Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 13

Not far away, Dong Zhi discovered a familiar object lying among the rubble. It was He Yu’s fluffy bear backpack. He ran over, took the bag into his hand, and opened it, hoping to find cinnabar and yellow paper. Seeing the contents inside, he was overjoyed. Using the method that He Yu had taught him, he scribbled on the yellow paper and drew sunlight talismans.

His hands trembled slightly, and the more he wanted to draw well, the more he couldn’t. Trying to calm himself down, he ignored thoughts like “that big spider is scary” or “He Yu is about to become a cauliflower”. Isolating himself from the outside world, he put the backpack on the ground and the paper on top of it, and sat cross-legged while holding a pen, no longer distracted.

The ground was still shaking slightly, as sounds from the dragon could be heard from time to time in the cave, and the thunder and lightning never stopped. It was inconceivable what kind of fierce battle was happening inside.

With Long Shen holding the tide, the dragon corpse wouldn’t be able to make any waves for now, but Fujikawa Aoi was an unknown variable. Lao Zheng would not be able to stop him, and if he wanted the dragon corpse, conflict was bound to rise between the two parties…

He Yu was anxious, but he had to brace himself to deal with Kitaichi Eiko, who was in front of him now.

“Does this little beauty have a boyfriend? Your Shinto sect doesn’t prohibit witches from falling in love, right? Japanese men are all so short. Do you want to consider this brother?”

He Yu flashed past the white silk that was spit out by the spider and drew out a short dagger, hiding it behind his backhand, as he moved towards Kitaichi Eiko. Although he had an aloof smile on his face, his intentions were quite the opposite.

“I remember you onmyojis can get married and have children, but as a witch, don’t you have to dedicate your life to Amatarasu*?”

*Goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology.

Even though she knew that He Yu was deliberately provoking her, she couldn’t help feeling irritated and said angrily, “Amaterasu is a woman!”

“Then you can also be a lily*!” He Yu said with a smile, and while the opponent was distracted, he aimed his dagger at her left rib.

*It’s a euphemism for girl love/lesbians.

Kitaichi Eiko quickly dodged, and with a wave of her fan, the spider quickly crawled behind He Yu, raising its sharp fangs, intending to bite into his back. If He Yu wanted to avoid the attack, he would have to abandon his offensive against her, but in this way, it would allow her some breathing room to flip her defenses into an attack.

He Yu’s chest was in agony to the point where he could no longer ignore it. He suspected that he would vomit blood and fall to the ground at any moment, and then it would be impossible to stop Kitaichi Eiko.

This little Japanese girl was so vicious. He just wanted to stop her, but she wanted to take his life! He was so angry like one buddha was born and two ascended to heaven* and the spider spiny limbs that were behind him had a fishy smell that only irritated him further.

*(一佛出世，二佛升天) It’s a metaphor for life and death but is also used as an expression for extreme anger.

At this moment, Kitaichi Eiko’s fan-swinging motion inexplicably stagnated. It was at this pause that caused the spider to sway and its figure to become a bit translucent. Seeing his chance, He Yu struck with his dagger, jamming it into her body.

Severe pain flushed through Kitaichi Eiko as she responded by kicking He Yu. He quickly avoided it and staggered back a few steps before falling on his ass. He laughed triumphantly and gave a thumbs up to Dong Zhi. “Good job!”

That was a close call just now. Any moment later, and it would have been too late to save He Yu. In a rush, he hurriedly folded the sunlight talismans into a triangle, tied them to two palm-size stones, and then tossed them at Kitaichi one after another. With the blessing of the talisman, the stone broke through her barrier and hit her, buying time for He Yu to complete his attack.

Kitaichi Eiko spurted out a mouthful of blood and the spider turned into a white mist, slowly dissipating. Not only was it difficult to manipulate two shikigamis, she also had to set up a protective barrier around her body, which had exhausted all of her spiritual power. Weakened, she collapsed on the ground.

Dong Zhi ran over to help He Yu. “Are you okay?!”

He Yu coughed, clutched his chest, and said weakly, “Originally no, but seeing that bitch in worse condition cured me instantly!”

Dong Zhi was rendered speechless.

Kitaichi Eiko stared at them both bitterly. “Cough, cough… My master won’t let you get away with this!”

He Yu rolled his eyes. “You can still speak harshly? The Japanese government wants you back, so just wait and beg to grandpa and sue grandma*!”

*(着求爷爷告奶奶) Metaphor referring to beg for help from others. The term derives from begging grandpa and suing grandma for money.

“Miss Eiko, are you alright?” The man in the jacket ran over, and when he saw Kitaichi’s state, he glared at He Yu, intending to extract vengeance.

“If you dare to touch a single hair, your two masters will not be able to get away from this!” He Yu sneered as he slumped to the ground, motionless.

“Stop!” Kitaichi Eiko shouted to the man, “Master is still inside. Go in after him!”

As she finished speaking, the ground shook violently and a roar burst from the cave, deafening everyone’s eardrums and causing their faces to turn pale.

The dragon’s roar in Dong Zhi’s imagination, which should be heroic and clear, as graceful as songbirds, and a little thick, was shattered in this moment by reality. A real dragon’s roar was not beautiful at all. The sound was deeper than a tiger’s and the soundwaves were stronger, allowing it to echo further, causing people to involuntary tremble and inflicting an impulse for them to kneel and surrender.

Before the man in the jacket could get to the cave, stones started falling one after another, and with another roar, the cave started to collapse.

“Master!” Kitaichi Eiko was in shock, struggling to get up.

“Oh shit! The dragon corpse is coming out!” He Yu said to Dong Zhi, “Hurry up, bring me my backpack! I have to set up a talisman array. You can help!”

Dong Zhi hurriedly prepared the yellow paper and cinnabar for He Yu, but as soon as he picked up the brush, he vomited out a mouthful of blood, startling Dong Zhi.

With another roar, the cave had collapsed.

“Mr. Fujikawa!” The man in the jacket shouted anxiously. As if in response to his cries, several figures flew out moments before the cave had completely collapsed.

Fujikawa Aoi was lying on the snow wolf, whose body was stained with blood and in feeble shape. Although it maintained its fast speed, its body was slowly dissipating. Fujikawa Aoi didn’t fare any better. His clothes were ragged, showing off many wounds.

Lao Zheng was dragged out by Long Shen. His whip had been broken and his state looked even more miserable than Fujikawa Aoi’s. Long Shen seemed to be in the best condition of the three. His clothes were almost all intact, and there were no visible wounds. He was frowning as he held a long black sword in his hand.

Though the timing wasn’t appropriate, Dong Zhi’s heart still skipped a beat, and he was stunned at such an inopportune time. These good feelings didn’t last long as the ruins collapsed around them like quicksand, as if some behemoth was struggling and tumbling below. Before Long Shen and the others could retreat to a safe distance, the monster roared from the ground and its huge head emerged from the ruins, roaring furiously, echoing like thunder, as if to arouse the power of yin and yang in the heavens and earth.

The monster didn’t have any flesh or blood, only bones. Everyone looked intently at it, discovering that it was a bone dragon, but its eyes were studded with two faint red flames. When it turned its neck around, there was none of that imaginary majesty of a real dragon, but an unspeakable terror.

“…This is the dragon corpse?” In the face of such a monster, not to mention Dong Zhi, even the fierce man in the jacket didn’t take half a step forward.

He Yu sighed. “It’s been sleeping underground for a long time. I don’t know what kind of wicked person would do such a thing, but he sacrificed to the dragon many blood essence and innocent souls to arouse the resentment that remained in its body after its death. It’s like adding the finishing touches to something. The two flames in its eyes are actually blood-soul wraiths that gave birth to its resurrection.”

A flash of inspiration hit Dong Zhi. “Then as long as you destroy two fires, you can suppress it?”

He Yu could only reply, “Easier said than done!”

The lower half of the bone dragon was still held beneath the ruins. It roared and churned, trying to escape, but Long Shen didn’t plan to let it succeed. The black sword in his hand vibrated slightly, making a low humming sound. Long Shen exerted force under his feet and ran towards the bone dragon. His gaze fell on the position where the scales once grew.

Naturally, as it was simply a skeleton, there were no scales there. However, the remnant soul still retained a considerable memory of its previous life, so while the scale didn’t exist now, it still possessed the memory of it being there, and if stabbed at such areas, the dragon corpse will still feel pain*.

*This is similar to the phenomenon of a phantom limb.

While Long Shen intended to attack the bone dragon, another person made his move. Fujikawa Aoi didn’t want to fight the bone dragon, but actually wanted to stop Long Shen.

When he got news of the bone dragon, he set off immediately, taking his disciples from Japan all the way to China, and even using the power of the Aso Consortium to pass through a special channel to avoid the eyes of the Chinese Special Administration Bureau authorities. He quietly came to Changbai Mountain in order to make this bone dragon his shikigami. If he could possess such strength, his status as a Japanese onmyoji would rise to great heights, becoming a national-level treasure onmyoji.

With this thought in mind, even if it offended Long Shen and the Special Administration Bureau, Fujikawa must at all costs capture the bone dragon. With a flip of his wrist, he pulled out three talismans from his hand. He chanted silently then threw them at Long Shen.

The fluttering talismans burned in mid-air, turning into three small fireballs that shot towards Long Shen like meteors. When they were halfway to colliding with Long Shen, a big yellow cat appeared out of nowhere and swallowed all three fireballs into its mouth with a single bite. It landed firmly on the ground, then meowed at Fujikawa Aoi, showing a mocking look.

Dong Zhi recognized it at once. It was this big yellow cat who had guided him when he was lost and took away his fish fillets. It’s just that now it seemed to be injured, its fur wasn’t as bright as before, and it walked with a limp.

Long Shen ignored Fujikawa Aoi’s small movements and continue rushing towards the bone dragon. The long sword pierced into the position of the phantom scale, causing the bone dragon to roar and twist its head violently, wanting to bite Long Shen, but its neck was caught by his backhand. He jumped on top of the dragon’s head, raised his long sword, and plunged it into the back of the bone dragon’s neck!

The big yellow cat hissed at Fujikawa Aoi, all its fur standing up, warning him not to make trouble.

He Yu frowned and whispered, “Not good!”

Dong Zhi became nervous. “What’s the matter?”

He Yu said quickly, “We originally wanted to keep the dragon corpse, but now it has merged with the resentment from the blood essence, so we have to destroy it. That old man who wants that dragon corpse to be his shikigami will definitely prevent us from doing it!”

As he spoke, Fujikawa Aoi had already summoned his shikigami, the snow wolf. The gray-white beast shook its fur, jumped up, and rushed towards Long Shen!

The sky was pitch black, revealing an eerie purple. As the ground trembled, ominous shadows shrouded people’s hearts, and the trees and plants were restless. The cloud surged from above, responding to the wails of the bone dragon as it swept over the entire sky, blanketing the entire world.

Lightning flashed, reflecting the side of Long Shen’s face. He grasped the bone dragon’s spine with one hand and firmly held the hilt of the long sword with the other, as if he was holding a winning lottery ticket. He inserted the sword completely into the bone dragon’s body, stabilizing his figure as if he were a rock.

Dong Zhi couldn’t help but shout be careful and the others held their breath as they all saw that Long Shen had no time to avoid the snow wolf that was about to violently attack! His heart was caught in his throat when suddenly a ginger-yellow figure shot towards the snow wolf like an arrow and bit into the snow wolf’s neck. The snow wolf clawed, subconsciously trying to throw the yellow cat off. Despite the size disparity, the big yellow cat didn’t show a hint of fear. It landed steadily on a stone pile and stared menacingly at the snow wolf. All its fur stood up as it hissed at the snow wolf.

Shockingly, the snow wolf seemed to be faintly afraid, as it took a few steps back. Everyone was stunned by the scene. Dong Zhi couldn’t help but say to He Yu, “This cat was transformed from a tiger, right?”

He Yu laughed, grinning so widely that he showed off a row of teeth. “Hehe! It’s more powerful than a tiger!”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

He Yu’s my favorite character so far.

—

Amaterasu

Goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. She was born from the left eye of her father, Izanagi, who bestowed upon her a necklace of jewels and placed her in charge of Takamagahara (“High Celestial Plain”), the abode of all the gods.

She is the Queen of Heaven, the kami, and creation itself. Though she did not create the universe, she is the goddess of creation, a role she inherited from her father, Izanagi, who now defends the world from the land of the dead.

Amaterasu’s primary role is that of the sun goddess. In this position, she not only serves as the literal rising sun that illuminates all things, but also provides nourishment to all living creatures and marks the orderly movement of day into night.

The sun represents order and purity, two of Shinto’s most important concepts. All things in creation are ordered, from Amaterasu down to the denizens of Jigoku and other hells, and this order is reflected in Japanese society as well.

Source

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

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.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 11

The old man and the young girl didn’t care about the whispered conversation between Lao Zheng and Dong Zhi. They both took time to rest their eyes and recuperate, wanting to quickly recover the energy they had just expended. The fat man next to them, the president of the Aso Consortium, Aso Kenzo, glanced around nervously, as if he was still worried the black mist would return and attack. The man in the jacket looked at Lao Zheng from time to time with a wary expression.

Dong Zhi’s gaze fell on the middle-aged man holding a mahogany sword on the periphery.

“The one with the sword seems to be Chinese?”

Lao Zheng said disdainfully, “That man’s name is Yin Huai. He’s a broker. I don’t know where he learned such crooked skills, but he specializes in buying cultural relics from tomb robbers and reselling them to foreigners. He was released some time ago and is also on our blacklist. It’s obvious they’re up to no good if he’s following this group of Japanese to the mountains!”

Dong Zhi was surprised. “Are there any cultural relics on Changbai Mountain?”

Lao Zheng shook his head, and his expression became solemn. “There have been some abnormalities in this vicinity recently. We originally wanted to close off the mountain, but we felt that the situation was not serious enough. Hastily sealing the mountain would instead beat the grass and startle the snake*. The black mists you encountered are called Sneaky Yaksha. It’s not a ghost but a kind of demon that devours people’s souls.”

*(打草惊蛇) Idiom originally meant punishing others and warning oneself. Later, it’s a metaphor for doing things not secretly, causing the other party to be alert and guarded. It comes from Zheng Wenbao’s “Recent Events in the Southern Tang Dynasty”. In this context, it’s the latter meaning.

Influenced by anime, the Yaksha in Dong Zhi’s impression were a very beautiful race. These Sneaky Yaksha obviously were not, and they’re even more terrifying than actual ghosts. He remembered the incident on the train and quickly relayed it to Lao Zheng.

Lao Zheng frowned and said, “Sneaky Yaksha can only be derived from places where resentment is deep and there are lots of demons. Changbai Mountain has never had them before. Their sudden appearance is already very unusual in and of itself. If your account is true, there must be a reason behind this. Perhaps someone is deliberately releasing these evil things and manipulating them.”

Hearing the heaviness in his words, Dong Zhi couldn’t help but become nervous. “Why are they on this mountain now? Are we going to run into them again?”

Lao Zheng sighed and whispered, “He Yu and Boss Long are from the Special Administration Bureau. If we knew they were coming, we would have waited for two more days. We hadn’t heard from them before we went up the mountain. Now I’m separated from another colleague.”

Dong Zhi was shocked and said, “How many days have you been staying on this mountain?”

Lao Zheng said depressingly, “It will be at least four or five days now. I have been searching for the source of the Sneaky Yaksha, but unfortunately I haven’t found any clues.”

He shouldn’t have revealed so much to Dong Zhi. While he looked calm in front of the Japanese group, he was really suffocating internally and finally had a chance to vent. What he said just now showed that he was alone. To make matters worse, the Japanese side had more people and held ulterior motives. Though they were polite now, due to being scared of the Special Administration Bureau behind Lao Zheng, if they knew that he was alone, they might just kill him on the spot and even drag Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing with him. In the barren mountains, who would know?

Dong Zhi finally realized why Lao Zheng’s tone was so heavy. What they face now wasn’t only the elusive Sneaky Yaksha but also the Japanese with an unknown purpose and possibly even a more mysterious and unpredictable force behind all this.

Mom, I just quit my job and wanted to have a little fun. Why is this kind of thing happening?!

Recalling his job, he thought of his project manager, who was also a fat man. Compared to the ill-intentioned consortium president in front of him, his original picky project manager seemed so cute now. If he could get down the mountain safely, he would go back and give that fat man a hug and shower him with kisses.

At this moment, Yin Huai suddenly yelled in surprise, “Look, the road is open!”

The originally dark forest suddenly had a path that had appeared out of thin air. It looked as if it had been trekked on. No one moved. Lao Zheng went up and explored it first, then asked Dong Zhi to wake Zhang Xing up and follow him.

The man in the jacket asked Fujikawa Aoi. “Why don’t I explore the way first?”

Fujikawa Aoi shook his head. “Follow them.”

Two groups of people walked in the dark, one after the other. As he walked, Dong Zhi whispered to Lao Zheng, “Where are we going?”

Lao Zheng said, “Up this road. We can reach the top of the mountain. I have told my colleague to meet me there. Once we arrive, we can talk.”

Zhang Xing had twisted her foot when she was fleeing for her life, so she was walking with a limp. Seeing her frown and painful expression, Dong Zhi said, “I’ll carry you on my back.”

Zhang Xing was a little hesitant, but Dong Zhi had already bent down and squatted in front of her. She took his generous offer and lay down on his back, wrapping her hands around his shoulders tightly.

Suddenly, Dong Zhi remembered something. “Do you have any objects on you that ward off evil spirits?”

Zhang Xing was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

Dong Zhi: “Those monsters possess the human body, but why didn’t they attack you when you were alone with Yao Bin?”

Hearing his words, Zhang Xing also felt it couldn’t have been just a coincidence that she managed to survive. After thinking about it, she took out a necklace and showed it to him.

“This is the celestial bead that my mother brought back from Tibet. Does it count?” As soon as she finished talking, she shouted, “Why do the beads look so dark!”

Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief as he somewhat understood. “It may have saved your life just now, so keep it safe.”

The sky was moonless, but the lightning still illuminated the area from time to time. Their torches burned fiercely as they trekked along the path, casting dark and unknown shadows as the night wind howled, blowing the leaves violently.

This was a terrifying night. Seeing the slender neck of a young man close at hand and feeling the body temperature of the other party faintly coming through his clothes on her palm, Zhang Xing wanted to cry.

“Thank you.” She whispered.

Dong Zhi didn’t speak. He was afraid that if he spoke, the breath he was holding back would leak out and he would collapse…

…Because Zhang Xing was too heavy.

Physical intimacy with a beautiful woman with a good figure like her should have produced countless wonderful thoughts, and Dong Zhi was indeed full of thoughts at this moment, but they had nothing to do with his current journey—

Golden mushroom rice with fatty beef, tomato seafood noodles, charcoal-grilled pork neck, crispy char siu sausage noodles…

Ah, so hungry.

The last of the chocolates had been consumed ages ago, so he could only use thoughts of food as motivation. From steamed chicken feet to shumai—he even began to meditate on the ingredients for mandarin duck pot.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy. He thought it was due to sheer hunger that his strength was leaving him, but the dizziness got worse, eventually causing his feet to become soft and he collapsed onto the ground, throwing Zhang Xing off.

The ground was shaking!

Dong Zhi reacted as the others were also shocked and ran to the nearby trees to support themselves. Lao Zheng looked up in the distance and blurted out, “Damn it!”

The frequency of lightning increased to the point where it lighted up the entire darkness with no interval in between. The top of the mountain was illuminated, shaking violently, and the rumbling sound seemed to be coming from the depths of the ground, containing an inexplicable strange power, as if something was about to break through and emerge from it.

Suddenly, a roar rang out, resounding through the entire area and deafening everyone’s ears, causing tinnitus as no other sound could be heard.

Zhang Xing felt the tingling of her eardrums and couldn’t help but scream as she covered her ears. Her hands were shaking as she touched her ears and discovered that they were bleeding.

Lao Zheng suddenly ran up the mountain like crazy. The Onmyojis reacted quickly as well, as they followed closely behind, and soon they had almost passed Lao Zheng. Fujikawa Aoi looked almost seventy years old, but he actually ran faster than his apprentice. No one else knew what was going on, so they all ran after them.

At this time, they were not far from the peak of the mountain, but the higher they went, the more severe the shaking got. There was even a tendency for the ground to crack. Stones rolled down, and although they weren’t large, they would still break one’s head in if they landed a hit.

Fortunately, Lao Zheng swung his whip side to side while running up, turning many of the stones into dust, and Fujikawa Aoi also released his own shikigami, blocking the front and saving everyone a lot of trouble.

When they were about to reach the top of the mountain, the ground was shaking so violently that no one could walk. They all had to hold onto thick trees so as to not tumble down with the rocks.

Suddenly, there was another roar! This time the sound was so piercing that even if he covered his ears, the sound still penetrated through the palm of his hand and struck his eardrums, causing him headaches and rendering him into a state of confusion.

“Dragon! The dragon is real!” Yin Huai suddenly yelled and started laughing, as if he was crazy. “There really are dragons. This place really is one of the great dragon veins*. I was right!”

*Source of great life energy that forms paths in which they flow. In Feng Shui, it’s believed that the earth is alive, and its pulse is the mountain range. Because mountains are undulating, always appearing and disappearing, like a dragon traveling around, Feng Shui refers to the mountains as dragon veins.

Dong Zhi endured the pain that felt as if his head was about to split open and looked up. He saw a tall and majestic figure rising into the air. The dragon shape slithered and swam amidst the thunder and lightning, creating a dazzling sight full of power and beauty. After a while, it turned into a cloud of smoke and slowly dissipated, as if he had fought with the heavens and was laid to rest.

However, the dragon’s roar did not stop and still sounded, blending in with the thunder, from time to time, but it was not as piercing as before. Everyone was shell-shocked, having never before witnessed such a fantastical and magnificent scene.

“It’s over! It’s over! The dragon corpse has been resurrected!” Only Lao Zheng had clear eyes as he murmured while staring blankly in front.

Coming to his wits, Dong Zhi was stunned at the mess that lay in front of him. All the trees and rocks were completely gone, replaced by a huge sinkhole, almost comparable to the size of a small lake.

He wasn’t the only one who was shocked by the appearance of the sinkhole. Only Yin Huai expressed excitement as he ran to the edge of the pit. His eyes lit up and he laughed. “As expected, I was right. Wherever dragon veins are, there must be a real dragon!”

The shaking of the ground continued, but it was not as violent as before. Another flash of lightning swept across the sky, illuminating a person standing not far from the pit. His figure was vague and unclear, but, while everyone else was busy holding onto something to stabilize themselves, the figure of this person was still standing steadily, as if he was completely fearless even if the sky was falling apart.

“Who is there?!” The figure turned his head to face them.

Long Shen!

Dong Zhi recognized his voice at once, and the inexplicable excitement almost made him call out to him, but Lao Zheng, who was ecstatic, replied even faster, “Boss Long, is that you? I’m Lao Zheng from the Northeast Branch!”

---

The author has something to say:

Dong Zhi: Wuwuwu, I was robbed, and I couldn’t smoke*…

*Smoke is a buzzword that has the connotation of happy/happiness. He’s saying he couldn’t smoke so it’s the opposite of the connotation.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 10

Since they had set out after their short rest, Dong Zhi had constantly remained vigilant. At this time, he didn’t care about cursing others or making enemies. He quickly pulled Zhang Xing back using his quick reflexes, causing Scar to grab empty air!

He and Zhang Xing staggered back a few steps and fell, rolling to the ground, but they managed to avoid Scar’s attempt to use them as a shield.

Failing to grab someone, he quickly got up and scurried forward, shouting, “Help!”

More black mist surrounded them as the men in uniform waved their torches around to drive them away. However, this action was simply futile. The mists were like water that ebbed and flowed, dodging the fire, then gathering again, waiting for the opportunity to devour them.

These were monsters of the dark, and the darkness was their natural refuge. Ordinary humans couldn’t match them at all. Thinking of the train attendant and Yao Bin’s tragic situation, Dong Zhi felt that if these things really invaded his body and sucked out his brain, turning him into a puppet, he would rather just end himself with a knife before it reached that stage.

The group launched an immediate counterattack. Scar’s master, the middle-aged man, drew a mahogany sword from his back and danced around so tightly that it actually scared the black mist, as it didn’t dare to get close. The girl threw out a few talismans at random, and they ignited spontaneously when they reached mid-air and swept towards the black mist, capturing it. The black mist suddenly burst into flames and disintegrated into powder.

Dong Zhi couldn’t help but be amazed. The girl also used talismans, but her hands were more delicate and gorgeous than He Yu.

The old man’s hands were covered with seals, and after chanting something, a gray wolf suddenly jumped out from behind him. It roared and pounced on the black mist and opened its mouth, showing a row of sharp fangs. The black mist, which should have no substantial body, was easily torn to pieces. Although the mist tried to quickly reform itself, the snow wolf was equally fierce. As the mist tried to reform its shape, it was melted away by the white glow of the snow wolf’s body.

Scar suddenly screamed, “Master, help me!”

Looking towards the sound, Dong Zhi saw that the torch in Scar’s hand was about to be extinguished and the black mist was looming closer as if it would attack at any moment. Scar tripped over a stone and fell flat on his ass. He rubbed his body as he crawled back desperately. He could still handle the front, but suddenly a black mist swept towards him from behind.

“Behind!”

Scar’s master had also seen it. He shouted to warn his apprentice, but it was too late. As soon as he spoke, the black mist rushed behind Scar, enveloping him. He struggled hopelessly, shouting for help, as all kinds of swears rushed out. The black mist disappeared from above his head, leaving no trace.

Dong Zhi was startled, and Zhang Xing clenched tightly around his arm, shivering violently.

Scar rolled on the ground with a scream, and suddenly the noise stopped. His throat was still bobbing, but no sound came out. The man in the jacket shone his flashlight towards him. Dong Zhi saw that veins were slowly emerging from Scar’s face as his eyes began turning white, looking exactly the same as Yao Bin.

Scar clawed fiercely into the soil, so deep that it almost buried half his fingers. Hideous blue veins started bursting out, creating a sinister looking scene.

The girl threw a talisman towards him, causing him to become violent. He shredded the burning talisman in mid-air and let out a roar towards the group. The white wolf leapt out from the side but was entangled with the black mist and couldn’t reach them.

Scar reached out and grabbed a bodyguard nearby. The bodyguard reacted and kept shooting him, but in the end, he was still thrown to the ground, his neck encircled as he was being choked.

“Mr. Fujikawa, Miss Kitaichi, please save my apprentice!” The middle-aged man said anxiously.

The girl bounded her hands with seals and chanted out nine characters with different tones. White light seemingly steamed up from her hands. Suddenly, a white crane flew out from behind her and rushed towards Scar.

Though the crane looked elegant, its castration was cutthroat. It immediately pecked at Scar’s forehead, forming a blood hole in the middle of it. After saying it was too late, the girl threw another talisman that stuck right on top of the blood hole, creating a fiery explosion that consumed Scar, just like what had happened to Yao Bin.

“Scar!” The middle-aged man shouted. He furiously turned his head and cursed at the girl, “I said I’d show you the way, but you bastards killed my apprentice!”

“Mr. Yin, you clearly know that it was a hopeless situation for your apprentice. If we don’t kill him, he’ll kill us!” The man in the jacket threatened coldly, “You’d better show us some respect, otherwise, we won’t save you next time.”

The middle-aged man’s face twitched, distorted by anger, but he didn’t dare open his mouth again.

Just when all Dong Zhi’s attention was attracted by the scene, Zhang Xing suddenly let out a cry. He turned back when he heard the sound and saw a cloud of black mist floating towards them. Without a second thought, he took out the talisman in his pocket and threw it at the mist.

The moment the talisman made contact with the black mist, traces of red light sparked, causing the black mist to stagnate for a bit, and its speed slowed down. It turns out his talismans weren’t completely useless! The thought flashed through his mind, but before he could feel proud, he quickly pulled Zhang Xing away.

Witnessing the scene just now, the girl couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“What?” While fighting off the black mist, the old man still had enough strength to spare to care about the girl’s condition.

“That man is a bit strange. I want to test something.” The girl replied as she waved her slender hand.

The white crane suddenly appeared in front of Dong Zhi, startling him. He staggered forward and fell to the ground, allowing the black mist to quickly catch up. Out of talismans, he could only watch helplessly as the black mist hovered on top of him and Zhang Xing.

Seeing that he had no other life-saving skills, the girl felt disappointed and no longer paid any attention to them. For her, the black mists were scattered and hard to see, so they were troublesome to deal with. It was easier to destroy them with talisman fire after they had attached to a human.

With the black mist close at hand and thinking of the fate of Yao Bin and Scar, Dong Zhi felt desolation in his heart. The last thought that flashed in his mind was that Zhang Xing’s lung capacity was big enough to scream for them both.

Suddenly, a white light appeared in the darkness, as if tearing the air asunder and shooting straight into the black mist. The mist let out a screech and instantly burst into dust.

Zhang Xing, who didn’t know that she had just barely escaped death, was still screaming with her eyes closed. Dong Zhi couldn’t bear it any longer, so he quickly covered her mouth.

Bursts of thunder rumbled as purple-white lightning lit up the sky, illuminating the peaks of the mountains in the distance. The thunder had been sounding since before he got lost, so Dong Zhi could no longer recall how long it had been raging, but the rain had ceased, causing an uneasy feeling to arise, as if it was a sign that something big was about to happen.

In the flickering light, the black mist converged again and was quickly dispersed by a whip, accompanied by screams that could tear your eardrums. It sounded like a howl from a demon in its last struggle. In the face of death, all life was equal.

The man with a whip walked slowly towards them, stopping not far from Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing. The man in the jacket shined his flashlight towards him, revealing an ordinary-looking face that belonged to a man that looked like he was in his forties.

“Who are you?!”

“Stop using that piece of shit in your hand and shining it at laozi’s* face!” The man shouted as he whipped a cloud of black mist. He glared back and said, “I haven’t asked yet, but what are a bunch of little kids doing running up Changbai Mountain in the middle of the night!”

*Refers to an old master. Commonly used slang to referring to “Your Father”. Basically, it’s saying this great one.

“Sir, we have a common enemy. The most important thing now is cooperation.”

It was the first time that the Dong Zhi heard the old man speak. He had been held by the stars and the moon* before and had always maintained a haughty attitude. Although his tone of voice was still blunt, he clearly expressed his appreciation.

*(众星拱月) Metaphor referring to people that support one person or all things surrounding one thing (AKA held on top of a pedestal).

The man with the whip sneered and didn’t say anything. The movement in his hand didn’t stop. His whip seemed to be extremely powerful. Every crack made a faint wind and sounded like thunder, completely shattering the black mist. Due to its sheer force, after every whip was shot, the man had to rest for a bit before he resumed his next attack. With his assistance, the fight was more easily handled, and they were able to wipe out the black mist within a few strokes.

Despite the heavy loss, everyone could finally catch their breath. Scar died as well as a subordinate of the man in the jacket. The old man looked fine, but the girl was pale, obviously from exhaustion, so she had to sit down and rest against a tree.

Contrary to them, Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing, who had no power to protect themselves, were unscathed due to the timely appearance of the man with the whip.

The middle-aged man holding the mahogany sword stared blankly at the place where his apprentice had burned to ashes. After resolving the black mist issue, conflict immediately arises.

The man with the whip sneered. “What’s so good about cooperating with a group of thieves?”

A fat man next to the old man coughed lightly. “Why are you so hostile? Changbai Mountain is a tourist destination, and there is no rule that foreigners cannot come to play. We got lost halfway, so…”

The man interrupted him impatiently. “The president of the Aso Consortium, with a broker¹ and two Japanese onmyojis², came to Changbai Mountain for tourism. What a truly unique combination!”

¹Term used here is (二道贩) translated means second trader. It refers to a middleman/broker/trafficker, I guess in this case, the middleman to whatever this group is trying to catch.
²Basically a Japanese exorcist. See Kinky Thoughts for more details.

Several people on the other side did not expect their identities to be revealed so easily, and their faces instantly turned ugly. The girl’s expression changed as she said, “You visited our group three years ago… Mr. Zheng?”

Seeing that the other party just snorted coldly, she confirmed her guess. She turned her head and whispered a few words to the old man, whose face frowned slightly as he looked at Lao¹ Zheng. After a moment, he bowed and said bluntly, “I’m Fujikawa Aoi², Eiko’s teacher. Please give me your guidance³.”

¹The prefix Lao (老) used before surnames, refers to the head or elder of families or an address to someone who’s much older than you (like around your father’s age).
²Last name, first name. Note all names will be in this format unless it’s western.
³Clarity: Not in the literal sense. It’s more of a polite greeting.

The Eiko he was referring to was probably the girl sitting next to him.

Lao Zheng didn’t seem angry as he replied, “The Exorcism Department has not received your special entry report. Do you have any explanation for this?”

The girl said softly, “We have already applied for the relevant procedures, but your department hasn’t approved it yet. I would like to ask Mr. Zheng to go back and check it again.”

Lao Zheng sneered. “Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking. You planned to enter the country first and then apply, so of course I didn’t receive your approval. Since we have bumped into each other, please follow me obediently back so we can take care of the formalities. Otherwise, I will treat this as an illegal invasion!”

The scene immediately became tense. The fat man, who was the president of the Aso Consortium, said, “Mr. Zheng, we are all trapped here, and there’s nothing we can do about it until we leave. We might as well cooperate sincerely and try to get out before discussing other matters. Don’t you think so?”

Lao Zheng’s gaze swept across them coldly, but in the end, he said nothing. Seeing that Lao Zheng didn’t object, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

The middle-aged man with a mahogany sword was sitting on the periphery of the group of Japanese. He seemed to be jealous of Lao Zheng but didn’t dare come over. Lao Zhang didn’t bother paying any attention to him either, drawing a clear line between the two.

Dong Zhi glanced at both sides, then moved silently inching towards Lao Zheng’s side. Lao Zheng knew that the two of them were ordinary people, and naturally they didn’t hold any tit-for-tat malice, so he asked, “How did you two get mixed up with them?”

Dong Zhi briefly explained how they got lost and Yao Bin’s situation.

Lao Zheng frowned, his expression became more solemn, and he said, “No wonder!”

No wonder why these two didn’t talk much.

Dong Zhi thanked him and asked for his name.

The other party casually said, “Just call me Lao Zheng.”

Zhang Xing shivered and asked in a low voice, “What exactly were those things just now? Are they ghosts?”

“It would be great if they were ghosts. Would be a lot easier to clean up!” Lao Zheng whispered, “Just follow me. I’ll take you to a safe place. When dawn comes, you can hurry down the mountain. Go quickly and don’t stay here for too long!”

Dong Zhi suddenly asked, “Do you know He Yu and Long Shen?”

Lao Zheng was taken aback. “You know them?”

Dong Zhi nodded.

He naturally deduced it from hearing Lao Zheng’s conversation with the Japanese just now.

Lao Zheng didn’t easily believe him. “Do you have any proof?”

Dong Zhi said, “He Yu’s badge number is 2491.”

After that, he picked up the branch and drew the sunlight symbol on the ground that He Yu had taught him.

“Sunlight symbol?” Lao Zheng was a knowledgeable person. His expression suddenly eased after hearing He Yu’s correct badge number and seeing the symbol drawn just now. “It turns out you’re one of our own, so this will be much easier.”

He also took out a badge from his pocket and showed it to Dong Zhi. It turned out to be a work permit, similar to He Yu’s. It also showed the Special Administration Bureau on it, but the four characters underneath were different. It was Lao Zheng’s name, Zheng Sui, and his work number was 1334.

Seeing this work permit, Dong Zhi now understood the feelings of those who would get excited when they saw the People’s Liberation Army, as he was now surging from excitement after finding this organization again.

He hurriedly explained, “I am not one of you. I just met He Yu not long ago!”

Lao Zheng smiled and said, “Although He Yu is a fool, that kid is still reliable when it comes to major events. Since he taught you how to draw talismans, he must also be thinking of asking his master to accept you. A few years ago, I went abroad with him on a group visit, and he had fought against that little girl sitting opposite of you.”

Dong Zhi took the opportunity to ask, “Who are those Japanese people?”

Since he found out about his relationship with He Yu, Lao Zheng’s attitude towards Dong Zhi was much more cordial, and he became a bit of a chatterbox.

“That little girl’s name is Kitaichi Eiko, and she is the witch of Ise Shrine.”

Dong Zhi wondered. “Isn’t she an onmyoji?”

Lao Zheng: “Onmyoji is just a general term. In Japan, it is a kind of priesthood, as men are called priests and women are witches. They have different levels and tiers, forming their own system. It’s rumored that she was born with the eyes of heaven and controls two shikigamis* at the same time. She is the leader among the new generation of onmyojis in Japan. That old thing is her master, who should be more powerful.”

*Conjured beings made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony. See Kinky Thoughts for more details.

Zhang Xing, who was sitting by his side, looked completely lost, and her spirit wasn’t in great shape either. She still hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries and shock. Lao Zheng reached out his hand and flicked her forehead, instantly causing her to close her eyes and she slowly slumped her head onto Dong Zhi’s shoulder.

“The little girl is frightened. Let her sleep.” Lao Zheng said.

Dong Zhi continued to ask, “Are they entering the country illegally?”

Lao Zheng sneered. “Special identities like Fujikawa Aoi and Kitaichi Eiko, in addition to formal entry, must also register for a license, but they didn’t have them. They actually told me they were here on vacation. What utter bullshit!”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Onmyoji

Practitioner of Onmyodo. It has an eclectic blend of Wu Xing, Godai (Five elements), Yin and Yang, shikigami, divination, and alchemy.

A practitioner of onmyodo is called an onmyoji. Traditionally, the only ones able to legally practice onmyodo were appointed by the Imperial government, and were in fact, civil servants of the Bureau of Onmyō. During the Heian period, onmyōji had quite a bit of political clout, but when the imperial court fell into decline, their status as civil servants was lost. Their original responsibilities included keeping track of the calendar, divination, and protection of the capital from evil spirits. They also watched for auspicious and/or harmful influences in the earth, (earthquake detection ect.).

The most famous onmyoji is Abe no Seimei, who is roughly analogous to Merlin of Arthurian legend.

—

Shikigami

Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony. Their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master, where if the invoker is well introduced and has much experience, their shiki can possess animals and even people and manipulate them, but if the invoker is careless, their shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness and can even raid its own master and kill them in revenge. Usually, shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying, stealing and enemy tracking. Shikigami are said to be invisible most of the time, but they can be made visible by binding them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 9

When they got closer, they saw that it was a group of seven or eight people who were holding flashlights in their hands. Even if they had been hostile looking, it would still be better than Yao Bin, who was chasing them; perhaps he wasn’t even human any longer.

The other party frowned when they saw two people running towards them, showing obvious signs on their faces that they were not welcome, but Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing didn’t care. While shouting for help, they continued staggering towards the group, feeling a sense of relief.

Yao Bin was still chasing them from behind, maintaining a steady pace, seemingly unaffected by the new arrivals. Due to his big steps, he quickly caught up.

Dong Zhi didn’t need to look back as he could feel the sound of wind made when Yao Bin reached out to grab them from behind. The down jacket made an unpleasant scratching noise, and despite the thick layers, he could still feel his clothes being torn. It goes to show what unimaginable strength he possessed, and one can easily tell just by looking at Zhang Xing’s blood-stained head.

Suddenly, the movement from the group in front of him caused his breathing to stagnate. They had taken out a black-colored weapon that looked like a gun from their pockets and pointed it at them.

Bang!

These people actually took guns with them to Changbai Mountain?!

There were wolves in the front and tigers in the back*. The sound of gunfire made Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing stop abruptly. They quickly realized that the target was not them, but Yao Bin. Dong Zhi pulled Zhang Xing down and quickly rolled to the side, creating an unsightly scene, but at least it would save their lives.

*(前面有狼，后面有虎) Metaphor for bad guys comes one after the other. From the Qing Dynasty’s “Guillotine-Party Dispute”.

Despite multiple rounds of gunfire, it only made Yao Bin’s body slightly shake, as he continued to move forward.

“Stop shooting! Guns aren’t effective against him at all!” Someone shouted.

Dong Zhi saw a woman picking up a branch from the ground. Her hands were bound with seals, and she started chanting some words. The branch suddenly ignited spontaneously as she conjured a bow from thin air, put the branch on it, and shot it straight at Yao Bin. The burning branch flew past Yao Bin, and just as Dong Zhi thought she had missed, she suddenly let out a shrill scream, causing the branch to explode in a burst of fire from behind.

The light from the fire illuminated a cloud of black mist that twisted and deformed, then dissipated. Dong Zhi was dazzled by the sight until he saw the fire spreading to Yao Bin. Zhang Xing cried out in a low voice, wanting to rush up to save him but being firmly pulled back. Her body quivered as she realized the Yao Bin in front of her was no longer a normal human being.

“Isn’t it bad to kill people here?” A middle-aged man, who they first heard from, spoke.

“His brain has been sucked dry by the Yaksha* so he’s not considered human anymore,” The woman who had shot the branch just now said; her tone was blunt and a bit strange. He secretly caught a glimpse of her and found that she was young and beautiful.

*See Kinky Thoughts for lore.

An old man standing next to her had on a sullen face, as if he owed tens of millions to someone. Near them were a group of younger men who had guns in their hands. Dong Zhi didn’t dare stare any longer and quickly retracted his gaze.

“We just ran into these things! How did they appear?!” The middle-aged man said with horror.

“Someone must have released them.” The woman said coldly, “Next time you encounter this kind of thing, don’t shoot. Just set it on fire, otherwise it’ll attach to you and drain your brain and you’ll become like him.”

The “he”, of course, was referring to Yao Bin. The fire had gotten larger and soon enveloped his entire body. The oddest thing was that during this entire time, Yao Bin didn’t make a single sound and remained motionless, as if it was responding to the girl’s words: he’s no longer a human being.

Since he had already seen such a sight before due to the train incident, he was mentally prepared, but Zhang Xing had to face the impact of watching the body of her acquaintance being burnt to death. If it wasn’t for Dong Zhi holding her tightly and covering her mouth, she would have screamed and limped to the ground.

“Who are you?!” A man in a jacket asked. His tone was blunt, like that of the girl’s.

Zhang Xing was still overcome by shock and wasn’t suitable to answer their questions for the time being. Dong Zhi briefly told them that they had met in the mountains and were lost. Then he bit the bullet and asked, “Are you also looking for a way out? Can we follow you? We promise that we won’t drag you down!”

The man in the jacket frowned and looked back at the old man and the girl. At this time, the middle-aged man said out loud, “One or two more won’t really make that much of a difference, right?”

Dong Zhi noticed his tone had a bit of acquiescence, signifying that neither the man in the jacket nor him had any say. It was the old man that was next to the girl that made all the decisions. The old man glanced at Dong Zhi, expressionless, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. Being under his gaze, Dong Zhi felt as if it could pierce through his body.

The old man nodded slightly and whispered something to the man in the jacket. The latter straightened his waist, lowered his head and said to everyone, “Go find a place to rest!”

Dong Zhi let out a sigh of relief and pulled Zhang Xing up and followed them.

The sky was dark, covering up the moon and all the stars. They had to rely on their flashlights to lead the way. Dong Zhi didn’t want to consume all of the power on his phone, so he resisted the urge to take out his phone to illuminate the path and followed the group closely for fear of losing them.

Although they had guns and did not look like good people, at least they were still within the scope of humans. Compared with Yao Bin, Dong Zhi would rather be with them. Walking behind them was not without benefits either. Dong Zhi quickly discovered that the group was divided into two. The first group, centered around the elderly man and young girl, had a total of six people. The man in the down jacket walked beside them, occasionally exchanging a few words. He seems to have some status, but his attitude towards the old man and the girl was very flattering. He surrounded them with two other people, like bodyguards.

The other group was the middle-aged man just now and another young man in a black down jacket. It was a strange combination, and with them carrying guns, it looked like they were engaged in the black market.

In that instance, terms like tomb robbers, smugglers, drug traffickers, and the like flashed through Dong Zhi’s mind. Since he had no signal, he couldn’t fulfill his moral obligation and report them as a law-abiding citizen of the motherland.

They didn’t encounter any strange occurrences along the way. When they reached the edge of a river, the man in the jacket raised his hand and made a gesture. Everyone stopped and they started a fire, gathering around it to rest.

Dong Zhi didn’t want to get too close to them but didn’t dare stray too far, so he found a big stone and settled down with Zhang Xing.

“Shit! Why is there no power?!” The young man in the black down jacket looked at his mobile phone and cursed in a low voice.

Realizing that this was an opportunity, Dong Zhi offered. “Brother, I have a portable charger here.” He took out the battery pack from his backpack and handed it over.

The young man looked at him with wonderment, and Dong Zhi found that there was a scar on his face.

“My name is Xiao Dong. What’s your name, big brother?” Dong Zhi showed his smile that he usually reveals when he wanted to get close to others and saw that the man’s expression became more relaxed.

“Just call me Scar.” The young man said.

“Scar Ge, where are you going? I don’t want to inquire about anything. I just want to know if there is a safe place along the way. We can stay there and wait until dawn to find a way down the mountain.” Dong Zhi whispered.

Scar laughed. “You can continue dreaming unless you follow us. We have encountered plenty of those ghosts since we came up the mountain. Some are insubstantial, while others, just like now, manipulate individuals to attack us. Without them…”

He tilted his head towards the direction of the old man and girl. “It’s impossible for you to leave safely.”

Dong Zhi felt a chill. He tentatively asked, “Their accent doesn’t seem to be Chinese.”

Scar curled his lips and revealed. “Yes! They’re Japs¹! Even my master didn’t take them seriously. It’s said that he’s a president of a consortium with around 80,000 to 250,000 people and is quite arrogant². Bah! We’re on Chinese soil!”

¹(小日本) Translated means little Japan. It has a derogatory connotation with two reasons. One to make fun of Japan’s small territory and short stature, and two, out of anger and hatred for Japanese militarism against China in history.
²[Eyes on the top of his head] (眼睛都长头顶上) An expression to describe someone who’s arrogant and looks down on others.

The dissatisfaction was palpable, but he only dared say it in a low voice.

Since the identities of these Japanese people were unusual, their purpose on Changbai Mountain in the middle of the night wasn’t so simple. It must not be a good thing since Scar and his master were mixed in with this group of people. Dong Zhi realized this and asked no further questions. After thanking Scar, he got up and returned to Zhang Xing.

Zhang Xing, who had gradually calmed down, suddenly became taunt again like a bowstring. She was touched by Dong Zhi, and it almost made her jump. Dong Zhi hurriedly held her down and found that she was shaking like a sieve and even her teeth were chattering.

Dong Zhi was taken aback. “Are you cold?”

Zhang Xing grabbed his arm and, while still shaking, slowly wrote on his palm.

[I understand Japanese. I heard some of their conversation just now.]

Dong Zhi froze and immediately realized that their conversation most likely wasn’t good; otherwise, Zhang Xing wouldn’t have been so frightened.

She wrote on his hand again: [They seem to be looking for something. They are keeping us to use as a distraction in case they run into danger.]

Dong Zhi deeply inhaled, and he sighed silently. It was truly escaping the wolf’s den to fall into the tiger’s!

Learning from Zhang Xing, he took her palm and wrote: [We don’t know the way and can’t run. Follow behind and act according to the circumstances. Don’t get too close. Did you hear what they were looking for?]

Zhang Xing wrote: [No. They mentioned something about the Aso Consortium.]

Aso Consortium?

Japan’s chaebols* were bustling, and Dong Zhi had occasionally heard of them on the news.

*Large multinational group that controls a number of related companies and has a monopoly or influence in financial and business circles. They have great diplomatic influence on global politics because they provide a powerful source of funding for public and political lobbying, with the ultimate goal of maximizing money and power.

Zhang Xing’s palms were sweaty, and the Dong Zhi’s weren’t much better. The two looked at each other in the dark and smiled bitterly. People were knives, and he was the fish*. In order to live, they have to choose the lesser of two evils. There was no other way. They had to keep moving forward.

*(人为刀俎，我为鱼肉) Means the power of life and death is in the hands of others and one’s in a position of being slaughtered. This comes from the “Historical Records: Xiang Yu’s Chronicles”. The original line is: “The big line does not care about the meticulous, and the big ceremony does not hesitate to give up the small. Now people are swords, and I am fish.”

The group had rested enough. The man in the jacket lit a few torches and divided them up, giving one to Dong Zhi. As they set off, Dong Zhi secretly paid attention and found that they were moving entirely uphill.

Are we going up the mountains again?

Even with this discovery, Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing had no choice but to pray for a safe journey. The reality was, the more you were afraid of something, the more likely it would come. Dong Zhi’s hand that was holding the torch, was beginning to sore. Just as he was about to switch hands, his sharp eyes caught the sight of a cloud of black mist, behind Scar, floating towards him.

“Be careful!” Dong Zhi subconsciously shouted.

Scar reacted quickly as he abruptly turned around, swept the torch forward, and used his other hand to pull the trigger on the gun he was holding, shooting behind him. This was done purely out of instinct when he encountered danger. He knew that shooting it was useless. The black mist that had merged with the darkness was slightly delayed as he rolled to the side. Suddenly, it struck again. Scar yelled and reached out to grab onto Zhang Xing, intending to use her as a shield!

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Yaksha also known as “Yaksa”.

In folklore, Yaksha ghosts are mostly “sea monsters” or “water ghosts”. They can eat people and animals and are related to the Dragon King and the Evil God. It’s a unique ghost creature in the underworld, and its whole body is black.

Dakini Yaksha has two wings and can fly in the air. It is ever-changing. Sometimes it is red, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. No matter what color it is, it possesses a kind of dark light that is very powerful. Its body sometimes turns into the head of a human beast, or the head of a cow, or a horse, which is terrifying, and it likes to cause trouble.

Earthwalking Yaksha is even more frightening. Its hair is a green flame, several feet high, burning like a candle. One of its eyes is on its forehead, while the other grew on its chin. They are strangely shaped; some are triangular, while others are half-moon.

The Yaksha in this novel is not referring to the Yaksha from Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts, which are generally benevolent.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 8

“Let her go!”

Dong Zhi’s cry didn’t cause any reaction. The man continued walking forward like a puppet. Dong Zhi noticed that a small piece of Zhang Xing’s scalp was torn, and blood was flowing to the back of her ears. It’s no wonder why she screamed so badly. Judging from the damage, it seemed that the man was extremely strong.

Disregarding his hesitation, he stepped forward as he tried to free Zhang Xing’s hair from the man’s grip. Unfortunately, the man was holding on so tightly that he couldn’t break it free. Dong Zhi shoved the man, but he didn’t even budge an inch. As if he wasn’t even there, the other party didn’t even look at him, as he continued staring straight ahead with blank eyes that were filled with more sclera than pupil.

Something’s wrong. This doesn’t look like a normal person at all.

In a moment of desperation, a flash of inspiration hit Dong Zhi. He quickly took out a utility knife from his backpack and slashed it at Zhang Xing’s hair, only to miss and instead cut the back of the man’s hand. Blood gurgled out, startling Dong Zhi. Despite the damage, the man didn’t shout in pain or shrink his hand as he still remained expressionless, gripping tightly on Zhang Xing’s hair.

Dong Zhi slashed again, but this time he grabbed onto one side of the hair with one hand and used a much fiercer force. The sharp blade cut through most of the hair but left a small part that was still in the man’s hold. With such a small area being applied the full force of the man’s pull, it made the pain more excruciating that Zhang Xing was bawling as tears and snot flooded down her face, and she screamed even louder. Seeing his chance, Dong Zhi grabbed the clump of hair and forcefully pulled it back from the man’s hand, finally freeing Zhang Xing from the opponent’s clutches.

The man finally noticed something was amiss. He stopped, turned his head, and stared straight at Dong Zhi. There were no longer any hints of jealousy that he had when he had struck up a conversation with them earlier. The white parts in his eyes had turned blue, making him look vividly creepy.

He lunged towards Dong Zhi, as the latter was trying to help Zhang Xing get up, managing to catch his arm. A burst of pain shot throughout his body straight towards his brain.

It was still early spring, so the mountains were cold. He had worn two layers, including his coat, yet he felt immense pain through these thick layers. He understood now how truly strong his opponent was and why Zhang Xing couldn’t break free.

Without saying a word, he kicked his opponent, causing him to shake and stagger back two steps. The man regained his balance and reached out with his other hand to try and encircle Dong Zhi’s neck, but he’d tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.

Paying no heed, Dong Zhi didn’t bother looking back and instead grabbed Zhang Xing and ran. Zhang Xing’s legs softened, and almost half her body was leaning on him. Seeing that it couldn’t be helped, he gritted his teeth and carried her on his back. While running, he paid careful attention to the road but couldn’t help but look back and almost lost his soul*!

*(魂飞魄散) Idiom that means so scared that your soul leaves your body and scatters. Used to describe the feeling of being extremely frightened.

The man got up quickly and chased after them. His movements weren’t fast, but it was weird. He was running on tiptoe as if someone was holding his shoulders from behind his back and manipulating his limbs like puppet strings. Dong Zhi’s scalp went numb as he suddenly remembered the woman who jumped off the building in the hotel!

After stumbling along for some time, Dong Zhi was getting tired, so he had to slow down. Zhang Xing suddenly screamed, “He’s catching up!”

Due to the fear, she subconsciously tightened her hold around Dong Zhi’s neck to the point of straggling him. Dong Zhi almost couldn’t breathe as he shouted, “Don’t choke me! I can’t run!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Let me down, I’ll run on my own!”

Unable to carry her any longer, he put her down and the two ran for their lives while holding hands. The road seemed endless, and their physical strength was limited. The man, on the other hand, seemed to never tire as he chased them relentlessly, slowly catching up to them as their physical strength weakened. It was a thrilling sight to behold as he caught up to them several times, barely missing their clothes when he reached out to grab them.

“I-I can’t run anymore!” Zhang Xing cried as she kept running.

“Hold on for a little longer!”

“No, I can’t do it. I’m going to die!” Zhang Xing’s face was a mess as snot, tears, and blood flowed everywhere. Her hair was completely maimed, looking as if it was dog fur that was cut by a knife, leaving no traces of beauty left.

“You still have the strength to speak!”

Just after he spoke those words, Zhang Xing tripped over and staggered to the ground, pulling Dong Zhi down with her. The man had caught up, and his eyes were completely white, no longer possessing any pupil. His face was covered with cyan veins that were faintly glowing under his skin, and there was a shallow red mark on his forehead. He walked towards them on tiptoe, neither fast nor slow, but each step was wide, as if he was like those entertainers who wore tall stilts. The sight was incredibly supernatural and indescribable.

Seeing that he was about to grab the back of Zhang Xing’s neck, with a stroke of luck*, Dong Zhi subconsciously touched his pocket and took out the “fake and shoddy product” he had painted and threw it at the man.

*Blessed the soul (福至心灵) Idiom that means when good luck comes, a person’s mind is open and flexible. It describes people who are flexible in thinking and act appropriately when they encounter the right time.

The moment the talisman touched the man’s face, the movements that couldn’t even be triggered by a cut from a knife had made him pause. The talisman scorched, slowly disintegrating into black powder at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At this time, Dong Zhi heard a sharp scream coming out of nowhere as the man’s body lost its support and suddenly collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Dong Zhi hurriedly pulled up Zhang Xing and continued running until they were at the brink of exhaustion and had to stop.

Zhang Xing’s face was pale. She opened wide-mouthed as she continued panting, making a huff-huff sound as if she was pushing bellows. Dong Zhi’s condition wasn’t any better. When he surveyed their surroundings, he realized that they hadn’t met a single person along the way since he had found Zhang Xing.

Where did all the tourists go from this originally lively scenic spot?

“What the hell is going on?” He asked Zhang Xing.

Zhang Xing was on the brink of mental collapse. It was like she was deaf and didn’t hear what Dong Zhi asked her. With no other choice, he acted cruelly and gave her a slap, finally bringing her back to reality.

Seeing that she started crying again, Dong Zhi had to threaten, “If you keep crying, you’ll lead that guy to us!”

This abruptly stopped Zhang Xing’s sobs and she was able to recount what happened.

After they had split from the waterfall, the hiking group continued to set off. Yao Bin, the man just now, was walking with her. He was a tall, handsome guy, sunny and talkative, and was quite popular in the group. He was also traveling by himself. While she didn’t think he was bad, her eyes were set on Dong Zhi, so it made things awkward between the two of them, especially during the exchange they had at the waterfall. When Dong Zhi left, Yao Bin took the initiative to apologize to her, admitting that his attitude was poor just then and saying that he would apologize if he encountered Dong Zhi again. After a while, the two chatted and joked around and eventually fell behind the hiking group.

The group planned to head to lvyuantan*. When they reached a fork in the road, there were relatively few people there. The group leader had asked everyone to stay on the trail, but many wanted to stop and take photos. As a result, Zhang Xing and Yao Bin, who weren’t paying attention, went from being last to being first.

*Waterfall in Changbai. When the fog rises, the water on the lake is filled with mist, making it look like a fairyland on earth.

“You mean that the team leader had already asked everyone to set off, but everyone was busy taking pictures, so you two eventually ended up in the front, and when you turned around after a while, you didn’t see anyone else around?” Dong Zhi frowned.

Zhang Xing gasped and said, “It was strange. We thought the others hadn’t caught up, so we waited for a while, but they never came, so we followed the same path back to find them. Who knew, after walking for so long, we actually came back to the waterfall again! At this point, I couldn’t walk anymore, so Yao Bin suggested I sit down and rest while he go and find someone to ask for directions.”

“I waited for almost half an hour before Yao Bin came back slowly. At that time, he had become very strange. He hung his head and walked on tiptoe without looking at me. I thought he was injured, so I went over to help him. Who knew that he suddenly knocked me down and dragged me forward by the hair…” Thinking about what had happened gripped her with fear.

The weather was already depressing, and the sound of endless thunder roaring in the distance only made it worse.

“What are we going to do now?!” Zhang Xing grasped his arm tightly. She was so frightened that her voice trembled involuntarily as she spoke.

“We need to find a way out first!”

Zhang Xing wept bitterly. “But no matter where we go, we can’t get out!”

“Then we have to keep looking. Look at the time. It hasn’t moved at all!” He said as he stared at his phone.

Zhang Xing hurriedly took out her phone and saw that the time was 2:01 PM. It was 1:45 when the hiking group passed by the pool. It would be impossible from that time until now for only 15 minutes to have passed… Unless time was frozen when she and Yao Bin separated from the group. This realization struck fear in her heart as it started to quickly spread.

Were they not on Changbai Mountain anymore, but in a different dimension?

Dong Zhi overturned his backpack, only pulling out a drawing board, a pencil, stacks of blank and scribbled papers, a few pieces of chocolate, a bottle of water, and a portable charger. He packed lightly, so he left the cinnabar and yellow paper behind at the hotel.

Originally, he thought the two talismans were enough as no normal person would expect this kind of encounter to happen to them when hiking up a mountain. He thought for a bit and then pulled out a blank piece of paper, wiped a utility knife casually on his shirt, and used it to cut his fingers, causing blood to instantly gush out.

He ignored Zhang Xing’s face that had the expression saying “are you evil as well?”, while he forced himself to calm down and started drawing symbols on the white paper. If He Yu could do it, he should be able to as well, even if the effectiveness was minimal. As long as it had any kind of effect, it’ll still give them a chance to escape next time…

“Take this. It’s a talisman. Throw it at the enemy if you encounter danger.”

Zhang Xing took the triangular talisman from him, speechless. She didn’t know how to react to such a sight.

He shook his hands. The first two talismans he drew were useless. Thankfully, the next two were adequate. He had several wounds on his fingers due to the cuts he made and it stung him so painfully that he couldn’t breathe.

Zhang Xing silently opened her backpack and took out band-aids to bandage him up. Seeing as his phone was low on power, despite having a portable charger, he didn’t want to use it so casually. He was about to continue onwards when he heard movements coming from behind him. He turned his head to look and was caught by surprise as Yao Bin had appeared again and was walking towards them, step-by-step, on his tiptoe!

Zhang Xing screamed, jumped three feet high, and tossed the talisman she was holding at him.

Dong Zhi: …

While it wasn’t good, it was still a talisman that he shed a lot of blood to draw successfully! He wanted to cry without tears*.

*(欲哭无泪) Metaphor for extreme sadness of helplessness.

When the talisman hit Yao Bin, he momentarily paused before continuing to walk towards them.

“It’s useless!” Zhang Xing turned her head and shouted at Dong Zhi.

“Run!” Dong Zhi yelled as he pulled her up and sprinted away.

Thanks to the break they had taken, they had regained some strength. They were still tired but tried their best to continue forward, losing track of how long they were running for. They noticed that their surroundings gradually dimmed and saw a few beams of light that looked like flashlights from a distance dangling in front of them.

“Who!” A low shout came from the other end, full of caution and vigilance.

Usually, hearing this kind of tone, Dong Zhi would stop to assess the person before moving forward, but currently, with danger behind them, he threw caution to the wind and quickly darted to the voice shouting, “We’re lost tourists!”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Poor Dong Zhi, can’t catch a break.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 7

The car quickly set off. The leader of the tourist group began introducing attractions related to Changchun on the drive. Since Dong Zhi didn’t know much about the area, he listened intently as he found it interesting.

The team leader talked about how there’s a hanging kettle* in Changchun and one in Harbin, but the one in Harbin had no water. In the past, several tourists didn’t realize this and got on the wrong bus. As a result, they went all the way to Songfeng Mountain in Harbin and were dumbfounded when they saw there wasn’t a single drop of water. Everyone, including Dong Zhi, laughed when they heard this story.

*(吊水壶) refers to a scenic spot that mainly consists of caves, hanging waterfalls, volcanic wells, and other attractions. The one he’s referring to is most likely a small waterfall like this.

The team leader asked everyone to take turns sharing something interesting they had encountered on their travels. When Zhang Xing finished, she said to Dong Zhi. “Why don’t you tell a story?”

The team leader also noticed Dong Zhi and said with a smile, “Let the little handsome guy talk. It’s rare for a beauty like Zhang Xing to take the initiative to invite others. None of the handsome guys on our team had such an honor!”

Everyone turned their heads to look at Dong Zhi when they heard the team leader’s words. They had seen him when he first got into the car and thought he was particularly attractive. Now that he was sitting next to the beautiful Zhang Xing, they couldn’t help but compare. Those who like to joke around had already started heckling them. “Wow, a golden boy and a jade girl*.”

*(金童玉女啊) In Taoism refers to the virgins who serve immortals. It’s now used as a reference to innocent boys and girls.

Zhang Xing blushed slightly but did not refute them.

Dong Zhi wasn’t pretentious, so he shared a story about Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan, where there was a hotel called Jiuzhai Paradise. When he got off the plane, the hotel had sent a car to pick him up. The driver was a carefree man who liked to ask guests if they were going to heaven. The guest would get furious and immediately retort that they would send him to heaven.

The group was courteous and listened to him without interruption. After hearing his story, they all fell to the ground in laughter. Zhang Xing took advantage of the situation to ask. “Is Jiuzhai fun?”

Dong Zhi chuckled. “It is. You need to look at the lakes in Jiuzhai. The water there is like a living spirit. If you have the opportunity, you should really go see them.”

Zhang Xing felt a bit inspired and said playfully, “Then when I go, can I ask you to be my tour guide?”

Dong Zhi blankly blinked, pretending not to understand her insinuation. “I’ve already been there.”

Hearing his response, Zhang Xing felt disappointed, and all her courage suddenly disappeared, and she remained quiet for the rest of the ride. The trip was filled with laughter and chatter, and eventually they reached the northern slope of Changbai Mountain in half an hour.

When buying tickets, Dong Zhi took the opportunity to break away from the tourist group. Zhang Xing wanted him to stay, but he declined under the pretext that he wanted to find a quiet place to paint. This area had always been a popular tourist attraction, so even though it was off-season, it wasn’t as deserted as he imagined. Dong Zhi took a bus to Tianchi and painted there for two hours, then walked along the road in the opposite direction of where he came.

The mountains were cold, but the trees and plants had already started springing to life. He took a bus when he got here, and since he was in relatively good shape, he wanted to return on foot by going down. He walked for a while and eventually stopped to sketch and paint, realizing he had unknowingly walked out of the scenic area. When he turned around to look back, he found that he had gone too far.

While considering whether to turn around and go back the same way he came, he heard a “meow”. He turned around and saw a chubby yellow cat behind him, meowing as if it was calling him.

He was briefly stunned before he took a few steps closer towards the cat. It didn’t seem afraid of him as he remained motionless.

“Little guy, are you domesticated or wild? Are you lost?” Dong Zhi laughed. “I only have chocolates and water, but you can’t eat chocolates.”

Seemingly understanding him, the cat glanced at him, then got up and walked slowly away.

Dong Zhi found it very fun and couldn’t help but follow it, maintaining a short distance from it. After walking for almost half an hour, he faintly heard the sound of a waterfall up ahead and occasional sounds of voices. The cat seemed to be frightened by the noise as it jumped into the forest, disappearing in a flash.

Moving forward, the waterfall slowly unfolded into his sights until it made him involuntarily breathless. There were small groups of twos and threes that were busy taking pictures with their phones, and a few who just stood by to enjoy the scenery, like Dong Zhi.

“Dong Ge*!”

*Older brother. Term used to address older males; generally use on those you’re close with (think senpai/oppa).

Returning to his senses, Dong Zhi looked up and saw Zhang Xing and the tour group. He walked over and greeted her. “We meet again.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see you at the lake just now, so I thought you fell behind!” Zhang Xing’s voice held excitement. “Why don’t we go together later?”

Dong Zhi showed her the sketch pad in his hand. “No, I need to find a place to sketch.”

Zhang Xing let out a sigh, showing a discouraged look. He pretended not to notice and took out two pieces of chocolate from his backpack and handed a piece to her. This made her regain her smile.

“Zhang Xing, would you like grilled fish?” A boy walked over, gave Zhang Xing a bag of grilled fish fillets, and sat down next to them. “What are you talking about that you look happy? Who’s this person you call brother?”

He was asking about Dong Zhi, but his gaze never left Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing became agitated and stuffed the grilled fish into Dong Zhi’s hand, said nothing, then got up and stomped away. The boy was uninterested in Dong Zhi, so he got up and chased after her. Dong Zhi looked at the grilled fish in his hand and hesitated whether to return it, but suddenly he saw the chubby cat had come back and was squatting on the stone in front of him, tilting its head while looking at him.

One person and one cat stared at each other, big eyes to small, when realization hit Dong Zhi as he offered the grilled fish in his hand. “Do you want this?”

The cat rolled its eyes, jumped down and rushed towards Dong Zhi, surprising him. Before he could react, the bag of grilled fish in his hand had been stolen. The cat immediately crossed the river and destroyed the bridge. It ran straight into the forest without ever turning around.

Seeing such a sight, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He rested for a while, then checked up on Zhang Xing, who was still talking with the boy. Their expressions looked fairly calm, so he guessed that they weren’t quarrelling. He didn’t bother them, so he picked up his bag and continued walking along the road.

He deliberately avoided tourists by following the instructions he bought when he was at the bottom of the mountain and taking the remote paths. These trail ways were rugged and steep, but they were still within the scenic area and met state regulations; however, most tourists avoided them because they were too strenuous. Dong Zhi walked around a pond and came out the other side to see a clear blue sky, white clouds, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. In awe, he found a place to sit down and started to paint.

While usually energetic, when painting, he would normally calm down. Once the brush started to move, he would lose all sense of time. This time it was no exception. When he had finished his first draft, he was awakened from his trance by the sound of thunder.

He looked up at the sky and saw it was covered by heavy dark clouds and distant thunder was rolling in. Occasionally, ferocious lightning would flash in between them as the clouds surged. The tranquil-like fairyland had suddenly changed.

Looking around, he found the sporadic tourists who had been here earlier were all gone. He hurriedly packed up and prepared to find a place to take shelter from the rain. It wasn’t odd to not run into anyone, as they probably had long left to avoid the rain, but he walked for quite some distance yet had not seen a single soul, and a weird feeling inside started growing stronger.

He abruptly stopped and stared at the stone in front of him, recalling that it was the stone he had been drawing just now, as there were traces on the grass of where he was sitting. He was perplexed at how he had walked in a complete circle to end up at the same spot again.

This time, to pay better attention, he took out a marker and drew a small mark on the stone before moving on. If memory served him correctly, he only needed to walk a short distance back before he reached the main road where there would be guide signs directing him to various scenic areas. He had walked for almost five minutes and finally saw the end of the grove. He accelerated his steps, rushing through the woods until he reached the end, seeing grassy cliffs in front of him and the lake and snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Sure enough, he had returned once again to the stone. He stared at the mark he left on it, thinking about the old saying “ghost hitting the wall*” that old people in his hometown often said when he was young.

*(鬼打墙) Means when walking at night, you can’t tell the direction you’re going in and your perception is blurred, causing you to go around in circles. When you tell others about this experience, it’s difficult for them to understand, so it’s called “ghost hitting the wall” (as in a ghost is supposed to pass through walls but ended up hitting it).

If it hadn’t been for his encounter on the train before coming to Changchun, he would have been scared witless at this point. However, given his experience, he had fortified his mental tolerance and was able to withstand the fear.

The dark clouds began to increase abundantly, completely darkening the entire sky. The rolling thunder sounded as if someone was beating drums among the clouds, vowing to split open the snow-capped mountains. It was like hearing a battle between immortals fighting in the sky. The lightning and thunder clashed, affecting the mortals below who followed in their wake.

If this scene were to be posted online, some would joke and say someone was going through a tribulation*. Having lived for more than 20 years, Dong Zhi had never witnessed such dark clouds that rolled endlessly like a vast roaring sea of mountains.

*Referring to cultivation (Xianxia genre), where people can cultivate to become immortals/gods. Usually they must pass and survive a calamity, often times in the form of a storm with lightning and thunder, before they can ascend to godhood. 

He collected his thoughts and turned around and looked back, seeing a person passing by not far away, who was walking in a hurry and didn’t seem to notice him. The figure’s appearance looked so familiar that Dong Zhi couldn’t help but blurt out. “Xu Jie?!”

His voice was loud, but Xu Wan didn’t seem to hear it. He didn’t see Tongtong with her as she was running alone, seemingly lost. He hesitated before catching up to her.

It stood to reason that Xu Wan, a woman, would not be as fast as him, and he should be able to catch up if he ran at full speed. Yet after chasing her for quite some time, he was unable to catch up as the distance between them remained relatively the same length. Even a fool at this point would realize something was wrong.

He halted his chase and watched as Xu Wan’s figure got further and further away, finally disappearing from sight. He turned around and tried to look for a way out of the woods. Since he had met a ghost hitting the wall, it seemed he was now stuck going in circles in some kind of maze. The forest wasn’t big, but no matter where he went, he couldn’t get out.

Anxiety started to rise. He remembered reading the news about two college students who came to explore Changbai Mountain and got trapped, so they had to call the police for help. He thought if he did the same it would be quite shameful, but given his predicament, it was better than being lost. Surprisingly, when he took out his phone, he was dumbfounded, seeing as there was no signal.

He clicked on the compass app. Though electronic compasses had greater deviation than mechanical ones, they were still somewhat useful. When he looked at the app, he saw that the needles were spinning frantically and felt his heart sinking.

Before his mood had completely sunk to the bottom of the earth, he heard someone scream.

“Help!”

The voice was familiar and sounded as if it was from a young girl. In contrast to the thunder, the scream refreshed him a bit, and he ran towards the sound without much thought. When he got closer and the voice got louder, his eyes lit up, as he found that he had actually exited the woods and came back to the waterfall he had passed by earlier.

He saw a man grabbing a girl by the hair and dragging her on the ground. The girl was struggling and crying desperately, but her opponent was too strong that she couldn’t escape. Her back was completely scratched up as it bore the full weight of her body as it was pulled across the bumpy stone-covered path, causing her to cry in agony.

The sight shocked Dong Zhi. He recognized the girl was Zhang Xing and the man was the young man who was trying to court her with grilled fish not long ago.

“Dong Ge! Help me! Help me!” Zhang Xing had caught sight of him and cried bitterly, begging for help.

The man who had gripped her hair remained unmoved, not bothering to turn back to look at Dong Zhi, as he was mechanically wandering aimlessly step by step.

Without a second thought, Dong Zhi sprinted over.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 6

Xu Wan also saw the woman’s strange walking posture, but to her, the less involved, the better. She pressed on Tongtong’s head to prevent her from looking back and whispered to Dong Zi, “Make sure your door is locked before going to bed.”

Dong Zhi nodded. “Xu Jie, you do the same. It’s not easy to go out with Tongtong. If you have anything urgent, just knock on my door.”

Xu Wan smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

Back in his room, Dong Zhi didn’t bother to pay too much attention to what he had just witnessed. He had encountered enough strange events along the way that the additional thing wasn’t too concerning any longer. He took out the yellow paper and cinnabar, mixed the cinnabar with mineral water, and began practicing drawing sunlight talismans.

According to He Yu, when blending cinnabar, mineral water was better than tap water because it contained more minerals and was closer to nature. Painting talismans was a method of communicating with heaven and earth as the talisman became the medium. Paper represented wood, which itself was also made of wood. The color yellow represented earth, which was located in the middle of the five elements* allowing it to draw in qi from the world. Cinnabar represented fire, and the water-adjusted cinnabar contained the attributes of water. Combined, it was almost a complete collection of the attributes of the five elements.

*The five elements are: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. See Kinky Thoughts for more details.

He Yu had told him that some would deliberately add gold powder to the cinnabar to make the five elements perfect, forming a complete cycle that intertwined and flowed endlessly, achieving the effect of subduing demons and spirits. However, he said this with such a goofy smile that Dong Zhi thought he was just pulling his leg. 

Even now, Dong Zhi didn’t have much expectation for the effectiveness of talismans. He was more interested in drawing them. Due to his career and hobby, he purely equated drawing talismans to “completing a painting”. He thought there must be a unique charm to these things, considering the ancient Chinese talisman culture was able to spread and gain popularity even in today’s modern times.

The ancient ancestors had linked paintings with subduing demons and had put them into practice, and He Yu was the one who opened the door to this mysterious world for him.

He couldn’t control the excitement he felt. He drew hundreds of them with a single breath and then picked out the two most satisfactory, folded them into triangles according to the method he learned from He Yu, and put them in his pocket.

He looked at the time and saw that two hours had passed. Profusely sweating and gripped with hunger, it was as if he had just run a marathon. He thought to himself how lucky he was that he had bought some food back from the market. He cleaned up his tablet and then ate his salt and pepper duck tongue while playing on his phone.

He was about to take a shower when he heard a knock on the door. Through the peephole, he saw that it was Xu Wan. She was holding Tongtong with an embarrassed face.

“Xiao Dong, you haven’t slept yet, right? I want to go downstairs to buy something to eat. Do you mind watching Tongtong? I’ll be back in a few minutes, but I’m too afraid to leave her by herself.” Her tone was soft, as if hinting that it was fine for him to refuse.

However, this was such a low-effort task that Dong Zhi readily agreed. “Okay. Just let Tongtong stay with me for a bit!”

The two exchanged a brief greeting, and as Xu Wan was about to head out, a sudden noise of breaking glass was heard. Shortly after, there was a muffled sound, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.

It was already past 10 PM, nearing 11, and the hotel was located in the center of the city, behind a commercial street. The hustle and bustle from the street could faintly be heard, but it wasn’t particularly loud, especially for those who were staying on the higher floors and had their windows closed.

Dong Zhi didn’t have his windows closed after he heard the muffled sounds, which were accompanied by screaming. The shrill screams penetrated the night and spread into the room, causing Dong Zhi to shudder.

He and Xu Wan glanced at each other before the two walked to the window and peeped down. They saw a person lying on the ground with a dark liquid slowly snaking out from under her head. Many onlookers had gathered around, but none dared approach. The sounds of sirens brought them back from their stupor.

Xu Wan covered her mouth in panic and stammered. “That person… She seemed to have jumped from the next room…”

Hearing her words and looking more closely at the body, Dong Zhi discovered that the person did look familiar. To validate his suspicion, he sent Xu Wan and Tongtong back to their room and went down to the hotel lobby to investigate.

News of someone jumping from the hotel quickly spread, and many people gathered around the entrance of the hotel. Most were guests, along with the hotel’s security guards and lobby managers. Everyone looked disturbed as chatter filled the area. The scene became chaotic as many guests went to the front desk asking to be checked out; the sudden influx of people overwhelmed the two front desk clerks.

Dong Zhi stood behind the crowd and looked towards the scene. Seeing that the clothes looked familiar, he instantly recognized that they belonged to the woman that he had passed by in the hallway earlier!

She had jumped from the 9th floor; one conspicuous red high heel was still on her foot while the other was scattered not far away. The blood had not yet dried as it faded slowly under the body of the deceased. Dong Zhi hurriedly stepped back and looked away from the uncomfortable scene. Involuntarily, his hand touched the sunlight talisman in his pocket. He wasn’t sure if it was due to his previous experience, but he felt that his emotions were relatively calm and he wasn’t scared.

The police quickly arrived on the scene and began setting up a cordon. They asked the hotel staff and guests to leave the premises and ushered everyone back to their rooms.

It would be too troublesome to change hotels as he plans to leave early tomorrow morning. As soon as he lay down, he heard a knock on the door. It was the police.

They had learned that the deceased was staying in the room next to his and wanted to inquire about the situation. Dong Zhi truthfully answered their questions and told them everything he knew, even the fact that they had run into each other in the corridor, and he found that the other party was behaving strangely. The police had told him he was not a suspect, as they thought the incident was related to a suicide, but they had to question him per routine procedure. They took down his phone and ID number and sealed off the victim’s room for investigation.

Not long after they left, Dong Zhi faintly heard the door of the next room being knocked on and guessed that they went to question Xu Wan.

He tossed and turned in bed for some time before falling asleep. He deliberately left the light on in the bathroom to give him a sense of reassurance. In the middle of the night, he slept in a daze, as he kept hearing the sound of water flowing from the bathroom, as if the faucet was turned on. He felt someone was standing by his bed, wanting to touch him but unable to, due to an invisible barrier. In the end, the figure stood there menacingly, glaring at him with eyes that were becoming more and more resentful.

Dong Zhi felt something in his heart, but his body was on the brink of exhaustion, so he couldn’t even open his eyes. Eventually, he lost consciousness and completely fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, the first thing he did was reach for the talisman in his pocket, only to find that it had been utterly scorched. This frightened him as the only plausible explanation was that something wanted to get close to him last night but was repelled by the talisman, resulting in its “sacrifice”.

Fortunately, he still had one left and quickly went to pull it out of his backpack. He wasn’t in the mood to laze around, so he packed up his luggage and went to check out. When he exited his room, he deliberately glanced back to the victim’s room, seeing that the door was closed and the area was tightly sealed off.

He wanted to check on Xu Wan and ask if they had encountered anything strange last night, but after thinking about it, he felt it would only trouble the other party. If Xu Wan had felt something was amiss, she would naturally have checked out and changed hotels.

The hotel was more experienced today due to last night’s incident. They quickly handled all the checkouts without any pushback. The number of security guards in the hotel lobby also increased from two to four, and they were guarding the entrance as they stared down reporters who wanted to interview guests and take photos.

When he left the hotel, he went straight to the train station. He was somewhat reluctant to take the train due to his previous experience, but the journey went smoothly without incident. In the evening, he arrived at Baihe station, which was commonly known as Erdaobaihe. He found a hotel nearby and rested for the night. Since leaving the previous hotel, all the strange events had seemed to disappear, giving him some semblance of relief.

Early the next morning, Dong Zhi found a group that was heading to Changbai Mountain and gave them some fare so he could carpool with them.

He sat down on a vacant seat near the back. The girl next to him took the initiative to greet him, and they exchanged a few words. Dong Zhi learned that her name was Zhang Xing and she had recently graduated from college. She had originally planned this trip with a friend, but that friend bailed at the last minute. Since the trip was already paid for, she decided to go on it alone. Fortunately, she met this group of young people and joined them, and the team leader also took good care of them.

Hearing her explanation, Dong Zhi realized that, besides him, everyone else in the car were members of a tour group that was preparing to go on an outdoor trip to Changbai Mountain.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

The 5 Elements are part of the yin and yang philosophy and are interconnected. It’s usually used in divination for naming a person, in Chinese medicine, and in acupuncture. Each element has its own interaction with each other.

Wood promotes fire, fire promotes earth, earth promotes metal, metal promotes water, and water promotes wood.

Wood controls earth but is suppressed by metal, fire controls metal but is suppressed by water, earth controls water but is suppressed by wood, metal controls wood but is suppressed by fire, and water controls fire but is suppressed by earth.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 5

Dong Zhi was arranged to sleep in the lower bunk opposite of the man. His body was exhausted, as if he had just finished running 10,000 meters, but his spirits were still high. After tossing and turning for over an hour, he gradually entered a stupor.

In his half-awake, half-dreaming state, he heard what seemed like the door of the soft sleeper room being pushed open and heard the man scolding, saying he shouldn’t have brought him here.

He Yu said, “Before the attendant had an accident, we didn’t find any abnormalities. I thought because we were there, they would be afraid and wouldn’t dare to attack easily, but now I find that their attacks seem to be targeted.”

“Impossible!” An unfamiliar voice that sounded like a child’s cried.

Dong Zhi curiously thought, ‘Where did this child come from?’

He had originally slept sideways, facing the wall. In this moment, his mind was a chaotic mess, and he wanted to turn over to peek at the speakers but found that his body was so heavy he had difficulty turning over.

The child continued, “Those things have no minds and can only suck human essence. How can they be smart enough to deliberately mark specific people?”

The man said, “The ID card of the attendant who died showed her date of birth was August 21, 1975.”

Suddenly, everything became quiet.

‘What’s so special about this date?’  Dong Zhi thought forlornly.

He Yu shouted, “August 21, 1975, is the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar! In a yin year, yin month, and yin day, shouldn’t her birth date also be yin*?”

*Clarity: this relates to the Ba-Zi (see lore or previous chapter for more details), which is also known as the “Four Pillars”. The four pillars are the hour, day, month, and year of birth, and each of those pillars is assigned yin or yang. As far as the dates and stuff are concerned, unfortunately I do not know enough to provide more clarity but based on the pattern of yin/yang it predicts your fortune/fate. Hopefully, someone who knows more about this stuff can chime in.

The child was shocked. “Is it possible that someone is manipulating them behind the scenes?”

He Yu: “That’s why I brought him here, lest he become the next victim.”

After a moment of silence, Dong Zhi heard the man say, “You keep an eye on him until we reach our destination.”

He Yu patted his chest and assured. “Don’t worry. You can count on me!”

The child said coldly, “It’s because of you that we can’t rest at ease. Who was it that forgot to bring toilet paper when he went to the bathroom and then had to use all our yellow paper that we use for drawing talismans and almost caused our team to be wiped out?!”

He Yu snorted, “That’s odd. Surely it wasn’t you who wanted some snacks and went back to the hotel to get them, causing us to be late and allowing a few fish to slip through the net, and now we have to spend the night on this train, ah?”

The man: “Are you two finished?” His voice didn’t have any hints of anger, but the other two instantly quieted.

Dong Zhi still wanted to eavesdrop but was suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue. Unable to maintain his soberness, he fell into a deep slumber. He thought he would have another nightmare, but let alone a human skin lantern, even the train attendant didn’t pervade his dreams, and he was able to get a good night’s rest. When he opened his eyes, it was already dawn.

The train had stopped as he could hear the sounds of passengers getting on and off at the station. He looked at his watch that showed it was 9 AM. He should have arrived at Shanhaiguan.

The sky was as blue as the lakes in Jiuzhaigou, covered with shallow and deep clouds. The haze in his heart was dispelled, making it feel lighter. When he tried to move his arms, he noticed his back was sore, so he turned over to sit up.

He was met with a pair of eyes that were staring at him unblinkingly, startling him. It belonged to a child that was sitting cross-legged on the lower bunk opposite of his. He was holding a bag of wangwang jelly in his hand as he sucked on one, causing his mouth to bulge.

“Little boy, are you lost?” he asked.

The child ignored him, continuing to suck up the pack of jelly until he was done, then said, “Are you a pig reincarnated?! You sure can really sleep!”

Dong Zhi: …

Hearing his voice, it seemed that this was the child who was talking with He Yu and the man last night.

Seeing him sitting in a daze, the child sneered, pulled out another pack of jelly seemingly from thin air, and began sucking on it.

Dong Zhi silently thought, ‘Aren’t you the pig?’ but then immediately felt embarrassed trying to compete with a child. He opened his backpack and took out a bag of dried yellow peaches.

“Want some?”

The child hesitated.

Dong Zhi gave him some. “This brand of dried yellow peaches still has some moisture in them. It’s sweet and sour. Their rock sugar hawthorn and dried red apricots are also good too.”

The other party was tempted. He took the snacks without saying a word and threw several pieces of them into his mouth. His cheeks bulged again. He was so cute despite his ugly look now that it could be forgivable.

Food could make a mouth go soft as the child’s attitude slightly improved. Dong Zhi took the initiative to introduce himself. “My name is Dong Zhi. My surname is Dong*. It is the winter solstice of the Winter Solstice Festival.”

*Dong (冬) character (as well as the Zhi (至)) is same characters in winter solstice [Dongzhi] (冬至). Dongzhi also refers to the Dongzhi Festival. You can click on the Wikipedia link to learn more about it.

The child nodded arrogantly and demurely. “Name’s Chaosheng*. It is the tide that you see when it’s windy and rainy on the rivers.”

*The Chao (潮) means tide.

Dong Zhi was dazed. “Do you have a surname?”

The child cocked his chin. His eyes widened as if it was like the sky. “Even if I had one before, it no longer exists.”

While sounding quite domineering, it did not match his physique, especially those short legs. Dong Zhi imagined it was like a small cat standing on a rockery trying its best to bellow out its loudest roar* and he couldn’t help but laugh in his heart.

*Clarity: I think he’s referring to the scene in Lion King where the lion stands on the big rock and roars, but instead of Mufasa, it’s (kid) Simba.

He shifted the conversation to talking about snacks as he was interested in watching Chaosheng, who had seemed to warm up to him, no longer giving him an icy-distant attitude.

The train had become livelier with the passing of dawn. All the events of yesterday seemed as if they were a dream. Only the palm print under his shirt had not faded; the bruise served as a reminder that last night was not an illusion.

It wasn’t until four in the afternoon, when the train was about to arrive at the terminal, that the man finally appeared. He looked haggard, to the point where it was difficult to hide.

Seeing him, Chaosheng immediately jumped out of bed. “Boss Long, what’s the status?”

Dong Zhi thought, ‘So it turns out his surname is Long.’

The man said, “I’ve eliminated three, so we should be almost done. What about here?”

Chaosheng shrugged. “I don’t know where it went!”

The train slowly reached a stop at the terminal station in Changchun as the announcement sounded, letting passengers know of its arrival. The man gave a look to Dong Zhi as if asking him why he was still here.

Dong Zhi scratched his nose. “Thank you for your help. Can I treat you to a meal after we get off?”

Chaosheng perked up. “Where?”

The man said, “No need.”

Chaosheng let out a huff but didn’t protest, no longer showing off the arrogance he once had when they were alone.

Dong Zhi wasn’t sure if it was due to the refraction of the light, but he found that the man’s face was almost transparent. Mustering up the courage, he couldn’t help but ask, “If you don’t let me treat you to a meal, can I at least know your name?”

The other party said lightly, “No.”

Chaosheng gave him a little wink behind the man’s back as he taunted him with a mocking expression. He felt discouraged, but he had no reason to stay. Reluctantly, he got up and bid them goodbye, giving all the snacks in his backpack to Chaosheng and asking the other party to pass on his goodbye to He Yu.

Perhaps due to the snacks, Chaosheng offered to send him off. When they got off the train, he mercifully told him, “The boss’ name is Long Shen*.”

*Long (龙) = Dragon. Shen (深) = Deep.

Dong Zhi subconsciously asked, “What is deep?”

Chaosheng rolled his eyes. “The depth is deep*!”

*Clarity: He’s referring to the Shen character (深). It means the distance from the surface to the bottom.

Dong Zhi let out a sigh as he watched Chaosheng turn around disappearing into the train.

The dragon emerges from the abyss¹ to the peaks of heaven². It was really a good name³.

¹(龙出深潭) The first and third characters of the sentence have Long Shen’s name, which it’s referencing.
²(灵通九天) refers to the highest point in the sky of the nine layers of heaven.
³Clarity: He’s saying Long Shen feels like a dragon emerging from the abyss and reaching the highest peak of heaven, and that’s why it’s a fitting name for him.

The people around him all hurriedly walked past him, and occasionally someone would look back at him. He waited for a while to see if he could catch Long Shen or Chaosheng, but they did not come out. Dong Zhi surmised that they probably had left through another exit, so he got up and left.

He heard from his colleagues in his hometown that Changchun was not as beautiful as its name would suggest, mainly due to the smog that shrouded the area every year. He felt he was in luck this time as he was met with good weather. When he stepped out of the station and looked up at the vast blue sky above his head, it made him feel a sense of joy deep in his heart.

He took a taxi to the hotel he had booked and checked in. After a night, the shadows on the train had been cast into the wind, no longer lingering in his mind as he relaxed in his room in a cheerful mood. He settled his luggage and went to the reception desk to ask for tourist information.

The hotel clerk enthusiastically recommended a day trip around Changchun. After scanning the content, he found that it was all amusement parks or folk museums, so he shook his head. “Is there a two- or three-day trip? I like something with more natural scenery.”

“Then I suggest you go to Changbai Mountain. It’s not far from here by train, and if you take it in the morning, you’ll arrive by the afternoon. After you get to the station, there will be groups there carpooling to the scenic area. You can offer to give them money or maybe catch a free ride.”

Dong Zhi thought this was a good idea. It wasn’t winter or summer vacation, and it was also off-season, so there shouldn’t be many people there. He could stay for a few days and find a quiet spot to sketch.

After thanking the clerk, he asked about the local night market and nearby places he could visit. Getting some recommendations, he left the hotel and went towards the night market.

It was still early, but stalls had already been set up on both sides of the road in preparation for the night. The food he had eaten on the train had long been digested, so he wandered through the market, eating along the way, and by the time he reached the end, his belly had become completely round.

Still, it wasn’t enough to satisfy his hunger, so he bought another bag of salt and pepper duck tongue and walked back to the hotel. The wind blew several pieces of paper to his feet, and he accidentally stepped on them. The owner of an incense shop nearby hurriedly ran over.

“Sorry, sorry, it was a bit windy just now!” The owner hurriedly apologized. He knew some people were superstitious about this kind of thing, and an unruly person would start a dispute.

Dong Zhi instead, was moved. “Boss, does your shop sell yellow paper?”

Boss: “Yes, of course. What do you want?”

Dong Zhi: “The kind for painting talismans and burning paper. I’ll also take some fine gold powder if you have any as well.”

“I have both! It just so happens there’s still a batch left in stock. I’ll look for them right now!” The boss didn’t expect that the wind would bring him business. He happily pulled out a box of yellow paper and a few bottles of gold powder and sold it to Dong Zhi at a discount.

Dong Zhi hadn’t planned to buy so much but recalling what happened and He Yu’s words, he decided to buy them all and then went to a stationary store to buy a brush and inkstone, then took a taxi back to the hotel.

The hotel was in the city center and was a good price given its location. When Dong Zhi entered, he saw the clerk at the front desk. They were already familiar with each other, so they both nodded and smiled at each other. When he walked towards the elevator, he faintly heard the voice of the clerk’s colleague encouraging her to ask for his number.

He entered the elevator and pressed the 9^th floor. The door was about to close when suddenly he heard someone shouting “wait” and he quickly pressed the open-door button instead.

A young woman hurried inside with a child in her arms and smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you!”

When the two met, Dong Zhi was surprised. “Xu Jie?!”

“Xiao* Dong?” Xu Wan was also surprised and immediately responded. “Are you staying in this hotel too?”

*[Xiao] When used in front of a name, it’s an affectionate/informal way to refer to a person who is younger than you.

“I am.” Dong Zhi originally had a good impression of the mother-daughter, but due to the incident with the water bottle, despite looking at the weak young woman and cute little girl, his mood became complicated. He wanted to ask if they had encountered any strange events but held his tongue.

“Xu Jie, what floor are you on?” He made a gesture to help Xu Wan press the elevator button.

“Also the ninth floor.” Xu Wan told him her room number, which coincidentally was next to his. He guessed the hotel had arranged it this way since she had shortly checked in after he did.

“Tongtong, it’s your brother.” Xu Wan said to the little girl.

“…Brother.” The little girl’s reaction was slow, and she didn’t raise her head. From his perspective, he could only see the top of her head.

“Good girl.”

Xu Wan sensed that Dong Zhi wasn’t interested in chatting, so she kept silent until the elevator reached the 9^th floor. Dong Zhi’s room was the penultimate room on the right side of the corridor, while hers was the last room, which was commonly known as the tail room. The sound insulation of the hotel was well done, and it was very quiet during the day as the thick carpet silenced the sound of footsteps. The three walked from the elevator to their rooms. They saw a female guest coming from the other end of the corridor, walking towards them.

The other party was carrying a small bag and had on exquisite makeup, but her walking posture was strange. Dong Zhi couldn’t help but look down at her feet, seeing that she was wearing high heels. Taking a closer look, he found that her heel wasn’t in her shoe, and instead she was walking on tiptoe, which was why her posture was so weird.

When the two of them passed each other, the other party accidentally bumped into his shoulder, but he didn’t dare look back, and continued walking forward, as he faintly heard a low voice humming a song.

---

The author has something to say:

Walking on tiptoe is an urban legend in Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. It means that a person is possessed by ghosts, and it’s often shown in horror movies, but I’m not talking about this situation here~

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 4

Dong Zhi calmed down and looked over at the attendant again, only to find that she had already moved on, looking at others as if nothing was wrong. Someone sitting in the front seat had asked for a bottle of water and was checking out. As the train attendant handed the bottle over, Dong Zhi almost screamed.

Illuminated by the night light, vague shadows reflected on the top of the carriage. The shadows cast on the parties were moving completely differently than the people they were reflecting. Suddenly, one slowly appeared three-dimensionally as it reached towards the top of the person’s seat!

The originally flat shadow had now protruded out and turned into a substantial black mist that penetrated down. It was about to touch the passenger sitting in the front seat, yet no one around noticed it at all. In horror, without a second thought, Dong Zhi reached for his sunlight talisman that was in his pocket and threw it at the black mist!

The moment the talisman penetrated the black mist, a cloud of light burst out, creating a brief bright flash before dissipating. The talisman exploded with the black mist, as both turned into powder and disappeared without a trace.

The attendant suddenly turned to glare at Dong Zhi. The smile on her face was gone, replaced with a shuddering distortion of ferocity. Her eyes were filled with overflowing resentment. She pushed the dining cart forward as a mass of people rushed over!

Before he had the chance to grasp the situation, his shoulders were firmly grabbed. Pain instantly seared through his clothes and flesh, directly reaching his bones. His vision became blurry, as if it was covered in a bloody fog. He hallucinated that his entire shoulder was about to be torn off, and the extreme agony made him scream involuntarily.

“Ahhhhhh!!”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, like fireworks exploding in the night sky, dazzling, as flames scattered like streamers, brilliant and gorgeous, filling his sight. He heard a piercing shriek that penetrated deeply into his ears, filled with bitterness and unwilling resentment. The people around trembled, wanting to cover their ears to block the sound.

Dong Zhi felt a sudden ease in his shoulder. He was unable to fall back into his seat and gasp for breath.

The chaos was just beginning. Darkness blanketed the area as all the lights were extinguished. The sound of the dining cart rolling along could still be heard, as well as passengers’ shouting, “What’s going on?” or “What’s the matter?”.

At this moment, his shoulder sank slightly, as if someone was holding it down. Unable to fully recover from the fright, he was about to scream, subconsciously, when his mouth was suddenly covered. A voice came to his ear. “It’s me.”

It was the man who He Yu called his leader. Perhaps it was due to fate that he had met He Yu. His heart had almost jumped out of his mouth, but it was seemingly caught by this hand and slowly put back in place.

Aware of Dong Zhi’s loosening, the man let go.

“I’ll treat your shoulder,” he said succinctly.

Dong Zhi immediately felt as if his injured shoulder was poured into a basin of ice water, which instantly eased his burning pain. He had lost the feeling in half his arm, but now, when he tried to move his fingers, he found it was much better than before.

He tried to thank the man but found that his throat was dry and hoarse. All the sweat he poured out just now seemed to have completely dehydrated him, and his body was so soft and weak that he couldn’t stand up.

Suddenly, the lights in the carriage lit up and someone shouted, “Someone’s fainted!”, snapping the attention of all the confused passengers who discovered that the train attendant who was pushing the dining cart had fallen to the ground and was unconscious.

The image of her smiling creepily at him kept appearing in Dong Zhi’s mind, and he couldn’t help but look towards where she fainted. Seeing the sight, he thought he was going mad. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion caused by the lighting, but he seemed to see a faint red mark on the attendant’s forehead.

Dong Zhi didn’t dare to step forward for a closer inspection. He turned his head, wanting to tell the man about his discovery, but found that the other party had vanished for some time already. He came without a shadow and left without a trace. If it weren’t for the pain in his shoulder, which was feeling much better now, Dong Zhi would have suspected that it was all a hallucination.

A train attendant quickly came over with the police, who pushed aside the crowd. He bent down to check on the attendant, and immediately his face became solemn.

The carriage was a mess. Children were crying from fright, and passengers voiced endless complaints. The body of the attendant was hurriedly taken away, and after a short while, the police returned and started asking the passengers about the situation at that time.

When he was questioned, Dong Zhi, of course, didn’t dare to tell the truth. He only said that he saw the attendant suddenly faint, but because the lights went out, he couldn’t see what happened afterwards. His statement echoed that of the other passengers.

When He Yu returned, he was also questioned by the police. Fortunately, he had his ticket with him. Seeing him, Dong Zhi felt as if he was looking at his savior, catching He Yu by surprise as he saw his pale, stricken face.

“Something happened?”

Dong Zhi nodded and recounted the events quietly to him.

“The boss was here?” He Yu was relieved. “Fortunately, with the boss here, nothing serious should happen. How’s your shoulder? Let me see.”

Dong Zhi also wanted to see his injury. When he was grabbed, he felt as if his shoulder blade was about to be broken. He took off his shirt and was in utter shock. The area was dark purple, covered by a large handprint on his left shoulder, the exact spot where he was grabbed.

He Yu touched the area of the palmprint with a solemn expression before he finally let out a sigh of relief. “It’s okay. Just a little bruised. Fortunately, you met the boss, otherwise it would have been worse than this.”

Dong Zhi trembled. “Is something wrong with it? Was it fractured?”

He Yu shook his head, his expression tight. “Still good. Once the demonic energy penetrates under the skin and flows through the flesh of the body, the soul of the person will be extinguished, resulting in the person becoming a mindless corpse. By then, no power under heaven can save them.”

So, it’s like turning into a zombie?

Dong Zhi shivered. “Can you make it clearer?”

He Yu slapped him on the shoulder. “In other words, death!”

Dong Zhi quaked with fright from the slap.

Truthfully, before this incident, even when He Yu had given him the talisman, he remained dubious. All his doubts vanished when he saw the talisman explode when it collided with the black mist and the handprint on his shoulder.

No normal human, no matter how hard they try, could leave such a mark by just grabbing a person’s shoulder. The door to a new world was slowly opening towards Dong Zhi. Taking a page out of a girl’s book, he wanted to sob. Wuwuwu. Is it possible to re-lock this door?!

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he said, “One more thing. The attendant who fainted just now had a red mark on her forehead. I have seen this mark in a dream!”

He then rehashed the previous dream he had and how he had met He Yu.

Listening to him, He Yu’s expression became serious. “I will take you to see the boss.”

Dong Zhi was still in shock. He walked lightly, as if he was stepping on cotton, and relied on He Yu’s support to help him until they reached the man’s room on the soft sleeper carriage. Upon entering, he noticed that no one was there. There were no traces of luggage, and the only object visible was a book that had a colorful cover beside the pillow on the lower left side of the bed.

“I don’t know where the boss went again. This area is protected, so just sit whenever you like. I’ll buy you something hot to drink.”

He Yu left shortly after. Dong Zhi wanted to hold on to him but felt that it was too embarrassing of a display, so he pretended to be calm as he looked around the room. His gaze unknowingly fell towards the book.

Taking a closer look, he saw the title of the book was <365 Fairy Tales>. The image of the man holding a fairy tale book while solemnly reading it appeared in his mind unconsciously, and he couldn’t help but find it unimaginable.

Could it be that he bought it for a child?

He felt it wasn’t good to go through other people’s things without the owner’s consent, but he couldn’t control his curiosity. The two voices* in his mind were locked in a heated battle. In the end, the devil prevailed, and he reached for the book. He didn’t pick it up but opened it to the latest page.

*Referring to the angel and devil of your conscience.

It turns out it wasn’t a book but a notebook. He gave a light chuckle and found the handwriting was like scribbles and hard to understand, similar to He Yu’s painting when he drew him the talisman, but it gave him a thrilling feeling that he could cut through paper.

The text wasn’t simplified or traditional Chinese, and it didn’t seem to be a foreign language either.

What kind of characters are these?

Dong Zhi knew that he shouldn’t continue reading, so he quickly suppressed his desire to snoop through the other pages and closed the notebook. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, startling Dong Zhi. He hurriedly turned his head around and saw He Yu at the entrance.

“I’m sorry! I thought it was a fairy tale book, so I wanted to look at it!” Before the other party even asked, he had already taken the initiative to confess.

He Yu laughed. “Hehe. It’s okay. I’ve peeked at it many times! The boss often writes and draws in it when he’s idle, but most people can’t understand it anyway, so it’s useless to read it.”

He put down the hot water in his hand and said to Dong Zhi, “Money’s a bit tight, so I can’t buy you hot chocolate, so a cup of hot water will have to do.”

Dong Zhi: …

You have limited funds but were able to cover an entire soft sleeper?!

Seeing his obvious expression, He Yu plaintively said, “It’s because of this that we have no extra money!”

Dong Zhi found it strange. “There are three extra beds here, so why are you taking the hard seat?”

He Yu sighed. “Work needs to be done. You can’t concentrate on just one carriage. The hard side also needs to be watched.”

Thinking of Xu Wan and her daughter, Dong Zhi asked if He Yu had run into them.

He Yu shook his head. “I went back and forth through several carriages, but I didn’t see the mother and daughter you mentioned. Could it be that you were seeing things?”

As they chatted, the man came back.

He didn’t greet Dong Zhi but instead directly asked, “Why is he here?”

He Yu relayed to him what Dong Zhi had told him, causing the man to frown. He looked at Dong Zhi and shook his head.

Seeing this, Dong Zhi became tense, not knowing what this meant.

He Yu hurriedly asked, “How is it?”

The man said, “No abnormality found.”

He Yu released a sigh of relief. “He was grabbed on his shoulder just now. I helped him clean it up, but I’m afraid there are still remnants of it in his body. I wanted you to look at it.”

He also comforted Dong Zhi. “Don’t worry. Since the boss said it’s okay, it means it’s really okay.”

The man said, “Let him get off when we arrive at the station.”

The next stop was Tianjin, which was still far from where they currently were.

Dong Zhi said, “But I want to go to Changchun.”

When he looked at the man’s face, he sensed something was off, so he asked, “Did something happen?”

The man said lightly, “The attendant is dead.”

Dong Zhi was stunned.

He Yu asked, “What’s the cause of death?”

The man said, “There’s no trauma, so I need to check further. I have already told those above. When we stop at the next stop, they’ll hand the person over to us.”

He Yu asked, “Then we’ll also be leaving?”

The man shook his head. “Someone will take over, and we’ll be told the test results.”

He was being vague, presumably due to Dong Zhi’s presence.

He Yu glanced at Dong Zhi and pleaded for him. “Boss, since we’re also getting off at the next terminal, can’t we give him a ride? We don’t know how many… things there are. If Dong Zhi gets off and they follow him, we won’t notice this for a while. At that point, it’ll be quite troublesome, don’t you think?”

The man remained silent.

Dong Zhi was uneasy, feeling as if the mood was like when he was a fresh graduate answering the interviewer’s questions for his very first job interview. He didn’t know whether he wanted to stay with them or not.

He Yu gave a wink towards Dong Zhi.

Tacitly understanding, Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “I won’t inquire about anything, and I will part ways with you as soon as we reach the terminal!”

The man relented and nodded.

Dong Zhi felt both nervous and joy. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he could stay with these mysterious people and witness more bizarre spectacles or because it was the man that was in front of him.

Even though the other party rarely spoke, he was like a book in the dark night, tempting others to open it.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>