The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

The Jurchens were mostly Jurchen, also known as the Manchus in later generations. They had an inherent arrogance and disdain for the Han people, and they were fond of eating meat, swarming wherever they went like locusts.

The village where Wang Zhenhuan lived was now truly deserted, with not a single dog left alive. Not even a bark could be heard at night; he and Lin Qingyan were the only living people left in the village.

He had been seriously injured and then soaked in the icy river water. Although his wounds were not infected, he couldn't withstand the cold. Wang Zhenhuan still fell ill, and for three consecutive days, his body was burning with a frighteningly high fever.

After that emotional outburst, Lin Qingyan's mental state had improved considerably. Life had to go on, and during the days Wang Huanzhen was ill, she busied herself with everything without a single complaint.

Every day they went out to search for food buried under the ruins. Fortunately, it was autumn, and the villagers had a habit of storing food. They found quite a bit of millet in several cellars.

On the fourth day, Wang's fever subsided. Although he was still a little weak, he was able to get out of bed and move around. So, while Lin Qingyan was out, he went to the main hall of the house.

A simple mourning hall was set up, and a brazier was brought from the house and placed in front of the remains of Lin Qingyan's parents. They burned paper money and kept vigil for them until sunset, but Lin Qingyan did not return.

As darkness fell, Wang Zhenhuan grew increasingly worried. He wasn't afraid of the two corpses beside him; he feared that Lin Qingyan would never return. The hour of Shen (3-5 PM) ended, and the hour of You (5-7 PM) arrived.

Wang Zhenhuan finally couldn't sit still any longer. He got up and went out into the street, looking around frantically, but he didn't see that familiar figure. In desperation, he shouted Lin Qingyan's name loudly into the street.

"Seiken! Seiken!!"

Unfortunately, the entire street was quiet, and no one answered except for his echo. Wang Zhen started to panic, pacing back and forth at the street corner.

After thinking for a moment, he turned and went back into the house. He found a lantern in the woodshed, carried it back to his room, lit it, and then followed the footprints at the street corner.

Most of the houses in the village were burned down, so very little food remained inside. Generally, only houses with cellars had a chance of storing food for the winter.

Wang Zhenhuan followed the footprints northward along the street. When he reached the last house, the footprints disappeared to the east. To the east lay the mountain peak where the Taoist temple where he had previously lived was located.

It seems that Lin Qingyan went up the mountain because she couldn't find food. The mountain outside the village isn't very high, and it's said that it used to be a mass burial ground, which is why a Taoist temple was built there to suppress it.

Wang Zhen couldn't figure out what delicious food was on the mountain that could keep Lin Qingyan from returning until dark. When he first came to this world, he often went up the mountain with Lin Qingyan.

He wouldn't say he was familiar with every single plant and tree on this mountain, but he recognized at least most of them. There was almost nothing edible on this mountain; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Lin Qingyan to bring him food every day.

Knowing this, Wang Zhenhuan was even more anxious. He hesitated for a moment, then picked up his lantern and followed the path Lin Qingyan had taken up the mountain.

When the Jurchens marched south, not all the elderly, women, and children in the village chose to flee; some hid in the mountains. However, in retrospect, their choice was clearly not wise.

On the way up the mountain, Wang Zhenhuan could still see corpses scattered along the roadside from time to time. Some of them even had their eyes open, their faces full of the fear and unease they had felt before they died.

He climbed cautiously upwards, his fear growing with each corpse he encountered. Especially in the pitch-black night, the faint light from the lantern offered him no sense of security.

Wang Zhenhuan walked along the mountain path for about half an incense stick's time. He then came to a lush forest, which was said to have been a mass burial ground, located halfway up the mountain behind the Taoist temple.

He carried his lantern, gazing at the pitch-black forest, and simply didn't have the courage to go any further. After hesitating for a moment, taking a deep breath, he resolutely stepped into the woods.

The reason he made this decision was the broken elm branch by the roadside. Judging from the freshness of the break, it shouldn't have been more than a day old. Therefore, Lin Qingyan must have passed by here.

It was early autumn, and the villagers had a habit of stockpiling firewood. Therefore, almost all the shrubs in the woods had been cut down, leaving only some large trees that the government forbade to be felled.

This discovery put his mind at ease. Without the bushes to conceal them, the entire forest was now visible. However, the downside was that he could no longer use the broken bushes to determine the direction Lin Qingyan had gone.

Therefore, Wang Zhen was extremely careful as he walked, afraid of missing any information. He held the lantern high in his hand, hoping that Lin Qingyan could see it from afar, and he would call out Lin Qingyan's name from time to time.

Unfortunately, he received no response until he emerged from the woods. Beyond the woods lay vast stretches of graves, almost seventy percent of which lacked tombstones.

It seems the villagers were right; this used to be a mass grave. Wang Zhenhuan should have felt fear upon seeing so many graves, but he didn't.

The reason for this was that he saw a bright yellow figure standing in the distance. Although the two were quite far apart, Wang Zhenhuan could still roughly see that Lin Qingyan was clasping her hands together, seemingly praying for something.

"Qingyan!"

Wang Zhenhuan shouted, then walked towards the girl with his lantern. Hearing Wang Zhenhuan's call, the girl turned around, looked at the travel-worn and sweaty Wang Zhenhuan, and waved to him with a smile.

"Brother, why are you here? You should rest properly since you're sick. I'll go back as soon as I'm done with my work." The girl stepped forward and hugged Wang Zhenhuan's arm, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"If I hadn't come, who knows when you would have gone back? What could be so important that you'd abandon your brother?" Wang Zhen asked, feigning anger.

"I dug a grave for my parents. Tomorrow, we'll carry them over for burial." Lin Qingyan stepped aside, revealing a large pit behind her.

Wang Zhenhuan looked over in surprise and saw a large pit, more than ten feet wide and half a foot deep, appear behind the girl. On both sides of the pit, there was still freshly dug, damp soil.

"Did you dig this all by yourself?" Wang Zhen asked in surprise.

"Of course not, how could I dig such a large hole by myself? The Fox Fairy helped me!"