The shudong region was inundated by countless river valleys and surrounded by tall mountains.With such rugged terrain breaking up the flow of winds, much of it was this shrouded in year-round mists.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji traveled in the direction that the ghost left arm had pointed, finally happening upon a tiny village. Mud houses with thatched roofs were encircled by a number of fences. A flock of many-colored hens and chicks pecked and grain as they wandered in and out yards, and a big, bright-feathered rooster perched on one foot upon a roof. It shook it's crest, twisting it's neck as it surveyed the land with pride.

Fortunately, none of the households has dogs. The villagers probably didn't get to eat much meat themselves, let alone have extra bones to feed dogs.

The road split at the village entrance, branching off in three directions. Two of these roads were visibly worn and flattend with frequent use.The surface of the last path, however,was overgrown with weeds. A crooked, rectangular stone marker stood beside it, pointing in the same direction path.

The marker was aged and weather-worn, with a massive crack the stretched from top to bottom. Stalks of withered grass poked from the cracks. Two giant characters, presumably the name of the destination the road led to, we're carved into the stone. The lower character was just barely legible as "City", but the upper character had many strokes and a complicated shape. The giant crack just happened to cut through it too, and many stone fragments had been chipped off. Wei Wuxian leaned over and peeled away the weeds, but even after studying the tablet for a long time, he couldn't figure out what the top character was.

Of course, the direction the left arm pointed in just had to be down that road.

" Why don't we ask the villager? " Wei Wuxian suggested.Lan Wangji nodded. Needlessly to say, Wei Wuxian didn't expect him to do the asking. Face splitting into a wide smile, he walked toward gaggle of farmer ladies who were sprinkling grain, feeding the chickens.

The womaen were a mix of young and old. When they saw a strange young man approaching, they all tensed, looking ready to drop their winnowing pans and escape pack into their houses. Only after Wei Wuxian spoke to them, still smiling cheerfully, did they gradually calm down and begin shyly answer his questions. Wei Wuxian pointed at the stone marker and made an inquiry. All at once, the women's faces changed. It was with significant hesitation the they haltingly conversed with him on the topic, pointing and gesturing. During the conversation, they didn't dare glace at Lan Wangji, who still stood next to the stone marker. Wei Wuxian listened earnestly for a while, the corners of his lips raised the entire time. He seemed to change the subject toward the end, causing the farmer ladies to brighten, gradually relax, and bashfully return his smiles.