Mo Shou Xuan Ji
The night at Guzhubao Fortress was thick as ink and heavy as lead. The mountain wind howled and whistled through the broken battlements and empty window openings, whipping up decaying dust and the pungent stench of corpses, yet unable to dispel the bone-chilling despair. Inside the stone hall, the few remaining pine torches crackled and burned, casting twisted, flickering shadows onto the moss-covered, mold-strewn, cold stone walls, like a chaotic dance of demons. In the center of the hall lay the swollen, bluish-purple corpse of a soldier, its mouth and nose oozing foul black blood, a grotesque brand searing the eyes of every survivor. The air was thick with a nauseating stench, mingled with the sweat of fear and heavy, labored breathing.
“The Plague Demon… the Plague Demon has really come…” A young soldier huddled in a corner, his teeth chattering, his eyes unfocused, his hands nervously scratching his neck and arms as if invisible venomous insects were gnawing at his flesh. Panic, like a cold, slippery serpent, coiled around everyone’s heart, and a suffocating feeling was everywhere.
"Shut up!" Sun Qian's sharp shout was like the clash of metal, carrying suppressed anger and a hint of barely perceptible exhaustion. He stood leaning on his sword, the bronze blade reflecting the undried blood and deep furrows on his face in the firelight, his eyes still sharp and piercing like a wounded alpha wolf. "Anyone who sows discord will be executed on the spot!" The chilling killing intent temporarily froze the pervasive panic, but could not dispel the bone-deep coldness. He turned to Gu Yan, his voice low and urgent: "What exactly is the situation in the cave?"
Gu Yan's face was deathly pale, and his swollen cheek looked even more grotesque in the firelight. He pointed to the deep, narrow passage that resembled the entrance to hell, reeking of a thick, putrid stench, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Dead... all dead! Piled up, all rotten... bones, rotting flesh... and... and there are living ones! Some like humans, some not! Covered in festering sores, their eyes were red... they would pounce on anyone they saw! They were incredibly strong! We... we cut one down, and the black blood splattered onto the stones and sizzled... It's eerie! So eerie!" He instinctively took a step back, as if a terrifying monster might leap out of the darkness at any moment.
Ji Zhai squatted beside the corpse, his compassionate gaze sweeping over the deceased's distorted face and the filth he had vomited. Unlike the others, he did not show fear, but rather a cold, focused intensity. With a sharpened wooden stick, he carefully poked at the tiny, still slightly wriggling grayish-white nematodes in the filth, then leaned closer to sniff the pungent stench, his brow furrowed.
"This is no ordinary miasma, nor is it caused by angering a mountain spirit." Ji Zhai's voice was deep and clear, breaking the deathly silence of panic. "This is the 'Corpse Gu' disease! Ancient texts record that it is often seen after major disasters and plagues, when corpses pile up, rotting and generating miasma. Damp places breed poisonous insects, whose eggs spread with water, soil, and dust. When people or animals come into contact with it, the insect eggs enter their bodies, hatch, and devour blood, rotting their internal organs and causing death within ten days. If the corpses are not properly disposed of, they become Gu nests, spreading even more!" He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the horrified faces of the crowd. "This fortress has been abandoned for many years, with corpses piled up deep in the caves, damp and stagnant, a perfect breeding ground for this evil poison! The water, the land, and even every inch of air in this fortress have likely been contaminated by this evil Gu!"
Corpse Gu! It rots and corrodes the internal organs!
This is far more terrifying than a simple plague! The invisible fear instantly transforms into a tangible threat of death, gripping everyone by the throat!
"Then...what do we do? We...we're all going to..." Desperate whispers spread through the crowd.
"Water! What about the water?" Wang Ben clutched the deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder, his voice hoarse, his eyes filled with even deeper worry. The lack of water was already a sword hanging over their heads, and now the water itself had become a deadly poison!
Ji Zhai stood up, his gaze sweeping towards the narrow passage leading into the mountainside deep within the stone hall. He then surveyed the massive, dilapidated ruins of the fortress. The confusion and pity in the Mohist's eyes gradually gave way to an almost obsessive focus. "The source of the poison lies deep within the cave, the evil poison spreading through the underground water veins. To survive, there are only two paths: first, completely burn down the cave to cut off the source of the poison; second," he suddenly pointed to the sky shrouded in the heavy darkness beyond a huge gap in the stone hall's dome, "summon rain from the heavens! Cleanse this filthy fortress! But burning down the cave requires oil and massive timbers, which cannot be done hastily. Summoning rain from the heavens… is utterly delusional."
Summoning rain from the sky? The crowd looked at each other in disbelief; this was utterly delusional!
Xuanweizi, who had been meditating with his eyes closed and whose face was ashen, slowly opened his eyes. In the depths of those calm, deep gray eyes, it seemed as if a faint river of stars was flowing. He did not look at Ji Zhai, but instead gazed at the thick, impenetrable night outside the stone hall, and at the distant, muffled thunder rumbling faintly in the darkness.
"The Qi of Heaven and Earth circulates ceaselessly. Clouds rise and bring rain, dew condenses into frost—all are manifestations of the movement of Qi." Xuanweizi's voice was hoarse and deep, like ancient rocks rubbing together. "Although this fortress is a deadly place, the mountains gather clouds, and the streams generate wind. Tonight at midnight, the wind will rise in the southeast, the clouds will gather in the north, and thunder will rumble in the east… There should be a thorough rain. However…" He paused slightly, his gray eyes turning to Ji Zhai, "Rain falling on filthy land will only help evil and poison to flourish. Without a means to purify and guide it, drawing rain is like drawing poison."
Ji Zhai's eyes suddenly lit up! As if he had caught a glimmer of light in endless darkness! "A purifying and channeling device?" He turned around abruptly, his gaze like a probe, quickly scanning the remaining massive stone pillars, collapsed stone beams, scattered fragments of huge pottery urns, and the blurred yet still discernible geometric engravings on the stone walls, bearing a distinct Mohist style! He strode to a massive stone pillar supporting the dome, squatted down, and vigorously wiped a moss-covered groove on the pillar's base with his mud-covered fingers!
“Xuanji Yuheng!” Ji Zhai’s voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, even trembling slightly. “These are the engravings of the Mo family’s ‘Xuanji Yuheng’ for water purification! This fortress…this fortress must have had a complete rainwater collection and purification system back then!”
As if possessed, he abruptly stood up and paced rapidly through the stone hall. His gaze swept across the broken dome, walls, and floor, scanning the various carvings and grooves. He muttered incantations, his fingers tracing lines in the air, as if reconstructing a long-lost blueprint: "Look! The remaining drainage channel in the dome! It draws rainwater to this central platform (pointing to a slightly sunken, cracked stone platform in the hall)! There must be a hidden channel beneath it, connecting...connecting..." He rushed to a corner of the stone hall, where large fragments of terracotta urns lay scattered. He moved aside a few pebbles, revealing a dark, square stone opening half-covered by mud! "Here! The entrance to the purification urn pit! The pit is layered, lined with fine sand, gravel, charcoal, and shell powder! Rainwater is filtered through these layers, removing impurities, becoming pure water, which is then distributed throughout the fortress via the hidden channel!"
The Mohist mechanical system! Ingenious water conservancy techniques!
Hidden within this abandoned fortress is the lost Mo family's secret water purification technique!
A spark of hope suddenly ignited in the abyss of despair! Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on Ji Zhai!
“However… the entrance to the cellar is buried, the interior is likely clogged and collapsed, the diversion channel is broken, and the dam is damaged…” Ji Zhai’s excitement was quickly replaced by solemnity. He looked at Sun Qian, his eyes burning with a desperate flame, “Mr. Sun! Give me manpower! Give me time! Repair this ‘Xuanji Yuheng’, draw down the rain from the heavens, and cleanse this fortress! This is our only way out!”
“Alright!” Sun Qian didn’t hesitate for a moment, his voice decisive. “Wang Ben! Gu Yan! Take all available manpower and follow Mr. Ji’s orders! Move stones, clear silt, and repair the drainage system! Spare no effort, and make sure this system is cleared before the rain falls!” His gaze swept over the crowd like lightning. “The rest of you, come with me to reinforce the doors and windows! Mr. Xuanwei, Yuxuan, please stabilize the heartbeats of the seriously injured and suppress the onset of the Gu poison!” He knew that morale was more precious than gold at this moment, and he had to give everyone hope so that they would fight desperately for it!
The order was absolute! The will to survive overcame fear! Wang Ben and Gu Yan immediately led their men, moving like worker ants under Ji Zhai's precise command. Heavy stones were moved aside, and years of accumulated, putrid sludge was shoveled out. Ji Zhai climbed onto the broken dome, and by the dim firelight, using his charcoal pencil and ruler, he quickly calculated and marked the edges of the broken irrigation channels. He directed his soldiers to carefully repair and glue together the crucial water ditches using whatever gravel and soil they could find, mixed with the sap of the tough vines they had cut.
Inside the stone hall, Xuanweizi's withered figure moved once again to the side of Xiao Yuxuan, Li Xin, and the other seriously injured. He took out several black herbal pills with a pungent and spicy smell, and had those who could still swallow them take them. He then used silver needles (or bone needles) to pierce the vital points in the chest and abdomen of these people, infusing them with extremely weak but pure true qi, forcibly protecting their heart meridians and life force that had been eroded by the evil qi of the corpse gu.
"Guard the Qi... like guarding this city..." Xuanweizi's whisper echoed like a spell in Xiao Yuxuan's chaotic mind. "Evil Gu invades the body, like an enemy army breaching a city... the heart and internal organs are the last line of defense... divine thought is the soldier, fighting for every inch of ground... draw upon the pure Qi of heaven and earth to cleanse the filth..." With Xuanweizi's guidance and the infusion of that faint true Qi, Xiao Yuxuan felt a cool sensation struggling to penetrate the nauseating, hot, evil Qi within his body, protecting the sliver of clarity in his heart. He endured the excruciating pain and dizziness, and once again painstakingly began to circulate the "Guard the Qi" technique, fixing his mind firmly on the faint warmth below his navel, engaging in a silent tug-of-war with the restless evil Gu Qi within his body.
Time flew by in an atmosphere of tension, oppression, and a mixture of decay and hope. Outside the stone hall, the wind grew stronger, carrying a damp mist. In the distance, the muffled thunder, like war drums, grew closer and louder!
"Faster! Faster!" Ji Zhai's voice rang out hoarsely from the dome, filled with unprecedented anxiety. He was lying beside a broken, crucial drainage channel, shielding himself from the rushing cold wind with his body, his hands flying across the surface as he patched up the last gap with wet mud mixed with vine sap. Below, Wang Ben and the others were struggling to pry open the last boulder blocking the entrance to the cellar, revealing a bottomless abyss of darkness, from which an even stronger, more pungent stench of decay rose into the air!
Just then!
"Ugh—!" In a corner of the stone hall, another soldier, who had only suffered minor injuries, suddenly let out a piercing scream! He abruptly collapsed to his knees, frantically scratching his abdomen, spitting out large gushes of black blood mixed with grayish-white insect eggs! His body rapidly shriveled up as if drained of all life, his eyes bulged out, and countless things seemed to wriggle beneath his skin! The horrific sight instantly reignited panic!
"Another one! Another one!" "The poison has taken effect! We're all going to die!"
Desperate cries spread like a plague once again!
"Shut up!" Sun Qian roared, his bronze longsword flashing coldly as it plunged into the heart of the convulsing, mutated soldier! The strike was swift and clean! The soldier's body stiffened abruptly, then slumped down, motionless. Sun Qian pulled out his sword, thick black blood dripping from the tip. His eyes, cold as ice, swept over the trembling crowd. "Those who cause chaos, die! Those who fear death, die first! If you want to live, stay firmly in your positions! Ji Zhai! How much longer?!"
Ji Zhai poked his head out from the gap in the dome, his face covered in mud, but his eyes burned with a mad light: "The entrance to the urn is open! The diversion channel... the diversion channel is only three inches away from being opened! Wang Ben! Quick! Hand me the largest fragment of the pottery urn! Block this gap!" His voice was carried away by a fierce gust of wind carrying icy raindrops!
Click—!
A pale bolt of lightning tore through the thick night, instantly illuminating the menacing outline of Guzhu Fortress and the horrified, desperate faces of everyone in the hall! Immediately afterward, a deafening thunderclap boomed overhead! Large, icy raindrops, like a celestial river pouring down, pelted down relentlessly!
Rain! It's really here!
However, through the massive opening in the dome, murky rainwater poured down like a waterfall, flooding directly into the stone hall! The last crucial drainage channel that Ji Zhai was repairing was instantly washed away by the torrential rain! The murky water, mixed with moss and mud, washed directly onto the still not completely cleaned terrace, and then flowed freely along the cracks in the ground!
"No—!" Ji Zhai let out a heart-wrenching roar! He rushed forward with all his might, trying to use his body and hands to plug the breach that had been washed away, but he was knocked off his feet by the raging torrent of water!
Is it over?
All the efforts and all the hopes are about to be completely destroyed by this timely but violent and out-of-control rain.
The murky sewage spread rapidly across the ground, soaking everyone's shoes and filling their hearts with despair.
At this critical moment!
Xuanweizi, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, seemingly one with the stone wall, suddenly opened his eyes! Within those gray eyes, it was as if stars were exploding! His withered body erupted with unimaginable power, like a bolt of blue lightning, instantly sweeping across the chaotic stone hall and appearing beside the platform! He didn't try to plug the gap, but instead, with his feet neither too far apart nor too far apart, he stood firmly in the murky water, his withered hands forming an ancient and profound Taoist hand seal, and pressed it forcefully against the center of the cracked platform, which was being washed by sewage!
"Heaven and Earth are the mysteries of the universe, the root of all energies! With penetrating wisdom and perfect understanding, the five energies surge forth! Rivers, lakes, and seas all obey my command! Defilement is cleansed, purity and turbidity are naturally distinguished! By decree!"
As his Taoist mantra, as resounding as a great bell, echoed throughout the stone hall, an indescribable, boundless aura erupted from Xuanweizi's center! It was not true qi, but a powerful "force" that connected heaven and earth and stirred nature! The torrential rain seemed to be forcibly reversed and guided by an invisible force! The turbid water no longer scattered and overflowed, but like a tamed angry dragon, it struggled but resolutely converged along the ancient engravings on the terrace, which had been activated by Xuanweizi's mantra, and then rushed into the bottomless entrance of the cellar that Wang Ben and the others had just cleared!
Rumble—!
The murky sewage, carrying a pungent stench, poured into the deep cellar like a waterfall!
Everyone was stunned by this almost miraculous scene! Even Ji Zhai forgot to move, staring blankly at Xuan Weizi's withered yet godlike figure!
Xuanweizi's hair and beard bristled, his face instantly shifting from ashen to an unnatural flush, a trickle of blood slowly oozing from the corner of his mouth. He maintained the hand seal, his body trembling violently like a withered tree in a storm, yet he remained firmly rooted to the spot, his mouth continuously uttering incantations, guiding the torrential rain to wash away the filth that had accumulated deep within the urn for countless years!
Time seemed to stand still. Only the roar of the torrential rain, the howling of the water, and the deep, majestic incantation of Xuanweizi echoed in the stone hall.
I don't know how much time passed; it might have been just a moment, or it might have felt like an eternity.
The murky water flowing into the urn seemed to encounter strong resistance deep within, emitting a muffled roar. Suddenly, a relatively clear stream of water, still carrying an earthy smell but no longer with a strong stench, struggled to emerge from an outlet blocked by gravel on the other side of the urn, gurgling out continuously! Though small, it flowed endlessly!
"It's done! It's done!" Wang Ben was the first to react, letting out a wild roar of joy! He rushed to the water outlet, scooped up a handful of cool water with his hands without thinking, and greedily drank it down his throat! The clear water, carrying the hope of life, instantly quenched his parched throat!
As Ji Zhai gazed at the gurgling stream that symbolized vitality, and then at the indigo figure beside the terrace, swaying precariously with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth yet still maintaining the hand seal, the Mohist's eyes were filled for the first time with a profound shock and awe at another ancient wisdom.
Xuanweizi slowly released the hand seal, his body swaying slightly before Sun Qian, who rushed forward, caught him. The old Taoist's gray eyes quickly dimmed, leaving only boundless exhaustion. His voice was as weak as a whisper: "Water... can temporarily quench thirst... however... the jar has been silted up for many years... its purification power is less than one-tenth... this water... still contains a slight poison... it cannot be consumed for a long time... it must... be boiled..." Before he could finish speaking, he coughed violently, large mouthfuls of blood staining his indigo robe red.
Adhering to the principles of Yin and Yang, the Dao guides the heavenly rain.
Within this abandoned fortress of death, lost mechanical arts and profound Taoist techniques, under dire circumstances, achieved an incredible collaboration, forcibly carving out a faint crack of life for the surviving creatures in the murky sea of death.
However, outside the stone hall, in the darkness of the torrential rain, the torches of the Qin army pursuers, like the eyes of a bloodthirsty pack of wolves, had already faintly appeared on the rugged mountain path outside Guzhu Fortress. Though the clear stream was visible, the long night remained deep.
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