[Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfiction] I Raise A Ying in Yiling

Sitting atop a galloping steed, Wei Chaoyan half-closed her eyes, her mind replaying the location her father had described as the place where he discovered the repelling herb—

In his desperation, Wei's father, recalling the doctor's words, clung to them like a last straw, determined to venture into the extremely dangerous forbidden area the doctor had described in order to find the elixir. At the time, he didn't have a precise location, so he could only cling to the doctor's description of it as "deep in the old forests near the edge of the Yiling mass grave" to search for it.

Fortunately, their Wei Village happened to be located on the very edge of Yiling Town, in a relatively remote area near a deep mountain range that stretches for dozens of miles. Although it was far from the entrance to the Yiling mass grave, the other side of the deep mountain behind Wei Village was the other end of the curse wall, in the opposite direction from the direction of Yiling Town to the mass grave.

The section of the mass grave enclosed by the cursed wall at this end is likely a relatively remote area, far from the center of the mass grave. Therefore, the malevolent aura permeating it is not as intense, stagnant, violent, or terrifying as the area closer to the town entrance, and its harm to living beings is also significantly reduced.

Her father realized that the deep mountains behind their home were a place that met the doctor's requirements, and he was overjoyed. Without thinking, he decided to make the deep mountains and dense forests behind the village his destination.

Wei Village is said to be located deep in the mountains, but in reality, it's still nearly forty miles away. The ancestral graves that Wei Chaoyan visited yesterday are located on a small, somewhat high peak that lies behind Wei Village. Strictly speaking, it doesn't belong to this vast, multi-mile-long mountain range, and the two are in opposite directions—the former is to the south of Wei Village, while the latter is to the north. Therefore, Wei Chaoyan and his companions don't need to pass through Wei Village this time; they can simply detour northwards about a mile from the village entrance.

Following the north side, we reached the foot of the deep mountain, dismounted, and walked about a mile and a half towards the southeast corner. We stopped in front of an unidentified tree with a strange shape, about three people's arms around it, sparse branches and leaves, and a straight, smooth trunk. We carefully searched through the dense bushes about a person's height under the tree and found a narrow, winding path hidden among the lush weeds at an estimated 45-degree angle to the left.

After finding the entrance, they followed the path, making about a dozen turns, passing through four or five thickets or brambles, and around six or seven hills of varying heights. They stopped in front of a hill shaped like an oversized double-eared bowl. Their final destination was a small earthen slope, no more than half a mile in circumference and no more than a third of a mile in height, located on the south-left side of the bottom of this bowl-shaped hill. The shady area at the bottom of this earthen slope was where the resentment-repelling grass grew.

Wei Chaoyan felt dizzy and her head was throbbing just thinking about the route in her mind. She really didn't know how her father had managed to avoid so many detours and end up in such a remote place!

The route was long and winding, requiring passage through countless bushes and thorny thickets. The path was rugged and uneven—in fact, there was no path at all; one simply trudged through thick layers of decaying grass and leaves. Leaving aside the countless poisonous insects, ants, plants, and flowers lurking within, the roaming wild animals, the ubiquitous evil spirits, and the eerie atmosphere distorted by the malevolent energy emanating from the mass graves—all these posed a potentially fatal threat to Wei Chaoyan and her companions as they ventured into this area. It was a mystery how Wei's father had managed to enter and leave this place safely in the first place, even managing to gather the repelling herb along the way!

Wei Chaoyan was filled with doubt. Her father hadn't anticipated her and her husband's sudden death, so he hadn't explained the details to her. Even the general route was something he told her as a bedtime story after she begged him. So, despite her confident demeanor in front of Lady Yan, Wei Chaoyan only knew the general route; she was completely unaware of the specific details, like where to turn and which direction to take.

Therefore, this trip was indeed as Wei Chaoyan had said beforehand—just a superficial exploration of the area around the deep mountains. At most, she would stop exploring under that strangely shaped big tree. She simply wanted to take advantage of the current cold weather, when insects and ants were hibernating, wild beasts were dormant, and evil spirits were few in number, to walk along the route she remembered and compare it to see if there were any omissions.

If the actual scene matches the route in her mind perfectly, with few discrepancies, it proves that there's an 80-90% chance the route map in Wei Chaoyan's memory is complete and without any flaws. Then, after spring arrives and the earth awakens, Wei Chaoyan can confidently lead Lady Yan's people to search for and harvest the resentment-repelling herb when it matures. Once she's led the way this time, she can completely let go, leaving this hot potato to the mortal court, and she can then extricate herself from these dangerous matters.

Thinking of the carefree days after leaving, Wei Chaoyan couldn't help but squint her eyes and shake her head. Even the cold wind blowing in her face, which stung her cheeks, couldn't extinguish Wei Chaoyan's fantasy of a bright future.

If Lady Yan, who was completely focused on riding her horse, knew Wei Chaoyan's heart filled with pink bubbles at this moment, she would definitely roll her eyes at her without any noble and elegant image (???) and ridicule Wei Chaoyan for having too beautiful a daydream!