, the oxcarts only made two trips to town a day.
When hauling timber at home, Wang Erjun often had to call for a tractor. He had always been deeply interested in driving and had once told me that once he got rich, he would definitely get a big four-wheeled vehicle to drive around.
Gama scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Celestial Master Wang, you can sit in the front passenger seat and watch how I drive. Old Master Zhang said we're in a bit of a rush for this trip, so we won't have time for you to learn, plus driving can be dangerous. Once we reach your village, I can stay for a couple more days."
Suifang walked over holding her youngest son and leading the eldest, a look of reluctance on her face.
Gama scolded her for having a woman's mindset, saying that a man had work to do outside.
Suifang left, weeping softly.
Gama's eldest son, Ade, pulled Wang Erjun aside and asked, "Celestial Master Wang, can you teach me how to draw a talisman?"
Wang Erjun scratched his head and glanced at me.
I nodded.
This was purely because Gama was willing to send us off, and they were simple, honest people.
Wang Erjun drew an exorcism talisman on the ground and told Ade to study it.
Ade carefully took a brick and outlined the talisman with it.
Gama wore a look of utter pride.
I had seen this exact expression on the faces of many people in our village.
Only when a family is harmonious, well-off, and living a fulfilling life does one wear such an expression.
Otherwise, their faces would be filled with bitterness and worry.
Yet I still felt an unnatural premonition, even a thought that if Gama followed us into Baihu Village, something might go wrong.
I took a deep breath and said, "Gama, once we reach the destination, you should head straight back and not stay long. We have a lot of things to deal with."
Wang Erjun looked up at me, but said nothing more.
We busied ourselves at Gama's house until dark. After enjoying a hearty feast of roast suckling pig prepared by Suifang, we finally got into the car and set off.
When we went to pick up Li Cangshui in the town ahead, we discovered that he was no longer there.
He had left behind only a brief note:
"Take care of yourselves."
Was Li Cangshui warning us?
Wang Erjun seemed gloomy, while Li Yue kept holding her small gourd, staring at it intently.
I hesitated, but ultimately decided not to ask any more questions.
The time spent on the road was exceptionally monotonous.
Eight days of agonizing torment.
Delayed by various trivial incidents along the way—a flat tire, a breakdown—it was already the tenth day by the time we reached the outskirts of Wangjiaya.
Wang Erjun excitedly poked his neck out of the car window and shouted that he was back.
I, however, kept my fists tightly clenched.
I always felt that something wasn't quite right.
Wangjiaya was unusually quiet—quiet to an excessive degree.
It was currently midday, yet there was not a soul to be seen at the mountain pass.
"Gama, just drop us off here and don't go any further inside," I said.
Wang Erjun's face stiffened as he said, "Don't worry, Xie Yuan, this is Wangjiaya, it'll be fine. We don't have any Yin monkeys on us, and there's so much stuff in the car. Let's drive it right to my doorstep, and then we can all send Gama off together. What's the big deal?"
As he spoke, Gama stepped on the accelerator and drove straight up the Wangjiaya pass, officially entering the territory of Wangjiaya.
My heart gave another nervous thud. Looking into the distance toward Baihu Village, I still couldn't see a thing, but my inner unease grew stronger by the minute.