The master comes down the mountain: I don’t want to be a son-in-law

Looking from a distance, the black river looks like a python, crawling at the bottom of the river valley.

Lilac walked to a higher place and took a look. The river valley was winding, with no source or end visible. There was only desolation in her sight.

In the distance, there are vast mountains, glowing with the cold light of snow.

There seemed to be only two ways to continue moving forward, either crossing the black river, or taking a long detour from upstream or downstream. The key was that they didn't know which end could go around faster.

"What should I do? Do you want to keep walking?"

Although Xu Xiaobei doesn't like or trust Bai Chen, he still understands when it comes to life and death, especially Ding Xiang's safety.

"There is a house there." Ding Xiang pointed forward and said, "Let's go over and take a look."

Xu Xiaobei looked in the direction of Ding Xiang's finger. On the edge of the river valley, among the jagged rocks, there was a stone house. It was just a little dilapidated and the same color as the surrounding stones. If you didn't look carefully, You can't even tell it's a house.

The three of them walked there. The closer they got to the river valley, the more desolate they felt.

The shape of the bottom of the river bed became clearer and clearer. The black color was not water, but the rocks and soil at the bottom of the valley.

The bottom of the entire river bed seemed like a crack in hell, showing a gloomy darkness that was incompatible with the surroundings, but the water flowing above was clear.

The rock formations on both sides of the river bed are twisted and folded, and there are many obvious traces of manual excavation on the rock walls. The shallow caves are a bit like neatly arranged Buddhist niches.

There are also many scattered collapsed stone houses scattered along the shore.

What they just saw was one of the rooms that could be considered "grand" and "exquisite". Of course, these two words are relative to the similar ones around it. If it were placed in the prosperous world, even a border town like Zhangmu would look dilapidated.

The house is about three people high, half of the roof has collapsed, only half of one wall is left in ruins, and the walls on the other three sides are also badly weathered.

There was a monk sitting at the door, wearing a shabby, dirty and colorless shoulder bag, exposing his dark and thin shoulders. His face was like an old piece of bark, the same color as the rocks at the bottom of the valley, but the wrinkles were deeper than the rock formations.

If it weren't for the look of hope in his eyes that looked toward the other side, I would have almost thought it was a mummy.

"Amitabha, Master, may I ask where this place is?" Wuhua went over and saluted in the manner of a monk.

"The cool world, the other side of blooming flowers, the holy water from the snow-capped mountains..." The monk murmured, not knowing whether he was answering or talking to himself.

"Holy water from the snowy mountains?"

Xu Xiaobei looked up and saw that outside the desolate boundary, behind the vast mountains, there were indeed tops of snow-capped mountains shining with white light.

"But why is this river black? It looks dirty and disgusting!"

"Black... that is the color of hell..." The monk's voice was hoarse and long.

"Hey, monk, stop being sensational. Where is this place? This river should have a name, right?" Xu Xiaobei said.

"Kali Gandaki..." The monk's accent was already very strong, and the name was even more confusing. "This was once the source of water for the Ganges. The holy water from the snow-capped mountains rushed through this land, nourishing it. The holy soil in the south is unfortunately polluted by hell, and the river bed has turned black..."

Xu Xiaobei frowned. This answer was of no use to them at all. Such similar legends existed in many places.

Ding Xiang stepped forward and said: "Master, I would like to ask, where are the purple bamboos around here, preferably where they grow in patches?"

"Purple bamboo..."

The motionless monk finally moved, turned his head and glanced at Lilac. His eyes were as clear as water, and his wrinkled face filled with dust was like two clear springs on the dry land.

"Go through Kali Gandaki and follow the earth's veins to the depths. There are springs where the Virgin's tears gather, and bamboos soaked in the blood of the earth. I think that is the purple bamboo you are looking for."

"The spring where the Virgin's tears gathered...the bamboo soaked in the blood of the earth..." Ding Xiang felt happy. With these two sentences, she had a clear direction, "Thank you, Master."

"I am not a master, I am just an ascetic, waiting for the flowers on the other side to bloom in the arms of the Virgin." The monk turned back to look at the other side, "I have watched more than 30,000 sunsets here, and the color of the river valley has faded. It’s dark again, the flowers on the other side have not yet bloomed, and those who are waiting have not yet come.”

"Who is the master waiting for?" Ding Xiang asked.

The monk turned around, pointed to the half-collapsed stone house and said, "She!"

Then he prostrated himself devoutly and prostrated himself on the ground.

Ding Xiang saw a statue of a god in the house. Because of the weathering, she could not see its appearance clearly, but she could vaguely tell that it was a woman.

"who is she?"

"Sati - the goddess of the snow-capped mountains - the wife of Shiva - the mother of the earth..." The monk knelt on the ground and said the name of the statue while prostrating.

Ding Xiang suddenly felt that there was a strange aura about this statue.

She walked closer unconsciously and observed curiously.

Xu Xiaobei and Wuhua also followed in.

"Dingxiang, what are you looking at?" Xu Xiaobei couldn't help but be curious when he saw Dingxiang looking so intently at a stone statue that was mottled beyond recognition.

"I feel that she is so familiar, even a little friendly." Ding Xiang said.

Xu Xiaobei said: "Don't be ridiculous, this is Niboluo. In ancient times, the civilization of Tianzhu was nothing compared to a person like you who was born in East China."

"Not necessarily." Wuhua suddenly pointed to the base of the statue and said, "Look, the cloud patterns on the lotus platform and the shape of the skirt are not the style of ancient Tianzhu, but the unique style of China. This statue may have come from ancient times. The hand of Chinese craftsmen.”

Before Wuhua became a monk, Wuhua wandered around the world and was well-informed. Later, he entered Buddhism and studied the art of sculpture.

"In this desolate and foreign land, when you first see Chinese things, you will inevitably feel friendly."

Xu Xiaobei retorted: "The monk clearly said just now that this is the Snow Mountain Goddess Sati, the wife of Lord Shiva. She is obviously a Brahmin god. How could it be made by Chinese craftsmen?"

Wu Hua couldn't explain clearly. After all, the statue was too dilapidated and old. Except for some decorations that could be seen on the base, it was basically just an outline.

Ding Xiang looked at it for a while, and seemed to sense something in her consciousness, but it was not so real. She finally shook her head and said, "Forget it, let's go and find Zizhu Lin."

The three of them turned around and went out, only to find that the monk had returned to his original appearance, sitting cross-legged on the stone like a dead tree, looking stubbornly at the other side.

"Thank you, Master, let's go."

Seeing that the monk didn't speak, Ding Xiang stopped disturbing him. After bowing and thanking him, he took Xu Xiaobei and Wu Hua through the black Kali Gandaki Valley and disappeared into the desolate land.

As soon as they left, a blank shadow flashed in front of the ruined temple, and Bai Chen, dressed in white, appeared behind the monk.

"Why don't you dissuade them?"

"Why should I dissuade you?"

"You watched the river valley turn black, knowing full well that the cracks in hell have opened. If the demons use the underworld to resurrect, they will die."

"That's not a demon, that's Lord Shiva."

"Huh, that's in your eyes. In my eyes, gods and demons are the same." Bai Chen said.

"You want to save them?"

"Yes."

"But you promised not to cross the Kali Gandaki Valley."

"That was in the past. At that time, the river valley had not turned black. Everything has changed now, not to mention..." Bai Chen's eyes narrowed, "I must save this woman!"