State: Updated to: Chapter 594, Xu-Dog and Hai-Pig
Content Introduction:
The dynasty has changed hands, and the mortal world is in chaos. Demons and ghosts wreak havoc upon the common people. A young man comes from the previous dynasty's Demon Exorcism Bureau, dwelling in a coffin-house, wielding a black blade, vowing to purge the world of all evil spirits, prop up the crumbling edifice, and create eternal peace.
Chapter 1: The Grave Dug Before Breath Departs
A rainy night in the barren mountains.
A group of a dozen-odd people hurried along.
In the muddy mountain path, a string of panicked footprints was left behind.
At the foot of the mountain, a bulky black shadow lowered its head to sniff the footprints, then let out a sharp, drawn-out howl.
Awooo...
"The wolf pack is catching up! Hurry, move!"
"We already used herbs to mask our scent, so how can the wolves still track us? Could those beasts read footprints?!"
"Ordinary wolves certainly can't, but a wolf demon can! There must be a fiend hidden within the pack!"
An atmosphere of terror spread rapidly through the group.
The grey-haired old man leading them said in a deep voice:
"Cross this Green Fox Mountain and we will reach Cangshi Town. There are garrison troops stationed in the town, which can ensure the Princess's safety."
In the center of the group was a young maiden. With bright eyes and white teeth, she possessed a dignified and delicate appearance. She wore a pure white robe, and though her footsteps were somewhat unsteady, her gaze remained calm throughout, possessing a composure that surpassed her years.
She was the youngest princess of the Jin State, Mu Qingyao.
Endowed with a special talent since birth, she had been pinned with high hopes by the imperial family. Today, she was the youngest disciple of the Dajin Tianshu Bureau, as well as a recognized talented woman among the many students of the Tianqi Academy.
This journey deep into the borderlands was to search for a precious spirit flower. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed by fiends along the way, leaving only a dozen or so survivors out of the three hundred Imperial Guards who escorted her. They had no choice but to retreat within the borders, only to encounter roaming wolf demons in Green Fox Mountain.
Since the founding of the Jin State fifteen years ago, natural disasters had been incessant and demons and monsters had spawned endlessly. It was fine near the imperial capital, but the more remote the towns, the more prone they were to hauntings by evil entities.
Over the years, the common people had suffered bitterly.
To fend off evil spirits, the Tianshu Bureau spared no expense in forging the Demon-Subduing Array, which could keep fiends outside the barrier and ensure the safety of the local people.
However, the spirit flower—the key component required for the Demon-Subduing Array—was far too rare. To this day, only three Demon-Subduing Arrays had been built, deployed respectively within the Imperial City and two surrounding major cities.
As a result, land prices in the three main cities had soared year after year. While the Demon-Subduing Array was safe, it had nothing to do with the impoverished commoners; it was merely a paradise for the rich.
As they hurried along, the grey-haired old man sighed:
"Although the Demon Capital has fallen, there are even more evil spirits in the world than in the previous dynasty."
"As long as enough Demon-Subduing Arrays are built, the common people of the world will naturally be safe and secure."
Mu Qingyao's voice was light and ethereal, carrying a trace of resoluteness.
The wolf pack arrived extremely fast.
A dense, pitch-black mass of leaping wolf silhouettes approached rapidly in the heavy rain.
The massive figure in the lead made a single bound of two or three zhang, leaving the wolf pack far behind.
"There really is a wolf demon!"
The grey-haired old man halted his steps, slowly drew his long sword, and said in a deep voice, "This old man will hold them off for a bit. The Princess must press forward and escape—whatever you do, don't look back!"
A dozen imperial guards drew their swords and blades, turning back resolutely and charging silently into the oncoming wolf pack.
Opposite them, a cyan giant wolf the size of an ox leaped through the air.
"Accursed beast, prepare to die!"
Sword light flashed with a chilling glare, slashing horizontally and colliding with the wolf's claws to produce a crisp sound like clashing metal and iron.
The demon wolf's strength was so immense that the grey-haired old man was clearly outmatched. Yet the moment the giant wolf lunged past, the long sword suddenly slipped from his grip, spinning on its own behind the demon wolf and thrusting down fiercely.
Thud!
The long sword pierced into the back of the demon wolf's neck, and the towering giant beast crashed down under a large tree.
"A mere fiend cannot escape this old man's sword-control technique."
The grey-haired old man gave a cold snort, grasping the hilt of the sword as if to sever the wolf's head.
Once the alpha wolf died, the wolf pack would naturally retreat.
Whoosh!
Two puffs of white vapor suddenly spewed from behind the tree.
The grey-haired old man was startled; he saw that the eyes of the pierced wolf demon actually held an anthropomorphic cunningness.
It was a trap!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a massive wolf head poked out from the shadows behind the tree.
Its fangs were like blades, its fur as fresh and red as blood, and a third wolf eye grew upon its forehead!
That was a crimson giant wolf taller than the old man, and the two puffs of white vapor were its breath.
"Three-Eyed Blood Wolf!"
Crack!!
Before the old man could let out more than a single cry of alarm, a blood-sucking maw swallowed him whole.
The previous cyan wolf demon was merely a decoy; the truly terrifying fiend was hidden deep within the pack.
The heavy rain suddenly stopped.
Moonlight spilled down through the gaps in the dark clouds.
Mu Qingyao finally climbed to the summit of the mountain.
The little princess bit her teeth hard, continuing her journey forward in the heavy rain, her slender figure seeming as though it could be swallowed up by the wind and rain at any moment.
The screams drifting from behind made her tremble involuntarily, and she could not help turning to look back.
Under the pale moonlight, it was the scene of the wolf demon swallowing that grey-haired old man into its maw.
At that moment, Mu Qingyao's heart seemed to stop.
Escape!
In the little princess's mind, only this single word remained.
The path down the mountain was extremely muddy.
In her panic, Mu Qingyao tumbled down the mountain slope, only stopping halfway up.
When she scrambled back to her feet, the huge blood wolf at the summit was howling at the moon.
There was no escaping...
In despair, Mu Qingyao spotted a small wooden hut not far away, a faint light glowing within.
It must be a hunter's cabin.
Dragging her exhausted body, Mu Qingyao fled to the front of the wooden hut.
The cabin was constructed very strangely: the door frame was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and the front of the house was high while the back was low.
This was definitely not to save timber, but intentionally crafted into this appearance.
"Wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, high in the front and low in the back... this is a..."
The little princess smiled miserably.
Driven to a dead end, there was no turning point into a scenic village; there was only a wooden coffin in the mountains.
Such was destiny; her bones were destined to be buried in Green Fox Mountain.
The low growls of the wolf demons grew closer.
With a body drenched in cold rain, Mu Qingyao pushed open the door of the wooden hut.
The interior was very clean. Right in the middle was a wooden couch, identical in structure to a coffin.
Walking into the cabin, Mu Qingyao froze a moment later.
Lying on the wooden couch was actually a corpse!
It was a youth of about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in black clothes, with delicate facial features, eyes closed and unmoving.
In the black-clad youth's arms was held a narrow scabbard, fully five feet long, the hilt pressed against his jaw and the tip resting against his toes.
Mu Qingyao quickly regained her composure.
In the Dajin territory, there were many bizarre folk customs and mind-boggling burial methods.
This cabin was obviously a wooden coffin, the corpse had already been entombed, and that long saber was merely a burial object.
"Apologies for disturbing your peace. I have nowhere left to run and will borrow this place to end my life."
Mu Qingyao leaned against the wooden door and whispered softly.
Outside the door came the increasingly close howls of the wolves.
Mu Qingyao knew the wolf demons would catch up soon. Seeing no hope whatsoever, she had no choice but to treat this place as her own burial site.
At that moment, the black-clad youth on the wooden couch suddenly sat up!
The little princess's heartbeat nearly skipped a beat.
A corpse awakening!
The black-clad youth opened his eyes, his gaze as deep as an ancient well.
"A living person!"
Mu Qingyao let out a low gasp. In her panic earlier, she hadn't looked closely, but now she sensed that the other party had breath and wasn't a corpse at all.
"Of course I'm a living person. Who are you?"
The black-clad youth spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse as if he hadn't spoken for a long time.
"Pardon the intrusion, my name is Mu Qingyao."
The little princess said calmly, "A wooden coffin in the mountains, a living person entombed. You haven't died yet, why dig your own grave beforehand?"
"It's a custom of my family. I think Green Fox Mountain is quite nice, so I dug myself a grave early. Does it concern you?" the black-clad youth said coldly.
Mu Qingyao frowned slightly.
The grave dug before breath departs!
No matter how mind-boggling the burial method, no matter how strange the custom, there had to be one most basic commonality:
One was buried only after death.
No one erected a grave for themselves while still alive.
This custom was truly eerie, but Mu Qingyao always felt she had heard of it somewhere, though she couldn't recall it for the moment.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of sharp claws treading came from outside the door, drawing closer and closer.
"I'm sorry for implicating you."
Mu Qingyao slowly sat down in the corner, hugging her knees with both arms, her voice very soft and filled with apology.
It was she who had lured the wolf demons here.
The black-clad youth before her would also be devoured along with her.
Bang!!
The wooden door was struck with a muffled thud.
The low growls of the wolf demon were right outside the door; through the cracks in the wooden planks, massive fangs could be seen.
"Business delivered to the door, what a good thing."
Muttering to herself, the black-clad youth jumped down from the wooden couch, rummaged under the table to unearth a few raw bird eggs, and without even peeling them, gave them a quick wipe and tossed them straight into his mouth, swallowing them whole shells and all.
Mu Qingyao opened her eyes wide, bewildered by the youth's actions.
The other party showed no panic whatsoever; instead, he carried a faint, sneaky delight, just like someone walking down the street who suddenly stumbled upon money.
She had experienced firsthand how terrifying the Three-Eyed Blood Wolf was.
Even the cultivator who protected her had failed to escape the wolf's jaws, so why wasn't the black-clad youth in front of her afraid?
Not only was he not afraid, he was even a little happy?
Clatter!!
The wooden door was smashed open.
A massive wolf head thrust in through the cold wind.
Roar!!
The third eye on the blood wolf's forehead split open to the absolute limit, fixing a dead stare upon the maiden inside the house.
Mu Qingyao's entire body tensed, her pretty face as pale as paper.
Despite facing a desperate situation, the little princess had not lost her composure, and she urged Yun Que hastily:
"When the wolf demon swallows me, take the chance to escape! Perhaps you'll find a glimmer of survival!"
The little princess knew very well that the wolf demon's target was her.
Facing Mu Qingyao's good intentions, the black-clad youth acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. Cradling his saber with a smile on his face, he said to the wolf demon:
"When I was chasing you last month, you ran pretty fast, didn't you? Today you actually delivered yourself to my doorstep."
Upon hearing this voice, the fur all over the wolf demon's body stood on end, and the third blood eye on its forehead abruptly locked onto the black-clad youth.
Then, Mu Qingyao watched in astonishment as fear actually welled up within the blood wolf's third eye.
Awooo!!
Amidst urgent wolf howls, the blood wolf made to back out of the wooden hut.
Too late, however.
The black-clad youth had already drawn his blade.
Chapter 2: Ghostly Entities Are Just a Joke
Inside the tiny wooden hut, a patch of pitch-black blade light erupted.
Whoosh!
Amidst the fierce saber Qi, the candle was extinguished.
The wind and rain that had poured into the wooden hut also froze at that moment.
Crack.
Mu Qingyao could not see her surroundings. In the darkness, she heard a sound of cleaving.
Then the house fell completely silent.
Mu Qingyao could clearly hear the thunderous pounding of her own heartbeat.
Even as a princess, even having read a mountain of books, and even possessing extraordinary intelligence, she was after all only a maiden of sixteen or seventeen years.
To say she wasn't afraid when facing a wolf demon would be a lie.
An acrid stench of blood permeated the surroundings.
Mu Qingyao's two small hands clenched tightly; she didn't know whether the source of the bloody stench was the black-clad youth or the Three-Eyed Blood Wolf.
The candlelight flickered back to life.
It illuminated the cold, stern cheeks of the black-clad youth.
At the doorway,
the blood wolf's massive skull had been cleanly sliced off, its fangs wide open, dead as dead could be.
An expression of horror remained frozen within its three wolf eyes, as if it had laid eyes upon a terrifying natural enemy.
The night grew even quieter.
In the distance, the howling of the wolf pack continued unabated, sounding gloomy and terrifying.
It wasn't until the black-clad youth kicked the wolf's head out the door and shut it securely once more that Mu Qingyao realized she had escaped danger.
The little princess parted her rosy lips slightly, gazing in disbelief at the black-clad youth.
That was a wolf demon capable of swallowing even cultivators!
Yet it was beheaded with a single slash!
It was as if the black-clad youth hadn't executed a demon wolf, but merely slaughtered a stray dog that had wandered into his yard.
Slaughtering demons like butchering dogs!
"Thank you for saving my life; I will surely repay this kindness in the future."
Mu Qingyao said softly, slowly dispersing the fear in her heart.
"No need for thanks. I chased it for dozens of li last month—not only was I exhausted, but it still managed to escape. I should be thanking you instead."
Hugging his saber, the black-clad youth lay back down on the wooden couch, saying lazily.
"You saved me, and I won't forget it. May I ask your esteemed name?" Mu Qingyao asked.
"Yun Que. Que as in lacking money."
Hearing this, Mu Qingyao was slightly startled.
Using "lacking" as a name was truly rare.
"There are some old clothes of mine in the chest, and they've all been washed. If you aren't afraid of catching a chill, you can change into them."
Cradling his saber, Yun Que turned over, facing the inner wall with his back to the little princess.
Mu Qingyao was already shivering from the cold, and her robes, soaked through by the heavy rain, clung uncomfortably to her body.
The little princess bit her lip and hesitated for a moment.
"I believe you are a good person."
Having spoken softly, Mu Qingyao stood up, fished out a set of Yun Que's old clothes, and began to change.
The rustling sounds seemed exceptionally clear in the dead of midnight.
Yun Que suddenly opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear and cold, and the saber in his arms slowly slipped from its scabbard.
A chilling gleam swept across the sharp blade, and upon the body of the saber, the candlelight behind him and everything else were clearly reflected.
Then Yun Que's expression began to change, turning into one of shock and awe.
"So big..."
"What?"
Mu Qingyao, who had just finished changing her clothes, asked in bewilderment.
"The rain is so big."
Yun Que's voice was as calm as ever.
At some unknown point, heavy rain had started to fall outside again, the sound of the raindrops drowning out the wolf howls in the distance.
"The wolf pack is still out there," Mu Qingyao said worriedly.
"They don't dare come in. If you're sleepy, figure something out yourself; I'm going to sleep."
Yun Que yawned, and soon the sound of snoring rose.
Even with a pack of wolves circling outside, he could fall asleep this fast—Mu Qingyao had no choice but to admire the courage of the youth before her.
She sat by the wooden table, staring blankly at the candlelight.
Recalling the various crises she had experienced along the way, and thinking once more of the guards and the old man who had been devoured by the demon wolves, her mood grew increasingly heavy.
The little princess was too exhausted; she slumped over the table and fell into a deep sleep.
She had a nightmare.
She dreamed that inside the tiny wooden hut, there was a monster even more terrifying than the wolf pack, baring its claws and teeth at her.
Until morning, when Mu Qingyao woke up with a start from the nightmare.
Outside the house, the wolf howls had vanished.
On the wooden couch, the cold, stern black-clad youth was sleeping sprawled out, completely devoid of the coolness he'd had when slaying demons last night, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth as he muttered deliriously about "so big, so big..."
Who knows what on earth he was dreaming about.
Mu Qingyao smiled helplessly.
The other party was about her age, yet lived alone deep in the mountains; he must have endured hardships no one knew about.
Mu Qingyao tried hard to recall where that custom of erecting a grave for a living person actually originated.
Soon Yun Que woke up, fished out a sharp boning knife, and stepped outside. In less than a quarter of an hour, he had the wolf skin cleanly stripped.
When Yun Que returned to the house, he packed the wolf skin into a black sack, slung it over his back, and said:
"I'm heading back to town. Are you coming or not?"
"Cangshi Town? I want to go too," Mu Qingyao nodded, feeling a secret sense of wonder in her heart.
That was a giant wolf taller than a person; even the most seasoned hunter would take at least an hour to skin it alone, yet it had taken him just this short a while!
"Then let's go together. But make it clear: breakfast is on you."
Yun Que pushed open the door and walked out.
Once daylight broke, Mu Qingyao could clearly see the surrounding environment.
Although the cabin was built halfway up the mountain, right behind the house was a mountain ravine of unfathomable depth.
Stumbling around blindly last night, she hadn't looked at the path at all; had she fallen into that ravine, she would have had a slim chance of survival.
Waves of lingering fear washed over her, and just as Mu Qingyao wanted to take a step forward, she suddenly froze in the doorway, horror welling up in her pretty eyes.
"Let's go, what's wrong?" Yun Que asked in confusion.
"We can't leave! The wolf's soul is still here!"
Mu Qingyao stared fixedly behind Yun Que.
Before her eyes, a massive, blood-red wolf soul was floating outside the door of the wooden hut, ferocious and terrifying.
"You can see spiritual entities?"
Without even turning his head, Yun Que looked at the maiden before him with novelty.
"I have a special constitution; I am born with a spirit-attuned body and can see spiritual entities and ghosts. I can communicate with weak spirits, but this wolf soul is too strong—I can't control it. It will kill us," Mu Qingyao said in a heavy voice.
"A spirit-attuned body is indeed rare. Hold this, and you won't need to be afraid."
As he spoke, Yun Que unstrapped his long saber and shoved it into her hands.
The saber was heavy; Mu Qingyao had to use all her strength just to cradle it.
The saber was cold; despite the scabbard, it still carried a bone-chilling frostiness.
Mu Qingyao felt as though she weren't holding a saber, but a block of ten-thousand-year-old ice.
Mu Qingyao figured this saber must possess formidable power, perhaps capable of contending with the wolf soul, but she couldn't fathom how merely holding the saber would allow her to fend off the wolf soul.
Yet Yun Que was now without his saber, bare-handed; the moment he was possessed by the wolf soul, his soul and divine consciousness would instantly shatter.
"What about you!"
Seeing Yun Que walk out with zero precautions, Mu Qingyao immediately cried out in alarm.
"I'm not a timid little girl afraid of ghosts like you," Yun Que said dismissively.
"That's no ordinary ghost! The wolf soul is terrifying; it can possess and destroy your divine consciousness!"
Mu Qingyao grew anxious. Yun Que had already drawn close to the wolf soul, making it extremely perilous at this moment.
Yet immediately afterward, Mu Qingyao watched in astonishment as the wolf soul actually took the initiative to step aside as Yun Que approached, not daring to come close at all.
How could this be!
Mu Qingyao was so shocked that her rosy lips parted slightly, unable to speak for a moment.
"Let's go. It'll be noon soon, and lunch is a lot more expensive than breakfast," Yun Que urged.
Clutching the saber tightly, Mu Qingyao cautiously detoured around the wolf soul.
True enough, the wolf soul could do nothing against her either, hovering alone above the wooden hut and howling silently.
"Why aren't you afraid of the wolf soul?" Mu Qingyao asked in wonder.
"As long as you kill enough living things, you accumulate killing intent. A massive amount of killing intent condenses into malevolent aura. In front of enough malevolent aura, ghosts are just a joke."
Yun Que chuckled, picked up the wolf's head from the ground, and with a mighty heave, tossed it into the ravine behind the house.
Mu Qingyao listened half-in-doubt.
Her hand brushed against an iron plaque.
Lowering her head to look, it was a rusty black iron waist plaque hanging from the scabbard.
Carved upon it were the three characters: "Demon Exorcism Bureau".
The moment she saw this waist plaque, Mu Qingyao finally remembered where the custom of digging a grave before breath departs came from.
The special agency established by the Tianshu Bureau of the previous dynasty, the Great Yan Kingdom—the Demon Exorcism Bureau!
Bang!!