Chapter 554 The Eight Counties of Jingzhou with Chongshan Wanshan

Feng Yu listened to Professor Xu's words very attentively, afraid of missing half a word.
"Changing Feng Shui? Could it be that the people of Guanshan want to change the path?"
"Yes, that's right. The people of Guanshan might have changed the course of the river for some reason. It's not something that an ordinary person can do. There is a mysterious document on the hanging coffin that is known as the Heavenly Book. According to earlier records, the King of the Netherworld obtained the Heavenly Book and wanted to be buried with it. However, the craftsmen switched the book with a fake and the King chased after them to Guanshan. Eventually, the Heavenly Book ended up in the hanging coffin in Guanshan. The local people who found the book changed the course of the river for the sake of longevity. This is a fact. The people of Guanshan have developed into the caretakers of the mountain."
封羽若有所思，“徐教授，幽王的天书是从何而来？会不会和神族人有关？”
Xu Professor pondered for a while and responded, "The origin of King You's Heaven Book is intricately linked with the divine race, but given the extensive time lapse, most of the evidence is lost. Nevertheless, this isn't the most critical issue. Irrespective of where King You obtained the book, the connection between all of these events is inevitable."
Xiang Yu nodded. He knew that these things could not be changed - history remains unchanged. All he could do was to continue. Professor Xu then said, "Shijin di, a river section beneath a small county in the eight counties of Jingzhou. It is now difficult to locate that place, but there should be clues along the eight counties if we search."
徐教授说的胸有成竹，封羽心里有了底，他们目前所知的所有，要想知道神族天机到底是什么，棺材山将会是最终的答案，封羽推测，那幽王最早的得来天书时，可能就是在昆仑所得，天书便是神族天机，所以，后来的棺山人才有了后续有关断断续续的与神族间的联系，可一切毕竟是猜测。
Professor Xu is an open-minded person. When he learned about this, he couldn't wait to go to Jingzhou to find Shijin’s whereabouts. They agreed to set off in two days and search while on the way.
After returning the next day, Zhang Xiuxian was delighted to hear the news, which meant that he could make another profit. The ancient mirror, which had been entrusted to Lu Guangcheng, had been sold by his agents. Zhang Xiuxian picked it up from Professor Xu and immediately delivered it to the buyer. Judging from Zhang Xiuxian's tone, he must have sold it for a good price.
Feng Yu was curious, this ancient mirror is not like other collections. This thing has been shining for thousands of years, and it is a very yin object. It is very unlucky to put it anywhere. If it were not for the study of the gods, buying this thing back would be a troublesome item.
Of course, these seal feathers cannot touch, and the things are taken out by Zhang Xiuxian. If it weren't for it, they wouldn't be able to read the text above, and there wouldn't be the follow-up of the Coffin Mountain.
Two days later, Feng Yu, Zhang Xiuxian, and Professor Xu took a train to Jingzhou. Professor Xu had spent half of his life traveling around the country, and had seen countless mountains and rivers. He had a great understanding of the Feng Shui of the world. When he first met him, Professor Xu predicted the changes in the Beilong, and a few years later, the three northeastern provinces encountered chaos, and the Beilong dragon vein had changed. It can be seen that Professor Xu is not an ordinary person.
After the train arrived in Jingzhou, they switched to traveling by road. Jingzhou's eight counties are located along the Yangtze River section of Jingzhou, spanning hundreds of miles. It takes time to find Shijin River's bottom.
For convenience, Zhang Xiuxian rented a boat, and the boatman, named Shen Li, is a local who is in his thirties with a height of about 1.8 meters. His bronze skin looks very healthy. He has been operating boats on the Jingzhou River for decades, carrying tourists and even transporting the deceased. As long as it involves buying and selling on this river, he will do anything for money.
When Zhang Xiuxian saw that the people were looking diligent, he spent twice the price to accompany them as a guide on the Yangtze River section in Jingzhou. Except for the name Shenli, which sounded like someone lazy, he was quite clever.
When Feng Yu asked about the place name Shizhu, Shen Li said that he had lived in the area around Jingzhou for thirty years and had never heard of this name.
It's normal not to have heard of it, otherwise Professor Xu wouldn't need to verify it.
Shen Li is also quite discerning. He can tell that the people traveling on this river are not ordinary. However, he won't ask directly. Instead, he takes them across a ridge site on the river. The mountain range stretches on, shrouded in clouds and mist, with the river flowing through the middle. On both sides are protruding hills, and within the mountain mist, there is a faintly different place.
Shen Li said that this place is special because it is buried with ancient tombs, but his words did not catch the attention of Feng Yu and the other two. Everyone kept silent and continued to admire the rushing water at the bow of the boat, with towering mountains extending to the east and a broad expanse behind them.
This is a place that Feng Yu has never seen before. He couldn't help but sigh at the thought that the people of Guanshan used to live on the cliffs above this rapid river.
Feng Yu then asked Shen Li, "Brother Shen, let's cut to the chase. You know we're not here just to have fun. No one has the leisure to play around these days. We've come to the area around Jingzhou to find a place. In the eight counties of Jingzhou, there is a coffin mountain at Shijin. Have you heard of it?"
Shen Li stared at Feng Yu and asked, "Who are you? How do you know about that place?"
Feng Yu listened with interest and said, "A few years ago, I was poisoned by a strange toxin. I have visited many famous doctors in recent years but to no avail. Last year, during the Hungry Ghost Festival, I met an old Taoist. The Taoist said that the only way to cure my poison was to go to a certain place and find a specific herb. He wrote a note with just one word, which was the name of the coffin mountain in Shijin County."
Zhang Xiuxian smiled approvingly at Feng Yu's little tricks.
"So, you are going to the Coffin Mountain to find the medicine?"
Feng Yu was afraid that Shen Li wouldn't believe him, so he showed him the mandala poison on his arm. The poison had mostly receded, although Bai Manman had given him the antidote, Feng Yu felt that he should wait until the poison acted up before taking it.
Shen Li looked stunned. He believed in Feng Yu's words and for a moment, all the resentment disappeared. Professor Xu had never seen the poison on Feng Yu's arm before. He came over to take a look and remained silent.
“Brother Shen, have you really heard of Coffin Mountain?”
Shen Li seemed to believe Feng Yu's words and nodded, "You can ask the old people here, they may not know, but I am familiar with everything on the water in Jingzhou. I heard my father mention Coffin Mountain once. It is located at the confluence of the Wu Gorge, in a place that is covered up. It was a full moon that year, and my father's boat accidentally got caught in another hidden current while trying to avoid the main current. The boat was carried into a canyon, and he said he had never been to that place before, especially at night. The mountains were full of coffins, which scared him a lot. But when he came out, he realized that he couldn't find that Coffin Mountain again."
Professor Xu confirmed and asked, "Was it on a full moon night?"
"Dad remembers very clearly that it was on a full moon night in the Wu Gorge section, but he never found it again later."
After some thought, Feng Yu realized they had found the right person. Originally, searching for the eight counties of Jingzhou would take a long time, but with Shen Li as their guide, they could go directly and save a lot of time.
Brother Shen, where is the Wuxia section? Let's go there.
The Wuxia section is near Wuzhen. Wuzhen used to be the most fertile place among the Eight Counties, with many mineral resources. Later, the population gradually declined, making the area around Wuzhen become desolate. So people coming to the Eight Counties of Jingzhou directly bypass Wuzhen. That place is almost a ghost county, with hardly a person.
封羽觉得无碍，本来他们就是来找棺材山的，又不是来观光旅游，封羽让船停在巫镇，他们就在巫镇先落脚休息。
徐教授问完了话没再说别的，船很快在巫镇靠了岸，就像沈力说的，这地方已经是个鬼县了，连靠岸的地方都长了一人高的水草，起码得有很长很长时间没人来过这里。
Shen Li said that only one or two families live here, because some people with certain obsessions are reluctant to leave. Wu Town is very big, and it did have its glory in the past. The entire town is unusually quiet, with not a single soul in sight. Weeds are growing everywhere, and the houses by the road are in a dilapidated state, with some even without closed doors.
Shen Li said he hadn't been here for a long time. The last time was a year ago when a tourist insisted on visiting, but ended up leaving by boat the same night.
Zhang Xiuxian asked why, and Shen Li replied, "Why? Because it's haunted. There's a strange feeling about this place, and timid people want to leave after walking around for a bit."
"Damn, not to mention anyone else, even I don't want to stay here for long. Look into the distance, does this place look anything like a town? It's clearly a run-down ghost town."
Fei Yu looked into the distance. It was late afternoon, and the lighting was still dim. It's not that the light couldn't come in, but this place seemed to have its own reflection, preventing the light from penetrating into the town.
Shen Li is fearless, having salvaged countless bodies from the eight counties of Jingzhou, this is nothing to him.
He led the three of them through the middle path, saying that there was an abandoned inn that they could stay in. If they were to search in Wuxia gorge, it would take them several days and staying in the inn was the best choice.
Feng Yu had no objections. As long as there was a place to stay, it was fine. The eight counties of Jingzhou were often shrouded in continuous, heavy rain. As long as there was a place to seek shelter from the wind and rain, there was no need to say so much.
Just as the four of them had not walked for long, there was a rumble of thunder and large raindrops the size of soybeans started to fall. They did not have any rain gear, so they hastened their pace towards the inn.
But the rain was relentless, pouring down without mercy. With no other choice, the four of them had to run. But at the intersection, Zhang Xiuxian saw a sinister soul banner standing there, a chilling sight. He immediately exclaimed, "Oh my god," knowing that only the dead would need such a thing to lure their souls.