Chapter 21: Thicket Village (Twenty-One)

Fu Wuxuan let others escape, but he himself showed no intention of fleeing. Instead, he returned to the village head’s room to search for clues.

Although he had confessed nothing, Yun Xueqing had a sudden flash of insight and headed toward the room with the Buddha statue to chase after Wu Xue.

However, he did not catch up to Wu Xue and instead ran into Li Yulin.

Looking at Li Yulin, whose entire body exuded a sinister aura, Yun Xueqing suddenly realized why Fu Wuxuan had temporarily handed him the Calamity Blade.

Was this another part of his scheme?

He only handled the shady tricks, while the merit-damaging deeds fell to Yun Xueqing.

What a vindictive guy.

The corners of Yun Xueqing’s lips curved slightly, and a rare chill flickered in his empty eyes.

As they brushed past each other, the long knife came out of its sheath, and blood sprayed.

He pulled out the long knife, shook it casually to fling off the blood clinging to the blade, and sheathed it.

From his sleeve, he drew a Sealing Talisman and tossed it out casually, sticking it onto Li Yulin to prevent the Six-Armed Bodhisattva from escaping the body again. His movements flowed seamlessly, smooth as running water.

By the time he finished, Fu Wuxuan had also found his clues and walked over, holding a tattered book in his hand.

Seeing Li Yulin lying on the ground with blood gushing from his chest, Fu Wuxuan chuckled. “This kid really couldn’t resist the temptation and let the Six-Armed one possess him?”

Then he glanced at the person holding the knife, whose expression remained calm throughout, and smiled faintly. “Are you angry?”

Yun Xueqing ignored his teasing. “Did you find anything?”

“I rummaged through the Ancestral Hall and found the Village Chronicle.” Fu Wuxuan flashed the book in his hand.

It had been stored for too long; the cover was completely gone, the pages yellowed and mottled with mold spots, carrying a damp, musty smell like rain-soaked earth.

Yun Xueqing subtly stepped back a bit. “Does it record a method to kill the Six-Armed one?”

Fu Wuxuan laughed at his action, his tone somewhat irreverent. “Of course. The Village Chronicle records all the major events since the founding of this village, including how the Six-Armed Bodhisattva was gravely wounded and sealed.”

But before explaining the method, he first told a story.

Legend had it that there were two Six-Armed Bodhisattvas: one yang and one yin. The yang one could be worshipped for good fortune and to ward off misfortune. The yin one exploited human desires to devour people’s lifespan.

The yin Six-Armed Bodhisattva committed countless evils, frequently descending the mountain to wreak havoc, and the villagers had long suffered under it. But no Dharma Bodhisattva came to save them. The lofty deities feasted on the incense offerings from the human world yet turned a blind eye to the plight of a remote mountain village.

Tormented beyond endurance, the villagers happened to cross paths with the Calamity God, who brought disaster wherever it went and whom everyone shunned. It sensed the Six-Armed Bodhisattva’s presence.

But the Calamity God only dueled with the strong and disdained killing weak Weird like the Six-Armed Bodhisattva.

A brave warrior from the village heard that the Calamity God was passing by and requested a duel. If he won, he would receive the Calamity Blade; if he lost, he would forfeit his life.

Moved by the warrior’s determination to save the village, the Calamity God was greatly touched and willingly gifted the knife to him.

The warrior took the knife back and, with the aid of a secret ritual, gravely wounded the Six-Armed Bodhisattva and sealed it in Thicket Mountain.

Fu Wuxuan grinned. “How about that? Interesting story, right?”

Yun Xueqing shook his head. “Full of nonsense.”

“The monk said the Six-Armed one was killed by the Dharma Bodhisattva, the Weird say it was the Calamity God, and the Village Chronicle claims it was a village warrior.”

He gazed at the drifting white clouds in the distance and the vast green mountains beneath them. Everything appeared so serene.

He remarked casually, “In the thickets of the wilds, the truth is buried, leaving only the subtle shadows of human nature.”

Fu Wuxuan smiled faintly at his words. “The truth of the story doesn’t matter. We just need to know what the secret ritual in the Village Chronicle is.”

The story in the Village Chronicle was full of lies, but the secret ritual surely was not.

To prevent the Six-Armed Bodhisattva from making a comeback, the ritual had to be passed down.

He turned to the next page, which detailed the ritual.

【At the third quarter of the Zi hour, place yin metal, yin wood, yin water, yin fire, and yin soil respectively at the Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, and Gen positions of the monster. Pierce the Baihui acupoint on the crown of the head with the Calamity Blade to seal it.】

He flipped further but found no more specific instructions and scratched his head awkwardly. “The time and positions are clear, but what exactly does it mean by yin metal and the rest…”

Yun Xueqing looked at him and suddenly said calmly, “Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth all have yin and yang distinctions. Yin metal refers to soft metals, corresponding to yang metal, which is hard metal.”

His tone was even as he explained each one.

Yin wood was typically trees from damp environments, like locust trees. Yin fire was fire unseen by sunlight, from underground water.

Yin fire was the flame of darkness—ghost fire. Yin soil was the sediment beneath decayed animal corpses.

Fu Wuxuan looked at him in surprise. “You actually know feng shui?”

Yun Xueqing was about to say it was a required course at the Sword Pavilion when he heard the other mutter, “To become a proper charlatan, he even self-studied metaphysics… Such a severe case of chuunibyou.”

Yun Xueqing: “…”

He shot the other a glance, unwilling to waste time arguing, and simply said, “Among these five items, yin fire and yin soil are the slightly harder ones to obtain.”

“You mean yin fire? Ghost fire, right?” Fu Wuxuan said casually. “That’s not hard.”

He spoke with ease. “Oracle: Ghost Fire.”

A wisp of eerie blue flame ignited at his fingertip.

Yun Xueqing observed it for a moment. “Last time you burned the Paper Man, you also used fire.”

The color was different.

“That was Solar Flame last time; this is Ghost Fire,” Fu Wuxuan laughed. “Different uses. The previous Solar Flame is for burning the dead; this one attacks the living.”

He flaunted the Ghost Fire in his hand.

Perhaps because he rarely used it, the flame was not large—just scattered flickers.

Hearing Fu Wuxuan’s explanation, Yun Xueqing frowned, feeling something off.

Seeing his odd expression, Fu Wuxuan asked proactively, “Is my flame not good enough?”

“No,” Yun Xueqing shook his head, shaking off the strange feeling in his heart. “It can be used. Yin fire is settled; we just need to find yin soil now.”

“You’re here.”

Su Bai and Wu Xue walked over.

Su Bai held the Buddha statue in his arms and glanced at Li Yulin lying on the ground, sighing deeply. “It’s our fault for being too hasty; we got fooled by the Weird’s Concealment Technique.”

Wu Xue eyed the book in Fu Wuxuan’s hand, her tone icy. “Clues?”

No need to hide it, so Fu Wuxuan handed her the book directly and grinned. “We have the yin fire already. We’re going to look for yin soil. You handle the other three—no problem, right?”

Su Bai skimmed the contents of the book and thought the division was reasonable, about to agree, when Wu Xue beside him said, “Suspects should stay where suspects belong. We’ll gather the items ourselves.”

Su Bai suddenly craved a cigarette.

Fu Wuxuan chuckled lightly, his eyes visible beneath the bandages filled with cold intent. “My affairs are not yet yours to meddle in. If you want to convict me, wait until the trial.”

Wu Xue fell silent for a moment, then unusually relented. “Do as you like.”

Unfazed by her attitude, Fu Wuxuan casually draped an arm over Yun Xueqing’s shoulder. “Let’s go, find some yin soil.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

“None. We’ll just search; we’ll find it eventually.”

Yun Xueqing fell strangely silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “I have an idea.”

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “What?”

“Let’s go dig some graves.”

*

At the back mountain of Thicket Village, looking at the row upon row of grave mounds, Fu Wuxuan nodded. “With so many corpses, the soil under human bodies must be prime yin soil.”

Yun Xueqing nodded. “The other four are easy to gather, but yin soil is strict—it must be the settled earth compressed beneath corpses.”

Fu Wuxuan raised a brow. “So we have to dig graves?”

The other nodded. “We must.”

They were short on time. Animal corpses in the Weird Domain were hard to find, but human ones were a sure bet.

These graves had to be dug.

Yun Xueqing said flatly, “You got me to stab once, so this grave—you dig it.”

The other let out a light “ah” and smirked. “You look all prim and proper, but you’re quite the grudge-holder.”

Yun Xueqing said flatly, “Settling karma.”

Fu Wuxuan had schemed against him—that was the “cause” he sowed; now this was just the “effect” ripening.

Fu Wuxuan paused for a moment, then pulled an iron shovel from his Storage Finger Ring. “Good thing I came prepared.”

Yun Xueqing: “You look like you’ve been plotting this for a while.”

Fu Wuxuan smiled. “Opportunities are for those who prepare.”

He had long wanted to try digging up someone’s ancestral grave.

Fu Wuxuan picked a mound at random and began shoveling.

Yun Xueqing watched the distant setting sun from the side, his brows furrowing imperceptibly.

If night fell, who knew what might crawl out of these graves.

He asked, “Got another shovel?”

Fu Wuxuan pulled another shovel from the ring and laughed. “You’re still soft-hearted after all, can’t bear to watch me toil alone.”

Yun Xueqing took the shovel and asked sincerely, “Do you always talk to people like this, assuming things on your own?”

His expression was impassive, his tone flat without a hint of sarcasm, as if merely inquiring innocently—yet his words could infuriate anyone.

Fu Wuxuan chuckled lightly, said nothing, and continued bending to dig.

The sun gradually set, and finally, the dark coffin emerged.

“Ah, why isn’t Li Yulin here right now?” Fu Wuxuan, inevitably dirtied, tossed the shovel aside and irritably scratched his nape. “Should’ve tricked that Su Bai into doing the grunt work.”

Yun Xueqing said calmly, “It’s ready. Lift the coffin out and take the yin soil.”

Fu Wuxuan nodded, placed his hands on the coffin’s corners, and before exerting force, felt a movement inside through the wood.

He quickly jumped out of the pit, glanced at the fully set sun, and said meaningfully, “It’s dark now.”

Perhaps because digging up ancestors’ graves was too immoral, it awakened the dormant yin spirits underground. Rustling sounds came from the surrounding grave mounds.

Yun Xueqing’s expression turned poor.

Fu Wuxuan, as if oblivious to the impending crisis, laughed easily. “Perfect. They’re waking up themselves—saves me the trouble of dragging them out.”

Yun Xueqing drew the Calamity Blade from his sleeve, about to toss it to Fu Wuxuan, when the other waved it off. “No need. I have a way to subdue them.”

Yun Xueqing put the knife away upon hearing this, waiting for him to make his move.

Fu Wuxuan, looking perfectly at ease, elegantly patted the dirt off himself, cleared his throat, and sang, “Sleep now, sleep now, my darling baby~”

He sang a lullaby.