The Secret Language on the Broken Monument and the Omen of Return
The golden glow of the setting sun spread across the ruins of Qingwu Town, staining the bloodstains on the stone pavement a warm red. Lin Shen held onto Li Ye's arm, his knees trembling with every step. The wound on his palm, cut by the fragments of the peach wood sword, was still bleeding, but he tightly grasped the jade pendant, which had lost its golden luster. The surface of the jade pendant had a fine crack, which perfectly resembled their now broken but unbroken connection.
"Let's find a place to rest first," Lin Munan said hoarsely. He carried the drowsy Meng Yao on his back, her head resting on his shoulder, her breath still tinged with fear. A mahogany pendant slipped from her collar, gleaming faintly in the afterglow. Chen Ba walked last, carefully tucking the bronze compass into her arms. The compass needle no longer spun, but it tilted slightly toward the west of the town, as if being pulled by some force.
They finally chose a house with a still-standing courtyard wall. When they pushed the door, its decaying wood creaked, startling a few sparrows sheltering from the rain under the eaves. The house was thick with dust. The only remaining wooden table had been wiped clean by Li Ye with his sleeve. Just as Chen Ba placed the compass on the table, the needle suddenly hummed and vibrated, pointing a few degrees further west. A flash of blue light flashed across the dial.
"There's something wrong with this compass." Chen Ba frowned, stroking the lines on the edge of the compass with her fingertips. "The resentment in the earth veins has dissipated. It should have returned to normal, but now..." Before she finished her words, Meng Yao suddenly snorted, slid down from Lin Munan's back, and stared blankly at the corner of the wall - there stood a broken stele half-buried in the soil, with blurred words engraved on the stele. The words "Guiyou Year", "Blood Sacrifice", and "Guixu" could be vaguely seen on the part covered by dust.
Lin Shen followed her gaze, stood up, walked over, and squatted, scraping the dust off the stele with a dagger. As the dust fell, more words appeared: "In the autumn of the Guiyou year, the earth's veins moved abnormally. Use the Three Evils to suppress it and the Pure Yang to seal it. If the seal is broken, it is necessary to draw water from the Guixu to relieve this calamity..." The rest of the text was abruptly cut off, leaving only a few deep scratches, as if the person carving the stele had been suddenly interrupted.
"The water of Guixu?" Li Ye came over and rubbed his swollen temples. "There's not even a complete river in this place, so where does the water of Guixu come from?" Just as he finished speaking, Meng Yao suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Shen's wrist. Her fingertips were cold, but her eyes were unusually clear. "Sister Xiuxiu... Sister Xiuxiu just spoke to me in my dream."
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on her. Meng Yao swallowed, her voice trembling slightly. "She said, 'There's a well west of the town, leading to the ruins. The inscription on the stele is true, so be careful on your way home.'... She also told us to take good care of the peach wood pendant, saying it can 'distinguish evil spirits and guide you to the right path.'" She reached up and touched the pendant at her collar. It suddenly felt slightly warm, and its glow grew clearer, resonating with the compass on the table—the needle no longer tilted but slowly rotated toward the west of the town, as if guiding the way.
Chen Ba stood up suddenly, the bronze compass vibrating slightly in her hand. "There is indeed an ancient well in the west of the town. I saw a record of it when I was looking up ancient books. It said it was the earliest water source of Qingwu Town, but it was later abandoned because the water became murky. If Xiuxiu's suggestion is true, then the water of Guixu may be in that well."
"But why are we looking for the Guixu Water now?" Lin Munan was puzzled. "The resentment in the earth veins has been purified, and the Three Evils have disappeared. Isn't Qingwu Town safe now?"
Lin Shen silently picked up the cracked jade pendant. He felt a faint warmth against it as he placed it against his palm. "Perhaps... this isn't the end." He looked out the window. The sun had already set in the west, and dusk was beginning to creep into the house. "Xiu Xiu said, 'Be careful on the way home.' We might run into trouble when we leave, and the water of Guixu is meant to deal with that."
As night deepened, they set out towards the west of the town, guided by moonlight. Meng Yao's mahogany pendant continued to glow, like a small lantern, illuminating the path ahead. Halfway through, Li Ye suddenly stopped and pointed to a patch of scrub ahead: "Look, what's that?"
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed and saw several pale blue will-o'-the-wisp flames drifting through the trees. These flames weren't as erratic as usual, but instead formed a straight line, moving toward the ancient well. Even stranger, wherever the will-o'-the-wisp flames passed, the grass on the ground turned yellow and withered at a visible speed, as if the vitality had been sucked out of it.
"It's the evil spirit." Chen Ba's expression changed slightly. He raised the compass to his chest, and a blue light suddenly appeared on the compass. "Although the resentment has been purified, the resentment accumulated in Qingwu Town for a hundred years is too deep. There are still some remaining evil spirits that have not dissipated. They are gathering towards the ancient well, as if guarding something."
Meng Yao's mahogany pendant suddenly burned intensely. She instinctively raised it, its luminescence instantly surging, even forcing the surrounding sinister aura back a bit. The will-o'-the-wisp fires seemed startled, pausing for a moment before suddenly lunging towards them. Distorted ghostly figures could be vaguely seen within the pale blue flames.
"Get ready!" Lin Shen held the jade pendant in his palm and the dagger in the other hand. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw Lin Munan suddenly stand in front of Meng Yao and take out the remaining talisman paper from his backpack - that was the amulet that Chen Ba had given him before. At this moment, the talisman paper automatically ignited under the stimulation of the evil spirit, turning into a golden flame and flying towards the ghost fire.
The golden flames collided with the pale blue will-o'-the-wisp fire, emitting a sizzling sound. The will-o'-the-wisp fire was instantly consumed, leaving only wisps of black smoke. But more will-o'-the-wisp fires surged from the woods, densely packed together, like a moving sea of blue fire. Seeing this, Chen Ba immediately chanted an incantation, and three blue beams of light flew out of the bronze compass. In the air, they transformed into three talismans, protecting everyone in the middle. The evil energy receded like a tide as it touched the talismans.
"Hurry! The evil spirits are growing stronger and stronger, we can't hold out much longer!" Chen Ba shouted, taking the lead and running towards the ancient well. Everyone followed closely behind, Meng Yao's peach wood pendant remaining lit, as if paving a path for them. Although the evil spirits pursued them relentlessly, they could never get close to the protective shield formed by the talisman.
Finally, they came upon the ancient well. The platform was built of bluestone slabs, covered in moss. The wellhead was covered by a worn wooden board, engraved with the words "No Trespassing," though the writing was already illegible. Meng Yao's mahogany pendant suddenly flew toward the wellhead, sticking to the board. A faint light seeped through the cracks in the wood, casting a faint shadow on the well's walls. The water was not murky, but clear as a mirror, its surface shimmering with a faint blue light that faintly echoed the compass's glow.
"Is this the water of Guixu?" Li Ye stepped forward, about to lift the wooden plank, but was stopped by Lin Shen. Lin Shen stared at the well water, his brow furrowed. "There's something in the water." He pulled a flashlight from his backpack and shone it into the well. Beneath the surface, countless tiny points of light floated, clustered together like a small, glowing fish swimming toward the well's mouth.
At that moment, Meng Yao let out a soft cry, and the mahogany pendant detached from the wooden planks and flew back into her hand. The planks at the wellhead cracked with a crack, and the water suddenly began to churn. The light points on the surface instantly converged into a single beam, shooting from the wellhead into the sky, colliding with the sinister energy in the night with a deafening roar.
Chen Ba's compass vibrated violently, the blue light emitting from the disk threatening to burst through the compass. She stared at the needle on the compass, her face suddenly pale. "Not good! The aura of the Guixu water has attracted an even more powerful evil spirit! It's the remnant souls of resentment that were previously purified, and they're regrouping!"
Lin Shen looked up at the sky. In the night, countless pale blue will-o'-the-wisp flames converged into a massive black shadow. Though not as solid as the Three Devils, it exuded a suffocating sense of oppression as it swooped down toward the ancient well. He clutched the jade pendant and the fragment of the peach wood sword tightly in his hands, turned, and said to the others, "Li Ye, you and Lin Munan protect Meng Yao. Chen Ba, use the compass to maintain the shield. I'll go fetch the water from Guixu!"
Without waiting for a response, Lin Shen had already lifted the wooden plank covering the well's mouth and leaped onto the stone steps beside it. The well's water was still churning as the luminous "little fish" swam to the mouth, transforming into a crystal droplet before him, suspended in mid-air. The droplet shone with a faint blue light, the very essence of the Guixu Water.
Lin Shen reached out to catch it. As the water droplet touched his fingertips, it suddenly transformed into a streak of blue light, flowing down his arm and into his body. He felt a sudden warmth throughout his body. The jade pendant in his palm suddenly erupted with golden light, echoing with the blue light within him, and actually forced back the surrounding evil aura. Seeing this, the dark shadow in the sky let out an angry roar and dived even faster.
"Come up!" Li Ye reached out to pull Lin Shen up, but just as Lin Shen grabbed his wrist, a dark shadow suddenly slammed into the shield. The talisman made a crisp "crack" sound, and the blue light instantly dimmed. Chen Ba spat out a mouthful of blood, and the compass almost slipped out of his hand. "The shield can't hold! Get out of here!"
Lin Shen was pulled up by Li Ye. Just as he found his footing, he saw Meng Yao's peach wood pendant light up again. This time, the pendant's glow resonated with the Guixu water in his body, forming a golden light shield that enveloped everyone. The black shadow rushed again, but was deflected by the light shield and transformed into countless ghostly fires that scattered.
"Let's go now!" Lin Munan carried Meng Yao on his back and ran towards the town entrance. Lin Shen and Li Ye followed behind, supporting Chen Ba. The water of Guixu flowed through his body, dispelling most of his fatigue, but he couldn't help but feel a chill on his back, as if a pair of eyes were watching them from the dark, a gaze filled with resentment, hidden in the depths of the night, and never leaving.
By the time they finally crossed the border of Qingwu Town, the sky was already turning pale. Meng Yao dismounted from Lin Munan's back and, looking at the town gradually shrouded in morning mist, she suddenly whispered, "Sister Xiuxiu's presence... has vanished." She touched the mahogany pendant, and its glow dimmed. "It seems... she's truly gone."
Lin Shen paused and turned to look toward Qingwu Town. The dilapidated archway that once held the town's grievances was faintly visible in the morning mist. Its eerie red glow was gone, leaving only mottled stone marks. He clenched the jade pendant in his hand and whispered, "She's fulfilled her wish. It's time for us to return home."
But no one noticed that the scar on Lin Shen's neck, frostbitten by the Black Mist, glowed faintly in the morning light, like a tiny insect burrowing deep into his skin. Meanwhile, the bronze compass in Chen Ba's arms once again swung toward Qingwu Town. This time, a crimson dot of light, like a drop of congealed blood, adorned its tip.
The journey home has just begun, but the secrets of Qingwu Town seem far from over.
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