Chapter 008: Forest Fire

Beside the pool under the waterfall, the leading man simply cleaned Wu Mian's wound. Wu Mian performed a minor illusion, making it appear to these people that there was no sign of improvement in the injury on his leg. Following the pool, he walked upstream, and after a short while, he arrived at a mountain stronghold after passing through a bamboo forest

The official language of Linhuo was learned from the Han merchants who frequented this area, initially for the purpose of bargaining. During the time spent with Wu Mian, his proficiency in the official language has significantly improved

Since he could not find the entrance marked on the map in the short term, Wu Mian simply decided to stay here. The village he was in, along with several nearby villages, was inhabited by the Miao people. The daily life of the Miao people is quite simple; apart from farming, they organize the men of the village to go hunting in the mountains. The captured game belongs to the entire village and is divided into several equal portions by the village elders. Aside from offerings to the deities, the portions are distributed to all the villagers according to each household.

In the blink of an eye, more than three months have passed, and Wu Mian gives the impression to outsiders that he is almost well. Just as he was contemplating how to persuade Lin Huo to stay a few more days in the village, Lin Huo hurriedly ran to Wu Mian's bamboo house and said to him: "Brother Wu, get ready, tonight is the day for our thirteen Miao villages to welcome the ancestral shaman. According to tradition, everyone in the Miao village, whether host or guest, must attend. If things go awry, you might just become the next generation's ancestral shaman!"

Although Wu Mian is now immortal, the pain brought on by his injuries has not diminished in the slightest. His trapped calf is already a bloody mess, and just as he endures the excruciating pain, preparing to pry open the iron clamp, a sound of footsteps suddenly arises behind him

Wu Mian knows a little about the matter of the Witch Ancestor, who is the deity worshipped in the Miao region. The Witch Ancestor differs from the deities of the Central Plains religions; it is a living person who becomes a god, designating the next successor during their lifetime. Before the physical body dies, the soul will merge with the designated successor, thus giving birth to the next generation of the Witch Ancestor. This is different from the soul-seizing practices of the Central Plains religions. It involves the merging of two souls, resulting in the emergence of a new soul, while the physical body of the successor continues to live. Before the physical body dies, the soul will merge with the designated successor, thus giving birth to the next generation of the Witch Ancestor. This is different from the soul-seizing practices of the Central Plains religions. It involves the merging of two souls, resulting in the emergence of a new soul, while the physical body of the successor continues to live

The man in the lead examined Wu Mian's wound and said to him: "The injury is severe; you will recuperate with us and leave once you are healed." Without waiting for Wu Mian to respond, he directly picked him up and carried him. They were accustomed to navigating through this forest, turning left and right for more than half an hour, and faintly heard the sound of flowing water, which grew louder as they moved forward. After passing through a thicket, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a waterfall several dozen zhang high in front of Wu Mian. They were accustomed to navigating through this forest, turning left and right for more than half an hour, and faintly heard the sound of flowing water, which grew louder as they moved forward. After passing through a thicket, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a waterfall several dozen zhang high in front of Wu Mian.

The location of the second map is situated within a local forest. Wu Mian has been wandering here for seven or eight days, yet he has not found the location marked on the map

The area is characterized by abundant rainfall throughout the year, and some infrequently traveled paths have been completely covered by newly grown shrubs, which do not correspond at all with the map in Wu Mian's memory. The provisions Wu Mian brought have already been consumed, and if he cannot find the locations marked on the map within a day or two, he will have no choice but to return to the nearby town to replenish his supplies before coming back.

Wu Mian calculated his recovery days based on the principle of a hundred days for healing injuries to muscles and bones. While teaching Lin Huo to speak Mandarin, he also inquired about the location of the second map. To his surprise, Lin Huo himself was unaware, and when he assisted Wu Mian in asking the elderly villagers, even these elders had never heard of such a place.

Three or four robust men with bare upper bodies ran up from behind. The leader, a man in his forties, frowned upon seeing Wu Mian's bloody calf caught in the animal trap. He immediately rushed to Wu Mian's side, grasped both ends of the iron trap with his hands, and forcefully pried it open to create a gap wide enough for the calf to be freed.

Wu Mian shook his head and said weakly, "I have no sensation in my legs and cannot move."

Although Lin Huo's Mandarin is not very good, understanding him is definitely not a problem. He gestured while saying: "It’s for trapping wild boars, not for trapping people; people don’t use traps, they just shoot them dead..."

This person first shouted a string of incomprehensible words at Wu Mian, and upon seeing that Wu Mian did not understand, he switched to a somewhat awkward form of Mandarin and said: "You, come out with your legs."

After these few men returned, the men and women in the village all came out to greet them. However, upon seeing the wound on Wu Mian's leg, they all displayed expressions of astonishment.

As the leader spoke, the old doctor rummaged through the bamboo basket he was carrying and took out several kinds of herbs. After chewing them into a paste, he applied it to the wound on Wu Mian's leg. The herbs were cool to the touch, and there was no particularly strong sensation.

Wu Mian recognized at a glance that this was the elixir of immortality. However, he did not understand Xu Fu's intention in leaving the elixir here. Nevertheless, since he had discovered it, there was no reason not to take it away. After searching the cave again and finding nothing else of value, Wu Mian left with several gold ingots and the elixir of immortality.

Wu Mian originally had no intention of watching this commotion, but Lin Huo was determined to bring him along for a specific purpose. To this end, he also brought his nephew, a young man named Yang Xiao. Wu Mian was truly at a loss and, in the end, simply agreed to Lin Huo's request to go see what the Witch Ancestor looked like in the evening

A thought suddenly struck Wu Mian: Could it be that this is a trap set by bandits to rob and kill? As the footsteps behind him grew closer, Wu Mian simply leaned against the tree trunk and sat down on the ground, pretending to be at a loss after being injured. He remained on guard, wanting to see what these people behind him were really up to

Wu Mian looked at the leading man and said, "Are you Lin Huo? Was it your people who buried the trap that injured me just now?"

The local Miao people treat Wu Mian quite well, as he receives a share of every captured prey along with the crops from the fields. The village elder personally came to inquire about Wu Mian's background, to which he merely claimed to be a prospector for a large mining company who had lost his way in the mountains and ended up here, only to be injured by the traps set by Lin Huo and his group. Wu Mian, having been raised as a practitioner of the Way, possesses extensive knowledge of minerals and medicinal herbs, and there are no discrepancies to be found in his words.

Wu Mian was completely at a loss and could only stay in the Miao village for the time being. After all, he had plenty of time on his hands, and by wandering around the area for a few years, he would surely have the opportunity to uncover some clues.

After the old doctor left behind several kinds of herbs, he departed from this place. The leading man then pointed to his own chest and said to Wu Mian: "I, Lin Huo, you live here, what you eat, I will bring to you"

After placing Wu Mian in a bamboo house, an old man in his sixties was brought here. It seemed that the old man was a local doctor. After examining Wu Mian's injuries, the old man spoke a long string of words that Wu Mian could not understand to the leading man. The leading man responded affirmatively and then, while speaking and gesturing, said to Wu Mian: "The doctor said, it is not serious, apply medicine, and it will be fine in half a month"

Just when the old pavilion chief thought that the white-haired young man had died on Yanshan, half sighing and half rejoicing, Wu Mian had already appeared in the Miao region, a thousand miles away. Two months ago, he had already integrated all the spells recorded on the bamboo slips and decided to leave this place to search for the next map. Before leaving, Wu Mian felt a slight unease in his heart and, after checking the cave again, unexpectedly discovered a small porcelain bottle in the last stone chamber that contained the bamboo slips. Inside were four wax pills the size of pigeon eggs. After crushing one, a black pill was revealed inside.

As soon as he thought of this, Wu Mian felt a sense of restlessness in his heart and did not pay attention to what was beneath his feet. After stepping over a bare tree root, he suddenly felt something unusual underfoot, and then he heard a "snap" sound. A huge animal trap flipped up from the ground, and Wu Mian, focused on finding the path on the map, was completely unprepared. The iron teeth at both ends of the trap clamped tightly onto his calf.

The man frowned again and shouted something in a language that Wu Mian could not understand to a few people behind him. Immediately, another person ran over and lifted Wu Mian's leg out of the animal trap.

During the days when Wu Mian was "recovering from his injuries," Lin Huo came to visit him almost every day. As time went by, the two became friends. Because he had accidentally injured Wu Mian, Lin Huo felt a sense of guilt towards him, compounded by his lack of understanding of certain official terms. Therefore, although Wu Mian often spoke with a hint of sarcasm and sharpness, Lin Huo did not take much offense.

From that day on, every one or two months, the old tavern keeper's white-haired young man would come down the mountain, go to the only restaurant at the foot of the mountain to enjoy a free meal, and then take back dozens of pounds of dried food and meat to the mountain. However, two years later, after waiting for three or four months in a row, the old tavern keeper no longer saw any trace of the white-haired young man.