Chapter 20 - A Nightmare Illusion

Hearing Liu Baodong’s screams, Chen Shaoxian rushed towards the source of the sound.

As Chen Shaoxian reached the spot, he saw Liu Baodong lying on the ground, blood gushing from his neck, his chest no longer rising and falling, clutching a flashlight in his hand, his eyes wide open, staring upwards.

Xiao Zhuang was squatting beside Liu Baodong, looking at Chen Shaoxian and hissing with a sinister laugh. Chen Shaoxian noticed a hand on Xiao Zhuang’s back; the arm extended upwards, obscured by the darkness. Shining the flashlight behind Xiao Zhuang, Chen Shaoxian was shocked to see a woman in a cheongsam, her face charred to a crisp except for her mouth, standing behind Xiao Zhuang, also hissing with laughter. Xiao Zhuang was possessed by a ghost.

Chen Shaoxian, heartbroken at the sight of the dead Liu Baodong, drew his evil-slaying blade in anguish and took off the nectar glass from his waist, slashing it towards Xiao Zhuang.

Xiao Zhuang did not dodge, still looking at Chen Shaoxian with that sinister laugh.

Just as Chen Shaoxian’s blade was about to strike Xiao Zhuang, he suddenly twisted his wrist. The blade cut towards the hand on Xiao Zhuang’s back, and he hurled the nectar glass at the woman.

At that moment, Xiao Zhuang suddenly embraced Chen Shaoxian and fell backwards. Xiao Zhuang’s body rapidly sank into the ground as if it were water, and Chen Shaoxian felt his body suddenly falling, almost swallowed by the darkness. Suddenly, Liu Baodong, who had been lying dead on the ground for a while, grabbed Chen Shaoxian’s hand.

Blood was still spurting from Liu Baodong’s neck, dripping onto Chen Shaoxian’s face. Feeling the coolness on his face, Chen Shaoxian suddenly saw the light, realizing his legs were wrapped by Liu Baodong, while his body was held by Xiao Zhuang; the three of them were hanging mid-air, swaying back and forth with the magic rope.

Chen Shaoxian came to his senses, realizing he had been tricked. He quickly reassured the others, “I’m alright now.”

Liu Baodong and Xiao Zhuang were skeptical. Liu Baodong asked Chen Shaoxian a few questions, and seeing that Chen Shaoxian could respond without hesitation, they finally believed that he had indeed come around, and both sighed in relief. To avoid further mishaps, the trio decided to descend to the bottom of the cave.

As soon as they touched the ground, Liu Baodong immediately grabbed Chen Shaoxian, asking concernedly, “Shaoxian, what happened just now?”

Chen Shaoxian explained what had occurred to them and then asked what had happened to him just now.

Liu Baodong recounted to Chen Shaoxian what had just happened. It turned out that as they were sliding to the middle, Chen Shaoxian suddenly stopped moving. Liu Baodong called out to him several times without any response. Suddenly, Chen Shaoxian started to scream and his body began shaking uncontrollably.

Feeling something was amiss, Liu Baodong climbed up a bit and grabbed Chen Shaoxian’s trouser leg to see what was happening. It was fortunate that he did, for just as he grasped the trousers, Chen Shaoxian’s grip on the rope suddenly loosened, and his body began to fall. Liu Baodong quickly wrapped his arms around Chen Shaoxian’s legs while Chen Shaoxian dangled, trembling in mid-air.

Xiao Zhuang saw the mishap and hurriedly slid down to embrace Chen Shaoxian’s upper body. However, Chen Shaoxian was very strong, and they fumbled in their efforts to secure him.

The three of them hung in mid-air, a precarious situation that endangered them all. After they finally managed to restrain Chen Shaoxian, Liu Baodong took the nectar glass off Chen Shaoxian’s waist and handed it to Xiao Zhuang. He instructed Xiao Zhuang to pour the nectar water on Chen Shaoxian’s face. Xiao Zhuang, seeing Chen Shaoxian in hysterics and not minding much else, hugged Chen Shaoxian tightly with one hand and tapped the nectar glass against his own head, spilling the water onto Chen Shaoxian’s face, which finally awakened him.

After hearing what had happened, Chen Shaoxian noticed the details of how Xiao Zhuang had saved him. He showed his deep gratitude by patting Xiao Zhuang on the shoulder and nodding emphatically.

Liu Baodong asked, “Shaoxian, why were Xiao Zhuang and I unaffected?”

Chen Shaoxian thought for a moment and then said to Liu Baodong, “If my guess is correct, it’s because of the soul nurturing jade I had with me. The Soul and Spirit within the jade are highly attracted to the elements here. Also, those who die tragically need to find a scapegoat, but these aggrieved spirits don’t have much power. They can only influence the thoughts of their chosen person through the surrounding environment. The Soul and Spirit in the jade have been with the Thousand Souls Stele for too long and resonate with this place’s environment. Don’t worry, this won’t happen again.”

After a brief discussion, the three decided to stick together, as working as a team would greatly increase their safety.

The air below was a bit murky, but it lacked the burnt smell that Chen Shaoxian sensed during his hysterical episodes, and the bottom of the cave was very dry. Shining a flashlight around, the visibility wasn’t too bad.

The three of them formed a triangle and moved forward. After a short distance, the beam of the flashlight revealed a wall. Chen Shaoxian had Liu Baodong stand in the middle while he and Xiao Zhuang spread out from him to search the sides.

Soon, Chen Shaoxian found a wooden door and called the others over. When they reached him, Chen Shaoxian, wearing gloves, pushed the door, but it didn’t budge. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the door was actually a solid wooden plank blocking the way. Chen Shaoxian told the others, “We’ll have to climb over the wall. Xiao Zhuang, lift me up, and I’ll go over first to check it out.” Fortunately, the wall wasn’t very high, and with Xiao Zhuang’s help, Chen Shaoxian quickly hoisted himself onto the wall.

Perched atop the wall, Chen Shaoxian shone his flashlight downward and saw a courtyard. The scale of the pavilion wasn’t very large, about the size of two rooms, and at the entrance of the hall on both sides was a pair indicating, “Where is the main figure?” Regarding the water, Chen Shaoxian concluded that the model’s original must have been the Qiandao Grand Theater. The craftsmanship was incredibly realistic, seemingly the work of a skilled artisan. The shrine was covered in a thick layer of dust, which Chen Shaoxian wiped away with his clothing to reveal faint cloud patterns. After cleaning the entire surface of the shrine, it became apparent that these were not cloud patterns but yin script. Chen Shaoxian quickly called Liu Baodong over and said, “Uncle Liu, look, this is yin script.”

Liu Baodong examined the yin script on the table closely, his face showing confusion as he said, “I’ve only heard Grandpa Liu mention this in passing; he never explained what it actually is.”

Touching the script’s surface, Chen Shaoxian turned to Liu Baodong and said, “My grandfather told me that in ancient times, Cangjie¹ created characters, not only the yang script used by the living but also, towards the end of his life, he dreamed of ghosts who asked him to create yin script for communicating and worshipping ancestors in the Underworld. Before he died, Cangjie instructed his descendants to inscribe the yang script he had created on the front of his tombstone, and the yin script on the back. The night Cangjie was buried, the tombstone vanished and was later said to have become the boundary marker between the realms of Yin and Yang. This yin script was only known to the priests of that time and gradually disappeared as time passed. I didn’t expect to find it here. It’s said that where yin script appears marks the intersection of the realms of Yin and Yang. In other words, we might already have one foot in the Underworld.”

Footnote:

1. Cangjie(仓颉): Cangjie is a legendary figure in ancient China, credited with inventing Chinese characters.