Chapter 16: Why Ask?
On the other side of the cold jade stone wall, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen was curled up at the base of the wall, his clothes as dirty as a pile of rags.
Cang Minggao raised his leg and tiptoed to the ground, then crouched down to make sure it wasn't a trap. He then asked, "Little brother, were you captured?"
Wei Ci stood in front of him, looking down coldly at a pile of rags lying on the ground, shivering and sobbing hoarsely.
The little boy held his head in his hands, his eyelids tightly shut. Thinking of how this child had nearly been turned into one of the red candles lining the road, Cang Ming couldn't help but say with deep sympathy, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I'm a Taoist exorcist, and this brother is... a kind man with great strength..."
The little boy raised his head with difficulty, his eyes vacant and lifeless on his dirty face. Cang Ming quickly helped him sit up, half supporting him and leaning over to hear him mutter, "Lian..."
Wei Ci leaned over and stretched out a hand, picking up the boy: "This sister can't hold you, so I have to do it for you."
As soon as the boy leaned into Wei Ci's arms, he immediately twitched and struggled violently. His dry and forked voice sounded like an alarm, and the roar of a wild beast echoed in the stone fortress.
Wei Ci waved his other hand lightly, blocking his throat and said, "Shut up the noise, let him sleep first."
Cang Ming stared up at the intricate stone staircase in a daze, repeating the boy's words: "Lian..."
"Let's go, General." Wei Ci's eyebrows pressed down dangerously.
"Not good!" Cang Ming suddenly jumped onto the stone steps to the second floor and ran towards the last dark room.
"General!" Wei Ci was startled, and leaped up with the little boy in one hand, following closely behind Cang Ming.
As soon as Cang Ming stepped onto the second floor, he was almost caught in a large pink and white net. He hurriedly swept his sword around.
In the originally empty stone fortress, huge petals were wandering silently, like lingering ghost guards.
"Be careful!" Cang Ming's sword and palm flew up and down, and he quickly formed a formation.
Just as he drew half of the hexagonal snowflake, he was hugged by a fluttering petal and kicked out hastily: "Get out!"
Wei Ci frowned coldly and clenched his fist.
Ding-ding-ling-ling, ding-ding-ling-ling. Like the sound of rain in the misty air, petals shattered all over the ground.
Finally, Cang Ming rushed to the last dark room.
The narrow window let in the green mist of Seventeen Smoke, and a round leaf like duckweed floated in the stone basin.
A bud sprouted from the round leaves, and a large pink and white lotus flower grew gracefully. As each petal opened, it smiled and floated to the ground, one after another gliding out in a line, reminding Cang Ming of the soap bubbles blown by children.
Petals several times the height of a person came crashing down like layers of curtains. When Cang Ming swung his sword to push aside the last layer of petals, a pale snow sculpture suddenly appeared.
The tall and ghostly figure with fierce eyes and brows was actually the long-lost Tian Xinshu.
"Stop!" Before he could even get surprised, Cang Ming had already thrust his sword forward, blurting out without a second thought, "Where on earth is Weiyang Guan?"
In a flash of white, the snow sculpture landed easily behind her. Cang Ming had just launched a move when a change came into play, and his longsword had already stabbed behind him with a backhand thrust.
Almost at the same moment, Wei Ci slashed with his sword. Xue Diao was attacked from both sides, screaming and falling to the ground. She barely dodged two blows, but the next second, the long sword dinged and pinned her to the ground.
Cang Ming sneered: "I expected you to use the ground loach trick."
After a pause, she shouted righteously, "Because this is a trick I often use!"
The snow sculpture lay prone on the ground, slowly raising its blurry face. Its facial features had been smoothed out beyond recognition.
Cang Ming was startled and shouted sternly, "Are you Tian Xinshu?"
With a crash, the snow sculpture shattered into pieces, shattering into a blanket of white snow that quickly melted away. In the silent stone fortress, only the sword stood alone, nailed into the stone bricks, three-quarters invisible.
Wei Ci said behind her, "General, it's time to go." His voice contained a subtle warning.
Cang Ming turned around dejectedly and said, "It's just an empty shell. Who is the old ghost?"
Wei Ci said, "That old ghost calls himself Lian. He likes to do some despicable things and sings some soul-stirring doggerel. Although he is called an old ghost, he is actually a demon."
Cang Ming nodded, and suddenly remembered that Wei Ci was also a demon, so he said: "Demons are just like humans, there are good and evil ones and they are different."
Wei Ci smiled slightly: "Maybe. But monsters are definitely not good things."
Cang Ming defended himself, "That's not right. You are just a good demon... a lively, frank and courageous demon."
Wei Ci said happily: "Yes, but I am not frank."
"Okay, you're not honest." Cang Ming didn't want to chat any more. He pulled out his long sword from the ground and gradually frowned. "I always feel that our trip was too smooth. Not only did we advance straight in, but we also easily broke the curse."
Without refusing to resign, he said, "The general is a skilled warrior."
Cang Ming continued, "They didn't find the old ghost, but they did find Tian Xinshu's fake shell... Could it be that the curse was set by Tian Xinshu, and Shi Qiyan has been taken over by her?"
Wei Ci held the little boy in one hand, tossed him up unnecessarily, and said emphatically, "General, go back. Have you ever considered that these people may have other intentions?"
Cang Ming paused for a moment, then said slowly, "You mean, all this is just to lure me here."
"That's right." Wei Ci stared at her face and said solemnly, "General, you have been living in seclusion among the people for many years. Perhaps someone wants to lure you out of the public."
"And then follow me to the Weiyang Crown?" Cang Ming laughed dumbly and shook his head, saying, "That will disappoint them. The Weiyang Crown has been fought over and over, but it has never appeared."
Wei Ci said, "What if it's more than that? General, please stop."
"Let's take this child back to Xiyuan Sanfang first. I'm afraid he can't hold on any longer." Cang Ming raised a yellow talisman and said solemnly, "Go back!"
Everything around them spun. Amidst the whistling wind, Wei Ci's voice was barely audible: "General, can you tell me why you seek the ultimate secrets of the universe?"
Cang Ming shuddered again at the cheesy words, but still replied, "In the past, there was a Martial God, unrivaled in the world. He raised his hand to slay evil spirits and lowered his eyes to show mercy to the world. This is the guardian deity that our master spoke of. Legend has it that after becoming a god, he conquered the evil realm and from then on became the god of all gods, the way of the great Dao."
Wei Ci said, "You still want to attain enlightenment and become a god?"
Cang Ming replied: "As for me, I have to find a way to make a living. Otherwise, what's the point of living?"
Wei Ci said, "What if I say... I hope you give up your life of violence? I will avenge your blood feud for you."
Cang Ming smiled but said nothing. Suddenly, her smile faded. "What blood feud? I don't think I've ever told you about my past. Do you know something?"
Wei Ci said vaguely, "Oh, I was thinking, folk rumors say that you roam the martial arts world, hate evil with a hatred, and have irreconcilable enemies. You yourself have said that you want revenge, so it's only natural for you to want to become a god for this."
Cang Ming immediately became even more vague than he was: "Oh, I forgot you'd heard the rumors about me. Rumors always make me sound miserable, miserable, and unbelievable."
Wei Ci said, "General, you can rescue people and catch little ghosts, but as for saving the world and cultivating to become a god, I advise you to be cautious. Tian Xinshu has only risen to prominence in recent years, but he brought up the Weiyang Crown from ten years ago. His identity is truly suspicious. The conspiracy behind this should not be underestimated."
"It's rare for the number one demon king of the underworld to speak so much in one go." Cang Ming showed his signature gentle smile. "I know you're worried I'll get beaten to death, but don't worry, I'm not that vulnerable. Finding the Pearl Crown and ascending to godhood are my two aspirations, and they've never changed."
He hesitated to speak. The storm had finally settled, and the gates of the three courtyards of Xiyuan Garden appeared ahead.
The flood had receded, leaving Fengyan City in ruins. Cang Ming, holding up her skirt, prepared to walk towards the inn through a patch of mud that looked a little shallower.
Wei Ci casually threw the little boy to Wu Lu who came to greet him, and grabbed Cang Ming's arm: "The ground is too dirty. If you want, I can carry you over."
Wu Lu let out a loud "tsk." Cang Ming said hurriedly, "Don't bother. I'm very heavy."
"Is it heavy?" Wei Ci said leisurely, "It's not like I haven't held it before."
"Hey, can't you just fly over here on your swords?" Wu Lu shouted.
Cang Ming threw his sword, and the two of them stood on it together. Flying a sword across a puddle was like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken, but Cang Ming had used a long sword to chop wood and dig wild vegetables before, so he didn't care much.
Wu Lu leaned on a crutch with one hand, looked at the little boy in the other hand, and asked, "Who is this child? Why is he sleeping so soundly?"
Cang Ming entered the inn, sat down on a bench tiredly, and said, "Find him a room to stay in."
Wu Lu was overjoyed: "He's here to stay at the hotel?"
Cang Ming said, "Yes, but you can't ask him for money. Just put it on my account."
Wu Lu snorted, untied the little boy's acupoints, and handed him over to Xun Yan's care.
When the little boy woke up, he found himself in the arms of a smiling servant and began to cry hoarsely again.
Wu Lu looked at Cang Ming and asked suspiciously, "Why did you change into new clothes?"
Cang Ming thought about the origin of the clothes and felt annoyed: "Can't I just change clothes?"
Wei Ci said quietly beside him, "Isn't it pretty?"
Wu Lu snorted again, "I'd forgotten. Back then, whenever the Wangxian Sect disciples performed, they would be dressed in gorgeous clothes like clouds, dancing with swords in the wind, their sleeves fluttering. Their costumes were never the same."
Cang Ming said angrily: "What kind of performance is this? When are we not doing business?"
Wu Lu said quickly: "You are quite protective of them..."
Xisheng walked down the stairs quietly with a dazed expression and suddenly asked, "Cang Ming, why are you back?"
Wu Lu suddenly realized: "Why are you back? We thought you were going to explore the way and then send us a signal."
Cang Ming said: "It was a curse, and it has been broken." Then he briefly recounted the whole story of the trip.
Xisheng listened attentively and mused, "Maybe it was Tian Xinshu who did it, or maybe it was Old Guilian. Old Gui might be in cahoots with Tian Xinshu, or maybe not."
Wu Lu said contemptuously: "You are absolutely right."
Xisheng chuckled: "What do you think?"
Wu Lu slammed the table and said, "Maybe the old ghost is Tian Xinshu's father!"
"What's going on in the city?" Cang Ming looked out the window. Paper money was flying all over the street. There were no pedestrians, only faint crying sounds.
"The flood has receded, but the plague is not that easy to eradicate." Wu Lu said gloomily.
"When illness strikes, it's like a mountain falling. It's definitely not easy." A clear and high-spirited young man's voice answered.
Wei Qiang strode into the inn, scratching his itch in one hand and holding a basket of pitch-black mud in the other. Cang Ming looked at it for a long time before he realized that the mud was a basket filled with herbs.
Mixia brought a few cups of tea from the kitchen. Wei Qiang picked up one and took a few gulps, then nearly spit it out. "What kind of tea tastes so weird?"
Wu Lu waved his cane and said, "Just drink it. There's nothing left in the city right now. I made some tea with the remaining dried kelp."
Wei Qiang looked at the teacup with a sad face. At this time, Cang Ming asked, "Brother Wei, has anyone died of plague in the past two days?"
Wei Qiang only then saw Cang Ming and couldn't help but wonder, "Ghost Buster, you're back so soon? Of course there are people dying in the city, as well as cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs, all covered in sores. Fortunately, the herbs from my Lao Shen sect can save a few lives."
Cang Ming said, "We entered Shiqiyan, but unfortunately we didn't catch the old ghost. There were quite a few... dead teenagers there."
Wei Qiang moved his lips and was about to speak when a shrill roar echoed throughout the inn.
Wei Ci frowned and said, "Since it's so noisy, I'll go back first."
Before leaving, he looked at Cang Ming deeply and said, "General, please think twice about your obsession with enlightenment."
Cang Ming looked at his back and was unable to answer for a moment.
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