The City Mourned in Sackcloth

At sunset, the cow's tail swatted flies.

The cowherd boy, his face streaked with dried snot and his clothes in tatters, rode atop the ox and stared blankly as a mighty escort convoy passed along the road below the slope.

"Daoist master, we've reached Jiming Village!"

The convoy finally stopped in a village. Luo Feibai was the first to come before Mo Chuan's carriage and said respectfully.

He showed not the slightest disrespect because Mo Chuan did not have long to live.

The heavy carriage curtain was lifted. Squinting, Mo Chuan poked his head out and slowly stepped down with great difficulty.

Luo Feibai hurriedly planted one foot on the carriage shaft and helped Mo Chuan down.

"Much obliged."

"You are too courteous, Daoist master!"

Luo Feibai respectfully helped Mo Chuan down from the carriage, then handed him over to a steady young man for support while he busied himself arranging lodging and meals.

Supported by the young man, Mo Chuan walked slowly, mockingly thinking that this counted as experiencing old age ahead of time.

Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen's body was worsening by the day.

Trapped within this shell, he was like a fish in a pond or a bird in a cage, every step a struggle.

He did not even dare to leave his body as a soul.

For he had a feeling that the instant he slipped out of this shell, this body would drop dead within minutes.

To put it bluntly, this shell was only drawing breath because his soul was holding it together.

As it happened, incense offerings at Fu Luan Temple had flourished these past few days. Fed by the Sacrificial Dao Furnace, his soul had grown increasingly robust.

Otherwise, how could he have supported Old Daoist Priest Yanzhen's body all the way here?

Making it to Yunji Temple should not be a problem. If Yunji Temple cannot discover it, perhaps I can use this chance to glimpse Yunji Temple's Daoist arts.

Mo Chuan pondered inwardly. Even the weariness of the journey seemed to scatter, leaving him with the feeling of quenching his thirst by gazing at plums.

After dinner, an escort runner knocked and entered.

"Daoist master, a woman from a nearby town has a child who was frightened and lost his soul. She's had every old hag and busybody take a look, but he hasn't improved. She heard you were with the escort convoy and wishes to ask you to examine him."

"A lost soul? I'll go take a look." Mo Chuan readily agreed.

"Excellent, Daoist master. I'll support you."

The escort runner was overjoyed and hurried over to help him.

When escort convoys traveled, they valued harmony above all else. Whether it was people from the three teachings and nine streams, the righteous path or the underworld, they sought to forge good ties everywhere.

As the saying went, even a hitching post could trip someone's legs.

Forge a good tie, and one gained another open road.

Supported by the escort runner, Mo Chuan came to the main hall of the house where they were lodging.

Luo Feibai was entertaining guests in the hall.

Judging by their neat clothing and proper bearing, they were likely local gentry from the surrounding villages.

Naturally. If they were not local gentry, how could their news be so well informed?

"Daoist master, please see what is wrong with my baby. Three days ago, he started crying and crying without end. Look, his throat has gone hoarse from crying, yet he still keeps whimpering. These past three days, he has scarcely slept peacefully. It wasn't easy for me to have a son..."

A woman carrying a swaddled infant came over. The moment she opened her mouth, she began pouring out grievances like Xianglin's Wife.

"Enough. Say less and let the Daoist master examine him carefully," a middle-aged local gentleman beside her rebuked.

Only then did the woman close her mouth and hold the swaddled infant forward.

"Waaah, waaah, waaah—"

Mo Chuan looked over. The infant in the swaddling clothes truly was whimpering without pause, but his throat was so hoarse that almost no sound came out.

Looking more closely, Mo Chuan could faintly make out several evil infants entangling themselves around the baby.

The moment he saw the evil infants' gender, Mo Chuan sighed.

"Did a baby girl in your household die young?"

The woman and her husband looked at each other, their faces turning deathly pale.

"Daoist master, please save my youngest. I was thirty before I finally had a son. He cannot die young too." The woman bent her knees and fell to them.

"Ah, what a sin!"

Mo Chuan sighed, raised his hand, and a Ghost Subduing Talisman suddenly flashed between his fingers. He gently stuck it to the infant's chest.

In an instant, the baby's ceaseless crying stopped abruptly.

He smacked his lips, wanting to nurse, yet unable to resist his exhaustion, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

"Ah, he's stopped crying!"

"That's truly miraculous!"

"Daoist master, what incredible Mana!"

The escorts watching nearby clicked their tongues in amazement.

"Do not lose this talisman. It will keep the child from being disturbed by yin evils. When you have the time, burn a stick of incense for the child who died young. Go on, go on!"

With that, Mo Chuan waved them away.

"Thank you, Daoist master! Thank you, Daoist master!"

The local gentleman quickly took out some money and placed it on the table according to the customary rules for Daoist women, then left with the woman.

"Daoist master, you have worked hard."

Luo Feibai approached and clasped his hands, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Luo has traveled north and south, often sleeping in the wilderness. I frequently encounter ghostly corpse-fires among graves. Might I ask Daoist master to grant me a talisman to keep me safe?"

Mo Chuan raised his hand, and a talisman flashed at his fingertips.

"This talisman can subdue fierce ghosts, but it will not work against spirits and monsters. Still, if you encounter a spirit or monster, blades and axes can wound it. Unless it is a Jiazi great demon, all can be cleaved down with a single stroke."

Luo Feibai was overjoyed. Receiving it with both hands, he said, "Thank you, Daoist master, for granting me this talisman!"

Mo Chuan returned the salute with clasped hands, then slowly made his way back to his guest room with the escort runner's support.

Early the next morning, the escort convoy set out again.

Mo Chuan climbed back into the carriage that could jolt a person's bones apart, enduring the remaining journey with a bitter face.

Fortunately, Changlan City was not far from here.

By noon, Changlan City was already visible in the distance. Several soldiers blocked the city gate, inspecting passersby.

Luo Feibai had some standing, so they let him through without making things difficult.

Just after they entered the city, the driver exclaimed in surprise, "What happened here? Why is the entire city dressed in mourning sackcloth?"

Hearing this, Mo Chuan lifted the window curtain and looked outside.

Sure enough, on the sparsely populated streets, five out of every ten pedestrians wore mourning clothes, while another was sobbing.

After traveling a little farther, whenever they passed an alley, a fleeting glance revealed households inside conducting funerals.

Soul-summoning banners fluttered high overhead.

If it had only been one or two cases, that would have been one thing. At most, they could say, "May the coffin rise and bring fortune, purple qi comes from the east," to drive away bad luck.

But the farther the carriage went, the more the escorts muttered among themselves.

There were simply too many households holding funerals.

They could see them in nearly every alley. It was truly strange.

Groups of Daoists and Buddhist disciples also came and went among them.

Once the escort convoy entered the escort agency, Luo Feibai helped Mo Chuan down as usual, then impatiently summoned the man taking over and asked,

"Old Bucktooth, what has happened in the city? Why has paper money been drifting everywhere along the way?"

"Master Luo, you may not know this, but ghosts have been causing trouble in the city lately!"

"What?" Luo Feibai's expression changed slightly.

Unexpectedly, Old Bucktooth lowered his voice and added, "But some say it was the work of child-snatchers. There are even rumors in the streets that this is a struggle within the imperial court!"

So-called child-snatchers were human traffickers who specialized in abducting children.

Since they often disguised themselves as beggars and wandered through streets and alleys, the common folk called them child-snatchers.

"How so?" Luo Feibai hurriedly asked.

Old Bucktooth glanced at Mo Chuan with a mysterious expression.

"A month ago, there were already repeated rumors of children disappearing in the city. Recently, it has only grown more and more severe."

"A few days ago, the prefect announced that child-snatchers were responsible and beheaded several criminals. Yet not only did the matter fail to stop, even the elderly and able-bodied adults began disappearing as well."

"Rumors say a millennium-old great demon is stirring up trouble, that ghosts are at work! Others say the prefect's evaluation is approaching, and someone is trying to throw mud in his eyes!"

Luo Feibai listened with a face full of astonishment and cursed endlessly.

At last, he turned to Mo Chuan and asked, "Daoist master, could fierce ghosts truly be causing trouble?"

Mo Chuan replied, "Under the broad daylight, I have not yet seen any Ghost Qi."

As he answered, Mo Chuan narrowed his eyes and gazed toward the dim, endless street, lost in thought.

Tonight, he would stay in Changlan City.

First, the escort agency needed to transfer and unload the goods, then inventory them.

Second, from here to Xishan City, escorting only him, a "human escort," would be somewhat wasteful. Thus, Luo Feibai intended to seek some convenient goods to escort along the way.

Mo Chuan did not mind this.

After nightfall, Changlan City buzzed with voices.

The authorities had organized large groups of men carrying torches to patrol the long streets. Blazing firelight wound through streets and alleys like a roaming dragon.

The sight resembled festival lanterns, lively yet eerie in the extreme.

Mo Chuan stood at the window and watched for half the night. He saw nothing at all, but his aged and weakened body was exhausted enough!

In the latter half of the night, he simply fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he was awakened by a burst of clamor.

After putting on his Daoist robe and walking out of his room, the sight before him made his mind reel.

Huayin Flying Tiger Luo Feibai was kneeling in the courtyard.

Before him, on a spread piece of blue cloth, lay a severed foot. Judging by its appearance, it should have been a young child's foot.

Beneath the foot was a talisman.

It was precisely the Ghost Subduing Talisman Mo Chuan had given him.

A word about future update times: they will be between 11 PM and midnight. If there is an update at another time, there will not be one that night.

Also, writing a new book is not easy. I beg all Daoist masters not to stockpile chapters. Follow-up reading data is very important, as it affects later recommendations!

Your continued reading will determine whether this book can continue.

If convenient, please top up some Qidian coins. Even a few cents will count toward follow-up reading weight for VIP accounts.

Lastly, thank you all, Daoist masters, for your support!