Chapter 3: The Seven Gates

A burly man climbed to a peak and scanned the surroundings.

Big-and-Small Eyes guarded the foot of the mountain; the two split up so that whoever encountered danger could be rescued.

At least until they found the "June Bug," they were still brothers who would die for each other.

The burly man on the peak suddenly gestured forcefully at Big-and-Small Eyes, signaling him to come up.

Big-and-Small Eyes climbed up, and the burly man excitedly pointed in one direction: "Look, isn't that a village?"

Big-and-Small Eyes looked and indeed saw a cluster of houses nestled among the trees on a nearby hillside.

"It must be Wangxiang Village." The two sighed in relief, descended from the peak, and cautiously made their way toward the village.

Along this path, they truly encountered no danger whatsoever.

Big-and-Small Eyes said, "It seems the mountain runners of Wangxiang Village are strong; the evil spirits dare not approach the village. We chose correctly."

Approaching those houses, the two heard a clanging and tinkling sound, as if a stonemason were carving stone.

Following the sound, the two turned past a thicket of bushes resembling a fence; suddenly the view opened up, and indeed a stonemason sat on the slope, with round stones scattered around him, half of which had already been carved into various human heads, beast heads, and bird heads.

The stonemason faced away from them, still busy at work, his iron chisel striking the stone incessantly.

Just as the two were about to step forward and speak, they suddenly frowned, feeling something was not quite right.

That stonemason, sitting there, seemed taller than the burly man standing.

At that moment, all the carved human heads, beast heads, and bird heads on the ground turned toward them, staring straight at them.

The clanging and tinkling stopped, and the stonemason turned around; he too was a stone-carved head!

Yet on his stone head grew messy hair and a thick beard; his facial features could move—upon seeing the two, he broke into a happy smile: "New arrivals."

"Let me pick a good head for you."

The stonemason began selecting from those carved stone heads, tapping and plucking them, listening to the sound as if choosing a melon.

The two turned and ran.

The stonemason did not pursue; he focused on selecting, soon choosing a satisfactory one, then tapped it once with his iron chisel.

That stone head flew and crashed into the burly man with a whoosh.

The burly man spat out a cloud of shadow from his nostrils, which rapidly expanded and shattered, from which seven armored Yin Ghosts burst forth, claws and teeth bared, lunging at the stone head.

With just one collision, the stone head, the Yin Ghosts shrieked as they shattered one by one.

The burly man spat blood, staggered several times, yet dared not stop even for an instant, fleeing at top speed.

But the stone head's speed was even more unimaginable; with a pop, it smashed his head, replacing it, and grew onto his neck!

The stonemason still smiled eerily: "Follow me; I'll find you a place to stay."

Among those houses nestled in the trees, few empty ones remained.

Having fulfilled the stepmother's request, he could finally go home; Xu Yuan was very happy.

So he retracted the small bamboo cage, grabbed his axe, and began chopping firewood.

After chopping down several trees, Xu Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, suddenly felt an itch, and scratched a few times.

But this scratching revealed that the skin on his forehead had cracked open entirely!

Xu Yuan then felt his whole body begin to itch, and it was an unbearable itch.

Scratch, scratch—

Some parts of his back were inconvenient to reach, so Xu Yuan simply took off his clothes and rubbed his back vigorously against a large tree.

As he rubbed, all the skin on his body separated from his flesh, and then Xu Yuan, like a cicada, crawled out entirely through the crack in his scalp!

"Haa—," Xu Yuan exhaled a long breath; finally, he felt comfortable.

Looking down, his hands were white and delicate, and his entire skin was newly grown.

Turning back, beneath the large tree lay a thin human skin, clearly his own.

Only that skin bore some strange purple-black patterns like tattoos.

Xu Yuan patted his forehead and exclaimed with realization: "So that's how it is."

The "June Bug" is a medicinal guide for Fate Cultivators.

The burly man was a "Divine Cultivator," Big-and-Small Eyes was a Wu Xiu; besides these, Huangming also had Literary Cultivators, Rank Dan Xiu, Artisan Cultivators, and Spell Cultivators, totaling seven types of cultivators.

Together they are called the "Seven Gates."

Beyond Huangming, the vast world is unknown.

To become a cultivator, one must either have a "Guide" or consume a "Medicinal Guide."

He had unknowingly become a Fate Cultivator.

Among the seven types of cultivators, Fate Cultivators are the fewest in number.

As the name suggests, Fate Cultivators cultivate "Fate"; the first Fate Pattern he obtained is named: Hundred Bai Wu Jin Ji!

These past days, he had led three groups of ill-intentioned people into the mountains, just as with the burly man and Big-and-Small Eyes; his final escapes all relied on the evil spirits within the mountains.

Just like with the Snake Vine, each time he had close contact with evil spirits.

Unknowingly, he had already been infected.

If this infection continues to accumulate, it will soon erupt completely; perhaps in sleep, perhaps while eating, or perhaps while chatting with others, suddenly turning himself into a bloodthirsty evil spirit!

If other cultivators happened to be nearby, he would become their trophy.

If not, after a great slaughter, he would flee into Ghost Wushan...

But the "Hundred Bai Wu Jin Ji" Fate Pattern saved him.

When this infection accumulates to a certain degree, "Hundred Bai Wu Jin Ji" will trigger a "Metamorphosis."

The infection remains in the shed skin, while the self becomes clean and pure again.

Xu Yuan examined the layer of skin he had shed, carefully rolled it up; this thing still has use.

Then Xu Yuan continued working, chopped enough firewood for tomorrow, tied it with hemp rope, and carried it down the mountain.

As he stepped out of Ghost Wushan, the sky was nearly dark, and Xu Yuan quickened his pace.

At the crossroads by Mao'er Tomb, the old woman was gone—he guessed she was still rummaging through the ancient tomb for texts.

Pushing open the back gate, Xu Yuan carried the firewood inside and found a sedan chair placed in the courtyard.

Qiao Master's carriage had been squeezed into the corner.

Qiao Master was the inn's owner, a literary cultivator with the juren degree.

"The character 'color' holds a blade above it" was something he had heard from Qiao Master's own mouth.

He was the most esteemed person in the entire Qihetai Village, but he rarely lived in Qihetai—instead, he resided in Shanhé County, forty li to the west.

Qiao Master only came over for three or five days at month's end to audit the accounts.

The shop names in the village were all poorly chosen: Lin Family Sugar House, Zhao's Leather Shop… but Qiao Master's inn was named Yi Fang Ting.

When anything happened in the village, the first thought was never to go to the government office, but to wait until month's end and ask Qiao Master to "settle the matter."

Over the years, Qiao Master had always handled affairs fairly, and everyone deeply respected him.

Qihetai originally had only two families: the Chen family and the Hu family.

It was Qiao Master who gradually introduced many young men from the county or surrounding villages to work in the town, and only then did the village slowly flourish.

Xu Yuan was originally from the county; his stepmother had asked someone to recommend him to Qiao Master, who then got him hired at the inn.

Erliang, who worked in the same courtyard, warned Xu Yuan: "A distinguished guest has arrived in the front courtyard—Qiao Master himself rushed all the way from the county to receive him. Don't go near the front courtyard these days; if you offend the guest, we can't bear the consequences."

"I understand," Xu Yuan replied.

Though the sedan chair was small, its decorations were luxurious and exquisite; Xu Yuan muttered to himself: Is it a woman?

(End of Chapter)