Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"As you can see, this is a fresh map made of Human Skin. Naturally, I did not draw it myself. As an Oni Beast, I love to eat, and as everyone knows, my actions and observations are always centered around food, never requiring me to draw maps. So the question arises: if this map was not drawn by me, then who could have created it?"
"Who? Could it be our esteemed Lord Xie right in front of us?" Xing Ruyi stepped forward, wanting to get a better look at the Human Skin map, but was secretly restrained by the fox, who held her wrist.
"This Human Skin was just peeled off; the smell of blood is strong, and there is also a sense of resentment. Although you have ghostly protection, it is ultimately an accidental technique that is not inherent to you, so getting too close could be harmful."
Xing Ruyi playfully stuck out her tongue and whispered, "I'm just curious about what this Human Skin map depicts."
"This map is merely a part of a larger one. Judging by the lines, it appears to be a topographical map, and from the contours of the mountains, it represents the home of Jin Se!"
"The fox indeed has sharp eyes. Correct! What is depicted on this Human Skin is precisely the home of this half Mountain Spirit. These undulating mountains are protected by barriers set up by the Mountain Spirit, and indeed this map is only a fragment!" The Oni Beast said while signaling to the female shopkeeper. She gave a sinister smile and unexpectedly dragged out a redwood box from somewhere. Instantly, the hall was filled with a strong smell of blood.
"It’s the Mountain Dwellers! Those Mountain Dwellers!" Although Jin Se had lost her sight, her sense of smell remained intact. That mountain was her home; she was intimately familiar with every villager at its base and every blade of grass within it. Despite the overwhelming stench of blood in the hall, she could still distinguish the unique scent belonging to the Mountain Dwellers.
"The bloodline of this Mountain Spirit is indeed remarkable; no wonder those foolish Mountain Dwellers treat it as their Mountain Deity for worship. Tsk tsk, the skin of these Mountain Dwellers is truly thick—at least thicker than this delicate-skinned Young Master Xie—making it quite laborious to peel off. Indeed, the fox was correct; that previous map was just one piece; what’s in the box is the entirety!"
The Oni Beast stretched out his hands, and the redwood box instantly opened, revealing layer upon layer of Human Skin stacked inside. The Oni Beast had high standards when it came to food and work. Clearly, these pieces of Human Skin had been meticulously processed by him; although still stained with traces of blood, they were well-defined in texture and clear in pattern, with each piece being uniformly thick.
One piece after another of Human Skin was taken from the redwood box and laid out on the ground. Although Jin Se harbored hatred for those Mountain Dwellers and could not see how horrifying the scene was without her eyes, she could not help but clench her fists at those smells.
Xing Ruyi held her breath tightly, her face slightly pale as she leaned against the fox's embrace. Since arriving in the Golden Tang Dynasty, she had witnessed many terrifying sights—such as zombies and corpses scattered throughout a weapons factory—and even when Yin Yuan devoured zombies alive, she found it somewhat acceptable despite feeling slightly nauseous. However, the current situation sent a chill down her spine.
At that moment, she had lost all interest and desire to examine what exactly was depicted in those maps; instead, she tightly grasped the fox's hand and anxiously asked, "What has happened to those Mountain Dwellers?"
"I only want their skins; I’m not after their lives!" The Oni Beast waved his hand dismissively. "Moreover, human flesh isn’t even that tasty!"
"So those Mountain Dwellers are still alive, huh?"
"Of course they're alive, and they're living quite interestingly!" The Oni Beast snapped his fingers, and the female shopkeeper understood, turning to go out. In a short while, she returned dragging a black cloth bag. When the bag was opened, two human heads were revealed, followed by two bodies back to back.
It turned out that after the Oni Beast had cut off the maps from their backs, he had glued these two Mountain Dwellers back to back, making them look like two deformed adult conjoined twins.
"Look at this, it's my brand new creation!" The Oni Beast clapped his hands proudly. "To be honest, after eating for tens of thousands of years, I've come to understand a common saying among humans: life should have higher pursuits. Don't be fooled by how close these two seem right now; in reality, they are enemies. This Zhang San stole Li Si's dog, and Li Si destroyed Zhang San's mountain field. Later on, Zhang San sought revenge and secretly abducted Li Si's child, selling him to Human Teeth. Yes, he was quite a delicate little boy and has now become the new favorite of some Wealthy Young Master."
As the Oni Beast spoke, he noticed Li Si's face turning red with anger as he struggled to hit Zhang San. Unfortunately, since they were glued back to back, even if they fought, it would only be like playing around.
The Oni Beast looked at the two men with amusement and suddenly pointed at Li Si. "This Li Si lost his child and naturally suspected Zhang San. So he poisoned Zhang San's food. Zhang San happened to be out drinking and wasn't home; when he returned in the dead of night, he found Old Mother lying at the gate while his pregnant wife was lying in the kitchen. Both had already lost their lives. Thus, Zhang San began searching for Li Si to fight him. Li Si was prepared too; so bows against bows and axes against axes—neither gained an advantage in the end.
However, in their later years, they wouldn't fight anymore; not only would they not fight, but they would also eat, live, and sleep together. Guess what? After five or ten years of this arrangement, what do you think will happen? Will they die together or become close friends? I bet on the latter. Why? Because I cast a spell on them. If one is killed by the other, he will forever carry the other with him, watching him turn from a living person into a corpse and then slowly decay until he becomes nothing but white bones.
Doesn't that sound familiar? Yes! It's just like what happened to half of Mountain Spirit's brother during his lifetime! From living person to corpse and then from corpse to bones—it seems ordinary but is truly terrifying when faced with it. Tsk tsk, can this be considered a good deed? Not only did I resolve their enmity and prevent fighting and killing, but I also avenged Mountain Spirit's brother!"
"That's nice to hear, but isn't it just your wicked game?" Xing Ruyi frowned and shifted her gaze away from the artificially created conjoined twins.
"Same goes for you; Miss Xing, your methods are no less than mine! It's just that you think you're righteous while I, Oni Beast, only act based on my likes and dislikes." The Oni Beast said as he signaled the female shopkeeper again. She promptly took away the adult conjoined twins.
"Alright! You already know the source of Human Skin. Now let's see these Human Skins and how they relate to Mountain Spirit's family!" The Oni Beast's words successfully caught Xing Ruyi's attention; even Jin Se beside her held her breath.
"This map was just shown by the fox; it's a topographical map of the mountains where Mountain Spirit's family resides. But within this map lies another secret." The Oni Beast said as he gently stroked it; those Human Skins seemed to come alive as they quickly overlapped and aligned into two layers floating in mid-air. Through the candlelight, it could be seen that where these two layers of Human Skin overlapped held some peculiar mystery.
Xing Ruyi looked seriously and gradually began to see some clues. For example, the diagram resembled the floor plans of houses she had seen in her later life. However, this diagram was larger and more complex in design. If she had to associate it with something, it could only be the Imperial Tomb, the burial site for emperors and empresses.
"Is this a tomb?" Xing Ruyi asked tentatively, her eyes fixed on the fox.
"It doesn't seem like it; this tomb has no dead gates, only living gates," the fox said, pointing to a specific area. "Any tomb is meant for the deceased to reside in. Those emperors dream of becoming immortals or gods, fantasizing about entering the divine realm directly from underground. Therefore, they usually do not leave any entrances or exits for themselves. Even if there is one, it is only for future joint burials.
Aside from that, the rest are various dead gates. Of course, these so-called dead gates are merely concepts of life and death in feng shui and hold no practical significance for people in later generations. For Monsters and Spirits, they hold even less meaning. But this diagram is different; at first glance, it appears to have only living gates with no dead gates. However, upon closer inspection, you will find that all the living gates are actually yin gates."
"Yin gates?" Xing Ruyi was confused. "What are yin gates?"
"They are the great doors leading to the underworld! Commonly known as the Ghost Gate! But this is just one interpretation. The yin gates in this diagram are primarily used to absorb the yin energy of this place and continuously channel it into the center of the diagram. From what we can see now, that so-called center should be directly beneath Jin Se's house!"
"At my house?" Jin Se turned her face toward the direction of the fox in confusion. "If it's at my house, why have I never felt it?"
"Because of Jin Yu!" The fox's gaze turned icy. "If what is depicted in this diagram is true, then Jin Yu's fate was deliberately orchestrated by someone. That Taoist back then did not have good intentions; he wanted to use Jin Yu's daily suffering to maintain the balance of yin and yang in this area. More accurately, he aimed to sustain the yin energy.
Jin Yu died an unnatural death and naturally harbored resentment. Moreover, witnessing a living person turn into bones is something that ordinary people cannot endure, which would lead him to develop hostility over time. Resentment and hostility are the best nourishment for yin energy. However, that Taoist overlooked one thing: human nature. Although Jin Yu does not possess Mountain Spirit bloodline, he still inherited the pure goodness of Mountain Spirits. Even though he once had resentment, it gradually dissipated over long periods of time and suffering. The Taoist must have realized this; hence he first lured Xie Xuan into the mountains and then used Xie Xuan to break open the barrier within the mountains before using Oni Beasts' gluttonous nature to attract him there. Am I right? Lord Xie? And Oni Beast?"
"What you mean is..." Xing Ruyi looked at the fox and uttered those three words: "Unfounded! Xie Xuan knows Unfounded!"
Comment 0 Comment Count