Sweet Rain Spell

But Tang Changsheng believed that, with enough effort, refining this Yin Soldier into a D-grade Vicious Ghost would not be difficult. Even a higher grade was within reach if he put in the work. He took out a small bowl of clear water he had prepared earlier and silently recited, "Alas, the long night of suffering, the torment of the three realms of woe. Fierce flames burst from the throat, and hunger and thirst never leave the mind. With the first sprinkling of sweet dew, burning heat turns cool. With the second sprinkling of water from the realm of law, the soul rises to the Great Luo. With the third sprinkling of compassionate water, all things are nourished..."

As Tang Changsheng chanted under his breath, he lit a Talismans he had drawn earlier. It burned to ash, which he tipped into the bowl of water.

Tang Changsheng took a mouthful, held it there, then sprayed it toward the Yin Soldier.

He had created this Talismans by kindling Heavenly Heart, and it held his magical power. As he sprayed the water, he visualized himself transformed into a divine figure, pure from head to toe and radiating boundless light. High above the clouds, he opened his mouth and sprayed.

At once, sweet rain fell in layer upon layer over the Yin Soldier. Like a gentle, unbroken drizzle, it enveloped and washed him.

What had been only a small mouthful of water became sweet rain that drifted down for more than a minute.

Joy appeared on the Yin Soldier's face. When the rain stopped, he looked entirely renewed. Even his clothes seemed brand-new...

Only the Ghost Artifact showed no change at all!

Tang Changsheng nodded with a satisfied smile, returned the Ghost Soldier to the Soul Jade, and placed it in a wooden box. He then set the box directly beneath the general's Deity Statue...

This was where the ley line of Yin-Yang Mountain converged, the place that best nourished the souls of ghosts.

With the earth's energy nourishing him each day, offerings of incense, and the Sweet Rain Spell washing over him from time to time, the E-grade Yin Soldier should rise to D-grade in another month or two at most.

By then, the Yin Soldier would be far more useful. He could scout, commune with spirits, and enter dreams. He could even serve as a true guardian and kill people...

At its height, the General's Temple had not only Guardian Divine Generals who received offerings, but also five battalions of Yin Soldiers under its command.

Back then, enough Yin Soldiers patrolled the mountain that they would detect the slightest stir anywhere on Yin-Yang Mountain.

If those two vicious criminals, Da Xiang and Chen Zi, had attacked the General's Temple in those days, Tang Changsheng would never have needed to lift a hand. They would have been dead.

No one who meant the General's Temple harm could have taken so much as one step up the mountain!

While Tang Changsheng devoted himself to refining the Yin Soldier under his command, Lower River's underworld and lawful circles both began to seethe like boiling water.

Zuo Xingfa, in particular, heard what had happened at the General's Temple—and that Tang Changsheng had not called him at all, but had called Zhang Dacheng instead...

An indescribable fear welled up in Zuo Xingfa's heart.

He had once thought that being controlled by the mysterious General's Temple was something that left him anxious all day long!

But Zuo Xingfa suddenly realized that the prospect of being cast aside by the General's Temple frightened him even more!

So, before Zhang Dacheng could act, Zuo Xingfa sent men to turn all of Lower River upside down...

Unfortunately, they found no clues at all!

More than ten days passed. Only then did the turbulent undercurrents in Lower River slowly settle.

One day, an unremarkable van arrived in Lower River City.

Lower River was not a particularly developed area, though several gold mines and other mineral deposits had been discovered there years ago. It had factories, too...

The pollution was not as severe as in some big cities, but finding a clear river in the city had still been difficult!

After more than a decade of environmental cleanup and a switch to electric vehicles, however, the surroundings had changed enormously.

The river flowing through the city was much cleaner. Clear blue skies that looked freshly washed were now a common sight as well.

A van pulled up beside a roadside charging station and began to charge. Improvements in technology meant a charge took only about five minutes and could power the vehicle for more than two hundred kilometers.

Wireless charging technology was said to be in development. Once it was ready, cars would no longer need to stop specifically to charge. They would charge wirelessly as they drove.

In other words, wherever there was electrical infrastructure, there would be no need to worry about a car running out of power...

For now, though, cars still had to use charging stations.

Three burly men got out of the van. Apparently unwilling to stand there waiting for it to charge, they headed toward the nearby buildings.

After passing a row of pines and cypresses across the street, they entered a residential compound.

It was a fairly old compound, built at least several decades ago.

New residential compounds were open-plan, with roads and traffic taken into account. This older, enclosed compound had not been designed that way, leaving it cramped and cluttered.

"Da Xiang, Chen Zi, and the other three lived here, and then they vanished without a trace!"

One of the men, whose face was flat and expressionless, said, "The boss sent me to take a look this time..."

"Hmph. What's left to look at? They've been missing for days. They must have come to grief. Who would've thought a little place like Lower River would have crouching tigers and hidden dragons, enough to bring down Da Xiang and his crew!"

"Quiet. Something's wrong. Don't go over there. Let's circle around..."

The man who had remained silent spoke up at last. He had noticed that someone appeared to be watching the house Da Xiang and the others had rented...

Until they knew whether the watchers were cops, officials, or someone else, they could not risk being recognized and exposed...

The other two fell silent at his warning, their hearts tightening.

All three were seasoned hands. Rather than look around wildly or turn back at once, they changed course and walked off to the right...

They acted so naturally that the men Ruan Wenhua had assigned to keep watching the place noticed nothing unusual...

It was not until the next morning, when their replacements arrived, that anyone discovered the four men stationed there were dead.

All four had had their throats slit. The cuts were clean and precise, leaving little blood spatter.

When Ruan Wenhua received the news, his expression changed sharply. He reported it to Zhang Dacheng without a moment's hesitation.

"So the accomplices of those outsiders have arrived?" Zhang Dacheng saw it at once with his keen eye.