Planting Nightmares

When Wang Quan arrived at the patrol rest spot, the members were sitting in a circle and talking in low voices. Seeing him approach, everyone immediately stood up.

"Captain Wang!"

Wang Quan glanced over. "It seems tonight has been peaceful enough." His gaze landed on the faces of Shi Zhu and the others. "Don't let your guard down; if you lose your lives, no one can pick them back up for you."

Shi Zhu scratched his head. "Captain, we were just talking about the Demonic Beasts besieging the city a few days ago. Those words from the General of the Middle Army were really aggravating. The brothers aren't feeling happy inside—why do we have to swallow our pride like that?"

Hearing this, Wang Quan felt a sudden flash of clarity in his heart, and many vague clues from before instantly strung themselves together. His expression remained indifferent. "Affairs of the superiors are not for us to discuss. Just survive first. Get up, continue the patrol."

The second half of the night passed safely.

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

A confidant lowered his head to report. "My lord, the men we sent... failed. The corpse was nailed onto the city wall."

Li Chongshan stood by the window, his fingers tapping lightly against the lattice. No anger was visible on his face; instead, a trace of an elusive smile appeared. "I know." He waved the confidant away, pacing in the empty room with calculating gleams in his eyes. "The experimental subjects... are even more interesting than I thought. We cannot stop, keep searching."

On the other side, Wang Quan left the city once more, taking the initiative to search for Demonic Beasts.

Wei Dayong finished his shift and returned home, pushing open the door to immediately sense something was wrong. His wife Sister Xu hurried over, her eye rims red. "Dayong, Lingling hasn't been right since last night. She's running a fever, talking nonsense, and even having convulsions in the night!"

Wei Dayong's heart sank, and he went to check on his daughter. Lingling's small face was flushed red from the heat, her breathing rapid, and she vaguely mumbled black shadow and don't come over in her mouth. Daring not to delay, he picked up his daughter and rushed straight to a familiar clinic.

The old doctor examined her carefully, his brows locked tightly. "Strange, her pulse is erratic and chaotic, yet no physical illness can be found. It's as though she has been badly frightened, and evil wind has disturbed her mind." He prescribed a few doses of calming medicine. "Take these first and see how it goes; if she doesn't get better, I'm afraid we'll have to invite another specialist."

Wei Dayong clutched the medicine and went home, feeling as though a heavy stone were pressing on his heart.

That same day, Shi Zhu led men to clear out a section of abandoned alleyway, discovering a few traces of newly turned earth at the base of some walls. On an impulse, he brushed away the loose dirt, touching a few pieces of stained, tattered cloth, along with a black wooden plaque carved with strange runes. Feeling that this object was not simple, he quietly stuffed it into his bosom, speaking of it to no one.

Watching his unconscious daughter, whose condition showed no improvement after forcing the medicine down, Wei Dayong gritted his teeth, picked up Lingling, and bolted straight for that courtyard on the west side of the city reeking of strange smells.

"Old Xu! Take a quick look at my girl!"

Madman Xu was staring blankly at a jar of bubbling green slime when he was interrupted by Wei Dayong barging in, looking very displeased. Yet, upon catching a glimpse of Lingling's appearance, his cloudy eyes narrowed slightly. His withered, bony fingers pried open the girl's eyelids to take a look, then pressed against her forehead and chest, his nostrils flaring as though he were sniffing something.

"Hmph." Madman Xu shook off his hand and cast a sideways glance at Wei Dayong. "Wei the Fool, what sort of people have you offended recently?"

Wei Dayong was stunned. "Old Xu, what do you mean by that?"

"What do I mean?" Madman Xu pointed at Lingling. "She doesn't have an ordinary illness; she's been cursed by someone! Something has latched onto her, sucking away her vital essence and spirit. If we can't find the source of the curse or the person who cast the spell, wasting away like this, the little girl will dry up and exhaust her life sooner or later."

Wei Dayong was struck as if by lightning, his complexion turning instantly pale. He grabbed Madman Xu's arm, his voice trembling all over. "Old Xu! How am I supposed to find that black-hearted bastard? You must have a way, right? I'm begging you!"

Frowning, Madman Xu shook off his grip, disdainfully dusting off the sleeve that had been touched. "What are you panicking for! Now you know how to worry? What were you doing earlier!" Cursing and muttering, he turned around and began rummaging through the cluttered wooden shelf piled high with bottles and jars, making a clattering racket.

After a good while, he finally fished out a slender object rolled from dark yellow talisman paper, which looked roughly like a thick stick of incense. The talisman paper was painted with distorted runes using dark red cinnabar, emitting a scent that blended medicinal herbs with an inexplicable fishy odor.

"Here," Madman Xu shoved the item into Wei Dayong's hands and said impatiently, "Soul Guiding Incense, just this single stick; it took a huge amount of effort for me to make it. Tonight, when the girl has another spell and starts talking nonsense, light it at the head of her bed."

Wei Dayong clutched that seemingly fragile stick of incense tightly, as though grasping a life-saving straw. "What happens after it's lit?"

"After it's lit," Madman Xu lowered his voice, a strange glint flashing in his cloudy eyes, "you just watch the smoke. The smoke burned from this incense won't drift up toward the sky; instead, it will float toward the direction of the source of that 'curse' Qi entangling the girl. If you follow the smoke, you can find the general location."

He paused, his tone carrying a warning. "But you kid listen well to me! This incense can only point out a general direction, the range won't be very precise, and moreover, it won't burn for long. Most importantly, in case... I mean in case the fellow who cast the curse has a high level of cultivation or is especially vigilant, they might just notice someone using incense to trace back the source. When that time comes, the things following the smoke might not just be you—it could also lure over other things, or... run directly into the principal culprit."

Wei Dayong took a deep breath, his gaze turning fierce. "There's no time to care about all that! As long as there's a direction, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I'll drag that malicious piece of trash out!"

Madman Xu looked at him and grinned, revealing yellow teeth. "Heh, you've got a vicious streak in you. Fine, scram, scram, don't delay me making my medicine. Remember, light the incense at the midnight hour when Yin Qi is heaviest; the effect will be most obvious."

Wei Dayong nodded heavily, carefully tucking the Soul Guiding Incense into his bosom, picking up his unconscious daughter, and turning to stride away. Watching his back disappear outside the door, Madman Xu muttered a remark, "Don't go dying too fast... otherwise that kid might really go mad..." Having said that, he lowered his head once more to tinker with those bubbling bottles and jars of his.