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墨書 Inktalez
The Miao people, a nation filled with mystery and wonder, are known for their enigmatic witchcraft. One of the gathering places for the Miao in S Province is Yixian, where the annual income falls below the national average, and most people rely on farming for their livelihood.
Mu Xuanche brought us to Yixian, our destination being a mountain village so remote that even buses cannot reach it; we could only enter by ox-drawn carts or on foot.
Upon arriving in S Province, to take care of me and Shangguan Mingyue, we chose to rest for a night in the city before heading to Yixian.
We gathered in the hotel lobby, waiting for Bai Qiling to handle the check-in process.
"How pretentious," Jin Ping scoffed, casting a disdainful glance our way.
She was annoyed by the trouble that I and Shangguan Mingyue were causing. Unlike her three companions, who seemed almost superhuman and could go without food or rest, we were not so fortunate. The continuous journey had drained much of our energy, and without a break, we would surely collapse.
Her words instantly provoked Shangguan Mingyue.
"You wretch! What are you talking about?"
Seeing the tension rise between them, I quickly intervened. With Bai Qiling absent, I didn’t want Mingyue to end up at a disadvantage.
"Mingyue, don’t argue with someone who isn’t human," I said.
Jin Ping was momentarily silenced by my remark, her face flushed with indignation as she struggled to respond.
I was right; they were already beyond human. There was indeed a distinction between the realms of life and death.
To my surprise, Jin Ping rolled her eyes and went off to find Mu Xuanche.
"Xuan Wang, how dare this woman insult us like that?"
"Hmph," I replied coldly, so what if she cursed?
Ever since that argument, I had been in a cold war with Mu Xuanche. If he dared to speak up now, let him try.
Sure enough, Mu Xuanche merely glanced at me and said nothing more.
Jin Ping was so furious that her hands twisted together, nearly tearing her sleeves apart. I felt sorry for her sleeves just watching her.
Bai Qiling arrived and requested three rooms.
One room was handed to me, and another to Jin Ping.
Even though she was a ghost now and others couldn't see her, she still needed a place to stay.
On the way here, Shangguan Mingyue had already discussed it with me. She would compromise and share a room with Bai Qiling, while I would stay with Mu Xuanche.
The reason for this arrangement was to prevent Jin Ping from having any opportunity; I was determined to keep those two apart.
I initially thought this might not be fair to Mingyue. Although Bai Qiling's scheming was evident, Mingyue hadn't expressed her stance yet. To my surprise, she told me that it wouldn't matter even if they slept separately; she had tried countless methods, but Bai Qiling always managed to appear in her bed at Second.
Jin Ping started throwing a tantrum again, refusing to take the room key.
Bai Qiling, not one to back down easily, shoved the key into her hand and turned to leave.
I remained silent, tossing my belongings onto a chair and walking ahead alone. If he didn't want to share a room with me, then why should I fight for it?
As I pushed open the door, someone behind me stepped in first.
I snapped back to reality and waved at the person following me outside before entering the room and closing the door.
The first thing I did upon entering the room was to cover the door with Ghost Suppression Talismans.
After all, I am a master; how could I not deal with a mere spirit?
I pulled over a stool, crossed my arms over my chest, and propped my feet up high, my sharp eyes fixed intently on the person in front of me.
He approached and reached out to push my legs down.
It seemed like I was determined to oppose him; I lifted my feet again.
After a few attempts, he finally grew impatient, furrowing his brows as he said, "Crossed legs are not good for children."
With that one sentence, I obediently lowered my feet.
He reached out to pull me closer, but I pushed him away in defiance.
This time, however, he didn’t let me win; he directly pulled me into his embrace, restraining me so I couldn’t move.
I tried to struggle, but he slapped my butt and coldly scolded, "Stop messing around."
I shot him a sideways glare, curious about what trick he would pull next.
He frowned and said, "Yan Xi, why don’t you just stay at the hotel and not come with me to Yixian?"
"I’m not going with you. Do you want that woman to go have fun with you instead?"
I shouted that almost without thinking, and the atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
The room fell silent for a long time—so long that I nearly dozed off—before Mu Xuanche finally spoke up.
"I can let Jin Ping stay behind; it will only be Bai Qiling and me going. Is that acceptable?"
For the first time, I saw Mu Xuanche speaking to me in a negotiating tone, but there was no room for discussion on this matter.
"No way, even if it's dangerous, I have to go with you. You absolutely cannot leave me behind this time."
Mu Xuanche sighed in resignation and had no choice but to relent.
He turned around and placed all four pieces of gold foil on the table, then looked up at me and asked, "Do you understand seal script?"
I shook my head; I couldn't even recognize traditional characters, let alone seal script.
"Are we going to find Ying Ziying's tomb?" I asked him.
He seemed unfazed by my knowledge of whose tomb it was, burying his head in the gold foil and shaking it without looking back.
"When the Qin State fell, Prince Ying of Qin surrendered to Liu Bang. One of his Cao surname ministers came with him to the Shu Region. What we are looking for is the tomb of this Cao surname minister. Inside it is something that is key to finding Prince Ying of Qin's tomb."
I didn't understand and asked him, "But didn't history say that Prince Ying of Qin was killed by the overlord Xiang Yu? His tomb is also considered ominous."
Mu Xuanche scoffed, "How could a man who could kill Zhao Gao be taken down by a brute like Xiang Yu? History is written by people; how many things have been fabricated or altered? How can you know?"
It seemed he held a high opinion of Prince Ying of Qin. The historical records described him as benevolent and wise—a rare ruler—yet the Qin State had already been thoroughly defeated by Hu Hai.
Based on the information he provided, I analyzed it.
If the gold foil recorded the locations of ancient tombs, then we needed to find these six tombs to obtain information about Prince Ying of Qin's tomb so we could ultimately locate it.
No wonder that Spirit Sect Leader was so arrogant; even if Mu Xuanche found five pieces of Gold Foil Silk, he still wouldn't be able to locate the final Qin Wang's Tomb.
...
On the twenty-first day of the month, everyone was arranged to get up and head to Yixian.
It took two hours by bus to reach the outskirts of Yixian, and then we had to trek along mountain paths to get deeper into the mountains.
After more than two hours of walking, it was clear that these mountains were indeed vast. In a region like S Province, which is primarily a basin, it was rare to find such high peaks, and the density of the forest within them was also uncommon.
Finally, we spotted a villager. To reduce his wariness, I decided to approach him for information.
"Excuse me, brother, could you tell me how to get to Mang Mountain?"
The villager scrutinized me from head to toe. His dark skin accentuated the stark contrast of his eyes, which looked somewhat eerie.
After about ten seconds, he spoke in a Mandarin accent that I found difficult to understand. "Not know."
Not know.
I paused for a moment before realizing that he meant he didn't know.
"Ah,"
A sudden shriek from a girl echoed through the forest.
The villager reacted instantly, turning and sprinting deep into the woods at an incredible speed, as if he were about to take flight.
Seeing something was wrong, all of us followed suit and ran after him.
When we reached the spot where the scream had originated, we saw a large black boar baring its massive tusks, while in front of it stood a woman dressed in ethnic costume.
I initially thought about rushing in to help but was stopped by Mu Xuanche.
He gave me a look, signaling me to observe what was happening ahead.
The villager had arrived before us but didn’t charge forward. Instead, he stopped at a safe distance from the wild boar.
He stood to our front side, and from my angle, I could see a scene of a man, a woman, and a pig facing off.
In those eyes, which were clearly more numerous than Dark Eyes, a terrifying gaze was fixed on the large Black Boar before him.
Just as we were wondering how long this standoff would last, the man suddenly twitched his eyes, and with swift movements, he placed a bamboo tube in his mouth. He took a deep breath and then forcefully exhaled.
A silver needle shot towards the wild boar, instantly piercing its eye.
The wild boar had no strength to resist and collapsed to the ground in an instant.
Children who grew up in the village knew that the wild boar was the Mountain King. Even tigers dared not confront it head-on because of its exceptionally thick skin; even with a gun in hand, one would not dare to act recklessly.
This Villager managed to take down a wild boar with just one needle, leaving everyone present utterly astonished.
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