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墨書 Inktalez
I smiled at Xiaorou, my curiosity bubbling over. Xiaorou chuckled and said, "I can answer that question for you. Yin Gu is a very sinister and obscure type of insect in the realm of raising insects. It's quite difficult to learn because Yin Gu is not nurtured using living organisms, but rather with the cultivation of yin spirits. This places high demands on the Gu Master; most people simply don't have the capability."
I was stunned. Raising insects with yin spirits? What kind of nonsense was that? The Yin Qi of a yin spirit is overwhelming; it's true that the Insect of Sorcery prefers the dark, but if it were truly placed upon a yin spirit, it probably wouldn't survive. I glanced at my master and then at Master Zhang; they both nodded in agreement with Xiaorou's explanation.
I remained silent as Xiaorou continued, "Actually, Yin Gu used to be formed by parasitizing corpses inside tombs. Some people would use the Yin Qi from the tombs to nurture Yin Gu to prevent grave robbers. So, during a period when many road workers dug into tombs, they inevitably encountered some form of Yin Gu poison. As a result, their health would be affected to varying degrees, mainly causing large areas of skin to rot. However, the Yin Gu we're discussing now is different from that type. Many individuals with ulterior motives began to conspire with those knowledgeable in ghostly arts to raise insects using yin spirits. The insects produced this way are not comparable to the wild insects found in tombs. Using such things to harm people becomes truly troublesome."
"Well, I think I have a general idea now," I said before returning to my meal.
Master Zhang continued, "I'm not very familiar with Yin Gu either; I never intended to get involved with it. However, we had two clients before who were passing through Tsuchiya just as it was getting dark. I'm quite familiar with this area and knew there were no suitable places to rest ahead, so I took my apprentice to find shelter inside Tsuchiya. After we settled our clients, we prepared to cook something and sleep. At first, everything was fine; there were no abnormalities. But once we fell asleep, things took a turn."
"What happened?" my master asked.
Master Zhang replied, "After I fell asleep, I had a dream that felt incredibly real. I dreamed that my apprentice and those two clients had turned into people covered in Blood Holes, each one crawling with a centipede. They looked extremely pained, crying out for me to save them. In the dream, I didn't know what to do; I'd never encountered anything like this before. After a while, all three of them surrounded me—two clients held my hands while my apprentice tightly gripped my neck. Then I suffocated and woke up gasping for air; by then, the two clients had vanished. My apprentice was sitting beside me, staring blankly."
"At that moment, Xiao Zhou was already possessed by a ghost," my master asked.
Master Zhang nodded and continued, "Yes, he didn't respond when I called him; only when I pulled him along would he follow me like a walking corpse."
"Old Zhang, how did you know there were many ghosts inside Tsuchiya?" my master inquired again—this was also what I wanted to ask.
"Because when I entered, it wasn't even five o'clock yet. After my apprentice opened the door to Tsuchiya, I shone my flashlight inside and saw more than ten figures packed closely together; some were even dressed in old-fashioned clothing from society's past. But they disappeared in an instant. At first, I thought I was just too tired and seeing things; I didn't pay much attention to it. However, after my apprentice became possessed, I realized something was amiss. Those ten or so figures weren't just figments of my imagination; they were real ghosts," Master Zhang said astonishingly.
It made sense; if it were me in his position, I'd also think I was seeing things. How could there possibly be more than ten Spirit Gods inside one room? Moreover, some dressed in old-fashioned clothes? It wasn't that so many Spirit Gods couldn't appear together in this mud-brick house; rather, if so many Spirit Gods gathered in one place, the Yin Qi would surely be exceptionally strong—anyone opening the door would feel something unusual. Such an anomaly would deter anyone from entering casually.
"There are so many, and some are even dressed in old-fashioned clothes. This is not a simple matter. Not to mention the Yin Gu, just those ten or so Spirit Gods are quite troublesome. The possessed Spirit God is no small threat; the room is filled with talismans, and that Willow Branch is a soul-hunting branch passed down from my Master, its power is formidable. An ordinary Spirit God would be unable to hold their form for even a minute against it. If these ten or so Spirit Gods you mentioned, Old Zhang, are all of this strength, then my apprentice and I alone won't have a good solution," the Master said in astonishment.
"Ah, you have no confidence?" Master Zhang replied, "What should we do then? I'm not trying to oppose the person raising the Yin Gu; I just need to find my two clients. I've been in this business for most of my life and have never lost a client before. Death is paramount; I cannot afford to lose this Corpse."
"How about this? I'm just making a judgment here. Let's go take a look at the situation first and then discuss how to proceed," the Master suggested.
"Alright."
"Good."
Everyone agreed unanimously and did not speak further on the matter. Since they decided to check on the Tsuchiya later, they also refrained from drinking more. After dinner, Brother Zhou took the initiative to pay the bill, and we returned to the hotel to grab the Cloth Bag. The group then boarded a van heading towards Tsuchiya.
This village was called Alliance Village, an ordinary place surrounded by mountains. The mountain where Tsuchiya was located was quite a distance from the village, and the road leading there was rough and bumpy. When we reached the foot of the mountain, the Master's expression darkened again due to the jarring ride. I gave him some ginger slices, and after a moment he said, "Let's go see this mysterious Tsuchiya." I checked my watch; it was already past ten.
The road was difficult to navigate, and the mountain path was even worse. Fortunately, Tsuchiya wasn't far; after about twenty minutes of walking, we could faintly see its outline with the Flashlight.
When we were still several dozen meters away from Tsuchiya, the Master said, "Wait." After saying that, he took out the Strong Flashlight and shone it towards Tsuchiya. It was only one story tall with two rooms. The roof was covered with tiles that were already in disrepair. Behind it was a small ditch. The entire building was made of large yellow clay bricks. Due to its age, the two wooden doors had turned black. There were no windows in this house; those two black doors were set at the front of Tsuchiya like dark eyes gazing outside. Occasionally, we could hear birds cooing nearby, adding to the lifeless atmosphere of the house.
The Master took out a compass and examined it closely but found nothing unusual. He then said, "Let's move forward a bit more." After walking about twenty meters further, he raised his hand and said, "Stop." We were now only ten meters away from Tsuchiya. The Master stared at the compass with a look of terror on his face and said, "We can't go any further." He then reached into the Cloth Bag and pulled out a small handful of yellow beans, drawing over ten Hand Spells on them before scattering them on the ground.
There were about twenty or thirty beans in that handful. After hitting the ground, some began to slowly turn black. The Master started searching carefully on the ground with his Flashlight while counting aloud: "One, two, three... thirteen." He continued counting until he reached thirteen before stopping.
"There are thirteen Spirit Gods inside," he said after thinking for a moment. "And they are all of similar strength to that possessed Spirit God; we'll need to call for help."
"Do you want me to find another soul collector?" Master Zhang asked.
The master shook his head and said, "No need. I’ll call Old Pan over. Just go back for now; I'm very tired today and can't do anything tonight. Let's rest for the evening and discuss it tomorrow when he arrives."
Old Pan, whom the master mentioned, is a genuine Taoist disciple with a deep friendship with the master. They had worked together on many matters when they were younger, knowing each other well and having a seamless partnership. Their combined efforts were far more than just simple addition. I had met Master Pan a few times, and his abilities were on par with the master's—very strong. He also had a disciple, a burly black man named Master Xiao, who was not only mentally unstable but also very stubborn in his ways.
"Master, if you’re calling Master Pan, will Xiao come too?" I asked, secretly hoping he would show up. Although I hadn’t interacted much with him, we seemed to hit it off well; as he put it, our birth dates and times attracted us to each other, destined to be lifelong friends.
"He will definitely come. He hasn’t graduated yet, so he’ll be following the master around. This is such a great learning opportunity; he wouldn’t miss it," the master replied before turning to head back.
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Here’s the fixed update for six o'clock. Thank you all for your votes; you are the best! Special thanks to the Lumber Team for their diamond support.
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