Chapter Forty-Eight: The Ghostly Mother

The main hall was nowhere near as dilapidated as Yunhua had imagined. On the contrary, it looked as though someone swept it regularly; even the floor was spotless. Watermark advertisement test. Watermark advertisement test.

At the western end of the hall stood a small altar. Upon it were several large-headed dolls carved from peach wood. Before the dolls had been placed incense, candles, rice, clear water, eggs, and various children’s toys such as pellet drums. A Daoist in blue robes was chanting scriptures before one of the dolls.

The wooden doll in Yunhua’s arms suddenly began to thrash violently. With a casual gesture, Yunhua seized the chanting doll and drew it into her hand.

Having obtained what she wanted, Yunhua prepared to leave at once. The blue-robed Daoist, startled, shouted, “Who is there?”

He glanced around but saw no one, and his heart tightened with suspicion. Muttering an incantation, he dipped his index finger into the clear water on the altar and wiped it across his eyes. At once, he saw Yunhua’s departing figure. Enraged, he snatched up his peach-wood sword and rushed forward, blocking her path.

“Which fellow Daoist are you? To act in such a manner is no different from a common thief. Are you not afraid of violating the rules?”

Seeing that her presence had been exposed, Yunhua simply revealed herself. She held the sword of coin in her hand and faced him without the slightest fear.

“Forcibly capturing ghosts and refining them through the wicked art of the Five Ghosts—are you not afraid of karmic retribution?”

The blue-robed Daoist’s expression did not change. He studied the young female Daoist before him, who appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen, and secretly considered what powerful lineage she might come from.

“It seems, young fellow Daoist, that your origins are far from ordinary. You dare call the Maoshan art of ghost cultivation an evil practice? Today, I shall capture you and see what master could have taught such an insolent disciple.”

With that, he raised his wooden sword and brought it down upon Yunhua.

Yunhua, however, had no reason to take him seriously. The sword of coins in her hand rang sharply, then flew from her grasp of its own accord and shot toward the blue-robed Daoist like a bolt of lightning.

The Daoist was badly startled. He hastily changed his move midway and barely managed to evade the thrust. Before he had time to steady himself, another fireball came flying straight at his face.

This time, there was no way to dodge. Fortunately, the fireball’s power was still limited. It merely blackened the Daoist’s face and burned away his beard, eyebrows, and every strand of dark hair on his head.

The blue-robed Daoist was furious and humiliated. He stared at the small female Daoist before him, then at the exceedingly strange white fox perched on her shoulder, his expression wavering between suspicion and disbelief.

She could command a flying sword, and the fox could spit fireballs. He could scarcely believe his own eyes. Since when had the Daoist world produced such a young master of the arts?

He considered whether he should test the spirit-controlling techniques he had cultivated for many years, yet feared that his opponent might also possess the power of thunder magic. If that proved true, all his efforts would amount to nothing.

Yunhua and Yunhuzi worked together with perfect understanding. They had already confirmed that the other party could not defeat them, yet they did not know whether he still possessed some hidden trump card. Moreover, the man had openly identified his art as Maoshan ghost cultivation. As a member of the Daoist tradition, Yunhua could not simply conclude that his methods were evil. The Supreme Clarity Sect would surely not be ignorant of such matters.

For a moment, she could not decide whether to fight or withdraw.

Just as the two sides stood locked in a stalemate, two figures came running from afar. They did not slow until they reached the pair, and immediately hurried to mediate.

“It is a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!”

The newcomers were none other than Yuanningzi and Qingchenzi. They had clearly rushed there with all haste. Not only had they used divine-travel talismans to follow the trail, they had also run until their faces flushed and their breathing grew ragged. They had arrived only just in time to prevent a full-scale battle.

The blue-robed Daoist was plainly surprised to see Yuanningzi and Qingchenzi. The young Daoist Qingchenzi, upon seeing Yunhua, became visibly excited, his entire attention fixed upon her.

Yuanningzi hurried to the blue-robed Daoist’s side and whispered a few words into his ear. The man’s expression changed slightly. He put away his wooden sword, clasped his hands, and bowed.

“Blessings of the Limitless Heavenly Venerable. It was all a misunderstanding. I hope you will be gracious enough to forgive me.”

No one knew what Yuanningzi had told him, but the man had actually surrendered with astonishing ease.

Yunhua had no wish to invite further trouble. Since she already had the object she wanted, she had no intention of provoking more conflict. She returned the salute and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, the blue-robed Daoist’s next words made her stop.

“Do you know the origins of those two little ghost siblings? If you leave now, it will bring harm rather than benefit—not only to you, but to the two little ghosts as well. Why not hear me out and learn the cause-and-effect behind this matter?”

Yunhua halted and turned around.

“Oh? What is it that you know?”

She was uncertain herself. Taiyi adamantine essence was an extraordinary treasure. How could it have ended up in the hands of two feeble little ghosts? The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Yunhua and the three Maoshan Daoists sat down on a weathered stone bench in the small courtyard. Those who had left the world naturally lived simply and cared little for worldly comforts.

The blue-robed Daoist gathered his thoughts.

“I am Yuanxiongzi. When I was young, I was rescued by my master and became a disciple of the Maoshan Palace of Primordial Talisman. Because my master practiced the art of cultivating ghosts, he was long shunned by his fellow disciples. Ordinarily, such things would not have mattered much. But ten years ago, my master suddenly descended the mountain, saying that he wished to make amends for a grave mistake he had committed in the past. Half a year later, he returned severely wounded and passed away not long afterward.

“To repay my master’s kindness, I sought an audience with the Sect Master and knelt before him for three full days. Seeing the sincerity of my heart, the Sect Master finally revealed the entire story.

“In those days, my master had descended the mountain to perform rites and deliver a deceased person’s soul. Yet after three days, nothing went as it should. The bridge refused to break, and the basin would not shatter. My master was greatly astonished. After questioning the family repeatedly, he learned that the deceased had died in childbirth, after which calamities had struck the household one after another. Even the livestock had grown restless and sick, so the family had gone into the mountains to invite a ritual master to deliver the dead woman’s soul.

“The family had spoken evasively and left many things unsaid. My master knew there had to be some hidden truth, but he paid it little attention. Important matters still awaited him in the mountains, and in his haste he failed to investigate the causes and consequences properly.

“To prevent the dead from troubling the living, he forcibly suppressed the deceased woman’s resentful spirit with a peach-wood ritual sword, intending to deal with the aftermath once he had finished his business in the mountains.

“Unexpectedly, no sooner had my master left than every member of the dead woman’s family died violently in a single night.

“For this, my master was punished by the Sect Master and confined to the rear mountain for five years. The Sect Master also sent people down the mountain to search for the resentful spirit, but they found nothing.

“After five years, my master was released, yet the matter continued to weigh heavily upon him. He descended the mountain again and again, searching for traces of that vengeful ghost. Only then did he discover that both the mother and child had died violent deaths, leaving their resentments unresolved. Worse still, they had continued killing people along the way, their bloodshed condensing into something terrible. The ghost mother had already taken form.

“My master fought her in a great battle, but in the end he was no match for her. Relying on a talisman handed down from our founder, he barely escaped with his life.

“After my master’s death, I, as his sole disciple, continued tracking that ghost mother for more than three years. The two little ghosts in your arms are merely the premature children whom the ghost mother killed. For some unknown reason, she did not devour them. They stayed for a time within her lair, but somehow later left of their own accord.

“That is why I captured them. After sustaining and nourishing them for a while, I intended to have them lead me to the ghost mother’s lair. Drawn by the ties of karma, these two little ghosts are capable of finding her.”

Yunhua remained silent. She stroked the two wooden dolls in her arms, which were still trembling, yet she had no way of knowing whether Yuanxiongzi’s story was true.

Besides, if the ghost mother had truly taken form, how could these few Maoshan Daoists possibly be her match? Could they really have come here simply to throw away their lives?

Whenever Yunhua encountered something she could not understand, she deliberately avoided it. She had no intention of discussing any offer of assistance. After thanking the Daoists several times, she decisively chose to leave.

Ignoring the astonished gazes of her fellow Maoshan practitioners, she vanished into the night, leaving behind several misguided Daoists staring at one another in dismay.

Yunhua did not believe Yuanxiongzi’s words, but the ghost mother might very well be real. Otherwise, why would a ghost market have appeared in these remote mountains?

Unable to make sense of the matter, Yunhua naturally thought of her seemingly omnipotent master.

She toyed with a paper crane in her hand for a long while, then gently blew upon it. It transformed into a snow-white carrier pigeon, which flapped its wings and flew toward the southwest.

Yunhua no longer dared remain in that desolate wilderness. Taking the fox with her, she hurried more than a hundred miles to the nearest prefectural city, where she waited for her master to arrive.

The Double Seventh Festival has come. Wishing every single one of you lonely souls a happy festival. May the sweetness never end. Weeping as I run.