The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 38: The Warrior’s Soul Enters the City Walls

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Warrior’s Soul Enters the City Walls

"Why are you here?"

Upon hearing the sound, Li Yan spoke quietly without turning his head.

Recognizing the smell, he knew it was Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei.

The two were worried about any trouble, so they let the opera troupe continue chanting sutras while they came to check the situation.

"What is it?"

"A soldier’s soul..."

Li Yan lowered his voice and briefly explained the situation.

"A soldier’s soul?" Wang Daoxuan listened without surprise.

Over a decade ago, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong, and the Maitreya Sect took advantage to cause chaos. The court sent several troops to suppress it, resulting in bloody battles.

At the Chaotic Burial Mound, many deceased soldiers were buried.

His eyes flickered with uncertainty as he gritted his teeth, "The barking of dogs can ward off evil, and the Beggar Gang used a dirty trick, scaring off all the nearby yin souls, leaving only this one."

"This is the only chance tonight. If we don’t succeed, not only will we have trouble getting down the mountain, but if we want to summon a deity again, we’ll have to go elsewhere."

"Let it enter the city walls first, and then we’ll see how it goes!"

Hearing this, Li Yan did not object. Wang Daoxuan was always cautious, and his willingness to take risks indicated follow-up measures.

With the plan set, the three retreated together.

Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei ran back to prepare.

Li Yan stayed behind, using his living scent to attract it.

In the dark, the broken corpse staggered and swayed, occasionally tripped by the dried branches on the ground, looking very eerie.

The platform was less than a thousand meters away, but Li Yan’s brows furrowed tighter.

The reason was simple.

He could smell that as the corpse walked, the surrounding Yin Evil Qi was attracted, combined with the soldier’s soul’s inherent Evil Qi, making its scent increasingly chilling.

Even separated by tens of meters, he felt a chill throughout his body.

Li Yan secretly thought things were bad.

If he didn’t reach it in time, the thing might turn into a zombie!

A person has three souls and seven spirits, with souls being yin and the body being yang. The three souls are yang, and the seven spirits are yin. When yin and yang combine, each rests in its place.

After death, yin and yang separate. The seven spirits disperse first, followed by the three souls.

When the soul leaves, it first transforms into a middle yin body. If an accident occurs and it doesn’t enter the Netherworld, it becomes a yin soul, a wandering ghost.

The seven spirits belong to the yin base in the ground. If they don’t disperse after death and remain, they absorb the earth’s Yin Evil Qi, causing the corpse to not decay and become mischievous.

The beggar’s seven spirits hadn’t dispersed yet when the soldier’s soul occupied his body. Resurrection was impossible, and it would only become a zombie.

Thinking of this, Li Yan quickened his pace.

Fortunately, the speed of the corpse behind him also increased.

Finally, just as the corpse let out its first roar, they arrived at the "Old Yin Coffin" clearing, where Yin Evil Qi gathered.

There was a fire pit here for burning yuanbao and paper money.

By the dim and flickering light, everyone could see the corpse following Li Yan, with iron-blue skin like ice, black blood oozing from its seven orifices, a stiff body, and walking on its toes.

The scene was truly eerie.

Even though Wang Daoxuan had reassured them, the Spring Breeze Class folks were pale with fright. Fortunately, no one dared to flee; they remained kneeling, holding three sticks of incense, muttering prayers for summoning the deity.

And then, the corpse finally changed.

"Its" attention shifted from Li Yan, lifting its head to look at the magic platform, stepping forward on its toes, but spinning in place as if unable to find its direction.

Even yin souls and fierce ghosts have preferences.

Some prefer blood, chasing living scents, while others favor incense.

Those who favor incense can be worshiped as Yin Gods.

There’s hope!

Wang Daoxuan’s eyes brightened, and he immediately stepped into the Astral Step. Leaving the magic platform, he spun in mid-air, and as he landed, his right foot stretched forward.

Shh!

A mark appeared on the ground, cutting through the three ash-formed city walls as if opening a city gate, welcoming guests.

Whoosh~

Instantly, the surrounding yin wind surged.

Li Yan could smell the cold, bloody scent rising from the beggar’s corpse, and the corpse fell to the ground.

The scent swirled forward, rushing to the magic platform.

Although the others couldn’t see it, they inexplicably felt the hair on their backs stand up, and the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

They were then treated to a strange sight:

The yin wind blew through the fire basin burning paper money. Ashes spun rapidly with embers, forming a tornado that swept through the ash city walls along the opened gap.

It disappeared abruptly as it neared the magic platform.

Li Yan could also smell the cold, bloody scent seeping into the Divine Statue on the platform, starting to absorb the incense’s fragrance.

He quickly signaled with his hand, while Wang Daoxuan, swift as ever, pulled out a pre-prepared ash-white poultice, sealing the Divine Statue’s base.

Bzzz!

The Divine Statue trembled on the table a few times before returning to stillness.

"It’s here!"

Wang Daoxuan lifted the Divine Statue, shouting.

The members of the Spring Breeze Class were already ready, shouting in unison, "Got it!"

Their leader put the Divine Statue into a wooden box with a small shrine inside. Wang Daoxuan placed the statue within, locked the box, covered it with red cloth, and signaled everyone to leave quickly.

Sha Lifei rushed forward, helping to gather and pack the incense burner, water altar, Soul Suppressing Bell, and other magic artifacts, extinguishing the fire pit. Without bothering with the makeshift table, they turned and left.

These artifacts had been long worshiped at the Ancestor Master Altar, refined by incense.

Though made from ordinary materials, unlike Li Yan’s Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin, they still took a toll on Wang Daoxuan’s efforts and weren’t to be discarded lightly.

The path down the mountain was more difficult, with everyone stumbling, not daring to look back.

Especially the troupe leader, weighed down by the box, was extra cautious, afraid of falling and breaking the Divine Statue.

Fortunately, being skilled in his craft, he kept balanced, without faults.

As for Li Yan, he walked at the rear of the group.

Wang Daoxuan had instructed that if anything bothersome was sensed, not to look back, but to scare it away using the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin.

Strangely, no anomalies occurred even as they reached the mountain base.

The Spring Breeze Class members breathed a collective sigh of relief, collapsing on the ground.

That night had truly worn them out.

Sha Lifei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, joking, "Daoist, you were too cautious, nothing happened, right?"

"What do you know!"

Wang Daoxuan turned to look at the mountain, filled with doubt.

Li Yan also spoke, "Daoist, rest assured, the beggars have already set the dogs loose to scare away the wandering ghosts. Even if they come to harass, we can handle them."

"What to fear isn’t the wandering ghosts..."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head slightly, whispering, "In mountains and waters where Innate Astral Qi and Sha Qi converge, it’s likely there are Mountain Gods or River Gods. These yin souls and yin soldiers are restrained by them and won’t run amok, equivalent to their subordinates."

"When we summon a deity, it’s akin to taking away their subordinates, naturally drawing interference, especially with the soldier’s soul."

"This Chaotic Burial Mound has been here for years. It’s rare there’s no Mountain God ruler..."

Sha Lifei scratched his head, "Anyway, the Yin God is summoned. Why think too much? Let’s get back to Xianyang and have a bowl of hot lamb soup to warm up."

"Indeed, saying that has made this humble Daoist hungry."

"Master Wang, this round’s on me!"

"You all have summoned a Yin God, best to return promptly. Remember, incense should be continuous every morning and evening, and offerings on the first and fifteenth of every month..."

"Daoist, rest assured, it’s all noted..."

They gathered their spirits and set off, quickly disappearing into the night.

Unbeknownst to them, shortly after descending the mountain, torches lit up in the dense forest, with numerous beggars surrounding the beggar leader, Grandpa Mountain.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, the fat Grandpa Mountain touched it, withdrawing his hand immediately, his face darkened, "Burn this corpse, or the mountain won’t be peaceful."

"Grandpa Mountain, we lost four or five good men."

"They sure ran fast..."

A few beggars around looked fiercely, glaring down the mountain.

Grandpa Mountain had calmed down, rubbing his greasy belly, saying, "I thought they were a bunch of frauds. I underestimated them."

"Send a message to the Iron Blade Gang. Their information was incorrect, and these lives must be accounted for at their expense. If they don’t find them for me, this isn’t over!"

"Also, have someone keep an eye on those folks, don’t provoke rashly, hit back when there’s a chance!"

"Yes, Grandpa Mountain!"

...

There were plenty of lamb soup shops in Xianyang.

To hold their ground, without some skill, they would have to close in days.

Near the Wei Family’s old street by the Ma Wang Temple was a lamb soup shop called Wu Family Old Shop. It had been passed down for generations, surviving storms for about a century.

Their large soup pot simmered year-round.

At closing, a base fire was kept, and the next day fresh sheep scorpion was added to boil. The broth was milky white and flavorful, their specialty.

More praised was the old shop’s adherence to roots.

Some old shops, once gaining a bit of fame, rushed to renovate for a posh look, catering to officials and the wealthy.

But the Wu Family Old Shop maintained its large setup, with several large pots outside the shop, boiling lamb soup, and rows of long tables and chairs stretching both inside and outside.

Crucially, their prices hadn’t changed for decades, and it was cleanly run.

So, there were always groups squatting to drink lamb soup.

Wang Daoxuan and the others drank three bowls, ate four or five pieces of flatbread, and only after sweating did they set down their bowls, feeling revived.

It was already dawn, and pedestrians increased on the streets.

Watching the bustling townsfolk and wagons, Sha Lifei felt like last night’s events were a dream, sighing, "Darn it, I’m a bit regretful."

"Daoist, are all future jobs this dangerous?"

"Not always."

Wang Daoxuan smiled, "Last night’s situation, ordinary magicians wouldn’t dare take it on. We’ve succeeded, and word will spread quickly."

"We’ll get more stable jobs in the future. You just need to run errands."

"That’s good. Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Why does it sound a bit uncertain..."

As they chatted, a man approached from a distance.

This man was short and stocky, wearing black clothes with a square hat, and his dead fish eyes looked lifeless.

Reaching the three, he smacked his lips,

"Who’s called Li Yan?"

Li Yan set down his bowl, giving a sidelong glance, "That’s me."

The dead fish-eyed man scanned him up and down, sneering, "Young brat, just entered the pugilistic world and risking life, you’re kidding."

"Want to fight to the death? Do you know the rules?"