Chapter 56 A Glimpse into the Secrets of a Century (Part 3) The Breath of Earth is inherently virtuous and capable of sustaining all things…

Soon, the faint human voices coming from the ravine ahead, along with an even stronger smell of fresh blood, provided the answer.

It was a relatively flat depression, a place where children would usually play, but now about twenty or thirty soldiers had gathered there.

Hidden by the jagged rocks and withered trees, they saw a slightly raised mound in the middle of the depression, its dark color completely different from the surrounding land, as if it had been soaked in blood.

An officer who appeared to be the leader waved his hand indifferently.

A dozen or so prisoners dressed in ochre-brown prison uniforms were then escorted to the area around the earthen mound.

The soldiers swiftly and mercilessly wielded their blades! Warm blood gushed from the prisoners' severed necks, pouring onto the earthen mounds.

A strong, nauseating stench of blood wafted through the air.

"Boss, how many batches is this? Is it really effective to drench this thing with so much human blood?" A younger soldier couldn't help but ask in a low voice, his face pale.

"Shut up!" the leader snapped, his eyes sweeping fiercely around the room. "Are you going to question orders from above?"

Behind him, a scholar-like figure dressed in a blue robe and waving a folding fan spoke calmly, his voice steady yet carrying a chilling undertone, "The *Records of the Strange and Unusual* states that the 'Blood Orchid of the Breath of the Soil' is a rare treasure of utmost yin purity. It is called 'utmost yin' because it only grows in places of corpses and blood, where resentment condenses, feeding on the vengeful spirits of the dead; it is called 'utmost pure'..."

He paused, then lightly touched the blood-stained mound with the tip of his fan. "It is precisely because it has gathered the most filthy and deadly aspects of the world that, as the saying goes, extremes meet, and from this deadly state, a wisp of 'pure' life force is born that can reverse yin and yang and purify chronic illnesses. It truly has the effect of healing flesh and bone and bringing the dead back to life. However, it is still not ready yet; it needs to be fueled by fresh blood and energy filled with fear and resentment to finally bloom."

"Did you hear what Mr. Qin said?" The officer turned and glared at the young soldier. "Hurry up and bring some more prisoners!"

"Boss, they're all gone from the prison."

A stern glint flashed in the officer's eyes as he lowered his voice and barked, "Then go outside and look! Grab a few of those homeless, destitute vagrants to make up the numbers. Be clean with your hands, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Sheng's chest heaved violently, her eyes almost spitting fire, and she was about to rush out regardless of everything.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The sky suddenly darkened, a fierce wind arose out of nowhere, and sand, stones, and withered grass flew everywhere, blinding people. A deep, abyss-like, icy aura, like an invisible giant curtain, crashed down upon the entire mountain valley.

When the strange wind subsided, everyone barely opened their eyes and looked around, only to see a figure silently appear in the center of the blood-soaked slaughterhouse.

The large black cloak wrapped him completely, and the shadow under the brim of the hat swallowed his face, leaving only a chilling aura of danger.

"Who goes there?" the officer asked sharply, forcing himself to remain calm, though his voice trembled.

The surrounding soldiers were even more surprised and uncertain, and subconsciously tightened their grip on their swords and spears.

However, they were met with only one finger in response.

The man in the black cloak raised his hand and pointed, and a dazzling, holy, almost illusory light and shadow slowly appeared out of thin air behind him.

It was an enormous, almost divine image with its eyes closed, its entire body outlined by pure and gentle light, with a pair of radiant wings unfurling behind it. The light was warm and peaceful, each feather seemingly containing a rainbow-like luster, carrying a tranquil aura of compassion for all living beings.

But at the very moment that this supremely holy light shone down—

The soldiers' faces froze in terror, their eyes becoming vacant. Their bodies seemed to have their souls ripped away, their eyes losing their sparkle, and one after another they collapsed limply to the ground.

Then, an even more horrifying scene unfolded: their bodies melted and disintegrated rapidly, like ice and snow under the scorching sun, silently disappearing into the soil below, leaving not a trace in the blink of an eye.

Then, the enormous radiant form vanished as quietly as it had appeared.

The man in the black cloak seemed to sense something, turning his head to a different angle. His eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his hat, seemed to pierce through the rocks and bushes, giving a distant "glance" towards the direction where Feng Zhizhaoyin and Shengsheng were hiding.

Feng Zhizhao's heart stopped. Almost the instant the other turned his head, she quickly covered Sheng Sheng's mouth. The two of them slid into the deepest shadow, pressed against the cold, rough tree trunk, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.

She didn't know how much time had passed until the suffocating oppressive feeling in the air disappeared, and then she cautiously poked half of her head out.

Below, there was no one, only the dark earth soaked in blood, silently telling the story of the horror that had just occurred.

She then loosened her somewhat stiff hand.

"That guy just now... had such a strong aura of death." Sheng Sheng was filled with doubt and surprise.

He is a spirit serpent born of heaven and earth, possessing an extraordinary sensitivity to the creation of the world.

If you take him treasure hunting, he'll find it every time.

Feng Zhizhao clicked her tongue, "I didn't realize you were such a treasure."

The boy's ears turned slightly red, but he suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye, and his eyes widened as he exclaimed in surprise, "Sister! Look!"

Following the direction he pointed, dozens of tiny, dark red buds silently sprouted around the mound that had been repeatedly soaked in blood, as if they had sprung up after a spring rain.

These buds grew and expanded at a visible speed, and within a few breaths, dark purple stems emerged. At the top of the stems, flower buds rapidly swelled, shimmering with a strange matte sheen.

Then, in the midst of complete silence, the flower buds burst into bloom!

There was no sound, yet one could almost hear an invisible cracking. The petals unfolded, revealing an unsettling dark red, almost black hue. At the center of each flower, there was no stamen, only a slowly writhing, almost lifelike, dark red, gelatinous substance. This substance rose and fell gently like a heart, and one could vaguely see a viscous fluid flowing slowly within it, exuding a bewitching, eerie beauty.

It was as if this extremely yin and pure thing had finally absorbed enough blood and resentment and matured.

Those soldiers risked their lives to water these flowers, weren't they? They seem to be called... Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth?

The Breath Soil is a sacred land that is virtuous and nurtures all things, and is ever-renewing. But these evil things, which have been nurtured by the blood of countless lives, are they worthy of being called "Breath Soil"?

For a moment, Feng Zhizhao felt a strong sense of disgust welling up in her chest, and she almost wanted to turn around and leave immediately.

But thinking of the frail second daughter of the Feng family, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, all that remained was a cold and resolute expression.

Despite her dislike, she still needed the things.

She quickly scrambled down the hillside where she was hiding and arrived at the eerie flower patch. A pungent, nauseatingly sweet and fishy stench assaulted her nostrils. She frowned, then reached into her bundle and pulled out a soft, delicate silk pouch and a small jade knife.

She acted swiftly and cautiously. A glint of light flashed from the jade knife as she gently sliced ​​along the base, cutting off a Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth intact before putting it into her cloth bag.

One, two, three...

She moved silently and swiftly, quickly plucking all dozens of Blood Orchids of the Breath of Earth, leaving none behind. The cloth bag seemed to contain a universe within, as it remained as light as a feather after holding all the flowers.

After doing all this, she didn't look at the land that had returned to its deathly silence. She carefully tied the package tightly, turned to Sheng Sheng who was still somewhat dazed, and said, "I'm leaving."

Having obtained what she needed, she felt it was suffocating to linger in this filthy place for even a moment longer. Whether this soil, nourished by sin, would breed even greater calamities or simply fall into oblivion was no longer her concern.

The night was as dark as ink.

A small bonfire burned in the dilapidated Huangxian Temple. Tonight, only Feng Zhizhaoyin and Shengsheng were staying there.

Exhausted from days of travel, Feng Zhizhao quickly fell asleep against the wall. But her sleep was restless; her fragmented dreams were filled with scenes of bloodshed and slaughter—clashing swords, screams of agony. Suddenly, it felt as if someone grabbed her by the back of her collar and shoved her hard. The feeling of weightlessness, like falling off a cliff, jolted her awake.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She almost immediately sensed something was wrong—the pungent, gamey smell in the air was much stronger than when she arrived. The space beside her was empty; he was nowhere to be seen.

She suddenly stood up, her gaze sweeping across the entire cramped and dilapidated temple.

The temple was deathly silent, save for the occasional crackling of firewood. Suddenly, her pupils contracted—the dilapidated statue, covered in cobwebs, had completely changed!

It was no longer a human figure, but had transformed into a standing weasel statue! The statue's surface seemed to be covered with a layer of glossy fur, the texture of which was lifelike, with a pointed snout, a long tail, and a bizarre shape. Especially its pair of red eyes, which, in the flickering firelight, gazed at her eerily.

The stone statue's lips even held an extremely eerie, ambiguous smile, full of human-like coldness and greed.

Feng Zhizhaoyin's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately recognized the creature's origin—a wild immortal. It must have been the intense stench of blood in this place, combined with the fear and despair of the nearby creatures, that gave birth to this evil spirit.

As her mind raced, she heard a soft, crisp "crack," and the stone skin on the statue's surface began to crack, revealing its dull, grayish-yellow true form underneath!

Immediately afterwards, a grayish-yellow shadow, accompanied by a foul, fishy stench, hurtled straight toward her face.

Feng Zhizhao reacted quickly. The moment the evil creature rushed towards her with the wind, she twisted her waist and swung out the bronze mace that had been hanging at her waist. With a whooshing sound, it accurately struck the evil creature's waist and abdomen!

"Bang!"

A dull thud rang out, followed by a piercing crack like bones breaking. The evil creature let out a shrill screech that almost tore at the eardrums, its lunge abruptly halted, and it tumbled to the ground.

But it was extremely ferocious. Despite being severely injured, it did not retreat but advanced, twisting its seemingly broken body and baring its pale white teeth, and pounced again—this time, its target was clear, aiming directly at the inconspicuous cloth bag in her arms.

So they came for the Blood Orchid of the Breath of Earth.

Her cloth bag was made using a special method, and it was originally intended to isolate auras and ward off ordinary evil spirits. However, when faced with these mountain spirits and wild monsters that had already shown intelligence and were exceptionally sensitive to the spiritual objects of heaven and earth, the effect was greatly reduced.

Feng Zhizhao's eyes turned cold, and with a swift flick of her wrist, the bronze mace transformed from a hammer into a thorn, a sharp glint aimed straight for his throat!

This time, the touch from the mace tip was more solid, as if it had shattered something hard.

The evil creature let out an even more shrill scream, a plume of black smoke rising from its body, emitting a pungent stench. It seemed to finally realize that the person before it was not to be trifled with, giving her a venomous glare before its figure darted out of the dilapidated temple like a ghost, instantly disappearing into the boundless darkness outside the door.

Feng Zhizhao stood holding her mace, slightly out of breath, cautiously sensing her surroundings. Only after confirming that the evil spirit had indeed fled did she slowly put away the bronze mace, glance at the shattered statue on the ground, and then stomped on it a few times in anger.

This ancestral cloth bag doesn't seem safe either. This desolate wilderness is fraught with danger; it's not a place to stay for long. We must leave at dawn.

As for his sudden disappearance, Feng Zhizhaoyin felt little emotion and had no intention of searching for him. He was a spirit born of the creation of heaven and earth, and even if he was simple-minded, his cultivation was genuine. It was none of her business to worry about his safety.

She didn't delay any longer and set off at the crack of dawn the next day. She hurried along the way and finally saw the blurry outline of Fengmen Village before dark.

However, the closer she got to the village, the stronger that strange feeling became.

The children playing at the village entrance saw her from afar and screamed and ran away as if they had seen a ghost. Villagers working in the fields met her gaze, immediately lowered their heads in panic, and hurriedly looked away, their eyes darting around with an indescribable fear and… a hint of repulsion?

Feng Zhi Zhaoyin frowned, quickened her pace, and headed straight for Father Feng's house.

The courtyard gate was ajar. She pushed it open and called out, "Mother Feng? Father Feng?"

No one answered.

The courtyard was quiet, the herbs were still hanging on the drying rope, two hens paced in the corner, and the kitchen was deserted with no smoke in sight.

Something's not right.

Alarm bells rang in her mind, and she was about to back out—

A sudden gust of wind swept up from behind my head! It was incredibly fast and carried an irresistible force!

Before she could even turn around completely, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, her vision went black, all sensation faded, and her body went limp and collapsed.

...

My head was throbbing with pain, and my consciousness was struggling to fluctuate between drowsiness and brief moments of lucidity.

Before Feng Zhizhaoyin could even open her eyes, she heard intermittent, hushed voices filled with fear and argument.

“…Brother Feng, don’t blame us for being heartless! It’s just that this girl, Ayin, is too evil!” A rough, hoarse male voice, sounding like a hunter from the village, said, “Ever since she came, our village hasn’t had a moment of peace! First, so many soldiers came, then Li Ersao’s cousin was possessed, and now, Wang Laowu’s wife, Shuanzi’s mother… several of them! Every night they stand stiffly in their own yards, dancing those ghostly dances! We can’t stop them! This, this is clearly evil spirits possessing them!”

“But that girl, Ayin, seemed like a good person all the time, and she even helped Yunniang’s family…” This was Feng’s mother’s voice, choked with sobs and struggle, “She’s never harmed anyone…”

"Sister-in-law Feng! Are you out of your mind!" Another shrill voice interrupted her, sounding like the village shaman who often pretended to be a ghost. "You can know a person's face but not their heart! That girl's origins are unknown, and her 'brother' can exorcise evil spirits with a wave of his hand. Are they ordinary people? Those who are not of our kind must have different intentions! They themselves are the biggest 'evil spirits'! They're nice to us? That's because they haven't acted yet! Who knows, they might have brought the unclean things here! Now the village is in a state of panic. If we don't take drastic measures, our Fengmen Village will be finished!"

"That's right! It must be suppressed! Ask the shaman to perform a ritual, splash it with black dog's blood, and nail it in with peach wood nails!"

"Yes! Burn down the house she lived in! Eradicate the evil!"

Amidst the chorus of agreement, Father Feng's heavy, weary voice rang out, "Let's do as everyone says. For the sake of the whole village, sigh..."

Feng Zhizhao struggled to open her eyes, only to be met with darkness, with only a few faint rays of light struggling to penetrate through the cracks in the wooden planks above her head.

She tried to move her limbs, but found it difficult to stretch them.

A burning pain throbbed in the back of her head, pulling at her hazy consciousness, but she could still vaguely sense that the coffin was being carried, bumping and swaying along the way. She didn't know how much time had passed before it suddenly stopped, and she was slammed heavily to the ground.

This shock, ironically, cleared his muddled mind somewhat.

Almost simultaneously, a splashing sound rang out. A thick, salty liquid dripped in through the cracks in the wooden planks, its pungent odor overwhelming.

It's black dog blood!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

At the same time, heavy knocking sounds rang out, clearly the sound of a hammer striking coffin nails, each sound carrying an unwavering resolve.

“...Let me out.” She struggled to raise her hand, trying to push the coffin lid, but her arm was too weak to obey her commands. She could only futilely slap the cold wooden board, making a dull “bang” sound.

"Let me out!" she hissed, her throat dry and tight from lack of oxygen.

However, those outside, hearing the commotion inside the coffin, moved even more urgently. The sound of nails being driven into the coffin grew louder and louder, as if striking her heart directly, determined to completely seal her in this small patch of darkness.

The cacophony of voices penetrated more clearly: the anxious urging of villagers, the incantations of a shaman, the suppressed sobs of Feng's mother, and the heavy sighs of Feng's father.

"I didn't hurt anyone! Let me out—!"

She pounded on the coffin lid with all her might, but the sound was mercilessly drowned out by the louder incantations and nailing sounds outside.

Then came the rustling sound of dirt hitting the coffin lid. At first sparse, it quickly became dense and heavy. The cold, earthy smell replaced the smell of black dog blood, the light was gradually cut off, and it seemed as if the last bit of air was being sucked away.

In this suffocating, despairing, thick darkness, Feng Zhizhaoyin could only think of saving herself.

She moved her arm with difficulty, feeling around, and soon touched the familiar texture of coarse cloth—it was her bundle. Reaching further inside, the cloth bag she kept close to her body, containing the Blood Orchid of the Breath of Life, was also safely in her arms.

Oh.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, a silent, self-deprecating smile spreading across her face.

Those people probably thought these things were unlucky, so they threw her into the coffin along with the coffin.

That saved her some trouble.

A chilling sense of sorrow, not from the fear of death, seeped from the depths of my heart and permeated my entire being.

She left home at the age of twelve, navigating this chaotic world alone. She witnessed the most blatant greed and suffered the most direct malice. She thought she had long been accustomed to the unpredictability of people's hearts and had built up a thick enough defense against them.

Father Feng's silent care, Mother Feng's nagging warmth, and the children's dependent eyes... She didn't say anything, but she wasn't entirely unmoved. This brief, stolen peace gave her a somewhat ridiculous illusion that perhaps there really was a corner in this cold world where she could find refuge.

In the end, it was just a pipe dream.

When fear overrides reason, when rumors outweigh the precious moments spent together, that meager warmth becomes incredibly fragile. They can appreciate your kindness while simultaneously and without hesitation nailing you to their coffins and burying you in the earth.

For the sake of the whole village... what a noble reason.

Feeling disheartened? Perhaps.

Feng Zhi Zhaoyin used all her strength to grasp the cold bronze mace in her sleeve and thrust it upwards!

"Snap!"

The sound of wood cracking echoed inside the cramped coffin. A wisp of fresh, cool air, carrying the damp, earthy scent of soil, then rushed in.

One after another.

Ordinary wood was powerless against the indestructible bronze mace. Soon, Feng Zhizhaoyin pushed open the damaged coffin lid, propped up her numb body, and crawled out of the coffin covered in dust.

The moon was bright, the stars were few, and the surroundings were silent. It was indeed a mass grave outside the village; the newly piled earth still felt damp. Those who had buried her were nowhere to be seen.

The back of her head still throbbed with pain. Feng Zhizhao reached out and touched it, feeling a dry, hardened scab. She brushed the dirt off her clothes, stood quietly at the grave for a moment, and finally, under the cover of the heavy night, silently sneaked back to Fengmen Village.

Arriving at the Feng couple's tiled house, she took out the cloth bag that had originally held the pancakes and carefully placed two sprigs of Blood Orchid inside. She folded them neatly and then gently placed them on the smooth stepping stone in front of the door.

Having done all this, she straightened up, took one last look at the tightly closed door, turned around without hesitation, and plunged into the deeper darkness outside the village.

The warmth and coldness here have been fully experienced.

This place is ultimately not where she belongs.

Feng Zhizhao wandered aimlessly along the dusty official road for months. During this time, she would occasionally read people's fortunes or interpret their characters. Sometimes, she would also use her knowledge accumulated from her family of spirit mediums to help people identify strange objects or resolve some "not-so-clean" troubles.

She was not short of money. When she left home, she not only took many family heirlooms with her, but also a sum of gold and silver valuables that an ordinary person could squander for several lifetimes. However, she did not pursue extravagance. She preferred simple meals and contentment with her lot, and instead enjoyed this unrestrained freedom of wandering. If one could ignore the hardships she witnessed along the way, it could be considered a pleasant journey.

At midday, the sun was scorching, and the dust on the official road was radiating heat. She sat down in a simple tea stall by the roadside, covered with a tattered straw mat, and ordered a bowl of the cheapest coarse tea to quench her thirst.

The teahouse was filled with people from all over the country, mostly itinerant merchants and displaced people with sorrowful faces. Several tables of people were discussing in hushed tones the tragic situations in various places: exorbitant taxes, banditry, and other inexplicable and strange occurrences.

"These taxes are layered on top of each other; they're really driving people crazy!"

"I heard there's fighting again up north, and the defeated soldiers are even more ferocious than bandits..."

"Alas, in this world, there's no way to survive..."

At this moment, a group of dark-skinned men in short jackets at a nearby table caught Feng Zhizhao's attention. They looked like they did manual labor and were talking about something with lingering fear.

"Damn it, that railway construction site is really weird!" A man with a missing front tooth took a swig of cheap tea and said in a low voice, "When we were digging earth there, we could always hear children crying at night, sobbing and whimpering. We would follow the sound, but there would be no one there! The next day, someone would definitely be in trouble, either breaking their leg or getting hit on the head by a rock!"

Another short, stocky man rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and chimed in, “That’s right! The other night, I got up to pee and clearly saw a little shadow wearing a red bib squatting on the newly laid rails, grinning at me. Those white teeth… I was so scared I didn’t even finish peeing before I scrambled back to the work shed! The next day, that section of rails malfunctioned and almost caused a train to derail!”

"Even the foreign monks chanting scriptures for the foreman are no use!" The third man said with a worried look. "They all say we dug up the underground dragon vein and disturbed the little ghosts living there. This is our retribution! I don't even dare to ask for my wages. I need to get out of here as soon as possible and save my life!"

Feng Zhizhao listened with her eyes lowered, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the rough edge of the ceramic bowl. Foreigners building roads disturbing the earth's veins and drawing out unclean things was nothing new in these days.