The battered straw hat he had picked up let sunlight through its holes, making his primordial spirit uncomfortable. In the morning, he could still walk in the shadows, but at noon, his shadow shrank beneath his feet, leaving him no roadside shade to borrow. Even a Yang Spirit Realm primordial spirit could hardly endure prolonged exposure. He would take a quick look, then hurry back to the cave to escape the heat.
He left the street lined with shops and turned onto another green-stone road. There were fewer people here, and it was quieter.
From far away, he spotted several imposing compounds with high walls, yet an indescribably strange aura hung over them, neither quite sinister nor quite evil.
He chose the nearest household to investigate. As he approached, he began to sense something.
They had helped drive in the Dragon-Suppressing Stake. They were enemies.
He saw a crowd gathered beside the road, men and women, young and old alike. They really were asking for trouble, standing outside with drooping heads beneath the blazing sun instead of sheltering indoors. When he drew closer, he noticed their ashen, bluish faces and the evil aura seeping into their bones. Could they be basking in the sun to ease their affliction?
He caught a strange scent, the fishy smell of river water wrapped in psychic power, unlike that of cultivators or demons, monsters, and ghosts. Although he had not seen it with his own eyes, he could almost certainly identify it as an eerie entity. Outside the courtyard gate, several household heads stood at the front of the crowd.
Every so often, they looked up at the sky, then craned their necks toward the intersection. Whenever a figure approached in the distance, they grew excited, only to find a water carrier, a cart