Chapter 219: Mobilizing Troops, the Initiation Ritual

The Yinhe Ancient Road is shrouded in perpetual darkness, and the winds that blow for days are not the common east, south, west, or north winds of the mortal world, but a chilling, eerie gale.

Ordinary mortals, with their flesh and bone, if they accidentally stray into the Yinhe, need not even encounter man-eating ghosts or monsters—merely staying here for a moment will freeze their bones and blood, leaving no chance of survival.

Over time, this desolate land has become a breeding ground for ghosts, demons, and monsters.

Xu Qing greatly favored this place; every time he came here, he felt as if he had returned home, and the ghosts here were also quite reasonable, their neighbors warm and accommodating.

Xu Qing never doubted this.

"The Yinhe winds erode the bones; now that the bandit chief has been executed, my lord, please return swiftly to the Yang world to avoid misfortune here."

"He is a demon, but I am the one who holds the official seal!"

"General, demon priests are masters of deception; such monks and Taoists take no civil exams, hold no official titles—do not be fooled by them."

Xu Qing looked at the bearded general before him, puzzled.

He had not killed Li Heyi before the Eight Banner Marshal arrived, precisely to see whether this dead general's wisdom matched his living self.

He had encountered the Eight Banner Marshal before; when escorting Hu Baosong's funeral, his paper effigy procession had met the marshal leading a cavalry unit chasing the remnants of the Yin-Eating Dharma King.

At that time, Xu Qing had merely spoken one sentence to send the marshal on his way.

Since then, Xu Qing had always felt the Eight Banner Marshal seemed rather dim-witted.

Only later, when Xu Qing guided the Fragrant Concubine's soul, did he see the former dynasty's ghost official Yu Qian, easily manipulated by the Fragrant Concubine's taunts, thus offending the current Son of Heaven and having his supporting Bixi statue smashed to pieces.

At that moment, Xu Qing understood one thing—ghosts who lingered after death, refusing to dissipate, had little consciousness left. Even if some remained, they were mostly bound by their earthly obsessions; that is, the moment such a ghost regained the wisdom of its living self, its obsession would vanish, and it would soon return to the Underworld.

Indeed, upon hearing Xu Qing's words, the bearded general astride his iron steed immediately roared: "You heretic Taoist! How dare a monk have official titles? You stole the imperial seal—your crime is unforgivable, yet you dare turn the accusation around!"

"My lord, hand this evil villain over to our unit—we shall devour his flesh and blood to avenge our hatred!"

"That won't do," Xu Qing said sternly. "The state has state law, the family has family rules. This man is guilty—he shall be judged by the living officials. You are yin soldiers; you must guard your own domain. Do not meddle in yang affairs, or disaster will come upon you."

The Eight Banner Marshal seemed to truly listen; he bowed apologetically: "The Yinhe is barren. Aside from catching a few minor ghosts to eat, my soldiers have no wine or meat to feast upon—it embarrasses me before my lord."

Xu Qing looked at the hundred cavalrymen before him: each soldier on horseback bore a sharp blade at his waist, each warhorse was plump and strong, weapons and armor fully equipped; merely standing in formation, they radiated an aura of invincibility.

Yet when Xu Qing activated his Qi-Sight technique and looked again, he saw only skeletons riding spectral bone steeds; the yin wind blew through, and the swirling dust passed right through the hollow gaps in the horses' bones, drifting far away.

Had it not been for the eerie ghostly flames flickering in their eye sockets and chests, these soldiers would have been nothing but rotting bones from a mass grave, the dead souls of an ancient battlefield!

"That sounds as if our dynasty is heartless, forgetting the merits of past heroes," Xu Qing sighed, striking the Taoist to knock him unconscious, then took out a bundle of spirit incense and a jar of red sorghum wine. "You all died on the battlefield, giving your all in service. Though the Ministry of Ancestral Rites never came to honor you, since I have seen you, I cannot let you feel neglected."

Xu Qing could not bear to see wandering souls; if these soldiers had no one to offer rites, what difference would they have from lonely ghosts?

"Thank you, my lord, for supplying provisions. May I ask your name?"

"Hmm," Xu Qing paused, then smiled. "I am Xu Xuan, a newly minted Licentiate of Jinmen Prefecture."

Newly minted, yet still new.

"Newly minted Licentiate," the Eight Banner Marshal's hollow eyes flickered with ghostly flame: "The Yinhe knows no years. My lord, do you know what reign title is current? Is the present Son of Heaven still alive?"

Xu Qing lit the spirit incense and stuck it into the riverbed. "The realm is no longer ruled by Emperor Tianzhi, but by his eleventh-generation descendant, Emperor Jingxing."

"The marshal has been here in the Yinhe for centuries!"

"Centuries," the Eight Banner Marshal murmured, then suddenly remembered something and turned sharply. "A Shi, bring a paper lantern!"

A young soldier dismounted and handed forward a pale green ghost lantern.

The Eight Banner Marshal took the lantern, shook his large hand gently, and the flickering ghost flame inside was extinguished.

"This guiding lantern of the netherworld I bestow upon you. Should you ever return to the Yinhe and need aid, light this lantern—I shall lead my troops to your aid."

This was far too courteous!

"General, you are a man of true character!" Xu Qing took the lantern, his expression strangely uneasy.

He felt almost ashamed.

Even this ghostly army still maintained strict discipline, orders obeyed without question.

While the Eight Banner Marshal conversed with Xu Qing, none of the soldiers dared touch the incense, candles, or wine. Only when the marshal regained his composure and ordered his troops to eat did the soldiers and horses, as if starved for centuries, greedily scramble for the offerings.

Xu Qing watched the soldiers gulp down wine, the liquid sliding down their ribs, dripping onto the ground, seeping into the dry riverbed—he found it bizarre.

Could they even taste the wine, drinking like this?

Just as the incense burned out, the Eight Banner Marshal mounted his tall steed. The soldiers who had been feasting instantly fell into formation, as if receiving a silent command, now standing in perfect, disciplined array.

"Master Xu, I must pursue the remnants of the Yin-Eating Dharma King. I cannot linger longer. We shall meet again!"

"May the general have a safe journey!"

The command to rein in the horses rang out; the bearded, broad-faced general wheeled his steed, pointing deep into the Yinhe.

On the desolate Yinhe Ancient Road, a hundred armored cavalrymen thundered across the yellow earth, kicking up a storm of dust.

Only when the dust vanished in the distance did Xu Qing lower his gaze.

These soldiers truly came and went like the wind!

With no one left to disturb him, Xu Qing brought Li Heyi to a desolate tomb.

Xu Qing might not know other parts of the Yinhe Ancient Road well, but he knew the territory of his neighbor, the Ghost King Duo'e, intimately!

After all, Duo'e's daughter, Princess Yan Ning, was the very ghost he had personally guided to peace. Not only was he familiar with the outer perimeter of Duo'e's tomb, he even knew exactly which coffin the Ghost King lay in!

Inside the tomb piled high with gunpowder, Li Heyi, stirred by the scent of realgar, suddenly revived.

"You cannot kill me! I am a Transmission Master of the Celestial Masters' Sect! If I die, the Sect will investigate to the very end!"

Li Heyi's voice grew fainter; he suddenly remembered—the Celestial Masters' Sect's spiritual child, the future heir to the throne of the Sect, Xu Qing had dared to kill. Was his own life as a Transmission Master more precious than Lingyangzi's?

"I have offended you, sir. I beg you to show mercy. I will reveal all the Celestial Masters' Sect's secrets to you. Here is the Cloud-Climbing Talisman—please accept it."

Xu Qing looked at the Taoist who had gone from arrogant to obsequious, and couldn't help but find it amusing.

A half-century-old old man calling a twenty-something youth "senior"—he had no shame at all.

"Won't the senior be interested in the Celestial Masters' Sect's secrets?"

Xu Qing shook his head.

"I don't need you to tell me. The dead will tell me everything."

A crisp sound of snapping neck bones rang out; Daoist He Yi's eyes bulged wide, and in the moment before his pupils dilated, he finally saw Xu Qing remove his mask, yet it was as if viewing through a foggy mirror, impossible to see clearly no matter how hard he tried.

There was nothing noteworthy in Daoist He Yi's life; the only thing that sparked some interest in Xu Qing was an incident that occurred when this Daoist was a child.

That was fifty years ago, when Li Heyi was still a seven or eight-year-old child.

Li Heyi had a father and a mother, a home and fields; his father was a peddler who wandered the streets and alleys selling goods, while his mother enjoyed burning incense and worshipping Buddha in her daily life, occasionally doing needlework to supplement the household income. In the twelfth lunar month of that year, heavy snow fell from the sky; Li Heyi's old father went out to sell goods but did not return by day's end, and by nightfall, the snow on the ground was deep enough to cover the upper thighs, with not a single soul visible on the road.

The Li family woman looked up waiting several times but failed to see her husband return; at this time, Li Heyi, remembering the baked cakes his father had promised to buy before leaving, kept pestering his mother, wanting to know when his dad would come back.

The Li mother doted on this child, coaxing and deceiving him by saying, "Tomorrow morning, he will surely return, and he'll buy a pair of baked cakes, plus some candy fritters for you to eat!"

The child believed it to be true, lay down in bed early, and waited to wake up and enjoy the snacks he had been longing for.

However, by sheer coincidence, a nun came that night seeking lodging; since the Li mother believed in both Buddhism and Daoism, her home was filled with tablets dedicated to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, True Immortals, and True Lords; now, because of the heavy snow, the nun could not return to her temple or nunnery and had to knock on the door to borrow a place to stay; if the Li mother refused her request, she feared her conscience would not rest easy throughout the night.

"Snow and rain block the roads; this poor monk has nowhere to shelter; benefactor, show your compassion and grant me lodging for one night; come tomorrow, this poor monk will depart on my own."

The nun held onto the sleeve of the Li family woman's clothing, and while speaking, her gaze occasionally darted toward the street, as if hiding from something.

The Li mother peeked out and saw that it was a local hooligan lurking there.

"Oh my, you poor master; quick, quick, come inside; there is hot soup in the house; drink a few mouthfuls first to warm your body."

The nun felt grateful in her heart, and the two entered the room just like that.

Lady Li loved matters of the divine, Buddhist, and Daoist ways; now that a ready-made master from a nunnery was present, she deliberately left the lamp lit to listen to the nun recite scriptures, chant sutras, and transmit Buddhist teachings.

The Li family residence was not large; Li Heyi was in the inner room, separated from where his mother sat only by a thick cloth door curtain.

From the moment the nun entered, Li Heyi heard the commotion; he lifted his head, wiped his eyes against the window, watched hazily for a while, and seeing it was not his own father, he shrank back into his quilt and went to sleep.

Now hearing the sound of the nun chanting scriptures, Li Heyi, awakened by the noise, peeked out again to look: a bald head, plain gray Haiqing monastic robes, and a voice that spoke softly and gently, completely different from his own mother's loud voice.

Listening and listening, Li Heyi's eyelids began to fight each other; until dawn was approaching, he woke up once more.

He was awakened by the urge to urinate.

The twelfth lunar month was cold; Li Heyi, having held his urine all night, could no longer contain it, so he got up to find the chamber pot.

It was precisely upon rising that Li Heyi happened to hear the sound of the door opening at the entrance; it turned out the nun, having stayed overnight, was about to leave.

"Thank you, benefactor, for lending this poor monk clothing to ward off the cold; when the weather clears in the future, this poor monk will surely return to repay them."

"No trouble, no trouble; the road is slippery; master, please be careful."

The child paid it no mind, turned around, climbed back onto the kang bed, and continued sleeping; it was not until broad daylight, when the father who had gone out to sell goods returned, that Li Heyi scrambled up agilely and circled around his own father.

"Yesterday's snow was truly heavy! Fortunately, I found a temple; the old master there was compassionate and took me in for a night; otherwise, even if I didn't freeze to death, I would have lost half my life."

As the couple talked, Li Heyi rummaged through the cargo boxes beside them but failed to find the desired baked cakes and snacks; immediately, his little mouth turned down, and his heart felt somewhat unhappy.

The Li father paid no attention to the child's thoughts, only urging the Li mother to quickly bring dry clothes for him to change into.

The Li mother returned to the room, searched repeatedly, but could not find her husband's trousers no matter what; only then did she suddenly remember that most likely, earlier in the morning when lending the nun clothing for warmth, she had accidentally wrapped her husband's trousers into the bundle.

On this side, the Li father, having removed his wet clothes and wet trousers, was still urging, while the Li mother hesitated stammeringly, unsure how to answer.

Seeing this, the Li father pressed for an answer; before the Li mother could reply, Li Heyi cut in saying, "Yesterday a monk came to borrow lodging; Mother kept him company all night; early this morning, she even gave him clothing to ward off the cold; Father's trousers must have been worn away by that monk!"

The Li mother's face changed drastically; she hurriedly argued that it was a nun, not a monk, a woman, not a man.

Hearing this, the Li father flew into a rage, saying, "If it was a nun, why on earth would you lend my trousers for her to wear? Do you not know the principle that men and women must be kept separate?"

"In my view, you must have taken advantage of my absence to seduce a lover and committed shameful deeds behind my back!"

The Li mother forced herself to argue back, while the Li father dragged her into the inner room; Li Heyi stood outside the door, hearing only the sounds of his father beating and furiously scolding—

"A child never tells lies; what excuse do you still have to quibble with? Today, watch me teach this harlot a proper lesson!"

The two crashed and banged around in the inner room; midway through, the Li family woman, bruised and swollen, covered her face and rushed out the door; seeing this scene, Li Heyi felt he had spoken wrongly, yet he dared not enter the room to explain to his father, who was in the heat of his anger.

Outside the door, the Li family woman went from house to house seeking help from neighbors, but the neighbors all pushed it away, claiming the weather was too cold and the night too deep, pretending to know nothing.

Helpless, the Li family woman had no choice but to settle for less, asking the neighbors merely to serve as witnesses.

Li Heyi followed his own father out the door and saw men, women, old, and young standing at the entrance; the Li family woman pointed at a hooligan and said, "Liu Laizi, you speak; wasn't it you who followed that nun yesterday? I saw you at the door; you must tell the truth."

Looking at how she spoke, regardless of whether there was any truth to the matter, even if there was, could you expect a hooligan to speak well on your behalf?

If they didn't dig your grave and bury you alive, that would be considered lucky!

Sure enough, upon hearing Mistress Li's words, Liu Laizi's temper immediately flared up.

It was true that he had followed the nun yesterday, but before he could accomplish anything good, he was interrupted by the Li family woman; now you still want to blame me and ask me to speak for you?

Keep dreaming!

At that moment, Liu Laizi shouted loudly, "If you want to seduce men, just seduce them; why splash dirt on me? No matter who I might desire, it certainly wouldn't be a monk; do you take me for a catamite or a eunuch?"

Just that one sentence turned white into black; upon hearing these words, the Li family woman could not draw a breath, and she fainted on the spot.

After returning home, the Li father cursed and grumbled, saying that the Li family's face had been completely lost; at this point, Li Heyi finally understood; he stepped forward and said, "Father, Mother did nothing wrong; that monk was a woman."

"That monk was a woman"—looking at how that was phrased, even if a ghost came, they wouldn't believe it!

After hearing this, the Li father's eyes slanted and his nose twisted; the anger in his heart was immense, and immediately, a torrent of flowery curses spilled from his mouth.

That night, the Li father lay down early on the kang bed to rest, while the Li mother knelt before the Buddha statue, muttering to herself.

Finally, the Li mother walked into the inner room to look at her own child; when Li Heyi ran over to her, the Li mother opened her chapped lips and said mournfully, "Foolish child, you do not know; only bald men are called monks; bald women are nuns!"

Li Heyi made no sound; did he truly fail to distinguish between a nun and a monk? No one knows the answer to this.

Early the next morning, just as the Li father and son got out of bed and stepped out of the room, they saw that the Li mother had hung a rope and hanged herself from the roof beam in front of the Buddha statue.

Li Heyi wept loudly, while the Li father launched into another round of blame and cursing.

However, just as the Li father was preparing to hold the funeral and bury Mistress Li, a nun and an old nun arrived at the door.

The Li father recognized that old nun; was she not the old nun who had opened the door for him on the day heavy snow blocked the roads, when he went to the temple nunnery to borrow lodging!

Looking again at the young nun beside her, she was currently holding a basket of dim sum and fruits, along with a stack of clothing, inside of which was precisely his lost pair of trousers!

You could say this situation was a mess; the Li father was filled with regret; on the day of the funeral, the nun chanted scriptures at the grave to deliver the soul, while the Li father severely beat his son before Mistress Li's grave, stating that if not for his rebellious son's reckless words, matters would never have escalated to this point.

【118】 Later still, a Celestial Master Prefecture Daoist descended from the mountain to wander the world and spread teachings; passing by the Li family by chance, the Daoist held up a mirror to shine on Li Heyi, saw that his bone structure was astonishing and that he was promising material, and thus persuaded the Li father to let Li Heyi follow him back to the mountain gate to leave the household and cultivate.

Later still, a Daoist priest from the Celestial Master's Mansion descended the mountain to wander and spread the teachings; by chance, he passed by the Li family. The priest held up a mirror and gazed at Li Heyi, seeing his extraordinary bone structure and recognizing him as a promising talent. He then persuaded Li's father to let Li Heyi follow him back to the mountain gate to become a monk and cultivate.

The Li father harbored resentment toward Li Heyi; upon hearing these words, he naturally had no objection.

From then on, Li Heyi, who now had two shadows, came to the Celestial Master Residence and became the current Ordination Priest.

Xu Qing clicked his tongue in wonder, wondering whether the Celestial Master Residence had some sort of mandatory initiation ritual, because every Daoist he had performed rites for there was missing either a father or a mother.

Looking again at the Salvation Scripture reward, there was an initial explanation of an Earth-grade lower-tier formation, and an Earth-grade upper-tier Ghost-Commanding Dharma Seal.

The so-called Ghost-Commanding Dharma Seal, as the name suggests, was a binding Dharma artifact capable of commanding ghosts and spirits, summoning deities and dispatching generals.

But this seal could only imprison a single ghost for the seal master to use. Xu Qing played with it for a while, not finding it all that interesting, though his neighbor might well like it very much.

(End of chapter)