As night falls 821

als.Greeting in Zen involves "standing and not kneeling," . Although the old abbot is elderly, we are from different paths, so he calls us "young friends" and we don't have to perform a grand bow."Ma...Mu Wanchen's silence always leaves me struggling to find a topic.

His heart was filled with too much, his silhouette seemed so lonely.

I was afraid to speak again, for fear he would urge me to go back. So I simply remained silent.

The empty hold of the ship, a single light like a bean.

He wasn't too far from me, but besides sitting beside him with my knees hugged to my chest, I had nothing else to do.

Upon arriving at the colossal mountain city by boat, looking up from below, one sees suspension bridges crisscrossing the sides and majestic cliffs standing solemnly.

The rubble has been cleared, and some of the damaged areas have been restored. His people are staying in their homes, there is no panic or fleeing. The twinkling lights once again awaken the fear and awe I felt on my first night here.

I'm back again.

This time, no one kidnapped me.

When she was with Mu Wanchen, the female gu was very docile, a faint ache in her lower abdomen—this female gu must have a great relationship with her husband. As long as they were close, this kind of romantic atmosphere would emanate from them.

Because I brought a lot of emergency supplies, the tribe members looked at me with more kindness. The previous disdain and tension had eased somewhat.

Though things weren't much better, there were definitely plenty of girls in his clan who liked him. I could feel a lot of cold stares cutting into me.

I leaned against his shoulder, peeking back at the crowd.

This is just a small portion of the mountain town's residents, two of whom look familiar. They were the ones who helped me change clothes last time. They waved at me under the lights.

I quietly raised my hand and shook it, not daring to make too much of a movement.

So many strangers, I'm a little scared.

This is the edge of civilization, there are no laws or law enforcement to protect me. My safety depends entirely on Mu Wanchen.

Thinking about this, I nervously grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"...My people will not harm you, don't be afraid." He said softly.

"Oh," I nodded, bracing myself against his shoulder, stealing glances at him with my eyes.

There is a huge stone platform in the middle of this mountain city. From here, going up is his palace. I have also looked down from here before. Now passing by again, I can't help but glance towards it.

Huh There was a man's back standing there for a moment

"Mu Wanchen, there seems to be someone on the platform," I patted his shoulder.

Mu Wanchen turned his head to look at me, and said faintly, "You must be mistaken"

No way, my eyesight is great! I rubbed my eyes and looked again, there was definitely a silhouette.

He too was clad in dark hues, with long black hair that melted into the night. Standing in the center of the platform, the mountain wind lifted his robes and sleeves, making him appear like a celestial being.

"Someone, definitely someone!" I patted his shoulder, raising my hand to point in that direction.

Mu Wanchen suddenly reached out and grasped my palm, preventing me from pointing blindly.

"Don't be ridiculous." He sounded hesitant: "…You can actually see it"

"I'm not blind, how could I possibly not see There's clearly someone there—" I insisted, trying to prove my eyesight was fine.

Mu Wanchen nodded, putting me down. He said to me, "Do you remember the way here Just follow the stone corridor and go back to the room and wait for me. Don't run around, or you'll get lost."

“Oh…” I nodded.

He stood there, watching me, as if he wouldn't turn away until I left, then he would go find that man on the platform.

So mysterious, who is it

And he wouldn't even let me point, so he must be someone of high status.

Those guards only followed to the platform and didn't go any further. This must be Mu Wanchen's personal territory.

On the windowsill stood a porcelain basin as white as jade, filled with clear water. In the center of the water floated a lotus lantern.

It's quite pretty. I saw it last time during the day, so these elaborately crafted lights weren't lit.

Walking alone along this stone corridor, I felt a little uneasy, so I reached into the porcelain basin and took out a lotus lantern. Holding it in my hand, I walked upward.

Every few windows, there was a lamp like this, the entire stone corridor bathed in a warm, soft light.

Human hearts are truly fickle. If I were fearful now, I imagine I would find this light rather eerie.

But now I think he's not such a terrible bad person, and I just find the lighting to be very comfortable.

I walked into the room where I used to live. There was already a light there, so I placed the lotus lantern in my hand on the table, illuminating the whole room.

I looked around, thinking I might have taken a wrong turn.

What on earth is this display!

There was an extra blanket on the stone bed, and it was even a pink one with sheep patterns!

Furthermore, two simple mosquito nets were added to both the front and back windows. On the bamboo blinds leading to another room, a red Chinese knot was still hanging.

My goodness, whose taste is so overwhelmingly girly A cold stone house has been unexpectedly infused with the feeling of a toy shop.

I was very curious about the other room behind the bamboo curtain. Holding a lamp, I secretly peeked through a crack.

Behind them, darkness enveloped everything. The light from the lotus lantern in their hand seemed to be swallowed by the shadows, unable to reach even a few feet ahead.

What place is this, it feels so spacious inside.

I ducked behind the curtains and instinctively reached along the wall, feeling for a light switch.

After going around it once, I gave up on this fantasy.

The lotus lantern's light could only illuminate a radius of a few feet around me. I pressed against the wall and took a few steps when with a "thud," I bumped into something protruding. The pain caused me to crouch on the ground, tears welling up in my eyes.

Holding a lamp to look, it is a prominent candlestick, shaped like a flying fairy, holding a lamp in her hand.

I stood on my toes, holding the lotus lantern aloft, and lit the candle stand.

A sliver of flame snaked through a narrow groove in the wall, spreading with astonishing speed. One lamp after another ignited, and within minutes, the entire vast room was bathed in light.

This place seems like a library, with countless bookshelves. Judging by the scale, there must be over 100,000 books here

Is this Mu Wanchen's study

I held up the lamp and looked carefully. The bookshelves were labeled with seal characters, classifying them. I saw a character for "medicine" and dove right in.

Those books are very old, and some have even been lost.

I saw the record of the Nine Needles of Ling Shu, my eyes are almost watering. If I let my father and senior brothers see it, they could study it day and night for two or three years.

"...Do you like looking at these" Mu Wanchen suddenly appeared outside the bookshelf.

I nodded and asked, "Can I take a look"

"Of course, just don't take it away or damage it, you can look at it however you like...You can even copy it down." He squatted in front of me and said in a low voice, "But first go change your clothes, don't catch a cold."

I followed him to the door. He raised his hand and pressed a mechanism, and the flame inside the lantern was suddenly cut off from oxygen, extinguishing instantly.

"Originally, I was going to send you away, but my master said that his wife wanted to see you, so..." Mu Wanchen's tone was filled with twelve thousand points of reluctance.

So what

"So, you'll be staying here for the night and going to their place tomorrow."ll take care of things here and we can go find him together." Mu Wanchen said crisply.The ghostly figures grew more numerous, wandering throughout the village. I heard piercing screams from women echo...