Twelfth: Walking Alone in the Cool Breeze - Part Two
As the two were talking, they were suddenly blown by a strong wind emanating from the tower. The wind carried many wood chips, and if one looked closely, there was also some turbid air mixed in, but in the distance, the turbid air had been completely dissipated, becoming thinner and weaker than a hair.
“Jiang Duo is about to collapse,” Gao said, fiddling with the ring on her finger. “An Sheng, you’ve made a bad move.”
"After all, it's only the first step in the project, so it's bound to be less than satisfactory," said the person named An Sheng. "At first, I saw that he had extraordinary talent, but now it seems that it's not feasible to make him quickly become capable by simply feeding him. His strength has increased, but he has absolutely no experience. Oh dear, it's really difficult."
On the tower, Jiang Duo, after being fed, possessed speed and strength that ordinary evil spirits did not have. So much so that if Mu Ning hadn't been determined to stop him and let his unrestrained attacks dismantle the lower part of the tower, which still had investigative value, he and Ji Zhen would probably be standing on the ruins.
His mind was a blur, his vision a mixture of white and deep black, but having gone without food for days, Jiang Duo's ability to think was now dominated by a predatory urge. Once released, he rushed directly toward the people. He had never tested his power before, and now, suddenly given freedom, the painful hunger, coupled with the triumph of his newfound power, made him recklessly unleash his speed, circling around Mu Ning.
Watching his movements, Mu Ning recalled the several incredibly fast-moving ghosts she had encountered nearby before, but they only possessed speed and no strength, while this enemy before her had acquired strength. It was fortunate, however, that he didn't seem to be very bright.
The powerful, relentless punches aimed at Mu Ning were softened by the wind magic. The flowing wind swirled and controlled Jiang Duo's arm, rendering him unable to move. After this happened several times, Jiang Duo became extremely annoyed. So he leaped from the ground into the air and then charged down, preparing to smash into Mu Ning.
Mu Ning had been maneuvering around him, intending to extract some information from him, but during their fight, the ghost only let out strange cries when it was exhausted, without even uttering a word of provocation, which made her feel somewhat weary. Seeing him leap into the air, Mu Ning turned and gave Ji Zhen a look. Ji Zhen, who had been watching for a while, understood and then cast a spell.
"The revelation of a life of hardship and displacement."
In an instant, two huge thorns emerged from under the floor. As Jiang Duo's gaze suddenly shifted from fierce battle to surprise, one pierced through both of his legs from the side, while the other entered through his chin and exited from the back of his head.
The evil spirit maintains its form through cultivation, and each injury requires cultivation to heal. Once its cultivation is exhausted, the evil spirit will completely disappear. The wound piercing through his head is not considered a first-degree serious injury, but after regaining control of his legs, Jiang Duo was clearly stunned. His eyes trembled because of his injuries, but his hands did not give up, tightly gripping the thorn he could reach, his clenched hands showing vertical lines running horizontally.
“It’s over,” Gao said.
"Could it be that the opponent who came this time is far superior to Jiang Duo, making this not a good opportunity to observe? However, I feel like I've seen that man somewhere before..."
"Let's go, An Sheng, and don't reveal our whereabouts."
"Yes, sir."
Upon hearing what the other person said, An Sheng stopped thinking and turned to leave.
"He can't speak..." Ji Zhen looked at the grinning face with a hint of regret.
Mu Ning felt helpless and powerless in the face of the strangely howling ghost in front of her. She asked, "Is there anything you want to say? For example, what is your name, or why did you suddenly attack us?"
The pain from the thorns embedded in the demon spread throughout its body, making its cries hoarse, but it still couldn't utter a single word.
“If you don’t speak, you’re useless. We’ll send you on your way.” Ji Zhen narrowed the thorns a little, hoping to give the evil spirit a breath so it could speak.
Unfortunately, the other party was completely unmoved. The pain that had been tormenting him eased a little, so he used that energy to intensify his struggles, his whole body convulsing.
Seeing this, Mu Ning and Ji Zhen exchanged a glance. Then, Mu Ning used her magic to transform into a sword. A flash of silver light appeared in the air, and Jiang Duo's head separated from his body, the two severed necks emitting a black aura. Jiang Duo had been tortured for a long time, but now he was finally free. After his head rolled a few times on the ground, both his body and head disappeared.
"What a pity, it's so hard to find one alive." Ji Zhen sighed and withdrew his spell.
Just as they finished speaking, the two noticed Ya Zai flying up from the lower level, chattering at them. Without using any magic to decipher it, they instinctively descended the tower one after the other to search for the two disciples who had been separated from them.
When the spire of the tower broke, the deafening crash caused a terrible headache, especially for Mingjin, who was sensitive to sound. So they pulled and supported each other as they made their way down the stone steps. They hadn't gone far when Mingjin noticed a strange sound mixed in with the crashing noise. He stopped, hoping to find the source of the sound.
Chai Wang walked a few steps further down the road than Ming Jin. Seeing that she hadn't followed, he hurriedly went back to pull Ming Jin along, but seeing that Ming Jin was deliberately refusing to move, he called out to her, "What's wrong!"
"Did you hear anything?" The tower fell from the sky, crashing onto the rooftops next to them. The rumbling sound, accompanied by the flying dust, made the two of them cough.
"No!" Chai Wang listened carefully but found nothing strange at all.
“I heard…” Mingjin heard a higher-pitched scream, but it was clearly not the voices of the four of them, nor the ghost high up, because Mingjin could also hear its roar from below.
She realized this was an opportunity to perhaps obtain more information about the place. Seeing that she had indeed made a discovery, Chai cast a mountain spell, blocking the two of them.
"Follow me!"
Seeing Mingjin run back quickly, Chai Wang followed closely behind, reaching the white base of the tower. Closer now, Mingjin could make out a single sentence amidst the shrill voices: "Help! Someone let me out! Let me out!"
"Someone's been locked up. Right around here!"
"This area?" Chai Wang looked around at the empty space, then focused his gaze on the platform in front of the two of them. "Could someone be locked up in there? There isn't even a window!"
The two immediately began searching the platform. The platform was entirely white, but the upper parts, exposed to wind and sun, had darkened in color. Ming Jin frowned, looking at the darker area above, and then used wind magic to quickly climb over the wall: "Where is he!"
"Is anyone there?! I'm locked up in here, please help me!"
"Where are you?" Mingjin could hear the voice clearly now, but still couldn't find the person.
"I have a window here! I can see the sun!"
It was past noon. Upon hearing this, Mingjin quickly moved to the south-facing wall, and Chai Wang below followed her.
Beneath the dark marks of wind and sun, there really was a small window, no taller than Mingjin's palm. The window wasn't fully open, only a few small openings no wider than a finger. Mingjin peered inside with difficulty, and by the sunlight, he could still make out a struggling, throbbing human figure: "I'm here!"
"There really is someone here!" Chai Wang saw that Ming Jin had stopped listening and also used the wind magic he wasn't familiar with to walk up: "Is there a way? We'll let you out."
"It seems...it seems not." The person looked around anxiously.
"I'm going to break down the wall, you better find a corner to hide in!"
As he spoke, Chai Wang patted Ming Jin on the shoulder. After the two landed on the ground, Chai Wang told Ming Jin to step back as well, and then began to cast a lightning spell.
"The lightning flashed, causing unrest and disorder."
Then, a bolt of lightning flashed before Ming Jin, its color whiter than the white wall of the base, splitting a large hole in the middle. The once high wall turned into rubble and flew out, forcing the two men to retreat to either side. Amidst the shattered bricks and stones, a man coughed as he struggled to climb out of the base. He stumbled, tripped over ten pieces, and after a couple of steps, finally regained his balance. He quickly brushed the dust off his clothes and ran over to the two men to thank them profusely: "Thank you so much for saving my life, you two Taoist priests!"
He was hunched over, his body slightly bent. He wore a dirty gray hemp robe, intact but clearly patched many times. The patches were poorly done, so the robe was always stretched and bulging. Cobwebs clung to his thighs. He wore straw sandals, the same black stain as his feet. His face wasn't dark or pale, but it looked unwell, as if covered by a layer of dirt. He seemed to have just crawled out from the rubble, dust still clinging to his forehead. His eyebrows were a mottled mix of black and white, long and short, with wrinkles of varying depths beside them. He looked to be in his fifties, but Mingjin guessed he was probably younger, perhaps only forty.
"Is it a ghost? It doesn't seem like one." As the two walked forward, Mingjin quietly asked Chaiwang, and at the same time summoned Yazi to go up and deliver the message.
"I don't know," Chai Wang replied quietly, then stood up straight and asked, "Who are you, and why are you locked up here?"
“My name is Danian. As for my given name, my family name is Liu, and I belong to the Zhao generation, so my given name is Liu Zhaonian. You two can just call me Danian; not many people call me by my given name.”
Liu Zhaonian was still greeting Ming and Chai when he was startled by Mu Ning and Ji Zhen who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He cried out and took two steps back, but when he heard Ming Jin say that these were their masters, Liu Zhaonian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "So you two are also Taoist priests. My apologies for my rudeness."
Mingjin briefly described how the two of them found and rescued Liu Zhaonian. Liu Zhaonian listened and nodded, saying that he had fallen asleep leaning against the wall when he was suddenly awakened by a loud bang. He then anxiously asked someone to come and save him, and unexpectedly, someone actually saw him through the small window.
As they spoke, Mu Ning entered the cell where Liu Zhaonian had been imprisoned. She discovered there wasn't even a door; what could be called a door was merely a narrow opening, barely longer than her calf. The walls had collapsed, and she could see a set of stone steps leading up to the first floor of the tower. However, the doorway was extremely narrow, its exterior closely resembling the walls, and two large cabinets had been placed in front of it to obscure the view. Therefore, none of them had noticed it as they ascended the stairs.
Realizing that this person was probably the only source of information and didn't seem to have any obvious malice, Ji Zhen beckoned Liu Zhaonian to move a stone over so they could talk. Liu Zhaonian was still a little timid, but feeling that he would have a hard time escaping from these people, he sat down as Ji Zhen suggested.
Seeing Liu Zhaonian's stiffness, Ming Jin found a rock to sit opposite him and said with a smile, "Don't be nervous. We just want to find out some information about this place. Besides, you must have been imprisoned here because of a false accusation. If you know anything, please tell us. We can finish our investigation this morning and send you out as soon as possible. This place is remote and secluded. It won't be easy for you to find your way back by yourself."
Chai Wang also found a rock and sat down next to him. Ji Zhen and Mu Ning, who had returned, just stood by without saying a word, but thankfully they didn't object. So Liu Zhaonian felt a little more at ease and smiled, saying, "Then thank you all. I'm quite familiar with this place because I built it. To be precise, I drew the blueprints, and I personally led the construction of this tower."
"When did this happen?" Chai Wang asked.
"It took quite a while to build, about a year. When I came, there was nothing there. The man who brought me here told me he wanted to build a city on this land, with a tower in the middle. He gave me a bag of gold first. I thought he was a decent man, willing to pay before starting work, so I left the money with my family and came with him. He said he wanted me to personally lead the construction of the tower, and he would find others to build the rest of the land according to my instructions. They were quite good at first. His men were diligent and willing to work. They corrected any mistakes I made, and the weather here is good all year round, with only a few raindrops, so it was able to be built so quickly. But after it was finished, that heartless man locked me up and threw me into that dark hole. He didn't even leave me a bowl of food. I cried out to heaven and earth, but no one answered. I was so hungry and tired that I fell asleep, and then I was woken up by that noise just now, and that's when you two rescued me."
Hearing that he had fainted from hunger, Mingjin rummaged through his pouch and found a steamed bun, handing it to Liu Zhaonian. Liu Zhaonian was already starving, and seeing food in front of him, especially white flour, he thanked him and took a large bite. Seeing this, Chai Wang remembered he might have some dried rations, so he also searched and found a few pieces of dried meat. Seeing that there was food and meat, Liu Zhaonian was so happy he couldn't speak, focusing first on satisfying his immediate hunger.
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