Chapter 31: Salvation Rites at the Back Mountain

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In the midnight stronghold, snoring could be heard from time to time. After searching the battlefield for an entire day, everyone felt exhausted. After giving half their gains to the three leaders, this group of bandits had long since fallen into deep sleep while clutching their silver.

With money, they could squander again.

Zhang He turned over in his sleep, not forgetting to cover the spot at his waist where he hid his silver even in his dreams. He was somewhat different from the other Yuan Mountain bandits—while others only knew how to squander and enjoy themselves once they robbed silver, Zhang He always hid his share away, saving it as travel funds for when he would leave Yuan Mountain in the future.

Before joining Yuan Mountain Stronghold, he had been an accountant. Being a cook was just a side job—calculating how to spend money was his true profession.

Moonlight streamed through the window. In his sleep, Zhang He felt his stomach bloating and groggily sat up, preparing to relieve himself. His drowsy eyes had just opened when he saw a person standing by his bed, nearly scaring him to death.

“Who!”

Thinking it was an evil ghost demanding his life, Zhang He’s hair stood on end. Only after seeing clearly by moonlight that it was the little Taoist priest did his soul return to his body. Just as he was about to curse, the other person spoke first, his tone cold enough to chill one’s heart.

“For dinner, did you eat pork?”

“Pork? What pork?” Zhang He shivered, remembering the soldier the little Taoist priest had killed in the gorge. The curse that was about to leave his mouth was swallowed back down.

“For dinner, did you eat pork?”

Xu Yan asked again, his tone calm yet eerie. In the moonlight, the little Taoist priest’s face was cold and gloomy. Little Black was missing—the only possibility was that it had been killed for meat. It was indeed a pig, but it was also Xu Yan’s childhood playmate and friend.

‘In Xu Yan’s heart, Little Black was the same as playmates like Tiezhu and Xiaohua. If the bandits had eaten his pig, he would eat this group of Yuan Mountain bandits!’

“We ate noodles. After being tired all day, who had the energy to cook meat for them?” Zhang He put on his shoes and walked outside. He hadn’t seen Xu Yan’s expression and thought the other person had just returned without eating dinner. “There’s still some in the big pot. If you’re hungry, help yourself.”

Watching Zhang He push the door and leave, Xu Yan’s expression finally improved considerably.

‘They didn’t eat pork for dinner, so Little Black should be fine. Maybe it just ran out of the pig pen.’

Xu Yan wasn’t worried about the pig escaping from the pen. Back at Riding Clouds Temple, Little Black would often escape and run wild, returning after half a day. It wasn’t a domestic pig—even if people in town wanted to catch it, they couldn’t.

Lying down fully clothed, Xu Yan gently exhaled. ‘He thought that if Little Black had escaped into the deep mountains, it would be best not to return. This was a bandit stronghold, not Riverside Town.’

‘Wild boars should live in the deep mountains.’

The night passed without incident. As soon as dawn broke, Xu Yan got up early and was still busy in the kitchen. To his delight and helplessness, Little Black had somehow returned on its own and was still in the pig pen, snorting foolishly at Xu Yan and begging for food.

“You’re a wild boar—wouldn’t it be good to return to the deep mountains?”

Snort snort!

“Forget it, we’ll leave together after a while.” Xu Yan said to himself while feeding the pig: “Eat more. No matter how much you eat, you don’t get stronger… Huh?”

After filling the feeding trough, Xu Yan stared curiously at Little Black. After not seeing it for a day, Little Black seemed to have grown a size larger—at least two jin heavier.

Others wouldn’t notice such subtle changes, but Xu Yan stayed with Little Black every day. He could tell at a glance that Little Black had gained several jin.

“Could it be that Yuan Mountain Stronghold’s food is too good?” Xu Yan scratched his head in confusion, then laughed foolishly: “Then eat more. Once you get stronger, I can ride you when traveling, heh.”

Since visiting Qi Yuan Gorge once, the bandits at Yuan Mountain Stronghold had obviously decreased in number. Groups of two or three bandits would often leave the mountain together to squander in nearby towns. When they returned, they would sometimes reek of alcohol or have bloodshot eyes—that was from losing money gambling.

The honest little Taoist priest still busied himself daily between the kitchen and vegetable garden. The Yuan Mountain bandits had also grown accustomed to this hardworking yet foolish little Taoist priest. Apart from occasionally deceiving this silly half-grown child, they pushed most of the kitchen work onto Xu Yan.

‘Who told him to be a fool—and a fool who loved to work at that.’

This morning, while Xu Yan was picking vegetables in the garden, Mei Sanniang appeared in the kitchen once again.

The stronghold’s lady, who came to pick vegetables herself every day, had long recognized Xu Yan, this little Taoist priest. When picking vegetables, Mei Sanniang would usually tease the foolish Xu Yan, but this time, her expression appeared solemn and somber.

“Little Taoist priest, today is my younger brother’s memorial day. Tell me what needs to be prepared.”

Today Mei Sanniang wore plain clothes, her face bare of any makeup. She wasn’t carrying a basket but held a white handkerchief. After arriving at the vegetable garden, she immediately asked Xu Yan.

Learning that today was the memorial day for Mei Sanniang’s younger brother, Xu Yan bowed respectfully and said: “If the heart is sincere, three sticks of high incense are sufficient.”

“Good, come with me then.” Mei Sanniang was somewhat surprised. She had already prepared plenty of paper money and yellow wine, but since he said three sticks of high incense were enough, she didn’t mention more and turned toward the back mountain.

After washing his hands, Xu Yan glanced at Zhang He, who was pretending to be busy on the other side of the vegetable garden.

“You go ahead. I’ll handle today’s work. The lady’s orders are like imperial edicts.” Zhang He bowed at the side and said: “Take care, my lady!”

‘Never mind that the three-month deadline was almost up—even if Xu Yan had just arrived, once the lady spoke, he wouldn’t dare obstruct. At Yuan Mountain Stronghold, Mei Sanniang’s words sometimes carried more weight than those of the second and third leaders.’

Leaving the kitchen, Xu Yan followed Mei Sanniang to a clearing on the back mountain.

In the clearing stood a grave mound without a stone tablet, looking somewhat desolate. However, there wasn’t a single weed around the grave—it appeared someone regularly tended to it.

Throughout the journey, Mei Sanniang remained silent. Xu Yan couldn’t see her expression but could feel a long-suppressed resentment. Upon reaching the grave, Xu Yan took the three sticks of high incense she had brought, raised his hand to insert them before the grave, then straightened his robes, bowed respectfully, chanted a Taoist invocation, and began the salvation rites.

‘The person in the grave had been dead for many years. This kind of salvation didn’t need to be too formal, because time could wear away everything, including the resentment of the dead.’

Throughout the half-day salvation ritual, Xu Yan maintained a solemn expression. When the rites ended and he stood up, he saw that Mei Sanniang’s phoenix eyes had turned red from crying, and those beautiful eyes held deep hatred.

The high incense had long since burned out. Mei Sanniang seemed immersed in painful memories, speaking as if to herself: “Five years ago, I went to Pu Nation on behalf of my family to purchase medicinal materials. Xiao Cheng pestered me, insisting on coming along to see the world. The border road between the two nations wasn’t easy to travel, but I had walked it many times before. Previously, there were no bandits on Yuan Mountain at all. Unable to bear his crying and fussing, I secretly brought him along without telling the family. I never expected… he would never return home…”

‘Xiao Cheng, whom Mei Sanniang spoke of, was her younger brother. When he set out with his sister five years ago, he was only eleven years old. One trading journey, and the young boy was forever buried underground.’

Mei Sanniang’s low murmuring before the grave was filled with deep regret. Xu Yan stood quietly to the side—during such moments of comforting a relative’s departed soul, he wouldn’t interrupt.

The tearful, mournful whispers continued for a long time. Mei Sanniang’s hands had already dug into the soil. Not only was her face frighteningly gloomy, but her eyes also surged with a trace of ferocity, just like those souls who died in battle, carrying unwillingness and hatred, lingering on their battlefield, refusing to disperse.

“Mercy, mercy.”

Xu Yan frowned slightly, bowed respectfully, and chanted “mercy,” saying: “The dead cannot return to life. Please accept my condolences, benefactor.”

As if awakened by this word “mercy,” Mei Sanniang took a long breath, released the soil in her hands, and slowly stood up. As the woman brushed the dirt from her hands, Xu Yan could see small scars on her hands, like those caused by insect bites.

“If Xiao Cheng were still alive, he would be about your age now.”

The woman once again resumed her charming demeanor. After looking at the little Taoist priest before her for a long time, she suddenly made a strange move—she opened her arms and pulled Xu Yan into an embrace, startling the little Taoist priest so much that his eyes widened. His mouth was blocked by something soft, and he could barely breathe.