Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 12
Lao Zheng ran over, and Dong Zhi followed subconsciously.
“Boss Long, what’s the situation? Do you need my help?!”
Long Shen said, “No need. How’s your side?”
He frowned when he noticed Dong Zhi trailing behind Lao Zheng. Dong Zhi quietly hid himself behind Lao Zheng, pretending not to notice the other party.
Lao Zheng wiped his sweat and said quickly, “Wang Jingguan and I went up the mountain a few days earlier than you but got separated. The people behind it are Japanese. Fujikawa Aoi is an onmyoji, and there are people from the Aso Consortium. I’m not sure if they’re coming here to investigate as well when they felt the movement!”
Long Shen nodded. “You watch them here. I’ll go down and have a look.”
Lao Zheng hurriedly asked, “Boss Long, what the hell is going on?”
Long Shen said succinctly, “Someone deliberately destroyed this dragon vein and drew out the dragon’s corpse with blood and anger.”
Lao Zheng was speechless.
The dragon vein was a broad appellation in feng shui*. Many people recognize that Mount Kunlun was the origin of the dragon vein in China, though there was no inevitable connection between the dragon vein and a dragon. Lao Zheng, as a person from the Department of Exorcism, naturally, would have inside knowledge that others wouldn’t. He did hear that a dragon once died on Changbai Mountain, but that was many years ago. When Lao Zheng joined the department, the dragon had been dead for many years, and its corpse slept under the astronomical peak of Changbai, melding between the mountains and rivers. This wasn’t unusual, as China was vast and rich in resources. A few years ago, there were many strange beasts that sank into the sea, perishing underneath the mountains and rivers.
*Also known as Chinese geomancy is an ancient Chinese traditional practice that claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment.
However, to resurrect a dragon’s corpse would require a tremendous amount of force. How much hostility had to be gathered in the array that could make this possible? Someone who could do such a thing must not be ordinary!
If something went wrong, it would attract demons. This was not just some kind of accidental event, but the beginning of a myriad of things. Lao Zheng’s heart sank when he thought about the Sneaky Yaksha that invaded the mountains and said sternly, “I see. Boss Long, I’ll guard here. Be careful!”
Long Shen glanced at Fujikawa Aoi again, nodded, and without saying more, leaped down towards the pit. Dong Zhi was momentarily stunned before he ran to the side of the sinkhole to look in. The sinkhole was at least the size of two football fields. It was unimaginable how much explosives and dynamite someone would need to use in order to make a pit this size.
“This should have been made by the dragon’s corpse when it was resurrected. I don’t know which fucker* is behind this, but it’s no wonder why there have been so many strange events happening around here recently!” Lao Zhang said angrily, giving Dong Zhi the answer to his thoughts.
*Turtle grandson (龟孙) It’s a curse word that means tenth generation grandson.
The pit wasn’t as bottomless as he had imagined, probably only ten meters at most. At the bottom of the pit was a large hole in the wall that had a bright light shining through it. Long Shen had jumped into the pit, and using the ledges by the side, he hopped a few times against them before reaching the bottom. Without climbing tools, an ordinary person would’ve most likely died if they were to jump in so casually like he did.
The sky had cleared a bit, revealing the stars and moon that cast their light from time to time through the clouds, shining a magenta light that looked treacherous above their heads. The sun was covered, and the moon was dark. Heavy clouds loomed from above as evil spirits ran rampant, and the sounds of birds were completely extinguished. This was truly a suitable night for murder and arson.
Dong Zhi asked Lao Zheng, “If the dragon returns from the dead, will it still be a dragon?”
Lao Zheng’s expression was solemn. “Generally, living beings die normally, and their souls dissipate between the heavens and earth, but there could be deviations. Sometimes, a remnant of the soul is trapped within the body, and the corpse will last for a long time due to the yin and yang it possessed. At this time, if an external force deliberately guides and stimulates its resentment, it will become a scourge.”
Dong Zhi: “Just like a zombie?”
Lao Zheng nodded, but when he saw Fujikawa Aoi and the others approaching the pit’s edge, he stepped forward to stop them.
“Stop!”
Fujikawa Aoi said, “Mr. Zheng, if I am not mistaken, the dragon’s corpse should have been resurrected by now. It’ll be very troublesome to deal with. Once it is brought into the world, it will cause disaster. I am willing to contribute my own strength to help deal with this situation.”
How noble of him to offer, but Lao Zheng didn’t believe a single word. If he hadn’t known about this in advance, would there be Japanese people here now at the grave of the dragon’s corpse?
Lao Zheng said angrily, “I’m sorry, this place is a restricted area. I’ll find someone to block it off after dawn. Please leave immediately!”
Fujikawa Aoi stepped forward. “Mr. Zheng, although the dragon’s corpse has not yet fully appeared in the world, judging from the scale of this great pit, its power must be infinite. You don’t have the manpower right now, so it’ll be difficult to completely eliminate it. Any additional person can add to your strength now. Otherwise, when it completely breaks free from its bondage, we will all become its sacrifices!”
Lao Zheng sneered. “Mr. Fujikawa, let’s not be so secretive. You’ve come all the way here. What is it that you want?”
Fujikawa Aoi was silent for a moment and then said, “After this is taken care of, we want the dragon’s corpse.”
Knowing his capabilities, there was no need to dance around the subject with Lao Zheng. After all, they were in China’s territory, and Lao Zheng’s colleagues were below the pit. He couldn’t act rashly before he could assess the situation and figure out his opponents.
“Impossible!” Lao Zheng said categorically, “The dragon’s corpse will be left for research. This is not something I can just grant!”
“But if we want to go down now, you can’t stop us!” The man in the jacket sneered.
“Jiangkou, don’t be rude to Mr. Zheng!” Fujikawa Aoi shouted.
“Yes!” The man in the jacket immediately stood straight up and saluted.
Though Fujikawa reprimanded him for his rudeness, he didn’t correct him for what he said, making it clear that one was singing the white face and the other was singing the red face*.
*(一个唱红脸一个唱白脸) Colloquialism that means in the process of resolving conflicts, one plays a harsh or annoying role and the other plays a friendly or likable role (AKA good cop, bad cop).
Lao Zheng sneered at this dog and pony show, but he also knew that he was unable to stop so many people. He was about to come up with a distraction to divert their attention and stall for time, when suddenly a shout came from the bottom of the pit.
“I can’t do it anymore, Lao Zheng. You come down for a bit so I can take a rest!”
Silence enveloped the area around the pit, amplifying He Yu’s voice loudly.
“Don’t bother Mr. Zheng. I’ll go down and help!” Kitaichi Eiko said in response. As she spoke, Lao Zheng became alert and immediately set off to block her off. The commotion drew Dong Zhi’s attention when he suddenly felt someone pushing him into the pit. As he fell, he looked back and saw the man in the jacket smiling viciously at him.
Caught off guard by Dong Zhi’s shout, Lao Zheng quickly stretched out his hand to grab him, but the momentum Dong Zhi had when falling was too great that he dragged both of them down. Kitaichi Eiko took this chance to jump into the pit.
Dong Zhi’s heart tightened as he knew he would most likely die falling into a pit that was ten meters deep. Fortunately, Lao Zheng grabbed his arm tightly and, using his other hand, jammed the handle of his whip into the mountain wall to slow down their descent and increase the buffer as much as possible.
“He Yu, follow my voice!” Lao Zheng yelled, his voice echoing in the pit.
He Yu quickly responded, “Fuck, what’s the situation?!”
When they neared the bottom, Dong Zhi felt that he was gently being supported by something under his ass before he hit the ground. His clothes were torn from the rocks against the wall, but overall he remained unscathed.
A white crane carrying Kitaichi Eiko on its back fluttered down. Her descent was much more graceful than that of his and Lao Zheng’s. Following her was Fujikawa Aoi, who was riding his snow wolf.
Dong Zhi was struck by awe at the sight and couldn’t help but think how amazing shikigamis and the power of the onmyojis were. He felt as if he was watching a fantasy blockbuster, but he was the one wearing the dragon costume in the film.
Lao Zheng ignored the soreness in his ass and shouted, “Stop them! They want the dragon’s corpse!”
It was apparent that He Yu, who had fought with Kitaichi Eiko before, wouldn’t be able to stop both her and her master. Fujikawa Aoi took the opportunity to flash into the cave, disappearing at such an agile speed that wasn’t fitting for an old man. Lao Zheng paid no heed to Kitaichi Eiko as he rubbed his ass and limped off, chasing after him.
As He Yu fought with the white crane, it almost pecked a hole in his shoulder, startling him. “Little lady, you’re too cruel!”
Kitaichi Eiko, who was anxious to go into the cave, didn’t bother to respond but instead fought fiercely. She did not participate in the fight herself but used a small delicate fan, waving it left and right. With each wave, the white crane would attack in the direction the fan moved.
If this was a normal situation, no matter how fierce the white crane was, he wouldn’t be afraid of it. However, he had recently been injured in combat against the dragon’s corpse, and his chest hurt whenever he moved, so he could only be pressed and beaten by the other. In a moment of inattentiveness, he was slapped on the head by the white crane’s wings, causing pain so excruciating that it made him curse his own mother.
After calming down, seeing that He Yu was gradually being disadvantaged, Dong Zhi started to become anxious, so he picked up a few stones and casually threw them towards the girl. Kitaichi Eiko felt a pain in her back that disturbed her channeling, interrupting the crane’s offense.
He Yu seized this opportunity, bit his index finger, and drew symbols out of thin air.
“The four great enlightenment, heaven and the earth are eternal, the eight directions1 suppress the soul, the nine seclusions2 suppress evil, hastily as I decree, imperial edict!”
1Refers to the directions of north, south, east, west, southwest, southeast, northwest, and northeast.
2Jiuyou (九幽) refers to the lowest and deepest part of the immortal world. It is said that the sky has nine layers of heaven, and the earth has nine layers of ground.
The blood foam condensed into red light in the middle of the air and disappeared in a flash. The white crane immediately raised its head and squawked as its body gradually became transparent. Kitaichi Eiko was furious and turned around and glared at Dong Zhi fiercely as she threw a talisman at him.
“Dodge it!” He Yu roared.
Even without his warning, Dong Zhi hurriedly rolled to the side. In the next second, there was an explosion that turned the stone next to him into dust! He had narrowly avoided it, but his ears and neck were scratched by small bits of the stone that exploded just now.
Dong Zhi persisted and continued picking up stones and throwing them at Kitaichi Eiko. However, every time a stone was about to hit her, it would suddenly slide to the side. It seemed she had formed some kind of barrier that was protecting her.
Kitaichi Eiko no longer paid any attention to him. The only real opponent she had in her sights was He Yu. Her crane was injured from his attack just now and had greatly weakened her offensive capabilities. Her hand was still sealed, so she used it to summon another shikigami, a giant spider.
The spider was as tall as half an adult and was about two people wide. Its multiple eyes flickered with a faint green light, and its movement was incredibly fast. As soon as it took shape, it ran towards He Yu, baring its sharp pincers. The sight alone could make people’s scalps go numb.
Dong Zhi was bewildered until he recalled that Lao Zhang had told him there were a few onmyojis who had the ability to summon two shikigamis at the same time, and Kitaichi Eiko was one of them.
In the distance, Kitaichi’s bodyguards and Yin Huai were seen climbing down the mountain wall. It was already difficult enough to deal with Kitaichi herself. Now, throwing these people into the mix made the situation even more problematic. Dong Zhi felt that he needed to do something.
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