Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Xia Ximo had been given a separate courtyard some distance from the main compound.
The room appeared to have been cleared out at the last minute. Once inside, she could still see marks on the floor where objects had previously been stacked.
Although the windows on both the north and south sides had been opened to air it out, they could not dispel the stale odor that had accumulated over the years.
After leading Xia Ximo into the room, Yan Zhengchu kept carefully watching her expression, afraid that she might be dissatisfied.
Fortunately, this formidable woman was only careless of courtesy and rules in her daily life. When it came to food, clothing, and accommodations, she was actually rather easygoing.
“Mount Yunhe has very few habitable courtyards, and we have almost never had a female guest. So my junior brothers cleared out this courtyard, which was used to store old things…”
Yan Zhengchu forced himself through the explanation, then added politely, “Miss Xia, I am afraid you will have to make do here for one night.”
As always, Xia Ximo’s expression revealed no emotion. She gave a mild response.
“All right.”
“I’ve already had my junior brothers bring hot water. If there is anything else you need, you can tell me now…”
“Nothing.”
“Then I won’t disturb your rest.”
Yan Zhengchu fled through the door as though making an escape.
Only after he left could Lantern Spirit Wuyou finally emerge for some fresh air.
“Mount Yunhe truly deserves its reputation as an excellent place for Daoist cultivation. The spiritual qi here is abundant.”
“Mogu, haven’t you noticed that your body has felt much lighter since we came up the mountain?”
“The spiritual qi here can suppress the Baleful Qi of the Nine Abysses carried by your soul. Breathing in more of it will do you good.”
Wuyou drifted leisurely around the room. Seeing that Xia Ximo was ignoring the chatter, Wuyou floated outside alone.
Since her soul bodies had fused, Xia Ximo’s physical senses had grown steadily stronger, and naturally, she had also become increasingly capable of feeling fatigue.
She walked to the bed and saw that the bedding was brand new, free of the room’s long-standing musty smell.
She washed briefly, undressed, and went to sleep.
But her sleep was far from peaceful.
Through the haze, she faintly heard a voice calling her.
“Mogu…”
It was not calling Xia Ximo. It was calling Mogu.
She forced open her heavy eyelids and found herself still in the room. The Soul-Ferrying Lantern remained beside her, but Wuyou was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, the window trembled lightly. She turned toward the sound and saw a dark shadow flash past it.
“Mogu, it has been a long time…”
The gloomy voice echoed all around her, now near, now far, accompanied by cold laughter…
Xia Ximo rose from the bed. In addition to feeling heavy, her body now felt bound.
Unease and panic began to surge in her heart.
Dragging her heavy steps, she opened the door. A full moon hung in the sky, throwing layer upon layer of mountain shadows across the ground and lending the night an oppressive air.
“Mogu…”
The disembodied voice continued calling her from somewhere neither near nor far.
Agitation rose within Xia Ximo. Despite herself, she followed the voice.
Outside the courtyard, night stretched boundlessly. Every building on Mount Yunhe seemed hidden in the fog, its outlines impossible to distinguish.
Only that strange black shadow stood out starkly.
“Mogu, have you regretted it at any time during the past century?”
The voice suddenly posed the question.
Without stopping, Xia Ximo asked coldly, “Who are you?”
The shadow always remained some distance away.
“It seems you truly remember nothing…”
The voice sighed softly, then twisted into a sinister laugh. The dark shadow dissolved into the fog.
Xia Ximo was about to chase after it when the world around her began to shatter and the ground abruptly vanished beneath her feet…
“Mogu!”
Her eyes flew open. She found herself still lying in bed, a layer of sweat covering her body.
Wuyou, floating in midair, finally breathed a sigh of relief when Xia Ximo woke.
“You’re finally awake! What happened just now? I couldn’t wake you no matter how much I called!”
She had always been a light sleeper.
This was the first time anything like this had happened.
Xia Ximo sat up, her body still heavy. The memory of the dream left an even stranger feeling in her heart.
Something was wrong.
Something on Mount Yunhe was wrong.
Seeing her expression, Wuyou drifted back and forth in front of her again.
“What is wrong with you? Are you even listening to me?”
Xia Ximo stared blankly for a moment before returning to normal. At last, she answered Wuyou. “Did you wake me for something?”
Though still puzzled, Wuyou put business first.
“I sensed the aura of a wrongfully deceased soul in this courtyard…”
“Isn’t that strange? How could there be a wrongfully deceased soul in a place like Mount Yunhe?”
Those words confirmed Xia Ximo’s suspicions.
She would not have dreamed such a thing without reason.
There truly was something wrong on the mountain.
“Take me to it.”
* * *
Master Tianji cultivated and resided in Xuanji Hall, located atop a small peak at the highest point of Mount Yunhe.
Ren Fengjue followed Yan Zhengchu up a long flight of mountain steps before they finally came to a Daoist chamber.
A young Daoist was waiting at the top of the stairs. Upon seeing Yan Zhengchu, he stepped forward and respectfully greeted him as Senior Brother.
Then he said, “Master asks that you go straight inside.”
Strangely, Yan Zhengchu treated this junior brother with courtesy but obvious distance. He showed none of the warmth he had displayed toward the others.
He offered a faint, polite smile but made no idle conversation.
Once they had walked farther away, he explained to Ren Fengjue, “Master found and brought this junior brother back. He is rather withdrawn and has spent years at Master’s side, so he isn’t close to the rest of us.”
Ren Fengjue had naturally noticed as much, but asked no further questions.
Inside Xuanji Hall, a white-haired Daoist still sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. He had the ethereal bearing of an immortal and an extraordinary presence.
Yan Zhengchu stepped forward and bowed deeply with utmost respect. “Master.”
Ren Fengjue also saluted him. “Greetings, Master Tianji.”
Only then did Master Tianji slowly open his eyes. Though his hair and beard were white, his clear eyes were bright and full of vitality.
He first studied Ren Fengjue, then asked Yan Zhengchu, “Has the matter of your Martial Uncle Tianwen been properly handled?”
Yan Zhengchu felt somewhat guilty about this and answered only after choosing his words carefully. “Martial Uncle’s primordial spirit has been destroyed. As you instructed, Master, his body was cremated to ash.”
As he spoke, he gently placed the urn containing Tianwen’s ashes before his master.
Master Tianji looked at the urn and nodded, his expression betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
Seeing that his master asked no further questions, Yan Zhengchu immediately knelt and began confessing everything that had happened after he descended the mountain to search for the pearls.
He revealed everything on the spot, including the secret chamber in Fu Tower and the matter of the Mount Yan Evil Ghosts.
His voice trembled with fear, and he did not dare raise his head. Even so, he truthfully admitted every mistake he had made.
“During this journey down the mountain, I disobeyed your instructions and went to Renxuan Marquis Manor without permission. I am willing to accept punishment.”
“But Marquis Renxuan told me everything that happened at the manor all those years ago…”
“What I never expected was that Little Martial Uncle had become a living corpse and lain inside the Marquis Mansion for fifteen years.”
“Master, you have never allowed me to ask about this, and I did not dare press you.”
“But Little Martial Uncle is a good man. If you have a way to save him, could you please show us a path?”