38. Soldiers' Souls Enter the City Walls

Chapter 38: Soldiers' Souls Enter the City Walls

"How did you two get here?"

Hearing the noise, Li Yan asked in a low voice without turning his head.

He had recognized Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei by their smell.

The two of them had been worried that something might happen, so they had told the troupe to continue chanting scriptures while they ran over to check on the situation.

"What is it?"

"A soldier soul..."

Lowering his voice, Li Yan gave them a rough account of what had happened.

"A soldier soul?" Wang Dao Xuan was not surprised after hearing this.

More than a decade ago, Guanzhong had suffered a severe drought. The Maitreya Sect had taken advantage of the chaos to cause trouble, and the imperial court had sent several armies to suppress them. The two sides had fought back and forth, leaving rivers of blood in their wake.

Quite a few dead soldiers had been buried on the Mass Burial Grounds.

His expression shifted between light and dark. Gritting his teeth, he said, "The sound of barking dogs can ward off evil. The Beggar Sect used a vile trick, frightening away all the Yin Souls nearby. Only this one remains."

"This is our only chance tonight. If we fail now, not only will we have trouble on the way down the mountain, but if we want to invite the gods again, we'll have to go somewhere else."

"Let it enter the city walls first. We'll see what happens!"

Li Yan did not object. Wang Dao Xuan had always been cautious. Since he dared to take the risk, he clearly had a follow-up plan.

Once they had made up their minds, the three of them began retreating.

Wang Dao Xuan and Sha LiFei ran back first to make preparations.

Li Yan stayed behind, using the scent of a living person to lure it over.

In the darkness, the battered corpse staggered crookedly, "crookedly" making its way forward. From time to time, it tripped over dead branches on the ground, looking utterly eerie.

The ritual altar was barely a thousand meters away, yet Li Yan's brows furrowed more and more deeply.

The reason was simple.

He could smell the surrounding Yin Energy being drawn in as the corpse walked. Combined with the Killing Intent originally carried by the soldier soul, the scent emanating from its body grew colder and colder.

Even from dozens of meters away, he could feel the cold seep through his entire body.

Li Yan silently cursed that something was wrong.

If they did not arrive in time, this thing was likely to undergo a corpse transformation!

People had Three Souls and Seven Spirits. The soul and spirit belonged to yin, while the body belonged to yang. The Three Souls were yang, the Seven Spirits were yin, and when yin and yang came together, each remained in its proper place.

After death, yin and yang separated. The Seven Spirits dispersed first, followed by the Three Souls.

After leaving the body, the soul would first become an intermediate yin body. If an accident occurred before it entered the underworld, it would turn into a Yin Soul and become one of the Lonely Souls and Wild Ghosts.

The Seven Spirits, belonging to yin, remained in the earth. If they did not disperse after death and instead lingered within the body, they would absorb the Yin Energy from the earth's veins. The corpse would then remain undecayed and begin causing trouble.

The beggar's Seven Spirits had not yet dispersed when the soldier soul seized his body. Resurrection and a return to life were impossible. It could only transform into a zombie.

With that thought, Li Yan quickened his pace.

Fortunately, the corpse behind him sped up as well.

At last, just as the corpse let out its first howl, they reached the open ground before the "Old Yin Coffin," where the Yin Energy had gathered into a palpable force.

A fire burned there, consuming ingots of paper money.

By the wavering yellow light, everyone could see the corpse following behind Li Yan. Its face was blue-gray and cold as ice, black blood flowed from its seven orifices, and its body was stiff as it walked on tiptoe.

The sight was truly bizarre.

Even though Wang Dao Xuan had warned them beforehand, the people of the Spring Breeze Troupe still turned deathly pale with fright. Fortunately, no one dared to run. They remained kneeling where they were, holding Three Incense Sticks and silently reciting the Inviting the Gods Incantation.

The corpse finally began to change.

"Its" attention shifted away from Li Yan. It raised its head and looked toward the ritual altar, walking forward on tiptoe before turning in circles on the spot, as if it could not find the way.

Even Yin Souls and Fierce Ghosts had their own preferences.

Some preferred blood and food, chasing after the scent of the living. Others preferred incense and offerings.

Only those that enjoyed offerings of incense could be worshiped as Yin Gods.

There was a way!

Wang Dao Xuan's eyes lit up. He immediately began walking the firm-step pattern, left the ritual altar, spun around in midair, and, upon landing, smoothly extended his right foot.

Shhk!

A mark appeared on the ground, running through the three city walls formed by incense ash. It looked as though a city gate had been opened to welcome honored guests.

Whoosh~

In an instant, Yin Wind howled all around them.

Li Yan could smell a cold, bloody stench surging out of the beggar's corpse. The corpse fell to the ground along with it.

The scent swirled forward, rushing toward the ritual altar.

Although the others could not see it, they inexplicably felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand on end. The surrounding temperature dropped several degrees further.

Then they witnessed a wondrous sight.

As the Yin Wind swept past, the paper ash and dying embers in the brazier whirled rapidly, like a tornado. They passed through the incense-ash city walls along the opening that had been made.

Only when they neared the ritual altar did they suddenly dissipate.

Li Yan could also smell the cold, bloody stench. It followed the ritual altar and burrowed directly into the statue, beginning to feed on the scent of incense burning upon the altar.

He hurriedly waved his hand to signal them. Wang Dao Xuan reacted even faster, taking out the incense-ash and white plaster he had prepared beforehand and sealing the opening at the statue's base.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

The statue trembled several times on the square table before becoming still again.

"It's here!"

Wang Dao Xuan lifted the statue and shouted.

The people of the Spring Breeze Troupe had been ready for this as well. They shouted in unison, "Catch it!"

Troupe Leader Zhou, meanwhile, had slung the wooden chest containing the statue onto his back. When he opened it, there was a small shrine inside.

Wang Dao Xuan placed the statue inside, shut the chest tightly, and covered it with red cloth. He then waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave at once.

Sha LiFei hurried forward to help him pack up the incense burner, water altar, Soul Calming Bell, and other ritual implements. He extinguished the brazier, ignored the hastily made square table, and turned to leave.

These ritual implements had been worshiped before the Ancestor Altar for years, refined by the power of incense.

Though they were made of ordinary materials and far inferior to Li Yan's Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin, Wang Dao Xuan had spent a great deal of effort on them. Naturally, they could not simply be abandoned.

The path down the mountain was even more difficult. Everyone stumbled along, and not one of them dared to look back.

Troupe Leader Zhou had it especially hard with the chest on his back, yet he was exceedingly careful, terrified that one fall would shatter the statue.

Fortunately, he had practiced martial arts and had a steady stance, so nothing went wrong.

As for Li Yan, he walked at the very rear of the group.

Wang Dao Xuan had instructed him that if he smelled anything coming to harass them, he absolutely must not turn around. He was to activate the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin and frighten it away.

Strangely, however, nothing unusual happened behind them all the way down the mountain.

Everyone in the Spring Breeze Troupe finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.

That night had put them through the wringer.

Sha LiFei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and joked, "Daoist, you were being far too cautious. See? Nothing happened at all."

"What do you know?"

Wang Dao Xuan turned to stare up at the mountain, his face filled with doubt.

Li Yan also spoke up. "Don't worry, Daoist. Those beggars scared away all the Lonely Souls and Wild Ghosts nearby with their dogs. Even if some come to harass us, we can deal with them."

"It's not the Lonely Souls and Wild Ghosts I'm worried about..."

Wang Dao Xuan slowly shook his head and said in a low voice, "Wherever Innate Firm Qi and Killing Intent gather in the mountains and waters, there may well be a mountain deity or River Earl. These Yin Souls and Yin Soldiers are restrained by them and therefore do not run wild. They are essentially the troops under their command."

"We invited a god, which is more or less like abducting one of their subordinates. Naturally, they would try to stop us, especially when it comes to a soldier soul like this."

"This Mass Burial Grounds has been around for quite some time. It would be strange if no mountain deity ruled over it..."

Sha LiFei scratched his head. "In any case, the Yin God has already been invited. Why think so much? Let's hurry on. Once we get back to Xianyang, we can have a bowl of hot mutton soup to drive away the cold."

"True enough. Listening to you has made me hungry too."

"Daoist Wang, this meal is on me!"

"Since you've invited a Yin God, hurry back. Remember, the incense must not be allowed to go out each morning and evening. On the first and fifteenth days of every month, you must also make offerings..."

"Don't worry, Daoist. We've got it all down..."

Everyone rallied their spirits and continued on their way, quickly disappearing into the night.

What they did not know was that, not long after they descended the mountain, blazing torches flared to life in the dense forest. A crowd of beggars escorted Beggar Leader Mountain Lord over.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, the fat Mountain Lord reached out and touched it, then immediately drew his hand back. His face darkened as he said, "Burn this corpse. Otherwise, there'll be no peace on the mountain from now on."

"Mountain Lord, four or five of our best men are dead."

"They certainly ran fast..."

Several beggars nearby glared fiercely at the foot of the mountain.

Beggar Leader Mountain Lord, however, had already calmed down. He rubbed his greasy belly and said, "I thought they were all just fakes with no real skill. I let my guard down."

"Send a message to the Iron Saber Gang. Their information was inaccurate. These lives are all going on their account. If they don't find those people for me, this matter isn't over!"

"Also, have people keep an eye on that group. Don't provoke them recklessly. When the opportunity comes, give them a good lesson!"

"Yes, Mountain Lord!"

There were truly quite a few mutton soup shops in Xianyang.

To establish a foothold there, a shop needed more than a couple of tricks, or it would have to close within days.

Past the Old Street of the Wei Family, beyond the Horse King Temple, there was one such mutton soup shop. It was called the Old Shop of the Wu Family. Passed down through several generations, it had weathered wind and rain for more than a century.

Their large soup pot never went cold.

Every day at closing, they left the fire burning beneath it. The next day, they added fresh lamb spine bones and continued boiling. The soup was milky white and richly flavored, making it especially famous.

What people praised even more was that the old shop never forgot its roots.

Some old shops gained a little fame and immediately hurried to renovate, making themselves tall, grand, and luxurious so they could fleece wealthy officials and nobles.

The Old Shop of the Wu Family, however, remained a large, open storefront. Several huge pots squatted outside, their boiling mutton soup roiling, while rows of long tables and benches stretched from inside the shop to the street.

Most importantly, the price had remained unchanged for decades, and the food was prepared cleanly.

That was why people could always be found squatting there and drinking mutton soup.

Wang Dao Xuan and the other two had already drunk three bowls each and eaten four or five pieces of guokui. Only when sweat broke out on their foreheads did they set down their bowls, feeling as if their souls had returned to their bodies.

It was already early morning, and more pedestrians were appearing in the streets.

Watching the common people, mules, and carts passing by, Sha LiFei felt that everything they had experienced the previous night had been like a dream. He sighed, "Damn it, I'm starting to regret this."

"Daoist, are all our future jobs going to be this life-threatening?"

"Not at all."

Wang Dao Xuan smiled. "Given the circumstances last night, even ordinary sorcerers would not have dared accept the job. Since we pulled it off, word will spread soon."

"From now on, we'll take on some safer work. You'll only need to run errands."

"That's good. You're sure?"

"Of course."

"Why does that sound a little unreliable..."

While the two were bantering, a man approached from the distance.

The man was short and stocky, wearing a black jacket and a square cap. His pair of dead-fish eyes made him look listless.

When he reached the three of them, he smacked his lips.

"Which one of you is Li Yan?"

Li Yan set down his bowl and glanced sideways at him. "I am."

The dead-fish-eyed man looked him up and down before sneering. "You little brat. You've barely entered the martial world, yet you're already risking your life with people. Isn't that a joke?"

"You want to fight in the Life and Death Arena? Do you know the rules?"