Deep within the mountains...
Song Cheng got up, naturally waking Tong Jia as well.
Hearing her husband shouting, her sleepy eyes gradually cleared, and she realized what had happened.
She looked around and saw mountain fog rising, the icy wind howling.
In this kind of weather, and deep in the primordial forest, it would have been impossible for a young lady like Yune to have run far.
Tong Jia suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Sister Yune...couldn't have...thought..."
She was aware of the truth and naturally knew the pain Yune was in.
To Yune, Tang River Village was truly Endless Hell.
What she didn't understand, however, was why the villagers hated Yune so much. Especially when she recalled the scenes at The place where those dishonest lovers were punished, she was even more terrified, feeling as if the villagers had all gone mad.
Song Cheng, holding the Fine Blade, tapped it gently on the ground, the ripples revealing the cold branches beneath.
He bent down to collect the branches and gathered them into the remnants of the extinguished bonfire.
Tong Jia quickly got up.
When sleeping in a cave, one sleeps fully clothed.
She took out the carefully preserved fire starter and went to light the fire.
After a few tries, the bonfire flared up.
The light brought warmth, creating a soft yet fragile zone of light, holding back the pervasive cold and desolation of the mountains.
The two moved closer together and sat down.
Tong Jia took out some biscuits and prepared to warm them for eating, then she said, "Brother Cheng, didn't you notice anything last night? And now, you should finally tell me why we had to flee to these deep mountains, right?"
Song Cheng naturally didn't keep secrets from his wife, so he shared about the "formation principle of taboos" and the "third young master of the Ding Family colluding with bandits," then he concluded, "I guess no sooner had we left the village than the bandits had already raided it, and Sister Yune...she had become the taboo, or rather, a horrific filthy thing."
Tong Jia, shivering, her keen intellect sparking, suddenly said, "So the reason the villagers seemed to have gone mad, was it also because of the taboo's influence? I remember they were xenophobic, but they were never so insanely...so completely irrational."
Song Cheng nodded and said, "That was the seed of evil, sprouting flowers in the soil of taboos."
Tong Jia said, "Then...we..."
Song Cheng replied, "The core of the taboo is Sister Yune. Think about it, at that time...how many people in the entire village were still good to Sister Yune?"
Tong Jia suddenly saw the light.
Back then, it was just her and Song Cheng who were still kind towards Yune.
Perhaps it was Yune's power that subtly protected both her and him.
However, just hearing about these matters had already chilled her to the bone.
Song Cheng wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his embrace, suddenly feeling an indescribable itchiness around his eyes, as if a sinister flow chilling to the extreme was probing from his skull enveloping the eyeballs stuffed in his eye sockets.
He rubbed his eyes.
The itchy feeling was now accompanied by a swelling sensation.
"What's wrong, Brother Cheng?" noticed Tong Jia, sensing something was amiss.
Song Cheng suddenly widened his eyes, revealing eyes like cloudy white jade, and from the depths of his eyes, strands of cold black tadpoles rapidly converged towards the center of his eyes to form two black eyeballs.
The blazing fire, the grey-black branches dancing within the flames, the pale cave, the grey mountains, the ghostly mist, the petite wife wrapped in a cotton coat by his side...
Everything appeared, everything became clear.
"I...I...I can see now."
Song Cheng couldn't believe it.
He kept looking around, and though he had seen it all in a previous life, opening his eyes now felt inexplicably fresh.
Tong Jia said, "It must have been Sister Yune who helped you. We should thank her.
Since she has become an evil spirit, we could set up a memorial tablet for her and offer incense to worship her daily.
If we ever have enough money, we could even build a temple for her."
Song Cheng sighed lightly and nodded.
...
...
For breakfast, they ate biscuits and then began to discuss a way out.
Tong Jia drew a map on the ground. She often roamed the forests and was naturally familiar with the surroundings.
"Here, here, then go around like this, and we can get to Shanghe County.
But if we don't go to Shanghe County and instead go north, we will reach the Six Towns, but that road is very long.
"If we don't go through the north to get to Prefectural City, we would have to turn southward, and that road… not only is it long, but it lacks mountain paths and seems barely traveled,"
There were clearly three routes.
One led to Shanghe County, where bandits might be encountered.
One led to Six Towns, which was a long journey.
One led to Prefectural City, a long and arduous route.
Among them, Shanghe County was what the villagers of Tang River Village referred to as the "county town".
Prefectural City, then, was the superior city governing places like Tang River Village and Shanghe County.
As for Six Towns, it was a rather special place with a militaristic nature. The people there were fierce, many were martial artists, and it was rumored to be rife with gangs.
This place was originally the Great Wall against external thieves, but lately… there seemed to have been some strange alterations. Previously, when a general came to Tang River Village to recruit strong men, it was for them to head in the direction of Six Towns.
"Brother Cheng, where should we go?" the young lady of the eastern household asked.
Song Cheng, looking at the map on the ground, felt each route bristled with danger. After a long pause, he suddenly said, "Why not just seclude ourselves?"
"Seclude ourselves?"
The young lady of the eastern household counted on her fingers, "Then, in this deep winter, what would we eat?"
Song Cheng stood up and said, "Now that I have regained my sight, I can surely try hunting in the mountains."
He could "see through walls and data"; those hibernating animals were just "live targets" for him. Theoretically, food shouldn't be a concern.
If he and the young lady of the eastern household grew closer, he would become stronger.
He could deduce cultivation techniques, and even if the success rate was only 10%, he could simply try more times.
He already had the White Snake Blade as his initial fortune.
His only worry was that the deep forests might breed taboos.
Without human activity, it was hard to Fill the Yin, and taboos would inevitably arise.
But if he saw the sprout of a taboo, he would simply take the young lady of the eastern household and flee beforehand.
In his previous life, he often saw in novels things like "the protagonist hardly finishes one thing before eagerly rushing to the next place, then getting involved in all sorts of messed-up situations, heart-stoppingly thrilling"...
Back then, he often thought, "Bro, do you have hyperactivity or what? Why can't you just stay peacefully in one secure place, fully utilize all available resources, and once you're strong enough and your resources are insufficient for further advancement, only then move to the next place? What's the rush?"
Since there was space for improvement, Song Cheng decided not to leave.
His eyes were healed.
He wanted to cultivate in these deep mountains.
No sooner said than done, Song Cheng said, "Wife, we need to find a place with water; that would make life more convenient."
The young lady of the eastern household blinked at him and shyly said, "Are we really going to live here?"
After saying that, she mumbled to herself, "Alright, alright, since you're my man, if I don't listen to you, whom would I listen to?"
She then started repacking the luggage.
The luggage piled into a small mountain.
Just as she was about to sling it back on herself, Song Cheng effortlessly grabbed it and placed it on his shoulder, his movements appearing incredibly smooth.
The two walked for a while when Song Cheng suddenly noticed a data stream appearing beneath the soil nearby:
[Strength: 0~0].
He hurried forward, channeled strength into his arms, and thrust the blade downward.
Pu!
The blade pierced the earth as if it had hit something.
The black[Strength: 0~0]turned dull and then disappeared.
Tong Jia called out from behind, "What are you doing, boss? What could you possibly stab through the soil?"
Song Cheng kicked at the soil, making a hole, and with a flick of his blade, he brought out a plump rabbit.
He said with a smile, "We've got meat for today. By the way… what did you call me?"
Tong Jia: ...
She suddenly looked towards Song Cheng and said, "Called you the boss."
After speaking, she added, "Boss, merging with that lone evil spirit, you're not just any ordinary gang disciple, right?"
Song Cheng was startled.
Tong Jia said, "You must at least be an elite gang disciple."