Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Miss Wang, my ancestors were originally refugees from these mountains, and only settled in Fang County during the Chenghua era."

The speaker was a hanger-on named Feng Ergou, hired from Fang County.

"After settling down, generations of people often went into the mountains to hunt, and they became very familiar with the terrain of this area."

To the south lies a range of towering mountains, rising higher and higher, and the streams in this area all originate from those mountains.

After crossing the mountain ridge, you will find a stream flowing south. Follow the stream downstream to reach Xingshan County.

This mountain range stretches for hundreds of miles, with steep terrain and teeming with wild beasts, making it extremely difficult to traverse; even a small hunter like myself has no chance of success.

"Starting from here, if we follow the stream downstream, what are some directions that lead to inhabited villages and towns?"

The woman in green turned her gaze away from the southern mountains. If the two people in the hearse were foolish enough to try to cross those towering mountains to the south, they would almost certainly not make it out alive.

"Heading north from here, that's the road we've traveled these past few days."

Feng Ergou pointed north.

"After the streams flow northward and converge, they eventually flow into the Malan River, which flows through Fang County."

If the stream flows eastward, it will flow into the Fenqing River. The Fenqing River flows through Baokang County and merges with the Malan River near Zhucang Cave, becoming the Nanhe River.

Following the Nanhe River downstream, one can reach Gucheng County in Xiangyang Prefecture.

There are villages and towns along both the Fenqing River and the Nanhe River.

The stream flowing westward eventually joins the Du River within Zhushan County, but the journey is much longer, several dozen miles further than heading north to the Malan River or east to the Fenqing River.

Which path will they take?

The woman in green looked in the west, north, and east directions.

I and Zhao Xixian initially headed north, and later arrived at Fang County along the Malan River.

If the two people in the hearse also traveled this route, they would inevitably arrive in Fang County as well.

The crossing occurred when the two cars collided. Although the two cars landed at different points, the time should have been the same.

Zhao Xixian and I stayed in Fang County for almost a whole year. In this small county with a population of less than 20,000, it was impossible for two outsiders dressed in strange clothes to keep it a secret.

They didn't take that route!

What about the direction of Fenqing River to the east?

The Fenqing River and the Malan River are both tributaries of the Nanhe River. If those two people are traveling in this direction, no matter which village or town along the river they initially settled in, the best route for them to leave Yunyang Prefecture later would be to take a boat down the Nanhe River, pass through Gucheng County, enter the Han River, and then head south to Xiangyang Prefecture.

We're all modern people, who doesn't know who? With relatively safe and well-established waterways, who would be foolish enough to go over mountains and valleys again?

When Zhao Xixian and I arrived in Xiangyang City via Gucheng County, it was already the winter of the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign. We had not found anything special in either Gucheng County or Xiangyang City, nor had we heard any legends of suspected time travelers.

If those two had taken this path, they would either have left Yunyang Prefecture later than me, or they would have integrated into the local population much faster than me and Zhao Xixian.

In comparison, it's more likely that these two people headed west.

"Let's not go back to Fang County right away. Let's find a stream that flows westward, and head towards Duhe River, then to Zhushan County!"

The woman in green gave a loud order.

"An additional two taels of silver per person!"

. . .

a few days later.

"Miss, there's a village over there."

The maid pointed to a building that could be vaguely seen in the distance.

"Finally, I can get a good night's sleep."

Although we had prepared ample supplies when we set off from Fang County, and the team consisted of as many as thirty or forty people, we were still very tired after trekking through the primeval forest for several days.

To defend against attacks from wild animals, campsites had to be prepared in advance each night, campfires lit, and people arranged to take turns keeping watch.

Finding an inhabited village meant that everyone could finally rest and recuperate.

"What kind of village is that?"

The woman in green summoned Feng Ergou for questioning.

"Could this remote mountain area be a bandit's den?"

"Miss Wang, before the Chenghua era, Yunyang Prefecture had a population of one million refugees. Even now, there are still many villages built privately by refugees in the mountains."

Wang Ergou glanced at the village not far away.

"The mountains are too barren, and they're not places where merchants pass through. If they relied solely on robbery, they would have starved to death long ago."

Bandit strongholds that truly make a living by plundering are usually not too far from major transportation routes.

The migrants in these villages usually cultivate land nearby and also hunt in the mountains to make a living.

Given the opportunity, these people often don't mind pulling off a heist. Calling them bandits wouldn't be entirely unfair.

Don't worry, Miss Wang. This kind of village isn't very big, maybe a few dozen households at most. We have thirty or forty people, all armed with swords. They wouldn't dare to have any ulterior motives against such tough guys.

"If we want to rest in the village, just give us some silver."

. . .

That night.

"Young lady, this is the ritual implement left behind by that monk."

An elderly woman with a wrinkled face took out a strangely shaped object.

"They say it can protect us from disasters and keep the village safe."

The woman in green immediately recognized it as a ritual implement belonging to a sorcerer from a Southeast Asian country in later generations, said to be used to attract evil spirits.

Resting in this village, we unexpectedly gained something.

According to the elders in the village, two men came here in the autumn of the fourteenth year of the Jiajing reign.

Upon arriving at the village, one of them was already seriously injured and on the verge of death, while the other was bald and claimed to be a monk, but the clothes worn by both of them were very strange and were not monk's robes at all.

The man's injuries were clearly caused by the bites and claws of a wild animal. He was kept in the village for a few days, but ultimately he couldn't make it and died.

The bald man who claimed to be a monk performed a religious ceremony for the man.

The process of this ritual was completely different from any other ritual performed by monks they had ever seen.

After burying his companion, the monk rested in the village for a few days before heading towards Zhushan County along the stream outside the village.

Before leaving, he left this thing behind.

They did indeed take this path!

The woman in blue thought back carefully and realized that the person in the passenger seat of that hearse was indeed bald.

The hearse driver wasn't very lucky; he encountered such a thing as crossing a mountain, but ultimately he still couldn't leave this primeval forest alive.

The road to the west is much longer than the roads to the north and east; a single decision can mean the difference between life and death.

That bald man could very well be a monk, a monk from Southeast Asia, or even a sorcerer!

Before he left, he left this magical artifact here. What was his intention?

How to ward off disasters and protect the village's peace?

This is clearly an evil artifact used by Southeast Asian sorcerers to summon vengeful spirits!

The woman in green stared into the old woman's eyes.

"After that monk left, did anything strange happen in the village?"