Chapter 18
Chen Family Village had two entrances: the main gate at the front and a back gate leading to the rear mountain. After discussing with Minister Chen, Song Ling and Brother Wu decided to abandon the idea of setting traps within the village and instead focus on the main entrance. Since the jiangshi had always entered through the front gate, setting a trap there would prevent them from entering the village altogether, minimizing casualties and avoiding the need to displace more villagers.
The back gate led directly to the mortuary, which was now heavily guarded. Any unusual activity there would be immediately detected. Therefore, they concentrated their efforts on the front entrance.
They dug a deep pit outside the village. A wooden plank was placed over the pit, allowing people to enter and exit the village. Once night fell, they would remove the plank, ensuring that any approaching jiangshi would fall into the pit.
They also planted numerous iron spears at the bottom of the pit. Any jiangshi falling in would be impaled. Even if they survived the fall, the pit was deep enough to prevent them from climbing out. While this might not eliminate all the jiangshi, it would at least provide a temporary solution and prevent further deaths.
Song Ling instructed Brother Wu to pour kerosene around the pit, allowing them to burn any jiangshi that didn’t fall in, without risking the lives of their men. After setting the trap, they pitched several tents near the village gate, providing shelter for the soldiers guarding the entrance.
Minister Chen and Magistrate Wang arrived at the village gate in the evening to join the watch. Song Ling took the opportunity to return to the magistrate’s office to rest and check on Li Xinjun. Upon arriving, she found Li Xinjun diligently assisting Doctor Huang. She called out to Li Xinjun, inviting her to join her for dinner. Li Xinjun, delighted to see Song Ling, immediately abandoned her task and followed her to the dining hall.
“Sister Ling, how come you have time to come back?”
“Minister Chen and Magistrate Wang are there keeping watch. I came back to rest and see how you’re doing.”
“I’m going stir-crazy being stuck here! I have nothing to do all day. Since Minister Chen is here tonight, why don’t you stay and keep me company?”
“I can’t. They’ll need my help if the jiangshi appear. Be good, Jun’er. Once we’ve eliminated those jiangshi, we’ll go back home, and then I’ll be with you every day, okay?”
“Sister Ling, who knows how long it will take to resolve this? We might be stuck here for months!”
“Nonsense! We’ve set up the trap. Unless the jiangshi don’t come, we’ll catch them all.”
“Then let me come with you tonight! I’m almost fully recovered. I’ll stay in the back and won’t do anything.”
“You think I don’t know you? You won’t be able to resist joining the fight. That wound on your hand is deep. If you get hurt again, it could be permanently damaged. Just stay here and wait.”
“Sister Ling~ Please let me go! I promise I’ll be good. I won’t do anything.”
“No means no. I promise, once this is over, I’ll take you to Mount Tian to stay for a while. I’ll ask my master to accept you as her disciple. Then I’ll be with you every day, training together. How does that sound?”
“Wow, really? I can go to Mount Tian?”
“Yes, really. Just be good, and I’ll take you there.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you here. Don’t break your promise! Don’t tell me you have to go somewhere else to help people after this. I won’t let you.”
“Alright, alright, I promise. We can always come back down the mountain later.”
“Okay, it’s a deal.”
“It’s a deal. Now, let’s eat. I have to leave again after dinner.”
Song Ling and Li Xinjun enjoyed their meal, their laughter filling the room. They temporarily put aside their worries and savored the moment of peace. After dinner, Li Xinjun walked Song Ling to the gate of the magistrate’s office.
Li Xinjun hugged Song Ling, reminding her to come back early and rest. Song Ling nodded in agreement and then turned to leave. Li Xinjun watched her go, her gaze lingering on Song Ling’s retreating figure until she was out of sight.
By the time Song Ling returned to the village gate, night had fallen. She entered the tent where Minister Chen and Magistrate Wang were waiting and joined them. The night was exceptionally cold, and a chilling wind swept through the air, creating an unsettling atmosphere. Song Ling peered through the tent entrance, observing the sky.
The night sky was overcast, obscuring the stars. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds. The ominous sky filled Song Ling with a sense of foreboding. She performed a quick calculation and realized that it was a rare occurrence: a yin year, yin month, and yin day. If combined with the yin hour, something terrible might happen. She hadn’t anticipated this. She was about to return to the magistrate’s office to find Li Xinjun when a commotion outside interrupted her thoughts.
The soldiers guarding the tent had been instructed to feign retreat upon seeing the jiangshi, luring them towards the pit. Archers hidden inside the tents would then emerge and unleash a volley of arrows, eliminating any jiangshi that didn’t fall into the pit.
Their feigned retreat successfully lured the jiangshi towards them. However, just as they were about to fall into the pit, a deafening roar echoed from behind them.
“Roar!”
The jiangshi, startled, stopped in their tracks and turned to look.
Song Ling sensed a powerful demonic aura, her heart sinking. It was similar to the aura she and Li Xinjun had encountered in the cave when they first discovered the jiangshi. She suddenly remembered that they had seen two coffins in the cave, but only one jiangshi had emerged to fight them. And now that she thought about it, that jiangshi’s aura hadn’t been as strong.
Could this approaching jiangshi be the one from the other coffin? Song Ling wondered. But they had burned the cave down. There shouldn’t be any remnants. Had something happened that they weren’t aware of? She shook off her thoughts and narrowed her eyes, looking in the direction the jiangshi were facing.
A figure slowly emerged from the distance, its form gradually becoming clearer. This jiangshi was different from the others. It was wrapped in layers of dirty, yellowish-white bandages. Although its face was obscured, the gaps in the tattered bandages revealed that it was a desiccated corpse.
The jiangshi standing in front parted, making way for the approaching figure. It seemed this jiangshi was not ordinary. It was like their leader. Song Ling realized that Brother Wu was right. Jiangshi weren’t completely mindless. This realization filled her with dread, as it meant that they were even more formidable than she had imagined.
The jiangshi king stepped forward and stood before the other jiangshi. It pointed a finger at Minister Chen. Seizing the opportunity, Minister Chen ordered the archers to fire.
“Loose! Don’t let them escape! Fire!”
The archers obeyed, unleashing a volley of arrows. The sky was filled with projectiles, raining down on the jiangshi. The jiangshi king, agile and swift, swatted away the arrows with its hands, remaining unharmed. However, the surrounding jiangshi were struck, sustaining injuries, though not fatal ones.
Seeing that the arrows weren’t effective, Minister Chen ordered the archers to dip the arrowheads in kerosene and light them. The sky lit up with flaming arrows, raining down on the jiangshi and the surrounding area. The arrows ignited the kerosene that had been poured on the ground, creating a blazing inferno. Two of the jiangshi were engulfed in flames, their roars echoing through the night.
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
The jiangshi king, enraged, let out a deafening roar.
“Roar!!!”
The sound was so loud that everyone instinctively covered their ears. The jiangshi king raised its hands, palms facing upward. Suddenly, all the arrows that had been fired and were now stuck in the ground began to float in mid-air. With a flick of its wrists, the jiangshi king directed the arrows towards the villagers.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Countless arrows rained down on the soldiers.
“Argh!” “Oof!”
More than half of the soldiers were struck and fell to the ground. Minister Chen and Magistrate Wang were shielded by their guards and narrowly escaped injury.
Song Ling deftly deflected the arrows aimed at her with her sword. Seeing the situation deteriorating, she stepped back and called out to Brother Wu, who was standing nearby.
“Brother Wu, come here and protect me! I need to invoke the Celestial Master’s power! Quickly!”
Brother Wu obeyed, standing in front of Song Ling, shielding her from the arrows. Song Ling clasped her hands together, forming fists, and then raised her index and middle fingers, pointing them between her eyebrows. She closed her eyes and began to chant an incantation.
She had never imagined that she would have to resort to this technique. It was a secret art of the Tianshan Sect, rarely used by its disciples. Some disciples never used it in their entire lives.
This technique allowed the founder of the Tianshan Sect, the Celestial Master, to possess her body, granting her access to all her latent spiritual power. Once this power was unlocked, it would remain with her for life. This was why most disciples were hesitant to use this technique. Once their spiritual power was depleted, their lives would end. In essence, invoking the Celestial Master’s power would shorten their lifespans by twenty years. Therefore, it was only used as a last resort, in life-or-death situations.
Song Ling couldn’t stand idly by and watch innocent people die. Moreover, her current level of power was insufficient to defeat the jiangshi king. If it wasn’t stopped, more people would die, and humanity might even face extinction.
Using her right foot, she drew a circle on the ground around herself and then shouted,
“Celestial Master, hear my plea! Song Ling, disciple of the Tianshan Sect, summons your presence! Grant me your power to protect the innocent and save the world!”
After finishing the invocation, she stomped her right foot on the ground three times.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
A strong wind swept through the area. The overcast sky suddenly brightened, and the moonlight shone directly on Song Ling. She opened her eyes, her gaze fixed on the jiangshi king. She spread her hands and, with a gesture, conjured a yin-yang symbol. She then clapped her hands together, releasing a powerful blast of energy that transformed into a brilliant phoenix made of fire, soaring towards the jiangshi king.
The phoenix left a trail of fire in its wake. As it collided with the jiangshi king, the creature tried to block it with its hands but was sent flying backward. The flames engulfed the jiangshi king, turning it into a burning inferno. It roared in agony and then fled towards the forest.
Song Ling, her power receding, gave chase, but the jiangshi king had vanished. She knew that she couldn’t let it escape. Capturing it would only become more difficult. She found Brother Wu, gave him a few instructions, and then resumed her pursuit of the jiangshi king.
Everything happened so fast that no one had time to react. Song Ling disappeared into the forest. Brother Wu stood there, stunned, filled with regret for not stopping her. He clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on the direction Song Ling had gone. Minister Chen approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Brother Wu, I know what you’re thinking, but even if you went after her, you would only hinder her. Wouldn’t it be better to stay here and help with the aftermath?”
“Sigh… I hope Doctor Song returns safely. I don’t know how I’ll face Little Jun if something happens to her.”
“I’m sure Miss Li will understand.”
“I hope so.”
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