Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Chapter 87: Yin Energy
The wandering spirits did not notice the spots of flowing light floating between the saber master and the swordsman, still shouting loudly, trying to find the two living people they had lost.
The commotion was intense, but Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan were no longer distracted.
One of them crouched down, carefully feeling the ground below. The other likewise raised a hand, but instead touched the stone wall beside him.
As the distance closed, many details they had not noticed before began to emerge before their eyes.
Bai Zhengliu murmured, “It really is like Brother Qian’s hairpin.”
Mei Yinghan added, “…Only it’s not as translucent and glossy as when he first took it out. It’s more like the state after it has healed our injuries, once the spiritual light has dispersed.”
Bai Zhengliu slightly furrowed his brows. He agreed with the swordsman’s observation, yet felt puzzled.
“Exactly,” the swordsman said, looking up at the figure of the general, bright and evidently in good condition.
A thousand thoughts swirled in his mind, finally forming into a question: “General, what exactly is going on here?”
Yang Chun Yue, observing the surrounding stone walls with the two young men, sighed lightly after a long pause: “It’s my first time in Tianshan, and I’ve encountered such a situation—if you ask me ‘what’s going on,’ I honestly do not know. I can only tell you what I see now.”
Hearing this, both Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan’s expressions grew more solemn. Bai Zhengliu rose from the ground, and Mei Yinghan turned seriously to face the general’s direction.
Yang Chun Yue smiled faintly, raised her hand, and the flowing light seemed to gather around her like living creatures. Some of the larger, denser clusters of light even playfully danced on her hands and shoulders.
She stared at these light clusters for a moment, then spoke: “You already know that in this world, there are many kinds of ‘qi.’ Those related to ghosts and spirits, we call ‘yin,’ ‘demonic,’ or ‘ghostly’… As for what is beneficial to us, that is called ‘spiritual energy.’”
Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan nodded together.
Yang Chun Yue continued, “When I awakened from the Twenty-Eight Generals, the first thing I felt was the overwhelming spiritual energy around me. There must be a very large spiritual stone mine here. But at the same time, this mine is also covered with dense yin energy.” She paused and glanced at the wandering spirits still loudly shouting, some even in fighting postures, “This is why they can walk here without being harmed or having their souls torn apart.”
Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan’s expressions darkened slightly, and they thought together, “By this logic, the yin energy here… must be considerable…”
Neither spoke, but Yang Chun Yue glanced at them and understood their thoughts: “Exactly. I have not traveled outside for many years, so I do not know the current state of the jianghu or how it has developed. I can only say that the yin energy here far exceeds that of the Tan family or the Chang estate!”
When she finished speaking, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan both narrowed their eyes.
Yang Chun Yue’s gaze followed the veins of yin energy along the stone walls.
Her voice softened, but she no longer spoke to the young men beside her, instead recalling events from many years ago.
The general murmured, “I have only seen such yin energy in the palace of the previous dynasty. But that emperor… was clearly killed by Master Changyangzi.”Then Yang Chun Yue’s brows twitched suddenly.
“Master Changyangzi… Tianshan… could it be?”
Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan stared at her, unwilling to miss the slightest detail on her face.
But they were not the same people from back then. Even though they saw that the general had made a guess, they still could not figure out where her thoughts had gone.
Yang Chun Yue, however, after a brief moment of reflection, looked up again and told the two young men, “Although the yin energy here is extremely heavy, the spiritual energy is also abundant. Normally suppressed by the yin energy, when encountering us, it can be drawn out.
“With this spiritual energy guiding the way, seeing through the illusions and leaving this place is not difficult.
“Bai Lang, Mei Lang,” the general asked them, “do you want to leave directly? …Not just you two—those lotus-picking disciples above can leave as well, it won’t be a problem.”
Upon hearing this, a hint of brightness appeared in Bai and Mei’s eyes.
Yang Chun Yue smiled at them, her expression genuinely concerned.
They hadn’t spent much time together, speaking face-to-face clearly, and this was the first time. But the saber master and the swordsman understood that when their senior said this, there truly was a way to leave. And including the lotus-picking disciples above meant there would be no worries left behind.
—But was it really that simple?
After a brief moment of happiness, Bai Zhengliu quickly thought, “Brother Cao and the others above can leave with us, but what about the others?”
The missing Zhao Da from before, and the other Tianshan disciples currently on the mountain.
Thinking of their situation, Bai Zhengliu felt his heart suddenly grow heavy. From the light, drifting feeling earlier, it now felt like a heavy descent.
It wasn’t just him—Mei Yinghan had a similar reaction.
The two young men looked back at Yang Chun Yue. Feeling their gaze, the general sighed helplessly and said, “I know there are lotus-pickers above because the yin energy here isn’t overly strong, so I can sense the external situation to some degree. But Tianshan is vast, and the only ones I could locate were those lotus-pickers. As for the others, I truly have no way of knowing.”
Hearing this, Bai and Mei’s expressions dimmed, the joy gradually fading.
The two exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
“Senior,” they said, cupping their hands toward Yang Chun Yue, “if we don’t leave this place now, what else can we do?”
Yang Chun Yue quietly regarded the two young men. Her face was still young, but her mindset carried much weariness. As she looked at Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, her thoughts wandered vaguely back to when she and her brothers and friends were young.
She deliberately said, “You ask this because you want to stay and confront that ‘Tianshan Old Ghost’ directly? Bai Lang, Mei Lang, do you know how dangerous that would be?”Bai Zhengliu said, “Of course I know—”
Not to mention, they were both still injured. The spots of flowing light landing on their wounds accelerated the healing of the cuts and gashes on the saber master and the swordsman, yet the pain still lingered; at times, it wouldn’t fully dissipate.
“But,” Mei Yinghan continued, “even if we leave now, does that mean we won’t return later? Many of our junior brothers and sisters have descended from Tianshan, leaving only three senior instructors to support the sect. The rest are still children who haven’t grown. Even if they joined, it wouldn’t change much of the current situation and would only delay matters. It’s better for Mei and me to scout ahead first—even if we can’t slay that old ghost, at least we’ll understand the situation better and buy some time for the other juniors.”
Bai Zhengliu nodded.
Mei Yinghan hesitated slightly and added, “Only, before that, we might need to stall a little longer.”
Yang Chun Yue, upon hearing his earlier words, was first moved. Hearing this sentence, her emotions mingled with puzzlement.
Bai Zhengliu, on the other hand, had his eyes curve into a mischievous smile. Even in such danger, a trace of playful humor appeared on his face. He asked Mei Yinghan, “Oh, I see. Mei, you’re going to write a letter again, aren’t you?”
Mei Yinghan’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Exactly.”
Yang Chun Yue glanced at him, then at Bai Zhengliu, and after a moment, she also smiled.
“I knew you two would say that,” she said. “Truly worthy of being Sixth Lang’s disciple, and a friend of Sixth Lang’s disciple.”
Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, still wondering what to use to write without ink or paper, asked, “Sixth Lang?”
“Yes,” Yang Chun Yue nodded slightly. “You mentioned your master had a wound on his brow. I immediately knew you meant my sixth younger brother. He was mischievous since childhood, and that injury came from when he tried to climb over a wall to find his elder brothers and go to the battlefield with them.”
This was a development Bai Zhengliu hadn’t expected. He was slightly taken aback and looked at Yang Chun Yue. He saw her expression shift from nostalgic to wistful… and finally, she shook her head and said, “Don’t speak of this.”
Not a single word more, yet Bai Zhengliu understood: he had guessed wrong earlier. Yang Chun Yue’s lack of reaction when he mentioned the injuries on his master was not because “the younger generation in the family had always been spoiled and never had injuries.” On the contrary, from the very beginning, she knew exactly whom he was referring to. Her prior silence was likely due to genuine fatigue.
But this didn’t mean Yang Chun Yue wasn’t in pain.
The scar on his brow was from the past, but what of the other injuries? …She had hoped her brother would survive, and Sixth Lang of the Yang family did live longer than his elder siblings. Yet the hardships and struggles he endured were no less than those who died young.
Bai Zhengliu pressed his lips together and finally complied with the general’s unspoken words. He didn’t ask, didn’t speak, only suggested, “Why not tear a piece of cloth to write on?”
Mei Yinghan nodded. Given the circumstances, this would have to suffice.
Bai Zhengliu added, “And for what to write with…” He lowered his head and looked at the still-damp bloodstains on both his and Mei Yinghan’s bodies.
No words were needed; his actions alone were enough for Mei Yinghan to understand his intention.
Mei Yinghan sighed. “It will have to do.”
Bai Zhengliu murmured, “Hopefully, after seeing this, it won’t frighten them.”Turning his head again, Bai Zhengliu thought, Do any of the lotus pickers know how to read? …If not, wouldn’t this just be a piece of bloody clothing falling from the sky for them?
Truly, he didn’t know which scenario was worse.
The saber master’s facial muscles twitched slightly; he decisively chose not to think further.
……
……
After asking Yang Chun Yue to send the bloody clothing away and guide the lotus pickers out, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan began to carefully observe their surroundings again.
They started mainly from the general’s words: “The yin energy here is extremely heavy, but it’s not the heaviest. Look at the stains on these stone walls—don’t you notice that the deeper you go, the more differences appear?”
Simply put, the parts of the stone wall that were barely transparent were still relatively far from the “Old Ghost of Tianshan.” Conversely, the walls that were dirty and chaotic, with the ice’s translucence almost invisible, naturally marked the Old Ghost’s location.
The pattern was easy to find, and the place itself was easy to locate.
With the protection of spiritual energy, they continued walking, and even when encountering other wandering spirits, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan went unnoticed.
They went deeper and deeper. Bai Zhengliu was fine; after all, he hadn’t had much contact with the Tianshan Sect. But as he stole glances at Mei Yinghan beside him, he could clearly see the increasingly grave expression on the “Tianshan Senior Brother’s” face.
Naturally, it had to be grave. This was clearly the place where he was born and raised, yet under the current circumstances, he knew nothing of what had transpired here.
When did that old ghost appear? How long had he lingered in Tianshan, killing how many lotus pickers and even Tianshan disciples? Did their master and uncles know of his existence? If they did, why had they never mentioned it before? If they didn’t…
One question after another nearly overwhelmed Mei Yinghan.
Bai Zhengliu wanted to comfort him, but in this situation, he truly didn’t know what to say.
He let out a silent sigh, intending to speak. Yet before he could, a struggling noise broke the silence.
“Let me go! Let me go! —Help, help!!!”
Judging by the voice, it came from a burly man. Yet the voice sounded weak, no doubt worn down by hunger, cold, and suffering.
Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan’s expressions changed drastically. They quickened their pace, running toward the direction of the cries.
Author’s note:
Here we go!