The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 124 Your Excellency is probably unable to distinguish between humans and ghosts.
At this point, Du Yuan nodded slightly: "It seems it's done. I'll take my leave now."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already quietly left, just as they had come.

The young man who was leading the way and the peach blossom branch still kneeling in front of the incense stick were particularly puzzled.

They said that the actions of a wise person must have a profound meaning, which they could not understand at present.

Only the old man, hidden deep beneath the tomb, felt a surge of turbulent emotions within him, yet his throat felt as if it were being tightly choked, preventing him from uttering a single word.

He had always thought that his apprentice's marriage was arranged by the other party.

But who could have predicted that this cause and effect would be achieved simply from a careless remark by the other party?
what is this?
Before the great calamity struck, the world was brimming with spiritual energy, giving rise to countless extraordinary talents and heroes. In that glorious era, those with unparalleled cultivation and the power to speak with authority were extremely rare, yet not entirely unheard of.

But what about now?

What is the situation like now?
These days, anyone who can levitate can be called a god!

The Heavenly Law hangs like a knife, the calamities are still lingering, and the spiritual energy is as desolate as a desert. Yet, in such a state of affairs, someone can still casually utter a word and become the Heavenly Law?!

At this moment, the old man had the same thought as the two people on the Mi River that day.

Is this really how things should be behaving right now?

After a long while, the old man earnestly instructed his young apprentice:

"My disciple, you must always remember this: we are just a humble family in Yan Gui Mountain. We must never provoke such a powerful and accomplished senior!"

Even good results must be approached with extreme caution.

Tao Hongzhi was even more puzzled. Wasn't it said that although Yan Guishan had few disciples, it was still a sect in itself? And why was it being so cautious?
"Master, why are you being so cautious?"

The old man looked helplessly at the ever-burning lamp of the patriarch and said:

"I'm afraid I might accidentally choke to death."
-
Du Yuan was very relieved to have cleared up a mistake.

Fortunately, I met that old gentleman today, otherwise I don’t know how long it would have taken for me to remember the importance of being careful with my words, and I don’t know how many innocent people would have been inexplicably implicated by my impulsive desires.

Du Yuan had thought about the importance of being cautious about having too much ability.

But I've almost forgotten about it lately.

Fortunately, they realized their mistake in time and prevented it from becoming a real mistake.

Thinking of this, Du Yuan felt as light as the wind beneath her feet and as clear as the sky in her mind.

Extremely relaxed and carefree!

Wherever it went, green grass sprouted and wondrous things appeared.

Before long, Du Yuan had already left the territory of Tai'an.

Before him stood an unnamed hill, and he was walking on the official road at its foot. Looking up, he saw that the sun had already set, leaving only the last rays of twilight.

"Hmm, it looks like we'll have to walk a bit more, or we might have to spend the night in the mountains."

Spending the night in the mountains is not out of the question, but since it's possible to walk a little further to stay in the city, the latter is the obvious choice!
"Hey young man, this place is quite far from the county town; even a young man would need half a day to walk here. But if you take this path, you'll soon see a village. You can stay there for the night!"

Du Yuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old man with a long beard waving kindly at her.

Behind him, there was indeed a narrow, winding path.

"Oh? Old man," Du Yuan asked, bowing slightly, "may I ask which village you are heading to?"

"Most of the villagers share the same surname, so it's called Zhangjia Village," the old man replied.

Du Yuan cupped her hands and said:
"Thank you, old man."

Having said that, he walked over to the long-bearded old man and began searching around.

This puzzled the old man.

"Young man, what are you looking for?"

Du Yuan laughed:

"Since you gave me directions, I should thank you in some way!"

The old man became even more curious and asked:
"Putting aside the fact that this is such a small thing and there's nothing to thank me for, what are you trying to thank me for by searching all this time?"

"Ah, found it!"

Du Yuan didn't answer, but instead her eyes lit up as she parted the grass.

The old man looked in the direction he was heading, his face changed drastically, and he cried out in alarm, "Hey! Young man, you mustn't! You can't go there! You mustn't go!"

Du Yuan turned around upon hearing the voice, her smile undiminished: "Why can't I go? Aren't you right there?" The old man stood there dumbfounded.

Du Yuan had already parted the grass, revealing a solitary grave inside.

The inscription is slightly blurred and it is clear that no one has worshipped it for a long time.

However, it is still possible to vaguely make out that it says—

The Tomb of the Late Father Zhang Shoulu
He died in the first month of autumn in the twenty-third year of the Jingyuan era.

Looking at the lonely grave, Du Yuan said:
"You've been watching this road for many years, haven't you?"

Du Yuan didn't know when the 23rd year of Jingyuan was, but he learned it from Governor Pei that it was currently the Tianbao era.

Therefore, this grave must be at least several decades old.

The old man didn't answer, but looked at Du Yuan with great surprise and said:
"Are not you afraid?"

Du Yuan turned around and asked in return:
"Why be afraid?"

The old man immediately burst out laughing:
"I am a spirit! Shouldn't it be natural for the living to fear me?"

In the past few days, other people have also noticed this, but their reactions have been completely different from Du Yuan's.

The other party was immediately frightened and fled, but Du Yuan went straight to his grave.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan smiled and said:
"But you just gave me directions!"

"Aren't you afraid of this?"

Du Yuan then pointed to her eyes and said:

"Of course not, after all, my eyes can see a lot more than that!"

After saying that, Du Yuan squatted down in front of the tomb and took out a Yin De Bao coin.

The moment it was taken out, the old man's eyes were fixed on it.

"What is this?"

Du Yuan was a little surprised for the first time:
"Don't you know?"

The old man shook his head in confusion:

"I truly do not know what this is, but I feel an overwhelming urge to possess it. So it must be a treasure?"

After gazing intently for a moment, Du Yuan thoughtfully withdrew her gaze and said:

"It is indeed a fine item, and it would be very appropriate to give it to you as a thank-you gift."

The old man advised against it:

"I already said it's a small matter. If you really want to repay me, just say thank you. Why bring out such a precious item?"

"Well, since you put it that way, then I should definitely give it to you."

After saying that, Du Yuan lit the Yin De Bao Coin.

As soon as the fireworks started, the old man felt a lightness in his body, as if he were floating on air.

"Farewell, sir!"

After burning the slowly burning Yin De Bao Qian (a type of incense) in front of the grave, Du Yuan bowed and left.

The old man returned the greeting.

Du Yuan, walking slowly along the path, soon saw Zhangjia Village, which the old man had mentioned.

They found a place that seemed to be half farmhouse and half inn, knocked on the door, and explained their purpose to the owner.

The other party said somewhat apologetically:
"We could have arranged a bed for you, but quite a few people came earlier, so we'll have to make do with the inner room for now."

Before Du Yuan could nod, he heard someone shouting from inside the room:

"I told you all that talk of gods and ghosts is nonsense. Otherwise, how come we haven't seen that so-called guide ghost that tricks people into going down a path of no return and killing them along the way?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw seven or eight young swordsmen gathered together, chatting animatedly.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan chuckled softly:
"Perhaps you've mistaken a human for a ghost, and a ghost for a human."

(End of this chapter)