After listening to Auntie Liu’s strange phenomenon, Yan Qing remained silent for a long time.
Being in his early twenties, he wasn’t good at expressing his emotions. Yin Ci could sense his thoughts—this place was worse than the Ghost Tomb. At least in the Ghost Tomb, the killing intent and malice were openly displayed. Yuanxian Village, on the other hand, appeared beautiful like a splendid flower, but buried beneath were deformed corpses with half-rotten hands protruding.
Yan Qing struggled within himself for a while but couldn’t come up with a solution. Subconsciously, he looked towards Shi Jingzhi.
Finally, Shi Jingzhi remembered his responsibility as sect leader. With a deeply troubled expression on his face, he hesitated for a moment before suggesting an idea that wasn’t really a solution. “The village entrance ceremony takes place during the full moon, and there is still some time before that. It’s not realistic to find someone to guide us out, so why not search for the villagers of Xizhuang? Perhaps someone has stayed behind in Yuanxian Village…”
Su Si: “That’s right. We can also help Brother Yin with matchmaking. We shouldn’t fear the worst-case scenario.”
Shi Jingzhi’s fox tail was stepped on again. “No, that’s my disciple! I mean, we can’t waste time on such matters. It’s better to concentrate on finding clues. I promise to take you all out of here.”
Yin Ci patted his master’s arm and muttered, “Yes, yes, of course, good, good,” while his thoughts wandered off.
When the villagers visited earlier, Yin Ci confirmed one thing.
“People with immortal potential” were likely monster material, which made sense as they were screened based on their appearance. According to this reasoning, it was highly probable that the villagers were also monster material.
The problem was, could they really gather so many monster materials out of millions of people? On the other hand, Yin Ci had encountered many monster materials, and normal monster materials didn’t have random restrictions like “a fatal injury within three days” and also aged slower than ordinary people.
He couldn’t figure out the reason for the existence of Yuanxian Village.
There were no apparent abnormalities outside; the answers were likely inside the forbidden area, which included a fresh death technique he had been longing for.
As if they were on the same wavelength, Shi Jingzhi paced around the room, and his eyes suddenly brightened. “Let’s not look for someone today. Instead, we’ll join the funeral procession.”
Yan Qing was startled. “Funeral procession? For whom?”
“Auntie Liu passed away here, and we’re somewhat connected. It seems the villagers have some favorable opinions of me. I’ll go and plead with them. After all, we are considered half-villagers, and we have our reasons. Can they really stop us?”
The more he spoke, the more feasible it sounded. “The villagers will keep the body in the forbidden area. We can openly and honestly follow them inside to have a good look.”
Yin Ci felt extremely pleased. His master was indeed useful.
He immediately cast an admiring gaze, making sure Fox Shi’s fur was in order.
To prove their amiable intentions, before setting off, Shi Jingzhi took the time to dress up, only lacking a couple of flowers to stick in his hair. Su Si and Yan Qing stood on either side, with the alluring fox squeezed in front to attract attention, while the inconspicuous Yin Ci stayed at the back. In this manner, the four of them arrived at the central area of the village.
Along the way, Shi Jingzhi had flowers thrown at him by the men and women of Yuanxian Village, and he narrowly avoided getting hit on the head by fresh fruits. He dodged and smiled, trying to maintain his composure, but it was truly an arduous task.
Yin Ci, on the other hand, bit into a fruit and continued to leisurely observe their surroundings.
Today was another sunny day, with flowers blooming profusely and a gentle spring breeze. There was no difference from yesterday. The funeral procession was easy to find, as everyone was dressed in bright red attire, visible from eight hundred lis away.
Relying on his handsome face, Shi Jingzhi managed to exude a hint of celestial aura, surpassing even the Goddess. The villagers had no resistance to this celestial aura, and Shi Jingzhi was extremely skilled at fooling people. After some back and forth, he managed to convince the leader.
“You accompanied Auntie Liu on her journey, and that’s fate,” the leader mumbled in a daze. “I’ll have someone prepare clothes for you. Hurry up and change.”
Shi Jingzhi’s smile became even more sincere. “Thank you, big brother. We’ll be right back.”
Su Si, who had become the talk of the town for revealing himself to be a “woman”, received a bright red robe, making his complexion slightly bitter. In the end, he still changed into it and tidied up his hair.
The other three were much quicker.
While waiting for Su Si, Shi Jingzhi glanced at his disciple and suddenly felt that the discrimination in Yuanxian Village was unreasonable.
The funeral procession attire was very revealing, and anyone could see Yin Ci’s excellent figure. His body was neither bloated nor skinny, with long and well-built limbs. His beautiful silhouette tapered into a narrow waist, as if carved from the most delicate mold.
His temperament was also good.
Even though his disciple was wearing a red robe, he seemed to be in a frigid abyss. This calmness, even if baseless, always put Shi Jingzhi at ease.
Shi Jingzhi thought he truly lived up to his expectations as the disciple he had chosen. He didn’t find a single fault with him, so how could other cats and dogs have the right to look down on him?
Su Si tied up his hair in a convenient and stylish bun, and the group once again blended into the funeral procession.
In the middle of the procession, they saw Auntie Liu again.
Auntie Liu’s eyes were tightly closed, and the corners of her mouth seemed to have been smeared with something, forming a strange smile. She was dressed in a brand-new red silk dress, with her limbs bound by branches controlled by others, making her stagger along with the procession.
Her chest still rose and fell, and her joints weren’t stiff. At first glance, Auntie Liu was just a living person with slightly unsteady steps.
The sound of joyful music filled the air, but it was unclear whether she could hear it or not.
Red paper fluttered in the sky, making her look like a peculiar bride. Shi Jingzhi slowly approached Auntie Liu and discreetly touched her arm. Auntie Liu still had body temperature, but her flesh felt soft and spongy, as if there was a large handful of cotton wrapped underneath her skin.
Yet, she didn’t have the appearance of rotting or swelling.
Shi Jingzhi frowned and then pinched Yin Ci’s arm to compare, making sure it wasn’t his imagination.
Things were becoming increasingly strange.
However, the loud suona music was causing pain in their eardrums, and Shi Jingzhi couldn’t communicate with his disciple, so he could only continue forward with the team.
The forbidden area was located in the center of the village, with a large tree serving as the entrance. The children of the village gathered around the tree, curiously watching the funeral procession.
The tree had likely been growing for many years and had possibly become a demon. It wasn’t particularly tall, but its trunk was extremely thick, requiring thirty people to wrap their arms around it. Near the tree roots, there was a gate-like structure, and the familiar black dog demon was sleeping at the entrance. When the procession approached, it growled a few times and moved aside.
Walking through the tree gate, they could immediately see a massive pit.
The pit was wide, almost the size of a whole house. It was terrifyingly deep, and its bottom couldn’t be seen at a glance. Stone steps spiraled downwards along the edge of the pit, covered in moss, with decaying ropes swaying at the edges, making it look rather unsafe.
The funeral procession stumbled down the path.
The suona music echoed in the stone walls, and one after another, figures in red merged into the shadows. Auntie Liu’s warm corpse was surrounded by everyone as they moved forward. As the procession delved deeper, the decaying ropes swayed, emanating an indescribable strange odor from the depths of the pit.
The warm atmosphere of Yuanxian Village was completely gone, leaving only boundless eerie strangeness.
After descending to a certain depth, Shi Jingzhi’s footsteps began to hesitate.
The funeral procession carried torches with their flames flickering unsteadily, making it difficult to observe. But through occasional glimpses, Shi Jingzhi could roughly piece together the scene in his mind.
Numerous white-clad monsters hung on the walls of the pit, resembling numerous large cocoons stuck to the stone. The chains suspending them swayed gently, as if keeping time with mournful melodies. The smell of moisture grew stronger, mingled with the scent of fresh raw meat and a faint hint of excrement.
The stone steps were completely engulfed in shadows, but the touch became increasingly sticky. Something unknown had adhered to them, and with each step, a sweet and bloody liquid-like substance would be splashed up.
The inner walls of the pit were carved with rows of neat small rooms. These stone chambers were exquisitely crafted, appearing ancient, as if the work of a thousand years ago.
Suddenly, Shi Jingzhi had a bizarre thought. This place didn’t resemble a graveyard; it was more like a twisted prison.
The group stopped at a certain level of the pit.
It wasn’t a deliberate choice; the stone steps simply ended there, and below was an abyss with no end in sight.
“Let’s leave her here, by Lao Liu’s side,” someone whispered.
People carefully maneuvered on the narrow stone steps, making way for Auntie Liu. Two villagers supported her and took her to a single small room, helping her lie down comfortably. There were several pieces of men’s clothing scattered around her, damp and almost blending with the dark-colored stone slabs.
“Shouldn’t she be buried together with Uncle Liu?” Shi Jingzhi asked in a low voice.
“Uncle Liu has already ascended to become an immortal. This is his small chamber. Look, his clothes are still here,” someone nearby explained in a low voice.
Yin Ci shifted his position slightly.
In just one night, the body disappeared?
Yin Ci scanned the narrow stone chamber but didn’t find anything unusual, so he quietly took a couple of steps back and looked at the bottomless pit. A gust of wind blew from below, and the indescribable smell became even stronger.
The walls of the pit were uneven. Even if he jumped down, he could still climb up… So he should just pretend to slip and…
Snap.
Shi Jingzhi had quietly approached and grabbed his wrist. “A’Ci, it’s very dark here. Don’t wander around. Be careful not to fall.”
Yin Ci: “…Yes.”
Shi Jingzhi held his wrist tightly and continued to ask, “Can everyone become an immortal so quickly?”
“Some are faster, some are slower. It’s hard to say for sure. Not many people ascend consecutively, and usually, nobody comes down either.”
“What about the people from Xizhuang Village?” Yin Ci followed up.
As soon as he asked the question, almost everyone turned their heads to look at him with obscured and unclear gazes.
“A’Ci!”
“Shizun, it’s okay. They won’t do anything to you. Fellow villagers, I mean no harm. I’m just curious. Given this situation, how would I be ‘handled’?”
“The Great Goddess said that those people gather immortal potential in the pit below.” The voice of Yin Deng’s mother, Mian Jie, came through. “There’s a small world down there. Just as you enter here from the shrine, they go over there from the well.”
Shi Jingzhi tightened his grip on Yin Ci’s wrist.
“The Great Goddess is merciful. Even when faced with sinners…” Mian Jie wanted to continue.
“Mian Jie, you’ve said enough. Talking too much about matters of the immortals may invoke taboos,” the leader of the villagers interrupted her. “This brother may not necessarily need to gather immortal potential. Who knows, there might be a girl who takes a liking to him.”
His words became more and more hesitant, and towards the end, it sounded like he didn’t even believe it himself.
Shi Jingzhi snorted coldly, and a trace of anger overshadowed his fear.
“A’Ci, let’s go back.”
Mian Jie’s heart softened. She hurriedly approached them, taking three quick steps, and whispered, “My daughter brought you in, so you can be considered someone fated with our family. There’s one more person in the village who needs to find a marital partner, and you can go with him. That way, you won’t feel too anxious.”
Yin Ci suddenly halted his steps. “One more person?”
The dim light flickered, and he could still see the hesitation on Mian Jie’s face.
“…Yes, one more person. His name is Bai Wei, originally from Xizhuang Village. He hasn’t left his house for the past half month. If he can’t find a spouse, he won’t be able to continue living in the village.”
Shi Jingzhi remained cautious. “Sister, from what you’re saying, gathering ‘immortal potential’ down there doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
Mian Jie opened her mouth but ended up dryly uttering, “Yuanxian Village is better than down below, that’s for sure. Bai Wei also has some fate with us, haa…”
She let out a soft sigh and squeezed her way to the front of the group, evidently not intending to continue speaking with them.
Shi Jingzhi was about to catch up, but Yan Qing tapped his arm and lowered his voice, “Sect Master, I know Bai Wei. Let’s go back first and talk.”
Once they left the damp giant well and stepped back into the sunlight, there was a certain delight in returning from the realm of immortals to the mortal world. Unfortunately, no one was willing to waste time pondering it. Although they didn’t make any major discoveries in the forbidden area, they had obtained a surviving member from Xizhuang Village without much effort.
The three of them didn’t even return to their lodging. Only Su Si hurried back to change into men’s clothing and dragged Lord Bai out.
When Su Si rejoined the group, there was a goose feather stuck to his head, and Lord Bai was twisting in his arm vigorously. Su Si acted as if he had no sense of pain, taking out fresh cabbage leaves that he had prepared in advance. “Lord Bai, find someone.”
Only then did Lord Bai let go and give him a sour, master-like gaze, seriously scrutinizing Su Si.
“Help me find someone,” Su Si coaxed it carefully. “Help us find Bai Wei, okay? After all, he’s somewhat related to you*.”
*Clarity: They both have the same name/surname (same character) white [bai] (白).
Yin Ci doubted if the goose understood human speech—it gobbled up the cabbage with a crunch and continued to twist Su Si’s leg as if torturing him. It finally let go when Su Si winced in pain and walked away, huffing.
“Follow it!” Su Si made a quick decision.
Lord Bai led the group, swaying and tottering for nearly half an hour, until they reached the southwest corner of the village. They were just a stone’s throw away from their destination—only a few scattered houses remained there. Lord Bai then turned around, diving into a nearby pond.
“There aren’t many houses, so let’s search one by one,” Su Si seemed accustomed to such treatment. “It’s just…”
He nervously glanced at the goose’s backside and lowered his voice. “It’s just a goose, so it doesn’t have much of a brain.”
“Bai Wei is Teacher’s son. I used to work at his father’s school. He’s about four or five years older than me, and he’s a decent person. At least, he didn’t avoid me because of my ghost eyes,” Yan Qing said while searching for the person and addressing the group. “He has a handsome appearance and is good at telling stories. The village girls really like him.”
He didn’t even mind the inauspiciousness of his ghost eyes, and he had Yan Qing deliver small gifts on their behalf when he worked at the school. Yan Qing earned some leftovers as a messenger fee, which also improved his impression of Bai Wei.
However, when they pushed open Bai Wei’s door, they didn’t see a charming and talented scholar; instead, they saw a living skeleton.
Bai Wei’s courtyard was a mess, with shredded paper scattered everywhere. The owner of the courtyard sat there blankly, covered in dust, with only his two eyes remaining clean on his face. With such a countenance, it was already a success if he didn’t scare people to tears, let alone win the affection of young girls.
At first glance, Yan Qing didn’t dare recognize him, but Bai Wei was the first to do so. There was no other reason—Yan Qing’s red eyes were a distinctive feature.
“The boy from the Yan family.” Bai Wei’s lips quivered. “…You’re not dead, huh?”
Afterward, he withdrew his gaze and muttered to himself. “When a person isn’t well, hallucinations start to appear…”
Su Si hesitantly said, “Bai Wei, is it really you?”
Bai Wei carefully scrutinized Su Si for a while, and his gaze stopped at his teardrop mole. “The ‘Cuckoo Calamity’ of the Su family. It seems my eyes are playing tricks on me… And you—are you here to take me to the realm of immortals? Can a fox spirit do that?”
Shi Jingzhi: “…”
Shi Jingzhi: “I’m sorry, I am human.”
He immediately approached, checked Bai Wei’s pulse, and opened his medicine box. “This person is very weak and hasn’t eaten or drunk for a long time. Here, open your mouth. Have some honey.”
Bai Wei shook his head and turned his face away. “I have no appetite.”
Shi Jingzhi: “Oh.”
Decisively, he stimulated Bai Wei’s acupoints and poured the bottle of honey into his mouth, then gave him a bowl of water.
“If you’re determined to die, I won’t stop you. But we just arrived here and still want to leave… From the looks of it, you seem to know something. If you’re willing to help, I can make your death more comfortable.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Wei suddenly tensed his body, grabbed Shi Jingzhi’s collar, and burst forth with terrifying strength. “I don’t want to die! Who said I want to die? I just want to save A’Lu and our child. At least see them one more time, I…”
He struggled to catch his breath, as if this thought pained him. “I…”
“Take your time.” Yan Qing reassured him. “Don’t rush. There are no villagers here.”
Yin Ci silently revealed a false face to prove that Yan Qing’s words were true.
Bai Wei struggled to get up, broke off a piece of dry cake from the table, and forced himself to swallow it. He looked at the four of them with determination. “Xizhuang… Are all the people from Xizhuang gone?”
“They brought it upon themselves, brought it upon themselves! …But am I not also to blame? If it weren’t for me, everyone could have lived well.”
He laughed with laughter that sounded like cries, and his gaze was filled with a dangerous madness.
“You’ve come at the right time. I was planning to seek the Goddess tomorrow and ask her to send me to ‘save my immortal potential’.”
The author has something to say:
Fox Shi: ? Why does everyone think my disciple can’t find a partner? Alright, I’ll marry them.
Demonic Lord Yin: ?
Demonic Lord Yin, the face can be hidden, but the body can’t. What a pity, what a pity (?)
