The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 203 - 146 The Techniques of the Japanese_2

Chapter 203: Chapter 146 The Techniques of the Japanese_2

This stench, it’s very similar to that of the Du family.

Li Yan was completely certain that this matter was related to the Japanese.

From his past life memories, the straw rope and the White Talisman seemed to be the sealing method used by the Japanese.

"Brother Yan, quick, look over here!"

Sha Lifei moved to the other side of the stone coffin, seeming to have discovered something, and hurriedly called the two over to look.

Upon hearing this, Li Yan went over, and Sha Lifei illuminated the area with a torch.

What they saw were patterns on the coffin, bizarrely depicting many demons, among which one with a bird head and human body was exactly the same as the evil spirit they had encountered at the Du Mansion.

Beside it, there were Chinese characters carved: Rashamon Bird.

Li Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, "Master Wang, I remember you once said that the evil spirit has two other names, Rashamon Bird and Rashamon Demon?"

"Mm."

Wang Daoxuan’s expression grew solemn, "Rashamon Demon, that’s the name used in Buddhist scriptures; there is definitely a problem. Someone has painstakingly laid out this for twenty years, all for the sake of cultivating such evil beings."

With that said, he glanced at the multitude of demons crowded above, a killing intent rising in his eyes, "And what are these?"

Wood Spirits, Heavenly Dogs, Mountain Children...

Looking at the familiar names one by one, past life memories resurfaced in his mind, and Li Yan shook his head and said, "I’ve vaguely heard of this; the Japanese call it the Night Parade of Hundred Demons."

"Hmph!"

Wang Daoxuan’s face darkened, "How dare such a barbarian nation cast curses and harm people in my Great Xuan. Once back, I will report to the Law Enforcement Hall and order the razing of mountains and temples!"

After saying this, the three of them pushed open the stone coffin lid.

Accompanied by a heavy grinding noise, the lid slowly lifted, revealing another wooden coffin within, but there was a large hole broken through the center of the coffin lid.

Not only that, but the lid was also full of decay, yet the inside was empty, and even the funerary objects had been tossed about chaotically; not a single valuable item remained, and all remaining pottery and porcelain pillows were smashed to pieces.

"It’s too late!"

Sha Lifei exclaimed, "The grave robbers have already gotten to it first!"

Wang Daoxuan also felt a headache coming on, "What do we do now? Without the body, we can’t perform the ritual to suppress the evil spirit."

"It wasn’t the grave robbers."

Li Yan shook his head, looking around with a grave voice, "The booklet Landlord Du gave us did not have these arrangements. It’s related to the fate of the Du Family; he wouldn’t act recklessly but must have checked before sealing the tomb."

"These were all arranged later on!"

Having said that, he pinched the Yang Jue, took a deep breath, and the various smells in the tomb filled his nostrils. Li Yan suddenly turned around, moved to the Xun Position in the Eight Trigrams, burst forth with Hidden Energy, and kicked out.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the stone wall there shattered, revealing it was only an inch thick, and behind the stone wall was a dark cavern.

Li Yan once again used paper effigies to ensure there were no traps, then took the lead into the cave, with Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan closely following him.

The cave was long; they could still see many footprints on the ground.

After walking several hundred meters, they reached the end of the earthen tunnel, where there was a wooden board. Li Yan stepped on it forcefully.

Crash!

Mud and accumulated snow fell below, and cold air rushed in.

The outside was actually another dip on the other side of the hills.

Looking around, it was pitch black, the snowy plains endless.

Helplessly, Sha Lifei said, "The snow is too heavy, it has covered all traces. Brother Yan, can you smell anything?"

Amid the howling wind and snow, Li Yan slightly shook his head, "The wind is too strong; even if there were scents left behind, they would have already been dispersed."

The three of them stood for a while but could not come up with any solution.

Wang Daoxuan sighed, "Let’s go back for now, see what else can be done to suppress the Evil Curse first."

"It turns out to be the work of the Japanese. Ask Landlord Du if he has ever made enemies; maybe we can find the corpse..."

At this point, the three did not delay any further, they returned to find their horses and rode toward Guodu Town through the night...

...

Midnight arrived, and the people of the Du Family had all left.

They held torches and looked from afar at the dark mansion.

The winter night was cold, but a deeper fear chilled them to the bone.

Hoo~

In the dark courtyard, particularly around the main hall area, a sudden gust of wind arose, accompanied by the sound of tables and chairs splintering.

After making noise for a long time, it gradually became quiet.

The people of the Du Family were terrified, and Luo Faqing had already prepared the magic platform, with Magic Flags planted upside down in the ground.

Looking at the surrounding darkness, a faint murderous intention flickered in his eyes.

He had awakened the Mind Divine Power, a Divine Skill adept at communicating with Ghost Gods—with many prominent witches and wizards being of the same kind—but his ability to investigate was relatively weak.

Even so, Luo Faqing was confident.

He could command three Ghost Gods, and having reached the three-story level, he stood out even among the disciples of the Magic Veins of Shang Mountain, which was why he had been sent to Chang’an to assist Yue Fazhong.

If prayers for calamity removal and blessings were ineffective, he was still very confident in killing.

Unconsciously, midnight finally passed.

Everyone shivered in the cold, but they did not dare to return to the Du Mansion, waiting until after the yin time (03:00 to 05:00 AM) before they went back to the Du Mansion with Luo Faqing’s consent.

Entering the main hall and lighting the candles, everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

The paper effigies were all charred and rotted, with their heads and torsos tattered and torn.

Gazing at the scene before them, a chill arose from within their hearts.

Steward Wang, trembling and unsteady, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, suddenly felt a coldness on his back, and whipped around to look, freezing in place on the spot.

"Young... Young Master..."

Hearing his voice, everyone quickly turned around.

In the pitch-dark courtyard, at some unknown time, a child had appeared, clad in tattered clothes, shoeless, his skin turned purple from the cold.

Standing in the courtyard, he lowered his head in silence.

"My child!"

Seeing their son in this pitiable state, Du An and his wife lost control, wailing in grief as if they wanted to rush out to him.

"Don’t move, he’s no longer human!"

Luo Faqing bellowed angrily, blocking everyone, while rapidly casting a spell, drawing out a paper talisman, and fiercely throwing it.

In the eyes of the onlookers, the talisman merely burned up in the air.

However, a surge of scorching Gang Qi had already erupted forth.

Crack!

The child’s head suddenly twisted in an unnatural posture, and then like a spider, he scurried through the snow, evading Luo Faqing’s attack.

At this point, everyone could see this was no human.

Du An and his wife’s bodies went limp, their fear replaced only by excruciating pain as they sobbed uncontrollably.

Landlord Du clenched his fists tightly, tears brimming in his eyes.

Before the child appeared, there remained a sliver of hope, but now, with this sight, everyone knew that all hope was lost, and he had fallen to become a puppet of the demon.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

The child moved on all fours, agilely dodging Luo Faqing while seemingly trying to charge into the main hall to harm people.

However, Luo Faqing, at the peak of his Hidden Energy and skilled in swordsmanship, continued casting spells as he grabbed the Dharma Seal from his waist.

He had realized that this child had become a Walking Corpse.

Such evil beings weren’t suitable to be fought with Ghost Gods, and summoning them would take too long, but to break through his defenses was still far-fetched.

Bang!

Finally, with the same technique.

The Dharma Seal struck the sword hilt, and as if struck by lightning, the Walking Corpse was sent flying several meters away.

This method, called the "Sword of Exorcising and Controlling Spirits," was an ancient Qin Palace practice, somewhat similar to Li Yan’s Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin, employing the Astral Bane Energy to suppress evil.

Struck by this blow, the small Walking Corpse could not withstand the force and scurried over the wall like a spider, hastily fleeing into the dark, snowy night...

"Quiet, all of you!"

Amidst the surrounding cries, Luo Faqing roared, "If you wish to find the true culprit, silence yourselves!"

Saying this, he jumped to the center of the courtyard, drew out the Magic Flag, and planted it into the ground.

Whoosh~

Instantly, a yin wind rose and soared into the night sky.

After an unknown amount of time passed, the wind rose again, and the Magic Artifact fluttered. Luo Faqing quickly gathered the Magic Flag and gazed into the distance, deep in thought.

"Daoist Luo, have you found something?"

Landlord Du hastily inquired.

Luo Faqing shook his head, "No rush. I already know the location. Let’s not fall for a diversion. Let’s wait for Master Wang and the others to return..."

...

"Master Wang has returned!"

Just past the time of Si (9–11 am), Li Yan and the other two, who had traveled all night, finally returned, shivering from the cold.

"Quick! Ginger soup!"

Steward Wang hurried to meet them with help.

With two bowls of steaming ginger soup consumed, the three of them finally revived.

Sha Lifei cursed under his breath, "Damn it, all for naught. We rushed back overnight, fearing something might happen."

Luo Faqing frowned, "It didn’t work?"

Wang Daoxuan nodded and looked to the side, "Landlord Du, have you ever had enmity with the Japanese?"

"The Japanese!"

Landlord Du was even more astonished, "I have never known any Japanese, and the one who set the trap, with a handsome face and an air of nobility, could not possibly be a Japanese slave."

"This is strange..."

Li Yan and the others were also at a loss.

"The audacity of the Japanese to create trouble in Great Xuan, they’re courting death!"

Luo Faqing also stood up banging the table, not concealing the murderous intent in his eyes, "No matter, regardless of whoever is behind this, it doesn’t matter."

"Last night, I already tracked down the demon’s lair."

Li Yan’s eyes lit up, "Oh? Where is it?"

Luo Faqing looked into the distance, "It’s in a valley near the Xiangji Temple, a place you should have heard of."

"To the south of the Xiangji Temple."

"The site of that war years ago..."