Chapter 7: Treasure Hunt (3) Part 2

Looking closer at the details of his swordplay, although his movements couldn’t be called smooth, each stance and strike was very powerful. It was clear he had practiced many times over.

Yun Jinxue stood under the shade of a tree outside the hall, watching for a while. She realized the youth indeed had talent; properly nurtured, he would accomplish much in the future.

After the youth finished his sword practice and respectfully saluted Clan Head Ye, he noticed the immortal standing outside the hall.

The youth’s cheeks instantly flushed bright red. He looked helplessly at his father, then at Yun Jinxue.

Lifting a bamboo branch out of her way, Yun Jinxue stepped into the martial hall. She was somewhat surprised to find that she had actually made eye contact with this youth.

Those eyes were clear and bright, bearing a purity unique to children.

But when she looked up, although Clan Head Ye had noticed her arrival, his gaze still drifted downwards.

How strange. Why exactly did these people avoid eye contact?

Yun Jinxue didn’t pay it much mind. She simply smiled and said, “Young Master Ye has a lively and powerful bearing. With diligent training, he will surely excel in the martial arts.”

Clan Head Ye hurriedly came forward to greet her. “I did not see the Immortal arriving. My lack of proper courtesy, I beg your forgiveness.”

Yun Jinxue waved her hand lightly, telling him not to mind, and added, “Travel west from here to Transcendent Prefecture City. There is a martial hall there widely recruiting apprentices. I have spoken with their old master; he is a good man. If Clan Head Ye is interested, you can send the young master there. I will take the lead and write a letter of recommendation.”

Clan Head Ye’s face lit up with joy. He cupped his hands and said, “In that case, I thank the Immortal first.”

“No need.”

With the pleasantries over, it was time to get down to business.

Learning that she was inquiring about the Nether Prefecture Ghost City, Clan Head Ye was not surprised.

Having come all the way to Spring Crossing, anyone who thought for a moment would know what her final destination was.

Having just received the immortal’s kindness, Clan Head Ye was now completely forthcoming.

“That is a ghost city that grows, and devours people.”

In the beginning, Nether Prefecture was just a small village called Grass Nether.

The place wasn’t large, with a scattered few dozen households. Later, a group of refugees arrived and settled there, pushing the population past a hundred, and it started to take some shape.

Grass Nether’s geographical location wasn’t good. Fetching water required a long trek on mountain paths to nearby towns, costing no small amount of effort and money.

The newly arrived residents wanted to dig a well for the villagers’ convenience.

Everyone was hardworking and eager; once decided, they started work immediately.

Only one old woman said this move was improper, but without giving a reason. After tottering from one end of the village to the other, she said: This act does not follow Heaven’s will. If you force the work to begin, calamity will surely befall you.

The people of Grass Nether respected the heavens and their elders. Everyone became indecisive.

The person advocating for the well retorted: Are we villagers meant to travel over mountains every day just to beg for water, wearing out our feet and our straw sandals? Is that Heaven’s will?

After these words, for the sake of a future where clean water could be drawn at any time, the well-digging project began.

When the well was dug and put into use, everyone cheered and rejoiced. But strange things started happening then.

First was that old woman, a renowned long-lived elder. One foggy morning, she was found dead beside the well, yet no cause of death could be determined.

After that, people would often rise in the middle of the night, dazed and in a trance, walk barefoot to this spot, cling to the well’s edge, and stare inside for an entire night.

Not long after such behavior, they would be plagued by illness, their bodies soon erupting in sores and rotting until they died.

Everyone said they had dug up something foul. Fearing some monster was hidden in the well, they found over a dozen robust men with strong yang energy. After gorging on several large basins of beef and mutton, they went at high noon to dredge the well with nets.

To everyone’s surprise, they actually netted something incredible.

Trapped in their nets was a large piece of meaty fungus, along with many fragments of decayed wood, already sprouting long, dense mushrooms.

Some said it might be someone’s old coffin, the corpse inside growing into this meaty fungus, which was why people were drawn to it uncontrollably.

No one could agree on how to properly dispose of the thing, so it was temporarily stored submerged in a water vat.

But who could have known that after just one night, the entire village’s people became like walking corpses, their behavior bizarre and terrifying, and it wasn’t long before they all died out.

The matter didn’t end there, however. It gradually affected other surrounding villages, until that entire large mountain hollow became a lifeless dead zone. Only then was it called a city.

Yun Jinxue asked, “When that old woman passed away, the abnormality of that well should have been discoverable. Why did no one ever think to tear it down?”

Clan Head Ye looked toward the empty courtyard and murmured, “It’s not that I, Ye, wish to act mysterious before an immortal, but… that well was truly filled with an evil aura. It always made people intensely curious. In that pitch-dark, empty space… what exactly was inside it?

He leaned his body forward slightly, his gaze focused on some unknown point. He moved his hand before his eyes, his sight blurring and clearing.

“What exactly was in there? Couldn’t see clearly, it made people far too curious…”

Returning to their quarters from the Bamboo Garden Martial Hall, Jiang Yanyu was standing beside the bed, lighting the lamp.

Seeing her enter, she said, “Did Senior Sister get the information?”

Yun Jinxue made a soft sound of affirmation, sat down at the table, and poured herself a cup of hot tea. “I think I understand generally.”

That meaty fungus they fished out was likely a corpse.

A corpse buried for who-knows-how-long could very well carry a virus with extremely strong infectivity.

Those who died were probably infected by the virus, which caused the plague-like disease.

But if this virus killed its host so easily, how did it continue to spread?

Thinking this far, Yun Jinxue helplessly cleared her mind.

She couldn’t apply modern thinking here; this was a fantastical world where people could cultivate immortality.

Thinking about entering the Ghost City early tomorrow morning, Yun Jinxue, who had always been somewhat afraid of ghosts and supernatural things, seemed to already hear the prelude to insomnia.

Recalling Clan Head Ye’s words, her mind replayed his final expression.

She had been uneasy about the lack of eye contact since meeting him. And just now, the way he stared ahead, lost in that obsessed look, also seemed very wrong…

Jiang Yanyu asked, “Senior Sister, aren’t you going to sleep?”

Looking at the sky outside, it was gradually darkening; it was indeed time to rest.

Yun Jinxue turned her head to look at the young woman by the bedside. The candlelight was faint, just laying a thin layer of light and shadow on her face.

A slight draft made the candle flame flicker, swaying now and then, but the young woman’s expression remained unchanged, the specks of light in her eyes appearing and disappearing.

There was only one bed in the room, but luckily it was spacious enough for two people to roll around freely.

However, Yun Jinxue still wasn’t quite used to sleeping with someone else, so she spread out paper and ink on the table.

“You sleep first. I promised to write a letter of recommendation for the young master of the Ye family. I’ll rest after I finish writing.”

Jiang Yanyu watched her quietly, the candle flame emitting tiny crackling and popping sounds.

She stood up, walked over to sit opposite Yun Jinxue. “I’ll stay with Senior Sister.”

The brush tip absorbed the ink, pressed onto the paper, and bloomed into spreading blots.

Writing with a hard pen was more comfortable. Using this thing was truly unfamiliar, but not to the point of being helpless.

Yun Jinxue had studied calligraphy before. Writing a letter with a brush was doable, just slower.

Controlling the brush wasn’t easy, and added to that was the need to consider refined, literary wording. By the time it was fully dark outside, she had only written half.

Looking up, she saw the crazy kid had already fallen asleep on the table.

Yun Jinxue set down her brush and walked around the table to her side.

The young woman was slender, her hair slightly messy, her eyes closed, her breathing long and soft, sleeping soundly.

Sleeping like this will make you sick.

She glanced back at the bed. Yun Jinxue bent down, helped the young woman up, held her in her arms, and moved as gently as possible to the bedside, laying her down.

Just as she was pulling up the blanket to cover her, she was caught off-guard as the young woman opened her eyes and met her gaze.

Yun Jinxue whispered, “Just sleep like this. No need to stay up with me. I’ll call you in the morning.”

Jiang Yanyu’s eyes were only open a sliver, holding the dancing light of the candle flame.

She seemed to shift her gaze slightly, glancing towards the door, then slowly drew it back.

Yun Jinxue covered her with the blanket and said gently, “Sleep now.”

As she moved to pull away, the young woman on the bed suddenly grabbed her lapel and pulled her down, forcing her to bend over and brace herself above her.

Yun Jinxue propped herself up on the bed. “What’s—”

Jiang Yanyu hooked both arms around her neck, pulling her down lower. Her eyes swept towards the door as she whispered in Yun Jinxue’s ear.

“Senior Sister, someone’s standing outside the door.”