Earth and Fire (Part One) (Thanks to infinite)

This was truly an unexpected delight.

Xu Feng had never imagined such a good thing would happen.

He quickly opened the [Affinity Panel]. The local ninth-rank Earth God's affinity for him had originally been one heart, thirty points. Now it was forty-five points: one and a half hearts.

With that came permanent Land God Protection.

Xu Feng had already experienced what Land God Protection could do.

It had no effect against passing brigands or even the sinister things in the Yellow River. But against the ghosts and lesser spirits of this place, it worked every single time!

Xu Feng looked at his [Status Bar], which could now only be called lavish.

For a moment, he could only lament.

By rights, with both [Yin Virtue Protection] and [Land God Protection] bolstering him, plus [Great Fish Essence (Red)], Xu Feng had made great strides in both exorcism and combat.

But [Dragon-Head Miasma] had neatly canceled out part of what he stood to gain.

The gains and losses had arrived together!

As for the negative effect that had suddenly appeared on him,

Xu Feng could hardly call it a "surprise."

Back when he had first invoked a god, a line of text beneath [Land God Protection] had called it a [Positive Effect].

He had been prepared ever since.

If there were [Positive Effects], then [Negative Effects] were only to be expected.

It had only been a matter of time before he encountered one.

And now he had!

But the note beneath it

made him frown.

"Gun?"

Xu Feng had come to believe that the game's notes were all useful, though he did not know whether they exaggerated. The note on Great Fish Essence, for instance, began by describing the fish's might. Yet as far as Xu Feng knew, the Yellow River might be broad, but no fish that large could live in it.

However wide the Yellow River was, it was still a river.

It was not the Amazon, much less the sea. It could not nurture a fish of that size.

Still, Xu Feng would not rule anything out.

What if?

So when the note on Dragon-Head Miasma mentioned transforming into a dragon and Gun, Xu Feng committed it to memory. By all rights, the matter should have had nothing whatsoever to do with Gun.

But "transforming into a dragon"...

"Dragon-Head Miasma"...

"Interesting."

After checking his effects once more,

he immediately found where Master stored the Incense Ash.

It was a large earthenware jar.

Xu Feng opened it and looked inside. A rich fragrance rose to his nose. The jar had been kept in excellent condition, and within it, burnt paper, Incense Ash, and dust of some unknown sort had mingled into a very fine powder.

Xu Feng reached in with both hands and grabbed a handful in each.

For some reason,

a jolt seemed to run through his entire body!

He shuddered.

No prompt appeared telling him he could equip it.

Xu Feng found two paper wrappers, bundled up the ash, and tucked them into his clothes.

Some Incense Ash got on his clothes as well. Far from brushing it off, Xu Feng felt more at ease for it.

When he came out this time, Master had already packed an enormous bundle.

Master carried the bundle himself.

There were also two saddlebags. He motioned for Xu Feng to carry them, then said, "All right, we can go!"

"Ah!"

The Qian Family servant had long been waiting until his eyes nearly popped out.

The moment Master agreed, he hurried to speak and immediately led the way.

Outside, three big-mouthed mounts stood tethered by the door.

Xu Feng could not tell one breed of horse from another, but fortunately, all three were donkeys!

"Please, please!"

The Qian Family servant gestured for Xu Feng and Master to mount.

As Xu Feng climbed on, he discovered that a yellow talisman was pasted right on the donkey's forehead.

"What talisman is this, Master?" Xu Feng asked.

Master glanced at it, then said, "An Ox-and-Horse Pacifying Talisman."

Xu Feng: "..."

The name made its purpose plain enough for anyone to understand.

An Ox-and-Horse Pacifying Talisman was meant to pacify oxen and horses.

And given how obedient this donkey was, "oxen and horses" was probably a general term.

But why did the name sound so pointed to Xu Feng?

Once they had mounted, the Qian Family servant looked as though he wished the donkeys could fly.

Xu Feng was not much of a donkey rider.

Fortunately, the talisman kept the donkey in check, so its gait was not too jolting. They had spent some time preparing; by Xu Feng's reckoning, it was already "blue hour."

Unfortunately, the weather offered nothing blue about it.

Crimson clouds packed the sky like cotton, and the north wind drove at them like a cluster of spears, making it hard to keep their eyes open. The old Qian Family servant in front had no choice but to press himself flat against his donkey.

Master gave the reins a casual tug and drew level with Xu Feng.

The servant ahead turned to hurry them along, but Master said, "My disciple and I have something to discuss. We won't delay you!"

The servant did not dare say more and kept going ahead.

Xu Feng followed suit, hunching low like the men before and behind him. The light was fading, and though no fine rain had fallen, the north wind was picking up!

"This time, we'll likely have to be careful," Master told Xu Feng. "Being Mr. Zhou's Spirit-Bait won't be easy."

"All right," Xu Feng said. "I'll follow you, Master.

"But what exactly does a Spirit-Bait do?"

Master said, "As the Soul-Banner Spirit-Bait, you'd presumably be carrying a soul-guiding banner. Under ordinary circumstances, you walk with the banner to lead a soul away.

"Once you reach a place with favorable feng shui, a piece of spirit money will send it on its way.

"Even if you run into something that demands blood offerings, it probably won't be too serious.

"But Mr. Zhou is performing a ritual to offer food and deliver the dead from suffering.

"Think about it. If the dead are being delivered, why would anyone need to lead their souls away? What he wants us to lead away probably does feed on blood. Still, there's no need to fear. We are in the county town, after all.

"The county town has not only a Land God, but a City God too. If things get out of hand, there will always be somewhere to seek protection!"

"I understand, Master," Xu Feng said. "I'll watch out for that blood-feeding thing!"

"No, you don't understand," Master said. "That isn't what I meant. The ones I want you to watch out for are people!"

"Mr. Zhou? Would he do us harm?"

"No. I mean the Earth-Fire Cult."

At the words "Earth-Fire Cult,"

Xu Feng's heart lurched.

Still hunched low, he turned his face toward Master. "Master, what is the Earth-Fire Cult? Why must we watch out for them? And what do they have to do with this affair?"

Ignoring the wolf-like howling of the wind beside the road,

Master said grimly, "The Earth-Fire Cult is a pack of madmen madder than madness itself! They're nothing like those who worship Maitreya or the Old Mother.

"The earth in Earth-Fire Cult means true earth, and the fire means heart fire.

"At first, they disguised themselves as Daoists and claimed to practice the way of the golden elixir, deceiving quite a few people. Whenever anyone questioned them, they would launch straight into True Person Ziyang's Golden Elixir Four Hundred Words.

"But what they actually practiced was ancient sorcery of the truest kind. Many of its arts had vanished into the past long ago.

"Yet those people dug up graves and tombs until they unearthed a wicked art from a burial chamber!"