Chapter 118 Yin Bingqi
After being pulled like that, Shinjuku naturally stopped and turned around, only to see the culprit, who was none other than the always serious-looking Black Impermanence.
Black Impermanence finally realized his offense, quickly released his hand, and whispered, "Sorry."
White Impermanence glanced at him, seemingly casually smoothing the ruffled fur of Shinju's large tail. For once, he didn't mock Black Impermanence, but urged, "Let's go."
Shinjuku was now able to look them in the eye, or even slightly down. He nodded and bent down to enter the teleportation array.
White Impermanence immediately followed.
Black Impermanence lagged behind, his awkward smile vanishing as he glared at White Impermanence's groomed hands before resuming his stern expression and following closely behind.
.
In the mortal realm, in the world of cultivation, in Hedao Village, Zhoufu.
Colorful banners and flags were hanging everywhere in the village, and many villagers were climbing on wooden frames, dismantling logs and carrying them down in cloth.
However, as night fell, the streets gradually became deserted, except for these people.
Since the realms of Yin and Yang are separate and the time for entering the dream has not yet arrived, Shinju and the others can only disperse to listen to the villagers' idle chatter and gather clues about the wine tasting banquet.
"Preparing this feast is really exhausting. The neighboring village gave us plenty of money, but these immortals are so difficult to serve."
"You call yourself an immortal? Keep your voice down! We don't even know if they've left!"
"The people from the neighboring village left quickly. In previous years, they would stay and give some gifts, with each household bringing tobacco and tea. This year, they didn't get anything! Everyone came with an air of importance and only spoke Mandarin. I didn't hear a single word of Hengzhou dialect!"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, hey, it's true!"
Listening to the ghostly soldiers' summary, the Black and White Impermanence understood without exchanging glances. The people who were supposed to be hosting the banquet in Yilian Village seemed to have been replaced by a group of outsiders who couldn't speak the local dialect. This meant that the hundred missing people had likely been brutally murdered in Yilian Village, their bodies and souls taken with them.
Majutsu, however, had a different focus. He stopped near a pair of sisters-in-law and listened attentively.
All I heard them talking about was—
"I heard that the youngest daughter of the Mo family, who makes soy sauce, has been chosen by the cave god and will soon be sacrificed to the river."
"...I remember that daughter got married, didn't she? She married into Yilian a long time ago."
"She was divorced! Oh dear, I'm only telling you this, don't tell anyone else." The woman lowered her voice. "That young lady seems to be barren. She hasn't conceived in three years since she got married. But the husband's family's story is that she broke her leg and became lame. She just eats all day and doesn't do any work. They couldn't afford to support her, so they divorced her! Who knew that the other family would turn around and bring her back in a sedan chair and marry another girl from who-knows-which family."
"...This is so pitiful."
"No, no, no, don't pity them. Marrying the Cave God is a blessing that the Mo family has accumulated over eight lifetimes! Didn't you see the wine tasting banquet a few days ago, and the big feast in the west corner of the village? That was the Mo family's wedding banquet! Families that marry into the Cave God will all receive the Cave God's protection. Which one of them isn't a wealthy and powerful family?"
"...Tsk tsk, that's true."
The women then changed the subject, but this conversation forced Shinjuku to connect it with what he had dreamt about earlier.
He pondered that if such an evil entity as the Cave God truly existed in this place, then it must be related to the case of the disappearance of hundreds of souls, or at the very least, it must have clashed with the mastermind behind the incident that caused such a large number of casualties.
As Zhen Su walked back, the other Yin soldiers were wondering why the Black and White Impermanence hadn't set off. Now that the matter had been investigated, it was clear that the missing people from Yilian Village had never come to Hedao Village to attend the wine tasting banquet.
Agui keenly noticed that Zhensu was not present. He stole glances at the two superiors and narrowed his deep red eyes, his expression intriguing.
Soon after, Shinju returned and told Black and White Impermanence about his discovery. Upon hearing the term "Cave God," Black Impermanence immediately recalled the scene he had witnessed in the cave that day, the group of fairy-like women, and the atmosphere of life within the cave.
Black Impermanence's expression was strange, and his chest heaved. Seeing this, True Monk and White Impermanence asked him what was wrong. At this moment, the Yin soldiers standing by were shocked by the familiarity between True Monk and his superiors, and they all winked at each other.
"Let's get going first. As for that 'Cave God,' I'll take you to see it for yourselves," Black Impermanence said thoughtfully.
So the group of ghost soldiers and messengers rushed to Yilian Village.
Yilian Village.
A towering figure shrouded in a dark purple aura stood atop ancient trees on a mountaintop, overlooking the entire village.
A moment later, a rustling sound came from under the tree. Two young female cultivators dressed as fairies came to a stop in front of the tree stump with their toes barely touching the ground, and then said, "Lord Ghost General."
The person atop the tree, amidst surging and churning murderous aura, revealed a pair of deep, dark eyes. He glanced calmly at the ground below and then said, "Summon the Ghost Mother to see me."
The female cultivator was displeased upon hearing this, disregarding the arrogance of the other party referring to himself as "I," and angrily rebuked him: "I address you as 'Master,' but don't think you're someone important, daring to be so disrespectful to Lord Loulan!!"
However, there was no response from the tree. The female cultivators exchanged glances, drew their soft swords from their waists, and prepared to leap upwards to attack.
Unexpectedly, in an instant, a beautiful silhouette appeared from a cluster of emerald flames. After the green flames burned out, her true form was fully revealed. She was a woman with delicate features and a height of ten feet. Her makeup had a mysterious quality that was both ancient and alluring. Her hair was styled in a bun and adorned with jade ornaments. She wore a ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) that reached her chest. She had a plump figure and was holding a tightly packed bundle in her arms. Her gentle and loving gaze was fixed on the bundle.
When this person appeared, a fierce glint flashed in the eyes of the person in the tree. They then turned to face the newcomer. The female cultivators stopped what they were doing and knelt down to pay their respects: "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Lou Lan waved his hand and nodded slightly to the person in the tree: "Ghost General... no, how should I address you?"
"Enough with the small talk. You say the person I'm looking for has been here before, is that true?"
Lou Lan paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, her voice ethereal like a nightmare's whisper, "To be honest, I can't be entirely sure. But even if there's only a sliver of a possibility, I'm sure you wouldn't let it go. That person is that important to you, isn't he?"
Such a direct probing attack would have been met with an immediate rejection from most people, but the ghost general nodded to himself. His handsome face, with its high nose and deep-set eyes, was no longer gloomy, and his eyes gleamed with a subtle light.
Lou Lan immediately clapped his hands in praise: "You are truly an upright person! Considering your trust in me, next time I encounter that young man, I will definitely keep him here and wait for you to come and personally welcome him back."
Upon hearing this, the Ghost General's vision involuntarily surfaced in his dantian. His breathing suddenly became rapid, and his murderous aura surged like a flood, nearly knocking the two closest female cultivators to the ground. The Ghost General gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging, and reversed the Yin aspect of his Death Gate, forcefully resisting the black energy's obscuring and controlling effect on his dantian. However, this was clearly not a long-term solution, lest he accidentally harm the Ghost Mother and her subordinates, rendering today's cooperation agreement invalid. Therefore, the Ghost General did not hesitate, disappearing without a trace with a shadow escape, transmitting a message to the Ghost Mother before leaving: "If this succeeds, I will owe you a favor."
A moment later, Lou Lan slightly lifted her green-painted eyelids, a hint of ruthlessness and scheming flashing in her eyes.
When she came to her senses, the female cultivators excitedly reported to her, "Your Excellency, those Yin soldiers are here again!!"
Lou Lan's gaze shifted.
The moon hung high in the sky, and Shinju and his group finally returned. Because the coffins couldn't be transported between villages, only between the living and the dead, their journey had taken considerable time. Under the shimmering silver moonlight, their shadows were barely visible, and the few villagers who passed by ignored them completely.
Black Impermanence originally intended to send a portion of the Yin soldiers into the dream, but White Impermanence was unwilling to set up the formation, and True Immortal was also eager to explore the cave. Black Impermanence couldn't get White Impermanence and the others out of the way. So in the end, everyone went into the cave.
Although the cave is considered secluded, it is not actually deliberately hidden, nor are there any restrictions or illusions. It is located downstream of the waterfall, with only half of the entrance covered by some wild grass and plants, and a faint, cool light shines out from inside.
This time, they filed in, and the cave was still brightly lit, with the cave women still dancing gracefully, giving Black Impermanence the feeling that they were partying every night, which was eerie and hard to describe.
The cave maidens, who should have been sacrificed to the cave god by the villagers, and who should have been riding in sedan chairs into the waterfall, are now unharmed and living peacefully in this cave, feasting and drinking at night, their robes fluttering in the breeze. Most of the cave maidens have gentle faces and graceful figures, and many of the ghost soldiers were dumbfounded. Only after Agui shouted at them did they come back to their senses and begin their search.
However, after searching carefully inside the cave, they did not find any entity that resembled the cave deity.
"Could it be one of them?" someone wondered.
The ghost soldiers cannot touch people in the mortal world, but they can collect souls. However, the Soul Collection Bureau has regulations that forbid them from contacting people who have not yet reached the end of their lifespan, let alone using the method of collecting souls on them.
Shinju could touch them, but he would have to discard the Yin Soldier tokens. This action could very likely expose his special constitution and the fact that he was not dead. Therefore, Shinju thought it over and over and ultimately did not make a move.
Even with divine sense, nothing strange could be seen. The colors of green, red, blue, and yellow corresponded to the five internal organs and meridians of a person. It was clear that there was no obvious disease, and the person was healthier than most ordinary people. There was no clue whatsoever.
But everyone felt that there must be something fishy about this place.
Therefore, they became restless and uneasy. Unexpectedly, one of the ghostly soldiers stepped on the river lantern, using his ghostly energy to displace the original air, causing the river lantern to suddenly go out.
However, more than twenty river lanterns were still floating in the shallow water on the ground inside the cave. In theory, this should not have affected the lighting, but a strange scene appeared in Shinju's consciousness.
The two cave women near the extinguished river lantern had their vibrant colors shatter like porcelain shards, breaking into fragments that scattered and almost fell in all directions. However, as the cave women moved a few steps to a slightly brighter spot, the light shone on them, and the fragments in their consciousness immediately wriggled and glued back together, merging back into one, and the cave women's bodies returned to their normal color patches.
"!!" Shinju was certain he hadn't misread anything; the bizarre scene just now was definitely something serious. After greeting everyone, he decisively flicked his finger, sending out a stream of air that extinguished all the river lanterns.
The cave was immediately plunged into darkness.
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