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墨書 Inktalez
The path of Dao is intricate and complex, with numerous sects and families, but few exist solely for the purpose of eliminating demons and safeguarding the way. Generally, the disciples of Mao Shan, Longhu Mountain, and the Divine Dawn Sect are regarded as the enlightened Masters in people's minds. This sect has not disappointed the expectations of the common people—most of their teachings have essentially been lost to time.
Mao Shan Arts focuses primarily on exorcism, with subjugation as a secondary method. The typical Daoist from Mao Shan does not possess profound skills; they mainly rely on the power of talismans and magical tools to disperse, subdue, or seal away spirits. Mao Shan Daoists believe that all demons should not be exterminated indiscriminately, and since Mao Shan accepts many disciples, its Daoists are relatively well-known.
The compass given to me by Wang Ni should be the one used by Old Mao in the story. Wang Ni and Old Mao are both from Mao Shan, but this compass does not resemble the style typically associated with Mao Shan Arts.
A standard compass can measure up to one inch, while a Mao Shan compass usually features Tai Chi and Gossip symbols on its back, is generally yellow throughout, and has a longer needle.
However, this compass is a Ghost Compass!
It measures nine inches, and instead of Gossip on its back, it is engraved with Sun, Moon, Stars. The directions on this compass are reversed, and more bizarrely, its needle is made from a finger bone!
How could Old Mao, as a practitioner of Mao Shan Arts, use such an illogical Ghost Compass? Moreover, why did Wang Ni go to such lengths to obtain this item? Is it possible that this is not the same one Old Mao had?
A multitude of questions flooded my mind, leaving me in confusion.
Regardless, tonight I will still meet that mysterious person; after all, if I don't go, he will eventually come looking for me.
Wang Ni showed no signs of waking up yet, so I decided to inspect the house. Fortunately, I found our tent in another room.
Having a tent is good; at least we still have some dry rations. After everything that happened this morning, I was already hungry. When I opened the tent, I was surprised to find that everything inside was still in good condition.
After eating some rations, I sat beside Wang Ni and watched over her.
Before long, darkness fell. Here, once it gets dark, it becomes particularly eerie; perhaps I was just scaring myself. In any case, I had a bad feeling about what was to come.
I held the "Shikigami Diagram" that my master gave me before leaving and studied it carefully. As the saying goes, sharpening the knife doesn't delay the work of cutting wood! I should memorize some useful information.
Suddenly, I felt someone behind me; it must be Wang Ni waking up. Just in time, I could discuss with her whether we should meet that mysterious person or head back home early.
When I turned around, a gust of cold wind blew towards me. The person standing behind me was not Wang Ni! It was that old man from yesterday!
Having seen enough ghosts, I wasn't afraid of them anymore. I didn't know which fool this was, but it wasn't my first time encountering a ghost. Still, I was startled!
The old man was surrounded by Ghost Fire, with blood streaming from his eyes, holding a lantern as if he hadn't noticed me and was slowly walking outside.
Things were getting more serious.
I quickly ran to Wang Ni's room, fearing something might have happened to her. Sure enough, Wang Ni was missing from the bed.
Damn it, I couldn't even keep an eye on her. Wait, there was still a clue—the old man! The one walking outside!
I hurriedly put on my Daoist Robe. Since Wang Ni still had my Octagonal Taiji on her, I had a faint sense that she wasn't too far from me!
The old man with the lantern walked step by step toward the forest where Black Wuchang had an accident. I followed him from behind, feeling the temperature drop with each step.
The old man wasn't walking fast; it took a while before we reached the forest. At this time, it was probably between 7 PM and 8 PM, when the Yang energy dissipated and Yin Qi gathered.
This was my first time visiting this forest at night. The mist swirled around the trees, and occasionally, sounds resembling a child's cries echoed through the darkness, making it feel eerie and chilling.
Damn! In the end, I still came here.
“Caw Caw, I am Black Wuchang.” “You really came.” It was that hoarse ghostly voice again; I finally met him. He had no intention of revealing his true form, shrouded entirely in a black robe, making it impossible to discern his figure or appearance.
“You controlled all of this, didn’t you?” I stopped hiding and boldly walked up to the figure in the black robe.
The old man holding the lantern stood behind the black robe; it seemed he had set everything up long ago.
“Is this how you let your mother hold the lantern?” I mocked. “The monkey is also your doing, right?” If everything was being manipulated by someone, there was only one person who was most suspicious—the older brother who claimed to be the old man’s son! If I guessed correctly, he should still be the monkey left behind to guard the place back then! And this old man should also be under his control, meaning I couldn’t trust any information about the old man!
“Haha! Indeed, heroes emerge from youth; you saw through it at a glance. I deceived my teammates for so many years.” The figure in the black robe took off his hat—it really was that older brother.
“Because I have not the slightest trust in you. Those who can be deceived are those who trust you,” I said coldly. “Where is Wang Ni? Where did she go?”
“Don’t rush, don’t rush. How about listening to a story of mine?”
“Are you targeting me?”
“Of course.”
“Fine, let me die understanding.”
In the dead of night, I found myself in a desolate area listening to a story from someone who was neither human nor ghost, feeling quite uneasy.
“I am also a serious practitioner of Taoism,” the black-robed figure began. “I am the last disciple of Longhu Mountain. Before my master passed away, he sent me down the mountain to seek opportunities to bring glory to Longhu Mountain…”
As I listened to the black robe recount his story, this Cui was indeed a disciple of Longhu Mountain and its last apprentice.
Longhu Mountain once thrived for a period, but their apprenticeship requirements were too high. With modern society becoming increasingly advanced, they had not taken in disciples for a long time. In Mr. Cui's generation, only he and his master remained. The last leader of Longhu Mountain did not have the chance to pass on the position to Mr. Cui before he departed for the Underworld. As a result, Mr. Cui had no choice but to descend the mountain. At that time, Mr. Cui was still a child; although he had practiced the Taoist Arts of Longhu Mountain, he was not yet capable of standing on his own.
"I was just a child back then, a lonely and helpless kid trying to find my place in society," Mr. Cui said to me with a fierce expression. "Soon enough, someone set their sights on me—a human trafficking gang that captured me, intending to sell me for a good price. However, having spent years at Longhu Mountain, I resisted them fiercely, causing them significant losses. In the end, they brutally broke my limbs and kept me in a shrine."
"But I never gave up on the thought of survival. They were part of a group of traffickers who had gathered many abducted children in one place. Some kids couldn’t withstand the beatings and were killed; this was my opportunity. I harnessed the Vengeful Spirits of those children and their Resentment towards the traffickers to cultivate an Evil Technique that fed on blood."
Even the most despicable people have their tragic stories; it turned out this man had endured so much suffering.
"You killed them?" I asked. Since he had found a way to cultivate his powers, escaping should not be too difficult.
"Killed? Ha! How could I let them off so easily? I used their own methods against them—I chopped off their hands and feet and buried them in the ground to cultivate their Resentment. But Resentment alone was far from enough."
"So you came here?"
"Exactly! This place used to be a battlefield, perfect for nurturing Resentment. I moved those traffickers into this forest and awakened the Yin Soldiers using their Resentment."
"But you can't control them, can you?"
"You really know everything! That's right; while I can utilize their Resentment, I cannot control them."
If this man could control the Yin Soldiers, he wouldn’t have allowed them to borrow paths at all. He must have used some method to surround this area so that the Yin Soldiers couldn't leave; every time they tried to escape, they ended up back where they started, which is why there were instances of Yin Soldiers borrowing paths twice a month.
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