Planting Nightmares

Wang Quan arrived at the patrol team's resting spot to find the members sitting in a circle, speaking in low voices. Seeing him approach, everyone immediately stood up.

"Head Wang!"

Wang Quan scanned them. "Looks like tonight has been peaceful." His gaze landed on Shi Zhu and the others. "Don't let your guard down. If you lose your life, no one can pick it back up for you."

Shi Zhu scratched his head. "Head Wang, we were just talking about the monsters surrounding the city a few days ago. What the General of the Middle Army said really felt stifling. The brothers are unhappy, why should we tolerate it so passively?"

Hearing this, Wang Quan's mind cleared instantly, and many vague clues suddenly connected. He showed no expression on his face. "Discuss the matters of those above less. Survive first. Get up, continue patrolling."

The latter half of the night passed without incident.

At dawn, General of the Middle Army Li Chongshan received news of a corpse hanging at the city gate.

His trusted subordinate reported with his head bowed, "My lord, the people we sent... are dead. Their bodies were nailed to the city wall."

Li Chongshan stood by the window, his fingers tapping lightly on the windowsill. There was no anger on his face; instead, a hint of an unfathomable smile appeared. "I understand." He waved his subordinate away and paced in the empty room, his eyes flashing with calculation. "The test subjects... are more interesting than I thought. We can't stop, keep searching."

Meanwhile, Wang Quan went out of the city again, actively searching for monsters.

Wei Dayong returned home after his shift and sensed something was wrong the moment he pushed the door open. His wife, Sister Xu, rushed to meet him, her eyes red-rimmed. "Dayong, Lingling hasn't been right since last night. She has a fever, is talking nonsense, and even had a seizure last night!"

Wei Dayong's heart sank. He went to see his daughter. Lingling's small face was flushed with fever, her breathing rapid. She mumbled incoherently about "shadows" and "don't come near." He didn't dare delay, picking up his daughter and rushing to a familiar medical clinic.

The Old Doctor examined her carefully, his brow furrowed. "Strange. Her pulse is superficial and erratic, but I can't find any actual illness. It's like she's been terribly frightened, and an evil wind has disturbed her spirit." He prescribed a few doses of calming medicine. "Let's see how she does with this. If she doesn't improve, I'm afraid you'll need to seek a more skilled physician."

Wei Dayong clutched the medicine and went home, his heart feeling heavy as if a stone had been placed on it.

On the same day, Shi Zhu led his men to clear out an abandoned alley and discovered signs of freshly disturbed soil at the base of several walls. On a whim, he brushed away the loose dirt and found a few scraps of cloth stained with dirt, as well as a black wooden talisman carved with strange symbols. He felt this item was unusual and quietly tucked it into his bosom, not telling anyone.

Wei Dayong watched his daughter sleep restlessly. The medicine had no effect, so he stamped his foot, picked up Lingling, and rushed to the courtyard on the west side of the city, which was filled with a strange smell.

"Old Xu! Take a look at my daughter!"

Madman Xu was staring blankly at a jar of bubbling green slime when Wei Dayong's intrusion interrupted him, making him impatient. But upon seeing Lingling's condition, his cloudy eyes narrowed. His withered fingers pried open the girl's eyelids to look, then pressed on her forehead and chest, his nostrils twitching as if sniffing something.

"Hmph." Madman Xu flicked his hand away and looked at Wei Dayong askance. "Wei the Fool, who did you offend recently?"

Wei Dayong blinked. "Old Xu, what do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Madman Xu pointed at Lingling. "This isn't a normal illness; someone has inflicted a Nightmare on her! Something is attached to her, draining her essence and spirit. If you can't find the source of the Nightmare or the person who cast it, and this continues, the little girl will eventually run out of oil and her lamp will go out."

Wei Dayong felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, his face instantly turning pale. He grabbed Madman Xu's arm, his voice trembling. "Old Xu! How can I find that bastard who did this? You must have a way, right? Please!"

Madman Xu frowned and shook off his hand, disdainfully dusting off his sleeve where he'd been touched. "What's the rush! You know to worry now? What were you doing before!" He cursed under his breath and turned to rummage through the cluttered wooden shelves filled with bottles and jars, making clinking sounds.

After a while, he found a long, thin object rolled up in dark yellow talisman paper, looking like a rough incense stick. Twisted runes were drawn on the paper with dark red cinnabar, emitting a scent that mixed herbs with a strange fishy smell.

"Here," Madman Xu shoved the object into Wei Dayong's hand, saying gruffly, "Soul Guiding Incense. This is the only one I have; it took me a lot of effort to make. Light it by her bedside tonight when the girl starts talking nonsense again during her episode."

Wei Dayong tightly gripped the seemingly fragile incense, as if grasping a lifeline. "And then?"

"After you light it," Madman Xu lowered his voice, a strange glint flashing in his cloudy eyes, "you stare at the smoke. The smoke from this incense won't drift upwards; it will float towards the source of the 'Nightmare' energy that's clinging to the girl. Follow the smoke, and you'll find the general direction."

He paused, his tone carrying a warning. "But listen carefully, you brat! This incense can only point in a general direction, the range won't be very precise, and it doesn't burn for long. Most importantly, if... I mean, if the person who inflicted the Nightmare has high cultivation, or is particularly vigilant, they might sense someone using incense to trace the source. In that case, you might not be the only one following the smoke, you might attract other things, or... run straight into the main culprit."

Wei Dayong took a deep breath, his eyes turning fierce. "I can't worry about that anymore! As long as I have a direction, I'll dig three feet into the ground to find that insidious thing!"

Madman Xu looked at him, grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "Heh, got some grit. Alright, get lost, get lost, don't delay me making medicine. Remember, light the incense at midnight when the yin energy is strongest; the effect will be most obvious."

Wei Dayong nodded heavily, carefully tucked the Soul Guiding Incense into his bosom, picked up his sleeping daughter, and turned to leave with large strides. Madman Xu watched his retreating back disappear outside the door and muttered, "Don't die too quickly... otherwise, that kid might really go mad..." After saying that, he lowered his head and went back to fiddling with his bubbling bottles and jars.