Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ambush from Ten Sides, Part One
"We are now in the southwest corner of Yishan Mountain, some distance from Yishan City. It's relatively safe to go in. The city is shrouded in eerie atmosphere. The main gate is to the south. Yishan City is built against the mountain, and there are no main roads, only narrow paths built along the mountainside. The houses are neatly arranged and almost identical everywhere. Once inside, you can see a city built against the mountain to the west, with a towering palace in the very center, which is probably the core area."
Meng Sheng asked Heng Buwei to bring out the map of Yishan's topography and the scene he had recorded using the "On the Water's Edge" water technique.
“I basically followed this route,” Meng Sheng said, spreading the map on the table and placing the paper in his hand in the corresponding position as he recalled the memory. “I only saw a few evil spirits along the way. I hid and didn’t make contact with them. There was a city wall outside, and I climbed onto it. Afraid of being discovered, I left a water shadow and quickly came back.”
The water reflection was both clear and blurry, and the image was small, so everyone had to take turns comparing the water reflection with the drawing.
After improving the water technique, Mingjin informed Mengsheng. Mengsheng thought the technique was excellent, but to avoid being bound by paper, he made a replica at home using the materials Mingjin provided. It was quite different from the original, but it better suited the effects of the water technique. So when the water image reached Mingjin, she felt that apart from the slightly dry colors, it was already very good.
Within an hour, all six cultivators returned safely, putting everyone's minds at ease.
Since it was their first time entering the barrier, and because they used different spells, the six of them arrived at different locations after entering the barrier. They were inevitably too cautious and did not travel very far, mostly scouting near the city walls.
Fortunately, the city walls of Yishan seem to be purely decorative, because apart from a main road outside the south gate that leads to an unknown destination, towering trees still remain near the other city walls, though they are only three or four people taller than the walls.
“When I was exploring outside the city, I came across a town,” said Tian Heng, the last elder of the Huicheng who returned. “It was quite different from our town. It consisted of about ten houses clustered together, each with a ghost. They all looked tense.”
“If that’s the case,” Meng Sheng said, recalling the ghosts he had encountered, “the ones I met were also rushing into the city, saying something, but I couldn’t understand them.”
The others didn't notice this situation; they simply provided their reconnaissance routes. It was Mingjin who drew them on a map for everyone's reference.
Boss Jiang and Shan Liu never returned, and the six cultivators who returned also failed to notice the cliff. Ming Jin felt a little worried.
After resting for a quarter of an hour, Meng Sheng and Zhou Wei chatted with Ming Jin about their experience of using magic to enter the city.
"Actually, I didn't encounter anything. It actually put me at ease," Zhou Wei said truthfully. "After all, even though I used magic and could see the situation on the ground from underground, I was always worried that after I jumped out from underground, I would end up in front of a ghost. I hesitated for a long time before coming out from underground."
"Once inside, you can feel the ghostly aura is particularly heavy. For the rest, just treat yourself as an ordinary ghost hunter and explore step by step."
This trip had taken a lot of thought and effort from Zhou Wei and Meng Sheng, so during their rest time, the two sat down next to Ming Jin. Their eyes were unfocused, as if they were trying to catch their breath.
Ming Jin took the twin flowers from Wei Jing, tied them to his left arm, and stood next to Mu Ning.
He took a deep breath and began to cast the spell. Then, Mingjin felt as a visible, growing plant root system, crawling forward from the ground beneath his feet, crossing an invisible barrier, and then he felt that familiar evil spirit aura.
It was much more intense than that of Youran City. Moreover, this ghostly aura was freer; Yishan made them feel at ease, so it was naturally different from the abandoned aura of Youran City.
Observing that there was a forest nearby and no signs of evil spirits, Mingjin decided to come out, and once out, he decisively jumped onto a tree trunk to hide his whereabouts.
Using mountain magic is also not recommended, as Mingjin herself was not feeling well carrying that ghostly aura. She entrusted the task of finding the cliff to her two spirit friends, deciding not to go back again.
Inside the forest, all one could see was more forest; no ghosts or spirits. The trees were the same type as those outside, but that didn't matter. Mingjin used wind magic to determine his position in the forest, deciding which end was closer. The forest was quiet, the wind carrying some information. Then, Mingjin followed the direction, heading towards the edge of the forest.
Standing on the side branches of the trees at the edge, she could already see the tall city walls of Yishan City. Judging from the position of the sun, Mingjin was currently very close to the south gate, but not on the route taken by the previous six people. In order not to put the cart before the horse, she lightly used wind magic to move closer to Yishan City through the woods, while still keeping a close eye on the nearby evil spirits.
I missed several, and didn't meet any of them.
The gate mentioned in the message led to a main road directly in front, and two slightly less prominent paths along the sides, surrounding the city walls. Ming Jin was heading towards the gate along one of these paths. As the distance closed, Ming Jin didn't get too close, maintaining a distance to observe the situation from within the woods.
Although it was at the city gate, there were no paths formed by trampling in the woods.
There was an open space near the city gate, where a dozen or so ghosts were gathered. Some were dressed identically, presumably on guard duty, while others wore different clothes. They seemed to be chatting, their movements slow and their mouths wide. The ghosts on guard duty joined them in their conversation, only their positions remained unchanged.
So easy?
"Heaven bestows its precious dew, and earth grants its sweet springs."
A small, shell-shaped piece of water floated in Mingjin's sight. Through this small patch of water, Mingjin could see the situation at the main gate more clearly.
The city gate was wide, guarded by eight malevolent spirits outside, with several more on the city wall, though only two were visible. All ten were dressed identically, making it impossible to discern their ranks; they were all ordinary soldiers. Five of the spirits were chatting with the eight, wearing similar but not identical clothing, seemingly preparing to return to the city. Sure enough, after observing for a while, Ming Jin saw these five, arms around each other's shoulders, slip into the city through a small gap opened by the soldiers.
Is this a clandestine return to the city?
Are there controls within the city? How strict are they? Why did the soldiers on guard let them pass?
Thinking about it this way, the ghosts she had just encountered were not dressed as soldiers, but they were also heading in this direction.
Did they also sneak back to the city?
There was a plaque above the city gate. Ming Jin wasn't very familiar with the characters, but because he often thought about Yishan, he had spent his spare time looking for these two characters in various calligraphy books, so he could recognize the three characters on the plaque as "Yishan City". The font was very elegant, probably popular about a hundred years ago, but the plaque was very clean. It faced south, but the colors hadn't faded at all, indicating that it had been carefully maintained.
Half the time had passed. Mingjin hid in the shade of a tree, using a seashell to peek through the gaps in the city wall. After waiting for a while, he saw a dozen or so evil spirits rushing back. However, they didn't say anything; they just waved to the guards from a distance to open the gate. The soldiers didn't dawdle and helped them slip into the city in a flash.
What are you doing?
At this point, the guards suddenly began to tidy their clothes and then adjusted their positions.
Suddenly, the bell rang.
The soldiers stood exceptionally straight. As Ming Jin observed the evil spirits at the city gate, rows of evil spirits suddenly appeared at intervals on the city wall.
There was movement inside, but it was unclear. Mingjin stared at the soldiers and suddenly noticed that their shadows were spinning.
At the same time, light shone on her hand from the side. Fearing that she would be discovered by the evil spirit, Mingjin quickly put away the water seashell and swiftly turned her body to the side, looking around to find a better spot.
The shadow was still turning as Mingjin hid among the few trees that were blocking the way. The leaves were very clean, without dust or insects, which was unusual, but it reassured Mingjin a lot.
Another bell rang, and Mingjin quickly adjusted his position, summoning the water seashell. He discovered that the shadows beneath the soldiers' feet had stopped moving. The sky above the city wall remained unchanged, but the sun had already shifted to the afternoon.
This barrier is truly extraordinary.
The city gates opened from the inside. First, the soldiers rejoined the original guards, and then some ghosts in different attire silently walked out of the city. All the ghosts were silent, and Ming Jin seized the opportunity to look into the city and found that there was another group of ghosts lining up inside, preparing to walk out along the main road and sides of the city gate.
There was a male ghost standing exceptionally tall, whom Ming Jin did not recognize. He appeared to be around thirty years old, neither young nor old, with a light expression, a smile playing on his lips, and striking features. He was dressed in the same black robes, with his hair tied up and wearing a crown.
Below the male demon, there was a figure that Ming Jin recognized somewhat.
It's Fuchsia.
Compared to the male ghost, whose movements were serious yet somewhat hasty, Fuxia's expression was indeed more sharp, and she was also holding a knife in her hand. As the ghost passed by, perhaps encountering someone familiar, the male ghost waved and greeted them. The ghost who was greeted looked up at the other ghost, then noticed Fuxia's expression, and couldn't help but quickly get off the ground, quickening its pace to follow the ghost in front.
He wanted to take a closer look, but suddenly something tapped Mingjin on the shoulder.
Turning around, I saw Elder Zhuo Yong, who had come with me, holding a tree branch in her hand.
"go back."
She didn't say anything, but just mouthed something to Mingjin.
The twin flowers were tied to Zhuo Yong's body with a specially made strip of cloth. It was white when tied, but as half an hour passed, the color gradually deepened. When Ming Jin looked at Zhuo Yong, the strip on his body had turned completely black.
But outside...
"go back."
Zhuo Yong's attitude was clear and resolute, so Ming Jin had no choice but to go back with her.
Sure enough, an hour had passed, but Mingjin and Zhuoyong were not the last to return.
Mu Ning hasn't returned yet.
However, his candle burned steadily, so there was no need for concern.
"I should have stayed a little longer."
After parting ways with Zhuo Yong, Ming Jin quietly told Zhou Wei.
“Be careful, or I’ll report you to Tingran,” Ji Zhen said, slapping Ming Jin and Zhou Wei on the head with both hands. “Listen carefully to Elder Zhuo’s words, do you understand?”
"Yes, Master Ji," Mingjin said guiltily.
After saying this, Mu Ning returned and landed steadily on the ground using wind magic.
Ming Jin and Zhuo Yong both found their way to the city gate, but they approached from both sides.
“The lives of the evil spirits in the city are probably strictly planned,” Zhuo Yong said. “Using the fake sun inside the barrier as a signal, the evil spirits must arrive at a certain place at a fixed time according to regulations. Those who violate this rule will be punished. That’s why Tian Guang and I saw those evil spirits wandering around all the way.”
“Moreover, I feel that something has happened in the city recently,” Mingjin nodded. “The gathering of evil spirits that Elder Zhuo and I saw today may not be as severe as usual. Those evil spirits have clearly become less concerned about this matter, but they still have the ability to deceive us.”
“It’s a pity that our stay was too short,” Zhuo Yong said. “Afterwards, we can try our best to decipher the relationship between that fake sun and the time outside. If we plan to attack, this will be a great help.”
“Then we’ll just have to wait until this time tomorrow…” Ban Rui pondered for a moment, “What about the situation in the city? Does anyone know?”
Elder Tian Jia of Huicheng arrived at a point relatively close to Meng Sheng's, so he followed Meng Sheng's route and climbed the city wall of Yishan. However, before he could observe for himself, he noticed that evil spirits were suddenly gathering on the nearby city wall. To avoid being discovered, he had to move to the other side.
“The palace is located at the heart of the city. The evil spirits are obviously divided into different classes, and most of them live in these kinds of houses,” Tian Jia said, taking out a water map showing a type of building. “Before the bell tolls, the evil spirits are coming out from here. After the bell tolls, their speed obviously increases. So, I think Tian Guang’s guess makes sense. Although the slowest ones are dawdling, they all arrive before the bell tolls.”
"There were guards at the gatherings, and the guardhouses were like this, there were guards on almost every street near the south gate."
During the gathering, the guards on the city wall needed to keep an eye out for anything else, so Tian Jia withdrew from the wall. Ju Xia's disciple, Jiang Chao, walked along another route and encountered some idle ghosts outside the city.
"I was just observing what they were doing," Jiang Chao said, a little unaccustomed to speaking in front of so many people, and stammered slightly. "There was a malevolent spirit, probably the leader, who went into the houses at a certain point and summoned all the other malevolent spirits out. The spirits didn't look too good, and they grumbled as they tidied up the houses. They weren't built; they seemed to have been conjured using the spirits' magic, and they disappeared with a wave of their arms. I just kept watching, and then when it was almost time, I came back."
"They left, and you came right back?" Banrui asked.
"Yes, squad leader."
It just so happens that Ban Rui had Heng Buwei write down the time when everyone returned, and Ming Jin and Zhuo Yong returned after the meeting ended, which conveniently gave them the start and end times of the meeting.
"It's really too short," Wei Jing said with some helplessness. "What can we do by getting together like this?"
Ban Rui muttered to himself, "If we have the chance, we should try again."
Who's next?
Seeing that Ban Rui was deep in thought, Wei Jing didn't disturb him and prepared to ask the others for their opinions.
His gaze met Mu Ning's, who had been looking at the map and pondering something, and had just looked up. However, Mu Ning didn't intend to speak, but instead gave Wei Jing a look, signaling her to look at the cultivators hiding next to Tian Heng and Tian Jia.
"Wenjie," seeing this, Wei Jing couldn't help but feel puzzled. The cousins Tian Heng and Tian Jia also noticed and turned to look at Li E beside them, "Tell me what you think."
"Senior brother."
The other cultivators were still chatting in groups, but Li E was already a little scared as his three elders were all looking at him.
“I, I also climbed up the city wall at the time, roughly opposite Elder Gongmei,” Li E pointed to the map, “There’s a room on the city wall near here, and another one at the foot of the wall, where some of the weapons held by the evil spirit soldiers are stored. But most of the evil spirits use magic, so I’m not sure if they are ritual objects or if they are actually useful. From my position, I can clearly see a very high hill inside Yishan City. Most of the evil spirits are in the area between the high hill and the south gate.”
As he spoke, Li E placed the water reflection he had forgotten on the table.
"Hmm," Wei Jing felt she had completed the task well, so she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then why were you hiding just now?"
“Yes, it’s because,” Li E, who had been getting more and more familiar with the work environment, was brought back to reality by Wei Jing’s question, “Senior brother, I may have messed up.”
"How so?"
“When I was hiding on the wall, I felt myself being suppressed by a male demon leader in the city using his magic,” Wei Jing was watching from the side, and Li E could only tell the truth, “I was worried that he had discovered me, so I wanted to confirm it.”
"Confirmed?" Wei Jing couldn't help but be skeptical, her heart pounding with anxiety.
"I couldn't help myself and used the metal technique on him."
As soon as he said that, everyone around him fell silent.
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