[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-cursed-blade-s-walk":3,"chapter-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-5":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Cursed Blade's Walk",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2262310,4415,"Chapter 5: Midnight Knocking at the Door","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-5",5,"\u003Cp>The cuisine of Guanzhong has a long and storied history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the capital for generations, chefs from all directions gathered in Chang’an, bringing delicacies from across the Nine Provinces—vast in variety and refined in preparation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staple foods included not only tangbing and hubing, but also qingjing rice from the south, made by soaking rice in juice pressed from ‘nanzhu,’ steamed and dried nine times, resulting in grains small, dark as jet beads, strengthening sinews and brightening complexion, turning white with prolonged use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was tuanyou rice with over a dozen ingredients, qingfeng rice to cool the body in summer, yujing rice served with steamed lotus root, not to mention huaiye noodles chilled in brine and yingtao biluo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All manner of livestock—pigs, sheep, cattle, horses—were prepared in countless ways. Though the capital has since moved north, these traditions have not been broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan had been a glutton in his past life, and his culinary skills were naturally excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the weather turning hot, some dishes were unsuitable for preparation, and without an ice cellar, a whole fat pig had to be handled primarily for preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Guanzhong smoked meat was best made in the dead of winter; making it now risked maggots and rot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Li Yan clearly had his own methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pig fat was rendered—part used for stir-frying, the rest used to oil-seal large chunks of belly meat, ensuring long-term storage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest was turned into bazi meat, braised meat, and deep-fried meatballs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, a large bowl of premium meat sauce was indispensable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scent filled the courtyard, drawing the village’s stray dogs to pace endlessly outside the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go away!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan laughed and scolded: “When Blind Old San came into the village, not one of you dared bark—you’re all spineless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet despite his words, he was puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These village dogs, even if a wolf pack came, would still charge—so why did “Blind Old San” slip right in?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad, the matter was past, and no one knew the reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon they ate meat-sauce noodles; at night, rice porridge with steamed buns and pork-fat stir-fry—the two of them ate until their bellies were full, squatting on the threshold, breathing the cool night air, all worries gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Village life was peaceful, yet dull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When night fell, aside from a few men still wrestling with their wives in bed, the rest of the villagers had long since extinguished their lamps and gone to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The busy farming season had arrived; they must rise early tomorrow to work the fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the entire village fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the main room of Wang’s widow’s house, the candlelight was dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a small altar table sat offerings in abundance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before it, on the open floor, over a dozen red wooden sticks were planted and bound together with red cords, forming a circle within which lay a little girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl was only four years old; unlike Wang’s widow, who was disheveled and grimy, she wore clean clothes and, having never seen sunlight, appeared pale and delicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The child now seemed trapped in a nightmare, curled up, face flushed, eyes tightly shut, eyelids trembling, her forehead slick with sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was her daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her, Wang’s widow knelt on the ground, face pale, watching her daughter anxiously, glancing frequently toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if sensing something, she held three incense sticks above her head, bowing repeatedly, murmuring incessantly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third Aunt protect, Third Aunt protect…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the side room, Li Yan suddenly opened his eyes while asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat up sharply, puzzled, touching his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingers met icy coldness, yet the surrounding air felt hot—as if touching ice on a scorching summer day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was happening?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan’s eyes flickered with uncertainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had trained in martial arts for years; though age and lack of combat experience prevented him from breaking through to Anjin, his awareness and control of his body far surpassed ordinary men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any anomaly was detected instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sensation was familiar—it had appeared once before, after he killed the evil wolf “Blind Old San.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it vanished quickly, leading him to believe it was merely an illusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why had it returned, and so distinctly now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the beast have carried some contagion that infected him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan did not panic, but tried using his substitute spirit statue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His treasure could instantly replace any physical wound—whether from poison, blade, or disease—and as long as his three life flames remained unextinguished, he was nearly immortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something strange occurred:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The statue did not activate!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His back remained icy cold—and grew colder still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strange. Was this a psychological issue?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, a sound came from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if something were tapping against wooden planks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though faint, in the silent night, it was unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan’s sword-like brows tightened; he rose swiftly, pulled on his trousers, took down the Guanshan blade from the wall, and slowly pushed the door open a crack to peer out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His movements were silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Guanzhong, village life was peaceful and plain, yet not without danger—wolves were merely one threat; far worse were bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Li Village Head, the sole landlord of Li Family Village, had little wealth to spare, there might still be desperate fools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And some lowlife gangsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father had told him that the Jianghu was full of all manner of trades—some honest merchants, but far more deceitful schemes. For instance, the Eight Gates, divided into Bright Eight and Dark Eight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bright Eight were Jin, Pi, Cai, Gua, Ping, Tuan, Diao, Liu; the Dark Eight were Feng, Ma, Yan, Que, Hua, Lan, Ge, Rong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Bright Eight were fortune-tellers, physiognomists, and fengshui masters—some truly skilled, but most were half-baked, scraping by on street-corner tricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “Ma” lineage of the Dark Eight consisted of lone con artists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some disguised themselves as Daoists or monks; the capable ones targeted wealthy households, the incompetent ones wandered into villages to deceive common folk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They smeared eel blood on your door, causing bats to crash into it at night, creating the illusion of ghostly knocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They ground saltpeter and sulfur into powder, hid it in peach paper, and replaced your candle wick, making the flame flicker unnaturally—creating the illusion of ghostly candle-blowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, they terrified you half to death, then appeared as holy sages to extort money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All manner of Jianghu tricks were bizarre and varied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But trying them on him? That was like an old man eating arsenic—he’d be asking for death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan smiled inwardly, peering out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the moonlight was dim; the courtyard held nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he hesitated, the sound came again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time it was clear—it came from outside the courtyard gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Faint, perhaps a rat or cat?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, Li Yan dared not lower his guard; his eyes narrowed, his Dragon Eyes gleaming coldly, he slowly drew his blade and crept toward the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His blade was razor-sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were a thief or bandit, he could pierce right through the wooden door!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as he neared the gate, his expression changed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sensed nothing outside—yet he smelled a foul, putrid stench: bloody and icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smell was familiar—it was “Blind Old San!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t the beast dead?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan felt a chill crawl through his bones, his skin prickling with gooseflesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could not be certain—he focused again. There was nothing there, yet the stench was stronger than before, thick with malice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ghost?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he saw now exceeded his understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he’d sensed something odd about “Blind Old San,” it was still flesh and blood—he’d cut it down with a white blade and drawn red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, what should he do?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why would even an animal return as a vengeful spirit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound came again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan froze, looked upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time it was clearer—it came from above the courtyard gate, and by position, directly from his grandfather’s plaque: “One Hundred Battles, Mighty and Fierce.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he smelled another scent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Metal and wood, with a faint trace of incense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a strange sensation—metal and wood had no smell, yet the moment he sensed it, his mind immediately labeled it as such.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stench from “Blind Old San” carried a chilling cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the plaque’s scent carried an inexplicable heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two scents collided again, producing another sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t realized that the plaque in his own home was also a treasure—normally unremarkable, only activated when something dark and evil approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And his strange sense of smell, capable of detecting unusual odors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could now be certain: it had nothing to do with the substitute spirit statue, but came from his previous life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly was going on?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweat broke out on Li Yan’s palms. Faced with this unknown, eerie phenomenon, he felt helpless for the first time—his life no longer his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if sensing his presence, the foul stench of “Blind Old San” outside the door grew stronger, and the frequency of its collisions with the plaque increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud! Thud! Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sounds were faint, barely noticeable in the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to Li Yan, they sounded like drums of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood motionless, thinking of his grandfather sleeping inside, daring not to retreat, much less open the door. The sharp Guanshan knife in his hand gave him no sense of security—he could only hope the plaque inscribed “Hundred Battles, Mighty and Majestic” would hold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thudding sounds continued without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan felt the chill behind him growing colder, as if a block of ice had been placed there, radiating frost. At the same time, the venomous gaze Blind Old San had cast at his death kept echoing in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A curse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan suspected as much, but could not be certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, he sensed that as the two forces clashed, both scents were weakening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unconsciously, an hour passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, after the last collision, the stench of “Blind Old San” outside the door slowly faded, vanishing without a trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Woof! Woof! Woof!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the night, barks of dogs rang out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silent, chilling atmosphere was shattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan exhaled in relief, though his expression remained grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chill behind his back had not yet dissipated…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>New book, seeking collection and support\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1713,"2026-06-19T18:28:32.159Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bbd1f1f8e63609ea519b822f2dd0b9be0e080dcd6042ef7a995ff317a8202814","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-6","the-cursed-blade-s-walk-chapter-4",801,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-cursed-blade-s-walk-cover.jpg"]