“Let’s go. Let’s check out the site.”
Shui Miao stood up, his heart heavy, and walked slowly toward the car.
Having children was a natural and normal thing for most people, but for Shui Miao, it was a matter that required deep thought. He was still determined to continue cultivating his spiritual path after finishing his worldly affairs, and to seek revenge with his seven brothers by killing the Supreme Sovereign. If he were to have children, how could he ever truly complete his worldly ties?
Offspring would always be a source of attachment.
Yet, if he didn’t have children, he would feel unfilial toward his parents, betraying their expectations. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to decide.
In the car, Lin Zhiling asked quietly, “Am I not your type?”
“No, I just have something on my mind. I need to think it through clearly, or else there could be serious consequences.” Shui Miao couldn’t bring himself to reveal everything he was thinking.
“Didn’t you say your troubles were already completely resolved? Why do you still seem troubled?” Lin Zhiling wasn’t after his wealth. After spending some time together, she had come to truly like him.
“It’s probably just me. Let’s not talk about it now. Let me think about it for a few more days.”
“Okay.”
The car soon came to a stop.
Lin Zhiling got out and pointed toward a small hill in the north. “Shui Miao, what do you think about building a pasture here? I’ve checked all the terrain nearby, and this hill is the only place that can shelter against the wind. If we build the pasture here, it will be much better protected against cold waves or strong northern winds. As for the water supply, we can dig a channel to bring in water. That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Shui Miao climbed up the hill and looked around. To the north, south, east, and west stretched vast grasslands. The hill was about forty-some meters high, nearly fifty meters, and two or three hundred meters long. It was indeed a naturally sheltered spot. However, the land below was quite barren, and the vegetation was poor.
“That’s strange. The grass around here is growing well, so why does the area around this hill for about a hundred meters look so nutrient-deficient?” Shui Miao pointed to a patch of ground where not even a single blade of grass had sprouted. “Lin Jie, look at this place. The feng shui here is terrible! The soil is so barren that even grass can’t grow well. The cattle and sheep might be affected too, and then we’d have trouble getting milk.”
“Oh, it’s fine. We can just build a concrete yard here. The cows won’t be eating grass from this spot anyway.” Lin Zhiling thought it was no big deal; the main point was the wind protection, and that was sufficient.
Shui Miao was cautious. He quickly walked around the hill to the barren area, squatted down, and pulled up a blade of grass. He noticed immediately that its roots were very short, and the soil was unusually dry.
“Why is this patch of land so dry?”
Shui Miao felt puzzled. Just a few meters away, the grass was lush and the soil was moist.
Lin Zhiling shrugged. “Maybe it’s because there’s rock beneath the ground here. Rock has no nutrients and can’t retain water, so the grass can’t grow well, and the land is dry.”
Shui Miao sniffed the air and caught a strange, unpleasant odor.
He quickly knelt down and took a deep sniff. Immediately, he detected a faint stench.
“Quick, we need to leave. Something’s wrong here.”
Shui Miao stood up and pulled Lin Zhiling toward the car.
“What’s wrong, Shui Miao?” Lin Zhiling was very confused.
“This land is smelly. I suspect there’s something wrong underground. The grass can’t grow here, and animals staying here for too long might die from exposure.” Shui Miao looked around. “Do you know where there are any local herders nearby? We should ask them about this place.”
“I’ll take you there…”
Only then did Lin Zhiling realize the seriousness of the situation, and she quickly drove toward the nearest Mongolian camp.
This area wasn’t as densely populated with Mongolians as many might imagine—only three or four households lived together, mostly elderly people and children. Similar to rural villages, the strong, able-bodied men had gone out to work or start businesses in cities, leaving only the elderly to raise sheep and take care of the children—most of whom were not yet old enough to attend school.
By coincidence, they met Lin Xue on the way.
Lin Xue had once known a Mongolian classmate at school and had learned some Mongolian as a result.
They found an elderly man in his sixties or seventies named Bili Su.
Bili Su told Lin Xue that the area on the hill was called “Decapitation Slope.” According to legend, during Genghis Khan’s time, hundreds of thousands of Tarmu people were beheaded there. Since then, the spirits of the decapitated had never left, and ghosts often appeared to harm people. Locals dared not approach the area, fearing misfortune. Even cattle and sheep would stop and refuse to go further when they reached that spot.
Especially at night, eerie ghost lights often flew around there.
Sometimes, packs of wolves would gather and howl, which was extremely frightening.
Old man Bili Su described it vividly. Although Lin Xue couldn’t understand all the Mongolian words, she could clearly sense the terror in the old man’s voice.
After thanking Bili Su, everyone returned to the RV and the purchased yurts.
It was time for lunch, so they gathered together to eat and discuss what had happened.
Lin Xue spoke first. “I hadn’t paid attention before, but after hearing what Old Man Bili Su said today, I suddenly realized there really might be something strange. Take this morning, for example. When I rode past Decapitation Slope, both Tibetan Mastiffs kept barking nonstop. At first, I thought maybe there were wolves, but after checking carefully, there were definitely no wolves. The horse was very restless near that area. I think there must be something wrong with that place. We’d better investigate thoroughly. If there really are spirits, they could be hundreds or even thousands of years old—extremely powerful. What do you think, Shui Miao?”
“It’s a shame I’ve lost my immortal powers now. Otherwise, this would have been much easier,” Shui Miao frowned. “But no worries. Even without calling in experts, we can still get to the bottom of this. We can install cameras to monitor the area twenty-four hours a day. That should help us uncover the truth. I’ll call Sister Meiling right now and ask her to send Xiao Mi over.”
In the past, Xiao Mi had been very close to Shui Miao.
When everyone heard that Shui Miao wanted to call Xiao Mi over, strange expressions appeared on their faces.
Just as Shui Miao was about to make the call, Lin Xue suddenly spoke up. “I think it’s unnecessary. Monitoring is a small matter—I can handle it myself.”
“I can help too!” Sister Tang quickly raised her hand.
Xiao Shuang bit her lip. “I understand computer wiring. I can help too.”
Lin Zhiling also chimed in. “Exactly. With so many of us here, if we can’t even handle such a small matter, how can we run a business? Shui Miao, don’t worry. Leave this matter to us.”
The four beautiful women united as one, presenting a united front.
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