Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ambush from Ten Sides, Part Two
Zhou Wei and Meng Sheng, who had been watching Mu Ning instructing Ming Jin to revise unclear sections of the terrain map, immediately turned their attention to Li E's words. Several others standing nearby did the same.
"How was the effect?"
Ban Rui was especially excited, grabbing Li E's sleeve and asking him about the situation. Guo Hao had no choice but to take Heng Buwei with him and tell Ban Rui to be more composed.
"He gets into trouble as soon as he goes out."
Standing next to him, Tian Heng slapped Li E on the back of the head, but fortunately it didn't seem to be very strong.
"So can we use it?" Meng Sheng ran back, turning his head to look at everyone and asked.
"Does it really work?" Jiang Chao asked curiously. "I was squatting there waiting for news, and my legs were numb from squatting. I was thinking about whether I should try it out. But in the end, I didn't dare."
“Yeah,” Ming Jin was being held down by Mu Ning to modify the drawing and couldn’t move. Zhou Wei followed Meng Sheng to join in the fun. “It’s such a waste not to use the Golden Arts when there are so many living evil spirits in front of us and we don’t have to catch them ourselves.”
"calm."
The group burst out together, chattering away. The previously quiet group instantly found common ground, while the elder standing to the side wore a helpless expression. Wei Jing glanced at Meng Sheng, who, resigned, could only return to his position. Zhou Wei, seeing this, followed Meng Sheng back to his place. Guo Hao then reached out and pulled Jiang Chao to the back, so he could stay with Ban Rui.
So Wei Jing continued, "This wood magic is rarely used, and there's no precedent for using it together with metal magic, which is why I said before that I would only use wood, water, and wind, and not fire, lightning, or ice. Wen Jie, tell me what happened back then."
“I used magic and saw that the evil spirit didn’t notice me. He was casting spells, just joking with the evil spirits around him. That’s what he said himself,” Li E continued, seeing that Wei Jing wasn’t too angry and that his master Tian Heng was also being suppressed by his uncle. “It seems that he did it because the scene was a bit chaotic at the time.”
“But even with the magic of metal, we can’t be sure which memory we’ll see,” the group discussed. Mingjin asked curiously, “Did you just happen to encounter the one you wanted to see?”
Ban Rui patted Heng Buwei on the shoulder, gesturing for him to take notes.
“That was indeed the case when I was cultivating before. I could only see some unpredictable fragments of memory,” Li E continued. “But when I was on the city wall, I was really nervous. My mind kept repeating ‘What did I just see?’ ‘What did I just see?’ The scene I saw really stayed in that area. Moreover, I was staring at that evil spirit, watching his posture from afar, and I felt that he was in a good mood. I didn’t care much on the wall, so I just imitated his hand gestures and pretended to smile. Suddenly, I saw memories that were probably from when he came there.”
“That’s novel,” Ban Rui said, breaking free of his restraints and running over to listen carefully to what Li E was saying. “Did you feel anything at the time, like things were going according to your wishes?”
Li E frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "No. At the time, I felt that, rather than thinking about it for a long time afterward, I had a sudden realization, like 'I finally remembered.'"
"Do you think it's just you thinking it?" Mingjin asked.
“It’s very similar,” Li E tried hard to recall that brief memory, because he had timed it precisely to the half-hour mark and returned immediately after seeing the bandage change color. “Because when I was practicing magic before, I knew that this effect was to peer into the memories of evil spirits, so I was always thinking about finding something. But this time, because I knew what the evil spirits were doing, I had a feeling that I was using the evil spirits’ memories to find something.”
“Rather than prying into memories,” Meng Sheng said after hearing this, “it’s more accurate to say that from the moment the metal technique is used, the cultivator borrows the brain of the evil spirit to begin recalling.”
"Moreover, is it possible that the images seen through metal magic are actually closely related to the state and mood of the cultivator using the spell at the time?" Zhuo Yong pondered and said, "Just like ourselves, when we see happy or sad things, we are more likely to recall our own past experiences."
"The more you understand, the clearer you see..." Heng Buwei murmured to himself, "Could this be... possession?"
"What?" Guo Hao exclaimed incredulously.
“Of course, it’s only somewhat similar,” Heng Buwei said, a little frightened by Guo Hao’s reaction. But Ban Rui patted him on the shoulder, urging him to continue. The people nearby were also watching him, wanting to hear his opinion. “If a cultivator is very familiar with this ghost, then when this person uses metal magic, they can almost experience all of the ghost’s memories before this, unlike now where they can only see fragments. Instead, they can almost see it, that is, take away the ghost’s life before this, that period of life. It’s a bit like possession, but possession is about taking away the second half of life.”
“This is truly an unexpected insight,” Ji Zhen said. “If that’s the case, evil spirits can steal people’s lifespans, and people can also occupy a part of evil spirits in a flawed way. Of course, it’s not worth it.”
"We're not going to uncover any big secrets, are we?" Li E whispered.
"Don't worry about these things for now."
Wei Jing pulled Li E over and asked Meng Sheng and Tian Jia to examine him to see if he had been affected.
“Perhaps it’s because magic doesn’t belong to us,” Zhuo Yong also felt as if he had been awakened by something new, “so we can’t predict the end at all.”
Guo Hao said helplessly, "I suddenly understand why the older generation didn't recommend studying metal arts."
After hearing the above conversation, the one who couldn't understand it the most was Banri himself, because: "This doesn't seem to be the kind of magic I studied. How can it have these effects?"
"If a demon possesses a person and consumes the rest of their life, will the demon be affected by the person they have consumed?"
Meng Sheng sat back down next to Ming Jin, rubbing his chin with his right hand: "Are you saying that everyone who eats grains gets sick? Of course, that's not quite right."
But Wei Jing still glanced at Meng Sheng.
“Gold magic is originally a kind of magic that originates from evil spirits,” Mingjin continued. “If we take the memory of seeing evil spirits as the cultivator taking the life of the evil spirit, and doing so will result in the loss of time, that is, one’s own lifespan, then, if cultivators go around consuming the lifespan of people, could there be some other effects that we cultivators cannot know? However, since they are in order to preserve their physical form and live, the effects should not be related to their lifespan.”
Meng Sheng thought about the dossier he had read: "Actually, what the cultivators have always said is that people who are harmed by evil spirits do die, and they usually don't have any external injuries, so everyone just says that they're 'dead'."
Tian Jia said, "That's what the arrogant ghost said after we caught up with it."
“Although I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong, Senior Sister Ming’s idea can explain some things,” Ming Jin’s words suddenly enlightened Heng Buwei. He suddenly spoke up, startling Jiang Wen and the distraught Ban Rui next to him. “For example, why do evil spirits raise people to eat in You Ran City?”
"They want an infant in swaddling clothes?" Zhou Wei wondered.
Heng Buwei nodded vigorously, but because the movement was too large, his shoulder bumped into Jiang Wen next to him, and the latter had no choice but to help steady his head.
“Indeed,” several experienced elders suddenly realized something, and then Guo Hao spoke first, “Judging from the files on the attacks on villages by evil spirits over the years, they tend to target children, toddlers, and teenagers. We previously thought that the evil spirits made this choice because they thought the children were powerless. If we think about it that way, there is a deeper meaning behind it.”
"With such a large scale as Youran City, it would be difficult to gather so many evil spirits to act together unless there were some great benefits."
After Zhuo Yong finished speaking, everyone fell into deep thought, and the atmosphere became very quiet.
In a secluded corner, where no one was paying attention, Li E looked around and asked, "Can we still use metal magic?"
That's another problem.
Everyone was finding it difficult to make a judgment, and everyone looked somewhat worried.
“This time we didn’t cause any major trouble,” Wei Jing said, snapping out of her reverie upon hearing Li E’s voice. “But it’s also possible that the scene was chaotic and the evil spirit didn’t notice us. We should be thankful that the wooden spell wasn’t broken. Of course, if we encounter a worthwhile opportunity, we can still give it a try. When entering a dangerous place, it’s best to play it safe. Wen Jie, do you know the identity of that evil spirit?”
“I’ve seen the woman next to him in the picture; her name is Fuxia. Fuxia calls him Qianli,” Li E said. “Fuxia speaks to him very politely, but he speaks much more elegantly; he must be an important figure.”
Li E, Ming Jin, and Zhuo Yong briefly described what they had seen. Unfortunately, none of the people present recognized this kind of evil spirit.
Finally, there was Mu Ning. Although he hadn't spoken, the information he had gathered had been completely transferred to the blueprints.
"I arrived at the northernmost point because I wanted to observe the entire city. The terrain gradually rises from south to north. The city is roughly divided into three sections. The southernmost section is where the evil spirits live in large numbers. The middle section is the palace, and the last section is between the palace and the northernmost city wall. There are a few scattered dwellings here, but no trace of evil spirits can be seen. This is probably where important figures reside. On the city wall, there is only one prominent gate on the south side. The woods closest to the city wall have been cleared, leaving a clean row. Further out, the woods in this area are all around. Yishan City is indeed a large place, but there is nothing unusual in sight, which shows that the evil spirits who set up the barrier are highly skilled."
His pen never stopped except when he was speaking. Taking the teacup Guo Hao offered, Heng Buwei, disregarding any appreciation, gulped it down: "What are our plans for today?"
Almost two hours have passed since the gathering began.
As night falls, cultivators' vision becomes limited, and evil spirits become more active, especially in areas near the barrier, where they cannot linger.
Although I had considered setting up an outpost nearby, I decided it wasn't worthwhile. The outpost is located on the border of Juxia City, but it's not fully prepared yet. Guo Hao will bring the water shadow and revised blueprints he brought today to this location for safekeeping, and will pick them up again tomorrow.
As autumn turned to winter, darkness fell early, and by the time everyone had finished discussing the trivial matters, night had already fallen. Once it got dark, the shops closed, but fortunately, He Gengtang had left the four of them a bowl of hot rice, otherwise they would have gone hungry.
Why didn't you go?
The soup was still warm. Zhou Wei hugged the bowl to warm his hands, looking at Fu Nai who had left the food for them.
“Trivial matters are tiring,” Fu Nai said, “but you’ll have hot soup to drink outside later.”
"Master Mu, didn't you notice that cliff?"
After finishing half a bowl of soup, Mingjin recovered somewhat. In addition, there were only the five of them in the house, and Miao Sheng was tidying up in the kitchen. But nothing could be hidden from him, so she asked.
"I used the city walls to conceal my movements and looked around, but I could only get a general idea," Mu Ning said truthfully. "I think that cliff might not be in the city. The fight between two evil spirits would definitely cause quite a commotion, and according to the rules, we certainly can't disturb the person in the palace."
"What rules?" Zhou Wei asked.
“Another rule,” Ji Zhen picked up the cake, “is that you should not ask why there are rules or what the rules are.”
“A bunch of scoundrels, they can just sneak around and catch their breath, why bother with all these rules? It’s like they think winning by crawling through the gutter is glorious,” Zhou Wei said dismissively. “But that barrier is really difficult to set up. At most, I can only use one-tenth of my cultivation to set it up. If that’s the case, how powerful is that Gao Lang? How many people will he have harmed?”
“It might be like Youran City,” Mingjin said casually, his eyes only on soup, bread, and vegetables, because he was starving. “There are also quite a few craftsmen locked up in Yishan City.”
“Not necessarily. It’s possible that the barrier was built by a ghost,” Ji Zhen shook his head. “The ghost energy in the city is too strong. If you don’t have cultivation to protect you, you’ll probably faint as soon as you enter. Besides, Yishan is the real base. They shouldn’t entrust the city’s protective barrier to an outsider.”
“From the current perspective, Youran City seems more like a place used for experimentation and can be abandoned at any time, and cannot be compared with Yishan,” Mu Ning said. “But if that’s the case, why was Yuan Bei able to knock Gao Lang to the ground even when he was seriously injured?”
Some things are hard to understand right away and require further investigation. After Mu Ning raised her question, the others remained silent and ate their meal in quiet.
As the meal drew to a close, everyone gradually put down their chopsticks. Pei Xuanzhen brought over a basket of dried persimmons to talk to everyone about.
"You two didn't cause any trouble, did you?"
He placed both hands on Mingjin and Zhouwei's shoulders, but did nothing to slow down their pace of eating persimmon cakes.
“No,” Zhou Wei replied quickly, answering Pei Xuanzhen’s joking question first, “Someone has caused trouble, but it wasn’t the two of us.”
“Causing trouble isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Mingjin continued. “His trouble actually creates a good opportunity.”
“Wasn’t dinner enough? How can you eat like this?” Pei Xuanzhen smiled slightly. “You two remember, don’t go drinking as soon as you get to know each other. Today’s afternoon was as tiring as two ordinary days. I have already handed over the ghost hunting matters on the mountain to others. Once Juxia’s side is arranged, we won’t have to run back and forth between the two places.”
Pei Xuanzhen, Mu Ning, and Ji Zhen chatted after dinner, talking about the day's events and other things. Zhou Wei yawned, seeing that it was getting late, and prepared to go down the mountain. But when he heard Ming Jin say that he was going to the kitchen to ask Miao Sheng for some dry rations, he followed him. He suddenly realized that he got hungry quickly when it got cold and needed some food to face the harsh winter.
"I've heard that bears also fatten up before it snows."
Fu Nai stood at the door, watching the two of them.
"Being able to eat is a blessing. Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand," Zhou Wei rolled his eyes at him. "Tian Guang, don't you come up the mountain for every meal? Why do you need to bring more dry rations?"
“I get hungry as soon as I start thinking. I was already feeling dizzy while I was talking over there,” Mingjin sighed. “I have to eat several meals a day, otherwise I feel like I can’t move my whole body.”
“Come to your uncle’s if you’re hungry,” Miao Sheng said, pulling back the curtain and standing by the door. “You’ll never go hungry.”
"Uncle Miao, did Uncle Ran get those persimmon cakes from you? They taste very similar to the ones you made before."
When the three of them left, there were still a few pieces left in the basket, which Pei Xuanzhen shared with them. But Mingjin really thought it was delicious and assumed it was made by Miao Sheng, but after looking around, he couldn't find it.
"I can make them myself. The sect leader took some made by my wife; she's fast. This year, our persimmon trees have a lot of fruit, so we took them to the market to sell. Once my fruit is ready, I'll bring some more for you to eat."
Having given up, the three greeted Miao Sheng and walked out through the side door of He Geng Tang.
Zhou Wei, clutching his dry rations, looked at the bright moon in the sky and suddenly sighed softly, "So tired. What happened in one afternoon is equivalent to several days of ghost hunting."
“Good news, good news,” Mingjin said, still holding the last bite of persimmon. “The cause of exorcising evil spirits in the world is about to take a big step forward.”
"Alright, you two," Fu Nai said, standing behind them and pushing them forward. "The matter concerning the evil spirits is over for today. Go back quickly, get a good night's sleep, and you'll have other things to do tomorrow morning."
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