Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Even Shi Changxuan, who usually treated Phytolacca God with indifference, couldn’t help but show a hint of sympathy and softly called out, “Lingya.”
Xie Lingya also came to his senses. He realized that he shouldn’t have said that, but he just couldn’t control his mouth.
“Don’t cry, I was wrong.” Xie Lingya plunged his sword into the ground, holding Phytolacca God and coaxing him, “I’ll get your hand back for you, okay?”
Phytolacca God continued to sob, seemingly unable to vent the grief brought on by the double critical strike.
Xie Lingya looked back and saw Fang Zhe collecting the black leopard’s remains. He nodded in his direction, indicating that he could handle it. Then he shone his flashlight down the hillside, trying to find Phytolacca God’s hand.
Liu Lingtong said quietly, “It can’t be found. It fell into a crack in the ice.”
“Ah…” Xie Lingya instinctively looked at Phytolacca God. He was some distance away, but judging by Shi Changxuan’s expression, his sobs had probably intensified.
Fang Zhe snapped the Luban box shut, affixed the talisman he’d prepared, and wrapped it with red string. He walked over and asked, “How’s it going?”
Xie Lingya said, bracing himself, “Little cutie, that thing can’t be salvaged. Let’s go back and research a prosthetic for you. One with joints—it will be so pretty. With some design, it’ll definitely look like your original hand.”
Fang Zhe said admiringly, “Could a wood spirit have a prosthetic? How would it match…” He was halfway through when a sudden realization struck him, and his expression darkened.
Xie Lingya: “Yes, I’m counting on you to figure it out.”
Fang Zhe: “…”
Fang Zhe, forced to do so, promised, “Whether it’s a one-to-one replica or an upgraded prosthetic, I’ll make it for you.”
Shi Changxuan, nearly fainting from Phytolacca God’s sobs, heard it mumble, “Will that still be as cute?”
The other two couldn’t hear, so Shi Changxuan solemnly assured, “Cute.”
Phytolacca God’s sobs subsided a little, and he demanded Xie Lingya’s personal guarantee, then for him to kiss and pet it.
Only after Xie Lingya had done this did the Phytolacca God finally calm down.
Just then, Xie Lingya heard several wild beasts howling, also filled with a deadly aura. So he hurriedly called out, “Let’s go!”
They spread out the mat and prepared to walk out of Youdu Mountain. But the mysterious beasts had already approached them in an instant, likely attracted by the previous commotion.
“I’ll hold the rear, you go out first,” Xie Lingya called out, when several ghosts appeared, striding stiffly to block the way.
These Snow Mountain ghosts weren’t living beings, so they didn’t need to step back on the magic barrier like Xie Lingya and his group had, to enter Youdu Mountain.
A closer look revealed that the leader was the Tang soldier who had first approached Xie Lingya and asked him to deliver the message. He was more thoughtful than the others, and had realized that Xie Lingya and his group were here to grant them salvation. He nodded to Xie Lingya and said slowly, “We’ll take care of you.”
He had likely been a minor leader in his lifetime, and even though the other ghosts were unconscious, they subconsciously followed his commands. He raised his hand, and the Tang soldiers lined up, wielding their Mo Daos with heavy blows, their blades pointed in the direction of the restless mystical beasts.
These were, surprisingly, the Tang army’s most skilled Mo Dao[1] wielders. The Tang army had fought battles against foreign powers, often winning more than losing, wielding their unique long-handled Mo Dao weapons, crushing any who dared to stand in their way.
Though dead, these Tang soldiers’ spirits lingered, still carrying the same ambition from a thousand years ago. Faced with such spirits, even the mystical beasts hesitated.
Xie Lingya no longer hesitated, bowing to them and taking the opportunity to leave Youdu Mountain.
….
Hai Guanchao sat in the tent, alternately crouching and rising, occasionally peeking out to see what was going on outside. Unsure when Xie Lingya and the others would return, he felt a surge of anxiety.
The moonlight tonight was like frost, casting a shadow on the snow-capped peaks, adding to the desolation.
Hai Guanchao sat there for a moment, stunned, when he suddenly heard a laugh, shrill as a woman’s, yet with a hint of inhumanity that sent chills down his spine. He silently chanted the sponge spirit’s name, bravely opened the tent a little and peeked out. He was shocked to see several weasels crouching outside, one with its mouth open, a sneer on its face.
“What a haunting presence!” Hai Guanchao thought grimly.
He’d thought the weasels had all fled, but he wondered when they’d come back and found their way here.
Luckily, Xie Lingya knew his safety was paramount, so he had carefully prepared the tent. Now that Hai Guanchao knew what it was, his fear subsided somewhat.
“Go ahead and do what you want, wait for the sponge spirit to come out…”
Hai Guanchao was thinking this when he saw a group of Tang Dynasty ghosts approaching against the wind. With a single wave of their swords, they drove the weasels away—or rather, the weasels fled in fear at the sight of them.
“What ruthless, fearless creatures!”
Seeing that the ghosts hadn’t noticed him, Hai Guanchao sat back down, lost in thought for a moment. Suddenly, he heard a noise and quickly left the tent. Looking over, he was stunned.
Fang Zhe already had difficulty walking, so he had put one hand on his chest and hooked the other hand on Xie Lingya’s shoulder, limping out of the Gangdan and finally standing firmly.
Xie Lingya had taken off his hat, his hair was a little messy, and his sweat had frozen several times. There were two Reporting gods placed side by side on his shoulders, one of which was missing an arm.
And Shi Changxuan, besides looking a little embarrassed, was holding a chicken in his arms, whose butt was bald.
Hai Guanchao was stunned, this character sketch, so miserable!
He quickly reacted and took out the thermos: “Drink some hot water, are you injured? Did you succeed?”
“We caught it. See Fang Zhe, he’s on the verge of vomiting blood.” Xie Lingya pointed at Fang Zhe, then he sat down on the stone and drank water. He was exhausted from the previous fight.
Hai Guanchao felt Fang Zhe’s pulse as he said, “What happened to Guo’er?”
Xie Lingya paused for a second before realizing what Hai Guanchao meant. He sighed and said, “Our good comrade, Phytolacca God, was ambushed by a yin entity, leaving his arm permanently trapped in a glacier.”
Hai Guanchao’s lips twitched as he added, “…Pheasant, is it still alive?”
Though the Pheasant couldn’t make a sound, it was still alive, thank goodness. Although its bottom was frozen solid at this moment but Xie Lingya covered its bottom with a towel. Pheasant had injuries on its wings and bottom, and having just escaped danger, it was left to its own devices. He wondered if it realized it had narrowly escaped death.
“He’s also a hero to us,” Fang Zhe sighed, having witnessed the tenacity of its life.
Hai Guanchao remembered that once Xie Lingya went back to pray for the souls of the deceased, another one might be paralyzed.
It was all thanks to his presence; if he weren’t there, Shi Changxuan wouldn’t have been able to help them all. If the three of them had called for help from the mountain, it would have been all over the news, with the story of a hiker trapped in an undeveloped snowy mountain with an urgent need for rescue, and they would have been slammed by netizens.
Hai Guanchao felt more and more suffocated by the thought. He thus said fearfully, “Let’s get down quickly. Don’t let anything happen again. Those fellow villagers just came again, but luckily they were driven away by the soldiers.”
Xie Lingya told him that they had just been in Youdu Mountain, and it was the Tang soldiers who had helped them block the Youdu evil spirits. Everyone sighed for a moment, and as soon as daybreak came, they descended the mountain, rushing to the lakeside before the water receded.
….
A ray of golden light pierced the darkness from the horizon, coating the snowy peaks with a layer of golden light. Gradually, the light spread across the earth, revealing a radiant brightness.
The four of them had only taken a short rest at this moment, then hurriedly shouldering their bags, they hurriedly descended the mountain to the occasional crowing of the rooster.
Once they reached the lakeside, they continued to camp at their previous campsite. Xie Lingya first took the opportunity to rest for two hours, then discussed with the leading ghost to gather all the wandering souls. Only then did he bring out some food and first digested it for the souls to eat.
“Cold nectar food, boundless Dharma flavor food. Qianhe flows the seven treasures, nothing can hinder the underworld. Receiving this Dharma food, ascend to the heavens and ascend to the Ziwei Mountain. Blessings are lofty, and the food brings purity.” Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan chanted an incantation, transforming the food into nectar. Then, it was scattered among the thousands of ghosts.
The previously indifferent ghosts were even a little incredulous when they noticed the food.
This place was sparsely populated, they had lived at the bottom of the lake year-round, their loved ones were also long gone, so they hadn’t tasted food in a thousand years.
A low murmur rose from the ghosts, and then they reached out, grasped the nectar being sprinkled upon them, and began to consume it. The nectar, blessed with the incantation, flowed down their cold throats, warming and filling their bellies.
The mere act of eating filled these departed souls with ecstasy.
They had almost forgotten what it felt like to eat. In comparison, the ghosts wandering the human world could at least snag a little food during the Ghost Festival.
Ghosts that had frozen to death and hadn’t eaten for a thousand years don’t look good when they eat, but precisely because of this, the four people watched with even greater emotion. As for Brother Pheasant, it was already numb. Even facing so many dead souls, its round chicken eyes were calm.
The four people used their limited yellow paper to fold some winter clothes and burned them for them. When they returned in the future and had the conditions, they would burn more to keep the numerous frozen ghosts warm.
After digesting the food, Xie Lingya saw that the ghosts’ faces were less numb and more satisfied, and he sighed inwardly. He could feed these ghosts who had wandered the world for a thousand years, but he couldn’t satisfy their inner desire to return to their homeland.
Perhaps there were some regrets that he couldn’t redeem no matter how capable he was. These dead souls could only set off on their journey with a longing for their homeland.
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