I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 251 - 219: Calamity (Dragon Boat Festival Extra)
Wangshan City West City Gate.
The sun set over the western mountains, the last bit of light disappearing at the horizon. The guard at the gate beat a gong, urging people entering the city to quicken their steps as the gates were about to close, marking the beginning of curfew hours.
Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu ran from opposite sides of the gate towards He Buning, who was looking up at the Eight Diagrams Mirror beneath the gate and said, "Boss, we’ve checked everything. The bricks and stones are intact, and they react to the yin objects. No issues."
Xiao Wu nodded, not wasting words, indicating his findings matched Xiao Liu’s.
The city wall bricks were specially made to block the power of Evil Spirits. When yin objects carrying the breath of Evil Spirits approached, the bricks would heat up slightly. It’s the simplest way to test.
"Wait a minute, my husband hasn’t returned yet. Please, just a bit longer."
A woman’s voice came from below the city gate. He Buning turned his head to see a woman with a gentle temperament, draped in a cotton cloak, leading two boys, one big and one small. The children were dressed neatly, holding a hot water bottle, standing on tiptoes looking out beyond the gate.
"Wife!"
"Dad!"
"Daddy!"
Just as the city gate was about to close, a man wearing a pointed bamboo hat, soaked and shivering, squeezed in from outside. It was Qin Ze.
Seeing the two children rush toward him, Qin Ze turned to spit out straw from his mouth, wanting to hug them but resisting, pushing them away with his hands.
"Aren’t you too old for this? Stand properly."
The two children looked disappointed, helplessly gazing at Qin Ze. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
A pang of bitterness hit Qin Ze; he didn’t want to get their clothes wet with the cold water from him.
Seeing He Buning, Qin Ze nodded from afar in greeting, then took his wife and children home.
"Dad brought you some snacks and a wooden sword and shield. Do you want them?"
"Yes!"
"Wife, you’ve had a tough time."
"It’s nothing. As long as you can come back and spend New Year with us, that’s enough."
He Buning’s gaze followed them, unable to suppress his envy.
Xiao Liu, lacking sensitivity, joked, "Boss, if you envy them having two sons, I could reluctantly call you ’dad’."
"Ahem!" Xiao Wu kicked Xiao Liu’s leg to stop the nonsense.
However, He Buning wasn’t angry and instead said to Xiao Liu, "Alright, call me then."
Now it was Xiao Liu’s turn to be stunned, feeling their boss had changed, able to take jokes, unlike the always serious Captain He.
"It’s getting late. Let’s head back. Tomorrow, join me at my place for New Year’s Eve."
"Yes!"
"Alright!"
Xiao Wu and He Buning were both from Shengjing. Xiao Liu had no family anymore, so it was the three of them together every year for New Year’s.
*
The West of the city.
Yu Da came out of Old Ma’s newly opened shop, helping him lock the door.
"Why aren’t you opening tomorrow? What about my breakfast?"
Old Ma chuckled resignedly, "Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. I’ve been busy all year. Can’t I rest for a day? Just grab something simple in the morning. Aren’t you on duty again this year on New Year’s Eve? No one’s replacing you?"
Yu Da handed the door panel to Old Ma, "It’s alright, I’m a loner. It’s all the same if I celebrate New Year or not. Others have family; let them reunite properly on New Year’s Eve."
"Well then, if you’re not busy tomorrow, come to my place. We can have a drink. I owe a lot for getting this shop running to you."
"Alright, but you’ll have to dig out the good wine from your yard. I won’t drink the ordinary stuff."
"Hey! You sure are picky about free drinks."
"Of course, I’ve got a refined palate. Alright, I’m off. You head back while there’s still light."
Yu Da parted ways with Old Ma, wandering aimlessly, unwilling to return to his empty courtyard.
*
As night deepened, outside Wangshan City to the south, at an abandoned temple in the forest.
A man with a face full of illness entered a temple long abandoned, rummaging through the overgrown weeds, found a half-decayed plaque. One could barely make out ’Wu’.
He stood up, clapping his hands clean, casting a glance over his shoulder.
"You’ve chased me this far; when do you plan to show yourself?"
As soon as he spoke, a man with a large red birthmark across his face, dressed in a coarse Daoist robe, Yao Zhen, emerged from the darkness holding an iron sword.
"I just wanted to see what mischief you were up to again!"
The man smiled gently, looking at Yao Zhen, asking, "How is your master? Is she well?"
Yao Zhen guardedly replied, "Since you’re so concerned about my master, why don’t you come back to the Taoist Temple with me and meet her in person?"
The man bitterly smiled, "If I went, I wouldn’t come out again, right?"
Yao Zhen ran out of patience, "I have no time for your nonsense. Tell me, what have you done in Wangshan City? Are you plotting another ghost story, Mo Yan Shu?"
Mo Yan Shu wiped his face, regaining his original pallor, looking bloodless and sickly.
"I’m not plotting any ghost stories, just helping a friend with a little something. If I had truly used the storyteller’s power, how could I stand here talking to you right now? Wangshan City is so big that, even sacrificing my life, I couldn’t shake it."
"A friend?" Yao Zhen arched a skeptical eyebrow, "Which friend? What faction? You’d better speak clearly, or don’t blame me for being rude, eliminating you, the traitor to Nine Songs’ principles!"
Just as he finished speaking, outside the deserted temple, birds scattered in fright, beasts wailed, and then the ground began to tremble violently, causing cracks to appear in the temple walls, causing the roof to collapse.
Bang!
Dust filled the air. Unprepared, Yao Zhen moved a couple of steps but still got hit by the collapsing roof.
The trembling continued, growing more intense, as the temple kept collapsing, the sound of the ground cracking was terrifying, and trees in the forest toppled in masses.
After the quake stopped, Yao Zhen heard Mo Yan Shu’s voice.
"It’s not that I don’t want to clarify, but it’s already too late to explain anything now. Do me a favor and tell your master that chaos is here, and Nine Songs should emerge into the world!"
"Mo Yan Shu, you deranged bastard!"
Yao Zhen gritted his teeth in anger, pushing the beam off his head, sweeping away the dust, and pursued through the ruins, but Mo Yan Shu was nowhere to be seen.
His brow twitched wildly, sensing a major event was unfolding. She hurried from the ruins, seeing a hideous crack in the ground, one side higher than the other.
A massive flock of Blood Crows swept across the sky, casting a bloody shadow over Wangshan City.
Just then, sounds of mourning from trumpets and flutes echoed from all sides, as countless paper money fell from the sky as if from nowhere.
Yao Zhen was shocked, aghast, as he turned and saw a chaotic forest filled with groups of white-faced ghosts, each carrying a worn black coffin, drawn toward Wangshan City.
Bam! Bam Bam!
Inside one of the coffins, something continually hit the coffin lid, making rustling sounds that made one’s skin crawl.
Covered in dust, Yao Zhen gulped with difficulty, chills running up to his scalp. She gripped her iron sword, stepping back instinctively.
Trembling uncontrollably, she hesitated for a moment, then stomped in frustration, cursed, and dashed determinately towards Wangshan City.
