Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Dou Zhifu had carried Bai Xian’er into the mountains on his back?
That made sense.
If a descendant of the Dou Family hadn’t charged in ahead of everyone else, how could the Formation around that mountain have been broken so easily?
Dou Zhifu really was a White-eyed Wolf!
Bai Xian’er had no skin to begin with. After our repeated clashes, the spines covering her body had begun to fester and rot.
Now that the offerings to her spirit tablet had been withdrawn, Liu Junyan had completely cut off her last avenue of escape.
Without outside assistance, Bai Xian’er should have simply rotted to death in the Bai Family compound.
No wonder the Bai Family had been so quiet these past few days. So this was what they had been waiting for.
I took another careful look at Dou Jinsuo’s Facial Features. Sure enough, black mist swirled between his brows and beneath his eyes, while his entire body radiated a dense aura of death.
Dou Zhile, on the other hand, was in much better shape thanks to his cultivation.
I asked with concern, “What’s the situation at the Dou Family Ancestral Tomb now?”
Dou Zhile opened his mouth, but seemed unsure where to begin. Finally, he sighed and said, “Bai Xian’er has already ruined the ancestral tomb’s feng shui. Whether we can hold it no longer matters. What matters is my family’s Gray Immortal. I would like to ask Seventh Master to help take him in. Seventh Master sees all. Our branch has always been unwaveringly loyal to him.”
Dou Zhile had used the words “take him in.”
He wasn’t asking us to rescue the Gray Immortal, but to take him in and enshrine him at the Pawnshop.
That alone showed the sincerity of the Gray Immortal’s lineage.
“Of course I want to do everything I can to help,” I said. “But we’ll have to ask Seventh Master about this. I can’t make the decision for him.”
“There’s no need to ask me.”
Liu Junyan’s voice came from outside the door. A moment later, his tall figure appeared beside me, with the Black Cat perched on his shoulder.
Dou Zhile hurriedly rose and bowed. The way he looked at Liu Junyan was even more respectful than before. “Seventh Master.”
Liu Junyan nodded in acknowledgment before saying to me, “You must personally invite every entity enshrined at the Pawnshop. Once they arrive, they will receive offerings from you. That means this decision is entirely yours to make.”
That might be true, but I was still unfamiliar with these matters. I needed Liu Junyan to determine who could be invited and who couldn’t.
I looked at him questioningly. When he gave me an encouraging look, I said, “All right. I’ll go invite the Gray Immortal.”
Dou Zhile was overjoyed. “There’s no time to lose. Let’s set out now.”
Liu Junyan looked at Dou Jinsuo. “You’ll stay here at the Pawnshop with me. I’ll perform Exorcising Evil for you.”
Dou Jinsuo nodded repeatedly.
Liu Junyan then handed me a sheet of purple Talisman Paper. “I need to remain here and guard the Pawnshop, so I can’t go with you. Take the Soul-Guiding Lantern and the Black Cat. That should be enough.”
I put away the Purple Talisman. As I took the Hexagonal Palace Lantern down from beneath the eaves, the Black Cat leaped into it.
Li Qingying drove, and the three of us headed straight into the mountains.
When the car stopped at the foot of the mountain, the scene before us left us stunned.
The entire mountain had once been lush and green, but now it was covered in withered trees, flowers, and grass. As we made our way up, we frequently came across the carcasses of all kinds of rodents.
Some were festering and rotting. Others had been bitten and torn until their flesh was mangled and bloody. Still others had been pierced by Flesh Thorn until their bodies resembled sieves…
One look was enough to tell that this was the handiwork of Bai Xian’er and the Little Monster.
We had only gone another dozen or so meters when seven creatures of the Giant Rat species suddenly appeared ahead of us.
They were pressed tightly together, their heads pointing inward and their tails outward, forming a circle. Every last one was dead.
There were no obvious wounds on their bodies, but upon closer inspection, we saw black blood flowing from all seven of their orifices.
The instant Dou Zhile saw them, he spun around and ran dozens of meters back down the path. Near the foot of the mountain, he veered off and circled toward the mountain’s far side.
Li Qingying and I immediately hurried after Dou Zhile. As we ran, we asked, “What happened?”
“They found the entrance to the Dou Family Ancestral Tomb,” Dou Zhile said. “Those Giant Rats died protecting the formation. There must be many more places like this throughout the mountain. I only hope we’re not too late.”
Dou Zhile quickly led us around to the back of the mountain, where we found the entrance to the Dou Family Ancestral Tomb in a low-lying area.
Even more Giant Rats lay dead around the entrance, and streams of black mist billowed out from within.
Growing anxious, Dou Zhile shoved aside the Giant Rat corpses and prepared to descend into the tomb, but Li Qingying and I both reached out to stop him.
Li Qingying lowered her voice. “Do you have a death wish? You know they’re probably inside right now. They may have set up an ambush!”
“I can’t worry about that now,” Dou Zhile said urgently. “The Gray Immortal is bound by Heavenly Retribution and can’t get out. If we don’t rescue him in time and he dies, our entire Dou Family will perish with him.”
I understood how Dou Zhile felt.
Dou Jinsuo was now the only person left with the purest Dou Family bloodline.
Even if it cost him his own life, Dou Zhile had to save the Gray Immortal. Saving the Gray Immortal meant saving Dou Jinsuo.
With that, Dou Zhile tried to enter the tomb again.
Just then, the Black Cat shot out of the Hexagonal Palace Lantern. Arching its back, it sprang through the air and pounced directly in front of Dou Zhile.
The instant it landed, a gleaming ax came crashing down.
A tall, burly man then burst out from within, holding another, slightly smaller ax. His eyes blazing with menace, he swung it at Dou Zhile.
If the Black Cat hadn’t blocked the first strike, Dou Zhile would never have survived two consecutive blows.
With a sharp twang, a black carpenter’s ink line shot through the air and wound itself around the ax’s keen edge. Dou Zhile’s reflexes were quick. Gripping the ink line in both hands, he twisted through the air and yanked it downward, wrapping it around the attacker’s wrist.
The attacker was none other than Dou Zhifu.
These two fellow disciples fought every time they met. Judging by my previous experience, neither of them was likely to gain the upper hand anytime soon.
Li Qingying drew her Long Whip and moved to help Dou Zhile. Meanwhile, I followed the Black Cat and leaped down, landing steadily inside the tomb.
A long passage extended from the entrance. Oil lamps had originally lined the walls on either side, but they had all been extinguished, leaving the passage pitch-black.
Waves of Yin Wind blew out from the depths of the tomb, instantly making the hairs on my arms stand on end.
The Black Cat walked ahead of me. Its eerie green eyes and the tiny spark at the tip of its tail were enough to guide my way.
Besides, I still held the Hexagonal Palace Lantern.
The hazy golden glow of Merit shone like the morning star in the night, illuminating the path beneath my feet.
I walked for over a hundred meters, descending the entire way. At the end of the passage, I turned left. Where a door should have stood, there was now an enormous heap of wooden blocks.
It wasn’t hard to imagine that these blocks had once formed a door constructed with exquisite Lu Ban Craftsmanship. Unless someone knowledgeable found the single crucial block, the entire door would be impossible to open.
This was probably another of Dou Zhifu’s handiworks.
I climbed over the heap and continued deeper inside. After crossing three more piles of wooden blocks, the space before me abruptly opened up.
It was an enormous burial chamber. Countless coffins hung densely across the walls on every side.
At the center of the chamber stood a figure in a gray robe, with the body of a man and the face of a rat. The instant his tiny, soybean-sized eyes met the Soul-Guiding Lantern in my hand, they gleamed brightly.
He raised one hand before his chest, bent at the waist, and bowed to me.
“I must trouble Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu to guide me back to my divine station…”