098. The Darkness
In the second half of the night, Qingling was sleeping soundly in Shang Changheng's arms.
The bed in the bamboo building was not as cramped as the small carriage, and with Shang Changheng's arms around him, Qingling had been sleeping soundly, but for some reason he half-awoke from his sleepiness, and a sense of panic arose in his heart.
Shang Changheng, who had been looking at Qingling with his eyes open all the time, turned his gaze to the outside of the house and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The village was still brightly lit in the rain, but it was filled with a heavy aura of death. There were one to three or four corpses in every household. After Aji died, the mother Gu also died. So all the people in the village who were infected with the child Gu died of the poison in an instant. The cold atmosphere suddenly enveloped the village. On the bluestone path at the entrance of the village, white mist rose, and two figures walking side by side slowly emerged from the white mist.
They were a man and a woman dressed like officials.
The man spoke first: "It's strange. The book says that the people in this place should have died a long time ago. How come there is a new dead ghost today?"
The woman continued, "Maybe the person died but his soul didn't leave his body. There are a lot of messy things in the world of the living. There are too many things that don't match up in the book. After finishing the work, he just - huh?"
The woman paused, turned her head in confusion, and looked at her colleague.
"You discovered it too?" The man's tone was a little cautious and suspicious.
The woman nodded heavily and said hesitantly: "Then let's..."
The man continued: "The work still needs to be done...but don't make things complicated. Just get started."
Two figures flashed under the cover of the white fog and disappeared on the bluestone road in a few breaths. The village suddenly became more gloomy. Qingling, who was lying in Shang Changheng's arms, finally woke up completely. He sat up with a serious expression and looked out -
There is yin energy.
Very...pure and powerful yin energy, without even a hint of evil in it, just pure coldness.
Qing Ling was somewhat puzzled, but more alert. He whispered, "Something is coming."
Before Shang Changheng could respond, the door of the bamboo building was pushed open, and Zhu Lezhi and Miao Yuan hurried in. Both of them had indescribably subtle expressions.
Miao Yuan closed the door and whispered, "Two donors, too many people died in the village overnight, and the ghost messenger has been attracted."
Ghost messenger, the messenger from the underworld, Qingling finally understood the source of the negative energy he had sensed, and became nervous for a moment - he was not afraid that the ghost messenger would find out that he was the one who killed these people. After all, Aji was the first to attack, and he could only fight back according to the rules.
As for the fact that all the people in the village died, the cause and effect can only be blamed on Aji. Qingling was worried about something else.
He looked at Shang Changheng, and suddenly pointed at the white jade dragon pendant on his chest, and whispered, "You go in and hide first."
Shang Changheng turned his hand and grasped the slightly cool and thin hand, but did not go into the ring dragon pendant as he was told. He just lowered his eyes thoughtfully and said softly, "It's okay."
"Hey, it's not that serious." Zhu Lezhi waved his hand, "I just want to tell you that the things in the hands of the ghost messenger are specially used to restrain all kinds of wandering ghosts and evil ghosts, but Senior Shang at least has one left in the mortal world... uh, wife, it's not a bad rule for him to follow you in the mortal world, not to mention that he has never killed anyone. As long as you are respectful to the ghost messenger who comes and don't provoke him or disturb him from working, we... should be able to keep to ourselves."
After saying that, Zhu Lezhi and Miaoyuan looked at each other again.
They both hoped that the ghost would take Shang Changheng away, but Shang Changheng would definitely not be willing to go to the underworld. Besides, at this moment, Qing Ling was the only one in his heart and eyes. If the situation got out of hand, it would be difficult to end. No matter whether Shang Changheng could rebel against the ghost, they would be in trouble no matter which side they supported.
It’s better to keep your tail between your legs and not cause any trouble.
Shang Changheng looked normal, as if he didn't take the arriving ghost messenger seriously, but he didn't take the initiative to provoke him. He still controlled his evil spirit as usual.
So the three people and one ghost gathered in the room again. Shang Changheng leaned on the couch, Qingling sat cross-legged beside him, Zhu Lezhi and Miao Yuan sat down at the table in the room. Miao Yuan lit the oil lamp on the table, and the dim light illuminated the small bamboo building. Outside, it was drizzling, and the yin energy emitted by the ghost was as cold as ice.
——Suddenly, the owner of the yin energy approached.
Even though the door was closed and he couldn't see outside, and there was no other sound except the sound of rain, Qingling could still feel that there were two people standing outside the door. He tensed up instantly, reached out and grasped Shang Changheng's fingers, staring at the wooden door.
Shang Changheng inserted his fingers into Qingling's fingers, intertwining their fingers. He could even feel the subtle fluctuations of Qingling's blood vessels in his hand, and then he said softly, "Don't be afraid, it's okay."
He always seems so confident.
Qingling was a little dazed.
The same was true of Shang Changheng during his lifetime. He was the commander-in-chief of the three armies. No matter how unfavorable and severe the battle situation was, he always issued military orders one after another with ease.
The other two people in the room were almost holding their breath with nervousness. The underworld not only has ghost officials but also ghost soldiers. Once an evil ghost trapped in hell escapes, he will be caught by the ghost officials if he does not leave the underworld, and by the ghost soldiers if he does not leave the underworld. Although for some reason no one is taking care of such a terrible ghost like Shang Changheng - perhaps it is because he has never killed anyone and has not alarmed the Heavenly Dao - but if the two people outside really start fighting, it is hard to say who will win and who will lose.
Shang Changheng did not move.
The two ghost messengers outside did not move either.
Qingling gradually felt something strange in their silence. They seemed not to be in confrontation at all, at least Shang Changheng, who was calm and composed and didn't even have the slightest fluctuation in his Yin Qi, was not the case. The two Yin messengers outside were even more polite. After a long time, the Yin Qi outside receded like a tide, and the aura of the two men also dissipated.
Qing Ling didn't feel relieved, but instead felt... as expected.
In fact, he was already prepared to argue with reason or turn the fight from verbal to physical, but in the strange silence between them just now, Qingling felt for some reason that the two men would not attack Shang Changheng.
He was very sensitive to changes in malice or other emotions; it was a natural intuition - or perhaps it was because his special physique could vaguely match the way of heaven. As Qing Ling went further and further on the path of cultivation, his intuition became more and more accurate.
"Rest now." Qing Ling said simply, "We have to go back into the mountains at daybreak."
Even the body-training monk Miaoyuan could not endure the fatigue of the journey. In addition, the terrain of the place they were going to tomorrow was extremely complicated. Before dawn, the two companions who had been worrying about him went back to rest.
Before leaving, Zhu Lezhi muttered, "Those two adults are quite considerate."
Qing Ling lay back in Shang Changheng's arms, but this time he couldn't fall asleep, so he leaned against Shang Changheng and whispered, "Changheng, I seem to... look like a human-shaped fortune-telling tortoise shell."
Shang Changheng was touched by his description. He touched Qingling's hair, one hand still holding Qingling's fingers, and laughed softly: "Well, I told you long ago that you were originally suitable for this path, Qingling. Everything will turn around after the worst. Good things will come after the worst. You have a bad fate, but on the other hand... it is something that others can't even ask for."
Qingling is no longer the poor little fellow who just learned that there are ghosts in the world. The elixir that everyone in the Yinxing is vying for is a rare treasure, but this physique and fate also give Qingling the opportunity to become powerful quickly - for example, if he really uses the skills of the Yinxing to fight now, Zhu Lezhi and Miaoyuan would be killed by him without knowing how they died.
Qing Ling raised his head and looked at Shang Changheng under the dim oil lamp.
He looked very relaxed. He was no longer the tense commander in the dream. His sinister and cruel nature was hidden away. His face was pale and handsome, with deep features, bright eyebrows and bright eyes. He had a sharp and ruthless look.
Qing Ling suddenly said, "I should learn some physiognomy."
"Hmm?" Shang Changheng asked, "Why?"
Qingling said nothing.
He wanted to know what Shang Changheng was thinking and what he was hiding.
After looking at each other, Shang Changheng asked quietly, "Want to see my photo?"
“Forget it.” Qing Ling shook his head. “Your karma is not small. Even if you can see, you will definitely be retaliated... It’s more important to stay alive.”
"Yes." Shang Changheng lowered his head and kissed his forehead, "But you don't need to read it, Qingling, you can ask me if you want to know anything."
Qing Ling stared at him for a while and snorted, "You know everything and you won't say it all?"
Shang Changheng then gently caressed and kissed the corner of his lips for a while before speaking: "I'll tell you everything I remember."
Qing Ling pulled back his hand, pressed it against the man's forehead and pushed him away, then turned over without saying a word, facing the wall with his back to him.
This evil creature was so cunning that it told everything it could remember and said it didn't remember anything it couldn't.
Shang Changheng could only look at the back of Qingling's head, with a helpless smile between his brows.
His little wife was really hard to fool... There were some things he didn't even need to analyze carefully or grab any evidence, he could discover many things just by relying on his weird intuition.
The drizzle continued, and the sky was still gray when it was dawn, and the sunlight seemed pale and dreary.
With Shang Changheng's new method of traveling, their carriages and luggage can go into the mountains. The evil spirit uses Yin energy to create a barrier, just like the big snake they met in Xiahe Village that day, shuttling between Yin and Yang. When the time comes, they can find a spacious place to tie up the horses. It really saves time and effort. Even Zhu Lezhi sighs that Senior Shang's role is becoming more and more diverse.
However, it was the first time that Qingling saw such a...hidden road. It could be said that there was no road at all. Passing through the terraced fields on the mountain behind the village, the mountain road beyond could be described as a tangled mess. Messy plants grew twisted together, and there was no visible road on the ground. Or perhaps there had been one, but at this moment it had been blocked off and all you could see was green from the sky to the ground.
Qingling even saw a colorful snake coiled on a short tree, or some insects of other shapes. Even though Qingling grew up in the mountains, he had never seen so many different kinds of insects, so he simply closed the car windows to get some peace and quiet.
——Until the carriage stopped.
Shang Changheng's voice sounded from outside: "Let's take a look first."
Qingling pushed open the car window and found that they were already on the top of a towering peak. The gray sky seemed to be pressing down. Looking down, there was an unfathomable canyon, and on the other side were endless green mountains.
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