Eighteen: Using force to feign benevolence - Part Two
The forest of red-petaled flowers was as strange as ever.
Mingjin retreated into the flower forest. She felt the urgency of time, but the sea of red flowers around her made her dizzy for a moment. Compared to other spells, being able to use her hearing to aid her when she was out of sight would allow her to advance her wind magic to a higher level.
The range of spells learned in ordinary times is always limited. Although Ming Jin learned Mu Ning's unique spells, he had only learned them and had never used them in actual combat. However, the situation was sudden, so he had no choice but to give it a try.
"The sun rises and the moon waxes. The way of Heaven changes and transforms. In the beginning, all things were molded. Creation was the work of nature. In the fourth month, summer is conceived. The southward journey is observed. Gentle breezes gather. They drift and sway in the southern window. All things find joy. Observing differences, we understand similarities."
As the incantation began, a swirling vortex of wind formed beneath Mingjin's feet. With each subsequent recitation, the vortex, previously only visible through the fallen leaves, transformed into long, wide wind blades that slashed in all directions. A circular magic circle beneath Mingjin's feet gradually filled with light. Compared to other wind spells, this wind blade was under Mingjin's control even from a distance. The wind had already moved beyond sight, but the sound seemed to travel even further. Mingjin closed his eyes, carefully discerning fragments of information amidst the roar.
Ming Jin's cultivation level was still insufficient, so the effect of the wind blades that were originally rushing in all directions gradually weakened. The wind blades behind Ming Jin weakened first, and then spread out. Due to insufficient control over the spell, many branches and flowers of the flowering trees were cut off as it spread around.
The wind blades collided with the rolling branches.
Mingjin heard the sound of running.
The person running swayed from side to side. Their wide robes, draped over their back, slowed their progress. There was also a soft rustling sound, likely from their hair being blown by the wind.
That's about it.
The other party was still heading towards Yu Dayou's house. Mingjin certainly wouldn't believe it if he said they had no connection. Since the evil spirit was destined to be exorcised anyway, he might as well just end it all.
Mingjin stepped on the wind and ran a few steps to a distance. The flowers and trees around her swayed in the wind as she ran, but after walking a certain distance, Mingjin noticed that the originally fiery red flowers gradually faded in color, as if the whistling wind had washed away the fading color, turning them back to their original white.
The opponent's control range gradually decreased.
Then they encountered the enemy.
Ming Jin stopped and carefully examined the four evil spirits that had appeared in front of him.
The three in front of them exuded ghostly energy and were not particularly troublesome opponents. Behind them stood a male ghost. He had originally been standing behind the three, but presumably to buy time, he leisurely walked out, waving a fan with three large characters written in regular script on it: "Yu Dayou".
"Master Daoist, it's a pleasure to meet you..."
However, Ming Jin didn't bother to listen to him finish speaking. Fortunately, the nearby trees and flowers were relatively sparse, so he switched his sword to a spear and strode back at him. But Yu Dayou was clearly not stupid; he easily leaped away.
Ming Jin slightly altered his steps and direction, and the tip of his spear shattered one of the evil spirits, causing it to vanish. The other two quickly surrounded him, but to Ming Jin, it was merely a matter of his spear moving twice.
The traces of black dissipation stood out starkly against the backdrop of a white forest.
Upon seeing this, Yu Dayou twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Daoist Master is indeed a promising young man," Yu Dayou said. Although he felt that running away was the best option, he had to buy time for his weak and powerless fellow disciple Dangen to escape, so he could only stand there. "Since we've met by chance, why not get to know each other? I am Yu Dayou, and I have some businesses in Baicheng nearby."
"Do you have any connection with Yu Dongmei?" The fleeing ghost had already been locked onto by Ming Jin's silk-like charm. Although the ghost ran away, it could not escape Ming Jin's control, so Ming Jin had a little time to ramble on.
“You mean him?” Yu Dayou smiled smugly. “Seeing someone in distress on the road, it’s natural to lend a helping hand. However, I only had a moment of kindness, not a desire to give money away, so I just pointed him in a way to make money for myself. Daoist, judging from your attire, you must be from Kongyun Mountain. You are highly skilled in martial arts, so you must have a high status on the mountain. You should also know that Kongyun Mountain itself is a treasure chest that can produce endless gold.”
Yu Dayou paused for a moment, then looked at Ming Jin with a strange smile: "There must be a lot of gold growing in Kongyun Mountain."
The first generation of cultivators traversed the mountains and forests, searching for a place to establish their sect. Guided by the melodious songs of orioles in the woods, they found Mount Kongyun. Later, an investigation revealed a gold mine hidden within the mountain, and the elders thus recognized the location as their home.
Ming Jin already knew about this, but it had nothing to do with her status on the mountain. It was simply because her father, Ming Shiyu, and her senior brother, Chen Du, were in charge of managing the money and other finances on the mountain. As for where the gold and silver came from, it was naturally what the two of them had dug out in the mines. This arrangement was naturally quite risky, but after going through some ups and downs, Jing Yu and Pei Xuanzhen's reorganization of personnel arrangements was the best course of action.
Such a high level of secrecy naturally only circulates among a small group of people. Ming Jin only learned about it because of the people around him. He had been repeatedly reminded since childhood not to tell anyone and never to mention this matter. Even when others mentioned it, he would try to change the subject. He never expected that such an important matter would be known by a ghost. The connections and twists and turns are not to be underestimated. Did the Yu family first mention the rumor and Yu Dayou seize the clues, or did Yu Dayou find the secret of Kongyun Mountain through a way that they did not yet know?
Looking at the cunning and treacherous ghost before him, Mingjin didn't understand why he should let him have his way. So he laughed mockingly and said, "How would I know such things? Besides, how could you possibly know such things? Do you have the ability to break into the mountain and investigate?"
"Heh," Yu Dayou put away his folding fan, "You can guard against us, but you can't guard against those ordinary people who are completely helpless, can you? You don't have that many people, and they are precisely our powerful allies. You didn't expect that the ordinary people you protect would help us cheat you for a short-term gain. Although the gold mine in Kongyun Mountain was just my guess, that young man went up the mountain to investigate and has already sent a message confirming my guess."
"Did you teach that kid how to tell, or did he learn it himself?" Mingjin was determined to make him feel uncomfortable even before he died. "Your spy, whether he's with you or someone from his family, isn't very capable, is he? You trust his investigation results so much?"
As Mingjin spoke, he noticed the evil spirit was also running away, so he tightened his left hand around the man's ankle, making the man slam hard on the ground. Then, the man's legs wouldn't obey him, and he could only try to move forward by gripping the grass roots with his hands. His once clean palms and fingernails were now covered in dirt after the struggle, but it was all in vain.
Yu Dayou was somewhat embarrassed after being rejected twice in a row, so he unfolded his folding fan again, smiled through gritted teeth, and said, "Sharp-tongued."
"What about those scholars?" Mingjin wanted to know the truth. "I heard that Boss Yu had done some good deeds and gave money to some poor scholars to go to the capital for the imperial examinations, but no one has seen them in the capital."
"You're quite well-informed," Yu Dayou said with a hint of surprise, unfolding his fan. "That was their toll money. They all said it was a loan, and they would repay me after passing the exam. But their abilities are really poor; they couldn't pass even after taking the exam several or ten times, and even if they did, they wouldn't amount to anything. So I took my money back in advance. Since they have no money, they can only repay with their lives. But you don't need to hold a grudge against me too much for this. Even if I told them that these benefits were actually exchanging their lives for money, they would still agree to it for this opportunity. Their lives are tied to this; if they don't take the exam and fail, they feel they don't need to live anymore. Neither of us is qualified to enter the examination hall, so you can't really understand their feelings, can you?"
"No wonder he's a wealthy businessman."
“We all have some skills to rely on, which is why we can stand here and confront each other, right?” Yu Dayou smiled, his eyes crinkling.
Ming Jin conjured a long sword.
The fact that Yu Dayou blocked the first attack with his fan gave him some confidence, making him feel that he could still exchange a few more blows with Ming Jin.
"Among the scholars I've sponsored, surely one has achieved good results and gained the favor of a high-ranking official in the court," Yu Dayou suddenly took a moment to chat with Ming Jin amidst the intense battle between sword and fan. "If you kill me, people outside the cultivation world, especially my old friends, will only regard you as the enemy who plotted to kill me. Do you cultivators have such great ability to clear your name?"
Yu Dayou closed the fan and then used the fan's large ribs as a sharp blade to fight against the sword in Ming Jin's hand. The large ribs appeared to be made of wood, and when they clashed with Ming Jin, a crisp sound filled the surrounding area.
“Yu the Rich Man, what are you thinking?” Ming Jin laughed sarcastically. “If you die in this desolate wilderness, who will know? After hanging out with people for so long, you’ve forgotten that you’re not human, and that you won’t even have a body after you die?”
With his next strike, Ming Jin swung his longsword forward, severing Yu Dayou's fan as he retreated. The upper half of the fan broke off and fell to the ground. Yu Dayou staggered back two steps, pondering how to respond, but Ming Jin had already realized that his abilities were nothing special.
The evil spirit captured by Ming Jin was still struggling. Unlike before, this evil spirit seemed to be casting a spell, which Ming Jin's current cultivation level was insufficient to control. Knowing it was unwise to linger, Ming Jin swiftly stepped forward in the instant Yu Dayou panicked, her long sword piercing through the remaining fan of Yu Dayou.
After a sharp sound, Ming Jin's grip on the sword became duller, and the sword plunged into Yu Dayou's throat.
Although the evil spirits don't need to breathe through their throats, a pierced throat is still a serious injury, so Yu Dayou's movements froze instantly. He originally intended to use brute force to break free from the sword technique's restraints, but before Yu Dayou could react, Ming Jin began casting a spell: "The drought is severe, so let the insects flourish."
Under the incantation, heat traveled along the longsword into Yu Dayou's body. Yu Dayou felt a sudden burning sensation within him, escalating from discomfort to near death in a single scream. Wisps of white mist erupted from every corner of his body. He suffocated, too weak to struggle any longer. His clothes were still on his body, and the pungent smell of burning flesh gradually filled the air. Small fragments continued to fall from his cuffs and face. Through his blurred vision, Yu Dayou saw the skin peeling on the back of his hands; his lips barely touched the soft skin, which felt sharp as thorns.
White steam billowed out. Then, just as Yu Dayou was dying, his entire body turned into black smoke and vanished completely.
Perhaps ghosts can sense each other. Mingjin noticed that the fleeing ghost became tense the moment Yu Dayou disappeared, panting heavily, its weak limbs still struggling on the ground. Mingjin temporarily let go, but with the help of wind magic, he followed for a few steps and saw a small figure. The shadow had not yet risen from the ground. The closer he got, the larger the figure became, and Mingjin could see that it was the back of a woman dressed entirely in red.
Hearing Mingjin's voice, the demon couldn't help but glance back as it fled. But Mingjin had already caught up, her spear wreathed in fire magic, which she swung high, terrifying the demon to the point of breathlessness. The demon cried out in distress, "Sister Pinghe, save me! Sister Pinghe!"
The sharp spearhead struck the right side of the evil spirit's neck with a perfect swing.
Unexpectedly, Mingjin heard the sound of bones breaking.
As the spear struck, the demon's body was sent flying far away, finally crashing heavily to the ground and falling silent.
Mingjin looked back and saw that the once spreading red flower forest had disappeared, leaving only a white expanse.
That's definitely her.
Ming Jin sheathed his spear and immediately turned to return to Ji Zhen's side to assess the situation. However, after taking two steps, he suddenly heard footsteps. Ming Jin assumed it was the reinforcements the evil spirit had just summoned arriving and immediately turned back.
I didn't expect to meet such an unexpected person.
Two figures, one black and one white, appeared out of nowhere, pulling a transparent humanoid form from the fallen body. Mingjin stared intently at them, and although she didn't know how, she vaguely guessed that what was being pulled up might be a spirit. As for the two figures, black and white, there had always been rumors about them in the mortal world, but no one had ever seen them. Mingjin had also witnessed the deaths of her loved ones before, but had never seen them.
"You two..."
Although surprised, Mingjin still spoke up, wanting to know what was going on.
Upon hearing Mingjin's voice, the two figures, one in black and one in white, turned around simultaneously with a tacit understanding. Their similar pale faces, displaying the same expression, looked at Mingjin, which only made Mingjin feel uneasy.
"It's been a long time..." White spoke first.
"Greetings to Dao Xin on our behalf..." the black voice spoke again in the same tone.
Then, the two turned around, pulled the silent shadow along, and took a few steps forward before all three disappeared.
"Dao Xin?" Ming Jin suddenly remembered what the strange messenger had said. Dao Xin said he was a messenger from the underworld, so the black and white figures must be minor deities leading souls back to the underworld.
But why was this evil spirit taken back to the underworld? Aren't evil spirits supposed to just vanish into thin air?
So this is actually a person?
Upon closer inspection, the body had indeed not disappeared; it was simply lying on the ground.
Mingjin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Not only was she unskilled, but she had also caused someone's death.
However, Mingjin's imagination hadn't yet run wild, because her gaze remained fixed on that body. In a fleeting instant, the original physical body had vanished, leaving only a set of withered grass and wood wrapped beneath the red clothes.
Mingjin picked up a tree stump from the ground and prepared to go over to check the situation.
She had intended to experiment with the tree branch, but before it even touched the withered corpse, a vine suddenly grabbed the other end of the branch in her hand. Mingjin, who was already trembling, was now suddenly confronted by this extra force, causing her to quickly let go and take three or four steps back.
After Mingjin moved away, he had a wide enough field of vision to carefully observe the visitor.
The newcomer was a woman, dressed in a wide-sleeved red robe, extremely charming and beautiful, with red lips and white teeth, without any makeup, her long, ink-black hair held up with a few appropriately sized flower branches used as wooden hairpins. A vine grew from her hand, the other end of which was tied to the branch that Ming Jin had just found.
Could it be her? Did I really get the wrong person?
But why did that person turn into a withered tree? And why were vines able to grow from their palms? Is there such a thing as wood magic?
The newcomer ignored Mingjin, squatted down, picked up the remaining pile of dry wood and soil, and hugged it to her chest. Then, as if she had just noticed Mingjin, she said, "You did it."
"What?" Mingjin asked, frowning.
“You killed her,” the man said, “and this person in my arms.”
“Yes,” Mingjin frowned, “you are Pinghe?”
“What Pinghe?” the man scoffed, his gaze falling on the pieces of wood in his arms. “She was, in a way, my child, and yet you took her life.”
With her suspicions confirmed, Mingjin suddenly felt a bit agitated, but what she was more concerned about now was, if she had just hit the wrong person, then who had poisoned Jizhen?
“She has poisoned many people, hasn’t she?” Although she felt uneasy, Mingjin’s first priority was to get the news. “My relatives were also poisoned in a red flower forest and almost lost their lives.”
"Oh, she really did it," the man said coldly. "Now that she's dead, your injured relative is probably alright."
These words suddenly shifted Mingjin's train of thought, so she countered, "You arrived so quickly, you were just nearby, weren't you? Since she's your child, why didn't you help her?"
“She is indeed my child, because I gave birth to her,” the man thought carefully for a moment. “After she was born, I didn’t take care of her. I also know that she has this ability because it came from me. However, since she uses that ability to harm people, she has no complaints if you take her life, and I have even less to complain about. Although I didn’t take care of her, I never expected that she would actually associate with these evil spirits.”
"What's going on?" Mingjin asked, puzzled. "Aren't you a ghost? If you're not a ghost, how come you can use magic in this state?"
“We are the ones who truly use magic,” the newcomer said disdainfully. “I am a flower fairy. Alright, I really don’t want to waste my time hanging out with you people.”
After saying that, the one who claimed to be a flower fairy disappeared into thin air.
Although Mingjin was still unaware of what was happening in front of her, she didn't have time to dwell on the flower fairy's annoyance, so she quickly returned along the original path.
When they returned, Boss Jiang sat on the ground and took Ji Zhen's pulse. Ming Jin, panting heavily, squatted down beside him and asked how he was doing.
"How... is it?" Mingjin asked, panting heavily.
“The poison has disappeared,” Boss Jiang reassured Mingjin, “but the poison was extremely damaging, so she may not wake up for a while. Let’s give her some time to recover.”
"By the way, Mr. Jiang, do you know anything about a flower fairy?" Hearing this, Ming Jin felt a little relieved. In addition, she had also eliminated Yu Dayou and some of his men along the way. Now that she had some free time, she asked about her encounter with the flower fairy and described the appearance of the two to Mr. Jiang.
“If you put it that way, I think I have some clue,” Boss Jiang stroked his chin. “We flower and plant spirits need very strong cultivation to transform into a human body without revealing any flaws. My original form was Jiang, so I have an exceptional talent in this area. You also know Zhui Lian and Zhu Lian, and a little conversation with them will tell you how difficult it is to cultivate. As for the flower spirit you met today, because of her outstanding cultivation, she is well-known among us flower and plant spirits who are keen on transformation techniques. As for the child she mentioned, it is probably really her child.”
"You can have children after you transform into human form?" Mingjin was very surprised.
“If one transforms into a complete human form, one can naturally have offspring,” Boss Jiang recalled carefully. “I once met a willow tree spirit while traveling around. He was quite friendly with these two flower fairies and chatted with me about it when he came to my stall for tea. It was quite a long time ago. According to him, the flower fairy you killed today is now called Dangen. And the other one, when she was walking in the human world, was called Wengyu.”
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