allonlinenovel Chapter 532
Chapter 532
Dongfang Wan'er bit her tongue, and the blood-drawn talisman for rebirth flew towards the altar. Suddenly, the skeleton sat up, clutching a half-rolled scroll—the very "Body Borrowing" technique from the copper bell last night. Black energy condensed into chains that bound the scholar's limbs. As he knelt, the safety lock fell to the ground, revealing small characters engraved on its inner side: "To Brother Xuanqing, my sister has departed. Please do not cling to her." It was the scholar's handwriting, but much older than his current style. Lin Yan suddenly remembered the pharmacy owner saying that the scholar had come last month to get medicine to prolong his life.
"So you were the one..." Lin Yan's sword froze in mid-air, watching the scholar's face alternate between youth and middle-aged features. Dongfang Wan'er's talismanic fire illuminated the depths of the ancestral hall. On a fragment of a mural, the young Xuanqing Zhenren sat opposite the scholar, with an unconscious girl on the table—their shared sister. Twenty years had shattered into fragments within the black mist. It turned out that the scholar, who had failed to obtain the medicine, had died before his sister. Xuanqing Zhenren, unwilling to accept the loss of both brothers, had embarked on the evil path of possessing another's body.
“He used my soul as a catalyst,” the wolf-like scholar gurgled in his throat, “Every time he changed bodies, he had to use my remnant soul to suppress his bestial nature. Now the tiger demon is dead, and the wolf demon will also dissipate, the next one should be…” He suddenly looked at the fox-shaped tree hole in the corner of the ancestral hall, where a white shadow was curled up, its ear tips still trembling. Lin Yan then realized that the demonic energy of the entire ancestral hall was converging towards that spot, and Dongfang Wan'er's jade pendant was resonating with the energy in the tree hole.
“Breaking the formation requires the return of the three souls.” Dongfang Wan’er embedded the other half of the jade pendant into the tree hole. In an instant, a fox shadow appeared, a white fox blind in its left eye, with the other half of the scholar’s peace lock hanging around its neck. Lin Yan finally understood why the scholar always seemed familiar—he and the white fox both had a beauty mark in the same spot below their left eyes. When the three copper bells (the wolf demon’s, the scholar’s, and the white fox’s) fell simultaneously before the altar, the morning light shone through the ruins, piecing together a complete Tai Chi diagram around the skeleton.
"I'm sorry..." Xuanqing Zhenren's voice came from the skeleton, and at the same time, the scholar's body began to become transparent. The white fox whimpered and brushed against his fingertips, turning into specks of light and merging into his chest. Lin Yan swung his sword and severed the chains of black energy binding them, and Dongfang Wan'er's Rebirth Talisman transformed into a golden lotus, cradling the three inner cores, before shattering into dust in the morning light. The scholar took one last look at the peach tree outside the ancestral hall, where new leaves were sprouting, so tender they seemed to drip with moisture—just like the first ray of spring he had seen twenty years ago when he was reading under the tree with his younger sister on his back.
“So it turns out that obsession is the most powerful demon.” Dongfang Wan’er picked up the peace lock, and in the sunlight, the lock reflected the phantom image of the three of them: Xuanqing Zhenren stroking his sister’s head, the scholar smiling and fanning himself, and the girl clutching a freshly picked peach blossom in her hand. As the morning mist dissipated, the golden light of the two characters “Guardian of the Mountain” on the broken wall of the White Fox Shrine completely faded, replaced by the two characters “Return to the Ruins” woven from moss, as if telling of the final destination of all delusions.
As they left, a newly planted peach tree appeared on the mountain path, its branches adorned with buds, like someone's unspoken thoughts. Lin Yan touched the hairpin in his robes, suddenly recalling the scholar's last words before he vanished: "Tell my master that my sister is waiting for him at the River of Oblivion, with newly picked peach blossoms." Dongfang Wan'er gazed at the drifting clouds on the distant horizon, remembering the last sentence crossed out in the county annals: "After the disappearance of the Xuanqing Immortal, people often heard the scholar's reading voice and the girl's laughter at the White Fox Shrine."
A mountain breeze swept past the sword tassel, carrying the soft tinkling of the peace lock into the distance. Perhaps some secrets are meant to be sealed away by the morning dew, and some obsessions must be dissolved by the spring sunshine. As they embarked on their journey home, in the ruins of the White Fox Shrine, three saplings sprouted from beside the skeletons—one a peach, one a pine, and the other a datura with small white flowers, swaying gently in the wind, as if bidding farewell, or perhaps awaiting the story of the next spring.
The late spring rain, like silver needles, slanted down onto the bluestone path. Lin Yan tilted his oil-paper umbrella towards Dongfang Wan'er, and the two walked side by side through the empty alley. The wooden signboard of the clinic swayed gently in the wind, the three characters "Xuanhu Pavilion" blurred by the rain. After that harrowing night at the White Fox Shrine, they had hoped to find a moment of peace in this familiar scent of medicine, unaware that an even greater storm was quietly approaching.
Pushing open the wooden door of the clinic, a strong scent of mugwort wafted out, lit by Dongfang Wan'er specifically to ward off evil spirits. The candlelight cast flickering shadows on the walls. Lin Yan gently leaned his sword against the door and took the hot ginger tea Dongfang Wan'er offered. "Today, people in the market are talking about another bizarrely deceased body found in the west of the city, its death strikingly similar to that of the villagers at the White Fox Shrine that night," Dongfang Wan'er said softly, her fingertips tracing the rim of the teacup. Lin Yan frowned, about to speak, when suddenly he heard a faint sobbing sound coming from downstairs, a sound like a thread soaked in ice water, cold and lingering.
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously put down their teacups. Lin Yan picked up his sword, while Dongfang Wan'er gripped the willow-leaf dagger at her waist. They walked in tacit agreement towards the basement. The stairs, dilapidated from years of neglect, creaked with every step, as if telling the untold story of the clinic's past. The basement was filled with a damp, musty smell. Dongfang Wan'er lit a tinderbox; in the dim light, she saw cobwebs covering the walls and several dusty medicine cabinets piled in the corner.
The crying grew clearer, seemingly coming from deep within the walls. Lin Yan reached out and tapped the wall, producing a hollow echo. He gestured for Dongfang Wan'er to step back, then struck the wall heavily with the hilt of his sword. With a muffled "boom," a brick fell, revealing a dark hole, and a putrid stench wafted out. Dongfang Wan'er, holding a tinderbox, approached and saw a narrow stone staircase winding downwards inside the hole.
The two cautiously descended the stone steps, each step feeling as if they were treading on a crack in time. After about twenty steps, the space suddenly opened up before them, revealing a huge hidden compartment. The stone door to the compartment was engraved with intricate runes, which glowed with an eerie red light under the glow of the tinderbox. Lin Yan inserted his sword into the crack in the stone door and pried it open with force. With a screeching sound, the stone door slowly opened.
A faint blue light emanated from the hidden compartment, like phosphorescence in the deep sea. Dongfang Wan'er couldn't help but gasp. Inside the compartment lay an ancient book, its cover embroidered with the four characters "Forbidden Medical Techniques" in gold thread, now emitting a soft glow. Lin Yan reached out to touch the book, but Dongfang Wan'er grabbed his arm, saying, "Be careful, this aura is strange." Lin Yan nodded and took out a protective talisman from his robes. It was a gift from Master Xuanqing before his departure, and now it gleamed faintly with gold in the dim light.
Carefully opening the ancient book, the first page boldly proclaimed the words "Art of Resurrection," written in large vermilion characters, the ink seemingly still flowing, like congealed blood. The text detailed how to use the soul of a living person as a catalyst to awaken the dying, a chilling aura permeating every line. Suddenly, Dongfang Wan'er pointed to an illustration in the book: "Look at this formation! How similar it is to the altar beneath the White Fox Shrine!" Lin Yan stared intently, and saw that the illustration depicted a corpse lying in the center of the formation, surrounded by twelve blood-red candles—the very scene they had witnessed at the White Fox Shrine.
Just then, a loud bang came from above the clinic, as if someone was banging on the door. Lin Yan quickly closed the ancient book and tucked it into his robes. The two hurried up the stone steps, only to find the clinic's wooden door teetering on the verge of collapse. A low, hissing sound came from outside, like a summons from hell. Dongfang Wan'er peeked through the crack in the door and saw several figures standing in the moonlight. Their movements were stiff and mechanical, their skin a bluish-purple—the legendary walking corpses.
“It seems we’ve been targeted.” Lin Yan gripped his sword tightly, his gaze resolute. “The White Fox Shrine incident is indeed just the tip of the iceberg; there must be a massive conspiracy at work behind it all. And this forbidden ancient book may very well be the key to unlocking everything.” Dongfang Wan’er nodded, reaching for the willow-leaf knife at her waist: “No matter how many dangers lie ahead, I will face them with you.”
They exchanged a glance, a resolute glint in their eyes. Outside the window, dark clouds obscured the moon, plunging the world into darkness. But within this darkness, two flames burned brightly—their unwavering belief, the hope that illuminated the darkness. A breathtaking adventure had only just begun...