Unsheathed

On the two sides of the mountain path, the white paper lanterns that were hovering in mid-air with no branches to hang on had already transformed into large red lanterns. Swaying in the wind, sanguine blood bubbled like boiling water and sent beads of blood crashing onto the sides of the lanterns, giving rise to a crisp and eerie crackling sound.

The female ghost continued to cry by herself, and she remained unwilling to remove her hands from her face. She completely ignored the Yin god.

The Yin god’s mind fluctuated slightly, and he used the voice of his mind to secretly communicate with Lin Shouyi. He told the young boy to use the mountain aura talisman whenever he got the opportunity. This was a talisman that could shatter all kinds of barriers. Afterward, he would do his best to hold the female ghost back.

Once the “path to the underworld” was shattered, Lin Shouyi and the others could flee from this area and leave the mountain. They didn’t need to worry about him. The Yin god also warned Lin Shouyi that they shouldn’t follow this mountain path anymore. Instead, Chen Ping’an should use Auspicious Talisman to forge a new path.

After agreeing to this, Lin Shouyi asked in an uncertain voice whether they should leave the slender saber Auspicious Talisman for him. However, the Yin god shook his head and replied that he couldn’t pick this saber up at all. Its aura was far too powerful. Moreover, this saber was the best for forging a new path, as its brilliant aura would leave an aura of righteousness on the trees and vegetation that it made contact with. This was an aura that would innately restrain Yin entities. Thus, it could prevent their enemy from employing any more ghostly tricks.

Wiping her face and removing her hands, the female ghost once again revealed her colorless and deathly pale face. There was a sinister smile on her face as she remarked, “You came without invitation, and now you’re trying to leave without bidding farewell. Such acts are not the acts of virtuous people.”

The Yin god’s appearance became blurry, and his figure rapidly dissolved away like a melting candle. In the end, he transformed into a ball of tumultuous ink-black smoke that charged at the female ghost.

The female ghost raised a hand and flicked her sleeve, causing the large sleeve to open up like a bird’s wing and create a shield in front of her.

Even so, the force of the collision still sent the female ghost stumbling back 25 or so meters. As she retreated, the sanguine lanterns directly above her also exploded one after another. The blood inside the lanterns didn’t spray into the surroundings, and they instead flew toward the female ghost who had been forced back by the Yin god. They were like swallows returning to their nests, and this was a similar sight to how the old Daoist priest had used the soul-summoning banner to absorb the essence of the remnant souls.

“Get ready to follow me,” Lin Shouyi said in a solemn voice. “We’ll discuss things further after we leave this mountain path. Chen Ping’an, we’ll need to forge a new path through the woods afterward, and Senior Yin god said that you should use Auspicious Talisman to do so.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “I’ll go and put the old Daoist priest on my back first. We can’t just ignore him and leave him to die.”

The blind old Daoist priest was barely breathing as he lay a dozen or so paces away from them.

Chen Ping’an sprinted over and slung the pitiful old man on his back. He then turned around and returned to the group.

Lin Shouyi stood still and pinched a yellow paper talisman with two fingers. At the same time, he quietly recited an incantation under his breath.

This was a Barrier Shattering Talisman, one type of the Mountain and Water Talismans. According to the Yin god’s explanation, there were hundreds upon thousands of types of Mountain and Water Talismans. These were talismans that Qi refiners definitely needed to bring with them when they set off on long journeys or entered mountains and rivers. This was in order to prevent themselves from facing so-called “ghost hitting the wall” situations, as the commoners often liked to call it.

More precisely, these talismans were used to defend against mountain-guarding formations set by their fellow cultivators, or to defend against the evil schemes of powerful mountain ghosts and spirits. This would be especially important when they entered the ruins of ancient battlefields, unmarked burial grounds, and other similar places. Without a few Barrier Shattering Talismans, Yang Energy Illumination Talismans, or Three Pure Ones[1] Mind Calming Talismans, one would essentially be walking headfirst into a trap, unarmed and defenseless.

Lin Shouyi suddenly opened his eyes. In the depths of them, a streak of gold quickly flashed past. “Follow the talisman,” he said in a solemn voice.

The others looked over, only to see the Barrier Shattering Talisman float away from Lin Shouyi’s fingers and hover in mid-air at head height. It started to flutter around, and it looked much like a drunkard trying to find their way home.

The talisman stopped after nearing the side of the mountain path that hugged the mountain face, and Li Huai asked, “Does it want us to smash headfirst into the mountain?”

Lin Shouyi was the first to stride forward, and his figure suddenly disappeared into the mountain.

Li Baoping and Li Huai followed after him. Behind them, Chen Ping’an carried the old Daoist priest and led the donkey as he also vanished from the mountain path.

The yellow paper talisman initially wanted to follow them into the mountain as well. However, as if being stealthily tugged by someone, it immediately became exhausted of spiritual energy and limply floated to the floor.

The four children reappeared in the depths of a dense forest. They exchanged glances, and even Lin Shouyi who had activated the Barrier Shattering Talisman was baffled and at a complete loss.

Chen Ping’an asked Lin Shouyi to carry the old Daoist priest for him first. He then climbed a tall tree and observed the surroundings from its highest point. They were seemingly located in a ravine surrounded by mountains on three sides. Even with Chen Ping’an’s exceptional eyesight, he still couldn’t see the surroundings clearly. He could only see a blurry outline.

Before leaving the mountain path, the Yin god and the female ghost had been engaged in an intense battle in the distance. The sound of exploding lanterns had been ceaseless and lingering.

After using the Barrier Shattering Talisman to flee, however, their surroundings suddenly became completely silent. The forest was deathly quiet, and not a single rustle could be heard. This huge contrast didn’t ease Li Huai’s mind, and it instead caused him to feel even more terrified and uneasy.

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath before gripping the slender saber Auspicious Talisman and saying, “No matter what, we’ll head toward the south first. Only that side isn’t blocked by towering mountains.”

————

In a ravine littered with towering ancient trees, there were neat rows of tall buildings resting together to form a splendid residence. The size and extravagance of this residence were even superior to that of generals and ministers in the mortal world, and perhaps only the residences of county kings could rival it.

A plaque with the golden characters “Beautiful Water Noble Wind” hung high upon the gate of the residence, and the strokes of these characters were filled with such vigorous power that they looked like the work of an immortal. Outside the gate was a pair of large stone lions, with each measuring a height equivalent to two humans tall. One of the stone lions was reaching forward with its paw and holding down a stone child that was as large as a person. The stone lion appeared mighty and imposing.

The air rippled, and an old man dressed in azure and holding a large red lantern walked out from within this disturbance.

He was none other than the palace minister from the Ritual Office of the Ministry of Personnel.

The old man sighed, and his brows were knitted into a deep frown. It was clear that he believed that this visit would be a very troublesome one. He stuck the handle of the lantern under one of the stone lion’s feet, and the initially dark and gloomy residence that was cold and empty instantly became suffused with light. Up high and down low, in the distance and nearby, almost a thousand lanterns lit up at exactly the same time.

Countless doors were pushed open, and no fewer than 100 people walked out — beautiful young women, old stewards, stablemen and chefs, servants and maids, gardeners and housekeepers, and so on… It was as if they had all received an order from their master at the same time and were just about to start work.

However, almost all of them were deathly pale, with not a hint of expression in their eyes.

In a garden inside the residence, the lame young boy and the round-faced little girl were huddled together as they leaned against a wall.

Blood flowed from the seven orifices on the lame young boy’s face, and it was clear that he had already suffered severe injuries. He most likely wouldn’t be able to walk many steps even if he were allowed to leave. In order to fight against the astonishingly powerful female ghost just then, the lame young boy had summoned the silver characters “subduing demons and capturing ghosts” from the banner and into the acupoints in his face. This was a sinister technique that would severely harm his mind and soul.

Meanwhile, the little girl had cut her hands and arms several times, causing her to lose far too much blood. This was made even worse by the fact that she had come into contact with some of the female ghost’s Yin energy. She was still dizzy at this moment, and she felt like she wanted to hurl.

When the lanterns lit up, the lame young boy’s expression became even grimmer. He hurriedly reached over to cover the little girl’s eyes.

What appeared before the young boy were racks of dry and decaying skeletons. In fact, only the upper half of these skeletons were visible above the ground. They were packed densely together, and it was as if they were being planted like vegetables in a garden. There were at least 40 to 50 sets of skeletons.

The lame young boy felt a slight sense of despair.

This was because one of the skeletons surprisingly had a faint golden spine. Its limbs were also as pure white as fine jade, and it was clear that this person had been a Qi refiner who had already reached the Middle Five Tiers and achieved a “golden branch and jade leaves”. According to the blind old Daoist priest, only Qi refiners who were extremely powerful among their peers in the Middle Five Tiers could achieve this kind of phenomenon.

As for the old Daoist priest who could barely reach the doorstep of the Middle Five Tiers, he hadn’t even managed to cultivate a golden branch yet, so how could he possibly cultivate jade leaves?

No wonder he had lost so comprehensively.

The gulf between their power was far too immense.

The gate of the residence opened, showing its greatest respect as it welcomed one of the three most powerful palace ministers of the Great Li Empire.

However, the old man didn’t enter. Instead, he sat down on the gate threshold and looked at the wide path outside the residence. “Lady Chu, can you listen to me and not make things difficult for those young children?” he asked softly.

Next to the gate, the large red lantern resting beneath the stone lion’s feet started to shudder violently.

As the lantern wildly swung back and forth, the four bright red characters, “souls, homeward ye go”, also started to ripple with wisps of sanguine light.

The old man’s voice became firmer as he warned, “Lady Chu! If anything happens to those children in your territory, to say nothing of this residence, even the Great Li Empire will suffer great calamity as a result.”

However, it was a shame that there was still no reply.

“Lady Chu!” the old man called in slight anger.

An old man who looked like a steward appeared at the gate. He was wearing a felt hat, and his hands were clasped behind his hunched back. He coughed before chuckling softly and saying, “The Great Li Empire has already recognized these mountains and waters as Young Mistress’ territory for countless years. Young Mistress has also peacefully coexisted with the Great Li Empire this entire time.

“In fact, I heard that many years before I even became the steward of this residence, some previous emperor of the Great Li Empire once became indebted to Young Mistress. Even now, the Golden Characters Iron Certificate[2] with the characters ‘Eternal Harmony of Mountains and Rivers’ is still displayed in the residence. After that unfortunate event, all of the emperors from the previous ones to the current one tacitly allow Young Mistress to vent her anger. Why is today any different?”

The old man in azure turned around to look at the old steward wearing the felt hat. “Not only is today different, but Lady Chu won’t be allowed to mutilate and kill passing scholars in the future anymore either!” he said slowly. “I’ll naturally explain the reason to Lady Chu. However, if Lady Chu isn’t willing to stop or face me, then don’t blame the Great Li Empire for being merciless!”

The old steward patted his chest to stop his coughing. He smiled and replied, “The Great Li Empire is facing turmoil right now, so unless Master Ruan personally comes over, Young Mistress genuinely won’t be afraid of anyone. Even if she can’t defeat some of the secret honored members of the Great Li Empire, will the empire truly have the courage to dig up hundreds of kilometers of mountains and sever the Embroidered Flower River if Young Mistress decides to go into hiding? Will you not be afraid of affecting Go Table Mountain and that descended Jewel Small World?”

The palace minister’s expression was dark, and he replied, “Our lord isn’t an honored member of the Great Li Empire whose ego is even bigger than the heavens. He’s always detested those who take a mile when given an inch.”

The gate slowly closed, and the old steward stood inside the residence and smiled with squinted eyes, saying, “Young Mistress has given a reply. She said that the Great Li Empire can test her out.”

“Then test her we will!”

The palace minister from the Ministry of Rites shook his head. He was also a straightforward person, so he didn’t say anything else to try to convince Lady Chu. Instead, he directly walked down the steps and retrieved his large red lantern, tossing it into the sky.

His figure slowly faded away.

Meanwhile, the lantern rose into the sky like a red moon.

————

Chen Ping’an and the others had solemn expressions as they stood on the street outside the large residence.

None of them had imagined that they would suddenly come across such an extravagant residence deep within the wild mountain forests.

Chen Ping’an had been responsible for hacking away the branches and shrubs with Auspicious Talisman and clearing a path for them. Right now, he was also panting in slight exertion. This wasn’t because he had expended a lot of energy, but it was because there was a heavy feeling weighing on his mind.

The blind old Daoist priest on Lin Shouyi’s back finally stopped playing dead. He slapped himself and said through tears, “Who would have thought that the female ghost would be so powerful? Yet, I actually dared to provoke her, and I even dreamed about slaying demons and vanquishing fiends… Oh, my old eyes have truly gone blind… Indeed, my useless eyes haven’t gone blind for nothing…”

Lin Shouyi was given a huge fright, and he hurriedly let the old Daoist priest jump down from his back.

Li Huai hid behind Li Baoping, and Li Baoping’s face was also slightly pale as she tugged Chen Ping’an’s sleeve and asked in a quiet voice, “Junior uncle, are you afraid?”

Chen Ping’an raised an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He nodded and replied, “Of course I’m afraid. However, there’s no need to worry. There’s still me and Lin Shouyi.”

“I felt like I could give it a try before, but now? My measly abilities are only enough to elicit a slight wag of her fingers,” Lin Shouyi said with a bitter smile.

Chen Ping’an placed Auspicious Talisman in its scabbard and returned it to Li Baoping. When he saw the puzzled expressions on her and Lin Shouyi’s faces, he explained, “Let me try in a moment.”

“That female ghost isn’t afraid of Auspicious Talisman and isn’t afraid of Lin Shouyi’s talismans, but she’s actually afraid of fists?” Li Huai asked with a naive expression.

Chen Ping’an didn’t reply, and he started to calm his breathing and focus his mind.

1. The Three Pure Ones are the highest deities in the Daoist pantheon and are regarded as manifestations of Dao. ☜

2. ” Golden Characters Iron Certificates” (金书铁券) were unique documents bestowed upon meritorious officials. Such documents could be used to reduce or eliminate the punishment for crimes committed by the receiving official or their descendants. ☜

Johnchen and Flying Dumpling’s Thoughts

“Ghost hitting the wall” (鬼打墙) means getting lost at night and walking in circles.