I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 233 - 201: Sang Que’s Diary (2)
[November 27, lunar calendar October 27]
The snow stopped, time to continue the journey.
Xiao Liu was probably scolded by He Buning, his head hung low all day, cautiously sneaking glances at He Buning from behind, with a bit of a pleading and apologetic look.
Regarding the matter of the Yin Child, the fragmented pages of the dossier only contained this much, missing the most crucial parts.
Like the cultivation process, methods, and which five powerful yin objects were used, what abilities were acquired.
Currently, I can only deduce that one is the dismemberment ability of the Yin Child’s hands, and the other is the insight into causality by the Yin Child’s eyes, seeing through the origins of the Evil Ghost, both working together to perform dismemberment more effectively and accurately, definitely a selected pairing.
Besides this, the tongue and heart of the Yin Child must also possess special abilities.
But these are only four types, what is the fifth one, or do the eyeballs count as two, with each having different abilities?
Once we reach Tianliang City, we will know what the other Ghost Eye’s ability is.
...
[November 30, lunar calendar October 30, clear skies]
After a bitter struggle, at the cost of injuries to Xiao Wu and He Buning, we finally resolved a strange case.
This time, it was an Evil Ghost that took over a Divine Statue in a deserted temple, which was originally a temple dedicated to the Longevity Buddha, abandoned due to the forced relocation of neighboring villagers for the construction of Fengning City.
The Shoufo Temple, without offerings, was deserted in just half a year.
One night, a tree next to the temple was struck by lightning, collapsing onto the temple, causing the interior contents of the Buddha Statue meant for storing filth to fall out, rendering the statue an empty shell, which led to the Evil Ghost’s occupation.
The Evil Ghost, borrowing the image of the Longevity Buddha, enslaved Wandering Souls within a ten-mile radius, transforming the temple into a normal-looking monastery by night, and transforming Wandering Souls into monks, enticing passersby to rest in the temple.
Visitors entering the temple would be bewitched, voluntarily shaving their heads to become monks in the monastery, worshiping the Buddha Statue.
However, since these passersby were indeed bewitched, they had families, who reported the incident to the Evil Suppression Bureau. Fengning City couldn’t allocate personnel, leading to delays until now.
Our next stop is Jianshui City, and since we happen to pass here, we’re here to handle it.
I couldn’t enter the temple since it doesn’t accept female worshipers, so He Buning and the others handled it while I used the Evil Mist to isolate the temple. I have no idea what happened inside specifically.
Eventually, I saw Xiao Liu carrying Xiao Wu out, Xiao Wu’s head covered in blood, saying his head had nine punctures corresponding with the nine scars of the Buddhist Sect.
He Buning’s half face and body were bloodied and flesh-torn, with half of his clothes burnt away. It was evident that, like last time at the bandit lair, he forcefully ignited the yin fire within to eventually suppress that faux Longevity Buddha.
The two Substitute Death Grassmen I didn’t use last time were already returned, and they were all exhausted this time.
Each time an Evil Ghost is imprisoned, it’s a life-threatening endeavor, no wonder He Buning, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Liu have survived so long.
Despite this, Xiao Liu still found time to play, secretly tying a bow on Xiao Wu’s head while bandaging him, winking at me to keep it a secret.
Seeing this, He Buning also secretly chuckled, quickly straightening his face when I caught him.
Without any ulterior motives, Xia Chan straightforwardly said Xiao Wu looked pretty. Realizing this, Xiao Wu kicked Xiao Liu’s butt.
Although we worked all night and endured a perilous narrow victory, Xiao Liu’s antics dispelled the gloom.
We gained nothing this time, and those bewitched people will wake up tomorrow. He Buning set off fireworks, so the Day Traveling Envoy nearby would see them and come to handle it.
We must keep moving.
...
[December 10, lunar calendar November 10]
Heavy snow blocked the roads, causing delays, but at last, we reached Jianshui City.
Along the way, we solved several more strange cases and also participated in escorting a wedding procession once.
This is a custom of the Xuan Dynasty, where every once in a while, eligible girls from nearby villages are assembled and wed on the same day.
A route is chosen, and the Day Traveling Envoys of the Evil Suppression Bureau escort them, ensuring every bride safely reaches each village so the villagers can continue to thrive and propagate.
Since leaving Fengning City, meeting people and ghosts alike wrought misfortunes, we’ve finally come across a happy occasion.
But there was only one joyful event; all others involved immense risk, where one careless mistake could cost lives.
The most perilous incident involved encountering the ’Fire’ code Night Traveler squad in Xin’an County, where their Silver Traveler, Liang Tian, a Yin Walker, suddenly lost control during a bizarre case.
The Evil Spirits Liang Tian controlled were burned to death, and he bore lasting blisters and scars from burns. In that instant of losing control, Liang Tian caught fire entirely, screaming as he was disfigured by the flames.
The fire couldn’t be extinguished no matter what; half of Xin’an County turned into a sea of fire, killing many people, and the Evil Spirits were ascending to Ghost Level.
In such a situation, no one, be it civilians or wealthy officials, could escape. Sometimes, you think ghosts are fairer than humans.
Had my Evil Mist not confined all the fire in a restricted range in time, the entire Xin’an County might have been reduced to ashes.
Out-of-control Yin Walkers are indeed terrifying.
In the end, at quite a cost, we managed to eliminate the Evil Spirits before it fully ascended, leaving no trace of Liang Tian behind.
At that time, I wondered if I lost control during my ascension, would the devastation of Fengning City repeat. I was worried. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
...
[December 21, lunar calendar November 21, Winter Solstice]
Thrills and danger averted, we finally reached Taikang City.
Still resolving strange cases, resolving strange cases, resolving strange cases along the way.
At first, it seemed novel, and I wanted to document everything. Now, I’m left only with fatigue.
But I must say, He Buning is truly a man. Every time we handle a strange case, he’s at the forefront, bearing the most harm, shielding us from behind.
During this time, we handled seventeen strange cases, with He Buning injured sixteen times. The only instance he remained uninjured was the time in Meishu Village, when I dealt with the Sickness Ghost.
I’ve come to understand that Ghost Level strong individuals are terrifying. When I used the Qian Trigram Eye Opening, I saw a ball of ghost fire in his heart position; one could say, as long as the fire in his heart doesn’t extinguish, he truly can’t die.
Just like Xia Chan, after severe injuries, it’s necessary to replenish qi and blood, and consuming fresh blood and raw meat directly is best.
Yet this fellow always acts haughty. Sometimes, when Xiao Wu buys pig’s blood from nearby towns for him, he slowly drinks it like tea.
Once, Xia Chan anxiously grabbed his teacup and swapped it with a big bowl, hands on her hips, angrily glaring for him to drink, only then did he frown and drain several bowls.
Right, today is Winter Solstice, and in Taikang City, there’s the ’Winter Solstice Festival’, where every household worships the Daoist Lord and the Longevity Buddha.
The civil and military officials gather to worship the Prime Minister, trying to lead the people in worshipping the Prime Minister as well.
Xia Chan grew impatient, so I took her to eat dumplings. There’s also a custom of getting new clothes today. This morning, He Buning gave me a silver ingot to buy new clothes for Xia Chan.
Heading home tonight to accompany my mother for dumplings, recently, it’s either been traveling or solving strange cases.
Mom surely knows my hardships and doesn’t want to distract me, so she hasn’t mentioned going to school, though I really should make an appearance there.
Later, I’ll ask He Buning for two days off, saying I’m going to see Junior Sister, though it’s actually to meet Jiang Zao, not a lie.
The next destination is Tianliang City. The closer we get to Yunzhou, the fewer people there are, and emergency bizarre cases reduce too, allowing us to relax a bit.
But once at Tianliang City, I need to strategize on how to acquire another Ghost Eye, so I don’t miss this opportunity.
