Chapter 119 The Ghost Soldiers
Sure enough, the previous scene reappeared in my consciousness.
The color blocks trembled slightly, then suddenly split apart, surging as if trying to break free from their original positions.
The faint light outside the cave, visible to the naked eye, was enough for the ghost soldiers, skilled in night vision, to see that dozens of cave women, their bodies disheveled and twitching several times without any decorum, turned and walked deeper into the cave, about to plunge into their respective boudoirs.
The ghostly soldiers gave chase, and Zhen Su seized the opportunity to grab the shoulder of one of the cave women, blocking her path. Then, with a slight pressure from his fingertips, Zhen Su suddenly felt the sensation of something wriggling beneath the cave woman's skin.
Just as Shinjuku was about to warn the others, the creatures under his command suddenly burst out of the cave woman's mouth and attacked Shinjuku.
Bai Wuchang had been secretly watching Zhen Su, so he acted with extreme speed, using his whisk to create a circle in front of Zhen Su, which stood upright like a silver shield. The swarming creatures immediately dodged around it, intending to continue their attack from the side of the circle.
In that brief moment, both Shinju and the Black and White Impermanence saw clearly that the pile of living things was actually thousands upon thousands of corpse worms! And because of their collective movement, only a thin layer of human skin had been shed from the spot where the cave woman had originally stood, floating on the shallow water.
The speed at which Bai Wuchang drew circles was much faster than the speed at which the corpse worms piled up and migrated. However, the silvery-white light emitted by his magic circle made the cave much brighter, and the corpse worms' attack became even more rapid.
As Shinju's Purple Palace rapidly circulated, recalling the strange sight of the river lanterns going out earlier, he immediately realized that these corpse worms probably liked light, and their vitality and activity would be stronger under the light.
So Shinju stopped Bai Wuchang from waving his whisk, and led the corpse worms into the darker boudoir. He briefly released his Yin body, and a cluster of pure Yang fire rose from his fingertips.
As expected, the corpse worms immediately rushed towards the fire like madmen. The yang fire ignited their wings, antennae, and plump bodies, and they were silently devoured by the expanding flames, eventually turning into ashes.
When the Black and White Impermanence followed, Zhen Su had already reopened his Yin Xue acupoints and returned to his "Ultimate Yin Body".
He gave a vague and general description to the Black and White Impermanence of how to deal with the corpse worms and their phototaxis.
Black Impermanence pulled out a hand lantern burning with eerie green flames. After surveying the area, he muttered, "Corpse worms alone could never be so organized, nor could they possibly mimic human habits and movements. What exactly is this..."
Bai Wuchang chimed in, saying, "It's an insect puppet, controlled by an insect puppeteer."
Both Zhen Su and Hei Wuchang were surprised. It was no wonder they were shocked, because if Bai Wuchang's words were true, it would mean that all the cave women in the cave were probably dead, with only a human skin remaining, filled and piled up by corpse worms.
"..." Even in the underworld, such a thing would be considered horrifying. This is what Shinju thought.
Black Impermanence immediately ordered, "Don't move the rest of the people yet. Everyone evacuate this place. Losing a puppet will definitely attract their attention. Everyone, lie in ambush outside the cave and hide!"
However, even after the entire group had been lying in ambush for almost the entire second half of the night, no one appeared near the cave entrance.
"I didn't expect the other party to be so cautious..." Black Impermanence realized his decision was wrong and couldn't help but glance at White Impermanence.
But Bai Wuchang, unusually, did not mock him. He simply waved his hand and said, "Let's go back to the Soul-Catching Division first."
The others had no objections.
As the distant horizon turned slightly red, Masakatsu and his group quickened their pace and headed towards Hachiin Village, placing the coffin to the north of the village.
Shinju gradually slowed down and unknowingly fell to the back. The Black and White Impermanence cast concerned glances at him, but Shinju just twitched his ears and offered no explanation.
Even though the Black and White Impermanence had already gone ahead, there were still two gazes behind him, clinging to his back like spider silk.
A quick scan with divine sense revealed two ghostly spirits. Their bodies lacked the distinct color blocks of ordinary human bodies; instead, they had three fish-shaped black markings that alternated and rotated. This was how ghosts appeared in divine sense.
However, when Shinjuku looked back, the direction where the spirit was located was completely blocked by mountains or forests, and the distance was not close, so he could not see the spirit's true face.
The dark coffin was right in front of them, and the ghostly soldiers entered one after another. The Black and White Impermanence stood still and urged, "The sun is about to rise. If you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave."
While Shinju can remain in the mortal realm—after all, he is not a true Yin soldier—the spirits behind him are likely to hide, and they should not be able to roam freely during the day.
After a moment of contemplation, Shinju nodded, his white, erect ears twitching slightly. He then stepped into the coffin, following closely behind the figures of Black and White Impermanence.
Just as the Black and White Impermanence were being teleported away, they saw Shinju step in as well, and finally felt relieved.
However, before their raised lips could regain their usual cold indifference, a dazzling array of sights flashed before their eyes, and in the next instant, they found themselves in the all-too-familiar courtyards and ancient buildings of the Soul Reaper's Division.
Another night's mission has come to an end.
Both Black and White Impermanence thought to themselves, "This time we must keep him here and have a good chat. Even if Shinju is unwilling to answer, it would be good to spend more time with him."
But when they turned their backs, there was no one behind them.
"?!?!"
.
Shinju did not return to the underworld.
He did indeed step into the teleportation array inside the coffin, but the array had been slightly altered, so when Shinju opened his eyes, he found himself in a strange place, with no light in the sky, a hundred times darker than before, and even more pitch black than the dead of night.
"..." He thought he had probably entered a realm like the Realm of Evil Souls, a place that blotted out the sky and isolated from the world.
There were occasional lonely cries of crows all around, but there was no living creature in sight, nor could he sense any presence, including his own.
Shinju tried to struggle, but his whole body felt like it didn't belong to him. He had lost most of his senses, couldn't feel the flow of true energy, and couldn't even bend one of his little fingers.
The lower Purple Palace and the Upper Three Corpses could not be summoned, as if they had been completely severed from their connection.
"Calm down, calm down..." Unable to activate his divine sense, Shinju could only try to see something with his naked eyes in the pitch-black surroundings.
However, no one knew how much time had passed. Shinjuku almost lost his sense of time. It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it also seemed like not long. In his dazed state, he heard a very faint noise from his right, and then the wind on his right seemed to stop.
Shinjuku slowly turned his head and vaguely saw a section of the skirt hem.
Looking further up, above the extremely long ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), above the full breasts, was the face of a woman with makeup on her lips. Her lips, adorned with rouge, were slightly parted, and her eyes were hidden in the shadows of her eye sockets, making it impossible to discern her expression.
"Which one is your true self?" she asked.
Shinjuku was puzzled, but had no intention of explaining it to him. He simply asked, "Who are you?"
The woman paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Lou Lan."
However, the other party clearly had no intention of introducing more. Shinju was also unfamiliar with this name; he had never heard of it even back in the cultivation world. But judging from the other party's unusual physique, he was likely from a giant race, and appeared to be a considerable height above him.
"Who I am is not important. What is important is, is the person the Ghost General is looking for you?" Lou Lan still held her precious bundle in his arms, his gaze lingering on Zhen Su for a while. "Last time, you were still a young boy, but now you have become like this."
Lou Lan's voice seemed less confident as she pressed on, "Little thing, which one is your true form?"
A demon general? Shinju searched his memory for the guy surrounded by evil energy. He couldn't see his face or even his figure. He only remembered that the feeling of being wrapped around him was like being suffocated by a python and sticky.
“I don’t know him,” Masakatsu said bluntly.
"Oh?" Lou Lan seemed tired of Masaki's evasive answers and stopped asking. "Never mind. He'll be here soon. Let's see if he recognizes you."
Shinjuku couldn't help but frown.
Was it an old acquaintance? But he shouldn't know someone who would become a ghost general. His former close friends—some died, some perished, and few had a good ending… Could it be one of them…?
No matter who it is, he doesn't want anyone he knows to die.
Lou Lan did not leave; she sat with her legs crossed, dangling in mid-air, gazing at a distant place.
Shinju's golden eyes followed the murderous aura flowing from Lou Lan's body, turning sharply and clearly.
Before an incense stick had burned out, Lou Lan smiled, straightened his back, and took a step forward. "Welcome. The person you seek is here."
The fog-like darkness that Lou Lan was facing was suddenly lifted, and then a cold and elegant face that always intruded into Zhen Su's dreams emerged from the shadows. Extreme shadows cut light and shadow on his face, making him appear gloomy even in the pitch black, and an eerie red was reflected in his usually cold eyes.
Shinjuku's pupils suddenly trembled.
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Author's note: My husband is here.
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