Yinshan Record

Chapter 183 A Tacit Understanding Had Been There Before
Amidst the cataclysmic upheaval, Su Che and the others drifted with the current, finally flying out of the border between the Yin-Yang Realm and Guo Bei County, landing on a mountain not far from Guo Bei County.

The ground was now covered in ice, and the pines and cypresses on the mountaintop were all covered with icicles. The air was filled with a chill, and the frozen corpses could still be seen on the ground.

The air was still chilly, and birds could be seen flying away in the sky, heading south or north, as if fleeing from the place.

Su Che stood on a rock covered with thick ice, gazing at Guo Bei County. Layer upon layer of Buddhist light and magnificent scenery, with the phantom of an ancient Buddha hanging high in the sky, seemed to belong to a world other than the human realm.

From then on, there was no more Guobei County.

Only a magnificent scene of the mortal world shrouded in Buddha's light, a desolate land devoid of life.

"Alright, this matter is settled, I must now return to report."

Bai Hejiao stretched comfortably.

"Young Master Zuo, Young Master Su," she said with a smile, "the Su Nu Sect welcomes you warmly from the East Sea."

The invitation was still clean and straightforward, and the mysterious ghost general smoothed his hair.

"The Yin-Yang boundary shattered, the Hungry Ghost Path was established, the Cold Dragon entered the sea, and the Mysterious Stele descended from the sky. It seems that this time, besides the Great Liang Dynasty and the common people, there are no other losers." Bai Hejiao looked at Yun Luo not far away.

His expression was inscrutable.

“If you have time, young master, you are welcome to come to Qiantang for a chat.” Dragon Girl Yunluo said to Su Che, “I have important matters to attend to at home, and I’m afraid my elders will be anxious, so I won’t keep you any longer.”

After speaking, the white-clad dragon girl rose from the clouds, her light ethereal, and she disappeared into the East Sea.

The dragon spirit's return to the eastern sea will surely stir up trouble among the dragon clans of the four seas. And what are the Dongting and Qiantang families, who are orchestrating this, plotting?

From then on, the world was in turmoil.

"Miss Bai, I don't know what's so special about me that makes your sect value me so highly."

Su Che looked at Bai Hejiao, and the female ghost and the Su Nu Sect behind her became increasingly indistinct the more he looked at them.

“Young master, there’s no need to worry. What bad intentions could a group of weak women like us have?” Bai Hejiao looked at Su Che. “As long as you arrive in the East Sea, all problems will be solved.”

"Then you might as well just tie me up and take me there."

"Some things can't be forced; we can afford to wait."

Bai Hejiao clasped her hands and said, "The Southern Dynasty has been turbulent since then. Since you hold an important position, I will not delay your important matters any longer. I will take my leave now."

The mysterious female ghost bowed again and rose into the air, but her direction was to re-enter the Yin-Yang realm shrouded in Buddhist light.

It's like a dream.

"Young master, what about the Golden Book Tournament..."

Lu Bai exhaled a breath of stale air.

"What Golden Book Conference or not," Su Che looked at Lu Bai, "we've been outmaneuvered. Yuwen Rui, the Grand Tutor of Northern Wei, lives up to his reputation."

"so?"

"Return to Shanyin County immediately."

Su Che said, "Report all of this to the court immediately."

Guobei County and Shanyin County are not far apart. Even if Su Che had to take care of Lu Bai's speed, with his current cultivation level, it would only take less than half a day.

However, Su Che and Lu Bai left with great sorrow.

Disaster victims were everywhere, and desolation was everywhere.

Shanyin County had just been hit by a horde of demons during the Xuanshan Incident, causing suffering to every household, and now it is facing another major disaster.

The collapse of the Yin-Yang boundary brought disasters far exceeding those of the old lion's ascension to heaven. The first disaster was an earthquake. The Yin-Yang boundary was connected to the earth's energy, and when it shattered, heaven and earth were turned upside down. The Hungry Ghost Path intervened, causing incessant earthquakes throughout Cizhou, and countless houses were reduced to rubble.

If that's all there is to it, then it's not so bad.

The ancient Frost Dragon was reborn, and its spirit returned to the East Sea. However, this evil dragon remained unchanged. Although Lord Qiantang tried his best to suppress its cold energy, the cold energy still lingered and dissipated.

Regardless of the extent of the disaster in other places, at least in Shanyin County, where Su Che and Lu Bai passed through, the harvest was completely wiped out, with swathes of frozen rice seedlings lying flat on the ground.

The number of dead livestock was countless, and countless farmers wept bitterly over their frozen cattle and horses. These livestock represented their hard-earned possessions accumulated over many years, all of which vanished overnight.

Although some farmers are still working hard to harvest the crops in the fields, most people have already packed their bags and are preparing to flee the famine.

Along the way, besides the refugees fleeing famine everywhere, there was something else that worried Su Che even more.

There were always some elusive traces of demons and ghosts. At first, Su Che thought that when the Yin-Yang realm shattered, some evil spirits took the opportunity to return to the human world. But later, he even saw some hungry ghosts directly.

This made Su Che curse inwardly as a bald thief.

Hungry ghosts and evil spirits may differ by only one word, but in reality they are worlds apart.

Evil spirits are merely a general term for those unruly ghosts in the realm of Yin and Yang. Hungry ghosts, on the other hand, are ancient spirits that have been wandering in the hungry ghost realm of Buddhism for who knows how long.

The degree of harm caused by the two is incomparable.

If the Yin-Yang realm were to shatter, some malevolent spirits sealed within the Hungry Ghost Realm by Buddhism during its existence would seize the opportunity to escape, causing truly devastating harm.

Therefore, Su Che dared not delay and hurried towards Shanyin County.

Faced with a major disaster, all four gates of Shanyin County were opened, and everywhere one could see people packing their belongings, led by officials and soldiers, seemingly about to leave.

Judging from the colors of the uniforms worn by these soldiers, Su Che realized that they were not the elite troops that Yu Ze had personally led; they must have been transferred from elsewhere.

As soon as Su Che and Lu Bai appeared by the roadside, some yamen runners who recognized them came forward to greet them. They were all dressed as ordinary people, each carrying a bag, looking like they were about to embark on a long journey.

"What's going on? It's almost night, why are all four doors wide open?"

Su Che frowned, wondering what had happened in Shanyin County.

"Don't you know, sir?" one of the yamen runners who was on good terms with Zhang San replied, "The imperial court, considering that we have just suffered from a disaster, has ordered the abolition of Shanyin County, and we are all to be moved to Cizhou for resettlement."

The current Liang Dynasty is far from being a densely populated, peaceful world where not a single acre of idle land exists; resettlement of immigrants is a common practice.

However, the abolition of a county was still somewhat unexpected for Su Che.

Just transfer the people away; what's the point of abolishing Shanyin County?
"Remove the county? What would be the point of removing the county..."

"I heard that it's because Guobei and Shanyin counties are too close and their populations are not large, so the imperial court decided to abolish Shanyin County and merge it into Guobei County. The notice has been posted for two or three days now."

A thunderbolt struck Su Che's mind.

Shanyin County was merged into Guobei County. Didn't the immortals of Xuandu Palace just say that Buddhism can only spread its teachings within Guobei County?

Could it be that... could it be that Su Che didn't want to think about it anymore?

"Where is Yu Ze? Where is Shi Chibao?"

Su Che looked at Lu Bai beside him.

"Come, come with me quickly to see them."

“Sir, you’d better not look for them.” The yamen runner said, “Minister Yu has already returned to Cizhou Prefecture. I heard he was dismissed and reassigned. As for Commander Shi? He also left with a large group of men. Anyway, there aren’t many Imperial Guards left in the county. You can just go to the county yamen and ask them directly.”

(End of this chapter)