Chapter 124: with translation of chapter title

Once the things in Zhu Pan River see the light of day again, disaster will befall the entire Wufu Town; no one can remain untouched in this turmoil—not the Dou family, not Dang Pu, and certainly not Seventh Lord.

Dou Zhile said solemnly: "Even after the yin soldiers form their ranks, the first to suffer will likely be Dang Pu."

I nodded, fully agreeing with Dou Zhile's statement.

The Wufu Town Pawnshop is a pixiu that only takes in and never lets out, swallowing yin evil and malign things; it appears to be the safest place in Wufu Town but is actually the most dangerous.

The filthy things inside Dang Pu are always waiting for an opportunity.

"By the time the outside hasn't even started fighting, Dang Pu's interior may already have its formation array shattered, with hundreds of ghosts running rampant; even if Seventh Lord possesses a thousand years of merit, he could still be completely devoured." Dou Zhile said, "Although the Soul-Banner may not be of much use against the yin soldier troops, it can help suppress these resentful spirits inside Dang Pu; as long as Dang Pu's formation array isn't broken, Wufu Town will not fall into chaos."

I unconsciously clenched my fists; it seems I must definitely go find that Soul-Banner.

Thinking this through, I asked, "Elder Dou, if I'm going to look for someone, where should I go?"

"Huicheng," Dou Zhile said. "The last time I corresponded with my martial aunt, she was in Huicheng, but that was over thirty years ago, and after that we lost contact."

Huicheng?

Why is it Huicheng again?

Dou Zhile gave me a detailed address; I returned to Dang Pu and immediately called Tang Tang, asking the Tang family to help me search in Huicheng.

The next evening, Tang Tang video-called me: "Junior martial sister, I have one good piece of news and two bad ones; which would you like to hear first?"

I replied, "Let's hear the good news first."

"The good news is that we've found Yu Chengfeng's residence," Tang Tang said. "More than fifty years ago, Yu Chengfeng was also a prominent figure in the yin-yang and feng shui field; even my aunt knows of her."

"Over thirty years ago, she came to Huicheng to settle, bought a residence in the Wangting Mountain area, and lived there with her closed-door female disciple, but she soon passed away."

This is one good and one bad piece of news, roughly as I imagined.

I asked, "What's the other bad news?"

"Ten years ago, Yu Chengfeng's closed-door female disciple was also brutally killed," Tang Tang said with difficulty. "The disciple left behind an orphan girl who had her eyes gouged out; her whereabouts remain unknown, and we don't know if she's alive or dead."

"Whereabouts unknown, life or death uncertain… that's the most painful answer."

Unable to find her and unable to let go, it is destined to be a lifelong concern.

An orphan girl with her eyes gouged out, hiding here and there—how hard her life must have been over these ten years!

Is she still alive?

In terms of seniority, she counts as my senior martial sister.

"Senior sister…" that's a subtle title that makes me want to feel close.

If she is still alive, and one day we can meet, I will surely treat her twice as kindly.

I adjusted my emotions and continued asking, "Senior sister, can you find out who gouged out my senior martial sister's eyes?"

"She's your senior sister?" Tang Tang became more solemn. "This matter is still under investigation; based on the information we currently have, it is inseparable from Wangting Mountain, including her mother's death as well."

Tang Tang paused, as if recalling something, and said: "Oh, right—last night when I spoke with my aunt on the phone, she speculated that the disaster befalling the Yu family is likely related to a Soul-Banner."

Therefore, when Yu Chengfeng passed away back then, she likely left that Soul-Banner to her closed-door female disciple.

Ten years ago, that Soul-Banner attracted the attention of the Wangting Mountain side, bringing upon her a fatal disaster.

So, whether that Soul-Banner is currently in my senior sister's hands or at Wangting Mountain remains unknown.

"Senior sister, please trouble the Tang family to keep paying more attention to news about my senior sister and the Soul-Banner; I beg you." I said sincerely.

"Why be polite with me? Even if you don't say anything, we'll keep investigating for you." Tang Tang said, "By the way, aunt asked me to ask you: lately Wufu Town seems unsettled; would you like her to send some people over to help?"

I shook my head: "Thank you for aunt's kindness, but not needed for now."

I've already caused enough trouble for the Tang family; this matter involves too much, and I don't want to drag the Tang family into it again.

·

Over the next few days, our nerves remained taut.

The Huang and Bai families, however, showed no movement.

Four nights later, in my sleep I was suffocated awake; upon opening my eyes, I met a pair of dark green cat pupils.

I turned on the light and indeed saw the black cat lying on my chest; seeing me wake up, it meowed at me, as if it had something to say.

But I don't understand cat language.

The black cat, seeing me ignore it, paced back and forth on my body, looking restless.

At that moment, I heard a muffled thunder outside, as if rain were coming.

Before a thunderstorm, the room ought to feel somewhat stuffy, but only now did I belatedly notice that my room's temperature was extremely low, and outside the corridor there seemed to be Yīnfēng howling.

What's happening?

I threw off the blankets, got out of bed, and as soon as I opened the door, the Yīnfēng hit my face like a knife, pouring straight into my room.

The black cat darted out of my room with a swoosh and ran toward the back.

I didn't have time to throw on an outer garment; I lifted my leg and gave chase.

In the front courtyard, the old locust tree, under the ravaging Yīnfēng, kept swaying its branches, resembling a frenzied dance of demons in the darkness.

What frightened me even more was that the well beneath the old locust tree was now making a gurgling sound, like water boiling in a pot, or like a drowning person continually sinking and rising…

Tonight, all the anomalous phenomena in Dang Pu came too suddenly; I dare not investigate recklessly, so I can only keep chasing the black cat toward the back.

Upon entering the main courtyard, I only then saw overhead clouds rolling thick and low, with a sense that they might press down at any moment and bury me alive.

The main courtyard's gate stood open, and Li Qingying seemed to have just risen, standing at the threshold looking westward.

I wondered, what was she looking at?

The door of the western room was locked; I had fiddled with that bronze old lock more than once, yet never managed to open it.

Moreover, the room's windows were sealed shut, making it impossible to see inside.

Later, Liu Junyan opened the door of the east wing; we consummated our marriage inside, and only then did I get to see the full layout of the east wing.

After that, I became less curious about the west wing, thinking it probably had a similar layout to the east wing.

The black cat jumped onto the threshold and also ran toward the west wing direction.

I walked over a few steps, Li Qingying heard the footsteps, turned her head to look at me: "Xiao Jiu, you're up too?"

I gave an affirmative hum, already standing beside her, turned my head to look west.

At that glance, I actually saw an unexpected familiar silhouette: "Liu Junyan… how did you come out?"

Isn't he in seclusion inside the black coffin?

It's not yet time for him to leave seclusion, right?

At this moment, he was standing in front of the west house's door; the bronze old lock on the door had already been opened and had fallen to the ground.

His right hand pressed against the west house's door; beneath his palm, large swaths of black qi were dispelled, as if myriad wild beasts and demons were about to burst forth from within……