"Ma'am, don't panic!"
Wu Ming felt for her pulse and slowly sent a stream of True Qi into her. It only eased her condition a little, and his brow furrowed.
If this had been a cold or some other common illness, a single stream of True Qi would have strengthened her constitution and cured her completely—or at the very least, revived her and brought her around.
But this was an invasion by Evil spirits. It was an entirely different matter from True Qi.
"Alas... I never thought the first time I used this would be on this girl..."
Wu Ming took out a yellow talisman, and his face twitched slightly.
But it was only one talisman, and it concerned a City God's secret. Seeing how pitiful this family was, he decided to do it.
"Please bring me a bowl of water!"
Though Wu Ming looked only fifteen or sixteen, his every glance and gesture carried an imposing authority and a decisive air that brooked no disobedience.
The fisherwoman hurriedly agreed and brought over a bowl of hot water.
It was a rough ceramic bowl, much of its glaze worn away, with a chip along the rim. It held clear water.
Wu Ming said nothing. He pinched the talisman between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, and it flashed again.
Fwoosh!
A ball of flame appeared, instantly setting the talisman alight. Yellow flames devoured it, turning it to wisps of fragrant ash that fell into the water.
The fisherwoman stared, dumbfounded.
"Feed your daughter this Evil-Dispelling Talisman water! Then prepare a crock or something similar..."
Wu Ming rose, a hint of a sigh in his voice.
If he had been a true Daoist, channeling the talisman with his magic power would have worked even better. He might not even have needed to dissolve it in water.
But a martial artist's True Qi and a Daoist's magic power were both transcendent forces, and naturally had things in common. When Wu Ming had chosen his talismans and other supplies, he had specifically picked ones ordinary people could use, so there was no problem.
Still, this was as far as he could go.
Truly advanced talismans, not to mention high-grade magic treasures and Daoist artifacts, could only be used by cultivators. Some even required a certain level of Daoist cultivation—far beyond anything Wu Ming could hope for right now.
"Yun'er's awake! Yun'er's awake!"
Madam Xu cried out excitedly. The little girl on the bed twitched her eyelids, then opened her eyes, her face contorting in pain. Suddenly, she leaned over the edge of the bed and began to vomit.
The liquid she brought up was as thick and black as ink, and it stank. Tiny worms seemed to squirm within it.
The girl kept vomiting. By the time she stopped, she had filled more than half a crock with black liquid. Then she fell into a deep sleep. Her face was still pale, but the bluish-black pallor was gone, and her breathing was even. At least she had escaped death.
"Once she wakes, boil her some ginger soup or the like. Nourish her with its warm, yang energy, and she'll be fine..."
Wu Ming flicked his sleeve. The windows and doors swung open, and a fresh breeze swept through, driving out the foul air. He went outside and gazed at the river, lost in thought.
"Benefactor! You saved my life. I have no way to repay you. Even if I must serve you like an ox or a horse, or weave grass into a ring to repay your kindness, I'll repay your great benevolence!"
Behind him, Madam Xu came out and suddenly fell to her knees.
"There's no need for that!"
Wu Ming raised both hands to stop her. "I saved your daughter because I have questions that I need you to answer..."
"Benefactor, ask me anything. I'll tell you everything I know!"
Madam Xu's expression turned solemn.
"This matter... has a great deal to do with your daughter. You must have realized it by now: she wasn't struck by some sudden illness. She was afflicted by Evil spirits!"
At his words, Madam Xu nearly collapsed to the ground. Her eyes went vacant, and she could only murmur, "Just as I thought... Just as I thought... I knew it wouldn't spare us..."
"Who do you mean by 'it'?"
Wu Ming asked at once.
Madam Xu slowly shook her head. "Benefactor, it's better if you don't know. Otherwise, you'll only invite trouble, and how could I live with myself?"
"It's not that I might invite trouble. It's already found me... You know about the county's notice? I'm the one who posted it!"
"You are?!"
Madam Xu exclaimed in surprise, then nodded. "Then I really should tell you everything!"
"Mm. Your husband, Xu Liulang... I heard he was friends with water gods and land gods. Is that true?"
Wu Ming asked at once.
"It's true..."
Madam Xu seemed to sink into memory. "Liulang was generous and outgoing, always fond of doing good by others. He was also born with yin-yang eyes and could see the Netherworld. When he was out fishing, he made friends with a Water ghost. That's why he always came back with a full catch..."
"Later, that Water ghost accumulated enough merit to be appointed the Black Water Town Land God. Liulang remembered his old friend and often went to visit him. Every time, he came home dead drunk..."
"Several months ago, Liulang came home looking terrified. He told me his old friend was in grave danger and that he had to save him. So he went to Black Water Town... Who could have known... Who could have known that would be the last time I ever saw him? Wuwu..."
Her grief-stricken tears fell like beads from a broken string.
"He faced death for a righteous cause. That's a man for you!"
Wu Ming praised him, then asked, "Do you know who killed him?"
"He didn't want me to know, but I overheard a few words. It was Great General Black Wind, one of the eighteen Mountain and Water Cave Masters under Lord of Black Mountain! It seemed the two were fighting over a divine position..."
As Madam Xu wept, Wu Ming felt his head grow heavy.
"Lord of Black Mountain? Eighteen cave masters? Great General Black Wind? And a divine position?"
He immediately realized he had somehow become entangled in something far beyond his depth.
Black Water Town lay at the foot of Black Mountain, practically on the front lines of a battlefield. Knowing there were two powerful figures vying behind the scenes made his blood run cold.
After asking a couple more questions and getting no further information, Wu Ming left a few taels of silver and departed with a heavy heart.
"Lord of Black Mountain? The name sounds like some kind of Liege Lord, but since it's named after a mountain, could it be a mountain god? Or maybe some great demon?"
Wu Ming felt a headache coming on.
After wandering around for a while, he spotted the sign for East River Lane. The first residence along the street was the Ye family's estate, sprawling across a wide area, with two imposing stone lions guarding its gate.
"If I want to learn about Lord of Black Mountain's origins, I'll have to look through the county gazetteer and the geographical records..."
Having made up his mind, Wu Ming went to the Ye residence. "May I ask if Young Master Ye Xiaoyou is home? I'm Wu Ming, a friend of his. We had an appointment earlier..."
Seeing Wu Ming's dignified bearing and extraordinary presence, the gatekeeper didn't dare slight him and immediately went inside to announce his arrival.
Before long, Ye Xiaoyou came out with a smile to greet him, addressing him as an elder brother. "Brother Wu, you've kept me waiting! The two lines of verse you recited that day have lingered in my mind ever since. I was hoping to ask you about them..."
"Lord of Black Mountain?!"
In the small courtyard of the inn where Shan Lan and the others were staying, everyone found it hard to believe what Wu Ming had told them. "Could this be our target?"
"No!"
Wu Ming replied, "I borrowed the county gazetteer from a scholar's home and learned that his origins were mysterious. According to legend, he was a general from the previous dynasty who slaughtered so many people that corpses covered the land. After his death, his soul became a god, and he became lord of the three-hundred-li Black Mountain. There's another account, though: that he was a black tiger who became a demon and named himself Lord of Black Mountain..."
"Either way, we're in trouble..."
Shan Lan's face turned ashen. "As a mountain god, he can draw upon the spiritual energy of all three hundred li of Black Mountain. He doesn't even need much worship from the living. His power is immense—he may even surpass the City God!"
The gods of such famous mountains and great rivers had the spiritual energy of entire mountain ranges and river systems to sustain them. They had little need for the faith of mortals.
Compared with him, even the Black Terrace City God had a little more freedom.
Of course, his strength was bound to match.
After all, one ruled three hundred li of mountains and rivers, while the other held sway over only a small county seat. It was obvious who was stronger.
"And... judging by the records and the few other scraps of information that have slipped out, he's powerful and brutal, no Benevolent God..."
Wu Ming sighed. "It's obvious what happened... The upheaval in Black Water Town began when its Land God went missing, and Lord of Black Mountain was behind it... Of course, I suspect the one we'll have to deal with may be Great General Black Wind alone!"
"Of course we'll only have to deal with Great General Black Wind. Even if we all tied ourselves together, we might not be worth one yawn from that mountain god..."
Shan Lan rolled her eyes. "But the Black Terrace City God is involved too... This is no small matter, but the rewards should be enormous. We might even get a divine edict!"
"A divine edict?!"
Wu Ming knew about those, but they were useless to the living. Only the dead—Yin Gods—and demons could make use of them. He had heard there were many restrictions, too. They could grant immortality, but it was a lesser kind.
"At least it's insurance for after death... But will a divine edict from this world still work in Great Zhou?"
Wu Ming rolled his eyes and asked the question. Shan Lan fell silent. "It probably... maybe... might be of some use?"
By the end, even she didn't sound convinced.
"Enough... Whether we steam the goose or boil it, we have to bring it down first..."
Wu Ming smiled. "The situation is clear now... The original Land God of Black Water Town was sent by the Black Terrace City God to drive a stake into the ground at the foot of Black Mountain. But Lord of Black Mountain retaliated without hesitation. His subordinate, Great General Black Wind, killed the Land God, and may even have usurped his divine position. Then he unleashed countless vengeful ghosts, throwing the people's lives into chaos..."
Even Wu Ming felt a little afraid when he thought about it.
It was lucky he hadn't gotten cocky and charged into the depths of Black Mountain. If he'd run into Lord of Black Mountain, he would have died without a place to bury him.
The Main God Hall clearly wouldn't send them to fight to the death in Black Water Town without a clue, which was why it had issued the posting and investigation quests.
But now, the time had come to cross blades.
With a thought from Wu Ming, a prompt from the Main God Hall appeared:
[Side Quest: Investigate (Complete!)] [Main Quest Unlocked: Uphold Justice and Protect the Weak] [Scenario Description: Sharp-eyed as you are, you discovered the many open and covert struggles between Lord of Black Mountain and the Black Terrace City God. Unable to bear the people's suffering, you chose to stand with the righteous!] [Mission Objective: Within ten days, kill or drive away Great General Black Wind and restore peace to Black Water Town!] [Mission Reward: Complete the Main Quest to receive 500 Minor Merits! Kill Great General Black Wind to receive 1,000 Minor Merits! Merit for other demons and ghosts will be calculated separately!] [Mission Difficulty: Flood!]
Before you continue