Chapter 46: Blocking the Night Path

The few villagers all appeared middle-aged, dark-skinned, short, and thin—typical of the farmers of this era. Whether it was because they found the summer heat unbearable or were truly destitute, their clothes were coarse and barely covered their bodies.

The Third Shixiong greeted them politely and welcomed them out.

"A few good believers, this is my Third Shidi; he possesses some magical arts. These are my Shidi and Xiao Shimei; they have not been cultivating for long but are extremely gifted. Since it is only some residual yin energy and wandering souls, it is no great matter. I will have my three Shidi and Xiao Shimei accompany you on this trip, hoping to resolve your village's worries."

"Many thanks, many thanks."

The villagers thanked them repeatedly and looked toward Lin Jue and the other two.

The Third Shixiong had always been fond of drinking and possessed a carefree, spirited nature, but facing them now, he was solemn. He bowed and said, "I am Li Miaolin. Since you have found us, we will certainly do our utmost."

"It is just a bit far..."

The villagers lowered their heads as they spoke, their demeanor a mix of the humility one feels before high-level practitioners and the worry that these experts might find the distance too great and refuse to go—a combination that left them looking quite awkward.

"This year's harvest is poor, and there is no yield in the village. We could not hire a cart for the True Ones, so it may take some effort on foot; we might not arrive until tomorrow night or the morning after."

"We shall treat it as sightseeing in the mountains."

The Third Shixiong said, both sleepy and serious, "Allow us a moment to pack; we will bring some things and depart."

"Good, good, good..."

The villagers nodded repeatedly, their posture humble, not daring to say more, guessing that they needed to bring some dharma implements to exorcise the demons.

However, the Third Shixiong merely washed his face and brought a wine gourd and some wild mountain fruits. Lin Jue returned to his room and walked a circle, thinking about what to bring, but found almost nothing worth taking. In the end, he picked up a firewood knife and a whistle-stick from the corner of the wall; they could be used to clear paths and chop wood, and also served as walking sticks—truly useful.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Lin Jue finally looked at the fox in the room.

Upon hearing this, the little fox merely tilted its head and stared at him, its eyes bright, seemingly unable to understand human speech.

"Then let's go."

The little fox immediately trotted over to him.

Lin Jue looked at this fox, which was gradually growing up and becoming increasingly beautiful, and couldn't help but ponder: "I should give you a name, but I don't know what to call you..."

"The ancients had a saying about naming beasts: 'the name comes from the self.' You chirp and whimper and whine all day long... hmm, forget it, let's not name it that way."

"Then there is the saying of naming based on where one comes from. You came from the mountain, so how about..."

"Tsk..."

"That's it! When I saw you, there was a mountain full of wind, as if you came from the wind. Wind also has the alias 'Fuyao.' How about I call you Fuyao for now? If your parents ever come looking for you, you can just change it back."

Fuyao is 'Fu,' coming from Fuqiu Peak; 'Fu' is 'Fu,' and it just so happens to be a fox...

Lin Jue felt this was a good name—three birds with one stone.

"Let's call you Fuyao!"

As he said this, he had already reached the outer courtyard.

Behind him, the fox raised its head and stared at him blankly.

A group of people headed down the mountain.

"I don't know what kind of monster has been causing trouble these past few years; it couldn't be that we offended the immortals in the heavens, could it? Originally, there was only one small stream flowing into the village, and every time we were busy with farming and needed water, it was just enough. A few years ago, there was a great flood that washed away many fields. Although we went hungry that day, we thought that perhaps the small stream would become a large river from then on, and the village wouldn't lack water. But unexpectedly, not only did that not happen, but the small stream dried up, and we couldn't dig water from the wells either. Without water, the crops in the fields wouldn't grow, and the harvest got worse year by year."

As the group walked down the mountain, the villager in the lead spoke.

Initially, seeing that the Daoists were quite young, with two looking only in their teens, he had felt some trepidation. However, seeing the fox following behind—foxes in this era, whether in cities or the countryside, always had various legends surrounding them—and seeing Daoists traveling with a fox, he felt it was extraordinary, and thus his heart settled somewhat.

"We can't get enough to eat, and we can't afford to see a doctor. Some of the old people in the village passed away one after another, and some of the young ones couldn't hold on either. There are fewer and fewer people, but the grave mounds are increasing."

"Since the beginning of spring this year, the two grave mounds at the head and tail of the village would always emit black energy at dusk. At night, there would be shadows flickering inside, and some people recognized them as the people who had died in the village. At first, although we were afraid, we just didn't pass by there at night. They were all people from the village; what difference does it make whether they are alive or dead? We didn't think about what would happen to them."

"But after two months, those shadows started moving closer to the village, and some black shadows would even run into the village. Some people saw ghosts in their homes, some got sick because of it, and some were even harmed. Everyone says they were people who died of illness or starvation; they suffered before they died, and after death, they were unwilling to let go, or they were just lonely and wanted to drag some people down to keep them company."

As the villager spoke, he couldn't help but look at the Daoists behind him.

Lin Jue and the little Xiao Shimei both looked at the Third Shixiong.

"Why look at me? The old Master told me to follow you down the mountain. Although he didn't say it, I know he wanted me, your Shixiong, to escort you. He originally intended for only you to go. Handle all matters as you see fit; I am too lazy to bother."

The little Xiao Shimei then looked at Lin Jue.

Lin Jue thought for a moment and asked, "Have any villagers heard those ghosts speak?"

"Almost never. Even if they have, they say yes one moment and no the next. I think most of them were scared out of their wits, or else they were just talking nonsense."

"Have you invited anyone else?"

"With our village like this, how could we afford to invite anyone? At most, the village head's eldest son has been practicing martial arts on the mountain since he was a child and has some skill. He is bold. Last month, when he returned and saw the ghost shadows coming into the village, he drew his knife and slashed at them, and they actually scattered. Then he called a few young men and rushed to the grave mounds to slash about, and they actually managed to scatter all those shadows."

"And then?"

"It was useless; they came out again the next day. The old people in the village say that ghosts fear a strong spirit, and since they have vigorous blood, a slash of the knife did indeed stir up the ghost energy, but it gathered again the next day. We heard someone say there is a Fuqiu Temple on Mount Yishan, and the True Ones of the temple are highly skilled and kind-hearted, so we asked our way here and invited the True Ones."

Lin Jue understood pretty much everything by now.

Having been on the mountain for over a month, he had also learned quite a bit about spirits and ghosts.

What was in the village was likely not a real ghost, but a residual soul.

A residual soul is inherently weak, like a candle in the wind.

A martial artist is bold and has a strong spirit; a slash of the knife can certainly stir up a residual soul. However, while a martial artist might be able to deal with monsters, they have always been powerless against yin spirits and wild ghosts, mainly because the knife cannot hit anything.

Before they knew it, they had reached the foot of the mountain.

In the distance, heat was rising, as if someone had set a fire.

But Lin Jue knew it was actually a hot spring.

Thinking of the hot spring at the foot of the mountain, he also thought of the voice that had appeared from the forest and interjected in their conversation.

Lin Jue later learned that there were many spirits in Mount Yishan that had been cultivating for many years. Under the restraint of the Mountain God, they dared not cause trouble and mostly just cultivated or lived on the mountain, and many found it very boring. They dared not easily talk to the woodcutters who came up the mountain for fear of scaring them, or because their conscience wouldn't allow it, or because they feared punishment by the Mountain God. When they met Daoists, knowing they were not ordinary people, those who were talkative loved to converse with them.

That one was likely the same.

Just as he thought of this, a voice came from the forest again.

"It's you two again?"

It was the same voice; one could tell just by listening that it wasn't human.

The villagers, who were burying their heads in their journey, were startled.

Fortunately, with the Daoists by their side, they only looked at each other and did not flee in a panic.

"Who is speaking?"

Someone couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"Senior, it is fate."

Lin Jue only bowed toward the source of the voice.

"You changed places today, and yet I encountered you again. Could it be that there really is some fate?" the voice said.

"Where are you, Senior?"

"Why bother asking where I am?"

"..."

"Since I met you and heard you, I will give you a reminder. Listening to your conversation, you should be going down the mountain to exorcise demons. Ancient books record that places where streams are cut off, where large numbers of graves, foxes, and insects gather, are places where death energy hides. The place you mentioned is likely also a place where death energy hides. If that is truly the case, it is very similar to yin energy and ghost energy, yet different. You must be very careful."

"Many thanks, Senior." Lin Jue was not afraid, but replied, "May I ask your honorable name, Senior?"

There was no sound from that side again.

After waiting for a while, no one spoke.

"..."

Lin Jue had no choice but to bow slightly, as a gesture of gratitude for the reminder.

He then continued down the mountain.

He gradually understood why it was a few middle-aged villagers who had come to invite them.

The journey was long; if they were young, they would lack experience and likely not find the way. If they were old, their bodies would be weak, and they couldn't walk so far. These middle-aged villagers were likely the ones pushed forward by the village who had both physical strength and were recognized as having some "ability," which allowed them to ask their way here.

And it was indeed as they said; it would take two days.

The second night of the descent—

When they were still a dozen miles from the village, the sky was about to turn dark. Although there was a path that bypassed the two grave mounds at the head and tail of the village, the villagers, even though they were in their prime, still felt some trepidation and frequently looked back at Lin Jue.

"Let's go, don't be afraid."

They had come specifically to exorcise these yin spirits and residual souls, so they would have to encounter them eventually. Choosing another time or delaying this day was unnecessary and might even cause them to lose their courage.

It was better to just pass through; if they encountered them, so be it.

Lin Jue had now begun to follow the Second Shixiong to learn fire-element spells. Although he hadn't fully mastered them, he had directly upgraded his Fire-Aversion Art from "medium" to "high." Now, when spitting fire, he no longer needed to absorb and store fire energy from flames, but generated it from within his own body. Not only was it much more convenient, but he would no longer exhaust his fire energy after just a few breaths.

With this skill, even if he encountered that dog monster on the road again, even if it didn't submit, Lin Jue would have much more confidence in fighting and winning.

In addition, he had also begun to cultivate Yin-Yang Spiritual Arts, so his internal spiritual power was naturally divided into yin and yang, giving him a strong natural resistance to the yin energy and harmful methods exhaled by ghosts, while the yang energy within his body restrained yin energy and ghosts.

Naturally, his heart was much more at ease.

As for what the mountain spirit said, it might be death energy, but the difference between death energy and yin energy or ghost energy wasn't that great. Plus, with the Third Shixiong by his side, there was really nothing to fear.

As they walked further, the sky turned completely dark.

A crescent moon hung on the horizon.

Where there is a moon, there is light, and where there is light, one can see the path. However, the villagers still couldn't see clearly and felt afraid, so they made two torches, lit them, and walked at the front and back of the group.

The torchlight illuminated the small country path.

There were often pine and cypress trees by the roadside, their branches and leaves places that neither torchlight nor moonlight could penetrate, pitch black. There were often grass and forests that looked like people at first glance, and many grave mounds, making it inevitable for people to feel trepidation.

Lin Jue couldn't help but look at the little Xiao Shimei beside him.

Although this little girl had begun to cultivate, she had actually only just drawn spiritual rhyme into her body; she didn't know any spells, and even exhaling the yin and yang energy from within her body was something the Shixiongs had only just taught her after dinner last night. At this moment, she was naturally somewhat afraid, but her fear didn't manifest; she only looked serious, her eyes fixed on the road surface, walking without looking aside.

Just then, a sound was suddenly heard.

"Ying-wu?"

In a night that only had the sound of footsteps and burning torches, this sound was exceptionally clear.

Yet it didn't come from the roadside, the surroundings, or anywhere else, but from among the group.

It was the little fox walking in front of Lin Jue.

Even Lin Jue was somewhat surprised.

Because this fox was truly well-behaved; except for the first few days when it couldn't find him, it never barked randomly. Later on, perhaps because it could always find Lin Jue no matter where he was, or perhaps because it had grown up a bit and become more confident, no longer as weak and helpless as before, it rarely barked.

At this moment, not only did it bark, but it also stopped and tilted its head to look ahead.

The villager holding the torch in front continued to walk forward a few steps.

It was these few steps that pushed the torchlight forward, revealing a large tree that had appeared abruptly on the road.

"This..."

The villager stopped in his tracks, his face showing fear.

This was because the large tree was growing right on the road.

How wide could a small country path be? It could only accommodate one person walking; if people came from both sides, they would have to turn sideways to let them pass. But this tree was as thick as a person and was growing right in the middle of the road. How could this be?

How could a road be built like this?

How could anyone walk like this?

Everyone looked at Lin Jue and the Third Shixiong.

"A tree growing in the middle of the road must be strange, but it hasn't done anything to us. It might be that it felt there was no one around at night and came here by chance, or it is cultivating here and didn't have time to leave. We will just bypass it."

Lin Jue thought for a moment and said.

He also lowered his head to look at the little fox that was looking back at him, nodded at it, as an affirmation.

This little thing's eyes were indeed more useful than a human's.

So the group walked from the side.

On such a small country path, there were fields and soil on the sides; since there were fields and soil, there were small paths, and they could easily bypass it.

But they hadn't walked two steps when the little fox barked again.

"Ying-wu~"

The sound was very light and soft; it was just that the night was too quiet.

The group walked forward two steps and, with the help of the torchlight, saw a giant rock on the small path ahead.

"!"

The villager walking at the very front was startled again, already feeling somewhat terrified.

Seeing this, Lin Jue hurriedly walked forward.

He lowered his head and looked—

He saw that this rock was about a zhang high and half a zhang wide, weighing who knows how many jin, yet it was placed on a small field path only a little over a chi wide, with empty space on both sides, yet it hadn't crushed the small path.

It was clearly abnormal.

And he also understood that the little fox's eyes were likely not just more useful than theirs, but that there was indeed something strange.

Naturally, the Shixiongs on the mountain had already reached this conclusion long ago. ===== CHAPTER 47 =====