After fiddling with her phone for a while, Jiang Yiguang began to feel the urge to leave.
She had no idea how long Fu Juan intended to stare at that single crabapple tree. She hesitated, just about to speak, when Fu Juan preempted her with a “Let’s go.” She didn’t plan on returning to the hotel. Instead, she aimed to visit the Xuanzhen Dao Court’s Jiang City branch to review case files. The matter on Crabapple Street was tying her down, but she hadn’t forgotten her own purpose—finding Jiang Li. In the end, she still found nothing.
Locating a person skilled at concealing their tracks within the vastness of Jiang City was no easy feat. Although the Xuanzhen Dao Court kept records of supernatural incidents, the name “Jiang Li” appeared to have been completely erased; there were no clues related to her whatsoever even in the events tied to the “Fortune-Changing Talisman.”
Jiang Yiguang had come to Jiang City but hadn’t found Ms. Jiang Li. Even her own “tourism plans” had been shelved because of Crabapple Street and Fu Juan. When Fu Juan informed her of the Yin ghost’s trail, Jiang Yiguang actually hadn’t wanted to go. Yet the system, which had been playing dead all along, chose the perfect moment to pop up, issuing a new round of main storyline tasks. Jiang Yiguang simply couldn’t refuse the temptation of the “Follow One’s Heart” item. After her Compatibility Value with the small world dropped to “56,” she rarely felt those mad urges to possess Fu Juan anymore. Although she was still occasionally captivated by Fu Juan’s beauty, she had at least managed to put a little distance between them, allowing her to see a glimmer of hope.
In the desolate wilderness outside Jiang City, the sound of gurgling water was crisply audible.
Jiang Yiguang watched Fu Juan, who, propelled by talismans, could sit in her wheelchair and still project an aura of “striding as if on wings,” and sighed softly. Thankfully, her Physical Strength Points had gone up; speeding up her pace, she could still keep up with Fu Juan’s rhythm without being left far behind.
“If I’m not mistaken, the doctor told you to rest and recuperate properly.” Jiang Yiguang glanced sideways at Fu Juan, breaking the silence. Amidst the sound of wind and water, adding some human voices felt necessary to bring a little liveliness, rather than leaving only that sense of desolation.
Fu Juan replied blandly, “It’s no hindrance.”
“Hah.” Jiang Yiguang sneered, deliberately drawing out her tone. “I’m afraid that if something happens to you, it’ll drag me down.” Who would have thought that she, Jiang Yiguang, would have a day when she could mock Fu Juan like this?
Fu Juan lowered her eyelashes: “If such a time truly comes, you’re more than welcome to abandon me and flee on your own.”
Jiang Yiguang paused, then nodded after a moment. “Hmm, you’re right.” Her Chivalry Points were very low, and she didn’t possess an overly heavy moral compass. As long as she prioritized her own comfort, she could completely ignore the life or death of others. But if she truly acted that way, perhaps it would play right into Fate’s hands? After all, Fate was doing everything it could to push her into the role of “cannon fodder,” wanting her to be despised by Fu Juan. And to be despised by Fu Juan, those “detestable qualities” of hers would surely be displayed to the fullest. In short, even if she “looked after” Fu Juan, it was solely for her own sake.
Fu Juan said nothing further, intently studying the compass in her hand, discerning the direction where the Yin ghost was hiding. Late the previous night, that Yin ghost had indeed appeared outside the old lady’s courtyard, but after triggering the spell talismans, it had retreated in a flustered and miserable state. Yet the residual trace of “negative energy” it left behind had become the best guiding talisman. “The negative energy here is a bit dense,” Fu Juan finally spoke after a long while.
A chilling wind blew against her neck, raising goosebumps all over, completely lacking the gentleness of spring. Jiang Yiguang murmured “a bit” while shrinking toward Fu Juan’s side. Before she even realized it, her fingers had already found the wheelchair’s handle, further shortening the distance between her and Fu Juan.
Fu Juan’s voice was calm: “This was a battlefield in the past. Historical records state that after a certain general defeated his enemies, he beheaded the captives and built a Jingguan.”
At this, Jiang Yiguang shrank even more fiercely.
“Piling corpses and sealing them with earth above—this is called a Jingguan.”
These simple words represented war’s cruelty, its bloodiness, and its slaughter.
Who knew if this place, filled with Yin miasma, might spawn ghosts brimming with resentment and malice?
The thought had barely risen in Jiang Yiguang’s mind when a gust of cold air brushed past her cheek, as if some icy presence had licked her face. Jiang Yiguang’s eyelids twitched. Before she could do anything, Fu Juan flipped her wrist and cast out a stack of spell talismans. Righteous thunder boomed down, instantly blasting the accumulated negative energy apart. Yet this calm didn’t last long. Soon, a ghost wielding a saber strode forth in great strides. It wore a suit of chainmail, half-rotten, its head cleaved off by a sharp blade, leaving only half a bloody, gory face. It had no awareness of self; it merely performed the motions of charging and slashing with its saber.
“Hmm? Soldier souls from very long ago? Looks like they’ve been re-gathered by someone?” Fu Juan murmured to herself. Naturally, she wasn’t afraid of such ghostly entities. After pondering seriously for a moment, she even had the leisure to turn her head and ask Jiang Yiguang, “Want to give it a try?” Having decided to temporarily assume the duty of looking after Jiang Li’s responsibilities, she set aside all her past prejudices against Jiang Yiguang.
Jiang Yiguang: “Huh?” Though perplexed, she wasn’t idle either. She formed a hand seal, chanting the Evil-Subduing Incantation. Flames ignited on the talisman; that clear, righteous force targeted only the ghostly entity, burning it to ashes in an instant. Yet Jiang Yiguang still felt it wasn’t enough. Her heart was filled with uneasy dread, as if a whole horde of ghosts might burst out from some direction at any moment. Steadying her nerves, she directly used the Heavenly Constellation Divine Power she’d only recently learned—Scatter Beans to Form Soldiers! Two mighty, fearsome Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers, bearing polearms, stood guard ahead like door gods. Only then did Jiang Yiguang breathe a sigh of relief, as though a great burden had been lifted.
Fu Juan turned her head to look at Jiang Yiguang. “You’re depleting your spiritual power reserves that way.”
Jiang Yiguang weighed the talisman beans she carried. “Still have plenty left.”
Fu Juan was momentarily speechless, then chuckled. She murmured, “Let’s keep going forward.”
Jiang Yiguang nodded.
The fear sparked by the unknown gradually dissipated, and her fluctuating emotions finally settled. She stuck close behind Fu Juan, her gaze moving toward the sky, now gradually stained ash-gray by dusk—the twilight sky.
Dusk, the hour of encountering demons.
The wilderness was desolate. The wind, the water, birdsong, all mingled together, rising and falling. But amidst these sounds, Jiang Yiguang faintly heard the rumble of drums like crashing thunder. She rubbed her temples; the drumming grew clearer, more violent. Hoofbeats clattered, as if a thousand troops, ten thousand horses were charging. She could even see a column of soldier miasma, like a dark cloud, surging skyward. Her body instantly went rigid.
“Soldier miasma.” Fu Juan also uttered these two words. Her expression shifted slightly. She too used the Heavenly Constellation Divine Power, Scatter Beans to Form Soldiers, shouting “Go!” The Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers charged forward with giant strides, their gleaming, sharp polearms cleaving downward, instantly intercepting a squad of battle souls that had appeared from who-knows-where. These weren’t the lingering, residual ghost souls from before. They were the vanguard, charging in synchrony with the battle formation evolving to the drumbeats! Within the dense battle formation, banners fluttered in the wind. They surged forward like a black dragon, swelling with endless slaughter and baleful energy, grinding down everything in their path!
“Yin soldiers have formed a battle formation. A general must be present?” Jiang Yiguang’s face was bitter. She knew tasks included in the “main storyline” category would never be simple. Even from a distance, she felt the surging soldier miasma might knock her flat. What pervaded her heart was a primal terror at the mere sight of thousands of troops and horses advancing. She glanced at Fu Juan, who remained unperturbed by the crisis. The left hand at her side kept trembling. She lacked Fu Juan’s level of composure and self-restraint. The reason she wasn’t turning tail to run wasn’t fearlessness, but sheer panic leaving her feet incapable of moving.
Fu Juan said softly, “Don’t be afraid.”
Meeting Fu Juan’s composed demeanor, Jiang Yiguang’s heart, which had nearly leaped out of her chest, gradually regained its former rhythm. She was just marveling at how truly befitting a “female lead” this was when she then heard Fu Juan’s tone shift, becoming cold and harsh: “Fear is of no use whatsoever.”
Jiang Yiguang: “…”
The Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers possessed formidable might, but they couldn’t endure indefinitely against the relentless charges of the battle formation. “One man holding the pass against ten thousand” was not inexhaustible heroism; even the richest spiritual reservoir would eventually run dry. Fu Juan’s calm face betrayed no intention of retreat. Just as Jiang Yiguang was contemplating whether she should carry Fu Juan’s wheelchair and flee, the drumming stopped abruptly. The awe-inspiring, vast battle formation seemed to hit something; its charging momentum came to a sudden, screeching halt. Moments later, it dissolved into plumes of black, negative cloud, dissipating.
Fu Juan spoke coolly: “The battle formation has a ‘domain.’ They died here, so they cannot cross this boundary.”
Jiang Yiguang squeezed out a handful of cold sweat. Steadying herself, she wanted to curse a few times, but in the end, only a single “Oh” escaped. She glanced at the compass rotating beside Fu Juan’s hand and asked, “Is that Yin ghost mixed in the battle formation? Finding her would be hard, right?”
Fu Juan: “Mm.”
Jiang Yiguang tentatively suggested, “How about… we just wait at Crabapple Street and set a trap? Going out there is too dangerous. I don’t want to take the offensive.”
Fu Juan didn’t speak. She lifted her head to gaze ahead. In the twilight, a wretched, utterly disheveled figure burst out from the area where the battle formation had just been. The contours of his face gradually became clear and familiar in Jiang Yiguang’s sight. Jiang Yiguang spat, and this time, unable to hold back, she cursed, “Haunting us like a damned ghost.”
“Huh? Fu Juan? Jiang Yiguang? What are you two doing here?” The man spoke. It was Wang Xuanming, who had accepted a mission from the Xuanzhen Dao Court and traveled here.
Fu Juan replied succinctly, “Business.”
Wang Xuanming fell silent. He felt a shivering chill and, upon raising his eyes, met Jiang Yiguang’s cutting glare. Steadying himself, he took the initiative to explain, “I took on a mission investigating Jiang City. Recently, there have been quite a few bizarre deaths. It seems someone is using an evil art for Life Borrowing.”
Hearing the words “Life Borrowing,” Jiang Yiguang’s scalp prickled. She immediately thought of the “Life Extension” evil art.
Could these two matters be connected? She and Fu Juan exchanged a glance. In that instant, their thoughts converged on the same suspicion.
