Chapter 25

Chapter 25: A Night of Terror

When Rong Shu came back, she ran into Tao Yu Shuang, who asked: “Junior Sister Rong, did you find Junior Sister Yu?”

Rong Shu gave a small cough and nodded: “Yes. But Senior Sister Yu needed to use the latrine; she’ll be along shortly.”

Tao Yu Shuang’s expression went blank for a moment. [The latrine? Cultivators rarely eat grain, so why would she need…] Wait. Tao Yu Shuang remembered they had eaten cooked food just now, and her certainty faltered. “In that case, let’s go back and wait for Junior Sister Yu.”

Since speaking of such matters is hardly elegant for a young lady, Tao Yu Shuang gave up on the idea of going to inform Qin Yuan and the others.

By the time Yu Ruan Ruan returned to the room, Rong Shu was seated in meditation while Tao Yu Shuang was making the bed. Yu Ruan Ruan glanced at Rong Shu’s meager cultivation of first-layer Qi Refining, ignored her, and walked straight to Tao Yu Shuang to ask in a soft, pampered tone: “Senior Sister Tao, am I sleeping inside or outside tonight?”

Tao Yu Shuang shook her head slightly and answered evenly: “I will be meditating as well, so leave the bed to you, Junior Sister Yu.”

“Also?” Yu Ruan Ruan looked at Rong Shu, then at Tao Yu Shuang, confused as to why both were cultivating so hard. Then she remembered their mediocre talent and immediately understood. They were nothing like her, blessed with outstanding aptitude; even without cultivation, her realm would continue to rise. With that thought, Yu Ruan Ruan sprawled comfortably across the bed.

…

In another guest room of the inn, Qin Yuan studied the Sound Transmission Talisman in his hand. After careful thought, he decided to use it. This talisman was issued by the sect to personal disciples traveling outside. It was a pair of Parent-Child Twin Talismans: the child talisman was carried by the disciple abroad, and the mother talisman was kept in the Enforcement Hall on Spirit Nurturing Peak of Heaven’s Evolution Sect. Once the child talisman was activated, the mother talisman would respond instantly and relay the message back.

Qin Yuan circulated spiritual qi and poured it into the Sound Transmission Talisman. As the talisman’s script-lines lit up, he spoke into it, succinctly reporting the situation in Tranquil Harmony Town. When the talisman flashed once more, it ignited without flame in his palm and crumbled into ash. Looking at the ashes, Qin Yuan felt a little more at ease. “Master is probably still in seclusion now; I’ll leave a message for Master as well,” he decided, taking out another Sound Transmission Talisman.

At the same time, in Heaven’s Evolution Sect, on Spirit Nurturing Peak at the Enforcement Hall, a watcher cried: “A mother talisman has been activated; a personal disciple on an external mission has sent news!” Another voice rose, alarmed: “A demonic cultivator? A demonic cultivator has appeared?!” A third voice followed up crisply: “Tranquil Harmony Town… it’s rather far from the sect. Quickly go report to Sect Elder Zhu Qin.”

The disciple overseeing the mother talismans dispatched a runner at once. But as the runner left the side hall that housed the talismans, a middle-aged man in elder’s robes stopped him with a stern rebuke: “Hold it. Why the fluster? Where are your manners?”

Recognizing him, the runner saluted hastily: “Greetings, Elder Xie.” He reported succinctly: “A personal disciple on mission outside the sect has sent word. There are anomalies around Yuan Du Mountain near Tranquil Harmony Town, suspected demonic cultivator activity. I am on my way to report to Sect Elder Zhu Qin.”

Elder Xie’s expression tightened as he said gravely: “In that case, this old fellow will go.” He added in a measured tone: “Elder Zhu is preparing to go into seclusion these days. Try not to disturb her over a small matter like this.”

“Understood,” the runner said without suspicion. “Then I’ll trouble you to go in person, Elder Xie.”

“Mm,” Elder Xie replied, then admonished with heavy emphasis: “Do not spread news of demonic cultivators indiscriminately. We don’t want the sect thrown into panic.”

The runner straightened, his face turning solemn: “Yes, I understand.”

…

By the yin hour, the last sliver of moonlight was swallowed by thick cloud. Heaven and earth fell into utter stillness, lightless and black. On the bleak street, a few dead leaves rose on the night wind, then fell again. The tattered lantern hanging by a doorway had long since lost its glow, and only swung in the wind with a hollow whoosh.

From a dark corner came a rapid, piercing rasping, like fingernails scratching again and again across wood: “creak-creak-creak.” That sound was like a signal, followed by another and another, coming from different directions, seeming to converge from all sides like a black tide that annihilated everything it touched.

Inside the inn, in the room shared by Rong Shu and the other two, Rong Shu and Tao Yu Shuang had meditated through the first half of the night. Near the yin hour, Tao Yu Shuang ended her cultivation, found a table, and fell asleep face-down.

When Rong Shu sensed Tao Yu Shuang’s breathing grow even, she ended her meditation as well and went to the window. Senior Brother Lin Dao’s words had kept her on alert the whole time.

“Hm?” Rong Shu’s eyes narrowed. Just now, on the street outside, something like a shadow had flickered past. An illusion? No. Her heart rang with alarm and she immediately shook Tao Yu Shuang awake.

“What is it… Junior Sister Rong…” Tao Yu Shuang rubbed her eyes and sat up. Before Rong Shu could speak, Wan Li Xuan’s furious shout exploded from the corridor: “F***! What the hell is that?!”

Rong Shu and Tao Yu Shuang realized at once that something was wrong. Tao Yu Shuang hurried to the bed and shook Yu Ruan Ruan awake: “Junior Sister Yu, Junior Sister Rong, we need to move!”

Yu Ruan Ruan, still foggy with sleep, was pulled out the door by Tao Yu Shuang, with Rong Shu close behind. The moment they stepped into the corridor, several berserk men reeking of rot and stench, their eyes muddy and vacant, blocked their way.

“Ah!” Yu Ruan Ruan snapped fully awake, terrified. These people had clearly lost their wits and were fiercely aggressive, able only to roar hoarsely, incapable of speech.

Qin Yuan and the other two were already engaged with them. Qin Yuan, the most knowledgeable among them, shouted over the clash with sudden clarity: “They’re puppets! All of them! This is the handiwork of the Soul Severing Sect!” He had instantly connected it to that sect infamous for Corpse Refining and Soul Driving.

“Were these puppets the people of Tranquil Harmony Town before they died?” someone gasped.

“Damn it! Those demonic-path scum! May they die wretchedly!” Dai Zhou and Wan Li Xuan hurled curses; as cultivators educated by an orthodox sect, they loathed such heretical ways to the core.

Tao Yu Shuang, recovering from her shock, joined the fight. Qin Yuan summoned his three spirit beasts and steadied everyone with a clear command: “Keep calm. I’ve already sent word to the sect. A sect elder should arrive to support us soon. Fight as you fall back and conserve your qi.”

These puppets were dead things, cannon fodder dispatched by the hidden Soul Severing Sect demonic cultivator. Since they did not know the enemy’s true strength, they could not waste all their spiritual qi and trump cards on these puppets.

So they fought while retreating. The inn’s space was too cramped, and, taking advantage of the hole the puppets had smashed through the second-floor wall, they leaped down from the second story. Even Rong Shu, at first-layer Qi Refining, could land without a scratch.

But outside, there were even more puppets. They were packed so densely that a single glance was enough to trigger a visceral revulsion and a deep, primal fear.