Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: [Number]
Chapter Title: Probing the Chen Household
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Li Tianqing and the old man arrived at Chen Shi's home and met Grandpa Chen Yindu and the big black dog. Li Tianqing caught sight of the Red Barbarian Cannon standing in the corner by the wall, along with the black iron cannonballs in the doghouse. His heart jolted. He coughed once and said,
"Grandpa, let's not trouble them. We'll just stay the night under Godmother's tree."
The old man did not glance toward the corner. He smiled and said,
"Since we've come as guests to their home, how could we move back out? Old brother, I'm Li Jindou from Quanzhou. Sorry to impose on you."
Grandpa Chen Yindu quickly returned the courtesy. He said,
"I'm Chen Yindu, a man of Qianyang Mountain. My humble home is small, but there are still two empty rooms suitable for lodging. I'm only afraid we'll neglect you two gentlemen."
Li Jindou saw that his speech was refined and felt delighted inside. He smiled and said,
"No need, no need."
Li Tianqing hurriedly tugged at his sleeve. Li Jindou looked puzzled. Li Tianqing nodded toward the corner. Only then did Li Jindou notice the Red Barbarian Cannon, and his heart grew wary.
Li Tianqing quietly pointed toward the main hall. Li Jindou looked over and saw a spirit hall set up there. Candles and incense burned on the offering table, along with a spirit tablet inscribed with a name.
"What was this old brother's name again?"
Li Jindou's heart jolted. The name on the spirit tablet was clearly Chen Yindu!
"It must just be some rural custom... No, Chen Yindu carries the scent of a corpse!"
His heart filled with alarm. This was the unique odor emitted when a human body died.
It was a smell you would never forget once you'd caught it!
"This person's body is already dead, yet he's somehow still alive! He's not an evil yet—he's in the process of turning into one. What secret art is this?"
His mind raced, searching through all the records he'd read and heard of for any mention of such a technique, but he found none!
"A tiny village hiding a figure like this. Could it be that he and his grandson are here for the Tomb of the True King too? Was Li Kefa's death connected to him?"
With these thoughts, Li Jindou smiled and said,
"Brother Chen, we can't stay here for free. This is a small token of our appreciation—please accept it."
He produced a small silver ingot, roughly three taels in weight.
Chen Yindu gazed at the silver in his palm. A smile appeared on his pale, bluish face. He said,
"You're too polite, brother."
With that, he took the silver.
The instant their palms touched, a wind rose from flat ground. Suddenly, a gale howled. This wind was utterly bizarre, blowing upward from below. There was no sensation at all in the Chen family courtyard, but high above the Chen house, a fierce wind raged, blasting up into the sky!
A cloud in the sky suddenly melted away like ice and snow, dispersing in the wind until nothing remained.
The gale had come abruptly and vanished just as quickly. In the blink of an eye, the wind died down, and calm returned.
The courtyard remained perfectly peaceful, with no abnormalities. Chen Shi and Li Tianqing only heard the whistling of strange wind from the sky—they sensed nothing else.
The two looked up but saw nothing unusual.
Li Jindou's expression shifted slightly. He laughed heartily and said,
"The mountains conceal extraordinary individuals. Brother, your magnanimous spirit is truly admirable."
Just now, when their palms had touched, it had seemed like nothing more than handing over silver. In truth, it had been a probe of the other's abilities, which had triggered the sudden gale.
Yet this probe had failed to reveal the depths of his opponent's power.
His eyes flickered. He had expected Chen Yindu's hand to be ice-cold and piercing, but it had been warm instead. This only deepened his curiosity.
"He has a heartbeat. His qi and blood circulate—like a corpse, but not a corpse. Strange, strange. What arcane method could refine an elderly, dead body to this extent?"
"I must find another chance to probe him!"
As noon approached, Chen Yindu said,
"Brother Li, the countryside has nothing good to offer honored guests. I've lost my sense of taste and wouldn't dare start a fire to cook. Please make yourselves at home."
Li Jindou quickly cupped his hands and bowed deeply. He said,
"No need, no need. You're busy, brother. My grandson and I brought our own spirit jerky—we'll make do."
In that instant of his bow, the courtyard boomed like thunder. With a sharp crack, Li Jindou's body shuddered violently. Behind him, brilliant divine light manifested unbidden, bathing Huangpo Village in a sheet of pure white!
Within the divine light stood a primordial spirit over three or four zhang tall. It flickered once and vanished.
Li Jindou's body swayed slightly before he steadied himself. He smiled and said,
"Brother, I'll step out for a bit."
Chen Yindu said,
"Feel free, brother."
Li Jindou walked out of the house to the ancient tree. Unable to hold back any longer, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and hurriedly swallowed a spirit pill.
After a moment, he felt somewhat better.
His face remained rather unsightly, however.
He still hadn't managed to probe the depths of this man named Chen Yindu—but his own depths had been exposed.
Chen Shi tidied up the west wing for the grandfather and grandson, cleaned it thoroughly, then led Li Tianqing to see his Red Barbarian Cannon.
When you met someone your own age, how could you pass up the chance to show off your most prized possession? It would be like dressing in finery and wandering incognito at night.
Li Tianqing stroked the Red Barbarian Cannon and suddenly said,
"I've heard that Young Master Xiao stole the Jade Seal of the Western King and was pursued by the Divine Machine Battalion. They deployed eighty-nine Red Barbarian Cannons, eight hundred and ninety soldiers, one admiralty eunuch, one martial officer, mid-army, left flank, right flank—countless experts. They bombarded Qianyang Mountain, yet suffered heavy losses. The powder burn marks inside this cannon barrel are still quite fresh. It must be from the battlefield, right?"
Chen Shi stood beside him and smiled.
"Tianqing, you're incredibly observant. Xiao Wangsun was chatting with Jin Hongying at the time—I was sitting at the same table as them. After the battle ended, I rescued Xiao Wangsun and carried off this relatively intact Red Barbarian Cannon."
Li Tianqing's heart skipped. Sitting at the same table as Xiao Wangsun?
He had to be an accomplice!
Had he and his grandson stumbled into a den of thieves?
Chen Shi hoisted the Red Barbarian Cannon onto his shoulder, excited. He said,
"I'll serve as the cannon mount. You load the black iron cannonball, light the fuse from behind, aim at that distant hill, and fire!"
Li Tianqing jumped in fright and refused at once.
He lived in the city, where all the children around him behaved with strict propriety, following noble etiquette. Who had ever played with something like this?
"Besides, the barrel needs black powder loaded to fire."
Li Tianqing reminded Chen Shi and said,
"These days, the Divine Machine Battalion uses a new powder-filled cartridge. It's a cylinder with a mechanism and a firing pin on top. Roll the cannonball in through the muzzle, and it strikes the pin. The powder in the cartridge explodes, propelling the black iron ball out. For the next shot, just remove the cartridge and swap in a new one. Much more convenient."
Chen Shi's eyes sparkled.
"Where can I get some?"
Li Tianqing shook his head.
"It's the Divine Machine Battalion's latest invention—not easy to obtain. Using yourself as a mount is far too dangerous. You can't play like that."
"How should I play then?"
Chen Shi humbly sought instruction.
Li Tianqing hesitated.
"Perhaps two Yellow Turban Warriors could carry the Red Barbarian Cannon—no need for a carriage. But I don't know how to draw talismans..."
"I do!"
Chen Shi said excitedly. Then he hesitated.
"But I don't know how to make black powder..."
"I do."
As soon as he said it, Li Tianqing regretted his words. From the look on Chen Shi's face, he knew trouble was coming.
Sure enough, Chen Shi handed him the task of making black powder. Meanwhile, he and the big dog huddled in the corner, whispering furtively about who-knew-what. Then the dog endured a painful stab from him.
Chen Shi fetched brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, along with cinnabar mixed with dog blood. He circulated the Three Lights Righteous Qi Art and drew a Yellow Turban Warrior talisman with swift, sure strokes. In short order, he'd produced dozens of them, his technique flawless. The Divine Shrine behind his head remained active—his true qi was far from depleted.
"What robust true qi!"
Li Tianqing praised inwardly.
The Chen family had the materials on hand. Li Tianqing mixed up the black powder. Chen Shi shouldered the Red Barbarian Cannon while Li Tianqing hugged several head-sized black iron cannonballs. The two boys snuck toward the door, with Blackie Pot slinking furtively behind.
"You two little rascals, don't run outside!"
Li Jindou's voice rang out, stopping them. He smiled and said,
"I just discussed it with Brother Chen. Little Honest knows where the Kiln Works is, so Little Honest will lead us there. Don't carry the Red Barbarian Cannon out—someone might see it. You can fool around with it after we return from the Kiln Works."
Chen Shi was utterly disappointed and reluctantly set the Red Barbarian Cannon down.
Li Tianqing felt dejected too. He returned the black iron cannonballs to the doghouse. Suddenly, he snapped alert.
"What's wrong with me? I'm here to investigate Uncle Seven's disappearance. This household is highly suspicious—likely a band of robbers in league with Xiao Wangsun. How did I end up goofing off with Chen Shi and playing with cannons?"
He warned himself: he absolutely could not let himself be bewitched.
Chen Shi packed up and slung his book basket over his back before heading out. Li Jindou called,
"Tianqing, hurry up!"
Li Tianqing quickly composed himself and hurried after Chen Shi.
Though precocious for his age, he was still just a child. Before long, he cast aside his earlier wariness. He chatted and laughed with Chen Shi. Hearing tales of rural amusements, he couldn't help bursting into laughter, his heart filled with longing.
They entered the mountain woods. The forest was thick and lush, drifting with white mist at chest height. The mist was peculiar, floating only at that level—denser in patches, thinner in others. There was none below chest height or above.
They walked through the mist. The clamor of birds and insects had vanished around them, replaced by utter silence. They could hear their own heartbeats and breaths.
To Li Tianqing's surprise, this stretch of woods felt sacred—solemn and majestic.
Occasionally, a wondrous sound could be heard: low and drawn out, like the mountain murmuring.
Chen Shi slowed his pace and stopped before a massive ancient vine. A tattered red cloth strip was tied to it—one touch, and it crumbled.
Chen Shi set down his book basket, tore off the old strip, and tied on a fresh red one from inside. He also took out a stick of incense, lit it, and stuck it in the ground before the vine's roots.
Only then did Li Tianqing notice that someone had piled stones into a circle at the vine's roots, with traces of past incense inside.
Li Jindou whispered,
"Tianqing, Heavenly Eye Talisman."
Li Tianqing hurriedly took out a Heavenly Eye Talisman and activated it. At once, another world belonging to the great mountain entered his vision.
A little girl in red clothes perched atop the ancient vine. She nodded slowly to Chen Shi, accepting his incense.
The incense qi wafted upward and was absorbed by the red-clothed girl, transforming into extraordinary power that coalesced into form.
The girl's form was still indistinct, fluttering on the verge of dispersal in the mountain breeze.
Having finished, Chen Shi led them deeper into the woods.
Not far ahead, he halted before a massive stone statue lying on its side amid the rocks and earth. The exposed portion alone stood over a man's height.
A stone circle lay before the statue too, and a red cloth strip was tied to one of its fingers.
Chen Shi replaced the strip and offered incense to the statue.
Li Tianqing noticed that extraordinary power had formed into a manifestation here as well: a chubby baby doll, grinning cheerfully as it sat atop the statue's head, accepting his incense.
They followed Chen Shi into the woods and saw that amid these ancient peaks—towering old trees, jagged strange rocks, weathered ruins—all had manifestations born of extraordinary power.
Chen Shi offered them incense and replaced their red strips. As they traveled, the woods remained serene. No feral beasts encroached or attacked—an oddity.
"Little Ten, what are you doing?"
Li Tianqing couldn't contain his curiosity.
"These are our village's people—the guardians of the mountain paths."
Chen Shi straightened up and said,
"Some passing mountaineers use this route too, hauling goods to town or the city to sell. Tying red cords on these trees and statues keeps them from getting lost."
Li Tianqing understood. He asked,
"Then what about the incense?"
"The incense feeds the mountain spirits. It's a sign of respect."
Chen Shi said,
"Once they've accepted the incense, the spirits protect everyone on this path—no beasts, no bandits. If you lose track of time and night falls, you can shelter at a spot with a red strip. The spirits will keep travelers safe from evils."
"Does it work? Their manifestations are so weak."
Li Tianqing was puzzled.
"It works."
Chen Shi gazed at the spirits along the path, his expression serene, his eyes brimming with love for these grand mountains.
"Once, I was playing and stayed too long in the mountains, forgetting the time until dark. An evil targeted me. I hid under that tree. The tree spirit protected me and fought the evil desperately until it was torn apart. Grandpa came searching, and that's how I was saved."