Mortal Bones

After hearing Xu Taiping's words, Zhong Ling also looked towards the hill, then seemed to recall something, nodded and said:

"I remember this place."

She immediately added:

"For decades, there was indeed a temple here. There were several clay Bodhisattvas enshrined in the temple, and there were two monks, an old man and a young man."

"At that time, there was a big town not far away, so there was still some incense in the temple. Many people would go to the temple to seek peace during festivals."

"But just a dozen years ago, a Jiuyuan Demon Emperor passed by here and was burned by the incense in the temple. He was very unhappy. So he disguised himself and entered the temple late at night, pretending to seek shelter, and killed the two monks, an old man and a young man. The torture lasted until the next morning, and then he went down the mountain."

"In the end, one old and one young, one dead and one crazy."

"When the Demon King came down the mountain, he cut off the only road on the mountain with one knife."

When he said this, Zhong Ling pointed to the steep cliff, then frowned and said:

"That cliff was cut by the Demon King with one strike."

Xu Taiping did not expect that this seemingly inconspicuous ruined temple would have such a tragic fate.

Zhong Ling sighed and said:

"This kind of thing happens almost every day in this world. Even relatively speaking, casualties of this level are not reported to the city lords of each city."

Xu Taiping nodded, then looked at the two young girls who were still trying to climb up, and asked:

"Is there anyone in the temple now?"

"Yes." Zhong Ling nodded, "After the road was cut off, in the first few years, many villagers still relied on hammering nails into the cliff and climbing hemp ropes hanging from the mountain to the temple. It’s fragrant.”

"But the road is too difficult to climb. Over time, fewer and fewer people go up the mountain to offer incense, and the incense in the temple is fading day by day."

"Later, because the Jiuyuan Demon Army pressed into the territory, the largest nearby town was occupied by the Demon Army, and most of the villagers fled to the mountain side."

"As a result, the incense on this mountain is almost extinct."

"Only occasionally, villagers from the nearby mountains would pity the life of the crazy monk who had his legs cut off on the mountain, and would send some rice grains up the mountain from time to time."

When he said this, Zhong Ling also looked at the pair of boys and girls who were still struggling to climb up, and then continued:

"It's just that this is the first time I've seen this kind of little doll go up the mountain to deliver food."

"It seems that there are not many farmers around here anymore."

When he said this, Zhong Ling could not help but reveal a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.

Xu Taiping looked at the young man and woman without blinking and said:

"Can you get closer?"

Zhong Ling nodded, "Of course."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Taiping and Zhong Ling stood beside the cliff, less than ten feet away from the young man and woman who were climbing up.

"Brother, my hand was cut by the rope!"

At this moment, the girl shouted to the young man above her with a hint of crying.

The dark-faced boy looked back at the girl, then frowned and said:

"Mei, follow this rope down the mountain and wait for me. After I deliver the food to the mountain, I will come down to find you!"

The girl looked at the boy and shook her head vigorously:

"I don't want it!"

As she spoke, she ignored the pain in her palms, gritted her teeth, and climbed up desperately, as if she was afraid that her brother above would leave him behind.

The young man glanced at his sister below with some distress, but immediately turned his head away and continued to climb up.

Finally, the brother and sister climbed to the top of the mountain one after another.

The young man smiled and said to the girl beside him:

"Mei, the road up there is narrow, I'll climb up first, and then I'll pull you up!"

The girl nodded vigorously and said:

"Okay bro!"

So the young man took a deep breath, reached out and grabbed the edge of the cliff, used both arms to pull his body up little by little, and then stretched out his feet to catch the edge of the cliff, preparing to use his hands and feet to roll up. That empty space on the cliff.

"Bang!"

But just when the young man was about to climb up to the clearing, the cliff that he was holding on to with his hands suddenly cracked, and the thick iron nail that tied the horse fell down.

"elder brother!"

But at this critical moment, the girl held the hemp rope with one hand and grabbed the girl's wrist with the other.

The young man who was rescued briefly showed a look of panic in his eyes, then he immediately shook his head at the girl and said:

"Mei, let go. You can't pull me up. Don't worry about me. Climb up on your own!"

When the girl heard this, she cried angrily and said:

"Brother, you are leaving me alone again!"

Then she struggled to pull the girl up and said through gritted teeth:

"Brother, it's okay, you, you are very light, even lighter than me..."

"I, you know, I have a lot of strength since I was young!"

"So, I will definitely be able to pull you up!"

Immediately, the girl shouted "Ah" and actually used her slender arms to throw the boy onto the open ground.

After the young man stood in the open space, he immediately reached out and pulled the girl up.

After the two looked at each other, they hugged each other and cried.

Xu Taiping, who was watching from afar, let out a long sigh of relief and said to himself:

"Fortunately, this girl is quite strong."

Although he had never met these two people, this short moment made him feel like he had experienced a life and death experience with them.

Zhong Ling, who was also relieved, asked Xu Taiping:

"Do you want to watch more?"

Xu Taiping nodded:

"It won't take much time, let's see what they are going to do?"

Zhong Ling nodded:

"Okay."

While the two were talking, the brother and sister were already holding hands and rushing towards the dilapidated temple in front.

After following the brother and sister into the temple, Xu Taiping saw the one-eyed crazy monk who had lost his legs, was wearing a tattered monk's robe, and was sitting on the threshold of the dilapidated temple with a silly smile.

Xu Taiping asked curiously:

"Is this the little monk who survived that year?"

Zhong Ling nodded:

"That's him."

The skinny crazy monk heard the footsteps of the two siblings and said happily: "Xiaoqing, Xiaobai, you, you are here!"

The young man nodded immediately and said:

"Little Master, you haven't come for so long, have you eaten all the food you sent last time?"

The crazy monk smiled and shook his head:

"No, no, look, I still have a lot."

As he said that, the crazy monk grabbed a handful of soil from the ground and held it in front of the brother and sister.

The girl pouted, her eyes reddened and said:

"Little Master, when we were not here, you ate these?"