A Pawn's Passage

The fourteenth person in Bishan Temple and the sole survivor was Zheng Ding. After he was awakened, he retold his experience on the day of the incident. Coupled with the files compiled by the Western Region Daoist Mansion and various traces on the dead bodies, Zhang Yuelu could roughly imagine what happened that night.

Technically, it was an ambush that occurred around midnight. With the exception of one person, who was tasked with keeping watch, everyone else had already slept. These demons initially targeted the Daoist priest on night watch. He was the one who bore five bloody wounds on his face. Subsequently, the demons created a large-scale illusion to lull the sleeping occupants into a deep, dreamlike state to prevent them from waking up.

The reason the demons went to such lengths was so that they could harvest the victims’ souls. Souls dissipated quickly after one’s death, so in order to harvest one’s soul, it had to be done while the person was still alive. The illusion was harmless to the human body, but it was numbing and intoxicating.

Even when their souls left their bodies, the twelve Daoist priests were still immersed in sweet dreams and could not extricate themselves. This was the reason they had smiles on their faces when they died.

After being deprived of their living soul, the person did not die immediately but became a vegetable. This group of demons was relentless and sucked their blood, causing all twelve dreaming people to die from excessive blood loss. Including the night watchman, the body count was exactly thirteen people.

As for Zheng Ding, he was able to escape because he was a Martial Arts Practitioner at the Kunlun stage. This stage was where the body and soul were integrated into one. That way, the soul could not travel outside of the body. This also meant that if the soul was injured, the body would also be in physical pain.

Several other dead Martial Arts Practitioners were not at that level of cultivation, so their souls were easily taken away. However, Zheng Ding woke up from his sleep due to severe pain when his Niwan Palace was cut open. He then gathered the courage to escape with everything he had.

Since he was only a Martial Arts Practitioner at the Kunlun stage, his soul and body had only begun to integrate and were not fully fused. Therefore, when he was escaping, he still lost a part of his soul due to the damage to his Niwan Palace.

After Lingquanzi helped Zheng Ding summon his soul, he also helped the latter repair his Niwan Palace to keep the soul from leaving again. Zheng Ding had to rest for a long time in order to gain a full recovery.

Zheng Ding also confirmed that this group of demons were indeed not locals. They were a group of Colored Eye People, with high noses and colored eyes.

Although Zhang Yuelu finally figured out the ins and outs of the matter, there was one key issue that remained unresolved, which was where they would find this group of Colored Eye People.

The name Colored Eye People originated from the Golden Horde. When the Golden Horde was at its peak, people were divided into four classes. The Colored Eye People were in the second class.

Eventually, the Golden Horde withdrew from the Central Plains and settled deep into the grasslands. Even the former vassal, the Rus Kingdom, had gained independence from the Golden Horde. However, the name for Colored Eye People remained and generally referred to people from the Western Continent, outside the Central Plains, and the grasslands.

“Where should we go to find this group of demons in the vast Western Region?” Although Zhang Yuelu was asking everyone, she subconsciously looked at Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu spoke. “The Western Region is a melting pot of cultures and ethnic groups. However, Colored Eye People have assimilated into the local customs and language. Even the differences in appearance aren’t so obvious anymore due to constant intermarriage.

“According to Zheng Ding’s statement, this group of Colored Eye People who attacked Bishan Temple were completely foreign in appearance. They aren’t that different from those Colored Eye People who came to Lingnan and Jiangnan on the big ships.

“The Great Xuan Dynasty didn’t close off our borders and strongly encouraged maritime trade. Therefore, many foreign merchants traveled across the oceans to get here. In many prosperous ports along the coast, Colored Eye People are quite common.

“But it’s precisely because of the sea trade’s prosperity that the trade routes on the land are shrinking. Most of the Colored Eye People from the Western Continent who come to Xizhou and even the Western Region are seasoned travelers who frequent the area.

“This group of demons must be new faces who probably don’t understand the lay of the land, so they are bound to leave traces. The Western Region Daoist Mansion didn’t have time to investigate this group of demons due to the war, but the local gangs should have some information about them. Among the many gangs, those who have close contacts with the Western Continent are the most important.”

Xu Zhen asked, “What if this group of Colored Eye People simply didn’t have any contact with the local gangs but hid in the wilderness?”

Qi Xuansu said, “If they hid in the wild, then they wouldn’t need to rob caravans. In the wilderness, money can’t be used as food. If they want to spend money, they must go to a populated place.”

“Deacon Qi is right.” Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu appreciatively and ordered, “Bring me a map.”

Mu Jin immediately unfolded the map in front of Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu first found the location of Bishan Temple on the map, then slowly moved her finger along the route marked on the map. Finally, she stopped at a place called Wugeshanli.

Wugeshanli was a city that belonged to the vast Western Region, but it was not within Xizhou. Thus, it was not under the rule of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Zhang Yuelu tapped the spot on the map a few times. “This is the nearest big city from here. It is also where the Colored Eye People gather. Let’s go there.”

Lingquanzi asked, “What should we do about these corpses?”

Zhang Yuelu instructed, “Cremate them here and send the ashes back to the Daxue Mountain Palace, then notify the Requiem Division. These priests died for the Daoist Order and should be worshiped by future generations.”

Lingquanzi nodded and turned to Xu Zhen. “Deacon Xu, lead a team to move the corpses to the backyard and cremate the bodies individually. Mark down their names. In addition, beware of corpse transformation. Cremation can easily cause corpses to rise from the dead. Since these people have been drained of their blood, we should anticipate some problems during the cremation.”

Xu Zhen tightened his expression and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

At this time, everyone was in a side hall. The corpses were left in the main hall next door, so Xu Zhen led a group of people there.

Zhang Yuelu said, “Next, we will divide into two groups. One group will be traveling to Wugeshanli to investigate the demons, while the other group will return to the Daxue Mountain Palace with Zheng Ding, the two disciples from the Western Region Daoist Mansion, and the victims’ ashes.”

There was a moment of silence. Everyone knew that chasing down that group of daring demons would be very dangerous. Relatively speaking, returning to the Daxue Mountain Palace was the better option.

Zhang Yuelu scanned the crowd and saw their expressions. “Superintendent Lingquan, Deacon Qi, and Deacon Zhou will follow me to Wugeshanli. Deacon Mu and Deacon Xu will be responsible for cremating the corpses and leading the small group back to the Daxue Mountain Palace. Wait there for my orders.”

Everyone took their orders.

Mu Jin thought that Zhang Yuelu cared for her and was afraid that she would be hurt. That was why Zhang Yuelu let her stay at Bishan Temple and asked her to return to the Daxue Mountain Palace. However, some people could feel that the Deputy Hall Master was clearly favoring Qi Xuansu. After all, the Deputy Hall Master would only keep her confidants by her side.

Next, Zhang Yuelu discussed the relevant details of their journey to Wugeshanli.

Wugeshanli was controlled by the Ai family. The ancestors of the Ai family were Western Colored Eye People with a long last name who had taken root in the Western Region for many years. After intermarriage with locals in the Western Region, they had assimilated into the local culture and had taken a last name common to the Central Plains. The name Ai was taken from the first syllable of their original last name.

The Ai family always maintained close business contacts with the Western Continent, so they were proficient in the languages ??of Western countries.

It was always better to be prepared for various situations to avoid being caught off guard.

At this moment, someone shouted from the backyard. “The body is rising!”

Lingquanzi’s expression changed, and he strode out.

Zhang Yuelu stood still but gave Qi Xuansu a look and motioned for him to follow Lingquanzi.

Qi Xuansu did not know why he could always understand Zhang Yuelu’s intentions accurately. He could not play dumb and followed Lingquanzi out.

The two of them came to the backyard and saw several firewood piles set up there. They had been lit, but the fire was not a normal flame. It had a strange blood-red color.

In the blazing flames, several corpses that were supposed to be cremated stood up amidst the flames. They bared their teeth and claws and roared. It was a horrifying sight.

Seeing this situation, Lingquanzi did not use any spells. Instead, he took out his gun and shot a corpse that was about to jump off the pyre in the head.

Following the gunshot, the corpse’s entire head exploded. Blood splattered everywhere.

Qi Xuansu, who was standing next to Lingquanzi, noticed that the superintendent did not use the Green Bird Pistol but the Divine Dragon Pistol, which was worth 800 Taiping coins. At the moment when the gun was fired, the muzzle of the pistol smoked, and Lingquanzi’s gun-holding arm trembled momentarily from the recoil.

Even if a Diviner was generally not physically strong, Lingquanzi was a Xiantian Being in the Guizhen stage. He was only one step away from ascending to a Heavenly Being. This showed how strong the recoil was. An ordinary person would probably die from such an impact.

After Lingquanzi dealt with one of the corpses, he reloaded his bullets. The others followed suit and took out their Green Bird Pistols to fire at the other two corpses.

How to use firearms was also one of the courses taught at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Anyone who successfully graduated from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace would be able to use a pistol or a long gun.

The Daoist Order’s pistols were all equipped with fixed-loading ammunition with an integrated structure, which solved the cumbersome problem of projectiles and gunpowder. Different talismans were engraved on the bullets to destroy qi, evil spirits, spells, and armor. At this time, they used Spirit Killing Bullets. Under the concentrated fire of the pistols, the two corpses only struggled slightly before falling into the fire again.

Lingquanzi was a little disappointed with the inexperience of these new members of Tiangang Hall. However, he also understood that all veterans were once novices. He did not rebuke them. Instead, he instructed, “Get some peach wood and use it to make a fire. That will prevent corpse transformation. This is the basic principle taught by the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.”

Xu Zhen said, embarrassedly, “Yes, Superintendent Lingquan.”

Peach wood was in great demand in the Daoist community, so all Daoist temples kept reserves of it. Bishan Temple was no exception.

Soon, everyone got the peach wood and started the fire again. This time, there was no corpse transformation. The flames were normal in color, and there was only a slight crackling of the wood burning.