Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Into the Mountain Three

[Ghost Slayer License Exam Countdown: 13:58:45]

[0104001]

[Captured Yin Energy Node: 1]

[Score: 10]

[Exam Ranking: 14078]

Even ghosts have their day of disappearing in smoke.

Either ground down by the passage of time or subdued by the intense methods of a Ghost Slayer.

The scene of the water ghost turning to ash was incredibly tragic.

Thick black smoke rose from the surface of the river, climbing up to ten meters, forming a dense haze, thick clusters standing on the dirty river surface.

Liú Ānrá : "..."

Stunned and speechless.

Liú Ānrá, a previous year’s student, was still immersed in the rapid tension of life and death that had just passed. He hadn't fully calmed down yet. Watching the culprit meet its end, the feeling was indeed complex.

Míng Yuè wasn't fully assured either. She poked the remains with the steel fork several more times to ensure it had all turned into smoke and haze before she clapped her hands and stood up.

As soon as she stood up, Liú Ānrá reflexively raised his iron rod for defense.

Míng Yuè: "..."

Míng Yuè's eyes quickly flicked over, landing on the iron-gray axle that had fallen onto the ground. It was wrapped in silver alloy wire soaked in black dog blood.

It was the thread used for puppetry.

From Xiāng University’s Spirit Academy.

Míng Yuè came to her senses and then noticed two contradictory things.

This young man had a weathered face, but his skills were rough.

It was hard to tell if he was a current student.She politely nodded at Liú Ānrá (柳安然) without any further thoughts and was about to turn to leave when Liú Ānrá called out to her:

"Wait!"

"Thank you, beautiful, for saving my life!"

"I'm Liú Ānrá from Xiāng University, nice to meet you!"

Liú Ānrá mumbled, making a gesture like a martial artist, very casual and brash.

He didn't introduce his year.

Míng Yuè (明越) blinked and responded politely, "You're welcome."

"It’s just an exam, no need to go overboard."

"I'm Míng Yuè, a student from Jīn University’s Spirit-Sealing Academy. Nice to meet you."

Liú Ānrá thought to himself, "As expected."

This woman was skilled in martial arts, she didn’t show any strain when she dealt with that five-to-six-meter-long green snake, and she knew how to make the most of weapon advantages and disadvantages. She used a steel fork—wait, why would anyone use a fork as a weapon? Has she been watching too many "Earthworm" fork fights?—to attack from a distance, effectively avoiding the water ghost’s long, flexible body, which had an advantage in close combat.

Jīn University places great emphasis on martial skills in their training.

But in this aspect, Jīn University is even more impressive.

Liú Ānrá had suspected she might be from Jīn University, and it turned out he was right.

"You're really skilled, beautiful!" Liú Ānrá complimented, his eyes following the communication device on Míng Yuè’s wrist. Míng Yuè seemed a bit uncomfortable and interrupted, "We’re all students here, no need for all that, just call me by my name."

"Alright, Míng Yuè."

Liú Ānrá leaned in closer, moving around behind Míng Yuè.

Míng Yuè: "..."

This person was acting strange.

The relationship between Xiāng University and Jīn University was a bit tense, especially on the high-speed rail, and this was something all the students knew. Yet, Liú Ānrá didn’t seem to notice and didn’t react at all when she mentioned her name.

Míng Yuè was one of the instigators in the high-speed rail incident between the two schools.If he were really a student from Xiāng University, Liú Ānrá would be like a goldfish, with a seven-second memory.

There was only one explanation.

He wasn't; he was a past student.

Liú Ānrá was still by her side, continuously asking, "Míng Yuè, did you get any points? How many points?"

"What year are you in at Jīn University? You're so impressive, are you the president?"

"Where are we heading next?"

Míng Yuè thought to herself, finding that having this companion was worse than going solo. But it would be rude not to answer when asked a question.

Besides, this person somehow always liked to sneak around behind others—there’s no vision behind the neck, and it’s always the weak point for a sneak attack, which made Míng Yuè feel uneasy.

"I got some points, quite a few."

"The president of the Spirit-Sealing Academy is awesome, not like someone like me."

"I'm just about to start my second year."

"I don't know where we're going next, we'll just see."

Liú Ānrá was struck by the words “second year,” as though struck by lightning.

"You're only a second-year!"

Liú Ānrá exclaimed in surprise.

Míng Yuè was confused: "…"

She was new here and didn’t quite realize that mentioning being in the second year hit a nerve with the older students: "Yes, why?"

Liú Ānrá’s expression changed several times, and he mumbled something under his breath, his voice very low.

What is this?

She's just a chick.

Drag her along, who knows, maybe she'll lead the way.

Liú Ānrá complained inwardly, naively attributing Míng Yuè’s impressive performance to the water ghost underestimating her, completely forgetting how pathetic he had looked.By all rights, normal people wouldn't be able to hear Liú Ānrá's mosquito-like muttering.

But Míng Yuè wasn’t normal.

Aside from having poor vision in normal environments, her other senses were top-notch. When there was the slightest movement on the wall of the old house when she was little, she woke up faster than a dog.

Unfortunately, Liú Ānrá’s complaints were heard loud and clear by Míng Yuè.

Míng Yuè: "…"

A cold expression.

What kind of person is this?

Has all your human gratitude been trained out of you by all that corpse-reviving practice?

Tch.

Míng Yuè turned and walked away.

Before she could reach the riverbank, Liú Ānrá’s voice, which had started out warm, turned cold, and he called out to her: “Junior, you're new here, this is your first time taking the exam, you're just a tender newbie.”

“Even if you get points, you won’t make it to the end.”

“How about you give me your points? I’ll help you last till the end.”

“Once the Spirit-Sealing Master certificate comes through, I’ll text you to show off your achievements, how about it?”

The young man, taller than Míng Yuè by half a head, swung his iron rod, his smile emotionless, with no trace of the fear he had shown earlier when facing the water ghost.

Míng Yuè turned her head.

“Senior, are you trying to steal my points?”

Liú Ānrá nodded, a slick smile born from a few years of experience in society, in stark contrast to the panic he’d just shown when he barely escaped death. He bit into the silver alloy thread on the mechanism:

“I’ll teach you a trick.”

“Look at the 10-meter scan on your communicator more. If you meet a person, kill them. If you meet a ghost, slay them. It’s convenient for robbing houses.”

“…” Míng Yuè stared at the thread, suspicion rising in her heart. This was the tool for controlling Yin creatures with the Puppet Technique. Why was it now being aimed at me?She didn’t show any expression on her face. Standing still, she lifted the steel fork.

"Stop putting on a show," Liú Ānrá laughed.

"As long as you're a Spirit-Sealing Master, you can't escape from the Puppet Technique."

As he finished speaking, he pulled out an iron bell wrapped in talisman paper, and, tugging the control thread, aimed it at Míng Yuè's back!

The target was directly aimed at the carotid artery!

Míng Yuè: "…"

In an instant, Míng Yuè understood.

The Puppet Technique originated from ancient corpse-reviving methods, and the principles had many similarities. Both used a soul-calling bell to control the Yin energy inside a corpse, which would cause the Yin energy to circulate, and the control thread would then drive the corpse’s movements.

The key to this principle was controlling Yin energy.

Living humans typically have insufficient Yin energy. Even if the scattered Yin energy is controlled, it can't overpower the Yang energy that predominates in the living.

But Spirit-Sealing Masters are different.

One of the fundamental requirements to become a Spirit-Sealing Master is to have Yin-Yang Eyes.

With the Yang eye unimpeded, the Yin eye brings forth Yin energy.

As the eyes are the most important of the five senses, they guide vision and control most of our thoughts and decisions. The Yin energy produced by the Yin eye flows through the body, helping balance the excess Yang energy in the body.

For the Puppet Technique, this is the perfect material to control.

Brilliant!

Míng Yuè looked at Liú Ānrá rushing toward her, thinking to herself.

So this ghost-catching technique has been used for internal strife!

How shameful!

Look at him, yelling and trying so hard to act tough.But his foundation was unstable; the moment he was touched, he collapsed. Míng Yuè thought to herself, bent down, and let Liú Ānrá miss. Then, with a sweeping kick, she sent him tumbling to the ground.

A loud thud.

Liú Ānrá: "Ouch!"

He fell, landing on his backside.

Míng Yuè kicked the silver alloy thread aside and stepped on the back of Liú Ānrá's hand as he fumbled to grab the control thread.

Liú Ānrá let out a pig-like scream.

"Heroine, spare my life, aahh!"

He bared his teeth and grimaced.

"I just wanted to steal a few points!"

Míng Yuè: "…"

Míng Yuè crouched down and unlocked his communicator, looking around, "How do you steal points?"

Liú Ānrá panicked: "I’m still bare-assed!"

Míng Yuè glared at him: "Stop talking nonsense."

Liú Ānrá shrank back, "…The rescue talisman button gives a QR code with one press, two presses give the talisman paper…"

Wait, how did this girl prepare for the exam, doesn't she know this?

…Well, that’s a question for the broken network at midnight. Míng Yuè hadn’t finished reading the Fengdu exam instructions sent by Chén Xiūfā.

Míng Yuè kept a stern expression while fiddling with Liú Ānrá's communicator, trying to use a serious look to soften her youthful face.

She pressed it once, and a QR code appeared.

Liú Ānrá screamed, "Don’t scan it!"

"Big Boss!"

"If you scan it, I’ll get a record of being robbed!"Míng Yuè stuck out her tongue: "Why didn’t you think about being killed when you tried to beat me just now?"

With that, she ruthlessly scanned the QR code.

A beep sounded.

A new entry appeared on Míng Yuè's communicator:

【Win/Loss Ratio 1:0 100%】

Ten minutes later—

Behind the mountain, a crooked old tree with lush branches and leaves, clusters of green leaves hiding yellow bean-shaped fruits that made one's mouth water.

Under the tree was a person, tightly bound with silver alloy threads, his face full of sorrow, crying and howling.

"Don’t go! Míng Yuè!"

"…"

Míng Yuè waved her hand, signaling that she couldn't hear.

Liú Ānrá was speechless, tears flowing down: "What if there are more water ghosts? What should I do?"

Míng Yuè actually responded to this: "No worries, the traces of the sunlight on my trident will dissipate along the river water."

"In the short term, even if there are water ghosts, they won't dare to come."

"Senior, you can rest assured and be tied up."

With that, she picked up the steel trident and left, disappearing behind the mountain in the blink of an eye.

Liú Ānrá: "…"

Liú Ānrá wanted to cry but had no tears, starting to broadcast in human form:

"Help——!!"

"Heartless evil woman slaughtering her senior!!"

"Is there anyone there!!"The dirty river continued to flow beside them, winding and curving.

Along the way, neither humans nor ghosts appeared. Míng Yuè kept a vigilant eye while also enjoying the ghost city scenery.

The sun was blazing hot, but the Fengdu scenic area had done a great job with its greenery. As she walked through, the continuous tree shadows meant that she could avoid stepping into any direct sunlight.

Míng Yuè didn’t walk beneath the trees, but instead stood in the sunlight, allowing the intense rays to scorch her body.

It wasn’t until this moment that she felt the cold, Yin energy that had been building up in the long mountain cave shake off completely.

It was terrifying.

So terrifying.

Míng Yuè only now realized.

How could there be a place in the world of the living that could clearly record the history of the underworld?

This place was not the City of Forgotten Souls, where one could casually pull out an old ghost to talk about the history of the underworld.

This was not a place where one could read the Book of Life and Death, with Judge Cui offering a detailed explanation.

This place only used the name "Fengdu" to build a "fake Fengdu" scenic area, something that later generations of living humans simply replicated. How could it possibly record the collapse of the Wheel of Reincarnation?

Even if one were living in the Yin-Yang world and could not see or touch the real Fengdu, it was already a subordinate area of the underworld. How could it intervene and make unfounded speculations about the collapse of reincarnation?

Míng Yuè fell silent.

She wasn’t foolish.

When she first saw the twin images of the Wheel of Reincarnation, she hadn’t realized it.

Now, she had almost fully understood the hint within the mural.

What were the ripples in the water?

The ripples in the water were "water."

Water and ice are the same substance, and as the ancient saying goes, "Ice is separation, water flows through Yin and Yang."

These two images carried huge metaphors with great power in the history of Yin and Yang.The water of the Wangchuan River connects past and present lives, and has an unclear, inexplicable relationship with the Wheel of Reincarnation.

And water, when it encounters cold, turns into ice.

“The Book of Jin · Biography of Suo Dun”: “The filial and upright Lǐ Hú Mèng stood on the ice, speaking to the person under the ice. Dun said, ‘Above the ice is Yang, below the ice is Yin. This is the matter of Yin and Yang.’” [Note]

The person beneath the ice cannot breathe; they are the dead.

The common practice in modern Yin-Yang studies is that the area beneath the ice represents the underworld, while the area above the ice represents the human world.

The twin-image painting of the Wheel of Reincarnation was simple.

On the left, the Wheel of Reincarnation is below the water ripples; on the right, it is above the ripples.

If the water ripples refer to "water," then the up and down relationship of the Wheel of Reincarnation represents past and present lives.

If the water ripples refer to "ice," then the up and down relationship of the Wheel of Reincarnation represents... the separation of Yin and Yang.

Míng Yuè suddenly understood this layer of meaning.

A cold shiver ran through her.

The separation of Yin and Yang, the separation of Yin and Yang.

Could it be that the Wheel of Reincarnation has already entered the human world?

In what form has it appeared?

Could it be that the underworld’s disasters, the Wheel of Reincarnation fleeing for refuge, have already escaped to the human world?

...

Wait!

This is strange?! Is the Wheel of Reincarnation a person?

Does it have legs to run?

Míng Yuè's mind was suddenly filled with a jumble of thoughts, like a mix of bird language and human speech, with no way to make sense of it.

Now, when she looked back at the pitch-black mountain, it felt like a metaphor.Why do I know this?

On what basis?

Is this the cause? Or the effect?

Where is this cycle of cause and effect trying to lead me?

I can't figure it out.

Gradually, the shade of the trees faded, and the artificially carved stone steps appeared before her eyes. Míng Yuè looked up and gazed into the distance. On the opposite side of the river, a row of stone statues was shrouded in a gray mist. The lawn was damp, and in the distance, the shadows of tall, arched buildings could be seen.

It looked like a bridge.

The bridge and the riverbank ran parallel, quite oddly. In the middle of the grassland, there were still disordered “cracks” left by yesterday's earthquake, the ground was uneven, with soil flipped over, and the cracks seemed to extend several feet deep.

Míng Yuè: “...”

What’s going on?

How could there be a bridge that wasn’t built over the river?

Míng Yuè decided to cross the river.

The water flowed steadily, cleaner than before, but still murky. Míng Yuè estimated the distance and felt she could jump across.

She squatted down, swinging her arms back and forth, preparing to use the technique she had perfected in middle school — her full score in standing long jump — to leap over the two-meter-wide river.

Just as she was ready to spring up, she suddenly heard a beep from her communicator, signaling the appearance of a Yang energy node 10 meters away. But at that moment, her feet had already left the ground. The sound startled her, causing her to lose strength, and what was meant to be a 2.2-meter perfect jump turned into a 1.6-meter passing jump—

“Splash!”

Míng Yuè, the "glorious jumper," fell into the river.

With a whoosh!

The grayish-blue water surface of the river surged, and in an instant, a five to six-meter-high mist of Yin energy rose up, releasing a faint howling sound. The mist formed into a net, tightly covering the water’s surface, intending to suffocate Míng Yuè—

Three seconds later—

Míng Yuè, drenched and expressionless, stood up from the river, raising a finger that had been scratched and torn by the riverbank rocks.The dark red blood bead dropped with a soft drip, falling into the river, spreading a trail of blood.

The Yin energy mist on the river surface: “...”

“Whoosh—!”

The gray mist that covered the river instantly receded by thirty meters, and in the blink of an eye, the river cleared up. The water plants stirred, and everything became peaceful again.

Míng Yuè: “...”

The turtle-like Míng Yuè, slow to react, looked around.

What’s going on?

What just happened?