Chapter 006: The Young Generation
The young man with white hair stood up again, discerning the direction in the pitch-black rainy night, and began to walk northeast. However, after only a few steps, a thunderclap echoed in the sky with a loud "bang!" and a bolt of lightning struck him once more. The impact caused him to stagger, and he had to lean against a nearby large tree to avoid falling. Before he could regain his balance, another bolt of lightning struck his back.
Finally, the young man with white hair became impatient from the torment of the lightning. "Enough!" he shouted loudly, suddenly turning around and striking a fist at the spot behind him that had been struck by lightning. Just then, a bolt of lightning descended, hitting his fist directly. In an instant, the electric light surged, but it dimmed just as quickly. The lightning was actually shattered by the young man's punch, transforming into countless white sparks that darted chaotically in the air
After a moment of respite, the young man with white hair returned to his usual state. He turned to glance in the direction of Sand Dune City and murmured to himself, "Is this the beginning..."
With Wu Mian's current hearing ability, he could hear the old pavilion master's words clearly, but he chose to ignore them, relying on his memory of the map to continue walking forward. The deeper he went into the mountains, the thicker the snow became; even before reaching the foot of the mountain, the snow had already reached his knees. Fortunately, Wu Mian did not feel cold; although he walked slowly, he was getting closer to the location marked on the map.
On the day the Emperor Qin's ceremonial procession departed from Shacheng, the sky began to pour with heavy rain. The torrential downpour lasted for three consecutive days, reaching its peak on the third night, accompanied by lightning, as the rain fell in torrents, resembling a breach in the heavens through which the celestial waters of the Milky Way were being unleashed.
Although the gold is dazzling, Wu Mian's thoughts are not on this. He opened several boxes in succession, and apart from gold ingots, there was nothing else inside
At the moment when the lightning was shattered by the white-haired man, the torrential rain that had been pouring down suddenly ceased. A thick layer of dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, revealing a starry night sky where countless stars twinkled.
The young man with white hair first inquired about the path up the mountain, then bought about ten grain cakes, and leisurely prepared to head up the mountain. The local patrol officer, seeing him, hurried over to block his way. Looking at the young man's head of white hair, the officer, who was in his forties with a full head of black hair, hesitated for a moment before saying: "I say, young man, you really shouldn't go up the mountain right now. Not to mention that the heavy snow has already blocked the mountain, but there are also large beasts on Yanshan. Recently, they have come down from the mountain out of hunger and harmed the local people. I can see that you seem capable, but please don't take it the wrong way when I say something ominous: if you go up now, you will either freeze to death on the mountain or become food for those large beasts up there. If you want to go up the mountain, that's fine, but wait for another two months until spring when the snow melts. At that time, our villages will organize a group to go up the mountain for hunting and gathering herbs. You can join us, and I assure you won't suffer any losses."
This is the entrance! Wu Mian no longer hesitated and took a step towards the rock. Suddenly, everything went dark, and he found himself walking into the rock, calculating the distance; he had already entered the cliff.
More than a month later, a strange young man appeared in the market at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains in Liaodong. In his early twenties, he had a head of white hair, and his thin clothing made him stand out starkly against the local environment. It was already mid-winter, and the entire Liaodong was blanketed in white snow. The locals had long since donned thick winter clothing, yet this man, dressed in light garments, showed no sign of feeling cold, which left those who saw him in astonishment.
The lightning in the sky struck down repeatedly, hitting the young man with white hair. The electricity conducted from his body to the tree trunk he was leaning against, and this tree, which had already been soaked by the rain, unexpectedly began to emit thick smoke. Moments later, a sound of "whoosh!" was heard as the tree actually burst into flames amidst the torrential rain. Although it was quickly extinguished by the downpour, the trunk could no longer withstand such torment, and with a loud "bang!" it broke into two sections. Moments later, a sound of "whoosh!" was heard as the tree actually burst into flames amidst the torrential rain. Although it was quickly extinguished by the downpour, the trunk could no longer withstand such torment, and with a loud "bang!" it broke into two sections
The corpse slowly stood up in the heavy rain, looking around in a daze, and took a few steps forward. At that moment, the third lightning struck the person, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the rainwater. In the distance, another bolt of lightning illuminated the pitch-black rainy night as if it were broad daylight.
It was pitch black all around, yet Wu Mian's vision was not hindered in the slightest; he could still see everything clearly. This place appeared to be a cave, with around one hundred and eighty wooden boxes stacked against the mountain wall. Wu Mian opened one of the boxes and took a glance inside; it was surprisingly filled to the brim with gold ingots. He picked one up and weighed it in his hand, estimating it to be around fifty to sixty taels.
Wu Mian continued to walk up the mountain as if he had not heard anything. However, he did give the old pavilion master a bit of face, muttering as he walked, "As if no one has ever died..."
He walked from morning until evening. Although Wu Mian's physique no longer required food to replenish energy, he still could not endure the hunger of an empty stomach. After eating a few grain cakes with snowmelt water, he did not rest and continued walking. He did not encounter the large creature mentioned by the old pavilion chief; he only came across a few mountain chickens and wild rabbits, but they all ran away as soon as they saw Wu Mian. Continuing on his way, he finally found the location marked on the map in the afternoon of the third day.
Years later, this place was discovered by Xu Fu by chance. At that time, he had the intention to leave something for future generations, so he set up an illusionary formation at the cave entrance to block some people who were recklessly wandering about. In addition to gold, he also left behind something that truly piqued Wu Mian's interest.
However, Wu Mian never believed that Xu Fu would take such good care of him. With nothing else to search through, he set his sights on the mountain wall where the box of gold ingots was placed
Only Wu Mian himself understands the meaning of these words, but with his uniquely sarcastic tone, it sounds to the old pavilion chief like an unwelcome offer. After Wu Mian has walked far away, the old pavilion chief turns to the onlookers and says: "So, how about it? Good advice is hard to give to a doomed ghost, right? You all bear witness for me, I have indeed advised him for quite a while. If he ends up dead on the mountain later, don't blame the old pavilion chief for not having warned him..." You all bear witness for me, I have indeed advised him for quite a while. If he ends up dead on the mountain later, don't blame the old pavilion chief for not having warned him...
Mian walked up to the mountain rock, reached out his hand, and was astonished to see his hand pass through the rock, feeling nothing at all. An illusion! Wu Mian instantly understood, yet he never expected that he had once been able to see through Xu Fu's illusions. Now, standing right next to the rock, if he did not try it himself, he feared he would never be able to discern the truth.
A freshly piled mound of earth outside the city of Dune was washed away by heavy rain, revealing a completely naked corpse amidst the thunder. As this corpse was brought back to light, the lightning in the sky began to concentrate on this location.
With a loud bang, the first bolt of lightning struck the bare corpse. The corpse trembled violently for a moment, and then, as the second bolt of lightning struck, the corpse suddenly opened its eyes wide.
The young man with white hair is Wu Mian, who was resurrected after death outside the city of Shacheng. Not long after he left that night, he encountered several blind bandits who attempted to rob him. The current Wu Mian is no longer the servant who used to endure the beatings and scoldings of the chief sorcerer; he had been harboring a lot of pent-up frustration and finally found a way to vent it. In a single encounter, several bandits lost their lives on the spot. Wu Mian engaged in a black market transaction, rummaging through the bandits' belongings for silver, ensuring that he did not arrive in Liaodong empty-handed.
Wu Mian wandered back and forth in the cave, yet found nothing. At this moment, doubts began to arise in his heart: Could it be that the Grand Master had foreseen his current state of poverty and reliance on robbing bandits to survive, and thus provided him with this cave filled with gold?
As soon as he thought of it, Wu Mian directly overturned the boxes, scattering thousands of gold ingots across the ground. Behind these boxes, he finally found what he was looking for. The area that had just been blocked by the boxes revealed a section of writing on the mountain wall.
Bathed in the light of the lightning, the man saw his own reflection in the puddle. What emerged on the water's surface was the visage of a young man with a head full of white hair. In that moment, he recalled everything. He touched the white hair on his head and murmured to himself, "My hair has turned white—this isn't so bad."
This inscription was written by Xu Fu, and its general meaning is that this place was originally the hiding place of the last king of the Yan state, King Xi, for his treasures. After the crown prince Dan of Yan instructed Jing Ke to assassinate King Ying Zheng of the Qin state but failed, the great general Wang Jian of the Qin dynasty directly attacked the capital of the Yan state. King Xi had already transferred the hidden treasures from the royal palace to this location in hopes of using them to restore the country in the future. Unfortunately, he soon met an untimely death, and this place became a treasure without an owner.
The young man with white hair did not expect such a result, and he stared blankly at his returned fist, which surprisingly bore not even a single burn mark.
The location on the map is beneath a sheer cliff, an area that is completely barren, with nothing but a thick layer of snow. It is evident that few people have visited this place for many years. Wu Mian circled around several times but could not find the cave entrance marked on the map
Next, lightning continuously struck down from the sky, and without exception, all of it hit the young man with white hair. Not long ago, the object known as 'the seed' that had been buried in his chest had slowly begun to melt, spreading through the young man's blood and filling his entire body.
Could it be that I remembered it wrong? Just as Wu Mian was about to give up and take a stroll around, he inadvertently glanced at the rocks by the cliff ahead. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and the shadows cast by the sunlight on the rocks seemed to twist and change direction.