Chapter 6 – Stone Box

Editor : Hotaru

In the evening, the field is so quiet and calming, the wind blows through the tent.  Suddenly, a strange sound erupts.  Chu Feng’s hand freezes.

How could the cube-shaped stone be making a cracking sound like this?

The stone seems to have cracked on the surface.

Chu Feng put down the stone.  He’s afraid there might be something strange going on again.  After everything else that had happened that day, he feels the need to be more cautious.

“A stone box?!” He’s surprised.

The cracks and marks are covering the stone look more and more like the seam for a box.

Earlier, the stone box is too tightly sealed and muddy too. That made the seam look like a normal stone.

Who would have carved  a cube-shaped, stone box like this? It was only 3 inches tall, and obviously very old.

Up until now, Chu Feng was still looking forward to something.  Because the stone box seemed to be some kind of mystery, he picked it up near the base of the Kun Lun mountain.

Chu Feng opens the stone box in his tent, slowly and carefully.

“Cough!”

Once the lid is opened, nothing strange or dangerous happens.

Chu Feng calms down a bit and he takes a look inside.

He has a little hope.  What kind of secret is sealed inside?

Inside the box, the actual space is so small.  It isn’t even big enough to store pearls or other jewels. 

But, there is something inside of it.

In the bottom of the box, there are 3 withered seeds.  That’s it, just seeds.

One of the seeds is black.  It’s shape seems changed after becoming withered.

The other seed is purple and brown.  It’s round and flattened, about the size of a fingernail.

The last seed seems normal, round, and a little yellow with no skin on it.

Chu Feng was stunned.  Just these three seeds? The other two are dried and…… this one…is strange.

He thought the stone box under the Kun Lun mountain would have treasure in it, maybe some kind of sealed treasure too.  But the results are just too normal!

He took out the three seeds and placed them on his palm.  Looking at them carefully, he finds nothing strange.

How long were these things buried? He can’t know.  But looking at the stone box, seems like it was buried for a really long time.  The marks on it are almost blurred.

Is this some kind of antiquity?

But, if that’s the case, then it’s okay because the seeds didn’t turn into dust. At least they still had their seed-shape.

Some kind of antiques were buried under the ground. Once they meet the light, it is possible that something might change on them.

Chu Feng keeps looking at them. He still can’t figure out what kind of seeds they are and he never saw seeds like that.

He feels speechless.  He was so energetic before, but now he’s dazed looking at those seeds!

“I’ll try to plant these.  Let’s see what will grow.” Chu Feng murmured.

But, he worries if the seeds will grow into sprouts because they were dried and withered.

“If it really grows, it might grow something like poisonous grass, or vegetables or something else. It’s still counted as ancient crops.” He laughed.

The sky over the highlands seems near to the fields.  The stars are shining brightly and the moonlight is like a river. 

It is so calming, especially this late at night.

Sleepily, Chu Feng could hear some kind of growling sound coming from the Kun Lun mountain.  It was so loud that it woke him up.

The distance between his tent and the mountain is so far, but to be able to hear the growls, it is surprising.

Possibly, something was happening in the Kun Lun mountain.  There seemed to be another creatures up there.  The growls he heard were didn’t come from the black yak or the mastiff.

The ground shook slightly.  The quake spread out from the mountain.

Some of the herdsman are also up, murmuring prayers while facing the holy mountain.

Chu Feng came out from the tent, and heard an old man talking.

“The Gods in the mountain is awaken.”

Chu Feng didn’t understand. If there is really a God in there, how could the God growl in such a beast-like voice?

“You wouldn’t understand.  This is an ancient legend in our fields. It’s better for you to leave tomorrow morning.” The old herdsman said to him.

“Is it that another holy creature will come out from the mountain?” Another man said.

There was a legend that some ancient creatures slept in the holy mountain.  Some said the creatures are beautiful and magnificent, while others said they are very strong and powerful or magical and fierce.

Chu Feng listened to their talk. He began to think that although he doesn’t believe all of it, some of the stories might be true.

In fact, he witnessed the bronze mountain and the creatures too.

For example, that fierce golden eagle, it was 5-6 meters long.  If people saw that thing, they might call it some mighty golden eagle.

The black yak, has a big body with fur that is all black like a panther.  Even the wolves are afraid of it! The yak was so powerful, once it steps on the ground, the ground will shake.  If this was still in ancient times, people might call it the devil yak.

Some of the rumors were all exaggerated and after some time they became myth. Especially for people who likes histories, they might write something in the historical records that is exaggerated.

As the night wore  on, the highlands became peaceful again.  The scary growling voice calmed down too.

The moonlight flows like a river,  as if the skies are connected to the fields, it feels so tranquil and hazy.

The herdsmen stop worrying too and take a breath.

Chu Feng goes back to his tent where he quickly falls deep asleep.

The next morning, Chu Feng woke up early and continued on his way.  He came to a huge city in the west.  From there he’s planning to ride the train to go back home.

In the post civilization era, although there was reconstruction, and it wasn’t brilliant, the city is still okay.  There is plenty of transportation that are still effective and easy to use.

In those days, Chu Feng was in the wilds.  He was disconnecting himself from the world he usually lived in.  Now, entering the huge city made him feel more apart from his world.

He had been exploring the wilds, highlands, desert, and mountains.  He turned off his communication devices.  Now that he was back in the city, he turned them back on.  He had several messages.

His father told him to be extra careful and watch out for himself. Some of his friends wanted to know when he would be back. Plus he had some other messages too.

Chu Feng replied to the messages and directly boarded the train.

He didn’t bring much for the trip, just some snacks and such.

He found his seat, and after stowing his gear, he took out his communication device to find some updates and daily news.

These days, there was a thick fog spreading out all over the city. Not only this city, but fog was spreading over other cities in other countries. The fog was blue but also deep red, and purple too.

Some say this might be some weather phenomenon caused by the legacy of the nuclear war.

Experts quickly informed the public that this fog was  caused by nature and would eventually disappear.  There was no need to fear.

Some of the citizen says that this fog brings misfortune, just like in ancient times.

No one really knows which is right or wrong, because this was not the first time it had happened in the post civilization era.

“What is happening, there are plants floating in the air! Strange!”

More people boarded the train. One passenger, a fat man, walked by Chu Feng and sat down.  He appeared to be the same age as Chu Feng and also the same height.  While the man didn’t have a big stomach, his face was chubby and he had big ears. His eyes were close together and when he laughed, it sounded like Maitreya.

He looked so happy and his smiles and laughs bring a charitable feeling.  His smiles makes him look even more like a Maitreya.

Chu Feng slightly smiles too.  He thought the man looks pretty kind.

“Hey brother, where are you going?” The fatty calls to him.

“To the foothills of Tai Hang mountain.” Chu Feng replies with a smile.

“Perhaps we live in the same village? Tell me the exact location.” The fatty smiles.

After one question, it turns out both of them come from the same place. They keep talking to each other along the way.

Zhou Quan is the fatty’s name.  It’s a very “safe” name.  He had been studying in the western country and this time he’s just traveling back to his hometown. 

Chu Feng noticed on the news what Zhou Quan had been talking about earlier.  They said that there was some kind of plant that appeared floating in the town.

“I really don’t understand, why aren’t they falling down!” Zhou fatty nagged.

Chu Feng looked on the news too with complicated feelings.

“There won’t be anything big happening, right?” Zhou Quan said while eating peanuts.

“Let us hope for safety. This world is hard to understand.” Somebody else said.

“Yeah, peaceful is the best. This really makes people worry so much.”

This seems to resonate with the people on the train that were talking about these plants.

“Maybe there is something going to happen later on.  There are so many mysteries that have happened over the years.  Lots of strange news appeared too.” Somebody said quietly.

Suddenly the train became lively with all kinds of talk.

Two hours had passed, Zhou Quan and Chu Feng became friends. They are from the same hometown so it is natural for them to be friends.

He quietly approaches Chu Feng and said: “Just recently I heard one of my relatives say that he knew a man that is pretty strange.  That man told him that this world will have great changes.”

“What kind of changes?” Chu Feng asked him back.

“It is mysterious.” Zhou fatty said it with low voice.

“You’re the mysterious one.” Chu Feng laughed.

“Really, you have to believe it, my relative won’t speak nonsense.” The fatty stared at him.

Chu Feng laughed while shaking his head.

The fatty,  feeling a little discouraged, said: “In fact, I didn’t believe it either. Those strange people sometimes love to speak nonsense, revealing some kind of stories and talk about western myths and such, they said the western myths are similar to ours.”

“Pfft!”

A person chokes while drinking water, the water spilled out all over and keeps laughing.

“Shoo, shoo, shoo, what’s funny? Fine then!” The fatty feels awkward.